Kudos Elana....Possession is Awesome!

If you liked the Uglies Series, your going to LOVE Possession!  You might be wondering how I can say this, considering Elana Johnson's book Possession won't be released until June 7th... Well, I was one of the lucky people who won an ARC (Advanced Reviewer Copy) from Simon and Schuster.  I was beside myself with excitement when it arrived in the mail.  As I finished reading it another surprise arrived in the mail...6 bookmarks!  I'll be giving away four of them to four commenters on this post. (Sorry, I had to keep one and give one to my YA.)  I'll announce the winners on Sunday. 

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POSSESSION by Elana Johnson

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

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My Review...

Possession is a young adult dystopian novel.  Elana does an awesome job creating this new world!  I fell in love with the characters and desperately more of them when the book ends.  We'll have to pay attention to Elana's blog to see if and when we'll get a sneak peak at future books. 

The three main characters are Vi, Zenn and Jag.  Zenn is Vi's boyfriend and she's willing to break the rules to see him. 

Vi has a lot of baggage which causes her to not trust many people.  She's been hurt on more than one occasion. 

When Vi and Jag meet up there is some chemistry followed by a LOT of action.  Vi and Jag have special skills that draw them together in a battle against the thinkers who seem to decide what is best for everyone.  There are lots of twists and turns and surprises in this book. 

Elana has  a knack for world building and I can't wait for everyone to read Possession.  I'm giving it five stars on Goodreads!  I hope you'll put it on your TBR  (to be read) List.  My only complaint about the book was... it ended!  I could have read another 400 pages.

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For more information about Possession follow the links:
Add Possession to your Goodreads list.
Visit the official Possession website for ordering & ARC information.
Click here for giveaways and contests.

I know you have to be excited about one of us...Elana...publishing such an awesome book.  The Uglies and the Handmaid's Tale are the only dystopian novels I had read up until Possession.  I really like them. 

What about you?  What dytopian novels have you read? 

CUTE! CUTE! CUTE! Connie Arnold Stops In To Chat About Her Picture Book ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP

I don't do many book reviews, but when Connie Arnold asked me if I would review her picture book ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP I jumped at the chance.  ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP is one cute book!  Imagine if one day you woke up and all the animals in the world made different sounds...Wouldn't that be funny!!!  ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP is a fun rhyming book that lets the imagination go wild.......

My favorite line from the book is:

"What if when you went to the zoo, all the monkeys were to moo? " (Now how cute is that!)

ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP was published by Guardian Angel Publishing and is available in print, on an ebook cd and an ebook pdf.  You can buy it directly from GAP (Guardian Angel Publishing) , from Amazon or from Barnes and Noble.  

Guardian Angel Publishing is based in Saint Louis, Missouri (many of you know I lived in STL for 9 years, which is longer than I lived anywhere else in my entire life).  I took this opportunity  to learn a little about Guardian Angel Publishing from Connie.  (I have to be honest here...I wanted to learn about them for my benefit too.  I'm always looking for a good reason to go to Saint Louis and having a publisher there would be a great reason to make the five and half hour drive.)   GAP will start accepting submissions again on April 1 via email. So I asked Connie a few questions...

Me: Aspiring writers are always curious about what makes a writer submit to a particular publishing house. What made you submit with GAP?

Connie: A friend who had books published by Guardian Angel Publishing recommended that I submit my manuscript. I visited the website - http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/ - and really liked what I saw. Now it's my turn to recommend GAP to others!

Me: I noticed several GAP authors did a book signing in Saint Louis in September, what was the best part of the event?
Connie: We did two events in St. Louis, one at the Children's Illustrated Art Museum, and a book signing at Borders. The event at the museum was such fun with many home school families attending and participating in the many activities we had for them. My favorite part was reading Animal Sound Mix-up to them and the fun they had with it and getting to share their own animal sounds afterward.It was great getting to meet GAP publisher, Lynda Burch, and some of the other authors and illustrators.

Me: Do you have any other events planned?
Connie: Since we went from St. Louis on to visit children, grandchildren and other family for two weeks and recently returned home, I'm just now able to get some events lined up. I plan to do events at the library and some preschool classes and will be contacting others soon, as well as looking into doing book signings. I've talked with some others about doing a signing together sometime, which I know from the St. Louis experience is fun!

Me: Animal Sound Mix-up is such a cute book! What "sparked" the idea for it?
Connie: Having young grandchildren! They are learning so much, including the sounds animal makes, and I started thinking about the variety of sounds animals make and how different they all are. Then, I guess craziness set in (I might have caught that from my grandsons)!

Me: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring writers?
Connie: Keep writing, find what you do best and share it with others, get feedback so you can improve your writing, and if you want to be published, be persistent and not discouraged in the face of rejections but have faith in yourself and the talent God has given you!

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If you have a little one or a grandbaby they'll love ANIMAL SOUND MIX-UP over and over and over again...
 
If you haven't met Connie, please hop over to her blog and meet her. 
 
Thanks for stopping in and have a wonderful week...Do you have any special writing plans for the week???