My insanity has reached a new level.

Hello people. Guess what?

I must blog every day in April.

OAEIUGVSKLDFAGVIPOEWSD.

See, Maureen Johnson is blogging every day in April. And she has been twittering about this a lot. One day, she said she and someone else would be blogging every day in April.

I said I was tempted to join her in her quest to blog every day. TEMPTED.

And then she said "Many of you are joining me in BLOG EVERY DAY APRIL. @Flangel66, @JayOrDan23, @rj_anderson, @khyrinthia, @outofthedark ..."

And then I was like "!!!!!" because I said TEMPTED. Not FOR SURE. Those are two VERY DIFFERENT THINGS.

But since Maureen Johnson says I am joining her, I must join her.

So. Every day in April, you will get a post from me. I'm not promising that they will be very long. Or very good. I'm not even promising they'll all be book related. But there will be one! Every day!

You'll all be sick of me by the end of the month.

Is anyone going to join me in my quest? You all should join me. Jordyn said she would maybe. YAY Jordyn.

NYC Post will come soon! Promise. :D

NYC Trip: Part 1

As you all know, I went to NYC. And many of you on twitter, after telling me you hate me (love you all too), told me I better take pictures. So here are some of those pictures:

Here is the view from our hotel room:

Zomg Yan! I saw this obviously thought of you.


Here is Sharon at the Strand:


The Strand is quite possibly the greatest place on Earth. I want to live there. I got many fabulous books there. Unfortunately I can't tell you what they are, since I had to ship them to my house and don't have them yet.


And now, we reach the author photos. This was taken at the event on Friday. Here we have Paul Griffin, Rita Williams-Garcia, Coe Booth, and Maureen Johnson.


The Friday event was super. I met my new friends Mitali and Valentina whilst waiting in line. :D

Here is a blurry Maureen Johnson reading from chapter 1 of Scarlett Fever:



Here is the MAGNIFICENT Coe Booth reading from her story in the Push anthology:


Coe is awesome. She introduced Valentina, Mitali, and I to all the other amazing authors there. Yay Coe!

Here is Rita Williams-Garcia reading from Jumped:


Here is David Levithan:


AAAAAAHHHH.

And no, I did not scream or faint when I met him. Really, I didn't. Just ask Coe.

Here is Cecily von GossipGirl (I cannot spell her last name and don't feel like looking it up) reading from...some Gossip Girl book.


Here is David Levithan raeding from his upcoming book, Love is the Higher Law:



ZOMG GUYS. What he read was AMAZING. And I'm not just saying that because he is David Levithan and I love him.

And that's all for today. I will post part 2 soon!

Paisley Hanover Acts Out by Cameron Tuttle

[description from Amazon]

Always one of the popular kids, sophomore Paisley Hanover gets a rude awakening when she’s booted out of yearbook and into the badlands of drama class. Out of her element but only momentarily out of ideas, Paisley takes action—and an unexpected liking to her drama buddies. The result? An undercover crusade that could bring down the popularity pecking order, and Paisley along with it. This is the story of how Paisley Hanover gets wise, gets bold, and gets into a hilarious mess of trouble. With a package as fresh and clever as Paisley herself— including a cool slipcase, a fabulous novel, and Paisley’s notebook of embarrassingly funny ideas and doodles—it’s the start of a series that embraces the “Un” in UnUsual.

Review:

I really was not expecting to like this one as much as I did. I haven't really heard anyone talk about- I think I've only read one review, what is up with that?- so I didn't know what to expect. But I'm happy to report that this book is just as great as the packaging it comes in. (To see this glorious packaging, click here and scroll down.)

Paisley was a refreshingly realistic character. Her concerns about her friends ditching her, about boys, and about surviving high school are easy to relate to. But what makes Paisley as realistic as she is aren't the previously mentioned things, but rather, her notebook and sidebras. (Read the book to find out what a sidebra is.) Her notebook contains all sorts of doodles and notes that give her true opinions of things, and the anecdote/explanation containing sidebras make the school and Paisley seem more real.

