Mundie Moms

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Clockwork Prince Teaser

Tessa Gray by ~Miss-T-fy

We are loving all the Clockwork Prince teasers that Cassie's been tweeting. Here's today's:
"Knowing Jem would arrive next, Tessa stepped away from Will hastily, though nothing improper had transpired between them at all." — CP
I wish that time would really fly and that December 6th could be here sooner. Speaking of which, have your pre-ordered your copy of Clockwork Prince yet, MMs?

Live Chat with Across The Universe author, Beth Revis!

We are so excited to be chatting with Beth tonight!!! As an added treat Beth will be giving away a copy of Across the Universe to one lucky chat participant!

Our chat will start at 8 pm CST/ 9 pm EST, please ignore the time on the chat room


*Our chat will start at 8 pm CST/ 9 pm EST. To join, hit join and enter a screen name.

*We do our best to make sure all comments are published, but not all the questions may be answered in the hour time frame of the chat.

*In respect to our guest's time, we will only publish comments that pertain to their current writings, and book.

*We will not post any personal questions or comments.

* Any rude, disrespectful, or spam like comments will not be published.

*Thank you and we look forward to chatting with everyone tonight!

**No part of this chat is allowed to be used with out our permission**

Happy Birthday Shandra!


Today we're celebrating the birthday of one of our amazing MM admins, SHANDRA!!! She does all the behind the scenes work for our members on the forum. She's a wonderful friend and since we couldn't deliver our gift in person to her (we couldn't track down her favorite fictional vampire), we hope this will do :)


HAVE A WONDERFUL SHANDRA!!! We love you!

*We did not create the image or the video, both were found online*

Book Review- Relic Master, The Dark City

By Catherine Fisher
Published by Dial Books/Penguin
Released on May 17th, 2011
Source- ARC from publisher for review
4 stars- I really enjoyed it

Welcome to Anara, a world mysteriously crumbling to devastation, where nothing is what it seems: Ancient relics emit technologically advanced powers, members of the old Order are hunted by the governing Watch yet revered by the people, and the great energy that connects all seems to also be destroying all. The only hope for the world lies in Galen, a man of the old Order and a Keeper of relics, and his sixteen-year-old apprentice, Raffi. They know of a secret relic with great power that has been hidden for centuries. As they search for it, they will be tested beyond their limits. For there are monstersÑsome human, some notÑthat also want the relic's power and will stop at nothing to get it (quoted from Goodreads).

The Dark City is full of magic, has some great characater twists, and an engaging adventure of a lost city, and a hidden class of people, the Relic Masters. This is a book both YA and older middle grade readers will enjoy. Catherine Fisher is a fantastic story teller. She has the ability to take her readers on these fascinating fantasy filled adventures, mixed with a little bit of sci-fi. By creating these vivid, darker worlds she's able to draw you in, and adds an elements of surprise by placing unique and often times reserved characters in the middle of it.

What I love about Catherine's characters are how layered they are. She doesn't give you everything you need to know about them up front, in stead she reveals little bits about them through out their journey. This allows her to throw in her well written plot twists. Just as I think I have a character figured out or think I know what's going to happen next, she completely surprises me with a character's revelation.

One of my favorite characters turned out to be Carys, which surprised me. Without giving away spoilers, her character is the one that changed the most. I like the way she's first introduced, and enjoyed seeing how much she seems to change at the end of the story. I also like the way in which Catherine wrote the story, she includes small doses of her point of view though most of the story is about Galen and Raffi. I really liked both of their characters. I think it's safe to say both of their characters were also a bit surprising, Galen especially. If I told you why, then I'd be giving stuff away. I recommend you go pick up the book to find out why....

Just in time for summer, the rest of this 4 book series will be released now through August, featuring a new release each month. One of the features I love about the series are the covers! Behind each cover you'll also find a map that goes along with each book. I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the series this summer and finding out what's in store for Galen, Raffi and Carys next.

Blog Tour- The Princess of Las Pulgas, Character Interview


Today we have Carlie, the main character from C.Lee McKenzie's debut book The Princess of La Pulgas, which was released this past November, on our blog. Here's a little bit about her book:

After her father's slow death from cancer, Carlie thought things couldn't get worse. But now, she is forced to confront the fact that her family in dire financial straits. To stay afloat, her mom has had to sell their cherished oceanfront home and move Carlie and her younger brother Keith to the other side of the tracks to dreaded Las Pulgas, or "the fleas" in Spanish. They must now attend a tough urban high school instead of their former elite school, and on Carlie's first day of school, she runs afoul of edgy K.T., the Latina tattoo girl who's always ready for a fight, even on crutches.

Carlie fends off the attention of Latino and African American teen boys, and one, a handsome seventeen-year-old named Juan, nicknames her Princess when he detects her aloof attitude towards her new classmates. What they don't know is that Carlie isn't really aloof; she's just in mourning for her father and almost everything else that mattered to her. Mr. Smith, the revered English teacher who engages all his students, suggests she'll like her new classmates if she just gives them a chance; he cajoles her into taking over the role of Desdemona in the junior class production of Othello, opposite Juan, after K.T. gets sidelined.

Keith, who becomes angrier and more sullen by the day, spray paints insults all over the gym as he acts out his anger over the family's situation and reduced circumstances. Even their cat Quicken goes missing, sending Carlie and Keith on a search into the orchard next to their seedy garden apartment complex. They're met by a cowboy toting a rifle who ejects them at gunpoint from his property. But when Carlie finds him amiably having coffee with their mom the next day -- when he's returned her cat -- she begins to realize that nothing is what it seems in Las Pulgas (quoted from Goodreads).

