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Showing posts with label march middle grade madness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label march middle grade madness. Show all posts
The 4th Annual March Middle Grade Madness has come to a close
I can't believe March is over and another FABULOUS March MG Madness is ending. This year's event has been stupendous and I must thank each and every author/pub who participated. I could not have made this event awesome without each of you!! And to every reader who stopped by, commented, an entered the giveaways: y'all rock!
All the giveaways will run until 11:59pm ET on Friday, April 3rd...so keep entering! There is no limit to how many giveaways you can win. You can find links to ALL the giveaways HERE and you can find links to all this month's posts HERE.
I hope everyone has discovered some marvelous new middle-grade books to read and had lots and lots of fun! Until next March:
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
Welcome to Day 19 of the 4th Annual March MG Madness! Today we are celebrating Angie Kelly's Labyrinth Society: The Versailles Vendetta...
The Versailles Vendetta
(Labyrinth Society #1)
by Angie Kelly
5/27/14
Astraea Press
When 12 year-old Mia Cornell is sent to live at the Tarpley Estate, her ninth foster home, she has no idea what she's in for. Having a kind but mysterious foster mother and three quirky foster sisters is all well and good. Discovering that her new family is a secret society—they use a portal in their garden labyrinth to travel the globe seeking lost art, artifacts, and OSOs (objects of supernatural origin)—is something else entirely.
Mia barely has time to wrap her head around the truth when the Society's latest job, tracking down Marie Antoinette's necklace, goes sideways. Mia and her new siblings—Tomi, the historian; Devon, the hacker; and Lily, the muscle—must use their wits, plus a few cool OSOs filched from the Society's vault, to stay a step ahead of a sinister enemy from their foster mother's past. But just how far back does Mrs. Tarpley's past go? And will Mia stand by her new family or cut and run when they need her the most?
Twelve year old Mia Cornell is tired of being bounced around foster homes, misses her grandmother terribly, and just wants to be left alone. When Mia is placed with kind, mysterious, and very rich Mrs. Tarpley, Mia finds herself in one heck of an adventure. Mrs. Tarpley, her assistant Alex, and her three other foster daughters (Tomi, Lily, and Devon) are part of a secret society that uses labyrinth portals to travel around the world and find lost artifacts (some are even supernatural). Mia accidentally tags along on the Society’s latest job (finding Marie Antoinette’s necklace) and must help the Society go against a dangerous enemy.
Angie Kelly’s Labyrinth Society: The Versailles Vendetta is a fast paced, addicting, and fun read, full of thrills; humor; and clever storytelling. Combining mystery, history, science, fantasy, and action, Angie Kelly has crafted such an awesome and imaginative premise and spun an exciting story. The physical world of Labyrinth Society: The Versailles Vendetta (including the Tarpley Estate, the mesmerizing and complex labyrinths, and the dazzling cities of Versailles and Paris) is laid out in rich, lush details. Young readers will love exploring the fascinating and mysterious Tarpley Estate with Mia, be completely wowed and intrigued by the labyrinths, and be enchanted by the gorgeous Versailles and Paris. And the magical, otherworldly aspects of the Labyrinth Society are just so much fun to explore and learn about.
I found Labyrinth Society: The Versailles Vendetta’s characters to be a charming, engaging eclectic bunch. Each young character (Mia, Lily, Tomi, and Devon) gets a chance to narrate the story, and young readers will enjoy getting to know each of them and seeing the story from their perspectives. Alex is an amusing fella, while Mrs. Tarpley is wonderfully mysterious, yet completely endearing. Plus, Angie Kelly throws in some surprising and compelling baddies!
The case of Marie Antoinette’s necklace is full of clever puzzles, thrilling escapes, cool magical objects, and plenty of twists and turns!
my final thoughts: Angie Kelly’s Labyrinth Society: The Versailles Vendetta is cleverly and imaginatively crafted, with a unique premise; great storytelling; and delightful characters. I had so much fun reading this book and can’t wait for future books in the series!
MY RATING
What three words best describe Labyrinth Society: The Versailles Vendetta?
Fun
Mysterious
Adventure
Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers, especially reluctant readers, to give your book a try?
A fast-paced, girl powered adventure full of sass, snark, and magical objects.
Grab a copy of Labyrinth Society: The Versailles Vendetta and answer the following:
favorite chapter?Chapter Twelve
favorite page?151
favorite place/setting?The Louvre
flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentences teaser:
The next thing I knew the crows were all over me in a swarm of cawing and feathers like I was made of bread. Claws tangled in my hair. Black wings beat against my head and face.
What inspired Labyrinth Society: The Versailles Vendetta? How did the story come to be?
I was inspired to write Labyrinth Society after a trip to Paris in 2007. I fell in love with the city and knew I wanted to set a book there. Two of my favorite places that I visited while I was there were the Louvre Museum and the palace of Versailles, both of which are featured in pivotal scenes in the book.
Can you tell us a bit about your heroine, Mia? What makes her special and sets her apart from other middle-grades heroines?
Mia is a twelve year-old budding artist who has been bounced around foster care after the sudden death of her grandmother. What makes Mia special is that she’s very intuitive and curious, which serves her well when she realizes her new foster family is lying to her about who they really are. She’s also a natural problem solver. What sets her apart is that she’s an African-American heroine, which is rare in MG fantasy adventure.
Your characters travel the globe with use of a magical portal...where would you go and what would you do, if you had a magical portal?
I would definitely go back to France and England and Italy as well.
As a middle-grade author, why do think MG is so important and popular? What do you love about MG?
I think MG is so important because is bridges the gap between childhood and adolescence when kids are just beginning to develop a sense of who they are. I love MG because it represents a time in my life when I felt fearless and had the most fun.
