In My Mailbox 28

This was started by the fabulous Kristi who was inspired by Alea. If you want more information check out their blogs. All summaries are from the book jackets.

Lipstick Apology - Jennifer Jabaley

Four little words written in lipstick mean Emily must say goodbye to everyone she knows.

One minute, Emily Carson is dancing on her kitchen at an end-of-school party. The next, she’s staring at the news, witnessing the wreckage of a plane crash - the plane her parents were on. Her mother’s last words are scrawled in lipstick on a tray table: EMILY PLEASE FORGIVE ME.

Now it’s fall in New York City, and Emily is desperate to leave tragedy behind. If helps that Darlington High’s swim team champion has his irritable green eyes on her. And then there’s her quirky chemistry partner slash baker-by-night, Anthony, with his classroom jests, delicious frosted donuts and firm just-friends status.

But Emily is still haunted by her mother’s mysterious apology. She must find out what it means. Only then can she choose between the two boys in her life: the one who makes he forget, or the one who helps her remember, and ultimately, heal.

Sometimes goodbye is just the beginning.

I also got the goods from Jessica Verday. One of the postcards is signed, it says, ‘Welcome to The Hollow. JV’.

Sophie

Featured on Friday: Daniel Waters

Daniel Waters is the author of the fabulous Generation Dead. The sequel Kiss of Life was released earlier this year. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and children.

1. Is there a specific time or place that you do your best writing in?
Nope. Anywhere, anywhen.

2. Who were your favourite authors as a teenager? Are they different toyour current favourites?

I read mostly science fiction and horror when I was a teenager, some of my favorites were Stephen King, Peter Straub, Robert Heinlein, Samuel Delaney, Robert Howard, Michael Moorcock. I also loved Ian Fleming and Raymond Chandler. They are all still favorites, but I discover new ones every day.

3. If you were only allowed to take three books to a desert island, what would they be? Just three?
The complete works of Shakespeare, the Bible, and, um...can I take the complete run of Mad Magazine? It is available on CD-Rom.

4. Was it hard writing as a zombie for Adam’s chapters in Kiss of Life?
It was fun!

5. Both the US and UK covers for your books are pretty awesome. Did you have any input into them?
Disney/Hyperion has been kind enough to run their concepts by me, and I have to confess when they first told me the concept for GD I really didn't care for it. But then they sent me the jpeg and I thought it was the most beautiful cover I'd ever seen in my life, so my new policy is to shut up and let the experts do their jobs.
I've had no input on the UK covers at all, but I love them!

6. Where did the idea of Tommy’s blog come from?
Tommy blogs within Generation Dead, and as there was a lot of material I wanted to write that didn't really fit in the novels I thought it would fun for the readers (and me!) if I had a place where they could interact with the Generation Dead world.

7. How many books will there be in the Generation Dead series?
I'm not certain. I thought four initially but then I wanted to write another story so now I'm thinking five. And I'd like to do a book of short stories, too.

8. Are you working on anything at the moment? Can you tell us anything about it?
I'm working on the third Generation Dead book, Passing Strange, with my editor, and I have a couple other YA novels outside of the Generation Dead world that I'm working on.

Thanks very much, Dan! You can visit Dan at his website here and you can read my review of Kiss of Life here.

Sophie

Moonlight: A Dark Guardian Novel - Rachel Hawthorne

Moonlight: A Dark Guardian Novel - Rachel Hawthorne

Pages: 263
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: 1st April 2009

Other Titles in This Series: Full Moon, Dark of the Moon

I see him and know what this turmoil inside of me means: He’s the one. My forever.

Kayla is the nature lover, the all-American beauty who can’t understand why she’s so drawn to distant, brooding Lucas. Adopted as a young child, she has no way of knowing that she’s inherited a terrifying - and thrilling - gene that will change her life forever.

Lucas is dangerous, gorgeous . . . And a werewolf. As leader of the Dark Guardians, shape-shifters who gather deep within the state park, he has sworn to protect the pack. But when Lucas finds his true soul mate, his love could put them all in harms way.

As Lucas and Kayla struggle with their feelings for each other, a greater danger lurks: Humans have discovered the Dark Guardians and are planning their destruction. Kayla must choose between the life she knows and the love she feels certain is her destiny.

I really enjoyed Moonlight. It’s a great start what I’m sure will be a brilliant trilogy.

The forest that Moonlight is set in holds an air of magic and mystery. It’s seclusion and isolation from civilisation would have made me panic, but Kayla felt as though that is where she belongs. A sense of the dangerous unknown surrounded most of the novel because of the forest. There are some parts, like the ferocious river and the cave behind the waterfall that brought back the magic and enchantment of the forest that shields the danger.

When I read books about mythical creatures I rarely think about the consequences that their existence would have on the world. That changed with the introduction of Dr Keane and his students in Moonlight. If these creatures were real (I live in hope!), it would change the world in ways I can’t even imagine. It’s mind-boggling to even think about it.

