giveaway winner + blog changes

First things first: apologies for being so behind in this, but I finally do have a winner for the giveaway of Being Friends With Boys and The Summer of Firsts and Lasts, both by Terra Elan McVoy. The winner is LYDIA (so Lydia, check your email, please) -- congrats!

And secondly, an explanation for my recent, sudden disappearance from the blog: I started working full-time. It's a job I'm really liking, but it does leave less time for everything else and mostly what's been getting edged out is blogging. I've been thinking a lot lately about the activities that are important to me -- trying to prioritize how I spend my time, trying to balance things out. And what I've realized is that while it's not impossible for me to blog daily, it's impossible for me to blog daily, get my writing done, and sleep as much as I need to (I wish I didn't need sleep). So my options are limited to either (a) taking an indefinite hiatus from the blog, or (b) figuring a way to blog consistently, but less. Like, 1-3 posts a week. So for now I'm going to try option B -- blogging a few times a week -- and hope that this blog can retain readers even with less frequent posting.

terra elan mcvoy giveaway.

Last month Terra Elan McVoy emailed me wanting to do a giveaway of her latest two books -- Being Friends With Boys (my review here) and The Summer of Firsts and Lasts (my review here), both signed (and personalized) by her. And of course I said yes. Because her newest book, Being Friends With Boys, has a large musical theme I asked Terra some musical questions about her books and she had some great, in-depth answers. Scroll down to read the music-infused interview, or just stop here and enter the giveaway.

Giveaway Rules: One winner will win both books. US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A big part of Being Friends With Boys is the band that Charlotte's friends are in -- how important is music for you when you're writing? Do you listen to certain music when you write, make playlists for the current WIP (work-in-progress), or does it matter?

Music definitely matters to me when I'm writing, but it can't be too intrusive. I tend to listen to the same bands over and over while I'm writing a particular book. For After the Kiss, I listened to a ton of Neko Case. During Being Friends With Boys I listened almost exclusively to the National. For The Summer of Firsts and Lasts I took out a bunch of old tapes my sisters had made for me, and listened to those. Writing Criminal [Terra's upcoming book], I listened to Depeche Mode constantly.
Once the book is finished, I also have fun making playlists for them, whether they are songs that describe the characters' feelings. (See my Summer of Firsts and Lasts playlist in my blog archive.) I've also made a playlist from Trip to Charlotte for Being Friends with Boys, but I haven't released it yet because it might spoil things for folks. Maybe when the paperback comes out...

If you had to choose a sort of "theme song" for your books, what songs would you choose for Being Friends With Boys and The Summer of Firsts and Lasts?

Choosing just one theme song is pretty tough, because there's often so much going on in the books. But I think "Summer Girls" by LFO really captures the feeling of The Summer of Firsts and Lasts, and "Brainy" by The National for Being Friends With Boys, because the lyrics there apply in more than one instance, and that's one of the first songs by them that I heard, and I was in love straight off.

The band in Being Friends With Boys is called Sad Jackal -- what real-life band would you compare their music to?

Gosh what a great question that nobody's asked me yet. And, not to make this a giant advertisement for The National, but I was listening to them so much while I was writing because I like that their lyrics are very dreamy and nonsensical in some ways, and they don't follow strict rhyme like a lot of other songs do. This would be something Charlotte would really dig and try to emulate, and I think she'd listen to them a lot. But Oliver's voice is nowhere near as deep as Matt Berninger's, broody as Oliver might be, so saying they sound like The National isn't quite right. When I think of Oliver singing, the word "crooning" really comes to mind, so I think he probably sounds more like someone classic -- maybe Chet Baker. Overall though there's more in synth in Sad Jackal than in The National too, so I think they're ultimately closer to Death Cab for Cutie once Fabian and Eli come on board. So, yeah, a combo of The National, Chet Baker, and Death Cab, and you've got Sad Jackal.

Giveaway: Walk Two Moons (US ONLY)

I don't know how it happened that I never read Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech, as a child. I read many of her other books but somehow completely bypassed the one that won the Newbery. However, I picked up a copy at ALA recently and sat down to read it, a little worried that, because it's not a book full of childhood nostalgia, I might not love it the way I love other Creech novels such as Bloomability or The Wanderer.

I shouldn't have worried. At all. Walk Two Moons completely, utterly blew me away. It's the kind of children's (MG?) book that everyone should read. Sharon Creech has a way of writing messy, realistic human beings with such love. She tackles profound truths about life and people, family and love, with such simplicity and leaves you feeling so very, very alive.

I finished this book at midnight, tears falling down my face, and so full of good feelings. Like love, understanding, forgiveness, and hope. I totally get it now. I totally get why this is the book that won the Newbery; it's beautiful and so hugely affecting in the best sort of way. Walk Two Moons is the type of book that reminds me things, even very difficult things, are possible. It's possible to go through hard things and come out okay. It's possible to make a mistake and not let it ruin you. It's possible to become a better person, the kind of person you really wish you were.

