After lots of waiting and speculation, author of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling finally gave fans an insight into what the heck is Pottermore.

Check out the video below -

After watching the clip (twice), I still wasn’t exactly sure what Pottermore was, I just knew it’s gonna be HUGE and exciting! With a little help from the-leaky-cauldron.org, we know that Pottermore will be -

• Pottermore is an interactive new web site and reading experience with more than 18,000 new words from J.K. Rowling: Much more to come.
• JKR behind the scenes filming the video picture.
• An online experience to read, interact with and share the Harry Potter stories. Exclusive writing from J.K. Rowling and more.
• Pottermore will feature infromation J.K. Rowling has been “hoarding” for years about Harry Potter.
• Pottermore will be the exclusive place to purchase the digital audio books and, at last, eBooks of the Harry Potter series.
• Pottermore was developed in association with the leading digital company, TH_NK
• Pottermore was also created in partnership with Sony
• One million fans will get access to a beta on July 31, Harry’s birthday. It will be open for all in October 2011.
• The launch of Pottermore will have more than 18,000 words from J.K. Rowling, but that is only a third of what she has written so far.
• J.K. Rowling said this morning that there is a lot more content to come for the Pottermore site, and she will develop it as it grows.

• You will follow the story, get sorted into a house and get a wand (one of 33,000 possible combinations) – all crafted by JKR.
• JKR is excited to include a long backstory on McGonagall – her childhood, ministry career, early heartbreak…
• JKR said if you’re not sorted into Gryffindor you get even more exclusive content about your house.
• Chamber of Secrets story to debut in 2012.
• There will be info on Minerva McGonagall’s long friendship with Dumbledore
• Also mentioned that Vernon and Petunia met at work, backstory also on Pottermore.

So so so exciting! You can head on over to www.pottermore.com to sign up to receive an email when registration opens for Pottermore on July 31. One million lucky fans will get to try the site out first while the rest of us will have to wait October.

the-leaky-cauldron.org are constantly updating their page as more news comes in, so head on over for all the latest.

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren, inspired by Alea and explores the contents of our mailbox on a weekly basis.

For Review:

Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel by Michael Gerard Bauer
Jessie Hearts NYC by Keris Stainton
Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur

Eight Keys sounds  particularly interesting, I’m definitely looking forward to checking that out.

We’re at the halfway point of the year but 2011′s big releases are only just getting started. Bloodlines, Crossed, Lola and the Boy Next Door, Clockwork Prince and Forever to name just a few are still waiting for release. What are you most looking forward to?

Happy Reading!

You should never judge a book by its cover.

Sure….but they never said we couldn’t admire them. Cover of the Week pays homage to the beautiful and eye catching graphics that grace the covers of our young adult titles.

This week’s cover of the week goes to Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date: October 2011

“17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with a table, pens and paper – and no clue how she got here.

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here? ”

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It goes without saying that waking up in a completely white room with just a table, pens and paper isn’t an everyday occurrence in Grace’s life. The only person she has contact with is Ethan, who brings her her meals and is keeping her prisoner. But if she’s been kidnapped why is he so nice yet infuriatingly cryptic? And what the heck is she doing there to begin with? The answer is there but it’s not till Grace starts putting her story to paper that she sees the truth.

When I first read the blurb for Entangled I was totally intrigued. A girl in a white room and she doesn’t know how or why? Tell me more! That plus a killer cover and plenty of positive reviews, I was very eager to get my hands on a copy. By the end of the story, I wish I didn’t get sucked into the trap of pretty covers.

Now, there are plenty of people who will disagree with me since Goodreads has page after page of glowing reviews, but I just wasn’t feeling it.

Grace is not the type of girl I’d ever be friends with. She’s the type I would’ve shied away from in school since her lifestyle is something I was always taught was not the way good girls should act. I might not always like the main character or what they do but a good story can make me forget that, Entangled just didn’t quite deliver for me.

