Welcome to the Fall 2015 YA Scavenger Hunt! This is my first time doing this hunt, and I’m psyched to be part of it. The YA Scavenger Hunt was organized by the lovely and talented Colleen Houck as a way for you to gain access to exclusive bonus content from your favorite authors, and to win some awesome prizes! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online from October 1st through October 4th, beginning and ending at noon Pacific time.
Here’s how the hunt works. You will not only get exclusive content from each author, you will also get a clue on each page that you visit in the hunt. The clue will be the author’s favorite number. Add up the clues for a team, and you can enter to win a grand prize from that team—one lucky winner will receive one signed book from each author on the hunt in my team!
I’m psyched to be part of team PURPLE, and you are currently hunting on team PURPLE. There are EIGHT teams and EIGHT contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! There is also a RED, BLUE, GOLD, GREEN, O
If you’re looking for my exclusive bonus playlist for HALF IN LOVE WITH DEATH, you’ll need to keep hunting. And now for the fantastic books you will get if you win the team PURPLE grand prize!
SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE RULES
Directions: You can find my favorite number highlighted in PURPLE somewhere on this page. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the PURPLE team, and then add them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator!).
Entry Form: Once you’ve added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.
Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian’s permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by Sunday, October 4th at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.
SCAVENGER HUNT POST
Today I’m absolutely thrilled to be hosting Adi Alsaid on my website!
Adi Alsaid was born and raised in Mexico City, where he now lives after spending time in Israel, Las Vegas, and California.
Adi’s debut, LET’S GET LOST (Harlequin Teen August 2014) was nominated for YALSA’s 2015 Best Fiction for YA list. His highly praised second novel, NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES, was published by Harlequin Teen in August 2015. I can’t wait to read both of them!
You can find out more about Adi here.
About NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES
Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids—the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they’d never, ever do in high school.
Some of the rules have been easy to follow, like #5, never dye your hair a color of the rainbow, or #7, never hook up with a teacher. But Dave has a secret: he’s broken rule #8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It’s either that or break rule #10, never date your best friend. Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember.
Julia is beautiful, wild and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the clichés, they’ve actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love.
If you are as excited to read this as I am you can purchase NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES here!
Exclusive Content
Playlists for Dave and Julia from Never Always Sometimes.
Dave and Julia are two best friends who share much in the way of tastes and opinions, with Julia’s strong will perhaps swaying a decision or two. But it’s interesting to me how well these lists came together, and how different they are once I finished trying to place songs for each character. I didn’t realize how many songs I’d specifically mentioned in the book, or how many I recall listening to during certain scenes. More impressive though, is thinking of a song that I haven’t even heard in years and thinking: Yup, that’s a Julia song.
Here are the playlists, along with explanations for some of the songs.
Dave
- “Eres” by Café Tacuba– A longing love ballad that Dave would strongly related to, and it being in Spanish would maybe help keep his longing secret.
- “Fell in Love with a Girl” by The White Stripes- Okay, Dave’s not just about love songs. But this is a huge change of pace from the above, and speaking from experience, it’s a song that hits home when you’re a teen in unrequited love.
- “By Your Hand” by Los Campesinos- A little cheekier and wilder than just a love song, but something about it makes me think of the mental place Dave is a few chapters into the novel.
- “True Love Will Find You in the End” by Daniel Johnston with Beck- And we’re back to the mopey love ballads. But oh so pretty. The harmonica just feels like an instrument that would speak to Dave.
- “Talk to Strangers” by Saul Williams- The spoken-poem vibe of the song could easily make it go onto Julia’s list, but the content is all Dave.
- “Find Love” by Clem Snide- Despite the title, not a mopey love ballad. One that another character specifically plays for him.
Julia
- “That Teenage Feeling” by Neko Case- This song makes a specific appearance in NAS, so its inclusion in this playlist is necessary. But I won’t say much about it, other than the fact that Neko Case kicks all sorts of ass and Julia loves her.
- “The Body Electric” by Hurray for the Riff Raff- A tongue-in-cheek “screw you” to the folk ballad cliché of murdering your wife. That sounds pretty Julia to me.
- “Get Lonely” by The Mountain Goats and “Song for Zula” by Phosphorescent- More songs specifically mentioned in the novel that I’ll refrain from analyzing to avoid spoilers. Different tones entirely.
- “A Case of You” by Joni Mitchell- A love ballad, Julia-style. The first verse even has a clever, biting retort, but is not without its sweetness.
- “Does Not Suffice” by Joanna Newsom- Beautiful, cutting lyrics about a relationship that will not withstand surface emotions or apologies.
