In My Mailbox (April 10th-16th 2011)

I definitely had a happy mailbox (and a happy me!) this week.

{For Review}

Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner (Unsolicated ARC) (Random House Canada)
Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler (Thomas Allen and Sons)
The Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted (Thomas Allen and Sons)
Bird in a Box by Andrea Davis Pinkney (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (ARC) (Scholastic Canada)
Abandon by Meg Cabot (ARC) (Scholastic Canada)
Wanna Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman (ARC) (Scholastic Canada)

Definitely quite a mix of YA this week. Vaclav & Lena sounds cute and it's all about magic and came with a finger cutting trick which was fun. I haven't read the prequel to Rage, Hunger, so I'm not sure when I'll be picking up that but I have heard the writing in the books is really beautiful. The Education of Bet will probably be hit or miss, it's about a girl who pretends to be a boy because she lives in a time when girls have no power basically. Bird In A Box is historical fiction that takes place during the Great Depression which is a period I find really interesting so I am definitely looking forward to it. I'm really excited about the Bray and Cabot titles as I have not read them before but heard really good things about both authors. Wanna Go Private is supposed to be a really creepy look at an important topic (internet dating).

Bees: Nature's Little Wonders by Candace Savage (D&M Publishers)
The Bond: Our Kinship With Animals, Our Call To Defend Them by Wayne Pacelle (Unsolicated) (Harper Collins/William Morrow)
Far to Go by Alison Pick (ARC) (TLC Tours)
Skinny by Diana Spechler (ARC) (TLC Tours)

I'm already almost finished Bees which is absolutely adorable and informative and I love it. The Bond caught my animal-loving heart with its cover and I'm sure the contents will do the same. I also have two books for upcoming tours I am really looking forward to, one about a woman who goes to fat camp, that'd be Skinny, and the other, Far to Go, focuses on a Jewish family in Czechoslovakia in the time leading up to Hitler's invasion, a historical period I am particularly interested in.

{Won}

I won Hiking: 101 Essential Tips from Anaiz at Lady and the Books during a Birthday Day Week celebration she hosted. I admit I haven't gone hiking in years, but this cute little book is sure to provide some inspiration.

{Bought}

Cusp by Jennifer Grtoz
Intruder by Jill Bialosky

I totally did my part to help support poetry during National Poetry Book by purchasing three titles I'd been lusting over. The first two arrived this week. I had to pick up Cusp after loving Grotz's latest collection The Needle (click for review) unfortunately she waited 8 years being publishing Cusp and The Needle so I'm hesitant to read it right away and not having anything else for another decade. Bialosky's collection I picked purchased after reading her memoir, History of a Suicide (click for review) which was incredibly beautiful and included some of her poems and definitely got me interested in reading more.

Overall it was a great week for my mailbox! How was yours?