Friday, February 8, 2013

A Graveyard Butterfly: Salvation Teaser Tour Stop 8

To read the Prologue, go to Pure Imagination.
To read Chapter 1--Scene 1, go to Always YA at Heart.
To read Chapter 1--Scene 2, go to Books that Bite. 
To read Chapter 1--Scene 3, go to Live to Read.
To read Chapter 1--Scene 4 pt. 1, go to The Bookish Babe. 
To read Chapter 1--Scene 4 pt. 2, go to Confessions of a Vi3tBabe.
To read Chapter 2--Scene 1 pt. 1, go to The Reading Date.

Chapter 2: A Graveyard Butterfly--Scene 2
Beth smiled as she reached the graveyard. “Morbid,” her mother would have said about her daughter’s desire to visit the cemetery, but Beth kicked off her sandals and waded through the fresh-cut grass. The cool strands tickled her ankles and the sweet scent of late roses clung to the air. Pale yellow, blue, and pink tombstones scattered the green in a pastel palate.

A squirrel rushed across the grass and scurried up an old oak tree, the fluffy gray tail disappearing among the branches. Beth approached, watching to see if it would emerge again, but when it did not, she swung off her backpack and slid to the ground beneath the tree’s outstretched shadow. And beside the slender pink stone with the name Gloria May Courant etched in the center.

“Hello, Grandma,” said Beth. “I’m sorry I’m late.” She explained about Nalani’s meeting. “You know she always has something happening. I’m sure you aren’t surprised.” It felt right to be here. Grandma had always expected Beth to share about the first day of school, a ritual that Beth hadn’t wanted to stop now.

“It was a pretty good day,” Beth went on, “for the first, you know. I’m not sure I’ll survive trigonometry; but I thought the same thing about algebra II, and it turned out all right. All the answers are still in the back of the book, so I’ll know when to ask Nalani for help.” She knew Grandma would remind her that Beth’s final math scores had outpaced Ni’s all the way through school. But grades, and confidence in math, were two different things.

A robin hopped down onto the grass about twenty feet from the pink tombstone. Beth stopped talking so that she wouldn’t frighten him. He pecked his way closer, hopping four or five inches at a time and up onto the mound of turned earth. The grass there had not quite grown in yet. The robin preened, raising his chest and showing off, then disappeared in a sudden rush of wings.

Beth’s head swam with the questions her grandmother had always asked. Do you like your teachers? Did you make any new friends? Were you on time for everything?

Obediently, Beth answered the questions, though she skimmed through her problems with being late. She told herself the aversion had nothing to do with crashing into Salva Resendez . . .

To  read the rest, join Salva, Beth, and I at I am a Reader, Not a Writer. And after that, my fabulous tourists, I'm afraid you shall simply have to splurge and read the book! Thank you so much for joining us on our tour! Salva, Beth, and I have read every comment at each and every tour stop. We genuinely appreciate the support:)


Copyright @ 2013 by Anne Osterlund. Used by permission of Speak, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All rights reserved.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Beth: Salvation Tour Stop 7

To read the Prologue, go to Pure Imagination.  
To read Chapter 1--Scene 1, go to Always YA at Heart.  
To read Chapter 1--Scene 2, go to Books that Bite.
To read Chapter 1--Scene 3, go to Live to Read
To read Chapter 1--Scene 4 pt. 1, go to The Bookish Babe.
To read Chapter 1--Scene 4 pt. 2, go to Confessions of a Vi3tBabe.

Chapter 2: A Graveyard Butterfly--Scene 1
 
Beth savored the silence of the emptied-out school hallway that afternoon and devoured the final pages of Wuthering Heights. She could no longer feel the oppressive late summer heat or the hard metal of the locker at her back. Gone were the crumpled papers, broken pencils, and discarded candy wrappers on the tiled floor. She was on the cold English moors with the wind blowing around her and the whistle of death in the air.

A trio of voices suddenly invaded the end of the hall. Beth rushed through the last page. A banging locker emphasized the drama of the final line, and she looked up,  just in time to see El Perfecto sprinting past, no doubt in a rush to get to football practice. 

Apparently, tardiness was a new thing for him.

Nalani came up at a much more relaxed pace, her pink canvas book bag slung over one shoulder.

“So what was the meeting about?” Beth asked her best friend.

“Who knows?” Nalani’s eyes shone as she rolled them. She glanced over her shoulder, then lowered her voice. “Just Markham on a power trip. I’ll tell you on the walk home.”

Beth stuffed Wuthering Heights back into her locker, not wanting to lose the book again and owe a fine to the library as she had back in June. Then she gathered her supplies and hefted her backpack.

Nalani was already halfway to the back exit, which led, naturally, to the football field. Beth hurried after her. 

The team had stretched out in lines, five rows of testosterone-filled tight pants and loose jerseys hopping up and down in jumping jacks. The compact blond with the number 12 plastered on his front wasted no time sending Nalani a wave, even though he was leading the entire team—minus El Perfecto, who must not have made it out of the locker room yet—in the warm-ups. The team mimicked the wave.


To read the rest, join Salva, Beth, and I at The Reading Date for the 6th stop in our Salvation Teaser Tour.
 
Copyright @ 2013 by Anne Osterlund. Used by permission of Speak, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All rights reserved.
 

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

An Ethical Dilemma: Salvation Teaser Tour Stop 6

To read the Prologue, go to Pure Imagination
To read Chapter 1--Scene 1, go to Always YA at Heart
To read Chapter 1--Scene 2, go to Books that Bite
To read Chapter 1--Scene 3, go to Live to Read.
To read Chapter 1--Scene 4 pt. 1, go to The Bookish Babe

Chapter 1: Collision--Scene 4 pt. 2

She wasn’t alone either.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Tosa greeted the long-legged blonde at Char’s side. He grinned as if he was joking, but no one was fooled.

“Hi, sweetheart.” Linette flipped her golden hair over one shoulder, propped herself on the outside of the bench, and leaned her hip against Tosa’s waist. Whether or not she was joking was harder to tell.

Char, whose tight shirt and tighter jeans battled with the dress code, stood waiting next to Salva, despite the fact that there was no space beside him on the bench.

He hated that—how she’d just stand there waiting for him to read her mind whenever she wanted something.

Pepe moved over, and Salva reminded himself to give his best friend a lecture on loyalty. Char slid in between them.

“Listen, guys.” Linette set her chin on Tosa’s shoulder. “My parents are water-skiing this weekend. You wanna come over while they’re gone for a little back-to-school action?” She popped her tropical-orange lips. “Saturday ’bout two?”

“I’m working,” Salva said. Scut every weekend at the onion-processing plant. His father’s idea.

“Ah, man!” Pepe frowned. “You’re not serious.”

Salva shrugged. Sorting onions wasn’t his view of a career path, but whatever. His older brother and sister had done their part to pay his way, so Salva owed it to his two younger sisters to do the same. Plus, he could work around his football schedule.

“Can’t you talk your way out of it?” Linette asked.

Char’s fingers brushed his arm.

“No,” he replied.

The fingers retreated, slightly.

To read the rest, join Salva, Beth, and I at Confessions of a Vi3tBabe for the sixth stop in our Salvation Teaser Tour.

Copyright @ 2013 by Anne Osterlund. Used by permission of Speak, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All rights reserved.