In My Mailbox (8)

Sorry I haven't been on in a few days, but I had class yesterday. I'll be glad when the semester is over and I can focus on my really important reading. Schoolbooks not so much fun.

Anyway, better late than never, here's my addition to the IMM extravaganza created by the most awesome Kristi over at The Story Siren. By the way, Kristi did a vlog for her IMM post this week and it's very cool.

So, I got one book in the mail this week, which I wasn't expecting. It came from Penguin and it's not YA, but it looks really good.

Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji (May 5, 2009)



Here's the description:

In this poignant, eye-opening and emotionally vivid novel, Mahbod Seraji lays bare the beauty and brutality of the centuries-old Persian culture, while reaffirming the human experiences we all share.

In a middle-class neighborhood of Iran’s sprawling capital city, 17-year-old Pasha Shahed spends the summer of 1973 on his rooftop with his best friend Ahmed, joking around one minute and asking burning questions about life the next. He also hides a secret love for his beautiful neighbor Zari, who has been betrothed since birth to another man. But the bliss of Pasha and Zari’s stolen time together is shattered when Pasha unwittingly acts as a beacon for the Shah’s secret police. The violent consequences awaken him to the reality of living under a powerful despot, and lead Zari to make a shocking choice…

Interesting eh?

And then at work, I got 4 YA ARCs this week. We don't get a lot of kids or YA ARCs at our store anymore, so I was thrilled.

Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow by James Rollins (April 28, 2009 from HarperCollins)



When a mysterious envelope arrives for Jake Ransom, he and his older sister, Kady, are plunged into a gripping chain of events. An artifact found by their parents—on the expedition from which they never returned—leads Jake and Kady to a strange world inhabited by a peculiar mix of long-lost civilizations, a world that may hold the key to their parents' disappearance.

But even as they enter the gate to this extraordinary place, savage grackyls soar across the sky, diving to attack. Jake's new friends, the pretty Mayan girl Marika and the Roman Pindor, say the grackyls were created by an evil alchemist—the Skull King. And as Jake struggles to find a way home, it becomes obvious that what the Skull King wants most is Jake and Kady—dead or alive.

I think this one sounds pretty exciting. I look forward to reading it.

Next up is Wings by Aprilynne Pike (May 5, 2009 from HarperTEEN)



Laurel has never been the kind of girl who believes in fairy tales and myths, fables and legends...until the day she learns the stunning truth about her own identity, forever changing her world.









Emily the Strange: The Lost Days by Rob Reger and Jessica Gruner (June 2, 2009 from HarperTEEN)



13 Elements you will find in the first Emily the Strange novel:

1. Mystery

2. A beautiful golem

3. Souped-up slingshots

4. Four black cats

5. Amnesia

6. Calamity Poker

7. Angry ponies

8. A shady truant officer

9. Top-13 lists

10. A sandstorm generator

11. Doppelgängers

12. A secret mission

13. Earwigs

Emily the Strange: 13 years old. Able to leap tall buildings, probably, if she felt like it. More likely to be napping with her four black cats; or cobbling together a particle accelerator out of lint, lentils, and safety pins; or rocking out on drums/ guitar/saxophone/zither; or painting a swirling feral sewer mural; or forcing someone to say "swirling feral sewer mural" 13 times fast . . . and pointing and laughing.

I've always been a fan of Emily, so it's great to have a copy of the first novel. I looked through this one and it's great. Lots of art in the classic Emily the Strange red and black style.

And last, but definitely not least, as I mentioned in my previous post, I finally have a copy of Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison (May 26, 2009 from HarperTEEN)



YAY to the millionth power!!! I also decided that my sister and I are going to make the almost 8 hour trip to see Kim, Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr on their Supernatural Summer Tour stop in IL. It may seem crazy, but it's the day before my birthday and I've always wanted to meet them. Is anyone else thinking about going to any of the dates on this tour?

Here's the description for Kim's book in case you haven't heard about it yet:

Madison's prom was killer—literally. For some reason she's been targeted by a dark reaper—yeah, that kind of reaper—intent on getting rid of her, body and soul. But before the reaper could finish the job, Madison was able to snag his strange, glowing amulet and get away.

Now she's stuck on Earth—dead but not gone. Somehow the amulet gives her the illusion of a body, allowing her to toe the line between life and death. She still doesn't know why the dark reaper is after her, but she's not about to just sit around and let fate take its course.

With a little ingenuity, some light-bending, and the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys! Maybe . . . ), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison's ready to take control of her own destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her.

Well, if she believed in that stuff.

So there you have it. A great week for me. What did you guys get?