Book Giveaway: Undertow (book 1)

 

 

                                                                    View the trailer
Undertow
by Michael Buckley
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2015
376 pages
ISBN: 9780544348257

This is the BEST YA novel I've read so far this year. You gotta get your hands on a copy! Highly, highly recommended grade 7-up. So highly recommended that I think this is the next Hollywood blockbuster! Dystopian fiction mixed with sci-fi and romance! Teen dialog is spot on. Michael Buckley, thank you for Lyric Walker, the coolest girl protagonist EVER!


I have FIVE FREE copies of Undertow up for grabs!!!! Post a comment to the blog and please include your first name, city, state and email contact. Deadline for posts is May 27 at NOON MST. I will notify winners on that day shortly after 12:00 MST. Winner will be chosen randomly  by Randomizer. Winners have 24 hours to respond to my email. Books will ship from New York. Don't miss out on your chance of winning the next big thing! Trust me, Undertow is awesome! Good luck and start posting! Pamela

Monsters Love Underpants!
by Claire Freedman
Illustrations Ben Cort
Aladdin
2015 (published in UK in 2014)
32 pages
ISBN: 9781481442527

Monstrously wonderful illustrations by Ben Cort bring each of  the wacky monsters alive. Each seems to have his own individual personality. Sure, monsters are hairy and scary, but what few of us  know is that monsters love to wear wacky boxers and briefs. They cavort happily through the woods and have a disco ball showing off their best undergarments. They love being ugly and scary, but they love underpants more than anything!

Much of the fun of this particular children's book is in the language. British writer Clair Freedman will teach American youngsters words like: twanging, dingy, armour (notice the spelling), pinched (meaning stolen), bloomers, wobbly, jive, and snazzy.

This witty, whimsical read is sure to be a new favorite. The children's pet cat appears at the beginning and ending, but  he adds greatly to the story.  He is visibly on edge and ready to spit and scratch and probably run away.

Recommended for early readers and anyone who loves crazy underpants.

FTC Required Disclosure: I received this book form the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

 

Book Giveaway: Monsters

Monsters
by Ilsa J. Bick
Egmont
2013
688 pages


I have FIVE free copies of the last installment in the Ashes trilogy by Ilsa J. Bick. Don't let its daunting size scare you...the story inside will do just that! Bick delivers a taut thriller rife with monsters--those outside and those inside. Who do you trust when you can't trust yourself?

Simply post a comment to the blog and be sure to include your first name, city, state and email address. Deadline for posts is Tuesday, September 6 at noon MST. Winners will be chosen randomly by Randomizer on that date. Be sure and check your email after noon on that date. Winners have 24 hours to respond to my email. Books will ship from New York courtesy of Egmont and Kristyn. Thank you, Egmont. Thank you, Kristyn.

Good luck and start posting, Pamela.

Zombie Invasion (in Fort Worth!)

                                                                       author Ilsa J. Bick

I attended the Texas Library Association conference in Fort Worth April 23-27 and had a great time! So many authors and books. So many old and new friends! I kept track of the experiences in my Iphone and am sharing the first one now:

From Ilsa Bick, author of the Ashes trilogy. Her new book Monsters, the third and last in the trilogy is available this September. I was lucky enough to share breakfast with Ilsa, a few fellow Texas librarians including my bff's YA blogger Naomi and Katie and Allison from Egmont.


The conversation was fascinating! We talked about writing fiction and zombies, we talked about "The Walking Dead" and "Breaking Bad." We asked questions about fiction and the zombie apocalypse. I asked  Ilsa how she is able to plan/plot her story. She uses a story board or outline, she said. She also told us that she knew how the story ends, BUT...and this is a big but, sometimes the characters lead an author in a different direction.

Ilsa asked librarians about our jobs and what we felt. The consensus was that all of us LOVE our kids/patrons. We LOVE our libraries and books. The conversation made Ilsa reminisce. She told us this story:

When she was in grade school, she visited her library many times, often checking out a book on stargazing. She wanted to be able to identify the constellations and stars, and would take the book outside and stare at the night sky.  She checked the book out again and again and on the last day of school, the librarian handed her the book. The librarian told her that since she clearly loved the book, she should have it as a gift from the library. Ilsa took that book home that day, cherishing it and keeping it safe. She still owns that stargazing book after 30+ years! Ilsa said something like this: That was a long time ago....but I still have that book...that librarian....well, she's dead by now!

