Please join us in welcoming our first Author-in-Residence at rgz: Beth Kephart! Beth will be in house for the next 4 months, popping into the blog, chats, and posting four blog entries on the writing life throughout her visit. We are honored to have her among us. Learn more about Beth Kephart and our author-in-residence position.

Do you love YALSA's Teen Read Week? Let it out at your blog through a post or vlog, then send the link to readergirlz@gmail.com with the subject line set up like this: Your name, TRW Tribute. Tell us about your recent release, or a book you love dearly, and then give a shoutout for Teen Read Week. We'll collect all the contributions and post them at the rgz blog in a 24 hour time span on October 23rd, 2009.

Stay tuned for more info later this month...

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

In a world where people born with an extreme skill - called a Grace - are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po's friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

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"Action, adventure, love . . . all rolled up in a fiercely independent heroine who learns how to govern her gift and trust her heart. How could we not become smitten with Graceling?" - Justina Chen Headley, rgz diva and author Winner of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature Winner of the SIBA Book Award, YA category Indies Choice Book Award Honor Book Morris Award (ALA) and Andre Norton Award (SFWA) finalist Starred reviews in Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist

 Kristin Cashore

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On the nightstand: A teetering pile of books; post-it notes; earplugs; one of those relaxing eye pillows; my Swiss Army knife

Favorite drink while you write: Fair trade organic English Breakfast tea!

Favorite bookstores: Porter Square Books and The Harvard Bookstore, both in Cambridge, MA; The Bookmark in Atlantic Beach, FL

Favorite library: That's easy! The beautiful main branch of the Jacksonville Public Library.

Pets: I'm currently petless, but dream of the perfect cat.

Place to write: In one of various comfortable armchairs in my home.

Inspiration: Books, people, long walks, daydreaming

Dream book tour: How about a tour in which I stay in one city for about two weeks? How about if the city is Rome? How about if my hotel is right next to the Pantheon?

Writer buddies: Well, I have some, but I hate name-dropping :o)

Cure for writer's block: I don't know if I get writer's block, exactly, but I do have trouble writing sometimes because I'm pushing too hard and need a daydreaming/resting break. The cure at those times is to STOP WRITING.

Favorite outfit: Oh, that's easy: flannel PJs.

Laptop or longhand? Longhand.

Stilettos or Uggs? The only thing I would ever use a stiletto for is self-defense.

Next up: A prequelish companion to Graceling, called Fire, comes out October 5th, 2009.

Author idols: Tamora Pierce; Robin McKinley; Margaret Mahy

Other Interviews: HipWriterMama, Omnivoracious, School Library Journal, Shelf Elf, Juvenil Romantica, BookBrowse, Nebula Awards

Roundtable: readergirlz divas and postergirlz discuss Graceling

Website: kristincashore.blogspot.com

 

rgz LIVE!

Discuss the book with the author herself. Kristin Cashore will be chatting live at the readergirlz blog on Wednesday, September 16th at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST. The chat will last for about an hour.

On Wednesday, September 30th, at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST, join the launch party at the readergirlz blog for the new fantasy book Stealing Death by rgz co-founder Janet Lee Carey. The book received a starred review in SLJ. Congrats, Janet! We heart you!

 

 

 

Human Rights First recently launched two films that explore the way Hollywood portrays interrogation and torture on TV and how that can unrealistically influence soldiers.

1. Watch the 14-minute Primetime Torture film (split into two video segments).

2. Share the videos on Facebook, MySpace, or your blog.

3. And if you feel compelled, sign the I do not support torture pledge.

The following tunes were hand-picked by the author to accompany her book. You must have Flash to see the playlist below

No Ceiling by Eddie Vedder
No Mermaid by Sineád Lohan
Fighter by Christina Aguilera
Private Universe by Crowded House
Rise by Eddie Vedder
Love Is a Rose by Neil Young
Cold As It Gets by Patty Griffin
This Year's Love by David Gray
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac
If You Love Somebody Set Them Free by Sting

Katsa feels stuck in an identity that isn't really hers - that someone else has imposed on her. Has that ever happened to you?

Do you like Katsa's fantasy world? If you lived in the seven kingdoms, which kingdom do you think you would live in? What would your job be?

Which of the secondary characters in Graceling - characters other than, say, Katsa, Po, Bitterblue, or Leck - would you most like to know personally? Why?

Katsa feels completely betrayed by Po's lie. Have you ever felt that way? What would you have done in Katsa's situation?

What do you think it would be like if someone you loved could read your mind?

Katsa breaks a lot of rules about how girls in society should behave. Which rules do you admire - or not admire - her for breaking? Are there rules in our society you'd like to break?

What do you think Bitterblue sees when she looks at Katsa and Po? If you were Bitterblue, what would you have thought of your two rescuers?

Katsa is upset about the way King Leck dies because it shows that even with all her power, there are things in life she can't control. Is this something you've encountered in your own life? Does it upset you, too?

Which character in Graceling would you most like to be, and why?

If you had a Grace like Po's, what would you do with it?

What kind of Grace would you like to have? What kind of Grace do you think you do have?

Imagine you are Katsa at the end of Graceling. The whole world is before you. What would you do next?

 

Planning your own book group/get-together for Graceling? Here are some party ideas from the author.

Invite: Design something that incorporate swords, daggers, and two-colored eyes.

Food: Hm. Go out and catch your own mountain lion? No? How about homemade bread, cheese, and fresh fruit.

Décor: Two-colored eyeshadow and medieval garb.

Movies: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Buffy the Vampire Slayer (okay, I'm cheating, that’s a TV show, not a movie - but it is disturbingly hard to find movie girls who are both kick-ass and self-reliant!); Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (an anime movie by Hayao Miyazaki)

 

Recommended by postergirlz, the readergirlz advisory council

Fiction
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Princess Ben by Catherine Murdock
The Attolia books by Megan Whalen Turner
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier

Non-Fiction
In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers by Deborah Reber

 

 

Join us in the coming months as we discuss:

October: The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
November: Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell
December: Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce