First Page Panda

Chapter 1

Our mother was a witch, too, but she hid it better.

I miss her.

Not a single day goes by that I don’t wish for her guidance. Especially about my sisters.

Tess runs ahead of me, heading for the rose garden–our sanctuary, our one safe place. Her slippers slide on the cobblestones, the hood of her gray cloak falling to reveal blonde curls. I glance back at the house. It’s against the Brothers’ stricture for girls to go out of doors uncloaked, and running isn’t considered ladylike. But we’re concealed from the house by tall hedges. Tess is safe.

For now.

She waits ahead, kicking at the dead leaves beneath a maple. “I hate autumn,” she complains, biting at her lip with pearly teeth. “It feels so sad.”

“I like it.” There’s something invigorating in the crisp September air, the searing blue skies, the interplay of orange and scarlet and gold. The Brotherhood would probably ban autumn if they could. It’s too beautiful. Too sensuous.

Excerpt copyright © 2012 Jessica Spotswood

About the book:

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

What people are saying:

“Spotswood has re-imagined history, entwined with magic and the struggle for power, in a tale so captivating you don’t want it to end. The Cahill sisters are heroines to be reckoned with!” –Andrea Cremer

“The feminist undertones, the descriptions of sumptuous dresses, the dangerous, secretive magic wielding: Born Wicked is like a sizzling, more fun version of The Witch of Blackbird Pond.”–Romantic Times

Released: February 7, 2012

About the author:

Jessica Spotswood lives in Washington, DC with her playwright husband and a cuddly cat named Monkey. She’s never happier than when she’s immersed in a good story, and swoony kissing scenes are her favorite. You can visit her at www.jessicaspotswood.com.

1. A Tangled Family

It was his own grandmother who fed Henri-Pierre to the Cabinet of Earths, long ago when he was only four. Don’t misunderstand! It happened like this:

They were dark and cold, the first days of 1944 in Paris, and between the winter and the war, everything was bad. There was never quite enough to eat, and the rooms they lived in were never really warm, but when the electric lights winked out, Henri-Pierre and his grandmother lit a candle and huddled around its friendly yellow glow, feeling almost comfortable despite everything.

“Hands are for making things,” she told him. Her own were slim and nimble and had magic in them that could turn an odd end of wood into anything you asked for: a tiger, a salamander, a tiny ship with paper sails. Once upon a time those hands had helped make the Cabinet, and the Cabinet was maybe the most beautiful thing in the world, with the mysterious bottles glimmering behind its glass front.

“What do we keep in our bottles, little one? she asked him sometimes, and he would make the wrongest of guesses, just to hear her laugh: “Lemonade! Water! Tea!”

“Not in our bottles,” his grandmother would say (their own private joke), and she would lean forward and whisper the secret into his ear:

“In our bottles we keep Time.”

So Henri-Pierre knew what Time must look like: black grains of earth, straining like something hungry against the bottle glass.

Excerpt copyright © 2012 Anne Nesbet

About the book:

On their first day in Paris, Maya and her little brother, James, find themselves caught up in some very old magic. Houses with bronze salamanders for door handles, statues that look too much like Maya’s own worried face, a man wearing sunglasses to hide his radiant purple eyes–nothing is what it seems. And what does all that magic want from Maya? With the help of a friendly boy named Valko, Maya discovers surprises hidden in her family tree–grandmothers who walked in magic, a cousin so unremarkable she’s actually hard to see, and a terrible family habit of betraying one’s brother. To save her own brother, Maya must take on the magical underworld of Paris . . . before it is too late.

What people are saying:

“A-shimmer with magic”–Horn Book

“Charmingly creepy”–Kirkus

“Evocative prose and a confident narrative voice”–Publishers Weekly

“Readers will be swept along by the novel’s swift pace”–Shelf Awareness

“A unique, interesting fantasy with just enough suspense to keep readers turning the pages into the night”–VOYA

“Reading this book is like discovering a treasure box full of rare and wonderful things. If you open it, you’ll find a brave and good-hearted girl hero, the mysterious streets of Paris, and a magical cabinet full of life itself. The writing is luminous and absolutely compelling. It’s the best thing I’ve read in a long, long time.”–Sarah Prineas, author of The Magic Thief

Released: January 3, 2011

About the author:

Anne Nesbet teaches film and Russian literature at the University of California, Berkeley.  She lives near San Francisco with her husband, several daughters, and one irrepressible dog. You can visit her at www.annenesbet.com.

