Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Book info:

Title: Jane Anonymous
Author:  Laurie Faria Stolarz
Genre: YA contemporary
Release Date:  January 7th, 2020
Publisher:  Wednesday Books
Source:  E-galley from FFBC Tours which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  4.5 stars


Synopsis:
Bestselling author Laurie Faria Stolarz returns with Jane Anonymous, a gripping tale of a seventeen-year-old girl’s kidnapping and her struggle to fit back into her life after she escapes.

Then, “Jane” was just your typical 17-year-old in a typical New England suburb getting ready to start her senior year. She had a part-time job she enjoyed, an awesome best friend, overbearing but loving parents, and a crush on a boy who was taking her to see her favorite band. She never would’ve imagined that in her town where nothing ever happens, a series of small coincidences would lead to a devastating turn of events that would forever change her life.

Now, it’s been three months since “Jane” escaped captivity and returned home. Three months of being that girl who was kidnapped, the girl who was held by a “monster.” Three months of writing down everything she remembered from those seven months locked up in that stark white room. But, what if everything you thought you knew―everything you thought you experienced―turned out to be a lie?

BOOK LINKS

Add to Goodreads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Google Books

My Review:

This book was really intense.  I could barely put it down.  We got what happened through Jane's eyes, but in flashbacks mixed with "Now" entries into her diary or journal that she felt would help her with the therapy everyone said she needed.  I wondered if she had a bit of Stockholm Syndrome, if that was what the story was going to be about.  But instead it seems that she falls in love or finds a connection with a fellow prisoner named Mason.  Honestly, I had a feeling about the whole situation from really early on, and my hunch was correct.  However the way the story went kept me guessing and thinking I must be wrong.  Seeing how it all went for Jane after she got home and how hard it was just to even get back to normal in any little way was very interesting.  How her friends and those around her dealt with it was also intriguing and made me wonder how it would be in real life.  I did get that she had trouble working with different psychologists and therapists, until she finally found one that she was able to connect with.  I know that for my own depression and anxiety I didn't click with the first person I was sent to, so I think it is a very important bit for people to realize that getting help isn't as simple as just talking to any person.

I only docked a half a star because some things were left unexplained or unanswered for me that I wanted to know.  But it makes me feel like one of the people that Jane hated talking to if I ask those questions.

About the Author:

Laurie Faria Stolarz grew up in Salem, MA, attended Merrimack College, and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston.

Laurie Faria Stolarz is an American author of young adult fiction novels, best known for her Blue is for Nightmares series. Her works, which feature teenage protagonists, blend elements found in mystery and romance novels.

Stolarz found sales success with her first novel, Blue is for Nightmares, and followed it up with three more titles in the series, White is for Magic, Silver is for Secrets, and Red is for Remembrance, as well as a companion graphic novel, Black is for Beginnings. Stolarz is also the author of the Touch series (Deadly Little Secret, Deadly Little Lies, Deadly Little Games, Deadly Little Voices, and Deadly Little Lessons), as well as Bleed and Project 17. With more than two million books sold worldwide, Stolarz's titles have been named on various awards list.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website: http://www.lauriestolarz.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/58846.Laurie_Faria_Stolarz

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lauriestolarz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriestolarz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Laurie-faria-Stolarz-104028522980753/

Tour Schedule:
https://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2019/11/tour-schedule-jane-anonymous-by-laurie.html


Giveaway:
 

• Prize: Win (1) of (2) copies of JANE ANONYMOUS by Laurie Faria Stolarz (US/CAN Only)

• Starts: 7^th January 2020

• Ends: 21^st January 2020

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ARC Review: Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz

Book info:

Title:  Sick Kids in Love
Author:  Hannah Moskowitz
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date:  November 5th, 2019

Publisher:  Entangled Teen
Source: Physical ARC received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  5 stars

Synopsis: 
Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It's easier--
It's safer--
It's better--
--for the other person.
She's got issues. She's got secrets. She's got rheumatoid arthritis.
But then she meets another sick kid.
He's got a chronic illness Isabel's never heard of, something she can't even pronounce. He understands what it means to be sick. He understands her more than her healthy friends. He understands her more than her own father who's a doctor.
He's gorgeous, fun, and foul-mouthed. And totally into her.
Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It's complicated--
It's dangerous--
It's never felt better--
--to consider breaking that rule for him.


