Racing Savannah - Miranda Kenneally

Synopsis: They’re from two different worlds.
He lives in the estate house, and she spends most of her time in the stables helping her father train horses. In fact, Savannah has always been much more comfortable around horses than boys. Especially boys like Jack Goodwin—cocky, popular and completely out of her league. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries.
With her dream of becoming a horse jockey, Savannah isn’t exactly one to follow the rules either. She’s not going to let someone tell her a girl isn’t tough enough to race. Sure, it’s dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack…

Miranda Kenneally keeps winning me over with every new book she writes. I love that she’s created her own community that has these strong, confident, and fun girls who each have experiences that are empowering. I also think it’s great that she keeps me guessing. She’s not writing to a formula and she’s not doing what’s expected, so it’s fresh contemporary that ultimately just leaves me totally happy. And Savannah’s story has this kind of glow around it that draws you in. 

I’ve been digging all the horse books that seem to be surfacing right now. The horses really become their own characters and it reminds me of how badly I wanted a horse when I was younger. They take a lot of care, so when you have characters who are into horses, they naturally seem more responsible, likeable, and strong than your average character. Savannah is particularly admirable. She just has a good head on her shoulders. I think it’s great that she has some pretty realistic dreams outside of going to college – although college is still in the mix of possibilities. But mostly, I just think it’s awesome how she demands to be treated well. She doesn’t let anyone treat her less than she is and it’s amazing. 

Which brings me to Jack, who could have easily been another spoiled rich kid, but instead he’s hard-working and he doesn’t shy away from making big decisions. He’s asked to take on a lot of responsibility for a teenager and I think he handles it awesomely. Even when I wanted to smack him sometimes, I just adored him and the way his relationship with Savannah unfolded. It seems like a bad idea for them to be together, but you have to love when they go there anyway. 

Also – Corndog’s little brother is a main character in Savannah’s story, which is just awesome. He’s pretty fantastic. I just have to say that it’s wonderful that these books are so jam-packed with great friendships. And then we get glimpses into what’s become of Jordan, Parker, and Kate Kelly which just makes me so giddy. (Although, in a certain instance Miranda drops a bomb about Jordan and Sam Henry, then doesn’t really explain. I’m still hung up on – what happened between them!) But there’s a really great moment where they all come together again and it just makes me giddy. 

Miranda totally killed it with Racing Savannah. Although, Catching Jordan will always have a special place in my heart, she just keeps getting better and better. She’s definitely a must read author for me and I’m so excited for what she’ll write for us next.

Racing Savannah Pre-Order Campaign

They’re from two different worlds, but Savannah isn’t exactly one to follow the rules. . . get the next contemporary novel from blockbuster YA novelist Miranda Kenneally: RACING SAVANNAH!

Right before her senior year, Savannah’s father whisks the family off to Tennessee to work as head groom at fancy Cedar Hill Farms. Savannah finally sees it as the perfect opportunity to earn extra money as an exercise rider—no matter how many others don’t want a girl around the barn.  But she’s also caught the eye of Jack Goodwin, the owner’s son. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries. With her dream of becoming a jockey, Savannah is not going to let someone tell her a girl isn’t tough enough to race. Sure, it’s dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack.

We’ve put together a fun campaign to thank readers for pre-ordering: send us your proof of pre-order and we’ll send you this fabulous horseshoe key chain!

A Gift for You, for Pre-Ordering RACING SAVANNAH by Miranda Kenneally

We have a special offer for U.S. and Canada YA fans for the release of RACING SAVANNAH by Miranda Kenneally in stores in a little over three weeks! If you pre-order the book, we will send you an exclusive horseshoe key chain—perfect for any busy teen on the go! You have until December 2 or until quantities run out.

Here’s how to get your charm:
1. Pre-order the book (print or eBook) through any retailer (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, your local independent bookseller/Indiebound, Books-A-Million, Hastings, etc.)

2. Email your proof of purchase (receipt or picture of the receipt) to teenfire@sourcebooks.com. Put “Racing Savannah Pre-Order” in the subject line. Don’t forget to include your home address (US & Canada only please) so we can send you the horseshoe key chain! If you’ve already pre-ordered this book—not a problem! Send us your receipt!

