The Bookscape Report

In My Mailbox: 49

2012-01-28T21:02:00.000-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. In this meme, we share the books we received for review, purchased, checked out from the library, etc.

I haven't done IMM in a while. I shouldn't even be doing it now, since school is in full-swing. I really should be studying. Oh, well. I've got some good things to share with everyone this week.

Purchased

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Soul Screamers Vol. 1 (My Soul to Lose, My Soul to Take, and My Soul to Save) by Rachel Vincent

***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***
It starts with a scream.... New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent's compelling Soul Screamers series keeps getting better - here, for the first time, the original stories are compiled into one special volume...
My Soul to Lose — The prequel: never before in print! — Kaylee is just your average girl shopping at the mall with friends—until a terrified scream burst from her that cannot be stopped. Taken to a hospital ward, will she be able to save her mind—and her life?
My Soul to Take She always felt different, but now Kaylee discovers why. The screams that cannot be denied mean that someone near her will die—and she can never save them. Because saving one life means taking another...
My Soul to Save Going on dates with her boyfriend is still new to Kaylee. But when the singer of the band they're seeing dies and Kaylee doesn't scream, she knows something carzy is going on. Soon she discovers soul can indeed be sold...

Library loot:

Paper Towns by John Green

When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night - dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows her. Margo's always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she's always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they're for Q. Printz Medalist John Green returns with the trademark brilliant wit and heart-stopping emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers.

The God Box by Alex Sanchez

High school senior Paul has dated Angie since middle school, and they're good together. They have a lot of the same interests, like singing in their church choir and being active in Bible club. But when Manuel transfers to their school, Paul has to rethink his life. Manuel is the first openly gay teen anyone in their small town has ever met, and yet he says he's also a committed Christian. Talking to Manuel makes Paul reconsider thoughts he has kept hidden, and listening to Manuel's interpretation of Biblical passages on homosexuality causes Paul to reevaluate everything he believed. Manuel's outspokenness triggers dramatic consequences at school, culminating in a terrifying situation that leads Paul to take a stand.

For review:

My Vacation in Hell by Gene Twaronite

I was unable to find this title on Goodreads or Amazon, but I have a synopsis that the author sent with his request.

PLEASE NOTE THAT AS THIS BOOK IS THE SEQUEL TO THE FAMILY THAT WASN'T, THE SYNOPSIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

My Vacation in Hell is a dark comic tale of a young man’s journey through hell. It is written in first person narrative by a 15-year-old writer named John Boggle. The time period is the mid-1960’s. A troubled nerdy misfit and a frequent flyer of his imagination, John is inspired by a book report reading of Dante Alighieri’s the Inferno. In the eternity of the five minutes before summer vacation, he embarks on a pilgrimage based upon his own free-wheeling interpretation of the work. Following the inspiration of Dante, John populates his hell with all the people who have wronged him over the years, inventing deliciously cruel punishments for each of them in his teenage version of cosmic retribution. Aided by his best friend Virgil, a trusty guide in this shared imagination, John also struggles to come to terms with the world’s many evils. And as he descends further into this realm, he constructs his own hierarchy of evildoers, assigning them to the levels he believes they deserve.

But it is the evil perpetrated upon John, a victim of sexual abuse, which poses the most difficult challenge for him. The deeper he goes, the more he encounters obstacles, some of whom in the guise of colorful demon characters try their best to keep him there. But the worst obstacle of all is his own self-image, forged out of guilt and shame. He will not leave this hell of his own making, Virgil tells him, until he learns how to deal with the abuse inflicted upon him and finds the true center of his being.

Fortunately, he has other help besides the ever wise Virgil, who it turns out has a few problems of his own to deal with. John needs more than reason to get him through this, and divinely beautiful aid arrives in the form of Beth, an idealized version of his secret love. Rescuing the pair from the evil that threatens to consume them, she will guide John in the last stage of his spiritual odyssey. She shows him that there are even some good places in hell, just as there is always some good, however slight, that comes from our worst experiences. Though of necessity a darkly disturbing tale, filled with graphic images leavened with humor, its essential message is as affirmative as the dawn.

Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin

Kelsey Finkelstein is fourteen and FRUSTRATED. Every time she tries to live up to her awesome potential, her plans are foiled – by her impossible parents, her annoying little sister, and life in general. But with her first day of high school coming up, Kelsey is positive that things are going to change. Enlisting the help of her three best friends — sweet and quiet Em, theatrical Cass, and wild JoJo — Kelsey gets ready to rebrand herself and make the kind of mark she knows is her destiny. Things start out great - her arch-nemesis has moved across the country, giving Kelsey the perfect opportunity to stand out on the soccer team and finally catch the eye of her long-time crush. But soon enough, an evil junior’s thirst for revenge, a mysterious photographer, and a series of other catastrophes make it clear that just because KELSEY has a plan for greatness… it doesn’t mean the rest of the world is in on it.
Kelsey’s hilarious commentary throughout her disastrous freshman year will have you laughing out loud—while being thankful that you’re not in her shoes, of course…

The Shade and the UnholyPriest by Tannis Skye

I have been unable to find any info about this book yet, but it's the sequel to The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels.

Thank you to Tannis Skye, Anne Walls, and Gene Twaronite for sending the review copies my way. I can't wait to dig into them!

That's all I've received lately. It's not much (this list is actually for the past few weeks), but most of the books I've been checking out at the library are picture books for school.

What did you get this week? Happy reading!

Giveaway: Decoy by S.B. Sebrick

2012-01-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

S.B. Sebrick, author of Decoy (Assassins #1) has generously offered 5 e-copies of Decoy for a giveaway. Here's some info about the book.

The last few grueling years of training have served Kaltor well. He’s learned to harness the magic within his body, overcome a stronger opponent, avoid capture, and everything else an assassin-in-training needs to survive. Or so he thought. But when those they protect at an excavation site release a demon from the Abyss itself, Kaltor realizes just how poorly prepared they all are for what’s coming. Within a single night, their mining camp of one thousand people plummets to a couple hundred terrified survivors, the majority turned against each other by the demon’s potent abilities. Then she turns towards Shaylis, the largest city in the region, for the next stage of her plan. In a constant battle of both steel and strategy Kaltor and his friends struggle to delay, deceive and defeat their opponent, who’s spent the last thousand years planning out every detail of her assault to perfection. As the number of casualties mounts and her final plan comes to light, Kaltor is left with only one option. He must draw on the secret power within himself, knowing if his true identity is discovered, his life and the fate of the world, will be changed forever.

Want to a win a copy? Enter here! The giveaway will end on Sunday, February 12 at 12:01 a.m. MST. Once the giveaway has closed, S.B. Sebrick will pick five winners and will email eBook copies of Decoy to the winners. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post: Amy Machelle

2012-01-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm happy to have Amy Machelle, author of Saving Elizabeth, on my blog. While her blog tour might officially be over, Amy Machelle was gracious enough to write a guest post for my blog. Thank you for stopping by, Amy!

Website | Blog | Facebook Twitter | Goodreads
Author bio courtesy of Goodreads
Amy is teacher who uses writing to escape after long days of tying shoelaces, opening ketchup packets, and begging children to please use tissues instead of sleeves. While it had always been a hobby for her, writing swiftly turned into an obsession during the sweltering summer of 2009. A year of clacking away on her laptop later, she typed the final period of her young adult paranormal romance, Saving Elizabeth. Satisfied, she packed her laptop away, but the characters she'd invested a year of her life in insisted on being shared with the world. Keep your eyes peeled for Saving Elizabeth, coming December 14th from Tell-Tale Publishing!

Blaming God for the death of her father, sixteen year old Elizabeth Bridges denounces her faith and vows never to utter His name again. She tries to distance herself from anything spiritual, but the events that occur after an unwanted move make that difficult. First, the dreams come – dreams of evil creatures, and rendezvous with the gorgeous stranger she thinks her mind created to escape her miserable life. But her first day at Glacier High proves there’s more to it than that. Elizabeth meets Riel, the boy from her dreams, and he knows more about her than is humanly possible. He says she possesses a coveted gift that all of Hell is clamoring to seize. The monsters she dreams of are real, and they’re battling for her soul. Soon, Elizabeth is thrust into a spiritual realm where she doesn’t know friend from foe. She battles demons in the storage closets of her high school, with Riel, her only protection.
Will Elizabeth be able to trust Riel and help him save what matters most, or will they both join forces with darkness and turn their backs forever on the only One who can offer them the love and peace they so deeply desire?

