Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop 2015

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read

September 27−October 3, 2015

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. Check out the frequently challenged books section to explore the issues and controversies around book challenges and book banning. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read.

For more information on getting involved with Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, please see Calendar of Events, Ideas and Resources, and the new Banned Books Week site. You can also contact the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4220, or bbw@ala.org.

(The above information comes directly from the Banned Books Week page on the ALA website.)

To view a full listing of the top ten books challenged/banned each year for the last decade, visit here or view PDFs of the lists in the BBW press kit.

To do my part to help support this worthy cause, I'll be giving away one of any of the books banned in 2014-2015 to one lucky winner, as long as the book is available from The Book Depository. Check this list to see which books are eligible and why they were banned or challenged.

Rules:

• This giveaway is international. As long as The Book Depository ships to your location, you are good to go. (You can double-check that here.) 
• One entry per household. 
• Entries will be verified. Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
• Please note that if you use your Twitter account solely for giveaway entries and you enter using the Tweet about the Giveaway entry, that entry will be disqualified. Please remember that this entry method is to spread the word about the giveaway, not simply increase your chances of winning.
• Winner will be notified via email. Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. Please check your SPAM folder!!! 
• We are not responsible for lost packages. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you've entered here, be sure to check out all of the other stops on the Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop:



Thanks to the ladies at BookHounds and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for hosting!

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Labels: banned books, giveaway hops, giveaways

{Audiobook} Review: What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Title: What I Thought Was True
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Narrator(s): Erin Spencer
Series: stand-alone
Length: 12 hrs 51 mins
Publisher: Dial BFYR
Publication Date: April 7, 2015
Source: Purchased Audio
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

From the author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.

Gwen Castle's Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her Nantucket-esque island this summer. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

A magnetic, push-me-pull-me romance with depth, this is for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti.

I loved this book, and I almost didn't buy it. You see, I read My Life Next Door and I wasn't all that impressed. Maybe it was the hype, I'm not sure. I decided to give Fitzpatrick a second chance and went with the audio for What I Thought Was True.

It was everything I had wanted My Life Next Door to be. I feel like she really stepped up her game with this one. The writing was much better. The Characters were realistic. They were messy. I loved that.

What I loved the most about this book.... was the setting. It's a New England beach town, or I should say Island. But anyway, it's perfect for a Summer read. I listened to this last Spring as we were slowly approaching the Summer, and it def got me in the mood.

Really enjoyed Gwen and Cassidy's Chemistry. There were quite a few swoony moments, as well as a few laugh out loud ones.

It's been a while since I listened to the audio, so I can't remember everything I wanted to gush about. This is what happens when you don't write reviews immediately. Ahh, well, It's a great book. That's the most important thing you need to know. :)

About the Author:

Huntley Fitzpatrick grew up dreamy and distracted in coastal Connecticut. She flourished in a family of bookworms where everyone always had their nose in a book. She kept an exhaustively thorough journal which frightened her boyfriends but has proved very useful in her career as a writer. Her debut contemporary Romance, MY LIFE NEXT DOOR, was published in June of 2012 by Penguin-Dial for Young Readers. Now she laughs with and eavesdrops on her six children who provide her with perspective and material. She is represented by the amazing Christina Hogrebe of the Jane Rotrosen Agency.

Find Huntley:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Goodreads

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Labels: audiobooks, contemporary, Dial books, huntley fitzpatrick, reviews, what i thought was true

{Review} Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins is INTENSE and Not to Be Missed!

Title: Nameless
Author: Jennifer Jenkins
Series: Nameless, book #1 in a two-book series
Publisher: Month9Books
Publication Date: October 6, 2015
Source: ARC received for review from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Four clans have been at war for centuries: the Kodiak, the Raven, the Wolf and the Ram. Through brutal war tactics, the Ram have dominated the region, inflicting death and destruction on their neighbors.

Seventeen-year-old Zo is a Wolf and a Healer who volunteers to infiltrate the Ram as a spy on behalf of the allied clans. She offers herself as a Ram slave, joining the people who are called the “nameless.” Hers is a suicide mission – Zo’s despair after losing her parents in a Ram raid has left her seeking both revenge and an end to her own misery. But after her younger sister follows her into Rams Gate, Zo must find a way to survive her dangerous mission and keep her sister safe.

What she doesn’t expect to find is the friendship of a young Ram whose life she saves, the confusing feelings she develops for a Ram soldier, and an underground nameless insurrection. Zo learns that revenge, loyalty and love are more complicated than she ever imagined in the first installment of this two-book series.

If I hadn't seen so many other bloggers raving about this book, I never would have requested it. It sounded kind of dystopian/post-apocalyptic, and I'm all but over that subgenre. But that many friends and fellows couldn't be wrong, so I took a chance on Nameless and requested a copy when the Month9 email hit my inbox.

And it was a chance not wasted. Nameless isn't perfect, but it was exhilarating and fun and completely frustrating in the best possible way. Because not only this a book about a world in which everything's gone wrong, one where war is constantly at your doorstep, but it's also a world in which there is magic. It's not in-your-face magic, but it's there nonetheless.

I immediately connected with Zo, who was ready to die for her clan in order to get the intelligence they needed to defeat their enemy. She is equal parts brave and scared, and she knows that her time among the Ram is limited, so she makes every moment count. I felt for her as she was forced to alter her course when her younger sister became a liability. I rooted for her as she was able to overcome her prejudices of the Rams and become friends with Joshua, even if doing so meant one more person she'd have to take into consideration when her mission was at stake. I stood proud with her as she battled every obstacle she was confronted with, even when it was the eventuality of her own death.

