Here is the fabulous cover for Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala. Publisher: Harper Collins Release Date: October 8th, 2011 Summary: Joy Delamere is suffocating.
From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.
Joy can take his words—tender words, cruel words—until the night they go too far.
Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe… if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.
Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength.
To celebrate, she's having a giveaway! 3 lucky winners will get a signed copy of her first book, Tell Me A Secret.
To enter: Leave a comment here and at other participating blogs for 1 extra entry each. All blogs are listed below. Include your email address in your comment. Giveaway is INTERNATIONAL Must be at least 13 to enter. Must comment by 11:59pm CST tonight.
Find Holly Cupala Holly Cupala | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads Pre-Order Don't Breathe a Word Amazon | The Book Depository | Barnes & Noble
The other blogs having participating in the cover reveal today Kari at A Good Addiction Steph Su at Steph Su Reads Blogs that participated in the cover sample pieces on Monday. Kristi (http://www.thestorysiren.com/) Angela (http://www.readingangel.com/) Lena (http://addicted2novels.blogspot.com/) Eve's Fan Garden (http://evesfangarden.com/blog/) Lauren (http://laurenscrammedbookshelf.blogspot.com/) Danielle (http://www.theresabook.com/) Sarah (http://sarahbear9789.blogspot.com/) Andye http://www.readingteen.net/)
The amazing Holly Cupala is having a trailer release party for her newest book Don't Breathe a Word. Holly has incredible book trailers so you gotta check it out!
And there are PRIZES! PRIZES: Five Grand Prizes: Signed copies of Don’t Breathe a Word, Tell Me a Secret, the TMAS special edition audiobook, bookmarks, stickers, and other swag* Ten Runner-Up Prizes:Don’t Breathe a Word flyers, bookmarks, stickers, and a TMAS button* Plus the first forty people who buy the book at this link between now and Valentine’s Day get DBAW bookmarks and stickers from me!* *Must include mailing address with entry. All prizes ship to US addresses (sorry!) HOW TO ENTER: 1. USE GOOGLE to go to the DBAW trailer link, then click the Share button to send to your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, MySpace, blog, or other social network. 5 pts each 2. USE GOOGLE to tell us where you posted and enter to win 3. Buy the book at this link for more chances to win!
Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala HarperTeen (January 3rd 2012) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 299 pages Source: Publisher Rating: 5 of 5 stars Joy Delamere is suffocating…
From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.
Joy can take his words — tender words, cruel words — until the night they go too far.
Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe… if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.
Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength. Review: I absolutely loved this book. The first word I think of when recalling Don't Breathe a Word is raw. Holly transports you to the streets of Seattle and flawlessly places intriguing characters into the story that help readers feel as if they are seeing it all through the eyes of a troubled teen.
Joy is a young girl who feels trapped in her situation. She has a boyfriend who may seem perfect to some people, but she knows that is far from the truth. He is manipulative. His words make Joy do things she wouldn't normally do. She is slowly losing herself and she can't see a good way out.
She soon makes the decision to run away. To break free of her boyfriend and her overprotective parents and start a new life as someone else. There is one thing she wants-- to find the boy who plays music on the streets. She has seen him before. He would know her story and he would help her. So she takes off on her journey and quickly finds out what the streets are like. Even though she is immediately faced with scary situations, Joy doesn't back down or give up. Eventually her efforts pay off and she does find Creed.
Creed is sort of the protector of their little group and he soon takes on the role of trying to protect Joy — or Triste, as she calls herself --. It takes some time for her to really be accepted by the others and soon she sees what exactly people have to do in order to stay alive. During this time we get glimpses into Joy's past. We can see the path that made her run from her past. This was very beneficial because I could see how her boyfriend, Asher, slowly brought her down.
Holly is an outstanding writer. She doesn't disguise situations with fluff or vague terms. She tackles a hard subject in a way that is gritty and bold. The streets are a scary place and Holly really enables the character and reader to see exactly what that may entail.
