Thursday, July 14, 2011
Abandon, by Meg Cabot
 I was thrilled when I heard that Meg Cabot was once again tossing her hat into the supernatural romance ring. After all, her The Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series are some of my all-time favorite YA titles, so my hopes for her new book Abandon were very, very high. Abandon, the first book in a projected trilogy, is a modern retelling of the Persephone and Hades myth. It's been two years since 17-year-old Pierce Oliviera had a near-death experience in her backyard pool, but her life has never been the same. She's been kicked out of her former school, her mother has moved them to Florida's Isla Huesos, and John, the hot, broody guy she met in the afterlife—the same guy who, disturbingly, seemed to be in charge—keeps turning up in unexpected places and yelling at her. Long-time fans of Cabot's books will recognize elements of this story. John is the quintessential Cabot love interest: devoted, bossy, and (way) older than the heroine. Dreamy, scatterbrained Pierce initially seems like more of a pushover than Cabot's previous heroines, but her easy-going nature hides a stubborn streak that prevents John from overwhelming her. Cabot has explored the overprotective guy/independent girl romantic dynamic before, but she takes it much, much further in this book—John is convinced the only way to protect Pierce is to imprison her in his Underworld bachelor pad forever, and Pierce is (understandably) voting no. I have no idea how Cabot plans to transform her hero from what can only be described as a creepy stalker extraordinaire into the kind of guy a modern girl would actually date, but I look forward to finding out. However! A word of warning! I really recommend waiting to read Abandon until the final two books in the series have been released. One of the most appealing things about Cabot's earlier series was the way she balanced the slow development of her romantic storylines with the immediate gratification of solving each installment's central mystery. Abandon, on the other hand, is 90% romantic tension and only 10% everything else, so while one or two plot points were tied up in this book, the majority were left unresolved. This means I'm in for a long, frustrating wait until the next book—2012's Underworld—hits bookstore shelves. Review based on publisher-provided copy.Labels: Book Reviews, Meg Cabot
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Insatiable, by Meg Cabot
 Meg Cabot's new novel Insatiable is full of nods to the current vampire craze (love triangles, seemingly ordinary heroines with mysterious abilities, broody-yet-hot dudes with weird dietary habits, etc.), but Cabot's irrepressible sense of humor guarantees that her book is anything but a Twilight ripoff. Cabot's heroine is Meena Harper, a soap opera writer with a highly undesirable power: she can tell when and how someone is going to die. Meena's “gift” and her under-qualified new boss have made life difficult, but she's coping—at least until she gets caught up in a struggle between a modern-day vampire prince and the vampire hunter determined to take him down. Insatiable is reminiscent of The Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You, Cabot's early series for teens. Like those titles, it balances its far-fetched fantasy storyline with a refreshingly sane heroine. (Meena is strongly attracted to both of her suitors, but she's not about to give up her job, her apartment, or her dog for just anyone, you know?) The book is left open-ended, and we're looking forward to seeing where Cabot takes her heroine next. Will Meena end up with the vampire bigwig or the human warrior? Can she nix the stupid vampire storyline she's been forced to write into her soap opera? Will her unemployed brother ever get a real job and move back out? Only time—and the inevitable sequel—will tell.... Labels: Book Reviews, Meg Cabot, Vampires
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Like we didn't already have enough of those
I staring out the window yesterday, wondering what Meg Cabot has been up to. (Apart from finishing up her body-swapping Airhead series, which we're way behind on reviewing, even though her publisher very kindly sent us copies of both the second and third books. Sorry, Meg! We'll get to it sooner or later!) Anyway, a little internet research gave me an answer: she's jumping on the vampire bandwagon. Behold the cover art for her upcoming adult novel Insatiable, due out in early June:  Cabot has a good track record with supernatural stuff (both her 1-800-Where-R-U books and her Mediator books are great), so here's hoping this will be just as fun. Labels: Meg Cabot, Upcoming Books, Vampires
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Meg Cabot gives back
In an extremely classy move, Meg Cabot is celebrating the release of her last Princess Diaries book ( Forever Princess) with an online benefit auction for the New York Library's Young Adult Programs. The auction lasts from January 1st to 31st and consists of numerous tiaras, designed by celebrities, designers, and authors--everybody from Julie Andrews to Marc Brown to Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece. Behold a small sampling of the possibilities: Judy Blume's contribution:  Nicole Miller's:  And, uh, Mo Rocca's:  Pretty awesome, huh? Labels: Awesome news, Charity, Meg Cabot
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Meg Cabot redeems herself.
I know I've complained in the past about Meg Cabot milking her series for all they're worth, but this idea is straight-up awesome:  Ransom My Heart is a historical romance "written" by Princess Mia Thermopolis, the heroine of Cabot's immensely popular Princess Diaries books. (Cabot gets a "with help from" credit.) Amazon has already posted the summary: He's a tall, handsome knight with a secret. She's an adventurous beauty with more than a few secrets of her own. Finnula needs money for her sister's dowry, and fast. Hugo Fitzstephen, returning home to England from the Crusades with saddlebags of jewels, has money, and lots of it. What could be simpler than to kidnap him and hold him for ransom?
