In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox

25/02/2013 – 3/03/2013

Bought

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

For Review

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Unravel me by Tahereh Mafi

Nameless by Lili St. Crow

Thankyou so much to Allen and Unwin and Penguin Teen Australia.

In My Mailbox

18/02/2013 – 24/02/2013

For review

The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter

Wicked Kiss by Michelle Rowen

Reason to Breathe By Rebecca Donovan

Barely Breathing by Rebecca Donovan

Pearl in a cage by Joy Dettman

Thorn on the rose by Joy Dettman

Moth to the flame by Joy Dettman

Wind in the willows by Joy Dettman

Thankyou so much to Harlequin Teen Australia, Penguin Teen Australia and Pan Macmillan Australia.

In My Mailbox

11/02/2013 – 17/02/2013

For Review:

Hostage three by Nick Lake

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

Song in the dark by Christine Howe

The lost files: The legacies by Pittacus Lore

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Zom-B City by Darren Shan

Fever by Mary Beth Keane

Everbound by Brodi Ashton

Thankyou to Bloomsbury Publishing Australia, Simon and Schuster Australia and Penguin Teen Australia.

Questions and answers with Katie McGarry author of Pushing the Limits

1. How did you come up with the idea for your book Pushing the Limits?

I was actually writing another book when I stumbled across the voice of Echo. When my character broke out into “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood” then later wished she would spontaneously combust, I knew I had found someone new…someone whose wit made me laugh, but whose hurt made me ache.

I write love stories so I free wrote for awhile in order to find the perfect guy for Echo—that one person who could help her with her pain. This person was Noah.

2. How long did it take you to write and publish Pushing the Limits?

I began writing Pushing the Limits in the winter of 2009 and wrote “The End” in the spring of 2010. When I finished, I started querying agents and landed my agent, Kevan Lyon, the following fall from a slush pile query. After reading the query, she requested a partial, then eventually the full. 

Shortly after I accepted her offer of representation, Kevan submitted my manuscript to several publishing houses. Within a few weeks, my manuscript went to auction and was acquired by Margo Lipschultz at Harlequin Teen.

 

3. Pushing the Limits is your debut novel, what advice would you give to other budding authors?

Write. Read. Find a great critique group. Never give up.

I began writing because I have characters alive in my mind and stories they demand for me to tell. I love the rush of my fingers tapping against the keys as I delve into a scene that’s been begging to be released on the page. Try to never lose that joy. 

 

4. Who is your favourite character in the book and why?

 

Echo and Noah are obvious favorites of mine, but I have to say that I’m quite partial to Isaiah and Beth.  They are amazing characters to write and they never fail to surprise me.

5. If you could work with any author who would it be?

I’m pretty good friends with YA authors Kelly Creagh, Bethany Griffin, and Kristen Simmons. I think it would be a blast to write something with them. 

Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan review

Team Human
By Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan

Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn’t mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It’s up to Mel to save Cathy f

rom a mistake she might regret for all eternity

On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.

My review
I was thrilled to receive this book to review from Allen and Unwin as I had been eyeing it off at my local bookstore. Did it live up to how good I thought it was going to be?
Unfortunately for some reason it just didn’t grab me as much as I wanted it to. It took me ages to get into it and once I did I would feel like I was really getting into it then it would fall flat and I would struggle to keep going. But I’m glad I did because it has a really nice ending.
I also really liked Kit and the idea that he had been brought up by vampires not knowing what it was like to be human. His journey throughout the book was my favourite part.
3/5

Speechless by Hannah Harrington review

Speechless 
By Hannah Harrington

Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can’t keep a secret...

Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast- and nearly got someone killed.
Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence- to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting everyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she’s ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.
But there’s strength in silence, and in new friends who are shockingly coming her way. People she never noticed before. A boy she might even fall for. If only she can forgive herself.

My review
Wow. I read this book in a couple of hours and it is one that will stay with me for a long time.
Speechless is about Chelsea who is part of the popular crowd until she shares what she saw at a party and it ends in someone getting hurt. Doing the right thing by telling the police who did it Chelsea loses all her friends who then turn around and bully her. So she wont hurt anyone else Chelsea takes a vow of silence which completely changes her life. She learns that the things she thought mattered in her life don’t really and that if she applies her self she can do anything.

Speechless is a book that I think everyone should read as it’s a prefect example of one small thing being said or done that can radiate into something much bigger. Hannah Harrington does a brilliant job of tackling the bullying issue in this book and I will defiantly be recommending it as one of the must read books this year.

5/5

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry review

Pushing the Limits
By Katie McGarry

They say be a good girl, get good grades, be popular. They know nothing about me.

I can’t remember the night that changed my life. The night I went from popular girl to loner freak. And my family are determined to keep it that way.
They said therapy was supposed to help.
They didn’t expect Noah.
Noah is the dangerous boy my parents warned me about. But he’s the only one who’ll listen. The only one who’ll help me find the truth.
I know every kiss, every promise, every touch is forbidden.
But what if finding your destiny means breaking all the rules?

Jessica's review
Pushing the Limits is a story about two kids, who have more in common then they think. Both seeing the new school therapist, Echo is trying to figure out what happened the night everything in her life changed and Noah is ordered to be there by the system.
To make extra money to restore her dead brother’s car, Echo takes up the therapists offer to pay her to tutor Noah. Little did she know that she would get so much more than money, working with Noah, they both discover so much about themselves and each other then they ever thought.
This Pushing the Limits sucked me in from the first chapter and kept me reading until the end. I loved how every chapter is narrated by either one of the main characters, Echo or Noah and watching the relationship that formed between Echo and Noah.
Definitely a must read.
5/5

Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett review

Confessions of an Angry Girl
By Louise Rozett
Out 28th August 2012

Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some confessions to make…

1. I’m livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mum barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I’m allowed to be irate, don’t you?
2. I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a baddass guy who might be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine.
3. High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and ‘seeing red’ mean being angry- get it?

Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.

(Don’t know what they mean? Look them up yourself.)
(Sorry. That was rude.)

My review
Confessions of an angry girl is Louise Rozett’s debut novel and is the first in the series. It’s about Rose Zarelli’s freshman year where everything that you remember happening in high school does. There is talking with your best friend about losing your virginity, a gynecologist visit, cheerleaders, prom and dances, fights, drinking and partying, first kisses, grounding the whole works which is why I can see a lot of teenagers reading the book and relating to it and Rose.
I really liked the book, but I wouldn’t say that it is in my favourites. It had moments where it was a bit slow but it certainly ended on a cliffhanger and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series Confessions of an almost girlfriend when it comes out next year.
4/5

One Moment by Kristina McBride review

One Moment
By Kristina McBride
Out June 26th 2012


Memorial Day weekend was supposed to be perfect for Maggie Reynolds - Dutton’s blow-out party, cliff-diving with her life-long friends – a prelude to the carefree days of summer before the group would take over as seniors. But then something went terribly wrong. 

Maggie remembers standing on the cliff, hand-in-hand with her perfect boyfriend Joey, ready to jump into the water below. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. But why can’t she remember what happened in that last moment, so she still stood on the cliff, and Joey ended up dead?
As memories start returning in brief snatches, they just lead to more questions: Why were Joey and his best friend, Adam, fighting at the party? Where did Joey go after dropping her off? And what other secrets was he keeping form her?
With everyone pressuring her to share what happened, her friendships on the verge of collapse, and Adam (who seems to know much more than he’s willing to tell) drifting away from the group, Maggie has never felt so alone.
McBride’s sophomore novel is a searing look at how one moment can alter someone’s entire world.


My review:
One moment is a story about five friends who are trying to piece together what happened the day their friend Joey died. The only person who was there on top of the cliff right before he died was his girlfriend Maggie. But she can’t remember anything that happened before or after the accident.
While piecing together her memories Maggie learns that Joey isn’t everything that he made out to be and that her group of friends isn’t as close as what she believes.

From the first page I was drawn into this book and it certainly kept me turning the pages until the end. It was beautifully written and had plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading. I loved the characters and defiantly felt that I could connect with them. The only bad thing that I could say about this book is that it had to end. By far this is one of my favourite books of this year!!
5/5