Are you an avid reader looking for your next "fix"? Can't bear to be without some form of reading material in your spare time? Welcome to my world! Whether you are seeking a new book to "feed your need", or you are an author seeking an unbiased point of view on your own recent masterpiece, this is the place to be. With life as with books, you never know where the next step might take you...

Monday, June 27, 2016

#TGIM: Your BEST and WORST with Jessica Brody's, #AWeekofMondays!

Hi guys and gals!
Welcome back to another week here at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.




For those already making the blog rounds, this is post TWO of the day here no the site.  This time around, we're still in the Young Adult arena, but not in a review capacity.  Tricked you, didn't I?  Not to worry, Monday's can be that way sometimes.  After all, who wants to celebrate a Monday?  Ah, but that's just the thing, WE DO...along with my fellow bloggers, readers, and bookish folks at MacMillan Children's Publishing Group.  That's right!  We've teamed up with these fab people to bring you a celebration most unlike those you've seen.  It's aim is to up the excitement about a forthcoming release, here's a quick 'about the book' for those of you that just can't wait...






A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody
Ellie is having the worst Monday of her life. She messes up her school  speech for the class vice presidency position, she manages to take the world's  worst school picture, she bombs softball tryouts, and the icing on top  of this awful cake: her perfect boyfriend who is in a high school rock band dumps her. At the end of  the day, Ellie wishes she could redo everything. When she wakes up the  next morning, she discovers that it's Monday again! She has six more chances to redo the day in the hopes of having everything go exactly the way she wants. But in the process, she just may find out that what she really wants and what she actually needs are two very different things.







...and to get Monday's off the hook for their bad rap. After all, they didn't ASK to be put smack dab at the beginning of the week now did they?  I mean, perhaps they WANTED to be a Friday, or perhaps they are content with their placement in the seven day stretch because it doesn't just mean the end of weekend fun but the POSSIBILITY of the wonders the week has in store?  Something to think about...at another time, because today we're bringing you something special, something different, something creative with a tinge of reality and a dose of wishful thinking.  It all began with a writing prompt...



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"If you had to re-live a Monday for SEVEN days straight, how would it play out?  What about the WORST Monday that you wouldn't want to re-live for SEVEN days straight?"





Curious...curious...CURIOUS.
I mean, the possibilities are endless because we're not restricted to reality.  No, siree!  We've been given free reign to write our own Mondays, no strings attached!  So, I did what any wordy, bookish person would do.  I didn't limit myself to FACT (as in could actually happen) or FICTION; I chose BOTH.  Oh and by the way, this was WAY harder than it sounds!  Creative license to do anything you want is a BIG BALL OF YARN to let loose!  Let's see what I came up with, shall we?  ^-^




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FACT:  I keep plugging away and reach my dream job of working in the publishing industry bringing the joys of reading to the masses and generations to come.  In the process, I become well known for a keen eye, friendly demeanor, and compassionate heart, earning the respect of all those I work with, attracting the love of my life who is my match heart and soul, and earning a reputation that precedes me in the best way possible.

FICTION:  I'm Jenny (from my favorite YA trilogy, The Forbidden Game) and I've not only saved my friends from their worst fears, but faced my own while still managing to finagle a way for Julian to live...and not just as a stranger.  His self-sacrificing turn at what should have been the end of our story spoke volumes and though a seeming mismatch at first, it's easy to see that all along, he really cared.  So, I say goodbye to the boyfriend, and hello to a new beginning with eyes wide open and that pesky board game burned to the ground. 







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FACT:  Anything to do with harm coming to my family, friends, or fur babies.  The details would be inconsequential because I would be inconsolable and no matter what was said or done, you might as well talk to a brick wall.  I'd either be wallowing with a river of tears pooling in my shoes, or ready to blow things with the sheer power of my mind.  You don't mess with this girl's family.



FICTION:  I was chosen to be Katniss Everdeen in a new version of the Hunger Games but instead of opponents that could potentially be allies, the other contestants were newly made zombies, and werewolves fully committed to their new way of life with no thoughts of turning back.  The events would be televised as is protocol, but any successes I achieved would be scrapped on the virtual cutting room floor so as not to encourage any in favor of my actually making it out alive.  The real icing on the cake would be that I WOULD make it out against all odds, only to find out that my promised freedom was more of a joke than Snow growing a conscience.








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Jessica Brody is the author of several popular books for teens, including the Unremembered trilogy, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, and The Karma Club, as well as two adult novels. She splits her time between California and Colorado.

Find out more at jessicabrody.com or catch her on Twitter.










