Twelve wonderful new YA novels are being released this week, perfect for your summer reading list. To make the week even sweeter, we’re giving away copies of About a Girl, Ruthless, and What We Knew for U.S. readers, and Amber Lough’s The Blind Wish to followers in the U.S. and Europe. Follow our Twitter and Facebook pages for the best chance to win!
Happy reading,
Lindsey, Martina, Sam, Jocelyn, Erin, Lisa, Shelly, Susan, Elizabeth, Kristin, Jen, Sandra and Anisaa
YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS THIS WEEK
About a Girl
by Sarah McCarry
Signed Hardcover Giveaway
U.S. Only
St. Martin’s Griffin
Released 7/14/2015
Eighteen-year-old Tally is absolutely sure of everything: her genius, the love of her adoptive family, the loyalty of her best friend, Shane, and her future career as a Nobel prize-winning astronomer. There’s no room in her tidy world for heartbreak or uncertainty–or the charismatic, troubled mother who abandoned her soon after she was born. But when a sudden discovery upends her fiercely ordered world, Tally sets out on an unexpected quest to seek out the reclusive musician who may hold the key to her past–and instead finds Maddy, an enigmatic and beautiful girl who will unlock the door to her future. The deeper she falls in love with Maddy, the more Tally begins to realize that the universe is bigger–and more complicated–than she ever imagined. Can Tally face the truth about her family–and find her way home in time to save herself from its consequences?
About a Girl is the powerful and entrancing conclusion to Sarah McCarry’s Metamorphoses trilogy.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about About a Girl?
I did a lot of reading on astronomy and cosmology for the book–the narrator, Tally, is an aspiring astronomer–and I had such a great time researching the book. I learned a lot that didn’t make it into the novel–I’m going to have to write another book! And I ended up falling in love with Tally herself–she’s pretentious and snobby and difficult, but underneath her armor she’s deeply vulnerable. She’s one of my favorite characters I’ve written in any of my books, and I think she gets a nice arc from slightly insufferable to a more generous and open-minded way of looking at the world.
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Ruthless
by Carolyn Lee Adams
Hardcover Giveaway
U.S. Only
Simon Pulse
Released 7/14/2015
A spine-tingling debut about the ultimate game of cat-and-mouse in reverse as a teen struggles to retain hope—and her sanity—while on the run from a cunning and determined killer.
Ruth Carver has always competed like her life depends on it. Ambitious. Tough. Maybe even mean. It’s no wonder people call her Ruthless.
When she wakes up with a concussion in the bed of a moving pickup trick, she realizes she has been entered into a contest she can’t afford to lose.
At a remote, rotting cabin deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ruth’s blindfold comes off and she comes face-to-face with her captor. A man who believes his mission is to punish bad girls like Ruth. A man who has done this six times before.
The other girls were never heard from again, but Ruth won’t go down easy. She escapes into the wilderness, but her hunter is close at her heels. That’s when the real battle begins. That’s when Ruth must decide just how far she’ll go in order to survive.
Back home, they called her Ruthless. They had no idea just how right they were.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Ruthless?
That’s a tough question! Definitely I am most proud of Wolfman’s backstory. It is revealed in a series of short flashback chapters throughout the book. The entire backstory only amounts to 5,000 words, but it was the most brutal writing experience of my life. I am a method writer—if my character is crying, I am crying, if my character is saying something funny, I laugh out loud. And yes, I do occasionally write in public and I’m sure I look like a madwoman. Wolfman’s backstory, however, I wrote at home in long, slow stretches that involved more pacing than writing. Wolfman is a villain, but his path to villainy leaves me with a deep sympathy for him.
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The Blind Wish
by Amber Lough
The Blind Wish and The Fire Wish Hardcover Giveaway
U.S and Europe Only
Random House Books for Young Readers
Released 7/14/2015
Two sisters. A war. And the wish to end regret. . . . The magical, evocative follow-up to The Fire Wish.
The war: The lies that started the conflict are in the open now, but the war between the humans and the jinn is as bitter as ever—and becoming far more treacherous.
The sisters: Najwa and Zayele have just learned they’re half-jinni, half-human twins. Najwa is now the jinni representative at the human palace, working to bring peace. But her new role comes at a price—she’s no longer allowed alone with her cherished Prince Kamal. And as Zayele adjusts to life among the jinn, she discovers that she’s a magus, one of the most powerful jinn in the Cavern. Suddenly, she’s thrown into special training, and the strongest young men in the army are competing to be paired up with her.
The wish: Once again, Zayele makes a wish. A wish that she doesn’t think can possibly go wrong. A wish that neither sister could imagine would change the outcome of the war.
Praise for Jinni Wars I: The Fire Wish:
“War, magic, and romance kept me reading nonstop!” —Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author of the Beka Cooper trilogy
“A fantastically compelling and romantic read from a shining new voice in YA.” —Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Blind Wish?
