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Win a signed copy of Hope in Patience! Details at the end of this post.

I wake up in a cold sweat most nights, and I think it’s happening again.

I think he’s in my bedroom, and I can feel him running his hands all over my body. He’s rubbing my back, squeezing my butt, and trying to push his fingers down into where the tightly wrapped blanket makes a V, where my legs meet. He tries to roll me onto my back again and again, but I have my arms locked at my sides and my hands prayer-like across my breasts. My legs are pushed together and slippery from sweat, and I’m as stiff as a corpse. . . .

I grit my teeth and force myself out of the nightmare. I roll onto my back, unlock my hands, and open my eyes to prove that I am safe in my bedroom, just down the hall from my father and stepmother. The bathroom light stays on all night for my extra reassurance. I snake my hand from beneath the covers and rub the rough cedar paneling, then pull the comforter up to my chin, turn onto my side, and align my body with my dog Emma’s. She paddles her feet, and I know she’s chasing rabbits in her dreams.

Excerpt copyright © 2010 Beth Fehlbaum

About the book:

The Patience Books, Courage in Patience, Hope in Patience, and Truth in Patience, are the story of Ashley Nicole Asher, who is sexually, emotionally, and physically abused by her stepfather, from the age of nine. Courage in Patience begins Ashley’s story. When she at last tells a trusted teacher what has been happening to her, Child Protective Services steps in, and Ashley is removed from her mother’s home. She is then reunited with her biological father, who has not been a part of Ashley’s life since infancy. Through the summer school English class taught by her stepmother, Ashley learns to face her greatest fears and, along with other teens, discovers just how strong she is. Ashley’s story continues with Hope in Patience, as Ashley continues her rocky road to recovery, wonders what it would be like to have a boyfriend, and faces the ultimate betrayal.

Ashley’s story is about courage and the power of hope to overcome fear.

This is not ‘an abuse story’– it is a survival story, as evidenced by the bravery shown by all the teenagers in the Patience books, who face life-changing events head-on. A huge part of Ashley’s ability to begin to heal comes about by witnessing acts of profound courage, all around her. Ashley’s story is anyone’s story– anyone who has ever overcome what they thought they never could; anyone who has ever known what it is to want to be loved and accepted as-is.

What people are saying:

The American Library Association named Hope in Patience a 2011 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers!!

“Ashley’s struggles to make friends in a new school, to fit in, to figure out who she is are normal teen issues even if her personal history is not. Even readers who have not been abused will connect with Ashley and her friends. Their voices are real. Their struggles are real. For those who have or are dealing with similar issues, this book speaks up where perhaps they cannot…this title deserves a place in every high school and community library.”–Children’s Literature

“I was astounded to find that anyone can relate to Ashley’s story and that the book was remarkably optimistic and fun.”–VOYA‘s teen reviewer

“The author is to be applauded  for her courageous and accurate portrayal of the many small steps that lead toward psychological healing. It is Ashley’s friendships with other ‘misfits’ that help Ashley understand that she, too, deserves love. This book will open hearts and might well save lives.”–School Library Journal

“Ashley will have readers rooting for her.”–Publisher’s Weekly

Released: October 2010

About the author:

I was inspired to write this story by my own recovery from childhood sexual abuse. In the process of working through my own grief, disbelief, and anger, I was writing poems and short stories, and sharing them with my (long-suffering) therapist. One day, he suggested that I try writing a novel.

In the process of knocking down the walls I had built around myself,  I found Ashley Nicole Asher, age 15, and Patience, Texas, a tiny East Texas town populated with people who can be found anywhere, dealing with the same problems that all people must face, whether they want to admit it or not.

I was born in Dallas, Texas, and I have one brother, who is a police sergeant. My husband and I were high school sweethearts, and we married young. We have three daughters who are amazing and brilliant. I have a B.A. in English, minor Secondary Education, from the University of Texas at Arlington,  and an M.Ed. in Elementary Education, specializing in Reading, from Texas A & M — Commerce.