Dave and Julia are two best friends who share much in the way of tastes and opinions, with Julia’s strong will perhaps swaying a decision or two. But it’s interesting to me how well these lists came together, and how different they are once I finished trying to place songs for each character. I didn’t realize how many songs I’d specifically mentioned in the book, or how many I recall listening to during certain scenes. More impressive though, is thinking of a song that I haven’t even heard in years and thinking: Yup, that’s a Julia song.
I love these two playlists. NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES sounds awesome, and I am super curious to find out what rule 9 on the Never List is because that is my favorite number (hint, hint). Don’t forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Adi, and more!
Continue The Hunt
To continue the hunt you need to check out our next author, CORDELIA JENSEN!
Bonus Giveaway
I’m offering another giveaway in ADDITION to the the YA Scavenger Hunt contest. Please leave a comment and enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a signed copy of Half in Love with Death!
I tend to lean more towards fantasy books, but I can read pretty much any YA book that catches my attention.
I love how Dave’s songs have to do with love while it sounds like Julia’s songs are less love-orientated. They sound like interesting characters that should get together! 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway.
I will seriously read anything, although lately I’ve been gravitating toward horror. There are so many fantastic YA horror books out there right now!
I like to read anything fantasy/paranormal/supernatural. As long as the same thing can not in any way happen to me I’m happy 🙂
i prefer urban fantasy ( or romance suspense in summer) book but i do read a little of everthing ( safe dark horror)
thanks
Pretty much everything romance,except erotic. My favorite is all kinds of YA. 🙂
I tend to read fantasy novels more than anything. I love when you feel as if you are a part of this world you are reading.
Thanks for the extra giveaway!
I used to have genre preferences, but now I just read YA. Any YA (I even sometimes read MG books). Fantasy, dystopian, sci-fi, thriller, paranormal, contemporary, I have favorites in all of those genres and more! As long as a book has an interesting concept, I’ll pick it up! 🙂
I read a little bit of everything but my favorite thing is historical fiction.
I read a lot of urban fantasy and teen dystopian books the most. I will mix it up with a zombie or a romance if I am in the mood
I try to be pretty versatile with what I read because I like to have things I’ve actually read to recommend to my patrons, but I do gravitate towards fantasy. XD
I love fantasy and other worlds. I also like historical romance (thanks to Mom’s stash of books).
I like to read fantasy and sci-fi. Usually, there are all these different worlds and all these cool gadgets. 🙂
I love anything with some romance! 🙂
Urban Fantasy, Distopian… with a little bit of romance!
I mostly read contemporary, but I will also try horror, mystery, romance and fantasy if I like the concept.
I’ve always loved anything that falls into the speculative fiction genre, though in recent years I found myself leaning mostly towards dystopia and fantasy.
I usually opt to read books that doesn’t end up happily. I like tragic ending because I love torturing myself with all the painful feels that it gives off.
Well, YA being my main genre I usually tend to read whatever catches my attention in that genre … although now with Halloween coming up, I’m in a Horror mood! I love YA horror books and the creepy/scary feel they give, haha. Other than that I like Fantasy and Romance a lot! 😀
I try to read as many different genres as possible, but I tend to read more YA fantasy! I just love the different worlds.
(I hope intl entries are ok for the extra giveaway)
I like to read just about anything from history to YA to sci fi
I prefer YA paranormal but I seem to be reading more NA contemporary lately
Me and my blogger friend REALLY want to read your book. We read some rave reviews 😀
I love reading anything sci-fi or fantasy! Dystopia and horror are also awesome! Preferrably with a little romance, and I definitely love when the book is part of a series.
I love anything YA. I have been in a dark gothic horror mood as of late. But I also love dystopian. Thanks for the giveaway!
I LOVE anything unnatural/supernatural/totaly made up! Whether it’s high fantsy, a dystopian novel or Sci-Fy, you’re gonna find me wanting to read it and (often) love it! 🙂
Thank you for this giveaway and have a great weekend! <3
I like reading because it’s an escape from the real world. In books you can be in Narnia, Hogwarts, anywhere you just have to believe. I love how in books nothing is impossible. Reading is a great way to spend time when you’re bored and sometimes I learn random stuff that I never ever knew before.
I love read dystopian books. I think it’s like to be living in the present and the amazing future at the same time *-*
My kryptonite is fantasy. I told myself I’m taking a break from fantasy, especially epic fantasies but I seem to gravitate towards them left and right. I’m reading two at the moment and ended up throwing in a short fantasy read that I finished a couple of weeks ago. So I can never seem to escape them! LOL.
I like stories that catch me off guard, get me thinking, and stay with me after reading.
I’m not picky with the genre. However, it’s true that I always search for an epic romance in the story. I end up fangirling a lot when there’s a memorable couple in a story.