My Family’s Summerhouse

 

My mother

 

doesn’t understand

that this

 

is a summerhouse

(meant to be lived in

only during the summer.)

 

It is almost Labor Day.

 

Next week,

I’ll start my sophomore year

at Oyster River High School

in Durham, New Hampshire,

 

because she doesn’t have the courage

to go home

to Boise, Idaho.

Excerpt copyright © 2011 Sarah Tregay

 About the book:

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father. By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this “vacation” has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up.

But understanding love, especially when you’ve watched your parents’ affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? Can you even know it until you’ve lost it?

What people are saying:

“The author does a terrific job of keeping the plot moving by using poetry to her advantage. Reluctant readers will appreciate the brevity while poetic souls will appreciate the format.”–School Library Journal, Starred Review

“A verse novel with real depth to accompany all that white space.”—Kirkus Reviews

“The formal variety of Tregay’s poems creates an immediacy that should maintain readers’ interest and sympathy for Marcie. With multiple shredded relationships and friendships, there’s more than enough angst to go around, as Marcie rages against the decisions her parents have made, as well as her own.”—Publisher’s Weekly

“Although the words are simple, the themes of Love and Leftovers are not.”—VOYA

“Amazing. The most delicious love story I’ve read in ages.”–Lauren Myracle, New York Times bestselling author of SHINE

Released: December 27, 2011

About the author:

Sarah Tregay is a graphic designer. When she isn’t jotting down poems at stoplights, Sarah can be found hanging out with her “little sister” from Big Brothers Big Sisters. She lives in Eagle, Idaho, with her husband, two Boston terriers, and an Appaloosa named Mr. Pots. You can visit her at www.sarahtregay.com.

Win a copy of Mindi Scott’s Freefall! Details at the end of this post.

Just when I’m starting to think she might be dead or something, the phone rings. I lunge for it, banging my shin on the coffee table and sending Mom’s ashtray tumbling to the floor. Ashes scatter on the burnt-orange carpet.

“Mom?”

No answer.

“Mom?” I say again.

“Hello, there.” It’s a man’s voice, low and fakey-smooth. At first I’m scared it’s Drake. Then he says, “I’m calling from Rainier Collection Services. Is this Ms. J. Calhoun?”

I put on my politest voice. “Sorry, you must have the wrong number.” Then I set the receiver down with a click and remind myself for the zillionth time not to answer without checking the caller I.D. Sinking onto the couch, I study the new bruise on my shin, just above my ankle bracelet Mom made me for my birthday last year. I don’t know what I’m getting myself so worked up for. Mom has had to work late plenty of times.

I close my eyes and listen. It’s almost eleven, and the only sounds are the thunk our kitchen clock makes and the swoosh of cars hydroplaning through the lake-size puddle in the street outside. I keep waiting for one of those cars to stop and Mom to come swooping into the apartment with her jasmine-and-cigarette smell and her “Hey, honey pie, you still awake?” and her big, husky laugh. But the cars just roll on by.

I’m kind of wishing the Professor would call, take my mind off Mom.

Excerpt copyright © 2011 Helen Landalf

About the book:

Stevie is used to taking care of herself. But one night her mom never comes home from the club. That’s the night Stevie’s life turns upside down. It’s the night that kicks off an extraordinary summer: the summer she has to stay with annoyingly perfect Aunt Mindy; the summer she learns to care for injured and abandoned birds; the summer she gets to know Alan, the meanest boy in high school.

But most of all, it’s the summer she finds out the truth about Mom.

