2011 May

Beauty Queens Blog Tour-Libba Bray Guest Post!

May 31, 2011 By Lori 9 Comments

I’m so excited to have the very awesome Libba Bray taking over the blog today! In this post you are going to find out some strange and interesting things about Libba, so without further ado:

MISS TEEN DREAM FUN FACTS PAGE
NAME: Libba Bray, a.k.a. “LL Cool Bray”
STATE: Confusion
AGE: 47 on the outside; about 10 on the inside.
HEIGHT: Short-ish.
WEIGHT: Of an unladen swallow? Which one, African or European?
HAIR: Clean.
EYES: Right one, nearsighted; left one, plastic. And of course, there’s the laser eye. But I don’t have clearance to talk about that.
BEST FEATURE: My inability to identify my best feature

FUN FACTS ABOUT ME:

I am ¼ of the all-YA author rock band, Tiger Beat, with Daniel Ehrenhaft, Natalie Standiford, and Barnabas Miller. I sing, play middling keys, and, when pressed, terrible drums.

My favorite movie is “Blade Runner.” The Roy Batty death scene gets me every time.

I once had dreams of becoming an Olympic figure skater. Turns out that in order to become an Olympic figure skater, you actually have to know how to skate. The Dorothy Hamill haircut alone won’t do it.

If you say my name backward it’s Abbil Yarb. Oh wait, that’s “Lame Facts About Me.” Wrong folder. My bad.

The first story I ever wrote was a 5th grade Halloween horror story featuring illustrations of buxom Goth women being ravaged by vampires (very “Dark Shadows”) and some heads on pikes. This is the sort of story that would merit a visit from Child Protective Services today. Back then, I got a check-plus (A+).

My first book tour, for A Great and Terrible Beauty, was sponsored by Midol. Apparently, my books pair well with PMS. You’re welcome.

I once dove into the Holiday Inn pool, swam to the side and popped up out of the water all sexy-styles like a tanning lotion ad I’d seen on TV just to impress a cute boy sitting nearby with his friends. Unfortunately, I neglected to note the lead pipe sticking out of the side of the pool (Did I mention the nearsightedness?) and whacked my head on it (Pretty sure the thwack sound is still ringing over North Texas), fell back into the pool, swallowed half of it, and had to dog paddle over to the side, coughing and vomiting up water the whole time while my best friend lay on a lounger laughing her butt off. So strange that that cute boy never asked for my number…

I hate doughnuts. Strange but true.

Interesting, very, very interesting. How can anyone NOT like doughnuts?! Anyway, be sure to check out Libba’s new book, Beauty Queens asap! Here’s a little more about the book:

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream Pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and complete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eye liner.

What’s a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program – or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan – or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again.

Sounds awesome, right? Well your also in luck because This Is Teen is having a really awesome contest for Beauty Queens and lots of other goodies:

Ladies and gentlemen, we want to know WHAT MAKES YOU A BEAUTY QUEEN? Being
a Beauty Queen like the ones in Libba Bray’s new novel means being true to
yourself and who you want to be. Tell us in 500 words or less what makes
you a Beauty Queen, and you could win a $250 Amex Gift Card to use toward
whatever makes you feel most awesome. Or you could opt for a $250 gift card
to Sephora. Whatever you choose, we will also send you a signed copy of the
book and your very own tiara!

To enter go to http://www.thisisteen.com/Contest.htm

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal US residents ages 13 to 18. Deadline to enter 5pm EST on July 1, 2011. Void where prohibited. For complete details and official rules go to www.ThisIsTeen.com

You can watch the contest video HERE!

And don’t forget to check out the next stop on the tour, Reading With Tequila, on June 2nd!

Filed Under: Guest Post, Libba Bray

Review: Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready

May 30, 2011 By Lori 14 Comments

Release Date: May 3, 2011
Series: Shade #2
Age Group: Young Adult
Received From: Amazon
IBSN: 9781416994084
Blurb:
Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.
Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.
As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.

