Tag Archive | surprises

Magic visions, compelling stories – this week’s SYNC audiobook features

Jun15

Hurry to download this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC  by June 19th, and dive into two different worlds of magical visions.

Remember that although each week’s complete audiobooks are only available from Thursday through Wednesday, you have free use of them as long as you keep their Overdrive Media files on your computer or electronic device.
 

CD cover for audiobook of The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater read by Will Patton published by Scholastic AudiobooksThe Raven Boys
By Maggie Stiefvater
Read by Will Patton
Published by Scholastic Audiobooks

 

 

CD cover of audiobook Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya read by Robert Ramirez published by Recorded Books
Bless Me, Ultima
By Rudolfo Anaya
Read by Robert Ramirez
Published by Recorded Books
This title is only available to listeners in the USA and Canada.
 

Will the power of magical visions solve problems in this world? Read and find out!
**kmm

Spy School, by Stuart Gibbs (book review) – secret agents, wannabe agents, double agent!

Jun14

book cover of Spy School by Stuart Gibbs published by Simon SchusterPlanning ideal future career,
Investigating opportunities,
Tripping over both feet –
CIA material or not?

Ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, and they’ll give a list of amazing, exciting jobs – astronaut, firefighter, doctor – but Ben isn’t just dreaming about becoming a spy; he’s written to the Central Intelligence Agency numerous times about it!

Now in paperback, this Edgar Award nominee should be easy to find at your local library or independent bookstore, but try not to look too conspicuous as you pick up your copy… you do want to be around to see what happens to Ben and compatriots when they get to Spy Camp,  right?

I wonder if they really do recruit middle schoolers for covert training….
**kmm

Book info:  Spy School / Stuart Gibbs.  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012 (paperback 2013).  [author site]  [publisher site]  [author interview]

My book talk: A secret agent in his living room, telling him to get ready to go to spy school! Ben’s biggest dream is about to come true. If he doesn’t get maimed or killed during his first day, he might be able to find the mole who’s endangering CIA operations from within…

As agent Alexander Hale tells him, “When you express an interest in the CIA, the CIA becomes interested in you,” and the Agency has been keeping close tabs on the 12-year-old for quite a while. Naturally, his parents and classmates have to think that he’s at an elite science school in nearby Washington, D.C. – no one can know that he’s entering the Academy of Espionage.

Coming in during the middle of the year isn’t easy at any school, but Academy class subjects make Ben’s transition much harder. Math and science are Ben’s gifts, not hand-to-hand combat (he’ll need tutoring), covert target shooting (practice, practice, practice), or clandestine surveillance (yep, behind in that, too).

Luckily, Erica has all those skills and is willing to help him improve, although Ben begins to wonder just why he’s at the Academy and who dropped out at midterm leaving the spot open for him. Other students aren’t a bit friendly, and he realizes that competition for the best CIA assignments in real life begins here inside the Academy.

When bullies Chip and Hauser vanish into thin air during a paintball attack and a bomb found underground exposes a true threat to the Academy, it’s time for Ben and Erica to do some extra-credit work. A few glitches might be accidental, but the increasingly serious incidents point to sabotage…which may endanger national security!

Can Ben and Erica discover which of their classmates is a double-agent?
Can they convince the adults in charge of the danger?
Can Ben survive until his final exams this semester?

Washington D.C. landmarks are supporting characters in this series-starter filled with action, secrets, and math whiz tricks.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Criminal, by Terra Elan McVoy (book review by guest blogger Alison Law) – bold and brutal exploration of bad decisions and their consequences

Jun12

It’s guest blogger day on Blogathon 2013, so let’s welcome “Southern Spines” blogger Alison Law to BooksYALove!

She’s bringing us a quick peek into Terra Elan McVoy’s newest book, Criminal  (which is soooo good). I’ve previously recommended Terra’s novel-in-verse After the Kiss  and her rock-music-themed Being Friends With Boys  (click link for my no-spoilers book talk in a new window).

