Young Adult/New Adult – Page 32

YA Media Blitz: The Glass Mermaid, by Poppy Lawless!

Posted on August 5, 2015August 5, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Glass Mermaid by Poppy Lawless

Release Date: 07/14/15

Love Potion Books

Summary from Goodreads:Kate

I’m the last mermaid.

I’m back on shores of Lake Erie, but the cold waters are silent. There is
nothing here for me but ghosts and the beach glass that litters the rocky
shore. Long ago, I lived below the waves. Now, I am the sole survivor, and at long last, my mermaid glamour is leaving me.

Every day, I walk the beach. Every day, I wonder what happened to my people. The little pieces of colored glass that wash ashore give me simple pleasure. They are gifts from the lake, reminders of home. I fashion them into trinkets: necklaces, earrings, bracelets. They are beautiful things. The humans seem love them.

Every day, I walk the beach. Nothing ever changes, until the day he says hello.

Cooper

I’m dying.

It’s not a question, it’s a fact. The cancer is eating me alive. They told me I have six months to live, maybe less. I came home, back to Chancellor on Lake Erie, to die. The sunsets are vivid there, and I will relish every one.

I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than a Lake Erie sunset until I see her.

All life is fragile as glass.

What would you sacrifice to save the one you love?

Buy Link:

Amazon

About the Author: Romance author. Cupcake connoisseur. Certified herbalist. Beach bum. Fan of all things Starbucks.
Holistic healing advocate. Surfer girl wanna-be. Lost guru. Maker of dandelion wine. Counselor. Paranormal buff. Etsy addict. Secretly Jedi. So not a geek girl. Gifted in sarcasm. Hot wife. Ninja mom. And now, I’m ready to share a whole head full of witty, mouthy, smart, lovely, heart-warming, and hot characters with the world. Are you ready?

Poppy Lawless is the author of the forthcoming series Love & Chocolate releasing in 2015 and The Glass Mermaid. Poppy holds degrees in English and Psychology. She is a counselor in the field of mental health and is a trained herbalist. Poppy’s new series blends the best of romance with a Practical Magic or contemporary Bewitched appeal.

Author Links:

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Fantasy, Science Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

An excerpt from The Temple of Doubt

Posted on July 30, 2015July 28, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I recently reviewed Anne Boles Levy’s sci-fi/fantasy YA novel, The Temple of Doubt. The book is about to hit shelves, and I’m able to bring you an excerpt… you know, to whet those appetites. Here you go:

“Brown snakes as thick as a man’s arm slid from branches on either side of our punt and into the water, where they writhed across the murky surface. The boat paused to avoid them and then skirted the narrow, spiked waterwood roots that poke above the water line. A pole wedged between several roots the puntsman couldn’t see, and he twisted it free.

I shared the narrow craft with Mami and S’ami and two guards to prod us along. It was a tight fit, and knees would knock at any unexpected turn of the craft. I wasn’t going to make good on my days-ago wish of throttling S’ami with my head scarf, but it did take effort not to wince whenever he looked my way. He was the only Azwan with us. The other Azwan and half the guards had remained behind in the expectation S’ami would die.

I’d forced myself to keep my head straight and not glance around, feverishly looking for Valeo. I hadn’t made up my mind whether I wanted him there nor not. I didn’t want anyone I knew, even slightly, to be out in the wilds with us. But I also didn’t want to die alone here without a single ally among the hulking Temple Guards. Who else besides Valeo would care even a little whether Mami and I made it back?”

You can buy The Temple of Doubt on August 4th. Check out the Sky Pony website to order your copy; while you’re at it, follow them on social media. They’ve got some great books coming out!

Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall is a good haunted house story

Posted on July 28, 2015July 28, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall, by Katie Alender (Aug. 2015, Scholastic) , $18.99, ISBN: 978054564000

Recommended for ages 12+

Delia just inherited a house from her great-aunt Cordelia, but it’s not just any house – it’s a former asylum for troubled females, and there’s an evil that’s keeping a lot of the former residents there. Delia, who’s already in trouble with her parents for being defiant, can feel right away that something’s wrong with the house, but her parents ignore her – and the house kills her. Now, Delia’s a ghost, and she’s got an eternity to unravel the secrets of Hysteria Hall.

