IMM: IN MY MAILBOX

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Thanks, as always, to Kristi at The Story Siren for hosting IMM!
I thought this was going to be a slow week for books, but I was wrong.  I am really hating this 105+ degree weather so I apologize for being lazy and not taking out the swag to show you. It is burning up here, and it has made me a little lazy. You can click on the picture for a larger size!

These are from my super secretive book fairy! She so rocks as usual! I always get the best books from her! It’s like Christmas every time I get a box from her!

These are books from PaperBackSwap and also some I traded with other bloggers for! I have been waiting forever for a copy of Bleeding Violet and another blogger happened to have an older ARC laying around that she offered! Thank you!

This was my contest wins! I had won a contest over Teens Read and Write and was sent a Pretty Little Liars tote bag, book and magnets.  I also won the swag contest that JoJo had going for her birthday bash. Love that swag! I won some bookmarks from author Jordan Deen as well!

This was another box that was like Christmas when it arrived! I got all of these from Anna over at Anna’s Book Blog.  I have had a bunch of these on my wish list forever now and she had them to offer! THANK YOU again Anna!

Finally the review books! Glimpse was from Around The World Tours and I already reviewed it. Passing Strange is the third in the Generation Dead series and it is the UK cover version. My big score for the week was Crescendo! I about passed out by the mailbox when that book arrived!  My neighbors looked at me a little strange when I squealed like a little girl upon opening it!
That’s what I got! I can’t wait to see what everyone else received in their mailbox!

GLIMPSE by Carol Lynch Williams

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GLIMPSE
Author: Carol Lynch Williams
  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 496 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books (June 22, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 141699730X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416997306
SYNOPSIS:

In one moment

it is over.
In one moment
it is gone.
The morning grows
thin, grey
and our lives-
how they were-
have vanished.
Our lives have
changed
when I walk in
on Lizzie
my sister
holding a shotgun. 
Twelve year old girl Hope’s life is turned upside down when her older sister Lizzie becomes an elective mute and is institutionalized after trying to kill herself. Ever since their dad died Hope and Lizzie have relied on each other from a young age. Their mother is a reluctant and unreliable parent at best, who turns tricks to support the family. Throughout the course of this lyrical and heartbreaking narrative readers and Hope discover that the mother is prostituting Lizzie and it’s up to Hope to bring the truth to light to save her sister.
MY THOUGHTS:
When I first started reading this book, I didn’t think I was going to like it.  I am not fond of the verse writing and I also knew it was going to be an emotionally draining read.
While I am still not a fan of the verse writing, I am a fan of the book.  It started out slow for me and the flip flopping of dates was getting annoying.  Yet, as I kept reading, the story started to pull me and wouldn’t let go. I read this book in about an hour and it was almost non-stop reading.  I felt so much sadness for Hope and Liz.  The life they grow up with is heartbreaking for a mother to read.  What their mother puts them through is just horrible.  The pieces of the story fall into place and you can’t help but get angry at the story. I wanted the girls to have a childhood, yet the author reminded me while I was reading that not all children have the perfect life of family. 
This book was one that I am glad I read and enjoyed it even though it does pull at your emotions.  It has such a gripping story of secrets and sisterhood that will bring tears to your eyes as you go through the journey with Hope and Liz. 
MY RATING:



