Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.
Showing posts with label wonderful win. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wonderful win. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Wonderful Win: The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern


The Book of Tomorrow
by Cecelia Ahern
Harper Collins

Born into the lap of luxury, comfortable in the here and now, spoiled, tempestuous sixteen-year-old Tamara Goodwin has never had to look to tomorrow, until the abrupt death of her father irrevocably shakes her world.  Suddenly all that's left of Tamara's old life is a mountain of debt, and she and her mother are forced to move in with Tamara's uncle and aunt a million miles away from the world she knows.

In this tiny village in the Irish countryside, with no access to Facebook or Twitter, Tamara is lonely and bored -- her only diversion is a traveling library run by a cute local boy named Marcus.  There she finds a large leather-bound book with a gold clasp and padlock, but no author or name or title.  Intrigued, she pries the lock open.  And what she finds inside takes her breath away.

Tamara finds entries written in her handwriting and dated for the next day.  At first, she's skeptical.  But when the next day happens exactly as recorded, Tamara realizes she's found a way to solve mysteries that are seemingly out of her control, such as what is wrong with her mother and why her family won't let the local doctor examine her.  And why does her meek aunt Rosaleen rip the mail out of her hands, prevent her from seeing her mother, and evade questions about their mysterious neighbor?  Determined to find answers, Tamara learns that some pages are better left unturned and that, try as she might, she can't interfere with fate.

An edge-of-your-seat suspense novel told in Cecelia Ahern's signature style, The Book of Tomorrow is an utterly unique story about grief, loss, and how sometimes it takes tomorrow to get us through today.

About the author:  Cecelia Ahern is the author of the international bestsellers P.S. I Love You, which was adapted into a major motion picture starring Hilary Swant; Love, Rosie; If You Could See Me Now; There's no Place Like Here; Thanks for the Memories; and The Gift.  Her books are published in forty-six countries and have collectively sold more than 11 million copies.  The daughter of Ireland's former prime minister, she lives in Dublin, Ireland.


~I won a copy of this book from Harper Collins.  Watch for my review in late January.~

 
The Book of Tomorrow: A Novel
Publisher/Publication Date: Harper, Jan 25, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-170630-1
336 pages

Monday, December 6, 2010

Wonderful Win: Night Runner by Max Turner


Night Runner
by Max Turner
St. Martin's Press

He's on a race for answers -- every step is taking him closer to the darkest of truths.

For Zack Thomson, living in Nicholls Ward isn't so bad.  After his parents died, he developed strange and severe allergies, and the mental institution was the only place where he could be properly looked after.  As strange as it was, it was home.  He could watch as much television as he wanted; his best friend, Charlie, often visited him; and Nurse Ophelia sometimes took him bowling.  Of course, that didn't mean he had it easy.  His allergies restricted his diet to strawberry smoothies, and being the only kid at the hospital could get lonely.  But it never once crosses Zack's mind to leave. . . until the night someone crashes through the front doors and tells him to run.  Along with Charlie and a girl he may or may not be falling in love with, he does just that: run.  Under cover of night, hiding amongst the shadows, he races for the truth.

About the author:  Max Turner has been a high school science teacher for seven years.  He lives in Ottawa with his wife and two children.  This is his first novel, and the start of a series.

~I won this book from a sweepstakes sponsored by St. Martin's Press.~


Night Runner: A Novel
Publisher/Publication Date: St. Martin's Griffin, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-59228-8
272 pages
Young Adult

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Wonderful Wins: 4 Book Jazz Tremaine Series by Linda Wisdom

I won these four books from Anna's Book Blog and Sourcebooks. Thanks guys!

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover by Linda Wisdom

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

About the book: Jasmine Tremaine is a witch who can't stay out of trouble. Nikolai Gregorivich is a vampire cop on the trail of a serial killer. The sizzling love affair between Jazz and Nick has been on-again, off-again for about 300 years -- mostly off, lately. But now Nick needs Jazz's help, and while Jazz and Nick try to figure out their own hears and resist their increasing attraction, they must steer clear of a maniacal killer with super-supernatural powers. They are surrounded by a hilarious cast of oddball paranormal characters including Irma, the chain-smoking ghost who haunts Jazz's sports car; Dweezil, her ghoul of a boss; and Fluff and Puff, a pair of bunny slippers with sharp teeth and short tempers (watch your ankles)! (back cover)

Witch

Hex Appeal by Linda Wisdom

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

About the author: Feisty witch Jasmine Tremaine and drop-dead gorgeous vampire cap Nikolai Gregorovich have a hot thing going, but it's tough to keep it together when nightmare visions turn their passion into bickering, and it's tearing them apart.

