New to My Shelves (2)

Instead of In My Mailbox, I've decided to do New to My Shelves.  I don't always have enough books to do weekly book hauls; this gives me the opportunity to save them up and do them more periodically.  This makes much more sense, and makes me feel less guilty! ; )

My book haul from YALSA's Ya Literature Symposium.

I had such a fun trip with my friend Erin; both of us are LIS majors and it was a blast hanging out with other librarians talking about nothing but YA lit!

We got to meet some amazing authors, make some new friends, see St. Louis, and eat the best dessert ever (Gooey Butter Cake...oh my god, to die for!).

Let me know if you've read any of these books, and if you got any "new to your shelves"

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Past. Present. Future. (13)

There are a a lot of these "What're you reading?" features around, so I figured, hey why not start one too? Basically, here's where I highlight the books I've read, the books I'm reading, and the books I'm going to read. Fun, right? Please join in if you want!

PAST:

The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook - This was a super fast read, and really entertaining.  Even though Hailey comes from a very privileged world, I never once thought she was stuck up.  The situations she gets into and the emotions she experiences are well-crafted, funny, and real.  Definitely a fun, quick read; one which has made me want to read all of Eileen Cook's books!




PRESENT:

Croak by Gina Damico - So far it is really fun!  I love the premise of the book, and I've heard really great things about it.  I will admit I fell in love with the cover first!  The picture and text tell you instantly an idea of the story; really intriguing.  I can't wait to dive even more into the world of Croak!






FUTURE:

The Diviners by Libba Bray - This has been on my radar from day one!  Libba Bray is sometimes a hit-or-miss author for me, but I couldn't resist when I read the summary for this one!  I managed to snag a signed copy from Books-A-Million, score!  I can't wait to read this creepy, haunting, awesome book!

If any of you've read any of these books, let me know what you thought (but NO spoilers) down below in the comments!

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A Revealing Haul

I am so excited to own this box set!  I know it may seem ridiculous to some people, as I already own copies of all these books (in some cases two already), but I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to 1) get Karen Kavett's amazing box design; 2) two of the covers are the new paperback editions in hardcover!  Also, it didn't hurt that John signed the copies of Looking for Alaska (sans candle!) and The Fault in Our Stars (with matching blue sharpie!).

You can still purchase the box set, but I believe all the signed editions are sold out.  Bummer.  You can also still order the posters; there are a couple of designs (John talks about them), but LIMITED editions are available (like the Motherfing Fox one is SOLD OUT!!), so get them asap!

DFTBA!

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Dystopian Giveaway Hop

Welcome to my stop on I Am a Reader, Not a Writer & My Shelf Confessions' Dystopian Giveaway Hop!  For this hop I'm going to be giving away one awesome dystopian that ONE winner can pick from the choices below!

Dystopians are my favorite genre, and luckily for me there are a ton of them being published each day!  I urge you to hop to the next blog in the blog roll down below, and in the famous words of my favorite dystopian: May the odds be ever in your favor!

Click on the cover to go to the Goodreads page.

RULES:

Open Internationally!

Must be 13 years old to enter. 

ONE winner will win their pick of ONE book from the list above.

Winner must be able to recieve books from The Book Depository (check here).

NO PO BOXES!

Winner will be contacted by email. 

Winner has 48 hours to respond with mailing address and book choice.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Dear Teen Me Blog Tour: The Letter To Teen Eli!

I'm wrapping up my week of posts for the Dear Teen Me Blog Tour.  It's been such fun to promote this book!  I really believe this is an anthology that will do a lot of good for teens.  To end this week, I thought it would be fitting to write a letter to my teenage self.  So without further  ado:

Dear Teen Eli,

Hey Eli, it's the end of junior year right now and you're starting to get ready for college applications.  The stress is building up, and you're relapsing.  The first thing I have to say is breathe.  Just take a deep breath.  Done?  Good.  Now pick up the phone and dial Melissa.  She is the best sister, and will always be there to talk you down.

