The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning! Theodore Finch
is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill
himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey
lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can
escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s
recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the
bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up
on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both
Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet
that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not
such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget
to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world
grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
This is an intense, gripping
novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle
Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer
Niven.
My Review
I should start off my review by stating that All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven did not make me cry like so many of the readers of this book, but I did get a little emotional. But only a tiny bit, which is shocking because I am a very emotional person. (If you're wondering what made me cry... I'll tell you... It wasn't the Violet/Finch stuff, but the Eleanor and Violet flashbacks.)
I expected all of the sad events that occur in this book to happen when I started reading it, and the strong foreshadowing confirmed my predictions. I guess it just left me with very little room to be sad because I knew what was coming. I had time to be sad while reading and to come to terms with the ending before I even got there. I couldn't really think after I finished reading, and I had a hard time analyzing everything about the book.
Nonetheless, Niven's novel is one that I was kind of unsure about after I closed the final page. I didn't know if I liked it or if it was just another book that I read without really feeling anything for any of the characters or plot or really anything. I was just lost, dazed, and confused. After sleeping it off, I decided that I liked the book. It's a different kind of book in the depression and suicide canon of books, and I'm glad that I was finally able to get to the book.
At times, I was bored with the writing. It's not that the book is wordy or poorly written because it's not; the prose just got on my nerves because sometimes it's catchy, and other times it's a bit boring. It just left me dumbfounded because both Finch and Violet of supposed to be fans of words and how they can be arranged in writing and speech. Sometimes, I felt like the word choices could have been a lot better to really make it a beautifully outstanding piece of writing.
Unfortunately, the characters didn't really stand out to me like I thought they would, but I still liked them. I feel like I'll remember them for a while, but soon, they will just be distant memories that I will have to revisit. Finch threw me off guard because he's just so out there. Sometimes I loved him, and other times, I hated him. At times, I thought he was pompous, especially when he and Violet first meet, but then I grew to like him and then dislike him and then like him again. It was like an endless cycle of figuring him out, but I was okay with that because it's truly representative of his depression. I was conflicted about how I felt about him, and I still am. On the other hand, I had a better connection to Violet. Her back story was better explained, and I really felt her sadness and I understood it. Therefore, I was able to get inside of her head a little better and really get to know her.
I'm thinking the only thing that really left me hanging about this book is that I really wanted to know more about Violet's sister, Eleanor. It's just plain old human curiosity to wander, and I wanted to know everything about this situation. Eleanor a huge reason as to why Violet is the why she is. Besides... I'm just such a sucker for stories about sisters and would have loved to have seen more about her included.
So did I like this book? Yes. I really did, but it just wasn't a spectacular read for me. Will I read other YA titles from Niven if she writes them? Absolutely. This one was good, and I hope that one day one of hers will be great for me.I'm glad that Niven was able to tell a story like this (apparently very similar to one that she went through) because the world really needs it. You never know when someone is suffering, and she does a great job at showing how depression and other mental health problems are invisible illnesses.
All the Bright Places is Jennifer Niven's first book for young adult readers, but she has written four novels for adults - American Blonde, Becoming Clementine, Velva Jean Learns to Fly, and Velva Jean Learns to Drive - as well as three nonfiction books, The Ice Masters, Ada Blackjack, and The Aqua Net Diaries, a memoir about her high school experiences.
Although she grew up in Indiana, she now lives with her fiance and literary cats in Los Angeles, which remains her favorite place to wander.
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme created and hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose of the mean is spotlighting the upcoming releases that bloggers and readers are currently anticipating.
It's very easy to participate in Waiting on Wednesday. All you need to
do is make a
post about an upcoming release (or releases) that you're waiting on, make sure you've
linked back to Breaking the Spine, and then add your name to the link-up
tool.
What I'm Waiting On...
Title: Love Fortunes and Other Disasters
Author: Kimberly Laralius
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication Date: May 12, 2015
In the tradition of Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic, one girl chooses to change her fortune and her fate by falling in love.
Love
is real in the town of Grimbaud, and Fallon Dupree has dreamed of
attending high school there for years. After all, generations of Duprees
have successfully followed the (100% accurate!) love fortunes from
Zita’s famous Love Charms Shop to happily marry their high school
sweethearts. It’s a tradition. So she is both stunned and devastated
when her fortune states that she will NEVER find love.
Fortunately,
Fallon isn’t the only student with a terrible love fortune, and a
rebellion is brewing. Fallon is determined to take control of her own
fate—even if it means working with a notorious heartbreaker like
Sebastian.
Will Fallon and Sebastian be able to overthrow Zita’s tyranny and fall in love?
