Extract - The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

This is my first involvement in a blog tour and I'm very happy to be taking part.

Below is the second extract from The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson which is just available in the shops. The first extract is on Wondrous Reads, the third extract is up on Chicklish and the fourth will be on Presenting Lenore.

Synopsis: A vibrant, deeply romantic and unmissable debut.

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to centre stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, with a nearly magical grin. One boy takes Lennie out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But the two can't collide without Lennie's world exploding...

NB. The Sky is Everywhere is aimed for readers of 14+ and is reflected in the extract below.

Extract 2

I keep waiting for him to move his hand away, to turn back around, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t take his hand or gaze off of me. Time slows. Something shifts in the room, between us. I look into his sorrowful eyes and he into mine, and I think, He misses her as much as I do, and that’s when he kisses me – his mouth: soft, hot, so alive, it makes me moan. I wish I could say I pull away, but I don’t. I kiss him back and don’t want to stop because in that moment I feel like Toby and I together have, somehow, in some way, reached across time, and pulled Bailey back.
He breaks away, springs to his feet. “I don’t understand this.” He’s in an instant-just-add-water panic, pacing the room.
“God, I should go, I really should go.”
But he doesn’t go. He sits down on Bailey’s bed, looks over at me and then sighs as if giving in to some invisible force. He says my name and his voice is so hoarse and hypnotic it pulls me up onto my feet, pulls me across miles of shame and guilt. I don’t want to go to him, but I do want to too. I have no idea what to do, but still I walk across the room, wavering a bit from the tequila, to his side. He takes my hand and tugs on it gently.
“I just want to be near you,” he whispers. “It’s the only time I don’t die missing her.”
“Me too.” I run my finger along the sprinkle of freckles on his cheek. He starts to well up, then I do too. I sit down next to him and then we lie down on Bailey’s bed, spooning. My last thought before falling asleep in his strong, safe arms is that I hope we are not replacing our scents with the last remnants of Bailey’s own that still infuse the bedding.
When I wake again, I’m facing him, our bodies pressed together, breath intermingling. He’s looking at me. “You’re beautiful, Len.”
“No,” I say. Then choke out one word. “Bailey.”
“I know,” he says. But he kisses me anyway. “I can’t help it.” He whispers it right into my mouth. I can’t help it either.

Library Loot (49) & (50)

Two weeks' worth in one post due to my attendance of CrimeFest last weekend:

Library

L-R

Street Heroes by Joe Layburn
Two of Us by Brendan Halpin
Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Conspiracy 365: March by Gabrielle Lord
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
The Facts of Life (Rachel Riley) by Joanna Nadin

Bought

Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud by Andrew Lane
Doctor Who: Night of the Humans by David Llewellyn
Beautiful Dead: Summer by Eden Maguire

Prizes & A Review Copy


Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon (out now) - review copy

Teenager Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is renowned. But his whole world is suddenly turned upside down on the night his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters - immortal vampire-slayers who risk everything to save humanity - and he quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous one that's filled with all kinds of evil. However, before he can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students start turning into flesh-eating members of the undead. Nick knows he's in real danger and he soon has a lot more to deal with than starting high school: he's under pressure to hide his new friends from his mother and his chainsaw from the principal while trying to impress the girl he has a crush on ? all without getting grounded, suspended...or killed.

Firespell by Chloe Neill (out now) - prize
As the new girl at the elite St. Sophia's boarding school, Lily Parker thinks her classmates are the most monstrous things she'll have to face. When Lily's guardians decided to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago, she was shocked. So was St. Sophia's. Lily's ultra-rich brat pack classmates think Lily should be the punchline to every joke, and on top of that, she's hearing strange noises and seeing bizarre things in the shadows of the creepy building. The only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout's a little weird - she keeps disappearing late at night and won't tell Lily where she's been. But when a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout running from a real monster. Scout's a member of a splinter group of rebel teens with unique magical talents, who've sworn to protect the city against demons, vampires, and Reapers, magic users who've been corrupted by their power. And when Lily finds herself in the line of a firespell, Scout tells her the truth about her secret life, even though Lily has no powers of her own - at least, none that she's discovered yet . . .

