FFBC: Welcome to the club, The Unlikelies by Carrie Firestone

The Unlikelies
by Carrie Firestone
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release Date: June 6th 2017
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis:

Five teens embark on a summer of vigilante good samaritanism in a novel that's part The Breakfast Club, part The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and utterly captivating.

Rising high school senior Sadie is bracing herself for a long, lonely, and boring summer. But things take an unexpected turn when she steps in to help rescue a baby in distress and a video of her good deed goes viral.

Suddenly internet-famous, Sadie's summer changes for the better when she's introduced to other "hometown heroes." These five very different teens form an unlikely alliance to secretly right local wrongs, but when they try to help a heroin-using friend, they get in over their heads and discover that there might be truth in the saying "no good deed goes unpunished." Can Sadie and her new friends make it through the summer with their friendships--and anonymity--intact?

This rich and thought-provoking novel takes on timely issues and timeless experiences with a winning combination of romance, humor, and wisdom.

Hi Carrie!! We’re so excited to have your book in our FFBC Tours, and can’t wait to ask you a couple of questions about your new book THE UNLIKELIES!!

Hi! Thank you so much for this opportunity!

Favorite Book? 

There are so many! The best book I’ve read this month was STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel. I loved the premise and the way the lives of the characters intertwined.

Favorite TV show? 

Game of Thrones (Shame. Shame. Shame.)

Favorite movie? 

The Goonies

Favorite Song? 

Imagine by John Lennon

Favorite Food? 

Definitely popcorn

Name 3 fictional places you would move to in a heartbeat. 

The Boxcar (from the Boxcar Children); The Chocolate Factory (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory); The House (Little House on the Prairie)

What were your favorite books growing up? 

(I was a Fear Street girl!) Oooh. I would have loved those books, but I’m old so I was all about The Boxcar Children books, MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, all the Judy Blume books, and all the Beverly Cleary books.

Favorite Quote? 

“Human beings are more alike than unalike, and what is true anywhere is true everywhere…” –Maya Angelou (Passports to Understanding)

What do you find yourself “Fangirling” over? 

If fangirling is what I think it is, I fangirled twice in my life. The first was when I met John F. Kennedy Jr. in the hallway of the school where I was teaching in NYC. The other time was when I met Barack Obama at a fundraiser. I said, “Welcome to Connecticut, Senator Obama. We love you.” He said, “Thank you. I love you, too!”

What were your 3 favorite books from the last year? 

Other than STATION ELEVEN, I loved THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas, an awesome fantasy book called HEART BLADE by Juliana Spink Mills and WE ARE OKAY by Nina LaCour.

Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about THE UNLIKELIES? 

THE UNLIKELIES is about a group of teens who meet at a luncheon where they are honored for being local heroes. They begin to hang out and end up fighting cyber trolls, real life bullies, and drug dealers, all while trying to honor an elderly man’s dying wish. 

What 3 hashtags would you most associate with your book? (Could be a word or phrase or anything that would instantly make you think of THE UNLIKELIES.)

#UnlikelyRevolution #UnlikelyHero #DoSomethingNoble (and I’ll add one more #Lizard)

Besides reading, writing, and blogging, I love fashion!! What would Sadie wear on a typical summer day? 

Great question! She’s very casual: denim shorts, her favorite Leprechaun t-shirt, and flip flops!

How did you come up with the story? Did you find inspiration in any other story/movie/show and how has this affected your writing? 

It’s funny because I see a little bit of The Goonies in this book. And I was definitely thinking about the revolution songs of The Beatles as I wrote. But I was most inspired by the “unlikely heroes” I have encountered in my life. I wanted to show that do-gooders can be cool and interesting and that while “no good deed goes unpunished,” it’s so important to keeping trying to do good things in this jaded world.

Tell us your favorite quote from THE UNLIKELIES. 

This is totally random, but I like when Alice says, “Hello, little boy. Would you like some sassafras?”

Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write? Or which part was the most difficult to get through? 

I loved writing the Speakeasy scene because I would have hung out at Speakeasy all the time. The difficult scenes were the ones that dealt with the dark world of drugs and the pain that comes from watching someone you love suffer from addiction.

