New Titles Coming From Lauren Oliver!
12:06 PM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
Whatever will you read next?
How about...MORE Lauren Oliver Books?
In 2014, Lauren is releasing her first novel for adults, ROOMS. Not much is known about this one yet because HarperCollins/Ecco is keeping everything under wraps. But, uh....I already want it? Lauren Oliver is that good of an author.
If you're not ready to leave the world of Delirium just yet, there are two treats in store for you! Lauren wrote two more e-novellas in the vein of HANA.
The second new novella, RAVEN, will release on March 5th alongside its momma, REQUIEM.
For those who don't like e-books or don't have a way to read them or, heck, just want their own shiny copies to sit alongside their print copies of Lauren's other books, you're in luck! On March 5th, HarperCollins is ALSO releasing a paperback anthology that gathers together all three stories (and perhaps some additional treats?)! It's currently titled: DELIRIUM STORIES: Hana, Annabel, and Raven.
Okay, I don't know about you, but even though I have HANA as an ebook on my nook, I want that paperback copy because I own all of Lauren's book's in hardcover and they'll look so pretty and shiny together!
Besides DELIRIUM, Lauren Oliver has also written the best-selling stand-alone novel BEFORE I FALL (her debut!), as well as two stand-alone novels for children, charming LIESL & PO, and creepy THE SPINDLERS! Check them out for more Lauren Oliver love if you haven't already done so!
{Official Cover Reveal & Giveaway} TAKING BACK FOREVER by Karen Amanda Hooper
12:00 PM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
Karen Amanda Hooper, author of TANGLED TIDES and GRASPING AT ETERNITY, is sharing her newest cover today. The sequel to GRASPING AT ETERNITY, Book 2 of The Kindrily series, is titled TAKING BACK FOREVER.
Karen and her cover designer, Alexandra Shostak, have worked side by side to create the TAKING BACK FOREVER cover. After lots of hard work (and a lot of love) here it is…
TAKING BACK FOREVER
by Karen Amanda Hooper
by Karen Amanda Hooper
Want to know more? Here’s a summary of TAKING BACK FOREVER:
SUMMARY:
Forever is worth the fight.
Maryah erased all memory of her past lives, but she couldn’t erase her soul mate Nathan, or his undying love. Now, Maryah and Nathan have a second chance at a future together, but first Maryah must remember the person she used to be and embrace her supernatural gifts—more than one kindrily member’s life depends on it.
Maryah’s power is Harmony’s best hope of finding her kidnapped soul mate, Gregory. But Harmony isn’t big on asking anyone for help, and she’s tired of waiting, so she’s taking matters into her own hands. Heaven help anyone who stands in her way.
To celebrate, Karen and Alexandra are giving away signed paperbacks of Grasping at Eternity. (Signed by Karen AND Alexandra!)
Contest is open internationally!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Alexandra Shostak is a writer of dark and fantastical things, mostly meant for teenagers. She is a freelance cover designer, and is available to do covers and interior artwork directly for authors. She is also a former Irish dancer, a guitar player, and the person who can get you through the zombie apocalypse without getting bitten.If you’re especially worried about the zombie apocalypse, you can find her in one of these places:
or on Twitter as @a_shostak
Twitter: @karen_hooper
What are your thoughts on Karen Amanda Hooper's latest cover?
Official Featured Fierce Reads Blogger 10/20!
11:45 AM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
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| Follow Fierce Reads on Facebook and Twitter! |
This Saturday, Macmillan is sending its quarterly Fierce Reads tour my way! Not only that, but they've been kind enough to ask my personal blog A Backwards Story to be the Featured Blogger at the event!
I'll be live tweeting from the event as @abackwardsstory (so long as I can get onto the wi-fi without a library card because I won't be in my own township) and posting a wrap-up either Saturday night or Sunday morning along with an exclusive interview AND a giveaway of six autographed books from Macmillan and attending authors Gennifer Albin (CREWEL), Leigh Bardugo (SHADOW AND BONE), Caragh M. O'Brien (The Birthmarked Trilogy), and Marie Rutkoski (THE SHADOW SOCIETY, The Kronos Chronicles Trilogy)! I'm hoping to also pick up some fun swag to give away as well!
Make sure to check back this weekend for all the details!
If you have any burning questions you'd like to ask any/all of these authors, please leave them in a comment below and I'll ask them on Saturday!
