Contest: The Body Finder Swag

The Body Finder #1 by Kimberly Derting
March 16th 2010 | HarperTeen






"A serial killer on the loose. A girl with a morbid ability. And the boy who would never let anything happen to her. 

Violet Ambrose can find the dead. Or at least, those who have been murdered. She can sense the echoes they leave behind... and the imprints they leave on their killers. As if that weren't enough to deal with during junior year, she also has a sudden, inexplicable, and consuming crush on her best friend since childhood, Jay Heaton. 

Now a serial killer has begun terrorizing Violet's small town... and she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him." 
---- 





Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers. 

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. 

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

One U.S resident will receive The Body Finder swag (Tote Bag, Bookmarks, Stickers and a Signed Poster) by leaving a comment below before May 30th. VIEW ALL CONTESTS.

    Contest: Reality Check

    14th June 2010 | Poppy

    Sixteen year olds Charlie, Keiran, Brooke, and Hallie live on the quiet and quaint North Fork of Long Island. It may not be glamorous but it is real and teen girls are where the drama is at - at least, that's the rationale of a television studio executive looking for the next big reality series. Thinking that Charlie and her friends might be THE next big thing, she signs them up for a show. However soon enough, having cameras follow them everywhere and interfering producers surreptitiously scripting their lives starts to effect their relationships. Brooke seems to want all the screen time. Keiran is scripted out of the show - and the group's friendship - when she doesn't rate well and as soon as Charlie realizes what is going on, she figures out the perfect way to give the studio and her home audience a reality check.


    5 U.S residents will each receive a copy of Reality Check by leaving a comment below before May 29th. VIEW ALL CONTESTS.

      Guest Post: Keris Stainton (And Contest!)

      Keris Stainton, debut author of Della Says: OMG! (a book I'm super excited to read) has offered up some of her time today to let us in on her favourite YA reads as well as giving away a copy of her new book below.





      5. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver


      Everyone's read this, right? And if not, why not? It's a brilliantly written, involving, emotional and thought-provoking book. In case you've managed to miss all the reviews, the book begins with Sam Kingston's death in a car accident. But then she wakes up, unhurt, in her own bed on the morning of the day she died and has to live the day - the day she knows ends with her death - again. And again. And again. It's not a depressing book, though, not at all. I found it life-affirming. 



      4. Big Woo! by Susie Day

        As a blogaholic, I was bound to love this book. It's told through Serafina67's hilarious and sweet blog posts along with comments from her readers. It involves issues of internet identity and privacy, but it's also easily the funniest YA book I've ever read. It made me LOL a LOT. It also taught me lots of text speak (FTW!) that I previously didn't understand. 


      3. Split By A Kiss by Luisa Plaja
      Granted I have a massive soft spot for this book because I first met Luisa online when we were both working on our first novels and I read this book in many early drafts. But it's so sweet and funny and charming that it would be one of my favourites even if I didn't know the author (honestly!). I'm reading the sequel Swapped By A Kiss now and I think it might even be better (gasp!). 

      2. A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
        This is the story of three very different girls who all find themselves involved with the same bad boy. And he's not "bad" in a good way, he's just bad. Once the girls realise this, they set out to warn others using YA classic Forever by Judy Blume. This book is written in verse, which may put you off (it put me off, I admit), but I think it should be compulsory reading for all teenage girls (and probably boys too). 

      1. The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot

         I know it's a bit of a cheat having an entire series at number one, but I couldn't possibly choose just one book. I absolutely love Meg Cabot's writing and I love Mia Thermopolis. She's so sweet and funny and bright and I love her social conscience (I love her so much that when I was pregnant I thought that if I had a daughter I'd name her Mia) (I had a son). Della’s over the moon when she kisses her long-standing crush at a party – but then she discovers her diary has disappeared...

      And now for the giveaway...

      Della Says: OMG! by Keris Stainton
      6th May 2010 | Orchard

      Della’s over the moon when she kisses her long-standing crush at a party – but then she discovers her diary has disappeared...















      When scans of embarrassing pages are sent to her mobile and appear on Facebook, Della’s distraught – how can she enjoy her first proper romance when someone, somewhere, knows all her deepest, darkest secrets?

      Della’s over the moon when she kisses her long-standing crush at a party – but then she discovers her diary has disappeared...

      When scans of embarrassing pages are sent to her mobile and appear on Facebook, Della’s distraught – how can she enjoy her first proper romance when someone, somewhere, knows all her deepest, darkest secrets?




      Contest Closed | Winners Contacted 
      One winner will receive a copy of Delia Says: OMG! by leaving a comment below before May 29th. Open Internationally. VIEW ALL CONTESTS.


      Head over to I Want To Read That to check out Sammee's review and interview as part of the blog tour.