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Special thanks to Mary at MacMillan Children's Publishing Group for the chance to participate in this unique event.  (THANKS!)  For more information on the author, title, or publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  To catch up on all the happenings with the tour, stay tuned to social media outlets with hashtag #AWeekofMondays or #TGIM and this blog!




Until next time...make the most of YOUR Monday...and happy reading!







BLOG TOUR: Infinite Time by H.J. Lawson - Review + CONTEST!

Hi guys and gals!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're busy little bees as we welcome not ONE but TWO tours that you won't want to miss.  Hey, what can I say?  When a book catches my eye, there's no turning back and I wouldn't want to deprive YOU of the chance to make its acquaintance.  First up, a YA lit ebook via Reading Addiction Blog Tours starring the first book in what is a promising series.  How do I know that?  Simple...I've read it and when an ebook can keep my attention, you know there's some magic happening there.  Behold, fair readers, today's first book of choice...


Infinite Time series, Book 1
by
H.J. Lawson

About the book...
Save the girl. 
Save the day.
Save yourself.

The mission sounds easy enough, but it is anything but easy for Parker Jenkins. Yesterday, ordinary, poverty-stricken Parker was an ordinary high school kid, getting bullied relentlessly and trying to get by. Today, he's a time traveler with gifted powers expected to carry out the extraordinary. Teaming up with another time traveler, Scarlet, they must save an innocent girl on the run before the villains kill them all. If they don't, their present-day selves will die. But can the ordinary perform the extraordinary?
 



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According to the end notes from the author, this book started as a bedtime story between herself and her daughter.  Night after night, the tale grew adding people, places, details, and situations until it could no longer be contained to mere verbal story telling methods; it simply had to be penned.  After reading the end result...I can certainly see why.

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Here we have the story of one seemingly ordinary young man becoming extraordinary long before his time.  Parker is your average teenage boy but with much bigger worries than many teens face alone.  You see, once upon a time, his father went to the store and became a wrong-place-wrong-time scenario.  With his dying breath, he asked young Parker to take care of his mother, but he never said who would be there to take care of him.  Fast forward a few years and we find Parker acting as the man of the house so to speak with a mother who is still devastated by the loss of her husband, no social life to speak outside of two friends who've remained close (better friends than he could have imagined as he's about to find out), and a future as uncertain as next week's History pop quiz results.  It can only get better from here, right?  Yes...and no.

It seems young Parker is about to step into a game he never knew existed let alone have the rules for and if he doesn't win, is he doesn't succeed despite the mounting odds against his, his death is imminent.  Pretty heady stuff, right?  Good thing he's not TRULY alone in his quest.  Despite the fact that he can apparently time travel when asleep, and proceeds to do so unwilling, his landing in Tokyo (in his underwear) could have gone much worse.  After all, he initially escapes the suited men that seem to pop out of nowhere, makes an instant connection with the young girl (Tora) that is their target, and finds an ally with rockin' kung fu skills and looks to kill.  What more could a teenage boy ask for to liven up his humdrum life?  What more indeed.  By story's end, he'll be wishing for that mundane world before he knew what taking a bullet feels like, how strong a man can be for his family, or how big of a ripple one person's life can have on the world at large.  Before all is said and done, his eyes will be opened and no one could ever make him forget what he's seen, done, or planning to do.

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Time travel can be a fical beast.  If you go too far one way, you're all outer space and galactic battles; too far the other way, and you're looking for a scarf wearing doctor that may be able to sort things out...or not.  Here, the author balances it perfectly, offering a plausible option for it all to take place in our here and now without anyone being the wiser.  The actual concept of how it happens and the repercussions if that "infinite time" is not paid attention to will have your mind reeling, but in a good way.  The characters we're introduced to are a mixed lot but memorable nonetheless.  Aside from Parker and Tora, the real puzzles to puzzle are Scarlet and Kimi.  Both give you reasons not to trust the other, but there's nothing concrete to base any of it off of at the moment which puts Parker in a predicament.  He's known Kimi for some time and she's become quite close, but Scarlet has saved his butt several times over and seemingly holds the key to who/what he is.  What to do, what to do.  Let's not forget Parker's dad either; I'm still wondering what that card was he handed to him as he lay dying.

In the end, we've an exciting start to a series that certainly holds promise and appeal to readers in their tweens, teens, and beyond.  A perfect fit for those looking for a great story tinged with sci-fi/fantasy appeal yet steeped in possibilities that could turn it from fiction to fact in no time flat.  It's an adventure waiting for the right readers to step between its epages....are you game?




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About the author...


