The YA Book Butterfly

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Waiting On Wednesday - Gone Too Far

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is-

Gone Too Far

Expected publication: January 6th 2015 by Sourcebooks Fire

Keeping secrets ruined her life. But the truth might just kill her.

Piper Woods can't wait for the purgatory of senior year to end. She skirts the fringes of high school like a pro until the morning she finds a notebook with mutilated photographs and a list of student sins. She's sure the book is too gruesome to be true, until pretty, popular Stella dies after a sex-tape goes viral. Everyone's sure it's suicide, but Piper remembers Stella's name from the book and begins to suspect something much worse.

Drowning in secrets she doesn't want to keep, Piper's fears are confirmed when she receives an anonymous text message daring her to make things right. All she needs to do is choose a name, the name of someone who deserves to be punished.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Hosted by http://www.brokeandbookish.com/

Friday, December 12, 2014

Beware the Wild (Mini Review)

Beware the Wild
Natalie C. Parker

Kindle Edition, 336 pages

Published October 21st 2014 by HarperTeen

Synopsis via Goodreads:
There’s something about the swamp in Sticks, Louisiana. Something different, something haunting . . . something alive. Everyone knows this, and everyone avoids going near it. And even the Mardi Gras–bead-decorated fence that surrounds it keeps people away.

Until one morning when Sterling Saucier’s older brother Phineas runs into the swamp . . .

And doesn’t return.

Instead, a girl named Lenora May climbs out in his place, and all of a sudden, no one in Sticks remembers Phin at all. They treat Lenora May as if she’s been Sterling’s sister forever.

Sterling needs to figure out what the swamp’s done with her beloved brother and how Lenora May is connected to his disappearance—but first she’s got to find someone who believes her.

Heath Durham might be that someone. A loner shrouded behind rumors of drug addiction, Heath has had his own strange experience with the swamp. He and Sterling will have to piece together enough bits of memory and ancient swamp lore to get to the truth. But as the wild swamp encroaches on their town, Sterling and Heath may find a lot more than they expected . . . and Phin may be lost to them forever.

Mini Review:

This one wasn't for me at all. I was bored and confused with the plot. And the genre really is not my forte.

The synopsis made me interested, but I wasn't on the edge of my seat as I hoped I would be. I finished this, but I struggled.

I didn't connect with the main character, Sterling.
I was confused most of the book.
I wasn't that interested in what would happen in the end.

If you like paranormal/gothic/horror (which I don't)you might enjoy this one. Give Beware the Wild a try.
However, if you are like me and prefer mystery/thriller/adventure, I would pass on this one (unless you also enjoy the previous genres.)

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Author Interview - Leakan Zea Kemp (The Girl In Between)

The Girl In Between

Bryn Reyes is a real life sleeping beauty. Afflicted with Klein-Levin Syndrome, she suffers episodes of prolonged sleep that steal weeks, and sometimes even months, from her life. But unlike most KLS patients, she doesn’t spend each episode in a catatonic state or wake up with no recollection of the time she’s missed. Instead, Bryn spends half her life in an alternate reality made up of her memories. For Bryn, the past is a place, until one day a boy she’s never met before washes up on the illusory beach of her dreams with no memory of who he is.

But the appearance of this strange boy isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Bryn’s symptoms are worsening, her body weakening as she’s plagued by hallucinations even while awake. Her only hope of finding a cure is to undergo experimental treatment created by a German specialist. But when Dr. Banz reveals that he knows more about her strange symptoms than he originally let on, Bryn learns that the boy in her head might actually be the key to understanding what’s happening to her, and worse, that if she doesn’t find out his identity before it’s too late, they both may not survive.

The Girl In Between is (as of 11/10/2014) free on Google Play and Smashwords!

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23124500-the-girl-in-between

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NQL0LRC/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1GT1AKPRWGQ1B9VMPF3A&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

Google Play link: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Laekan_Zea_Kemp_The_Girl_In_Between?id=3-8hBQAAQBAJ

Smashwords link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/479396

Where are you from?
I was born in Lubbock, TX. After graduating from college I spent a few years living in sunny Orlando, FL but am now back in my home state.

