Showing posts with label Holly Cupala. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holly Cupala. Show all posts

Monday, January 9, 2012

Blog Tour: Don't Breathe a Word - Holly Cupala - Asher This or That List & Giveaway Details

Holly Cupala is here today with a character this or that list courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for her brand new release, Don't Breathe a Word. Thank you for being here today, Holly! You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy!
Thanks to Corrine for inviting me to stop by on the Don’t Breathe a Word blog tour!

When Joy must escape from her safe suburban life, no one knows she is suffocating—from life-threatening asthma, from her smothering parents, and from Asher, whose words crush her from the inside out. She flees to the streets of Seattle, where she finds friends, hope, and even love.

Asher—alluring and abusive—is the power behind Joy’s imprisonment. Corrine has invited him here to see what he has to say for himself…

Rock or Hip Hop?

I’m not that into music.

But Asher had never taken me there. Music—and any feeling it might inspire—was a mystery to him, and Asher didn’t like mysteries. He liked things he could touch. Manipulate.

Coffee or Coke?

What kind of coke are you talking about?

“What do you think she’s doing?” Asher exhaled, giving her a look familiar to me—the one where she’s supposed to come to the conclusion that every word out of her mouth was equivalent to windshield spatter. When Neeta said nothing, he spelled it out patiently. “She’s trying to score with the Ave Rats.”

Tattoos or Piercings?

I don’t think I would do it myself, but I do find it interesting on other people.

Asher came close enough for me to smell his mint and nicotine. He breathed his soft breath on my neck and his words into my ear: “I don’t like what you did last night, Joy. We’re going to have to fix it.”
That’s when I knew there was no way out.

Long or Short hair?

On women? Long.

He came in close and took my jaw in his hands, so close I could taste the sugar and smoke on his breath. I almost wished he would hit me, because then I would have a reason to call for help.
Instead, he pinched a lock of my hair and let it fall through his fingers. Gently. So gently.

Committed relationship, or Dating around?

It depends.

“We met at the zoo party,” I said, slightly incredulous. Did he meet and kiss and buy bags of Nirvana stuff for so many girls that he couldn’t remember who I was? “Joy,” I said. “Joy Delamere.”
“Joy,” he repeated, this time with an intimacy that shocked me. He could do that—go from cold and distant to inside my skin in an instant.

Glass half empty, or half full?

I own the glass.

The idea behind Don’t Breathe a Word is that words have power—Joy must recognize Asher’s abuse and find her own voice. So we are running a contest: the Words Have Power Video Contest! Read more about it and enter to win awesome prizes! Also, if you or someone you know may be involved in an abusive relationship, learn more about the signs and what to do. Your words have power, too.

Thank you, Corrine, for inviting me to your blog (although I’m glad I don’t have to be in Asher’s head all the time!). I hope your readers love Don’t Breathe a Word.

Thank you so much for being here today, Holly, and sharing this glimpse into Asher's character!

Holly Cupala can be found on her website, on facebook, and on twitter.

Don't Breathe a Word is available for purchase on Amazon, Chapters, and Indiebound.

To learn more about Don't Breathe a Word, you can visit the official website here.

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Joy Delamere is suffocating...

From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.

Joy can take his words - tender words, cruel words - until the night they go too far.

Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe... if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.

Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength.
Synopsis taken from goodreads.

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Giveaway Details

Harper has been kind enough to give Holly enough copies of Don't Breathe a Word to do a prize per day of the tour!

*There will be one book given per day, drawn weekly. Everything entered by Saturday night will be put into a drawing on Sunday.
*The points DO accumulate, meaning entries put in for week one are still going to count for the drawings in weeks 2 and 3. (This is to reward those of you who follow/enter from the start, and doesn't punish you later because your entries are more spread out.)


ENTRIES:
*There is one automatic entry.
*For every post someone comments on, it is one entry.
*You will have to link to the blog post you commented on.
*There is an extra entry if you tweet, facebook, do a blog post or somehow include it on your blog. It is one for each of these, but only 1 per type (meaning you can't tweet every day and get points for it... its just one tweet)
*You need to fill out the form EACH time you do something to enter. If there is no link, the entry does not count (beyond the first initial entry, that you can just enter to win from.)


There will be ONE international winner a week, assuming an international person gets drawn. If the winner is international, you will be getting a copy from The Book Depository.
US/Canada copies will be mailed from Holly and those copies will be signed.

The final drawing will held Sunday, January 15, and will include all entries through midnight CST Saturday, January 14.

You can enter through this FORM.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Tell Me a Secret - Holly Cupala - Blog Tour Review

In the five years since her bad-girl sister Xanda's death, Miranda Mathison has wondered about the secret her sister took to the grave, and what really happened the night she died. Now, just as Miranda is on the cusp of her dreams--a best friend to unlock her sister's world, a ticket to art school, and a boyfriend to fly her away from it all--Miranda has a secret all her own. 
When two lines on a pregnancy test confirm her worst fears, Miranda is stripped of her former life. She must make a choice with tremendous consequences and finally face her sister's demons and her own. 
In this powerful debut novel, stunning new talent Holly Cupala illuminates the dark struggle of a girl who must let go of her past to find a way into her own future. 

Title: Tell Me a Secret
Author: Holly Cupala
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: June 22, 2010
Source: Bought. This review is part of the Teen Book Scene blog tour. Tour details can be found here
My rating: 5/5

Miranda is trying to live her life as  close to normal as she possibly can. With her sister's death five years ago, everything changed, and she can't help but wonder what secrets her sister had been hiding. Now, Miranda's life is about to change again. When she finds out that she's pregnant, she'll need to make a choice. Will she be strong enough to weather the consequences of her decision? 
I was completely in awe while reading Tell Me a Secret. With rich and illustrious characters, to a well structured plot, it had everything and more. Cupala is an author to behold. With words racing across every page, enticing the reader in further, it isn't hard to become thoroughly enthralled in the world that Cupala weaves. Her characters are intense, full-bodied, and they jump out of the story. I was passionate in my feelings for them, in regards to outright hatred, and anger at some of the actions of her so-called friends and in the care and concern I felt for others. They brought the story to life in a way I wasn't expecting. Though this story may seem like it's about Miranda, and her having to make a choice about her pregnancy, it is also ultimately a tale of redemption as well. 
Miranda is such a realistic character. How many people have been in her place, making the same decision that she has to make. It shows just how hard her struggle is, and the ends that she'll go to to maintain her decision. Tied in with her pregnancy, is the ultimate reality of her facing her sister's death once and for all, and finding out what exactly happened to Xanda. With Xanda's secrets revealed, maybe Miranda can finally find closure. Though her family life is less than ideal, this book shows the poignancy of a family in times of crisis. I started this book outright hating some of the characters, and as I watched them evolve, I found myself reconsidering my feelings towards them. Cupala challenged her characters to show that they are human, and aren't perfect, and as that realization dawned on Miranda, it did the same to me. I can't stress enough how much I loved this book, and how much it challenged my perceptions. 
Overall, I can't recommend this book enough. The electricity within the pages sparks almost immediately, keeping the reader attentive as to the outcome. The characters test the boundaries given, but show that behind their masks, there is a depth of emotion, and valid reasons for their decisions. Cupala skillfully weaves a tale of life and death, and the journey one takes when struggling against overwhelming odds. She is an author to watch. With an astounding, inspiring, and solid debut, Cupala makes her mark, niching herself a place with the heavyweight contenders of the genre. Tell Me a Secret will resonate with me for a long time to come.