Book Review: Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff

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Places No One Knows

Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: May 17, 2016
Review Source: Delacorte

Waverly Camdenmar spends her nights running until she can’t even think. Then the sun comes up, life goes on, and Waverly goes back to her perfectly hateful best friend, her perfectly dull classes, and the tiny, nagging suspicion that there’s more to life than student council and GPAs.

Marshall Holt is a loser. He drinks on school nights and gets stoned in the park. He is at risk of not graduating, he does not care, he is no one. He is not even close to being in Waverly’s world.

But then one night Waverly falls asleep and dreams herself into Marshall’s bedroom—and when the sun comes up, nothing in her life can ever be the same. In Waverly’s dreams, the rules have changed. But in her days, she’ll have to decide if it’s worth losing everything for a boy who barely exists.

In love. I am in love with this book and these characters and this story. Places No One Knows follows both Waverly, top ranked student and cross country athlete who runs with the popular crown, and Marshall, stoner and drunk. Their paths cross and then everything goes *dreamy.* The real Waverly that no one sees can't sleep, like, at all. One night she lights a candle and chants some numbers then by some force of the universe she ends up where Marshall is. No one can see her but him, so is it real? Is she dreaming?

These characters were everything that drove this story to near perfection. I just wanted to be Waverly because she was with Marshall and I couldn't get enough of him. Places No One Knows shows you a real side of high school, heck it shows you a real side of life! Not everyone is who they seem on the outside. And sometimes you want something that you have to risk losing everything you've built. Waverly wants Marshall but what about the shiny shell she's built around herself? And, Marshall wants more in life but what's the point?

These two balance each other out and bring out each others real selves. You'll fall in love with them and their story and you'll even really like the secondary characters. The real world and the dream world will collide and you'll find yourself blissfully lost in between.

The only thing I will say is this might not be totally contemporary. Waverly slips into sleep and ends up where Marshall is and he can see her, feel her etc. How it's possible is never explained but you won't even care because Brenna Yovanoff makes it about the characters and their truth and you won't bat an eye. Please pick up a copy of Places No One Knows and love it as much as I do!

Blog Tour: A Totally Awkward Love Story by Tom Ellen, Lucy Ivison | Interview | Giveaway

Welcome to our stop on A Totally Awkward Love Story tour for Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison. This tour is hosted by Random House Children's Books!

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A Totally Awkward Love Story

Author: Tom Ellen, Lucy Ivison
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genres: Contemporary
Release Date: May 3rd 2016
Publisher: Delacorte
 

Kate Sullivan at Delacorte has won North American rights at auction to Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison's A Totally Awkward Love Story (previously titled Lobsters in the U.K.). The book, which Sullivan calls The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight meets Bridesmaids, is a dual narrative novel by authors who dated when they were in high school, about a boy and girl who must navigate social misunderstandings, the plotting of well-meaning friends, and their own fears about being virgins forever. It's slated for summer 2016; Allison Hellegers of Rights People brokered the deal on behalf of Barry Cunningham and Elinor Bagenal at Chicken House in the U.K.

INTERVIEW

Being former sweethearts, did they pull information from their relationships to write their book?
Yes very much so! The two main characters are pretty much loosely based on ourselves, and a lot of the things Sam and Hannah do in the book are things that we really did over that summer when we finished high school - i.e. go to a music festival, go on holiday with friends, do slightly tedious work experience... and lots of the other characters in the book are based on real friends of ours, too.

Did you find "the one" for your first time and if not what would you have done differently?
Well, we were each other's first serious relationship - but we split up after two years, so neither of us found 'the one' there! But obviously we're very glad we dated - it helped us to become such good friends, and to write this book! So, I don't think we would have done anything differently, looking back.

Since your novel was written in the UK did you make any changes for the US edition?
Yes, we made LOADS - all the little cultural references that only UK readers would get had to be changed, as well as a lot of the dialogue. Some of the funniest emails we ever received came during the re-drafting period ahead of the U.S. publication, because in the original UK book we use lots of British slang and swear words that needed to be changed so that American readers could understand. So we'd get these huge emails from quite high-up publishing people with subjects like 'KNOBHEAD = DOUCHEBAG?' and then someone else would reply, 'No I think 'knobhead's best equivalent is 'asshat', or 'I think 'dipshit' is the way to go here'. So that made us laugh a fair bit.

