Posts Categorized: tshirt giveaway

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer Review and T-Shirt Giveaway

27 Sep, 2011 by in michelle hodkin, simon schuster, tshirt giveaway, who is mara dyer 19 comments

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
by Michelle Hodkin

Hardcover, 464 pages
Published:
September 27th 2011
by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
ISBN 1442421762

book source: BEA
3 stars

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

Hmmmm. This is one of those really hard reviews to write because there is so much you can’t say! Plus the plot of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is shrouded in mystery and suspense and I want to keep it that way. So here’s what I will say…

What I liked: The cover is a five. Wow. Beautiful. I could frame it! The author is awesome. I met her at BEA and she responds well to her fans.

This book sucked me in because I love psychological thrillers. Mara is dealing with some heavy duty issues such as PTSD and hallucinations which I really like to see addressed so openly in YA literature. I have a love-hate relationship with both the main characters. Mara has quite the trashy mouth which for me is hard to read. I like that she tells it like she sees it, just maybe not so colorfully. Main bad boy Noah was the love ’em leave ’em type before Mara came along. Even though I seriously wonder why both of them acted the way they did at times I was still rooting for them. By far the best character of the book was Mara’s brother Daniel. It is so refreshing to see a good strong sibling relationship!

What didn’t I like? There were some holes in plot and at times I was scratching my head wondering what in the world was going on. Santaria? The missing shop and priest?
Where did Mara’s best friend Jaime go- I mean I know he was grounded…but? Didn’t enjoy the paranormal elements. Also a little too much foreshadowing for my taste.

I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. So…I predict this book will be huge. While it was captivating, I still personally have very mixed feelings about it. In short, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is steeping in eery atmospheric undertones. It’s definitely one you’ll read all in one sitting.

Content- heavy swearing and violence, sexual tension and violence, petting, underage smoking. Not recommended for younger teens.

Find author Michelle Hodkin on her website here. Thanks so much to Simon & Schuster for the advanced reading copy!

Fire and Ice is giving away one “Who is Mara Dyer” black t-shirt courtesy of author Michelle Hodkin to our readers. To enter to win fill out this form. Giveaway is open internationally and ends October 11, 2011.

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Baba Yaga T-Shirt Giveaway

28 Mar, 2011 by in tshirt giveaway 16 comments

Our book related etsy giveaway today is inspired by the books Haunted- Joy Preble and Dark Goddess-Sarwat Chadda. This lovely handmade Baba Yaga T-short was donated by etsy shop owner FableandTaleFancies, curiosities, and nice t-shirts. Things that make us happy. You can find out more about the preceding items at our blog: http://fableandtale.blogspot.com/

Description: Baba Yaga, that fascinating and frequently malicious grand dame of Russian fairytale, flies through the air on her enchanted mortar and pestle. Her silhouette, all crooked elbows and iron teeth, is emblazoned on the front of a 100% organic cotton crew neck t-shirt. The fabric is thin, ultra-soft, and an elegant cream. The shirt is unisex in size, roomy for the ladies and more fitted for the gents. A very small story about Baba Yaga and the time she lost her house is printed on the inside back. Each of these items is hand screened (by us!), so every one is unique, slightly different, not uniform, but hopefully just right in every way that matters to you, O Best Beloved. Pictures by Shannon. Story by Megan.

To Enter To Win: simply comment below

additional optional entries

+1 add FableandTale to your favorites on Etsy

+1 become one of their blog followers

+1 for each giveaway retweet @fireicephotos

+1 for each follow here, on twitter, Facebook or Tumblr

+1 for visiting our two etsy shops and commenting on your favorite item

+5 for a blog post of this contest

leave your links and total your entries in one comment. Giveaway ends April 28, 2011