Waiting on Wednesday: Banished by Sophie

BANISHED BY SOPHIE LITTLEFIELD
Delacorte Press, October 12th 2010

Sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell can't wait for the day she'll leave Gypsum, Missouri, far behind, taking only four-year-old Chub, the developmentally-delayed little boy her cruel drug-dealing grandmother fosters for the state money. But when a freak accident in gym class leaves a girl in critical condition, Hailey feels drawn to lay her hands on the injured girl and an astonishing healing takes place. Before Hailey can understand her new powers, a beautiful stranger shows up...just in time to save her and Chub from hired killers. A desperate race begins, with Hailey as the ultimate prize: there are those who will stop at nothing to harness her gifts to create an undefeatable army of the undead. Now it is up to Hailey and a small but determined family of healers to stand up to the unbelievable and face the unthinkable.

READ AN EXCERPT HERE

I love the cover for this one and it sounds so dark and suspenseful!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event spotlighting upcoming releases we are highly anticipating. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Book Review: Captivate by Carrie Jones

CAPTIVATE BY CARRIE JONES
Publication Date: January 5, 2010 (Bloomsbury USA)
Pages: 288 Pages
Reading Level: Young Adult

Synopsis: Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

REVIEW: Pixies are so troublesome, aren't they? Always battling over their precious turf or toying with unsuspecting humans for their own twisted amusement. Those pointed teeth are most unpleasant and gold dust does not come out in the wash. Why can’t they just play nice?

NEED was one of my favorite books last year and I couldn't wait to dive into its sequel. Captivate picks up soon Need ended. We find ourselves back alongside our heroes- Zara, Nick, Issie and Devyn. They have been keeping the forest free from the murderous needs of the dangerous pixies from the first book, as well as some new stragglers making their way into the sequel.

Carrie Jones did a fantastic job with the plot twists and turns for Captivate. The new elements surrounding pixie lore were intriguing and sparked my imagination with wonder at how the series will play out with the next installment. I enjoyed seeing Zara’s growth and her reactions to the dangerous situations she was forced to repeatedly face. Instead of phobias as chapter titles, we got to read amusing little lists with helpful facts about pixies. I thought this touch added to the storyline and also illustrated just how much Carrie Jones has personalized her pixies in this series. They are unique and unlike all the other books on the market. The gold dust, blue skin and their hierarchical ways are so intriguing that you can’t help but want to immerse yourself into their world and learn as much as you can.

My favorite aspect of Captivate though was Astley, the new pixie king who comes to town and stirs up a lot of changes for Zara. As much as I have always loved Nick, I have to admit that I started to want Zara to move on to Astley. Astley had that whole dark, mysterious and definitely dangerous bad boy appeal going on, and I am a sucker for that whole vibe. (For me, Nick wasn't as exciting as he used to be, and WAY too liberal with the use of the word "baby"!) I think Astley's addition into the story was an intriguing and important plot twist for Jones to build upon for future books.

The cliffhanger ending of Captivate blew me away – I absolutely had no idea that the story would take the turn it did, and I am most anxious to read the next installment!

Purchase Captivate HERE.
Read my review of NEED.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Carrie Jones likes Skinny Cow fudgsicles and potatoes. She does not know how to spell fudgsicles. This has not prevented her from writing books. She lives with her cute family in Maine, but she grew up in Bedford, NH where she once had a séance with cool uber-comedian Sarah Silverman.

The Meyers brothers are from Bedford, too, so you’d think it would make Carrie funnier, coming from Bedford N.H. Obviously, something didn’t work.

Carrie has a large, skinny white dog and a fat cat. Both like fudgicles. Only the cat likes potatoes. This may be a reason for the kitty’s weight problem (Shh… don’t tell). Carrie has always liked cowboy hats but has never owned one. This is a very wrong thing. She graduated from Vermont College’s MFA program for writing. She has edited newspapers and poetry journals and has recently won awards from the Maine Press Association and also been awarded the Martin Dibner Fellowship as well as a Maine Literary Award.

Official Carrie Jones Website
Official Carrie Jones Blog

Guest Post with Carrie Jones and Giveway!

Today I'd like to welcome Carrie Jones, author of Captivate. Captivate is the sequel to Need, a book about a young girl who moves to the wilderness of Maine and discovers some very unpleasant pixies lurking about the forest.
Check out Carrie's guest post below and enter the contest to win a paperback of NEED!

ZARA'S GUIDE TO WHY PIXIES ARE NOT THE ENCHANTING LITTLE SPRITES YOU THINK THEY ARE:

Okay. So, you think Pixies are cute and like Tinkerbelle. I am super sorry to tell you this but that is so not the case.

1. Real pixies are not two inches tall.

2. They do not hang out with Peter Pan.

3. They do like lost boys (like in Peter Pan) but not to hang out with, but to suck out their life essence and soul.

4. They like torturing too.

5. They do not make cool entrances at the end of the nightly fireworks display at Disney Land and/or Disney World.

6. There is no merchandise created in their likeness.

7. Did I say that they are mean? Because they are totally mean.

8. Scratch that. Mean isn't the right word. They are evil.

9. Tinkerbell might have jealousy issues about Wendy and Peter but she isn't evil.

10. Real pixies are.

11. Believe me. I know.

Captivate
by Carrie Jones
Coming January 5th 2010 by Bloomsbury USA

Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

Carrie Jones is an award-winning author who recently graduated from Vermont College's MFA program. In addition to penning Need, she is the author of the YA novels Girl, Hero; Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape); and Tips on Having a Gay (Ex)-Boyfriend, which was nominated for a YALSA Quick Pick and won the Maine Literary Award as well as the Independent Book Publisher Award (the IPPY) . Her upcoming picture book Moe Berg, the Spy who Played Baseball (from David Godine) is being illustrated by Barry Moser. Carrie lives in Ellsworth, Maine.

www.carriejonesbooks.com
www.needpixies.com

GIVEAWAY:
Carrie is giving away one copy of NEED in paperback!
Just leave a comment for her along with your email address.
Bonus entries:
Anyplace you link/post about the contest.
Open to all U.S. Residents
Contest Ends 3/8/2010

Tantalizing Tuesday: Captivate by Carrie Jones

What is so Tantalizing about a Tuesday you ask? Well, each Tuesday I will showcase an exciting novel to tantalize you with by featuring intriguing interviews, great guest posts, and maybe even a contest or two! Be sure to drop by,you never know, you may even be TANTALIZED!

Up this week-

Captivate
by Carrie Jones
Coming January 5th 2010 by Bloomsbury USA

Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.


And be sure to stop by Fantastic Book Review each Monday for a little Monday Madness!