"To find out what a story's really about,' the Librarian said,

'you don't ask the writer. You ask the reader."


- SNOW & ROSE by Emily Winfield Martin


Showing posts with label Jen Calonita. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jen Calonita. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Book Spotlight Blog Tour (Excerpt and Giveaway): CHARMED (Fairy Tale Reform School #2) by Jen Calonita (MG)


Welcome to today's book spotlight!


Fairy Tale Reform School #2
by Jen Calonita
Release date: March 3rd, 2016
Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Genre: Middle Grade 


SUMMARY

Charmed is the exciting sequel to the wildly popular Flunked -- second in the brand new Fairy Tale Reform School series where the teachers are (former) villains. "Charming fairy-tale fun." -Sarah Mlynowski, author of the New York Times bestselling Whatever After series.

It takes a (mostly) reformed thief to catch a spy. Which is why Gilly Cobbler, Enchantasia’s most notorious pickpocket, volunteers to stay locked up at Fairy Tale Reform School…indefinitely. Gilly and her friends may have defeated the Evil Queen and become reluctant heroes, but the battle for Enchantasia has just begun.

Alva, aka The Wicked One who cursed Sleeping Beauty, has declared war on the Princesses, and she wants the students of Fairy Tale Reform School to join her. As her criminal classmates give in to temptation, Gilly goes undercover as a Royal Lady in Waiting (don’t laugh) to unmask a spy…before the mole can hand Alva the keys to the kingdom. 

Her parents think Gilly the Hero is completely reformed, but sometimes you have to get your hands dirty. Sometimes it’s good to be bad…


BUY LINKS




EXCERPT

The Magic Mirror’s voice crackles throughout the school, “Let the first annual Fairy Tale Reform School WAND WHAT YOU WANT hour begin!”
            I hear students cheer and wands begin popping up in kids’ hands as we walk through the halls. POP! My wand arrives in my hand; long, dark-gray and nicked like its seen a few battles. What to try first… I’m just about test the wand out, when I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I dive out of the way just as a classmate casts a spell on the girl next to me, turning her into an ice sculpture.
            POP! POP! POP! Kids begin casting all around me. The crowded hallways is suddenly full of talking woodland creatures, toads, fireworks, and a pretty impressive cloud raining licorice. Kids are cheering, fighting, and the sound of all those wands working is enough to give me a headache.
            SLURP!
            The chaotic hallway disappears and a new empty hall arrives in its place. The magic hallways are always changing for security reasons, but I happen to know this hall leads to the school courtyard. More students appear and new spells begin zapping around me. I run out into the quiet school courtyard to test out my wand in peace. The warm sun is shining bright high above the castle walls, making me wistful for adventure. I can never sit still for long.
            “We hope you enjoy your wand experience, but remember, all wands disappear at the hour mark so choose your magic wisely,” I hear Miri continue. I’m relieved to find no mirror in the courtyard, which means she can’t see what I’m up to. That magic mirror is forever tattling on students for bad behavior. “Flying is not advised.”
            “Not advised, but she didn’t say it was against the rules,” I say to myself. I flick the wand over my stuffy, uncomfortable pale blue uniform and turn it into a comfy peasant shirt and pants. I get rid of my ugly school shoes and swap them out for my beloved high-lace up boots. Now that I’m comfortable, I get to the task at hand. I’m sure an actual spell would work better, but since I don’t know one, I just imagine myself flying and bam! I’m slowly floating up, up, up in the air. Score!
            A Pegasus flies by pulling a coach with four students in it.
            “HI GILLY!” they shout and wave.
            When you save your school from a wicked fairy, people tend to remember your name. Even if you don’t remember theirs.
            “Hi!” I say, lying back like I’m floating on a cloud. Wow, this is relaxing. I stretch my arms wide and -- oops!
            My wand falls from my grasp. Uh oh. I begin to plummet, spinning, faster and faster with no sign of stopping. Before I can even think of a way to break my fall, WHOOSH! I feel my body hit a blanket, bounce up, then land again on a magic carpet being steered by my friend Jax.
            “Ten minutes into WAND WHAT YOU WANT and you’ve already had a near death experience?” Jax says, a glint in his violet eyes. His curly blond hair looks white in the bright sunlight. “You’re getting sloppy.”
            “I’m not getting sloppy!” I’m seriously offended by that statement. “How’d you even know where to find me?”
            “I thought to myself, ‘What would Gilly do with wand access for an hour?’ and I knew right away you’d try to sneak home for a bit,” Jax says.
            My usual partner in crime steers our magic carpet over the castle walls and across the vast school grounds. Below I can see students fanned out on castle rooftops, in the garden mazes, near the lake, all casting away with various results. Jax flies the carpet faster, the wind whipping our hair and making it hard to see. I push the hair away from my eyes and strain to see home. There, beyond the gleaming pillars of Royal Court, where the princesses who rule our kingdom live, is my small village of Enchantasia. Somewhere down there, my family is working, playing and hopefully missing me as much as I miss them. The carpet is nearing the Hollow Woods which separates us and the village--CRACKLE! Our magic carpet is stopped by an invisible wall that keeps us from escaping school grounds. Clever of Flora to put the barricade up during wand training. Oh well. Leaving was a long-shot, but maybe I could wave my wand and at least see what my family was up to. “My wand! I realize. “I need to go get it.”


