Happy Debut YA Book Birthday!

Tuesday time -- you know what that means. Time to celebrate those debut novelists whose YA "babies" are entering the world this week!

Let's give a big Happy Birthday cheer for:

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari

A thrilling tale of adventure, romance, and one girl's unyielding courage through the darkest of nightmares.

Epidemics, floods, droughts--for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she's rescued from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can't continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet, a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There's something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her.

Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

16-year-old Molly Dix loves her ordinary life in suburban Indiana, so when her single mother passes away, she is shocked to discover that her biological father is Brick Berlin, world famous movie star and red carpet regular.

Equally intrigued and terrified by her Hollywood lineage, Molly moves to Southern California and plunges head-first into the deep end of Beverly Hills celebrity life. Just as Molly thinks her new life and family couldn't get any stranger, she meets Brooke Berlin, her gorgeous and spoiled half-sister whom welcomes Molly to la-la land with a healthy dose of passive-aggressive "sisterly love."

Set against the backdrop of a sparkling and fashion-filled Los Angeles, this deliciously dysfunctional family soap opera will satisfy every reader looking for their next lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous beach read.

Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan are fashion writers in Los Angeles California. Their blog www.gofugyourself.com draws an average of four million readers a month, and their dispatches from the front rows of Fashion Week are routinely the most-read stories on New Yorkmagazine's web site. Heather and Jessica have been called "fashion assassins" by Joan Rivers and "a viciously funny duo" by the Hollywood Reporter. Spoiled is their first novel for young adults.

So there you have it... not even half way through the year and I bet your piggy banks are already running low!  What a stellar crop of debut YA novels we've had this year.

Happy Memorial Day

In distant field of sunny France

Where strangers come and go,

Amid the farms of Flanders, where

The fragrant breezes blow,

Our solder-dead in quiet sleep

'Neath crosses row on row.

Here shrapnel shells once shrieked and burst

And took their toll of death;

The very wind, itself a foe,

Bore poison on its breath.

Above their graves the birds now sing

As round that home of yore,

When, carefree boys, they romped and played;

Those childhood days soon o'er,

The boys to brave and strong men grown,

They romped and played no more.

They put aside their childish toys,

A man's work each must do,

And when their country called for them,

To her they answered true.

"We must protect our native land:

She shall not suffer wrong

For she has reared and nurtured us,

We're men and we are strong.

We'll bid good-bye to those we love;

It will not be for long."

With aching hearts and tear-dimmed eyes

We watched them go away.

Some have returned but many sleep

In foreign lands today.

Where English roses bloom and fade,

In France where lilies grow,

Among the fields of Flanders, where

The scarlet poppies blow,

Our soldier-dead are not forgot

Though strangers come and go.

 ~ Eula Gladys Lincoln

Thank you to the brave men & women who have fought and fallen so that we may have freedom!

Belated YA Book Birthdays

I'd apologize for being really late with my YA book birthday post this week, but I was on vacation and well... I'm not going to apologize for that. ;)

I know I'm late to the party, but in case you missed it, here are the debut YA books born this week:

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky
Maddie lives in a world where everything is done on the computer. Whether it’s to go to school or on a date, people don’t venture out of their home. There’s really no need. For the most part, Maddie’s okay with the solitary, digital life—until she meets Justin. Justin likes being with people. He enjoys the physical closeness of face-to-face interactions. People aren’t meant to be alone, he tells her. 

Suddenly, Maddie feels something awakening inside her—a feeling that maybe there is a different, better way to live. But with society and her parents telling her otherwise, Maddie is going to have to learn to stand up for herself if she wants to change the path her life is taking. 


Putting Makeup on Dead People by Jen Violi

In the spring of her senior year, Donna Parisi finds new life in an unexpected place:  a coffin.  

Since her father’s death four years ago, Donna has gone through the motions of living:  her friendships are empty, she’s clueless about what to do after high school graduation, and her grief keeps her isolated, cut off even from the one parent she has left.  That is until she’s standing in front of the dead body of a classmate at Brighton Brothers’ Funeral Home.  At that moment, Donna realizes what might just give her life purpose is comforting others in death.  That maybe who she really wants to be is a mortician.  

