You're cordially invited to... THE UGLY GIRL PARTY by Ann Herrick

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, you're invited to the party of the century by the best looking guys in high school that seem to have nothing but eyes for you...all of a sudden.  Hmm...maybe they simply came to their senses?  Or maybe something other than good intent is at the heart of their invitation.  😑  Oh boy...or rather BOYS.  What's a girl to do?  Let's find out as we dive into today's ebook of choice...

The Ugly Girl Party

by

Ann Herrick

9781546582892

Chaucer Publishing

About the book...

Faith's wish to get off to a good start at her new high school is shattered on the first day, as she quickly discovers that drop-dead gorgeous Hunter and friends decide she lives in the "wrong" house and wears the "wrong" clothes. They systematically harass her and seem determined to make her life miserable. She fantasizes about how she'll get even some day when she is a famous singer/actress, but meanwhile just wants to make it through the day.She meets a couple of possible friends, but finds it hard to trust anyone. 

When maybe-friend Julia tells her about the upcoming talent show, Faith is determined to win in order to impress her tormentors. Then nice-guy neighbor Riley invites her to the homecoming dance. She's excited to go until she gets there and realizes that something is up--something terrible. And when she reacts, she finds herself in danger of being suspended from school. Faith questions her own goals, decisions, and values as she struggles to find her way.

AMAZON  KINDLE | PAPERBACK   |   B&N

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Alrighty then, let's do the proverbial Cliffs Notes version first, seeing as we ARE dealing with high schoolers...

Interesting overall and it certainly shows the many sides of high school "hi-jinx" (for better and worse), but I had a bone to pick with several characters.  There, now for the nitty-gritty...

That bone I mentioned?  We're talking brontosaurus size.  All I found myself wondering along the way was what in the heck the parentals and authority figures were doing, or rather NOT doing, and why.  What's with her dad's response to what happened?  I mean, shouldn't he have been more supportive?  More interested in finding out what was behind her reactions?  More SOMETHING?  Maybe my Mom was too involved at times, but good grief, this man takes the phrase "taking a backseat" to a new level and moves right into the trunk.  Now about that principal...another "what gives" moment.  I understand he can only do so much with the information he's given, making assumptions based on feelings or perceived problems can lead to trouble, but like all things, this secret found its way into the light...and yet his doled out punishment for the most part sticks?  Faith is a much better person than me because I would have been livid...

In the end, it was good.  Faith certainly shows us that she can take care of herself and her friends (girl power...yay!) as well as vice versa, but I was beside myself with her support systems' reactions and lack of actions.  I know parenting styles vary, but that part didn't ring true to me.  What say YOU fair readers?  Take a chance and see if you're as ready to kick some teenage butts for their uncouth antics, as well as some adults into action, after this party is thrown.  After all, you've been cordially invited...

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About the author...

Ann Herrick grew up in Connecticut, where she graduated from The Morgan School and Quinnipiac University. She now lives in Oregon with her husband, who was her high-school sweetheart. Their wonderful daughter is grown, married and gainfully employed, and has given Ann her only grand-dog, Puff, a bloodhound-rottweiller-beagle mix. While she misses the East Coast, especially houses built before 1900, she enjoys the green valleys, fresh air and low humidity in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Ann loves cats, walking and working in her back yard. In addition to stories and books for children and young adults, Ann also writes copy for humorous and conventional greeting cards.

SITE  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK  |  BLOG

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Special thanks to author Ann Herrick for the ebook for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or her other works, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now in "e" and "tree" formats, so click on over to your favorite online retailers to snag a copy today.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

April is SAAM: Talk to Me! by Donna M. Zadunajsky

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we welcome the new month (April already?!) with a bit of a somber, more serious post, at the end of which I hope you are a bit more informed, and a WHOLE LOT MORE EMPOWERED.  

