The winner of The Exceptionals is:

Kell Andrews!

The winner of Storybound is:

Chaunce Stanton!

Congrats to the winners!

1

The dog yawned

and almost swallowed

My Dharma

 It’s strange how a plan can unfold sometimes—an umbrella shooting up at the touch of a button and extending out in all directions quickly, effortlessly.  In so many ways, this journey is exactly the wrong thing to do.  I mean, what kind of daughter leaves her grieving father and takes off across the country for no reason, or no reason she can say out loud?  But I look at Katy beside me—I see her clutching that book like always, the bright flash of her blue toenails on the dash—and I can’t help but smile.   

It comes over me in a rush, as we pull into a spot at Camden State Park, the sun setting in an impressive fiery red ball behind our campsite. 

 The light.  Red like the iron ore dust that settled on the sills of the shabby apartment where I abandoned my father.  I can still hear the trains rattling through the thin walls of my bedroom at night, the whistle growing so loud and then fading, into the distance.  I can still see his pale face at the window, the small motion of his hand, waving goodbye—a sorrow-laden blessing. 

 A feeling.  Real feelings, rushing over me like the strands of the retro bead curtain in Katy’s basement, each one familiar and fleeting, clacking together softly in my wake.  It’s the first time in forever I’m actually interested in what comes next—or even in what happens now. 

Excerpt copyright © 2012 Elissa J. Hoole

About the book:

The summer after high school graduation and a year after her mother’s tragic death, Anna and her longtime best friend Kat set out on a road trip across the country, armed with camping supplies and a copy of Jack Kerouac’s DHARMA BUMS, determined to be open to anything that comes their way. 

What people are saying:

“An enormously engaging, exquisitely written, laugh-out-loud funny, original story that transcends coming out to finding yourself and the true meaning of love.”–Julie Anne Peters, author of Luna and Keeping You a Secret

“Not so much a coming out as a coming up, Anna’s quiet, rich story will work its way into readers’ hearts.”–Kirkus

Released: May 15, 2012

About the author:

Elissa Janine Hoole has a longstanding love of road trips and beat writers, but it was a summer-long ramble out West that inspired this debut novel, when she and her husband set off across the country with a backpack full of Kerouac books. Now settled in her home in northern Minnesota, Elissa teaches middle school English and writes until midnight, sipping cold coffee and ignoring the laundry.

She still suffers from acute wanderlust from time to time, but road trips now involve a mini-van and a chorus of “Are we there yet?” from two small dharma bums-in-training. Visit her at www.elissajhoole.com.

Giveaway:

Elissa has been kind enough to contribute a copy of Kiss the Morning Start for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower on Twitter [+1 entry].

-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 only, and ends on May 30th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Nightmare

A drumbeat wakes me. Ba-Boom. Ba-Boom. It is beating a funeral dirge.

When I was my little sister Zi’s age, we rarely heard those drums. Now they wake me so many Saturdays. It seems somebody is dying all the time. These drums are calling our next-door neighbor, Umnumzana Dudu, to leave this place and join the ancestors where they live, in the earth, the land of the shadows.

I get up and walk to the window, peeking through the curtain at the Dudus’ house in the faint pink light of dawn. Their house is small like ours, government built—a matchbox house made of crumbling cement and peeling peach-colored paint. It is partially obscured by the huge billboard the government put up some few weeks ago between our houses. This is what it announces in bold white lettering against a black background:

THIS YEAR, 100,000 CHILDREN WILL BE BORN WITH HIV!

My grandmother Gogo fretted like mad when that billboard went up. “People who can’t read, they will just see that symbol for AIDS right over our house, and they will say, ‘Those people, they are the ones spreading it.’”

I tried to soothe her. “People know better than that. Those billboards are everywhere.” It’s true, the government wants everyone to know about the disease of these days before we all die from it.

But Gogo shook her head. “You watch, we will have bad luck from this thing,” she predicted.

