Defending Taylor Spotlight: Excerpt & Giveaway

Today we have a spotlight for Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally. Defending Taylor comes out tomorrow, July 5th. Here's what it's all about:

Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally

Captain of the soccer team, president of the Debate Club, contender for valedictorian: Taylor’s always pushed herself to be perfect. After all, that’s what is expected of a senator’s daughter. But one impulsive decision—one lie to cover for her boyfriend—and Taylor’s kicked out of private school. Everything she’s worked so hard for is gone, and now she’s starting over at Hundred Oaks High.
Soccer has always been Taylor’s escape from the pressures of school and family, but it’s hard to fit in and play on a team that used to be her rival. The only person who seems to understand all that she’s going through is her older brother’s best friend, Ezra. Taylor’s had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. But it’s hard to trust after having been betrayed. Will Taylor repeat her past mistakes or can she score a fresh start?

I loved this book (and all of Miranda's Kenneally's previous books); you can check out my review here.

Here's our excerpt from Defending Taylor:

I now understand culture shock: it’s me experiencing Hundred Oaks High for the first time.
A lot of kids go here. Five hundred? A thousand? There are so many I can’t tell. At St. Andrew’s, there were only forty kids in my entire class. We lived on a calm, sprawling, green campus. Walking down the halls of Hundred Oaks feels like last-¬minute Christmas shopping at a crowded mall.
Two guys wearing football jerseys are throwing a ball back and forth. It whizzes by my ear. A suspender-¬clad male teacher is hanging a poster for the science fair, while a couple is making out against the wall next to the fire alarm. If they move another inch, they’ll set off the sprinklers. At St. Andrew’s, kissing in the hall was an über no-¬no. We snuck under the staircase or went out into the woods. Ben and I did that all the time.
Thinking of him makes me stop moving. I shut my eyes. Dating Ben was stupid. Going into the woods with him was stupid. Thinking about what happened makes me so mad, I want to rip that newly hung science fair poster off the wall and tear it apart.
A boy shoves past me, slamming my arm with his backpack. That’s what I get for loitering in the middle of the hallway with my eyes closed. He looks me up and down. “You coming to Rutledge Falls this afternoon?”
“What?”
“Paul Simmons challenged Nolan Chase to a fight. Rutledge Falls. Three o’clock. Don’t tell the cops.”
A fight? Where the hell am I? Westeros?
A girl bumps into my side. “Watch it!” Flashing me a dirty look, she disappears into a classroom with a group of friends, chattering away.
Seeing those girls together reminds me of my best friends, Steph and Madison. Right now, they’re probably gossiping before trig starts. I miss Steph’s cool British accent and Madison’s cheerful laugh.
I take a deep, rattled breath. And then another. I feel trapped, like the time I got locked in my grandpa’s garage and no one found me for an hour and I banged on the windows until my fists turned purple from bruises.
I can’t believe I had to leave my school. My home.
All because I made one stupid decision.
I check my schedule. My first class is calculus 1, the most advanced math course Hundred Oaks offers. Just a week ago, I was taking an advanced calculus quiz at the University of the South. St. Andrew’s is one of the best prep schools in the country, and they offer seniors the opportunity to take courses at the university, which is up the road. Even though I was still in high school, the professors treated me just like a college kid. I was only in the course for two weeks, but still. It was insanely difficult. The truth is, unlike everybody else in my family, I hate math. I have to work at it harder than anything else in my life.
But if I didn’t take college calc, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t get into an Ivy League school. I need to go to a top-tier school because that’s what people in my family do. My father attended Yale, and my sister Jenna is there now. According to Dad, my brother Oliver—¬Jenna’s twin—¬is a traitor for going to Princeton, but I think Dad respects him for having the balls to make his own decision.
Me?
When Dad called me into his home office last night, he barely looked at me as he pored over my new schedule. The silence was killing me.
“I don’t know how Yale will still consider me if I’m not taking all AP courses,” I said. “Hundred Oaks only offers AP chemistry.”
Dad sighed, took off his glasses, and set down my schedule. “I’m incredibly disappointed in you, Taylor.”
I looked him straight in the eyes. His quiet restraint worried me. I’d never seen him so upset.
But I was upset too. He rarely had time to call me when I was away at school, but he could spare a few minutes to comment on my one screwup? After how hard I’ve always worked?
Over the years, I’ve done hours of homework every night. I had a 4.2 GPA at St. Andrew’s. A 1520 SAT score. I was on track to be valedictorian. I was captain of the soccer team and on the debate team. I did everything I could to show Yale that I worked hard. That I am a unique individual. Because that’s what Yale wants.
But my one misstep has muddied my glowing record.
Dad ended our conversation with a death knell.
“Tee, I gave you all the tools you needed to succeed,” he said. “I’ve paid for your private school education since first grade, and you squandered it by getting kicked out.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, my face burning. “I’m going to keep working hard at Hundred Oaks though.”
“You’re damn right you will.”
My father had me so flustered, I wasn’t thinking straight when I said, “Maybe Yale will still take me because of who I am.”
“You mean because of who I am.” Dad rubbed his eyes. “I’ve always taught you kids the importance of integrity, and the minute you got into trouble, instead of owning it, you called me to bail you out. And now you’re doing it again. Using my name to try to get ahead.”
I hung my head. “I’m sorry, Dad.”
“I love you more than anything, but you have to take responsibility for what you did. You’ll have to figure college out on your own.”
“What does that mean?” I asked slowly.
“It means I’m not lifting a finger. I won’t be calling the alumni association or the school president to put in a good word for you.”
“But didn’t you do that for Jenna and Oliver?” I blurted.
He put his glasses back on. “You need to own up, Tee.”
So here I am, glancing around the unfamiliar halls of Hundred Oaks. The school is neat and orderly, but it doesn’t look completely clean, like no matter how hard you scrub, it still looks old. At least it’s not juvie.
I step into my math class, which is already filled with kids. I choose an empty seat at a wobbly wooden desk and stare out the window at the sunny, seventy-¬degree September day. I bet at St. Andrew’s, my world politics teacher is telling my friends, “Gather your books. It’s a beautiful day out. Let’s have class in one of the gardens.”
I check out the problem set on the whiteboard. I could do this level of math years ago…
My former guidance counselor told me that colleges look for trends in our GPA and activities over four years of high school. So that means when colleges see my application, they will see:
I’m taking easier classes;
I’m no longer doing debate;
I’ve lost my soccer captainship this year; and
I was expelled.
I have never simply given up when calculus got a lot tougher or an opponent ran faster than me on the soccer field. So I refuse to believe my entire future is over because of one mistake.
I just need to figure out how to move forward.