Resolutions,Potholes, and Brownies

If you’re anything like me, when the sparkling balldescended over New York City you strengthened your resolve and promised thisyear would finally be the year you’d keep those resolutions. You clinked yourglasses in celebration, feeling no dream was too big, no goal too lofty, nohabit strong enough to keep you in its clutches.

I’mgoing to lose: five, ten, fifteen, twenty pounds.

I’mgoing start: jogging, running, working out.

I’mgoing to quit: holding grudges, overeating, procrastinating.

I’mfinally going to: finish, edit, publishthat novel.

I’mgoing to: read, laugh, love more.

Any of these sound familiar? If not, here’s whereyou insert your New Year’s resolution.

We’re barely into 2012 and some already feel theirresolve beginning to slip under the pressures of everyday life. Work schedules are getting in the way ofworkout sessions. Family obligations are pushing into writing time. Thosebrownies the teacher down the hall brought are just too tempting. Many of usare stuck, again, in a trench of complacency. We’re looking around with wideeyes, wondering how in the world we ended up right back at square one soquickly.

To be honest, I’m totally there, and I feel terribleabout it, but if writing a novel taught me anything, it’s that getting frompoint A to point B takes time and determination… right? Yes, yes, that has tobe right. Saving Elizabeth didn’tmagically write itself overnight. It was a labor of love that took long hoursand, ultimately, three years of my life.

So, why don’t I remember that when I’m beatingmyself up over yesterday’s brownies?

The answer is easy to find, harder to admit. I wantinstant gratification. I so badly want to see the results of my labor that I sometimesforget there’s more to be gained in the journey than in reaching the finaldestination. When the pounds don’t immediately fall off, I get discouraged,throw my hands up and turn to those brownies.

I’llstart my diet tomorrow.

When the words don’t automatically flow, I findsomething else to fill my time, which only pushes me farther from deadlines.

I’llonly be on Facebook a second.

DidI tweet today?

Let’ssee what pops up if I Google my name. (By the way, my alter ego apparently makesreally cute handbags. I discovered that on a Google spree while writing thispost.)

The point is, we’ll never reach our goals and keepthose resolutions if we’re constantly focused on the end results rather thanthe journey itself. Don’t get me wrong. We all need goals, and it’s great toreach them, but nobody ever said the road would be easy, or that we’d reach ourdestination instantaneously. I’m here to tell you, the road will be riddledwith potholes, and the journey may take a while, but if you stay the course youjust might reach that lovely destination with a better knowledge of yourself.And if you’re lucky, you may even learn how to change tires, or better yet, howto avoid those potholes altogether along the way.

I wish you all the best in 2012. May this be youryear.

BooksI’m Most Looking Forward to in 2012

SweetEvilby Wendy Higgins

Halflingsby Heather Burch

TheBook of Mortals: Mortal by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

Library School: Second Semester. And, work!

2012-01-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

I should not be blogging right now. Really, I shouldn't. I have tons of work to do for school. And when I say "tons," I mean A LOT. Reading textbooks and articles, plus the children's books I have to read for my reading records. Participating in group discussions. Viewing lectures online. Taking notes.

And instead of doing any of that, I'm listening to the Lakers game and blogging. But, I really wanted to post something tonight about school and work because I am just so excited about all of it. I'll start with school.

In a previous post, I shared some of the amazing children's books I've read so far this semester for a class I'm taking, Library Services and Materials to School-Age Children. I've only read the first book in my textbook for that class, but so far, I love it. My professor is amazing; her lectures are fun and interesting. But the best part of the class (aside from all the great reading I get to do for it) is all the great discussions I'm having with my classmates. I love all the questions we're posing to each other about issues like working with beginning readers, and all the ideas we have for those same issues. It's the same with my discussion group for the other class I'm taking, Access to Information. I love how passionate we all are about our discussions and how our passion for our chosen career really comes through. It's great to connect with other people who have the same passions, interests, and goals as I do.

