Spotlight: The Elites by Natasha Ngan

 Book Description:  

'There is a rumour that the Elites don't bleed.'

Hundreds of years into the future, wars, riots, resource crises and rising sea-levels have destroyed the old civilisations. Only one city has survived: Neo-Babel, a city full of cultures - and racial tension. Fifteen-year-old Silver is an Elite, a citizen of Neo-Babel chosen to guard the city due to her superior DNA. She'd never dream of leaving - but then she fails to prevent the assassination of Neo Babel's president, setting off a chain of events more shocking and devastating than she could ever have imagined. Forced to flee the city with her best friend Butterfly (a boy with genetically-enhanced wings), Silver will have to fight to find her family, uncover the truth about Neo-Babel and come to terms with her complicated feelings for Butterfly.
Packed full of adventure, romance, exoticism and the power of friendship, THE ELITES is a highly compelling and beautifully written novel from a supremely talented debut author.

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                                                                       Natasha Ngan

 Interview:

1.Tell us a little about yourself?

I'm a half-Chinese, half-English girl who grew up living in two worlds (Malaysia and England, but reality and my imagination is also true!). I studied Geography at university as I'm fascinated by cultures, and so many of my story ideas have come from my course studies. I currently work as a freelance social media consultant in London, a blogger (I runfashion and lifestyle blog Girl in the Lens with my boyfriend), and of course a YA author! The last is obviously my favourite ;)

2. Describe your book in 2 sentences?

In a city in the future where no one ever enters, and no one leaves, Silver, a fifteen-year old girl who works as an Elite to guard the city's leaders, is about to discover just what is outside the city's walls. And as the dirty truths about her city begin to reveal themselves, she has to search deep within herself for the strength to fight against all she has ever known ... 

3. What inspired you to write it?

The first line of the book is what initially came to me (it's still the first line! 'There is a rumour that the Elites don't bleed'), and then the world and characters followed in a jumble of images, ideas and voices. My own cultural background and the things I was learning about for my Geography degree inspired a lot of the book - there's even a character called Cambridge, which is where I went to university! 

4. If your book will have a theme song, what would it be?

Tough! I do have playlists for some of the new books I'm working on, but as The Elites is set in the future, current music doesn't really fit it.  Something like Some Nights by Fun. would suit it - a song about feeling conflicted and learning to understand yourself. I also love the line - "You wouldn't believe the most amazing things that can come from some terrible nights". There's so much hardship in The Elites that the characters have to go through, but it's worth the fight.

5. Movies you look forward to watch this year?

 Despicable Me 2! I'm looking forward to Anchorman 2 and The Hobbit 2 as well.  

Blog Tour : Super Pop!: Pop Culture Top Ten Lists to Help You Win at Trivia, Survive in the Wild, and Make It Through the Holidays by Daniel Harmon (Review -Plus awesome Giveaways)

 Book Description:

Super-Pop offers a maximum-pleasure, minimum-effort way to become smarter, happier, and more likely to survive your next family function (or a shark attack). This hilarious and wide-ranging guide sorts nearly 500 different bestsellers, blockbusters, and underappreciated gems into quirky top ten lists, like “Outwit Death: Essential Lessons in Survival,” and “Achieve Mindfulness: Movies That Will Show You the Way (With Wise Elders Now Included).”  So whether you’re looking for some motivational workout music, need help planning a July 4th double feature, or just want to pick up some knowledge without straining your brain, this book has you covered. With new insights on old classics and fresh ideas for jaded eyes, Super Pop makes sense of pop culture – and then puts pop culture back to work.

Goodreads  Twitter  Website  

   

Seth Fishman

Interview:

1. Give us 3 interesting facts about you.

1) Every year, for the past five years, I’vehosted a Christmas movie marathon party that includes, on average, five feature length films and seven to ten shorts. It is, objectively speaking, the best day of the year. (I am also, as a rule, the only one who enjoys it.)

2) I cannot play the ukulele.

3) My feet are the hottest feet in the world, all the time. I have to sleep in socks because otherwise the bed gets too hot. (My feet are my enemy; they are winning the war.)

