Blog Tour & Giveaway: Classic Dr. Seuss

ABOUT WHAT PET SHOULD I GET?

In the Fall of 2013, an original manuscript with accompanying sketches by Dr. Seuss, aka Ted Geisel, was discovered in the La Jolla, California home of the late beloved children’s author. That complete manuscript was for the picture book, WHAT PET SHOULD I GET?, and will be published by Random House Children’s Books on July 28, 2015. It is the first original new Dr. Seuss book since the publication of the last book of Dr. Seuss’s career, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! in 1990. WHAT PET SHOULD I GET? captures the excitement of a classic childhood moment—choosing a pet—and features the brother and sister characters that Dr. Seuss drew inOne Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.

ABOUT DR. SEUSS

Theodor “Seuss” Geisel is one of the most beloved children’s book authors of all time. His long list of awards includes Caldecott Honors for McElligot’s Pool, If I Ran the Zoo, and Bartholomew and the Oobleck, the Pulitzer Prize, and eight honorary doctorates. Works based on his original stories have won three Oscars, three Emmys, three Grammys and a Peabody. Geisel wrote and illustrated 45 books during his lifetime, and his books have sold more than 650 million copies worldwide. Though Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading. For more information about Dr. Seuss and his works, visit Seussville.com.

About Dr. Seuss's ABCs:
Arguably the most entertaining alphabet book ever written, this classic Beginner Book by Dr. Seuss is perfect for children learning their ABCs. Featuring a fantastic cast of zany characters—from Aunt Annie’s alligator to the Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz, with a lazy lion licking a lollipop and an ostrich oiling an orange owl—Dr. Seuss’s ABC is a must-have for every young child’s library.

Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.

Review:
I grew up on Dr. Seuss tales. An avid reader since the beginning, I could always be found with a book in hand as a kid (or a picture book). Revisiting Dr. Seuss's ABCs was a great way to reacquaint myself with his memorable works.

I snatched up my 2 1/2 year old niece for this and read the book to her. She already has a love of books and cuddle in my lap, helping me turn pages and point out letters and animals. When we reached the end, she was ready to start again.

That's the power of Seuss; these books transcend one generation and can be enjoyed by all for years to come.

Giveaway:
One Finished copy of WHAT PET SHOULD I GET?
US Only
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Dr. Seuss 44 Classic Book Celebratory Tour

1. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, 1937 – The Young Folks.com
2. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, 1938 – Bookish Antics
3. The Seven Lady Godivas, 1939 – The Eater of Books
4. The King’s Stilts, 1939 – On Starships and Dragonwings
5. Horton Hatches the Egg, 1940 – The Book Cellar
6. McElligot’s Pool, 1947 – Media Mikes
7. Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, 1948 –Mommie of 2
8. Bartholomew and the Oobleck, 1949 – Nonperfect Parenting
9. If I Ran the Zoo, 1950 – Live to Read
10. Scrambled Eggs Super! 1953 – Word Spelunking
11. Horton Hears a Who! 1954 - Bookiemoji
12. On Beyond Zebra! 1955 - Jessabella Reads
13. If I Ran the Circus, 1956 – Book Hounds
14. The Cat in the Hat, 1957 – The Bookbag
15. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 1957 – Nightly Reading
16. The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, 1958 – Winter Haven Books
17. Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, 1958 – Alice Marvels
18. Happy Birthday to You! 1959 – Chapter by Chapter
19. Green Eggs and Ham, 1960 – Poland Bananas
20. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, 1960 – Once Upon a Twilight
21. The Sneetches and Other Stories, 1961 - The Mod Podge Bookshelf
22. Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book, 1962 – Good Books and Good Wine
23. Dr. Seuss’s ABC, 1963 – The Irish Banana
24. Hop on Pop, 1963 – Mundie Moms
25. Fox in Socks, 1965 – Page Turners
26. I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew, 1965 – Book Rock Betty
27. The Cat in the Hat Songbook, 1967 – Giveaway Train
28. The Foot Book, 1968 – I Am A Reader
29. I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! And Other Stories, 1969 – Cuddlebuggery
30. I Can Draw It Myself, 1970 – The Children’s Book Review
31. Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? 1970 – Curling Up with a Good Book
32. The Lorax, 1971 - Elizziebooks
33. Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! 1972 – Reading with ABC
34. Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? 1973 – Me, Myshelf, and I
35. The Shape of Me and Other Stuff, 1973 – Paperback Princess
36. There’s a Wocket in My Pocket! 1974 – Presenting Lenore
37. Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! 1975 – YA Books Central
38. The Cat’s Quizzer, 1976 – Lille Punkin’
39. I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! 1978 – Confessions Of A Vi3tbabe
40. Oh Say Can You Say? 1979 – Ex Libris
41. Hunches in Bunches, 1982 – No BS Book Reviews
42. The Butter Battle Book, 1984 – Novel Novice
43. You’re Only Old Once! 1986 – Dad of Divas
44. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! 1990  - Jesse the Reader