If you're intrigued, fill out the Rafflecopter form below and enter to win one of two copies of Defending Taylor! Open to US & Canada; giveaway ends on July 30th.




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Dear Nobody Spotlight: Excerpt & Giveaway

Today we have a spotlight for Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose, edited by Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil. Dear Nobody came out on April 1st. Here's what it's all about:

Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose, edited by Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil
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The words and drawings of Mary Rose present a gritty, powerful, no-holds-barred true experience of a teen girl so desperate to be loved, so eager to fit in that she'll go to extremes that could cost her her life.
This is not a story about addiction. Or sexual promiscuity. Or cystic fibrosis. It's the story of a young woman with a powerful will to live, who more than anything wants to be heard...and loved.
This compelling, emotional account ensures her voice will not be forgotten.

Here's our excerpt from Dear Nobody:

Dear Nobody,
Tonight I got arrested. I hate saying that, but it happens. I had a 40 ounce beer in my hand and one in my book bag and I smelled like it. I was walking with my two friends, when this cop pulls up and goes, “Is something wrong?” We all said nothing was wrong, but then the cop pointed to me and said, “Why does she look so sad?” I made up some bullshit about how my boyfriend and I just broke up, but by then he had already seen the 40 ounce I was hiding in my coat. They arrested me, but not my two friends, because they had no alcohol on them. My mom picked me up at the police station— and on the way back home we got into a fight over the time when I was twelve and she had pot in her car. A lot, too. So I just got out of the car and tried to walk my drunken ass home, but it turns out I was walking in the wrong direction. I could’ve walked from Reading to Pottstown; that’s over twenty miles. Shit, I bet I would’ve kept walking, if I hadn’t seen this mall I knew, and was like, “Oh shit, what now?” I turned around and went to a store I saw closing up. It was after ten. Actually, I had been making pretty good time. I’m glad that I’m in fairly good shape right now, because I would never have made it if I was sick. So I had time to think things through. When I got back to Reading, I let this cop car see me, because it was past curfew and I wanted a ride home. Also, I had a feeling I wouldn’t get fined; I figured there was no way, after all this shit— that anything else that fucked up could happen to me. The cop came into my house and talked with my mom and me. He said he wanted me to grow up to be happy and healthy, and that he wanted me to introduce him to my kids some day, and that he wanted to see me live to grow old. First off, I’ll never have kids. And secondly, I’ll never get old. It’s hard to grow old when you’re dead.

If you're intrigued, fill out the Rafflecopter form below and enter to win one of two copies of Dear Nobody! Open to US & Canada; giveaway ends on April 30th.




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Excerpt & Giveaway with Robin Reul (My Kind of Crazy Spotlight)

Today we have Robin Reul here for an excerpt and a giveaway! This post is part of the spotlight tour for My Kind of Crazy.

My Kind of Crazy comes out tomorrow, April 5th! Here's what it's all about:

My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul
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Despite the best of intentions, seventeen-year old, wisecracking Hank Kirby can’t quite seem to catch a break. It’s not that he means to screw things up all the time, it just happens. A lot. Case in point: his attempt to ask out the girl he likes literally goes up in flames when he spells “Prom” in sparklers on her lawn…and nearly burns down her house.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Peyton Breedlove, a brooding loner and budding pyromaniac, witnesses the whole thing. Much to Hank’s dismay, Peyton takes an interest in him—and his “work.” The two are thrust into an unusual friendship, but their boundaries are tested when Hank learns that Peyton is hiding some dark secrets, secrets that may change everything he thought he knew about Peyton.

Here's the excerpt from My Kind of Crazy:

