Review: Tessa by Melissa Wiltrout

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Tessa
Melissa Wiltrout
Life Sentence Publishing
Published September 3, 2013

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Fifteen year-old runaway Tessa Minor is forced to return home after being caught shoplifting some food from a grocery store. She dreads the moment she has to face her father again, knowing he’ll make her pay for every hour she’s been on her own. She wakes in the back yard shed at home, battered and bruised from her father’s punishment. When she’s finally able to return to school, Tess dodges questions from her friends but can’t help feeling curious about the new girl, Heather, who speaks openly about her faith and is warm and kind to Tessa. In the midst of a … Continue reading →

Review: My Totally Awkward Supernatural Crush by Laura Toffler-Corrie

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My Totally Awkward Supernatural Crush
Laura Toffler-Corrie
Roaring Brook Press/Holtzbrinck Publishing
Published August 20, 2013

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Babysitting the neighborhood terror, David Lipski, is enough to give any girl nightmares, but when the handsome hero who comes to her rescue waltzes out of Jenna’s dreams and into a server’s uniform at Cowboy Clem’s, it’s got to be too good to be true, right? Luke has the face of an angel. And that’s exactly what he is. He’s been sent to earth with a mission – to guard and protect the family heirloom necklace Jenna’s just been given as a birthday gift. If Adam, a boy serving darker powers, gets his hands on the necklace, he’ll … Continue reading →

What Makes Me Love Authors

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Goodreads lists over 1400 YA novels published for the first time in 2013. In order to cover them all, I’d have to review nearly four novels each day. While some of those novels aren’t a good fit for this blog and some of those authors probably aren’t interested in having reviews posted here, I still receive more requests each month than I can commit to review.

What makes requests memorable? What can authors do to stand out as savvy and professional? As a review blogger, here are my thoughts on what makes for a fabulous working relationship between author and blogger:

Reads My Blog

When I get a request email that specifically comments on a post I’ve written or mentions an aspect of the blog the author finds useful or appealing, I’m more inclined to pay attention. Why? Because this tells me that I’m not just getting a form email … Continue reading →

Review: Eve and Adam by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant

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Eve and Adam (Eve & Adam #1)
Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant
Feiwel and Friends
Published October 2, 2012

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After a devastating accident, Evening is sent to an advanced medical facility called Spiker Biopharmaceuticals to recover. With her mother as the director, no expense is spared to get Eve back on her feet. To keep her busy and distracted, Eve’s mother offers to pay her to test simple simulation software. Eve agrees and begins to create a boy. The most perfect boy.

As Eve’s body rockets through recovery, Eve begins to suspect that there are things her mother isn’t telling her. Then Solo, the mysterious boy who seems to live at the medical … Continue reading →

Review: Merlin’s Shadow by Robert Treskillard

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Merlin's Shadow by Robert TreskillardMerlin’s Shadow (The Merlin Spiral #2)
Robert Treskillard
Blink YA
Published October 1, 2013

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After vowing to protect young Arthur at all costs, Merlin and his companions flee from the army of Vortigern, the new self-proclaimed king of Briton. Merlin’s faith falters along the difficult road, as does his confidence in the love of the fair Natalenya. Now that his sight has been restored to him, he can’t help but despise the terrible scars that mar his face. He decides to ask Natalenya to break her vow to marry him and return to her family. Heartbroken, Natalenya fears the mysterious illness that plagues her has driven away Merlin’s … Continue reading →

Review: Tandem by Anna Jarzab

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Tandem by Anna JarzabTandem (Many-Worlds Trilogy #1)
Anna Jarzab
Random House Children’s Books
Published October 8, 2013

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An ordinary teenage girl and a runaway princess from another universe have only one thing in common: They are identical, analogs of one another.

When a special forces soldier kidnaps Sasha from her senior prom on planet earth and drags her across time and space to Aurora where she will replace his missing princess, her only choice is to cooperate. Only Thomas, the solder who kidnapped her, has the power to return her to home and family on earth.

As Sasha desperately tries to impersonate the princess, she uncovers a truth Thomas can’t stomach. A … Continue reading →