GreenBeanTeenQueen

I love this fan made video for The Hunger Games. Mr. GreenBeanSexyMan and I have been debating how we picture each character and while he says he pictured Peeta a bit chubbier, this is how I pictured Peeta. What do you think?

Rating: 4/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 4/29/2010 Add to Goodreads 2011 Alex Award List About the Book: Eleven-year-old Kimberly Chang and her mother are brought to America by Kimberly's Aunt Paula. The transition from Hong Kong to American life is a long and frustrating road. Kimberly picks up on English quickly and adapts to American life easier than her mother. She begins to excel in school and is soon awarded a scholarship to a private school. Kimberly struggles with excelling in school but constantly being an outsider. She and her mother owe a debt to Aunt Paula for bringing them to America and they work in the skirt factory that Aunt Paula and Uncle Bob run and are barely able to make ends meet. They live in a terrible apartment with roaches and no heat. Kimberly tries to make a better life for herself and her mother by doing well in school. But her feelings for a fellow factory worker named Matt may threaten her future and Kimberly must decide what exactly her

I learned tonight that the YA world lost a fantastic author. L.K. Madigan passed away Wednesday . I read Flash Burnout last year and it was one of my favorite reads of the year. Blake instantly became a new book crush! I read it because it was nominated for our state book award reading list for high school and I'm glad to say it made the list! I can't wait for teens to start reading off the 2011-2012 Gateway list and for them to discover the fantastic story that Lisa wrote. When I heard the news, I felt a deep loss. Even though I never met Lisa in person, I knew her online. That's the beauty of blogging-it connects readers and authors and booklovers and creates a huge community. When I posted my review of Flash Burnout , Lisa excitedly tweeted about my review and how a librarian had a book crush on Blake! Needless to say, I was thrilled that she noticed and was tickled about how excited she was that a librarian loved her book. I read Lisa's blog and felt like

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine Withering Tights by Louise Rennison Release Date: 7/1/2011 About the Book: Hilarious new series from Queen of Teen – laugh your tights off at the (VERY) amateur dramatic antics of Talullah and her bonkers mates. Boys, snogging and bad acting guaranteed! Picture the scene: Dother Hall performing arts college somewhere Up North, surrounded by rolling dales, bearded cheesemaking villagers (male and female) and wildlife of the squirrely-type. On the whole, it’s not quite the showbiz experience Tallulah was expecting… but once her mates turn up and they start their ‘FAME! I’m gonna liiiiive foreeeeeever, I’m gonna fill my tiiiiights’ summer course things are bound to perk up. Especially when the boys arrive. (When DO the boys arrive?) Six weeks of parent-free freedom. BOY freedom. Freedom of expression... cos it’s the THEATRE dahling, theatre!! GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I lurved the Georgia Nicolson books-they were fabbity fab fa

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens. Join the fun and post your Tween Tuesday link below! Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary/Animal Stories Release Date: 3/21/2011 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Hildegarde is the leader of the church mice at Saint Bartholemew's. Hildegarde is responsible for all the mice in the church, making sure everyone gets fed and stays hidden. But when a few of the church parishioners start to tell of mice sightings in the church, Hildegarde fears another Great X is coming. Add to that the annual Blessing of the Animals, when animals of all shapes and sizes will be coming to St. Bartholemew's! It will take the courage of Hildegarde and her mice to protect their beloved home without getting caught. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I don't know how Ms. Lowry does it! Bless This Mouse is a wonderful read that has the feel of an old fashioned classic. The story is new, but reading it feels lik

Please welcome author Holly Schindler to the blog! Holly is the author of A Blue So Dark and the soon to be released Playing Hurt . I am also super excited to claim Holly as my local author which totally rocks! In honor of Holly's new book, she's doing a virtual blog tour. This week is the "local leg" featuring local bloggers and we're asking Holly all sorts of fun questions about Missouri! And there's an awesome contest to go with it! You can get points by visiting the tour stops, commenting, tweeting, posting on your blog and Facebook-all that fun stuff. Just fill out this awesome entry form and you're entered! And of course you can find the full schedule and all the details on Holly's blog! OK-let's get to the fun stuff-the questions!! 1) What’s the best thing about Missouri? I’m a lifelong, sixth generation Missouri resident. So when you ask me what I love about Missouri, I feel as though you’ve asked me what I like most about my favorite ro

Are you ready for it? I'm happy to present the full cover for Lisa Mantchev's So Silver Bright ! OMG-Don't you just LOVE it?? Bertie looks amazing as always and again, I totally want her dress! Don't forget you can still enter for a chance to win a *signed* paperback of Eyes Like Stars !

