Mundie Moms

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

An Exclusive Sneak Peak at Anne Ursu's BREADCRUMBS

Today on Mundie Kids we have the privilege of sharing an exclusive sneak peak at Anne Ursu's upcoming middle grade release, BREADCRUMBS. I am so excited for this book's release. It's a fabulous story that kids and adults a like will love. Here's a little bit about the book:


Illustrated by Erin McGuire
Published by Walden Pond Press
To Be Released on September 27th, 2011

A stunning modern-day fairy tale from acclaimed author Anne Ursu

Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. But that was before he stopped talking to her and disappeared into a forest with a mysterious woman made of ice. Now it's up to Hazel to go in after him. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," Breadcrumbs is a story of the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind.

Be sure to visit us here on Mundie Kids to see a sneak peak of the illustrations and read an excerpt from the story.

Hollywood Crush's 10 Most Anticipated Casting Announcements


Simon Lewis from Cassie's TMI series is among a few of our favorite fictional characters, which will all be on the big screen soon, that has made Hollywood Crush's 10 Most Anticipated Casting Announcements list.

Among the movies listed is City of Bones, Divergent, Vampire Academy, White Cat, Beautiful Creatures, Incarceron, The Host, and Delirium. I don't about you guys, but I'm looking forward to seeing each of these book to movie adaptations. CHEERS to some awesome YA books coming to the big screen.

What book to movie adaptations are you looking forward to seeing on the big screen?

Book Review: Flawless


Published by Bloomsbury
Released on May 10th, 2011
Source: book from publisher for review
4 stars- A Flawlessly Great Read

Sarah Burke is just about perfect. She's got killer blue eyes, gorgeous blond hair, and impeccable grades. There's just one tiny-all right, enormous-flaw: her nose. But even that's not so bad. Sarah's got the best best friend and big goals for print journalism fame.

On the first day of senior year, Rock Conway walks into her journalism class and, well, rocks her world. Problem is, her best friend, Kristen, falls for him too. And when Rock and Kristen stand together, it's like Barbie and Ken come to life. So when Kristen begs Sarah to help her nab Rock, Sarah does the only thing a best friend can do-she agrees. For someone so smart, what was she thinking?

This hip retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac is filled with hilariously misguided matchmaking, sweet romance, and a gentle reminder that we should all embrace our flaws (quoted from Goodreads)

Flawless is a light, fun, quick read with strong message about self-respect, and being happy and confident with who are you, looks and all. It's also a story about loyalty, friendship, love and family. Maybe it's the book geek in me, but I love reading a story that pulls in the classics and I liked what Lara did with her retelling and modernizing of the classic Cyrano de Bergerac.

I really liked the story's main character, Sarah. She's a beautiful character both outside and in and her only outward flaw is her large nose. Something that she at one time was insecure about, but she's learned to love it. Lara did a wonderful job on her realistic portrayal of how Sarah feels that's the one thing that everyone looks at. Even though she's accepted that her nose is part of who she is, she still feels that's all people see about her, when in reality it's not. Then there's her best friend Kristin, you know the one who's got those flawless looks and has it all together? Yeah, that one. These two have more than their good looks, they have a genuine, trust worthy, loyal friendship that I loved. I really enjoyed getting to know both Kristen and Sarah who have been best friend for years, and know everything little thing about each other. Not to mention they are completely loyal and supportive of each other, even when they both of their sites set on the hot new guy, Rock.

I understood Sarah's actions and her motives for not going after Rock, even though it's clear the two of them have an instant connection. They're both intelligent, caring characters who have a love of literature. While she never tells her best friend Kristen that she likes Rock too, she puts her feelings aside so Kristen can date him. The only time I got annoyed with both characters was when Kristen wanted Sarah to help her write messages on facebook or emails to Rock for her, because she didn't feel she was intelligent enough to do so. I felt that both characters were mature enough to not do something so juvenile. In the end everything works out and both girls learn something more about themselves.

I enjoyed getting to know Lara's realistic characters. They're not in-depth, but written in a very relatable way, and I felt like I was able to connect with them. I loved that Sarah isn't just beautiful, but she's smart and she's has a level of self respect that lacks in a lot of YA books. Flawless is a great, clean cut read with a powerful message about learning to love and embrace your flaws. If you're looking for a book that's fun, has a sweet romance and a great story about friendship, than I recommend picking up Flawless.

Waiting on Wednesday- Lola and the Boy Next Door

Published by Dutton/Penguin
To Be Released on September 29th, 2011

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

I can not wait to get my hands on Lola and the Boy Next Door. I'm a huge fan of Stephanie's writing and I LOVED Anna and the French Kiss. While I know this book is different than her debut, I can't wait to meet and fall in love with Lola and Cricket. Seriously, I already love the fact she named her leading guy Cricket.

If you're in the Austin area in October, make sure you join us for the Austin Book Festival as Stephanie will be there!! Believe me, she's an author you want to meet.

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