So here’s the thing. It’s not like I woke up this morning and said, “Hey, I think I’ll light the 100-year-old Eastern Red Cedar tree in front of Amanda Carlisle’s house on fire today.” Because I don’t know about you, but when I wake up, my mind doesn’t go straight to arson. Honestly, the first thing I focus on is how fast I can get from my room to the bathroom without my dad’s girlfriend, Monica, trying to chat me up while I’m awkwardly standing there in my boxers.
I’d read online that how you ask a girl to Prom can completely make or break a guy’s chances. I wanted to do something special that Amanda would never forget. Apparently it worked, just not the way I intended. ‘Use sparklers to spell out PROM’ the article on the Internet said. There was even a picture with them all lit up on the ground. Totally idiot proof.
I snuck into her yard like a ninja under the cover of darkness and tried to jam the sparklers in her lawn, but the soil was hard and unyielding. I looked around, desperate, and then I spied a nice soft patch of mulch underneath the cedar tree near the side of her yard. It was perfect, and the sparkler slid in easily. A few minutes later, I had them all lined up just like I’d seen in the picture, and once they were lit, yelled, “Amanda!” I actually had to call out twice because she didn’t hear me the first time. Then she came to the window and gazed down as the sparklers fizzled down to the ground and--boom!
Turns out that was fresh pine mulch underneath that cedar. Pine trees produce turpentine, so I might as well have lit those sparklers in a pool of gasoline for how quickly the mulch caught fire.
I didn’t know what to do, so I ran. Which is why I’m now hiding behind a bush across the street in her neighbor’s yard. This is definitely going down in history as the most epic promposal fail ever. And then, as if things couldn’t get more catastrophic, they do.
Baseball is practically a religion where I live in South Coast Massachusetts. People take their Red Sox pretty seriously, and the die-hards decorate their trees with red and blue streamers every season in a show of support. The Carlisles are no exception. And it doesn’t take long for the flames to catch and race the length of those ribbons into the dry branches above.
From where I’m crouched down, I have a perfect view of the Carlisle house. I can see Amanda’s eyes widen and her jaw drop open as she observes the quickly escalating situation in her yard. She pulls away from the window, I’m guessing to call the fire department. We should probably talk about Prom some other time.
With things clearly going south, I do what any sensible person would do: I get the hell out of there. Of course, a sensible person wouldn’t have put sparklers in a pile of fresh mulch directly under a highly flammable tree. Hindsight is 20/20.
So in the most casual way possible, I hook my backpack - which is loaded with empty sparkler boxes - over my shoulders, hop on my bike, and pedal away from the scene at what I hope passes for a normal speed. Cool as a cucumber, that’s me.
I reason for a brief moment that, perhaps, Amanda didn’t actually see me there. Even if she did, she doesn’t know me all that well so she might not recognize me. I am wearing black jeans, and my Batman hoodie conceals my medium-length, stick straight brown hair, so I am sort of camouflaged. Not to mention, those flames were pretty distracting.
The fire station is about five streets away, near the library. I start to worry that the firemen won’t get there fast enough and Amanda’s whole house might burn down. I know I’m a lame-ass chicken shit for hightailing it out of there, but the last thing I need is Dad on my case for something else. As far as he’s concerned, I can’t do much right. I would like to say he’s just being an asshole, but lately I’ve been wondering if he’s onto something.
I consider turning around and heading back to Amanda’s, which would be the right thing to do, but I swear I’m about to piss myself with fear so I pedal faster, listening for the sounds of approaching police sirens. For good measure, I jerk my bike off the main road, cutting through the back alleys toward home.

If you're intrigued, fill out the Rafflecopter form below and enter to win one of two copies of My Kind of Crazy! Open to US & Canada; giveaway ends on April 30th.




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Excerpt & Giveaway with Estelle Maskame (Did I Mention I Need You Blog Tour)

Today we have Estelle Maskame here for an excerpt and a giveaway! This post is part of the spotlight tour for Did I Mention I Need You.

Did I Mention I Need You was released on March 1st. Here's what it's all about:

Did I Mention I Need You by Estelle Maskame
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Love has no rules.

It's been a year since Eden Munro last saw Tyler Bruce: her stepbrother...and secret love. Although they swore to ignore their feelings and put their family first, Eden can't help but feel excited when Tyler invites her to join him in New York City for the summer.

But it's not like anything is going to happen. Eden is happy with her boyfriend Dean, and she knows gorgeous, green-eyed Tyler must have moved on as well. But as they spend the long, hot summer in the city that never sleeps, it becomes obvious that those old feelings are still there...simmering beneath the surface. Will Tyler and Eden be able to resist temptation?

Did I Mention I Need You? is book two in Wattpad sensation Estelle Maskame's DIMILY trilogy: three unforgettable summers of secrets, heartbreak and forbidden romance.

Here's the excerpt from Did I Mention I Need You:

My heart skips a beat as my eyes scan the information signs above me. I should stop and figure out where I’m supposed to go, but there’s no way I can delay this any longer. I just want to see him already, so I sling my backpack over my shoulder and follow the people who have gotten off the same flight as me. But with each step, the more nauseous I feel. The more I realize I shouldn’t have come here. The more I believe this is a bad idea.
Of course it’s a bad idea, I think.
As if I’ll get over him by spending time alone with him. If anything, this is going to make it worse, harder. It’s easy for him. He’s probably long over me, and he’s most likely dating some cute girl with a New York accent. And then there’s me, the idiot who’s spent an entire year still thinking about him. I know that when I see him, everything I felt will come rushing back at once. I can feel it already. I can feel that same nervous feeling in my stomach that I always did whenever he smiled at me, and I can feel my pulse racing at the same speed it always did whenever his eyes met mine.
I wonder if it’s too late to turn around.
The group I’ve been following heads down an escalator, but I hesitate at the top and step to the side, lingering for a moment. Maybe this won’t be so bad. I am excited to see him, even if my nerves are outweighing my excitement, and I’ve been waiting so long for this that it’s stupid to be having second thoughts.
I’m just confused and my head’s a mess, but I’m here now. It’s time to see him for the first time in a year.
My grip tightens around the strap of my backpack as I step onto the escalator, and my heart is quite literally thumping against my rib cage. I wonder if the people around me can hear it. It feels like I’m having a heart attack, like I’ll collapse any moment now from an anxiety overload. My legs feel stiff, but somehow I manage to keep moving, somehow manage to get off the escalator and advance across the arrivals level.
I’m half looking for the baggage carousels and half looking for a pair of green eyes. Around me, I can see people hesitating, looking. People in suits holding signs. Families searching the crowds flowing off the escalator. I know exactly who I’m looking for. For a moment, I think I see him. Black hair, tall. But just as my heart’s about to stop, he draws a woman into his arms and I realize that it isn’t him at all.
My eyes return to roaming the concourse as I make my way toward baggage claim, still forcing my feet to move, however numb my legs feel. I’m stealing glances at the line of placards as I pass, taking in the last names and wondering why all those people are traveling to New York. My thoughts don’t last long though, because suddenly one placard in particular catches my eye. It draws my attention, of course, because I see my name scrawled on it in black Sharpie, each letter slightly out of alignment with the next one.
And that’s when I see him.
Tyler.
He’s slowly lowered the placard to reveal his face, and his grin and his jaw and the color of his eyes and the way one eyebrow slowly arches reminds me of some of the many things I used to adore about him. Perhaps I still do love these things, because now my feet are moving again. And fast. I make my way straight over to him, gaining speed with each step, my eyes locked on him and nothing else. My beeline forces the people around me to move out of my way, and now I’m running. The moment I reach him, I throw myself into his arms.

