"Waiting on" Wednesday: Unremembered by Jessica Brody

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly even hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we're super excited about. This week, my pick is:

Unremembered

Jessica Brody

Expected Publication: March 5th, 2013, by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux (BYR)

The only thing worse than forgetting her past... is remembering it.

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage--alive--is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She had no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn't on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can't be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn't know, plagues by abilities she doesn't understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can't remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she's running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author, Jessica Brody comes a mesmerizing and suspenseful new series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten.

I read "The Karma Club" by Jessica Brody in the first week it came out, and I LOVED every minute of it. I haven't gotten to her other books yet, because RL insists on getting in my way, but I have read previews and such, and I can't wait to read them all. Unremembered sounds interesting and exciting, and I am, indeed, interested. And excited. 

This is my "Waiting on", what's yours?

Event: Fierce Reads Tour, with Ann Aguirre, Elizabeth Fama, Lish McBride, and Marissa Meyer,

When The Tattered Cover does book signings, they never do them scattered throughout the year. Or, at least, they never do this with authors I'm familiar with. Not even a week after seeing Ellen Hopkins there, on September 13th, I was back for the Fierce Reads Tour on September 19th. I left my wallet at home this time-- I've spent enough money on books lately, as is...

I've never read anything but Ann, Beth, Lish or Marissa when I found out about the signing, but that didn't stop me from going. A book signing is just an excuse to buy more books, in my opinion. ;) 

Surprisingly enough, I was there early. Wow. I meandered around the store for a few minutes, read a bit, added more books to my list, and then, finally, I got a REALLY good seat. Which, since I'm always there all of thirty seconds before the authors arrive, is rare for me. The ladies were already present and seated, and discussing amongst themselves-- It's easy to tell they're all friends, which made this signing even more fun.

Marissa Meyer

Marissa, author of Cinder, was adorable. She revealed she got started writing by posting fanfictions on Sailor Moon (so glad I'm not the only one who watched that show when I was little...), and began to get the idea for Cinder while entering a contest. Out of the options given, Marissa wrote a story that was, basically, "A sci-fi version of Puss In Boots". Later, she found out only two people had entered that contest, and she didn't win. But she liked her thought, so she continued on, and eventually, Cinder was born! (Yay!)

Lish McBride

Did you you know Lish wrote Hold Me Closer, Necromancer so she could get her masters degree? I didn't either. Can you imagine? Hitting up your teachers with a horror story with a necromancer/burger flipper and a talking head being a major role? Lish admitted she had a lot of push-back, but she fought for Sam to be her character, even though her teacher insisted her selected genre was 'crap' and 'no one' reads it. *ahem* 

"I eventually had to go and get a New York Times best seller list and show her. 'Oh, look! Mystery, thriller, thriller, romance, mystery, thriller, YA, YA, thriller, oh, there, one of your genre...' And she was genuinely shocked about this! I was like, 'Do you live under a rock?" ~Lish (paraphrased, I'm sure I screwed it up. Derp.)

Lish was hilarious, and I cannot wait to get into Sam's story.

Elizabeth Fama

Elizabeth was a doll. Very soft spoken and comfortable with her surroundings, she got me VERY excited by telling us that while it has an innocent looking mermaid on the cover, Monstrous Beauty is actually quite "dark and tragic". I won't lie, I did a fist pump at this, and I'm sure this weirded several people out, but I really don't care. The dark stuff is my favorite. She told us the last thing she wrote was a book for a Write-Off with her son. The judges being an unbiased college friend (who called tie), herself (who voted her son), her son (who voted her), and her husband... Who voted her son. Queue the "Oooooh's" and giggles from the audience. She is currently reading her sons, and while "the grammar is a mess", the story is insane. I kind of want to read it....hehe

Ann Aguirre

Ann was probably the chipper-est person I have ever encountered. She was telling us of her obsession with zombies, which I've never been a massive fan of, and even reenacted a scene from a trailer she saw. For the life of me I cannot remember the name of the movie, but I really want to. The trailer alone sounds hilarious, and just from her description, I kind of want to see it. My first zombie flick, oh boy...

Lana (me!) and Ann Aguirre

When I got up to the signing line (which turned into a mad rush near the end, I might add), Beth had a notebook with her, for fans to sign their name and emails in if they wished. As I was doing so, I heard the person behind me (obviously) begin talking to Elizabeth as I was talking to Ann (who likes my hair, EEP!). I was expecting to meet four authors, and I met five.

"Hi! I'm gonna be with you guys tomorrow- I'm Jessica Brody."

Jessica Brody. You know her- She wrote The Karma Club, My Life Undecided, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father...? You know who I mean. Needless to say, I, grace in action, nearly fell over my book bag. After getting a picture with Ann (who was awesome, thank you), I told Jessica I was a huge fan, and she was kind enough to take a picture with me. Yay, proof! 

Lana (me!) and Jessica Brody

The event was FANTASTIC and I'm so happy I went! I will have to start on ALL of these books soon (and you all know you'll get my opinions on them, sooner or later). So much fun!

Treasured Thursday: Most Treasured Contemporary Novel

Treasured Thursday is a weekly event created by Touya over at The Reader's Garden that is all about our most treasured. We're hosting it here now, for those of you who are interested in joining me. This week our topic is our most treasured contemporary novel.  

I am actually a little stunned we haven't done this yet. I know most of us tend to lean toward the supernatural side of YA, but aren't there any fans of high school? ...Well, in books, anyway?

I'm a fan, obviously, and I've read a LOT. Almost as many as I have read in the paranormal area. That being said, the first one that springs to mind is The Karma Club by Jessica Brody.

Madison Kasparkova always thought she understood how Karma works. Do good things and you'll be rewarded, do something bad and Karma will make sure you get what you deserve.

But when Maddy's boyfriend cheats on her, nothing bad comes his way. That's why Maddy starts the Karma Club, to clean up the messes the universe has left behind. Sometimes, though, it isn't wise to meddle with the universe.

It turns out Karma often has plans of its own.

While "Beautiful Disaster" (Jamie McGuire) is probably my new favorite book of all time, I think I've blabbed enough about it (for the day.. ;) ) so I'll blab about THIS today! The Karma Club is just a quirky, yet honest book about karma (obviously) and Maddy learning SHE was not hired to be its advocate. Definitely my most treasured!

Author Appreciation Day 21: The Jazzy Jessica Brody

Author Appreciation Day 21 goes to the jazzy Jessica Brody

Jessica Brody's Website

Jessica Brody is the author of The Karma Club, My Life Undecided, The Fidelity Files, Love Under Cover, 52 Reasons To Hate My Father, and a short story in Dear Bully.

I found Jessica's novel, The Karma Club, at Barnes & Noble while I was skimming. I hadn't heard of her before, but the "signed copy" sticker caught my eye (which means I MISSED HER when she was here, I still haven't stopped kicking myself). Considering I was on a supernatural kick, I thought this would bore me, but I was very wrong. The Karma Club is funny and sharp, and it discusses - obviously - the beauty that is Karma. I was thoroughly entertained throughout!

Where I haven't gotten around to her other novels, yet, due to my minuscule paycheck not allowing me to just buy a bookstore and get every novel I wish, she is definitely on my never-ending list, and I can't wait until I get paid so I can go to the store this weekend and pick up a few. :3

52 Reasons To Hate My Father will be out on July 3rd of this year, so keep an eye out! Jessica is also working on a series, set for publication next year.