In My Mailbox - 27 February

For the non-vlog inclined:

BOUGHT
When It Happens - Susane Colasanti (Viking Juvenille)

At the start of her senior year, Sara wants two things: to get into a top college and to find true love. Tobey also wants two things in his senior year: to win Battle of the Bands and to make Sara fall in love with him. A popular jock named Dave, though, moves in on Sara first. But Tobey's quirky wit and big blue eyes are hard for Sara to ignore. Plus, he gets the little things that matter to her - like why she loves the Lloyd Dobler boom-box scene in the movie Say Anything....Can a slacker rock-star wanna be win the heart of a pretty class brain like Sara?

Duel perspective is something I love in YA...when done well. I am also terribly excited to read Colasanti for the first time.

A Match Made in High School - Kristin Walker (Razorbill)

When the principal announces that every senior must participate in a mandatory year-long Marriage Education program, Fiona Sheehan believes that her life can’t get any worse. Then she marries her “husband”: Jerky jock Todd, whose cheerleader girlfriend, Amanda, has had it in for Fiona since day one of second grade. Even worse? Amanda is paired with Fiona’s long-term crush, Gabe. At least Fiona is doing better than her best friend, Marcie, who is paired up with the very quiet, very mysterious Johnny Mercer. Pranks, fights, misunderstandings, and reconciliations ensue in an almost Shakespearean comedy of errors about mistaken first impressions, convoluted coupling, and hidden crushes.

Very excited to get this. Check out my review here.

Peaches - Jodi Lynn Anderson (HarperTrophy)

In a Ya-Ya Sisterhood for teens, Peaches combines three unforgettable heroines who have nothing in common but the troubles that have gotten them sentenced to a summer of peach picking at a Georgia orchard.

Leeda is a debutante dating wrong-side-of-the-tracks Rex.

Murphy, the wildest girl in Bridgewater, likes whichever side Rex is on.

Birdie is a dreamer whose passion for Girl Scout cookies is matched only by her love for a boy named Enrico.

When their worlds collide, The Breakfast Club meets The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in an entirely original and provocative story with a lush, captivating setting.

Can there be enough name dropping in the synopsis? Seriously. Comparing it to TBC is almost setting it up to fail and as I am not the greatest Brashares fan (understatement), this could be interesting. I have wanted to read this title for a long time so hopefully it won't disappoint.

FOR REVIEW
Feral Tracks - Euan Mitchell (Vulgar Press)

Feral Tracks captivated teenagers when first released in 1998, including reluctant male readers. It was short-listed for a readers' choice award and optioned for a feature film. The screenplay was created in 2002 and, although not produced as a movie, inspired this newly rewritten version of the story.

The male version of Puberty Blues is a statement that intrigues me. I am interested to see what this book is like.

GIFT
The Puzzle Ring - Kate Forsyth (Scholastic)

Hannah Rose Brown is twelve years old when she finds out that her family is cursed. Desperate to find the truth about her father' disappearance, she travels to her ancestral home in Scotland, and discover a chain of dark secrets that plunge her into different worlds, time frames and dangers. This is another magical historical novel from the author of "The Gypsy Crown".

I am not overly keen on MG (which the protagonist is), however I have heard many splendid things about this book. It has also won a myriad of awards and is authored by an Aussie. I am in!

Before, After and Somebody in Between - Jeannine Garcee (Bloomsbury)

...when a single dream isn't enough.

Why is it so wrong to want to be normal? To prove to the world, and to yourself, that you're not just a white-trash nobody?

A fourteen year-old cellist with big dreams and a bigger mouth, Martha knows her talent will one day help her escape the clutches of her alcoholic mom and the chaotic life they share. Then her beloved cello is stolen, and she resorts to drastic measures to replace it--with tragic results. But just when she decides life can't possibly get any suckier, Martha is unexpectedly given a chance to escape her hopeless existence. Thrilled beyond belief, she reinvents herself as the elusive "Gina" and moves in with the Brinkmans, a wealthy, seemingly "perfect" family with a few disturbing secrets of its own.

Another cellist? Instantly reminded me of Mia in If I Stay. I am intrigued by the synopsis and it's recommended so I am expecting big things.

How's your haul this week?

Lastly, here's me with my copy of Kristin Walker's A Match Made in High School in front of a shrine entrance in my new hometown of Asabata-Kita, Shizuoka, Japan.
See more pics of me in Japan at http://adeleinjapan.blogspot.com.