In My Mailbox (9) + Weekly Giveaway Roundup

Wow. I went away from the computer for just a night and a day, and I ended up spending almost two hours earlier this evening catching up on everyone's posts, commenting, entering contests, etc.! This is one hoppin' place! Hehe.

Now on to the meme... Check out Kristi's blog to see what other bloggers got in their mailboxes this week! Thankfully this has not been a too ridiculous week, although I still got wonderful books from kind and generous people that I can't wait to read.

Hunger: A Gone Novel by Michael Grant

Publication date: May 26, 2009

It's been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ. Things have only gotten worse. Food is running out, and each day more kids are developing supernatural abilities. Soon tension rises between those with powers and those without, and when an unspeakable tragedy occurs, chaos erupts. It's the normals against the mutants, and the battle promises to turn bloody.

But something more dangerous lurks. A sinister creature known as the Darkness has begun to call to the survivors in the FAYZ. It needs their powers to sustain its own. When the Darkness calls, someone will answer -- with deadly results.

I am SO excited to get this from HarperCollins. Highly enjoyed the first book, can't wait to read this. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Inferno by Robin Stevenson

Publication date: April 28, 2009

For Dante, high school is hell. She hates her new home in the suburbs; her only friend has moved away; her English teacher mocks her; and her mother is making her attend a social skills group for teenage girls. When a strange shows up at school and hands Dante a flyer that reads, "Woof, woof. You are not a dog. Why are you going to obedience school?" Dante thinks she's found a soul mate. Someone who understands. Someone else who wants to make real changes in the world. But there are all kinds of ways of bringing about change...and some are more dangerous than others.

Got this from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. It looks interesting. Plus I like the cover, hehe. Makes the story even more intriguing. Could *gasp* fire be involved?

Project Sweet Life by Brent Hartinger

For most kids, fifteen is the year of the optional summer job: Sure, you can get a job if you really want one, but it isn't required or anything. Too bad Dave's dad doesn't agree! Instead of enjoying long days of biking, swimming, and sitting around, Dave and his two best friends are being forced by their fathers into a summer of hard labor.

The friends have something else in mind, though: Not only will they not work over the summer, but they're determined to trick everyone into believing they really do have jobs. So what if the lifeguard doesn't have a tan or the fast-food worker isn't bringing home buckets of free chicken? There's only one problem: Dave's dad wants evidence that his son is actually bringing in money. And that means Dave, Curtis, and Victor will have to get some . . . without breaking the law and without doing any work!

Brent Hartinger was kind enough to send me a copy of his book for review. I've heard great things about Brent's books, so I'm looking forward to reading this!

From BookMooch:

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

Josh Mendel has a secret. Unfortunately, everyone knows what it is.

Five years ago, Josh’s life changed. Drastically. And everyone in his school, his town—seems like the world—thinks they understand. But they don’t—they can’t. And now, about to graduate from high school, Josh is still trying to sort through the pieces. First there’s Rachel, the girl he thought he’d lost years ago. She’s back, and she’s determined to be part of his life, whether he wants her there or not.Then there are college decisions to make, and the toughest baseball game of his life coming up, and a coach who won’t stop pushing Josh all the way to the brink. And then there’s Eve. Her return brings with it all the memories of Josh’s past. It’s time for Josh to face the truth about what happened.

If only he knew what the truth was . . .

The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb

Calder is a Fetch, a death escort, the first of his kind to step from Heaven back to Earth.The first to fall in love with a mortal girl. But when he climbs backwards out of that Death Scene, into the chaos of the Russian Revolution, he tears a wound in the ghost realm, where the spirits begin a revolution of their own.

From PaperbackSwap:

I Am Rembrandt's Daughter by Lynn Cullen

With her mother dead of the plague, and her beloved brother newly married and moved away, Cornelia van Rijn finds herself without a friend or confidante—save her difficult father. Out of favor with Amsterdam’s elite, and considered brash and unreasonable by his patrons, Rembrandt van Rijn, once revered, is now teetering on the brink of madness. Cornelia alone must care for him, though she herself is haunted by secrets and scandal. Her only happiness comes in chance meetings with Carel, the son of a wealthy shipping magnate whose passion for art stirs Cornelia. And then there is Neel, her father’s last remaining pupil, whose steadfast devotion to Rembrandt both baffles and touches her.

From the good ole library:

The Season by Sarah MacLean

Seventeen year old Lady Alexandra is strong-willed and sharp-tongued -- in a house full of older brothers and their friends, she had to learn to hold her own. Not the best makings for an aristocratic lady in Regency London. Yet her mother still dreams of marrying Alex off to someone safe, respectable, and wealthy. But between ball gown fittings, dances, and dinner parties, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get herself into what may be her biggest scrape yet.

When the Earl of Blackmoor is mysteriously killed, Alex decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. But will Alex's heart be stolen in the process? In an adventure brimming with espionage, murder, and other clandestine affairs, who could possibly have time to worry about finding a husband? Romance abounds as this year's season begins!

So many good books.... NEVER ENOUGH TIME. Ahhhhhh!!!

And now, here is a (rather incomplete, as I can never be in the know about absolute everything) list of sweet contests that I've stumbled across in the past week:

The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau (The Shady Glade), April 6

V.C. Andrews pack (Taren), April 9

Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr (Lush Budget Production), April 12

Looking for Alaska by John Green (Prophecygirl), April 13

The Debs by Susan McBride (Garden of Books), April 14

Take Me There by Susane Colasanti (Taylor), April 18

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han (Cupcake Witch)

Blog Giveaway (Reader Rabbit), April 29

Don't miss out; you could win some GREAT books!

Okay, back to scholarship application/book review writing...