This Wednesday I am waiting on Insatiable by Meg Cabot. What can I say? It’s Meg Cabot, whom I adore, and it’s a vampire book! I can’t wait to read this, as I’m sure it will be amazingly adorable and hilarious.

Insatiable
Release date: June 8, 2010

Summary (from Meg Cabot’s Website):

A modern sequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper.

But her boss is making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn’t believe in them.

Not that Meena isn’t familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you’re going to die (not that you’re going to believe her. No one ever does).

But not even Meena’s precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets — then makes the mistake of falling in love with — Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side…a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire-hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, Lucien’s already dead. Maybe that’s why he’s the first guy Meena’s ever met that she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena’s always been able to see everyone else’s future, she’s never been able look into her own.

And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future…

If she even has one.

“I guess the good news is that everybody has to put up with being special because everybody is alive.”

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine is the tale of 10-year-old Caitlin, a talented young artist with Asperger’s syndrome. In Mockingbird, Caitlin is on the search for “Closure” after the death of her older brother, Devon. The novel is told from Caitlin’s point of view, and the reader gets a unique look into the mind of a child that sees the world very differently from the average person.

What did I love about Mockingbird? Mainly, Caitlin’s voice. Erskine crafts a character in Caitlin that will be loved by whomever reads this book. Caitlin’s mind and world-view are so exceptional, and I read with awe as she navigated the complicated business of the world around her. By the end of Mockingbird, I really felt an empathy for Caitlin, her father, and for several other characters that she encounters in the story. The book is beautifully written, moving, and packed with images that leave a lasting impression.

I think this novel hits the mark directly on its attempt to showcase a person with a difference about them that not many people in our world understand. Today, autism and Asperger’s syndrome are everywhere in the media and in what we read and watch (for example, Adam, a recent movie starring Hugh Dancy, and also Jodi Picoult’s new title, House Rules). Mockingbird doesn’t feel like just another telling of someone with Asperger’s, but a truly new, warm, and inspiring take on this syndrome.

I recommend this book for fans of Rebecca Stead, Laura Resau, Kate DiCamillo, and Melina Marchetta. Mockingbird will be released on April 15, 2010, by Philomel Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

ARC received from the publisher for review–thank you! Quote taken from ARC copy of book, subject to change in the final published version.

For More: Visit Kathryn Erksine’s website, and also visit Amazon.com or IndieBound to purchase this book!

I am supposed to pass this award along, but I will need to revisit this post later in the week once I’m a little less busy! Thank you Amy!

• Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine (ARC received from publisher)
• The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante (purchased from school booksale–$3!!!)

And more to come via The Book Depository soon, I hope!

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren.

This Wednesday I am waiting on Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine. (OK, I’m a little late on Waiting on Wednesday, but I really wanted to post about this title!) The folks at Penguin were kind enough to send me an ARC of this book, and I’m very excited to begin it. The book is about Caitlin, a young girl with Asperger’s, and all of the awful, unfortunate things that happen to her. But look at this cover–doesn’t this book look inspirational? I am anticipating a moving, emotional story. Check back here for my review in the next 2 weeks!

Mockingbird
Release date: April 15, 2010

Summary (from Kathryn Erskine’s Website):

In Caitlin’s world, everything is black or white.  Things are good or bad.  Anything in between is confusing.  That’s the stuff Caitlin’s older brother, Devon, has always explained.  But now Devon’s dead, and her father cries a lot.  Caitlin wants to get over it, but as an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger’s, she doesn’t know how.  When she reads the definition of “closure” in the dictionary, she realizes that is what she and her father need.  In her search for Closure, Caitlin discovers that not everything is black and white–the world is full of colors–messy and beautiful, and it is through this discovery that she embarks on a road which leads her to find both healing and Closure.

• First prize winner receives: 1 ARC of Hourglass
• Second prize winner receives: 1 paperback of Evernight

Please fill out the form below. The contest is only open to US residents and will close on March 19 at midnight EST. You can earn extra entries by following my blog (old followers or begin following me now!), following me on Twitter, or promoting this contest on your blog or tweeting about it!

For More: I recommend being a friend of Claudia Gray on Facebook, as she is having tons of contests to promote Hourglass!

Ashley! of Conceptual Criticism!

Congrats Ashley and thanks to everyone who entered and checked out my blog! Ashley, please check your email!

Make sure to check back tomorrow (actually, later today) for my next contest, where I’ll be giving away my ARC of Hourglass by Claudia Gray! You don’t want to miss that!

Note: Since I don’t actually work for a library (yet!) you’ll see a fake library name in the booktalk. Just so you know.

Keep Your Head Down. Don’t Get Noticed. Or Else.

I’m Trella. I’m a scrub. One of thousands who work in the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. The Trava family who rules our world from their spacious Upper levels wants us to be docile and obedient, like sheep. To insure we behave, they send the Pop Cops to police us.

So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? Not like it’s all that dangerous–the only neck at risk is my own.

Until a lower level prophet claims a Gateway to Outside exists. And guess who he wants to steal into the Upper levels to get the proof? You’re right. Me. I alone know every single duct, pipe, corridor, shortcut, hole and ladder of Inside. It’s suicide plain and simple. But guess who can’t let a challenge like that go unanswered? Right again. Me.

I should have just said no…

Synopsis from Maria Snyder’s web site, release date April 1, 2010, Harlequin Teen

Inside Out is Maria Snyder’s first foray into true science fiction and I think many people will find it a success. The world of Inside Out is filled with mystery and complete otherness. The people of this world live in what they call “Inside,” a huge metal cube where they exist. On the lower levels, the people called “scrubs” maintain the systems of living, air, waste, water, etc. and in the upper levels, the “uppers” live in what the scrubs believe to be relative luxury. The scrubs are given very few rights, and live in crowded quarters, working long hours. The uppers have families and maintain more of what we would know to be careers. The scrubs have no choice in their every day living, while they uppers have more freedoms and privileges.

In Inside Out, Trella, a scrub known as “Queen of the Pipes,” gets by day-to-day, living out her life as a loner. She has few friends, and most of the scrubs regard her with resentment because of her skills. She’s content with her existence in Inside, until the day her friend Cogon brings her to hear a prophet called Broken Man. Broken Man tells Trella and Cogon there is a way to reach Outside, through something called Gateway, which is a sort of portal to Outside that most Insiders believe will be found someday. Trella isn’t a believer in Gateway, but Cogon is, and his belief convinces her to take on a task that will lead to an even greater, yet exceedingly dangerous, journey. The path she takes could lead to redemption for the scrubs, or utter destruction of all she’s ever known.

Inside Out is an interesting, complex sci-fi story with a world similar, but unique from, many other future worlds. Trella is a complex character that you’ll simultaneously love, but occasionally be annoyed by. For me, I find that a great skill in an author–it’s easy to make characters that you’ll love or hate, but not always so easy to make characters that are realistic, with the qualities of a real human being (despite being in a completely “other” world). Inside Out will make you laugh and make you feel. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

Digital ARC received from publisher via NetGalley