2. Describe your book in two sentences.

Super Pop! is basically an attempt to sort some 500 different pop culture recommendations into top ten lists that (ideally) make you think, make you laugh, and make a basic kind of sense. The lists in the book are organized according to five different self-improvement themes as well, because I really do think that, with the right outlook, even our guilty pleasures have the power to make us better people.

3 What inspired you to write this book?

I’m glad you asked! I’m a huge fan of the pop culture podcasts at Slate (the “Culture Gabfest”) and NPR  (“Pop Culture Happy Hour”)—and one of the great things about both of those shows are the very personal recommendations that the hosts provide at the end of each episode. Since these shows generally try to cover timely topics as a group, the recommendations tend to be the kind of things that otherwise you wouldn’t ever hear about: so things like an old book they just rediscovered, or a small art exhibit they saw, or a band that hasn’t quite made it yet. As a result, these recommendations have the power to expand horizons and bring some new attention to things that otherwise have sort of fallen by the wayside. That’s a great service—and it’s something that’s otherwise in pretty short supply.

Most people (myself included) get their movie recommendations from Netflix and their book advice from friends, and I wrote this book do my own small part in helping readers use the things they already know about and love to find the things they want to love but haven’t really heard about yet.

That’s the long answer. The short answer is: Because I wanted to tell people to stream Tell No One, read Deliverance, download the “Hang up and Listen” podcast, and go watch Beyonce’s “Countdown” video again. 

4. Book/s you look forward to read this year?

It usually takes me a few months to get into the latest releases, so I probably won’t read any of the big 2013 books until next year. But as soon as Gillian Flynn’s next book comes out, I’m going to take it on vacation with me; as soon as David Mitchell’s next book comes out, I’ll take it everywhere I go until it’s finished; and as soon as I finish The Year of the Flood I’ll buy Margaret Atwood’s finale in the Oryx and Crake trilogy, Maddadam.

5. Favorite Starbucks drink? (If a coffee drinker)

I drink coffee the way someone dying of thirst drinks water, so a twenty oz. regular coffee is my standard order.

And just for the record, in America, this is not abnormal; but in Spain – where I went on my honeymoon last year – it is deeply not normal. After weeks subsisting on micro-cups of espresso, my wife and I both ordered ventis/twenties at a Starbucks in Madrid. The guy at the cashier told us it would be a few minutes while he (a) located the regular coffee beans and (b) actually ground and brewed these beans into hot caffeine water. Then he turned around to a co-worker and whispered, clearly in horror: “No, seriously. Forty ounces of coffee.” 

(The best forty ounces of coffee we have ever had. For the first time in a week, I was awake.)

Check out the Tour Schedule here

Guess Who is Coming Next this August 2013 at National Book Store?

Hi Pinoy Book Lovers!

Guess Who is Coming Next this August 2013?

What: Book Signing Event

When: August 3 – Manila Signing; August 4 – Cebu Signing

Watch out for the announcement/ revelation on July 1, 3 pm.

"We can't wait for the revelation! Any author in mind? Let us know"

Review: Bound to You by Christopher Pike

 

Title: Bound to To You

Author: Christopher Pike

Published: August 7th 2012 by Simon Pulse

Book Description:

A thrilling bind-up of two classics from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christopher Pike.Epic love crosses space and time in these two sexy, suspenseful stories from #1 bestselling author Christopher Pike.

     In Spellbound, weeks ago, a girl’s body was found in the mountain stream after a freak animal attack. The only witness to the tragedy was her boyfriend, Jason. Now, Jason has a new girlfriend. Cindy wants to trust Jason…but as secrets start to come out, she doesn’t know what to believe. And the truth just may be more horrific than anything she’d imagined.

     In See You Later, Mark has fallen hard for Becky…even though she already has a boyfriend. He’s close to giving up when the mysterious Kara arrives, determined to bring Mark and Becky together. But why does Kara care so much? And just how far will Mark go for the girl he loves?

Review: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Title: Warm Bodies

Author: Isaac Marion

Published: November 11, 2011 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Book Description:

R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, noidentity, and no pulse, but he has dreams.After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and stragely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a blast of color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.

