Get out the welcome mat for Fat Cat as you start Going Bovine with this pair of top teen reads

While many of the new books for the fall are focused on such grown up delights as the new Dan Brown(I'll wait for the movie,I have better luck with those)or whatever Oprah plans to spring on us this season , it's the young adult titles that are also coming out now that are getting just as much attention from both sides of the generation gap these days.

The offerings are as plentiful in the teen section as they are in the adult,especially with expected revival of interest in the Vampire Diaries series due to it's televised debut on the CW this week.

However,I have found at least two upcoming titles that look like real winners for reading audiences of both age groups. Both of them are due at a bookstore or library(one that still has books,that is)near you:



Fat Cat is Robin Brande's second novel for teens and once again,her main character is a thoughtful and intelligent girl who decides to make a radical change in her life. Catherine "Cat" Locke takes on a daunting personal challenge for her high school science fair project-she assumes the lifestyle and habits of a hominid,mankind's earliest ancestors.

That not only means no TV and car,it also forces her to eat differently which helps her lose a lot of weight. Cat revels in the new found admiration given to her by guys who never gave her the time of day before but the only one who matters is Matt McKinney,the boy who she loves to hate and wants most to be blinded by her science:





Robin's engaging style of writing was not only showcased in her first book,Evolution,Me and Other Freaks of Nature,but can be seen at her blog,where she gives out great advice to budding writers and discusses topics such as the state of literature and recipes for chocolate zucchini bread with folks everywhere.

Later this month,I'll be hosting a giveaway of Fat Cat,along with a review of the book(coming out in early October),so please watch this space for more details! In the meantime,check out Evolution,Me and Other Freaks of Nature if you haven't already done so and feed your mind with it's savvy science debate:





Another tale of a teenager who takes an out-of-the-box approach to dealing with a health related issue in their life comes from Libba Bray with Going Bovine. Sixteen year old Cameron has been officially diagnosed with mad cow disease that is sure to send him to an early grave.

One of the symptoms of his condition is hallucinations,which may explain how Dulcie,a punk style angel way too much into sugar,shows up to encourage Cameron into making a quest to find a cure. Along for this wild ride with Cameron is Gonzo,a goth video gaming dwarf and Balder,a Viking god who is currently in the form of a yard gnome.

This certainly sounds very off the wall but very interesting indeed. Libba Bray is certainly unabashedly bold and daring with her literary choices(not to mention her keen fashion sense):






Bray is best known for her Gemma Doyle trilogy that started with A Great and Terrible Beauty and ended with The Sweet Far Thing. Those books could reasonably be called historical fiction,with a strong dose of fantasy blended in for some surrealistic spice.

Many of her longtime readers might be thrown by her foray into a more modern time period and a male protagonist to boot, but something tells me that her strongly compelling narrative style is still the same as it ever was. New and old readers need not be afraid to follow her to new imaginative shores:



Going Bovine will be on sale in September and with Fat Cat due out by October 13,this new round of YA books for the fall should be a great one,indeed. Try to keep these titles in mind when you go holiday shopping as well. No matter what age,taste or amount of free time on hand,books always make for the perfect gift to give: