Mundie Moms

Friday, July 8, 2011

Freebie Friday: ARC Giveaway

Happy Friday!!! There are some fabulous upcoming YA releases happening over the next few months and to celebrate a few of those we're giving their ARCs.

By Kenneth Oppel
Published by Simon & Schuster
To be released on August 23rd, 2011

Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein. They are nearly inseparable. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures...until the day their adventures turn all too real.

They stumble upon The Dark Library, and secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies are discovered. Father forbids that they ever enter the room again, but this only piques Victor's curiosity more. When Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is not satisfied with the various doctors his parents have called in to help. He is drawn back to The Dark Library where he uncovers an ancient formula for the Elixir of Life. With their friend Elizabeth, Henry and Victor immediately set out to find assistance from a man who was once known for his alchemical works to help create the formula.

Determination and the unthinkable outcome of losing his brother spur Victor on in the quest for the three ingredients that will save Konrad's life. After scaling the highest trees in the Strumwald, diving into the deepest lake caves, and sacrificing one’s own body part, the three fearless friends risk their lives to save another.


By Victoria Schwab
Published by Disney Hyperion
To Be Released on August 2nd, 2011

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.


By Shannon Delany
Published by St Martin's Press
To Be Released On August 16th, 2011

Locked away at Pecan Place, Jessie finds her situation to be even more dangerous than she feared. While she struggles to maintain her sanity and discover answers about the group that seems less and less like any legitimate government agency, Pietr fights to keep their relationship alive. But very aware that his mother’s time is running out, Pietr makes a deal he doesn’t dare tell Jessie about. Because the deal Pietr’s made could mean the death of far more than his tenuous relationship with the girl he loves.

To enter:
We will randomly pick a winner for each ARC. When you will out the form you can select which ARC you want to enter to win. This is open internationally (please read our giveaway policy before entering). To enter please fill out the form below.

Book Review- Don't Stop Now

By Julie Halpern
Published by Feiwel & Friends
Released on June 7, 2011
Source: Publisher
3.5 Stars- I enjoyed this one!

Synopsis (from Macmillan): On the first day of Lillian’s summer-before-college, she gets a message on her cell from her sort-of friend, Penny. Not only has Penny faked her own kidnapping, but Lil is the only one who figures it out. She knows that Penny’s home life has been rough, and that her boyfriend may be abusive. Soon, Penny’s family, the local police, and even the FBI are grilling Lil, and she decides to head out to Oregon, where Penny has mentioned an acquaintance. And who better to road-trip across the country with than Lil’s BFF, Josh. But here’s the thing: Lil loves Josh. And Josh doesn’t want to “ruin” their amazing friendship.
Josh has a car and his dad’s credit card. Lil has her cellphone and a hunch about where Penny is hiding. There’s something else she needs to find: Are she and Josh meant to be together?

When I started reading Don’t Stop Now I thought it was just going to be a fun light-hearted read, it was actually pretty funny and was making me laugh out loud with the hilarious conversations between Lillian and Josh but I soon realized that there was going to be more to the story, something more serious.

The story starts off pretty much on the light side, we have Lillian who’s had a crush on her best friend Josh since the first time they met but Josh is unaware of her feelings and she’s never really acted on them. They embark on a road trip to Portland where they’re suppose to find Penny, Lillian’s friend because Penny has faked her own kidnapping and Lillian wants to get her to come clean about it, but she‘s also using it as an opportunity to spend alone time with Josh. Throughout the book we get snippets of what I assumed was Penny’s diary because they pop up in between paragraphs and the first time it happened it confused me, I wasn’t really sure if it was Lillian or Penny but it soon became clear and we begin to see how hard Penny’s life had been. I felt pretty awful for poor Penny, her parents never paid much attention to her or made her feel loved, they pretty much only used her as a babysitter and driver for her little sister, never really showed any interest in her life. Besides the problems she had at home she was also trapped in an abusive relationship.

I loved Josh, he was a fun and sarcastic, so oblivious to everything and made a joke about anything even at the worst times which lighten the mood in the story during the tense scenes and had me laughing several times. Lillian was like the other half of Josh, she had a great sense of humor which made the friendship perfect even though she had higher goals in her life they got along great, they seemed to have a deep connection, which made the story so easy to get lost in and a great read. I think what I would've liked to have seen a little bit more focus on Penny's problems, the ending seemed to resolved too easily for me, but she was more of a side character and the story focused mainly on Lillian and Josh. Don’t Stop Now had a bit of seriousness in it but it was also mixed with a lot of fun light moments and hilarious dialogue between the two main characters. It was a great story about love, friendship, taking on responsibilities, letting go. The writing was easy flowing, the characters likable and it had a deeper message than I expected which was a great surprise. I think older teens and adults will enjoy this one and seeing these character come to terms with the changes of life from high school to becoming adults.

Labels