Equally as great is my job. I'm currently a substitute librarian, but I've just received a new position in the library system I work for, and will begin working as an assistant librarian soon. The past couple of days have really reminded me why I want to be a librarian, and why I love what I do. Sure, I love seeing the new books we get at the branch I work in. Yes, I love finding the titles people put on hold on our shelves and checking them in to fulfill those holds. Because I love organizing, I even enjoy helping to weed the collection.

But none of those things come close to how much I love helping patrons. And I'm not talking about helping someone find a specific book, which, while I enjoy, isn't the best thing about helping people. Unless I'm helping kids find specific books, like the little girl I helped a couple of days ago, who got very excited when I found a book in a series she liked for her, I don't feel overwhelmed with happiness for what I do when I find a specific title for someone. What does make me giddy with excitement is helping the person who knows a general idea of what she needs, but can't think of Che Guevara's name, and is only able to give me a brief description of who he is ("the guy whose picture is everywhere and has to do with Central or Latin America"), but it's enough for me to say, "I know exactly who you're talking about," and then find a biography on him for her. It's helping the person who wants a book on a general topic, and being able to help them narrow their topic down enough to find a book that meets their wants and/or needs. It's showing patrons how to use our online catalog to look up books, and how to use the information in the online catalog to find books on the shelves (or movies, CDs, movies, etc.). It's showing the patron who isn't quite computer literate how to find the information they need online, whether it's a passport renewal application, or how to use the MLA format in citing sources.

I love what I do, and I can't wait to delve more into my classes this semester and to become more involved with the library branch I'm working in. I suppose I'm writing this post for two reasons:

1. To let everyone know why I'm not going to be blogging as regularly until mid-March, when my semester ends, and

2. To encourage anyone who has every thought about becoming a librarian to seriously considering it as a career, because really, it is fabulous.

In My Mailbox: 48

2012-01-07T23:46:00.001-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, in which we share the books we bought, received for review, checked out from the library, and so on. Check out Kristi's blog for more details.

I took a break from In My Mailbox for a couple of weeks, and now that I'm back, I have lots of goodies to share. Not all of them are books, but the ones that aren't actual books are bookish. Because I have a lot to share, the format is going to be a little different this week.

Library Loot

Paper Covers Rock § Jenny Hubbard § June 14, 2011

Audition § Stasia Ward Kehoe § October 13, 2011

Christmas Gifts

The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy box set § Maggie Stiefvater § July 12, 2011

Paranormacly § Kiersten White § July 26, 2011 (paperback)

The Night Circus § Erin Morgenstern § September 13, 2011

The Future of Us § Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler § November 21, 2011

Without Tess § Marcella Pixley § October 11, 2011

The Iron King § Julie Kagawa § February 1, 2010

The Iron Daughter § Julie Kagawa § August 1, 2010

The Iron Queen § Julie Kagawa § January 25, 2011

The Iron Knight § Julie Kagawa § October 25, 2011

127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place § Aron Ralston § October 26, 2010

Purchased

Want to Go Private? § Sarah Littman § August 1, 2011

Mal and Chad: The Biggest, Bestest Time Ever! § Stephen McCranie § May 12, 2011

Bittersweet § Sarah Ockler § January 3, 2012

Bookish Gifts

My sister got me this awesome tote bag. I love it so much I don't even want to use it.

I love great whites--they're my favorite animal--so my mom bought me this bookmark. I have two of them now, because she bought me the same one last May when she went to Hawaii, and I love them. They're awesome and 3D, and they make me very, very happy.

My sister bought me this aromatherapy candle and stuck a note to it: "To energize you for long nights of writing and blogging." I've never mentioned this before, but I have the best sister ever. She's also the one who bought me the Iron Fey series for Christmas.

I also got a second bookmark from a friend for Christmas, but I couldn't find a picture of it online. It says "Peace" in green and red letters and has a white dove on it. I love it. I collect bookmarks, so I'm always happy when I get more of them.

And that is my IMM for the past few weeks. What did you get? Happy reading!

Review: Happy Birthday to You

2012-01-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to You by Brian Rowe
Series: Birthday trilogy (#3)
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release date: December 2, 2011
Pages: 328
File size: 431 KB
Format: eBook
Website | Blog | Facebook Twitter | Goodreads

SUMMARY CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR FIRST TWO BOOKS Newlyweds Cameron and Liesel Martin aren't able to celebrate their wedding bliss for long. Not only is Liesel unexpectedly pregnant... they're also facing the end of humanity! Liesel's evil witch sister Hannah has cast a spell to make all humans on Earth age a whole year with every day. It's up to Cameron and Liesel to stop her... and save the world! Who will survive? And who will perish? Here it is at last... the third and final epic chapter of the Birthday trilogy... Happy Birthday to You!

