"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
So, this week's my-can't-wait-to-read choices are:
Slayed
by
Amanda Marrone
Publication date:
October 5, 2010
The Van Helsing family has been hunting vampires for over one hundred years, but sixteen-year-old Daphne wishes her parents would take up an occupation that doesn't involve decapitating vamps for cash. All Daphne wants is to settle down in one place, attend an actual school, and finally find a BFF to go to the mall with. Instead, Daphne has resigned herself to a life of fast food, cheap motels and buying garlic in bulk.
But when the Van Helsings are called to a coastal town in Maine, Daphne's world is turned upside down. Not only do the Van Helsings find themselves hunting a terrifying new kind of vampire (one without fangs but with a taste for kindergarten cuisine), Daphne meets her first potential BF! The hitch? Her new crush is none other than Tyler Harker, AKA, the son of the rival slayer family.
What's a teen vampire slayer to do?
by
Rick Riordan
Publication date:
October 12, 2010
After saving Olympus from the evil Titan lord, Kronos, Percy and friends have rebuilt their beloved Camp Half-Blood, where the next generation of demigods must now prepare for a chilling prophecy of their own:
Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.
Now, in a brand-new series from blockbuster best-selling author Rick Riordan, fans return to the world of Camp Half-Blood. Here, a new group of heroes will inherit a quest. But to survive the journey, they’ll need the help of some familiar demigods.
or
Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she’s his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids.” What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.
Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?
Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What’s troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all—including Leo—related to a god.
Cinderella: Ninja Warrior
by
Maureen McGowan
Publication date:
October 5, 2010
Cinderella lives in a magical kingdom with many highly-trained wizards, both good and bad. Her stepmother uses magic for evil. The stepmother married her father to steal her late mother's wand, and she killed him when he refused to comply. She is jealous of Cinderella's beauty and both hopes and is threatened that the girl might have inherited an aptitude for magic. She casts spells on Cinderella to control her, requires her to do tedious housework, and often inflicts unnecessarily harsh punishments on the young girl. In spite of her hardships and mistreatment, Cinderella perseveres. She possesses a skill for martial arts and secretly practices to hone her abilities, hoping someday she'll be strong enough to escape her stepmother's nefarious grasp.
One day, an invitation arrives for a Magic Festival celebrating the prince's birthday. Despite her nubile magic powers, Cinderella wants to enter the magic competition in an attempt to break free of her family. When Cinderella discovers her mother's wand, she becomes aware of her innate magic abilities. Will Cinderella perform well in the competition? Will she catch the eye of the prince? Will she escape her stepmother's control?
Here's the twist - you're in control. At three points during the story, you get to decide what Cinderella would do next. Depending on your choice, you flip to that relevant tab for the continuation of the story, and her adventures unfold. And the extra fun part? After reaching one outcome, the reader can re-read the book, choose different options, and read an entirely different story!
Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer
by
Maureen McGowan
Publication date:
October 5, 2010
Long ago in a faraway kingdom where humans co-exist with vampires, werewolves and fairies, a beautiful baby princess named Lucette is born. The king and queen host a celebration, but exclude the vampires because of tensions brewing between their previously peaceful kingdoms. Angry at the slight, the Vampire Queen crashes the party and puts a curse on the baby: when Lucette reaches adulthood, she will cut herself, and the instant her blood falls upon the ground, she will never wake again while the sun is in the sky. When night falls, she will awaken while everyone else in the kingdom will fall asleep, leaving Lucette alone in the darkness.
The royal wizard can't reverse the spell, but alters it so that the curse can be lifted if Lucette proves she has found true love. But falling in love seems impossible if all the eligible bachelors are sleeping. Furious at the curse tampering, the Vampire Queen breaks the peace treaty that forbids vampires from attacking the people of Lucette's kingdom. An army of vampire slayers is created to defend the kingdom from the nightly rampaging bloodsuckers.
Lucette secretly trains with the army, knowing that if her parents' attempts to protect her fail and the curse comes true, one day - well, technically one night - she'll be the only one in her kingdom awake to fight back.
And here's the twist - you're in control. At three points during the story, you get to decide what Lucette would do next. Depending on your choice, you flip to that relevant tab for the continuation of the story. Based on your choices, Lucette's adventures unfold. And the extra fun part? After reaching one outcome, the reader can re-read the book, choose different options, and read an entirely different story!