3. You will get an email back confirming when the items have been sent out.

4. Enjoy Racing Savannah when it comes out in December!

Optional: take a pic of you and your horseshoe key chain and share it with Miranda Kenneally or Sourcebooks Fire on Twitter! You can find Miranda @mirandakennealy and Sourcebooks Fire @sourcebooksfire.

Scorched - Mari Mancusi

Synopsis: Trinity
Don’t leave me here... It starts with a whisper. At first Trinity thinks she’s going crazy. It wouldn’t be a big surprise—her grandpa firmly believes there’s a genuine dragon egg in their dusty little West Texas town. But this voice is real, and it’s begging for her protection. Even if no one else can hear it...
Connor
He’s come from a future scorched by dragonfire. His mission: Find the girl. Destroy the egg. Save the world.
Caleb
He’s everything his twin brother Connor hates: cocky, undisciplined, and obsessed with saving dragons. 
Trinity has no idea which brother to believe. All she has to go by is the voice in her head—a dragon that won’t be tamed.

I had a good friend gush to me about this book. And the second I heard "dragons" I was in. Seriously, there aren't enough books about dragons out there. I got off to a bit of a rough start, when I had to adjust to what the story actually was and not what I was expecting, but this book feels like it actually has a rhythm to it, so it's easy - and almost comforting - to read. I had a few let downs, but let's be honest - it's kind of hard not to love a book about dragons. Seriously. 

You know how the dragons in How to Train Your Dragon are like cats? Well, in Scorched, they're like puppies. They're loyal and demanding, totally playful and easily let down. I love that each dragon has a personality and it's so endearing how Trinity and Emmy bond. There's even a short glimpse of the story through the dragon's point of view and it turns out they have their own history and memories as well. They're blamed for bringing out the apocalypse (cool concept), but we soon realize that it's humans manipulation and treatment of them that actually leads to a burned and dangerous world. Long story short - these dragons are just pure awesome. And I want one. 

I was totally expecting this book to be epic fantasy, but it's actually contemporary/futuristic which threw me for a loop. We're actually looking at apocalypse, high technology and time-traveling rather than kingdoms and medieval weapons. That took a couple chapters to wrap my head around, but it is a cool idea to bring dragons into contemporary society. It's also a unique way to write an apocalyptic (kind of - I mean the apocalypse isn't actually happening at the present, but there is apocalypse) novel. 

A few things did let me down and kept me from totally freaking out about this book. The first is, sadly, the love triangle. I'm not even going to lie - I'm all for good love triangles - but I didn't feel strongly toward either dude and I didn't really feel like Trinity did either. She just kind of happened to go for whichever brother was there. That said, I'm totally team Caleb - their relationship is the most intense, but it's still underwhelming. (And okay, this book isn't about the romance. Fine. But if you're going to have an element of romance at least make it as awesome as the rest of the book.) 

Also, I felt like everyone was just too quick to believe what they were told. Trinity is told so many times that some other person was lying and she would just instantly believe it. She just seemed too easily molded into whatever belief system was presented to her. Same with Caleb and Connor - both at some point found out something they strongly believed in was a lie and they just changed their way of thinking. No resistance. I just wanted them to have the conviction to stand their ground and/or at least demonstrate that they could think for themselves (more than they did). 

So ultimately I have mixed feelings about this book. It's actually pretty awesome, I just got a little hung up on some of the things that fell short. But really, I just want a pet dragon and I'll probably keep reading this series because I feel like I've bonded with Emmy. And because I always need more dragons in my life. Preferably real life - so someone get on finding some dragon eggs! 

SCORCHED Pre-order Campaign

From Sourcebooks....

It’s Game of Thrones meets The Terminator in award-winning author Mari Mancusi’s newest, powerful new series, SCORCHED which will be in stores on September 3^rd! 

We’ve put together a fun campaign to thank readers for pre-ordering: send us your proof of pre-order and we’ll send you this fabulous dragon charm!

A Gift for You, for Pre-Ordering SCORCHED by Mari Mancusi

We have a special offer for U.S. and Canada YA fans for the release of SCORCHED by Mari Mancusi in stores in a little over three weeks! If you pre-order the book, we will send you an exclusive dragon charm—perfect to wear as jewelry or to decorate an accessory. You have until September 2 or until quantities run out.

