Thursday, October 6, 2016

THE RIFT UPRISING by Amy S. Foster | Release Blitz

Today I am partnering with Irish Banana Blog Tours to help promote THE RIFT UPRISING by Amy S. Foster! 

THE RIFT UPRISING was just released on Tuesday (October 4th 2016), and I thought it would be the perfect book to share with all of you. I've included some information on the book below, along with some information on Amy S. Foster! 


Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publish Date: October 4th 2016
Page Amount: 400 Pages
Price: $18.99 Hardback
ISBN: 0062443127 (ISBN13: 9780062443120)




ABOUT THE RIFT UPRISING
Normal seventeen-year-old girls go to high school, binge watch TV shows all weekend, and flirt with everyone on the face of the Earth. But Ryn Whitaker is trying to save it.

Ryn is a Citadel. A soldier. A liar. Ryn and her fellow Citadels were specially chosen and trained to guard a Rift—one of fourteen unpredictable tears in the fabric of the universe that serve as doorways to alternate Earths. Unbeknownst to her family, Ryn leaves for school each day and then reports for duty as an elite, cybernetically-altered soldier who can run faster, jump farther, and fight better than a Navy SEAL—which comes in handy when she’s not sure if axe-wielding Vikings or any number of other terrified and often dangerous beings come through the Rift. A fine-tuned weapon, Ryn is a picture-perfect Citadel. But that’s all about to change.

When a young man named Ezra is pulled through the Rift, Ryn finds herself immediately drawn to him, despite her training. What starts as a physical attraction quickly grows deeper, and Ezra’s curiosity throws Ryn off balance when he starts questioning the Rifts, the mysterious organization that oversees them, and the Citadels themselves—questions that lead Ryn to wonder if the lies she’s been telling her family are just the surface of a much bigger lie told to her. As Ryn and Ezra desperately try to get to that truth, they discover that each revelation blurs the line between the villains and the heroes even more.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
Just from reading the synopsis, I can tell that this book will take readers on a high-stakes action adventure. I am so excited to add this book to my TBR! I'm so excited to see the world-building in this book and see how everything fits together.






ABOUT AMY S. FOSTER
Amy S. Foster is a celebrated songwriter, best known as Michael BublĂ©’s writing partner. You might recognize her work in his four hit singles, including "Home" and "Haven't Met You Yet.” She has also collaborated with Destiny’s Child, Diana Krall, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and a host of other artists. She is also the author of the novel When Autumn Leaves. When she's not in a studio in Nashville, Amy lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. Amy is the daughter of singer B.J. Cook and the legendary music producer, David Foster. Fun fact about Amy: Her extended family tree includes Bella and Gigi Hadid, Sara and Erin Foster and Brody and Brandon Jenner, and Clay Aiken! The Rift Uprising, her YA debut, will be released on October 4, 2016.   


I can't wait to read THE RIFT UPRISING, and I hope you feel the same way!

Let me know in the comments down below what you think of THE RIFT RISING!

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

THE BFG by Roald Dahl | Roald Dahl 100th Birthday Blog Tour Celebration & Giveaway!

I am extremely excited to be a part of the ROALD DAHL 100TH BIRTHDAY BLOG TOUR CELEBRATION! For those of you that don't know, I was actually first introduced to Roald Dahl and his books in primary school. Because of this, Roald Dahl and his books helped to shape who I am as a reader and as an individual. Many of his books hold personal significance for me, and I thought that as a part of the official ROALD DAHL BLOG TOUR, now was the perfect time to share one of those stories with all of you. 

I've also included a review of THE BFG in my blog post, along with information on the book itself and on Roald Dahl. I hope that you take the time to read through this entire post and enter the giveaway in this post as well! Roald Dahl and his books mean a lot to me, and I hope that these books will make an impact on you as well! 

TITLE: The BFG
AUTHOR: Roald Dahl
PUBLISHER: 
ISBN: 0141365420 (ISBN13: 9780141365428)

Purchase the book here!

Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg! Starring Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, Bill Hader, and Adam Godley.

The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!

From the bestselling author of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and MATILDA!