I truly got invested in this story and I was completely astonished by how emotional it made me. Joy's story came to life and her connection to Creed was a bright spot in this story. It slowly grew until it was something Joy could really hold on to and put her hope in.
Don't Breathe a Word is simply brilliant. A powerful look into the life of a young girl trying to break free and find her own way-- away from the people that were keeping her trapped. Holly Cupala knows how to approach a difficult topic and give it clarity and substance.
Recommend: I highly recommend this book! It is perfect for people who love contemporary titles or want something that will really have an impact. (More appropriate for older teens due to subject matter).
It's now time for the Don't Breathe a Word Re-Cover contest voting! The winner will receive … SIGNED finished copy of Don't Breathe a Word Tell me a Secret Audiobook Swag
TO VOTE -Comment on this post with the number of your favorite cover (located above the cover). -Voters can only vote ONCE! Voting ends Sunday, January 15th! COVER #1
Tell Me A Secret is a fabulous story that I will not soon forget. I posted my review of it HERE and now I am thrilled to be a stop on the blog tour. Today I am honored to get a chance to speak with Miranda herself!
J: Thank you Miranda for being on my blog today.Can you tell us one thing that teens may not realize when they feel they are in a serious, romantic relationship? Miranda: I don’t think there is anything wrong with serious romantic relationships, but it’s easy to get caught up in them and lose sight of the bigger picture—that’s part of what happened between Kamran and me, both of us for different reasons. Remember to stay grounded in your friendships, your goals, and the things you know to be true. J: If you could go back to before you were pregnant and give yourself advice, what would you say? Miranda: I think I would tell myself to take a step back. I did good things for the wrong reasons and some not-so-good things for the right ones. It’s hard to see things clearly when you’re right in the middle of them. It helps to have good friends to stand by you through the hard times, and the confusing times. Sometimes it’s difficult to find a true friend, but it’s worth it.
J: Out of everything you have had to experience, what sticks out as the hardest part? What one thing did you learn the most from? Miranda: The hardest part was losing my sister and learning to stand on my own. I think I was looking for myself in her, and later in Delaney and other people. It seems so distant, now that my life has taken such a different turn. When you learn something with your heart and not your head, it changes everything.
J: Most teens don't have a good understanding of what pregnancy is actually like. Can you share with us what part of it surprised you the most? Miranda: I think it surprised me that you could get so close to something you’ve never seen or heard. After Lexi was born, I just kept staring at her, like, Is that you? Is that really you? Someone you know and don’t know at the same time. It still surprises me every day.
J: If Xanda had been alive when you learned the news of your pregnancy, what do you think her first words to you would have been?
Miranda: I’m not sure what she would say, but I can picture what she might do: she would spin around with her hands over her mouth. She might say, “That’s terrible.” Or she might say, “That’s wonderful!” She might even say, “I can’t believe it’s you and not me.” But after the initial shock, she would throw her whole self into sticking by me through it all.
J: Do you have a new outlook on life and loss, or a new philosophy you now try to go by? Miranda: What sticks out for me the most is when Nik talked about why difficult things happen. She said, “We don’t always know why things happen until down the road.” The future is where the hope is, she said. I don’t know what’s in the future, but I know I’m hopeful now.
And here is a BONUS! A video from Holly where she discusses her deepest, darkest secrets! Wouldn't you like to know some of Holly's Secrets?
Tell Me A Secret by Holly Cupala Publisher: HarperCollins (June 22nd, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Hardcover: 256 pages In the five years since her bad-girl sister Xanda’s death, Miranda Mathison has wondered about the secret her sister took to the grave, and what really happened the night she died. Now, just as Miranda is on the cusp of her dreams—a best friend to unlock her sister’s world, a ticket to art school, and a boyfriend to fly her away from it all—Miranda has a secret all her own.
Then two lines on a pregnancy test confirm her worst fears. Stripped of her former life, Miranda must make a choice with tremendous consequences and finally face her sister’s demons and her own.