With a little help from their friends - a motley bunch of ghosts with attitude, rule-breaking witches, supernatural hotties and sinister elves - Jazz and Nick are in a race against time to uncover whoever it is that's poisoning their dreams, and their relationship. . . (back cover)

Witch


Wicked by Any Other Name by Linda Wisdom

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

About the book: Stasi Romanov uses just a little witch magic in her lingerie shop, running a brisk side business in love charms. A disgruntled customer threatening to sue over a failed love spell brings Trevor Barnes to town. Trevor's the best attorney around, and he just happens to be a wizard. Everyone knows that witches and wizards make a volatile combination - sure enough, the sparks fly and almost everyone's getting singed. Add to that Cupid playing a practical joke, a lunar eclipse that nearly precipitates a witch hunt, and some very mysterious goings on at the magical lake, and the feisty witch and gorgeous wizard have more than simply a possible lawsuit on their hands. Can they overcome their objections and settle out of court - and in the bedroom? (back cover)

Witch Cauldron



Hex in High Heels by Linda Wisdom

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

About the book: Feisty witch Blair Fitzpatrick has had a crush on hunky carpenter Jake Harrison forever - he's one hot shape-shifter.

But Jake's nasty mother and brother are after him to return to his pack, and a bunch of unruly elves start causing all kinds of chaos. Blair is trying hard not to unleash the ultimate revenge spell, but when Jake's enemies try to force him away from her, Blair is pushed over the edge. No one messes with her boyfriend-t0-be, even if he does shed on the furniture! (back cover)




50 Ways to Hex Your Lover
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Mar 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1085-3
374 pages

Hex Appeal
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Nov 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1400-4
368 pages

Wicked by Any Other Name
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Mar 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1773-9
384 pages

Hex in High Heels
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Oct 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1819-4
352 pages

Monday, October 19, 2009

Wonderful Win: Primitive by Mark Nykanen

I won Primitive by Mark Nykanen from Jackie at Literary Escapism.

A neo-primitive cult, possessing secret government documents filled with terrifying information about global warming, kidnaps a famous fashion model and holds her hostage, forcing her to act as their spokesperson. As time runs out, her estranged daughter allies with a dangerous activist group to rescue her, while battling dark agendas from the government and Big Oil. (Amazon)





Primitive
Publisher/Publication Date: Bell Bridge Books, Oct 2009
ISBN: 978-0-9821756-4-4
384 pages


Friday, August 7, 2009

Wonderful Win: Suite Scarlett

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

I won this book from Green Bean Teen Queen - a YA blog that I recently found!

About the book: Her new summer job comes with baggage.

Scarlett Martin has grown up in a most unusual way. Her family owns the Hopewell, a small Art Deco hotel in the heart of New York City.

When each of the Martins turns fifteen, they are expected to take over the care of a suite. For Scarlett's fifteenth birthday, she gets both a room called the Empire Suite and a permanent guest named Mrs. Amberson. Scarlett doesn't quite know what to make of this C-list starlet and world traveler. And when she meets Eric, an astonishingly gorgeous actor who has just moved to the city, her summer takes a second unexpected turn.

Before the summer is over, Scarlett will have to survive a whirlwind of thievery and romantic missteps. But in the city where anything can happen, she just might be able to pull it off. (back cover)

About the author: Maureen Johnson lives in New York City. She wonders if you have read any of her previous books: The Key to the Golden Firebird, The Bermudez Triangle, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Devilish, or Girl at Sea. It's okay if you haven't; she is sure to like you anyway. Unlike Scarlett, Maureen does not live in a hotel, but she wishes she did. (inside book)

Suite Scarlett
Publisher/Publication Date: Point, May 2009 (reprint)
ISBN: 978-0-545-09632-4
368 pages



Monday, August 3, 2009

Wonderful Win: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Publisher: Anchor

I won this book during the read-a-thon from Books on the Nightstand!

About the book: Meet MMA RAMOTSWE, the endearing, engaging, simply irresistible proprietress of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, the first and only detective agency in Botswana. With persistent observation, gentle intuition, and a keen desire to help people with the problems of their lives, she solves mysteries great and small for friends and strangers alike. (from the back cover)

Visit the author at his website: www.AlexanderMcCallSmith.com


The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Publisher/Publication Date: Anchor; MTI edition, March 2009
ISBN: 978-0-307-45663-2
256 pages



Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Wonderful Win: Prime by Nate Kenyon


Prime by Nate Kenyon

Publisher: Apex Publications

When I announced that I had won The Bone Factory last week from Nate Kenyon, I forgot to tell you all about the "surprise" book, Prime, that was in the package!

About the book: When simulated interactions are an essential part of life, a programming glitch can be devastating, especially for the company that controls the sims.

William Bellow is an experienced bug hunter who comes as close as any human to the anticipated Transformation that links man to machine. As he digs into the problems surrounding New London's most advanced programming, the nature of his own memories and the events of his past are called into questions. Desperate manipulations and complex deceptions take him from the corporate towers to the underground resistance as Bellow's work quickly escalates into a fight for his life in both the physical and virtual worlds.

