The Marr Awards - GIVEAWAY

The Marr Awards are fan awards for everyone in the Wicked Lovely fandom. They are awarded TO fans BY fans and recognize amazing art, writing, and other contributions to the Wicked Lovely fandom.

So how do they work?

Wicked Lovely's fabulous fan artists are nominated by you (the fans!) for a Marr Award. There are 25 categories, ranging from Best Fan Art to Best Quote to Hottest Character. Nominations will be open for about a month. When the Nominations period is over, the lucky artists with the most nominations will move on to the Voting stage, where ALL Melissa Marr fans will be able to vote for who they think should win a Marr Award!

Cool! How can I nominate someone?

Nominating is really easy - go to the nominations page for the details. If you need to take a look at the categories available for nomination go here.

And we're happy to announce that our Art Director, Lorena, was nominated for a Marr Award under the category of Best Video for her Radiant Shadows Trailer. So in turn, we'll host a small giveaway to support her campaign and The Marr Awards! If you like her trailer please stop by the nominations page and nominate her for Best Video, she needs as many supporters as she can get!

So here's how this will work.

We will be giving away:

• (1) Copy of a Melissa Marr book. (Winner's Choice)
  

Want to win? Here are the ways you can enter.

• +1 Leave a comment or e-mail us with your e-mail and name
• +1 Tell us what Wicked Lovely Court you'd want to belong to.
  
• +1 Link to this giveaway on your blog (You get another entry for everyplace you link)
• +1 Link to this giveaway on your Facebook/Myspace
• +1 Twitter this giveaway
• +1 Become a fan of YAthenaeum on Facebook

Please provide evidence that you did the above (links will do).
Winner will be drawn on May 27th.

Review of Fragile Eternity
Review of Radiant Shadows

Good luck!

-The YAthenaeum Team

Lisa McMann Q&A

Here's a fun q&a with New York Times bestselling author of Wake, Fade, and Gone, Lisa McMann.


1. What's the most random question you can think of? Answer it.
Arr you sure you're not going to write another book about the characters?
NO, yes, I don't know, probably not.

2. If 'they' decided to make a movie of your life, which actor would you want to play you?
My daughter, but it'll be 100 years before anything like that would happen.

3. If someone suddenly threw a wad of twenty thousand dollars at you, how would you respond?
Probably duck, it could be all $1 bills or you never know, there could be a rock inside.

4. When writing some authors plan every detail and others just dive into the book, so are you an outliner or a diver (or a mix)?
Pantser, I sit right on the seat of my pants and get going. No outline, I just dive in.

5. Who pwns everything?
Judy Blume

6. Can you do the Time Warp?
Not really, but can you teach me? How does it work?

Gimme a Call- REVIEW

In honor of today's release and the event on Sunday (hope to see you all there!), here is...

Erika's review of Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski

Gimme a Call is a cute "dimples" tale of something I'm sure we've all have at one point in our life wanted to experience. It is about Devorah, or Devi, who is currently a senior and who's boyfriend just dumped her. After dropping her phone in a fountain at the mall there is only one number she can dial... Her own... At the beginning of freshman year. Throughout the novel, the 17 year old Devi (Ivy) gives 14 year old Devi (Frosh) advice on what to do or not do. With each page, you don't know what life Ivy is going to stumble upon because of Frosh's changes.

Mlynowski pulls the reader in and connects to both the high school senior who'd want to go back in time to change things and the freshman who desparately wants to see what the future has in store for them. She also perfectly distinguishes the voices of both of the same person and emphasizes how much someone can change over the course of high school whether they know what's going to happen or not.

Gimme a Call brings into question the reader's own life: What would you change if you could go back? Are the risks worth it? Do you want to know what your future holds? And even how are one person's dreams really right for everyone?

Personally as a senior I can connect with how Ivy feels and have seen all around me those students who know if they had just tried a litle harder in that freshman history class, that sophmore math, or that if they had just had a few more extracurriculars then maybe they would be in a better position now. As Gimme a Call shows though, it's best to be well rounded and try a little of everything (but not too much at once!) and also to save some time to enjoy the experience.

I could go on, but the point has been proven that Mlynowski addressed many relevant issues for teenagers in a fun read that everyone can and wil enjoy. At least one of the many interests of Devi or of her "sometimes" friends will appeal to everyone. It's filled with humor and emotion and at the end you still don't know which Devi you feel closer to and agree with, probably because the real one is a mixture of both. I highly recommend Gimme a Call to seniors, freshman, those in between, and to fans of Sarah and to those who are about to become a fan of Sarah.

Candace Bushnell 80's Extravaganza!

We’re going back – back to when New Wave was new and even Carrie Bradshaw would have rocked the dropped-waist mini and the side pony…

Whether you’re a teenager now – or you were one in the 1980s –
join us for a flashback fiesta full of Cosmo cool...


Meet bestselling author CANDACE BUSHNELL Discussing and signing her new novel, The Carrie Diaries (Balzer & Bray, $18.99)

Friday, April 30, 7:30pm
The Biltmore Hotel, Country Club Ballroom
1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables

TICKETS REQUIRED. Tickets are available for $5 at all Books & Books stores – and the $5 ticket can be used as a credit toward any book purchase.

