Showing posts with label Suzanne Selfors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Suzanne Selfors. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Teaser Tuesday (November 13)


What is teaser tuesday? 
It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules: Grab your current read... 
Open to a random page 
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page 
Don't include spoilers.

"Most of the time I felt like an actor in my own life, walking a path that my family had designed, saying my lines, and following my blocking instructions. But the path I wanted to take, one of my own making, hadn't been paved yet.
-Saving Juliet, Page 16, by Suzanne Selfors

Manhattan meets Verona in this time-bending twist on Shakespeare.

When Mimi is magically thrust into the middle of Shakespeare’s Verona, she must find a way to help Juliet fight for her future happiness. Will she be able to give this classic tragedy a happy ending?

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Teaser Tuesday (September 4)

What is teaser tuesday? It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules: Grab your current read... Open to a random page Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page Don't include spoilers.

"Everyone in the village of Root knew that my father had rejected me at birth. But hed simply done what any other dirt-scratcher would have done." 
-The Sweetest Spell, Page 9, by Suzanne Selfors

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Stacking the Shelves (September 2)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews! It's a way to highlight the books that everyone got throughout the week.


The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors

Emmeline Thistle, a dirt-scratcher's daughter, has escaped death twice-first, on the night she was born, and second, on the day her entire village was swept away by flood. Left with nothing and no one, Emmeline discovers her rare and mysterious ability-she can churn milk into chocolate, a delicacy more precious than gold.

Suddenly, the most unwanted girl in Anglund finds herself desired by all. But Emmeline only wants one-Owen Oak, a dairyman's son, whose slow smiles and lingering glances once tempted her to believe she might someday be loved for herself. But others will stop at nothing to use her gift for their own gains-no matter what the cost to Emmeline. 

Magic and romance entwine in this fantastical world where true love and chocolate conquer all. (From Goodreads)



Friday, February 18, 2011

Author Interview: Suzanne Selfors

Suzanne Selfors is the author of Saving Juliet, Coffeehouse Angel, as well as a middle grade series with Little, Brown. She held a number of jobs before becoming a writer, including children's photographer, video producer, organic flower grower, and marketing director. She lives in Washington. Her newest release, Mad Love, was released January 4. (From Bloomsbury).

Suzanne's website: www.suzanneselfors.com

Mad Love Book Trailer:





1. Would you describe Mad Love in a few words for the readers?


Teen girl meets strange boy who claims to be Cupid. Together, they write a love story.

2. Mental Illness plays a major role in Alice's life, why did you choose to feature it in the book?

I needed Alice's mother to seem larger than life. I needed a reason for Alice's mother to be missing-in-action. I needed Alice to feel alone and unloved. Bi-polar disorder fit all the needs of the plot because it gave my opportunities to shower Alice with affection during her mother's episodes of mania, then to take that affection away during episodes of dark depression.

3. As someone going into the counseling field, I was really impressed with your accurate portrayal of life with mental illness. What research, if any, went into creating those characters?

Lots of research, but also lots of personal experience. In my senior year of college, I went into a deep funk. I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, was barely functioning. I was diagnosed with severe chronic depression and anxiety. And it took me years to pull myself free of it. Fortunately it hasn't come back. So when I wrote about Belinda's depression, I was drawing from experience.

Also, my father had extreme bouts of mania. He was never diagnosed because he never sought help. He turned to drinking, instead. So I get what it's like to live with someone whose mood swings are unpredictable.

4. Your book also features the myth of Eros (Cupid) and Psyche. What inspired you to use this particular story in Mad Love?

It's a great story. And I love Greek and Roman mythology. But I never quite believed the part of the story where Cupid accidentally shoots himself with his own arrow. I thought, what if he didn't put himself under a spell? What if he really, truly loved Psyche. What could I do with that?

5. Do you have any current projects in the works?

I'm writing my next teen novel, which will be out in 2012. I'm having fun with it. It's a bit of a fairy tale.

A HUGE thanks to Suzanne for answering my questions!

Book Review:Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

Writing her own love story could drive a girl insane!

When you’re the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can’t write it. Alice needs a story for her mother—and she needs one fast. That’s when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol’s voice in her head and see things she can’t explain, she must face the truth—that she’s either inherited her mother’s madness, or Errol is for real.
(From Goodreads)

Mad Love is an engaging read with great characters, realistic issues, and the perfect amount of romance.

