Mom’s Monday- Pingo by Brandon Mull

08 Nov, 2010 by in pingo, Shadow Mountain 20 comments

Illustrated by Brandon Dorman
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published August 5th 2009
by Shadow Mountain
ISBN 1606411098
5 stars

Description from Deseret Book.com “What happens when your imaginary friend turns into your imaginary enemy?

New York Times bestselling author Brandon Mull and No.1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Brandon Dorman team up in this new children’s picture book that explores the meaning of friendship and imagination.

Like many kids his age, Chad has an imaginary friend. His friend was Pingo. The two would fight ninjas, brew magical potions, and float in zero gravity. Each day was a fun-filled adventure, until Chad decided he was too old to have an imaginary friend. But Pingo wasn’t ready to leave Chad alone, and started tormenting him and causing all kinds of mischief. Can this once inseparable duo ever be friends again? Paired with charming illustrations, Pingo is a delightful read-out-loud picture book for children ages 3 and up.

Meet Pingo… complete with devil horns and polka dotted boxers. And get used to him because he’s not about to leave. He’s an imaginary friend turned to the dark side after being unsuccessfully dismissed by his owner. Pingo comes back playing pranks and leading Pirate raids in nighttime dreams. As Chad grows into an old man, he misses his side kick and they begin a whole new set of travels together. You’ll be giggling along with your children as the mischief is never ending!

Pingo has swiftly become a family favorite. How clever it is to see the floating Fablehaven book in Chad’s room during Zero gravity fun. Brandon Dorman’s illustrations are out of this world! Pair his talent with Brandon Mull’s writing and you have a winning combination. My children were entranced with this little troll and his bright yellow cover.

Enter to win a hardback copy of Pingo for your own home by leaving comment below. Contest ends December 8, 2010.

Giveaway Winners

08 Nov, 2010 by in Uncategorized 2 comments

Congrats @elenarudaya who won a MATCHED vintage compact necklace inspired by Ally Condie’s new YA book. Send us your snail mail! http://fireandicereads.com/2010/10/vintage-compact-giveaway.html

and Myranda at the Book Nymph, you won bookmarks from Rachael Renee Anderson http://fireandicereads.com/2010/10/author-interview-with-rachael-renee.

Janet Fayes is our winner for the Sands of Time necklace inspired by Cyn Balog’s book Sleepless http://fireandicereads.com/2010/10/sands-of-time-necklace-giveaway.html

Coming in December is the Best of 2010 multiple blog giveaway with swag from Becca Fitzpatrick, Andrea Cremer, Becca Wilhite, Jennifer Laurens, and many more! We’ve added the button to our sidebar and will fill you in on details soon 🙂

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Provo City Library Teen Book Fest Giveaway

06 Nov, 2010 by in Nathan Hale, provo teen fest, sara zarr, scott westerfeld, sydney salter, wendy toliver 76 comments

Earlier this week I went out to my mailbox and there was this amazing package from Courtney Lowe at the Provo City Library. I had asked her for a couple of left over bookmarks from their Teen BookFest and she sent all of this….a new Children’s Book, “Los Gatos Black on Halloween” by from their upcoming guest speaker at the Children’s book fest in May Marisa Montes“, Scott Westerfeld’s “Bogus To Bubbly” plus all the items in the pack we are giving away below.
Seriously cried when I opened it. Could they be any more kind over there? It’s a good thing they are putting on another Teen Book Fest in 2011.
So here’s what we are giving away right now:
1) An ARC of The Lost Saint by Bree Despain
2) favorite reads bookmarks from authors:
Sara Zarr
Wendy Toliver
Nathan Hale
Sydney Salter
Ann Dee Ellis
Lisa Mangum
and 3) a Scott Westerfield PCL Teen book fest bracelet
to one lucky winner.
The rest of the bookmarks we will give away on Twitter and Facebook this week, watch our feeds!

To Enter to win…
+1 leave a comment below
additional entries
+1 entry for visiting the PCL page
+1 for liking PCL on Facebook
+1 for our blog followers
+1 for each one of us you follow on twitter @ProvoLibrary, @FireIcePhotos, @MrNathanHale
(leave your twitter name)
+1 for tweeting or posting this giveaway, leave the link
Total your entries and leave them below.
Good Luck! Contest ends December 6, 2010 and is open internationally

Book Review: My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions by Becca Wilhite

05 Nov, 2010 by in my ridiculous romantic obsessions, new YA fiction, Shadow Mountain 2 comments

Paperback, 176 pages
Published March 3rd 2010
by Shadow Mountain
ISBN1606415964
4 stars

Sarah Howard’s first year at the university is everything and nothing she expected especially when a very cute boy named Ben in her Art History class starts to show interest in her.

