Chocolates, First Loves, Book Crushes: Laura Tims (Interview + Giveaway)

Chocolates, First Loves and Book Crushes is a blog event featuring debut authors answering questions that I have sent them as they talk  about their Valentine's day routines, love, book crushes and more. For a list of all the participating authors, check it out here.

Laura Tims is the author of PLEASE DON'T TELL, coming Fall 2015 from HarperCollins.

She's a mental health advocate, a cancer, and a reasonably cute organism. She likes Tumblr, anime, Neko Atsume, Homestuck, Steven Universe, and Undertale. She likes you even more.

She writes books about strange relationships, pain, and people who are scared but good.

FIND LAURA: Website | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads

Review: What's Broken Between Us by Alexis Bass

Title: What's Broken Between Us                               

Author: Alexis Bass

Publication: December 29th 2015, HarperTeen

Format: e-ARC, 304 pages              

Source: Edelweiss (Thanks to the publisher)        

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:   

A year and a half ago, Amanda Tart's brother got behind the wheel drunk and killed his best friend. Today, he's coming home from prison.

Amanda's been the one living with the fallout, made worse by her brother's recent unapologetic TV interview. People think he's a monster. Still, she loves him. It's her dark secret, until she starts getting close to Henry again--whose sister is paralyzed from the accident. 

A year and a half ago, her brother destroyed his life. Now Amanda has to decide if she'll let his choice destroy hers.

                                 

Review:

I don't really like writing negative reviews because it leaves a bad after taste in my mouth and I feel like I'm gonna be sick but I've always been honest with everyone when it comes to my reviews and this books is the first of probably a few that's going to be coming along the way, that I did not enjoy very much.

What's Broken Between Us is probably one of those books that started off really mysterious and cool and then got slapped in the face by an array of characters that felt a little too over the top.

Review: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

Title: Emmy & Oliver                               

Author: Robin Benway

Publication: June 23rd 2015, HarperTeen

Format: e-ARC, 352 pages

Source: From the publisher (Thanks HarperTeen!)

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

Readers who love Sarah Dessen will tear through these pages with hearts in throats as Emmy and Oliver struggle to face the messy, confusing consequences of Oliver’s father’s crime. Full of romance, coming-of-age emotion, and heartache, these two equally compelling characters create an unforgettable story.

Misfit Review:

When someone important in your life comes back after many years, knowing that them disappearing has caused great trauma to a lot of people, is it alright to just go back to the way it was or will the change be too much to handle?

Emmy & Oliver is a rollercoaster of feelings, brought about the traumatic experience of Oliver being kidnapped by his Dad one day, at age 7. After 10 years, Oliver comes back home and Emmy, his best friend, is both happy and worried. Things have changed. Oliver's mom won't rest till his Dad is arrested, Emmy's parents are way too overprotective of her and Caro and Drew, Emmy's best friends (Oliver's friends once), are gonna have to learn to adapt to everything again. It's a mixture of happiness and uncertainty for everyone and on whether everything should be done-over or should it be a start over.

DNF Review: The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi

Title: The Night We Said Yes 

Author: Lauren Gibaldi

Publication: June 16th 2015, HarperTeen

Format: e-ARC, 304 pages

Source:  Edelweiss        

Buy it on: Amazon | Barnesand Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Bookstore / Fully Booked (PH)

Synopsis:

A fun, romantic read, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Susane Colasanti!

Before Matt, Ella had a plan. Get over a no-good ex-boyfriend. Graduate from high school without any more distractions. Move away from Orlando, Florida, where she’s lived her entire life.

But Matt—the cute, shy, bespectacled bass player who just moved to town—was never part of that plan. And neither was attending a party that was crashed by the cops just minutes after they arrived. Or spending an entire night saying “yes” to every crazy, fun thing they could think of.

Then Matt abruptly left town, and he broke not only Ella’s heart but those of their best friends, too. So when he shows up a year later with a plan of his own—to relive the night that brought them together—Ella isn’t sure whether Matt’s worth a second chance. Or if re-creating the past can help them create a different future. In alternating then and now chapters, debut author Lauren Gibaldi crafts a charming, romantic story of first loves, lifelong friendships, uncovered secrets, and, ultimately, finding out how to be brave.

Misfit Review:

35%

I love my sweet, romantic stories with music and cute guys but with The Night We Said Yes, it just felt too formulaic. This is going to be a very short DNF review, and if you guys haven't noticed, I have never done a DNF review. So this is the very first. Sad to say that it lead to this.

