Saturday 26 June 2010

In My Mailbox (39)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren. Check out her awesome YA reviews.

I received a fair few this weeek, most for BI&SP Month. I'm pretty happy!

For Review:

Trash by Andy Mulligan - no image currently available.

Raphael is a dumpsite boy. He spends his days wading through mountains of steaming trash, sifting it, sorting it, breathing it, sleeping next to it. Then one unlucky-lucky day, Raphael's world turns upside down. A small leather bag falls into his hands. It's a bag of clues. It's a bag of hope. It's a bag that will change everything. Soon Raphael and his friends Gardo and Rat are running for their lives. Wanted by the police, it takes all their quick-thinking, fast-talking to stay ahead. As the net tightens, they uncover a dead man's mission to put right a terrible wrong. It's three street-boys against the world... From Amazon UK


The Dark Devine by Bree DespainThe Dark Devine by Bree Despain

A prodigal son. A dangerous love. Haunted yearning...Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared and her brother Jude came home covered in his own blood. Now that Daniel's returned, Grace must choose between her growing attraction to him and her loyalty to her brother. As Grace gets closer to Daniel, she learns the truth about that mysterious night and how to save the ones she loves, but it might cost her the one thing she cherishes most: her soul. From Amazon UK


Zelah Green by Vanessa CurtisZelah Green by Vanessa Curtis

My Name is Zelah Green and I'm a cleanaholic. I spend most of my life running away from germs, dirt, and people. And I'm just about doing ok and then my stepmother packs me off to some kind of hospital to live with a load of strangers. It's stuck in the middle of nowhere. Great. There's Alice who's anorexic. Caro who cuts herself. Silent Sol who has the cutest smile. And then there's me. From Amazon UK


Zelah Green: One More Little Problem by Vanessa CurtisZelah Green: One More Little Problem by Vanessa Curtis

Warm, winning and real, Zelah Green is back! My name is Zelah Green and I'm a Cleanaholic. It's the summer hols and I'm on major Flirt Alert. I've joined mysortaspace.com and ever since I've been getting emails from loads of boys. Boys are Dirt Alert AND Germ Alert. Don't even talk to me about kissing...The rest of my life's a bit rubbish too. That's because: my dad is moping about the house missing his girlfriend; my ex-best friend still isn't speaking to me; my grumpy weirdo Satanist friend has turned up to stay; my cleaning rituals are are taking up way too much time; and, most importantly, the guy I really like, Sol, has disappeared off the face of the earth... From Amazon UK


Claire de Lune by Christine JohnsonClaire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Hanover Falls hasn't had a werewolf problem in over one hundred years. But when people suddenly start dying in Claire Benoit's town, panic spreads fast. At Claire's sixteenth birthday party, the gruesome killings are all anyone can talk about. Claire, however, is more interested in the fact that the gorgeous Matthew Engle keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf. As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever... From Amazon UK

Shade by Jeri Smith-ReadyShade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Like everyone born after The Shift, sixteen year-old Aura can see and talk to ghosts. Persistent, and often angry, some even on the verge of becoming Shades, these violet-hued spirits are constantly talking to her, following her, and demanding her help to make amends for their untimely deaths. Aura has always found this mysterious ability annoying and wished she could find a way to reverse it. She'd much rather the ghosts left her alone so she could spend time with her boyfriend, Logan. But when Logan dies suddenly and unexpectedly, Aura is forced to reconsider her connections with the dead...and, the living. Surely a violet-hued spirit Logan is better than no Logan at all, isn't it? And things are complicated further when new exchange student, Zachary, is paired with Aura for a class project researching the 'Shift phenomenon'. Zach is so understanding - and so very alive. His support and friendship means more to Aura than she cares to admit. And, as Aura's relationships with both the dead, and the living, become more complicated, so do her feelings for both Logon and Zach. Each holds a piece of her heart...and clues to the secret of the shift. From Amazon UK
Bought:

The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn MacklerThe Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler - For BI&SP Month.

Virginia Shreves has a "larger-than-average" body and a medium-sized inferiority complex. Her mum is an exercise fiend, her dad whistles at skinny women, and her siblings are gorgeous, clever, and impossible to live up to. They're all people Virginia thinks the world of. In fact, Virginia thinks the world of everyone but herself. Then, a phone call changes everything... From Amazon UK


Taken By Storm by Angela MorrisonTaken By Storm by Angela Morrison

Sometimes only love can save you.

Leesie Hunt's Unbreakable Rules: No Kissing (at least not of the French variety)...No Sex (hah! Not even close to happening anyway)...No Dating Outside the Mormon Faith (what would be the point?)...ABSOLUTELY No Falling in Love with the Wrong Boy (would ruin everything).

