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YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS THIS WEEK
Dan Versus Nature
by Don Calame
Hardcover Giveaway (3 Copies)
U.S. Only
Candlewick
Released 4/12/2016
Shy and scrawny Dan Weekes spends his time creating graphic novels inspired by his dream girl and looking out for his mom as she dates every man in the state of California. Then his mom drops a bomb: she and her latest beau, Hank, are engaged, and she’s sending her “two favorite men” on a survivalist camping trip to “bond.” Determined to trick Hank into showing his true — flawed — colors on the trip, Dan and his nerdy germaphobe best friend, Charlie, prepare a series of increasingly gross and embarrassing pranks. But the boys hadn’t counted on a hot girl joining their trip or on getting separated from their wilderness guide—not to mention the humiliating injuries Dan suffers in the course of terrorizing his stepdad-to-be. With a man-hungry bear on their trail, no supplies, and a lot of unpleasant itching going on, can Dan see his plan through now that his very survival depends on Hank?
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Dan Versus Nature?
There is so much I loved in writing Dan Versus Nature: the over-the-top comedy, the interplay between Charlie and Penelope, all of the crazy situations Dan gets himself into. But I think my favorite part of the book is the father/son relationship between Dan and his soon-to-be stepdad Hank. While none of the things that happen to Dan and Hank actually happened to me it was the deeper emotion of being a son, a stepson, and now a stepdad, that I pulled from my own life.
My own father passed away during the writing of this book and I think that experience also informed and colored the story and the characters quite a bit.
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Klickitat
by Peter Rock
Hardcover Giveaway
U.S. Only
Amulet Books
Released 4/12/2016
Vivian feels left behind when her older sister, Audra, runs away from home. She believes that Audra will return and pays careful attention to the clues around her. Then, inexplicably, writing begins to appear in a blank notebook.
When Audra does come back for Vivian, she’s in the company of a strange man. The three of them run away together and practice wilderness survival. While Audra plans for the future, Vivian continues to gather evidence: Who is this mysterious man, and does he have any connection to the words appearing in her notebook?
Klickitat is a haunting story, full of atmosphere and awakening, crafted by one of today’s most startling literary talents.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Klickitat?
It’s hard to choose, so I will cheat. That it’s a story about sisters that one day my daughters will be able to read. I thought I was maybe writing a book for them now, but they’re 6 and 8 and it’s far too scary and disturbing. Which is another favorite thing about KLICKITAT–that it’s ostensibly for younger readers and I believe it’s the scariest thing I’ve ever written. Which isn’t to say it’s not full of tender mysteries. And exploring these mysteries, how the invisible acts upon our visible world, was pure delight. Finally: wilderness survival and other secret techniques to stay hidden in plain sight.
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Strike
by Delilah S. Dawson
Hardcover Giveaway
U.S. Only
Simon Pulse
Released 4/12/2016
The hit list was just the beginning.
Time to strike back.
After faking her own death to escape her term as an indentured assassin for Valor Savings Bank, Patsy is on the run with her boyfriend, Wyatt. All she wants to do is go home, but that’s never going to happen—not as long as Valor’s out to get her and the people she loves.
Left with no good choices, Patsy’s only option is to meet with a mysterious group that calls itself the Citizens for Freedom.
Led by the charismatic Leon Crane, the CFF seem like just what Patsy has been looking for. Leon promises that if she joins, she’ll finally get revenge on Valor for everything they’ve done to her—and for everything they’ve made her do.
But Patsy knows the CFF has a few secrets of their own. One thing is certain: they’ll do absolutely anything to complete their mission, no matter who’s standing in their way. Even if it’s Patsy herself.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Strike?
My favorite thing about STRIKE is that it isn’t the typical book 2 of a dystopia. No one marches on the government, and Patsy isn’t roped into yet another hit list of 10 names. I wanted to go in a new direction– an explosive one.
Anarchy.
In STRIKE, we see Patsy and Wyatt trying to find safety in a country that’s no longer safe. They find new friends just as hellbent on striking back at Valor. There’s a charismatic leader inspired by Boyd Crowder on Justified. There’s a mysterious figure returning to Patsy’s life. And through all of it, Patsy is suffering PTSD and trying to understand how to be a good person in a bad world. It was important to me to show not only the violence that would happen in a land without law enforcement, but also the toll it takes on the human heart and mind. She also wears a gray tunic at one point as an ironic shout-out to the dystopias she loved to read before her life went to hell.
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Twenty Questions for Gloria
by Martyn Bedford
Hardcover Giveaway (5 Copies)
U.S. Only
Wendy Lamb Books
Released 4/12/2016
At 15, Gloria longs for adventure, something beyond her ordinary suburban life. When a mysterious new boy strolls into school, bent on breaking all the rules, Gloria is ready to fall under his spell.
