As some of you know from reading previous posts, I was born and spent most of my life in Texas. Although I live in the beautiful state of Colorado now, I still have a lot of Texas in my heart (and sometimes in my accent). So this Friday, I encourage ya'll to check out THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS & SCOUNDRELS seven authors & illustrators who write for kids and teens. According to their website:

We're from the awesome state of Texas—Austin to be exact. (For you non-Texans, that's the nice, shiny star in the center of the state.) We're entertaining, engaging, and we want to make a difference. We love talking to kids, teens, adults, librarians, teachers, and writers. Actually, we love talking to anyone who will listen. There's nothing like seeing the joy in the face of a child discovering a love of reading. Our books target all ages, and our dreams go beyond the realm of imagination. We'd love to come share our experiences and creativity with your group!

And now for the final big anniversary giveaway...THE GRAND PRIZE! TADAH! The winner will win a collection of books from our private library. So congratulations to... StrugglingtoMakeit!

She joins Monday's Winners:
Jill Hathaway (Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver)
Pam Harris (How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford

Tuesday's Winners:
Tessadyvan wins Matched by Ally Condle
Cheryl (ChrerlyRose) wins Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

Wednesday Winners:
PBWrites wins Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Barnes
Rachael Harris wins Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Thursday Winners:
Heather McCorkle wins a copy of Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
The Book Pixie wins a copy of Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson


If you're a winner this week, please email us at yamuses@aol.com with an address and we'll mail out your books next week.

Happy Anniversary, Muses!

Today's winners for our Anniversary Book Giveaway are:

Heather McCorkle wins a copy of Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
The Book Pixie wins a copy of Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Please e-mail us at yamuses@aol.com to claim your prize!

All winners please send us your mailing address information to yamuses@aol.com We will send out the books next week. Congratulations!

Tuesday's Winners:
Tessadyvan wins Matched by Ally Condle
Cheryl (ChrerlyRose) wins Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

Wednesday Winners:
PBWrites wins Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Barnes
Rachael Harris wins Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

They join Monday's Winners:
Jill Hathaway (Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver)
Pam Harris (How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford

Come back to see today's winners and win HUGE, GRAND PRIZE BOOK GIVEAWAY to a follower on Friday!

Imagine living in a time and place where you could be imprisoned for speaking your mind.  For being outside the norm.   For not conforming.

It’s not a dystopian futuristic fantasy.  It’s historical.  In Wildthorn (Houghton Mifflin, 2010), Jane Eagland tells the story of fictional Louisa Cosgrove, middle class daughter of a respected country doctor.  Her brother expects to enter the family business.  Lou is expected to marry well, like her aunt Phyllis, and spend her days fretting over curtains and making fifteen-minute courtesy calls all afternoon to the boring, snooty clients of her husband. 

But Lou wants to be a doctor.  She loves to attend her father’s rounds with him.  She studies hard, entirely on her own, from the books in his library.  And with the opening of the London School of Medicine for Women, she finally has a chance.  Until her father dies.  And the rest of her family, from her jealous, selfish brother to her loving, free-spirited aunt, thinks her dreams are ridiculous.  And she is sent away to be a companion.  To forget her dreams.

But she ends up in a mental institution.  Locked away under another name.  Witness to brutality.  Drugged.  With no explanation or hope for escape.

Eagland describes the bleak atmosphere of a 19^th century mental institution with precision and grace.  Her eye for historical accuracy is keen and her dedication to the truth unwavering.  It is not pretty.  She has meticulously researched the science of medicine at the time, as well, giving Lou all the knowledge she needs and nothing more.  She finds her way through the drugs and procedures of the institution by her senses – a process I found fascinating.  The reader gets a true sense of life in Victorian England.

As Lou discovers the truth behind her incarceration, she also navigates her way into a tender romance – one that breaks conventions.  But then, Lou is an unconventional girl.  And that’s what makes her story compelling.

Comment, tweet @yamuses, or follow the blog to be entered to win a copy of WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON by John Green and David Levithan, one of the books I reviewed here in recent months, or CHAINS by Laurie Halse Anderson.  You’ll also be entered for our big Friday giveaway in celebration of the anniversary of the day the YA Muses met in a critique group at Big Sur.

Maybe you haven’t discovered Jennifer Lynn Barnes yet.  Possibly, you’re a fan of smart, tough heroines who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.  Perhaps you just want a paranormal that transcends the genre.  If so, you should check out RAISED BY WOLVES.  

Bryn is a human who lost her parents during a brutal attack by a rogue werewolf.  Rescued by Callum, the local werewolf pack leader, Bryn is literally raised among the pack.  But she’s not a werewolf and she constantly pushes the boundaries of Callum’s rule, resisting submission to the pack culture.  When she learns about Chase, a teen boy who was attacked by a rogue wolf and survived to turn were, Bryn will do anything to meet him.  She’s sure that he can help her understand the attack on her own family, and she’s willing to acquiesce to Callum and the pack if that’s what it takes.  But can she?  