Wear your 80s best – banana clips and fingerless lace gloves, perhaps – and sip virgin Cosmos for this evening that only Candace Bushnell could bring us.

Click here for the time-traveling tunes that set the soundtrack for your peek into Carrie Bradshaw’s high school diary.

Before Carrie Bradshaw was the Carrie Bradshaw we know from Sex and the City, she was a small-town girl who knew she wanted more...

She’s ready for her real life to start, but first she must navigate her senior year of high school.

She and her best friends – Walt, Lali, Maggie, and the Mouse – are inseparable, amid the sea of Jens, Jocks and Jets. And then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture. Sebastian is a bad boy - older, intriguing, and unpredictable.

Carrie falls into the relationship that she was always supposed to have in high school—until a friend's betrayal makes her question everything. With her high school days coming to a close, Carrie will realize it's finally time to go after everything she ever wanted.
So, like, oh my gawd, don’t miss out. Get your tickets now. Totally...

Graduation Giveaway- MAJOR UPDATE!

Our Graduation Giveaway pile has now reached a whopping 30 books! (And is subject to grow)

And we're excited to announce that the giveaway will officially begin Monday, May 3rd and will run to mid June.

So here's a sneak peak at how this is going to work:
Every Monday we will post 5 books (or more if we get more books) from the list. You will have until Sunday morning to enter your name into the drawing. After that, the 5 books will be awarded and the next 5 books will be announced. So if there's anything you want in specific, you'll just have to check in with us every week till it's drawn. Official Rules will be posted May 3rd.

Here's an updated list of books that we will be raffling out!

• Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev (3 2 1)
• Beautiful Dead: Jonas by Eden Maguire (3 2 1)
• Poetry Speaks Who I Am by Elise Paschen and Dominique Raccah (3 2 1)
• Explorer X-Alpha by LM Preston (2 1)
• The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones (1)
• Everwild by Neal Shusterman (1)
• Bruiser by Neal Shusterman (1)
• The Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan(1)
• Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt(1)
• Magickeepers: The Pyramid of Souls by Erica Kirov (1)
• Never Blame the Umpire by Gene Fehler (1)
• The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow (1)
• Hailey Twitch is Not a Snitch by Lauren Barnholdt (1)
• Riding Invisible by Sandra Alonzo (1)
• The Enemy by Charlie Higson (1)
• The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells (1)
• My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent (1)
• The Golden Spiral by Lisa Mangum (1)
• The Star Shack by Lila Castle (1)
• Dark Life by Kat Falls (1)
• Lost Souls by Mel Odom and Jordan Weisman (1)
• Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien (1)
• 
  Dreamdark: Silksinger by Laini Taylor (1)
• Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski (1)

This list will only keep growing so check back soon to see what else we give away!

-The YAthenaeum Team

Troy CLE Q&A!

Here's an fun interview with the award-winning author of The Marvelous Effect, Troy CLE!

Who pwns everything?
Olivion owns EVERYTHING. In fact Olivion says "I am everything and all things come from me." SERIOUSLY!

If someone suddenly threw a wad of twenty thousand dollars at you, how would you respond?
Is this all you have? I am not sure if this will hold me over until my next royalty check or book advance. You really need to ante up!

If 'they' decided to make a movie of your life, which actor would you want to play you?
I guess I would play myself since I have studied acting and it would take a "special" kind of person to play me.

What's the most random question you can think of? Answer it.
Why do I love Twizzlers so much?
I really have no idea what the answer to that question is. Can you offer me an answer?

(Lorena) Because they're made of sinfully-delicious sugars?

Can you do the Time Warp again?
Time WARP? I need to learn and you all need to teach me! In the meantime I guess I will just have to watch the videos.

We'd also like to encourage you to watch the newest trailer for the The Marvelous World Saga! It's made of awesome!

Voices of Dragons- REVIEW

Lorena's Review of Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn

I'll be honest with you readers. I picked up Voices of Dragons for the sole reason that I love dragons, so I feel you might need to be made aware of my bias towards it beforehand.

Synopsis
"On one side of the border lies the modern world: the internet, homecoming dances, cell phones. On the other side dwell the ancient monsters who spark humanity's deepest fears: dragons.

Seventeen-year-old Kay Wyatt knows she's breaking the law by rock climbing near the border, but she'd rather have an adventure than follow the rules. When the dragon Artegal unexpectedly saves her life, the rules are abruptly shattered, and a secret friendship grows between them.

But suspicion and terror are the legacy of human and dragon inter­actions, and the fragile truce that has maintained peace between the species is unraveling. As tensions mount and battles begin, Kay and Artegal are caught in the middle. Can their friendship change the course of a war?"

Review
Voices of Dragons might not be what I would call the best book I've ever read, but it's definitely one that I can believe. Taking place in an alternate-Earth reality, Voices of Dragons tells the story of Kay who after falling in a river in Dragon territory is saved and befriended by Artegal, the dragon.