Ba-Boom. Ba-Boom. The drums next door continue and a dog across the street howls in response.

I look for movement in the Dudus’ yard but see nothing.

Like us, they have wrapped thick barbed wire around the top of their fence, in order to keep tstosis away. Only some few of us have anything that tstosis would steal but these days, things are so hard those gangsters will hold a gun to your head and steal crumbs of phuthu right out of your mouth even as you are chewing and swallowing.

Excerpt copyright © 2012 J.L. Powers

About the book:
This Thing Called the Future is a coming-of-age story set in post-apartheid South Africa. Just as Khosi, 14, starts falling in love for the first time, she is haunted by a witch’s curse, a supernatural stalker, and the looming death of somebody she loves.

What people are saying:

“This novel takes a loving, clear-eyed look at the clash of old and new through the experience of one appealing teenager… A compassionate and moving window on a harsh world.”–Kirkus Reviews

“… a compelling, often harrowing portrait of a struggling country, where old beliefs and rituals still have power, but can’t erase the problems of the present. Readers will be fully invested in Khosi’s efforts to secure a better future.”–Publishers Weekly

“This is a fascinating glimpse into a worldview that, while foreign to many readers, is made plausible through Khosi’s practical and conflicted perspective.”–The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, 5 stars

Released: May 2011

About the author:

J.L. Powers is the author of The Confessional (2007) and This Thing Called the Future (2011). She is the editor of That Mad Game: Growing Up in a Warzone, essays from around the world (May 2012). She blogs at The Pirate Tree and Mother, Writer, Mentor  and edits the literary magazine, The Fertile Source.  Visit her online at www.jlpowers.net.

Chapter 1

The clock says 6:45, even though it’s really 6:25. If everything was normal, the alarm would ring in five minutes. I’d hit the snooze button, wrap grandma’s quilt around me, and go back to sleep until Mom came in and forced me to get up. I used to stay in bed until the last possible minute and then dash around getting ready for school—looking for my shoes or a clean t-shirt, and finally running out the door to the sound of my boyfriend, Trip, laying on the horn of his black, 1967, Chevy pick-up.

Nothing is normal, and no one makes me go to school.

Mom comes in and stands at the door to see if I’m awake.

I’m always awake.

“You think you can handle school today, Allie?” She’s quiet, so if I am asleep I can stay asleep. I shake my head without rolling over. She hovers for a minute or two, so I can see her concern before she leaves to get ready for her orderly world.

Copyright © 2012 Jennifer Shaw Wolf

About the book:

Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident—including her memory of the event. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she’s kept hidden for so long: the horrible reality of their abusive relationship.

When the police reopen the investigation, it casts suspicion on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free? Debut writer Jennifer Shaw Wolf takes readers on an emotional ride through the murky waters of love, shame, and, ultimately, forgiveness.

What people are saying:

“Teens will be consumed by the mystery, and romantics will hope that Allie and Blake can make it even though it seems that the town is against them.”—School Library Journal

“A mystery, a tragedy, a love story—Jennifer Shaw Wolf draws you in and keeps you guessing until the very last page.”—Holly Cupala, author of Tell Me a Secret and Don’t Breathe a Word

“A gripping journey from despair to hope.”—Angela Morrison, author of Sing Me to Sleep

“A fast-paced, heart-pounding mystery. I can’t wait to see what this debut novelist does next.” —Kirby Larson, Newbery Award Winning author of Hattie Big Sky

Released: April 24, 2012

About the author:

Jennifer Shaw Wolf grew up on a farm in the tiny town of St. Anthony, Idaho. She spent cold Idaho mornings milking cows in the dark and attended a school where Hunter’s Education was part of the sixth grade curriculum. She’s always been a writer, whether it was sewing together books to read to her little brothers or starting an underground newspaper in sixth grade. She met the love of her life at Ricks College, (now BYU Idaho), after he dropped her on her head. She graduated from Ricks and then Brigham Young University, Provo with a degree in Broadcast Communications. Now she lives in beautiful, green, (rainy) Lacey, Washington with her husband and four kids. She loves to produce videos, ski, ride horses, and read, but really all she has time for is chasing kids and writing. Visit her at www.jennifershawwolf.com.