Giveaway
Prize:
1 winner will receive a TELL ME A SECRET ART PRINT — Inspired by the book trailer.
(As pictured above) Rules:
You must be at least 13 to enter.
Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
Contest is US Only and ends December 15th.
Once contacted the winner will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.
The form must be filled out to enter.
Podcast To access the Tell Me a Secret podcast, click on the banner or HERE to get to the page.
Find Holly Cupala Holly Cupala / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads Purchase Tell Me A Secret Amazon / The Book Depository / Barnes & Noble Book Trailer
Thanks so much Holly for the post, giveaway, and VIDEO!
The Tell Me A Secret blog tour is hosted by Teen {book} scene.You can USE GOOGLE to visit the other stops on the tour.
I am so excited to have Holly Cupala on the blog today because she is sharing an exclusive with us! Not only is she sharing some amazing pictures from"Halloweens past" but she is presenting chapters 18 and 19 from Tell Me A Secret through the free podcast. I am so honored that for the first time, for little ole' me, Holly has released 2 chapters at once! If you haven't checked out the podcast yet, DO IT! The information will be listed below. But first, pictures!
When Holly and her husband were dating. How adorable!
The year they got married.
Tell Me A Secret And here is a teaser section from chapter 18:
“We have to go to Dylan’s Halloween party next year,” Delaney had told me last spring. “It’s an Elna Mead legend. He’s been throwing them since, like, his junior year. You have to know him or one of his housemates to get in—but you’ll be with me.” When I asked her about the party before class, she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t think he’s having one this year—I was thinking about going to visit my mom in L.A. What are you doing?” Apparently Milo didn’t get the top secret memo, because now he stood in the hall with a stack of party flyers, handing them out with a lazy smile to any reasonably attractive female. “Heeeey, see you there?” A pack of sophomore girls took the flyer, not realizing they had received one of the school’s most coveted invitations. They giggled, rolling their eyes as they bustled by and let the paper flutter to the ground. I snatched it up, slipping it into one of my folders, completely unnoticed… In art class, I pulled Milo’s flyer out for a closer inspection. Delaney’s initials were scrawled in the corner with a red pen—the key to opening Dylan’s door. Underneath the address and time, the scrabbled shape of a black crow stood out in relief against the white half sheet, an inversion of the white bird in my drawing. Like a sign left by Xanda, bidding me to follow.
Podcast
In order to get access to the Tell Me a Secret podcast, click on the banner or HERE to get to the page. Once there you can listen via iTunes or click RSS and pick the chapter you would like to listen to. Holly added Chapters 18 and 19 to help us celebrate Halloween because these chapters involve the"Halloween party" in the book.
Tell Me A Secret by Holly Cupala Publisher: HarperCollins (June 22nd, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Hardcover: 256 pages In the five years since her bad-girl sister Xanda’s death, Miranda Mathison has wondered about the secret her sister took to the grave, and what really happened the night she died. Now, just as Miranda is on the cusp of her dreams—a best friend to unlock her sister’s world, a ticket to art school, and a boyfriend to fly her away from it all—Miranda has a secret all her own.
Then two lines on a pregnancy test confirm her worst fears. Stripped of her former life, Miranda must make a choice with tremendous consequences and finally face her sister’s demons and her own.
- Thank you so much Holly for putting up 2 new chapters for Haunted Halloween! The podcast is amazing and I am truly honored that you did that for the event!: ) Also, you can find ME on Holly's blog today! I was so excited when Holly asked me to be part of her feature"What YA Bloggers Want". If you would like to check out the posts from this feature you can USE GOOGLE to see the bloggers that have already appeared so far this month.
Purchase Tell Me A Secret Amazon / The Book Depository / Barnes & Noble Book Trailer
* Check out Lisa's Haunted Halloween post.
*Reminder: If you are interested in the COMMENT CONTEST, remember to include your email address with your comment for an extra entry! Please read full entry rules here.