The plot isn't terribly exciting, but that really doesn't matter when you consider the fact that a) the book is very realistic (how many times have I said that word in this review?) and b) that the book is super duper funny. Paisley's snarky comments on things and her drama class friends are hilarious.

All in all, Paisley Hanover Acts Out is Unbelievably awesome. I'm dying for the sequel. DYING.

8/10

Also, this series has an ultra spiffy website. I think I've looked at everything on it, and yet I keep going back.


Thanks for the book, J!

Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby

[description from Amazon]

Quiet, unpopular, non-cheerleading Mia is blissfully happy. She is dating super hot football god Rob, and he actually likes her and asked her to prom! Enter Samantha—cheerleading goddess and miss popularity— who starts making a move for Rob. With prom in a few days, Mia needs to act fast. So she turns to her best friend, Candice, and decides to do a love spell on Rob. Unfortunately, she ends up inflicting a zombie virus onto her whole class, making herself their leader! At first she is flattered that everyone is treating her like a queen. But then zombie hunter hottie Chase explains they are actually fattening her up, because in a few days, Mia will be the first course in their new diet. She’s sure she and Chase can figure something out, but she suggests that no one wear white to prom, because things could get very messy.

Review:

I love zombies. I love books. Therefore, when an opportunity to read a zombie book appears, I immediately jump at the chance. I always have high expectations for zombie books, and I'm happy to report that this zombie book definitely met my expectations.

This book was too funny. The premise itself is funny (Although turning people into zombies is no laughing matter. Right, Sharon?) so obviously you'd expect the book to be funny. The whole "we must kill the zombies before they eat us" thing wasn't too dark or anything, but it was serious, and the book provided much comic relief. Mia's hypochondriac friend Candice was especially good at providing comic relief, with all her worries about what disease she had that week.

I loved pretty much everything about Mia. She was delightfully flawed and realistic. Her Buffy obsession, fear of heights, annoyance toward her sister, and her actual need for help to fight the zombies made her especially relate-able.

Also, I liked all the broken cliches in this book. I loved how Mia wasn't popular, but was still dating Super Popular Boy. I also liked how the zombies didn't just automatically go around eating people, but rather, they had to go through stages before they became flesh eating beasts.

I don't really have much else to say about this one, except that I really really liked it and high recommend it, especially if you want to read something lighter.

8/10

Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott

[description from Amazon]

Everyone thinks their parents are embarrassing, but Hannah knows she's got them all beat. Her dad made a fortune showcasing photos of pretty girls and his party lifestyle all over the Internet, and her mom was once one of her dad's girlfriends and is now the star of her own website. After getting the wrong kind of attention for way too long, Hannah has mastered the art of staying under the radar...and that's just how she likes it.

Of course, that doesn't help her get noticed by her crush. Hannah's sure that gorgeous, sensitive Josh is her soul mate. But trying to get him to notice her; wondering why she suddenly can't stop thinking about another guy, Finn; and dealing with her parents make Hannah feel like she's going crazy. Yet she's determined to make things work out the way she wants -- only what she wants may not be what she needs....

Once again, Elizabeth Scott has created a world so painfully funny and a cast of characters so heartbreakingly real that you'll love being a part of it from unexpected start to triumphant finish.

Review:

I love Elizabeth Scott. A lot. She's one of my absolute favorite authors, so I had relatively high expectations for this one. But then I started seeing people not being that impressed with this one, and I kind of freaked out. And then I saw a few positive reviews, which made me calm down. (A bit.) And then I read the book and I think I'm on the fence between Very Positive and Negative.

My main problem is that I thought it was kind of messy and all-over-the-place. Not only was there the romance, but Hannah dealing with her mom and dad. On their own, both plots were good, but they didn't mix well until the end. It kind of seemed like the plots took turns unfolding, which was a little awkward.

I pretty much loved everything else though. Elizabeth is absolutely fantastic at creating believable, deep characters. Hannah's concerns are funny, but believable and normal. She's so afraid of turning out like her dad, but she doesn't tell anyone. That really made it seem like she's your friend writing the book, just like Alea said.

Even Candy, Hannah's mom, has depth, even though she seems like she would be a complete idiot.

