YA Scavenger 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 a part of the GREEN TEAM –but there is also a red team, a blue team, an orange team, a teal team, a purple team, and an pink team for a chance to win a whole different set of signed 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.
Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the green 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 5, 2015, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.
Onto the Fun with Jessica Brody!
Jessica Brody knew from a young age that she wanted to be a writer. She started self “publishing” her own books when she was seven years old, binding the pages together with cardboard, wallpaper samples and electrical tape.
After graduating from Smith College in 2001 where she double majored in Economics and French and minored in Japanese, Jessica later went on to work for MGM Studios as a Manager of Acquisitions and Business Development. In May of 2005, Jessica quit her job to follow her dream of becoming a published author.
Since then, Jessica has sold ten novels (two adult novels to St. Martin’s Press and eight young adult novels to Farrar, Straus, Giroux/Macmillan Children’s.) The Fidelity Files, her debut, (which was recently optioned for film) released in stores (in real binding) in June of 2008 and the follow-up, Love Under Cover in November 2009. The Karma Club, Jessica’s debut young adult novel released in April of 2010 and her second YA release, My Life Undecided hit bookstores in June 2011.
In July 2012, Jessica’s fifth novel, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, was published and shortly after, in March 2013, Unremembered, the first book in a teen sci-fi/suspense trilogy, released. Its anticipated sequel, Unforgotten, came out in February of 2014, andUnchanged, the conclusion to the trilogy is scheduled to hits stores in February 2015. Unremembered was recently optioned for film by the producers of The Vampire Academy, Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pi and Slumdog Millionaire. Read the full story here!
Jessica’s books are published and translated in over twenty foreign countries including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark, China, Russia, Brazil, Poland, Bulgaria, Israel, and Taiwan. Click here for a full list of foreign sales and publishers.
Jessica now works full time as a writer and producer. She currently splits her time between Los Angeles and Colorado.
Connect with Jessica:
Exclusive Content
*Spoiler Free!
INTRODUCTION FROM JESSICA: This scene was incredibly hard to cut. In the end, it was decided it didn’t push the plot forward in any significant way and therefore wasn’t necessary to the story. (Although those of you who have read Unchanged might recognize that I stole one line from this scene and repurposed it in the final draft.) Looking back on this scene now, over a year after tearfully cutting it from the manuscript, I can see it for what it truly was: A wish fulfillment for me. And anyone who knows me knows how much I love dogs, especially puppies. I suppose at the time of writing this chapter, I thought, “If I’m going to spend all this time and energy creating a super corporation responsible for all the coolest advancements in biology, I want to at least include something that I would like to see in real life.” Because of that, this scene will always be special to me. And in my mind, no matter what’s printed in the actual book, Building 17 of the Diotech Compound will always house “The Eternals.”
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Building 17 is always open to me. I press my finger to the glowing plate and the door slides open. Dr. Arris, the scientist in charge of the Z labs, gave me clearance months ago. After I showed acute interest in his research.
The lab will be empty, apart from the test subjects. Fortunately, Dr. Arris and his assistants won’t be in for another few hours. I’m not sure I want to talk to anyone right now. At least not anyone who can talk back. And that makes this the perfect place for me.
The test subjects are all in their pens. There’s a chorus of high-pitched barking as I enter the main lab. But it’s not an alarmed bark. Dr. Arris taught me the difference. They are happy to see me. One by one, I unlatch the gates and in less than a minute, fifteen puppies are running free around my ankles, yelping and jumping up on my shins.
“Hold on, hold on,” I say, my mood instantly lifting at the sight of them. I withdraw a handful of treats from a canister on the counter and practice the behavior commands that Dr. Arris has been working on with them.
“Sit.”
The Carolina Retriever, the one I call Honeycomb because of her silky brown coat, is the first to obey. She always is. The ivory Labrador falls in line next, followed by the toy Water Spaniel. The bulldog, predictably, is the last to catch on. Once they’re all seated, I hand out the treats, which they diligently devour.
“Okay, should we try a harder one?”
Fifteen eager tails sweep the floor in response.
“Spin!” I give my finger a twirl.
