Young Adult Book Giveaway Hop

Childrens Book Review: Otter and Odder: A Love Story by James Howe, Chris Raschka (Illustrations)

Summary-

When an otter falls in love with a fish, can he dare to follow his heart? A delicious ode to nonconformity from a stellar picture-book pair.
The day Otter found love, he wasn’t looking for it. He was looking for dinner. But then he gazed into the round, sweet, glistening eyes of Myrtle the fish, and he knew. "Impossible," he said. "I am in love with my food source." As for Myrtle, her first desire was: Please don’t eat me. But soon her heart awakened to a future she could never have imagined. The inseparable duo played hide-and-seek and told each other stories, but everyone said that was not the way of the otter. Could their love (and Myrtle) possibly survive? Aided by Chris Raschka’s illustrations in a fresh faux-naïf style, James Howe tells a warm, witty tale about finding kindred spirits in the oddest of places-and having the good sense to keep them.

 

Review-

This book is an easy book for children to associate with. The illustrations are drawn similar to children's crayon drawings. The story is easy to follow and The author tells the story very well. A nice love story at a child's level.

Highly recommended.

 

Publisher-Candlewick

Reviewers Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewed by~Lora

Thank you to the publisher for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program!

Review: Forbidden by Syrie James, Ryan M. James

Summary-

She should not exist.
He should not love her.
Claire Brennan has been attending Emerson Academy for two years now (the longest she and her mom have remained anywhere) and she's desperate to stay put for the rest of high school. So there's no way she's going to tell her mom about the psychic visions she's been having or the creepy warnings that she's in danger.
Alec MacKenzie is fed up with his duties to watch and, when necessary, eliminate the descendants of his angelic forefathers. He chose Emerson as the ideal hiding place where he could be normal for once. He hadn't factored Claire into his plans. . . .
Their love is forbidden, going against everything Alec has been taught to believe. But when the reason behind Claire's unusual powers is revealed and the threat to her life becomes clear, how far will Alec go to protect her?

 

Publisher- Harperteen

Reviewers Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewed by~Hannah (Student at Franklin High School)

Thank you to Alison of Harperteen for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program

Teaser Tuesday: Dare you to (Pushing the limits 2) by Katie McGarry

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

                                                            My Teaser:
                                    Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2)

"Its on a Saturday so I can drive myself" "A Saturday," Dad repeats. "Was Mrs. Rowe upset when you told her you couldn't make it? If so I'll talk to her. Theres no reason why she should hold this against you. Maybe one of her other students can take your place."
     He relaxes in his chair and folds his hands over his stomach. "I saw Scott Risk at your game yesterday. He didn't stay long because of family obligations, but he saw you pitch and he was real impressed. He mentioned a camp the Yankees may be doing this fall. I know what you're going to say-'Not the Yankees', but once you've proved yourself you can trade teams"
     My mind swirls. Scott Risk watched me play. Which is great and odd. Great because Scott knows people-Specifically scouts. Odd because I'd have bet Beth would crucify me to her uncle. Not important. or it is, but not now. I came here to discuss the writing competition. A competition dad never considered. "I think I should compete. I can play the Thursday game and let one of the other pitchers on the team play for me on Saturday."

Review: Shadowfell (Shadowfell #1) Juliet Marillier

Summary-

Sixteen-year-old Neryn is alone in the land of Alban, where the oppressive king has ordered anyone with magical strengths captured and brought before him. Eager to hide her own canny skill—a uniquely powerful ability to communicate with the fairy-like Good Folk—Neryn sets out for the legendary Shadowfell, a home and training ground for a secret rebel group determined to overthrow the evil King Keldec.
During her dangerous journey, she receives aid from the Good Folk, who tell her she must pass a series of tests in order to recognize her full potential. She also finds help from a handsome young man, Flint, who rescues her from certain death—but whose motives in doing so remain unclear. Neryn struggles to trust her only allies. They both hint that she alone may be the key to Alban’s release from Keldec’s rule.
Homeless, unsure of who to trust, and trapped in an empire determined to crush her, Neryn must make it to Shadowfell not only to save herself, but to save Alban.

 

Review-

 This is a very good book. I enjoyed every page of the adventure. The author really put a lot of thought and feeling into each word that she wrote in this story. The storyline seemed to carry me from one place to the next without staling out or falling short. I usually "power read" the book that are waiting to be reviewed. However, I liked the the storyline, plots & characters so much that I found myself reading very slowly. It took me at least 4 days to complete. The main character is an extremely strong & independent young lady. I admire how she handles herself through everything that is thrown her way. The settings in the book took me to a whole new place. The journey from where she started to where the book ended, was an amazing accomplishment. The people and creatures she encounters along the way are wonderfully portrayed. I am really looking forward to the next 2 installments in this trilogy. This is a set I will be adding to my own collection. If you like all things magical, then you will like this book as much as I did. Happy Reading!!

 

Publisher-Knopf Books for Young Readers

Reviewers Rating: 4.5 Stars

Reviewed by~Mechele

Thank you to the author for the donation of this book to the Read for your future book program!

Jennifer Lynn Barnes author of Nobody blog tour & Cover reveal puzzle piece

JENNIFER LYNN BARNES - Stop #1

Life As a Nobody: A Human Anomaly Shrouded in the Supernatural or Just Life in High School?
NOBODY was inspired, in part, by an Emily Dickinson poem. The line “I’m Nobody! Who are you? Are you Nobody, too?” has stuck in my head ever since the first time I read it. I think it’s in part because everyone has felt like a nobody at some point, and in part because for me, one of the most appealing themes in all of fiction is what I would generally describe as “finding your people.” I think that—especially in our teen years, but often as adults as well—it is so easy to feel like we just don’t quite fit anywhere, to feel deeply, fundamentally different, even though everyone else is feeling deeply, fundamentally different at the exact same time. But then one day, you meet someone—a friend or group of people or someone you’re falling for—and all of a sudden, you do fit. You’re all misfits. You’ve found your people. That’s what I think of every time I read the “Are you Nobody, too?” line in that Dickinson poem, and that was the inspiration for this book. What if, I wondered, there was a girl who blended into the background, who felt like no one noticed her, whose parents and teachers and peers never seemed to really hear anything she had to say? What if this girl felt like she would never fit in, like people would never really see her or care about her, like she would never matter… and there was a supernatural explanation? What if, I wondered, she was right? In NOBODY, the basic concept is that some people are born supernaturally unnoticeable. They are incapable of leaving their mark on another person, and that means that they are, by and large, forgotten and ignored. People cannot feel any kind of lasting or strong emotion for them. They’re Nobodies. So you’ve got a girl—Claire—who has no idea that there is a reason her parents are mostly absent, no idea why she has such a hard time making friends, or why no one ever seems to look her in the eye. And then, you’ve got a boy. He knows that he’s a Nobody, and he’s been raised as an assassin—because the perfect assassin is the one no one notices or remembers or fears. In many ways, NOBODY is a book about feeling lonely and different and like you don’t matter. But it’s also about that experience of finding your people. It’s about finding the place where you fit, where you matter, even if you are metaphysically incapable of mattering to the rest of the world.
  ******Please visit I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://www.iamareader.com/ for the next stop on The Triple Threat Blog Tour.******
Jennifers blog
Buy Jennifer's book Nobody
Here:
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Indiebound

Back to the future Blog Hop

Meet Read for your future's new reviewer Cindi

Read for your Future is proud to announce our newest addition to our staff of reviewers. Her name is Cindi Clubbs from St.Charles, MO. We are going to let her tell you all about herself. Please leave a comment making her feel welcome. Welcome aboard Cindi

Hometown: St Charles, MO
Education: Associate's of Fine Art, Bachelor's of Art History, Minor in Literature

Band Mom, Band Treasurer, Blogger, Office Admin., Hopeful Writer, Dog Owner, Minivan Driver, Artist, Crafter, Cook, Christian, Explorer, Reader, Sci-Fi/Fantasy Meetup Organizer, Puzzle Fanatic, Gypsy, Music Lover

Bio
I live in a world colored by words. The day my first grade teacher started teaching us to read, my eyes were opened and life became more exciting. Princesses and frogs and fairies and handsome princes bounded off the pages and into my impressionable mind. Puppets and pirates and brightly colored balloons floated through my dreams. I needed more, more, more. The local library was my oasis and the books were my treasure. The smell of old, musty pages was the headiest scent of all!!

I'm 43 now and have been through divorce, raised two kids by myself, had my house burn down, been through many trials and tribulations. But I can still travel to faraway lands by opening a book. E-readers won't ever replace hard copies of books in my mind because I need the bright cover, the pages to bend, the broken spine showing years of love. Luckily, my two teenagers inherited my literary bent and can dream as big as I can when they find the perfect book.

That's what I want for all of you. To find the perfect book. To dream the most awesome dream. To step out of your lives for a short, special span of time. See you in the afterword!!!



  

Help Wanted: Associate Reviewer for Read for your future YA books

Associate Reviewer Needed 

After much deliberation, I have finally decided to take the plunge and ask for help. I simply have to many books coming in that I cannot keep up with. I lost 2 reviewers They just moved on. And i have one that is just to busy to help. So i am looking for at least one reviewer to start with. My intention is to mail the reviewer books who will then review them and mail them either to me or to the school directly. We are a site that reviews YA books and then we donates them to the local High School here.

Requirements:
* You must live in the USA because the shipping would wipe me out if you were out of the states. Im in ohio the closer the better but i am willing to ship the books in the USA.

*Reviews must be from the Young Adult genre. If you are 16 or 17 you must have a parents permission to review and you must be financially able to mail the books back to me once you have read and reviewed them.

*I need someone who can commit to one review a week, but after that one you can do as many as you want. Accountability is a must.

*Must be 16+ as most of the books I receive are Young Adult novels.

*Must understand that there is no guarantee of review books (High probability though)

*Must reside in the US if you want to receive review books from me. International shipping is too expensive.

*Absolutely no author bashing.  Read for your future is a strictly professional page. You can write a negative review, but be respectful.

