Special Waiting Room

Wow, guys, sorry I haven't posted in FOREVER. I'll post a real Waiting Room soon, but for now, here is a special announcement:
Ally Carter is giving away an ARC of Gallagher Girl Book 3: Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover which will be released June 9. All that's required is a short essay (250 words or less) on "What it means to be a real Gallagher Girl."
Rules are as follows:

Entrants should write an essay on the topic "What it means to be a real Gallagher Girl." Please email your essay to AllyCarterContest@gmail.com on or before April 30, 2009. Your essay cannot be longer than 250 words. Essays may be shorter than 250 words, but essays over this length will not be considered. Essays will be judged both on what you say and how you say it, so be sure and spell-check, proofread, and turn in an essay that would make a Gallagher Girl proud. A parent, guardian, or teacher may assist, but you must write the essay yourself. Entries must be included in the body of the email—no attachments. Emails that contain attachments will be deleted immediately and will not be considered. The subject line of your email should read GG3 ARC contest. You may only submit ONE entry, so make it a good one. Along with your essay, you must include the following information:
Your Name
Your age (if under 18)
A complete mailing address where any prizes you might receive should be mailed (this could be home, school, your parent's work address, etc.—please note to whose attention the package should be addressed)
Your preferred t-shirt size
Your email address Unfortunately, due to the cost and difficulty of shipping overseas, the contest will be limited to people in the U.S. and Canada.

Winners will be notified by May 8. First place will recieve an ARC and a T-shirt, as well as their essay being posted on the website. Second place will recieve a play away version of Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy and a T-shirt.

Start writing!

*Note: Information came from the Ally Carter Newsletter, Volume 15

The Waiting Room 2

Hello! Welcome again to The Waiting Room (yes, it is important enough for capitalization...hmph). Anyway, here are more books. Reader reviews of the books listed are always appreciated!


New Releases:
The Summoning (Darkest Powers, Book 1) by Kelley Armstrong

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.
All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost—and the ghost saw me.
Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House . . . before its skeletons come back to haunt me.


Lost and Found by Andrew Clements
Although it's a drag to be constantly mistaken for each other, in truth, during those first days at a new school, there's nothing better than having a twin brother there with you. But on day one of sixth grade, Ray stays home sick, and Jay is on his own. No big deal. It's a pretty nice school, good kids, too. But Jay quickly discovers a major mistake: No one seems to know a thing about his brother. Ray's not on the attendance lists, doesn't have a locker, doesn't even have a student folder. Jay almost tells the school -- almost -- but then decides that this lost information could be very...useful. And fun.
As Ray and Jay exploit a clerical oversight, they each find new views on friendship, honesty, what it means to be a twin -- and what it means to be yourself. Entertaining, thought-provoking, and true-to-life, this clever novel is classic Andrew Clements times two: twins!

Coming Soon:
What If... All the Rumors Were True by Liz Ruckdeschel and Sara James (July 8)
After a year at Hillsdale High, Haley thinks she knows what she’s in for as she starts her junior year. She knows what to expect from the it girls, the brains, the rockers, and the artists. She knows how to handle drunken disasters, shoplifting scandals, IM warfare, and out-of-control false rumors. But none of the lessons learned during her sophomore year can prepare her for this dilemma: what’s Haley supposed to do when everything they’re saying about her is true? (A Choose Your Destiny Novel)


Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eion Colfer (July 15)
Artemis's mother has contracted a deadly disease -- and the only cure lies in the brain fluid of African lemurs. Unfortunately, Artemis himself was responsible for making the lemurs extinct five years ago. Now he must enlist the aid of his fairy friends to travel back in time and save them. Not only that, but he must face his deadliest foe yet...his younger self.

The Waiting Room

Hello! Welcome to the waiting room! Here you will be able to read information about new and upcoming book releases every other week. Enjoy!

New Releases:
The Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn and Mahlon F. Craftt
The year is 1880, and Bertie, having just arrived in New York with her family, is grateful to be given work as a seamstress in the home of textile tycoon J. P. Wellington. When the Wellington family fortune is threatened, Bertie's father boasts that Bertie will save the business, that she is so skillful she can "practically spin straw into gold."
Amazingly, in the course of one night, Bertie creates exquisite evening gowns -- with the help of Ray Stalls, a man from her tenement who uses an old spinning wheel to create dresses that are woven with crimson thread and look as though they are spun with real gold. Indebted to Ray, Bertie asks how she can repay him. When Ray asks for her firstborn child, Bertie agrees, never dreaming that he is serious....

A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg
In Kuckachoo, Mississippi, 1963, Addie Ann Pickett worships her brother Elias and follows in his footsteps by attending the black junior high school. But when her careless act leads to her brother’s disappearance and possible murder, Addie Ann, Mama, and Uncle Bump struggle with not knowing if he’s dead or alive. Then a good deed meant to unite Kuckachoo sets off a chain of explosive events. Addie Ann knows Old Man Adams left his land to the white and black people to plant a garden and reap its bounty together, but the mayor denies it. On garden picking day, Addie Ann’s family is sorely tested. Through tragedy, she finds the voice to lead a civil rights march all her own, and maybe change the future for her people.

Coming Soon:
Out of the Wild by Sarah Durst (June 19)
Ever since Julie Marchen helped defeat the fairytale world of the Wild, life’s been pretty much back to normal. That is, as normal as life can be for a girl whose mom is Rapunzel. Yes, that Rapunzel.
Then the Wild mysteriously releases Zel’s prince (Julie’s dad!)—a rescue-minded hero who crashes full-speed ahead into the 21st century! (YOU try teaching a 500-year-old prince to use a seatbelt.) Julie’s over the moon, but when a wicked Fairy Godmother kidnaps Sleeping Beauty and reawakens the Wild, Julie and her dad set off on an action-packed adventure to save the distressed damsel… and the world. If they can’t, they’ll spend eternity in a fairytale.

The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott (June 24)
After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. Home for Nicholas Flamel. Only this homecoming is anything but sweet. Perenell is still locked up back in Alcatraz and Paris is teeming with enemies. Nicollo Machiavelli, immortal author and celebrated art collector, is working for Dee. He’s after them, and time is running out for Nicholas and Perenell. For every day spent without the Book of Abraham the Mage, they age one year—their magic becoming weaker and their bodies more frail. For Flamel, the Prophesy is becoming more and more clear.It’s time for Sophie to learn the second elemental magic: Fire Magic. And there’s only one man who can teach it to her: Flamel’s old student, the Comte de Saint-Germain—alchemist, magician, and rock star. Josh and Sophie Newman are the world’s only hope—if they don’t turn on each other first.

I'm next!

I'm going to introduce myself now, though most of you probably "know" me via LRRH. I'm Miss Elizabeth Bennett, Elizabeth, Eliza, Lizzie or just Liz. I have a real name too, but I like those better. Anyway, as a member of this blog, I obviously have MOLD. It gets pretty bad at times. Seriously. I can't go long without books. My favorites include:

1. Any Jane Austen book (My absolute favorite book is Pride and Prejudice)
2. Any Shannon Hale book, especially The Books of Bayern (River Secrets first, then The Goose Girl, then Enna Burning)
3. Star Wars: Vision of the Future by Timothy Zahn (Yes, I am a Star Wars geek. Don't hate. Science Fiction really is cool.)
4. Lord of the Rings trilogy/The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. The Lioness and Her Knight by Gerald Morris

Those are just a few. I have way too many favorites to list. I like almost any genre of books but Fantasy and Classics are my favorites.

If you want to, check out my blogs:
http://www.incandescentlyeliza.blogspot.com (my personal blog)
http://www.dreamwritelive.blogspot.com (my writing blog)