Read This!: SHALLOW GRAVES by Kali Wallace

Shallow GravesShallow Graves by Kali Wallace

Summary: When seventeen-year-old Breezy Lin wakes up in a shallow grave one year after her death, she doesn’t remember who killed her or why. All she knows is that she’s somehow conscious—and not only that, she’s able to sense who around her is hiding a murderous past. In life, Breezy was always drawn to the elegance of the universe and the mystery of the stars. Now she must set out to find answers and discover what is to become of her in the gritty, dangerous world to which she now belongs—where killers hide in plain sight and a sinister cult is hunting for strange creatures like her. What she finds is at once empowering, redemptive, and dangerous.

Do not read this book when you are in the house alone – especially if you are a big scaredy cat like me. That said, Breezy, the main character, is more full of life than any reanimated corpse has a right to be. Horror and heart-pounding action alternates with witty banter, intense world-building, and characters that make you want to pull up a chair and hang out for awhile. (I dream of that brownie in the basement.) If you’re a horror reader, you’ll eat this right up. If you’re not a big horror reader, grab this anyway, because you won’t want to miss the great characters. Just, you know, keep the lights on and make sure someone else is around.

Shallow Graves is out now

View all my reviews

Read This!: ARROWS by Melissa Gorzelanczyk

ArrowsArrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk

Summary: Aaryn, son of Cupid, was supposed to shoot both Karma and Danny but found out too late that the other arrow in his pack was useless. And with that, Karma’s life changed forever. One pregnancy confirmed. One ballet scholarship lost. And dream after dream tossed to the wind.  A clueless Karma doesn’t know that her toxic relationship is Aaryn’s fault . . . but he’s going to get a chance to make things right. He’s here to convince Danny to man up and be there for Karma. But what if this god from Mount Olympus finds himself falling in love with a beautiful dancer from Wisconsin who can never love him in return?

Things I predict will happen when you read this book:

1) You will want to punch Danny. Often. Seriously, rarely have I felt so violent toward a fictional character. He is a detestable and unfortunately entirely realistic villain.

2) You will be pulling for Karma to wake up and realize what an abusive relationship she’s in.

3) You will recognize the dynamics of Karma and Danny’s relationship and be reminded uncomfortably of that one friend who just can’t be convinced that he’s wrong for her.

4) You’ll experience a strange craving for cheese curds.

5) You’ll call into question the entire bureaucracy of Eros and his arrows. Oh, wait, that’s Aaryn, son of Eros. But I bet you’ll dig him too.

6) You may be tempted to write fanfiction due to how much you want to see Karma punch Danny in the face.

ARROWS is a fun and fresh take on Greek mythology and teen romance.  And it’s out now!

View all my reviews

Winning SWORD AND VERSE Trailers!

lightbulbI’m so excited to share with you the winning entries in the Sword and Verse trailer contest, sponsored by Carroll County Public Library!  The winning teams received their awards at the Sword and Verse launch day event at the Finksburg Library on January 19.  Look what these amazing teens did!
.
.

1st place trailer: Erin, Brandon, Jasmine, Alex, and David:

.
.

2nd place trailer: Brianna, Weston, Morgan, Ian, Willem:

.
.
. 

Thank you to Carroll County Public Library’s Teen Services Team for coordinating the contest and the wonderful launch day event!

Read This!: PAPER WISHES by Lois Sepahban

Paper WishesPaper Wishes by Lois Sepahban

Summary: Ten-year-old Manami did not realize how peaceful her family’s life on Bainbridge Island was until the day it all changed. It’s 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Manami and her family are Japanese American, which means that the government says they must leave their home by the sea and join other Japanese Americans at a prison camp in the desert. Manami is sad to go, but even worse is that they are going to have to give her dog, Yujiin, to a neighbor to take care of. Manami decides to sneak Yujiin under her coat, but she is caught and forced to abandon him. She is devastated but clings to the hope that somehow Yujiin will find his way to the camp and make her family whole again. It isn’t until she finds a way to let go of her guilt that Manami can accept all that has happened to her family.

How could you possibly handle the subject of the relocation camps that imprisoned thousands of Japanese-Americans during World War II in a way that children can understand, without it become bleak or hopeless?

Yet Sepahban manages it with quiet grace, giving us the story of Manami, a 10-year-old girl who is imprisoned with her family in the California desert. Traumatized by the experience and fiercely missing the dog she was forced to leave behind, Manami refuses to speak, grieving even as her family members find a place in the society of the camp. Sepahan doesn’t focus on politics or wars – the only details of that are in her concise and informative author’s note – but Manami’s narration, so lithe and lyrical that it stops just short of verse, places the reader in the camp beside her, offering a visceral sense of place and time that all the facts in the world could not convey.

This is a beautiful book that sheds light on a shameful part of America’s past.

PAPER WISHES is out now.

View all my reviews

Today’s the Big Day!

It’s all been leading up to this!  Sword and Verse officially releases today in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook!

Release Day Shenanigans:

Sword And VerseSword and Verse Blog Tour: Join me over at Once Upon a Twilight, where I’ll be sharing 5 of my favorite moments from Sword and Verse.

 

Launch Party: Tonight from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm at Carroll County Public Library, Finksburg Branch (2265 Old Westminster Pike, Finksburg, MD 21048.  Phone: 410.386.4505) Join us for a reading, signing, refreshments, and a screening of the winning entries in the SWORD AND VERSE trailer contest. Open to all!  Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.  For more information, see http://library.carr.org

Twitter: Join me for random exclamations, freakouts, and dances of joy all day long at @kathys_quill.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Sword and Verse on its long journey to publication!