Tuesday, July 24, 2012

BLOG TOUR: Circle of Silence by Carol M. Tanzman (Review + Giveaway)

Genre:Young Adult, Contemporary,  Thriller, Mystery, Romance
Publication.Date  July 24th 2012
Pages:304
Published By:  Harlequin Teen| 
WebsiteCarol M. Tanzman 

Circle Of Silence - Goodreads
My review copy:ARC received from netGalley via Kismet Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review
Where to get:



THE BIGGEST STORY OF MY LIFE COULD BE HOW IT ENDS It's my turn to run a "Campus News" crew, and I've put together a team that can break stories wide open. And Washington Irving High has a truly great one to cover, if only we can find a lead.

A secret society has formed in our school. It announced its presence with pranks: underwear on the flagpole, a toilet in the hallway, cryptic notes. A circle of silence keeps the society a mystery. No one knows its members, agenda or initiation secrets-until a student lands in the hospital under "strange" circumstances.

I "will" blow this story wide open and stop others from being hurt...or worse. And while my ex, Jagger, might want to help, I don't trust him yet. (And, no, not because of our past together. That is "not" important to this story.)

But whether you find me, Valerie Gaines, reporting in front of the camera, or a victim in the top story of the newscast...be sure to watch "Campus News" at 9:00 a.m. this Friday.
(Goodreads)



"The mysteries of WiHi are.. mysterious, Marci."
MP is power. The kind of power that sneaks up on people, smacks them in the face and makes them regret their sorry existence. 
Moment of truth. Whatever I choose changes lives. Good or bad, I'll never be able to say I didn't know what I was doing. Because if there's one thing I learned over the last few weeks, watching tubes and machines keep Jagger alive, is that there are consequences to every choice we make.



     Circle of Silence is a fantastic addition to the WiHi series. It's not by any means a continuation of the story from dancergirl, it's more of a companion novel that stands on its own and can be enjoyed by just about anyone, even if they haven't read the previous book (although I highly recommend you do). Part mystery and part romance, it's a thrilling and exciting story full of relatable characters and interesting plot developments. An unputdownable and entirely captivating tale that explores many themes, such as cheating and forgiveness, violence, revenge, and family drama. 

     The story starts seemingly innocent. It's Valerie Gaines' senior year and she is starting to feel the pressure. Soon enough high school will be over and everyone will go their own ways. To get into the top school of her choice, she has to show everyone what she's made of. When she's picked to be the producer of Team B Campus News crew, she knows that this is her chance to impress the teachers, all she needs is a great story. And what's a better story than a secret society that just announced its presence with a series of pranks? Valerie's determined to solve the mystery and expose the pranksters. What she doesn't yet realize, though, is just how dangerous a mission she's about to embark on. There's way more to the mysterious MP group than what everyone originally assumed, and Valerie is about to get a taste of real journalism with all its risks and challenges. 

     I really enjoyed this book, even though I thought it started off a little bit slow. At the beginning MP's pranks are rather childish and seemingly harmless. There are a few notes left in people's lockers, underwear hanging from a flag pole and a toilet with the school's flag in it left in the hallway - nothing particularly alarming. It isn't until the second half of the book that things are starting to get more serious. I loved the steadily increasing tension and how things got darker and creepier with every page. The atmosphere was thick with suspense and I just couldn't stop reading, I wanted to find out how this story ends. The ending itself didn't surprise me at all. I knew all along where the author was going with the story, but that didn't take away from the pleasure of reading. The only thing that really disappointed me was how sweet and cheerful the conclusion of the story was - to me it felt a little bit unrealistic. Usually that doesn't bother me at all - I love happy endings - but in this particular case I was hoping for a slightly different outcome. 

     I liked Valerie. She was strong, clever, very determined and passionate about journalism. She possessed many admirable qualities and it was fun to see her fully immersed in work and doing her best to crack the MP's case. I liked that she didn't instantly forgive and forget that Jagger cheated on her. I didn't like Jagger, he didn't seem trustworthy, there was something very off about him and I didn't really like the fact that Valerie was still under his charm. Overall, though, I thought the dynamics of their relationship were very interesting. It isn't often that we get to read about couples overcoming obstacles, working out compromises, and getting over heartbreaks - especially not in YA novels. I thought it was a fresh and delicious new take on YA romance. 

     I absolutely loved Mrs. Tanzman's writing style. Her plotting was solid and she crafted all the characters and high school settings with exceptional care for details, which resulted in a very bone-chilling, convincing and emotionally engaging read. I liked that she included MP logs throughout the novel. That gave us an interesting insight into the mind of the culprit, and instantly increased the level of creepy. Being able to see the story from the MP leader's perspective was both disturbing and intriguing at the same time

     Overall, this book was really great and I had a fantastic time reading it. It was a quick and intensely gripping read, and one that send many shivers down my spine. If you enjoyed Mrs. Tanzman's dancergil, you'll love Circle Of Silence. Don't hesitate to pick it!






And here's a short, but very entertaining Guest Post by Carol M. Tanzman, the author of this fabulous YA  novel!


Dueling Playlists: Val vs. Jagger 

Today is the Circle of Silence book birthday (so exciting)! Of course, singing the birthday song is way too lame. Instead, I’m giving you: Dueling Playlists! 

The main character in the book, Valerie Gaines, and her ex-boyfriend, Jagger Voorham, end up on the same Campus News TV crew. They’re at odds over most things, including their playlist. Here are the Top Five songs for each of them, along with a Spotify playlist that combines them both. 

