{Blogger Book Fair} Spotlight + Guest Post + Giveaway: Blue Sky Days by Marie Landry

For today, I have Marie's Top 10 contemporary YA novels, a spotlight and giveaway for her novel Blue Sky Days! So stick around to win!

Title: Blue Sky Days

Author: Marie Landry

Date of Publication: January 5, 2012

Genre: contemporary YA romance

A year after graduating from high school, nineteen-year-old Emma Ward feels lost. She has spent most of her life trying to please her frigid, miserable mother - studying hard, getting good grades, avoiding the whole teenage rebellion thing - and now she feels she has no identity beyond that. Because she spent so many years working hard and planning every moment of her life, she doesn't have any friends, has never had a boyfriend, and basically doesn't know who she is or what she really wants from life. Working two part-time jobs to save money for college hasn't helped her make decisions about her future, so she decides it's time for a change. She leaves home to live with her free-spirited, slightly eccentric Aunt Daisy in a small town that makes Emma feel like she's stepped back in time.

When Emma meets Nicholas Shaw, everything changes - he's unlike anyone she's ever met before, the kind of man she didn't even know existed in the 21st century. Carefree and spirited like Daisy, Nicholas teaches Emma to appreciate life, the beauty around her, and to just let go and live. Between Daisy and Nicholas, Emma feels like she belongs somewhere for the first time in her life, and realizes that you don't always need a plan - sometimes life steers you where you're meant to be.

Life is wonderful, an endless string of blue sky days, until Nicholas is diagnosed with cancer, and life changes once again for Emma in ways she never thought possible. Now it's time for her to help Nicholas the way he's helped her. Emma will have to use her new-found strength, and discover along the way if love really is enough to get you through.

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Guest Post

Marie Landry’s Top 10 Contemporary Young Adult Reads

Although I have wide reading tastes, contemporary young adult is definitely my favourite genre. I love how really good contemporary YA deals with real issues and has characters you can relate to.

I started out this list by naming each book and then talking about why I love it, but I found myself getting repetitive. All of these books deal with real issues, like heartbreak or grief, family troubles, or not fitting in, just to name a few. They all have beautiful romances, they all made me laugh, and most of them even made me cry. They’re all authentic, well-written coming-of-age stories with characters that I connected easily with and loved watching grow and learn through the course of the book.

Since this is my go-to genre, it was hard to narrow it down to 10, but these are the ones I recommend the most:

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

2. Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

3. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

4. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

5. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

6. Golden by Jessi Kirby

7. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

8. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

9. Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

10. Don’t You Wish by Roxanne St. Clair

About Marie Landry

Marie Landry has always been a daydreamer. She has created imaginary worlds for as long as she can remember, so it only seemed natural that she would become a writer. With a passion for words that started in early childhood, Marie has written a varied range of works, and has been freelance writing since 2009. She resides in Ontario, Canada, and most days you can find her writing, reading, blogging about writing and reading, listening to U2, or having grand adventures with her two precious nephews.

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