MAX-imum Exposure Blog Tour

Welcome to the MAX-imum Exposure Tour for the 13 to Life Series by Shannon Delany

The MAX-imum Exposure Tour kicks-off with a fun interview of the Rusakova Brothers.  For those of you who have read 13 to Life, you will know that Pietr and Max are two very hot shapeshifters.  Today, I had a chance to ask them a few questions.  And you will definitely want to check back tomorrow for a review of Secrets & Shadows and a chance to win some swag. 

Aly: Max, if you found the right girl, what is one essential thing (yeah, other than you turn into a wolf) that you would want her to know or understand about you?

Max: That I hate when people change the radio station while I drive?

Aly: Funny. The truth, Max. One thing the right girl should know.

Max: That if she wants to be the center of my world I need to be the center of hers.

Aly: Max, this one's also for you. Learning the truth about Alexi seems to have been more significant to you than to the twins in the sense of betrayal more heightened. Why do you think this is true?

Max: I always thought Sasha--Alexi was my brother. I thought I could trust him. He was the alpha when our parents... He was the one I went out with whenever Pietr disappeared with his thoughts and his books. I always thought he was the most like me--but he is a traitor. Nothing about him was real.

Aly: Pietr, what is one thing about Jessica that makes her more unique to you than any other girl you've known and why?

Pietr: There is more than one thing. Jess has a level of compassion that I have never seen before. she tries so hard to do the right thing even if it hurts her--I know I can trust her much better than I've trusted any other girl I've dated before.

Aly: Pietr, since you and Cat are twins, how do you see your connection with her being different than with say Max or with other members of your family?

Pietr: It is more than just being twins. Cat and I can talk about anything. She is clever and caring and we just connect better. Alexi--he has an agenda. Max--a short attention span. I would need to have breasts for Max to want to sit still long enough to have a real conversation with me.

Aly: Both of you, if someone would turn on your iPod or MP3 player, what songs would be on it at the moment? And are you someone that sets it on random or do you prefer to play a song list over and over again?

Max: Random. Mine has songs by Linkin Park, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Blink 182, Stone Sour and MCR--My Chemical Romance.

Aly: Pietr? What about yours?

Pietr: It depends on my mood. Sometimes I want to hear a song again and again until it is just a hum in my brain.

Aly: And what groups are on your MP3 player, Pietr?

Pietr: Snow Patrol, The Spill Canvas, Duran Duran, Queen, The Killers, Nickelback, All-American Rejects and Thriving Ivory.

Aly: Thank you both for stopping by.

To listen to the interview, please click on the image below.

Shannon Delany is the winner of the first-ever cell phone novel contest in the western world and the author of the 13 to Life series through St. Martin's Press. 13 to Life is already available and Secrets and Shadows hits stores 2/15/11 with Bargains and Betrayals landing on shelves 8/16/11 (already available for pre-order!)and two more as of yet unnamed novels coming out in 2012.

For more about Shannon, visit her author website: www.ShannonDelany.com or her series website: www.13toLifeseries.com You can also find Shannon on Facebook and on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/Shannon_Delany

Want a fun freebie you can print out and use with a web-cam to make a bookmark much more than a bookmark? Go here and check out the Augmented Reality bookmark: http://ht.ly/3KgG7

And make sure you join us live at 11 am EST on 2/12 for a Blog Talk Radio event with host Barry Eva, Pietr, Max and Shannon! Go here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Across-the-Pond

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday - Babymouse #13: Cupcake Tycoon

Author/Illustrators:  Jennifer L. Holm, Matt Holm
Publisher: Random House (September 28, 2010)
Ages: 9 to 12 (independent readers as young as first grade will enjoy Babymouse)
Pages: 96
Source: Personal Copy


Description from GoodReads:
The word is out. Kids love Babymouse—star of the popular, award-winning, hilarious, PINK graphic-novel series showcasing the trials and tribulations of elementary school. The sassy mouse with attitude to spare has charmed her way into the hearts of kids, parents, and teachers everywhere! The series has won multiple Children’s Choice awards, and one title was the first graphic novel EVER to be named an ALA Notable Children’s Book.

It's champagne wishes and cupcake dreams for Babymouse in Cupcake Tycoon. The school library is having a fund-raiser, and Babymouse is determined to raise the most money and WIN the GRAND PRIZE! Or . . . er, to help the school! The competition is fierce, but Babymouse will stop at nothing to get what she wants, even if it means outselling every last kid in school . . . including her nefarious nemesis, Felicia Furrypaws. The claws are out and the race is on in this absolutely PRICELESS Babymouse!

Last week of Marvelous Middle Grade Monday post, I reviewed Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm.  You can check out the review by clicking here.  I thought I would share with readers one of Jennifer's other creations - Babymouse.  Along with her brother Matt, this talented duo has created a graphic novel series that has middle graders wanting more.  