If you're intrigued, fill out the Rafflecopter form below and enter to win one of two signed copies of Did I Mention I Need You! Open to residents of the US and Canada only; giveaway ends on March 31st.




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Excerpt & Giveaway with Cori McCarthy (You Were Here Spotlight)

Today we have Cori McCarthy here for an excerpt and a giveaway! This post is part of the spotlight tour for You Were Here.

You Were Here was released on March 1st. Here's what it's all about:

You Were Here by Cori McCarthy
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On the anniversary of her daredevil brother's death, Jaycee attempts to break into Jake's favorite hideout—the petrifying ruins of an insane asylum. Joined by four classmates, each with their own brand of dysfunction, Jaycee discovers a map detailing her brother's exploration and the unfinished dares he left behind.

As a tribute to Jake, Jaycee vows to complete the dares, no matter how terrifying or dangerous. What she doesn't bargain on is her eccentric band of friends who challenge her to do the unthinkable: reveal the parts of herself that she buried with her brother.

Here's the excerpt from You Were Here:

“What do I see?” I asked, turning back to the halo effect created by Margaret’s splayed hair. “It was a game. She died because she was playing a game.”
“Just like Jake,” Natalie said.
“Right,” I quipped, trying to mask not only my annoyance at Natalie’s psychoanalyst tone but also a flare of grief. My chest grew tight. Why wouldn’t it go away? Why did all this still buckle me to the ground? Tears burned my eyes, and I took my hair out of my ponytail. This never happened when I came here with Mik. Mik didn’t talk or prod. Mik let me be while we walked around Jake’s old haunt, wondering if he was actually haunting it.
“My dad said that OU will raze the TB ward.” Bishop pointed out the window toward the building on the very top of the hill, by far the spookiest and most unkempt in The Ridges compound. “It’s the only fully abandoned building.”
“Raze?” I asked, suddenly angry. “When?”
“End of the summer, I think. My dad said it was going to cost a ton but that leaving the old building there while it was falling in is just asking for lawsuits.”
“Jake loved the TB ward,” I said. “They haven’t stripped it down like this building.”
“TB?” Zach asked.
“Tuberculosis,” Natalie said.
Bishop squinted at his friend. “TB has been one of the leading terminal diseases in society since the dawn of civilization, Zach.”
“But it doesn’t exist anymore,” Zach said. “Like leprosy.”
“It totally exists,” Natalie said. “And so does leprosy. Where do you learn these things?”
“TB is still the leading cause of death for all people with HIV,” Bishop said. “But don’t worry, Zach. You won’t get it.”
I was surprised to find Zach looking at me. “What kind of things are in there?”
I shrugged. “I’ve never been, but I know it’s more dangerous. All the windows and doors are boarded up to keep drunk undergrads out.”
“So there’s no way in?” Bishop asked.
I shook my head. “Didn’t say that. Every building in The Ridges compound is connected by basement tunnels. If we get into the basement, we can get into any building.”
We all shuffled to our feet and stood around the last portrait of Margaret Schilling.
“I’m in,” Bishop said, and I nodded. Bishop was cool; we’d been partners for two semesters straight in woodshop. He said odd, grandiose things sometimes, but I liked him for it. Plus there was a pretty good chance that Mik would show himself with only Bishop around.
“I’ll take you two to the exit,” I told Natalie and Zach.
“Well, hey,” Zach said. “What if I want to come?”
Natalie looked at him, stunned. “You want to go? What about Kolenski’s three kegs?”
“Kolenski gets kegs every couple of weeks.” Zach shoved his hands in his pockets. He had sobered up since they’d entered The Ridges, and now he just looked worn down. Even his hair had flattened. I’d written him off years ago, but the way he’d helped me find Jake’s footprint and waylaid Natalie…maybe he wasn’t such a garden-variety “dude.”
“Who else can say that they did this the night after graduation?” he added with a shrug.
“So Natalie’s the loose end?” I said. “Big surprise.”
“Wait a second. It was my idea to follow you in the first place. And I…I want to see it.”
“Really?” Zach asked her. “Even if it’s dangerous?”
“I’m going to minor in history. It’ll be like walking around inside of history.”
I knew Natalie well enough to know that she was deluding herself, but when I opened my mouth to point it out, I saw something instead. Bishop did too.
“Apple.” He pointed to the ground. “Guys. There’s an apple.”
A shiny, green Granny Smith apple sat in the doorway. I picked it up.
“Where the hell did that come from?” Zach asked, fear trilling his voice. “Is someone else here? That wasn’t there a few minutes ago, right? Right?”
They all looked up and down the hall. Nothing.
“Maybe Jake’s ghost put it there. Or Margaret’s,” I said. A thump of what could only be described as happiness resounded through my chest. It was foreign and weird, and yet welcome.
“You’re smiling,” Natalie said. “Why are you smiling? You never smile.”
I rubbed the apple on my shirt and took a huge crunching bite. Natalie looked like she was going to pass out. I winked. “This way to the basement.”

If you're intrigued, fill out the Rafflecopter form below and enter to win one of two copies of You Were Here! Open to residents of the US and Canada only; giveaway ends on March 31st.





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Excerpt & Giveaway with Jessica Love (In Real Life Blog Tour)

Today we have Jessica Love here for an excerpt and a giveaway! This post is part of the spotlight tour for In Real Life.

In Real Life was released on March 1st. Here's what it's all about:

In Real Life by Jessica Love
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Hannah Cho and Nick Cooper have been best friends since 8th grade. They talk for hours on the phone, regularly shower each other with presents, and know everything there is to know about one another.

There's just one problem: Hannah and Nick have never actually met.

