Showing posts with label teen fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teen fiction. Show all posts

Monday, August 29, 2016

Mailbox Monday - August 29



Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

How is it Monday again already? I swear last week just started.

Soccer practice has started and school begins Wednesday. After Labor Day violin and dance will kick off. It's nice to be back to our regular schedule, but it's hard to leave behind the lazy days of summer.

Not that I've been lazy this summer. I've sold a ton of real estate. If you're curious about the most recent real estate news, please visit me at Busy REALTOR(R) Mom.

Only a couple of free books this week, but they sound like great ones.


Her whole life, Alexia Garcia has been told that she looks just like rock star Kari Kingsley. But being a famous person's doppelganger hasn't turned out to be the teen fantasy you'd expect. People look at Alexia like she must be as ditzy as her counterpart. One day when Alexia's photo filters through the Internet, she's offered a job as Kari's double. This would seem like the opportunity of a lifetime--or at least a way to make some fast cash--but Alexia's mother has always warned her against celebrities. They can't be trusted. They'll use her.

Alexia can't resist the siren call of fame. Who could say no to Hollywood, hot guys, and . . . um, did we mention hot guys already? She flies off to L.A. and gets immersed in a celebrity life. Not only does she have to get used to getting anything she wants, she also romances the hottest lead singer on the charts and finds out that her own father is a singing legend. Through it all, Alexia must stay true to herself, which is hard to do when you are pretending to be somebody else!

This Prince and the Pauper retelling is teen comedy at its best.


An old house + A new computer program =The travel opportunity of a lifetime...to another century.


The People

Abby Thomas is spending the summer in a run-down old house with a bratty pre-teen named Merrideth she is supposed to tutor. Not a dream job. But it does come with perks.

There's John Roberts, a devastatingly attractive neighbor who is almost too wonderful to be real.

And there's the new computer program Beautiful Houses--also too amazing to be real. No one knows how it works, but with it she can rewind and fast-forward the lives of all the people who ever lived in the house, including Charlotte Miles.

In 1858, the house is a train stop on the Alton & Chicago Line. And Charlotte is stuck there serving meals to the passengers, wondering if she'll ever get to have any fun. And then she meets two travelers who change her life forever.

There's James McGuire with whom she falls in love. And there's his boss, a young Springfield lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. His debate with political opponent Stephen Douglas catapults him onto the national stage. And it inspires Charlotte to take up the cause of abolition.


The House

A stop on the Alton & Chicago Line. A stop on the Underground Railroad.

Watching the house's history unfold, Abby and Merrideth gain a new perspective on their own lives as time and again they see God's loving hand in the lives of its inhabitants.

What was in your mailbox?

Friday, August 8, 2014

The Friday 56 - Week 190

Welcome to Week 190!

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post to the Linky at Freda's Voice. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.


This is an updated version of a book I read several years ago. I'm reviewing it for the author.



I wanted him to sit near me so badly I could have died. But he sat in the row in front of me, a little to the right. Not too bad. Now I can look at him all day. My best friend, Angela, sits beside him on his right. I hope she doesn't fall in love with him, too. He's mine!

Location 57 of 1105 from The Truth: Diary of a Gutsy Teen by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

Monday, August 4, 2014

Mailbox Monday - August 4

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

It's great to be back. I had a blast with my friends, but it's nice to be home with my family. Two books arrived while I was gone.

One October morning, high school junior Bryan Dennison wakes up a different person—helpful, generous, and chivalrous—a person whose new admirable qualities he doesn’t recognize. Stranger still is the urge to tie a red sheet around his neck like a cape.

Bryan soon realizes this compulsion to wear a red cape is accompanied by more unusual behavior. He can’t hold back from retrieving kittens from tall trees, helping little old ladies cross busy streets, and defending innocence anywhere he finds it.

Shockingly, at school, he realizes he used to be a bully. He’s attracted to the former victim of his bullying, Scott Beckett, though he has no memory of Scott from before “the change.” Where he’d been lazy in academics, overly aggressive in sports, and socially insecure, he’s a new person. And although he can recall behaving egotistically, he cannot remember his motivations.

Everyone, from his mother to his teachers to his “superjock” former pals, is shocked by his dramatic transformation. However, Scott Beckett is not impressed by Bryan’s newfound virtue. And convincing Scott he’s genuinely changed and improved, hopefully gaining Scott’s trust and maybe even his love, becomes Bryan’s obsession.



In a Drought, It's the Darkest Cloud

That Brings Hope

It's 1954 and Perla Long's arrival in the sleepy town of Wise, West Virginia, was supposed to go unnoticed. She just wants a quiet, safe place for her and her daughter, Sadie, where the mistakes of her past can stay hidden. But then drought comes to Wise, and Perla is pulled into the turmoil of a town desperately in need of a miracle.

Casewell Phillips has resigned himself to life as a bachelor . . . until he meets Perla. She's everything he's sought in a woman, but he can't get past the sense that she's hiding something. As the drought worsens, Perla's unique gift divides the town in two, bringing both gratitude and condemnation, and placing the pair in the middle of a storm of anger and forgiveness, fear and faith.




This book was a digital download gifted to me by the author. I had read a previous version of this book and she asked me to review the new one.

"I hate Angela and I wish she would move away tomorrow!" "I get so worried when I hear my parents fighting at night." "My mother thinks my crush is silly. I know I am in love!" "I have so many questions about growing up. Who will answer them?" "I feel so awful when Jake makes fun of me." "When I grow up I going to remember how to have fun with my kids and never look away."
Growing up is tough. Adults don't always understand you (even though they were once kids), and children today face increasing pressure to be, look, or act a certain way. Written in the voice of a girl on the cusp of becoming a teenager, The Truth provides young girls with an opportunity to see how a girl, who is in many ways like themselves, handles her toughest problems and most personal thoughts. Each new page brings forth a discussion to help girls handle everyday problems: How do you survive a bully? How do you handle a crush on a boy? What can you do about relentless teasing by your peers? What really matters as you grow older?

In a positive and supportive diary-entry format, Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein encourages tween girls to carry the most precious parts of themselves into adulthood. A great book for mothers and daughters to read together, The Truth is aimed to improve communication, understanding, and self-esteem for young girls as they enter the rocky road of teenager-dom.


This was the one book I allowed myself to buy on vacation. It will be a great addition to my Laura Ingalls Wilder collection. 


From May 1890 to October 1891 Laura and Almanzo, along with their daughter Rose, lived in Spring Valley, Minnesota. They stayed with Almanzo’s parents, recuperating from illness, before moving to Florida. This booklet focuses on the 1890′s, while Laura and Almanzo lived there, but also tells the story of the Wilder family in Spring Valley.

What did you receive in your mailbox?


Monday, December 10, 2012

The Alchemists Academy Blog Tour & Book Blast



The Alchemists Academy Book 1: Stones to Ashes by Kailin Gow



What do you learn here...at the Academy? Wirt asks. Magic? The responsibility to use your powers responsibly? Uh...something like that, his roommate Spencer said. More like how to rule worlds. Wirt, is used to being shuffled from foster home to foster home, adopting a devil-may-care attitude toward the world along the way. Now he s in a school he can t escape, learning to develop his latent magical abilities, for what use, he doesn't know...to save his world or to destroy it...

Purchase


Excerpt from Stones to Ashes

Wirt screwed his eyes shut, wishing fervently that he was somewhere, anywhere else. Right now, being back with Joan and Peter was looking an awful lot more appetizing. First, though, he had to find some way to get out of here…

Wirt doubled up as his stomach suddenly cramped. For a moment, he though he had been hit, but that hypothesis went by the wayside as the feeling spread to every muscle in his body at once. As far as Wirt knew, and thanks to some of his earlier misadventures he did know, not even three people could manage to hit you everywhere simultaneously. Wirt forced his eyes open, and then quickly shut them again, because the golden radiance surrounding him was simply too bright to look though. Around him, the gasps of the three bullies were clearly audible.

“He’s glowing, Rich. Why is he glowing?”

“How should I know? Look, just grab him.”

“You grab him. He could be radioactive or something, the way he’s glowing.”

“Oh, so it’s all right for me to grab radiation boy, is it?”

The sounds of a scuffle came to Wirt, but they were quickly replaced by silence. He didn’t really care, because by now the unpleasant sensation running through his body had reached unbearable levels, feeling as though every scrap of him were being pulled in a different direction.

As suddenly as it had come, the sensation passed. Wirt had to concentrate just to breathe, and he stood like that for long seconds. He didn’t dare open his eyes, at least until it occurred to him that the three older boys might still be there waiting to hit him. That made his eyes snap open so quickly that for a second he couldn’t make sense of anything around him. When he did, Wirt took a step back, and that itself was surprising enough, given that there should have been a chain link fence in the way. Instead, he was standing in the middle of a field, with no sign of any fences anywhere in sight.




