The Best Books Ever

This week, I asked about favorite friendships in books. They can be platonic friends (Harry, Hermione, and Ron!) or they can be BFFs who are also a couple (Alina and Mal, perhaps?) or anything in between. I just wanted to hear about awesome friends doing awesome things for each other. Check out our selections and let us know what you think in the comments. One of the things I love best about middle grade fiction is the focus on close friendships. Usually you'll see a boy-girl pairing, which allows some suggestion of romance that might develop when they're a little older, but I really like the idea of a platonic love that develops from shared experience, mutual respect, and admiration. I can think of many great friendships in fiction, but one that I think of often — and the first that came to mind — is between Aluna and Hoku from Jenn Reese's science fiction adventure Above World . When you read it, you'll see why: They accept each other's flaws and inspire...

New Reviewers!  Since we cover pretty much every genre under the sun here at The Best Books Ever, we decided to bring in two new guest reviewers - Crystalee and Amy.  Crystalee will be handing mainly children's books and young adult books, while Amy will be taking care of adult fiction and mysteries.  If you are a publisher and you have children's picture books, adult fiction, or anything else for our reviewers- please email us at oneminutebooks at gmail dot com.  We are looking forward to adding in these two new reviewers- we hope you like them too! Free Signed Earthbound Poster (first 500)  Aprilynne Pike and Penguin are giving back to readers who have pre-ordered Earthbound (or who will pre-order it).  If you have ordered Earthbound already or are about to do it now that you read freebies, go to this form and fill it out to get your free Earthbound poster.  If you are hesitating- do it!  My review of Earthbound will be on t...

Born of Illusion By Teri Brown Published on June 11, 2013 Published by Baltzer and Bray Source:Edelweiss Anna Van Housen is thirteen the first time she breaks her mother out of jail. By sixteen she’s street smart and savvy, assisting her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, and easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920’s New York City. Handcuffs and sleight of hand illusions have never been much of a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her true gifts secret from her opportunistic mother, who will stop at nothing to gain her ambition of becoming the most famous medium who ever lived. But when a strange, serious young man moves into the flat downstairs, introducing her to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, he threatens to reveal the secrets Anna has fought so hard to keep, forcing her to face the truth about her past. Could the stories her moth...

Thanks to  TLC Book Tours , we're pleased to present a review for The Execution of Noa P. Singleton , a new contemporary crime novel by Elizabeth L. Silver. Make sure to  check out the rest of the tour stops  to see other reviews! The Execution of Noa P. Singleton By  Elizabeth L. Silver Published on June 11th 2013 Published by Crown Source: Blog Tour Noa P. Singleton never spoke a word in her own defense throughout a brief trial that ended with a jury finding her guilty of first-degree murder. Ten years later, having accepted her fate, she sits on death row in a maximum-security penitentiary, just six months away from her execution date. Seemingly out of the blue, she is visited by Marlene Dixon, a high-powered Philadelphia attorney who is also the mother of the woman Noa was imprisoned for killing. Marlene tells Noa that she has changed her mind about the death penalty and Noa’s sentence, and will do everything in her considerable power to convinc...

SOLSTICE: THE MYTHS AND REALITIES OF THE WRITING AND PUBLISHING PROCESS Hi! P. J. Hoover here, author of the upcoming dystopian/mythology YA novel, Solstice (Tor Teen, June 18, 2013), and today I’m talking about the myths and realities of the writing and publishing process according to me. It should be pointed out that every author will have their own myths and realities. If you have one to share, I’d love to hear it! And thanks for reading! ***** Three Writing Process Myths : 1) Writer’s Block I’ll be right up front. I do not believe in writer’s block. I think sometimes the words don’t flow quite as well as other times, but most of the time, this has nothing to do with “writer’s block” and everything to do with distractions from life. 2) Good writers are born that way Sure, some people have a natural talent for the word, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us should give up and call it a loss. Writing is something you can improve at just like ...

