Matched: Will Leave You “Breathless”

When considering the perks of working in publishing, I have only two words: free books.  Between galleys and take shelves, there’s always something to bring home. But the best part is when Penguin decides to give away a free, hot-off-the-presses title… delivered right to your desk!

I’d heard about the famous “Penguin 5”, a selection of new YA titles whose advance copies were packaged and sent to industry folks, setting them all abuzz with excitement (did I mention the power of free books?).  I’d be surprised if the above trailer and website didn’t send every teen reader of paranormal/romance/horror/dystopia/fantasy running “breathless” to the nearest bookstore.  But the book I was excited to read myself was Matched… and guess what pretty, pretty hardcover showed up on my desk in honor of its release yesterday?

I think I can accurately describe Matched as The Giver for the teen girls of 2010. Heroine Cassia Reyes is a 17-year-old member of The Society, the universal government that dictates everything from your clothes and your food, to the art you consume, your job and – of course – your mate.  Cassia receives her optimum match, and in a stroke of luck, it’s her best friend and resident blond hottie, Xander.  But in an unlucky “error”, another face comes up on her match-card as well: outsider Ky.  Ooooh snap!

Who is her true “match”?  Will knowledge lead her to buck “The Society” and realize it isn’t all that perfect?  Though the answers seem obvious, I’m a third of the way through… and I’m still enthralled.  Definitely a great YA read!

Check out the super-mysterious website for Matched, as well as a video of the author, below.

Living In Literature: Holes

As promised, a “Living In Literature” inspired by a novel, and with a little less sparkle for the dudes!

With this summer’s heat, it’s not hard to imagine that we’re already living in our own urban version of Camp Green Lake (although, I don’t know about you, but I’m not digging any 4-foot holes along 7th Avenue. . .).  But I am digging Holes‘ dry humor and quirky imagery (who even thinks of spiced peaches and yellow-spotted lizards?  That’s right, Louis Sachar).

After visiting Ellis Island this weekend, I’ve had heritage on my mind, and it has me really drawn to the sense of destiny and legend in Holes.  Even though we may not be the victims of a gypsy curse like Stanley Yelnats, there is something so wonderfully mysterious about the fact that we all have links to the past, just waiting to be unearthed.  That’s why, this week, I’m dusting off some of that antique Western charm, along with a little Texas bad-ass!

We even get visual inspiration from the movie adaptation . . . thanks, Shia and Disney.

for grown-ups:

cowgirls canvas $71, lipstick $15, cowboy hat $340, “The Harder I Work…” $60, Longhorns jacket $60, sneakers (worth getting arrested for) $345, Sno-Wovel $120, denim shirt $265, suitcases, AC/DC top $33, yellow-spotted lizard $38, spiced peaches $6.40

for the kids:

cowboy fabric $23/yard, hat $20, orange romper $35, “I’m That Dude” $16, lizard slime $9, rattlesnake eggs $0.75, revolving bookcase $150, onion snacks $3.80, treasure chest $150