Why I'm Waiting...
While I've never read Practical Magic, I've always wanted to because I love the idea of one being able to change his/her own fate. (Hello... Brave is one of my favorite Disney and Pixar movies for a reason!) It's just such an empowering concept!
I think the plot of this book looks adorable, and I'm kind of curious to read about the three generations of Duprees who have had successful love fortunes. More importantly, I want to see just why Fallon's fortune says she will never find love because I often feel that way.
What Are You Waiting On...
Is anyone else waiting on this new Swoon Reads title? Are you waiting on something else? As always, feel free to let me know in the comments, or leave the link to your Waiting on Wednesday posts if you'd like me to check them out. I always love looking through everyone's posts to see if I can add anything else to my infinite TBR list.
When Oakley Nelson loses her brother, Lucas, to cancer, she thinks she’ll never recover. Between her parents’ arguing and the battle she’s fighting with depression, she feels nothing inside but a hollow emptiness. When Mom suggests they spend the summer in California with Aunt Jo, Oakley isn’t sure that a change of scenery will alter anything, but she’s willing to give it a try.
In California, Oakley discovers a sort of safety and freedom in Aunt Jo’s beach house. Once they’re settled, Mom hands her a notebook full of letters addressed to her—from Lucas. As Oakley reads one each day, she realizes how much he loved her, and each letter challenges her to be better and to continue to enjoy her life. He wants her to move on.
If only it were that easy.
But then a surfer named Carson comes into her life, and Oakley is blindsided. He makes her feel again. As she lets him in, she is surprised by how much she cares for him, and things get complicated. How can she fall in love and be happy when Lucas never got the chance to do those very same things?
With her brother’s dying words as guidance, Oakley must learn to listen to and trust herself again. She soon realizes that second chances are ways to learn from the past, and you don’t always have to leave the past behind to find happiness in the future.
Praise for Love, Lucas:
"Chantele Sedgwick's Love, Lucas, is a beautiful story about finding hope, first loves, and learning to live again after the loss of a sibling. With a fantastic cast, and the gorgeous setting of the California coast, this book is one fabulous read." —Jolene Perry author of The Summer I Found You
"A beautiful, moving novel of loss and love. Sedgwick’s elegant prose weave a heart-breaking tale that stays with you long after you have finished the last page." —G. R. Mannering, author of Roses
“An emotional summer of love, hope, and healing! Love, Lucas is easy to adore with Sedgwick’s real relationships, sweet romance, and tale of renewal.” —Lizzy Charles, author of Effortless With You
"Chantele Sedgwick navigates the dark waters of grief with a deft hand and plenty of heart.Love, Lucas will drag readers under before bringing them back to the surface for a life-saving breath of hope." —Amy Finnegan, author of Not In the Script
About Chantele Sedwick
Chantele Sedgwick is a YA author, harpist, wife to one and stay-at-home mom to four. She loves happy endings, Kit Kats and judging by her book shelves, buys way too many books.
Giveaway:
Prize Pack 1: Signed hardcover of Love, Lucas, a Micro Mini Book necklace of your choice (Up to $9.95) from the Tiny Book Town Etsy Shop and a full swag pack (US Only)
Prize Pack 2: $10 Amazon Gift Card and a full swag pack (US Only)
All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead--a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.
Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.
"Skillfully blends rich magic and folklore with
adventure, sweeping romance, and hidden treasure . . . An impressive start to
the Heirs of Watson Island series." —Publishers Weekly
"Eight Beaufort is so swoon-worthy that it's
ridiculous. Move over Four, Eight is here to stay!" —RT Book
Reviews, RT Editors Best Books of 2014
"Darkly romantic and steeped in Southern Gothic
charm, you'll be compelled to get lost in the Heirs of Watson Island
series." —JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT, #1 New York Times bestselling
author
"A fresh twist on the Southern Gothic --
haunting, atmospheric, and absorbing." —CLAUDIA GRAY, New York
Timesbestselling author of A Thousand Pieces of You and
the Evernight and Spellcaster series
"A stunningly magical debut with a delicious
slow burn to be savored. I want to live in this story world!" —WENDY
HIGGINS, USA Today and New York Times bestselling
author of the Sweet Evil trilogy
"Beautifully written, with vivid characters, a generations-old
feud, and romance that leaps off the page, this Southern ghost story left me
lingering over every word, and yet wanting to race to the compelling finish. Compulsion is
not to be missed." —MEGAN SHEPHERD, author of The Madman's
Daughter
Book Two:
PERSUASION (HEIRS
OF WATSON ISLAND,BOOK 2)
Beautiful
Creatures meets Gone With the Wind
As reporters
chasing rumors of a stolen shipment of Civil War gold descend on Watson Island,
Barrie Watson discovers more is buried at Colesworth Place than treasure. A
mysterious, magical man claims the key to the Watson and Beaufort gifts and the
Colesworth curse also lies beneath the mansion, and Barrie has no option but to
help him find it. While she and Eight Beaufort struggle to make sense of the
escalating danger and their growing feelings for each other, Barrie must decide
not only whom to trust, but which gift is more reliable—Eight’s or her own. With the fate of the founding families
at stake, she has to choose between what she feels deep in her heart and what
will keep her loved ones safe.
