Saturday, October 29, 2011

Blog Segment: Author News


I have a cover reveal to share that I think you guys will be excited to see! I just stumbled upon it this morning and couldn't post fast enough! 


The cover to the Hourglass sequel Timepiece!!!



Unfortunately, Myra was forced to post this on her website after the image had already been leaked. I can't imagine how disappointing that must be for her, not to be the first one to share it. She also said this is just the cover for the ARCs and could still be changed. 

Friday, October 28, 2011

Author Interview: Lauren Oliver

Today I am pleased to welcome author of one of the most talked about YA books of the year...


Lauren Oliver!


Even if you haven't read one of her books I'm sure you recognize at least one of the covers pictured above. Lauren Oliver is an author of books for both young adults and middle graders. So far Lauren has written two YA books, Before I Fall and Delirium (the first book in what is sure to be a bestselling trilogy!) She also just came out with her first book for middle graders titled Liesl & Po, at the beginning of this month. I absolutely LOVED Lauren's book Delirium (you can read my review here) and am anxiously awaiting the next book in the set, Pandemonium, as you will be too once you read Delirium!


Born Bookish: Having written for both young adult and middle grade audiences, do you prefer writing one to the other?

I enjoy writing for both, honestly, although to a certain extent I feel you can be even more imaginative when writing for middle grade audiences. And going on tour with a middle grade book is a blast—the kids are so cute! But I love my teen fans, too.

Born Bookish: If you could be one of your characters, who would you be?

That’s a good question! I’m not sure. Definitely not Samantha Kingston, of Before I Fall!

Born Bookish: A lot of authors use music to help them get into the mindset of their characters. Is this something that helps you? If so what was the main song that inspired each of your books?

·      Before I Fall: Bring Me To Life, by Evanescence.
·      Delirium: Romeo and Juliet, by the Dire Straits.
·      Pandemonium: Resistance, by Muse.
·      Liesl & Po: I didn’t listen to any song in particular, but a beautiful song was written for Liesl & Po and I think it perfectly captures the book’s sensibility. You can find it at www.lieslandpo.com. There’s a music video, too!

Born Bookish: Which character was it easiest for you to write? Why?

It’s always similarly challenging—and rewarding—to write from a different narrative POV. The trick is to find yourself in each of your characters, I think. Then the process becomes much more seamless.

Born Bookish: Do you find it hard to throw obstacles in your characters way or make life difficult for them?

For the most part, no. Novel—stories—are really about tension and difficulty. And I usually know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for my characters, so I have faith that we’ll surmount the difficulties together (eventually).

Born Bookish: If you could have any superpower what would it be? Why?
Oh, I would definitely choose to fly. I have dreams about flying all the time, and I always wake up exhilarated—and sad, or course, when I realize I’ve only been asleep.

Born Bookish: Here at Born Bookish I have a weekly segment called, Breathtaking Book Covers, where I post the cover image of a book that I think is just stunning. Is there a book cover that has ever taken your breath away? If so, what book?

Oh, man! I’m sure it must have—probably repeatedly—but it’s difficult to remember individual book covers. I do know that I still get kind of breathless when I find and hold a really beautiful book, or a book that I know I will love dearly. That’s one of the problems with e-readers—you just don’t get that same feeling!

I agree! You just don't get the same feeling reading off an e-reader that you get when you actually hold a book in your hands, gaze at its beautiful cover, and flip through its pages. 

I'm was so delighted to get this interview back. THANK YOU SO MUCH Lauren =) 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Book Review: Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen





Title: Flipped
Author: Wendelin Van Draanen
# Of Pages: 224
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 9, 2001
Level: Middle Grade
Rating: 5 Hearts







Synopsis

(From Barnes&Noble.com)

Flipped is a romance told in two voices. The first time Juli Baker saw Bryce Loskie, she flipped. The first time Bryce saw Juli, he ran. That’s pretty much the pattern for these two neighbors until the eighth grade, when, just as Juli is realizing Bryce isn’t as wonderful as she thought, Bryce is starting to see that Juli is pretty amazing. How these two teens manage to see beyond the surface of things and come together makes for a comic and poignant romance.