I'll be reviewing (and in one case, re-posting a review) each of the Fierce Reads authors this week, so look forward to reviews on the books all week long!
~*~
HAPPY BOOK DAY!!
Yesterday also marked the Book Day of two of the authors, CREWEL by Gennifer Albin and THE SHADOW SOCIETY by Marie Rutkoski.
I've read both of these and they're both great reads, so check them out. ....And, of course, enter to win them this weekend!
I'll be reviewing both of these novels this week, so look forward to it!
~*~
CONGRATULATIONS!!
And while, sadly, Fierce Reads author Marissa Meyer won't be at Saturday's event (Woe, I tell you, woe!!!), her debut novel CINDER was just listed as one of YALSA's 2012 Teens' Top Ten Books! (Along with heavyweight authors John Green, Sarah Dessen, and Meg Cabot, plus many more talented authors! I love so many books on this list!)
For anyone who has yet to learn about the fabulousness that is CINDER (and what are you waiting for? Run. Now!), check out my review from earlier this year, along with an interview with Macmillan cover designer Rich Deas!
{Review & Giveaway} PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katie McGarry
10:33 PM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
Want a gritty new book to love while waiting for something new from Lauren Oliver?
Stay tuned after today's review at the bottom of this post to enter to win your own copy of the buzzworthy PUSHING THE LIMITS! Today may be my birthday, but HarlequinTeen and I are gifting one of you with this incredible, hard-hitting novel!
Also, did you know there's mythology in PUSHING THE LIMITS? It's true!
Check out my Mythological Mondays post!
Another cool thing? Candace's Book Blog, Natalia @ Dazzling Reads, The Page Turners, Mary @ The Book Swarm and at The Bewitched Bookworms have put together a PUSHING THE LIMITS Read-Along from July 31st to August 28th, including a live Twitter chat with author Katie McGarry!
Click here for more information!
Stay tuned after today's review at the bottom of this post to enter to win your own copy of the buzzworthy PUSHING THE LIMITS! Today may be my birthday, but HarlequinTeen and I are gifting one of you with this incredible, hard-hitting novel!
Also, did you know there's mythology in PUSHING THE LIMITS? It's true!
Check out my Mythological Mondays post!
Another cool thing? Candace's Book Blog, Natalia @ Dazzling Reads, The Page Turners, Mary @ The Book Swarm and at The Bewitched Bookworms have put together a PUSHING THE LIMITS Read-Along from July 31st to August 28th, including a live Twitter chat with author Katie McGarry!
Click here for more information!
O P E N I N G H O O K:
While I've always been more of a fan of fantasy than I have contemporary, especially teen contemporary now that I'm no longer a teen, I've been trying to read more in this genre. PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katie McGarry has been garnering huge amounts of advance buzz this summer, the like of which I haven't seen since Stephanie Perkins released ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. It took me a long time to pick up ANNA because I didn't like the cover or the title and, let's face it, I thought it was pure romance, which I really don't read. But it was devastatingly good and stuck with me long after the book ended because the character development was so superb. PUSHING THE LIMITS also has a very romantic cover, so I overlooked the book when I first saw it online and I ignored the initial buzz. I read an interview that another blogger had done with McGarry and became intrigued. When publisher HarlequinTeen offered me a review copy and a giveaway copy, I jumped at the chance to see the book everyone is talking about. I'm not going to make the mistake I did with ANNA and judge this book by its cover.
I'm so glad I read this. As soon as the book arrived, I dropped what I was reading (Which turned into a DNF anyway, so I'm glad I dropped it...*cough*) to pick up PUSHING THE LIMITS and I devoured it. It was my day off, so I had plenty of time to read, and I stayed up late to finish. It was that good. Like the way Perkins developed characters I became enamored with when reading ANNA, so too did McGarry. Plus, PUSHING THE LIMITS is an issues book. Personally, I love books full of hard-hitting issues because they keep my attention more than a straight-forward romance ever could. Books with issues are the sort of contemporary novels I love best.
Ignore the deceptively romantic cover. All of that romance came at a high price. Told in alternating points of view between main characters Echo and Noah, both characters are incredibly damaged at the novel's start. Echo's older brother died in Afghanistan, which was a huge blow to her family. Her mother, who already suffered from mental illness, did something devastating, something that left scars on Echo despite the fact that her mind has repressed the memory. Noah, on the other hand, is an orphan. His parents died in a tragic house fire and his two younger brothers have been taken away from him and put into separate foster housing. Both Echo and Noah had so much taken from them and have gone through so much ever since their respective tragedies. Despite being from different paths in life, they find one another and learn how to heal, how to let go, how to move on, how to embrace the future and leave the past behind. The journey these two embark on is incredible and by the novel's end, both have come so far.
It's hard to describe PUSHING THE LIMITS without giving things away. All I can say is that McGarry, despite this being her debut novel, is a pro at layering and building up the development of her characters. Their world is real, and it's so easy for readers to get lost in the journey. The book has very raw, realistic emotions reminiscent of teen contemporary queen Simone Elkeles, who actually has a blurb on the dust jacket of PUSHING THE LIMITS. While most of McGarry's secondary characters fall to the wayside (it isn't, after all, their story), it's interesting to see that she'll focus on one of these characters in the 2013 release of her next novel, DARE YOU TO. While the character isn't one I necessarily gravitated to the first time around, it will be interesting to see how McGarry gets into her psyche and whether or not she can make me care the way she did when I read about Echo and Noah. I'll willing to take that chance and find out. Are you?
If I had seen this cover on the shelf and knew nothing about the book, I probably wouldn't have picked up PUSHING THE LIMITS. The cover looks very light, and there are many YA contemporary novels with couples against a locker, so it doesn't really stand out. Most recently, KEEP HOLDING ON by Susane Colasanti comes to mind, and this book also has a misleading cover since it's full of hard issues.
At the same time, the romance that builds between the two main characters is an important part of the story and the character development, so I can see why they went this route. Plus, the cover was designed with darker, grittier colors and a punch of silver, so the coloring stands out. I love that the female model has curly red hair like Echo does, too. Win!
The interior of the design is fabulous. If you take off the dust jacket, you see a full locker-sized image of the cover that spans the front cover, spine, and back cover. Each chapter alternates between Echo's and Noah's POVs, and each character has a unique font well-suited for his/her personality:
I'm so glad I read this. As soon as the book arrived, I dropped what I was reading (Which turned into a DNF anyway, so I'm glad I dropped it...*cough*) to pick up PUSHING THE LIMITS and I devoured it. It was my day off, so I had plenty of time to read, and I stayed up late to finish. It was that good. Like the way Perkins developed characters I became enamored with when reading ANNA, so too did McGarry. Plus, PUSHING THE LIMITS is an issues book. Personally, I love books full of hard-hitting issues because they keep my attention more than a straight-forward romance ever could. Books with issues are the sort of contemporary novels I love best.
Ignore the deceptively romantic cover. All of that romance came at a high price. Told in alternating points of view between main characters Echo and Noah, both characters are incredibly damaged at the novel's start. Echo's older brother died in Afghanistan, which was a huge blow to her family. Her mother, who already suffered from mental illness, did something devastating, something that left scars on Echo despite the fact that her mind has repressed the memory. Noah, on the other hand, is an orphan. His parents died in a tragic house fire and his two younger brothers have been taken away from him and put into separate foster housing. Both Echo and Noah had so much taken from them and have gone through so much ever since their respective tragedies. Despite being from different paths in life, they find one another and learn how to heal, how to let go, how to move on, how to embrace the future and leave the past behind. The journey these two embark on is incredible and by the novel's end, both have come so far.
It's hard to describe PUSHING THE LIMITS without giving things away. All I can say is that McGarry, despite this being her debut novel, is a pro at layering and building up the development of her characters. Their world is real, and it's so easy for readers to get lost in the journey. The book has very raw, realistic emotions reminiscent of teen contemporary queen Simone Elkeles, who actually has a blurb on the dust jacket of PUSHING THE LIMITS. While most of McGarry's secondary characters fall to the wayside (it isn't, after all, their story), it's interesting to see that she'll focus on one of these characters in the 2013 release of her next novel, DARE YOU TO. While the character isn't one I necessarily gravitated to the first time around, it will be interesting to see how McGarry gets into her psyche and whether or not she can make me care the way she did when I read about Echo and Noah. I'll willing to take that chance and find out. Are you?
~*~
C O V E R D E S I G N:
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| The cover WITHOUT the dust jacket. Image from Katie McGarry's blog b/c I'm LAZY, lol. |
At the same time, the romance that builds between the two main characters is an important part of the story and the character development, so I can see why they went this route. Plus, the cover was designed with darker, grittier colors and a punch of silver, so the coloring stands out. I love that the female model has curly red hair like Echo does, too. Win!
The interior of the design is fabulous. If you take off the dust jacket, you see a full locker-sized image of the cover that spans the front cover, spine, and back cover. Each chapter alternates between Echo's and Noah's POVs, and each character has a unique font well-suited for his/her personality:
~*~
O F F I C I A L I N F O:
Title: PUSHING THE LIMITS
Authors: Katie McGarry
Authors: Katie McGarry
Release Date: Out July 30, 2012
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Received: Received for Review
SUMMARY:
No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.
Now it's your turn.
You have until August 15th to enter to win the awesome PUSHING THE LIMITS by debut author Katie McGarry.
Good luck!
Spotlight on LEVEL 2 by Lenore Appelhans
10:19 AM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
Spotlighting the upcoming dystopian
with a fabulous design,
LEVEL 2 by Lenore Appelhans!
Presenting Lenore was one of the first book review blogs I ever stumbled across, and through it, Lenore introduced me to a bunch of titles I read and loved, especially dystopians. I was so excited for her when I heard that she got a publishing deal, and LEVEL 2 sounds awesome!
The cover's awesome, too. Check out the full spread:
Lenore and her publisher Simon & Schuster recently revealed the cover in an awesome video (And I'm pretty sure some of that footage is from the making of the book cover, no less!)
The cover's awesome, too. Check out the full spread:
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| Um, click this to see a MUCH bigger image! |
If you're like me, you love a good book covers. Because I love covers, I also love reading interviews with cover designers. Check out Lenore's interview with LEVEL 2 cover designer Lizzy Bromley! (Bromley also designed the amazing covers for Lauren DeStefano's THE CHEMICAL GARDEN Trilogy!
After reading that interview, I love this cover even more! I love the way the colors pop and work together, creating an eye-catching image. The model looks like she's in motion and about to break out of the image. And I really like the dots representing the hives. This cover would have me pick the book up blind to find out more, and I'm even more eager to read it now after seeing all this!
LEVEL 2 is coming January 13th, which feels really far away. Why can't it come out, say, tomorrow?
Vote for Alex on the YA Sisterhood Crush Tourney!
9:14 AM Posted by Ella Preuss
The 2nd YAS Crush Tourney is on, and Alex is competing against Zachary Moore, and he's losing!
We need to help him win! Go vote for him now!
You need some help in making the decision to vote for him? Then why don't you read these:
“Everyone is asleep. They've all been asleep for years. You seemed ... awake.' Alex is whispering now. He closes his eyes, opens them again.'I'm tired of sleeping.”
“And I love you too.” His fingers skate the edge of my jaw, dance briefly over my lips. “You should know that. You have to know that.”
(quotes chosen by the YA Sisterhood)
Figment invites you to a chat w/Justine Larbalestier, Sarah Rees Brennan and Scott Westerfeld!
5:14 AM Posted by Ella Preuss
Don't miss Figment's upcoming all-star chat: Writing with Friends: How to collaborate on a novel while not losing your mind (or your pal)!
Sounds awesome, right? I don't think I can make it, but I thought you guys might!Authors Justine Larbalestier (Liar) and Sarah Rees Brennan (The Demon's Lexicon) recently joined forces to write Team Human. Through emails and iChats, the two writers worked together to write this very funny novel about Mel Duan, a whip-smart high-schooler trying desperately to keep her best friend from falling in love with the wrong guy--a guy who just happens to be a vampire.On July 8 at 8:00 pm, the authors are coming to Figment to discuss the tricky task of collaboration. How do two people create one cohesive voice? How do you find the right writing partner? And who gets credit for the best lines?Joining them as host of this rousing live web chat is none other than beloved bestselling author Scott Westerfeld (aka Justine's husband)! In the second half of the chat, the three superstar authors will take questions from the audience. And in the meantime, to get ready to talk collaboration (and vampires!), take a voyeuristic peak into one of Justine's and Sarah's writerly iChats and vote in our very scientific vampire showdown poll. [from Figment]
Take a look at the trailer, if you haven't seen it already:
Have fun,
Ella
Cover Reveal: SEVER by Lauren DeStefano
9:59 AM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
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| Click image to view full-size! |
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| WITHER's Copyright Page! Even this has incredible design! |
While I'm not a fan of that shade of green (especially with all the green in the image that's blending in), colors often look different in final form. In person, it may quite possibly be stunning! At the moment, however, I'm "meh" over the green. It's amazing to see how different the model looks in this image compared to the first two. Plus, she looks...happy? So that's something! The bird may not be the same one from the first cover, but it's free now, which is saying a lot. Her white dress symbolizes purity and freedom, too, plus she's holding her wedding ring in her hand (And her hands look empty if you're looking at a smaller version of the cover, I know).
