Looking over the Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) nominee list, I thought it might be a good time to review those books on the list that have been recommended (see title links) and/or whose authors were interviewed (see author links) on cynsations:

Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson (Viking, 2005);

Whales on Stilts by M.T. Anderson (Harcourt, 2005);

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray (Delacorte, 2005);

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War II by Joseph Bruchac (Dial, 2005);

Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci (Candlewick, 2005);

Dancing In Red Shoes Will Kill You by Dorrian Cirrone (HarperCollins, 2005);

Shelf Life by Robert Corbet (Walker, 2005);

Fade to Black by Alex Flinn (HarperCollins, 2005);

The Vanishing Point: A Story of Lavinia Fontana by Louise Hawes (Houghton Mifflin, 2004);

Stained by Jennifer Richard Jacobson (Simon & Schuster, 2005);

Boy Girl Boy by Ron Koertge (Harcourt, 2005);

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart (Delacorte, 2005);

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie: A Novel by David Lubar (Dutton, 2005);

Pinned by Alfred C. Martino (Harcourt, 2005);*

A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson (Henry Holt, 2005);

Far From Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters (Little Brown, 2005);

Keep in mind the BBYA nominees list doesn’t reflect all books nominated–only those up to the last posted update. New nominees include cynsations featured:

Anyone But You by Lara M. Zeises (Delacorte, 2005);

The Real Revolution: The Global Story of American Independence by Marc Aronson (Houghton Mifflin, 2005);

Storky: How I Lost My Nickname and Won the Girl by D.L. Garfinkle (Putnam, 2005).

Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today by Lori M. Carlson (HarperCollins, 2005). Features my short story “A Real-Live Blond Cherokee and His Equally Annoyed Soul Mate.”

*GLS read and recommended.

Cynsational News & Links

Attention Austinites: As part of its “Year of Writing” program, my husband, author Greg Leitich Smith, and I will be speaking on “Writing the Young Adult Novel” at Barnes and Noble Westlake on Dec. 3, at 10:30 a.m.

An Interview with Sam Swope, author of The Araboolies of Liberty Street, from Downhomebooks.com.

Rick Riordan: debut children’s author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Hyperion, 2005), which made the Texas Bluebonnet list. Rick lives in San Antonio and has previously published mysteries for adults. Visit Myth & Mystery, Rick’s blog.

Writing and Publishing Board Books by Harold Underdown of the Purple Crayon.