Review & Giveaway: Damage Done by Amanda Panitch

Title: Damage Done

Author: Amanda Panitch

Publisher:  Random House Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 7.21.2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery

Series: N/A

Source:  Finished copy from publisher

Amazon

Rating: 4 ½ Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

22 minutes separate Julia Vann’s before and after.

Before: Julia had a twin brother, a boyfriend, and a best friend.

After: She has a new identity, a new hometown, and memories of those twenty-two minutes that refuse to come into focus. At least, that’s what she tells the police.

Now that she’s Lucy Black, she's able to begin again. She's even getting used to the empty bedroom where her brother should be. And her fresh start has attracted the attention of one of the hottest guys in school, a boy who will do anything to protect her. But when someone much more dangerous also takes notice, Lucy's forced to confront the dark secrets she thought were safely left behind.

One thing is clear: The damage done can never be erased. It’s only just beginning. . . . 

Review:

WHAT JUST HAPPENED HERE?!

That was my reaction and mantra for most of this book. DAMAGE DONE is a twisted, brilliantly executed book that does not read like Amanda Panitch’s debut novel. My mind is still reeling from the multitude of bombs that went off.

I have to admit—I saw part of the twist coming. But only part of it. The other part? Holy. Crap. Never, ever saw that coming. It literally left me lightheaded and stunned. Pretty sure I was openly gaping at the book in front of me for a solid two minutes.

Julia/Lucy is a fascinating character to be in the head of the entire novel. You can see how much her past and present both scare her and she ultimately has to make a choice as to which will define her life. That struggle was executed wonderfully.

This book is addictive from the first chapter where you learn exactly why Julia Vann became Lucy Black to the chilling conclusion. It’s creepy, terrifying, and twisted in the best ways. 

Giveaway:
US/Canada Only'

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#PubbyLoveLive - Comin' At Ya in 5 ...

NYC, we're comin' for you!

A few months back I was chatting with my Stephs and we were saying how much fun it would be to go up to NYC for a few days and visit some of our favorite publishers/publicists. Piggybacking on a feature Steph (No BS Book Reviews) has on her blog called Pubby Love, we decided to call this Pubby Love Live.

Next week, specifically Thursday & Friday, we will be in NYC visiting some of our favorite pubs. We'll be posting all about it on social media with recap posts on our blogs when we get back. So make sure you're following us so you're in the loop.

Also, if you have any questions you'd like us to ask a publisher or publicist, feel free to let me know in the comments below or by using the #PubbyLoveLive hashtag while we're there!

Schedule of Events:

Wednesday, July 22 - The Most Epic Road Trip In the History of Epic Roadtrips

Thursday, July 23 - Harlequin, HarperCollins, Macmillan, St. Martins, Tor, Hachette, and Bloomsbury

Friday, July 24 - Penguin Teen, Alloy Entertainment, Berkley/NAL, Simon Teen, Atria

Steph from No BS Book Reviews

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Steph from Cuddlebuggery

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Hannah

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Top Ten Books That Came Into My Possession

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun!