Gasps from around the table! Nervous laughter....Ilsa sees our faces and laughs. She said, "What...did you think the story was going to have a happy ending?" From a writer who ends the world with a zombie apocalypse? I thoroughly enjoyed Ilsa's wit and wisdom.


Another Ilsa funny moment: When she met a certain publisher who shall remain nameless here, Ilsa reportedly said, "Oh, xxxx (name withdrawn) don't worry, you would be the first to die in a zombie apocalypse!" The publisher was shocked but amused!

Who would be the first person you know to die in the zombie apocalypse? Post your comments on the blog. The five best comments (keep them clean, please) will win a fantastic prize! Deadline for posts is: May 20 at noon MST.

For more on Ilsa J. Bick, her experiences in Fort Worth, a story of a fox and her kits versus a mean neighbor, and writing...read more

Young Reader Pick: Mommy's Little Monster

Mommy's Little Monster
by Dawn McNiff
Kate Willis-Crowley, illustrator
Scholastic
2013
32 pages

Available March 1, 2013

Young readers will be captivated by the trolls and their creepy but funny cave decorated with jars of sludge, powdered mud milk, ear wax jam, and smelly beans.

Mommy Troll has a party to attend and it's for grown-ups only. Mrs. Hag is going to baby-sit for Little Monster but he throws a fit! He doesn't want his mommy to go away, and he doesn't want a baby-sitter. He's not a baby!

When Mrs. Hag arrives, the little monster pouts and cries, he throws his toy on the floor and hits the door with his tail. Mrs. Hag offers him warm mudmilk and a story, but he continues to cry. Left alone, he ventures into the swamproom and asks, "Does mudmilk make crying go away?" Mrs. Hag assures him that it does. She even lets him have two mugs of milk and a bedtime story. His mother never lets him have two.

The little monster falls asleep and when he wakes up, he sees his mother has come home. His mother assures him that he is her baby and that he always will be. Mommy Troll brings her baby a litttle treat when she comes home: rotten worms and the little troll is thrilled.


The trolls/monsters are beautifully illustrated and their cave will appeal to young readers with its icky elements: spiders and pond scum, snakes and worms and a bathtub that looks like a bog. Little Monster is cute in his red and white striped pajamas.

The cover is eye-catching, and what child wouldn't like to read a book about monsters?

Highly recommended for young readers.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the F & G from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Early Reader Pick: I Loathe You

I Loathe You
By David Slonim
Illustrations by the author
Aladdin
2012
24 pages

Hilarious and creepy monsters play a back and forth game of who loathes who the most. Big Monster claims he loathes Little Monster, “…more than chicken pox, more than stinky, sweaty socks. More than garbage in a dump or splinters sticking in my rump.”

Little Monster proclaims, “I loathe you more than bellyaches!”

Their funny banter and rude insults make them both all the more lovable for

any little monster…er, reader. Kids with a great sense of humor will adore the Monsters and their antics. Playful illustrations of Little Monster finally taking a bath and losing his fleas will have young readers laughing. Little Monster worries what if someday he might lose his stink? Would Big Monster still loathe him? Of course he would!

Highly recommended for young readers age 4-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.
This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Graphic Novel Pick: Cardboard

Cardboard
written and illustrated by Doug Tennapel
Graphix (Scholastic)
2012
288 pages

This cautionary tale by Doug Tennapel unfolds in blatant, in-your-face full color illustrations that are both creepy and cool. Out of work carpenter Mike is down to his last seventy-eight cents and it’s his son Cam’s birthday. He happens upon a strange toy booth where a creepy and pushy elderly toy seller fulfills his need. It looks like only an empty cardboard box but old man Gideon promises that the box is full of ideas, adventure, and projects and it only costs seventy-eight cents, exactly the amount in Mike’s pocket. Coincidence, right? BUT. There. Are. Rules. 1. Mike must return every scrap of cardboard they don’t use, and 2. Mike can never ask for any more cardboard. If he agrees to the rules, he gets the box for Cam’s birthday. He hates that he feels like it’s the worst present ever, but he resigns himself to the fact that he’s dead broke.

Neighbors Marcus and Pink Eye bully Cam and laugh at his “present.” Cam is disappointed, but he knows they’ve fallen on hard times. He decides to make the best of it. His dad’s a carpenter after all. They go to work making a life-size human looking boxer. They measure and cut, and soon “Bill” is born. Bill comes to life! It’s going to be hard to keep a secret in this neighborhood; a man made out of cardboard who can walk and talk and who has feelings and wishes?