Here’s how to get your charm:
1. Pre-order the book (print or eBook) through any retailer (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, your local independent bookseller/Indiebound, Books-A-Million, Hastings, etc.)

2. Email your proof of purchase (receipt or picture of the receipt) to teenfire@sourcebooks.com. Put “Scorched Pre-Order” in the subject line. Don’t forget to include your home address (US & Canada only please) so we can send you the dragon charm! If you’ve already pre-ordered this book—not a problem! Send us your receipt!

3. You will get an email back confirming when the items have been sent out. 

4. Enjoy Scorched when it comes out in September!

Optional: take a pic of you and your dragon charm and share it with Mari Mancusi or Sourcebooks Fire on Twitter! You can find Mari @marimancusi and Sourcebooks Fire @sourcebooksfire.

Blog Tour: If He Had Been With Me :: Review + Giveaway

Synopsis: Throughout their whole childhood, Finn and Autumn were inseparable—they finished each other's sentences, they knew just what to say when the other person was hurting. But one incident in middle school puts them in separate social worlds come high school, and Autumn has been happily dating James for the last 2 years. But she's always wondered what if...
The night she's about to get the answer is also one of terrible tragedy.

I have two confessions to make about this book. The first is that I picked it up because of the pretty, pretty cover. Sourcebooks has been stepping it up lately. My second confession: most of this book I was not feeling it and I was about ready to write it off, and then all of a sudden it got so good. And then after it pulled me in, I went back and thought of the rest of the story and how it all worked so well to lead to it's final moments.

I am torn about the structure of the story. It's told over Autumn's entire high school career, so the reader is brought through all four years. I really loved this, because a lot of the time authors will hint that characters have a past, or they'll show you flashbacks, but they never really walk you through it. It was unique in that aspect and I really appreciated the risk that Nowlin took with that choice. I'm torn, because at times I felt like I wasn't given enough information, I didn't have a chance to really get to know the secondary characters and there were some moments that felt really shallow. Although, once I got to the point where I was really excited about the story, it all kind of makes sense.

Best friends falling in love is one of my favorite story lines and Nowlin is definitely good at keeping Autumn and Finn on each other's hooks, even when they aren't really speaking. Their mothers are best friends and they live next door to one another, so seeing one another is inevitable and their conversations are always completely loaded. I'm really happy with the way their relationship played out over the course of the novel - despite the tragic ending that you know is coming from the very beginning.

Nowlin just captures the thoughts and essence of being a teenager so well, and I think that actually may have been what bothered me at the beginning. Autumn starts out sounding so immature and naive, so it was hard to get behind her. Then, I didn't even notice it, but she does grow up and I came to really care about her. But if I were being honest and looked back in my own history, I'd have to admit that my thoughts were probably similar to hers and I probably would have made the same choices.

I am just really glad I stuck with her through her angsty early years, because seriously it was worth reading until the end. Even now, the more I talk about it, the reasons I wanted to give up on this book in the first place seem to fit into this piece of a whole that make the whole story so great and so emotional. In the end, I just have to saw that Nowlin is amazing at capturing a period in a girl's life and staying true to her age, her personality and her story.

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And now, thanks to Sourcebooks, I have an ARC of If He Had Been With Me to give away to one lucky winner! Must be 13 or older. US only. Contest ends at midnight on April 19, 2013. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter! 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington :: Interview

I'm so excited to have Jessica Shirvington on the blog today answering my questions. I'm totally embarrassed about my first question, because I asked it before I knew that there are more books in this series. But ultimately, it's great news so it's okay! I love Violet and Lincoln so much, I'm ecstatic there are two more books still coming. Now for the interview:

In the Best Worlds: It's so exciting and bittersweet to read the end of Violet's story. What was the hardest part about ending this amazing trilogy?
Jessica Shirvington: Actually, it isn't a trilogy - There will be five books in the series in total. But I can totally understand how you thought it was going to be a trilogy - there were a lot of early descriptions that outlined the series as a trilogy even though it was never intended to be one.
Endless, book 4, will be out in October and book 5 will follow shortly after!