Okay, now that you're breathing easier, you can focus.  Obviously applying to college is an important undertaking.  This does determine what your future holds.  But it's only one aspect, and let me tell you, it is a tiny piece of the puzzle.  You are going to be accepted into every university you apply to (which includes Sarah Lawrence; wooh!), and all of them will offer you a scholarship.  So really it'll be your choice (except Sarah Lawrence; boo!) of which one you attend.  So there's one load of your mind.  Just breathe and remember you kick academic ass!

Now I have some sucky news, this anxiety thing isn't going away anytime soon.  It may even get worse; but what I can tell is you will always survive it.  But you can't do it alone.  I know you're trying to do that now; soldier through the constant shortness of breath, the revolving what-ifs, the worsening predictions of failure.  It won't work.  When Apryl tells you to go talk to someone, listen.  Your best friend is pretty smart.  Help will be something you're going to have to seek out for the foreseeable future.  But these doctors are smart, and will each help you further to serenity.

Eli, you've got a tough road ahead kid.  It'll be a constant up and down, but lucky for you your support system is top notch.  Family, friends and doctors: each help in their own way.  But remember your biggest supporter is yourself.  You're amazing girl, you just need to breathe.

All the love in the world,
                                   Eli

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Dear Teen Me Blog Tour: The Extras!

My awesome week of Dear Teen Me posts are almost done!  I've had so much fun this week, and I hope you all have as well!  For this post, it's what it says on the tin: I'm going to be posting some extra things from the Dear Teen Me blog that I think add to the experience!

After looking over this, head to my giveaway, my review, and my interview with one of the editors, E. Kristin Anderson, to get even more Dear Teen Me!  Don't forget to pick up a copy of the book either, on sale October 30!

The Book Trailers!

More Dear Teen Me Letters!

Dear Teen Me, from Lisa and Lauren Roecker, authors of The Liar Society

Dear Teen Me, from Adele Griffin, author of Tighter

Dear Teen Me, from Shelley Coriell, author of Welcome Caller, This is Chloe

Dear Teen Me, from E.C. Myers, author of Fair Coin

Dear Teen Me, from Kody Keplinger, author of The D.U.F.F.

Dear Teen Me, from Jennifer Nielsen, author of The False Prince

Dear Teen Me, from Daniel Marks, author of Velveteen 

Of course there are plenty more letters over at the Dear Teen Me blog for you to check out!

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Dear Teen Me Blog Tour: The Interview with E. Kristin Anderson!

Hopefully you've read all about this awesome anthology! If not, check out my review and my giveaway before you continue! I've loved reading through Dear Teen Me and relating to each letter in some way; I can't even imagine how actual teenagers will relate!

One of the masterminds behind the anthology is E. Kristin Anderson. An author and poet herself, E. met fellow mastermind, Miranda Kenneally, online and they bonded over Hanson and Austin Powers. E. had previously written a letter to teen self about nothing other than Hanson, and E. thought it would be awesome to do something similar with a bunch of her author friends.  Together, E. and Miranda took it a step further, and BAM! the Dear Teen Me Blog was born.  Working closely with the publisher of Zest Books, E. and Miranda were able to take that small start of a Hanson letter to this amazing anthology!

As part of the blog tour, I was lucky enough to get a quick interview with E. herself! I hope you enjoy the following teen moments, and please check out the book, out on October 30!

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THE INTERVIEW!

Dreamy teen celebrity crush?

Seth Green. All the way! Even though he's like 5'4 and I was (and am) 5'7. I would love him and pet him and...oh God, I'm getting creepy!

Band you couldn't live without?

Foo Fighters. I mean obvs, I love Hanson, but Foo Fighters gave me a lot of strength as a teen too. Dave Grohl is a brilliant lyricist, and songs like "Alone + Easy Target" and "February Stars" and "Learn To Fly" and "A320" (which was on the Godzilla soundtrack) not only inspired me as a budding poet/lyricist but also got me through some really tough times when I was struggling with mental illness as a teen -- like Dave's best friend Kurt Cobain.

