Book Blitz: Silverwood by Betsy Streeter

Today we are happy to take part in the Silverwood Book Blitz. Silverwood is a YA Science Fiction novel by Betsy Streeter. Check it out!

Silverwood by Betsy Streeter
(Silverwood #1)
Publication date: March 15th 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

A story of finding where you belong, even if it involves time travel, shape shifting, and hacking.

Helen Silverwood, fourteen, is sick of life on the run with her mom and her younger brother. Nothing makes sense. She doesn’t understand why she has recurring dreams of shape-shifting creatures, why her mother is always disappearing, and how her brother can draw things that haven’t happened yet. Most of all, Helen longs to know what happened to her dad—is he imprisoned, a fugitive, or gone forever?

When someone blows up the apartment where Helen lives, the stories of the ancient Silverwood clan—and her role in it—begin to unravel. All Helen wants is to feel like there’s someplace she belongs—but getting there will prove very, very complicated.

Book trailer: https://youtu.be/p2fWEyjCAok

           

EXCERPT

(This is the opening of the book)

Helen Silverwood, fourteen, sits dangling her legs from the roof of a twenty-story brick apartment building. Her boot heels bounce off the wall in rhythm as she swings her feet.

The noise of the city echoes from below. Helen’s straight black hair flies across her face in the wind. She peels it off and pulls it back behind her ear with one hand.

With her other hand, Helen carves a symbol into the brick with a folding knife. It’s a circle, with a square in the middle, and a spiral that goes from one corner of the square out to the edge of the circle.  Once it’s done, Helen admires her work.

She folds the knife’s blade into its handle. The knife was a gift from Helen’s father, Gabriel. It’s really much than a knife; the handle sports a variety of buttons and a tiny screen. One of the buttons, when pressed, lights up red and blinks on and off. This is the button that Helen uses to record her journal.

Helen recorded her latest journal entry a few minutes ago on this roof:

RECORDING

Hi Dad, It’s Helen.

Sorry it’s been a while, we were moving. Again. And I didn’t have a roof to get some privacy so we could talk.

Currently, I'm sitting on top of our lovely apartment building in this, our latest greatest home. It's grimy and wet up here, and you have to avoid the puddles. I'm going to do the customary carving of my little symbol up here somewhere, like I do everyplace we stay. I like the way it says: Helen was here. Helen was somewhere. Since I’m sure I’ll be gone again soon. I’m not from anywhere.

When I woke up this morning, I thought the bio reader in the handle of my knife was lit up and I almost fell out of bed. You know, the reader that’s supposed to go on when you come near. Well, the light from the window hit it, I think, and for a split second it looked lit up. But it wasn’t. It’s never lit up. 

Mom has been gone every night this week, every night since we moved here. She seems really edgy. The kid brother Henry says so too. 

I wish I knew what mom was doing at night. All she ever says is, she has to go to work. And that her job is to keep us safe, and that’s why she does what she does. When she comes home in the morning she looks pretty rough, like she’s been fighting. I’m sure you know all about it, but since this is strictly a one-way conversation, I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me much. Mom is going to have to tell us herself. That is, if we don’t figure it out first.

I have my theories. Theory one: She’s a bodyguard for some mob boss or musician and they tour around and we have to follow. Theory two, which is better: She’s a repo-woman. You know, a person who goes out and takes people’s cars back when they haven’t paid for them and if they fight she kicks their butts and takes the car anyway. Whatever she does, it involves combat skills I’m pretty sure.

Henry has theories too, but his approach is to interrogate mom which doesn’t get very far. He’s only nine, so you have to excuse him, but he’s as smart as any grownup. I think that bothers the grownups.

I’ve got to talk to mom about Henry. He’s having a really hard time. I mean he’s always had a tough time with all this moving around, and he cries every time we pack up and leave. It makes my stomach hurt when I hear him cry.

At his last school Henry got in a lot of fights. And now he’s really quiet. I don’t know, something gives me the feeling he might try and run away. I’m worried about him. And he’s making more drawings of stuff that looks… bad. That’s all I can think of to say.

I say to Henry, someday we’re going to stop moving around, and we’ll have a real home, and dad will come live with us. And we’ll have friends. And a real bed, not just some stuff on the floor. Someday, we will be from somewhere.

I don’t want to be too dreary, so I’ll end on a positive note. Mom always tells me, say something positive. She says she got that from you.

So here it is: At least when we move, I get a break from the dream I always have about the big ugly Tromindox creatures. You know, the ones with the black scales and the tentacles. They look like if I could smell in my dreams, they would smell really bad.

