Posts Tagged: YA

Friday, May 19, 2017

Giveaway: Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes

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Hi everyone! Today we are partnering with Paula Stokes to giveaway a copy GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE to one lucky winner! GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE was one of my favorite books of 2016 and honestly such an important book. It does such a great job talking about mental health issues and also has an incredibly swoony romance.

 

About the Book

Giveaway: Girl Against the Universe by Paula StokesGirl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes
Published by HarperTeen on May 17th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Mental Health, YA
Source: HarperTeen
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

Maguire is bad luck.

No matter how many charms she buys off the internet or good luck rituals she performs each morning, horrible things happen when Maguire is around. Like that time the roller coaster jumped off its tracks. Or the time the house next door caught on fire. Or that time her brother, father, and uncle were all killed in a car crash—and Maguire walked away with barely a scratch.

It’s safest for Maguire to hide out in her room, where she can cause less damage and avoid new people who she could hurt. But then she meets Jordy, an aspiring tennis star. Jordy is confident, talented, and lucky, and he’s convinced he can help Maguire break her unlucky streak. Maguire knows that the best thing she can do for Jordy is to stay away. But it turns out staying away may be harder than she thought.

Paula: Hi everyone! Girl Against the Universe releases in paperback on June 6, 2017 and I’m so excited about that I decided to do an entire blog tour of giveaways to celebrate! In the story, main character Maguire creates her own list of seven challenges to help her overcome her fears. This week I have seven challenges for you, and seven chances to win a shiny GATU paperback 😀 These contests are international, but due to shipping costs US winners will receive signed copies sent by me and INT winners will receive their books from Wordery or The Book Depository, with signed bookplates mailed separately.

All contests will end on May 31, 2017. All winners will be contacted via Instagram, Twitter, or email as well as posted on my blog in early June. If you’re going to enter a Twitter or Instagram challenge, be sure your account is set to public during the contest period so I will be able to see your entries.

Ready to work on your own fears, just like Maguire?

Challenge #5:

In the comments below, list one fear you have that you’d like to overcome and two strategies you could use to work on it. Here’s an example from me:

Fear: Public speaking, especially doing author events in places where I don’t know anyone.

Strategy #1: Do Skype sessions with classrooms and book clubs to get more comfortable speaking to strangers.

Strategy #2: Attend more local author events to meet more people and become more comfortable with the format and structure.

To get entry points, your comment(s) must have all three parts. You can enter this contest twice by May 31, 2017. Claim your entries in the Rafflecopter so I’ll have an email address where I can contact you if you win! Questions? Put them in the comments 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Go-Between by Veronica Chambers

Posted by on 05/17/2017 • 2 Comments

The Go-Between is part fluff and part social commentary. It is this incredible feel good book about a girl has to leave her home country behind to move to America because her mom has landed a roll in American TV. What The Go-Between really tries to break down intersectionality and explore various privileged and oppressed identities.

How does Cammi’s life change when she moves from Mexico City to LA? Her family still has enormous socio-economic privilege but her life does change. The way her classmates interact with her changes and the way she is perceived and stereotyped by her classmates completely changed. Without even getting the chance to introduce herself, her new rich, white classmates craft an identity for her based on racist stereotypes.

And yet even though for the first time…

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Blog Tour: Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld

Posted by on 05/09/2017 • 1 Comment

This was a creepy, weird book, interesting graphic novel.  I don’t tend to read a lot of them, but I do enjoy them on occasion. This one has beautiful artwork and a pretty crazy storyline. I thought that the illustrations really brought the story to life and added a creepy factor to it.  The characters were great too and though we don’t learn too much about them yet, it really makes the anticipation for a sequel almost unbearable.

Addie is the main character. She takes care of her little sister now that her parents are dead. Thanks to The Spill. No one is allowed in the Spill Zone, but Addie sneaks in and takes gorgeous, haunting, and chilling photos of it. It’s super dangerous, but that is the only way…

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Needs More Diversity: Queer, There and Everywhere by Sarah Prager

Posted by on 05/02/2017 • 0 Comments

I feel like somewhat of a black sheep because I didn’t absolutely love this book but *insert shrug emoji*. I love that we get to learn about so many amazing individuals, I love the detail each section goes into and how easy it is to read and yet, when I look back at the people who are represented in this book, it seems like there isn’t as much rep as their could be. Queer, There and Everywhere is essentially trying to present readers with the stories of amazing queer people across time and remind people that queer people have always been here. For a book trying to achieve that though, it primarily draws on queer people from the western world and those closely tied with the historical movements in the western world….

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The Infinite Variants of YA: The One Where Erin Gough Has to Choose Between Being Lost at Sea or in the Woods

Posted by on 04/20/2017 • 0 Comments

HELLO and welcome back to this fancy feature that Nick (Nick & Nereyda’s Infinite Booklist) and I are collaborating on! This month I am sharing a fun interview with the delightful Erin Gough! RAISE A GLASS TO (freeedoooommm) to ERIN GOUGH!

1. If you could be any color in the world, what color would you be? 

Green. It’s the colour of nature, not to mention the Wicked Witch of the West. Kermit is green, too, and that frog can dance.

2. Who does Delilah consider to be a person who has everything put together?

Rosa Barea, definitely. From a distance, Rosa seems smart, talented and sure of herself. Of course, when Del gets to know her better, she realises that she’s not as together as she seems.

3. What song would Delilah think…

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Different in a Good Way: Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon

Posted by on 04/07/2017 • 2 Comments

Motorbike clubs is always a good way to get a person’s attention but I honestly did not expect what I got from Done Dirt Cheap. I assumed there would be an element of fluff to the book but instead, what I got was a complex, thoughtfully crafted novel with words that just jumped off the page. There are some books you finish that will oddly make you feel nostalgic for something you don’t even quite remember and Done Dirt Cheap was that book for me. In some ways it was reminiscent of the contemporary YA novels I grew up on.

I think part of the nostalgia for me came from the focus on female friendships in this book. Like both the main characters have their love interests and those relationships are important (and…

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The Last Harvest by Kim Liggett

Posted by on 02/10/2017 • 1 Comment

I have no idea how I am supposed to feel about this book. I love how the author builds tension throughout the book and I love the general creepiness of it but I struggled with a lot of other aspects of the book. The characters, the romance, and even some of the horror elements of the book.

I think my biggest qualm in terms of the actual horror parts of the book is how much they are based on Christian myth. This is obviously a very personal qualm and not all readers will have that same experience but as someone who exists outside of that narrative, it can be a little unsettling to have all this info forced down ones throat. It isn’t even just the satanic elements but rather the…

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A Book With the Potential to Completely Fuck You Over: Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

Posted by on 02/01/2017 • 11 Comments

Holy shit. THIS BOOK GUYS. Allegedly was one of my most anticipated books, but my co-worker who read it before I had a lot of FEELS (not good or bad, just FEELS), so I was a little nervous when I dove in. I had no idea the book would grip me and NOT LET ME GO. I read the 373 page book in a little over 2.5 hours. I GOBBLED IT, all while growing more and more anxious as I could feel something B.I.G. coming.

This book treads all the fine lines ever. There is no easy black and white in this book and it goes to lengths to make sure YOU KNOW THAT TOO. Justice, family, life cannot be put into little boxes and Jackson really explores what is right…

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