Wednesday, June 06, 2012

SO FAR AWAY by Meg Mitchell Moore

Congrats to Cindy Roesel! You have won So Far Away! 
Please email me your full mailing address so you can receive your book! stephanieelliot@gmail.com



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Here’s another great one from Meg Mitchell Moore!

So Far Away just came out, in fact its publication date was last week, so I have not had a chance to read it yet, but the premise is fascinating, and I’m particularly interested in it because of the aspect of cyber-bullying, which I’ve not yet read in a book. And, if it’s anything like Meg’s first novel, which I featured last week, then it’s definitely going to be fabulous! And how amazing are her covers? Tell me you can’t judge a book by its cover and I’ll call you a liar! Well, of course I wouldn't call you a LIAR, but, I'm just telling you her book covers are GORGEOUS!

Here’s what So Far Away is about:

Thirteen-year-old Natalie Gallagher is trying to escape: from her parents' ugly divorce, and from the vicious cyber-bullying of her former best friend. Adrift, confused, she is a girl trying to find her way in a world that seems to either neglect or despise her. Her salvation arrives in an unlikely form: Bridget O'Connell, an Irish maid working for a wealthy Boston family. The catch? Bridget lives only in the pages of a dusty old 1920s diary Natalie unearthed in her mother's basement. But the life she describes is as troubling - and mysterious - as the one Natalie is trying to navigate herself, almost a century later.

I am writing this down because this is my story. There were only ever two people who knew my secret, and both are gone before me.

Who was Bridget, and what became of her?

Natalie escapes into the diary, eager to unlock its secrets, and reluctantly accepts the help of library archivist Kathleen Lynch, a widow with her own painful secret: she's estranged from her only daughter. Kathleen sees in Natalie traces of the daughter she has lost, and in Bridget, another spirited young woman at risk.

What could an Irish immigrant domestic servant from the 1920s teach them both? As the troubles of a very modern world close in around them, and Natalie's torments at school escalate, the faded pages of Bridget's journal unite the lonely girl and the unhappy widow - and might even change their lives forever.

To enter to win a copy of So Far Away, tell me if you ever kept a diary? I have a diary as far back as second grade, and one that I kept pretty religiously in eighth grade. I have my very first kiss documented which was pretty uneventful. The really juicy ones are from freshman year in college! I also kept MANY, MANY old letters, every single one I ever got from any boy who ever wrote me I've saved (there were NOT many). What about you? Share YOUR secrets here! : )


***More interesting stuff I included in here just to make things fun - you should read this info...***
 
This book is part of the June Promo - enter every day in June for a chance at the grand prize giveaway at the end of the month - a pile of awesome books! - the more times you enter, the more chances you have at winning!

As with all of the books I post on Booking with MaNiC, thanks to the authors and publicists for providing me with the books. Giveaways open to US/Canada residents only. To enter, leave an identifying unique user name or ID (NO anonymous will be accepted – leave an email address if you don’t know how to post to an account!

Winners will be chosen at random by random.org, within THREE DAYS from the date the book is posted on the blog, and one entry ALLOWED per book please. If you scroll through previous posts and if there is NOT a highlighted note at the top, then feel free to enter to win that book too! If there is a highlighted announcement at the top of a post, then that book is closed to comments and a winner has already been chosen. For comments, questions, suggestions, please email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com. Thanks for your participation! Good luck!

92 comments:

Margie said...

I like the cover too!
I haven't kept a diary, but I do keep a log with photos when we go on vacations.
Margie T

jdstec said...

I had a diary when I was about 8 but my life was so boring I never wrote anything in it.

absolutahnie said...

over the years i've had several, the last one has morphed into a log of books that i've read. it's fun to flip back in time to see what i read and how i felt about it. (also helps keep me from buying something i've already read.)

Crystal said...

I always STARTED keeping diaries and would write a couple entries RELIGIOUSLY, but then I'd get "tired" or "bored" so I would skip a day and before long months would pass so I stopped.

But I DID start my blog Nov 17, 2011 to detail my LAST year as a single lady (wah-oh-oh *does hand thing*) and I've written in it everyday since! :)

crystal717

DaphneSFL said...

I used to keep one in high school, and would love to read it now, lol!

Carie Casey said...

No diary. I always tried to write one but I could never do it past three days.

