Mundie Moms

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Celebrate New Adult Day on October 2nd!


New Adult Day is October 2nd! 
I love this idea of celebrating New Adult books. Thankfully Between The Covers (William Morrow) does too! They're celebrating the first ever NEW ADULT DAY this Thursday, October 2nd, 2014 with some of my favorite NA authors. Find out more about their celebrations and what authors will be joining Jennifer L. Armentrout & Sophie Jordan for a chat, here, on our Grown Book Reviews blog. 

Star Wars Reads Day III



It's BACCCKKKK!!!
STARS WARS READS DAY is back!! I am so excited about this announcement from Disney Hyperion! I took my kids to our local Indie Book store the first year Star Wars Reads Day kicked off, and it was a blast! I highly recommend joining in the fun. Here's the announcement from Disney:
From the youngest Stormtrooper to the wisest Jedi, this October 11th, artists, authors, educators, librarians, book retailers, and readers will join forces to celebrate the global phenomenon of Star Wars Reads Day!  
THIRD ANNUAL STAR WARS READS DAY STRIKES BACK ON OCTOBER 11, 2014!  Franchise Events Will Include Star Wars Rebels for the First Time 
Celebrating a love of literacy and all-things Star Wars, Disney Lucasfilm Press, along with its publishing partners: Abrams, Chronicle Books, Dark Horse, Del Rey, DK, Klutz, Quirk Books, Random House Audio, Scholastic, and Workman Publishing, will join forces with fans, authors, and artists to celebrate the third annual Star Wars Reads Day. Last year, authors and costumed volunteers participated in over 2,000 Star Wars Reads Day events across North America, but, for the first time, this year’s festivities will include Star Wars Rebels!   With the debut of the animated series Star Wars Rebels launching on Disney XD October 3rd, this thirdStar Wars Reads Day comes at an exciting time! 
Booksignings and panels featuring Star Wars Rebels have already been scheduled for October 11th during New York Comic Con, and the robust list of talent confirmed to participate in official Star Wars Reads Day events around the country include: Chris Alexander (Star Wars Origami), Tom Angleberger (Origami Yoda series), Jeffrey Brown (Goodnight Darth Vader, Star Wars: Jedi Academy), Troy Denning (Star Wars: Crucible), Tony DiTerlizzi (The Adventures of Luke Skywalker: Jedi Knight), Ian Doescher (William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, William Shakespeare’s Empire Striketh Back, William Shakespeare’s The Jedi Doth Return), Pablo Hidalgo (Star Wars Rebels: A New Hero), Michael Kogge (Star Wars Rebels: The Rebellion Begins), Daniel Lipkowitz (LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles), John Jackson Miller (Star Wars: A New Dawn), Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas (Star Wars: Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual), Daniel Wallace (The Bounty Hunter Code, The Jedi Path), and Ryder Windham (Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide, Star Wars Rebels Junior Novel). 
An official Star Wars event kit (free of charge), including reproducible activity sheets and trivia, is available as a printable PDF in colorand black and white, and for event updates and more information, follow Star Wars Reads Day on Facebook and the #starwarsreadsday on Twitter.
May the force of reading be with you!

Monday, September 29, 2014

BLACKBIRD by Anna Carey, Book Review


Written by: Anna Carey
Published by: Harper Teen
Released on: September 16th, 2014
Add it to Goodreads
Get it From: Amazon | B&N
Read a Sample

A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her. 

On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined. 


The Maze Runner series meets Code Name Verity, Blackbird is relentless and action-packed, filled with surprising twists.


A thrilling, suspenseful YA read that will leave you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the very end. Anna Carey has crafted a chilling, mystery with a dark undertone that I didn't see coming. 

This is a book that literally had me from page one. I wanted to know more about the girl who woke up in a subway with no memories. The few provisions she had with her, were just enough things to give her a head start. What she needs a head start from is part of the suspense of the story. When you have no memory of who you are, how you got there, and where are from, but you know you're in dangerous trouble, it's hard to figure out who trust and where you should go.

