Love, Death and Authors in Cincinnati (+ giveaway!)

       "All good books are about either love or death.” –Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Lauren Oliver shared this quote last Monday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati. She read it years ago, and it helped inspire her to write the Delirium trilogy. Also at the event with Lauren were two YA authors local to the Cincinnati area, Mindy McGinnis and Jasmine Warga.

 

Love and death are two common themes in fiction, and these three authors let both of them run rampant through their stories. (That’s a good thing, btw.)  Lauren Oliver, who's celebrating the release of her ninth novel, Vanishing Girls, talked about how she uses fiction to get as close as possible to limits that seem unbreachable or unknowable. She writes fiction to ask questions that she doesn’t know how to answer herself. Mindy McGinnis, whose next book A Madness So Discreet releases this fall, said that authors can investigate issues of mortality in fiction with a free hand. Jasmine Warga, debut author of My Heart and Other Black Holes, talked about the theme of death at length. Her debut novel stars two teens contemplating suicide who meet online, which she wrote after unexpectedly losing someone close to her. Jasmine wanted to explore the questions: What does it mean to live? and Is it possible to be in a dark place and dig yourself out of that hole? All fiction deals with mortality to some extent according to Jasmine, and I agree. Lauren Oliver said that grappling with the meaning of life is essential. And to grapple with it, we deal with issues of life, death and our own mortality as humans.
 

Lauren Oliver, Mindy McGinnis and Jasmine Warga

Of course, the event wasn’t all serious. There were plenty of laughs, like when Mindy shared her writing playlists (cricket sounds, and if she’s not in a very good mood, static) and when Lauren shared the drama of her first summer job (she was a lifeguard and dated both snack bar guys even though they were best friends, which was a huge scandal). These fabulous authors talked about what books got them into reading and writing (Lauren: Wind in the Willows and Redwall; Mindy: A Wrinkle in Time; Jasmine: Matilda and Anne of Green Gables). They talked about their writing schedules, how they get their story ideas and shared their take on social media. After a lively, inspiring and thought-provoking discussion, the event moved onto the signing, chatting and picture-taking portion!

The books I'm adding to my signed collection!

 

Lauren Oliver and me!

 

Now to the giveaway! Recently I’ve been contemplating giving away some of my older ARCs (my shelves are bursting) and I realized this event would be the perfect opportunity to throw in a signed book! So, I’m giving away a signed paperback of Panic by Lauren Oliver, as it was one of my top ten books of 2014! Also, I’m giving away an unsigned ARC of Rooms by Lauren Oliver. This is Lauren’s first (and presently only) novel for adults, and it’s a read-with-the-lights-on tale. I’ll be selecting one winner (who gets both books!) in a week, so keep an eye on your inboxes then! (Giveaway is open to US/CAN only.)

 

The books I'm giving away!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Disclaimer: This post is an unofficial account of the event with Lauren Oliver, Mindy McGinnis and Jasmine Warga on March 16, 2015 at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, OH. The views that I present in this post are my interpretations of the event, and they do not necessarily represent the opinions of the authors, their publisher or any affiliates.

Most Anticipated Teen Releases: Spring 2015

Springtime is my favoritest of times, and all these amazing books only help! A new series by Sarah J. Maas?! Sequels to Kiss of Deception and Prisoner of Night and Fog?! I’ll actually be glad for those rainy April and May days so I can stay inside and read! 
 

March 24

We All Looked Up—Tommy Wallach

What it’s about: They always say that high school is the best time of your life. Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle—and her reputation—and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, doesn’t understand all the fuss about college and career—the future can wait. Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors—along with the rest of the planet—wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present.

