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Make a Splash in the Real Mermaids Giveaway!

Teenage girls have to deal with a lot of tough firsts. First zit. First crush. First… mermaid’s tail?

real mermaids

In the fourth installment of Hélène Boudreau’s breezy, fun and “unputdownable” Real Mermaids series, our favorite mer-girl Jade can’t think of a better way to celebrate peace in the underwater mer-world than with a tropical vacation in the Bahamas with her family and BFF.


Soon, Jade is enjoying the tropical sunshine, all-you-can-eat buffet, and island day trips. But when Jade gets lost in the island’s famous waterfront Straw Market, something doesn’t feel quite right. A body splashes into the water as a cruise ship enters the harbor and a teen boy selling conches from his boat behind the market knows more than he’s willing to admit.

With no body, no leads, and no other witnesses, though, the local police don’t seem too concerned. Maybe Jade’s imagination has been acting up on her, just like Cori said, considering everything she’s been through in the past few months. But with Mom and Dad off on a honeymoon excursion it wouldn’t hurt to check things out, would it? Little do Jade and Cori realize, they are about to uncover more secrets about the splashing body, dangerous cruise ship cargo, and more questions than answers lurking in the nearby Caribbean waters.

Absolutely fresh and sweet, a quirky coming of age story complete with first periods and bumbling dads…an unputdownable adventure, part Judy Blume, part Hans Christian Anderson, and 100% delightful, this fun, fresh tale (tail?) will have girls begging for a sequel…” – The YA-5

“[T]he author keeps suspense high and her prose moving while tapping straight into young teens’ angst about friends, enemies and boys.” –Kirkus

Sound like fun? I think so!

Would you like to win a copy? Me too!

How about adding book 1 to that collection? Yeah, I thought so!

mermaids 1

How about book 2 as well? I know I would!

real mermaids 3

What if I told you book 3 was included in the giveaway? You’d probably make a real splash, wouldn’t you?

mermaids 4

Well, as many of you know Helene is a former member of our little blog and she’s agreed to give away ALL FOUR BOOKS in the Mermaid series!!!All you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter form below. That’s it!

So what are you waiting for? Start swimming!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Amie Borst writes twisted fairy tales with her teenage daughter, Bethanie. Together they’ve penned, Cinderskella, which released in October 2013. They’re excited about their upcoming release of Little Dead Riding Hood in October of 2014! Visit them at www.amieborst.com and www.facebook.com/AmieAndBethanieBorst

The Thing about Birthdays

                    b-day cake

Two weeks ago, my daughter turned twelve. I celebrated the milestone by threatening to pluck out the eyes of any boys who happened to notice her climb toward womanhood.

Not sure what I’ll do once she becomes a teenager.

A week later, my son turned ten. I wrestled him to the ground and gave him a wedgie. I’m not getting any younger. He’s not getting any smaller. Figure I have to whoop him while I can.

Anyway, all those birthdays got me thinking. While my middle-aged self grudgingly accepts each birthday as a reminder that my knees are getting achier and my hair is getting thinner, my kids’ birthdays remain highpoints of celebration and anticipation. A birthday-kid may only be one day older than the day before, but it feels bigger than that.

And since birthdays hold a lot more significance for the middle-grade crowd than the middle-aged crowd, they often play a major role in middle-grade stories, too. Here are a handful of books where a kid’s “special day” helps get the story moving:

 Harry Potter

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

by J. K. Rowling

Come on, you’ve read this. Harry turns eleven. Everything changes.

11 Birthdays

by Wendy Mass

Amanda Ellerby’s eleventh birthday doesn’t go so well. So it’s kind of a bad thing that when she wakes up every morning, it’s her birthday again.

(Don’t neglect the other three birthday-based books in the Willow Falls series: Finally, 13 Gifts, and The Last Present.)

11 birthdays

   the challengers

Galaxy Games: The Challengers

by Greg R.   Fishbone

This is the first book of the Galaxy Games series by MUFs very own Greg R. Fishbone! For his eleventh birthday, Ty Sato has a star named in his honor. Only it’s soon discovered that Ty’s star is not a star at all—it’s a spaceship bringing news that will change Ty’s life…and maybe the world.

Wringer

by Jerry Spinelli

This Newbery Honor book takes a twist on birthday-based stories because the protagonist, Palmer LaRue, isn’t looking forward to his tenth birthday at all. In fact, it’s something he dreads.

wringer    

    Savvy

Savvy

by Ingrid Law

Yet another Newbery Honor book, Savvy tells the story of Mibs Beaumont, an almost-thirteen-year-old who comes from a family with a secret—each member gets a supernatural talent when they turn thirteen.

So what birthday-based stories have you read and enjoyed? Feel free to post a favorite title (or two or three).