HJ Lawson is an English author who currently resides in New York. When she's not writing, she spends her watching movies and hanging out with her family. She is the author of the following young adult books: The War Kids Series and The Sanction Series.


SITE  |  FACEBOOK  |  TWITTER




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Special thanks to Cami at Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours for the ebook for review as well as the chance to bring this tour to you. (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, THIS TOUR, the author, or those promotions on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title celebrated its book birthday at the start of the month, so seek thee out a copy now.






Until next time...happy reading!






Sunday, June 26, 2016

BLOG TOUR: Read Me Like a Book by Liz Kessler

Hi guys!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're playing host to a Candlewick Press blog tour starring a title that just celebrated its book birthday this month.  It's from an author that has established herself in the Middle Grade arena and is now making the jump to Young Adult Fiction with a story that


Read Me Like a Book

by
Liz Kessler
9780763681319
Candlewick Press

About the book...
Ashleigh Walker is a mediocre student with an assortment of friends, a sort-of boyfriend, and no plans for the future. Then a straight-from-college English teacher, Miss Murray, takes over Ash’s class and changes everything. Miss Murray smiles a lot. She shares poetry with curse words in it. She’s, well, cool. And she seems to really care about her students. About Ashleigh. For the first time, Ash feels an urge to try harder. To give something — someone — her best. Before she knows it, Ashleigh is in love. Intense, heart-racing, all-consuming first love. It’s strong enough to distract her from worrying about bad grades and her parents’ marriage troubles. But what will happen if Miss Murray finds out Ashleigh is in love with her?



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This is the story of one young woman's awakening to not only the world around her, but to her true self.

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Ash is pretty much a good kid.  She's not the most popular, most outgoing, or highest achieving, but like the rest of us (and her fellow teens), she's just trying to find her way.  It's an obstacle at any age to truly find oneself, but in our formative years with university looming, and adulting on the horizon, it can feel like the weight of the world.  Add to that a home life in chaos, a friendship on the rocks, and a pregnancy scare, and yeah...I think we can agree that the stress is pretty monumental...but what if something unexpected happens.  What if one piece of the puzzle all of a sudden feels like it fits better than ever?  What if that one piece had to do with school but not JUST school in general but one particular teacher (a substitute, no less) that just seems to really SEE you, leaving you seeing yourself as never before?  Now you're questioning things you never imagined and the foundation you've built your world upon is cracking like the desert sands under the hot sun.  Your future was unknown before but now, seeing the road itself regardless of the direction taken seems an impossible task.  The good news for our leading lady is that she has a good head on her shoulders and despite the momentary break up with her bestie, she'll have the support she needs...but finding her balance is gonna take more than a shoulder to lean on.  

I gotta say, I wasn't certain where this story was heading at first.  I mean obviously I liked Ash's character, and while Cat was a bit of a bad influence (and a terrible liar), she was actually pretty cool, but at a certain point I was worried it was going to take a "headliner avenue" I wasn't prepared to travel.  Much to my relief and the integrity of the story, the author knew just what she was doing and led us as well as her characters to a somewhat safe harbor.  The obstacles she faces as the awareness breaks over her felt very real, as did the unfortunate reactions of some within her inner circle.  The most shocking perhaps was that of her mother versus father.  I wouldn't have guessed the acceptance and rejection split as they were and from the parties it was directed from.  Honestly, I wanted to hug the one and smack the other.  I mean, it was hard enough for Ash to acknowledge what she felt let alone be let down by her parents yet again.  Honestly, perhaps I was just spoiled, but I always knew I could depend on dear old mom regardless of the issue. 

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In the end, we meandered back to somewhat what I was expecting and told a story that was something more than it first seems. It's not about a sweeping plot line or earth shattering conflict, but it's quiet and loud all at the same time.  It speaks to being your true self in all aspects of your life and how the only truly wrong way to live is in hiding oneself away.  Ash was an endearing character as was the influential Ms. Murray, and I think teens (and adult readers) will really recognize their own struggles within her voice regardless of how mirror image they may or may not be.




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About the author...

Liz Kessler

Liz Kessler is the author of the best-selling Emily Windsnap series, the Philippa Fisher series, and the middle-grade novels North of Nowhere, A Year Without Autumn, and Has Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins? She lives in Cornwall, England.




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Special thanks to Anna at Candlewick Press for the ARC for review as well as the chance to bring this tour to you.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now via Candlewick Press, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.  To discover more points of view on today's selection, catch up with the rest of the tour as it makes its way through the blogosphere....


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Official Blog Tour Stops:


Until next time...happy reading!


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