Matt Archer: Monster Hunter
by Kendra C. Highley
Series: Matt Archer #1
Editions available: Paperback, ebook
Editions available: Paperback, ebook
Date published: August 18, 2012
Publisher: Kendra C. Highley
Summary (Goodreads):
Monsters are real. And living in his backyard.
But that's not the half of it. After Matt is forced to kill a strange creature to save his uncle, he finds out that the weird knife he took from his uncle's bag has a secret, one that will change Matt's life. The knife was designed with one purpose: to hunt monsters. And it's chosen Matt as its wielder.
Now Matt's part of a world he didn't know existed, working with a covert military unit dedicated to eliminating walking nightmares. Faced with a prophecy about a looming dark war, Matt soon realizes his upcoming Algebra test is the least of his worries.
His new double life leaves Matt wondering which is tougher: hunting monsters or asking Ella Mitchell for a date?
Buy Matt Archer: Monster Hunter now!
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Guest post from the author, Kendra C. Highley
Boys Read, Too
As a writer of YA fiction, it always frustrates me when I hear a fourteen-year-old guy say, “I don’t read.” It frustrates me more when I ask him why and he says, “’cause all those books in the teen section have girls in fancy dresses on the cover.”
“All those books” is a wee bit of teen hyperbole of course--the cover for The Hunger Games is about as non-gender specific as you can get--but it speaks to a bigger problem we have in YA today: boys don’t think YA fiction is written for them. The thing is, they’re wrong, but they don’t see it because at Barnes & Noble, most of the “cover out” books in the teen section have pretty girls in fancy dresses on the front.
And here’s the real pity: Big-6 publishers are acquiring fewer and fewer YA novels with male main characters (or those that might be considered “boy-focused”). A number of editors and agents I follow online have made statements to that fact, primarily because “girl-focused” YA sells better. I understand publishing is a business--absolutely. My day job is in corporate America, and I get that profits matter. I just worry about this prevalent belief that boys don’t
read. My middle-school aged son reads six to eight hours a week, and I’d love it if he becomes a lifelong reader. Unfortunately, it’s getting harder and harder to find age-appropriate books that hold his interest.
But it’s more than that. I worry the belief that “boys don’t read” leads to fewer books targeted at boys, who then quit reading due to lack of content. What’s the chicken, and what’s the egg?
To combat this notion, I often show up at the high school youth group I sponsor with mental lists of books to suggest to the students. When the guys roll their eyes about reading, I point them toward Ender’s Game or Leviathan. A lot of times, they come back asking for more book suggestions. It’s not hard to encourage boys to read more; it’s really just a matter of knowing where to look for books that hit home. Once the guys are sent in the right direction, they’ll
mysteriously start reading again. And that’s awesome.
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About the Author:
Website:
http://www.kendrachighley.com
Twitter:
@KendraHighley
GIVEAWAY!
Grand prize is a Nook Simple Touch and a $25 B&N card plus a paperback copy of Matt Archer: Monster Hunter. (US only)
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