Review: Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Title: Solitaire
Author: Alice Oseman
Publication: March 30th 2015, HarperTeen
Format: e-ARC
Source: From the publisher (Many thanks to HarperTeen!)
Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Book Store / Fully Booked (PH)

SYNOPSIS:

In case you’re wondering, this is not a love story.

My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now.

Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden.

I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden.

I really don’t.

Misfit Review:

Grab a depressing girl, a depressing family, a hyper yet angry teenage boy, a childhood friend coming back and a manipulative group of people in one novel, then it would seem like the best thing in the world for a novel... and yet I dunno exactly how I should feel about it.

Review: Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes

Title: Liars, Inc.
Author: Paula Stokes
Publication: March 24th 2015, HarperTeen
Format: e-ARC
Source: From the publisher! (Thank you HarperTeen!)
Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Book Store / Fully Booked (PH)

SYNOPSIS:

It all starts with one little lie…

Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell lies to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts a business providing forged permission slips and cover stories for the students of Vista Palisades High. Liars, Inc. they call it. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?

When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.

Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit?

Misfit Review:

Have you ever thought you can get out of a lie? Of course you have. I believe everyone has. But a lie so huge, that it could send you into a federal chase, hiding from people and ultimately shading the truth, can lead into some pretty dirty business.

Review: Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas

Title: Top Ten Clues You're Clueless
Author: Liz Czukas
Publication: December 9th 2014, HarperTeen
Format: e-ARC, 304 pages
Source: Publisher, THANKS HARPERTEEN!
Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Book Store / Fully Booked (PH)

SYNOPSIS:

Top Five Things That Are Ruining Chloe’s Day

5) Working the 6:30 a.m. shift at GoodFoods Market

4) Crashing a cart into a customer’s car right in front of her snarky coworker Sammi

3) Trying to rock the “drowned rat” look after being caught in a snowstorm

2) Making zero progress with her crush, Tyson (see #3)

1) Being accused—along with her fellow teenage employees—of stealing upwards of $10,000 

Chloe would rather be anywhere than locked in work jail (aka the break room) with five of her coworkers . . . even if one of them is Tyson. But if they can band together to clear their names, what looks like a total disaster might just make Chloe’s list of Top Ten Best Moments.

Misfit Review:

I honestly thought I was going to get bored while reading this book but it proved me wrong by giving me typical teenagers with unique personalities. Top Ten Clues You're Clueless is like reliving The Breakfast Club all over again.

The story starts with Chloe Novak going through the day with a list. She is obsessed with listing things from what she has observed, to things she needs to buy, etc. Everything for her could be listed and she is comfortable that way. It's Christmas Eve and Chloe has to work at the GoodFoods Market when money was stolen and she and her co-workers get accused of stealing it. It is then that everyone starts to bond and know each other a lot better than they had before.

I found every single character in this book adorable (well except Mr. Solomon. He's kind of a douche). I mean, just with Tyson! He's sweet and nice and ugh! I can gobble him up. He's also a very good voice of reason. Then there's Gabe who seems like a douche but becomes the type of guy you'd end up liking when you get to know him. Zaina is the girl you wish wouldn't exist because she seems too perfect and beautiful, who is nice but has her frustrations and flaws, and you realize she's human too. Micah, the resident nerd is kind, weird and just someone you wish would get life even if he actually knows every single thing in the universe. And finally, there is Sammi, the life of the party, the bad girl/rockstar who you thought you could hate but you secretly adore because she's actually cool and she doesn't give a rat's ass about anything. Bring them all together in a situation where they are forced to stay in and mingle with each other, and you got yourself a peek at their problems, queries and quirks.

The book focuses on how certain interactions with these characters come by. For example, Chloe gets too frazzled around Tyson because she has a major crush on him or that Gabe and Sammi are a total OTP but they clearly just like to banter with each other. It's just so cute when these things happen. AND ON CHRISTMAS EVE TOO! Especially with Gabe and Sammi! UGH!!!! 

We are introduced with chapters that have lists in them, mostly Chloe's Top Tens, depending on the situation they are in or how a certain member of her posse personifies themselves. The novel allows the characters to open up to each other even if they do work together in the same place. They end up understanding each other further and to work out their differences. There are some weird ways on how they do though, like with cleaning the whole store, which you might think is actually boring, although reading it was actually fun. It felt like I was with them in it too. And it definitely opened up a lot of good drama in it too.

The novel also tackles the problem of who actually stole the money. I'll leave that to your capable hands guys. It could be one of them. *whistles and walks away*

Anyway, Liz Czukas delivers characters that are light but with backgrounds that give meaning to their actions. She has wrote a unique way of introducing her main character to us, through her obsession with lists and observations and how in a way, it became beneficial to their pursuit of the truth. Though the concept of teenagers getting to know each other more isn't new at all to the young adult genre, Top Ten Clues You're Clueless provides a refreshing view of how stereotyping works and how friendships can be discovered in the most unusual of situations. 