The Tromindox dreams don’t show up for a few days after we move to a new place. Not that it’s all that bad. The dream is the same every time – this slimy thing shows up, and I turn it into a person, and they say thank you about a thousand times and then they leave. That’s it. It’s not a terrible dream, it just happens over and over. I get tired of it, even though the people are different. It’s nice to have a break when we move.

That’s my positive thought for today. No dreams. Maybe instead I can dream about flying for once. Until the Tromindox catch up with me again.

That’s it from the roof, and Dad if you ever get this, I hope I see you soon. We miss you.”

END RECORDING

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Betsy Streeter grew up on a steady diet of Star Trek, The Muppet Show, Atari, and musical rehearsals in her family's living room. Her habits of making up stories and drawing and painting on everything within reach eventually led to degrees in art and communication from Stanford University. She has worked in film and video production, design, and video games, and has served as president of a community theatre. She and her family are voracious consumers of books, music, movies, art, action figures, and musical instruments, resulting in inadequate storage space. Betsy has published single-panel cartoons, comics, art, and short fiction in paper, digital, graffiti, and tattoo form. She lives in Northern California with her husband, son, daughter, two peculiar and disruptive cats, and a mellow but hungry tarantula.

                 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz: The Ark by Laura Liddell Nolen

Welcome to the book blitz for The Ark, a YA science fiction novel by Laura Liddell Nolen. This one sounds really good, guys. Check it out!

The Ark by Laura Liddell Nolen
Published by: HarperVoyager
Publication date: March 26th 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

There’s a meteor headed for Earth, and there is only one way to survive.With her criminal record, sixteen-year-old Char is never going to get a place on an Ark, one of the five massive bioships designed to protect Earth’s survivors. The Arks are reserved for the real goody-goodies, like Char’s mom, dad, and brother, all of whom have long since turned their backs on her.

With Earth on the brink of destruction, Char must use all her tricks of the trade to swindle her way into outer space, where she hopes to reunite with her family, regardless of whether they want to see her or not.

Once she arrives on the North American Ark, Char discovers that the remnants of humanity haven’t achieved the egalitarian utopia they’d planned for. For starters, the “Officers of the Peace” are anything but peaceful, especially since stealing a spot on an Ark is a crime punishable by death…

           

EXCERPT

On the last day of Earth, I couldn’t find my hairbrush. That probably seems like a silly thing to worry about, what with the imminent destruction of, well, everything, but my mom was always after me about my usual ratty ponytail. Normally, I’d ignore her. Or, if I were having a really bad day, I’d tell her what she could do with her hairbrush. But like I said, it was the last day of Earth. And I figured, since it was the last time she’d ever see me, I wanted it to go smoothly. I wanted her to remember me, if not fondly, then at least without anger.

A girl can dream.

I slipped out of my cell as soon as the door swung open. I’d done the same every day for the past month, and my family had yet to show up. Their OPT—Off-Planet Transport—took off in eighteen hours, so they still had time. Barely. I couldn’t blame them if they didn’t come. It wasn’t hard to imagine that they’d rather escape to the stars without so much as a backward glance at me, their big disappointment. Even my father’s influence couldn’t persuade the government to give me a spot on an OPT.

Turns out, when humankind is deciding which of its children to save, the last place it looks is in prison.

But I was pretty sure they’d come. West had said as much in his last transmission. The thought of my younger brother actually halted me mid-step, like one of those punches in the gut where you can’t breathe for a few seconds.

“Looking for something?” The lazy drawl floated out of the nearest cell.

Against my better instincts, I turned to see Cassa lying on her bunk, her arm draped across Kip. My Kip. Or at least, my ex-Kip. Whatever. In twenty-two hours, I wouldn’t have to think about him anymore.

See? Silver lining. And they called me a perpetual pessimist at my last psych workup.

They barely fit next to each other on the flimsy mattress, but that wasn’t the weird part. The guys’ ward was separated by a substantial metal wall. We were kept apart during evening hours, for obvious reasons. Not that anyone cared anymore. The med staff had been the first to go, followed by the cleaning crew, followed by the kitchen crew. To show you where girls like me fell on the government’s list of priorities, there was still a skeleton crew of guards lurking around, despite the fact that I hadn’t had a real meal for going on a week. The guards would be gone soon, too, and then there’d be no one in here but us chickens.

