Melissa Marr is one of our favorite authors, and she blurbed BC. (We are still thanking the YA Gods.) She is giving away 6 signed ARCs of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES on her forum Rath & Ruins! The contest is open now and runs through the month of October. All you have to do is comment & follow the instructions.
Then you should run out and buy a copy of one of Melissa's books. Here are my favorites:
I'm not a big fan of happy endings. I'm not saying that I don't like to see everything turn out all right in the end… okay, maybe I am. Because how often does it really happen? How often does everything magically work itself out by the time you get to page 300?
Face it, life is dirty and messy and imperfect. Things don't usually turn out the way you want, and sometimes they don't even turn out they way you expect. That's why I love HATE LIST by Jennifer Brown.
For those of you who haven't read it, here's the jacket copy from Amazon:
"Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on
their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently
saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings
because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she
and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.
Now, after
a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she
returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of
the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with
her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must
come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in
order to make amends and move on with her life."
Jennifer Brown isn't afraid to get dirty. She isn't afraid to tell you that time isn't always on your side. It wasn't on Val's. A summer wasn't going to make anyone forget that her boyfriend went on a shooting rampage that left a handful of dead kids in its wake. To Brown's credit, Val knows that.
But here's the interesting part, HATE LIST isn't really about hate at all. It's about love and pain and guilt and sorrow. It's about the choices we make for ourselves, and the choices that are made for us – the ones we can't control.
When I was reading HATE LIST, I couldn't help but wonder if there were teens in midst of one one those choices – or in the aftermath of one – reading the book, too. I wondered if there were kids out there who could see themselves in Val (or Nick), kids who would find hope (or direction) from their stories. People who felt they had made mistakes they could never rectify. Mistakes that would follow them forever.
That's the messy part – the part no one what talks about. The things people do when they lose hope. Sometimes those things are awful. Some of us may have done things like that, or been victims of those acts. Is that the end? At that point, have you run out of choices, or had them taken from you?
Jennifer Brown says no. Val shows us that there is always a way to start over – to pick up the pieces. Even when those pieces are you. It will be hard and it will be messy. And there may not be hugs and forgiveness waiting at the end, all tied up with a bow.
BUT YOU CAN START OVER. YOU CAN FIND YOUR WAY. Because there is a way – it may not be where you are, or what you imagined. But it's there. You just have to keep looking, like Val.
You'll find it.
Why am I not surprised that the Other Margaret was the only one to get this? (She really IS that brilliant & a mix of BC's Marian, with a hint of Amma's talents.)
If you didn't read my previous post, I made five statements & asked people to guess which one was a lie. Here's the breakdown:
1. I know how to get out of the trunk of a car from the inside.
This one is easy…of course I can. What if I'm abducted? Seriously?
If you don't know how, learn here.
2. I love Neil Diamond, the Doobie Brothers & Soundgarden (not necessarily in that order).
"Holly Holy," "Black Water" & "Fell on Black Days" are three of my all-time favorite songs. This combo is too eclectic (which, like eccentric- in the South just means crazy) to be fabricated.
Don't believe me? Listen to Holly Holy for yourself here.
3. I am outraged that a remake of Fame is coming out.
I am outraged on MANY levels.
Buy the original movie here.
4. Before I was married, I always wanted to date a magician.
I have a HUGE aversion to magicians (sorry to all the magicians reading). I could not:
a) date a magician
b) kiss a magician
c) date or kiss a magician in a car, in a boat, in a house, or with a mouse…
I'm not actually sure which bothers me more… magicians or illusionists (Translation: a magician who makes crap disappear and does not have a rabbit or hot assistant).
Need I say more?
5. I usually know when people are talking about me, even when they think I don't. (My own version of a magic trick.)
You'll see.
Picture this:
I'm in an abandoned warehouse with an incredibly psychotic villain who wants: a million dollars, government secrets, a map to the Lost City… you get the idea. Think James Bond movies (Daniel Craig, not Pierce Brosnan). My life is at stake, people. And the only way I'm getting alive is if my friend (who may actually be Daniel Craig) can determine if a series of statements about me are true or not.
My life is hanging in the balance and it all comes down to how well someone knows me. I actually had a dream like this, which gave me an idea.
I'm going to tell you five things about me. One of them is a lie.
Whether you use deductive reasoning, personal knowledge, witchcraft, or Jedi mind tricks, can you find the lie in the truth?
Let's see. Leave a comment & let me know which number you think is a lie.
1. I know how to get out of the trunk of a car from the inside.
2. I love Neil Diamond, the Doobie Brothers & Soundgarden (not necessarily in that order).
3. I am outraged that a remake of Fame is coming out.
4. Before I was married, I always wanted to date a magician.
5. I usually know when people are talking about me, even when they think I don't. (My own version of a magic trick.)
Don't forget to leave a comment & tell me which number you think is a lie.
