Bookanistas Links

No Bookanista review from me today; I'm deep in the writing cave and I haven't had a free second to read anything fun. Boo! But check out these great reviews from the other Bookanistas...so many awesome books today!

Lenore Appelhans  is blown away by REBOOT by Amy Tintera

 

Carrie Harris adores BEYOND DINOCALYPSE by Chuck Wendig -- with giveaway!

 

Tracy Banghart  & Debra Driza join THE GIRL GUIDE by Christine Fonseca book blitz!

 

 Corrine Jackson is stunned by BREAKING BEAUTIFUL by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

 

Nikki Katz  wonders at THE GRAVE WINNER by Lindsey Loucks

 

Gretchen McNeil talks TRUTH OR DARE by Jacqueline Green

 

Elana Johnson admires INSOMNIA by Jenn Johannson

 

Tracey Neithercott celebrates THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS by Jacqueline Moriarty

 

Katy Upperman fawns over FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK by Melina Marchetta

 

Rebecca Behrens is wowed by THE FIFTH WAVE by Rick Yancey

And keep an eye on this space...we have some exciting Bookanista news coming up soon! Happy Thursday!

Coachella 2013 (And How I Slept Through an Entire Set Because I'm Old)

Another fun thing I did while in the midst of moving craziness was attend the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the second year! And this time...I camped!

Our wristbands

Our street

Our awesome campsite

I have to admit, I was a little wary at the idea of camping. I'm OLD, and I like things like hotel beds and indoor plumbing and showers. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy camping. But camping at a music festival? Where I'd be surrounded by 18-year-old stoners? I was pretty sure I was way too old and grouchy for that mess. 

Erin, Claire, and me. My favorite camp and music buddies.

Well, it turns out that camping was a freaking BLAST. Here was the key...three of us and two campsites. On one campsite we set up our big tent, complete with comfy air mattresses, and on the other campsite we had an EZ-Up with blankets, chairs, a camp stove, and our coolers. We had the best campsite...so much better than the people who had like six people squeezed into one space, with only room for a tent.

Mmm. Bacon.

We also brought tons of food and supplies. Claire hooked us up with breakfast every morning, cooking bacon and making breakfast burritos on the camp stove. We had snacks and drinks for days, and it was so fun sitting under our shady EZ-Up playing Cards Against Humanity with our campsite neighbors. 

It was difficult to pick a winner on this one.

Ah yes, and then there was the actual festival. I heard some people complaining about the lineup this year, but those people were insane. Due to some scheduling and logistical issues (like a lost car key...meep!), I didn't see every band I was hoping to see. But I did see so much awesome, it was sort of ridiculous. 

Friday

Lord Huron

The Neighbourhood

Jake Bugg

The Shouting Matches

Alt-J

Stars

Of Monsters and Men

And I caught some of Metric, Band of Horses, and Blur

Lord Huron

The Neighbourhood

The Shouting Matches

Stars

Alt-J

Saturday

Jason Bentley

My friends saw Grizzly Bear while I fell asleep in the middle of the dang show like the old woman I am

The Postal Service (with Jenny Lewis...so awesome)

The xx

Claire and I taking a little break during Jason Bentley while Creeper McGoo behind us films us without our knowledge. Awesome. 

Sleeping through Grizzly Bear like a boss

Sunday

James Blake
La Roux

Some of Pretty Lights and Red Hot Chili Peppers

La Roux

Highlights were Alt-J, The xx, and La Roux, who was surprisingly awesome and fun.

This snail just scooted around the whole weekend and I loved it

I've learned that you can go to Coachella with a plan, but it never fails that two bands you love will be playing at the exact same time, or something crazy will happen, and you won't be able to see everyone you want to see. Like I said, I lost my car key. It fell out of my purse as I was walking around the festival on Saturday, and I thought for sure it was lost forever and I was going to be stuck in the desert. So I had to sacrifice about an hour of band time on Sunday to waiting in line at the lost and found, where THEY ACTUALLY HAD MY CAR KEY (this still amazes me)...yeah, I had to miss a lot of the Sunday fun, but at least I was able to drive home. 

