New Member and Rochester Teen Book Festival!

       Hi guys! I'm Jordan, the newest Read Between the Lines member! Some of you may know me from my old blog, Sleep.Eat.Read. I noticed that since my swim season started, I stopped posting as frequently as I used to, so I, being the silly person I am, shut down the blog. Now, I regret it. Because I miss it. Tons! Luckily, I have connections to people like Mrs. A! (Okay, I really mean Jessie, the currently blogger for Read Between the Lines. BUT, she was my middle school English teacher first, so she will forever be Mrs. A to me. So when I say Mrs A, know that I am referring to her.:)) Anyway! Mrs A so kindly let me join Read Between the Lines, this way I can still be involved with the book blogging that I love! So, thanks Mrs A! :)
      So, before I talk about how amazing TBF was let me tell you a little bit about me. Hmm. Let's see. Well, I'm a almost senior in high school, I'm at the end of my junior year. I absolutely LOVE reading, maybe even more than breathing. I'm always reading a book, no matter how much time I have. (Which probably isn't a good thing when it comes to studying for tests and stuff) I even drove from New York, where I live,  to Texas just for a book fesitval. Which totally rocked, BTW. I may have also skipping Prom for the Rochester TBF. Again, totally rocked. What I REALLY want to do is get together with some of my other YA blogger friends and have a blog run by 4 or 5 of us. Hopefully that can happen soon. I'm the quiet one at school, but loud around people I'm comfortable with. Although I love TONS of authors, and TONS of books, there is something about Heather Brewer, A.S. King, and Ellen Hopkins. What they stand for. What they are passionate for. I connect, and it makes me love them all the more. Hmmm. What else. I'm always listening to music, and when I graduated, I  plan on going to school to become a school psychologist. Well, I think that's about it! Now, onto TBF!
       Okay! So! There is this AWESOME event that takes place at Nazareth College in Rochester, NY. Lets look at pictures.



 

 

         You can't tell me that doesn't look awesome. :) The event was an absolute blast. The day is broken up. In the morning, it starts with a parade of authors. Then, book sales. After that, an opening session, including all of the authors, and all the attendees. Then the authors split up. Some in groups, some by themselves. There are 3 sessions throughout the day, unless you choose to skip lunch, then you can attend 4. I, of course, skipped lunch. Who needs lunch when you can hang out with Laurie Halse Anderson?  

          I decided that I would go to the following sessions: Laurie Halse Anderson, A.S. King, Jenny Han and Melissa Walker, and Amy Holder and Gae Polisner. They all totally rocked! Laurie talking about her life, which is actually VERY motivational. Jenny Han and Melissa Walker played fun games, and Amy Holder and Gae Polisner and  talked about the road to publication. But, like I said before, there is something about A.S. King that I totally love. Besides being made of awesomeness, how passionate she is about what she does astounds me. She talked about self love, bullying, and packing suitcases. Not a REAL suitcase. Our own personal suitcase. She talked about not letting others pack our suitcases for us by what they say or do to us. It made me think twice. And the message REALLY stuck with me. Amy, thanks for that. It's definitely made me see things differently. Seriously. 

       All together, the even totally rocked, and I will be going next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. So, if you are at all local, the even is TOTALLY free, and it TOTALLY rocks, so you should go. I always have so much fun! (Thank you TBF twitter account for all the pictures. :))

      Well guys, along with the guest posts that and tours that Mrs A does, Ill should be posting things like book reviews, possibly tours, guest posts. Things of that sort, so make sure to stop by more often for things from both of us! 

                                          Happy Reading! :)

                                                ~Jordan

Angel Eyes-- Shannon Dittemore

This book is far from what I expected… I’d a thousand times better!

I’ve read numerous angel themed books over the years, and I find they have one thing in common: The angels are basically humans with superpowers and wings. Now let’s be honest, people. Traditionally, angels are spiritual beings created to serve the Judeo-Christian God. I realize angels appear in just about any religion, but no matter what spiritual background you claim, angels report to a higher power. The current angel books on the market today seem to ignore this fact. But not ANGEL EYES.

