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Winner of Black Out by Lisa Unger is…
Mamakane! I’ll be sending you an email shortly to get your address. Thanks to all that entered. Check in later this week for my next contest!
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Review: THE FORBIDDEN DAUGHTER, by Shobhan Bantwal
Isha Tilak and her husband, Nikhil, have just discovered that the child they are expecting is a girl. What would be wonderful news to just about any couple is a curse to the young couple. Young Isha and Nikhil live in India, in a society where male heirs are sought out above all else; female children are viewed as burdens. When their doctor, Dr. Larnick, along with Nikhil’s parents, suggests they have an illegal abortion, Isha and Nikhil are furious and adamantly refuse. Soon after, Nikhil is found brutally murdered. Isha decides that living with her oppressive in-laws is detrimental to the life and safety of her young daughter, Priya, and her unborn daughter. She leaves with a small amount of money and just a few belongings. Born into a privileged class, Isha hasn’t ever had to fend for herself. She soon learns. Isha and Priya seek refuge at a local convent. Isha gives birth to young Diya, and meets Harish Salvi, a doctor that treats the children at the convent. Isha ultimately receives the life insurance money that she and Nikhil kept hidden from his parents and is then able to purchase a more appropriate residence for her and her young girls. She discovers that her husband has left her with evidence of the selective abortion trade, and suddenly her life, and the life of her children, is in danger. THE FORBIDDEN DAUGHTER tells a difficult story of the treatment and value of women in India. The characters were very compelling, as was the storyline. It has it all: love, bribery, murder, blackmail, kidnapping. Isha is an amazingly strong woman who will stop at nothing to protect the lives of her daughters.
*Note: My apologies to the author. This was scheduled to post in September and for some reason it did not.
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Review & Giveaway-Black Out, by Lisa Unger
On the outside, Annie Power’s life looks perfect. Her amazing husband, Gray, and their precious daughter, Victory, make her life complete. That is, until flashbacks of her once forgotten past come into focus. You see, ten years ago Annie was Ophelia March, a young, naïve teen caught in the web of an infamous serial killer, Marlowe Geary. Gray rescues Ophelia, and in the process, murders Geary. Ophelia “died” and Annie was born. The emotional and physical trauma caused Annie to forget most of what occurred. But one thing she knows for certain-they never found the body of her boyfriend, the serial killer. Annie thought she was rid of this horrid past, but slowly people around her begin to die. She hears her former name being called from the shadows. People she trusted turn out to be her enemies. A local police detective begins to dig into her past and comes close to finding out the truth. Annie soon discovers that Geary is not dead, and she is willing to give up her life to find the answers to what happened that night a decade ago. Unger does an amazing job of revealing the character’s history to the reader. It is unraveled slowly and methodically. I was engrossed in the storyline from page one, this was a book I couldn’t put down. Black Out was definitely an intense tale that chilled me to the bone!
To enter to win a copy of Black Out, comment on this post. To be entered twice, blog about it and include a link to your blog in your comment. Contest will run through Saturday, October 18. I will post the name of the winner on Sunday the 19th.
Have you already read Black Out and want to talk about it? Join our discussion, through the month of October, in Shelfari’s Suspense and Thriller Group!
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This Week's Winners
Winner of an ARC of “Living Dead Girl”: Julie P.!
Winner of the National Book Festival Poster: Violet Crush!
If you entered your email address in your comment I will contact you directly for your address. If you didn’t, please email me directly at jenlaw77ATearthlinkDOTnet.
Congratulations!
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My Experience at the National Book Festival
I attended the National Book Festival last Saturday. It was amazing to see all of the people that showed up! I was excited to see so many children there as well.
I didn’t end up getting any of my books signed. However, I did manage to get pictures of Salman Rushdie as he was hurriedly rushed away after he spoke at the Fiction Pavilion; Katharine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia, among many others, as the staff attempted to pull her away from a flock of young children, begging for authographs; and finally, Dionne Warwick, who spoke to at the Children’s pavillion about her book, Say a Little Prayer (Running Press, September 2008), a picture book that encourages kids to find their best talent in life and embrace it. I just missed seeing Geraldine Brooks and Philippa Gregory.
Want to know why I didn’t get my books signed? Well, I thought ahead and brought copies of the books with me. However, the book signing lines were forever and a day long! Each author signed for an hour, and I don’t think many of them even made a dent in the lines of people waiting. And let’s not even talk about the lines in the book sale pavilion. I don’t know why people stood in line so long to buy books that they can get at their local book store. Perhaps they wanted to get them signed…but after standing line to buy the book, and then stand in another line to (maybe) get the book signed by the author is just not worth it to me. Granted, I’m cheap, almost never buy books at full price and have no problem writing my favorite authors for their autographs.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience. We got copies of official 2008 National Book Festival posters. I may (hint hint) be giving one away. My friend Jackie and I decided to make it an annual tradition to to to the National Book Festival together.
So, have you ever met one of your favorite authors? Share the details!
Side note: I’ll be posting the pictures I took as soon as I figure out what I did with my camera!
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Review: One Small Victory, by Maryann Miller
Young Michael Jasik is killed in a car accident at the hands of his drug abusing friend, Brad Brennan. His mother, Jenny, a single mom, is destroyed by the news. When she learns that her son’s death was influenced by Brad’s drug addiction, she has to take action. She storms into the local police station and demands to be put on the undercover drug enforcement task force that she heard about on the news. Police Lieutenant Steve Morrity is leading the task force. While civilians aren’t typically involved in this type of police work, Morrity knows Jenny will take action on her own if she isn’t selected. So, after a grueling physical test, Jenny passes and becomes an undercover informant. She is forced to hide this from her two surviving children, Scott and Alicia. They notice a change in her behavior and contact their father, who has never really been a part of their lives. Jenny risks her life, and the custody of her children for this mission. I commend Jenny’s character for her strength, and the fearless acts she performed in an effort to bring down a big time drug pusher. ONE SMALL VICTORY is an amazing, heart pounding, emotional tale about one mother’s love of her children, and the steps she takes to protect them from harm.
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Review: Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
“Alice” was abducted by Ray when she was ten years old. Five years later, she’s a skeleton of the young, vibrant girl she used to be. She’s sustained unspeakable physical and mental abuse at the hands of Ray. She begs each day just to die. Then, Ray asks her find him a new girl. And so, Alice begins the search for her replacement, her salvation. LIVING DEAD GIRL is a dark and terrifying look into the life of an abused teen. While this book is geared to teens, there are bits that aren’t overly graphic but would still be too shocking and detailed for a young teen. Although this is a very short book, it is powerful and memorable. A book so disturbing you’ll want to put it down, but so compelling that you are forced to continue. This book, and the “Alices” out there will be on my mind for some time. It has been quite some time since a book has impacted me so powerfully.
To win an ARC of Living Dead Girl, comment on this review. Winner will be announced next Saturday, October 4th.
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National Book Festival Tomorrow!
I’m headed to the National Book Festival tomorrow. It’s sponsored by the Library of Congress. I’ve lived in the DC area for almost 10 years, and this is the first opportunity I’ve been able to attend. My husband has graciously offered to watch our boys while a friend and I attend.
Some of my favorite authors will be there. Here’s a list of the fiction authors who will be making an appearance.
Louis Bayard
Geraldine Brooks
Sandra Brown
Marisa de los Santos
Philippa Gregory
Andrew Klavan
James McBride
Brad Meltzer
Richard Price
Francine Prose
Peter Robinson
Salman Rushdie
Alexander McCall Smith
Geraldine Brooks
Sandra Brown
Marisa de los Santos
Philippa Gregory
Andrew Klavan
James McBride
Brad Meltzer
Richard Price
Francine Prose
Peter Robinson
Salman Rushdie
Alexander McCall Smith
Since I don’t have the strength to lug all the books I want signed, a friend of mine (thanks Toni!) suggested that I just take book jackets/sleeves. Awesome idea!
Anyway, I can’t wait! I’ll try to get a few pictures of me with my favorite authors.
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Review: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson
Mikael Bloomkvist, a Swedish financial journalist, is convicted of committing libel against a powerful and manipulating businessman, Hans-Eric Wennerström. As he awaits the start of his jail sentence, Bloomkvist is approached by Henrik Vanger, an aging industrialist and is hired to investigate the disappearance of Vagner’s niece, Harriet. Harriet went missing forty years ago from the family’s small island village. Teamed up with Lisbeth Salander, an eccentric and tattooed computer hacker, Bloomkvist begins to delve into the Vanger family history. They uncover a horrid past littered with abuse, lies, and murder. The storyline of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO was a little slow at first, but it quickly reveals itself to be an amazing story that any fan of mystery would love. The characters are powerful and the story line, once it picked up, was faced paced and thrilling. Fortunately, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is the first of a Millennium trilogy. Unfortunately,THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE (2009 release), and CASTLES IN THE SKY (2010 release) are the last books written before Larsson died of a heart attack in 2004. All three have become international best sellers. I anxiously and impatiently await the release of the rest of the trilogy here in the U.S.
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