As Terra and Alison ask – how far would you go for love?
**kmm

+++++

headshot of author Terra Elan McVoy

author Terra Elan McVoy

Inspired by a news story about a young man accused of murdering his girlfriend’s parent with another girl as his accomplice, Terra Elan McVoy asks the reader, “How far would you go for love?” She searches for the answer to that question from the perspective of her main character, Nikki, who has unknowingly become an accessory to murder.

Read an excerpt from the book here.

Book info: Criminal / Terra Elan McVoy. Simon Pulse, 2013. [author site] [publisher site] [video author interview]

book cover of Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy published by Simon PulseAlison’s book talk: As the title foretells, Criminal  is a dark departure from McVoy’s first four YA novels. Protagonist Nikki lives with her friend Bird, a young single mom, in a tough neighborhood in Atlanta. Nikki fled her family home because her mom is a drug addict who often brings home questionable characters. With no family support, Nikki clings to love where she can find it, even if it’s Dee, her on-again/off-again boyfriend who often mistreats her.

McVoy makes an interesting choice to begin the book the morning after the crime has taken place; the details of what happened are revealed in subsequent chapters in a plot-thickening, satisfying way. Readers discover along with Nikki just how deeply entangled she is in Dee’s deceptions and witness Nikki’s troubles multiply as she lies to protect the man she loves.

No one reading the book can deny that Nikki is a criminal — the facts are very plain. Yet, anyone who has survived young adulthood and a relationship with a “bad boy” or “bad girl” will relate to Nikki’s predicament. Readers see what Nikki cannot, but grieve right along with her when she realizes that the person she trusted, loved and sacrificed for has betrayed her.

In their starred review of Criminal, Publishers Weekly said that what McVoy “gets so powerfully right in this novel is the way that love can descend like a fog, impairing one’s judgment and obscuring the truth.”

headshot photo of Alison Law of SouthernSpines.comGuest Blogger Bio: Alison Law is a professional writer and marketing and social media consultant based in Atlanta, Georgia. As owner of Alison Law Communications, she has worked with a variety of clients, including published authors and book publicity firms, public relations and advertising agencies, attorneys, accountants, veterinarians and other professional service providers.

Her career began twenty years ago in a newsroom in her hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. She spent almost seven years in various editorial and management positions at television stations in Chattanooga, Lexington, Kentucky and Baltimore, Maryland.

In 2012, Alison combined her editorial, online marketing and social media skills to launch SouthernSpines.com, an online community dedicated to celebrating and promoting southern writers, songwriters and poets, and “Books with Backbone.” Alison is a member of the She Reads Book Blogger network.

Alison is a part-time graduate student at Georgia State University where she is pursuing a master’s degree in English with a concentration in literary studies. She’s also “football widow” and fan club president to husband Zach Law, a successful fantasy and pro football writer. When not reading or writing…or reading some more…Alison is catching up on her neglected DVR queue with her two cats, Sting and Chewie.

Book cover image and review copy courtesy of the publisher. Terra’s photo and Alison’s photo appear courtesy of SouthernSpines.com.

Being Henry David, by Cal Armistead (book review) – memory gone, called to Walden

Jun11

book cover of Being Henry David by Cal Armistead published by Albert WhitmanNo luggage, no memory,
No memory, no past…
Why? Why did he erase his own memories?

From wherever home was, teenage “Hank” finds himself alone in a train station with only a copy of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden  and knows that he must get to Walden Pond, just as the author did, to discover truth through nature and perhaps find the strength to face his past.

Read an excerpt of the book here as you dive into the story of why a young man abandons his memory and decides that Being Henry David  is much better than being himself.

Can deciding that a memory doesn’t exist change the past?
**kmm

Book info: Being Henry David / Cal Armistead. Albert Whitman, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [video author interview]

My book talk: Waking up in Penn Station alone, no memories. None. Looking in washroom mirror, he sees a teenage guy with black hair, gray eyes, a big lump on his head. He has ten bucks in his front pocket and a copy of Walden – that’s it. He’ll be Henry David, after its author, until he can remember his own name or past or why he can’t remember…

Another teen rescues him from a homeless guy who wants to eat the book, nicknames him Hank because Henry David is too long, takes him to a hidden place to sleep, and gets him involved with some drug dealers who need more runners. After a knife fight, running seems like an excellent idea, so Jack splits the drug money and Hank gets on the train for Concord, looking for answers at Walden Pond, the only glimmer of memory he’s got.

Thoreau’s cabin site is easy to find, says Hailey, the girl he meets at the station. But Hank can’t understand why there is no cabin at the cabin site, just four rock cornerstones and a slab… cold sleeping tonight, and dreams where Thoreau speaks to him.

Is Thoreau there in the flesh in the morning? No, it’s Thomas, who does historical interpretations at Walden Pond and is the town reference librarian, heavily tattooed and riding a Harley. He shares breakfast with Hank, shares hia appreciation for Thoreau’s vision of a simpler life, but doesn’t pry into Hank’s affairs.

In Concord, Hank scopes out Hailey’s high school as a place to stay over the weekend, trying to avoid the blackness that erupts when he probes his memories. Visiting the town library to read more about Thoreau, Hank passes out as the infected knife wound clobbers his system and Thomas takes him home.

Hank’s fingers remember how to play the guitar – can he help Hailey in the Battle of the Bands?
Thomas suggests checking the missing teens database – can he find himself?
The blackness holding back his memories wavers – can he live with what he remembers?

Whether runaways or kidnapped, lost, strayed or stolen, so many stories of teens gone from home have unhappy endings – read Being Henry David to see if Hank’s story is one of them. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Furious, by Jill Wolfson (book review) – the Furies reborn or vengeance unleashed?

Jun10

book cover of Furious by Jill Wolfson published by Henry HoltThe tree-hugger, the surfer chick, and the outcast foster kid,
All angry, all the time,
Where is the justice in this world?

This modern retelling of the Greek tale of the three Furies is set in a coastal California town high school, where small unkindnesses can become overlarge events and grudges erupt into feuds too easily. Add an outside influence with less-than-clear motives for nudging things into motion, and it gets ‘interesting’ in a hurry.

Read Ambrosia’s thoughts in the prologue  here and an excerpt from Meg’s point of view here, then get ready to step into the violent whirl of life, injustice, and vengeance that makes these girls so Furious.

Is righting wrongs worth the price of losing everything else?
**kmm

Book info: Furious / Jill Wolfson.  Henry Holt & Co., 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]

My book talk: Meg is a late-bloomer, always on the fringes, barely tolerated by her foster mother, ignored by everyone at school except best (and only) friend Raymond…until stunning Ambrosia pulls her into a class project group and unleashes something in Meg she never knew she had – and never should have awakened.

Whether she hates the birth mother who abandoned her more than she loathes her foster homes is as much a question for Meg as why she and vibrant Raymond clicked as friends. He understands why she found herself verbalizing her hatred for everyone at school who’s excluded her, right? Meg felt something deep and real within herself when she stood on her desk and finally said it out loud.

Ambrosia understands why Meg did it, and the beautiful sophisticate also understands why Alix hates anyone mocking her special needs brother and why Stephanie hates attacks on nature and the environment. For their Western Civilization creative project (with Raymond, who won’t be left out), she suggests that they investigate the Furies and justice and retribution.

Meg and Alix and Stephanie discover that if they sing together the song humming in their bones, they can dive into the minds of the wicked and stop malicious behavior. Ambrosia teaches and encourages their quest to right wrongs, while their Western Civ teacher Ms. Pallas tries to warn them of the thin line between justice and vengeance.

Can the trio bring peace and order to Hunter High?
Why did Ambrosia choose them?
How can Meg balance her thirst for retribution with her desire to be loved?

