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Blog Tour: Just a Normal Tuesday by Kim Turrisi + Giveaway

Apr 27, 2017

Just a Normal Tuesday by Kim Turrisi

Pages: 256
Publish date: May 2nd, 2017
Publisher: Kids Can Press
ISBN: 1771387939
Purchase: Barnes & Noble – Amazon UK – Amazon US

It’s just a normal Tuesday for sixteen-year-old Kai, until suddenly it’s anything but. She’s received a letter from her beloved older sister, Jen, a letter that begins, My very bestest sister, Kai, if you are reading this, I am already gone. From that moment on, Kai’s life will never be the same, as she is forced to deal with the shock and horror of losing Jen to suicide.

Consumed with grief, Kai looks for answers, lashes out at people who love her and eventually turns to excessive drinking and drugs, all with disastrous results and no relief from her suffering. Struggling with their own sorrow, Kai’s parents realize she needs more help than they can give, and they enroll her in the Tree House, a “grief camp” for children. Though reluctant to go, once she’s there, Kai finally finds others who truly understand her loss. No longer alone, she’s able to begin dealing with her pain. And to see light at the end of the dark tunnel.

Kim Turrisi’s beautiful, wrenching young-adult novel sheds a much-needed light on the subjects of mental illness and suicide. Using the unique idea of a grief camp, Turrisi lays out a process for healing and moving forward for readers who have been touched by loss. But this book’s appeal reaches beyond that. With combined elements of tragedy and romance, compellingly told in Kai’s authentic voice, this ultimately hopeful story will be an unputdownable read for any teen.

A graduate of Florida State University, Kim Turrisi began her career in film and television. After a year of on-set production (getting coffee, wrangling actors and taking lunch orders) Kim segued to the development side of the business. First working as a development executive at Columbia-Tri-Star and eventually shepherding many projects in family entertainment for Disney, Viacom and Hallmark.

Kim created and wrote an online web series for which she won a Daytime Emmy. She wrote for ABC Family’s webisode series, Pretty Dirty Secrets, an internet companion piece to smash hit Pretty Little Liars.

While she’s always been a voracious reader and writer, she never thought about writing for teens until she immersed herself in the children’s publishing world as the Director of Special Projects for the Society of Book writers and Illustrators. There, reading children’s literature is a big part of her job.

Her debut Young Adult novel Just a Normal Tuesday is loosely based on the author’s own experience, the debut YA novel follows 16-year-old Kai as she struggles through the emotional aftermath of her sister’s suicide. Kai spends a month at grief camp, discovering a roadmap to piecing her broken heart back together.

One of Kim’s favourite parts of the writing process is to create playlists for her characters that she listens to when she writes. When she revises her manuscripts, she’s generally in mismatched plaid and her desk is riddled with junk food. She collects Chuck Taylor’s, Van’s, and has a killer sock collection.

Born in Hawaii, she credits her love of travel to her life as an Air Force brat moving every two years. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found obsessing over her dogs, Riley and Rocco.

Represented by Tricia Lawrence at EMLA

Follow: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

3 winners will receive a signed finished copy of Just a Normal Tuesday & swag including a bookmark, magnet, & temporary tattoo, US Only.

1 winner will receive Just a Normal Tuesday swag including a bookmark, magnet, & temporary tattoo, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you read Just a Normal Tuesday? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat! And don’t forget to check out the rest of the tour.

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/24/2017- BookHounds YA

4/25/2017- The Candid Cover

4/26/2017- Wandering Bark Books

4/27/2017- Angel Reads

4/28/2017- A Gingerly Review

Recommendations: Books on Ice

Apr 26, 2017

If you didn’t know already I love sports novel. I don’t play, but I love watching different sports. I’ve been watching and going to AFL (Australian Football League) from before I can remember.

But today isn’t about footy, it’s all about ice hockey. Over the past couple of years as I’ve been ready more New Adult, I’ve started to read lots of books about Ice Hockey and I love it.

On Sunday I went to my very first ice hockey along with Ely and Michelle. You can check out how our day went over at Tea and Titles.

So today I thought I would share some of my favourite books that I’ve read that feature Ice Hockey. Most of these books are NA. But I would love to find some YA that features ice hockey. These are in no particular order, but here are some of my ice hockey recommendations.

Him/Us by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen: I’ve spoken about this series quite a lot recently. Him and Us features a Gay and Bi protagonist and I adored it. It was so beautiful and I love how their relationship grows throughout both books. But the main thing I loved about this series was how it dealt with the LGBTQI+ community in Sport. It’s rare that you see this in real life in sports, let alone in a novel and I adored it.

Good Boy by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen: This is the companion series to Him and Us and it’s just as good. While it’s a female and male relationship. It’s still as amazing and fun as the Him duo. I love that we get to see old characters that we know and love. Ice Hockey was again the focus on this one. Blake Riley is totally a fun protagonist and just made the novel great. I loved the relationship between him and Jess and how throughout the novel that both grow.

Taking Shots Series by Cindi Marsden: I found this series last year and I was taken by it. While it’s not the best series out there it’s still really fun to read. I love that throughout the series we get to see all different types of characters. They all have different personalities and traits. We get to see different love stories from friends to lovers, and to the one you promised you would never fall for. This is currently a 4 part series following a different couple each book. But, all the stories intertwine and you see those who have fallen in love again.

I am not going to lie it is very cliche at times, but sometimes I feel like those types of novels. Where I don’t care too much and I just want to fall in love with these character as they go on a journey to fall in love.

