Teaser Tuesday: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  

Grab your current read. 

Open to a random page. 

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. 

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

...The crimp in our...supposedly glorious future had nothing do with the kids who died. Buried underground or burned into ash, they couldn't do anything but haunt the memories of the people who had loved them. They were gone. Forever.

And that symptoms list, the one that was sent home folded and stapled by teachers, which was aired a hundred times over on the news as the faces of the dead scrolled along the bottom of the screen? They were never scared of the kids who might die, or the empty spaces they would leave behind.

They were afraid of us - the ones who lived.

The Darkest Minds

 Alexandra Bracken

When Ruby wakes up on her tenth birthday, something about her has changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that's killed most of America's children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control. 

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. 

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she's on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her--East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can't risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents. 

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

Available from Disney*Hyperion December 2012

Stiefvater, Maggie: The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle, #1)

Expected publication: September 18, 2012
Scholastic Press
YA Paranormal/Mythology, 304 pages

Acquired and read: From the publisher (courtesy of BEA 2012), in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. It's taken me a good three months to get through this troublemaker.


Disclaimer: This is a pre-release ARC received from the publisher. As such, please check any quotes or information against the finished copy of the book.  

There's this constant debate about authors being kept in their place - and what I mean by that is that every once in a while, a writer that everyone hearts and expects to keep merrily rolling in the dough of their numerous sci-fi novels, or whatever, will suddenly be declaring their intentions to write an authentic recounting of the romance between Shakespeare and his wife.

You know, something unexpected. Something out of the mark they've already made on the publishing industry. Something that, to the author's primary group of readers, often comes as a total shock.

(If you still don't understand what I'm getting at...weren't you also thinking that J.K. Rowling wouldn't stray from the fantasy genre?)

To me, being both a writer and a reader, I not only look forward to such "infractions" - I give my blessing. I know that, at least when you're first breaking into the market, it's probably better if your work can be shelved under an appropriate genre, if you can be placed on panels and in library catalogs alongside other authors who write the same. But, I also know that it isn't right to constrain creativity. Sure, I might've enjoyed writing a dystopian, but if I had to write any more, I'd probably end up scribbling out parodies of the Hunger Games with cartoonized Katniss-esque characters and bury Peeta in hummus and have Gale be the hero of all of it.

Well, I might not go that far. I do treasure my life. But I think you get what I mean. The muse comes when it comes, and I am not definitely not one to argue with the muse or pick a market-appreciated idea over one that I'd rather write for me.

Take that as a prologue of sorts for my experience with The Raven Boys.

If you read my sum-up of BEA 2012 (or at least, my day there), you probably know how thrilled I was when one really awesome Scholastic rep took a copy of The Raven Boys out of the closet for me. (Just goes to show...pushing and shoving and snatching ARCs without taking time to talk to the people standing around? At the end of the day, you lose.)

Anyway, I held it on my lap all the way home, stroked the cover, pretty much extricated a pinky promise from myself that I would read all of it that night - and then I didn't. Well, I opened it and read the first two chapters, and then I closed it back.

Not a very auspicious start, especially from a Stiefvater fangirl, right?

Once I got myself going, though, I pretty much kept up a constant commentary with my younger sister about how...different The Raven Boys was. I think at one point I creeped her out by dropping the book in my lap, closing my eyes, shaking my head and going, "Why, Maggie, why?"

(In my defense, someone turned up dead who I didn't expect. But I won't spoil.)

The thing is, now that I'm trying to fence in all my thoughts, Maggie Stiefvater's switched gears, and it's pretty obvious when you look at The Raven Boys. It's third-person, no alternating POVs (yeah, that killed me, too). Every bit of the text is dense with details, details that sometimes don't feel important and you might skip over, but later you're skipping right back through what feels like hundreds of pages to find, because HOLY CROW YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING and you've completely forgotten who this new character is.

Switching gears is not at all a bad thing. I mean, previously Maggie's switched from deep, poetic werewolves to vicious, human-eating water-horses, and look how well that turned out. The Raven Boys, once you pull away the unfamiliar surface, is still traditional Stiefvater fare. There's a heroine with a unique name (Blue), dysfunctional family and attraction to a boy who may not be healthy for her. Well, this time around, there's two (yes, ladies and gentlemen, there is a love triangle involved here - I wasn't too happy about that, but c'est la vie). The boy(s) have questionable pasts, interesting quirks (Gansey chews mint leaves) and a quest, though perhaps Gansey's isn't as desperate as Sam's desire to keep from being stuck a wolf forever.

