Title:  The Iron Trial Authors:  Holly Black and Cassandra Clare Series:   Magisterium, #1 Pages:   295 Publisher:  Doubleday Children's Books Date of Publication:  9th September 2014 Source:  Publisher for review* Synopsis from Goodreads: From NEW YORK TIMES bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare comes a riveting new series that defies what you think you know about the world of magic. From two bestselling superstars, a dazzling and magical middle-grade collaboration centering on the students of the Magisterium, an academy for those with a propensity toward magic. In this first book, a new student comes to the Magisterium against his will -- is it because he is destined to be a powerful magician, or is the truth more twisted than that? It's a journey that will thrill you, surprise you, and make you wonder about the clear-cut distinction usually made between good and evil. My Thoughts: I didn't really know that...

Title:  The Name On Your Wrist Author:  Helen Hiorns Series:   ~ Pages:   272 Publisher:  Corgi Children's Books Date of Publication:  2nd January, 2014 Source:  NetGalley Synopsis from Goodreads: It's the first thing they teach you when you start school. But they don't need to; your parents tell you when you're first learning how to say your name. It's drummed into you whilst you're taking your first stumbling steps. It's your lullaby. From the moment it first appears, you don't tell anyone the name on your wrist. In Corin's world, your carpinomen - the name of your soul mate, marked indelibly on your wrist from the age of two or three - is everything. It's your most preciously guarded secret; a piece of knowledge that can give another person ultimate power over you. People spend years, even decades, searching for the one they're supposed to be with. But what if you never find that person? Or you do, but you just don't lo...

Title:  Struck Author:  Jennifer Bosworth Series:  Struck, #1 Pages:   373 Publisher:  Doubleday Children's Date of Publication:  26th April 2012 Source:  Publisher* Synopsis from Goodreads: Mia Price is a lightning addict. She's survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her. Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical ...

Title:  Starters  Author:  Lissa Price Series:  Starters, #1 Pages:  336 Publisher:  Doubleday Date of Publication:  5th April 2012 Source:  Publisher* Synopsis from Goodreads: Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man. He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost li...

Title:  Vixen  Author:  Jillian Larkin Series:  The Flappers, #1 Pages:  400 Publisher:  Corgi Date of Publication:  1st March 2012 Source:  Publisher* Synopsis from Goodreads: Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination. Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they? Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . . Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. Whe...

Title:  Wonder Author:  RJ Palacio Series:  Pages:  310 Publisher:  Random House Date of Publication:  1st March 2012 Source:  Publisher* Synopsis from Goodreads: I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse. August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances? R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels. My Thoughts: ...

Title:  The Kissing Game Author:  Aidan Chambers Series:  Standalone Pages:  224 Publisher:  Bodley Head Date of Publication:  1st March 2012 Source:  Publisher* Synopsis from Goodreads: United under the banner of flash fiction, this is a collection of stories, or little 'cells', complete in themselves but connected by the overarching themes of betrayal and revenge. All featuring teenagers and often with an unexpected twist, these frighteningly realistic stories will take you to the very edge and beyond. My Thoughts: I don't really know what to think about this book. I don't know whether to think that I completely missed the point of it, and that I've just not picked up on a fundamental theme within the book, or whether there just is no point. There were a whole bunch of short stories, flash fiction, that seemed to have nothing in common with each other, and I don't quite know what to make of them. Having never read any kind of flash...

Title:  Fallen In Love Author:  Lauren Kate Series:  Fallen, #3.5 Pages:  201 Publisher:  Doubleday Date of Publication:  2nd February 2012 Source:  Review* Synopsis from Goodreads: Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story. And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first -and last- time, Daniel and Luce will spend a night together like none other. Lauren Kate's FALLEN IN LOVE is filled with love stories . . . the ones everyone has been waiting for. True love never says goodbye . . . My Thoughts: I have mixed feelings about this series - some of the books I've really enjoyed, and then some of the books, I haven't. So I kind of ...

Title:  Unleashed  Author:  Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie Series:  Wolf Springs Chronicles Pages:  383 Publisher:  Doubleday Date of Publication:  8th December 2011 Source:  Publisher* Synopsis from Goodreads: Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything. Broken families, ageless grudges, forced alliances, and love that blooms in the darkest night—welcome to Wolf Springs. My Thoughts: Many people have compared...

I opened my email today to find an email from Random House Children's Books with the subject line, 4 new dystopian books from Random House, and of course, I opened it immediately, and I have permission to share! :D There is a little information about each of the four books - two of them are coming out in 2012, and the other two in 2013! Also, they are ALL debuts, and they sound awesome, I'm not sure I can wait that long! __________ All taken from the final press release: Starters by Lissa Price , an American screenwriter, publishing in April 2012, is an action-packed thriller set in a world where eternal youthfulness can be had – at a price. One girl has the ability to bring it all tumbling down . . . RHCB acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Heather Shapiro at Baror International and will be launching globally alongside Random Inc for a truly international campaign. A post- apocalyptic Los Angeles is the setting for Struck by Jenifer Bosworth , publishing in...

Title:  This Dark Endeavour Author:  Kenneth Oppel Series:  The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein #1 Pages:  352 Publisher:  David Fickling Books Date of Publication:  6th October 2011 Source:  Publisher Synopsis from Goodreads: The purest intentions can stir up the darkest obsessions.In this prequel to Mary Shelley’s gothic classic, Frankenstein, 16-year-old Victor Frankenstein begins a dark journey that will change his life forever. Victor’s twin, Konrad, has fallen ill, and no doctor is able to cure him. Unwilling to give up on his brother, Victor enlists his beautiful cousin Elizabeth and best friend Henry on a treacherous search for the ingredients to create the forbidden Elixir of Life. Impossible odds, dangerous alchemy and a bitter love triangle threaten their quest at every turn.Victor knows he must not fail. But his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science, and love – and how much he i...