About ROALD DAHL:
Roald Dahl (1916–1990) was one of the world’s most imaginative, successful and beloved storytellers. He was born in Wales of Norwegian parents and spent much of his childhood in England. After establishing himself as a writer for adults with short story collections such as KISS KISS and TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, Roald Dahl began writing children's stories in 1960 while living with his family in both the U.S. and in England. His first stories were written as entertainment for his own children, to whom many of his books are dedicated.

Roald Dahl’s first children’s story, THE GREMLINS, was a story about little creatures that were responsible for the various mechanical failures on airplanes. THE GREMLINS came to the attention of both First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who loved to read the story to her grandchildren, and Walt Disney, with whom Roald Dahl had discussions about the production of a movie.

Roald Dahl was inspired by American culture and by many of the most quintessential American landmarks to write some of his most memorable passages, such as the thrilling final scenes in JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH - when the peach lands on the Empire State Building! Upon the publication of JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, Roald Dahl began work on the story that would later be published as CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and today, Roald Dahl’s stories are available in 58 languages and, by a conservative estimate, have sold more than 200 million copies.

Roald Dahl also enjoyed great success for the screenplays he wrote for both the James Bond film You Only Live Twice in 1967 and for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, released one year later, which went on to become a beloved family film. Roald Dahl’s popularity continues to increase as his fantastic novels, including JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, MATILDA, THE BFG, and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, delight an ever-growing legion of fans.

Two charities have been founded in Roald Dahl’s memory: the first charity, Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, created in 1991, focuses on making life better for seriously ill children through the funding of specialist nurses, innovative medical training, hospitals, and individual families across the UK.

The second charity, The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre – a unique cultural, literary and education hub – opened in June 2005 in Great Missenden where Roald Dahl lived and wrote many of his best-loved works. 10% of income from Roald Dahl books and adaptations are donated to the two Roald Dahl charities.

On September 13, 2006, the first national Roald Dahl Day was celebrated, on what would have been the author’s 90th birthday. The event proved such a success that Roald Dahl Day is now marked annually all over the world. September 13, 2016 is Roald Dahl 100, marking 100 years since the birth of the world’s number one storyteller. There will be celebrations for Roald Dahl 100 throughout 2016, delivering a year packed with gloriumptious treats and surprises for everyone.

REVIEW

THE BFG is a classic book. It may not be a classic in the sense of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE or HUCKLEBERRY FINN, but, for any person that is my age, I can guarantee you that we all have read it, or at least heard of it, in our primary school years.

While I know this post on the tour is supposed to be a review stop, the post would feel incomplete without explaining my connection to Roald Dahl, and the books that he has published, especially THE BFG. 

In second grade, I was fortunate enough to be placed into a split-grade classroom with an amazing teacher. For those of you that are not familiar with a split-grade classroom, this basically means that two grade levels share the classroom space and the teacher, each student working on their own tasks that are suitable for their grade level. My classroom was a 2nd and 3rd grade split-room, which meant that when the 3rd graders were working on their worksheets, the 2nd graders would sit in a circle on the floor, reading a book.

I can't recall whether or not THE BFG was, in fact, one of the books that we read as a "class", but I do recall how THE BFG book came into my life. You see, reading books was and still remains my way of connecting with the world, my way of discovering who I am, and my way of escaping the boundaries of reality. Reading books has and always will hold a place in my heart.

My second grade teacher was one of those amazing teachers, the ones who support you, no matter what. I can guarantee that there were moments when tears were shed in that classroom, either about something on the playground, friends, or just, 2nd grade life in general. It seems pretty silly now that I think about it, to have been worrying about the small things, but yet, there I was.

Most days, when I decided not to go out to recess, I would pick a book from the classroom library, sit in my desk, and read. It wasn't something that I minded, I didn't know what I was missing outside. I was immersed in the world of my book and that was all that mattered to me. Like I said, books were my lifeline.

At the end of the year, my second grade teacher pulled out boxes worth of books and placed them on one of our tiny tables, allowing each student to pick one book to take home. Each of the students in my class, went through, one by one, picking out a book that spoke to them, or that had a pretty cover, or the story just pulled them in. As if the book wasn't enough, my teacher spent time "autographing" each student's book, writing a personal inscription that matched exactly who they are, as people.