photo credit: Louis Torres Please welcome author Pam Bachorz to GreenBeanTeenQueen. Pam has a new book out, Drought , and is also the author of Candor . What's the best part about writing for YA? What's the hardest? The best part of writing YA is the readers. YA readers get so excited when they find a story that they like. They write the coolest e-mails and post the most enthusiastic reviews. Just tonight I was feeling draggy about sitting down to write, and then I got the sweetest e-mail from a reader who had just finished DROUGHT. It made me feel excited about my story again. The hardest part of writing YA is tuning out the hype when you need to—both about your own stories and about what’s hot in YA right now. The best writing happens, for me, when I can sit at my desk and write like it’s seven or eight years ago, when I was just learning about YA and writing whatever I thought was cool—not even know what other people thought was cool. Why do you think dystopian fiction has

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine . I'm not a regular WoW poster, but I had to share this one. The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin Add to Goodreads About the Book: (from Goodreads) Beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, the wealthiest debutante in America, is spirited away from the glamour and comfort of her Park Avenue mansion and suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, mistress of Lulworth Castle, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. As Cora is soon to discover, nothing in this strange new world is quite as it seems. Her handsome new husband is withdrawn and secretive; the English social scene is stuffed with pitfalls and traps; and there are increasingly dangerous forces at work, people who wish she'd never met Ivo in the first place. THE AMERICAN HEIRESS is a dazzling debut novel from Daisy Goodwin, whose brilliant new voice is reminiscent of Henry James, Edith Wharton, and Kate Morton Why I Want It: Yes it's an adult novel,

The cover for Lisa Mantchev's So Silver Bright is being slowly revealed this week and I've got a sneak peek cover fragment for you! So Silver Bright is the third book is The Theatre Illuminata series and if you've seen the first two covers for the books, you know they're amazing! And not only do I have a sneak peak of the cover, but I have a chance to win a *signed* paperback copy of Eyes Like Stars ! So, ready for your sneak peak??? I know, amazing right??? Don't the fairies look adorable as always? Want to win Eyes Like Stars ? Leave a comment and tell me what play or musical you'd love to see Bertie star in! US only, please leave a way to contact you (e-mail, blog, etc), and contest ends 2/21. About So Silver Bright : Bertie thinks her quest is almost done. With the help of Ariel and the rest of her friends, she has managed to find her father and rescue the kidnapped pirate, Nate, from Sedna the sea goddess. Now all she has to do is reunite her father, T

I know it's Monday, but I've got a special post for Tuesday so Tween Tuesday is early this week!:) Rating: 4/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 8/1/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: In order to save their island schoolhouse, families on Bethsaida Island decide to take in foster children. Tess couldn't be more excited-she's hoping her new foster brother will be like Anne of Green Gables and love the island and her family and want to go out on the fishing boat with her. But when Aaron arrives the only thing he has in common with Anne is red hair. Aaron doesn't like the island, he knows nothing about fishing boats, and most days he just wants to be left alone. But Tess knows a lot about wishing and maybe with more wishing things will turn out the way Tess had hoped. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I was a big fan of Cynthia Lord's debut novel, Rules , so I had high hopes for Touch Blue. While I don't think it's as good as Rules , I still

Valentine's Day is right around the corner so what better time than to find out who your book boyfriend should be? TeenReads.com has a great quiz up to help you discover what literary character you should be spending Valentine's Day with. My book boyfriend? Etienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss . Take the quiz then come back and tell me who your book boyfriend is! Or if your ideal book boyfriend isn't listed as one of the options in the quiz, who do wish would come on Valentine's Day and sweep you away? My biggest book boyfriend remains Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables -major swoon!!

Rating: 4/5 Stars Genre: Graphic Novel Release Date: 8/6/2003 Add to Goodreads About the Book: A memoir about teenage Craig, his first love, faith and art. Sarah Teenlibrarian Says: Blankets is a book I would give someone who says that graphic novels are easy reads. The text and the pictures work together to tell the story and it's a great book to give someone who might typically shy away from graphic novels, since it's a contemporary memoir. At almost 600 pages, Blankets takes some time to read. Sure, it's a graphic novel, so it reads faster than a 600 page novel, but there are lots of details in the artwork that the reader wants to savor while reading. Most of the story is about Craig's first love with a girl he meets at a winter church camp, but there are flashbacks to his childhood. Craig is struggling with his art and figuring out what to do after graduation. At camp he meets Raina and the two begin exchanging letters. Craig visits Raina and they spend two week

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Dystopian Release Date: 3/22/2011 Add to Goodreads About the Book: In the future, scientists have eliminated all disease thanks to the wonders of genetic engineering. But the downfall is that the offspring of those genetic engineered children now have a shorter lifespan-twenty years for women, twenty-five for me. Some still believe in a cure and will do anything they can to find one, including kidnapping and selling young girls into polygamist marriages. Rhine is 16 and finds herself being taken to Housemaster Vaughn's household to be married off to his son, Linden. She refuses to accept this new role and is determined to find a way out. She begins to develop feelings for one of the household staff, Gabriel, and Rhine is convinced she and Gabriel can escape Housemaster Vaughn's clutches. But the world around Rhine is blurring and it's getting harder and harder to see what is real and what is a lie. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Wither was a book I want

