YA Guy Launches... DAUGHTER OF DUST!

YA Guy is thrilled to announce the publication of my new novel, DAUGHTER OF DUST! The first volume in the Book of the Huntress trilogy, this is a novel I've worked on for many years, and it's become very close to my heart. Here's the cover, plus a blurb:

Michelle Simmons watched the eerie yellow fire consume the countryside on her seventeenth birthday. Cut off from home, she's lost in the desolation that remains. When Michelle is discovered by other survivors under the command of Jason, a ruthless leader with a mysterious past, she fears she may never be freed to search for her missing family. And when a video surfaces showing nightmarish creatures with the ability to mimic human beings, Michelle is sure the end has come.

But then Kareem, a teenage boy, arrives in Jason's camp claiming to have lost all memory except one: there is a city nearby, a city that holds the secret to the attacks that shattered Michelle's world. He can take her there, if she's willing to risk leaving Jason's camp behind. What Michelle doesn't know is that there are other, more sinister secrets hiding in the scarred city. And that Kareem might not be what he claims to be.

You can order DAUGHTER OF DUST from Amazon at the following links:

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Huntress-Joshua-David-Bellin/dp/1734831502/

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Dust-Book-Huntress-1-ebook/dp/B087W5YN5G

I hope you love this book as much as I do. And please remember to leave a review--authors rely on reviews to get the word out about books readers love!

YA Guy Interviews... P.L. Tavormina, Author of AEROVOYANT!

YA Guy loves climate fiction (cli-fi), and P.L. Tavormina's novel AEROVOYANT is one of the most original and interesting works I've read in the cli-fi genre! (It also has a really cool cover, as pictured below.) The story of a planet not unlike ours in the early days of industrialization--and of the people who fight against the rapid rise in fossil fuel use, one of them gifted with the power to see the concentration of gases in the atmosphere--AEROVOYANT is both scientifically and narratively rich, and I highly recommend it for readers of cli-fi, sci-fi, and environmental literature.

I had a chance to catch up with the author recently, and here's how our conversation went....

YA Guy: Welcome to the blog!

P.L. Tavormina: Thanks for having me!

YAG: Let's start with some basics. How did you come up with the idea for Aerovoyant? 

PLT: So, for a little background, I grew up watching shows like The Beverly Hillbillies. You remember—this poor family struck it rich from oil on their property, and they moved to Beverly Hills, and hilarity ensued. As a country kid, I loved the whole bumpkin-meets-high-society story, and the idea of buried treasure—I loved that too. In the '70s oil was big, and we were just starting to understand that it's also hugely detrimental to the environment. So that's how I grew up—living through those decades where we collectively learned about the hazards of fossil fuels. When the Exxon Valdez spill happened (in 1989), it became clear to a lot of us that the fossil fuel industry wasn’t as interested in the environment as they ought to be.

So, I became a scientist. In some of my research, I worked on the BP spill (in the Gulf of Mexico, in 2010) and the Aliso Canyon methane leak (in Porter Ranch, California, in 2015). With methane, you can't see the leak except with infrared equipment. That gave me the idea for a character, someone who could see carbon emissions like methane and carbon dioxide, when we burn fossil fuels. My character, Myrta, sees methane, carbon dioxide, and everything else in the air that we don't see or really think about. The Combustion Industry on her planet wants her gone, in essence to hide the damage their industry does.

YAG: That is such a cool concept, and it made for a fascinating story. As a cli-fi writer, what do you think the relationship (or responsibility) of a writer is to the issue of climate change? 

PLT: The beauty of fiction is that it frames issues in creative ways, to help us think along new lines. Climate fiction can take real elements of this environmental crisis—from hurricane refugees to toxic sludge on the seafloor to drought—and place those elements in a relatable frame. 

If cli-fi writers have a specific responsibility (I think we do), it's to get people to act harder toward a better future. Our society needs a "space-race" level of mobilization to slash emissions. Most cli-fi writers agree, most of us bring our passion to our work, and many of us see our responsibility as one of clarifying the climate crisis through stories.

Independent of responsibility, cli-fi writers have an opportunity. We can bring our message at any of a number of levels, whether it's social justice, tangible impacts, or solutions. We're all in this together, and we're all fighting for the same outcome—a more livable future for ourselves and the species we share the ecosystem with.

YAG: As a fellow environmental writer, I share your feelings and convictions. Other than writing, what do you do to raise awareness about climate change? 

PLT: Whatever occurs to me, I do. 😊 When I teach, I integrate impacts of the climate crisis into my lesson plans. When there's a climate strike, I pull out my protest signs and march. Marching in a protest is always a great experience, because you meet so many people who want to protect Earth. I've also written letters to the editor, and I give talks at local libraries on climate and science. I've started bringing the issue up with strangers—saying something as simple as "climate change is real" can really bring a smile to their face and mine. It opens the lines of communication. I keep a blog at www.pltavormina.com, where I share ideas about reducing our carbon footprints. I do whatever I can to help.

YAG: That's great to hear! And what's next for you in the world of storytelling?

PLT: At its heart, Aerovoyant tells the story of a young woman and a young man embracing their strengths to make their world a better place. Having said that, the story also places Earth’s geological history and atmospheric chemistry into accessible form. The story "teaches," hopefully gently and enjoyably, about geology and the atmosphere. 

What’s next? A sequel. I'm writing the manuscript now; it's titled Telomeric. Ultimately, this story is about family. Family of origin and found family—it's a story about values, how we choose what to fight for. But there's a "science end" in the story, again, which is specifically climate impacts and sustainable technologies. 

This writerly journey has been fantastic. I'm meeting people almost daily who care passionately about Earth. The tide is turning. We're doing it—we're getting everyone on board. Look at how the crisis has made its way into Democratic primary debates, into books and movies, into public discourse. Look at the thousands of activists, young and old, turning out every day to raise awareness. There are so many reasons to hope. Human willpower is a force of nature—and what we're building is a better world. 

YAG: I couldn't agree more! It was great talking to you, and I look forward to reading your next book when it's out!

PLT: Thanks once more for having me on the blog, and let's talk again soon!

Readers, here's some additional information about author P.L. Tavormina and Aerovoyant. To buy the book, see the links at the bottom of the page!

About the author: P.L.Tavormina wrote Aerovoyant in 2017 and 2018, and queried agents and presses in 2018 and 2019. She was approached by a small independent press interested in buying the rights, but she ultimately decided to self-publish and get the story out into the world. As she says, the climate crisis is now. Tavormina published Aerovoyant in late 2019 and has been thrilled to have strangers regularly reach out to say they see the world differently after reading the story. 

You can connect with P.L. Tavormina on Twitter and Instagram: @pltavormina. Her website, www.pltavormina.com, has a newsletter signup at pltavormina.com/contact/, a blog at pltavormina.com/blog/ , and occasional climate news.

Buy Aerovoyant on Amazon in print:

www.amazon.com/Aerovoyant-Industrial-Age-P-L-Tavormina/dp/1734170603

or e-book:

www.amazon.com/Aerovoyant-Industrial-Age-P-L-Tavormina-ebook/dp/B081X4T51G

YA Guy Can't Wait for.. These 2019 Books!

YA Guy's always on the lookout for great books. Here are five from the first half of 2019--all but one of them for young readers--that I'm particularly excited about. I'll freely admit that I have a personal connection to each of the five authors (heck, I'll even tell you what that connection is), but at the same time, no one's paying or even prompting me to promote their books. I've listed them in order of release date--and the first one on the list comes out a mere week from today!

Louise Cypress, NARCOSIS ROOM (February 19). We share an agent and (sort of) a moniker--she's the YA Gal, I'm YA Guy--but one other thing we share is a love of twisty, creepy sci-fi stories. Her latest, set in a world where one's looks and identity can be surgically enhanced--or destroyed--will definitely freak you out in the best possible way.

Jessica Khoury, LAST OF HER NAME (February 26). I've loved Khoury's books since her debut, ORIGIN, and I love space operas. (I also love the artwork she drew for two of my own recent novels.) Her latest is a sci-fi retelling of the Anastasia story set in a distant galaxy, and it's just what I need to get through the wintertime.

Kat Ross, INFERNO (March 15). Way back in 2014, Ross and I met as members of a debut YA novelists' group. Since that time, she's put out some of the highest quality fantasy novels I've read, including two series that span the centuries and are linked by common characters. INFERNO, the final book in the Fourth Talisman series, promises to be yet another wickedly fun adventure into the worlds of the weird, the monstrous, and the undead.

Cadwell Turnbull, THE LESSON (June 18). Currently one of the rising young stars in science fiction, Turnbull was once a student of mine at the college where I teach. But trust me, I didn't teach him how to write this novel, a wildly imaginative tale of an alien race that settles for unknown purposes in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Nick Courage, STORM BLOWN (July 16). Pittsburgh author Courage writes the kind of books my kids loved when they were still kids. (Now the one in high school reads ancient history, and the one in college reads what she has to read for her classes.) His latest, which focuses on children battling a hurricane, sounds like a high-energy thrill ride.

YA Guy Reviews... CROSS FIRE by Fonda Lee!

YA Guy's favorite YA science fiction author is Fonda Lee.

There. I said it.

While I like and admire lots of YA science fiction writers--Paolo Bacigalupi, Amie Kaufman, AdriAnne Strickland, Parker Peevyhouse, M. T. Anderson--Lee is at the top of my list. I've loved all of her sci-fi books, starting with ZEROBOXER and moving on to EXO and, now, CROSS FIRE. (I'll confess I didn't get into her fantasy novel JADE CITY, but that's not a reflection on its quality; it just wasn't my type of story.) I love her world-building, character development, eye for action sequences, and--in particular--her willingness to explore moral problems without settling on simple answers. In too much YA sci-fi, the world is neatly divided into nefarious (often adult) villains and virtuous (typically teen) heroes, who might have some superficial character flaws but who always manage to do what's right in the end. In Lee's books, the picture is much more complicated.

Take CROSS FIRE. It's the sequel to EXO, which featured a future Earth colonized by the alien zhree. Unlike most races in alien-invasion narratives, the zhree didn't come to destroy Earth but to colonize it and, to some extent, to share their superior technology with the human race. Thus they've rebuilt Earth's cities, incorporated many of Earth's citizens into their government and trades, and biologically enhanced a select group of human beings, including main character Donovan Reyes, to share the zhree's virtually indestructible battle armor. But there are some people, including the radical group Sapience, who hate the zhree and those humans who work along with them. Sapience wants to take Earth back, and they'll fight and kill to do it.

With this kind of premise, it's hard to draw clean lines between the "good guys" and "bad guys." Sapience is viewed by many in Donovan's world as a terrorist organization, and there's validity to that viewpoint--but at the same time, their admirable desire for human independence complicates the reader's response to them. By the same token, if the zhree seem generally willing to share their technology and their resources with humanity, there's no doubt that humans are second-class citizens in zhree society, and that becomes all the more apparent in CROSS FIRE, where the zhree decide that Earth is too costly to maintain and make plans to evacuate, knowing full well that their departure will leave the planet vulnerable to other alien races bent on the annihilation of humankind. Under that scenario, Donovan is faced with a wrenching choice: to stay behind on a threatened planet in order to defend his own species, or to accept the zhree's offer to take a tiny percentage of the human population, himself included, with them.

It's just at this point in the narrative, though, that I feel Lee adopts a course that reduces some of the moral complexity she's established. I don't want to give anything away, but suffice it to say that the book takes a turn at its approximate midpoint that makes Donovan's choice no less physically demanding but somewhat less ethically challenging. Later in the book, a second turn--one that, like the first, hinges on the sudden appearance of a fresh threat just at the moment of a critical decision on Donovan's part--similarly serves to draw somewhat cleaner lines between heroes and villains. I wonder how Lee would have worked out the issues she set up if these plot twists had not occurred, and whether that resolution would have been more morally murky but intellectually satisfying.

