Welcome to Day 01 of the Spring Break Blog Spectacular! Today's guest is Daisy Whitney, author of the hugely popular (and rightfully so) The Mockingbirds and the recently released sequel The Rivals!
Author Interview:
Ideal spring break destination: ski chalet or tropical beach villa?
Beach all the way. I am allergic to cold weather.
In high school/college which was more likely spotting you on MTV’s Spring Break or just you and your friends enjoying the week off?Definitely just the week off!
What was your favorite Spring Break ever (where and/or why)? Or if you didn't go on spring break trips, where did you always want to go?
I was never a spring break person though I did play an extra in a horror movie called Spring Break Horror. As for where I want to go, I would love a beach vacation in Tahiti.
Fly and have the fun be at the destination or road trip and have the journey be at least half the fun?Road trip = never! Driving ranks up there with changing cat litter for me. Fly for sure!
Do/would any of your characters take Spring Break trips?
No, but in When You Were Here (my spring 2013 book), my main character takes a summer trip to Tokyo.
Which of your characters (in The Mockingbirds, The Rivals or anything upcoming) would you most have liked to have met on a Spring Break trip?
T.S. from The Mockingbirds and The Rivals. She's outgoing and outdoorsy!
Best book to read on Spring Break or a road trip?
It totally depends on the destination. If a beach trip, I think Twenty Boy Summer and Lovestruck Summer are great. If a Paris trip, Anna and The French Kiss.
--------------
find Daisy on Facebook, her website or follow her @DaisyWhitney on Twitter
add The Mockingbirds, The Rivals, When You Were Here to your Goodreads
or buy them: Amazon
, Book DepositoryThe Rivals review
The Rivals (The Mockingbirds #2)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
February 6, 2012
352 pages
add to Goodreads/buy on Amazon/or Book Depository
(review contains spoilers for The Mockingbirds [#1])
When, the during her junior year at Themis Academy an elite boarding school, Alex Patrick accused another student of date rape, the school - the administration - wouldn't do anything about it. It fell to the Mockingbirds, the school's semi-secret policing body to do something about it.Now, Alex is head of the group that helps protect Themis' student body and hoping she can live up to all of the expectations that come with the title.
But Alex's first case isn't rape and it isn't bullying. It isn't anything the Mockingbirds have dealt with before.
A cheating ring has popped up over the summer. Students are using prescription meds to cheat. How do the Mockingbirds deal with this new sort of crime, one that has no clear victim?
When things begin about the case being not to add up quite right, Alex risks putting her relationships - with her boyfriend, Martin; with her best friends - in danger all in the interest of unraveling the mystery.
I admittedly can't remember The Mockingbirds closely enough to compare The Rivals to it point by point - or anywhere near that - but I can remember it enough to know that I loved it.
I had wondered what sort of a 'crime' would be at the center of this book - or if one would be. The Mockingbirds didn't really have a plot you could repeat. The Rivals has a very different type of crime for the Mockingbirds to investigate and charge someone with but it doesn't make the book any less good to read. We actually get to learn more about more of the characters as they're all working on things this time
Things are kept incredibly realistic with Alex, the main character. She didn't magically forget all about her assault during the summer. Now back at school, we see the new things that affect her, seeing Carter with a girl, among them.
One of my favorite things with book sequels - what I think makes for a good, if not extraordinary sequel - is when the events of the previous book aren't forgotten in exchange for this new book and its goings on. Rather, I love when in the second (or third, fourth, etc) book, things from the previous book(s) are brought in and their effect on the characters and/or their surroundings are made to use the story feel whole and real. The Rivals, and Daisy Whitney, of course, do this magnificently.
Daisy Whitney has published another great contemporary YA book with brilliant characters - and quite a mystery, too.
Rating: 9/10
(book received from LBYR for review, thank you)
Everyone else loves the new covers, right? (And not just because the pretty boy on The Rivals cover looks like a certain Aussie actor, of course.)
I think Daisy's book choices are perfect! (And not just because I love, love, love all three of those books so much, either!)
Any other books you think would be perfect for a beach - or Paris if you were so lucky - trip?
What a fun interview! I love all the spring break-related questions!
ReplyDeleteAs for the review, it was very thoughtful and even though I hadn't read either Book 1 or 2, I found myself agreeing to your comments about series and sequels.
This might not be perfect for a beach (a little serious) but Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly was my favorite book of 2010 and I think it can be read anywhere, by anybody.
Thank you! (for everything :-))
DeleteI really do need to read Revolution, don't I? I started the audio a long time ago but never did finish it . . .
Great interview! I've read The Mockingbirds and have Rivals on my shelf waiting for me. I did enjoy Mockingbirds, and can't wait to see what I think of Rivals. Sounds really promising. Stephanie Perkins is the best!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! I'm not a spring break person myself. I would rather stay home and lay by the pool.
ReplyDeleteNice interview! This isn't the usual book I'll read so I probably will give it a try. It surely does sound interesting and a bit peculiar.
ReplyDelete