Well, for starters, Finnula could make the terrible mistake of falling in love with her hostage. And in keeping with Princess Mia Thermopolis's longstanding interest in environmental issues, Cabot will be donating her advance to Greenpeace. The book is due out in early January. Finnula? Hugo Fitzstephen? I take back at least 25% of those complaints, Ms. Cabot. My hat is off to you. Labels: Meg Cabot
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
But... but... WHY?!?
 GYAH! According to Meg Cabot's (usually totally awesome, but in this case quite depressing) blog, Kristen Bell, star of my beloved Veronica Mars, has agreed to play Lizzie Nichols, the main character in Cabot's profoundly silly Queen of Babble series! Why, Kristen Bell? Haven't you read these books? Couldn't you star as one of Cabot's other heroines? (Seriously, they're all better than Lizzie Nichols.) Labels: Meg Cabot, Movie Adaptations
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
ABC Family (hearts) Meg Cabot
 According to the News page of Meg Cabot's website, ABC Family has optioned her standalone novel Jinx as a TV movie and her Heather Wells mysteries as a series. Cabot's novels have already inspired two terrible films and one mediocre TV series, but I suppose those royalty checks (or whatever it is writers get) must be tough to turn down. Labels: Meg Cabot, TV
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Meg Cabot bullet points
 1. Meg Cabot's YA books are moving from HarperCollins to Scholastic*, which means that she's wrapping up her current projects, including the long-running Princess Diaries series. (She's currently editing book nine, and book ten will conclude the series.) 2. According to her press release, Cabot already has three series in the works for Scholastic, including a "tween" series for 8- to 12-year olds, and two trilogies: Abandon**, which is apparently "a dramatic modern retelling of the myth of Persephone", and Airhead, described as "daring, highly entertaining and a new direction for [Cabot]". 3. Her adult books, however, will still be at HarperCollins. (This includes the last two Queen of Babble books and the last Size 12 mystery.) Plus there are still some YA books on the HC docket, including the standalone novel Pants on Fire, the Avalon High mangas, and a supernatural book called Jinx. *This might be a good move for HER, but it's a pain in the ass for US, as it's very difficult to get review copies from Scholastic. Alas. **Cabot says that this title has a 100% chance of being banned in Texas, so we're looking forward to reading it. Labels: Meg Cabot
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
New website
So, it looks like Meg Cabot has launched a new website layout...  I am pretty sure I liked the site much better before this latest redesign. It had this fun, bubblegum pink look and feel to it. The new site, on the other hand, gives off a very "marketing focus group" vibe that really doesn't work for me. Still, this site is still a million times better then Lisa Kleypas's site. Wow, is it bad:  Labels: Lisa Kleypas, Meg Cabot, website
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Giftage
Sorry about the scarcity of postage around here. We're located in the Northwest, so first our power was out, and then our server is in Taiwan, so the recent earthquake there screwed things up even further. But everything seems to be back in order, so hopefully a flood of posts will be forthcoming, starting with my Christmas Gift Certificate Round-up:  1. Ida B, by Katherine Hannigan: 70% sweet, 30% sad kids' book about a fourth grade girl whose wonderful, imaginative life is thrown into a tailspin by her mother's illness.  2. The Wallflower, Volume 10, by Tomoko Hayakawa: The most recent installment in my favorite manga series, featuring my favorite self-contained story (the one with the kotatsu).  3. Missing You, by Meg Cabot: the last story in my beloved 1-800-Where-R-You series! Finally, finally we learn what Rob did to get probation....  4. Julie & Julia, by Julie Powell: My mom gave me this, along with a Julia Child cookbook. While there is, like, no chance of me trying to prepare chicken livers in aspic or whatever, I'm really looking forward to reading Powell's book.  5. The Twelve Terrors of Christmas, by John Updike, illustrated by Edward Gorey: No Christmas is complete with out a little Gorey goodness.  6. Billionaires Prefer Blondes, by Suzanne Enoch: I've been wanting this book for a while--Enoch's stuff is always fun--but I was too lazy to either request a review copy or go out and get one. The cover is unbelievably tacky, but it was a very entertaining, silly read. Labels: Edward Gorey, Holiday, Katherine Hannigan, manga, Meg Cabot, Suzanne Enoch
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Meg, Meg, Meg...
