Announcement: Texas Teen Book Festival 2014

The news is out! James Dashner of The Maze Runner fame is headlining the Texas Teen Book Festival! Join us October 18th, 2014 at St. Edward's University. This was a super hard secret to keep. We first met Dashner in 2010 right when The Maze Runner came out. He was a dynamic speaker and had instant fans. We can't wait to share more author lineup information and have another exciting addition this week. Stay tuned to TTBF on Facebook and Twitter, and of course the website for more information. Here is the full press release:

Young Adult genre rock star author James Dashner, creator of the wildly popular Maze Runner series, will be the headliner of the Texas Teen Book Festival Oct. 18 at St. Edward’s University.

Dashner’s latest novel is The Eye of Minds, a novel set in a world of hyper-advanced technology, cyberterrorists, and gaming. He is also the author of the 13th Reality series.

“We couldn't be more excited to announce James Dashner as our headlining author,” says Heather Schubert, librarian and founder, along with BookPeople, of what was originally called the Austin Teen Book Festival. “And we are so excited about The Maze Runner movie release in September. This year's festival is going to be the most interactive and wild yet, and we have an amazing list of all-star YA authors to prove it!” Schubert says.

Cover Reveal - The Death Cure (The Maze Runner #3) by James Dasner

James blogged about the third installment of The Maze Runner Trilogy out October 11th. Here is what he said today:

"I present to you the amazingly awesome combined talents of artist Philip Straub and the Random House CB design team (click on the picture below to see it nice and big). I want EVERYONE to tell me what they think in the comments.

Here is my opinion: I love it!!! It's easily my favorite of the three books, and I loved all of them (hence the three exclamation marks)."

I love it too, I think it is my favorite out of the three. All three covers have some major color and I love that they are different, but so related. Can't wait to read. 

You can find James on his blog and on Twitter

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Making time to read and lots of quickie reviews....

I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm certain that there is less than 24 hrs in a day now. Where is the time going? We are creeping on October, and the days are going by in a blur. I don't think I'm the only one that has noticed time is flying.... Regardless, I have time to read. Even if it's for only 10 or 15 minutes, I read every single day. It's an important time of day for me. As you have probably guessed, I'm an avid YA reader. I really always have been. There are a few adult fiction books that I enjoyed (anything by Alice Hoffman), but I usually stick to the YA highway. With time passing, my kids growing up, and a husband on the road, I find that reading is my saving grace. Other side of the coin - I have to choose my reads wisely. I've been suckered in by a book with an amazing cover, but the story was a complete failure. So, here is what I've read lately paired with a down and dirty review. Here we go....

HALO by Alexandra Adornetto
2010, Supernatural Romance

Review: Angel put on Earth to save mankind decides to fall in love with a boy instead. Read to page 50 then skip to page 300. 1 out of 5 stars.

FIRELIGHT by Sophie Jordan
2010, Paranormal Romance

Review: Jacinda is a draki who is trying to live like a normal teenager, but a boy awakens her inner dragon. Sounds corny, but it isn't. Surprisingly awesome! 5 out of 5 stars.

MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner
2009, Sci-Fi Fantasy
Review: Thomas wakes up in a game where the stakes are high. With no memories, he feels a connection to the deadly place, and knows it's up to him to save himself and solve the maze. Up my alley, but tad dull in teh middle. 4 out of 4 stars

CITY OF ASHES by Cassandra Clare
2009, Paranormal Romance
Review: Clary, Simon, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle continue to battle creatures of the Underworld. Sequel to City of Bones. Twists, turns, and someone gets "turned." 4 out of 5 stars