Carlie, you have a lot that you deal with in Princess of Las Pulgas, in what ways do feel you've changed the most from when we first meet you to the end of the book?
Hi, Katie. That's a wonderful question because change is what my story's about. The biggest change for me was finding out that I can't judge people by how they look or what they sound like. I've learned that I have to know people, discover what happened in their lives to make them who they are. And that goes for me too. I mean Juan didn't get that I wasn't a princess, that I was in such a bad place I didn't know how to act, except I knew I needed to protect myself. K.T. was the surprise for me. I really thought she'd pound on me, but then I found out that she was hurting as much as I was . . . maybe more.

What do you admire the most about your new friends?
They aren't pretending to be more than they are. They're pretty much themselves. I guess the Las Pulgas people were the real people and many of the Channing ones were trying to be who they wanted to be. I guess I was kind of that way too, you know pretending.

Do you have any favorite books you'd recommend we pick up and read?
I'm in love with Michelle Zinc's books: Prophecy of the Sisters and Guardian of the Gate. I'm eager to read the next in the series. They are so exciting to read and I love the period they're written in. It's very romantic.

What advice would you give to someone going through a similar situation likes yours?
Listen to the whispers in your heart. Be open to change, even when it seems like it's the worst thing in the world that will ever happen to you. You might be surprised by what you discover about yourself.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In five years I'll be twenty-one and I see myself graduating from college. I'm not sure what my major will be, but I know it won't have anything to do with acting. Playing Desdemona was as much acting as I'll ever do. Fun, but terrifying.

If you're interested I did kind of a fun interview earlier this year with a writer. I got rid of my author for a while and actually had a chance to speak for myself. It was fun! Here's the link.

Thanks for the great interview here. I enjoyed it a lot.
Carlie

Thank you so much Carlie for being with us today!

Be sure to go here to find out more about the blog tour.

Thoughtful Thursday- Reach Out Reads


We've talked a lot about YA books making a difference in the lives of teen readers, especially when it comes to things adults tend to shy away from or don't know how to talk to their teens about, like eating disorders, abuse, bullying, cutting etc. Recently a site was started called Reach Out Reads, where teen readers could go and not only find the books they're looking for that talk about these subject matters and more, but they can get help, get support, share their stories and talk to their favorite authors LIVE. I'm a little late in promoting some of their chats, but TODAY they have author Michael Northrop coming and next week Saundra Mitchell and a few other authors.

I think it's fabulous that awareness for these issues is becoming a lot more mainstream. It's talked about more, it's mentioned in books more and it's slowly, but surely finding it's voice on different media outlets like blogger, twitter, facebook etc. These kind of things need to be talked about. Reach Out Reads also provides a great FACT SHEETS for teens. I should said it's geared towards teens, but this also a fabulous site for parents, educators and anyone who has daily interactions with teens. There is a whole ton of information on the site and a great list of books teens can easily identify with here.

The Dark Days of Super Natural Tour

I am so excited that The Dark Days of SuperNatural Tour is coming to AUSTIN!! We will be the blog host for this leg of their tour. That means we'll be bringing you one on one author interviews, live tweets, video and a blog post about the event that happens on June 9th @ Book People.

We'll also be featuring each of the authors on our site via guest posts and interviews, as well as sharing our reviews for their releases. We'll also be hosting a few giveaways. On Wednesday Ellen Schreiber's newest book, Cryptic Cravings was released!!!


Synopsis:

The morbidly monotonous Dullsville has finally become the most exciting place on earth now that Raven is madly in love with her hot vampire boyfriend, Alexander, and a crew of vampires has taken residence in Dullsville's old mill. Raven discovers Jagger's plan to open a new club, the Crypt, right here in Dullsville. But is it her dream come true or her worst nightmare? Raven and Alexander have to figure out what the nefarious vampire has in store for Dullsville's teen and vampire population. Can Raven convince Jagger to listen to her plans to make the Crypt the morbidly magnificent dance club it could be? Will it be safe for mortals and vampires alike?
And as Sebastian and Luna's relationship heats up, Raven wonders about her own amorous fate: Will Alexander ever turn her? Does he crave her and does he want to spend eternity together? And what does she really want?

With cryptic secrets and cravings, this eighth installment in the Vampire Kisses series is a romantic and mysterious thrill ride.

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AVAILABLE ASSETS:


Be sure to visit Harper Teen's site here.
Pitch Dark Books facebook page
Follow them on Twitter
Visit their Events Page

Tour Schedule:

Naperville, IL
Tuesday, June 7th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, Tara Hudson, and Amy Plum
Anderson’s, 123 W Jefferson Ave

Portland, Oregon
Wednesday, June 8th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, Tara Hudson, and Amy Plum
Barnes & Noble, 12000 SE 82nd Ave,

Austin, TX
Thursday, June 9th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, Tara Hudson, and Amy Plum
Book People, 603 North Lamar Boulevard

Tempe, AZ
Friday, June 10th, 7:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, and Josephine Angelini
Changing Hands, 6428 S McClintock Drive

Lansing, MI
Saturday, June 11th, 4:00 PM
Authors: Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, and Josephine Angelini
Schuler Books & Music, 2820 Towne Centre Blvd

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