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

New Releases this Week 06/18 – 06/24 plus 2 Giveaways

by Shelly Zev

Happy Monday! This week is jam packed with new releases (that all sound perfect for summer) and two giveaways! Don’t forget to check out all the books below and enter to win.

Happy Reading,

Shelly, Halli, Jocelyn, Martina, Erin, Susan, Kelly, Laura, Emily, Anisaa, and Lori Ann

YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS THIS WEEK

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Dive Smack
by Demetra Brodsky
Hardcover Giveaway
U.S. Only
Tor Teen
Released 6/19/2018

Theo Mackey only remembers one thing for certain about the fire that destroyed his home: he lit the match.

Sure, it was an accident. But the blaze killed his mom and set his dad on a path to self-destruction. Everything else about that fateful night is full of gaping holes in Theo’s mind, for good reason. Maybe it’s better that way. As captain of the Ellis Hollow Diving Team, with straight A’s and solid friends, he’s only one semester away from securing a scholarship, and leaving his past behind.

But when a family history project gets assigned at school, new memories come rushing to the surface, memories that make Theo question what he really knows about his family, the night of the fire, and if he can trust anyone―including himself.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Dive Smack?

One of my favorite elements in Dive Smack is the springboard diving I used as both Theo’s skill and a metaphor to illustrate the main character’s life spiraling out of control. I have a friend who was a U.S.A. springboard diver in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, who was kind enough to proofread all the diving in my book. When she blurbed my debut novel and called it “…a perfect 10” I was ecstatic. When an Olympic springboard diver says you nailed it, you kind of have a moment of stomach swooping pride.

Purchase Dive Smack at Amazon
Purchase Dive Smack at IndieBound
View Dive Smack on Goodreads

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Phoebe Will Destroy You
by Blake Nelson
Hardcover Giveaway
U.S. Only
Simon Pulse
Released 6/19/2018

The summer I was seventeen I met this girl…

Nick has the best of moms and the worst of moms. On the upside, she’s a distinguished professor and bestselling author. On the downside, she’s a serious alcoholic, with no clue how to relate to her son or husband.

Nick, meanwhile, has finished his junior year and needs a break from his stressful home life. What better place to spend the summer than Seaside, Oregon, a sleepy beach town where he can chill out, meet girls, and work at his Uncle’s car wash.

Enter local legend, Phoebe Garnet. She’s funny, sexy, but dangerously self-destructive. Suddenly Nick is more in love, more obsessed, more heartsick than he’s ever been in his life.

Why does Nick love her so much? Will he survive this obsession? And who can he turn to for help?

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Phoebe Will Destroy You?

Being seventeen. It’s tough. Lots of stress from a lot of different places. Also girls. They’re so amazing. And they’re all around you. But somehow …. being with them, talking to them. NOT EASY. And the world. Telling you all these things. None of which are exactly true. And all the time, you feel this spark inside you. This strength. You can do anything. And then you meet a girl, and it finally works, the girl thing, it actually WORKS. It’s all so confusing and weird and super fun and wtf! And you feel all this stuff. And all this stuff happens. And you know this is it. You only get to be seventeen for one year. There’s nothing like it. Life will never feel like this again.

Purchase Phoebe Will Destroy You at Amazon
Purchase Phoebe Will Destroy You at IndieBound
View Phoebe Will Destroy You on Goodreads

YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS LAST WEEK: WINNERS

The Fall of Innocence by Jenny Torres Sanchez: Catherine C.

MORE YOUNG ADULT FICTION IN STORES NEXT WEEK WITH AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

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Not the Girls You’re Looking For
by Aminah Mae Safi
Hardcover
Feiwel & Friends
Released 6/19/2018

Lulu Saad doesn’t need your advice, thank you very much. She’s got her three best friends and nothing can stop her from conquering the known world. Sure, for half a minute she thought she’d nearly drowned a cute guy at a party, but he was totally faking it. And fine, yes, she caused a scene during Ramadan. It’s all under control. Ish.

Except maybe this time she’s done a little more damage than she realizes. And if Lulu can’t find her way out of this mess soon, she’ll have to do more than repair friendships, family alliances, and wet clothing. She’ll have to go looking for herself.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Not the Girls You’re Looking For?

The friendships! I love the complexity of friendships when you’re a teenager— there’s an intensity to those relationships that is honestly so magical to me. The dynamic between Lulu and her three best friends was constantly shifting and it was a fun puzzle to get to work out where everyone was emotionally at any given moment in the story.

