Husky laying down
Young Husky sitting
Jack Russel sitting
Cocker Spaniel sittting
Big, fuzzing brown puppy sitting
Hound dog sitting
German Shepard sitting
Golden Retriever sitting
Black and white spaniel sitting
Gray Pitbull sitting

Giveaways of HORIZON by Alyson Noel and STAINED by Cheryl Rainfield plus New YAlit Releases in Stores 11/15-11/21

by Jan Lewis

YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS THIS WEEK

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Horizon
by Alyson Noel
Hardcover Giveaway
St. Martin””s Griffin
Released 11/19/2013

Fate has bound them together–and torn them apart. Now Daire and Dace face one final fight that will seal their destiny forever.

Daire Santos is the last of the Soul Seekers, and the only thing standing between the Richters and the destruction of everyone she loves. With her grandmother gone and Cade back in Enchantment, Daire must finally step into her destiny and lead the fight against the Richters. But what if that means sacrificing the person she loves most?

Bound to the Richters by blood, Dace struggles against the darkness growing inside him that threatens to claim Daire too. Though Daire refuses to give up on him, the choice may not be hers. An epic battle is on the horizon and the end of the world looms near. With such insurmountable odds stacked against them, is their love really enough to conquer all?

Purchase Horizon at Amazon
Purchase Horizon at IndieBound
View Horizon on Goodreads

* * * *

Stained
by Cheryl Rainfield
Hardcover Giveaway
HMH Books for Young Readers
Released 11/19/2013

In this heart-wrenching and suspenseful teen thriller, sixteen-year-old Sarah Meadows longs for “normal.” Born with a port-wine stain covering half her face, all her life she’s been plagued by stares, giggles, bullying, and disgust. But when she’s abducted on the way home from school, Sarah is forced to uncover the courage she never knew she had, become a hero rather than a victim, and learn to look beyond her face to find the beauty and strength she has inside. It’s that–or succumb to a killer.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Stained?

One of my favorite things about STAINED is that it is reaching people. It is such a good feeling to have a voice about some of the trauma I’ve been through, and to hear from readers that it’s helping them. STAINED only just came out (Oct 1), but I’ve already heard from some survivors that STAINED helped them feel stronger, gave them hope, helped them heal, or helped them know that victims can get through trauma and become even stronger. I’ve also heard from some readers who aren’t survivors who say that it was a gripping, painful, yet ultimately healing and moving read. I love hearing that; I want readers to feel when they read my books. I think that it’s by feeling and identifying with the characters we’re reading about that greater change and compassion happens. It means a lot to me that people are moved by STAINED; I drew on some of my own trauma and healing experiences to write it. Like Sarah, I was held captive, repeatedly raped, withheld food and water. And like Sarah, I had to save myself to get safe.

Another of my favorite things about STAINED was writing a character who, although she was raped and abused, was courageous and strong–so much stronger than she thought she was. I think we are all stronger than we think we are; sometimes it takes a traumatic experience to help us see that. And I also loved writing about superheroes in STAINED. Like Sarah, superheroes and comics were a source of strength and comfort for me, and a way to imagine myself stronger than I thought I was–while coming to realize, like Sarah, that I already had the strength I needed.

Purchase Stained at Amazon
Purchase Stained at IndieBound
View Stained on Goodreads

YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS LAST WEEK: WINNERS

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Steelheart
by Brandon Sanderson
Giveaway
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Released 9/24/2013

Winner – Heather Raglin

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.

But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics… nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart–the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David’s father. For years, like the Reckoners, David’s been studying, and planning–and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He’s seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Steelheart?

The pacing. There are certain things that I was able to do with a single first-person viewpoint in a fast-paced action-oriented story that I haven’t been able to do in any other story that I’ve written. I feel like the awesome pacing just tears you through the book and reads like a really fun action movie. I’m quite proud of how that worked.

