YA Scavenger Hunt (Gold Team) & Giveaway!

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt!

This is my second time hosting YASH, and I'm super excited to be a part of it again! This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize—one lucky winner will receive one book from each author on my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 120 hours!

But first, I want to take a moment to introduce myself! I'm Kristin Smith, your hostess for this leg of the hunt. I'm the author of the bestselling YA novel CATALYST and its sequel, FORGOTTEN. Be sure to enter my Giveaway at the very end of the post!!

ABOUT ME:

I love fall.

My favorite colors are sky blue and pink.

My favorite scenes to write are kissing scenes.

I'm the mother of 5 boys (my house is loud and crazy).

I'm a big fan of Karaoke and Just Dance.

I may or may not have a stash of chocolate in my nightstand.

I usually write on my bed.

Now back to the Hunt!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are SIX contests
going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am part of the GOLD TEAM—but there is also a red team, a blue team, a green team, a pink team, and a purple team for a chance to win a whole different set of books!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Below, you'll notice I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the gold team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!). 

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by Sunday, April 8th at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Today, I am hosting Darren Groth for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

Darren is the author of six novels, including the acclaimed YA novels Are You Seeing Me? and Munro vs. the Coyote. He was the winner of the 2016 Adelaide Festival Award for Young Adult Literature and has been a finalist in numerous other prestigious prizes including the CBCA Book of the Year (Australia), the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards (Australia), the Governor General’s Literary Awards (Canada) and the Sakura Medal (Japan). For fun, he watches Game of Thrones with his beautiful Canadian wife and eats Fatburger with his wondrous sixteen-year-old twins.

You can find Darren at the links below:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

About the Book:

Sixteen year old Munro Maddux goes on a student exchange to Australia in an attempt to heal from the sudden death of his younger, Down Syndrome sister.

Buy the Book:

Barnes and Noble
Amazon

**EXCLUSIVE BONUS MATERIAL**

DELETED SCENE FROM MUNRO VS. THE COYOTE:

I imagine Caro helping to save us.

She sits on her living room couch, eyes glued to the news coverage. Tissue in her hand. Rock in her stomach. She shouldn’t feel guilty, but she does. Why did I leave? she thinks. I should be there.

Then she’s running out the front door of her rented house, down the steps two at a time, along the short driveway to the family van. She gets in and starts the engine. A small girl and an old woman appear in the doorway. They watch as Caro reverses onto the street. I know the old woman is the neighbor from the house on stilts that has a big tree with white flowers in the backyard. The small girl is Caro’s youngest sister. Neither waves as the van drives away. Caro doesn’t beep the horn.

She drives fast, ignoring all the road rules she learned for her test. She goes on the shoulder when the traffic is slow, doesn’t indicate when changing lanes, goes through the intersection with STOP signs.

“God, don’t let there be any cops,” she says.

If the police are around, she’ll lose her Learner’s licence. She’ll be banned from ever driving again. There aren’t any police. They’re all at the ‘Fair Go Standoff’ as the news reporters are calling it. She’ll get to the scene okay.

Her phone, lying on the passenger seat, starts up an Aussie song, “Playing With Fire.” It’s the ringtone for her texts. This is the eighth text she’s received in the last fifteen minutes. The first one prompted her to run.

Into a tunnel, onto the highway, dekeing and jigging. Past a construction zone and a worker yelling at her to slow down. Over the train tracks with a thump that makes the van bounce up and down like a teeter–totter. I see the scar on her leg. Climbing into the van, it was dull and grey; here, away from the house, speeding toward the scene, it glows with the power of a torchlight. Caro knows bad guys like Wedge, knows what they can do.

She screeches to a stop near the Fair Go entrance, where the police have set up a roadblock. Before the nearest officer can tell her to go away – and maybe take her licence – she’s talking, telling him to let her in. There’s a shake of the head, an open door. An order to leave. Now she’s shouting, almost to the point of crying. But she doesn’t give up. This isn’t the first time Caroline Wakefield has had to make the police listen, make them understand. She shows the officer the texts. He reads them and, for a second, he’s frozen like the Rideau Canal in winter. Another shout shatters the ice and now, at last, the two of them are running. Down the long driveway of Fair Go Community Village. Through the crowds and past the barricades. Dodging the police cars that are spread all around like a Hot Wheels collection waiting for their turn on the track.

There’s huge interest in the sudden arrival of the policeman and the young girl holding a phone. Strangers in the crowd lean toward each other and talk out of the sides of their mouths. Sussex students take photos and record video. The news reporters press their fingers against their ears. Everyone guesses at what’s going on, but only one person knows.

Kelvin Yow.

He watches Caro being led toward the officer in charge. He remembers the times she visited Fair Go. He liked her. He knows that the residents, the ones inside House 4, liked her, too. He recalls they exchanged numbers, promised to keep in touch. Kelvin Yow breathes deeply. He lifts his chin. He feels a sense of hope. It grows as the texts are shown to the cop, the one holding the speaker, the one in charge of the rescue.

Yes, I imagine Caro helping to save us.

And it might be more than just my imagination.

****

AHHH, wasn't that SO GOOD?? Makes you want to read more, right?

And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a bundle of awesome books by all of the authors on the gold team! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 12. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the gold team and you'll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

GIVEAWAY!!

But before you go, be sure to enter my individual Giveaway for a chance to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card and some awesome Swag! (Swag Pack is for US residents only. International winners will receive Amazon gift card only.)

Prizes include: Customized key chain, magnet, bookmarks, and reversible quote card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To continue the hunt, you need to check out the next author—JENNIFER DIGIOVANNI! Click on her name to be redirected to her website.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!