terça-feira, 25 de junho de 2013

Review: Looking for Alaska - John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green
Publication Date: December 28th, 2006
Pages: 231
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Bought 

Synopsis

Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.


After. Nothing is ever the same






I'm a bit conflicted about this book. I liked it a lot...just not as much as I thought I would.

I liked the concept and the story. I liked how Miles "Pudge" has the courage to leave everything (which wasn't much, but still...) behind and move to another state to look for the Great Perhaps. In his new school he meets Chip "The Colonel", Takumi, Lara and Alaska. I like the fact that none of them were stereotypical and were quite interesting. And the things they got up to at the school (and in a way made me want to go to a private boarding school...I need to find my Great Perhaps). I have to say that I had some problems with Pudge but mainly with Alaska. For some reason I cannot find it in me to feel any kind of sympathy for her (I know, I'm a terrible person), I understand that her life wasn't the best but I hated the way she acted sometimes.

Maybe my lack of connection with Miles and Alaska was the only reason why I didn't see this book as heartbreaking as most people did. Now, this doesn't mean that I didn't like this book. Like I said before, I liked it a lot but I was just waiting for me to start crying my eyes out like I did on The Fault In Our Stars but that just didn't happen, so that kind of disappointed me. But I do recommend this book though, since I'm sure my problem with Alaska is a bit of a personal thing.





Where you can find it 
Amazon 
Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

segunda-feira, 24 de junho de 2013

Book Blitz: Vigilante Nights - Erin Richards (Excerpt and GIVEAWAY)

Vigilante Nights  by Erin Richards 
Publication date: July 18th 2013
Genre: YA contemporary w/light supernatural element

Synopsis
A "good boy" will do anything for vengeance when a gang rite kills his twin sister. Will Lucas win, or follow his sister Silver into the darkness?

After a hideous car wreck, Lucas wakes from a coma to find that his world is gutted. Not only is his beloved twin sister, Silver, gone forever, but Lucas is broken in body and spirit. He will never be a college athlete, and is robbed of what he now realizes was the most important bond of his life. Although they weren't identical twins, Lucas and Silver shared a bond so fierce it defied reason, and was nearly supernatural.


After her death, that bond seems to endure when Lucas sees Silver everywhere he turns. Either he's crazy, or Silver is trying to tell him something about the California gang initiation they stumbled into that cost Silver her life. Lucas is bent on revenge, turning on Raymond, Silver's former boyfriend; the one Lucas never wanted her to date. He forms a posse of vigilantes to take out the gangsters responsible for Silver's death, but he risks not only his own life, but the love of the new girl on his block, who knows more about Lucas and Silver than can be accounted for by mere chance.



Purchase:
Amazon

Excerpt
Silver’s babbling continued at racecar speed. Seriously, I didn’t want to hear about the new target of my sister’s lust. The fallout of her last crush with one of my friends still jacked me up. Memories surged and my gut pinched. Ex-friend now.

A blissful moment of silence descended. I peeked at my twin in the passenger seat. Brow puckered, she sucked on the straw to her daily iced mocha. My gaze slid past the speedometer clocking me at ten over in a fifty-five zone.

“Something feels weird tonight, Lucas.” Her tone turned somber. “Maybe you ought to slow down.”

“Meaning?” I felt her apprehension, a feeling I’d grown used to over the last week since she’d kicked Raymond—our collective ex—to the curb.

She shrugged. “Just a weird vibe I’ve had since we left the mall.”

“Raymond still bothering you?”

Silver looked out the passenger window. She didn’t have to hide the tears I felt from her in our weirdo twin bond. Hoping to lighten the mood, I gunned the car on a clear stretch of the frontage road. Despite her heebie-jeebies, I knew she loved the speed as much as I did.

Night had sneaked up on us as we left Monterey behind. We zoomed past the dimly lit Welcome to Sea Haven, California sign. Population 28,342, give or take ten million in an influx of farm workers from the inland counties, yearly tourists, and summer resort peeps.

The thumping drone of the Red Renegade’s new headers oozed ’68 perfection. Or as sweet as the Camaro SS should’ve sounded back in 1968. “Camaro sounds badass, you think?”