Really, the best part of the weekend was just enjoying music and good times with two of my bestest friends. Claire, Erin, and I had so much fun just hanging out, talking, and enjoying some of our favorite music. 

This is pretty much my personality, right here in the background of this wacky photo of Claire

The lowlight was the phone charging situation for campers. There were plenty of places to plug in, but for some reason my phone and battery were just not cooperating. My phone was dead for most of Saturday and half of Sunday, even though I charged it for hours. I get a lot of anxiety when my phone isn't working, but, ah well. So I couldn't instagram...it's not the end of the world. I still had a blast.

Coming back to the real world was hard. (Especially because my car wouldn't start on Monday morning...oh, the car issues I had.) Yeah, it was nice to take an actual shower and use an actual bathroom, but there's something magical about that desert. 

**Most of these pictures were taken by Erin...she is actually a good photographer, unlike me.

BOOKANISTAS: The Rules for Disappearing

She’s been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she’s been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.

Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they’ve given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do – or see – that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits’ rules — and her dad’s silence. If he won’t help, it’s time she got some answers for herself.

But Meg isn’t counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who’s too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there’s only one rule that really matters — survival.

What drew me to this book right away was this interesting premise - a teen girl in witness protection, having to relocate all the time because of something her dad did or saw that she doesn't know. I've never really heard of anything like this before.

The book ended up being a really fun mystery, as Meg tries to figure out what her dad did and how to get her and her sister out of their miserable situation. There were a lot of surprises for me as I went through the story, and it's always fun with a book surprises me.

What was cool to see in this book was the opposite of what I see in most YA books - here we had a girl who is naturally popular trying to stay under the radar and not be popular, get involved, or make friends. It was the flip side of a common storyline in YA, and I enjoyed watching Meg try to go against her normal friendly and outgoing nature as she tried to keep free from attachments in her new life.

This book was an entertaining mystery that kept me guessing and was super fun to read. I look forward to more books by Ashley Elston in the future!

Check out what the other Bookanistas are up to today...

Christine Fonseca  marvels at MILA 2.0 by Debra Driza – with giveaway!

Corrine Jackson is blown away by BRUISED by Sarah Skilton

Elana Johson  buzzes about STUNG by Bethany Wiggins

Stasia Ward Kehoe fawns over THE FIFTH WAVE by Rick Yancey

Shannon Messenger  shares an exclusive excerpt from INSOMNIA

Tracy Banghart  swoons for THE NAME OF THE STAR by Maureen Johnson

Lenore Appelhans celebrates 17 AND GONE by Nova Ren Suma

Rocking The Drop and World Book Night

Things have been nuts here at the Love Shack, and I haven't had a chance to sit down and properly update. Mainly this is due to the fact that the Love Shack has actually relocated. We moved a couple of miles up the road over the past few weeks, and, man, has that been a process.

During that process, I did a couple of fun things I want to be sure to update you on. One exciting thing I did was scatter free books across the greater Orange County area as I participated in both Rock The Drop and World Book Night!

Rock The Drop

Thursday, April 18 was Teen Lit Day, which YA lovers across the country celebrated by dropping a YA book out in the world for teen readers to find and love. Since I was in the process of packing, I found TEN books to drop throughout the day! Here's what I did...

All 10 of my books, stacked up and ready to go!

I dropped the first one on the brick wall outside of my apartment complex. A lot of local teens walk my street on the way to the high school, so I knew it would be picked up quickly.

I dropped the second one on a table outside of the bagel place down the street from my work. I work at a middle school and there is a high school directly across the street, so this bagel place is a happening spot in the mornings before school. 

During my free period at work, I grabbed a bunch of books and snuck across the street to the high school, where I immediately picked out this bright yellow Bug and dropped a matching book on the front of it. 

