YASH Fall 2016

HELLO HUNTERS!

I am Jessica Khoury, author of the Corpus trilogy (Origin, Vitro, and Kalahari) 
and recent Aladdin retelling, The Forbidden Wish.

I'm your host on this YASH stop! WELCOME! 

HERE'S THE SKINNY:

YOU: What's the YA Scavenger Hunt and why are people losing their minds over it like flamingos at a shrimp shack?

ME: Because, beautiful reader, on this hunt, you not only get to read exclusive content from your favorite YA authors--you also get a chance to win a major fantastic prizes (we’re talking BOXES AND BOXES OF BOOKS) and that's not even counting the extra giveaways you'll find on many of our blogs!!

YOU: But Jess, how do I win this glorious readers' booty?

ME: By hopping from blog to blog and collecting the secret numbers! You'll find each author's favorite number hidden in their YASH blog post, highlighted in ORANGE. Collect all the numbers for my team (I'm on Team Orange!) and submit the total sum here on this nifty entry form, and hey presto! you're officially entered to win a year or two's worth of reading!

YOU: But what if I don't win?

ME: Lucky for you--there are six simultaneous hunts going on (yes, you heard me--SIX!) and you can participate in either one, two, or if you're super-hardcore--ALL OF THE HUNTS! Collect the numbers from each hunt and submit them, and multiply your chances of winning!

YOU: OMG, JESS. LIKE SRSLY. Can this hunt get any more awesome?

ME: Dear hunter, it can. Each author has the option of hosting their own giveaway on their blog, so keep an eye out for extra chances to win extra books and swag!

We are also now featuring a bonus prize. We select a group of authors who have participated in the hunt many times and fans can add up their numbers as well to enter for a $50 Amazon gift card. The list of those authors will be included on the YASH ENTRY page.

YOU: Okay, I'm in. Where do I start?

ME: Right here! You can begin your hunt on any participating blog, but for the full list of rules and authors and blogs and prizes, check out the YASH website here! The contest runs from Oct. 4 at noon PST to Oct. 9 at noon PST. Small window of opportunity, my dear--you must be swift!

YOU: Is there any fine print to this? Cuz it seems too good to be true.

ME: Just this: Open internationally, and anyone under the age of 16 must have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by Oct. 9 at noon PST. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered. Duplicate/multiple entries per team will be deleted and result in disqualification--so YES we are watching and YES cheaters will be eliminated!

YOU: Jess, these rules and info are a drag. Can I just start already?

ME: Jumpy little thing, aren't you? But YES. Enough talk. LET'S SCAVENGE! Scroll down to meet the author I am hosting, read her bonus content, find my secret number, and to get on your merry way! For more info on the hunt, check out the YASH homepage!

HAPPY HUNTING!

I am thrilled to be hosting Emil Sher, author of Young Man With Camera.

A picture is worth a thousand words -- and with a unique photographic format, a stunning original voice, and a provocative portrayal of bullying, Young Man with Camera is a book to get people talking.

T-- is used to getting grief. He gets it from his mom, who blames herself for his accident years earlier. He gets it from Mr. Lam, who suspects every kid of stealing from his shop. Worst of all, he gets it from Joined at the Hip, a trio of bullies so vicious that they leave T-- terrified of even using his entire name.

But T-- has his own strength too: his camera, which captures the unique way he sees the world. His pictures connect him to Ms. Karamath, the kind librarian at school; his friend Sean, whose passion for mysteries is matched only by his love for his dog; and especially Lucy, a homeless woman who shares his admiration for the photographer Diane Arbus. When Lucy is attacked by Joined at the Hip, T-- documents the assault on film. But the bullies know he has the photographs, and their anger could be deadly. What's the right thing for T-- to do? Do pictures ever tell the whole truth? And what if the truth isn't always the right answer?

Whoa. This sounds like an intense, engrossing read about an important issue in today’s world. I would love to get my hands on a copy! I wonder how many photos are in the book? Maybe... 7??

MEET EMIL!

A writer who writes for the young and once-were-young: 

picture books, stage plays, young adult fiction, essays. 

Still learning the ropes. Often in knots.

Learn more about Emil & his books on his website!

You can find Young Man With Camera for sale here!

Happy reading, Hunters!

And now for some BONUS CONTENT!! Woot woot!

Emil has a special treat for us--a look at some of the snapshots that didn’t make it into the book.

Feast yer eyes, me hearties!

Young Man with Camera

“This is one reason why I have this so-called obsession with photography,” says T—in Young Man with Camera, a novel about a thirteen-year-old photographer with facial scars and a singular perspective that gives him an uncommon strength. “Since you can never get the whole picture, you should wonder about the part of the picture you can’t see.”

            In other words, what you see is not always what you get, a truth that is illustrated early in the book when T— describes a photograph he titled Girl With Goldfish.  We staged the photograph on a cold morning in east-end Toronto.  When we arrived at the location we were delighted to see a sidewalk store sign that was about the same height as the young girl who would be posing for the photograph, goldfish in hand. 

We soon realized that the sign’s appeal would become a liability: it draws attention away from the girl.  So we decided it was best to show the girl by herself to best focus on her body language.  Here is photographer David Wyman taking one of several shots.

 

All the photographs in Young Man with Camera are published in black-and-white.  True, costs were a consideration.  But as T— notes, “Color is more colorful. Black and white is more revealing.”

Here is the photograph as it appears in the novel, and T—’s description of what happened beyond the frame.

            I took it in front of the Pet Palace. The girl’s mother kept telling her to Smile! Smile! but the smile looked rehearsed.

         A minute after I took the picture, the woman poked the plastic bag with her finger.

         How long will this one last before it’s flushed down the toilet?

         The girl burst into tears.

What a cool behind-the-scenes look at YOUNG MAN WITH CAMERA! 

Thank you so much for sharing these pictures with us, Emil!

AND NOW, to continue on your merry way, Hunters, click this link to visit the next stop on the Team Orange circuit!