I Am The Reader (+ Giveaway)

I've been looking forward to checking out The Reader since I first heard of it (and snagged it!) at ALA Midwinter in Boston. It sounds like a story that's right up my alley, and I am super excited to (hopefully) read it this week! I'm also really psyched that I've partnered with Penguin Random House to host a giveaway for it today. But before I get into the giveaway details, let me share a few thoughts in answer to the following question:

Sefia's clue to finding her lost family lies in a book. How have you found a family through books and/or through being a part of the online book community?

If it's possible to consider fictional characters a part of your family (or yourself a part of their family), then I would certainly say that I've discovered family through reading. It comes with the characters I most feel a kinship to, and identify with; it comes with the ones I care deeply for, who I'm emotionally invested in. They stay with me, always, and it's all too easy to summon them out of my thoughts and to think about what they might be doing or what they've been through.

In real life, what I love about being a bookworm is that I'm immediately a part of a group that celebrates the written word and stories. Just having a passionate love for books immediately connects me to people in real life - bookstore employees (especially in indies!), librarians, book club friends, family members who love to read - and gives me a special zone with them, where we can chat with full enthusiasm about the books and stories we love. It's a really welcoming familiarity, and I fully embrace that when given the opportunity.

But admittedly, discovering the online book community was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I've connected with many individuals all over the globe, due to a love of the same books or same genres. And out of some of the connections, I've formed really close friendships - that transcend just discussing what we've read lately. I honestly couldn't imagine my life without the best friends I made through this community; they're really important, special parts of my life.

So yes, I'd like to think I've found family through reading and through blogging.

The Reader by Traci Chee
Series: Sea of Ink and Gold #1
Publisher: Putnam
Publication Date: September 13, 2016
Read an excerpt of the first two chapters here!

A stunning debut set in a world where reading is unheard-of, perfect for fans of Inkheart and Shadow and Bone.

Sefia knows what it means to survive. After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal. But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin’s been taken, or if she’s even alive. The only clue to both her aunt’s disappearance and her father’s murder is the odd rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book—a marvelous item unheard of in her otherwise illiterate society. With the help of this book, and the aid of a mysterious stranger with dark secrets of his own, Sefia sets out to rescue her aunt and find out what really happened the day her father was killed—and punish the people responsible.

With overlapping stories of swashbuckling pirates and merciless assassins, The Reader is a brilliantly told adventure from an extraordinary new talent.

Traci Chee is an author of speculative fiction for teens. An all-around word geek, she loves book arts and art books, poetry and paper crafts, though she also dabbles at piano playing, egg painting, and hosting potluck game nights for family and friends. She studied literature and creative writing at UC Santa Cruz and earned a master of arts degree from San Francisco State University. Traci grew up in a small town with more cows than people, and now feels most at home in the mountains, scaling switchbacks and happening upon hidden highland lakes. She lives in California with her fast-fast dog. The Reader is her YA debut. (Follow @TraciChee on Twitter!)

ONE (1) WINNER WILL RECEIVE:

- a copy of The Reader

- a branded  "I Am the Reader" tote bag

Giveaway is open to US addresses only.

Prizing and sample provided by Penguin Random House

a Rafflecopter giveaway