YA Book Giveaway: Contaminated

Contaminated
by Em Garner
Egmont
2013
336 pages

I have FIVE free copies of this new, chilling, utterly disturbing book by Em Garner. Compelling and creepy, this book held me captive! The first chapter was disturbing (in a good way) and distressing (also, in a good way). Em Garner is new to the YA market, but she has only just begun to infiltrate it.

From the publisher's web site:

Reviews


"Alarmingly realistic and absolutely unputdownable, Contaminated will leave you reeling.”—Jennifer L. Armentrout, USA Today best-selling Author







"Confession: This book had me crying in public. It's riveting, relentless--and best of all, real. Contaminated is the most human, heartbreaking dystopian I've ever read."—Jeri Smith-Ready, award-winning author of the Shade trilogy







“Echoing the reality millions of young adults worldwide face daily, this dystopia speaks to a wide range of readers, including reluctant ones.”—Kirkus



You are going to want to read Contaminated! For your chance to win a FREE copy, post a comment to the blog. Be sure and include your first name, city, state and email address. Deadline for posts is Tuesday, September 3 at noon MST. Winners are chosen randomly by Randomizer. Winners will be contacted by me on September 3; be sure and check your email in the afternoon 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!

Get ready to be creepily entertained and start posting now!
Pamela

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.

Super Book Giveaway: The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett
by Tom Angleberger
Amulet Books
2013

For origami folding and more

I have FIVE free copies of the newest in the Origama Yoda series. Kids LOVE Tom's books, and you will, too!

Simply post a comment and be sure to include your first name, city, state, and email address. Deadline for posts is Tuesday, September 3 at noon MST. Winners will be chosen randomly by Randomizer on that date. Please check your email after noon MST. Winners will have 24 hours to respond to my email. Books will ship from New York courtesy of Amulet and Laura. Thanks, Amulet! Thanks, Laura!

Good luck, start posting, and May the Folds Be With You!

Pamela

High School Pick: Bang

Bang (Visions, book 2)
by Lisa McMann
Simon Pulse
2013
256 pages

Available October 8, 2013

Horrifying and ripped from the headlines, Bang (Visions, book 2)showcases Lisa McMann's deft handling of characters and dialog.

Jules Demarco isn't seeing visions anymore...thankfully...but Sawyer--her brand new boyfriend--is. One shared kiss freed Jules and enslaved Sawyer. His new visions, and he's seeing them everywhere, are a school shooting. The trouble with the visions, however, is that they're not clear at first. Sawyer sees only the back of the shooter walking away and he sees bodies of the wounded. He doesn't have any other clues. Jules helps Sawyer by asking him questions and he's able to see more and more clues. They ask for Trey's help, too.

The Demarco/Angotti feud has been going on for years. Jules's family claims that Mr. Angotti stole a meatball recipe from them and has been using it to get rich. The Angottis have their own reasons for hating the Demarcos. Jules and Sawyer are caught in the middle of their families' ugly argument and like star-crossed young lovers Romeo and Juliet (Jules, haha!) things begin to heat up. As they do, Sawyer's visions become nearly deadly. If the teens don't locate which school the events take place, they won't be able to stop the shootings.

Recommended for fans of the series. It would be helpful (but not necessary) to read Crash (Book 1) first. Crash is suitable for middle school, but Bang is suitable for high school due to profanity, heavy petting, and violence. It's too bad, really, because those middle school readers who read book 1 will want to read book 2.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publishser. 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)

Hilarious High School Pick: Don't You Wish

Don't You Wish
by Roxanne St. Claire
Delacourte Press
2012
360 pages

I almost missed this one! Don't be foolish...go...no RUN...to your favorite bookstore or with a few clicks of the mouse, grab up this sweet read.

Annie Nutter is an invisible. She is a normal high school girl...not popular, not cool, not beautiful, and certainly not rich. Annie and her BFF Lizzie dream of the day when Shane Matthews might speak to them or notice them. When Shane finally speaks to Annie, it's a cruel joke.

