This weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Chicago to see Veronica Roth, author of the Divergent trilogy, live at the Tivoli Theatre. The event was hosted by Anderson’s bookshop, which is a family-run bookstore in Naperville, IL. The Q&A portion of the event was recorded live by Epic Reads, and is currently up on their YouTube if you’d like to see it. However, I thought I’d give you my own breakdown of events.
Realistic fiction is a unique genre in YA because it illustrates challenging situations you may not have personally experienced but connects you to emotions you have. Whether it's uncovering life-altering secrets, making a tough choice, coming to terms with your sexuality or finding your voice, realistic fiction addresses themes relevant to real life. To highlight some of their fantastic realistic fiction, Macmillan established their ReaLITy program. Our Teen Board decided to check out these reads and respond to them in this blog series.
Have you grabbed your copy of ALLIGIANT yet???? The last book in Veronica Roth's Divergent series went on sale yesterday, and I'm sure some of you super fans have already dug into the final book in this dystopian series. Check out this video of Veronica Roth reading the first chapter of ALLIGIANT at midnight when it was released!
Last week, a few of the Teen Board members and I met to talk about DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth. We wanted to talk about the book, but also about what we were expecting from the upcoming movie adaptation. Because it was difficult to get everyone together (especially during the week) I sent some question to the Teen Board to answer.
And to continue our Divergent discussion, this week, I sent out questions to the Teen Board about INSURGENT. Here are their responses comparing the first two books and to what they expect from the last book in the series!
Last Monday, a few of the Teen Board members and I met to talk about DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth. We wanted to talk about the book, but also about what we were expecting from the upcoming movie adaptation. Because it was difficult to get everyone together (especially during the week) I sent some question to the Teen Board to answer.
Do you agree with the responses to these questions? Are you excited for the Divergent movie to come out in March 2014?
And n honor of the third book in the series, ALLIGIANT, being released tomorrow, we'll be posting another discussion for INSURGENT later this week! Keep an eye out for that.
This week (September 22-28th) is Banned Books Week in the US! For those of you wondering what Banned Books Week is, it’s a week to celebrate the freedom to read. This week was created because of the multitude of book banning in children’s, young adult, and adult novels. Yes, this week was launched in the 1980s, but don’t let the date fool you. Books are still being banned today. Most recently, ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell was banned just last week, when school librarians put this novel on a reading list. The parents at this school were outraged, calling ELEANOR AND PARK “dangerously obscene.” While it is true ELEANOR AND PARK has foul language, as a high school student, you will hear at least some foul language every day! As a teenager who has read and loved this novel, I believe this is wrong, and I am not alone. If you are a parent and don’t want your child reading books that have foul language, alcohol use, etc. then talk to them about it instead of banning this novel for other readers who may enjoy and learn from the novel.
When you’re a big fan of a book, it can be hard to see the book be made into the movie. Sure it’s fun and exciting, but no matter how great the movie looks, there’s still a small part of you that’s nervous to go see the movie. This is what I was feeling when I went to go see City of Boneson Wednesday.
For those of you who don’t know me, I am a huge fan of any novel that has action, adventure and/or fantasy. Those three genres are always what determines what books I buy and read. Now it has occurred to me that maybe I should venture out and try some different genres. Maybe I’d like the different genre just as much as I like the action/adventure/fantasy novels. However, I’ve always pushed that thought aside. I’ve read some novels out of my normal genre…and I never truly enjoyed them. I love the thrill of adventure and action, the whimsical feel of reading a fantasy novel. To be quite honest, I’ve never read another novel that had such thrill, until last night, that is.
Have you ever felt like other people don’t understand your passion for reading? I know I have! Here are some of the most common problems I come across while reading.
The last novel of a beloved series is always one of the saddest books to read. You begin quickly, zooming through the pages. But as you reach the last page, you slowly realize that this is it. That series is over. Although all final books in the series are “final,” the author always gives you something to think about and explore after you've finished the book.
Back in February, my parents surprised my siblings and me with a trip to meet two authors. Those authors were Victoria Schwab, author of THE ARCHIVED (which I strongly recommend) and Ally Carter, author of The Gallagher Girls and The Heist Society series (which I also recommend.) If you ever have a chance to go meet an author, whether you’ve read one of their novels or not, GO.
Amazon has announced their top 20 books of 2025. Which of these, if any, would you select as your favorite books of the year? Please check all that apply.
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from November 14th to December 5th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE BURNING LIBRARY by Gilly Macmillan and SOME BRIGHT NOWHERE by Ann Packer.
Our major goal for 2025 is to redesign Bookreporter and the rest of the sites in The Book Report Network. How can you help? We have launched a GoFundMe campaign and are asking for donations. Any level of donation that you would be comfortable with is sincerely appreciated. If you would prefer donating via check, please send to:
The Book Report, Inc.
16 Mt. Bethel Road, Suite 365
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Click here to read more about our plans and to donate.
Coming Soon
Curious about what books will be released in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them? Then click on the months below.
November's Books on Screen roundup includes the films The Running Man, Train Dreams, Wicked: For Good, Hamnet, Karen Kingsbury's The Christmas Ring and Eric Jerome Dickey's Friends and Lovers; the series premieres of "Death by Lightning" on Netflix and "All Her Fault" on Peacock; the season premieres of Apple TV+'s "WondLa" and Netflix's "Unicorn Academy"; the season finales of "The Morning Show" on Apple TV+ and "Anne Rice’s Talamasca: The Secret Order" on AMC; the continuation of CBS's "Tracker" and "Watson," HBO's "IT: Welcome to Derry" and Apple TV+'s "Down Cemetery Road"; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of The Long Walk, The Roses, Caught Stealing, Looking Through Water and Freakier Friday.
Realistic fiction is a unique genre in YA because it illustrates challenging situations you may not have personally experienced but connects you to emotions you have. Whether it's uncovering life-altering secrets, making a tough choice, coming to terms with your sexuality or finding your voice, realistic fiction addresses themes relevant to real life. To highlight some of their fantastic realistic fiction, Macmillan established their 
This week (September 22-28th) is Banned Books Week in the US! For those of you wondering what Banned Books Week is, it’s a week to celebrate the freedom to read. This week was created because of the multitude of book banning in children’s, young adult, and adult novels. Yes, this week was launched in the 1980s, but don’t let the date fool you. Books are still being banned today. Most recently, 
night, that is.