ItBW: Lincoln is an amazing hero and definitely a character worth crushing over. Who is your number one book boy crush?

JS: I'm not really sure. Though I always took a shine to Valek from Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study series.

ItBW: What is the main idea/theme/character/etc. you hope translates perfectly into the Embrace TV series? 

JS: Violet. It has to be her because everything is built around her, around her emotions, around the choices she makes and how she deals with the consequences. Phoenix and Lincoln are very important too.

ItBW: Since you are writing books for teens - what were you like as a teenager?

JS: Lost, mostly. And complicated. And probably not too dissimilar to most teens out there now. But I also fell in love when I was 17 and that changed my life and my future. That is part of the reason I love to write YA, why I feel it is so important what happens to our hearts in those precious years.

ItBW: Finish these sentences: 

The weirdest thing on my desk is...currently, a My Little Pony figurine. There is always something my daughters leave behind on their visits!

The last dream I remember was...actually not a good dream. I can't remember it perfectly but I know I woke up very unhappy and worried.

We could be best friends if...you could forgive me for being constantly preoccupied with my fictional character's lives.

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About Emblaze: Once again Violet Eden faces an impossible choice....and the consequences are unimaginable.

Violet has come to terms with the fact that being part angel, part human, means her life will never be as it was. 

Now Violet has something Phoenix - the exiled angel who betrayed her - will do anything for, and she has no intention of letting it fall into his hands. The only problem is that he has something she needs too. 

Not afraid to raise the stakes, Phoenix seemingly holds all the power, always one step ahead. And when he puts the final pieces of the prophecy together, it doesn't take him long to realize exactly who he needs in order to open the gates of Hell.

With the help of  surprising new allies, ancient prophecies are deciphered, a destination set and, after a shattering confrontation with her father, Violet leaves for the islands of Greece without knowing if she will have a home to return to... 

Blog Tour: My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi :: Guest Post + Review

I'm SO excited to have Jessica Verdi on the blog today with a guest post for the My Life After Now tour. After you read Jessica's post, check out my own thoughts on this amazing novel.

Now Jessica on the musical theater in her novel:

Thank you so much for the opportunity to write a guest post for your blog! I’m superpsyched to get to talk a little bit about my new book My Life After Now.

To say I love musical theater is an understatement. I blast show tunes at all hours of
the day and night, singing along at the top of my lungs—my neighbors must hate me. The bulk of my pre-writing years were spent on stage (and in NYC audition rooms). I’d always been into music (I sang and danced and played the violin from a pretty young age), but the moment I joined my high school drama club, I don’t know, something just clicked for me. Musical theater isn’t just about singing and dancing. It’s about emotion. It’s about telling a story that’s so big, so real, that words alone can’t contain it. No matter if it’s a drama or a comedy, the songs, belted out by a thirty-person chorus or a single actor under a spotlight, bring it all to another level.

When I set out to write My Life After Now, I knew I didn’t want my main character, Lucy, to be just a walking statistic. Like, she has HIV so that’s all we need to know about her. No, she needed to be a real person, with a very full life. And I also wanted to make sure I balanced out the darker moments of the story with lightness and joy. What better way to do that than to submerge Lucy in the world of theater? Throughout the book, Lucy is on stage, at auditions, studying her script, listening to show tunes, quoting plays, and so much more. The chapter titles are all titles of songs from musicals (“What I Did for Love, “It’s a Hard-Knock Life,” and so on) because I felt like if Lucy were describing the chapters in her life, well, that’s how she would do it.

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy Lucy’s story!

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My Review: 

Synopsis: Lucy just had the worst week ever. Seriously, mega bad. And suddenly, it's all too much—she wants out. Out of her house, out of her head, out of her life. She wants to be a whole new Lucy. So she does something the old Lucy would never dream of.
And now her life will never be the same. Now, how will she be able to have a boyfriend? What will she tell her friends? How will she face her family?
Now her life is completely different...every moment is a gift. Because now she might not have many moments left. (From Goodreads)

I started reading this book when I really didn't have time to read a book. I was about 50 pages in before I knew everything would take a back seat until I'd finished reading this. I read straight through and finished at about 12:30 in the morning and had to actually restrain myself from texting all my thoughts to my poor friend in the middle of the night. This book is absolutely amazing and consuming. I don't know the last time I ever cried so much in a book, but put it down feeling so happy and uplifted. 