The tale of the three Furies leaps from ancient Greece to a fog-shrouded coastal California town as the teens must decide if they are really the Furies reborn or merely pawns in a sinister game.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Pieces, by Chris Lynch (book review) – brother’s organs donated, life still in pieces

Jun9

book cover of Pieces by Chris Lynch published by Simon SchusterPulling the plug means giving up,
Giving up all hope that he’ll come out of the coma,
That he’ll wake up again for his brother and best friend.
How can they say goodbye?

This family’s tough decision is made the tiniest bit better by knowing that their 20-year-old son’s organs will improve life for several other people.

Today and every day, 18 people in America will die waiting for an organ transplant. Read answers to myths about organ donation, talk to your family about it, sign up at your state registry or on your driver license as an organ donor, and hope the day never comes.

While Pieces  is the sequel to Iceman,  in this book you get enough glimpses of irreverent Duane in Eric’s reminiscences of his big brother  to have the gist of their relationship. But I’m sure that reading Iceman  first (just out in paperback this spring) would add even more to this journey of discovery, with all its stops and starts and roller-coaster emotions.

Lynch tackled a similarly tough topic in Hothouse  (my recommendation here) as best friends who are sons of best-buddy firefighters must cope with their fathers’ deaths amid questions about that last fire they fought together.

How do you go on when a vital person in your life is gone?
**kmm

Book info: Pieces / Chris Lynch. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.   [author interview]  [author video interview]   [publisher site]

My book talk: Diving into unknown water was so like Duane. Eric didn’t want to let his big brother and best friend go, but their parents decided organ donation is the right thing. Now pieces of Duane are inside other people all over New England, and Eric finally decides to find out how that changed their lives.

As the life support machines beeped, Eric pleaded with Duane to wake up, to get back to his crazy self, to stay with him as his best (maybe only) friend. But no miracle occurred, despite Mom’s constant prayers, so the doctors asked if Duane’s organs can be used to help others. Eric’s anger still isn’t enough to stop his world from crumbling…

A year passes and Eric decides to take up donor services on their offer to connect him with those who received a new lease on life because of Duane. Out of high school a year, and still in a fog of grief, replaying the Navy recruiting video, but never having the strength to carry through, Eric needs to know that something good came out of Duane’s accident.

Donor Services arranges for 3 recipients of Duane’s organs to join Eric for high tea at a fancy Boston hotel – teenaged Phil who can hear at last with Duane’s earbones, young mother Melinda whose new kidney will allow her to see her son grow up, and brash Barry who seems to be using Duane’s liver as a cocktail strainer. They’re nice people (except Barry), and they really enjoy hearing about the adventures that Eric shared with his big brother, telling him that if he wants to stay in touch, they do too.

Duane’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, who left the country to volunteer overseas just before the accident, is back in town, having missed the funeral and the chance to mourn with the family. Meeting the people who now have pieces of Duane sounds like a good idea to her, so suddenly Eric is taking Martha to a birthday for Melinda’s 4-year-old son at Chuck E. Cheese, helping her host a cookout at her apartment for Phil and his mom, trying not to gag when Barry flirts with her over sangria.

How are these people related to him, now that they are part-Duane?
Can’t his parents understand that meeting them would help them heal, too?
Now where does he go in life without Duane?

Walking the long road of grief recovery gets a little easier for Eric with new friends and expanded possibilities in this follow-up to Iceman,  Lynch’s first novel about the brothers.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

SYNC free audiobooks for June 6-12: most mysterious!

Jun8

Time to download this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC so you can read with your ears!

Remember that although these complete audiobooks are only available from Thursday through Wednesday, you have free use of them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device

Bookmark the SYNC site now so you can download great audiobooks all summer long: http://www.audiobooksync.com/

CD cover of Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood read by Katherine Kellgren for HarperAudioThe Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1: The Mysterious Howling
By Maryrose Wood
Read by Katherine Kellgren
Published by HarperAudio

 

 

Jane Eyreaudiobook cover of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte read by Wanda McCaddon for Tantor Media
By Charlotte Brontë
Read by Wanda McCaddon
Published by Tantor Media

Have you read either of these spooky titles before?
**kmm

Ghost Knight, by Cornelia Funke (book review) – murder long-passed, a knight long-dead, danger now!

