Waiting on Wednesday: Touched by Cyn Balog @cynbalog @randomhousekids

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Book Description

Publication Date: August 14, 2012

Nick Cross always listens to the voice in his head. Because if he doesn't? Things can go really, really wrong. Like the day he decided to go off script and saved a girl from being run over . . . and let another one drown. Trying to change the future doesn't work.

But this summer at the Jersey Shore, something's about to happen that Nick never could have predicted. He meets a girl named Taryn and finds out about the Book of Touch. Now the path that he thought he was on begins to shift . . . and there's no way to stop things from happening. Or is there?

In a life where there are no surprises, nothing has prepared Nick for what he's about to discover--or the choice he will be forced to make. . . .

I adore Cyn Balog's work and I would love to read this one right now!

BOOK TRAILER TUESDAY Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne @mackidsbooks

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2012

Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong. 

In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

About the Author

Emmy Laybourne is a screenwriter, lyricist, and actress. She has acted in movies, television, and improv groups including Chicago City Limits. She lives in Chestnut Ridge, New York, with her husband and their two children. Monument 14 marks her fiction debut. Visit her online at www.emmylaybourne.com.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (June 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312569033
• ISBN-13: 978-0312569037

BOOK REVIEW Transcendence by CJ Omomlolu @bwkids

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2012

When a visit to the Tower of London triggers an overwhelmingly real vision of a beheading that occurred centuries before, Cole Ryan fears she is losing her mind. A mysterious boy, Griffon Hall, comes to her aid, but the intensity of their immediate connection seems to open the floodgate of memories even wider.

As their feelings grow, Griffon reveals their common bond as members of the Akhet—an elite group of people who can remember past lives and use their collected wisdom for the good of the world. But not all Akhet are altruistic, and a rogue is after Cole to avenge their shared past. Now in extreme danger, Cole must piece together clues from many lifetimes. What she finds could ruin her chance at a future with Griffon, but risking his love may be the only way to save them both.
Full of danger, romance, and intrigue, Transcendence breathes new life into a perpetually fascinating question: What would you do with another life to live?


About the Author

C.J. OMOLOLU majored in English at U.C. Santa Barbara because she liked to read, not because she liked to write. She later discovered that the voices in her head often have interesting things to say. Her most recent book is Dirty Little Secrets, about hoarding and family secrets. www.cjomololu.com

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER  - NETGALLEY

MY THOUGHTS

REALLY LIKED IT


Cello player and high school student, Cole (Nicole), keeps have breaks with reality, triggered by her location, where is transported back in time and reenacts history.  At first, she feels like she is just a witness, but then the flashbacks become more personal and she feels like these things have really happened to her instead of just seeing them through her eyes. She meets Griffon, who rescues her at the Tower of London and he seems to be stalking her and turns up unexpectedly in her hometown of San Francisco.  He understands what she is going through and explains that she might be Akhet, those who remember their past lives for the good of the community.  Although, like any good romance, there has to be an evil thing to try and break the new couple apart.  


Griffon seems almost too good to be true but that could just be that since he remembers his past lives, he has learned from them, not like most typical teens his age.  I really like Cole and her interactions with her sister which added a certain amount of reality to this reincarnation tale.   For some reason, I was reminded a bit of The Time Traveler's Wife with the flashbacks in time and the romance although this has more layers with a secret organization of the Akhet.  This is a decent paranormal romance suitable for most teens.

Details Reading level: Ages 12 and up Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Walker Childrens; 1 edition (June 5, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0802723705 ISBN-13: 978-0802723703

BOOKHOUNDS YA Stacking the Shelves June 17, 2012 IMM

Stacking the Shelves is a new weekly post by TYNGA'S REVIEWS showcasing your new books!

Here is what I got in the last week:

PURCHASED

 FOR REVIEW


 

BOOK WINNERS! @christinafiorio

AND THE WINNER IS:


CHRISTINA KIT

An email has been sent to the lucky person named above
The winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Thanks to all who entered. 
PLEASE CHECK YOUR SPAM FOR THE EMAIL FROM BOOKHOUNDS @ HOTMAIL REQUESTING YOUR MAILING ADDRESS!

DANIELA'S BOOK REVIEW Stunning by Sara Shepard @Danielac34 @harperteen

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2012 | Series: Pretty Little Liars (Book 11)

In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four stunningly beautiful girls are haunted by a very ugly past. Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Emily want nothing more than to forget Alison DiLaurentis, their former best friend who tried to ruin their lives. But someone refuses to let her memory die. A is still out there, lurking in the shadows and digging up the pretty little liars' newest secrets.
Emily's reconnecting with an old flame, one baby step at a time. But is she headed toward true love or another bundle of heartache? Spencer's learning about the highs and lows of campus life on a trip to Princeton. Aria's seeing a whole new side to Noel's dad—and it could drive a wedge between her and Noel. And, for better or worse, Hanna's getting in touch with her inner A.
Secret by secret, lie by lie, the girls get tangled in A's dangerous web. A knows about everything, from their tiniest transgressions to the awful incident in Jamaica. Soon A will have enough ammunition to pull the trigger and end the pretty little liars, once and for all. . . .