“I guess.” Silver sighed, knocking her cup on her thigh. “Do you think I did the right thing?”

“Dumping Raymond?” Incredulous, I glanced at her. “Hell, yes.”

“He’s still your friend. He keeps calling me.”

“We’re football teammates. Nothing more. I’ll make sure he stays away from you.” I tweaked her hair. “You know he’s gunning for my spot.”

“You’re the best quarterback the school’s ever had. Coach would never,” Silver said thoughtfully, jingling her silver bangle bracelets.

Good enough to get three scholarships to killer schools. “I am perfect, aren’t I?” I teased, wanting to slide her mind off douche bag Raymond. He’d never know how much I hated him for the way he treated my twin. If I didn’t continue to keep the peace, he’d get all vindictive on her, like he did with other girls who quit taking his crap. I’d bite my tongue into pieces before I let on how much I knew about him . . . pressuring her . . . before she was ready. A slow burn spiraled up my chest. Screw him.

Dropping my speed, I felt for the glassy shift of the four-speed transmission. I’d spent junior year restoring the Camaro, using all the money from my weekend gopher job for my mom at the resort. I finished the last engine mods in time for summer break in two weeks. I was raring to open up the Red Renegade on the public track.

“I’m still ticked about my cell,” Silver said, her long blonde hair streaming out the open window, her mind already switching gears as usual. “Karma’s like a boomerang.” She swished her drink. “It always comes back ’round.”

I snorted. “In your case, it always bites you in the butt, and I gotta wipe up the mess.”

“Not always, Lucas.” I deflected her playful backhanded slap. “You owed me a trip to the mall. Besides, I didn’t lose my cell. Someone stole it out of my purse.” She danced her fingers on her silver bangles into a tinkling vibration. “I needed a new phone anyway. Screen was shot.” A giggle slipped out. “Karma’s a bitch.”

As we neared the speed trap on County Coast Road, I eased up on the gas. The small-block engine thumped and growled, the exhaust burbling defiantly. Few cars zipped past, driving south toward Monterey. Cops wouldn’t clock me going more than seven over north of the Sea Haven sign. This stretch of the frontage road had already earned me a speed warning. Lucky for me, I weaseled my way out of a ticket by promising to install a Borla exhaust on the sheriff’s Corvette. Killer small town bribery.

Silver traded my quick grin with her evil squint. Her evil squint was one of her poker “tells.” That particular tell meant the hard drive was spinning in her head. Which led me to believe she knew who nicked her cell. Man, I felt sorry for the poor sucker.

She slurped down the dregs of her mocha and tossed the empty cup in the pristine backseat, missing the trash bag by a mile. “Oops.”

“Silver! My car’s not a trash bin.” I knocked my fist on the gearshift, glowered for half a tick. We approached the STOP sign at the Ocean Avenue intersection. I downshifted and rolled to a full stop. The streetlight across the intersection bathed the red car in amber fire and ghosted the stickweeds along the side of the road. Light glinted off a small spot in the ditch to our right.

“Jeez, go find your happy place, will ya? I’ll get it when we . . .” Silver cranked up her window so fast I thought she’d just discovered that sea air killed genius brain cells. She mashed her elbow on the door lock. “Someone’s hunched over in the ditch.” The seat harness squeaked as she squeezed closer to the center console. “Oh. My. God. A body’s lying down there, too.”

Author's Biography

After bemoaning the lack of young adult books to read, Erin wrote her first novel at the age of eighteen hoping to shift the tide. Then everyday life took its toll on her writerly dreams until 2003 when she couldn’t ignore the writing bug any longer. By then, she had immersed herself in reading adult fantasy and romance novels. Writing paranormal & fantasy romance was a no brainer. Erin has published two adult romance novels: CHASING SHADOWS, a paranormal romantic suspense (EPPIE award finalist and Night Owl Romance 5-Star Top Pick) and WICKED PARADISE, a fantasy romance, released in August 2012. Erin will finally realize her lifelong dream of publishing a young adult novel when VIGILANTE NIGHTS debuts in July 2013.

Erin Richards lives in Northern California. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, photography, and American muscle cars.

