Don’t forget that the Free February First Five Pages workshop starts today at noon. Our mentor this month is Edgar nominee, Todd Strasser, who has over 140 books to his credit, two feature films, and a number of television adaptations. Check out the rules here, and take a peek also at our new list of permanent mentors who will be supporting participants with additional critiques through the initial entry and two revisions we will do together.
And remember that news I hinted at last week? My book has a new title: COMPULSION (formerly BEHOLDEN.) I’m thrilled about the title change. What do you think?
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
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| via The Trevor Lifeline |
YA GIVEAWAY OF THE WEEK
Don’t forget to check the sidebars here on the blog to make sure you’ve caught up with all the book giveaways we’ve got cooking. And in case you think you missed anything, you can always click here to get ALL the giveaway posts in one swoop.
Ignite Me
by Tahereh Mafi
Hardcover
HarperCollins
Released 2/4/2014
The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, called “a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love”
Juliette now knows she may be the only one who can stop the Reestablishment. But to take them down, she’ll need the help of the one person she never thought she could trust: Warner. And as they work together, Juliette will discover that everything she thought she knew-about Warner, her abilities, and even Adam-was wrong.
In Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi created a captivating and original story that combined the best of dystopian and paranormal and was praised by Publishers Weekly as “a gripping read from an author who’s not afraid to take risks.” The sequel, Unravel Me, blew readers away with heart-racing twists and turns, and New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia said it was “dangerous, sexy, romantic, and intense.” Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and climactic end.
Praise for the Shatter Me series:
“Dangerous, sexy, romantic, and intense. I dare you to stop reading.”-Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures series
“Tahereh Mafi’s bold, inventive prose crackles with raw emotion. A thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love, the Shatter Me series is a must-read for fans of dystopian young adult literature-or any literature!”-Ransom Riggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
“Addictive, intense, and oozing with romance. I’m envious. I couldn’t put it down.”-Lauren Kate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen series
Purchase Ignite Me at Amazon
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Paris Cravings
by Kimberley Montpetit
Released 2/1/2014
Win FIVE Paperback Copies
Can life really turn on a dime,
a missed bus—
or a stuck pastry shop door?
Chloe Dillard’s life has always been complicated. Her mother is a neurotic romance novelist and her boyfriend, Mathew, has been pressuring her to go “all the way”—even as one of her own best friends offers to accommodate him.
But after The Worst Night of Her Life, Chloe escapes on her Senior Class trip to the swoon-worthy city of Paris which takes her mind off her troubles—temporarily. On the final leg of her dream trip, Chloe squeezes in one final run for a last-minute box of decadent pastries. Add a stuck door, subtract a broken four-inch heel from her cute strappy sandals, and Chloe ends up one stuck girl on the bakery shop floor with a sprained ankle.
Rescued by the shop owner’s dreamy son with chocolate-syrup eyes, the beautiful city of Paris suddenly becomes Chloe’s personal secret adventure. And even though Jean-Paul, the oh-so-kind La Patisserie shop boy is the gentlemanly guy Chloe has always dreamed of, even he has a girlfriend.
The police are tracking her down as a run-away, Mom’s having a nervous breakdown over her daughter’s “disappearance”, and Chloe’s just trying to have a Happily-Ever-After even as her dreams with Matt are swirling down the drain.
Could being lost in the city of Paris be just what the doctor ordered? What’s a girl to do in the most romantic city in the world?
Author Question: What’s your favorite thing about PARIS CRAVINGS?
Every time I worked on the scenes about the pastries in the La Patisseries shops I started drooling and had to run to my kitchen and whip up a batch of cream puffs drizzled with chocolate. When I was in France a few years ago that was what we spent our souvenir $$ on: Every day we went to the local pastry shop in that particular city/village and purchased an entire box of delectable desserts. Everyone else on the tour was so jealous! But seriously, Jean-Paul the pastry shop boy, is just as delicious as any perfect éclair in Paris Cravings . . . and I’ll leave it at that. Bon Appétit!
The fabulous Elana Johnson has organized a great blog tour for Kimberley’s launch with more giveaways. You can hook up with that here at Chapter by Chapter. And don’t forget to follow Kimberley on Facebook and Goodreads etc. from the Rafflecopter on the blog tour for extra entry points.
Purchase Paris Cravings at Amazon
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View Paris Cravings on Goodreads
YA GIVEAWAY LAST WEEK
Don’t forget to check the sidebars here on the blog to make sure you’ve caught up with all the book giveaways we’ve got cooking. And in case you think you missed anything, you can always click here to get ALL the giveaway posts in one swoop.
The Rule of Three
by Eric Walters
Hardcover Giveaway – CANADA ONLY
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Released 1/21/2014
WINNER: Krystal Marie
One shocking afternoon, computers around the globe shut down in a viral catastrophe. At sixteen-year-old Adam Daley’s high school, the problem first seems to be a typical electrical outage, until students discover that cell phones are down, municipal utilities are failing, and a few computer-free cars like Adam’s are the only vehicles that function. Driving home, Adam encounters a storm tide of anger and fear as the region becomes paralyzed. Soon—as resources dwindle, crises mount, and chaos descends—he will see his suburban neighborhood band together for protection. And Adam will understand that having a police captain for a mother and a retired government spy living next door are not just the facts of his life but the keys to his survival.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Rule of Three?