A quest for a king.

Yes, a real, live king - or probably a ghost king, though that was one thing I didn't get the full importance of. I mean, everyone wants King Arthur to come back, but knowing our luck, he'd probably arrive wrapped in the whole enchilada: cheating wife, back-stabbing nephew/son/stepson/whatever, evil stepsister, and creepy old prophesizing guy.

Yes, I just de-romanticized the legend of the Once and Future King. I hope we can still be friends.

Somewhere around here, I know I should probably plug in an appropriate conclusion, so here it is. The Raven Boys. Not what I expected, definitely not an easy road to travel down, but...somewhat satisfying, once you get to the conclusion. It's different, it's got a love triangle (okay, so maybe that bothered me. A lot. But that's just me being anti-love triangle) but every author's gotta change sooner or later, and as long as the quality of her writing stays the same and she still touches base with her readers, I'm right behind Maggie Stiefvater for the rest of her (long, fruitful, bagpipe-playing) career.

And thank you for being patient and reading this monstrosity. I should probably keep quiet about The Raven Boys when I can't even curb off my own reviews.

Warnings: Strong language; some mention of the fact that Blue's parents were not married, and a really weird, possibly innuendo-fraught nickname Blue's mother had for her father. Gansey's real name might be taken as a swear word in polite society - DO NOT ASK ME WHAT IT IS. There's also a character death (well, that might be a loose definition, and you'll see for yourself).

Khoury, Jessica: Origin

Expected publication: September 4, 2012
Razorbill (Penguin)
YA Sci-Fi/Dystopian, 372 pages
Acquired and read: From the lovely folks manning the Penguin booth at BEA (NEVER going to get tired of telling people I actually went there); I read it within two days

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home—and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin—a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost. This is a supremely compelling debut novel that blends the awakening romance of Matched with the mystery and jungle conspiracy of Lost.

Disclaimer: This is a pre-release ARC received from the publisher. As such, please check any quotes or information against the finished copy of the book.  

When I think back about my Origin reading experience, four words come to mind.

Lush.

Powerful.

Overwhelming.

Green.

I hope that's enough to tell you from the get-go that this is one debut you can't pass up.


All Pia has ever known is the bountiful rainforest that engulfs her and the science compound she's been raised within; along with her mother and father and the other scientists that she chooses to label as her uncles and aunts. She has a pet jaguar, a magical birthday party to look forward to, and a goal to reach: shedding her weak shell of unnecessary human compassion to reach her full potential as an immortal beacon for a new race of mankind, and be allowed to learn the secret behind her own creation.

However - like any of the other YA heroines you've probably rubbed elbows with, before - that fairy-tale life is quickly melting away to show some hard iron bars. She isn't allowed to go out past the fence and explore the warm, beckoning rainforest. She's forced to experiment on animals (and not with some measly Maybelline cosmetics, either), and she has no idea where on Earth she actually is.

No, seriously. She isn't just being metaphorical. Her mom won't allow her a map.

All that changes in a sudden window of potential. A new scientist crashes the party, unleashing some old secrets Pia hasn't been privy to, and becoming her telescope outward to a world of discovery. And then there's that hole in the fence that she shimmies through in true Cinderella fashion (and on the night of her big birthday gala, no less!).

And the boy.

Yes, I'm sure your attention got caught on the last part, didn't it? *snorts* YA readers and their boys. I'm sure it'll thrill you even more to know that he's a native. Yes, a real hunting, anaconda-wrestling (and eating) man of the jungle.

Jacob Black, I don't think there's enough room in the woods for the two of ya.

And I think you know who's going to go.


Anyway...the book. I have to say that, in general, I enjoyed this WAY more than I thought I would. I mean, it's a dystopian. Or at least, I think it is - and if it is, you probably know that dystopians and I have a pretty rough love-hate relationship.

Origin nearly passed under my BEA radar, until I happened to be standing at the booth and the really awesome publishing representative guy was like, "Here, take this one, too", and I just took it and went.

Bless you, Awesome Penguin Guy. Bless you.


It was totally worth the whole cramming it under the table at the wedding reception and holding a napkin over it so I didn't splatter curry on it and avoiding grimy little kids wanting to take a look scenario in the end. I closed my eyes after I turned the last page and I saw green.

No lie. I think the cover got burned onto the back of my eyelids from too much staring.

