Judging by the crowds and lines of book-wielding fans, YALLFest was a huge success. Now that you've met the authors you love, try these read-alikes -- and don't forget to click on the titles to reserve them!
One more reason to hit YALLFest on Saturday (drum roll): the YA Smackdown!!! Featuring zombies, vampires, witches, evil unicorns, werewolves and bullies (not really...just the people who create them, yikes!).
Which authors will be crowned the inaugural YALLFestKudzu Queens and Kings?
Just who has the guts, the talent, the sheer hilarity or freakishness to win this unparalleled competition?
Kaleb Nation
The YALLFest authors will be divided into viciously competitive teams: Team Supernatural, Team Dystopia, Team Reality and so on. Then, we here at CCPL and you, the pumped up audience and fans, will attempt to stump, dismay and otherwise rattle these superstars of the YA writing world.
Just who are the most clever, most creative, most deserving storytellers? You and our specially chosen judge will bestow the prestigious KUDZU CROWNS of 2011!!
Kaleb Nation will moderate -- yes, he of You Tube fame, author of YA books and launcher of a new reality TV show that will be filming during YALLFest. The show, Kaleb's Nation, will follow him as he concocts the parodies and pop culture commentaries that have lured 28 million views to his YouTube channel. So, wipe that barbecue off your face after dinner and keep an eye out for the cameras as you race down King Street for the YA Smackdown.
Who knows what calamities might ensue with Kaleb at the mic and 30 or so of the nation's top YA writers on one stage...and, of course with you in the audience cheering for your all-time favorites!!
Hilarity will ensue. Tickets cost $5. Be there.
PS: This event comes to you from the young adult department of the Charleston County Public Library because we love these authors, and we love that you love them, too!
Melissa de la Cruz writes the bestselling teen vampire series, the Blue Bloods, as well as The Ashleys and The Au Pairs series. On top of all that, she has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has appeared on TV shows as a trend expert. Whew! She even writes great adult fiction, including the Witches of East End.
When are two related books better than one? How about when you want to get another character's perspective. Or to find out what happens next. Or to tie up all those loose plot threads. People aren't the only ones who like to pair up. Some books need buddies, too! Here are a few that prove it:
(Click on any title to reserve it at a CCPL branch.)
In If I Stay, 17-year-old Mia's parents and brother are killed in a car wreck that leaves her in a coma. Should she fight to survive for her boyfriend, Adam, and the rest of the living? Or, should she let go to be with her family? Three years later in Where She Went, Adam is a rising rock star who reconnects with an old friend after the horrific events tore them apart.
From silly humor to chilling war stories, check out these South Carolina Junior Book Award nominees for 2011-2012. (They're great for middle schoolers --and might appear on your school summer reading lists!) Last year's nominees included The Hunger Games. Which of this new batch will be the next Big Thing?
What is it like to be an autistic boy facing daily sixth-grade life, not to mention lifelong struggles, in a "neurotypical" world? Jason Blake is most comfortable in an online writing forum called Storyboard, where his stories spark an email friendship with a girl. But what would happen if he had to meet her in real life?