This discovery sets in motion a life Donna never imagined was possible.  She befriends a charismatic new student, Liz, notices a boy, Charlie, and realizes that maybe he's been noticing her, too, and finds herself trying things she hadn’t dreamed of trying before.  By taking risks, Donna comes into her own, diving into her mortuary studies with a passion and skill she didn’t know she had in her.  And she finally understands that moving forward doesn’t mean forgetting someone you love.

Thankful for Thursday: Senses

Thankful for Thursday Meme.
This Week's Topic: Which of your five senses do you most appreciate and why?

Okay, this is a really hard topic for me to answer.  Mostly because I love my sight.  I can't imagine not being able to see my hydrangeas blooming, or being able to snap photos of my kids like I was getting paid to push the button. But as an author, what characters are seeing is usually the easiest and most common thing to describe.


What really evokes an emotional response from me in writing in the sense of SOUND.  There are all the sounds of nature (waves crashing, thunder rolling, rain tapping, wind brushing through leaves) and they all evoke different feelings for me.  Then you throw in music.  If your characters are listening to Muse, I know something quite different about them than if they're playing vintage Beetles.  And of course, I love to set a romantic scene with some live music (whether your characters are at a concert, or your guy is strumming quietly strumming his guitar).   


So my reminder for today: even if you write in total silence, don't forget the sounds!


Now it's your turn to play. Here are the rules to participate:

1. Do your own blog post on what sense you're thankful for today. It doesn't have to be book or publishing related (but it can be!)

2. Be sure to grab our badge and include it in your post.

3. Post a link to your blog in the comments at Oasis for YA so that others can find you.

4. Go forth and share your gratitude! (And when friending new blogs, be sure to let them know you found them because of their participation in the meme.)

And there you have it -- come on out and tell us what you're thankful for today!

Review: WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman

I'm not going to hold you in suspense on my opinion -- I'm giving it right off the bat.  Mainly because I want to shout it from the rooftops.  I LOVED THIS BOOK.  Hands down one of, if not the best, books I've read this year.


It's been three years since the devastating accident ... three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Julliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

Adam Wilde's voice is so real; so pained and authentic and captivating.  I marked this line because it blew me away and just epitomizes the awesome tone of this book.  (By way of background, Adam has just "lost his shit" - i.e., he's crying.)  The line: "She holds me until I recover my Y chromosome."  Every line that Forman has in her story just feels like something a 21-year-old brooding rock star would think.

The book starts out incredibly sad. We see everything that's happened to Adam since Mia left for Julliard.  Slowly, we get the heartbreaking details, the ensuing depression, the crazy spark of angst that fueled his song writing and launched his band into super stardom.  And from the beginning, we know we're in hands of a boy on the brink. One who shuns his success and mourns the girl friend who never died.  He looks like many other rock stars probably looked before ending their own lives or falling into a drug-induced oblivion.  And he knows it.

But even once Mia and Adam reunite, it's still awkward and bumbling.  There are so many missteps and hurt feelings to patch over.  And I will NOT (intentionally) give away any spoilers, but I felt like the book was going to end in a good place.  Not ideal, but still a place where Adam could grow and move on.  So when I got to the true ending, I was so blown away and relieved and happy that I was beside myself.

Even though Where She Went is a shift in perspective and happens three years later, it still expertly weaves in details from If I Stay and unites the two stories.  Y'all know I'm not normally a sappy contemporary reader, but I will forever be a Gayle Forman fan.  This book rocks and it gets a

5 Greek coin rating.  HFAC!!  Go hence and procure your own copy today.

Review: A TOUCH MORTAL by Leah Clifford

This was a novel I went into with no expectations.  It seemed to have a lot of build up pre-release, but then the buzz sort of died down.  But when Nikki loaned me her copy, I decided this was one of the YA debut novels that I wanted under my belt.  Even as I write this review, I'm not entirely sure how I felt about it.

From Goodreads:

Eden didn't expect Az.

Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick-up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings.

Yeah.

So long, happily-ever-after.

Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. 

All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven.

She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else's game. Her heart is her own.

And that's only the beginning of the end.

This novel is gritty and dark (in a good way).  It also isn't afraid to throw around profanity with the best of them, so if you're considering letting your own YA read it, you should know that going in.  As an adult though, I wasn't bothered by it at all.

I really liked Eden's voice.  She feels like a very real character who tries to be strong on the outside but is crumbling on the inside.  Until she finds true love in the form of an angel cast out of Heaven but not yet fallen all the way to Hell -- then everything goes impossibly right followed by horribly wrong.  The story line was entirely unique and felt very different from anything I'd read before.

And it wasn't just Eden... I really liked all of the characters.  (Especially her lover-boy angel, Az.) All except for two minor ones -- boys who become part of Eden's entourage and I just couldn't keep them straight in my head.  Other than that though, the whole case felt very distinct and I enjoyed getting to know them.

One of my favorite parts was this little (okay, maybe big) twist at the end that I didn't see coming.  What was so awesome about it is that you can look back and all of the clues are there, but I'd missed them until I knew what to look for.  I love when that happens!

What I didn't love though was the middle.  The part where Eden has forged out on her own felt too long. And some parts are a little confusing.  I don't know that the confusion bothered me as much as it did some other readers (I snuck a peak over at Goodreads) because being dumped into the story and having to figure things out along with Eden was authentic.

And then there's the ending.  Some of it I saw coming (bad), other parts hit me blindsided (awesome).  I think overall I liked where it ended up though.  There's plenty of room for a sequel, but I feel like Eden's story also had resolution.  (This is so hard to write without spoilers!!)

Anyway, my overall rating is 3 Greek coins, a URA* rating.  For a debut novel, it's quite good.  The writing is excellent, the premise unique, and I'm curious to see what happens next.  All of those are very positive things! Just be forewarned, if you don't like dark, bloody and a little gruesome, this novel will not be for you.

Happy YA Book Birthdays

I'm so confused.  Books always seem to release on Tuesday, but last week and this week are like some Twilight Zone of release dates.  Several debut YA novels came out last Thursday (the 12th) and then one debuts today, Monday the 16th, and I then there's one coming out on Tuesday that I thought had already been born.  What's going on???

Anyway -- belated birthday wishes go out to:

Flutter by Erin Moulton

Big things are about the happen at Maple's house. Mama's going to have a baby, which means now there will be four Rittle sisters instead of just three. But when baby Lily is born too early and can't come home from the hospital, Maple knows it's up to her to save her sister. So she and Dawn, armed with a map and some leftover dinner, head off down a river and up a mountain to find the Wise Woman who can grant miracles. Now it's not only Lily's survival that they have to worry about, but also their own. The dangers that Maple and Dawn encounter on their journey makes them realize a thing or two about miracles-and about each other.

Desperate Measures by Laura Summers
Vicky has always felt responsible for her mentally disabled twin sister, Rhianna, and their feisty little brother, Jamie. So when the foster care system threatens to split them up, they all run away together, heading for a distant relative's home. After a difficult journey, they arrive-only to find strangers living there. With nowhere else to go, they hide in a cave, and must survive by their wits. By the end of their adventure, Vicky is surprised to find that the sister she thought she was protecting is the one who saves her.

Sparrow Road by Sheila O'Connor
It's the summer before seventh grade, and twelve-year- old Raine O'Rourke's mother suddenly takes a job hours from home at mysterious Sparrow Road- a creepy, dilapidated mansion that houses an eccentric group of artists. As Raine tries to make sense of her new surroundings, she forges friendships with a cast of quirky characters including the outrageous and funky Josie.

Together, Raine and Josie decide to solve the mysteries of Sparrow Road-from its haunting history as an orphanage to the secrets of its silent, brooding owner, Viktor. But it's an unexpected secret from Raine's own life that changes her forever.


And Happy Book Birthday Wishes to:

Dry Souls by Denise Gerson

Kira has never listened to the rain on the roof, swum in a lake or seen a cloud. All of those things need water, and in Kira's world nearly all of the water has disappeared due to the ecological disasters created generations earlier. What remains is strictly rationed by the government. Kira never doubts this system until the day she discovers a wonderful gift - she can bring forth water merely by touching the ground with her hand. Suddenly Kira dreams of refilling streams, rivers, and lakes and ending the permanent drought afflicting mankind. Unfortunately the government appears to have different ideas. Controlling the water has given them an unprecedented degree of power over the population - power, the government may not want to give back.

Last but not least, being "born" tomorrow are:


I'll be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Sam Border wishes he could escape. Raised by an unstable father, he's spent his life moving from place to place. But he could never abandon his little brother, Riddle.

Riddle Border doesn't talk much. Instead, he draws pictures of the insides of things and waits for the day when the outsides of things will make sense. He worships his older brother. But how can they leave when there's nowhere to go? Then everything changes. Because Sam meets Emily.

Emily Bell believes in destiny. She sings for her church choir, though she doesn't have a particularly good voice. Nothing, she feels, is mere coincidence. And she's singing at the moment she first sees Sam. 

Thankful for Thursday: Teachers

The theme of this week's Thankful for Thursday meme is TEACHERS. In particular, those super-awesome teachers who inspired your love of reading and/or writing.

A few teachers come to mind for me, but the one who stands out the most is:

Mrs. McLaughlin - 6th grade English at Stuart Middle School

It didn't matter to her so much that I couldn't diagram a sentence to save my life; she recognized some spark in my writing that I didn't even know was there.  To this day, I can still remember her telling me that she'd look forward to seeing my book in print one day.  It was a head scratching moment, because the thought of being an author had never crossed my mind.  I mean -- come on -- I couldn't diagram a lousy sentence!!

This perceptive teacher saw an innate talent in me before I saw it myself.  Looking back, I'm more fully able to appreciate the quiet confidence that Mrs. McLaughlin gave me in my own skills with just a passing comment that I was good enough.

Thanks, Mrs. McLaughlin -- and to all the teachers who inspired my love of reading through high school and college.  I might not have my name in print *yet* - but I'm getting there.


So what teacher most inspired your love of reading or writing? Grab the badge, make a post and leave you link in the comments over at Oasis for YA.  (Come on, sharing your gratitude will brighten your day -- promise!)

Happy Debut YA Book Birthday

It's Tuesday and you know what that means -- more brand-spanking-new novels hitting the shelves today!  So let's help these lovely debut authors celebrate release day of their first-ever YA novels.  (All links are to Amazon so you can read the book description AND shop -- see how easy this will be?)

Die for Me by Amy Plum (paranormal romance)

 

Flawless by Lara Chapman (Cyrano de Bergerac retelling)

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier (time travel)

Popular by Alissa Grosso (debuted on 5/8) (contemp)

The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski (contemp)

The Pull of Gravity by Gae Polisner (coming-of-age)

Jane Jones: Worst. Vampire. Ever. by Caissie St. Onge (contemp w/ paranormal twist)

Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

So there you have it.  Go forth and celebrate!

Book Review: THE MAGNOLIA LEAGUE

Before I get to the review, let me announce the winner from the Spring Carnival Blog Hop.  More than 250 people entered and the preference among the entrants seemed to be Wither.  But, random.org being "random," a big congratulations goes out to Jess S. who won a copy of The Goddess Test.  I will be in touch to get your mailing address.

Now, on to the main event.  THE MAGNOLIA LEAGUE by Katie Crouch.  I received my copy courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.  So a big thank you to them.

Published: May 3, 2011
Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 368

When her free-spirited mother dies in a tragic accident, sixteen-year-old Alexandria Lee is forced to leave her West Coast home and move in with a wealthy grandmother she's never known in Savannah, Georgia. By birth, Alex is a rightful if unwilling member of the Magnolia League-Savannah's long-standing debutante society. But white gloves and silk gowns are a far cry from the vintage t-shirts and torn jeans shorts she's used to. 

Alex is the first in decades to question the Magnolia League's intentions, yet even she becomes entangled in their seductive world. The members enjoy youth, beauty and power...but at what cost? As Alex discovers a pact between the Magnolias and the Buzzards, a legendary hoodoo family, she discovers secrets-some deadly-hidden beneath the glossy Southern veneer.

While Ms. Crouch has published adult novels (Girls in Trucks and Men and Dogs), this is her debut YA. I had pretty high expectations for this book going in because it's set in Savannah (a city I love), involves magic and power (cool!) and almost seemed to have a Cinderella / rags-to-riches story line to it.  Sadly, I didn't feel the novel met my expectations.

Now, don't get me wrong -- from a technical perspective, the writing itself was fine.  The author's voice wasn't invasive, and none of the cardinal writing sins made an appearance (think passive voice; show-not-tell).  But I just wasn't in love with any of the characters.

When we first meet Alex, she's recovering from her mom's death and living on a pot-growing commune in California.  Then, "grandma money bags" swoops in, brings Alex (complete with nappy dreadlocks and tummy rolls sufficient to have earned her the nickname "Pudge") to Savannah, and basically forces Alex to undergo a complete overhaul.  See -- it sounds sort of Cinderella, right?

But Alex starts out just too much of a tree-hugger for me.  I know that's how she was raised and her mom was a big herbalist and everything, but she's obnoxiously "hippy."  However, it doesn't take long before Alex starts to appreciate the League's power: she can go from dreads to glorious locks and pudgy to anorexic-looking with barely any effort.  At the risk of including spoilers, it's this temptation and metamorphosis that I was really waiting for.  I wanted to see how Alex would handle it.  And if she'd be strong enough to turn it all away once she had a taste. But we don't even see her change into a glamour queen until more than half-way through the book.

And then, all we see is her gradual progression deeper into the League followed by a series of rash (and sometimes illogical) decisions.  Not to say that teens are necessarily the epitome of rational, but still.  I wanted to see more of that plot line develop and it just wasn't there.  Finally, I got about to the point where I decided I wasn't enjoying Alex or her story that much, and it was over.  Because of the screwy Kindle formatting, I didn't even realize I was at the end.  Turns out this book leaves a huge open-end for the next book, but I don't feel like it really stands alone like a first novel should IMO.

Another one of the things that bothered me is Alex's relationships with everyone.  She loves her boyfriend, but we don't really understand how because there's not much relationship development happening.  The stereotypical mean girls go out of their way to be nice to Alex (granted, they're just butt-kissing), but she makes a pretty crappy friend to them in return.  I guess the bottom line is, the characters felt flat to me.  And the ones I really wanted to know more about (the Buzzards, in particular) we didn't get to see that much.

So I'm giving this book only 2 out of 4 Greek coins.  ICBW.  It wasn't "bad," by any stretch of the imagination, but I didn't love it.

To be fair -- the book did get some very positive reviews on Amazon, and I'd direct you there to get some other people's perspectives on the book.  As you know, reviews are highly subjective and this might be the absolute perfect book for you.

Happy Mother's Day!

**Image by Domat on Deviant Art.**

My lovely friend, Sheri, made an awesome post this morning in which she recalls some of the most painful moments of motherhood (everything from ER visits to public nudity).  It's good that we moms can collectively laugh at those moments that seemed crushing at the time, but we now realize were just part of the motherhood package.

But Sheri's post also got me thinking about the amazing little moments in my life that I never would have known if I didn't have children.  As some of you know, I have two daughters (now 5 and 6), and they are amusing on an almost daily basis.

When my oldest was two, she wasn't pronoucing her "t"s well, so we made her tell us the word "peanuts" over and over.  I even recorded it.  Hysterical.  (Poor kid.)

My five year old painted and decorated a portrait of me for Mother's Day tea at school today.  In the portrait, I am yawning (decidedly better than yelling, which I was kind of afraid she would say).  And she said I look prettiest when I go to Target.  Hmmm.... maybe I need to get out more.

That DD also overheard me talking about the fact that my mom has new boyfriend, so she promptly colored two pictures: one for grandma and one for grandma's boyfriend (whom we haven't even met yet!)

And then sometimes, when I'm giving them a kiss goodnight, they'll surprise me by thanking me for some little random thing... and I know that they notice, even when they don't act like it.

So this weekend, I plan on enjoying the humor involved in having children, and I hope you all do the same.  Got any funny stories you want to share?

Thankful for Thursday: Websites

Today's meme prompt is: WEBSITES. What writing-related websites are you thankful for this week?

I'm struggling a little bit because this week it's my turn to post over at Oasis for YA.  You'll have to drop in to see what I came up with over there.  But I had to dig a little deeper for my own post.

So here's what I came up with: TWITTER

I know... it's not necessarily writing-related, but that's almost exclusively how I use it.  When I went to my first SCBWI conference (over 2 years ago now), the overwhelming advice from agents was to create a social media platform, which included getting on twitter.  Now, I'll be honest with you here.  I'd never heard of Twitter.  I didn't even have a Facebook account.  Crazy, right?

But here I am, over 3200 tweets later and almost 440 followers richer, and I am very grateful for my 140-character friends.  For those of you who haven't jumped on the twitter bandwagon yet, here are some of the benefits I've gotten from it:

1.  I learned about #yalitchat and its weekly discussions that help aspiring YA authors keep their fingers on the pulse of the industry

2.  Through twitter, I met a retired Classics professor who was willing to crit my entire novel -- since it's set in ancient Greece, her insights were huge!

3.  I can check in almost anytime of day and find advice from agents and editors

4.  I can follow those same agents to see if I think we'd be compatible and if they're someone I want to query

5.  Lots of other writerly folks are always posting links and tips to help improve your craft

So there you have it.  I think twitter is pretty a dang-good tool for aspiring authors and I'm thankful to have listened to that advice two years ago that said, "Twitter. Go."

So what writing-related websites are you most thankful for this week?  Grab the badge, make your own post, and then put your link in the comments section over at Oasis for YA.  (Come on, much like twitter, all the cool kids are doing it!)

Happy Debut YA Birthday!

I am REALLY excited this week because my super-cool cousin, Leigh, made me a Debut YA Book Birthday badge.  My very own badge.  I just want to hug it and love it and call it George.  (Sorry, I slipped into a Looney Toons memory there.)  If anyone lives in the middle of nowhere, Indiana, you should hire Leigh to take your picture or video.  She's quite talented.

So here's the big reveal:

Hope you like it as much as I do, because it's going to be with me for awhile. And by "awhile," I mean pretty much forever.  So let's get on with the party by wishing these debut YA novelists a very happy book birthday:

I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloam (contemporary - multiple POV)

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby (contemporary)

 Girl Wonder by Alexa Martin (contemporary/romance)

Divergent by Veronica Roth (dystopian)

 How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend by Gary Ghislain (May 4th release - boy POV)

All links take you to the books' Goodreads page.  So dig in and start reading.  Looks like this week brought us quite a lot to celebrate.

Spring Blog Carnival Giveaway Hop

Step on up and test your luck! Welcome to booth #122 on the Spring Blog Carnival. I can almost smell the funnel cakes and popcorn now. Can you hear the screams from the passengers riding the Zipper or Gravitron? 



Now that you're really in the carnival spirit, let's talk prizes!  You don't have to knock down a pyramid of milk bottles or toss a ping pong ball into a fish bowl to win here.  All you have to do is be a Google Friend and leave a comment below.

What can you win?  Well, I'm glad you asked.  How about a debut YA novel that really enchanted me.  The winner will get to pick from Falling Under, The Goddess Test or Wither.  If The Book Despository ships to your country, you can enter.  Pretty good stuff, right?

So remember - in the comment, leave me your name, e-mail address and the book you'd pick if you won.  The contest is open through May 8th at midnight EST.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my e-mail with their physical address or I will pick another winner.  Winner will be selected using random.org.  Got it? 

After you enter, don't forget to hop on to the other carnival booths for chances to win more bookish prizes!