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Some PLAY ME BACKWARDS reviews

Reviews for PLAY ME BACKWARDS are trickling in this week, and I couldn't be happier with them!

"PLAY ME BACKWARDS is the funniest, oh man...it is so freaking great it's like aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhsogreat" - Josh Berk

Cite Something calls it "immensely readable" and says it will have "wide appeal...this one will be easy to move off the shelves." (boy, I hope so!)

YA Books Central says that the book is "hysterical, disgusting, endearing, perfect."

A Staff Recommendation from Mabel's Fables, an indie book shop, calls the book a masterpiece and compares it to the second Meat Puppets album, which, they note, Kurt Loder once called a "cultural trash compactor." I've never been compared to a trash compactor in a five star review before, but I'll take it.

Benni the Blog calls it honest, sincere and funny.

Falling for YA liked it, as well.

VOYA gave it a 9/10 (which counts as a starred review, according to Simon and Schuster) and called it "hilariously subversive, but also tender and poignant."

Geek In Librarian's Clothing says "I made the mistake of starting this book in the middle of a crowded restaurant at lunch and couldn’t stop laughing out loud- and I tried. Everyone was looking and it was so awful, but still I couldn’t stop."

I've been compared to Rob Thomas, Stephen Chbosky, Andrew Smith, and Seth Macfarlane in various reviews. One noted that the whole book had her humming a Mountain Goats song, which I sort of hoped would happen. There's one whole chapter composed of the sort of clever similes about love that populate so many Mountain Goats tunes :)

I know of a few more are coming this week, so I'll add to this post as they come.

Reviews of EXTRAORDINARY

It took a few months, but reviews have started to come in for Extraordinary. Here's the latest, from School Library Journal:

Gr 9 Up–Simply put, this story is funny. Despite what Eileen Codlin wrote in her best-selling book about Jennifer Van Der Berg, the 14-year-old’s life is no fairy tale. Sure, her days might consist of real vampires, a pooping unicorn, and a fake fairy godparent, but mostly Jennifer is just a girl trying to figure out her place in the world. Extraordinary follows what really happens when drunk and foul-mouthed Gregory Grue presents himself to Jennifer as her fairy godfather. His arrival sparks a chain of events that includes vampire conversions, a murder, and a dreamy long-lost friend coming back to town. The “real” story is peppered with excerpts from Codlin’s book, which are basically some not-so-subtle jabs at the most popular young adult books of the past couple of years. Selzer has created a unique story that will surely find a place in the hearts of teens who gag over the romances of sparkling vampires. The book is unpredictable, silly, and compelling despite the repeated mention of how vile unicorn poop is. Selzer has found a great balance between the fantastical and relatable, tapping into the teenage challenge of being original by doing more than just dying your hair purple. A fun and timely parody.–Emily Chornomaz, Camden County Library System, NJ

A couple of recent blog reviews:

Flamingnet: "Adam Selzer did an amazing job...while reading Jennifer's story, I felt everything she felt. That's how realistic Selzer's writing was."

San Francisco Book Review: "A comedic tightrope Selzer strolls across with style."

Princess Althea's Magical Elixer: "Adam Selzer's humor is brilliant. I tip my tiara to you, sir. You have made a new fan."

Kiss the Book

Parkersburg News and Sentinel

These all go along well with the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books review:

In a world where vampires and zombies are accepted as fact (and even enrolled in high school), you might think that the appearance of a fairy godmother wouldn’t be that surprising, but when Gregory Grue shows up looking like an unkempt drunk and claiming to be Jennifer’s “fairy godmofo,” he’s not what she’s expecting. Still, he manages to deliver all three of Jennifer’s wishes, including a request to reconnect with her childhood sweetheart, Mutual. What Gregory fails to mention, however, is that as payment for her wishes, Jennifer must complete a task of Gregory’s choosing; his choice involves Jennifer kissing and/or being converted by a vampire who is decidedly not Mutual. The premise has all the trappings of a predictable supernatural rom-com, but Selzer zigs where other authors would zag, turning the genre on its head and offering up an entirely refreshing and wonderfully witty romp that involves romance, intrigue, negotiations with vampire clans, and an enormous amount of unicorn poop. Realistically flawed and well aware of it, Jennifer is an immensely relatable protagonist, and her choices ring true to her character instead of being merely convenient to the plot, making the structure of what turns out to be a rather complicated storyline feel even more, as the title suggests, extraordinary. Readers familiar with Selzer’s I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It (BCCB 3/10) will no doubt recognize the “post-human” world and its details, but knowledge of the previous book is not at all needed to enjoy this deliciously irreverent tale of not-totally-happy endings. KQG