By the time I reached the table, I think most of the books were picked over, only a few books left here and there. One of them was THE BFG. My teacher saw how I was struggling to pick a book, and I believe that she pitched this one to me. Reading the summary of the book was enough of a hook for me, but seeing the length of a "big-kid book" definitely made me feel that this book was one that I needed to read, especially if my teacher believed in me, too.

I don't want to share the inscription -- it's a bit personal, and, even though it is from second grade of all years, it still holds a place in my heart and I think it's something that I'd like to keep to myself. But I do believe that I was introduced to THE BFG for a reason, and the way that I was introduced to it just makes it feel that much more important.

I still remember what happens in the book. Of course, I don't know it like the back of my hand, but I still do recall some of the scenes and even some of the descriptions of the characters. I read a ton of books each year, and the fact that one book from second grade still stands out in my memory, means that it is expertly crafted. Not only that, but it means that THE BFG is innovative, imaginative, and important.

I can't fully credit THE BFG for completely kickstarting my interest in books, reading, and even becoming an author myself, but I can credit THE BFG and Roald Dahl for being one of those books and one of those very special authors for inspiring me.

While this may not be a typical book "review" that you would find on my blog, I do know that THE BFG speaks for itself in terms of it's literary merit, and it's not just because of how I discovered this book that it is significant to me. As a child, I fell in love with the elements of the story. An outcast giant befriending a small, petite girl spoke to me, in a time where I really needed friends. THE BFG speaks about differences, about appreciating others, and about loving yourself, for who you are. People appreciate you, for who you are, too.

It isn't often that you find a book like THE BFG, or any other book that Roald Dahl has written. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and MATILDA, for example, remain some of my favorites too (and you can read about those on the other stops of the tour!). I loved how THE BFG takes such an interesting concept of a story and still manages to teach some very important lessons along the way.

As for me, I'm just happy that my second-grade self was able to find such an amazing book.

And now, for an amazing GIVEAWAY! One winner can pick (5) books from the Roald Dahl collection! You can enter this massive giveaway by using the RaffleCopter below!

I apologize to my international readers, but this giveaway is US ONLY. If you need some ideas for some titles, I've included a list of them below, along with links to all of the other blogs that are participating on the tour! I highly recommend that you read their posts -- everyone has an amazing story to share when it comes to Roald Dahl! 

SCHEDULE OF THE TOUR

DateBlog Name:BookBlog URL:
9/12Fiction FareRoald Dahl's Revolting Recipeswww.fictionfare.com
9/13Nicole's Novel ReadsThe Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secretshttp://nicolesnovelreads.blogspot.com
9/14Rants and Raves of a BibliophileSkin and Other Storiesrantsandravesofabibliophile.wordpress.com
9/15Intellectual RecreationLove From Boyhttp://www.intellectualrecreation.com
9/16KellyVisionMore About BoyKellyvision.wordpress.com
9/17One Night Book StandRevolting Rhymeshttps://onenightbookstandblog.wordpress.com
9/18The Quiet ConcertThe Minpinshttp://thequietconcert.blogspot.com/
9/19Reads All the BooksDirty Beastshttp://www.ReadeAlltheBooks.com
9/20Here's to Happy EndingsThe Enormous Crocodilehttp://www.herestohappyendings.com
9/21He Said Books or MeD is for DahlHesaidbooksorme.blogspot.com
9/22Dizneeee's World of BooksThe Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six Morehttp://dizneeeesworldofbooks.blogspot.com
9/23The Innocent SmileyThe Vicar of Nibbleswickwww.theinnocentsmiley.com
9/24PaperTrailYaEsio TrotPaperTrailYA.co.uk
9/25Emily Reads EverythingDanny, The Champion of the WorldWww.emilyreadseverything.com
9/26Writing My Own Fairy TaleGeorge's Marvelous MedicineHttp://www.writingmyownfairytale.com
9/27Rebelle ReadsFantastic Mr. Foxrebellereads.blogspot.com
9/28Quest ReviewsGoing Solohttp://www.questreviews.com
9/29Mundie KidsCharlie and the Chocolate Factoryhttp://www.mundiekids.blogspot.com
9/30Stuck In BooksCharlie and the Great Glass Elevatorhttp://stuckinbooks.com
10/1No BS Book ReviewsMatildahttp://nobsbookreviews.com
10/2NovelgossipThe Twitshttps://novelgossip.com
10/3Forever BookishBoy: Tales of Childhoodforeverbookish.com
10/4Miranda's Book BlogThe Giraffe and the Pelly and Mehttps://mirandasbookreviews.blogspot.com
10/5I Turn the PagesThe BFGwww.iturnthepages.com
10/6The Irish Banana ReviewThe Witcheshttp://theirishbanana.blogspot.com
10/7Actin' Up with BooksThe Magic Fingerhttp://actinupwithbooks.blogspot.com
10/8Swoony Boys PodcastJames and the Giant Peachhttp://www.swoonyboyspodcast.com 