Best friend memory?

My best friend in high school, Fiona, and I both wrote in my journal. I'll even give you a sneak peak! We wrote about boys and troubles some, but mostly we wrote about music and movies and pop culture. We made collages and drew pictures. It was our thing. I still have all the journals. The pics I'm showing you are from Woodstock 99, which we couldn't attend, but which we illustrated ourselves into while listening to the radio broadcast. So most of my fondest memories with Fiona (who is also a writer, blogging at shadowofacoffeecup.blogspot.com) are holed up in my room listening to music, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and journalling. Also, the mall. Ha! 

Most cringe worthy moment?

E. in her Track Uniform!

God, I was one big ball of awkward in middle school and high school. I think by my junior year I had mostly accepted it. I wrote about one cringe-worthy moment in the book -- the one about my dress ripping open at junior prom -- so I'll give you a bonus. We were having a track team sleepover at one of the captain's houses. I was a junior, and soon to be crowned Southwestern Maine Class A champion in the 1600 meter racewalk, woo! ...But I didn't know that yet, and neither did the mean girls. During a card game earlier in the evening, I'd fessed up to liking Hanson. I'd been like yeah, they're pretty cool. They're so young and talented and I love their music and blah blah (I had a prepared speech for each such embarrassing moment -- that's what being a Hanson fan was like in 1999). Anyway, they all were like oh that's cool. UNTIL around midnight, when we were all in our sleeping bags, lights out, and two of the nasty little sophomores started singing MMMBop and giggling. If the lights had been on, you would have seen me, cheeks red, on the verge of tears. Luckily the captain, sweet Katie, made me feel better. She'd always taken me under her wing. I'm grateful for girls like that. I hope that every kid out there dealing with a bully has an older mentor who maybe doesn't even say "those guys are jerks" but shows that they care. Which is even better.

What do you hope teen readers get out of this book?

The biggest reason we started DearTeenMe.com -- and the most exciting part about it being a book people can hold in their hands -- is that this is a group of adults who remember what it's like to be a teen. We remember how hard it is. We won't tell you "you'll get over it it" or "it could be worse" or "that's just teenage drama." We know it hurts. We know it IS dramatic and scary and hilarious and crazy. I want teens to take THAT from this book. We believe in you. We've got your back. We know that you're struggling and we know that sometimes it's hard to embrace the "someday you'll look back on this and laugh" moments. We get it. We really, really do!

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E. Kristin Anderson grew up in Westbrook, Maine and is a graduate of Connecticut College. She has a fancy diploma that says “B.A. in Classics,” which makes her sound smart but has not helped her get any jobs in Ancient Rome. Ms. Anderson is the co-editor of DEAR TEEN ME, an anthology based on the popular website. Her poetry has been published worldwide in many magazines and she is an assistant YA and Children’s editor at Hunger Mountain. Once upon a time she worked at The New Yorker. Look out for Ms. Anderson’s work in the forthcoming anthology Coin Opera II, a collection of poems about video games from Sidekick Books. She now lives in Austin, TX and is represented by Christina Hogrebe at the Jane Rotrosen Agency.

Blog - - - Twitter - - - Art Portfolio

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Dear Teen Me Blog Tour: The Giveaway!

I am so excited to be a part of this amazing blog tour for the new anthology from Zest Books, Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves.  I have a lot of posts planned for this week that have to do with the book, so keep checking back to this main page to check all the posts out!

The Posts:

Dear Teen Me Blog Tour: The Review!

Dear Teen Me Blog Tour: the Interview with E. Kristin Anderson!

Dear Teen Me Blog Tour: The Extras!

Dear Teen Me Blog Tour: The Dear Teen Eli Letter!

