Friday Freebie: Brutal Youth by Anthony Breznican and The Human Body by Paolo Giordano

Congratulations to Rhonda Lomazow, winner of last week's Friday Freebie contest: The Drop by Dennis Lehane.

This week's giveaway is a brilliant pair of new novels: Brutal Youth by Anthony Breznican and The Human Body by Paolo Giordano.  I have hardcover editions of both books to give away to two lucky readers.  Read on for more information about the novels...

Three freshmen must join forces to survive at a troubled, working-class Catholic high school with a student body full of bullies and zealots, and a faculty that's even worse in Anthony Breznican's Brutal Youth.  With a plunging reputation and enrollment rate, Saint Michael’s has become a crumbling dumping ground for expelled delinquents and a haven for the stridently religious when incoming freshman Peter Davidek signs up.  On his first day, tensions are clearly on the rise as a picked-upon upperclassmen finally snaps, unleashing a violent attack on both the students who tormented him for so long, and the corrupt, petty faculty that let it happen.  But within this desperate place, Peter befriends fellow freshmen Noah Stein, a volatile classmate whose face bears the scars of a hard-fighting past, and the beautiful but lonely Lorelei Paskal—so eager to become popular, she makes only enemies.  To even stand a chance at surviving their freshmen year, the trio must join forces as they navigate a bullying culture dominated by administrators like the once popular Ms. Bromine, their embittered guidance counselor, and Father Mercedes, the parish priest who plans to scapegoat the students as he makes off with church finances.  A coming-of-age tale reversed, Brutal Youth follows these students as they discover that instead of growing older and wiser, going bad may be the only way to survive.

From the bestselling author of The Solitude of Prime Numbers comes a searing novel of war and the journey from youth into manhood.  In Paolo Giordano’s highly awaited new novel, a platoon of young men and one woman soldier leaves Italy for one of the most dangerous places on earth.  Forward Operating Base (FOB) in the Gulistan district of Afghanistan is nothing but an exposed sandpit scorched by inescapable sunlight and deadly mortar fire.Each member in the platoon manages the toxic mix of boredom and fear that is life at the FOB in his own way.  Brash Cederna shamelessly picks on the virgin Ietri.  Giulia Zampieri seemingly navigates this male-dominated world with ease—until two male comrades start vying for her attention.  And for medical officer Alessandro Egitto, the FOB serves as an escape from a real life even more dangerous than one fought with guns.  At night, lying on their beds, they feel the beat of their own hearts, the ceaseless activity of the human body.  But when a much-debated mission goes devastatingly awry, the soldiers find their lives changed in an instant.  A heartrending, redemptive story about brotherhood and family, modern war and the wars we wage with ourselves, Paolo Giordano’s visceral novel reminds us what it is to be human.

If you’d like a chance at winning a copy of both Brutal Youth and The Human Body, simply email your name and mailing address to

thequiveringpen@gmail.com

Put FRIDAY FREEBIE in the e-mail subject line.  One entry per person, please.  Despite its name, the Friday Freebie runs all week long and remains open to entries until midnight on Oct. 16, at which time I’ll draw the winning name.  I’ll announce the lucky reader on Oct. 17.  If you’d like to join the mailing list for the once-a-week newsletter, simply add the words “Sign me up for the newsletter” in the body of your email.  Your email address and other personal information will never be sold or given to a third party (except in those instances where the publisher requires a mailing address for sending Friday Freebie winners copies of the book).

Want to double your odds of winning?  Get an extra entry in the contest by posting a link to this webpage on your blog, your Facebook wall or by tweeting it on Twitter.  Once you’ve done any of those things, send me an additional e-mail saying “I’ve shared” and I’ll put your name in the hat twice.