27 THE MIRK AND MIDNIGHT HOUR Giveaway and YA Pick and Mix 4/22 Edition

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I heard a new term from two different people this week, and then in the inimitable way of the universe, it appeared in my newsfeed as a Buzzfeed post. (Hear that, Wendy Higgins, Buzzfeed is monitoring your Facebook page!) Have you ever heard of a book hangover?

Apparently a book hangover is when you read a book and you miss it when it's over. I head a couple of people say it about Compulsion, and I honestly don't know whether to be delighted or to apologize. (I've opted to do both.) But I instantly recognized the feeling. 

I've felt that way about each book of THE DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE SERIES after I read them. And now I'm reading the third book and dragging my feet. Partly, yes, that's because I'm working frantically on Book 2 of the Heirs of Watson Island I suspect that's partly because I'm DREADING having my beloved series come to an end. 

What about you? What are you reading? Do you ever consciously or subconsciously slow down because you don't want a book or series to end? Have you experienced a book hangover? And in case you haven't, here's a list of books that are apparently notorious for providing them. 

I also have to confess that I'm changing my mind about posting reviews or blurbs here each week. I'm putting them up on my website instead, so if you're interested in reading them early, or if you might be interested in finding out more about being on the Compulsion street team, please go here.

YA GIVEAWAY OF THE WEEK

The Mirk and Midnight Hour
by Jane Nickerson
Hardcover
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Released 3/11/2014

A Southern girl. A wounded soldier. A chilling force deep in the forest.
All collide at night’s darkest hour.

Seventeen-year-old Violet Dancey has been left at home in Mississippi with a laudanum-addicted stepmother and love-crazed stepsister while her father fights in the war—a war that has already claimed her twin brother.
       When she comes across a severely injured Union soldier lying in an abandoned lodge deep in the woods, things begin to change. Thomas is the enemy—one of the men who might have killed her own brother—and yet she's drawn to him. But Violet isn't Thomas's only visitor; someone has been tending to his wounds—keeping him alive—and it becomes chillingly clear that this care hasn't been out of compassion.
       Against the dangers of war and ominous powers of voodoo, Violet must fight to protect her home and the people she loves.
       From the author of Strands of Bronze and Gold comes a haunting love story and suspenseful thriller based on the ancient fairy tale of “Tam Lin.”

  What is your favorite thing about THE MIRK AND MIDNIGHT HOUR?

  The basic plot of a Southern girl meeting a wounded Union soldier is one I have played around with for ages. Through the years, I’ve made up tons of stories in my head as I’m falling asleep, and this is one of them. It’s so fun that I could take this old favorite, adapt it to loosely fit “The Ballad of Tam Lin”—a story I love—and create a book I would love to read myself. It’s kind of like having a dream come to life.



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RECENT YA GIVEAWAY WINNERS

The Here and Now
by Anne Brashares
Hardcover
Delacorte Press
Released 4/8/2014

Winner - Markella Whetzel

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

Thrilling, exhilarating, haunting, and heartbreaking, The Here and Now is a twenty-first-century take on an impossible romance. Ann Brashares’ first novel for teens since The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is about a girl from the future who might be able to save the world . . . if she lets go of the one thing she’s found to hold on to.

Meet seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth. But everything changes when she falls for Ethan Jarves. 

Purchase The Here and Now at Amazon
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BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS

• Congrats to Anne Blankman, whose gorgeous PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG releases today! Don't miss this one, I mean it!

• Look who's on the elusive NY Times Bestselling Children's Series List!!! Well, there are actually many great series there, but we all know I'm going to celebrate one in particular. Ta da, it's DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE. Go, Laini Taylor! (And also Abbi Glines, because ABBI!)
• Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez died last week. This is a huge loss to literature, so if you haven't discovered his work yet, here's a quickie rundown on five pivotal works.
• One of the best things I read or saw last week was this video from Neil Gaiman on Reading and Obligation.
• Need a Tuesday pick-me-up? Here are 26 songs to instantly cheer you up.
• Want to discover some new favorite books? Here's a list of fabulous first lines from 2014 from Publisher's Weekly.
• The incredible Beth Revis, author of the ACROSS THE UNIVERSE series, wrote an essay on equality that I hope everyone, male and female, will read. She called it: I'm not a feminist, but
• Ellen Oh, in the wake of a flurry of discussion on diversity last week, wrote a beautiful and important post on how we are still not doing enough for diversity in books.
• Kat Zhang wrote a beautiful post on how art speaks.
• The Book Smugglers were nonimated for the best Fanzine category of the Hugo's! How awesome is that? There were also a few other nominations. Some not so good.
• Megan Shepherd's MADMAN'S DAUGHTER won the North Carolina YA Book Award.
• Unless you live under a rock, you've probably seen (and sobbed over) the If I Stay movie trailer, right?

• And done various sobbish things because you're worrying about The Giver?

WRITING TIP OF THE WEEK

Six best pieces of advice from successful authors

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