Can you believe May is halfway over? There are so many new releases & giveaways to feature, it’s almost hard to keep up! Up for grabs this week, we have two copies of 100 DAYS OF CAKE, CIRCLE OF JINN and PLACES NO ONE KNOWS. Don’t forget to enter the giveaways and check out the latest releases!

Happy Reading,

Shelly, Lindsey, Martina, Jocelyn, Erin, Susan, Sam, Sarah, Sandra, Kristin, and Anisaa

YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS THIS WEEK

100 Days of Cake
by Shari Goldhagen
Hardcover Giveaway (2 Copies)
U.S. Only
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Released 5/17/2016

Get well soon isn’t going to cut it in this quirky and poignant debut novel about a girl, her depression, an aggressive amount of baked goods, and the struggle to simply stay afloat in an unpredictable, bittersweet life.

There are only three things that can get seventeen-year-old Molly Byrne out of bed these days: her job at FishTopia, the promise of endless episodes of Golden Girls, and some delicious lo mien. You see, for the past two years, Molly’s been struggling with something more than your usual teenage angst. Her shrink, Dr. Brooks isn’t helping much, and neither is her mom who is convinced that baking the perfect cake will cure Molly of her depression—as if cake can magically make her rejoin the swim team, get along with her promiscuous sister, or care about the SATs.

Um, no. Never going to happen.

But Molly plays along, stomaching her mother’s failed culinary experiments, because, whatever—as long as it makes someone happy, right? Besides, as far as Molly’s concerned, hanging out with Alex at the rundown exotic fish store makes life tolerable enough. Even if he does ask her out every…single…day. But—sarcastic drum roll, please—nothing can stay the same forever. When Molly finds out FishTopia is turning into a bleak country diner, her whole life seems to fall apart at once. Soon she has to figure out what—if anything—is worth fighting for.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about 100 Days of Cake?

That is such a hard question to answer! Honestly it might be the way some of the secondary characters turned out. Molly’s sister, Veronica, and her best friend Elle were just sort of ideas when I started and I love the way that their personalities emerged as I wrote them.

With all of her causes and righteous rage, Elle would totally drive me crazy, but she’s also such a loyal friend that it all just becomes part of her charm.

And V, well, when I began, she was kind of this flat stereotype of a pretty girl who likes pretty clothes, and I’m thrilled that she got to be so much more than that. Her intelligence and humor ended up surprising me just like they end up surprising Molly.

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Circle of Jinn
by Lori Goldstein
Hardcover Giveaway
U.S. Only
Feiwel & Friends
Released 5/17/2016

Being Jinn is Azra’s new reality. As she grants wishes under the watchful eye of the Afrit council, she remains torn between her two worlds—human and Jinn. Soon, secrets spill. Zars are broken. Humans become pawns. And rumors of an uprising become real as the Afrit’s reach extends beyond the underground world of Janna.

Straddling the line becomes impossible. Aware of her unique abilities, Azra must not just face but embrace her destiny. But when the role she must play and those she must protect expand to include a circle of Jinn greater than her own, Azra will be forced to risk everything. A risk that means there’s everything to lose, and at the same time, everything to gain—for herself and her entire Jinn race.

In this dramatic sequel to Becoming Jinn, Azra’s story comes to a heartfelt and thrilling conclusion.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Circle of Jinn?

This is a world filled with characters I love, and the ability to return to them and continue to tell their story is a gift. In CIRCLE OF JINN, there’s a lot of interaction between Azra and her best friend, Henry, her boyfriend, Nate, and her Zar sisters. Writing the dialogue between these characters is my favorite part. And we even meet a couple of new characters who completely stole my writing heart!

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Places No One Knows
by Brenna Yovanoff
Hardcover Giveaway
U.S. Only
Delacorte Press
Released 5/17/2016

Waverly Camdenmar spends her nights running until she can’t even think. Then the sun comes up, life goes on, and Waverly goes back to her perfectly hateful best friend, her perfectly dull classes, and the tiny, nagging suspicion that there’s more to life than student council and GPAs.

