Below are the (mostly) YA books releasing this week that I am spotlighting for my “Book Watch: Releasing This Week” post.
These are books for the week of March 4th-March 10th that I have pre-ordered.
PANIC by Lauren Oliver will be released in the U.S. on March 4, 2014 in hardcover, audio and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order in all formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.
Published by HarperCollins, the print edition is 416 pages.
I am so excited for PANIC‘s release this week. I love Lauren Oliver’s writing and I can’t wait for everyone to get the chance to read her latest release. I was stoked to get the chance to read this early, which I did ages ago. But it’s been awhile, so I’m thinking it’s time for a re-read.
I’ve had this pre-ordered from the moment it was available to buy for the Kindle and I’m anxiously awaiting its download. I’m curious to see if there were any changes to the story from the eARC. Especially as regards the way things ended.
This book was every bit as awesome as what I’d expected from the author. However I was totally surprised by just how the story ends. Of course I won’t reveal in what way I was surprised, just that I was.
But I will say that it was a fantastic read, and I hope to be able to re-read it this month.
Description…
Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.
Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.
Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn’t know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.
For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.
THE WINNER’S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski will be released in the U.S. on March 4, 2014 in hardcover, audio and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in all formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), the print edition is 368 pages.
THE WINNER’S CURSE is the first book in Author Marie Rutkoski’s The Winner’s Trilogy. A prequel novella, BRIDGE OF SNOW, was released on January 28th. The second and third books in the series are currently untitled.
I just recently read and love, love, loved THE WINNER’S CURSE and am now eagerly awaiting the finished copy to download to my Kindle. This is one of the books I was excited for long before I got the chance to read it, and now that I have, I’m that much more anxious for its release.
As I spotlighted it for my Book Watch post the other week and I’m hoping to post a review this week, I won’t ramble on too much about what I loved about it. But I can say that it was even better than I hoped it would be. I loved the world the author created. I can’t believe the way things ended. And I’m dying to read the sequel.
Since I just finished reading it last week, I won’t be re-reading it when my copy arrives, but I will definitely be re-reading it. It’s one of my favorite reads this year and I am kind of madly in love with it right now.
Description…
Winning what you want may cost you everything you love
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.
One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.
But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
STEADFAST by Claudia Gray will be released in the U.S. on March 4, 2014 in hardcover, audio and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in all formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.
Published by HarperTeen, the print edition is 352 pages.
STEADFAST is the second book in Author Claudia Gray’s Spellcaster series. The release date for the third book in the series, SORCERESS, is not yet set.
I love Author Claudia Gray’s writing and I love the Spellcaster series, so I am totally stoked that STEADFAST is releasing this week and that the finished copy will be downloading to my Kindle.
I got the chance to read this sequel pre-release and I loved it even more than the first book in the series and hope to post a review later this week or next week. So I don’t want to talk too much about what happens with Nadia, Verlaine and Mateo. And as the description is just a tiny bit spoiler-y for the first book in the series as regards a certain character, I don’t want to talk ramble about it here.
But I’ll just quickly say it’s a little bit darker, a whole lot more twisty-turny and a totally exciting addition to this crazy addictive series. Of course waiting for the next book in the series is going to annihilate me.
Description…
Nadia, Mateo, and Verlaine have saved Captive’s Sound from the dark Sorceress Elizabeth…or so they thought. Despite their best efforts, a crack opened and a new, greater evil seeped through. With Mateo as her Steadfast, Nadia’s magic is magnified and she is more powerful than ever. But there is still so much she doesn’t know about the craft, leaving her open and vulnerable to a darker magic…which has begun to call Nadia’s name.
DEATH SWORN by Leah Cypess will be released in the U.S. on March 4, 2014 in hardcover, audio and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in all formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.
Published by Greenwillow Books, the print edition is 352 pages.
DEATH SWORN is the first book in a new series of the same name by Author Leah Cypess. The second book in the series is currently untitled.
I am super excited for DEATH SWORN‘s release this week. I fell in love with the cover and was totally lured in by the description that I just had to pre-order it for my Kindle.
And as I got the chance to read this early and already know that I love it, I’m even more stoked to have the finished copy for my collection. But I really can’t wait to see what is going to happen in the sequel, so the wait’s not quite over.
