Debut YA Book Birthdays - Week of May 28th

This is the last week of school for my kids, which means the time for summer reading must be upon us. There are some exciting releases from established authors this week - like Goddess by Josephine Angelini and Of Triton by Anna Banks.  But there are a couple of debut YA novels too, so let's celebrate their book birthdays!

MY SISTER'S REAPER by Dorothy Dreyer

Sixteen-year-old Zadie’s first mistake was telling the boy she liked she could bring her dead sister back to life. Her second mistake was actually doing it.

When Zadie accidentally messes with the Reaper’s Rite that should have claimed her sister Mara, things go horribly wrong. Mara isn’t the same anymore—Zadie isn’t even sure she’s completely human, and to top it off, a Reaper is determined to collect Mara’s soul no matter what. Now Zadie must figure out how to defeat her sister’s Reaper, or let Mara die … this time for good.

WILD AWAKE by Hiliary T. Smith

In Wild Awake, Hilary T. Smith’s exhilarating and heart-wrenching YA debut novel, seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd has big plans for her summer without parents. She intends to devote herself to her music and win the Battle of the Bands with her bandmate and best friend, Lukas. Perhaps then, in the excitement of victory, he will finally realize she’s the girl of his dreams.

But a phone call from a stranger shatters Kiri’s plans. He says he has her sister Suki’s stuff—her sister Suki, who died five years ago. This call throws Kiri into a spiral of chaos that opens old wounds and new mysteries.

Like If I Stay and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Wild Awake explores loss, love, and what it means to be alive.

Will you be reading either of these?

11 Facts

Yesterday, Crystal Collier nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award.  This incredible sweet nod comes with a fun responsibility: answer her 11 random questions and tell you 11 random facts about myself.  I haven't done one of these in awhile, but Crystal's questions are fun, I figured I'd jump in and play.

1. What is the best book you've ever read?

Tough question! I don't know how I can pick just one.  Nathaniel Hawthorne's story, Rappaccini's Daughter, has always been up there.  I will also always love Twilight.    

2. What is your sport of choice? To play or watch?

Watching football.

3. What's the coolest place you've ever visited?

There's nothing un-cool about Paris, so I guess it wins. But visiting the ancient ruins in Greece is up there too.

4. Favorite song or artists?

Joshua Radin

5. What's your biggest pet peeve?

Slow drivers!  Step on the gas pedal.  As my momma always used to say, "It's the narrow one next to the brake."

6. What is your brand of geek? (Or obsession?) 

I'm an appellate lawyer and I like it.  'Nuf said.

7. What movie do you have memorized, word for word?

Top Gun (and... I just dated myself)

8. If you could choose one myth to be true, which would it be: Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy?

I'd have to go with Santa.  Christmas magic tops everything.

9. What food is your nemesis? 

Chocolate!  And hot chips and salsa from an authentic Mexican restaurant. Nom, nom, nom.

10. Which army would you choose to defend your home? Ninjas, or Cowboys? 

I was going to say Ninjas but then realized cowboys have guns, and since guns beat swords, I've gotta go cowboys.

11. What is your favorite or most embarrassing nick name? 

My maiden name is Dalton and I loved marine animals when I was younger, so I picked up the nickname Dolphin as a high school freshman.

And now for my completely random 11 facts:

1. I don't eat seafood. No, not even lobster, or shrimp, or Alaskan king crab legs.  Yes, I am from Florida.

2.  I started law school before I was old enough to drink. The welcome-to-law school pub crawl kinda blew.

3.  I don't type properly. I'm pretty fast and decently accurate, but my fingers do not go where they're supposed to.

4.  My current song obsession is San Francisco by the Mowgli's.  

5.  I recently broke my 20-year potato chip fast for a can of low sodium Pringles.  Don't judge me.

6.  I was a band geek who played flute and oboe but wasn't very good at either.

7.  Hubby and I will celebrate our 12 year anniversary this summer.  Group awwwww....

8.  I don't like snow skiing.  At all.  Direct quote from my last vacation, said to hubby, while on the slopes: "I cannot conceive of an activity I would hate more than this." Apparently I get dramatic when I'm having a panic attack.

9.  Firecracker red hair dye is not a good look on me. I know this from experience.

10.  I don't go for men in uniform - give me a guy in a well-tailored suit any day.

11.  My closest brush with fame (other than writing a book, I suppose) was being selected as a Jr. Orange Bowl Princess (2nd runner up) in Martin County at the ripe old age of 11. Feel free to kiss my ring. Ha!

I'd love to hear your randomness now.  Please share something with me!  Rather than tagging 11 more people (my gift to all of you), just share some random fact (or openly mock my facts - I'm cool with that too).

RUBY'S FIRE cover reveal

BOOK AND AUTHOR INFO:

Ruby's Fire

Catherine Stine
Series: Fireseed, #2 (however, can be read as a stand-alone)

Publication date:  June 26, 2013
Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Synopsis:

If everything about you changes, what remains?
Seventeen year-old Ruby, long-pledged to the much older Stiles from the Fireseed desert cult, escapes with only a change of clothes, a pouch of Oblivion Powder and her mute little brother, Thorn. Arriving at The Greening, a boarding school for orphaned teens, she can finally stop running. Or can she? The Greening is not what it seems. Students are rampaging out of control and as she cares for the secret Fireseed crop, she experiences frightening physical changes. She’s ashamed of her attraction to burly, hard-talking Blane, the resident bodyguard, and wonders why she can’t be happy with the gentler Armonk. She’s long considered her great beauty a liability, a thing she’s misused in order to survive. And how is she to stop her dependence on Oblivion to find a real beauty within, using her talent as a maker of salves, when she has nightmares of Stiles without it?

When George Axiom, wealthy mogul of Vegas-by-the-Sea offers a huge cash prize for the winner of a student contest, Ruby is hopeful she might collect the prize to rescue her family and friends from what she now knows is a dangerous cult. But when Stiles comes to reclaim her, and Thorn sickens after creating the most astonishing contest project of all, the world Ruby knows is changed forever. This romantic fantasy set in 2099 on earth has a crafty heroine in Ruby, and a swoonworthy cast, which will surely appeal to the YA and new adult audience.

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17970591-ruby-s-fire

If you'd like to participate in the book tour, taking place in the end of July-August, sign up here.

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AUTHOR BIO

Catherine Stine writes YA, New Adult and middle grade fiction. Her YA futuristic thriller, Fireseed One, illustrated by the author was granted a Bronze Wishing Shelf Book Award and an Indie Reader Approved notable stamp. Her YA Refugees, earned a New York Public Library Best Book. Middle grade novels include A Girl’s Best Friend. More and more, she’s enjoying writing speculative tales. She teaches literature at the School of Visual Arts and creative writing at the Philadelphia Writing Conference and in her own ongoing NYC writing workshop. Catherine earned a double focus MFA in Creative Writing at the New School.
Visit her at www.catherinestine.blogspot.com and at www.catherinestine.com.

Author Links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

THE CHEMISTRY OF FATE Guest Post & Giveaway

You know I LOVE seeing an author's vision for her story, so today I'm really excited to have Meradeth Houston with us today, sharing her dream cast!  But first, a little about the book.

Book Blurb: 

“They are everywhere, can be anyone, and are always the last person you’d expect.” When Tom stumbles across his grandfather’s journal, he’s convinced the old man was crazier than he thought. The book contains references to beings called the Sary, immortals who are assigned to save humans on the verge of suicide. They certainly aren’t allowed to fall in love with mortals. Which the journal claims Tom’s grandfather did, resulting in his expulsion from the Sary. As strange as the journal seems, Tom can’t get the stories out of his head; especially when he finds the photo of his grandfather’s wings.



Tom’s only distraction is Ari, the girl he studies with for their chemistry class.



Ari has one goal when she arrives in town: see how much Tom knows about the Sary and neutralize the situation. This isn’t a normal job, but protecting the secrecy of the Sary is vital. If Tom is a threat to exposing the Sary to the public, fate has a way of taking care of the situation, usually ending with the mortal’s death. While Ari spends time with Tom, he becomes more than just an assignment, but how far can a relationship go when she can’t tell him who she really is? When she finds out just how much Tom actually knows about the Sary, Ari is forced to choose between her wings, and her heart.



THE CHEMISTRY OF FATE is a companion to COLORS LIKE MEMORIES and is set before the latter takes place. It is geared toward an upper YA, or New Adult audience.  During the tour, CHEMISTRY will be only $2.99 in ebook format.

Dream Cast for The Chemistry of Fate

Thanks so much for hosting me! I thought it might be kind of fun to show off a bit of what the characters from The Chemistry of Fate look like—or, what my dream cast would look like (should, you know, a more “southerly” place freeze over and someone took interest in the movie rights). 

There’s just one small problem: while I was writing this post, I came to realize how ridiculously bad I am at choosing actors. This may have something to do with my addiction to Netflix and choice to watch re-runs of the X-Files over current TV, and also my total inability to ever remember actor’s names. The roles they played? No problem. What their names are in real life? Ummmm. Yeah. 

So, after soliciting the help of some amazing friends, I have a few actors to share, but I’d LOVE to hear if you have any better ideas! 

The Chemistry of Fate is told from the dual points of view of Tom and Ari (short for Arianne):

Steven McQueen who plays Jeremy Gilbert in Vampire Diaries. Tom’s a pretty studious college freshman, good looking, but not in an over-the-top kind of way. His charm is his better asset—if you can get him away from his books. 

Emmanuelle Chriqui would make a great Ari, who’s a petite woman and described as having Mediterranean looks. Tom can’t get enough, especially of the love of life Ari has about everything.

There are two other players in the story that I thought I’d pick faces for too:

Gabriel Mann as Oliver. Oliver is Tom’s boss, and the slightly eccentric lab manager who has become Tom’s good friend. Known for singing (and occasionally dancing) to pop songs, and a few other random quirks, Oliver was a crazy character to write. He’s also the only character I’ve ever written that’s based on a real-life person I know, which is a story in and of itself!

Lyndsy Fonseca as Ari’s roommate and friend, Amanda. I’ve always imagined Amanda with a little more reddish hair, but otherwise she’s a college freshman with a big heart and a great closet. 

I’d love to hear other suggestions (and maybe shows I need to add to my Netflix queue!). 

You in?  Well, here are some links.  And don't forget about the Rafflecopter giveaway too!

MuseItUp Publishing |  Amazon |  iBooks  |  Barnes and Noble

Rafflecopter giveaway: A really nice leather journal, which fits with the story, and a $10 Amazon gift card.
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Meradeth: Meradeth’s never been a big fan of talking about herself, but if you really want to know, here are some random tidbits about her:
*  She’s a Northern California girl, but now lives and teaches anthropology in Montana.
*  When she’s not writing, she’s sequencing dead people’s DNA. For fun!
*  She’s been writing since she was 11 years old. It's her hobby, her passion, and she’s so happy to get to share her work!
*  If she could have a super-power, it would totally be flying. Which is a little strange, because she’s terrified of heights.

 Find Meradeth here:
Website  |  Blog  |  Goodreads  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Pinterest
 

Debut YA Book Birthdays ~ Week of May 21

Hello everyone - not such a huge list of debut YA books this week as we've seen in the past two weeks.  Although I must say there are some good looking non-debuts coming out this week and next, so maybe the publishers didn't want to compete??  In any event, these look good for different reasons.  Do any of them appeal to you?

NIGHT SCHOOL by C. J. Daughtery

Night School, the first book in a series of darkly romantic YA thrillers set in a British boarding school, is generating excitement around the world.

When Allie Sheridan gets arrested—again—her parents have had enough. They send Allie to the Cimmeria Academy far away from her London friends. The school is beautiful, and filled with gorgeous, ultra-wealthy teens who travel by private jet, were raised by nannies, and only shop on 5th Avenue or Bond Street.

As the school begins to seem like a very dangerous place, she must decide who she can trust if she’s going to find out what’s really going on.

THE NEPTUNE PROJECT by Polly Holyoke

With her weak eyes and useless lungs that often leave her gasping for air, Nere feels more at home swimming with the dolphins her mother studies than she does hanging out with her classmates. Nere has never understood why she is so much more comfortable and confident in the water than on land until the day she learns the shocking truth—she is one of a group of kids who have been genetically altered to survive in the ocean. These products of the "Neptune Project" are supposed to build a better future under the waves, safe from the terrible famines and wars and that rock the surface world.

But there are some big challenges ahead of her: no one ever asked Nere if she wanted to be part of a science experiment; the other Neptune kids aren't exactly the friendliest bunch, and in order to reach the safe haven of the new Neptune colony, Nere and her fellow mutates must swim across hundreds of miles of dangerous ocean, relying on their wits, their loyal dolphins and one another to evade terrifying undersea creatures and a government that will stop at nothing to capture the Neptune kids ... dead or alive.

Fierce battle and daring escapes abound as Nere and her friend race to safety in this action-packed marine adventure.

TRANSPARENT by Natalie Whipple 

Transparent’s Fiona McClean could be a superhero. She has a mutation that allows her to become invisible. But her father, a Las Vegas crime lord, forces her to use her power for evil. Since she was five, she’s been stealing cars, robbing banks, and spying on people.

Fiona’s had enough, so she escapes to a small town far from her father’s reach. Happiness is hard to find surrounded by a mother she hates, a brother she can’t trust, and a guy at school she can’t stand, but Fiona manages to make some friends. And when her father finally tracks her down, Fiona discovers how far she’ll go to protect everyone she’s come to love.

Fans of strong heroines like Daughter of Smoke and Bone’s Karou or Maximum Ride’s Max will fall in love with Transparent by Natalie Whipple.

And last, but certainly NOT least...
PRAEFATIO by Georgia McBride

“With PRAEFATIO, Georgia McBride proves that you can take any genre to a higher level. This is teen fantasy at its most entertaining, most heartbreaking, most compelling. Highly recommended.” –Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of ROT & RUIN and FIRE & ASH

Seventeen-year-old Grace Ann Miller is no ordinary runaway. After having been missing for weeks, Grace is found on the estate of international rock star Gavin Vault, half-dressed and yelling for help. Over the course of twenty-four hours Grace holds an entire police force captive with incredulous tales of angels, demons, and war; intent on saving Gavin from lockup and her family from worry over her safety. Authorities believe that Grace is ill, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, the victim of assault and a severely fractured mind. Undeterred, Grace reveals the secret existence of dark angels on earth, an ancient prophecy and a wretched curse steeped in Biblical myth. Grace’s claims set into motion an ages-old war, resulting in blood, death and the loss of everything that matters. But are these the delusions of an immensely sick girl, or could Grace’s story actually be true? Praefatio is Grace’s account of weeks on the run, falling in love and losing everything but her faith. When it’s sister against brother, light versus darkness, corrupt police officers, eager doctors and accusing journalists, against one girl with nothing but her word as proof: who do you believe?