What is this place?

This is, first and foremost, a place for people who love books. It started in 1998 as a basic stopover for people looking for information on young adult books and has since evolved into one of the largest sites targeted towards tween and teen readers. You can find book reviews, author interviews & bios, press releases, industry news and much more on both children's and YA books. The site is constantly evolving and being added to, so stop by frequently. If you ever have any questions, just e-mail me at any time.

Who Am I?

Kimberly Pauley - kim@yabookscentral.com (YA, PB, MG)
I specialized in adolescent and children's literature at the University of Florida and graduated with a degree in English (and no, I won't tell you how long ago that was...remember, YA books can be enjoyed by people of *all* ages). I am also an avid reader and a writer. My first novel, titled Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, teen vampire (maybe) came out in August 2008. The sequel, Still Sucks to Be Me is coming out in May 2010. I am married to a lovely and understanding man (not that he gets the writing thing, but he supports it!) and have a baby boy, AKA the cutest baby ever (Max). You can find out more about me at my author website, kimberlypauley.com I primarily review young adult fiction, picture books, and some middle grade works, though I now review *very* few books due to my own writing schedule.

Of course, my opinion isn't the only one that counts. Besides giving you, the readers, the ability to add a reader book review, I also have some regular contributors and volunteers. In fact, this site could not exist today without them.

Regular Contributors

(The Official YABC Tween Reviewer holds their position until age 13, at which time a new Tween Reviewer is chosen) -- Even before she could read on her own, a good bedtime story always did more to wake up Maya’s imagination than put her to sleep. Now, at age 10, Maya can’t go far without a good book and a journal to write in. Maya lives in Seattle, WA with her parents and her dog, Bombay. If her nose is not in a book, Maya can be found bringing stories to life by performing in musical theatre. She spends the rest of her time singing, earning Girl Scout badges, or swimming. While her favorite genre is fantasy, Maya enjoys reading almost anything, especially books that provide a multi-racial perspective since she is half Japanese.

(The Official YABC Teen Reviewer holds their position until age 19, at which time a new Teen Reviewer is chosen) -- Noel has been enchanted by words since before she could understand them. In the cradle she would cry until her mother talked her to sleep. Almost eighteen years later she is still lulled and excited by them. Aside from reading, her passions include music and theater. She lives with her loving parents, Mike and Heather, her friend and sister, Lindsey, a playful dog, and a human-hating cat. She aspires to join the Peace Corps and go back to school for journalism or an English degree upon her return.

Laura Amos - laura@yabookscentral.com (YA, MG, favorite genres are sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction and some "realistic fiction")

Laura Amos rarely went anywhere without a book when she was younger, and read through almost the entire juvenile section of the local library by the end of elementary school. It only made sense that she would become a librarian when she grew up. Laura received her MLS in 2007 from the University of Kentucky, and is now a children's librarian in Virginia. She lives with her husband and three young children, and adores sharing books with her kids with the hope that they will love reading as much as she does.

Kim Baccellia loves reading. Her grandfather used to always tease her to be careful as reading too much would sure lead to other things! Kim is the author of the crossover multicultural fantasy EARRINGS OF IXTUMEA. Her YA paranormal CROSSED OUT is coming later this year. She's also shopping around an upper MG fantasy. She keeps a blog at http://kbaccellia.livejournal.com

She's a former first grade teacher who now volunteers at son's school and library. Kim also loves to quilt, practice yoga, do genealogy, and watch chick flicks. And she can't wait to see NEW MOON later this Fall as she admits to be a big Jacob fan!

Alyssa Feller - alyssa@yabookscentral.com (YA, MG, emphasis on graphic novels/manga and small press/self-published)

Alyssa has loved reading since she was very little. Her father used to read to her every night from her favorite book: a huge book of nursery rhymes. Now she is currently earning her bachelor’s degree at a college in Idaho. The rest of her family still lives in California and includes her parents, a brother who is crazy for books and Star Wars, a cat and, the newest addition to the family, a beta fish named Stix. In addition to reading, her hobbies include crafts of all kinds, cake decorating, and cooking. She also thoroughly enjoys ballroom dancing, and her favorite dances are Cha Cha and Nightclub Two-Step.

