Maybe if she saw Jag again… maybe that would wake her up. But if she sees him and remembers, I’m nobody. In more than ways than one.
~Surrender by: Elana Johnson
Tag: Elana Johnson
Author Love!
This last week I attend the ULA Conference for us library folks and it was so much fun! It’s always nice to be surrounded by fellow readers, isn’t it? We were fortunate enough to listen to the FANTASTIC Shannon Hale speak. Fun fact: I met her several years ago at a signing for Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (she is hilarious, witty, and someone I want to be best friends with). It reminded me how much I love meeting my favorite authors! Listening to them speak about about their writing process, their inspiration, their quirks, and best of all what they are reading these days (I could sit there for DAYS).
I’m so happy to have a plethora of author events in Utah (however, I still have a number of bucket list authors I would love to listen to). Everyone should look up events in your area because they are seriously a BLAST. Here’s a snippet of my favorite events, which normally make my obsession with certain authors that much greater! (See: Shannon Hale; Lauren Oliver; Cassie Clare).
Also bonus points for any authors that write a special inscription along with their personalizations/signatures. It makes me love my book even more! So show your favorite authors some love and get out there and attend some events! You might also discover some new favorites (I’ve been to several tours with multiple authors that I wasn’t familiar with and walked away with a hefty TBR list [Dan Wells; Brodie Ashton; Debra Driza]).
Happy Reading!!
Pictured above: Kami Garcia; Shannon Hale; Margaret Stohl; James Dashner; Lauren Oliver; Cassandra Clare; Elana Johnson; Marie Lu; Ally Condie
Fly.
The paper contained two words: Fly, babe.
I shredded it into little pieces. Fly? The stupid boy wanted me to fly? I’d fly off the handle when I caught up to him. Then he’d see me fly.
~Possession by: Elana Johnson
Top 10: Books Included If I Taught YA POETICS
I’m going to start off by saying, the last couple weeks we have been doing MAJOR home renos and thus last week I took a slight hiatus from TTT and BTT. But I should be back for good (hopefully–my last semester of college began yesterday so I’m praying life doesn’t get too intense).
In my hypothetical Top Ten World, I like to think I could teach a rocking poetry class. Now if we were being realistic…I’d have to go with something along the lines of EMOTIONAL YA or LOVE IN YA…because let’s be honest, I love a great love story. As long as we are being realistic–although I am an English Major, I have little to no interest in becoming any sort of teacher. But all that aside–I’m dreaming up a situation where I could teach poetry. So each of these titles are books I would include on my syllabus should I find myself teaching a course on poetry in YA. Either I find the writing somewhat poetic, or poetry is a major theme throughout the novel…they have found their way onto my list. Enjoy!
So much thanks to the ladies at The Broke and The Bookish for hosting us crazy bloggers each week!
1. And We Stay by: Jenny Hubbard I just finished this one for none other than my Adolescent Lit class, and I couldn’t not include it. It’s beautifully written and our main character, Emily, has an obsession/serious connection with Emily Dickenson and a wicked talent for writing poetry.
I am just a girl on Earth
Who writes her heart and brain.
The world makes me a Poet;
the world Gives me a name.
2. Matched Trilogy by: Ally Condie This world where paper isn’t even close to permanent, and words are whispers in the wind, it has so much poetic back stories and meaning implemented. Definite winner.
The Pilot. The Poet. The Physic.
They are in all of us. I believe this. That every person might have a way to fly, a line of poetry to put down for others to see, a hand to heal.
3. Elevated by: Elana Johnson One of the few books I’ve read that is written in verse (one of the first actually), and I fell in love with it in a matter of pages.
The lights disappear,
The elevator shudders,
Stalls,
Quits.
All in the same nanosecond.All that exists is darkness so thick I can’t think,
And Travis so close I can’t breath.
4. Waiting by: Carol Lynch Williams London’s story was so jarring and traumatizing, and the style fit perfectly. It made the tale so gut wrenching.
An accident you’re in? It marks you on the outside, maybe. Scars your face or your skin-breaks bones,crushes skulls,leaves the body changed.