Hannah has spent her entire life doing what she's supposed to, but when her senior year spring break plans get ruined by a rule-breaker, she decides to break a rule or two herself. She impulsively decides to road trip to Las Vegas, her older sister and BFF in tow, to surprise Nick and finally declare her more-than-friend feelings for him.

Hannah's surprise romantic gesture backfires when she gets to Vegas and finds out that Nick has been keeping some major secrets. Hannah knows the real Nick can't be that different from the online Nick she knows and loves, but now she only has night in Sin City to figure out what her feelings for Nick really are, all while discovering how life can change when you break the rules every now and then.

Here's the excerpt from In Real Life:

My best friend and I have never met.
We talk every day, on the phone or online, and he knows more about me than anyone. Like, deep into my soul. But we’ve never actually seen each other in real life.
Sometimes, when I’m talking to Nick, I wonder how we man- aged to get ourselves into such a bizarre, complicated friendship. At first glance, our relationship probably doesn’t seem all that odd. Like right now, it’s the Friday afternoon that kicks off the spring break of my senior year. I’m lying out next to my pool with my feet dangling in the chilly water, my back flat on concrete, and I’m talking to him on the phone. This is how I spend pretty much every Friday from 3:30 to 4:25-ish, before he goes off to band practice and I have one of my various school or family obligations. Sounds pretty normal.
But the thing is, Nick lives in a different state, 274 miles away. Yes, I looked it up.
“Ghost,” he says, because he never calls me Hannah, “you know I will do anything for my best friend, and this is no exception. I’ll have this girl killed for you without a second thought. Just give me twenty-four hours.”
I laugh as I swish my feet back and forth in the pool. “There’s no need to resort to murder. It’s just a stupid student government trip. I’ll be over it by the end of the week.”
As tempting as it is to plot Aditi Singh’s violent end, the only reason she applied to go to the national leadership conference when it should have been a given that the senior class president (aka me) was going was because I got into UCLA and she didn’t, so a big ol’ middle finger to her. But she can’t see my middle finger, because she’s in Washington, D.C., for spring break and I’m at home with no plans like a big loser.
“Well, if you change your mind,” Nick says, “just let me know. That’s how much our friendship means to me. The code word is ‘Platypus.’ Just say it, and—poof!—I’ll make her disappear.”
I sit up and pull my feet from the pool, crossing them in front of me. “And how can you do that?”
“Hey, I live in Vegas. I have connections to the mob. Everyone here does.”
“You’re a senior in high school, and you live in a tract home in Henderson. You’re not exactly Al Pacino.”
“You don’t know. Everything I’ve told you for the past four years could be a front. I need to have a cover. No one suspects the quiet, nondescript white boy.”
“You’re right. There is a lot I don’t know about you. I mean, there are any number of huge secrets you could be keeping from me.” I say it just because I’m playing along, but it’s not true at all. I’m pretty sure I know everything there is to know about Nick Cooper.
I know when my sister met his brother at a concert four years ago and they told us we should start talking online, he thought I was one of his brother’s friends playing a joke on him until I e-mailed him a picture. I know in the middle of junior year, he shaved his head when his favorite English teacher started chemo. I know the gravelly scratch of his voice when he wakes up in the middle of the night to answer one of my random “I’m bored, talk to me” phone calls. I know the hole in the sleeve seam of the lucky Rage Against the Machine T-shirt he inherited from his brother, Alex, since I’ve seen so many pictures of it. I know his middle name (Anthony), the date and time he was born (September 24 at 3:58 A.M.), and his favorite color (gray). And he knows more about me than absolutely anyone else, even the über-embarrassing stuff. We’ve IM’d, texted, sent a million pictures, mailed each other packages, video-chatted, and talked on the phone.
We’ve just never been in the same place at the same time.
I don’t think it’s strange to be so close to someone I’ve never met. Yeah, he’s in Nevada and I’m in Southern California, but I talk to him more than to people I’ve been in classes with since kindergarten. I do wish we could go to the movies together or something normal like that, but we watch the same movies at the same time and mock them over video chat, which is pretty much the same thing.
On the other end of the phone, his laugh stops abruptly and his voice changes. “Secrets? What kind of secrets could I have?”
“Who knows!” I try to sound shocked and serious, but I can’t keep a laugh from creeping in. “For all I know, you do have a secret mob life. Do you have some sort of gangster name I’m supposed to call you?”
His voice lightens again when he realizes I’m joking. “Oh yeah. Knuckles Nick. Or, no. Wait. Nick the Click.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know. It rhymed. Don’t those names always rhyme?”
“I know nothing about mob names, Nick the Click. But rhyming names do make mobsters seem a bit less murder-y.”
There’s a shuffle, a thump, and a squeak on his end of the phone, and I imagine him collapsing backwards onto his twin bed. “I just hate that you’re still bummed over missing out on the trip.”
“It’s not that I’m bummed, it’s just . . . I followed all the rules, Nick. I did exactly what I was supposed to do. Serving four years as class president means I go on that trip, not Aditi Singh. Onetime vice-presidents don’t get to go! It’s supposed to be my year. She broke the rules, but she got picked. How do you break all the rules and get what you want like that? It isn’t fair.”
“Well, you know what they say. . . .” “Life’s not fair?”
“Well, that, too. But I was thinking rules are made to be broken.”

If you're intrigued, fill out the Rafflecopter form below and enter to win a copy of You Were Here! Open to US residents only; giveaway ends on March 17th.




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Guest Post by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz (Sanctuary Bay Blog Tour)

Today we have Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz here for a guest post and a giveaway! This post is part of the blog tour for Sanctuary Bay.