That being said, I loved CROSS FIRE and found it in some ways even better than its predecessor (which is rare for sequels). If you're interested in reading Lee's book, leave a comment on this blog post; I'll be giving the book away to one person chosen at random from the comments.

YA Guy Publishes... Short Stories!

Way back when, before YA Guy was (officially) YA Guy, I published short stories--science fiction, horror, and fantasy mostly, though occasionally I'd dip into contemporary realism. Short fiction was my way of getting back into writing after a long hiatus, and it was incredibly rewarding to finish a story and, from time to time, see my name in print.

Though I've focused on writing novels in the years since, I've felt for a long time that it would be fun to collect some of my short stories--most of them originally published in obscure places that are hard to track down--for readers to enjoy. Thanks to my recent discovery of self-publishing, I've done just that, and I'm happy to present the result: TEN TALES OF TERROR AND TERRA, an e-book collection that's available for free on Amazon, B&N, and other online bookstores.

Of the ten stories, one or two might be considered YA--at least, they have youthful protagonists. But for the most part, the stories are aimed at a mature readership (which is not to say they're full of sex and graphic violence!). Some of them experiment with language, such as an apocalyptic tale told from the point of view of a non-human character and a horror story about a man who's losing his ability to speak. Others are fairy-tale adaptations, including the lead story, "Scarecrow," which is narrated by the straw man from The Wizard of Oz. There's a deep-space colonization narrative, a story about demonic possession and/or madness, a tale (narrated in the second person) about the invention of a technological afterlife. There's some pretty cool stuff, I think.

And, like I said, it's free. So pick up a copy, and enjoy!

YA Guy Experiences...Self-Publishing!

YA Guy's self-published novel Ecosystem came out last month. A survival story set on a future Earth in which the physical environment has evolved into a sentient predator, it's on sale for only 99 cents through May 25, if you want to check it out.

Ecosystem isn't the first novel I've self-published--that distinction goes to The Passing of Boss Krenkel, which came out several years ago--but it's the first self-published novel I've taken seriously. I splurged a bit on cover and interior design, and I'm doing much more to market the book than I did with Boss Krenkel. I don't expect to become a millionaire on this book or any self-published book--but then, I wasn't becoming a millionaire on my traditionally published novels, either. I do, however, see Ecosystem (which is the first in a three-book series) as the start of what might turn out to be a viable alternative path for me as a writer.

The decision to take the self-publishing route is a personal one, and I'd never be one of those writing-advice gurus who tell people that the ONLY way to go is to self-publish. (By the same token, I wouldn't tell anyone that traditional publishing is the only legitimate option.) Having experienced both forms of publishing, I can confidently state that they both have their advantages and disadvantages. I won't belabor the obvious, but I will take a few moments to talk about the three major factors that appeal to me about self-publishing.

1. Creative control. This is huge for me, as it probably is for most authors who self-publish. To start with, I like the idea of not having anyone tell me that a story concept that intrigues me isn't "marketable" enough or doesn't fit into a convenient category. Ecosystem is an ecological, post-apocalyptic survival story with elements of both science fiction and fantasy, featuring a teen protagonist but possessing crossover adult appeal. That might be a hard sell for many, possibly most, traditional publishers. By self-publishing, I can forego these gatekeepers and put out a book that's close to my heart as a writer. I did hire a freelance editor--I think every self-published writer owes it to themselves to do so--but in the end, the final decision about form and content was mine; I didn't need to convince anyone that my creative vision was sound, or argue with anyone who didn't like a choice I'd made. I'm not going to badmouth anybody, least of all the editor for my first three books--who undeniably made those books better than they were when they left my hands--but I felt the need to spread my creative wings and venture out on my own, and through self-publishing, I had that opportunity.

2. Speed. Traditional publishing is incredibly slow. It was two years between the two books of my Survival Colony series, which is an awfully long time to wait. With self-publishing, I can make books available to readers as quickly as they can be written, revised, edited, designed, and published. Ecosystem came out in April, I'm currently preparing a collection of science fiction short stories for publication no later than July, the sequel to Ecosystem will appear by November, and the final book in the trilogy will be available by early 2019. Putting books out quickly isn't necessarily a good thing in itself, but as with my desire to control my books creatively, I like having the power to control when and where they appear.

3. No pressure. For me, this is probably the biggest benefit to self-publishing. As a writer, I hate pressure: the pressure of external deadlines, the pressure of other people's expectations, the pressure to sell large numbers of books. Maybe some writers thrive under such pressures; I find that they kill creativity and strip the joy out of writing. I've wanted to be a writer since I was six years old--and I've wanted to be a writer because I love telling stories, not because I want to become rich and famous. But in traditional publishing, the pressure to meet certain standards or hit certain targets is always there, whether that be the pressure to "earn out" your advance, to have a new book ready to satisfy the option in your contract, or to "outperform" your previous books. With self-publishing, the only pressure I feel is internal, and it's a good pressure: the pressure to tell the stories I want to tell, the way I want to tell them.

At this point, it's too early to say which direction I'll ultimately take as a writer--whether I'll go hybrid, self-publishing some books and traditionally publishing others, or whether I'll settle into self-publishing exclusively. For the time being, I'm still working with an agent on some of my projects, including one that she's shopping around right now. I'm not fretting about the future; I'm just enjoying the moment. And I hope, if anyone out there is weighing the possibility of self-publishing, this post will help you to make your decision.

YA Guy Lists... His 2017 Top Ten!

YA Guy didn't read as many books as usual in 2017. In my defense, among the books I did read, several were whoppers, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame (500+ pages), The Sword of Shannara (700+ pages), Dune (900+ pages), and The Count of Monte Cristo (1200+ pages). So when compiling my yearly Top 10--which, true to my name, I try to confine to YA and MG--I didn't have quite as many books to choose from as I typically do.

But I still read some great stuff. Here are the best of the bunch, listed in no particular order. I focused this year's list exclusively on science fiction and fantasy, so some great realist fiction (for instance, Sabrina Fedel's debut LEAVING KENT STATE) didn't make the cut. Most of these are 2017 releases, though a few are from late 2016.