YA Fantasy or romance!
I like to pretty much read anything, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction.
I love paranormal and sci fi! But I read a little of many other genres!
I like to read cookbooks. Especially ones with pictures and pies. Or pictures of pies. But like cucumbers, they always aren’t as tasty as they look. (Pies, not pictures of pies. Well, actually,pictures of pie do look kind of tasty…)
I jump around a lot, I love paranormal, YA, Fantasy, Romance, Historical. As long as it is a good plot and well written story I eat it up!
I love YA books. I like many genres but my favorites are dystopian and paranormal
I like reading fantasy adventure, with a bit of romance
I mostly read fantasy books and sometimes contemporary books. 🙂
I tend to like reading PNR books. 🙂 Thanks for taking part in the hunt.
I love to read YA romance or contemporary books!
I love anything written in first person POV! I feel detached when I read 3rd person! I hope Half In Love With Death is first person. I wanna read it since you mentioned the Pied Piper.
Awesome, glad you are interested in my book (it’s in the first person!) and the Pied Piper. He was a pretty strange creepy guy.
A little bit of everything
Love reading YA fantasy!
i’m a fans of YA contem right now 🙂
I read anything that catches my eye…yeah, I’m one of those people that judges books by their cover. *hangs head in shame* I like to start reading a book without knowing anything about it, that’s why!
I’m still kinda trying to figure out what I like to read, but I usually just say “fantasy” and/or “YA.” I’m not much into realistic books without some kind of weird aspect. But it’s hard to really say a certain genre since I’m not huge into “fantasy” either. So I don’t even know haha.
Thanks for being part of YASH and for the extra giveaway!
I love to read anything YA – from contemporary to fantasy to horror – as long as it includes some romance 🙂 Thanks for the extra giveaway!
A the moment I’m reading kind of everything – but mostly romance and fantasy I think 🙂
I love both mysteries and fantasy books. Adding yours to my to read list!!
I love to read historical fiction and gothic novels.
I like to read everthing. It all depend on my mood
I like to read a bit of everything 🙂
ya romance contempoy or paranormal
ya romance contempory or paranormal
I really enjoy YA books.
I’m really open to reading anything in YA. I also will read pretty much anything related to horse racing or the Romanovs too.
I love adventure stories. It doesn’t matter if it’s a paranormal adventure, a historical adventure, a modern adventure, a dystopian adventure, or, hell, even a cat going on an adventure. I love them all.
your book
I usually read YA Fantasy, but I also read other genres of books like a dystopian novel
I will pretty much read anything, but my favorite genres have to be fantasy and science fiction. It really depends on my mood!
I love to read YA Fantasy and contemporaries, but I also enjoy historical and dystopian. 🙂
I like reading anything and everything–especially if it includes at least a LITTLE romance, if not A LOT 😉
anything that gets to me. leaves me with something afterwards. that i can connect to
any and every type of book however i don’t tend to read contemporary that much… but if one sounds good ill read it!
I like books that make me feel good. Sometimes that means a good chick lit, other times it means an adventure. I like a strong female protagonist 🙂
I like fairy tales and literary retellings, action books, dystopian books, mysteries, and some contemporary YA stuff. It really depends on the book and on my mood.
Fantasy and science fiction are my top favorite genres but, I of course still love reading others.
I’ll try anything YA related
I mostly read anything that has my interest but tends to YA. In that mostly dystopian and fantasy.
I Love YA contempory and fae fantasy! Thank you 🙂
I love anything YA paranormal!
I love reading and I am not that picky about what I read. I just love literature. I love Colleen Houck books, and she is probably my favorite author. 🙂
I love YA! My favorite is dystopian fiction
Well I love to read a little bit of everything as long as I have a book in my hand, I am happy! 🙂 Though mostly I gravitate towards romance, supernatural, teen fiction and classics.
My reading tastes tend to vary. I’m really into fantasy right now. And I have to say I look forward to reading a book by an author that shares my name!!!! (admittedly also cool to have a book on my shelf that has my name–I promise I won’t take credit.)
Awesome Emily! It is a great name, isn’t it?
I like to read YA, paranormal because of superpowers, but I’m really game for anything fun. Romance makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 🙂 I also like existential fiction, because I’m an English major and that’s what we do – if it’s not literary, it’s some obscure sub-genre most people haven’t heard of.
Existential fiction sounds really interesting to me even though I’m not sure what it is!
I love all genres! Buy my favorite genres are young adult fantasy and paranormal!
I love all genres but my favorite one is fantasy. I love imaginary worlds ,and I love to be lost in them. Thank you so much for the chance.
I love to read paranormal books!
I’m a sucker for romance! 🙂