Blog Tour: Student Bodies by Sean Cummings - I'm All About the Ass-Kicking (plus GIVEAWAY!)

I'm really excited to have Sean Cummings here at the Hearthfire today, having loved both Poltergeeks and Student Bodies (links to my reviews).

Click here for more tour links

I’m All About The Ass-Kicking

My thanks to Beth Kemp for inviting me to do a guest posting today.

I write urban fantasy – it’s kind of my passion because there’s something liberating about the entire genre. Yes, there are similar kinds of characters with similar kinds of story arcs, but what I really love more than anything is the serious ass-kicking that goes on.

Because slamming evildoers is really something we all might like to do deep down inside. So I tend to live vicariously through the heroes and heroines in books by Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Nancy Holzner … I could list all the UF titles I’ve read and probably pick out the best ass-kicking scenes in each one. So when I set about to write a young adult urban fantasy, I really wanted to create a character who epitomizes the kinds of qualities that I’ve found in protagonists by my favorite authors. I also wanted to write a book that was starkly different from what’s currently on the YA shelves at your local bookseller.

In POLTERGEEKS, teen witch Julie Richardson has something to prove to her mother. She’s cocky, snarky, independent and utterly fearless. Unfortunately for her, Mom winds up on the receiving end of a dark spell that rips her soul out of her body and leaves her in a coma. Voila! A hero’s journey. And what kind of hero would you be if you didn’t have a “chosen one” aspect to your life. Julie isn’t really chosen in the sense that she’s messianic – but she does have a magical heritage and part of her journey is to discover what it all means.

In STUDENT BODIES, I’ve really ramped up the tension and raised the stakes. Julie now knows what her place in the world is supposed to be and there’s a threat to every person at her school. She must also balance our the normal teenage mother-daughter conflict in a way that doesn’t make her come off sounding like she’s a petulant teen. Because Julie, like it or not, needs her mother. Mom is her anchor and in this second book, she still has a lot to prove. Her mother also has to begin to let her daughter figure things out for herself – Mom’s challenge is every parent’s challenge: letting go.

Did I mention there’s a lot of ass-kicking going on in book two? Because, you know, there is. We’ve got new friendships – Twyla Standingready, an aboriginal magic slinger in her own right. If Julie’s going to solve the threat to everyone at her school, she’s going to need allies because the danger is very real, very dark and it gets very big very fast.

Marcus is still there, but even he’s not safe. Julie has to deal with the fact that her newfound role places her boyfriend in danger. She’s learning that even with her great power, she can’t always protect those who are closest to her, no matter how much she tries.

STUDENT BODIES is a dark, book. Where POLTERGEEKS was light, fluffy and thrilling, STUDENT BODIES deals with some very dark themes that make all the characters much more believable. There’s a ton of magic being thrown around throughout the book and an ending that I promise you simply won’t see coming.

Well, there you go. An ass-kicking teen witch, a threat to basically everyone at her school and the clock is ticking. Do get a kick out of STUDENT BODIES, won’t you?

About the Author:

Sean Cummings is a fantasy author with a penchant for writing quirky, humorous and dark novels featuring characters that are larger than life. His debut was the gritty urban fantasy SHADE FRIGHT published in 2010. He followed up later in the year with the sequel FUNERAL PALLOR. His urban fantasy/superhero thriller UNSEEN WORLD was published in 2011.

2012 saw the publication of Sean’s first urban fantasy for young adults. POLTERGEEKS is a rollicking story about teen witch Julie Richards, her dorky boyfriend and race against time to save her mother’s life. The first sequel, STUDENT BODIES is due for publication in September 2013.

Sean Cummings lives in Saskatoon Canada.
*Author Links*
  

About the Book:

Student Bodies (Poltergeeks #2)

by Sean Cummings

Release Date: 5 September 2013

Summary from Goodreads:

Whoever said being a teenage witch would be easy? For fifteen-year-old Julie Richardson and the city’s resident protector from supernatural evil, the Left Hand Path doesn't give a damn if you've found true love for the first time in your life. There’s someone lurking the halls of Crescent Ridge High School with enough malice to unleash an epidemic of Soul Worms – supernatural larvae that feed on the very fabric of a victim’s humanity.

After witnessing the death of one of the most popular kids at school, Julie and über genius boyfriend Marcus are in a race against time to find out who is behind the attacks. All the evidence points to a horrifying plot at the City Weir during the Winter Solstice; the place where icy waters of the Bow River and a thunderous spillway will mean the deaths of more than a hundred of Julie’s classmates.

If she has any hope of saving their lives, she’ll need a little help from a coven of white witches and an Aboriginal mage whose snarky attitude is matched only by her magical prowess.

