Author Spotlight: In Her Skin by Kim Savage + Interview

KIM SAVAGE is the author of three critically acclaimed young adult novels, After the Woods, Beautiful Broken Girls (named by Kirkus as one of the 10 Best YA of 2017), and In Her Skin (releasing April 17, 2018), all with Farrar, Straus, Giroux/Macmillan. Her novels have been published in Spain, Brazil, and Turkey, and have been optioned for TV. Kim presents at conferences and book festivals nationwide; has been featured on NPR, Herald Radio, and on local cable stations; and she reads from her novels at bookstores across the country. A former reporter with a Master degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, Kim's stories are based in and around Boston. She lives with her family near Boston, not far from the real Middlesex Fells Reservation of After the Woods. Kim and her husband have three children, each of whom beg to appear in her books. They shouldn't.  

You can follow Kim on Insta (kimsavagewrites) and Twitter (khsavage), and visit her at kimsavage.me. 

Title: In Her Skin

Genre: Young Adult Mystery

Author: Kim Savage

Publisher: FSG

Publication: April 17th 2018

Cover Rating: 2/5

Reading format: Provided ARC

Goodreads | Amazon

In Her Skin by Kim Savage is a fast-paced, mysterious story about a female con artist named Jo who decides that she is going to pretend to be a missing girl that miraculously returns. This might sound like a great plan, especially when you kind of look like the missing girl. But what happens when that missing girl is more than just missing? What happens when someone knows exactly what happened but doesn't tell anyone. What happens when that person is someone you end up living with?

Jo Chastain is homeless. She has been living in tent-city in Boston and is just tired of it. In order to escape the elements, she goes to a public library all the time. One day, she sees a girl and decides she wants to take over her identity for a while. After stealing her ID, Jo looks her up online to gather as much information about the girl as possible. That is when she sees that this girl has been involved in a missing person case. Her best friend went missing when they were nine and was never seen again. Jo looks up the girl who went missing and realizes that she looks a lot like this girl. So her plans change and she decides to pretend to be this missing girl that magically returns home. Oh, and did we mention that Vivi's family is rich? 

Everything is going great in Jo's plan. A little too great. Vivi is the girl Jo is pretending to be and Vivi's parents died in a freak plane crash and they said if Vivi ever came back then her guardians should be the Lovecrafts. The parents of the girl Jo was originally going to take the identity of when she saw her at the library. The Lovecrafts were best friends with Vivi's parents. So, they take Vivi in and try to get her life to go back to as normal as possible. But something seems a little off. 

Temple is the daughter of the Lovecrafts. Her and Vivi were best friends before her disappearance. But for some reason, Mr. and Mrs. Lovecraft don't want Temple and Vivi around each other. Wouldn't you want your kid to be happy and around her best friend after she comes back from being kidnapped for nearly a decade? What does Temple and the Lovecraft know that Jo doesn't? Maybe pretending to be a missing rich girl was a mistake. A Mistake that could cost Jo her life ang cause Vivi to go missing again.

In the end, this book was so much fun. I read a book like this back in 2016, The Stranger Game by Cylin Busby, and I really loved it so when I read the synopsis for In Her Skin and realized that it sounded a lot like that book, I decided to contact the author because I had to read this book NOW. I love mystery/crime books and this one definitely made a good addition to my shelves. If you like Young Adult mystery books then I highly suggest checking this book out for yourself. 

Overall, I gave the book 4.5/5 stars.

1) Did you always want to be an author?

If you count figuring it out around age six, yes! I used to write books on lined paper with construction paper covers and stapled spines. They mostly concerned my dog, Gretchen, getting into scrapes (cyclones, drowning, ferris wheel mishaps). I have to say, the climaxes were always exciting, but the character arcs were a little…anemic.

2) Where did the inspiration for In Her Skin come from?