Also by Jen Calonita... 

Fairy Tale Reform School, Book One
Release date: March 3rd, 2015
Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky 
Genre: Middle Grade 

SUMMARY

Would you send a villain to do a hero's job? An exciting new twisted fairy tale series from award-winning author Jen Calonita.

Full of regret, Cinderella's wicked stepmother, Flora, has founded the Fairy Tale Reform School with the mission of turning the wicked and criminally mischievous into upstanding members of Enchantasia.

Impish, sassy 12-year-old Gilly has a history of petty theft and she's not too sorry about it. When she lifts a hair clip, she gets tossed in reform school-for at least three months. But when she meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there's more to this school than its sweet mission. There's a battle brewing and she starts to wonder: can a villain really change?



BUY LINKS




GIVEAWAY
- TWO winners will receive ONE set of Fairy Tale Reform books!
- Giveaway starts on March 1st, and will end on March 31st, 2016.
- U.S. and Canada only, sorry.

(Bumbles and Fairy-Tales will not be held responsible for any lost, damaged, unclaimed, etc. prizes.)


ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Jen Calonita


Jen Calonita is the author of the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series and other books like Sleepaway Girls and Summer State of Mind, but Fairy Tale Reform School is her first middle-grade series. 

She rules Long Island, New York, with her husband Mike, princes Tyler and Dylan, and Chihuahua Captain Jack Sparrow, but the only castle she’d ever want to live in is Cinderella’s at Disney World. 

She’d love for you to visit her at jencalonitaonline.com and keep the fairy-tale fun going at happilyeverafterscrolls.net 




Friday, June 12, 2015

Book Haul #96: The I Still Love You, Lois Lane Edition


Good day to you all, fellow bookgeeks!!!

It's been awhile since I've been posting/blogging regularly - I needed to take an impromptu break. Not only from my blog, but from social media altogether (except, it seems, from instagram - I'm addicted, lol!) I just took some "me time" to spend more time with my boys and catch up on books/movies I wanted to read/watch without any distractions or pressures. It's a good way for me to relax and be able to put things back into perspective. 
I'm happy to be able to jump back into a regular schedule again!
I feel re-energized and ready to take on the TBR and review pile again... with the exception that I have decided to take breaks more often. I'm hoping to be able to incorporate one or two week breaks every 6-8 weeks and see if this will help keep things on track. If I find myself not needing to take a break, bonus! But if I find myself looking forward to a break, then I will definitely have to reconsider what I'm doing and make some hard changes... 
BUT, all is good now! And I can't wait to share some reviews I have ready to go! And other fun posts for the summer :)

Hope you are all in a good place! And happily enjoying your reads :)


Here are the books that I've acquired in the last 2 weeks:


*What I received for review...
 CIRCUS MIRANDUS (HB) by Cassie Beasley (MG) from Penguin
- THE RED CAR (HB) by Tim Hoppey (C) from the author 
- LOVE & PROFANITY (HB) Edited by Nick Healy from Switch Press
- LOIS LANE: FALLOUT (HB) by Gwenda Bond from Switch Press
- THE PERFECTION OF THE PAPER CLIP (HB) by James Ward from Simon & Schuster

*What we won in giveaways...