As you can probably see, the rainforest was my favorite part. It's interesting that my recent sci-fi loves swing from a dying spacecraft (Across the Universe by Beth Revis) to one of Earth's last little patches of heaven. This is why I keep reading, even through all the disappointments and near-misses and "Gah, the hype! I can't look!" moments. It all pays off for those times when I turn the page and I practically fall into a new world, one that I've never visited (and might never find the time to, if it really exists) to the point that I can feel the loam under my nails and smell the dampness of an approaching rainstorm.

I'm really curious as to whether or not Jessica Khoury actually made it to the rainforest for research. Because if not, she is really dang good at this writing thing.

Okay...now for the cons. I will have to warn you that (and I've noticed a few other pre-readers mentioned this as well) it's a little annoying how Pia's rebellion gene suddenly kicks in after years of being trapped within the compound. There were also a few moments where I was like, "PIA, GET A GRIP AND GET A MOVE ON," but I think you'd have those screaming matches with any of the other YA heroines currently on the market, so I'm not sure if you'd count that as a viable con.

Also, Eio's background...well, this might count as a spoiler. But it was a little predicable for me. That's all I'm going to say.

In any case, I'm pleasantly surprised - and eagerly awaiting more - when it comes to Jessica Khoury. Kudos on a job well done (and thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for making it a stand-alone so I don't have to agonize over a sequel).


Reader, I read it. And you should too. Embrace the green!

Warnings: Ladies and gentlemen, this is one of the few books this year where I can say there is no swearing. Thank God. There is a little bit of innuendo, though, and some disturbing sequences involving animals and laboratories (but I think the load of movies about mad scientists involving squeaking mice in their cages, large syringes and the ominous crack of fresh plastic gloves should have you prepared for this).

Teaser Tuesday: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  

Grab your current read. 

Open to a random page. 

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. 

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

He was so real. When it finally happened, when she finally saw him, it didn't feel like magic at all. It felt like looking into the grave and seeing it look back at her.

"Neeve," Blue said. "Neeve, he's - dying."


"Not yet."


"Why - why can I see him?"


"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve, Blue. Either you're his true love, or you killed him."

The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle, #1)

 Maggie Stiefvater

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

Available from Scholastic Press September 2012

BEA: The Aftermath (Or, What Happens When Kaye Enters the World of Books?)

Warning: Massive post ahead. May include squeeing, rubbing ARCs in your face, name-dropping and crying over spilt milk. All rights reserved. 

So I went to this little thing called BEA.

Except it wasn't a little thing at all.

That leads me to my first piece of post-BEA wisdom: after reading all those advice posts about comfortable shoes and meeting up with other bloggers and passing out business cards, you might be lulled into a false sense of security; a thought that, perhaps, this event will turn out to be as wide as a (small) college auditorium - that you'll be able to glide from table to table at leisure, pick up the exact titles that you've been looking for all your life, and exit stage right triumphant in your mastery of BEA.

Riiiight.

A little back-story: I was supposed to get to BEA at least around nine-ish, or at least a half-hour after they opened the Exhibition Hall. By the time we finally reached Javits, it was around ten, and I was freaking out because I missed Sarah J. Maas' signing and oh my God, the line is probably going to be crazy and can we drive any faster?

So, we finally got there. And it wasn't around eleven, which is what I was dreading. So after Mom, sis and I get our badges and a nice lady at information pointed us in the direction of the floor, we step right in the middle of book heaven.

And I feel as though I've been hit over the head with a club.

Now, I'm pretty sure all the convention veterans are snickering, "Poor Kaye, she's never been to a convention before," but honestly, it's overwhelming. There are people everywhere. Everyone seems to know what they're doing and where they're supposed to be going and who they should be talking to. And if you're a newbie like me, expecting for one of your friends to materialize out of thin air and play tour guide, you're in for a disappointment.

So we finally managed to find the Scholastic booth, where I poured out my troubles to a really awesome lady named Chris and she took my business card and gave me a pile of titles and told me that it happens to everyone and just be myself. Which is what everyone said, but I really appreciate her taking the time to talk to me about why I was attending BEA and what I blog about.

Also, she managed to find me a copy of The Raven Boys (!!!) which I was pretty sure I was NOT going to get my hands on in this lifetime.

So if you happen to look at my blog, Chris from Scholastic, just know: you are awesome.

