Best I've Read 2010 Day 6

Day 6 of Best I've Read 2010 is here and it's time for more great authors and another great giveaway. Today I'm featuring Janette Rallison, Sophie Jordan, Cinda Williams Chima, James Dashner.

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The Exiled Queen
By Cinda Williams Chima
Published by Disney Hyperion
Cinda's website: http://www.cindachima.com/

Book Summary:
(from Goodreads - Warning contains spoilers if you haven't read the 1st book in the series)


You can't always run from danger...

Haunted by the loss of his mother and sister, Han Alister journeys south to begin his schooling at Mystwerk House in Oden’s Ford. But leaving the Fells doesn’t mean danger isn’t far behind. Han is hunted every step of the way by the Bayars, a powerful wizarding family set on reclaiming the amulet Han stole from them. And Mystwerk House has dangers of its own. There, Han meets Crow, a mysterious wizard who agrees to tutor Han in the darker parts of sorcery—but the bargain they make is one Han may regret.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna runs from a forced marriage in the Fells, accompanied by her friend Amon and his triple of cadets. Now, the safest place for Raisa is Wein House, the military academy at Oden's Ford. If Raisa can pass as a regular student, Wein House will offer both sanctuary and the education Raisa needs to succeed as the next Gray Wolf queen.

The Exiled Queen is an epic tale of uncertain friendships, cut-throat politics, and the irresistible power of attraction.

And now for a little interview!

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?
I would travel back to the past. I'm afraid of the future, and I've always been fascinated by history.

What is the last book you read?
Stiegg Larson's The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. See? I don't just read fantasy and YA fiction. It's just difficult to keep up with everything.

When you were 12 years old what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was 12 years old, I did not plan that far ahead. For some reason, I was convinced that I would die before reaching adulthood. (You'll find that writers are total hypochondriacs--we have such vivid imaginations and the ability to develop any symptom.)

By the time I reached 18 years old, I was still alive and I still hadn't decided. I changed my college major umpteen times, and ended up with a degree in philosophy. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that no one was willing to hire me as a philosopher. So I obtained a post-bacc and master's in nutrition. I actually wrote my first novels when I was 14 years old. It just took me a while to realize that writing is a chronic disease that you have to live with.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Chocolate chip cookie dough. It's the textural marriage of two fabulous foods, yet I like to pick out and savor the cookie dough bits.

If you could meet one person who has died who would you choose?
I'd like to meet Ben Franklin or Thomas Jefferson. They fascinate me--so flawed--so full of contradictions.

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My Double Life
By: Janette Rallison
Published by: Putnam Juvenile
Website: http://www.janetterallison.com/


Book Summary: (from Goodreads)
Her whole life, Alexia Garcia has been told that she looks just like pop star Kari Kingsley, and one day when Alexia's photo filters through the Internet, she's offered a job to be Kari's double. This would seem like the opportunity of a lifetime, but Alexia's mother has always warned her against celebrities. Rebelliously, Alexia flies off to L.A. and gets immersed in a celebrity life. Not only does she have to get used to getting anything she wants, she romances the hottest lead singer on the charts, and finds out that her own father is a singing legend. Through it all, Alexia must stay true to herself, which is hard to do when you are pretending to be somebody else!



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Firelight

By Sophie Jordan
Published by Harper Teen
Released On September 7th, 2010
http://www.sophiejordan.net/


Summary:

A hidden truth.
Mortal enemies.
Doomed love.

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide (quoted from goodreads).

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The Scorch Trials: Sequel to the Maze Runner
By James Dashner
Released Oct 12, 2010
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
http://www.jamesdashner.com/

Summary: The Maze was only the beginning...

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more Variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.

In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety... until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, much of the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated--and with it, order--and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim... and meal.

The Gladers are far from done running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Thomas can only wonder--does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?
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And of course we have another giveaway today. It's a good one- four authors, four books all up for grabs to one winner. This contest is open in the US only. Simply fill out the form below to enter. The constest runs until December 15th at midnight!

Here's what you could win:

• 1 copy of My Double Life by Janette Rallison
• 1 copy of Firelight by Sophie Jordan
• 1 copy of The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima
• 1 copy of The Scorch Trials by James Dashner