Friday, September 30, 2016

THE WOMEN IN THE WALLS by Amy Lukavics | Review

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Title: THE WOMEN IN THE WALLS

Author: Amy Lukavics
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: Young Adult Horror
ISBN: 0373211945 (ISBN13: 9780373211944)



Lucy Acosta's mother died when she was three. Growing up in a Victorian mansion in the middle of the woods with her cold, distant father, she explored the dark hallways of the estate with her cousin, Margaret. They're inseparable—a family.

When her aunt Penelope, the only mother she's ever known, tragically disappears while walking in the woods surrounding their estate, Lucy finds herself devastated and alone. Margaret has been spending a lot of time in the attic. She claims she can hear her dead mother's voice whispering from the walls. Emotionally shut out by her father, Lucy watches helplessly as her cousin's sanity slowly unravels. But when she begins hearing voices herself, Lucy finds herself confronting an ancient and deadly legacy that has marked the women in her family for generations.

Friday, September 9, 2016

The Baby by Lisa Drakeford | Review




Publisher: The Chicken House
Publish Date: October 26th 2016 (1st published: July 1st 2015 UK)
Page Amount: 256 Pages
Price: $17.99 Hardback
ISBN: 0545940273 (ISBN13: 9780545940276)
Learn more about the book on Goodreads here!



When Olivia opens the bathroom door, the last thing she expects to see is her best friend Nicola giving birth on the floor – and to say Nicola is surprised is an understatement. She’s not ready to be a mum, and she needs Olivia’s help. But Olivia has her own problems – specifically her bullying boyfriend, Jonty, and keeping an eye on younger sister Alice. And then there’s Nicola’s friend Ben, who’s struggling with secrets of his own …

I'll be honest, when I looked at the summary for this book, it didn't seem like it fit my taste of books. I thought that the summary was a little bit "weird" and that this book would take me places I didn't necessarily want to go. I wasn't sure that THE BABY was a good fit for me, and I strayed away from this book, until it appeared on a fellow book blogger's blog.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

My Favorite TV Shows! | Top Ten Tuesday

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is TOP TEN TV SHOWS or a variation on that theme, because of Fall TV shows. For this week, I thought I would share some of my favorite TV shows with you. I blog an awful lot about books and I figured that this would give you a better opportunity to get to know me!

Here we go!

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Tell Me Something Real by Calla Devlin | Mood Board, Blog Tour & Giveaway!






INSERT SOMETHING HERE

ABOUT TELL ME SOMETHING REAL:
Three sisters struggle with the bonds that hold their family together as they face a darkness settling over their lives in this masterfully written debut novel.

There are three beautiful blond Babcock sisters: gorgeous and foul-mouthed Adrienne, observant and shy Vanessa, and the youngest and best-loved, Marie. Their mother is ill with leukemia and the girls spend a lot of time with her at a Mexican clinic across the border from their San Diego home so she can receive alternative treatments.