Review: SPARKS is "a game changer."

There are some reviews that have launched people's careers - like Dorothy Parker's review of Harlan Ellison. Or Robert Shelton's review of Bob Dylan. Or the one from 1974 where Jon Landau said "I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen." Shelton's review got Dylan a record deal (with Columbia. At age 20). Landau finally got Columbia to pay attention to Bruce instead of just slipping him out and thinking of dropping him (that anyone COULD get dropped after those stunning first two records sort of makes you take pause). And that Ellison could have been thought of as strictly a pulp fiction guy given the quality of his best 1950s/early 60s work is sobering.

I don't think any YA blog has the same pull as Parker, Shelton or Ellison did in their prime, honestly. There's a middle grade blog or two where a rave can make a real difference in your sales, but YA is a different world. In fact, I've been a fairly harsh critic of all those Memes n Drama blogs that focus more on contests than content. And I'm not alone. Honestly, if I repeated the way I'd heard authors, agents, and editors complete the sentence "there are a few great blogs, but...," the scandal would go on for weeks. Authors are known to kiss up to bloggers incessantly in public - I've played that game myself. But believe me, when we meet for lunch or a drink, the conversation is different.

However, there are a few in particular that I really do recommend. Like The Book Lantern, which is known to ruffle some feathers with its criticism of some of the dominant themes in today's YA (it's drama, but it's for a good cause). And there's John Jacobsen's Dreaming in Books , one of the rare male voices in the YA blogosphere, whose reviews are lengthy and articulate. Like Roger Ebert, even when you don't agree with John, you at least get the idea that he knows what he's talking about, and get a sense of whether you might like/dislike a book more than he did (and, incidentally, if you read Ebert's 1 and 4 star reviews, you can skip every "writing craft" book out there - he may be writing about movies, but he'll tell you all you need to know about writing). These are blogs that expect writers to write good books - not just to stick to the trends.

Reviews on these blogs may still not get Columbia to push you so hard that you end of on the cover of TIME and NEWSWEEK in the same week, but they're gratifying as all get out.

So it's REALLY nice to get a good review from him. A REALLY good one. Like Parker on Ellison, Shelton on Dylan, Landau on Springsteen good. I got reviews that felt like raves from some of the trades on I Kissed a Zombie, and a couple of my others, but you only get a paragraph or two in those things. As a writer, you always fantasize about people articulating what they like about your book at great length. I'm not going to lie to you. This is a fine ego trip at a time when I can use one. It's reviews like this that make you feel like you're good at your job and ought to keep doing it, no matter what that pesky student loan officer says.

Some excerpts:

Every once in a while an LGBTQ book comes out for the YA audience that just strikes me as being a game-changer for my expectations of LGBTQ YA.....Back to my usual schpeel - the writing in Sparks is fabulous. Truly, truly fabulous. This is the kind of book that will make hipster YA readers (you know who you are, peeps) and commercial readers equally happy. The book satisfies on a basic level, but as you can tell from above, there's more here than meets the eye. Adams writes truly hilarious situations - I laughed many, many times while reading this book - and he has a great balance of satire, regular humor, and seriousness. He doesn't stay too serious, though, and that's what will make readers fall in love with this book.... This book is more than a journey novel - more than a cross-town road trip.....I just can't say enough about Sparks. This is a book that is so different from the contemporary and LGBTQ YA out there today. It's not angsty...eople that want diversity done without a heavy hand; without a stereotyped view. They will all find something in Sparks. Go out and buy this book. I can't recommend it enough."