Lucy is a strong, beautiful heroine. I know embarrassingly little about HIV, but I do know that Lucy handles it with grace. She has her moments of freaking out and she does make some poor judgement calls, but ultimately she's so inspiring. As amazing as she is, she'd be so much worse with out the people in her life who care for her. Her dads were the source of 90% of the tears I shed in this novel. Their reactions, their rise to action, their love and support just make them the best characters ever. They are flawed, but exactly the kind of parents any child would be lucky to have. 

There's no doubt that this book has a heavy subject matter, but Verdi does such a wonderful job of balancing the HIV part with the happier parts of life. Lucy has a life before and after she's infected and that life is wonderful. I love the theater parts and I love how something like that is there for her to come back to even after she has such a hard time. I also appreciated the authenticity in the conclusion where not everything is wrapped up and not everyone ends up happily ever after. I just strongly recommend this book because I know I walked away understanding more about people who have HIV and I felt a little bit like I made a new friend in Lucy.

Things I Can't Forget - Miranda Kenneally

Synopsis: Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different…
This summer she’s a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He’s the first guy she ever kissed, and he’s gone from a geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt…with her.Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn’t that easy… (From Goodreads)

I just love Miranda Kenneally. She made me cry in book about a girl who plays football and she made me totally fall for a dude named Corndog. She's magical. So naturally she's on my automatic-read list and I was so excited when I got my hands on a copy of Things I Can't Forget. I was looking forward to seeing Parker, Will, Jordan, and Sam again and I couldn't wait to see how Miranda would bewitch me this time.

In the acknowledgements, Miranda writes, "With this story, I want to show you (teenagers) that your beliefs matter - no matter who you are or where you come from. Your opinions matter. You matter." This is one of the truest statements, no matter which way you look at it and it's exactly what this book accomplishes. It's what Kate learns and it's what I absorbed by the end of her story.

Kate is struggling with her Christian beliefs in the wake of helping her best friend get an abortion and falling in love for the first time. I'm a little ashamed to admit that Kate drove me crazy at first. She's terribly close minded and some of the things out of her mouth made me a little ragey. But then she begins to separate her beliefs from the way that she loves her family and her friends. She loosens up a bit and she manages to hold on to her convictions while still allowing the people she loves to have their own. It's great. Which makes me sad that I was so hard on her to start out with.

This book doesn't shy away from issues of religion, abortion, and sex - yet it's never overwhelming. The story comes first. I had some traumatic camp experiences. I was always the kid who just wanted to go home. But it was fun to see the councilors, still kind of kids themselves, in this kind of setting. With all the things that went down at this camp, I kind of wonder now what my councilors got up to when we fell asleep. Even with all the crazy stuff that goes down, some awesome relationships form. It was great to see Will (Corndog) being so great to Kate, and to watch Parker forgive Kate for turning her back on Parker with the rest of the church so they could become really good friends.

And Matt. I don't know where Miranda dreams up these boys, but goodness gracious they're wonderful.  Matt does romance right - he tells Kate he likes her, he shows her that he likes her and they are able to build a relationship like normal people do. Nobody is lying, nobody is pretending, and they're actually able to build a healthy relationship. Still, Matt is like a normal boy who freaks out when Kate expresses her issues with sex, and then calms down so they can talk through it. It feels real and it's amazing. I love them together. I don't know if they'll make appearances in any of her future novels like her last two couples have, but I'd love it if they do. I'm curious how their relationship will progress from here.

I can't say enough amazing things about Miranda Kenneally and her books. I'm so happy to say I've loved everything of hers that I've read. Things I Can't Forget left me all happy and smiley. There's importance and value in this story. Kate has something to teach everybody. Everybody. Because I consider myself an open minded person, but I still couldn't help but judge Kate. But her beliefs matter, too. So I'm taking a page from her book and respecting what other people believe. I can stand in my convictions and I can let other people have theirs as well. Read this book. Read any and all of Miranda's books. They could change the way you see other people and she just straight up knows how to tell great stories.