Pre-Order your copy of Vigilante Nights before its official hardcover release date of July 18, 2013 and get an exclusive gift! Details at: http://www.erinrichards.com

Links

GIVEAWAY

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What do you guys think? My request for this book on netgalley got accepted and I already started reading! It has been exciting so far! :)

Cover Reveal: Life, Love & Lemons - Magan Vernon

Life, Love, & Lemons by Magan Vernon 
Publication date: August 2013
Genre: YA Contemporary

Synopsis:
When life hands you lemons, sometimes you have to say screw the lemons and bail.

Seventeen-year-old Bentley Evans had it all. Then her Dad got laid off. 

Now she has to move across town to a small apartment and leave her life of luxury for public school and a job at the local burger place. Just when her world seems like it's crumbling she finds solace in the unlikely punk boy next door, Kai Rowe. But as their relationship blossoms, a  jealous ex-girlfriend and a secret to tell that threatens to bring disaster back into Bentley’s life.





Author's Biography

Magan Vernon is a Young Adult and New Adult writer who lives with her family in the insurance capital of the world. She is in a very serious, fake relationship with Adam Lambert and constantly asks her husband to wear guyliner. He still refuses. She also believes her husband is secretly an alien, disguised as a southern gentleman.

Links









So, what did you guys think of the cover? I think it's quite cute! 

sexta-feira, 21 de junho de 2013

Cover Reveal Blitz: By Blood - Tracy E. Banghart (Guest Post and GIVEAWAY)

By Blood by Tracy E. Banghart
Series:
By Blood #1
Publication date: February 18th 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal

Synopsis:
For 17-year-old Emma Wong, spending a summer in England should be a dream come true. Gorgeous scenery? Check. Lots of hot guys with accents? Yes, please. 


Throw in an estranged mom, annoying new stepdad, and drooling baby half-brother, and it’s a disaster even her favorite cherry red leather jacket can’t fix. Even worse, there’s (hot) live-in research assistant Josh to contend with. The only thing more embarrassing than   drunk-kissing him hours after they meet? Knowing he’ll be witness to her family’s dysfunction all. summer. long.


But when Emma meets a mysterious girl who happens to be a Druid, her vacation suddenly promises to be far more intriguing than she  anticipated. Powerful rituals, new friends, an intoxicating sense of freedom...and Simon, the sexy foreign stranger she was hoping for. It’s all a perfect distraction from dirty diapers and awkward family dinners.


Trouble is, intriguing doesn’t often mean simple. And Emma is about to discover just how not simple her life really is.


By Blood is a novel about the ways that blood can bind us to others – or tear us apart.

Goodreads

GUEST POST ~ THE BEAUTY OF A BADASS CHICK

One of my biggest role models when I was in high school was Buffy Summers, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Growing up, I constantly felt like I had to prove I was just as strong/smart/brave as the boys.  And here was Buffy, a short, dainty blond chick who was constantly underestimated…and then totally kicked people’s butts.

The truth is, being a girl can be awfully scary sometimes. It’s just a fact of nature that we’re often shorter or weaker than our male counterparts, and that can lead to moments where we feel powerless or out of control.

Emma, the main character in By Blood, is a short, curvaceous chick, but it was really important to me that she also be strong enough to take care of herself. Not with special powers, but with knowledge and a little skill. Her dad’s a cop and she helps him teach self-defense classes, so she has the tools to defend herself (which, yes, she has occasion to use in By Blood! ;-)). Here’s a little peek at one of these classes:

Dad moved to stand behind me, then simulated a slow-motion attack so I could demonstrate as I explained the best techniques to evade or incapacitate an assailant. I walked the girls through “SING” – solar plexus, instep, nose, groin – and they laughed at the funny face Dad made when I pretended to hit him in the crotch.
“Remember,” I said, “it doesn’t matter how tall or short you are, or whether you’re in shape.” I made a grand gesture that started at my black sneakers and swept up purple leg warmers, black leggings, to the loose gray tunic that clung to my curves. “I’m not exactly intimidating, right? I’m shorter than most of you for one thing. But that doesn’t mean I can’t protect myself.” I shifted my position, ready for the next move. “The more we practice, the more muscle memory we build, so our instincts when in danger will be the right instincts.”
Now came the best part—the part that got the oohs and aahs. Dad reached over my shoulders and before you could say “speeding ticket” I had him on the floor, belly up on the mat. The girls started clapping and a couple laughed in surprise. Dad grinned up at me. I loved that he let me lead the class, and that he was okay with me throwing him around in front of a bunch of girls. Not all cops were cool like that. Not all Dads either.

