Summerlost by Ally Condie *Release Day Blitz & Giveaway*

Hello there! I'm so happy to be participating in the Release Day Blitz for Ally Condie's Summerlost. I'm about to start this book and it sounds fantastic! This Blitz is hosted by Word Spelunking and Pinguin  Kids. Check out below the amazing info about this book.

The Book

 

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It's the first real summer since the devastating accident that killed Cedar's father and younger brother, Ben. But now Cedar and what’s left of her family are returning to the town of Iron Creek for the summer. They’re just settling into their new house when a boy named Leo, dressed in costume, rides by on his bike. Intrigued, Cedar follows him to the renowned Summerlost theatre festival. Soon, she not only has a new friend in Leo and a job working concessions at the festival, she finds herself surrounded by mystery. The mystery of the tragic, too-short life of the Hollywood actress who haunts the halls of Summerlost. And the mystery of the strange gifts that keep appearing for Cedar.

Infused with emotion and rich with understanding, Summerlost is the touching middle grade debut from Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched series, that highlights the strength of family and personal resilience in the face of tragedy.

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Penguin Random House/ Amazon/ Barnes & Noble/  Indiebound.

Praise

A Spring 2016 Kids' Indie Next List Top 10 Pick!

Named one of Publishers Weekly’s Most Anticipated Children’s and YA Books of Spring 2016

« “Condie (Matched) strikes a deep emotional chord with this coming-of-age story.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

« “Multiple, seemingly random details, including a family of turkey vultures that now roost outside Cedar’s window, an absurd soap opera narrative of a woman buried alive, and Leo’s quest for a trip with his father, coalesce into metaphors that help Cedar make sense of her grief and the life she now has to look forward to. Thoughtful, poetic chapter endings guide readers new to psychological depth toward meaningful connections between plot events and thematic reflections.” – BCCB

“A moving tale of friendship and loss. I loved these characters—I wish we could have been friends when I was a kid.” –Brandon Mull, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fablehaven and Five Kingdoms series

“Ally Condie’s first middle grade book might also be my favorite out of ALL her books to date. Summerlost is a story packed with nostalgia, heart, and gorgeous prose.” – The Novel Novice

“A nuanced portrait of grief deeply grounded in the middle-school mind-set.” – Booklist

“Honest, lovely, and sad.” – Kirkus Reviews

“A sweet, heartfelt story.” – School Library Journal

“Achingly good.” – Summer Laurie, Books Inc.

A letter from Ally

Dear Readers,

I think most of us have had our hearts broken. Sometimes we can see it coming, and sometimes it comes down with the unexpected force of a sudden gale of wind or a rising of waters that we thought were still and safe. Loss is universal to human experience, but the way we each feel and recover is one of the most personal things we do.

In Summerlost, Cedar is dealing with the loss of her father and younger brother. And my intent was to show how hard their deaths are for her. But this is also a book about the healing power of friendship. Most of us have been broken-hearted; I hope that most of us have also discovered the miracle of friendships that were just what we needed. Cedar and Leo’s friendship is based on someone I met when I was twelve. Like Leo, my friend was fun and liked to enlist me in crazy adventures (although we never gave a secret guided tour of our town the way they do in Summerlost). And, like Leo, he thought I was wonderful and of worth at a time when I needed it most.

SUMMERLOST is my attempt to pay tribute both to the pain we feel and the friendships that save us. Thank you so much for supporting this book, and for your willingness to give Cedar’s story a try. I hope it makes you think of a wonderful friend of your own, whether that is someone you met in the pages of a favorite book or outside, in the world where it is often hard and beautiful to live.

Best wishes and happy reading always,

Ally Condie

 Excerpt

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Quick-Review: Reached by Ally Condie

Reached (Matched #3)

Author: Ally Condie
Pages: 512
Goodreads Rating: 3.64
My rating: 4.2 stars
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Summary:

After leaving Society to desperately seek The Rising, and each other, Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again. Cassia is assigned undercover in Central city, Ky outside the borders, an airship pilot with Indie. Xander is a medic, with a secret. All too soon, everything shifts again.

My Thoughts.

When I started reading this book I was really happy because it was another bday present and I really loved Crossed, even though I didn’t like Matched. Like, nothing! I gave it 3 stars just because I liked Xander, but after Crossed I was blown away and I started to like even Ky.

So, I was dying to know what would happen next!

What I can say for sure, is that this was (indeed) the weirdest dystopian book I ever read. Not because it was bad, because it wasn’t, but because I’m used to those endings where there is a war, when all about it is action and blood and losses. But Reached was really deep. I never thought the whole plot was going to be focused in the Plague and try to find a cure.

There wasn’t a war, but the Plague killed a lot a people, and put me on the edge, thinking what the hell the point was. At first I was confused and I admit that I was mad because the first chapters were slow and the book was really big. But while I read more and more, I got happy with the Ally Condie’s writing, it was deep and a emotional rollercoaster.

I started to think if someone important will die, and it was clearly that Cassia and Ky belong together, so, I wanted, NEEDED to know, what about Xander? Because, in my opinion, Xander was the hero of the story.  For the first time I felt about Ky, and I understood why he has to be happy, but Xander? Xander was a loyal, a strong and a very mature character.

Another character I adored was Indie, in some moments I even came to think that she deserves even more than she got. 

I loved that it had 3 POVs, it made us understand better the 3 main characters.

But - back to the plot. I still feel like there were some needless parts, I could have been better if we got more action and fewer words, though, in some way those parts were special.

See, I am confused, I don’t know what to think because I loved the writing style, but I didn’t like the little action I got.

I cried in the end, I loved that! When I finished it I felt drained and happy and sad, so, maybe it made me happy after all.

I've been reading some ending-series books these past days, so now I'm used to all those feelings.

Maybe Reached is not what I expected but it worth the time. I'm happy I read it and I do believe that this is the best ending to a series like that. Since the first book Ally Condie, did a great job creating a complete world where you can really see how important the things like Poetry and Freedom is. The message behind those pages is really achingly beautiful, and perhaps for me, was the best the book gave.

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