Reading Road Trip 2013: Unconsecrateds and South Carolina

Photo copyright Darren Cassese 

Hi, guys! I am so excited to be participating in this year's Reading Road Trip (hosted by Hafsah at IceyBooks and Britta at I Like These Books--if you'd like to read more about this feature, click here)! I'm a little out of my comfort zone as I'm a California girl and Cali was already taken by the time I signed up, but I am excited to share a few great tidbits about South Carolina, the state I chose because Carrie Ryan, the author I'm featuring, was born and raised there. :)

Unconsecrateds are, to put in layman's terms, zombies. (If you've read any of Carrie Ryan's books, or heard of her, I'm sure you recognized the term!) When I first read The Forest of Hands and Teeth a couple of years ago, zombies weren't the craze in YA that they are now. A few book bloggers were talking about how good The Forest of Hands and Teeth was, and that was all it took for me to buy myself a copy. (I wasn't quite sure what I'd started, actually. I didn't even realize it was about zombies--which worked out well because I might not have picked it up if I had known, and that would have been a travesty!) By page 50, my heart was breaking for Mary. And I was sucked in. I love love loved it.

Here are a few historical facts about Carrie Ryan's home state: 

image credit Mario Fabretto, 2/24/1998

* South Carolina was the 8th state in the USA (established May 23, 1788) and is the 40th largest

* It has two mottos, one being (translated), While I breathe, I hope

* South Carolina grows more peaches than any other state but mine (California!)

* Before being known as the Palmetto State (see the palm tree in the state flag above?), South Carolina was known as the Iodine State.

* South Carolina was the first state to have a public library (November 16, 1700)

* The first battle of the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter, which is in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina

* Edward Rutledge, the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence (he was 26), was from South Carolina 

* There are 187 miles of coastline along South Carolina

According to Ms. Ryan's bio, even though she was born and raised in South Carolina, she currently lives in North Carolina! (To take a mini-road trip to my sister state, North Carolina, at Lisa's (@Dizneeee) Dizneeee's World of Books, click HERE.)

And now, for the giveaway. (YAY!) I'm giving away a paperback of The Forest of Hands and Teeth--isn't the new cover amazing? Feel free to come back and enter every day until the giveaway is over!
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What is your favorite young adult zombie book? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

** To learn more about Carrie Ryan and her books, check out her website, HERE, or find her on Goodreads.

*** Curious about the other states and their books? Check out the #ReadingRoadTrip hashtag on Twitter or follow along the stops HERE!