Banned Books Week 2012 Giveaway

In honor of Banned Books Week 2012, and in an effort to put more of these important books into the hands of readers, I am giving away a banned or challenged book to one lucky winner.

The prize is one banned or challenged book of the winner's choice (up to $15 US value), shipped from The Book Depository. This contest is open internationally, as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.

If you're looking for recommendations, I have a Suggested Reading post on Banned & Challenged Books that you can check out for some ideas.

If none of those interest you, then you can find other lists of banned books here.

Visit these websites for more information about Banned Books Week:
http://www.bannedbooksweek.org
American Library Association

What banned books have you read? Which ones do you plan to read? Comment and let me know!


Enter to win a banned book of your choice by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.

• Entrants must be 13 years or older.
• Open internationally, wherever The Book Depository ships.
• Attempts to be a lying liar by falsifying and/or duplicating entries will result in disqualification - I do check them.
• See my Contest & Privacy Policy for details.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Interview: Mindi Scott

I'd like to welcome Mindi Scott, author of Freefall and Live Through This, to the blog today for a little interview!

About Mindi Scott

Mindi Scott is the author of Freefall and Live Through This. She lives near Seattle, Washington, with her drummer husband in a house with a non-soundproof basement.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Share with us two of your favorite things and two of your pet peeves!

Favorites: My cheetah-print luggage and Starbursts candy.
Pet peeves: The smell of bacon, and people who push their way onto buses and elevators when others are still exiting.


Describe your book in a tweet (140 characters or less!).

The story of one teen's struggle to face a secret she's keeping from everyone, including herself.


How important do you think it is for tough issues to be discussed in books for teens who may be going through similar experiences but do not have a strong support system or don't feel as though they can confide in another?

I think it's absolutely vital. To be honest, in spite of my experiences, I didn't fully grasp that the word "abuse" applied to me until I was twenty-one. It was then that I read a non-fiction book about abuse that described a girl in a situation identical to what mine had been. It was a shocking realization, but it was something that I needed to understand so that I could begin to move on from it.


How did living through an experience similar to Coley's affect your desire/drive/ability to tell this story?

For years, I told myself that I would never write a book about sexual abuse because it was too difficult, too uncomfortable. Once this particular idea came to me, though, I was determined to see it through. This book isn't a memoir, but most of Coley's emotions and fears come from a very real place. I didn't have to research what it feels like to be a victim in a situation like this, but I did so anyway. I researched from every angle to make sure that I fully understood all of the characters involved.


What are some other tough issues books that you would recommend?

Does Courtney Summers write "issues" books? Because I love everything I've read by her! I also was moved by I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin, Never Enough by Denise Jaden, Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, and Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Much thanks to Mindi for stopping by the blog and answering a few questions!

If Coley Sterling’s best friend would stop hating her, if her dance-team captains would lighten up, if her friends would stop asking her about Reece, the geeky sax player she’s crushing on—then her life would be perfect. Right? After all, Coley’s stepdad is a successful attorney who gives Coley and her siblings everything, and her mother will stop at nothing to keep them all happy and safe—including having escaped ten years ago from the abuse of Coley’s real father.

But Coley is keeping a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully crafted façade. Now, Coley and Reece are getting closer, and a decade’s worth of Coley’s lies are on the verge of unraveling—along with the life she thought she knew.

Amazon | Goodreads

Thanks to The {Teen} Book Scene for hosting the Live Through This blog tour!

Cover Reveal: Abandon by Elana Johnson

I've got a cover reveal for y'all today! Abandon by Elana Johnson (book 3 in the Possession series) will be released in June of 2013, from Simon Pulse.

Check out the description and links:

seduced by power,
broken by control,
and consumed by love...

Vi has made her choice between Jag and Zenn, and the Resistance may have suffered for it. But with the Thinkers as strong as ever, the rebels still have a job to do. Vi knows better than anyone that there's more at stake than a few broken hearts.

But there is a traitor among them...and the choices he makes could lead to the total destruction of everything Vi has fought for.

Vi, Jag, and Zenn must set their problems aside for the Resistance to have any hope of ending the Thinkers' reign. Their success means everything...and their failure means death.

Amazon | Goodreads

And here is the cover:

I'm a fan of the delicate simplicity of the covers in this series. What do you think? Like it? Hate it? Let me know your opinion in the comments!

Thanks to AToMR Tours for hosting the cover reveal for Abandon.

