So Many Books, So Little Time: In My Mailbox 104

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.

I got home on Friday to find a pile of 30 packages on my bed – it was like Christmas before Christmas. Because I got so many, I’ve picked out the ones I’m most excited for to do how I normally do IMM and the rest will just be listed at the end of the post.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer – Michelle Hodkin (S&S)

When Mara Dyer wakes up in hospital with no memory of how she got there, or any explanation as to why the bizarre accident that caused the deaths of her boyfriend and two best friends left her mysteriously unharmed, her doctors suggest she start over in a new city, at a new school, and just hope her memories gradually come back.

But Mara’s new start is anything but comforting. She sees the faces of her dead friends everywhere and now she’s started to see other people’s deaths before they happen. Is she going crazy? As if dealing with all this isn’t enough, Noah Shaw, the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen, can’t seem to leave her alone. But does he have her best interests at heart, or another agenda altogether?

Cinder – Marissa Meyer (Puffin, ARC)

Once upon a time a major new series for 11+ girls was launched.

Known across the land as The Lunar Chronicles, this action-adventure series starts Cinderella, red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White. But not as you know them.

One extraordinary heroine. Four futuristic tales. Daring to go beyond the realms of Grimm... They’ll live on girls’ bookshelves happily ever after.

Cinder, the first incredible book in The Lunar Chronicles quartet.

Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind – Andy Robb (Stripes, ARC)

If you haven’t worked this out yet, girls dont do this. They dont come to the Hovel. They dont like goblins and dragons. They dont paint miniatures. They dont play role playing games or re-enact fictional battles. And they dont talk to Geeks like me – especially if they’re pretty. And this girl is pretty.

What do you do if you’re a fourteen-year-old Geek, and a Beautiful Girl has appeared in the midst of your geeky world? And she seems to like you...

For Archie, the natural reaction would be to duck and cover...run for the hills...buy a new model elf...Anything but risk stepping into the Real World.

But even Geeks have to put their heads above the parapet at some point.

With him mum barely able to contain her excitement that her son is about to join the human race, and and his step-father, Tony the Tosser, offering crass advice, it’s time for Archie to embark on a daring Quest to win the Beautiful Girl’s heart and shake of his Geekhood for good...

The Flappers: Vixen – Jillian Larkin (Corgi, ARC)

Three girls. One city. Whol will be the last Flapper standing?

Chicago, 1924. Born into American high society, Gloria is the girl who has it all. Living the debutante dream along with her best friend Lorraine, Gloria is just a trip down the aisle away from from her future life as Mre Sebastian Grey.

But surely there’s time for a little partying before she settles down?

With an illegal speakeasy on every corner and mobsters rubbing shoulders with the city’s most sensational flappers, Chicago’s jazz-fueled underworld is certainly not the kind of place for a society princess like Gloria.

And she’s never had so much fun.

Everneath – Brodi Ashton (S&S)

Six months ago, Nikki Beckett vanishedinto an underworld known as the Everneath.

Now she’s returned to her old life for another six months before the Everneath comes to claim her...this time for ever. Nikki longs to spend this precious time reconnecting with the people she left behind – her family, her friends and, most importantly, her boyfriend Jack, the one person she loves more than anything.

But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smouldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki home, convinced that she is the key to claiming the throne to the Underworld. Cole wants to bring Nikki back to the Everneath, but this time as his queen.

Now Nikki only has six months for goodbyes she can’t find the words for, six months to make the hardest decision of her life, six months to find redemption, if it exists...

Smoulder – Brenna Yovanoff (S&S)

Daphne is the half-demon, half-fallen angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Life for her is an endless expanse of time – until her brother Obie is kidnapped, and Daphne realises she may be partially responsible. Determined to find him, Daphne travels from her home in Pandemonium to the vast streets of Earth, where everything is colder and more terrifying.

With the help og the human boyshe believes was the last person to see her brother alive, Daphne glimpses into his dreams, discovering clues to Obie’s whereabouts. As she delves deeper into her demonic powers, she must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in her way. But she also discovers, unexpectedly, what it means to love and be human in a world human is hardest to be...

Trapped – Michael Northrop (ATOM)

The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week.

Scott and his friends are among the last seven kids at their school waiting to get picked up that day and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn’t seem so bad to spend the night there, especially when krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall.

Then the power goes out. Then the heat. The pipes freeze. The roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, the empty halls grow colder and darker and the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision...

Bsrk – Michael Grant (Egmont)

A global war is raging. You can’t see it, but it’s happening all around you.

Inside you.

Down in the heat.

Welcome to the nano – the microscopic matrix where invisible armies will determine the future of mankind. Here, the ultimate battle is for sanity. Losing is not an option when a world of madness is at stake.

Seizure – Kathy Reichs (Arrow)

A 300-year-old legend.

The Virals’ home on Loggerhead Island is under threat, and only one thing can save it: a lot of money.

Rumour has it that notorious pirate Anne Bonny hidher treasure somewhere in Charleston in 1720. No one knows where, but Tory Brennan – great-niece of famous forensic anthropologist Dr Tempe Brennan – is certain that the Virals can work out Bonny’s cryptic clues.

A deadly path

It isn’t long before Virals are on the right track. But they aren’t the only ones searching for the treasure. Someone is following them, and will stop at nothing to get their hands on it.

Dead bodies litter the trail. Time is running out before the island will be sold.

Will the Virals’ special powers be enough to save them?

Wonder – RJ Palacio (Bodley Head)

From Goodreads: WONDER is the funny, sweet and incredibly moving story of Auggie Pullman. Born with a terrible facial abnormality, this shy, bright ten-year-old has been home-schooled by his parents for his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the stares and cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, Auggie is being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. The thing is, Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?

Through the voices of Auggie, his big sister Via, and his new friends Jack and Summer, WONDER follows Auggie's journey through his first year at Beecher Prep. Frank, powerful, warm and often heart-breaking, WONDER is a book you'll read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page.

The Future of the Us – Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler (S&S)

It’s 1996 and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the internet. Facebook will not be invented for another eight years.

Josh and Emma have been neighbours their whole lives. They’ve been best friends almost as long – as least they were up until last November, when everything changed. Things have been awkward ever since, but when Josh’s family get a free AOL CD in the mail, his mum makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When the two friends log on, they discover their profiles on Facebook.

And they’re looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.

Everyone wonders what their destiny will be.

Josh and Emma are about to find out.

I also received:

Torn, Cat Clarke (finished copy. I’ve already read and loved an ARC.)

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, Jennifer E Smith (finished copy. I’ve already read and loved an ARC.)

In Darkness, Nick Lake

The Traitors, Tom Becker

Wolf Springs Chronicles: Unleashed, Nancy Holder & Debbie Vigue

Monster High: Where There’s a Wolf, There’s a Way, Lisi Harrison

Black Arts, Prentice and Wiel

Pandemonium, Lauren Oliver