Anyway, after that, I calmed down a bit. We did a bit of booth hopping - Macmillan, Little, Brown (where we got nearly swept off in the crowd of Chris Colfer-adorers...note to self: avoid big celeb signings. They are dangerous for your health) and Simon and Schuster (I managed to get one of Claire Legrand's bug-postcards but STILL haven't taken a picture with it as of yet). I passed out cards and tried to make small talk whenever someone wasn't too busy and looked for ARCs I wanted, and nearly screamed when I was handed copies of What's Left of Me and Crewel!

I mean, I knew that they were around, but after all the talk about cleared-out ARCs and copies only available on Tuesday, I was really worried for a moment there.

I remembered just in time that Erin Morgenstern mentioned a signing at Random House, and she was sweet enough to sign a copy for me, my friend and our local library. Her publicist said that she'd signed over three hundred copies the previous day, but both of them were still smiling and talking and that pen was steady in her hand like she'd just sat down and opened shop for the day.


You've really got to admire authors and how dedicated they are to their craft.

After that, we rushed off to Autographing to catch Maureen Johnson's signing, and not a moment too soon, because it was long. Like, the length of a Twilight series installment long. It turns out that the Autographing section, especially when it comes to popular authors, is INSANE. If you don't get there like super early, you'll find yourself standing there for all of eternity. Fifteen minutes don't cut it. We got there around fifteen minutes before the signing was supposed to start, and we were still behind a nice strand of people. But we managed to make it up there and get signed copies of The Name of the Star and talk to MJ for a moment.

Post-BEA wisdom: You know how everyone says MJ is the coolest and no pressure at all and if you ever want to meet an author that you'll just adore, she's it?

Totally true.

And she loves her Twitter followers. I got a high-five. From Maureen Johnson. It was awesome.

After that, I met up with my friend Taryn of Teen Eyes Editorial/Write On Teens! She's just as cool in real life as she is online - be jealous. We tried to hang around in the Diana Peterfreund line, but it was way too long and the volunteers were starting to mention another hour for everyone to get their books signed, so we ended up dropping out.

I ended up getting James Howe's autograph for my Bunnicula-crazy brother, and then we rushed back onto the floor to catch Libba Bray's in-booth signing of The Diviners. You'd think we'd have learned from the MJ line that people don't follow those supposed rules of signing, right? The whole "stick to the official time for forming the line"? Well, it was supposed to form at 2:30. We got there at 2:15 and there was a line a block long.

I was ready to give up. Instead, I stood in the line, and managed to grab one of the tickets that made their way to the back. That was enough to make me a little bit more calm. I mean, I have a ticket, so that means I'll get a book, right?

The line just stood there.

My mom went down to pack some of our books in the suitcase.

The line just stood there.

At one point, my mom held our place in the line and sis and I ran off to explore a bit. We were trying to make our way back to Bloomsbury to snag a Throne of Glass ARC, but it was like the booth was in a time warp or something. NO ONE could tell us where it was. So we ended up coming back.

The line had moved. An inch.

It felt like an hour before we finally got to the front, but let me just tell you - it was so worth it. Libba is like the most hilarious thing to happen to YA since...well, since ever. She was actually doing these coy little poses with the Diviners ARCs and biting her lip and flipping her hair and just being awesome. And she was so genuinely encouraging when I told her I'm an aspiring author, not just telling me that I can do it for the sake of keeping her fans happy.

So that's how I got a signed ARC of The Diviners. Just so you don't think these books were falling out of the sky like manna. It's hard work being a blogger, man.

After that hot mess, we pretty much wrapped up our time at Javits. A brief visit to Egmont (if you missed out on the tote bag... Dude. It's the most useful bag that was being passed out. True story) and we finally managed to find Bloomsbury again. Happy endings all around.

So I can definitely say that if I can, I will be heading back to BEA next year. Sure, it's very hectic and there's a lot of walking (and no matter what shoes you wear, it's gonna hurt afterward. Believe me), but coming home to count up more than fifty books and a small hill of swag is totally worth it.

Okay. So for the sake of posterity (and next year-Kaye who might forget the trauma she put herself through this year), here's five things I would do differently.

1. Perfect the schedule. I used MS Word, a lot of cross-referencing from the BEA schedule and announcements on publishers' Twitters, and ended up transferring it to my Kindle because I had no time to print it out the morning of. It was pretty helpful overall - I attended the signings that I really wanted to catch, and got a few of my most-wanted galleys. BUT, for next year, I want to refine it a bit more...cut out the lines that are just time-eaters and list only the ARC drops that I really have to catch.

