Hollywood Crush › Books

Every once in a while, it's nice to feel like an expert, rather than an overgrown fan—the line is thin, you know! Tonight, I'll be moderating a panel of five New York Times best-selling authors at the famed New York children's bookstore Books of Wonder. Ally Condie ("Matched"), Andrea Cremer ("Nightshade"), Kirsten Miller ("The Eternal Ones"), Beth Revis ("Across the Universe") and Brenna Yovanoff ("The Replacement") are embarking on their Breathless Reads tour, and I get to be the first one to help fans pick their brains about writing young-adult fiction.

It's pretty unusual of their publisher, Penguin, to group together books that are about (in the above order) an oppressive dystopian society, werewolves, reincarnation, space travel and fairies. But we readers don't discriminate, right? All five novels are action-packed adventure/love stories, and I'm dying to know what else they have in common and how they manage to keep us glued to their pages.

If you're in the area, swing by and say hello. If you're not, share your questions and comments for the authors here before 6 p.m. and I'll try to ask them tonight. Then I'll share whatever scoop I get from the event later in the week. They'll also be tweeting with the hashtag #breathlesstour throughout the tour, so all of us can keep up with their whirlwind journey.

What questions do you have for these authors?

Tags Across the Universe, Ally Condie, Andrea Cremer, Beth Revis, Book Report, Books, Brenna Yovanoff, Kirsten Miller, Matched, Nightshade, The Eternal Ones, The Replacement

Whether I'm visiting with family or chilling on a tropical beach somewhere, the holidays are when I make sure to set aside time to escape into a good handful of books. And because I can't handle anything too heavy this time of year, it's a great opportunity for me to tackle the stack of young-adult paranormal romances and dystopian adventures on my desk. Here's what I've got packed for winter break:

"Torment": I included Lauren Kate's "Fallen," the first in a four-part series, on last year's winter reading list, so this is for symmetry—and also because I can't believe I've waited so long to find out what will happen to Luce now that she's learned that her boyfriend, Daniel, whom she met at a boarding school for troubled kids is actually a fallen angel whose been her boyfriend for quite a few lifetimes, each ending in her untimely death. Now, as he goes off to battle those who want her dead for good, she's sent to yet another boarding school, this one meant for Nephilim. Should be interesting!

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Tags Ally Condie, Book Report, Books, Catherine Fisher, Fallen, Incarceron, Lauren Kate, Lisa McMann, Matched, Miley Cyrus, Sapphique, Taylor Lautner, Torment, Wake

Every loyal book fan wishes their favorite authors could get a movie deal like J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer's—almost complete control over how their novels are translated onto the big screen. But that's not the way things usually go, and "Vampire Academy" author Richelle Mead is completely aware of that fact. When we caught up with her on the eve of the release of "Last Sacrifice," the final chapter in her series about born vampires and their badass half-breed protectors, we pumped her for news on what's happening with the "Vampire Academy" movie, which was optioned by Preger Entertainment and producer Don Murphy ("Natural Born Killers," "Apt Pupil").

"It's such a funny thing, the movie business," Richelle said. "There's no action going on right now. There's no production, no casting, no scripting. There's nothing for me to be involved in at the moment. They're certainly in touch all the time. Right now, they're out soliciting studios and writers."

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Tags Books, Charlaine Harris, Last Sacrifice, Richelle Mead, Shadow Kiss, Vampire Academy

Show of hands: Who agrees that 2010 was a pretty darn good year for YA novels? Our bookcase certainly tells the tale: Suzanne Collins set the world ablaze with the gripping finale to her "Hunger Games" saga. Stephenie Meyer surprised us with a "Twilight" novella we didn't see coming. And Hilary Duff took on a new role as author, debuting her very first novel. We were protected by the ever-vigilant eyes of the Shadowhunters and watched our backs for evil Strigoi. We went back to the beginning with our favorite fashionista and got an extra sweet dash of L.A. candy.

All in all, we hardly had time to devour all of this year's stellar reads. We certainly have our favorites, but we want to hear from you: What was your favorite YA novel released this year? Cast your vote after the jump. The poll will be open until December 14 at 12 p.m. (ET) when we'll announce the results!

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Tags Beautiful Darkness, Books, Candace Bushnell, Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel, Elixir, Hilary Duff, I Am Number Four, Kami Garcia, Last Sacrifice, Lauren Conrad, Linger, Maggie Stiefvater, Margaret Stohl, Melissa de la Cruz, Misguided Angel, Mockingjay, Pittacus Lore, Richelle Mead, Stephenie Meyer, Sugar and Spice, Suzanne Collins, The Carrie Diaries, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, Twilight

Tuesday is a bittersweet day for fans of Richelle Mead's "Vampire Academy" series, as the sixth book, "Last Sacrifice" hits shelves. Half-vampire/half-human teen bodyguard Rose Hathaway at last gets to see an end to her many heartbreaks and death-threatening adventures. Whether you're savoring every last word of Dimitri's and Adrian's, or just entering St. Vladimir's for the first time, take a second to read my interview with Richelle, in which she talked about both the origin and conclusion of the series, what fans can expect from next year's spin-off series "Bloodlines" and how the movie adaptation is going along (actually, check back here tomorrow for that part).

