Excerpt and giveaway: ‘Gypsy’ by Trisha Leigh
Posted: July 10, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: young adult 1 Comment
Gypsy (The Cavy Files #1)
by Trisha Leigh
Release Date: 13 May 2014
378 pages
Inconsequential: not important or significant.
Synonyms: insignificant, unimportant, nonessential, irrelevant
In the world of genetic mutation, Gypsy’s talent of knowing a person’s age of death is considered a failure. Her peers, the other Cavies, have powers that range from curdling a blood still in the vein to being able to overhear a conversation taking place three miles away, but when they’re taken from the sanctuary where they grew up and forced into the real world, Gypsy, with her all-but-invisible gift, is the one with the advantage.The only one who’s safe, if the world finds out what they can do.
When the Cavies are attacked and inoculated with an unidentified virus, that illusion is shattered. Whatever was attached to the virus causes their abilities to change. Grow. In some cases, to escape their control.
Gypsy dreamed of normal high school, normal friends, a normal life, for years. Instead, the Cavies are sucked under a sea of government intrigue, weaponized genetic mutation, and crushing secrets that will reframe everything they’ve ever been told about how their “talents” came to be in the first place.
When they find out one of their own has been appropriated by the government, mistreated and forced to run dangerous missions, their desire for information becomes a pressing need. With only a series of guesses about their origins, the path to the truth becomes quickly littered with friends, enemies, and in the end, the Cavies ability to trust anyone at all.
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Excerpt
“Oh, Lordy, I am so sorry! My mom’s always sayin’ I’m so clumsy I could trip over a cordless phone.”
A breathless, sweet, female voice chatters the apology as hands try, with little success, to drag me back to my feet using the straps of my backpack. She’s behind me, so not the person whose age of death I just saw in my first two minutes here.
Fail, Gypsy.
“Are you okay?” A second voice, male and with a smooth, local drawl, mingles with the first.
The dead kid is a boy.
I jerk my hands into my chest, trying not to be obvious about it. Wishing with all my might I could take it back. Forget. Turn away without seeing the attached face. Of course there isn’t, and when my body remembers how to breathe again, I open my eyes.
He’s tall, a few inches over six feet, with hair the color of sand and eyes that shift between gold and brown, like maple syrup in the sunlight. More than the intriguing shade, it’s the genuine kindness in them that stands out to me. My heart flutters, then seizes.
Dead. He’s dead.
“It’s okay, I’ll live.” I wince at my choice of words and busy myself with brushing imaginary dust off the skirt of my uniform.
The clumsy girl stands as high as my shoulders, and the upturned nose and smattering of freckles combine with her chin-length white-blond hair to remind me of Tinkerbell. At least she seems to have a better attitude than the jealous, spiteful fairy.
Her pale eyes fling more apologies my direction, but I hold up my hand. “Really. No big deal.”
“Oh my gosh, thank you for being cool.” She grins, and it lights up her entire body. “I’m Maya.”
“Norah.”
“You’re new?”
“How could you guess?”
“Because they rest of us learned to avoid Maya while she’s double-fisting coffee and a cell phone back in the seventh grade.” Oh, goodnight nurse. The boy who’s going to die before he graduates from high school would have eyes that make my stomach attempt to fly.
I imagine literal, iron plates of armor clicking into place over my face, my skin, my heart, then flick a glance his direction. I snatch my cell phone from his palm. “Thanks.”
“I’m Jude.” He sticks out his hand.
Even though my aversion remains, even though I don’t want to confirm what I saw, there’s no point in keeping to my hands off rule. Not touching him now won’t change anything.
“Norah,” I say again, laughing a little at the absurdity of repeating my name. Our hands touch, his skin soft and electric at the same time, like he scooted his feet across a shag carpet. The little hairs on my arms, at the back of my neck, stand up.
18. 18. 18.
I pull my hand away, fixing my smile and swinging back toward Maya. “You caught me, I’m new. And I’m supposed to be in the office but I have no idea where that is, so this is at least half my fault, stopping in the middle of the hall like that.”
“I’ll walk you. It’s right on my way,” the boy offers.
