In My Mailbox (IMM)

In My Mailbox (or IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

I had a particularly great past couple of weeks, so I decided to share my mailbox.

I received a BIG box of awesome from Little, Brown, LB Kids and Poppy earlier this week containing the following 8 YA ARCS:

DJ Rising by Love Maia Goodreads | Little, Brown

Dumpling Days by Grace Lin Goodreads | Little, Brown

How To Save A Life by Sara Zarr Goodreads | Little, Brown

How To Rock Braces And Glasses by Meg Haston Goodreads | Poppy

Rock On: A Story Of Guitars, Gigs, Girls, And A Brother (Not Necessarily In That Order) by Denise Vega Goodreads | Little, Brown

The Queen Of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker Goodreads | Poppy

The Rivals by Daisy Whitney Goodreads | Little, Brown

Winter Town by Stephen Emond Goodreads | Little, Brown

I also received the following YA books in the mail for review from other awesome publishers:

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead Goodreads | Razorbill

Dark Souls by Paula Morris Goodreads | Point

Witchlanders by Lena Coakley Goodreads | Atheneum

FYI Witchlanders and Dark Souls are both books I have scheduled for review on my other site, The Well-Read Wife.

I received the following adult books for review on my other site The Well-Read Wife:

BedBugs by Ben H. Winters Goodreads | Quirk

Pretty by Jillian Lauren Goodreads | Plume

Silas by Robert J. Duperre Goodreads | CreateSpace

What did you get in your mailbox this week? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Contest: Enter To Win 1 of 3 Signed copies Of Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce!

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Jackson Pearce, author of Sisters Red and Sweetly, at the ALA conference. While I was there Jackson was nice enough to sign 3 paperback copies of Sisters Red for a giveaway here on Young Adult Smash. Sisters Red is a modern retelling of the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. It is an exciting, spooky, and romantic take on the werewolf legend.

From Goodreads:

Scarlet March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for? (Summary provided by Goodreads.) Update: Congrats to Amy of Bookgoonie, J.P. of YA Urban, and Mrs. Heise from Heise Reads & Recommends. Thanks to everyone who entered. There will be another contest listed soon!

Fill out the form below for a chance to win 1 of 3 signed paperback copies of Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce. I will announce the winners right here on Sunday, July 24th.

Book Review: Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Title: Sweetly
Author: Jackson Pearce
312 pages, Publisher: Little, Brown
Jackson's Information: Website | Twitter
Buy The Book:Amazon

Summary:

As a child, Gretchen's twin sister was taken by a witch in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch's forest threatening to make them disappear, too.

Years later, when their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out, they find themselves in sleepy Live Oak, South Carolina. They're invited to stay with Sophia Kelly, a beautiful candy maker who molds sugary magic: coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion.

Life seems idyllic and Gretchen and Ansel gradually forget their haunted past -- until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel. He tells her the witch isn't gone -- it's lurking in the forest, preying on girls every year after Live Oak's infamous chocolate festival, and looking to make Gretchen its next victim. Gretchen is determined to stop running and start fighting back. Yet the further she investigates the mystery of what the witch is and how it chooses its victims, the more she wonders who the real monster is.

Gretchen is certain of only one thing: a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry. (Summary provided by Little, Brown.)

My Thoughts:

Monsters lurking in the forest, eerie reoccurring music, a heroine with a complicated past... Sweetly by Jackson Pearce has many of the elements I love in a good book. Add descriptions of sweet delicacies throughout the book and you've got the perfect literary recipe for this sweet-tooth afflicted reviewer.

My favorite scene in the book involves one of the characters, scared out of her mind, singing the song The Big Rock Candy Mountain to herself.The lyrics to this song appear repeatedly in Sweetly, and Pearce uses the song to heighten the air of suspense and to add to the spooky atmosphere throughout.

Sweetly is a companion novel to Sisters Red, but it is definitely not necessary to read Sisters Red before reading Sweetly. The book can absolutely be read as a stand alone as it has only a couple of references to Sisters Red that will not confuse anyone who hasn't read it yet. Although, with that said, I highly recommend reading Sisters Red. It was one of my favorite paranormal reads of last year.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Jackson Pearce at ALA in New Orleans a week ago. (That's me with Jackson to the left.) I love the way she bases her books on classic fairy tales and injects her own brand of creativity into the stories. The stories are not merely a retelling of Red Riding Hood (Sisters Red) or Hansel and Gretal (Sweetly), but a spooky rendering of an alternative fairy tale world.




Below is a video of the song The Big Rock Candy Mountain to get you in the mood to read Sweetly:



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