What people are saying:

“Flyaway is so good I read it in one sitting. I had intended to set it aside for later, but I read the first sentence, and then the next, and by then it was too late; I was hooked!”– Han Nolan, National Book Award winner

“Fans of Ellen Hopkins and Jay Asher: Prepare to fall in love with debut novelist Helen Landalf. Filled with bighearted love and gritty realism, Flyaway rings with bittersweet truth.”–Justina Chen, author of North of Beautiful

Released: December 20, 2011

About the author: 

Helen Landalf is a debut novelist. She lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, where she’s also a Pilates instructor and children’s dance teacher. She has two stepsons. You can visit her at www.helenlandalf.com

Giveaway:

Helen has been kind enough to contribute a paperback copy of another powerful contemporary realistic novel for a giveaway: Mindi Scott’s Freefall!

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 December 28th 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!

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.

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!

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

Henry and I get comfortable in our usual Days of Our Non Lives positions on his mother’s scratchy plaid couch in their tiny living room. We’re just in time for the familiar hourglass. Sally hushes us for the opening voice-over.

Like sands through the hourglass …

Henry and I look at each other and telepathically exchange a single, familiar phrase: We are pathetic.

… so are the days of our lives.

The small air conditioner duct-taped into the only window in the cramped living room hums mournfully over the tragedy about to play out on the TV, as well as the sagging couch the three of us sit on—Sally in the middle, as always. I close my eyes and feel the cool air against my sweaty face as the opening scene starts.

Sally leans forward to watch. Her huge breasts rub over the top of the metal mixing bowl filled with Doritos she holds in her lap. She grips the edges of the bowl, her dimpled arms blocking Henry and me from reaching in to grab a chip, as if we don’t know the rule or might try to break it: No eating during Days. Sally says the crunching is too distracting. Instead, we wait for the commercials and crunch during the ads while Sally fills us in on whatever we’ve missed since the last episode we watched with her. Her face always gets a warm glow when she talks about TV love, like it’s going to ooze into her own life any day now. Sally believes with every molecule that makes up her large pink body that somewhere out there is the perfect man for her. Henry always looks sad when his mom says this. Neither of us believes it. Even if that man did exist, how could he find Sally when she never leaves the house? There is only one man who knows where Sally is, and he left fifteen years ago, two months after Henry was born.

Henry doesn’t know much more about his father than I know about mine, and maybe that’s how we got to be such good friends, sharing our soap-opera-like dreams about who our real fathers are and how they might come back into our lives. The only things I know about my father are the hints I get from listening at closed doors. Not that I get that many opportunities. But sometimes, when my mom comes home particularly late from her waitressing job, I can get lucky. Whenever she’s late, it means she’s spent her extra tips at the bar on half-priced booze. If her keys jingle in the lock for more than fifteen seconds, I know it’s a night to listen for information. The first thing my mom does after going to the bathroom is head to her bedroom and call her best friend, Claire, to recap the last fifteen years of her life and all the places it’s gone wrong.

Excerpt© 2011 Jo Knowles

About the book:

Love can be a lot like a soap opera. Pearl (aka Bean) has watched enough hours of the TV version to know all about sudden plot twists and dark secrets… But this is real life, not a TV drama, and some things are too important to lose.

What people are saying:

“A touching family melodrama about the corrosive nature of secrets and the cleansing power of honesty.”–Kirkus

“Bean’s grief at learning the unfortunate situation surrounding her birth and its ramifications is deftly rendered, offering up a raw, unmitigated picture of a little girl lost… the hopefulness of Henry and Bean’s relationship is a welcome bit of optimism in this evocative tale that is sure to linger with readers.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“PEARL is so many things… it’s part family drama, part romance, and part mystery. It’s peopled with characters so rish, so beautifully imperfect, that it’s hard to believe they’re not real.”—Kate Messner, author of Sugar and Ice

“Quiet, powerful, and absorbing: this is a novel that will, like that tiny piece of grit, gnaw on the reader, driving her forward to find the pearl that awaits.”–Teri Lesesne, author of Reading Ladders

Released: July 19, 2011

About the author:

Jo Knowles is the author of the novels Pearl, Jumping Off Swings, Lessons from a Dead Girl and See You At Harry’s (spring 2012). She lives in Vermont with her husband and son.