If you had to pick one song to be the Theme Song for THE UNLIKELIES– Which one would you pick? 

Blackbird by The Beatles

Are there any recommendations you could give your readers to be in the “perfect mood” to read THE UNLIKELIES (specific music, snacks…)? 

1. Suggested music: Anything by the Beatles (especially Blackbird)

2. Suggested snack: blueberry cobbler or biscuits with honey (both with a side of ice cream)

3. Suggested candy: candy necklace

4. Suggested time to read: early evening on a cloudy summer night

5. Suggested companion: a notebook to write down your own revolutionary ideas

What’s next for you? 

I’m planning to read and write a lot this summer. And I’m working on some of my own vigilante do-gooder projects! #UnlikelyRevolution

Thank you so much for this, Carrie!

Thank you! This was such a fun interview!!

Follow The Unlikelies by Carrie Firestone Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Carrie Firestone has lived in rural, urban, and suburban places, and, while she currently lives in the suburbs, she is decidedly a CITY person. She loves parties, and all kinds of music, and books about random people doing random things in random places. She loves to travel with her husband, and two daughters, Lauren and Emily. When she isn’t writing, you might find her reluctantly sharing her popcorn at the movies, trying to get people (or dogs) to do a conga line, or adding items to her loose ends list.

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FFBC: Welcome to the club, The Best Kind of Magic by Crystal Cestari

The Best Kind of Magic

by Crystal Cestari

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Release Date: May 16, 2017

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Amber Sand is not a witch. The Sand family Wicca gene somehow leapfrogged over her. But she did get one highly specific magical talent: she can see true love. As a matchmaker, Amber's pretty far down the sorcery food chain (even birthday party magicians rank higher), but after five seconds of eye contact, she can envision anyone's soul mate.

Amber works at her mother's magic shop--Windy City Magic--in downtown Chicago, and she's confident she's seen every kind of happy ending there is: except for one--her own. (The Fates are tricky jerks that way.) So when Charlie Blitzman, the mayor's son and most-desired boy in school, comes to her for help finding his father's missing girlfriend, she's distressed to find herself falling for him. Because while she can't see her own match, she can see his--and it's not Amber. How can she, an honest peddler of true love, pursue a boy she knows full well isn't her match?

The Best Kind of Magic is set in urban Chicago and will appeal to readers who long for magic in the real world. With a sharp-witted and sassy heroine, a quirky cast of mystical beings, and a heady dose of adventure, this novel will have you laughing out loud and questioning your belief in happy endings.

Hello Crystal! We are super excited to have you in our FFBC tours. 

Favorite Book?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was the first book that made me want to be a writer. 

Favorite TV show?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with Veronica Mars in a very close second.

Favorite movie?

I love the Pride and Prejudice remake with Kiera Knightly. It is such a beautiful adaptation of one of my favorite stories. 

Favorite Song?

“Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson is still my karaoke jam.

Favorite Food?

Ice cream, preferably Ben and Jerry’s 

Name 3 fictional places you would move to in a heartbeat.

Hogwarts (obvs), Neverland, Stars Hollow

What were your favorite books growing up? (I was a Fear Street girl!)

I loved anything by Roald Dahl and Beverly Cleary, and read all The Babysitter’s Club books. When I got a little older, I tore through the Goosebumps series, which makes me laugh because now I can’t handle anything scary!

Favorite Quote?

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” Dr. Seuss

What are your fandoms?

Disney, Buffy, and Harry Potter are forever cemented in my fangirl heart. In the past few years I’ve gotten into comics more, and a recent obsession is Squirrel Girl.

Who is your favorite fictional boyfriend (or girlfriend)?

Peeta Mellark—that boy will keep you safe AND bake you bread. Done and done.

Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about THE BEST KIND OF MAGIC?

This story is about Amber Sand, whose family line dates back to Salem, but she herself is not a witch. She did get one very specific magical talent though, in that she can actually see true love. Amber is a matchmaker, but her life is not all turtle doves and happy endings. Her Cupid’s arrow gets her in trouble quite often, but no matter what, she never gives up fighting for what she believes in. 

I love books/movies/TV shows with a magical element to them. What is your favorite movie or TV show or song that has the witches and/or magic in them?