I am fortunate to love both my jobs, as teacher and author! I cannot imagine a more perfect existence than the one I have. My favorite place in the world is my front porch. I write books there in the summer at a table built by a good friend.

Oh– one other thing– Ashley’s dog, Emma, who wanders up to Ashley one hot July day, is based on my dog, Emma, who wandered up to me the same way, every bit as worn down and scarred by life as Emma in the Patience books. You can visit me at www.bethfehlbaumya.com.

Giveaway:

Beth has been kind enough to contribute a signed copy of Hope in Patience for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].

Please list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on October 14th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Win a copy of With a Name Like Love! Details at the end of this post.

It was the eighteenth of July, 1957, when Ollie’s daddy slowed their rusted out Chevy pickup near the junction of Highway 20 and Carter Road. They had come to set up for a three-day revival. Ollie sat in the truck bed with her sisters. She was thirteen and the oldest of Reverend Love’s five daughters, followed by Martha, Gwen, Camille, and Ellen. Ellen was at Ollie’s side, clutching Baby Doll Sue and singing “Mama’s Little Baby.” Ollie noticed her sister was getting the words twisted up and wrong – again.

It may have only been nine o’clock in the morning, but the summer sun was already high in the sky and sweating up the land. Fields of soft green barley laid themselves out across the earth in perfect rows – as if God had reached down and combed them just so. Ollie noticed a carved up plank of wood that someone long ago had shoved into the dark Southern soil. It read: Binder, Arkansas.

Excerpt copyright © 2011 Tess Hilmo

About the book:

With a Name Like Love is a page turning, middle grade murder mystery full of heart and soul.

What people are saying:

“Hilmo creates a family, a town and a mystery that readers won’t soon forget … A story about the meaning of home, justice and love, beautifully told.”–Kirkus, starred review

“With a Name Like Love is just the sort of book I adore: a couldn’t-put-it-down mystery, richly drawn characters that grabbed me from the get-go, and a vivid small-town setting.  Two words for Tess Hilmo’s charming and suspenseful debut novel: Love it!”–Barbara O’Connor, author of The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester

Released: September 27, 2011

About the author:

Tess Hilmo is a writer, family girl, hike taker, occasional nap stealer and lover of diet coke.  This, her debut novel, was inspired by her affinity for old, Southern gospel music like “This Little Light of Mine” and “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”. You can visit her at www.tesshilmo.com.

Giveaway:

Tess has been kind enough to contribute a copy of With a Name Like Love for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].

Please list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on October 12th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Win a copy of The Princess of Las Pulgas! Details at the end of this post.

Chapter 1

Last night I pleaded with Death, but he turned a bony back to me, pushed Hope into the corridor and shut the door.

We’re waiting, all of us. Mom in the chair next to Dad’s bed, holding his hand as if she can keep him with us as long as she doesn’t let go. Keith asleep on the rollaway a nurse wheeled in earlier. He’s on his side, his long runners’ legs drawn to his chest and his head resting on his arm. Me, scrunched down into a chair at the foot of Dad’s bed. I no longer feel like I have a body. I’m not even tired, just numb. Then Death. He’s backed into the darkest corner.

I twist my Sweet Sixteen bracelet around and around, counting the tiny links. Mom and Dad gave it to me in June before I learned how hospitals smelled at two a.m. or how I preferred nightmares to being awake.

I hate being here.

I hate what’s happening.

I want it over.

I close my eyes and let my head fall back against the vinyl chair.

No. I don’t mean that.

Excerpt copyright © 2010 C. Lee McKenzie

 About the book:

Carlie Edmund has everything: a loving family, good friends, a perfect home and wealth and status; then in her junior year of high school the worst happens. Her dad dies and her mom must sell their home to pay disputed medical bills. Carlie’s life is turned upside down, and she must learn to live in a very different place with very different people.