There are lots of places to take self-defense classes, and resources online and elsewhere that can give you tips on how to protect yourself. As Emma says, you don’t have to be in great shape or a black belt to save yourself in a scary moment. All you need is knowledge – and maybe a little practice!


Author's Biography
Tracy E. Banghart is a cheesy movie–loving, fantasy football–playing (go Ravens!), globe-trotting Army wife who began “practicing” her craft at the age of five, when she wrote her first story. She loves visiting the international friends she met while pursuing her MA in Publishing and spends a portion of every summer at her family’s cabin in Canada, where she finds inspiration and lots of time to relax on the dock. She lives with her husband, son, two lazy dogs and one ornery cat. When not writing or spending time with her family, she is on a mission to bake the perfect cupcake.

Links

GIVEAWAY


Giveaway Prize Pack #1 (US only)
Signed paperback copy of By Blood

Plus (all hardcover):
Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray
Starcrossed, by Josephine Angelini
The Body Finder, by Kimberly Derting
Jane, by April Lindner
By the Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead, by Julie Anne Peters
Sean Griswold’s Head, by Lindsey Leavitt
Under the Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi
Slide, by Jill Hathaway
Wither, by Lauren DeStefano
Imaginary Girls, by Nova Ren Suma

Giveaway Prize Pack #2 (Intl)
Signed paperback copy of By Blood + $50 Amazon Gift Card 

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quinta-feira, 20 de junho de 2013

Cover Reveal: Dead and Missing - Chris Myers

 
Title: Dead and Missing (Ripsters, #2)
Author: Chris Myers
Expected release date: July 19, 2013
Genre: Paranormal Mystery/Romance
Age Group: Young Adult
Cover designed by: Books on the Edge

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Brittany Howland only knows one other girl, Jolie Livingston, who can communicate with the dead like herself. When Brittany takes Jolie’s haunt fishing to get him out of Jolie’s hair, he mysteriously disappears. Brittany isn’t sure how she’ll tell Jolie she lost her stupid ghost. Jolie thinks her dead best friend Drew has finally crossed over, but Brittany knows better. Just before Drew went missing, he revealed why he hasn’t hitchhiked to the afterlife, a secret Brittany swore she’d take to the grave.
 photo goodreads-badge-add-38px11_zps1ae6e47f.jpg 




About the Author 
Chris Myers suffers from an overactive imagination. She spent her high school years writing torch songs for fantasy guys then moved onto writing thrillers and young adult. She has a real job but would love to write full time. Her books have won and placed in the finals and semifinals for several awards including Paul Gillette, Rocky Mountain Gold, and Amazon Breakthrough Novel. Chris lives in Colorado with her daughter, her better half, and BeBe, a rambunctious Bichon.

Links
   photo AToMRToursC66a-A00aT03a-Z_mdm_zpsa3cc6896.jpg

Cover Reveal: Necessary Sacrifices - Zoe Cannon


Necessary Sacrifices by Zoe Cannon
Series:
 The Torturer’s Daughter, #2
Publication date: July 15th 2013
Genre: YA Dystopia

Synopsis:
A year and a half ago, Becca Dalcourt joined the resistance. Three months ago, she started working undercover inside Internal Defense. A year from now, she’ll probably be dead. She knows the odds. She’s seen how the life of a double agent ends.

All she wants is a chance to do something with what little time she has left. Something big. Something meaningful. But the resistance doesn’t  trust her, and her job transcribing torture sessions hasn’t given her anything but the names of dissidents whose lives, according to her resistance contact, aren’t worth saving.