And I fell with her -- hard -- for the Ram soldier who showed hints of a conscience. Gryphon may not have immediately trusted Zo, but when she healed the young Ram he was mentoring, she proved her worth to him. Honor meant everything to Gryphon, but when all hell breaks loose, he lets go of his pride and lets his heart be his guide. He proves that he's not just a heartless soldier like the rest of the Ram, and in doing so, he proved his worth to me. Gryphon was at times violent and cold in his endeavors to overcome the shame his father brought before him, but throughout the story, he gets glimpses of why his father might have made the choices he did, and it changes Gryphon for the better.

Both Gryphon and Zo are calculating and so it takes a very long while for anything more to develop between them because of their trust issues, but when it does, watch out. And fair warning, there is another player on the field, but he's more of the she thinks of him like a brother type, so I don't see that developing into much, especially since this is only slated to be a two-book series. But, yeah...I am all about the enemies-turned-lovers story line.

Told from both Zo and Gryphon's perspectives, I can see why so many have been captivated by this story already. Nameless is fast-paced and intense, a story that sticks with you long after you've turned the last page. There were moments when I thought the dialogue or thought processes were a little immature for the characters and the situations they faced, but they were far and few between and compared little with the awesomeness of the overall story. This is one of those times where I wish I'd waited until both books were out so I didn't have to wait for the sequel, especially after that jaw-dropping ending. I can't wait to see what Jennifer Jenkins brings to the table next.

GIF it to me straight:

That was intense! And slightly painful. o_O

About the Author:

With her degree in History and Secondary Education, Jennifer Jenkins had every intention of teaching teens to love George Washington, the Napoleonic Wars, and Ancient Sparta . . . until the writing began. Author of Young Adult fantasy and co-founder of Teen Author Boot Camp, she divides her time between reading, writing music, taking spontaneous trips, and researching random events from the past. NAMELESS, a Young Adult tribal fantasy, releases October 6, 2015, with Month9Books.

Find Jennifer:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

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Labels: dystopian, fantasy, jennifer jenkins, magic, month9books, nameless, reviews, sci-fi

Waiting on Wednesday: Gabriel by Nikki Kelly

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...








's Pick:



Title: Gabriel
Author: Nikki Kelly
Series: The Styclar Saga, book #2
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: October 27, 2015

The handsome Angel from Lailah gets center stage in this continuation of Wattpad sensation Nikki Kelly’s romantic and action-packed series about mortals, vampires, and angels.

Gabriel is an Angel Descendant. He's also an ally to a generation of vampires who want to break away from the demon who controls them. His faith in the power of good over evil wavers, however, when he discovers that Lailah, the woman he considers his only true love, may be both angel and demon. Is their love enough to overcome the dark forces who are ready to go to war with Gabriel, the vampire Jonah, and the angel and vampire forces? And can Gabriel compete with Jonah, who is also in love with Lailah?

Once again, Nikki Kelly looks deeply into the heart and soul of good and evil to create a romantic, action-packed reading adventure.

I recently re-read Lailah, or rather re-listened, and it only made me want this book even more. I don't mind the love triangle in this series because I'm just reading these books for pure, unadulterated fun. And both Gabriel and Jonah are plenty fun...and sexy. Gah, and these books have such awesomely creepy covers! I can't wait to read this one!


What are you desperately waiting for this Wednesday? Let us know in the comments or share a link to your own WoW post!

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Labels: angels, beautiful covers, macmillan, nikki kelly, the styclar saga, vampires, waiting on wednesday (wow)

Walk on Earth a Stranger Release Day Blitz

You guys! I am SO excited to help celebrate the release of Rae Carson's Walk on Earth a Stranger today! I read this beautiful, poignant book over the summer, and it is just absolutely incredible. You can read my full review here, but be sure to check out the rest of this post for an opportunity to win your own copy, as well as a chance to read the first chapter of the book!

I had visions of playing Oregon Trail dancing in my head while reading this novel, and if you know what I'm talking about, then you'll likely enjoy this novel, too! :D

About the book:

Title: Walk on Earth a Stranger
Author: Rae Carson
Series: The Gold Seer Trilogy, book #1
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: September 22, 2015
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The first book in a new trilogy from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Rae Carson. A young woman with the magical ability to sense the presence of gold must flee her home, taking her on a sweeping and dangerous journey across Gold Rush–era America.

Lee Westfall has a secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her. Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could such a magical girl find herself, find safety?

Rae Carson, author of the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, dazzles with this new fantasy that subverts both our own history and familiar fantasy tropes. Walk on Earth a Stranger, the first book in this new trilogy, introduces—as only Rae Carson can—a strong heroine, a perilous road, a fantastical twist, and a slow-burning romance. Includes a map and author’s note on historical research.

Read Chapter 1 of Walk on Earth a Stranger annotated by Rae Carson HERE!

About the author:

Rae Carson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy. Her next book, Walk On Earth A Stranger, will be available September 22, 2015. She lives in Arizona with her husband.

Find Rae:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

One winner will receive a set of the three Girl of Fire and Thorns books (in paperback format). US only. Ends on September 30th at Midnight EST!

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If you've read Walk on Earth a Stranger, what did you think? If not, what excites you most about this story?

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Labels: beautiful covers, book blitz, fantasy, favorite authors, favorites, giveaways, harper-collins, historical fiction, magical realism, promotions, quest, rae carson, the gold seer trilogy, wild west