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (out now) - prize
Max Carver's father - a watchmaker and inventor - decides to move his family to a small town on the coast, to an old house that once belonged to a prestigious surgeon, Dr Richard Fleischmann. But the house holds many secrets and stories of its own. Behind it is an overgrown garden full of statues surrounded by a metal fence topped with a six-pointed star. When he goes to investigate, Max finds that the statues seem to consist of a kind of circus troop with the large statue of a clown at its centre. Max has the curious sensation that the statue is beckoning to him. As the family settles in they grow increasingly uneasy: they discover a box of old films belonging to the Fleischmanns; his sister has disturbing dreams and his other sister hears voices whispering to her from an old wardrobe. They also discover the wreck of a boat that sank many years ago in a terrible storm. Everyone on board perished except for one man - an engineer who built the lighthouse at the end of the beach. During the dive, Max sees something that leaves him cold - on the old mast floats a tattered flag with the symbol of the six-pointed star. As they learn more about the wreck, the chilling story of the Prince of the Mists begins to emerge.

Bookshop Deals

I had a mooch round this afternoon to see what's on offer in the bricks and mortar bookshops:

Tesco is a good bet as they have BOGOF on all children's books unfortunately the stock is a bit low in my local shop (or I've already got it!). eg only 1 of the 3 new Doctor Who titles was available.

Waterstone's has 3 for 2 as usual on a selection of titles.

W H Smith's has 3 for 2 on all its children's books.

Trailer Thursday - Eclipse clip

Rough Cut Reviews have a new short clip from the Eclipse film showing some tension between Edward (having a bad hair day) and Jacob. Watch it here. It's different to the official new clip released yesterday. There is also a new poster:

Publishing Deal - Gabrielle Donnelly

Not strictly teenage but is linked to a classic children's book - from Publishers Lunch:

Gabrielle Donnelly's THE SECRET LIVES OF SISTERS, inspired by the story of Little Women about sisters who are the descendants of Jo March, when one sister is at a crossroads in her life, she finds her great grandmother Jo's letters to Meg, Beth and Amy, and discovers Jo's secrets may hold the key to finding her own way in life, to Touchstone Fireside, for publication in summer 2011.

Review: Conspiracy 365: January by Gabrielle Lord

Conspiracy 365: January by Gabrielle Lord (January 2010, Hodder Children's Books, ISBN: 0340996447)

First Lines:

New Year's Eve
Flood Street, Richmond

11.25am

It was the wild, billowing black cloak, streaming behind the menacing figure, that first caught my eye.

Review: Australian author Gabrielle Lord has written a series featuring teenager Cal Ormond which, is quite unusually, being published at the rate of one book per month with each issue coming out on the 1st of the month. In the first book, January, we are introduced to Cal on the 31 December. His dad has died a few months previously from a mystery virus which left him unable to speak. Cal is in the street when a shambling man tells him that he is in danger but if he survives the next 365 days then he will be ok.

Before Cal's dad died he visited Ireland where he stumbled on a family secret and he wrote about it to Cal and included a drawing of a soldier with angel wings. He said that they would be rich. Cal never found out what his dad knew and bad things have been occurring ever since. In January, Cal has several near-death experiences and when he can't even trust his family he is forced to go on the run...

January sets up the premise for the whole series and the pages count down from 185 to 0 along with the number of days Cal has left to survive. The chapter headings are the date and each chapter is divided into different times. The action is pretty non-stop, as any days which are quiet are missed out of the narrative. There are some real baddies in this and a nasty and scary cliff-hanger ending. I liked Cal and his friend Boges and the Australian setting makes a change (hot weather in January!) for UK readers. I think this could be a great series for teenage fans of thrillers, especially boys. The books aren't too long and the font-size is large, so that might also encourage less enthusiastic readers to have a go.

