Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board book review is from Michael Hayball. If you are a publicist and would like to send our Youth Advisory Board books to review, please email me. To give our board feedback on reviews, leave a comment or write to them directly via email: youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

YAB Review: 'Daniel X: Alien Hunter' By James Patterson

To be honest, I had never picked up anything by James Patterson before. The only exposure I had to his work was watching my mom read his murder mysteries by nightlight in her room. I love graphic novels however, and seeing that it has the "Mom Pedigree" behind it, I figured I'd give James Patterson's Daniel X: Alien Hunter a shot.

The plot charmed me and disinterested me at the same time. On one hand, certain elements struck me as new and interesting, but on the whole the plot felt like it was lacking…"Je ne sais quoi," that certain something. It's alright though, since it was really the first installment of a bigger series.

That being said, Daniel as a character really hooked me. He struck me as an incredibly sympathetic character, who had noticeable humanizing flaws. For one, he's only a kid! He’s young, inexperienced, and vulnerable. He's also very lonely, since his entire family is gone. He doesn’t even have friends, so he has to create his own friends to keep himself company.

The element that impressed me the most was the artwork. Each panel looks hand-painted and beautiful. It reminded me of the comic book pages from the TV show "Heroes," and the camera (pencil?) angles are marvelous. You can really tell Leopoldo Gout, the illustrator, really went for a cinematic look for this comic.

Daniel X: Alien Hunter is a well-put together graphic novel, and for 10 bucks, you really can’t go wrong. I will say that it is a bit on the short side, but it is perfect for short reads. I would recommend it to anyone, fan or Patterson's books or not.

About Michael Hayball
Michael lives a simple life in Allen Park, Mi. When he is not attending Henry Ford Community College for his Associates, he can be seen chatting and socializing around campus and the local coffeeshop. He enjoys a good iced caramel cappuccino, or a regular coca-cola. Michael loves what he calls "The Blog Music," and he was and still is raised on a steady diet of electronic music and old-school hip hop. Michael hopes to work for Spin magazine one day, and screams like a little girl every time a new issue comes to the local coffee shop.

Editor’s Note This is the last edition of Ypulse Book Essentials and the last day of our separate Ypulse Books Newsletter. We will continue to cover YA and children's book publishing as a part of Ypulse and publishing related news will be covered in our daily Ypulse Essentials. Please visit the Ypulse Books Channel for all of our archived and ongoing coverage.

The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie the Second (follows an awkward teen as he makes his way through senior year of high school and his first real relationship. It's been getting a love-it-or-hate-it reputation — apparently, the graphic references to sex can be a bit much — but the reviews agree it's definitely an authentic voice) (Becky's Book Reviews)

- Textbooks for rent? (Finally picking up traction. Also, check out these new reference tools for students: RefSeek) (TechCrunch) (Derek Baird via Twitter)

- Much better than lollipops (Reach Out And Read trains pediatricians to hand out age-appropriate books to patients. The program is now being expanded to military bases) (SLJ)

- African Nobel Prize (awarded to a young adult fantasy novel) (Guardian via bookshelves of doom)

- What a boy wants (to read. A 13-year-old tells all to Publisher's Weekly) (Guys Lit Wire)

- A lesson in teaching poetry (through hip-hop. Love this idea) (NY Times, reg. required)

- Shared Book (a customized publishing platform, announces a slew of new affiliate agreements. Among them — a national children's literacy organization, ) (PersonaNonData)

- Helen Hemphill (talks about The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones and more) (Cynsations)

- Alison Morris suggests (adult books for high schoolers) (Shelftalker)

- Librarians called to duty (to out-Google Google. The Reference Extract project hopes to use academic credibility to build a better search engine) (Ars Technica)

Today's Ypulse Books feature is from Ypulse Youth Advisory Board member Akanksha Aurora. Given all of the buzz surrounding the first "Twilight" movie, her post feels very timely and reaffirms that the "Twilight" series is indeed an international phenomenon…Remember, you can communicate directly with the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

'Twilight' Through The Eyes Of An Indian Teen

Indian mythology was created as a means of entertaining the masses long before television and computers. Therefore, every mythical hero or heroine had characteristics who set an example for the Indian people. Since most of these mythological characters in India were crafted for the purpose of encouraging positive transformation within its citizens, vampires could not even be conceptualized. Even though Stephanie Meyer shines a different light on vampires in her "Twilight" series, the preconceived notion of blood-sucking creatures enveloped in darkness doesn’t quite fit.

For me, fiction like Meyer's is unorthodox and refreshing and is a hit in India due to the Indian teen’s internal quest for change and undying curiosity. Books like Twilight introduce new concepts of mythical characters to our youth, incorporating topics like relationships, love and sensuality, making us look at things in a whole new light.

The Indian teen is nothing if not transformational. The new generation of Indian teens yearns to break free from the conventional ideals set up by Indian mythology. Seeing vampires through the eyes of Meyer's Isabella Swan has changed our perspective as the family of vampires depicted in this series is kind, warm and caring.

Indian authors such as Chitra Banerjee have also incorporated mythical concepts similar to Meyer's within their works but have targeted an audience consisting mainly of adults.

The possibility of drastic change, of starting afresh is exquisitely captured in this stunning and beautiful collection of books, marvelously combining myth and romance; easily finding its way into our hearts. Voraciously read by Indian teens, the "Twilight" series has truly broadened our horizons.

About Akanksha

By the time she got to the much-dreaded, self-esteem destroying wasteland also known as high-school, Akanksha began to develop an interest in writing. Suddenly, all the words she ever knew began to creep into her dreams, and discover all her darkest thoughts and feelings, before silently but permanently immersing themselves within her soul and transforming themselves into fiction. In addition to that, the French language is her drug and acne is her worst enemy. She laughs a little too much and is a romantic in the extreme sense.

NYT's Top Ten Illustrated Children's Books (some great selections this year including this beautiful biography of William Carlos Williams) (New York Times, reg required)

- Another wacky t-shirt tie-in? (I'm really not one to talk. I totally fell for every book that came with a charm bracelet) (GalleyCat)

- YALSA's YA Lit Symposium (was held in Nashville, TN this past weekend. Check out their blog for video and audio from the event. Also, see Twitter posts on this Twemes page)

- Immune to Twilight fever? (The actress playing Bella in the upcoming films can apparently take it or leave it. Ouch. Thanks Stefan!) (i09)

- Google to publish out-of-print books (and the battle between Google and Amazon quietly rages on) (NY Times, reg. required)

- All booksellers want for Christmas (is to make it out of the Holiday season in decent shape. With heavy hitter JK Rowling on deck, there may be hope yet) (Publisher's Weekly)

- 'Knucklead' (trailer is out) (Fuse #8)

- A room of one's own (or at least a separate section. Popular indie bookstore Politics and Prose sets aside space for older teens) (The Brown Bookshelf)

- 'The Saints of Augustine' (interesting review on Guys Lit Wire)

- Dear Mr. President-Elect… (Fourth-graders' letters to Obama. Plus, children's author Fran Manushkin suggests a Children's Inauguration) (Edinger House) (Fuse #8)

How appropriate that the author of A Little Friendly Advice (called "a fabulous debut," by Teen Book Review among others) should graciously agree to dispense some of her own. Siobhan Vivian, whose latest exploration of the ever rocky teenage terrain Same Difference will be out next March, takes her turn at answering our One Simple Question…

"As an artist what inspires you most in your role as a writer for Young Adults?"

Every writer has been given, at least once, the advice, "Write what you know." There's serious truth to that little nugget. I follow it to the letter.

The truth is I've never really felt very adult or particularly grown up. I am constantly embarrassed, awkward, sweaty, pimpled. These are the "bad" parts of adolescence, the things we hope to grow out of. When people think about the teenage experience, this is where their minds automatically go. And, lucky me, I live that kind of discomfort every day. It takes literally no effort for me to imagine what a teen might be feeling the first time they notice a boy who doesn’t notice them, or try something and fail miserably in front of their peers. *sigh*

This can be, at times, quite disconcerting. I am often surrounded by peers who are way more "put together," who seem to have life all figured out, who approach things more rationally and live lives that sees, at least from this outsider’s perspective, more even-keeled, more successful.

But in the same breath, I feel lucky enough to also experience the insane joys, the almost-manic highs of happiness that also come from being a teen on a daily basis. I am completely swept by the rush of a first kiss, I do not hesitate to shamelessly elbow my way to the foot of the stage of my favorite band, or to seek adventure by simply walking aimlessly at night with my friends. The world is strangely open and magical, serendipity all around. I want to celebrate these little victories, exploit the tingly feelings and remind us to stop and feel them. And when I'm in one of those moments, I wouldn’t trade them for any sort of security, confidence, or insight. Suddenly, the people I envy look empty and unfulfilled. They look like they don’t know how to live.

What does this all boil down to? Well, this tug-of-war between what we should be and what we are is a universal struggle from which I can draw upon. At the end of the day, I love that I have such closeness to my teen identity. It is not buried, or something I hide, but a resource that makes my life better, gives me endless inspiration for the books I write, and validation for the person that I am. And that is what I hope to impart onto my readers and what absolutely drives me as an artist.

Mariko Tamaki's Skim (and a good roundup of other graphic novels for teens) (Bookslut)

- Obama spreads hope (to librarians) (SLJ)

- Check out this list (of politically-themed titles for kids and teens.) (SparkLife)

- Borders gets Twilight makeover (for Christmas. Watch out for elves with fangs. Plus, Stephenie Meyer shares some of her influences with Entertainment Weekly.) (Wall Street Journal)

- Interesting profile on Brock Cole (children's book illustrator and author of The Goats) (The Buffalo News)

- A whodunnit (written and performed by a teen advisory board at the library in Scranton, Pennsylvania) (SLJ Teen)

- A new social networking site (for young readers in the UK) (The Bookseller)

- YALSA asks (how libraries can help kids find news) (YALSA)

- Review of 'A Dictionary of High School B.S.' (published by Zest Books - a sponsor of Ypulse!) (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

- 'Goosebumps' is back! ( R.L Stine resurrects the popular series for today's young readers) (YA Fresh)

This past weekend, I went to Bookfest at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center to hear a session called "Coming of Age in America With Roger Bennett and Benjamin Nugent." I had heard about Bennett's books Bar Mitzvah Disco and Camp Camp from the literary agent we happen to have in common and was really eager to hear him talk about my obsession: Summer camp in the 1980s. Having gone to a YMCA overnight camp from age 7 through 13 and later worked at a Y Camp in Oregon and a Jewish camp in the Berkshires, you could say I'm a camp-o-file. Oh and that doesn't even include the camp staff reunion I dragged my now husband (then boyfriend) to about five years ago.

I was definitely able to get my nostalgia fix looking at the photos Bennett collected from his extensive network of past campers, but I also learned that he has a greater goal for his books. While it came off as being a bit tongue and cheek (British sarcasm?), he challenged Tom Brokaw to a fight over whose generation is really the greatest. Through these collections, Bennett is attempting to tell the story of my generation - aka Generation X - through books full of bad 80s hair, Bennetton sweaters and bubble handwriting. Camp Camp is just the second in what will be a 20-book series that is part of his undertaking called The Academy of the Recent Past.

Bennet's ambitious goals aside, I do think camp was a seminal experience for many of growing up — not "spa camp" or "hangout on a college campus camp" but "go away for the entire summer if you can make it that long camp." Camp Camp captures everything from the faux Native American rituals to the pale green and pink plates, the tortuous wedgies and nasty gossip to first kisses and counselor crushes (they were gods - remember? Even though they were just teenagers!). Most of all, the book seems to capture the possibility of starting over — for a lot of kids who struggled to fit in during the school year, camp was a place you could reinvent yourself. I just started reading the book and already it nails the longing throughout the year for that first day of camp including the meticulous planning around what to wear.

I am really curious to know Ypulse readers' ideas about how camp has changed (or whether it has) for the current generation of campers. I know at my old Y Camp, for example, you can no longer stay for the entire summer — only a week at a time. I also know from past Ypulse coverage that niche camps have been springing up like "princess camps" or other academic oriented camps that sound like just another way to pad your college resume. And of course the Camp Camp generation didn't have the internet or cell phones yet. We had to hand write letters to mom and dad. The phone call was only in cases of severe homesickness or physical illness. So all you modern-day campers or parents of campers, what aspects of Bennett's Camp Camp memories are definitively ours and what themes live on today?

Page to Screen (Neil Gaiman signs on to produce a live-action adaptation of "The Graveyard Book") (MTV Movie Blog)

- Blog the vote! (Across the kid litosphere bloggers speak out about why voting matters. The master list of participants is up on Chasing Ray. Plus Obama and McCain coming to a comic book near you) (via Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast) (Cleveland.com)

- ReaderGirlz (moves from MySpace and welcomes new "diva" blogger Melissa Walker)

- Freddy the Pig goes to Washington (Fifth-graders at Tenacre Country Day School give their fictional picks for who they'd want to see as Prez) (Shelftalker)

- Literary twins (A mother of twins speaks out against literary stereotypes. As the sister of twins, I can also attest to the lack of realism) (The Guardian)

- More Trouble for Google? (Harvard refuses to play ball with Google Books) (Information Week)

- A guide (to the best graphic nonfiction for teens) (SLJ)

- Guys Lit Wire talks to Tracie Vaughn Zimmer (author of Floating Circus, about what it feels like to write from a boy's POV.)

- New study names four types of Harry Potter readers (and they correspond with the different Hogwarts houses?! I don't know if I buy this.) (The Bookseller)

- Fourth Story Media (a new "multi-platform" company telling stories across books, the web, mobile phones and other media)

- World’s first multimedia novel… (published on a T-Shirt) (2d Code)

As much as I can appreciate YA books that reflect the high-tech times we live in, there's something refreshing about stories like Trenton Lee Stewart's debut novel The Mysterious Benedict Society and its sequel The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey that in spite of their contemporary setting seem to willfully deny the ubiquity of cell phones, iPods and even (impossible as this may seem) the internet. Instead, the four children that comprise the titular association rely on their wits, talents and book smarts (read: dictionaries and encyclopedias) to get by. Oh, and they also learn morse code.

In the same spirit as Encyclopedia Brown, (another whipsmart protagonist, and a personal favorite of mine growing up), Reynie Muldoon, along with the other members of the Benedict Society, are championed and ultimately rewarded for their mental gifts and their honed physical abilities (i.e. walking on one's hands). And though the suggestion is delivered in a not-so-subtle way (the bad guy attempts to brainwash children around the world through subliminal messages sent via the TV), these characters do inspire young readers to look beyond the various screens in their life and seek out stimulation from old-fashioned sources of entertainment such as word games and puzzles.

While this is not to say that technology has to be vilified in order for tweens and teens to be able to appreciate the alternative, it is in an interesting tactic to place a premium on engaged problem-solving versus passive behavior like television-watching. What's more, Stewart makes the choice seem obvious. As the characters progressively become more self-confident the closer they get to reaching their goal (foiling the evil genius and his plot to take over the world), you not only find yourself rooting for Reynie and his crew, but also attempting to solve the riddles and word play yourself (and trust me, even adults may break a mental sweat trying to wrap their heads around some of those doozies.)

What struck me most about both the novel and its sequel is that by requiring extra work on the part of the reader, the whole reading experience actually became more enjoyable. Upon finishing the book, I felt I had accomplished more than just completing a story. Of course, I think it could also be argued (and proven) that kid lit can accomplish the same feat by actually embracing new media (see Scholastic's The 39 Clues), but nevertheless I was still impressed and charmed by Stewart's low-tech approach.

As Ypulse approaches its fifth anniversary this spring, we are once again evolving and changing as the business grows. I have been fairly transparent over the years about sharing our plans and asking for feedback. We’ve been hard at work finalizing our 2009 strategy, which involves some content and staffing additions and changes, and I want to share them with you.

We will be redesigning Ypulse to highlight six unique content channels. These include: Books, Tweens, Campus, Urban, Youth Marketing and Mobile. To help us manage the coverage in all six of these channels, I’m excited to announce that Meredith Sires (pictured in the photo!) is joining Ypulse.com as a full-time managing editor beginning November 1.

In order to focus on building editorial content and readership for all six channels, we will no longer distribute a separate Ypulse Books newsletter - the final newsletter will go out on November 12. Instead, all unique content – Books, Campus, Marketing, Mobile, Tweens, and Urban – will appear in Ypulse.com and in the Ypulse Daily Update. For Ypulse Books fans, be assured that we will continue our coverage of YA book marketing and youth literacy trends – just directly on Ypulse.com and in our regular Ypulse Essentials coverage. The Ypulse Books channel – like the other five new Ypulse channels – will become a regularly updated archive of ongoing coverage.

Indeed, there will be new sponsorship opportunities on all of these channels. We plan to launch the new site and new channels in January.

More on our new managing editor, Meredith Sires: Meredith comes to us from Market Partners International/Publishing Trends, where she was an international editor and associate consultant. Meredith also will be looking for both guest posters and regular stringers to contribute to Ypulse, especially in some of the new channels. To get in touch with Meredith, email her at Meredith@ypulse.com.

Allison Decker will no longer be editing Ypulse Books. She has done an amazing job in developing the voice and tone of Ypulse Books and creating several features we hope to preserve. Allison continues her work as a passionate practitioner in the field as a school librarian. To keep in touch with Alli, email her at allidecker at mac.com

Ypulse blogger Casey Lewis will become our Campus Editor, contributing periodically to Ypulse about campus trends and, of course, her passion: fashion!

We will be focusing on two big Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashups in 2009. Our San Francisco Mashup, set for June 1-2 at the Hotel Nikko, will focus on leading edge technology youth are using right now as well as what’s next in the youth technology space. Our second Youth Marketing Mashup will be in November of 2009 in New York City at a date and venue to be announced and will focus on content and how traditional media industries like publishing, television/film and music are adapting and embracing new technology to authentically reach youth.

Finally, Ypulse Research will continue to resell market research reports about tweens, teens and early twentysomethings as well as a new series of quarterly white papers focusing on youth, marketing and technology written by us from a Ypulse perspective. Look for our first white paper in the winter of 2009!