In Her Skin is inspired by the life of a real-life con artist named Frédéric Bourdin who impersonated a missing boy. Bourdin looked nothing like the boy, and told a wild tale of having been kidnapped and held for years. The parents accepted him as their missing son until the FBI proved Bourdin was a con artist. I wondered why any parents would choose to believe a con, and In Her Skin sprung from that question.

3) Do you think the Young Adult book genre is important for young readers? If so, why?

I’m wary of labels, to be honest. To the end that most YA is complex and sophisticated, and has been since the days of The Outsiders and A Separate Peace, to name some examples, yes, it's a good thing that young readers read YA.

4) Who are your favorite authors?

Pamela Ahrens (The Virgins), Laura Lippman, Yoko Agawa (Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales), Jeffrey Eugenides. Donna Tartt is my all-time favorite, with Clare Messud is in the running for second. I admire Karen Russell immensely.

5) Are you currently working on any new books?

I am! Two, in fact. One is a thriller where two girls plan the perfect revenge. The second is a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s Richard III, who really is the greatest villain ever written. I’m loving both. I hope readers do, too!

                             Goodreads | Amazon                                    Goodreads | Amazon

REVIEW: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab - Paige

Rating: 

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, trigger warnings for those who have been victims of mass shootings. Please protect yourself before reading if you are triggered.)

Pages: 464

Author Website

Amazon Link

Synopsis: 

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives. In This Savage Song, Victoria Schwab creates a gritty, seething metropolis, one worthy of being compared to Gotham and to the four versions of London in her critically acclaimed fantasy for adults, A Darker Shade of Magic. Her heroes will face monsters intent on destroying them from every side—including the monsters within.

I will admit that I love Romeo and Juliet. It’s always been my weak spot and I enjoy reading spin-offs of the story. One of my favorites is now This Savage Song. While not directly a Romeo and Juliet retelling, you can tell there are many borrowed references. The book, however, is nothing short of unique and wonderful in its own right. The character development is marvelous and the world building is as well. The plot kept me intrigued throughout the book and the pacing was marvelous for the book. And the best thing about this book is how the monsters are incorporated and created and how music is incorporated as well.

However, I just wish that this book had gone more into the other cities and countries around Verity, but it looks like book 2 will do that so I’m excited! Definitely a must-read for me!

Verdict: I just want to talk more about this book, but it’s something you should experience blind. Go into it. Don’t read any more reviews. Experience it, feel it, and enjoy.

*Click on the signature to go to Paige's blog!

REVIEW: Four by Veronica Roth - Valeria

Rate:

5/5

Goodreads Description:

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth comes a companion volume to the worldwide bestselling DIVERGENT series, told from the per-spective of the immensely popular character Tobias. The four pieces included here—THE TRANSFER, THE INITIATE, THE SON, and THE TRAITOR—plus three additional exclusive scenes, give readers an electrifying glimpse into the history and heart of Tobias, and set the stage for the epic saga of the DIVERGENT trilogy

Review:

There is a certain sass in Four in this book xD 

I actually laughed in some scenes. 

I absolutely loved this book! I wish that we could get the first 2 books in the trilogy from Tobia's POV, you get to see his internal struggles as he transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless and as you find out what he already knew and what he did not

As well as how he starts dealing with his feelings for Tris and also his distaste for Eric.

Seriously... I freaking hate Eric xD

But Tobias reactions towards him are pretty funny in my opinion xD

Like he makes this comment about Eric having all this metal in his face and needing to get it checked out LOL

I dont know xD Im sick, I just had my medication, im super out of it

BUT I do know it was a great book!

Recommend it?

Indeed I do

Author Spotlight: Cold Hard Truth by Anne Greenwood Brown

Anne Greenwood Brown lives in the cold, upper Midwest with her husband and three children. She is a former juvenile public defender, and that work inspired much of COLD HARD TRUTH. She is the author of the paranormal mermaid trilogy Lies Beneath, Deep Betrayal, and Promise Bound, as well as the co-author of the contemporary thriller Girl Last Seen. She also writes adult romance under a pen name. Check out her website (annegreenwoodbrown.com), or follow her on Facebook or Twitter (@annegbrown) You can contact her at annegreenwoodbrown@gmail.com.