Top 10 Books That Came Into My Possession

*All of these were received as review copies from publishers*

I actually received a bunch of books last week, so here's a shot of them:

And be sure to add them to your TBR!

Review: The Revenge Playbook by Rachael Allen

Title: The Revenge Playbook

Author: Rachael Allen

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publication Date: 6.16.2015

Pages: 368

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Friendship

Series: N/A

Source: ARC from publisher

Amazon

Rating: 4 ½ Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

Don’t get mad, get even! In this poignant and hilarious novel, Rachael Allen brilliantly explores the nuances of high school hierarchies, the traumas sustained on the path to finding true love, and the joy of discovering a friend where you least expect.

In the small town of Ranburne, high school football rules and the players are treated like kings. How they treat the girls they go to school with? That’s a completely different story. Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana each have their own reason for wanting to teach the team a lesson—but it’s only when circumstances bring them together that they come up with the plan to steal the one thing the boys hold sacred. All they have to do is beat them at their own game.

Review:

You know, revenge books aren't really my thing, but I will admit the football on the cover hooked me. Especially after I showed the cover to a coworker and she asked me, "They wrote a book about the Patriots already?" (We're Ravens fans and this was right after Deflate-Gate broke.) This has nothing to do with that, but it is about 4 girls trying to knock the town gods (aka the football players) down a notch or two.

THE REVENGE PLAYBOOK has four main characters and four points of view to tell the story, which may sound confusing, but Rachael Allen does a fantastic job separating the girls and their voices, making each memorable and unique unto herself. I had no problem keeping the girls (Melanie Jane, Liv, Ana, and Peyton) straight in my head because they are so different and each have their own motivation to bring the team down.

At the end of the day, this book is about standing up for yourself and your friends and what you believe in. It's less about revenge and games (although this book has many hilarious parts) and more about equality and fairness. The book does take a sobering turn towards the end that puts things in perspective, but as a whole this is a great summer read. It's fun and poignant without being overly emotional and angsty.

I loved every second of this book and I especially loved the values Allen was sure to instill in her characters. It's a great read and I definitely recommend it to readers of all ages!

Book Chat: Forever For A Year by B.T. Gottfred

Disclaimer: This book chat will have spoilers of FOREVER FOR A YEAR by B.T. Gottfred. 

I considered writing this as a review, but I can't. There's just too much I need to cover and this is less a review on a book and more my thoughts/commentary on this ... thing. FOREVER FOR A YEAR consumed my life for the better part of 2 weeks last month.

It was all I thought about. I read and re-read it. This book even inspired a new term:

1. Bookholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages/readers express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors/book, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors/book.*

To truly understand what happened, let's go back a few months. The season is winter and I have just received a copy of FOREVER FOR A YEAR, a debut novel by B.T. Goottfred, from Macmillan. The cover intrigued me. The premise intrigued me. I thought, Yes. This sounds awesome and real because teens fall in love and think it will be forever, but sometimes forever only lasts a year.

When Carolina and Trevor meet on their first day of school, something draws them to each other.  They gradually share first kisses, first touches, first sexual experiences.  When they’re together, nothing else matters. But one of them will make a choice, and the other a mistake, that will break what they thought was unbreakable. Both will wish that they could fall in love again for the first time . . . but first love, by definition, can’t happen twice.
Told in Carolina and Trevor's alternating voices, this is an up-close-and-personal story of two teenagers falling in love for the first time, and discovering it might not last forever.

But sadly, the book went onto my ARC shelf and lingered, forgotten for months, until right after BEA when the first ever YADC Book Party occurred -  I invited friends over to come and take some of my excess books. Prior to BP, I was going through books and would randomly flip to a page and read it to see if it was something I would read (and review) or needed a new home.

