Bookanista Review: 12 books I can't wait for in 2012! (and a pre-order giveaway!)

Since it's the end of the year--and my Bookanista Reviews are generally for upcoming titles--I thought I'd use my last post of 2011 to spotlight 12 books coming in 2012 that I am so insanely excited about.  Some of them I've been lucky enough to already read, some I can't wait to get my hands on, but all of them I will be counting down the days until I can buy my shiny copy.
And I want to emphasize that this is in NO WAY an exhaustive list--at ALL. (seriously, if I featured all the books I'm excited about this post would be a mile long). And I specifically limited myself to books where the official description and cover art were already available, so I could give them a proper feature. So this is just a *tiny* glimpse of the amazingness 2012 has in store for us. But check out this awesome:
Middle Grade:
MAY B, by Caroline Starr Rose
Coming 1/10/2012
I've known it since last night:
It's been too long to expect them to return.
Something's happened.

May is helping out on a neighbor's Kansas prairie homestead—just until Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it's hard to be separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered sod house, isolated from family and neighbors, May must prepare for the oncoming winter. While fighting to survive, May's memories of her struggles with reading at school come back to haunt her. But she's determined to find her way home again. Caroline Starr Rose's fast-paced novel, written in beautiful and riveting verse, gives readers a strong new heroine to love.




THE HUMMING ROOM, by Ellen PotterComing 2/28/2012
Hiding is Roo Fanshaw's special skill. Living in a frighteningly unstable family, she often needs to disappear at a moment's notice. When her parents are murdered, it's her special hiding place under the trailer that saves her life.

As it turns out, Roo, much to her surprise, has a wealthy if eccentric uncle, who has agreed to take her into his home on Cough Rock Island. Once a tuberculosis sanitarium for children of the rich, the strange house is teeming with ghost stories and secrets. Roo doesn't believe in ghosts or fairy stories, but what are those eerie noises she keeps hearing? And who is that strange wild boy who lives on the river? People are lying to her, and Roo becomes determined to find the truth.

Despite the best efforts of her uncle's assistants, Roo discovers the house's hidden room—a garden with a tragic secret.

BEYONDERS: Seeds of Rebellion, by Brandon Mull
Coming 3/13/2012
Picking up after the incredible cliffhanger ending of A World Without Heroes, the next BEYONDERS book opens with Jason back in our world. Yet after all his efforts to return home, he finds himself itching to cross over to Lyrian. Jason knows that the shocking truth he learned from Maldor in Book One is precious information that his friends in Lyrian, including Rachel, all need in order to have any hope of surviving and defeating the evil emperor.

After Jason succeeds in finding a way back to Lyrian, he's immediately in more danger than ever. Meanwhile, Rachel and the others have made their own progress--as well as discovered new enemies.

As the group ultimately rejoins, they strive to convince their most needed ally to join the war and form a rebellion strong enough to triumph. At the center of it all, Jason and Rachel come to realize what roles they have to play--and the answers are as surprising as they are entirely riveting.




TWICE UPON A TIME, by James RileyComing 4/24/2012Jack and May are back for another adventure in the world of fairy tales with a twist. This time, they're on the hunt to learn May's true identity after the surprising reveal in Half Upon A Time about May's grandmother's real intentions.
Searching for answers brings Jack and May to the world of the Sea King, landing them right in the center of a battle between mermaids and the Pirate Bluebeard.

The laughter and action are as nonstop as ever in this next book from new author James Riley!


A HERO FOR WONDLA, by Tony DiTerlizzi
Coming 5/8/2012
Finally, Eva Nine has gotten what she has always wanted: other humans. When she and her friends are rescued by Hailey, another human, Eva couldn't be happier. Now she has everything she has ever dreamed of. Hailey brings Eva and her friends to the human colony New Attica, where humans of all shapes and sizes live in apparent peace and harmony.

But all is not idyllic in New Attica, and soon Eva Nine and her friends realize that something very bad is going on--and if they don't stop it, it could mean the end of everything and everyone on Orbona.

THE COUNCIL OF MIRRORS (Sister's Grimm book 9), by Michael Buckley
Coming May 8, 2012In the final volume in the Sisters Grimm series, Sabrina, Daphne, and the rest of the Grimms and their friends must face off against the Master to decide the fate of Ferryport Landing—and the world. When Mirror fails to escape the barrier using Granny Relda's body, he turns to his plan B: killing all the Grimms so that the magical barrier collapses. In the meantime, Sabrina has gathered the other magic mirrors as advisors on how to deal with their mortal enemy. They tell her to join forces with the Scarlet Hand against Mirror, in exchange for offering all the citizens of Ferryport Landing their freedom. This final chapter is the end of the road for several beloved characters, but the conclusion is sure to satisfy devoted fans of the series.

Young Adult
DEAD TO YOU, by Lisa McMannComing February 7, 2012

Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable..





WANDERLOVE, by Kirsten Hubbard Coming 3/13/2012It all begins with a stupid question:

Are you a Global Vagabond? 

No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan's found, is to keep moving forward.

But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.

Kirsten Hubbard lends her artistry into this ultimate backpacker novel, weaving her drawings into the text. Her career as a travel writer and her experiences as a real-life vagabond backpacking Central America are deeply seeded in this inspiring story.



BLACK HEART, by Holly BlackComing 4/3/2012
Cassel Sharpe knows he's been used as an assassin, but he's trying to put all that behind him. He's trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He's trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he's trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he's been raised to believe the government is the enemy.

But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves about to take her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what's right and what's wrong becomes increasingly blurred. When the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what's a con and what's truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love.

ALL THESE LIVES, by Sarah WylieComing 6/5/2012
Sixteen-year-old Dani is convinced she has nine lives. As a child she twice walked away from situations where she should have died. But Dani's twin, Jena, isn't so lucky. She has cancer and might not even be able to keep her one life. Dani's father is in denial. Her mother is trying to hold it together and prove everything's normal. And Jena is wasting away. To cope, Dani sets out to rid herself of all her extra lives. Maybe they'll be released into the universe and someone who wants to live more than she does will get one. Someone like Jena. But just when Dani finds herself at the breaking point, she's faced with a startling realization. Maybe she doesn't have nine lives after all. Maybe she really only ever had one.



SURRENDER, by Elana Johnson
Coming 6/5/2012Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…

Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father's rules: He's the Director. It's because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine's got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can't. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi's boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine's father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She's even starting to suspect Vi's secrets might involve Freedom's newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque.... 
TIMEPIECE, by Myra McEntireComing 6/12/2012A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking... 
Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?
Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devestating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts


*Phew*--I think I just imploded with anticipation. 2012 is definitely going to be an amazing year in the book world. I can't wait!

And since I bet you guys are just as excited as I am (and are feeling a little overwhelmed by the whole: how will I be able to afford so many awesome books????) I've decided to help one of you out. I'm giving away a pre-order to one of these books, and the winner will get to pick which one they want!

To enter, make sure you follow my blog and leave a comment on this post by 11:59 pm PST on Saturday, December 31st (it's a quick contest this time because I feel like the winner should be drawn before we're officially in 2012). I'll post the winner on Sunday, Jan. 1st, 2012. And sorry international followers, but for these pre-order contests I have to limit them to US only. But I promise I'll have more contests for you next year!

For more fabulous book recommendations, check out what my fellow Bookanistas are talking about:


Megan Miranda marvels at UNDER THE NEVER SKYCorinne Jackson gushes over THE MATCHMAKER AND THE GHOSTStasia Ward Kehoe gets psyched for 2012