Cam can’t help but make Marcus jealous, and Marcus is not a “nice” boy. He tries to kill Bill, and when that doesn’t work, he steals cardboard scraps. The scraps seem to have a life of their own and soon Marcus’s house is overrun with “living” cardboard inventions hell-bent on destroying his house and the entire neighborhood. The creations have run amok; see what happens when someone breaks the cardinal rule?—which was return all the scraps to Gideon?
Soon, Marcus is seeking Cam and Mike’s help. Can Bill, Marcus, Mike, and Cam stop the evil cardboard army? What will happen to Bill if the cardboard meanies are defeated?

Highly, highly recommended for fans of graphic novels grades 5-8 and older kids who love well-imagined and beautifully designed graphic novels.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Don't Miss this Must-Have Mind Blowing Fantasy Pick: Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone
by Leigh Bardugo
Henry Holt(Macmillan Children's Publishing Group)
2012
368 pages

Available June 5, 2012

Watch the book trailer here


Watch a video of historical images that inspired the author



Just what is Tsarpunk anyway?


download a free excerpt here

Beautiful, beguiling, mesmerizing, and magical, this epic tale of good versus evil set in the 19th century in a war-torn kingdom resembling Russia will captivate hordes of readers who will make Shadow and Bone the next must-have trilogy. I expect movie rights are already being secured in Hollywood.

Shadow and Bone is the best debut novel I have read this year. It is everything a reader could possibly want: an sweeping epic tale, a quest for justice, a feisty female protagonist with a mind of her own, a dark, brooding sexy villian, a heroic and strong male love interest, a kingdom at war with itself and a monarchy in peril.

The world of the Grisha is rich in history; they serve the King and practice using elements in science to release energy in a magical fashion. Grishas are born with their powers but must practice to use them and channel their energy.

Alina and Mal are both orphans who grow up together in a rural castle home until they become soldiers for the King. Alina becomes a mapmaker and Mal is a fighter. They journey to the Shadow Fold, a vast, dark wilderness that they must cross to reach the True Sea. It is here that many perish. When their regiment is attacked by Volcra, giant meat-eating birds that live in the dark and prey on humans, Mal dives on top of Alina, saving her life and somehow she saves his.

Alina is taken to the Palace and questioned by the Darkling, the most powerful Grisha, feared by the people and right hand man to the King. The Darkling realizes Alina is the one he has all been seeking all these years--she is the fabled Sun Summoner, the most powerful Grisha in history. She is whisked away into hiding and trained by the Darkling's trusted servants.

Mal is far away and Alina pines for word of him. She writes to him, but her letters go unanswered. She finds herself wondering about the Darkling--he is so mysterious, yet sexy. When he kisses her, there are real sparks, but then she questions her feelings for Mal.


Palace life is rife with gossip, but Alina stays away from most of it. When her old teacher comes to her at night telling her that she must flee the palace and warning her that the Darkling may not be her hero after all, Alina can't believe it! In fact, Alina is in serious danger if she stays at the palace. Mal comes back just in time to help her escape and they are on the run from the King, the Darkling and all the King's horses and all the King's men.

Shadow and Bone is a fantastical world where magic exists and the line drawn in the sand between good and evil is disappearing. The Darkling is the best villian since Darth Vader, but Alina is no wimpy Princess Leia--she is a sexy super-hero who speaks her own mind.

Books two and three promise to be just as amazing. Leigh Bardugo has created a rich and gorgeous world full of breath-taking scenery and horrible monsters, a world where spoiled royalty bask in their wealth and abundance while the peasants starve in the fields and their soldiers are killed in wars and in the Shadow Fold. This is a world ripe for revolution and revolt. Who knows what part Alina and Mal will play in the next edition?

Highly, highly recommended grades 7-up with this warning. The Darkling kisses Alina and it's pretty steamy, but they are interrupted before things get carried away. There are shows on prime time television with streamier scenes, so you'll have to make the decision to purchase the book or not. Violence; the Darkling cuts a man in half with his power. Again, other books have this much gore, too.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Paranormal Pick: Every Other Day

read an excerpt here


Every Other Day
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Egmont
2011
329 pages

Available December 27, 2011

Satisfying, taut, and gripping this non-stop action paranormal thriller features a feisty teen heroine who is a monster-hunter every other day. On the days she's not slaying demons, Kali D'Angelo is a "normal" teenage girl. Too bad the day she sees a strange tattoo on popular cheerleader Bethany's back, she's in teenage--not monster slayer-- mode. How can Kali defeat the monster who wants to claim Bethany when she is just a weak teenage girl?