Full review

Two more new interviews!

Here's one on Mrs. Hill's Book Blog from earlier this week.

And one with Cecilia Bedilia that went up this morning!

Surely you must know all there is to know about me by now, huh?

I'm now in the homestretch of work on PURPLE WISH (which is the working title for the book I'll never get away with calling FAIRY GODMOFO). It's a mystery novel that functions as a follow-up to both I KISSED A ZOMBIE AND I LIKED IT and I PUT A SPELL ON YOU. It's an all new story - you don't have to have read either of those two books - but it takes place in the Zombie world and stars a few characters from SPELL (who are now six years older than they were in that book).

PURPLE WISH takes place three years after the events of ZOMBIE. By now, Des Moines has become a sort of mecca for vampires (something about working in the insurance world really suits the dead). But every time prom season comes around, rumors go around that Wil, the vampire who attacked Alley Rhodes and her zombie boyfriend, is back in town, ready to strike again...

We're also just about two weeks away from my trip to the real Des Moines, where I'll be filming a documentary about the Naked Trike Angel statue. Want to participate? Come to Merle Hay Mall at 10am on Sunday, August 8th! Here's the facebook event page. I still have an APB out on pictures of the mall from the 80s and 90s!

New Stuff This Week!

First of all, there's a fun new interview at Voracious YAppetite in which I discuss I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It, my upcoming books, American Idol, and, for the first time anywhere, the mullet I had for a while in high school.

In other news...
The Fatal Drop Ebook is now available for 1.99, or $2.49 on kindle.

There are three new posts on Playground Jungle...

...and ikissedazombie.com now has a new special feature - a fake page from a teen magazine about dating the undead!

New Interview: In The Coop with Adam Selzer

Now up for your reading pleasure at Three Silly Chicks. It's about time someone asked me who would win in a fight between a mime and a clown, and let me explain how my first act as a dictator would be known as The Han Shot First decree.

I think I may have also forgotten to post this one, an Author Spotlight from Star Shadow that I did last month.

School Library Journal Reviews of Zombie and Smart Aleck

Yeah, it was a good day:

SELZER, Adam. I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It. 192p. Delacorte. Jan. 2010. PLB $12.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90497-1; pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73503-2.
Gr 7 Up–For 18-year-old Algonquin “Alley” Rhodes, living in an era in which vampires, werewolves, and zombies are the norm is not what it’s cracked up to be. Unlike most human girls at her high school, dating, especially the undead variety, is the last thing on her mind. Alley just wants to leave Cornersville Trace, go to college, and make something of herself. But then, while critiquing a local band for the school newspaper, Alley the Ice Queen falls head over heels for the guest singer. Like Alley, Doug truly loves music, and she feels as if he is singing just for her. They begin dating, and Alley overlooks what is obvious to everyone else. Doug isn’t just a Goth–he isn’t even human–he’s a zombie. As Alley’s world is turned upside down, she must make decisions with major ramifications for her future. The story is original, funny, unpredictable, romantic, and tragic. Selzer explores some basic teen issues like love, friendship, acceptance, commitment, and loss in a way that is realistic and that will make readers question their own values. An excellent addition to libraries with an occult following.–Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY

SELZER, Adam. The Smart Aleck’s Guide to American History. 326p. photos. reprods. further reading. index. Web sites. CIP. Delacorte. 2009. PLB $15.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90613-5; pap. $12.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73650-3. LC 2009003897.
In the style of acclaimed writers Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) and Steven Colbert (The Colbert Report), this witty, comedic, and appealing volume abandons the world of historical dates and battles to fill in some of the gaps in young Americans’ knowledge of their country’s history. Readers learn of General Washington’s rebellion against the “basic rules of boating safety” as well as encounter James K. Polk’s mullet (“Business up front, party in the back, baby.”) while benefiting greatly from the book’s efficient presentation of pivotal themes and events such as the American Revolution, Civil War, and Civil Rights Movement. This clever and informative work follows a chronological arrangement from early exploration to the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January 2009. Each chapter concludes with a “Some of the Stuff We Missed” section, essay questions such as “Who was the bigger jerk, Hitler or Stalin?”; vocabulary words; and multiple choice “End-of-Chapter Questions” that range from “What do you think happened to those Croatoan guys–and what gave you that idea?” to “What Civil War guy had the best nickname?” Small black-and-white photos and reproductions appear throughout. The companion Web site contains supplemental information, links to relevant documents and other sites, and “Assignment Alerts!” for further exploration. This informal approach is sure to appeal to even the most reluctant of readers.–Brian Odom, Pelham Public Library, AL

Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly on I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It

Kirkus review of Zombie:

Selzer, Adam
I KISSED A ZOMBIE, AND I LIKED IT

Ever since the post-humans (werewolves, vampires and zombies) revealed themselves to humans, high school for Alley has been a real drag. The guys are now all goth, and the girls are necrosexual, obsessed with vampires. Alley can't bear the post-human crowd; she doesn't understand why all the girls in school find it so dreamy to have a guy who's "crazy strong, but not strong enough to stay away from her." Then Alley falls for the fabulous musician Doug. Doug's a little pale, like all the goths in school, and maybe he smells a little funny, but she adores him and his killer taste in music. When Doug turns out to be a zombie, Alley has to overcome her prejudices to be with the man of her dreams. Simultaneously a scathing parody of the paranormal-romance genre and a sweetly romantic paranormal love story in its own right, Alley and Doug's courtship will even appeal to Twilight fans-at least, to those Twilight fans with a sense of humor about the object of their affections. Hilarious. (Fantasy. 12-14)

Publisher's Weekly on Zombie:
I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It Adam Selzer. Delacorte, $7.99 paper (192p) ISBN 978-0-385-73503-2

Selzer (Andrew North Blows Up the World) takes a delightfully wicked but thoughtful poke at teenage infatuations, vampire groupies, and pretentious goths. It's been years since “post-human” vampires, werewolves, and other undead creatures came “out of the coffin” to protest Megamart's exploitation of zombies as stockroom workers. But 18-year-old Alley Rhodes can't help rolling her eyes at her classmates' continuing obsession (“teenage vampires are a pain in the ass—they never actually mature... but dating one has become the ultimate status symbol”). Then moody singer Doug catches her heart, and she's soon reconsidering her plan to flee Iowa for college in Seattle. She loves his authentic goth look (pale skin, unkempt hair, “moth-eaten suit”), but she's forgotten the first rule of modern dating—Google him. Doug died four years ago, and he's still wearing the suit he was buried in. Now all of her preconceptions are out the window and she has critical decisions to make. With snappy dialogue and a light, funny touch, Selzer creates a readable examination of love, self-sacrifice, and where to draw the line before you lose yourself. (Jan.)

Publisher's Weekly on Smart Aleck's Guide:

The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History Adam Selzer. Delacorte, $12.99 paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-385-73650-3
This 11-chapter, tightly condensed guide to history posits that most know little on the subject, and that's a shame: its aim is to provide an overview of significant topics speeding along on humor, Daily Show-style. The first chapter declares, "Any idiot will tell you it was Columbus [that discovered America], but that's just proof that he or she is an idiot." The following chapters (such as "A Nation Declines to Bathe" and "The Depressing Thirties") give profiles of historical figures, events, and concepts, along with photographs, sidebars, end-of-chapter questions ("Who would have made a better president than Harding?"), and assignment ideas. The irreverent, often laugh-out-loud approach should win over reluctant readers. (Dec.)

Publisher's Weekly on Smart Aleck's Guide

Publisher's Weekly on Smart Aleck's Guide:

The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History Adam Selzer. Delacorte, $12.99 paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-385-73650-3
This 11-chapter, tightly condensed guide to history posits that most know little on the subject, and that's a shame: its aim is to provide an overview of significant topics speeding along on humor, Daily Show-style. The first chapter declares, "Any idiot will tell you it was Columbus [that discovered America], but that's just proof that he or she is an idiot." The following chapters (such as "A Nation Declines to Bathe" and "The Depressing Thirties") give profiles of historical figures, events, and concepts, along with photographs, sidebars, end-of-chapter questions ("Who would have made a better president than Harding?"), and assignment ideas. The irreverent, often laugh-out-loud approach should win over reluctant readers. (Dec.)