May there be more novels that are refreshing and light but could deliver on being interesting enough for a reader to stay put and read it. And this novel, for me, did not leave itself clueless to that.

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Liz Czukas is the author of fun YA romances like ASK AGAIN LATER (HarperTeen '14) and TOP TEN CLUES YOU'RE CLUELESS (HarperTeen '14). She also writes fun New Adult romances like WHEN JOSS MET MATT under the name Ellie Cahill.

{BLOG TOUR} Review: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Title: A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird #1)
Author: Claudia Gray
Publication: Nov. 4th 2014, HarperTeen
Format: ARC, 368 pages
Source: Tour Book from Pinoy Book Tours! (Thanks Dianne)
Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo | The Book Depository | National Book Store (PH)

SYNOPSIS:

Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

Misfit Review:

I have been excited to read this book for a very long time, and when the opportunity came for me to read it, thanks to Pinoy Book Tours, I immediately grabbed it and it was the best damn decision of my life! I'll keep this review as short and sweet as possible, but I think that it's quite impossible if I end up going on with my feelings!

"This is the message I must pass on, the one goal I have to remember after everything else I am is gone. Kill Paul Markov."(ARC 1)

Okay, so the story starts with Marguerite Caine seeking revenge for the death of her father. He wants to rat out Paul Markov, an genius assistant that killed her father and destroyed all the files that had been the fruit of their research. He also stole a device called the Firebird, which allows a person to travel into different alternate dimensions and merge with their alternate self once in that dimension. With the help of Theo, another one of Henry Caine's assistants, they search for Paul with their own Firebird prototypes, to kill him.

THIS STORY IS JUST WAY TO FANTASTIC AND I CANNOT WITH IT!!! I'm telling you already, it is beautiful and cinematic and just downright stab to the heart. We are taken into different dimensions that refer to a lot of the present culture as well as those of the past and future. It takes us into these possible cultures we would have and those that we may have forgotten. And please! A FIREBIRD? Gods I wish it was real!

What makes the plot so intense and beautifully written is that scenes are leading you into what you think you would want to happen and then BAM! Surprise surprise! I just love the twist and turns of this story. The characters are well built, conflicting, interesting and best of all, DAMN HOT!

"You paint the truth Marguerite. I don't think you could any other way." (ARC 49)

The dynamics of the characters are done well. There are hints of fluttering romance between both Theo and Marguerite and Paul and Marguerite... I am now tasked to hurt myself to choose between the two even if one pair is far more inducing than the other.

The settings of each dimension are dazzling and engaging! Especially the one in Russia! It feels very much like Anastasia Romanov and her family. The Russian dimension is my favorite and you'll know why once you read it! The one at London, which was the first stop, is very futuristic and allowed us morsels of needed information that are very vital for the growth of the story!

Since this is a trilogy, the ending didn't exactly give a lot of answers but it makes you want more. HECK! It gives you a case of separation anxiety, and that isn't so good. I'm still left with a very needy hangover and I need Firebird #2 or I might go insane. 2015, why you take so long?

Claudia Gray gave us worthy characters, a fantastic story line, an out of this world experience set in pages and though this is my first Claudia Gray book, I already consider her as one of my favorites! THANKS ATPOY!

A Thousand Pieces of You leaves you searching, wanting, longing and incredibly excited for what's about to come and having read this book is an honor that I will cherish forever!

I wish I made an infinite rating photo, coz it is soooo worthy of that!

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Claudia Gray is not my real name. I didn't choose a pseudonym because my real name is unpleasant (it isn't), because I'd always dreamed of calling myself this (I haven't) or even because I'm hiding from the remnants of that international diamond-smuggling cartel I smashed in 2003 (Interpol has taken care of them). In short, I took a pseudonym for no real reason whatsoever. Sometimes this is actually the best reason to do things.

I live in New Orleans. So far, in life, I've been a disc jockey, a lawyer, a journalist and an extremely bad waitress, just to name a few. I especially like to spend time traveling, hiking, reading and listening to music. More than anything else, I enjoy writing.

Waiting on Wednesday #11: Falling Into Place + No Place To Fall

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are just waiting to have our hands on!

Title: Falling Into Place
Author: Amy Zhang
Publication: Greenwillow Books
Expected Release Date: September 9th 2014
Pre-order or buy on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo

SYNOPSIS:

On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton’s laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road. 

