In My Mailbox - 1/23/10

Credit goes to The Story Siren for creating and hosting the In My Mailbox feature.

I had a really good book week. I went to Strand and was able to find a few books I have really been looking forward to reading, and I bought and received some other books as well. I am especially excited about Everlasting.

My new books for this week:

Everlasting by Angie Frazier

Sailing aboard her father’s trade ship is all seventeen-year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a girl of society in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set: marry a man she doesn’t love, or condemn herself and her father to poverty.
On her final voyage before the wedding, the stormy arms of the Tasman Sea claim her father, and a terrible family secret is revealed. A secret intertwined with a fabled map, the mother Camille has long believed dead, and an ancient stone that wields a dangerous—and alluring—magic.
The only person Camille can depend on is Oscar, a handsome young sailor whom she is undeniably drawn to. Torn between trusting her instincts and keeping her promises to her father, Camille embarks on a perilous quest into the Australian wilderness to find the enchanted stone. As she and Oscar elude murderous bushrangers and unravel Camille’s father’s lies, they come closer to making the ultimate decision of who—and what—matters most.
Beautifully written and feverishly paced, Everlasting is an unforgettable journey of passion, secrecy, and adventure.


Runaway: An Airhead Novel by Meg Cabot

Emerson Watts is on the run: from school, from work, from her family, from her friends, from herself.
With everyone she loves furious with her for something she can't explain, and nothing but the live Stark Angel fashion show on New Year's Eve to look forward to, Em's reached the end of her rope. . .what's the point of even going on?
But when she discovers the truth about Nikki's secret, she knows there's only one person she can turn to.
Will Christopher be able to put aside his personal feelings and help her expose her employer to the world? Is it even fair to get Christopher involved--since if he agrees, there's every chance that Stark Enterprises will try to have them both killed--this time, permanently?
Maybe it would be better for Em to just keep on running.


The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.


Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman

Fans of Karen Cushman's witty, satisfying novels will welcome Meggy Swann, newly come to London with her only friend, a goose named Louise. Meggy's mother was glad to be rid of her; her father, who sent for her, doesn't want her after all. Meggy is appalled by London,dirty and noisy, full of rogues and thieves, and difficult to get around in—not that getting around is ever easy for someone who walks with the help of two sticks.Just as her alchemist father pursues his Great Work of transforming base metal into gold, Meggy finds herself pursuing her own transformation. Earthy and colorful, Elizabethan London has its dark side, but it also has gifts in store for Meggy Swann.


The Last Dragon Chronicles: Dark Fire by Chris d'Lacey

David Rain was lost in the Arctic and it was up to his daughter, Alexa, to bring him back. This one little girl had the power to save her father, but when she found him, she uncovered a lot more than just David: Dragons have finally returned to Earth as well. . . .
Chris d'Lacey weaves another fiery and magical tale for readers in the fifth book of this NEW YORK TIMES bestselling series!


Spells by Aprilynne Pike

Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there and hone her skills as a Fall faerie. But Laurel quickly realizes that her human family and friends are still in mortal danger and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.
When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?


The Faerie Path: The Enchanted Quest by Frewin Jones

A terrible illness is sweeping through the Faerie Realm. Now, with a strange spirit guiding her, Tania must search outside the borders of Faerie—the dark and magical worlds beyond—for the only one who can help her renew the Faerie Covenant of Immortality.




One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

In her first novel for middle graders, distinguished author Rita Williams-Garcia tells the moving story of three sisters who travel to turbulent Oakland, California, in 1968 in search of the mother who abandoned them.
Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. And even though Delphine must look after her sisters during a summer trip to California to visit Cecile. To get them out of her hair, their mother decides that the girls will attend a day camp run by the Black Panthers. There, the sisters are transformed from naive “colored girls” into strong, proud black girls who become an important part of the community.


The Hidden Flame by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke

In first-century Judea, the followers of the Way have burgeoned into a vibrant, growing community that cannot be ignored. Jerusalem is in turmoil as its religious leaders on one side, and their Roman rulers on the other, conspire to stamp out the fledgling Church. And Abigail, who thought she had finally found home and safety, is caught between the opposing forces.
Two suitors desire the lovely Abigail's hand in marriage. Ezra, a successful Hebrew merchant and widower with important connections among the Sanhedrin, is looking for a mother for his children. The Roman soldier Linux is fascinated by her winsome charm and possibly could offer the sanctuary--maybe even the love--for which she yearns. But her heart has been captured by neither of these. Will her faith and courage survive a heartbreak beyond comprehension as the followers face a gathering storm of persecution they never could have foreseen?


Angel's Den by Jamie Carie

In 1808, when Emma meets and marries Eric Montclaire (the famed “most handsome man west of the Appalachians”), this young daughter of prominent St. Louis citizens believes a fairy tale has just begun. Instead, her husband’s angelic looks quickly prove only to mask a monstrous soul all too capable of possessive emotions and physical abuse. Praying for mercy, she is devastated when Eric insists on her joining his yearlong group expedition to the Pacific Ocean, following the trail Lewis and Clark blazed just a few years earlier. By the time cartographer Luke Bowen realizes Emma’s plight, it’s too late to easily untangle what has become an epic web of lies, theft, murder, courtroom drama, and a deep longing for love.


I'm exhausted and doing the rest as a list, sorry for no pictures/summaries:
City of Cannibals by Ricki Thompson
Captivate by Carrie Jones
Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat
Hazel by Julie Hearn
Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
Darkest Powers: The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong
Shadow Mirror by Richie Tankersley Cusick

I also got a set of Valentine's Day picture books from HarperCollins (Yeah, a bit of an odd surprise package) that are pretty cute and I think they will make a nice gift for my niece after I am done writing some kind of review for them (I've never reviewed a picture book before, so I'm not sure exactly how!). If you are looking for a Valentine's Day gift for a young child, I think some of these books would be a good choice. The titles are:

Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond
Henry in Love by Peter McCarty
My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall
Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine by Herman Parish (this book is ADORABLE, I loved Amelia Bedelia when I was a little girl)
Fancy Nancy: Heart to Heart bu Jane O'Connor
Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Pinkalicius: Love, Pinkalicious Reusable Sticker Book by Victoria Kann

Um, I think that's everything. If I missed something, which I very well might have, I'll just include it in next week's IMM post.