- THE BIG BOOK OF ANORAK (HB) by Cathy Olmedillas (MG) from The Reading Ninja
- SOPHIA MARTINEZ: MY FAMILY ADVENTURE (PB) by Jacqueline Jules from Capstone

*What I received from my amazing #OTSPSecretSister!...



*What we purchased...
- TITO, THE FIREFIGHTER (TITO, EL BOMBERO) (HB) by Tim Hoppey (C)
- P.S. I STILL LOVE YOU (signed HB) by Jenny Han 
- SIDE EFFECTS (signed PB) by Jen Calonita 


* * * 

A few pics from the past few weeks... 

My June TBR!
I went to a book signing!!! Recap post will go up this upcoming week :)
Oh my, I purchased something that isn't bookish!!!
Getting my nails on... it's been so long, I had no polish left, lol!
My oldest boy showing off his Scholastic book fair purchase!
Good choice, am I right??? ;) 
My #FridayReads and #WeekendReads :)

* * * 


Thank you SOOO much for stopping by!!!

Don't forget to leave a comment with your link so I can visit your hauls too!!!
xoxo

Friday, March 6, 2015

Blog Tour (Excerpt, Review and Giveaway): FLUNKED (Fairytale Reform School #1) by Jen Calonita (MG)



FLUNKED
Fairytale Reform School #1
by Jen Calonita
Release date: 
Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Genre: Middle Grade Fairytale
Format: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Format read: eARC from the publisher.

SUMMARY

OUR MISSION:
To turn WICKED DELINQUENTS
and FORMER VILLAINS
into FUTURE HEROES

Gilly wouldn’t call herself wicked exactly… but when you have five little brothers and sisters and live in a run- down boot, you have to get creative to make ends meet. Gilly’s a pretty good thief (if she does say so herself).
Until she gets caught.
Gilly’s sentenced to three months at Fairy Tale Reform School- where all of the teachers are former (super-scary) villains like the Big Bad Wolf, the Evil Queen, and Cinderella’s Wicked Stepmother. Harsh. But when she meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there’s more to this school than its heroic mission. There’s a battle brewing and Gilly has to wonder: can a villain really change?





EXCERPT

There’s a boy up there, standing on the crystal chandelier! He has slightly curly blond hair and is wearing a uniform—­a navy sweater vest over a white shirt with khaki pants—­but his boots are muddy. He’s stepping on priceless crystals with cruddy boots? Is he insane?

“Jax! What are you doing up there?” Kayla whispers heatedly.

“I’m cleaning the crystal for Flora,” Jax says and rolls his eyes. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m making a break for it.”

Kayla applauds. “Yay! This time I know you can do it.”

I shade my eyes from the light bursting through the stained-­glass window next to the chandelier Jax is perched on. “Busting out? Why?” I ask Kayla. “I thought you said this place was cool.”

Jax laughs loudly and looks at me. I feel slightly stunned. I’ve never seen violet eyes before. “FTRS was fun for a while, but strange things have started happening and I don’t want to be here when something bad goes down.”

Strange things? What kind of strange things? Why does Kayla suddenly look pale?

“He’s exaggerating,” Kayla tells me, but she doesn’t sound convincing.

Drip. Whatever Jax is holding is leaking. Kayla and I move out of the way so we don’t get wet. “Grease,” Jax explains to me. “It lubes the window.” He swings the chandelier, and as it nears the window, he uses a fork to try to pry the window open. “A few more tries and I’ll have it.”

“Then what are you going to do, genius?” I ask. “You’re two stories up.”

Jax’s eyes gleam. “I’ve jumped from higher spots before.”

“It’s true,” Kayla says to me. “Jax once jumped from the gym to the dining hall turret. That was three stories up. We call him the Escape Artist. One time he even managed to break into Azalea and Dahlia’s rooms and borrowed their keys to the indoor pool so the whole dorm could take a midnight swim.”

“Impressive,” I tell him. “And I thought I was good at tricking obnoxious royals.”

“She stole a dragon’s tooth clip from one this morning,” Kayla fills him in.

“Nice,” Jax says. “Your first pull?”

“No, I’ve been doing it for a while,” I brag.

“Me too,” Jax says. “My father is a farmer. You can only get so far trading vegetables. I needed to kick things up a notch.”

For some reason, I don’t think any of us are going to make the transformation Headmistress Flora is looking for. “Why do you want to break out so bad?”