Why do you think people like to have a bit of comedy in their reads?
Well, everyone likes a laugh! Comedy can be good escapism, to take your mind off any worries you might have... Awkward comedy is also great because not only does it make you laugh, but also reassures you that everybody goes through embarrassing stuff at some point in their life. So in that way comedy can be quite therapeutic, too!

What is your favorite things about Sam and Hannah?
Probably that they are both really genuine. They're not pretending to be anything they're not - and they're totally open (to each other, at least) about how insecure and un-self-confident they can feel. So, hopefully real teens reading the book will relate to that!

Why do you like writing YA?
There are so many possibilities with YA. YA readers are open to anything, from comedy to romance to sci-fi to horror to ... whatever. Also, we really like the idea that we are writing very realistic (occasionally awkwardly realistic!) YA books that might give teens an idea about what love/sex/relationships are REALLY like - as opposed to the glossy, airbrushed version they are sometimes given in other movies/books.

What is your favorite bit in A Totally Awkward Love Story?
TOM: My favourite bit is (slight spoiler) when Casper breaks the news to Hannah that lobsters don't actually mate for life, and her whole life-motto has basically been based on a lie that she saw on Friends. That scene was written really last-minute by Lucy but it turned out to be one of my favourite bits in the whole book.
LUCY:  SPOILER – When Sam’s Mum asks him if Cambridge University has texted him. I don’t know why but it just cracks me up every time. Mostly because I know Tom’s Mum really well and I picture her every single time.

What are you working on next?
We are currently working on another dual narrative novel aimed at older teens, about a boy and girl in their first weeks at university. That'll be out in summer 2017, and we are very excited about it!
Do you have an inspiration board for your novel?
We didn't for A TOTALLY AWKWARD LOVE STORY... Our equivalent was just to write down everything we did during the summer after we left school, and then brainstorm ideas around those things. But for our second book, NEVER EVERS (which came out in the UK earlier this year), we did a proper inspiration board, with a little story chart so we could see how the plots and sub-plots were all developing from chapter to chapter.

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TOM ELLEN AND LUCY IVISION met at the end of high school and quickly became sweethearts. Though they broke up in college, they remain best friends. Lucy runs the online teen magazine Whatever After and teaches in girls’ schools across London, specializing in building confidence and creativity. Tom is a journalist and has written for Time Out, Vice, ESPN, Glamour, and many other publications. They cowrote A Totally Awkward Love Story, which was partially inspired by their own high school relationship. This is their first novel.

Win a copy of A Totally Awkward Love Story, courtesy of Random House!
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FOLLOW THE TOUR!
May 10: The Social Potato
May 11: Butter My Books
May 12: Peace Love Books
May 13: Tales of a Ravenous Reader
May 16: Me, My Shelf and I
May 17: No More Grumpy Bookseller 
May 18: The Irish Banana

Book Review: Stone Rider by David Hofmeyr

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Stone Rider
Author: David Hofmeyr
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: July 14th 2015
Review Source: Delacorte | ReadingTeen

  

"Intense, original, compelling . . . bristles with attitude. So cool. Just read it."--Michael Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Gone and BZRK

In the vein of The Outsiders and the early Western novels of Elmore Leonard, this inventive debut novel, a cross between the cult classic Mad Max movie series and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, blends adrenaline-fueled action with an improbable yet tender romance to offer a rich and vivid portrayal of misfits and loners forced together in their struggle for a better life.

Adam Stone wants freedom and peace. He wants a chance to escape Blackwater, the dust-bowl desert town he grew up in. Most of all, he wants the beautiful Sadie Blood. Alongside Sadie and the dangerous outsider Kane, Adam will ride the Blackwater Trail in a brutal race that will test them all, body and soul. Only the strongest will survive.

The prize? A one-way ticket to Sky-Base and unimaginable luxury.

And for a chance at this new life, Adam will risk everything.

There is something really special about Stone Riders and that is uniqueness. It’s packed with actions and is incredibly good for lovers of wild books. You ride hard or you die. This is pretty much how it goes down. Although the book is good, it is not great. Honestly, I didn’t connect with any of the characters. Which by the way are all male and there is only one female character. Weird, huh?

Adam Stone is not your typical character. He is a tough cookie to crack. Life as an orphan hasn’t been easy for him. He has learned the hard way. Most importantly, how to survive. Now, he has one goal in mind - Sky-Base. If you were to ask me what Sky-Base is, I would say, a place where people have a better life? There isn’t much details about this place. Only that is a goal for Adam. A place in which he is willing to enter some type of win-or-die race to earn a pass. Personally, I imagine this place to be a very wealthy live on a man-made space station - like in the movie Elysium. Actually this whole entire book reminded me of this movie with the cast looking like Son of Anarchy-ish..?

Okay, so Adam and everyone are bada$$. They love to fight, kill, you name it - they will do anything and everything to survive. What’s cool about them is they’re connected with their bykes - yes with the y. They have this sort of special bond. Now the only girl in this book is Sadie. Another thing that is not explain. Anyways, she totally intimidating. She has a fling with Adam. Another thing I did not understand - their relationship. It was odd.

Overall Stone Rider is very unique, unlike anything I’ve read. It’s packed with actions, something I loved. I enjoyed how all the characters love to destroy things. I loved their survival skills. However, there are many things that were not explained. My biggest issue with this book. And the romance - not really romantic, at all. But it is a good story to read and learning all these survival skills. Certainly entertaining!

Thank you for the copy, Andye!

Blog Tour: The Third Twin by C.J. Omololu + Giveaway

Welcome to our stop on The Third Twin tour for C.J. Omololu. This tour is hosted by Me, My Shelf and I.

You may have heard CJ's story, she's an amazing author with amazing friends who are supporting her as she battles Stage 4 colon cancer that has spread to her brain, hips, spinal cord, and several organs. Until recently we weren’t sure if CJ would make it to the release date of THE THRID TWIN, but with the help of some modern medicine, and a whole lot of good thoughts and prayers – it looks like things are good to go for the big day.

I couldn’t be happier to be one of the bloggers on this tour, helping to support this book and the amazing strong woman who wrote it!

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The Third Twin
Author: C.J. Omololu
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Mystery
Released: February 24th 2015
Review Source: Delacorte
  

Identical twins. Identical DNA. Identical suspects. It's Pretty Little Liars meets Revenge in this edge-of-your-seat thriller with a shocking twist.

When they were little, Lexi and her identical twin, Ava, made up a third sister, Alicia. If something broke? Alicia did it. Cookies got eaten? Alicia's guilty. Alicia was always to blame for everything. The game is all grown up now that the girls are seniors. They use Alicia as their cover to go out with boys who are hot but not exactly dating material. Boys they'd never, ever be with in real life.

Now one of the guys Alicia went out with has turned up dead, and Lexi wants to stop the game for good. As coincidences start piling up, Ava insists that if they follow the rules for being Alicia, everything will be fine. But when another boy is killed, the DNA evidence and surveillance photos point to only one suspect: Alicia. The girl who doesn't exist. As she runs from the cops, Lexi has to find the truth before another boy is murdered. Because either Ava is a killer…or Alicia is real.

What a thrilling ride! The Third Twin had me guessing to the very end. I absolutely loved the mystery and twists of this story. Any fan of Revenge and Pretty Little Liar will easily fall in love with The Third Twin.

Likely than average, to have had an imaginary friend as children is nothing new. This is something twin sisters Alexa and Ava Rios do. At young age, the girls had a habit to blame their imaginary sister "Alicia". They knew she wasn't real but they loved the idea of being triplets. As the years go passing by, this imaginary sister became an "actual person". The sisters would alternate in becoming Alicia. When one of them met a new hot guy, mostly Ava, they would become Alicia. They would use the guys and then be done with them. I found this rude. You know to play with people's emotions is not nice. But like the saying goes, what goes around comes around. Never did they expect to get Alicia involve in murder crimes. Gathering guys as enemies, whom is there to blame? But all evidences points at Alicia, the question is, which of the twin sisters did all the killing? 

This book was crazy! Fun, fast-paced and totally hair-pulling type of story. The Third Twin will keep you turning pages until the very end. I know I found myself on edge, up late at night to know the truth. 

