Young Books, Actors and Singers
2014′s Generation Next: Books To Read, Artists And TV Stars To Watch
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This year’s crop of young stars are changing the game.
Summer 2014 Book Pick:
True Story- NiNi Simone
Seven McKnight has returned to Stiles University for a new school year. She is ready to have a good time with her boyfriend, Zaire, and her friends, Shae, Khya, and Courtney. They are ready for a year of parties and playing pool and basketball. But trouble arises when Seven grows bored with Zaire and their weekly routine, which rarely includes her friends, much less a good party. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend and first love, Josiah, makes it clear he wants her back. Confused by her feelings and conflicted about what she wants out of her relationships, Seven has to make some hard decisions about love. This is the seventh book in the popular Ni-Ni Girl Chronicles, but new readers can easily delve into this world without having read the previous titles. Simone’s writing is thin on plot, but humorous, fast-paced and drama-filled. Seven is a likeable and relatable protagonist, obsessed with fashion and status driven. She is also young and naive about romance and relationships. The supporting characters and love interests are fully realized and multi-dimensional, while the relationships and romantic challenges depicted amongst Seven and her friends will resonate with teens, particularly those in urban environments. Authentic slang and of-the-moment pop culture references will hold appeal to reluctant readers. Reviewer: Amanda Foust
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association, officially announced the 2014 Teens’ Top Ten Nominees today, on Celebrate Teen Literature Day.
This year’s list of nominees features 25 titles that were published between Jan. 1, 2013 and Dec. 31, 2013.
The nominees are as follows:
•Arnett, Mindee. “The Nightmare Affair.” Tor Teen.
•Banks, Anna. “Of Triton.” Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends.
•Bardugo, Leigh. “Siege and Storm.” Macmillan/Henry Holt Books for Young Readers.
•Block, Francesca Lia. “Love In The Time Of Global Warming.” Macmillan/Henry Holt Books for Young Readers.
•Charbonneau, Joelle. “The Testing.” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
•Dashner, James. “The Eye of Minds.” Random House/Delacorte Press.
•Edwards, Janet. “Earth Girl.” Prometheus Books /Pyr .
•Gleason, Colleen. “The Clockwork Scarab.” Chronicle Books.
•Gray, Laurie. “Maybe I Will.” Luminis Books.
•Henry, April. “The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die.” Henry Holt Books for Young Readers.
•Howard, A. G. “Splintered.” ABRAMS/Amulet Books.
•Kate, Lauren. “Teardrop.” Random House.
•Konigsberg, Bill . “Openly Straight.” Scholastic.
•Laybourne, Emmy. “Monument 14: Sky On Fire.” Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends.
•Richards, Natalie D. “Six Months Later.” Sourcebooks/Fire.
•Rowell, Rainbow. “Eleanor & Park.” Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin.
•Sales, Leila. “This Song Will Save Your Life.” Macmillan/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
•Sanderson, Brandon. “Steelheart.” Random House/Delacorte Press.
•Sanderson, Brandon. “The Rithmatist.” Tor Teen.
•Smith, Jennifer E. “This is What Happy Looks Like.” Little, Brown & Company.
•Smith, Andrew. “Winger.” Simon and Schuster.
•Stine, R.L. “A Midsummer Night’s Scream.” Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends.
•Tucholke, April. “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.” Penguin/Dial.
•Winters, Cat. “In The Shadow of Blackbirds.” ABRAMS/Amulet Books.
•Yancey, Rick. “The 5th Wave.” Penguin/Putnam Juvenile.
A list of the nominees including annotations of each title can be found on the Teens’ Top Ten website.
Teens are encouraged to read the 25 nominees before the national Teens’ Top Ten vote, which will take place August 15 through Teen Read Week at http://www.ala.org/yalsa/reads4teens
Up Next TV’s Next Gen
2014′s Generation Next: Books To Read, Artists And TV Stars To Watch was originally published on elev8.com
Palmer made history as the youngest person with a talk show and introducing the talk show platform to the young adults demographic.
Palmer’s BET talk show, “Just KeKe” premiered last week, and before then, she wanted some advice before the show went to air.
“She was saying it definitely would be a lot of work and to prepare myself for that,” Palmer told PEOPLE. “And that’s definitely true because there are a lot of hours and everything like that, and a lot of talking involved, hence my voice being hoarse.”
Queen Latifah told Palmer to just be herself… just be KeKe.
Palmer added, “and then she said I [should] just be myself – my natural personality. She said I was a natural at it.”
The daytime talk show space continues to get crowded (Tyra Banks most recently announced that she’ll be jumping back into that space via ABC), as Keke Palmer and BET are hoping to strike gold with a new talk show targeting so-called millenials – essentially those in her age group – which Palmer will of course host.
Per the press announcement, “#JUSTKeke” will cover a variety of topics important to her target audience, as you’d expect, and will also include celebrity guests, and more.
“I like to read quotes that touch on how I am feeling. If I am dealing with confusion, I will read quotes about clarity and peace of mind. I started posting these quotes on my Twitter page, and the fans responded so positively! I realized that many of them were dealing with similar issues, and the quotes helped to open up a genuine dialogue between us.”
Take a look behind the scenes!
Up next the music mavens!
2014′s Generation Next: Books To Read, Artists And TV Stars To Watch was originally published on elev8.com
Jamie Grace is a 21-year-old singer/songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. Jamie’s sophomore album hits all of the right notes. As we’ve come to expect from the young songstress, there is no comfortable little style box her music fits in. She combines elements of pop, country, R&B, and rock effortlessly.
The title track, “Ready to Fly (Avery’s Song)” is a slower song with a tuba driving the back-beat. Yes, you read that correctly – a tuba! Jamie wrote the song the night before she turned 18 when it hit her that she didn’t have to have her whole life figured out yet – she just had to be ready to fly in whatever direction God pointed her in. For whatever reason, the full cut wasn’t included on her debut release, One Song at a Time. A 1:05 minute prelude gave a hint but that was it. A year later, it became apparent that it was all about God’s timing. In October of 2012, an 11-year-old girl from Wisconsin named Avery McCarthy was killed in a car wreck. She was a Jamie Grace fan and the morning of her death, when her mom had been driving her to school, she had been singing along with “God’s Girl.” The last thing Avery said to her mom was, “You know, I really am a God girl.” At her funeral, “Ready to Fly” was played to help her family and friends celebrate her flying home to Heaven.
In an interview with USA Today, Grace said, “Though we never met, Avery taught me so much. God used Avery’s life to remind that we don’t know when God is going to call us home or open or close a door in our lives. As the title track and concept of the record, it is about being in the waiting with God, yet while you’re waiting being ready to move — ready to fly — when the timing is right.”
Take a look below:
The 20 year old Houston native singer/rapper follows up his her debut single “Chimneys” with a song about being confident in being truly different.
“It is dangerous to not follow the crowd. Everyone thinks they are doing it, but they are really not. It is dangerous to give your entire life for one thing – but I like it on the Wild Side.“, says HillaryJane.
Wild Side is available on iTunes now, as a part of HillaryJane’s upcoming project ‘Stix and Stones’ due out July 29th.
The 17 year old Las Vegas native emcee follows up his eye opening full length debut album Murder My Flesh, with a freshly focused vibe of raw hip hop and transparency with Hipsavvy: The Introduction.
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2014′s Generation Next: Books To Read, Artists And TV Stars To Watch was originally published on elev8.com