Publishers Weekly reviewed THE S-WORD!!!

Here it is! (with my thoughts in red)

"Debut author Pitcher explores the consequences of bullying and social stigmatizing with swagger in this noirish mystery. ...They just said I have swagger! When Angie's boyfriend cheats on her with her best friend Lizzie, Angie is devastated and ends their friendship—never expecting that Lizzie will be branded a slut (someone repeatedly writes the word on her car and locker) and driven to suicide. Following Lizzie's death, the graffiti reemerges; eerily, the handwriting mimics Lizzie's and reads, "suicide slut." Pages stolen from Lizzie's diary also find their way into students' lockers (and into sections of the book). Love this next line: Angie launches a covert investigation, and her interrogations of her suspects—including a femme fatale who reclines on pianos in the drama department when she's not running the newspaper, a misogynistic math geek, and a hard-drinking cheerleader—put a playful spin on the detective genre. <~~ When I read that, I was so happy. I thought: this person understands exactly what I was going for. When Angie is immersed in her role as sleuth, her cynicism and blasé attitude toward school can come across as phony, but the vulnerability shown when she falls for a cross-dressing outsider and her reflections on her friendship with Lizzie soften the hardboiled edges. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sandy Lu, L. Perkins Agency. (May)"

You heard it here first. Swagger. 

If you need me, I will be listening to Jay-Z and getting the dirt off my shoulder ;)

Speak Up YA! Contest

Hey everybody! This week I'm doing a joint ARC giveaway with the fabulous Rachele Alpine (author of CANARY and fellow Lucky 13!) Both CANARY and THE S-WORD are contemporary YA novels that deal with speaking out against bullying and assault, even when it's hard to find your voice.

The winner will take home signed ARCs of both books, along with bunches of awesome swag!!!

There are lots of different ways to enter, and we'll run the contest until 12:00 a.m. Thursday (March 28).

If you have an example of a time you've spoken out against bullying or assault (or a time someone else has spoken out for you), we'd love to hear about it in the comments.  We think this is a great way to put some positivity back into the world and inspire people to take a stand!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for entering!!!

If you want to keep the conversation going, hop over to Twitter and use the hashtag #speakupYA to discuss books with characters who speak up against injustice, and books that inspire you to do the same!

ADD THE S-WORD         BUY THE S-WORD         ADD CANARY         BUY CANARY

RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCEMENT + GIVEAWAY!

It's time for a Moving-Themed Book Giveaway!!!  

WAIT. WHAT?

I'm giving away three fabulous YA novels that follow the theme of moving, 

being moved or being on the move (plus an Amazon gift card)!

WHY?

To celebrate the move of THE S-WORD’S release date!!!!

THE NEW AND IMPROVED RELEASE DATE is 

May 7, 2013

WHEN?

The giveaway beings at 12:00 A.M. ET on Monday, September 10th 

and ends at 12:00 A.M. ET on Monday, September 17th. 

I BELIEVE THERE WAS MENTION OF SOME . . . BOOKS?

 The prizes are:

Zombies and unicorns are on the move in this hilarious anthology edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier!

When 16-year-old Rhine is stolen away from her home and sold to the wealthy Linden, in a future where women only live to be twenty, she must fight to regain her freedom, her family and her life. 

Aristotle and Dante become best friends at fifteen, 
but can their friendship survive time, distance and the secrets they both keep?

$10 Amazon.com gift card!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONTEST + BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!!

I AM HAVING A CONTEST!

(In which I give away various books)

Why?

To celebrate the launch of my website and upcoming novel,

“The S-Word,” due out in 2013 from Gallery Books.

WHEN?

The contest beings at 9:00 A.M. ET on Monday, April 23rd and ends at 9:00 P.M. ET on Friday, April 27th. Winners will be announced the following week.

HOW DOES ONE ENTER?

Simply Follow @Chelsea_Pitcher
on Twitter and tweet about the launch of my website (including the url: www.chelseapitcher.com and my twitter handle: @chelsea_pitcher).
For example:

Tweet

But please be advised:

You Can Word It However You Want.

If you don’t have a Twitter account, you can also enter by following me here on blogger. Just click the “join this site” button (near the top right of this page) and leave me a comment on this post letting me know how to contact you if you win.

GET TO THE PRIZES, ALREADY.