Purchase Steelheart at Amazon
Purchase Steelheart at IndieBound
View Steelheart on Goodreads

* * * *

Save the Enemy
by Arin Greenwood
Hardcover Giveaway
Soho Teen
Released 11/12/2013

Winner – Jackie Lea Sommers

Everything has been downhill since Zoey Trask’s mother was murdered in a random mugging. Her younger brother, Ben, is on the autistic spectrum and needs constant supervision. It’s senior year, and she’s the new girl at a weird private school in Old Town Alexandria, VA, full of kids who seem too nice to be true–including a very cute boy named Pete. Aside from half-forgotten martial arts and survivalist skills that her widowed father insisted on teaching her (because that is excellent for her social life), Zoey has nothing to offer Pete or anyone else.

Then Dad is kidnapped. Zoey suddenly finds herself sole caretaker of a younger brother she barely understands. Worse, Ben seems to hold the key to their father’s disappearance in his Dream Diary, a bizarre journal of names and places Ben claims that their mother shares from beyond the grave. And as if Zoey doesn’t have enough on her plate, there’s Pete, who stubbornly refuses to leave her side.

Relying on the skills she never wanted to learn–Dad might have had his reasons after all. Zoey is plunged into a lethal battle to rescue her father, protect her brother, and determine the identity of her family’s true enemy.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Save the Enemy?

I’m going to cheat and tell you about my two favorite things in Save The Enemy.

It was really a lot of fun trying to figure out what would make some pretty typical suburban parents become assassins, beyond money. What would happen in a person’s life that this, of all things, would seem like the right path? And what would it be like for that person’s kids once they started catching on to their parent being an assassin? I realize it sounds sort of dark (okay, really really dark), but I enjoyed trying to figure out how all of this would actually work.

My second favorite thing is that at some point in the book–I don’t want to spoil things and tell you when, but you won’t see it coming!–a meteor unexpectedly falls from the sky.

Purchase Save the Enemy at Amazon
Purchase Save the Enemy at IndieBound
View Save the Enemy on Goodreads

* * * *

The Living
by Matt de la Pena
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Press
Released 11/12/2013

Winner – Jen Petro-Roy

Shy took the summer job to make some money. In a few months on a luxury cruise liner, he’ll rake in the tips and be able to help his mom and sister out with the bills. And how bad can it be? Bikinis, free food, maybe even a girl or two–every cruise has different passengers, after all.

But everything changes when the Big One hits. Shy’s only weeks out at sea when an earthquake more massive than ever before recorded hits California, and his life is forever changed.

The earthquake is only the first disaster. Suddenly it’s a fight to survive for those left living.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Living?

My favorite thing about THE LIVING is the main character, Shy. I actually rescued Shy out of a failed novel I wrote several years ago. I had been reading a bunch of Russian novels and I thought, Hey, I know what I’ll do. I’ll write a novel with sixteen main characters. Needless to say, the book didn’t work. I got up to page 500 and the story still hadn’t quite started. But one of the characters, Shy, really intrigued me. He was a working class kid from a poor neighborhood who was sort of girl crazy. So I stole him out of that novel and put him on a cruise ship, which is the setting for THE LIVING. And the girl he likes is a little older, and she’s engaged. So even before a massive earthquake hits California, things are already tough on Shy. I also loved writing a book with more action. It was a challenge for me. And I’m excited about how it turned out.

Purchase The Living at Amazon
Purchase The Living at IndieBound
View The Living on Goodreads

* * * *

Son of Fortune
by Victoria McKernan
Hardcover Giveaway
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Released 11/12/2013

Winner – Marlyn Beebe

Aiden Lynch is a survivor–only 16 years old, he’s seen himself through near-starvation on the Kansas prairie, a brutal journey on the Oregon trail, and backbreaking work in a lumber camp. Now he’s reached the glittering city of San Francisco, and though his future is uncertain, promise lies ahead. Luck seems to favor him as he manages to stay one step ahead of trouble, even in the city’s notoriously dangerous Barbary Coast. And it is pure fortune that leads him to a wealthy family, and then the high-stakes poker game in which he wins a ship–fully outfitted and ready for trade. The trade he has inherited: importing guano, a highly potent fertilizer, from island mines in Peru.

But what he finds in Peru is a savage business–conditions at the mines are unthinkable, the workers forced into servitude. When Aiden becomes involved with a miner who claims to be a kidnapped Chinese nobleman, all his loyalties are called into question, and he’s plunged into a dangerous game.

