In My Mailbox and Weekly Roundup!

Between the library and the mail, this was a good book week! (Thanks to Kristi of the Story Siren for starting this fun and now award-winning meme--congrats!)

From the library:

Gilda Joyce and the Dead Drop by Jennifer Allison

When Gilda lands a summer internship at Washington, D.C.'s International Spy Museum, she finds herself embroiled in both a museum haunting and a real case of espionage. While investigating a cemetery where Abraham Lincoln's son was once buried, Gilda stumbles upon a spy's "dead drop" of classified information. Gilda's efforts to decode the cryptic message lead to further intrigues: is she on the trail of a mole operating inside the US intelligence community? Aware that "nothing is what it seems" when it comes to spies in Washintong, D.C., Gilda faces t

he most serious challenge yet in her career as a psychic spy.

Here's all I have to say about how excited I am to pick up the fourth Gilda mystery: I love Gilda. And her awesome green glasses.

Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis (September 1, 2009)

Moonlight can totally change your life.

And it all starts so simply.

You. Him. The moon.

You're toast.

Okay, so maybe Shelby has made a few mistakes with boys lately (how was she supposed to know Wes had "borrowed" that Porsche?). But her stepmother totally overreacts when she catches Shelby in a post-curfew kiss with a senior: Suddenly Shelby's summer plans are on the shelf, and she's being packed off to a brat camp. It's goodbye, prom dress; hello, hiking boots.

Things start looking up, though, when Shelby meets fellow camper (and son of a rock star) Austin Bridges III. But soon she realizes there's more to Austin than crush material--his family has a dark secret, and he wants Shelby's help guarding it. Shelby knows that she really shouldn't be getting tangled up with another bad boy...but who is she to turn on a guy in need?

Oooh, I've been waiting for this one to come out, and I was so excited when it came to the library! Werewolves, camp...sounds perfect. I can't wait to begin!

In the mail:

I SO Don't Do Spooky by Barrie Summy (December 8, 2009)

Did you know that the main campus of the Academy of Spirits is at a Dairy Queen in Pheonix? Me either. Until now. Some weird stuff has been happening to my stepmother, Paula. And the Academy has asked me, Sherry Holmes Baldwin, to get to the bottom of it. They think someone's trying to hurt her.

I really don't want to get involved--my life is way too busy. Josh and I are celebrating two blissful months of togetherness. And my best friend, Junie, is finally showing a teeny bit of interest in clothes and makeup after years of braniac behavior. But being that my mom is a ghost and all, me, my brother, and my dad rely on Paula a lot. So it's not like I can just ignore what's going on. Especially since my mom is competing in the Ghostlympics. If she comes in first place, she earns five minutes of Real Time.

And that means I've got to get involved in a creepy, freaky mystery. But...I so don't do spooky.

Yay! I am SO excited to read this one. Thanks so, so much to Barrie Summy and Casey Lloyd of Random House for having an ARC sent my way!

...And then there was the big box from Random House...

Voices in the Dark by Catherine Banner (September 22, 2009)

Sixteen-year-old Anselm Andros's world is turned upside-down when he learns the identity of his birth father, and this personal upheaval mirrors that of his country, Malonia, which is on the brink of another war after fifteen years of relative peace.

This is the second book in a trilogy I have yet to read, so I guess I have to check it out!

The Long Wait for Tomorrow by Joaquin Dorfman (September 22, 2009)

North Carolina high school senior Patrick's life is a mess, but when his best friend, star quarterback Kelly McDermott, suddenly begins behaving very strangely, Patrick must do what he can to try to save everyone in the present and the future.

It's kind of boring, but I sort of really like this cover--the red on black is totally eye-catching!

The Pricker Boy by Reade Scott Whinnem (September 22, 2009)

After finding a mysterious package in the spooky woods where they have grown up, fourteen-year-old Stucks Cumberland and his friends are forced to consider that their childhood bogeyman might be all too real.

This one looks pretty cool...that cover is seriously intriguing-slash-creepy!

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade (September 22, 2009)

In Victorian London, fourteen-year-old Modo, a shape-changing hunchback, becomes a secret agent for the Permanent Association, which strives to protect the world from the evil machinations of the Clockwork Guild.

Victorian London? Secret agents? I'm in!

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And here's what was going on around the blog this week:

Monday: I interviewed author Wendy Lichtman. We talked books, writing, and math!

Wednesday: I reviewed Enola Holmes and the Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer.

Thursday: It's contest time! Author Wendy Lichtman and I are giving away three copies of her latest novel, Do the Math: The Writing on the Wall. The contest ends on October 2nd but won't be closed until we have at least 25 entries. Go check it out!