MTV: How did you decide to write a young-adult vampire series in the first place?
Richelle Mead: I had sold my first two adult books—["Succubus Blues"*] and then the "Dark Swan" series—there was such a lag in publishing that first book. So I had free time, and I thought, "I'll just start a third series." I was teaching eighth or ninth grade at the time. Vampires were mostly chosen because they were the next thing I hadn't written about. Georgina [of the "Succubus" books] has demons and angels; "Dark Swan" is fairy based. It was like, let's spin the wheel of paranormal creatures!

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Tags Bloodlines, Books, Last Sacrifice, Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy

No you are not having a spirit dream, "Vampire Academy" fans. You really did read that right. I was just at a luncheon with author Richelle Mead, celebrating next week's release of "Last Sacrifice," the conclusion to her series about half-vampire/half-human/all-bad-ass bodyguard-in-training Rose Hathaway. And just as I was lamenting the end of Rose's adventures with her best friend, vampire princess Lissa, and smoldering former teacher Dimitri, Richelle gave us this little gift: "Bloodlines," the first book in the spin-off series, will be coming out in August 2011.

I would share my theories about which characters this new series will probably focus on, but I can't, since I've been sworn to secrecy about anything that happens in "Last Sacrifice" until next week. Suffice it to say, the new books will give Rose a break from getting beat up and tortured while trying to save her friends and boyfriends from evil Strigoi vampires. It's someone else's turn to bring us into the royal politics of the Moroi (born vampires) and their dhampir protectors. That someone will be a character we've met already, and other of our beloved will appear in the new books, Richelle assured us.

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Tags Bloodlines, Books, Last Sacrifice, Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy

It was probably no coincidence that on Tuesday, the day Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's new novel, "Dash & Lily's Book of Dares," was released, it was announced that megaproducer Scott Rudin had optioned it for a movie. But the authors were super-excited about the news anyway, especially after having so much fun watching their first collaboration, "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist," turned into a movie starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings.

"The first time we were on set, it was on Ludlow Street, on the Lower East Side," Rachel recalled. "And we turned a corner and there were these huge trucks everywhere and lighting being brought down from a crane, and it's just surreal to think of this little thing that we kind of started as a joke; for this one moment, there's 50 people running around doing all kinds of things. I was like, 'We are gods! We made this happen!'

"Dash & Lily," their third book together (after "Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List"), is a kind of treasure hunt through New York that begins when normally cautious, sweet Lily leaves a puzzle in a notebook on a shelf of the Strand bookstore in a ploy her brother devised to help her meet boys. Dash, a much more cynical, "snarly" type, finds the book and sends Lily his own puzzle. The two traipse around the city during Christmas break, sharing secrets and hopes without ever meeting each other.

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Tags Book Report, Books, Dash & Lily's Book of Dares, David Levithan, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, Rachel Cohn, young adult

Sequels and reboots are having their day at the box office, but we bet over the next year or two, book-to-film adaptations will steal their spots on the top shelf. It doesn't take a degree in vampirology from Transylvania U to divine the success Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series has experienced thanks to novel-loving moviegoers worldwide. With a built-in audience of loyal readers, upcoming adaptations of "The Hunger Games" and "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" are primed for similar successes. In fact, so many of our favorite reads are headed to the theater that we can't pick just one as our best bet. Can you? Cast your vote after the jump for the book you think will be the box office star. And, as always, if we've omitted your top pick, tell us in the comments section.

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Tags Books, City Of Bones, Hunger Games, I Am Number Four, Stephenie Meyer, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Lucky One, Tiger Eyes, Twilight

All right "Vampire Diaries" fanatics, get ready to add another book to your must-read-list. Most fans of the show know that it was based off a novel, which told the story from Elena's point of view (it is her diary after all)! But now it looks like another major character is going to get his say.

According to EW, "The Stefan Diaries #1: Origins" will hit bookstands in November and focus on Stefan's relationship with Damon and Katherine. The books (yes, it's a trilogy!) should be especially exciting for fans who love "VD" flashback episodes because they are set during the Civil-War era.

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Tags Books, L.J. Smith, Paul Wesley, Stefan Diaries, Vampire Diaries

Is it a surprise that when director David Fincher was looking for a relative unknown to star in his upcoming "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo," he looked through his own filmography to find her? Not really.

Today it was announced that Rooney Mara, who worked with David on "The Social Network," will play the lead in all three of his adaptations of Stieg Larsson's "The Millennium Trilogy." Rooney will be starring opposite the previously announced Daniel Craig.

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Tags Books, daniel craig, David Fincher, rooney mara, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network