Martina Boone was born in Prague and spoke several languages before learning English. She fell in love with words and never stopped delighting in them.
She’s the founder of AdventuresInYAPublishing.com, a Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers site, and YASeriesInsiders.com, a site devoted to encouraging literacy and all this YA Series.
From her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, children, and Auggie the wonder dog, she enjoys writing contemporary fantasy set in the kinds of magical places she’d love to visit. When she isn’t writing, she’s addicted to travel, horses, skiing, chocolate flavored tea, and anything with Nutella on it.
Welcome back to Soundtrack Saturday, everyone. I know it's been a while since my last Soundtrack Saturday post, but I'm bringing it back!
I hope you've been enjoying your weekend. The weather has been warming up here, despite a cold front earlier in the week. The trees are starting to bloom, and I'm starting to think about summer!
If you've
been following The Hardcover Lover for a while, you know just what
happens on Saturdays on the blog. Yup! That's right - Soundtrack
Saturday! If you've never noticed the meme before or are just new to the blog, I'll explain things for you:
Soundtrack Saturday is a book meme created and hosted by me so I can share my love
of music with my readers. But this is a book blog, so of course, books are involved! The soundtracks
are actually book soundtracks! As I'm reading, or as soon as I finish, I compile a list of songs that go well with the book.
As with all bookish memes, there are a few steps
to follow to help you create your own Soundtrack Saturday post:
Choose a book that you've read
Create a mini (four songs) or full soundtrack (ten-fifteen songs) for that book based on characters and plot details
For more detailed instructions, please visit the meme's homepage.
Please credit me somewhere in your post
It can be as simple as "Soundtrack Saturday was created by Erin at The Hardcover Lover."
Leave a comment on my blog post if you enjoy the feature
Hey, everyone! I have an extra special post for you today for a book that is very near and dear to my heart. Spencer Hill Contemporary and Kelsey Macke are celebrating the fact that Kelsey's debut novel, Damsel Distressed, has been out for six months now!
If you've been following my blog since its creation, you might remember me reviewing the beautiful book and being a part of the blog tour and release day blitz. If not, go check them out so you can familiarize yourself with this tremendous book! And while you're at it, buy a copy of it so you can see just why I am so in love with this book, and its main character, Imogen.
As you can imagine, I'm honored and thrilled to be kicking off the "Bookiversary" Bash today! I hope you enjoy the exclusive bonus content from Kelsey and Imogen!
Hot girls get the fairy
tales. No one cares about the stepsisters' story. Those girls don't get
a sweet little ending; they get a lifetime of longing
Imogen
Keegen has never had a happily ever after–in fact, she doesn’t think
they are possible. Ever since her mother’s death seven years ago, Imogen
has pulled herself in and out of therapy, struggled with an
“emotionally disturbed” special ed. label, and loathed her
perma-plus-sized status.
When Imogen’s new stepsister, the evil
and gorgeous Ella Cinder, moves in down the hall, Imogen begins losing
grip on the pieces she’s been trying to hold together. The only things
that gave her solace–the theatre, cheese fries, and her best friend,
Grant–aren’t enough to save her from her pain this time.
While
Imogen is enjoying her moment in the spotlight after the high school
musical, the journal pages containing her darkest thoughts get put on
display. Now, Imogen must resign herself to be crushed under the
ever-increasing weight of her pain, or finally accept the starring role
in her own life story.
And maybe even find herself a happily ever after.
Enhance the experience with the companion soundtrack, Imogen Unlocked, by the author's band, Wedding Day Rain.
Alternate Scene:
The following scene is one where Imogen is thinking about her mom. Many parts of this scene were edited and deleted for the book's final printing, so while this one may appear slightly similar, it's still different.
It’s 4:34
am, and I can’t sleep. I don’t even want to think about the fact that I might
have to face Carmella at school. Ugh. I can’t. All I can manage is to flop
around on my bed, sigh, play with the frayed hem of my t-shirt, sigh some more,
and stare at the ceiling. I miss her. I always miss her. But I miss her more at
night… and even more when I’m sad.