But first, here's more about this awesome book:

On Sale October 30

How many times have you looked back on your teenage years and cringed, wishing you could offer your younger self some advice and guidance?  That is exactly the premise behind Dear Teen Me, a book that began as a Twitter conversation between editors E. Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kenneally about their love for 90's pop group Hanson.  The letters included in Dear Teen Me are by 70 authors ranging in age from 18-80, and cover a wide variety of topics including physical abuse, body issues, bullying, friendship, love, and enough insecurity to fill a high school auditorium.

Among the contributing authors are six New York Times bestsellers including Lauren Oliver, Ellen Hopkins, and Nancy Holder. So pick a page, and find out which of your favorite authors had a really bad first kiss? Who found true love at 18? Who wishes he’d had more fun in high school instead of studying so hard? Some authors write diary entries, some write letters, and a few graphic novelists turn their stories into visual art. And whether you hang out with the theater kids, the band geeks, the bad boys, the loners, the class presidents, the delinquents, the jocks, or the nerds, you’ll find friends--and a lot of familiar faces--in the course of Dear Teen Me!

It is such a fantastic anthology filled with great advice for teenagers (and even some of us adults) who need reassurance that not all is hopeless and you will get over that ridiculous crush, bad hair, terrible break up, and feelings of being the only weirdo in school.

To help celebrate this awesome book, Zest Books are giving away an amazing prize!

One lucky winner will get a copy of Dear Teen Me – signed by 4-5 contributors, plus some swag! 

All you have to do is enter the rafflecopter below and you can win!

Rules:

Open only to US residents!

No INT entries! 

Must be 13 years old to enter. 

ONE winner will win an autographed copy of Dear Teen Me, plus some swag.

Winner must have a mailing address within the US.

NO PO BOXES!

Winner will be contacted by email. 

Winner has 48 hours to respond with mailing address.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Dear Teen Me Blog Tour: The Review!

Title: Dear Teen Me

Editor(s): E. Kristin Anderson & Miranda Kenneally

Edition: ARC, 192 pages

Publisher: Zest Books
Publication Date: October 30, 2012

Source: Received as part of the Dear Teen Me blog tour!

Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

The Summary

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Dear Teen Me includes advice from over 70 YA authors (including Lauren Oliver, Ellen Hopkins, and Nancy Holder, to name a few) to their teenage selves. The letters cover a wide range of topics, including physical abuse, body issues, bullying, friendship, love, and enough insecurities to fill an auditorium. So pick a page, and find out which of your favorite authors had a really bad first kiss? Who found true love at 18? Who wishes he’d had more fun in high school instead of studying so hard? Some authors write diary entries, some write letters, and a few graphic novelists turn their stories into visual art. And whether you hang out with the theater kids, the band geeks, the bad boys, the loners, the class presidents, the delinquents, the jocks, or the nerds, you’ll find friends--and a lot of familiar faces--in the course of Dear Teen Me.

(Goodreads)

My Opinion

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I am so excited to be a part of this amazing book tour for this amazing book; Dear Teen Me is one of my favorite anthologies.  It speaks to teens in such a real way, and it allows them to see that these authors that they look up to were going through the same issues that they go through now.  That is where the gold is; the honesty portrayed is so refreshing and speaks even to me at 24 years old.

As the summary says, there are 70 authors in the anthology  some who are dear to me and some who I newly discovered.  But all of them have something important to say.  When I was doing my undergraduate in English Education I had a professor who believed books save lives, and so do I. I think with anthologies like Dear Teen Me being produced, it is possible to do just that.  All kinds of growing pains and all kinds of beautiful firsts are written about.

Some of my favorites authors have letters in the book: Tera Lynn Childs, Beth Fantaskey, Ellen Hopkins, Carrie Jones, Sarah Ockler, and Lauren Oliver & Elizabeth Miles (did you know they're real life best friends?).  Each of these women talk about such important things: stopping to appreciate the present, appreciating who you are, following your voice, realizing that no one but you defines who you are, dance to your soul, and friends get you through everything.  That last one comes from the awesome, epic, friendship of Lauren Oliver & Elizabeth Miles.