As I have read DEATH SWORN and already shared my review, I don’t want to ramble on and on and on here. But I loved this first book in Leah Cypess’ new series, I can’t wait to see what happens with Ileni and Sorin and while I won’t be re-reading DEATH SWORN in the coming weeks, I hope to be able to re-read it closer to the sequel’s release.
Description…
When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to spend her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had died under mysterious circumstances.
But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world.
WAYFARER by Lili St. Crow will be released in the U.S. on March 6, 2014 in paperback and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in both formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.
Published by Razorbill, the print edition is 304 pages.
WAYFARER is the second book in Author Lili St. Crow’s Tales of Beauty & Madness series.
I cannot believe that WAYFARER is releasing this week and will be downloading to my Kindle on Monday Midnight. I also cannot believe I haven’t yet had the chance to read the first volume in this trilogy.
Though, as this book is a Cinderella story, I may just have to dive into this one first. Because I can’t wait to learn about Ellie Sinder’s abilities as a Charmer. I can’t wait to meet her “prince” Avery Fletcher. I can’t wait to read this story the description calls “stirringly romantic” and “deliciously spooky.”
And I can’t wait to see just what happens with Ellie’s soul. Something I will hopefully have time to discover during the second half of this month. Because I love this author’s writing and it’s been ages since I had the chance to read something she’s written.
Description…
New York Times bestselling author Lili St. Crow thrilled legions of fans with her dark paranormal series Strange Angels. Now she has created a stirringly romantic, deliciously spooky update of Cinderella, the alluring second volume in her trilogy Tales of Beauty and Madness.
Ellie Sinder is a Charmer—the most powerful of her age that St. Juno’s Academy has ever seen. But Ellie’s stepmother, Laurissa, wields manipulation and abuse to force Ellie to work her spells ever more intensely, for Laurissa’s profit.
Then a train from over the Wastelands arrives in New Haven, bearing on it golden boy Avery Fletcher, newly returned from prep school, wearing a sweater Ellie’d love to bury her face in and a smile as bright as his blond hair. Avery’s arrival sets Laurissa off on a dark and dangerous scheme—and this time the soul up for grabs is Ellie’s.
New York Times bestselling author Lili St. Crow has created a stirringly romantic, deliciously spooky update of Cinderella, the alluring second volume in her trilogy Tales of Beauty and Madness.
NIL by Lynne Matson will be released in the U.S. on March 4, 2014 in hardcover and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in both formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.
Published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), the print edition is 384 pages.
From the very first moment I read the description for NIL I knew I must have this book. And I’m so excited for it to download to my Kindle so that I will not only own it but finally get the chance to read it. I feel like I’ve been waiting forever and ever.
I’ve been very much in the mood for this sort of book as of late – stories that are action-packed, suspenseful, nail-biting. And I can’t wait to meet Charley and Thad and see whether they’ll be able to escape the island of Nil.
While I really shouldn’t read this book right away, as I have so many books I need to read for review, I just don’t think I’ll be able to wait. Scratch that. I know I won’t be able to. Though I will have to wait until this weekend to sneak it onto the pile as I am currently reading three books I need to finish.
Description…
On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have one year. Exactly 365 days–to escape, or you die.
Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s lying naked in an empty rock field.
Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that to save their future, Charley must first save him. And on an island rife with dangers, their greatest threat is time.
HALF BAD by Sally Green will be released in the U.S. on March 4, 2014 in hardcover, audio and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in all formats at AMAZON and in hardcover and eBook formats at BARNES & NOBLE.
Published by Viking Juvenile, the print edition is 416 pages.
HALF BAD is the first book in Author Sally Green’s Half Life trilogy. The second book in the series, HALF WILD, is slated for release in 2015 and the third book is currently untitled.
I hadn’t heard of HALF BAD until a copy showed up for review. But when I read the description on the back of the ARC I knew this would be a book I’d want in my collection and so I pre-ordered it. And while I have it on the pile to read this week, I haven’t decided whether to read the ARC or the finished copy or both.
Either way, I can’t wait to meet Nathan and see just how being half bad affects his life. I’m curious to see whether he’s able to escape from his imprisonment and whether being treated cruelly will turn him toward the darker or lighter side of his nature.
The description promises a gripping story of a character whose will to survive is strong and I can’t wait to dive in on Tuesday.