Sanctuary Bay was released on January 19th. Here's what it's all about:

Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz
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When Sarah Merson receives the opportunity of a lifetime to attend the most elite prep school in the country-Sanctuary Bay Academy-it seems almost too good to be true. But, after years of bouncing from foster home to foster home, escaping to its tranquil setting, nestled deep in Swans Island, couldn't sound more appealing. Swiftly thrown into a world of privilege and secrets, Sarah quickly realizes finding herself noticed by class charmer, Nate, as well as her roommate's dangerously attentive boyfriend, Ethan, are the least of her worries. When her roommate suddenly goes missing, she finds herself in a race against time, not only to find her, but to save herself and discover the dark truth behind Sanctuary Bay's glossy reputation.

In this genre-bending YA thriller, Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz, Sarah's new school may seem like an idyllic temple of learning, but as she unearths years of terrifying history and manipulation, she discovers this "school" is something much more sinister.

I love when YA books combine elements of mysteries/thrillers with the usual contemporary YA topics such as romance, friendship, etc. Could you talk a little bit about what made you want to combine these genres and how you worked to balance them in Sanctuary Bay?

We love that, too! It’s funny; when we think of writing any YA book, even if it’s a genre like mystery or thriller, we assume that things like romance and friendship would be a part of it. How could they not? In order for our characters to feel as if they’re real people, we need them to act and think and feel like real people would. If you were busy tracking down a killer, you probably wouldn’t be obsessing about your latest crush. But you would still be you, and that means you’d think about your friends and how they could help you, or you’d think about your parents and things that they taught you. Basically, you’d still think about things that mattered to you, even though those things might be a lower priority while you were solving your case.

In Sanctuary Bay, we’ve got a boarding school with some crazy stuff going on. Our heroine, Sarah, has her hands full trying to figure it all out. But she still pays attention to her friends. She worries about their safety and fears for them when they’re in danger. Occasionally she even feels a stab of attraction to the guy she’s having these adventures with. Those things make her human. It would be strange if she didn’t feel them. But she doesn’t let them derail her quest for answers.

Or, really, WE don’t let those things derail her! This is a fast-paced book, and if we had Sarah sit down in the middle of the action to think about her confusing feelings for Ethan…well, that would ruin the pacing of the book. Readers would feel frustrated by the interruption. So the way we balanced the more typical elements of a YA book (romance, friendship, school) with the thriller aspects was to take our time setting up Sarah as a character, her life at the Sanctuary Bay Academy, her friends and potential boyfriends. We tried to draw those relationships and the world of the school as clearly as possible. And then we spent the rest of the book completely messing with all of it!

Make sure to check out the other stops of the blog tour, and keep your eye out for Sanctuary Bay, out now!

Author Interview with Laurie Elizabeth Flynn (Firsts Blog Tour)

Today we have Laurie Elizabeth Flynn here for an author interview! This interview is part of the blog tour for Firsts.

1. Without spoiling anything, could you tell us what was your favorite scene to write in Firsts?

That’s a great question! The first chapter was seriously fun to write. But there’s a particular scene later in the book that has my heart. Without giving anything away, I’ll just say it involves a reference to a certain type of pasta.

2. If you had to pair up your main character Alma from Firsts with any other character from any other YA book (either romantically or as a friend), who would it be and why?

I’d love to put Mercedes in a room with Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl. Their combined sarcasm would be deafening, and so entertaining. I think sparks might fly.

3. I absolutely love the idea for Firsts, and I’m always really excited about sex-positive YA books. Could you talk a little bit about what made you want to write about this?

I was working on an entirely different New Adult contemporary when the idea for Firsts struck me. All I had was the name Mercedes and the hook—a girl who wants to give virgin guys the perfect first time. I didn’t know what happened beyond that. I just knew I had to write the rest to find out. As I wrote, I thought more and more about the double-standard that exists for teenage girls when it comes to sex, and I got angry. I wanted to write something from the point of view of a girl who would be slut-shamed because of her actions—and in doing so, raise tough questions that people don’t always want to think about.

 4. How do you go about naming your characters?

I don’t name them intentionally. I like to think they choose their own names. Generally when I have a new idea for a story, the first things to come to me are the main character’s name and the hook. As I write, the other characters show up on the pages and their names just seem to fit.

5. For any aspiring writers out there - what's the best writing advice you've ever received?

Write what you want to write, not what you think an agent will want to read. If you’re passionate about your writing, that will make your words electric. It’s okay to be scared by an idea, but don’t let that stop you from writing it.

Also, try not to compare yourself—to other authors or to different projects you’ve worked on. There’s a saying that comparison is the thief of joy, and I believe it. Be happy with the stage you’re at, and don’t be hard on yourself if every book you write follows a different process.

Make sure to check out all the other stops of the blog tour, and keep your eye out for Firsts, which came out January 5th! This is what the book is all about:

Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

ESeventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward, fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time- the kind Mercedes never had herself.

Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy- so far. Her absentee mother isn’t home nearly enough to know about Mercedes’ extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won’t even say the word “sex” until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn’t bank on Angela’s boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn- or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.

When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process. Funny, smart, and true-to-life, FIRSTS is a one-of-a-kind young adult novel about growing up.

Author Interview & Giveaway with Marie Marquardt (Dream Things True Blog Tour)

Today we have Marie Marquardt here for an author interview! This interview is part of the blog tour for Dream Things True. 

1. Without spoiling anything, could you tell us what was your favorite scene to write in Dream Things True?

I loved writing one of the earliest scenes, when my protagonist, Alma, meets her love interest, Evan. They fall for each other almost immediately, which is one reason the story is compared to Romeo and Juliet. It was a really fun set of emotions to write. They feel instantly connected, but they also realize how complicated it will be for them to relate, on many levels. Alma knows it will be almost impossible to get permission from her strict dad to hang out with Evan. This is sort-of baffling for Evan, whose family has very different rules and expectations.

2. If you had to pair up your main character Alma from Dream Things True with any other character from any other YA book (either romantically or as a friend), who would it be and why?

