Starters and Enders #0.5

STARTERS AND ENDERS:

Portrait Of A Starter: An Unhidden Story by Lissa Price

A Drawing Of Things To Come!

   

When he first put pencil to paper it was to capture her likeness, to capture the essence of a girl he knew and trusted. In this new world after the war there was little that was for curtain anymore but this was, she was. Until his curiosity and protective nature got the better of him and he realized that maybe he didn't know her as well as he thought. When he had finally finished her likeness he realized that he captured more them just an image of a girl, it was a portrait of a starter.

Portrait Of A Starter is Michael's perspective of life as a sixteen year old in this post war world. It is a world where the Enders, those who are over sixty, have it all while the Starters, those who are under twenty, are left to live on the streets or worse in institutions with nothing more then what they can beg, borrow or steal. It is an introduction to a unique dystopian world, an introduction to boy living with nothing more then what he can draw, an introduction to a girl with secrets.

Lissa Price Webpage

Lissa Price @ Random House

On sale: 14 February 2012
Price eBook (AU): $2.95
ISBN: 9781448121304
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Portrait
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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Point 4 #2

POINT 4:
1.4 (One.Four) by Mike Lancaster

Reminded!

The Straker Tapes were recorded nearly a thousand years ago and although the record has survived, although there are those who believe in these events with increasing numbers, the sad truth is that this is nothing more then a hoax, a dream with no scientific proof to back up these claims. This is what Peter Vincent believes because it is what his father has taught him to believe. But what if everything he believed was a lie?

The Link has existed for as long as anyone can remember. It connects us all to each other with little more then a thought, it stores our memories, records our thoughts, contains our history, it defines who we are and the world we live in. But the Link is not limitless, not infallible, and not unable to be hacked. Memories can be altered, thoughts can be stolen and history can be rewritten. When who we are can change in an instant, all we can do is tell our story and hope we are remembered.

1.4 is an upgrade from the Straker Tapes to the Vincent Files. Although set in the future where the people are different, the story is essentially the same. The frightening truth behind our very existence, behind the evolution of humans and the next stage to come is as thought provoking and compelling to learn as it was the first time around. An exceptional science fiction story every bit as extraordinary as 0.4.

Mike Lancaster Webpage

Mike Lancaster @ Hardie Grant Egmont

On sale: 01 June 2012
Price (AU): $16.95
ISBN: 9781405258180
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Strakerites
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Throne Of Glass #1

THRONE OF GLASS:
Throne Of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

"Her Past And Future Were Seated On A Glass Throne"

As Adarlan's greatest assassin she was the best, no one got near her, no one could stop her, no one - save a select few sworn to secrecy on pain of death - knew who she really was. Then her world was shattered, she was betrayed, captured and had spent the last year in the death camp otherwise known as the Endovier Salt Mines. The last thing she ever expected was to be rescued from hell by the son of the man who had sent her there to rot.

The King was holding a contest to find a Champion. With the entrants put forth by the courts council little more then thieves and assassins, what better way for Crown Prince Dorian to get back at his father then to enter the one person his father loathed, the girl Celaena Sardothien, better known as Adarlan's Assassin. But in doing so he would start a chain of events that will forevermore shape the future of his kingdom.

Throne Of Glass is a position of power in a kingdom that is broken, defiled and subjugated. As a powerful king seeks only more power, an assassin will be the only hope for a land in turmoil, for a people enslaved, for friend in need. In this addictive world of murder, magic, politics and secrets is an engaging story of an unlikely heroine. The first in a thrilling new series.

Sarah J. Maas Webpage

Sarah J. Mass @ Bloomsbury Australia

On sale: 01 August 2012
Price (AU): $16.98
ISBN: 9781408832332
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Celaena
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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The Tribe Book 1

THE TRIBE:
The Interrogation Of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina

"Ashala Wolf Has Been Betrayed, Captured

And Is Now To Be Interrogated"

When Ashala first ran away to the Firstwood she never expected to find a place to call home, people to call family. This was her Tribe, and she would do anything to protect them. But when one of her own is a traitor, out to turn her and her new family into the government to be locked up simply for being born different, she refuses to stand by and do nothing.

Now Ashala finds herself a prisoner in the detention centre the government has set up for people like her, people who are different, and her betrayer stands by her side, as her guard. With the lives of her Tribe at stake, Ashala is helpless as the interrogation draws from her everything she remembers. But even as she is forced to reveal all, she cant help feeling there is something she's forgotten.

The Interrogation Of Ashala Wolf takes place in a time after the Reckoning, after the end of the world, where the survivors no longer live enslaved to technology but in balance with nature. During this time there are those who are born with gifts, abilities that the government believes is not in balance with the world. This dystopian tale is an engrossing and enlightening beginning to a unique new series.