What fantastic, fantastic, FREAKIN’ fantastic series! I am completely 100% serious when I say that Shade and Shift are two of the best YA books out there right now. My love for this trilogy is knows no bounds and I absolutely think you should read them RIGHT NOW! (Ya know, if you haven’t….)

Shift starts off a few months after Shade ended, and in the name of not spoiling anything, I’m not going to say too much about the story. Just trust me you will not be disappointed with one second of it. It’s action packed and full of really well done characters. I’m still so in love with the concept of this world. It’s unlike anything else in the YA genre. It’s almost Sci-Fi. The thought and back story Jeri Smith-Ready has put into the world really makes it come alive. It sucks you right in and if you are like me, the real world just falls away.

Aura and the rest of the characters are in a very different place in Shift. They have all been so hurt. They all really understand the danger they are in this time around. But Aura still doesn’t understand her feeling for the boys in her life yet. Sometimes I get really annoyed by love triangles, but if they are well done then I love them! This one is very well done. I loooove both of the boys, but I think I love Zachary more, no I definitely love Zach more! He’s Scottish, HELLO! I really love that these books are…umm…HOT too! There’s a lot of sexy scenes that you would not expect to find in a YA, but I’m not complaining!

Aura is very lonely in this book. She does some things and makes some choices that I have saw people complain about, but she’s having such a hard time I think her actions are very believable. Her mistakes and thinking without acting made me like her even more! She was so well developed.

I’m going to quit gushing now! Just remember that this is a awesome, forgettheworld kind of book. If you haven’t started this book or Shade yet, change that. Fast!

Filed Under: Ghosts, Jeri Smith-Ready, Shade Trilogy, Young Adult

In My Mailbox!!

May 28, 2011 By Lori 28 Comments

In My Mailbox was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie and created by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Review:

Legend by Marie Lu

Circle Nine by Ann Heltzel (NetGalley)

Bought:

Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski

R.A.K.

Ash by Melinda Lo (Thanks Valia)

Filed Under: In my Mailbox

Saturday Situation -36- Link Up Your Reviews and Giveaways!

May 28, 2011 By Lori Leave a Comment

Happy Saturday everyone! It’s time for a new Saturday Situation, hosted by Candace at Candace’s Book Blog and myself. So, here’s the scoop: I’m going to set up two Mister Linky’s. One for Giveaways that you want to promote and one for Posts that you want to promote. The posts can be reviews, discussions, rants, events you are planning, anything that you want people to read! I know there’s so many great posts out there that often go unread. Here’s your chance to tell the world! Feel free to link up to other bloggers posts as well! Let’s spread the love!

Reviews/Posts Linky!

In this Linky please link directly to any posts you want to share with the world! Example: Name: Fallout Review URL: http://www.pureimaginationblog.com/2010/09/review-fallout-by-ellen-hopkins.html

Please do not post giveaways in this Linky! They go in the bottom one!

Book Related Giveaways Linky!

In this Linky please link directly to any book related giveaways you have! Example: Name: Middle Grade Giveaway-It’s Raining Cupcakes and other Ends 9/30 URL:http://www.pureimaginationblog.com/2010/09/middle-grade-giveaway.html

Filed Under: Saturday Situation

Review: The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

May 27, 2011 By Lori 8 Comments

Release Date: 2005
Age Group: Young Adult
Received From: Bookstore
IBSN: 9780385732079
Blurb:
Ruby Oliver is 15 and has a shrink. She knows it’s unusual, but give her a break—she’s had a rough 10 days. In the past 10 days she:

* lost her boyfriend (#13 on the list)
* lost her best friend (Kim)
* lost all her other friends (Nora, Cricket)
* did something suspicious with a boy (#10)
* did something advanced with a boy (#15)
* had an argument with a boy (#14)
* drank her first beer (someone handed it to her)
* got caught by her mom (ag!)
* had a panic attack (scary)
* lost a lacrosse game (she’s the goalie)
* failed a math test (she’ll make it up)
* hurt Meghan’s feelings (even though they aren’t really friends)
* became a social outcast (no one to sit with at lunch)
* and had graffiti written about her in the girls’ bathroom (who knows what was in the boys’!?!).

But don’t worry—Ruby lives to tell the tale. And make more lists.

