Contest @ Beyond Words

Chanelle at Beyond Words is holding an international giveaway in honor of her 100+ followers! The giveaway prize is 3 pre-orders of some of her favorite, upcoming YA books. To enter and for more information, visit her post here.

Contest @ Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm

Faye over at Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm is holding an international giveaway in honor of her one year blogoversary and 1000+ followers! The giveaway prize is 3 young-adult books of your choice releasing in 2011. Check out the giveaway post here for more info and to enter. :)

Waiting on Wednesday (20)

Title: You Against Me
Author: Jenny Downham
Release Date: December 2, 2010
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Summary: If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do? When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide. Brave and unflinching, this is a novel of extraordinary skillfulness and almost unbearable tension. It's a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it's a book about love - for one's family and for another.

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme created by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Detour Postcards - California

After reading and loving Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, some GoodReads friends and I were inspired to send each other postcards! Since we weren't able to go on road trips ourselves, we figured postcards would be the next best thing. Over the past two months, about eight of us (from 5 different countries) participated in sending each other postcards. Now, I'm showcasing the postcards I've received so far.

As you all know, I love sending and receiving postcards, so I'm excited to finally post my first Detour Postcards blog entry. I decided to start with the postcards I received from Arlene, who lives in California, because California was the state where Amy and Roger began their epic detour!

Los Angeles, California

Hollywood Boulevard

Book Lover!



USA Stamps

On the back of the Los Angeles postcard, it says: "A view at dusk showing the impressive skyline of the largest city in the West." And on the back of the Hollywood Boulevard postcard, it says: "The sights of Hollywood Boulevard at night. Hollywood Highland and the Hollywood sign."

I love the views on those postcards! Nightviews are so pretty. I've never been to California before, but I would love to go there one day, especially to visit Yosemite National Park. (Amy and Roger actually went to Yosemite in the book. I loved that one scene where they had to-- Sorry, I'll stop there! I can't give out spoilers. hehe) The Book Lover postcard I received the other day. I think it's really fitting, since other than loving books, this all started because of a book!

Big thanks to Arlene for the postcards! Stay tuned for the next Detour where I'll be finishing off North America. ;)

Waiting on Wednesday (19)

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Release Date: December 2, 2010
Publisher: Dutton
Summary: Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris — until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt.

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme created by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Heavenly - Book Trailer

Here is the book trailer and summary for Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens:

I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoë's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoë lost in her broken life. Zoë escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoë's autistic sister. After Zoë is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever.

Check out Jennifer Laurens's blog.

Book Postcard: Firelight

As you've probably noticed in my blog header, my blog is suppose to feature my various collections. I realized the other day that hadn't done anything, but books, in months. So throughout this month, I plan on posting more about postcards (and stamps)!

Front of postcard, of course. :D

This week I received some Firelight swag that I won from Ree at Literary Obsession (thanks!!). I was really excited that the swag included a postcard because I've always wanted one featuring a book cover! Swag tends to always be about the bookmarks, which isn't surprising, since well...the swag is for a book! But if I had to choose between a bookmark or a book postcard, I would definitely go with the postcard. ;) Anyway, here is the back of the postcard and the cool stamp Ree put on the envelope:

Back with Sophie Jordan's signature.

Stamp on envelope.

US Cover: The Piper's Son

There's been a couple of book cover reveals this week, but I haven't seen anyone mention this awesome book! The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta was released in Australia back in March 2010. The US edition will be released by Candlewick on March 8, 2011. Here is the US cover and summary:


Description: The award-winning author of Finnikin of the Rock and Jellicoe Road pens a raw, compelling novel about a family’s hard-won healing on the other side of trauma.