Ed has been an avid reader as far back as he can remember. When he was just a kid, not wanting to return his favorite library book, he hid it in his toy chest. Now that he's a librarian, he'd never think of doing such a thing. Ed received his MLS in 2004 and is a Teen Services Librarian in New York. He and his girlfriend are always reading and talking about books. Between them, they have five kids in high school and college, four cars, two dogs and one cat. Ed also loves the beach, cooking, old bookstores and old cars. His favorite genre is Mystery, but he'll read just about anything.

Rita Lorraine Hubbard is a former special education teacher of eleven years with a MS in School Psychology. Her two sons hold degrees in Media Arts and Animation, and illustrate much of her written work. She loves all things historical, and is the founder of Shades of Greatness:™ A Calendar Tribute to Early African American Inventors. One of her unpublished adult historicals won 3rd Place in the Innerlit Moon Best First Chapter contest in 2007 (http://brianagincourtmassey.com/winnerspage07.html), and she recently celebrated the release of her first book, African Americans of Chattanooga: A History of Unsung Heroes (The History Press) in December 2007.

Even though the success of her African American historical has left her on Cloud 9, her first love is and will always be children’s books. She is working to find homes for a contemporary MG chocked full of humor, and a YA set in 1943 and situated smack-dab on the Chattanooga/Georgia line. She is also currently working on a PB historical series.

Rita spends much of her day researching history and writing all about it, but she would love to hear from you. You may visit her at www.shadesofgreatness.com.

Becky received her MLS in December of 2005. She has been reviewing books for children and young adults on her blog since August 2006. She has participated in the Librarians’ Choices project at Texas Woman’s University since 2004. The Librarians’ Choices highlight a hundred titles per year to represent the best of the year--picture books, fiction for younger, middle, and older readers, nonfiction, and poetry. Becky loves to read and could not imagine a life without books. You can visit her at Becky's Book Reviews.

When not working on her own stories, Little Willow is happy to read or perform those written by others. She is a bookseller, freelance book reviewer, and journalist who aspires to be a successful actress, screenwriter, and novelist. Visit her book blog, Bildungsroman, at http://slayground.livejournal.com and corresponding archive at http://www.slayground.net/bildungsroman/

Myra McEntire has had her nose in a book since she could hold one. She was once caught reading in the shower (true story) and only stopped when her father disconnected the hot water heater. Her undergraduate degree is in English Literature and Film. While taking a graduate course in Children's Literature, she rediscovered her love of the genre and has been happily catching up ever since. She is now working on her own stories and raising two boys and a husband. You can learn more about her at her blog: http://writingfinally.blogspot.com. Her debut novel, Hourglass, will be released by Egmont in 2011.

Some of Kim's childhood memories involve toting a sandwich, a thermos, and a good book up into the cherry trees for the afternoon, where she could read for hours uninterrupted unless a spider dropped by. She doesn't climb trees to read these days, but she can still lose herself in a good YA novel or an interesting middle grade reader. Kim serves as Writer-at-Large for Bethel College (the one in Indiana), where she has taught writing for 16 years. While she's "at large" this year, she hangs out near the Smoky Mountains with her husband, cat and dog; teaches writing courses online; mentors aspiring writers; studies Cherokee; and writes articles, book reviews, and even her own YA novel-in-progress.

Interview Maven

The Interview Maven can be contacted via interviews@yabookscentral.com. While any reviewer can conduct an interview and interviews can also be submitted directly by authors, The Interview Maven is in charge of interviews on the YABC site.

Infrequent Contributors

Julie M. Prince considers reading and reviewing books more than just fun-which it is! It's also research for her writing career. She has published two biographies for kids, in addition to several nonfiction articles in kids' magazines. She's currently working on her first middle grade novel and keeps an active blog at: www.juliemprince.com.

She's a wife, mother, and multiple pet owner, living in the middle of the desert. In her spare time-ha-she works full time at a rehabilitation hospital, where she gets to watch miracles every day. People learning to walk and talk again after strokes and severe accidents is inspirational and amazing to witness. But more than that, it's great fun. There's singing and dancing in the hallways, graduation ceremonies for patients being discharged, and people rolling through the hallways on skates…all in the name of therapy! It's a good life, and one worth celebrating-so she does, every day!

