In My Mailbox (10)

Thanks as always to Kristi at The Story Siren for hosting this lovely bit! Sorry I
haven't posted in a while... real life with two kids got in the way! I know, how dare it! I have a ton of new stuff laying around that I have received and will be posting it sporadically to catch up (maybe before Sunday even!). I have had some amazing things come from authors that I can use for giveaways and in my classroom and have to catch up on all of it!! I feel like such a slacker but thanks for the patience and on to the goods!


These are all goodies from Alice at Little Brown whom I LOVE!!!


Currently available at a bookstore near you....


Beautiful Creatures
by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that's what I thought. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave. Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

North of Beautiful
by Justina Chen Headley

Born with a port-wine stain birthmark covering her entire right cheek, Terra Rose Cooper is ready to leave her stifling, small Washington town where everyone knows her for her face. With her critical, reproachful father and an obese mother who turns to food to deflect her father's verbal attacks, home life for Terra isn't so great either. Fueled by her artistic desires, she plans to escape to an East Coast college, thinking this is her true path. When her father intercepts her acceptance letter, Terra is pushed off-course, and she is forced to confront her deepest insecurities. After an ironically fortuitous car accident, Terra meets Jacob, a handsome but odd goth Chinese boy who was adopted from China as a toddler. Jacob immediately understands Terra's battle with feeling different. When Terra's older brother invites her and her mother to visit him in Shanghai, Jacob and his mother also join them on their journey, where they all not only confront the truth about themselves, but also realize their own true beauty. North of Beautiful is the engaging third YA novel by Justina Chen Headley. This is a gorgeously-written, compelling book featuring universal themes of defining true beauty, family bonds, personal strength, and love.

Ones to look forward to....

The River
by Mary Jane Beaufrand

Veronica Severance feels cut off from the world. Forced to move from the city to rural Oregon with her parents, she is haunted by loneliness and by the chilling sounds of the Santiam, the river that runs through her backyard. Through the fog of isolation, Ronnie finds herself becoming close with Karen, a young girl who she babysits. But when she discovers Karen's body on the banks of the Santiam, the victim of a supposed accident, Ronnie feels compelled to uncover the truth. As she becomes increasingly obsessed with solving Karen's death, Ronnie is led deeper and deeper into the woods surrounding the river and to the dark secret hidden within its midst. The River is a darkly atmospheric story of murder, isolation, obsession and dark secrets that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

The River hits a bookshelf near you on February 10, 2010

And this one I am super pumped about...


Prophecy of the Sisters Book II
Guardian of the Gate
by Michelle Zink

While Altus holds the answer to the location of the lost pages and one of the final pieces of the prophecy's puzzle, there are those who will not want us to reach its safe haven.

The Souls will not let us pass unchallenged.
And neither will my sister.

In this highly-anticipated sequel to Prophecy of the Sisters, sixteen year-old orphan Lia Milthorpe continues her quest to end an age-old prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other. Having now accepted the responsibilities tied to her role as the Gate, Lia journeys to the uncharted isle of Altus to continue her search for the missing pages of the Book of Chaos--the pages that could tell her how to end the prophecy. Along the way, her courage, strength, and soul are tested in ways she never could have imagined. What's also tested is her loyalty to James.

Meanwhile, twin sister Alice continues to hone her spellcasting abilities, completely ignoring the rules that govern the Otherworlds. Alice will stop at nothing to reclaim Lia's role of Gate, and that's not the only thing she wants. There's also Lia's true love, James.

The outcome of this battle between sisters could have consequences of Biblical proportion. And in the end, only one sister will be left standing.

Guardian of the Gate will hit a bookshelf near you in August 2010!
If you haven't read the first book in this series, you definitely need to! Read more about it and read my review of Prophecy of the Sisters here. You won't be disappointed!

Have a great week everyone!

xoxo
jennie