Marshall Holt is a loser. He drinks on school nights and gets stoned in the park. He is at risk of not graduating, he does not care, he is no one. He is not even close to being in Waverly’s world.

But then one night Waverly falls asleep and dreams herself into Marshall’s bedroom—and when the sun comes up, nothing in her life can ever be the same. In Waverly’s dreams, the rules have changed. But in her days, she’ll have to decide if it’s worth losing everything for a boy who barely exists.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Places No One Knows?

Oh man, there is no way I can answer this question in a decent, semi-objective way, because I really love this book. So, PLACES NO ONE KNOWS is the book I wanted when I was 16 and didn’t know how to find. At the time, I was reading all of these stories about relationships, trying to solve the complicated equation of people and how they worked. Books about girls who just seemed to have an innate sense of how to navigate romance, girls who were expressive and emotionally intelligent and taught the boys in their lives to be more vulnerable, and I would look at those stories and those characters and just think: Wow. This does not bode well.

At 16, I wasn’t Waverly. Waverly is sharp and brittle and brutal. She’s kind of awful. But Waverly is who I wanted to read about. I wanted a book about a hard, intractable girl who wasn’t good at feelings (even though she has them) and still found a boy who thought she was great, and didn’t have to totally overhaul herself to do it. I wanted a book that would explain to me the nuanced difference between learning to make room in your life for other people, and feeling pressured by other people to be a completely different person. So, I guess my favorite thing about PLACES NO ONE KNOWS is that it’s about emotional boys and analytical girls, and once it was the book I needed. And now, if someone else needs it too, it will be waiting here for them.

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YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS LAST WEEK: WINNERS

Love Blind by C. Desir & Jolene Perry: Hannah P
The Season of You & Me by Robin Constantine: Rachel M

MORE YOUNG ADULT FICTION IN STORES NEXT WEEK WITH AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

Draw the Line
by Laurent Linn
Hardcover
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Released 5/17/2016

Adrian Piper is used to blending into the background at his Texas high school. He may be a talented artist, a sci-fi geek, and gay, but those traits only bring him the worst kind of attention.

In fact, the only place he feels free to express himself is at his drawing table, crafting a secret world through his own Renaissance art-inspired superhero, Graphite.

But in real life, when a shocking hate crime flips his world upside-down, Adrian must decide what kind of person he wants to be. Maybe it’s time to not be so invisible after all—no matter how dangerous the risk.

In Draw the Line, Laurent Linn’s debut novel, he writes a charged story—illustrated with his own extraordinary drawings—about discovering your own superpowers, deciding how to use them, and where to draw the line.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Draw the Line?

I’ve certainly been inspired by wonderful books and stories in my life, but I’ve especially been inspired by fellow authors. I’m in a truly fantastic writing group and we’ve been meeting weekly for years. The writers in my group are creating unique and meaningful stories, which have made me think a lot about what I have to say as a writer.

Writing a YA novel can take years, so I asked myself, what do I care about passionately enough to devote so much of my time to? My answer was clear—so many teens feel like they’re outside of the mainstream and what they care most about is ridiculed by others, or worse. What makes someone special, like being creative or identifying as something “other”, is so often misunderstood or despised. For example, my main character, Adrian Piper, is a talented artist, sci-fi geek, lover of renaissance art, and is gay—practically no one at his school gets him. So I decided to explore how a character could use art to fight brutality.

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Girl Against the Universe
by Paula Stokes
Hardcover
HarperTeen
Released 5/17/2016

From the author of The Art of Lainey and Liars, Inc. comes a fresh, contemporary story about one girl’s tragic past and a boy who convinces her that maybe her luck is about to change. Perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen or Jenny Han.

Maguire knows she’s bad luck. No matter how many charms she buys off the internet or good luck rituals she performs each morning, horrible things happen when Maguire is around. Like that time her brother, father, and uncle were all killed in a car crash—and Maguire walked away with barely a scratch. But then on her way out of her therapist’s office, she meets Jordy, an aspiring tennis star, who wants to help Maguire break her unlucky streak. Maguire knows that the best thing she can do for Jordy is to stay away, but staying away may be harder than she thought.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Girl Against the Universe?