Description…
A stunning, magical debut. An international sensation.
In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his sixteenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?
In the tradition of Patrick Ness and Markus Zusak, Half Bad is a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive, a story that will grab hold of you and not let go until the very last page.
LET THE STORM BREAK by Shannon Messenger will be released in the U.S. on March 4, 2014 in hardcover and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in both formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.
Published by Simon Pulse, the print edition is 400 pages.
LET THE STORM BREAK is the second book in Author Shannon Messenger’s Let the Sky Fall series. The third book in the series is currently untitled.
I feel like it was just yesterday that the first book in this series was releasing, so I’m totally surprised that LET THE STORM BREAK is releasing this week and that my copy will be downloading to my Kindle on Tuesday. LET THE SKY FALL was one of the books I was anxiously awaiting and I’m heartbroken that I haven’t had the chance to read it yet.
But now that the sequel is releasing there’s no way I’m going to wait much longer to read both of these books. I want to meet Vane and Audra. I want to find out whether Audra is able to keep him safe from their enemy. I want to find out what the consequences of their forbidden romance are.
Even though I have this book pre-ordered, I have not read the description for fear of spoilers. But if it sounds half as exciting as the first book does, then I will be totally stoked to be able to read both books back-to-back later this month.
Description…
Whirlwind romance and breathtaking action continues in the sequel to Let the Sky Fall, which Becca Fitzpatrick called “charged and romantic.”
Vane Weston is haunted. By the searing pull of his bond to Audra. By the lies he’s told to cover for her disappearance. By the treacherous winds that slip into his mind, trying to trap him in his worst nightmares. And as his enemies grow stronger, Vane doesn’t know how much longer he can last on his own.
But Audra’s still running. From her past. From the Gales. Even from Vane, who she doesn’t believe she deserves. And the farther she flees, the more danger she finds. She possesses the secret power her enemy craves, and protecting it might be more than she can handle—especially when she discovers Raiden’s newest weapon.
With the Gale Force weakened by recent attacks, and the power of four collapsing, Vane and Audra are forced to make a choice: keep trusting the failing winds, or turn to the people who’ve betrayed them before. But even if they survive the storms sent to destroy them, will they have anything left to hold on to?
16 Things I Thought Were True by Janet Gurtler will be released in the U.S. on March 4, 2014 in paperback and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in both formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.
Published by Sourcebooks Fire, the print edition is 304 pages.
I only recently learned that Janet Gurtler’s latest novel, 16 THINGS I THOUGHT WERE TRUE was releasing this week. But when I did, I immediately ran to Amazon to pre-order it for my Kindle.
This story sounds absolutely delightful and sweet and a little bit sad. I love the hashtag and am curious to learn what 13 other things Morgan thought were true.
It’s been awhile since I read a road trip story and I’m so in the mood to do so right now. Plus, I’m really curious to find out about this “fake girlfriend” the description mentions. So I hope I’ll be able to sneak this onto the pile next week.
Description…
Heart attacks happen to other people #thingsIthoughtweretrue
When Morgan’s mom gets sick, it’s hard not to panic. Without her mother, she would have no one—until she finds out the dad who walked out on her as a baby isn’t as far away as she thought…
Adam is a stuck-up, uptight jerk #thingsIthoughtweretrue
Now that they have a summer job together, Morgan’s getting to know the real Adam, and he’s actually pretty sweet…in a nerdy-hot kind of way. He even offers to go with her to find her dad. Road trip, anyone?
5000 Twitter followers are all the friends I need #thingsIthoughtweretrue
With Adam in the back seat, a hyper chatterbox named Amy behind the wheel, and plenty of Cheetos to fuel their trip, Morgan feels ready for anything. She’s not expecting a flat tire, a missed ferry, a fake girlfriend…and that these two people she barely knew before the summer started will become the people she can’t imagine living without.
DANGEROUS by Shannon Hale will be released in the U.S. on March 4, 2014 in hardcover and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in both formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.
Published by Bloomsbury USA Childrens, the print edition is 416 pages.
DANGEROUS is a book I only just discovered is releasing but one I just had to pre-order for my collection. While I haven’t yet read anything by Author Shannon Hale, I was intrigued by this book’s title and its description.