Maya rolls her eyes at me in a manner that suggests we’ve been sharing nonverbal cues for more than two minutes. “If you don’t want to be alone with Jude, I understand. But if you don’t care, I’m going to let him take you because I’m supposed to meet with the yearbook sponsor…” She glances at her phone. “Five minutes ago.”
“No, it’s fine. He’s fine.” Lord in heaven, did I just say that?
Maya snorts, and the heat in my face promises she didn’t miss my unintentional comment.
I grew up around boys, so snorts at double entendre isn’t exactly new to me, which only makes the fire in my cheeks all the more vexing. It’s surprising to learn that things can still embarrass me.
“You know, it’s not the first time I’ve heard that,” Jude jokes, his smile catching my attention.
My lips return it without permission, even though my face is about to melt off.
“Yes, it is,” Maya chirps. “It so is the first time he’s heard that. Norah, we’ll have lunch instead, okay?”
I nod, but she doesn’t see me because she’s already halfway down the hall, waving over her shoulder.
Giveaway
Enter to win here!
About the Author
Trisha Leigh is a product of the Midwest, which means it’s pop, not soda, garage sales, not tag sales, and you guys as opposed to y’all. Most of the time. She’s been writing seriously for five years now, and has published 4 young adult novels and 4 new adult novels (under her pen name Lyla Payne). Her favorite things, in no particular order, include: reading, Game of Thrones, Hershey’s kisses, reading, her dogs (Yoda and Jilly), summer, movies, reading, Jude Law, coffee, and rewatching WB series from the 90’s–00’s.
Her family is made up of farmers and/or almost rock stars from Iowa, people who numerous, loud, full of love, and the kind of people that make the world better. Trisha tries her best to honor them, and the lessons they’ve taught, through characters and stories—made up, of course, but true enough in their way.
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Review: ‘Scarlet’ by Marissa Meyer
Posted: July 6, 2014 Filed under: Reviews | Tags: reviews, sci-fi, young adult 3 Comments
Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison — even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her.
As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.
I reviewed Cinder less than three months ago and now, having read Scarlet, I have one regret about that first review — that I already gave Cinder five stars, because there’s nowhere left to go with Scarlet. It deserves at least half a star more than the original. But I don’t want to adjust the rating for Cinder down either, as it was an excellent book in its own right.
The thing that made me enjoy Scarlet more was that the predictability that came with the Cinderella story — that she’d go to a ball and lose her (ahem) “glass slipper”* — was less obvious in Scarlet. Partly that’s because Queen Levana’s evil scheme is hotting up, and the political intrigue and world events of this awesome sci-fi Earth have more of their own life. Partly that’s because the elements of Little Red Riding Hood that Scarlet’s story pay homage to are woven in a little more loosely. There’s a girl with a red hoodie, a street fighter named “Wolf” from a gang of “wolves”, and a missing grandmother. But no woodcutter to speak of. Unless Thorne was meant to be the woodcutter…? If he was, I missed it!
That being said, I saw almost all of the plot twist coming. I don’t think it was telegraphed as clearly as was the one in Cinder; maybe it was just a lucky guess. My suspicions didn’t undermine my enjoyment of the book, though. (I also have my suspicions about who will play the part of Rapunzel in the next book, Cress, but I’ve only just ordered it, so I’ll have to wait and see. 😉 )
We have a few new characters in this book. I’ve already said how much I love Cinder, Kai and Iko, and all three are in this, some in particularly delightful ways (if you’ve read the book I’m sure you can guess what I mean). Scarlet is a fiery redhead of the old school of fiery redheads — she carries a gun and isn’t afraid to use it, and when we first encounter her she’s throwing tomatoes against a wall in a fit of rage. She’s rash, but loves her grandmother more than anyone in the world. Still, I really liked her, if not quite as much as I did Cinder. Wolf is the most beautifully depicted broken bad boy I have ever seen; tragic, dangerous and torn, he really struggles throughout the book with his attraction for Scarlet. (Ok, that’s a spoiler, but a tiny one — of course the boy is interested in the girl; it’s a YA novel! Also, it’s in the blurb. Phew, I’m ok.)