What people are saying:

“Small but glittering details illuminate the prose, and perfect turns of phrase keep the reader right next to Carlie as she struggles . . . Full of heart and hope . . . a beautiful book.”–L.K. Madigan, 2010 Morris Award winner Flash Burnout

“A beautifully written, meaningful, young adult novel. Carlie Edmund will jump off the page and pull you into a poignant and timely story of loss and ultimate gain.”–Francisco X. Stork, author of Marcelo in the Real World, NY Times Notable Children’s Book of 2009, Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2009 & 2010 YALSA Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults

“Brimming with loss, hope, and the enduring power of love . . .”–Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters

Released: December 2010

About the author:

C. Lee McKenzie is a native Californian who grew up in a lot of different places; then landed in the Santa Cruz Mountains where she lives with her family and miscellaneous pets—usually strays that find her rather than the other way around. She writes most of the time, gardens and hikes and does yoga a lot, and then travels whenever she can. Her favorite destinations are Turkey and Nicaragua, but because she had family in England, Switzerland, and Spain she goes there frequently as well.

She takes on modern issues that today’s teens face in their daily lives. Her first young adult novel, Sliding on the Edge, which dealt with cutting and suicide was published in 2009. Her second, titled The Princess of Las Pulgas, dealing with a family who loses everything and must rebuild their lives came out in 2010. You can visit her at http://cleemckenziebooks.com.

Giveaway:

Lee has been kind enough to contribute a copy of The Princess of Las Pulgas for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].

Please list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on October 5th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Jerry Mac MacDonald has no pre-game rituals. He wakes up, jumps out of bed, and eats whatever looks good. Even though we have to be on the soccer field in forty- five minutes, he shows up at my house and starts playing solitaire on my computer.“You’re not going to believe it, Ari. I just got the fourth king.”

I believe it. Mac is the luckiest person I know. Beyond lucky. Always in the right place at exactly the right time. But it’s not just that. Girls think he is cute. Two weeks of school, the guy still has no homework. Most impressive: Even though the stakes could not be higher, he does not feel out of control.

Today is the all-important last day of tryouts for Somerset Valley select soccer, U-thirteen, Division One. I can’t leave anything to chance.

Excerpt copyright © 2011 Sarah Aronson

About the book:
It’s not exactly that Ari Fish is obsessive compulsive. It’s just that he believes in luck. That’s why he recites American presidents (in order), always showers with his left hand, and talks to his poster of Wayne Timcoe (the greatest goalkeeper ever to graduate from Somerset Valley High) before he goes on to the soccer pitch. Thomas Jefferson may have said that luck is all a matter of hard work, but Ari knows that sometimes luck is…luck. And to win at soccer you need it.

When Ari finds a rare Wayne Timcoe trading card, he knows his luck has changed. Now he’s going to start in the net. Mac MacDonald will learn to play nicely with Parker Llewellyn, the only girl on the team. And Ari’s fire-fighter brother will come home safely. Right? But then Ari’s Timcoe card disappears. With his luck finally run out, what can Ari put in its place?

What people are saying:
“Aronson skillfully dodges the predictability of sports-themed books by creating multilayered characters and an intriguing whodunit involving a valuable missing rookie card…Aronson’s graceful storytelling will keep even nonsoccer buffs turning pages.”–Publisher’s Weekly

“The pursuit of luck is the guiding force behind this appealing, middle-grade sports novel about soccer and friendship.”–Jewish Book Council, starred review

Released: June 30, 2011

About the author:

Sarah Aronson holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the author of the YA novel, Head Case, named a 2008 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, and the newly released Beyond Lucky. She is the co organizer and founder of the Novel Writing Retreat at VCFA. Check out her writing classes at www.writers.com.

Win a copy of Witchlanders! Details at the end of this post.