Andrew North review from Mrs. Hill's Book Blog

Adam Selzer is one of my favorite discoveries of the last few years. He’s absolutely hysterical!...I loved, loved this! In fact, I think it would make a great series. Andrew is a neat little guy that I’d love to hear more about.

full review

Best Picture Ever / Andrew North Review

This review of ANDREW NORTH BLOWS UP THE WORLD calls me a comic genius - much more pleasant than being called filthy or vulgar (but, honestly, not as exciting). But as for excitment, here's a pic of me with Hulk Hogan from the Mancow radio show (on which we were both guests last week)!

Publisher's Weekly on Andrew North Blows Up the World

Andrew North Blows up the World
Adam Selzer. Delacorte, $15.99 (128p) ISBN 978-0-385-73648-0
Selzer’s (How to Get Suspended and Influence People) madcap comedy stars a likable third-grader with an overblown imagination and ambitious plans. Convinced that his father and older brother, Jack, are undercover spies, Andrew aspires to enter the family business and become a super-spy with a pet monkey as sidekick. When the boy brings Jack’s calculator (which he’s sure is a “spy gadget”) to school, his teacher confiscates it and locks it in a storage room that is the domain of a grumpy janitor, who Andrew suspects is also a spy. The boy’s mission to retrieve the calculator before the janitor uses it to blow up the school and before his brother notices that it’s missing entails some crafty plotting that brings this fast-moving story to a tidy end. Selzer adds an affecting undercurrent: Andrew’s dealing with Jack’s remoteness since turning 13 (“I knew it was because he was busy with spy stuff, but it still stank. I missed hanging out with him”). Despite the narrator’s flights of fancy, he is a credible, down-to-earth kid. Ages 7–10. (Sept.)

BULLETIN FOR THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS (review not online)

"Doesn't every school have its mysterious Storage Room B? This should make kids even more determined to find out what's in theres."

I Put a Spell On You review roundup

Ms. Yingling Reads"It is the rare author whose books I will purchase without reading, but Adam Selzer tops the list. There is something pitch-perfect about his characters and his humor that invariably has me laughing until tears stream down my face. His newest is no exception..."

ITS"One of the funniest boks I have read in a long time....This is a truly great read-aloud book for grades 3-6.

Mrs. Hill's Book Blog "Another unique and hilarious tale from Adam Seler....highly recommended!

FROM THE BULLETIN OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS:
"Selzer manages to make his comedy both grade school wacky and entertainingly satiric....the characters are suprisingly well developed...With the middle-school accessibility of Andrew Clements, the freewheeling humor of Gordon Korman, and a witty charm all its own, this will appeal to any youngster who appreciates a bit of adult-overthrowing mayhem, regardless of their ability to splel. click for full review.

FROM THE HORN BOOK:
When Gordon Liddy Community School's resident tattletale-detective, Chrissie
Woodward, realizes that the adults are out to fix the big spelling bee, she
transfers her loyalty to her fellow students and starts collecting evidence.
The chapters, told from rotating perspectives, are presented mainly as
testimony gathered from the students, each of whom is distinct and breaks
stereotype (such as the boy who will eat anything for a dollar, but only in
hopes of discovering new taste combinations that will further his future
career as a chef). New arrival Mutual Scrivener, attending school for the
first time to participate in the spelling bee, retains a sweet naiveté as he
tries to decode the mysterious behavior of his fellow classmates, and his
outsider perspective provides humor but also some interesting insights. The
wit in this school story is directed almost entirely against the grownups in
a scathingly funny indictment of a shady principal and insanely competitive
parents. Sly references to a famous case of misused authority may lead
readers to look up the Watergate scandal, but even if they never catch on to
some of the jokes, they will still laugh out loud as the students band
together to fight corruption and triumph in their own ways. s.d.l.

