Sunday 4 July 2010

In My Mailbox (40)

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

A fair few this week!

Gifted for BI&SP Month:


Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne SuppleeArtichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee - Signed, thank you!

It’s not so easy being Rosemary Goode and tipping the scales at almost two hundred pounds— especially when your mother runs the most successful (and gossipiest!) beauty shop in town. After a spectacularly disastrous Christmas break when the scale reaches an all-time high—Rosemary realizes that things need to change. (A certain basketball player, Kyle Cox, might have something to do with it.) So begins a powerful year of transformation and a journey toward self-discovery that surprisingly has little to do with the physical, and more to do with an honest look at how Rosemary feels about herself. From Amazon US




Star to the Right by Deborah HautzigSecond Star to the Right by Deborah Hautzig - backlist title from Walker

On the face of it, Leslie is a normal, healthy, well-adjusted fourteen-year-old girl. She goes to a good school, has a great friend in Cavett, and a mother who loves her to the moon and back. She should be happy, yet she’s not. She would be, she thinks, if only she were thinner. But “thinking thin” becomes a dangerous obsession and Leslie’s weight drops to five stone, threatening to destroy her and the whole fabric of her family life. Only by realizing that this condition is an illness – and one that has its roots in a deep problem – can Leslie hope to survive. From Amazon UK



For review:


Somebody Everybody Listens To by Suzanne SuppleeSomebody Everybody Listens To by Suzanne Supplee - Suzanne was also lovely enough to send me this to review, along with Artichoke's Heart.

Retta Lee Jones is blessed with a beautiful voice and has big dreams of leaving her tiny Tennessee hometown. With a beaten down car, a pocketful of hard-earned waitressing money, and stars in her eyes, Retta sets out to make it big in Nashville. But the road to success isn’t a smooth one in a town filled with dreamers, and Retta begins to have doubts: can she make her mark while staying true to herslf?
From the breakout author of Artichoke’s Heart, this bighearted novel is a must-read for anyone who has ever chased a dream (or hummed along with Taylor Swift).
From Amazon US


Bought:


Notes from the Teenage Underground by Simmone HowellNotes from the Teenage Underground by Simmone Howell - signed, from Chicklish event

Taking their anti-social edge one step further, seventeen year old Gem and her friends Mira and Lo have decided to go 'underground'. Their activities will be 'extreme', 'anti-establishment', 'avant-garde' and 'debauched'. While Gem makes an underground film and Mira sets about pursuing 'boys-without-barcodes' no one knows what it is that Lo - the most subversive of the three - has planned. But in the back of her mind, Gem's worried. She feels the balance of the trio's friendship is always weighted against her. And as the weeks draw closer to Christmas, appearances start to deceive and relationships flounder. For all the promise of the group, Underground seems a dark place to be. It will take great films, bad poetry and a pantheon of inspirational guides - from Andy Warhol to Germaine Greer - to help Gem work out the true meaning of friendship, where family fits in, and that the best parts of life aren't always underground. From Amazon UK



Tall Story by Candy Gourlay - signed, as Candy came to my Oxfam Bookshop yesterday for Children's Fun Day. Sorry, can't find a good enough image, and I don't have any photo editing software on this computer.

Be careful what you wish for ...Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long lost half brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London, where he belongs. Then Andi's biggest wish comes true and she's minutes away from becoming someone's little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he'll turn out to be tall and just as mad as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he's tall all right. But he's not just tall ...he's a GIANT. In a novel packed with humour and quirkiness, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures. From Amazon UK



Goy Crazy by Melissa SchorrGoy Crazy by Melissa Schorr

Rachel Lowenstein can't help it. She has a massive crush on a goy: Luke Christiansen, the gorgeous star of the basketball team at St. Joseph's Prep. But as the name implies, he's not exactly in Rachel's tribe. Clearly, her parents would never approve. And her Jewish grandmother, on more than one occasion, has issued a stern edict: "Don't go with the goyim!"

But still...

Everyone's got an opinion - from her annoying neighbor Howard to her new, social-climbing best friend - only making it harder for Rachel to make a choice. Should she follow her heart and turn her back on her faith? Or should she heed her family's advice and try to find a nice Jewish boy?

