Bookstore Love: New York's Books of Wonder

I was in New York recently to meet with my editor and agent and make my first visit to the HarperCollins offices (which is like one spectacular bookstore itself… I kept stopping to ooh and ahh at the shelves!). It was right after the ALA mid-winter meeting where the youth media awards were presented, and I was hoping to pick up something awesome to read on the train home. So I popped into one of my favorite NYC bookstores, Books of Wonder! And look what greeted me right inside the door:

A handy display of Caldecott, Newberry and other ALA award winners.

I snagged copies of THE CROSSOVER and EL DEAFO, then I moseyed over to the YA section to pet the books browse the shelves (and, okay, I'll admit it… to imagine my own book up there). As a member of the Fearless Fifteeners group of 2015 debut YA and MG authors, it's fun find their newly released books out in the wild. 

Look, there's Michelle Falkoff's Playlist for the Dead 
trying to hide from me...

…and Dan Gemenhart's The Honest Truth practically jumping off the shelf!

I also had to stop in the picture book section, and ogle the gorgeous titles there (wishing my kids were still picture book age!).

Even more fun—I'll be making an appearance at Books of Wonder with seven other 2015 YA debut authors on Saturday, June 20, as part of the TEEN DEBUT SPOTLIGHT: FEARLESS FIFTEENERS event. 

Hope to see you there!

Bookstore Love: Austin's BookPeople

NEW FEATURE! Today begins a new series on my blog: Bookstore Love! 

Do you recognize these shelves?

I was looking through my photographs recently and realized how many pictures I have taken in bookstores. My travel photos ALWAYS include scenes of at least one or two YA bookshelves. (Am I the only one who does this? Please confess in the comments if you do it, too!) 

So, why not share all that bookstore love on my blog? It is infinitely more interesting than talking about myself! 

I am particularly fond of tiny little stores that cram books into every possible nook and cranny, and rambling bookstores in oddly-shaped buildings. But what I love most are bookstores that hang review cards and staff recommendations from the shelves. Nobody does that better than BookPeople in Austin, Texas.

It's the lovely Teen Lit section at BookPeople! See all the little review tags
placed at eye level? (They were on a lower shelf in the middle grade section!) 

Yes, yes… I'll give you an up-close look at some of the tags! These photos were taken two years ago when my daughter and I went to Texas for spring break. Flipping through these photos now is like a walk down memory lane of my favorite books from 2013. Look at all the pretties!

Don't you just love the little mask on the Smoke & Bone review,
and the heart for Paper Valentine?

Oooh… three favorites in a row. 

And here's a close-up of the review for Amy McNamara's
gorgeous novel, LOVELY, DARK & DEEP. 

Spot any favorites? I could spend hours in this store, reading all the beautifully illustrated (and laminated!) reviews. I'm just looking for reasons to travel to Austin again so I can see what's on the shelves there now. Maybe someone will send me a photo? (Hint, hint.) 

I'll be posting more of my own bookstore love in the weeks ahead, and inviting some author friends to share theirs, too. But now, I must dash to my local indie to pick up a stack of books I ordered. (And take photos, of course. They're next up on Bookstore Love!)