BOOK TRAILER TUESDAY Team Human by Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan @harperteen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2012

Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn't mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It's up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity!
On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.
Acclaimed authors Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan team up to create a witty and poignant story of cool vampires, warm friendships, and the changes that test the bonds of love.

About the Authors
JUSTINE LARBALESTIER is the author of Liar, How to Ditch Your Fairy, and the Magic or Madness trilogy, as well as the coeditor with Holly Black of Zombies vs. Unicorns. She and her husband, author Scott Westerfeld, divide their time between Sydney, Australia, and New York City.

SARAH REES BRENNAN was born and raised in Ireland by the sea. After college she lived briefly in New York and somehow survived in spite of her habit of hitching lifts in fire engines. Since then she has returned to Ireland to write and use as a home base for future adventures. Her Irish is still woeful, but she feels the books under the desk were worth it.

Details Reading level: Ages 13 and up Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: HarperTeen (July 3, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0062089641 ISBN-13: 978-0062089649

BOOK REVIEW: Team Human by Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan @harperteen

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2012

Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn't mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It's up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity!
On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.
Acclaimed authors Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan team up to create a witty and poignant story of cool vampires, warm friendships, and the changes that test the bonds of love.

About the Authors
JUSTINE LARBALESTIER is the author of Liar, How to Ditch Your Fairy, and the Magic or Madness trilogy, as well as the coeditor with Holly Black of Zombies vs. Unicorns. She and her husband, author Scott Westerfeld, divide their time between Sydney, Australia, and New York City.

SARAH REES BRENNAN was born and raised in Ireland by the sea. After college she lived briefly in New York and somehow survived in spite of her habit of hitching lifts in fire engines. Since then she has returned to Ireland to write and use as a home base for future adventures. Her Irish is still woeful, but she feels the books under the desk were worth it.

Details Reading level: Ages 13 and up Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: HarperTeen (July 3, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0062089641 ISBN-13: 978-0062089649

SOURCE: AROUND THE WORLD ARC TOURS

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT




Welcome to New Whitby, home of the vampires who settled in America much like the Pilgrims and have created their own community along side normal humans.  Here, they don't sparkle, sunlight can kill them and rules are in place regarding the turning of humans into vampires since a mistake result in a zombie!  Mel is a studious, normal teen who begins to note that things aren't all right in her home town.  Her BFF, Cathy, has decided she want to be undead, her other friend, Anna, has been suddenly sent spiraling by her father's disappearance and worst of all, there is now a vampire in her her high school.  The worst of these of course is the vampire, who Mel, despises in a sort of contempt usually reserved for litterers.  


Of course, you have your unlikely love matches, prejudices, and other high school pettiness but with vampires and zombies creating the issues as well as jocks / cheerleaders versus the nerds and geeks.  It points fingers at all the social injustices of bigotry but in a fun and sarcastic way.  Since the vampire, Francis, has started school, Cathy is drawn towards him and being a bit melancholy her whole life, falls in love with him and want to be turned.  Anna, the principal's daughter, has found that her psychologist father has just run away with one of his vampire patients.  All this leaves Mel searching for the truth of what actually happened to Anna's father and with the help of Kit (adopted by Francis as a baby) learns what love is and that her prejudice towards vampires is unfounded.  Oh and Mel tries to meddle in Cathy's life to keep her from turning Vamp, thereby losing her BFF, but not entirely.  


 Ahhh, how wonderful!  Finally, a book that pokes fun at all of the vampire teen angsty stories trolling around these days and written by two of my favorite authors. The story reminded me a bit of a snarky Nancy Drew and how there are all sorts of puzzles that Mel must solve in order to find out what vampires are really up to.  I adored the fact that Mel grows through each page and would love to read another installment of her adventures.  This one did end with a slight opening that might allow that.  If you enjoyed Meg Cabot's Insatiable, you are going to love this one! 