Jun7

book cover of Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke translated by Oliver Latsch published by Little BrownGhostly rider with blood on his sword,
evil sidekicks with murder on their minds,
how many centuries can a death vow stay alive?

Every ancient cathedral and old castle has unexplained deaths in its history, many have ghosts who appear with a bit of regularity, but most don’t feature bloodthirsty murderers’ specters threatening schoolkids in their beds!

Listen to an excerpt of the audiobook version here and be sure to view the book trailer of the author visiting Salisbury Cathedral and reading aloud the section where Jon meets the Ghost Knight  for the very first time.

The paperback version was published in May 2013, so you should be able to find it in several formats at your local library or independent bookstore.

Would you call on a ghost to help you solve a dangerous mystery?
**kmm

Book info:  Ghost Knight / Cornelia Funke.; translated by Oliver Latsch. Little Brown, hardback 2012, paperback 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Boarding school, rain, Mum in love with a dentist – Jon thought life couldn’t get worse…until he’s threatened by ghosts who can injure him, meets a girl with an adventurous streak, and invokes a dead knight to right the wrongs!

It definitely wasn’t Jon’s idea to attend the same boarding school as his late father, but after his many attempts to make his mother fall out of love with The Beard (as Jon called the dentist who tricked his little sisters and dog into liking him) all backfired, the 11-year-old found himself on the train to Salisbury. He doesn’t care about the ancient city’s history that his houseparents love and doesn’t care that he wasn’t selected for the cathedral school’s famous choir.

But the ghosts whispering threats about killing him, trying to ride him down on ghostly horses – those are another matter! Ella at school takes Jon to visit her grandmother who gives ghost tours. They discover that Lord Stourton and his henchmen were hanged for the death of Jon’s relatives centuries ago, vowing revenge. Zelda says Jon is in danger if he stays here, but he doesn’t want to go home to Mum and The Beard.

So Jon calls on the knight Longspee who originally captured Stourton, asking the ghost knight to help him rid the school of these wicked specters and save him from their vengeance.

Can Jon and Ella trust Longspee who wants to stay away from this world?
Can the trio truly send Stourton and crew back to their graves forever?
Can Jon find any way to keep The Beard from becoming his stepfather?

Through Latsch’s flowing translation, the noted German fantasy author of the Inkspell trilogy brings readers into the echoing aisles of Salisbury Cathedral and the windswept ruins of old castles as Jon and Ella fight enemies they cannot touch with mortal hands. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Memory of After, by Lenore Appelhans (book review) – sinister stop-off between life and heaven

Jun6

book cover of Memory of After by Lenore Appelhans published by Simon SchusterDead, but not gone,
memory lives on,
in limbo, but never heaven?

Felicia figured she was more likely to end up in hell than heaven, considering what she’d done with Julian and to her best friend before she was banished to Grammy’s small town, but her time with Neal was slowly convincing her that forgiveness was possible.

And then she died – bam – end of second chances… or was it? Given a choice of revisiting memories of Neal forever or trying to change a corrupt system, she does have a second chance – if she dares to act.

In an unusual turn, the publisher realized that the hardback title Level 2  and its cover art (shown next to My Book Talk section) did not fit with the story, so the paperback (issued just 3 months after original pub date) uses the new title and art seen above. I agree that their first choice made this book look and sound like some paranormal video game, rather than the contest between good, not-so-good, maybe-evil, and oh-so-bad that it is.

Could you give up your favorite memories to move on?
**kmm

Book info: The Memory of After (Memory Chronicles, book 1) [hardback title: Level 2] / Lenore Appelhans. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.  [author’s blog]  [publisher site]  [author video interview]

book cover of Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans published by Simon Schuster, reissued as Memory of After

original hardback cover art & title

My book talk: Felicia’s not in heaven or hell, just stuck in Level 2 reliving memories over and over. When another girl in her pod vanishes and no one else remembers she was there, the teen thinks something’s amiss. When a dangerous guy from her past on Earth invades the pod to recruit her into a revolt against the angels, she knows something really strange is going on!

Not that Felicia was a good girl as a teenager, but dying just a day short of her 18th birthday seems so unfair. After the horrific incident with Julian and her best friend Autumn in Germany, her diplomat parents sent to live with her grandmother Stateside.

Felicia has lived in cities around the world, so the tiny Oklahoma town and Grammy’s strictness strangle her, but maybe it’s punishment she deserves.  School, church, school, home – that’s it. Meeting Neal at church youth group is the best thing in her world. Maybe she can overcome her guilt after all, with his love and help.

Now here she is with other dead teen girls in their stark white pod, not hungry or thirsty, accessing the best-ever memories. like her time with Neal. Suddenly Beckah finds herself trapped in her own terrifying death memory and is gone when Felicia checks on her later…and the other girls swear there never was any Beckah!

Julian’s abrupt appearance in the pod is alarming – no one ever comes in, let alone boys! He says he’s coming back for Felicia, then leaves. What’s going on? How did Julian find her? Is he dead, too?

As the pod is attacked and Felicia flees with Julian, she sees that there are thousands of pods, which means many thousands of people-drones here with their memories instead of in heaven or hell…

Why did angels set up pods filled with good memories that no one wants to abandon?
Why does Julian need Felicia’s help to “restore balance” in the afterlife?
Is Neal in one of those pods?

The battle is just beginning in this new series that takes the power of memories to a whole new level.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Reconstructing Amelia, by Kimberly McCreight (book review) – not a suicide, not a chance

Jun4

book cover of Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight published by HarperPrivate school academic pressure
or vicious peer pressure?
What sent Amelia over the edge?

First love isn’t always easy or simple. Lifelong friendships may break apart or simply drift away during high school. Parents don’t know what their children experience every minute; kids don’t think that their parents were ever in such predicaments. Told in several voices, Amelia’s story is both familiar and unusual, with an outcome you might expect, but an ending you won’t guess.

On her website, author Kimberly McCreight asks folks to post “what would you tell your mother or your daughter” – anonymously, if need be –  if they could only find the courage or the right words or the right time, sharing the conversations on her Facebook page, hoping that the right time is sooner rather than too late.

This mystery-tragedy jumped onto the bestseller lists before I could finish this post, so you should easily find it at your local library or favorite independent bookstore now.

Is it ever too late to say the right thing?
**kmm

Book info: Reconstructing Amelia / Kimberly McCreight. Harper, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Amelia would never cheat, so why would she take her own life before fighting against the false accusation? As her mother tries to uncover the truth about her death, pieces of Amelia that no one knew begin to surface through emails, text messages, and notes.

Known as an over-achiever even by Grace Hall school standards, Amelia writes thoughtful, compelling essays all the time, so the idea that she plagiarized an entire English paper about her favorite author is absurd. Her mother rushes from her law office to the posh private school when notified of her suspension for cheating, only to find that the fifteen-year-old hadn’t survived a fall from the roof. Amelia – suicide?

An anonymous text message “Amelia didn’t jump” pulls Kate from her haze of grief, as the single mother realizes that there are parts missing from the story surrounding her daughter’s death and decides that she must get to the bottom of things. With the help of a new police detective, her law firm’s IT department, and interviews with students and parents, a chilling picture emerges, centered on the social clubs which Grace Hall insists are not official school organizations.

Why did Amelia feel under so much pressure?
Who did she fall in love with and hide from everyone?
Why did she stop sharing secrets with her best friend?
What really went on with Dylan, Zaidie and the other Magpies Club girls?

This riveting story of peer pressure, indiscretions, cover-ups, and missteps on Amelia’s voyage of self-discovery is told through her diary entries, Facebook updates, text messages, emails, notes shoved in her locker, a particularly snarky blog devoted to Grace Hall gossip, plus Kate’s narrative and her own college diary.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.