      Waiting on Wednesday #10



      Infinity by Sarah Dessen
      6th May 2010 | Puffin

      To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure whether this is Sarah Dessen's next major release or not as I can't really find any solid information but as far as I can tell this is going to be an extended version of what Sarah contributed to the book Sixteen, which is a collection of short stories about tackling that sweet and bitter birthday.

      Sarah Dessen’s short story was about a girl confronting two major milestones: getting her driver’s license and losing her virginity.

      If you have any idea of Sarah Dessen's actual next release feel free to let me know as I'm eagerly awaiting it.

      Contest: Fairest of Them All





      If life were a fairy tale, Oribella Bettencourt would have a "happily ever after" kind of future ahead of her. A Hollywood producer has come to Des Moines in search of a perfectly modern Princess Rapunzel, and Ori -- a model, dancer, and star of the beauty pageant circuit -- lands the part. And why shouldn't she? With her hardworking, self-sacrifi cing mother guiding her career, Ori is stunning, dedicated, poised...and then there's her hair. Breathtakingly lustrous blond hair that sets her apart from all the other girls at school. So what if she doesn't have any friends her age, or anyone to talk to other than her mother? She's on the verge of having everything she's ever dreamed of.
      But in this fairy tale, the beautiful princess wakes up to her worst nightmare -- when almost overnight, Ori begins to lose her hair....

      Two U.S residents will each receive a copy of Fairest of Them All by leaving a comment below before May 28th. VIEW ALL CONTESTS.

        Review: The Six Rules of Maybe

        The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti 
        16th March 2010 | Simon Pulse

        From the author of The Nature of Jade.


        Summary: Scarlett Hughes is overly involved in the lives of everyone around her, and exceptionally interested in the habits of her neighbors. But Scarlett is thrust solidly into her own life when her sister, Juliet, returns home from school—pregnant and surprisingly married to a sweet, handsome man whom she seems to have no interest in, but who is hopelessly in love with her. Forced to take a look inward for the first time, Scarlett discovers the necessity of dreams, as well as the necessity of facing reality and 
        speaking the truth.

        OUT OF FIVE STARS

        Review: I really wanted to enjoy Deb Caletti's latest novel, she is such a large name in Young Adult and not too far in style from my favourite author Sarah Dessen but The Six Rules of Maybe ultimately finds my brain wandering when Caletti goes into way too much detail on almost every page and leaves me asking whether she should make the jump to adult as her in-depth analysis' may be more suited to the older market. 
        Scarlet has always felt that her older sister Juliet is superior to her in every which way especially since she was so much more popular than her in High School but when Juliet comes home pregnant and married Scarlet starts to wonder whether she really is the golden child her mother makes her out to be. 

        The main problem I think I held with this book is the fact that I didn't connect well with or relate to Scarlet and I think this had to do with the fact that she allowed herself to form a crush on her pregnant sister's husband, she spends many a late night chatting with him and many more chapters discussing him. 

        I would've liked to see more of a relationship with Jesse, while this would've been breaking a major rule in the best friend handbook, the few moment they did have together were monumental. 

        As I think back over the story there were so many sub plots and characters that there is sure to be something that sparks your interest in here. I recommend it to females of any age who have ever felt held back by their shyness or a willingness to please. 

        The highlights of the book for me were the love interest Jesse held on Scarlet, I would've liked to see much more of this and one of the early in-depth analysis' Caletti wrote on the quieter people of society, i really connected well with it. 

        The ending was pulled together really well, but I still can't get over the fact that she crossed the line with her sister's boyfriend and the ever frequent long and winding analysis' on shyness.

        Available now from Amazon and The Book Depository.

        Contest: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side




        Contest Closed | Winners Contacted
        Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

        The undead can really screw up your senior year . . . 

        Marrying a vampire definitely doesn't fit into Jessica Packwood's senior year "get-a-life" plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth - and he's her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire's Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. 
        But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a points global vampire war - and save Lucius's soul from eternal destruction

        One winner will receive a copy of Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by leaving a comment below before May 27th. Open Internationally. VIEW ALL CONTESTS.

            Contest: Swati Avasthi Signed Postcards & Bookmarks



            Contest Closed | Winners Contacted
            Split by Swati Avasthi
            9th March 2010 | Random House

            Sixteen-Year-Old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother Christian with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father’s fist), $3.84, and a secret. 
            He tries to move on, going for new friends, a new school, and a new job, but all his changes can’t make him forget what he left behind—his mother, who is still trapped with his dad, and his ex-girlfriend, who is keeping his secret. 
            At least so far. 
            Worst of all, Jace realizes that if he really wants to move forward, he may first have to do what scares him most: He may have to go back. First-time novelist Swati Avasthi has created a riveting and remarkably nuanced portrait of what happens after. After you’ve said enough, after you’ve run, after you’ve made the split — how do you begin to live again? Readers won’t be able to put this intense page-turner down.


            One winner will receive signed postcards and bookmarks from Swati Avasthi by leaving a comment below before May 26th. Open Internationally. VIEW ALL CONTESTS.

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