The Best Reader:
Little Brown

I have a special post from Janenifer Rush to celebrate the release of her book Altered. Each of the blogs on the tour has been assigned a character (Nick, Cas, Trev, Sam or Anna) and Janenifer has shared her thoughts on each character based on a selected excerpt from the book.
I was assigned the character Cas!

ALTERED Excerpt: If Cas knew I liked Sam, did Sam know? Of course he did. I wasn’t exactly secretive about the whole thing. But hearing it out loud changed everything. I suddenly felt nauseous. I put my face in my hands. “Oh my God."
The tree branches rustled. Cas dropped to the ground next to me and patted my head. “It’s all right. Go ahead and admit you’re in love with me, too. Let’s get everything off our chests while we’re at it."
I swatted at him but he dodged away. “You’re not making me feel better.”
“Who said I was trying to make you feel better? Fact: Sam’s got swagger. Fact: I’m straight. Fact: Even though I’m straight, I sorta love the dude. So I can’t say I blame you.” (Altered page 166)

Jennifer's Thoughts:
Out of all the Altered boys, I think Cas is the most entertaining to write! There isn’t a lot of hidden meaning in the things Cas says. He isn’t modest. He isn’t quiet. He isn’t afraid of saying whatever pops into his head. As a writer, that’s liberating!
In this scene, Cas and Anna are talking about Anna’s crush on Sam, which isn’t news to anyone. But, in true Cas form, while Anna is mortified about her crush, and mortified about him knowing, Cas is climbing a tree. He cannot sit still for longer than five minutes, which is one of my very favorite Cas characteristics.
When I wrote this scene, I thought, no way would Cas remain on the park bench while Anna poured her heart out. So what would he be doing? He’s listening to her, of course, because he responds with the perfect answer! But while his brain is occupied, his body also needs to be moving, hence the tree.
If you’ve ever watched the movie Marley and Me, just picture Marley, and you have Cas’s canine equivalent. Now, when I write Cas into a scene, the first question I ask myself is: What in this setting can he get into?

ALTERED BLOG TOUR: Monday, January 7th – YA Bibliophile Tuesday, January 8th – YA Sisterhood Wednesday, January 9th – Confessions of a Bookaholic Thursday, January 10th – Once Upon A Twilight Friday, January 11th – Icey Books

Altered by Janenifer Rush
Publisher: Little Brown (January 1st, 2013)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcove r: 33 6 pages
Series: Altered, #1
When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev.. and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

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What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton
Published: Poppy (October 9th, 2013)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 310 pages
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Summary:
How can you talk about something you can’t remember?

Before the ski trip, sixteen-year-old Cassidy “Sid” Murphy was a cheerleader (at the bottom of the pyramid, but still… ), a straight-A student, and a member of a solid trio of best friends. When she ends up on a ski lift next to handsome local college boy, Dax Windsor, she’s thrilled; but Dax takes everything from Sid—including a lock of her perfect red curls—and she can’t remember any of it.

Back home and unable to relate to her old friends, Sid drops her college prep classes and takes up residence in the A/V room with only Corey “The Living Stoner” Livingston for company. But as she gets to know Corey (slacker, baker, total dreamboat), Sid finds someone who truly makes her happy. Now, if she can just shake the nightmares and those few extra pounds, everything will be perfect… or so she thinks.

Witty and poignant, Colleen Clayton’s stunning debut is a story about moving on after the unthinkable happens.

Review:

Sid was a good girl who was looking forward to her school ski trip. She meets a guy, Dax, and ends up taking a big chance and going to his cabin late one night for what she thinks is a party. Once she arrives she realizes no one else is there.

There's a bit of mystery behind what exactly happened that night because Sid wakes up the next morning with no idea what went on. Dax isn't around so she bolts from the cabin and is finally able to go home. Sid tries to get her life back but she can't get away from what happened to her. She doesn't open up about it but she does try to lean on the small group of people who are proving to be good friends.

One of those friends is Corey. Corey is not really the typical YA guy we find in novels. He's quiet and ends up being a terrific friend. He's a genuine person who turns out to be exactly what Sid needs. It was good to see that one mistake didn't turn her completely off of trusting someone else.

Corey has his own issues and I just loved seeing how his interactions with Sid grew and they develop a strong friendship. Once that turns into romance it's even easier to see how amazing he really is.

Sid really showed her strength in this story and I was happy to see such a brave young girl in a story. I look forward to reading more stories by Colleen Clayton in the future.

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Thousand Words by Janenifer Brown
Published: Little, Brown (May 21st, 2013)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 282 pages
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary:
Ashleigh's boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he'll forget about her while he's away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh's friends suggest she text him a picture of herself — sans swimsuit — to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits"send."

But when Kaleb and Ashleigh go through a bad breakup, Kaleb takes revenge by forwarding the text to his baseball team. Soon the photo has gone viral, attracting the attention of the school board, the local police, and the media. As her friends and family try to distance themselves from the scandal, Ashleigh feels completely alone — until she meets Mack while serving her court-ordered community service. Not only does Mack offer a fresh chance at friendship, but he's the one person in town who received the text of Ashleigh's photo — and didn't look.

Acclaimed author Janenifer Brown brings readers a gripping novel about honesty and betrayal, redemption and friendship, attraction and integrity, as Ashleigh finds that while a picture may be worth a thousand words.. it doesn't always tell the whole story.

Review:

I think that many teens are unaware as well. Janenifer Brown did a terrific job showing what can happen and how it does alter the lives of all involved.

In this book, Ashleigh is dealing with the consequences of sending a single nude photo to her boyfriend while at a party. She wanted him to know she loved him and that he shouldn't forget about her while he's at college. Her friends pushed her to do it and she surprised everyone by going through with it. But then her and her boyfriend have a horrible breakup and her picture ends up all over school.

After a while, everyone knows about the photo-- including teachers and everyone in town — and what Ashleigh did. Even though she has to go through all of the consequences of the photo as she loses all her friends and the respect from others, she also has a punishment to face. She has to do a community service project to help show teens what can happen to them if they make the same mistakes she did.

I'm a huge fan of romance in a book but you won't find that here. It isn't what this story needed and I applaud Janenifer for leaving it out. For this book, the character needed to tell her story and get stronger by spreading the word about something that so many teens do. It's truly a cautionary tale that so many teens need to read.

This book also shows how something so simple changes many lives. The boyfriend, Kaleb, has to deal with the fact that he is 18 and forwarded a naked photo of an underage girl. That carries a lot of heavy consequences that people usually don't consider. I was happy to see that we really get to see the full picture of what happens in these situations… before, during, and after it occurs.

I highly recommend this book!!

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Can you d escribe the most memorable game of Truth or Dare you've ever played? Tell us and you could win a copy of TRUTH OR DARE by Jacqueline Green!

Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (May 14th, 2013)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 416 pages
Series: Truth or Dare, #1
Summary:
When a simple round of truth or dare spins out of control, three girls find it’s no longer a party game. It’s do or die.

It all started on a whim: the game was a way for Tenley Reed to reclaim her popularity, a chance for perfect Caitlin “Angel” Thomas to prove she’s more than her Harvard application. Loner Sydney Morgan wasn’t even there; she was hiding behind her camera like usual. But when all three start receiving mysterious dares long after the party has ended, they’re forced to play along—or risk exposing their darkest secrets.

How far will Tenley, Caitlin and Sydney go to keep the truth from surfacing? And who’s behind this twisted game?

Set against the backdrop of Echo Bay, an isolated beach town haunted by misfortune, Truth or Dare is a highly charged debut that will keep readers in suspense from beginning to end.

Prize:
1 winner will receive a copy of TRUTH OR DARE by Jacqueline Green.

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 June 1st.
• Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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