Sarah feels like she’s an average, normal, everyday girl. So, when Ben (to whom she secretly refers as Adonis because she thinks he could be a Greek god) begins to take interest in her, Sarah is in denial. For one thing, last year she was deeply crushed and humiliated by Jesse James a guy who she thought liked her.

She’s determined not to get burned again. But in her heart of hearts, what she really wants is a Jane Austen kind of romance. Ridiculous, right? That kind of romance doesn’t exist anymore . . . or does it? Sarah is smart and fun to be around and even pretty, despite her Medusa-like red curls. She even plays the guitar. (So does Ben!) Yes, Sarah is everything Ben has wanted. He’s crazy for her, but Sarah is just not getting it. She’s playing hard to get, and if she s not careful, she s going to lose a real hot gentleman — her 21st-century Mr. Darcy.

Becca Wilhite’s Bright Blue Miracle is one of the first books I read this year. I enjoyed, this, her second book even more. My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions is a fun light hearted, completely clean YA read. I found myself laughing out loud and smiling through most of the story.

Sarah is a college freshman dropped off by her completely self-absorbed neglectful parents to an apartment for her first experience living away from home. Roommate one is missing a face because it is constantly stuck to her boyfriend and roommate two does not talk. Good thing there’s her art history class…the reason she came to school in the first place. Best friend Chel forwarded her phone pics of the perfect TA last year and Sarah is convinced he could surely be her story book hero. So when Ben, aka Adonis, starts to show interest Sarah is confused. Surely things couldn’t be as they seem. Is he or isn’t he flirting?

The main heroine has flawed self-esteem and can’t seen to see what is right in front of her face, which I found funny up until the very last chapters, then it got to be a bit much. She is described as smart, but sometimes I wondered. I love that Sarah is not a picture perfect Barbie doll type. She has curves, out of control curls and a quirky personality. Ben, the main male isn’t perfect either, but he IS kind and genuine. I have to give him kudos for his honesty and for walking away when his affections and efforts weren’t reciprocated. He is sincere and down to earth. I found myself pulling for him.

Becca Wilhite kept me thoroughly entertained and her books are titles I will gladly pass on to my daughters. Thanks so much to Shadow Mountain and Deseret Book for sending me a copy of the book for review.

We are giving away My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions by Becca Wilhite for you to enjoy. Simply fill out the form below to be entered. Ends December 5, 2010.

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News and Welcome Our Newest Affiliate

04 Nov, 2010 by in rachael renee anderson 2 comments

Welcome to our newest site affiliate “Deliriously Falling“, launched yesterday. A Lauren Oliver fan page owned by Ella Press. Head on over and check out their new site!

Congrats to MoMo http://momocsst.blogspot.com/ who won books 1-12 of the SWEEP series by CateTiernan in our Halloween Giveaway. Email us your street address 🙂

Thank you so much to author Rachael Renee Anderson who featured our site on Writing Fortress, a new site designed as a forum for Cedar Fort authors. Read her post here.

And a huge shout out to Elana Johnson, YA author. Her debut novel, POSSESSION, will be published by Simon & Schuster on June 7, 2011. She has been sending people to our site via her post about the Provo Library Teen Book fest here.

Speaking of the Teen Book Fest…Provo Library called and they are sending us swag, lots of bookmarks from the YA authors who were at the signing. Each bookmark lists the authors’ favorite books ever. So stay tuned for those in our mailbox soon. And thanks to the staff of PCL for being so up on their google alerts!

And lastly, I was spotted on Kami Garcia and Margie Stohl’s feed today in their last stop of the Beautiful Darkness tour at The King’s English bookstore. Yep, that’s me standing in line on the little stairs in a purple shirt. What a fun week!

Blog Tour: Lori Nawyn- My Gift To You

04 Nov, 2010 by in my gift to you, utah authors 1 comment

From the back of the book: Trish Ingram works hard to maintain the perfect suburban household—or, at least, the appearance of one. By managing her outer world with lavish attention and rigid control, she’s able to ignore and conceal the darkness of her inner world, which is plagued by traumatic childhood memories of loss. Her terminally ill sister-in-law, Jamie, sees through the façade and reaches out in love to Trish, inspiring her to seek a more meaningful life and a more authentic self. But the childhood scars run deep, and despite Trish’s best efforts, she’s unable to be the wife and mother her family needs.