With an unforgettable cast of characters and razor-sharp wit, Melissa Schorr's debut novel is an engaging comedy about a girl going goy crazy.
From Amazon US



Candy Pop: Candy and the Broken Biscuits by Lauren LaverneCandy Pop: Candy and the Broken Biscuits by Lauren Laverne

Join fabulously funny (undiscovered) rock chick, Candy Caine on a rollercoaster ride to the world's biggest music festival. A sharp, comic teen series from uber-cool presenter Lauren Laverne. Misunderstood musical genius Candy Caine - age fifteen - knows she's destined for a bigger life beyond her small-town existence. And now Mum is marrying The World's Dullest ManTM it's time to put plans into action and achieve world domination with her band, The Broken Biscuits. Oh - and find her real dad, who will most definitely be cool and, of course, will verify her own super specialness. With a battered old guitar and some supernatural assistance, can Candy get her life on track and her new band on the road to greatness? Candy Caine is the hilarious new creation of debut author Lauren Laverne - a writer who's been there, done that and customised the T-shirt. From Amazon UK



Wicked Lovely by Melissa MarrWicked Lovely by Melissa Marr - An ARC!! Found in my Oxfam Shop, and I just had to buy it, even though I already have Wicked Lovely. I thought it was a pretty rare find, so I got it! :)

The clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in this cool, urban 21st century faery tale. Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries. Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world, and would blind her if they knew of her Sight. Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries. Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer. Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention. But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King and has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost! Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working any more, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything. From Amazon UK



Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter ThompsonFear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter Thompson - Probably won't be reviewed, as not fantasy or YA. Bought on the recommendation from a mate, thought I'd give it a go.

Stylish reissue of a classic novel first published in the 1970s: Hunter S Thompson's ether-fuelled, savage journey to the heart of the American Dream. 'We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold...And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas...' As knights of old buckled on armour of supernatural power, so Hunter S Thompson enters Las Vegas armed with a veritable arsenal of 'heinous chemicals'. His perilous, drug-enhanced confrontations with casino operators, bartenders, police officers and assorted representatives of the Silent Majority have a hallucinatory humour and nightmare terror never before seen on the printed page. From Amazon UK


And I was sent ten Mockingjay badges from Scholastic!
Not bad, eh?

22 comments:

  1. Wow - great week! I love the sound of both of Suzanne Supplee's books - I hadn't heard of them before. Hope you enjoy:)

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  2. Thank you! I can't wait to read them, they sound great! :)

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  3. Love the cover of Artichoke's Heart. Really hope that you enjoy it! Looking forward to your review.

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  4. Thank you! I'm looking foward to reading it, it's going to be good!

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  5. I would die for a Mockingjay badge! Are you going to be doing a giveaway for them?
    Second Star to the Right looks pretty haunting. you got some great-looking books though. Happy reading!

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  6. Thank you! Maybe, maybe not. My money is a little tight right now, and I already have a few contests lined up. If I do, it won't be for a wee while, I'm afraid.

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  7. So many great books there, hope you enjoy them all! :)

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  8. Thank you! :) I'm looking forward to reading them! :)

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  9. I love Wicked Lovely and Somebody Everybody Listens To looks brilliant. Hope you enjoy them!

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  10. Thank you! I'm really looking forward to Somebody Everybody Listens To! :)

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  11. I just finished Second Star to the Right yesterday, so I'll be interested to see what you think! Mine had a different cover - I like yours better.

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  12. Cool week! Somebody Everybody Listens To sounds great, and I hope the Chicklish event was fun! :)

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  13. Second Star to the Right sounds intriguing.

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  14. Oh, so many great books! You know how I feel about Second Star to the Right, which I first read when I was about 10 years old...

    I loved Notes from a Teenage Underground and Tall Story, too - both wonderful books (though very different from each other, of course!)

    Happy reading!

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  15. Molly - I'm looking forward to reading it! My review won't be posted until the end of the month though.

    Jenny - The Chicklish event was awesome! I loved it! Was great listening to the authors talk and getting to meet them all. I'm looking forward to reading Someone Everybody Listens To, it sounds awesome!

    Geekyreads - It does! I'm looking forward to reading it!

    Luisa - Thank you! I do! Which is why I'm really looking forward to reading Second Star! It's going to be awesome!
    I'm looking forward to reading both Tall Story and Notes! They sound really good! :)

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  16. you got some great books i can not wait to read your reviews

    The Blog

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  17. Great books! Looking forward to your reviews, especially Goy Crazy - sounds interesting.
    These are the ones we got this week: Vlog
    Take care!
    Vanessa
    Book ♥ Soulmates

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  18. Thank you! I'm looking forward to reading them! Goy Crazy sounds quite good, I thought it would be interesting! :)

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  19. Thank you! I'm looking forward to reading it! :)

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  20. Awesome finds! That WICKED LOVELY ARC, just WOW! Great luck there! Happy reading!

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  21. That's what I thought! Bit lucky! :) Thanks, I'm looking forward to reading them! :)

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