Spotlight: The Well's End by Seth Fishman (Plus a Giveaway)

Book Description:  
Expected publication: February 25th 2014 by Putnam Juvenile 

Mia Kish is afraid of the dark. And for good reason. When she was a toddler she fell deep into her backyard well only to be rescued to great fanfare and celebrity. In fact, she is small-town Fenton,Colorado’s walking claim to fame. Not like that helps her status at Westbrook Academy, the nearby uber-ritzy boarding school she attends. A townie is a townie. Being nationally ranked as a swimmer doesn’t matter a lick. But even the rarefied world of Westbrook is threated when emergency sirens start blaring and the school is put on lockdown, quarantined and surrounded by soldiers who seem to shoot first and ask questions later. Only when confronted by a frightening virus that ages its victims to death in a manner of hours does Mia realize she may only just be beginning to discover what makes Fenton special.

The answer is behind the walls of the Cave, aka Fenton Electronics. Mia’s dad, the director of Fenton Electronics, has always been secretive about his work. But unless Mia is willing to let her classmates succumb to the strange illness, she and her friends have got to break quarantine, escape the school grounds, and outsmart armed soldiers to uncover the truth about where the virus comes from and what happened down that well. The answers they find just might be more impossible than the virus they are fleeing.

Goodreads  Twitter  Website  

   

Seth Fishman

Interview:

1. Give us 3 interesting facts about you. 

 I'm colorblind, I can limbo very well, and I lived in England for my MFA.

2. Describe The Well's End in two sentences.  

The Well's End is a YA thriller set in Colorado, where a young woman has to escape the quarantine of her uber-ritzy prep school in order to save her classmates/town/world from a terrifying and strange virus.  The thing is, her father seems to know about the virus, he doesn't seem surprised, and he tells her to follow him into his mysterious place of work, dug into the mountain, called The Cave.  

3. What inspired you to write this book? 

I had visions of writing something about a virus, about a school where kids were SO talented it seemed unfair, and then when I connected the true story of Baby Jessica, who fell down a well in 1987 in my home town, to the main character (Mia), I knew I had a book I wanted to write.

4. You favorite scene to write and why? 

There's a scene where Mia stands at the edge of an iced-over lake, in her wetsuit, shivering on the rocks and I just loved writing it.  It felt like the most terrifying thing I could actually imagine someone really doing, and trying to get myself into that mindset of the character was just so challenging and fun and scary.

5. Favorite book/s you've read this year?

 Ooh I read so many.  Clients of mine aside, Hugh Howey's WOOL was amazing, and so was Leigh Bardugo's SHADOW & BONE. I loved the story behind Howey's books, but I also think he writes with such creative suspense I couldn't keep still.  Leigh, on the other hand, was so inventive but REAL; like I totally got what it was like to be a grisha!

   Giveaway Time!

Thanks to Putnam Juvenile

US/Canada Only
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Phoenix (Black City #2) by Elizabeth Richards

 

Title: Phoenix (Black City #2)

Author: Elizabeth Richards

Published: June 4th 2013 by Putnam Juvenile
ARC

Book Description:

Weeks after his crucifixion and rebirth as Phoenix, Ash Fisher believes his troubles are far behind him. He and Natalie are engaged and life seems good. But his happiness is short-lived when he receives a threatening visit from Purian Rose, who gives Ash an ultimatum: vote in favor of Rose’s Law permanently relegating Darklings to the wrong side of the wall or Natalie will be killed.

The decision seems obvious to Ash; he must save Natalie. But when Ash learns about The Tenth, a new and deadly concentration camp where the Darklings would be sent, the choice doesn’t seem so simple. Unable to ignore his conscience, Ash votes against Rose’s Law, signing Natalie’s death warrant and putting a troubled nation back into the throes of bloody battle.

Goddess Offerings #20 (Stacking the Shelves , In My Mailbox)

For Review

Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion #1) by Teri Brown
Reboot (Reboot #1) by Amy Tintera
Towering by Alex Flin
Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn
Parallel  by Lauren Miller
The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil#1) by Soman Chainani

"Special thanks to Sarah of HarperCollins"

Goddess Offerings is a meme hosted by Amaterasureads 

This will showcase the books we bought, received or borrowed!

