To celebrate my book deal I’m giving away FOUR books I love!
1. A GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson (signed!): Elisa has always felt useless in spite of being chosen by God for greatness, but her path changes when she is married off to a king who needs her to find the power within herself.
2. THE SELECTION by Kiera Cass (signed!): A girl from a lower social class is selected to compete against 34 other girls for the heart of the crown prince.
3. ASH by Malinda Lo (signed!): A beautiful retelling of Cinderella that was one of my inspirations for A HIDDEN AFFINITY.
4. ALANNA by Tamora Pierce: Although women are forbidden to be warriors, a young girl dresses as a boy and takes her twin brother’s place to train for knighthood at the king’s palace.
You can enter to win by following me on Twitter, tweeting about the contest, or leaving me a comment on this blog post telling me about one of the books that had an impact on you as a teen.
Lord of the Flies and Johnathan Livingston Seagull. I read both texts over and over and over again, despite being “too old” for JLS. I’m not sure what attracted me to two wildly different books, but I still love them both. They are my velveteen rabbits on the bookshelf.
Alanna: The First Adventure was THE book that made me want to be a writer. It was the book that made me realize the power that an author has to create worlds that other people want to live in. I don’t think anyone in my middle school ever read that series because I always had it checked out. Finally, my stepmother took pity on me and bought me the entire series directly from the publisher because they were out of print at the time. I still have them; they are first edition hardcovers. My dream is to someday get them signed.
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. Bartimaeus was such a clever narrator and the relationships between the main characters were so complicated and fascinating! Plus, of course, magic.
Okay, so, obviously Harry Potter. Waiting for Half Blood Prince to releae is what got me through my depression and made me seek help. But if we go wayyyy back, Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda is the high fantasy I cut my teeth on!
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb. Such a beautiful story of finding yourself when you have no idea where to start.
I am loving hearing everyone’s favorites. Books can shape us so much!
I read Robin McKinley’s “The Blue Sword” countless times growing up (I’m still growing up, and I still keep reading it). I love it because the main character goes on an epic adventure, learns to ride horses and fight with swords, and builds amazing relationships.
Robin McKinley’s “The Blue Sword,” Phillip Pullman’s “The Golden Compass,” and Garth Nix’s “Sabriel.” I can’t even guess how many times I’ve read these! They all have strong, smart, no-nonsense female leads who go on epic adventures to save the people they love.
The Lord of the Rings and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
Harry Potter gets an obligatory mention, but the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman had a huge impact.
So many, but the ones that stick out are the Harry Potter and Nancy Drew series. But also The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. A little later Sabriel and the Old Kingdom books by Garth Nix! Fierce, strong and intelligent female leads were my go to ones growing up!