There are four titles you can win: three sparkly new hardbacks from my personal collection and two gorgeous paperbacks from my awesome editor Adam Wilson. And yes, I know that adds up to five (I am not that terrible at math), the paperbacks are both the same.

1. BLACK HEART by Holly Black

In the final installment of the Curse Workers Series, con-artist Cassel is determined to be a good guy, but his past keeps getting in the way in the form of shady family members, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the mob-boss in training who happens to be the love of his life. Just try to put this book down once you’ve picked it up. I dare you.

2. SHUT OUT by Kody Keplinger

The battle of the sexes is ON in this witty and thought-provoking retelling of Lysistrata. Whether you’re on Lissa’s side, Cash’s team, or just cheering from the sidelines, watching the battle unfold is a wicked delight. 

3. PINK SMOG by Francesca Lia Block

From the immensely talented author of  DANGEROUS ANGELS: THE WEETZIE BAT BOOKS comes the much anticipated prequel, in which Louise-turned-Weetzie comes of age, and becomes straight-up fabulous, while re-learning to believe in the magic of love.

4. and 5. LOVE STORY by Jennifer Echols

When Erin moves from Kentucky to New York, she doesn’t expect to be tracked down by the stable boy of her fantasies. She certainly doesn’t expect him to show up in her writing class right after she wrote a steamy story about him. 

WHAT IS THE FINE PRINT?

This is MY contest. It is not affiliated with any publisher or agency. The contest is open to all residents of the US (with apologies to my lovely international friends) who are 18 and older. Winners will be selected randomly and will be announced over the course of the week of April 30th. Winners, upon being notified, may specify which book they prefer and (if that book has not already been given to a previous winner) THAT IS THE BOOK THEY SHALL RECEIVE.

Thank you, and have fun! 

Review of Francesca Lia Block's "PINK SMOG: BECOMING WEETZIE BAT"

Jacket Copy:

The girl in the mirror wasn’t who I wanted to be, and her life wasn’t the one I wanted to have.

Despite how much Louise insists, no one will call her Weetzie. It’s her dad’s nickname for her, but it won’t stay put. Neither will her dad. Charlie left Louise and her mom and he took everything with him: her family, her home—and her understanding of who she’s meant to be.

But Los Angeles is a city full of strange angels, and Louise embarks on a journey to sift through the smog of her heartbreak, to grow her own wings.

My Review: 5 of 5 Stars

Reading “Pink Smog” was like coming home. I didn’t even know how much I’d missed Weetize until she came back. In this much-anticipated prequel to “Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books,” an adolescent Weetzie Bat confronts the fairy tale that so many of us learn as children: that love, when it is real, stays with us forever.

But how can this be? Weetzie’s father has just left. Does this mean his love wasn’t real? Does it mean he never cared for her in the first place? These are the questions Weetzie must face as she navigates a world of strange angels and sinister phantoms, new friends and spiteful enemies. Her mother is little help, devastated from the loss of her husband, and school provides no solace, but Weetzie is fierce and resilient, and in spite of often feeling lost, she remains determined to find herself.

I loved this book so much. Block’s characters are nothing if not survivors, and Weetzie is no exception. I felt for her as she struggled to find her place in the world, rooted for her as she fought to love herself even when those she loved couldn’t stay by her side. I especially loved her relationship with Winter, that strange and elusive neighbor that might’ve been angel, or maybe just a boy, who managed to help Weetzie remain on the right path without making decisions for her. He was just the right kind of friend, and I found myself yearning for his presence just as Weetzie did, hoping he would visit her one more time, tell her a story, sit by her side.

Another thing I loved about this story—the thing that drew me into Block’s novels so many years ago—was the feeling of being fully immersed in the character’s world. We cannot only see it—we can taste it in the food Weetize eats, smell it in the belladonna and jacaranda that paint her world, and feel it as she travels through the streets of Los Angeles on her adventure. Time and time again Block delivers a feeling of lushness, of completeness that keeps me coming back. Here especially, it is both enticing and intoxicating, in this beautiful story of the transformative power of love specifically when it’s ephemeral. 

It's Official!

My short story "The Silver-Tongued Queen of the Prom" is officially out, published by Harper Teen. Check it out in their Teen Classics Edition of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream!"

I shall leave you with this:


"Give me a chance to tell the Bard's tale, and I give you my word on humble knee, whence you shall not say it wasn't e'er to be."


~ Tobias Funke