I am curious about just what this plot is that killed Maisie’s friends, that threatens her life and that is “changing life on Earth as we know it.” I want to know what role she plays and why she’s the only thing keeping “danger and annihilation” at bay.
The description is very cryptic, which is probably the main reason this has piqued my interest. But the fact that Maisie’s middle name is Danger is also something that has made me super curious about this story. Of course, the cover being really awesome plays more than a small part in why I just had to have this book, knowing so very little about it.
I hope to change that early next month when I think I have some time to sneak this onto the pile.
Description…
Maisie Danger Brown just wanted to get away from home for a bit, see something new. She never intended to fall in love. And she never imagined stumbling into a frightening plot that kills her friends and just might kill her, too. A plot that is already changing life on Earth as we know it. There’s no going back. She is the only thing standing between danger and annihilation.
From NY Times bestselling author Shannon Hale comes a novel that asks, How far would you go to save the ones you love? And how far would you go to save everyone else?
THE ASSASSIN’S BLADE by Sarah J. Maas will be released in the U.S. on March 4, 2014 in hardcover and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in both formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.
Published by Bloomsbury USA Childrens, the print edition is 464 pages.
THE ASSASSIN’S BLADE is a bind-up of all five of the Throne of Glass novellas. HEIR OF FIRE, the third full-length novel in the series, is slated for release on September 2, 2014.
I probably own all five of the Throne of Glass novellas already, but I just had to pre-order this bind-up, THE ASSASSIN’S BLADE, for my Kindle. Because I haven’t yet had a chance to read them all, and this way I’ll be able to read them all back-to-back without having to search.
Which also means I’ll be more likely to read all of them.
I love this series by Author Sarah J. Maas. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, which is coming this September. But this release of the novellas in one full volume, which is apparently over 450 pages, will be the perfect way to tide me over until then… or make me more anxious for its release. The latter statement being more likely.
And while I would love to read these the instant they download, I think I should probably wait just a bit longer, so that the wait for the next book in this series won’t be nearly as torturous. Though with the eclectic reading mood I’ve been in, I have a feeling this will be on the pile very, very soon.
Description…
Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan’s most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin’s Guild, she’s sworn to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire, Sam.
In these action-packed prequel novellas to Throne of Glass, Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and avenge tyranny. But by acting on her own terms, will Celaena truly free herself from her master, or will she suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery?
This bind-up features all five e-novellas, available in print for the first time!
Novellas
THE BLUE-HAIRED BOY (A Faking Normal Story) by Courtney C. Stevens
Pub. Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find It: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Description:
Set before the events of Courtney C. Stevens’s debut novel, Faking Normal, this digital short story focuses on Bodee Lennox, otherwise known as the Kool-Aid Kid.
Bodee Lennox has secrets. About where he got the four-inch scar on his leg. About the bruises on his back. About what it’s really like to live in the Lennox household. These are things he doesn’t share with anyone . . . until he meets Gerry, a girl with bright-green hair and a smile the size of Alaska. When Gerry falls out of a bus in Rickman, Tennessee, and lands at Bodee’s feet, she gives Bodee two things he desperately needs: a friend and a chance to leave Rickman behind, even if it’s just for a few hours.
He joins Gerry on her epic bus trip for as far as his money will take him. And by the end of the day, more of Bodee has changed than just the color of his hair.
THE ART OF GOODBYE (Where I Belong #1.5) by Gwendolyn Heasley
Pub. Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find It: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Description:
The heroine of Where I Belong is back in The Art of Goodbye, a romantic digital original novella about first loves and second chances.
It’s Corrinne Corcoran’s last night in town before heading off to college, and she’s determined it’ll be the most epic night ever. She’s planned every detail of each hour of the night, from what dresses she’ll wear, to what parties she’ll hit, to which of her best friends will be with her. But Corrinne’s perfect plan for her last night in New York goes awry when she runs into a ghost from her past, and the boy she’s never been able to forget—her ex-boyfriend, Bubby, from Broken Spoke. And Corrinne starts to wonder if her expertly planned goodbye to New York City was as perfect as it seemed. . . . Set over the twelve-hour period before Corrinne sets off for college, The Art of Goodbye will make you believe that true love can find you when you’re least expecting it . . . again.
