August 2013

The weather here feels like September. I feel like the seasons have been on some accelerated schedule in the Northeast. Perhaps I am jaded since it has snowed significantly in late October and early November the last two years! It’s energizing to have brisk mornings, no humidity and cloudless days. It makes it easier not to fall asleep with a book in hand at the beach, pool, or in the hammock or lawn chair. And this is a year you want to be an alert reader. I think this has been one of the BEST years for books. I have read so many that I am recommending, and as I look at my “working bookshelf,” (which is pictured above) where I have lined up books, I see how many titles I am looking forward to reading for projects or pleasure!

We know our readers love to meet authors, as well as have the opportunity to hear about great book group selections. Thus I am happy to share that for a second year, ReadingGroupGuides.com is partnering with the Hachette Book Group to host “Hachette Reading Group Day” in New York. This year’s festivities will take place on Saturday, September 7th from 10:00-3:30 at Lighthouse International. Hear from Hachette's celebrated list of authors --- including Elin Hilderbrand, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Kathleen Kent and George Pelecanos (to name just a few of the FIFTEEN authors who will be there) --- mingle with fellow Tri-State reading groups, enjoy good food, and, of course, take home books and advance reading copies! Reserve soon so you don't miss out on this terrific event. Last year’s Reading Group Day was a smashing success; attendees LOVED the opportunity to hear from and mingle with authors. The two friends who attended with me still are raving about the event. Each ticket is $50, and this includes lunch and a gift bag. Click here to book your ticket --- and be sure to share this with other members of your book group!

This month, we’re giving you THREE chances to win some wonderful books for you and the members of your group. First up is Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, which came out in paperback last week after being a huge hit in hardcover. Here’s the premise: Louisa Clark takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair-bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life and is pretty sure he cannot live the way he is. Louisa refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living. We’re giving 50 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the book. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, September 5th at noon ET.

I finally had a chance to read Me Before You after missing it in hardcover. I loved the premise, the setup, the characters and the setting; it’s full of emotion without becoming too precious or sweet. Click here to see why I made the book my “catch up” Bookreporter.com Bets On selection, and read our review on Bookreporter.com here. And while you’re there, be sure to check out my other recent Bets On selections. They include Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky, The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison (which the New York Times is calling a “sleeper hit of the summer”) and Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole.

Our next contest is for All Good Things, the follow-up to Sarah Turnbull’s bestselling memoir, Almost French. While Sarah went on to carve out an idyllic life in Paris with her husband, Frederic, there was still one dream she was beginning to fear might be impossible --- starting a family. Then, out of the blue, an opportunity to embark on another adventure offers a new beginning --- and new hope of conquering both her infertility and her writer’s block. Leaving behind life in the world's most romantic and beautiful city was never going to be easy. But it helps when your destination is another paradise on earth: Tahiti. All Good Things doesn’t release until September 12th, but we have 45 copies to give away; all you have to do is fill out this form by Thursday, September 5th at noon ET.

The latest book in our "What Are You Reading" contest is NW by Zadie Smith, which follows four Londoners as they try to make adult lives outside of Caldwell, the council estate of their childhood. From private houses to public parks, at work and at play, their London is a complicated place, as beautiful as it is brutal, where the thoroughfares hide the back alleys and taking the high road can sometimes lead you to a dead end. NW was a bestseller when it released in hardcover and will be available in paperback on August 27th. If you’d like to be one of three groups to win 12 copies of the paperback edition, please fill out this form by Thursday, September 5th at noon ET and let us know what your group is reading in August.

