PRE-RELEASE BLOG TOUR: How To Disappear by Ann Redisch Stampler

We are pleased to be participating in this exciting Pre-Release Blog Tour for Ann Redisch Stampler's How To Disappear, a Young Adult Mystery Thriller! Check out what I thought about the book! Plus, check out the cool pre-order promo giveaway at the end of the post!

Genre:

Young Adult

Contemporary Romance

Mystery Thriller

Publish Date:

June 14, 2016

Publisher:

Simon Pulse

Synopsis:

This electric cross-country thriller follows the game of cat and mouse between a girl on the run from a murder she witnessed—or committed?—and the boy who's sent to kill her.

Nicolette Holland is the girl everyone likes. Up for adventure. Loyal to a fault. And she's pretty sure she can get away with anything...until a young woman is brutally murdered in the woods near Nicolette's house. Which why she has to disappear.

Jack Manx has always been the stand-up guy with the killer last name. But straight A's and athletic trophies can't make people forget that his father was a hit man and his brother is doing time for armed assault. Just when Jack is about to graduate from his Las Vegas high school and head east for college, his brother pulls him into the family business with inescapable instructions: find this ruthless Nicolette Holland and get rid of her. Or else Jack and everyone he loves will pay the price.

As Nicolette and Jack race to outsmart each other, tensions—and attractions—run high. Told in alternating voices, this tightly plotted mystery and tense love story challenges our assumptions about right and wrong, guilt and innocence, truth and lies.

       

~~~~~

**About the Author**

Ann Redisch Stampler is the author of the young adult novels Afterparty and Where It Began as well as half a dozen picture books. Her work has garnered an Aesop accolade, the National Jewish Book Award, Sydney Taylor honors, the Middle East Book Award, and Bank Street Best Books of the Year mentions. How To Disappear (Simon Pulse, 2016), her first Young Adult thriller, is available now.

Ann lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband Rick.

Stay connected with Ann Redisch Stampler

   

~~~~~

*My Thoughts*

Note: This review contains NO spoilers

Yet again...I have read another emotionally driven story by Ann Redisch Stampler! This time, How To Disappear is a mystery thriller told in two points of views. Two major characters whom of which are involved in a murder one way or another. The story pretty much follows a "whodunit" scenario. Did Nicolette, also known as Cat, commit the murder...or did she witness it??? That is the question...right!?! Then there is Jack who is sent, by his brother, to "get rid of Nicolette" with whatever means necessary.

They both go through this cross-country journey pretty much discovering themselves...one on the run and the other chasing the other. Cat and mouse...right!?! Anyways, these two characters learn and fall for each other based on a bunch of lies...but is it all lies!?! With each of their distinct perspectives intertwining with each other creates a cohesive story that brings the reader(s) to solve this mystery.

I also enjoyed the building romance between these two characters, even with their own secret agendas in place. Moreover, the romance was subtle...without taking away from the mystery thriller in the story.

With each perspective, we delve into their minds and thoughts of the tension they carry with them. Although these two POVs carried the story forward, I just couldn't help feel that the middle of the story dragged... and seemed slow. But then again...it's probably just me. Moreover, the story's flow maintained it's continuity which kept me in the dark on Nicolette's innocence or guilt. Even Jack started having his doubts if she committed the crime.

Of course, that's what make for a good mystery thriller... The end being a total shocker...haha!

My rating:

~~~~~

***The Pre-Order Promo Giveaway***

Giveaway Open to the U.S. Only

Order a signed copy of How To Disappear before June 14, 2016 and receive a swag pack with your book order.

The swag pack will include: a How To Disappear bookmark; a tiny flashlight from Nicolette's escape kit; Nicolette Holland and Cat Davis' (fake!!!) IDs; and one skeleton key in a pretty tulle bag (there are lots of different kinds of keys) that Nicolette used to unlock the doors at the Bluebonnet.

Here's how to get your swag pack!

Pre-order a copy of How To Disappear online at shoponceuponatime.com. Enter "signed copy" in the Order Comments field. Please enter "please personalize to (name) or "signature only" if not personalized in the Order Comments as well.

If pre-ordering an ebook copy of How To Disappear, forward receipt or proof of purchase to HowToDisappearBook@gmail.com with the name and address to where to send the swag pack.

Pre-Release Blog Tour Organized by

BLOG TOUR: Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler

Welcome to the Official Blog Tour for Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler!

Genre:
 Young Adult Contemporary
Coming-of-Age/Realistic Fiction

Publish Date:
January 7, 2014

Publisher:
Simon Pulse

Synopsis:

Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother--whose name her dad won't even say out loud. That's why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her… and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she's everything Emma is not.

And it may be more than Emma can handle.

Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It's more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop...

This explosive, sexy, and harrowing follow-up to Ann Redisch Stampler's spectacular teen debut, Where It Began, reveals how those who know us best can hurt us most.

     

