In My Mailbox (11)

Do check out Kristi's blog to check out what other bloggers got in their mailboxes this week!

Okay, I haven't done an IMM post in a while, which is why it looks like I got a crap ton of books! And this is not even listing all the books I bought from BookCloseout.com's $1.99 fiction sale (maybe I'll talk about those books another time), or the books I bought from various library sales that occurred. But anyway...! :)

You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith
(Publication date: May 19, 2009)

Emma Healy has never fit in with the rest of her family. She's grown used to being the only ordinary one among her rather extraordinary parents and siblings. But when she finds a birth certificate for a twin brother she never knew she had, along with a death certificate dated just two days later, she feels like a part of her has been justified in never feeling quite whole. Suddenly it seems important to visit his grave, to set off in search of her missing half. When her next-door neighbor Peter Finnegan — who has a quiet affinity for maps and a desperate wish to escape their small town — ends up coming along for the ride, Emma thinks they can't possibly have anything in common. But as they head from upstate New York toward North Carolina, driving a beat-up and technically stolen car and picking up a stray dog along the way, they find themselves learning more and more about each other. Neither is exactly sure what they're looking for, but with each passing mile, each new day of this journey, they seem to be getting much closer to finding it.

 

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

I got these three books from Lisa Schroeder, as I was lucky to be the winner of her Book Angel project! I am very excited to own my own copies of these books. I've read and LOVED If I Stay, Wintergirls is going to be amazing because it's by the incredible LHA, and I'm excited to read You Are Here because I've heard so many good things about Jennifer E. Smith's first book, The Comeback Season, which I sadly haven't read yet.

Fire by Kristin Cashore

(Publication date: October 2009)

Does this need an explanation as to why it's exciting that I got an ARC of this? Right, because I featured it in one of my Waiting on Wednesday posts from a while ago, in which I rather shamelessly gushed about how much I enjoyed Graceling and how much I love the covers to both of the books. Did I tell you how much I love the cover? I hope it stays the same in the finished copy.

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

From the moment of its publication in 1961, Revolutionary Road was hailed as a masterpiece of realistic fiction and as the most evocative portrayal of the opulent desolation of the American suburbs. It's the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a bright, beautiful, and talented couple who have lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. With heartbreaking compassion and remorseless clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their spiritual birthright, betraying not only each other, but their best selves.

I won this in a blog contest a bajillion weeks ago! So glad it finally arrived safe and sound.

My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff

A collection of stories about first periods from some of the world's most respected authors? Put together by a soon-to-be college student whose togetherness and precocious productivity I can only envy? This is another book I won from a blog giveaway and I am looking forward to reading it.

Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert

(Publication date: July 21, 2009)

Ballads are the kind of songs that Kara McNaughton likes best. Not the cliched ones where a diva hits her highest note or a rock band tones it down a couple of notches for the ladies, but the true ballads: the punk rocker or the country crooner telling the story of their life in three minutes, the chorus reminding their listeners of the numerous ways to screw things up. In high school, Kara helped maintain the "Stories of Suburbia" notebook, which contained newspaper articles about bizarre and often tragic events from suburbs all over and personal vignettes that Kara dubbed "ballads" written by her friends in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago. Those "ballads" were heartbreakingly honest tales of the moments when life changes and a kid is forced to grow up too soon. But Kara never wrote her own ballad. Before she could figure out what her song was about, she was leaving town after a series of disastrous events at the end of her junior year. Four years later, Kara returns to face the music, and tells the tale of her first three years of high school with her friends' "ballads" interspersed throughout.

I won this in a giveaway from Stephanie Kuehnert, and she included a lovely note inside that made me smile when I read it. I've heard so many good things about her first book, I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone (which I have in my TBR pile), that I'm really excited to be able to read her next book. :) Thanks so much, Stephanie!

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Sometime in the near future, Jenna Fox, 17, awakens from an 18-month-long coma following a devastating accident, her memory nearly blank. She attempts reorientation by watching videos of her childhood, "recorded beyond reason" by worshipful parents, but mysteries proliferate. Jenna can recite passages from Thoreau yet can't remember having any friends. As memories return, however, Jenna starts picking at the explanation her parents have spun until it unravels.

A trade from Tasha.. thanks! I've heard so much about this, and this synopsis is just...wow. Amazing.

Breathing by Cheryl Renee Herbsman

Savannah would be happy to spend the summer in her coastal Carolina town working at the library and lying in a hammock reading her beloved romance novels. But then she meets Jackson. Once they lock eyes, she's convinced he's the one-her true love, her soul mate, a boy different from all the rest. And at first it looks like Savannah is right. Jackson abides by her mama's strict rules, and stays by her side during a hospitalization for severe asthma, which Savannah becomes convinced is only improving because Jackson is there. But when he's called away to help his family-and seems uncertain about returning-Savannah has to learn to breathe on her own, both literally and figuratively.

This Is What I Want to Tell You by Heather Duffy Stone

Nadio and his twin sister, Noelle, always had a unique bond. And somehow, Keeley Shipley fit perfectly into their world. But when Keeley spends the summer in England, she comes home changed, haunted by a dark memory. As she and Nadio fall in love, they try to hide it from Noelle, who's jealously guarding a secret of her own. Slowly, a life-long friendship begins to crack under the crushing weight of past trauma, guarded secrets, jealousy, obsession . . . and an unexpected love that could destroy them.

Got the above two in a trade with Lizzie. Very exciting! Thanks, my favorite bookswapper! :)

  

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

(Publication date: June 1, 2009)

16-year-old Miranda Merchant is great at science...and not so great with boys. After major drama with her boyfriend and (now ex) best friend, she's happy to spend the summer on small, mysterious Selkie Island, helping her mother sort out her late grandmother's estate. There, Miranda finds new friends and an island with a mysterious, mystical history, presenting her with facts her logical, scientific mind can't make sense of. She also meets Leo, who challenges everything she thought she knew about boys, friendship...and reality. Is Leo hiding something? Or is he something that she never could have imagined?

Summer Girls by Hailey Abbott

(Publication date: May 2009)

In SUMMER BOYS, Beth, Ella, and Kelsi ruled Pebble Beach. Now it's time for 3 new girls to rock the summer.

JESSICA: Liam is the cutest guy I've ever seen and he loves the beach as much as I do. So how do I show him I'd make a better girlfriend than friend?

GREER I could be tanning on glam French beaches, but instead I'm "family-bonding" in Maine. At least the boys are hot - especially Brady. So what if he has a clingy ex-girlfriend?

LARA: Just my luck. I've fallen hard for the one boy who's totally off limits. If only I could stop kissing him...

Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson

(Publication date: May 2009)

James Hoff likes to rant against America's consumerist culture. He also likes to rant against his ex-girlfriend, Sadie, who he feels isn't doing enough to change the world. But just like he can't avoid buying things, he also can't avoid Sadie for long. This is a fantastic, funny, sexy, cool masterpiece from one of the best YA writers at work today, an anti-consumerist love story that's all about idealism, in both James's relationship with the world and his relationships with the people around him.

I got Sea Change, Summer Girls, and Destroy All Cars from Scholastic for review. And this is all thanks to the infinitely generous Aimee Friedman and her equally kind publicist, Sheila. Thank you SO much, Aimee and Sheila! I look forward to reading and reviewing these. :)

From PaperbackSwap:

The Boys Next Door by Jennifer Echols

Lori lives for summertime on the lake. She spends all season wakeboarding, swimming, and hanging with her friends -- including the two hotties in the house next door. With the Vader brothers, Lori's always been one of the guys.

But while Lori and the "baby" brother, Adam, are inseparable friends, she can't deny a secret crush on Sean, the older Vader boy. This year Sean's been paying Lori a lot of attention, and not in a brotherly way.

But just as Lori decides to prove to Sean she's girlfriend material, she realizes that her role as girl friend to Adam may be even more important. And by trying so hard for the perfect summer romance, she could be going way overboard....

This was a very cute book! My review of it is here.

Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews

There's some sort of V. C. Andrews comeback going on in the blogosphere. Combine that with my neuroticism of needing to start at the very beginning (it's a very good place to start, because when you read you begin with... okay, I'm going to stop now), and you get me picking this one up.

Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell

Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap. Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?

Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger

Seventeen-year-old Samar — a.k.a. Sam — has never known much about her Indian heritage. Her mom has deliberately kept Sam away from her old-fashioned family. It's never bothered Sam, who is busy with school, friends, and a really cute but demanding boyfriend.

But things change after 9/11. A guy in a turban shows up at Sam's house, and he turns out to be her uncle. He wants to reconcile the family and teach Sam about her Sikh heritage. Sam isn't sure what to do, until a girl at school calls her a coconut — brown on the outside, white on the inside. That decides it: Why shouldn't Sam get to know her family? What is her mom so afraid of? Then some boys attack her uncle, shouting, "Go back home, Osama!" and Sam realizes she could be in danger — and also discovers how dangerous ignorance can be. Sam will need all her smarts and savvy to try to bridge two worlds and make them both her own.

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt

Simone’s starting her junior year in high school. Her mom’s a lawyer for the ACLU, her dad’s a political cartoonist, so she’s grown up standing outside the organic food coop asking people to sign petitions for worthy causes. She’s got a terrific younger brother and amazing friends. And she’s got a secret crush on a really smart and funny guy–who spends all of his time with another girl. Then her birth mother contacts her. Simone’s always known she was adopted, but she never wanted to know anything about it. She’s happy with her family just as it is, thank you. She learns who her birth mother was–a 16-year-old girl named Rivka. Who is Rivka? Why has she contacted Simone? Why now? The answers lead Simone to deeper feelings of anguish and love than she has ever known, and to question everything she once took for granted about faith, life, the afterlife, and what it means to be a daughter.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Okay. First of all, it's Mary Roach, who is the epitome of hilarity (sometimes). Second of all, it's an entire NONFICTION book about CADAVERS. Whoa! Can you say spell i-n-t-e-r-e-s-t-i-n-g?

The Stolen One by Suzanne Crowley
(Publication date: June 30, 2009)

When her adoptive mother dies, Katherine Bab takes the chance she has been waiting for her whole life: she moves from her country village to London, to uncover the secret of who she really is. Before long, Kat has become a favorite of Queen Elizabeth herself, and rumors are swirling - could fiery-haired Kat be the secret daughter of the Virgin Queen? Kat's got plenty of other things to figure out, as well . . . such as how to choose between her childhood love and two handsome men at court vying for her affection.

Bliss by Lauren Myracle

When Bliss’s hippie parents leave the commune and dump her at the home of her aloof grandmother in a tony Atlanta neighborhood, it’s like being set down on an alien planet. The only guide naive Bliss has to her new environment is what she’s seen on The Andy Griffith Show. But Mayberry is poor preparation for Crestview Academy, an elite school where the tensions of the present and the dark secrets of the past threaten to simmer into violence. Openhearted Bliss desperately wants new friends, making her the perfect prey of a troubled girl whose obsession with a long-ago death puts Bliss, and anyone she’s kind to, in mortal danger.

The September Sisters by Jillian Cantor

Abigail Reed and her younger sister, Becky, are always at each other's throats. Their mother calls them the September Sisters, because their birthdays are only a day apart, and pretends that they're best friends. But really, they delight in making each other miserable. Then Becky disappears in the middle of the night, and a torn gold chain with a sapphire heart charm is the only clue to the mystery of her kidnapping. Abby struggles to cope with her own feelings of guilt and loss as she tries to keep her family together. When her world is at its bleakest, Abby meets a new neighbor, Tommy, who is dealing with his own loss, and the two of them discover that love can bloom, even when it's surrounded by thorns.

Top 8 by Katie Finn

Everything in my life was working out. I had my three best friends, a brand-new boyfriend, and the lead in the school play. Aside from that history paper I hadn't started, things felt perfect.

Then I returned from spring break to find my Friendverse profile hacked. Someone clearly out to ruin me had spilled the most damaging secrets - AND posted the worst photos of me ever taken - online. Now my boyfriend and I are broken up, half the school hates me, and I'm in deep trouble.

Goals:
Get my boyfriend back, figure out who could have done this, and clear my name!
Also, pass history.

Sisters in Sanity by Gayle Forman

FOR SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD Brit Hemphill, it's hard to know who she can trust. Convinved she's out of control, her father has sentenced her to Red Rock: a center for supposedly rebellious teens, where the therapy consists of name-calling and the girls who get privileges are the ones who rat out their peers.

But then Brit meets V, Bebe, Martha, and Cassie—four girls who keep her from going over the edge. Together, they'll hold on to their sanity and their sisterhood despite the bleak Red Rock reality.

The cover of this is beautiful and, like I stated earlier, I am in love with If I Stay, so I'm looking forward to reading this one.

From BookMooch:

Stay With Me by Garret Freymann-Weyr

Sixteen-year-old Leila Abranel was born some twenty years after her sisters. Her elegant sisters from her father’s first marriage have lives full of work, love affairs, and travel. Leila doesn’t know either of them very well, but she loves hearing about them—details of Rebecca’s ruined marriage, Clare’s first job, and the strings of unsuitable boyfriends.

When Rebecca kills herself, Leila wants to know why. She starts by spending time with Clare and finally comes to know her as a person instead of a story. With Clare’s reluctant help, Leila tracks down Rebecca’s favorite places and tries to find her sister’s friends. Along the way, Leila meets Eamon.Eamon is thirty-one and writes for television. He thinks Leila is beautiful and smart, but he does not, he tells her, date teenagers. And yet, the months go by and Leila turns seventeen and learns that you can love someone you are not dating.

Maybe letting Eamon love her back is a mistake. Maybe she’ll never know why Rebecca did what she did. Maybe, Leila, decides, most people have a hard time figuring out which way is left or knowing when to let go and when to stay.

Monster Blood Tattoo, Book 1: Foundling by D. M. Cornish

The Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy is a world of predatory monsters, chemical potions and surgically altered people. Foundling begins the journey of Rossamund, a boy with a girl's name, who is just about to begin a dangerous life in the service of the Emperor. What starts as a simple journey is threatened by encounters with monsters-and people, who may be worse. Learning who to trust and who to fear is neither easy nor without its perils, and Rossamund must choose his path carefully.

Complete with appendices, maps, illustrations, and a glossary, Monster Blood Tattoo grabs readers from the first sentence and immerses them in an entirely original fantasy world with its own language and lore.

From SwapTree:

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

Battle Royale, a high-octane thriller about senseless youth violence in a dystopian world, it is one of Japan's best-selling - and most controversial - novels. As part of a ruthless program by the totalitarian government, ninth-grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food, and various weapons. Forced to wear special collars that explode when they break a rule, they must fight each other for three days until only one "winner" remains. The elimination contest becomes the ultimate in must-see reality television. A Japanese pulp classic available in English for the first time, Battle Royale is a potent allegory of what it means to be young and survive in today's dog-eat-dog world.

This is the book that The Hunger Games is most often compared to. I heard it was supposedly grislier and more gruesome than The Hunger Games. It sounds delicious! *lipsmack* *evil laughter*

Willow by Julia Hoban

Seven months ago, on a rainy March night, sixteen year- old Willow's parents died in a horrible car accident. Willow was driving. Now her older brother barely speaks to her, her new classmates know her as the killer orphan girl, and Willow is blocking the pain by secretly cutting herself. But when one boy -one sensitive, soulful boy-discovers Willow's secret, it sparks an intense relationship that turns the "safe" world Willow has created for herself upside down.

I've heard beautiful things about this book, and thus I'm really looking forward to read this one, of course.

Paper Towns by John Green

In my opinion, John Green can do no wrong. Looking for Alaska is still my favorite of his, but I also enjoyed An Abundance of Katherines (even more so because of the awesome dedication he wrote inside for me). My review of Paper Towns is here, and I now have my own copy of Paper Towns, thus completing my John Green collection! And it's a picture of Happy Margo on the front! Yay!

The Hunter's Moon (Chronicles of Faerie, Book 1) by O. R. Melling

Gwen travels to Ireland to visit her cousin Findabhair, expecting a summer of backpacking, late nights, and the usual road trip adventures. But when Findabhair is kidnapped by the King of Faerie, Gwen must race to save her cousin before the rise of the Hunter's Moon, when the fairies need a human sacrifice.