Is it petty to dislike a character because she drinks like a sailor? Every few pages Grace was doing something that involved alcohol and usually plenty of it. Whether it was meeting up with a friend (usually at a bar or pub), hanging out at home or attempting suicide, alcohol was there and it just started to seem excessive in the story. Plus at only seventeen she seems to have had more than her fair share of casual sex, it’s not till Nat comes along that she sleeps with someone she actually cares about.

Grace has some personal issues as well. Since her father’s death, her relationship with her mother has been distant and strained. Rather than deal with her feelings on both issues she turns to self harming for release. At first you feel sympathy for how she must be feeling and that she doesn’t have someone to really help her deal with her problems (most try to just make her stop rather than address why she does it to begin with), but when you see Grace more or less emotionally blackmail people not to abandon her or she’ll harm herself you see that Grace has taken things one step too far.

The alternating perspective of the story from the present to the past was well done and flowed without a hitch but the major plot point was kind of predictable. It wasn’t completely obvious and at one point I thought maybe I was wrong, but in the end, it turned out exactly as I thought which was a shame. The story ends on a hopeful note but still leaves a few things hanging which left me wondering how things would’ve played out and generally a bit unsatisfied, especially about who exactly Ethan was.

Entangled had a lot of potential and deals with some heavy issues but I don’t feel it handled them as well as it could have. I wanted to like Grace or at least be able to sympathize with her, but in the end I just couldn’t find a reason to like her. The only character I liked in the end was Devon. For many Entangled was a hit, for me it’s a miss.

Pages: 375
Publication Date: January 2011
Publisher: Pan Macmillan/Quercus
Challenge: Debut Author
Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “The same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?”

When Hollywood is looking for the next big thing, they often turn to the world of literature for inspiration.

With so many of our favorite YA book titles leaving their prized places on our bookshelves for a stint on the silver screen, it can be hard to keep track of them all.

Here’s the latest news from Hollywood, from the big screen, to your screen.

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The Hunger Games

The big news the past few weeks has been centered around the adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.

So far, the big three have been already been cast – Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth as Gale.

The newest castmates to be signed up are -

Lenny Kravitz as Cinna

Donald Sutherland as President Snow

Stanely Tucci as Caesar Flickerman

Just about every member including thr tributes have now been cast, for a full cast list check out the movie’s IMDB page here. The film has been given a release date for March 23 2012 for the U.S., U.K. and Canada so far. There’s been talk of the series being split into four movies rather than three (one for each book) but that’s currently unconfirmed.

Our first look at Jennifer as Katniss was revealed on the cover of the May issue of Entertainment Weekly, exciting!

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The Mortal Instruments

The other adaptation that seems to be picking up the pace is Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments with the much awaited announcement of Jamie Campbell Bower (Harry Potter, New Moon) as Jace Wayland.

Cassandra Clare spoke with MTV’s Hollywood Crush about the casting choice -

“He auditioned with Lily, and he and Lily had incredible chemistry that sort of blazed off the scene. I’m just sitting here watching this on my computer, and you know, he was not the only person they’ve ever sent me to look at. I’ve gotten lots of headshots and this and that, and I’m watching the audition and I literally started crying because that was my Jace and Clary on the screen. And it’s an incredible feeling to see that even as an audition. This is amazing. He was snarky funny where he needed to be snarky funny, and he was badass where he needed to be badass. And he and Lily were incredible together.”

To read more from that interview click here.

The search is now on to find the perfect Simon…

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Breaking Dawn

The first trailer for the newest addition to the Twilight franchise – The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 premiered at the MTV movie awards a few weeks ago and looks very exciting! Who doesn’t love a wedding? (Well, Jacob I guess)

If you haven’t already seen it, check it out here

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Early days….

- Saorise Ronan has been cast as Melanie/Wanda in Stephenie Meyer’s The Host
- The company in charge of the Vampire Academy movie is still in the process of finding a studio
- Evan Daugherty has been hired to write the screenplay for Veronica Roth’s Divergent

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That’s all the movie news for the moment!