Hidden Voices Winners

The winners of the Hidden Voices contest from last month are...

Heidi Durham
Billy Hartman
B. Henderson
Christopher Harner
Michelle Levy

as chosen by random numbers tweeted to me! :-) Want to help choose contest winners and also be entered to win cool stuff? (Yay, I'm on a giveaway spree, what can I say?), follow me on Twitter!

Review: Chasing Blue (Canterwood Crest) by Jessica Burkhart

The second book in the CANTERWOOD CREST SERIES re-introduces Sasha Silver, her horse Charm, and more of the cast of characters sure to keep tweens turning pages.

Read the review here.

Don't delay. Read EYES LIKE STARS. NOW!

All her world’s a stage.

Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.

She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents.

She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own.

Until now.

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev is full to bursting with masterful world building, quirky characters, and tempting hints of mystery. Added bonuses are a handsome pirate who tastes of salt and chocolate and a water spirit with a fair complexion and silver hair who smells of something darkly tempting. Those are just a few of the reasons you’ll want to read until your eyelids need to be propped open with toothpicks.

For an irresistible mix, throw in four snarky fairies with a penchant for trouble, tasty cupcakes from the Green Room, and the ability to cue a scene change from The Little Mermaid to clean up your bedroom after you dye your hair Cobalt Flame blue.

Oh. And I mustn’t forget the jazz hands.

Don’t delay. Read it. NOW. Knock people down to get it if you must, and then block out a day or two to sink into the Theatre Illuminata, where all the characters from every play ever written are bound by a magical, ancient book.

You might not want to resurface.

The word on the street (or Twitter at least) is that not since Hogwarts has there been such an enchanting story world as the one built by Lisa Mantchev in Eyes Like Stars. The blue-haired Bertie will capture your heart and tickle your funny bone. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You’ll wish for your very own set of fairy enforcers.

And you might even develop a sudden desire to read Shakespeare.

HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.

You can discover more about Eyes Like Stars and author Lisa Mantchev here:

http://lisamantchev.com/

An Awesome Book!

Check out this (truly) awesome book from Dallas Clayton: An Awesome Book!

Returned Books

*Sigh* I hate to do this, but I think I have to make a new policy. If a book is returned to me and it had been sent out to the address I was given (I will double check it), I will no longer try to track you down and get an alternate address. Instead, the book is going back in the Prize Bucket. I've just been spending way too much time trying to do that when I've got soooo many other things to be doing (like sending out new prize books! or working on a book! or doing reviews!).

If this happens to you (not that you'd know, exactly, since you wouldn't have received the book, but if you contact me because you haven't received your book, I'll tell ya why.) you can pick another book out of the Prize Bucket. If the book you originally requested is still there, you can request it, but it will be like going back in line.

Hope you guys find this to be fair. Running this site is always a balancing act. :-)

Review: King of the Screwups

King of the Screwups by K. L. Going is the perfect summer read. Liam Gelleris a royal screwup and right before his senior year in high school, he does the ultimate screwup. He gets caught by his father drunk and making out with a girl on his father's desk. Rather than deal with another screwup, Liam's dad decides to send him off to his paternal grandparents, who hate Liam.

Instead his mother convinces her gay, cross-dressing, trailer park-living, DJ, glam-rock band brother-in-law Pete (who Mr. Geller hasn’t spoken to in 17 years) to take Liam. Thus, Liam moves from posh Westchester to sticks of Pineville, NY. It makes for an interesting school year. But...it doesn't mean that Liam doesn't continue to screwup. Only his screwups are funny, rather than serious, in most cases.

King of the Screwups is chock full of funny and mean characters, sad and happy screwups, great action and lots of fun. Some characters you'll love and some you'll hate. But either way, you won't be wishy washy about them. So, sit back, stop screwing around and read King of the Screwups.

Reviews: I Need my Monster and I'm Really Not Tired (Flashlight Press)

Flashlight Press hits back-to-back home runs with their new titles,
I Need my Monster written by Amanda Noll, illustrated by Howard McWilliam and
I'm Really not Tired written by Lori Sunshine, illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler

Both books are beautifully illustrated and include fun, original text that will engage young readers and keep them interested in these bedtime stories night after night!

Read the YABC reviews here and here.

Review: Also Known as Harper by Ann Haywood Leal

Also Known as Harper by Ann Haywood Leal
gives a glimpse into what it's like to lose everything that used to be important and trying to keep what little you have left.