What no Library Loot?

Apologies for the lack of recent posts. I've been away at a Crime Fiction convention for a few days. I'm now home but I haven't opened my stack of post yet and so I've decided to leave my library loot/acquisitions post until next weekend. I did mange to write a couple of reviews and read a couple of teenage books whilst I was away though :).

Read Pretty Little Liars - online

HarperTeen as made the first instalment of the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard (now a tv show) available to read online. It can be read in full here.

The tv show premieres on Tuesday, June 8 at 8:00PM ET/PT.

Waiting on Wednesday - The Ghost and the Goth

I've been seeing the title "The Ghost and the Goth" round and about so I thought I'd look into it and yes it looks my cup of tea. Written by Stacey Kade it will be out in the US on 29 June.
(The cover is taken from Stacey Kade's website)

After a close encounter with a bus, Alona Dare goes from homecoming queen to Queen of the Dead. She’s stuck as a ghost in the land of the living with no sign of a “big, bright light” to take her to a better place. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser.

More than anything, Will wishes he didn’t have the rare ability to communicate with the dead, especially the former mean girl of Groundsboro High. He’s not filling out any volunteer forms to help her cross to the other side, though it would bring him some welcome peace and quiet.

Can they get over their mutual distrust—and quasi attraction—to work together? Readers of this spirited paranormal comedy won’t want this odd couple ever to part.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Review: Shrink to Fit by Dona Sarkar

Shrink to Fit by Dona Sarkar (August 2008, Kimani TRU, ISBN: 0373830955)

First Lines:
Love and Basketball
Leah Mandeville poised her arms above her head, the ball weighing heavily in her sweaty palms.

Review: Shrink to Fit is the story of Leah Mandeville, a basketball star with everything going for her until she perceives herself to be too fat. Her mum is a former (and occasionally current) model who begins to pressure Leah to lose some weight so that they can be in a mother and daughter photo-shoot for Jade magazine along with celebrities like Demi and Tallulah Moore. In addition, Leah fancies her best friend Jay but he doesn't seem to feel the same way and seems to be attracted to skinny cheerleaders.

So Leah loses 10lbs and though she is complimented she still doesn't fit into the same clothes as her friend Shazan, so Shazan offers her diet pills. So begins Leah's descent in weight and in health until a tragedy makes her consider her actions and if what she's been doing is good for her.

Shrink to Fit is a quick read and as the chapters progress they begin with Leah's weight in lbs. A nice touch - as Leah is a film fan - is that the chapters have movie titles. Leah is a likeable character and this is a straightforward tale of what happens to her body and mind when she doesn't eat. Leah's family and friends fail her in different ways; her mum is a particularly unsympathetic character even when she reveals that she has suffered in the past. This is a cautionary tale equally relevant to teenagers, and their parents.

(Though the book is listed as having 250 pages, the last 45 or so are an excerpt from How to Salsa in a Sari.)

Shrink to Fit is published by the Kimani TRU imprint: "Groundbreaking young-adult fiction, Kimani TRU focuses on the triumphs and obstacles of today's African-American youth with wit and realism!".

The Times recently ran an interesting article on rise of the "plus-size" model ie size 14 and up.

Library Loot (48)

No purchases or review books this week. The following are all from my library:

Doctor Who: The Last Voyage by Dan Abnett (audio book)
An exclusive audio story featuring the 10th Doctor, as played by David Tennant in the hit BBC TV series. The TARDIS materialises on board the maiden voyage of a pioneering space cruiser, travelling from Earth to the planet Eternity. The Doctor hasn’t been exploring for long when nearly all of the passengers disappear, leaving a panic-stricken few behind. As if that wasn’t enough, something awful awaits them all on Eternity…

Rift by Beverley Birch (audio book)
In a vast African landscape four teenagers and a journalist vanish without trace. As Ella, the sister of one of the missing girls, helps the police piece together what happened, she realises there are terrifying possibilities for her sister and the others.
There has been sinister behaviour and bullying in the camp where the missing were staying. Has there been foul play? Then one of the missing turns up - but with no memory of what has happened...