This is a fun haunted house novel with an intriguing mystery that kept me turning pages until the end. Delia is a likable character – she’s a rebel, she argues with her parents and gets annoyed by her younger sister, but there’s something inherently likable about her. As a ghost, she’s witty and sarcastic, but she’s incredibly vulnerable at the same time. She loves her family and feels their loss just as much as they do hers.

Delia meets other ghosts during her time at Hysteria Hall, and we get fascinating back stories on them, all of which are integral to the plot. Most are likable – there are a couple that should rile readers up, as any good ghost story should.

Told in the first person in Delia’s voice, The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall is a good haunted house novel for readers who like their scary books lighter on the scary, heavier on the characters. I loved it, and can’t wait to get it on the shelves at my library. I foresee some great book discussions on this one.

Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

It’s About Love – A new teen romance that hits on strong topics

Posted on July 28, 2015July 28, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

It’s About Love, by Steven Camden (Aug. 2015, HarperCollins Children’s Books), $8.99, ISBN: 9780007511242

Recommended for ages 12+

He’s Luke. She’s Leia. They meet in a film class, and the Star Wars connection pops up right away. That’s where the similarities end. They’re from different ends of town, and different social classes. He’s from the wrong side of the tracks, a kid trying to get out of the poor British town and lifestyle he feels trapped in. His brother is just home from prison after spending two years behind bars on an assault charge, and he’s trying to make sense of his life, too. Home life is rough on Luke, but he doesn’t know where to go with his feelings for Leia.

Leia pursues Luke, but their relationship is anything but smooth. She’s got her own baggage, and there’s bound to be conflict with Luke’s past.

The story deals with a lot of topics affecting teens these days. Luke wants out of the circumstances he’s been dealt, and he has the presence of mind to know that more education presents a way out – but at the same time he’s plagued with the fear that he’s got anger management issues – like his brother – that could be tragic if they spin out of control. He’s not sure how to act around Leia, not sure of himself at home, and not at all sure how to feel about or act around his brother. Luke’s parents throw wrenches into the works of his psyche with their relationship, and he discovers that his teacher is an uncomfortable mirror for him, creating a rich and complicated connection.

The story is a solid read, with likable and relatable characters from working-class backgrounds. It’s a smart romance, with the characters working through their feelings in typically teen fashion – lots of angst and analyzing. The Star Wars references are a bonus.

Teens looking for a different kind of read will enjoy It’s About Love for its casual, first-person narration; its introspective storytelling, and its solid character development.

Young Adult/New Adult

Cover Reveal: Thorn by Liv Hayes!

Posted on July 27, 2015July 26, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Thorn

by Liv Hayes

Release
Date: 10/01/15

Summary
from Goodreads:

They say that bad news comes in threes –
and for Emilia Hall, this is an understatement.

The anniversary of her son’s death, her husband’s affair, and a scathing
separation. All on her 30th birthday.

In sorrow’s wake, she leaves her editorial job at one of New York’s largest
publishing houses behind, packs a single suitcase, and exchanges Manhattan –
and the past twelve years – for her long-abandoned and deceivingly idyllic
hometown of Montauk.

There, on the beach-front, she meets a boy. They share a single night together.
And she believes, like everything else, that she’ll never see him again.

When she takes accepts an impromptu position as a Creative Writing teacher at
the local high-school, she sees a way to begin picking up the pieces. A new
chapter of life. A chance to heal.

But when a familiar face appears in her classroom – the boy from the beach,
Bryan Thorn – everything changes.

She is broken. He is troubled. And despite the whispers, pain, and the shared
pasts that threaten to destroy them both – neither can keep themselves away.

One thing is certain: some affairs prick like thorns.

About the Author

L. Hayes is voracious reader and lover of words. When not immersed in pages, she’s
usually writing them.

Author Links:

Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

The Girl from the Well brings Japanese folktales to America YA horror

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Girl from the Well, by Rin Chupeco (Aug 2014, Sourcebooks), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1402292187

Recommended for ages 13+

Okiku is an avenging spirit – the restless ghost of a young girl betrayed and murdered long ago. She stalks child murderers and strikes without mercy, without pity, and releases the innocent souls held prisoner by their killers, watching them turn into fireflies as they finally know peace. She can never join them; her restless, agitated soul cannot find the peace she seeks. And then, Tarquin comes into her… well, afterlife.