FROM THE HAPPY NAPPY BOOKSELLER:

"I absolutely loved I Put a Spell On You. I lost a few hours sleep finishing this novel...but it was totally worth it."
Full review

FROM KIRKUS

Alternating voices relate this farcical mystery. The spelling bee is coming
up at Gordon Liddy Community School, and everyone has lost perspective.
Former school tattletale Chrissie Woodward is the only one in her grade not
to sign up for the bee. The parents are behaving far worse than the
participants, and it is clear to Chrissie that the principal is trying to
sabotage certain students in order to fix the results. Selzer tells the story
through Chrissie's detective reports as well as the written notes that
several kids give her. Because she has been such a goody two-shoes as school
monitor, she has access to interoffice memos, which also become part of the
narrative. Each chapter starts with a spelling word, followed by its
definition and ironic use in a sentence. Suspension of disbelief is
definitely in order here, but reluctant readers may enjoy the pranks and
belching jokes, as well as the general portrayal of adults as
overachievement-obsessed lunatics. Dedicated to Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein
and Mark Felt, Chrissie's fellows in investigative reporting. (Fiction. 8-12)

Pirates of the Retail Wasteland Review Roundup

BLOG REVIEWS:

The Goddess of YA Literature: "The entire cast of characters of this novel is memorable. There are precious few books that show gifted kids for what they can be: miscreants intent on bending all the rules as far as they can before they break....Selzer captures them with all their spirit, their quick thinking, their sense of humor, and their ability to find logic when there is none apparent."

Mrs. Hill's Book Blog:"Adam Selzer is hilarious!"

Ms. Yingling Reads: "Leon has the best parents in teen literature."

Bookslut:"This is a very unusual group of kids..."

OTHER REVIEWS:

From Book Sense (for which the book was a Summer 2008 pick):

PIRATES OF THE RETAIL WASTELAND, by Adam Selzer (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, $15.99, 9780385734820 / 0385734824) "Pirates of the Retail Wasteland follows the exploits of a group of cynical, disaffected, and talented high school students who rouse themselves from their torpor to try and save the last non-chain business on their town's strip -- a grungy, congenial coffee shop called Sip. Selzer's character are dead-on, and his readers will thoroughly enjoy this one." --Kenny Brechner, Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers, Farmington, ME (full review)

From Teenspace:

When, at age thirteen, you create an avant-garde sexâ€“ed video that puts your entire school in a an uproar (How to Get Suspended and Influence People), it might be hard for the average person to figure out how to make their fourteenth year just as memorable. Of course, Leon Noside Harris is not your average person, and thatâ€™s kind of the point. For his next act, Leon, part of a group of gifted students, decides to enlist the help of his friends in staging and filming a takeover of a coffee house, part of a behemoth chain, which is threatening to push his favorite little neighborhood shop out of business. When he is not busy filming, Leon spends his time attempting to evade his outwardly quiet classmate, Jenny, who is crushing on him big time, and his accountant father, whoâ€™s matching his sonâ€™ s offbeat outlook by sporting a green Mohawk. This breezy, comic tale is as invigorating and as smoothly satisfying as a good caffe latte.

From Booklist:

Leon and his friends want to strike a blow against corporate America and
protest the destruction of his local downtown, but how? After agonized thought (some about the project, most
about girls), Leon decides that he and his buddies should act like pirates and take over the
soulless coffee franchise, Wackfords. The takeover will be filmed and used to highlight the difference
between ugly strip development and the quirky downtown with its arty coffee shop, Sip. Wildly
eccentric characters (some almost caricatures) people the pages, including Leon's accountant father, who
sports a green mohawk, and a punky ballroom-dancing barista. Comic situations are recounted by flippant,
hypersmart Leon, who often sounds older than his 14 years. Give this to fans of Bucking the Sarge by
Christopher Paul Curtis (2004) who enjoy seeing smart, rule-breaking kids take on the adult world.

- Suzanne Harold