Chapter One

Flowers and Bones

Ryder woke to the sound of clattering bones. A red curtain separated the sleeping area from the main room of the cottage, and he could see the faint flickering of candles through the fabric.

“Skyla,” he whispered.

Even in his sleep he’d known there was something wrong. A feeling of dread lay heavy in his stomach. Next to him in the long bed, Ryder’s two younger sisters were quiet. Pima, the little one, lay diagonally with the covers bunched up around her. Her mouth was open and she was snoring gently. Skyla was pressed into the corner.

“Sky…” he began again.

“I know,” she said. There was nothing sleepy about her voice. He wondered how long she’d been awake.

“Why didn’t you do something?” Ryder flung off the bit of tattered blanket that covered his legs. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

The dirt floor was cold under his bare feet. He’d grown tall in the past year, too tall for the low doorframe that led to the main part of the cottage, and he hunched a little as he peered around the red curtain.

Mabis, his mother, was squatting on the floor, picking up bones. A goat’s femur, a horse’s rib. They were dark with age and etched with thin lines. She placed each one into a wooden bowl as large as the wheel of a donkey cart.

“Tell me who it is,” she murmured. “Tell me.” Smoke from the fire hung around the room, making rings around the candles.

About the book:

High in their mountain covens, red witches pray to the Goddess, protecting the Witchlands by throwing the bones and foretelling the future.

It’s all a fake.

At least, that’s what Ryder thinks. He doubts the witches really deserve their tithes—one quarter of all the crops his village can produce. And even if they can predict the future, what danger is there to foretell, now that his people’s old enemy, the Baen, has been defeated?

But when a terrifying new magic threatens both his village and the coven, Ryder must confront the beautiful and silent witch who holds all the secrets. Everything he’s ever believed about witches, the Baen, magic and about himself will change, when he discovers that the prophecies he’s always scorned—

Are about him.

What people are saying:

“Exquisite storytelling plus atmospheric worldbuilding equals one stunning teen debut.”–Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Read the full review here.

“Plot twists unfold at a riveting pace, the boys’ characters are compellingly sketched, and Coakley explores her subject matter masterfully without falling prey to safe plot choices.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review) Read the full review here.

“As unique and enchanting a world as Garth Nix’s Abhorsen myth: here’s a thrilling tale of the clash between two magical races, Witchlanders and Baen, seen through the eyes of very likeable young characters. And it’s written in beautiful prose. Warning – you may stay up all night until you are finished and you will want more! Lena Coakley is definitely a new star in the fantasy firmament.”–O.R. Melling, author of Chronicles of Faerie

Released: August 30, 2011

About the author:

Lena Coakley was born in Milford, Connecticut and grew up on Long Island. In high school, creative writing was the only class she ever failed (nothing was ever good enough to hand in!), but, undeterred, she went on to study writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She got interested in young adult literature when she moved to Toronto, Canada, and began working for CANSCAIP, the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers, where she eventually became the Administrative Director. She is now a full-time writer living in Toronto. Witchlanders is her first novel. You can visit her at lenacoakley.com.

Giveaway:

Lena has been kind enough to contribute an copy of Witchlanders for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].

Please list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on September 27th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

For the first time in days, I hear voices. I’m curled over on myself, pressed into my cramped hiding spot, clinging to the dark like it’s a lifejacket.

The voices move closer.

They’ll pass by, like they have before. They’ll go somewhere else. They have to.

But they don’t.

Laughter roars just above me, and through a chink in the tarp I see dirty gray running shoes move closer. I push myself tighter into a ball. They don’t know I’m here; maybe they won’t see me. Then the cover is ripped away and everything moves very fast: a roar of frigid air; a blinding wash of light; men’s voices raised in shock and alarm.

I’ve been discovered.

Just as quickly, the tarp falls back on top of me. I am alone with my terror. The voices mutter to each other, growing louder and harder and fiercer.

They were caught off guard, but they’ll soon decide what to do. They’ll rip away the cover for good this time—and then what?