Carie

Carly said...

I kept a diary when I was elementary school. It was very important to me but spelling was an area of weakness so it was labeled Dairy. Which my mom took to mean that she could read it.

Mary Jo Burke said...

I got a diary as a birthday present and wrote everyday in eighth grade. What a whiner!

Anonymous said...

I kept a diary in high school. Going back and reading now is so funny. I had no life and worried about the smallest things.

-Donna W.

Lindsay said...

Did any young girl NOT keep a diary? I did, but probably only until Middle School, I shudder to think what I wrote in it!

Katie said...

I still journal occasionally. I have been keeping track of stuff that we have done since we have been married.

Melissa said...

I've attempted here and there to have a diary/journal and never stuck with it. Mel Rem

ncsuloges said...

I kept a diary when I was little but I don't know where it is anymore. However, the memoir I am writing now is looking back on my college years so it's kind of a diary.

Megan said...

I have kept diaries since I could write and I still have every single one. I love reading them every few years; always awesome to see what I was doing 10-15 years ago.
Eloisepeaches

Bev V said...

I keep a journal. Since I don't write in it everyday, I call it a journal instead of a diary. Now, it's an online blog, so it's not as open as the paper ones!

Bev V (shaggy552@gmail.com)

Sherry said...

No diary but I do journal nowand than to let go of steam before saying something I would regret.

Mom'sLove said...

I have kept a diary/journal most of my life. I have completed over a hundred of them. In fact, I am on 134th journal. I post everything in it, I glue tickets to movies, plays, everything in it....
Amanda
Byacourt at gamil dot com

daisy d said...

I had a dairy in elementary school. I think I remember I wrote things in it like I love Paul. Next week I would write something like I love John. Do you get where this is going. lol

Unknown said...

Never done a diary. I've tried a few times, never successfully. I just don't enjoy writing. I can't formulate my thoughts into words well. Sounds lame, but it's true. :(

Kristen said...

I had a diary in middle school - it's funny to look at all the things that were SO IMPORTANT back then... ;)

Kristen27

Ally said...

I have had them for the most part for the last 15 years.

Kristin from Louisville said...

I had a diary when very young, red with a little key. Very generic stuff in it. I then kept a diary when I was going thru some hard times as an adult. Only lasted for about a month but to go back and read some of the entries reminds me of how far I have come.

equinn726 said...

In high school and college I used to keep a diary for every vacation and trip I ever took (with friends or family) and I would let whoever was traveling with me read each entry and make additions/corrections. I wish I had kept all of those journals. I have no idea where they are now.

Juliet Farmer said...

i kept a dairy from about 4th grade through high school. it's so funny to go back and read the things i was thinking and feeling back then. i'm still the same dorky shy gal i was so long ago!

Betsy said...

I tried as a kid, but i don't think my life is interesting enough for more than a few days.

Tami said...

No diary :-(

your invisible pixie said...

I kept tons of diaries. Even though my life probably wasn't that interesting, I just thought it was fun, so I'd write almost every night. I kept it up until a few years ago, then stopped when I got a boyfriend...then started again when he was uncomfortable with me sharing with my friends. And then stopped again after we broke up.

Erin G said...

I kept a diary growing up. I wonder where it is? I would love to read it now!

Anonymous said...

I've lost numerous diaries over the years, but I've kept daily private pocket calendars and there's quite a bit of interesting tidbits in there.

Mumma23qts said...

Never kept a diary. Was always concerned that someone would read what I was thinking.

Anne said...

Oh I would pretend to keep a diary on and off in elementary and middle school, but nothing ever came of it.

Emily said...

When I was in high school I kept journals off and on, and then in college I briefly had a blog.

Emily116

Books & Reviews said...

I kept several in the past but haven't for years now.

Marla W. said...

I have tried...many, many, many times...over the years to journal or keep a diary and I just can't do it.

I did write "poetry" (in quotes because I'm not sure you can really consider it that) when I was a teen and that was my "diary" of sorts. I do still have every single one I wrote, but that's about it.

Ready To Be A Momma said...

I kept diaries on and off through junior high and high school. I found and read them recently. Wow, was I a total weirdo!
Qweska8402

robynn78/robin.krzyzak@yahoo.com said...