Fonda Lee, EXO. A refreshing take on the alien-invasion narrative, Lee's second novel is driven by ethical and emotional issues rather than by implausible victories over advanced civilizations (in the manner of the Independence Day movies). To give you an idea of how highly I value Lee's work, I nominated EXO for a Nebula Award, and I believe it deserves to win. Oh, and there's a sequel, CROSS FIRE, coming in 2018!

Philip Reeve, RAILHEAD. Miraculous world-building in a galaxy where light-speed trains (yes, trains) cruise from planet to planet and godlike intelligences rule the masses. The character development is a bit lacking, but the worlds (and the trains) are stunning. I haven't yet read the sequel, BLACK LIGHT EXPRESS, but I hope to get to it soon.

Lisa Maxwell, THE LAST MAGICIAN. This New York Times bestseller features time-traveling thieves, a gritty depiction of turn-of-the-century New York, and enough magical razzle-dazzle to keep the pages flipping. There's a sequel coming out (I believe) next year, so stay tuned!

Michael Northrop, POLARIS. The sole Middle Grade entry on this year's list, Northrop's novel is historical science fiction about a Darwinesque voyage to the Amazon that returns bearing a horrific passenger. Particularly notable for its realistic sailing details, which perfectly ground the flights of science fantasy.

Cindy Pon, WANT. This novel, which takes place in a future Taipei that's even more radically divided by wealth than in the present, has a wonderfully realized setting, appealing characters, and a thoughtful message for our own time. The book has made numerous Top 10 lists, and deservedly so.

Paolo Bacigalupi, TOOL OF WAR. The third and, I assume, final installment in the author's Ship Breaker series, this book isn't quite as strong as the first two. But Bacigalupi is a master at rendering the peoples and places of a climate-ravaged future Earth, and his semihuman protagonist, Tool, is one of the great science fiction inventions of all time.

Jennifer Brody, THE 13TH CONTINUUM. When Earth's surface is rendered uninhabitable for a thousand years, a handful of survivors escape into deep space and the deep ocean. Now they're returning--if, that is, the totalitarian societies that have developed during that millennium will allow them. A fast-moving and fascinating dystopian tale, first in a series.

Michael Miller and AdriAnne Strickland, SHADOW RUN. There were parts of this deep-space adventure--the parts set on-planet--that I found less than gripping. But the scenes in outer space, where a small vessel "fishes" for the volatile substance known as Shadow, were full-on awesome. If memory serves, a sequel is due for this one, too.

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, GEMINA. Book 2 of the wildly imaginative Illuminae Files trilogy, this tale couldn't quite match the intensity and physical creativity of the first book, but it came darn close. The final book in the trilogy, OBSIDIO, will be out in 2018.

Joshua David Bellin, FREEFALL. Oh, come on, I can put my own book on my list, can't I? But seriously, I'm a fan of this deep-space colonization novel that features a class-divided Earth, a revolutionary teen prophet from the global underclass, and frightening outer space monsters--both human and otherwise.







Happy reading, everyone! See you in 2018!

YA Guy Releases... FREEFALL!

That's right, folks: today is release day for YA Guy's deep-space adventure FREEFALL!

It seems like forever ago that I first conceived this book--and in fact, I originally drafted it back in 2013, the first time I participated in NaNoWriMo. Then there was the year I set it aside to work on other projects, then the year of revising, then the acceptance by my publisher in early 2016, then the interminable wait for the actual publication.... But it's here now, and I hope you'll agree it was worth the wait!

To celebrate the release of FREEFALL, here are some things you can do:

BUY THE BOOK

Amazon buy link

Other buy links

READ SOME REVIEWS

Kelly Vision

Other reviews

ENTER GIVEAWAYS

Jean Book Nerd

Adventures in YA Publishing

READ THE FIRST CHAPTER

Littsburgh

WATCH THE TRAILER

YouTube

You can also take a picture of the book and post it to social media, or help spread the word by tweeting, reblogging, chatting with friends, or whatever. If you post a picture of the book online and tag me to make sure I see it, I'll send you one of these cool prop-replica packs as a thank you!

I hope you enjoy FREEFALL, and thanks for helping me launch it to the stars!

YA Guy Launches... FREEFALL!

YA Guy's newest science fiction novel, FREEFALL, hits the shelves next month (September 26, to be exact), so I'm celebrating a few days early with a launch party on September 24. If you're in or near the Pittsburgh area, please stop by--there will be good conversation, signed books for sale, food and drink, and cool giveaways (I promise).

Hope to see you there!

YA Guy Is Looking to Buy... YA Historical Fiction!

YA Guy's currently putting the wraps on a science fiction novel I plan to send to my agent. After that, I think I'm going to turn to a genre of YA that's new to me as a writer: historical fiction.

I love history almost as much as I love literature. In fact, I often think of the two as intertwined, if not interchangeable. Back in the days when I was writing and publishing literary criticism, I did as much historical research as literary research, and I was fascinated by how historical documents can be read as literature (and vice versa). So I'm eager to sink my teeth into a project requiring research and (unlike the novels I've written to date) the imaginative creation of a world from the past, not the future.

But here's the thing: I haven't read a whole lot of YA historical fiction, and I'd like to get my hands on some good models so as to immerse myself in the genre. I've read THE BOOK THIEF, CHAINS, ELEPHANT RUN, and some other excellent examples--but I want more. For the next several months, I want to read nothing but YA historical fiction, until it seeps into my pores and pours out of my fingers as readily as science fiction does.

So here's what I'm asking you, dear readers: suggest some YA historical fiction titles that I should read. If they're books you love, chances are I'll love them too. If they're your own books, all the better--I'm in the mood to buy, and review, and publicize. In fact, I plan to buy the first 10 titles recommended to me that sound interesting enough. Ten books should keep me busy reading for a while.