So when she discovers a secret government program designed to brainwash dissidents into loyal citizens, she resolves to shut it down, no matter the cost. Even if her plan puts everyone she loves in danger. Even if the most experienced resistance fighters say it can’t be done. Even if it means betraying the only person who sees past the mask she wears every day.

Even if she has to do it alone.

The sequel to The Torturer’s Daughter, which has been praised for its dark realism, Necessary Sacrifices asks how you fight an enemy that can't be defeated... and what sacrifices are worth making along the way.



Author's Biography
Zoe Cannon writes about the things that fascinate her: outsiders, societies no sane person would want to live in, questions with no easy answers, and the inner workings of the mind. If she couldn't be a writer, she would probably be a psychologist, a penniless philosopher, or a hermit in a cave somewhere. While she'll read anything that isn't nailed down, she considers herself a YA reader and writer at heart. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and a giant teddy bear of a dog, and spends entirely too much time on the internet.

Links:

quarta-feira, 19 de junho de 2013

Release Date Blitz: Aberrant - Ruth Silver (Excerpt, Interview and GIVEAWAY)

Aberrant by Ruth Silver

Publication date: April 28th 2013 (paperback)

Genre: YA Dystopian

Synopsis:
In the future Dystopian society of Cabal, the government instills equality for all and offers its citizens the perfect system. There is food, shelter and jobs for everyone. The one requirement is to follow the rules without question, including the government's match in marriage and "The Day of the Chosen", a lottery that randomly selects families to conceive children as natural means hasn't existed in generations. Following her eighteenth birthday, Olivia Parker accepts her requirement to marry her childhood best friend, Joshua Warren, and is eager to start her work assignment and new life when it all comes abruptly to an end as she's arrested and thrown in prison. The only crime committed, her existence. Olivia is unlike the rest of the world born not from "The Day of the Chosen." The truth haunts the government and puts her life in grave danger as one simple fact would destroy the perfect system. 



With Joshua's help, Olivia breaks free of prison and is forced on the run. Together they set out to find the promised rebel town in search of a new home and new life together. Their situation seems less than promising as they reach the town of Haven. New rules and customs must be adhered to in order to stay. Leaving would mean most certain death in the large expanse of the Gravelands. Time is running out as the government mounts an attack to destroy Olivia and bury her secret with her. Thrown into a world unlike their own, they must quickly adapt to survive.




Purchase:
Amazon

Excerpt


Joshua came into my room, ignoring all rules as he helped push the dresser further from the wall, knocking it to the floor allowing me more than enough room to grab the journal and go. I tossed it inside the pack and Joshua put the map inside before we stepped out of my bedroom. I glanced down the hall, not sure what I expected to see. To the right the dormitory had been hit, and a roar of smoke and fire filled the confined space. Jacqueline was gone. Hand-in-hand we ran in the opposite direction toward the staircase.

My eyes burned. Coughing, I refused to let go of his hand as we stepped outside. Drones weren’t the only things attacking Haven. Tanks rolled into town. A few soldiers jumped off, taking over the perimeter, guns drawn. I paused, gripping Joshua's hand as we were shrouded in smoke. Just a few feet away, a soldier lifted his weapon and unleashed fury on a group of innocent people. I covered my mouth with my hand to keep from crying out when a child no older than three hit the cement. His eyes remained open as blood seeped from his head. He didn't move. Didn't blink. It took only a moment to realize he’d died instantly. All I could do was stand there in shock.

"We have to move," I heard Joshua's voice, but it didn't register. The smoke swirled around us and gunfire erupted in every direction. He grabbed my arm. "Olivia, I need you to focus." I nodded once, trying my best to clear the cobwebs from my mind. I couldn't, though. I wanted to run out to the child and protect him, but it was too late. I was too late. They were here because of me, innocent blood on my hands. I felt the heat radiating from the dormitory and my eyes flashed back. "I need you here with me, Olive."


"I am," I insisted, knowing if I didn't focus we'd both be dead. I spotted more soldiers – their standard issue uniform and the Cabal crest on their jacket sleeve told me all I needed to know. The government had come looking for us. "Which way?" I couldn't see the exit. With the smoke enveloping us and the fear coursing through my veins, I forgot the direction we'd come from.