GIVEAWAY
STUDENT BODIES GIVEAWAY:

UK Prize Pack
1 Signed Copy of STUDENT BODIES
1 Signed Copy of POLTERGEEKS
1 Signed Copy of FUNERAL PALLOR
1 Signed Copy of SHADE FRIGHT
1 Amazon Kindle

CANADA/US Prize Pack:
1 Signed Copy of STUDENT BODIES
1 Signed Copy of POLTERGEEKS
1 Signed Copy of FUNERAL PALLOR
1 Signed Copy of SHADE FRIGHT
1 Amazon Kindle

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Vortex by Julie Cross

Second in the YA Time Travel Thriller Series

If you haven't read Tempest, the first in this fab series, I'd suggest you go and read my review of that instead of carrying on here. This review will have spoilers for the first in the series (but not for this title).

This second instalment really ups the pace, with Jackson now working as an agent. He faces considerable challenges since he has to keep his time travelling abilities secret, so all the others assume he's a spoilt kid who hasn't earned his place in the unit. Jenni Stewart's presence in the team, along with her memories of babysitting him but without her 2007 memories of working with him, doesn't help his acceptance into the group at all.

I know that some readers - especially those who saw Tempest as primarily a romance - have found this instalment too big a departure from the first novel. Having enjoyed Tempest as a time travel thriller with romance driving the emotional heart of the plot, I enjoyed this second novel greatly. It focuses considerably more than the first on the time travel and attendant conspiracies, and it rattles along at a breathtaking speed, earning it the 'thriller' label even more than book one. Jackson's love for Holly still affects him deeply, even while her knowledge of him doesn't include their relationship, and the fact that she crops up in his life again shows that there is clearly some 'destiny' or 'fate' angle that I expect will be wrapped up somehow in the third book. It's hard to see how, though, with Vortex closing in such an unexpected way (on which subject, no more will be said except I'm in awe of the ending: the characters are set up nicely for book three, and yet it didn't feel like one of those cliffhanger endings where you feel cheated).

Overall, I really enjoyed this. It is different in emphasis to the first novel, but I felt this was positive and developed the overall story well. I still love Jackson and think that Julie Cross is very cruel to him, and I also enjoyed some of the new characters in this novel. Kendrick, for example, is a brilliantly complex and sympathetic character. I ached for her desperate attempts to keep a part of her life 'normal' even while being a secret agent investigating time travel.

My final verdict, then, is that this is a great read, with plenty of excitement, suspense and time travel complexity. I will definitely be looking to read the next part as soon as it's available.

The blurb says:

TODAY

Jackson has lost Holly forever

TOMORROW 

She walks back into his life

YESTERDAY

Jackson must choose between saving her ... or the entire world

The eye of the storm is a deadly place to be...

Jackson Meyer has completed his training to become an agent for Tempest, the shadowy division of the CIA that handles all time-travel-related threats. As a time-traveller himself he's on his way to becoming the best of the best. However, everything changes when Holly - the girl he altered history to save - re-enters his life, and Jackson must make an impossible choice: erase the past or change the future?

**********************

Published 3 January 2013 by Macmillan

Find more information at Goodreads

My grateful thanks to the publishers for sending a review copy

Review: Seconds Away by Harlan Coben

Gripping YA crime thriller from a master writer 

This is the second in Coben's YA series focused on Mickey Bolitar, nephew of his main adult character, Myron Bolitar. The first in the series was the fabulous Shelter, and this follow-up is just as good. As always, since this is a review for a sequel, there may be spoilers for the first book in the series here - please look away if you haven't read it yet!

The novel's action picks up from where Shelter leaves off, and takes us deeper into the mystery and conspiracies that were beginning to be unpicked in the first novel. At the end of Shelter, Mickey received some startling news, which naturally he investigates in this instalment, along with other new mysteries that crop up. The shadowy figure of The Bat Lady still hovers and the truth about the Abeona Shelter is clearly going to be a long-running plot thread, which the teens do unravel a bit further here. At the centre of the plot is another death: this time Rachel, who helped to save Ashley in Shelter, is shot along with her mother.

A key strength of both books is the characterisation. I challenge you to read this and not be sucked in and rooting for Mickey, Ema and Spoon! Their determination to do the right thing, and their schemes to sneak around and investigate are endearing and brilliantly drawn. Ema remains delightfully intractable and yet both brave and dependable, while Spoon's dorkiness knows no bounds. Mickey's inability to ignore injustice continues to drive the plot and inspire them all to plunge further and further into the murk that surrounds them.