Or
anxious.
Or
angry.
Her smile
flashes at me from behind my eyes every time they close. Each blink reminds me
of her laugh and her eyes. I roll over, away from my clock and towards my
bookcase. I look at the picture frame holding the photo of us together. Her,
lovely and laughing, holding me on her lap on the morning of my first day of
kindergarten. I’m wearing a t-shirt with a giant, smiling sun on it, and I’m
looking at her with the most joyful admiration. Even as a kid, I knew she was
special. The frame is hand painted ceramic, with my name across the top in her
neat, swirling script. I can’t stand it. Thinking of her hand shaping the
letters only inches from my face. I reach over and turn the framed photo face
down, stifling her smile, and concealing the evidence of my once-present
joy.
That
grinning Imogen.
What a
fool.
It seems
that as each day passes, I become more and more separated from the girl I was
seven years ago. She was this bright, optimistic girl who loved to wear pink,
play dress up, and smile. She had long chestnut brown hair and cheeks peppered
with freckles. Her innocent eyes sparkled blue and grey, and always saw the
best in everyone. She ran through the neighborhood on legs that were sun kissed
and lean, in the way that exuberant and active children’s often are. She spent
hours in her room, singing into her hairbrush, staring at herself as she
performed to the (obviously impressed) crowd of teddy bears and porcelain
dolls. She had a mother who loved to brush her hair, and read her stories of
lovely girls, and dashing boys, and who kissed her goodnight and told her that
she was beautiful.
She had a mother.
Enhance Your Damsel Distressed Reading Experience with the Book's Soundtrack, Imogen Unlocked by Wedding Day Rain
Click the Album Art to Purchase Imogen Unlocked from iTunes
Heavy
No Goodbye
Something About
Sinking
Don't Wake Me Up
Let Me Go
My Strength
Unseen
Always Speak Too Late
The End is Just the Beginning
Breath Easy
Edge of the Fall
Damsel Distressed is the story of
Imogen, a girl who's survived the years after her mother's death by focusing
squarely on her best friend, Grant, musical theatre, and lots of cheese. The
book is full of humor and heart, and also contains a few surprises. Full page
sketches are scattered throughout the novel, and each one contains a QR code
that corresponds to a song from the book's soundtrack. Imogen Unlocked is a
12-song album of original music written by the author and her husband Daron as
their indie-pop band, Wedding Day Rain. Together, the book Damsel Distressed
and the soundtrack Imogen Unlocked work together to tell the story of a girl
who might just make her own Happily Ever After, if she can just hold herself
together.
About Kelsey Macke
Kelsey Macke has been creative for as
long as she can remember. From an early age she was on stage singing,
penning poetry, and writing notebooks full of songs. When the idea for
her debut novel, DAMSEL DISTRESSED, popped into her head, she was
undeterred by the fact that she had no idea how to actually write a
novel. Her bff, the internet, was her guide, and after much trial,
error, and candy, she finished it, and set out to get it published… a
process far more difficult than, the internet (now her mortal enemy),
had lead her to believe. Her whirlwind adventure was made even
more unbelievable when she signed with fabulous agent, Jessica
Sinsheimer of the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency and, shortly
after, Danielle Ellison of Spencer Hill Contemporary bought her debut. This innovative, mixed-media art
project has given Kelsey an incredibly unique opportunity to join two of
her passions: writing and making music with her husband as half of the
folky, indie-pop band Wedding Day Rain. DAMSEL DISTRESSED, and the companion album of original songs, Imogen Unlocked, are scheduled for release in October 2014.
The Friday 56 is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice.
The
rules are super easy to follow, and this feature is a great way to
share the books you're reading with other bloggers and readers. I've
discovered so many great books through this meme, and I always have a
blast trying to figure out what quote I like the most.
So what do you need to do to participate in The Friday 56?
Go to page 56 (or 56% for e-readers like Kindle and Nook) of the book you're currently reading
Grab a few sentences to share with your blog's readers, but be sure not to spoil anything too major
Add your name and link to the link-up on Freda's blog
This week, I'm featuring two books on my Friday 56 post. Why? Well I'm reading one for fun, and I'm reading another one for work. The books I'm reading this week are All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven and Night by Elie Wiesel in The Night Trilogy bind-up. It seems that I've set myself up for some very emotional reads this week. The first excerpt is from Night by Elie Wiesel. This is my first time reading this book because I somehow ended up in the ninth grade class that didn't get to read it.