My Verdict

You know when you have the TV on but you’re not really watching it; it’s more of just background? Well that’s what was going on one day when all of a sudden this movie started called Flipped. I got sucked in and soon my whole family was sitting there watching this movie. It was family friendly and super cute! It was actually one of those encore movies where they play it back to back. I’ll admit it. I watched it both times. Anyway, I found out the movie was based on a book, so of course I HAD to read it!

The book was awesome! I usually don’t like reading a book after I see the movie; I like to read the book beforehand. But in this case, I didn’t know about the book until after the movie and I just had to read it! I was actually very surprised at how similar it was to the movie because usually book-to-movie adaptations can be drastically different. It was pretty much word for word the movie but I still enjoyed every page of it.

The chapters alternate between Juli and Bryce’s point of view, which worked really well for this story, I can’t imagine it any other way. They do overlap each other, so for example, you’ll read about what happened at the basket boy auction from Juli’s perspective and then go back to that same event and read it from Bryce’s perspective. You would think this would be monotonous, but it wasn’t. I enjoyed getting to see what each character was thinking of the other at the same moments in time.

I loved how wholesome and honest this story was. Unfortunately, I feel like you don’t see too many stories like this anymore. It may have to do with the fact that it was set in the 60’s, which is another thing I loved about it.

So what you should take away from this review is that both the book and the movie are wonderful and you should go read/watch them now! 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

New Blog Segment? Cover Comparisons

So we all know how much I love a good book cover. What I also love is comparing all the different covers for the same book; you get to see how different designers approached the same project, the similarities, the differences, I dunno... its fun. I think I'm going to create a new blog segment that compares the different covers for the same book. What do you guys think? Would that be interesting to you?

Lets give it a go, shall we...

Here are five different covers that I found for Cat Patrick's YA novel Forgotten.


Aside from the 1st, and 3rd, which share some big similarities, the rest of them are all very different from one another. The 1st design is the hardcover copy that I read. I don't know if the rest of these are from different countries (I know some of them are) or if they're just the paperback version/special edition. 

I think my favorite would have to be the 2nd one. I just love the mirror image of the girl and how one is black & white while the other is in color, to me it really represent the aspect of the past and the future. I imagine the one in black & white to be her past self that is slipping away cause she can't remember, while the color one is her present or future self. 

Which one is your favorite? Why?


I also wanted to post the cover of Cat's new book Revived. Right now its available for pre-order but not due out until May 2012.


Synopsis (from Cat's offical website)

As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life.

A secret government agency has developed  a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency's true goals, she realizes she's at the center of something much larger- and more sinister- than she ever imagined.


Sounds very interesting and the cover is gorgeous! I'm definitely adding this one to my TBR =)

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman


With me being buried in schoolwork 24/7 I haven’t had much time for reading and or blogging, in which case, I decided it was time to call for back up. My mom loves reading YA just as much as I do and we share the same taste in books. So I turned on my youngest daughter charm and convinced her to write a few reviews for me =) You may already know my mom a.k.a Ruth from her blog Out on a Limb: Shy Writer Goes Social. If not just click on the link to check it out.





Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
# Of Pages: 208
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publication Date: April 2, 2009
Level: Young Adult
Rating: 5 Hearts






Synopsis

(From Barnes&Noble.com)

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces - to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heart-wrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.


Her Verdict

First off, I confess, I purchased this book because of the beautiful cover. But that's not much of a confession; a lot of you probably judge books by their covers all time. The part that's truly hard to fess up to is the fact that I put it on my bookshelf, and forgot about it - for years. I finally read it last month, using the receipt, dated July 23, 2009, as my bookmark.

I love the family dynamics in this story. Who says you need a dysfunctional family to create drama? Mia is part of a healthy, loving family, but there's nothing boring about them. Her father is an ex-musician who is finally growing up and has become a schoolteacher, and her mother has a regular 9-5 job but is still a rocker at heart. Then there’s her little brother Teddy, as well as extended family.

Much of the focus is on Mia and her boyfriend, Adam, who are brought together through their love of music. For her it's playing cello in the orchestra. For him it's as lead singer/guitarist in a punk rock band. She’s got her eye on Julliard and he and his band are trying to make a name for themselves on the tour scene. It’s those differences that make their relationship a challenge.

