Posts Tagged: young adult

GIVEAWAY and EXCERPT: To Know Me by Marcy Blesy

EXCERPT “Is this for me?” I ask as Ty stands in the center of the clearing with a yellow rose in one hand. “No. It’s for that grandma who’ll be passing this area in about ten minutes. I’m just practicing my delivery.” He’s so cute when he’s being sarcastic. I take the rose. In an instant I am shocked back to the day of Laura’s funeral. Everyone in her sixth grade glass brought roses to the cemetery to lay upon her grave, yellow ones, her favorite color. “Why aren’t you smiling?” Ty asks. “Did I do something wrong?” “N…no.” “Your hand is shaking,” he says coming over to my side. “Sit down.” He points to the picnic table. “Mae, if you don’t tell me anything I won’t ever be able to help you. I want to help you. I know what it’s like to need help. There’s a lot you… Read more »

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EXCERPT: Waterborn by Kimberly James

EXCERPT (So little note from me… I read this excerpt and bought this book! I’ve never done that before, but I’ve been in a paranormal mood, and this excerpt was fascinating.) All my life I wanted to be like my mother, hoped I was like her. And now that I knew I was, the knowledge felt like a burden instead of a blessing. A dream turned nightmare. As I stood on the beach, a few yards away from where the foamy waves rushed over the sand, I wished it weren’t true. Maybe my dad was wrong. Maybe my mother had been wrong. My hope was dashed as soon as the Song came, easy and instinctive. Echoes built and swirled in my head like the breaking of so many waves. I felt the purpose of this Song in a way I hadn’t felt before. I recognized it for what it was… Read more »

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GIVEAWAY and REVIEW: Escape from Eden by Elisa Nader

Welcome to my stop on the Escape from Eden blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule! REVIEW I’ve been reading a lot of YA lately, mostly because the best dystopians seem to be YA these days and Escape from Eden certainly qualifies as one of those. This is a brutal, well-written, and captivating look into a young girl’s view of a cult society she was forced to join as a small child by her mother. Mia is sixteen, she lives in a South American jungle under the thumb of a dictatorial charismatic religious cult leader called Reverend Elias Eden. She’s old enough now to understand this was not her choice and she’s smart enough to know that she really needs to get out of this place, like yesterday. But these vague thoughts become a crushing reality when her kitchen boss asks her to… Read more »

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RELEASE DAY GIVEAWAY: Before by Melissa Pearl

Excerpt: The car horn sounded like a trumpet, making me laugh hysterically. Hugh was anything but subtle. Jamming my feet into my Converse shoes, I tie the laces in a hurry and rush for the door. “Where are you going?” My mother, one of the shortest people I know, tries to block my way. I gently nudge her aside as I zip up my hoody. “I’m going out,” I mumble. “No you’re not. It’s Friday night. You have youth group. Your father is expecting to see you there.” “Well he’s going to be disappointed…again. How many times do I have to tell you guys I’m not interested? I don’t want to sound snarky, but I can’t help it. I hate youth group. I hate church. I hate that my minister is my dad who is constantly harping on about it and forcing me to go to stuff that is as… Read more »

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GIVEAWAY and REVIEW: Life, Love, & Lemons by Magan Vernon

REVIEW Poor Bentley. Literally, poor Bentley. She used to be rich but her dad lost his job, and then the house, and then her private school education, and her friends. Now she’s living in a small two bedroom apartment on the wrong side of town and is going to a school with metal detectors and has a nice gang problem going on. Enter boy-next-door, who is sorta punk/goth, Kai. I loved Kai. In fact, I wish he had more time in this book because he was fantastic. A nice walking contradiction—is he a bad boy with his tattoos and piercings? Or is he a good boy who respects his God-fearing mother. Well, he’s both, so I liked that. He’s got his own set of rules in life, probably based on his mother’s religion, but I like young adult books about kids who can stretch the limits but always know where… Read more »

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SNEAK PEEK EXCERPT: Sia by Josh Grayson

EXCERPT I reach my locker and just start unlocking it when Kyle stops beside me. He’s dressed comfortably in faded jeans and a black t-shirt with a yellow Batman logo on it. I smile broadly. “Hey.” It’s hard to describe just how good I feel, seeing him there. Yet I don’t miss the stunned expressions on Amber and Stacy’s faces, or how they spin towards each other to whisper something. In Amber’s world, Kyle is a loser, so I’m sure their words aren’t pleasant. I turn my back to them. “Hey,” he replies. He keeps his eyes purposefully away from the other girls. So he knows, I think. What must that feel like, knowing people are looking down on you? Saying cruel things? He doesn’t deserve this. But he doesn’t appear to care. He leans casually against the locker beside me. “Just thought I’d tell you I saw Carol this… Read more »

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GIVEAWAY and EXCERPT: American Girl On Saturn by Nikki Godwin

I push him back. “You cheated!” “Milo wins!” Noah shouts out. “I really thought you had it too, Chloe. I can’t believe you just crumbled like that.” “He cheated,” I repeat. Milo shakes his head in protest. Noah has the audacity to agree with him. And thanks to Emery’s lost spinner in the grass, the plastic is my only other witness. Noah saunters over to us like a rapper trying to pull off a classic swagger. “Good job, Milo,” he says. “You know how clumsy girls can be. I knew you’d take her down.” I peel myself off of the plastic, grab my flip flops, and head back toward the house. I’ve had enough exhilaration and angst for one afternoon. The video premiere was enough. Porno-Posed-Twister with Milo was too much. But I can’t escape Spaceships Around Saturn even if I try. Milo and Noah come up behind me like… Read more »

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REVIEW: Visited by Janine Caldwell

REVIEW Visited is a young adult novel about learning to think of others before yourself. Joanna is dealing with a lot of changes in her life – changes she’s not necessarily on board with. Her relationship with her mother has changed a lot in the past year – especially since her mother remarried after being a single parent for a very long time. Joanna’s father died of cancer when she was younger and her mother had to struggle to raise her alone. So when Stan comes along, and then a new baby on top of that, Joanna is not feeling very generous. In fact, she’s rather bratty for a seventeen year old. This is how she finds herself outside on her roof star-gazing – feeling sorry for herself that her family backpacking trip in Europe the next summer will need to be cancelled because her mother and Stan are expecting… Read more »

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Double Cover Reveal for author Melissa Pearl

Mrs. Potter’s Book Publicity Services Presents: A Double Cover Reveal for author Melissa Pearl! You can read my review of Melissa Pearl’s first book in this series, BETWIXT, here. BEFORE (Betwixt Novella #0.5) Description: Dale Finnigan is a teenage rebel; he lives for parties, girls and joy riding in stolen cars. In spite of his uptight parents’ constant warnings and lectures, he continues to run wild. His crazy lifestyle is the only way he can live and feel free…until his reckless behavior takes him down a path where there is no going back. In this prequel to BETWIXT, find out who Dale Finnigan was before he became known as “scar-face”—the unassuming hero everyone underestimates. Add BEFORE to your Goodreads TBR List BEYOND (Betwixt Novella #1.5) Description: Have you ever been so in love with someone, but not had the courage to… Read more »