Purchase Son of Fortune at Amazon
Purchase Son of Fortune at IndieBound
View Son of Fortune on Goodreads

* * * *

Splendor
by Elana K. Arnold
Hardcover Giveaway
Delacorte Press
Released 11/12/2013

Winner – Melinda Gray

The passionate romance that began in Sacred concludes in Splendor.

Scarlett loves the touch of her boyfriend, Will. But when he leaves Catalina Island to start college on the East Coast, she wonders whether their passion can survive a long-distance relationship–and whether she can face the home front on her own. Scarlett’s senior year should be a breeze, but her parents have recently separated, and her already-wild best friend, Lily, is becoming involved with a dangerous boy named Gunner . . . a boy Scarlett is also attracted to. A boy she doesn’t want to be–and shouldn’t be–attracted to.

To take her mind off her troubles, Scarlett focuses on caring for her newly pregnant mare and delving deeper into the Kabbalah. Her religious exploration offers a way to stay connected to Will, who is a Kabbalah mystic, and a key to understanding her disturbing dreams about him. But as she gets wrapped up in her mare, her Kabbalah studies, and her conflicting feelings for Will and Gunner, Scarlett misses the warning signs that lead to a heartbreaking loss.

Purchase Splendor at Amazon
Purchase Splendor at IndieBound
View Splendor on Goodreads

MORE YOUNG ADULT NOVELS NEW IN STORES NEXT WEEK

* * * *

He Said, She Said
by Kwame Alexander
Hardcover
HarperCollins
Released 11/19/2013

Sparks will fly in this hip-hop-hot teen novel that mixes social protest and star-crossed romance! He Said, She Said is perfect for fans of Walter Dean Myers and Rachel Vail alike.

He says: Omar “T-Diddy” Smalls has got it made–a full football ride to UMiami, hero-worship status at school, and pick of any girl at West Charleston High.

She says: Football, shmootball. Here’s what Claudia Clarke cares about: Harvard, the poor, the disenfranchised, the hungry, the staggering teen pregnancy rate, investigative journalism . . . the list goes on. She does not have a minute to waste on Mr. T-Diddy Smalls and his harem of bimbos.

He Said, She Said is a fun and fresh novel from Kwame Alexander that throws these two high school seniors together when they unexpectedly end up leading the biggest social protest this side of the Mississippi–with a lot of help from Facebook and Twitter.

The stakes are high, the romance is hot, and when these worlds collide, watch out!

Purchase He Said, She Said at Amazon
Purchase He Said, She Said at IndieBound
View He Said, She Said on Goodreads

* * * *

The Fiery Heart
by Richelle Mead
Hardcover
Razorbill
Released 11/19/2013

In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn’t over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there’s still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure–and re-education–looms larger than ever.

Pulses will race throughout this thrilling fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where no secret is safe.

Purchase The Fiery Heart at Amazon
Purchase The Fiery Heart at IndieBound
View The Fiery Heart on Goodreads

Jan Lewis

Jan Lewis writes YA fantasy of the contemporary and traditional varieties. She lives in Oklahoma with a husband, two kids, two cats, a dog, and a mother. Instead of unpublished, she prefers to call herself pre-published. While she enjoys drafting, her heart is truly in rewriting and editing. She loves ladybugs, fairies, blue roses, cats, musical theater, and pretty much all things geek.

Post © Jan Lewis and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.
Posted: Nov 15, 2013
Category: Imported from AYAP
Tags: #yalit | New Releases | YA Fiction Giveaways

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p> <p>Your main character needs to be:<br /> • Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br /> • Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br /> • Active enough to drive the story<br /> • Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p> <p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />
The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p> <p>But your theme needs to be:<br /> • Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br /> • Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br /> • Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br /> • Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p> <p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />
The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p> <p>In general, your plot should:<br /> • Hook readers fast<br /> • Build tension that a child can follow<br /> • Create page turns that feel natural<br /> • Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p> <p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.
The Arms of your story are the side characters.
The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p> <p>Your setting should:<br /> • Make your character's world feel real<br /> • Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br /> • Connect different scenes and moments organically<br /> • Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p> <p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black. 

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