When and why did you begin writing?

My entire high school career I thought I was going to major in social work or journalism and save the world but midway through my senior year I had a mild crisis of spirit and realized that I really wanted to be an artist. I'd always loved to read and spent more time with books than people and even though I'd always glamorized the idea of being a writer I'd never actually attempted it. I'd written short stories and really terrible poetry but making the decision to major in Creative Writing was the real turning point for me.

What books have most influenced your life most?

It's so hard for me to choose a favorite novel but it usually boils down to whatever Melina Marchetta's or Maggie Stiefvater's latest release is. I'm in love with Jellicoe Road and am totally crazy about Marchetta's Chronicles of Lumatere series. I'm also about to start reading Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Steifvater and can't wait to see if it takes the place of The Scorpio Races as my favorite novel of hers.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Initially I wanted to approach this question by choosing my favorite author but I actually did have a writing mentor throughout college. One of my Creative Writing professors, Dennis Covington, was a huge champion of my work and really encouraged me throughout the process of writing my first novel, The Things They Didn't Bury. It was rare that he actually spent any class time talking about writing and instead we would all circle up and just talk about life. He was really forthcoming and transparent and I realized that quality was precisely what made his writing so powerful and it's something I strive for every time I sit down to write.

What book are you reading now?

I just started reading Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Steifvater and am about to start listing to We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

I tend to be really behind on reading new releases since my TBR is always growing so the authors that are new to me probably wouldn't be new to anyone else. But I've recently become a fan of Laini Taylor, Craig Silvey and Rainbow Rowell.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Melina Marchetta is without a doubt my favorite author. Every single one of her books is so poignant and breathtakingly real and every time I finish reading one I learn so much, not only about the human spirit, but about myself. Jellicoe Road changed my life and Saving Francesca saved it. Growing up reading her novels served as a foundation for me, not only as a writer, but as a person and when I spotted my own flaws in her characters it helped me learn to accept them and more importantly love them. She is the pinnacle for me of everything I want to be and do and say as a writer and I think if every person on the planet read her books the world would be a more beautiful place.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

All of it. I've written six novels so far and each one has tested me in different ways. Depending on my mood, on the random stress of life, on my strengths and weakness that day that seem to vary as often as my mood, I can be stumped at any point. I re-wrote The Girl In Between from scratch probably six times because I just couldn't find the story's true identity but when it came to writing the third novel in the series, the first draft just fell out of me. I wish there was one area that constantly gave me difficulty because then I could focus all of my energy on improving it but stories are wild things and it takes something different to tame each one.

Have you been an avid reader your entire life? (since you could read)

Absolutely! My mother read to me all the time when I was a kid and my love of stories really started with these beautifully illustrated Richard Scarry books. I was always really imaginative and incredibly thoughtful and could spend hours just asking myself strange questions and coming up with even stranger answers. Books really activated those most powerful parts of myself and gave me a safe place to explore my own thoughts and opinions.

What character in your books do you relate to most?

Bryn is probably the character who is most like me. Of course all of my characters are some version of my best or worst self but after seeing how the series has evolved, Bryn is definitely the one character I've written who exists on the same part of the emotional spectrum that I do. We can both be thoughtful and generous but we can also be stubborn and judgmental. Bryn's relationship with her mother places a direct spotlight on those imperfections and just through writing about their relationship I've become even more self-aware of my own.

What is your favorite sport to watch and or play?

Probably football only because that's 5 months worth of Sundays during which my boyfriend is totally distracted and I can actually get some work done.

Favorite Movie?

It's a tie between Across The Universe and Tropic Thunder

Chocolate or Vanilla?

Chocolate

Puppy's or Kittens?

Puppies

Beach or Mountains?

Mountains

If you could be a color, what color would you be?

Green
Favorite Dessert?

Ice Cream Cake

If you could be a book character, what character would you be?

So tough...thirteen-year-old me probably wished she was Lena in The Sisterhood of
The Traveling Pants.