Buffy was the first show to bring out the fangirl in me, and it opened me up to the magical world in a new way. Before watching this show, it always seemed like mystical creatures could only exist in the past or in far away lands, but these were real people learning to live with supernatural consequences in their everyday lives. Willow’s journey with witchcraft and Buffy’s struggle with her slayer powers definitely shaped aspects of The Best Kind of Magic, as Amber and her best friend, Amani, both have their own conflicts with their magical abilities. 

Besides reading, writing, and blogging, I love fashion!! How would you describe Amber’s style?

Amber’s style is very low key: t-shirts, jeans, sneakers. Most of the time she’s either wearing her school uniform or something that’s work appropriate, so she doesn’t spend much time thinking about how she’s dressed. Her standout style point is her hair, which she’s dyed with peacock blue and green streaks. 

How did you come up with the story? Did you find inspiration in any other story/movie/show and how has this affected your writing?

Without a doubt, Buffy is a huge influence for me, not only for the stuff about monsters and magic, but also the group dynamic of the Scooby gang. I really wanted Amber’s mystical community to feel authentic, and to showcase the different relationships and dynamics of what it means to have a gift like no one else. Harry Potter, The Vampire Diaries, and Emma also played in here; watching a matchmaker pair up couples in an enchanting world is definitely a mash up of my love of romance and magical realism. 

Tell us your favorite quote from THE BEST KIND OF MAGIC.
“Only crazy people and Satan don’t like frosting.” – Amber J


Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write? Or which part was the most difficult to get through?

Any scene where Amber gets to show off her sassy personality was fun for me since I could live vicariously through her funny one-liners, but one of my favorite scenes was during a dance party at Navy Pier, where she works. Although Amber has no problem intervening on other people’s love lives, she’s very guarded with her own, so when a boy she’s having complicating feelings for asks her to dance, she isn’t quite sure what to do. I like this point of the story because she starts letting her guard down, and we begin to see a different side. 

Are there any recommendations you could give your readers to be in the “perfect mood” to read THE BEST KIND OF MAGIC (specific music, snacks…)?

Amber aspires to be a professional baker, so there are many mentions of pastries and treats throughout the book. I spent a lot of time looking up recipes and sampling different desserts while I was writing (it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!). Enjoying a cupcake while turning the pages would be a perfect fit!

What’s next for you?
The sequel, The Sweetest Kind of Fate, debuts February 2018, and I am always scribbling away on new story ideas. J

Thank you so much for everything, Crystal!

Thank you so much for featuring my book! It means so much to me! J - Crystal

Follow The Best Kind of Magic by Crystal Cestari Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

With rainbows in my hair and stories in my head, I am a writer drawn to magic in the everyday world.

My debut novel, The Best Kind of Magic, arrives May 16, 2017 from Hyperion. Follow Amber Sand, a magical matchmaker who can actually see true love, as she takes off on a fun and romantic adventure toward happily ever after.

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FFBC: Welcome to the club, The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich

The Love Interest
by Cale Dietrich
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Release Date: May 16, 2017
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQIA

Synopsis:

There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets.

Caden is a Nice: The boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection. Dylan is a Bad: The brooding, dark-souled guy, and dangerously handsome. The girl they are competing for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will she choose a Nice or the Bad?

Both Caden and Dylan are living in the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the top of their games. They have to be – whoever the girl doesn’t choose will die.

What the boys don’t expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both.

Hello Cale! We are super excited to have you in our FFBC tours.

Favorite Book?

Ahh too many to choose, but of all time, it’d probably have to be one of the Harry Potter books (probably Deathly Hallows)

Favorite TV show?

Veronica Mars.

Favorite movie?

This changes all the time! At the moment, it’s a tie between The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Brokeback Mountain.

Favorite Song?

Mr. Brightside.

Favorite Food?

Pasta!

Name 3 fictional places you would move to in a heartbeat.

Easy – Hogwarts/Wizarding World or anywhere from Pokémon. I can’t think of a third, I don’t think anything could compete with how much I want to go to those places. I wouldn’t mind visiting Middle Earth, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

What were your favorite books growing up? (I was a Fear Street girl!)

Oh that’s awesome about Fear Street! I loved Goosebumps and Harry Potter. Also when I was a little older I became very obsessed with the Cirque Du Freak books.

Favorite Quote?

This is kinda weird, but I like “Why Not Me?” by Mindy Kaling. It’s a mentality I think about a lot. It’s basically: why *shouldn’t* it be me that gets that awesome thing? It encourages me to be a go-getter and I love that about it.

What are your fandoms?

The biggest two are Harry Potter and Pokémon. I also am pretty into gaming in a general sense! And if YA in general counts, I’d say I’m a fanboy of that.

What were your 3 favorite books from the last year?

So tough to answer! I’ve read so many amazing books. It’s not a book but SAGA blew me away. HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME was so moving and beautiful, and I had so much fun with GAUNTLET by Holly Jennings. These wouldn’t be top three (I couldn’t rank, I love so many books for different reasons) but they’re stand-outs for sure! Also, I keep a Goodreads list of the books I’ve read, and I would recommend any of these.

Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about THE LOVE INTEREST?

Sure thing! THE LOVE INTEREST is about a guy called Caden, who has been trained his whole life to be the love interest of a special girl, named Juliet. He works for a company that dispatches spies known as Love Interests to get close to targets and steal their secrets. When the book starts, Caden, and a Bad boy called Dyl, who is also competing for Juliet, are sent in. And then Caden and Dyl start hanging out, and Caden gets a crush on him, and things get really messy from there.

What 3 hashtags would you most associate with your book? (Could be a word or phrase or anything that would instantly make you think of THE LOVE INTEREST.)

Ooh good question! I’m not great at hashtags, but how about #gay, #funny and #angst.

If you could hang out with any character from your book, who would it be? And what would you guys do?

Ahh I would love to meet all of them! And what I’d do with them would be so different depending on who it would be. With Caden I’d just like to talk. I’d like Juliet to show me her laboratory. And with Dyl, I’d like to go for a drive in his car.

How did you come up with the story? Did you find inspiration in any other sto-ry/movie/show and how has this affected your writing?

It’s so hard for me to explain this, because the idea for THE LOVE INTEREST seriously did just come to me as the thought: “how cool would it be If there was a training academy for the love interests from YA books”. That sounded super fun to write, so I just started writing it and quickly became super into it. And I found so much inspiration from other places! I think VEROINCA MARS was a big influence, as was COMMUNITY, and YA books like THE HUNGER GAMES.

Tell us your favorite quote from THE LOVE INTEREST.

Ahh my favorite quote is a huge spoiler! Near the end, Caden basically sums up the whole book in four words and it’s easily my favorite quote. But I am really proud of this joke from early on: “For a Nice, the aim of the game is lean. I need to look friendly and cute, but when I take my shirt off I need to be ripped. Just in an approachable way that doesn’t look like I work out much. Like these muscles happened accidentally, the result of playing outside with a golden Labrador or good genes or something like that.”

Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write? Or which part was the most difficult to get through?

I love any scene where I get Caden and Dyl together. Like, so much. And nothing about writing TLI was difficult! Caden talking about his feelings toward his sexuality was emotional, but not hard, if that makes sense. That said, I was so worried about letting people read it! It felt very personal.

If you had to pick one song to be the Theme Song for THE LOVE INTEREST – Which one would you pick?

This is a tough one, but I’d say HOLD ON by Twin Atlantic!

Are there any recommendations you could give your readers to be in the “perfect mood” to read THE LOVE INTEREST (specific music, snacks…)?

I LOVE THIS QUESTION. And I’d say a Starbucks frappuccino, for sure. It just feels like a frappuccino kind of book to me.

What’s next for you?

Nothing I can talk about yet, I’m afraid! I really hope to have more news soon! But I think it’s safe to say that it’ll be a speculative romance with a gay hero.

Thank you so much for everything, Cale!

Thanks so much for having me!

Follow The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Cale Dietrich is a YA devotee, lifelong gamer, and tragic pop punk enthusiast. He was born in Perth, grew up on the Gold Coast, and now lives in Brisbane, Australia. The Love Interest is his first novel.

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