Mad Love features a subject which doesn't often make it into YA fiction, characters who are struggling with mental illness. It's unfortunate that it isn't more common, because mental illness such a prevalent issue in our society. Selfors has done a superb job pointing out that people with mental illness are still people. Alice's mother clearly still cares about her daughter, although it didn't always seem that way. During manic spells, Belinda was attentive and loving to Alice. During the depressions, however, the disorder came first, leaving Alice to care for herself. I also thought that she did an excellent job showing the strain that mental illness can create for a family. Alice is not only trying to cover for her mother, but she's also trying to find some way to pay the bills. Add this to the stress of worrying that she'll develop the same issues as her mother, and seeing her mother in a catatonic state...well, you can see how Alice would be a bit on edge.

Selfors ties in the mythology of Eros and Psych, but adds her own spin to it. To be frank, the version found in Mad Love felt more like a Greek myth than the actual myth. I mean, myths always seem to end tragically (see Echo & Narcissus, Prometheus, Persephone, etc), so I always find it odd that somehow Eros and Psyche ended up united forever.

I don't often give out A ratings, but there was something about Mad Love that really wowed me. The characters felt consistent, the plot seemed to flow effortlessly, and it didn't gloss over the deeper subject matter. Selfors surpassed the expectations that I had for the book, and I'm looking forward to her next release.

Check back later today for an interview with the author!

Mad Love
By Suzanne Selfors
Published by Bloomsbury
336 Pages
Rating: A
Received for Review

Sunday, January 2, 2011

In My Mailbox (January 2)

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi of The Story Siren, who was inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. All of the synopses you see below were found on Goodreads. Here are the books I got this week...

Christmas Gifts:

The Ghost and the Goth

After a close encounter with the front end of a school bus, Alona Dare goes from Homecoming Queen to Queen of the Dead. Now she’s stuck here in spirit form with no sign of the big, bright light coming to take her away. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser/outcast type who hates the social elite. He alone can see and hear her, but he wants nothing to do with the former mean girl of Groundsboro High.

Can they get over their mutual distrust—and this weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don’t exist?

Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry.

After stepping on campus, Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach—and somehow she’s connected to it all.

But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might cost her her life.

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

Love is all you need...or is it? Penny's about to find out in this wonderful debut.

Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating. So she vows - no more. It's a personal choice...and, of course, soon everyone wants to know about it. And a few other girls are inspired. A movement is born; The Lonely
Hearts Club (named after the band from Sgt. Pepper). Penny is suddenly known for her nondating ways...which is too bad, because there's this certain boy she can't help but like...

Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors

Two Juliets, both alike in desperati
on...

Mimi Wallingford, of the famous Wallingford actors, wishes to be anywhere but onstage for the final performance of Romeo and Juliet. Acting isn't for her, even if her family's future relies on it. Being transproted to Shakespeare's Verona wasn't what she had in mind either, but when the magical ashes clear, she's suddenly not in Manhattan anymore-and her heartthrob costar, Troy Summer, is along for the ride.

After Mimi befriends the real Juliet Capulet, she just can't allow the play to reach the tragic end that she and Troy have acted out countless times before. But, if saving Juliet means changing the greatest love story of all time, will Mimi and Troy ever make it back to Broadway?

The Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

When Will and Bet were four, tragic circumstances brought them to the same house, to be raised by a wealthy gentleman as brother and sister. Now sixteen, they’ve both enjoyed a privileged upbringing thus far. But not all is well in their household. Because she’s a girl, Bet’s world is contained within the walls of their grand home, her education limited to the rudiments of reading, writing, arithmetic, and sewing. Will’s world is much larger. He is allowed—forced, in his case—to go to school. Neither is happy.

So Bet comes up with a plan and persuades Will to give it a try: They’ll switch places. She’ll go to school as Will. Will can live as he chooses. But once Bet gets to school, she soon realizes living as a boy is going to be much more difficult than she imagined.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Fairest of All by Serena Valentino
For anyone who’s seen Walt Disney’s Snow White, you’ll know that the Wicked Queen is one evil woman! After all, it’s not everyone who wants to cut out their teenage step-daughter’s heart and have it delivered back in a locked keepsake box. (And even if this sort of thing is a common urge, we don’t know many people who have acted upon it.)

Now, for the first time, we’ll examine the life of the Wicked Queen and find out just what it is that makes her so nasty. Here’s a hint: the creepy-looking man in the magic mirror is not just some random spooky visage—and he just might have something to do with the Queen’s wicked ways!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday (September 8)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.

Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

Writing her own love story could drive a girl insane!
When you’re the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can’t write it. Alice needs a story for her mother—and she needs one fast. That’s when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol’s voice in her head and see things she can’t explain, she must face the truth—that she’s either inherited her mother’s madness, or Errol is for real.

