In My Mailbox [53]

Since my last In My Mailbox post, I've received:

` Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
` Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
` Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

and a card, signed postcard, and set of trading cards for Solstice by P.J. Hoover. (Thanks!)

Imaginary Girls was reviewed here, and I reviewed Andrea Cremer's Nightshade, the prequel to Wolfsbane, here.

So there you have it, the contents of my mailbox lately. What about you, what literary goodies have you gotten?

& while you're here - don't forget to enter to win the complete Relic Master series by Catherine Fisher. Go, go, go!

*In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren

In My Mailbox [52]

In the past two weeks I received:

- An ARC of Hourglass by Myra McEntire and a KTeenBooks USB bracelet with excerpts etc. from a Twitter contest (Thanks @K_Teen!).
- 3 Escapee bracelets & 3 signed bookmarks from Mary E. Pearson, author of The Jenna Fox Chronicles (Thanks Mary!)

So there you have it, the contents of my mailbox lately. What about you, what literary goodies have you gotten?

*In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren
**The winner of the recent contest for First Daughter & Blood Trust was Erinberry - congratulations!

In My Mailbox [49]

I actually got this a few weeks ago - and it certainly wasn't actually in my mailbox. After basically being fed up with residence cafe food, M and I ended up heading out for dinner. We were kind of just wandering without a specific destination in mind though, and ended up at the used bookstore in the process.

I guess as a homage of sorts to childhood reads and nostalgic feelings, I ended up grabbing Gail Carson Levine's Ever - I'd been meaning to read it anyway, having loved the likes of Ella Enchanted, Fairest, The Two Princesses of Bamarre, etc. I actually just finished it tonight! Alas, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I'd loved the others, but it's still a worthwhile read for the MG segment. Thinking of passing it on to my sister.

Your turn now - what was in your mailbox this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (31)

The Predicteds - Christine Seifert

*September 1st, 2011 Sourcebooks Fire

So there doesn't seem to be a synopsis for this one out yet, but from what can be inferred from the title, tag line and cover, it seems like it's going to be an awesome book! Love the fragmented / pixelated effect.

The line "are you really who they say you are?" sounds like it may potentially hint at mystery or sci fi - either of which would be really cool. As for "what if your boyfriend was destined to commit murder" - hmm, if we're dealing with fate / destiny, then there's definitely potential for lots of philosophical exploration.

Definitely looking forward to getting more information on this one! What're you waiting on this Wednesday?

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine
*Apparently I can't count very well, because the last WoW is labelled as #30, but the one before that is #28... oops. shh :P

In My Mailbox [48]

Tuesday this week was an excellent day, filled with many positive aspects. And one of the great things that happened that day? Receiving Wither by Lauren DeStefano in the mail from Simon & Schuster! (Thanks, M!)

I've been looking forward to this book for months (and featured it in WoW while I was at it), so needless to say, it was very exciting. Despite having tons of stuff to do, I couldn't resist starting Wither almost immediately, and ended up staying up until the wee hours of morning to finish it. Well worth it though! A full review will be coming soon, so be sure to keep an eye out for that.

What was in your mailbox this week?

*In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren

Don't forget to enter to win a copy of Accomplice or Mind Gap!

Waiting on Wednesday (30)

Wither (Chemical Garden #1) - Lauren DeStefano
*March 22nd, 2011 Simon & Schuster

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

I've been waiting in anticipation for this book for a good couple of months now. First off, it's a YA dystopian (have I mentioned that I absolutely love dystopian?) - and it's a trilogy. The synopsis sounds highly intriguing, and the cover looks amazing.

I read the first chapter here a few months ago, and was highly impressed with the writing style. Check it out for sure, if you haven't already.

And once you've done that, I'm sure you'll see why I'm waiting on Wither this Wednesday. But what about you, what're you waiting for?

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

In My Mailbox [46]

For Review:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
XVI by Julia Karr
(Thanks Penguin!)

Won From Contests:

Grave Witch by Kalayna Price (Thanks Brooke!)
A Shore Thing by Snooki (Thanks S&S!)

Misc

A Like Mandarin postcard (autographed) (Thanks Kirsten!)