Valerie’s Playlist 

1. Cruel - St. Vincent
2. Crew Love – Drake 
3. Boyfriend - Best Coast
4. We Found Love - Rihanna
5. Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 

Jagger’s Playlist 

1. Sixteen Saltines - Jack White
2. Hold On - Alabama Shakes
3. Wiped Out - OFF!
4. Float - Aesop Rock
5. Paint it, Black - Rolling Stones 

Here’s the Spotify playlist for both sets of songs. 

So, readers, whose list do you like better?






About Carol M. Tanzmann


Carol M. Tanzman is an award-winning theatre director and nationally recognized arts educator. Her first YA novel, The Shadow Place, was on YALSA's Quick Pick List of Recommended Books, the National Council of Teachers of English ALAN List of Best Books, and the CA Collection for Middle & Senior High Schools. In addition to the current Harlequin Teen books dancergirl and Circle of Silence she is a contributing poet to the upcoming Dare to Dream…Change the World anthology.



GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the Kismet Blog tours and Harlequin Teen each of the tour hosts gets a chance to host two amazing giveaways! 

Here's what you can win:

The first giveaway is for the chance to win a physical copy of Circle Of Silence! To enter the daily give-away, please enter via Rafflecopter below!
Open to US/Canada only


a Rafflecopter giveaway



The second giveaway is for a brand new Nook GlowLight skinned with the beautiful Circle of Silence Cover Art! To enter: You MUST answer the special question found in the Rafflecopter Giveaway!:




Entries in the daily give-away also count toward the grand prize give-away.
Open to US/Canada only

This review, giveaway and guest post are posted as part of the Temptation blog tour organized by Heather and Danny from Kismet Blog Tours & Harlequin Teen!


Full schedule here:


Monday, July 23rd – Alice Marvel’s - Q&A with Carol! 
Tuesday, July 24th Book Birthday – Evie Bookish
Wednesday, July 25th – The Book Cellar 
Friday, July 27th – Kindle Fever
Monday, July 30th – Xpresso Reads
Wednesday, August 1st – Reading Angel
Friday, August 3rd – Harlequin Blog
Monday, August 6th- Letter’s Inside Out
Wednesday, August 8th – Chapter by Chapter
Friday, August 10th – I Just wanna Sit here and Read 
 ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
About the Author
Evie is the Blogger behind Bookish. She enjoys reading many different genres, especially YA, Paranormal, Contemporary Fiction and Fantasy.
She loves talking to authors and is always happy to welcome them for interviews, and guest posts. She also likes spreading the love for awesome books and  chatting with fellow book-worms.
You can find Evie here: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Shelfari | The Library Thing

28 comments:

Unknown said...

Looks like a super fantastic book! I think I prefer Jagger's playlist. I tend to be more of a rock fan.

Although Valerie's playlist I'd totally play on a sunny day with the windows down in my car :)

Thanks for the giveaway!

Kelly said...

Thanks for the review. I like how it gets darker as the novel progresses.

Molli @ Once Upon a Prologue said...

Awesome review, Evie! I've heard some good things about dancergirl, and I think you know how I feel about YA contemporary...! I like how you explained why and what you liked and didn't like!

Molli | Once Upon a Prologue

Ryan Snyder said...

I like jagger's playlist better as well. although you would think that moves like jagger would be on his playlist. ;)

M.A.D. said...

Mary DeBorde M.A.D.

Thank you so much for the awesome giveaway!!! Circle of Silence looks like a great read :)

Giselle said...

Great review Evie! I've been seeing a lot of positive reviews on this and I'm excited to get it started soon for the tour too! :) Good to know it starts off slow though I'll know what to expect. But frig the premise sounds so interesting and Valerie seems like the perfect MC for me!

Megan said...

Great review. I'm definitely on Jagger's side for the playlist.

Unknown said...

I'm loving the quotes.

Christina Fiorelli said...

Christina K. in the rafflecopter

I've heard such awesome things about this book, and Evie your review rocked:)

I love the playlists:)

Thanks so much:)

Gale Nelson said...

love the playlists! thanks for a great giveaway! Gale

Britishmystery said...

Thanks for the giveaway!

PuttPutt1198Eve said...

It sounds like you really liked the book and read it not just for the review, but also for your own enjoyment. I would imagine you could lose the enjoyment when you're "readin' and reviewin'" all the time.

Anonymous said...

(I left a comment yesterday but it's disappeared, or maybe it didn't save like I thought it did...)

Thanks for the giveaway, Evie!

Steph said...

Thanks for being on this awesome tour!

SweetMarie83 said...

Great review, Evie! This book sounds really good. I hadn't heard too much about it, but now I'm really excited to read it. Thanks for the chance to win a copy!

laceyblossom said...

Love the playlists :) Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

alicia marie said...

Thanks for the review! This is the first I've seen of this book, but it definitely sounds like something I'd like to read : ) Thanks for the giveaway!!

roro said...

Valerie

Unknown said...

AWESOME giveaway!!

Freya Oliver said...

This is companion novel and not book 2. So I can read this without reading dancegirl first. Too bad the giveaway is US/CAN only. Nice review.

Randi M said...

I definitely liked Val's playlist more! :) Thank you for the epic giveaway!

Steph said...

This sounds like a really interesting book. Great review and thanks for the giveaway!

Na said...

I do like Val's list more. Moves like a jagger has a great beat!

Obsession with Books said...

An awesome review, Evie! I have been eager to read both this and Dancergirl, they sound great & I love the playlist..

Thankyou for sharing x

Sandra said...

Awesome post! Can't wait to get my hands on this book!

~Jennifer~ said...

Sounds like an awesome read! :)

Giselle @ Book Nerd Canada said...

Ooh a mystery and a romance? Sounds fun. I also like how you said it can be read as a standalone novel.

Carol Tanzman said...

Thanks for joining the Tour! And yes, the books can be read in any order. The linking factor is the setting WiHi in Brooklyn! Good luck -- and happy reading!

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