New YA Releases: April 28th - May 4th

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The Program (Program #1) 
by Suzanne Young

Release date: April 30th 2013

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in.
And The Program is coming for them.

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) 

by Julie Kagawa

 Release date: April 30th 2013

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

Sweet Peril (The Sweet Trilogy #2) 
by Wendy Higgins

Release date: April 30th 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things. 

Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.

When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

Life After Theft 

by Aprilynne Pike

Release date: April 30th 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Moving to a new high school sucks. Especially a rich-kid private school. With uniforms. But nothing is worse than finding out the first girl you meet is dead. And a klepto. 

No one can see or hear Kimberlee except Jeff, so--in hopes of bringing an end to the snarkiest haunting in history--he agrees to help her complete her "unfinished business." But when the enmity between Kimberlee and Jeff's new crush, Sera, manages to continue posthumously, Jeff wonders if he's made the right choice.

Clash meets sass in this uproarious modern-day retelling of Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Belonging (Temptation #2) by Karen Ann Hopkins

by Geoff Herbach

Release date: April 30th 2013

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

I left everything I knew behind. 

But it was worth it. He was worth it. 

No one thought an ordinary girl like me would last two minutes living with the Amish, not even me. There are a lot more rules and a lot less freedom, and I miss my family and the life I once had. Worst of all, Noah and I aren't even allowed to see each other. Not until I've proven myself. 

If I can find a way to make it work, we'll be NOAH & ROSE 

together forever. 

But not everybody believes this is where I belong.

Anthem for Jackson Dawes 

by Celia Bryce

Release date: April 30th 2013

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Megan Bright and Jackson Dawes are two teenagers who first meet each other on the hospital ward where they are both being treated for cancer. Megan is scared and worried about her illness, but Jackson seems to be an old hand, having been on the ward for ages. And everybody loves Jackson! He is a whirlwind of life and energy, warmth and sparkle. Megan will need to borrow some of Jackson's extraordinary optimism to face her and Jackson's future. A moving story of first love and a remarkably powerful debut novel.

The Boyfriend App 

by Katie Sise

Release date: April 30th 2013

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can’t wait to get out of high school. Her father’s death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring.

But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler—and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she’s the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?

The Ward (The Ward #1) 

by Jordana Frankel

Release date: April 30th 2013

Publisher: Katherin Tegen Books 

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository 

Sixteen-year-old Ren is a daredevil mobile racer who will risk everything to survive in the Ward, what remains of a water-logged Manhattan. To save her sister, who is suffering from a deadly illness thought to be caused by years of pollution, Ren accepts a secret mission from the government: to search for a freshwater source in the Ward, with the hope of it leading to a cure.

However, she never expects that her search will lead to dangerous encounters with a passionate young scientist; a web of deceit and lies; and an earth-shattering mystery that’s lurking deep beneath the water’s rippling surface.

Jordana Frankel’s ambitious debut novel and the first in a two-book series, The Ward is arresting, cinematic, and thrilling—perfect for fans of Scott Westerfeld or Ann Aguirre.

If He Had Been With Me 
by Laura Nowlin

Release date: May 1st 2013

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

If he had been with me, he wouldn't have died.

Throughout their whole childhood, Finn and Autumn were inseparable—they finished each other's sentences, they knew just what to say when the other person was hurting. But one incident in middle school puts them in separate social worlds come high school, and Autumn has been happily dating James for the last 2 years. But she's always wondered what if...

The night she's about to get the answer is also one of terrible tragedy.

Gorgeous

by Paul Rudnick

Release date: May 1st 2013

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Inner beauty wants out.

When eighteen-year-old Becky Randle’s mother dies, she’s summoned from her Missouri trailer park to meet Tom Kelly, the world’s top designer. He makes her an impossible offer: He’ll create three dresses to transform Becky from a nothing special girl into the most beautiful woman who ever lived.

Becky thinks Tom is a lunatic, or that he’s producing a hidden camera show called World’s Most Gullible Poor People. But she accepts, and she’s remade as Rebecca. When Becky looks in the mirror, she sees herself – an awkward mess of split ends and cankles. But when anyone else looks at Becky, they see pure five-alarm hotness.

Soon Rebecca is on the cover of Vogue, the new Hollywood darling, and dating celebrities. Then Becky meets Prince Gregory, heir to the British throne, and everything starts to crumble. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. But to love her back, Gregory would have to look past the blinding Rebecca to see the real girl inside. And Becky knows there’s not enough magic in the world.

A screamingly defiant, hugely naughty, and impossibly fun free fall past the cat walks, the red carpets, and even the halls of Buckingham Palace,Gorgeous does the impossible: It makes you see yourself clearly for the first time.

The Last Academy 
by Anne Applegate

Release date: May 1st 2013

Publisher: Point

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

What is this prep school preparing them for?

Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam—and readers—stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.

Defriended 

by Ruth Baron

Release date: May 1st 2013

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

A friend request from beyond the grave . . .

Jason has met the perfect girl. OK, so maybe he hasn't actually MET Lacey yet, but they talk online all the time. Yet despite spending most nights chatting, Lacey refuses to meet up in person. Suspicious, Jason starts googling, and his cyberstalking leads to a shocking discovery: According to multiple newspapers, Lacey died a year earlier.

Soon, Jason finds himself enmeshed in a disturbing mystery. Has he found a way to iChat with the dead? Or is someone playing a dangerous trick? Either way, Jason has to discover the truth before it's too late. You can't put up away messages from beyond the grave. 

I'm With Stupid 

by Geoff Herbach

Release date: May 1st 2013

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Felton Reinstein, dork-turned-athlete, must make peace with his father's death and accept his own ability to be brutal like his dad once was. Final chapter in the Stupid Fast series.

How I Lost You 

by Janet Gurtler

Release date: May 1st 2013

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

There are a few things Grace Anderson knows for sure. One is that nothing will ever come between her and her best friend, Kya Kessler. They have a pact. Buds Before Studs. Sisters Before Misters. But in the summer before senior year, life throws out challenges they never expected. And suddenly the person who's always been there starts to need the favor returned. Grace and Kya are forced to question how much a best friend can forgive. And the answer is not what they expected.

Our Song 

by Jordanna Fraiberg

Release date: May 2nd 2013

Publisher: Razorbill

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Olive Bell has spent her entire life in the beautiful suburb of Vista Valley, with a picture-perfect home, a loving family, and a seemingly perfect boyfriend. But after a near-fatal car accident, she’s haunted by a broken heart and a melody that she cannot place.

Then Olive meets Nick. He’s dark, handsome, mysterious . . . and Olive feels connected to him in a way she can’t explain. Is there such a thing as fate? The two embark on a whirlwind romance—until Nick makes a troubling confession.

Heartbroken, Olive pieces together what really happened the night of her accident and arrives at a startling revelation. Only by facing the truth can she uncover the mystery behind the song and the power of what it means to love someone.

Which of these new releases are you most excited to read? Feel free to share them in the comments! 

And while you're here, check out our Summer Reads Giveaway and enter for a chance to win a book from our reading piles. Have a great week!

Cover Reveal: Empyreal Illusions by Jake Bonsignore

Title: Empyreal Illusions: Book One of The Inferno Unleashed Series

Author: Jake Bonsignore

Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopia

Expected Publication: May 2013 (e-book); July 2013 (paperback)

Book Design: Regina Wamba of Mae I Design and Photography

Blurb: A THIN LINE SEPARATES JUSTICE FROM REVENGE…. 

Fourteen-year-old Breena Taljain’s dreary existence in the slums of Purgaire comes to a sudden end when a chance encounter with a criminal mastermind known as the Patriarch goes horridly wrong. His assault on her for refusing to pay for her mother’s addiction leaves her comatose and teetering on the edge of life and death. 

Galbrecht Atalir is a washed-up doctor struggling to overcome his inner demons through alcohol and aggression. He never quite recovered from the unsolved murder of his family seven years prior. When he discovers Breena as his newest patient, he knows at once that the Patriarch is the one who eluded him for almost a decade.