Vanessa is the middle child, a talented pianist who is trying to hold her family together despite the painful loss that they all know is inevitable. As she and her sisters navigate first loves and college dreams, they are completely unaware that an illness far more insidious than cancer poisons their home. Their world is about to shatter under the weight of an incomprehensible betrayal…
 



ABOUT CALLA DEVLIN:
Calla Devlin is a Pushcart nominee and winner of the Best of Blood and Thunder Award whose stories have been included in numerous literary journals and in anthologies, including Because I Love Her: 34 Women Writers Reflect on the Mother-Daughter Bond, for which she was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Magazine. Tell Me Something Real is her first book.
LINKS: Website | Twitter



Instead of answering the "typical" questions that I would for a mood board like this one, I wanted to just take a minute and chat about my mood board, and what I wanted to incorporate in my mood board. 

From scouring Goodreads, I learned that each of the three sisters has their own way of coping with this news. One of the sisters turns rebellious and has a bit of a swearing problem. She also learns to draw in order to release her emotions. Another has a deep connection to the piano, and she invests more of herself into music as the situation with her mother gets worse. The youngest sister develops an obsession with Catholic Saints. The father of the three girls is seemingly absent, because he pours himself into his work. Each of the characters in this book has an extremely unique way of coping with the situation in front of them. I wanted to do the best that I could to capture that in a mood board, because I do believe that it speaks loads about the characters themselves. 

The other pictures in the mood board tell the basic story. The three sisters who have their hair braided together lets you know that the story follows three sisters. Sure, the focus of the book is on the middle sister, but there is a very large amount of importance and stressed placed on familial relationships, hence why all three girls are included. The hospital beds clearly represent the clinic that the mother has to go to for her treatment (and yes, I did try to find a picture that was historically accurate!). Lastly, the tears and hugs represent the emotions of the characters and just the fact that they are trying to cope in and of itself. 

I had a blast making this mood board! In fact, I didn't even speak about why I am so interested in this book to begin with! (I might as well do that now, because I feel like it didn't come across as much as I would like in the mood board. Hannah had pitched this book to me as a dark historical fiction, and yes, it is historical! It takes place in the 1970s, while also dealing with something that is still close to home today. I thought that was an extremely interesting combination and I knew it would hook me right away. Not to mention the mystery surrounding the lies within the family, and a big secret that is revealed in the book!

Overall, I really enjoyed making this mood board! I love being able to share "new-books-to-me" with my readers, because I do hope that these books will interest you and/or you will want to learn a little bit more about them! I'll definitely have a review for this book later on my blog, but for now, I want to share a little treat with you all!

GIVEAWAY
(3) Three Finished Copies of TELL ME SOMETHING REAL! (US only!)

Hannah from Irish Banana Tours and the publisher have happily sponsored a giveaway for all of you! This giveaway is tour-wide and US only (sorry, international people!). 

By entering this giveaway you acknowledge that I Turn the Pages is not responsible for and cannot be held accountable for any part of this giveaway. This includes the shipment of the prize, notification of a winner, etc.!

Click below to enter!

Don't forget to stop by the other amazing blogs on this tour to learn a little bit more about Calla Devlin and TELL ME SOMETHING REAL! Just like the sisters in the book, we all have our own ways of sharing information and being a part of a great tour! Plus, why not familiarize yourself with some other amazing blogs? The tour schedule is listed below for your convenience, and you can click the name of each blog to be taken to their website. :)


Tour Schedule:
Week 1:

Week 2:
9/1: I Turn the Pages - Mood Board  <-- That's me!!

Again, I just want to say a big thank you to Hannah from Irish Banana, Calla Devlin and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to be a part of an amazing blog tour for an amazing book!





Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Just Kill Me by Adam Selzer Mood Board | Blog Tour & Giveaway!



Today, I'm partnering with Irish Banana Blog Tours and Adam Selzer to bring you a mood board inspired by Adam's book, JUST KILL ME! Be sure to keep reading for some information about the book and the author, to see my mood board & to enter the AMAZING giveaway that Irish Banana Tours put together for all of you! :) 

Monday, August 29, 2016

Wish by Barbara O'Connor | Blog Tour & Moodboard Monday


Today, I am extremely excited to be a part of the blog tour for Barbara O'Connor's Wish! I was wishing to be on this tour ever since I found out about it, and I'm so excited to share the content that I created with you!

For my stop on the tour, I'm sharing a mood board that is inspired by the characters and events in Wish! If you know me, you know that I absolutely love to make mood boards, so I had a blast putting this one together! (Plus, I absolutely love dogs, and this mood board gave me an excuse to spend hours on the internet looking at cute dogs!)