In the latest Babymouse installment - Cupcake Tycoon - we find our quirky and lovable protagonist raising funds for the school library.  Now we all understand that libraries need more funds and more books but of course in classic Babymouse style, she is sort of the reason why the library needs to raise money.  I won't give it away other than to say that her chronic (but enjoyable) daydreaming may be the cause of the problem.  Much to Babymouse's surprise the school fund-raiser is none other than CUPCAKES!!!  The student who sells the most cupcakes wins a surprise prize.  This sets in motion some friendly (and maybe not always friendly) competition between Babymouse and Felicia Furrypaws.  Will Felicia's well planned out and catchy sales campaign win or will Babymouse stumble upon just the right sales pitch?  Hilarity ensues and the reader is guaranteed to be a winner in the end.


I love Babymouse.  She is far from perfect.  Yet, she is someone that most children can relate with.  In Cupcake Tycoon, all of the regular characters are back, including that troublesome locker, her teacher who must wonder about all of her excuses, and the narrator.  Yes, the narrator that interacts with Babymouse and who often gives her a hard time.  Additionally, we get several glimpses at Babymouse's active fantasy life including Babymouse being the Lord of her own estate to an arm reaching down from heaven to whisk away a book to a daring adventure in Indiana Jones fashion.  


Though this is the 13th book in the Babymouse series, you don't necessarily need to read them in order.  And my guess is that many children don't.  They probably just grab the next book off of the shelf at the library.  However, consider yourself warned, if you do put a copy of Babymouse on your desk at school it will likely be taken/borrowed by the first student who spies it. 

Where on the web can you find more about Babymouse, Jennifer Holm, and Matt Holm:

Random House Official Babymouse Webpage:
http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/babymouse/homepage.htm 

To download an official Babymouse Cupcake Recipe from the authors:
http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/favorites/ 

On Facebook...I Heart Babymouse:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=53572243216

Jennifer Holm's Babymouse Page:
http://www.jenniferholm.com/02_mybooks/11_babymouse.html 

Matt Holm's Webpage:
http://www.matthewholm.net/ 

On Twitter:
Matt Holm can be found @mattholm
Jennifer Holm can be found @jenniholm


* Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays were started by Shannon over at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.  You can check out her Marvelous Middle Grade Monday choice and Giveaway Post here. 

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday - Turtle in Paradise

Author:  Jennifer L. Holm
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Children (May 2010)
Grade Level: 4th to 7th
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Personal Copy
Award: Newbery Honor 2011

Description from GoodReads:
Inspired by family stories, two-time Newbery Honor winner and New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Holm beautifully blends family lore with America's past in this charming gem of a novel, rich in historical detail, humor, and the unique flavors of Key West.

Life isn't like the movies, and eleven-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple. She's smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it's 1935, and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle's mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn't like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida, to stay with relatives she's never met.

Florida's like nothing Turtle has ever seen. It's hot and strange, full of wild green peeping out between houses, ragtag boy cousins, and secret treasure. Before she knows what's happened, Turtle finds herself coming out of the shell she has spent her life building, and as she does, her world opens up in the most unexpected ways.

A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity of being at the ALA Youth Media Awards Press Conference where the Newbery Award & Honor winners were announced.  Up until the Newbery announcement, most of the books receiving recognition were ones that I was familiar with and many I had read.  And then the Newbery winners were announced.  I sat expectantly, wondering if one of my favorite middle grade books would take home the big prize.  Then the announcement was made.  I was perplexed.  There was one winner (MOON OVER MANIFEST) and four honor books.  I had read one (ONE CRAZY SUMMER), heard of two (MOON OVER MANIFEST & HEART OF A SAMURI), and wondered how I had missed the other two.  It appears that I wasn't the only one surprised by the Newbery Committee's selections.  Even my wonderfully stocked local indie bookstore seemed to be caught short without some of the award winners.  Fast forward two weeks later, I have now acquired all of the books that won and I am carefully reading through them.  However, I am going to share with you one of those "how had I missed this" books - TURTLE IN PARADISE.

Jennifer L. Holm, well known for her Babymouse series and a previous two-time Newbery Honor Winner,  takes a step back into her family history to create the story of 11 year old, Turtle living in Key West in 1935.  When I opened up the book, it was kind of late and I intended only to read a chapter or two to get a feel for the book; however, before I knew it, I had read over half the book.  From the first chapter in, Turtle captures your heart.  She is spunky and tells it like it is.  There are no stars in this young girl's eyes but as the reader you don't seem to mind because there is plenty of life and spirit in Turtle.  I found myself chuckling aloud at some of her comments.  When Turtle finds herself in Key West at the small home of her mother's sister (an aunt she has never met) surrounded by 3 boy cousins, and their dog, life is about to become more interesting. 