You see, April isn't merely the month of showers ushering in flowers like the old calendar song, but SAAM...Sexual Assault Awareness Month.  Didn't know?  Don't worry, you're among the masses (as was I) and hopefully you've had no reason to know anything more than the surface information that the words imply...odds are though, at least some of you know more than you want to whether from personal experience or friends/family.  *BIG HUG*  

That tendency to be secretive and hide that part of ourselves is exactly why the month was declared.  It's something we wish we didn't have to deal with because IT SHOULDN'T HAPPEN but just because it shouldn't doesn't mean it doesn't and when it does, those directly involved can feel isolated and alone; that's where the awareness part comes in.  The National Sexual Violence Resource Center was created to "raise public awareness about sexual violence and to educate communities on how to prevent it."  While having a national center on our side is grand, sometimes having something a little easier to relate to, something to give a nudge in the right direction, something that puts us in the shoes of another "just like us" is easier to connect with...and that's where today's post comes in.

The spotlight today is shining on an ebook title I received for review a few weeks back.  It's actually the second in the Help Me! series, the first dealing with self-injury, and while the topics are certainly not light and fluffy, they are necessary and may help provide that level of comfort and connection along with education that the target audience needs.  Ladies and gents, please join me for today's ebook in the spotlight...

Talk to Me!

Help Me! series, Book 2

by

Donna M. Zadunajsky

About the book...

Crowded halls filled with noisy teenagers. Teachers, homework, and never-ending tests. Hanging with friends, dating boys, gossip, and preparing for the future. Isn’t that what high school is supposed to be all about? Carly Boyles was once popular and dated the Captain of the football team. She wanted to be like any other fifteen-year-old teenage girl at Lakeport Central High School, but Taylor Ryans changed everything. Two weeks after their break-up, Carly can’t find a reason to live after she finds her best friend Staci Garrison; hanging all over her ex-boyfriend Taylor Ryans. Carly decides to take matters into her own hands, but is it more than just the break-up that has her world falling apart? The rules no longer apply between two best friends when a boy comes between their once forever-friendship since elementary school. One phone message changes everything and Carly’s world is shattered to pieces. Will she find a reason to live? Will she tell the one secret that is killing her from the inside out?

AMAZON  |  B&N  |  GOOGLE PLAY  |  IBOOKS  |  KOBO

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It's a harrowing tale of a wrong that can't be undone, but with the right support, it can be overcome.  There's no easy way to tackle a story like this because while THIS one is a work of Fiction, there are sadly those out there they have endured this and worse.  Carly is your typical high school girl...popular cheerleader, friend, peer, and studious enough...at least, she was.  One day, that was all taken from her in a moment masquerading as passion but that doesn't happen to girls like her...right?  WRONG...and unfortunately that line of thinking is what sets her into a downward spiral that could make a tragedy TEN TIMES worse.  Lucky for her, her plan wasn't fool proof...

The biggest takeaway would be to KEEP TALKING.  Stay connected to your friends and family.  Don't just fall into the "just me" trap, let others in!  If the first person you tell doesn't believe you, KEEP TALKING.  There are national networks to assist and connect you with those locally that can help, if you're not getting it from your friends, family, and the adults in your life.  If doing it for yourself isn't enough to motivate you, do it for the others past and future...because if they did it to you, they may have done it before and can certainly do it again.  Don't be a victim, be a survivor...the voice that won't stay quiet and let evil win.  Stand for yourself because YOU ARE WORTH IT and please, oh, please, don't hide in shame because it certainly wasn't you, but them....and they aren't worth the time you gave them then, nor your spotlight now.

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About the author...

Donna M. Zadunajsky started out writing children’s books before she accomplished and published her first novel, Broken Promises, in June 2012. She then has written several more novels and her first novella, HELP ME!, which is a subject about suicide and bullying. 

Her third novel Family Secrets, “Secrets and Second Chances”, which is first in a series she is writing, was given a publishing contract through California Times Publishing.

