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Last weekend I was a featured author at the YA by the By book festival in Tampa, Florida. I connected with some amazing authors, answered questions on a few author panels, and met readers from all walks of life.
Who's that guy you ask? Are you kidding me? That's R. L. Stine...as in the author of Goosebumps. FYI, he's hilarious! He told me was his favorite author. Okay, what he really said was, "Hello," and that's how I interpreted it.
You guys know how I am. I couldn't leave the event without grabbing a few books for a giveaway. Some were even signed by the authors.
One lucky winner will receive a copy of the six books in the image above and maybe a few more that I will include. U.S. residents only.
Check out the books:
Better Nate than Ever meets Love Sugar Magic in this spooky middle-grade novel from Hamilton and Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez about a group of young thespians who must face the ghost haunting their theater.
The Ethel Merman Theater is cursed. No one is sure how or why, but the evidence speaks for itself. Show after show has flopped and the theater is about to close. Enter 12-year-old Monica Garcia, who has been cast to star in a Broadway musical revival of The Goonies, the theater’s last chance to produce a hit before it shutters its doors for good.
The kids in the cast each have their own reasons for wanting to make the show a success, and all eyes in the theater world are on them. Will this show finally break the curse of the Ethel? The kids aren’t quite sure if the curse is even real, but when their first performance doesn’t quite go as planned, it certainly feels that way.
Then they realize the ghost light - the light that is always kept on at every theater in order to appease the ghosts - wasn’t lit! When the kids rush to flick the switch back on, they find themselves locked in the theater - but that’s the least of their problems when the ghost of the Ethel makes her debut appearance!
Can the cast overcome their fears and reverse the ghost’s curse before opening night so they can save the show - and their dreams?
Ten bestselling, critically acclaimed authors deliver a fresh novel of interconnected stories that follows a group of young adults over the course of a few wild, transformative hours at an epic house party!
The biggest event of the year is happening, and you’re invited! Join us for Florence Hills High School seniors’ last hurrah before graduation.
THE LOCATION: A megamansion in one of Chicago’s wealthiest suburban enclaves
THE HOST: DeAndre Dixon, aka FHHS’s golden boy
THE GUESTS: The populars, the jocks, the artists, and heck, even that one kid
THE HOPE: All the drama ensues. Kisses are swapped between old friends, new friends, and could’ve-sworn-they-were-enemies kind of friends. Relationships get tested. Animals roam free. Secrets are spilled. Add dope music that’s thumping, and there’s a good chance the whole neighborhood will be disrupted.
Featuring: Angeline Boulley • Jerry Craft • Natasha Díaz • Lamar Giles • Christina Hammonds Reed • Ryan La Sala • Yamile Saied Méndez • justin a. reynolds • Randy Ribay • Jasmine Warga
House Party offers a delightful snapshot of diverse classmates getting ready to say goodbye to high school and hello to life’s next chapter—but not before they make their final night together one they’ll never forget!
Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable book in the Young Adult category
From the New York Times bestselling authors of I'm Not Dying with You Tonight comes a story about friendship, privilege, sports, and protest.
With a rocky start to senior year, cheerleaders and lifelong best friends Eleanor and Chanel have a lot on their minds. Eleanor is still in physical therapy months after a serious concussion from a failed cheer stunt. Chanel starts making questionable decisions to deal with the mounting pressure of college applications. But they have each other's backs―just as always, until Eleanor's new relationship with star quarterback Three starts a rift between them.
Then, the cheer squad decides to take a knee at the season's first football game, and what seemed like a positive show of solidarity suddenly shines a national spotlight on the team―and becomes the reason for a larger fallout between the girls. As Eleanor and Chanel grapple with the weight of the consequences as well as their own problems, can the girls rely on the friendship they've always shared?
Kelcie Murphy is back in another action-packed middle grade adventure, Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu, the second book in Erika Lewis's magical series infused with Celtic mythology, The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts.
It’s hard having a father who’s an infamous traitor. It’s even harder having a mother who’s an omen of doom.
After a summer away, Kelcie Murphy is excited to be back at the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts. But she and her friends have barely settled in when they receive a visit from her mother―the war goddess, Nemain―with a warning of coming calamity.
The Heart of Danu, the legendary source of all light and warmth in the Lands of Summer, is going to be stolen. And only Kelcie and her mates can stop it. As they travel with the rest of the students to Summer City to take part in the glorious Ascension Ceremony, Kelcie has no time for the military parade, the lavish ball, or even to visit her father: she’s determined to protect the Heart and her new home.
But the Lands of Summer are still not a welcoming place for Kelcie. When disaster strikes, the Queen, the High Guard, and even some of her schoolmates suspect Kelcie is to blame.
As the world is plunged into darkness, Kelcie will have to decide: does she keep fighting for a place that may always see her as a traitor’s daughter, or for a future greater than the war to come.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds comes the “action-packed…banter-filled” (School Library School, starred review) sequel to his groundbreaking young adult novel Miles Morales: Spider-Man about the adventures of the unassuming, everyday kid who just so happens to be Spider-Man.
Miles Morales is just your average teenager. He has unexpectedly become totally obsessed with poetry and can never seem to do much more than babble around his crush. Nothing too weird. Oh! Except, just yesterday, he used his Spidey superpowers to save the world (no biggie) from an evil mastermind called The Warden. And the grand prize Miles gets for that is…
Suspension.
But what begins as a long boring day of in-school suspension is interrupted by a little bzzz in his mind. His Spidey Sense is telling him there’s something not quite right here, and soon he finds himself in a fierce battle with an insidious…termite?! His unexpected foe is hiding a secret, one that could lead to the destruction of the world’s history—especially Black and Brown history—and only Miles can stop him. Yeah, just a typical day in the life of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
A NEW CHRISTIAN FANTASY SERIES
"L. B. Anne has done it again! I can't wait for the next book!" ARC Reviewer
“You are the Knights of the gleam. The force that binds you is God’s might.”
Sheena Meyer and her friends have formed a tight-knit group determined to fight for what is right, no matter the cost. But when Sheena unlocks a childhood memory involving an angel, she begins a transformation her father calls “the change.”
Enter the Knights of the Gleam, a group of exceptional teens tasked with battling darkness. Together, they face off against the Murk, an enigmatic force determined to extinguish the hope of mankind, starting with children.
But as Sheena and the Knights unravel the secrets of Drake, the Murk’s powerful avatar, their loyalty to each other and their pursuit of truth are put to the test. With each new revelation, they discover that the stakes are higher than they ever imagined.
The journey they’re on is one that spans time and transcends our reality. Can Sheena and her friends call on their guardian angels for help? As they confront Drake’s secrets, will they emerge with their sanity and their bond of friendship still intact?
Angel Girl Awakening is a thrilling adventure that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
In this new series from the Sheena Meyer universe, Sheena and the Knights of the Gleam navigate through the treacherous waters of adolescence, spiritual warfare, and the unknown. An engaging read for anyone who enjoys stories of adventure, mystery, and self-discovery, particularly with a fantasy or supernatural twist.