Meg Cabot Giveaway Winner!

Our Meg Cabot book giveaway has officially closed and we now have a winner! First, I would like to say that you guys are awesome! We had tons of entries, and a big thank you goes out to everyone who visited and took the time to enter. But I know what you're all waiting for, so without any further ado, the winner of this giveaway is:

Sandy Phan!

Congratulations Sandy! An e-mail will be sent to you asking for your mailing address and your book choice. Remember, you can choose ANY Meg Cabot book you want from The Book Depository.

Abandon Review

CHECK OUT our Meg Cabot Book Giveaway!

Author: Meg Cabot

Publisher: Scholastic

Release Date: April 26, 2011

Hardcover: 320 pages

Summary: (taken from Goodreads)

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

Review:

I am a huge fan of Meg Cabot, because whenever I pick up a book she's written, I know that it's going to be fun, hilarious, and entertaining. Her stories sweep me up, taking me into some sort of fiction-vortex, releasing me only after I've read through to the end. So it was a little surprising to realize that Abandon isn't this sort of fun, easy-reading type of story at all. In fact, it's dark, serious, and has very little laugh-out-loud humor at all.

But I liked it.

Given the subject matter, it only makes sense that this story isn't hilariously funny, and I think Meg does an excellent job in switching gears. What I appreciated most about the story is the set-up. For some, this book may drag a little, because of the care Meg puts into its development. (In my opinion, this just shows the trust she puts into her fans to stick with it until the end.) I really felt connected to Pierce and her situation. And though there wasn't a payoff large enough to make up for all the set-up at the beginning, the ending was enough to make me want the sequel, because I do think that Meg has an epic payoff for us at the end of the series and I can't wait to get it.

I also love how all the details at the beginning come together at the end -- I wasn't able to fully predict the ending of this one, which was very exciting. Also, this is a book that can lead to a lot of discussion about mythology and death, which I think is very cool. It would be a great addition to a book club or even a classroom, with the right lesson plan.

What can I say? Meg has once again got me hooked on yet another one of her series. (Not that I'm complaining!)

My rating: 4

**I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. A special thanks goes to Ann Larson, Meg Cabot's assistant, for making sure I got on the publisher's list of ARC requests. And another thanks to Scholastic for sending me an ARC of this book. I greatly enjoyed it.

When Lightning Strikes Review

Author: Meg Cabot

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Reading Level: Young Adult

Paperback: 272 pages

Summary: (Taken from Goodreads):

Jess Mastriani has never been what you'd call a typical Midwestern teenager—her extracurricular activities, instead of cheerleading or 4-H, include fist-fights with the football team and month-long stints in detention. A part of Jess would like to be the prom queen her mother has always envisioned her being, but another part is secretly counting the days until she's saved up enough money to buy her own Harley.

Then something happens that guarantees Jess will be one of the in-crowd...at least until her newfound talent ends up getting her dead.

Review:

Meg Cabot is one of my all-time favorite authors. For real, though. Her books are always laugh-out loud funny and creative. Whenever I find myself in a bad mood, I know that I can just pick up one of her books and feel better in a few minutes. I like her Mediator series a little better than this one, but it's still really good!

I loved this book. It's a great mix of humor, danger, and a touch of romance. Jess is hilarious and an extremely strong female character, and Rob is HOT!!! This is my third time reading this book, and I find myself still laughing at the jokes and falling love with the characters. Meg's witty, fun writing style makes this book a fast and enjoyable read.

Besides making the characters fun, the premise of this story is really interesting. A girl gets struck by lightning and now can locate missing people. Meg takes it a step further and puts a little realism into it -- the government finds out and wants her to work for them. But she just wants to be an ordinary girl! The stakes are incredibly high, which I love. Meg certainly doesn't make it easy for her characters! I'm definitely looking forward to rereading the next books in the series.

Warning: If you start reading this book, make sure you have time to finish it, because you're not going to want to put it down!

My rating:

Until later,

Have you met your favorite author yet?

There are a few authors whose new books I automatically buy…and I call them my favorite authors. I also go on their websites and read everything they have to say…about how they began writing, where they get their ideas, how they became published authors and so on. Some of them are even on youtube. You’d think that would satisfy me, but no. There is nothing like meeting a favorite author in person.

Unfortunately, many of my favorite authors live in Washington, Texas, or the New England states. Oh, they do some traveling to appear at bookstores or libraries to promote their latest books and meet their fans, but not to my neck of the woods…or so I thought. I just found out my local library has had visiting authors for a while now. And I never knew!

April, 2010, Meg Cabot came to speak at the library and 200 people attended.
I noticed Alyssa is reading one of Meg Cabot’s young adult books--When Lightening Strikes. So I wondered if she has ever met Meg. Well, I missed that one, but last Thursday, I was thrilled to find out an author I have read and enjoyed was coming THAT NIGHT to the library! Here’s what happened…
I arrived an hour early (that’s what all the blogs say to do if you want a parking spot and a seat up front). There was a group of 3 already sitting in the front row. What a treat. We had all that time to discuss the author’s books and which ones were our favorites. The young lady next to me and I quickly bonded when we realized out of all the author’s books, we both especially loved the same one. By the time the evening began with some words from the mayor of the city (it’s a small city, one library) and the head librarian’s introduction of the author, there were more than 100 people filling the room.

In walked the creator of many well-written humorous, romantic novels. Wow, I thought, she looks just like her pictures and youtube video only better. She asked if there were any published authors in attendance, and one lady raised her hand to say she had just signed her first contract. I fleetingly thought about going over and shaking her hand with the hope that some of her luck would rub off.

The evening was really fun. The author gave out prizes to those who had come the greatest distances just to meet her and more prizes to military spouses. Others earned prizes as she read quotes from her books by being the first to announce the correct title. The prizes were related to themes from her newest book of which there were 25 copies available for sale. I have read most of her books but wasn’t able to connect a single title to any of the quotes! Well, that’s okay, because if she had been my all-time FAVORITE author, I am sure I would have known every single one of the quotes (right Rane?).

Then, the author asked for questions. Just think, you can ask that one question that you’ve been burning to find out the answer to, that none of the multitude of questions asked and answered on her website has ever addressed. Now is the opportunity. Will you take it? I think yes! And when I asked my question, she answered it with the same witty humor that I’ve loved in her writing. Last came the book signing. I haven’t received her latest book from Amazon yet, but I brought a couple of her older works which she graciously signed. She was as enthusiastically engaged in conversation and picture-taking from the first signed book to the last, an hour and a half later.

I’m hooked. There are two more authors lined up for the coming month. One is a young adult author and one a children’s author, and I’ll be there!