Excerpt copyright © 2011 A.J. Paquette

About the book:

Fourteen-year-old Luchi is anything but an ordinary American teenager. Born in a remote country prison in Northern Thailand, her mother’s death pushes Luchi into the outside world–and into the web of secrets that was her mother’s past. A coming-of-age story that follows a compelling character on her journey across continents, and oceans, and into a future she cannot begin to imagine.

What people are saying:

“A lovely Cinderella tale.”–Mitali Perkins, author of Monsoon Summer and Rickshaw Girl

“The tautly paced narrative places Luchi in high-stakes situations as she makes discoveries about her family history, as well as herself. … The highly atmospheric setting and thoughtful, determined narrator create a memorable thriller about identity and belonging.”–Publishers Weekly

“The teen’s taut narration captures the strangeness of her circumstances, her conflicting familiarity and insecurity with Thai culture, and her emerging sense of self and independence. The protagonist is an appealing heroine caught in a hazy web of family secrets, but determined to fulfill her mother’s last words, ‘Go home.’”–School Library Journal

Released: September 13, 2011

About the author:

Ammi-Joan Paquette (A. J. Paquette) is the author of THE TIPTOE GUIDE TO TRACKING FAIRIES (Tanglewood, 2009), which was on the ABC’s Best of 2009 list and was featured in Scholastic: Parent and Child magazine; and the middle-grade novel NOWHERE GIRL (Walker/Bloomsbury, 2011), and was a 2005 PEN-NE Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award honoree. She is also a literary agent with Erin Murphy Literary Agency, representing the authors of picture books through YA novels. She lives outside of Boston with her family and her very tall to-read pile. You can visit her at http://ajpaquette.com.

Bridget stared at the clock on the wall and cursed its painfully slow progression toward three fifiteen. Was the big hand even moving? She slipped her cell phone out of her backpack for cross-reference. Damn. Seven more minutes. It was so like a Catholic school to make Latin the last class of the day. Institutionalized Purgatory.

“Hey,” Hector whispered from the desk in front of her. “Want to hit House of Pies after school?”

“Maybe.” The last thing Hector needed was another slice of Triple Chocolate pie.

“Maybe?” Hector swiveled his torso around to face her. “You got a hot date or something?”

Before Bridget could tell Hector to shove it, Peter Kim cleared his throat. “Shut up, you guys. Sister Evangeline’s going to kill us.”

Bridget glanced at the wizened little nun sitting motionless at her desk, engrossed in a romance novel. “Live a little, Peter. Seriously.”

Excerpt copyright © 2011 Gretchen McNeil

About the book:

Enlisted to help in dangerous cases of demonic possession, a teenaged exorcist discovers a race of part-demons intent on raising their forefathers to the earth in human form.

What people are saying:

“With demons, secrets, and a butt-kicking heroine, POSSESS is a whole lotta dark and twisted fun!”–Kimberly Derting, author of the Body Finder series

“A dark, unique, and intelligent novel with frightening twists around every corner that left me breathless.”–Courtney Allison Moulton, author of ANGELFIRE

Released: August 23, 2011

About the author:

Gretchen McNeil is an opera singer, writer and clown.  Her YA horror/paranormal POSSESS debut with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins, August 23, 2011.  Her second novel, TEN – YA horror/suspense about ten teens trapped on a remote island with a serial killer – is tentatively scheduled for a Fall 2012 release. Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4′s Code Monkeys and she currently sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. Gretchen is also a founding member of the vlog group YARebels where she can be seen as “Monday.” You can visit her at www.gretchenmcneil.com.

Win a copy of Water Balloon! Details at the end of this post.

Brightly Colored Happiness

The blitzing began five years ago, in second grade, on one of those amazing spring days that remind you how hot summer can be. I was sitting outside, waiting for my best friends to come over. I knew we’d spend the day outside–the weather was the kind of gorgeous that makes you feel stupid if you spend a minute indoors.