Title: Cold Hard Truth

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Author: Anne Greenwood Brown

Publisher: Albert Whitman Company

Publication: April 3rd 2018

Cover Rating: 4/5

Reading format: Provided ARC

Goodreads | Amazon

Cold Hard Truth by Anne Greenwood Brown is the story of Emmie and Max. Emmie just got out of a bad situation, or at least she hopes she got out of it and is looking to get her life back on track. Max is dealing with the loss of his girlfriend and has some anger problems mixed in. 

Emmie was a good girl but something happened that made her stray from that path. Something like getting involved with her mom's drug dealer and ending up on the wrong side of the law. Emmie gets in a good bit of trouble and ends up testifying against her mom's dealer. This move gets her out of jail but also puts her on the bad side of people who knew the guy she testified against. Emmie just wants to start over with her dad and move on from the horrible things in her life. She doesn't really want anything to do with guys either, but then Max shows up.

Max is dealing with his own can of worms. His girlfriend is dead and he has one hell of a bad temper. But he is drawn to Emmie. She is calm and makes him feel calm as well, which is something he needs, badly. So when these two are drawn together, it's bound to be good and bad. 

I feel like the love in this book was a little bit quick especially for two people who have been through a lot of bad crap. Other than that the book was pretty great. I enjoyed the drama and everything between Emmie and Max. The ending of this book was definitely crazy but I kind of expected it. Emmie testified against a drug deal, bad things were bound to happen. I just hope it's over now.

In the end, I am so glad I requested to read this book. I love these kinds of romance story where there are REAL problems and drama. Not just cheating and worrying about what clothes to wear. There were real issues in this book and I loved it. This book definitely made me think of Katie McGarry so if you are a fan of her then you should definitely check this book out.

Overall, I gave the book 4/5 stars.

Author Spotlight: Someday, Somewhere by Lindsay Champion + Interview

Lindsay Champion is a YA author living in the best place on earth, New York City. She is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she spent most of her time doing high kicks and eating falafel. After a stint as a closed caption writer, she served as the Features Editor at Broadway.com, where she somehow managed to interview her celebrity crushes Paul Rudd, Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal without fainting or peeing her pants. She's an editorial director for the digital media company PureWow, where she sits in an extremely tall building and eats snacks. SOMEDAY, SOMEWHERE is her first novel.

Title: Someday, Somewhere

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Author: Lindsay Champion

Publisher: KCP Loft

Publication: April 3rd 2018

Cover Rating: 5/5

Reading format: Provided ARC

Goodreads | Amazon

Someday, Somewhere, a debut novel, by Lindsay Champion is the story of Ben and Dom. This book contains a lot of tropes and things most people, including me, don't like in a contemporary story. Examples being; lying, insta-love and building a relationship based off of almost nothing. But somehow this author makes it work and I found myself really into the story.

Dom is a junior at a school in Jersey. Her class goes on a trip to Carnegie Hall in New York City and there, she sees this stunning guy that she instantly falls for. Love at first sight? Yes. Love at first string? Also, yes. Dom falls for this guy because of his looks and his amazing ability to play the violin. Now that Dom has seen her soulmate, she has to figure out how to meet him and see where things could go. But that will be kind of hard when it costs nearly $20 to go back and forth to NYC every day and her and her mother can barely make ends meet.

Ben has a very obsessive personality which tends to become unhealthy. Normally his obsession only gravitates towards his violin playing but when he meets Dom, he can't stop thinking about her. The book is told from both characters POV's and while I really loved both characters I think I enjoyed Ben's side a little bit more. I always end up liking the troubled character the best. I also really liked how the book felt like a piece of Ben's work. Everything was paced well then it started speeding up the closer we got to the finish. 