Overall, this is a great read, which completes a new mystery and takes us further in the overarching mystery of the Abeona Shelter. I can't wait to see what Mickey and co will uncover next!

The blurb says:

This action-packed second book in international bestseller Harlan Coben’s Mickey Bolitar young adult series follows Mickey as he continues to hunt for clues about the Abeona Shelter and the mysterious death of his father—all while trying to navigate the challenges of a new high school.

When tragedy strikes close to home, Mickey and his loyal new friends—sharp-witted Ema and the adorkably charming Spoon—find themselves at the center of a terrifying mystery involving the shooting of their classmate Rachel. Now, not only does Mickey need to keep himself and his friends safe from the Butcher of Lodz, but he needs to figure out who shot Rachel—no matter what it takes.

Mickey Bolitar is as quick-witted and clever as his uncle Myron, but with danger just seconds away, it is going to take all of his determination and help from his friends to protect the people he loves, even if he does not know who—or what—he is protecting them from.

*********************************

Published Nov 2012 by Indigo

Find out more at the publisher's website

My grateful thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review

Two Great - and Very Different - #UKYA Series

Whether you're a fantasy fan or a lover of gritty contemporary, I have just what you need today. I also have a bit of a confession: Blogger ate today's post, so I am taking the opportunity to repost a couple of reviews from a while ago to spread the love for some lovely UKYA. Both these books are fabulous examples, and both are the first in a series.

First up, we have the wonderful Firebrand by the amazing Gillian Philip. Two further titles in this series, Bloodstone and Wolfsbane, are now available, and there will also be a fourth. There is a lot of love in the blogosphere for Firebrand's antihero protagonist, Seth MacGregor (who also flirts a lot on Twitter).

Here's what I wrote back in January of 2011:
This story is narrated by Seth, who is one of the most engaging characters I've ever come across (and as a lifelong avid reader and an English teacher, I have read a fair few books!). His voice is pitch-perfect, revealing his flaws as well as his strengths, and endearing him to us as we follow his journey from the Sidhe world into the Otherworld (our version of the world).

Seth's background is difficult at best - unwanted by his mother and unacknowledged by his father, he is nevertheless capable of love and loyalty, almost despite himself. This love is largely directed to his half-brother Conal, whom we see him preparing to shoot at the book's opening, to save him from being burnt as a witch. Following this exciting episode, we are taken back to the long chain of events that leads to this point, to arrive there again about halfway through the narrative. The brothers' relationship is realistic and touching in its depiction of male affection, including the trading of insults and jibes.

This is a gripping adventure story in a fantasy setting with its fair share of twists and turns, but it is the characters that steal the show. I'd strongly recommend this to readers of 12 plus - and will certainly be lending it to my 12 year old. There are references to sex, but they are subtle enough for younger readers to miss, while the novel's grand sweep and the masterful characterisation is more than sufficient to engage adult readers.

From an entirely different angle, we also have the taut thriller When I Was Joe from the marvellous Keren David. The trilogy which begins with this novel is now out in its entirety, so you don't even have to wait to see how it all ends! 

Here are my thoughts from May 2011:

The central voice of Ty is definitely a key strength of this book. He narrates the story, gradually sharing more of what happened 'that day', and regularly revealing his feelings (albeit not always deliberately). He is a sympathetic character and you are desperate for things to go well for him, but at the same time he is a realistically drawn teenager. This means his choices aren't always the best ones, and there are some wonderful moments where he clearly doesn't grasp the subtleties of what is going on around him. A sentence that sums up the delightful 'teenageness' of him for me is:

'Yeah,' I say and she says, 'You know, Ty, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger,' which is pretty amazing because I would have thought that Maureen'd be way too old to have even heard of Kanye West.

The story is pacey; helped by starting after the incident that ruptures Ty's world, which means the truth of what he saw is delivered in a tantalising trickle throughout the novel. And there are fantastic twists. At one point, I did such a sharp intake of breath that the woman next to me on the train was laughing at me!

At the same time as dealing with this big central incident that drives the story, the bulk of the novel is ultimately about fitting in and being accepted. Ty's life is complicated by having to move to a new area and live as someone else. This gives the author lots of scope to explore 'normal' teen stuff like negotiating friendships and romantic/sexual feelings, together with all that angst about who or what is 'cool'.

The novel deals with the important issue of knife crime (as well as at least touching on other issues affecting teens, such as bullying, identity, relationships, self harm, attitudes to different kinds of families), but it isn't an 'issues' novel, it's an engaging story which happens to highlight some issues. This is the perfect way to address issues for this audience: teens (no scratch that, people) run a mile from preachy books. This novel will get them thinking because it will have first engaged them with Ty and his specific and personal situation and concerns.