I have no idea why I had a bag of balloons in the garage, but I did. Before Leah and Jane arrived, I blew up a ton with the hose, and filled this big planter, behind my dad’s grill, with water balloons.

Whenever we hung out, we played Monopoly. We were inventing our own rules, our own way to play. Whoever bough Park Place had to get drinks for all players. If you landed on Marvin Gardens, the other players had to quickly come up with a new hairstyle for you. That kind of thing. These days, there’s an action associated with every space (Except Baltic. If you land on Baltic, you can just relax.) But on that day, we were still making it up.

So there we were, playing our evolving version of Monopoly on the wooden picnic table in the backyard. Leah was leaning back to get some sun on her face. Jane was focused on the game, like me. She had a pad next to her, keeping track of the random action we applied to each space.

I landed on B&O Railroad, which, according to our rules, meant I had to go get pretzels for them. Instead, I went to the planter.

Was there a minute, a pause, before I started throwing the balloons? A second when I realized that something way beyond awesome was about to take place? I wish I could remember.

Excerpt copyright © 2011 Audrey Vernick

About the book:

Marley is stretched as tightly as an overfull water balloon. Her parents have separated and her relationship with her forever best friends is disintegrating. To top it all off, she is forced into what must be the worst summer job in history. She is trying hard to hold on to everything she loves, but if she squeezes any tighter, something’s going to burst. Luckily, there’s also a boy in the picture with amazing light blue eyes and the ability to make baseball actually seem interesting . . . but young romance, too, has lots of opportunity for humiliation and misinterpreted signals. As everything changes around her, can Marley loosen her grip on the past long enough to embrace the present, and maybe even the future?

What people are saying:

“Vernick’s writing is beautiful, her characters well-rounded and believable, and the coming of age situations and emotions are spot on.”—Kathryn Erskine, author of the National Book Award winner Mockingbird

“Tender and true, anchored by heartbreak and buoyed by love, Water Balloon is a sweet summertime celebration of the unforgettable moments that change everything. ”—Cynthia Leitich Smith, New York Times bestselling-author of Tantalize, Eternal, and Blessed

“A funny, poignant, beautifully written story about family, first love, and the joy and pain of girls’ friendships, reminiscent of Lynne Rae Perkins’ All Alone in the Universe. I was really caught up in the world Vernick created; in Marley’s own words, ‘it is amazingly, fantastically real.’ I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!”—Joanne Rocklin, author of One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street

“Tweens will relate to this heartfelt story of a girl who is struggling to navigate the many changes in her life that seem to greet her at every turn.”—Lisa Schroeder, author of It’s Raining Cupcakes

“Marley Baird is a lovely protagonist with an engaging voice, and readers will wish they could be her best friend and help her cope with all of life’s uncertainty, aggravation, and heartache.  They will recognize their own struggles in Marley’s and cheer her on as she finds her way.”—Gina Willner-Pardo, author of The Hard Kind of Promise

“Water Balloon is breathtakingly luminous. From the start, readers will root for Marley, an unforgettable and authentic heroine; we *know* this girl, our heart breaks with hers, we laugh with her, and we want to be her friend for life. Vernick’s lyrical and astonishingly perceptive prose tells this captivating story of friendship, love, and resilience with honesty, grace, and power. This book is the real thing—I want to hug it daily!”—Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, author of 8th Grade Superzero

“A nicely reassuring read with a satisfying ending; a harbinger of more good novels to come from this author.”–Kirkus

Released: September 6, 2011

About the author:

Audrey Vernick is the author of the picture books Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten?; Teach Your Buffalo to Play Drums; and She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story. A two-time winner of the New Jersey Arts Council’s fiction fellowship, Audrey lives near the ocean with her husband, son, daughter, and dog. Water Balloon is her first novel. You  can visit her at www.audreyvernick.com or read her blog at http://literaryfriendships.wordpress.com.