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
In Ethan Wate's hometown there lies the darkest of secrets ...There is a girl. Slowly, she pulled the hood from her head. Green eyes, black hair. Lena Duchannes. There is a curse. On the Sixteenth Moon, the Sixteenth Year, the Book will take what it's been promised. And no one can stop it. In the end, there is a grave. Lena and Ethan become bound together by a deep, powerful love. But Lena is cursed and on her sixteenth birthday, her fate will be decided. Ethan never even saw it coming.


Shrink to Fit by Dona Sakar
Losing weight is the solution to all basketball-star Leah Mandeville's problems, or so she thinks. Getting superthin will:

a) help her jump shot

b) make her look like America's Next Top Model

c) get the attention of the high school hottie who ignores any girl with a little junk in the trunk

And it's working, isn't it? Her boo is now crushing on her. Everyone says how good she looks. But the problem is that Leah doesn't feel good. And her life is taking a huge turn for the worse, despite her new "perfect body."

Everwild by Neal Shusterman
Nick the "chocolate ogre" wants to help the children of Everlost to reach the light at the end of the tunnel, and is slowly handing each child a coin which will release them from Everlost. But Mary Hightower wants to trap the children forever, and joins forces with Pugsy Capone, a death boss, who gains allies in a terrible way...Meanwhile, Allie has gone in search for her parents and joins up with a group of "skinjackers". But, as her search takes her further away from Nick and the children of Everlost, Allie uncovers a shocking secret...it seems that "skinjackers" are not actually dead...In this riveting sequel to the imaginative, supernatural thriller, Everlost, there is new dark force to be reckoned with.

Updated, plus:

Miss Understanding: My Summer on the Shelf by Lara Fox
After a stint as the school agony aunt, Anya's forthcoming summer as an intern at a London publishing house comes as a breath of fresh air. It'll take her mind off Al - her AWOL boyfriend - at least, and maybe she'll get tips on how to be a writer, too. But it's clear that Anya's role is senior dogsbody - and involves reading terrible stories, listening to her colleague's Katie's domestic woes, and taking on a nightmarish teenage author, who is about five years late delivering his next 'best selling novel'. It's not quite the glitz and glamour Miss Understanding thought it would be, but it does have its plus points: Delicious Seth Hodges being one of them...Anya is torn between the suave Seth, the notorious waste of time The Boy, her lost boyfriend Al, not to mention the intriguing teenage writer Casper...So many boys, so little time. Another fresh, original and witty journey through Miss Understanding's life...

Twilight: v. 1: The Graphic Novel by Stephenie Meyer, Young Kim

Twilighting the Classics

I know the Twilight-style rejacketed Wuthering Heights has been around a while but I hadn't seen these two more recent covers of Jane Eyre and Tess of the Durbervilles until today (in Tesco's Dark Romance section with BOGOF offer):

Publishing Deals - Hudson, Doctorow, Despain

From the most recent Publishers Lunch Weekly email:

Tara Hudson's HEREAFTER trilogy, about an eighteen-year-old whose afterlife is forever altered the night she saves a boy from drowning and suddenly finds herself haunting the all-too-willing boy, who not only sees her but is determined to reintroduce her to the world of the living, to Harper Children's, in a pre-empt, for publication in Summer 2011.

NYT bestselling YA author of LITTLE BROTHER and FOR THE WIN Cory Doctorow's PIRATE CINEMA, a story of teens on the raw cutting edge of the Internet, pirates who set out to save the world from Hollywood and Hollywood from itself, to Tor Children's, for publication in 2011.

