This is the first time in weeks I have received a book. It’s at a fitting time too because now I took my SAT yesterday, so I will finally have time to update more. In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren.

The Apprentice’s Masterpiece – Melanie Little

A young adult novel set in 14th-century Spain, tells the story of a family with a secret at a time when the Inquisition brings intolerance and torture. Written in elegant free verse this is a dramatic story set in a troubling time.

This is mostly just a list for me. After this Saturday, I should have more time to focus on my blog. I feel like if I list all the improvements I would like to make, I have an increased chance of actually, you know, improving. I also have a short questionnaire that readers may answer here.

• update at least 5 times a week
• interview more authors (interested authors, e-mail me at towerofbooks(at)gmail(dot)com)
• pick bloggers for  the Blog Rave award.
• update layout
• update sidebar

I completely forgot that The Vampire Assistant’s Giveaway had two winners (thanks Alexa for pointing this out), so today I picked the other lucky winner…

Mishel!

Congratulations to…

Sharon!

In the spirit of contests, my book cover of Chasing Brooklyn made it to round 2 of voting in Cindy’s contest. Be sure to vote here.

I will try to get better about updating. School and college thoughts have just consumed my life, I take the SAT for the final time next week, and I am almost done with my last (or at least I think) college application.

This is my entry for one of Cindy’s many contests. Entrants had several options, and I choice option 2. I had to create a book cover based on a title of a book. I chose to do a cover based on the title Chasing Brooklyn. Instead of using Brooklyn as a name of a character, I used it as the location! Thus, my cover includes a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge which I found on sxc.hu. Anyway, here it is! Tell me what you think.

One day, fifteen-year-old Blake takes a photo of a woman passed out on the street for his photography class.  The woman is clearly addicted to meth. To Blake’s surprise, the woman is the mother of his classmate, Marissa and has been gone for almost a year. This photo leads Blake and Marissa in a whirl of drama. For Marissa, it’s how to bring her mother home. For Blake, it’s how to help Marissa. Shannon, Blake’s girlfriend, is unhappy with the amount of time Blake spends with Marissa. Blake repeatedly tells her and everyone else that Marissa is just a friend, but is she?

Flash Burnout is an excellent debut novel.  From the beginning, Madigan enthralled me by the story. The novel is told in first person narrative, which works perfectly. This narrative helps readers get a sense of Blake’s humor, who is an aspiring comedian. However, the comedy is certainly not just limited to Blake. Some of the funniest scenes in the novel occured because of Blake’s father. My favorite was probably the birth control talk. The cast of characters was great. Each character brought something different and needed to the story. Other than Blake and his father, I particularly liked Garrett, Blake’s brother, and Marissa.  The photo of Marissa’s mom is not the only way Madigan included photography, and the other ways seemed just as natural as the photo. Each chapter also starts out with something about photography. These chapter starters were interesting tidbits. One of my favorites was the beginning of Chapter 16:  “Camera: Latin for room.”

The only thing I disliked about Flash Burnout was something that happened at the end. It seemed to backtrack on something that I thought was earlier resolved. Obviously, I was wrong. I feel that other readers will be bothered by this more than I was. Still, Flash Burnout is a great debut novel, and I look forward to reading more by L.K. Madigan.

If you are looking for a coming-to-age novel, then I suggest this.

Related Links
Youtube Connection 9
L.K. Madigan Website
Amazon
Powell’s

“Fans of urban fantasy should prepare for a new kind of vampire–one that feeds off of tears instead of blood. Descended from an ancient line of creatures that gain their energy from human tears, Cassandra Gray depends on human sorrow to live. Only Cass has grown tired of living this life and wants to live like a human, especially now that she’s met someone worth fighting for.”

The Tear Collector had an interesting  concept. I have never heard of a vampire that lives on tears instead of blood. With such an interesting concept, I was hoping for a great novel. Unfortunately, I got just the opposite. The first thing that bothered me was that it seemed so cliched. I felt like I knew exactly what would happen. The novel was worse than cliche though: it was also boring. Nothing about the characters interested me. They were just very…blah. The whole bunch felt underdeveloped. Jones could have made the novel quite interesting with character development. However, he did not, and this caused the novel to feel unsatisfying.

This review is for Traveling to Teens.

Related Links
Amazon
Powell’s
Patrick Jones Website

In theaters, October 23!

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, is a fantasy-adventure about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires.  Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares.

CIRQUE DU FREAK has been rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned – Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13) for sequences of intense supernatural violence and action, disturbing images, thematic elements and some language.

In this giveaway, two lucky winners will receive:

• Cirque du Freak book Set (3 titles in one book)
• Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant Locker Mirror

This contest is US only. To enter, just comment below with your favorite vampire! This contest will end October 26!

Hi guys. I just wanted to let you all know that I will be going on a short hiatus. I only plan on going away for a week or two. I really just need some time to relax from my blog and create more scheduled posts, so I won’t feel so behind and inactive all the time. =)

The winner of the Michelle Moran contest is…

Charity!

Congratulations! Please e-mail me at towerofbooks(at)gmail(dot)com within 5 days to claim your prize. Thanks to everyone that entered.