In My Mailbox 15

Update: It's Singapore's 44th National Day today. Happy birthday Singapore!

The title of this post should be: This is going to be one long post (AKA Why You Should Update More Often Or Else The Books Pile Up And Then You Have To Squeeze Everything Into One Post Which Is NOT Good).

From The MailMan:
Leaving Gee's Bend by Irene Latham
Ludelphia Bennett may be blind in one eye, but that doesn't mean she can't put in a good stitch. In fact, Ludelphia sews all the time, especially when things are going wrong. But when Mama gets deathly ill, it doesn't seem like even quilting will help. Mama needs medicine badly - medicine that can only be found in Camden, over forty miles away. That's when Ludelphia decides to do something drastic - leave Gee's Bend.

Beyond the log cabins, orange dirt, and cotton fields of her small sharecropping community, Ludelphia discovers a world she could never have imagined. Fancy houses, cars, and even soda pop! But there's also danger lurking for a young girl on her own, and Ludelphia begins to wonder if she'll ever see Gee's Bend or her Mama again. Despite the twists and turns, Ludelphia weathers each challenge in a way that would make her mama proud, and may even save the day not just for Mama, but her entire town.

Set in 1932 and inspired by the rich quilting history of Gee's bend, Alabama, LEAVING GEE'S BEND is a heart-touching tale of a young girl's unexpected adventure.


The Alexander Cipher by Will Adams
(Note: Won over at The Novel Bookworm. This is a fantastic book blog.) Non stop adventure and death defying chases in Will Adam's outstanding debut novel. It's 318 BC in the deserts of Libya, and Alexander the Great is buried as only a God should be, placed in a golden Sarcophagus in a catacomb of chambers, each packed with diamonds, rubies and gold. This was how he should have remained, but time waits for no-one. 2007 and underwater archaeologist Daniel Knox has been on the trail of Alexander's Gold ever since he can remember. When a tomb is uncovered on the construction site of a new hotel, Daniel believes he has found the clue to what he has been working towards for years. But the discovery has alerted two of the most dangerous men in the world, and Daniel is now a marked man.

Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga
(Note: It's a signed copy, and I'll be holding it for a contest soon, courtesy of Barry Lyga's Blogger Book Bonus feature.) Fanboy has never had it good, but lately his sophomore year is turning out to be its own special hell. The bullies have made him their favorite target, his best (and only) friend seems headed for the dark side (sports and popularity), and his pregnant mother and the step-fascist are eagerly awaiting the birth of the alien life form known as Fanboy’s new little brother or sister.

Fanboy, though, has a secret: a graphic novel he’s been working on without telling anyone, a graphic novel that he is convinced will lead to publication, fame, and—most important of all—a way out of the crappy little town he lives in and all the people that make it hell for him.

When Fanboy meets Kyra, a.k.a. Goth Girl, he finds an outrageous, cynical girl who shares his love of comics as well as his hatred for jocks and bullies. Fanboy can’t resist someone who actually seems to understand him, and soon he finds himself willing to heed her advice—to ignore or crush anyone who stands in his way.

The Wonder Singer by George Rabasa
(Note: Won over at The Epic Rat. This is another fantastic book blog.) The Wonder Singer is an operatic literary caper about one young writer's manic ambition. The ghostwriter's best chance at fame almost disappears when his Diva dies suddenly in her bath. His solution is to steal the tapes, liberate the Diva's aging husband, and write the autobiography on the run.

Mark Lockwood’s life is a small one. He’s made his living as a freelance writer, producing a series of little books for hire called How to Talk to Your Teen about . . . . But for the past few months he’s been at work on a ghostwriting assignment beyond his dreams. To prepare her “autobiography”, he has been interviewing the internationally renowned diva, Mercè Casals. When the Señora dies suddenly—floating sizable in her elegant scented bath—she is suddenly a hot property and a celebrity biographer arrives to take over the writing of her book.

But Lockwood realizes this is his one chance at greatness, and so he runs off with the interview tapes. Abetted by the beautiful but scrupulous Perla, the Señora’s nurse, and by a female impersonator who considers himself the diva’s greatest fan, Lockwood locks himself into his study, endlessly plays the tapes, and begins to craft his greatest book. Once the three conspirators rescue the Señora’s husband from the home she put him in, Lockwood’s sense of his own heart begins to expand beyond his considerable imagination.

Moving by turns through the diva’s lyrical account of her life and the frantic pace of Lockwood’s notes from underground, The Wonder Singer portrays for us just what it can mean to live a beautiful life to its fullest.