The medicine Galbrecht gives Breena draws her into a heavenly paradise. When it ebbs away, though, the recurring trauma plunges her into treacherous hinterlands. There, Breena must learn to find power in courage, hope, and love to overcome fiends of hatred bent on permanently ending her existence. 

With justice burning in his heart, Galbrecht begins a race against time to seek out the Patriarch in the underworld before Breena loses her struggle against the ever-darkening terrors of her mind….

Teaser

“Make it two more shots, will you?”

Galbrecht Atalir slid a coin across the counter and watched with unnerving patience as Korvan greedily scooped it up. He tilted his head from side to side until he heard the bones in his neck crack and ran a hand through his greased hair. He had not yet reached his limits. Thirteen hearty gulps of The Laughing Banshee’s strongest whiskey had filled his gut with comfortable warmth. It also made him the center of attention for a handful of unkempt thugs. They knew better than to trouble him, though. They had seen him fight before. All he wanted was to down another half-dozen shots and return to the broken pallet in his shack. It was not too much to ask for, really.

His days had grown increasingly meaningless as of late and his evenings were no better. Sometimes, only the idea of wasting his liver away on the cheap liquor The Laughing Banshee offered kept him going. He could scarcely remember the last time he felt joy or saw beauty in the little things the world had to offer.

The chains that bind us, Galbrecht thought wryly. He casually offered a slight nod of thanks to Korvan as he finally brought more liquor. They have to break eventually.

“Took you long enough, Korvan,” he stated matter-of-factly. He exhaled deeply and let his aggression exude out his pores.

The barkeep shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a busy man. One of my girls walked out on me today and I haven’t found a replacement.”

Galbrecht ignored him and took another shot that sent a river of fire down his belly. Who was he trying to fool? He would forget his past once he started believing in a benevolent God. That, he knew, would never happen. A man did not lose everything as he had and still have conviction. Faith was a clutch for the weak and an excuse for the depraved. No superior being worthy of devotion would have forced thirty-six years of hell upon him.

Each day was typically harder than the last. He was certain he would reach his breaking point soon. What will another day at the hospital bring next?

Galbrecht toiled away in the rundown facility in western Purgaire from sunrise to sunset. The reason for becoming a doctor in the first place grew more indistinct with each passing day. After each shift he retreated into alcoholism. He had long since grown sick of Purgaire and his meaningless existence. Perhaps it was time to give up his mad mission and return to Aghiddo. He was wrong to think he could always stay away.

So that’s your answer? You will accept defeat and crawl back there? Pitiful!

Aghiddo was the place where his spirit had died almost a decade ago. Life had ceased to have any purpose for him then. Would it be any different this time around?

I doubt it.

Galbrecht exhaled deeply and drank from the other shot glass. Liquor was the only panacea for his troubling memories. Deep down, he knew that he could not push them aside forever. No amount of alcohol amended the past. Bringing dozens of the sick and wounded back from the brink of death did not, either. There was just something about tending to the infirm that made moving on impossible.

He had not always been this way, though. Once he had looked forward to a promising future. He had had a loving wife, two beautiful daughters, and a cozy home. What more could one ask for? Like most good things, though, his comfortable life in Aghiddo came to a terrible, sudden end seven years ago. He could not forget that fateful moment when he returned from work to find his home ransacked and the halls saturated with blood….

Something inside Galbrecht—then, Ghariel Lodan—snapped that day. His conviction in the world had crumbled. How could it be otherwise when his family perished under torture? Nobody deserved such a fate. Was he supposed to accept his losses and move on? Facing reality had never been harder. He had kissed Adine goodbye earlier that morning; who would have known that his wife would be a broken ragdoll just hours later? His daughters had not fared better, either. Jaila and her younger sister, Relyn, had always been so energetic. To see their fragile limbs bent at humanly impossible angles had been scarring.

Even now, reminiscing threatened to push him into an outrage.

A blunt object had crushed their bones and organs. A closer inspection of their welts and fractures told Galbrecht it was a chain. The mere thought of how they had suffered still sent shivers down his spine. Whoever had killed them had purposely dragged it out.