Devastated by the departure of her husband and daughter, Trish faces the challenge and opportunity of a lifetime. She desires to move forward in faith, but this desire alone cannot mend her family’s shattered trust. The hollow realm of denial and fear has been her safe haven. To confront pain and transcend the shadows of her past will require a level of courage she’s not sure she possesses. This gripping story of familial love and conflict tenderly reminds us that forgiveness—of self, and others—is both a difficult choice and a precious gift.

Bio: Lori Nawyn’s award-winning writing has appeared in regional and national publications including Outside Bozeman, Segullah, Deseret News, CraziBeautiful Women, and Latter-Day Woman. She is also a columnist for her local paper and a former member of Utah Press Women. One of her short stories was published in the anthology Stolen Christmas. Her first novel, My Gift to You, was released in October 2010.

Lori is currently writing her next novel, Day, about a mother’s relationship with her son. She works as a freelance artist and is the illustrator of the award-winning children’s picture book What Are You Thinking? which was released in July 2010 by ThoughtsAlive Publishing. She and her fireman husband live in northern Utah where they enjoy spending time with their four children and two granddaughters, plus an assortment of dogs, rabbits, and chickens.

Lori’s book, My Gift To You is available online at Deseret Book.

Children’s Book Review: Sunny Bunnies

02 Nov, 2010 by in margie blumberg, sunny bunnies 9 comments

Margie Blumberg (Author)
June Goulding (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: MB Publishing, LLC
First edition June 15, 2008
ISBN-10: 0962416649
4 stars

Summer’s here and these two sunny bunnies can’t wait to dig their toes into the sandiest spot in Carrot Cake Park. There, with the big sister leading the way, they’ll build a castle, fly a kite and, of course, jump the waves! This endearing rhyming tale with its cheerful illustrations captures their day perfectly–from the moment they fling their flip-flops until, home again, they say good night . . . almost

Sunny Bunnies is an ideal winter diversion for those of us who wish we were at the beach eating fudgesicles, catching waves or having a picnic in the sand. The rhyming verse is perfect for our seven year old who read it aloud without difficulty. June Goulding’s illustrations include soft colors and detailed scenes with plenty to see and find. The front and back inside cover pages are a map, which makes the trip to the shore seem even more real. My family’s favorite page was the final depiction of brother and sister playing go fish in their scuba gear with mom and dad fast asleep. This book is one they read over and over again. Hope you enjoy Sunny Bunnies as much as we did!

Head on over to Margie’s site for a Sunny Bunnies coloring page and iphone app http://www.margieblumberg.com/blumberg-sunny-synopsis.htm

We are giving away a hardcover copy of Sunny Bunnies to our readers. Simply comment below and you are entered to win. Contest Ends December 2, 2010

Review: Being Sixteen by Allyson Condie

02 Nov, 2010 by in YA contemporary 1 comment

Paperback, 240 pages
Published February 3rd 2010
by Deseret Book Company
ISBN 1606412337
5 stars

Juliet Kendall has been looking forward to her sixteenth birthday for what feels like forever. At first, it seems like being sixteen will be as perfect as she dreamed—she has great friends, a cute almost-boyfriend, a spot on the varsity girls’ basketball team, and even a car of her own. But, as the year goes on, she discovers that her sister Carly is hiding a secret, and realizes that, in fact, being sixteen may be her hardest year yet.

Being Sixteen is a coming-of-age story about two sisters and their different struggles. It addresses what it means to have a testimony, what it meant to be a friend and a sister, and what’s involved in the dealing with and overcoming an eating disorder.

The first time I saw this book on the shelf at Deseret Book I have to admit I put it back. I just wasn’t sure I was ready to read another book dealing with eating disorders. Then after reading Matched I decided I wanted to delve into more of Ally Condie’s past titles. Being Sixteen resonated with me on so many levels. It hit deep within my core and is now one of my top three favorite books of the year. I found myself in tears several times while reading. The overall message breathes truth and hope. Allyson Condie takes on eating disorders with grace and style. Her voice is poetic, and real. Here’s one of my favorite passages from Juliet, who struggles with isolation and disappointment in the wake of her sister’s disorder.

“On one level I was ashamed of how weak I was, of how I’d do anything to avoid feeling hurt. But on another level I felt almost strong, a little proud of the way I’d cut off the parts of my life that made me feel too much sadness.” p. 124

This is a book I would wholeheartedly recommend to every Young Woman I know as well as her parents. Many crucial facets of diagnosis, treatment and the long road to recovery from anorexia and bulimia are addressed. Two sister’s struggles and growing pains are woven beautifully into the pages showing that even those from strong functional families have life altering problems.