Giveaway:

Jo has been kind enough to contribute a copy of Pearl 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 only and ends on August 3rd at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

Win a signed copy of Falling for Hamlet! Details at the end of this post.

Prologue

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, thank you!” Zara shouts as she feigns surprise at the audience’s outpouring of affection and its standing ovation. She gestures for the audience members to sit down, though she smiles broadly when they continue to stand. “Please. Please,” she gestures, and since they have all been watching her for years, they know that she means business even when she’s giving a casual instruction. They settle into their seats as Zara flops precisely onto her overstuffed cream couch, smoothing her dark hair.

She leans forward and begins: “Today we have a guest who will amaze you.” She pauses to punctuate the drama and yells, “Ophelia is in the house!” Her tone sends the audience members to their feet again. They know how lucky they are to have been in the audience on this day, and this is their moment to show it. The camera cuts to mostly middle-aged women in seasonal sweaters gasping, clapping, smiling. One even dabs a tear of excitement, or is it sadness? Who can tell, and who really cares? It’s a tear that some cameraman was lucky enough to capture, a cameraman who is planning, as he films, what he will buy with the bonus the segment producer will give him for catching an actual tear wipe.

The audience calms down after a last twitter and exchange of amazed glances. “Our nation has been so deeply saddened by the tragedies surrounding the royals of Denmark. Today, we will speak to Ophelia herself and find out how this young woman was caught up in the secrecy, the revenge, and the madness . . . madness that we all thought had consumed her.

“You are a lucky audience, indeed, to be here this afternoon. Ophelia has agreed to make one appearance, one exclusive appearance, to tell her story. So, ladies and gentlemen, here she is. Ophelia, come on out here, girl.”

Excerpt© 2011 Michelle Ray

About the book:

Meet Ophelia, high school senior, daughter of the Danish king’s most trusted adviser, and longtime girlfriend of Prince Hamlet. She lives a glamorous life, has a royal social circle, and her beautiful face is splashed across magazines and TV. But it comes with a price — her life is dominated not only by Hamlet’s fame and his overbearing royal family but also by the paparazzi who hound them wherever they go.

After the sudden and suspicious death of his father, the king, Hamlet spirals dangerously toward madness, and Ophelia finds herself torn between loyalty to her boyfriend, her father, her country, and her true self.

This is a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet from Ophelia’s point of view filled with drama, romance, tragedy, and humor. And this time, Ophelia doesn’t die.

What people are saying:

“Sexy and searing, Falling for Hamlet is much more than a riveting retelling of a Shakespearean classic. Michelle Ray has crafted an artful story of a girl who comes unapologetically and forcefully into her own.”–Justina Chen, author of Girl, Overboard

“To read or not to read will never be the question for Falling for Hamlet. Michelle Ray’s clever debut gives readers an Ophelia who is in turns humorous, clever, and full of girl power. I’m simply mad for this book.”–Elizabeth Eulberg, author of Prom and Prejudice

“Falling for Hamlet is incredible.  Michelle Ray has a real gift for the inclusion of those subtle but important details that make a story absolutely real.  I found myself thinking about the characters as if I knew them as real people long after I finished the book.  If you don’t love Falling for Hamlet you’re as crazy as Hamlet himself.  There’s something wonderful in the state of Denmark.”–Trent Reedy, bestselling author of Words in the Dust

Released: July 5, 2011

About the author:

Michelle Ray is a graduate of Tufts University where she majored in drama. She is now a sixth grade English teacher in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she lives with her family.
Michelle spends a great deal of time trying to convince people that Shakespeare is not scary, both in her professional and personal life. Falling for Hamletis her first novel. You can visit her at www.michelleraybooks.com.

Giveaway:

Michelle has been king enough to contribute a signed copy of Falling for Hamlet 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 August 2nd at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!