Award-winning author Melina Marchetta reopens the story of the group of friends from her acclaimed novel Saving Francesca - but five years have passed, and now it’s Thomas Mackee who needs saving. After his favorite uncle was blown to bits on his way to work in a foreign city, Tom watched his family implode. He quit school and turned his back on his music and everyone that mattered, including the girl he can’t forget. Shooting for oblivion, he’s hit rock bottom, forced to live with his single, pregnant aunt, work at the Union pub with his former friends, and reckon with his grieving, alcoholic father. Tom’s in no shape to mend what’s broken. But what if no one else is either? An unflinching look at family, forgiveness, and the fierce inner workings of love and friendship, The Piper’s Son redefines what it means to go home again.

Quote from Melina Marchetta:

"Tom’s aunt Georgie spoke to me first, and Tom found me through her. At the time, I didn’t actually think Tom was a big enough character to carry a story. If it had to be anyone from Saving Francesca, I thought, it would be Will Trombal or Tara. But the line in Francesca, ‘I want to be the first male in the Mackee family to reach 40 and still have a liver’ stuck with me, and in the end, Tom has been one of the biggest surprises. I’m glad I didn’t kick him out of my head."

Australia cover

Cover Thoughts: The cover's not bad, but I don't think it's as great as the Australian cover. The Piper's Son is labeled young-adult; however, from the reviews I've read, it's more of a book for older readers / adults. And I can imagine, since the book is about Thomas, who is 21, and his 40-something-year-old aunt. When I see the US cover, I don't get the impression that it's a mature book, and without reading the description, it seems like it'll be about a teenager and his music.

What I do like about the US cover is the colors, the font, and the fact that he's holding a guitar. Like I said, though, I just wish it looked more serious / mature like the Australian cover. (I also wish we didn't see the faces in the crowd, but that's just me being picky.) Maybe it's one of those covers that looks better in person, when you're holding it in your hands. That's how I felt about the US cover of Finnikin of the Rock. It has a light metallic shine to it, which makes it a bit more interesting to look at. Anyway, we'll just have to see in March! So, what do you think of the US cover? And what do you think when you compare it to the awesome Australian cover? :)

In My Mailbox #31

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi at The Story Siren, inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

Library:
Caleb + Kate by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma
Gregor and the Marks of Secret (Underland Chronicles, #4) by Suzanne Collins
Gregor and the Code of Claw (Underland Chronicles, #5) by Suzanne Collins

Didn't buy anything this week, and since I hadn't been to the library in almost 3 weeks, I decided to go there the other day. Like I've mentioned before, I like Suzanne Collins's Underland Chronicles, so I checked out the last two books in series. I kind of have an idea of how it's going to end, but hopefully it's not too sad. :(

Another book I checked out was Caleb + Kate. I've been wanting to read it for awhile. Plus, I'm in the mood for something light. At least I think it's light. Hopefully it's good. Haven't started it yet, but I do like the cover. ;)

Now you're probably wondering about that picture on the left. Well, Maggie Stiefvater held a contest on her blog a couple weeks ago, and I was one of the bookplate winners! I actually don't own her books (checked 'em out from the library), but now I'm probably going to buy Shiver just so that I can stick that bookplate in there. Thanks Maggie! :)

And finally, I won a jar of candy corn. From my orthodontist. In celebration of Halloween, patients could guess how much candy corn was in the jar. How much do you think is in there? I have a feeling a lot of people guessed low numbers. My guess was 720. I'm so glad I wrote that number because I was this close to putting a lower number. And guess what? The correct answer was actually 730-something, so I wasn't far off! :D I gotta admit, though, I don't really like candy corn. So, you might be wondering why I even bothered guessing and what it even has to do with books, and well, there's a good reason! Along with the candy corn, I got two movie gift certificates. So guess what movie I'm using those tickets on? The seventh movie of Harry freakin' Potter. See, that's book-related, right? Can't wait! And the candy corn won't go to waste! I'll give it to my family and friends. hehe

That's it for this week! :D

Waiting on Wednesday (18)

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Release Date: November 30, 2010
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Summary: In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme created by Jill at Breaking the Spine.