Wednesday, June 29, 2011



Prisoners In The Palace:  
How Princess Victoria became Queen with the Help of Her Maid, a Reporter and a Scoundrel



By Michaela MacColl




My Review from Amazon:



5.0 out of 5 stars Great Summer Read...historical intrigue for teens!
This review is from: Prisoners in the Palace: How Princess Victoria became Queen with the Help of Her Maid, a Reporter, and a Scoundrel (Hardcover)

This book was right up my alley...I love Historical Fiction and the Teen/Young Adult genre, but it is few and far between that you find historical fiction written for teens!

Prisoners in the Palace: How Princess Victoria became Queen with the Help of Her Maid, a Reporter, and a Scoundrel is almost guaranteed to get your teen interested in history. Just the right amount of the politics of the time, blended with society and the daily lives of children in the pre-Victorian era.

Yes it's a coming of age story but with friendships that transcend station and a young girl's search for the strength it will take to become the woman she is destined to be...even though that woman is the Queen of England! It is a quick read filled with intrigue and that constant "fear of getting caught" tightness that teenagers seem to live for!

Teachers - grab this one it is a great introduction to Pre-Victorian England... 



Product Description - from Amazon:

London, 1838. Sixteen-year-old Liza's dreams of her society debut are dashed when her parents are killed in an accident. Penniless, she accepts the position of lady's maid to young Princess Victoria and steps unwittingly into the gossipy intrigue of the servant's world below-stairs as well as the trickery above. Is it possible that her changing circumstances may offer Liza the chance to determine her own fate, find true love, and secure the throne for her future queen?

Meticulously based on newly discovered information, this riveting novel is as rich in historical detail as Catherine, Called Birdy, and as sizzling with intrigue as The Luxe.
About the Author - from Amazon:
Michaela MacColl studied multi-disciplinary history at Vassar College and Yale University, which turns out to be the perfect degree for writing historical fiction. She lives with her husband, two daughters, and three extremely large cats in Connecticut. This is her first book.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Teaser Tuesday - "I'll Be There" and Meeting Holly Goldberg Sloan!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. 

Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



My Teaser is from Holly Goldberg Sloan's debut YA Novel "I'll Be There":
"He could see that Emily's brow furrowed. And he wondered if he sounded like a real tool. It felt like he was sounding like a real tool. And now her brow was furrowing. Why was that?  She seemed to have some kind of lie detector planted in her forehead."






Meeting with the Author!

A couple weeks ago, Terry (Managing General Partner) of one of my favorite bookstore's, Mysterious Galaxy  sent out a notice for a pet project of hers "Ladies, Lunch & Literacy".  Basically it is a lite lunch with a fabulous author in an intimate setting (20-30 ppl). Now I have been receiving these notices for quite awhile but since most were in the San Diego area in the neighborhood of their flagship store, I usually couldn't make it. 


This announcement was different - first Mysterious Galaxy recently announced they are opening a store in Redondo Beach (much closer for this Orange County Gal).  The second deciding factor?  Holly Goldberg Sloan...a Debut Young Adult whose career I have been following and whom I had recently booked for the Orange County Children's Book Festival!

So - I headed for the Johnny Rockets in Redondo Beach for a little LLL - the YA version!

I don't want to tell a lot of Holly's stories - and she has a lot - because I want it to be a surprise when you meet her at the Festival...but - this I can divulge:



1.  Holly is best known as a Writer, Director, Producer of several popular, family-oriented, films and TV series - including  "Made In America", Steve Irwin's Crocodile Hunter, and "Angels in the Outfield".

2. The book title?  yep - it is the title of a popular song that Holly uses throughout the book...you'll have to come to the Festival to find out how she got permission to use it!  BRILLIANT!

I really hope that Terry and LLL have plans for another YA author - because "I'll Be There"!!!  

Photos Courtesy of Terry at Mysterious Galaxy

Saturday, June 11, 2011

What's In Your Beach Bag?

Fabulous new Event and GIVEAWAY!  By Jennie at Life is Short - Read Fast (YA) and Kelly at Reading With Martinis (Adult)...Join In The Fun!!!
From Jennie's Blog:
When the weather turns warmer, I tend to read more flirty, fun and fluffy books – something to do with the bounce in my step and sun on my face I guess. Kelly at Reading with Martinis and I are co-hosting a little link-up party to celebrate the warm weather and books we plan to read this summer! And we have goodies to giveaway!!! These goodies up for grabs include Lament and Balled signed by Maggie Stiefvater from her upcoming visit to my local indie store next month! Kelly is handling the adult genre with an ARC of Chevy Stevens’ Never Knowing!

Want to join in? Here's what to do:

  • Create a post entitled What’s In Your Beach Bag? and tell all or some of what you are looking forward to reading this summer. You can make a simple list of book names, you can include images, you can tell people why you are so stoked about a specific book…whatever you want! Are there so many books in your beach bag that you need to break it into multiple posts? That’s OK, too! Just be sure to link each post. Be creative and have fun with it! That’s the point of What’s In Your Beach Bag – FUN!
  • Leave a link to the actual What’s In Your Beach Bag post (not your main site, the actual post) in the linky
  • Check out posts by other people to see what’s in their beach bag!


So head over to Jennie's Blog at Life is Short - Read Fast (YA) OR Kelly's Blog at Reading With Martinis (Adult)  to see what they are reading and to enter the Giveaway...well worth a look - hint:  autographed copies...


OK - My list of Summer Reads...


Spoiled
by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
(June Release)
16-year-old Molly Dix loves her ordinary life in suburban Indiana, so when her single mother passes away, she is shocked to discover that her biological father is Brick Berlin, world famous movie star and red carpet regular.
Set against the backdrop of a sparkling and fashion-filled Los Angeles, this deliciously dysfunctional family soap opera will satisfy every reader looking for their next lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous beach read.
Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan are fashion writers in Los Angeles California. Their blog www.gofugyourself.com draws an average of four million readers a month, and their dispatches from the front rows of Fashion Week are routinely the most-read stories on New Yorkmagazine's web site. Heather and Jessica have been called "fashion assassins" by Joan Rivers and "a viciously funny duo" by theHollywood ReporterSpoiled is their first novel for young adults.
Heather & Jessica are among the YA Authors that will be appearing and signing at the Orange County Children's Book Festival, on Sunday, October 2nd!



Beauty Queens
by Libba Bray
(June Release)
The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream Pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and complete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eye liner.
What’s a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program – or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan – or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?
Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again.





Overbite (Insatiable Book #2)
by Meg Cabot
(July Release)


Meena Harper has never rebuffed the love of a god (unless you count the prince of darkness). But she’s always felt as though her gift was a curse, because no one’s ever believed her when she’s told them they were going to die . . . Until now.
Meena’s been asked to work for the Palatine, a powerful secret military unit of the Vatican mandated to guard human beings from demon possession, and to obliterate all demon life forms from the planet. The Guard has recently opened their first division in lower Manhattan, and Meena Harper is their new secret weapon. With her ability to predict how-and sometimes when-the living are going to die, the Palatine finally have an advantage over their undead enemy.
Reporting to Abraham Holtzman, head of Manhattan operations, and partnered with Alaric Wulf, the most accomplished of all demon slayers (who happens to greatly appreciate how Meena looks in a short, black dress), Meena is taking her new job seriously. There’s just one small problem: None of the guards in the Palatine’s Manhattan unit seems to like-or trust-her...Meena can’t understand it. 





Possess
by Gretchen McNeil
(August Release)
Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.
Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. 
Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.
Gretchen McNeil is one of the YA Authors that will be appearing and signing at the Orange County Children's Book Festival, on Sunday, October 2nd, see the amazing and chilling trailer on the Teens Read Blog!




Across The Barrier (Frontier Magic Book #2)
by Patricia C. Wrede
(August Release)

From New York Times #1 bestselling author Patricia C. Wrede, the second in the series of magic on the western frontier.
Eff is an unlucky thirteenth child - her twin brother, Lan, is a powerful seventh son of a seventh son. And yet, Eff is the one who saved the day for the settlements west of the Great Barrier. Her unique ways of doing magic and seeing the world, and her fascination with the magical creatures and land in the Great Plains push Eff to work toward joining an expedition heading west. But things are changing on the frontier.
There are new professors of magic for Eff and Lan to learn to work with. There's tension between William and his father. And there are new threats on the frontier and at home. To help, Eff must travel beyond the Barrier, and come to terms with her magical abilities—and those of her brother, to stop the newest threat encroaching on the settlers.
With wit, magic, and a touch of good pioneer sense, Patricia C. Wrede weaves a fantastic tale of the very wild west.



That's my list - it's short because I have SOOOOOO much to catch up on!!!  ...and reading to do for the Orange County Book Festival on Sunday, October 2nd,  where I wrangle the Teen & YA Authors!  So I have to read all their books too!!!   BTW - if you are in SoCal or planning a trip and you want to see who we have booked, check out the Teens Read Blog!


Isn't this FUN???   Join In...OR at least get over to Kelly's Blog for the Adult Giveaway or Jennie's Blog if you want in on the YA Giveaway (hint: autographed - wolves)

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