Kenyon's fast-paced, twisting thriller tracks Bellow's progress forward through the case and backward through his own questionable past. Prime is a must-read for fans of Richard K. Morgan, Neal Stephenson, and Philip K. Dick. (from the back cover)

Prime
Publisher/Publication Date: Apex Publications, July 2009
ISBN: 978-0-9821596-2-0
156 pages



Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Wonderful Wins: Mother's Day Giveaway - 5 books

I won these five books in the Mother's Day giveaway at Marta's Meanderings and Hachette Books!

The Road Home by Rose Tremain

About the book: After losing both his job and his beloved wife, Lev journeys from Eastern Europe to London in search of employment to support his family. At first he is homeless, but before long he lands a job, finds shelter, and even begins to make friends. While he embarks on an affair with a fellow restaurant worker (and dodges the attentions of other women), Lev's new life remains constricted. Homesickness dogs him, not only for nostalgic reasons but because he doesn't belong, body or soul, to his new country. But can Lev really go home again?

Rose Tremain's prodigious talents as a novelist are on full display in a work that freshly illuminates the immigrant experience--and never loses sight of what is truly important in our lives. (from the book cover)

About the author: Rose Tremain's fiction has won the Whitbread Novel of the Year (Music and Silence) and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (Restoration). The Road Home was one of the four finalists for the Costa Novel Award and was the winner of the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction. Tremain lives in Norfolk and London with the biographer Richard Holmes. (from the book cover)

Beginner's Greek by James Collins

About the book: What if you met the love of your life. . .and then lost her phone number? Then what if, when you finally managed to find her again, she was about to marry your best friend? The complications only begin there for Peter and Holly, the winning duo at the center of this buoyant, generous, lushly romantic, brilliantly understated comedy of manners. Whatever your own experience in matters of the heart, Beginner's Greek is a novel that will make you believe that true love really does exist. (from the back cover)

About the author: James Collins was formerly an editor at Time and has contributed to The New Yorker and other magazines. He grew up in New York City and now lives in Virginia with his family. This is his first novel. (from the book)




Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter

About the book: Advertising executive Marta Zinsser is no poster child for her wealthy Seattle suburb--and nothing could please her more. This former New Yorker wears combat boots, not Manolos, and drives a righteous Harley hog instead of a Mercedes SUV. Now she's launching her own agency in this land of the Microsoft elite, even though her ten-year-old daughter wishes she'd put on a sweater set and just be normal. Can this ex-urbanite remain uniquely herself without alienating the inner circle of smug, cookie-cutter executive wives? And when push comes to shove, can she stop being the proud odd mom out and take a chance at something frighteningly--and tantalizingly--new? (from the back cover)

About the author: Jane Porter is also the author of Flirting with Forty and The Frog Prince. She lives in Seattle, Washington, with her two sons. (from the back cover)


Mommy Grace: Erasing Your Mommy Guilt by Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman

About the book: You ARE a wonderful mother. You just don't know it.

Mothers tend to feel they are not good enough at the colossal job of parenting. many fear they are even harming their kids by not being flawless. They confess:
  • I lost my temper and yelled at my son to stop acting like a baby.
  • I ran out of groceries and fed my kids fast food instead.
  • My daughter failed her spelling test--I was too tired to help her.
  • I used the television as a babysitter instead of reading to my kids.
  • I slept in and missed my devotion time.
Good news: MOMMY GRACE can help erase your mommy guilt! In these short, funny, and moving stories, Sheila Schuller Coleman offers portraits of authentic motherhood--foibles and all. She also reveals how to avoid the "perfect parent" trap and embrace the reassurance God provides. The fact is, God designed each mother for her particular kids, and--the best news of all--He makes up for our human weakness with His grace.

The true "supermom," Sheila writes, doesn't have it all together. Just the opposite! A supermom is someone who is real and brave enough to admit her limits and ask God for help. A supermom lets God fill in the gaps in her less-than-perfect parenting.

Inspirational and heartwarming, MOMMY GRACE is comfort and strength for the weary mom. Sheila affirms, "You are not alone. I pray you will realize that mommy guilt is actually a gift - an opportunity - to experience mommy grace. In the process your love affair with Christ will be magnified and you will never be the same."

Get rid of that guilt! And rest assured: You truly are a wonderful mother. (from the book jacket)

About the author: Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman is the daughter of Robert H. Schuller, founding pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. Sheila has had a diverse career as an author, a public schoolteacher, and most recently as a private Christian school administrator. She currently serves as director of family ministries at the Crystal Cathedral and writes a column, "Ask Sheila," which is published monthly in Powerlines, a Crystal Cathedral publication reaching four hundred thousand readers. Sheila has a doctorate in educational leadership and administration. She and her husband, Jim, have been happily married for thirty years and are the parents of four grown sons. (from the book jacket)



Your Best Life Now for Moms by Joel Osteen

About the book: #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Joel Osteen revisits his seven core principles from YOUR BEST LIFE NOW to offer a guide to successful living for moms. YOUR BEST LIFE NOW FOR MOMS will help women through the vast parenting responsibilities and teach them how God can pour out "His far and beyond favor" on them and their children. (from Amazon website)

About the author: Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Listed by several sources as America's largest and fastest-growing congregation, Lakewood church has approximately 45,000 adult attendees every week. Millions more watch Joel's messages as they are broadcast on national and international television networks. He resides in Houston with his wife, Victoria, and their children. (from Amazon website)


Monday, July 27, 2009

Wonderful Win: Stand the Storm by Breena Clarke


Stand the Storm by Breena Clarke

Publisher: Back Bay Book/Hachette Book Group

I won this book from Dar at Peeking Between the Pages. Thanks Dar!