Thursday, August 25, 2016

FISH WIELDER by J R R R Hardison | Release Blitz + Giveaway!

When I first read about FISH WIELDER, the very first thing that I thought of was Monty Python and the Holy Grail. FISH WIELDER is full of funny characters, a silly story and sometimes outright strange mission. While FISH WIELDER may be an epic fantasy, it's completely different than anything on the market. A talking fish and a depressed brute take on the seemingly hopeless mission of retrieving the lost pudding -- not to eat, but to save their planet!

With that, I'm very happy to share a little bit about the author, the book, and give you a chance to try the book for yourselves! Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of this post!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Jim has worked as a writer, screen writer, animator and director in entertainment and commercials since graduating from Columbia College of Chicago in 1988. He is the author of The Helm, which YALSA praised as one of 2010’s best graphic novels for young readers, and has directed animated commercial and entertainment projects, including spots for M&M's, AT&T, and Kellogg's. He co-founded Character LLC in 2000 and has given story advice to many of the world's largest brands, such as Target, Verizon, Samsung, McDonalds and Walmart, and has even appeared on NBC's "The Apprentice" as an expert adviser on brand characters. Jim lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, two kids and two dogs. Fish Wielder is his first novel.

About FISH WIELDER:

Fish Wielder is kind of like Lord of the Rings, set in Narnia, if it was written by the guys who made Monty Python and the Holy Grail while they were listening to the music of They Might Be Giants.

In ancient times, the Dark Lord Mauron cooked the most powerful magic chocolate dessert ever made, the Pudding of Power. One thousand and two years later, the evil leader of the Bad Religion, the Heartless One, is trying to recover the lost pudding in order to enslave the peoples of Grome. Only the depressed barbarian warrior Thoral Might Fist and his best friend, Brad the talking Koi fish, have a chance to save the world of Grome from destruction, but that's going to take a ridiculous amount of magic and mayhem. Thus begins the esepically silly epic fantasy of epic proportions, Fish Wielder—book one of the Fish Wielder Trilogy.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE!  Amazon | Barnes & Noble  

EXCERPT:



GIVEAWAY! 
1 winner will receive a $10 (USD) Amazon Gift Card and a copy of FISH WIELDER
*Gift card is open internationally, but FISH WIELDER can only be mailed to a US mailing address*

Rafflecopter Code:

I Turn the Pages is not responsible for sending the giveaway prize nor is I Turn the Pages responsible if the prize is lost in the mail, by entering the giveaway, you acknowledge this!

Thank you so much to Hannah from Irish Banana for allowing me to be a part of this release blitz and to J R R R Hardison for letting me share an excerpt from his book AND have a giveaway for all of my lovely readers!

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake | Waiting on Wednesday

Howdy, folks!

I know I haven't done an official "Waiting on Wednesday" post in a while, so I thought I would bring it back to the blog. There are a ton of books that I am really anticipated for, and some of the release dates are right around the corner, so I wanted to share one with you all today.

The book for this week is.....

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Ten Books That Have Been On My TBR From Before I Started Blogging That I STILL Haven't Read Yet | Top Ten Tuesday

For this week's Top Ten Tuesday, it's all about books that we meant to read in our pre-blogging era. Granted, that was two years ago (I would have been 15) and I still haven't really purged the books I don't want to read anymore from my shelves . However, the books on THIS list are books that I have FULL INTENTIONS of reading -- I just haven't gotten to them yet.

Maybe you could help me by suggesting a few to read from this list, or linking me to your own TBR so I can get some more ideas :)

Without further adieu, here are some of the books I mean to read in the near future. :)

Monday, August 22, 2016

For This Life Only by Stacey Kade | Blog Tour & Giveaway


I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of the Irish Banana Blog Tour for FOR THIS LIFE ONLY by Stacey Kade! 



Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publish Date: August 30th 2016
Page Amount: 320 Pages
Price: $17.99 Hardback
ISBN: 1481432486 (ISBN13: 9781481432481)
"A young man struggles to move forward after the death of his twin brother in this gripping, coming-of-age tale about loss, redemption, love, and the moment you begin to see the world differently.