The Rule of Three is actually set in my neighborhood – the boundaries, the
street names, the parks, bridges and shopping strip. When I was writing the
story I often wandered around the neighborhood the way my character did.
Sometimes this was a little bit eerie as I walked through the deserted
streets in the middle of the night. There was a bizarre blur between my
story and real life. I’d be walking by the creek after a rain and think
things like ‘at least we have water for the crops’. I started thinking
about things like – should I get a gun, do we have enough food, water and
chlorine stockpiled?
Interestingly while researching the book I found that I’d been ‘captured’ by
the Google car on street level on Google Maps . . . see if you can find me
and my two dogs walking along Powderhorn Crescent in Mississauga. I’m
dressed in a red shirt, black baseball cap and two dogs, one little and one
big. See you on Google!
Purchase The Rule of Three at Amazon
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Fake ID
by Lamar Giles
Hardcover
Amistad
Released 1/21/2014
WINNER: Traci Troutman
Nick Pearson is hiding in plain sight…
My name isn’t really Nick Pearson.
I shouldn’t tell you where I’m from or why my family moved to Stepton, Virginia.
I shouldn’t tell you who I really am, or my hair, eye, and skin color.
And I definitely shouldn’t tell you about my friend Eli Cruz and the major conspiracy he was about to uncover when he died—right after I moved to town. About how I had to choose between solving his murder with his hot sister, Reya, and “staying low-key” like the Program has taught me. About how moving to Stepon changed my life forever.
But I’m going to.
Author Question: What is your favorite thing about FAKE ID?
My favorite thing about FAKE ID are the two leads, Nick and Reya. An African-American boy and a Latina girl teaming up to solve a mystery. They appeal to me so much because they are like the people I grew up with. They represent a world I’m used to seeing (multi-colored/cultural) in real life, but have rarely seen in the pages of books (or on TV and movie screens) throughout the years. There’s a certain homogeny in YA fiction (or maybe just fiction) that tends to exclude people who aren’t the default, widely accepted protagonist. Growing up among the excluded, and wondering quite frequently and painfully why only certain people–those who looked nothing like me–could be heroes in the tales I loved, well, it sucked.
So, I’m super excited to present characters who don’t fit the mold. If somewhere there’s a kid who picks up my book, and breathes easy because he or she gets to read a story about people who seem a little more familiar than what they’re used to in other books, then my dreams have come true. And further, should I have children one day, and they get to read books that are more diverse and inclusive than what has been the norm, I can proudly say I (with some help from Nick and Reya) did my part to change the status quo, so they wouldn’t know the pain of exclusivity I felt growing up.
Purchase Fake ID at Amazon
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WHAT WE’RE READING
Martina
Manor of Secrets
by Katherine Longshore
Hardcover
Point
Released 1/28/2014
The year is 1911. And at The Manor, nothing is as it seems . . .
Lady Charlotte Edmonds: Beautiful, wealthy, and sheltered, Charlotte feels suffocated by the strictures of upper-crust society. She longs to see the world beyond The Manor, to seek out high adventure. And most of all, romance.
Janie Seward: Fiery, hardworking, and clever, Janie knows she can be more than just a kitchen maid. But she isn’t sure she possesses the courage — or the means — to break free and follow her passions.
Both Charlotte and Janie are ready for change. As their paths overlap in the gilded hallways and dark corridors of The Manor, rules are broken and secrets are revealed. Secrets that will alter the course of their lives. . . forever.
Note from Martina
I’ve been a fan of Katherine Longshore’s other two books, GILT and TARNISH, so I was really looking forward to digging into the Downton Abbey vibe of MANOR OF SECRETS. The disparity between the constrained and cold life that comes as the price of luxury and the choatic existence in the servant’s quarters is well-drawn. As always, the author does a beautiful job of choosing details to bring the historical period to life. Here, she also deftly delineates the differences between the point of view characters to make us understand what each of them feels about their own domain in the manor and their prospects in the world. While this is a historical, it’s really a study in character, and a rare chance to peek belowstairs in Edwardian England while watching two young women test their boundaries and a developing friendship while facing ruin if they step too far from the narrow path that their station in life has chosen for them.
Purchase Manor of Secrets at Amazon
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Unhinged
by A. G. Howard
Hardcover
Harry N. Abrams
Released 2/1/2014
Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she’s always dreamed of.
That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.
As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.
If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she’ll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.
Note from Martina
I have to confess that somehow the first book in this series, SPLINTERED, didn’t percolate to the top of my TBR pile until everyone was buzzing about how fantastic this sequel had turned out. So I had a lovely binge read, and wow was it worth it! Loved the first book, but loved the dark twists and the deepening of this second book even more. It’s a delicious twist on Wonderland–and one that is intensely visual and macabre, full of endearingly quirky characters and perspectives that surprised me in the best possible way. The only thing I regret? That I couldn’t continue my binge straight into Book Three.