What goodies did you get this week? Link us up

Review: The Colossus Rises (Seven Wonders #1) by Peter Lerangis

Title: The Colossus Rises 

Author: Peter Lerangis

Published: February 5, 2013 by HarperCollins

Book Description:

One Boy

Jack McKinley is an ordinary kid with an extraordinary problem. In a few months, he’s going to die.
One Mission
Jack needs to find seven magic loculi that, when combined, have the power to cure him.
One Problem
The loculi are the relics of a lost civilization and haven’t been seen in thousands of years.
Seven Wonders
Because they’re hidden in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Spotlight Rebellion (Blood and Feathers #2) by Lou Morgan

Book Description:  

The angelic war has spread, and violence erupts across the globe as the Fallen’s influence grows.

As an army of the Fallen walk the Earth, the Archangel Michael is determined to destroy Lucifer once and for all—whatever the cost... and Alice and the angels will be called on to sacrifice more than they ever imagined possible.

The Fallen will rise. Trust will be betrayed. And all hell will break loose...

Goodreads  Twitter  Website  

  

   


Lou Morgan

Interview:

1. Describe Rebellion in one sentence.

After the battle for hell, the angels have captured Lucifer's body - and while the Archangel Michael and his forces look for a way to regain the upper hand, Alice is drawn deeper and deeper into the fight against the Fallen.

2. Your favorite scene to write?

There were a few - it's quite hard to choose between them. Any scene with all three of Alice, Mallory and Vin in it is always fun because of the way they spark off one another. I also really enjoyed writing the newest of the Archangels, Zadkiel, so his scenes rate pretty highly too. 

Given that I always like a battle, and if I absolutely had to pick one scene, it would probably be one that comes roughly midway through the book and which I nicknamed "the South Corridor fight": it involves all those characters I mentioned, and - predictably - a fight, and it was one of the sections I was most excited about writing and the one I keep coming back to. 

3. Book/s you look forward to read this year?

There's a couple: I'm really looking forward to Joe Hill's "NOS4R2" (or NOS4A2, depending on your country). I heard him read an early extract, I think, at the World Horror Convention in Texas in 2011, and it sounded fantastic. I love his work, so I'm excited about it. 

I'm interested in Dante - and demonology, unsurprisingly - so I have a copy of Andrew Pyper's "The Demonologist" sitting on my TBR pile. 

Another book that's caught my eye is Michael Marshall Smith's "The Gist", which is a slightly off-the-wall project involving translations of text. I'm a huge fan of his, and it sounds like a really clever idea, so I'm quite excited about it.

4. Favorite Ice cream flavor?

I had some chocolate and ginger ice cream a while back that I ate far, far too much of because it was so good - but I think my absolute favourite was the rose ice cream I had years ago. It was *amazing*, and I've been trying to find it again ever since!

5. Coffee or Tea?

Ooh. Tea. I had to give up coffee (at least, the proper non-decaff version) because it sent me bouncing off the walls at high speed. But a strong cup of tea? It's one of my - many - weaknesses.

6. Sneak Peek! give us a short preview please.

Here's an extract from "Blood and Feathers: Rebellion" chapter 3... where Michael is pondering his next move, and we meet a new Archangel - his lieutenant, Zadkiel.

Goddess Offerings #19 (Stacking the Shelves , In My Mailbox)

For Review

Super Pop!: Pop Culture Top Ten Lists to Help You Win at Trivia, Survive in the Wild, and Make It Through the Holidays by Daniel Harmon

Bought

Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame

Crank/Glass (Crank #1-2) by Ellen Hopkins

Swags

Zest Magazine 
Hemlock stickers, bookmarks and plates

"Special thanks to Zest Books, Kathleen Peacock and the ladies at Maji Bookshelf"

Goddess Offerings is a meme hosted by Amaterasureads 

This will showcase the books we bought, received or borrowed!

What goodies did you get this week? Link us up