The authors writing in this book just draws you in. Even if you hate insta-love or dislike books about music, this book will win you over. But this book is about so much more than those things. There is a pretty prominent mental illness subject. There is a lot of lying. This book pretty much is meant, to me at least, to teach a lesson. Each person will form their own opinion and get their own lesson from this book but what this book has taught me is be careful who you fall in love with.

In the end, this was such a great book and had a lot of depth that I wasn't expecting. I was expecting this cutesy romance story but it had so much more to it. Lindsay Champion has one hell of a debut novel on her hands.

Overall, I gave the book 4.5/5 stars.

1) Have you always wanted to be an author?

I've always been equally obsessed with writing, theater and music - there's something so compelling about the way these works of art are created out of thin air. When I got into NYU's drama program, I took it as a sign that theater was what I was supposed to be doing, but after about two years of watching geniuses like Lady Gaga and Donald Glover do their thing (yep, they were both in my graduating class), I realized writing was a much better fit for me. So I submitted a short story to an advanced fiction class, was accepted, and have been writing ever since.

2) If you had to pitch Someday, Somewhere to a potential buyer at a bookstore and the buyer didn't know you were the author, what would you say?

Psst. Hey, you. Yes, you, holding All the Bright Places, When We Collided and The Sun Is Also a Star. If you're into music and love stories and New York City, you should probably pick up Someday, Somewhere, too.

3) Where did the inspiration for Someday, Somewhere come from?

Child prodigies have always fascinated me. Where does their incredible talent and skill come from, and what happens to it when they get older? So the book started with the character of Ben, a violin prodigy who is grappling with the darker sides of his gift. I listened to a lot of classical music while researching and writing, and when I stumbled on Beethoven's Kreutzer sonata, I realized it captured so much of the energy of Ben's story. As I began to structure the story around the sonata (three movements, two alternating instruments), the puzzle pieces started fitting together.

4) If you could only eat 1 food for the rest of your life what would you pick and why?

Pizza. Hands down, no contest.

5) Are you currently working on any new books?

Yes! I can't reveal much about it yet, but I love writing about love and New York City, so it's pretty safe to say my next book will be full of more of that stuff.

REVIEW: Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd - Valeria

Rate:

3.5/5

Goodreads Description:

To defeat the darkness, she must first embrace it.

Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island—and the secrets she left behind. Now, back in London once more, she is rebuilding the life she once knew and trying to forget Dr. Moreau’s horrific legacy—though someone, or something, hasn’t forgotten her.

As people close to Juliet fall victim one by one to a murderer who leaves a macabre calling card of three clawlike slashes, Juliet fears one of her father’s creations may have also escaped the island. She is determined to find the killer before Scotland Yard does, though it means awakening sides of herself she had thought long banished, and facing loves from her past she never expected to see again.

As Juliet strives to stop a killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness, she finds herself once more in the midst of a world of scandal and danger. Her heart torn in two, past bubbling to the surface, life threatened by an obsessive killer—Juliet will be lucky to escape alive.

With inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this is a tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we’ll go to save them from themselves.

Review:

2 things I will mention about this book. So shes is fearing the madness that runs in her family, shes is kind of scared to be like her dad, but there is a part of her that kind of likes the madness.

I GET THAT!

There are times in my life that im just like, this is it, im officially going to go insane this time around, I am going to finally loose it, and its scary as hell, fearing that you WILL trully go insane. But other times, when its this like... Anger that makes you kind of loose it, you embrace it, and by YOU I mean me xD Its kind of what gives me strength, I get a bit revengeful you know? and by revengeful I mean that I get a bit female doggish.

Another thing I will talk about from this book. The love triangle got on my nerves. Like... BIG TIME!!!! How do I say this without spoiling... Shes like.. I love pepper, let me put pepper on this and then 2 seconds later she's like I hate pepper! Let me use salt instead and this goes on a lot  >.> It was too much for my tastes.

Okay 3 things. While the triangle irked me, it was all super well written, I can see why people like this series, I really do. Juliet is more about finding herself in this one, but not just that, to try to understand herself a bit more. Discover it.