Purchase Unhinged at Amazon
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Jan
The Truth Against the World
by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
Paperback
Flux
Released 2/1/2014
In her parents’ San Francisco flat, Olwen Nia Evans, Wyn for short, has been having unsettling dreams about her family’s past in Wales. But her dreams don’t match up with what she’s been told by her dying grandmother, Rhiannon. On the other side of the world, in London, a boy named Gareth Lewis is having disturbing dreams about a frightening encounter with a ghost. A ghost named Olwen Nia Evans.
When he looks for Olwen’s name online, Gareth connects with Wyn in San Francisco as she is preparing to move with her family to fulfill Rhiannon’s last wish to die in Wales. Once Wyn arrives in Wales, she and Gareth join forces to discover the truth of the lost soul that’s haunting them both.
Note from Jan
This was a neatly-drawn mystery with a ghost story thrown in to sweeten the pot. Between that and the Welsh setting, what’s not to love? And when you throw in dreams and update it all with a bit of a twist, the mystery becomes a nice addition to a wonderful journey between characters you want to get to know.
Purchase The Truth Against the World at Amazon
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View The Truth Against the World on Goodreads
Alyssa
Deeper
by Robin York
Paperback
Random House
Released 1/28/2014
In this New Adult debut by Robin York, a college student is attacked online and must restore her name—and stay clear of a guy who’s wrong for her, but feels so right.
When Caroline Piasecki’s ex-boyfriend posts their sex pictures on the Internet, it destroys her reputation as a nice college girl. Suddenly her once-promising future doesn’t look so bright. Caroline tries to make the pictures disappear, hoping time will bury her shame. Then a guy she barely knows rises to her defense and punches her ex to the ground.
West Leavitt is the last person Caroline needs in her life. Everyone knows he’s shady. Still, Caroline is drawn to his confidence and swagger—even after promising her dad she’ll keep her distance. On late, sleepless nights, Caroline starts wandering into the bakery where West works.
They hang out, they talk, they listen. Though Caroline and West tell each other they’re “just friends,” their feelings intensify until it becomes impossible to pretend. The more complicated her relationship with West gets, the harder Caroline has to struggle to discover what she wants for herself—and the easier it becomes to find the courage she needs to fight back against the people who would judge her.
When all seems lost, sometimes the only place to go is deeper.
Note from Alyssa
This New Adult debut is so beautifully written. Caroline and West have this incredible chemistry, and the book isn’t completely full of angst, like some NA titles are. Robin York has created a love story that also deals with relevant social issues for today. I am obsessed with their story and don’t want it to end!
Purchase Deeper at Amazon
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Clara
Independent Study
by Joelle Charbonneau
Hardcover
HMH Books for Young Readers
Released 2/1/2014
In the series debut The Testing, sixteen-year-old Cia Vale was chosen by the United Commonwealth government as one of the best and brightest graduates of all the colonies . . . a promising leader in the effort to revitalize postwar civilization. In Independent Study, Cia is a freshman at the University in Tosu City with her hometown sweetheart, Tomas—and though the government has tried to erase her memory of the brutal horrors of The Testing, Cia remembers. Her attempts to expose the ugly truth behind the government’s murderous programs put her—and her loved ones—in a world of danger. But the future of the Commonwealth depends on her.
Note from Clara
This week I read INDEPENDENT STUDY, the second book in the THE TESTING series. I loved the first book (I even did a giveaway of a signed copy of it a few weeks ago on this blog!), and INDEPENDENCE DAY is ranked right up there with it. I read it in one sitting–which, for someone like me, whose reading time is usually fragmented into a few minutes here and a few minutes there, is saying quite a lot. I found it gripping and full of action, with a nice little twist at the end. I can’t wait for the third book in the series, GRADUATION DAY, coming this June.
Purchase Independent Study at Amazon
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BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS
In case you’re living under a rock, or in a writing or editing cave, you might not have heard that the movie trailer for THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is finally released. And here it is for your viewing (and feeling) pleasure:
And huge congrats are in order for all the prizes awarded the past few weeks:
Kate DiCamillo won the Newbery for FLORA ULYSSES, and Holly Black for DOLL BONES, Kevin Henkes for THE YEAR OF BILLY MILLER, Amy Timberlake for ONE CAME HOME, and Vince Vawter for PAPERBOY each won Honors. Here’s a link to reviews for the winners from THE HORN BOOK.
Marcus Sedwick won the Prinz Award for MIDWINTER BLOOD and Rainbow Rowell won an Honor for ELEANOR AND PARK. See the full list of honorees from ALA/YALSA.
The Edgar Nominees came out last week, naming All the Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry,
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal, Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy, How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller, and Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher. See all the winners here.
WRITING TIP
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| via Miva |