Tragedy strikes early on in this book, but we get to know the characters through Mia’s recollections as she waits to find out the fate of her loved ones, as well as her own. In the end it comes down to a decision, does she still have anything left to live for?

This book has its fair share of tragedy, but at its heart it's uplifting as well, because it’s just as much about the bonds of Mia's relationships as it is about losing them.

The best part about reading this book two years late is that I didn't have to wait for the sequel. Heck, I didn't even know there was a sequel. As I closed If I Stay and ran my hand over the cover, in that way I do when a story I love has ended, my daughter told me there was a second book, and she even went out and picked it up for me!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Author Interview: Myra McEntire

Hey everyone! I know I haven't posted in awhile, I've been consumed with school and homework =/ The good news is that I have another author interview for you guys! Hopefully this will make up for my lack of updates this week =) This time I got an interview with debut novelist...



Myra McEntire!


Myra McEntire is the author of the hit novel Hourglass, which is about 17 year old Emerson who can see phantoms from the past. She has tried everything to make these phantoms disappear but to no avail. Then her brother hires a hansom young man named Michael Weaver from the organization hourglass as one last attempt for a cure and thats when everything begins to change. You can read my
                        review of hourglass here.


Born Bookish: Hourglass is your first book, what does it feel like when you see your book on store shelves?

I still don't believe it's real!

Born Bookish: If you could be one of your characters, who would you be?

Lily. I love how she's no nonsense but still has a sense of humor.

Born Bookish: Which character was it easiest for you to write? Why?

Emerson - largely because we have the same broken edit button.

Born Bookish: Do you find it hard to throw obstacles in your characters way or make life difficult for them?

No, but I do wish I'd made their lives a little more difficult. I have somewhat remedied this in the sequel by killing someone in chapter two.

Born Bookish: If you could have any superpower what would it be? Why?

Invisibility. Or teleportation. OR INVISIBLE TELEPORTATION. I'm nosy.

Born Bookish: A lot of authors use music to help them get into the mindset of their characters. Is this something that helps you? Is so what was the main song that inspired your book?

Music does help, and one of the theme songs is 42 by Coldplay.

Born Bookish: When will you be releasing the title of the Hourglass sequel?

I think around February. (It's killing me.)

Born Bookish: Do you have any new books in the works that you can tell us a little bit about?

I have an idea for a book set in the HOURGLASS world, but I'm working on the world building for something set in the Appalachian Mountains.

Born Bookish: Here at Born Bookish I have a segment called Breathtaking Book Covers where I post the cover image of a book that I think is stunning. Is there a book cover that has ever taken your breath away? If so, what book?

I could stare at the Harry Potter hardback covers for HOURS. Amazing art and detail.


A BIG THANK YOU to Myra for the interview!!! =) 

Monday, October 17, 2011

Breathtaking Book Cover: Imaginary Girls


Todays Breathtaking Book Cover is...
Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Click Here To Learn More About This Book =)

I know this cover has gotten a lot of hype, but boy does it deserve the attention. Just look at it. Its GORGEOUS!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Book Review: Forgotten by Cat Patrick





Title: Forgotten
Author: Cat Patrick
# Of Pages: 304
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Publication Date: June 7, 2011
Level: Young Adult
Rating:  3 Hearts







Synopsis

(From Barnes&Noble.com)

Each night at precisely 4:33am, while sixteen-year-old London Lane is asleep, her memory of that day is erased. In the morning, all she can “remember” are events from her future. London is used to relying on reminder notes and a trusted friend to get through the day, but things get complicated when a new boy at school enters the picture. Luke Henry is not someone you’d easily forget, yet try as she might, London can’t find him in her memories of things to come.

When London starts experiencing disturbing flashbacks, or flash-forwards, as the case may be, she realizes it’s time to learn about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.


My Verdict

After reading the blurb for this book I was intrigued and couldn’t get a copy fast enough. There was so much potential in the plotline I was all psyched up for the possibility of a great read. Unfortunately, I psyched myself up just to be let down.  I still think the core of the plotline held a lot of potential; the execution was just a little sloppy and didn’t do it justice.