Leave your recommendations in the comments section, and if you want to direct me to the book, leave a link as well. I'll read straight YA historical fiction from any place or time period, and I'll also read YA alt-history if you've got any. I'll read hybrids too: YA historical horror, for instance. The only books I'm not eager to read are 1.) steampunk (I'm trying to stay away from sci-fi) and 2.) books that plop a conventional YA love triangle into a historical period and call it historical fiction. I like romance if it serves a larger historical purpose--for instance, I'd love to read a YA historical novel featuring an interracial couple set during a time of intense racial conflict. I'm just not looking for any teen bodice-rippers.

YA Guy thanks you for your help, and I look forward to your recommendations!

YA Guy Lists... His Top 10 YA Sci-Fi!

In an earlier post, YA Guy promised to get around to listing my favorite YA science fiction novels. Having written that, I decided there's no time like the present. This list isn't in any particular order; everything on it is as good as it gets.

Chris Howard, Rootless. A wildly imaginative novel about a world without trees and a young man who constructs artificial ones. The imagery is wonderfully bizarre, the voice unlike any other. The two books that follow, The Rift and The Reckoning, aren't quite the equal of the original, but they're well worth reading nonetheless.

Fonda Lee, Zeroboxer. I give this book a slight edge over Lee's follow-up, Exo (though as you'll see if you read my review of the latter, I loved that book too). The story of a young athlete who fights in zero-G arenas, Lee's debut is distinguished by its visceral and very convincing fight scenes, its otherworldly settings, and its perceptive social commentary. Many sci-fi writers excel at either action-packed or thought-provoking stories. Lee excels at both.

Phillip Reeve, Railhead. Set in a galaxy where light-speed trains (not starships) zip from one planet to another, this book is a bit short on characterization but light-years long on dazzling, innovative world-building.

J. Barton Mitchell, the Conquered Earth trilogy. I've been singing the praises of this series for years, and I hope people are listening. Comprising Midnight City, The Severed Tower, and Valley of Fires, this epic story of aliens who master humanity via a telepathic signal that reduces all but teens to slavery features some of the most imaginative settings I've ever encountered, particularly the Strange Lands, where the laws of physics go haywire. The representation of diverse teen-led cultures that have developed in the absence of adults is notable too, as is the appealing cast of characters.

Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker.  Unlike many YA science fiction writers, Bacigalupi writes sci-fi for adults too. And it shows: Ship Breaker feels like the work of an artist with a deep knowledge of and respect for the genre, not that of a dabbler trying to cash in on a craze. Ship Breaker, the tale of a young man's odyssey in a post-fossil fuel era, is excellent, and its sequel, The Drowned Cities, is nearly as good, particularly in its further development of the most fascinating character from the first book, the hybrid "half-man" Tool.

M. T. Anderson, Feed. The twisted tale of a future society in which everyone sports a "feed"--a link to the internet wired directly into their brain--this book is hilarious and scary in equal measure. One of the best YA science fiction satires I've ever read.

Mindy McGinnis, Not a Drop to Drink. Along with its sequel, In a Handful of Dust, this stark representation of a world with barely any potable water is just barely science fiction--which is not to say it's not believable. On the contrary, without resorting to high-tech gadgetry or other hallmarks of the sci-fi trade, McGinnis does an utterly convincing job of portraying a future that looms dangerously close at the present moment.

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, Illuminae. When I first heard of this book, I'll admit I thought it sounded gimmicky. But when I read it, I was blown away by the technique, as the story of a spaceship fleeing interplanetary assault and at the mercy of a HAL-like computer is told through a series of hacked documents and mind-blowing typographic effects. The tale isn't quite as original as the telling, but the two in conjunction will keep you rocketing along. I haven't read the next book in the series, Gemina, but I'm definitely planning to.

Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games trilogy. There are not only a number of great sci-fi contrivances in these books--mutts, the Arena in Catching Fire, the pods in Mockingjay--but on the whole, the series offers a highly effective satire of violence in the entertainment media. What makes the endless copycat stories so vastly inferior is their failure to attempt anything similar: they've got a girl with a gun, but they don't have the sharp satirical sensibility of Collins's books.

James Dashner, The Maze Runner trilogy. The prequels are terrible, so don't waste your time. And the trilogy gets increasingly frantic and unbelievable as it progresses. But the Maze and the Grievers are brilliant sci-fi inventions, with the Scorch not far behind.


So there you have it, folks. Enjoy these books, and drop me a line if you have any suggestions. I'm always looking for good, original, compelling YA sci-fi!

YA Guy Reviews... EXO by Fonda Lee!

Being YA Guy, I read a lot of YA science fiction. I've always loved sci-fi, and my own novels are in the genre. So I'd say one-third to one-half of the YA titles I read every year are billed as science fiction.

But you know, most of them are really bad.

Derivative plots. Weak or nonexistent science. Magic instead of logic. Zero philosophical complexity. Heavy petting and happy endings where I'm looking for ambiguity and enduring questions.

The problem, it seems to me, is that far too many writers of ostensible YA science fiction aren't really interested in sci-fi. They don't know it; they don't care about it; they don't feel it. They write it, I can only speculate, because it's popular in the wake of titles like The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Divergent (which, whatever strengths it might have, is very weak science fiction). Instead of being lifelong lovers and advocates of the genre, they're dabblers. They write romantic fairy tales set in the future and call it science fiction, and those of us who cherish the genre are, I think, rightfully appalled.

All of this is preliminary to announcing that Fonda Lee, author of Zeroboxer (2015) and the brand-new Exo, is an exception to the above. She writes YA, but she's a true science fiction writer: in her heart, in her mind, in her blood. She knows the genre--its history, its traditions--and she pays tribute to it while extending it in exciting ways. That's what makes her so good.

Exo tells the story of Donovan Reyes, a teen soldier on a future Earth that's been colonized by an alien species. After years of war in which humanity suffered greatly at the hands of a technologically superior race, an accommodation has been reached between us and them; though the aliens effectively run the show, they've shared certain aspects of their technology with humankind, incorporated some humans into their kinship networks, and biologically transformed a select group of human beings, including Donovan, to exude an exoskeletal armor covering at will. When Donovan's captured by humans-first terrorists and forced to confront their beliefs head-on, his allegiance to the alien regime is called into question. And when he's required to choose between his father, who's a key figure in the accommodationist government, and an equally important person from his past, who's a central member of the terrorist group, Donovan's conflict comes to a head.

I didn't love everything about Exo; some of the emotional turning-points in the early going felt rushed to me, while the ending felt emotionally but not entirely intellectually satisfying. But what I did love about the book far made up for what I didn't: the imaginative rendering of an alien civilization; the plausible representation of human life under a colonizing power; the probing philosophical questions and moral quandaries; and, quite frankly, the really cool exocel armor system. There's action aplenty in Exo, and some romance too, but I never felt the way I feel about too much YA science fiction: that the futuristic setting is an excuse for lots of poorly executed fighting and smooching scenes. In Exo, the science fiction comes first, and that's the way it should be.

One of these days, I'm going to get around to compiling a list of my favorite YA science fiction books and authors. When I do, I'll share it here. And you can be sure that Fonda Lee and Exo will be on it.

YA Guy Welcomes... Jennifer Bardsley, author of DAMAGED GOODS!

YA Guy is thrilled to welcome my good friend, Jennifer Bardsley, to the blog! DAMAGED GOODS, the second book in her YA science fiction series, has just been released, and Jennifer was kind enough to stop by and answer some questions.

YA Guy: Hi, Jennifer, and welcome to the blog! Can you tell us about DAMAGED GOODS and the Blank Slate series?

Jennifer Bardsley: Thank you so much for having me on The YA Guy! I always joke that it's like we are Internet married because my Facebook page is called The YA Gal. (And side note, you were really cool about me ripping off your idea on that one.) I'm so happy to be chatting with you today because you and I both write Sci-Fi and speculative fiction, which are my favorite types of books to read.

My newest book is called DAMAGED GOODS, and is the sequel to GENESIS GIRL which came out last year. They are about a teenager named Blanca who has never been on the Internet. Her lack of a digital footprint makes her so valuable that she gets auctioned off the highest bidder. In GENESIS GIRL readers find out why Blanca was shielded from the Internet her entire childhood and how that impacted her life. In DAMAGED GOODS Blanca struggles to move past her sheltered upbringing and doles out justice to bad guys from her past.

YAG: Sounds awesome! Have you always liked sci-fi? If so, what are some of your favorite stories (books, movies, or both), and why are you into them?

JB: I have always loved Sci-Fi because it's the ultimate escape. In high school Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut were two of my favorite authors and I watched all of the "Star Trek Next Generation" episodes on repeat, These days, if I turn on one episode of "Battlestar Galatica" I will spend the next forty eight hours binge-watching and morph into that couple from "Portlandia" who are the biggest "Battlestar Galatica" fans ever.

YAG: Cool! Now what about the other half of the equation--the Young Adult half. What appeals to you about YA?

JB: As an adult reader, I love young adult fiction because it's the chance to revisit high school and have fun. When I was in high school, I was so focused on grades and getting into a good college that I never went to a wild party or got caught in an epic love triangle. But I also enjoy YA because they so often include stories of teens taking control of their own lives and forging their own paths.

YAG: You've got a great agent (as I know, since she's mine as well) and have built a great platform for yourself and your books. Any tips for beginning writers about how to achieve success?

JB: My biggest tip for writers would be to not give up. This industry is challenging on so many levels, but there are multiple ways to achieve success. My second tip would be to put your manuscript away for three months and then come back to it with new eyes. I'm a big believer in revision. I never give anything to my agent unless I've revised it twenty-two times, and that includes incorporating feedback from multiple beta readers.

YAG: Excellent advice! Last question: tell us something funny or unusual about yourself that few people know!

JB: People who already follow me on social media already know that I have a poodle named Merlin, but what they don't know is that Merlin has a fetish for old ladies. We think Merlin must have been owned by an elderly woman who died before he went to the shelter that we adopted him from. Merlin is a sweet dog to begin with and friendly with everyone, but when he sees a woman of a certain age, he becomes ecstatic. My kids and I joke that Merlin's dream vacation would be a week at a retirement home.

YAG: Okay, not even your internet husband YA Guy knew that story! Readers, if you want to learn more about Jennifer and her books, here's where to go:

Jennifer Bardsley writes the column “I Brake for Moms” for The Everett Daily Herald. Her novel Genesis Girl debuted in 2016 from Month9Books, with the sequel, Damaged Goods, releasing in 2017. Genesis Girl is about a teenager who has never been on the Internet. Jennifer, however, is on the web all the time as “The YA Gal” with over 21,000 followers on Facebook, 19,500 followers on Instagram, and 9,000 followers on Twitter. On Facebook, she hosts the weekly instant book club called #TakeALookTuesday where YA Gal friends geek out, share pictures of what they are reading, and chat about books. Jennifer is a member of SCBWI, The Sweet Sixteens debut author group, and is founder of Sixteen To Read. An alumna of Stanford University, Jennifer lives near Seattle, WA where she enjoys spending time with her family and her poodle, Merlin.

Title: DAMAGED GOODS (Blank Slate #2)

Author: Jennifer Bardsley

Pub. Date: January 17, 2017

Publisher: Month9Books

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 300

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | TBD

Blanca has everything she ever wanted, a hot boyfriend named Seth and the loving support of her foster father, Cal. She’s finally escaped the abusive control of her birth father, Barbelo Nemo, and her tortured childhood at Tabula Rasa School.

But the scars of Blanca’s Vestal upbringing run deep, especially when the FBI starts asking questions. Blanca feels abandoned by Seth who is hunting for Lilith, Blanca’s only blood relative. The Defectos, a support group of Vestal-Rejects, offer Blanca comfort instead.

While the Vestal order crumbles, Chinese rivals called the Guardians rise to power and wrest control of important Tabula Rasa contacts. Now Blanca’s life is in peril once more, and this time, Blanca struggles to recognize friend from foe.

Title: GENESIS  GIRL (Blank Slate #1)

Author: Jennifer Bardsley

Pub. Date: June 14, 2016

Publisher: Month9Books

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 280

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Books A Million | Google Play | IndieBound

Eighteen-year-old Blanca has lived a sheltered life. Her entire childhood has been spent at Tabula Rasa School where she’s been protected from the Internet. 

Blanca has never been online and doesn’t even know how to text. Her lack of a virtual footprint makes her extremely valuable, and upon graduation, Blanca and those like her are sold to the highest bidders.

Blanca is purchased by Cal McNeal, who uses her to achieve personal gain. But the McNeals are soon horrified by just how obedient and non-defiant Blanca is. All those mind-numbing years locked away from society have made her mind almost impenetrable. 

By the time Blanca is ready to think for herself, she is trapped. Her only chance of escape is to go online.

YA Guy Reveals... The FREEFALL Cover!

YA Guy is ecstatic to let the world see at last what I first saw a couple of months ago: the cover to my forthcoming deep-space adventure/romance FREEFALL! You can check out the reveal on Riveted, but you can also take a look at it right here:

I totally love this cover: the colors, the layout, the representation of the main characters, the outer space backdrop, the everything. I think the folks at Simon & Schuster did a tremendous job, and I hope you agree!

Here's the blurb for the book:

In the Upperworld, the privileged 1% are getting ready to abandon a devastated planet Earth. And Cam can’t wait to leave. After sleeping through a 1,000-year journey, he and his friends will have a pristine new planet to colonize. And no more worries about the Lowerworld and its 99% of rejects.

Then Cam sees a banned video feed of protesters in the Lowerworld who also want a chance at a new life. And he sees a girl with golden eyes who seems to be gazing straight though the feed directly at him. A girl he has to find. Sofie.

When Cam finds Sofie, she opens his eyes to the unfairness of what’s happening in their world, and Cam joins her cause for Lowerworld rights. He also falls hard for Sofie. But Sofie has her own battles to fight, and when it’s time to board the spaceships, Cam is alone.

Waking up 1,000 years in the future, Cam discovers that he and his shipmates are far off-course, trapped on an unknown and hostile planet. Who has sabotaged their ship? And does it have anything to do with Sofie, and the choices—and the enemies—he made in the past?

FREEFALL is due out on August 29, 2017. It's not yet available for pre-order, but you can add it to your Goodreads TBR list.

I'd love to hear what you think about the cover, so feel free to drop me a comment!

YA Guy is... Done with Dystopian!

Industry insiders have been saying for years that dystopian is dead. From what YA Guy can tell, that's not really true.

But it should be.

It took me a while, but I've finally gotten tired of dystopian YA. There's just too darn much of it. And too darn much of it is too darn much alike.

It goes like this. There's a City. (And yes, everything in dystopian YA is Capitalized to make it seem more Portentous than it really Is.) This City is surrounded by a Wall. People are either trying to get Out of it (because it's oppressive) or get Into it (because it's oppressive, but it has Really Good Cake). A Teenager who's a Rebel in some fashion--s/he Hunts, or Reads, or is Not Like Other People--goes Over or Under or Through the Wall and Discovers the Horrific Truth about Reality. Then s/he does two things: s/he engages in a Love Triangle, and s/he starts a Revolution. Both of which will probably take Three Books to be resolved so the Publisher can make Lots of Money.

You know you've read this story before. It's The Hunger Games (or, if you want to go farther back, The Giver, which has the advantage of being a stand-alone). It's not a bad story at all: it's got action, romance, excitement, death, redemption. It's a story that's found its way, in whole or in part, into many other books that aren't strictly dystopian. It's simultaneously simple and powerful, and that's why it's so appealing. If you're a writer in any speculative genre, I bet you've used elements of it. I know I have.

But oh, gosh, in its pure form, I think it's time to call it quits.

Dystopian YA--unless I'm reading the wrong dystopian YA--has become too formulaic to carry on. It's become nothing but formula, with the only changeable parts being the characters' and the City's names. For me, at least, it doesn't interest anymore, and that's because, while I'm reading it, I can't help reading through it to the formula beneath. Formulas--or, if you want to be literary about it, tropes--aren't a bad thing in themselves. They're one of the major building blocks of literature, not to mention one of the major ways readers identify with particular stories. But when they ossify, when they become greater than the story they're supposed to serve, they're done.

There are many ways to overcome stale formulas, and as literature for adults demonstrates, these don't necessarily involve eliminating dystopian altogether. One could, for example, create dystopian parodies, works that use the formulas in order to poke fun at them. One could reinvent dystopian storylines by generating unique hybrids: dystopian comedy, or dystopian picaresque, or dystopian metafiction, or dystopian backstage drama. One could play against the dystopian formulas in unexpected ways, such that the City, for example, turns out to be genuinely, and not just apparently, utopian. There are plenty of approaches to reinvigorating dead or dying tropes. If you know of any YA books that do any of the above (or that revitalize dystopian in some other way), please let me know.

But if you want me to read the latest straight-up YA dystopian, I think I'll pass. I've climbed that Wall one too many times.

YA Guy Announces... The SCAVENGER OF SOULS blog tour!

YA Guy's beyond thrilled to announce the official blog tour for SCAVENGER OF SOULS, which releases on August 23!

Here are the great bloggers who are participating in the tour:

8/16 Dianne Salerni: Writer of Teen and Middle Grade Fiction

8/17 Stephanie Keyes, Author

8/18 Margo Kelly

8/19 Kat Ross

8/20 Christina Farley

8/21 Jeanz Book Read N Review

8/22 Gold from the Dust

8/24 Katie L. Carroll Observation Desk
8/26 Strands of Thought

8/29 Eric Price
8/30 Yvonne Ventresca's Word Pop

On these blog stops, you'll find interviews, reviews, and an excerpt from the book, and you'll have a chance to enter a giveaway to win a signed copy of SCAVENGER OF SOULS plus swag (bookmarks and T-shirt)! Here's the Rafflecopter giveaway, which will also be available on the above-named blogs:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Scavenger awaits! Let the tour begin!