Considering how much I loved the first two books in this trilogy, Happy Birthday to Me and Happy Birthday to Me Again, I knew Happy Birthday to You was going to be equally as awesome. What I didn't expect was for it to be awesome in the way that it was.

Happy Birthday to You is a lot darker than the first two books in the trilogy. Where Happy Birthday to Me and Happy Birthday to Me were lighter, easier to read book, Happy Birthday to You was a difficult read because of how dark it was. In a way, it reminded me of how the Harry Potter books got darker and darker as the series progressed. Brian Rowe does not hold anything back in Happy Birthday to You. There are horrifying, gruesome scenes. Those scenes had me gasping out loud, which is not something that normally happens when I read.

Happy Birthday to You is intense. From beginning to end, I was on the edge of my seat, anticipating what would happen next. I loved Cameron's and Liesel's journey to save the world, but I also loved the third person narratives that were found between Cameron's narratives. I loved it that those third person narratives were all tied to people who Cameron had known in some way throughout his life. I loved getting to see what was happening in the rest of the world through those chapters while Cameron and Liesel were trying to save the world.

I didn't like all the characters, but I was emotionally invested in all of them, and when bad things happened to the characters I liked as well as the characters I didn't like, I had some kind of emotional reaction. For all the characters I didn't like, except Yolanda and Hannah, I was sad when bad things happened to them. I was so emotionally invested in the characters and this story that by the end of the novel, I was a little depressed. It ends on a hopeful note, but I couldn't help feel depressed about everything that had happened and where the characters ended up.

Happy Birthday to You was a fantastic second book to start 2012 with. If I enjoy every book I read this year as much as I enjoyed Happy Birthday to You, then 2012 will be a great year.

Best of 2011: Paranormal romance, series, etc.

2012-01-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

I read so many amazing books in 2011 that it was impossible for me to come up with one comprehensive "best of" list. My first list, Best of 2011: Contemporary was hard enough to come up with. Trying to come up with my favorite books in all other categories was equally as hard. Here's what I came up with.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Release date: January 1, 2011
Goodreads

Lauren Oliver blew me away with Before I Fall, so when Delirium came out, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I am starting to love dystopian fiction more and more, and Delirium is one of the best dystopian novels I've read. Lauren Oliver is seriously amazing.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Release date: June 7, 2011
Goodreads | My review

Miss Peregrine's is incredible. How can a book written by someone named Ransom Riggs not be awesome? I loved everything about this book: the story, the writing, the characters, the photographs. I adore Miss Peregrine's, and I can't wait for the sequel.

The Iron Fey series by Julia Kagawa (all information is for the first book, The Iron King)
Release date: February 1, 2010
Goodreads | My review

The Iron Fey is a series that I was not expecting to fall in love with. When I first started reading it, it wasn't something I would normally read, but I'd heard a lot of good things about it, so I wanted to give it a shot. I am so glad I did, because this series blew me away. I fell in love with the characters, especially Puck, and with the story. It's so unique that I can't help but love it.

Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Release date: June 14, 2011
Goodreads | My review

Hourglass was one of the best debuts of 2011. The cover alone is amazing; the book itself is just as good. I was sucked in from page one and didn't want to put this book down. I can't wait for the sequel.

Entwined by Heather Dixon
Release date: March 29, 2011
Goodreads | My review

I love fairy tales, and Entwined was the first fairy tale novel I've read. It's another book I completely fell in love with last year. I can't wait to read more fairy tale novels and more of Heather Dixon.

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
Release date: June 14, 2011
Goodreads | My review

I normally don't like magical realism, but Imaginary Girls showed me how fabulous it can be. Imaginary Girls is another amazing 2011 debut. I was captured by Nova Ren Suma's beautiful writing and incredible story. If she writes anymore magical realism, I will snatch it up the first chance I get.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Release date: March 22, 2011
Goodreads

Wither was a book I didn't review because I didn't have words for it when I finished it. It's another book that made me fall more in love with dystopian novels. I couldn't get enough of it.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Release date: August 30, 2011
Goodreads | My review

I love ghost stories, and Anna Dressed in Blood did not disappoint. It was creepy, it was gruesome, it was fun. I enjoyed every word of it, and I can't wait to see what's going to happen in the sequel.