And Captain Thorne…well, I couldn’t shake the mental image of Captain Jack from Doctor Who and Torchwood. Although his ship was more like Serenity from the movie of the same name (and the TV show Firefly) — it even had two transport pods, a medbay located off the cargo hold, and an engine that sounded very similar to Serenity’s, full of cables going everywhere and an engine that rotated in the open.
I think I loved the ship more than any other character, for that reason. You can’t take the sky from me! ❤
Uh, sorry, got a little sidetracked there. Five stars.
* Note: if you haven’t read the first book, no, that isn’t a euphemism for anything naughty. The most either of these books have in them is kissing.
Double cover reveal: ‘Forget Me Not’ and ‘Remember Me’ by Stacey Nash
Posted: July 1, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: aussie-owned, AWW, sci-fi, urban fantasy, young adult 4 CommentsThose of you who have followed me for more than, like, five minutes will know that I’m a big fan of Stacey Nash. She’s one of the co-founders of Aussie Owned and Read — it was her that invited me to take part — and she beta read Lucid Dreaming for me. She received her contract offer for Forget Me Not at the same time as I received one for Isla’s Inheritance. I was lucky enough to sign with Turquoise Morning Press rather than the doomed Press Which Shall Not Be Named.
Stacey wasn’t so lucky. Not long after FMN released, her press folded.
But then this absolutely crazy thing happened. At around this time, Stacey was contacted by someone at Harper Collins. She’d subbed FMN there over a year earlier, and they wanted it for their new digital imprint. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee! It’s pretty much the perfect fairy tale ending, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer human. That’s why I’m over the moon to be part of the cover reveal for the new (and much prettier!) Forget Me Not, as well as for Remember Me.
Both of which are available for preorder (something I’ve totally done already). Go go go!
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Anamae is drawn into a world which shatters everything she knew to be true.
Since her mother vanished nine years ago, Anamae and her father have shared a quiet life. But when Anamae discovers a brooch identical to her mother’s favorite pendant, she unknowingly invites a slew of trouble into their world. They’re not just jewellery, they’re part of a highly developed technology capable of cloaking the human form. Triggering the jewellery’s power attracts the attention of a secret society determined to confiscate the device – and silence everyone who is aware of its existence. Anamae knows too much, and now she’s Enemy Number One.
She’s forced to leave her father behind when she’s taken in by a group determined to keep her safe. Here Anamae searches for answers about this hidden world. With her father kidnapped and her own life on the line, Anamae must decide if saving her dad is worth risking her new friends’ lives. No matter what she does, somebody is going to get hurt.
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When all is lost, she must remember…
Anamae Gilbert managed to thwart The Collective and rescue her father, even though his mind is now a shell. Determined to stop Councilor Manvyke hurting her family again, she’s training to become an active resistance member and enjoying a growing romance. But things never sail along smoothly – Manvyke wants retribution. And Anamae’s name is high on his list.
After a blow to the head, she awakes in an unfamiliar location. Anamae can’t remember the last few weeks and she can’t believe the fascinating new technology she’s seeing. She’s the new kid at school and weapons training comes with ease, but something feels off. Why does the other new kid’s smile make her heart ache?
And why does she get the feeling these people are deadly?
About Stacey
Stacey Nash writes adventure filled stories for Young Adults in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. When her head isn’t stuck in a fictional world, she calls the Hunter Valley of New South Wales home. It is an area nestled between mountains and vineyards, full of history and culture that all comes together to create an abundance of writing inspiration. Stacey loves nothing more than writing when inspiration strikes.
Undercover with Sarah Tregay’s novel ‘Fan Art’ – and a giveaway!
Posted: June 22, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: young adult Leave a comment
I listen to a lot of audio books, and from time to time I’ll read something on a Kindle. While both are convenient ways to get immersed in a story, I miss seeing the book itself. Because I am a graphic designer in my day job, I enjoy the little details in a printed book, such as the typeface, an illustration, or a beautiful chapter heading. Hardcover books are a treat because you can peek under the jacket and see the art on the binding.
