Blog Tour (Quote and Giveaway): FLAWED by Cecelia Ahern (YA)

Welcome to today's book blog tour for FLAWED!!! 

I am so very excited to be a part of FLAWED's global book blog tour!

Cecelia Ahern is most known for her bestselling novel, P.S. I Love You!
Which was also adapted into a movie by the same title, starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler... 

FLAWED is Cecelia's Young Adult debut, and it is amazing! I am currently in the middle of reading it and I can hardly put it down!

FLAWED

Flawed, Book One

by Cecelia Ahern

Release date: April 5th, 2016

Published by Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan) 

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian 

Format: Hardback, eBook

SUMMARY

You will be punished…

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation where she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. 

She could be found flawed.

In her breathtaking young adult debut, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society where perfection is paramount and flaws lead to punishment. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.

QUOTE

GIVEAWAY

- ONE winner will receive an international prize pack from the publisher: 
Swag and BOTH editions of FLAWED!
- Giveaway starts April 7th and will end on Friday, April 15th, 2016 11:59PM EST.
- U.S. and Canada only, sorry.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern was born on September 30, 1981 in Dublin, Ireland. She is the daughter of the former Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. On 14th December 2009 it was announced that Cecelia had given birth to her first child with partner David Keoghan, a girl named Robin. She was secretly married on 11 June 2010 in County Kildare, Ireland. Her older sister, Georgina Ahern is married to Nicky Byrne of Irish pop group Westlife. Cecelia was a member of the Irish pop group Shimma who finished third in the Irish national for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000. She attended Griffith College Dublin and obtained a degree in Journalism and Media Communications. 

Cecelia Ahern wrote her first novel, PS. I Love You when she was twenty-one. It was published in 2004, the number 1 bestseller in Ireland for 19 weeks and sold in over forty countries. The book was adapted as a motion picture directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler and released in 2007 in the United States. 

Her second book, Where Rainbows End (US title: Love, Rosie or Rosie Dunne) won the German CORINE Award in 2005. She contributed with short stories to charity books and is also the co-creator and producer of the ABC comedy Samantha Who?. 

Her other works include If You Could See Me Now (US title: A Silver Lining), A Place Called Here (US title: There's No Place Like Here) Thanks for the Memories (US title: Desire Lines) The Gift The Book of Tomorrow.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Full Blog Tour Schedule

April 5- Nite Lite Book Reviews (US)

April 5- Two Chicks on Books (US)

April 5- Green Bean Teen Queen (US)

April 5- Luna's Little Library (UK)

April 5- Writing.ie (Ireland)

April 5- Overflowing Library (UK)

April 6- Icey Books (US)

April 6- Supernatural Snark (US)

April 6- Paper Cuts Blog (US)

April 6- Serendipity Reviews (UK)

April 6- Bleach House Library (Ireland)

April 6- Bart's Bookshelf (UK)

April 7- Forever Young Adult (US)

April 7- Bumbles and Fairytales (US)

April 7- Rainy Day Ramblings (US)

April 7- Swoony Boys Podcast (US)

April 7- A Daydreamer's Thoughts (UK)

April 7- The Bibliomaniac (UK)

April 7- Kirstyes (UK)

April 7- Wrath Queen's Books (UK)

Book Haul #97: Tonight the Signs Point to SIX OF CROWS!

Good day, fellow bookworms!!!

I know that for most of you, school has been done and over with for quite a while now. But for us - our last day was this past Friday! You have no idea how excited my boys and I are for finally having some time to just hit the snooze button and stay in our pjs all day... for the next week or two, lol! This has been a really long school year! Both of my big boys excelled in their studies - we are beyond proud and blessed! It's now time to rest and have some much needed fun!!!

I am SO very lucky to have received SO many amazing books this week!!!
Starting next week, things are going to be pretty active around here - many different blog posts and a new feature will be popping up on Monday, I can't wait to share it all with you!!!
(But, if you follow on my on Instagram, you may see a sneak peek sometime this weekend!)

For now, here's my latest book haul :)

I am participating in Stacking the Shelves, 
hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews!!!

*What I received for review...

- INK AND BONE (The Great Library #1) by Rachel Caine (ARC) from the author
- JUST SAY YES by Alyssa Goodnight (Adult/eARC) from Entangled 

From Simon & Schuster (Middle Grade): 
- THE WAND & THE SEA (The Key and the Flame #2) by Claire M. Carter (ARC)
- GOBLINS ON THE PROWL by Bruce Coville (ARC) 

From Bloomsbury:
- HOLLYWOOD WITCH HUNTER by Valerie Tejeda (eARC)
- MISTLETOE and MR. RIGHT by Lyla Payne (ARC) 
- RED GIRL, BLUE BOY (If Only #5) by Lauren Baratz-Logsted (ARC) 

From Macmillan/Fierce Reads: 
- FIRST & THEN by Emma Mills (ARC) 
- SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo (ARC) 
- TONIGHT THE STREETS ARE OURS by Leila Sales (ARC)
- FIREWALKER (The Worldwalker Trilogy #2) by Josephine Angelini (ARC)
- SIGNS POINT TO YES by Sandy Hall (ARC) from Swoon Reads
- THE ANATOMICAL SHAPE OF A HEART by Jenn Bennett (ARC) 
- YOUNG WIDOWS CLUB by Alexandra Coutts (ARC) 

From Macmillan/MacKids (Middle Grade):
- LITTLE ROBOT by Ben Hatke (HB) 
- CRENSHAW by Katherine Applegate (ARC)
- JAMES TO THE RESCUE by Elise Broach and Kelly Murphy (ARC)
- THE SPINNY ICKY SHOWDOWN (The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut #3) by Laurie Keller (ARC)
- ON THE RUN by Tristan Bancks (ARC) 
- FINDING FORTUNE by Delia Ray (ARC)

*What I purchased...
- SCORCHED (Frigid #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (NA/eBook)

* * * 

A few pics from the past few weeks... 

Baby Bee got some cool new big boy shoes :)

Boy #2 is now NINE years old!!!

Got myself a pretty new planner!
(Webster's Pages Color Crush - white)

* * * 

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Please leave a comment with your link so I can visit your hauls too!!!

xoxo

MY Q&A with ANNA BANKS: JOYRIDE Blog Tour and Giveaway!!!

http://www.macteenbooks.com/blog/

JOYRIDE

by Anna Banks

Release date: June 2nd, 2015

Published by Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary 

Format: Hardcover, eBook

SUMMARY

A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other—in this sparkling standalone from NYT-bestselling author Anna Banks.

It’s been years since Carly Vega’s parents were deported. She lives with her brother, studies hard, and works at a convenience store to contribute to getting her parents back from Mexico.

Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He dated popular blondes and had fun with his older sister, Amber. But now Amber’s dead, and Arden blames his father, the town sheriff who wouldn’t acknowledge Amber's mental illness. Arden refuses to fulfill whatever his conservative father expects.

All Carly wants is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to NOT do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they’ve been living according to others. Carly and Arden’s journey toward their true hearts—and one another—is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh.

MY Q&A with ANNA BANKS

*Thank you, Anna, for taking the time to answer a few questions today!

No, thank YOU for having me! I’m excited to be here today. And just so you know, if any of your readers would like a signed bookmark and/or bookplate for JOYRIDE, just have them email me at byannabanks@gmail.com. This is offer is open internationally!       

*JOYRIDE is not your usual romantic contemporary, which is why I loved it so much! And so many others will too! Immigration, mental illness, drug abuse and suicide are all topics that are so difficult to discuss. There are so many different feelings and opinions towards them.