An accident witnessed? You’re different on the inside. Maybe there’s no cut someone else can see, but there’re always injuries on the inside.
Those take a long time to heal.
5. Delirium Series by: Lauren Oliver My last on the list is Lauren Oliver’s Delirium Trilogy. Lauren’s writing in itself is gorgeous and phenomenal. A few of her lines still bring me to tears. Sometimes you can have poetry in your words, and not be in verse.
He who jumps may fall, but he may also fly. Its time to jump.
Listening.
Hearing is different from listening.
~Surrender by: Elana Johnson
Shudder.
The lights disappear,
The elevator shudders,
Stalls,
Quits.
All in the same nanosecond.
All that exists is darkness so thick I can’t think,
And Travis so close I can’t breath.
~Elevated by: Elana Johnson
Someone.
“Meet me on the roof at eleven-thirty”
When he said things like this,
It reminded me that
He needed someone.
Someone more than Jesse,
Someone more than Honesty,
Someone who knew,
Who understood.
~Elevated by: Elana Johnson
Elana Johnson: ELEMENTAL SERIES
The wondrous Elana Johnson has her new series coming out!! It consists of two novellas, Elemental Rush and Elemental Release. The latter follows her full fledged novel Elemental Hunger. I am currently reading this book and let me tell you it ROCKS. Not that anything Johnson has written hasn’t blown my mind, it often does. She is a killer author, and if you haven’t read anything by her GET ON IT. Not to mention the amazing covers. Really, they are gorgeous! Read up on the series and get obsessed with this incredible series!!!
About Elemental Rush:
Eighteen-year-old Adam Gillman has trained for twelve years to earn a coveted spot on the Supreme Elemental’s elite sentry squad. His brother, Felix, is the commander, but Adam is still thrilled when his official assignment to serve Alexander Pederson comes.
He moves into nicer quarters and can stop getting up at four a.m. to complete his mandated work out time. He still rises early though, because he needs the solitude of early morning to practice his airmaking Element—something that Adam has kept secret from everyone, even Felix, because he can’t be both an Airmaker and a sentry.
When Alex assigns him to kill a group of rogue Elementals, he balks at completing his mission for the first time. See, his only friend is Isaiah Hawking, and he’s the Earthmover on the accused Council. When faced with the prospect of killing him, Adam finds he can’t do it.
He’s well trained in assassination, but he thought he’d be murdering bad guys—not innocents.
When Alex buries the Elemental Academy—and kills over one thousand Elementals—in a fit of rage, Adam’s loyalty cracks. When he discovers that Alex is really a woman, and his brother’s lover, he defects. He hops from city to city, from Elemental school to Elemental school, always escaping only minutes before Felix can embed a knife in his heart or a tsunami can make a classroom his watery grave.
He tries to fight back, but he’s just one Airmaster with exceptional tracking skills. He does his best to warn those in danger, but as the last Elemental school goes up in flames, he knows he needs to get some real firepower on his side.
ELEMENTAL RUSH is a prequel novella to the full-length futuristic fantasy novel, ELEMENTAL HUNGER, which is also available now.
Find this novella on Goodreads, Amazon, Smashwords, iTunes, Kobo, and Wattpad
About Elemental Hunger: The second installment in the Elemental series, a new futuristic fantasy for young adults and new adults, ELEMENTAL HUNGER is a full-length novel.
Sixteen-year-old Gabriella Kilpatrick can shoot fire from her hands, which would be great if she didn’t get blamed for a blazing inferno that kills 17 schoolmates. When Gabby is commanded to Manifest her Element, everyone knows what she is: a genetic abnormality. Not to mention guilty.
So she does two logical things to survive.
1. She runs.
2. She hacks off her hair to assume a new role—that of “Gabe”, because in her world, only boys are Firemakers.Not only does she have to act like a guy, she has to pretend to know everything a Firemaker should know. When Gabby meets Airmaster Adam Gillman, he believes her act and pledges to serve on “Gabe’s” Council. But Adam has the mark of a sentry and spent years obeying Alex, the Supreme Elemental. And Alex wants Gabby-the-genetic-freak dead and gone before she can gather the magical protection of a full Council.