I figured either Kip had a key, or the guards had left already. A key could be useful. My curiosity got the best of me. “How’d he get in here before the first bell?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “I got some tricks you ain’t seen, babe. Why don’t you join us? End of the world and all.”

The guards were gone, then. I felt a small trill of anxiety deep in my chest. If the guards were gone, my family was even less likely to show. But it was never smart to show fear. “The Pinball could be headed straight for this building, and I still wouldn’t be desperate enough to touch you. Oh, wait. Guess you don’t have to take my word for it.”

I turned to leave, but he continued. “Now is that any way to treat your dear ole partners? Be nice or I won’t give you back your stuff.”

“Ugh, you were in my room?” I flexed my shoulder blades, making sure my gun was still tightly secured between them.

“Don’t worry, Char. I didn’t handle the merchandise. Didn’t want to wake you up. Just lifted me a few keepsakes.” He pronounced my name the way I like: Char, as in charred. Something that got burned.

I wasn’t sure what Kip and Cassa were planning, but I knew I wouldn’t like it. They were thieves and liars. I would know. I used to be one of them. That was before the last job, when Cassa had attacked an elderly man in the home we were robbing. She’d kicked him until he stopped fighting back. Kip had called her off after a few licks, but I just stood there, staring. The old man looked at me, like right at me, while we made our getaway, and my stomach twisted into a knot so tight that I tasted bile. That was the moment I knew I wanted out.

But by then, no one believed me. Or, if they did, no one cared. Except for Kip and Cassa, of course. They’d taken the news pretty hard, to put it lightly.

If I lunged for the box, I could probably grab my hairbrush and get out of there. I wouldn’t have time for more than that. Then again, I’d be doing exactly what they expected, and I didn’t have time for delays. My family could be in the commissary any second now.

“Ahem. Seeing as it’s your last day of life, I might let you have one thing back,” said Kip.

“In exchange for what?”

“I’m hurt. All our time together, and you still don’t believe in my inherent generosity. But now that you mention it, I’ve got a hankering for some peanut butter crackers.”

“Sorry, Kip. I’m fresh out of food. Kinda like everyone else.”

“Nice try, Charrr.” He drew my name out, as though tasting it. “I saw them yesterday. Figured you were hiding them under your pillow when I couldn’t find them last night.”

“You figured wrong.”

All I could think about was my brother’s face. And how I had this one last chance to apologize to my parents, for everything. I shrugged and turned to leave.

That was probably a mistake.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laura grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where she spent an excellent childhood playing make-believe with her two younger brothers. The Ark is the direct result of those stories and a lifelong devotion to space-themed television. It received a Work in Progress Grant from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Laura has a degree in French and a license to practice law, but both are frozen in carbonite at present. She lives in Texas with her family.

                 

Book Feature: UNMADE by Amy Rose Capetta

Yesterday marked the release of UNMADE, the conclusion to Amy Rose Capetta's ENTANGLED series. And it sounds awesome! Check it out!

The galaxy-spanning conclusion to Amy Rose Capetta's acclaimed sci-fi debut, Entangled.

Cadence is in a race against time and space to save her family and friends from the Unmakers, who are tracking the last vestiges of humanity across the cosmos. As the epic battle begins, Cade learns that letting people in also means letting them go. The universe spins out of control and Cade alone must face the music in the page-turning conclusion to Entangled.

         

But before you read UNMADE, you should probably read the first book in the series, ENTANGLED...

Alone was the note Cade knew best. It was the root of all her chords.

Seventeen-year-old Cade is a fierce survivor, solo in the universe with her cherry-red guitar. Or so she thought. Her world shakes apart when a hologram named Mr. Niven tells her she was created in a lab in the year 3112, then entangled at a subatomic level with a boy named Xan.

Cade’s quest to locate Xan joins her with an array of outlaws—her first friends—on a galaxy-spanning adventure. And once Cade discovers the wild joy of real connection, there’s no turning back.