Recommend it?

Aaaahh.. its not bad, yeah I recommend it.

Author Spotlight: Black Chuck by Regan McDonell + Interview

Regan studied poetry and creative writing at the University of Victoria. Black Chuck is her first published work.

Title: Black Chuck

Genre: Young Adult Dark Contemporary

Author: Regan McDonell

Publisher: Orca Books

Publication: April 3rd 2018

Cover Rating: 5/5

Reading format: Provided Paperback

Goodreads | Amazon

Black Chuck by Regan McDonell is the story of five friends, told from the perspective of two of the friends. The story starts off with one of the friends being dead and progressed from there. The two points of view are from the girlfriend and best friend of the deceased. The book takes place in Canada.

Rèal Dufresne is our first main character. Shaun, the deceased, has been his best friend since they were nine. But Rè has a pretty big secret waiting to explode from him. Before Shaun was found dead, they had a huge fight that left both of them bloody. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be too big of a problem, only... Shaun's body was found somewhere not many people, aside from their group, go and Rè can't remember anything from that night after the fight. He just knows that his clothes from that night are bloody. More bloody than they should be.

Evie was Shaun's girlfriend for nine months before his death. Their relationship started pretty randomly with Shaun just stopping by her house one day. He felt like they had kind of the same life with no real parents and that had bonded them. Now, with Shaun gone, Evie is stuck in a pretty serious situation and she doesn't know what to do about it. But Rèal makes it very clear to Evie that he will be there for her no matter what she decides. He feels responsible for her since Shaun was pretty much his brother. 

The other two friends are Sunny and Alex. Sunny is a Goth Asian girl who gets her way no matter what and Alex is her boyfriend who just happens to be from a family of really powerful bikers. Together they make up a small, tight-knit group of friends. But maybe a few of them were a little too tight. 

As I was reading, I realized the hook has this ominous feel to it. I felt like I was being followed by a really dark cloud the entire time. Like something bad was going to happen or some shocking realization was about to be had. I liked that aspect of the book a lot. 

In the end, I was kind of surprised by the ending. I was really expecting it to end as a gruesome murder by someone close to Shaun. I really didn't see THAT ending coming. This book really surprised me with how good it was and how much I liked all of the characters and the story they had to tell.

In the end, I gave the book 4.5/5 stars.

1) Where did the inspiration for Black Chuck come from?

A lot of the little details in this book are based on real experiences I had as a teenager, going to high school in a small town. But the main part of the story grew out of the character of Shaun - I had written about 3 chapters about him many years ago, then set it aside. When I went back to it and finally started writing again, the rest of the story just poured out. Moral: save all your scribblings, young writers! You never know where a book might sprout up!

2) What is the best part about being an author?

In my day job as a designer, I take creative direction from a lot of people. When I write books, I call all the shots! If I want something to happen, it can happen - as long as it makes sense for the story. Writing gives me so much more creative freedom! Plus, writing the kind of books I want to read is pretty awesome. I didn't see a lot of books like mine on the market, so I wrote one. That's a pretty powerful thing to be able to do! :)

3) Please tell us 5 random facts about yourself:

1. I'm deathly afraid of boats. 2. I have synesthesia, so I perceive words and numbers as colours and textures. 3. Halloween is my favourite holiday by a long, long mile. 4. I named a main character after my personal trainer. 5. I have never done a cartwheel in my life.

4) If you were a serial killer, what would you want the media to call you?

Even though I am pretty dark and twisty, I can't even bring myself to kill bugs, so if I were an actual serial killer, it could only be by mistake! In that case, my name would have to be "The Oops Killer", I think??

5) Are you currently working any new projects?

I am about 1/4 of the way into a new book. It's got witchcraft, urban legends, tarot cards, a possible monster and at the heart of it is a missing girl and her brother. It's still very much in the soft and gooey phase of an unfinished first draft, but is slowly taking shape. It will be another dark, mature YA when it's done, with a hint of romance because who doesn't love falling in love? :)