Nope no diary, but sometimes think facebook could be one with the photo's I post of my husband & family!

Kristin said...

I had a diary in middle school but it was about as interesting as an empty book.

Lilian said...

I tried to keep a diary, but I think the longest time I stuck with it was for about a week in 3rd grade...I remember writing about my dad's car getting scrapped by the car next to us in the KMart parking lot.

lilianxcheng AT gmail.com
Lilian @ A Novel Toybox

Melissa said...

I didn't keep a diary. I hate writing...totally dread it.

-tmd636

Krystal said...

I would write in a diary for a few days and then stop. I was never very good at it, but there was also never anything interesting to put in it.
kndyer

BrendaL71 said...

I did keep a diary when I was a girl but nothing juicy in there. I didn't want any proof when I got older. LOL! I might still have one of my diaries somewhere.

Bridget said...

I had a diary or two growing up. I now have a journal.

iambtinrb

Jessica said...

I think I kept a diary when I was little but I never said much in it. It probably only lasted for a few weeks.

Thanks!
-Jessica M
walkingcorpse11@hotmail.com

Kimmi said...

I had a diary off and on in grade school, but in 1993, I started typing a few paragraphs (sometimes more) about my day, every day. Reading almost 20 yr old entries sometimes makes me cringe.

Susan @ The Book Bag said...

I kept a diary for a short time when I was just getting interested in guys. With entries like G looked my way, G bought an ice cream cone right after I did, G passed me in the hall. So sad. I'm pretty sure I stopped writing in it cause I was afraid my little sister would find it and rat me out.

Denise said...

I kept a diary on and off as a kid, but nothing interesting was ever recorded! I also kept a diary during my semester abroad, that one's more interesting!

-Denise F.

susieqlaw said...

susieqlaw

Yes! I have always kept a diary, since I learned how to write. I have a box full of completed diaries!

Leslie said...

Never kept a diary. Never really thought about it, but I bet it would be fun to go back as an adult and read about all of the school "drama". LeslieGC

Jen said...

I always tried to keep a diary, but after the first few weeks of religiously writing, I would put it off for a day or two (or three) and then just forget to pick it back up! Wish I would have been a little better about it, it would be fun to be able to look back...

-Jen
jenknee1976@hotmail.com

Dani In Chicago said...

I've always kept a diary. Marcia Brady inspired me to get one when I was 7. Now that I'm grown up, I call it a journal. I'm not good about writing in it though. My attention span is very short.

Tanya Quilts in CO said...

I have never kept a diary, but I write memoirs about my mother-in-law I hope to publish...I figured I would wait until she dies, but I am so irritated with her lately it might be better to go public now!

TinaB said...

I never kept a diary...wish I had though.
Brannanflooring@aol.com

Tiffany Drew said...

I had a diary when I was about 13 for about a month. Then my sister found it and read it and I realized I didn't want to get beat up again so I stopped writing in it lol.

buttah said...

I kept a diary as a kid, but never kept up with it. Wished I would have though!

Joelle said...

I have always been a diary keeper. Both hardcopy and online.

jobella

Kristi said...

I love that cover.

I kept a diary when I was a teenager, all that teen angst.

I started to do one online but didn't like the fact that people had access even though I wasn't named.

Anonymous said...

I have never kept a diary, but I keep every ticket stub and every letter or note I have ever received.

Colbey J

The Book Chick said...

I have kept a diary (on and off), especially when I was a teenager! I also kept a ton of letters between myself and my pen pal friends from summer camp. :)

Jonita

Kim W. said...

I kept a diary when I was in elementary school & high school. Even as an adult, I have kept a journal, off & on, especially when something extremely important or extremely life-altering is happening.1

slm8803 said...

I've tried several times to keep a diary son never stuck with it. I do keep a diary for my son though-he's 2 and I've been writing in it since I was about 6 months pregnant w/him.

Anonymous said...

I have kept a diary from the time I was 6 yrs old, although now my diary is posted daily on Facebook! LOL jennyb75

Anonymous said...

I've kept a diary since I was 6 years old, now my diary is Facebook! Jennyb75

Nanette said...

I have never kept a diary but I did start a blog a few years ago. I don't blog hardly at all since getting on Facebook. I kind of miss it but can't seem to get inspired to keep up with it anymore.

