1. My new column went up last week at Bookslut and included several titles of the "coming-of-age" variety. In particular please note Tales From the Madman Underground by John Barnes, a recent Printz honor recipient that I have not heard nearly enough about around the blogosphere. Go. Read. You will fall so hard and fast for this one that you really will not believe it.

2. Other titles in the column (all of them fabulous) are: Age 14 (gritty WWI drama); Stunt (spec fic/family drama mashup from one of my favorite small presses all about missing parents, bad parents and a discovered grandparent who is a trapeze artist); Shine, Coconut Moon (or what I like to think of as an Indian twist on the Gilmore Girls, including post-9/11 drama); A Very Fine Line (manages to be about clairvoyance, home schooling, cross dressing and family secrets all at once - plus BONUS crushing on the teacher); and the Colors gn trilogy from First/Second which is as pretty as it gets and very funny and also all about growing up in Korea. Nicely done, each and every one.

3. In the midst of January chaos there was also a new issue of Eclectica. (Read here to see how my editor is still waiting on one of his adopted children to arrive from Haiti - they have been in the process for Evans for about two years now). I had three review pieces for kids up in the issue, including one on Myths, one on learning books (that you don't realize are teaching you things and thus are supposed to be boring) and one on biographies of many people I did not know much of anything about. Amazing what you can learn reviewing picture books!

4. Oh - and bonus, another review of Shine, Coconut Moon from Eclectica contributor Niranjana Iyer.

5. I just finished reading Raina Telgemeier's delightful MG graphic novel Smile. I didn't intend to do more than give it a quick glance (it showed up unrequested) but after turning just a few pages I was completely sucked into this one. It follows the real story of the author's trials and tribulations after falling and severely damaging her two front teeth at the age of 12. All through middle school she is alternately tortured and healed by a variety of dentists, orthodontists, etc. and must deal with the physical discomfort and all too familiar emotional dramarama. Nothing truly exceptional happens in this book except growing up but it's told so well that you can't resist it. In terms of plot it is a perfect MG vacation book - add a sandwich, some chips and lemonade and this the 2010 winging in the hammock version of The Penderwicks. The bonus here is the fantastic multicultural cast - Telgemeier has truly drawn Raina's school in about the most realistic manner I've ever seen with all shades of brown and beige portrayed with great fun and aplomb.

Smile is a true winner - could very well be a dark horse award winner later this year (I'm thinking the Cybils are doing to love this one.)

6. Bonus - See much more about Smile at Raina's website.

7. Cory Doctorow YA SF alert! For the Win is due out from Tor this summer. Set in the future, it's about gaming, unions, and a "vast shadow economy, running electronic sweatshops in the world's poorest countries, where countless 'gold farmers,' bound to their work by abusive contracts and physical threats, harvest virtual treasure for their employers to sell to First World gamers who are willing to spend real money to skip straight to higher-level gameplay." Basically a novelization of his short story "Anda's Game".

Although I was not completely sold on Little Brother as the greatest YA SF title to hit the ground in forever, I do think he's a solid writer and has lots of teen appeal, so I'll be looking for this one. (Not a very good title though - sounds like a sports book which it certainly is not.)