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July 9, 2013

Today's Featured Title and Contest July 9, 2013
 
This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we think is a great summer reading selection. Read more about it, and enter our Summer Reading Daily Contest by Wednesday, July 10th at 11:59AM ET to win one of five copies of WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD by Susan Crandall. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

 
Today's Featured Book and Contest: WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD by Susan Crandall

The summer of 1963 begins like any other for nine-year-old Starla Claudelle. Born to teenage parents in Mississippi, Starla is being raised by a strict paternal grandmother, Mamie, whose worst fear is that Starla will turn out like her mother. Starla hasn’t seen her momma since she was three, but is convinced that her mother will keep her promise to take Starla and her daddy to Nashville, where her mother hopes to become a famous singer --- and that one day her family will be whole and perfect.

When Starla is grounded on the Fourth of July, she sneaks out to see the parade. After getting caught, Starla’s fear that Mamie will make good on her threats and send her to reform school cause her to panic and run away from home. Once out in the country, Starla is offered a ride by a black woman, Eula, who is traveling with a white baby. She happily accepts a ride, with the ultimate goal of reaching her mother in Nashville.

As the two unlikely companions make their long and sometimes dangerous journey, Starla’s eyes are opened to the harsh realities of 1963 southern segregation. Through talks with Eula, reconnecting with her parents, and encountering a series of surprising misadventures, Starla learns to let go of long-held dreams and realizes family is forged from those who will sacrifice all for you, no matter if bound by blood or by the heart.

-Click here to read more about the book.

-Click here to read a review.
-Click here to read an excerpt.
-Click here to see advance readers' comments about the book.

*If you are experiencing problems with the contest form, click here.
 

Click here to enter the contest.
 

This is a special newsletter for our Summer Reading Daily Contest, which will mail on select days through July 31st. This newsletter is separate from our weekly Bookreporter.com newsletter, which mails every Friday. You can subscribe to that newsletter here.

Happy reading! Don't forget to visit our other websites from TheBookReportNetwork.com: 20SomethingReads.com, ReadingGroupGuides.com, GraphicNovelReporter.com, FaithfulReader.com, Teenreads.com, Kidsreads.com and AuthorsOnTheWeb.com.

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