Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Guest Post with Sarah Ockler


Photo Content from Sarah Ockler

Sarah Ockler is the bestselling author of several books for teens: The Book of Broken Hearts, Bittersweet, Twenty Boy Summer, Fixing Delilah, and the upcoming #scandal. Her books have received numerous accolades, including ALA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, Girls’ Life Top 100 Must Reads, Indie Next List, Amazon Top Movers and Shakers, and nominations for YALSA Teens’ Top Ten and NPR’s Top 100 Teen Books.

She’s a champion cupcake eater, coffee drinker, tarot enthusiast, night person, and bookworm. When she’s not writing or reading at home in Colorado,Sarah enjoys hugging trees and road-tripping through the country with her husband, Alex. In addition to her website at
 sarahockler.com, fans can find her on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook.

      



File Size: 3989 KB
Print Length: 416 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse (June 17, 2014)
Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
Language: English
ASIN: B00FNVSNCI


Praise for #SCANDAL

"A sharp drama about love and friendship that also offers a thoughtful examination of social media." Booklist

Gr 9 Up—Despite her reservations, Lucy Vacarro gives in to best friend Ellie's request that she stand in as Cole's prom date, while Ellie is at home sick. Though she'd rather be at home slaying zombies instead of in a poofy dress, Lucy spends a momentous night with Cole, whom she's been secretly in love with for years. The pair shares a few drunken kisses and the next day a picture of their faux pas is posted on Lucy's Facebook, along with photos of her classmates' indiscretions. Now persona non grata, the protagonist is pulled in for cyberbullying counseling and branded a homewrecker. She sets out to clear her name with the help of a quirky group of technophobes, her starlet sister, and the British import school newspaper editor. Preachy at times about the dangers of social media mismanagement and little heavy on the Veronica Mars jokes, this engrossing novel ties together important themes of friendship, celebrity worship, and slut-shaming. Teens will happily tag along as Lucy tries to uncover the identity of not only the true perpetrator, but also who's behind the Gossip Girl-type blogger who collects the high school's scandals. Primary and secondary characters are fully developed; however, readers may find the male lead a little underwhelming. The classic "I'm in love with my best friend's boyfriend" story with a 21st-century twist and lots of heart. —Shelley Diaz, School Library Journal



THINGS YOU WOULD CHANGE ABOUT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME.
  • Aquanet hairspray would be banned as both an environmental and personal hazard. Sometimes I think I’m still coughing it up out of my lungs!
  • I’d probably reconsider putting my feelings (hint: undying love, declaration of soul mate status, etc.) for my crush in a letter.
  • I’d definitely reconsider giving him said letter.
  • I would accept the fact that I’d been blessed with neither tone nor rhythm before letting my friends talk me into auditioning in front of half the school for the high school musical, a challenge requiring both a solo song and dance. Let’s just say it’s a good thing the school had insurance. And let’s just say that was the end of my short-lived career as a performance artist.
  • I would find a more creative hiding spot for my journals.
  • I would maybe avoid the electric blue mascara trend. Though, I see that’s making a comeback. *shudders*
  • Like the song says, I’d definitely wear sunscreen.
  • I’d spend less time worrying about what people wanted me to be, and more time just being who I wanted me to be.
  • Pizza and French fries daily do not a healthy lunch make. I’d remind myself of that at least once a week!
  • Nothing! I mean that. Because honestly? I wouldn’t change a thing about my high school years. It was a total roller coaster, filled with lots of embarrassing and awful and awesome and crazy times, but every single one of those experiences – from the blue mascara to the crush to everything in between – is part of who I am right now. I wouldn’t change that for anything.

Lucy’s learned some important lessons from tabloid darling Jayla Heart’s all-too-public blunders: Avoid the spotlight, don’t feed the Internet trolls, and keep your secrets secret. The policy has served Lucy well all through high school, so when her best friend Ellie gets sick before prom and begs her to step in as Cole’s date, she accepts with a smile, silencing about ten different reservations. Like the one where she’d rather stay home shredding online zombies. And the one where she hates playing dress-up. And especially the one where she’s been secretly in love with Cole since the dawn of time.

When Cole surprises her at the after party with a kiss under the stars, it’s everything Lucy has ever dreamed of… and the biggest BFF deal-breaker ever. Despite Cole’s lingering sweetness, Lucy knows they’ll have to ’fess up to Ellie. But before they get the chance, Lucy’s own Facebook profile mysteriously explodes with compromising pics of her and Cole, along with tons of other students’ party indiscretions. Tagged. Liked. And furiously viral.

By Monday morning, Lucy’s been branded a slut, a backstabber, and a narc, mired in a tabloid-worthy scandal just weeks before graduation.

Lucy’s been battling undead masses online long enough to know there’s only one way to survive a disaster of this magnitude: Stand up and fight. Game plan? Uncover and expose the Facebook hacker, win back her best friend’s trust, and graduate with a clean slate.

There’s just one snag—Cole. Turns out Lucy’s not the only one who’s been harboring unrequited love…


You can purchase #scandal at the following Retailers:
        

And now, The Giveaways.
Thank you SARAH OCKLER for making this giveaway possible.
2 Winners will Receive a Copy of #scandal by Sarah Ockler.
WEEK ONE
JUNE 17th TUESDAY JeanBookNerd TENS LIST
JUNE 18th WEDNESDAY Annie Brewer Writes REVIEW
JUNE 19th THURSDAY Beneath the Moon and Stars REVIEW
JUNE 20th FRIDAY Book Suburbia THIS OR THAT
JUNE 21st SATURDAY Sabrina’s Paranormal Palace REVIEW
JUNE 22nd SUNDAY A Dream Within a Dream 7 FAVORITE BOOKS
JUNE 23rd MONDAY Rose’s Book Corner 5 RANDOM THINGS

WEEK TWO
JUNE 24th TUESDAY Ex Libris SPOTLIGHT
JUNE 25th WEDNESDAY Chapter by Chapter MUSIC PLAYLIST
JUNE 26th THURSDAY Bookish DREAM CAST
JUNE 27th FRIDAY The Reader’s Antidote REVIEW & INTERVIEW
JUNE 28th SATURDAY Pieces of Whimsy TENS LIST
JUNE 29th SUNDAY Book Haven Extraordinaire REVIEW & GUEST POST
JUNE 30th MONDAY TTC Books and More REVIEW
jbnpastinterviews

2 comments:

  1. This is a great giveaway Jean! I loved Bittersweet, and really want to read Sarah's other work, so this would be awesome to win. #scandal, of course, sounds great! So excited!

    ReplyDelete
  2. FYI, I tried to add Scandal to my Goodreads shelves. however, there is some kind of bug that isn;t showing any of the books I've added since June 19th 2014...

    ReplyDelete