About the book: Even though Sewing Annie Coats and her son, Gabriel, have managed to buy their freedom, their lives are still marked by constant struggle and sacrifice. Washington's Georgetown neighborhood, where the Coatses operate a tailor shop and laundry, is supposed to be a "promised land" for former slaves but is effectively a frontier town, gritty and dangerous, with no laws protecting black people.

The remarkable emotional energy with which the Coatses wage their daily battles - as they negotiate with their former owner, as they assist escaped slaves en route to freedom, as they prepare for the encroaching war, and as they strive to love each other enough -- is what propels Stand the Storm and makes the novel's startling denouement so powerfully affecting. (from the back cover.)

About the author: Breena Clarke grew up in Washington, DC, and was educated at Webster College and Howard University. She is also the author of the novel River, Cross My Heart, which was a selection of Oprah's Book Club and became an international bestseller. (from the back cover)

Stand the Storm
Publisher/Publication Date: Back Bay Books, Reprint June 2009
ISBN: 978-0-316-00705-4
352 pages





Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Wonderful Win: The Bone Factory by Nate Kenyon

The Bone Factory by Nate Kenyon

Publisher: Leisure Books/Dorchester Publishing

I won this autographed copy from Nate Kenyon's website!! Some of you might remember that I had featured this book on a Friday's Find awhile back. I am so excited that I won it!!!!

About the book: The biggest news in the small northern town of Jackson was the reopening of the local hydropower plant. Until the deaths. First a farmer was found horribly mutilated in his field. Then a little girl disappeared from her home. Deep in the woods a deputy came upon a chamber of horrors straight from a nightmare. And through it all, one child is haunted by visions of the mysterious "blue man," a madman who brings with him blood and pain and terror, a terror spawned by forces no one can understand. (from the back cover)

About the author: Nate Kenyon grew up in a small town in Maine with dark nights and long winters to feed his interest in writing. His stories have appeared in various magazines and in the horror anthology Terminal Frights. Kenyon lives in a recently restored 1840s Greek Revival home in the New England area with his wife, Nicole, their three children, and their ferocious dog, Bailey. Bloodstone, his first novel, was a Bram Stoker Award finalist and a P&E Horror Novel of the Year award winner.


The Bone Factory
Publisher/Publication Date: Leisure Books, June 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8439-6287-1
320 pages

Friday, July 10, 2009

Wonderful Win: The Last Child

The Last Child by John Hart

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

I won this AUTOGRAPHED copy over at Rhapsody in Books. This is a husband/wife blog team that has the best list of non-fiction reviews I have seen. They also have a multitude of fiction reviews. Stop by to find your next book!


About the book: Thirteen-year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he'd been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is - confident in a way that he can never fully explain.



Determined to find his sister, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown. It is a desperate, terrifying search, but Johnny is not as alone as he might think. Detective Clyde Hunt has never stopped looking for Alyssa either, and he has a soft spot for Johnny. He watches over the boy and tries to keep him safe, but when Johnny uncovers a dangerous lead and vows to follow it, Hunt has no choice but to intervene.



Then a second child goes missing. . .



Undeterred by Hunt's threats or his mother's pleas, Johnny enlists the help of his last friend, and together they plunge into the wild, to a forgotten place with a history of violence that goes back more than a hundred years. There, they meet a giant of a man, an escaped convict on his own tragic quest. What they learn from him will shatter every notion Johnny had about the fate of his sister; it will lead them to another far place, to a truth that will test both boys to the limit.



Traveling the wilderness between innocence and hard wisdom, between hopelessness and faith, The Last Child leaves all categories behind and establishes John Hart as a writer of unique power. (from the book cover)

About the author: John Hart is the Edgar Award-winning author of two New York Times bestsellers, The King of Lies and Down River. His books have been translated into twenty-six languages and published in over thirty countries. A former criminal defense attorney, John has also worked as a banker, stockbroker, and apprentice helicopter mechanic. Other than writing, his favorite job was pouring pints in a London pub. A husband and father of two, John still lives in his native North Carolina, where he writes full-time.

The Last Child
Publisher/Publication Date: St. Martin's Press, May 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-35932-4
384 pages

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Monday, July 6, 2009

Wonderful Win: The Night Gardener

The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

I won this book from the ladies over at Bella's Novella.