Harper Lee Morgan is just the character to give readers a glimpse of what some people must deal with, while keeping spirits high and hopeful.

Read the full review here.

Follow me on Twitter...if, you know, you're into that...

If you happen to be on Twitter, I've finally broken down and started an account. I feel like a bit of a twit, but there you go. You can follow me at: http://twitter.com/kimberlyrpauley

I'll probably be posting YABCish stuff there, as well as my own stuff. Maybe I'll even have a follower contest. Lots of authors seem to do that. 'S fun, yeah?

Drive Me Crazy

If you’re looking for a beach read that’s pure, carefree fun, pick up Drive Me Crazy by Erin Downing.

Kate and her two best friends are headed out on a road trip and she’s looking forward to some quality girl time – and to Lucas, the special boy waiting for her in Love, Wisconsin.

When the girls pick up an extra traveler, things go south for Kate. Kate and Adam were friends when they were younger, but for the past few years he’s done nothing but rub her every kind of wrong. Now she has to spend three irritating days in a car arguing with him, when all she can think about is Lucas and the special kiss they shared at the end of last summer.

But once they reach Love, Kate finds herself thinking more and more about her time with Adam and less and less about her relationship with Lucas. The road to romance is full of twists and turns. Will Kate go in the right direction?

A truly refreshing read, Drive Me Crazy is part of the romantic comedies line from Simon Pulse. Visit their blog at PulseRoCom.com.

A Garden of Opposites

A Garden of Opposites is a visual feast of bright colors and contrasting images for little eyes.

Along with the traditional open/closed and inside/outside found in most opposite books, Nancy Davis has made the charming addition of plain/fancy adorable butterflies and asleep/awake newborn baby birds.

The last page is an interactive fold out including all the pictures from the previous text and more. Eye-catching illustrations and sturdy pages will be a sure hit with toddlers.

A perfect snuggly read for a lazy afternoon with that special little one in your life.

Boo!

There Was An Old Monster! is a fun, spooky spin on There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. (Which, honestly, was spooky enough – I mean, she eventually swallows a horse. Shouldn’t an old lady know better?)

The monster in this story starts his journey by swallowing a tick that makes him feel sick. Our hapless hero then tries everything from ants to a lizard to a lion to end his affliction.

Sadly, the lion doesn’t work out too well.

A thoughtful addition to this rendering of the man versus beasts story is an actual download of the song available on the Scholastic website, allowing kids to learn the song and sing along.

There Was An Old Monster! is written by Caldecott Medalist Ed Emberley and his daughter Rebecca. The song is written and performed by Adrian Emberley, Rebecca’s daughter. It’s a family affair and fun for the family! Check it out!

Review: Liar

You can’t trust anything Micah tells you. She’s a compulsive liar, and has tried to convince the kids at her school that she’s a boy, that her dad is an arms dealer, and more. When her boyfriend Zach mysteriously dies, of course Micah is viewed with suspicion by people at school and the cops. Eventually even her parents come to view her with suspicion, due to the secret family curse. Read the full review here.

Review: Fire

Fire, Kristin Cashore's prequel to Graceling, is an engrossing fantasy. Monsters come in all sizes, shapes, colors and animals...birds, horses, people. Fire is a beautiful woman with firey red hair. Her talent is the mind. She can read peoples minds, cause them to unblock their minds and shed their hidden thoughts. The sight of her causes men to fall in love with her and be reviled by her at the same time.

Fire's father, Cansrel, was also a monster, known for his cruelty. Fire swore she would not be like that...use her mind for evil. But when she is asked by the king of The Dell, her homeland, to probe into the minds of prisoners of war, she is torn apart. She wants to help her king, yet feels like to do so would be using her talent for evil.

Fire, has everything a good fantasy needs: great characters, a lot of action, some romance, some mystery. Cashore's writing is as good as it was in Graceling. Her descriptions of events and actions and people is wonderful. The story line is interesting. Fire is required reading for fantasy fans and it may convert non-fantasy readers as well.

Fast? Slow?

Someone wrote to tell me that the YABC site has become dreadfully slow for them and they thought the culprit might be the "Get There Quick" author and book jump lists at the top of the site. That may very well be, since there are now so many books and authors in the database. I've removed those lists for the time being and I'd love your feedback. Has the site speed improved? Had you noticed an issue before? Did you use those "jump" lists and do you miss them or did you never notice them before? Thanks!