This or That with Gae Polisner

 

Today we are joined by Gae Polisner debut author of The Pull of Gravity. I gave her a list of choices and she told me which one she would pick out of two...or not lol. If you haven't already, don't forget to check out my review of The Pull of Gravity.

Batman or Superman?

Ironman  (Although I miss Christopher Reeve. He was a classy guy and I once met him in person).

Computer or Television?

Oh, computer, definitely. Except for Chopped and Mad Men and Entourage. Must. Watch. Those.

Texting or calling?

Emailing. Or my new fave, Skyping.  Can that be used as a verb?

Facebook or Twitter?

You are looking at a facebook addict right here.

Eat in or out?

Out, but not fancy. Although, you know, fancy is good too. Especially fancy dessert.

Shower or bath?

Shower.

high heels or flats?

Riding boots. (am I not following directions?)

Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Aniston?

Really? Meh on both. I mean, they’re both beautiful to look at, but movie-wise, actress-wise? Neither. Give me Natalie Portman or Diane Lane (still, yes) any day.

Laptop or Desktop?

Laptop at my desk.

Read all night or party all night?

Read all night, except, say, twice a year where I’m excited about partying all night until I remember why I just answered read.  ;)

About Gae:

I am a writer of young adult and women's fiction. My debut YA novel, The Pull of Gravity, is due Spring 2011 from Farrar Straus & Giroux, Books for Young Readers. I am represented by Jamie Brenner of Artists and Artisans in New York City. When I'm not writing, I'm hanging with my two great boys or swimming. Oh yeah, and I'm a lawyer in my spare time.

Teenage Garage Sale with Cindy Pon

Let's give a nice welcome to our guest Cindy Pon, author of The Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix. Today she's going to tell us the kinds of things we'd find in a garage sale of things from her teen years.  

I was a teen from the mid 80's through the early 90's. Here are some
items of interest that you'd find at my teen garage sale:

1. Two or three barbie dolls: I kept them in a cupboard as I was (and

still am) quite afraid of dolls. Yes, they will come alive at night
and Kill You!!

2. Apple IIe: My dad bought this in the early 80's and I loved playing
computer games on it, including The Bard's Tale (a dungeon and dragons
type of game) and Taipan. My brother also somehow got a strip poker
game and the nekkid girl was green (as was all the graphics on an
Apple IIe).

3. Madonna tapes: I loved Madonna. I still do love Madonna--though I'm
a bigger fan of her earlier songs.

4. A cassette tape radio: I used to record songs I liked from the
radio onto this. The worst was when the DJ would talk into your song
time.

5. Guess Jeans: These were hand me down skinny jeans from my older
sister. Guess was fancy!

6. Sweet Valley High books: I had about 40 of them. Then I think I got bored.

7. Encyclopedia Britannica: My dad spent a lot of money on these sets
of encyclopedias. We had no internet back then and I actually remember
using these to do homework and research.

.

About Cindy:


Cindy Pon was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and her family immigrated to California in 1980, settling in the suburbs of Los Angeles. She began writing stories before she was officially declared English proficient. She received her bachelor's from the University of California, San Diego, and also earned a master's from New York University. The author is a student of Chinese brush painting, and her love for the art is reflected in her storytelling. Cindy Pon lives with her husband and two small children in San Diego, California.

The Pull of Gravity by Gae Polisner

 Publication Date: May 10, 2011

Summary from Goodreads:

While Nick Gardner’s family is falling apart, his best friend, Scooter, is dying from a freak disease. The Scoot’s final wish is that Nick and their quirky classmate, Jaycee Amato, deliver a prized first-edition copy of Of Mice and Men to the Scoot’s father. There’s just one problem: the Scoot’s father walked out years ago and hasn’t been heard from since. So, guided by Steinbeck’s life lessons, and with only the vaguest of plans, Nick and Jaycee set off to find him.

My Two Cents:

The Pull of Gravity is certainly one of those feel good fuzzy feeling type of books that make you hold you're breath hoping that everything goes well. To be so young Nick has so many things going on in his head causing him stress. His parents don't get along and his overweight father just gets up one day and announces he wants to walk to another state. Strange? Umm yes. The icing on the cake is his best friend Scooter who's had a disease since he was a kid is now dying.  Even though Scooter is dying and should be all melancholy, he's the complete opposite and is my favorite character throughout the novel. He has a great attitude and has just accepted that he might die so he makes the best of it.   

Jaycee definitely adds some spunk to the book. She's a bit headstrong but still sensitive deep down inside but compliments Nick well. She's a good blend of a tomboy and a damsel in distress. For me, the book really took off when Jaycee and Nick decide to look for the Scoot's Dad.

 Unfortunately the best laid plans oft go awry as they say in the novel. No matter how much they planned for that journey to go look for Scooter's father they couldn't have imagined how off track things would go.

Rating:

  

Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon

The Gods have abandoned Ai Ling.
Her mysterious power haunts her day and night, and she leaves home—with just the moon as her guide—overwhelmed by her memories and visions and an unbearable sense of dread. For Ai Ling knows that Chen Yong is vulnerable to corrupt enchantments from the under-world. How can she do nothing when she has the skill and power to fight at his side? A dream has told her where he is, the name of the ship he is traveling on, his destination. So she steals off and stows away on board.
The ocean voyage brings with it brutal danger, haunting revelations, and new friendships, but also the premonition of a very real and terrifying threat. Zhong Ye—the powerful sorcerer whom Ai Ling believed she had vanquished in the Palace of Fragrant Dreams—is trapped in Hell, neither alive nor dead. Can he reach from beyond the grave to reunite with Silver Phoenix and destroy Chen Yong? And destroy whatever chance Ai Ling has at happiness, at love?
 My Two Cents:

After returning home from their previous journey, Chen Yong has decided to go on a new voyage to a land called Jiang Dao. He hopes to find his birth father, and Ai Ling, her mysterious powers growing by the day, is about to stowaway onboard his ship. She received a dream telling her that the love of her life is going on a journey and that she is needed in order to protect him with her powers or he will die.

Silver Phoenix was fast paced and action filled.Fury of the phoenix takes it's time with us and allows us more of the bigger picture.After finishing Silver Phoenix I was beyond eager to continue on to see what happens next with Ai Lang. No different from the first, this is filled with adventure, creatures and romance, leaving you on the edge of your seat dying to know what happens next.


Rating:

Interview with Arrow from Nickel Plated

Today we are joined by Arrow from Nickel Plated by Aric Davis.  Here's a little about Nickel Plated:


Nickel is a survivor. He has to be. For as long as he can remember, his life has hinged on the flip of a coin. Or, rather, the scribble of a social worker’s pen. He’s been through the system, even had a good dad for a few years, until he was gone, too. But Nickel remembers everything he taught him, and since the day he escaped from foster-care hell, he’s put that knowledge to good use. Just twelve years old, he makes a steady living by selling marijuana to high schoolers, blackmailing pedophiles he ferrets out online, and working as a private investigator. When a beautiful girl named Arrow hires him to find her little sister Shelby, Nickel figures at best the kid’s a runaway; at worst, some perv’s gotten a hold of her. He scours the internet and the streets of Arrow’s suburban neighborhood, and what he finds there is as ugly a truth as he’s ever seen. For beyond the manicured lawns, Nickel discovers children for sale, and adults with souls black as the devil. And people like that aren’t about to let some kid ruin their game. This edgy thriller introduces a canny, precocious anti-hero, the likes of which young-adult readers have never seen.

Tell us about yourself.

I'm fourteen, and I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with my Mom, Dad, and sister, Shelby. I'm in ninth grade and my favorite subject is I hate high school.

Where did you get the name Arrow?

My Dad came up with it;; it's from this song he used to sing to me, "Me and My Arrow".

What was life like for you and your sister Shelby growing up?