Oh, it would break my heart into a thousand tiny pieces if I had to put Alma with another boy, romantically! But I think she’d have a great time hanging out (just as friends) with Étienne St. Clair, from Anna and the French Kiss. Alma dreams of exploring the world, and is drawn to people who have big life experiences. I’m not sure how well Evan and St. Clair would get along, but Evan is full of surprises.

3. What comes easier for you - dialogue or description?

Dialogue, for sure. I often have to revise and re-write dialogue many times, but when I’m writing the first draft of a story, the dialogue pours right out of me. Then I go back and add the descriptive elements.

4. How do you go about naming your characters?

Haphazardly! I tend to steal the names from people I know, or from people I barely know, but just happen to be hanging around when a new character pops into my mind. Alma is an exception – It’s an old fashioned name, but I love that it means “soul”. I also chose the name for Alma’s aunt (Tia Pera) because “Pera” is short for “Esperanza”, which means “hope”. I love that name.

5. For any aspiring writers out there - what's the best writing advice you've ever received?

If you love to write, keep writing! If you want to be a traditionally published author, you’ll have to keep writing through the rejections. They will come. The best way to deal with them is to absorb any good advice they may offer and then sit back down at the keyboard and put words on the page.

Make sure to check out all the other stops of the blog tour, and keep your eye out for Dream Things True, which came out September 1st! This is what the book is all about:

Dream Things True by Marie Marquardt

Evan, a soccer star and the nephew of a conservative Southern Senator, has never wanted for much -- except a functional family. Alma has lived in Georgia since she was two-years-old, excels in school, and has a large, warm Mexican family. Never mind their differences, the two fall in love, and they fall hard. But when ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) begins raids on their town, Alma knows that she needs to tell Evan her secret. There's too much at stake. But how to tell her country-club boyfriend that she’s an undocumented immigrant? That her whole family and most of her friends live in the country without permission. What follows is a beautiful, nuanced, well-paced exploration of the complications of immigration, young love, defying one’s family, and facing a tangled bureaucracy that threatens to completely upend two young lives.

St. Martin's Griffin is giving away one finished copy of Dream Things True!

Giveaway rules:
- Must be 13 or older to enter.

- Open to US and Canada only.

- Open for one week; giveaway ends September 23rd at midnight. The winner will be contacted by e-mail. They will have 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will be chosen.
- I am not responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail.

Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!!!

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Your Voice Is All I Hear Spotlight: Excerpt & Giveaway

Today we have Leah Scheier here for a spotlight of her upcoming book, Your Voice is All I Hear!

Your Voice Is All I Hear will be released September 1st. Here's what it's all about:

Your Voice Is All I Hear by Leah Scheier
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Everything about Jonah is unexpected. On the first day of school, he sits next to April, when he could have chosen to sit with the popular girl. He turns down an invitation to join the school team and declares he'd rather paint. He encourages April to develop her musical talent and shrugs off the bullies that torment them.
April isn't surprised to find herself falling for Jonah. The unexpected part is when he falls for her too.
But the giddy happiness of their first romance begins to fade when Jonah's unpredictability begins to take a darker turn. April understands that her boyfriend is haunted by a painful memory, but his sudden mood swings worry her. She can't explain his growing fear of cellphones, electric keyboards, and of sounds that no one else can hear. Still, no matter what happens, April is sure that she'll always stand by him.
Until Jonah finally breaks and is committed to a psychiatric ward.
Until schizophrenia changes everything.
Though everyone urges her to let him go, April stays true to Jonah. But as the boy she adores begins to disappear in front of her, she has to face her worst fear: that her love may not be enough to save him.

Here is an excerpt from the novel:

I KNOW MY WAY AROUND THE MENTAL HOSPITAL. I doubt most of the girls in my neighborhood could claim that, even though many of us lived just a few minutes from its leafy, sterile grounds, and some of us picnicked on the lawn outside its gate during summer break.

By the end of tenth grade, I knew Shady Grove Hospital better than I knew my school. I knew that the security guard’s name was Carla and that she’d worked at her depressing post since the place was built. I knew the quiet path behind the topiary garden where I could wait until visiting hours began and she let me in. I’d memorized the shape and color of his shadow behind the dark-red curtains, and I knew where I had to stand so he could see me from his eleventh-story window. From that distant spot, I could even guess how well the medicine was working for him that day; I could tell what kind of visit it would be by counting the paces of his shadow.

I had the place mapped out, his daily routine memorized, the doctors’ names and call schedule, every pointless detail carefully recorded in his special little book. He’d given me those notes as if they were classified secrets, the papers wrapped in strips of hospital linen sealed together with bubble gum, long wads of partially chewed Wrigley’s tied into a crisscrossed mesh. That tat- tered spiral notebook was crammed with data he’d gathered over months: patients’ names and histories, nurses’ phone numbers, the cleaning crew’s shift hours. I would never know how these bits of information came together for him or how he even found them out. But somewhere in these random nothings, he’d put together a story for me, a clue of how to get to him, a coded message that, for some reason, he believed only I could read. I was the one he trusted, the only one who had not betrayed him. I was the one he loved, the only one who believed him, even when his own mother had locked him up and thrown away the key.

And now, nearly three months after they’d taken him away, I was finally ready. I was going to march up to the security window, look into the tired guard’s blurry eyes, state my name and the name of the patient I was visiting, and hear the buzz and click of the locked gate sliding open. I was going to walk down the white- tiled hallway, knock on his doctor’s office door, slam his secret notebook on her desk, and make her read it, make her understand what he was hiding, make her see what only I had seen.

I was finally going to do it. I was going to betray him.

Giveaway

Sourcebooks is giving away five copies of Your Voice Is All I Hear! This giveaway is open until September 20th. Enter using the form below. Good luck!


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Author Interview with Miranda Kenneally (Jesse's Girl Blog Tour)

Today we have Miranda Kenneally here for an author interview! This interview is part of the blog tour for Jesse's Girl. 

1. A lot of the previous Hundred Oaks books have been focused on some kind of sport - what made you want to write about music in Jesse's Girl instead?