Why I’m excited: Because even though the first line of the description is super cliché, it gets seriously interesting fast. An asteroid plummeting toward Earth?! I can see how that might change what people will do and how they’ll act and maybe bring down civilization in the process…

 

March 31

Black Dove, White Raven—Elizabeth Wein

What it’s about: Emilia and Teo’s lives changed in a terrifying instant when a bird strike brought down the plane their stunt pilot mothers were flying. Teo’s mother died immediately, but Em’s survived, determined to raise Teo according to his late mother's wishes-in a place where he won't be discriminated against because of the color of his skin. But in 1930s America, a white woman raising a black adoptive son alongside a white daughter is too often seen as a threat. Seeking a home where her children won't be held back by ethnicity or gender, Rhoda brings Em and Teo to Ethiopia, and all three fall in love with the beautiful, peaceful country. But that peace is shattered by the threat of war with Italy, and teenage Em and Teo are drawn into the conflict. Will their devotion to their country, its culture and people, and each other be their downfall or their salvation?

Why I’m excited: Because Code Name Verity was a jaw-dropping, fist-clenching historical fiction novel which I loved. (And I’ve been meaning to dive into Rose Under Fire for months now, but I haven’t because I know I’ll need to be prepared for its awesomeness.) Plus, I'm unfamiliar with 1930s Ethiopia, so I can't wait to dive into this time and place!

April 21

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke--Anne Blankman

What it’s about: The girl known as Gretchen Whitestone has a secret: She used to be part of Adolf Hitler's inner circle. More than a year after she made an enemy of her old family friend and fled Munich, she lives in England, posing as an ordinary German immigrant. Her love, Daniel, is a reporter in town. For the first time in her life, Gretchen is content. But then Daniel gets a telegram that sends him back to Germany, and Gretchen's world turns upside down. When she receives word that Daniel is wanted for murder, she has to face the danger she thought she'd escaped—and return to her homeland. As they work to clear Daniel's name, Gretchen and Daniel discover a deadly conspiracy stretching from the slums of Berlin to the Reichstag itself. Can they dig up the explosive truth and get out in time—or will Hitler discover them first?

Why I’m excited: Because WWII historical fiction is my thing. Also, I adored Prisoner of Night and Fog, the first in this series. It was an edge-of-your-seat thriller (see my six star review here) which I DID NOT want to end. So I'm excited to pick this one up and dive back into that world!

April 28

An Ember in the Ashes—Sabaa Tahir

What it’s about: Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution. Elias is the academy’s finest soldier— and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor. When Laia and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself.

Why I’m excited: Because I’ve already heard great things about this debut! I’ve heard it’s gritty and dark, and I can’t wait to dive into this fierce fantasy! (And I will soon as I managed to grab the DRC!)

May 5

Court of Thorns and Roses—Sarah J. Maas

What it’s about: When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin-one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it or doom Tamlin and his world forever.

Why I’m excited: Because Maas is one of my favorite authors. Throne of Glass is a brilliant, heart-pounding, intricately-woven series, and I can’t wait to dive into another one of Maas’ fantasy tales! (Seriously, I’m so anxious for this book that I think about it DAILY. Just over seven weeks until its release!)

May 12

The Wrath and the Dawn—Renée Ahdieh

What it’s about: Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch—she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend. She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

Why I’m excited: Because there was an unexpected twist in the description, so can you imagine how the book’s going to be? Plus, I need to know how Shazi falls in love with a Caliph who executes his new brides at sunrise. I want these questions answered, so I'll be reading this book for sure!

July 7

Heart of Betrayal—Mary E. Pearson

What it’s about: Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape and even less of being together. Desperate to save her life, Lia's erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komisar that she has a magical gift, and the Komisar's interest in Lia is greater than either of them foresaw. In Venda, nothing is straightforward: there's Rafe, who lied to her, but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom she always believed to be barbarians but whom she now realizes are people who have been terribly brutalized. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her very sense of self, Lia will have to make powerful choices that affect her country, her people and her own destiny.

Why I’m excited: Because I’ve already read this book and loved it! Sometimes sequels are lackluster, but this one shined brightly, and I can’t wait to purchase my copy. Actually, now that I think about it, I think I’ll pre-order it! Kiss of Deception was one of my favorite books of 2014 (see my six star review here), and this sequel raised the stakes so high that I’m already anxious for the third book!

What new releases are you excited for this spring?

 

 

*Book descriptions were adapted from those on BN.com. 

Seven Books I Can’t Believe I Haven’t Read Yet

Do you ever look through your home library and wonder: Why haven’t I read this book yet? I’d know I’d love it, so why haven’t I made time for it? I ask myself these questions way too often. I have hundreds of books, and I need to read more of what’s on my shelf! So here's the challenge: take a look at my list below and tell me what I should read next! I own two of these books in hard copy, and have the rest in e-book form, but I want to know what YOU recommend, whether based on the descriptions (courtesy of bn.com) or your own reading experience.

 

The Naturals—Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. She can tell you who you are and what you want, but it's not a skill that she's ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they've begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie. She’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. When a killer strikes, danger looms close. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

 

The Girl of Fire and Thorns—Rae Carson

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. Elisa is the chosen one. But she is also the younger of two princesses, and hasn’t done anything remarkable. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. He needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. Yet he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

 

 

The Outsiders—S.E. Hinton

Three brothers struggle to stay together after their parents' death, as they search for an identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society in which they find themselves "outsiders." The ruthlessly realistic and violent story of the Greasers and the Socs, rival gangs from very different sides of the railroad tracks, is narrated by Ponyboy Curtis, a smart, sensitive kid forced to be tough on the outside, but who underneath is just as scared and needy as anyone.

 

 

 

 

Finnikin at the Rock—Melina Marchetta

 

Finnikin was only a child during the five days of the unspeakable, when the royal family of Lumatere were brutally murdered, and an imposter seized the throne. Now a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere’s walls, and those who escaped roam the surrounding lands as exiles. Now Finnikin’s on the cusp of manhood and joins forces with an enigmatic young novice named Evanjalin, who claims that her dark dreams will lead the exiles to a surviving royal child and a way to pierce the cursed barrier and regain the land of Lumatere.

 

 

The Archived—Victoria Schwab

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, but now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

 

 

The Raven Boys—Maggie Stiefvater

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. This year, a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her. His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. He's on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, Ronan and Noah. Blue has always been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem until her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys.

 

 

Uglies—Scott Westerfeld

In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. When Shay runs away, the authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

 

 

Which one of these books should jump to the top of my TBR pile? Let me know in the comments!

 

Ten Book Related Problems I Have

It’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday! Yes, yes, I know it’s Sunday. But I post on Sundays and this way I’m prepared for Tuesday, once it rolls around. Anyway, TTT is a great thing hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic: Ten Book Related Problems I Have. As they say, more books, more problems…
 

1.     Too Many Books

There are too many books to read!!! I’m not complaining about how many books there are in publication, or how many I own. I’m just saying I’ll never be able to read all the books I want to, and that scares me. It scares me to my very core.

2.     Not Enough Time

Stupid work. Okay, I’m exaggerating, I like my job. But working 40 hours a week and writing and boyfriend time, well, it really infringes on my reading time.

3.     Reading as an Editor

I’m not an editor by trade, but I am writing/editing my own book and sometimes I catch myself editing as I’m reading a book that’s not my own! Ugh.

4.     Protecting my books/nook

Water is an ever-present danger, mostly when I’m in the bath. Reading in the bath is relaxing, but sometimes I fear dropping my book. And of course, if I’m reading something on my nook, I don’t take it into the bath—that's far too risky!

5.     Space

I have hundreds of books. I have three bookshelves, at least seven bins of books, books at my parent’s house, books stacked in random places on my desk, nightstand, a small shelf here, there and everywhere! I shove books in any available space, and someday I may run out of space. L

6.     Waiting

Books have release dates, and sometimes it’s torture waiting for them!

7.     Love Squares

Anything more than a love triangle really pisses me off. (To put it delicately.) I’ve only seen a few, but seriously, a love square? A love octagon? Too much.