I loved the complex world and strong relationships.  The werewolves live within a pack hierarchy that feels authentic, seamlessly incorporating wolf characteristics with human ones.  Bryn is a great character, a fighter who guards her humanity with a fierceness that rivals the wolves.  Her voice is smart, self-aware and peppered with humor.  I also loved Callum, the pack leader and father figure who must make hard choices of his own. 

The romance is sweet, built on an emotional bond forged of common experience.  But the focus of the book is Bryn’s path to self discovery, as she comes to terms with her horrific past and discovers her place in the werewolf society she’s resisted for so long.

The ending is satisfying, wrapping up the major plot points, while raising the specter of future conflict that will undoubtedly come to pass in the sequel, TRIAL BY FIRE, which will be released in 2011.  I thoroughly enjoyed RAISED BY WOLVES, and I hope you will too.

Comment, tweet @yamuses, or follow the blog to be entered to win a copy of RAISED BY WOLVES and BLEEDING VIOLET by Dia Reeves, two of the books I’ve enjoyed and reviewed here in recent months.  You’ll also be entered for our Thursday and Friday giveaways in celebration of the anniversary of the day the YA Muses met in a critique group at Big Sur.

Happy Anniversary to the YA Muses! What a year is right!

One of the greatest treasures of 2010 for me has been sharing this year with my good friends. We've supported one another and grown so much. If you are a writer, I encourage you to attend conferences and meet people. I think I can say, on behalf of all the Muses, having the support of friends has made all the difference!

As you might know, in celebration, we're giving away BOOKS all week! To enter, simply leave a comment today. More on the rules here.

Now, for my book review... I've been looking forward to reading Matched for a long time. Love me a good dystopia... Condie's dystopian tale is a poetic, quiet work that nevertheless delivers a philosophical and emotional punch.

Cassie's every decision is predicted and controlled by the Society, including who'll be her ideal Match, or husband. What happens when she's accidentally matched with two young men? Well, read it and find out.

There's some eerie stuff here, as expected with any good dystopia. Solid points for smooth world building. I found the writing perfectly suited to the story. Condie's spare and lyrical voice added as much as her characters and description.

I believe this story was positioned largely as a romance but I was just as drawn to the non-romantic relationships in Matched. Cassie, the protagonist, has a believable and tender relationship with her grandfather and brother. I found myself reading for these parts as much as for Xander or Ky. A good thing, in my opinion.

This is an entertaining read that I will definitely be continuing with the next two installments of the trilogy!

As posted earlier, in honor of our anniversary, all this week we will be giving away FREE books! We want to reward our faithful followers and encourage some new ones, so help us spread the word. If you didn't win today, don't give up! We're giving away books all this week. So tweet, follow, post, or comment. Everything helps you win books.

Today's winners are:

Jill Hathaway (Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver)
Pam Harris (How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford)

Please email us directly at yamuses@aol.com with your mailing information. We will mail your free book to you next week.

Congratulations!

This weekend marked a momentous occasion for the YAMuses. One year ago we all met in a small critique group at the Big Sur Writing Conference. At that time, we had no idea what the next year would bring in our writing lives, and we never could have imagined how important that chance meeting would become. This past year was the most amazing, dream fulfilling adventure imaginable. We're so grateful for those of you who have joined in and supported us on the journey. So after frequent emails this weekend, we've decided to share the love with all of you and give away PRIZES!!

The first week of every month is the time we usually share books we've been reading. If you haven't already noticed, we LOVE to read YA books and between us, we have quite a collection of wonderful reads (note the list below). So this week, in honor of our anniversary, we will be giving away FREE books! The guidelines are listed below. We want to reward our faithful followers and encourage some new ones, so help us spread the word. Tweet, follow, post, or comment. Everything helps you win books. We will post the names of the winners on the blog each day, so keep coming back to see if you win a prize!

Here’s how it works. Every day this week, in honor of the YAMuses anniversary, we will select at random one follower and one twitter (@yamuses)/facebook poster that directs new readers to the blog to give a FREE book! If you have commented on the blog (including today’s post) you will have an additional chance to win. At the end of the week, all followers will be entered into a GRAND PRIZE DRAWING to receive 3-5 books.

Some examples of the books YOU could win:
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
Mistwood by Leah Cypress
Shade by Jeri Smith Ready
Gone by Lisa McMann
The Demon's Lexicon AND The Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
And many more...

So join us in the celebration and Happy Anniversary, Muses!