You have reached the home page of YA author, Karen Bass.
NEWS:
The Hill is now available! It’s an exciting departure for me – a thriller with supernatural elements. Read an excerpt from Chapter One here.
You can now order The Hill. See links in the left sidebar.
“Bass anchors the fantasy element with such gritty, sore and smelly reality and such nail-biting terror that the reader has no choice but to be hooked.” -Marsha Skrypuch, award-winning children’s author of Making Bombs for Hitler & many others. Read the whole review here.
Uncertain Soldier has been short-listed for the 2016 IODE Violet Downey Award. See the details here.
Uncertain Soldier is a nominee for the Red Maple Award in the OLA’s Forest of Reading program.
Graffiti Knight has been included on the USBBY 2015 list of “Outstanding International Books.” Details at Pajama Press.
Graffiti Knight has won the 2014 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People! Check out the announcement (with pictures) at Pajama Press.
Graffiti Knight has won the Alberta Literary Awards R Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature! Details here.
Graffiti Knight has won the CAA Alberta Branch “Exporting Alberta” Award! Details on the award here.
Karen (left) receives the CLA Young Adult Book of the Year Award. Presenting: Michael Monahan of sponsor LSC, and jury chairperson Kim Hebig.
Graffiti Knight has won the CLA 2014 Young Adult Book of the Year Award! See the announcement here: CLA press release.
Graffiti Knight has been shortlisted for the Alberta Literary Award’s R Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature (chapter books). The complete list of nominees is here: WGA press release.
Kirkus Reviews says of Graffiti Knight: “… a gripping page-turner … Highly recommended.” Go here to read the full review.
Graffiti Knight is an OLA Best Bet!
“The Year’s Best, 2013″ by Resource Links, also includes Graffiti Knight.
Graffiti Knight (2013) follows Drummer Girl (2011), Summer of Fire (2009) and Run Like Jäger (2008). (All from Coteau Books.)
Drummer Girl is now available in ebook format for the Kobo.
Kirkus (Aug. 1/11) says of Drummer Girl: “Fast paced and insightful, a good choice for teen readers, especially those interested in music”
Rhiannon at Diary of a Bookworm says of Drummer Girl:
“Despite some of the deeper issues broached, Drummer Girl is an engrossing and enjoyable story. The ugly duckling turn around will appeal to any teen who’s struggled to be more average in the high school world where being unique or unusual are particularly hard crosses to bear. … Bass’s full cast of characters is terrific…”
Deborah Kerbel, author of Under the Moon and Girl on the Other Side, says of Summer of Fire:
“Karen Bass has written a compelling tale for young adults with Summer of Fire. In this book, two teenage girls from vastly different backgrounds tell their stories from alternating points of view. For me, Garda’s story was especially poignant, as she comes to symbolize the desperation, helplessness and social ostracism felt by millions during World War II. Powerful, haunting, and evocative – I recommend this book!”
Gillian Chan, author of The Turning, says of Run Like Jäger:
“I loved this, a complex novel for young adults in which a Canadian teenager explores his grandfather’s past in Hitler’s Germany. It’s challenging and will make readers think about what they might do.”