Bree Despain's final entry in THE DARK DIVINE trilogy, plus another untitled novel, to Egmont.

Publishing Deal - Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks has signed a three book deal for a YA fantasy series. From CBS News:

The talk show host and former model has agreed to a three-book deal with Delacorte Press for a fantasy series for young people. It's about a girl trying to keep up with the beauty game at an elite school for supermodels, or Intoxibellas.

Delacorte said Tuesday that the first novel, "Modelland," comes out in the summer of 2011.

More is revealed on Tyra Banks's website:

The story happens in a make-believe place called Modelland - every girl in the world wants to go there because it’s where “Intoxibellas” are trained. Intoxibellas are drop-dead beautiful, kick-butt fierce and, yeah, maybe they have some powers too. (But I’m confirming NOTHING! Ha. You gotta wait for the book.) The story follows a teen girl and her friends who find themselves magically transported to Modelland, even though they’re really not supposed to be there. (Okay, now, that’s ALL I’m saying!)

Review: Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn

Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn (March 2010, Scholastic, ISBN: 1407115022)

First Lines:

Chapter 1
New York City, 1898

I edged behind a burgundy drape as my mother raised her arms wide and began to sway rhythmically, eyes shut, head thrown back.

Review: Distant Waves is narrated by Jane the second oldest sister of five. Her mum is widowed and makes her living through spiritualism and moves the family to Spirit Vale a town chock-full of mediums, tarot readers and the like. They have a good life there but eventually the older girls, Jane and Mimi are starting to want to explore the larger world. The chance comes when Jane is persuaded by Mimi to enter a journalism competition and for her entry, she decides to interview the inventor Nikola Tesla whose path the family crossed twelve years before.

Mimi and Jane sneak away from their home to make their way to New York City and the Waldorf-Astoria where Tesla is staying. The two girls proceed to meet a number of rich and famous people and Mimi seizes the opportunity to travel abroad and Jane meets a young man.

Jane returns to Spirit Vale, alone and in disgrace. Time passes, before the the story moves to England and finally on to the Titanic...

I have to say I was drawn to Distant Waves by the beautiful cover and I'm glad I was. It's a fascinating story which involves quite a few real-life people and events, though the main family is fictional. Jane is a likeable and strong character whom I enjoyed spending time with. There is a romance for her but it isn't the main theme of the story. It was the evocation of the early twentieth century, the pre First World War atmosphere and of course spending some time on the Titanic that kept me enthralled. An event takes place towards the end which I should have been prepared for - the clues are all there - but I wasn't!

(The US edition subtitles this book, A Novel of the Titanic which is a perhaps a little misleading as only about 1/3rd of the book actually takes place on-board but the ship is alluded to much earlier than that.)

Library Loot (47) & review copies

Library

The current edition of Doctor Who Magazine.

Eglantine by Catherine Jinks (This is #1 in the series, I bought #2 and #3 last week)
CASE #1: EGLANTINE Who is writing on the walls? We moved into our new house because Mum liked the vibes. But those vibes turned scary when ghostly writing started appearing on the walls of Bethan's room. Mum tried a few new-age tricks, but couldn't stop the creepy nightmares. We even called in paranormal investigators, but they were totally stumped. That's when I decided to take matters into my own hands ...

Review

iBoy by Kevin Brooks (1 July, Puffin, UK)
Before the attack, sixteen-year-old Tom Harvey was just an ordinary boy. But now fragments of a shattered iPhone are embedded in his brain and it's having an extraordinary effect ...Because now Tom has powers. The ability to know and see more than he could ever imagine. And with incredible power comes knowledge - and a choice. Seek revenge on the violent gangs that rule his estate and assaulted his friend Lucy, or keep quiet? Tom has control when everything else is out of control. But it's a dangerous price to pay. And the consequences are terrifying...