8.     Shotty World-Building

I’m a fantasy reader, and nothing turns me off like a world that isn’t fully-formed, or one that doesn't make sense. World-building takes time and effort, as I'm discovering while writing my own fantasy novel.

9.     Inability to Sacrifice

Character death is hard to write and to read, but unfortunately it’s realistic. When an author can’t part with their characters, when the happily ever after seems a little too happy, it alienates me pretty quickly.

10.   Haters

Haters gonna hate, but I’m convinced that fellow readers shouldn’t get down on each other for what they read. No matter if it’s Twilight, 50 Shades, or even Jonathan Franzen. If you read, you’re cool with me!

 

What are some of your book related problems?

 

I Was Here with Hope and Tears

Gayle Forman has a new book coming out this Tuesday! *squeals* I managed to grab an ARC of I Was Here and I devoured it within 24 hours. Cody’s journey is internal, heartfelt and tearful, and I adored it from first page to last.

 

I Was Here

When her best friend, Meg, drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, and some secrets of his own. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

 

My Thoughts

I Was Here is a deep, dark journey on the path of grief. Cody lost her best friend, Meg, and she has no explanation for why Meg decided to commit suicide. After finding something suspicious on Meg's laptop, Cody dives into a suicide mystery that takes her into the abyss of her soul.

I won’t dive deeper into my thoughts on Cody's journey because spoilers, but I do want to say that I cried at the end. There was a moment that Cody’s mom played a pivotal role, and it just reminded me so much of something my parents did for me once. The scene struck a chord with me, which reminded me that Forman’s writing is realistic. Suicide is a hard topic to tackle, yet Forman writes about its aftermath without romanticizing or justifying the act itself. She tackles it head-on, managing to be honest without being upsetting.

Then there’s Ben. I like Ben. A lot. He’s layered (as are all of Forman’s characters) and imperfect. He’s troubled in his own right, and affected by Meg’s death as he was one of her friends from her first semester of college. When Cody goes to Meg's college to collect her belongings, she meets Ben. They can’t seem to interact without sarcasm or yelling or general disdain but grief will do that to people. Yet, Cody and Ben keep meeting up, and they start getting to know one another as Cody explores the circumstances of Meg's death.

As I read the last page of I Was Here, I was struck by the novel’s poignancy, its strength and the resounding hope. I’m baffled by and thankful for its truth. It ended with hope and tears, which is how the best books end.

 

My #IWasHere Moment

I’ve been some places. I haven’t been around the world, but I have been around Western Europe. I always thought Mont Saint-Michel was incredible, however unreachable. But when I studied abroad in Belgium, our group took a trip to this out-of-the-way island town on the French coast.

 

Sometimes when I look back, I still can't believe that #IWasHere.

 

Share your #IWasHere moments below!

 

Seven Authors to Read if You Love The Maze Runner

A couple weekends ago, I finally watched The Maze Runner! It has non-stop action, gasp-worthy thrills and a cliffhanger that makes me want to read the rest of the series. (I read TMR in 2009.) In short, I loved it! The Scorch Trials (which is filming now) is on my TBR pile, along with the rest of the series. But with so many people diving into The Maze Runner, it got me thinking about authors and books to read after finishing book. Here are some of my suggestions:

 

Joelle Charbonneau
 

When Cia gets chosen for The Testing, she realizes it’s not the straight-forward program for future leaders that she thought it was. This trilogy has a strong female lead, moments of astonishing terror and threads of romance. The Testing is followed by Independent Study and Graduation Day, and is an exciting dystopian trilogy!

 
 

James Dashner

What better to read after The Maze Runner than the rest of the series? Okay, so this may be cheating a bit, but after finishing The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure are the logical next step. The prequel The Kill Order and Dashner’s other series Eye of Minds, should be on the list too! The latter is a technological thriller, where Michael is a gamer and a hacker.  

