Blog Tour: Character Interview With Britney from The Lipstick Laws!

As part of Amy Holder's The Lipstick Laws Blog Tour, the "it girl" from her debut is stopping by today! Welcome Britney!

1. What first inspired you to come up with the Lipstick Laws?

Everyone needs to have some type of direction to keep themselves in line and the best they can be. I’m a born leader, so I wanted to help my friends be their very best by creating these laws. Really, my friends should thank me for helping them avoid the curse of being nerd-herding chumpnuts.

2. When you saw April for the first time, what was your initial thought?

Major charity case. That was my first thought. And being the caring, philanthropicalist that I am, I tried to help her. Bad move on my part!

3. Is there any advice you can give high school students?

The biggest piece of advice I’d give is that the friends you hang around with help raise or lower your image…so choose your friends wisely! High school would be a much better place if everyone followed my Lipstick Laws...

4. If you could go back in time and change one thing about your life, what would you choose?

I’d never let any freak funnels in my group of friends. Other than that, I’d make sure my parents’ divorce never happened.

5. Why did your parents decide to name you Britney?

My mother said Britney was her favorite name. She said the name has an “it-factor” …and then Britney Spears got famous when I was young, so that reinforced the “it-factor” status of my name even more. I’m much prettier, of course.

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Thanks so much for answering my questions Amy and Britney! I really enjoyed The Lipstick Laws and will be posting my review next month!

As part of the blog tour, a signed copy of The Lipstick Laws is being given away each week. Anyone who comments on this post is automatically entered! For a complete list of stops visit the tour page on The Teen {Book} Scene here.

Review: The Liberation of Alice Love by Abby McDonald

The Liberation of Alice Love by Abby McDonald

Clever and elegant, this novel forces you to think about how far you'd go to find the truth, and how many lies you'd tell to uncover it. Alice Love keeps her life (and boss, and family) running in perfect order, so when her bank card is declined, she thinks it's just a simple mistake. Sadly, someone has emptied her bank account, spending her savings on glamorous holidays, sexy lingerie, and a to-die-for wardrobe, and leaving Alice with lots of debt. But she soon wonders if perhaps her alter-ego's reckless, extravagant lifestyle is the one Alice should have been leading all along...

Review:

Abby McDonald's adult debut was sexy, romantic, fun, and original. From the minute I started reading I was sucked into the life of the fantastic Alice Love. The summary left a little to be desired so I wasn't entirely sure what the novel would entail when I started reading. The Liberation of Alice Lovewas more than I ever imagined and it was one book I will be recommending again and again- to both teens and adults. After reading and enjoying Abby's previous release (a YA novel called Boys, Bears, and A Serious Pair of Hiking Boots) I was eager to get started on more of her novels and this did not disappoint.

Alice Love- such a simple, but very pretty name. It suited our main character perfectly. When the book opens, Alice is living an organized, but nice life. She has a good job, even though she aspires for a better position, a small apartment, but she longs to purchase her own flat, and a great group of friends... When Alice's credit card is declined she is shocked. Suddenly, Alice's life isn't simple and perfectly arranged. Her identity has been stolen and someone has emptied Alice's bank accounts and purchased all sorts of entirely un-Alice-like things. From there, the book really takes off and both the reader and Alice are in for a wild ride.

Abby McDonald has a great writing style- fluid and smooth, with little witticisms that make me laugh at the most random of times. The premise of The Liberation of Alice Love may not seem very original, I mean there are quite a few books out there about identity theft, but Alice's story is far from ordinary. There is a mystery aspect to the story and a lot of twists in the plot as Alice discovers more about both the criminal who stole her savings, and, more importantly, about herself.

There were so many aspects of this story that I adored- Alice's job, her family and friends, the romance, and Alice's journey of self-discovery. The secondary characters also had a prominent role in the story and made it that much more enjoyable. The setting (England) also made me love it that much more. Who doesn't enjoy reading about London and characters with accents? ;)

I'm so glad I branched out from my usual YA focused reading group and took a chance on The Liberation of Alice Love. I highly recommend it and am eager to begin Abby's next YA release, The Anti-Prom which is releasing soon!

