The Book Bratz Interviews Dawn of Hope's Author, Peter Prichard!


Dawn of Hope's author Peter Prichard was kind enough to not only send us a copy of his debut novel to review (which will be coming soon!), but also to allow us to post an interview about the inner workings behind his book and just what makes this novel different from all of the others!

Title: Dawn of Hope
Author: Peter Prichard
Paperback, 203 Pages
Published 2015

Summary: Dawn Mortenson moved to Fair Shore, Connecticut and within 24 hours of her arrival at Fair Shore High realized that the town condoned the sexual assault of young girls. She alienated most of the population of the town after her confrontation with the All-American football hero found him in the hospital. The ensuing battle landed many friends and foes in jail, the hospital or an early grave. Dawn uses music, the media, a team of young and old allies and a combination of personal courage and mental toughness to change the town's attitude toward the sexual abuse of young people forever, although at a huge personal cost.

Without further ado, Peter's interview!

 What is the title of your book?
Dawn of Hope.

 What is your book about? 
Dawn Mortenson is a 17 year old high school senior who moves to a new town and on her first day of class realizes that girls are sexually abused and bullied with impunity.  She decides to fight back, puts an All-American football hero in the hospital, and ends up receiving death threats - which require the hiring of a security service to protect her. During this fight a number of people land in jail or, like her, in the hospital. She leaves the hospital after 14 months a national hero.  The rest of the book describes her fight against sexual abuse and the attempt by tobacco companies to get young people to start smoking, fights that get the FBI involved due to the accelerated threats on her life. 

Why did you decide to write it? 
I have been lucky to have worked with hundreds of young people in my home town, where I won a Youth Advocate award, and around the country.  While getting to know these amazing young people I also heard their stories of bullying and sexual abuse.  I decided to write a story about a strong, resilient female teenager who is a composite of a lot of the young people I met in order to shine a light on the types of life changing sexual abuse that happens to young people on a regular basis.

 How did you get your book published?  
I got published by Outskirts Press after talking with a dozen authors who had been published in the past through the normal agent dominated publishing process and who now fully support the control that on demand publishers provide to authors.

What types of readers will be interested in your book?  
Women of any age; young adult guys with an open mind; and adults in general who have a world view that includes the fact that everybody should be treated with respect.

What is special about your book?  
What differentiates it from other books in the same category? I am an experienced career counselor and leadership development consultant who has written many articles and book chapters and done hundreds of presentations on how people can reach their goals.  That perspective combined with my extensive experience working with young people and adults who are fighting to make our world a better place combines maturity of perspective and experience with an understanding of young people and how they think and act.  In addition I have a passionate desire to lessen the sexual abuse of young people and the effectiveness of the relentless push by tobacco companies to get young people addicted to tobacco products that will kill them.

 In addition, at the end of this work of fiction there are dozens of resources that are listed for individuals who are motivated to find out more about sexual assault and the amoral tobacco industry.  This is very personal for me since I know a lot of amazing young people who have been sexually assaulted while my parents both died from smoking cigarettes and the tobacco companies are now targeting my grandsons which makes me crazy. 

 Have you published any other books?  Do you plan to publish more?  
I have completed a follow-up to Dawn of Hope titled Dawn of the Tobacco Wars, which will be published by Outskirts Press in 2015.  Both books will be supported by a website I have created called Work for the Common Good.  

 Special thanks to author Peter Prichard and Outskirts Press for the use of this interview!
About the Author


Peter Prichard has spent the last thirty-eight years helping thousands of individuals, from high school students to adults of all ages, reach their goals. He has written dozens of articles and several book chapters on how to do that. He began his career by providing career guidance to college students, and he has been particularly interested in assisting young adults and those who want to drive positive change in their particular organizations, their community, and the world. As an acknowledgment of those efforts, he received the Youth Advocate Award from the town in New Jersey in which he lives. The teenage female heroine of this book is a composite of the hundreds of energetic and courageous young people, social activists and teachers he has met over the years.

Check back soon for our review of Peter's new book, Dawn of Hope!
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DNF Reviews: The Body Electric, The Prey, Blackbird, & The Young Elites

Title: The Body Electric 
Author: Beth Revis
Genre: Science Fiction 
Publisher: Scripturient Books
Publication  Date: October 6th 2014 

 Summary:
The future world is at peace. Ella Shepherd has dedicated her life to using her unique gift—the ability to enter people’s dreams and memories using technology developed by her mother—to help others relive their happy memories. But not all is at it seems. Ella starts seeing impossible things—images of her dead father, warnings of who she cannot trust. Her government recruits her to spy on a rebel group, using her ability to experience—and influence—the memories of traitors. But the leader of the rebels claims they used to be in love—even though Ella’s never met him before in her life. Which can only mean one thing… Someone’s altered her memory. Ella’s gift is enough to overthrow a corrupt government or crush a growing rebel group. She is the key to stopping a war she didn’t even know was happening. But if someone else has been inside Ella’s head, she cannot trust her own memories, thoughts, or feelings.
So who can she trust?
This book was more of a mad case of cover lust then actually wanting to read it. Though the idea seemed promising I couldn't help but compare this book to Elusion by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam, with the chairs and escaping reality. I quickly lost interest in what I was reading, and it took me nearly five days to reach 40%, at that point I decided it was time to mark this one as a lost. 
Title: The Prey (The Hatchery #1) 
Author: Tom Isbell 
Genre: Dystopia
Source: Edelweiss
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: January 20th 2015

 Summary: 
A hot debut trilogy and a riveting story of survival, courage, and romance in a future where creating a master civilization is the only thing prized, no matter the method. After the Omega (the end of the end), 16 year old guys known as LTs discover their overseers are raising them not to be soldiers (lieutenants) as promised, but to be sold as bait because of their Less Than status and hunted for sport. They escape and join forces with a girls’ camp, the Sisters, who have been imprisoned and experimented on for the "good of the Republic," by a government eager to use twins in their dark research. In their plight for freedom, these heroes must find the best in themselves to fight against the worst in their enemies.
 The idea behind this book sounded so interesting and I was really hoping that I was going to like it but I just had a hard time. By 61% of the book I still had no clue what was going on. I found it hard to follow in places. I pushed through a lot of it, hoping to get some background information on the Omega and the Republic but more then half way through the book you still had nothing, which makes it hard to visualize what was going on around them. There was also a huge problem with instalove. Hope and Book literally just meet each other and they can barley stop thinking about each other. I am giving the book the benefit of the doubt and brushing it off on the fact they never met someone their age of the opposite sex. The names were also strange, Cat, Book, June-Bug, Dozer. I wish I would have been able to push through and finish this but sadly it was on that I couldn't force myself into. 
Title: Blackbird (Blackbird Duology #1) 
Author: Anna Carey
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: September 16th 2014 

 Summary: 
A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her. On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined.
What threw me off most abut this book was it being told in second person. But that also made it stand out to me.  I made it through half of this book when I decided to stop, I wasn't getting use to the point of view at all and I just didn't have the time to put through with it. Maybe I'll try again when the next book is published. But for now this book remains in my DNF shelf. 
Title: The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1)
Author: Marie Lu
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 7th 2014 

 Summary: 
Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites. Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all. Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen. Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.
It pained me when I DNFed this book. I am such a big fan of Marie Lu and to not enjoy one of her books really sucks. But, I am going to give this book another chance closer to book #2 because maybe I'll like it better then. I found it a bit slow in the beginning and a bit confusing in some parts. But it was an interesting idea and I definitely need to try it again. 

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ARC Review: Paper or Plastic by Vivi Barnes

Title: Paper or Plastic
Author: Vivi Barnes
Genre: Contemporary 
Source: Entangled Teen via NetGalley
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: February 3rd, 2014
Add it to Goodreads / Pre-order it on Amazon

 Summary: 
Welcome to SmartMart, where crime pays minimum wage... Busted. Alexis Dubois just got caught shoplifting a cheap tube of lipstick at the local SmartMart. She doesn’t know what’s worse—disappointing her overbearing beauty-pageant-obsessed mother for the zillionth time…or her punishment. Because Lex is forced to spend her summer working at the store, where the only things stranger than the staff are the customers. Now Lex is stuck in the bizarro world of big-box retail. Coupon cutters, jerk customers, and learning exactly what a “Code B” really is (ew). And for added awkwardness, her new supervisor is the totally cute—and adorably geeky—Noah Grayson. Trying to balance her out-of-control mother, her pitching position on the softball team, and her secret crush on the school geek makes for one crazy summer. But ultimately, could the worst job in the world be the best thing that ever happened to her?

Paper or Plastic is a light read, I blew through it in one sitting. I was impressed with this book, to me it felt like an almost acurate account of teenagers. Paper or Plastic is for someone who isn't looking for something heavy, but more of something fun and light. 

When Lex gets caught shoplifting some lipstick with her friend Court she never expected her punishment to be working at the SmartMart for the whole summer. Maybe her summer isn't going to suck that bad though. The one benefit of her job is her super cute manager Noah Grayson, little does she know it is the same boy that her best friends and herself hate for an incident that happened two years earlier. But what if this summer, is actually the best thing that has ever happened to her? 