I like how GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE balances dark and light elements. Main character Maguire has some severe survivor’s guilt at the start of the story, and she’s relying on obsessive and avoidant behaviors to cope with it. The book could’ve easily gone really gritty and dark, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I worked hard to create a story that is not only respectful and authentic when it comes to Maguire’s PTSD, but is also funny, hopeful, and ultimately uplifting. If you like contemporary YA books, GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE will probably make you laugh, swoon, and get a little teary-eyed in places. I like to say it’s *squishy hugs* in book form 🙂

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Marked
by Jenny Martin
Hardcover
Dial Books
Released 5/17/2016

Mad Max meets Firefly in the exhilarating sequel to the sci-fi novel Tracked

After an escape gone wrong, Phee barely made it out of Castra alive. But Cash, the leader of the rebellion, is still missing–and Charles Benroyal is to blame. Caught between grief and blinding thoughts of revenge, Phee fights for the resistance, gaining new allies and, perhaps, making new enemies, too. Meanwhile, Phee can’t control her growing feelings for Bear, her best friend since childhood, and she’s forced to make a choice–between the boy who has always been there for her, and the one who might never return. As Benroyal’s attacks grow bolder, Phee and her team embark on a daring mission to defeat the Sixers and save the planet. But no one is prepared for the sacrifices Phee will have to make to win this war once and for all.

With nonstop action and a wholly original science fiction world, Marked will have your heart racing until its breathless conclusion.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Marked?

Oh wow. This is so tough. I loved finishing my journey with Phee, and watching her mature in her character arc. I loved introducing new characters, especially Miyu Yamada, Khed Larken and Captain Fahra. But most of all, I think I loved writing the scenes that made me bawl. So watch out…chapter thirty-four gutted me. Hard.

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Spark
by Holly Schindler
Hardcover
HarperTeen
Released 5/17/2016

The local Avery Theater was just a run-down building to Quin—until her mother told her the tragic love story of Nick and Emma that played out on the theater’s stage all those years ago. Quin is convinced it’s the perfect story to rewrite for her drama class, but when she goes searching for more information, she makes a startling discovery—the Avery is rapidly regaining its former splendor and setting the stage for her classmates Dylan and Cass to relive Nick and Emma’s romance. Quin can see the spark between them, but it’s up to her to make sure her friends—and the Avery—can both be saved this time around.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Spark?

That it has an ambiguous ending. SPARK is my first piece of magical realism—Quin, the protagonist, witnesses the dilapidated Avery Theater begin to come back to life. Literally—in a shower of sparks, the neon sign (broken for decades) crackles and begins to shine on Quin. The building rewinds, too—windows mend; crumbling brick repairs itself; rust disappears.

But the building only comes back to life for Quin. No one else sees these magical transformations. Of course she’s got to get a better look, so she breaks into the old theater after dark—and the building begins to rewind again, come back to life. The movie screen snaps into action, too—what the projector displays isn’t an old movie from the ‘40s, but a scene from real life. The theater shows Quin what actually played out on the stage seventy years ago…

Or does it?

Does the theater magically transform—or does Quin have a writer’s imagination? Is she seeing the story she wants to tell playing out in her own mind’s eye? I loved being able to leave the ending with the readers, allowing them to decide for themselves what they think happened.

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The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You
by Lily Anderson
Hardcover
St. Martin’s Griffin
Released 5/17/2016

Trixie Watson has two very important goals for senior year: to finally save enough to buy the set of Doctor Who figurines at the local comic books store, and to place third in her class and knock Ben West–and his horrendous new mustache that he spent all summer growing–down to number four.

Trixie will do anything to get her name ranked over Ben’s, including give up sleep and comic books–well, maybe not comic books–but definitely sleep. After all, the war of Watson v. West is as vicious as the Doctor v. Daleks and Browncoats v. Alliance combined, and it goes all the way back to the infamous monkey bars incident in the first grade. Over a decade later, it’s time to declare a champion once and for all.

