John Corey Whaley

THE GENTLEMAN'S TOUR We are happy to bring in The Gentleman’s Tour, featuring Printz award winner John Corey Whaley (Noggin), and two great debut authors Jason Reynolds (When I Was the Greatest) and Brendan Kiely (The Gospel of Winter). Three great authors; one great night at Anderson’s! TUESDAY, APRIL 29 at 7:00 PM Anderson's Bookshop Naperville | 123 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville

Location: Street: Anderson's Bookshop Naperville Additional: 123 W Jefferson Ave City: Naperville, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60540 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Our 5th annual TeenBookCon is going to be the best yet! This nationally recognized event is a great opportunity for teens and other fans of YA literature to interact with a variety of authors and graphic novelists. The fantastic librarians and educators who make up the executive committee are working hard to make this a day you will never forget. Once you see this line-up of rock stars, you will start making your plans to attend. For a schedule of the event, visit teenbookcon.org Where: Alief Taylor High School, 7555 Howell Sugar Land Road, Houston, TX 77083 When: Saturday, April 26, 9:30 – 5:00 We will have 28 authors and graphic novelists attending the festival this year: Keynote Speaker: Lauri Halse Anderson - The Impossible Knife of Memory Closing Speaker: Matt de la Peña - The Living Authors Charles Benoit - Cold Calls Ann Brashares - The Here and Now Cecil Castellucci - Tin Star Svetlana Chmakova - Witch & Wizard: The Manga, Vol. 3 Melissa de la Cruz - The Ring and the Crown Bree Despain - Into the Dark Book #1: The Shadow Prince Elizabeth Eulberg - Better Off Friends Shannon Hale - Dangerous Jenny Han - To All The Boys I've Loved Before Rachel Hawkins - Rebel Belle April Henry - The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die Brendan Kiely - The Gospel of Winter Emery Lord - Open Road Summer Sarah Mlynowski - Don't Even Think About It Lauren Myracle - TTYL Trent Reedy - Divided we fall Jason Reynolds - When I was the Greates Eliot Schrefer - Threatened Victoria Schwab - The Unbound (An Archived Novel) Victoria Scott - Fire & Flood Tess Sharpe - Far From You Jillian Tamaki - This One Summer Mariko Tamaki - Skim Laini Taylor - Dreams of Gods & Monsters Len Vlahos - The Scar Boys John Corey Whayley - Noggin Mini Grant Contest The author who sells the most books through Blue Willow Bookshop to people who will NOT be able to attend the festival will have a mini grant named for them that will be awarded to a librarian, selected at random, who attends TeenBookCon. Get a signed copy from one of your favorite authors and help a librarian get a mini grant! Ordering If you can't attend the event and want a PERSONALIZED copy shipped to you, you may call the store or add the appropriate book to your cart on our website. Payment type must be "CreditCard." To place an international order, please email orders@bluewillowbookshop.com to obtain shipping details and to have items shipped to you. Staff will respond within 24-48 hours. In order to ensure fulfillment the deadline for web orders is 5:00 p.m. Thursday April 24.

Location: Street: Alief Taylor High School Additional: 7555 Howell Sugar Land Road City: Houston, Province: Texas Postal Code: 77083 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

7PM FRIDAY, APRIL 18 Guys YA Tour: John Corey Whaley, Tom Leveen and Bill Konigsberg

Three authors visit Changing Hands to present the story of a re-animated frozen head and his struggle to readjust after his 5 year absence, the fight to survive a high school outbreak, and a tale of what happens when you go back in the closet.

John Corey Whaley presents Noggin, the follow up to his award-winning debut novel, Where Things Come Back. After dying at age sixteen, Travis Coates' head was removed and frozen for five years before being attached to another body, and now the old Travis and the new must find a way to coexist while figuring out changes in his relationships.

Tom Leveen, author of Manicpixiedreamgirl, shares his new teen novel Sick. Brian and his friends are not part of the cool crowd. They're the misfits and the troublemakers. So when a deadly virus breaks out, they're the only ones with a chance of surviving. The virus turns Brian's classmates and teachers into bloodthirsty attackers. This event will test everything they thought they knew about themselves and their classmates.

Joining them is Bill Konigsberg, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Out of the Pocket, with his new teen novel Openly Straight. Rafe, out and proud since 8th grade, is tired of being known as "that gay guy." So when he transfers to an all boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret—not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate breaking down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And, most of all, he falls in love with Ben.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS John Corey Whaley grew up in Louisiana. His debut novel, Where Things Come Back, "was the 2012 winner of the Michael L. Printz and the William C. Morris Awards.

Tom Leveen is the author of Party, Zero, and manicpixiedreamgirl. Zero was named to YALSA's list of "Best Fiction for Young Adults." This is his first foray into the horror genre. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Bill Konigsberg won the Lambda Literary Award for Young Adult fiction for Out of the Pocket. Before writing novels, he was a sportswriter for The Associated Press and ESPN.com, where he won a GLAAD Media Award for a coming-out essay he wrote while working there. Bill lives in Chandler, Arizona, with his partner, Chuck.

Location: Street: 6428 S McClintock Dr. City: Tempe, Province: Arizona Postal Code: 85283 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

We'll be discussing the award winning Where things come back May 24 @ 7:00. Just when seventeen-year-old Cullen Witter thinks he understands everything about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town, it all disappears. . . .

In the summer before Cullen's senior year, a nominally-depressed birdwatcher named John Barling thinks he spots a species of woodpecker thought to be extinct since the 1940s in Lily, Arkansas. His rediscovery of the so-called Lazarus Woodpecker sparks a flurry of press and woodpecker-mania. Soon all the kids are getting woodpecker haircuts and everyone's eating "Lazarus burgers." But as absurd as the town's carnival atmosphere has become, nothing is more startling than the realization that Cullen's sensitive, gifted fifteen-year-old brother Gabriel has suddenly and inexplicably disappeared.

While Cullen navigates his way through a summer of finding and losing love, holding his fragile family together, and muddling his way into adulthood, a young missionary in Africa, who has lost his faith, is searching for any semblance of meaning wherever he can find it. As distant as the two stories seem at the start, they are thoughtfully woven ever closer together and through masterful plotting, brought face to face in a surprising and harrowing climax.

Complex but truly extraordinary, tinged with melancholy and regret, comedy and absurdity, this novel finds wonder in the ordinary and emerges as ultimately hopeful. It's about a lot more than what Cullen calls, "that damn bird." It's about the dream of second chances.

Society members will receive a 20% discount on titles chosen for discussion and ocassional access to pre-publication previews of new books from well-known as well as up-and-coming authors. Other surprises may also be in store – remember, this is Hicklebee’s…

Our book club is full to capacity. Call the store (408) 292-8880 or email us to be added to the wait list. Novel Society facilitator, Renee Ting is the President and Publisher of Shen’s Books, a small press specializing in multicultural children’s literature. As a publisher, she has been reading, evaluating, producing, and marketing children’s content for over ten years. Prior to heading Shen’s Books, Renee worked at several children’s book and music stores, including Linden Tree and Storyopolis. She is a graduate of Harvard University with a BA in music, and is the author of The Prince’s Diary.

Location: Street: 1378 Lincoln Ave City: San Jose, Province: California Postal Code: 95125-3010 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)