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars

March 1, 2011/Sourcebooks Landmark/417 Pages/Adult

Source: Publisher (ARC)

Other books by this author: Boys, Bears, and A Serious Pair of Hiking Boots, The Anti-Prom

In My Mailbox (73)

I got some fabulous books this week. I've already read Choker and Evernight and am glad to have my own copies. I've never read any of the Animorphs books before so I'll have to see what I think of those.. Hope everyone else had a great week, too!

Books For Review:

The Invasion (Animorphs #1) by K.A. Applegate

The Visitor (Animorphs #2) by K.A. Applegate

Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Stay by Deb Caletti

Trades:

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Choker by Elizabeth Woods

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

E-Galleys

Netgalley:

The Mark of the Golden Dragon by LA Meyer

Galley Grab:

Sixteenth Summer by Maureen Dalton

The Summer Before Boys by Nora Raleigh Baskin

The Summer of Firsts and Lasts by Tera Elan McVoy

Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury

IMM Is Hosted By: The Story Siren

Review: A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler

A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler

Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura's dad left them. Convinced that "creative" equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.

Review:

A Blue So Dark was a twisted and emotionally draining debut novel. It was impossible to put down, but at the same time there were moments when I just wanted to look away, so shocked by what I was reading. This was one beautifully written and impressive book that I'm sure will stick in the minds of any and all readers.

To begin with, the premise of A Blue So Dark was one I have rarely seen tackled in YA fiction. That of mental illness; particularly schizophrenia and how it affects not only the sufferer, but the people surrounding that person- family, friends, coworkers. At fifteen, Aura Ambrose has the weight of the world (or so it seems) on her shoulders. After her father left, Aura is the only person around to care for her mother. Grace Ambrose, the once bright and outgoing art teacher is now sinking into the depths of her own mind. Aura's mother is seeing visions and is tormented day and night. My heart broke for the pair. Watching Aura's mother struggle with schizophrenia and, especially, seeing how it impacted her daughter was heartbreaking. Especially when Aura began to think her mother's creativity and passion for the arts was what "drove her mad" and tries to deny her own creative side.

Aura... what can I say about this strong, independent, and determined young teenager? She remained brave throughout her mother's decline and did her best supporting and caring for her mother, even when no one else seemed to be there for her. I wanted to scream at Aura's father, who just abandoned his wife and daughter, leaving Aura to deal with all the pain and hardships that come from caring for her mother.

I'm ashamed to say I didn't know very much about schizophrenia before reading this. I was shocked to see how frightening and terrible this illness really is and how much it can change a person. Holly Schindler obviously knew a lot about schizophrenia (or really did her research!) because she truly made Grace Ambrose a complex and believable character- one readers will want the best for.

My emotions were scattered while reading A Blue So Dark... a mix of angry, fearful, sad, and hopeful. There are quite a few additional characters that have a keen presence in the story and some are even dealing with their own hardships. If you're looking for a light read, this is most definitely not the book for you!

Overall, I definitely recommend picking up A Blue So Dark and I'm anxious to get back into her sophomore novel, Playing Hurt. Aura was an extremely well done character and her story will break your heart and put it back together again, only to have it break once again. There were some flaws in this book, but is anything perfect? Holly Schindler is definitely an author to watch!

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

May 1, 2010/Flux/266 pages/Young Adult

Source: Bought (Paperback)

Other books by this author: Playing Hurt

Guest Post: Lisa and Laura Roecker Blog Tour of Awesome!

Stopping by today are the fabulous and fun Roecker sisters- the authors of the fantastic debut The Liar Society! Read on to find out about their top ten favorite movies... many of which I also love! (*cough* Sixteen Candles *cough*)

LiLa's FAVE MOVIES!

1.Sixteen Candles (or really any John Hughes movie). Is there a more appropriate choice for number 1? We think not. We like to think Sam and Kate would be BFFs. If nothing else they both hate to ride the bus.

2. Garden State. Oh the music! The actors! The love story!

3. Ten Things I Hate About You. Heath Ledger is so dreamy in this movie. We'll always remember him singing on those bleachers.

4. Away We Go. This movie was written for Laura and yet she hasn't seen it. This is Lisa's all-time fave.

5.Can't Hardly Wait. Epic party? Multiple storylines? High school? Yes. Please.

6.Anchorman, Elf, Old School, Blades of Glory--basically anything starring Will Ferrell. Yes, if you've seen one, you've seen them all. But they're ALL funny.

7.The Social Network. This movie is fascinating and the dialogue is SPOT ON.

8.Shawshank Redemption. Solid movie. Laura always watches if it's on. Lisa thinks she's weird.

9.The Sixth Sense. Really freaking scary, but really, really good. The twist in this movie is genius.

10.Center Stage. Lisa's dirty little secret. It must have been all those years of bad ballet dancing.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to write up this list, Lisa and Laura!

And if you want to enter The Liar Society Blog Tour of Awesome contest, and really, who wouldn't want to enter!?! There's a $100 Amazon gift card up for grabs! Just click here and enter the super secret password, GHOST, for an entry. Remember you can enter one time for each stop on our blog tour, so be sure to click here and see where else we're visiting this month to maximize your chances of winning.

Review: Betrayal by Lee Nichols

Betrayal (Haunting Emma, #2) by Lee Nichols

Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great when she's battling the wraith-master Neos, but terrible when she's flirting with fellow ghostkeeper (and soul mate) Bennett. When ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power, and that's not something Bennett can handle. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school with fellow ghostkeeper Natalie. When a new team of ghostkeepers arrive—one a snarky teen boy, the other a British scholar—Emma finds solace in training for the battle against Neos. But as the team grows stronger, they are threatened by an unknown force. One they thought was good. As chilling and page-turning as Deception, this sequel will grab readers and hold them to the last page. No one is safe from suspicion as Emma closes in on the traitor.

Review:

Betrayal was a fast paced and exciting follow up to Deception that left me breathless and frantically turning the pages. It was wonderful to be back in the world of our heroine, the ghostkeeper Emma. She was as spunky and adventurous as she was in the prequel and even more brave and determined. Her fighting and ghostkeeping skills have improved immensely and she is ready to face down their enemy Neos once and for all.

The sequel picks up soon after Deception ended and we are once again immersed in the spooky and dangerous life of Emma Vaile. There was never a slow moment in this book. From dealing with the fact that most of her school mates believe Emma is the reason their quarterback, Coby, is dead, to her soul mate Bennett moving out; Emma's life is far from simple. Throw in the fact that her family is still missing, Neos is growing stronger and some creepy things are happening, and she and her best friend Natalie are now joined by two new team members- Simon and Lukas. Simon was a scholarly British man sent to watch over the three young ghostkeepers and help prepare them for what they were going to have to face. Lukas was the witty and flirtatious guy always up for a laugh. I loved meeting all the new characters in Betrayal and also getting to revisit with my old favorites.

Bennett's character is developed even more in Betrayal and he is faced with some difficult choices. Their relationship is so tragic and romantic and I hope everything works out for them in the end!

Emma uncovers some new clues about her ancestors and also realizes there is more to her power than she ever thought. There are a lot of awesome fight scenes and I was often on the edge of my seat because you never knew what the outcome was going to be! Keep in mind the title is Betrayal and I was shocked by the ending!

Lee Nichols is a fabulous writer and she combines intense action with the paranormal, forbidden romance with sweet friendships, and more. Once you get into Betrayal it will be hard to put down. I just had to know what the ending would bring!

I would recommend reading this only if you've read the prequel, Deception, first. You may not understand everything about Emma and the ghostkeepers, and I highly recommend the prequel. It was just as good! Now I'm counting down the days until Surrender is released. Is it December yet?

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

March 1, 2011/Bloomsbury USA/268 pages/Young Adult/Book Two

Source: Publisher (ARC)

Other books in the series: Deception (Haunting Emma, #1)

In My Mailbox (72)

I just got home from an AWESOME time at the NYC Teen Author Festival! Here are some of the books I got in the mail this week. I'm not including anything from the events because I'm going to post about it later this week. All I can say was that it was FANTASTIC!

For Review:

Ask Elizabeth by Elizabeth Berkley

Huntress by Malina Lo

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Stay by Deb Caletti

Never Sit Down In A Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned In Southern Belle Hell by Crickett Rumley

Behind the Gates (Tomorrow Girls #1) by Eva Gray

Purple Daze by Sherry Shahan

Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt

Family by Micol Ostow

From Trades:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis (Thanks Erica!)

Her and Me and You by Lauren Strasnick (Thanks Lena!)

IMM Is Hosted By: The Story Siren

Book News and Updates!

Unfortunately not all of us can attend the Dark Days of Supernatural tour stops! Luckily, you can still watch the events via Livestream tomorrow night! Here are the details:

Saturday, March 19

7:00 PM (eastern)

-with Claudia Gray

(AFTERLIFE), Kimberly Derting (DESIRES OF THE

DEAD), a

nd Courtney Allison Moulton (ANGELFIRE)

Viewers will be able to submit questions for the authors to answer, as well as purchase books. For more information check out http://www.facebook.com/PitchDarkBooks, or follow @ PitchDarkBooks.

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E Book News!

Tera Lynn Child's new e-book Eye Candy is available for purchase on your Nook, Kindle, or for other e-readers: Smashwords . If this book is half as good as her young adult books I know I'm going to love it! The sequel, Straight Stalk, is also available!

Shannon Hale's fantastic novel, The Goose Girl, is available for $1.99 until MARCH

31st ONLY! This is one book you don't want to miss!

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Macmillan has also recently released two awesome trailers. The first is for the second book in Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Chronicles of Nick" series, Invincible. The second trailer is for Shimmer, the sequel to Alyson Noel's Radiance. Both are awesome!

Suzanne Selfors Interview

I'm excited to welcome the fantastic and funny Suzanne Selfors to The Book Scout today! I loved her newest release Mad Love and am anxious to read more by her in the future!

1.If Alice and Katrina could spend a day together, what would they do?

Wow, you're really making me think here. What would Katrina, the main character from Coffeehouse Angel, and Alice, the main character from Mad Love, do? Since they both work very hard at their "jobs", trying to keep their families in tact, I think they'd probably want to spend the day hanging out on the beach with their adorable boyfriends, swimming, taking it easy. I think they'd like each other.

2. You have a variety of middle grade and YA novels published, what do you like best about each age group?

Writing for middle grade is fun because you can basically do whatever you want. Man-eating tortoises, orphaned merbabies, cloud-copters--your imagination is your only limit. Kids that age will accept magic in all its crazy forms. And they don't require or expect romance. :)

Writing for teens is very different. The story almost always needs romantic tension, this is the most challenging thing for me to write. And I usually write these novels in first person because I think teen readers like to get into the character's head. This is also a challenge.

3. The paperback cover of COFFEEHOUSE ANGEL is quite different from the hardcover, do you have a preference of which one you like best?

I like them both. The hardcover is great because the two models look exactly like my characters. Exactly. So that was fun to see. The paperback is great because it gives an entirely different feel and I think it will attract a different set of readers.

4. What's next for you writing wise?

My next middle grade book, Smells Like Treasure, comes out May 2011. It's a sequel to Smells Like Dog, and I'm really happy with it. I'm currently working on the first draft of my next teen novel. The story is a secret but I will give a little hint -- it's a fairytale. This book will release in 2012.

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Thanks so much for stopping by Suzanne! Be sure to check out my review of Mad Love and Suzanne's website!