12 Days of Mysteries: Day 6

It's Day 6 of our 12 Days of Mysteries! Still shopping for young mystery and thriller fans in your life? Try this suggestion from Sarah Skilton:

THE GIRL IN THE PARK, by Mariah Fredericks.

When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,"Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled." But shy Rain, once Wendy's best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just "party girl." As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder.
Why I recommend it: Ms. Fredericks' books always turn my expectations around regarding character, until every single person in the story has become fully formed and sympathetic by the end of the book, even the villains. This style of writing makes the characters that much harder to say goodbye to when the story's over.

Or how about Ashely Elston's recommendation for a great YA thriller:

THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER, by Megan Shepherd
In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect. 

12 Days of Mysteries: Day 5

It's Day 5 of our 12 Days of Mysteries, demystifying holiday gift-giving for book lovers! Today we're mixing it up and NOT giving our usual book suggestions. If you're looking for a book-related idea that's a little different, check out these programs and charities!

Laura Ellen recommends the Letters in the Mail program as a great kid gift. Authors send subscribers a letter in the mail each month for only $5 a month.

Elisa Ludwig suggests Girls Write Now, which works with high school girls in NYC's public schools to help develop their writing and provide other opportunities for intellectual/emotional growth and career development. Elisa says, "Last year my agent made a holiday donation to the organization in my honor, and this year I want to continue the tradition!


Do you know a budding writer working on a young adult, middle grade, or new adult manuscript? Why not give them a manuscript critique! No, you don't have to do that yourself; you can outsource it! Diana Renn recommends a great freelance editing service run by four kidlit authors called -- clearly enough -- Manuscript Critique Services. (Clarity -- trust us, you want that in an editor!) And . . . do you have a writer in your life who is going the indie publishing route? Or who needs help with graphic design? Send them to Renee Combs Design for all their design needs and even help with promotion!

Miss any of our Days of Mysteries? Looking for kidlit mystery/thriller books that would make great gifts? Scroll back in time here:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four

12 Days of Mysteries: Day 4

The clock is ticking. Faster. Faster. Your heart is in your throat as December 25 bears down on you. Your shopping isn't done. In fact, you haven't even started!

If you have young thriller fans in your life, we can save you. To celebrate Day 4 of our 12 Days of Mysteries (and thrillers) are some thrillers that are sure to make great gifts!

Elle Cosimano says, "I LOVED 'THE LOCK ARTIST' by Steve Hamilton. This beautifully written and character-driven thriller unfolds slowly, and non-linearly, drawing out the reveal for an intense and satisfying conclusion." This book one the Edgar Award for YA in 2011. Here's the description:

 

 

 

"I was the Miracle Boy, once upon a time. Later on, the Milford Mute. The Golden Boy. The Young Ghost. The Kid. The Boxman. The Lock Artist. That was all me.

But you can call me Mike." 

 

Marked by tragedy, traumatized at the age of eight, Michael, now eighteen, is no ordinary young man. Besides not uttering a single word in ten years, he discovers the one thing he can somehow do better than anyone else. Whether it's a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe ... he can open them all. It's an unforgivable talent. A talent that will make young Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people and, whether he likes it or not, push him ever close to a life of crime. Until he finally sees his chance to escape, and with one desperate gamble risks everything to come back home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long.

Avast! How about a thriller at sea? With pirates? Diana Renn really enjoyed the newly-released YA thriller by Nick Lake, HOSTAGE THREE. "I'm always looking for good YA fiction set in different countries. This unusual thriller takes us off the coast of Somalia, where a yacht is taken over by pirates. This is a character-driven thriller that will get you shifting your perspectives and redrawing your lines of allegiance, over and over again."

 Here's the official summary:

The last thing Amy planned to do this summer was sail around the world trapped on a yacht with her father and her stepmother. Really, all she wanted was to fast-forward to October when she’ll turn
eighteen and take control of her own life. Aboard the Daisy May, Amy spends time sunbathing, dolphin watching and forgetting the past as everything floats by . . . until one day in the Gulf of Aden another boat appears. A boat with guns and pirates – the kind that kill.

Immediately, the pirates seize the boat and its human cargo. Hostage One is Amy’s father – the most valuable. Hostage Two: her stepmother. And Hostage Three is Amy, who can’t believe what’s happening. As the ransom brokering plays out, Amy finds herself becoming less afraid, and even
stranger still, drawn to one of her captors, a teenage boy who wants desperately to be more than who he has become. Suddenly it becomes brutally clear that the price of life and its value are two very different things . .