Best of 2011 Part 1 - Author Interview & Prize Pack Giveaway: Crossed by Ally Condie

Welcome Back to Author Ally Condie!

Ally Condie is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling novel MATCHED, and its just-released sequel, CROSSED. She is also a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband and three sons outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar.

http://allycondie.com/

INTERVIEW:
Night owl, or early bird? 

Early bird, but I don’t know that it’s by choice. I used to get up early in high school to run, then in college to work, then to teach, and now I have little kids who never sleep in. ;)

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published. 

Anytime I get to go back into the classroom (I used to be a teacher) and work with students. I absolutely love talking with kids about books, and when it happens to be a book I’ve written…well, that’s pretty much a dream come true.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? 

Utah, but without the inversion/air pollution we have right now.

Who are your favorite authors of all time? 

Anne Tyler, Wallace Stegner, and Agatha Christie.

What do you do in your free time? 

I love to run, read, and hang out with my husband.

What's your favorite season/weather? 

Fall! It’s so beautiful where I live.

How did you celebrate the sale of your first book? 

That was back in 2005, and my husband and I were really poor (he was a grad student), so we got takeout from our favorite Greek place. It cost about $25 and felt like total luxury.

Favorite places to travel? 

Great Britain, particularly the Lake District. I studied abroad there while in college and am always itching to get back.

Favorite sport? 

I love cross country running. I’ll also watch pretty much any sport during the Olympic coverage. I’m a sucker for a good story, and there’s just something so pleasurable and inspiring about watching people excel and dedicate themselves to becoming better.

What is you favorite way to spend a rainy day? 

Baking cookies and reading with my kids.

Title: Crossed
Author: Ally Condie
Series: Matched book 2 of 3
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Released: November 1, 2011

The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy.

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Giveaway Details:
1 person will receive a Crossed Prize Pack which will contain a signed copy of the book, a poster and some buttons.
Open to US only
Ends 12/31/11

*This is a completely separate giveaway from the one that was run as part of BIR2011.  That one is still running.  This is a second chance for you to win a great prize pack.

Optional Extra Entries
+1 Follow Ally on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/allycondie
+1 Follow Penguin Teen on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/PenguinTeen


WINNER:
The Book Vixen

Giveaway - Prize Pack Crossed by Ally Condie #BIR2011

In October I had the chance to meet Ally Condie at the St. George Book Festival.  I was so impressed by her!  Today I'm thrilled to be featuring her book Crossed as part of Best I've Read 2011.

Thanks to Penguin Group I've got a great prize pack for the book Crossed by Ally Condie!

Title: Crossed
Author: Ally Condie
Series: Matched book 2 of 3
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Released: November 1, 2011

The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy.

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Content: Clean

Rating: 4 Stars - Great Book

You can read my review of Crossed HERE.

Giveaway Details:
1 person will receive a Crossed Prize Pack which will contain a signed copy of the book, a poster and some buttons.
Open to US only
Ends 12/31/11

Optional Extra Entries
+1 Follow Ally on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/allycondie
+1 Follow Penguin Teen on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/PenguinTeen

Winner:
Gena Robertson

Book Review: Crossed by Ally Condie

Title: Crossed
Author: Ally Condie
Series: Matched book 2 of 3
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Released: November 1, 2011

The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy.

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series (Matched) and have been looking forward to reading this sequel. I was not disappointed with Crossed but I do think Matched was better. I've read really mixed reviews on this sequel and I can see why. Personally I enjoyed this story and am looking forward to the final book in the trilogy.

Crossed was definitely more character driven instead of plot driven. The writing is very poetic and beautiful but that also makes it slow in places. There just really is not a lot that happens in this story. My husband asked me about one of the books I read recently and there was no way I could have even begun to summarize it unless he has 10 or 15 minutes to listen to me. By contrast I could sum up what happened in this book in about a minute. Yes I'd be leave out a lot of back-story and details about characters but as far as plot-line for this book there just isn't much that happens. That said I really did enjoyed this book. I liked learning more about the characters and the society.

Usually in a book that has a love triangle I have a strong opinion on who the main characters should end up with. I don't have that with this book. I'm open to Cassia ending up with either Ky or Xander.

I really think the third book has potential to be the best in the series. My fingers are crossed.

Content: Clean

Rating: 4 Stars - Great Book

Source: I bought a copy but I ended up listening to the audio version which I downloaded from Audible.com

Book Giveaway: Signed Copy of Crossed by Ally Condie

The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy.

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

At the St. George book festival on Saturday I got my hands on a signed copy of Crossed by Ally Condie.  Since I love to share books and want someone else to have a chance to read this fabulous book, I'm giving away my once read signed copy.









