Cover Reveal x 6

Pretty Girl-13

Liz Coley

Release date:March 19th 2013 

by Katherine Tegen Books

 

Angie Chapman was thirteen years old when she ventured into the woods alone on a Girl Scout camping trip.

Now she’s returned home…only to find that it’s three years later and she’s sixteen—or at least that’s what everyone tells her.

What happened to the last three years of her life?

Angie herself doesn’t know.

But there are people who do—people who could tell Angie every detail of her forgotten time, if only they weren’t locked inside her mind.

With a tremendous amount of courage and support from unexpected friends, Angie embarks on a journey into the darkest corners of her mind. As she unearths more and more about her past, she discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: when you remember things you wish you could forget, do you destroy the people responsible, or is there another way to feel whole again?

Liz Coley’s alarming and fascinating psychological mystery is a disturbing—and ultimately empowering—page turner about accepting our whole selves, and the healing power of courage, hope, and love.

This Is Not a Drill

Beck McDowell  

Release date: October 2012

by Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin)

 

Two teens try to save a class of first-graders from a gun-wielding soldier suffering from PTSD

When high school seniors Emery and Jake are taken hostage in the classroom where they tutor, they must work together to calm both the terrified children and the psychotic gunman threatening them--a task made even more difficult by their recent break-up. Brian Stutts, a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq, uses deadly force when he's denied access to his son because of a custody battle. The children's fate is in the hands of the two teens, each recovering from great loss, who now must reestablish trust in a relationship damaged by betrayal. Told through Emery and Jake's alternating viewpoints, this gripping novel features characters teens will identify with and explores the often-hidden damages of war.

The Violet Fox

Clare C. Marshall

Series: The Violet Fox #1

Release date: October 13th 2012

by Faery Ink Press

 

Run.
That’s what instinct told me.
But in order to save the secrets of my people
and to protect my brother
I have to become the enemy.

Soulbroken

Heather Brewer

Legacy of Tril #2

Release date: March 26th 2013

by DIAL

 

Sometimes you have to break the rules to discover the truth.

In this follow up to Legacy of Tril: Soulbound, Kaya has learned that she is Soulbound to Darius, the Barron she secretly trained with at Shadow Academy. But he’s been sent away, leaving Kaya with questions about how he could be Soulbound to her and another Healer. Determined to find answers and prove herself worthy of fighting in the war against King Darrek and the Graplars, Kaya sneaks away, encountering a mysterious Barron named Gage in her travels. But Darius has shocking information about Gage—information that changes everything Kaya thought she knew about what it means to be Bound.

The Legacy of Tril series so far:

 Pretty Sly

Elisa Ludwig

Series: Pretty Crooked, #2

Release date: March 12th 2013 

by Katherine Tegen Books 

 

Fifteen-year-old Willa takes to the road with Aidan in a stolen car after her artist mother disappears, heading for the Santa Barbara, California, hotel from which her mother sent an email, but soon they are the targets of a nationwide manhunt.

The Pretty Crooked series so far:

The Spindlers

Lauren Oliver

Release date: October 2nd 2012

by HarperCollins

 

Looking across the breakfast table one morning, twelve-year-old Liza feels dread wash over her. Although her younger brother, Patrick, appears the same, Liza knows that he is actually quite different. She is certain that the spindlers-evil, spiderlike beings-came during the night and stole his soul. And Liza is also certain that she is the only one who can rescue him.

Armed with little more than her wits and a huge talking rat for a guide, Liza descends into the dark and ominous underground to save Patrick's soul. Her quest is far from easy, and the road to the spindlers' nests is riddled with danger. She must brave tree snakes, the Court of Stones, and shape-shifting serpents before facing her greatest challenge in the spindlers' lair, where more than just Patrick's soul is at stake.

Instead of spamming your Facebooks with all the new covers I had to show you I decided to do up a post! Let me know what you think of all these new pretties!

Review: Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

Pretty Crooked
Elisa Ludwig
Release date: March 13th, 2012
by Katherine Tegen Books

Goodreads / Purchase

Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones.

Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”-known to everyone as the Glitterati-without them suspecting a thing, is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected.

The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her-evening the social playing field between the have and have-nots. There’s no time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan.

But when the cops start investigating the string of burglaries at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could he wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

*A copy was provided by HarperCollins for review purposes*

Ever since enjoying Elisa's self-published novel June of Rock, I've been looking forward Pretty Crooked; with its fun, quirky cover and synopsis, I had high hopes for it. I wasn't expecting such a fluffy story, but I was glad to find it an enjoyable, quick read, nonetheless, that reminded me a tad of Mean Girls.

Willa only wants to even out the score by stealing from her rich friends, and giving to her poorer ones. Although a bit far fetch, the plot is pretty amusing. Coming from a small town where there are no private schools or "higher society", I'm always captivated by their inner workings. Grand living situations, unlimited shopping, privileged attitude; it's so much fun to read about! Even though I can't say Willa is particularly smart in her proceedings, I really liked her and could easily understand where she was coming from by wanting to even the playing field. In between her mischief, Aidan is the main male character that Willa is crushing on. No doubt he's charming, but I simply didn't see it. He is the definition of a player, plus he's so incredibly snobbish I couldn't root for him at all. I much preferred Tre, and I don't know why Willa doesn't feel the same. A bit too naive maybe? Either way, the romance didn't convince me, fortunately its presence in the book is scarce.

In addition to the teenage Robin Hood storyline, we've got suspicious parental behavior by Willa's mother; late nights and strange meetings. I was deeply curious to find out what exactly was going on. It feels ominous, as well as more interesting than your cliché "affair" or "re-appearing father" scenario. Sadly, this is left greatly unresolved since, unbeknownst to me, Pretty Crooked is the start of a series. I guess I should have taken notice, regardless, I still feel like we should have gotten some kind of answers, at the very least an elaboration. Instead it's merely floating in the background bugging like a constant itch that, ultimately, never gets scratched. It surely tugs on my love of mystery, though, leaving me craving for book 2!

If I had to pick I would recommend Elisa's June of Rock over this one, but Pretty Crooked is, nevertheless, a fun little quirky tale that is perfect for a light read.

3 Hot Espressos

Want to know what I thought of Elisa Ludwig's June of Rock?

Click here for my review!

Review: June of Rock by Elisa Ludwig

June of Rock
Elisa Ludwig
Released July 21st, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

Fresh out of 10th grade and freshly dumped by her dreamboat music nerd boyfriend Micah, June Dixon is headed to Camp Decibelle for the summer. The girls-only rock camp sounds like the perfect destination for a budding drummer with a respectfully punk attitude — except for the “girls-only” part. Once at Decibelle, June is thrown in among her fellow campers, a hodgepodge of indie wannabes, aggro-folkheads and metal sleazoids. All of them are aiming for superstardom, starting with the camp’s Battle of the Axes competition. Learning to keep a beat and start a band is tough enough but June must also contend with the dueling egos (and rhythms) of her bossy bandmate Jess, Jess’s disgruntled best friend from home M3, and a bitchy drummer whose rumored uncle is June’s hero, legendary songwriter Lee Rooney. And then there’s the puzzling case of Brice Mills, the famous-in-his-own-right counselor who’s supposed to be coaching June’s band but seems to have taken an unusual interest in June herself. Sassy, fun and packed full of pop culture references, June of Rock is a love letter to both girl power and the power of music.

 *A copy was provided by Elisa Ludwig for review purposes*

This was such a fun book! I went into it knowing it was going to be a short, quick read, and I completely enjoyed it. June of Rock gives us the story of a teenage girl - June - who's on summer break from 10th grade and heading off to camp rock. June is a drummer with big dreams and a tad socially awkward. She doesn't make friends easily and her punk attitude has made her a bit of an outcast.

Right from the start I was completely immersed in June's narration. On top of her fabulous sense of humour, her dreams of being a rock star make her come up with incredible scenarios that are just so amusing. It's easy to fall in love with this girl! Even though she can be completely awkward, she's got a huge heart and a good head on her shoulders. She makes some bad decisions, but she learns from them! The supporting characters were equally well-written. Being at camp, there's a strong diversity in personalities and that really gives life to the story. We've got charisma, angst, enthusiasm - but most of all, a feeling of liveliness throughout the novel.

I'm not a complete music nut. I'm pretty average in my knowledge of it; I love music, but I don't play any instruments. So I was a bit worried about how I would get along with this plot. But that was not even an issue. I was absorbed in the music along with June and now I kind of wish I could play something! I want to go to Camp Rock!

June of Rock is a quick read that is definitely a good time. With an abundance of humour, I recommend this for anyone who need a mood lifter. I now look forward even moreso to Elisa's upcoming novel, Pretty Crooked.

4 Hot Espressos