About the book: When the body of a local teenager is found in a community garden, detective Gus Ramone relives intense memories of a twenty-year-old case. Back when he was a rookie, Ramone and his partner "Doc" Holiday assisted legendary detective T.C. Cook in the investigation of a series of murders involving young victims. The killer, dubbed "the Night Gardener," was never caught.

The fierce sense of anger, regret, and purpose that once burned among these three men comes rushing back as they race to vanquish the monster who has stalked their dreams. For Cook, now retired, it means solving one of the few cases that eluded him. For Holiday, whose career as a cop was derailed, it's one last chance to redeem himself. For Ramone, catching the killer means not only doing his job but knowing that his own teenage son, who was a friend of the dead boy, won't be the next victim. (from the back cover)

About the author: George Pelecanos is the author of several highly acclaimed and bestselling novels, including, most recently, The Turnaround and The Way Home. He is also an independent-film producer, and essayist, the recipient of numerous international writing awards, and an Emmy-nominated writer-producer for the HBO hit series The Wire. (from the back cover

The Night Gardener
Publisher/Publication Date: Little, Brown & Company, June 2009 (Reprint)
ISBN: 978-0-316-05650-2
400 pages

Barnes & Noble
Amazon

Wonderful Win: Red Fire

Red Fire (#1 Gods of Midnight series)by Deidre Knight

Publisher: Penguin Group

I won this book from J Kaye at J Kaye's Book Blog. Thanks J Kaye!

About the book: A thrilling new series featuring seven immortal Spartan warriors protecting mankind— and confronting passion along the way...

Eternity has become a prison for Ajax Petrakos. Centuries after he and his Spartan brothers made their bargain for immortality, Ajax struggles to maintain his warrior's discipline. His only source of strength is his hope that he will soon meet the woman once foretold to him--the other half of his soul, Shay Angel.

Ajax searches for his destined mate on the haunted streets of modern-day Savannah, but he isn't the first to find her. Shay, the youngest of a powerful demon-hunting clan, can see the monsters that stalk the steamy Southern nights--an ability that draws the deadly attention of Ajax's worst enemy. As Shay and Ajax race to solve a chilling prophecy--one that could spell Ajax's death if they don't succeed--a fated passion arises, threatening to sweep away everything in its path.(from Barnes and Noble website)

About the author: Deidre Knight is a literary agent, mom, wife, novelist and southern woman, and proud to answer to all of these titles. Before she founded The Knight Agency in 1996, Deidre worked behind the camera in movies and television. During the thirteen years since she launched her literary agency, she has grown The Knight Agency to national prominence, shepherding authors on to every major bestseller list. With agency sales of more than 1,000 titles to major publishers, a large percentage of which are in the categories of romance and women’s fiction, Deidre has established a reputation for discovering vivid and unique storytellers and is considered an industry expert on the hot trends of paranormal fiction and urban fantasy.

Deidre began her writing career at age nine, when her award-winning essay on Barbie was published in her hometown newspaper, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. She has been writing in one form or another ever since. After nearly a decade of working with Knight Agency clients, helping them discover their creative potential, Deidre’s dream of writing romance came true in the form of her debut series THE MIDNIGHT WARRIORS which launched with PARALLEL ATTRACTION in the spring of 2006. (from author's website)

Red Fire
Publisher/Publication Date: Penguin, October 2008
ISBN: 9780451225382
400 pages

Barnes & Noble
Amazon

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Wonderful Win: The Knot Fairy

The Knot Fairy (book and audio cd) by Bobbie Hinman, Illustrated by Kristi Bridgeman

Publisher: Best Fairy Books

I won this from Shannon over at Confuzzled Books. She has a Refer a Book Weekend every week where she usually asks for a topic or genre for a referral - then whoever's book she chooses to read next wins! Go and play!

About the book: An enchanting book about a mischievous little fairy dressed in pajamas and fuzzy slippers. She visits children while they sleep and is responsible for the knots and tangles in their hair. With its captivating illustrations, this magical story comes alive, revealing a less practical and more magical explanation for tangled hair. After all, who better to blame it on than the fairies? The easy-to-read verse makes this book a favorite among beginning readers as well as toddlers. Includes audio CD of story and original fairy song. (from Barnes and Noble website)

About the author: Bobbie Hinman has a B.S. degree in Elementary Education and, along with her 10 grandchildren, is right at home when it comes to children's literature. She loves to read to her grandchildren and tell them stories, especially ones about the fanciful world of fairies. Bobbie's grandchildren have helped her discover some of the practical and more magical explanations for tangled hair and other mysterious "happenings". After all, who better to blame it on than the fairies?

About the illustrator: Kristi Bridgeman was raised in a family of artists and gardeners. She whiled away many childhood hours in the garden, looking for fairies. It was at the ripe age of six that she decided to become an artist. After going to art college, attending classes and workshops, and taking a little hiatus to raise her children, Kristi is now realizing her dream. She is actively involved with the environment, children and the arts. Kristi's trademark sepia effect is created with a 'green-friendly' quill pen.

