In My Mailbox (4)

Each week, Story Siren asks us to share what we got in our mailbox for the week. This week was lean for mail but I did have gift cards and a Borders' coupon for 40% off. Oh, a sister was quite happy when she walked into the bookstore. I picked up:

Battle of Jericho by Sharon Draper
We're currently giving away a copy of November Blues by Ms. Draper for readers who linked to our contest or became followers at Color Online. Battle is the prequel. Adding this to our Prize Bucket.

The Warriors of Distinction has been the school's most exclusive club for 50 years, so when 16-year-old Jericho is asked to pledge, he's excited--and intimidated. He is also disappointed after he realizes that he'll have to give up a music competition because he can't miss a night of the initiation week. When the ceremony turns cruel--with the one girl pledge being singled out for abuse--Jericho begins to have second thoughts. Then the affair turns deadly.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
I picked up this 2009 Printz winner because of Doret's review at The Happy Nappy Bookseller.
Treat yourself to a mini Melina Marchetta marathon. Then you'll understand why I love her writing so much. Marchetta's first two novels have a Laurie Hale Anderson/Sarah Dessen feel to them.

Red River by Lalita Tademy
We received a review for our Black History Month Writers' Contest. Adding this to our Prize Bucket.
In 1873 in the small southern town of Colfax, Louisiana, history tells us there was a riot. The Tademy family knows different. "1873. Wasn't no riot like they say. It was a massacre..." The blacks are newly free, just beginning life under Reconstruction, with all its promises of equity, the right to vote, to own property and, most importantly, to decide their own future as individuals. Federal Government troops are supposed to arrive to protect the rights of the colored people--but they are not yet on the scene.

Kushiel’s Scion by Jacqueline Carey
This is going in our Prize Bucket for Color Online. A friend of mine read the first book in this series and spoke very highly of it. It's adult fantasy. Some content.
The magnificent fourth book in Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series marks the start of a new trilogy set in Terre d'Ange, the author's reimagined Renaissance world… Traitorous parents, the curse of Kushiel's blood in his veins, and the unspeakable crimes he endured while a child slave severely damaged Imriel. Feeling tainted and incapable of goodness, he fears he will misuse Kushiel's gift.