MMGM: Month Of Giveaways!

♪♪ It's my birthday, and I'll 
give if I want to!! ♪♪

So hang on for some super reviews and a whole month great books you could win!!

Published: October 2, 2012ISBN: 1442445939
Genre: fantasy, family, magic, friendship, good vs. evil
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Themes: middle school, fantasy, friends, family, magic
Add it on: Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes And Noble/ *Indie Bound*

About The Book: Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. She’s a Telepath—someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.

Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.

Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come “home.”
There are secrets buried deep in Sophie’s memory—secrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans—that other people desperately want. Would even kill for.

First Line: "Miss Foster!" Mr. Sweeney's nasal voice cut through Sophie's blaring music as he yanked her earbuds out by the cords.

A Taste of the Nonstop Action: "It was still dark, but once her eyes adjusted Sophie could see an eagle-size golden pterodactyl trying to escape the leash that Grady held"(342).

Photo Credit:
http://jennalessa.wordpress.com/

Cover Love: Jason Chan Illustrator
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Interview on Jenn Alessa

Who: "My name is Jason Chan and I like to draw :)

I was born and raised in Stockton, California in 1983. After high school I moved out to San Francisco to study 3D animation at the Academy of Art University, but promptly changed my major to illustration and graduated in the Spring of 06. I am now working at Massive Black.

As I said, I love to draw. Ever since I was a kid I've always been drawing characters for make believe video games, cartoons and comics. I also loved drawing my favorite X-men characters, warcraft heroes, and video game sprites. I drew a million Mega Man and Mario drawings. As I grew up, that love for video games and fantasy never left me. I grew to love fantasy novels and that inspired my work. Many of my favorite video games were japanese made so as I drew the characters from those games, I began to fall for the anime style. Of course, that lead me to watch anime - an addiction I still haven't been able to shake. After a couple of yearsof horrible attempts at manga style art, I began school in San Francisco and actually got some decent life drawing and anatomy practice. I began to to be exposed to some of the western masters such as Sargent, Leyendecker, Rockwell, and Frazetta. I embraced the esthetics of western art and tried to improve myself in that direction. Now I am trying to marry my western art education with my eastern art interest and see what happens.

I'm still trying. We'll see what happens."— Artist Website

JasonChanArt.com

What Other's Said About the Book: "Keeper of the Lost Cities is a little bit Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a little bit Lord of the Rings, and a little bit Harry Potter. And it's all fun!" —New York Times bestselling author Michael Buckley

"This debut novel is a powerful and appealing package of skillful world-building, fantasy, suspense, mystery, and middle-school relationships . . . A slew of interesting and well-drawn characters, careful plotting, and just plain good storytelling will have readers racing through the pages" —School Library Journal

Bloggers Weigh In: 

Carina's Books
The Write Stuff
Dark Faerie Tales
Dutch Hill News

What I Thought: I'm always leery when a book is promoted as "The Next Harry Potter" or a cross between two greatly received books, as this one has. Probably because I've been in advertising and I know the strategy behind it. In this case, I honestly believe the comparison holds water.
  
I will say, that it is similar in that both Potter and the Keeper have similar age characters and their protagonist is uniquely gifted to save the world. For the most part that is where the similarities end. Messengers work is original and has a strong heroine and she's managed to create a uniquely American version of magic and fantasy. Potter lovers will appreciate the modes of travel, the science behind the magic and most of all the characters. I appreciated the themes of environment, family and friendship. I also recognized the sardonic quips and moods so accurate in the portrayal of American Tweens. Messengers voice is spot on!!

I highly recommend this fantasy and look anxiously for the next book in the series!  

About The Author: 
Shannon Messenger 

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Who: Shannon Messenger graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts where she learned--among other things--that she liked watching movies much better than making them. She also regularly eats cupcakes for breakfast, sleeps with a bright blue stuffed elephant named Ella, and occasionally gets caught talking to imaginary people. So it was only natural for her to write stories for children. She's the author of the middle grade series, KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES, and LET THE SKY FALL, a trilogy for young adults. She lives in Southern California with her husband and an embarrassing number of cats.

Second Book In The Series Due Out In October!!

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Keeper of The Lost Cities

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