YA book

An Interview with a Young Adult Reader

During the A to Z Challenge, I read a post by Elsie Elmore in which she interviewed a young adult reader. I thought the idea brilliant, especially since I’m querying my own young adult novel right now. I asked Elsie’s questions of a thirteen year-old young, whose love of reading is only surpassed by her excitement to start high school.Girl_Reading

What ‘s your favorite type of YA book to read?
I like historical fiction and fantasy. I’m annoyed with dystopian stuff that everyone in school is reading.

Why those genres?
I like historical fiction because I can relate to them more because they are more believable. They are more meaningful to me because they are a symbol of the past. I like fantasy because who doesn’t? It’s a whole new world and there are no rules. You can do whatever you want.

In dystopian, it’s all the same. It doesn’t expand my thinking or my vocabulary so I feel like I’m wasting my time on the same thing.

What type of characteristics have your favorite female protagonists had?
Curiosity, humor. They are normal in some way—relatable. They are like me. They are loyal and honest.

What do you mean “normal in some way?”
Meaning they are not some prodigy. I hate that. They find their own way. They are not born with some special talent. Though, sometimes I like those books if I look up to them and if they are super cool. As long as if they are somehow believable.

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Review: Salvage by Alexandra Duncan @DuncanAlexandra

Salvage is a standalone YA Sci-Fi novel by debut author Alexandra Duncan.
Salvage

Ava, a teenage girl living aboard the male-dominated deep space merchant ship Parastrata, faces betrayal, banishment, and death. Taking her fate into her own hands, she flees to the Gyre, a floating continent of garbage and scrap in the Pacific Ocean, in this thrilling, surprising, and thought-provoking debut novel that will appeal to fans of Across the Universe, by Beth Revis, and The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood.

This Goodreads summary doesn’t do Salvage justice. And I don’t know why it has anything less than a 5 star average rating on either Amazon or Goodreads. The pages seep with all the hard work the author put in. No short cuts. It’s a standalone novel, something I haven’t seen in the YA field in a while.

Where to start? Oh where to start?

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S: is for Stars! Review and Giveaway: These Broken Stars #AtoZChallenge

SThese Broken Stars is the first in the Starbound trilogy, written by author duo Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. I loved it so much I wanted to give away a copy.

Here’s how you can win your free ereader copy:

Post a comment below. Just like that. The giveaway begins today, Tuesday, April 22nd and closes 12pm EST on Sunday, April 27th. I will use a random number generator–the corresponding blog commenter will be the winner of the ereader copy. (If the email you use to comment is not how you want me to contact you, make sure you leave another way!)

Congrats to Dave Brunetti, our winner!

These_Broken_StarsIt’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

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D: Days of Blood and Starlight Review by @LainiTaylor #AtoZchallenge

DD is for Days of Blood and Starlight, the second book in Laini Taylor’s NYT’s bestselling trilogy. Be sure to check out my review of the first book, Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The third book, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, releases next week. And stay tuned for tomorrow…My spidey senses tell me a giveaway is around the corner…Days_of_Blood_and_starlightArt student and monster’s apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

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C: Crown of Midnight Review by @SarahJMaas #AtoZChallenge

CC stands for Crown of Midnight, the second book in NYT’s bestselling Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas. Be sure to check out the new collection of novellas, The Assassin’s Blade.

Crown_of_MidnightFrom the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena’s world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie…and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

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Review: Pivot Point by @KasieWest

Pivot Point is the first of a duology released by HarperCollins. The second, Split Second, just released last month.

pivot_point_kasie_westAddison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

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