Other Books of Note
CURED (Stung #2) by Bethany Wiggins
Pub. Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Find It: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Description:
Now that Fiona Tarsis and her twin brother, Jonah, are no longer beasts, they set out to find their mother, with the help of Bowen and a former neighbor, Jacqui. Heading for a safe settlement rumored to be in Wyoming, they plan to spread the cure along the way–until they are attacked by raiders. Luckily, they find a new ally in Kevin, who saves them and leads them to safety in his underground shelter. But the more they get to know Kevin, the more they suspect he has ties to the raiders. He also seems to know too many details about Jacqui and her family—details that could endanger them all. For the raiders will do anything they can to destroy the cure that would bring an end to their way of life. Bethany Wiggins’s reimagining of our world after an environmental catastrophe won’t fail to stun readers.
THE NIGHTMARE DILEMMA (The Arkwell Academy #2) by Mindee Arnett
Pub. Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Tor Teen
Find It: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Description:
Dusty Everhart might be able to predict the future through the dreams of her crush, Eli Booker, but that doesn’t make her life even remotely easy. When one of her mermaid friends is viciously assaulted and left for dead, and the school’s jokester, Lance Rathbone, is accused of the crime, Dusty’s as shocked as everybody else. Lance needs Dusty to prove his innocence by finding the real attacker, but that’s easier asked than done. Eli’s dreams are no help, more nightmares than prophecies.
To make matters worse, Dusty’s ex-boyfriend has just been acquitted of conspiracy and is now back at school, reminding Dusty of why she fell for him in the first place. The Magi Senate needs Dusty to get close to him, to discover his real motives. But this order infuriates Eli, who has started his own campaign for Dusty’s heart.
As Dusty takes on both cases, she begins to suspect they’re connected to something bigger. And there’s something very wrong with Eli’s dreams, signs that point to a darker plot than they could have ever imagined.
THE HAVEN by Carol Lynch Williams
Pub. Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Find It: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Description:
For the teens at The Haven, the outside world, just beyond the towering stone wall that surrounds the premises, is a dangerous unknown. It has always been this way, ever since the hospital was established in the year 2020. But The Haven is more than just a hospital; it is their home. It is all they know. Everything is strictly monitored: education, exercise, food, and rest. The rules must be followed to keep the children healthy, to help control the Disease that has cast them as Terminals, the Disease that claims limbs and lungs—and memories.
But Shiloh is different; she remembers everything. Gideon is different, too. He dreams of a cure, of rebellion against the status quo. What if everything they’ve been told is a lie? What if The Haven is not the safe place it claims to be? And what will happen if Shiloh starts asking dangerous questions?
BROKEN STRINGS by Maria Farrer
Pub. Date: March 6, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic
Find It: AMAZON
Description:
It is the story of a brilliant young violinist, her determination and struggle to achieve her dreams and the discovery that she is at the center of an extraordinary secret that has pulled apart her family for two generations. Jess, a talented 17-year-old violinist, suffers from stage-fright as she auditions for a place at a prestigious music school. Her family do not have enough money for her to continue to study so when she fails, she vows not to play again. Until her wealthy grandmother – estranged from her family since Jess’s mother fell pregnant – shows up at their doorstep and promises six months of tuition in exchange for Jess moving to live with her. Once ensconced in her grandmother’s rich, but empty, life she starts to uncover the mystery of why her grandmother never spoke to her mother again, and the secret which tore her family apart.
WICKED LITTLE SECRETS (Prep School Confidential #2) by Kara Taylor
Pub. Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Find It: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Description:
Anne Dowling becomes entangled in a web of secrets involving a missing student and a conspiracy at Wheatley Prep in this fast-paced, juicy follow-up to Prep School Confidential
Anne Dowling—a fresh, original, and funny new YA heroine whose knowing, irreverent voice will remind readers of Pretty Little Liars and Private—is back for her second semester at Wheatley Prep. Although things have settled (somewhat) since her roommate Isabella’s death, Anne’s still kind of obsessed with the disappearance of Wheatley student Matthew Weaver thirty years ago, since she found a picture of him and his crewmates with the words “they killed him” scrawled on the back among Isabella’s things.