My favorite thing about the story (vice the writing of the story) is that it goes deeper. It’s less about finding friends and more about keeping them. You can read it two ways: as an adventure with lots of action, or as a story about the difficult (and sometimes terrible) choices we make, and how we can make amends.
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What We Knew
by Barbara Stewart
Hardcover Giveaway
U.S. Only
St. Martin’s Griffin
Released 7/14/2015
When a local myth starts to seem like a dangerous reality, two girls are set on a path that could change their lives forever
“When I was little, I imagined a monster: Scaly hands. Pits for eyes…”
When Tracy and her best friend, Lisa, were kids, stories about a man—a creep who exposes himself to little girls—kept them out of the woods and in their own backyards. But Tracy and Lisa aren’t so little anymore, and the man in the woods is nothing but a stupid legend. Right?
But someone is in the woods. Someone is watching. And he knows all their secrets, secrets they can’t tell anyone—not even each other.
“Monsters don’t exist.”
Lisa’s just being paranoid. At least that’s what Tracy thinks. But when a disturbing “gift” confirms her worst fears, it sets the girls on a dangerous journey that takes them beyond the edge of the woods. But reality is more terrifying than the most chilling myth, and what they find will test the bonds of friendship, loyalty, and love.
“Once upon a time, two girls were lost in the woods.”
In Barbara’s Stewart’s What We Knew, Tracy and Lisa can’t destroy the evil they’ll face, but can they stop it from destroying each other?
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about What We Knew?
Two favorite things. The first is that WHAT WE KNEW is set in summer. As a teen, it was always my favorite time of year, probably because that’s when I had the most freedom. I wanted to capture the feeling of those long, lazy afternoons at the park or the mall or whatever, and hanging out with friends at night. Nights were always the best—I wanted them to last forever. This would be a very different book if it took place in winter.
My second favorite thing is Tracy and Lisa’s friendship. These two are close, really close, in a way I think ends for most people when they grow up. But with that closeness comes a sort of blindness—both girls are struggling with issues the other knows nothing about. And maybe this is part of growing up—why people pull apart—but in the end these two have each other’s back, even as their relationship changes.
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YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS LAST WEEK: WINNERS
Hallowed by Tonya Hurley: Ayanami F.
Naked by Stacey Trombley: Colleen B.
Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten: Moira G.
You and Me and Him by Kris Dinnison: Ashley H.
MORE YOUNG ADULT FICTION IN STORES NEXT WEEK WITH AUTHOR INTERVIEWS
Rebel Mechanics
by Shanna Swendson
Hardcover
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Released 7/14/2015
A sixteen-year-old governess becomes a spy in this alternative U.S. history where the British control with magic and the colonists rebel by inventing.
It’s 1888, and sixteen-year-old Verity Newton lands a job in New York as a governess to a wealthy leading family—but she quickly learns that the family has big secrets. Magisters have always ruled the colonies, but now an underground society of mechanics and engineers are developing non-magical sources of power via steam engines that they hope will help them gain freedom from British rule. The family Verity works for is magister—but it seems like the children’s young guardian uncle is sympathetic to the rebel cause. As Verity falls for a charming rebel inventor and agrees to become a spy, she also becomes more and more enmeshed in the magister family’s life. She soon realizes she’s uniquely positioned to advance the cause—but to do so, she’ll have to reveal her own dangerous secret.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Rebel Mechanics?
I love the sense of adventure and possibility, the heroine getting to do things that are new and different for that time and place. She’s at a point where she seems to have lost all options for her life at the beginning, and along the way she sees new worlds opening up for her. The worst thing that could have happened for her turns out to maybe be the best thing for her, and what I love about this character is that this is the way she approaches it from the start, seeing the possibilities rather than wallowing in self pity.
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MORE YOUNG ADULT NOVELS NEW IN STORES NEXT WEEK
Battlesaurus: Rampage at Waterloo
by Brian Falkner
Hardcover
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Released 7/14/2015
Did you know that beasts called “saurs” were a part of everyday life in 1815 Europe? Did you know that Napoleon won the battle of Waterloo? Did you know that he did so by using a terrible secret weapon against the British and Prussians? Did you know that only one boy–the son of a magician–knows how to foil the would-be Emperor’s plans at world-domination? It’s all true. At least according to this head-spinning historical fantasy by adventure author Brian Falkner, just in time for the bicentennial of the battle that re-shaped Europe.
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Deceptive
by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Hardcover
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Released 7/14/2015
Don’t miss this thrilling, high-stakes sequel to Illusive.
You don’t belong with us. These are the words that echo through the minds of all immune Americans—those suffering the so-called adverse effects of an experimental vaccine, including perfect recall, body manipulation, telepathy, precognition, levitation, mind-control, and the ability to change one’s appearance at will.