Dragons had been sleeping beneath the Earth's crust, and after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki began to reappear in the world. After that, The Border went up and tensions have been high between the humans and the dragons. Neither species is allowed across the border, and this new friendship is nothing less than treason for the girl and the dragon.

I've had the burning question on the back of my mind on what genre this book would fall under. I kept considering magic realism, but Carrie Vaughn incorporated the dragons so seamlessly into our "reality" that it hardly felt like it had any magical elements other than what we would consider the out-of-place fire-breathing beasts. So the fact that the world is so believable really gets the story going.

The plot isn't anything terribly new. Warring countries, two children meet by chance and discover they are alike, they try to stop the war. I'm not about to say that it's like every other book I've ever read, but it's definitely a plot I've seen before. Originality aside, it's definitely well paced. I read through it fairly quick without moments of dull scenes.

The characters are truly the heart of this book though. In that world in which everyone lives under constant fear, it's a breath of fresh air to see these two characters who live and do things, just for the experience. Many times when Kay and Artegal question each others actions, or why they're even friends. The answer is always the same, for the adventure. And that's something I haven't seen in a while. A character's drive is always unique, but the sense of fun and adventure that followed Kay and Artegal is one of the reasons I liked Voices of Dragons. They may not be the most memorable of characters to take with you, but while you're engrossed in the story, you may as well feel like you can fly with them.

I'd definitely recommend picking up a copy of Voices of Dragons. If not for the story itself, then to change things up a bit with this fun new novel.

The Dark Divine Nail Polish- CONTEST

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED

Have you ever wanted your nails to match the cover of a book you love? Well, we're giving away bottles of The Dark Divine nail polish! (And a copy of the book too!)

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

"Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood—but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy's dark secret...and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul."

We will be giving away:

• (1) Copy of The Dark Divine & The Dark Divine Nail Polish
• (3) The Dark Divine Nail Polish
  

Want to win? Here are the ways you can enter.

• +1 Leave a comment or e-mail us with your e-mail and name
• +1 Tell us why you think forgiveness is important
• +1 Link to this contest on your blog (You get another entry for everyplace you link)
• +1 Link to this contest on your Facebook/Myspace
• +1 Twitter this contest
• +1 Become a fan of YAthenaeum on Facebook

Please provide evidence that you did the above (links will do).

Winners will be drawn on April 30th.

• First name drawn will receive the book & nail polish
• Next three will receive The Dark Divine nail polish
  

Good luck and thank you for entering!

-The YAthenaeum Team

Graduation Giveaway- UPDATE

We announced back in February that at the end of the school year we would be hosting a month long giveaway of YA books. And it's still going to happen!

Three YAthenaeum members; Lorena, Erika, and Brigitte will be graduating this summer and heading off to college, so we wanted to end it with a bang!

Here's an updated list of books that we will be raffling out!

• Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev (3)
• Beautiful Dead: Jonas by Eden Maguire (3)
• Poetry Speaks Who I Am by Elise Paschen and Dominique Raccah (3)
• Explorer X-Alpha by LM Preston (2)
• The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones (1)
• Everwild by Neal Shusterman (1)
• The Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan(1)
• Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt(1)
• Magickeepers: The Pyramid of Souls by Erica Kirov (1)
• Never Blame the Umpire by Gene Fehler (1)
  
• The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow (1)
• Hailey Twitch is Not a Snitch by Lauren Barnholdt (1)
• Riding Invisible by Sandra Alonzo (1)

This list will only keep growing so check back soon to see what else we give away!

-The YAthenaeum Team

TEEN SING for Gayle Forman’s If I Stay

Music flows throughout this book, and so we’re going to let the music flow for Books & Books’
TEEN SING
in honor of author
GAYLE FORMAN
who will be reading and discussing her award-nominated novel,
If I Stay
(Dutton, $8.99)

Sunday, April 11, 5pm
Books & Books Coral Gables

Click here to check out the If I Stay playlist. Then click here to enter our TEEN SING contest. And then keep reading to find out more about both of them.


Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident, but in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck…

If I Stay is a story about how we transform our lives.

And music plays a huge part in If I Stay, because music plays a huge part in how we transform our lives. It’s what brings Mia and Adam together. It binds Mia and her parents, even though their tastes are so totally different. It’s provides notes that propel Mia through her life.

So, music is going to play a huge part in our event for author Gayle Forman: TEEN SING is your chance to sing/perform a song from the If I Stay playlist – or any song that has transformative power for you.

Solo performances only. Or maybe a duo. Acoustic instruments only, please. Click here to sign up. Performance slots are limited, so sign up today. And there will be prizes! We’re not judging pitch or timber. This isn’t American Idol. We’re just looking for the song that comes from the heart, that embraces the If I Stay spirit.

There are a ton of songs in the book, some indie rock, some classical, and some that qualify as none of the above. Some bands you might know, and other artists you might never heard of. As for why Bette Midler’s Wind Beneath My Wings is included, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

So, click here to read an excerpt.