YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS THIS WEEK
Surrounded by Sharks
by Michael Northrop
Signed Hardcover Giveaway
Scholastic Press
Released 5/27/2014
A thrilling survival story from Michael Northrop, the acclaimed author of TRAPPED.
He couldn’t sleep. That’s how it all started.
When Davey wakes, just as the sun is rising, he can’t wait to slip out of the crammed hotel room he’s sharing with his family. Leave it to his parents and kid brother to waste an entire day of vacation sleeping in! Davey heads straight for the beach, book and glasses in hand, not bothering to leave a note. As the sparkling ocean entices him, he decides to test the water, never mind that “No Swimming” sign. But as the waves pull him farther from shore, Davey finds himself surrounded by water — and something else, too. Something circling below the surface, watching, waiting. It’s just a matter of time.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Surrounded by Sharks?
Probably that the sharks are depicted realistically. They aren’t voracious human-seeking torpedoes or launched out of a Sharknado. They’re real sharks: They lurk, they circle, they’re curious… I think it’s a more responsible depiction, and it allows time, anticipation, and the main character’s isolation to build the drama of the book.
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Divided
by Elsie Chapman
Hardcover Giveaway
Random House Books for Young Readers
Released 5/27/2014
The hunter becomes the hunted. . . .
West Grayer is done killing. She defeated her Alternate, a twin raised by another family, and proved she’s worthy of a future. She’s ready to move on with her life.
The Board has other plans. They want her to kill one last time, and offer her a deal worth killing for. But when West recognizes her target as a ghost from her past, she realizes she’s in over her head. The Board is lying, and West will have to uncover the truth of the past to secure her future.
How far will the Board go to keep their secrets safe? And how far will West go to save those she loves? With nonstop action and surprising twists, Elsie Chapman’s intoxicating sequel to Dualed reveals everything.
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We Are the Goldens
by Dana Reinhardt
Advance Reader Copy Giveaway
Wendy Lamb Books
Released 5/27/2014
Nell knows a secret about her perfect, beautiful sister Layla. If she tells, it could blow their world apart.
When Nell and Layla were little, Nell used to call them Nellaya. Because to Nell, there was no difference between where she started and her adored big sister ended. They’re a unit; divorce made them rely on each other early on, so when one pulls away, what is the other to do? But now, Nell’s a freshman in high school and Layla is changing, secretive. And then Nell discovers why. Layla is involved with one of their teachers. And even though Nell tries to support Layla, to understand that she’s happy and in love, Nell struggles with her true feelings: it’s wrong, and she must do something about it.
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YA BOOK GIVEAWAYS LAST WEEK: WINNERS
Biggest Flirts
by Jennifer Echols
Paperback
Simon Pulse
Released 5/20/2014
Winner – Nichol Brown
Tia and Will’s lives get flipped upside down when they’re voted Yearbook’s Biggest Flirts in this sassy novel from the author of Endless Summer and The One That I Want.
Tia just wants to have fun. She’s worked hard to earn her reputation as the life of the party, and she’s ready for a carefree senior year of hanging out with friends and hooking up with cute boys. And her first order of business? New guy Will. She can’t get enough of his Midwestern accent and laidback swagger.
As the sparks start to fly, Will wants to get serious. Tia’s seen how caring too much has left her sisters heartbroken, and she isn’t interested in commitment. But pushing Will away drives him into the arms of another girl. Tia tells herself it’s no big deal…until the yearbook elections are announced. Getting voted Biggest Flirts with Will is, well, awkward. They may just be friends, but their chemistry is beginning to jeopardize Will’s new relationship—and causing Tia to reconsider her true feelings. What started as a lighthearted fling is about to get very complicated…
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Biggest Flirts?
A couple of years ago, I vacationed in Puerto Rico with my husband. We ate at a wonderful restaurant in Old San Juan, where we were waited on by the cutest, most vivacious waitress with her auburn hair in two long braids. She bounded up to the table, rattled off the night’s specials, and asked for our drink orders in perfect Spanish. (At least, I thought it was perfect Spanish. My own Spanish is spotty at best. I was very proud that I was able to order lunch the next day at an all-Spanish-speaking Pollo Tropical fast-food restaurant. But she sounded perfect to me!) My husband is Southeast Asian, and I think she must have taken him for Latino at first in the dim light. We looked up at her in shock, both of us thinking, “We were told most folks serving tourists in Old San Juan speak English, but now we’re in trouble!” She read our expressions, turned on a dime, and repeated everything she’d just said (I guess) in perfect English with no accent whatsoever, like an American newscaster, and with the brightest smile.
I based the main character, Tia, on this girl. I thought it would be so fun to spend a book with her. I loved the idea of a tall, auburn-haired beauty so proficient that she never even thinks about her own proficiency, and so carefree that it’s her very happy-go-lucky attitude that eventually becomes her downfall.
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Inifinite Sky
by C.J Flood
Hardcover
Antheum Books For Young Reader
Released 5/20/2014
Winner – Kate Ivan
A truly beautiful book about the summer that changed one girl’s life, as her mum leaves home, travellers set up camp in the family’s field, her older brother goes off the rails, and she falls in love for the very first time. Opening with a funeral, Iris is mourning the boy in the casket – but who is it? Sam, her tearaway brother, or Trick, her tentative boyfriend? Over one long hot summer, we find out just how their three lives were turned upside-down.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Inifinite Sky?
My favourite thing about Infinite Sky is the setting. I stole lots of details from my home town in the British countryside, and Silverweed Farm where Iris and her family live, and where the Dancy family set up camp, is an almost identical replica of my childhood home.
The story takes place during a summer holiday in which there is a heat wave, and so it is a very summery book is full of blue sky days and pink sky nights. There are lots of scenes with Iris and Trick sitting out in the fields sharing secrets and telling stories into the extra long evenings.
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Now and Forever
by Susane Colasanti
Hardcover
Viking Juvenile
Released 5/20/2014
Winner – Sally Zhang
What if your boyfriend was the world’s biggest rockstar?
Sterling is crazy in love with Ethan. Not only is he the sweetest boy she’s ever met, but he’s an incredibly talented guitarist, singer, and songwriter. And since forever, he’s believed he has what it takes to be a star.
When Ethan becomes an overnight sensation, he’s thrown head-first into the glam world of celebrity-and so is Sterling. Before she knows it, she’s attending red-carpet premieres, getting free designer clothes, and flying around the country to attend Ethan’s monumental sold-out concerts.
It’s a dream come true…but whose dream is Sterling living? And what do you do when “forever” comes to an end?
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Now and Forever?
My favorite thing about NOW AND FOREVER is that I was able to bring my biggest teen fantasy to life. Back in junior high and high school, I obsessed over my fave musicians something fierce. I imagined what it would be like to be the girlfriend of the world’s biggest rock star. Would it be all glamorous and passionate? Or would insane fame inevitably shatter our bond? Would I be jealous of his millions of fangirls? Or would I know in my heart that nothing could ever tear us apart? Exploring these questions made the writing process super fun. Writing NOW AND FOREVER was my opportunity to take a loving relationship and follow it during the evolution of a rock star blowing up.
Another thing I loved was bringing back a character from my third book, WAITING FOR YOU. Sterling was the best friend of the main character, Marisa. Now it’s two years later and a lot has changed since we last saw her. Connecting my books with common characters, places, and quirky details is always fun times. I hope my readers enjoy discovering these connections as much as I enjoy including them!
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The Art of Lainey
by Paula Stokes
Paperback
Harper Teen
Released 5/20/2014
Winner – Lisa Trinh
Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is used to getting what she wants, and when her boyfriend Jason breaks up with her for no reason, what she wants is to win him back before the start of their senior year. Lainey and her friend Bianca check the interwebz for tips and tricks, but the online dating advice is all pretty lame.
Then the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. Didn’t someone once say that love is a battlefield? Jason isn’t going to stand a chance once Lainey and Bee go all Zhou Dynasty on him…
Old school strategy and subterfuge meet modern-day dramarama in the story of a girl who sets out to win at all costs and ends up discovering what’s really worth fighting for.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Art of Lainey?
I am going to say Lainey’s character growth throughout the book. I prefer to write (and read) about flawed characters, so Lainey starts out as a mix of endearing (she’s funny, loyal, etc.) and exasperating. She’s living her “dream high-school experience” as a soccer star and popular girl with an awesome boyfriend when he suddenly dumps her for no reason. Her world kind of falls apart until she resolves to win him back any way she can, which ends up involving strategies from The Art of War. Sure, it’s not very enlightened to want a guy back who blew you off in spectacular fashion, but I’ve been there, multiple times, as have most of my friends. It felt real to me, as did Lainey’s tendencies to be a little shallow and melodramatic.
Lainey doesn’t become a whole new person by the end of the book, because that would’ve felt forced, but she does go from being someone you might want to bop on the head to being someone you honestly cheer for. She loses a lot of her superficial tendencies and deepens her endearing traits as she learns things over the course of the summer. Alongside a truly epic best friend and potential new love interest, Lainey figures out what really matters, and to me the metamorphosis is both believable and inspiring.
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MORE YOUNG ADULT FICTION IN STORES NEXT WEEK WITH AUTHOR INTERVIEWS
Guardian
by Alex London
Hardcover
Philomel
Released 5/29/2014
The pulse-pounding sequel to Proxy! Inspired by The Whipping Boy and Feed, this adrenaline-fueled thriller will appeal to fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent.
In the new world led by the Rebooters, former Proxy Syd is the figurehead of the Revolution, beloved by some and hated by others. Liam, a seventeen-year-old Rebooter, is Syd’s bodyguard and must protect him with his life. But armed Machinists aren’t the only danger.
People are falling ill—their veins show through their skin, they find it hard to speak, and sores erupt all over their bodies. Guardians, the violent enforcers of the old system, are hit first, and the government does nothing to help. The old elites fall next, and in the face of an indifferent government, Syd decides it’s up to him to find a cure . . . and what he discovers leaves him stunned.
This heart-stopping thriller is packed with action, adventure, and heroics. Guardian will leave you breathless until the final page.
A fast-paced, thrill-ride of novel full of non-stop action, heart-hammering suspense and true friendship—just as moving as it is exhilarating. Fans of Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series, James Dashner’s Maze Runner, Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking series, and Marie Lu’s Legend trilogy will be swept away by this story.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Guardian?
When I finished PROXY, I found myself missing the world and the characters a great deal. It was wonderful to have the chance to return to some of them in this story, to explore the aftermath of the choices they made, and to see how far I could push them in a totally new direction. I love who each of them becomes over the course of this adventure, and my favorite thing is, perhaps, the new characters I created, Cousin and Liam. Cousin, I loved writing, because he is truly a terrifying figure, an agent of chaos and destruction. He’s inspired by a Faustian devil–the spirit that negates–and by one of my favorite all time characters from literature, The Judge in Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian. There is something terrible about a violent figure who seems to believe in nothing. And then there is Liam, a violent figure who believes in so much it hurts him. He’s sensitive and kind and thrust into a situation he cannot control, physically and emotionally. I put him through the wringer, but in the end, I fell madly in love with him and I hope readers will too.
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MORE YOUNG ADULT NOVELS NEW IN STORES NEXT WEEK
Allies & Assassins
by Justin Somper
Hardcover
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Released 5/27/2014
Prince Anders, the ruler of Archenfield, has been murdered, leaving his younger brother, Jared, to ascend the throne. Sixteen-year-old Jared feels unprepared to rule the kingdom and its powerful and dangerous court, yet he knows he can rely on the twelve officers of the court to advise him. He also knows he can just as easily be at their mercy-especially when it appears that one of them may be responsible for his brother’s death. Unable to trust anyone, Jared takes it upon himself to hunt down his brother’s killer-but the killer may be hunting him, as well. Murder, betrayal, and intrigue abound in Justin Somper’s thrilling YA series debut. Exploring the political machinations of the medieval court and the lives that hang in the balance, Allies & Assassins is a gripping tale of a teen torn between duty and revenge.
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Bad Luck Girl
by Sarah Zettel
Hardcover
Random House Books for Young Readers
Released 5/27/2014
Fans of Libba Bray’s The Diviners will love the blend of fantasy and twentieth-century history in this stylish series.
After rescuing her parents from the Seelie king at Hearst Castle, Callie is caught up in the war between the fairies of the Midnight Throne and the Sunlit Kingdoms. By accident, she discovers that fairies aren’t the only magical creatures in the world. There’s also Halfers, misfits that are half fairy and half . . . other—half paper, half steel girder, half electric spark. As the war heats up, Callie’s world falls apart. And even though she’s the child of prophecy, she doubts she can save the Halfers, her people, her family, and Jack, let alone herself. Bad Luck Girl, they call Callie, and she’s starting to believe them.
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City of Heavenly Fire
by Cassandra Clare
Hardcover
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Released 5/27/2014
Shadowhunters and demons square off for the final showdown in the spellbinding, seductive conclusion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
Darkness has descended on the Shadowhunter world. Chaos and destruction overwhelm the Nephilim as Clary, Jace, Simon, and their friends band together to fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in this world can defeat Sebastian—but if they journey to the realm of demons, they just might have a chance…
Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world will change. Who will survive the explosive sixth and final installment of the Mortal Instruments series?
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Curses and Smoke: A Novel of Pompeii
by Vicky Alvear Sheter
Hardcover
Arthur A. Levine Books
Released 5/27/2014
When your world blows apart, what will you hold onto?
TAG is a medical slave, doomed to spend his life healing his master’s injured gladiators. But his warrior’s heart yearns to fight in the gladiator ring himself and earn enough money to win his freedom.
LUCIA is the daughter of Tag’s owner, doomed by her father’s greed to marry a much older Roman man. But she loves studying the natural world around her home in Pompeii, and lately she’s been noticing some odd occurrences in the landscape: small lakes disappearing; a sulfurous smell in the air. . . .
When the two childhood friends reconnect, each with their own longings, they fall passionately in love. But as they plot their escape from the city, a patrician fighter reveals his own plans for them — to Lucia’s father, who imprisons Tag as punishment. Then an earthquake shakes Pompeii, in the first sign of the chaos to come. Will they be able to find each other again before the volcano destroys their whole world?
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Girls Like Us
by Gail Giles
Hardcover
Candlewick
Released 5/27/2014
With gentle humor and unflinching realism, Gail Giles tells the gritty, ultimately hopeful story of two special ed teenagers entering the adult world.
We understand stuff. We just learn it slow. And most of what we understand is that people what ain’t Speddies think we too stupid to get out our own way. And that makes me mad.
Quincy and Biddy are both graduates of their high school’s special ed program, but they couldn’t be more different: suspicious Quincy faces the world with her fists up, while gentle Biddy is frightened to step outside her front door. When they’re thrown together as roommates in their first “real world” apartment, it initially seems to be an uneasy fit. But as Biddy’s past resurfaces and Quincy faces a harrowing experience that no one should have to go through alone, the two of them realize that they might have more in common than they thought — and more important, that they might be able to help each other move forward.
Hard-hitting and compassionate, Girls Like Us is a story about growing up in a world that can be cruel, and finding the strength — and the support — to carry on.
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Guy in Real Life
by Steve Brezenoff
Hardcover
Balzer + Bray
Released 5/27/2014
Lesh and Svetlana, two teens from St. Paul, Minnesota, are adrift in a sea of social coterie, desperate for something to change. When they crash into one another in a drunken bicycle accident at two am, they don’t yet know how close they are to finding it. For now, Svetlana is simply looking for a fifth member to legitimize the Central High School Gaming Club, and Lesh is looking to escape his being grounded for said drunkenness by entering, reluctantly, the world of online role playing games.
Lesh’s gaming life takes an interesting turn as, unable to figure out how to speak to Svetlana, he “becomes” her in-game. When real life and in-game life inevitably become entwined, Lesh and Svetlana both start to realize that the lines they draw to keep their lives in order are not so easy to maintain. Especially when you no longer understand why you drew them in the first place.
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Oblivion
by Sasha Dawn
Hardcover
EgmontUSA
Released 5/27/2014
Lisa McMann’s Dead to You meets Kate Ellison’s The Butterfly Clues in a psychological thriller full of romance, intrigue, and mystery.
One year ago, Callie was found in an abandoned apartment, scrawling words on the wall: “I KILLED HIM. His blood is on my hands. His heart is in my soul. I KILLED HIM.” But she remembers nothing of that night or of the previous thirty-six hours. All she knows is that her father, the reverend at the Church of the Holy Promise, is missing, as is Hannah, a young girl from the parish. Their disappearances have to be connected and Callie knows that her father was not a righteous man.
Since that fateful night, she’s been plagued by graphomania — an unending and debilitating compulsion to write. The words that flow from Callie’s mind and through her pen don’t seem to make sense — until now.
As the anniversary of Hannah’s vanishing approaches, more words and memories bubble to the surface and a new guy in school might be the key to Callie putting together the puzzle. But digging up the secrets she’s buried for so long might be her biggest mistake.
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One Man Guy
by Michael Barakiva
Hardcover
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Released 5/27/2014
Funny and heartfelt, One Man Guy brings to mind the raucous family humor and gentle romance of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, as told with David Sedaris–style wit
Alek Khederian should have guessed something was wrong when his parents took him to a restaurant. Everyone knows that Armenians never eat out. Between bouts of interrogating the waitress and criticizing the menu, Alek’s parents announce that he’ll be attending summer school in order to bring up his grades. Alek is sure this experience will be the perfect hellish end to his hellish freshman year of high school. He never could’ve predicted that he’d meet someone like Ethan.
Ethan is everything Alek wishes he were: confident, free-spirited, and irreverent. He can’t believe a guy this cool wants to be his friend. And before long, it seems like Ethan wants to be more than friends. Alek has never thought about having a boyfriend—he’s barely ever had a girlfriend—but maybe it’s time to think again.
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While We Run
by Karen Healey
Hardcover
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Released 5/27/2014
Abdi Taalib thought he was moving to Australia for a music scholarship. But after meeting the beautiful and brazen Tegan Oglietti, his world was turned upside down. Tegan’s no ordinary girl – she died in 2027, only to be frozen and brought back to life in Abdi’s time, 100 years later.
Now, all they want is for things to return to normal (or as normal as they can be), but the government has other ideas. Especially since the two just spilled the secrets behind Australia’s cryonics project to the world. On the run, Abdi and Tegan have no idea who they can trust, and when they uncover startling new details about Project Ark, they realise thousands of lives may be in their hands.
A suspenseful, page-turning sequel to When We Wake that will keep readers on the edge of their seats and make them call into question their own ideas about morality – and mortality, too.
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