Maybe its just me, but when I read that her memory was being erased I thought that meant someone or something was getting into her mind and controlling her memories somehow. I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to see what direction this book was going to take. Turns out, London just forgets the whole day every night when she goes to bed. At least that’s the word I would use for it. The memories are there, her brain is just suppressing them. London and her mom don’t know why this is happening but they just act like its nothing. “Oh honey don’t forget to write your list tonight of anything you wish to remember so you can read it in the morning.”

Does London Lane make you think of Lana Lang? The name made me think of Smallville, and Clark, and Superman. Anyway, lets talk about London Lane from the book not to be confused with Lana Lang from Smallville. London was an okay main character. I didn’t love her, I didn’t hate her; she was just kind of there. As for her so-called “best friend,” I despised her. She was such a cookie cutter, stereotypical best friend, and a bad one at that. Luke was probably my favorite character he was genuinely sweet and instantly likable. He really cared about London and showed it. His relationship with London was kind of cutesy and cheesy but sweet at the same time.

Everything about this book was mediocre. It was a descent read and I did enjoy it, there just wasn’t any strong connection to the characters or what happened to them. I think this was partially my fault for building it up in my head and for expecting something that it wasn’t. So maybe if you don’t go into it expecting some awesome mind erasing, fast-paced, dystopian-ish story, like I did, you will be able to enjoy it more for what it is.  

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Book Review: Exposed by Kimberly Marcus






Title: Exposed
Author: Kimberly Marcus
# Of Pages: 272
Publisher: Random House Books
Publication Date: February 22, 2011
Level: Young Adult
Rating: 5 Hearts






Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

“In the dim light of the darkroom, I’m alone, but not for long.
As white turns to gray, Kate is with me.
The background of the dance studio blurred, so the focus is all on her
Legs extended in a perfect soaring split.
The straight line to my squiggle,
My forever-best friend”

Sixteen-year-old Liz is Photogirl- sharp, focused and confident in what she sees through her camera lens. Confident that she and Kate will be best friends forever.

But everything changes in one blurry night. Suddenly Kate is avoiding her, and people are looking the other way when she passes in the halls. As the aftershocks from a startling accusation rip through Liz’s world, everything she’s thought she knew about photography, family, friendship and herself shifts out of focus. What happens when the picture you see no longer makes sense? What do you do when you may lose everything you love most? Told in stunning, searingly raw free verse.


My Verdict

This is definitely on my list of top in-verse novels that I have read so far.  It does contain some tough subject matter, especially for the younger audience. I don’t want to go into detail because that would spoil the twist. I really liked the authors writing style. The verses were short and sweet, just how I like them.

I felt like I was able to connect with the main character, Liz, very easily through her love for photography. I’m no photogirl but I do love taking pictures, and I’m actually taking darkroom photography this semester. I also felt like all her thoughts and emotions were spot on for someone going through her situation. It bugged me at some points because it seemed like no one else in Liz’s life could understand her point of view or where she was coming from a lot of the time, and I just felt like, considering the circumstances, they should have been more understanding.

This is the authors first YA novel, and all I can say is that I hope she writes more, preferably in verse =)

Monday, October 10, 2011

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Author Interview: Lisa Schroeder

It's that time again. Are you guys ready for another great author interview? This time it is with one of my all time favorite authors! 


Lisa Schroeder!


Lisa is the author of two middle grade books: Its Raining Cupcakes, and Sprinkles and Secrets. She has also written four YA novels: I Heart You, You Haunt Me, Far From You, Chasing Brooklyn (click here for my review), and The Day Before, which are all written in-verse.  I have read all of  Lisa's YA books and would highly recommend each and every one of them! Her writing is beautiful, heartfelt, and emotional. 


Born Bookish: You've written for both young adult and middle grade audiences. Do your prefer writing one to the other?


Honestly, I love writing for both. The nice thing is that I can switch back from one to another, so I never get tired of writing one genre.

Born Bookish: Novels in verse are beautiful works of art in the world of literature, but not a genre that is very well known. What made you want to write in verse?


When I wrote my first verse novel, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, the verse chose me more than me choosing it. The story just wanted to come out that way, so I went for it. Not all novels are going to work in that format. If you need a lot of dialogue in the story, for example, it's probably not going to work. After that first book, I continued to write in it because I HEART YOU was so well received. Not everyone likes novels in verse, of course. But for those who do, I decided to write more books in that format.