When Annie's mom sees her old flame in a magazine spread, she realizes that she could have married the man who is now a billionaire plastic surgeon who lives in a mansion featured in Architectural Digest. Instead, she's married to Annie's father, a hopeless inventor who has more ideas than money. Annie questions her mother and wonders what her life would have been like if her mom had married the other man--her old college flame. Through some sort of magical weird twist in the universe, Annie wakes up in another life. She lives in Star Island, Florida, the pampered, bratty daughter of her mother in real life and her new, billionaire father (Mom's old flame).

Annie is now Ayla Monroe. She is the "it" girl at her snooty school and is surrounded by a circle of vicious harpies who shoplift, curse, and break all the rules they can. Annie is mortified and will not steal anything. She has to pretend to be "Ayla," and she can't imagine why these pampered princesses feel the need to steal just for stealing's sake.

Ayla (Annie) is being pushed into losing her virginity to hot boyfriend Ryder on prom night. Annie meets quiet, science geek Charlie and is intrigued. Charlie wonders why rich girl Ayla Monroe is now speaking to him, and Ayla's inner circle is wondering why she's acting so weird and talking to all the nobodies.

Ayla/Annie has the chance to choose which life to live. What will she do? What if she can save a life if she makes the right choice. What will Ayla do? What will Annie do?

Highly recommended grade 9-up. Profanity and talk about losing virginity place this book at the high school level, and it's too bad. So much is cool about Don't You Wish, I only wish the author would have made it middle school-worthy. It's a clever, funny book and Annie is a character girls will not forget.

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)

Paranormal Pick: Dead Is Just a Dream

Dead Is Just a Dream
by Marlene Perez
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2013
176 pages

Available September 3, 2013

Something sinister is going on in the little town of Nightshade, California. Jessica Walsh and her band of friends each have gifts--reading people's thoughts, seeing the future, being female warriors who protect the town. When Jessica sees a ghost horse on the beach, the first murder is reported.

A rude painter shows up in town with a show of his gruesome paintings and a new owner buys Phantasm Farms, a local horse farm. The girls have to find out who or what's killing people and soon!

After a visit to Phantasm Farms, Jessica thinks that the ghost horse, the nightmares, the painter and the strange girl who can talk to horses are all tied together. Something is killing people with fear. Dreams begin haunting her friend Eva but she can't remember what the terror is exactly.

Caught up in the case, Jessica has to juggle her high school classes, her relationship with hot boyfriend Dominic and his burgeoning music career, her very crowded family home, the arrival of her older brother from college, and policing the town of Nightshade from evil. Residents in Nightshade aren't sleeping and Jessica has to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Dead is Just a Dream is a delightful paranormal read with a little Beverly Hills, 90210 and The Secret Circle mixed in. There's the rich kids and fancy cars and there's the circle of paranormal friends who live "normal" lives when not chasing evil or destroying monsters.

Marlene Perez has the teen scene down pat and readers will fall under her spell. Cover art with the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) skull may be off-putting to some readers--the kids attend a huge party on The Day of the Dead at a mansion. While the cover isn't that "girl-y" or romantic, fans of the series will read this book.

Highly recommended grade 7-up. No language. Just sweet kisses...oh, and sinister murder.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive moentary 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)

Young Readers Pick: Good Night, Sleep Tight

Good Night, Sleep Tight
by Mem Fox
Illustrations by Judy Horacek
Orchard Books
2013
32 pages

Bonnie and Ben are thrilled when their favorite babysitter comes to sit for them. It's bedtime and Skinny Doug entertains the two children with nursery rhymes. The kids fall in love with his delivery and the funny rhymes including "It's raining, it's pouring" and "Pat-a-cake." They beg Doug to say them again, but Doug has tons more rhymes in his repetoire.


The kids yell for more and finally all three of them are fast asleep. Young readers will love all the rhymes. Some are well known, others will be new to most. "This is the way the ladies ride: trit, trot, trit, trot" and "Round and round the garden" are two rhymes that young readers are likely not familiar with.

