THE 5TH WAVE GIVEAWAY AND ASK THE EXPERT INTERVIEW

Hi Everyone! Hope you're having a great summer. Today's Anna Li's summer swimming championship meet. So that's where I am for most of the day. I may not get to quite as many blogs today or will stop by later today. Hope you understand.

We're looking forward to a 2 1/2 week break in being so busy before the pre-season for the high school swim season starts and the two practices a day most days. I'm looking forward to not driving her around so much. It really takes a big chunk of my morning before I go to work.

First I'll announce the winner of PARCHED.

The winner is Brenda! 

Congrats! E-mail me your address so I can send you your book. Please e-mail me by the end of Wednesday or I'll have to pick another winner.

Today I’m excited to interview Gina, the thirteen-year-old daughter of Dianne Salerni who’s going into 8th grade in the fall. She’s a voracious reader and sometimes shares her awesome reviews on Dianne’s blog. Dianne is a middle grade and YA author and her most recent book is THE CAGED GRAVES, I’m so looking forward to learning where Dianne’s daughter finds out about books.

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself, your school, and what you like to read.

My name is Gina Salerni, I just turned 13 last month, and I like to read. I go to middle school. My school is full of identical looking gray hallways with the occasional “stop bullying” poster. It’s very exciting. I like to read fantasy, realistic fiction, mystery, and some nonfiction. My favorite nonfiction books are the Worst Case Scenario books.

2. One of my favorite genres is fantasy too. How do you find out about the books you read? What about new books coming out?

Well, most recently, I had several books forced upon me by my summer reading packet. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was one that I enjoyed a lot though. (Although most of my grade says, “What? Three whole books over the summer? That’s ridiculous!”) I also find them online, or in the bookstore, and my mom recommends some too. Amazon tells me when new books in a series that I’m reading come out. And sometimes I will hear about them from my mom and her author friends.

3. I’ve heard really good things about Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, but haven’t read it yet. That’s awesome that your mom recommends books to you. Hopefully you have some to share with her too. That’s what my daughter and I do.

What are you reading now? What books are you waiting to be released?

Right now I am reading Story’s End by Melissa Burt. It’s the second book in a really good series. I’d recommend it to anyone. I am also reading the Phantom of the Opera which I got for free on my kindle.

I’m not currently waiting for anything to be released, but a book I had been waiting for was just released recently. It was Fyre, by Angie Sage. It’s over 600 pages, but I read it in three days. It was very good.

4. I read Story’s End not too long ago. And I love Angie Sage’s series and am jealous you’ve already finished FRYE. I reserved it at the library in an audio book and it just came in. I can’t wait to read it as soon as I finish SERAPHINA. Does the fact that your mom is an author influence what you read? How?

Sometimes my mom will recommend a book to me from one of her fellow authors, and I often review them on her blog. In fact, she recommended Storybound, the first book for Story’s End.

5. I really liked Storybound too. And I love when you review books on her blog. Do you buy most of your book or get them at the library? How often do go to a bookstore?

I usually buy my books on my kindle and read them there. However, whenever my mom has a book event at a bookstore, I always pick a book (or ten) out.

6. Ha! Can I go to her book events and get her to buy me some books too? Do you read any teen book blogs, author blogs, or author or publisher websites? Become a fan of an author on Facebook? Why?

I only read my mom’s and a few of a couple authors I find interesting, and I don’t want or have a Facebook account.

7. I’m not surprised that you don’t read more of them. Most kids I interview don’t read blogs or visit author websites. Has your teacher or mom recommended any blogs or websites to your class or to you?

No.

8. Are there things your favorite authors could do that would make you more likely to visit their website, their blog, or become a fan on Facebook?

If they update regularly and give you a chance to be active and participate in the blog. There was one blog by an author I liked where I commented a couple times, but he didn’t update it in over two years and I stopped going.

9. That’s great advice to keep the blog (or website) current and to have ways for kids to participate in them. Have any authors visited your school? Who? Is there anything you’d recommend that an author do to make their presentation more interesting to you and other kids at your school?

Recently I had Brandon Mull visit my school. I thought it was interesting because he visited over the span of three days. On the first day, there was a drawing of anyone who wanted to eat lunch with him. (And it wasn’t cafeteria food!!!!) I didn’t get picked for that, but I think that would have been cool. On the second day, there was a drawing for a writer’s workshop, which I did get picked for. We made short stories, and he talked about characters and other plot related things. On the third day the whole school went to a presentation of his where he showed us about his books, and had a little story writing game. I thought this was a good author visit.

That’s so awesome he was there for three days. I went to one of his book signings in Ann Arbor where I live. I was the only adult there without a kid and I was impressed by how many fans he has.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Gina.

Today I’m also giving away an ARC of THE 5TH WAVE. Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

I read this on my vacation and was so glad I brought it with me. It’s a fantastic sci-fi/dystopian novel. I loved that it was told from not only Cassie’s POV, but also her brother’s and Ben’s POV. It really gave a better feel for what’s happening in the world because Ben and Cassie’s brother are in such a different place than her.

Cassie is a fantastic character. She was an ordinary girl with ordinary high school concerns before the beings come to Earth and start destroying our world. But she becomes amazingly resourceful and brave from experiencing and surviving these brutal waves and losing everything. And I loved that she didn’t give up when she thought she might be the human on Earth until she meets Evan Walker, a mysterious guy who helps her on her quest to save her brother.

This is a very fast-moving, action packed story. And because it’s also told from the POV of two guys, I think it’s one that would appeal to guys as well as girls.

A special thanks to Penguin for providing an ARC for a giveaway because they also gave me one for another giveaway a little while ago. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment about my interview by midnight on August 3rd. I’ll announce the winner on August tth.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. You must be 13 or older to enter. International entries are welcome.

Here’s what’s coming up:

On Wednesday, I’m giving away a copy of SHIP OUT OF LUCK by Neal Shusterman. It’s an adventure story about Antsy, a middle grader, who goes on a cruise with his family to relax. Only it doesn’t work out that way. It’s gotten great reviews that also say it’s funny. I’m hoping you or one of your middle graders would enjoy this. I know my daughter and her friends all loved Neal Shusterman’s books when she was in middle school. That’s how I learned about him.

Next Monday, I have an interview with debut author Corina Vacco and an ARC giveaway of MY CHEMICAL MOUNTAIN, a YA story about living in a small town that’s a toxic waste grounds. I found it fascinating contemplating what it would be like living somewhere like that where swimming in a really toxic stream is no big deal and I enjoyed that the story was told from a male POV.

Next Wednesday, I’m interviewing debut author Lisa Amowitz and giving away an ARC of BREAKING GLASS, a mystery about a guy who is receiving messages from the dead. It got great reviews on Goodreads so I’m excited to share it with you. And Lisa is also a talented cover designer who designed Lisa Gail Green’s gorgeous cover for DJINN: THE BINDING STONE. We’ll be talking about cover designs as well.

Next Thursday I'm doing a Summer Giveaway Hop. I'll have lots of great choices to pick from.

The following Monday I'm interviewing Cristin Terrell and giving away an ARC of her YA book, ALL OUR YESTERDAYS. This is a fantastic dystopian/time travel story that I loved. I can't wait to share it with you.

And don't forget our Tuesday Tips and Casey's Thursday agent spotlights.

Hope to see you on Wednesday!