About the Author

Sara Shepard is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series Pretty Little Liars. She graduated from New York University and has an MFA from Brooklyn College. Sara recently moved back to Philadelphia’s Main Line from Arizona, where the Lying Game series is set.

 Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (June 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062081896
• ISBN-13: 978-0062081896
• 
  

SOURCE:  PUBLISHER

THIS IS A GUEST REVIEW FROM DANIELA AT YA BOOK SEASON

My Thoughts:

I can't believe this series is almost done. I don't know if it could have gone any longer, it'd be a relief for the friends to finally live a life without an evil A on their backs, but still... just one more book and the series is done.

Except now the four friends have a huge problem at hand. A third evil A is out blackmailing them with all their dirty little secrets, and this time a fifth pretty little liar has come into the picture.

Now that Spencer is visiting Princeton and dreams about joining an Eating club; when she meets a potential friend who could get her in, everything falls apart with the help of a little A.

And Hanna is having troubling not turning into a stalker herself. She's determined to win someone back no matter what.

Aria is having her own boy trouble. She can't decide whether to ruin her boyfriend's image of his parent's relationship or just lie about it even though they both agreed to be honest with each other.

Emily is down in the deeps as well. She has her own fifth pretty little liar with her, and A is determined to rip her life apart.

Stunning was an amazing roller-coaster ride that twisted all the way through. It was full of nonstop suspense that had me glued to my seat in excitement. Sara Shepard's writing flowed so smoothly that before you even knew it you where at the end. And by then I was left with an overwhelming urge to get on the ride again.

The characters are lifelike and unique. They become friends once you join them on their adventures throughout the series. They don't even feel like characters in a book anymore, it's almost as if you've been friends with them your whole life. But I was disappointed in Hanna's premature conduct. Running after a guy who rejected you and has a girlfriend is definitely not cool. She made herself an easy target.

The plot was exceptionally thrilling. Even knowing the truth would keep you latched onto this book without hesitation. Shepard's has a way of writing that grabs your attention entirely. She makes her books come to life with the amount of suspense she adds in them. She doesn't describe surroundings as much, though, and it's a little hard to picture the places, but the thrilling rush of excitement the books give you is enough.

Overall, I really really enjoyed this book. It's a fast-paced read that gets your heart pumping and your mind going. Who's the real A? Who killed who? What's going to happen to the girls?

By the end of Stunning I was left with this similar reaction:

And suddenly the book just stops.

I was left with a cliffhanger.

MUST READ!

GIVEAWAY - REVIEW School's Out Forever (Maximum Ride #2) by James Patterson @lbkids

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007 | Grade Level: 5 and up

Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride and the other members of the "Flock"--Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel--are just like ordinary kids--only they have wings and can fly. It seems like a dream come true--except that they're being hunted by half-human, half-wolf "Erasers" who can fly, too.

In Book 2 of the series, the Flock members are taken under the wing of an FBI agent and try to live "normal" lives by going to school, making friends--and continuing their relentless search for their parents. But the Erasers return, forcing the Flock to abandon their search and make their escape once again. The voice inside Max's head keeps telling her that it's up to her to save the world, but this is especially challenging to do when she is faced with her ultimate match: a newer and better version of herself, Maximum Ride II. Max's heart-stopping quest to investigate the mind-blowing mystery of her ultimate destiny continues in the scariest, strangest, and funniest James Patterson novel yet.

About the Author

James Patterson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many books, including Beach Road, Honeymoon, Suzanne's Diary For Nicholas, and the Alex Cross series of thrillers. More than 100 million of his books are in print around the world, making him one of the top-selling writers of all time.

SOURCE: PUBLIC LIBRARY

MY THOUGHTS

LOVED IT

So Max and the other kids are on the run and when a mishap occurs, they are forced to take Fang to the hospital and it become evident that he is not human, especially when bird DNA shows up in tests.  They are also a bit closer as to finding out why the group of kids have been genetically modified.  The FBI shows up at the hospital and the race is on to find their birth parents and to get some answers.  At least Anne, the FBI agent is sympathetic and tries to help them, or at least the kids think.  The group is then on the run again and I am not sure if they have been distracted or lied to.  This is a super exciting installment and now I am really looking forward to the next in the series.  

Be sure to stop by every Friday until the release of NEVERMORE and the conclusion of the series.  I will be featuring the graphic novels as well with a few more giveaways sprinkled in!

Details Paperback: 448 pages Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; First Edition, First Printing edition (April 1, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 0316067962 ISBN-13: 978-0316067966

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?

Contest is open to anyone with a US mailing address 
(NO PO Boxes)
One Winner per mailing address

Giveaway ends on 6.29.12 and the winner will be chosen by Random.org 

Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or a new winner will be chosen

This giveaway is sponsored by LITTLE BROWN BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS and there is ONE book available.

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