From the get go readers are thrust into the mystery and danger that surrounds her, and her story. Who is this mystery girl? What does the tattoo on her wrist mean? Where did her money and provisions come from? Who are the people who are following her trying to kill her? I wasn't hard for me to root for this girl from the get go. She's smart, resilient, and thankfully listens to her instincts to stay ahead in this deadly game of cat and mouse. 

Though the cast of characters is small, they're complex. Everyone is a suspect and no one is to be trusted. When I finally started to trust one of them, Carey throws in a shocking twist, and now I'm trying to figure out how the heck I didn't see it coming, and what's going to happen now. Can we say action packed?! Seriously, this book is one crazy adrenaline ride. Just as I feel that things can't get crazier, Carey proves me wrong. That ending? Yeah, didn't see that one coming. 

The romance. Since our girl wakes with no memories, and is in trouble, she doesn't have much to go on. She ends up getting help from Ben, a guy who seems nice, though he has his own set of troubles he's dealing with. I'll just say it, I didn't buy into the relationship with our two main characters. I got their friendship, but once it crossed that line I wasn't sold on it. For the sake of spoilers, I'll just say that there is another boy I want to know more about that plays a huge role in her life before she awakes nameless, with no memories on the subway tracks. Through out the story as some of her memories vaguely come back, she keeps remembering this guy. She does so all the while she's with Ben, the boy who helps her out now. I felt there was more to the boy she's remembering than what she and Ben had. 

While I liked the thrill of the story, there are dark undertones. I'm normally not a fan of it, but it worked for this story. BLACKBIRD is a suspenseful story about survival, keeping your wits about you, suspense and mystery. Talk about a killer of an ending... This story seriously took an unexpected turn.  I'm looking forward to reading the sequel! I need answers!!! *There are mentions of drugs, murder, and sensual scenes in this book.

3 stars 

New Paranormal Reads from Entangled Teen!

October is almost here which means the haunting season is upon us. Why not dig into these two new paranormal reads from Entangled Teen to get into the mood.



A new companion novel to Alison Kemper's Donna of the Dead
(Both titles can be read as standalones and involve completely separate characters)
About the book: 

The end of the world just might be their perfect beginning… 
 
Glenview, North Carolina. Also known—at least to sixteen-year-old Ava Pegg—as the Land of Incredibly Boring Vacations. What exactly were her parents thinking when they bought a summer home here? Then the cute-but-really-annoying boy next door shows up at her place in a panic…hollering something about flesh-eating zombies attacking the town.

At first, Ava’s certain that Cole spent a little too much time with his head in the moonshine barrel. But when someone—or something—rotted and terrifying emerges from behind the woodpile, Ava realizes this is no hooch hallucination. The undead are walking in Glenview, and they are hungry. Panicked, Ava and Cole flee into the national forest. No supplies, no weapons. Just two teenagers who don’t even like each other fighting for their lives. But that’s the funny thing about the Zombpocalypse. You never know when you’ll meet your undead end. Or when you’ll fall dead over heels for a boy…

Pick up your copy: Amazon | B&NiTunes 

Follow the blog tour to win!

 

The exciting conclusion to the Salt duology!
About the book:

A little salt. And a whole lot of magic…

Up until recently, Penelope was a witch with no magic. After having it stolen by a demon when she was just a child, Penelope had been forced to rely on sharing others’ powers as she went through the grueling training required to become an elite demon hunter. Now Penelope has more magic than she’s ever known. And when you’re this powerful, who needs salt to keep the demons away?
But power has a dark side.

Carter Prescott just wants to hunt demons and be with Penelope. But suddenly, witches who formerly had no magic are developing out-of-control powers. Now the world Carter swore to protect isn’t just endangered by malicious demons—it’s threatened by the same witches who once defended it. And Carter is horrified to see his girlfriend starting to change. Stronger. More powerful. Unrecognizable. It’s just a matter of time before Penelope transforms into something far beyond his worst fears…

 Get your copy: Amazon | B&N | iTunes

 Follow the blog tour!

Mundane Monday #223- The Dark Artifices (TDA) Snippet


Happy Mundane Monday!


Have you read the latest TDA (The Dark Artifices) snippet Cassandra Clare shared with fans? 
Check it out below:
“Emma —“
“I’m calling.” Emma lunged for her phone.
“No!” Julian said, forcefully enough to stop her. “You know we can’t tell anyone. About Mark —“
“You’re not going to bleed to death in a car for Mark!”  
“No,” he said, looking at her. His eyes were eerily green-blue, the only bright color in the dark interior of the car. “You’re going to fix me.”

I can not wait for this series to be out! These snippets are killing me. 

Cassandra Clare Announces European Tour Dates


European Shadowhunters, Cassandra Clare is coming to you this Fall!
Check it out, a few days ago Cassandra posted her upcoming tour dates for conferences and signings that she has scheduled in Europe. Mark your calendars:
Hey Cassie! I was just wondering what book or writing conferences and events you were planing on attending this year?!? If any…
Holly and I will both be at:
  •  Anderson’s 11th Annual Young Adult Literature Conference this weekend. Info here
  • We’ll also be at the Bath Festival in England, October 4. Info here.
  • And while not strictly festivaly, our tour of Europe is looking like this:
  • PortugalNov 4-5 
  • SpainNov 5-8 
  • Belgium/Netherlands: Nov 8-11 
  • Germany: Nov 11-15/16
Details coming. Meanwhile much to do!
This is exciting news!! Are you planning on going? If so, let us know!

Sunday, September 28, 2014

ATLANTIA by Ally Condie; Blog Tour: Author Interview & Giveaway #AtlantiaBelow





Ally Condie's has a new book coming out, ATLANTIA, which will hit shelves on October 28th, 2014. To celebrate, Penguin Teen has put together an awesome blog tour. There are two teams, #TeamBelow, that's US and #TeamAbove. 


Through out the month of October, follow along by supporting #TeamBelow. My entire team (see the list below) will be posting through out the month. You can join the Team Below fun by following the #TeamBelow hash tag. Posts will be featured on our blog, #TeamBelow team blogs, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram & Facebook. Ally Condie and Penguin Teen will be joining in the reposting fun! Yes, this is a friendly competition that will be going on all month long between Team Below & Team Above. 

I'm so thrilled to be kicking off the tour with an interview with ALLY CONDIE! Before I share my recent interview with Ally, here's a little bit about ATLANTIA:


By: Ally Condie
Published by: Dutton Books
To Be Released on: October 28th, 2014
Add it to Goodreads
Pre-Order it from: Amazon | B&N 

Can you hear Atlantia breathing?

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose.

Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths. (quoted from Goodreads)

*************************

I have to fan girl for just a moment. I absolutely adore Ally Condie, and beyond thrilled to have her on the blog today. If you ever have the chance to meet her, do so! In fact, you can check out her upcoming tour dates here

Hi, Ally! Welcome back to Mundie Moms! I'm so excited to have you on the blog. Congratulations on Atlantia's release. Since the campaign has kicked off and consists of two teams, Above and Below, I have to ask, if you were a character in your book, would you be a character from Above or Below? 
Katie, it is so great to be back! You’ve been lovely from the very beginning about my books and I very much appreciate all you do for readers and authors. And I’m so glad I’ve been able to meet you in person, too! --I think that I would be a character from the Above (if the choice were up to me). I cannot stand feeling trapped, and even though ATLANTIA is a very big city, I don’t think I could handle being contained inside—especially not underwater. Most of my family is scuba-certified and I can barely handle snorkeling!

How would you describe your character, Rio, in 5 words or less? 

Loyal, strong, smart, open, brave.

Rio has a lot going on over the course of her story. She's an admirable character who has to make some tough choices. What's something you came to admire about Rio? Did she do anything over the course of writing her story that surprised you?  

I’m very, very glad that you liked her! The thing I came to admire most about Rio was that even though the world she lives in doesn’t value her and she feels betrayed by the person she thought knew her best, she keeps going. She simply cannot be stopped, because she is extremely strong in a way that her world (and ours) often does not value. That’s not to say that she doesn’t cry or feel anger or wish she could give up—she’s very human—but she has a lot of inner drive. The thing that surprised me the most about writing her was how she reacted to True. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I thought in the initial writing that she might not allow herself to feel love again after having been hurt before. But, as it turns out, Rio is braver than that. 

I love that Atlantia's world consists of two worlds in one, with Above and Below. Which world within Atlantia's world did you have the most fun creating? I hope that doesn't sound too confusing. 

Not confusing at all! Your question makes perfect sense. In spite of what I said in answering the first question, I had a LOT of fun creating the world of the Below because I could let my imagination run wild and because I didn’t have to actually live there. ;) It was great fun to use the city of Venice—its gondolas, its cathedrals and cafes and plazas and shops—as inspiration, and to give it kind of a sci-fi twist.

What part of Atlantia did you enjoy writing the most and what was the most challenging part of your world-building? 

My favorite part to write was the end (which is often the case, because then the characters finally get to do what I’ve been building toward all the time). The most challenging part of the world building was figuring out how much of the religious and political systems and siren history and mythology needed to be on the page. I wanted everything to feel very real, but I also didn’t want to bog down the story unnecessarily.

If you could write in any one of your favorite fictional characters into Atlantia, who would you choose and why? 

I’m reading the Ramona Quimby books to my kids right now, and I would love to see the kind of havoc that girl could wreak on an underwater city. She would make a great little sister to Rio. Or to Indie from the Matched Trilogy, for that matter, now that I think about it…

Are you working on anything new that you can tell us about? 

I am having a grand time playing with a few ideas right now. One is young adult, one is middle grade, one is set in a foreign country, one in my hometown. I don’t know which one will end up being my next book (or perhaps it will be something else entirely!). This is always a fun part of the process for me…giving myself permission to explore and find out what I want to do next.

Thank you to Ally Condie for taking the time to stop by Mundie Moms! 
If you guys have the chance to meet Ally, I highly recommend that you do. I absolutely adore her. I'm so excited for you guys to read her upcoming release!!! I think I may have to share my excitement by giving away my arc of ATLANTIA!! Keep reading to find out how to enter to win.

About Ally Condie



Ally Condie is the author of the MATCHED Trilogy, a #1 New York Times and international bestseller. MATCHED was chosen as one of YALSA’s 2011 Teens’ Top Ten and named as one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2010. The sequels, CROSSED and REACHED, were also critically acclaimed and received starred reviews, and all three books are available in 30+ languages. Disney has optioned the film rights for the series.
A former English teacher, she lives with her husband and four children outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, writing, running, and listening to her husband play guitar. (Source: Ally Condie's website)
You can find Ally via her Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads



Meet my Team aka TEAM BELOW #AtlantiaBelow!
I'm thrilled to be the leader and apart of TEAM BELOW!! I'd to introduce you to the fabulous bloggers who make up the Team Below also known as #AtlantiaBelow on social media. Be sure to visit each of their blogs on the following dates:

TEAM BELOW
September 28 – Katie (Mundie Moms) – Long Q&A
September 30 – Jen (I Read Banned Books) – Guest post
October 2 – Katie (Katie’s Book Blog) – Short Q&A
October 4 – Lea (YA Book Queen) - Review
October 6 – Taschima (Bloody Bookaholic) - Fancasting
October 8 – Jeremy (Novel Thoughts Blog) – Guest post
October 10 – Erin/ Flo (Fangirlish) - Review
October 12 – Nancy (Ravenous Reader) – Review
October 14 – Sara (Novel Novice) - Playlist
October 16 – Jess (Gone with the Words) – Short Q&A
October 18 – Rachel (Paper Cuts) – Guest post
October 20 – Georgia (Eve’s Fan Garden) - Playlist
October 22 – Gabby (Queen Ella Bee Reads) – Long Q&A
October 24 – Andrea (Reading Lark) - Review


