Electric Monkey Highlights for 2013

Last week I received a preview book from Egmont, highlighting the new books they have got coming out from their teen imprint, Electric Monkey and I thought it would be good to highlight a few of the ones that I am personally very excited about with the synopses to tempt you!

By Any Other Name by Laura Jarratt – 1st April 2013

I loved the debut book by this author. Skin Deep was one of my favourite reads last year and I know I wasn’t the only person to think that. Especially as it was shortlisted in the Waterstones Children’s Book Award.

Nobody can know the truth - her life depends on it. I picked up the book and thumbed through the pages. Names in alphabetical order, names with meanings, names I knew, names I'd never heard of. How to pick? Nothing that would stand out, nothing that would link me to the past - those were the instructions. The past. As if everything that had gone before this moment was buried already. Holly is fifteen years old, but she's only been "Holly" for a matter of months. Because of something that happened, she and her family have had to enter witness protection and have all assumed new identities. All, that is, except her sister Katie, who is autistic. Starting at a new school mid-term is hard enough at the best of times, and Holly has no clue who she is any more. Lonely and angry, she reaches out to friends - new and old. But one wrong move will put all their lives in danger...

Every Day by David Levithan. – 1st July 2013

Firstly this isn’t the UK cover. I am having trouble finding that but the US cover is pretty. I haven’t read any books by this author apart from the book he wrote with Rachel Cohn – Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares which I loved completely. This book intrigues me – the whole idea of body jumping reminds me of that programme in the 80’s – Quantum Leap.

The buzz is phenomenal. Everyone is talking about it so I am hoping it is as good as they say.

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.
There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.
It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day

The Originals by Cat Patrick – 6th May 2013

I’m a huge fan of Cat Patrick’s and I can’t wait to read her new book. I loved Revived last year. And this one features identical triplets, which Cat might have a good idea about since she has identical twins.!

17-year-olds Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey Best grew up as identical triplets... until they discovered a shocking family secret. They're actually closer than sisters, they're clones. Hiding from a government agency that would expose them, the Best family appears to consist of a single mother with one daughter named Elizabeth. Lizzie, Ella, and Betsey take turns going to school, attending social engagements, and a group mindset has always been a de facto part of life...
Then Lizzie meets Sean Kelly, a guy who seems to see into her very soul. As their relationship develops, Lizzie realizes that she's not a carbon copy of her sisters; she's an individual with unique dreams and desires, and digging deeper into her background, Lizzie begins to dismantle the delicate balance of an unusual family that only science could have created

Shipwrecked by Siobhan Curham. – 3rd June 2013

I’ve just read her recent book, Finding Cherokee Brown and I can’t wait to read this one, which is the first book in a series.  ‘Lost’ meets ‘Gossip Girl’!

 I jump at the sound of a whispered voice over my shoulder. But when I turn round all I see is sand, and the towering, green wall of the rainforest. I guess it must have been the breeze, but I can't help shivering. I have the weirdest feeling that we're being watched. Grace Delaney and her fellow dance students are en route to perform on a South Pacific cruise-ship when a freak storm hits and they find themselves stranded on a deserted island. With the tropical heat rising, passions and tensions swell to breaking point. And the island itself is quietly steaming with a terrible secret...

Twinmaker by Sean Williams –  November 4th 2013

The synopsis just sounds so good.

You can be Improved....
In a near-future world in which technology can transport you anywhere instantly, can a coded note enable you to change your body-to become taller, stronger, more beautiful? Clair is pretty sure the offer is too good to be true. But her best friend, Libby, is determined to give it a try, longing for a new, improved version of herself.
What starts as Libby's dream turns into Clair's nightmare when Libby falls foul of a deadly trap. With the help of Jesse, the school freak, and a mysterious-but powerful-stranger called Q, Clair's attempt to protect Libby leads her to an unimagined world of conspiracies and cover-ups. Soon her own life is at risk, and Clair is chased across the world in a desperate race against time.
Action and danger fuel Sean Williams's tale of technology, identity, and the lengths to which one girl will go to save her best friend

So they are just a few of the books coming our way from Electric Monkey this year. Which ones do you like the look of most?