Meandering Monday- Jessica Spotswood/Miranda Kenneally Signing

Alright, so I am way late in recapping this, partly because of my break in March but also because of my extreme procrastination. The event was held March 10 in the late afternoon at One More Page bookstore in Arlington, VA.

My mom was kind enough to drive and come with me, especially since we had to parallel park, which I am not good at. The bookstore was in a pretty nice part of town and my mom left me at the bookstore to go take a walk around. I was a couple minutes late, but I wasn't the only late one; people were still coming in half an hour after it started.

I came in the middle of Jessica's reading, and then afterward, Miranda and Jessica took questions from the audience and there were some really great questions. There was talk about how YA has changed over the years, why there's such a bounty of female authors in YA (they had no answer, other than that it rocked, lol), and what brought them to YA in the first place.

It was a really nice event and I got my book signed by Jessica and a picture with her, and I wish I'd had money to buy Miranda's cuz I've heard such wonderful things about it. I may have to see if my library has it...

Anyway, something else that was interesting too was that there were a lot of bloggers/writers in the audience, which I didn't realize until after the fact, lol. The only one I recognized was Michelle of GalleySmith but I think the reason it was so well attended is because of the DC YA Mafia, which includes Rick Lipman (who's now represented by my friend Pam!) and many other writers, the full list of which you can find on the sidebar of Rick's website. As you can see, Miranda and Jessica are part of it too. Hopefully someday I can spend some time with them; I had no idea (obviously) that there were so many awesome DC YA lovers! I'm always out of the loop.

Picture 1- The outside of the store, which also had a wine and chocolate corner.
Picture 2- Jessica and Miranda getting ready to sign. Also, whatever book that is in the corner is apparently EPIC!
Picture 3- Jessica and I, with Miranda and Michelle in the background. Also, Jessica has the smallest, neatest handwriting. It's crazy.

In My Mailbox- Week of April 23 + Retrospective

I did a vlog this week and I hope you guys enjoy it!!



Books Shown:

Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon (ARC, Aug 2012)
Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You by Joyce Carol Oates (ARC, Aug 2012)
Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (ARC, Aug 2012)
Life Happens Next by Terry Trueman (ARC, Aug 2012)
Erasing Time by C.J. Hill (ARC, Sept 2012)
Defiance by C.J. Redwine (ARC, Sept 2012)
The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna (ARC, Sept 2012)
Starling by Lesley Livingston (ARC, Sept 2012)
The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman (hardcover, April 2012)
The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Altebrando (ARC, July 2012)
Dangerous Boy by Mandy Hubbard (ARC, Aug 2012)
Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot (ARC, July 2012)
Miracle by Elizabeth Scott (ARC, June 2012)
Wicked Jealous by Robin Palmer (ARC, July 2012)
The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt (July 2012)
In Honor by Jessi Kirby (hardcover, May 2012)
Anyway by Arthur Salm (hardcover, May 2012)

and here's my weekly retrospective:

Tuesday- I reviewed Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk, which is out in stores now!

Thursday- I reviewed The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova, which will be out in stores May 1, and interviewed her as well.

Friday- I posted a cute picture of my cats as part of Cat Friday!

Saturday- I reviewed Insurgent by Veronica Roth, which will be available May 1!

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
"One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so."- summary from Amazon

Oh my goodness, I absolutely loved this book and I'll keep this as spoiler-free as possible. I still love Roth's world-building and throughout this story, we see so many different factions living their lives and interacting with each other. It was really interesting.

There's some wonderful twists and turns, including a HUGE one right at the end, so I'm warning you all now that it's a huge cliffhanger. Tris and Four's relationship is still as awesome and rocky as ever. Roth does a great job too weaving the romance with the action and there's a good, equal amount of each. It's just handled really well and even though the book is over 500 pages, it doesn't feel like it (except when you're holding it); I seriously flew through this book and was surprised at how much I'd read in one sitting and would usually end reading more than I had planned.

Simply put, an amazing sequel and I cannot wait for the conclusion next year, though I do wish it was next month instead! It's such a great dystopian series and I urge you all to check it out.

Today's also Erudite's day taking over the Facebook page, so be sure to check out our posts! Plus, don't forget the awesome contest here! Also, be sure to help out Team Erudite by clicking on the Insurgent picture in the sidebar. I thank you in advance!!

FTC: Received ARC from publisher (and I am eternally grateful to them!). Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Cat Friday (26)

Cat Friday is a somewhat-weekly meme that's similar to Presenting Lenore's Cat Tuesday, in which I show off pictures of my cats. You've seen them in videos wandering by but now you can see them more clearly.

So I told you guys about the new cat tower we bought and I've finally got a picture of it with cats on every level! They absolutely love it and I hope you do too!

From top to bottom, it's Pearl, Meeko, Samson and Maya. The pink cubby hole didn't come with the tower- we bought it separately but they all really like it.

Blog Tour- The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova

The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova
"For Tristan Hart, everything changes with one crashing wave.

He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.

His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he's heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he's suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods.

Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea...and now it wants him back."- summary from Amazon

This is an AWESOME merfolk story. I mean, first off, the fact that it's told from a guy's point of view as he becomes a merman is fantastic. There's also some really great world-building here and a journey filled with many twists and turns. Humor is a big part of the story too, which was really nice to see.

I liked Tristan as a character because he was a good guy at the heart but still flawed and trying to become better as the story progressed. Cordova did a wonderful job writing his interactions with everyone he encounters, but especially his best friend Layla.

I wasn't a big fan of the ending, just because it's not a standalone title but I will say it's not a huge cliffhanger or anything.

Overall, a great debut and I can't wait to read more from Cordova!

and here's an interview with Zoraida!

1) How did you get the idea for The Vicious Deep? Was it difficult to figure out Tristan's story?

The idea for the novel came from a lifetime love of mermaids, the supernatural, and adventure quests. Tristan's story is the story of a guy. He just happens to be a merguy on a pretty cool journey.


2) What is it like holding your debut book in your hands, and knowing it will be out in the world very soon?

I only have an ARC right now, but it's surreal. Sometimes I have to force myself to stop thinking about it to quell the butterflies! Mostly, I feel blessed and excited.


3) What are you currently working on? Can you tell us anything about it?

Lets just say I have some big surprised for Tristan Hart and his friends. The adventure continues in The Savage Blue.


4) You learned to speak English by watching The Little Mermaid (Disney version). What's your favorite song, scene and character from that movie?

Kiss the Girl. It's totally cheesy, but it's the perfect set up scene. And I like that they don't actually get to kiss. My favorite character is King Triton, because after thousands of years, even a king can still change.


5) What is your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor(s)?

The soap flavored ones. (Really.)


6) You got to attend the National Book Foundation's writing camp for two consecutive summers. What was that experience like?

It is honestly the reason I'm a published writer at 24. I got to be around poets like Cornelius Eady and YA writers like Jacqueline Woodson. I got to meet people from ALL over the U.S. and for that whole week, we breathed books and words. I made some of my best friends at that camp. Wouldn't trade those experiences for anything.


And Sourcebooks is also providing one copy of The Vicious Deep for a giveaway! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Thursday, May 3 at 9pm EST and you'll be entered! US/Canadian residents only. Good luck!

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.