Patricia Stoltey

Author

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Contact

X is for Xander (as in Zen and Xander Undone)

April 28, 2010 By: Patricia

Zen and Xander Undone is the new YA novel by Amy Kathleen Ryan, one of our Northern Colorado writers. The book’s official release date is in May, but I ordered and received the book last week.

I read Amy’s previous novel, Vibes, last year and thought it was excellent. It’s now out in trade paperback, so if you have an older teen who loves to read, you might want to consider this story of a girl who thinks she’s psychic and doesn’t like what she sees and hears as a result.

The new novel, Zen and Xander Undone, is for the older teen (and for grownups like me who love to read YA novels). The publisher’s synopsis as listed on barnesandnoble.com:

“Zen and Xander are sisters—truly, madly, deeply sisters, and this is their last summer together.

Zen is the “good” girl with a black belt in karate and a newfound penchant for kicking heads. Xander is a wild scientific genius with a self-destructive streak a light-year long. They have three things in common: they’re brown-eyed blondes, they’ve noticed the boy next door has turned into a hottie, and they miss their mom, who died almost a year ago.

These sisters are surviving just fine—except Zen keeps getting into fights that are harder and harder to finish, while Xander spirals into a vortex of late-night parties, scary men, and drugs. What’s worse, Xander has scholarships to the most coveted universities in the country, but she’s about to ruin everything. Should Zen keep trying to protect Xander, or finally let her go?”

I was lucky that I didn’t have to comb the dictionary for a good “X” word to use for this post in the A to Z Blog Challenge. Serendipity…

More from my site

  • New and Upcoming Releases from Colorado Mystery AuthorsNew and Upcoming Releases from Colorado Mystery Authors
  • Rainy Days, Lollygagging, and NightmaresRainy Days, Lollygagging, and Nightmares
  • Colorado Author — Justin MatottColorado Author — Justin Matott
  • Announcing the Winner of Patricia Smith Wood’s “The Easter Egg Murder”Announcing the Winner of Patricia Smith Wood’s “The Easter Egg Murder”
  • A to Z Challenge: Q is for Quit (and Brian Qaufman and (And) Quiet Flows the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov)A to Z Challenge: Q is for Quit (and Brian Qaufman and (And) Quiet Flows the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov)
  • Sometimes We Just Need Yellow FlowersSometimes We Just Need Yellow Flowers

Category: Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Ellie says

    April 28, 2010 at 9:54 pm

    I agree, you did X and Z! This one looks intriguing; I love a good psychic story! I will have to check this out; my 14yrs old loves to read! Thank you~

  2. Helen Ginger says

    April 28, 2010 at 9:51 pm

    Not only did you find your X word, you now have your Z word!

    Helen
    Straight From Hel

  3. catwoods says

    April 28, 2010 at 8:24 pm

    Sounds like a perfect story for me. Thanks for the tip. Also, thanks for always supporting your fellow writers. You are a warm fuzzy with pompoms!

  4. Jemi Fraser says

    April 28, 2010 at 7:56 pm

    It sounds like a great book with a really strong storyline. Nice. 🙂

  5. Shelley Sly says

    April 28, 2010 at 3:47 pm

    Hi Patricia! It’s a pleasure to meet you too, and thank you for stopping by my blog as well. I really enjoyed this review and put “Zen and Xander” on my To-Read list. 🙂

  6. Kay says

    April 28, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    You should buy Amy a chocolate bar for making the topic for this post relatively easy.

  7. Amy Kathleen Ryan says

    April 28, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    Thanks for the plug, Pat! You’re the best!

  8. Ann says

    April 28, 2010 at 2:00 pm

    Sounds like a good read.

  9. Patricia Stoltey says

    April 28, 2010 at 11:30 am

    It’s a lot of fun to read YA/Teen/Middle Grade novels these days. The writing is great and the characters are amazing.

  10. Cricket McRae says

    April 28, 2010 at 10:54 am

    I’ve been trying to fit more reading into my day, but have to pick things that are different than what I’m writing. This looks perfect. Thanks for the suggestion!
    Hearth Cricket

  11. Shannon says

    April 28, 2010 at 9:06 am

    That looks like an awesome book for me to read next…thanks for the review! Thanks for coming by as well!

  12. Ann Best, Author says

    April 28, 2010 at 9:04 am

    I will definitely put this book on my list to buy. The synopsis is intriguing. I’m always looking for excellent YAs to read, my favorite genre next to memoir. I just finished a wonderful YA novel called Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond. Set in Stoneygate, England, it’s filled with “mystery and wonderful,” truly (as an online blurb says). Thanks so much for this new recommendation.

  13. SonshineMusic i.e. Rebecca T. says

    April 28, 2010 at 8:18 am

    Ooh… that book looks good. I am such a YA reader. I’ll have to check it out! I have to go dictionary digging for my X word.

  14. Karen Walker says

    April 28, 2010 at 8:14 am

    I haven’t read much YA lit, but this one sounds intriguing.
    Karen

  15. WELCOME TO MY WORLD OF POETRY: says

    April 28, 2010 at 7:55 am

    Sounds like a good book, will keep my eye out for it.

    Yvonne.

  16. Elizabeth Spann Craig/Riley Adams says

    April 28, 2010 at 7:30 am

    Sounds good! I’ll check it out, Patricia. My son likes reading YA too, but I don’t know if this one is down his alley.

    Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

  17. Carol Kilgore says

    April 28, 2010 at 6:32 am

    Don’t you love it when that happens!

    I have an award for you on my blog.

  18. Mason Canyon says

    April 28, 2010 at 6:15 am

    Serendipity indeed. Sounds like a great book. I haven’t read any YA books and I need to. This one will definitely go on my list. Thanks.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

Meet Patricia

I read, I write, I blog, and sometimes I do the laundry and cook. My 2014 novel, Dead Wrong, was a finalist in the thriller category of the 2015 Colorado Book Awards. Wishing Caswell Dead (Five Star/Cengage, December 20, 2017) is a historical mystery set in 1830s Illinois in the fictitious Village of Sangamon. The novel was a finalist for the 2018 Colorado Book Awards for General Fiction. Read More…

Search

Categories

In Defense of Delia

In Defense of Delia

Wishing Caswell Dead

Dead Wrong

Copyright © 2023 · Customized with by: Upperdale Designs