Waiting on Wednesday (2)

The Line - Teri Hall
Dial - March 4th, 2010

Set in the near future, THE LINE chronicles the adventures of fifteen year old Rachel Quillen. Since her father died in a war, Rachel and her mother, Vivian, have lived in relative isolation on a place called The Property. It's the home of Ms. Moore, a taciturn woman who makes her living growing orchids. She hired Rachel’s mother as a housekeeper, even though she sensed Vivian was in some sort of trouble. Ms. Moore couldn’t be too picky, for there are reasons that good help is hard to find when you live too near the Line.
The National Border Defense System is an impenetrable barrier intended to protect the Unified States from invasion. Because of an impending attack, construction of the System had to be rushed, and the last section—called the Line—was built inside the U.S. border. When it was hastily activated, it created a permanent division between those lucky enough to be on the U.S. side and those who were not. Families were ripped apart, lovers separated. The territory left unprotected became known as Away; the abandoned unfortunates who survived the enemy attack became the Others. Over the years frightening stories circulated about the Others, stories about strange abilities and evil intentions. The Line became a place to avoid.

For Rachel, the activation of the Line is just a history lesson; it happened long before she was born. Life on The Property has been good, if rather dull, and the Line is just something that has always been there. But things are about to change in ways she never imagined and suddenly the world outside The Property—a world of government control and corruption, where people without power or influence have few choices—begins to intrude.

What's not to anticipate about The Line? It's from a Tenner, it's dystopian, it's science fiction... (and okay, so I'm kind of still on that rampage.) The cover's simplicity and lighting is pretty captivating, and the synopsis sounds intriguing!

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

Things have been pretty hectic recently, and I've got a pretty major project pretty much hurtling towards its finish, and of course there's the last minute summer rush, but hopefully things'll slow down a bit soon and more reviews etc. will abound! I'd also like to say thanks a ton for the BBAW nomination! You guys rock :)

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

The Body Finder - Kimberly Derting
March 16th, 2010 from HarperTeen

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

Hopping aboard the WoW bandwagon here! So why this selection for this week? Well, the cover is gorgeous, for one thing, and the premise sounds amazing and unique! What're your thoughts on this one?

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

In My Mailbox [16]

In My Mailbox, a weekly meme, is inspired by Alea and the brainchild of Kristi...

Candor - Pam Bachorz

In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, Oscar Banks has found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages that turn even the most troubled kids into model citizens. On the outside, he's the perfect Candor teen, and no one knows that he's built an entire business around helping new kids escape before the Messages take hold.

But then Nia Silva moves to town, and Oscar thinks she's perfect exactly the way she is. Soon he must make a choice: let Nia be lost to the brainwashing, or help her stay special and risk himself in the process.

All Unquiet Things - Anna Jarzab

All Unquiet Things centers around the murder of teen heiress Carly Ribelli, who was found shot to death a mile from her house in a wealthy Northern California suburb. Carly’s uncle, a dissolute alcoholic, was convicted of the crime, but a year later his daughter still doesn’t believe her father is guilty. Determined to prove his innocence, Audrey Ribelli contacts Carly’s ex-boyfriend, Neily Monroe, the boy who found Carly’s body. She is convinced that he knows more than he thinks about the events that led up to Carly’s death. Despite Neily’s initial reluctance, he and Audrey begin their investigation at the posh private school they attend, identifying prime suspects from among their spoiled classmates and digging up secrets about Carly’s past to get to the truth behind her murder.

The ARC I received from Anna is also signed, and she included a brief note on a bookmark as well (for a total of six bookmarks!), which was really awesome. The little doll pin is also adorable - check out Anna's site for details as to why the doll. Thanks, Anna!

So, now it's your turn. What was in your mailbox this week?