Welcome to the first installment of In My Mailbox for 2011. It’s hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and is a way to showcase the books received for review, picked up from the library, or purchased. I’ve been in San Diego at the ALA Midwinter conference and have a ton more to share than what’s here, but that’s for later.

For review:

Trapped by Michael Northrop (February release but available now on Amazon): I read this one on the plane ride out and loved it. It’s a story about 7 kids being trapped inside their high school during the worst snow storm ever. It’s got a killer voice, has massive guy appeal, and despite the tragic, horrible circumstances, it manages to be funny.

Will Work for Prom Dress by Aimee Ferris (February release): Prom’s coming up, but it’s costly. This story’s about a girl workin’ hard to make the money for her dream prom. . . but it might not go as planned.

Library:

Beautiful by Amy Reed: A group of bloggers — I think there’s 7 or 11 of us — are starting a reading club amongst ourselves to catch up on some titles we’ve missed. I got to pick the first book, and this was my pick. Edgy and contemporary.

Girl by Blake Nelson: I dig Blake Nelson but I’ve never read his classic Girl. Time to do so!

Purchased:

Flyaway by Lucy Christopher: I loved, loved, loved Stolen so I wanted to check out Lucy’s middle grade novel. I had to get it sent from Britain but I suspect it’s totally worth it.

I Knows It’s Over by C.K. Kelly Martin: I read Lighter Side of Life and Death for the Cybils and had some mixed feelings about it, but the writing was compelling enough to make me want to go back to her earlier works. And it was nice this one was available on nook, too.

Patterns of Paper Monsters by Emma Rathbone: Steph Su did a series of guest “best of” book lists at the end of the year and Forever Young Adult talked about this being one of their favorite gateway books. It sounded really good and one I’d never heard of on their list. I had to get it.

If you’ve made it this far, I have just one quick photo of some of the books I’ve picked up at ALA. I already sent a couple boxes home, so these are just my top-of-the-list wants that I’m taking home with me on the plane to ensure a safe arrival:

All of the links hit GoodReads, and I’ll post more about some of these soon, along with some of the wonderful things that happened over the course of the last week (WAIT – it’s only been 2 days? It feels like we’ve done 2 weeks worth of stuff!!).

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen (5/11)
A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young (7/11)
Chasing Alliecat by Rebecca Fjelland Davis (available now)
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan (no date — this is just a bound manuscript, so also no description)
Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer (2/11)
Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker (7/11)
Blood Red Road by Moira Young (summer 2011 — you’ll hear more about this one soon)
Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal (out this month)
Miles from Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams (3/11)
Displacement by Thalia Chaltas (6/11)
Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler (3/11)
Bitter End by Jennifer Brown (5/11)