Why? Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? Vividly told by an unexpected and surprising narrator, this heartbreaking and nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High’s most popular junior girl. Mass, acceleration, momentum, force—Liz didn’t understand it in physics, and even as her Mercedes hurtles toward the tree, she doesn’t understand it now. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate? What does it mean to be a friend? To love someone? To be a daughter? Or a mother? Is life truly more than cause and effect? Amy Zhang’s haunting and universal story will appeal to fans of Lauren Oliver, Gayle Forman, and Jay Asher.

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Amy Zhang used to have lots of imaginary friends. When people told her to grow up, she turned her imaginary friends into characters and started telling their stories. When she isn't writing, she can be found playing piano, hitting balls on the tennis court, or struggling through her weekly existential crisis. She lives in Wisconsin with her family.

Title: No Place To Fall
Author: Jaye Robin Brown
Publication: HarperTeen
Expected Release Date: December 9th 2014
Pre-order or buy on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo

SYNOPSIS:

Amber Vaughn is a good girl. She sings solos at church, babysits her nephew after school, and spends every Friday night hanging out at her best friend Devon’s house. It’s only when Amber goes exploring in the woods near her home, singing camp songs with the hikers she meets on the Appalachian Trail, that she feels free—and when the bigger world feels just a little bit more in reach.

When Amber learns about an audition at the North Carolina School of the Arts, she decides that her dream—to sing on bigger stages—could also be her ticket to a new life. Devon’s older (and unavailable) brother, Will, helps Amber prepare for her one chance to try out for the hypercompetitive arts school. But the more time Will and Amber spend together, the more complicated their relationship becomes . . . and Amber starts to wonder if she’s such a good girl, after all.

Then, in an afternoon, the bottom drops out of her family’s world—and Amber is faced with an impossible choice between her promise as an artist and the people she loves. Amber always thought she knew what a good girl would do. But between “right” and “wrong,” there’s a whole world of possibilities.

Here's a blurb from the author:

The map on the cover is actually featured in the book and was the imagery I hoped Harper Teen would use. My protagonist, Amber, keeps it on her wall and marks the people (boys) she meets who are hiking the Appalachian Trail, and the music festivals she dream of singing at one day. The red tack holds a special significance, but you have to read the book to find out what that is! 

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Jaye Robin Brown, or Jro to her friends, lives and writes in the mountains north of Asheville, North Carolina. She is fond of horses, dogs, the absurd and the ironic. When not writing, you can find her in the art room of the high school where she teaches or roaming the mountains searching for inspiration.

Her debut young adult novel, NO PLACE TO FALL, comes out in the fall of 2014 from Harper Teen. It's about dreams, singing, friendship, love, betrayal, family, and mistakes. It's also a love song to small town girls and mountain music, both of which shape the area that Jaye now calls home.

The Misfit Interviews with Cammie McGovern

Hi there Misfit Booknerds! So it's another awesome time to raise the spotlight to an amazing author! I interviewed Cammie McGovern, author of the newly released novel, Say What You Will! Get to know her more and how she is as an author! *book shimmy*

BASIC DEETS

What breakfast staple do you usually eat?  

• Smoothies!  I’m trying to get healthier!

As per tradition, what is your favorite color?  

• Green

What TV show are you currently addicted to?  

• Parks and Rec and Modern Family are long-time staples in my life.

Who would you like to do a collaboration with if you were given the chance?   

• I have MANY fellow writers I absolutely adore, but it’s hard for me to imagine collaborating on a long project like a novel (I feel like my first drafts are so horrible that I would never want to show them to anyone—I’d be gripped by self-conciousness and then would quickly become moody and hard to work with…) I could see doing something like a collection of essays or stories featuring kids with disabilities or something like that, maybe! There’s an idea!

AUTHOR STUFF

You started your author career with your first novel Art of Seeing but it was really Eye Contact that made you a breakout star! What would you say inspires you to write these fantastic stories?

• You’re right—EYE CONTACT has been my best selling book so far. I suspect this is because it’s the one that’s closest to my own life. It’s about an autistic boy who witnesses a murder after he’s wandered away from the school playground and into the woods. He’s pretty traumatized and can’t tell anyone what he’s seen so it’s up to his mom to figure out his clues and try to solve the murder. As the mom of an autistic boy, I can say your whole life sometimes feels like you’re trying to figure out clues for what your kid is trying to say.

Say What You Will is your current novel and has been compared to bestsellers like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. What made you write this story about a girl with cerebral palsy and a neurotic?

• I helped start an organization called WHOLE CHILDREN that runs programs for kids and teens with disabilities which means I’ve gotten to know a LOT of these kids and I want more people to hear some of their stories.  One of the surprising things about teens with disabilities is how much they want the same things as their typically-developing peers—like friendships, love, independence, all of that.  I never would have thought my son was interested in girls and romance and then, bam, he became a teenager and started talking about it!  I was really surprised (and touched.)

When you do research for certain stories, how do you condition yourself for them? Does it take you a while to gather data?

• I read a ton.  Memoirs are fantastic, but you have to make sure you read a few different ones to make sure you aren't copying one person’s story too closely.  I read a lot of books written by people with OCD or some form of anxiety disorder.   It’s fascinating and much more common than you would think!

If you had chance to do a side story of Say What You Will, which of the characters would you wish you can extend the stories of? (Sanjay's story seems great in a way even if he is a jerk)

• What an interesting idea! I love it!   I actually have toyed with the idea of revisiting Amy and Matthew down the line a bit, like when Amy gets toward the end of college, just to see where they’re at.  I LOVED the sequel to IF I STAY where she picked up the story a few years later and the couple are so far apart, so you’re rooting for them to get together all over again.  The thing is, I don’t think I’ll do it any time soon.  My editor says aging the characters too much takes it out of Young Adult and makes it  New Adult book.  So I’d have to think about this more…

Finally, what is your advise for writers (such as myself) who wish to embark in the world of publishing and becoming authors too?

• I think you’re already doing my number one recommendation, which is READ EVERYTHING YOU CAN!  The more you read, the better a writer you become.  It’s as simple as that.  Reading expands your vocabulary, but more importantly, it teaches you about good story development, writing effective sentences, things like that.    My other big suggestion is to write as much as you can and not to get too discouraged when things don’t turn out as great as you were hoping they’d be right away.  This is how it ALWAYS is, even for people who have published many books!  I still re-read first drafts and think, how can I be this bad when I've written books that are good? Terrible first drafts can turn into very good books, it just takes a lot of work. 

DEDICATION

I want to thank Cammie for all of her kindness throughout the process and for giving me the time of day! I LOVE YOU! And you can interact with Cammie too through her social media sites: Twitter, Facebook and her Goodreads! She is really nice!

I wouldn't have done any of this without your support Misfit Booknerds! You are all amazing!

Waiting on Wednesday #6: Conversion + The Vanishing Season

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are just waiting to have our hands on!

Title: Conversion
Author: Katherine Howe
Publication: Putnam Juvenile
Expected Release Date: July 1st 2014
Pre-order on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indie Bound | iBooks | Kobo

SYNOPSIS:

It’s senior year at St. Joan’s Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys’ texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can’t.

First it’s the school’s queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.

Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking? Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra credit—comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago . . .

Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school—Conversion casts a spell. With her signature wit and passion, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe delivers an exciting and suspenseful novel, a chilling mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s?

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Katherine Howe is the author of THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE, which debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, was named one of USA Today's top ten books of 2009, and which has been translated into over twenty languages. In 2012 she hosted the Expedition Week special "Salem: Unmasking the Devil" on the National Geographic Channel.

Her second novel, a historical thriller set in Boston in the aftermath of the Titanic sinking entitled THE HOUSE OF VELVET AND GLASS, was released in the US in April 2012, and was a USA Today and New York Times e-book bestseller.

Her third novel, a young adult historical thriller called CONVERSION, follows a group of teenage girls who must uncover the real reason behind a mysterious outbreak at their high school. Praised as "Prep meets The Crucible," CONVERSION releases in the US on July 1, 2014.

Katherine edited of THE PENGUIN BOOK OF WITCHES, a collection of primary sources about witchcraft in English North America which appears with Penguin Classics for Halloween 2014.

A graduate of Columbia and Boston University, she lives in Massachusetts and upstate New York with her family, where she teaches at Cornell. She enjoys roaming the woods, reading, and sailing, and she looks very fetching in a pointy hat. In spring 2015 she will be the visiting writer in residence at Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina. She is at work on her next novel.

Title: The Vanishing Season

Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson

Publication: HarperTeen

Expected Release Date: July 1st 2014

Pre-order on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indie Bound | iBooks | Kobo

SYNOPSIS:

Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.

The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.

I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.

All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.

From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.

About The Author:

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Jodi Lynn Anderson write books about vaguely magical peach orchards, resorts in the afterlife, enigmatic island princesses beloved by Tinkerbell, and...civics! She was an awkward and strange child who kept lots of secrets. Now she lives with a sweet Basenji dog named Peanut who loves to eat shoes, and a sweet husband who is good at all the things she's bad at, like being organized and thinking things through. She's loved writing and reading about mythical and strange things since she can remember.