[Waiting on Wednesday + Sampler] The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Pre-Order at The Book Depository

Title: The Young Elites

Series: The Young Elites #1
Author: Marie Lu
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Release Date: October 7, 2014
Publisher: Putnam Books for Young Readers/Penguin
Genre: Young Adult- Fantasy

Summary via Goodreads:

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

Why I'm Waiting...

Honestly, I loved the Legend series and I follow Marie Lu on Tumblr, where she's been dropping quotes and teaser for a while now. Needless to say I'm ready for some fantasy and epic world building!

Samplers were given away at BEA and BookCon but fear not!, you can read the first 50 pages below.

[Top Ten Tuesday + Giveaway!] YA Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag

I'm doing a Twitter giveaway for an ARC of Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater. Follow @BecomingBooks and RT this post. Ends June 7, 2014 at 11 p.m., EST. US only. 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. 

YA Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag

For me summer reads should be light, fun and quick. These are my picks...

The queens of summer reads, Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han, can automatically have their books entered here. But these are also amazing reads!

 

 

 

 

What's in your beach bag?

[Blog Tour + Giveaway] Don't Fall by Rachel Schieffelbein

Buy on Amazon

Title: Don't Fall

Author: Rachel Schieffelbein

Publisher: Swoon Romance [Website | Twitter | Facebook]

Genre: YA Fiction - Contemporary, Fairy Tale

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Synopsis via Goodreads:

In this contemporary retelling of Rapunzel, seventeen-year-old Anya leads a secluded life in a house on the edge of town with her adopted mother. She doesn't go to public school, doesn't even have a best friend. But Anya doesn't seem to mind. She has her books, her photography, and her daydreams and would do anything to please her mom.

Until one day at the library, the only place Anya is allowed to go alone, she takes a picture of a beautiful boy. Before long she's lying to her mom, and sneaking out to meet Zander. But Zander wants more than a secret romance. If Anya wants to be with the boy of her dreams, she's going to have to risk her relationship with the only other person she's ever cared about.

About the Author

Rachel Schieffelbein

Rachel grew up in a tiny town in Minnesota. She still lives there, with her husband and their four kids. She coaches high school speech and theater, rides Arabian horses, reads as much as she can, and writes stories.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

This giveaway is sponsored by the author and YA Bound Book Tours.

1 ebook of Don’t Fall + $10 Amazon Gift Card (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours

Comic Sunday #3: Les Miserables and Pride & Prejudice in Manga!

Comic Sundays are an American newspaper tradition where new comic strips are published weekly. At Becoming Books this tradition will continue focusing on comic strips, comics and graphic novels appealing to young adult and adult audiences.

Les Miserables – Pride & Prejudice 

Les Miserables Adapted by Crystal Silvermoon and Stacy King; Art by SunNeko Lee

336 pages / Black & White 

Pride & Prejudice Adapted by: Stacy King; Art by Po Tse

376 pages / Black & White

MangaClassics.com / Udon Entertainment and Morpheus Animation: August 12, 2014

Sampler copy provided by the publisher. – Opinions are my own, review policy here.

Storytelling:

I've never read manga before so this was a learning experience for me. Luckily, the inside of the sampler provides instructions on how to navigate the frames, which is basically the direct opposite of comic reading structure. 

The preview of Les Miserables is 33 pages and follows the decent of Fantine. This is a great introduction to Hugo's literary classic, especially for young readers or those (like myself) who are intimidated by the massive novel. The storytelling is on point and definitely carried through the emotions from the novel.

The Pride & Prejudice sampler is only eight pages and follows Bingley and Darcey at the public ball. The storytelling is interesting because in this scene it appears Elizabeth is tearfully distraught by Darcey's indifference. I have not encountered this version of emotions in Austen's original novel or other retellings. I'm very curious to see how it pans out since it's such a short sampler. But the artwork... oh, the artwork... 

Artwork:

The artwork for both samplers is expressive with traditional Japanese cartoonist trends and a nod to the period settings in which the stories take place. I definitely favored Po Tse's drawings for Pride & Prejudice which are whimsical and feature frame backgrounds that remind me of fairytales. The publisher refers to the artwork in the style of "lush shoujo". Manga fans probably know what this means a lot better than I do...ekk. :/

The artwork for Les Mis by SunNeko Lee may not be as dreamy but carries a hard work load of showing adult content re-envisioned for a youth audience. This is especially true for the telling of Fantine's decent. The frames are telling and filled with emotion as the reader navigates the topic with care.  

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Yay or Nay? 

Yay! I'm really excited about this line of manga from Manga Classics. I think it's an amazing way to introduce literary classics to middle grade, young adults and adults alike! If you're already a manga fan then I definitely recommend it. Future titles to be released in winter 2014 will include The Scarlet Letter, Emma and Great Expectations. 

Stacking the Shelves #11: May 25 – 31

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews

It's no secret that I went to BookExpo America (BEA) this past week and received many books. Most are in boxes awaiting shipping in NYC however, a few were so coveted I had to bring them home with me!

Click on the photos or book titles for Goodreads page.

In the Mail

I came home to lovely package of Deep Blue awesomeness, including matching nail polish! Thanks Daisy Chain Book Reviews and Disney-Hyperion.

From BEA for Review

NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette by Nathan W. Pyle

Talon by Julie Kagawa – Signed! Let's not mention the major fangirl moment I had being in front of Julie. She is full of smiles despite her literary evilness. 

Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater – I picked this up after Maggie's BookCon panel and I have an extra copy to giveaway later this week!

Blackbird by Anna Carey – Signed and I'm so excited for this read. 

Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant – Signed and I even got to chat with him a bit about his Twitter activity. If you don't follow him, you should. It's a treat.

Zodiac by Stan Lee and Stuart Moore, illustrated by Andie Tong – Yes, THE LEGEND STAN LEE! Signed and incomplete but I cannot wait to explore this series. 

For Review

  

Check in later this week for a chance to win an ARC copy of Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater.

Don't forget to check out next week's Stacking the Shelves where I'll recap the entire BEA haul. 

What did you add to your shelves this week?