My favorite thing about this book was the characters. They were real. Lex didn't have a perfect family, she felt like she didn't matter in their eyes, ect. It was actually refreshing to read about that for a change. At the start of the novel Lex pissed me off. All she was worried about was the shoplifting charge going on her record, couldn't she have thought about that BEFORE she shoplifted? Then her excuse for doing it was "I wanted to see if I could get away with it." Which wasn't the whole truth. Her friend Court talked her into it. When her mom managed to get her a job in exchange for the police not being called and this going on her record Lex does nothing but complain how it is going to interfere with her life. I did how ever grow to like her. Noah was too shy for his own good sometimes. This novel would have moved along sooner if he wasn't so shy. I did like him though, he was cute and sweet. 

There where a few things that frustrated me though. Lex was so afraid of telling Bryce that she was dating Noah, who two years earlier gotten Bryce kicked off the baseball team for the season for something that Bryce shouldn't have done in the first place. Bryce makes it all Noah's fault when really it was his own for being an ass. But she is afraid of telling him because he would be mad and not want to be her friend anymore. Really? You're going to ruin your happiness because your friend doesn't like your boyfriend? I feel like this was one of the biggest parts of this book, Bryce just needs to get over himself. 


I did enjoy Paper or Plastic, it was something light and fun I needed in between books with heavier plots. This book is perfect for people who really don't read much but do enjoy a cute love story. 

Rating:



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January Debut Author Spotlight: Jenny Elliott! {Interview + Giveaway}


Our January Debut Author: Save Me's Jenny Elliott!


Jenny Elliott is a lifelong resident of Washington State and lives in Spokane with her husband and four kids. Writng fiction is her favorite method for avoiding insanity. Other avoidance techniques include reading, playing Scrabble, and browsing social media sites. Save Me is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter at @jennykelliott.

Jenny Elliott is one of the sweetest ladies we've spoken to in awhile, and we were soooo excited to let you all know about her and her book this month! 

First, our interview with Jenny!
What was your inspiration for Save Me?
I got the inspiration for Save Me when I worked at a book fair and the teens were crazy for The Twilight Saga. I read the books and loved them. But I started thinking about how I'd rather read about a forbidden romance that could happen in real life, something spooky, with somewhat realistic thrills. Also a positive message, at least for me. And so began the story...

Why do you think readers will enjoy Save Me? What makes it special?
I hope readers will love Save Me for the unique mash up I tried to make it, and for being a contemporary romance with strong supernatural elements. I think of it as Slammed meets The Exorcist, meets Touched By An Angel. 

How does it feel to be a new author? What's scary about it? What's great?
Being a new author is surreal. I think I'm still in shock. The greatest part is sharing Save Me with people who love it. The not-so-great part is dealing with criticism from people who don't love it. Still, I achieved a tremendous goal. I try to focus on that. 

What do you think of the relationship between the blogging community and new authors? 
I think the relationship between the blogging community and authors is priceless. Once upon a time, readers wouldn't have the voices they do now. Swoon Reads focuses on that, and what a great idea. We are all in this together!

What has been your best experience as a new author so far?
My best experience as a new author has definitely been all the wonderful people I've met. I'm building lifelong relationships I might not have been able to otherwise. 

Do you plan on writing a sequel to Save Me, or any other books in the future?
I wrote Save Me as a stand alone novel, but I have brainstormed about a sequel, so there very well might be one. I'm currently working on another stand alone: a Hollywood based YA romantic thriller that centers around astral projection. Stay tuned!

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Summary: Something strange is going on in the tiny coastal town of Liberty, Oregon. Cara has never seen a whale swim close enough for her to touch it—let alone knock her into the freezing water. Fortunately, cute newcomer David is there to save her, and the rescue leads to a bond deeper than Cara ever imagined. But then she learns something about David that changes everything, and Cara is devastated. She turns to her best friend for support, but Rachel has changed. She’s suddenly into witchcraft, and is becomingn dangerously obsessed with her new boyfriend…. Cara has lost her best friend, discovered that her soul mate is off limits, and has attracted the attention of a stalker. But she’s not completely alone. Her mysterious, gorgeous new friend Garren is there to support her. But is Garren possibly too perfect? 
You can find Save Me on:


And connect with Jenny on:


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Blog Tour: Save Me by Jenny Elliott

 Welcome to the Save Me by Jenny Elliot blog tour! 

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Title: Save Me
Author: Jenny Elliott
Rating: ★★★ (3/5 Stars) 
Paperback, 336 Pages
Publication Date: January 6th, 2015 (**Tomorrow!**)

Summary: Something strange is going on in the tiny coastal town of Liberty, Oregon. Cara has never seen a whale swim close enough for her to touch it—let alone knock her into the freezing water. Fortunately, cute newcomer David is there to save her, and the rescue leads to a bond deeper than Cara ever imagined. But then she learns something about David that changes everything, and Cara is devastated. She turns to her best friend for support, but Rachel has changed. She’s suddenly into witchcraft, and is becoming dangerously obsessed with her new boyfriend….Cara has lost her best friend, discovered that her soul mate is off limits, and has attracted the attention of a stalker. But she’s not completely alone. Her mysterious, gorgeous new friend Garren is there to support her. But is Garren possibly too perfect?

