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Thursday, April 9, 2015

YA Summer Reads Blog Hop



Summer is just around the corner and that means beautiful beach days, backyard barbecues, and digging deep into that TBR pile. To help you get in the summer mindset, young adult authors Janet Gurtler, Jennifer Salvato Doktorski, and Juliana Stone are here to share their worst summer jobs!

Janet Gurtler (The Truth About Us):  I honestly haven’t had a bad summer job. When I was a teen I worked in restaurants, and the work part of the job was sometimes demeaning and dirty, but it was all about the social circles we formed.  The work played second fiddle to hanging with friends and bonding. I don’t remember the bad parts.

Jennifer Salvato Doktorski (The Summer After You and Me): My worst summer job had to working at a Mandee clothing store. When I wasn’t assigned to the dressing room, I was on the floor straightening clothing racks. It felt like I was trapped in a giant closet, doomed to spend my days organizing clothes. I only lasted three weeks before I quit to work at the local pet store, one of my best summer jobs ever where I learned all about salt and fresh water fish and small pets like guinea pigs and parakeets.

Juliana Stone (Some Kind of Normal):  I’ve had a lot of jobs that I’ve hated over the years, probably because growing up in a farming community gave me lots of choice. I’ve picked tomatoes, strawberries and cucumbers, but the worst ever was hoeing rows and rows of cucumber plants. HATED IT.


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About the Books: 


The Truth About Us By Janet Gurtler
Sourcebooks Fire out April, 7 2015

Book Info:
Flynn’s from the wrong side of the tracks, but he may be just right for Jess…
The truth is that Jess knows she’s screwed up. She’s made mistakes, even betrayed her best friend, and now she’s paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.

The truth is that she wishes she was the carefree party girl everyone thinks she is. She pretends it’s all fine. That her “perfect” family is fine. But it’s not. And no one notices the lie…until she meets Flynn. He’s the only one who really sees her. The only one who really listens.

The truth is that Jess is falling apart, and no one seems to care. But Flynn is the definition of “the wrong side of the tracks.” When Jess’s parents look at him, they only see their differences, not how much she and Flynn need each other. They don’t get that the person who shouldn’t fit into your world might just be the one who makes you feel like you belong.


JANET GURTLER:
RITA Award finalist Janet Gurtler’s young adult books have been chosen for the Junior Library Guild Selection and as Best Books For Teens from the Canadian Children’s Book Center. She has had her writing compared to Judy Blume and Jodi Picoult and that makes her happy. She has volunteered at a few soup kitchens and hopes to do more. Giving back is so important. Janet lives in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, with her husband, son, and a chubby black Chihuahua named Bruce.
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Some Kind of Normal By Juliana Stone
Sourcebooks Fire out May 5, 2015

Book Info:
What is normal? For Trevor, normal was playing fast guitar licks, catching game-winning passes, and partying all night. Until a car accident leaves him with no band, no teammates, and no chance of graduating. It’s kind of hard to ace your finals when you’ve been in a coma. The last thing he needs is stuck-up Everly Jenkins as his new tutor, those beautiful blue eyes catching every flaw.

For Everly, normal was a perfect family around the dinner table, playing piano at Sunday service, and sunning by the pool. Until she discovers her whole life is a lie. Now the perfect pastor’s daughter is hiding a life-changing secret, one that is slowly tearing her family apart. And spending the summer with notorious flirt Trevor Lewis means her darkest secret could be exposed.

This achingly beautiful story about two damaged teens struggling through pain and loss to redefine who they are, to their family, to themselves, and to each other is sure to melt your heart.

Juliana Stone:
USA Today bestselling author Juliana Stone fell in love with books in the fifth grade when her teacher introduced her to Tom Sawyer. A tomboy at heart, she split her time between baseball, books, and music—three passions that carried over into adulthood. When she’s not singing with her band, she’s thrilled to be writing young adult and adult contemporary romance, and does so from her home in Canada.

Also by Juliana Stone:
NEW IN PAPERBACK - Boys Like You
Sourcebooks Fire

Two Broken souls…one hot summer
Nate Everet’s life was all about acoustic guitar, girls in short shorts, and hot Southern nights.Until the accident.

Monroe Blackwell’s life was full of soccer goals, flirty skirts, and bright city lights. Until the accident.

Now Nate has a best friend who might never wake up, a summer of community service, and enough guilt to drown him. Monroe has a family that’s falling apart, a summer of banishment to her grandma’s, and a choking grief that makes it hard to breathe.
Nate and Monroe are two lost souls struggling with grief and guilt. But together, they have a chance at acceptance and finally finding the forgiveness they crave.

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The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Sourcebooks Fire out May 2015 

Will it be a summer of fresh starts or second chances?

For Lucy, the Jersey Shore isn’t just the perfect summer escape, it’s home. As a local girl, she knows not to get attached to the tourists. They breeze in during Memorial Day weekend, crowding her costal town and stealing moonlit kisses, only to pack up their beach umbrellas and empty promises on Labor Day. Still, she can’t help but crush on charming Connor Malloy. His family spends every summer next door, and she longs for their friendship to turn into something deeper.

Then Superstorm Sandy sweeps up the coast, bringing Lucy and Connor together for a few intense hours. Except nothing is the same in the wake of the storm, and Lucy is left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and her broken home. Time may heal all wounds, but with Memorial Day approaching and Connor returning, Lucy’s summer is sure to be filled with fireworks.

Jennifer Salvato Doktorski is the author of two YA  novels and is a freelance nonfiction writer. Her first paid writing gig was at The North Jersey Herald and News, where she wrote obituaries and began her lifelong love of news and coffee. She lives in New Jersey with her family.


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