Published by Walker Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 4, 2011

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Teaser Tuesday (March 9)

What is teaser tuesday?
It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the
rules:
Grab your current read...

Open to a random page
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers

"His sweater was beginning to unravel along the edge and his kilt had a few grass stains. I expected someone who slept in an alley to reek, but a nice scent drifted off him, flowery but not familiar."
-Coffeehouse Angel, Page 27, by Suzanne Selfors

Sunday, December 27, 2009

In My Mailbox (December 27)

In my mailbox was created by Kristi of The Story Siren, who was inspired by Pop Culture Junkie. Here are the books I got this week...

Holiday Gifts -
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. He has no recollection of his parents, his home, or how he got where he is. His memory is black. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade, a large expanse enclosed by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning, for as long as they could remember, the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night, they’ve closed tight. Every thirty days a new boy is delivered in the lift. And no one wants to be stuck in the maze after dark. The Gladers were expecting Thomas’s arrival. But the next day, a girl springs up—the first girl ever to arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. The Gladers have always been convinced that if they can solve the maze that surrounds the Glade, they might be able to find their way home . . . wherever that may be. But it’s looking more and more as if the maze is unsolvable. And something about the girl’s arrival is starting to make Thomas feel different. Something is telling him that he just might have some answers—if he can only find a way to retrieve the dark secrets locked within his own mind.

Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors
From the author of Saving Juliet comes a romantic comedy that is good to the last drop. When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother’s coffee shop, she decides to leave him a cup of coffee, a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some pastries to tide him over. Little does she know that this random act of kindness is about to turn her life upside down. Because this adorable vagrant, Malcolm, is really a guardian angel on a break between missions. And he won’t leave until he can reward Katrina’s selflessness by fulfilling her deepest desire. Now if only she could decide what that might be . . .


Reign or Shine (Demon Princess 1) by Michelle Rowen
As if trying to fit in at a new school isn't stressful enough, sixteen-year-old Nikki Donovan just found out that her long-lost father is, in fact, the demon king of the Shadowlands—the world that separates and protects us from the Underworld. When she is brought there by the mysterious—and surprisingly cute—messenger Michael, she learns that her father is dying, and he wants her to assume the throne. To complicate matters, a war is brewing between the Shadowlands and the Underworld, her half-demon qualities are manifesting, and her growing feelings for Michael are completely forbidden. Ruling a kingdom, navigating a secret crush, and still making it home by curfew—what's a teenage demon princess to do?

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right? With overtones of Jane Austen’s Emma and brimming with humor and heart, this sweet, frothy debut will be savored by readers.

Beautiful Creatures
by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that's what I thought. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave. Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Daddy's Little Angel (Bedeviled 1) by Shani Petroff
“Mom always said my dad is the devil. I never knew she meant it literally!”

All Angel’s father (a.k.a. the Devil) wants is to be a part of her life. And in return he has the power to give her anything she wants—including popularity and a date with her long-time crush, Cole Daniels. But Angel will only accept him on her terms: get out of the devil business and leave his special powers out of the equation. Is Angel condemning herself to an eternity of lunch at the losers’ table? Or can she and Daddy Dearest strike some kind of deal?

Storm Glass by Maria V Snyder
As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it's time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan's glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers—particularly the mysterious and mercurial Kade—require Opal's unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap in to a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. And the further she delves into the intrigue behind the glass and magic, the more distorted things appear. With lives hanging in the balance—including her own—Opal must control powers she hadn't known she possessed…powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she's ever known.

Little Brother
by Cory Doctorow
Marcus, a.k.a w1n5t0n, is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works, and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school's intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems. But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where they are mercilessly interrogated for days. When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: to take down the DHS himself.

Intertwined by Gena Showalter
There’s something about the new guy at Crossroads High . . . Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him: One can time-travel. One can raise the dead. One can tell the future. And one can possess another human. With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends. But now, they’re causing him all kinds of trouble. Like, he’ll blink and suddenly he’s a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he’ll change the future. Or, he’ll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she’s going to die. He’s so over it. All he wants is peace. And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices. Well, for as long as he’s with her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He’s a loner; she has friends. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it. For her sake, he should stay away. But it’s too late. . . Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendship. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own and a vampire princess Aden can’t resist. Two romances, both forbidden. . . doomed. Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger. . . but not everyone will come out alive. . .

Captivate (Need 2) by Carrie Jones
(ARC Edition, Published by Bloomsbury USA, Release Date: January 5, 2010)
Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

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