How Book Covers Are Created By Levi Stack, author of The Silent Deal While skimming over book covers on shelves or scrolling through them online, have you ever wondered how these works of art are created? How illustrators collaborate authors? How artists reinvent the heart and life of a story – only in a different medium? I’m writing to give you an inside look at that unique process. I was lucky enough to work side-by-side with my illustrator, Owen William Weber, so you’ll get to see firsthand what went into the artwork of my award-winning novel, The Silent Deal. Here’s a summary to give you a feel for the story: When Viktor and Romulus, two peasant boys in the Russian Empire, dig too deep into their town’s strange past, they awaken the wrath of a mysterious overlord. On a quest for answers (and survival), the blood brothers navigate gambling parlors, Gyspy camps, and dark forests full of wild animals and men alike. But can they escape the deathly experiments their foe is cr...

Thanks to AToMR Tours , we're spotlighting a brand new New Adult romance/suspense, Killing Sarai , by bestselling author J.A. Redmerski.  Keep scrolling to check out an excerpt from the book and then enter to win a copy for yourself! Killing Sarai By  J.A. Redmerski Published on June 19th 2013 Published by: self-published Purchase the book:  Amazon From the author of the New York Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling novel, THE EDGE OF NEVER, comes a story of passion and survival… Sarai was only fourteen when her mother uprooted her to live in Mexico with a notorious drug lord. Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope to escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years. Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees h...

Wild Awake By Hilary T. Smith Published on May 28, 2013 Published by Katherine Tegen Books Source: Publisher for review Things you earnestly believe will happen while your parents are away: 1. You will remember to water the azaleas. 2. You will take detailed, accurate messages. 3. You will call your older brother, Denny, if even the slightest thing goes wrong. 4. You and your best friend/bandmate Lukas will win Battle of the Bands. 5. Amid the thrill of victory, Lukas will finally realize you are the girl of his dreams. Things that actually happen: 1. A stranger calls who says he knew your sister. 2. He says he has her stuff. 3. What stuff? Her stuff. 4. You tell him your parents won’t be able to— 5. Sukey died five years ago; can’t he— 6. You pick up a pen. 7. You scribble down the address. 8. You get on your bike and go. 9. Things . . . get a little crazy after that.* *also, you fall in love, but not with Lukas. Both exhilarating and wrenching, Hilary T. Smith’s debut nov...

The Ghosting of Gods By  Cricket Baker Published on May 31, 2013 Published by John Hunt Publishing Source: Author Jesse is an apprentice exorcist who defies his priests when he learns his sister is in danger even though she’s dead. When he’s exiled to a haunted world, Jesse must unravel the mystery of ghosts if he is to save her. He plunges into a deadly game of hide-and-seek. The players include denizens draped in monkish robes, ghosts with matted eyes, the dead who tunnel underground in terror, and...Elspeth. A coven scientist, Elspeth is both respected and feared for her abnormal spiritual powers. Jesse needs--craves--the knowledge of ghosts which she possesses. But is Elspeth a spiritual prodigy, or dangerously insane? The coven scientist begs him to trust her. He doesn’t. But he wants to. Caught in a world on the brink of spiritual evolution, Jesse struggles to understand Elspeth even as frightening contacts from his sister force him to face the secret, shatterin...

Icons By  Margaret Stohl Published on May 7, 2013 Published by Little Brown Source: Publisher for review Your heart beats only with their permission. Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting. Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside -- safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid. She's different. She survived. Why? When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions. While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador's privileged son. But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn't a coincidence. It...

Thanks to  TLC Book Tours , we're pleased to present a review for Our Love Could Light the World, a collection of short stories by Anne Leigh Parrish. Make sure to  check out the rest of the tour stops  to see other reviews! Our Love Could Light The World By  Anne Leigh Parrish Published on June 3rd 2013 Published by She Writes Press Source: Blog Tour You know the Dugans. They're that scrappy family that lives down the street. Their yard is overgrown, they don't pick up after their dog, their five children run free - leaving chaos in their wake - and the father hasn't earned a cent in years. The wife holds them together on her income alone. You wouldn't want them for neighbors - but from a distance, their quite entertaining. Of course, alcohol is an issue. You can tell from the empty bottles lying under the bush out front. You can hardly blame the wife for leaving one day. Without her at the helm, the rest carry on the best they can. Their strong...