This is basically a culmination of stuff received at my residence mailing address since ~mid-December. Back to the grind now though :( However, be sure to keep an eye out these days - many reviews to come! :)

*In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren

Waiting on Wednesday (24)

Human .4 - Mike A. Lancaster
*March 8th, 2011 EgmontUSA

Humanity, like computers, can be upgraded. And old versions disappear. . . .

At some unspecified point in the future, when technology is as advanced as possible and we are a race of super beings, some old audio tapes are discovered. On the tapes is the story of fourteen-year-old Kyle Straker.

Hypnotized, Kyle missed the upgrade of humanity to 1.0. He isn't compatible with our new technology. And through the recording, he narrates what the upgrades really mean. And it's absolutely terrifying.

Sci-fi futuristic and technological apocalypse in the style of War of the Worlds, I am Legend and The X-Files.

The premise of this sounds great - the concept of humanity mixed with technology, futuristic and apocalyptic... Mmmm.

Very curious about the title as well. Plus, what a great cover!

What're you waiting on this Wednesday?

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

In My Mailbox [45]

So technically this wasn't in my mailbox, nor is it a book, but I figured it was still worth sharing:

I was at Chapters.Indigo today and ended up getting a Hunger Games/Catching Fire/Mockingjay t-shirt! (It's actually just one shirt -the front view is shown on the left and the back view is shown on the right.) I hadn't realized there was so much THG merchandise out already - board games, magnets, stickers, keychains, shirts, you name it!

I'm pretty excited to start wearing it; it'll definitely be cool to see if anyone else recognizes the meaning behind it and mention it.

To find some of my previous posts on: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.

What was in your mailbox this week?

*In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren

Waiting on Wednesday (23)

Across the Universe - Beth Revis
*January 11th, 2010 Razorbill

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone--one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship--tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Doesn't the premise of this sound ah-mazing? I read the first chapter here a few months ago, and was instantly intrigued! The first bit actually reminded me a bit of KA Applegate's Remnants series, so definitely interested to see where this goes.

Futuristic science fiction that takes place in deep space? Sign me up! (When I was little, like around 10, 11~ish, I wanted to be an astronomer.) Best part yet? It releases in less than a week now!

What're you waiting on this Wednesday?

Waiting on Wednesday (22)

The Lost Saint - Bree Despain
*December 28th, EgmontUSA

The non-stop sequel to The Dark Divine delivers an even hotter romance and more thrilling action than Bree Despain's first novel. Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She gave her soul to the wolf to save him and lost her beloved mother. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven. Desparate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot - a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel begins to crumble. Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace becomes prideful in her new abilities - not realizing that an old enemy has returned and deadly trap is about to be sprung. Readers, raveous for more Grace and Daniel, will be itching to sink their teeth into The Lost Saint.

I reviewed The Dark Divine last year (in December - has it really been a year already?!) and rather enjoyed it, so it's definitely exciting that the sequel, The Lost Saint, will be released in about a week.

The two covers complement each other very nicely. Actually, both covers are absolutely gorgeous.

So there you have it - my pick of the week. How about you, what're you waiting on this Wednesday?

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

In My Mailbox [44]

*In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren

As I've mentioned a few times previously, I've been attending university out of town for the past few months. When I arrived back home a few days ago, there was mail waiting for me, yay!

Mercy by Rebecca Lim had come during my absence, which was a very pleasant surprise. I also had a couple of magazines (Flare and What If? - in which one of my photographs was published). (Hey, don't judge me, okay? I get Canadian Business magazine delivered to my dorm, so I'm not a total bimbo or anything ;)

But yep, lots to get caught up on. So what's been in your guys's mailboxes lately?

Waiting on Wednesday (21)

Unearthly - Cynthia Hand
*January 4th, 2011 HarperTeen

Clara has known she was part-angel ever since she turned fourteen two years ago. But now she is finally getting visions of what her Purpose-a rite of passage for every part-angel-is to be, and it happens to involve a gorgeous guy. Of course, there is the raging forest fire surrounding them, too. When Clara's Purpose leads her family to Wyoming, Clara findsthe boy of her visions, Christian, but complicating her mission are her growing feelings for another guy, Tucker. As the day in her visions draws closer, Clara discovers that her Purpose may play into a larger struggle between angels and Black Wings-fallen angels who spread sadness and misery wherever they go. But when the fire erupts and both Christian and Tucker are in danger, who will she choose to save?