ENTER TO WIN
To enter to win my arc of Atlantia, please fill out the form below. Be sure to read the terms & conditions, also listed below, before entering. (Open INTERNATIONALLY)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

*Thank you to Penguin Teen & Ally Condie for the arc & making today's post possible.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Survival Colony 9 by Joshua David Bellin, Book Review


By: Joshua David Bellin
Published by: McElderry Books
Released on: 9.23.14
Source: arc to review
Add it to Goodreads

In a future world of dust and ruin, fourteen-year-old Querry Genn struggles to recover the lost memory that might save the human race.

Querry is a member of Survival Colony Nine, one of the small, roving groups of people who outlived the wars and environmental catastrophes that destroyed the old world. The commander of Survival Colony Nine is his father, Laman Genn, who runs the camp with an iron will. He has to--because heat, dust, and starvation aren't the only threats in this ruined world.

There are also the Skaldi.

Monsters with the ability to infect and mimic human hosts, the Skaldi appeared on the planet shortly after the wars of destruction. No one knows where they came from or what they are. But if they're not stopped, it might mean the end of humanity.

Six months ago, Querry had an encounter with the Skaldi--and now he can't remember anything that happened before then. If he can recall his past, he might be able to find the key to defeat the Skaldi.

If he can't, he's their next victim.


Action, mystery, survival and a touch of romance, Survival Colony 9 is a book unlike anything I've read before. It's part sci-fi, part dystopian, and part finding out who Querry Genn really is. I like how Bellin bleed all three of these elements together in his debut. Living in a dangerous, war torn world, Querry Genn lives in a colony called Survival Colony Nine. Constantly on the move, and on the run from the Skaldi, creepy creatures/aliens who are bent on destroying them. Let me just say, these creatures are some of the freakiest creatures I've ever read about. Literally. There is nothing quite like them in the YA world, and I think readers will be both horrified and a little intrigued with them. Bellin has one heck of an imagination. These are definitely not your friendly neighborhood aliens who come in peace and want to make friends. 


Querry Genn is a character who's trying to figure out who he really is. An accident six months ago left him with no memory. He is the son of the colony's leader, and he's being groomed to be the next leader. His world is desolate, and creepy as heck. The small group that make up Survival Colony Nine have to work together in order to survive the attacks by the Skaldi. When you're one of the last known humans alive, and you're facing a bleak future, it's hard to figure out who's really the dangerous creatures. The aliens or those within your colony. On Querry's quest to discovery who he really is, he finds out more about his world, the history of his colony, and those who make it up. 


One of the things I liked about the book is the way Bellin wrote his characters. They are not all likable characters. Which I liked. Given the nature of the story and the setting, characters couldn't be likable. Some of them needed to be harsh and rough around the edges to make them believable. For as much as I didn't like some of them, I liked the way Bellin developed each of his characters. There wasn't one person I could totally trust. I liked that I was suspicious of everyone. It added to the book's mystery and appeal of just how bad Querry's world really is. 


This world is brutal! It's one that is in ruins and chaos, and that filters into the colony and changes people. Characters are at odds with each other, but is understandable. The group is trying to survive in an extremely dangerous, unforgiving, almost uninhabitable world. I except there to be trouble, and confrontations, and unrest. The world itself is well created. It is a gritty, lethal and definitely one I wouldn't want to be apart of. I liked that even when it seems like there's no way out of the destitute or hope that the future will one day be like how the world used to be, there is a little bit hope left and a will to survive. That will and hope are what keep the characters going.