Now let’s shift gears to this month’s featured guides. With John Grisham’s new legal thriller, Sycamore Row, releasing on October 22nd, we thought it would only be fitting to feature the guide for A Time to Kill, as Sycamore Row is a follow-up title. In Grisham's 1989 novel, his first, the life of a 10-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men. The mostly white town of Clanton in Ford County, Mississippi, reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. Until her black father acquires an assault rifle and takes justice into his own outraged hands. For 10 days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client’s life --- and then his own. Click here for the guide and here for a sneak peek at the much-anticipated sequel, which finds Jake once again embroiled in a fiercely controversial trial. Many have said that A Time to Kill is Grisham’s BEST book, thus we are happy to suggest it for your book group discussions this month.

Susanna Daniel follows up her debut novel, Stiltsville, which was one of my Bets On selections, with her latest effort, Sea Creatures. As Georgia returns to her hometown of Miami with her toddler son and husband, she is hoping for a fresh start. They have left Illinois trailing scandal and disappointment in their wake. When Georgia takes a job as an errand runner for an artist, she's surprised to find that her life changes dramatically and for the better. But the family's challenges return worse than before, and Georgia must face the fact that her choices have put her son in grave danger. Click here for the guide.

Next, we’re featuring Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island. In this story of perseverance in the face of adversity, Regina Calcaterra recounts her childhood in foster care and on the streets --- and how she and her savvy crew of homeless siblings managed to survive years of homelessness, abandonment and abuse. Etched in Sand reveals how Regina endured a series of foster homes and intermittent homelessness in the shadow of the Hamptons, and how she rose above her past while fighting to keep her brother and three sisters together. Click here for the guide, and take a look at the book trailer here. Years ago, I watched a documentary about some homeless children who lived a few blocks from Disneyland. Their only view of the Magic Kingdom was the nightly fireworks viewed overhead. Etched in Sand is a reminder of how there is a shadow to paradise.

Releasing August 27th is In Falling Snow, which marks the American debut of bestselling Australian writer Mary-Rose MacColl. Iris Crane’s tranquil life is shattered when a letter summons memories from her bittersweet past: her first love, her best friend, and the tragedy that changed everything. Iris, a young Australian nurse, travels to France during World War I to bring home her 15-year-old brother, who ran away to enlist. But in Paris she meets the charismatic Dr. Frances Ivens, who convinces Iris to help establish a field hospital in the old abbey at Royaumont, staffed entirely by women --- a decision that will change her life. Click here for the guide.

Our final featured guide is for My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes) by Luisa Weiss, which will be available in paperback on August 27th. It takes courage to turn your life upside down, especially when everyone is telling you how lucky you are. But sometimes what seems right can feel deeply wrong. My Berlin Kitchen tells the story of how one thoroughly confused, kitchen-mad perfectionist broke off her engagement to a handsome New Yorker, quit her dream job, and found her way to a new life, a new man, and a new home in Berlin --- one recipe at a time. Click here for the guide. And yes, we can see scrumptious dishes accompanying discussions.

Our Summer Reading contests on Bookreporter.com came to an end last week. Congratulations to all our winners! Even if you didn’t win any of our contests, we encourage you to take a look at the feature for some great reading suggestions during these dog days of summer.

If you enjoyed our Summer Reading feature, you’re going to LOVE what we have in store for you for this year’s Fall Preview contests. The giveaways will launch this month and continue through Thursday, September 19th. And we will have a new feature this fall called "Fall Showcase," which will give you even more ways to win throughout the fall. Sign up for the Bookreporter.com Fall Preview newsletter here now! If you cannot get that to work, please write us at [email protected] with the subject line “Sign me up for the Fall newsletters!” We have LOTS planned for fall, and we can’t wait to tell you all about the books you WILL want to read.

Back in March, we shared a memoir that has made me do a lot of thinking: Until I Say Good-bye by Susan Spencer-Wendel. Susan is suffering from ALS, a terrible disease with no cure. Her health continues to deteriorate, but that is not deterring Susan from living her life to the fullest it can be. She has lost the use of her thumb that she used to type her memoir, but a new technology has been identified to enable her to write by focusing a dot on her forehead onto a camera on her laptop to type words. A newsletter opener like this may take her up to 20 hours to compose, but she relishes the fact that she can communicate rather than stressing what she has lost. Susan is inspiring, and if you would like to read her piece about why she acquired a lapdog for comfort, as well as more about her new way to write, you can click here. And in the spirit of Susan, do something today to ENJOY LIFE!

