Giveway: And Then Everything Unraveled + And Then I Found Out the Truth by Jennifer Sturman

Today, I have a paperback copy of And Then Everything Unraveled and a hardcover copy of it's sequel, And Then I Found Out the Truth, to giveaway.

Here are the summaries for each. Though, be aware that And Then I Found Out the Truth's summary contains spoilers.

And Then Everything Unraveled (My review)

Delia Truesdale has no idea her life's about to change forever. She's too busy enjoying the California summer. Her Internet tycoon mother, T.K. Truesdale, is out of town, and that means Delia can spend all her time at the beach, surfing. That is, until everything unravels.

Her mother suddenly goes missing, and everyone thinks she's dead - except Delia, who knows T.K.'s way too organized to simply disappear. But Delia's still sent to New York to live with her two aunts - a downtown bohemian and an uptown ice queen.

And in case that's not bad enough, she also has to deal with a snooty new school and trying not to fall for the wrong guy. Oh, and finding her mother.

As she delves deeper into the tangle of conspiracies and lies surrounding T.K.'s disappearance, Delia begins to suspect that the wrong guy may be the right guy...and that some secrets - especially the dangerous ones - were never meant to be unraveled.

And Then I Found Out the Truth (My review)

First there was a kiss.

Then there was doubt.
Then there was danger.
And then…

Delia Truesdale didn’t think life could get more complicated. After all, her mother’s on the run in South America and won’t be coming home anytime soon – at least, not until Delia can outwit the evil-doers who are out to destroy them both.

But it’s hard to thwart evil-doers from an entirely different continent, especially when everyone thinks you should be doing your homework instead. And Delia’s stuck in Manhattan, along with her slightly insane Aunt Charley, her completely uptight Aunt Patience, a petulant psychic, a love-struck detective, a boy-crazy brainiac, and Quinn, who defies description but has kissed her twice.

The answers are waiting in exotic Buenos Aires, and time is running out. Delia might not speak Spanish or know how to tango, but she does have a passport. Will she be able to uncover the truth — before it’s too late.

To enter, please fill out the following form.

Though, as with any contest there are rules:

~ Must be 13 or older to enter.
~ Open to participants with an United States mailing address only. (international readers can enter if they have a friend in the States who can accept their prizes by mail)
~ Don't comment below to enter or you will not be entered!
~ The contest will close on July 30th at 6:00 AM Eastern.

And Then I Found Out the Truth by Jennifer Sturman

Summary/Cover Image taken from publisher's website:

Delia Truesdale is still searching for the truth about her mother, who is in hiding somewhere in South America. But for now, Delia has to make do with her mystery-solving in New York City, alongside her aunt Charley (a funky downtown hipster), her aunt Meg (an uptown ice queen), a detective with questionable taste in neckties, an eccentric young psychic, her brainiac best friend, and Quinn, the wealthy, gorgeous boy at her prep school who—gasp!—actually seems to return Delia’s affections. Too bad Quinn’s shady CEO dad may be involved in the scheme Delia is trying to crack. And a trip to South America may be in order after all...

Review:

If you've been a long time reader of my blog/reviews, you'll know that I'm a big fan of not only And Then Everything Unraveled, the prequel to this, but Ms. Sturman as well, since she always knows how to create some of the most fun mystery and suspense reads I've encountered as a reader. Thankfully, And Then I Found Out the Truth was no different, though I have to admit that it didn't have the same flare And Then Everything Unraveled contained, in my opinion, leaving it to come in secondary to it's prequel not only in sequence but by my liking as well.

Though, before we get to that, let's talk about the parts I did like, which was basically the whole book.

One of my least favorite parts of reading sequels to books is the fact of how spread out they are, since with the number of books I read in a year, I have a hard enough time keep the books I'm currently reading in track, let alone what has happened in some of my favorite series. Though, as if Jennifer Sturman could read my mind, she offered a brief summary of what had happened in the first few chapters, leaving everything to ding right into place, and then for me to become intertwined in Delia's new action packed adventure.

Delia is a character who I enjoy reading about for numerous reasons, one would be the fact of how normal she is, since she has school, boy, and parent trouble, like most of us do in real life. Also, I like how her relationship with Quinn is never exactly easy-going, because it causes for drama, something that makes every book complete in my book, and with the fun additions of characters such as her aunts, cousins, and friends, And Then I Found Out the Truth was also laugh-out-load funny.

As like it's prequel, the plot of And Then I Found Out the Truth was filled with action, action, and more action. I, as I'm sure most readers will as well, enjoyed seeing Delia solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance because it always contained a new little jolt that managed to throw off everything I had thought before, and the ending of this was also a part I adore, since it was sweet and cute in the way a Disney movie is.

Though, as mentioned above, And Then I Found Out the Truth was lacking the flare that made the first book a complete star, in my opinion, and I can't exactly put my finger on what that was. Maybe it was the fact that I felt some of the mystery was too conveniently solved or something else, but overall? Not the biggest problem out there, since it sure didn't detract too much from my overall liking.

In all, And Then I Found Out the Truth is a great addition to the And Then I... series, and a book that I can't help but suggest you pick up along with it's made of awesome prequel!

Grade: B+

And Then I Found Out the Truth will be released July 1, 2010!

Source: TKPublicRelations

Quick Q and A's with Jennifer Sturman

Jennifer Sturman is author of several mysterious for Adults as well as And Then Everything Unraveled which is now available everywhere!

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1) And Then Everything Unraveled is your latest book. Can you tell us a little bit about it?

UNRAVELED is part mystery, part romance, and part what-do-you-do-when-your-entire-life-comes-apart-at-the-seams. Here’s the official description from the book jacket:

Delia Truesdale has no idea her life’s about to change forever. She’s too busy enjoying the California summer. Her Internet tycoon mother, T.K. Truesdale, is out of town, and that means Delia can spend all her time at the beach, surfing.

That is, until everything unravels. Her mother suddenly goes missing, and everyone thinks she’s dead — except Delia, who knows T.K.’s way too organized to simply disappear. But Delia’s still sent to New York to live with her two aunts — a downtown bohemian and an uptown ice queen. And in case that’s not bad enough, she also has to deal with a snooty new school and trying not to fall for the wrong guy. Oh, and finding her mother.

As she delves deeper into the tangle of conspiracies and lies surrounding T.K.’s disappearance, Delia begins to suspect that the wrong guy may be the right guy ... and that some secrets — especially the dangerous ones — were never meant to be unraveled.


2) What inspired you to write And Then Everything Unraveled? Did something similar happen to you?

Sadly, my life is pretty dull compared to Delia’s! The inspiration for UNRAVELED was one of my favorite books, Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis. It’s about a boy who’s orphaned and sent to live with his madcap aunt in New York in the 1920s, and it’s a fabulous read – incredibly comic but also moving without being cloying. So thinking about how a situation like that would play out today was my starting point, but from there I began throwing in other bits and pieces drawn from what’s going on in the world today (i.e., global warming, energy crises) and from people I know (i.e., my mother, who loves her label maker even more than Delia’s mother loves hers, my friend who dresses a lot like Delia’s aunt Charley). And I kept adding and mixing and eventually I ended up with a story...

3) All of your previous novels have been aimed at the Adult market, so why switch to Young Adult for And Then Everything Unraveled? Also, did you notice any big differences in writing for Young Adults then Adults?

I love reading YA books, and a surprising number of the readers of my adult books were teens, so writing a YA seemed like a natural next step. The most significant differences in the writing were the age of the heroine and how that ended up shaping character and plot. The fundamentals that drive people — things like love, family, ambition — aren’t that different across age groups — but a teenager has constraints that an adult doesn’t, in terms of the ability to make and act on her own decisions and the lack of experience she has to inform those decisions. So there’s a different set of obstacles for her to navigate, but so much is new and fresh, too, which makes it especially fun to write.

4) If you could pick a theme song for And Then Everything Unraveled, what would be? Why?

If I had to pick just one, it would be “This Must be the Place (Naïve Melody)” by Talking Heads. It’s about looking for home and finding it in a person rather than a place — sort of poignant and joyful at the same time.


5) What is one of your favorite things about being an author? Least favorite?

Writing is one of the few things I’ve done that can truly take me out of myself. You get caught up in the characters and what they’re thinking and feeling and how that moves them to act, and the next thing you know a lot of time has passed but in a very absorbing and satisfying way. As for least favorite — I think Edna St. Vincent Millay put it best: “A person who publishes a book appears willfully in public with his pants down.”


6) I’m always looking for new books to read. So, what are some of your favorite authors and books?

This is always a tough one — I’m not good at choices! However, to name a few by genre:

Classics: pretty much anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Edith Wharton
Charm/humor: Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle; Auntie Mame and The Joyous Season by Patrick Dennis
YA: Bad Kitty and Kitty Kitty by Michele Jaffe
Mystery: Elizabeth George’s Linley series, Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie series, Lawrence Block’s Scudder series
Historical romance: Philippa Gregory, Anya Seton

7) Since, summer is around the corner. Can you share with us one of your favorite summer memories?

Spending an entire day outside (ideally floating on a raft in a pool) doing nothing but reading. It still is my favorite way to spend a summer day, though now I’m much more conscientious about sunscreen.


8) What’s next for you? A sequel to And Then Everything Unraveled perhaps? ( *crosses fingers*)

Yes, there will be a sequel! And Then I Found Out the Truth takes up where Unraveled left off, so please stay tuned!

Ooh, I'm soooo excited!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks so much Jennifer!

And Then Everything Unraveled by Jennifer Sturman

Summary:

Delia Truesdale has no idea her life's about to change forever. She's too busy enjoying the California summer. Her Internet tycoon mother, T.K. Truesdale, is out of town, and that means Delia can spend all her time at the beach, surfing. That is, until everything unravels.

Her mother suddenly goes missing, and everyone thinks she's dead - except Delia, who knows T.K.'s way too organized to simply disappear. But Delia's still sent to New York to live with her two aunts - a downtown bohemian and an uptown ice queen.

And in case that's not bad enough, she also has to deal with a snooty new school and trying not to fall for the wrong guy. Oh, and finding her mother.

As she delves deeper into the tangle of conspiracies and lies surrounding T.K.'s disappearance, Delia begins to suspect that the wrong guy may be the right guy...and that some secrets - especially the dangerous ones - were never meant to be unraveled. (from Goodreads)

Review:

And Then Everything Unraveled is a great mix of mystery and suspense. From the beginning you are drawn into Delia's life, feeling that you are there with her every step she takes to find out what really happened to her mother. One of my favorite qualities of Delia's was her ability to never give up, no matter what got thrown at her. Since, without that this novel could have been pretty boring. Delia's aunts, Charley and Patience, were hilarious supporting characters who always had you laughing when they were featured.

The plot in this always provided you to keep flipping the pages and had you guessing at what would occur next. Even,though the mystery aspect is not that original it still made And Then Everything Unraveled a quick read.

My only problem with this was the ending. Since, Jennifer Sturman let a lot to be unanswered. So hopefully, that means a sequel is in the works. :)

Overall, And Then Everything Unraveled is a funny and charming read for a sunny day in summer. I am looking forward to reading more by Jennifer in the future.

Grade: A-

And Then Everything Unraveled will be released July 1, 2009.

*Much thanks to Jennifer and the people at Point for sending me a copy of this novel! :)