So, in case you borrow a copy of Fan Art from your library or read it on your iPad, here is the art under the cover:
Also, Melissa DeJesus did an amazing job illustrating the graphic short story within Fan Art:
Blurb
When the picture tells the story…
Senior year is almost over, and Jamie Peterson has a big problem. Not college—that’s all set. Not prom—he’ll find a date somehow. No, it’s the worst problem of all: he’s fallen for his best friend.
As much as Jamie tries to keep it under wraps, everyone seems to know where his affections lie, and the giggling girls in art class are determined to help Jamie get together with Mason. But Jamie isn’t sure if that’s what he wants — because as much as Jamie would like to come clean to Mason, what if the truth ruins everything? What if there are no more road trips, taco dinners, or movie nights? Does he dare risk a childhood friendship for romance?
This book is about what happens when a picture reveals what we can’t say, when art is truer than life, and how falling in love is easy, except when it’s not. Fan Art explores the joys and pains of friendship, of pressing boundaries, and how facing our worst fears can sometimes lead us to what we want most.
Giveaway
Enter to win 2 signed ARC’s of Fan Art (US/CAN only)
About the Author
Raised without television, Sarah Tregay started writing her own middle grade novels after she had read all of the ones in the library. She later discovered YA books, but never did make it to the adult section. When she’s not jotting down poems at stoplights, she can be found hanging out with her “little sister” from Big Brothers Big Sisters. Sarah lives in Eagle, Idaho with her husband, two Boston Terriers, and an appaloosa named Mr. Pots. Her next book, Fan Art, came out on 17 June.
Author Links:
Website: http://www.sarahtregay.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3413449.Sarah_Tregay
Twitter: @sarahtregay
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahtregaybooks
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/sarahtregay/
This Writer’s Space: Veronica Bartles
Posted: June 11, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: this writer's space, young adult 1 Comment
Today’s guest is Veronica Bartles, whose debut, Twelve Steps, I reviewed earlier this year. It’s a fun story about sibling rivalry. Take it away, Veronica!
Where I Write
My writing space isn’t confined to just one area. We live in military housing, and our house is too small for me to have an office space of my very own. And even though I’m sometimes totally jealous of my writing friends who have desks and offices of their own, I think it’s probably better this way. I’m less creative when I try to write in the same spot every day, so I bounce between several writing spots. Sometimes, I curl up on the comfy couch in the living room with my notebook and story pencils or my laptop.
Sometimes, I relax in my massage chair in the corner of my bedroom. (This is where I like to go when I’m stuck on an idea. The massage helps me to relax enough to track down the plot bunnies hiding in the back of my mind.)
My favorite writing space in my house is my treadmill desk. I’ve discovered that I can’t write first drafts on the treadmill, because I get so involved in the creative process that I forget where I am, and I’m likely to fall off. But I love to work on edits and revisions on the treadmill. With my blood pumping, my mind is more alert, and I feel like it’s easier to see the problems and issues that need fixing.
At least a few times a week, I also like to pack up my notebook and pencil (or my laptop, if I’m revising) and go to the botanic gardens, the library, a park, or a restaurant for a change of pace.
Where I’m Inspired
I get my inspiration pretty much anywhere. (This is why my writing space is so mobile.) But the best inspiration usually hits when I’m in a place where I can shut down my mental to-do list and let my mind wander into the creative zone. I try to go worship at the LDS Temple each week, because it’s so peaceful there, and I can almost always shut off my crazy brain while I’m there.
To Be Read
My TBR list is huge, and it’s growing every single day. This picture is just a part of my list – the print books that I have on my shelves right now that I’m dying to read right away. My lists on my Kindle and Nook are almost as long, and then of course there are the fabulous, pre-published manuscripts I often get to read. I’m glad I’m a fast reader, because even though I often read several books each week, my TBR list grows twice as fast as I can read. I’ll never catch up, but at least I never have to search for something new to read. I always have several more options waiting in the wings when I finish a book and get ready for the next adventure.
About Twelve Steps
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Sixteen-year-old Andi is tired of being a second-class sibling to perfect sister Laina. The only thing Andi’s sure she has going for her is her awesome hair. And even that is eclipsed by Laina’s perfect everything else.