Being Sixteen explores the effects of an eating disorder on loved ones and family as well as how easily faith in Heavenly Father can dim, to later be rekindled. Thank you so much to Deseret Book for sending me this book for review. It is one that I will forever remember. Five stars plus.

Teen Book Fest At PCL

01 Nov, 2010 by in provo teen fest, scott westerfeld 51 comments

On Saturday the Provo City Library held their Teen Book Fest with Scott Westerfeld as the keynote speaker. It was insanely packed full of teen readers and local authors, over 900 people. There were Q&A panels, trick or treating tables, book giveaways and games. We could only stay for a second since their red face paint marked my children for life… LOL! But, we still snuck in visits and signings with some of our very favorite people. I also spotted local authors Nichole Giles, Elana Johnson and book bloggers SueySays and Meow_mix 85 in the line to meet Scott Westerfeld. I SO hope Provo City Library is planning on doing this again next year. It was huge. See all of our photos from the event on twitter @fireicephotos

In attendance at the Teen Book Fest were:
Ann Cannon The Chihuahua Chase
Kristen Chandler Wolves, Boys and Other Things That Might Kill Me
Ally Condie Matched, Reunion, Being 16, Freshman for President
Chris Crowe Presenting Mildred D. Taylor, Mississippi Trial, 1955, Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case
Bree Despain The Lost Saint, The Dark Divine
Ann Dee Ellis Everything Is Fine, This Is What I Did
Jessica Day George Dragon Slippers, Dragon Flight, Dragon Spear, Sun and Moon, and Princess of the Midnight Ball.
Nathan Hale Rapunzel’s Revenge, Calamity Jack
Dene Low Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone
Lisa Mangum Hourglass Door, Golden Spiral
Brandon Mull Fablehaven, Beyonders Series
Sheila Nielson The Forbidden Sea
Sydney Salter Swoon At Your Own Risk, By Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters, Jungle Crossing
Brandon Sanderson Alcatraz and Stormlight Archive Series
J. Scott Savage Far World Series, The Fourth Nephite
Wendy Toliver The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren, Lifted, Miss Match
Carol Lynch Williams Kelly and Me, Adeline Street, Carolina Autumn, Christmas in Heaven, If I Forget, You Remember, The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson, My Angelica, A Mother To Embarrass Me, Pretty Like Us, The Chosen One, Glimpse
Scott Westerfeld Leviathan Series, Uglies Series, Peeps, Midnighters Series, Risen Empire Series, So Yesterday
Sara Zarr Once Was Lost, Sweethearts, Story of A Girl

We picked up some awesome goodies for a giveaway. Here’s what’s up for grabs:

  • A signed hardback of Wolves, Boys, and Other Things That Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler
  • A bottle of The Lost Saint aqua nail polish from Bree Despain
  • Signed bookmarks from authors Wendy Toliver and Lisa Mangum
  • A signed copy of Freshman for President by Ally Condie.

To enter simply comment below with what item you’d like to win and which YA author you wish you could have met from the list of attendees.

Contest ends December 1, 2010.

In My Mailbox #19

29 Oct, 2010 by in book giveaway, saundra mitchell 47 comments


In My Mailbox is a bookish meme originally started by The Story Siren. Every week we’ll post about what books we have received that week (via your mailbox/library/store bought). The idea of In My Mailbox is to bring books to the attention of our blog readers and to encourage interaction with other blogs. This week here’s what’s in my mailbox….

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs purchased from the Book Depository
The Invisible Order Book One: Rise of the Darklings by Paul Crilley sent by publisher for review
Lifted by Wendy Toliver purchased from Fire Petal Books
Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell purchased from Fire Petal Books
Hanging By A Thread by Donald B Anderson received from author for review

And Mr. Fed Ex delivered a box of items for reviews and giveaways from Deseret Book. They were so kind and generous!

Mission To Be Happy by Michael McLean
Imprints by Rachel M Nunes
The Fourth Nephite by Jeffrey S Savage
The Water is Wide by Marianne Monson
Being Sixteen by Allyson Braithwaite Condie
Pingo by Brandon Mull and Brandon Dorman

Look for reviews on all of these titles coming soon. And thanks again to all of the publishers and authors who sent mail this week.

I’m giving away an author signed copy of Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell to our readers! Simply comment below with the title of a book you have on your wish list and you’re entered to win. Contest ends November 30, 2010.