REVIEW: How To Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbaiestier

Description

Welcome to New Avalon, where everyone has a personal fairy. Though invisible to the naked eye, a personal fairy, like a specialized good luck charm, is vital to success. And in the case of the students at New Avalon Sports High, it might just determine whether you make the team, pass a class, or find that perfect outfit. But for 14-year-old Charlie, having a Parking Fairy is worse than having nothing at all—especially when the school bully carts her around like his own personal parking pass. Enter: The Plan. At first, teaming up with arch-enemy Fiorenza (who has an All-The-Boys-Like-You Fairy) seems like a great idea. But when Charlie unexpectedly gets her heart’s desire, it isn’t at all what she thought it would be like, and she’ll have resort to extraordinary measures to ditch her fairy. The question is: will Charlie herself survive the fairy ditching experiment? From the author of the acclaimed Magic or Madness trilogy, this is a delightful story of fairies, friendships, and figuring out how to make your own magic.  

About the Author

JUSTINE LARBALESTIER is the author of the award-winning Magic or Madness trilogy. She wishes she had a clothes shopping fairy instead of the procrastination fairy she battles with almost every day. She is married to author Scott Westerfeld and divides her time between Sydney and New York City.
www.justinelarbalestier.com

Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books; 1ST edition (September 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599903016
• ISBN-13: 978-1599903019

SOURCE:  BORROWED

 MY THOUGHTS
LOVED IT


I really enjoyed this young adult novel and sends a good message for teens that you need to be true to yourself. Also, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Charlie is very likable and even the villain (Fiorenze) isn't hardly a villain in the true sense of this world. Of course, they both find out that friendship is the best magic of all.

REVIEW: Zombies Vs Unicorns by Holly Black, Justine Larbalestier

Product Description

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

About the Author

Holly Black is the bestselling author of the Spiderwick series. Her first book, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, was an ALA Top Ten Book for Teens, received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, and has been translated into twelve languages. Her second teen novel, Valiant, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Locus Magazine Recommended Read, and a recipient of the Andre Norton Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Her third teen novel, Ironside, the sequel to Tithe, was a New York Times bestseller. Her new novel, White Cat, is coming Summer 2010. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts. Visit Holly at www.blackholly.com.

Justine Larbalestier is the author of several teen novels, including LIAR, the MAGIC OR MADNESS trilogy, and HOW TO DITCH YOUR FAIRY.  She was born and raised in Sydney, Australia, and she and her husband, Scott Westerfeld, now split their time between Sydney and New York City. Visit Justine at justinelarbalestier.com.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (September 21, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416989536
• ISBN-13: 978-1416989530

SOURCE:  AROUND THE WORLD ARC TOURS

ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

I dreamed about this book.  Seriously, I imagined these stories told by these authors since a rainbow bright unicorn landed on my desk in the third grade.  So, I have tipped my hat and you now know which side of the fight I live for.  But wait!  The zombie people made really great arguments for the zombies. What this book really comes down to is:  Holly versus Justine.  I love them both separately but equally and for different reasons.  There are great back and forths between each story where Holly is pro Unicorn and Justine is pro Zombie.  I laughed until I almost choked, but then the zombies would win.

This is also the first anthology where I read each and every story.  In most books like this there are always a few that I just don't like, but these are all spectacular.  They are also stories you could read over and over again.  My favorite has to be Meg Cabot's story about a killer unicorn (literally can kill) that farts rainbows and jasmine.  Now who wouldn't want one of those around?  I also enjoyed Scott Westerfield's Zombie story for some weird reason, it just struck a chord with me in a post apocalyptic way.  (Trust me, I am NOT sucking up to Scott since his wife his co editor--the story still has me thinking about it.)

These are some pretty spooky stories that would be great around a campfire or under the covers with a flashlight.  They are all pretty safe for kids over 11 or so.  Although I think the kids will have a hard time prying it away from their parents.

Oh, I just figured out that I am definitely Team Unicorn since I discovered that a unicorn has been in the back seat of my car for the last 10 years.  Yes, 10 years.  

I received this book at no charge from Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest review.