When Andi’s crush asks her to fix him up with Laina, Andi decides enough is enough, and devises a twelve-step program to wrangle the spotlight away from Laina and get the guy.
Step 1: Admit she’s powerless to change her perfect sister, and accept that her life really, really sucks.
Step 4: Make a list of her good qualities. She MUST have more than just great hair, right?
Step 7: Demand attention for more than just the way she screws things up.
When a stolen kiss from her crush ends in disaster, Andi realizes that her twelve-step program isn’t working. Her prince isn’t as charming as she’d hoped, and the spotlight she’s been trying to steal isn’t the one she wants.
As Laina’s flawless façade begins to crumble, the sisters work together to find a spotlight big enough for both to shine.
About Veronica
As the second of eight children and the mother of four, Veronica Bartles is no stranger to the ups and downs of sibling relationships. (She was sandwiched between the gorgeous-and-insanely-popular older sister and the too-adorable-for-words younger sister.) She uses this insight to write stories about siblings who mostly love each other, even while they’re driving one another crazy. When she isn’t writing or getting lost in the pages of her newest favorite book, Veronica enjoys knitting fabulous bags and jewelry out of recycled plastic bags and old VHS tapes, sky diving (though she hasn’t actually tried that yet), and inventing the world’s most delectable cookie recipes. TWELVE STEPS is Veronica Bartles’s first novel.
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Interview: Delilah S. Dawson, author
Posted: June 5, 2014 Filed under: On Books, On writing | Tags: aussie-owned, delilah s. dawson, geekery, interviews, steampunk, young adult Leave a commentYOU GUYS! Remember how I reviewed Wicked After Midnight by Delilah S. Dawson last week? Well, on Tuesday I got to interview Delilah herself over at Aussie Owned and Read. I’m pretty excited! 🙂
Today I’m thrilled to be interviewing one of my favourite authors, geek queen and Lady of the Twitters, Delilah S. Dawson.
After writing some of my favourite sizzling steampunk fantasy in the Blud series, you’re venturing into young adult with Servants of the Storm. You’ve also written middle grade, and erotica. Is making the shift between age brackets/markets difficult?
Not for writing, but the promo is definitely challenging! Just when I learned how to reach steampunk and romance readers, now I have to figure out how to get my Young Adult books to teens. I move pretty smoothly between writing projects thanks to compartmentalisation and playlists. I make a playlist for each book and listen to it while writing, editing, and cogitating, so as long as I’m listening to that music, I’m in that book’s world. Servants of the Storm was written to Saturnalia by The Gutter Twins…
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Excerpt and giveaway: ‘Blood Oath’ by Samantha Coville
Posted: May 29, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: urban fantasy, young adult Leave a comment
Blood Oath (The Secret of the Halflings #1)
by Samantha Coville
Release Date: 04/29/14
Raya Sarian has always known she was different. The water calls to her in a way that isn’t human. She has seen things that would scar anyone for life. And her father has been non existent in her childhood.
Because he is a Siren.
A blood drinker.
A monster.
And now she must live with him in a world populated with enemies and dangerous friends. Can she survive the year?
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Giveaway
Enter to win a $20 Amazon giftcard here!
Excerpt
It had seemed like a great idea eleven years ago, but, now, with Elder Eden staring him down like he was a disobedient child, Christopher Sarian feared that maybe it wasn’t as brilliant as he had originally thought. Her aqua eyes bore into his and he shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the situation he had put himself in.
Her voice was silky smooth and strong, even in her old age. It also had a slight hiss to it when she was angered. That hiss seeped through in her words to Christopher. “No one will accept her here; her kind is not welcome by others. You can try to win my approval all you want, but the others will make her miserable. Is that really the best for the child?”
“She will be seventeen, you know.” In comparison to the Elder’s, his voice was small and quiet.
“I do know, Christopher, and I know that her presence would bring unrest to our already shaky colony.” Her wrinkled and dainty hands rested softly on the large oak table that was usually occupied by the Elders of the area. Now it was just her and him and the uneasy air between them.