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed by Marc Blatte
Outside one of the town’s hottest nightclubs, at 4 a.m., a young man is found murdered—no robbery, no clues—only yellow socks and bling to tell the victim’s tale.

Take to the streets with Detective Salvatore, aka “Black Sallie Blue Eyes,” Messina as he and his crew track down the killer, and meet up with a host of characters from all walks of New York society: rapstar wannabes; Wittgenstein-quoting record moguls; a kinky female wrestler; downtown hipster tweakers; a billionaire real estate tycoon; and one Eastern European refugee dead-set on revenge old-world style.

In what has been acclaimed as the first truly wonderful hip-hop noir, Marc Blatte has created a portrait of not only the city but society itself in this hilarious and rollicking first novel that is certain to draw comparisons to Tom Wolfe and Carl Hiaasen with its incisively satirical depiction of race, wealth, crime, amorality and justice.

From The Library:
Kiss Of Life by Daniel Waters
When Phoebe's best friend Adam takes a bullet for her, it proves everyone right - Adam is in love with her. And now that he's come back to life, Phoebe's presence may be more important than ever. They say that a zombie can come back from death faster if they're loved...and kissed - which means Phoebe has to say goodbye to Tommy Williams, the other zombie in her life. While coaxing Adam back to reality and fending off Tommy's advances, Phoebe continues to carry on as if everything's normal. But normal has been different since American teenagers started rising from their graves. Although some try to bridge the gap between the living and the differently biotic, there are scores of people who want nothing more than to send all of the undead back to their graves. And the dead kids in Phoebe's school don't like that one bit...

Gone by Michael Grant
Suddenly there are no adults, no answers. What would you do?In the blink of an eye, the world changes. The adults vanish without a trace, and those left must do all they can to survive.But everyone's idea of survival is different. Some look after themselves, some look after others, and some will do anything for power...Even kill.For Sam and Astrid, it is a race against time as they try to solve the questions that now dominate their lives...What is the mysterious wall that has encircled the town of Perdido Beach and trapped everyone within? Why have some kids developed strange powers? And can they defeat Caine and his gang of bullies before they turn fifteen and disappear too?It isn't until the world collapses around you that you find out what kind of person you really are. This is a chilling portrayal of a world with no rules.

Raven by Allison Van Diepen
Zin dances with fire in every step, speaks with a honey-sweet voice, and sees with eyes that can peer into your soul. It's no wonder Nicole is madly in love with him. Their friendship is the only thing that saves her from the boredom of school and the turmoil of her family life. But she cannot understand why he keeps her at a distance, even though she can feel his soul reaching out for hers. Zin carries a very old secret. When Nicole uncovers the truth, her love may be the only thing that can save him from it.

The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
(Note: Check out my review.) Nick and his brother Alan are on the run with their mother, who was once the lover of a powerful magician. When she left him, she stole an important charm - and he will stop at nothing to reclaim it. Now Alan has been marked with the sign of death by the magician's demon, and only Nick can save him. But to do so he must face those he has fled from all his life - the magicians - and kill them. So the hunted becomes the hunter...but in saving his brother, Nick discovers something that will unravel his whole past...

In the Serpent's Coils: Volume 1 (Hallowmere) by Tiffany Trent
As the American Civil War ends, Corrine's nightmare begins! In the Serpent's Coils marks the debut of Hallowmere, a dark, edgy historical fantasy series that teens won't be able to put down!

Ever since her parents died in the Civil War, Corrine's dreams have been filled with fairies warning her of impending peril. When she's sent to live at Falston Manor, she thinks she's escaped the danger stalking her. Instead the dreams grow stronger, just as girls begin disappearing from school. As Halloween draws near, Corrine knows only one thing for sure: another girl will disappear soon, and that girl just might be her.

Wings by Aprilynne Pike
Aprilynne Pike's #1 best-selling debut, Wings, is the first of four books about a seemingly ordinary girl named Laurel who discovers she is a faerie sent among humans to guard the gateway to Avalon. When Laurel is thrust into the midst of a centuries-old battle between faeries and trolls, she's torn between a human and a faerie love, as well as her loyalties to each world. In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

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Disclaimer: Credit for the implementation of IMM posts go to Kristi of The Story Siren and Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. Credit goes, and will always go, to them, for this and future IMM posts. I take no credit for this meme, and future IMM posts wouldn't exist without them both. It should be taken note of that there might be times where I won't be writing this for every IMM post. That does not mean that I am taking credit for it. It just means that I'm just too lazy to write it down.