I was hoping to get in and out of the high school without being spotted, but, of course, the second I stepped foot on campus I was peeped by the AP. I heard, "Jessica! Are you LOST?!" right when I was trying to sneakily drop a book. Luckily I know her, and I explained what I was doing pretty quickly and she let me go on my way. Whew. I dropped three more books around campus before I snuck back to my classroom in time to teach my next class. 

Once my school got out, I dropped this book along the path the kids walk to get home. I was standing near it doing my after school duty and I totally saw it get snatched up! Yes!

I had to hurry home from work to walk Gunner, but I figured he could help me out with my efforts, so I brought a book along with us on our walk and dropped it here under this tree. He was very proud of himself for helping out. 

I had some errands to run after work, so this book came along with me and got dropped outside the frozen yogurt shop. 

And my last book of the day got dropped on a table at Starbucks. 

This was my fourth year participating in Rock The Drop, and it continues to be one of my favorite days of the year! It was a fun challenge trying to find a spot to drop ten books throughout the day, but I guess it helps that I have access to a high school campus without seeming like a total creeper.

World Book Night

Just a week later, on April 23, was World Book Night. If you aren't familiar with World Book Night, you can read about it here. Basically, you can sign up to be a Giver and you're given a big box of the book of your choice to hand out to reluctant readers. I participated last year and loved it, so I was very excited to sign up again this year...and even more excited to see that Looking for Alaska by John Green, one of my favorite books, was on the giveaway list this year!

Last year I gave my books to other teachers at my school to put in their classroom libraries, which was great, but a little anti-climactic. So this year I decided to give my copies directly to my students.

I typed up a little note explaining that the books was theirs to keep, but I encouraged them to pass it along when they were done with it and to come talk to me about it if they liked it. Then I gave it to students of mine who I thought would enjoy it or students who I felt were ready to have their lives changed by this awesome book.

I loved hearing the thank yous from the students who appreciated it. And, even more, I love actually seeing them read it in class. It's awesome. I've already had one girl come in to talk to me about it, and I promptly handed her The Fault in our Stars as a follow-up.

Sharing my love of books and reading with others is one of my very favorite things to do, and I was so excited that April gave me two awesome opportunities to share the love.

BOOKANISTAS: Cover Love for THE LOST PLANET

Can we please talk about my awesome friend Rachel Searles? Exactly one year ago we were on a writing retreat and Rachel was polishing up her ms for an agent critique she won in a blog giveaway. Since that retreat a year ago, Rachel signed with that agent, sold her book, and now, one year later, I am celebrating her book cover here on my blog, and she has ARCs of her book sitting in her house. How amazing is that? It really goes to show you how things can turn around quickly for you, even in this notoriously slow business.

Anyway, Rachel's cover is amazeballs. If you haven't seen the beautiful cover of THE LOST PLANET, her upper MG space adventure, well, feast your eyes on this beauty:

A thirteen-year-old boy with no memory is hunted through the galaxy with two unlikely allies as he searches for the truth about his past.

I couldn't love this cover more. Gorgeous, gorgeous artwork, and it looks like an exciting movie poster! This is definitely something kids are going to reach for in the bookstore!

If you haven't done it yet, be sure to add THE LOST PLANET on Goodreads. This is a book you aren't going to want to miss!


Check out what the other Bookanistas are up to:

Tracey Neithercott is pepped about PIVOT POINT by Kasie West 

Shari Arnold marvels at THE REECE MALCOM LIST by Amy Spalding

Nikki Katz delves into SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY by Susan Dennard

Katy Upperman raves about some recent reads

BOOKANISTAS: This Is What Happy Looks Like

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs? 

I was a huge fan of THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, but I had one tiny little problem with it...it was too short! I wanted more, more, more! So I was very excited when I got my copy of this book in the mail and saw how long it was. I knew I would get drawn in to the love story between Ellie and Graham, and I was so glad I got to linger there for a long time. 

The title of this book really does tell you everything you need to know. This book just makes you HAPPY. It's a very sweet romance that develops over the course of email communication. There's the added issue of Graham being famous and Ellie needing desperately to stay out of the public eye, and, just like in THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, there's also some great family dynamic/issues going on, too. There's a lot going on in this story, and it really kept me tearing through the pages. I had such a warm and fuzzy feeling the entire time I was reading it, I never wanted to put it down. 