The constables had ceased the investigation after a few weeks. They told him the lack of evidence made it pointless. Why waste their time on a case when there was nothing for them to gain in return? Favors did not come free anywhere. He was mad to think otherwise, they insisted. Of course, that was their excuse for everything. Life goes on, they had said.

The hell it does, he recalled replying. They were not there when he cremated his family and scattered their ashes in the quiet lake where Adine had agreed to marry him. The constables did not have to live with the guilt of being apart in their darkest hour. He had vowed that proper justice would be his.

His quest to find the truth soon became a maddening obsession. He began to roam the streets at night and created an alternate persona to blend in with the seedy underworld of Aghiddo. He swore to find the answers the constables refused to seek out. Until he did, his family would never rest in peace.

Of course, it was not long before the callous, ruthless facade he had created became one with the man he had been in years past.

I’ve embraced darkness to find light and lost my way within.

“Give me two more, Korvan.”

Hear me, wherever you are. I will find you. ‘Why’ doesn’t matter anymore. You can’t elude me for eternity. Someday…someday I’ll climb out of this rut and hunt you anew.

“I said two more.”

Galbrecht glared at him icily and partially rose off his seat. Korvan’s refusal to listen made his blood boil. His stormy demeanor screamed violence.

Korvan sniveled but did exactly as the doctor commanded. He never turned down coins.

“You’ll be reusing the same glasses. Too bad if you don’t like it.”

He threw a silver onto the bar counter. “Oh? And why is that?”

Korvan nodded and began to pour the liquor. “I told you before. One of my girls walked out on me and I’m too busy to make things pretty for you. It’s all going to the same place, so what does it matter?” He paused and rubbed his chin worrisomely. “She’ll see what a mistake it was to walk out that door. She’ll come crying for me to take her back and I won’t.”

Galbrecht ignored him. He finished the trio of shots in rapid succession and sat in silence as more recollections resurfaced. Why? Just give me solace for one evening! Seven years since his family’s horrid butchering had passed without reward, the last three of which he had whittled away in Purgaire. Failure greeted him at every corner. Closure eluded him.

His obsession on finding the one that murdered his family had consumed his life. Eventually, the despair of his countless failures nearly drove him insane. How could someone disappear without a trace?

You’ve given up. You let Purgaire smother you.

Galbrecht ignored the voice of reason and let his memories wash over him again.

  

Author Bio

I have been writing since I was in grade school and had my first novel, Descendant of Strife, published in 2007. It is about an orphaned sorcerer who learns dark secrets of his past that end up entangling him in a secret war between heaven and hell that spans nearly half a millennium. 

Becoming an author always been a dream of mine since as far back as I can remember. I think it started, though, with a brief writing exercise I was given in kindergarten. We were supposed to write a two to three sentence story (or maybe a paragraph) to do with Easter. I ended up writing a little over a page. Yep…go figure. 

I ended up graduating high school when I was 16 years old and attending St. John’s University in New York for a while. Then I moved to Florida and graduated from the University of South Florida with Magna Cum Laude honors and a BS degree in Business Administration. 

I’ve recently completed my 2nd and 3rd novels, Empyreal Illusions and Awakening the Fire (YA fantasy). They are part of The Inferno Unleashed series. 

“It takes courage to live, yes, but it takes true bravery to stand your ground in a world aligned against you.” At one point or another, everybody inevitably feels that they are bearing the weight of the world on their shoulders and their back is giving in. For Breena Taljain, the central protagonist of Empyreal Illusions, it’s as commonplace of a feeling as breathing. Surprisingly enough, the idea for it came to me while I was sitting in the university library before a final exam. I remember writing the first five pages instead of studying but somehow managed to pull off a good grade anyway! 

Now I am getting ready to begin my fourth novel, which will be set in an entirely different universe than Empyreal Illusions. It will be a YA romance with a tinge of fantasy. Stay tuned.

 Of course, I love reading as much as I do writing. Outside of my literary pursuits, though, I enjoy playing sports and I’m a fitness enthusiast. There’s nothing that a good workout can’t help solve! 

Thanks for your support and for being part of the adventure (and what a one it is and will be)!!!

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