I know. And at first, I was afraid to write a book like that, with not one of those, but all of those issues in it. But in the end, I decided that it deserved to be written, instead of whether or not it was right or wrong to write it the way I did. I doubt any of has not come in contact with, or is even close to someone who, has been  affected by immigration, mental illness, drug abuse, suicide or racism. It touches all of us. I didn’t set out to write a book with all those in it, it just happened, because of who my characters were, and what they were facing.

*Which character spoke to you first, Arden or Carly? And did you know right away what their story was going to be, or did they grow into something more than you thought?

Carly’s story was the one that kept me up at night. That there could be some hardworking teen just getting in from work and school when I was all snuggled up in bed with my family. Yes, it was always Carly first for me. But with Carly, I knew there had to be sort of an anti-Carly. A teen who had it all. But really, there’s no such teen. All teens have their struggles, even if they appear okay on the outside. That’s where Arden started to grow for me. His problems are much different than Carly’s, but somehow they can become the balm that heals the other’s wounds.  

*What kind of research did you have to go through for Carly and her family’s immigration situation?

I didn’t do much formal research for this, because I experienced it in what you could say second hand. As a teen and an adult, I worked with many undocumented Mexican immigrants who were trying to etch out a living here in the Florida Panhandle. As we grew closer, they would tell me of their stories. Of how they were able to make it into the US undetected. Of how they paid these people called coyotes to bring them over illegally. But if I did have to research it, it would have been easy. All you have to do is Google “Family separated by deportation” and you’ll have many responsible journalism outlets covering similar—and heartbreaking—stories.

*I am obsessed with book titles and book covers and I love the look and title for JOYRIDE – everything ties in perfectly! Was JOYRIDE the original title? Were there other titles?

Nope, JOYRIDE was always the title. It just fit so perfectly with what I wanted the book to accomplish. Their relationship itself is a joyride, not to mention the actual joyride that takes place in the novel. Yes, it was always going to be joyride. And I adore the cover myself! I was so excited when I got a first glimpse of it, because it’s true to the story.

Arden and Carly are such strong and entertaining characters, is it possible that we may see them again in a future setting? 

At this time there aren’t plans for that, but I’m on Wattpad now, and I’ve posted all my Syrena Legacy short stories there, so I’m sure I’ll be posting future Carly and Arden adventures there as well.

*On a fun note! (Oops, I almost inserted a spoiler!)… What kind of books does Carly like to read? Perhaps like fairy-tales? If so, what do you think her favorite fairy-tale(s) and/or fairy-tale character(s) would be?

I know you didn’t specifically ask about Disney Princesses, but rather fairytales, but I think Carly would most relate to Jasmine from Aladdin. Jasmine is strong, and recognizes tradition, but always yearns to break free from it. She has a rebellious streak—and this is what she comes to like in Arden as well.

As far as what character she would want to be, I think we all want in some way to be Cinderella. For all our hard work to pay off in a big way, because we did the right thing. But sometimes Carly struggles to define right and wrong, and so she may admire Cinderella for always knowing the difference.

*Thank you again for taking the time to chat with us, Anna!!!

Thanks for having me! It was way fun! 

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Anna Banks

New York Times Bestselling author of The Syrena Legacy series. 

Grew up in a town called Niceville. No, seriously. I graduated from Niceville High School. So did J Lo's second husband. And the guy that plays Aqua Man on Smallville dated my best friend. 

Now I indulge my tendency to lie by writing the lies down and selling them to publishers. Well actually my agent sells it, so she's an accomplice to lies. One of my lies is called OF POSEIDON. The sequel is called OF TRITON. The last and final installment is OF NEPTUNE, and it released May 13, 2014. Be on the lookout for JOYRIDE, my YA Contemporary out June 2, 2015--Bonnie & Clyde meets Latina Pretty in Pink!

And um. I also write adult fiction under pen name Anna Scarlett. One of the adult lies is DEGREES OF WRONG.

That is all. 

Goodreads / Blog / Facebook / Twitter

FULL BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

May 7- The Reader Bee

May 8- A Perfection Called Books

May 9- The Young Folks

May 10- Love Is Not a Triangle

May 11- The Eater of Books

May 12- Xpresso Reads

May 13- WhoRU Blog

May 14- Bewitched Bookworms

May 15- A Book and A Latte

May 16- Green Bean Teen Queen

May 17- Gone With The Words

May 18-Bumbles and Fairytales <---

May 19-Fiktshun

May 20-Curling Up With A Good Book

May 21-Swoony Boys Podcast

May 22-A Reader’s Adventure

May 23-The Irish Banana

May 24-Exlibris Kate

May 25-Love At First Page

May 26-Adventures of a Book Junkie

May 27-Dana Square

May 28-Rather Be Reading

May 29-Paper Riot

May 30-Mundie Moms

May 31-Mary Had A Little Book Blog

June 1-Alice Marvels

June 2- MacTeenBooks Blog

5 Questions with Kids Comics Authors - THE GLORKIAN WARRIOR EATS ADVENTURE PIE by James Kochalka

http://www.macteenbooks.com/graphic-novels/five-questions-with-kids-comics-authors/

I am so happy to be a part of the FIVE QUESTIONS WITH KIDS COMICS AUTHORS BLOG TOUR with First Second Books (Macmillan).

Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre, authors of DRAGONS BEWARE! are interviewing numerous talented graphic novel artists throughout the month! Be sure to check out the schedule daily right HERE on MacTeen Books blog!!!

5 Questions with JAMES KOCHALKA

RAFAEL/JORGE: James, thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. It's pretty cool for us to cyber-meet you after following your work for so long.

JAMES: Thanks! It's a pleasure.

*QUESTION: You jump between work for younger ages and work for adults. Is it easy to switch between audiences? Have you ever started writing something for kids then changed your mind and made it more for adults or vice versa or do you always know who the audience is going to be when you start a new work? 

JAMES: It's not too hard for me to switch back and forth between doing work for kids and doing work for adults. I think probably most parents know how to jump back and forth between both worlds in their real life. So, learning how to do it in your work is kinda the same deal. 

One of my books, famous for having a swear for the title, could have gone either way. I drew six pages as an all-ages comics, and six pages filled with cussing. I decided to go with the cussing. 

Lately, I've tried writing books that sort of straddle the two worlds. Things like FUNGUS: The Unbearable Rot of Being (or Elf Cat, still in progress) are definitely books for grown-ups but they're sort of written in the cadence and style of my kids books. I write them for adults, but with the intention that they might not be entirely inappropriate for children even though they may deal with more adult themes. I did this because they were originally serialized in my local newspaper and I knew kids would be drawn to it even though it wasn't meant for them. It makes the stories sort of weird, actually. My older son loves them.

*QUESTION: What was it like being the first Cartoonist laureate of Vermont? 

JAMES: It was incredible honor. I always say it was like being named the state flower. I feel like an honored special snowflake or something. 

Mostly it meant that I started being asked by libraries and schools to come and lecture or give cartooning classes. And I did a bunch of that, but I was limited by not having a driver's license. I had to rely on my wife to drive me places and she doesn't actually much enjoy driving either, so I had to decline as many offers as I accepted.

*QUESTION: You make graphic novels, for a while you had your daily comic strip you have a cartoon, video games, you teach, you perform music (have we left anything out?) - how do you switch gears? Is there such a thing as an average James Kochalka work day and if so, what does it look like? 

JAMES: Yeah, I also like to do painting, and dabble in prose writing and ceramics. When we go camping I dig clay out of the lake and make little sculptures and fire them in the campfire. I also like making jam and orange peel candy.

My work day... I walk my younger son to school, then do a quick run around the block, do some pushups, have breakfast, read the internet & answer emails for an hour or two, draw a few hours with a break in-between for lunch, pick my son up from school, work a bit more, play with them... video games, drawing games of my own inventions, toys, have dinner, read the boys bedtime stories, and then either read myself something, play a video game, or work some more before bed. But it also depends on where I am in a given project. 