Honeycomb rotates in three perfect circles before planting her butt back down and waiting patiently for her reward. I hand it to her and she gobbles it up. The rest of them, having seen the prize for obedience, soon follow suit.
I try to access some of the other commands Dr. Arris taught me. The puppies wait for me to decide what I want from them next. Their angelic faces stare up at me in deep concentration.
“Oh, just forget it.” I squat down and they all clamber toward me, crawling into my lap, and jumping up on my arms. “Dr. Arris is going to kill me,” I tell them. “I’m not supposed to let you tackle me like this. But every experiment needs a break sometime, right?”
I feel tiny paws at my back and I turn to see the miniature Maltipoo bouncing up and down, trying to get my attention. “Come here, you.” I scoop him into my arms. He’s no bigger than the palm of my hand. “You’re so tiny.” I press his small body against my cheek and he licks my nose.
“How old are you?” I ask with a giggle, hoisting him so I can see the screen on his collar. The metadata tells me he’s been advanced to almost ten years old.
I hug him to my chest and he instantly responds by tucking his head beneath my chin and dozing off.
The rest of the puppies have started to settle down, finding various places to collapse. Honeycomb is curled between my legs. The snowy white Appalachian Mountain Dog puppy has her head resting on my left foot. And the bulldog has burrowed himself under my right thigh.
I lean back against the row of pens behind me and watch the dogs fall asleep.
“What’s it like to know you’ll never grow up?” I ask aloud.
Of course, I get no answer.
Even so, I know what the answer would be.
They have no idea. Just like me, they’ve never known any different than the life they’ve been given. They aren’t aware of the modifications made to their DNA that will keep them young forever.
Dr. Arris says Eternals are going to be the next big trend in the dog world.
“Doesn’t it make you sad?” I asked him during one of my first visits to the Zoology labs. “To know that they’ll die as babies?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think of it that way. They’ll live a long, happy life. Just like any other dog. Except their bodies will never change.”
“And that’s what people want? A pet who will age on the inside but never on the outside?”
Dr. Arris offered me a mirthless smile. “People want what Diotech tells them to want.”
The Unremembered Trilogy
Soon to be a major motion picture!
The only thing worse than forgetting her past…is remembering it.
When a sixteen-year-old girl wakes up among the wreckage of a devastating plane crash with no memories, she’s forced to piece together her forgotten past with only one clue to her identity— a mysterious boy who claims he helped her escape from a top-secret science experiment.
She can escape the past, but she can’t run from the future…
After a daring escape from the scientists at Diotech who created her, Seraphina believes she is finally safe from the horrors of her past. But new threats await Sera and Zen at every turn as Zen falls prey to a mysterious illness and Sera’s extraordinary abilities make it more and more difficult to stay hidden.
They can manipulate her memories, but they can’t change her mind…
So many secrets are buried within these compound walls. I used to be one of those secrets.
After returning to the Diotech compound and undergoing an experimental new memory alteration, Seraphina is now a loyal, obedient servant to Dr. Alixter and the powerful company that created her. Happy and in love with Kaelen, another scientifically-enhanced human designed to be her perfect match, Sera’s history with a boy named Zen is just a distant memory from a rebellious past she longs to forget.
But as Sera and Kaelen embark on a nationwide tour to promote Diotech’s new product line—a collection of controversial genetic modifications available to the public—Sera’s mind starts to rebel. She can’t stop the memories of Zen from creeping back in.
As more secrets are revealed, more enemies are uncovered, and the reality of a Diotech-controlled world grows closer every day, Sera will have to choose where her true loyalties lie, but it’s a choice that may cost her everything she’s ever loved.
Continue the Hunt!
Don’t forget to leave a comment and say hi to Jessica!
0 Replies to “YA Scavenger Hunt!”
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and participating!!!
Hi Jessica!! 🙂 Pretty stoked about the Green Team! Woot for Unchanged–and wow, so excited for you because Unremembered is soon to be on the big screen! *fist bump*
Hi Jessica! Thank you both for being a part of YASH
Thanks for being a part of YASH!!!
Great post! Thanks for participating in the YASH! xo