(Sela Blog Tour) Tour Encore and Wrap-Up

Spring is here!  Sadly with spring, the end of the Sela Blog Tour is here as well.  I am honored to be a part of this blog tour, and to be the closing stop.  It has been an eventful ride, with book reviews, author interviews, guest posts, and giveaways along the way.

Sela follows the story of one girl trapped in human form.  Once a dragon, Sela is thrown into the unknown to fend for herself.  As Sela journey's to find herself, she shapes her future as well.  Sela continues the story of the dragons of the Leland Province, while exploring the ability to change.  You can find my full review of Sela here.

Below is a schedule of the stops on the tour with direct links, and some notable posts you may want to check out.  The tour may be over, but you can still join in on the fun!

Sela Blog Tour Wrap-Up

Sela by Jackie Gamber

Sela

Author: Jackie Gamber

Publisher: Seventh Star Press

5 out of 5 stars

Note: This review assumes that you  have already read the first book in this series, Redheart.  If you have not yet read Redheart then you may not want to read this review, as it will reveal key points from the first book.  You can find my review of Redheart here.

The wind swirls around you, as you soar through the sky.  Your scaly wings glint in the sunlight as you twirl in the air, enjoying your freedom.  Suddenly, you start to fall towards the earth, sinking like a stone.  The calm air now cuts through you, and your body feels as if it is compressing, getting smaller by the second.  When you finally hit the ground with a thud, you open your clenched eyes, and look around.  Everything seems fine.  But as you try to get up on your paws, you look down and see fingers and toes instead of claws.  Skin instead of scales.  Two arms and two legs.  An overwhelming fear envelops you, and you feel as if you are caged in, unable to escape.  You’ve locked yourself in, but you don’t know the key to breaking free.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Author: Carrie Ryan

Publisher: Delacorte Press

4 out of 5 stars

The rattling and moans never stop.  Coming from all sides, the Unconsecrated slowly push their way in.  You run from them through the rain, slipping in the mud.  Your foot catches on a root and you go sprawling to the ground, cutting your knees.  As you scramble to get up they close in around you, and you can feel the fear bubbling up inside of you.  It works its way up as a scream, that you let loose like a wild animal.  You swing at the mass of bodies engulfing you, and you manage to clear an opening and push your way back onto the narrow path, escaping them.  Ahead of you is a fork in the path, and you randomly take one, hoping it will lead you to a place without the constant questions and fear that you experience every day now.  Maybe that place doesn’t exist, and you’re better off right back where you started.  There’s only one way to find out…

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Revolution

Author: Jennifer Donnelly

Publisher: Delacorte Press

4 out of 5 stars

Grimy faces shout at you from all directions.  They’re jeering at you, and snickering at what’s to come.  You look around for help, but all you see is a dirty crowd, riled up for the killings.  You’re to be beheaded for your crimes.  You’re slowly led up to the guillotine, and you turn your head away, unable to take in the brutal death of those ahead of you in line.  When you turn back around it’s your turn.  Your head is lowered into the opening, and the crowd goes crazy.  They know your blood is about to spill.  The blade comes whooshing down and… you wake up.  But part of you wishes you were still back in eighteenth century France, because you don’t fit in very well in the present.

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have by Allen Zadoff

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have

Author: Allen Zadoff

Publisher: Egmont

4½ out of 5 stars

The stares bore into you from all directions like laser beams.  It feels as if everyone is looking right at you, judging you.  How could they not, you’re kind of hard to miss in the first place.  You try to walk faster, but it’s difficult with all of your fat weighing you down.  It feels as if you take up the entire hallway, and with every step the ground trembles under your weight.  You wish you could just sit on everyone and crush them.  Then you wouldn’t have to deal with the names and cruel jokes that never seem to end.  But you know that’s not going to work.  So instead, you just take a bite of your cookie, and keep on walking…

Midnighters: The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld

Midnighters: The Secret Hour

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publisher: Eos

4 out of 5 stars

Tick tock.  It’s starting.  You glance over at your clock, midnight, just as usual.  The second, minute, and hour hand are all frozen in time, pointing straight up to the number twelve.  They’ll be like that for quite some time.  For an hour to be exact, giving you more than enough time to splash in the raindrops that dot the sky, or walk around as if you were the only one left on Earth.  But there are many things that inhabit the secret hour.  You are not alone.  The original nightmares are still alive and well, and they want to play.

Ghost Medicine by Andrew Smith

Ghost Medicine

Author: Andrew Smith

Publisher: Square Fish

4½ out of 5 stars

Smoke curls around you, forming a curtain of cloudy gray.  As the breeze clears it away, the stars come back into view, as do your friends sitting across the fire.  They’re smiling, and you feel the ends of your straight mouth picking up and curving into one as well.  This may be your last summer as boys.  This may even be your last summer together, but you know that what you have right now is worth it.  As you lean your head back against your hands and readjust your feet propped up against the rocks, a feeling of complete bliss envelops you.  You don’t know quite what you were searching for, but you know that this is it.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Secret Life of Bees

Author: Sue Monk Kidd

Publisher: Penguin

5 out of 5 stars

An insistent humming fills the air.  As she gets nearer, it’s as if she can feel the vibrations in the air.  She can’t believe how all those tiny, delicate wings can come together to create a noise that demands her attention in such a way.  Everywhere she looks there are bees, and more bees.  They swirl in the air, lazily cutting through the thick, summer heat.  They appear to be so free, doing whatever they please.  Sometimes Lily wishes she could sprout wings and fly through the air just like them.  Maybe she can, just without the wings.

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

The Future of Us

Author: Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Publisher: Razorbill

3½ out of 5 stars

Welcome!  You are now on the internet.  It’s your first time, and the year is 1996.  You can hear the soft, insistent whirring of the America Online CD-ROM as it spins in your CD tray.  A new message appears on your computer screen, and you can’t hide your excitement, as you hear, “You’ve got mail.”  The internet is the latest innovation, and you get to be one of the first to use it.  Your computer hums and crackles, and the vast possibilities of being online are just a click away.  But with one click of the mouse, what if your future were to change along with it? Click…

Dust City by Robert Paul Weston

Dust City

Author: Robert Paul Weston

Publisher: Razorbill

5 out of 5 stars

The effects can be deadly.  Even worse than death.  Everyone’s hooked on it, despite what it can do to you.  Humans, wolves, ravens, foxes, pixies, and more can’t seem to get enough of it.  Some will kill just to experience the delicious fantasies that the dust holds just beyond their reach.  But what the dust gives never lasts.  All it does is takes, and takes, and takes… until there is nothing left.  Henry knows how that feels, and he’s about to take back what the dust stole from him his entire life.  So start running, because the son of the Big Bad Wolf is coming.