Very Good! I would recommend this book! 4 STARS

GUEST POST: Author Julia London

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Today on My Overstuffed Bookshelf I would like to introduce you to author Julia London. She is the author of the newly released book One Season of Sunshine.
Thank you so much for having me here today.  I am thrilled to share ONE SEASON OF SUNSHINE with you and your followers.   
People often ask me where I get my inspiration.  Probably some of it comes from educational TV.  Currently, my favorite show, WIPEOUT, which, on the surface may appear like a very juvenile show, but to the writer, it demonstrates that some humans are willing to try anything.  I like to think I take that notion into my writing—my characters should be willing to try anything.  
I get inspiration from movies, too.  Sex and the City 2 taught me that there is a fine line between interesting sexuality in fiction and Samantha’s never-ending quest for meaningless sex.  I mean, ugh.  Seriously.
When I run in the mornings, I wear a little shuffle iPod full of inspiring songs…songs that inspire me to think about bad relationships that make people angry. I don’t know why, but it seems like most of the songs that have a beat I can run to are total downers.  Carrie Underwood wants to kick ass, Pearl Jam’s heart is always broken, and Nickleback doesn’t get along that well with women.  As a writer, I get the idea that if I want to sell books, I should really steer toward the more uplifting ending, or people will be running away from my books.  
But I get my best inspiration from reading.  I read across a broad spectrum and I find that when I am reading, the really good ideas start to flow.  It is an organic process that I cannot explain.  I just know that words flow in and words flow out. The inspiration for ONE SEASON OF SUNSHINE came from an article about a woman who had come to Texas to just be here.  She had been given up for adoption at birth, and the only thing she knew was that she was from Texas.  I found it remarkable that a person would want to know her beginnings so badly that she would cling to something so vague.  The idea took root and grew from there.  It was definitely the words seeping into my brain that sparked the idea for the book. 
I hope you will find the idea behind ONE SEASON OF SUNSHINE intriguing. I invite you to visit my website, http://www.julialondon.com, to read an excerpt, to see a video, and to learn more about me and more of my juvenile viewing habits. 

One Season of Sunshine by Julia London

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One Season of Sunshine
Author: Julia London
Source: Publisher
* I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

  • Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Pocket (June 29, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416547096
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416547099

SYNOPSIS:

Should some questions be left unanswered?

Adopted as an infant, Jane Aaron longs to know the identity of her birth mother and why she gave her up. Her only clue is the name of the small Texas town where she was born, so she’s come to Cedar Springs for answers. 
Handsome ad executive Asher Price lost his wife, the beautiful, mysterious Susanna, in a terrible car crash eighteen months ago. When he hires Jane as the nanny for his two children, sparks fly. Jane finds herself falling in love with both Asher and his children, but begins to suspect that Susanna was not the perfect mother and wife the family portrays her to have been.
As Jane gets closer and closer to finding out the truth about both her own and Susanna’s past, devastating secrets begin to emerge that may be more than anyone can bear. Will the truth bring Jane and Asher closer together or tear them apart forever?

MY THOUGHTS:

This was my first book by this author, and I am sad to say that I wasn’t overly impressed with it.  To me the storyline was bland and so was the main character of Jane. I liked the character of Asher and his two children though.  Riley was the typical preteen know it all and Levi was the rambunctious 5 year old that left you out of breath just reading about him.  Asher was a Father who was left raising the these two children after his wife, who suffered from being bipolar, dies in a car accident. He is struggling with raising these two handfuls and also keeping his company from failing. He hires Jane to be the nanny when she moves to Cedar Springs to look for her birth mother that had given her up for adoption. 

While I liked the plot and most of the characters, I wasn’t sold on the whole romance between the two.  To me it felt forced and there wasn’t any spark between them.  At times, the author was repetitive in the story and it made the book more drawn out than what it needed.  I feel if the author would have cut this book in half, it would have been better.  It was like the characters kept going in circles, and then at the end everything gets resolved rather quickly in the last chapter.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad book thanks to the supporting characters of the children.  I am still on the fence about reading more from this author.  It would really have to capture me from the first couple of pages with more speed and dialogue for me to really commit to another book.

MY RATING:

 
  If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it! 2 STARS

Design a Bookmark at Border’s

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bookmark-contest
Borders is the official book retailer for the 10th Annual National Book Festival. To celebrate, the retailer is teaming with the Library of Congress to encourage kids to design the National Book Festival’s Official Bookmark — the first ever designed by a member of the public. In addition to having his or her design displayed on the National Book Festival Official Bookmark to be distributed to tens of thousands who attend the event, the winner will receive a $500 Borders gift card and another $500 Borders gift card for their school library.
Kids have until the end of the month to submit their entries in the national “Design a Bookmark” contest. To enter, kids can download an official entry form here, design their bookmark image right on the page, and turn the form into their local Borders store. Two winners from each store will be awarded a $25 gift card and advance to the state competition. Then, two winning entries from each state will advance to the national competition, where one grand prize winner will be selected. In addition to a grand prize winner, there will be a second and third place winner, who will each receive two $250 gift cards and two $100 gift cards, respectively.