Interview

Favorite childhood book?
The Velveteen Rabbit, it's not only a beautiful story but also quite sad. Plus I love rabbits, I used to have one in college (that I snuck into my dorm room).

What is your writing process?
I usually create a very vague outline that gets dramatically changed as the story develops. I also create character pages, so I can keep everyone straight - personalities, physical traits, family lineage.

What do you like to do besides writing?
I love to read, which probably goes without saying. I also enjoy photography, video games, traveling and just hanging out with my friends.

How did you come up with creating Cabal, dystopian society in Aberrant? What inspired you?

The name itself, Cabal, comes from its definition. "A small group of secret plotters," which I felt fitting for a dystopian society. I wanted the name to signify a revolution, because Cabal is not the perfect society that the government wishes and pretends it to be. I wanted Cabal to strive for Utopian but instead of being perfect, it was something else entirely.

The inspiration itself comes from most of us striving towards perfection. I don't think there are many people that want a world without jobs, filled with homeless people that are starving. I think it's easy to see what's going on in society, what's happening now and see a glimpse of the current world in its worst. It made me want to imagine a better world and then I realized how would this perfect world be flawed?

In few words, why should we read your book?
I believe Aberrant will appeal to readers who liked the suspense of The Hunger Games, the thrill-seeking tests of Divergent and the romance and unique abilities of Graceling.

Author's Biography
Ruth Silver is the best-selling author of Aberrant. The Young Adult/New Adult Romantic Dystopian Adventure, Aberrant is the first in a trilogy,  released April 17th, 2013. Silver first began writing poetry as a teenager and reading heaps of fan fiction in her free time. She attended Northern Illinois University in 2001 and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Communication. While in college she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004. Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories. Her love of writing, led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia. Silver enjoys reading YA/NA  novels and sharing her favorite books with other readers. She also enjoys photography, traveling and of most of all writing.

Links

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terça-feira, 18 de junho de 2013

Cover Reveal: Heist - Laura Pauling

Heist by Laura Pauling
Genre: YA Psychological Thriller
No release date yet (will be in 2013)

Synopsis:
Can one decision change the past?
Jack Brodie has a sixth sense that someone has been watching him. Following him.

One night he travels back in time to one of the world’s largest art thefts, known as the Gardner Heist. Why that one moment in time? And what does it mean for Jack?

When he returns, his world is different. His best friend is rougher, meaner. His dad hasn’t been around in years. And then there’s Jetta. The girl who took over his heart the moment she stepped into his life. No one is safe.

Each time Jack goes back to the heist to fix his mistakes, he returns to face the fallout. Disaster strikes in the present until Jack must make a choice. His family and his own happiness. Or the girl he loves. Except, he learns that his sixth sense was right.

Someone has been watching him and wants him dead.



Author's Biography
Laura Pauling writes young adult fiction. She lives the cover of suburban mom/author perfectly, from the minivan to the home-baked snickerdoodles, while hiding her secret missions and covert operations. But shh. Don't tell anyone!

Her YA Circle of Spies Series includes A SPY LIKE ME and HEART OF AN ASSASSIN. Book three, TWIST OF FATE will be released in the fall of 2013.

HEIST, a young adult, psychological thriller, will be released the summer of 2013.

Links


segunda-feira, 17 de junho de 2013

Book Blitz: Never Too Far - Thomas Christopher (Excerpt, Interview, GIVEAWAY)

Never Too Far by Thomas Christopher
Genre:
YA Dystopian
Publication date: May 10th 2012





Synopsis:

A harrowing story of love and survival.



In a future of scarce resources, where the possession of gas and diesel is punishable by death, a teenage boy and a pregnant girl must save their impoverished family. They risk their lives on a terrifying journey to sell stolen fuel on the black market.





Excerpt:
Joe turned and ran back into the gully, but he didn’t get very far. A sudden blast of wind shoved him to the ground. Flat on his face, he heard the wind whistling and screeching past his ears. When he lifted his head, he couldn’t see the pregnant girl anymore. All the dust whirled and whipped into a blinding black blizzard. He thought for sure she’d gotten snatched up in the dust storm. The wind lashed at his face. He went to call out to her, but he didn’t know what to say because he didn’t know her name. And even if he did, his voice would’ve gotten lost in the snarling wind. Nevertheless, he had to find her. 