He cleared his throat a little. He was usually so sure of himself and his power over everyone, but now he was reminded that the Elders would always be the ones in charge no matter who had the crown. But that had its upsides; they were a great source of advice and information. They hadn’t failed him yet. “I haven’t seen her for eleven years, Eden. She’ll be an adult soon and she’ll leave me behind forever. I want to see her, and claim her as my daughter, for one last time before then.”
Eden sighed and took a seat in her usual high back chair. She rubbed her temples in slow circles and then lifted her eyes to the man she had watched grow over the years. When Christopher had been crowned, she had kept a business relationship between them, calling him by his title and expecting the same back. But they were far more than that, they were family though not by blood. “Fine. You are my Lord after all. But if anything goes awry during her time here,” she threatened.
“Everything will go perfectly, I promise.”
She pointed a firm finger at him accusingly, but a faint smile crossed her full lips. “We’ll see about that, young man!”
About the Author
Samantha Coville is an editor and literary critic at her website, Sammy the Bookworm. She’s been writing short stories for six years and has appeared in magazines, both in print and online. When she’s not doing something book related, she is singing in her church choir or enjoying one of the theme parks in her home state of Florida.
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Review: ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ by John Green
Posted: May 24, 2014 Filed under: Reviews | Tags: reviews, young adult 10 Comments
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.
A little while back, one of my Aussie Owned co-bloggers, Emily, reacted with total horror when I told her I hadn’t read The Fault in Our Stars. I told her it was because a) I don’t usually read contemporary, and b) I don’t want to read a book that’s going to break my heart and make me all depressed and mopey.
She promised me this book is just as funny and poignant as it is sad, and bossed me into buying a copy. She has powers like that, you guys. In the meantime, I read The Problem With Crazy by Lauren McKellar, which is both very sad (but also poignant) and also contemporary.
And since I’d already broken my rule and survived Crazy, although it BROKE MY HEART INTO A THOUSAND MILLION PIECES, I figured I would be able to handle Stars.
I was right. Sort of.
Emily was right too. Some of the moments in Stars are hysterically funny. I love the banter between Hazel, Augustus and Isaac. It’s often classic gallows humour, and although some people may find it shocking, if anyone is entitled to it, it’s those three teens, all with cancer that has cost them big time. When it’s not gallows humour, it’s still clever and wry. The scene where the two boys egg the car was sheer, hilarious genius.
The romance between Hazel and Augustus is very full on very early, and although I usually hate love at first sight, this had just enough kinks in it that it felt real, more like the sort of mad crush a teenager is likely to get. At one point Hazel even acknowledges that if they’d had more time maybe they would’ve grown out of that mad love stage.
I didn’t go totally fangirl over the book though. For example, I didn’t love everything about the characters. Augustus’s thing with the cigarette was totally pretentious, but it was clear how much it meant to him, especially by the end. So I can forgive him that. And the sad bits… well, they made me cry, no doubt about that. But Crazy was sadder. I howled like a baby, reading that. (And loved every minute. I think I want to have Lauren’s babies.)
But here’s what made The Fault in Our Stars special to me. I saw some negative reviews of it that criticised Hazel and Augustus for not talking like normal teengers, as though cancer made them somehow special, “more than”. But I think it goes deeper than that. These two kids would be special even if they were 100% healthy; I mean, Hazel is 16 and already doing university courses. Augustus is also extremely bright, although there’s no doubt his illness made him really look at the world. The fact they both read and analysed a literary novel that (from the description) I’d throw against the wall in the first five minutes is a flashing neon sign that these aren’t normal teenagers. They are precocious.
And that’s a good thing. I’m not saying we shouldn’t read about normal teenagers, but, as anyone who’s argued for diversity in fiction would attest, there are already so many books about the normal out there. The white character, the straight character, the gender normal, average, preppy, pretty, whatever character. The character that holds a mirror to a huge proportion of the reading public.
Hazel and Augustus are super-bright nerds. He and Isaac are gamers. It’s not that John Green failed to write teenagers, it’s that he wrote different teenagers, struggling with awful problems and (for the most part — because they are also realistically portrayed) managing to handle them better than some adults would. They aren’t mirrors that reflect me, because I think literary fiction sucks. But they reflect someone, and that someone no doubt appreciates it.