The twins are entertaining. They may have the same face but they are completely different. I really liked both but having them pretend to be someone else to play with someone's emotion was not nice. But having a serial killer blaming them (as Alicia) was intense. As a reader, having all the evidences point at one of twin or both, really help their case. I didn't know whether to trust them or not. It was very intriguing. 

I really enjoyed reading The Third Twin. I liked Lexi the most. Although she had her flaws, I did like how she took charge of these murder cases. As mentioned, I did have my doubts but like Lexi, I thought I had this mystery resolved! Only to be fooled and very wrong. 

If you love mystery and/or fast-paced stories, then this one is for you. 

PRE-ORDER a SIGNED copy of THE THIRD TWIN from
A Great Good Place for Books
By calling: (510) 339-8210 Or By E-mailing them at: books@ggpbooks.com

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CJ OMOLOLU is the author of the ALA-YALSA Quick Pick Dirty Little Secrets and several other YA novels. She loved to read but never thought to write until she discovered that the voices in her head often have interesting things to say. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their two sons.

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Book Review: Little White Lies by Katie Dale

Little White Lies
Author: Katie Dale
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: December 9, 2014
Review Source: Delacorte

The first time Lou meets mysterious Christian, she knows he is The One. But Christian is hiding a terrible secret. Why does he clam up every time Lou asks about his past? Why doesn’t he have any family photos, and why does he dye his blond hair black? When Christian’s house goes up in flames, his tires are slashed, and he flees for his life, Lou insists on going with him. But as Christian’s secret is unveiled in front of the whole world, it seems everything he’s ever told Lou is a lie. Can what the media are saying about him really be true? Should Lou trust him? Or is she in grave danger? And what if their accidental meeting wasn’t an accident at all...?

Don't you hate it when something looks and sounds so good, but then you're left feeling like it wasn't exactly what you were expecting? Well, that's how I felt after reading Little White Lies. I loved the cover and I loved the blurb on the inside cover, heck, I even loved the little teaser on the back of the book. However, when I started to read, I noticed that the writing was lacking and it just didn't do it for me.

One of my biggest pet peeves, and this is only because I'm a writer too, is something called tag lines. You might not even know what they are and probably don't even notice them yourself, but they bother me so bad. Tag lines are found at the end of someone speaking. Like, "I tell her honestly" and "Mike yells." Does that sound too picky? Probably, but by the time teens are reading at this level, they really don't need those tag lines as much, and this one had a lot. It became too distracting to really get into the plot and characters.

Another issue I had with the book is that the dialogue felt a little unrealistic. I may be thirty, yes I know I'm old, but it hasn't been that long since I was a teen. There were a lot of times in the story where I felt that the dialogue was too long. When I'm talking with my friends, I don't give them everything all at once. We talk back and forth to each other and it's short and sweet. Sometimes, more than I like, the dialogue went on and on and on.

I gave this book a three tree review instead of a two because I really did like the plot of the story and it held my attention for the most part. I don't think I will read other books written by this author, but I would recommend it to my students. I'm just a little too picky after reading so many great books, so don't take my word for it and read it yourself.

Cover Reveal: For the Record by Charlotte Huang + Giveaway

We are excited to share the cover of Charlotte Huang's For the Record!!

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Chelsea thought she knew what being a rock star was like . . . until she became one. After losing a TV talent show, she slid back into small-town anonymity. But one phone call changed everything.

Now she’s the lead singer of the band Melbourne, performing in sold-out clubs every night and living on a bus with three gorgeous and talented guys. The bummer is that the band barely tolerates her. And when teen hearthrob Lucas Rivers take an interest in her, Chelsea is suddenly famous, bringing Melbourne to the next level—not that they’re happy about that. Her feelings for Beckett, Melbourne’s bassist, are making life even more complicated.

Chelsea only has the summer tour to make the band—and their fans—love her. If she doesn’t, she’ll be back in Michigan for senior year, dying a slow death. The paparazzi, the haters, the grueling schedule . . . Chelsea believed she could handle it. But what if she can’t?

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Charlotte Huang is a graduate of Smith College and received an MBA from Columbia Business School, which is clearly something every aspiring writer should do. When not glued to her computer, she cheers her two sons on at sporting events and sometimes manages to stay up late enough to check out bands with her music agent husband. Charlotte lives in Los Angeles and is the author of For the Record (Delacorte, 2015)

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Plus FOR THE RECORD swag.
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