"Take a look, It's in a book, A reading rainbow"*

As New England got buried in snow once again (seriously, when am I ever going to benefit from global warming) and I got the rare snow day off from work, I was happy to have plenty of indoor activities to keep me busy, i.e. writing and reading. I have a big ol' stack of books in my to-be-read pile (some of which have been lent out even before I've read them) and an order of books on its way to my house, but really, one can never have too many books.

One of the books that is on its way is the YA dystopian XVI by Julia Karr. Julia and I roomed together at the SCBWI Summer Conference in L.A. last summer and had a blast. Aside from her talents as a writer, Julia is a kick-ass dancer! I am so excited for her debut novel.

Another debut I'm looking forward to is in the middle grade category: Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide To Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald, who is an esteemed member of my critique group.



A couple of books that are part of a series have also made my most-anticipated-books list. There's The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan, Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon, and Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. With these books, there will be lots of fantastic things: magical powers, zombies, handsome fellows, and strong females.

What are you looking forward to reading?

*Written by Steve Horelick, Dennis Neil Kleinman, and Janet Weir (please, tell me you remember the PBS show Reading Rainbow)