The Book Plank

Best Young Adult of 2015 Young Adult the genre that triggers young minds (and old). Writing Young Adult fiction is a league of itself. Though of course each story has it's roots in one or another genre, Epic or Urban Fantasy inspired. They set themselves apart when it comes down to telling the story and more importantly the focus on the protagonist, often these are young heroes or heroines who go through a remarkable transition. For me the combination mentioned above was most notable in the following books. Brandon Sanderson took over the Young Adult world by storm with his novel Steelheart . This year Firefight was released and wow. Storytelling at it's finest. The one sentence I always take into account now when reading the Steelheart series is. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Brandon Sanderson also cleverly questions what it is to be an Epic. Uprooted by Noami Novik really surprised me. It was my first book that I read from her, the synopsis of the s...

Uprooted by Naomi Novik Her people rely on the cold, ambitious wizard, known only as the Dragon, to keep the wood's powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman must be handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as being lost to the wood. The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows - everyone knows - that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia - all the things Agnieszka isn't - and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But no one can predict how or why the Dragon chooses a girl. And when he comes, it is not Kasia he will take with him. Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Naomi Novik is best know for her Temeraire series, an alternate history story featuring dragons. I have seen...

Pan Macmillan to publish new Naomi Novik novel Editorial Director Julie Crisp has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to  Uprooted  by Naomi Novik, the author of the New York Times bestselling Temeraire series.   Julie Crisp said of the deal: ‘I have been a huge fan of Naomi’s since reading the first novel in her thrilling Temeraire series. When I read her fantasy Uprooted I was absolutely blown away by the beautifully-written and richly-imagined world - it is in every way an enchanting read.’ Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood. The...