Monday, August 09, 2010
Flipped: new and improved?
 If you've never read Wendelin Van Draanen's adorable 2001 novel Flipped, Random House is releasing an "enhanced" e-book edition of the book featuring a bunch of tie-ins from the upcoming movie adaptation: 8 video clips of scenes and 16 full-color photos from the film, as well as 4 video interviews with Van Draanen and a excerpt from her (inferior, sadly) second romantic comedy, Confessions of a Serial Kisser. At $14.99, it's a little pricey, but they're also offering a standard e-book and a new trade paperback, both of which retail for $8.99. Personally, I'd stick with the original edition—the cover is cuter, and until I see some very good reasons for transferring the story to the 1950s I'm reserving judgement about this movie adaptation. Labels: ebooks, Movie Adaptations, Promotions, Wendelin Van Draanen
Monday, June 07, 2010
There's a fine line between "sweet" and "totally hokey"
 Well, the trailer is out for the movie adaptation of my beloved Flipped, and I'm really not feeling it. The book was wholesome, sure, but this looks like a non-ironic version of Pleasantville with a smidgen of Nicholas Sparks thrown in. No thank you. Labels: Movie Adaptations, Wendelin Van Draanen
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Behind the times
 Wait. There's a Flipped movie?!? AND IT'S COMING OUT THIS YEAR? (...and why is it suddenly set in the fifties?) Why am I so behind on Wendelin Van Draanen news? Turns out there's both a plot summary and a release date--October 12th--up on Amazon for the next book in the Sammy Keyes series, Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher. (Sammy's mother isn't going to marry Casey's father, right? Tell me the answer to that question is no.) Note: Wendelin Van Draanen's blog mentions something about a possible TV adaptation for the Sammy books, as well as a horseshoe shoelace charm tie-in. Ready your allowances, young readers! Labels: Movie Adaptations, Wendelin Van Draanen
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Wordcandy (hearts) public libraries
 Once again, my local library has come through for me with their excellent books-on-CD selection. My family and I are heading off to the beach this week, and we'll be listening to the complete and unabridged audio version of Wendelin Van Draanen's Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief along the way. As longtime readers of the site know, I am a huge Van Draanen fan, and I am sincerely grateful to my library system for providing me with four hours of audio entertainment. If you don't spend much time at your local library (and a shocking number of bibliophiles never set foot in libraries, preferring to hang out in bookstores), do yourself a favor and trot on down. I can't speak for every library in the country, but most of 'em are clean, friendly, staffed by helpful, friendly librarians, and surprisingly well-stocked... with books that are free. Labels: Audio, Library news, Wendelin Van Draanen, Wordcandy on the cheap
Friday, February 15, 2008
Confessions of a Serial Kisser
The cover art and official description for Wendelin Van Draanen's Confessions of a Serial Kisser are up:  "Evangeline Logan wants a kiss. A spectacular, heart-stopping, life changing kiss. Somehow The Crimson Kiss (a romance novel she's become obsessed with) and Four Steps to Living Your Fantasy (a self-help book she's reading) have fused in Evangeline's mind and sent her on a quest for a kiss. But the path to perfection is paved with many bad kisses-the smash mouth, the ear licker, the "misser". The phrase "I don't kiss and tell" means nothing to the boys in her school. And worse: someone starts writing her name and number on bathroom walls. And worst of all: the boy she's just kissed turns out to be her best friend's new crush. Kissing turns out to be way more complicated than the romance novels would have you believe..." I think Van Draanen's Flipped is one of the sweetest YA novels ever written--unfortunately, it raised my expectations for her books to such heights that it will be almost impossible to live up to 'em. Labels: Romance, Wendelin Van Draanen
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Something to look forward to...
 Two of our favorite Wordcandy YA authors have new books scheduled for the spring: Peter Abrahams has announced that the third book in his excellent Echo Falls mystery series will be called Into the Dark, and is due out April 1st. And (even more exciting!!!) Wendelin Van Draanen is going to release another standalone romance! We loved Flipped with a fiery passion, and the Sammy/Casey romance in her Sammy Keyes series gets more freakishly adorable with every book. Confessions of a Serial Kisser is due out May 13th. Labels: Peter Abrahams, Upcoming Books, Wendelin Van Draanen
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If you've never read Wendelin Van Draanen's adorable 2001 novel Flipped, Random House is releasing an "enhanced" e-book edition of the book featuring a bunch of tie-ins from the upcoming movie adaptation: 8 video clips of scenes and 16 full-color photos from the film, as well as 4 video interviews with Van Draanen and a excerpt from her (inferior, sadly) second romantic comedy, Confessions of a Serial Kisser. At $14.99, it's a little pricey, but they're also offering a standard e-book and a new trade paperback, both of which retail for $8.99. Personally, I'd stick with the original edition—the cover is cuter, and until I see some very good reasons for transferring the story to the 1950s I'm reserving judgement about this movie adaptation.
