Monday, August 18, 2014

Playlist & Giveaway: A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall



How is everyone's day?! We hope you're beating the Monday blues and the week has been starting off well for all of you. Anyway, we're back after a few days break (I, Dea, survived the most stressful first week back to school, Mary Ann is doing well with her thesis, and Riz has been doing a great job at school. Thank you for asking) by welcoming another August debut author! All three of us are HUGE contemporary readers and music lovers, so we're excited to have Sandy Hall, author of A Little Something Different, to share the songs which influence ALSD the most. 


            
Bleecker & 6th is the ultimate Gabe & Lea song. It’s about a man and a woman who live in the same neighborhood and bump into each other here and there. And then in the end they find themselves sitting on the same bench one afternoon and that’s the start of their relationship. There’s a part that says “and this story does not have a twist.” I always liked that because Gabe and Lea don’t have a twist. They just happen.





If all the POV characters sat together in the same room, and tried to select a song to best represent them as a collective, it would be Brave. Because every time they see Gabe and Lea attempting to interact they think “You could be amazing if you would just talk to each other. BE BRAVE!” (Victor and Hillary might disagree but the rest of the group would ignore them.) I always imagine this song playing over the opening montage of this story if it were made into a movie. Lea coming down the street from one direction, and Gabe moseying from another direction, bumping into each other at the entrance to Starbucks. It just really fits in thematically.





I have an image in my head of Gabe hearing this song right around the time he thinks that Lea is dating some other guy. And he listens to the lyrics and they just really speak to him in that moment. He feels sort of embarrassed about just how much they remind him of his situation, because he’s Gabe and everything embarrasses him, but he also finds a lot of comfort there. And he tries to convince himself to move on. Of course, that doesn’t work.





After the fight at the party, Lea would have gone back to her dorm and listened to this song over and over again until Maribel forced her to go out and get food somewhere besides the dining hall. Maribel would think that Lea was cheered up, but when they get back to their room Lea would put the song on repeat again until Maribel yelled at her to put on some headphones.





This song represents where Gabe and Lea are at the end of the story. There’s just reckless abandon within the lyrics of this song and that’s how happy Gabe and Lea are by the time things work out for them. They’re jumping all over the place and racing to the moon and just really happy. It’s the best day of their lives.




A Little Something Different
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: August 26th 2014
Blurb:
The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out.  But somehow even when nothing is going on, somethingis happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship. 

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....

You can purchase A Little Something Different at the following Retailers:
    

  



About the Author 
Sandy Hall is a teen librarian from New Jersey where she was born and raised. She has a BA in Communication and a Master of Library and Information Science from Rutgers University. When she isn't writing, or teen librarian-ing, she enjoys reading, slot machines, marathoning TV shows, and long scrolls through Tumblr. A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT is her first novel.

Follow her on these sites
  



Have you listened to any of the songs featured in A Little Something Different's playlist? Are any of you excited to read ALSD? Tell us what you think of the book and playlist, and don't forget to enter the fabulous giveaway sponsored by Sandy herself below!


One winner will win a SIGNED ARC of A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
Open to US/Can
Must be at least 13 years old to enter
Ends 9/1


16 comments:

  1. I like that the author not only shared this playlist, but also her rationale for picking these specific songs. What great insight into the pages and inner workings of A Little Something Different! Thanks for the lovely giveaway, and for thinking of us Canadian peeps. YAY! :)

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  2. Fabulous playlist, I love this post! Can you believe that I never have favorite songs? I really like such a wide variety in music (kind of like my books) that I never have one I love more than the other.

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  3. The playlist is awesome. Right now my favorite song is Girls Chase Boys.

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  4. I love this playlist. I'm huge Sara Bareilles fan. Also, the little blurbs under each song, excellent. Favorite song today: Am I Wrong - Nico & Vinz

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  5. I liked the playlist. My favorite song right now is Rum by Brothers Osborne.

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  6. The playlist is ok not really my thing but im sure its fitting for the story. My favorite song lately has been Calvin Harris - When i met you in the summer. It just makes me wanna dance!!

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  7. OOH, these are such good songs! They only make me more excited for the book. :)

    Favorite song right now? EASY. Skin and Bones by David J. Roch. So haunting and beautiful!

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  8. I love Say Something, Best Day of Your Life, and Brave! This looks like a good playlist for me. :) My favorite song today seems to be In the Summertime by Mungo Jerry. I seem to be in the mood for older music lately!

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  9. I love LOVE the cover, and giving a playlist is really neat

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  10. The playlist is great! I hear Say something by Brave New World often on the radio and everywhere else yet it never gets old! My favorite song right now is Two Weeks by FKA twigs

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  11. Oh my goodness, that's an AMAZING playlist!! Say Something is fabulous! And my favorite song never seems to go away: Fall for You by Secondhand Serenade:)

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  12. Great playlist! I love that there is such a variety! My favorite song right now is probably either Sam Smith "Stay With Me" or Big Data "Dangerous".

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  13. I know all the songs on the playlist so it sort of lost it's desired "OOMPH" effect on me, however it was an amazing playlist. I don't think I have a favourite song but if i could pick one……… The Weight by Shawn Mendes!!

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  14. Choosing a favorite song is like choosing a favorite book..impossible. The playlist is interesting, it just preps me more to read the book!

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  15. I love the playlist for A Little Something Different! All of the songs are awesome. Right now I really like Pompeii by Bastille!

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