Midnight Bloom Reads: Announcement

Marissa Meyer is coming to Toronto!

12:00 AM

2013 OLA Forest of Reading Nominees Announced!

2:00 PM

The 2013 nominations for the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading were announced yesterday morning... and I was super excited to discover which books had been nominated this year!

If you're not quite aware of what I'm really talking about, the Forest of Reading program celebrates the best of Canadian fiction, especially those for children and teens. All of the nominees are by CANADIAN authors and/or publishers! Those who participate through their schools or libraries simply have to read at least 5 of the 10 nominated novels in a program by the end of April 2013, which then culminates into an event in May called the Festival of Trees which takes place in Toronto. The winners are announced there... and readers can even meet the authors too!

The two programs I pay extra attention to are the Red Maple and White Pine categories, seeing as these novels are YA. So, without further ado, here are the 2013 nominees (links lead to Goodreads):

2013 Red Maple Award Nominees (Aimed Towards Grades 7-8)

Crush. Candy. Corpse. by Sylvia McNicoll (Lorimer)
The Dragon Turn (The Boy Sherlock Holmes #5) by Shane Peacock (Tundra Books) **
End of Days by Eric Walters (Doubleday Canada)
First Descent by Pam Withers (Tundra Books)
Testify by Valerie Sherrard (Dundurn Press)
This Dark Endeavor (The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein #1) by Kenneth Oppel (Harper Trophy Canada) **
The Tiffan by Mahtab Narsimhan (Dancing Cat Books)
The Town That Drowned by Riel Nason (Goose Lane Editions)
The Vampire Stalker by Allison van Diepen (Scholastic Point) ~ * my review
The Vindico by Wesley King (Putnam Juvenile) **

2013 White Pine Fiction Award Nominees (Aimed Towards Grades 9-12)

All Good Children by Catherine Austen (Orca Book Publishers)
Dark Inside (Dark Inside #1) by Jeyn Roberts (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers) **
First Day on Earth by Cecil Castellucci (Scholastic Press) **
Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald (Candlewick Press) ~ * my review
Karma by Cathy Ostlere (Puffin Canada)
The Opposite of Tidy by Carrie Mac (Razorbill Canada) *
The Taming by Eric Walters and Teresa Toten (Doubleday Canada) *
Way to Go by Tom Ryan (Orca Book Publishers)
The Way We Fall (Fallen World #1) by Megan Crewe (Disney Hyperion) ~ * my review
Witchlanders by Lena Coakley (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) ~ * my review

* means I've read the book
** means I have a copy, but haven't read it

Wow! The White Pine nominees are especially strong this year! Usually, I've maybe only read one or two of the books, but I've read half of them this time around!

What's nice about the program is that it recognizes Canadian novels which I may never have heard about otherwise! There's usually a wide variety in the genres selected, so it's also a nice way to broaden your reading tastes.

To learn more about the Forest of Reading Program or see the rest of the 2013 nominations in the other age groups, you can find it on the Ontario Library Association's website.

Announcement

Entice Me Day: Team Lincoln!

8:00 AM

As a Street Team blogger for the ENTICE ME DAY campaign, I couldn't be more excited to cheer on Lincoln today as part of the celebration for the recent release of Jessica Shirvington's Entice, the second novel in the Embrace series!

All week long, Sourcebooks Fire and other bloggers have been posting and tweeting up a storm about some of the different characters from the Embrace series... and today is Lincoln's turn to be featured!

You can read more on Lincoln's character bio (and who wouldn't want to know everything about this hot Grigori?), but hopefully what's written below is already enough to leave you swooning... All I can say is, "Team Lincoln for the win!"

Every day Violet Eden wonders whether she made the right choice.

She still doesn't fully understand these powers she's been granted as a half-angel Grigori. And worse, isn't even sure she's capable of using them. Stab someone through the heart? Really?

No matter how bad things get, though, Violet doesn't run and she doesn't quit. Even if it means she can never allow herself to love the guy she longs for. Even if it means asking her enemy for help. Even if no one is telling her the truth.

The war between Exiles and Angels is on—and she's wanted by both sides.

“People couldn’t become legendary heroes if they hadn’t first done something to combat darkness." —Lincoln

With the most breathtaking green eyes, he’s gorgeous, athletic and so hard not to fall in love with. Mr. Darcy and Bruce Wayne wrapped up in one, Lincoln is the man Violet absolutely trusts, secretly fell for—and then she learned her destiny. Now, Grigori partners, there are rules they aren’t allowed to break. But the rules can’t control feelings...

Under the Harbour Bridge at the Sydney wharves, Jessica dishes the dirt in the vlog below on the stuff you always wanted to know about this heroic warrior!

*****

ENTICE ME DAY will be taking place on Saturday, September 15... but don't forget to visit the official US Embrace series website where you can learn more about the series in general and check out cool extra features. You can also take a fun "favourite quote" quiz and vote on some of your favourite lines.

And if you live in the US, Sourcebooks Fire is also hosting a pretty awesome sweepstakes with prizes like a NOOK Color, free ebooks, an early excerpt of Emblaze (the third novel in the series), and more! You can find all the details on the Entice Me Day page on the Embrace series website. There's even going to be a live chat with Jessica Shirvington on ENTICE ME DAY!

And you'll definitely be wanting to keep updated about the Embrace series by following @SourcebooksFire and @EmbraceSeries on Twitter, plus "liking" the official Embrace Facebook page, for more chances to win giveaways and find out more about the books!

Announcement

My 2nd Year Blog Anniversary!

8:00 AM

Announcement

Enter Simon & Schuster Canada's "Lone Wolf" Sweeps!

8:43 PM

Announcement

Young Adult Novel Discovery Competition

6:14 PM

Announcement

2012 OLA Forest of Reading Nominees Announced!

10:00 AM

The 2012 nominations for the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading were announced yesterday morning... and I've been ever so excited to see which books will be nominated this year!

If you're not quite aware of what I'm really talking about, the Forest of Reading program celebrates the best of Canadian fiction, especially those for children and teens. All of the nominees are by CANADIAN authors! Those who participate through their schools or libraries simply have to read at least 5 of the 10 nominated novels in a program by the end of April 2012, which then culminates into an event called the Festival of Trees in May which takes place in Toronto. The winners are announced there... and readers can ever meet the authors too!

The two programs I pay extra attention to are the Red Maple and White Pine categories, seeing as these novels are YA. So, without further ado, here are the 2012 nominees (links lead to Goodreads):

2012 Red Maple Award Nominees (Aimed Towards Grades 7-8)

Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom - Susin Neilsen (Tundra Books)
Dust City - Robert Paul Westen (Puffin Canada / Penguin Group Canada)
Fanatics - William Bell (Random House Canada / Doubleday Canada)
Fly Boy - Eric Walters (Puffin Canada / Penguin Group Canada)
Half Brother - Kenneth Oppel (HarperCollins Canada)
Haunting Violet - Alyxandra Harvey (Walker & Company)
Home Truths - Jill MacLean (Dancing Cat Books / Cormorant Books)
No Safe Place - Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Books)
Thunder Over Kandahar - Sharon E. McKay (Annick Press)
Torn From Troy: Odyssey of a Slave - Patrick Bowman (Ronsdale Press)

2012 White Pine Fiction Award Nominees (Aimed Towards Grades 9-12)

Ashes, Ashes - Jo Treggiari (Scholastic Canada)
Beat The Band - Don Calame (Candlewick Press)
Blood Red Road - Moira Young (Random House Canada / Doubleday Canada)
Chance to Dance for You - Gail Sidonie Sobat (Great Plains Publications)
Death Benefits - Sarah N. Harvey (Orca Book Publishers)
The Fifth Rule - Don Aker (Harper Trophy Canada / HarperCollins Publishers)
The Gathering - Kelley Armstrong (Random House Canada / Doubleday Canada)
Motorcycles & Sweetgrass - Drew Hayden Taylor (Random House Canada / Vintage Canada)
Something Wicked - Lesley Anne Cowen (Puffin Canada / Penguin Group Canada)
The Way It Is - Donalda Reid (Second Story Press)

What's nice about the program is that it recognizes Canadian novels which I may never have heard about otherwise! There's usually a wide variety in the genres selected, so it's also a nice way to broaden your reading tastes.

From the Red Maple selections, I've only read Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom... but I've read three of the White Pine picks: Ashes, Ashes, Blood Red Road, and The Gathering. It's going to be a tough choice for voters this year to pick their favourites books to deserve the award!

To learn more about the Forest of Reading Program or see the rest of the 2012 nominations in the other age groups, you can find it on the Ontario Library Association's website.