The Alchemists Academy Book 2: Elemental Explosions by Kailin Gow



A new student has entered The Alchemists Academy, and he brings with him an explosive power that threatens the Academy and the legend of Merlin. Wirt thought he was the only bad boy at the Academy, but he was wrong. Not only is Roland Black worse than Wirt, but a new teacher had replaced one of their beloved teachers, and she has more planned for Wirt and his friends than just lesson plans. Alana, his crush has grown prettier, and now he is rivals for her attention with not only his best friend Spencer, but newcomer Roland, as well. On top of that, it is their second year, and the year where all the students must pass a test to move on to the Elite Class at the Academy. The Elite Class is the only class in the third year at the Academy, and the students who fail will be sent home, others will face something even deadlier.



Purchase


Excerpt from Elemental Explosions

The moment didn’t last long, and Wirt opened his gift in a shower of wrapping paper. His parents looked on, those same smiles present on their faces. He looked down into the box, only to see that it was empty. Or not quite empty. Inside was a square of paper, on which careful handwriting stood out clearly. Wirt picked it up and read the words “Merry Christmas, beloved son. You cannot see, taste, or smell your gift, but you will know it when you feel it.”

“What?” Wirt asked. “I don’t understand. Is this some sort of riddle?”

His dream mother and father didn’t say anything. They just smiled and stared at the box in a way that suggested that Wirt was missing something. Not knowing what else to do, Wirt reached down into it, searching it by feel in case there was something at the bottom that he might not have noticed.

There was. Wirt yelped as something closed around his wrist, and tried to yank his arm back. It didn’t move, and as Wirt looked down, he saw dark fingers clasped on his arm. They weren’t just dark-skinned; they were absolutely black, as though carved from onyx or jet. They were as implacable as stone too, refusing to relinquish their grip as Wirt tried to jerk away.

“Help me,” he said to his parents, but they just shook their heads sadly, staring in that way parents had that told you that whatever was happening was for your own good.

The arm pulled at Wirt, and it pulled with far more strength than Wirt had ever experienced. He tried his best to brace himself against it, but slowly, inexorably, the hand drew him towards the box. That swirled with darkness now, and Wirt got the feeling that it was suddenly far deeper than it had been a moment ago.

He found out as the hand dragged him in, though how he fit into the box, Wirt wasn’t sure. He only knew that he fell. Only after a second or two, he wasn’t falling. He was walking along a tunnel instead. The walls were of natural earth, while huge tree roots showed up at intervals like roof beams and standing stones lined the walls, marks on them seeming to tell a story that Wirt could not understand.


Author Kailin Gow

Kailin Gow is the award-winning, international bestselling author of over 80 distinct books.

Kailin Gow is also the President of a media company, a media personality, and has been writing full-time since she was first published. Holding a Masters in communications management and leadership positions in Fortune 500 corporations, she puts her leadership abilities, her experience, and desire to help others into her fiction books. As a result, she has written the forthcoming, Finding the Heroine in You book which is also a national tour. She is a mother and spends whatever spare time she has volunteering at the Red Cross, Battered Women's Shelters, and other organizations.

Currently her Frost Series is in development for a major international MMO Game, and she has over 14,000 and growing Frosters on her facebook fan page.


Links:




Tour Schedule




Book Blast $50 Giveaway Details

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 12/31/12

*You need not enter your twitter name for each entry. Simply enter it for the first person you follow and leave the others blank.


Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.




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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays - October 16th


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


There are two dozen truly great museums in the world. Maybe two dozen and one if you don't mind the crowds at the Louvre, Kat's father always said.

~ page 121, Heist Society by Ally Carter

Friday, March 30, 2012

Free for All Friday - Michaela MacColl Giveaway



Free for All Friday is back. Today features another great giveaway. Lately they've been books, but I'm on the lookout for some other products for next month.

This week the prize is two books from Michaela MacColl. I was given these books as thanks for hosting the author at my children's book blog. MacColl's website says she writes "Modern Historical Fiction for Teens and Young Readers." I'm all for getting these ages groups into historical fiction.

The first book is Prisoners in the Palace. Here's the blurb from the author's website:

Young Elizabeth Hastings knows about suffering. At seventeen, she has lost her family, her home and her future. In desperation, she takes a position at Kensington Palace working for the sixteen year old Princess Victoria. But nothing is as it seems at the palace. The heir to the throne is practically a prisoner. A mother schemes against her daughter. Sir John Conroy, a man with no power or connections, is playing for the ultimate prize. And the servants - they know everything of course!

Liza's journey will take her through the bowels of the Palace and to the deepest slums of London. She'll learn about the power of the press and the attractions of one particular newspaperman. How far will Liza have to go to restore her fortune and put the Princess Victoria on the throne? Will she find independence and romance or find herself a prisoner in the palace, too?