Purchase Not the Girls You’re Looking For at Amazon
Purchase Not the Girls You’re Looking For at IndieBound
View Not the Girls You’re Looking For on Goodreads

MORE YOUNG ADULT NOVELS NEW IN STORES NEXT WEEK

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Almost Impossible
by Nicole Williams
Paperback
Crown Books for Young Readers
Released 6/19/2018

When Jade decided to spend the summer with her aunt in California, she thought she knew what she was getting into. But nothing could have prepared her for Quentin. Jade hasn’t been in suburbia long and even she knows her annoying (and annoyingly cute) next-door neighbor spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

And when Quentin learns Jade plans to spend her first American summer hiding out reading books, he refuses to be ignored. Sneaking out, staying up, and even a midnight swim, Quentin is determined to give Jade days–and nights–worth remembering.

But despite their storybook-perfect romance, every time Jade moves closer, Quentin pulls away. And when rumors of a jilted ex-girlfriend come to light, Jade knows Quentin is hiding a secret–and she’s determined to find out what it is.

Purchase Almost Impossible at Amazon
Purchase Almost Impossible at IndieBound
View Almost Impossible on Goodreads

* * * *

I Think I Love You
by Patricia Lyfoung
Hardcover
Macmillan
Released 6/19/2018

Maud and Guilhem are still on the trail of the evil Baron and his acolytes. With her father’s diary and a continuing sense of deja vu at every new place they go to, Maud and Guilhem grow closer in spite of his best intentions. They leave Venice for Istanbul where crossing the desert is full of surprises. When Maud goes missing, Guilhem fears the worst, but Maud is rediscovering her ancestors. Meanwhile the Huet brothers must be stopped in a fight to end all fights with the Scarlet Rose and the Fox!

Purchase I Think I Love You at Amazon
Purchase I Think I Love You at IndieBound
View I Think I Love You on Goodreads

* * * *

Love Me, Love Me Not
by SM Koz
Hardcover
Swoon Reads
Released 6/19/2018

When Hailey Brown is removed from her home and put into foster care, all she wants is a safe, comfortable place where she can finish school and move on with her life. It’s not easy adjusting to a new school and a new life, but Mr. and Mrs. Campbell and their teenage son, Brad, welcome Hailey with open arms.

As Hailey begins to adjust to her new life, she and Brad grow closer. For the first time, Hailey feels like she might have a real shot at a future. Soon, however, Hailey realizes her relationship with Brad has crossed the line from friendship into something more. But being with Brad would mean giving up the perfect life that Hailey has waited so long to have.

Can Hailey and Brad resist the feelings that are developing between them―or will they risk it all to be together?

Purchase Love Me, Love Me Not at Amazon
Purchase Love Me, Love Me Not at IndieBound
View Love Me, Love Me Not on Goodreads

* * * *

The Boyfriend Bracket
by Kate Evangelista
Hardcover
Swoon Reads
Released 6/19/2018

Stella has had a hopeless crush on Will, her older brother’s best friend FOREVER, but now that Cam and Will have graduated and are going off to college, this year is her chance to really strike out on her own. Without her overprotective brother and his sidekick around to distract her, she can focus on having all the typical high school experiences that she’s always dreamed of―starting with finding a boyfriend! With the help of her best friend, Franklin, she comes up with the perfect plan to have a boyfriend by Christmas: The Boyfriend Bracket.

Or it seems like the perfect plan . . . right up until Will starts showing up again. How is she supposed to find the perfect boyfriend when none of her dates measure up to the one boy she can never have?

Purchase The Boyfriend Bracket at Amazon
Purchase The Boyfriend Bracket at IndieBound
View The Boyfriend Bracket on Goodreads

* * * *

Thief of Happy Endings
by Kristen Chandler
Hardcover
Viking Books for Young Readers
Released 6/19/2018

Wild mustangs, irresistible wranglers, and lovesick teens abound over the course of one beautifully crazy summer at a Wyoming Ranch Camp.

Ever since her father moved out, Cassidy feels like her life has been falling apart. So a summer of riding horses at a ranch camp in Wyoming sounds like just what she needs–never mind the fact that she has a paralyzing fear of horses. She’s determined to move past her fear, even if that means taking lessons from the insufferable (yet irresistible) junior wrangler Justin and embarrassing herself in front of the other campers. What follows is a summer of rodeos, complicated friendships, and a wild mustang thief on the loose.

Purchase Thief of Happy Endings at Amazon
Purchase Thief of Happy Endings at IndieBound
View Thief of Happy Endings on Goodreads

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Shelly Zev

Shelly is a Toronto-based book professional versed in editing, the publication industry, and the library sector where they currently work part-time as a public-facing librarian.

Shelly reads and blabbers on the internet about books, their expertise being in professional editing as well as library services for children and teens. They occasionally write.

Post © Shelly Zev and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.
Posted: Jun 18, 2018
Category: Imported from AYAP
Tags: 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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