My Review:
I don't know exactly where to start with this one, except to say how much I adored it!  It was such a sweet and cute story, but with a lot of moments that were still emotionally intense or else really made you think.  Since I am not a sick person, there's a lot I don't understand first hand. But, I think this story did a great job at sharing things that people who do have chronic illnesses feel and hear from "healthy" people all the time.  The story really made me think a lot about how I feel or think when I hear about people who are sick and what they have to deal with on a daily basis.  It definitely brought to mind all the times in the past that I may have even said something about a person not looking like they were sick or disabled whenever they pulled into a handicapped parking spot or something similar.  Things in recent years after meeting more people who don't look sick, but are, I've quit even thinking that way myself, and now it does stand out when I hear other people around me say those things.  I really liked that the author was able to write a story where as the tagline says, they don't die in this one, but there were still some emotionally tense situations in the book.  

It wasn't just the part about being sick kids that was so good in the book either though.  There were normal teen situations, absentee parents, not  knowing how good some friends really were, and then of course feeling attractive to the opposite sex.  It was so great to be able to see a toxic friendship ended, but the character still wondering if she was doing the right thing.

And oh the humor!  I loved Sasha's sarcasm in so many situations, as well as his hilarious answers to Isabel's questions.  While the dead girl answers weren't completely clear to me for what they actually did for the story, it was a unique and different idea to be included. 

A great story, I can't wait to get this for the kids in my school library to read! 

Blog Tour with Giveaway: The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake

Book info:

Title:  The Last True Poets of the Sea
Author:  Julia Drake
Genre: YA contemporary
Release Date:  October 1st, 2019

Publisher:  Disney-Hyperion
Find it:  Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

Synopsis: 
The Larkin family isn't just lucky—they persevere. At least that's what Violet and her younger brother, Sam, were always told. When the Lyric sank off the coast of Maine, their great-great-great-grandmother didn't drown like the rest of the passengers. No, Fidelia swam to shore, fell in love, and founded Lyric, Maine, the town Violet and Sam returned to every summer.

But wrecks seem to run in the family. Tall, funny, musical Violet can't stop partying with the wrong people. And, one beautiful summer day, brilliant, sensitive Sam attempts to take his own life.

Shipped back to Lyric while Sam is in treatment, Violet is haunted by her family's missing piece - the lost shipwreck she and Sam dreamed of discovering when they were children. Desperate to make amends, Violet embarks on a wildly ambitious mission: locate the Lyric, lain hidden in a watery grave for over a century.

She finds a fellow wreck hunter in Liv Stone, an amateur local historian whose sparkling intelligence and guarded gray eyes make Violet ache in an exhilarating new way. Whether or not they find the Lyric, the journey Violet takes-and the bridges she builds along the way-may be the start of something like survival.

Epic, funny, and sweepingly romantic, The Last True Poets of the Sea is an astonishing debut about the strength it takes to swim up from a wreck.

 
About the Author:

Julia Drake grew up outside Philadelphia. As a teenager, she played some of Shakespeare's best heroines in her high school theater program and their stories would stay with her forever. She received her BA in Spanish from Williams College, and her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, where she also taught writing to first-year students. She currently works as a book coach for aspiring writers and teaches creative writing classes for Writopia Lab, a nonprofit that fosters love of writing in young adults. She lives in San Francisco with her partner and their rescue rabbit, Ned.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 
-Giveaway:

• 3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE LAST TRUE POETS OF THE SEA, US Only.