When Anne learns that her boyfriend Brent’s dad is one of the now-powerful Wheatley alumni who rowed crew with Matthew, and that the crew team continues to induct new members with a creepy-sounding ritual called “The Drop,” she knows further investigation could put her relationship with Brent in danger. Determined to discover the truth, she reaches out to Anthony, Isabella’s townie brother, who helps her delve deeper into the secrets in Wheatley’s past. Secrets someone would kill to keep hidden. As the school’s Spring Formal—and its notorious afterparty—approaches, Anne sees the perfect opportunity to do some off-campus digging into the lives of Wheatley’s VIPs in this thrilling, unputdownable read—but if she’s not careful, she’ll be the next student who never comes back.
A DEATH-STRUCK YEAR by Makiia Lucier
Pub. Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Find It: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Description:
A deadly pandemic, a budding romance, and the heartache of loss make for a stunning coming-of-age teen debut about the struggle to survive during the 1918 flu.
For Cleo Berry, the people dying of the Spanish Influenza in cities like New York and Philadelphia may as well be in another country–that’s how far away they feel from the safety of Portland, Oregon. And then cases start being reported in the Pacific Northwest. Schools, churches, and theaters shut down. The entire city is thrust into survival mode–and into a panic. Headstrong and foolish, seventeen-year-old Cleo is determined to ride out the pandemic in the comfort of her own home, rather than in her quarantined boarding school dorms. But when the Red Cross pleads for volunteers, she can’t ignore the call. As Cleo struggles to navigate the world around her, she is surprised by how much she finds herself caring about near-strangers. Strangers like Edmund, a handsome medical student and war vet. Strangers who could be gone tomorrow. And as the bodies begin to pile up, Cleo can’t help but wonder: when will her own luck run out?
Riveting and well-researched, A Death-Struck Year is based on the real-life pandemic considered the most devastating in recorded world history. Readers will be captured by the suspenseful storytelling and the lingering questions of: what would I do for a neighbor? At what risk to myself?
An afterword explains the Spanish flu phenomenon, placing it within the historical context of the early 20th century. Source notes are extensive and interesting.
SEARCHING FOR BEAUTIFUL by Nyrae Dawn
Pub. Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Find It: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Description:
Before, Brynn had a group of best friends, a loving boyfriend, a growing talent for pottery. She had a life. And after…she had none.
When Brynn lost the boyfriend who never loved her, the friends who feel she betrayed their trust, and the new life just beginning to grow inside her, she believes her future is as empty as her body. But then Christian, the boy next door, starts coming around. Playing his guitar and pushing her to create art once more. She meets some new friends at the local community center, plus even gets her dad to look her in the eye again…sort of.
But can Brynn open up her heart to truly find her life’s own beauty, when living for the after means letting go of the before?
SING SWEET NIGHTINGALE by Erica Cameron
Pub. Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Find It: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Description:
Mariella Teagen hasn’t spoken a word in four years.
She pledged her voice to Orane, the man she loves—someone she only sees in her dreams. Each night, she escapes to Paradise, the world Orane created for her, and she sings for him. Mariella never believed she could stay in Paradise longer than a night, but two weeks before her eighteenth birthday, Orane hints that she may be able to stay forever.
Hudson Vincent made a pledge to never fight again.
Calease, the creature who created his dream world, swore that giving up violence would protect Hudson. But when his vow caused the death of his little brother, Hudson turned his grief on Calease and destroyed the dream world. The battle left him with new abilities and disturbing visions of a silent girl in grave danger—Mariella.
Now, Hudson is fighting to save Mariella’s life while she fights to give it away. And he must find a way to show her Orane’s true intentions before she is lost to Paradise forever.
KNIGHT ASSASSIN by Rima Jean
Pub. Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Find It: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
Description:
Seventeen-year-old Zayn has special powers she cannot control—powers that others fear and covet. Powers that cause the Templar Knights to burn Zayn’s mother at the stake for witchcraft. When a mysterious stranger tempts Zayn to become the first female member of the heretical Assassins, the chance to seek her revenge lures her in. She trains to harness her supernatural strength and agility, and then enters the King of Jerusalem’s court in disguise with the assignment to assassinate Guy de Molay, her mother’s condemner. But once there, she discovers Earic Goodwin, the childhood friend who still holds her heart, among the knights—and his ocean-blue eyes don’t miss a thing. Will vengeance be worth the life of the one love she has left?
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