In My Mailbox (11)

In my mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren.

Numbers - Rachel Ward

Since the day her mother died, Jem has known about the numbers. When she looks in someone's eyes, she can see the date they will die.


Life is hard, until she meets a boy called Spider. Suddenly her world seems brighter.


But on a trip to London, Jem foresees a chain of events that will shatter their lives forever...


I've been meaning to pick this one up for a while. It's by a Brit author, I absolutely love the premise, and it's not due for release in the US until February 2010. I've got the UK cover, which is pretty nice, but you can check out the amazing US cover here. There's a sequel in the works too.

Siberia - Ann Halam

Summary from Goodreads: SIBERIA is a state of mind. When Sloe was tiny, her Papa disappeared and she and her mama went to live in a prison camp in the snowy North, in a time and place when there are no more wild animals. Mama's crime; teaching science, and her dedication to the hope that the lost animal species can be reborn. To Sloe, Mama's secret work is magic, as enchanting as Mama's tales of a bright city across the ice where the sun always shines and one day they will be free.

Years later Sloe is sent to prison school and Mama disappears. But her Mama has bequeathed Sloe six tiny animals - like creatures from a fairy tale. These tiny, magical creatures hold the secret to life itself. At 13, and with only the Lindquists for company, Sloe sets off on an epic 1000 mile journey embracing breathtaking adventure, danger and hardships in her quest to be reunited with her mother. In a moving and totally absorbing novel, Sloe evolves into a heroine equal to anything amidst this dazzling combination of science, adventure, fantasy and fairy tale.

I've only read one book by Ann Halam, Dr Franklin's Island, which is by turns brilliant, disturbing, and downright weird. I'm ready for some more of that. Plus, the reviews I've read of this one say: dystopia. Ding ding ding.

The Game of Triumphs - Laura Powell

Summary from Amazon: Fifteen-year-old Cat has unwittingly entered a dangerous world. The Arcanum. There, an ancient and deadly card game is played out in familiar, and unfamiliar, surroundings. As the influence of the Game Masters, the mysterious quartet of figures who control the destiny of the players, casts its shadow over Cat’s life, and as her travels inside the worlds of the Arcanum reveal tantalising glimpses of her family’s past, she finds her initial reluctance to engage in the dangerous complexities of the Game is waning...

Since I've been blogging, I've been picking up nearly all my book recommendations from other bloggers. Awesome. I'm never lost for something to read, and my TBR pile is steadily growing. Except that, since most bloggers aren't from the UK, I risk missing out on some excellent UK titles that way. So from now on, I'm going to make more of an effort to keep up with what's out in UK bookstores. I really like the sound of this one from Laura Powell. It's the first in a series too.

Also, I have had a super blogging week. On Friday I was the featured blogger over at Steph Su Reads, one of my absolute favourite blogs, so as you can imagine I was pretty excited. Thanks Steph! Plus I had some really great 'just wanted to say hi' type emails this week, which is always good. Finally, my Incarceron contest ended yesterday. I'll be randomly selecting a winner later on today. Thanks to everyone who entered!