Giveaway:

Jennifer has been kind enough to contribute a copy of Breaking Beautiful for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower on Twitter [+1 entry].

-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 May 16th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Goldenrod Moram had a first name that sounded like it belonged in the middle of a fairy tale, where she would be the dazzling princess in need of rescuing. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. For one thing, fairy-tale princesses probably didn’t get in trouble practically every day of the fifth grade. (Then again, they probably didn’t talk back much either.) For another, fairy-tale princesses probably had more than one friend in the whole entire world. (And, if they didn’t, they at least had servants or courtiers or some such other fan base that could pass for friends.)

But Goldenrod had only been named Goldenrod because her mother was an avid gardener and her father had lost the coin toss on the day of her birth. Had her father won, she might have been named after one of his hobbies, which included cooking and amateur house repair. When daydreaming, Goldenrod often thought about all the other things she could have been called and how they all would have been preferable: Oregano Moram, Staple Gun Moram, Brisket Moram, Spark Plug…

“Goldenrod!”

Nope, she couldn’t escape her name. And here it was being hissed at her by a tall woman with dark hair and pursed lips.

Copyright © 2012 Sarvenaz Tash

About the book:

Goldenrod Moram loves nothing better than a good quest. Intrepid, curious, and full of a well-honed sense of adventure, she decides to start her own exploring team fashioned after her idols, the explorers Lewis and Clark, and to map the forest right behind her home. This task is complicated, however, by a series of unique events—a chance encounter with a mysterious old lady has her searching for a legendary blue rose. Another encounter lands her in the middle of a ragtag gang of brilliant troublemakers. And when she stumbles upon none other than the ghost of Meriwether Lewis himself, Goldenrod knows this will be anything but an ordinary summer . . . or an ordinary quest.

What people are saying:

“Full of adventure and mystery, this novel is sure to bring out the explorer in every reader…RECOMMENDED.”–Library Media Connection

“The Mapmaker and the Ghost is a book that readers of all ages will gobble up like cupcakes. A definite must read!”–Word Spelunking

Released: April 24, 2012

About the author:

Sarvenaz Tash was born in Tehran, Iran and grew up on Long Island, NY. She received her BFA in Film and Television from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. This means she got to spend most of college running around and making movies (it was a lot of fun). She has dabbled in all sorts of writing including screenwriting, copywriting, and professional tweeting. Sarvenaz currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. The Mapmaker and the Ghost is her debut novel. Visit her at www.sarvenaztash.com.

The winner of Pretty Crooked is:

Sherrie Petersen!

The winner of Wonder Show is:

GVR!

Congrats to the winners!

Tonight at supper, over capon and relish, my father ruined my life.

He smiled big, scrubbed his lips with the end of his cloak and said, “We’re moving house.”

“Thank the Blessed Virgin!”  I sat up straighter and smoothed my kirtle. “I’m weary to thimbles of Coventry.  Will we be back at Edgeley Hall in time for the Maypole?”

“No, sweeting.  We’re not going back to Edgeley.  We’re moving to Caernarvon.”

“What in God’s Name is that?”

“It’s a town in Wales.”

I’m in my chamber now.  I will never speak to him again.

Unless he buys me a new pelisson for the journey.

Copyright © 2012 J. Anderson Coats

About the book:

Medieval teens behaving badly in English-occupied Wales.