          

Review: These Broken Stars, by Megan Spooner and Amie Kaufman

I didn't mean to read it twice, and I certainly didn't intend to read it twice in the space of two nights. Nonetheless, These Broken Stars stunned me with it's pacing, detail, energy, humanity, originality, and depth of character development. Having just come down off a whirlwind YA Sci-Fi high induced by reading Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress in short succession, I didn't expect to be impressed, but instead I was absolutely transported into a different world.
I can't recommend this book highly enough, and am putting it on the short list of my favorite books. Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner come together to tell a beautifully constructed tale from the shifting perspectives of Tarver, a quick thinking military hero and Lilac, a seemingly spoiled rich girl, both of whom have a lot more to them that one would think on first glance. Filled with genre bending twists that will leave you wondering how the authors can keep moving the ball forward, which they do with unrelenting momentum, I recommend reading These Broken Stars when you have the time to devote to it, because you aren't going to want to put it down.
This is one of the best books I've plucked off my library's shelf this spring.
As a side note, although These Broken Stars is, alas, the first in a series, it has the closure of a stand alone, and that made my heart happy.
Go forth, read it. Indulge in survivalist adventures in beautiful alien landscapes with echoes of Marion Zimmer Bradley' Darkover Series, and just enjoy it

    

.

Review and Giveaway: Bound, by M.J. Stevens

Synopsis:
‘No good deed ever goes unpunished, Mellea…’

Mellea Wendorn hasn’t exactly had a normal life. Misfortune seems to follow her, and her family, wherever she goes.
However, when Mellea stops to assist a mysterious young man suddenly her prior hardships seem trivial.

His name is Leo. He is a Successor, a child of the Guardians of Selestia.

He is royalty.
He is handsome.
And he wants Mellea completely to himself.

Unable to escape the Guardian’s laws, Mellea must learn the ways of the royals. She is convinced her life can’t get much worse. But when a timeworn Guardian enemy arises from the shadows, Mellea must make a choice that will change her destiny forever.

*

First and foremost, I didn't intend to read this in one sitting. I personally find present tense a little difficult to get into, so I thought, in the beginning, that I was going to have to take this book in small sections. That was at ten o' clock. At one o' clock I was giving my tablet the evil eye because it was over and I couldn't turn the page and find out what happens next.

Throughout Stevens' tale, she juxtaposes fast-paced action and dreamlike detail to create a world that feels believable, inhabitable, and as multi-layered as the "real" world. I like that although Bound, in some ways, seems to be a futuristic world with some advanced technologies, the tech is highly relatable and the concerns of Mellea, the young woman at the heart of the story, are the same concerns any girl who grew up in a family scraping for money with a dad who felt the aristocracy had ruined him and a mother who was, perhaps, somewhat too far immersed in her own dream world. Mellea's parents actually remind me a lot of Jeanette Walls' parents, from The Glass Castle (perspective changing nonfiction).

Bound's main characters, Mellea and Leo, are surprisingly likable. In the beginning Mellea seemed a little too likable, a little too good, and I worried that she was going to turn out to be something of a Bella Swan, but she has strong moral fiber, and that's different than being a blank canvas. Leo rather seemed like the rudest most horrid man alive, but there's a little bit of Pride & Prejudice meets Beauty & the Beast going on in Bound, so it's, ultimately, forgivable. Sometimes I read a book and characters are all good or all bad, and they fit only into one archetype or another, but M.J. Stevens sees to just be writing people for her constellation of main characters, and I enjoyed that.

There remains the Stockholm Syndrome issue to deal with in Bound. Mellea is abducted by the Guardians and told she has to unite with Leo (creepy much?), simply because he has chosen her, and is locked in their tower. Her consent to this arrangement is treated as unnecessary, and the threat of violence is ever present. This also represents a sudden escape from her poverty and a guiltless immersion into opulence. On the one hand, this is very much the stuff of dreamy childhood/teenage secret fantasy, on the other hand, it's a fundamental violation of her rights that ultimately *spoilers.* On the gripping hand, through the details, makes for an interesting tale.

All in all, it was a good light read before bed. As the first in a series, I'm sure to be in for some frustration as the subsequent titles are released and things go from no good deed being unpunished to no good deed going unpunished with heaps of heart wrenching complication.

If you'd like a chance to check it out for free, check out the great giveaway after getting to know M.J. Stevens a little better!

Happy reading, everyone.

        

AUTHOR BIO:

M.J. Stevens is a true storyteller.

For a long time, words were never her best friend. However she has always had a creative spirit and writing became the lead way that she could share her ideas with the world. Today, it is her number one passion in life.

“I wish I could say that I was one of those kids that read insane amounts of books and that’s why I was inspired to write, like a lot of authors. But I actually found the joy on people’s faces [when they talk about stories they love] more inspiring and wanted to create something of my own that will give young readers that same excited expression.”

M.J.

Author Links:

http://boundtotheguardians.com/

https://twitter.com/MelanieJStevens

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7686588.M_J_Stevens

https://www.facebook.com/boundtotheguardians?ref=hl

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway