Hola!!! Good Sunday to all!
We kick off week three of our Young Adult Appreciation Month with an announcement. We realised that we had way more YA books that we really, really wanted to read so we decided to add one bonus week to the event. The ever awesome Kmont promptly offered to update our banner and voila:
Young Adult Appreciation Month: July 19 – August 23.
Now, let’s get down to business.
Giveaway Winners:
The winner of the signed copy of the anthology The Eternal Kiss is: Courtney (comment number 57)
The winner of Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev is: Virginia Hendricks
This Week on the Book Smugglers:
Monday – Lenore, from the YA blog Presenting Lenore guest blogs with us about reading and blogging about Young Adult novels.
Later, Ana reviews Everything Beautiful by Australian author Simmone Howell.
Tuesday – Thea reviews the Bayern Books by Shannon Hale: The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and River Secrets…
…and Ana reviews Furnace: Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith
Wednesday – Ana reviews Intertwined by Gena Showalter…
…and Thea reviews Zombie Blondes by Brian James.
Thursday – is our “WHY HAVEN’T I READ THESE BOOKS?!” Day, in which we read and review books that for some bizarre reason or another, we haven’t picked up. Thea reviews the Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies, Pretties, Specials and maybe Extras too)…
…and Ana reviews Monster by Christopher Pike (her very first Pike book, and one of Thea’s favorites).
Friday – It is “Apocalypse Day”!
And Thea (in heaven with dreary apocalypse/post-apocalypse/dystopian novels) will be reviewing Genesis by Bernard Beckett, Tomorrow, When The War Began by John Marsden (one of her favorites from childhood) and Exodus by Julie Bertagna. This is a segue into our “Dystopia Day” the following week! (And don’t worry folks, we’ll cover the classics – Obernewtyn, The Giver, etc…)
Saturday – Matt, the Teen Librarian guest blogs about One Day in the Life of a Teen Librarian.
On our YA Radar of books with pretty covers and intriguing blurbs:
For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She’s never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.
But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora’s not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can’t decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen – and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.
Fans of urban fantasy should prepare for a new kind of vampire–one that feeds off of tears instead of blood. Descended from an ancient line of creatures that gain their energy from human tears, Cassandra Gray depends on human sorrow to live. Only Cass has grown tired of living this life and wants to live like a human, especially now that she’s met someone worth fighting for.
Madison Stanton doesn’t know where she is or how she got there. But she does know this — she is dead. And alone in a vast, dark space. The only company Maddy has in this place are luminescent objects that turn out to be all the things she lost while she was alive. And soon she discovers that, with these artifacts, she can reexperience — and even change — moments from her life.
Her first kiss.
A trip to Disney World.
Her sister’s wedding.
A disastrous sleepover.
In reliving these moments, Maddy learns illuminating and frightening truths about her life — and death
And that’s it from us today, hope you enjoy week 3 of our YA Month! See you around!
~ Your Friendly Neighborhood Book Smugglers
10 Comments
Diana Peterfreund
August 2, 2009 at 1:19 pmI can’t believe you haven’t read the Uglies series yet! (well, I mean, now you have, but STILL!) I love them. they jumpstarted my own YA glom a few years back.
Also, I have a funny story about Monster. So it’s one of my fave Pike novels, too (My critique partner, Carrie Ryan, and I often sit around and talk about our favorite Pikes) and a few weeks ago, I met Pike’s agent and I started gushing about Monster, because apparnetly they are reissuing the Last vampire series in the wake of this vampire renaissance in YA and I far preferred Monster. It was very fangirly. Fully grown woman standing at a cocktail party telling the agent how I read Monster as a teen and slept with the lights on for a week.
mary-the sweet bookshelf
August 2, 2009 at 3:16 pmOH I LOVE SHANNON HALE! The Goose Girl is on of my fav’s! I’ve not read the others yet! I’m sooo looking forward to this!
Mary
edifanob
August 2, 2009 at 3:40 pmI look forward to your Apocalypse Friday. Since I read Flood by Stephen Baxter and watched the 2012 Trailer in cinema I’m more interested in this topic.
Rhiannon Hart
August 2, 2009 at 6:06 pmYay dystopian! I haven’t read Exodus or Genesis, but the Tomorrow series is an all time favourite from my teen years.
BTW, I tagged you guys in a meme on my blog: http://rhiannon-hart.blogspot.com/2009/08/abcs-meme.html
MaryK
August 2, 2009 at 6:12 pmI’m looking forward to the Shannon Hale reviews. I’ve been on the fence about trying her books.
Lusty Reader
August 2, 2009 at 7:56 pmYES YES YES to Tomorrow When the War began! We bought it when my sister and I were on a family vacation when we were young and we only had one copy of it and fought like CRAZY to read it. Like I would read pages when she was in the shower, and she would read it when i was in the pool.
it was TEH AWESOME. When I first started reading Michael Grant’s Gone, I kept thinking of this series, minus the supernatural stuff of course.
They only published the first three in the series in the US i think because i never read any more than that, but I can’t wait to read your review, I’ve been thinking of rereading it ever since I read Gone.
orannia
August 2, 2009 at 8:19 pmCongrats to the winners 🙂
Oh, Ana & Thea I won’t know where to look this week. All the books you are reviewing have been written by new-to-me authors! *rubs hands with glee*
Michelle M
August 2, 2009 at 8:25 pmDid you really just say you are having a Dystopia and an Apocalypse Day?? I think you absolutely made my week. I dig it.
A little while back I did a post on my all-time fav post-apocalyptic books: http://seemichelleread.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-end-of-world-as-we-know-it.html
I can’t wait for your list!!
Tiah
August 2, 2009 at 9:50 pmOMG I’m so excited for Friday! Every Friday should be Apocalypse Day! Or would that be Monday?
Bart's Bookshelf
August 3, 2009 at 1:26 pmThe Tomorrow Series, is one of my absolute favourite reads from last year, looking forward to seeing your post on that one. 😀