What people are saying:

“Brilliant: a vision of history before the victors wrote it.”–Kirkus, starred review

“I am gobsmacked by this astonishing story. This is a remarkable achievement, full of truth and compassion.”—Karen Cushman, Newbery Medal-winning author of The Midwife’s Apprentice

“[An] unusually honest portrait of the effects of power…[Coats] offers us a potent historical novel.”–Horn Book, starred review

“A rich historical novel that challenges readers to think about universal ideas, such as true justice.”—VOYA

Released: April 17, 2012

About the author:

J. Anderson Coats has dug for crystals, held Lewis and Clark’s original hand-written journal and been a mile underground. She has a cool surgery scar unrelated to childbirth, she reads Latin, and she’s been given the curse of Cromwell on a back-road in Connemara. On a clear day, she can see the Olympic mountains from her front window. On the foggy ones, she can smell the Puget Sound. Visit her at www.jandersoncoats.com.

Una often told herself that she was invisible. Perhaps that was the reason people passed her in the halls, their eyes skimming over her slight form as if she were part of the scenery: a desk, a book, a classroom, a girl. It could also be the reason why Ms. McDonough, perched on her musty old pink chair, talked to her cats about Una as though Una wasn’t there. “The girl sassed me today,” she would say, or “The girl is quite selfish and irresponsible.” But Una didn’t mind too much. The cats couldn’t tease Una like the kids in the other foster homes had. There had been five foster families so far, and Ms. McDonough’s was the first, where Una could actually be alone. Even at dinner, as they sat together at the long mahogany table, the surface polished to such a gleam that Una’s big violet eyes looked back up at her, even there Ms. McDonough never acknowledged her, and Una was left to her own imagination.

Copyright © 2012 Marissa Burt

***Read Storybound for FREE in April on the HarperCollins website.***

About the book:

When Una Fairchild stumbles upon a mysterious book buried deep in the basement of her school library, she finds herself Written In to the land of Story—a world filled with Heroes and Villains and fairy-tale characters.

Together with her new friend Peter and a talking cat named Sam, Una digs deep into Story’s shadowy past to find out why she has been Written In. She quickly realizes that she is tied to the world in ways she never could have imagined—and it might be up to her to save it.

What people are saying:

“An appealing fantasy.  Strong writing and interesting characters make Una’s journey enjoyable, and the overall result will have readers on the lookout for the planned sequel.”–Publishers Weekly

“A richly imagined world.  Readers will enjoy the mind-bending fun of puzzling together the small details.”–Booklist

“Readers who love fantasy may see an opportunity to snuggle up with a cup of cocoa and unravel the plot, which twists and turns in on itself, with happy surprises.”–Kirkus

Released: April 3, 2012

About the author:

Marissa Burt was forever getting notes sent home from teachers about reading novels during class. She grew up in Oregon, and drifted eastward through Colorado, Illinois, Tennessee, and South Carolina before coming back to the Pacific Northwest. She now lives in the Seattle area with her husband, three sons, and heaps of books. Visit her at www.marissaburt.com.

 Giveaway:

Marissa has been kind enough to contribute a signed copy of Storybound for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower on Twitter [+1 entry].

-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 April 25th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

PROLOGUE

I only hesitated for a moment. I wrapped my hands around the thick black wire and pulled with all of my strength. I felt the energy surge through my body. Everything went from blindingly bright, to gray, then slowly faded to black. I knew this was how it was going to end; in truth I was glad to have it finally over with.

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you are about to die. Mine didn’t – well, not exactly, anyway. My story played out in my head, at least the part that led me to where I am now, lying peacefully on the forest floor.

Tom, a boy I had a crush on for years, finally asked me to the Spring Fling last March. We went with Tom’s best friend Joey and his girlfriend Amber. Not the brightest bulb, Joey tried to sneak beer into the dance when everyone knew the police would be checking the cars. Surprise, surprise, we got caught.

Lakeville High a few days ago, and I would not be dying right now. And yet, if I had to do it over, I wouldn’t change a thing. Well, maybe one thing. I wish I had written it all down, so everyone would know how I ended up like this, and more importantly, that I had no regrets.

