Authors and Publishers, I am happy to receive ARCs and published children's, middle grade, and YA books for review. When I finish it, I will review it. If you need the review posted in a certain time period, please let me know and I will move it to the top of the stack. Please note: my reviews are honest, but they are my opinion. If you don't want that, please don't ask. Email Me for reviews.
By Holly Goldberg Sloan
Publication Date: May 3rd 2011 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Raised by an unstable father who keeps the family constantly on the move, Sam Border hasn't been in a classroom since the second grade. He's always been the rock for his younger brother Riddle, who stopped speaking long ago and instead makes sense of the world through his strange and intricate drawings. It's said that the two boys speak with one voice--and that voice is Sam's.
Then, Sam meets Emily Bell, and everything changes. The two share an immediate and intense attraction, and soon Sam and Riddle find themselves welcomed into the Bell's home. Faced with normalcy for the first time, they know it's too good to last.
Told from multiple perspectives, Holly Goldberg Sloan's debut novel offers readers fresh voices and a gripping story, with vivid glimpses into the lives of many unique characters. Beautifully written and emotionally profound, I'll Be There is a story about connections both big and small, and deftly explores the many ways that our lives are woven together.
I'm very intrigued by this one because it deals with a child who has not been in school, forced to take care of his younger brother. The fact that the younger one doesn't talk and the older one still knows how to communicate with him fascinates me.
I haven't done a Waiting On Wednesday in a while, but I'm trying to get back into it because it is a great way to discover new books.
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:
Enchanted Ivy
By Sarah Beth Durst Publication Date: October 12th 2010 by Margaret K. McElderry A story about getting into college. You know, taking the campus tour, talking to the gargoyles, flirting with the were-tigers, riding the dragons...
While visiting the campus of Princeton University, 16-year-old Lily discovers a secret gate to a magical realm and must race against time to save herself, her world, and any hope she has of college admission.
To me, this sounds like a teenage version of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, so I was immediately intrigued. Can't wait to see what it truly turns out to be!
Seth McCoy was the last person to see his best friend Isaac alive, and the first to find him dead. It was just another night, just another party, just another time where Isaac drank too much and passed out on the lawn. Only this time, Isaac didn’t wake up.
Convinced that his own actions led to his friend’s death, Seth is torn between turning his life around . . . or losing himself completely.
Then he meets Rosetta: so beautiful and so different from everything and everyone he's ever known. But Rosetta has secrets of her own, and Seth will soon realize he isn’t the only one who needs saving . . .
First of all, I love the simplicity of the cover, yet it says so much! Also, we are starting to see more and more YA with male protagonists. I like that! For so long, it's been about the girls, but boys have real issues that need to be broached in stories as well. Can't wait for this one!
Thanks to the summer holidays, I've been able to spend a lot of time on Twitter catching up with my blogging buddies and making many new friends. The conversations as of late have been wonderful, including the #dearpublisher one that many of us have been following and participating in. Publishers want to know what we, bloggers, want from them, how they can help us. Can you believe that? It is a topic for a whole other blog post, so I won't go on about it here, except to say that it's been awesome!
So, during the course of conversations, I've met some great indie bookstore folks and have to tell you about one of them, along with another challenge. Aaron's Books, in Lancaster County, PA, hosts a KidLit Fest, and it's happening in 2 months. If you're in the area, you should check it out. It's pretty far for me, but I would if I could because I have it on good authority that it's pretty cool! Anyway, back to the challenge. So, to get themselves and others ready for the festival, they have issued a challenge: The Lititz Kid-Lit Challenge. Here are the details, straight from the Aaron's Books' blog:
Read any five books from the list below by the end of September (Yes, five books in two months, but some are picture books), and let us know what you've read and enjoyed. Then,at the end of September,one lucky participant will receive a signed copy/copies of some of the featured KidLit Fest books!
Here is a list of some of the books from our KidLit Fest featured authors and illustrators:
Easy, right? I think I have at least 3 of these books, so I'm in. Here's what I know I have in the house that I haven't read, but will read for this challenge: Fairy Tale, Sleepless, The Dust of 100 Dogs. I may still have The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin, if I haven't passed it on to my favorite teen reader, and I have read some of the Milo and Jazz Mysteries. If they're still here, I'll reread those as they are fast and easy. Titles that pique my interest are: Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains, Cupcake and Somebody Everybody Listens To. What are you waiting for? Don't you want to join in on the fun?
By Brenna Yovanoff
Publication Date: September 21st 2010 by Razorbill
Mackie Doyle seems like everyone else in the perfect little town of Gentry, but he is living with a fatal secret - he is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now the creatures under the hill want him back, and Mackie must decide where he really belongs and what he really wants.
Totally grabbed by the cover and then intriguied more by the summary. This just sounds creepy!
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:
Halo
By Alexandra Adornetto
Publication Date: August 31st 2010 by Feiwel & Friends
Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Venus Cove. But everything changes when three angels are sent from heaven to protect the town against the gathering forces of darkness: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. They work hard to conceal their true identity and, most of all, their wings. But the mission is threatened when the youngest angel, Bethany, is sent to high school and falls in love with the handsome school captain, Xavier Woods. Will she defy the laws of Heaven by loving him? Things come to a head when the angels realize they are not the only supernatural power in Venus Cove. There′s a new kid in town and he′s charming, seductive and deadly. Worst of all, he′s after Beth.
Angels, who'da thunk it? After all the vampires and werewolves I've been reading about in the last year, angels will be a welcome change. And, they are good angels, trying to protect the people in town. I'm glad this one comes out soon, and that Feiwel and Friends sent me an ARC to review. I'll definitely be getting to it shortly!
If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you'll know that I don't usually do book challenges. It's not because I don't like them or don't get inspired by them, it's just that I don't usually complete them and that makes me feel guilty. I feel like I've not finished something I started, and that's not like me.
But...There's always a but isn't there? I've been on Twitter a lot in the last week, thanks to summer vacation, and I've added many new book titles to the TBR pile, blogs to the reader, and friends on Twitter. I've also been able to reconnect with some great blogging buddies that I have missed due to the busyness of the school year with my new job. That being said, I was on Twitter this morning and happened to see a post from @jodipicoult raving about a book: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Having just gotten that book last week, I replied that I would have to move it to the top of the TBR pile based on her recommendation. Well, what do you know? @BookingMama or Julie of is hosting a challenge that involves just that book, and she tweeted that I should join. So, here I am writing an introductory post to join the 2010 EW Summer Books Challenge that I probably won't finish. No, wait, I will because it's not an all or nothing book challenge. This I can do! Besides, I already have some of the books. Here are the details:
Read any or all of the books on Entertainment Weekly's 18 Books We Can't Wait to Read this Summer list. You have the rest of the summer to do it because the challenge ends on September 6th. It started on May 1st, so if you read any of these from then to now, they would count for the challenge. The best part about this challenge is that it allows you to read at your own pace and not feel stressed about reading ALL the books. Here are the levels of the challenge, just like swim lessons when you were a kid.
Levels:
1-3 Books: Polliwog
4-6 Books: Guppy
7-9 Books: Minnow
10-12 Books: Fish
13-15 Books: Flying Fish
16-18 Books: Shark
The books are listed below, and if I only read the ones I have in my TBR pile, then I will officially be a Polliwog. But...There it is again, the inevitable but. I have it on good authority that So Cold the River is fabulous, so I'll be picking that one up to read and therefore, I will be going for Guppy status!