 
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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

10/1/2019- Twirling Book Princess- Excerpt

10/2/2019- BookHounds YA- Excerpt

10/3/2019- Wonder Struck- Review

10/4/2019- Dazzled by Books- Review

Week Two:

10/7/2019- The Layaway Dragon- Review

10/8/2019- PopTheButterfly Reads- Review

10/9/2019- Novel Novice- Excerpt

10/10/2019- Southern Girl Bookaholic- Review

10/11/2019- Fyrekatz Blog- Review

Week Three:

10/14/2019- Jena Brown Writes - Review

10/15/2019- Fire and Ice- Review

10/16/2019- Moonlight Rendezvous- Review

10/17/2019- A Bookish Dream- Review

10/18/2019- Portrait of a Book- Review

Week Four:

10/21/2019- The Pages In-Between- Review

10/22/2019- Lisa Loves Literature- Excerpt

10/23/2019- Two points of interest- Review      

10/24/2019- Do You Dog-ear?- Review

10/25/2019- Nerdophiles- Review

Week Five:

10/28/2019- Novel Nerd Faction- Review

10/29/2019- Book-Keeping- Review

10/30/2019- Eli to the nth- Review

10/31/2019- That Georgia Gypsy- Review

ARC Review: Slay by Brittney Morris

Book info:

Title:  Slay
Author:  Brittney Morris
Genre:  YA contemporary?
Release Date:  September 24th, 2019
Publisher:  Simon Pulse
Source:  ARC from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  5 stars

Synopsis:
By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the "downfall of the Black man."

But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for "anti-white discrimination."

Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?


My Review:
This was such an amazing #ownvoices story!  The author was able to pull in so many issues that teens, as well as even adults in this day and age are thinking or feeling or dealing with.  And she touched on all of them in what I felt was probably a pretty realistic way.  This video game wasn't one that had a bunch of killings and senseless violence, it was a card duel type of game, one that used so many different "Black" customs and history in ways that were definitely tongue-in-cheek for those familiar with the terms or even just very, what's the word, something like complimentary, but that's not really what I'm trying to say.  I don't feel that in any way these things were done in an offensive or insulting way, it was like loving all the parts of yourself, as well as those who are alike and different.  The book touched on many hot-topics or sensitive subjects that seem to remain no matter what.  Like cultural appropriation, is it "okay" for white people to get dred-locks?  Or is it even right to ask one person of a culture if it is okay, because should they be the ones to have to speak for everyone?  There was the bit about having a game "just" for the black people.  So many times you hear people talk about this with things like colleges and clubs.  Mixed race couples.  On the one hand, why shouldn't someone be able to love whoever they want?  But is it okay for a black man to think black women and men should only be together, that it is diluting their race to mix with white or other people?  

The number of controversial topics and hot button issues touched upon in this story is amazing, but also so ideal for the current political and cultural climate.  This book was not just really deep, it had great characters and action going along all the way through.  I could barely put it down when I had to do things like eat or sleep or work.  I can't wait to purchase a couple copies of this for my school library where I work. And I will get more than one copy, because I can see this being one several students will want to read at the same time once word gets around.  

Oh, one thing though, I think the word "ain't" had been around long before ebonics or the AAVE are considered to be started.  But I could be wrong!  Makes me want to do my research! 

Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: The Speed of Falling Objects by Nancy Richardson Fischer

Book info:

Title:  The Speed of Falling Objects
Author:  Nancy Richardson Fischer
Genre:  YA contemporary
Release Date:  October 1st, 2019
Publisher:  Inkyard Press
Source:  Finished copy from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  5 stars

Synopsis:

From the author of When Elephants Fly comes an exceptional new novel about falling down, risking everything and embracing what makes us unique. Don't miss this compulsively readable novel about the most unlikely of heroes.

Danger "Danny" Danielle Warren is no stranger to falling. After losing an eye in a childhood accident, she had to relearn her perception of movement and space. Now Danny keeps her head down, studies hard, and works to fulfill everyone else's needs. She's certain that her mom's bitterness and her TV star father's absence are her fault. If only she were more-more athletic, charismatic, attractive-life would be perfect.

When her dad calls with an offer to join him to film the next episode of his popular survivalist show, Danny jumps at the chance to prove she's not the disappointment he left behind. Being on set with the hottest teen movie idol of the moment, Gus Price, should be the cherry on top. But when their small plane crashes in the Amazon, and a terrible secret is revealed, Danny must face the truth about the parent she worships and falling for Gus, and find her own inner strength and worth to light the way home.