The Knot Fairy
Publisher/Publication Date: Best Fairy Books, Jan 2007
ISBN: 978-0-9786791-0-1
32 pages
Ages 4-8

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Monday, June 29, 2009

Wonderful Win: Swim the Fly

Swim the Fly by Don Calame

Publisher: Candlewick Press

I won this at YA Book Central. Great place to go when looking for YA or kid's books!

About the book: Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Sean and Coop, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time. But as far as Matt is concerned, they'd have better luck finding the lost city of Atlantis. None of the three has ever even asked a girl out, and the fact that they're the least athletic swimmers on the Rockville swim team (and that's counting the seven-year-olds) doesn't relaly help their chances.

But seeing a girl in the buff starts to seem like child's play compared to the other summertime goal Matt sets for himself: to swim the 100-yard butterfly (the hardest stroke known to God or man) in order to impress Kelly West, the hot new girl on the swim team. So what if he can't manage a single lap, let alone four? He's got the whole summer to perfect his technique. What could possibly go wrong?

Debut novelist Don Calame makes a huge splash with this hysterically funny, utterly authentic teen comedy. Prepare to cheer on Matt, Sean, and Coop as they navigate the treacherous waters of adolescence - and try to keep this summer from being one big belly flop. (from the book jacket)

About the author: Don Calame is an accomplished screenwriter who has worked with Marvel Studios, the Disney Channel, Lionsgate, Universal Studios, and Paramount Pictures. Over the years, he has been a bike mechanic, a supermarket cashier, a newspaper delivery boy, an ice-cream scooper, a wedding videographer, a musical-instrument salesman, and an elementary-school teacher. But not necessarily in that order.

About Swim the Fly, he says "This novel began as a short piece I wrote several years ago about an incident that happened to me when I was a teenager on the swim team. (Yes, I have the collection of green fifth-place ribbons to prove it.) I tucked the story away and promptly forgot about it until my wife gently nudged me - thirty-six times - to expand it into a book. I'm grateful she was so persistent, because I've never had so much fun writing something in my life."

Don Calame was born in New York and now lives in British Columbia with his wife, his stepson, and their two dogs. This is his first novel. (from the book jacket)

Swim the Fly
Publisher/Publication Date: Candlewick Press, April 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4157-3
352 pages

Barnes & Noble
Amazon


Friday, June 26, 2009

Wonderful Win: Casting Spells

Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton

Publisher: Penguin

I am not sure where this came from. I received it in the mail (autographed!) along with a great tote bag featuring Casting Spells on one side and Laced With Magic on the other. There were also bookmarks and fridge magnets! I believe I had visited Mrs. Bretton's website and had taken her up on her offer of free fridge magnets and book marks. . . and I know that I have entered some contests for this book - but where this great package came from is a mystery. (Though I just realized that I never checked the mailing label - I will have to go to the recycle bin later and see if it can give me a clue - I will keep you updated!)

About the book: Sugar Maple looks like any bucolic Vermont town, but when the tourists go home, it's a different story - inhabited as it is with warlocks, sprites, vampires, witches, and an ancient secret. And I know all about secrets. I'm Chloe Hobbs, owner of Sticks & Strings, a popular knitting shop where your yarn never tangles, you always get gauge. . . and the knitter sitting next to you comes out only after dark.

I'm also a sorcerer's daughter - a single sorcerer's daughter with Sugar Maple's future in her hands, which means the whole town is casting spells meant to help me find Mr. Right. Who'd have guessed I'd find him in Luke MacKenzie, a cop investigating Sugar Maple's very first murder? Bad news is he's 100 percent human, which could spell disaster for a normal future with a paranormal woman like me - in love, in danger, and in way over my head. (from the back cover)

About the author: Barbara Bretton is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than forty books. She currently has more than ten million copies in print around the world. Her works have been translated into twelve languages in more than twenty countries.

Barbara lives in New Jersey but loves to spend as much time as possible in Maine with her husband, walking the rocky beaches and dreaming up plots for upcoming books.


Casting Spells
Publisher/Publication Date: Penguin, November 2008
ISBN: 978-0-425-22364-2
320 pages

Wonderful Win: Two Way Street


Two Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster

I won this book at Serena Robar's website. She is a YA adult author with a new book out - Giving Up the V. She has been giving away a book a day all month - there is still some days left so head on over and get in on the fun!

About the book: There are two sides to every breakup. This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They're even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation.

Then Jordan dumps Courtney - for a girl he met on the Internet.

It's too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney's heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la - this is Courtney pretending not to care.

But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot.