Despite being a little messy and predictable, Something, Maybe is a super cute read that you should definitely pick up sometime.

8/10

Something, Maybe will be released March 24.

I feel so loved.

I have received blog award thingies from Shalonda, Yan, and Stephanie. Yay!

From Steph I got the I Love Your Blog award from Steph, and then from Yan and Shalonda I got some award with a confusing name. I will do that one! (There's supposed to be a picture for it, but it's not working on my blog for some reason.)

"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award."

Only eight? B-but. Eight isn't enough. I'll just list people until I'm sick of writing.

1. Yan. Not just because she awarded me, but because she is my SPECTACULAR therapy patient.
2. Liv. Because she is my fellow barista. Also, because she reminds me of two friends. Why does she remind me of them? Because they all love Adam Lambert.
   
3. Sharon. Because she's Sharon, duh. Do I need a reason? Well, my reason can be that I GET TO MEET HER SOON, ZOMG.
   
4. Carol. Because she hasn't eaten me yet. Also, because she is awesome. But we all know that. And she's a genius!
   
5. Kelsey. Because whenever I'm bored and online, she always happens to be on gmail chat, so I can speak with her.
   
6. Hope. Because she also likes Adam Lambert, and therfore reminds me of Liv and a couple of my crazy friends.
7. Alea. Because she always manages to tweet something when I'm bored. She's the Twitter-Queen.
8. Sarah and Korianne. Because their twitter race thingy provides me with much amusement. (Seriously though, guys, Alea will win this race. Even though she's not racing, she''ll win.)
9. Book Chic. Because his cats are adorable. And because he is awesome, and he will be sending me a book sometime! :D
10. Stephanie. Because one time she answered a math problem for me so I didn't have to stress about knowing whether or not I got it right. She's like a genius.
11. Shalonda. Because I love her! And she's super-duper nice.
    
12. RR! Because I know her real name. But can I take points off of this award for her being lame and not using her twitter account? JOIN US, RR. JOIN US.
    
13. Lauren. Because I think she's secretly a marketing magician. She came up with the Willow contest, which is brilliant.

Ok, I'm sick of writing now. But if I left you off the list (deepest apologies for that) leave me a comment and tell me, and then I'll comment back and tell you why I love you. (As long as I've talken to you before. I can't really tell someone I don't know why I love them.)

Waiting on Wednesday (13)

Waiting on Wednesday = started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Today's pick:
Dull Boy by Sarah Cross

description (from Sarah's site):

Superpowers are awesome - unless you actually have them, like Avery does. There's only so much he can pass off as "adrenaline" before people start to get suspicious. Probably it's best to lie low, so guys in white lab coats don't come to carry him away, to find out what makes his freakish body tick. Who wants to be vivisected? But flying under the radar becomes a whole lot harder when you can actually fly. It's dangerous to be different, so for now he'll pretend to be normal, unremarkable Avery - a dull boy - anything to keep his secret safe.

What he doesn't expect is the horrifying truth about where his powers came from, who else might have them, and the madness of one villain's plan to turn this superpowered dull boy into something even more powerful and amazing.

---

SUPERHEROES! No one can be against superheroes. Superheroes are wonderful. They make everything better.

Also, Sarah is a member of Team Castle, so obviously she is awesome. I expect her book to also be awesome.

MIA

I'm going to be MIA for the next few days because I'm going to NYC!

EEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I get to go to a few author events, so expect pictures when I return.

I get to meet David Levithan.

DAVID. LEVITHAN.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You all must know that I'm excited about this. And you may also guess that I will scream when I see him. You may be correct. We will find out.

Oh, and I get to meet Sharon too. (For some reason, she's afraid to meet me. She's so silly.)

I will (most likely) be tweeting much of my journey so you can follow me over on Twitter and see what I'm doing all day.

Also: PLEASE NO ONE POST ANYTHING WHILE I'M GONE.

I will not have internet access on this trip. (Unfortunately. I fear I will go into withdrawals after 12 hours without my precious internet.) I do not wish to have to read 1000+ posts when I return. xD

Au revoir!

I do have a post scheduled for Saturday though, so it's like I won't be gone at all.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

[description from goodreads]

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.