BOOK LINKS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42903467-the-speed-of-falling-objects

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XTbsUj

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-speed-of-falling-objects-nancy-richardson-fischer/1129922710

iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-speed-of-falling-objects/id1444066607

Bookdepository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Speed-Falling-Objects-Nancy-Richardson-Fischer/9781335928245?ref=grid-view&qid=1562931250699&sr=1-3

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-speed-of-falling-objects

Google Books: https://books.google.fr/books/about/The_Speed_of_Falling_Objects.html?id=Lkl7DwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

My Review:
I really enjoyed the first book by this author, so I was definitely interested in reading this one.  And I was not disappointed.  The detail that went in to all of the types of creatures and plants and environment of being stranded in the Amazonian rain forest was incredible.  I shivered with disgust at all the bugs and snakes and caimans as they appeared and landed on characters or bit characters or even just peeked up out of the swamp water as our characters passed by them.  I shuddered and gagged at the thought of eating the nasty sounding grubs that they had to eat in order to survive at one point.  But getting past the forest as an actual character in the book, like it was, the characters themselves were all so perfectly developed that they made the story even more than just what you kind of expected to happen.  There was the hot young movie star, but he wasn't the perfect guy, and even when it seemed that he and our main character, Danny - otherwise known as Danger Danielle Warren, were kind of connecting, he still had issues that ended up causing more strife between them and teen strife at that!  In the middle of the Amazon!  And Danny's dad, Cougar, wow, I just wanted to slap him or punch him sometimes for how he interacted with. his daughter.  While in a way there were setups woven into Cougar's filming plan, the crash itself was an actual terrible accident, and it was done in a very realistic, deadly way. With a death right after the crash, and other deaths in the days following the crash that had been caused by injuries received from that accident.  In the end the relationships are what really stand out and some will be saved, some will be lost even as they are saved, and new ones will be formed and hopefully last beyond our final chapter.


About the Author:

I'm a published author with children's, teen and adult titles including: The Golden Globe, Lyric's World and Promises (Junior Jedi Knights Trilogy) for LucasFilm (Berkeley Press), Feel No Fear, The Power, Passion and Politics of a Life in Gymnastics (Hyperion), Monica: From Fear to Victory (HarperCollins), A Journey: The Autobiography of Apolo Anton Ohno (Simon & Schuster), Nadia Comaneci: Letters to a Young Gymnast (Basic Books), and Winning Every Day with Shannon Miller (Bantam Books). 

I've written for a circus, a graduate school, tried my hand at waitressing (I was terrible!), baking carrot cakes (I was messy but good!), and been lucky enough to ultimately do what I love - write.

I live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and our mostly wonderful (but sometimes vorpal) Vizsla. When I'm not conjuring a story, I love to kite-board, bike, ski or plan adventures with my two guys, who both make me laugh for different reasons and are the best partners in fun a gal could ever imagine.

If you want to learn more about my latest novel, When Elephants Fly (publication date September 04, HarperCollins/Harlequin Teen), please visit my website: www.nancyrichardsonfischer.com

AUTHOR LINKS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/98412.Nancy_Richardson_Fischer

Website: http://nancyrichardsonfischer.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nfischerauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nanfischerauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanfischerauthor/

-->  Giveaway:

PRIZE: Win a copy of the SPEED OF FALLING OBJECTS by Nancy Richardson Fischer (US Only)

Starts: 25^th September 2019

Ends: 9^th October 2019

-->   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

https://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2019/08/tour-schedule-speed-of-falling-objects.html

-->  

Blog Tour Author Interview with Giveaway: One Queen of an Ending (The High School Queens Trilogy #3) by Zachary Ryan

Book info:
Title:  One Queen of an Ending
Author:  Zachary Ryan
Series:  The High School Queens Trilogy #3
Published by: Kingston Publishing Company
Publication date: August 26th 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Synopsis:

It’s time to say goodbye to our Johnson Prep favorites before they all head off to college.

After the gossip-worthy events of graduation and the shocking death of one of their classmates, it seems The Queen of Queens wants to give Danielle, Bethany, Calvin, Tucker, and Aman one last hurrah.