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller (19 August, Razorbill, UK)
Haven Moore has always known she's different: there are the talents that can't be explained; the knowledge of places she's never been; and, then there are the visions that overwhelm her - terrifying visions of a life that ended tragically two decades earlier and more than a thousand miles away in New York City. The citizens of Haven's rural, highly religious community, believe that she's been possessed by a demon. But this is no demon: it's reincarnation. Haven journeys all the way to Manhattan in search of clues about her past life and a decades-old murder. One wrong move could lead her into the clutches of the sinister villain at the center of a conspiracy much larger than she could have ever imagined. But if she makes the right choices, Haven will find the answers she's been seeking her entire life. This is an epic and thrilling romance set in the snake-handling churches of Appalachia, the dusty ruins of ancient Rome, and the grand mansions of Manhattan. "The Eternal Ones" tells the story of the first battle in a war between undying love and eternal evil.

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson (7 June, Walker Books Ltd, UK)
This is a vibrant, deeply romantic and unmissable debut. Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to centre stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, with a nearly magical grin. One boy takes Lennie out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But the two can't collide without Lennie's world exploding...

This is a beautifully presented book - it has an elastic bookmark, like you find on a notebook and the text is interspersed with colour photos containing poems and other writings, eg:

Trailer Thursday (on Friday) - Monsters of Men

The third part of Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy, Monsters of Men, has just been published in the UK by Walker Books.

The electrifying finale to the multiple award-winning trilogy, Chaos Walking. "War," says the Mayor. "At last." Three armies march on New Prentisstown, each one intent on destroying the others. Todd and Viola are caught in the middle, with no chance of escape. As the battles commence, how can they hope to stop the fighting? How can there ever be peace when they're so hopelessly outnumbered? And if war makes monsters of men, what terrible choices await? But then a third voice breaks into the battle, one bent on revenge... The electrifying finale to the award-winning Chaos Walking trilogy, Monsters of Men is a heart-stopping novel about power, survival, and the devastating realities of war.

Watch the trailer, below:

More blogs to visit?

I'm not sure how, but this blog has found itself on onlinedegrees.net's list of 50 best blogs for Teen Readers* under the 'Book Lists and Recommendations' category. (Some of what I consider the most well known blogs in YA aren't mentioned on the list.)

I am of course chuffed to be on the list but mostly I'm mentioning it for people to (possibly) discover new-to-them blogs - there's plenty for me to check out.

*link removed as broken (23.1.13)

Review: The Oracle of Dating by Allison van Diepen

The Oracle of Dating by Allison van Diepen (May 2010, Harlequin, ISBN: 0373210094)

Reviewed from an e-copy provided via NetGalley.

First Lines:

New Year's Resolutions

*

Find Tracey a great boyfriend.

Review: Kayla (who turns sixteen during the novel) runs the Oracle of Dating website and offers advice for $5 a go. Unfortunately she doesn't earn enough to give up her check-out girl job yet, but maybe one day. Having had little success herself in the dating field and due to the immaturity of guys her own age she has decided not to date until she goes to college. She has a wise head though and offers advice and tips to those both younger and older than herself and she is trying to get her sister to follow her advice as well.

One boy, however, is making it difficult for Kayla to stick to her no-dating rule but she's not sure if he's interested, especially when he appears to be going out with the most popular girl in school. If that's not enough, some advice the Oracle has given to one of Kayla's best friends has backfired and it seems that Kayla needs advice from an Oracle of her own.

I absolutely loved this book. It kept me up late reading on a work night. It's such fun and Kayla is a likeable, intelligent character who has a close group of friends, some of whom have their love-life explored in this book. The love-interest is gorgeous and mysterious and the pages fly by to see if and how Kayla will get her man. Along the way the Oracle offers advice on topics such as flirting and not dumping your friends when you get a boyfriend. The story is self-contained but there is a sequel, due out in November: The Oracle Rebounds which I can't wait to read.

Extracts from the book can be found on the Oracle of Dating website.

Published in May (UK)

Here are some of the titles that are published in the UK in May. I will put a link to this post and previous and subsequent "monthly" lists in my sidebar. Title links go to amazon.co.uk. Feel free to let me know of others to add to the list.

A list of titles published in January can be found here, February's titles are here, March's list is here and April's is here.

Anthology - Queen of Teen (1st, Piccadilly, pb)
Sherry Ashworth - Revolution (1st, Five Leaves Publications, pb)
Bernard Beckett - Genesis (27th, Quercus Publishing Plc, pb) review
Sophia Bennett - Beads, Boys and Bangles (3rd, Chicken House, pb)
Sarah Rees Brennan - The Demon's Covenant (27th, Simon & Schuster Children's, pb)
Kate Brian - Scandal (27th, Simon & Schuster Children's, pb)
Alan James Brown - Tolpuddle Boy: Transported to Hell and Back (1st, Five Leaves Publications, pb)
Jenna Burtenshaw - Wintercraft (13th, Headline, pb) UK debut
Ally Carter - I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
P C Cast - Brighid's Quest (21st, MIRA, pb)
Tim Collins - Diary of a Wimpy Vampire (20th, Michael O'Mara Books Ltd, pb)
Jo Cotterill - Sweet Hearts: Star Crossed (27th, Red Fox, pb)
Gillian Cross - Calling a Dead Man (6th, OUP Oxford, pb)
Marianne Curley - The Named (Guardians of Time Trilogy) (3rd, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb)
Marianne Curley - The Dark (Guardians of Time Trilogy) (3rd, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb)
Marianne Curley - The Key (Guardians of Time Trilogy) (3rd, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb)
Joseph Delaney - The Spook's Nightmare (27th, Bodley Head Children's Books, HB)
Patricia Elliott - Pimpernelles: The Traitor's Smile (6th, Hodder Children's Books, pb)
Catherine Fisher - Crown of Acorns (6th, Hodder Children's Books, pb)
Becca Fitzpatrick - Hush, Hush (27th, Simon & Schuster Children's, pb)
Catherine Forde - Fifteen Minute Bob (3rd, Egmont Books Ltd, pb)
Gayle Forman - If I Stay (13th, Black Swan, pb)
Alan Gibbons - Julie and Me and Michael Owen Makes Three (6th, Orion Childrens, pb)
Julia Golding - The Glass Swallow (6th, OUP Oxford, pb)
Candy Gourlay - Tall Story (27th, David Fickling Books, HB) UK debut
Helen Grant - The Glass Demon (6th, Puffin, pb)
K M Grant - Paradise Red (27th, Quercus Publishing Plc, pb)
John Green - Paper Towns (3rd, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb)
Bonnie Hearn Hill - Star Crossed: Taurus Eyes (13th, Running Press, pb)
Lucy Jago - Montacute House (3rd, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, HB) UK debut
Sherrilyn Kenyon - Infinity (27th, ATOM, pb)
Lauren Laverne - Candypop (27th, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks, pb) UK debut
Joe Layburn - Street Heroes (6th, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, pb)
Y S Lee - The Body at the Tower (4th, Walker Books Ltd, pb)
Maxine Linnell - Vintage (1st, Five Leaves Publications, pb)
Hayley Long - Lottie Biggs is (not) Desperate (7th, Children's Books, pb)
Gabrielle Lord - Conspiracy 365: May (6th, Hodder Children's Books, pb)
Eden Maguire - Beautiful Dead: Summer (6th, Hodder Children's Books, pb)
Richelle Mead - Spirit Bound (18th, Puffin, pb)
Nicola Morgan - Wasted (3rd, Walker Books, pb)
Robert Muchamore - Brigands MC (6th, Hodder Children's Books, pb)
Chloe Neill - Firespell (20th, Gollancz, HB)
Patrick Ness - Monsters of Men (3rd, Walker, HB)
Mary E Pearson - The Adoration of Jenna Fox (4th, Walker Books Ltd, pb)
Susan Pfeffer - Life as We Knew It (3rd, Marion Lloyd Books, pb)
Susan Pfeffer - The Dead and the Gone (3rd, Marion Lloyd Books, pb)
Susan Pfeffer - This World We Live In (3rd, Marion Lloyd Books, pb)
Rob Regler et al - Emily the Strange: Strange and the Stranger (27th, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks, HB)
Ilkka Remes - Operation Ocean Emerald (27th, Andersen Press Ltd, pb)
Rick Riordan - The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid (13th, Puffin, HB)
Malcolm Rose - Jordan Stryker: Bionic Agent (28th, Usborne Publishing Ltd, pb)
Dyan Sheldon - And Baby Makes Two (4th, Walker Books Ltd, pb)
L J Smith - The Return: Shadow Souls (6th, Hodder Children's Books, pb)
Keris Stainton - Della Says: OMG! (6th, Orchard, pb) UK debut
Tabitha Suzuma - Forbidden (27th, Definitions, pb)
Robert Swindells - Follow a Shadow (1st, Five Leaves Publications, pb)
Maryrose Wood - The Poison Diaries (27th, HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks, pb)
Chris Wooding - Havoc (3rd, Scholastic, pb)
Chris Wooding - Malice (3rd, Scholastic, pb)
Carlos Ruiz Zafon -The Prince of Mist (17th, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, HB)
Mark Walden - HIVE: Rogue (3rd, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, pb)
Scott Westerfeld - Leviathan (27th, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, pb)