I would begin on that blustery March night, and this is what I’d write….

Copyright © 2012 Erin Cashman

About the book:

In a famous family of exceptionally talented people, fifteen-year-old Claire Walker is ordinary . . . or so she leads everyone to believe. Yet the minute she steps out of line, her parents transfer her to Cambial Academy: the prestigious boarding school that her great-grandfather founded for students with supernatural abilities, or “specials”. Although Claire can’t see ghosts or move objects with her mind like the other students, she does have a special she considers too lame to admit: she can hear the thoughts of animals.

Just as she is settling in, one by one the most talented students – the Exceptionals – go missing. In an attempt to find out what happened to them, Claire uncovers a dark prophecy involving a plot to destroy Cambial and a mysterious girl who can communicate with a hawk. Could she be that girl? Does the gorgeous but secretive boy she meets in the woods know more than he is letting on? After years of ignoring her special, Claire decides the time has come to embrace her ability . . . before it’s too late.

What people are saying:

“Debut novelist Cashman delivers an engaging, exciting twist on the school story, introducing readers to a whole new set of supernatural skills and adventures. With its varied and intriguing cast of characters, The Exceptionals will appeal to a wide range of readers, all of whom will be eager to see if there will be forthcoming adventures at Cambial Academy.”–School Library Journal

Released: April 1, 2012

About the author:

Erin Cashman grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Bates College and from Boston College Law School. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and three children. You can visit her at www.erincashman.com.

Giveaway:

Erin has been kind enough to contribute a copy of The Exceptionals for a giveaway!

Just comment on this post to enter.

For extra entries:

-Be a follower on Twitter [+1 entry].

-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 April 18th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Once there was a girl with hair the color of dead leaves, teeth the size of piano keys, freckles as big as polka dots, and eyes that couldn’t see squat. Everyone laughed at her and called her Polka Dot. Poor Polka Dot felt like a total weirdo, and always wished a fairy godmother would appear and cut her some slack.

But that was just too darn bad, because fairy godmothers only care about beautiful girls with wicked stepmothers. So when Polka Dot spotted a fairy godmother resting on a park bench, she kept her wish simple and begged for better eyesight. Sweet naive Polka Dot, no one ever told her some fairy godmothers have ginormous attitude issues.

“I’m on a coffee break, kid,” said the fairy godmother. “Get yourself some glasses and stop pestering me.”

Excerpt copyright © 2012 Jenny Lundquist

About the book:

Calliope Meadow Anderson wishes her life could be more of a fairy tale—just like the stories she writes. Her best friend, Ellen, is acting weird, she’s terrified to start middle school, and to top things off, she’s found out she needs glasses—hideously large and geeky glasses. But Callie soon discovers her glasses have a special, magical perk: When she wears them, she can read people’s thoughts. For the first time ever she’s answering all the questions right in math class and gets a glimpse of what goes through people’s minds all day, including what Ellen—and her longtime crush—really think of her.

Crazy glasses aside, Callie has more drama to face when she’s cast as the lead in the school play and instead opts to be an understudy, giving the role of Cinderella to Ellen—just like she’s done for their entire friendship. Can Callie’s magic glasses help her see her way to leading lady, or is she destined to stay in the background forever, even with her super freaky magic glasses?

Released: March 20, 2012

About the author:

Jenny Lundquist grew up in Huntington Beach, California, wearing glasses and wishing they had magic powers. They didn’t, but they did help her earn a degree in Intercultural Studies at Biola University. Her favorite part of college was spending one semester living in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, where she drank lots of tea, met some really interesting people, and honed her Yahtzee skills. Jenny has painted an orphanage in Mexico, taught English at a university in Russia, and hopes one day to write a book at a café in Paris. Jenny and her husband live in northern California with their two sons, and Rambo, the world’s whiniest cat. You can visit Jenny online at www.jennylundquist.com

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