I am pleased to be able to participate in Mari Mancusi's Skater Boy blog tour hosted by CBLS Promotions.
Title:
Skater Boy
Author: Mari Mancusi
Publisher: NLA Digital Liaison Platform LLC
Length: 50,000 words
Sub-Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult (YA)
BLURB:
Dawn
Miller is sick of being good. Her parents have scheduled her to within an inch
of her life and her popular friends can only think of hooking up and shopping.
She's ready for a serious boyfriend, and it's definitely not the obnoxious rich
boy everyone wants her to date.
Then
she meets Starr, the headmaster's punk rock daughter who refuses to play by the
rules. The differences between them are night and day but Dawn is fascinated.
Starr introduces her to a world she didn't even know existed: hip indy record
stores, all night raves, and cute skateboarders who hang out underneath a
parking deck downtown.
Skateboarders
like the gorgeous Sean, who's sweet, smart, and curiously serious --everything
Dawn's always wanted in a boyfriend. Soon she finds herself head over heels and
doing the unthinkable, lying to her parents and friends. Deep down she knows
her parents will never approve of this boy from the wrong side of town...and
her secret life is finally catching up to her. Will Dawn be forced to choose
between the girl she was and the girl she is meant to be? And if she chooses,
will she lose her skater boy forever?
"Mancusi
has scored a hit. Dawn is likeable, and any teen girl--wealthy or not--should
identify with her typical problems. From boys to friends to parents, the author
covers it all. She even manages to include one or two deeper messages in the
form of "straight edge" teens and a "perfect" wealthy boy
who turns out to be a real jerk."--
Alexandra Kay, RT Book Reviews
EXCERPT
“Hey,
Dawn, whatcha writing?”
I
slam my notebook shut and force a wide smile as my friend Ashley approaches the
lunch table. I can’t believe it. She’s five minutes early. Five minutes! After
I’ve already gone and used up one of my three-bathroom-breaks a-semester
chemistry class privileges for a few precious moments of writing time. And now
Ashley has shown up and ruined it all.
The
early bird gets the chance to tick Dawn off. . . . “Nothing,” I say, forcing a
casual shrug. “Just a birthday wish list. You know how The Evil Ones are. Left
to their own devices I’d probably end up with some itchy Harvard letter sweater
for my sweet sixteen.”
I’d
actually been working on a poem, not a birthday list. One I plan to enter in a
contest sponsored by Faces, a local Massachusetts literary magazine. But I am
certain ly not about to inform our head cheerleader of that little technicality.
I mean, writing poetry? How geeky can you get? And The Evil Ones (aka Mom and
Dad) are terrible in the presents department, so it’s not like I’m telling a
total lie. . . .
“Oh
cool.” Ashley flounces onto the chair beside me, her wool plaid skirt puffing
up and then settling back down over her perfectly sculpted thighs. We all wear
the same skirts here as sophomores at Sacred Mary’s, but Ashley's skirt usually
falls at least two inches shorter than regulation and it constantly gets her in
trouble with the Sisters. “You should ask for those Seven Jeans we saw at
Nordstrom the other day.”
“The
ones with the crystals on the back pocket?” I look up and see that Ashley #2
has arrived at our lunch table. Like Ashley #1, she’s blond and lanky and wears
her skirts too short. Her claim to fame is being picked as homecoming queen
last fall, even though she’s only a sophomore. “Those are completely lame. When
shopping for jeans, I say go James every time. They’re scientifically designed
to make your butt look smaller, not draw attention to it with crystals.”
I
stifle a groan. I love my friends, don’t get me wrong. But there are times I’m
not quite sure I fit in with them. I mean yeah, I’d rather be here than at the
loser table discussing games like Magic: The Gathering, but is it really
necessary for us to debate the pros and cons of designer denim every single
lunch? Doesn’t anyone talk politics anymore? Not that I know anything about
politics, but maybe I could start learning if someone brought them up once in a
while. It’d probably prove more useful in life than the Fashionista 101
sessions we seem to hold every lunch period.
“You
guys are crazy!” Oh, there’s Ashley #3, making our lunch group complete. She
swings her Kate Spade messenger bag off her shoulder and plops it on the floor.
We consider Ashley #3 the brainy one. She’s president of the student council
and wants to be a TV anchorwoman when she grows up. I think she has a good shot
at the job. She’s already got the brilliant white capped teeth and perfect
hair. “Obviously Levi’s makes the best jeans known to mankind.”
The
other two Ashleys groan in sync. “No way would I be caught dead in Levi’s,”
says Ashley #1.
“That’s
’cause you’re a lemming,” Ashley #3 explains, using the big word with a smug
pride. She knows for a fact Ashley #1 won’t know what it means and she’s right.
“Hey!
What did you just call me?”
“Girls,
girls! Let us not fight over fashion,” Ashley #2, the peacemaker, coos. She
took a yoga class once and has been all Buddha-on-the-mountain ever since. “Our
differ ent tastes in denim make the world go round.” She holds her palms out
and smiles demurely. For a minute I think she’s going to actually break out
into an “Ohmmm.”
Instead
she says, “What were we talking about again?” “Dawn’s birthday wish list.”
“Ah.
How about a side of Brent Baker, served on a silver platter?” Her demure smile
morphs into a lecherous smirk as she watches the senior from across the room.
We all turn and look. The Ashleys sigh, again in sync. They’re good at that.
“No
way. He’s on my birthday list,” declares Ashley #1. This obviously strikes them
as funny, and all three break out into giggles.
You
know, I’m pretty convinced I’m the only girl in school not lusting after Brent
Baker. Brent Baker the Third, that is. Born with a silver spoon wedged up his
butt. His parents and my parents go to the same country club, so I’ve known him
since my playpen days and he’s been after me almost as long. But I’m so not
interested in him. I mean, sure he’s got the blond, blue-eyed jock thing going
on, but his huge ego negates any points he’s chocked up in the looks
department.
The
Ashleys can’t understand why I think he’s repulsive, but they don’t rock the
boat. After all, that means he’s fair game for any one of them.
BUY LINKS:
Also available on
iBooks
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Two time Emmy award winner Mari Mancusi used to wish she
could be a vampire back in high school. But she ended up in another
bloodsucking profession--journalism--instead. Today she works as a freelance TV
producer and author of books for teens, including the award winning Blood Coven
Vampire series published by Penguin Books. When not writing about creatures of
the night, Mari enjoys traveling, cooking, goth clubbing, watching cheesy horror
movie and her favorite guilty pleasure--videogames. A graduate of Boston
University, she lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Jacob, daughter Avalon
and dog Mesquite. You can find her online at www.marimancusi.com.
Website: www.marimancusi.com
Email: mari@marimancusi.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bloodcovenvampires
Twitter: www.twitter.com/#1/marimancusi
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