Bookapalooza Scavenger Hunt w/ Making the Grade!

The Bookapalooza Scavenger Hunt Has Begun!

Making the Grade is Celebrating One Year of Blogging! And to add to that celebration, Bookapalooza has been created in order to share our love of reading with all of you - and win great prizes while you're at it. To see all that Bookapalooza has in store for you, visit Making the Grade.

There have been a lot of good things that have come into my life since I started blogging. I've met some wonderful new friends and authors, I get to talk to people I admire on a regular basis, I've been introduced to so many books and genres I might never have read before, and I get to share all of that right here on the blog. Of all of the worlds I've been given the opportunity to step into, there is one author whose books consistently make me smile and her next release date is never soon enough. So I just wanted to say thank you to her, however shallow my thanks may be.

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An Open Letter to Miranda Kenneally:

First, I would like to say thank you, for making it possible for me to enjoy sports without actually having to participate in them. This may seem like a small thing and pretty unimportant in the grand scheme of the world, but I promise you, for me it is epic. Let me explain. I loathe running, I’m not a fan of grass ( I know, it’s weird), sweaty people seriously gross me out (including when I’m the sweaty person), and I am mildly offended by the blatant overuse of high five amongst athletes. Knowing all of that, most would assume that I would never pick up a novel about a girl athlete, but I like to keep people guessing. Jordan and Parker’s stories almost made me want to join the team and thanks to you, I have two new fictional best friends.

Mostly, though, I would like to thank you for the boys. Has anyone ever told you that you have mastered the art of writing the swoony teenaged boy? I’m sure they have, but I’d like to tell you again. You have definitely mastered the art. I’m most definitely too old be swooning over all of these wonderful boys you’ve put before me, but I really don’t care. I’ll take the Sams and Wills of the literary world any day. Book boyfriends are not hard to come by these days, but book boyfriends that are so realistically portrayed are definitely not a dime a dozen. And one thing that definitely makes a book better is when an awesome, well-drawn female heroine has an equally awesome and well-drawn male lead. So thank you for them and I look forward to meeting Matt, whom I will be introducing myself to very soon. Coincidentally, I have a history with boys named Matt, so he might just be my favorite yet.

Lastly, I just wanted to thank you for all of the sleep I’ve lost staying up to read your books and for all of the ways that you totally rock my bookshelves. As long as you keep writing books, I promise to keep reading them!

Sincerely,

Sarah

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Wanna know more? Complete the Bookapalooza! Scavenger Hunt and you, too, can delve into the life of a book blogger.

Complete the hunt to win great prizes!

By completing the Hunt you will uncover a 9-word phrase that can earn you up to 35 bonus entries in the two EPIC giveaways being offered as part of Bookapalooza! (Giveaways are listed below.)

"But how do I complete the Bookapalooza! Scavenger Hunt?"

Nine blogs are listed below - each with their own unique post that includes a Secret Word you will use to complete a special bookish phrase. The completed phrase will allow you to earn 35 bonus entries in the two giveaways also listed below. In addition, each blog will likely be offering a giveaway of their very own!

Instructions:

• Visit each blog below in the order that they are listed. Read their unique posted created just for you!
• Keep an eye out for a Secret Word highlighted in BOLD RED somewhere within each post.
• Continue to visit each blog in order until you have collected all nine Secret Words.
• When put together, the nine Secret Words will build a special bookish phrase.
• Enter the completed phrase into the two Rafflecopter forms located below for 25 bonus entries!
• Name the author or book from which the phrase is taken to earn an additional 10 bonus entries!
• Be sure to check out the giveaways offered by each blog on the Hunt for more great prizes!

Got that? Good! Then Let's Go Hunting!

A Big Box of Bookish Fun!

As a THANK YOU to the followers of my blog, I will be offering a giveaway of EPIC proportions: Ten books hand-selected by me, a SIGNED Beautiful Creatures movie poster + plus a plethora of awesome (most are signed!) swag. One winner takes all! Open to US/Canada only, to entrants aged 13 and older.

What's included?

SIGNED Beautiful Creatures Movie Poster (not framed) The Diviners by Libba Bray (Hardcover) Origin by Jessica Khoury (Hardcover) Dust Lands: Rebel Heart by Miora Young (Hardcover) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (UK Paperback Edition) An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (Paperback) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (Rare Slipcase + Arc) Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (ARC) Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi (ARC) Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons (ARC) Everbound by Brodi Ashton (ARC) Beautiful Creature Swag (Shirt, Lip Gloss and Phone Cleaners) Bookmarks and Stickers (Most are signed!) Dust Lands Water Bottle

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Signed Books by the Dozen!

Twelve fantastic authors. Twelve amazing signed books. Starting tomorrow, January 2nd, I will be unveiling the first author taking part in an EPIC signed book giveaway! One author will be revealed every 2-3 days until all twelve authors and all twelve signed books are revealed by the end of the month. PLUS! Each author will share their own Appreciation Stories here on the blog as part of Bookapalooza! One winner will receive all twelve signed books! Open to US/Canada only, to entrants aged 13 and older.

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Head on over to Fic Fare to check out the next stop on the scavenger hunt and find the second secret word :0)