Goodreads

Purchase: 
Amazon

Interview with the author

Tell us about Never Too Far?
Well, it’s set in a future that is much hotter and where gas and oil are running out. In fact, it’s illegal and possessing it is a capital crime. The hero is a sixteen-year-old boy named Joe, whose family is very poor and live in Dust Bowl-like conditions on the plains. One day, he finds a wrecked vehicle that belongs to the authoritarian city-state of Chikowa. And against his family’s wishes, especially his older brother Frank, Joe siphons the vehicle’s diesel and takes off on a treacherous journey to sell the fuel on the city’s black market. Fuel is worth a tremendous amount of money because it is so scarce. Joe takes along a pregnant orphan girl named Mary that his family recently took in. They use a cover story about Mary’s baby being breech and needing a hospital to throw off suspicion. She barely talks at first and hides beneath a big hat she always wears. The relationship that develops between them is one of the big themes, especially after she gets sick. The whole journey leads through a hostile landscape of desert and forests until they reach the city, where they get caught in a dark world of fear corruption they might not escape from.

Where did the idea for the novel come from?
The idea for Never Too Far came from two sources, really. Several years ago, my wife gave me a book called The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler about the consequences of running out of oil. Around the same time, I also read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I really loved it. It was dark and ominous, but also full of tenderness between the boy and his father. I started thinking about a future where oil was scarce, and global warming had heated the planet, and some kind of desperate journey, like in The Road. I first wrote it as a short story, but I liked it so much that I turned it into a novel.  

The environment is wide raging in the story— arid plains, deep forests, and a city on a lake. Is it based on any specific area?
Yes. Although the country in the novel is a fictional one called the Meshica Union, it’s really based on the geography of the U.S. that stretches from eastern Iowa to the shores of Lake Michigan. I didn’t want to be bound to actual places and cities because I wanted the story to have more of a universal and timeless feel.

Who is the audience for Never Too Far?
I would say that both adults and young adults would enjoy this novel very much. Fans of dystopian fiction, coming-of-age stories, adventure and suspense would like it as well.

Tell us a little about yourself?

Sure. I grew up on an acreage near Grinnell, IA.  As a kid, I loved roaming all the fields and creeks that surrounded us. We also raised sheep, and I helped birth the lambs. I remember very fondly feeding bottles of milk to orphan lambs in our basement.  After high school, I hiked the 130 mile Adirondack Trail in upset New York. And after I graduated from college, I lived out west for a while in Seattle and Montana. I did a lot of hiking in the mountains out there. Then I went to graduate school in Michigan to studying writing and that’s where I was lucky enough to meet my wife. She was the manager of the hotel I was working at. I taught writing and literature for a while at Western Michigan University, Creighton University, and a few community colleges. Then came the birth of our son. I now split my time between writing and chasing after a very active 18 month old boy.


Author's Biography:

Thomas Christopher grew up in Iowa. He received his MFA from Western Michigan University. His short stories have appeared in The Louisville Review, The MacGuffin, Redivider, and Cooweescoowee. He was also awarded an Irving S. Gilmore Emerging Artist Grant and was a finalist for the Matthew Clark Prize in Fiction. He lives in Wisconsin with his wife and son.

Links:



GIVEAWAYS

Grand Prize Giveaway:


One $20 Amazon gift card and a Kindle ebook of Never Too Far - Open internationally.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stacking The Shelves #4

Stacking The Shelves was originally created by Tynga's Reviews. The idea is for everyone to show the books they are adding to their shelves (physical copies or virtual) 



I am quite happy with the books I got this week!

Won in a giveaway (ebooks):

I have been dying to read these!