Okay, honestly there's some confusion about this one. First off, Goodreads lists the pub date as January 1st and the cover as blue monochrome, while the author's blog and Harper list the pub date as January 4th, and the cover is more commonly monochromatic purple.

Regardless of the confusion, that is definitely a very pretty cover. The fact that it's monochromatic and simplistic is rather appealing. The font kind of reminds me of the title fonts for Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness (by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia).

It'll be really interesting to see another take on angels (fallen angels, to be specific). Early reviews thus far seem to be pretty positive, so it'll be interesting to see if it lives up to expectations.

And there you have it - my pick for the week. So your turn now - what're you waiting on this Wednesday?

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

In My Mailbox [43]

So none of this stuff is actually from the past week. The Unidentified by Rae Mariz and Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry were actually both mailed to my parents' house, but my dad came to visit and dropped them off for me. Both were surprises - very pleasant ones, I might add! Definitely very excited about both. Two friends have borrowed The Unidentified thus far, one of whom is still reading it (and might be up for writing a guest review, so keep an eye out for that).

The last Pendragon book (by DJ MacHale) and the assorted swag (bookmarks, pins) were from the Word on the Street! festival that I've previously blogged about, the one where I went and heard Yann Martel speak.

So what's been in your mailbox recently?

*In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren

Author Stalking: Yann Martel

It's kind of a funny story, how I ended up getting to see Yann Martel (reknowned author of Life of Pi). More of a right-place at the right-time sort of thing.

Basically, Sunday I claimed I was going to do work. But then you know, you get caught up chilling with people in the dining hall for brunch and next thing you know, half the afternoon is gone. But I was adamant that I would get caught up on my reading!

Knowing me, after getting back to my room of course I had to procrastinate for awhile first. Then at approximately 3:46p.m. I figured I'd go to the bathroom and really get down to work. Whilst in there, I ran into a buddy who mentioned that she just got back from Word on the Street, a book festival happening, well, right-now! in Queen's Park, which is basically right-here!
So of course I ran back to my room, Googled it, realized that Yann Martel was speaking in approximately 10 minutes! WHAT? Screw work, of course I quickly grabbed a buddy and we headed over to Queen's Park and beelined for the reading.

Got there just in the nick of time. Mr. Martel was introduced, and then he read an excerpt from his new piece Beatrice and Virgil, answered some questions in a back-and-forth interview-style session, and then answered four more questions previously submitted by the general public.

All in all, it was a very impressive experience. Mr. Martel covered a wide range of topics in his answers, and it was great to hear the witticisms, the take on politics, on philosophy, and just about all else in between.

It was also super-interesting to hear more about the whole letters to Stephen Harper project (91 and counting!) and a bit about the next work (chimpanzees and automobiles and Northern Portugal!)
After the reading, we walked around a bit just to see what it was like, although time was really tight as the festival ended at 6:00pm and a lot of tents were running out of stuff/starting to pack up. However, at the Simon & Schuster tent I did manage to snag (brand new!) copies for the tenth Pendragon book The Soldiers of Halla (DJ MacHale) and a GI Joe activity book for $1. Seriously. Also got a bunch of bookmarks and pins/buttons, which is always really fun.

The Harlequin tent was very well stocked ^^

In My Mailbox [42] + Update

So I know it's been awhile since I've been spotted around the YA blogosphere. But I have a valid reason, promise!

Basically, I've recently moved to a big city to start university. It's been a bit of an adjustment, getting used to living in a dorm room, cafe food, all the extra freedom... I've been loving it so far! But at the same time, wandering home in the wee hours of morning every night isn't exactly condusive to blogging, or homework, or even classes (which are getting steadily busier, by the way).

Nevertheless, I do miss the YA blogosphere, so I think I'm going to try and continue with it as much as possible, although it's a given that I probably won't be quite as active as I was before. It's been a few weeks now, so I'm starting to settle in and I think once I get a pattern going, things'll steady out.

So be on the lookout for posts to start up again soon, and a giveaway for copies of Hush, Hush and Crescendo shortly!

Speaking of which, that's what I got this week - Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick. My first piece of mail in res. :)

Cheers!

What's been in your mailbox lately?