Turns out, he's got a secret or two that he's not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can't get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other. (from the back cover)

About the author: Lauren Barnholdt was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, and currently resides in central Connecticut. She is the author of The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney, and her first novel for teens, Reality Chick, was a Teen People "Can't Miss Pick." When she's not writing, Lauren likes to read, blog, and reorder her Netflix queue three million times. Although she's been on numerous road trips, none of them have been with a guy who dumped her. (from the book)

Two Way Street
Publisher/Publication Date: Simon Pulse, June 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4169-1318-4
304 pages

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Wonderful Win: Chocolat


Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Publisher: Penguin

This is the final book of the 6 book win from Kim at Page after Page. Isn't she super!

About the book: When beautiful, unmarried Vianne Rocher sweeps into the pinched little French town of Lansquenet on the heels of the carnival and opens a gem of a chocolate shop across the square from the church, she begins to wreak havoc with the town's Lenten vows. Her uncanny ability to perceive her customers' private discontents and alleviate them with just the right confection coaxes the villagers to abandon themselves to temptation and happiness, but enrages Pere Reynaud, the local priest. Certain only a witch could stir such sinful indulgence and devise such clever cures, Reynaud pits himself against Vianne and vows to block the chocolate festival she plans for Easter Sunday, and to run her out of town forever. With or not (she'll never tell), Vianne soon sparks a dramatic confrontation between those who prefer the cold comforts of the church and those who revel in their newly discovered taste for pleasure.

Hailed as "an amazement of riches few readers will be able to resist" by The New York Times Book Review, Chocolat is a timeless and enchanting story about temptation, pleasure, and what a complete waste of time it is to deny yourself anything. (from the back cover)

About the author: “I’m a chocoholic! I admit it! I eat it all the time. Almost on a daily basis…but not quite.” Joanne Harris starts the day with drinking chocolate made from milk and proper chocolate. “It’s a stimulant. A bit like coffee. But it tastes better to me.” She doesn’t diet because “I’m not a nice person if I’m doing things like that.”

Harris, who is half French, grew up in her grandparents’ corner sweetshop in Yorkshire, in the north of England. Her mother had just come over from France and didn’t speak English. Joanne grew up speaking French, and still speaks it with her own daughter at home. “Most of the family that I have contact with is French… I’ve been more or less surrounded by French culture since I was born.” She associates chocolate with France, big family reunions and Easter parades. “A lot of members of my family ended up creeping into this story.”

She lives with her husband, small daughter and several cats in the small Yorkshire mining community of Barnsley where she grew up. Harris feels that small communities the world over have much in common, and Barnsley sometimes felt like Lansquenet in its suspicion of the outsider — “because we were a French family, because my mother moved to England without knowing any English and because we were always those funny people at end o’ t’road…”

How did she feel about her book being transformed into a big Hollywood movie? Various changes had to be made, including the fact that the priest figure becomes the mayor in the film. “I understand that when a book gets optioned you basically abnegate all responsibility for it.” When the book was optioned, most of her attention was taken up with her next book, which she’d already started writing. In the end, she was extremely happy with the film. “I thought that the changes were quite minor and were really in the spirit of making it a better film.” She even contributed a few changes of her own, mainly to do with the character of Vianne.

Is there any of Joanne Harris in Vianne Rocher? “Not as much as I would like… I think she is what I would have loved to have been but I am not in any way as confident as she is or indeed as popular. I think there is quite a lot of the priest in me as well.” Like Vianne, though, Harris has a fascination with folklore and alternative beliefs. “I do tend to perform little good-luck rituals… I still cast the runes when I feel like it, and I enjoy making my own incense and growing and using herbs. I like to observe the traditional celebrations at Yule and at other significant times of the year.”

Some readers have seen in Chocolat a comment on the Catholic church. Harris doesn’t feel that way herself. “I never felt that this was to do with religious and secular — it is a story about personalities… It is about tolerance and intolerance.”

The book is also about liberation and indulgence in the pleasures of life, and has struck a chord when many people, sick of the struggle to stay slim, and are feeling that a little indulgence can be good for the soul. Another British author Helen Fielding, whose Bridget Jones’ Diary has also been adapted for the screen, created a popular character who grappled with diet over desire, and Canadian food writer John Allemang, in The Importance of Lunch, has written winningly on the simple pleasures of food. If Chocolat reminds us of anything, though, it’s gorgeous, sensuous and romantic films such as Babette’s Feast and Big Night with their celebration of food and life; similarly the Japanese film Tampopo, with its focus on a noodle shop, and the recent acclaimed Chinese film Shower, where a small community revolves around an old-fashioned bath-house. Small wonder Chocolat has been a massive international success.

Harris published two earlier books, both darker in tone — “I was aiming for a kind of literary horror/gothic genre” — and not nearly as widely read. Recently, her work is much more optimistic and fun, though she still tends to write darker stories when the weather is bad, and happy stories when the sun shines (“I wrote Chocolat from March to July, and it shows”). Since Chocolat, she has published two more books with mouth-watering themes: Blackberry Wine, narrated by a bottle of vintage wine, and The Five Quarters of an Orange, which contains recipes for crepes. “I come from a family where there is a long tradition of cooking and recipes are handed down from various parts of the family — usually down the French side.” As the film of Chocolat was being released, she was at work on a screenplay for Coastliners, to be published as a novel in 2003, about two communities of villagers on a French island, fighting for a beach.