Library Loot (46), purchases & a review copy

Library

Vampire Diaries: The Return - Nightfall by L J Smith
When Elena sacrificed herself to save the two vampire brothers who love her she was consigned to a fate beyond death. Until a powerful supernatural force pulled her back.Now Elena is not just human. She has powers. What's more, her blood pulses with a unique force that makes her irresistible to any vampire. Both brothers still want Elena to be theirs, but something bigger and more powerful than all of them may want her more...

Bought

I made a trip to Hay-on-Wye yesterday, the famous town of second-hand bookshops and I picked up a few crime novels as well as:

I wasn't able to find #1 in this series - Allie's Ghost Hunters - but picked up #2 and #3. I'm not sure which age range the series is aimed at:

Eustace by Catherine Jinks (Case #2)
After Allie's last experience with a ghost, she thought she was finally free of phantoms in her life - but that was before she went on a school trip to Hill End and found herself investigating several more of them. First there is the ghost of Granny Evans, pacing around the museum. Then she comes upon Eustace Harrow, possibly the ghost of a baby long dead, smashing things up in Taylor's cottage. When two of her classmates disappear, Allie realizes that things have gotten much more serious, and she must take action.

Eloise by Catherine Jinks (Case #3)
Playing about with ghosts can be dangerous and Alethea needs all her detective skills, and the help of her friends, to solve the mystery of Eloise. Alethea and her friends started the Exorcist Club to help Bettina's family, but a two-hour seance doesn't work and they decide to call in a psychic.

Perfect by Sara Shepard (#3 in the Pretty Little Liars series)
Spencer, Aria, Emily, Hanna and their best friend Alison were the most popular girls at Rosewood Day School. Alison was the group's ringleader, the one who knew all their darkest secrets. So when Alison vanished one night, Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna's grief was tinged with relief. But when Ali's body was later discovered in her own backyard, the girls were forced to unearth some ugly memories of their old friend, too. Is there more to Alison's death than anyone realises? Now someone named A, someone who seems to know everything, is pointing the finger for Ali's murder at one of them. And A is poised to ruin their perfect little lives ...for ever.



Review

I won this House of Night bag on twitter and in the same lot of post, a copy of Burned arrived!

Burned by P C & Kristin Cast (#7 in series) (no synopsis as it seems a bit spoilery, I've linked to it on amazon.)