“I’ve got places to see, and Enchantasia isn’t one of them.” Jax swings the chandelier so hard the crystals clang together. The window latch pops open, and I watch Jax leap from the chandelier to the tiny window ledge. I’m in awe. Jax looks down at us smugly before pushing open the window. “Are you sure you two don’t want to join me?”

“There’s no time for us,” Kayla says. “Get out of here. Wait!” Her eyes widen. “You deactivated the alarm on the window, right?”

“There isn’t one,” Jax insists. “If there was, I wouldn’t be able to do this.” But when Jax lifts the window, we hear:

EEEEEE! EEEE! EEEE! Unauthorized exit! Unauthorized exit!

The shrieking sound is so intense that Kayla and I cover our ears. Within seconds, Flora is out of her office and running toward us.

Swoosh!

I feel something brush past me and I whirl around. When I look up at Jax again, a large, muscular man with a long mane of hair is hanging on to the window ledge, his furry hands pulling Jax back by his shirt. How did the man get up there without a ladder?

“Mr. Jax,” the man says in a low growl, “we really must stop meeting like this.”



MY REVIEW

Amusing, witty and full of magic - FLUNKED has a wonderful assortment of fairytales and their characters, most notably, their villains. A wonderful book that will make you think about what defines the good from the bad, giving second chances and who your true friends are.

Gilly is a 12 year old who has developed a Robin Hood complex due to her father's dying shoemaking business. She steals from the nobles in order to help put food in her siblings bellies and smiles on their faces. One of six siblings who live in a shoe, Gilly has brought it onto herself to take the risks to do what she can. She knows that if she is caught she will be sent to Fairytale Reform School and her siblings will suffer.
When Gilly pulls off her biggest heist to date, she is completely unaware of the trail she leaves behind until she is caught. Having to see the disappointment on her families faces is hard, but being sent away to school is even worse. Who will help and look after her siblings.

Fairytale Reform School was founded by the reformed "Wicked Stepmother", Flora. After realizing how badly she mistreated Ella, Flora decided to change her ways and what better way to complete the process than to extend a hand to others who have done wrong and help them find a way to better themselves. After reforming these "villains", she recruited them to do something worthy with themselves within society and asked them to join her faculty at the school. A few of these memorable characters are - the Werewolf that ate Little Red's grandmother, the Sea Witch and the Evil Queen, who is still obsessed with apples.  
The school itself resembles a castle - with ornate rooms and furniture, and nothing is lacking. Gilly's classes and meals are better than anything else she's ever had in her life. She feels guilty for not being able to take care of her siblings, but also, for living better than them too.
However, strange things have been happening at the school. Unexplained disappearances and teachers and students acting differently... something is happening. And Gilly and her friends are going to find out what it is.

What I love most about this book is Gilly's personality, she is very strong-minded and not only sticks up for what she believes in but for others too. She won't tolerate any type of bullying towards anyone and is very loyal to what and who she believes in. Gilly is definitely someone you can count on. Her new friends all fit an important role in her life and situation. There is a little magic here and there, but by all means, this is no fairytale where magic fixes everything and things are swept away with a swish of a wand. Everyone has to work hard and your best is always expected.

The story is wonderfully written and told strictly from Gilly's point of view, primarily through conversations and her thoughts. We see and know precisely what Gilly does without unnecessary details, which is exactly what my boys enjoy.

Fun, sassy and bold - we cannot wait to read the next book in this series! One of the best middle grade books of this year!


*I received an eARC from the publisher for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.



If you get sentenced to Fairy Tale Reform School, it will help to have an ally. 
Take the quiz and find out who your mentor would be.


GIVEAWAY
- 5 winners will receive a print copy of FLUNKED!
- Giveaway ends 3/31/2015.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Jen Calonita


Jen Calonita is the author of the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series and other books like Sleepaway Girls and Summer State of Mind, but Fairy Tale Reform School is her first middle grade series. 
She rules Long Island, New York with husband Mike, princes Tyler and Dylan, and Chihuahua Captain Jack Sparrow, but the only castle she’d ever want to live in is Cinderella’s at Disney World. 
She’d love for you to drop her a line at jencalonitaonline.com or keep the fairy tale going at http://books.sourcebooks.com/enchantasia/


Saturday, March 30, 2013

Beehive Book Haul and News #44: The HUGE Middle Grade Edition


I hope you have all had a wonderful week in books :) 