When immune individuals begin to disappear—in great numbers, but seemingly at random—fear and tension mount, and unrest begins to brew across the country. Through separate channels, super-powered teenagers Ciere, Daniel, and Devon find themselves on the case; super criminals and government agents working side-by-side. It’s an effort that will ultimately define them all—for better or for worse.
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No Such Person
by Caroline B. Cooney
Hardcover
Delacorte Press
Released 7/14/2015
From the author of the multimillion-copy bestseller The Face on the Milk Carton, this riveting new thriller, set against the backdrop of a bucolic summer town on the Connecticut River, will have readers guessing until the very last page, as a seemingly innocent sibling rivalry and newfound young love turn into something much more devastating than anyone could ever have imagined.
Miranda and Lander Allerdon are sisters. Miranda is younger, a dreamer, and floating her way through life. Lander is older, focused, and determined to succeed. As the girls and their parents begin another summer at their cottage on the Connecticut River, Miranda and Lander’s sibling rivalry is in high gear. Lander plans to start medical school in the fall, and Miranda feels cast in her shadow.
When the Allerdons become entangled in an unimaginable tragedy, the playing field is suddenly leveled. As facts are revealed, the significance of what has happened weighs heavily on all. How can the family prepare for what the future may hold?
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Outrage
by John Sandford, Michelle Cook
Hardcover
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Released 7/14/2015
John Sandford and Michele Cook follow up their New York Times bestseller, UNCAGED, with the next nail-biting installment in The Singular Menace series. Perfect for fans of The Maze Runner!
Shay Remby and her gang of renegades have struck a blow to the Singular Corporation. When they rescued Shay’s brother, Odin, from a secret Singular lab, they also liberated a girl. Singular has been experimenting on her, trying to implant a U.S. senator’s memories into her brain—with partial success. Fenfang is now a girl who literally knows too much.
Can the knowledge brought by ex-captives Odin and Fenfang help Shay and her friends expose the crimes of this corrupt corporation? Singular has already killed one of Shay’s band to protect their secrets. How many more will die before the truth is exposed?
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Show and Prove
by Sofia Quintero
Hardcover
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Released 7/14/2015
A poignant coming-of-age story about two boys finding their way in the South Bronx in the mid-1980s.
The summer of 1983 was the summer hip-hop proved its staying power. The South Bronx is steeped in Reaganomics, war in the Middle East, and the twin epidemics of crack and AIDS, but Raymond “Smiles” King and Guillermo “Nike” Vega have more immediate concerns.
Smiles was supposed to be the assistant crew chief at his summer camp, but the director chose Cookie Camacho instead, kicking off a summer-long rivalry. Meanwhile, the aspiring b-boy Nike has set his wandering eye on Sara, the sweet yet sassy new camp counselor, as well as top prize at a breakdancing competition downtown. The two friends have been drifting apart ever since Smiles got a scholarship to a fancy private school, and this summer the air is heavy with postponed decisions that will finally be made.
Raw and poignant, this is a story of music, urban plight, and racial tension that’s as relevant today as it was in 1983.
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Stone Rider
by David Hofmeyr
Hardcover
Delacorte Press
Released 7/14/2015
In the vein of The Outsiders and the early Western novels of Elmore Leonard, this inventive debut novel, a cross between the cult classic Mad Max movie series and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, blends adrenaline-fueled action with an improbable yet tender romance to offer a rich and vivid portrayal of misfits and loners forced together in their struggle for a better life.
Adam Stone wants freedom and peace. He wants a chance to escape Blackwater, the dust-bowl desert town he grew up in. Most of all, he wants the beautiful Sadie Blood. Alongside Sadie and the dangerous outsider Kane, Adam will ride the Blackwater Trail in a brutal race that will test them all, body and soul. Only the strongest will survive.
The prize? A one-way ticket to Sky-Base and unimaginable luxury.
And for a chance at this new life, Adam will risk everything.
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The Road to You
by Alecia Whitaker
Hardcover
Poppy
Released 7/14/2015
The second book in the Wildflower series–full of drama, heart, and that country music spirit.
Bright lights… Screaming fans… Cute roadies… Country music sensation Bird Barrett is officially on tour. The months flash by in an exciting whirlwind, due–in no small part–to a certain dreamy lighting tech named Kai.
After the tour wraps up, Bird makes the move to LA, finding herself at the center of a trumped-up rivalry with another country music starlet she barely knows. Meanwhile, Kai’s out on tour again with an indie rock band and growing distant, and Bird has the label breathing down her neck for a new hit song. Finding true love is supposed to be inspiring, so why does penning the next great country pop ballad suddenly feel so hard?
ABC’s hit show Nashville meets The Summer I Turned Pretty.
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