March Arc Party: What the tweens/teens thought of some upcoming titles

Because of Music and then YouTube Week, this post got pushed back. But I figure I better get it up because we just had another #ARCParty last night which I need to put up for you all. So, without further ado, here’s the recap of the March #ARCParty.

It is time once again for another ARC Party. The Tween and The Bestie were over on a Friday night and we spent the evening going through some of the ARCs I have and getting their reactions. It’s always interesting to me to see how tweens and teens respond. And now that The Tween and The Bestie are reading YA, they are a good source to get feedback from. Here’s a look at the stack of books they went through.

So here they are, gearing up. It’s interesting to note that they are really into this. They went through each book one by one. They took turns reading the backs of each book aloud to each other, discussed the cover, and really shared with me what they thought about it all. Books that they were interested in went into a TBR pile.

SHADOWSHAPER was one of the first titles that they looked at, they thought the cover was very appealing. They liked the summary a lot and it went into their yes I’m going to read this pile.

The Tween is Paris obsessed so it was no surprise that she is interested in this one. She’s actually reading it now and since it takes place in a very alternate (dystopian) Paris she isn’t sure what to think of it.

WISH GIRL is actually out now, but they both were very interested in this title.

They are fighting over reading DEVOTED by Jennifer Mathieu. Too bad for them I am going to read it first and they have to wait. As The Tween looks over my shoulder watching me type this up she is asking if she can take it to school.

SUICIDE NOTES FROM BEAUTIFUL GIRLS also received an enthusiastic yes.

We didn’t get very far with GALACTIC HOT DOGS because it says wiener right there on the cover and these are 12 and 13 year olds. Below is my favorite picture of The Tween ever, she is laughing hysterically because it says wiener. See what I have to work with here people. This was 2 weeks ago and she still walks around and will suddenly just say “wiener” and start giggling.

The first book The Tween picked to actually begin reading out of the piles is THE GAME OF LOVE AND DEATH by Martha Brockenbrough. She finished it and LOVED it. She says, “I think I might like it better than The Raven Boys”, which is a really big deal because she has walked around talking about TRB trilogy for weeks telling me it is the best thing she has ever read. She also told me a part of it was “magical”. She wants you to know that it is “really, really, really good”. She says it’s “kind of like Romeo and Juliet” and they “fall in love. Amazingly in love” but there are issues because the girl is black and the boy is white and it is set in a time when “people were discriminating against black people” (and yes, they still are and this is a good opportunity for me to talk to her about that). She says the boys are “hot” and it’s all very “magical”. Basically, she highly recommends this book, “it’s beautiful and amazing”. I had the opportunity to meet author Martha Brockenbrough this past week at TLA and I got The Tween a signed copy, making me the best mom ever. When I texted her about the book she texted back “OMG OMG OMG” followed by a lot of hearts. The Bestie is now reading THE GAME OF LOVE AND DEATH and she also is highly recommending it. I would love to see this one get lots of attention because it’s really well written. It comes out April 28th and you don’t want to miss it.

Publisher’s Book Description for THE GAME OF LOVE AND DEATH: Antony and Cleopatra. Helen of Troy and Paris. Romeo and Juliet. And now . . . Henry and Flora.

For centuries Love and Death have chosen their players. They have set the rules, rolled the dice, and kept close, ready to influence, angling for supremacy. And Death has always won. Always.

Could there ever be one time, one place, one pair whose love would truly tip the balance?

Meet Flora Saudade, an African-American girl who dreams of becoming the next Amelia Earhart by day and sings in the smoky jazz clubs of Seattle by night. Meet Henry Bishop, born a few blocks and a million worlds away, a white boy with his future assured — a wealthy adoptive family in the midst of the Great Depression, a college scholarship, and all the opportunities in the world seemingly available to him.

The players have been chosen. The dice have been rolled. But when human beings make moves of their own, what happens next is anyone’s guess.

Achingly romantic and brilliantly imagined, The Game of Love and Death is a love story you will never forget.”

Tomorrow, we’ll be talking about some of the books I brought home from TLA.

Filed under: ARCs, new books, New Releases, New YA