Uman is funny, confident, and smart. He does what he wants without a care for what anyone thinks. The only people for him, he says, are the mad ones, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn.
He is everything Gloria wants to be. He can whisk her away and show her a more daring, more exciting life in which the only limits are the boundaries of her own boldness. But Uman is not all he seems. And by the time she learns the truth about him, she’s a long way from home . . . and the whole country wants to know: Where’s Gloria?
For fans of Dreamland by Sarah Dessen, Stolen by Lucy Christopher, and the Mara Dyer books by Michelle Hodkin.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Twenty Questions for Gloria?
That’s a tough one! It’s hard to say what you like most about your own novel without sounding boastful or complacent. (In fact, when I have a new book out, I usually fret about the things I wish I’d done better or differently rather than dwell on the bits that work.)
But, anyway, here goes . . . my favourite thing about this novel is the dialogue between Gloria, the heroine, and Uman, the mysterious boy who blows her life wide open. I loved developing their relationship, and the conversations between them – the sparky humour, the verbal sparring – were huge fun to write. As a reader, you can learn a lot about a character from the way she or he speaks – but it’s also true that, as a writer, you can ‘discover’ your characters (and their relationship to others) through writing their dialogue.
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YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS LAST WEEK: WINNERS
Boys of Summer by Jessica Brody: Ann V.
Charlotte Cuts It Out by Kelly Barson: Kara S.
Dreamers Often Lie by Jacqueline West: Susan T
Essential Maps for the Lost by Deb Caletti: Kimberly V.
Fiona by Meredith Moore: Amanda Z won the hardcover with Claire W, Brandi H, Caitlin O, Natash D and Joceydale C all winning prize packs!
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse: Leah H.
My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul: Sue M.
Nightstruck by Jenna Black: Vivianna V.B.
Congratulations to everyone who won!
MORE YOUNG ADULT FICTION IN STORES NEXT WEEK WITH AUTHOR INTERVIEWS
Crossing the Line
by Meghan Rogers
Hardcover
Philomel Books
Released 4/12/2016
Jocelyn Steely was kidnapped as a child and raised in North Korea as a spy. When her agency sends her to the U.S. to infiltrate the very group her parents once worked for, Jocelyn jumps at the chance to turn double agent and finish off her kidnappers once and for all. She convinces the head of the American spy agency to trust her, but it’s not quite as simple as that: Jocelyn has to fight the withdrawal symptoms from the drug that the North Koreans used to keep her in line, and her new fellow spies refuse to trust their former adversary. Worst of all, there might be some new information to uncover about her parents – if she even wants to find out.
This action-packed spy thriller is part Gallagher Girls, part Alex Rider, and part Bourne Identity.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Crossing the Line?
I think my favorite thing about CROSSING THE LINE, on a personal level, is that I feel like I accomplished what I set out to do when I first started writing the book. I got the idea after seeing THE AVENGERS and realizing that Black Widow, who works for SHIELD in the movie, had previously worked for an enemy agency. I became very interested in what the transition from enemy to ally might have looked like, and that’s what I wanted to explore in CROSSING THE LINE. This is why Jocelyn comes from a ruthless North Korean spy agency as an assassin and has to work to join the International Defense Agency, which is an agency she’s spent her life fighting against. I had so much fun exploring this transition, and I love when I hear that readers enjoy it too!
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MORE YOUNG ADULT NOVELS NEW IN STORES NEXT WEEK
Bloodtraitor
by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Hardcover
Delacorte Press
Released 4/12/2016
In this unforgettable finale to the Maeve’ra trilogy, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes has crafted a heart-pounding story about destiny, loyalty, and the many shades of betrayal.
Malachi Obsidian has been his guild’s prophet ever since he was a child. Years ago, he envisioned a future in which his sister, Misha, ruled and the vampires’ empire was destroyed. His people have made many questionable decisions to keep their dream alive, and now Misha is finally on the verge of becoming queen of the serpiente, just as Malachi predicted.
When a mercenary from the vampires’ inner circle proposes a daring plan to bring down the empire of Midnight once and for all, Malachi knows the shameful truth about Misha, but he must feign support for his unstable sister so his prophecy can be fulfilled. He must do it for his family, for his people—and for their freedom.
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Can You Keep a Secret?
by R.L. Stine
Hardcover
St. Martin’s Griffin
Released 4/12/2016
Eddie and Emma are high school sweethearts from the wrong side of the tracks. Looking for an escape their dreary lives, they embark on an overnight camping trip in the Fear Street Woods with four friends. As Eddie is carving a heart into a tree, he and Emma discover a bag hidden in the trunk. A bag filled with hundred-dollar bills. Thousands of them. Should they take it? Should they leave the money there? The six teens agree to leave the bag where it is until it’s safe to use it. But when tragedy strikes Emma’s family, the temptation to skim some money off of the top becomes impossible to fight. There’s only one problem. When Emma returns to the woods, the bag of money is gone, and with it, the trust of six friends with a big secret.