When I stumbled up FFAY, the first page I saw was this:

I think my exact reaction was

Because, seriously, what the actual hell? It went in the Not-For-Me pile and down to the basement where one of my friends picked it up. But while we were sitting around chatting, this book came up in conversation and it was fished out and random parts read by Stephanie (No BS Book Reviews) and myself.

Which I filmed. And turned into this video.

After that, I realized I had to read this book. There were so many unanswered questions - how is Carolina's name pronounced? What went wrong? Is this book really that bad the entire time?! In short, yes. Yes it is.

Let's start with Carolina and the fact that no one knows how to pronounce her name. Thankfully, she explains:

B.T. Gottfred also seems to have a small obsession with teenage girls boobs. They're referenced and detailed. Often. Which is a little creepy.

Think that's all?

Oh, honey. We're just warming up. If you need to grab a snack and a beverage, go on. This will be here when you get back.

So to give you a quick back story, Caroline and Trevor are freshmen. In high school. Trevor is a year older - he's repeating his freshman year. See, his mom had an ... incident last year, which he used as an excuse to stay home and watch her play video games for a year. But he's adjusted to what happened last year. And his mom is totally fine.

Yeah. Son of the Year contender right there, folks!

But let's talk about the parentals of FOREVER FOR A YEAR. Because the parents are easily as messed up (maybe moreso) than the teens. In fact, the only sane one is Lily, and she's 7.

Carolina's mom is a bit concerned about their relationship:

While her dad thinks Carolina should be less serious about school, kissing boys she's known for a week, and wearing lots of makeup.

Trevor's dad is a workaholic and not around much. He does apparently let Trevor drive his BMW unchaperoned while only having a lerner's permit, which Trevor promptly crashes into the garage because he's texting and driving. With Lily in the car.

And then we have Trevor's mom. Trevor and his mom have a relationship built on mutual indifference and over-sharing.

So we have the ground work for absolute and utter disaster.

But ultimately this is a book about 2 crazy kids falling in love. In a week. Did I mention they meet in Biology? *cough*Twilight*cough*

And fall in love they do. 

Their love progresses (as teen love does) to a more ... physical nature throughout the first half of the book.

Um ....

They hit a few bumps in the road which I think Trevor handles really well.

FOREVER FOR A YEAR also touches on subjects like why sex education should be mandated. Everywhere. For everyone.

And also sexual assault. And why "no" really means "yes" when you're in love and the other person knows you. Because your words aren't good enough.

Also? Why it's important for kids to be raised with a mom and a dad. 

Had enough yet? But we're only halfway done the book! There is a pregnancy scare. For an entire day and a night. Because these kids can't seem to figure out what a condom is even when Trevor's mom gifts them with a box.

Then comes the breakup. Because forever only lasts for a year, you know. Turns out Carolina's dad and Trevor's mom knew each other back in the day and have decided cheating on their spouses with their kids' parent is a smart move. And they're busted by said kids. Trevor actually knew what was happening and didn't tell Carolina. Which she takes remarkably well (she blows off Trevor and goes out with an upper classman who sexually assaults her in his car). Trevor finds out and blows up and fights the guy.

Yes, we are still reading FOREVER FOR A YEAR. We haven't switched to THE OUTSIDERS or WEST SIDE STORY.

At the end of the book Carolina and Trevor come to an adult conclusion about their relationship. They will always love each other. Even if ... Even if ... Even if they never kiss again.

So that was FOREVER FOR A YEAR. Any questions?

This book consumed me for 2 weeks. I cannot explain it, but I carried this book everywhere - work, home, dinner ... It went everywhere because I couldn't stop telling people about it.

And now I'm telling you.

You're welcome.

*Parts of definition used from wikipedia definition of Stockholm syndrome
**Photos were taken of an ARC copy and may change in the finished copy**