Blog Tour: “What They Don’t Know” by Nicole Maggi + Giveaway!

I’m excited to be a part of the ~*Official Blog Tour*~ for What They Don’t Know by Nicole Maggi, out today!

When their high school teacher assigns journal entries as homework, Mellie and Lise find they have plenty to offload into their diaries.

Mellie is the daughter of the mayor, who makes it well-known that he is super conservative — plus, now he’s running for senate. Mellie’s family is in the spotlight all the time, and it becomes increasingly more urgent that she deal with her secret. She was raped. And now she’s pregnant.

Lise has always felt that she was intuitive to people’s feelings. When her grade-school friend, Mellie, starts behaving differently, Lise is the only one who notices. She’s the only one that reaches out. And to Mellie’s luck, Lise is just the friend that she needs during this difficult time in her life.

What They Don’t Know takes a good, hard look at what it is like for someone to go through the tough decision to have an abortion as an unwed teen in a conservative world. Plus, Mellie has the added trauma of her pregnancy being a result of a rape. Stories come out daily of these abuses against women (and others, too), so it’s a poignant topic.

In these political climes, with laws restricting the bodily rights of cis female, non-binary, and trans individuals, books like this will become increasingly important. Abortion is a difficult life choice to make, and Nicole Maggi explores the feelings Mellie has — the knowledge she obtains, that no one can know how this situation feels until they find themselves in it. The decision to control one’s own body, to be free to make their own choice.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Buy the book here.

You can also click here to enter to win a copy in this giveaway sponsored by Sourcebooks Fire!

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Links in post are affiliate links whose proceeds go toward the maintenance of this blog.

Blog Tour: “The Homecoming” by Stacie Ramey

★★★☆☆

I’m so excited to be hosting a stop on the official blog tour for The Homecoming! I’ve got a synopsis, review, and a giveaway below.

John’s had several hard years: his brother was in a horrific accident leaving him disabled and angry at his situation, John acts out and gets kicked out of the house, and most recently, John’s girlfriend, Leah, committed suicide. Now he is coming home to finish high school, after which he wants to leave and move to California.

John finds himself becoming increasingly angry at his situation and at people around him, and to remedy this, he uses alcohol and marijuana. Then, he meets the girl next door, Emily. And after a while, John realizes that he must do better, for himself, for Emily, and for his family.

I reviewed Stacey Ramey’s last book, The Sister Pact, and I really enjoyed it, so I knew I should grab this one when I had the chance. The Homecoming is an important novel that touches on several important issues: disabilities, anger issues, drug and alcohol abuse, family dynamics, suicide, and more. Ramey does a good job of taking on some serious issues facing teens, which I think is really important in YA books these days. Overall it’s an easy read with some heavy topics, but definitely worth picking up!

Feeling lucky? Sourcebooks is hosting a giveaway for 3 copies of The Homecoming. Enter here!

You can also purchase the book here.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy to review. All opinions in this review are my own.

BEA & BookCon Haul

Just a quick update on BEA and BookCon — still trying to recover, and you’re about to see why!

I brought home a total of 119 books, ARC and finished, as well as 8 samplers.

The important thing to note here is that I purchased FOUR of these. Only four. The rest were given to me for free!

All the “goodies” I got — samplers, pins, bookmarks, stickers, and more.

I hope to update you with another post about my most exciting grabs of the week. Stay tuned!

“The Sister Pact” by Stacie Ramey (Plus Giveaway)

★★★☆☆ New Release Tuesday! After reading my review of The Sister Pact, you can purchase the book here or enter this giveaway the publisher is hosting for my followers.

Allie is in a downward spiral. She’s got to find a way to cope now that her older sister Leah is dead. Leah was perfect, popular, sassy, and loving.

But then she killed herself.

Allie tries to self-medicate with pills, weed, cough syrup, promiscuity — anything she can get her hands on — so that she doesn’t feel the pain, the questioning: Why didn’t Leah honor their pact? They were supposed to go together.

The Sister Pact is a great YA novel that shows the true feelings and thoughts of depression and the aftermath of suicide. Allie is also struggling with divorcing and bickering parents, an ex-boyfriend, a new love interest, and one of the most challenging things she’s ever faced: losing her art, not being able to find her colors.

Purchase the book here.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book Giveaway: “This is Where it Ends” by Marieke Nijkamp

UPDATE: Read my review here.

This is Where it Ends is set to publish January 5, 2016, and I have a review copy on my TBR pile. It looks intense and insane and I can’t wait to read it.

Here’s a synopsis from Amazon:

10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama’s high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03
The auditorium doors won’t open.

10:05
Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

While we wait the next few agonizing months for it to come out, the publisher is hosting a giveaway for a copy of the book and a chalkboard set. They’re asking the winners to use the chalkboard and chalk to record how This is Where it Ends made them feel and share it on social media using #thisiswhereitends and #sourcebooksfire. What a cool idea!

Enter now through November 1st. Good luck!

You can also pre-order the book here.