Greetings:

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

Warm wishes,

Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp

kidsbookclubbook.com

Ages 12 and up / YA fiction / St. Martin's Griffin

Win a set of FLAME and the other two Sky Chaser novels by Amy Kathleen Ryan. Enter to win

Dear Readers,

In space, there's no one to call for help. If your ship is damaged, you have to fix it. If you're taken from your family, it's up to you to escape. When I started writing The Sky Chasers, I didn't know I was embarking on a saga. I started out trying to imagine life on a farming vessel in deep space, but realized this was the perfect setting for a thriller.

Themes of friendship versus belief, and truth versus lies run deep in GLOW, SPARK, and FLAME. Only sharp readers can see them all. Like my characters Waverly, Kieran, and Seth, readers who love The Sky Chasers are smart, independent, and resourceful.

Best,

Amy Kathleen Ryan

Book reviews:

"... a climax that is tense and viscerally frightening. [FLAME is] detailed and gripping, with a thorough and satisfying resolution."

Chosen by School Library Journal as a Best Book of 2011! (GLOW)

"Utterly engrossing. Dinner went uncooked, children were left to fend for themselves, and dog howled all night, because I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN."

"The sequel to GLOW delivers a page-turning plot while delving deeper into questions of leadership, trauma and violence....Readers hungry for the next installment will have plenty to ponder in the meantime."

Discussion questions:

1. The Sky Chasers examines the push and pull between the bonds of friendship and the demands of belief. How are the relationships between Kieran, Waverly, and Seth affected by their shifting ideas about religion, political power, and personal responsibility to one's society? 

2. Throughout the series, the villains take on more dimension. How did your opinion of Anne Mather change as you got to know her throughout the story? Is she evil? Why or why not? 

3. Every character in The Sky Chasers makes moral compromises as they negotiate the difficulties of warfare and self defense. Can you think of ways these compromises parallel recent events in history?   

Learn more about author Amy Kathleen Ryan and The Sky Chasers series, read her blog and enter contests at her website.

AUTHOR CALL-IN INFORMATION: Amy Kathleen Ryan is happy to call-in or Skype with your book club. To set up an author visit, please visit her website to submit your request.

Ages 12 and up / YA fiction / Harlequin Teen

Win a set of HEARTBEAT by Elizabeth Scott. Enter to win by emailing the publisher (please write KIDSBOOKCLUBBING - HEARTBEAT in the subject line).

Dear Reader,

HEARTBEAT exists because my husband is obsessed with obituaries. He likes the big column ones, which are frequently about World War II veterans, as his grandfather was one. He likes to share them with me and one day, as he handed me that section of the paper to read, I glanced at what he'd been reading. And then read something else.

It was short, a few lines. A woman, early 40s, had died. She'd been pregnant.  

I thought about that. Two lives, gone in an instant.

And then I thought -- what if the baby had lived?

Emma came to me then, sad and furious that her mother was dead but not gone, and then Caleb, a boy who has made more than his share of mistakes and suffers for them, came to me.   

Two broken people, and how they would find each other. How they would find themselves.

Elizabeth Scott

Book reviews:      

- "An intense examination of a family coping with grief, this absorbing character study easily keeps pages turning."

-Kirkus

"Admirably tackles the delicate topics of risky pregnancies and medical ethics."

- RT Book Reviews

Discussion questions:

1. HEARTBEAT explores a relatively rare situation in which Emma's mother is dead but her body is being kept alive due to her pregnancy. What did you think about the situ­ation? How did grief affect Emma's actions and feelings?  
2. What do you think Emma would have done if Dan had made her part of the decision when Emma's mother died?  
3. Emma's attitude toward school undergoes a 180-degree change before and after her mother's death. What do you think will happen with her attitude in the future and why?
4. HEARTBEAT explores Emma's journey from grief to hope through different kinds of love -- family love, friendship, and romantic love. How did each type affect Emma? What helped her, and did any hinder her? What do you think that Emma will pass on to her baby brother as he grows up?

AUTHOR CALL-IN INFORMATION: Elizabeth Scott is happy to call-in to or Skype with your book club. She can also meet with your group if you live in the Manassas, Virginia or Washington, DC areas. Email the publisher to submit your request.

• A maximum of 10 books is available for each book club giveaway.    
• Contest entries are sent directly to the authors administering each contest.  Our Privacy Policy does not apply to emails sent as contest entries.  You must be 18 years or older to enter the contests.