Mundie Moms

Monday, October 18, 2010

Blog Tour with Anna Levine, author of Freefall

Today we're kicking off an exciting blog tour hosted by The Teen Book Scene, with Anna Levine, author of Freefall.

Here's a brief synopsis:

Aggie is eighteen and getting ready to do her service for the Israeli Army. She could get a cushy assignment-maybe pushing paper somewhere or she could just take her chances. Only, Aggie isn't like that. Despite her small size and the fact that she needs to be gain weight to even make the grade, and despite the total disbelief of her entire family (except her grandmother, who is an old freedom fighter and don't you forget it), Aggies is trying out for an elite combat unit.

Ben-Aggie's crush of the monty-isn't at all convinced that she's making the right choice. Shira, Aggie's best friend forever, is bewildered (and perhaps a bit too interested in Ben). Then there's Noah. And the serendipitous snow. And a good-bye kiss that turns into, well, a real kiss.

Luckily for Aggie, her backbreaking, sand in mouth, completely lost in the secret training produces an unlikely dividend: friends. The kind she never imagined she could have. The kind you'd go to war with-and for.

How would you describe Aggie and how do you relate to her?

Aggie is the kind of person who isn’t afraid to challenge herself. I really respect that in people. Aggie may not have a clear understanding of what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ but she knows that she needs to discover that for herself. Some of Aggie’s characteristics I’ve taken from the way I think and feel about things, and in some ways we share certain fears and cope with them by facing them even when we don’t want to.

If you could take a favorite literally character and write her into Aggie's story, who would you pick and why?

I read a lot of 19th century fiction and poetry and this questioned stumped me. But then I thought, and I hope this isn’t cheating, that I think I’d like to invite Anne Frank (The Diary of Anne Frank). I think she would be amazed to see that Israel has become a safe homeland for the Jews and that the country is filled with girls like her, with attitude and determination.

I like that Freefall is set in Israel. What inspired you to use Israel?

Living here. I take my inspiration from the people, events, and characters around me. Both my sons are in paratrooper units and I’ve seen their friends jump from planes and I’ve listened to the girls talking about what units they want to be in when they are drafted. I find it amazing that in so many ways Israeli teens are thinking about the same things as American teens, listen to the same music and have family, friendship and love as their priorities, and yet, Israeli teens do all this while juggling the demands of living in a country with borders that have to be defended and army service that is obligatory.

Can you tell us a unique thing that you like about Israel?

The crazy cultural mix. Israel is full of people from all over the world and despite our different cultures there is a strong sense of unity which makes people care about each other. I’m never afraid of getting lost, having my car or my bicycle break down because in minutes there will be a swarm of people gathered around me telling me where to go, what to do and how to do it.

Do you have a must have when you're writing? If so, what is your must have?

Quiet, if I’m at home. But if I’m writing in a cafĂ© I like a lot of people around me and background noise and lots of coffee.

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Thank you Anna for stopping by and visiting with us today!

You can find out more about Freefall by visiting Anna's site here http://annalevine.org/

Thank you to Anna Levine and The Teen Book Scene, we have 1 copy of Freefall to givewaway!! This is open to our international followers.

Book Review- Nightshade

By Andrea Cremer
Published by Philomel/Penguin
To Be Released on October 19th, 2010 TOMORROW
Source- ARC from Author/Publisher & Bought
5 Stars- Tied for my #1 favorite read for 2010

Calla Tor has always known her destiny:
After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Larocke and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything-including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice? (quoted Nightshade's book jacket)

Nightshade is an amazing, spelling binding story that had me glued to the pages until I finished it. From page one, Andrea had me completely captivated not only with her characters and her amazing world building, but with her writing style. I was I felt like I barely had time to put my seat belt on, before I was whisked away in this thrilling read.

18 year old Calla Tor is a warrior and alpha of the Nightshade pack. She's a resilient, strong female leader who is torn between tradition and her heart. Her tradition is Ren, the hot alpha male of the Bane pack, to whom Calla will be marrying after they graduate from their Mountain School. While she loves Ren, her heart is falling for Shay, an outsider who makes Calla question everything she's been raised to believe. She's never questioned her pack's traditions until now. Calla has a choice to make, follow what she's been raised to do and believe, or follow what she feels is right.

Nightshade has a wonderful cast of many different characters, all of whom I felt connected to in some way. They're real, bold and I felt like I was there in on their secret (which no humans are allowed know about) as I was able to learn more about their packs. I never once felt lost in who each of them are and what their roles are in Nightshade. The Pack life was brilliantly written and more than I had hoped it would be. Being a wolf girl, I absolutely love Andrea's unique wolf mythology, as Nightshade is not your stereotypical werewolf book. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters in both human and wolf form. Calla and Ren have two strong packs and while their pack members may not always get a long, their pack is making adjustments now for what it will be like when they're united as one pack.

Andrea has written two different, yet equally commanding characters with Ren and Shay. I'm left feeling just as torn as Calla is. I understand Calla's fight against Ren and her pull towards Shay. Ren is a leader, a fighter and seen as a player, though I think there's a lot more to Ren than what we see through Calla's eyes. Don't get me wrong, Ren and Calla's sexual tension leave the pages smoldering. Ren has a way at jumping off the pages at you and Shay has a way of making you fall for his quiet confidence and bold bravery in a world he's just starting to learn about. He challenges Calla and makes her think for herself. I don't envy Calla and the choice she has to make.

Andrea leaves no shortage of romance or action. It's perfectly blended, and mixed in with an amazing wolf pack dynamic that I've never read in any other book before. Nightshade's vivid setting completely mesmerized me and left me wishing I could spend the day running patrols through the woods that cover the mountain side that both the Nightshade and Bane packs guard.

Full of all the right paranormal elements, including other mythical creatures/characters, Nightshade left me breathless, wanting more and thinking about it long after I had finished reading it. I am really looking forward to reading it's sequel, Wolfsbane, when it's released next year.

You can read more about Nightshade on Andrea's site here http://tinyurl.com/2a5287z

You can read a sneak peak of Wolfsbane here http://www.nightshadebook.com/

**Be sure to enter Andrea's Nightshade hunt here**

Mundane Monday #55

Happy Monday!!! I don't know where the weekend went. We hope you all have a great Monday!

Emma and Alex

"Valentine doesn't care about me," Clary said. "He's only ever cared about you."

Something flickered in the depths of Jace's eyes. "Is that what you call it?" His expression was frighteningly bleak. "After what happened on the boat, he's interested in you. Which means you need to be careful. Very careful. In fact, it wouldn't hurt if you just spent the next few days inside. You can lock yourself in your room like Isabelle."

"I'm not going to do that."

"Of course you're not," said Jace, "because you live to torture me, don't you?"

"Not everything, Jace, is about you," Clary said furiously.

"Possibly," Jace said, "but you have to admit that the majority of things are."

-City of Class, page 319

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