Is your group getting ready for fall reading? Then be sure to take a look at these videos from some of the publishers who presented at our BEA Book Group Speed Dating session talking about Fall/Winter titles, and please share the link with your fellow book group members. Whether we were lucky enough to have you share this event with us in New York, or if you are viewing from afar, hearing these publishing folks present in their own words is something you will enjoy. It’s exactly what book talks are like when I attend various conventions around the country. And remember that we have our complete presentation from BookExpo America, with more than 20 publishers represented, available here for those of you who are selecting fall/winter titles for your groups.

Here’s to exploring at least one of the books below....reading our list I had a hard time trying to figure out what to read first!

Happy reading and discussing….

We are celebrating the paperback release of Me Before You by Jojo Moyes --- a heartbreakingly romantic novel that brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common --- with a special contest. 50 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which is now available in paperback, for their group. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, September 5th at noon ET.

More about Me Before You:
Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life --- steady boyfriend, close family --- who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life --- big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel --- and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy --- but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to see why we’re betting you’ll love this book.
 

We are celebrating the upcoming release of All Good Things --- Sarah Turnbull’s follow-up memoir to Almost French, in which she explores a new paradise: Tahiti --- with a special contest. 45 readers will have the opportunity to each win a copy of the book, which will be in stores on September 12th, for their group. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, September 5th at noon ET.

More about All Good Things:
Australian writer Sarah Turnbull seemed to have had more than her fair share of dreams come true, as told in her bestselling memoir Almost French. While Sarah went on to carve out an idyllic life in Paris with her husband, Frederic, there was still one dream she was beginning to fear might be impossible --- starting a family. Then, out of the blue, an opportunity to make a dramatic sea change and embark on another adventure offers a new beginning --- and new hope of conquering both her infertility and her writer’s block. Leaving behind life in the world's most romantic and beautiful city was never going to be easy. But it helps when your destination is another paradise on earth: Tahiti.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
 

Let us know what your group is reading in August, and you will be entered in a giveaway to win multiple copies of a book for your group! Our latest prize book is NW, Zadie Smith’s tragicomic novel that follows four Londoners as they try to make adult lives outside of Caldwell, the council estate of their childhood. We have 12 copies of the book, which will be available in paperback on August 27th, to give away to three groups. Enter here by Thursday, September 5th at noon ET for your chance to win copies for you and your group members.

More about NW:
Set in northwest London, Zadie Smith’s brilliant tragicomic novel follows four locals --- Leah, Natalie, Fox and Nathan --- as they try to make adult lives outside of Caldwell, the council estate of their childhood. In private houses and public parks, at work and at play, these Londoners inhabit a complicated place, as beautiful as it is brutal, where the thoroughfares hide the back alleys and taking the high road can sometimes lead you to a dead end. Depicting the modern urban zone --- familiar to city-dwellers everywhere --- NW is a quietly devastating novel of encounters, mercurial and vital, like the city itself.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read our review on Bookreporter.com.
 

The life of a 10-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men. The mostly white town of Clanton in Ford County, Mississippi, reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. Until her black father acquires an assault rifle and takes justice into his own outraged hands. For 10 days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client’s life --- and then his own.

In this searing courtroom drama, bestselling author John Grisham proves the savage depths of racial violence as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in the small southern town of Clanton, Mississippi.

Sycamore Row, the highly anticipated sequel to A Time to Kill, releases on October 22nd. Click here to read more about it.
 

When Georgia Quillian returns to her hometown of Miami, her husband Graham and their young son in tow, she is hoping for a fresh start. The family has fled Illinois trailing scandal and disappointment, the fallout from Graham’s severe sleep disorder and Georgia’s failed business. To make matters worse, their charming three-year-old son, Frankie, has for months refused to speak a word.