Three minutes.

Jacob Palmer died for three life-changing minutes.

And when he woke up, nothing was the same. Elijah, his twin brother, is dead, and his family is broken. Jace’s planned future is crushed, along with his pitching arm. Everyone keeps telling him that Eli’s in a better place, but Jace isn’t so sure. Because in those three minutes, there was nothing.

Overwhelmed by guilt and doubt, Jace struggles to adjust to this new version of the world, one without his brother, one without the certainties he once relied on. And then Thera comes into his life.

She’s the last girl he should be turning to for help.

But she’s also the first person to truly see him."





ABOUT STACEY KADE:
As an award-winning corporate copywriter, Stacey Kade has written about everything from backhoe loaders to breast pumps. But she prefers to make things up instead.

She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg, and two retired racing greyhounds, SheWearsThePants (Pansy) and Shutter. When she’s not reading or writing, you’ll likely find her parked in front of the television catching up on her favorite shows (Scandal, The Vampire Diaries, Almost Human, The Walking Dead, and Sherlock, among others.)

Stacey is the author of the The Ghost and the Goth trilogy (THE GHOST AND THE GOTH, QUEEN OF THE DEAD, and BODY & SOUL) and The Project Paper Doll Series (THE RULES and THE HUNT). You can find her (far too often) on Facebook and Twitter as well as http://www.staceykade.com


If you know me well, you know that I absolutely love to make mood boards for my blog! I decided to make a mood board for my stop on the FOR THIS LIFE ONLY! I really hope you enjoy it!

As you can probably tell by the mood board below, this book does contain some pretty heavy themes. I'm actually extremely happy about that, because I feel like a lot of YA in the past had not discussed ideas like the death of a sibling, or the connection to a character's faith, or the aftermath of a disaster. I love how the publishing industry is changing and embracing more books that contain extremely important narratives. While it might not relate to you personally, there is a reader out there who might need a book like this one. 

With that, let's reveal my mood board for this book!


Note: I received a copy of the book in the mail today (8/21) and already finished it! I didn't want to redo the moodboard/explanations because I put a ton of time into this post, and I also want to do a formal review comparing my initial thoughts to my final ones!

I've decided to change this post and make it a little bit different than the post for my Mood Board Mondays, simply because the book isn't out yet (and I haven't received my copy yet!), so I feel like if I tried to answer some of those questions, I would not be able to.

For this mood board, because I haven't read the book yet, I pulled most of what I know about the book from other advanced reviews and the summary. I wanted to try and capture the essence of the story - that is, a boy dealing with the lost of his twin brother - even if I couldn't read the book yet.

The main character in this book loves baseball, and has a very strong connection to his faith, so I wanted to include those two pieces as elements of my mood board. Jace, however, has to give up his passion for baseball when his pitching arm is crushed, in the same accident that killed his twin brother.

Throughout the book, not only does he have to grieve the loss of his twin, but learn how to cope with losing one of his passions as well.

I do know that this book deals with some sort of a friendship/romance through one of the girls that he meets, but seeing as I didn't know the exact nature of it, I didn't want to include it in my mood board. Instead, I wanted to focus my mood board on Jace and his family, along with the feelings he might be dealing with. The little girl in the mood board is his younger sister. I thought it would be interesting to include her in the mood board, because I wonder how much of the story focuses on her and how she is coming to terms with something that she might not understand completely.

Overall, I really enjoyed creating this mood board for the tour! I can't wait to get my hands on this book and read it! I'll definitely be writing a review on this, and I would love to see how my initial interpretations of the story compare to the writing.

Now, for the giveaway!

Giveaway:
3 Finished Copies of FOR THIS LIFE ONLY (US Only)

This giveaway is being run TOUR WIDE, so I Turn the Pages is not personally responsible for this giveaway nor if any of the items get lost in the post, etc. 

Click below to enter!

Don't forget to rack up some more entries in the giveaway and stop by the other posts on the tour as well!


What was one book that you needed to read about when you were younger? Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you SO much to Irish Banana Blog Tours and Stacey Kade for allowing me to promote a book that is very much needed in the YA world!