Author Bio:

Laekan is a writer and explorer extraordinaire who grew up in the flatlands of West Texas. She graduated from Texas Tech with a BA in Creative Writing and is the author of the multi-cultural New Adult novels The Things They Didn't Bury, Orphans of Paradise, Breathing Ghosts, and the Young Adult novel The Girl In Between, which is the first in an upcoming paranormal romance series.

Blog: http://laekanzeakemp.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaekanZeaKemp

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6577467.Laekan_Zea_Kemp

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/laekanzeakemp

Check out the sequel to The Girl In Between:

The Boy In Her Dreams (Book 2)

Synopsis:

When Roman wakes from a six month coma, the first thing he sees is the girl of his dreams. Except Bryn isn’t confined to the dream-state anymore and neither is he. He’s awake and alive and as the memories of how he and Bryn fell in love come rushing back, so do the memories of why he’s lying in that hospital bed in the first place.

Plagued by guilt, Roman makes a decision that alters both their fates and as Bryn fights for her life in a German hospital, Roman must fight for her forgiveness before it’s too late. Because Roman and Bryn weren’t the only things to wake out of Bryn’s dreams. The shadows seem to be hunting them both and a strange side effect of Roman’s miraculous recovery may be the only means of stopping them. That is, if he can reach Bryn before she slips too deeply into the very dreams that seem to be imposing more and more on their waking lives every day.

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23316911-the-boy-in-her-dreams

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Dreams-Girl-Between-Book-ebook/dp/B00ODETOCY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413232743&sr=8-1&keywords=the+boy+in+her+dreams

Smashwords link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/483635

Monday, December 8, 2014

Hosted by http://www.brokeandbookish.com/

Friday, December 5, 2014

They All Fall Down (Mini Book Review)

	They All Fall Down Roxanne St. Claire Kindle Edition, 352 pages Published October 14th 2014 by Delacorte Press Synopsis via Goodreads: Every year, the lives of ten girls at Vienna High are transformed. All because of the list. Kenzie Summerall can't imagine how she's been voted onto a list of the hottest girls in school, but when she lands at number five, her average life becomes dazzling. Doors open to the best parties, new friends surround her, the cutest jock in school is after her. This is the power of the list. If you're on it, your life changes. If you're on it this year? Your life ends. The girls on the list have started to die, one by one. Is it a coincidence? A curse? Or is the list in the hands of a killer? Time is running out for Kenzie, but she’s determined to uncover the deadly secret of the list...before her number’s up Mini Review: There were places in this one where I rolled my eyes, the main character was annoying at times, and I sometimes had a hard time keeping up with what was happening. I feel like there was so too many factors in this one that just left me feeling confused at times, and there was so much emphasis on that list that there wasn't much character development. However, this book was an entertaining mystery. So as long as you don't dissect this one too much and just want an interesting book. I would recommend this one. (Oh, and the Latin incorporated into this book was a good touch.....Made this one more memorable than it would have been without.)

They All Fall Down
Roxanne St. Claire

Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Published October 14th 2014 by Delacorte Press

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Every year, the lives of ten girls at Vienna High are transformed.

All because of the list.

Kenzie Summerall can't imagine how she's been voted onto a list of the hottest girls in school, but when she lands at number five, her average life becomes dazzling. Doors open to the best parties, new friends surround her, the cutest jock in school is after her.

This is the power of the list. If you're on it, your life changes.

If you're on it this year? Your life ends.

The girls on the list have started to die, one by one. Is it a coincidence? A curse? Or is the list in the hands of a killer?

Time is running out for Kenzie, but she’s determined to uncover the deadly secret of the list...before her number’s up

Mini Review:

There were places in this one where I rolled my eyes, the main character was annoying at times, and I sometimes had a hard time keeping up with what was happening.

I feel like there was so too many factors in this one that just left me feeling confused at times, and there was so much emphasis on that list that there wasn't much character development.

However, this book was an entertaining mystery. So as long as you don't dissect this one too much and just want an interesting book. I would recommend this one.

(Oh, and the Latin incorporated into this book was a good touch.....Made this one more memorable than it would have been without.)