Katiaesque

  • Day 7: CASTLE OF CONCRETE

    CASTLE OF CONCRETE by Katia Raina, Young Europe, June 2019 #YADebut2019 #MagicMirror Aaaaand here it is, my friends: the news and the big mystery; here it is, the secret revealed! My historical YA debut, CASTLE OF CONCRETE, set in the last year of the falling-apart Soviet Union, is the story of a timid Jewish girl…

    Katia Raina

  • Day 6: COLOR ME IN

    COLOR ME IN, by Natasha Diaz, Delacorte Press, August 2019 #YADebut2019 #MagicMirror For reasons both personal and universal, this one has a special place in my heart. I CANNOT WAIT. Just from the description I know that this story, featuring a mixed-race Jewish voice is going to be impactful, profound and important. COLOR ME IN is coming…

    Katia Raina

  • Day 5: THE ART OF BREAKING THINGS

    THE ART OF BREAKING THINGS, by Laura Sibson, Viking, June 2019 #YADebut2019 #MagicMirror   Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for more VCFA looooove and welcome the lovely Laura Sibson, the June 2012 graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults program (The Secret Gardeners class.) Laura is the…

    Katia Raina

  • Day 4: I WANNA BE WHERE YOU ARE

    I WANNA BE WHERE YOU ARE, by Kristina Forest, Roaring Brook Press, June 2019 #YADebut2019 #MagicMirror Good morning! Ready for another amazing read? This one is a romance with dancing dreams and a road-trip! Here is the official book description: “When Chloe Pierce’s mom forbids her to apply for a spot at the dance conservatory…

    Katia Raina

  • Day 3: FIVE MIDNIGHTS

    FIVE MIDNIGHTS, by Ann Dávila Cardinal, June 2019, Tor Teen The excitement over here is positively mounting. I am beyond delighted to introduce to my readers a fellow VCFA alumni Ann Dávila Cardinal, whose debut as a solo author is a horror novel for young readers featuring the el Cucho myth set against the backdrop…

    Katia Raina

  • Day 2: WHITE STAG

    #YADebut2019 #MagicMirror WHITE STAG, by Kara Barbieri Haven’t read this one yet either, as my TBR pile is a leaning tower of Pisa, but guys, I am so, so excited about it! It just came out with Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s/Macmillan) and it’s a dark fantasy from a 22-year-old Wattpad star and Buffy the Vampire…

    Katia Raina

  • Day 1: WHEN THE TRUTH UNRAVELS

    #YADebut2019 #MagicMirror This debut just came out earlier this month, and the reviewers seem excited! WHEN THE TRUTH UNRAVELS by Ruthanne Snow, Sky Pony Press It’s a teen girl friendship story told from alternating points of view of girls dealing with their own secret heartaches, while trying to lift up their popular friend post her…

    Katia Raina

  • A Secret … Revealed (Almost)!

    #YADebut2019 #MagicMirror I have a secret. Should I share it? Since I was little, I had this thing about secrets. I’ve always loved them. First, I was the best secret keeper ever! You could trust me to guard the most trivial bit of gossip with my life. Second, when the time was right,  and when…

    Katia Raina

  • Shabbat Shalom From Freedom Plaza

    I am so glad I got to go to the Women’s March today. Did I hesitate? Just a little. Did I do my homework, hearing the controversy over antisemitism? Yep. And then, I was glad to be there. This is not in judgement of anyone who chose differently. But I figured, why be up in…

    Katia Raina

  • Writing Out of Order

    Yikes, it’s really been a while! Sorry!!! This post may not be a revelation to many writers out there, but the following idea was quite a discovery for me: writing out of order. Sure, I’ve heard about it before. Somehow, I always thought this method was reserved for wizards and other super-human types. 🙂 I thought my boring brain was…

    Katia Raina