After scripting a graphic novel I work very hard to finish it, but between projects I spend a lot of time just sort of puttering around in aimless confusion. It's good to have multiple projects going at once, so the in-between lulls are eliminated, but I always seem to lose steam a few times a year anyways and have to regroup. 

*QUESTION: Rafael always has to work with music or a podcast going in the background and Jorge mostly works in silence (except he usually listens to John Williams' score from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when he's plotting a new story to get in the mood). Do you listen to music while you work? What's in heavy rotation from your music library these days?

JAMES: I never listen to music while scripting, but I do listen while working on the finished art. Lately I've been listening to the Super Smash Bros soundtracks for Nintendo Wii U and 3DS, the soundtrack to the Nickelodeon cartoon Over the Garden Wall, a rock opera called Shiprock and Anchordog that I traded another cartoonish for at the MICExpo, and also a lot of Ariel Pink and old albums by Renaldo & the Loaf and the new album Evermotion by Guster and The Next Instead by a local band called Swale. 

*QUESTION: What are you working on now?

JAMES: I'm working on a new animated cartoon for a major kids TV network. It's a new character I invented. I'm afraid they don't want me to talk about it yet. I invented a variation on Chess that I just started working with some guys to turn into an iPad game. I recently finished drawing the 3rd Glorkian Warrior graphic novel... but that won't come out until March 2016, and I just finished drawing Johnny Boo meets Dragon Puncher that should come out this June. I've written a bunch of songs that still need to be recorded. And I'm kind of puttering around drawing Elf Cat while I try to decide what my next major graphic novel project should be. Because I just finished work on two major books I feel like I'm in-between projects and have nothing to do... even though I probably have plenty to do.

Also, I have to do my taxes soon. I find it very hard to work on anything with that looming over me. Pretty much every winter and spring the approaching tax time throws a giant wrench into my creative process. I hate it, but I always do it all myself... no accountant. It's pretty much just simple math, but it's still emotionally draining. When you're self-employed there's all sorts of extra forms to fill out. I used to like to pencil and ink my taxes with a brush and india ink just like I do my comics... but that's rather insane so now I try to resist the urge. Turning my taxes into another art project seems like a gigantic waste of time, but there is some pleasure in it as well. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - James Kochalka

James Kochalka is an American comic book artist and writer, and rock musician. 

His comics are noted for their blending of the real and the surreal. Largely autobiographical, Kochalka's cartoon expression of the world around him includes such real-life characters as his wife, children, cat, friends and colleagues, but always filtered through his own observations and flights of whimsy. 

In March 2011 he was declared the cartoonist laureate of Vermont, serving a term of two years.

Goodreads / Website  

THE GLORKIAN WARRIOR EATS ADVENTURE PIE

by James Kochalka

Release date: March 17th, 2015

Published by First Second Books (Macmillan)

Genre: Middle Grade Graphic Novel

Format: Paperback, eBook

SUMMARY

Oh, Glorkian Warrior. You were doing so well! You almost had that rampaging space snake under control - when Buster Glark, your villainous rival in the Glorkian Corps, showed up to make fun of you! He laughed so hard at your misfortune that he gave himself the hiccups. 

And that was just on the first page of this book.

Things are only going to get worse from here, Glorkian Warrior. 

But we promise there will be plenty of pie at the end.

5 Questions with Kids Comics Authors Blog Tour is sponsored by: 

Children’s Book Week, (May 4-10, 2015) – 96^th annual celebration!

Children's Book Week is the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading. It is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country.

In 2015, official Children’s Book Week events – including appearances by beloved children’s book authors & illustrators, children’s open mic nights, read-alouds, book-themed costume parties, and much more – will be held in all 50 states. Photos from last year here. Event attendees receive complimentary Children’s Book Week posters and tote bags. You can see how the celebrations for 2015 are shaping up here.

Children’s Book Week is administered by Every Child a Reader (ECAR) and the Children’s Book Council (CBC) is the anchor sponsor.