Today’s the day people!  The day that I announce who the winner of the beautiful box set of The Hunger Games Trilogy you see pictured above.  There were an amazing 2,719 entries after I removed all of the duplicates. Really, y’all that’s amazing!  Thank you so much for visiting and participating, it’s been a very gratifying experience.

Drumroll please…..

The winner is:

Hallie Gray

A few things to keep in mind:

1. Hallie has 48 hours to contact me via email with shipping information to claim the prize.
2. The email claiming the prize must come from the email address the winner provided as part of the giveaway entry.
3. Should I not hear from Hallie in that time period I will select an alternate.
4. If Hallie’s happens to live Internationally her claim on the prize will be forfeit and I will select an alternate winner.
5. This prize will be sent directly from the publicity firm Scholastic has charged with putting this tour and giveaway together. As a result it will not ship immediately but rather at some time after the August 24th release date.
6. Once the prize ships I will forward tracking information to the winner so they are able to follow it’s journey.

Congratulations Hallie, you’re getting your hands on an amazing prize! I hope you enjoy them.

Happy 13 District Tour kick-off day!!

Welcome, my potential future tributes. I’m Michelle and I’ll be your hostess here in District One.  I offer to you some of our high-end luxury items — but, please, do keep that a secret, I’d prefer President Snow not relegate me to the life of an Avox.

As your guide today I’ll be talking to you about who could have been the winner of The 74th Annual Hunger Games.  I mean really, tthat silly little girl Katniss with all her heart and soul shouldn’t have beat my lovely Career tributes.  Don’t even get me started about her faithful true love Peeta.  Two?  TWO winners?

Pffft.

So, who should have been top contenders for ultimate prize of life?  I’ll tell you who!

Cato
Beefcake reigns supreme y’all!

Part of the Career group of tributes this hefty dude had some serious hatred going on.  More than that, the boy had the hardcore brute strength to back it up.  Let’s not even discuss the fact that he had venom enough to spew at all the tributes and then some.  The boy should have had a death grip on this game.  Alas, despite pointing his destructive and unrestrained nature at anyone and anything that was going to get in the way of his winning AND maintaining a bloody reign over the game, the poor boy fell short.

Surprisingly, however, he was wise in managing his alliances and showed genuine caring for his District-mate when she fell at the hands of Thresh.  How he lost is completely beyond me.

Thresh
Be still my beating heart, the boy has a heart to go along with his killing nature!  I’m not sure I understand how it’s possible that he didn’t walk away from The Arena to the cheers and adulation of the Capitol crowd.

Isolation and strategy was the name of the game for this District 11 tribute. Why?  Because when he chose to avoid alliances his single solitary self removed the potential for invasive manipulation.  Add in the fact that he always had a plan (for the most part) and he should have been the golden boy.  Already fearsome and widely respected for his strength (both physical and mental) he should have maintained a total command of The Games to the bitter end.

Then….yes then…. you add in his occasional demonstration of loyalty and kindness and voila a winner.

Rue
Who doesn’t love an underdog?

Not me, that’s for sure.  I knew from the jump that I was going to love the bird-like girl who could float undetected through the trees.  It was like she had her very own set of wings.  Heck, she should have been able to soar right down into that winner’s circle.

If only it weren’t for that pesky stabbing Marvel inflicted.  Damn him!

Anywho, her advantages were quite abundant.  With stealth-like movement, small stature, youngest in age, and general good naturedness District 11′s little sweetheart should have made it to the end on those qualities alone.  Add in to the mix her fierce protector Thresh and a rock solid alliance with Katniss and the girl was in it to win it with very few problems.

There were any number of other tributes who had either the physical strength or mental capacity to be the winner of The Games.  Some even had both, in abundance I might add.  But, in the end it was our fair Katniss and Peeta that prevailed.

<whispers>

snaps for Team Peeta

</whispers>

But what if they hadn’t?  Who would you choose?

—-

Now, let’s talk cool prizes shall we?

The folks at Scholastic have been kind enough to provide me with a fabulously awesome box set of The Hunger Games Trilogy to share with one lucky winner.  Even better?  It’s signed by Suzanne Collins!

**pets**  isn’t it pretty?  >>>>

Dude, believe me if there was any way for me to rig this giveaway to keep it for myself you gotta believe that I’d be working that angle post haste.  Sadly, I’m not that nefarious so I’m opening things up for you all.

Who: US Residents only please
When: August 2nd – August 16th (closes at midnight PST)
What: One Hunger Games Trilogy Box Set SIGNED by Suzanne Collins
Where: Enter by filling out this MOCKINGJAY GIVEAWAY ENTRY FORM

Please note:

1. Responses in the comments do NOT enter you into the giveaway, only completion of the above form.
2. One entry per person, if you submit more than once your additional entries will be deleted.
3. One winner will be notified via a post on this blog of their prize, should that winner not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be selected.

** This giveaway is sponsored by the author’s publicity representative and will ship directly from their location at their expense.

—

You all may already be aware, but this post comes to you as part of the super-fabulous Mockingjay 13 District Blog Tour.  Each stop will have it’s own unique editorial content and giveaway prize.  I strongly encourage you to stop by stop number two at Sci Fi Guy who will post on August 4th.

As if following along on the tour isn’t going to be enough, you can also find loads of awesome stuff over on The Official Hunger Games Facebook Page.  I strongly encourage you to check them both out!

I’m super excited to be bringing the awesomeness that is Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver and Linger to one very lucky winner.

Tracee Gleichner

Tracee, you have 48 hours to contact me via email with your shipping information to claim their prize. Should I not hear from you in that time period I will select an alternate. Congratulations, you’re getting your hands on two tremendously awesome books!  I hope you enjoy them.

It’s time for me to announce the lucky winner who will receive a copy of Martin Chatterton’s The Brain Full of Holes.

Sue Mickelson

Sue, you have 48 hours to contact me via email with your shipping information to claim their prize. Should I not hear from you in that time period I will select an alternate. Congratulations, you’re getting your hands on a fabulous book!

As described by Scholastic Press:

Shiver:

“The cold.  Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house.  On yellow-eyed wolf — her wolf — watches back.  He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn’t know why.

The heat.  Sam has lived two lives.  As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the frill he loves.  And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace…until now.

The shiver.  For Grace and Same, love has always been kept at a distance.  But once it’s spoken, it cannot be denied.  Same must fight to stay human — and Grace must fight to keep him — even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.“

Linger:

“The longing.  Once Grace and Same have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together.  For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past.  For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

The loss.  Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger.  He is wrestling with his own daemons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of being human.

The linger.  For Grace, Same and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces — wolf and human — with love baring its two sides as well.  It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming.  As their world falls apart, love is what lingers.  But will it be enough?“

Now onto the specifics of the giveaway:

Who: US Residents only please
When: July 12th – July 26th (closes at midnight PST)
What: One paperback copy of Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver and one hardcover copy of Linger
Where: Enter by filling out this SHIVER AND LINGER GIVEAWAY ENTRY FORM

Please note:

1. Responses in the comments do NOT enter you into the giveaway, only completion of the above form.
2. One entry per person, if you submit more than once your additional entries will be deleted.
3. One winner will be notified via a post on this blog of their prize, should that winner not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be selected.

** This giveaway is sponsored by the author’s publicity representative and will ship directly from their location at their expense.

Watch for my review of this Linger tomorrow!