Harris reads widely in English and French, citing Nabokov and Mervyn Peake as major inspirational influences for their love of language. She taught French at Leeds Grammar School for many years and had been writing in her spare time when she hit the big time with Chocolat in 1999. Although she sometimes misses her former existence as a teacher, she is very happy to be able to make a living out of writing. “Giving up teaching was a very difficult decision for me to take; it was a job I enjoyed, and that I was good at, and I was very much aware that I was giving it up for something much riskier and, in some ways, something quite alien to my nature. However, some rainbows you have to chase.” If writing for a living stopped giving her pleasure, she would go back to teaching “without a qualm”. But she’d keep on writing.

“I know I'd write whether I was being published or not. I'm addicted.”(from Barnes and Noble website)

Chocolat
Publisher/Publication Date: Penguin, January 2000
ISBN: 978-0-14-028203-3
306 pages


Wonderful Win: The Boy Next Door

The Boy Next Door by Meggin Cabot

Publisher: Avon Books/Harper Collins

This is book 5 of the 6 book win from Kim at Page after Page.

About the book:

To: You
From: Human Resources
Subject: This book

Dear Reader,

This is an automated message from the Human Resources Division of the New York Journal, New York City's leading photo-newspaper. Please be aware that according to our records you have not yet read this book.

What exactly are you waiting for? This book has it all:
  • Humor
  • Romance
  • Cooking tips
  • Great Danes
  • Heroine in peril
  • Dolphin-shaped driftwood sculptures
If you wish to read about any of the above, please do not hesitate to head to the checkout counter, where you will be paired with a sales associate who will work to help you buy this book.

We here at the New York Journal are a team. We win as a team, and lose as one as well. Don't you want to be on a winning team?

Sincerely,
Human Resources Division
New York Journal

Please note that failure to read this book may result in suspension or dismissal from this store.

**********This e-mail is confidential and should not be used by anyone who is not original intended recipient. If you have received this e-mail in error please inform the sender and delete it from your mailbox or any other storage mechanism.**********

(from the back cover)

About the author: Meg Cabot knows that one of the best cures for feeling gawky and conspicuous is reading about someone who sticks out even more than you do. Her books for young adults invariably feature girls who have extraordinary powers that carry extraordinary burdens. Cabot's Princess Diaries series offers up the secret thoughts of Mia Thermopolis, who discovers at age 14 that she is actually the princess of a small European country. This revelation adds significantly to her extant concerns about crushes, friendships, school, and other matters falling under adolescent scrutiny.

Cabot, a native of Indiana weaned on Judy Blume and Barbara Cartland, was already a successful romance novelist (as Patricia Cabot) before she began writing for young adults; her alter-alter ego, Jenny Carroll, began a new series shortly after The Princess Diaries debuted. The Carroll books are divided between the Mediator series, starring a girl who can communicate with restless ghosts; and the 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU books, in which a girl struck by lightning acquires the ability to locate missing people.

Cabot writes her books in a conspiratorial, first-person style that resonates with her readers. She has obviously kept a grip on the vernacular and the key issues of adolescence; but what makes her books so irresistible is the mixing of the mundane with the fantastic. After all, who wouldn't like to wake up and be a princess all of a sudden, or a seer? Cabot takes such offhand notions and roots them firmly in the details of average, middle-class American life. She has also tiptoed into mystery and paranormal suspense with other YA novels and series installments.

Cabot continues to write adult novels under various permutations of her given name (Meggin Patricia Cabot): from 19th-century historical romances to contemporary chick lit. And, as with her books for teens, these romances have earned praise for their lighthearted humor and well drawn characters. (from Barnes and Noble website)

The Boy Next Door
Publisher/Publication Date: Avon Books, October 2002
ISBN: 978-0-06-009619-5
374 pages

Wonderful Win: The Memory Keeper's Daughter

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

Publisher: Penguin

About the book: This stunning novel begins on a winter night in 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. For motives he tells himself are good, he makes a split-second decision that will haunt all their lives forever. He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby away to an institution. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child as her own. Compulsively readable and deeply moving, The Memory Keeper's Daughter is a brilliantly crafted story of parallel lives, familial secrets, and the redemptive power of love. (from the back cover)

About the author: Kim Edwards is the author of the short story collection The Secrets of the Fire King, which was an alternate for the 1998 PEN/Hemingway Award, and she has won both the Whiting Award and the Nelson Algren Award. A graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop, she is an assistant professor of English at the University of Kentucky. (from the book)

The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Publisher/Publication Date: Penguin, May 2006
ISBN: 978-0-14-303714-9
401 pages

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