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Release date: October 19, 2010
Goodreads | My review

I waited way too long to read Nightshade. I was a little wary of it at first, because I'm not a big fan of werewolves. Nightshade took all my expectations of what a werewolf novel was and turned them completely upside down. It was so different from what I was expecting it to be, and that was a big reason why I loved it as much as I did.

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan
Release date: August 9, 2011
Goodreads | My review

Remember how I said I love fairy tales? I also love fairy tale retellings. Despite some of my favorite authors coming out with books in 2011, A Long, Long Sleep was my favorite read of 2011. I didn't have very many expectations for A Long, Long Sleep, and it completely and totally blew me away. Anna Sheehan is amazing. A Long, Long Sleep is one of my favorite books now; it's one of the best books I've ever read. Everything about this book is absolutely amazing.

And that wraps up my top reads of 2011. After reading so many incredible books in 2011, especially 2011 debuts, I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for readers.

Best of 2011: Contemporary Fiction

2011-12-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

Best of 2011: Contemporary Fiction

I've been thinking a lot about my ten favorite books I read this year, and the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that I can't pick just ten books. Instead, I'm going to create a few different lists, starting with my ten favorite contemporary novels. It was really difficult for me to pick my top ten favorite contemporary novels that I read this year, but I managed to do it. Here they are, in no particular order.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Release date: September 29, 2011

Goodreads | My review

Anna and the French Kiss was amazing, so I was positive I would love Lola and the Boy Next Door just as much. I was right. Stephanie Perkins is awesome. She never fails to amaze me with her amazing characters, humorous scenes, romance, and stories. I am convinced she can do no wrong.

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

Release date: November 11, 2010

Goodreads | My review

I can't believe I waited as long as I did to read Five Flavors of Dumb, because it is one of the best books ever. EVER. I fell in love with everything about this novel. If you haven't read this yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??!!

Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehren
Release date: February 17, 2011
Goodreads

I didn't review Babe in Boyland, but I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. It was funny and interesting, and I fell in love with the characters. I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did.

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
Release date: May 3, 2011
Goodreads | My review

Jessi Kirby is seriously amazing. Moonglass is one of my favorite books, and Jessi Kirby is one of my favorite authors. I loved everything about Moonglass, from the cover to the characters; from the setting to the story. The writing is fabulous. Moonglass is the perfect summer read and more than that, it inspires me to do a lot of things. Like write more. And go cliff jumping. Oh, and it started my obsession with beach glass. Moonglass is basically made of awesome.

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
Release date: May 10, 2011
Goodreads | My review

It's Sarah Dessen. Is any other explanation really necessary? What Happened to Goodbye is another book that is made of awesome. Sarah Dessen never fails to amaze me. I love her characters. I love her stories. I love how much basketball was incorporated into this book. I am convinced that Sarah Dessen can do no wrong.

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

Release date: September 26, 2006 (13 Little Blue Envelopes)

Release date: April 26, 2011 (The Last Little Blue Envelope)

Goodreads for 13 Little Blue Envelopes | My review

Goodreads for The Last Little Blue Envelope | My review

I'm including these together because it's a series. These were the first Maureen Johnson books I read, and I fell in love with them. Reading these books was kind of like reading about the ultimate road trip, except instead of just driving around one country, there are many countries, and all are amazing. This series was fun to read, and it makes me want to travel around the world.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Release date: May 4, 2010
Goodreads | My review

Two words: ROAD TRIP. I love road trips. I love books about road trips. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour is quite possibly the best road trip book I've read. Everything about this book is fabulous.

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
Release date: December 1, 2010
Goodreads | My review

Twenty Boy Summer blew my mind, so I was fairly positive I would also love Fixing Delilah. I did. Sarah Ockler has an incredible way with words. She's another one of my favorite contemporary authors, and I can't wait to read more of her.

Saving June by Hannah Harrington
Release date: November 22, 2011
Goodreads | My review

I loved Saving June because it wasn't what I expected. I was worried that it was going to be the usual girl's sister commits suicide and girl struggles to understand why-type of story, but it wasn't. That was part of it, but that wasn't all of it. I love the idea behind Saving June, and I love what Hannah Harrington did with her characters and their stories. Her writing is amazing, and I can't wait for her next book.

Stay by Deb Caletti
Release date: April 5, 2011
Goodreads

I didn't review Stay, either, because I had no words for it after I finished it. Stay was my first Deb Caletti book, and oh my goodness, how it took me by surprise. I was hesitant to read it, though I don't know why, but Deb Caletti sucked me in and held me there throughout the entire book. Beautiful writing. Amazing writing. I love it. I haven't read anything else by her yet, but I need to, because if Deb Caletti's other books are anything like Stay, they are amazing.

Review: Why We Broke Up

2011-12-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Release date: December 27, 2011
Pages: 368
Format: ARC paperback

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

I waited too long to write this review. I read Why We Broke Up in October, and I didn't take notes on it, so I'm really having to rely on my memory for this review.

So, here's what I remember: Min annoyed me. She had too many run-on sentences, and it drove me crazy. I hated that aspect of her letter. I do love the concept of the story, though, and I really enjoyed getting to see what moments and objects were important to Min and how the objects were tied to her relationship with Ed. I especially loved the illustrations throughout the book, so that we could see exactly what Min was writing about when it came to those objects. I don't remember specifically what those objects were, but I remember that they weren't all the typical objects you might see that are tied to a relationship, and I liked that, too, because the objects tells us a lot about Min and Ed as individuals and as a couple.

That said, two months later, I really don't remember much else of the story. I do remember feeling lukewarm about it when I finished reading it, and the fact that I don't remember much of it now makes me come to one conclusion: the story and its characters just aren't memorable. That's not to say that I remember every detail of every book I read, but the books I love the most are the ones that are memorable. As much as I wanted to enjoy Why We Broke Up, and as much as I hoped it would be memorable, that just didn't happen for me. It's an interesting concept for a story, so I think it's worth the read, but I don't think Why We Broke Up is a book I would re-read.

Review: Crossed

2011-12-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

Crossed by Ally Condie
Series: Matched trilogy (#2)
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release date: November 1, 2011
Pages: 367
File size: 600 KB
Format: eBook
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***SUMMARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

I have mixed feelings about Crossed. On the one hand, I loved it. Ally Condie has an incredible way with words. I marked so many passages in Crossed as I was reading. I really felt like Crossed deals with the importance of words, through the songs and poems and stories that the Society keeps and takes away. Ally Condie shows just how important words are in Crossed. It seemed to me that every word of this book was carefully chosen and put in place, and that every word in this novel is where it is for a reason, and every word serves a purpose. That was my favorite thing about this book.

When it comes to the alternating point of views, I found that I enjoyed that as well. I liked getting to see Ky's perspective as well as Cassia's perspective. As the novel progressed, I enjoyed finding out more about Ky and Cassia through how they perceive themselves as wells as how they perceive each other. I especially liked getting to know Ky's history more. I've read reviews where people say the alternating point of views is confusing, but I didn't find it confusing in any way.

Like other readers, though, I must admit that as much as I enjoyed Cross, the story was slow. There wasn't a lot of action. There weren't really any scenes that had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Aside from the passages I marked throughout the book, there wasn't much about the characters and the story that struck my emotions and made me care about anything that was happening. Also, as others have pointed out, I don't feel that any of the questions Matched raised for me were answered in Crossed. I'm still uncertain about the Society: who they are, how they came to exist, and why.

I'm really hoping that the final book in the trilogy will be one that I can really connect with and that it will answer all the questions I have. I look forward to seeing where Ally Condie is going to take the story.

Library School: Second Semester

2011-12-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

As 2011 comes to a close, I'm preparing for my second semester of library and information science school. Next semester, which starts on January 9, I'm taking a class called Library Materials and Services to School Age Children. For the class, I have to read a HUGE amount of children's book. I've already started the reading for my first reading log, and I'm really excited about all the amazing books I get to read for this class. While none of them are YA books (I'll be taking that class after the upcoming semester, I think, and I can't wait), I want to share some of the incredible books I'm getting to read for this class.