Skylar is an elfish goth sidekick who just happens to be a little "psychic"--and a lot feisty and precocious. She and Kali team up with Bethany to defeat the monster and become a teen trio to be reckoned with.

Kali seeks answers to why she is able to defeat monsters--what makes her so special? When her mother becomes part of the enigma, the story goes into teen angst overload and serious midnight page-turning mode.

To find the answers she needs and to save Zev, a voice in her head who is actually "like" her, Kali will risk everything to overthrow the evil corporation that is studying weird science and strange beings like herself. All the clues point to her father's corporation, and Kali needs to find a way in.

Teens will love the gritty and determined Kali who is equally headstrong and funny. Skylar will tug at heartstrings and girls will cheer for her. Readers will love that mean girl Bethany turns over an almost new leaf.

Highly, highly recommmended grades 8-up. Some mature situations, mother is an evil person, vampire and monster violence, lots of gore. The mother's best friend (who is also female) made me think there may be some romance between the two ladies--not overt--but read between the lines.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Paranormal Pick: Sweet Venom

Sweet Venom
Tera Lynn Childs
Katherine Tegan Books
(Harper Collins Publishers)
2011
345 pages

Fantastic, hypnotic, captivating and uber-cool, Sweet Venom is a rollicking thrill ride. Tera Lynn Childs has done it again. She delivers a solid page-turner that is well-written with wide appeal sure to entertain teen readers who like mythology and paranormal novels. I loved this book and found it much more entertaining than Forgive My Fins.

Three sisters who have been adopted separately have no idea they are sisters, let alone triplets! Imagine their surprise when they run into each other and realize they are related. Not only that, Gretchen the wild goth sister who favors combat boots to stilettos, informs them that they are meant to fight monsters from Greek mythology.

Grace just moves to San Francisco and begins to see weird creatures. She sees a minotaur walk into a restaurant and thinks she might be going a little crazy. That's when she meets Gretchen. The two girls do a little detective work and find out they are not twins but triplets descended from the Gorgons, the three sisters of Greek myth. The two girls train together and defeat a few monsters but something strange is beginning to happen.

First, Ursula vanishes. She became Gretchen's guardian taking her in and teaching her about the monsters. Gretchen learned that only one monster can escape the seam at a time, but now the sisters are seeing monsters everywhere. How can all these monsters be running around free in San Francisco? The rules seem to have changed but the sisters have no rule book and no one to guide them.

Grace and Gretchen are able to find Greer, the third triplet. Greer has led a posh life, attending high teas and the opera, shopping in the most expensive boutiques, and being the most popular girl in the junior class. She is not happy to find out she has sisters and less delighted to hear that she is meant to fight Greek monsters. What if she breaks a nail or ruins an outfit?

Teen readers are in for a treat--Sweet Venom is only book one! Childs has more books up her sleeve, so stay tuned.

Highly, highly recommended grades 7-up. No sex; no language.
I loved the idea of the Gorgon sisters and their descendants being "good" not evil.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

High School Thriller: The Replacement

The Replacement
by Brenna Yovanoff
Razorbill (Penguin Group), 2010
343 pages

The cover art and spooky title font should attract teens to this debut novel. Maggie Stiefvater, author of Shiver ,writes on the front cover, "I loved this eerie and beautiful story of ugly things. It should be read after dark, at a whisper." She's right!

There is something evil and menacing under the town of Gentry and it waits until once every seven years to claim its bounty--a child sacrifice.

Mackie knows he's not normal. He can't be around blood or anything with iron or steel. His family covers for him and his pastor father tells him to fit in--don't bring unwanted attention on yourself--stay in the shadows. His sister Emma loves him fiercely even though she knows the darkest of all secrets--Mackie isn't her brother at all--he's a replacement.

This novel is creepy, gritty, and downright slithery. Think of all things grimy, seedy, nasty, damp, dark, dank, rotten, moldy, and you have the The House of Misery and the House of Mayhem--two equally evil desolate places beneath the slag heap on the outskirts of town. Is Mackie brave enough to enter the darkness? Will Mackie be able to save the town from the seven year payment?

Young readers will stay up late under the covers with a flashlight to finish this novel. Very creepy and edgy, yet fascinating. An unputdownable show-stopper of a read. The Replacement is the best ya novel I've read this year--think Stephen King at the top of his game.

Highly, highly recommended for grades 9-12. Recommended for mature readers grade 8--with caution.

Language. Violence. Light petting.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I bought this novel for my library. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review. I will add it to my shelves with caution to readers--I would recommend it to grade 8 mature readers.

Dystopian Fiction Pick

Incarceron
by Catherine Fisher
Dial Books, 2010 (orginally published in Britain in 2007)
442 pages

Provocative, compelling, thrilling, dark, dangerous, gritty, and disturbing. This is a book that I dreamt about for a week after reading it. Not a novel that one will soon forget. Although it takes about thirty pages to set up, from there on, the reader will be enveloped in a fantasy world gone wrong. Creatures beyond description haunt Incarceron's walls.

The setting acts as a character in this dystopian fantasy. Incarceron is a prison that was set up to house the worst of all society--it has been sealed up for centuries and has evolved into a living, breathing, thinking entity. Like Hal, the computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the prison takes over. It sees all and knows all. No one has ever escaped except one man; one man who has become a legend, a myth, and a fairy tale. Only Sapphique has escaped and knows the way.

Finn is not like the other prisoners; he remembers Outside. He is sworn to his oath brother Keiro and is tied to Gildas, a Sapienti who seeks the Outside. Because Finn sees visions, he is known as a starseer. He even has dreams of Sapphique leading him from Incarceron.

The warden of Incarceron holds the fate of the prison, and his daughter Claudia will marry and become Queen of the realm. That is, until she finds a key that unlocks Incarceron. Claudia and Finn are able to communicate through this key.

On the Outside, life seems perfect, and it is except that there is no freedom. "We are chained hand and foot...enslaved to a static, empty world where men and women can't read, where scientific advances of the ages are the preserve of the rich, where artists and poets are doomed to endless repititions and sterile reworkings of past masterpieces. Nothing is new. New does not exist. Nothing changes, nothing grows, evolves, develops. Time has stopped. Progress is forbidden." (Incarceron, p. 243)

Once Incarceron is threatened, the realm will tremble.

Book Two: Sapphique due out December 2010.

Highly, highly recommended grades 8-up. May not be suitable for younger readers due to violence. No sex, no language.


FTC Required Disclaimer: I bought this book for my library. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

YA Pick

House of Dark Shadows

(Dreamhouse Kings, Book One)

by Robert Liparulo

Thomas Nelson, Inc.

286 pages, with reading group guide



Xander King is not happy to be leaving his friends in Pasadena and moving to a small "hicksville" town in the mountains of northern California. His father has taken a new position--principal of Pinedale High School. The King family buys a creepy, abandoned Victorian house in a heavily wooded rural area. Soon, as expected, even creepier things begin to happen. Giant footprints are left in the dust. There are strange voices and creaky noises; things go bump in the night. Victoria, Xander's little sister, sees a huge intruder standing in her room.



Xander and his brother David discover a closet that has a secret portal. They step into the portal and out of a locker--in the hallway of Pinedale High School. Other portals lead to much more dangerous destinations.



Xander's dad has a secret, and when Xander discovers what it is, it threatens the safety of the entire family.



Part scary, spooky thriller, part strange, twister killer mystery, part time travel sci-fi genre, this debut YA novel will appeal to readers of spooky stuff like Mary Downing Hahn and lovers of Anthony Horowitz's Horowitz Horror.



Recommended for reluctant readers, grades 5-9 and anyone who enjoys creepy old houses. Book Two is Watcher in the Woods and now available.

Middle School Pick

Killer Pizza

by Greg Taylor

Scholastic, 2009.

341 pages

Any book that evokes R. L. Stine and Darren Shan, is a book that will appeal to middle school reluctant readers. If they love monsters, pizza, and action, this first novel by Greg Taylor is for them.

Toby McGill is not looking forward to a long and boring summer vacation. More than anything he would like a summer job to break the monotony. He is excited to learn that the manager from a local pizza delivery shop wants to hire him. Toby is soon the best cook at Killer Pizza. What he doesn't know is that pizza delivery is only a "front" for what really goes on there.

Killer Pizza is actually a chain of monster killing shops; they seek out guttata--somewhat human and something like a giant bear--to destroy. Toby is picked for an elite team of monster patrol along with Annabel--a cute and super-smart classmate and Strobe, an angry and defiant rebel.

Together they patrol the streets of Hidden Hills, Ohio--just an ordinary town except for the presence of monsters. As Toby hones his skills as an operative, he also gains experience in the kitchen and realizes that his dream to become a chef is attainable.

Mixing pizza with monsters is a great idea. Two things that kids love. What else could they want?

Recommended grades 5-9.