It was good, for the most part. My Dad has always been a little distant, and my Mom used to drink, but she quit when I was little. When Shelby disappeared I felt like I was watching a movie, like it couldn't be happening to us. We were just so normal, and then we weren't anymore. We were the family that was different, and not in a good way.
 
Have you always lived in Four Oaks?
 
All the years that mattered, I guess. We lived in a littler house when I was  younger, but that was a long time ago. Now we're going to be moving and I hate it.

What was your first impression of Nickel?
 
That he was short! But he's got this look in his eyes that you can't really get away from. He went through some really horrible stuff, before and after I met him, and he risked his life for me. If he were a little older...

Anything else you'd like us to know about you?

I don't know. I feel different now that all this happened. I used to get really freaked out by scary movies and stupid stuff like that, now that kind of stuff doesn't bother me at all. I wasn't there when Nickel was doing the really terrible things, and this might sound stupid, but I had to be brave too, and that hasn't gone away. I hope it never does.

In case you missed my review you can check it out here!

In My Mailbox (37)

In My Mailbox highlights all the fun stuff we've received throughout the week and is hosted by Kristi The Story Siren. I missed it last week so here's two week's worth of books!

~Ominous by Kate Brian (pbs)

~Revelations by Kate (pbs)

~Miracleville by Monique Polak (librarything)

~Dreams of Joy by Lisa See (for review)

~Clarity by Kim Harrington (pbs)

~Teenie by Christopher Grant (won from poc challenge)

~Blood and Flowers by Penny Blubaugh (pbs)

~Deadly Little Games by Laurie Faria Stolarz (pbs)

Audio Books this Week:

~Knit Two by Kate Jacobs

~Stork by Wendy Desol

~Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

 Sooo excited about these! What did you guys get?? P.S. If you haven't already, don't forget to enter to win my new contest on the right side!

Nickel Plated by Aric Davis

Publications Date: March 22, 2011

Summary from Goodread:

Nickel is a survivor. He has to be. For as long as he can remember, his life has hinged on the flip of a coin. Or, rather, the scribble of a social worker’s pen. He’s been through the system, even had a good dad for a few years, until he was gone, too. But Nickel remembers everything he taught him, and since the day he escaped from foster-care hell, he’s put that knowledge to good use. Just twelve years old, he makes a steady living by selling marijuana to high schoolers, blackmailing pedophiles he ferrets out online, and working as a private investigator. When a beautiful girl named Arrow hires him to find her little sister Shelby, Nickel figures at best the kid’s a runaway; at worst, some perv’s gotten a hold of her. He scours the internet and the streets of Arrow’s suburban neighborhood, and what he finds there is as ugly a truth as he’s ever seen. For beyond the manicured lawns, Nickel discovers children for sale, and adults with souls black as the devil. And people like that aren’t about to let some kid ruin their game. This edgy thriller introduces a canny, precocious anti-hero, the likes of which young-adult readers have never seen.

My Two Cents:

Nickel Plated was truly an unexpected good read. Obviously I am always skeptical when trying out a new author, but Aric Davis shows that a new kid on the block can still bring it. It brings an original plot featuring a kid who's had to grow up way before his time. Instead of feeling sorry for Nickel he makes us readers root for him all the way.

Nickel grew up bouncing from foster homes until finally he decided he'd had enough and escaped. He took what little money he had and tried to make a life for himself. Using his talents that he learned from his late "Dad" he becomes private investigator...and also a marijuana plant grower. He lives alone and takes care of himself. Most times his situation seemed so unrealistic but I still wanted to believe it was true.

Arrow approached him to help her find her little sister Shelby. Nickel can't help but be smitten by Arrow which gives him the drive he needs to find her sister. This novel takes us on a thrill ride with Arrow and Nickel as they race against time to find her sister before it's too late. I enjoyed reading this and rooted for Nickel and Arrow the whole way because....well he wants her so bad. Nickel does so many good deeds throughout the book but doesn't want the credit for any of it. In the beginning Nickel has these "rules" but Arrow slowly chips away at them. This is one of those books you have to give a chance to see that it is a treasure.

Rating: