Giveaway: The Program by Suzanne Young

The Program by Suzanne Young
April 30th, 2013 from Simon Pulse

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

Review: Golden by Jessi Kirby

Golden by Jessi Kirby
May 14th, 2013 from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

Guest Post: The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble

The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble

May 14th, 2013 from Soho Teen

“I found out two things today. One, I think I’m dying. And two, my brother is a perv.”

So begins the diary of 14-year-old Jenna Samuels, who is having a very bad eighth-grade year. Her single mother spends all day in bed. Dad vanished when she was eight. Her 16-year-old brother, Casey, tries to hold together what’s left of the family by working two after-school jobs— difficult, as he’s stoned all the time. To make matters worse, Jenna is sick. When she collapses one day, Casey tries to race her to the hospital in their beat-up Prius and crashes instead.

Jenna wakes up in the ER to find Casey beside her. Beatified. Literally. The flab and zits? Gone. Before long, Jenna figures out that Casey didn’t survive the accident at all. He’s an “A-word.” (She can’t bring herself to utter the truth.) Soon they discover that Jenna isn’t just dying: she’s being poisoned. And Casey has been sent back to help solve the mystery that not only holds the key to her survival, but also to their mother’s mysterious depression and father’s disappearance.

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You can find Preble at her website

Join us for Preble's release party at BookPeople May 18th! 

Super happy to have my friend and fantastic author Joy Preble on the blog today!! Joy chats about why she included drugs in her novel and gives readers a compliment in regards to being able to decipher what is right and wrong on their own. Welcome, Joy! 

Review: Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz

Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz
April 9th, 2013 from Candlewick

When eleven-year-old Annie first started lying to her social worker, she had been taught by an expert: Gran. "If you’re going to do something, make sure you do it with excellence," Gran would say. That was when Gran was feeling talkative, and not brooding for days in her room — like she did after telling Annie and her little brother, Rew, the one thing they know about their father: that he was killed in a fight with an angry man who was sent away. Annie tells stories, too, as she and Rew laze under the birches and oaks of Zebra Forest — stories about their father the pirate, or pilot, or secret agent. But then something shocking happens to unravel all their stories: a rattling at the back door, an escapee from the prison holding them hostage in their own home, four lives that will never be the same.

Pretty powerful story in a short book! The opening chapter was absolutely captivating. We are immediately thrown into Annie and Rew's not so normal living situation. Mom ran out years ago, dad is dead, and their Gran isn't exactly all there every day. It becomes increasing clear that Annie is the main caregiver and provider. At eleven-years old, that's tough. When a man breaks out of prison and invades their home, Annie slowly realizes that she may have been living in a prison all this time as well.

Excerpt & Giveaway: Demons (Seers #2) by Heather Frost

Demons (Seers #2) by Heather Frost

September 11th 2012 by Cedar Fort Books

Kate's life is far from normal. She can see Auras, her boyfriend is immortal, and her powers make her a target. But now that the Demon Lord is hunting her, things are about to go from dangerous to truly deadly. Packed with action, mind-blowing plot twists, and characters you can't get enough of, this is a fast-paced, heart-pounding read from cover to cover.

I'm happy to have Heather Frost on the blog today with an excerpt and a giveaway! 

Interview: Oona Crate and Shawn Thomas Odyssey (The Wizard of Dark Street)

 

The Magician's Tower (Oona Crate Mystery #2) by Shawn Thomas Odyssey
July 26th, 2011 from EgmontUSA


Despite her extraordinary magical abilities and sleuthing skills, Oona Crate’s detective agency has failed to take off. But a new challenge captures her attention—The Magician’s Tower Contest.

Held every five years, no one has ever completed the array of dangerous tasks (such as racing on flying carpets or defeating a horde of angry apes). As the competition commences, a case emerges. A rare punchbowl—one with unparalleled magical powers—has disappeared from the carnival surrounding the Magician’s Tower. If Oona can find the culprit, she could use the bowl to answer her question about her mother’s and sister’s tragic deaths so many years ago—was she really at fault?

National Library Week 2013

Viva la libraries, it's National Library Week!

What is National Library Week? It's a seven day celebration of all things the library does for you, your family, and your community! Even though the face of libraries are changing, they are still vital and necessary. Libraries just don't simply hold all of the books. Yes, that's a super big plus - no one I know can afford to purchase thousands of books a month, but the library also has audio books, free ebooks, music, language materials, those fancy medical dictionaries that costs a mint, and also databases. I know, you aren't in school anymore and don't really care about finding a journal article about locus of control and cortisol levels (or do you?) Libraries purchase those scientific databases, but they also have others about genealogy, stocks, investments, language, and how to make a resume to get you out of that job where you serve fries. Yay, those databases are important and costly too. Take advantage of the ones your library has.

How can you celebrate? If you don't have millions of dollars in your trust fund to donate to your favorite library you can do some pretty easy things to celebrate.