Mundie Moms

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Book Review & Giveaway- Cryer's Cross

By Lisa McMann
Published by Simon Pulse
Released on February 8th, 2011 TODAY
Source- ARC from the publisher
5 stars- I highly recommend it

The community of Cryer’s Cross, Montana (population 212) is distraught when high school freshman Tiffany disappears without a trace. Already off-balance due to her OCD, 16-year-old Kendall is freaked out seeing Tiffany’s empty desk in the one-room school house, but somehow life goes on... until Kendall's boyfriend Nico also disappears, and also without a trace. Now the town is in a panic.

Alone in her depression and with her OCD at an all-time high, Kendall notices something that connects Nico and Tiffany: they both sat at the same desk. She knows it's crazy, but Kendall finds herself drawn to the desk, dreaming of Nico and wondering if maybe she, too, will disappear...and whether that would be so bad. Then she begins receiving graffiti messages on the desk from someone who can only be Nico. Can he possibly be alive somewhere? Where is he? And how can Kendall help him? The only person who believes her is Jacian, the new guy she finds irritating...and attractive. As Kendall and Jacian grow closer, Kendall digs deeper into Nico's mysterious disappearance only to stumble upon some ugly—and deadly—local history.

Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried (quoted from Goodreads).

Creepy, haunting and very addictive, Cryer's Cross will lure you in and leave you needing more.

Like the rest of her fantastic books, Lisa's writing is captivating. She has an ability to bring her world to life and makes me fall in love with her broken characters, as they're realistic, relatable and they always leave me feeling satisfied with the end of their story and wanting more all at the same time. Cryer's Cross is no different. Only this time, the hunt is on to find out who or what is making people disappear with out a trace in the tiny town of Cryer's Cross, Montana.

Kendall is a character I really enjoyed getting to know. She's real, she's not stuck on the latest trend, and instead she helps out on her family's farm, plays soccer, and enjoys spending time with her best friend Nicco, and deals with living each day with a serve case of OCD. I was completely fascinated with the way Lisa introduces us into Kendall's world, and the compulsions that rule it. Having OCD myself, I found myself both drawn to Kendall in understanding and sympathy. Though her OCD is much more extreme than mine, I really liked that it's Kendall's OCD that makes her realize there's something sinister going on. She's the only one who sees the writing on the desk, the plea for help, that is etched into the desk that sits in the one room school house where her missing best friend Nico once sat and the girl who disappeared before him, Tiffany.

Lisa takes creepy to a whole new level. I'm not one who enjoys horror movies or reading creepy books (call me a whimp), but I was hooked with this book and found I couldn't "look away" or put the book down. I had to know what was going on. Not only did I want to see how Kendall would handle so much change in a short amount of time, but I wanted to see how her and Jacien's relationship developed, but I had to know more about the "We". Although most of the book is written in third person, the "We" has a freakishly, addicting voice that makes me you want to know what/who they are, and what exactly their need is. Let me just say, I will never look at a desk the same again.

Cryer's Cross has an intense creepy factor to it, but also a fantastic, realistic romance. In true Lisa fashion she brings together two broken characters, Kendall and Jacian and writes a beautiful romance that continues to build as the mystery surrounding Nico and Tiffany's intensifies. I liked that they both have something to offer the other and help each other to heal in a way no one else can. Not one for crying, Kendall's grief over losing Nico literally poured off the pages and had me crying. This is fantastic read that I couldn't get enough of. I highly recommend picking up Cryer's Cross! There is some minor language, but nothing too bad. I would recommend Cryer's Cross to those 14 yrs & older.

Lisa is going on TOUR!! Be sure to visit her site here http://www.lisamcmann.com/ to see what cities she's going to.

_______________________
GIVEAWAY TIME!!

I'm really excited that we'll be interviewing her on her stop in Austin next week. I'd love to involve all of you with the interview, SO if there's something you'd like me to ask Lisa, please leave me a comment with your name (you do not have to leave your full name), as I'd like to let Lisa know who's asking the question. We'll pick up to 3 questions to be asked, and our interview will be recorded and posted on our blog.

