Bringing YA to You: Promotion and Giveaway!

Have you ever wished that a big YA book tour would make a stop in your hometown? Well, here's your chance for that wish to come true! YA2U is a program that features five award-winning and best-selling authors who are holding a contest to see what city they should visit in an exclusive tour stop!

The authors are collecting votes from January 1 to February 15, and any city in the continental US or any Canadian city that has an international airport can win an exclusive visit from all five authors, including an author panel and book signing! Entering is super easy--and if you help spread the word about the contest, you can also enter win a signed copy of all of their books (TEN signed books in total!)--and the book contest is open internationally!


The authors in the program are:

• Marie Lu, the New York Times best-selling author of Legend and the upcoming Prodigy
• Marissa Meyer, the New York Times best-selling author of Cinder and the upcoming Scarlet
• Beth Revis, the New York Times best-selling author of Across the Universe, A Million Suns, and the upcoming Shades of Earth
• Victoria Schwab, author of The Near Witch and the highly-anticipated upcoming The Archived
• Megan Shepherd, author of the debut novel The Madman's Daughter

And they want to have an event in your home town! To participate, just got to the YA2U website and let them know what city you want them to come to. And while you're there, help spread the word about the contest and you can be entered to win all of their books--TEN signed books in total! 

Why should the YA2U Team come to your hometown? Why not join in the fun today and share with others about this program and your hometown. The more votes your town gets, the closer you are to having your very own personal tour stop! Vote for YOUR town here!

And if you help spread the word, you can also participate in the book giveaway. Tell them that you learned about YA2U from me and we both get extra entries in the contest! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday: Shades of Earth

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I am eagerly waiting on...

Shades of Earth, by Beth Revis

Summary (from Goodreads):
Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.

But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.

Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.

FUELED BY LIES.
RULED BY CHAOS.
ALMOST HOME.

Shades of Earth will be released January 15th 2013 by Razorbill.

What are you guys waiting for this week? Leave thoughts and links in the comments!

Judge A Book by Its Cover - Across the Universe

In Judge a Book by Its Cover posts, I compare different covers for the same book, and judge which cover, in my opinion, best fits the book, either because it is the cover I'd be most likely to pick off the shelf or because it fits the style, mood, or plot of the book. I'd love to hear your opinions on these covers.

For this edition of Judge a Book by Its Cover, I will be judging the covers for Beth Revis's debut novel, Across the Universe. The publisher, Razorbill, recently released their new repackaged look for the entire series. All of these covers are American editions. Which do you prefer?

As always, click on any cover for a larger image.

Cover No. 1

Original Hardcover

Cover No. 2

Reverse side of original Hardcover

Cover No. 3

Paperback

Cover No. 4

Newly repackaged cover

Cover No. 1: I haven't been too quiet about my love for this cover. The cover is one of the things that originally drew me to Across the Universe (aside from the many positive reviews that seemed to be flooding the internet at the time of its release). I love the beautiful colors and incorporation of the stars as the background. I do understand, however, that this cover, however pretty, would be an immediate turn-off for some readers.

Cover No. 2: This is the cover I usually use when I am reading Across the Universe at school or in some other public place. For some reason, I am more comfortable when people see me holding a book with an awesome-looking ship than with the very romance-y looking Cover No. 1. I really really like this cover, but I understand why the publisher would not want to use it: for one thing, it's not nearly as eye-catching, and for another, it would be difficult to make three different covers from this design.

Cover No. 3: I do like this cover, but it doesn't seem like anything special to me - just another typical YA. I like the view through the escape hatch and the general design of the cover. Also, it just occurred to me that perhaps this is the scene just after Harley jumps out the hatch, and Amy is trying to find him, which makes me like the cover a lot more, since it is actually a scene from the book.

Cover No. 4: I think if I hadn't already seen the original cover(s), I might like this cover a lot more, but comparing the two, there is no contest for me. However, I do like that this cover could appeal to both boys and girls, and I really like the ice on the cover as symbolism for this stage of Amy's journey. As a side note, Misty from The Book Rat mentioned that this cover reminded her of Artemis Fowl, and now that's all I can think of every time I see this cover.

My Favorite: I think I'll have to stick to cover No. 1. I can see why the Razorbill team would want to change it, but it is by far my personal favorite.

Which is your favorite? Judge this book by its cover!

Want to suggest a book for Judge A Book by Its Cover? Click Here for the form!

Cover Reveal for Shades of Earth

On Friday, Razorbill revealed the cover for the last book in Beth Revis's Across the Universe trilogy, Shades of Earth. With the new cover, they also revealed a new repackaged version of covers for the entire series. There will not a be a cover for Shades of Earth in the original style.

I personally don't care too much for the new covers on this series. I would much prefer to have the old covers, and a matching old-style cover for Shades of Earth. The beautiful cover of Across the Universe is one of the things that drew me to this series in the first place. I am, however, very very excited to finally be able to see a cover for this upcoming book.

The original cover for Across the Universe

Here is the summary of Shades of Earth, from Goodreads.

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience. But this new Earth isn't the paradise that Amy had been hoping for. Amy and Elder must race to uncover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. But as each new discovery brings more danger, Amy and Elder will have to look inward to the very fabric of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been meaningless.

What do you think? Do you prefer the old covers or the new style?

Are you excited for Shades of Earth?

Leave your thoughts in the comments!