One of my favorite letters, Lauren and Elizabeth write letters to each other's teen selves.  It's amazing the deep friendship that you can find at such a young age, and this is the type of friendship they have.  Going through terrible times (depression and death) and going through happy times (first loves and good hair), true friends pull you through.

Just packed full of great advice, I think this definitely needs to be on everyone's shelf!  Both boys and girls can relate to the trials and tribulations written about, and the cute Q and A sections give you extra little scoops from the authors.  If you want to get a chance to win a copy of Dear Teen Me, check out my giveaway thanks to Zest Books!  And stop by the rest of the tour for other chances to win, and read more about Dear Teen Me, out on October 30!

Extras
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Book Trailer

Final Rating

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Book Cover: 4/5
Book Title: 5/5
Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Overall: 49/50: A+

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The Last Little Blue Envelope

Title: The Last Little Blue Envelope

Author(s): Maureen Johnson

Edition: Hardcover, 282 pages

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: April 26, 2011

Source: Borrowed from library

Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

The Summary

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Ginny Blackstone thought that the biggest adventure of her life was behind her. She spent last summer traveling around Europe, following the tasks her aunt Peg laid out in a series of letters before she died. When someone stole Ginny's backpack--and the last little blue envelope inside--she resigned herself to never knowing how it was supposed to end.

Months later, a mysterious boy contacts Ginny from London, saying he's found her bag. Finally, Ginny can finish what she started. But instead of ending her journey, the last letter starts a new adventure--one filled with old friends, new loves, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Ginny finds she must hold on to her wits . . . and her heart. This time, there are no instructions.

(Goodreads)

My Opinion

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I loved 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson so much, and I was sad to think that we would never find out what happened to the last little blue envelope. Luckily, Johnson anticipated this need and wrote a sequel, The Last Little Blue Envelope. Just like the first, it is a fast and fun read, but the characters have grown, giving it a more mature feeling than before.

Ginny has grown up due to the events last summer and because of that she is more secure in her new journey. I really like Ginny. I think in high school we could’ve been friends. She is just a naturally nice, funny person. That’s why when she gets blackmailed at the beginning of the story by Oliver, the guy who found her envelope, and screwed over by Keith, her boyfriend from the first book, I started a little “She-Woman, Man-Haters Club”. But fortunately for Ginny, both of these situations lead to something better.

Speaking of “She-Woman, Man-Haters Club”, Keith was the biggest douchebag ever! I loved him so much in 13LBE, but he became a huge jerk! The biggest problem is he thinks what he’s doing is right, and that he’s protecting Ginny! What a bunch of bollocks! At times you could see the old Keith peeking through, which gave me hope, but ultimately they were dashed upon the rocks of douchiness. Of course this turned me more towards Oliver, who, may I remind you, was blackmailing Ginny! I mean it’s really bad when I liked the blackmailer over Keith!

Character creation is one of the things Johnson does best, but she also takes you on this great journey through Europe once again. This is one of the reasons I liked 13LBE, and now this book, so much. I’ve never been outside of the United States, and barely outside of Florida, so being able to experience Ginny’s adventures was great! And what adventures; she breaks into a cafe in Paris, hunts down a pink houseboat in Amsterdam, and visits a special hidey-hole in Ireland. Each place added another layer to the extraordinary journey Ginny was on with her Aunt Peg.

The Last Little Blue Envelope tied up Ginny’s story nicely. Both she and the reader get the answers left over from 13LBE, get to visit some new and familiar places, and discover that all anyone needs is to trust in themselves. This duet should not be missed; if you haven’t read 13 Little Blue Envelopes or The Last Little Blue Envelope you need to pronto!

Extras
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Book Trailer

Final Rating

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Book Cover: 3/5
Book Title: 5/5
Plot: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Writing: 10/10
Ending: 9/10
Overall: 46/50: A-

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