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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Young Adult Giveaway Hop


Welcome to the Young Adult Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Down The Rabbit Hole. This hop will last for five days and there are 200+ blogs participating. So, get to it and have fun hopping!

Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms, #1)   Fire (The Seven Kingdoms, #2)

Goodies up for grabs:
Fire (The Seven Kingdoms, #2) by Kristin Cashore

The Deets:
1. One entry per person.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. Giveaway is International.
4. Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on January 31st

Enter Giveaway -->  HERE! 

There are tons of other blogs participating in this hop. Don't forget to stop by their sites as well.
Have fun and Arrivederci.

Review - Fracture by Megan Miranda w/ Giveaway

Fracture
Title & Author:
Fracture by Megan Miranda
Publisher:
Walker & Company
Publication Date:
January 17, 2012
Pages:
264
Source:
Publisher

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine 

—despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it? 

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening? 


*******

My Thoughts


"What would you do if you only had one day left to live?" 


There is no doubt that Fracture is one of the most unique stories that I've read in a long time. Author Megan Miranda takes best friends, Decker and Delaney and builds something mysterious and magical. 
Fracture is a story about friendships, family and being there for one another. Learning who to trust and not to trust - even when it's yourself. 


When a tragic accident leaves Delaney in a coma for six days she has to rebuild her entire world upon waking up. She is the strange phenomenon, even the doctors can't figure it out.  Tension has built between her and Decker so intense that they barely speak. Delaney is keeping to herself. Everyone is having a difficult time dealing with her accident and recovery. If she will recover. And she's keeping secrets. 
From everyone.


Can there really be a medical explanation for all of the strange things that are happening? If so, can Delaney ever get her parents to believe it and if she can will Delaney be able to believe it herself ?
Will Decker and Delaney ever be the same? Fracture is emotional and suspenseful with every page leaving you gasping at something new. Megan Miranda has written a fantastic novel with a realistic setting.  


-From the Authors Note:
When I started researching for Fracture, I came across a 1963 article in Time magazine ("Therapy: Life After Drowning," May 31, 1963) about a boy who drown in a frozen river. There's no evidence to know exactly how long he was there, but it's safe to say it was quite a long time. After extraordinary resuscitation measures, he seemed to recover, but then relapsed days later. It appeared that his brain had been damaged beyond repair. And then six weeks later, he began to recover. Almost completely.
If people typically recovered from something like this, it would not be news. And even though I am a person who claims to find comfort in the predictable, the expected, these are the stories I'm drawn to: The almost miracles. The flukes. And I don't think I'm alone in that. 


Fracture is a powerful and engaging thriller. Megan Miranda has written a passionate debut. In my opinion it is a must read.

Check out the Fracture FB page for extra content --> HERE!

The book trailer:

Bloomsbury/Walker has been super-awesome to offer a finished copy for a giveaway.

The Deets:
1. One entry per person.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. Giveaway is US Only - Publisher is shipping.
4. Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on February 5th

Enter Giveaway -->  HERE!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday - In Too Deep by Amanda Grace aka Mandy Hubbard


Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we seriously can’t wait for.

In Too Deep

I never meant for anyone to get hurt. All I wanted to do that night was make a play for Carter Davis. His heartless rejection was mortifying, but people got the wrong idea when they saw me leaving his bedroom, crying. That’s how rumors of rape started. 

Now girls at school are pouring out their sympathy to me. Guys too. But not everyone’s on my side. The school has become a war zone and the threats are getting scary. What began as poetic justice has morphed into something bigger-forcing me to make a terrible choice.

*******

Wow. Just Wow. 
If you've read Amanda Grace aka Mandy Hubbard's previous novel, But I Love Him, then you will understand why I just can't wait to get a copy that I can call my very own. 

Paperback, 240 pages
Expected publication: February 8, 2012
Publisher: Flux

Pre-Order via Amazon 
Pre-Order via Barnes & Noble 
Pre-Order via IndieBound 
Don’t forget to leave a link in the comments and tell me what goodies you’re Waiting on this Wednesday! As always I hope you have a wonderful week and thank you for stopping by.

Happy Reading!
Arrivederci.

In Darkness by Nick Lake - Winner


The winner has been chosen by Mr. Random.org

#4 Elizabeth Hyatt (BookAttict) - Finished copy of In Darkness by Nick Lake

Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations Elizabeth! A special thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for sponsoring the giveaway. 

Make sure you stop by Thursday the 26th for the Fracture blog tour stop. You can check out my thoughts on Fracture and enter to win a finished copy of Megan Miranda's new novel!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Review - In Darkness by Nick Lake & copy up for grabs

In Darkness
Title & Author:
In Darkness by Nick Lake
Publisher:
Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date:
January 17th 2012
Pages:
352 
Source:
Publisher

In darkness I count my blessings like Manman taught me. One: I am alive. Two: there is no two. In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake a boy is trapped beneath the rubble of a ruined hospital: thirsty, terrified and alone. 'Shorty' is a child of the slums, a teenage boy who has seen enough violence to last a lifetime, and who has been inexorably drawn into the world of the gangsters who rule Site Soleil: men who dole out money with one hand and death with the other. But Shorty has a secret: a flame of revenge that blazes inside him and a burning wish to find the twin sister he lost five years ago. And he is marked. Marked in a way that links him with Toussaint L'Ouverture, the Haitian rebel who two-hundred years ago led the slave revolt and faced down Napoleon to force the French out of Haiti. As he grows weaker, Shorty relives the journey that took him to the hospital, a bullet wound in his arm. In his visions and memories he hopes to find the strength to survive, and perhaps then Toussaint can find a way to be free ...

***
My Thoughts

Oh. My. Goodness. 

Nick Lake has written a phenomenal story. He did so with such emotion and horrific facts that I was teetering back and forth on the brink of shock and tears. There were so many facts interlaced through the entire story, it's almost as if IN DARKNESS was written as non-fiction.

Lake did an amazing job with explaining the devastation of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. Life details of slave and black revolutionary leader Toussaint L'Ouverture were intertwined with the present day character, Shorty and his life events living in the slums of Site Soleil. 

Each time period held it's own trouble for each man. Both were violent and desolate. Both Shorty and Toussaint lived an austere and future-less life, their days were filled with death, violence and a desire for something better. 

-From The Authors Note:
"Route 9 and Boston and the war between them - are real, as is nearly every detail of life in Site Soleil. It is one of the poorest, most violent slums in existence, even more so now in the wake of the 2010 earthquake. It has frequently been named as the most dangerous place on earth. People really did, and do, eat pies made of mud, such as their desperation. Babies really were, and are, left to die on piles of trash. For years, the slum was virtually cut off by roadblocks and especially during the bloody period in the first decade of the new century, police and attaches were accused many times of shooting unarmed civilians during demonstrations and home invasions. Many residents simply disappeared, never to be seen again."

IN DARKNESS is desolate, gritty and harsh. Nick Lake weaves it all together with a hint of promise. In my opinion this novel is a must read.

***
Bloomsbury has been super-awesome to offer a finished copy for a giveaway.

 The Deets:
1. One entry per person.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. Giveaway is US Only - Publisher is shipping.
4. Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on January 21st

Enter Giveaway -->  HERE.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Random Acts of Kindness - January


JANUARY sign-up form {here}
See who else is participating {here}
*My wishlist can be found {here}*

We encourage everyone to PAY IT FORWARD!

"Random Acts of Kindness" 
Rules:

• Sign up each month you'd like to participate in.

• Show off your participation! Grab one of the buttons available :)

• Create a wishlist and post it in the Google Doc located in each R.A.K post for the month.
{Post on your blog, Amazon, where ever as long as there's a link to it.}

• If you choose to do a R.A.K for someone, check out their wishlist and contact that blogger for their address.

• At the end of the month, SHOW US YOUR R.A.K!
{Make a post saying 'Thank You' to whoever granted one of your wishes :)

OPEN TO EVERYONE! 

Lets's keep our International bloggers in mind and in our hearts.
Remember, there's always the Book Depository and they offer FREE shipping!
Thank you Uniflame for pointing that out!! :P

FYI: One RAK will be chosen and showcased! Yayyy!
That's it!
Easy peasy huh??

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Vanessa at
Twerd413 [at] gmail DOT com

♥♥♥♥♥


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We encourage everyone to PAY IT FORWARD!
May all your wishes come true