Colorful, vibant art by Judy Horacek will captivate children. This book could be a babysitter's best secret weapon. If every babysitter was as fun as Sklnny Doug, kids would beg their parents to go out more often.

Highly recommended ages 3-5. This is a must have for bedtime reading.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the F & G 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)

Dystopian Pick: Inhuman

Inhuman (Book 1, Fetch series)
by Kat Falls
Scholastic Press
384 pages
2013

Available September 24, 2013

Gritty, gruesome, gripping and taut, Inhuman begins the next great YA series. Part dystopian, part Island of Dr. Moreau, part survival adventure and all great, Kat Falls hits it out of the park with this book.

Lane (Delaney) McEvoy lives West of the great wall--the wall that separates her safe environment from the East where the ferals live. After a biological disaster, the United States is split apart by the Mississippi River. In the East lies the Feral Zone and it's off limits to humans. To go there is a certain death. Lane wonders what happens in the East but she's not that worried about it until she finds out her father may be in the Feral Zone and may be in danger. In order to clear her father's name and save his life, Lane ventures East.

She meets Everson, a guard who says he'll help her and a dangerous but spirited hunter named Rafe. Lane encounters tons of strange characters and learns that the plague can be halted with medicine--which her father has been supplying.

Her father is nowhere to be found and the three must journey to Chicago--facing dangerous territory and even more dangerous predators.

Lane is a feisty female protagonist with moxie that both boys and girls will love. Fans will want book 2 immediately. I want book 2 immediately!

Gruesome and gory details and edginess make this book suitable grade 9 up.

Highly, highly recommended. Don't miss this one!

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the arc 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)

Book Giveaway: Win a YA book

Win an Autographed Children's or Young Adult Book!
We came home from the American Library Association Annual Conference with nearly 100 books autographed by our authors and illustrators in the booth. So welcome to the Summer Book Giveaway!

Twenty-three bloggers are giving away books. Please visit their blogs on the days indicated to the right to enter one or more blog giveaways.

The remaining books will be given to readers of this newsletter, one book per person while supplies last.

How to enter the newsletter giveaway:
1) send an email to online@albertwhitman.com
2) include the subject line: Summer Book Giveaway
3) Indicate "children's book," "young adult book," or "either" in the body of the email
4) Include your full name and shipping address in the body of the email
Winners will be sent a random book in their category while supplies last.
Books included in this giveaway (in various quantities):
•A Wild Day with Dad signed by Sean Callahan
•The Bear Hug signed by Sean Callahan
•A Father’s Day Thank You signed by Janet Nolan
•The St. Patrick’s Day Shillelagh signed by Sean Callahan
•Snowy, Blowy Winter signed by Bob Raczka
•The Year Comes Round signed by Sid Farrar
•The No-Dogs Allowed Rule signed by Kashmira Sheth
•Being Henry David signed by Cal Armistead
•When I Feel Worried signed by Cornelia Spelman

post a comment on the blog and include first name, city, state, and email contact. Winner will be notified by 11:00 a.m. Friday, August 2. Start posting!

Early Reader Pick: Zoe's Room (No Sisters Allowed)

Zoe's Room (No Sisters Allowed)

by Behanie Deeney Murguia
Arthur A. Levine Books
2013
40 pages



view the sweet book trailer

Meet Zoe. She's fun, funny, quirky, cute, and regal. She is, after all, Queen of the Universe. That is, until an interloper appears--meet Addie. She's Zoe's little sister and an unwelcome guest in Zoe's world.

Now Zoe has to be quiet at bedtime and leave the lights off. She can't set the table for morning tea or build empires. She can't explore or gaze at stars. Zoe hates sharing her room and giving up her freedom.

Then a terrible thunderstorm occurs and Zoe is frightened. She cuddles with her little sister and realizes that sharing a room makes her feel safe. She embraces Little Queen Addie and realizes that there's room in the kingdom for two queens.

