Armchair BEA: Introductions 2013

Armchair BEA is a blogging event for those of us who can't make it out to New York.   If you want to participate in today's activity, just answer five of these questions.  My answers are below, but please feel free to ask me anything in the comments.  Let's get to know each other!

1.  Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? 

See last year's answer.  The main difference is that I now have a full-time job as a technical writer.  Oddly, I don't actually write anything.  I mostly copyedit and beg people for graphics plans.

2.  Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures. 

I am blogging from Houston, which I moved to in late April for a job.  Houston is a fantastic town for food, especially seafood.  I have previously blogged from Austin, Fort Worth, New York City, and Oxford, England.

3.  Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? What brought you back for another year? If you have not previously participated, what drew you to the event? 

Last year was the first year that I participated in Armchair BEA.  You can read my 2012 posts here.   I'm back because I had tons of fun - I met lots of new bloggers, got to spread the word about some fabulous books, and won some cool stuff.

4.  What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013?

I am currently reading UNSTICKY by Sarra Manning, on the recommendation of Angie.  My overall favorite of the year so far is IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS by Cat Winters (review).  In close second is THE SWEETEST DARK by Shana Abé (review), which I actually read last year.  My other favorite books of 2013 include THE 5TH WAVE by Rick Yancey (review), DARK TRIUMPH by Robin LaFevers (review), FIREBRAND by Gillian Phillip (review), JINX by Sage Blackwood (review), WHITE LINES by Jennifer Banash (review), and OUT OF THE EASY by Ruta Sepetys (review).

5.   Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. 

See last year's answer.  My niece definitely inherited my laugh.  But since ya'll might remember that fact from last year, a new one is that I like to name my belongings.  The laptop I currently write IBWB on is called Brucie, after Batman's alter ego.

How about ya'll?  Feel free to share a fun fact about you or your blog in the comments!

Freebie alert and excerpt: I'm Not Her

I'M NOT HER by Janet Gurtler is the featured ebook in the iBookstore though May 27th.  That means you can get it here for free.  Don't use iBooks?  Amazon and Barnes and Noble are also giving it away in their digital bookstores.

The only book by Gurtler I've read is IF I TELL, which I liked but didn't love.  However, many people have told me that IF I TELL is the worst of her books.  And I did enjoy her style.  And I'M NOT HER being free is the perfect opportunity for me to give Gurtler a second chance.  Be sure to check out Gurtler's new novel, HOW I LOST YOU, as well.

Thanks to Sourcebooks, I have an excerpt from I'M NOT HER to share. 

A crowd gathers for the funeral. The church walls seem to strain to accommodate the bodies, but there isn’t enough space for everyone. People cram together, squished thigh to thigh in the pews, shoulder to shoulder in aisles. The back is standing room only.
 

Not surprisingly, I don’t hear anyone complain. I hardly hear any sound at all except the occasional whisper, cough, or sniffle. Everyone wears dark colors, even kids who don’t usually follow rules or social customs. I guess it’s like that when someone young is snatched from the earth. It’s wrong on so many levels that thinking about it makes my already sad heart ache even harder.

Dad says parents shouldn’t have to bury their children. He says a lost child leaves a hole in the heart of the parents, a hole hacked out with a dull knife. The heart can function with the wound, but it never entirely heals.

chapter one

No matter how much I don’t want to care, it’s not easy being stranded all alone in the middle of a crowded room, like the ugliest dog at the animal shelter. Kristina shoved me into her shiny red Toyota like she’s my fairy godmother, insisting I do the party “for my own good.” But other than a few heys and disinterested stares, no one notices that I’m there. Before long, even Kristina forgets about me. Swept up by her friends and admirers, Kristina leaves me bathing in my own flop sweat.

Mini-Reviews: Middle Grade Magic

Frogged by Vivian Vande Velde
Available now from Harcourt (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Review copy

When Princess Imogene tries to help who she thinks is a prince cursed to be a frog, she ends up a frog herself.  But she must pass the curse on to someone else to save herself and Imogene has enough fortitude not to do that.

Imogene is just a little younger than thirteen and it shows in her actions.  She's not unintelligent, just young and sheltered.  Her eventual traveling companion, Luella, is a delight.  She's the butt of a mean joke at first, but she turns out to be more.  This is not my favorite of Vande Velde's books, but FROGGED is a fun little fractured fairytale.  It's also quite funny.

The Colossus Rises by Peter Lerangis (Seven Wonders, Book 1)
Available now from Harper (HarperCollins)
Review copy

I first became aware of Peter Lerangis during the Columbia Publishing Course's Book Workshop.  He's written more than a hundred books for children and young adults, including entries in the popular series The 39 Clues.  His new series, Seven Wonders, is obviously aimed at the Percy Jackson demographic of his fellow 39 Clues author Rick Riordan.

THE COLOSSUS RISES begins with Jack McKinley getting sick, collapsing in the street, and briefly waking up in the hospital before coming to at a strange Academy.  He and the other kids there have special abilities, but the price is that they'll die within the year.  What comes next is a fast-paced adventure with plenty of puzzles to solve.  Lerangis does a good job setting up the world and search for the McGuffins, so I hope future Seven Wonders books will develop the four kids more.

My main complaint would be that Aly is the only girl.  There are three boys - Jack, Marco, and Cass - why not two boys and two girls?  There's no indication as to the kids' race.  All four are thirteen, but I think this book will appeal most to slightly younger readers.

Kevin by Paul Kupperberg
Available now from Gosset & Dunlap (Penguin) in partnership with Archie Comics
Review copy

Paul Kupperberg's novel based on the Kevin Keller character created by Dan Parent may not be as magical as the others I've reviewed today, but it is pretty sweet.  I was a bit worried when I read that the storyline dealt with Kevin's middle school year, when he wasn't a hot out jock but instead a bullied awkward kid.  I was afraid it would be a step back into an older, more stereotypical storyline.

But the bullying is because Kevin's a nerd, not because of his sexuality.  (Not that that makes it alright.)  In fact, he's just discovering his sexuality.  There is some homophobic bullying, but since this is the Archie-verse the strongest insult used is "pansy."   KEVIN is short and simple, but it's a good storyline.  Stand up for your friends, don't be ashamed of who you are, and you should pay attention to your dad's judo lesson.  Older fans of the Kevin Keller comic might be bored, but younger fans should enjoy his foray into novels.

The Symptoms of My Insanity Fun Facts Book Trailer Tour!

THE SYMPTOMS OF MY INSANITY is the debut novel from Mindy Raf, a comedian I'm familiar with due to her work on CollegeHumor.  It came out in April from Dial/Penguin.  It sounds pretty fun to me:

For fans of Louise Rennison, Sarah Mlynowski, and Stephanie Perkins comes a laugh-out-loud, bittersweet debut full of wit, wisdom, heart, and a hilarious, unforgettable heroine.
Izzy is a hypochondriac with enormous boobs that won’t stop growing, a mother with a rare disease who’s hiding something, a best friend who appears to have undergone a personality transplant, and a date with an out-of-her-league athlete who just spilled Gatorade all over her. Yes, Izzy Skymen has a hectic life. But what Izzy doesn’t realize is that these are only minor symptoms of life’s insanity. When she discovers that the people she trusts most are withholding from her the biggest secrets, things are about to get epic — or is it epidemic?

You can find out more about Mindy on her website (linked above), her Twitter, or her Facebook.  But today I'm going to share a little more about THE SYMPTOMS OF INSANITY book trailer.  Without any further ado, here's my fun fact: 

Eric Day who wrote/recorded the theme music for the trailer is one of my good friends from high school. We wrote a one act musical together our senior year about online dating (before You’ve Got Mail) called Love On the Line.

And now, here's the trailer.  Try not to laugh too hard!

Waiting On Wednesday: The Burning Sky

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine.

I love Sherry Thomas.  She's one of my favorite historical romance authors.  (Just read one of my reviews.)  And now she's making her YA debut, and it's going to be fantasy!  I think her lush, descriptive style will lend itself very well to fantasy.

THE BURNING SKY will be available September 17, 2013 and you can preorder it now on Amazon. 

It all began with a ruined elixir and an accidental bolt of lightning…

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's being told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the greatest mage tyrant the world has ever known. A suicide task for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old girl with no training, facing a prophecy that foretells a fiery clash to the death.

Prince Titus of Elberon has sworn to protect Iolanthe at all costs but he's also a powerful mage committed to obliterating the Bane to revenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.

But Titus makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the Bane closing in, he must choose between his mission and her life.

Read an excerpt here.