Tarquin, or Tark, for short, is a teen with some baggage. His mother had him tattooed at the age of 5, something he tries desperately to hide from curious eyes. She’s locked away in a mental hospital and Tark’s father, a businessman always on the go, is raising him as best he can. Strange things have followed Tark his whole life – birds smashing into windows around him, accidents happening to kids around him, and even more terrifying, his own mother trying to kill him whenever he comes near her. Okiku sees Tark for the good kid that he is, but she also sees the terrifying spirit attached to the boy – and decides, for the first time, to reach out to him and help.

Anyone familiar with the Japanese horror movie, Ringu – or its American counterpart, The Ring – will have a strong idea of what this book is about. Japanese folklore and J-horror are both strong influences on this story, and will appeal to fans of both. There’s a strong story here, multilayered with a major plot and two subplots that the author weaves together to give readers an unsettling, creepy read.

I got a kick out of Tark. He battles the chaos around him with sarcasm and wisecracks. He does his best to keep the reality of his situation from his father, who really wouldn’t understand, no matter how much he loves his son and tries to be an involved dad. Okiku is a tragic figure, yet her anger and her strength make her a force to be reckoned with – you may feel for the circumstances that brought Okiku to where she is, but you will never pity her.

There are some disturbing things happening here, including depictions of sexual abuse and murder, so easily triggered or upset readers should seek their thrills elsewhere.

Fantasy, Science Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

The Temple of Doubt brings fantasy, magic, and a struggle with faith

Posted on July 12, 2015July 11, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Temple of Doubt, by Anne Boles Levy (Aug. 2015, Sky Pony Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781632204271

Recommended for ages 13+

A falling star crashes into the marshes on a planet called Kuldor and a young woman’s life is forever changed. Fifteen year-old Hadara is the wilder child of her parents’ two daughters, the “natural” to her younger sister’s “pious”. Living under a strict religious rule, where medicine is heresy and only magic provided by their god, Nihil, is acceptable, Hadara longs to join her mother, who clandestinely gathers herbs and plants to keep handy for quiet requests.

The star brings religious leaders and soldiers to Port Sapphire, where Hadara and her family live. The leaders insist that a demon inhabits the star, and they must go into the marshes to retrieve it: and Hadara and her mother are pressed into service to lead them there. Hadara, whose faith has already been tested by the priests and the soldiers’ presence, finds herself chafing under the continued requests put upon her and the behaviors she witnesses, but this is only the beginning. The things she will discover on her journey will throw everything she’s ever been taught to believe into chaos. Is she strong enough to emerge unscathed?

The Temple of Doubt is sci-fi/fantasy, but readers will find many parallels to our current religious and socio-political climate today. The reliance on a deity to heal – but only if you have enough faith – versus faith in medicine and nature; the right of the religious right to tread wherever they feel is necessary to root out evil, and the struggle of a young woman dealing with coming of age and questioning her faith and beliefs are all very familiar scenarios that will draw readers into Ms. Levy’s story.

There is a great deal of world-building that will appeal to some readers, but may not catch reluctant or struggling readers. Focus on the teenage aspects of the story – rebellion, frustration, sibling rivalry, and questioning – to spark a lively booktalk. The Temple of Doubt an interesting first book in a series that should appeal to sci-fi and fantasy readers.

Fantasy, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

YA Book Blitz: Love in the Gilded Age by Saruuh Kelsey

Posted on July 9, 2015July 9, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Love In The Gilded Age (Fissure Chronicles, #1)

by Saruuh Kelsey

Release Date: 10/28/14

Summary from Goodreads: Once in a hidden queendom…

There is an ocean: In the infinite distance, between one hidden world and the next, is an unmeasurable expanse of twenty seas. One sprawling edge of the
world to another is filled with waters as beautiful as they are deadly, as miraculous as they are fraught. Treasure and treachery litter their ocean beds, sleeping side by side with adventurers whose travels ended abruptly, lives caught and held under a wave until all breaths fled.

There is a land: Tucked into a corner where four oceans fold together, land rises up illustrious in a jagged slash of mountains and forests, with secrets and wonders as plentiful as any water.