Received from Netgalley: 



What books did you get this week? And what do you think about the books I got?
Oh, and don't miss the giveaways I have going on! :)

domingo, 16 de junho de 2013

Book Blitz: Visited - Janine Caldwell (Excerpt and GIVEAWAY)

Visited by Janine Caldwell
Publication date:
May 25th 2013
Genre: YA coming-of-age fantasy


Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Joanna Murphy has lost faith in her life. Vying for her mom’s attention, she’s resentful of her stepdad’s intrusion to their family. Her best friend, Tommy, has no clue she’s in love with him as he dates girl after girl without noticing how it tortures her. The final kicker, though, is God’s sick joke to make her freakishly tall when everyone knows boys prefer petite girls.


Then in a bizarre accident Joanna meets James, a breathtaking teen who appears to her after an unusual falling star sighting. Suddenly, her dream for an alien encounter becomes all too real. But when she finds her life has been made unrecognizable, she’s forced into an explosive study of the original design for her life that just may have her regretting every wish she ever made.



Excerpt
I gape up at him, the fear beginning to course through my veins. “Who are you?”

“A friend.” He answers in an even enough tone, but at the same time, his face begins to glow the color of amber, making him look warm and unusually vibrant. I’ve never known any being able to radiate such a glow. Any being from Earth, that is.

“A friend?” I manage to whisper back before swallowing a gulp. “Are-are you human?” I’m half kidding, but after years of watching realistic science fiction movies and reading a library of fantasy novels, I think I mean the question more than I want to admit. However, he doesn’t answer me. He averts his eyes, blinking rapidly like he’s unsure of the situation.

Again, I’m at a loss of what to think. I thought I asked a pretty straightforward question and he can’t even answer that. By his omission, I have to assume he’s trying to tell me he isn’t human!

Is this really happening? And, more importantly, if he’s not human, then what is he?

My brain pores through a dozen images at once, my chest heaving from the excitement. I flash to movies, T.V. shows, graphic novels, and to my own imagination as I consider what life form James could be. While I try to convince myself I’m jumping to conclusions, that of course this is all a misunderstanding or perhaps an elaborate hoax, something else itches in the back of my mind. That something whispers: Haven’t you always considered the existence of other worlds? Discussed the possibility a hundred times with Tommy?

The answer to both questions is an emphatic yes. I decide right then, despite all reason, I know what James is.

“I think I know what you are,” I remark feebly.

He turns to me with a spark of expectation in his eyes, still glowing, still warm.

“You came to Earth with that star last night, didn’t you?”

Blood rushes to his cheeks, giving him an even brighter supernatural glow, and then I know I have my answer.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” I sit upright, gripping the sheet into my fists. “You’re from another planet. That’s how you have the power to heal.”

He pales for a second, but amazingly, he doesn’t deny it. He flickers his lashes upward like he’s searching the ceiling for his reply. After a moment, he shakes his head of soft curls that brush his neck before redirecting his intense expression back on me. He licks his lips and smiles pensively, but I feel the same need as before to shy away; whether it’s from shock or from a loss of focus I don’t know, but holding his gaze is next to impossible.

My mind is all aflutter trying to come to grips with what I’m being confronted to believe.

“Incredible. I was right all along,” I murmur, commenting to myself. “Aliens do exist.”


Author's Biography
Janine Caldwell was born in Concord, CA and raised in the small San Francisco Bay Area town of Clayton. Four days after her high school graduation, Janine attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and graduated with a degree in English. 


Janine now lives in Anthem, AZ with her husband and two sons. As a lifelong literature fanatic, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would become obsessed with writing her own work. With relatives like the Brothers Grimm and Anita Loos (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), she figured fantasy writing had to be in her DNA.


Books published by Janine include Visited, a YA coming-of-age fantasy, Rematch and Double Fault—the first two books of The Vortex Series. The final book in this YA fantasy romance, Deuce, will be released fall 2013.

Links


GIVEAWAY
  • Prize: One (1) ebook copy of Visited by Janine Caldwell;
  • Open internationally;
  • Fill the rafflecopter below (or click the link of the rafflecopter doesn't show up);
  • This giveaway ends on July 5th, at 12 a.m (WEST - Western European Summer Time);
  • I will contact the winner by email, if I don't get a reply in 48 hours, another winner will be picked (don't forget to check the spam folder!);
  • The prize will be sent out the week of July 15th;
Good luck! :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway