In My Mailbox 105

This meme was started by the fabulous Kristi who was inspired by Alea. Check out their blogs for more information. All summaries are from the book jackets unless otherwise stated.

Sorry I haven’t done an IMM in a while; Contemp YA Month kind of took over! But now it’s all done, I’m back with the books I’ve received in the last two weeks. I was going to do what I got in January, but I didn't keep track.

For Review:

Choker – Elizabeth Woods

Cara has always felt like an outsider, and since she moved away from her best and only friend, Zoe, she feels more alone than ever. Cara spends her time avoiding the popular girls who call her ‘choker’ following a humiliating lunchroom  incident, and wishingn that gorgeous Ethan Gray would finally notice her. Then one day, Cara comes home and finds Zoe waiting for her. With the best friend back, Cara’s life changes overnight, and with a new look and new found confidence, her personality soars.

But when a girl goes missing and everyone comes under suspicion, Cara’s new life starts to unravel. Worse still, Zoe is behaving very strangely, and Cara begins to wonder exactly what her friend does all day while she’s at school. You’re supposed to trust your best frend no matter what, but what if she turns into a total stranger?

A 2012 debut! Thanks, S&S!

Spellbound: A Hex Hall Novel – Rachel Hawkins

Sometimes Sophie Mercer wishes she could go back to before she started at Hex Hall, the school for magical Prodigium. In one year she’s gone from average-girl-next-door to discovering that she’s a demon with extraordinary powers. And, just as she is starting to get her head around that, the Prodigium Council strip away her magic and kidnap her friends, leaving her defenceless and alone.

Now, stranded at the mercy of the Brannicks, a fsmily of warrior women who want to destroy all Prodigium, Sophie could really use a little magical help. But the Brannicks have a few revelations of their own, and Sophie’s world is turned upside down...again.

Can Sophie find her friends, regain her powers and take on the bad guys and win? Or will this final battle be one step too far?

So, so excited for this! I really love this series. Thanks, S&S!

Lenobia’sVow: A House of Night Novella – PC and Kristin Cast

“Elle est morte!” She is dead.

Lenobia’s world exploded with the sound of a scream and three small words. She would never forget the feeling of dread that engulfed her.

Before becmoing Zoey’s favourite professor and the House of Night’s powerful horse mistress, Lenobia was just a normal 16-year-old girl – but with enough problems to last a lifetime.

In 1788, Lenobia’s mother placed her on a ship bound for New Orleans. An evil bishop, skilled in Dark magic, is making the same journey. His appetite for beautiful young women forces Lenobia to remain hidden, but she secrety visits the ship’s stables, where a handsome young man and his horses capture her attention.

Can they make it to the New World before the bishop discovers her true identity and a powerful evil breaks loose? And will Lenobia follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk?

Thanks Atom. I have to admit that I gave up on this series after book two so I’ll be giving t to my little sister instead.

Bought:

It’s Not Summer Without You – Jenny Han

Is it really summer without the beach?

Or the boys?

After spending every single summer at Cousins Beach, Belly’s life is about to change. Since her brief relationship with Conrad fizzled out last winter, she’ll be staying home for the first time. Her best friend, Taylor, has lots of plans for them – boat parties and tanning by the pool and new boys to obsess over. But when Jeremiah calls and says that Conrad has disappeared, all roads seem to lead back to the beach house. Will Belly spend another summer chasing after Conrad, or will she finally be able to let him go?

So much love for this series. I’ve already read and reviewed this one.

Nine Uses for an Ex-Boyfriend – Sarra Manning

Hope Delafield hasnt always had an easy life.

She has red hair and a temper to match, as her mother is constantly reminding her. She can’t wear heels, is terrified of heights and being a primary school teacher isn’t exactly the job she dreamed of doing, especially when her class are stuck on the two times table.

At least Hope has Jack, and jack is the God of boyfriends. He’s sweet, kind, funny, has a killer smile, a cool job on a fashion magazine and he’s pretty (but in a manly way). Hope knew that Jack was the one ever since their first kiss after the Youth Club disco and thirteen years later, they’re still totally in love. Totally. And then Hope catches Jack kissing her best friend Susie...

Does true love forgive and forget?

Or does it get mad...and get even?

I love Sarra’s YA so much, but I haven’t gotten around to any of her adult novels yet. Even though I own them all...

Won:

Beauty Queens – Libba Bray

Survival of the fittest.

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream Beauty Pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete 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 eyeliner.

What’s abeauty queen to do? Continue to practise 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 purates should 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.]

I won this from Sally’s 1^st blogoversary contest and I’m very excited about it. I’ve heard endlessly brilliant things about it.

Sophie

It's Not Summer Without You - Jenny Han

It’s Not Summer Without You – Jenny Han

Pages: 275

Publisher: Simon and Schuster (US)

Release Date: 27^th April 2010

Other Books in the Series: The Summer I Turned Pretty, We’ll Always Have Summer

Is it really summer without the beach?

Or the boys?

After spending every single summer at Cousins Beach, Belly’s life is about to change. Since her brief relationship with Conrad fizzled out last winter, she’ll be staying home for the first time. Her best friend, Taylor, has lots of plans for them – boat parties and tanning by the pool and new boys to obsess over. But when Jeremiah calls and says that Conrad has disappeared, all roads seem to lead back to the beach house. Will Belly spend another summer chasing after Conrad, or will she finally be able to let him go?

I’ve fallen hard for this series. I thought I loved the first book until I read It’s Not Summer Without You. Why have I waited so long to read them?!

It’s Not Summer Without You had a big surprise in store for me: chapters from Jeremiah’s point of view! I was slightly worried that it’d bias me towards Jeremiah, but I still remain undecided between the Fisher brothers. This has never happened before – I usually pick teams very quickly. It was really good to see how the brothers are when Belly’s not around and to get a proper sense of their relationship. I’m now wondering if we’ll be treated to Conrad’s point of view in We’ll Always Have Summer...

There was a lot more emotional tension in It’s Not Summer Without You than the first book. The grief that Belly, her mother, Conrad and Jeremiah are suffering through is unimaginable but beautifully portrayed. It did occur to me though that the kids barely noticed that the adults would also be hurting, and perhaps even more so. It really cemented their age for me. There’s also lots of tension and angst between Belly and the boys. Her confusion over her feelings and Conrad’s indecision and general enigmatic persona that confused Belly even further really helped to capture how horrible it can be to be in love as a teenager.

I’ve got We’ll Always Have Summer paperback on pre-order so I’m counting down the days until it comes through the letter box.

I purchased a copy of this book myself.

Sophie 

Contemp YA Month: Thank You

We have reached the end of Contemporary YA Month. I’m pleased to say that it’s been a success and I’ve loved hosting it. I set out to highlight some of the fantastic contemporary YA that’s been written and published over the last couple of years that has been a little over-looked, quite often by me, too. I think I did it. I had some fantastic guest posts from long-time lovers of the genre as well as warmly welcomed newbie’s and I managed to get around to reading some of those contemps that I’d bought ages ago and never quite gotten around to. But I couldn’t have done it on my own.

I’d first like to thank to lovely ladies who wrote fantastic guest posts for me: Luisa Plaja, Emma Pass, Catherine Bruton, Clover of Fluttering Butterflies and Hannah of My Book Journey. We heard about those authors that kick-started a love affair with contemporary YA, current favourites, legendary authors and why it’s so popular.

Luisa Plaja’s Top 5 Recent Favourites

Catherine Bruton: Why Adults Prefer YA

 How Hannah Mariska Discovered Contemporary YA

How Contemporary YA Got Emma Pass a Book Deal

Clover’s Favourite Contemporary YA Authors

Then we had Viv from Serendipity Reviews whom guest-reviewed a contemporary YA classic (that I still haven’t read!): Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and I Want to Read That’s Sammee who reviewed Sara Zarr’s How to Save a Life for us. Thank you!

Then half-way through the month, we had a So Many Books, So Little Time first: a cover reveal. I was the first to show the brand new cover of Keris Stainton’s upcoming Emma Hearts LA, which I know many people are very excited about (including me). Isn’t it fantastic? Emma Hearts LA will be released June 7^th by Orchard Books.

You’re all probably wondering what on earth I did contribute now, aren’t you? I waxed lyrical about the two authors who I credit for making me fall in love with contemporary YA before I even really knew what it was, before blogging and before the term YA was even coined. I owe Sarah Dessen and Sarra Manning a lot really and in these rather fan-girly posts, I tell you exactly why.

I also managed to review quite a few examples of contemporary YA. There was a mixture of the old and the new and I’m pleased to say that a few authors and books have been added to my favourites list.

Ten Things We Shouldn’t Have Done, Sarah Mlynowski

Torn, Cat Clarke

Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins

Virtuosity, Jessica Martinez

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, Jennifer E Smith

Forget You, Jennifer Echols

Lola and the Boy Next Door, Stephanie Perkins

The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

Pretty Bad Things, CJ Skuse

The Summer I Turned Pretty, Jenny Han

Someone Else’s Life, Katie Dale

Rockaholic, CJ Skuse

The best bit is that these twelve books are only a tiny, tiny sample of what’s out there at the moment. Although it's cheesy, there really is a contemp YA novel out there for everybody. All you have to do is look at some of the fantastic ones we’ve got coming out this year: Nobody’s Girl by Sarra Manning, Emma Hearts LA by Keris Stainton, Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles, the Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg, Wonder by RJ Palacio, This is Not Forgiveness by Celia Rees, A Midsummer Tights Dream by Louise Rennison and so many, many more.

And now for the biggest thank you of all: to everyone who read, commented, tweeted, re-tweeted and followed during the course of every month. I read and appreciate every comment and every effort to help me spread the word brought a smile to my face. Contemporary YA Month really wouldn’t have worked without you all, thank you.

Sophie 

Contemp YA Month: Rockaholic - CJ Skuse

Rockaholic – CJ Skuse

Pages: 365

Publisher: Chicken House

Release Date: 7^th March 2011

Other Titles by this Author: Pretty Bad Things

Jody’s obsessed with a rock star.

At Jackson Gaitlin’s concert, she’s right at the front. But when she’s caught in the crush, Jody’s carried backstage. Throw in concussion, a super-wired superstar, and a Curly Wurly – and she finds herself taking home more than a poster.

OMG! Jody’s kidnapped him. But what happens when the rock star in her garage doesn’t want to leave?

Jody’s stuck between a rock idol and a hard place!

CJ Skuse’s second novel is just as brilliantly mad-cap and filled to the brim with laughs as her first.

I have to say that one of the things I looked forward to the most while reading Rockaholic was starting a new chapter because the titles are made of awesome. I mean, you don't come across many books that have chapter titles like ‘Too Posh To Mosh’, ‘Softly, Softy, Catch a Junkie’ and ‘Jody Pothead and the Half-Assed Snail’ very often, do you? I love them – they’re utterly brilliant.

Jody is completely nutty – in the best way, of course.  The way she stumbled into kidnapping Jackson was absolutely hilarious and I can’t imagine it happening to many other people, but her, definitely. Her all-consuming love for Jackson Gaitlin and his band The Regulators is beyond anything I can comprehend – she’s obsessed. Her conviction in them is amazing. It wasn’t just this that made her stand out though. Jody has left school after finishing her GCSE’s and is now working full time and that is not something that I’ve come across very often, if at all, in YA and it really threw me.

Though I don’t recall ever really feeling the way about a band that Jody does, I definitely remember that single-minded conviction that some person, someone completely out of reach, if utterly perfect for you. That that person will complete you and fix everything wrong in our life. Jody gets the shock o her life when he’s not the dream she imagined and I was heart-broken for her. Even after Jody’s experiences, I’m still convinced that my hero, in a different way to how Jody sees Jackson, will be just as amazing as I imagine if, *when*, I get to meet her. I’d be curious to see if anyone can guess who she is...?

 With brilliant escapades, characters to fall in love with and YA references scattered throughout, Rockaholic is a lovely way to see out Contemp YA Month.

Thank you to Chicken House for providing me with a review copy.

Sophie 

Contemp YA Month: Guest Review - Clover's Favourite Contemp YA Authors

Today I would like to welcome the ever-lovely Clover who blogs over at Fluttering Butterflies. She is going to share with us the contemporary YA authors who have stolen her heart. Over to her:

First of all, I'd like to say a huge thank you to Sophie for having me on her blog today! I adore Sophie's blog and I love the idea of Contemp YA month. I'm so pleased to be here and to be writing about a subject that I love!

I would describe myself as a pretty diverse reader; I enjoy paranormals and dystopian fiction. I've been known to read science-fiction and fantasy. I read books for younger readers; I read adult fiction and even the occasional non-fiction book. But, my favourite is by far contemporary YA. I just connect to it emotionally better than anything else and for me that is the deciding factor between books that I love and books that are just all right. And contemporary books are so diverse anyway, there is so much to explore and enjoy! I thought today, I would write just a little bit about some of my favourite contemporary YA authors. 

Melina Marchetta - I think Melina Marchetta is a genius, I really do. How on earth does she write such gorgeous stories with such fascinating, interesting and flawed characters? How does she make me care SO MUCH within such a short period of time? 

I read Looking For Alibrandi first, and I was awed. Everything Josephine Alibrandi said or did or thought and I believed it, because it felt real and honest. Saving Francesca instantly became one of my favourite ever books because of the sensitive way in which depression is handled and also this wonderful group of friends that is collected together (not to mention the romance!). And then I read Jellicoe Road and that was it. Jellicoe Road is so amazing there doesn't seem to be the words to describe it. I love the vulnerability of Jellicoe Road, the grief, the relationships, the secrets, just everything about it. But if ever there was a book that destroyed me so utterly and completely, it's The Piper's Son, the companion novel to Saving Francesca. 

With each book of Melina Marchetta's that I read, I find my heart being broken into teeny tiny little pieces and I will never be the same again.

Sarra Manning - I'd heard of Sarra Manning's name before, but I didn't pick up any of her books until I read her first adult novel, Unsticky. I loved it so much that I went immediately to the library and read what I could. I devoured Let's Get Lost and Guitar Girl within days and luckily it wasn't long until Nobody's Girl was published and that book really cemented my love of her stories. I love the complex romantic relationships in her stories and how feisty and wonderful her female characters are. 

Nobody's Girl kept me company during a difficult few days and it made me want to go travelling and meet gorgeous, foreign strangers and fall in love in Paris. I'm dying to read her latest books out in 2012! Get here quicker.

John Green - Hopefully by the time this post is published, I'll have already devoured The Fault in Our Stars, but for now, I'm still patiently (!!) awaiting for my signed book to arrive. I have been a huge nerdfighter since.. forever, really. I love John and Hank's videos and I've sat through them all, despite not getting to them until at least two years in. 

I remember hearing a great deal about Looking For Alaska when it came out in America, but I wasn't all that keen on reading it. For some reason, I thought it to be a book about the wilderness .. in Alaska. I'm an idiot. Looking for Alaska turned out to be a very sweet and awkward story. I think the thing I loved the most about Looking for Alaska, and also John Green's books are the great friendships between male characters. There's great bonding and dialogue there. I read An Abundance of Katherines next and found the maths and the nerdiness really put a smile on my face. And Paper Towns was really something worth waiting for, as I'd witnessed through John's videos, his writing process. When I read Paper Towns, I had John's voice in my head because he'd read aloud the first chapter. My favourite of John Green's books though is probably Will Grayson, Will Grayson that he co-wrote with David Levithan. For the amazing characters and that very special ending. 

Courtney Summers - Now Courtney Summers, she's amazing. I am absolutely in awe of her and her writing. Her books are so emotional and her characters go through such difficulties and as a reader, I feel like I am sucked into her books so completely that I become her main characters. And in doing so, feel and experience everything that her characters have to deal with. 

Picking up Cracked Up To Be was a complete whim on my part. I hadn't heard of the book or the author, but something about it intrigued me. And I remember sprawling on the floor in my computer room reading this book. On the floor, because I couldn't be bothered to get up and sit on a sofa or chair because that would take me away from reading. When I saw she'd published another book, I bought it without even reading the synopsis. It was by Courtney Summers, that's all that mattered. And Some Girls Are was a difficult book to read. There was so much emotion and guilt and heartache that I sobbed. It was one of those ugly and messy cries that take over everything when I read Some Girls Are. 

And while her latest, Fall for Anything, wasn't quite as emotionally impactful as Some Girls Are, I still found myself easily falling into this story of grief and asking the difficult questions after a loved one's suicide. Courtney Summers new novel is apparently about zombies, but I hope she'll return after with that with more contemp!

I don't want this post to be miles long, but there are so many wonderful contemp YA authors out there that I love. Phil Earle's books Being Billy and Saving Daisy are incredible and had me crying like a baby. I love Keren David's books, especially When I Was Joe. I was really amazed by I Am the Messenger and also Fighting Ruben Wolfe and Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak. I adore novels by Keris Stainton and Luisa Plaja and Maureen Johnson. Every time a book comes out by Susane Colasanti or Sarah Dessen or Elizabeth Scott comes out, I do my happy dance. I could happily write forever about my favourite authors, but I shall leave you with this list for now!

Thank you so much, Clover!

Sophie

Contemp YA Month: Someone Else's Life - Katie Dale

Someone Else’s Life – Katie Dale

Pages: 478

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Release Date: 2^nd February 2012

One secret can change everything.

When Rosie Kenning’s mother, Trudie, dies of Huntingdon’s disease, her whole world falls apart. Not only does Rosie miss her mum, but now she has to face the fact that she may have inherited the fatal disease herself. Until she discovers that Trudie wasn’t her biological mother at all...Rosie is stunned. Can this be true? Is she grieving for a mother who wasn’t even hers to lose? And if Trudie wasn’t her mother, who is?

But as Rosie delves into her past to discover who she really is, she is faced with a heart-breaking dilemma – to continue living a lie, or to reveal a truth that will shatter the lives of everyone around her...

I’m not entirely sure where to start with Someone Else’s Life. While I appreciated and enjoyed its complexity and emotional intensity, it annoyed me more than I loved it.