"Again, the waiting. I fell asleep standing up. I dreamed of a bed, of my mother's hand on my face. I woke: I was standing, my feet in the mud. Some people collapsed, sliding into the mud. Others shouted:
'Are you crazy? We were told to stand. Do you want to get us all in trouble?'"
The second excerpt I'm sharing this Friday is from Jennifer Niven's YA debut, All the Bright Places.
"I climb into my mom's old Saturn VUE, better known as Little Bastard, and head to Violet Markey's on the farm road that runs parallel to National Road, the main artery that cuts through town. I slam my foot against the gas pedal, and there's the rush as the speedometer climbs to sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, the needle shaking the higher it gets, the Saturn doing its best in that moment to be a sports car instead of a five-year-old minivan."
Now I want to know what everyone else is reading this week and weekend. Feel free to let me know the names of any books, but also feel free to leave your links to your Friday 56 posts. Happy reading, and I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme created and hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine
that spotlights the upcoming book releases that bloggers and readers are currently anticipating.
Participating in the meme is very easy. All you need to
do is make a
post about an upcoming release (or releases) that you're waiting on, make sure you've
linked back to Breaking the Spine somewhere in your post, and then add your name to the link-up
tool.
What I'm Waiting On...
Title: Because You'll Never Meet Me
Author: Leah Thomas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens USA
Publication Date: June 2, 2015
In a stunning
literary debut, two boys on opposite ends of the world begin an unlikely
friendship that will change their lives forever.
Ollie
and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic
to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s
weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did
meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker.
Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through
letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only
friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a
bully set on destroying him.
A story of impossible friendship and
hope under strange circumstances, this debut is powerful, dark and
humorous in equal measure. These extraordinary voices bring readers into
the hearts and minds of two special boys who, like many teens, are just
waiting for their moment to shine.
Why I'm Waiting...
Letters? Do you see that? Letters! Obviously in this day and age, everything is so instant and electronic, and many people fail to see the beauty in a handwritten letter. But letters connect these two best friends who will never be able to meet one another, and I am very curious to see how Leah Thomas characterizes these two friends. I'm also a sucker for YA books about friendship because friendships are so important in the teenage years, and many of the books I've read about best friends have turned out to be some of the sweetest books I've ever read.
What Are You Waiting On...
I'd love to know what everyone else is waiting on for this week's Waiting on Wednesday. As always, feel free to leave the title or titles of the books that you cannot wait for in the comments, or you may leave a link to your Waiting on Wednesday posts. I'd love to be able to see what everyone plans on reading as soon as these new books are released.
Top Ten Tuesday is an original
feature/weekly meme created and hosted by the awesome ladies at The Broke and the Bookish.
They created the feature because they love making and sharing bookish lists with everyone. Well it just so happens that I am also a fan of list making, so I regularly participate in Top Ten Tuesday.
Every
week, there is a new topic for Top Ten Tuesday, and all you have to do is create your top
ten
list (or somewhere around ten if you can't think of ten) based on it. Be sure to credit The Broke and the
Bookish in your post. Then you can add your name to the link up tool that they
include in their post and check out all of the other bookish lists for the week!
Top Ten All-Time Favorite Authors:
J.K. Rowling - Even though I read Harry Potter later in life, I love Jo for these books. If it weren't for them, I probably would have stopped reading YA after my YA class.
Romina Russell - Ms. Russell has only released one book so far, but that one book soared her to the top of my favorite authors list. She's definitely an auto-buy author for me.
Marissa Meyer - Again, I discovered Marissa Meyer later than everyone else, but I love her spin on classic fairy tales. I can't wait to read more from her.
Veronica Roth - So I feel like one of the very few people who loved all three books in the Divergent trilogy, but I did. I cannot wait to get my hands on Veronica's upcoming book.
Emery Lord - Emery is making a name for herself in contemporary YA, and she deserves her spot on my list. I love how she writes about friendship, family, and love.
Kiera Cass - Kiera and I had a rocky start, but I now love her work. I'm eagerly waiting for The Heir to get here to see how she takes on a new character in an already established fictional world.
Rainbow Rowell - I love that Rainbow flawlessly writes about teens and adults because I love reading about both teens and adults. I can't wait to read even more from her, including Carry On because I'm excited to see her write through the eyes of one of her characters.
Stephanie Perkins - Stephanie is pretty much one of the queens of YA romance, and I adored all three Anna and the French Kiss companion books.
Lauren Oliver - I found Lauren by surprise when I won a copy of Before I Fall from Goodreads. I loved it and then went on to devour even more of her books.
Gayle Forman - I've only read two books by Ms. Forman, but they really surprised me because of how amazing they truly are. I have more of her books that I will be reading in the future.