The Ivy Years Series by Sarina Bowen: This has only been a recent discovery of mine. Well, I had heard about it last year, but only managed to pick it up last month and well I loved it for so many reasons. One of the main reasons I like this series so much is that it deals with diversity that is rare in NA sports novels. The Year We Feel Down deals with a permanently disabled protagonist, while the other is temporary. The Understatement of the Year centres LGBTQI+ characters – which I find rare in sport. While the Shameless hour has diversity in race.

I also really enjoy the romance side of things. Yes, there is a lot of angst and trouble for each couple, but each story is different and you want to follow their journey.

I love the hockey in this one, however, I wish there was more of a focus on it in selected novels. But it was still fun. This is one that is high on my recommendations list espeically those just starting NA and ice hockey novels.

Off the Ice by Julie Cross: This is a good one if you don’t want to dive straight into NA. Sometimes that can scare some people especially those who haven’t read many NA novels. So this is a great way to start. It’s that border between YA and NA. And while I didn’t love it as much as the other books on this list, I would still recommend it.

The romance was cute and there is a big theme of family in this one. Both characters don’t have the best family life and when they come together, they have a release from it all. I liked the ice hockey elements in this one. Which is different to college ice hockey – but I enjoy it.

You can read my full review here.

Off-Campus by Elle Kennedy: This was one of my first ice hockey series that I read and I still really enjoying now. Yes, it’s very cliche at times, but it’s also very fun. There are times where you might want to cry and wrap the characters in a hug. I really enjoy Elle Kennedy as a writer and while I’ve read a number of her books, this has to be one of my favourite series. Apart from Him and Us.

The romances in this series are fun and heartbreaking. But you cannot help but love it. The first deals with a deal, then there is the one that starts with a mistake. Don’t forget about the one with the couple that no one saw coming, oh and don’t forget about the baby.

This series is fun but also deals with heart cutting issues. It’s about finding yourself, trusting in others and that family is not always by blood.

Cold Fury Hockey by Sawyer Bennett: This one is for people like their protagonists a little but older. While most of the series mentioned are college aged, this one deals with those who are on the professional level. I don’t read much adult, but I still enjoyed this series so far quite a bit. I thought after sharing some NA some adult recommendations would be great.

These books deal with some more hard-hitting issues, but I liked that it did. The romances were much more grow up in a way. And while these was still angst it was like NA novels.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Are you planning on reading them? Do you have any ice hockey recommendations for me? Let’s Chat! Don’t forget to check out Tea and Titles.

Ten Things That Will Make Me NOT Want To Read A Book

Apr 25, 2017

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten list that members at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone join as you please. This week’s topic is: Top Ten Things That Will Make Me Instantly NOT Want To Read A Book

While the week I talked about things that will make me want to read a book, this week is all about the things that turn me away. Some of the things on this list you will know straight away as I am very vocal in my dislike for them. Anyway, let’s get into it. Like always these are in no particular order.

Girl changes to be noticed: This is another thing that I have noticed both in YA and NA and it’s just not for me. If the protagonist changes for themselves, then hell yeah I will give it a chance. But if the protagonist changes so a guy can like her – then no thank you.

Love Triangle: This is the one thing that would immediately make me not want to read a book. I just can’t deal with it. Sometimes if it’s done well, I could slightly get over it. But for the most part, I don’t like to read books with love triangles in them. I’ve stopped mid-series because of this and I am even sorry. I also really need some more YA fantasy without a love triangle – please.

Full on Alpha Male: I’ve been reading a lot more New Adult lately and something that I have noticed is the presence of the alpha male. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love when a character is protective over the one that he loves or at least likes. But, there is that step too far and I just can’t do it.

Too much hype: I am not one for hype. I’ve read quite a couple of books because of the hype around then and some of the time I hated the book. I guess this also happens with a lot of people, but I’ve been moving away from a lot of hyped books recently and I love it.

If people I trust don’t like it: This is another game changing when picking up books to read. If I’ve read a review or someone that I know has similar taste as me, hated the book. I will most likely not pick it up. Now, this doesn’t happen all the time. Because I sometimes love books that they hate. But if I see in their review things that I don’t like, I will most likely not pick it up.

Female protagonist always needing saving: Females don’t need a knight in shining armour. Yes, I love when a love interest can swoop in and save the one that they love. But I love my females strong and who can stand up for themselves. It’s empowering and just so lovely to see. If the female protagonist is always getting saved, the book is not for me.

Racism/Ableism/Homophobic: Books, especially YA are allowed to talk about these things. But if there is racism, ableism, homophobia etc and it’s not said as bad – then no thank you. People learn from books, they understand through books. And if a book is showing these as good things, then I don’t need it in my life.

If the protagonist has traits that I hate: I don’t even know if this one makes sense. But if I read a review or start a book and the protagonist just doesn’t sit right with me, then I am not going to read the book. The protagonist makes it or breaks it. If a protagonist isn’t good, then most likely I am not going to enjoy the book.

Sounds too similar to something else: This is another big one for me. If I am reading a blurb or a review of a book and it sounds too much like something else – then I will most likely not pick it up.

If a book is by an author that I don’t like: This one may seem weird, but if I’ve read multiple books by an author and I didn’t like any of them – then there is a high chance I won’t pick up another book by them.

And that is it for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday. I hope that you enjoyed. What are things that will make you not want to read a book? Do we share anything similar? Let’s Chat!