*Must be willing to coordinate and agree to books that will be reviewed in advance.

*Must submit links to prior reviews so I can see if you would be a good fit.

*Reviews can be formatted however you would like, but the set up (Cover image, purchase links, rating, etc) must be the same as mine.

Wishes:

*Someone who doesn't mind reviewing a new release in a series they haven't read before. I can't do it, and I don't have the time to go back to read the prior installments. I would LOVE to have someone who can do this.

Benefits:

*A place to share your thoughts about books on a well established blog.

*A custom signature and about me section.

* Helping to put books into the hands of teenagers

*A potentially larger role with the blog if wanted.
 
*You can read what we are all about HERE!

If  you can agree with all this LOL You can Apply HERE!

Dreaming of Books Giveaway Hop

 

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Young Adult Faeries & Fantasy Giveaway Hop

Interview & Giveaway: Alex Scarrow author of TimeRiders

 

Today we have Alex Scarrow author of Timeriders and Ellie Quinn. Here is our interview with him.

1. How did you come up with the concept of this book?

    I've always liked time travel as a story telling device because it gives you an infinitely large canvas to work with. I was a big fan of the Terminator movies and the Back to the Future movies in the 80s, mainly because of the idea of alternate versions of the present day that could be the result of an altered past. Great stuff; at once familiar and at the same time so very different.

2. How did you come up with the names for the characters?

    There's no real technique or science to that...it's just a case of running names past you until a particular name 'feels' right.

3. How much are the characters in this book like you?

     I think the main three characters, Liam, Maddy and Sal represent different elements of my personality. Liam is the big-kid part of me that really ought to grow up, whereas Maddy is the reluctantly mature side of me. And Sal? Hmmm...she's the part of me that is quiet, reserved, always people-watching.

4. Do you read a lot and what are you reading now?

     I've ALWAYS read a lot. Reading is just about the most important things you can do with a pair of eyeballs and a brain. It exercises the mind like a gymnasium. However, unlike lifting weights in a gym, it's an exercise that's actually damned good fun. And I ask you...how often can you say that about something? That it's both fun and good for you at the same time?! So...what am I reading right now? I'm research-reading for the next TimeRiders book...which I've got to start writing this week in fact!

5. What made you go young adult?

     I've always wanted to write for teens simply because teenagers are much for open-minded about new ideas, new concepts, about merging genres or defying genre rules. When you write for adults, it can be quite stifling particularly if you write within a genre like crime, where things have to follow a set formula. With the YA marketplace...basically, as long as the idea's a good one, anything goes!
   

6. How did the cover come about?

    The cover designs were produced by my publisher in the UK, Puffin Books. I love these covers. They are so incredibly cool.

7. What is your next project and when is it due out?

     ELLIE QUIN is the big thing I'm working on right now (as well as the last two books for TimeRiders). Actually, if I may, I'd like to encourage TimeRiders fans to give my new series, ELLIE QUIN, a go. It's very similar to TimeRiders in terms of pace, big ideas, strong likeable characters. It's about a very ordinary girl who yearns to escape a boring rural existence on a remote agricultural planet. But soon becomes embroiled in a universe-spanning conspiracy. She finds herself on the run through this madcap, colorful, vibrant universe full of really fun ideas. For instance....pets you can grow from seeds, nail varnish that when it dries you can watch TV on your finger, genetically engineered laborers with four arms, weird fortune telling aliens, soda pops that change flavor all the time, plants with a cabby attitude!....lots of fun stuff in a big, big, universe. The series has just been launched on Amazon. You can download it as an ebook or order (soon) a printed version from Amazon. If you're interested in learning more about it go to www.elliequin.com

 8. Do you have a day job or are you a full time writer?

      I am a full time writer, which is real privilege and pleasure. I usually write about 1000-1500 words a day, and then there's the promotion side of things, visiting schools and such. So this writing-thing keeps me rather busy.

9. How did you get into writing and were you worried about the reaction to your book?

     I started writing short stories when I was about nine. But then when I turned twelve, I got into rock music and started the whole I-wanna-be-a-rock-star thing. I was about 27 when I realized it wasn't going to happen for me and then found myself a job in a computer games company. I was in that industry for just over ten years before I started getting bored of it and found myself writing again. So...basically I wrote an adult novel, sent it off...and got VERY VERY lucky. I won't lie...it's tough. Very tough to get published these days. I'd say the most important thing...the trump suit...is originality. Come up with a concept that's so different it will take an editor's breath away. If you want to write a book about vampires in high school, dystopian future teen based gladiator games or invasions of zombies...then you're gonna be one of the crowd.

10. One last thing. Do you collect anything personally?

      Nope. I'm not a possession type person. I've never been a collector of anything or 'completist'. I like to travel light and de-clutter often. As long as I have my wallet, my passport, my iphone and laptop...I've pretty much got everything I need! I love that - traveling light.. 'Stuff' just weighs you down.

If you would like to find out more about Alex or his books check out one of the links below:
Alex-Goodreads
Timeriders
Alex's Website

Check out this video:

           

Clear your shelf giveaway hop