In My Mailbox (07.06-11.09)

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi, The Story Siren. Check out her blog for other people's mailboxes, too!

I had a good week--an order of 3 books from B&N and two review books that I'd forgotten I'd accepted. Don't you love surprises? :-) First, the books for review:

Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin. Pub date: August 1, 2009, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Synopsis:

Sophie Blue started wearing a black skirt and Midnight Noir lipstick on her last birthday. It was also the day her father disappeared. Or spontaneously combusted. Which is sort of bad timing, since a Popsicle truck with tinted windows has started circling the house.

Kenny Fade is a basketball god. His sneakers cost more than his Jeep. He's the guy all the ladies (and their mommas) want. Bad. Sophie Blue and Kenny Fade don't have a thing in common. Aside from being reasonably sure they're losing their minds.

Acclaimed author Sean Beadoin's wildly innovative novel combines uproarious humor with enough plot twists to fill a tube sock. Park thriller, part darkly comic philosophical discussion, and accompanied by a comic book interstitial, Fade to Blue is a whip-smart romp that keeps readers guessing until the last paragraph.

The Popularity Rules by Abby McDonald. Pub Date: September 24, 2009 (U.K.). Synopsis:

Rule 1: All's fair in love, war and popularity...Kat Elliot is no social butterfly: she's spent her life rebelling against phony schmoozing - and it's led her nowhere. Just as she's ready to give up her dreams and admit defeat, in steps Lauren Anderville. One-time allies against their school bullies, Lauren and Kat had been inseparable. Then one year later Lauren returned from summer camp - blonde, bubbly and suddenly popular, and Kat was left to face the world alone. Lauren finally wants to make amends by teaching Kat the secret to her success: "The Popularity Rules". A decades-old rulebook, its secrets transformed Lauren that fateful summer. And so, tempted by Lauren's promises of glitzy parties and the job she's always dreamed of, Kat reluctantly submits to a total makeover - only to find that life with the in-crowd might have something going for it after all. But while Lauren has sacrificed everything to get ahead, is Kat really ready to accept that popularity is the only prize that counts?

And from BN.com:

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev. Pub Date: July 7, 2009, Feiwel & Friends. Synopsis:

All her world’s a stage.

Bertie Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.

She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents.

She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own.

That is, until now.

Enter Stage Right

NATE. Dashing pirate. Will do anything to protect Bertie.

COBWEB, MOTH, MUSTARD SEED, and PEASEBLOSSOM. Four tiny and incredibly annoying fairies. BERTIE’S sidekicks.

ARIEL. Seductive air spirit and Bertie’s weakness. The symbol of impending doom.

BERTIE. Our heroine.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the actors of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

Lisa Mantchev has written a debut novel that is dramatic, romantic, and witty, with an irresistible and irreverent cast of characters who are sure to enchant the audience.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Pub Date: October 2008, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Synopsis:

In a world where people born with an extreme skill--called a Grace--are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace--or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away... a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Tithe by Holly Black. Pub Date: April 2004 (this ed.) by Simon & Schuster. Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms -- a struggle that could very well mean her death.

So what was in YOUR mailbox this week?