I loved the fact that Penguin Teen listed their galley drops for each day of BEA. It made it so much easier to just make my way there and see the titles I wanted right there - no waiting, no guess-work, no "Sorry, you missed it! It was this morning!"

2. The signings will eat you alive. I had quite a few signings listed on the schedule, but I only made three. If I want to catch more next year, I'll be making sure they are the ones I really will regret if I miss, for books that I actually read (see below for more about books you need as compared to books you want), and give myself a nice period of time before and after in order to beat the foot-blistering line from Hades.

3. Take only what you need.  Not just what you want. In case you haven't read all those advice posts/BEA schedule posts listing the glorious array of books/been anywhere near the publishing industry at all, there are free books at BEA everywhere. No money needed. Nada. Zip. Zilch. However (and you've probably heard this before), that does not mean you need all of them - especially if it's in a genre you know you'd rather eat a banana-turkey-pickle sandwich than read. Pace yourself. Take what you need and think of others, and ask before you grab doubles of anything.

4. Wear shoes that aren't flats. 'Nuff said. I think it's a lesson you have to learn for yourself.

5. Yes, you do need that suitcase. As a matter of fact, you might even need two. We actually had to utilize that Egmont tote I was talking about and another tote from National Geographic, along with that rolling suitcase, to get all our books out of the Javits. So don't laugh and take it lightly when someone mentions taking along a suitcase. They are totally serious. 

Kaye's random BEA factoids

Authors spotted on the floor:

1. Victoria Schwab
2. R.L. Stine
3. Jessica Khoury
4. Julie Kagawa
5. Sarah Beth Durst

Agents spotted on the floor:

1. Melissa Sarver
2. Kristen Nelson (this is totally a guess...but it really did look like her)
3. Jennifer Laughran 

Galleys I missed out on:

1. Let the Sky Fall
2. Keeper of the Lost Cities
3. Prodigy
4. Level 3

Any questions? Comments? BEA moments you'd like to share? Suggestions for a fun way I can share the BEA love through a giveaway (hint, hint)?

BEA on the Brain!

Yes, sir, Kaye is headed to BEA. So if you're going, please let me know in the comments or DM me or contact me whatever way you want so that we can meet up and bask in the awesomeness together! Seriously, don't be shy.

(If I sound overly hyper and excited, please remember that fresh books are like Pixy Sticks for me.)

I'm only going to be able to attend Wednesday - a bit of a bummer, seeing as BEA is practically in my backyard, but c'est la vie - so I'm pretty much going mad scouring the webs for advice, trying to pull together a legible schedule and double-triple-QUADRUPLE checking to make sure that my registration is still valid.

One thing about the BEA staff: they are so very sweet and patient. Makes you appreciate what they're doing all the more.

Anyway, since I'm doing all this last-minute 'Net browsing, I've gotten the chance to read some sweet pre-BEA tips on different blogs, and I thought I'd just pile them up here and share them around. Oh, and if you aren't going to BEA, don't forget about Armchair BEA. I haven't participated before, but it looks fantastic.

BEA Tips: Part I and Part II [via Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog]

A BEA Tip Roundup from Bibliophile's Corner

The lovely ladies of Pub(lishing) Crawl have a little post prepared, with a list of where you can see the lovely Sarah J. Maas and Kat Zhang (BEA newbs as well, and two people I'm definitely psyched to bump into)

La Femme Readers and Red House Books teamed up to bring you BEA: All You Need to Know + More! Very helpful stuff.

Where I started out from: Bite My Books' very comprehensive Q&A session from a year or so back about BEA. It both overwhelms and soothes, if that's even possible.

YA Highway is having a Theme Week on Conferences. In particular, I really appreciated this post by Kody Keplinger on an author's view for BEA and general conference tips from the lovely Kirsten Hubbard 

I'm pretty sure you have a good idea of what books you'll be keeping an eagle eye out for, but if you're still looking, Publishers' Lunch has a neat little sampler of some exciting fall titles (including Libba Bray's The Diviners!) available right now on NetGalley, and of course, there's the comprehensive list of childrens' galleys you need via Publishers Weekly (bless them).

Personally, I do have a .doc that I'm tossing most of my must-see events and galleys into, and I have my business cards ready, but I still feel far from prepared. I mean, it's NEXT WEDNESDAY. *fans self* Gosh. This is like attending a royal ball or something.

Do you have any tips/advice for me? Galleys I should try to grab for a giveaway? ;).