Holm does an amazing job creating both Turtle's voice, which the reader gets caught up in right from the first chapter, and her setting.  The heat and humidity of a Key West summer along with the depression era feel comes through in a huge way.  It seems that everyone in this part of Key West has a nickname (Beans, Kermit, Slow Poke, Pork Chop, etc.) and her cousins have a gang, but not your usual gang.  They are called the Diaper Gang because they have a secret formula for curing diaper rash and have created a business out of taking cranky babies out for a stroll. I do have to admit that this part conjured up for me old Little Rascal episodes where Spanky and the Gang had some scheme going on.  It does really make you realize how different life is now 75 years later.  Though if you are interested in knowing the secret ingredient in how to cure diaper rash, you just might want to give the book a read. 

Despite Turtle's initial reluctance to be on Curry Lane, she begins to come into her own and learns that maybe home and belonging doesn't have to resemble a Little Orphan Annie comic strip to have meaning.  I will have to say I was surprised at the ending.  Or maybe more precisely, how quickly the story ended.  Granted I am not a fan of books dragging on and on, but in this case, I wasn't ready to leave Turtle and her family and friends.  If I could have begged for a few more chapters, I would have.  Alas, I have to believe that Holm has her reason for ending it where she does.  The book does include some interesting pieces of history about the area and photographs from the author's family which add a beautiful touch to the book.

How I might use this at school:  I can already imagine this book as a wonderful read aloud with a group of 4th or 5th graders or in a book group discussion.  I would love to see the reaction of the students to Turtle and her cousins and their "adventures".  And it would be interesting to see what they think about the ending.  Children always have a way of surprising me with their insight and questions. 

It would also be interesting to see it as part of a Depression Era unit along with Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool, Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko, and On the Blue Comet by Rosemary Wells - all very different books set in the same time period

For more information on Jennifer Holm, you can check out her website www.jenniferholm.com

You can also find her on twitter: @jenniholm


* Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays were started by Shannon over at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.  You can check out her Marvelous Middle Grade Monday choice and Giveaway Post here. 

HarperCollins Presents: The Dark Days of Supernatural Contest

Brace yourself for the Dark Days ahead.
Paranormal thrillers. Supernatural romance. Otherworldly adventures.
Discover new books from acclaimed authors Ellen Schreiber, Claudia Gray,
and Kimberly Derting, as well as from debut authors Cynthia Hand and
Courtney Allison Moulton, on tour this winter.
Darkness falls this winter. Be prepared.

Here is your opportunity to win a copy of all 5 books being featured in this tour.  Click on the photostream to see the 5 books being featured.  For more information about The Dark Days of Supernatural Contest, please click here.

One winner will be selected out of all of the submitted entries.  This contest is only open to residents of the United States.  Please note that Harper Collins will be sending out the prize pack to the winner in March 2011 after the release of AFTERLIFE by Claudia Gray.  

The contest will run from Sunday, January 23rd to Sunday, January 30th at 11:59 p.m PST. 

All contestants must be 13 years older to enter and must complete the entry form below.  Though comments are nice and appreciated, adding personal information in the comment section will result in a comment being deleted. 

Dreaming of Books Giveway Hop!!!

This hop was organized by Kathy from I am a Reader, Not a Writer, and Martha from Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.

Over 160 participating blogs are offering a book related giveaway and we are all linked up together so you can easily hop from one giveaway to another.  The hop runs from Friday, January 14th through Monday, January 17th.

I have selected to do a Book Award Themed Giveaway in honor of the ALA Youth Media Awards Announcements earlier in the week.

Giveaway #1 the Caldecott Award:

Description from GoodReads:
Friends come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In Amos McGee’s case, all sorts of species, too! Every day he spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, running races with the tortoise, keeping the shy penguin company, and even reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal friends decide it’s time they returned the favor.






Giveaway #2 the Newbery Award:

Description from GoodReads: 
he movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories: Manifest—A Town with a rich past and a bright future.

Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.
Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”
Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifest’s history is full of colorful and shadowy characters—and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifest’s secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town.

Powerful in its simplicity and rich in historical detail, Clare Vanderpool’s debut is a gripping story of loss and redemption.

Giveaway #3 the Schneider Family YA Award:

Description from GoodReads: 
The Challenge: Piper has one month to get the rock band Dumb a paying gig. The Deal: If she does it, Piper will become the band's manager and get her share of the profits.
The Catch: How can Piper possibly manage one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl? And how can she do it when she's deaf?
Piper can&#39t hear Dumb&#39s music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb.



I was especially thrilled that FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB won a Schneider Family Award.  Were there any books that you were cheering for that won? - Aly

Rules for the Contest:

1. Please do not enter any personal information in the comments section, you must complete the Entry Form to officially enter the contest.
2.  The Contest runs from 12:00 a.m. PST on January 14th to 11:59 p.m. PST on January 17th.
3.  You must be a follower of this blog to enter.
4.  You must be 13 or older to participate in this contest.
5.  You must indicate at least two giveaways that you would like to enter.  There will be a total of 3 winners selected.
6.  If you are selected as a winner, I will notify you by e-mail.  If you do not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner.
8.  International participants are welcome to enter the contest.