Someone Else’s Life is extremely clever. Interspersed between the chapters detailing Rosie’s story are unnamed chapters from the point of view of a character who’s identity we don’t know of. At first, I was completely in the dark. Then I thought it might be her birth mother or maybe even Rosie from before her mother got sick. I was wrong and I was glad to be – it was rather genius, actually. For me, this was one of the strongest aspects of Someone Else’s Life.

It was probably the characters that stopped me from fully enjoying Someone Else’s Life. Rosie really annoyed me. I understood that she was confused, angry and hurting in unimaginable ways, but the way she treated some of the people around her was bordering on awful, especially Andy. An incredibly sweet guy who’s willing to support you through the toughest time in your life blindly and help you in every way you can deserves treasuring, not continually abandoning. I just couldn’t understand how she made the same massive mistake over and over again, well, I could, I just didn’t understand how she couldn’t see what she was doing.

The protagonist of the chapters I mentioned earlier turned into a major component of the novel, turning Someone Else’s Life into a dual narrative, in fact. And I didn't like her either. It would be very difficult to explain exactly why without giving anything away, but she was moody, vindictive and frankly, a bit of a bitch. I mean, she like Rosie had reasons, but it still put my back up. it’s hard to get too emotionally involved with a novel where the two main characters annoy the hell out of me.

Katie Dale saves herself with style, intrigue and cleverness. Someone Else’s Life deals with lots of issues that pose a strong moral debate and the characters response to these situations inspire serious discussion – I couldn’t even begin to imagine making some of the decisions they had to make during the novel. On top of these thoughtful and often deep dilemmas, Katie Dale kept me on a wave of drama. Poor Rosie barely had a moment of down time and I could hardly take a breath between dramas.

I also learnt a lot about something that I knew very little about beforehand: Huntington’s disease. I knew it was degenerative and incurable but that was pretty much it. I now have a much clearer understanding of just how devastating a disease it is for both the sufferer and their family. having your life turned so completely upside down like Rosie’s is unimaginable and I really hope that they find a way to manage or even sure it soon.

While I had some pretty serious problems with Someone Else’s Life, Katie Dale’s style and intelligence is enough to make me want to read more of her books in the future.

For my 2012 Debut Author Challenge, 2012 Contemporary YA Challenge

Sophie 

Contemp YA Month: How Contemporary YA Got Emma Pass a Book Deal

Today I have Emma Pass, 2012 debut author of ACID, which will be published by Random House in early 2013. 

How Contemporary YA got me a book deal (even though I don’t write it)

First of all, I have a confession to make. Although I count authors such as Keith Gray, Kevin Brooks, Sarah Dessen and John Green among my all-time favourites, ACID, my own YA debut which comes out in 2013, is a dystopian thriller set 100 years in the future. And I’m working on a second novel that runs along similar lines.

So what am I doing writing a blog post about contemporary YA?

I started writing Young Adult fiction in 2002, after struggling for many years to write for adults. Up until then, I wasn’t enjoying my writing or my reading, but I couldn’t work out why. All that changed when I signed up for a short course run by YA and children’s author Linda Newbery – who has written many contemporary novels – and I read some of her books before I went. I enjoyed them so much I tried books by other YA authors… and then more books… and a couple of months after the course, I had a revelation. Why not try writing the contemporary adult novel I’d been struggling with for several years as a contemporary YA novel?

The end result was pretty horrible, and – quite rightly – was rejected by every publisher and agent I sent it to. But I was hooked, and started writing another, also a contemporary YA. This novel never even made it as far as being submitted to publishers, but it did win me a free critique with a leading manuscript assessment and editorial advice service. The feedback I got from them convinced me that I was on the right path and I started a third YA novel – yet another contemporary.

This one did go out on submission. After a few rejections, Carolyn Whitaker of London Independent Books asked to see more. And after working on the book with me for a few months, she started sending it out to publishers.

In the end, it was a near miss. I got some great feedback, but the novel didn’t get picked up, and I started to realise that maybe, as a writer, contemporary wasn’t the right genre for me. So the next novel I started was what would eventually become ACID, which sold in the summer of this year.

But even though I don’t write it any more, I still love to read contemporary YA. My characters might live in a world which has changed drastically from the one we know, but they still fall in love; they still have families; they still have issues; they still have to struggle to figure out the people around them and deal with the consequences when they don’t get it right. For me, the characters are what make the books in any genre work, and contemporary YA has, I hope, taught (and will continue to teach) me a huge amount about how make mine relatable and real. I have a lot to thank it for!

Thanks, Emma!

Sophie