 So, I picked up Meg Cabot's new book How To Be Popular yesterday. It was fun, as all of Cabot's books are, and it had a great cover (the picture doesn't do it justice--the book jacket is actually a metallic gold, covered with hundreds of tiny, colorful asterisks), and it was a much, much better book than Cabot's last offering, Queen of Babble. All of that was of the good. On the other hand, you see that little piece of paper the book is standing upon? If you flip that over, my friends, you will find an ADVERTISEMENT, thoughtfully provided in each copy of the book. For CLINIQUE. Now, quite apart from the issues surrounding advertisements being stuck inside novels--and, really, Ms. Cabot, did you need the money that badly?--who writes a book about being true to yourself and then puts in an ad for a skincare line? Be true to yourself, children... unless you have bad skin. In that case, drop fifty bucks at the Clinique counter and people will like you better. Labels: Book Cover, Meg Cabot
Friday, May 05, 2006
Wordcandy weekly book snippet
Excerpt from:The Boy Next Door, by Meg CabotWhy you should buy a copy of your very own:It's a romance novel told entirely through e-mail exchanges, and it's funny as all-git-out. In this scene...This e-mail is addressed to our heroine (Mel), and was written by a supermodel named Vivica. Vivica's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and she's never learned the no-capitalization rule of e-mail etiquette, but her heart's in the right place. Both she and Mel have recently been disappointed in love, and Vivica is sending her condolences.  "To: Mel Fuller Melissa.fuller@thenyjournal.com From: Vivica@sophisticates.com Subject: Max Friedlander DEAR MEL, WELL, I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE. THAT STORY ABOUT MAX WANTING TO MARRY ME BEING MADE UP, I MEAN. I LIKE YOUR IDEA ABOUT RUNNING ANOTHER STORY ABOUT HIM. COULD YOU SAY THAT WHEN HE SLEEPS, HE SNORES LOUDER THAN ANY HUMAN BEING ON THE PLANET? BECAUSE THAT IS DEFINITELY TRUE. I AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT HOW YOU CAN'T HAVE A RELATIONSHIP THAT IS BASED ON LIES. MAX TOLD ME HE LOVED ME, AND IT TURNED OUT THAT WAS ALL LIES. I REALLY, REALLY LOVED HIM, BUT HE SLEPT WITH THE MAID ANYWAY, AND ALL BECAUSE OF SOME STUPID DRIFTWOOD DOLPHINS. YOU SOUND PRETTY NICE, FOR A REPORTER. WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE LUNCH ONE DAY WHILE YOU ARE ON HIATUS? I FOUND A NEW RESTAURANT I REALLY, REALLY LIKE. IT IS CALLED APPLEBEE'S AND THEY HAVE EXCELLENT CHILI NACHOS, ALMOST AS GOOD AS MY OTHER FAVORITE RESTAURANT, FRIDAY'S. DO YOU WANT TO GO WITH ME SOMETIME? IT IS OKAY IF YOU SAY NO BECAUSE LOTS OF GIRLS DON'T LIKE ME ON ACCOUNT OF MY BEING A MODEL. LIKE MY GRANDMA SAYS, HONEY, IF YOU AIN'T A HUNDRED-DOLLAR BILL, NOT EVERYONE IS GOING TO LIKE YOU. LET ME KNOW. LOVE, VIVICA" (c) Meg Cabot, 2002 Labels: Meg Cabot, Snippet
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Rumors and Blogs...
Okay... so I know that I promised to be back yesterday with news about our favorite authors but I kinda got sidetracked reading Jenny Crusie's and Meg Cabot's blogs. Jenny Crusie Ms. Crusie started a blog last July, which I have somehow missed during all of my previous visits to her site. This is a great source of book-related-gossip as well as a way to tide you over during the wait for her next book. Speaking of her new book- we won't be seeing that until May, but I do have a little info on it. Jenny co-wrote this book with Bob Mayer (who I have not had a chance to read yet) and from the description this will definitely be the kind of book I buy in hardcover: Don't Look Down (St. Martins Press) Lucy Armstrong goes to Savannah to direct the last four days of a movie, find out what's wrong with her sister, and earn some easy money. J. T. Wilder signs on as a stunt man for the last four days of a movie to alleviate his boredom, meet some hot actresses, and earn some easy money. Trouble ensues. Jenny wrote all the scenes in Lucy's point of view, Bob Mayer wrote all the scene's in J. T.'s point of view. There's sex, violence, and alligators. It's great. Meg Cabot Meg's blog is one of my favorites- she obsesses over many of the same things that I obsess over. (We are sisters in obsession!) Her last entry from Monday gave a great overview of the latest made for TV disaster movie (one of my secret loves!) So if you forgot to TiVo it last Sunday, you can get caught up for next week's finale!  But if disaster movies aren't your thing, don’t worry. Meg is great about keeping us informed about what's new with her writing, including this sneak peak at the possible final cover for her next book, “Size 12 is Not Fat”, coming out next month. Eh. I don’t hate the new cover, but it's not doing much for me. Well, that's it for me today... I think soon Julia should be posting some new stuff over at the main site so you should go and check that out. Labels: Blog, Jenny Crusie, Meg Cabot
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Fabulous New Cover from Meg!
 Once again, we have an awesome cover from Meg Cabot! The book sounds interesting but I'd purchase it based on the cover alone. Labels: Book Cover, Meg Cabot
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I was thrilled when I heard that Meg Cabot was once again tossing her hat into the supernatural romance ring. After all, her The Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series are some of my all-time favorite YA titles, so my hopes for her new book Abandon were very, very high. 