And that is why I’m giving this book five stars.
This Writer’s Space: Stacey Nash
Posted: May 21, 2014 Filed under: On writing | Tags: inspiration, sci-fi, this writer's space, young adult 2 Comments
Today on This Writer’s Space, we have one of my very favourite sci-fi, young adult and Aussie writers — ALL ROLLED INTO ONE PERSON! It’s Stacey Nash!
Where I Write
When you’re a writer, you need easy and fast access to your writing space and when you’re a mother it means you need to be all-seeing. So… my writing space is at the kitchen table. My laptop is set up on a corner where I can see through the bulk of the house and watch the kids when I’m not playing with them. It’s also nice and accessible for when a burning idea strikes me mid-jigsaw puzzle or Lightening McQueen reenactment.
Where I’m Inspired
I could give any number of photos for places where I find my inspiration, because I draw inspiration from all around me. Plot points and story ideas come to me in shower, when I’m driving, when I’m sleeping / dreaming, and even when I’m pegging the washing out. It seems nowhere is safe from the onslaught of plot bunnies. But I’ve decided to go with a photo of the view from my backyard, because really… it’s the beauty around me that I find most inspiring. There are snippets of scenery in all of my books from places I’ve seen, or lived or visited. This is where I call home, The Hunter Valley.
To Be Read
No one photograph is big enough to contain my to be read pile, so I’ve made you a pretty collage. This year I’ve vowed not to buy books until I’m ready to read them. So my Goodreads ‘to read’ list is the most accurate of the order I intend to read. But then there’s the unread folder on my kindle app, and the one on my iBooks app, oh and lets not forget the physical TBR. Enjoy my collage. 🙂
About Stacey
Stacey Nash writes adventure-filled stories for Young Adults in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. She calls the state of New South Wales in Australia home. Her debut novel, Forget Me Not, re-releases in August 2014 from HarperCollins Impulse and its sequel Remember Me release October 2014.
Excerpt and giveaway: ‘Ex Factor’ by Elisa Dane
Posted: April 23, 2014 Filed under: On Books | Tags: contests, young adult 1 Comment
Ex Factor
by Elisa Dane
Release Date: 22 April 2014
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Bodie Scott knows about grief all too well. Critically injured in an alcohol related accident the year before, Bodie struggles with the fact that he’ll never play football again, and he’s so far behind in credits he can’t see straight. That is, until he meets Nev. Haunted by their bloody pasts and wary of a shared future, Nev and Bodie turn to one another for comfort and support, and realize they’re not so alone after all. And when the party scene at school threatens the life of a loved one, the two stop at nothing to keep the past from repeating itself.
Available from:
Amazon * Barnes & Noble
Excerpt
Clueless as to what had her so excited, I sat quietly and waited for her to calm down. It was apparent she wore her emotions on her sleeve, and I knew right away she was a straight shooter. This girl couldn’t lie to save her life. The truth would always show on her face.
She hooked a finger toward me and leaned in close again. “I cheer with Livvie on the Diamond team. She’s been talking you up, telling everyone what a great tumbler you are. Are you excited about your tryout tonight?”
My stomach fell as soon as the words “excited” and “tryout” fell out of her mouth. I was most certainly not excited. In fact, if I were being honest, I was dreading it. I’d lain awake most of the night, worrying the girls at the gym wouldn’t like, or accept me, and terrified I wouldn’t be able to meet the coach’s expectations. X Factor Cheer was looking for a ringer for their level five squad, an ace in the hole—someone with amazing acrobatic skill to “wow” the competition judges and audience.
Someone emphatically not me.
About the Author
I’m a lover of books (YA & Adult romance), chocolate, reality television, and am a proud mother to three All Star cheerleaders. Woot!
I write Contemporary YA romance with cheerleaders. Yep. I write what I know, and it’s my hope that my stories will not only take you on a romantic journey that will warm your heart, but that you’ll find a new respect and interest in the sport of Cheerleading you may not have had before.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
Cassandra Page 