Tuesday, December 27, 2011

We're Movin' On Up!

Hi My Bookshelf Readers, 

This is my final message to you on this version of the site. 

Over the last few months we at My Bookshelf have been working on the development of the central My Entertainment World site where we'll be joining with our current sister sites My Theatre, My TV, My Sports Stadium, My Cinema and My Music. The new central hub will feature highlighted articles from across My Entertainment World and a showcase for our biggest exclusive interviews as well as the most recent posts from all 6 existing branches (and our brand new venture My Games). 


But never fear, My Bookshelf will live on as My Books, with it's own page as a branch under the My Entertainment World umbrella. At www.myentertainmentworld.ca/mybooks you'll be able to find all the same content from this site brought to you by myself and your dedicated head writer Rachael. 

Thank you all for your dedicated readership of My Bookshelf in the past few years, we love hearing from each and every one of you. I can't wait to show you our new and improved selves. 


We launch www.myentertainmentworld.ca this week- get excited and I'll see you there!


All My Love, 
Kelly Bedard
Managing Editor, My Bookshelf

Monday, December 5, 2011

We Recommend: The Drake Chronicles

If there's one thing we've learned from Hunger Games fever it's that YA readers were desperate to move on from the Bella Swan heroine model. Feminists, hipsters and tween girls alike have flocked to the stubbornly flawed but undeniably kickass Katniss Everdeen like she was a breath of fresh air; which, after years of a Twilight-ruled landscape, she was. But for vampire lit fans, a suitably strong leading lady has been sadly harder to find (they're out there, they're just not as famous). So we thought we'd help you out, point you towards our favourite cast of smart and capable girls living in a young adult fantasy world (yes, a whole cast of them). Actually, come to think of it, we've been missing some great heroes too; of the un-dead but still non-creepy variety, that is (and some living ones thrown in for good measure). And deep mythology with a sense of history and tradition, building a distinct world and a new kind of lore on top of the existing myths . And fun narrative voices with just enough self-aware snark to overcome some of the genre's sillier tropes. Oh I give up, there's all sorts of goodness in Alyxandra Harvey's teen vampire series The Drake Chronicles, I'm not going to bother choosing an angle.

Each book in the 6-part series (book 4 comes out in North America this month, it's already out in the UK) is narrated by a pair or trio of different characters from Harvey's well-populated world and explores the action of a dramatic couple weeks in the fictional town of Violet Hill from a new perspective.