Dittemore takes a unique stance of actually creating her angel characters with a higher power, in this case, the Judeo-Christian God of the Bible. She does a fantastic job staying true to the claims of scripture. In the Bible, angels are messengers and protectors. Not only that, but fallen angels, aka. Demons, are present as well. Above our own world lies a world of spiritual warfare in which angels, who still serve the God of the universe, fight the fallen, who serve the Prince of Darkness: Satan.

Dittemore does not shy away from what some may claim to be a sensitive subject. After all, whenever anyone mentions faith, people get all up in arms. But the truth is, we can’t create angels or God to be what we want them to be. Believing or not believing does not influence the truth. Though ANGEL EYES is fiction, Dittemore hits upon profound truths and uses her God-given talent to show a new generation of young readers the faith that obviously drives her. She expertly shows young people they don’t have to be paralyzed with fear, they have a God who loves them and who sends his angels to protect and guide them, and that even though we may not understand why bad things happen, God always has a plan.

Kudos to Shannon Dittemore for not being afraid to speak the truth no matter who may bawk at her faith.  I, for one, stand by her.

Defy by Raine Thomas

We're back with an excerpt from Defy by Raine Thomas. Can't wait to read this one! 

Seventeen-year-old Tate is about to make her parents’ dreams come true. Unfortunately for her, their dreams foretell her death.

Eager to explore more of the Estilorian plane and prove her abilities, Tate goes against her parents’ wishes and leaves the area of protection surrounding her home. Her choice puts her on a deadly path…one that leaves her alone, severely injured and battling for her life.

Her possible savior arrives in the form of Zachariah, a male who has removed himself from Estilorian society for more than fifty years. Fighting an unexpected connection to Tate, he must decide whether saving her life is worth destroying his.

As Tate struggles to find a way home, she ends up drawn into a dark Mercesti plot involving multiple murders and a powerful ancient artifact. With the unpredictable Zachariah as her only source for aid, she’ll soon find out if her abilities are strong enough to help her defy her Fate.

Excerpt from DEFY (Book One of the Firstborn Trilogy)

by Raine Thomas

Tate was sick and tired of the lack of faith in her abilities. How on the entire Estilorian plane could anyone know she would fail to protect herself if she’d never been given the chance to prove it?

Just as she opened her mouth to retort, she noticed her parents as well as her aunts and uncles stop their activities and look alertly toward the path leading from Uncle Gabriel and Aunt Amber’s house. They all instinctively moved into defensive positions and exchanged glances, and she knew they were sharing thoughts. Tiege also moved into a defensive position, standing in front of her as everyone gathered near them.

Tate watched as the class elders, Jabari, Uriel, Zayna, Malukali, Sebastian and Knorbis appeared on the path. Only the elders could find the enchanted location of the three homes without assistance, as they had been involved in creating the powerful protections. Tate wondered about the meaning behind their arrival. Because it hadn’t been announced, it surely meant something significant.

As curious as she was, though, she couldn’t help but notice that everyone’s attention centered on them and not on her.

Her parents and her aunts and uncles left the training paddock to approach the elders. Her cousin, Joshua, walked up to Tiege and nudged him with his elbow, and the two of them exchanged theories while they watched the adults converse. Tate saw her father look back at them briefly before turning his attention back to the elders.

Seeing her chance, Tate took a couple of tentative steps backward, closer to the forest where Quincy and Sophia had left. She glanced around to see if anyone noticed. When she confirmed that everyone was looking elsewhere, she took a few more steps away from them.

Was she really going to do this?

Her heart pounded. She looked to the forest. Then she glanced again at her family. She could prove to them with one little trip away from the protected area that she really was capable of taking care of herself.

She made her decision.

Making as little noise as she could and moving as carefully as she dared to avoid detection, she eased away from the group and slipped into the forest. With a silent farewell to her family, she hurried off to find Quincy and Sophia, her smile wide in anticipation of the adventure that lay ahead.

Brief bio: Raine Thomas is the author of a bestselling series of YA fantasy romance novels about the Estilorian plane, including the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy and the upcoming Firstborn trilogy. She is a proud member of Romance Writers of America and is a contributing blogger to The Writer's Voice. When she isn’t planning weddings, writing or glued to social networking sites, she can usually be found on one of Florida’s beautiful beaches with her husband and daughter or crossing the border to visit with her Canadian friends and relatives.

Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Website | Blog

Check out the trailer!