In My Mailbox ( 5/4 to 5/9)

I am "stealing" this from The Story Siren. If you want to find out more about it click here. Anyway, these are books I got this week at the bookstore, library, and in the mail, of course. All summaries are from either Barnes and Noble, Amazon or Goodreads.

For Review:

The Uninvited by Tim Wynne- Jones ( Hardcover/ May 2009/ Candlewick)

Mimi Shapiro had a disturbing freshman year at NYU, thanks to a foolish affair with a professor who still haunts her caller ID. So when her artist father, Marc, offers the use of his remote Canadian cottage, she's glad to hop in her Mini Cooper and drive up north. The house is fairy-tale quaint, and the key is hidden right where her dad said it would be, so she's shocked to fi nd someone already living there - Jay, a young musician, who is equally startled to meet Mimi and immediately accuses her of leaving strange and threatening tokens inside: a dead bird, a snakeskin, a cricket sound track embedded in his latest composition. But Mimi has just arrived, so who is responsible? And more alarmingly, what does the intruder want? Part gripping thriller, part family drama, this fast-paced novel plays out in alternating viewpoints, in a pastoral setting that is evocative and eerie - a mysterious character in its own right.

I've been wanting to read a scary book for a while now and The Uninvited looks like just the right choice.

Donut Days by Lara Zielin (ARC/ August 2009/ Putnam Juvenile )

Emma has a lot going on. Her best friend’s not speaking to her, a boy she’s known all her life is suddenly smokin’ hot and in love with her, and oh yes, her evangelical minister parents may lose their church, especially if her mother keeps giving sermons saying Adam was a hermaphrodite.

But this weekend Emma’s only focused on Crispy Dream, a hot new donut franchise opening in town, where Harley bikers and Frodo wannabes camp out waiting to be the first ones served. Writing the best feature story on the camp for the local paper might just win Emma a scholarship to attend a non- Christian college. But soon enough Emma finds the donut camp isn’t quite the perfect escape from all her troubles at Living Word Redeemer.

In a fresh, funny voice, newcomer Lara Zielin offers up a mesmerizing, fast-paced narrative full of wit and insight.

This looks like it's going to be great! Plus the author was nice enough to send two coupons to Dunkin Donuts which I think is a cool idea. Oh, and she had this funny sticker on the package that said " Fresh Tasty Novel Inside"!

Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker ( Paperback/ May 2009/ Harper Teen)

Austin music fest
Yay, summer in Austin!

Good food, good times. Fun for everyone!
Okay, living with my sorority-brainwashed cousin, who willingly goes by "Party Penny," is not exactly what I had in mind.

All your favorite bands
But the cute musicians I've met totally make up for it . . . like Sebastian. Swoon.

All ages welcome
So why can't I stop thinking about Penny's friend All-American Russ and his Texas twang??

Saturday & Sunday, from noon to midnight
Don't wait up!

This look likes it's gong to be so cute. Plus, I loved Melissa's Violet series!

Exclusively Chole by J.A. Yang ( Paperback/May 2009/ Puffin)

Chloe-Grace can't help it—she's spectacular. How could she not be with celebrity parents who have been the queen and king of Hollywood for years? And Chloe is a celebrity all unto herself as well— she's the first celebrity-adopted kid in Hollywood. But now Chloe's sixteen, and she is tired of every undesired moment of the world's attention. She wonders what it would be like to be a "normal" kid in a regular school. To really understand it, though, she would need to go undercover. So after getting a "make-under" at the hands of her mother's fabulous stylist, she enters the "real" world. But she soon finds out that there is just as much drama there as there is in Hollywood....

Oooh, I love these types of Hollywood novels!

Snap by Carol Snow ( ARC/ September 2009/Harper Teen)

Madison Sabatini thought she knew who she was. Then, in a flash, everything changed.

Now Madison finds herself stuck in a strange, sleepy beach town, and she throws herself into her one passion: photography. But when bizarre figures start appearing in her photos—people who are later reported dead—Madison begins to question everything about who she is...and who she wishes she could be.

Both chilling and relatable, this is the story of a normal girl who finds her life spinning strangely out of control. Carol Snow once again deftly blends teen-angst realism with paranormal suspense.

This looks so good!

The Bought:

Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia by Cindy Pon ( Hardcover/May 2009/ Harper Teen)

No one wanted Ai Ling. And deep down she is relieved—despite the dishonor she has brought upon her family—to be unbetrothed and free, not some stranger's subservient bride banished to the inner quarters.

But now, something is after her. Something terrifying—a force she cannot comprehend. And as pieces of the puzzle start to fit together, Ai Ling begins to understand that her journey to the Palace of Fragrant Dreams isn't only a quest to find her beloved father but a venture with stakes larger than she could have imagined.

Bravery, intelligence, the will to fight and fight hard . . . she will need all of these things. Just as she will need the new and mysterious power growing within her. She will also need help.

It is Chen Yong who finds her partly submerged and barely breathing at the edge of a deep lake. There is something of unspeakable evil trying to drag her under. On a quest of his own, Chen Yong offers that help . . . and perhaps more.

The cover of this is one of my favorites of '09.

I got some fantastaic books this week! :)