While He Was Away Special Edition Cover Reveal & Guest Post

Today I have the gorgeous cover for the Special Edition of While He Was Away by Karen Schreck. I also have an incredible guest post from the author! 

While He Was Away Walmart-Exclusive Cover Reveal and How Inspiration Can Come From Anywhere:
Even a Trip to the Grocery Store and a Handful of Long-Lost PhotographsBy Karen Schreck  

I sometimes wonder what my mother would say if she knew that her story—one of the saddest, sweetest love stories I’ve ever heard—was retold in a new way in my young adult novel, While He Was Away.

Now Sourcebooks Fire is sharing the story yet again, in a second, exclusive edition, released nation-wide at Walmart.  The fact that Sourcebooks believed enough in While He Was Away to bring it to life the first time felt like a much-needed confirmation of years of hard work.  The fact that they are standing behind my book again in this way . . . well, it feels like a miracle.  I’m truly grateful.

I wonder what my mother would say to this incredible news? I like to think she would be grateful too.  I like to think she would be happy.  She wanted her story heard after all.  So much so that it was one of the last things she told me, just before she died.

One rainy night when I was fourteen, right before cancer left her to ill to talk, let alone drive a car, my mother said, “Come with me.  We’re going shopping.”  We drove to the little local market and wandered up and down the aisles, as she threw in a can of tuna, some dishwashing soap, and other little things we didn’t need.  We paid for these little things.  She looked anxious and tired, still she hadn’t said a thing; we hadn’t spoken a word.

It was only when we were parked in our driveway again that my mother said, “I was married once before when I was very young.  He died a hero in WWII.”

And that was that.  Soon after, she died.

I thought about my mother’s mysterious love story for many years.  I talked to relatives, found long-lost photographs.  The story took seed in me.  It flowered into a novel about a young women whose boyfriend leaves for the Iraq War.  In her loneliness, she seeks out a grandmother she’s never met, whose first husband died in WWII.  She seeks out a character inspired by mother.

A late night drive, a few words spoken in the dark.  Even things as simple as this can inspire a novel.

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About this book:

Title: While He Was Away

Author: Karen Schreck

Original Pub Date: May 2012

Special Edition Pub Date: January 2013

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Synopsis: One year--he'll be gone for one year and then we'll be together again and everything will be back to the way it should be.

The day David left, I felt like my heart was breaking. Sure, any long-distance relationship is tough, but David was going to war--to fight, to protect, to put his life in danger. We can get through this, though. We'll talk, we'll email, we won't let anything come between us.
I can be an army girlfriend for one year. But will my sweet, soulful, funny David be the same person when he comes home? Will I? And what if he doesn't come home at all?... (From Goodreads)

The Liar Society - Lisa & Laura Roecker

Synopsis: Since when do the dead send emails?
Kate Lowry's best friend Grace died a year ago. So when she gets an email from her, Kate's more than a little confused.
Now Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace's death was more than just a tragic accident. She teams up with a couple of knights-in-(not-so)-shining armor-the dangerously hot bad boy, Liam, and her lovestruck neighbor, Seth. But at their elite private school, there are secrets so big people will do anything to protect them-even if it means getting rid of anyone trying to solve a murder... (From Goodreads)

 As a reader who rarely seeks out mystery novels, I was so happy to find myself enthralled with this one right away. It has the perfect blend of snooty private school and jaded, snarky main character. It was also the right amount fun and the right amount pure horror. Plus, there was a touch of romance and healing to pull me in emotionally. As far as mystery novels go, this one is awesome.

Kate kind of clashes with her private school, and I love it. She appears to fit in, despite the pink hair, yet there's something just a little off about her. When it comes to secret societies and age old traditions, she seems like she's the only one who could possibly find their dirty laundry and bring them down. And it's because she doesn't quite fit. She's also the only one who really doesn't have anything left to lose. One of the wonderful things about investing in Kate's story is watching her grow from having nothing to getting new friends, a purpose, and to move on with life.

There are pieces of this book that just remind me so much of Gilmore Girls. Kate has a bit of Lorelei's humor and all the secret society stuff reminds me a lot of the Puffs and the Life and Death Brigade. Although, the secret societies that Kate deals with are a lot more skeletons in the closet than just secret fun times. There were moments where my heart was actually racing because of something intense happening. One part that includes a clock tower, the ghost of a girl who committed suicide, and a group of people with candles had my pulse racing like crazy. It might be one of the most bone-chilling moments I've read in a long time.