While I felt Bellin did a fabulous job at creating his world, and characters, I had some issues with the story line it self. There was inconstancies, and too many unanswered questions. There were times I felt the storyline was strong, and other times I felt there was something missing. I can't mention what some of those things are because of spoilers. Had Bellin not created such a terrifying world, solid characters and had some exciting/shocking twists, this would have been a book I would have walked away from. I imagine that the next book Bellin writes will be fabulous. I'm looking forward to finding out what his next project is. Over all I walked away from this book feeling like it was a good read. 


3 stars 

Friday, September 26, 2014

Poisoned Apples by Christine Hepperman, Blog Tour: Book Review / Giveaway



Published by: Harper Teen
Released on: September 23rd, 2014
Source: arc from publisher to review
Add it to Goodreads

About POISONED APPLES:
Every little girl goes through her princess phase, whether she wants to be Snow White or Cinderella, Belle or Ariel. But then we grow up. And life is not a fairy tale.

Christine Heppermann's collection of fifty poems puts the ideals of fairy tales right beside the life of the modern teenage girl. With piercing truths reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins, this is a powerful and provocative book for every young woman. E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars, calls it "a bloody poetic attack on the beauty myth that's caustic, funny, and heartbreaking."

Cruelties come not just from wicked stepmothers, but also from ourselves. There are expectations, pressures, judgment, and criticism. Self-doubt and self-confidence. But there are also friends, and sisters, and a whole hell of a lot of power there for the taking. In fifty poems, Christine Heppermann confronts society head on. Using fairy tale characters and tropes, Poisoned Apples explores how girls are taught to think about themselves, their bodies, and their friends. The poems range from contemporary retellings to first-person accounts set within the original tales, and from deadly funny to deadly serious. Complemented throughout with black-and-white photographs from up-and-coming artists, this is a stunning and sophisticated book to be treasured, shared, and paged through again and again.

My Thoughts

Gritty, dark and twisted, Poisoned Apples may be small in size, but Hepperman's words cut to the core. Hepperman takes society's skewed views on love, sex, women, body image and food with teenage girls and creates a collection of realistic poems that blur the edges of what's right and wrong, realistic and fantasy. 

This is definitely not your mother's book of fairy tales. Poisoned Apples is a book of poems that cut to the heart of the issues that plague our societies views, and the impact they have on young girls. Hepperman's words are unsettling, and truthful. As a reader, I didn't get every poem in this book, but the ones I did get, I feel that as an author Hepperman did her job in getting her point of across. There were some poems I found to be really dark, but, the harsh reality is, these are images and messages that plague our society today. Hepperman does a great job at brining these issues to light in each of her poems. I admire the fact that she didn't take serious subject matters lightly.

The haunting black and white photographs add to the books disturbing and dark feel. Each picture matches the poem it's shown beside. If I could use one word to describe this book, I would say it's provocative. On a side note, I just have to mention that I love this cover. Both it and the title are a perfect fit for this book. Poisoned Apples won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I feel there is something for everyone within in the small pages of this book. 

Praise for Poisoned Apples

“It’s a bit of a mystery how a slender, subversive book of flayed fairy tale poetry can chronicle how the world tries to rob young women of power, while at the same time handing them back that power. Teen girls should read this—and so should their mothers, their aunts, their grandmothers. . . .”
—Gayle Forman, author of New York Times–bestselling Just One Day/Just One Year duet

Poisoned Apples is simply phenomenal. Heppermann’s honest voice grabs the reader with urgency.
This collection is a champion for teens and adults who see our world as an advertisement for
perfection that doesn’t exist. Readers will want to read these poems aloud over and over again.”
—A. S. King, author of Printz Honor book Ask the Passengers

“Over and over again, Christine Heppermann’s poems reveal the worm in the messages
young women get about love, sex, food, and bodies. These poems cast
a harrowing but irresistible disenchantment.”
—Sara Zarr, author of National Book Award finalist Story of a Girl