JESSICA'S REVIEW:

I received an ARC copy of Save Me through the fabulous Swoon Reads, and I'm so glad that I did! This story was a perfect blend of witchcraft, romance, thrill and heartbreak. So much was going on at once that I was struggling to keep up and retain all of the information! 

First thing's first: the cover of this book caught my attention from the get-go. I know we're taught not to judge books by their covers, and I try not to, but this beautiful cover hinted about something chilling and creepy going on, and I immediately knew I wanted to read it! 

"Witches, whales, and a forbidden soul mate - even her guardian angel might have trouble saving her." That blurb was an instant selling point for me, indicating that a bunch of dramatic and awesome stuff was going to go on. 

And wow, did it ever! Not only does Cara have to deal with the fact that the guy she fell in love with during a near-death whale watching experience ended up being totally unavailable to her, and the loss of her best friend to her new boyfriend, but the fact that an evil witch has it out for her, too - all over a boy.

Yikes.

This book kept me on my toes constantly, which is what I really liked about it. There were a couple of scenes I felt weren't well thought out and kind of rushed through, and the plot overall had so much going on that at times it didn't make complete sense, but I still enjoyed the book all the same. 

All in all, Save Me was an interesting read with a bunch of interesting concepts that were definitely worth exploring. The plot of this novel is a plot like none other I've ever read before, which was refreshing. David and Garren's totally different yet eerily similar personalities were interesting to explore, and overall I would recommend this book to anybody looking for a fast-paced and totally different kind of read!
Rating:

AMBER'S REVIEW:

Save Me had a mix of everything in it, forbidden romance, witch craft, angels, demons, it was such an interesting mix. You would think with all that going on the it would be difficult to follow along with the story and get a grip on it but it isn't. Each element flowed into the Save Me at important points in the plot, bringing the readers attention to the newest issue. Even though at certains moments it doesn't make sense it all ties together in the end with the perfect "oh crap!" moment. 

 I loved Cara's character, literally the first thing I connected with her about was he addiction to diet soda. Diet soda is my version of coffee and I need it in my life. It was a small detail that stood out to me. I just enjoyed Cara's tone, maybe because she seemed down to earth? Just one thing that bothered me was when Garren suggested that Rachel could have been possessed by a demon and dabbling in witchcraft she was very okay with it. There was no panic, no "demons aren't real," it just seemed to make it a little fake to me. It wasn't a 
big problem though. In the grand scheme of things it really didn't matter. 

 Now my boys, David and Garren. I won't lie. I totally shipped Cara with both of them. Even though Garren creeped me out and gave me the chills sometimes, he knew when to say or do the right thing. He understood Cara in a special way that had me hoping for them. But then you have David who saves her from the freezing water, is her teacher (though she didn't know when she started dating him), and is just beautiful! Plus David was so kind and caring and also knew the right thing to say. I think I routed for David more then Garren though. Now, before you start thinking "great this book has a love triangle." It doesn't! Garren and Cara both state from very early on that there is nothing between them but a friendship. But I couldn't help but have a little hope. You can't blame me after all. 

 My only problem is I wish that there was more detail around the witch craft and demonic possessions. I would have loved to know how Amber became involved in magic. Or how it really worked. But then when demonic possession is talked about you really don't learn that why someone who plays with witchcraft becomes possessed? Why with certain demons? It was the juicy bits that it was missing. That is the only thing I disliked though, other wise I loved Save Me!
I am crossing my fingers that there will be a sequel to Save Me. The ending left me content but I just want more of Cara, David, and Garren. Plus, I really liked Crossback and Bobbi! Honestly, half the book I was convinced that Garren was really Crossback and he was able to shapshift. He just knew things about Cara that no one knew. It was weird but, I was totally wrong. I loved the whales in this story.  
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About the Author

Jenny Elliott is a lifelong resident of Washington State and lives in Spokane with her husband and four kids. Writng fiction is her favorite method for avoiding insanity. Other avoidance techniques include reading, playing Scrabble, and browsing social media sites. Save Me is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter at @jennykelliott.


Swoon Reads is the crowd-sourced teen romance imprint founded by Jean Feiwel and published under Feiwel and Friends, a division of Macmillan. Swoon Reads is a community where members are included in every step of the publishing process, from acquiring manuscripts to choosing cover directions. To find out more and discover the best in swoon-worthy novels visit SwoonReads.com or follow us on Twitter at @SwoonReads!

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