 

 

 

Michael Grant

In the span of a moment, all the adults disappear. Phones stop working; there’s no internet or television. Just teenagers remain, and they can’t figure out what happened. This is the premise of Gone, which begins a six book series that’s reminiscent of Lord of the Flies. Grant has two other thrilling series, BZRK and one that began a few months ago: Messenger of Fear.

 

 

 

Emmy Laybourne

Fourteen kids ranging from elementary age to high schools are trapped inside a superstore during a series of escalating disasters. With apocalypse banging down the door, this trilogy is an exhilarating tale of survival and adventure with a monster cliffhanger that will make you want to dive into the rest of the trilogy, Sky on Fire and Savage Drift, right away.



 

Marie Lu

In a future where the United States is split into two, June is a prodigy and Day is a wanted criminal. Their paths cross, of course, and the results are action-packed. The trilogy is one of my favorite dystopians! I have yet to read The Young Elites, but it’s on my TBR list!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neal Shusterman

After America’s Second Civil War, Unwinding is a common practice. Children between age thirteen and eighteen can be unwound, meaning all their organs are transplanted to various recipients. Conner, Risa and Lev are runaway Unwinds whose paths intersect. With death on the line, issues of morality are tested in the Unwind Quartet. Shusterman has many other series and books worth diving into as well.

 

 

 

Rick Yancey

Alien invasion doesn’t exactly equal dystopian future, but something that’s vital to Thomas’ story in The Maze Runner is his ability to survive, which runs deep in Cassie’s story. Cassie’s survived four waves of the alien invasion, but now she’s on her own, searching for her brother, as The Fifth Wave begins. A movie version is coming in just over a year, and the sequel, The Infinite Sea, was released over the summer.

 

 

 

What authors and books do you recommend for fans of The Maze Runner?

The Bright Places of Life

Shortly after the new year, I dived into my first read of 2015: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven! This book is getting a lot of buzz because it's powerful, deals with real issues and is a natural read for anyone who loves The Fault in Our Stars.

 

All the Bright Places

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
 
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

 

My Thoughts

Finch and Violet meet atop a clock tower one school day. Finch is quirky, individualistic and unlike anyone I've ever known (in a good way). I fell in love with him in the first few chapters! Violet is more wrapped within herself. She's removed (due to grief) but she's smart and honest. Even though it took a bit longer, I really connected with her personality. From their first fateful meeting, they're tied together.  

In the only class they have together, Finch and Violet are assigned a semester-long project to wander Indiana. The travel to Hoosier Hill and many other unusual, hidden sites of Indiana. I have to admit that learning about the intricacies of Indiana was one of the great aspects about this book for me! Another thing I loved about All the Bright Places is that Germ Magazine is an actual website! It's just like Violet brainstormed in the book, and so much more. There are sections on life, love and lit. Also there’s a Be Lovely section, and one on Bright Places. Seriously, this site is one of my new favorite things!

All the Bright Places deals with suicide, mental illness, abuse, bullying and loss. That's a lot of tough stuff for one YA novel, but Niven writes Finch and Violet and their interwoven experiences with a measured, knowing hand. The issues are dealt with in an honest fashion, and are not diluted or side-stepped. Finch and Violet's experiences widened my worldview and I'm grateful that I could dive into their heart-breaking yet hopeful story.

And I'm so glad that All the Bright Places was my first read of 2015!

My Bright Places

Bright Places are small, simple things that make one happy on a daily basis. They're places traveled--real or imagined--and loved. They're people who brighten the everyday. All the Bright Places made me think about life in a new way and helped me recognize my own Bright Places! Here are some of them: 

 

Amelia Island, Florida

 

Reading by the pool

 

The Irish Coast

 

Holidays at my parents house

 

Exploring Indy

 Planes landing at night

Peppermint tea

Singing on my commute (usually to T Swift)

Working with books

Reading books

Writing books

Loving books

Have you read All the Bright Places? If so, what did you think? If not, I highly recommend it! What are some of your Bright Places? Let me know in the comments!