One of my favourite things about Moonlight is the ways of the Shifters. I loved how they all watched out for each other and protected the land that they had grown up on and loved passionately. Every day they were consciously fighting to keep their home safe, not only for them but for future generations as well. It was pretty inspiring!

I’m looking forward to reading Full Moon; the second in the Dark Guardian trilogy which focuses on characters that had only a small part in Moonlight.

Sophie

Chosen: A House of Night Novel - P.C. and Kristin Cast

Chosen: A House of Night Novel - P.C. and Kristin Cast

Pages: 322
Publisher: Atom
Release Date: 26th February 2009

Other Titles in the Series: Marked, Betrayed, Untamed, Hunted, Tempted (27/10/09)

I guess it had gone okay with Stevie Rae. I mean, she had agreed to meet me tomorrow. And she hadn’t tried to bite me, which was a plus. Of course, the whole trying-to-eat-the-street-person thing was highly disturbing…

Zoey’s best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead - in a eww! Zombie! Kind of way, not in a cool vampyre kind of way. She’s struggling to retain her humanity and Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help. But she does know that anything they discover must be kept a secret.

Unfortunately, trust has become a rare commodity. Sinister forces are at work at the House of Night, where the line between friend and enemy is becoming dangerously blurred.

I didn’t like Chosen nearly as much as I did the first two in the series.

Zoey thoroughly annoyed me. I found her whiney and irritating and she was never satisfied with just how decent her life really is. I know she lost her best friend but she has amazing powers, a devoted boyfriend, great friends and a fantastic grandma. I also really disliked that she had Heath, Erik and Loren all on the go at once. Talk about greedy! It really got on my nerves, but, rant over now. I did actually like a few things about Chosen.

The twins, Shaunee and Erin, were by far my favourite characters. I love how they are like two halves of the same person even though they are not related in the slightest. Their finishing of each other’s sentences and witty comments along with their obsession with fashion and guys made them brilliantly funny characters to read about. I think they’re great!

I also liked how lots of different famous figures were made out to be vampyres. According to P.C. and Kristin Cast, Shakespeare, Josh Hartnett and Jake Gyllenhaal are all vamps. Making these famous people a part of Zoey’s world made the story a bit more realistic.

I will read the read of the House of Night series but I’m not in any rush to get to them.

Sophie

In My Mailbox 27

This was started by the fabulous Kristi who was inspired by Alea. If you want more information check out their blogs. All summaries are from the book jackets.

Skinned - Robin Wasserman

Lia Kahn is beautiful, popular and destined for success…until a horrific accident nearly kills her.

Lia wakes up in a body that is not a body. It’s a machine, designed to look and feel human. She need never feel pain again. She will never age. And, as long as she is vigilant about backing up her memories, she need never die. For Lia is now a “mechanical” or “mech” - a living experiment.

Lia tries to return to her old life, but is shunned by her friends and boyfriend. Even her own family can’t seem to understand that underneath she’s still the same person. But is she? Can be a human without a body? And is it technically murder to “kill” a machine…?

Thanks to Kat from Simon and Schuster for sending me this, it sounds brilliant.

Killing God - Kevin Brooks

Dawn Bundy is fifteen. She doesn’t fit in and she couldn’t care less.

Dawn has other things on her mind. Her dad disappeared two years ago and it’s all God’s fault.

Dad was smiling too.

And he had a Bible in his hand
And his eyes…
God, his eyes.
It was terrifying.

When Dawn’s dad found God, it was the worst time ever. He thought he’d found the answer to everything.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Thanks to Jenny for sending me this. I love Kevin Brooks so I know I’m going to love this.

Love, Aubrey - Suzanne LaFleur

Something heartbreaking has happened. Eleven-year-old Aubrey is on her own.

'It was fun at first, playing house. Nothing to think about but TV and cheese. A perfect world.’

She’s determined to hide away and take care of herself, because facing the truth is too much to bear.

‘I couldn’t let anyone know that I as alone. I was staying right here.’

But with the love of her grandmother and the letters she writes, can Aubrey begin to see that even though she’s lost everything - all is not lost?

Thanks again to Jenny for sending me this, I’m really looking forward to it.

The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett

The funniest and most unorthodox fantasy in this or any other galaxy.

THE COLOUR OF MAGIC
On a world supported on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown), a gleeful, explosive, wickedly eccentric expedition sets out. There’s an avaricious but incompetent wizard, a naïve tourist whose luggage moves on hundreds of dear little legs, dragons who only exist if you believe in them, and of course THE EDGE of the planet…

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC
As it moves towards a seemingly inevitable collision with a malevolent red star, the Discworld has only one possible saviour. Unfortunately, this happens to be the singularly inept and cowardly wizard called Rincewind, who was last seen falling off the edge of the world…

My Auntie lent this to me. She thinks that I’ll love it. I hope I do!

Sophie