I know this is a lot for a story, but it's how it made me feel and it's such a huge reason that I love stories so much: they can affect you. They can change you. It's why I'm picky about what I read and crazy for the books I love; I want to be affected by stories, but I want to be affected in good ways and by good stories.

Today I found an older copy of Walk Two Moons at the used bookstore and I'd love to give it away here.

Giveaway Rules:

US Only

Enter with a comment on this post; tell me about a children's book you think everyone should read.

Include your email address.

+1 for tweeting (and include link to tweet)

+1 for posting on Facebook/Tumblr/whatever (leave link, please)

Deadline July 13th, 2012

Terra Elan McVoy Giveaway!!

Thanks to Terra Elan McVoy and her wonderful Simon & Schuster people, I'm hosting a giveaway of her entire backlist (Pure, After The Kiss, and The Summer of Firsts and Lasts), plus a signed copy of her newest novel, Being Friends With Boys. I'm very excited about this! McVoy is a sadly underrated voice in contemporary YA and I'm eager for more readers to be introduced to her books.

This giveaway is open to US readers only (sorry, international!). You can gain extra entries by commenting on my Q&A with the author or tweeting abut the giveaway.

This giveaway will close on May 16th -- two weeks from now.

Giveaway, Yo.

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER MY BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY GIVEAWAY.

Review/Giveaway - Between Shades of Gray

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY
Ruta Sepetys
Philomel Books (An Imprint of Penguin, USA)

In 1941, when Josef Stalin wiped Lithuania off the map, 15-year-old Lina's family is taken from their home. Separated from their father, Lina, her brother Jonas, and their mother are sent to work camps in Siberia. Under incredibly harsh conditions, the Lithuanians must fight for their survival against the uncaring and callous NKVD (later known as the KGB).

Before reading this I had heard from others how powerful the story is, and they were right. Lina is an incredibly kind, caring, compassionate, and artistic character. She's also stubborn and struggles to hide her hatred of the NKVD in order to keep her and those with her safe. Lina is an artist and her drawings are a constant part of the narrative as she draws both what she sees and how she sees it, which means that if her drawings are found she could be killed. Instead she hides these drawings between book pages and in letters that she tries to get to her father. It's in part because of Lina's artistic and kind nature that the narrative is as beautiful as it is. These are characters that, despite undergoing incredible hardships, are still able to find hope and hold onto it. Lina's mother especially is one that is constantly hopeful and giving to others.

There is a strength of spirit here that is undeniable. These characters -- and this story -- are a triumph of the human spirit. It's a tale of not only physical, but also mental and emotional survival.

That said, the events of this book are gruesome and difficult to read. Inspired by the artist Munch, Lina's drawings are often grotesque or disturbing because they reflect her surroundings and the things she's going through. After being taken from their home, her family is forced to work on a beet farm in Siberia. They are given a very small ration of bread each day as "payment" for their work and when someone gets sick and is unable to work they aren't given rations. Lina watches as the people she lives with get sick and die. She watches a young woman who has lost her infant be shot in the head right in front of her. She sees her younger brother become incredibly sick with scurvy. The mother of Andrius, a boy she has feelings for, is forced to prostitute herself to the NKVD officers in order to save the life of her son. These are a short list of the atrocities Lina and her fellow Lithuanians face in exile and they are all portrayed in a starkly honest way. This is, as others have said, a very powerful book. It's beautiful and sad and all the more important because of how incredibly real it is. Through the characters are fictional, the events and many of the experiences are real -- things that actually happened to Lithuanians who were exiled and that the author, Ruta Sepetys, found out about through her extensive research.

While I typically keep the books that I really enjoy, this is one that deserves to be passed on and shared, so I'm giving my ARC away to one lucky reader. 

Due to shipping costs, US addresses only please. This giveaway will run until April 2nd.

BlogFest 2010 Winner

I realize I should have posted this a bit earlier, but the winner of my BlogFest giveaway (ARCs of ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS and VIRALS) was Sharon S. I've been in contact with her and the books are shipped.

so that's cool. =)

BlogFest 2010 GIVEAWAY!! --Closed--

BlogFest 2010, hosted by A Journey of Books. Head over to that blog for the full list of participating blogs (over 250!) Plus, don't forget about the huge BlogFest 2010 grand giveaway. Head over here and click on the Tracking Site link so you can keep track of which BlogFest giveaways you've entered and be entered into the massive giveaway.

So! About my giveaway!

up for grabs: ARC of ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS and ARC of VIRALS

how to enter: just fill out this shiny form! extra entries for being a follower and tweeting the giveaway

RULES:

one person will win both books.

the giveaway is open to those with a US mailing address ONLY.

giveaway is open through the weekend -- it ends September 12th, 2010 at midnight pst.

the winner will be announced on the blog and notified by email.

Click on over to the next BlogFest blog and giveaway, Patiently Waiting Books.