TechnoFail Shamelessness

Sorry this post is a day late! Somehow I lost all my files with the shameless updates for this week, and had to beg everyone to resend. But the issue has been resolved, so here we go!

NOTE: We have not one, not two, but THREE amazing cover reveals today. But I'm saving those for last. Because I'm mean like that.

We're going to start with review news this week, and not just because my own book TEN features in. Ha! Kate Milford's new release THE BROKEN LANDS "landed" (see what I did there?) a fantastic Kirkus review:

"Two teens race against time to thwart the forces of evil in this prequel to The Boneshaker (2010).

The Broken Land is a hotel where much crucial action takes place, but it is also an apt description of the United States in 1877. The Civil War has scarred the country, and Reconstruction has ended. “Folks are angry, still,” orphan Sam is told. “Folks are scared and folks feel like punishing each other, and I don’t think many of ’em are clear about what they’re mad for.” It is also a time of technological marvels like the Brooklyn Bridge, although this particular wonder has come with a price for young Sam. After losing his father to illness brought on by work on the bridge, Sam finds himself working as a cardsharp in Coney Island. He becomes the unlikely ally of Jin, a Chinese girl working with a team to provide fireworks at Broken Land, as they find themselves resisting a figure seeking to establish his own Hell. This seamless blend of fantasy and historical fiction is ripe with rich, gritty detail. Best of all, it is populated by a vast array of unusual characters: Along with Sam and Jin, there's Tom, a former member of the U.S. Colored Troops, and Susannah, a biracial woman who may hold the key to victory.

Readers will be captivated."

Kirkus was a busy little beaver this week, because TEN also got a fab review. I'm cutting out some of the more spoilery stuff because I think they added a bit too much plottage to the review, but here's the rest:

A scary gorefest of murder and mayhem, not for the faint of heart.

Clues are just amorphous enough to sustain the mystery, and since mistakes are lethal, the suspense is high.

For murder-mystery fans, there's more than enough horror and gore to sustain this effort (and several more), making for a breathless read. (Mystery/horror. 14 & up)

Yeah, I'm happy. Then right on that review, I found out I was a Top Pick in the September issue of Romantic Times!

TEN
by Gretchen McNeil

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Young Adult

RT Rating

You want to read this book. McNeil incorporates all the thrills and chills of a horror movie into this fast-paced, gripping tale. With its quippy dialogue, it’s like reading Scream. This reviewer got the willies while reading Ten on a sunny afternoon. 

A party on a secluded island has Meg’s (slightly unstable) friend Minnie totally excited. Meg is less thrilled, especially once she finds out that TJ, the crush she and Minnie share, will also be attending. A storm isolates the teens, and even the hosts don’t show. Then, one of the guests commits suicide … or does she? (BALZER + BRAY, Sep., 304 pp., $17.99, ISBN: 9780062118783, HC, 13 & Up)

Hee.

I'm sure you've all seen the NPR short list of Best Ever Young Adult Novels, but did you notice there were THREE Inkies on there? Congrats to THE SEVEN REALMS series by Cinda Williams Chima, ASH by Malinda Lo, and GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers! So go vote NOW!

In foreign rights news, Kate Coombs' The Runaway Princess, has been translated to Japanese and is now available in Japan

I promised cover reveals, and here they are! First, the gorgeous cover for Kate Milford's THE KAIROS MECHANISM. The image is by Andrea Offermann, the artist behind THE BROKEN LANDS and THE BONESHAKER, and our own inkie Lisa Amowitz handled turning it into a cover.

Cindy Pon and Ellen Oh are both featured in DIVERSE ENERGIES, a multicultural YA dystopian anthology published by Tu Books (November 2012).

And William Alexander has a cover to share as well! For GHOULISH SONG!

PHEW!!! So glad I was able to reassemble all that info. See you in two weeks!