~~~

*Excerpt*

Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler (Excerpt) by Simon and Schuster

~~~~~

**About the Author**

Ann Redisch Stampler is the author of young adult novels Where It Began and Afterparty, as well as several picture books, including The Rooster Prince of Breslov. Her books have been an Aesop Accolade winner, Sydney Taylor notable books and an honor book, a National Jewish Book Awards finalist and winner, and Bank Street Best Books of the Year. Ann has two adult children and lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband.

Stay connected with Ann Redisch Stampler

Website

  

~~~~~

*My Thoughts*

Note: This review contains NO spoilers

It's just scary to think that these teenage antics, to the extreme, are what's happening to teens today! Whoa! Ann Redisch Stampler has written an intriguing story of a over-sheltered young girl as she navigates through her new high school with all the peer pressures, the bullying, and her need to find herself. This was definitely a read that any parent would dread if it was happening with their own teen. Yikes! Because I know I was filled with dread and apprehension with each turn of the page.

Although it started off slow (for me), the story did pick up its pace after Emma moved to California and had "befriended" Siobhan. As I continued reading, the writing seemed more and more like a diary entry of Emma's life or Emma telling her story to a psychologist/therapist. It totally felt like I was in her head...knowing what she's thinking, what she's feeling, and knowing what she REALLY desires. As she gets more and more involved with her "friendship" with Siobhan, Emma quickly goes into the more darker side of her that she struggles with. Yes, like any other teenager, Emma is dealing with A LOT of peer pressure...to the extreme. It's hard for Emma to not want to explore that darker, undisciplined side of herself since she has been so sheltered by her father for most of her young life. Hey...that's called rebellion...hahaha!!!

Being a parent, I was absolutely aghast with all the "things" that Emma and Siobhan had agreed to in their "pact." But, all the while, I couldn't put the book down. In all honesty, almost throughout the book, I was nodding my head in agreement of what teens today are doing...well, maybe not to that extreme, or are they!?! I don't know, but the main thought going through my mind is the hope my daughter is confident enough to know what's right and what's wrong for herself. I also felt a lot of compassion for these girls as their lives spiral out of control...and there's always an underlying reason why, that we soon learn why.

I loved how Ann wrote this story with real-life issues that many teens and parents are faced with everyday....peer pressure, sex, drugs, and bullying. All these issues can be found with the characters in Afterparty. Ann has deftly created a teen world of how all these issues can be destructive for any teen, in many different ways. In the end, their young lives are struggling to come out to find themselves and who they want to be. Sometimes, it can get dangerous...and it did!

Afterparty is a dark and hard look into the mind of Emma and her "friends," and how she deals with it and her overbearing father. A slow read at the start, but a suspense-filled thriller of a teenager's actions as she tries to find who she REALLY wants to be...good or bad, or maybe somewhere in between. All in all, Afterparty was Emma's journey and introduction to an out controlled teen lifestyle that got dangerous. This was definitely a must-read as it takes a dark and hard look at the real issues teenagers do suffer and struggle with every day in high school.

I could only give it a four star rating, because of the slow start. I really had to "push" myself to continue reading. But, I am so glad that I did. This isn't an easy read...not in a long shot. The story's pace gradually gets you deeper and deeper into Emma's head and picks up when it took a sharp turn to the dark and psychological thriller side of suspense....well, worth not giving up reading Afterparty. This is my first book that I have read by Ann Redisch Stampler; and she did a phenomenal job of getting me into Emma's head.

My rating:

~~~~~

***The Giveaway***


Giveaway Open to the U.S. Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Ogranized by