SITE  |  TWITTER

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Special thanks to author Donna M. Zadunajsky for the ebook for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the series, or the author, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now, so click over to your favorite ebook retailer to grab or share a copy today.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

BLOG TOUR: Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

So, it's beginning to look a lot like...whatever holiday you might be celebrating this time of year, but in the reading world, you can celebrate any day, any time, any place with anything that catches your eye; hence, today's post.  While many are reading the wintertime favorites and romantic snowy escapes (both of which I'm fond of too!), I just happened to finish a Young Adult title that is ANYTHING BUT holly-jolly, or holiday-ish in the least...and it SO rocked!  In fact, it brings to mind a particular film series that...well, let me tell you about THIS book first.  Ladies and gents, you may be a bit more cautious after we're done with this tale about what letters you open.  Front and center, today's book of choice is...

Dead Girls Society

by

Michelle Krys

9780553508024

Delacorte Press

About the book...

You are cordially invited to participate in a game of thrills and dares. Tell no one, and come alone. If you dare.

Hope is sick of everyone treating her like she’s breakable. Sure, she has cystic fibrosis (basically really bad lungs), but she’s tired of being babied by her mom and her overprotective best friend, Ethan, not to mention worrying about paying for her expensive medication and how she’s going to afford college.And she’s bored with life in her run-down New Orleans suburb. 

When an invitation arrives from a mysterious group that calls itself the Society, Hope jumps at the chance for some excitement. This could be her ticket out. All she has to do is complete a few dares and she just might win some real money.

But the Society isn’t all that it seems . . . and soon Hope finds that playing the game isn’t a choice—it’s a requirement. 

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It took me until the very final moments to satisfy the little nagging voice in my head that kept saying....something is familiar about this story.  It also took about five seconds to shut that said voice down because while the basics are there to some degree, it was still unique to itself and quite the rush!

Hope was an awesome character, illness or not.  I loved her steadfast true-ness through it all.  She asked (even if only to herself) the tough questions, pushed herself outside her comfort zone, and never gave up even when doing so seemed the smartest thing in the world.  Seriously, those scenes in the...with the other one just...and all the dirt...  ~shudders~ ...not something I want to go to bed thinking about, let's put it that way.  When she was stretched to her limits, you couldn't help but get caught up in it all; after all, how could you not care what happened to her, her mom, and her sister, let alone the other characters?  They were endeared to my heart from the start...even those I didn't want to have any business with still mattered in the grand scheme of things and made me want to know just how it would all play out, for better or worse.  Trust me, in this story...there is ALWAYS a worse that could happen...

I admit, I didn't know who (singular or plural) was behind it all until we were seriously closing in on the big reveal.  It was kept THAT well hidden with enough cloak and dagger work to throw you off the scent. When it all comes out, the pieces snap together just right, leaving you in shock and awe at the extremes some will go to just to see the strength and will to live of others.  Oh and back to that comment of what it reminded me of....highlight here to reveal but remember, it's a bit of a spoiler to some degree!  It reminded me of I Know What You Did Last Summer...with a dash of Saw, and a smidge of House on Haunted Hill.  It took the classic everyone-has-a-secret setup, pitted the unusual cast against each other in order to win top dog status and the big money, while dangling an unseen connection in front of our eyes.  Good stuff!

To conclude, a great addition to any YA fans reading list with a little mystery, a dash of suspense, and a formidable opponent that's not going to let them off easy if they slip up (just ask Hope's mom about the car...*gulp*).  It's a fun way to spice up your winter nights and get the adrenaline pumping sans mistletoe...though there are some potential love connections.

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About the author...

Photo by Shannon Mancuso

MICHELLE KRYS is the author of Hexed and Charmed and the highly anticipated Dead Girls Society, coming November 2016. When she’s not writing books for teens, Michelle moonlights as a NICU nurse.  Michelle is probably not a witch, though she did belong to a witchcraft club in the fifth grade and “levitated” people in her bedroom, so that may be up for debate.  She lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, with her family. 

SITE  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

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Special thanks to Josh at Random House Children's Books for the chance to participate in the tour.  Review copy courtesy of yours truly...aka my personal library.  This title is available now via Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!