Penelope Landlow has
grown up with the knowledge that almost anything can be bought or
sold—including body parts. She’s the daughter of one of the three crime
families that control the black market for organ transplants.
Penelope’s
surrounded by all the suffocating privilege and protection her family
can provide, but they can't protect her from the autoimmune disorder
that causes her to bruise so easily.
And in her family's line of work no one can be safe forever.
All
Penelope has ever wanted is freedom and independence. But when she’s
caught in the crossfire as rival families scramble for prominence, she
learns that her wishes come with casualties, that betrayal hurts worse
than bruises, that love is a risk worth taking . . . and maybe she’s not
as fragile as everyone thinks.
Book Trailer
Excerpt
There was always a moment as I rolled
down the long driveway toward the high fence surrounding the estate when my breath
caught in my chest and I doubted my decision to leave. Anything could
happen to me outside the perimeter of our property.
Carter interrupted my thoughts. “I told
Mother we’re going to see a musical. You know what’s playing and can pick one, right?”
Of course I did. I spent hours on NYC
websites, blogs, and forums. Someday I’d go into a long remission. Someday I’d
live there and walk the streets of promise, freedom, and opportunity they sang
about in Annie, a play I’d seen with Father on Broadway right before my
life turned purple and red.
“Really?” It made sense that Mother
would agree to a play. It would be safe, a seated activity. The chairs would
mark out defined personal space, and I’d be perfectly cocooned between my
brother and his best friend/guard, Garrett Ward. It made a whole lot less sense
that Carter would voluntarily attend the theater.
He lowered his window and called a greeting
to Ian, the guard on gate duty. Once his window was closed and the gate was
shutting behind us, he snorted. “No, not really. That’s just what I said to buy
you some extra time.”
“You should at least listen to the
score then,” I countered. “You know she’s going to want to discuss it. Or, if
she doesn’t, Father will. He’ll probably perform it if I ask.”
“Then don’t ask,” said Carter. “Fine.
Pick a show and Garrett can download the soundtrack. We’ll listen to it once,
then I get the radio for the rest of the drive—no complaints.”
It was more than I’d expected; he truly
felt guilty about being so MIA. “There’s a revival of Once Upon a Mattress that’s
getting great reviews.”
They snickered.
“Once Upon a Mattress? That
sounds like—”
I cut my brother off. “Don’t go there!
It’s a fairy tale, gutterbrain.”
“Of course it is,” laughed Garrett.
I’m pretty sure the subtext of that
laugh was you’re such a child. I swallowed a retort. Freedom was too
rare a thing towaste arguing. And I’d never had Korean barbecue. I’d
nevereven heard of it. There were so many things I’d never seen,tasted,
experienced . . . Tension melted into giddy anticipation,bubbling in my
stomach like giggles waiting to escape.
“So, how’d your super-secret errand
go?” I asked. “Was it something exciting? Something illegal?”
Garrett met my gaze in the rearview
mirror and shook his head.
But it was too late. Carter’s
expression darkened. “Everything we do is illegal. It’s not a game where
you get to pick and choosewhich crimes you’re okay with.”
“So it didn’t go well,” I muttered
under my breath.
I knew it wasn’t a game, and I knew the
Family Business was against the law. I’d known it for so long it was easy to
forget. Or remember only in a vague way, like knowing the sky is blue without paying
any attention to its blueness.
Only in those moments when things went
wrong—when lazy clouds were replaced by threats and storms, when someone got
hurt or killed—only then did I stare down the reality of the Business through a
haze of grief and funeral black. My fingers tensed on the edge of the seat.
“Ignore him,” said Garrett. “He’s just
pissy because the people we were supposed to meet with stood us up.”
“Someone dared to no-show for a
meeting with the mighty Carter Landlow?” I teased, hoping to break the gloom
settling in the car like an unwelcome passenger. “I assumed it was a Business errand,
but if someone stood you up, it must be a girl.”
“No offense, Pen, but you don’t have a
clue what’s going on in the Business.”
“No offense, Carter, but you’re
being a—”
“Who wants to hear some songs about
mattresses?” interrupted Garrett. He reached for the stereo, but Carter swatted
his hand away.
“I’m not an idiot,” I said. And wishing
for things that had been denied for so long was idiotic. No less so than
repeatedly bashing your head against a wall or touching a hot iron. I knew the
answer was no, was always going to be no, so asking to be included
in Family matters was like volunteering to be a punch line for one of the Ward
brothers’ jokes.
But I knew the basics. It wouldn’t be
possible to live on the estate, spend so much time in the clinic, and not know.