This book sounds REALLY interesting. Fingers crossed!

Nan :)

Luvschocolate said...

Never kept one , journals filled with stories and poems yes. diaries, no.

Terri said...

Great minds think alike. First of all, before I even started reading, I was thinking that I really loved this cover.

Second, I too had many diaries through the years. I have a few of them from early high school and one that I do go back and read here and there from the summer after my freshman year of college and the first part of my sophomore year. Not only does it document a major crush I had through the summer, it also has the story of the early days of me and my ex husband. It's funny to look back and see how I completely dropped the first guy as i got to know the guy I'd eventually marry. Oddly enough, I am divorced to guy #2 and have rekindled a friendship with #1.

Terri M.

TaraUB said...

I kept a journal on and off, but I destroyed them. I didn't want anyone to ever read them.

Kelleyc said...

Nope...never did the diary thing.

TinaPow said...

I have tried so many times, but I can't seem to remember to write in consistenly....

Emma S. said...

I kept a diary in middle school. I threw it away years ago because it was so embarrassing!

Lizett34 said...

I used keep a diary yes. It would start out pretty well, writing in it for about two weeks before I got tired of it. From there it went to once a week then once a month, to a 'big' event occuring and lastly not at all.

lizett34@yahoo.com

BRN2SHOP9 said...

I have tried several times to keep a diary. I write in it for a week and then forget about it.

brn2shop9 at gmail dot com

lucy872 said...

I tried to keep a diary a few times, but always felt too much stress to come up with something "exciting" to say. I do save everything my husband has ever written to me. It's all in a box and it goes all the way back to the first card he sent me for my birthday 21 years ago.

GoGreen said...

I kept a diary when I was about 10 years old, but not since.



Bonnie

Literary Chanteuse said...

I had a diary when I was 13/14. I found out my sister read my entries and I was so furious I decided never again.

Margaret(Literary Chanteuse)

betsy_blixt said...

I actually just started a diary last week. I had some from when I was in middle school and I love going back and reading them. But then I got "to cool" and stopped. I really wish I would have kept one so to bring back all my fun memories in highschool and college. But it's never to late. The only probably it's hard to teach and old dog new tricks and trying to remember to write in it is my new trick.

EBrowning said...

I kept a diary when I was very young but I soon learned that if you have nosy people in your life your secrets aren't safe for long so I stopped. I do however have lots of old letters from friends and high school boyfriends.

faithspage said...

I started several over the years. Nothing juicy was ever documented.

Alice said...

I kept a sporadic diary in grade school. I think one book lasted me six years. My blog is the most consistent place I've ever written.

Amy said...

I kept one all through Elem, Middle and High school. Even some up until my early 20's. Now, I jot sporadically

keltban said...

I kept one thru parts of college and a few years after. I never wrote consistently...every few months or so.

Melissa said...

i kept journals, but nothing under lock and key. now i just blog.

melissa a from clc

Lindsay Elizabeth said...

What middle school girl didn't keep a diary? I absolutely did, but was always afraid my mom would find it and never wrote that much in it!

Christina said...

I always tried to have a journal but I was never consistent with writing in it. It would be fun to look back now at the things I thought were so important, fun or upsetting, but I don't have any idea where they are!

ChristinaL

Sslinsky said...

I kept an inconsistent journal/diary during my adolescent years. Strangely enough I never wrote about the BIG stuff when it happened, only weeks later. Now I'm wondering what happened to them?!

Sarah

Buffy Dee said...

I have started MANY diaries... never follow through though! :(

accidentalgypsy said...

I have tried so many times to be a "journal" type person, but it never sticks. I was pretty good about it when I went to Australia for 3 weeks in high school...I look back now (15 years) and realize how much I've forgotten!

shellybelly43066 said...

I did keep a diary, and now that I'm thinking about it, I have no idea what became of it

Anonymous said...

I kept a diary when I was in grade 7/8 and that was it - If only I had kept it now!

RebeccaE

Leah B said...

I use to always have a diary - in fact I just shredded some of the more incriminating ones!

Read Baby Read said...

I keep a mommy diary, where I write anecdotal stories for my children to read when I am no longer here.

Becki**** said...

Always wanted. Always buying beautiful blank diaries . .and then . .just can't keep it up

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

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