Three New Upstart Crow Books

Last week, I finished a major revision of my novel and sent the last little edits off to my agent (woohoo!). So this weekend, I rewarded myself by going out for ice cream with Kevin and catching up a bit on my to-read shelf. Since I'm so excited to get to the stage in my book where my agent now has the reins, I thought I'd highlight three books written by my "agent siblings" that came out this summer:

The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere, Vol. 1) 
by Jacqueline West
I loved this and am already thinking about which niece to send it to first. Ordinary Olive moves to a creaky, old Victorian house and finds herself caught up in an extraordinary mission to uncover the mystery of her new home's unusual paintings. Very fun and just the right amount of spooky. (For ages 8-12ish)

The Deathday Letter 
by Shaun David Hutchinson 
When 15-year-old Ollie receives his "deathday letter" he has to decide how he wants to spend the last 24 hours of his life. Kevin and I both read this one and laughed out loud at how realistically uncensored Ollie's teenage brain is (girls and crude euphemisms and puns are definitely in the forefront of his mind). (For teen readers)

Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation 
by Matt Myklusch
I just finished this one up last night. Orphan Jack Blank knows nothing about his past and has to survive an adventure in another world to find out who he is. The Imagine Nation is filled with robo-zombies, ninjas, androids, and superheroes of every size and shape. Not to mention scores of cool gizmos and gadgets, and of course, evil villains...one surprising villain in particular throws Jack's whole world into serious tumult. (For ages 8-12ish)