I was totally excited to read this book with all its footnotes and recommendations! And although I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to I can tell it’s a series that will only get better and better.

Ruby Oliver is having some issues, see above list. These things are taking their toll on her and when she starts having panic attacks her parents make her see a shrink. The format that this story is told in was one of my favorite things about it. The chapters follow Ruby’s boyfriend list and the story unfolds little by little until we get to present day. Sometimes the pacing was a little slow for me, but this might have had a lot to do with my impatience. I was on vacation when I read this so I didn’t have a lot of time to read. That made me want to fly through the book, but it just wasn’t happening.

Ruby was a fun character. She was quirky and her snark definitely showed through. But she was also spoiled and a little immature at times. Which is realistic for someone her age. The stories about the boys were all great too. I was honestly expecting a little more romance, but it all worked out great.

All in all this was a fun read. I expected to like it more than I did, but maybe that will happen with the later books.

Filed Under: E. Lockhart, Young Adult

Review: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

May 26, 2011 By Lori 11 Comments

Release Date: June 7, 2011
Age Group: Young Adult
Received From: NetGalley
IBSN: 9780062026774
Blurb:

Can there truly be love after death?
Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she’s dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she’s trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.
Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.
Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, Hereafter is a sensation you won’t want to miss.

I LOVE a good ghost story, and there’s really just not enough of them. So maybe my expectations were a tiny bit too high. I wanted something eerie and thrilling, and that’s probably the reason for my disappointment. Hereafter has a lot of cliches. There were even a few times I found myself rolling my eyes, but it still had something. There was just something compelling about the plot. I really wanted to find out where the story was going. Honestly, that’s the only thing that made me finish it.

The characters were underwhelming and not as well developed as I like. Amelia had so much potential, but she just fell flat for me. The romance was sudden and felt unfounded to me.

I’m going to stop because this is starting to sound more negative than I actually want it to. I did like the book, will I remember it next week? Probably not, but it wasn’t a waste of time. There are some people that love these types of stories, unfortunately it’s not me.

Maybe 2.5…

Filed Under: Ghosts, Tara Hudson, Young Adult

Waiting on Wednesday!! -82-

May 25, 2011 By Lori 10 Comments

October 4, 2011 Putnam Juvenile

It’s 1952 and the Scott family has just moved from Los Angeles to London. Here, fourteen-year-old Janie meets a mysterious apothecary and his son, Benjamin Burrows–a fascinating boy who’s not afraid to stand up to authority and dreams of becoming a spy. When Benjamin’s father is kidnapped, Janie and Benjamin must uncover the secrets of the apothecary’s sacred book, the Pharmacopoeia, in order to find him, all while keeping it out of the hands of their enemies–Russian spies in possession of nuclear weapons. Discovering and testing potions they never believed could exist, Janie and Benjamin embark on a dangerous race to save the apothecary and prevent impending disaster.

Together with Ian Schoenherr’s breathtaking illustrations, this is a truly stunning package from cover to cover.
Add it on Goodreads!

January 2012 Puffin

High school can be a battlefield, but for Lily Parker, surviving at St. Sophia’s School for Girls is a matter of life and death…

Protecting Chicago from the dark side can be an exhausting job, especially when you’re a sophomore. So when the girls of St. Sophia’s start gearing up for Sneak, their fall formal, Lily decides to join in on some good, old-fashioned party prep—even if it means not giving demons, vampires and the twisted magic users known as Reapers her undivided attention.

But when a Reaper infiltrates the school, Lily doesn’t forget what she’s sworn to protect. She reaches deep into herself to draw out her magic—and finds that it’s gone. And it turns out she’s not alone. A magical blackout has slammed through paranormal Chicago, and no one knows what—or who—caused it. But Lily knows getting back her magic is worth the risk of going behind enemy lines…
Add it on Goodreads!

Isn’t The Apothecary preeetty? I think so! It had illustrations too! Not to mention that it sounds great! I’m looking forward to that one for sure!

And of course I’m excited about Charmfall! The Dark Elite series is one of the most fun YA paranormal series out there!