The war is Trixie’s for the winning, until her best friend starts dating Ben’s best friend and the two are unceremoniously dumped together and told to play nice. Finding common ground is odious and tooth-pullingly-painful, but Trixie and Ben’s cautious truce slowly transforms into a fandom-based tentative friendship. When Trixie’s best friend gets expelled for cheating and Trixie cries foul play, however, they have to choose who to believe and which side they’re on–and they might not pick the same side.

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You?

Well, I’m pretty stoked that it’s published! It’s a dream come true to have a real copy of a book that I wrote and to be able to share it with other people.

This book in particular is special to me because I started writing it as a break from trying to get published. I was looking for a literary agent for an adult novel and was getting really disheartened by rejections. So, to take my mind off of it, I decided to attempt retelling my favorite play, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, and fill it with all of my favorite things—nerd culture, girl friendships, endless banter, and kissing.

I never thought that almost four years later, I would be chatting with you fine folks about it.

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MORE YOUNG ADULT NOVELS NEW IN STORES NEXT WEEK

It Wasn’t Always Like This
by Joy Preble
Hardcover
Soho Teen
Released 5/17/2016

In 1916, Emma O’Neill is frozen in time. After sampling an experimental polio vaccine brewed on a remote island off St. Augustine, Florida, she and her family stop aging—as do the Ryans, her family’s business partners. In a way, this suits Emma fine because she’s in love with Charlie Ryan. Being seventeen forever with him is a dream. But soon a group of religious fanatics, the Church of Light, takes note. Drinking the elixir has made the O’Neills and Ryans impervious to aging, but not to murder—Emma and Charlie are the only ones who escape with their lives.

On the run, Emma is tragically separated from Charlie. For the next hundred years, she plays a cat-and-mouse game with the founding members of the Church of Light and their descendants. Over the years, a series of murders—whose victims all bear more than a passing resemblance to her—indicate that her enemies are closing in. Yet as the danger grows, so does Emma’s hope for finding the boy she’s certain is still out there . . .

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Silence Is Goldfish
by Annabel Pitcher
Hardcover
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Released 5/17/2016

My name is Tess Turner–at least, that’s what I’ve always been told.
I have a voice but it isn’t mine. It used to say things so I’d fit in, to please my parents, to please my teachers. It used to tell the universe I was something I wasn’t. It lied.

It never occurred to me that everyone else was lying too.

Fifteen-year-old Tess doesn’t mean to become mute. When she discovers that her dad isn’t her biological father, at first she’s just too shocked to speak. But quickly she begins to see the benefit of silence. She can protect herself from the questions she’s too afraid to ask. It frustrates the heck out of her parents. And it also gets the attention of her handsome Math teacher, Mr Holdsworth…

Tess sets out to discover the identity of her real father. But when trouble strikes and everything spirals out of control, how can she ask for help when she’s forgotten how to use her voice?

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Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories
by Stephanie Perkins
Hardcover
St. Martin’s Griffin
Released 5/17/2016

Maybe it’s the long, lazy days, or maybe it’s the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.

Featuring stories by Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.

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The Crown’s Game
by Evelyn Skye
Hardcover
Balzer + Bray
Released 5/17/2016

Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.

And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.

Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?

For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.

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This is the Part Where You Laugh
by Peter Brown Hoffmeister
Hardcover
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Released 5/17/2016

Fans of Andrew Smith and Matt de la Pena will be captivated by this summer-in-the-life of a teenage guy growing up in a trailer park in Eugene, Oregon.

Travis plans to spend the summer as follows:
• Working on his basketball game with his friend, Creature.
• Reading excerpts from Creature’s novel-in-progress: The Pervert’s Guide to Russian Princesses.
• Canoeing around the lake, trying to catch a glimpse of the beautiful girl who just moved in.
• Not getting into trouble, not going back to juvie . . .
• Searching the homeless camps for his mother, with a jar full of cash to help her get back on her feet.

From a powerful new voice in YA literature comes an unforgettable account of growing up, making mistakes, and growing out of the shadow of drug abuse.

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