Although Georgia is still grieving her mother’s death from five years earlier, her father and stepmother offer warm welcome --- and a slip for the dilapidated houseboat Georgia and Graham have chosen to call home. On a lark, Georgia takes a job as an errand runner for a reclusive artist who lives in the middle of the bay, and she soon finds that time spent with the intense hermit might help Frankie find the courage to speak, and might also help her reconcile the woman she was with the woman she has become.
 

Chocolate and Zucchini. 101 Cookbooks. The Julie/Julia Project. In the early days of food blogs, these were the pioneers whose warmth and recipes turned their creators’ kitchens into beloved web destinations. Luisa Weiss was working in New York when she decided to cook her way through her massive recipe collection. The Wednesday Chef, the cooking blog she launched to document her adventures, charmed readers around the world. But Luisa never stopped longing to return to her childhood home in Berlin. A food memoir with recipes, My Berlin Kitchen deliciously chronicles how she finally took the plunge and went across the ocean in search of happiness --- only to find love waiting where she least expected it.
 

August’s New in Paperback roundups on Bookreporter.com include the following highlights for book groups:

A Hundred Flowers by Gail Tsukiyama
At the beginning of the Chinese Cultural Revolution of 1957, Kai Ying struggles to hold her family together after her husband is sent to a labor camp as punishment for writing a letter criticizing the Communist Party. When her young son breaks his leg, she must come to terms with the shattering reminder of her husband's absence. Meanwhile, other members of the household must face their own guilty secrets and strive to find peace in a world where the old sense of order is failing.

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
Brain on Fire is the powerful account of Susannah Cahalan’s struggle to recapture her identity and to rediscover herself among the fragments left behind. Using all her considerable journalistic skills --- and building from hospital records and surveillance video, interviews with family and friends, and excerpts from the deeply moving journal her father kept during her illness --- she pieces together the story of a “lost month” of her life.

The History of Us by Leah Stewart
Eloise Hempel’s life is turned upside down when she must raise her sister's three children after her sister's untimely death. Nearly two decades after returning to Cincinnati and moving back into her mother's house, she is ready to resume her own life. However, when her mother creates a competition for which of the now-grown kids gets the house, their makeshift family starts to fall apart.

Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach
At 17, David “Lizard” Hochmeyer is nearly seven feet tall, a star quarterback, and Princeton-bound. His future seems all but assured until his parents are mysteriously murdered, leaving Lizard and his older sister, Kate, adrift and alone. In a mansion across the pond from their Connecticut home lives the world’s greatest ballerina, Sylphide, and her rock star husband, whose own disasters intersect with Lizard’s --- and Kate’s --- in the most intimate and surprising ways.

The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli
Claire Nagy’s love for Forster Baumsarg, the only son of prominent California citrus ranchers, is so strong that not even the tragic death of her son Joshua at kidnappers’ hands, her alienation from her two daughters, or the dissolution of her marriage can pull her from the ranch she’s devoted her life to preserving. But Claire is about to face her greatest struggle: an illness that threatens to take her very life.

-Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of August 5th, August 12th, August 19th and August 26th.

 

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky
Charlotte and Nicole were once the best of friends, enjoying their time together at Nicole's family's Maine island house, but for years their friendship has been on hold. Nicole has married and started a successful blog; Charlotte has traveled the world as a writer and reporter. When Nicole returns to the island house, she invites Charlotte to join her. Together they work on a cookbook based on recipes grown from the herbs that had been nurtured for decades by a woman on the island. Nicole seeks out recipes and tests them while Charlotte does interviews of the local islanders. As they partner on this project, there is still a tension between them. Each has a secret that will change their relationship forever. Can love survive an honest mistake?

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts about the book.