I always like how MUCH is going on in these covers and always want to know more about the individual objects lying around. This series still has one of my favorite cover/interior treatments for font and design.
I have to say, however... I still like the original jacket the best of the three:
What are your thoughts on the new cover?
I can't wait to read this!!
REQUIEM Cover REVEALED!
9:30 PM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
The cover for the final book in Lauren Oliver's stunning DELIRIUM trilogy now has a gorgeous cover.
Personally, I think this is my favorite of the three!
Are you ready?
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What are your thoughts?
You're Gonna LOVE Me: WHAT'S LEFT OF ME by Kat Zhang
11:19 AM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
A sneak peek at another HarperTeen author, debuting this fall!
I've been anxious to get my hands on WHAT'S LEFT OF ME since THRONE OF GLASS author Sarah J. Maas blogged about her friend Kat Zhang's publication deal last year. I was so excited when HarperCollins sent me a review copy, and while I have to sit on the full review until closer to release, I wanted to whet your appetite now.
Zhang's world reminds me in the best possible way of Phillip Pullman's DARK MATERIALS Trilogy in that the dæmons we're introduced to and the way they're severed reminds me very much of the way recessive souls can be removed in WHAT'S LEFT OF ME. HIS DARK MATERIALS was read repeatedly growing up and is still an all-time favorite of mine.
In Zhang's world, every person is born with two twin souls that inhabit one body. The two take turns controlling the body, and over time, one soul becomes dominant and takes over while the other becomes recessive and fades away. With Addie and Eva, however, the recessive Eva never completely fades away. The girls' body never settles the way it should, and Addie isn't deemed alone in her body until she's ten, which is on the cusp-line of being "too long." If a body never settles, the government looks that person up. Eva has no control over her and Addie's body, but can still think and have conversations with Addie, a fact that the girls want to hide at all costs.
I loved the fact that Eva is the narrator as the recessive soul, rather than seeing everything through Addie's eyes. It creates so many more layers because Eva struggles more. I also liked the way it's always "we" and "us" and "our" when narrating instead of "me" and "I" and "mine," which takes some getting used to, but makes complete sense. I wouldn't have it any other way!
WHAT'S LEFT OF ME doesn't have a cliffhanger and wraps in a way that could make it a one-off, but has enough loose threads that make a sequel imminent--and I, for one, will be glad to return to this world!
Zhang's world reminds me in the best possible way of Phillip Pullman's DARK MATERIALS Trilogy in that the dæmons we're introduced to and the way they're severed reminds me very much of the way recessive souls can be removed in WHAT'S LEFT OF ME. HIS DARK MATERIALS was read repeatedly growing up and is still an all-time favorite of mine.
In Zhang's world, every person is born with two twin souls that inhabit one body. The two take turns controlling the body, and over time, one soul becomes dominant and takes over while the other becomes recessive and fades away. With Addie and Eva, however, the recessive Eva never completely fades away. The girls' body never settles the way it should, and Addie isn't deemed alone in her body until she's ten, which is on the cusp-line of being "too long." If a body never settles, the government looks that person up. Eva has no control over her and Addie's body, but can still think and have conversations with Addie, a fact that the girls want to hide at all costs.
I loved the fact that Eva is the narrator as the recessive soul, rather than seeing everything through Addie's eyes. It creates so many more layers because Eva struggles more. I also liked the way it's always "we" and "us" and "our" when narrating instead of "me" and "I" and "mine," which takes some getting used to, but makes complete sense. I wouldn't have it any other way!
WHAT'S LEFT OF ME doesn't have a cliffhanger and wraps in a way that could make it a one-off, but has enough loose threads that make a sequel imminent--and I, for one, will be glad to return to this world!
Author: Kat Zhang
Release Date: Out Sept. 18 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Received: ARC for Review
SUMMARY:
Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…
For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.
