Jenn Reese, Awesome Middle Grade Author

Jenn Reese, Awesome Middle Grade Author

Jenn Reese

Jenn Ree

It’s not Writer Wednesday, but sometimes you just gotta break tradition! So, here we go!

Another one of those fantastic writers that I hang out with (and who humbles me with her snippets of awesomeness) is Jenn Reese. I’ve known Jenn since before I began my writing journey; she’s one of the very first people who assured me I can do this. (She’s still assuring me, and I don’t take that for granted one little bit.)

So, in my totally unbiased opinion, Above World is an adventure that ANY middle-grade reader would devour.

But before I introduce you to the books, here’s more about Jenn from her Amazon page:

“Writer. Martial artist. Geek.

Jenn writes science fiction and fantasy stories about heroes and adventure and lasting friendships. Her short stories have appeared online in Strange Horizons and in a number of anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award-winning Paper Cities. She makes her home in Los Angeles, a sun-bleached desert city of freaks that she absolutely loves. When she’s not sitting in traffic, she’s studying martial arts, playing video games, and dreaming of rain.

For more information on her stories, novels, and adventures, visit www.jennreese.com.” 

Here’s the scoop from Amazon:

Jenn Reese's middle-grade debut, Above World

Jenn Reese’s middle-grade debut, Above World

  A suspenseful sci-fi escapade plucks two children out of the ocean for a thrilling adventure. Thirteen-year-old Aluna has lived her entire life under the ocean with the Coral Kampii in the City of Shifting Tides. But after centuries spent hidden from the Above World, her colony’s survival is at risk. The Kampii’s breathing necklaces are failing, but the elders are unwilling to venture above water to seek answers. Only headstrong Aluna and her friend Hoku are stubborn and bold enough to face the terrors of land to search for way to save their people. But can Aluna’s fierce determination and fighting skills and Hoku’s tech-savvy keep them safe? Set in a world where overcrowding has led humans to adapt – growing tails to live under the ocean or wings to live on mountains – here is a ride through a future where greed and cruelty have gone unchecked, but the loyalty of friends remains true.

And Book Two, Mirage…

Book Two in the Trilogy

Book Two in the Trilogy

A thrilling sequel from an exciting new voice in middle-grade sci-fi tracks two ocean-born children braving the dangers of the Above World. The desert is no place for ocean-dwelling Kampii like Aluna and Hoku, especially now that Aluna has secretly started growing her tail. But the maniacal Karl Strand is out to conquer the Above World, and the horselike Equians are next on his list. Aluna, Hoku, and their friends — winged Calli and Equian exile Dash — race to the desert city of Mirage, intent on warning the Equians. When they arrive, Strand’s clone, Scorch, has gotten there first. Now the Equian leader has vowed to take all his people to war as part of Strand’s army. Any herd that refuses to join him by the time of the desert-wide competition known as the Thunder Trials will be destroyed. To have any chance of defeating Scorch and convincing the Equians to switch sides, the four friends must find a way to win the Trials. The challenge seems impossible. But if they fail, the desert — and possibly all of the Above World — will be lost to Karl Strand forever. Here is the action-packed follow-up to Above World, which Kirkus Reviews called “a thrilling sci-fi adventure. Imaginative and riveting.”

And of course, there’s a third book, coming in February 2014! Here’s Horizon, available for pre-order.

HORIZON:

Aluna and Hoku, Kampii from the City of Shifting Tides, and their friends, Equian Dash

Horizon, Book Three in the Above World Trilogy

Horizon, Book Three in the Above World Trilogy

and winged Aviar Calli, are determined to stop a war. The maniacal ex-scientist Karl Strand is planning to conquer the world with his enormous army of tech-enhanced soldiers . . . unless the four friends can get to Strand first. Aluna’s plan is dangerous: pose as Upgraders and infiltrate the army. But the enemy isn’t what they expected and the strategy begins to crumble. When the friends are torn apart by conflicting allegiances, their slim chance of avoiding war seems to disappear completely. For Aluna and Hoku, what began as a quest to save their own people has become a mission to save the world. But do Aluna and her friends have any hope of defeating Strand if they can’t take him on together?

 

 

If you have middle grade readers, add these books to their Christmas – they and you will be glad you did! Again, these are books worth giving in hardcover, as they will be read over and over again.

I have SO MANY talented friends. Do you know middle grade authors who deserve a shout out? Feel free to put a link in the comments…after all, Christmas is coming.

Thanks for stopping by – big squishy hugs to you all!

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