KidsBuzz: Author Stories Plus Book Giveaways for Your Club

June 15, 2012

Kids' Authors Share Their Stories
Plus
Fabulous Book Giveaways for Your Club

Greetings:

In this issue of KidsBuzz, featuring book giveaways and behind-the-scenes stories from top kids' authors, you'll meet:

-   Nick Dunmore as he gets drawn into the world of Erebos, a new and addicting computer game in this novel from Ursula Poznanski filled with elements of science fiction, mystery, and the supernatural; and

-   Sam and Jennifer in CRAZY DANGEROUS, a compelling novel by Andrew Klavan that has us questioning: How can we tell whether the things we see and feel and believe are real or not?

Warm wishes,

Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp

kidsbookclubbook.com

Ages 12 and up / Young Adult Fantasy / Annick Press

Win a set of Erebos by Ursula Poznanski for your book club. Enter to win by emailing the publisher (please write "KidsBookclubbing" in the subject line).

Dear Reader,

When I started working on Erebos I knew I wanted to write a book about world-changing. You open a door, step through a portal, and a whole new world opens up to you. It's a story about the real world and a virtual one and what happens if the two start merging.

I didn't anticipate that Erebos would change my own world the way it did and that my reality would be turned upside down in such a delightful way.

Erebos is the book that made me a full time author -- and now it's even made it to Canada and the United States.

I hope that the book will take you on a thrilling journey into the world of Erebos and back. Beware of scorpions. Don't pet the sheep. And watch out for the messenger with the yellow eyes.

Sincerely,

Ursula Poznanski

Book reviews:

"... (a) stunning thriller ... a prescient page-turner and a provocative, believable portrayal of the seductive world of virtual gaming."

- Publishersweekly.com, starred review

"... the scary climax, a romantic subplot and plenty of thoroughly credible gaming add proper spark to a pageturner with amps aplenty."

- Kirkus

"... Poznanski's thriller effectively plays off the difficulty of balancing online and real-life personae, and the all-too-possible idea that gamers are being secretly shaped into an unwitting army is indeed a scary one."

- Booklist

Discussion questions:

1. Nick and many of his classmates quickly become addicted to Erebos. Describe what factors made the game so addictive.

2. Nick is not always a likeable character. Describe his good and bad qualities, using examples from the book.

3. The game demanded a strict separation of the game world and the real world, yet had its players carry out tasks in both. Why do you think the players upheld the game's rules even outside of the game?

4. Nick makes a list to try to guess which characters his classmates are playing, but he can't even discover who his best friend, Colin, is in the game. How does the social hierarchy in the game differ from the social hierarchy at school?

5. Which scene in the book did you find the most memorable? Why?

To read an excerpt, watch a trailer and find out more about Erebos, see the Annick Press website.

AUTHOR CALL IN INFORMATION: To arrange for Ursula Poznanski to talk/email/Skype with your book club, email her publisher to submit your request.

Ages 8-12 / Middle Grade Fiction, Mystery / Thomas Nelson

Win a copy of Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan for your book club. Enter to win by emailing the publisher (write "KidsBookclubbing" in the subject line).

Dear Reader,

I'm delighted you're interested in my new novel Crazy Dangerous. It's the story of a kid named Sam Hopkins who befriends a schizophrenic girl named Jennifer. Jennifer has hallucinations. She sees demons and hears voices. And Sam begins to believe that these visions are actually prophecies of a coming disaster that only he can stop.

I've wanted to write a book like this for a long time: a fast-moving adventure story, but an adventure that asks some really interesting questions about the world. How can we tell whether the things we see and feel and believe are real or not? And who is the person who sees and feels and believes those things? Is it just our brain or are we something more than that?

I think you'll find Sam's story pretty exciting -- and I hope you'll keep thinking about it after you've finished the final page.

Have a good time,

Andrew Klavan

Book reviews:

"A thriller that reads like a teenage version of 24...an adrenaline-pumping adventure."
- TheDailyBeast.com

"Action sequences that never let up...wrung for every possible drop of nervous sweat."
- Booklist

This is Young Adult fiction... but the unadulterated intelligence of a superb suspense novelist is very much in evidence throughout."
- Books & Culture

"...an action packed jaunt that is full of twists and turns and is impossible to put down....I'm buying everything Klavan is selling, from the excellent first person narrative, to the gut punching action; to the perfect doses of humor and wit...it's all working for me."
- FictionAddict.com

Discussion questions:

1.   Sam acknowledges that he didn't always make the right decisions early on in the novel. What do you think would have happened had he not made those bad decisions? How would events have played out later in the novel? Have you ever had any bad decisions that might have led to something good? Was it worth the error of judgment?

2.   Name the times when Sam had to remind himself to "Do right. Fear nothing." How difficult was it for him to follow that mantra? What are some times in your life when you've had to remind yourself to "Do right. Fear Nothing."?

3.   When Joe advises Sam to tell his father everything that is going on with Jeff, Sam agrees that he should. But then he doesn't because his father is distracted. What do you think would have happened had he been able to talk to his father that night? Have you ever dreaded having to tell your parents something? What made you face your fear and tell them? What were their reactions?

4.   Do you have a mantra similar to Sam's that you rely on when you have to make a tough decision?

5.    Do you think that the fact that Sam is a preacher's kid has any effect on how he responds to Jennifer? How would you have responded to her?

For more information about Crazy Dangerous, visit the publisher's website and Andrew Klavan's Facebook page.

AUTHOR CALL IN INFORMATION: To arrange for Andrew Klavan to talk with your book group, email his publisher to submit your request.

A maximum of 10 books is available for each book club giveaway.
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