Packed with tension and sure to illicit shivers in its readers, this new Fear Street book is another terrifying tale from a master of horror.
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Defender
by Graham McNamee
Hardcover
Wendy Lamb Books
Released 4/12/2016
They call her Tiny, but Tyne Greer is six foot six, a high school basketball star who is hoping the game will be her ticket out of the slum. She lives in a run-down building called The Zoo, where her father is the superintendent. One day she discovers a crack in the wall of an abandoned basement room. And sealed up in the wall is a girl’s body. Horrified, she runs to get her dad. But after he goes to take a look, he comes back and tells Tyne that nothing’s there. No girl. No body. He tells her she must be seeing things in the dark.
Tyne is sure it was real, though, and when she finds evidence that the body was moved from the hole in the wall, she knows the only one who could have done it is her father. But why? What is he hiding?
Tyne’s search for answers uncovers a conspiracy of secrets and lies in her family. The closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous it becomes for her. Because some will do anything to bury the past…and keep her silent.
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Dreamology
by Lucy Keating
Hardcover
HarperTeen
Released 4/12/2016
Vibrantly offbeat and utterly original, Lucy Keating’s debut novel combines the unconventional romance of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with the sweetness and heart of Jenny Han.
For as long as Alice can remember, she has dreamed of Max. Together, they have traveled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. Max is the boy of her dreams—and only her dreams. Because he doesn’t exist.
But when Alice walks into class on her first day at a new school, there he is. Real Max is nothing like Dream Max. He’s stubborn and complicated. And he has a whole life Alice isn’t a part of. Getting to know each other in reality isn’t as perfect as Alice always hoped.
Alarmingly, when their dreams start to bleed into their waking hours, the pair realize that they might have to put an end to a lifetime of dreaming about each other. But when you fall in love in your dreams, can reality ever be enough?
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Golden Boys
by Sonya Hartnett
Hardcover
Candlewick
Released 4/12/2016
Colt Jenson and his younger brother, Bastian, have moved to a new, working-class suburb. The Jensons are different. Their father, Rex, showers them with gifts — toys, bikes, all that glitters most — and makes them the envy of the neighborhood. To the local kids, the Jensons are a family out of a movie, and Rex a hero — successful, attentive, attractive, always there to lend a hand. But to Colt he’s an impossible figure: unbearable, suffocating. Has Colt got Rex wrong, or has he seen something in his father that will destroy their fragile new lives? This brilliant and unflinching new novel reveals internationally acclaimed author Sonya Hartnett at her most intriguing and psychologically complex
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Mutant Rising
by Steve Feasey
Paperback
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Released 4/12/2016
The world has changed for Rush since he discovered that he wasn’t the only one. A Mutant with powers that the Pure government would kill for, there are five kids like him on Scorched Earth, hidden from the world until now. Rush: telekinetic; Anya: shapeshifter; Jax: mind reader; Flea: time-stopper; Brick: healer.
As their powers grow, Rush knows that they have a mission that means more than their own survival. Together, they’re like the ultimate weapon–they might just beat the evil government of President Melk. But someone will stop at nothing to break them up. And as Melk threatens to destroy the entire Mutant city, Rush’s feelings for Tia, one of the Pure, threaten to complicate everything . . .
A brilliant follow-up to Mutant City, packed with action, adventure and a collection of unlikely heroes–plus two spectacularly good villains, to boot. Perfect for fans of X-Men, Charlie Higson and action-packed sci-fi extravaganzas.
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The Passion of Dolssa
by Julie Berry
Hardcover
Viking Books for Young Readers
Released 4/12/2016
I must write this account, and when I have finished, I will burn it.
Buried deep within the archives of a convent in medieval France is an untold story of love, loss, and wonder and the two girls at the heart of it all.
Dolssa is an upper-crust city girl with a secret lover and an uncanny gift. Branded a heretic, she’s on the run from the friar who condemned her mother to death by fire, and wants Dolssa executed, too.
Botille is a matchmaker and a tavern-keeper, struggling to keep herself and her sisters on the right side of the law in their seaside town of Bajas.
When their lives collide by a dark riverside, Botille rescues a dying Dolssa and conceals her in the tavern, where an unlikely friendship blooms. Aided by her sisters and Symo, her surly but loyal neighbor, Botille nurses Dolssa back to health and hides her from her pursuers. But all of Botille’s tricks, tales, and cleverness can’t protect them forever, and when the full wrath of the Church bears down upon Bajas, Dolssa’s passion and Botille’s good intentions could destroy the entire village.
From the author of the award-winning All the Truth That’s in Me comes a spellbinding thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page and make you wonder if miracles really are possible.
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