What are some of your favorite middle-grade reads?
Some of my favorites are:
The Kiki Strike series by Kristen Miller
The Apothecary By Maile Meloy
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
Fill in the blanks:
I’m really awesome atresearching. I can usually always find the information I’m looking for.
I’m really embarrassed to admit I flunked my swimming lessons as a kid. I still can’t swim.
The last great book I read wasnot a MG book. It was an adult suspense/horror novel that would probably be too scary for kids.
If you were to bake a cupcake inspired by Labyrinth Society: The Versailles Vendetta, what would it look and taste like and what would you call it?
It would definitely be a chocolate cupcake, since my character Tomi is a chocoholic. It would have banana cream frosting for Devon, whipped cream in the middle for Mia, and lemon cookie crumbles on top for Lily. It would be sweet, tart and multilayered with a surprise in the middle just like my four main characters. I’d call it Adventurous ; ).
Angie Kelly is the pseudonym of a former member of the Labyrinth Society. When she's not writing about her adventures, or reading about other people's adventures, she's busy traveling the world and indulging her inner twelve year-old. Although she was last sighted lurking around the British Museum after hours, her current whereabouts are unknown
Win a $10 Amazon Gift Card and/or 1 of 5 digital copies of Labyrinth Society: The Versailles Vendetta!
Angie Kelly has generously offered up one gift card for one winner and 5 ebook copies of her book for five winners.
Unless otherwise stated, the policies and rules for each giveaway are as follows:
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington D.C. who are 13 years old or older as of date of entry.
To enter, fill out the appropriate Rafflecopter form associated with each giveaway.
The start and end dates for each giveaway will be clearly stated and followed.
The specified amount of winners shall be selected in a random drawing.
Winners will be notified by email and must claim their prize within 48 hours. If a winner does not respond within 48 hours, then a new winner will be chosen.
Word Spelunking is not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes in the mail. Once a prize is dropped off at the post office, it is no longer my responsibility and I will not compensate in anyway for prizes not delivered because of the USPS.
If a third-party (author, publisher, etc) is shipping a prize, once I provide the winner(s)' mailing information to them, the prize is no longer my responsibility. I will forward your mailing info to the proper people within 48 hours after getting it from you. If you have not received your prize from an author or publisher within 8 weeks, it is your responsibility to contact them further.
By participating in any giveaway, you agree to adhere to these rules. Any breaking of these rules by entrants will disqualify them from the giveaway and their entries will be deleted.
I am SO excited to start planning and organizing the 4th Annual March MG Madness! If you're new to this event, it's a month long celebration of middle-grade that features tons of reviews, author interviews, guest posts, giveaways, and more. For more info, check out the 1st MMGM, 2nd MMGM, and the 3rd MMGM.
I LOVE middle-grade literature and this event is my absolute favorite of the year! But, I can't do this event alone, I need some awesome middle-grade authors and publishers to participate as well. In the past three years, I have had some AMAZING authors and pubs get involved and it has been AWESOME!
So, what's this MMGM thang all about? Glad you asked! Basically, every weekday in March a different middle-grade author and/or book(s) will be featured. Here are some guidelines:
the event will run from March 1-31
the event is open to ALL middle-grade authors and pubs (traditional, indie, self-published)
as long as the book(s) you want featured has been released within the last year or will be released within the year, then it's allowed
authors will have a wide range of posts to choose from (reviews by me, interviews, guest posts, spotlights, giveaways, etc)
it doesn't cost a thing to participate, but a shout-out about the event on your websites/social media accounts is always appreciated
I will have about 18-20 spots available, so sign-up early and guarantee a date
Sign-ups will close at midnight on January 31st and you will get an email from me the first week of February (maybe sooner) for more info.
sign-ups now closed. thank you :)
And if you have ANY questions at all, please email me at wordspelunker[at]gmail[dot]com
I CAN'T WAIT TO WORK WITH Y'ALL ON THIS FUN EVENT!!
That's right, cupcakes, the 3rd Annual March MG Madness begins today! I'm SO excited for this month long celebration of middle-grade to start and I hope you are too. The first and second March MG Madness Events were awesome awesome awesome, and I think this year will be even BETTER.
If you're new to this event then you are in for a fun time! I have a ton of Middle-Grade Reviews, Author and Character Interviews, and Giveaways to share...A TON! Each day in March there will be a new middle-grade book and/or author to meet and explore. And did I mention the giveaways?! Cause there are A LOT!! I LOVE middle-grade and started this annual event to share that love and give MG the attention it deserves. I hope y'all find some new books and authors to squee over with me.
I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all the fantabulous authors, pubs, and publicists who have made this year's March MG Madness possible! These people rock and have made sure that this year's event will be spectacular!!
Below you will find the schedule for this event, which will be updated daily with links to each review, interview, and giveaway. Also, below you can enter a giveaway (provided by me!) for a box of MG books.
3rd Annual March MG Madness Schedule
(links will be updated daily)
If you click on a link and it doesn't work, that's because the post hasn't gone up yet. Each post will go live by 6am on its scheduled date. Those posts scheduled but not live yet will be marked with a ***
-Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein
-Winter Sky by Patricia Reilly Giff
DETAILS
-US only
-will end 4/6
-1 winner will win all six books
-must be 13+, one free entry per person
-winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours
-I am NOT responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes
You have the chance to earn extra points by commenting on each March MG Madness post (links updated daily in Rafflecopter) and by reading and reviewing MG books during March! Each review (up to five) must be more than just a rating (a paragraph will do), and can be posted on your blog or Goodreads or store page or somewhere else.
