Fall 2015 YA Scavenger Hunt – Team Blue!

Welcome to the 11th YA Scavenger Hunt!

I’m Megan Crewe — author of YA fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction novels including the Earth & Sky trilogy, the Fallen World trilogy, and Give Up the Ghost — and I’m your host for this stop in the tour.

This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors…and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize–one lucky winner will receive one signed book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

There are EIGHT contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the BLUE TEAM–but there is also a red team, a gold team, an orange team, a green team, a teal team, a purple team, and a pink team for a chance to win a whole different set of signed books!

If you’d like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Somewhere on this page, I’ve listed my favorite number (hint: the number is highlighted in blue). Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the blue team, and then add them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator!).

Entry Form: Once you’ve added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian’s permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by April 5th, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

The author I’m pleased to be hosting for the YA Scavenger Hunt today is… Austin Aslan!

Austin Aslan was inspired to write his young adult sci-fi survival eco-thrillers The Islands at the End of the World and The Girl at the Center of the World while living with his wife and two children on the Big Island of Hawai`i, where he earned a master’s degree in tropical conservation biology at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo. A National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, he can often be found exploring the wilds of northern Arizona in a tent on a punctured air mattress. In other lives, Austin drove ambulances way too fast, served as an ecotourism Peace Corps Volunteer in a Honduran cloud forest, and managed a variety of local, state, and federal issue campaigns. Austin loves to travel widely and photograph nature. Follow him on Twitter at @Laustinspace.

And this is his book, The Girl at the Center of the World — now that’s a striking cover! Great tagline too.

As sixteen-year-old Leilani and her family learn to live without electronics, farming the land as her ancestors did, she finds strength in her relatives, her friendships, and her strange connection to the Emerald Orchid–the force whose presence caused global devastation–but suffers regret over what she must do to survive.

An exciting and satisfying sequel that continues the thrilling ideas and adventure of THE ISLANDS AT THE END OF THE WORLD.

Oooh, that does sound thrilling! You can order the book here.

Here’s the exclusive bonus material! Readers of the Islands at the End of the World series will know that Leilani’s best friend, Tami, plays an important role in book two, The Girl at the Center of the World. We were only briefly introduced to her at the beginning of Islands, but did you know that she once made a deleted appearance at the end of Islands, also? During revisions, Austin was asked to try out a closing scene that included her, but everyone agreed that it distracted too much from the powerful ending that was coming on the next page. So, without further ado, here’s an (almost) forgotten—but interesting!—vestige of the revision process for the end of The Islands at the End of the World:

…Hilo has always been dark at night—dimly lit to assist the observatories in their endless safaris through the skies—but it was never this dark. Countless squares of candlelight seeping through kitchen windows hint that the town remains home to tens of thousands of people, but the streets seem deserted on this green, moonless night.

[[[We stop by Tami’s. “Five minutes. Not a second longer,” Dad warns.

He stays in the puttering van as I run up to the door. I knock. A flicker of light comes from the window, her mom steals a glance from behind the curtain. She gasps, and my stomach does a flip.

Tami opens the door.

We both scream.

After we pull apart, I study her. She looks thinner than ever, but otherwise same old. I wonder what I must look like to her.

“I thought I’d never see you again. How’d you get back?”

“Long story, but we’re here.”

She wipes tears from her eyes. So do I. We embrace again.

Dad honks.

“Hey,” I say, pulling away. “I gotta go. Gotta get to the house. We still haven’t seen my family. Do you know if…?”

“Oh, man. They’re gonna be so happy. Your mom’s been by here twice a week, every week, on her way to the docks, the airport, you name it.”

Relief spills over me. I feel like I could blast off.

“I’ll be back.”

Tami nods, her curls bouncing.

“You guys okay?” I ask.

“It’s really bad here. But…we’re making it.”

“Lei, gas!” Dad calls.

“I’ll come back soon!”

“Yeah. Love you, Lei.”

“Love you, too.”

I rush to the van.

In the van, I sob, and tell Dad what Tami said. He takes a moment to calm down before we pull away.]]]

We retrieve the Civic as we retrace our path through town. Dad is so relieved to have his car back, as if that’s the thing that has been pressing on his mind most these past hours. I stifle a laugh…

What a lovely glimpse into the girls’ friendship — reminds me of my best friend when we were 8 years old.

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author, Livia Blackburne!

But before you go, I’m offering a bonus giveaway right here!

A lucky winner will receive a copy (in whatever format you prefer) of whichever book in the Earth & Sky trilogy you’d like, plus swag! Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Hunting!


Comments

Fall 2015 YA Scavenger Hunt – Team Blue! — 69 Comments

  1. I love seeing all the books that are featured. Usually I’ve seen them advertised before, but sometimes I find a new one.

  2. I love finding new authors and books, entering giveaways are always fun so I can expand my horizons and book collection 🙂

  3. Oops. I think I’m supposed to leave my favorite thing about YASH. My favorite thing is discovering all the fabulous authors. Also the hunting is so much fun!

  4. My favorite thing about the hunt has to be the thrill! No joke intended… 😉
    Otherwise I really like the opportunity to find new authors to adore!
    Thank yuo for this giveaway anf have a nice weekend! 🙂

    • Hello! Accidentally pressed enter before being finished writing my name in the rafflecopter! Don’t even think I managed to finish my firstname… 😛 If there is an entry with the name “Rebec” or something like that, it’s me! Thank you!

  5. My favorite part is the community. Seeing bloggers, readers, and authors all get together to create this great event is magical.

  6. Finding new authors and books to read! A big plus of YASH is my husband understands my need to participate and always takes care of dinner so I can keep going 🙂

  7. I love finding out personal things about each of the authors – I love the books already, but it is really nice to be able to make a connection with the authors as well.

  8. My favourite thing about YASH is the introduction to new books and authors that otherwise I might not come across. The giveaways are awesome too.

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