Review:

Unlike most people would, I didn't have super high expectations for this one. I've never been a huge LHA fan. I liked Speak (liked, not loved, unlike most people) and Twisted, but I wasn't amazed by them or anything. (Don't hurt me, anyone. -hides-) But I am happy to report that I really liked this one rather than just liking it, and now I'm in search of more LHA books. (I want to read Chains, but sadly it is a hardcover. Boooooo hardcovers.)

This definitely is a character-driven book. Not very much happens in terms of actual events, which you think would be a bad thing, but it's not. Just reading about Lia trying to overcome all her problems is enough to make the book thoroughly engrossing. Even though I didn't exactly love the previous LHA books I've read, I have to admit that she is a master at developing characters. Especially characters that can keep you reading.

I think my favorite part of this book though was the writing. It matched Lia's moods perfectly. At times it sounded sad, sometimes it sounded a little crazy, and sometimes it sounded...suffocating. (Did that previous sentence make sense?) And at times words were crossed out, which gave even more insight to Lia's feelings and opinions. The writing perfectly underscored not only Lia's emotions, but also some of the emotions of the people around her.

Underscoring emotion? I think I've spent a little too much time in English class lately.

Anyway. Overall, Wintergirls a frighteningly realistic portrayal of a girl's inner battle.

Wow, that sounded professional. Weird.

8.5/10

Wintergirls will be released March 19. (Thanks for the ARC, J!)

June 1.

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. Out June 1. Get ready. Mark your calendars. Because you're excited for this book. Even if you've never heard of it, you're excited. Because I said so. Because the book is awesomeawesomeawesome.

Are your calendars marked? Mark them! Right now.

Or pre-order the book. Whatever.

Some teen book list thingy.

My turn to do this thing!

Instructions:
Put an “X” next to the books you’ve read
Put a “+” next to the books you LOVE
Put a “#” next to the books you plan on reading
Tally your “X”s at the bottom
Share with your friends!

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams #
2. Kit’s Wilderness / David Almond
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie X
4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson X
5. Feed / M.T. Anderson X
6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews X
7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher X
8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway #
10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block #
11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor
12. Forever / Judy Blume X+
13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell # (I just bought this one. Yay for B&N sale!)
14. Tyrell / Coe Booth X
15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray X++++
17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot
18. The Stranger / Albert Camus
19. Ender’s Game / Orson Scott Card X (If I've read this one but don't remember anything about it, does it count?

20. Postcards from No Man’s Land / Aidan Chambers
21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky #
22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn #
24. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan X++++
25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer
26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins X
27. The Midwife’s Apprentice / Karen Cushman
28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen X
29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow
30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly
31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer
33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman X
35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden
36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles X
37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going
38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding
39. Looking for Alaska / John Green X++++
40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes
41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse X
42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen
43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton X+++++++++++++
44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins X
45 The First Part Last / Angela Johnson
46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause X
47. Arrow’s Flight / Mercedes Lackey
48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson
49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee X
50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan X++++++++++++++++++++
51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart X+++
52. The Giver / Lois Lowry X
53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry X
54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar
55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch X
56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler X
57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey
58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean
59. Sold / Patricia McCormick
60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta #
61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr X+
62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer X
63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock
64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers
66. Step From Heaven / An Na
67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix X
69. Sabriel / Garth Nix X+
70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini
72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen
73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer X
74. The Golden Compass / Phillip Pullman X
75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison X++
76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan
77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
78. how i live now / Meg Rosoff X
79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling X++++++++++
80. Holes / Louis Sachar X
81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger X +
82. Push / Sapphire
83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi
84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman
85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli X +
87. Chanda’s Secrets / Allan Stratton
88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien
91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar
93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld X+
94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger
97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang X
98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin X
99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak X+
100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak X+

Total: 42. Not terrible, but not good either.

Interview with Jillian Cantor

And now, an interview with the lovely Jillian Cantor, author of The September Sisters...

