September Giveaway

You may have noticed that I crammed all my YA reading into the last week or so of the month. Because sometimes, that's how I roll. But I'm super excited about this month's giveaway because each of these three books are marvelous reads, and all have been critically acclaimed and landed on multiple "Best Of" lists. You can't go wrong with any of them--trust me. So take your pick and enter!

ELEANOR & PARK
by Rainbow Rowell
YA contemporary (OK, it's the 1980s) love story
Two misfits find love and loss in the 1980s

OUT OF THE EASY
by Ruta Sepetys
YA historical noir
One girl seeks to escape the sordid but lovable French Quarter

IF YOU FIND ME
by Emily Murdoch
YA contemporary
Fleeing a life of abuse, two sisters make their way in a brave new world















GIVEAWAY RULES:
1. U.S. entrants only, please.
2. Be sure to note the book you want to win AND WHY.
3. Giveaway prizes will be brand-new books delivered to you via Amazon.com. They will be paperback editions unless the book is still available only in hardcover (or choose a Kindle ebook edition of you wish).
4.  This giveaway ends 12:01 AM SEPTEMBER 9.
5. There's a new giveaway every month! CLICK HERE to receive a brief email every time a new giveaway is posted on the blog. 

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Review: ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Eleanor & Park

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Pub info: St. Martin's Press / Griffin, 2013; 325 pp

Genre / Audience: contemporary love story / YA

Caveats for Younger Readers: harsh sexual language; mild sexual scenes; drug use

So, I'm not a romance reader. When someone tells me a book falls into the romance genre, I run, not walk, to the nearest bathroom, where I struggle to retain my latest meal. But I'm also the first to admit that when a love story is well done--when it's not just a romance--the result can be extraordinary. (Gone With the Wind. Pride and Prejudice. The Fault in Our Stars. You get it.) So I picked up Eleanor & Park with just that expectation.

Goodreads summary:

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

Status: finished 8/19

My impressions:
Let's just say I was not disappointed. Rainbow Rowell manages to tread that careful line of romance fiction without descending into a melodramatic, soppy love story. How does she do it? She creates extraordinary, unique, heart-wrenching characters. Eleanor's family is horrible to an almost Dickensian degree, but so real it makes you cry. Park is the only Asian boy in their high school, but his journey is a completely personal one. No one is a stereotype here, not even the mean girls who bully Eleanor, although those scenes are perhaps the weakest parts of a very strong book. The amazing thing here is Rowell's ability to show us our world through two very different lenses (the book alternates point of view between Eleanor and Park), and also gives us an utterly convincing tale of how they come together. Marvelous. Read it.

About Rainbow:
Rainbow Rowell is the author of another YA novel, Fangirl (St. Martin's, 2013), as well as Landline, written for adults (St. Martin's, 2014) and Attachments (Dutton, 2011). Currently she's working on yet another novel, and she recently signed a deal with First Second Books to write two graphic novels. I know. She's insane. She also lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.

Online:
You can find Rainbow Rowell all over the place. She maintains a fun website and blog here, and she's also on Twitter.

Want to win a free copy of this book? The first Monday of each month features a giveaway of any of the titles I've reviewed the previous month. Pick your fave, enter, and win! Next giveaway: September 1.  SIGN UP HERE TO RECEIVE A BRIEF EMAIL WHENEVER A NEW GIVEAWAY BEGINS.

To follow my progress as I bulldoze my way through a stack of 51 to-be-reads this year, search for the tag 2014 TBR Shelf. Read all the reviews here.

TBR 2014: Book No. 21

You don't have to remind me that I've fallen off my goal this summer. I get it. I know. I haven't stopped reading, but I've been a bit busy for posting. Still. We carry on.

Unless you don't follow young adult fiction, or you do but you prefer cave dwelling to bookstore browsing, you've heard of Rainbow Rowell, author of Eleanor & Park (St. Martin's Press, 2013). This book has been on my radar not because I swoon over teenage love stories but because everyone says it's just so good. We'll see if I agree.

“Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.”—John Green (author of The Fault in Our Stars), The New York Times Book Review

“In her rare and surprising exploration of young misfit love, Rowell shows us the beauty in the broken.”—Stewart Lewis, author of You Have Seven Messages

 Are you in? Can you handle young love?

That's right: I've committed to reading all the books on my TBR Shelf this year--and blogging them! Click here to read the reviews I've posted so far.

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