Update: Still feeling sicky :(
So far, I have a Vitamin D deficiency, not to be confused with Vitamin B which is what I've been told for many many years. Lack of Vitamin D will cause extreme fatigue, joint aches and pains, dizziness and headaches. All of which I have been experiencing for a long time, but even more so recently. I have something else that is going on too, nothing to worry about though :)
I have my Vitamin D pills, medicine and a good diet to follow now! I hope to start gaining my energy back within the next few weeks. I haven't been able to read because of the dizziness/tiredness :( But I hope that changes soon, makes me so sad to not be able too. Can't wait to see my blog back up and running to the way it was! (This post took me 3 days to put together, lol!)
Miley update: She's up to 95%! And a pain in my butt, lol! She's been spoiled and is in high demand of attention... any walkers out there?! ;) 

Thank you all so much for your kindness and patience! 
I do have a few posts for this week, so I hope you all visit back soon! 



What I received for review from Macmillan/MacKids...
- The Barftastic Life of Louie Burger by Jenny Meyerhoff (MG)
- The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut: Bowling Alley Bandit by Laurie Keller (MG)
- Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays Edited by Rebecca Stern and Brad Wolfe (MG)
- Kelsey Green, Reading Queen by Claudia Mills (MG)
- Zero Tolerance by Claudia Mills (MG)
- Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill (MG)
- The Heartbreak Messenger by Alexander Vance (MG)
- Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War by Helen Frost (MG)
- Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle (MG)
- The Treasure of Way Down Deep by Ruth White (MG)

What we bought...
Reality Check by Jen Calonita (MG)
Liesel & Po by Lauren Oliver (MG)

What's coming up on the blog next week...
- Blog Tour: IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME by Laura Rosener (Guest Post)
- Book Blitz: HELL'S HOLLOW by Summer Stone
- Waiting On Wednesday #54
- Review: EMBLAZE (The Violet Eden Chapters/Embrace Series #3) by Jessica Shirvington
- Review: PIVOT POINT by Kasie West

Thanks for stopping by!!! 
Happy reading :) xo

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Beehive Book Haul and News #43


Happy weekend :) 

A few updates...
- I have been feeling sicky all week and really tired. I tried to keep up with correspondence but have failed, so sorry! I will be taking next week off from blogging and most things related to blogging to relax, get my energy back and catch up :) 
- Miley Rose is doing SO much better! She's almost to her old self again! Her surtures were removed this past Wednesday and her scar is looks wonderful, better than what I've seen on people, lol! She still needs to be monitored with activities such as no running and no rough play. But she's back to her old diet and moving around freely, a much happier pup :)
Thank you all who have asked about her! 

What happened on the blog last week...
- Review: Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver
- Review: Delirium Short Stories (Hana, Annabel, Raven, Alex) by Lauren Oliver
- Cover Reveal/Teaser Tuesday #4: The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram (Giveaway)
- Blog Tour: Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein (Review/Giveaway)
- Waiting On Wednesday: Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington
- Blog Tour: My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi (Guest Post and Review)




What I received for review...
- One (ARC) by Leigh Ann Kopans (YA)
- The Symptoms of My Insanity (ARC) by Mindy Raf (YA)
- The After Girls by Leah Konen (YA)
- The Magician's Towers (Oona Crate Mystery #2) (ARC) by Shawn Thomas Odyssey (MG)
- Cloneward Bound: The Clone Chronicles #2 (ARC) by M.E. Castle (MG)
Requiem (Delirium #3) (signed!) by Lauren Oliver (YA)
- Pivot Point (ARC) by Kasie West (YA)
- Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare (YA)

What we bought, traded, won, etc...
- The Miseducation of Cameron Post (eBook) by Emily M. Danforth (YA - for $1.99 on Amazon)
- Strong Enough to Love (eBook Novella) by Victoria Dahl (Adult - Amazon Freebie)

Mentions and THANK YOU's...
- Leigh Ann Kopans, author of One
- Penguin, Merit Press/F+W Media, Egmont, and Harper Teen/Epic Reads
- DAC ARC Tours

What's coming up on the blog next week...
I will be taking the week off from blogging and stuffs to recuperate, relax and catch up :) I hope to be back in full swing next week! You can still reach me by twitter or email!

Thanks for everything guys!!!
See you soon, and happy reading :) 
xoxo

 
Imagination Designs
Images by LabyrinthofDreams