1. The September Sisters is your first published book. How are you feeling about having it FINALLY coming out?

I’m feeling a range of emotions – excited, of course, that the book is finally out in the world and that people will finally get to read Abby’s story. But I’m also nervous about all these things, too!

2. Did you always intend to write for teens, or did you just get lucky that it turned out that way? ;D

I got lucky that it turned out that way! The September Sisters was originally written as an adult book – it was the same story, but at the end Abby was 30 instead of 15. When I wrote the book I had no idea that it might be a young adult book. I just knew I had a story I wanted to tell about a 13-year-old girl. It was my agent who suggested to me that the book might really be a YA book, and things went from there.

3. Writers often describe their road to getting published as lucky because it was so easy, or horrifically difficult and long. What was your road to publication like?

The second one – difficult and long! Although, I still feel that I got very lucky. Even though it took me a long time (about 5 years from the time I wrote the book until the time it sold) and a lot of rejection to get to where I am now, I still feel incredibly lucky, and I feel things ended up exactly the way they were supposed to.

4. Your book has a gorgeous cover. What was your first reaction when you saw it?

I loved it – but actually this was about the fourth version of the cover I saw. The version before this one, I wasn’t a big fan of – it still had the blue heart, but the background and the font were a lot different. For a little while, I thought that version was going to be the “final” cover, so when I saw this one, I was really, really excited.

5. What is the best writing advice you've ever received?

A writer writes. Sounds kind of lame, but I thought that a lot to myself when I was getting a lot of rejection. I kept thinking if I kept writing, I could still think of myself as a writer, even if I wasn’t published yet. But if I gave up, if I stopped writing, then I would never be a real writer.

6. What is some writing advice you wished you had received before?

That’s a good question. I guess just more specific advice about publishing as a business. When I was in graduate school, there was a lot of focus on the craft of writing, which is great. But once I left and tried to start selling my work, I had no idea what I was doing.

7. What do you hope readers take away from The September Sisters?

I hope they enjoy it and get involved in the story. There’s nothing I like better than finding myself absorbed in the book! But I also hope that they feel Abby’s strength and her ability to see people for who they really are, underneath the surface.

8. You're 1/6 of The Novel Girls blog. What has being a part of that been like?

Awesome! It’s been so amazing to connect with other great women writers who are going through the exact same experience as I am. Being a writer, on the brink of being published, is fun and scary and exciting and nerve-wracking, and not something my non-writer friends can completely understand. It’s been so fun to blog with them and just chat with them online, and of course, I’m totally looking forward to all of their books!

Random question time!

9. Recently, my mom found a book that I vaguely remember writing as a child. It was a novelization of the Rugrats in Paris movie, and it was one of my first books. What's the first book you ever remember writing?

I’m not sure I ever wrote a book before I actually wrote a book as an adult. I wrote one before The September Sisters, (that’s now in the back of my closet) about a family 10 years after the drowning of a little girl. But I used to write lots of short stories when I was younger. The first ones I remember writing were about a hot air balloon who could talk and about twin sisters keeping a secret from each other. I wrote these in fourth grade.

10. If you could have any cake made for you (it can breathe fire, dance, blow bubbles, whatever), what would the cake be of/how would it be decorated? And what flavor cake would it be?

Well, chocolate chip cake with buttercream icing is my favorite – so that’s what flavor it would be. I’m not too picky when it comes to cake – I LOVE cake, and I hardly ever get to eat it – so I’d be happy with anything on it. But it might be cool to see a cake that looked like The September Sisters cover. Hmmm, I don’t know, then I might feel bad eating it!

11. If you could visit any author in any time period, who would you visit and what would you talk to them about?

Virginia Woolf. I read A Room of One’s Own in college, and it’s all about women and writing and what it means to be a woman and a writer. It really struck a chord with me. I’d love to hear her thoughts on women writers and feminism today – I wonder if she’d be impressed or disappointed by how things have changed.

12. One of the weirdest items I own is a barista action figure with interchangeable heads. What's the weirdest item you own? (Or have ever owned?)

I used to collect pigs when I was younger. I had shelves full of them in my room – ceramic pigs and stuffed pigs and piggy banks. There were some weird ones in there -- I even had a tiny white ceramic one with a Swedish flag on it, that my parents brought me back from a trip to Sweden once.

13. And the timeless question: zombies or unicorns?

Unicorns, of course! I actually used to be obsessed with unicorns when I was younger.

---

Thanks Jillian! But unicorns? Really?

Waiting on Wednesday (12)

Happy Waiting on Wednesday. (Waiting on Wednesday = day started by Jill over at Breaking the Spine)

Today's choice is a book that, sadly, won't be out until the summer of 2010. That book is Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

description (from this blog post):

Jennifer Lynn Barnes's RAISED BY WOLVES, in which a human teen struggles to find her place in the werewolf pack that has raised her since childhood, while dealing with the inexplicable connection she shares with the pack's newest wolf- a teenage boy, to Regina Griffin at Egmont, by Elizabeth Harding at Curtis Brown.

---

Okay, that isn't really a description, but still. WEREWOLF BOOK! Do you people know how long I've been waiting for a werewolf book? A LONG TIME, THAT'S HOW LONG. I'm dying for this one. Oh 2010, when will you arrive?

Question

Does anyone else love read the marketing plans on the back of ARCs? Because if I happen to get an ARC, the marketing plan is the first thing I read.

I don't know why I enjoy this so much. Maybe it's because usually I don't ever come across half the stuff on the marketing plans.

But one thing I will have to find is this [from the Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler ARC]:

"Aggressive Promotion on ww.lb-teens.com"

Am I the only one who gets a mental image of someone who works at Little, Brown going around to teens, getting right up in their face, and yelling something like "READ THIS BOOK NOW!"

I mean, what do they mean by"aggressive"? Would someone like to tell me?

Willow Giveaway!

So, Lauren put together this shiny awesome giveaway celebrating the release of Willow by Julia Hoban.

Starts: March 1

Ends: April 30

To enter: One must buy the book (ARCs do not count of course) and send proof (receipt, picture of book, etc.) to me at: Lauren51990 AT aol DOT com

Book: Willow by Julia Hoban is not released until April 2, so if someone pre-orders the book in March, that will count, and if they go out and buy the book in April, that will count.

Khy is giving away Does This Book Make Me Look Fat?

http://www.freneticreader.blogspot.com/

Kelsey is giving away B&N ten dollar gift card in a cute felt penguin “bag” and some bookmarks.

http://justblindedbookreviews.blogspot.com

Carrie will give Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby

http://carriesyabookshelf.blogspot.com

Kelsey is giving an ARC version of Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

http://readingkeepsyousane.blogspot.com/

Alea is giving away Sherlock Holmes Volume 1.

http://aleapopculture.blogspot.com/

Kristi is giving a 10 dollar Amazon gift card.

www.thestorysiren.com

Harmony is making a soundtrack with songs she feels fit the book.

http://harmonybookreviews.wordpress.com/

Lenore is giving 10 dollars to Amazon

www.presentinglenore.blogspot.com

Gabbi is giving Chloe Doe by Suzanne Phillips

http://fivestarreading.blogspot.com

Lauren will give the winner a book of their choice (has to be paperback!)

www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com

Chelsea is giving a $10 card to Amazon

www.thepageflipper.blogspot.com

My Favorite Author is giving Kisses and Lies by Lauren Henderson

www.myfavoriteauthor.blogspot.com

Vanessa is giving Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

http://whatvanessareads.wordpress.com/

Shalonda is giving away Sherlock Holmes Volume 2.

http://www.shalondasblog.blogspot.com/

Carol is giving an ARC of Because I Am Furniture.

http://www.bookluver-carol.blogspot.com/

Tirzah is giving Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

www.thecompulsivereader.blogspot.com

Lauren is giving a 15 dollar gift card to B&N

www.laurenscrammedbookshelf.blogspot.com

Laura is giving a 10 dollar Borders gift card and the book Flygirls.

http://laurasreviewbookshelf.blogspot.com/

Sarah is giving The Adoration of Jenna Fox

http://sarahbear9789.blogspot.com/

Alyssa is giving Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston.

http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com

I've read Willow already, and let me tell you, it is fabulous.