Giveaway:

Audrey has been kind enough to contribute an ARC of Water Balloon for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site (just click “Join this site”) or a follower on Twitter [+1 entry each].

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link].

Please list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open in the US and Canada, and ends on September 20th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

The pandas will be back with new first pages next week, so in the meantime let’s look back at another previously-posted first page. Enjoy!

No one knew how long Amma had been there.

When the women and children who lived in the stronghold, taking advantage of a sunny day, came down the rocky cliff path to gather bird eggs and seaweed, they saw her standing just below the high-tide line, looking out to sea.

Fulla set her basket down and approached her.

“Amma? What are you doing so far from home?” she asked, but Amma didn’t answer. Instead, she stared out at the waves, eyes narrowed against the sun. Fulla turned to see what her friend was looking at, but there was nothing out of the ordinary—just gannets plummeting into the water for fish, while smaller birds swooped and skimmed over the ocean’s surface. She must have been there for a while, Fulla realized, looking down at the circle of dried salt at the bottom of Amma’s skirt. Long enough for the tide to recede and wool to dry, at the very least, although Fulla had the impression it might have been much longer. Gently, she touched the other woman’s arm. “Amma?” Again, there was no response. “Well,” she said, “I’ll be here if you need anything.”

She might as well have been talking to a post, for all the reaction she got. She pursed her lips and picked up her basket. Glancing back at Amma every now and then, she sent her son up the rocks to hunt for birds’ nests while she raked a stick through the wet seaweed, looking for the only kind worth collecting.

She raised her head just in time to see a boy hauling his arm back, ready to let a pebble fly towards Amma. She rushed over and grabbed him. “Don’t you ever do that again,” she hissed. She gave him her meanest look, then let him run away as she scanned the group for his mother.

Didn’t these women have any compassion? She saw the suspicious glances they cast towards Amma, who stood still and silent as a rock, watching the water. Unusual behavior had been common for Amma ever since she had shown up seeking a place in the kingdom some six winters back. Or was it seven? Fulla couldn’t recall, although she remembered the way people had treated Amma even then. Didn’t they recognize grief when they saw it? And they, the wives and mothers of warriors? It was said that Amma had lost her brother, her husband, even her son in a feud, although she never talked about it, not even to Fulla. No wonder she wanted to live alone far from the hall where nobles’ sons spent their days honing their fighting skills.

Fulla looked over to see her own son climbing down from the rocks, cradling eggs in his shirt, waving away a tern that screamed and flew at him, defending her nest. It wouldn’t be very many summers before Gunnar would be joining his father and his older brothers in the king’s houseguard, for all that he was still a boy. Sword training started early for the youths who lived in the stronghold, and even farmer’s sons traveled to the hall during the winters to learn how to wield spear and ax. She closed her eyes, indulging herself in a brief desire for a time when boys didn’t have to become warriors, when feuds didn’t have to be avenged, when other tribes’ raiding parties didn’t threaten the kingdom of the Geats.

A gray cloud rushed across the sun, blocking its light, and a gust of wind sent dried seaweed skittering over the rocks. In the west, more clouds gathered.

Fulla looked back at Amma, who still hadn’t moved. What did she see out there?

Excerpt copyright © 2010 by Rebecca Barnhouse. Published by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York

About the book:

Rune, a 16-year-old orphan, tries to save the kingdom from a dragon that attacks the countryside and burns down King Beowulf’s hall. Along the way, he discovers who he is—and his true place in the kingdom. The novel is inspired by the Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf.

What people are saying:

“An absorbing tale of a young man finding his courage.” -Booklist

“Nail-biting suspense” -School Library Journal

Release date: October 26, 2010

About the author:

Rebecca Barnhouse is the author of The Book of the Maidservant. She studied Beowulf in graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Now she teaches it in Ohio, where she is a professor of English at Youngstown State University.