Spotlight Wednesday: WHAT WOULD MY CELL PHONE DO by Micol Ostow

The summary:

When Aggie Eckhart's family moves from Miami, Florida, to Denville, Alaska, because of her father's job, Aggie feels like a fish out of water. Not only is frozen Denville a far cry from sunny Miami, but she's got no friends, her mother is driving her crazy, and she loses her cell phone within the first month - cutting off her lifeline to civilization. But when an online search for her phone (using the schmancy built-in GPS tracker) reveals that the cell is enjoying life up north much more than Aggie is, she adopts a whole new outlook. No more woe-is-me, now it's all WWMCPD (What Would My Cell Phone Do)? And before Aggie knows it, things are looking a whole lot brighter in this charming, fun, and lighthearted YA romance.

Okay, who doesn't need a "charming, fun and lighthearted YA romance" about now? It's summer time - I know I do!

And that cover just cracks me up! Look at that dog! What is he wearing? And why? Do we find out in the book, Micol? I hope so!

Publisher's Weekly says, "Aggie's openness gives just enough heft to this otherwise light coming-of-age tale."

Congratulations, Micol, on another book baby!! You are amazing!

Spotlight Wednesday - FAMILY by Micol Ostow

If you missed it, I hope you'll check out the description of our latest Contemps release, FAMILY by Micol Ostow, which we posted yesterday on the blog, along with the amazing book trailer.

I read a review of FAMILY by a popular blogger, Sarah at Sarah's Random Musings, and liked it so much, I asked Sarah if I could have permission to repost it here for Spotlight Wednesday. She said yes, so YAY and thank you Sarah!

So here is Sarah's review:

FAMILY is a haunting portrait of what happens in a cult and the darkness that can be in other people's lives. I felt sorry for the people that have been sucked into this type of environment and having to deal with that. I have always been interested in the Manson Family, so I was excited to read this and I could see a lot of it in the story. I felt sorry for Melinda and how she was stuck in such a harmful environment as she tried to find out who she really was. I really liked how Ostow only capitalized words when referring to Henry, which made his power more frightening and understandable. The things that happened were scary and sickening. It moved the plot along and kept me engrossed into every single detail. I found this story really original and engaging. Ostow's writing was wonderful and left me wanting more. Her verse writing was like poetry and made me treasure every moment. I adored this book and would recommend this to someone looking for an original and capturing book.

"Original and engaging" - we like the sound of that!!

We hope you'll check it out and if you do a review, like Sarah did, whether on your blog or Amazon or goodreads, make sure you link it up over at the Contemps Challenge Part 2 for the chance to win a prize pack of three books every month!

Hot Topic Tuesday: Morbid Curiosity and Micol Ostow's FAMILY

Micol Ostow's latest book, Family (out today!), is loosely based on the Manson Family murders of the late 1960s. The official description:

It is a day like any other when seventeen-year-old Melinda Jensen hits the road for San Francisco, leaving behind her fractured home life and a constant assault on her self-esteem. Henry is the handsome, charismatic man who comes upon her, collapsed on a park bench, and offers love, a bright new consciousness, and—best of all—a family. One that will embrace her and give her love. Because family is what Mel has never really had. And this new family, Henry’s family, shares everything. They share the chores, their bodies, and their beliefs. And if Mel truly wants to belong, she will share in everything they do. No matter what the family does, or how far they go.

Told in episodic verse, family is an unflinching look at people who are born broken, and the lengths they’ll go to to make themselves “whole” again.

Shall we take a peek at what people are saying about this book? Let's!

♺ "Dark, mesmerizing and hazy." - Publisher's Weekly

♺ "Terrifyingly Good... And incredibly terrifying." - NY Times best-selling author LAUREN MYRACLE

♺ "Ostow's Henry is fascinating, a pied pieper hell-bent on reaching the masses, whether through love or terror. The subject alone should make this popular." -Booklist

♺ "Equal parts haunting and horrifying, FAMILY is overflowing with a sad beauty. Utterly mesmerizing from first page to last." - MICHELLE ZINK, author of the Prophecy of the Sisters Trilogy

Words like "haunting, terrifying, horrifying" go hand in hand, somehow, with "fascinating" and "mesmerizing" for these reviewers. And isn't that how the world views unspeakable events and gruesome crimes? They're so awful that we almost can't look away.

Take a look at that blood-splashed cover, and watch the trailer (below). Why do dark stories have such power to draw us in? 

I'm not sure, and scary movies still leave me sleep-deprived, but I'll be reading Family this weekend, that's for sure.

Spotlight Wednesday: GIRL, STOLEN by April Henry!

I'm so excited to be spotlighting GIRL, STOLEN, by fellow Contemp April Henry! I'm a huge fan of dark thrillers, so this book is right up my alley, and waking up to find it waiting for me on my Kindle was like five birthdays wrapped up in one!

Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder is asleep in the back of her mom's car when it's stolen from the pharmacy parking lot. Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia—she's also blind. Griffin, the teenager who was stealing packages out of parked cars, hadn't meant to kidnap her; he just impulsively stole the car with her in it. But once Griffin's dad finds out that Cheyenne's father is the president of Nike, everything changes-now there's a reason to keep her. Will Cheyenne be able to survive this harrowing ordeal and escape? And if so, at what price?

Henry tells her story in alternating points of view, so that we get to know both Cheyenne and her abductor. I was surprised at how quickly I found myself sympathizing with Griffin, even as I was rooting for Cheyenne to escape her captors. The story is tight and fast-paced, like the best Hollywood action movie, making for a compulsive read. Need more proof that GIRL, STOLEN, makes for good film? Here's a look at the book's trailer:

Creepy, right? Love it!

Kirkus Reviews called the book, "constantly interesting and suspenseful," and I concur one hundred percent. Check it out today!

Can't wait for your GIRL, STOLEN fix? Read an excerpt on April's website, which also features fun tidbits such as an FAQ section detailing the real-life inspirations behind some of her most chilling thrillers. As a writer, I'm way impressed by the research April does for her books.

The days are getting shorter - and early evenings are perfect for curling up with some fast-paced suspense, don't you think? I read this book in one day, and I'm betting you will, too! Let us know what you think of the book - and what other mysteries are currently on your to-be-read list!