Giveaway Details:
Open to US only unless you are willing to pay the extra shipping charges.
Ends 11/28/11
To enter be a follower of this blog and fill out the form below.
For an extra entry share this giveaway: Twitter @toobusyreading, facebook, on your blog, etc.

WINNER: Joy G.W.

St. George Book Festival - Ally Condie

I ran up to the St. George book festival this afternoon to hear Ally Condie speak.  The St. George book festival is a small community event so we are lucky that Ally Condie has roots in Southern Utah and was willing to come down for the event.  Last year I was a little disappointed by how "small town" the festival was.  This year I knew what to expect so there was no disappointment.

Ally spoke for about an hour about her inspiration for Matched and the road to publication.  It was very interesting and entertaining.

I should have taken some notes but didn't. I just sat and enjoyed listening to Ally.

I was lucky enough to snag a signed copy of Crossed even though it doesn't come out until Tuesday.















Look for a giveaway for this copy of Crossed coming soon!

Book Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.


The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

There was a lot of hype about Ally Condie's newest book Matched.  I'm always a little worried when I start a book that has a lot of hype because I hate to be disappointed. Thankfully for me this book lived up to the hype.  I really enjoyed reading it. By the time the book ended I was left completely wanting more. 

This book made me think.  I'm a little rebellious by nature.  Tell me I can't do something and I'm not a happy camper.  I like to make my own choices and do not like to be forced to do anything.  The people in the book Matched seemed happy enough but honestly I think they would all be miserable.  Being told who to marry, having your career chosen for you and having no choice on what you eat doesn't sound that appealing to me.  In theory everyone is happy because everything is calculated to be what is best for you, in reality not having any choice would be a miserable way to live.

I loved the charcters that Ally created.  I read the majority of this book in one sitting.  I'm really looking forward to reading the sequel Crossed which doesn't come out until the end of next year. 

Content: Totally clean

Rating: 5 Stars

Source: ARC Tour

#BIR2010 - Book Giveaway: Matched by Ally Condie + Interview

Welcome to Author Ally Condie.  Ally is the author of many books for young adults and recently released the highly anticipated book Matched.

Interview:

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?
Ironically, I think I’d go back to the past. I like writing about the future, but for some reason actually going there might scare me. I’d like to go back in the past, not too far, to see people I love who have passed on.

If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would you choose?
I’m going to assume they have to be living. J Apolo Ohno, Michael Phelps, John Stockton, Neil Diamond, and Michelle Kwan. Hmmm. With the exception of Neil, I seem to have a bit of an Olympian theme going on here.

What is one book everyone should read?
Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner. It’s achingly beautiful in every way.

Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters?
Great question! I’m going to put a full playlist up on my blog soon for Matched, but one of the songs I listened to often while writing it was Grapevine Fires by Death Cab for Cutie.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Tikka masala from this wonderful restaurant in town called The Bombay House. I use any excuse I can to try to acquire it.


Matched
By Ally Condie
Published by Dutton Juvenile
Website: http://www.allysoncondie.com/


Book Summary:
(from Goodreads)
In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.

Giveaway Details:
One copy of Matched by Ally Condie
Ends 12/16
US only
Fill out the form to enter

BIR Address Form (if you have not yet filled it out)

This giveaway is now closed

Waiting on Wednesday: Matched by Ally Condie

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.

My pick for this week was chosen for a silly reason. My maiden name is Condie so it's fun to a book by an author with the same last name. Plus I've seen this book on so many blogs and read a lot of good reviews. Now to get my hands on a copy!

Matched by Ally Condie is scheduled to be released on November 30th.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted on Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Being Sixteen by Allyson Condie

Juliet Kendall has been looking forward to her sixteenth birthday for what feels like forever. At first, it seems like being sixteen will be as perfect as she dreamed---she has great friends, a cute almost-boyfriend, a spot on the varsity girls' basketball team, and even a car of her own. But, as the year goes on, she discovers that her sister Carly, is hiding a secret and realizes that, in fact, being sixteen may be her hardest year yet.

Being Sixteen is a coming-of-age story about two sister and their different struggles. It addresses what it means to have a testimony, what it meant to be a friend and a sister, and what's involved in the dealing with and overcoming an eating disorder.

Being Sixteen is well done LDS fiction. This is the first novel by Allyson Braithwaite Condie that I have read and I will definitely give her other books a try. Being Sixteen delves into the dynamics of a less than perfect LDS family who are doing the best they can. A touching story that brought tears to my eyes. Unlike many books in this genre Being Sixteen is not overly cheesy or preachy. A realistic look at some of the challenges an LDS teen faces.

Content: This is a clean read recommended to LDS readers ages 13+.

Rating: 4 Stars