I just love music and wanted to write about it. ! I grew up singing and performing, and was in my high school's show choir. I still (poorly) sing along to the radio.

2. I've loved all of your books, but I think Breathe, Annie, Breathe was my favorite (so far!). I know I'm horrible for asking this and making you choose, but which one of your books is your personal favorite? Or which one is most important to you, personally?

Thank you! Breathe, Annie, Breathe is the book I'm proudest of in terms of my writing, while Catching Jordan and Jesse's Girl were the most fun to work on.

3. If you had to set up Maya with another main character from your previous books, which one do you think she could be BFFs with and why?

I think Maya would get along great with Savannah. Both girls are sassy, stand up for themselves, know how to have fun, and love kissing (but who doesn't? *wink*).

4. Without spoiling anything, could you tell us what was your favorite scene to write in Jesse's Girl?

Probably the scene where Jesse takes Maya to his favorite spot: his secret fishing hole where his great-grandfather used to bring him as a little boy. Maya decides to shove Jesse into the water, and much chasing him around in his underwear ensues.

5. How do you go about naming your characters?

Generally I first see if the perfect name pops into my mind. If not, I consult BabyNames.com ;-)

Make sure to check out all the other stops of the blog tour, and keep your eye out for Jesse's Girl, which comes out today! You can check out my review here. This is what the book is all about:

Jesse's Girl by Miranda Kenneally

Everyone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke. So when Maya Henry said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she’d get to shadow *the* Jesse Scott, Nashville’s teen idol.
But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true. He’s as gorgeous as his music, but seeing all that he’s accomplished is just a reminder of everything Maya’s lost: her trust, her boyfriend, their band, and any chance to play the music she craves. Not to mention that Jesse’s pushy and opinionated. He made it on his own, and he thinks Maya’s playing back up to other people’s dreams. Does she have what it takes to follow her heart—and go solo?

Author Interview with Katie M. Stout (Hello, I Love You Blog Tour)

Today we have Katie M. Stout here for an author interview! This interview is part of the blog tour for her YA debut, Hello, I Love You.

1.Without spoiling anything, could you tell us what was your favorite scene to write in Hello, I Love You?

My favorite scene is definitely spoiler-y! What I can say is that all the scenes with Grace and her mother are my some of my favorites. The interplay between those two was something I really enjoyed exploring. Her mom is just so terrible, even I as the author cringed writing some of her dialogue. But the heart of the story for me is Grace’s relationship with her family, so those scenes flowed really easily for me, and I loved writing them.

2. If you had to pair up your main character Grace from Hello, I Love You with any other character from any other YA book (either romantically or as a friend), who would it be and why?

I’d love to see Grace hang out with Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy. They’re both fierce, opinionated ladies that have a lot of growing up to do. But in their hearts, I think they’re both kind, compassionate people who have been hurt by the world and have reacted in a way that isn’t great - but they have the potential for being strong women.

3. What comes easier for you - dialogue or description?

Oh, description for sure. I could write that for days. I had to be really careful not to weigh down this book with too much.

4. How do you go about naming your characters?

I don’t really have a system for this. The characters in this book all got named in different ways. I researched popular names in Korea for Tae Hwa’s and Yoon Jae’s names. But then Grace’s sort of came to me, and I really love it, because I think it’s exactly what she has to learn through the story: grace.

5. For any aspiring writers out there - what's the best writing advice you've ever received?

Go out and live your life. The best stories come from personal experiences.

Make sure to check out all the other stops of the blog tour, and keep your eye out for Hello, I Love You, which was released June 9th. You can also check out Katie's Spotify playlist for the book here. Here's what the book is all about:

Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.
She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can't stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can't deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol.
Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she'll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process.

Author Interview with Juliana Stone (Some Kind of Normal Blog Tour)

Today we have Juliana Stone here for an author interview! This interview is part of the blog tour for her newest release, Some Kind of Normal.

1.Without spoiling anything, could you tell us what was your favorite scene to write in Some Kind of Normal?

Ah, that’s easy! (kinda because I’ve got two!) The scene at the drive-in really hit home to me, when Everly is surrounded by hundreds of kids but has never felt more alone. I remember feeling like that.

2. If you had to pair up your main character Lucy with any other character from any other YA book (either romantically or as a friend), who would it be and why?

I think Caleb from Simone Elkeles’s book Leaving Paradise. They both have secrets and trauma and are involved with girls who have the same. They could totally support each other I think.

3. What comes easier for you - dialogue or description?

Dialogue hands down. I love writing dialogue and spend half of my time at home talking as I write! My daughter thinks I’m sorta crazy but that’s okay!

4. How do you go about naming your characters?

Funny thing is, I can’t start writing a book until I have the perfect name for a character. I usually envision my character and go from there. I have found that there are certain names I tend to use more than once and then have to go back! (Jake is one!)

5. For any aspiring writers out there - what's the best writing advice you've ever received?

Write from your heart. Never give up. Know that the journey is long and not for the faint of heart. Honestly, writing is the hardest job I’ve ever had but also the most worthwhile!

Make sure to check out all the other stops of the blog tour, and keep your eye out for Some Kind of Normal, which was released May 5th. Here's what it's all about:

Some Kind of Normal by Juliana Stone

SFor Trevor normal was fast guitar licks, catching game-winning passes and partying all night. Until a car accident leaves Trevor with no band, no teammates and no chance of graduating. It's kinda hard to ace your finals when you've been in a coma. The last thing he needs is stuck-up Everly Jenkins as his new tutor—those beautiful blue eyes catching every last flaw.
For Everly normal was a perfect family around the dinner table, playing piano at Sunday service and sunning by the pool. Until she discovers her whole life is a lie. Now the perfect pastor's daughter is hiding a life-changing secret, one that is slowly tearing her family apart. And spending the summer with notorious flirt Trevor Lewis means her darkest secret could be exposed.