Will everything have a happy ending, or will one of our favorites end up 6 feet under? How will the war end with the salacious arrival of returning students, Andrew and Jasmine? They all had one lesson left to learn: Just because high school is over, doesn’t mean the high school drama ends. They’re all about to take their curtain call, but will it end as a comedy or a tragedy?

Discover this sultry and thrilling end to the High School Queens Series.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iBooks / Kobo

Author Interview:

1.  What does your writing process look like? Do you know the whole story when you start?  Or do you just start writing and go with it (seat of the pants writing)?  If you plan it out, how do you do that?  Outline, notecards, post-it-notes, etc.?  With this being a series, did you know exactly how it would all go ahead of time?

I usually being with a beginning then have the ending. I let the characters kind of take me on a journey. I think that’s exciting about my novels, and I love how organic they feel when I don’t even know sometimes where the novel takes me. I use a giant corkboard with what I have goals for the characters and chapter by chapter what I would like.

2. Do you edit as you go, or wait till you're finished before you edit?  How many times would you say you go over it yourself before having another set of eyes look it over? 

I usually wait till the end to edit it. I’ll go through it on my laptop. Then I’ll print it out. Then my friend/editor Erika will go through it to make sure I’m not missing it. Then I’ll go through it one last time before I send to my publishers who then also go through it twice. So, I would say it’s about 5-6 times it gets edited.

3.  Are you part of a writers group that gets together and helps each other with their writing?

I honestly do everything solo. I think for me that I need to be solo. I’ll help people if they have questions, but I don’t think writer’s groups are helpful. I think everyone’s competitive, and they aren’t going to be fully helpful with good intentions, I feel like.

4.  What tips do you have for aspiring writers?

Have fun and be obsessed with what you’re writing. You need to just be obsessed with what you’re doing because if you don’t then your readers won’t either.
 

5.   What are your favorite:

Books/authors/genres Book Fan Girl by Rainbow Rodwell. Favorite Author: John Green. Favorite Genres: YA, Coming of Age.

Movies/TV Shows: Perks of Being a Wallflower. Greek.

Music Lana Del Rey and Kelly Clarkson.

Food/Writing snack My food and snack changes all the time. Right now it’s Margarita Pizza and Sprite.

 
-->

Author Bio:

Zachary Ryan grew up in a black-and-white box in Maryland, before moving to Chicago to start a new life. There, he found that he was accepted for his misfit status--and learned that it's perfectly normal to spend your twenties feeling lost and confused.

After a disastrous sexual encounter, Ryan stumbled on a group of true friends, or "soul cluster," that he connected with. Through his writing, he hopes to help other broken souls out there find comfort amid the chaos.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook

GIVEAWAY!

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ARC Review: I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

Book info:

Title:  I'm Not Dying with You Tonight
Author:  Kimberly Jones, Gilly Segal
Genre:  YA contemporary
Release Date:  August 6th, 2019
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Fire
Source: Physical ARC received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  5 stars

Synopsis:
Lena and Campbell aren't friends.

Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she's going to make it big. Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school.

When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together.

They aren't friends. They hardly understand the other's point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames, and they only have each other to rely on if they're going to survive the night.


My Review:
I read this book in one day.  It was so good!  When I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.  The book goes back and forth between the viewpoints of the two characters.  Which I think was a great way to do it.  So you can see how each is feeling and reacting, and how each situation unfolds in their eyes.  While as an adult I had a bit of a time reading Lena's chapters with her major use of slang and the type of language that teens may be using right now, I was able to google what I needed and figure it out.  I feel like this is a much needed story for today for both sides of society represented in this to read.    To see first off their totally different reactions to the police showing up.  Campbell feeling that now things would be safe once they showed up, that she and Lena could go to them to be safe, to how Lena froze up at the sight of cops and wouldn't go near them.  To see the looting taking place and realizing that not everyone agreed with it, but many may just look the other way.  So much of the story was intense and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time wondering just what situation the two girls would find themselves in on the next block, or even the next house they reached.  In the end the girls probably were able to forge a friendship even if the ending leave it ambiguous and maybe up to our imagination.  A great read, one I immediately passed along to a student to read, although I will keep my copy on my own shelves, I will be sure to order several copies for my school library as well.