Secret Society Teen Ambassador Contest

So sorry I've fallen off the face of the earth. I didn't realize quite how demanding this year would be academically, and while it's sad I've had to choose homework and classes over updating this blog :(

Anyway, this is a really awesome contest to promote Tom Dolby's Secret Society. Enter by the 19th and YOU could win an Ambassador Initiation Kit!

The Teen Ambassador Initiation Kit includes:

• “The Initiates were given what looked like tattoos at the nape of their necks.” A set of 15 temporary ankh tattoos for you and 14 Initiates. Give them out wisely!

• “Anastasia took a sip of her martini, leaving a dark red lipstick print on her glass.” Your ticket to gorgeous lips and cheeks, TheBalm’s Stainiac Beauty Queen tinted gel blush (”a hint of tint for
the lips and cheeks”)! A $15 value! (TheBalm is a fabulous makeup brand launched by my friend Marissa Shipman and sold nationwide at Sephora.)

• “A card was included with the package that simply read, ‘With compliments.’” A one-of-a-kind vintage New York postcard signed by Tom — use it as a bookmark!

• “Patch and Nick used to play this game in class, where they would pass notes.” One beautiful, retro-styled Field Notes mini-notebook, perfect for writing down secrets! At the Bradford Trust, we’re crazy about these little notebooks. Normally, three are $10!

• “Lauren started to open it, but Emily stopped her.” Last, but not least: a secret initiation tool — here’s a hint: it’s sealed with an ankh!

Contest winners!

First, thank you to everyone who entered these contests and thank you to Lauren at Shooting Stars Mag for hosting the YA Book Carnival. I'm sure everyone could agree it was a great idea that will hopefully become an annual thing. Anyway, now for the moment you've all been waiting for...

The winner of Secret Society is...

Steph Su

The winner of two YA books is...

Bianca

who selected The One and Cruel Summer.

Congrats Steph and Bianca! I'll be emailing you soon so that I can get your addresses and send out the books.

Contest close date changed

Sorry for the late notice, but I've decided to postpone picking the winner for Tom Dolby's Secret Society. Now, the mixed giveaway and the Secret Society will both end July 18th (to make my life a little easier).

YA Book Carnival: Secret Society

Now for my final contest that's part of Shooting Star Mag's YA Book Carnival. This one is a follower appreciation contest, because I love you guys and really appreciate having readers. Anyway, for the details:

I am giving away an ARC of Tom Dolby's Secret Society, to be released September 29th. So, if you would like to enter, you must be a follower. If you were a follower before this post, let me know and you'll get an extra entry.

To enter: Just comment below :) Include your email address so that I can contact you if you win. And sorry, but U.S. addresses only.

For extra entries:
+1 if you were a follower before this post
+1 if you suggest a book for me feature in a Feed Your Ears Friday post
+2 if you add me to your blog roll
+2 for each time you blog about/link to/twitter about this contest (unlimited amount of times)
+4 if you comment on and/or link to my review of Secret Society

So... GO! This contest will end July 10th.

Update: This contest will now end July 18th.

Secret Society

In the first installment of The Secret Society Chronicles, new girl Phoebe Dowling doesn’t care about fitting in at the Chadwick school. As an artist, she just wants to experience the city (New York City that is). Phoebe never expected that a single night at a party, one of Nick Bell’s notorious parties, of course, would make all the difference. First, socialite Lauren Mortimer takes Phoebe under her wings (who wouldn’t? Phoebe’s silver ballet flats were too cute). Then Phoebe receives a mysterious text message, along with Lauren and Nick, and wakes up the next morning as an initiate of the Society. Having been promised success thanks to the network of Society members, the three don’t bother questioning the unusual meetings and secrecy. Things seem to be going well, until a dead body is found in Central Park with only a tiny ankh-shaped tattoo as identification.

At its surface, Secret Society by Tom Dolby has a stunning cover. The cover’s sleek, seductive look only makes the book more intriguing. Secret Society complete sucks you in, drawing you into the lives of the elite networks of secret societies in NYC. Tom Dolby’s book is absolutely entrancing and the danger is exciting. The reader is drawn into the secrets and all the complications, in a way that’s almost disturbing, but is approached so thoughtfully that the reader can hardly look away. Secret Society is full of complexities, and this certainly does not exclude the characters. By rotating through Phoebe, Lauren, Nick, and Patch, this book expertly offers multiple perceptions of NYC, the Society, and more, each one uniquely contributing to the development of the novel.

Tom Dolby’s B.A. in the history of art definitely shows, particularly with the symbolism of the ankh, but really through all of the art and history that is brought into the story. As a whole, Secret Society is a captivating novel, full of mystery and romance. With today’s fascination surrounding boarding schools (think Gossip Girl, Private, etc.) and secret societies, this book is sure to draw attention. Plus, compared to these, Secret Society isn’t wholly predictable or superficial, but rather complex and thrilling. With its cliffhanger ending, I simply cannot wait for a sequel. 9 out of 10.

P.S. Check out Tom Dolby’s blog.

In My Mailbox: Week 1

I meant to post this yesterday, but oh well. There was so much going on with the 48 Hour Challenege that I'm going to say it doesn't matter.

Anyway, this meme comes from Kristi at The Story Siren.

Here's what I've found in my mailbox, at the bookstore and at the library this past week (several were read over the weekend):

Summaries are taken from Amazon.com or the book's flap copy:

Going Bovine by Libba Bray (ARC) - All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.

Secret Society by Tom Dolby (ARC) - An eccentric new girl. A brooding socialite. The scion of one of New York’s wealthiest families. A promising filmmaker. As students at the exclusive Chadwick School, Phoebe, Lauren, Nick, and Patch already live in a world most teenagers only dream about. They didn’t ask to be Society members. But when three of them receive a mysterious text message promising success and fame beyond belief, they say yes to everything. Even to the harrowing initiation ceremony in a gritty warehouse downtown, and to the ankh-shaped tattoo they’re forced to get on the nape of their necks. Once they’re part of the Society, things begin falling into place for them. Week after week, their ambitions are fulfilled. It’s all perfect—until a body is found in Central Park with no distinguishing marks except for an ankh-shaped tattoo. Tom Dolby makes his teen fiction debut with this riveting novel about a dangerous Society so secret that once you get in, you can never get out.

Lovehampton by Sherri Rifkin - In Rifkin's dazzling debut, Manhattanite media pro Tori Miller shares a posh Hamptons summerhouse with five upwardly mobile 30-somethings. Wanting out of the depressing slide her life takes after being dumped by her first love and losing her dream job, Tori starts MillerWorks, her own TV production company. Still, Tori's depressed, bringing about an intervention staged by her loyal employees, Jerry and Jimmy, her best friend Alice and the Transformation Trio—three make-over experts who use Tori as the pilot subject for their new reality TV show. Tori flirts with a glamming lifestyle, and her fling with George, a rich playboy with a publicist, while she's also secretly canoodling with a housemate, banker Andrew Kane, is a recipe for disaster. Tori must think fast on her borrowed Manolos, especially when Cassie Dearborn, her new friend and housemate, needs help with her own disastrous Hampton hijinxs. Hotter than a sand dune in August, cooler than a mojito in South Beach (or Southhampton), this book will appeal to Sex and the City fans and summer beach readers alike.

Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey - Wielding a sword as deftly as an embroidery needle, Mulan is unlike any other girl in China. When the emperor summons a great army, each family must send a male to fight. Tomboyish Mulan is determined to spare her aging father and bring her family honor, so she disguises herself and answers the call. But Mulan never expects to find a friend, let alone a soul mate, in the commander of her division, Prince Jian. For all of Mulan's courage with a bow and arrow, is she brave enough to share her true identity and feelings with Prince Jian?

Storm Glass by Maria Snyder - Untrained. Untested. Unleashed. With her unique magical abilities, Opal has always felt unsure of her place at Sitia's magic academy. But when the Stormdancer clan needs help, Opal's knowledge makes her the perfect choice - until the mission goes awry. Pulling her powers in unfamiliar directions, Opal finds herself tapping into a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. Now Opal must deal with plotters out to destroy the Stormdancer clan, as well as a traitor in their midst. With danger and deception rising around her, will Opal's untested abilities destroy her - or save them all?