Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Our twitter round-ups keep getting bigger and bigger, but y'all are so awesome to follow.  Inspiring, amusing, supportive, snarky...thank you for providing so much material for our posts!

Nothing has been so amusing as the live tweets during the #Olympics #OlympicOpeningCeremony #london2012.  Prepare yourselves:



Did she ever?  What could be better than a slew of them to take on Voldemort?








 

Seriously:

  


Just Kidding:






The point:


This week's winner of MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH goes to Linda: Book Ninja!!  Congrats!  Please email us weheartya (at) gmail (dot) com so we can get your postal address.  If you didn't win this week, do not despair.  Just comment to win an ARC of UNTIL I DIE by Amy Plum.  Winner announced next week.  <3



Thursday, July 26, 2012

Patience is not my strongest suit. But of course, not everything happens in the blink of an eye. It takes a while to fall in love, for example. With a person. Even with a book.

"Good books don't give up all their secrets at once." - Stephen King

I can think of two books in particular that stole my heart -- but very slowly. They taught me that goodness can't be rushed. That sometimes it's worth the wait.

(Note: With both of these, I was enjoying the writing, the characters, the story, etc. My only complaint was that the plot was moving slowly. I think it would be different if you were not enjoying a book AND it was slow.)

The Book ThiefTHE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak

We've blogged about THE BOOK THIEF before. It's the story of a clever girl in WWII Germany, told from the point of view of Death himself. Zusak's prose is beautiful and strange, and he takes his time establishing the characters -- really making you care for them -- before he starts to push them around, push them together and against each other, creating conflict, eventually ripping their worlds apart.

But I got frustrated with his snail's pace somewhere around page 172. No joke, the (figurative) explosion that sets off the rest of the story happens on 173. I gave up 1 page too soon! Thank goodness I had a couple good friends and trusted readers who encouraged me to give the book a second chance. I ended up finishing the next 300+ pages in record time -- and I was moved to the core, my face streaming with tears.

The Scorpio RacesTHE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater

Okay, if I'm being honest, I think the first half of this book could have been edited down a bit. But it wasn't, and it still won a Printz Honor, and I think that's right. Because despite its flaws, it's a magnificent book.

What makes it so? Gorgeous writing. Amazing worldbuilding. Interesting mythology. Humor and wit. Romance that totally sneaks up on you (and is based on mutual respect rather than hotness). Sean and Corr and George freaking Holly! (And okay, Puck grows on you.) I shivered -- literally trembled with emotion -- multiple times while reading this book. And I could win an Oscar for crying on command just by thinking about the final heart-breaking, heart-healing scene.

So yeah. I'm glad I stuck with it. #understatementoftheyear



What fiery-awesome books have been slow to burn for you? What books were worth your wait?
Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Congrats to Leeanna...you won an ARC of THUMPED!  Please email us weheartya(at)gmail(dot)com so we can get your postal address.  The giveaway for this week is MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH by Bethany Griffin.








What's happening in the twitterverse?  Everyone's goofing off:






It's not just you...



Adrien Luc-Sanders from Entangled Publishing gets best hashtag for #editortips:


More wisdom and inspiration:


Other good stuff:


Sarah recently posed a question on twitter:  Writers:  Which comes first for you, the chicken (character) or the egg (story)?  




What about you?  Don't forget to comment for a chance to win this week's giveaway!!  
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Stephanie, Ingrid, Sarah & Kristan — we read, write, discuss and celebrate Young Adult lit.


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on the shelf

The Bitter Kingdom
Wild Awake
The Raven Boys
Mind Games
Eleanor and Park
The Shattered Mountain
The Shadow Cats
Transparent
Froi of the Exiles
Days of Blood & Starlight
Every Day
Jellicoe Road
Finnikin of the Rock
Guitar Notes
The Dead-Tossed Waves
The Crown of Embers
New House 5: How A Dorm Becomes A Home
Bitterblue
The Fault in Our Stars
Pretties


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