There are chronicles: Not of the twenty savage seas but of the fissure of land and the people who sigh life into it.

In an original epic fantasy world, Love In The Gilded Age reimagines the heroes and heroines of Grimm fairy tales as ethnically diverse, LGBT, disabled, and gender flipped.

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes
& Noble

EXCERPT:

Xanna drove herself forward, leaning into the run to propel them along. Her mother was trailing behind her but didn’t have an option except to follow as Xanna leapt from the last bit of land and crashed into the pond. She heard Koal’s strangled shout as she broke the surface, gasping and paddling wildly. She fought every bit of tiredness in her muscles as she dragged her mother from the depths of the water; she emerged spluttering and angry. “He will kill you for that,” her mother said without emotion. No fear
for her daughter’s life, no regret, no anger, just a blank statement of facts.

“No,” Xanna hissed. “I won’t be the one dying today.”

“Three souls will pass in this last fight.” Her mother dissolved into the senseless chanting of before, only repeated the ominous three souls will pass in this last fight. At least she had the good sense to pump her legs and move her arms to stay afloat.

Xanna had to get the rope off them if her plan was going to work. She pulled at their bound wrists, fearful and frustrated, and the vine uncoiled as if in response to her wish at the same moment the Wolf
reached the edge of the pool and leapt in. It loves my mother, Xanna thought, but found she didn’t care. She gripped the rope in a fist as she put three lengths between her mother, watching the Wolf wade sloppily through the water to the woman it loved.

She didn’t have long. Xanna had to act, and she had to be both quick and quiet about it—an impossibility now that her every movement made a splash. Still, she had to try. Koal was shouting at her from the clearing but she blocked out his warnings.

The Wolf only noticed her presence when she wrapped the vine around its neck and pulled it taut. Growling, it fought to face her but couldn’t spin and remain afloat at the same time. Xanna kicked her legs faster, unable to use her arms to keep her from a drowned death as she strangled the animal. She was slipping, on the verge of sinking. Without warning, the Wolf dipped underwater, testing her grip on the vine. She lost the rope.

Xanna looked around for it desperately. It was her only weapon.

The vine didn’t resurface but the Wolf did.

About the Author

Saruuh Kelsey is the author of several novels for young adults, including the free Lux Guardians series and The Legend Mirror series. Her latest releases include THE BEAST OF CALLAIRE, the first novel of a new YA fantasy series, and a collection of diverse fairy tales in LOVE IN THE GILDED AGE. Find her online at saruuhkelsey.co.uk.

Author Links:

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

YA Cover Reveal: Nora and Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor!

Posted on July 7, 2015July 7, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Nora & Kettle

by Lauren Nicolle Taylor

Release Date: 02/29/16

Clean Teen Reads

Summary from Goodreads:

What if Peter Pan was a homeless kid just trying to survive, and Wendy flew away for a really good reason?

Seventeen-year-old Kettle has had his share of adversity. As an orphaned Japanese- American struggling to make a life in the aftermath of an event in history not often referred to—the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the removal of children from orphanages for having “one drop of Japanese blood in them”—things are finally looking up. He has his hideout in an abandoned subway tunnel, a job, and his gang of Lost Boys.

Desperate to run away, the world outside her oppressive brownstone calls to naïve, eighteen-year-old Nora—the privileged daughter of a controlling and violent civil rights lawyer who is building a compensation case for the interned Japanese Americans. But she is trapped, enduring abuse to protect her younger sister Frankie and wishing on the stars every night for things to change.

For months, they’ve lived side by side, their paths crossing yet never meeting. But when Nora is nearly killed and her sister taken away, their worlds collide as Kettle, grief stricken at the loss of a friend, angrily pulls Nora from her window.

In her honeyed eyes, Kettle sees sadness and suffering. In his, Nora sees the chance to take to the window and fly away.

Set in 1953, NORA AND KETTLE explores
the collision of two teenagers facing extraordinary hardship. Their meeting is inevitable, devastating, and ultimately healing. Their stories, a collection of events, are each on their own harmless. But together, one after the other, they change the world.

About the Author

Lauren Nicolle Taylor lives in the lush Adelaide Hills. The daughter of a Malaysian nuclear physicist and an Australian scientist, she was expected to follow a science career path, attending Adelaide University and completing a Health Science degree with Honours in obstetrics and gynaecology.

She then worked in health research for a short time before having her first child. Due to their extensive health issues, Lauren spent her twenties as a full-time mother/carer to her three children. When her family life settled down, she turned to writing. She is a 2014 Kindle Book Awards Semi-finalist and a USA Best Book Awards Finalist.

Author Links:

Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Book Blitz: They Call Me Alexandra Gastone, by T.A. MacLagan

Posted on July 3, 2015July 3, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Books can show us visions. Have you ever found your mind beginning to imagine the characters you meet within the pages? Have you experienced a film projector of scenes in your
head as you read about the girl who travels to the fifth dimension, or the boy who’s trying to graduate from being a wallflower? When you read, your mind naturally creates images, almost like watching a movie. Why not turn those images into a reality by making a movie poster?

Full Fathom Five and T.A. Maclagan are hosting a movie poster design contest to celebrate the
release of T.A.’s debut, They Call Me Alexandra Gastone, a novel heralded by Booklist as “An intricate, debut spy thriller…” The contest will run from July 7^th to August 15^th.

One winner will receive a $100 gift card to the retailer of their choice, a book from FFF’s
list of authors, and Alexandra Gastone swag! All participants will be featured on T.A. Maclagan’s blog and Tumblr, and the winner will be featured on the Full Fathom Five website! Artists may use any medium from crayon to Photoshop.

They Call Me Alexandra Gastone

by T.A. Maclagan

Release Date: 05/20/15

Full Fathom Five Digital

226 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

When your life is a lie, how do you know what’s real?Alexandra Gastone has a simple plan: graduate high school, get into Princeton, work for the CIA, and serve her great nation.

She was told the plan back when her name was Milena Rokva, back before the real Alexandra and her family were killed in a car crash.

Milena was trained to be a sleeper agent by Perun, a clandestine organization from her true homeland of Olissa. There, Milena learned everything she needed to infiltrate the life of CIA analyst Albert Gastone, Alexandra’s grandfather, and the ranks of America’s top intelligence agency.

For seven years, “Alexandra” has been on standby and life’s been good. Grandpa
Albert loves her, and her strategically chosen boyfriend, Grant, is amazing.

But things are about to change. Perun no longer needs her at the CIA in five
years’ time. They need her active now.

Between her cover as a high school girl—juggling a homecoming dance, history
reports, and an increasingly suspicious boyfriend—and her mission in this
high-stakes spy game, the boundaries of her two lives are beginning to blur.

Will she stay true to the country she barely remembers, or has her loyalty shattered along with her identity?

Buy Links:

Amazon|
Barnes
& Nobles| iTunes|
Kobo| Goodreads

Praise for They Call Me Alexandra Gastone:

“An intricate, debut spy thriller…readers will keep turning pages, and the surprise ending will have them anxiously awaiting a sequel.” —Booklist

“…the intersection of action, espionage, and drama makes for solid…entertainment: readers will gladly sit back and watch Alexandra navigate the obstacle course that comes with playing her role too well. It’s a strong debut for New Zealand author Maclagan.” —Publisher’s
Weekly

“Death-threats, global takeover, double-agents, hidden files and a blown cover—by the time you get to the shocking conclusion of this cliff-hanger, you won’t know who to trust…” —Girls’ Life

About the Author

T.A. Maclagan
is a Kansas girl by birth but now lives in the bush-clad hills of Wellington, New Zealand with her Kiwi husband, son and four pampered cats. With a bachelor’s degree in biology and a Ph.D. in anthropology, she’s studied poison dart frogs in the rainforests of Costa Rica, howler monkeys in Panama and the very exotic and always elusive American farmer. It was as she was writing her ‘just the facts’ dissertation that T.A. felt the call to pursue something more
imaginative and discovered a passion for creative writing. They Call Me Alexandra Gastone is her first novel.

You can find her online at:

Website: www.tamaclagan.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamaclagan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tamaclagan

Tumblr: tamaclagan.tumblr.com/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/tamaclagan/

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Book Blitz Organized by: YA Bound Book Tours