“Christine Heppermann writes with a brilliant wizard’s pen. If redemption
comes to us in stunning, sidelong ways, via metaphor, parallel thinking,
reshaped tales with new characters who might be us, this is a book that will
save. Not only you, but so many people you know. Take a look.”
—Naomi Shihab Nye, author of National Book Award finalist
19 Varieties of Gazelle

“This powerful and provocative exploration of body image, media, and love
broke my heart and made me gasp aloud with its relentless truth.
Dark, unsettling, and altogether brilliant.”
—Rae Carson, author of New York Times–bestselling The Girl of Fire
and Thorns

About Christine Heppermann
Christine Heppermann is a writer, poet, and critic. Her book of poetry for young adults, Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty, will be published by Greenwillow Books in September, 2014. Poisoned Apples has been called "a bloody poetic attack on the beauty myth that's caustic, funny and heartbreaking" (E. Lockhart) and a "powerful and provocative exploration of body image, media, and love" (Rae Carson).

Christine's first book, City Chickens (Houghton Mifflin, 2012), is a nonfiction story about a shelter for abandoned and unwanted chickens in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In 2015 Greenwillow Books will publish the first book of the Backyard Witch Series, written by Christine and Ron Koertge. The middle-grade series follows three best friends and a mysterious visitor who appears for curious adventures just when they need her most.

Christine was a columnist and reviewer for The Horn Book Magazine from 1996 until 2013. Her poems are published in 5AM, The Magazine of Contemporary Poetry; Poems and Plays; Kite Tales; Nerve Cowboy; The Mas Tequila Review; and The Horn Book Magazine. Her reviews of children's and young adult books have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines. She has an MA in Children’s Literature from Simmons College and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University.

The Giveaway
To enter to win 1 finished copy of Poisoned Apples, just leave me a comment telling me what our favorite fairy tale is. Please be sure to include your email address, so I can contact you if you're the winner. Ends on 10/3/14 *Winner will be randomly drawn. Open to residents in the US/Canada only. 

Blog Tour
Sept. 21 - Andye @ ReadingTeen.net - Guest Post
Sept. 22 - Liza @ WhoRU Blog - Review
Sept. 23 - Jenny @ Supernatural Snark - Interview / Steph & Meg @ Cuddlebuggery - Joint Review
Sept. 24 - Hannah @ The Irish Banana Review - Review
Sept. 25 - Stephanie @ No BS Book Reviews - Interview
Sept. 26 - Katie @ MundieMoms - Review
Sept. 27 - Mary @ The Book Swarm - Guest Post & Review


Thursday, September 25, 2014

Fall 2014 Book Tours from @EpicReads & @FierceReads


Some of our favorite Epic Reads & Fierce Reads authors are hitting the road next month! Check out who's coming to a city near you!


Check out more about the Epic Reads book tour HERE.


Check out more about this Fall's Fierce Reads book tour HERE.

The 20 Most Anticipated YA Novels Publishing in October 2014 from @EpicReads


I love these monthly lists that Epic Reads posts. Check out their list of the 20 most anticipated YA novels publishing in October 2014: 





  1. The Young Elite by Marie Lu
  2. In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken
  3. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
  4. Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
  5. Talon by Julie Kagawa
  6. Redeemed by P.C. Cast
  7. Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick
  8. UnDivided by Neal Shusterman
  9. Trust Me, I'm Lying by Mary Elizabeth
  10. Clariel by Garth Nix
  11. Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis
  12. Beware the Wild by Natalie C. Parker
  13. Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot
  14. Stray by Elissa Sussman
  15. The Fall by Bethany Griffin
  16. Compulsion by Martina Boone
  17. Atlantia by Ally Condie
  18. Exquiste Captive by Heather Demetrios
  19. Loop by Karen Akins
  20. The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters
More anticipated books releasing in October:






Check out the complete list & get more information about each of the books listed above HERE
Which October releases are you looking forward to picking up?

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