YA Guy Reviews... THE RECKONING by Chris Howard!

YA Guy's been saying it for years: Chris Howard is one of the most inventive and original writers in YA science fiction.

I hope people have been listening.

Howard first caught my attention with ROOTLESS, the series opener in a post-apocalyptic trilogy about a future Earth without trees and the young man, Banyan, who builds facsimiles thereof. Ingeniously bizarre--bordering at times on the Boschian grotesque--and written in a voice like none other, ROOTLESS convinced me that Howard was something special.

It was a long while before the next book in the trilogy, THE RIFT, appeared. That one upped the ante on its predecessor, giving us such gleefully weird imagery as a man with trees for legs, resuscitated mammoths with purple fur, and upside-down mountains under which strange dreams are dreamt. I waited an even longer time for the denouement, THE RECKONING; in the meantime, Howard put out another book, NIGHT SPEED, narrated by a teen who's hooked on the drug she takes to chase down criminals who've been given superhuman strength and speed by the same drug. Make no mistake, Howard doesn't tell neat or easy stories, and he doesn't cleave to formula. He writes his own thing, and leaves it to his reader to decide.

THE RECKONING, it must be said, wasn't my favorite book of the ROOTLESS trilogy; I'd probably give pride of place to the first book, if only because it so blew me away when I read it. (But then, that's the way it often is with trilogies; THE HUNGER GAMES is the best book of the three, as is THE MAZE RUNNER.) THE RECKONING drags a bit in the first third, as lots of exposition gets packaged as dialogue; conversely, the final third feels rushed, with the action taking place in a city we've waited the whole trilogy to visit but then don't spend enough time exploring. Part of my disappointment, I'm sure, stemmed from the fact that I knew this was the last time I'd have the chance to sink into this particular world, and so I set the bar impossibly high. Notwithstanding, I still loved THE RECKONING, and the trilogy as a whole remains a personal favorite.

So I'll say it once more: Chris Howard is one of the most inventive and original writers in YA science fiction.

I hope people are listening.

YA Guy Reviews... NIGHT SPEED by Chris Howard (plus a giveaway)!

Chris Howard is one of YA Guy's favorite authors.

I read his debut Rootless, the first in a YA science fiction duology (soon to be a trilogy) about a future world without trees, back in 2013. I was impressed by his originality of both vision and voice; he tells great, twisted stories in haunting, sometimes painful, but always beautiful language. If you haven't read Rootless and its sequel, The Rift, I suggest you do yourself a favor and track the books down right away.

Which brings me to Howard's latest, the near-future YA science fiction novel Night Speed. I've been eagerly awaiting this book since I heard about it last year, but I also harbored the tiniest bit of anxiety--like, "can he do it again?" anxiety. I didn't want to be let down.

I shouldn't have worried. Night Speed is brilliant.

Inasmuch as the book's about a dangerously addictive street drug, tetra, that gives its users a brief burst of superhuman speed and strength, it's tempting to say I was hooked from page one. But that's not entirely true, because it took me a while to appreciate the main character, Alana West, a teen who works for the elite Tetra Response Unit (TRU) to chase down the "breaknecks" who wreak havoc while high on tetra. To do that, she has to take tetra herself--which means she risks becoming what she hates. Like all tetra users, Alana knows the "rush" won't last forever; only teens can use it, because adult bodies can't handle the powerful stimulant. But she continues using tetra for two reasons: because she feels guilty about the injury her younger brother suffered at the hands of a breakneck, and--frankly--because she's as in love with the rush as the criminals she hunts down.

It's a gutsy move to tell this story from the point of view of a drug addict, one whose increasingly out-of-control actions are hard to condone, even if her initial motivation for joining the TRU stemmed from a desire to spare others the pain she and her family feel. Howard could have taken the easy way out and made Alana noble or pitiable or self-sacrificing--but he resists that impulse, choosing instead to get inside her addiction and understand it in all its ugly complexity. When Alana goes undercover to try to shut down the dealer who's flooding the streets with tetra, the gang of breaknecks she joins emerges as a cast of equally well-rounded characters, with their own reasons and rationalizations for their reckless pursuit of pleasure at the cost of their own lives and the lives of others. Alana might be the story's hero, but she's as damaged--and as damned--as the rest of them.

But that's the great thing about NIGHT SPEED, and it's the great thing about Chris Howard. He's not looking for simple "good vs. evil" stories or artificial uplift. He's looking for something much more messy: the beauty in the terrible, and the terror in the beautiful. If that's what you're looking for too, NIGHT SPEED will be your kind of book.

And if it is what you're looking for, then enter my contest to win my copy of NIGHT SPEED. (Much as I love the book, I'd rather share it with someone else than hoard it.) No fancy Rafflecopter form; just leave a comment telling me why you should be the one to win this book, and I'll choose the winner based on the best response. The contest will run for a week, ending next Friday. (U.S. only, I'm afraid.) Make sure to leave some way for me to get in touch with you in your comment. And even if you don't win, I urge you to pick up a copy of NIGHT SPEED. You'll be rewarded in ways that won't be easy or comforting, but I guarantee they'll be intense and real.

YA Guy... Gets All Excited!

It's been a pretty good year for YA Guy.

SCAVENGER OF SOULS is due out in August. (You can preorder a copy from any online bookseller or from your local indie; if you preorder a copy from one of the booksellers listed below, I'll sign it and it'll be sent out to you when it releases.) And on Wednesday, the deal for my next YA science fiction novel, FREEFALL, a deep space action/romance, was announced in Publishers Weekly. The book's due out next summer.

So yeah, I'm pretty excited! And also grateful to my agent, my editor, and my readers for all the support over the past few years. What started as a dream now seems like it's turning into an actual career, and that wouldn't have been possible without all you folks.

So thank you! And let's stay excited!

To preorder a signed copy of SCAVENGER OF SOULS, contact one of these Pittsburgh-area booksellers:

Mystery Lovers Bookshop (412) 828-4877 or this link

Classic Lines (412) 422-2220 or diddings@comcast.net

Or check to see if I'm making any appearances near you!