Waiting on Wednesday (20)

Delirium - Lauren Oliver
*February 1st, 2011 HarperTeen

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

This sounds like something right up my alley - futuristic sci fi, taking an abstract concept and applying science to it, dystopic society... Add to that the fact that it's written by Lauren Oliver, and you've got icing on the cake. I reviewed Before I Fall, her debut novel, a few months ago and fairly enjoyed it, so it'll definitely be interesting to see whether the sophomore follow-up does it justice.

So there you have it - my pick of the week. Your turn now, what're you waiting on this Wednesday?

In My Mailbox [41]

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren showcasing the awesome books received in one's mailbox (or from other sources). Pop on by for more information on how to join the fun!

Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink - Currently reading this one. I reviewed its predecessor Prophecy of the Sisters last summer.

You by Charles Benoit - This was a complete surprise, but a pretty exciting one. Been hearing interesting things about this one, and I believe it's written in second person, which is definitely very unique.

Sent and Sabotaged, The Missing books 2 and 3, respectively, by Margaret Peterson Haddix - These were also surprises, but I've read a number of Haddix's past works and enjoyed them greatly, so these were great to see as well.

Things have definitely been very hectic around here recently; I'm going to be heading out of town for university in about a week's time. Back to school shopping, lots of stuff to take care of, friends to chill with before leaving, packing that needs to be done... basically a huge to-do list. To minimize the amount of books I have to bring, I'm hoping to completely clear the backlog of reviews that still need to be written before I go. Wish me luck - it's going to be quite a feat ;)

Anybody else preparing to head off to university or college? Are you planning on bringing a bunch of books with you?

Waiting on Wednesday (19)

Wired - Robin Wasserman
*September 14th, 2010 Simon Pulse

One year ago, Lia Kahn died.

A few days later, she woke up.

She had a new body: Mechanical, unfeeling, inhuman. She had a new family: Mechs like her, who didn't judge her for what she could no longer be. She had a new life, one that would last forever.

At least, it was supposed to.

But now everything Lia thought she knew has turned out to be a lie; everyone she thought she loved has been stolen away. And someone is trying to get rid of the mechs, once and for all. Lia will risk everything to save herself and the people she can't live without. But not before facing one final truth: She can't save everyone.

Why am I excited about this one? Well, it's the final book in a trilogy, which is always exciting. A science fiction trilogy, actually, which makes it even more so.

Recently I read Skinned and Crashed (the first two books), one right after the other, so it's still fresh. In fact, keep an eye out for reviews of these two titles to come very shortly. Also interesting to note that Scott Westerfeld has blurbed this series. There's definitely a lot of parallels and "suitable for fans of" between this series and Westerfeld's Uglies trilogy (consisting of Uglies, Pretties, Specials and Extras).

So there you have it - my pick of the week. Now, what're you waiting on this Wednesday?

Waiting on Wednesday (18)

XVI - Julia Karr
*January 6th, 2011 Puffin/Speak

In the year 2150, being a girl isn’t necessarily a good thing, especially when your sixteenth (read sex-teenth) birthday is fast approaching. That in itself would be enough to make anyone more than a little nuts, what with the tattoo and all – but Nina Oberon’s life has taken a definite turn for the worse. Her mother is brutally stabbed and left for dead. Before dying, she entrusts a secret book to Nina, telling her to deliver it to Nina's father. But, first Nina has to find him; since for fifteen years he's been officially dead. Complications arise when she rescues Sal, a mysterious, and ultra hot guy. He seems to like Nina, but also seems to know more about her father than he’s letting on. Then there’s that murderous ex-government agent who’s stalking her, and just happens to be her little sister’s dad."

Alas, there's still a fair while until this one comes out. But by the sounds of it, it's futuristic dystopian (love!) which immediately piqued my interest. And from the synopsis, it sounds very controversial, very edgy, very push-the-envelope (hopefully over the edge).

The cover is very cool too - a little reminiscent of the cover for Willow by Julia Hoban (look at that, both books from Penguin, both authors with a first name of Julia). I didn't even notice right away that the lines across her face actually spell out the title (XVI or "sixteen").

To be honest the whole "ultra hot guy" thing sounds a little sketch, but I guess we'll have to wait and see how that's played out. All in all, a book worth waiting on!

How about you, what're you waiting on this Wednesday?

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine