Pop’s Blog - Michael Thal

Why read a YA novel?

ByMichael Thal September 28, 2015September 28, 2015

Time columnist, Joel Stein had this to say in a New York Times opinion piece about adults reading YA books: “The only thing more embarrassing than catching a guy on the plane looking at pornography on his computer is seeing a guy on the plane reading The Hunger Games. Or a Twilight book. Or Harry…

Children’s Book Festival Highlights YA Authors

ByMichael Thal September 20, 2015September 20, 2015

Remember the good old days when you could walk over to a local bookstore to see what’s up with your favorite YA author? Today, you can do that a lot quicker on the Internet and the Amazon website. However, the same emotional connection seems to be missing. On Sunday, October 4, 2015 you can regain…

Scary Halloween Story

ByMichael Thal September 16, 2015September 16, 2015

John Galloway is a middle-aged cop still walking his beat in a small Northeastern town. He is a beaten cop carrying emotional luggage of a failed marriage and a daughter lost to violence. Now it’s Halloween, the WORST day of the year to walk his beat, especially at night. Killing time before reporting for duty,…

A Timeless Love Story

ByMichael Thal September 9, 2015

Theresa Bordils, a teen orphaned at 12, lives within the safety of the Convent in Palma, Majorca. When the Office of the Inquisitor uncovers her activities in Magick, she is sentenced to burn at the stake, just like all the other witches. However, Theresa is not a normal human. She has been trained by Melchior,…

Sci-Fi Soccer

ByMichael Thal August 24, 2015

In 2014 tensions on the Korean Peninsula got out of hand resulting into World War III. Thirty years later, Global Government has evolved putting in place strategies to prevent another nuclear conflagration. Every two years, the government’s control reverts to the nation who wins the Tournament—a series of soccer games set up similar to the…

Book Reviews | books into movies | love story | Teen Books | YA Books

Paper Towns

ByMichael Thal August 16, 2015

Quentin Jacobsen, his friends call him “Q”, is a senior at an Orlando, Florida high school. Since he can remember, he’s been in love with Margo Roth Spiegelman, his next-door neighbor. At a young age, while biking near a neighborhood park the children found the dead body of an apparent suicide—an event that created an…

Bridge Through Time

ByMichael Thal August 14, 2015

Kyle Thorning is a brilliant young physicist working as a researcher at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research where scientists probe the fundamental structure of the universe. Kyle’s secret project is to create a time travel machine. Why the interest? Kyle’s dad, Max Thorning discovered a book, Account of Time Travel on Earth Using…

Salvation

ByMichael Thal August 12, 2015

A 15-year old girl is psychologically abused by the constant bickering of her parents. When the fighting escalates into a full-blown war with glasses and china used as weapons, the girl, who isn’t given a name, retreats into her own world in a garden in her backyard. There she discovers an expanding black hole. With…

Fun Sci-Fi Read for Kids and Parents

ByMichael Thal August 10, 2015

Max Rigdon is forced by his mom to spend summer vacation with his reclusive grandfather. All of his dreams of being the starting pitcher for his little league’s all-star team are now shattered. And why all of a sudden quality time with crazy Grandpa Joe? Max only met him once at his father’s funeral, and…

The Inspiration Behind Cat Moon

ByMichael Thal July 23, 2015

Jennifer L. Gadd is the author of Cat Moon, a soon to be released YA paranormal novel. I asked Jennifer the inspiration behind her upcoming Were-Children series. Here’s what she had to say: On the one hand, asking someone what their inspirations were in writing a particular story or a specific character has a simple answer:…