In My Mailbox #1

In My Mailbox is brought to you in part by The Story Siren. So without further ado here we go!

Purchased:
What the Dickens by: Gregory Maguire
A terrible storm is raging, and ten-year-old Dinah is huddled by candlelight with her brother, sister, and cousin Gage, who is telling a very unusual tale. It’s the story of What-the-Dickens, a newly hatched orphan creature who finds he has an attraction to teeth, a crush on a cat named McCavity, and a penchant for getting into trouble. One day he happens upon a feisty girl skibberee who is working as an Agent of Change — trading coins for teeth — and learns that there is a dutiful tribe of skibbereen (call them tooth fairies) to which he hopes to belong. As his tale of discovery unfolds, however, both What-the- Dickens and Dinah come to see that the world is both richer and less sure than they ever imagined.


Dead is the New Black, Dead is a State of Mind and Dead is So Last Year
Fashion statement...or something freakier?

The first installment of this creepy, campy paperback original series introduces the psychic Giordano sisters—and their very strange hometown, Nightshade, California.

Teenage girls are being mysteriously attacked all over town, including at Nightshade High School, where Daisy Giordano is a junior. When Daisy discovers that a vampire may be the culprit, she can’t help but suspect head cheerlead Samantha Devereaux, who returned from summer break with a new “look.” Samantha looks a little...well, dead, and all the popular kids at school are copying her style. Is looking dead just another fashion trend for pretty popular Samantha, or is there something more sinister going on? To find out, Daisy joins the cheerleading squad....

Dead is the New Black is a fast-paced mystery that combines romance, humor, sibling rivalry, and lots of attitude.


Along For the Ride by: Sarah Dessen
When Auden decides to spend the summer before college with her father and stepmother in a small beach town, she finds herself freed to discover a new world of friendship with other girls, as well as an unexpected romance with Eli, a rising star on the BMX circuit and a fellow insomniac, who joins her in exploring the late night world of the small town. As Auden struggles to turn from the path her mother has set for her and Eli tries to come to terms with the death of a friend for which he holds himself responsible, the two break out of their mutual self-imposed isolation and find one another.




The Hunger Games by: Suzanne Collins
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.



Contest:

Won from HipWriterMama
Jumping of Swings by: Jo Knowles
Jumping Off Swings tells, from four points of view, the ramifications of a pregnancy resulting from a "one-time thing" between Ellie, who feels loved when boys touch her and Josh, an eager virgin with a troubled home life.



Library:

Secrets, Lies and My Sister Kate by: Belinda Hollyer

Belinda Hollyer warms the heart with this touching novel about the bond of two sisters and the true meaning of family.

Mini adores her older sister, Kate. Although they look nothing like each other, they are best friends-or so Mini thinks-until Kate begins to act strangely. She dresses in all black, picks bitter fights with her parents, and even gets a tattoo! Mini knows something is bothering her sister, but Kate won't confide in her like she used to. Then one day Kate disappears without a trace. In her determination to find her sister, Mini unveils a shocking family secret that paralyzes her parents with regret. Now it's up to Mini to find Kate and bring their broken family back together again.