The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison
There is an expression that no one outside a marriage really knows what goes on inside a marriage. There are times we wonder how people can be together. There are other seemingly perfect marriages that have their fractures.

In The Silent Wife, a debut novel by the late A. S. A. Harrison (she passed away in April), readers quickly learn that the Jodi and Todd, the idyllic couple, we first meet are in a bad place in their marriage. There are risks for them both in what is going on. For Todd, he can’t be discovered. For Jodi, it could be the end of the affluent life they lead in their beautiful waterfront condo in Chicago.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts about the book.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
While I read a lot, there are times that I “miss” a book that I really want to read when it comes out in hardcover. It’s often one that I discover here on Bookreporter.com from a review or some promo copy. With best intentions, it slips further and further down my pile until I see news that the paperback is being released, which gives me another opportunity to move it to the top of the pile to read and share my thoughts. This is what happened to me with Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. A few chapters in, and I could see why this was a much-buzzed-about --- and loved --- book in hardcover.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts about the book.

Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole
Remember when letter writing was an everyday occurrence, not a lost art? I am not talking about emails that bounce around, often with one-word answers, but rather the kinds of letters where just seeing the writing on an envelope found at the mailbox by the curb could mean a nice extended read, a thoughtful reply, and then weeks for another part of the conversation to unfold. Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole takes us back to a time like that as it spans two continents and takes place over the course of two world wars, capturing the way that love builds and the way words can make a heart beat faster. I enjoy sagas, and the way this one plays out in the characters’ own words makes it so charming!

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts about the book.

Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
Set in the summer of 1963 (hard to believe that was 50 years ago) during a pivotal time in the civil rights movement, Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall tells the story of those turbulent times through the eyes of nine-year-old Starla Claudelle. Starla runs away from home to find her mother, who deserted her and her father years ago, as she pined for a career as a country music singer. Starla is hellbent on getting to Nashville, the last place she has known her mother to be, where she is sure her mother is a country music star.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts about the book.
 

The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

All Good Things: From Paris to Tahiti: Life and Longing by Sarah Turnbull: In this lushly written memoir by the author of Almost French, Sarah Turnbull explores a new paradise: Tahiti.
The Butterfly Sister by Amy Gail Hansen: To uncover the truth about a friend's disappearance, a fragile young woman must silence the ghosts of her past in this moving debut tale that intertwines mystery, madness, betrayal, love and literature.
Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island by Regina Calcaterra: A true-life rags-to-riches story, Etched in Sand chronicles Regina Calcaterra’s rising above her past, while fighting to keep her brother and three sisters together through it all.
Haldol and Hyacinths: A Bipolar Life by Melody Moezzi: With candor and humor, a manic-depressive Iranian-American Muslim woman chronicles her experiences with both clinical and cultural bipolarity.
In Falling Snow by Mary-Rose MacColl: In Falling Snow is a bestselling Australian writer’s American debut and a heart-wrenching novel of World War I.
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes: A Love Story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common --- a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?
My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes) by Luisa Weiss: “Luisa has a way of telling a story that’s nothing short of entrancing.” —Deb Perelman, author of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
NW by Zadie Smith: Depicting the modern urban zone --- familiar to town-dwellers everywhere --- Zadie Smith’s NW is a quietly devastating novel of encounters, mercurial and vital, like the city itself.
Sea Creatures by Susanna Daniel: A mother must make the unthinkable choice between her husband and her son in this compelling domestic drama, the follow-up to the author’s “exquisite debut” (Publishers Weekly), Stiltsville.
Swimming in the Moon by Pamela Schoenewaldt: From the author of When We Were Strangers, another American tale as only Pamela Schoenewaldt knows how to tell it; this time about a complicated relationship between mother and daughter set against the tumult of the early 1900s: the frenzy of union strikes, the thrill of Vaudeville, and the ever-growing promise of something more.
A Time to Kill by John Grisham: In this searing courtroom drama, bestselling author John Grisham proves the savage depths of racial violence as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in the small southern town of Clanton, Mississippi.
The Widows of Braxton County by Jess McConkey: In the vein of Jennifer McMahon's Promise Not to Tell comes a haunting story about family secrets and how well we really know the people we love.

Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:

The Mirrored World by Debra Dean: From Debra Dean, the bestselling author of the critically acclaimed The Madonnas of Leningrad, comes the story of Xenia of St. Petersburg, a breathtaking novel of love and madness set in 18th-century Russia. This is Dean’s first novel since the bestselling The Madonnas of Leningrad.
You Are the Love of My Life by Susan Richards Shreve: For fans of Sue Miller, You Are the Love of My Life is a finely wrought novel of family secrets and the desire for sustaining love.

The following new guides are now available for Christian book groups:

The Letters: The Inn at Eagle Hill, Book 1 by Suzanne Woods Fisher:At Eagle Hill, an Amish bed and breakfast, guests arrive with their worries and leave with their problems solved in surprising ways.
On Distant Shores: Wings of the Nightingale, Book 2 by Sarah Sundin: As World War II rages, tragedy connects a flight nurse and an Army sergeant. Can they find love? Or will battles keep them apart?

 

We have a number of contests currently running on our other sites in TheBookReportNetwork.com. Please take a look at them below, and enter for your chance to win some fabulous books!

Bookreporter.com

Tamarack County by William Kent Krueger

We have 25 copies of Tamarack County by William Kent Krueger, which will be in stores on August 20th, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, August 15th at noon ET.

Tell No Lies by Gregg Hurwitz

We have 25 copies of Tell No Lies by Gregg Hurwitz, which releases on August 20th, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, August 15th at noon ET.

Lookaway, Lookaway by Wilton Barnhardt

We have 25 copies of Lookaway, Lookaway by Wilton Barnhardt, which releases on August 20th, to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, August 15th at noon ET.

Leaving Haven by Kathleen McCleary

Our latest Sneak Peek Feature spotlights Leaving Haven by Kathleen McCleary, a provocative and touching novel that explores the intricacies of love, friendship and parenthood. We have 25 advance copies to give away to readers who would like to preview the book, which releases on October 1st, and share their comments about it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, August 8th at noon ET.

Word of Mouth
Tell us your current reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from July 26th to August 9th, FIVE lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of Death Angel by Linda Fairstein, The Dying Hours: A Tom Thorne Novel by Mark Billingham, and A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay.

20SomethingReads.com

The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman

We are celebrating the release of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman with a special contest that will give 15 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the book. Our Grand Prize, which will be awarded to ONE winner, includes a copy of the book along with a 20SomethingReads.com "Breakup Package.” To enter to win the Grand Prize, share your best/worst funniest breakup story. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, August 14th at noon ET.

Teenreads.com

Back-to-School Book Bag Giveaway
Even though summer is winding down and a deep-seated dread may be beginning to settle in your stomach, Teenreads.com has something for you to celebrate the back-to-school season. In our brand new Back-to-School Book Bag Giveaway, you'll have the chance to win a bunch of books in a school bag! Between now and Monday, September 9th, teens can enter to win a prize package with books to perk you up this fall.

Kidsreads.com

Home Sweet Horror: Scary Tales, Book One by James Preller
To celebrate the release of Home Sweet Horror, we have a special contest that will give five readers the opportunity to win a copy of this first book in James Preller’s Scary Tales series. The deadline for entries is Monday, August 12th at noon ET.

FaithfulReader.com

Chivalry: The Quest for a Personal Code of Honor in an Unjust World by Zach Hunter
We are celebrating the release of Chivalry by Zach Hunter with a special contest that will give 10 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the book, which challenges young men and women to develop their own personal code that will prepare them to defend others and live with civility and integrity. The deadline for entries is Thursday, August 15th at noon ET.

FaithfulReader.com’s Monthly Contest