Leesie thinks she has her whole life planned out: get into the school of her dreams, write her poems, meet the perfect guy, and settle down. Then she meets Michael--a boy whose parents were killed in a diving accident during a terrible storm.

Michael is drowning in tragedy. And all Leesie wants is to save him. With each day, her heart hurts more. Could it be, perfect Leesie is falling from grace? Or is she just falling in love?

But if Leesie gives in to temptation, who is going to save her?
From Amazon US


Let's Get Lost by Sarra ManningLet's Get Lost by Sarra Manning - Bought to replace my charity shop copy (I didn't realise something was spilt on it when I bought it) for the Chicklish event

Some girls are born to be bad...Isabel is one of them. Her friends are terrified of her, her teachers can't get through to her...her family doesn't understand her. And that's just the way she likes it. See, when no one can get near you, no one will know what keeps you awake at night, what you're afraid of, what has broken your heart...But then Isabel meets the enigmatic Smith, who can see right through her act. Bit by bit he chips away at her armour, and though she fights hard to keep hold of her cool, and her secrets, Isabel's falling for him, and coming apart at the seams when she does...A poignant, sometimes dark, and utterly heart-breaking novel, told with all the author's trademark wit and sharp observation... From Amazon UK


Gifted for BI&SP Month:

Purge by Sarah Darer LittmanPurge by Sarah Darer Littman - Signed, thank you! Similar cover, but not the same.

Janie Ryman hates throwing up. So why does she binge eat and then stick her fingers down her throat several times a day? That’s what the doctors and psychiatrists at Golden Slopes hope to help her discover. But first Janie must survive everyday conflicts between the Barfers and the Starvers, attempts by the head psychiatrist to fish painful memories out of her emotional waters, and shifting friendships and alliances among the kids in the ward. From Amazon US



Fairest of Them All by Jan BlazaninFairest of Them All by Jan Blazanin - Signed and came with a bookmark, thank you!

Oribella Bettencourt has the world at her feet. She's won the Crowning Glory pageant title, due in part to her lustrous blonde mane of hair, and has just snagged a role in an upcoming movie opposite a hot young star. Sure, she doesn't really have any friends at school, but that's okay - she has her mother, a frustrated beauty queen herself, and she has her brilliant pageant and acting career. She doesn't need anything, or anyone, else. At least, that's what she tells herself. Then clumps of her beautiful blonde hair start falling out every time she brushes. Or showers. Or does just about anything. The horrifying word comes down: she has alopecia, a rare condition resulting in hair loss. She loses her movie role. The Crowning Glory title is taken away from her. And her mother can barely bear to look at her. Now, outcast and alone, all Oribella has is herself - and that simply isn't enough. When, to her surprise, she begins to develop an unlikely friendship with a tomboy classmate, she realizes that for the first time in her life she may just figure out who Oribella Bettencourt really is without her crown - and what truly matters in the end. From Amazon UK



Fat Kid Rules the World by K. L. GoingFat Kid Rules the World by K. L. Going - Backlist copy from Random House.

When Troy (a hugely overweight social leper) befriends Curt (a skinny homeless punk guitar genius), they both get much more than they bargained for. Troy's macho brother and ex-Marine father think Curt is just a junkie loser - but as Curt stopped Troy's suicide attempt, Troy can't just forget him. Curt recruits Troy as the new drummer in his punk band - but Troy has never played the drums in his life. When Curt's around, though, almost anything seems possible. An outstanding, heart-warming, funny, edgy, debut novel. From Amazon UK


My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters by Sydney SalterMy Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters by Sydney Salter - Signed and came with a bookmark, thank you!

It’s the end of junior year, and summer is about to begin. The Summer of Passion, to be exact, when Jory Michaels plans to explore all the possibilities of the future--and, with any luck, score a boyfriend in the process. But Jory has a problem. A big problem. A curvy, honking, bumpy, problem in the form of her Super Schnozz, the one thing standing between Jory and happiness. And now, with the Summer of Passion stretched before her like an open road, she's determined for Super Schnozz to disappear. Jory takes a job delivering wedding cakes to save up for a nose job at the end of the summer; she even keeps a book filled with magazine cutouts of perfect noses to show the doctor. But nothing is ever easy for accident-prone Jory--and before she knows it, her Summer of Passion falls apart faster than the delivery van she crashes. In her hilarious and heartbreaking debut novel, Sydney Salter delivers a story about broadening your horizons, accepting yourself, and finding love right under your nose. From Amazon US


Huge by Sasha PaleyHuge by Sasha Paley - backlist copy from Simon & Schuster UK.

Sixteen-year-olds Wilhelmina and April meet at Wellness Springs, a posh fat camp in California. Wil is not happy to be there - her parents own a chain of gyms and see their overweight daughter as a PR disaster - so she plans not to lose a pound all summer in order to get back at them. April, on the other hand, can't believe her luck. She's been saving for a whole year to come to Wellness Springs after she saw it featured in Teen Vogue. She can't wait to work off her excess weight, and then bring on the guys! Assigned to be room mates and work-out partners, the girls hate each other from the start. And things get worse when they both go after the same guy. Can Wil make it through the summer, and finally be accepted by her parents? Will April ever find someone willing to be a real boyfriend, even though she may never be skinny? A funny and poignant novel about friendship and self-acceptance. From Amazon UK


How did you do?

20 comments:

  1. Great week, Jo! I loved Shade and Fairest of Them All - hope you do too!

    Dark Divine was also one of my favourite books of 2009. I couldn't put it down! The UK cover image is available on Amazon, if you want to post it:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Divine-Bree-Despain/dp/1405254580/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277551973&sr=1-1


    Happy reading!

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  2. Wow Jo, such great book for the BI&SP Month!
    Soooo excited!!!
    My copy of Sobibor arrived today, can't wait to read it!!

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  3. Wow. A good week. Happy reading. :)

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  4. Jenny - Thank you! I finished Fairest of Them All yesterday, and loved it! I'm so looking forward to reading Shade, though I have two copies now, haha! Thanks for the link to the TDD jacket :) I'm looking forward to read that too!

    Caroline - I know, right? I am so excited to read them all! Oooh, that's great! I look forward to your review of it! :)

    Ryan - Thank you! I'm sure I'll enjoy them all! :)

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  5. I got Shade and Claire de Lune too. I'm very excited for both of them. Let's Get Lost is amazing.

    And I'll see you at the Chicklish event on Monday! :)

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  6. I'm looking forward to reading them both too! And I loved Let's Get Lost! Just brilliant!
    Yes you will! I am so looking forward to it! :D

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  7. The cover of Huge looks delicious! I want to eat it. I also love the look of Trash (not to eat) and Claire de Lune (love those werewolves). Actually I *think* I read a 'how to write YA' book by K.L. Going last year which was pretty interesting, so I'll be interested to hear what Fat Kid Rules the World is like.

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  8. I just picked up "The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things" from the library today. I read "Fat Kid Rules The World" a couple of weeks ago, I quite liked it. I'm excited to see what everything thinks of the books they read for BI&SP month.

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  9. Zelah Green looks really great, I'm adding it to my wish list!

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  10. Wow - awesome week! I loved The Dark Divine and really enjoyed the first Zelda Green. I can't wait to read Shade and Claire de Lune (they look fab!) and Purge looks so good! Hope you enjoy:)

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  11. Wow some amazing titles all of which I would love to read. Enjoy them.

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  12. Lauren - The Huge cover does look great - though not delicious, I don't eat cake, haha! Trash and Claire de Lune both look brilliant, I'm really looking forward to reading them! I have two books by K.L. Going to read for BI&SP Month, so it's going to be great to read them! :)

    Julianne - I'm reading The Earth at the moment. Parts of it are really making me angry. I have to say I'm really getting quite annoyed with the pressure these characters parents put their kids under, it's awful! I'm really looking to Fat Kid, I think it sounds great! :) I'm looking forward to everyone's thoughts too! It's going to be great!

    Holly - Awesome, I hope you enjoy it! It does look really interesting, I'm looking forward to it!

    Sammee - Thank you! I'm looking forward to The Dark Devine, and Zehla Green, they sound awesome. I have been excited about Shade and Claire de Lune for ages, gotta love the paranormal! Purge is going to be awesome, I just know it! Looking forward to it!

    Jan - Thank you! I'm going to enjoy reading them all! :)

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  13. Good selection this week: I enjoyed Purge. Happy Reading! Here is my IMMB if you want a peek: Blkosiner Book Blog

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  14. Thank you! I'm really looking forward to reading Purge :)

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  15. Wow I didn't know that the ABC Family show Huge was based on a book. Now I really want to read the book before watching the show.
    Great books, happy reading!

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  16. K - Thank you! I didn't know there was a show, but then again I am in the UK. How cool! I hope you enjoy Huge when/if you read it! :)

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  17. Hi Jo - your books look great this week! I think I added 6 to my "I need to read these" list. Purge is at the top of my list, and I am intrigued by the Zelah Green books (they look really cute).

    Like "k" I didn't know that the upcoming ABCFamily show "Huge" was based on a book. It premieres tonight, and I was planning on watching it, but now I'll need to grab the book to compare! (ABC Family also has premiered a "Pretty Little Liars" show this summer - interesting that they have two book related shows in one season)

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  18. Thank you! I'm looking forward to reading them all! Purge sounds so good, I'm excited to get to it, and the Zelah Green novels sound intriguing.

    Being from the UK, I don't know about any of these programmes. But that's cool! Perhaps I could mention the Huge tv show in my review!

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