The first person to explain it to me had been my grandfather; fitting, since he
was the man who’d reacted to the formation of FOTA—the Federal Organ and Tissue
Association—by founding our Family.
The same day I’d demanded a kidney for
Kelly Forman, he’d sat me down and demonstrated using a plate of crackers and cheese.
“When donation regulation was moved from the FDA to FOTA, they added more
restrictions and testing.” He ate a few of the Ritz-brand “organs” on his plate,
shuffled the empty cheese slices that represented humans who needed
transplants. “This, combined with a population that’s living longer than ever
before”—he plunked down several more slices of
cheese—“created a smaller, slower supply and greater demand.” He built me an inside-out
cheese-cracker-cheese sandwich. “It was a moment of opportunity, and when you
see those in life, you take them.”
This felt
like a moment of opportunity. And not to prove that I wasn’t an idiot by
listing all the facts I knew—about how the Families provided illegal
transplants for the many, many people rejected from or buried at the bottom of
the government lists. How more than two-thirds of those who made it through all
the protocols to qualify for a spot on the official transplant list died before
receiving an organ. Or to recite the unofficial Family motto: Landlows help
people who can’t afford to wait, but can afford to pay.
“Fine, tell me what I don’t know,” I
said. “Tell me what’s going on, why you and Father are fighting, and what’s
keeping you so busy. Tell me everything.”
Garrett muttered something that sounded
suspiciously like “Don’t do this,” but since my brother ignored him, I did too.
Carter’s eyes met mine in the rearview
mirror. “None of this leaves the car, Pen. I’m trusting you.”
“I understand.” I sat a little
straighter. “And I promise.”
A phone beeped with a text alert,
almost immediately followed by a ringtone that made them jump. Carter picked up
his cell, swore, showed the screen to Garrett, then swore again. All the
buoyancy of freedom seemed to evaporate from the car.
“Now? They blow us off earlier and
expect us to answer now?” said Garrett.
“Well, it’s not like these things can
be scheduled,” replied Carter, jabbing the screen of his cell. “Hello?”
He muttered low and furious into the
phone, then hung up, still cursing. “We have to do the pickup.”
Garrett’s frowned. “No one else can do
it?”
He shook his head.
“Pick up what?” I asked.
Carter opened his mouth, but Garrett
put a hand on his arm. “She’s seventeen. Let her be seventeen. There’s
plenty of time to get her involved later.”
“When we were seventeen we were
already sitting on council, visiting the clinics, meeting with patients. She
can’t even tell a kidney scar from a skin graft—she needs to catch up.”
“She can make her own decisions,
she is sitting right here, and she is coming along to what ever
this mysterious pickup is, so she’s already involved,” I snapped.
“You are not coming,” said
Garrett.
“We don’t have a choice, unless you
want me to leave her on the side of the highway. This is our exit.” Carter was
clutching his cell phone, shaking it as if that could erase what ever the text instructed
him to do.
Garrett groaned. “You’re staying in the
car.”
I hid my smile by looking out the
window. It had gotten dark while we were driving, the dusky purple of summer
evenings. On the estate these nights buzzed with a soundtrack of cicadas and
crickets, but there was no nature outside the car. Nothing but concrete and
pavement and cinder-block industrial construction. We pulled into a parking
lot. A poorly lit, empty parking lot.
“Where are we? What are we picking up?”
I examined Garrett’s stiff posture and the bright gleam in my brother’s eyes. “Does
Father know about this Business errand?”
“No, and you’re not going to tell him,”
Carter answered.
“Oh, really? So what am I going to do?”
“Stay in the car. Lock the doors. Keep
the windows up.” Carter turned around to look me in the eye. “This isn’t a
joke, Pen. If I’d known this was going to come up, I would’ve left you at
home.”
“Please, princess,” added Garrett in a
soft voice, but his eyes didn’t leave the windshield, didn’t stop their scan of
the parking lot.
“Fine, but when you’re done, you’re filling
me in. Then I can decide if I want to be part of it or not.” It was all
false bravado. Each one of Carter’s statements tied another knot in my stomach;
Garrett’s plea pulled them tighter.
Carter dumped a half dozen mints from
the plastic container in his cup holder into his mouth—like his breath
mattered, like this was a date not a disaster. He waved the container at us,
but we shook our heads. He crunched the candies and said, “Gare,
you’re hot, right?”
I blurted out, “You can turn on the
A/C, I’m not cold,” before I caught on: Garrett pulled a gun from a holster
below the back of his shirt.