Review: Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Title: Stormdancer
Author: Jay Kristoff
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication Date: September 18, 2012
Series: The Lotus War #1
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Griffins are supposed to be extinct. So when Yukiko and her father are commanded to capture one for the murderous Shogun of the Shima Isles, they fear their lives are over. After disaster befalls the mission, Yukiko finds herself stranded in the wilderness with only a crippled griffin called Buruu for company. Working together, the pair makes a stand against the authorities, facing intrigue, betrayal and murder in hope of seeing their homeland saved and Buruu fly again.

When I got this gorgeous book in the mail, it came with an author's note, which I read because I like that sort of thing. In the note, it said:

"I wanted to write an epic adventure, full of battles and betrayals and chainsaw katana fights, with a kick-ass heroine who didn't need to choose a boy by which to define herself."

I don't think Stormdancer could be described any better than that, so I'm going to call this a mission accomplished on Jay Kristoff's part. Doesn't that sentence alone just make you want to yell, "YES, PLEASE!"? That's the stuff of dream book descriptions right there.

Did the book live up to my super high expectations after reading that note? Heck yeah, it did. This book is pregnant with epic-super-awesome-amazingness. I'm having a difficult time putting all of the things that I love about it into coherent and structured paragraphs.

I love that Buruu thinks in ALL CAPS, because I think that a thunder tiger griffin thing would be yelling all of the time, even in its head. I like the human-has-telepathic-connection-with-animal trope, and this one is done with particular care, heart, and humor. I like that Stormdancer has themes that are relevant.

The characters are so real. They're honorable and dishonorable and bitter and hateful and power-hungry and angry and loyal and zealous and manipulative and deceitful and just oh-so-flawed but mostly lovable, except for the villain who is completely detestable in the best kind of way. I love it. Buruu is obviously my favorite, because really. But everyone has such a depth to them and the characterization just makes me really, really happy.

The world is complex, and requires a few chapters of exposition in order to build the world and inform the reader of its current state and how Yukiko ends up in her situation. The pacing of these chapters is a little slow, but there's some really good stuff in there as well. If you are impatient, then this might put you off initially, but stick with it. Once Buruu comes into the picture, the story becomes a fast-paced, non-stop crazy adventure with Arashitora wings. The writing is descriptive without being flowery and is just really good.

Though it has been sort of adopted by the YA community due to its 16-year-old heroine and its steampunk amazingness and its mythical creatures and its general possession of awesome, Stormdancer is written for adults - there is some gore and violence, some language, and some sexy times in it. If you aren't into reading about throat biting and blood spatter then some of the scenes might gross you out. Personally, I like a little gore in my sci-fi & fantasy, so I was all about it. And I feel that it serves a purpose toward the juxtaposition of humanity and animal instincts. Yukiko and Buruu share a bond that blurs the line between those two things, and each of them loses a piece of themselves as they gain a part of the other.

The ending is epic and extremely fulfilling. Conflict is resolved - no cliffhangers here. But it's only the first part of what must be done. I am so looking forward to the second book of The Lotus War.

I recommend this book. Highly! Go get it because you know you want to read about griffins and chainsaw katanas and betrayal and war. If you like steampunk, Japanese-influenced fantasy, mythical creatures, and/or rebellion, then you need to have this book in front of your face.

Favorite Covers: September 2012

Here are some of my favorite covers for September 2012: The Need 'Em Now Edition

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff
Gah! This cover is perfect. Every little detail reminds me of the book. The illustration of Yukiko and Buruu is amazing and accurate. The font is so Japanese and so Steampunk at the same time. You can really look at this cover and get an idea of what the book is about. Plus, it looks amazing.
Amazon | Goodreads

Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
I'm so glad that the cover for the first book in this series was changed from yet another girl in a dress. The original cover on the ARC for that book made this look like a paranormal series. But it's high fantasy. So when they changed it to look more fantasy-ish, I was pretty excited. And I like this one even more. The colors are gorgeous. I approve!
Amazon | Goodreads

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
I love the artistic simplicity of the cover for The Raven Boys. I love the black and white with splashes of red. It looks both sinister and magical and I think that the cover conveys that perfectly.
Amazon | Goodreads


Do you also like any of these covers? There are so many awesome covers this month, and it was difficult to choose only three! Are there any that you're tempted to buy for the cover alone? What new little works of art will you be picking up for your shelves this month? Let me know in the comments!