Wanda has always loved art, poetry, and books that invite you to reflect upon the mysteries of life. Picture books are her favorites and she also enjoys YA novels. After filling her head with mysticism and romantic notions about art, at age 18 she built a cardboard house in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains and lived there all summer while working as a portrait artist. Afterwards, she got a B.F.A. in painting and an M.A. in Historic Preservation, got married, had two wonderful kids, restored multiple houses, did oral history projects, became a registered yoga teacher, and kept a vivid diary via her paintings, poems, and yoga blog. Her years of historic research and lifelong love of poetry led to her passion for writing YA fiction. Details about Wanda’s cardboard house, her life in the woods, her writing, and her current batch of paintings can be found on her website, www.wandacollinsjohnson.com

Marla Arbach is a PhD student and an instructor at Herstmonceux Castle, where cake is called pudding and classrooms have dungeons. Although she's always harboured a secret desire to become Canada's next Gordon Korman, she is not currently working on any projects--except her dissertation. Aside from reviewing books, she teaches fitness classes as a hobby and recently finished her personal trainer certification. She doesn't look or feel 28 years old, but birth certificates don't lie. Marla lives in England much of the year while she teaches. Consequently, she's our official YABC foreign correspondent. If you are a publisher or author living in Europe, please contact Marla.

Elizabeth Starr Miller is a freelance technology journalist in Chicago, and the mother of two ingenious red-headed boys. When she's not otherwise occupied with building robots, inventions, tinkering and playing "talking cars," she is reading, stamping, knitting, cooking and helping neighbors in need. She has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Hollins University in Roanoke, Va., and a Bachelor of Arts in English Writing from the University of Pittsburgh.

Even since Captain Kangaroo introduced the Magic Drawing Board to her, Denise has loved stories. She grew up dragging her grandmother to s small grey-stoned Carnegie Library. Denise read her way through a B.A. degree from Western Kentucky University.

Denise kept reading. She drove a bookmobile the Kentucky countryside. Denise began to work in school libraries in Western Kentucky. She went to graduate school and received a Master’s of Science in Library Science from the University of Kentucky and she received a certification to teach gifted children from Northern Kentucky University. Denise settled in a Northern Kentucky school district where she has read stories to children in school libraries for a long time. In 2006, she was selected as the Kentucky School Media Association’s outstanding school media specialist.

Forum Support

Past Contributors

When Terry Miller Shannon isn't reading, she's writing. Her first picture book, TUB TOYS (Tricycle Press), was written with her son Tim Warner; another is scheduled to be published by Hyperion. She thoroughly enjoys writing middle-grade fiction books for the Wizards of the Coast Star Sisterz series under the pen name Tea Emesse, starting with NOVA ROCKS!.

Other pleasures include gardening and cooking with her husband (also a devoted reader); any kind of research; beachcombing; hanging out with her big black dog, Romeo; and watching movies. You can read about Terry at http://terrymillershannon.com.

When not reading books for young children, Kim reads young adult, writing and marketing books. She volunteered at the public library as a third grader, helping to check out and shelve books and also worked in the school library in seventh and eighth grade where she stockpiled all the best books for herself. Just when her mom was convinced that she’d become a librarian, the journalism bug bit. She earned a Bachelor’s of Journalism in Advertising from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with concentrations in marketing, English and psychology. Kim has worked in cable advertising, marketing and management. These days, she is a mother and an aspiring children’s author and spends her days slaying dragons, building castles and hosting royal balls.

In junior high, Beth would walk from class to class with her nose in a book. Without running into anyone, she finished the whole Babysitter’s Club series this way! A former sixth grade teacher and reading specialist, she now stays home to play with her one year old son, Jakson. She loves historical fiction, starting a new book, and reading “Click, Clack, Moo” to her son. Aside from reading, she enjoys organizing rooms (ever read Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room?-awesome closet!), scrapbooking, traveling with her husband, Zak and checking the mail.

Leann discovered while taking a children's literature class in college that she was especially passionate about middle grade and young adult novels. She had always been an avid reader, but once she began immersing herself in books for young people, it was as if a door to a new and better world had opened. After college, Leann worked as a bookseller and then spent several years as an editor for HarperCollins Children's Books. In 2005, she decided to start her own editorial business and became a full-time freelance editor. When she isn't reading or editing, she enjoys talking about books with her husband and friends (or her cat, if she's the only one who will listen!), baking, lounging on the beach, watching ice hockey, and listening to music. She doesn't go anywhere without a book--usually a young adult title. You can learn more about Leann at www.wherewordslive.com.