I don't know if this has ever happened to you guys - but do you ever love a book even more after you've met the author(s)? It happened to me with this book. I met them at the Get Real tour stop in New York. They are bundles of fun energy and they are amazingly sweet women. I had so much fun meeting them, and hearing their voices behind Kate's story just makes it all that much more alive. I now love The Liar Society that much more and I'm even more stoked to read Lies that Bind. Can't wait to see what trouble Kate can unearth next.

Stealing Parker - Miranda Kenneally

Synopsis: Red-hot author Miranda Kenneally hits one out of the park in this return to Catching Jordan's Hundred Oaks High.
After her family's scandal rocks their conservative small town, 17-year-old Parker Shelton goes overboard trying to prove that she won't turn out like her mother: a lesbian. The all-star third-baseman quits the softball team, drops 20 pounds and starts making out with guys--a lot. But hitting on the hot new assistant baseball coach might be taking it a step too far...especially when he starts flirting back. (From Goodreads)

Miranda Kenneally completely won me over with Catching Jordan. So I already knew how much I was going to love Stealing Parker. I had absolutely no doubts that it would be anything less than spectacular. So I'll just declare it now - Dear Miranda Kenneally, I am a super fan of yours for life. I will read anything you write. Love, Hannah.

Parker is a character who rings as one of the truest YA characters I've read in a long time. She's making up things as she goes, she's trying to fit in, and she's following her heart (or her hormones, either one...) even when it leads down some pretty sketchy paths. She also has some issues with being dragged to church and having some questions about religion and God. I cannot even express how well this was handled. Religion can be touchy in books, but it is so naturally a part of Parker's life that it's not preaching, it's not a focus, it's just part of who she is.

Back to those paths that Parker is on though - I absolutely adore that Parker is able to go down these paths and then she recognizes her mistakes and she FIXES them. She doesn't keep going because she has no choice. She stops, evaluates, and executes. She gets off the path, or she turns around and tries it some other way. And she does it HERSELF. There's no boy here saving her - she makes decisions and then keeps going. But of course, she's a teenager, so all of these moments where she's making a choice are intensely charged with emotions or hormones. She's such a teenager - and although there are very few similarities between my life and Parker's - she really reminds me of how I was at that age. Which is the same magic that Miranda brought to Jordan's character.

And ok. The whole falling for the coach thing - a little skeevie. I mean, he's dreamy, for about five minutes. It's the premise for the novel, but what makes this book worth reading is watching Parker heal and connect with the people around her. I love the secondary characters in this book. It is a book about baseball/softball so there are a few jocks popping in and out of the pages. I love the way they're portrayed. They have a bit of an edge, but they're all pretty soft inside. The scenes with Parker and the baseball team were just hilarious.

There are some really great things going on with Parker's family as well. And by great, I mean great for the story. The dynamics there are complex and they are shifting through the entire book. There's also an underlying commentary on religion and sexuality going on (which again is anything but preachy or in your face). There are some things in here that just need to be said and need to be read.

If it's not obvious, I love this book. And I'm beyond excited for Things I Can't Forget. I have an interview with Miranda that will be up in a couple days and she may or may not dish on her next book. So watch out for that!

Entice - Jessica Shirvington

Synopsis: Violet Eden is Grigori - part angel, part human. Her destiny is to protect humans from the vengence of exiled angels. 
Knowing who to trust is key but, when Grigori reinforcements arrive, it becomes clear everyone is hiding something. Even Lincoln. The only thing Violet does know: Phoenix's hold over her is more dangerous than ever. 
The race to find the one thing that could tilt the balance of power brings them all to the sacred mountains of Jordan, where Violet's power will be pushed to the extreme. And the ultimate betrayal exposed.  (From Goodreads)


I completely devoured the second book in the Embrace series. Violet really is one of my favorite heroines and her life is just so deliciously dramatic, I get so caught up in caring about what becomes of her. I've noticed a lot that some paranormal books get tripped up in the same plot lines, or they border on unrealistic (I know that's dumb to say when talking about paranormal, but it has to be believable), or else either the characters or the plot feels just slightly disconnected. Well, this book avoids all of these things, seemingly effortlessly. These books flow so well, and even the parts of the story that seem like they occur in every paranormal book turn out to have some kind of twist that makes it something different. I really feel like I opened this book to find myself plunked down in Violet's world and watching her live her life.

I love the mythology that Jessica Shirvington uses to define the parameters of the angel world. It's very Biblical, but the last thing this book does is preach. While this book is a bit of a bridge between book one and three (find the book that will unlock all the secrets), it actually didn't feel like a filler until I just sat and thought about it. Really, here the relationships deepen, the understanding of the world deepens, and we just get more of a sense of who Violet is after the events of book one.

And can I just talk about those relationships for a minute? Stephanie is one of my favorite book BFFs ever. She takes everything in stride, has a great sense of humor, is always there to support Violet no matter what, and never runs the other way even when Violet makes it pretty clear she could. She's not a supernatural being, but she's immensely strong and definitely one of the best characters in the book. Then there's the Lincoln-Violet situation. These two make me all rage-y and all melt-y at the same time. They're incredibly frustrating and they don't seem to understand that they are so much stronger when they are working together. They spend the book trying to stay apart, which creates a whole lot of angst. But the pages where they actually make it into close proximity - whew. Those pages make all the angst worth it.

I'm so excited about the fact that the CW has picked up this series. If these books become a real TV show, I'm going to be a very happy person. I just love Violet and her world so much. I'm now anxiously awaiting book three!

Send - Patty Blount

Synopsis: To keep his secrets, all he has to do is listen to the voice in his head and just walk away... 
On his first day at his new high school, Dan stops a bully from beating up a kid half his size. He didn't want to get involved. All he wants out of his senior year is to fly under the radar. But Dan knows what it's like to be terrorized by a bully-he used to be one. Now the whole school thinks he's some kind of hero, except Julie Murphy, the prettiest girl on campus. She looks at him like she knows he has a secret. Like she knows his name isn't really Daniel. (From Goodreads)

I always appreciate books that take rough topics and make them relatable without being overwhelming or overly dark. This book does a great job at helping you get lost in a story. I felt like I'd have an opinion about this going in, but the way the story is told, you forget to judge the characters for their pasts and the choices they make. Dan was partly responsible for a bullying incident that lead a 12 year old boy to commit suicide. He is punished harshly through the law, the father of the boy he bullied is threatening him, but what gets him the most is the way he tortures himself.

It's kind of horrifying to realize that you're sympathizing with someone who clearly had a hand in hurting a lot of people. But what this book does is demonstrate that not everything is so clear cut. As you find yourself making allowances - well, he was only 12, he was unfairly treated, he's suffered enough - you find yourself in a bit of an uncomfortable position. Are those really valid excuses for the crime he committed?

But the truth is, Dan does seem to have a good heart. I want to fall along the lines of - he's truly repentant and he's learned his lesson - so let the poor boy live his life. He's surrounded by an amazing family who support him so well. Then he has Kenny, his alter-ego - the boy he was at 12. Kenny came along to help Dan toughen up and come out on the winning side of numerous attacks in juvie. The Kenny/Dan living in one body, talking to each other, fighting with each other, but ultimately protecting each other was such an interesting way to tell this story. You can see this one boy fighting with himself, punishing himself, and not letting himself forget - but he's created someone outside of his identity to keep him in line.

While I loved reading this book from Dan's point of view, I really wish that I had some of Julie's point of view as well. She's such a fascinating complex character. I wondered what she was thinking all the time. I probably just relate to her better because she is a girl - but I think her side of the story would be just as much of a moral dilemma. I would be interested to see her thought process and her emotional evolution as her relationship with Dan progressed.

There's a lot to discuss in relation to this novel. I'd actually recommend this in classrooms or book groups - and not just for teens, but for those who are around teens. There are a lot of questions that are left for the reader to ponder - when do you step in and stop bullying? What can you do to stop it? How can you be there for those who are bullied? And at what point is it okay to forgive those who make mistakes? Because for all those questions that seem huge and impossible to answer, this book gives you a sense of ease that there ARE answers to these questions.