Cute pen and ink and watercolor art by the author brings Zoe and her kingdom to life. Readers will like Zoe and empathize with her. Her winsome sense of adventure and wonder for the world will touch readers.

Highly, highly recommended pre-school-K.

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

Early Reader Pick: The Favorite Daughter

The Favorite Daughter
by Allen Say
Arthur A. Levine Books
2013
32 pages

Beautiful watercolor art bring this sweet story to life. Yuriko is embarrassed when her art teacher calls her "Eureka," and the kids begin teasing her. To make matters worse, she took in a picture of herself wearing a kimona. The students tease her for being a blonde and for wearing the kimona. "They said Japanese dolls have black hair," she laments to her father.

Yoriko wants to change her name to something more American. She tells her dad she wishes she were named Jennifer and she swears she hates art. Her father takes her to their favorite restaurant to talk things over.

After a visit to Golden Gate Park and the Japanese Gardens, Yoriko knows what she wants to create for her art project.

The father/daughter relationship is poignant and powerful. Say uses two photographs of Yoriko--one as a child and one from a trip they took to Japan--incorporating the real life photos of Yoriko with the watercolor art is genius.

This picture book is a beautiful example of family values, generational values, the importance of one family's culture, the idea of "fitting in" in society and how each person values his/her own identity.

Highly, highly recommended grade pre-K-3. The Favorite Daughter is sure to be another award winner for Allen Say and is a must have for any collection.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the F & G 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)

Dystopian Pick: The Darkest Path

The Darkest Path
by Jeff Hirsch
Scholastic Press
2013
336 pages
Available October 2013

Visit the author's website for more

Jeff Hirsch continues to give readers just what they want. Magisterium and The Eleventh Plague set him up as one writer to watch and The Darkest Path cements his presence in YA literature. The United States has been ripped in two. Some states are still part of the government and they are known as "Fed." Other states have broken away and are following a charismatic leader who indoctinates followers to follow "The Glorious Path." It is join them or die.

Callum Roe and his younger brother James were captured by the Path six years ago and Cal has risen up the ranks. He is an undercover spy and helps infiltrate communities ripe for the Path. When he sees what carnage the Path is capable of firsthand, he knows he must do something.

Cal finds a stray dog with the name Bear on his tags. He plays with the pup and doesn't want to deliver it back to the base to be trained as a vicious attack dog. When he is confronted by his maniacal boss, Kennel Master Quarles, he shoots him in self defense. Now Cal must run. He has killed a superior and ignored orders. He begs his younger brother to come along, but James has been "brainwashed" by the Path.

On the run for much of the book, Cal leans on Bear and some good souls along the way. Cal is caught and taken back before President Hill. He realizes that Hill plans to attack major cities in the United States and he is using people's belief in him and in God to control his campaign, and nothing and no one can stop him. Or can they?

The Darkest Path is one edgy, dark dystopia I never want to visit. This was a frightening vision of America and what could happen in our near future, and it is one vision I hope never comes true.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy dystopian fiction grade 7-up. Violence. No language.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the arc 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)

Zombie Pick: Unfed (sequel to Undead)

Unfed
by Kirsty McKay
Chicken House
288 pages
2013
Available September 2013

Read an excerpt and see more

The blood spattered cover says it all! This is serious zombie gore and teens will love the sequel to last year's Undead. Kirsty McKay is the Libba Bray of zombie comedy and a truly infectious author.

Bobby barely survived last year's zombie invasion (Undead) and now she finds herself in a crazy hospital surrounded by Scotland's hungry hordes of ravenous flesh eaters. She doesn't know where Smitty is or if he's okay or not. He was infected, but Bobby made sure she injected him with what she hopes is the zombie antidote. Bobby must escape the hospital and begins to figure out how. That's when she is reunited with geekster Pete and snarktastic Alice. The three of them must break a tough code, find Smitty, reunite with Bobby's mom, escape the hospital, and fight to stay alive! And these zombies aren't last year's stupid, slow zombies. These zombies are learning to work together and are learning to communicate--which isn't good news for the humans.