Ambelin Kwaymullina @ Walker Books
The Tribe

On sale: 01 July 2012
Price (US): $19.95
ISBN: 9781921720086
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Thee Trib
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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Blog Tour & Giveaway - The Interrogation Of Ashala Wolf

Blog Tour - The Interrogation Of Ashala Wolf

About Ashala Wolf (The Book)
 

"There will come a day when a thousand Illegals descend on your detention centres. Boomers will breach the walls. Skychangers will send lightning to strike you all down from above, and Rumblers will open the earth to swallow you up from below ... And when that day comes, Justin Connor, think of me."

Ashala Wolf has been captured by Chief Administrator Neville Rose. A man who is intent on destroying Ashala s Tribe - the runaway Illegals hiding in the Firstwood. Injured and vulnerable and with her Sleepwalker ability blocked, Ashala is forced to succumb to the machine that will pull secrets from her mind. And right beside her is Justin Connor, her betrayer, watching her every move. Will the Tribe survive the interrogation of Ashala Wolf?


About Ambelin Kwaymullina (The Author)
 

1. Who is your favourite author and why?

Oh, that’s hard – I have so many favourite authors!  But in the world of fantasy, my favourite author is Michelle Sagara West. I read anything she writes, and love everything she writes, for a thousand reasons – the depth and complexity of the worlds she creates, the strength of her characters, and the beauty of her writing. Her books are ones I go back to time and again, and read over and over. Each time I pick them up I discover something new, and find myself reflecting on a different passage, or thinking about a character in a way I hadn’t before. They’re like old friends who never let me down.

2. What are the books/stories that have influenced your writing style and choice of genre?

I’ve always read science fiction and fantasy, and I’ve always loved the way sci fi/fantasy books explore possibilities, both the dreams and the nightmares of what human beings could be. I think the dystopian field attracted me because it captures both my worst fears and my greatest hopes. In a dystopia, the world has ended, in war or environmental cataclysm or nuclear Armageddon. But humanity, somehow, has survived. Life has triumphed, despite humanity’s worst qualities, and at least some of those who remain are trying to make a better world than the one that was lost.

One of my favourite writers is Lois McMaster Bujold, and most especially anything she writes about that manic genius, Miles Vorkosigan. In one of Lois Bujold’s stories, Miles talks about expanding borders to infinity. To me, sci fi and fantasy is the genre that lets us expand our borders – as writers, readers, and human beings, showing us the possibilities we could never imagined if we’d stayed within the boundaries of the world-that-is.

3. From where do you draw your inspiration to write?

From my characters. They are real, to me; they have stories that demand to be told, and I can’t let them down. I have to write about them, to do my best to accurately convey who they are, how they feel, and the world that they live in.

4. Without giving too much away to those who have yet to read The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf, what scene was your favourite part to write about and why?

Huh. That’s hard to pick an absolute favourite! But I think probably anything involving Jaz. Because I always knew, at any given moment, what Jaz thought and felt, and what he would say. That made it a joy to write scenes with him in them, because I didn’t have to spend a lot of time trying to figure him out. He just leapt onto the page, generally taking over any portion of the novel he appeared in, and I could carry on with the story.

 The Interrogation Of Ashala Wolf
Giveaway

Want to read this engrosing tale yourself?
Simply send an email to larissabookgirl(at)gmail(dot)com.
One entrant will be chosen at random to win a copy of this new book.
Be sure to include your name and postage details.
Open to Australia and NewZealand only.

 

Thanks so much to Peta at Walker Books Australia for all your hard work in putting together this blog tour, and thanks to Ambelin Kwaymullina for taking the time to answer my questions.

For the next stop on the The Interrogation Of Ashala Wolf Blog Tour
tomorrow visit
Alishia's Treasured Tales for Young Adults.

  

The Traitors

The Traitors by Tom Becker

"Think Twice Before You Betray Your Best Friend"
 

The radio message could have been a fluke, even the letter could be taken for a joke, but a giant zeppelin on an abandoned beach can not be ignored. When a stupid mistake, a thoughtless act breaks apart a friendship, the traitor must be punished, and the only way for a traitor to learn their lesson is imprisonment on the Dial.

No one on the Dial is innocent, all have betrayed someone, been a traitor to someone, and all are paying for their actions. Life on the Dial is slow, existing outside of time, and a sentence on the Dial will last years, hundreds of years in fact. But as long as there are those who are traitors there will be the Dial to punish them, with no chance of escape.

The Traitors on the Dial are all children who have committed acts of betrayal against family and friends. With the majority of betrays being petty acts and thoughtless mistakes, here there is no allowance for the young to learn by their mistakes, only a harsh punishment for actions regretted. The idea behind this story is quite intriguing however the execution is a little standard. Still, this is a prison story young boys will enjoy.

Tom Becker @ Scholastic

On sale: 01 August 2012
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9781407109527
Recommended age: 12+
In a word: Dial
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: to boys
Star rating: two out of five
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The Body Finder #3

THE BODY FINDER:
The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting

"The Girlfriend Collector"

Working with the group at the Center was Violet's chance to make a difference, a chance to use her gifts to help others, and a chance to finally fit in. Despite not being welcomed by all members with open arms, the Center was the one place were Violet didn't have to hide what she could do, or who she truly was.

Violet's skill was finding the dead and those who had murdered. What she couldn't do was find a killer before he had killed, but there was a chance that others at the Center could. And for Violet's sake they would have too, for although working at the Center was dangerous, it could be more dangerous to stay away.

The Last Echo of a life may belong to Violet, an echo that would be carried for the rest of a life. This murder mystery introduces new characters and new challenges for Violet and her unique gift. A new story that continues where the last left off, and one that fans of the series will enjoy.

Kimberly Derting Webpage

Kimberly Derting @ Hachette

On sale: 01 June 2012
Price (AU): $14.99
ISBN: 9780755389155
Recommended age: 15+
In a word: The Centre
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: to those reading the series
Star rating: three out of five
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Shadowfell - Book 1

SHADOWFELL:
Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier

A Land In Trouble, A Girl On The Run,

Trust Is A Hard Lesson To Learn!

 

Alban is a land of great danger and sorrow. The people of Alban live in fear, fear of the raids that separate families, fear of the fires that destroy homes, and fear of the Enforcers who commit these acts in the name of the King. The old ways are being shunned, outlawed, anyone thought to be different is taken to serve the King, and any who refused or speak out against the injustices are quickly silenced for good.

At fifteen, Neryn has already been a victim of the King's rule having lost her grandmother in a raid and her village in a fire. But as one of the canny Neryn will never be safe from the Enforcers who hunt her. Left alone in the world with no family and no place that is safe for her; Neryn follows the only path she can to a place of safety that may not even exist, to Shadowfell.

Despite her connection to the Good Folk and the help they can provide, Neryn encounters many trials and hardships on her journey to find a safe haven. Even as the Enforcers track her every movement and the Good Folk follow her every step, she is challenged by her desire to find safety and a hope for the future. In a land where kindness and generosity are rare, Neryn discovers that the hardest lessons learnt are the most important.

Shadowfell is the only hope for a land in turmoil, the only safe place for a girl on the run. More then a story of one girls journey across a hostile land, this is a timeless tale of a life, love, friendships, hopes and fears. A beautiful and magical new series that introduces you to a world both cruel and kind, with characters as complex as they are intriguing. A story that will touch your heart.

Kingdom Of Alban - map

Juliet Marillier Webpage

Juliet Marillier @ Pan Macmillan

On sale: 01 July 2012
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9781742611341
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Shadowfell
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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The Midnight Palace

The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

"The Best Place To Start A Story Is At The Beginning"

For the past few years the Midnight Palace has been home to the secret club of the Chowbar Society, a select group of people who live by two hard and fast rules. The first is to share all knowledge they possess, learn and come by. The second is to protect each member of the group with their lives. Now at sixteen years of age and legally adults, the members of this group are meeting up for the last time.

Growing up as orphans in 1930's Calcutta, the seven members of the Chowbar Society all believed themselves to be children with no past and therefore the future was free and open. However one of these members was about to discover not only a dark past filled with lies, murder and the family he never new existed, but there was still the threat of danger alive today from a man long dead out to kill again.

The Midnight Palace is a tale of friendship, family and demons from the past. While the ghost of those long dead return, restless and seeking out the living for their own haunted purposes, it is the living that will have to sacrifice one of their own for a chance at peace. A dark and tragic tale of friendship, loss and love written as only Carlos Ruiz Zafon can produce.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon Webpage

Carlos Ruiz Zafon @ Text Publishing

On sale: 30 May 2011
Price (AU): $22.95
ISBN: 9781921656941
Recommended age: 13+
In a word: Mystery
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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White Horse

White Horse by Alex Adams

"The Plague That Killed The World's Population"

The jar was the beginning; it appeared out of nowhere, delivered by no one to be found sitting in her living room. No one can say how it arrived, this ancient jar, or where it came from. But all that was secondary, the only thing to matter now was what the jars sudden presence in her home and in her life meant. The jar was a mystery, and the only thing she knew for curtain was that this mysterious jar frightened her.

It started with the weather, then it was the war. But it wasn't just one country against another, if it had been there might have been somewhere safe to run to, but it was the whole world and nowhere was safe. Now there were monsters lurking were before there were only people. With no where safe, she ran in the direction of the one person she loved, because at the end of the world where else would she want to be.

Having lost everyone she ever cared for, somehow she still manages to carry on. Because despite the disease, the death, and the monsters, despite the end of the world, life still goes on. Armed only with hope, she will walk halfway across the world to find a new beginning for the future, or she will die trying, for what else has she to live for.

White Horse is a gripping tale of the end of the world and those who are left behind to survive it. This is the story of one ordinary woman who makes a heroic journey across a wasted and broken earth in search of hope, love and life on the other side of the world. As the story unfolds the truth about the jar, the war and her love is uncovered. This is a survival story that tells of strength and humanity in a world that is no longer what it was. An intelligent, passionate and keenly written story that will hold you captive.

Alex Adams Webpage

Alex Adams @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 May 2012
Price (AU): $29.99
ISBN: 9780857209962
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: White Horse
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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