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens! Join the fun and post your link below! Rating: 4/5 Stars Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Release Date: 2/1/2011 Add to Goodreads About the Book: (from book) Twelve-year-old Lilia is not a very good servant. She daydreams, she breaks dishes, and her cooking is awful! Still, she hardly deserves to be sold off to the mean-spirited miller and his family. Lilia refuses to accept that dreadful fate, and with her best friend Kai and his sister Karina beside her, she heads north to find the family she's never known. But danger awaits. . . . As their quest leads the threesome through the mysterious and sinister Bitra Forest, they suddenly realize they are lost in the elves' domain. To Lilia's horror, Kai falls under an enchantment cast by the Elf-King's beautiful daughter. The only way for Lilia to break the spell and save Kai is to find a jewel of ancient power that lies somewhere in

Suzanne Selfors has a new book out and I've got a giveaway to celebrate! One lucky winner will recieve a copy of Mad Love and a paperback copy of Coffeehouse Angel . About the Book: When you're the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can't write it. Alice needs a story for her mother—and she needs one fast. That's when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol's voice in her head and see things she can't explain, she must face the truth—that she's either inherited her mother's madness, or Errol is for real. About the Book: When a random act of k

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 1/4/2011 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Alice Amorous is the daughter of the Queen of Romance, so she knows a lot about romance, even if she's never really had a boyfriend. Everyone is waiting for the Queen's next novel, but the Queen is actually away in a hospital dealing with a mental illness, a secret that Alice is trying to keep from the public. When Heartstrings publisher's writes that the latest book is due-or else, Alice knows she has to deliver something. While at a book signing for her mother, Alice meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid. He tells Alice he has the ultimate love story to tell and that he needs her to write it. Could this be the story she's been looking for? And is Errol really the god of love or is Alice going crazy? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I was drawn to this book because of the Cupid storyline. It reminded me a bit of the TV Show Cupid , which I watched in high school a

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary/Mystery Release Date: 10/12/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Vera Dietz just wants to be ignored. She's been secretly in love with her best friend Charlie Kahn for years, but now Charlie is dead and Vera knows the truth about the night he died. Vera and Charlie had been best friends until Charlie started hanging out with evil Jenny Flick and starting changing. But now Vera is haunted by images of Charlie and she holds to key to clearing his name-but is Vera ready to forgive Charlie? Sarah Teenlibrarian Says: OK, my synopsis of this book is terrible because there is so much to this book. I am so thrilled that it won a Printz honor because I think the Printz committee really got it right with Please Ignore Vera Dietz . It has literary merit and I think it has great teen appeal, which don't always combine with award winners. The story is told in alternating voices as well as timelines. We get the present as well the past so we get to see

Join Prom & Prejudice author Elizabeth Eulberg and Tirzah of The Compulsive Reader for a Twitter party Thursday, February 3, between 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST! -Be sure to follow Elizabeth @ElizEulberg and Tirzah @compelledtoread before the party! -Join the fun! No one expects you or your tweets to be perfect; we’re just happy you made it to the party! -Watch for giveaways from @compelledtoread and win fun prizes! -To join the party, you can use a free service like TweetCha t or TweetGrid or just search #PromAndPrejudice on Twitter. -Ask Elizabeth questions or chat with other partygoers—just use the tag #PromAndPrejudice in all of your party tweets! -Please don’t post any spoilers and don’t forget to pay attention to the time zones, the party starts at 8:00pm EST.

So I don't know about you, but here in Missouri we've been stuck in the Snowpocalypse! You can't really tell from the photo, but we have about 12 inches of snow. I've even had two snow days from work! So with all the snow, I was thinking about snow day favorites. What books or movies are go-tos when you have a snow day? Here are a few of mine: - Anne of Green Gables (book or movie)-there really is no better time to re-read or re-watch Anne of Greene Gables than during a snow day. Since the movies are so you long, you can actually watch the whole thing in one day if you have a day off. (But only one and two-never, ever three). And the books are perfect for cuddling up with and enjoying Anne's antics and her romance with Gilbert. -Romance novels-Snow days make me want to curl up and read a cozy read and romance novels are perfect for this! Right now I'm reading the new Jenny B. Jones book, Save the Date, a fun romantic comedy that's perfect for curling up an

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens! Join the fun and add your link below. Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Poetry Release Date: 9/6/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: What happens at night? 12 poems explore animals and plant and their nighttime activities. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: This book wasn't even on my radar until it won a Newbery Honor and I'm glad it won which forced me to pick it up and read it. I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan of poetry, but Ms. Sidman's poems are very enjoyable. She has a very lyrical style and I can easily see this poems being read aloud to all ages. The illustrations are detailed and done in a linoleum-block printmaking technique that stands out. It gives the illustrations a dark, atmospheric feel and you feel as though you are in the woods with the animals. I liked that not only are there poems about animals, but the moon, trees, and plants. Accompanying each poem are short fa