Fans of contemporary romance with a little depth, you're going to love this one. 

Check out what the other Bookanistas are up to today...

Katy Upperman  ponders LOVE AND OTHER PERISHABLE ITEMS by Laura Buzo

Kimberly Sabatini wonders at WHEN YOU WERE HERE by Daisy Whitney

Elana Johson  falls for THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

Tracy Banghart  loves LACRIMOSA by Christine Fonseca

Corrine Jackson adores the ARCADIA BELL series by Jenn Bennett

Rebecca Behrens delves into CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein

Lenore Appelhans raves about THE RULES by Stacey Kade

Stasia Ward Kehoe wraps up National Poetry Month with THE POETRY TEACHER’S BOOK OF LISTS by Sylvia Vardell

Christine Fonseca  celebrates UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi

Shannon Messenger  discusses some recent reads

BOOKANISTAS: Welcome to our new Bookanistas!

There has been a lot going on behind the scenes here at the Bookanistas. We have some great plans for bringing more nothing-but-love reviews and fun book stuff to the blogosphere, and one of the first things we're excited about is some new members!

Join me in welcoming our awesome new Bookanistas! *confetti cannon*

Source

I have no idea why I chose this picture. I just looked up Happy Dog and I liked the look of this guy.

Tracey Neithercott is a journalist who writes mostly about health but sometimes about famous people. She also writes YA sci-fi novels and reads when she should be socializing. Or so her mother says. As a teen, she spent a full year aspiring to be a CIA agent, mainly to dress up like Sydney Bristow on Alias. Find her onTwitter. 

Rebecca Behrens is a writer and kid-lit production editor who lives in New York City. Books are her favorite things, but she also loves: Wisconsin, bright shoes, running, and doughnuts. Her upper-MG debut, WHEN AUDREY MET ALICE, is coming in February 2014 from Sourcebooks. Follow her on Twitter. 

Thanks to her father's job in the US military,Lenore Appelhans became addicted to travel early. To date, she's visited nearly 60 countries and has stepped on every contintent except Antartica. She currently lives in Frankfurt, Germany with her husband and three fancy Birman cats. Her novel, The Memory of After (published in hardcover asLevel 2), is "immensely layered" (VOYA) and "a griping debut" (NYT Bestselling Author Megan McCafferty). The second book in The Memory Chronicles, Chasing Before, is due summer 2014. She has been blogging about books at Presenting Lenore since 2008.

Kimberly Sabatini is a former Special Education Teacher who is now a stay-at-home mom and a part-time dance instructor for three and four year olds. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and three boys. Kimberly writes Young Adult fiction and is represented by Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency. TOUCHING THE SURFACE is her debut novel. (Simon Pulse – Simon & Schuster) 

 Shari Arnold writes stories and takes photographs. She likes loud music, dessert before dinner and mild weather, preferably all at the same time. She lives on the Connecticut shoreline with her husband and their two young children. Find her online at shariarnold.blogspot.com or follow her on Twitter. 

We're so excited to welcome our new Bookanistas, and we can't wait to add their book posts into our weekly party!

If you don't already do it, make sure you add the Bookanistas Blog to your feed reader, and be sure to like us on facebook for all the up-to-the-minute awesome book news!


Check out what the other Bookanistas are up to today...

Carrie Harris croons about THE COLLECTOR by Victoria Scott

Corrine Jackson adores CONFESSIONS OF AN ANGRY GIRL by Louise Rozett

Shelli Johannes-Wells hails HYSTERIA by Megan Miranda

Stasia Ward Kehoe celebrates YALSA’s TEEN LIT DAY

Nikki Katz raves about ROOTLESS by Chris Howard

Gretchen McNeil adores UNREMEMBERED by Jessica Brody

Rebecca Behrens and Tracey Neithercott share why they’re excited to be newbie Bookanistas