As the kids run, swim, fall, drive, and basically super-spy 007 James Bond-like escape, Bobby and new guy Russ try to break the code left behind by Bobby's mother. They've made more enemies than just the undead. There's tons of alive soldiers out to get them, and Bobby is dying to know why. Two companies are fighting for the secret formula developed by Bobby's mother, but who will win? And who will be alive to care?


Zombies, zombies, everywhere: zombinos, zombie goats, zombie cows, Scotland will never be the same.

Hilarious and over-the top, tongue-in-cheek zombie wise cracks, mean teen chic, snarky put-downs, and outrageous escapes from the jaws of death (pun intended) will keep teens reading into the wee hours. This one is unputdownable and fun. Think Shaun of the Dead crossed with A Bad Day for Voodoo, and infected ( again, pun intended) with Stephen King with a serious sense of teen humor. This is the most fun you can have reading a book.

Seriously, highly, highly recommended and contagious (yep, pun intended) grade 9 and up. Some language and tons of gore.



FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the arc 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)

Ghostly Pick: The Watcher in the Shadows

The Watcher in the Shadows
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Little, Brown and Company
2013
262 pages

See what the author says about his young adult books

Master storyteller Carlos Ruiz Zafon (The Shadow of the Wind, The Prince of Mist) has done it again! The Watcher in the Shadows is that rare and beautiful book that will captivate young readers. It has all the elements a reader craves: a dark mystery, an eccentric inventor who lives in a strange mansion--Cravenmoore--so aptly named--it's a dark name, a gothic name. The mansion is full of whimsical inventions but some are truly terrifying. The setting: the rugged coast of Normandy. The characters: Irene Sauville, a fourteen year old girl who moves to Normandy with her widowed mother and younger brother Dorian. Irene's mother, Simone takes the position of manager of Cravenmoore for the strange and quirky inventor Lazarus Jann (even the name Lazarus is creepy--in the Bible, Lazarus rose from the dead).

Irene meets a local boy named Ismael who shows her the town and takes her sailing. They are smitten with one another and soon are inseparable. Lazarus tells young Dorian a strange story of a man who makes a deal with the devil, so to speak. The man and his shadow are separated and his shadow runs rampant on a murdering spree. The shadow is a doppelganger (a copy) of the man. Dorian likes spending time with the strange inventor even though some of his automatons (robots) scare him.

When a murder occurs near Cravenmoore, villagers begin to spread rumors. Ismael and Irene  investigate and soon find danger everywhere they turn. The kids will need to act fast if they want to save their own lives and Irene's mother and brother. What evil invention has Lazarus brought to life? And why is it intent on killing them? What is the strange fascination Lazarus has for Simone? What secrets are hidden in the secret rooms of Cravenmoore?

Richly imagined, finely tuned, fast paced and fun, The Watcher in the Shadows delivers.

Highly, highly recommended grade 5-up. A must read for lovers of ghost stories and gothic literature.

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)

Book Giveaway: Infinityglass

Infinity Glass
by Myra McEntire
Egmont
2013
Available August 6, 2013

For the Hourglass fan site and more stuff

I have FIVE free copies of this great new YA title and the third book of the Hourglass series.

From the publisher's website:

"No time like the present.




No time in the present.



No time left.



From the moment the Hourglass group violated the rules of the space time continuum to rescue a murdered loved one, time has been in flux. People from other centuries slide into our time, intruding into our space, threatening our world.



Frantically seeking a way to turn back this tide, the Hourglass begins a search for the legendary Infinityglass, tracking it to the city of New Orleans, a place where the past rests easily with the present."

Dune is selected and sent to New Orleans, but he soon finds out that the Infinityglass isn't an object, it's a person!

For your chance to win, simply post a comment to the blog and include your first name, city, state and email. I need your email address in order to contact you should you win! Deadline for posts is August 15, 2013 at noon MST. Winners will be notified shortly after on that date. Please check your email. Winners are selected randomly by Randomizer. Books will ship to winners courtesy of Egmont.

Good luck and start posting! Pamela