That's not all, IF you leave us a valid question to ask Lisa about Cryer's Cross or her writing, you'll be entered to WIN a SIGNED ARC of Cryer's Cross! You MUST leave us a comment with a question we can ask Lisa in order to enter. Those who don't, will be not be entered to win.

Leave us a comment and fill out this form to enter-

Sony Pictures' Face of the Fan Casting Call for Jace

I wanted to share something excited I received from Sony Pictures yesterday. Screen Gems and Sony Pictures have an open casting call for those who are interested in playing the role of Jace in the TMI movie.

If you're interested, please read this post in it's entirety below. Please do NOT leave comments asking about the casting, as in the post you'll see who to direct your comments to. We are in support of Sony Pictures & Screen Gems, and as fans of Cassie and TMI being made into a movie, we are trying to spread the world about the opening casting. Good luck to everyone!!



Sony Pictures’ Face of the Fan® BEGINS CASTING CALL FOR LEAD ROLE

IN SCREEN GEMS’ MORTAL INSTRUMENTS


CULVER CITY, Calif., February 4, 2011 – Think you’ve got what it takes to play the male lead in Screen Gems’ film adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s best-selling series, Mortal Instruments? If you can play age 18-25 and think you’re right for Jace Wayland, you just might land the part through Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Face of the Fan®, an initiative for finding new talent, which has launched a casting call for the film.

By visiting www.FaceOfTheFan.com, users nationwide can now participate in this casting call, which launched on Friday, January 28th. The audition consists of the user’s contact info, a headshot photo, and a video (two minutes or less) of the person auditioning in which he answers a question: “Why are you the right person to play Jace Wayland in the upcoming movie?” The audition submission process will end on February 25th.

When asked to describe the Jace Wayland’s character, the book’s author, Cassandra Clare wrote: fighting, hunting, and killing demons are the things Jace is good at. Though the jagged scars and black runic marks on his body are a badge of honor as far as he's concerned, he keeps a lot to himself – like the fact that his parents were murdered by Valentine's servants in front of him when he was ten years old. There are a lot of things Jace doesn't talk about — until he meets Clary, a mundane girl who might see him better than he can see himself. The connection that binds them will force Jace to confront the black secrets of a past he never wanted to remember. The film version of Cassandra Clare’s popular book series is currently in active development with Screen Gems and the theatrical release is anticipated in the coming year.

Face of the Fan® launched in November 2010 with a casting call for Screen Gems’ and Lakeshore Entertainment’s successful action franchise Underworld. Users from across the country logged onto the website, downloaded select pages from a script to rehearse, and then uploaded their audition video and other credentials for submission. The submitted videos were then reviewed by a panel of studio and production executives and selected participants were considered by casting agents for future roles. The site also helped users spread the word and expand the conversation by providing them with the tools to share the programs with their family and friends through social networking.

The concept for Face of the Fan® builds on several past initiatives from Sony Pictures, in which uber-fans were chosen to participate in various marketing-related activities. Whether meeting talent on the red carpet, interviewing them at Comic-Con, or becoming guest correspondents covering the movies, these contests allowed the winning fans to get close to actors and filmmakers like never before and share their experiences online with their friends, family, and other fans.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 140 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.


For More Information:

Pat Shin
Publicist

*Everything posted from the Screen Gem logo to the end of the post is quoted from email I received from Sony Pictures and used with their permission*

Twitter Tuesday - Rachel Hawkins

I think it's safe to say that all of us at Mundie Moms are looking forward to the release of the second book in the HEX HALL series, DEMONGLASS. So perhaps some of us may have smiled without hesitation when we saw this series of tweets from Rachel.




Cheesy perhaps, but it DOES make me think of Archer.




Somehow knowing that Robert Sheehan is "cast" in the story makes it even better. Now who has joined me in pre-ordering DEMONGLASS?? Not too many more days to wait until the March 1st release date. And no, I am NOT counting down until that day...nope, not I...21 days left!!!!! 


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