Born Bookish: If you could be one of your characters, who would you be?

Hmmm, that's a hard question! Probably Sophie from my middle grade novels, IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES and SPRINKLES AND SECRETS. She's a fun girl who wants to be an actress and has an amazingly supportive family. I just like her. I like hanging out with her, so I'll go with her.

Born Bookish: In two of your novels, I Heart You, You Haunt Me & Chasing Brooklyn there is a common element of ghosts who, unwilling to move one, stay behind and haunt people from their pasts. What is it about ghosts that intrigue you?

I think we all have some fascination with the idea of what happens after we die? I actually hate scary things, so it's kind of odd I decided to write these ghost stories, but when I was writing I HEART YOU, I knew from the get-go I didn't want it to be scary. I wanted it to be almost comforting to Ava to still have her boyfriend with her. At least at first, I like the idea of being comforted by the idea that your loved one is there with you, not scared.

Born Bookish: Which character was it easiest for you to write? Why?

Ava's story poured out of me. I don't know why. I just really connected to her and to the sadness and guilt she felt over Jackson's death.

Born Bookish: Do you find it hard to throw obstacles in your characters way or make life difficult for them?

Oh yeah, absolutely. The more we spend time with the characters, the more we like them! So it IS hard to throw obstacles in their way. But that's what makes a story interesting. That's what makes us want to keep turning the pages, so we can find out if the characters turn out okay. But yeah, when I'm writing, sometimes I have to tell myself- you need to spice things up here, or your readers are going to fall asleep.

Born Bookish: If you could have any superpower what would it be? Why?

The power to be a speed reader. :) So many books I want to read, and I just never have enough time.

Born Bookish: A lot of authors use music to help them get into the mindset of their characters. Is this something that helps you? If so what was the main song that inspired each of your books?

Sometimes I work with music and sometimes I don't. It just depends. I've listed the songs that helped me write some of my books below.


  • I Heart You, You Haunt ME: My Immortal, Evanescence
  • Far From You: From Where You Are, Lifehouse
  • Chasing Brooklyn: You and Me, Lifehouse
  • The Day Before: Glitter in the Air, P!nk

Born Bookish: Do you have any new books in the works that you can tell us a little bit about?

I have sold two books this year, one middle grade fantasy and my first YA not in verse. Neither has a title yet, and they won't be coming out until 2013, so I'm not saying a lot about them yet, but I'm very excited about both of them!

Born Bookish: Here at Born Bookish I have a segment called Breathtaking Book Covers where I post the cover image of a book that I think is stunning. Is there a book cover that has ever taken your breath away? If so, what book?

The one that comes to mind is Brodi Ashton's EVERNEATH. I love that cover SO much. I am pretty sure she is going to sell a million copies of that book for the cover alone, although I have heard the story is breathaking as well. Can't wait to read it!


Thanks for having me on your blog!


It was my pleasure! Thank you so much for being here and for answering all of my questions! =)

Friday, October 7, 2011

Randomness: Great Deals

The last couple of days I have gotten some great deals on books that I wanted to share! 

First, I stumbled upon a bunch of books at my local Job Lot on sale for $1.50 each! I walked out of there with five books.

Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn and Jeffrey Shandler
Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin
Hold Up by Terri Fields
The Invisible by Mats Wahl
Minn and Jake by Janet S. Wong



Then last night I finally checked out the Bargain Books page on Amazon for the first time and man have I been missing out! I could not believe all the YA books that were only 3 or 4 dollars! They weren't old books like I thought they would be either, they were pretty current. After flipping through over 100 pages of books I ended up buying:

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
Aurelia by Anne Osterlund
Geek Charming by Robin Palmer
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. 



All for just $10.50 =D So if you haven't checked it out I encourage you to do so now. 

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Book Review: Girl, Stolen by April Henry





Title: Girl, Stolen
Author: April Henry
# Of Pages: 224
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: September 28, 2010
Level: Young Adult
Rating:  5 Hearts







Synopsis

(From Barnes&Noble)

Sixteen year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of a car while her mom 
fills her prescription at the pharmacy. 
Before Cheyenne realizes what’s happening, their car is being stolen—with her inside! 
Griffin hadn’t meant to kidnap Cheyenne, all he needed to do was steal a car for the others.
 But once Griffin’s dad finds out that Cheyenne’s father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes—now there’s a reason to keep her. 
What Griffin doesn’t know is that Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia, she is blind.
 How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare, and if she does, at what price?


My Verdict

I found it hard to choose a rating for this book. It was a page-turner for sure, it was impeccably written, but it was also about what I consider to be dark subject matter.

This book made me feel like I was reading an episode of Without a Trace or another one of those crime dramas. I usually don’t like reading books about this kind of stuff. So my first reaction to a book about a young blind girl who gets kidnapped was No Thank You! But then I started to read a lot of good things about it, so I decided to give it a shot. And I’m really glad that I did. 

I thought the writing in this book was incredible. There were no wasted words. It was as if each word was carefully selected. It was pretty short for a YA novel but I can see why. It helped to keep up the tension, and steady pace of the plotline throughout the whole book.

Cheyenne was an incredibly strong main character. I was impressed by how much she was able to keep her wits about her throughout such a terrifying and traumatizing experience. She never gave up; she stayed strong, and was always thinking one step ahead of her captors.

The relationship between Cheyenne and Griffin was an awkward one. Griffin is the one who took Cheyenne, but he didn’t do it on purpose. Then he keeps her with full intent of letting her go later…that is until Griffins dad finds out what happened and that her father is the president of Nike. Then everything changes.

Cheyenne and Griffin become friends of sorts throughout the whole thing. Griffin transforms from captor to protector as the story progresses. He knows that he made a mistake and he doesn’t want Cheyenne to get hurt because of him. I liked Griffin, which seemed wrong to me; he was the bad guy, essentially. I felt like I should hate him, but I didn’t. I couldn’t.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Wordlover Wednesday: Kerfuffle


I have no story like usual as to why I picked this word. I just like it and wanted to share it with you. So here it is, todays wordlover word...


Kerfuffle (ker-fe-fal)
noun- a commotion or fuss, esp. one caused by conflicting views
ex. There was a kerfuffle over the chairmanship.


I don't think this word goes with its definition at all. Kerfuffle sounds so light and fun not something that represents an uproar. But it is fun to say, kerfuffle, kerfuffle, kerfuffle. Try saying that five times fast, haha.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Breathtaking Book Cover: Far From You


Todays Breathtaking Book Cover is...

Far From You 
by
 Lisa Schroeder

Click Here To Learn More About This Book =)
Not only is the book amazing, so is the cover.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Randomness: October Releases in YA

Since today is October 1st,  I thought I would share with you a few books that are coming out this month that I am looking forward to reading the most. 



Coming October 4th...

Eve by Anna Carey

Where do you go when nowhere is safe?

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth's population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve had never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school's real purpose- and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she's ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treaherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust,,, and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and       
her life. 


Coming October 11th...

Devoted: An Elixer Novel by Hilary Duff

-SPOILER WARNING (If you haven't read the first book Elixir this synopsis contains spoilers!)

Since Sage was kidnapped, Clea has no way of knowing if he is alive or dead. And even though she has only just discovered they were soulmates, she feels like a part of her is lost forever. What's worse, she can't even turn to her best friend Ben-- because every time she looks at him, all she sees is his betrayal.

But waiting for something to happen is not an option, so Clea is ready for action. Suffering through dreams of seeing Sage with another woman, she makes an uneasy alliance with Sage's enemies and sets out to be reunited with Safe... in this life or the next.






The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas

When Rose's mom dies, she leaves behind a brown paper bag labeled Rose's Survival Kit. Inside the bag, Rose finds an ipod, with a to-be-determined playlist; a picture of peonies, for growing, a crystal heart, for loving; a paper star, for making a wish; and a paper kite, for letting go.

As Rose ponders the meaning of each item, she finds herself returning again and again to an unexpected source of comfort. Will is her family's gardener, the school hockey star, and the only person who really understands what she's going through. Can loss lead to love?





What books have you waiting at the edge of your seat?