The second book is Promise the Night:

Immediately compelling and action-packed, this carefully researched work of historical fiction introduces young readers to the childhood of the famous yet elusive Beryl Markham, the first person to fly solo from England to North America. As in her debut novel, Prisoners in the Palace, MacColl propels readers into a multilayered story with an unforgettable heroine and evocative language that brings the backdrop of colonial British East Africa to life. A fascinating read for anyone with a thirst for adventure.

Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter.  Good luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Pirates Gold: Treasure to Die For by Evelyn Uslar-Pietri Giveaway at Linda Weaver Clarke's Blog

Click on over to the blog of my friend, Linda Weaver Clarke. She is running a giveaway for a copy of Pirate's Gold: Treasure to Die For by Evelyn Uslar-Pietri.

Pirate's Gold is not for the faint of heart... It's a roller coaster of a ride that will plunge you into a world of dizzying adventure: a place of hideous monsters, evil wizards, enchanting nymphs and unimaginable riches! Tag along (if you dare!) with Captain Johnny B. Wilde and his motley crew as they sail the infamous islands of Vasquez searching for long-lost treasure.

From Skull's Island, where beastly terrors haunt, to the magical empire of Encantada, and on to the treacherous deserts of Cursyu, a trail of clues leads to an ancient and deadly secret--a secret that may spell eternal doom for our daring pirates... On behalf of Captain Wilde, author Evelyn Uslar-Pietri cordially invites you to take a deep breath (perhaps your last!) and hop onboard for this thrilling ride. But just remember, mate, you've been warned!

Doesn't this sound like a fabulous book? Linda has an interview with the author, where you can find out more. And don't forget to check out Evelyn's website. It's amazing!

Deadline to enter is October 1st, so head on over to http://lindaweaverclarke.blogspot.com/2011/09/interview-with-fantasy-author-evelyn.html and comment for your chance to win!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Special Holiday Feature: How to Light Up the Heart of a Three-Year-Old Boy by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein



SPECIAL HOLIDAY FEATURE

"How to Light Up the Heart of a Three-Year-Old Boy" by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, author of The Truth (I'm a girl, I'm Smart and I Know Everything!)



Parents and grandparents always wonder what will most delight their kids and grandkids. What should they get them for Birthdays? For the Holidays? Should we buy what delighted us as children? Should we really cater to their Santa or Chanukah lists? Should we go with what is ‘in’ this year?

These are important questions and all I can say, is listen to the kid even if it seems strange! We did when our grandson was three. We knew he loved to help his mother vacuum. We had noticed that many times when we visited. But it still surprised us when he asked for a vacuum. A vacuum? Who ever would want one? I would love to give mine up if someone else would just magically appear and vacuum. Why would a tiny kid want one? Wouldn’t he rather have some trucks or a train set? “No.”

All he kept asking for was a vacuum. Did toy stores even have vacuum’s for kids?

We decided we had no choice. Off we went to look. And indeed we found a vacuum that looked just like his mom’s except it was half the size. We were amazed. It was a little pricey, but hey, he is our grandson!

So we bought it and wrapped the box and appeared on Chanukah. He didn’t have a clue what we were bringing.

After lighting the candles and singing, we brought out the presents. There were a few other presents first and of course some for his baby sister who was happy to just rip off the paper. Finally the big box was brought out by his parents and handed to him. I will never forget his face when he ripped off the paper and saw a picture of a stand-up vacuum on the box. There was such joy in his eyes and his grin was as wide as could be. He looked at us with love and recognition that said that even as a three-year-old, he realized that sometimes only grandparents, not parents can really get it right. Then the magical second passed and he ripped open the box.

Soon the vacuum was plugged in and he was busy. Off in a dream world of cleaning and pushing and doing what only a kid could experience. We were so happy that we had hit it right. We kept looking at him and loving every second of his eager pretend cleaning, even though he no longer had eyes for us. He was sweet though and did turn and look at us and smile every once in awhile. Even the noise didn’t bother us-because of course, no good mechanical toy, is without its sound effects!

That was a great Chanakah!


Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein is the originator of The Enchanted Self(R). She has been a positive psychologist in private practice and licensed in the states of New Jersey and Massachusetts since 1981. She is currently in private practice in Long Branch, New Jersey with her husband, Dr. Russell M. Holstein.

She is the author of The Enchanted Self, A Positive Therapy, Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU! and There Comes A Time In Every Woman’s Life for DELIGHT.

Her newest book, The Truth, I’m Ten, I’m Smart and I Know Everything! is another first in positive psychology. Written by a ten year old girl as a diary, Dr. Barbara has been able to imbed lots of positive truths that we all need to remember and live by, regardless of our age.

The girl’s edition, titled: The Truth, (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) debuted February 2008 in bookstores nationwide. You can get your copy now at www.enchantedself.com.