They laughed, but it wasn’t funny to
me. I’d been to too many funerals—they’d been to more. I wanted to ask how long
he’d been “hot.” If he always had a gun on him. Had he when we went mini golfing
at Easter? Or the time last summer when I slipped on the pool deck and he’d
carried me to the clinic? No. He couldn’t have then. He’d been wearing a
swimsuit too—there’s no way he could’ve hidden a gun.
So what had happened in the past year,
and why was he carrying one now?
Garrett was Family, he was a Ward, but
he wasn’t supposed to follow his brothers’ footsteps. Or his father’s. They
were enforcers, but he didn’t belong in their grim-faced, split knuckles ranks.
That was why he was in college with Carter—Garrett was going to be his right-hand
man when my brother took over the Business.
Not a thug with a gun.
“Stay here, Pen,” Carter said again,
then slipped out into the night. His keys still dangled from the ignition, the
engine still hummed.
Garrett lingered an extra moment. “This
shouldn’t take long. And everything’s okay. I don’t want you to worry.”
“I’m not.” I would’ve sounded
believable if my voice wasn’t quivering. If I weren’t clutching fistfuls of my
dress.
“You’re cute when you’re worried.”
Garrett winked, and then he too was out in the darkness and humidity and I was alone.
I tried to lower my window—just a
crack, enough to let in voices but not even mosquitoes—except Carter must’ve
engaged some sort of child lock. I stared out the tinted glass, watched as their
shadows grew gigantic on the wall as they approached the
ware house, then disappeared around its corner.
No matter how hard I concentrated, my
eyes couldn’t adjust enough to make sense of the dark. Maybe it was the
placement of the parking lot lights—how I had to peer through them to see the
warehouse beyond.
After they’d left this afternoon, I’d
rushed to the clinic to model different outfits for Caroline. She’d teased. We’d
laughed. I’d blushed and daydreamed about the lovely combination of me, Garrett,
and NYC.
But in my daydreams, Garrett hadn’t
been wearing a gun.
And now we were parked somewhere made
of shadows and secrets and fear that sat on my tongue like a bitter hard candy that
wouldn’t dissolve.
The car still smelled like them. Their
seats were still warm when I leaned forward and pressed my hands against the
leather. But I couldn’t see them. What if the dark decided never to spit them
back out again?
This wasn’t the Business as I knew it:
secret transplant surgeries that took place at our six “Bed and Breakfasts” and
“Spas” in Connecticut, Vermont, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, and South
Carolina, where we saved people like Kelly Forman. She’d been ten when she
needed a kidney transplant, but her chromosomal mutation—unrelated to her renal
impairment—earned her a rejection from the Federal Organ and Tissue Agency’s
lists. According to them, Down syndrome made her a “poor medical investment.”
FOTA wrote her a death warrant. We saved her life.
She graduated from high school a few
weeks ago. The past nine years since we’d met—she wouldn’t have had those
without the Family Business.
That was enough. That was all I needed
to know. Illegal or not, that was good.
I heard something. A crack so sharp it
echoed and seemed to fill the spaces between my bones, making me shiver. I
prayed it was a car backfiring.
Then
it happened again.
About Tiffany Schmidt
Tiffany Schmidt lives in Pennsylvania
with her saintly husband, impish twin boys, and a pair of mischievous
puggles. She's not at all superstitious... at least that's what she
tells herself every Friday the thirteenth.
SEND ME A SIGN is her first novel. BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE will follow in
Winter, 2014. The ONCE UPON A CRIME FAMILY series begins with HOLD ME
LIKE A BREATH in 2015. You can find out more about her and her books at:
TiffanySchmidt.com, TiffanySchmidtWrites.Tumblr.com or by following her
on Twitter @TiffanySchmidt.
This spring, Bloomsbury is sending four amazing authors — Trish Doller, A.C. Gaughen, Emery Lord, and Tiffany Schmidt — to bookstores together for our Boldly Bookish tour. To celebrate it, they are giving away some goodies! All you have to do is buy one of the following books: The Devil You Know, Lion Heart, The Start of Me and You and/or Hold Me Like A Breath and email your receipt to teensusa@bloomsbury.com, in order to receive one of the following prizes:
Preorder one of the books pictured above, and get a Boldly Bookish logo sticker.
Preorder two of the books pictured above, and get a Boldly Bookish sticker and bookmark.
Preorder three of the books pictured above, and get a Boldly Bookish sticker, bookmark, and button.
Preorder all four books pictured above, and get a Boldly Bookish sticker, bookmark, button, and magnet.
Remember - the more books you preorder, the more Boldly Bookish swag you get!
Giveaway
Enter to win a finished copy of Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt
Title: All the Bright Places
