Praise for the Switched at First Kiss
Series
“Staniszewski
works tween humor very well, and if this is any indication, readers are in for
a wild and hilarious ride from upcoming installments in the Switched at First
Kiss series.”
—Booklist
on I’m With Cupid
“As
always, Staniszewski provides a deft mix of comedy and sensitive, deeper
themes, making her book not only entertaining, but one that offers wisdom. She
knows where to mine the humor from middle school life but does not sacrifice
her characterizations for easy laughs. Light—but not lightweight—fun for
preteens.” —Kirkus Reviews on I’m With
Cupid
“A
cute and mild love story with a dash of supernatural charm that dives a little
deeper with its exploration of death and love.” —School Library Journal on I’m With Cupid
About
the Book
Marcus is a Cupid. Lena is a Reaper. Opposites
attract in book 2 of the adorkable Switched At First Kiss series by the
acclaimed author of The Dirt Diary.
Lena’s not ready for any more supernatural
surprises. Her new boyfriend, Marcus, is a cupid. She’s a soul collector
(“reaper” just sound so harsh). And they just got their powers un-swapped. But
things aren’t as back to “normal” as they seem…
On his next assignment, Marcus’s “love boost” is a
little too powerful. (Baby talk is so annoying.) And Lena’s soul sort
of…escapes. The cause? Lena and Marcus’s powers are still intertwined! Their
emotions are affecting each other’s power. So, basically the fate of the world
depends on them getting along in their brand new romance. (Okay, just love and
death, but still.)
No pressure, right?
Buy the Book
About
the Author
Anna Staniszewski lives outside of
Boston with her husband and an adorably crazy dog. She was named the Boston
Public Library's 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence and a winner of the 2009 PEN New
England Discovery Award. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching,
reading, and not cleaning her house. Visit her at www.annastan.com.
Connect
with Anna Staniszewski
Excerpt
Focus, he told himself
again. Then he grabbed Peter’s hand and shook it.
The energy left Marcus’s fingers and
shot into Peter’s so fast that Marcus stumbled back. When the energy was gone,
relief washed over him. The first moments after an assignment were always
exhausting and satisfying at the same time.
Meanwhile, a dazed look swept over
Peter’s face as if he’d been bopped in the head with a frying pan. Then he
turned and smiled blearily at a tall, skinny girl who was walking toward him.
Her face was streaked with so much makeup that she kind of looked like an
Easter egg. She was definitely not Marcus’s type, but if she and Peter were a
match, that was all that mattered.
“Hey, I’m Peter!” he called out to
the girl.
Her entire face lit up. “I’m
Claire!”
Marcus watched with satisfaction as
a yellow aura bloomed around the couple and sparks started to swirl between
them, little bits of light that only he could see.
Then something changed. The yellow
aura grew even brighter, almost neon, and one by one, the sparks flared until
they were nearly blinding. They started bouncing around so furiously, Marcus
thought they might shoot through the ceiling.
He expected Peter and Claire to
break eye contact after a minute and start chatting and laughing like he’d seen
all his other matches do, but they simply stood there and dreamily peered into
each other’s eyes. Their gazes were so intense, it was almost scary. He wasn’t
sure Claire was even breathing.
“Um, guys?” Marcus finally said.
Nothing. He took a hesitant step forward and snapped his fingers in front of
their faces. Finally, they both blinked and took a step away from each other.
“Can I buy you some fries?” Peter
asked, holding out his hand.
Claire nodded eagerly and thrust her
hand in his. “And a milk shake!” They skipped—actually skipped!—away, a shower
of sparks shooting around them like fireworks. As they turned toward the
concession stand, Peter leaped into the air and joyfully clicked his heels
together like a cartoon character.
Marcus stared after them in
disbelief. He’d done almost a dozen matches, and none had ever gone like this.
Uh-oh. Were his powers still messed up after he and Lena had swapped abilities
a few weeks ago? Eddie had said everything was back to normal, but what if he
was wrong?
Marcus made himself take a deep
breath. He was being paranoid. The four matches he’d done since the whole
power-swapping fiasco had all gone fine. Besides, even though the connection
between Peter and Claire seemed unusually intense, the two were clearly happy.
That was all that mattered. His boss had told him that his powers would
eventually grow stronger. Maybe it had come sooner than expected, that’s all.
“Are you okay?” Lena asked, coming
up beside him.
“Yeah, I’m great.” No need to share
his paranoia with her. Still, he couldn’t help asking: “Do your soul-collecting
assignments ever go a little too
well?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Like, your energy shoots out and
the soul gets sent to the After faster than it should? Maybe things seem a
little more intense than normal?”
Lena shook her head and glanced
around as if to make sure no one was listening. “But soul collecting is
different,” she said softly. “There’s not much wiggle room with life and death.
Love is…less strict.”
“Love has just as many rules as
death does,” Marcus said. Lena had finally warmed up to the idea that love
wasn’t merely chemicals tricking you into feeling things, but she still wasn’t
comfortable with the whole idea of love matches and soulmates.
“Oh boy,” Lena said, rolling her
eyes. “We’re definitely not having this argument again!” She laughed. “Come on.
It’s your turn to bowl. I put the perfect bowling name for you up on the
scoreboard.”
“Spare Diaper?” Marcus guessed.
Lena grinned. “Lovestruck.”
He grinned back, taking her hand in
his. “Perfect.”
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This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LIVE TO READ
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