With Adam’s lies that sound like truths and rumors that Alex isn’t really a Firemaker—or a man—Gabby sets out to charter a Council of her own. In order to uncover the truth, Gabby will have to learn who she can trust, how to control her own power, and most of all, how to lead a Council of Elementals, most of whom have more control over their power than she does. If she can’t, she’ll find herself just like those 17 schoolmates: burned and six feet under.
Look for the third and final installment, ELEMENTAL RELEASE, an Elemental novella, coming on July 2, 2014.
Find this novel on Goodreads, Amazon, Smashwords, iTunes, B&N, and Kobo
About Elana: Elana Johnson is the author of the Possession series, which includes full-length novels POSSESSION, SURRENDER, and ABANDON, and short stories REGRET (ebook only) and RESIST (free). She is also the author of ELEVATED, a young adult contemporary romance novel-in-verse.
Her novella, ELEMENTAL RUSH, began a new futuristic fantasy series. ELEMENTAL HUNGER, a full-length novel, is the second part of the story. The series will conclude with ELEMENTAL RELEASE, the final novella, which will release on July 2, 2014.
Elana wishes she could experience her first kiss again, tell the mean girl where to shove it, and have cool superpowers like reading minds and controlling fire. To fulfill her desires, she writes young adult novels. She runs a personal blog on publishing and is a founding author of the QueryTracker blog, a regular contributor to The League of Extraordinary Writers, and a co-organizer of WriteOnCon.
Find her on Facebook, twitter, tumblr, Wattpad, or her blog.
Anything.
“What do you have that I could possibly want?”
With a knowing smile, he pulled an envelope from his back pocket. Even from across the room, Jag’s handwriting made my heart pound. I took several steps forward, never removing my eyes from the two letters of my name. Jake could have anything he wanted. Kidney, liver, whatever.
~Possession by: Elana Johnson
Top 10: Books That Make You Cry
It is no secret that I cry in the majority of the books I read. What can I say? I get emotionally attached to these characters! Not to mention when Authors take you completely off guard. I’ve been awful at my Top Ten lists lately, so hopefully I’m back on track. Thanks to The Broke and The Bookish for hosting each week!
The Majority of these had me lying in my bed bawling my eyes out at the end, quite possibly 7/10. While a couple may have just had parts that were extremely sad followed by extremely happy. Moral of the story, these will give you an emotional roller coaster, with the highest highs and the lowest of lows. You’ve been warned. :)
1. Before I Fall by: Lauren Oliver Lets just say Oliver breaks your heart and then rewinds the day so it doesn’t happen, and then repeats the process. But this book is amazing regardless of the heart breaking!
2. Abandon by: Elana Johnson Well, be prepared, I just have to think of this ending and I get emotional!!
3. TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY by: Jay Asher This whole book had me crying but it is incredibly unique and one of my all time favorite books.
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by: J.K. Rowling Just throwing it out there, I have cried in multiple books in this series. Order of the Phoenix gets me every time though.
5. The Fault in Our Stars by: John Green I think this is self explanatory. Keep a box of tissues nearby.
6. The Last Song by: Nicholas Sparks This caught me completely off guard. Not to mention the fact it was my first Nicholas Sparks Experience, so I did not know he tries to shatter your heart into smithereens and then glue it back together soon after.
7. Mockingjay by: Suzanne Collins Although I adore this book, I shed my share of tears over it. I also had to go back and read spots because I didn’t quite comprehend what had happened. My brain/heart were in denial.
8. Everafter by: Elizabeth Chandler This is one where I forget how it ended, until I remember and fall into instant depression. I was both angry and upset when finishing this series. I didn’t know which had more of an effect though.
9. Allegiant by: Veronica Roth I read this, and after finishing I stared at the pages and cried and cried and cried.
10. Just Listen by: Sarah Dessen “Don’t think or judge. Just listen.” And then the tears fall, this story definitely pulls at your heart strings.
Remembered Deservedly 