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.
That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.
Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

One hot summer night in the city, all the power goes out. The TV shuts off and a boy wails, "Mommm!" His sister can no longer use the phone, Mom can't work on her computer, and Dad can't finish cooking dinner. What's a family to do? When they go up to the roof to escape the heat, they find the lights--in stars that can be seen for a change--and so many neighbors it's like a block party in the sky! On the street below, people are having just as much fun--talking, rollerblading, and eating ice cream before it melts. The boy and his family enjoy being not so busy for once. They even have time to play a board game together. When the electricity is restored, everything can go back to normal . . . but not everyone likes normal. The boy switches off the lights, and out comes the board game again.

Mufaro was a happy man. Everyone agreed that his two daughters were very beautiful. Nyasha was kind and considerate as well as beautiful, but everyone -- except Mufaro -- knew that Manyara was selfish, badtempered, and spoiled. When the king decided to take a wife and invited "The Most Worthy and Beautiful Daughters in the Land" to appear before him, Mufaro declared proudly that only the king could choose between Nyasha and Manyara. Manyara, of course, didn't agree, and set out to make certain that she would be chosen.

Three decades and more than one million copies later children still love hearing about the boy with the long name who fell down the well. Arlene Mosel and Blair Lent's classic re-creation of an ancient Chinese folktale has hooked legions of children, teachers, and parents, who return, generation after generation, to learn about the danger of having such an honorable name as Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo.

These are just some of the books I've read for class so far. Throughout the semester, I may feature more of the books I get to read. I love children's literature almost as much as I love YA, and I've been really excited about getting to share some of the books I'm reading with everyone, especially since my YA reading is going to slow down a lot starting January 9.

Review: Notes to Self

2011-12-26T00:00:00.002-07:00

Notes to Self by Avery Sawyer
Publisher: Self-published
Release date: November 20, 2011
Pages: 200
File size: 297 KB
Format: eBook
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Two climbed up. Two fell down.

One woke up.

In the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury, Robin Saunders has to relearn who she is and find out what happened the night everything changed.

Notes to Self is an intense, heartbreaking story. Avery Sawyer (which is Laura Schaefer's pseudonym) blew me away with this novel. It's beautifully written and the story is haunting. I was hooked just by the summary, and as soon as I began reading the book, I knew it would be hard to stop.

One of my favorite things about this book is how uncomfortable I felt during certain parts of it. Avery Sawyer did a fabulous job of making me feel uncomfortable in certain moments, like when Robin and Emily were climbing an amusement park ride. I'm terrified of heights, so reading that scene definitely evoked that for me. More than that, though, the way Robin's classmates treated her when she returned to school made me feel a discomfort I wasn't expecting. I was furious with how she was treated, and the only person I really liked was Reno, for not treating Robin badly.

The characters in this book are wonderful, fully-developed characters, from the main players to the supporting characters. Everyone was very vivid in my mind. Reno was a very crushworthy character. He was so cute at times, and I loved it that he wanted to do things took him out of his comfort zone. As for Robin's dad, I could not stand him. He was such a jerk. Robin's mom, on the other hand, was wonderful. I loved her ambition to make her and Robin's lives better.

The most haunting thing in this book was every time Robin repeated the sentence, "I fell." She said is so many times, and not always at appropriate times, and it just amazed me how those two words affected me, because it wasn't Robin trying to explain what happened to other people, it was her trying to wrap her mind around what had happened to her. It was a great and terrible refrain to have throughout the book, and I loved it.

Two other things I adored in this book: the notes Robin left to herself and the letters from her aunt. Little things like that add so much to a story for me, and give characters so much more depth.

I have to admit that the ending did come as somewhat as a surprise for me. I wasn't expecting Notes to Self to end the way it did, but that doesn't mean I didn't like the ending. I actually feel kind of indifferent about it. On the one hand, based on everything that happened, it doesn't seem like an entirely appropriate ending, but on the other hand, based on everything that happened, it seems like a very appropriate ending. Needless to say, I haven't made my mind up about how I feel about it yet.

Lately, I've been in the mood to read nothing but contemporary fiction, and Notes to Self did not disappoint.

Review: Saving Elizabeth

2011-12-23T00:00:00.003-07:00

Saving Elizabeth by Amy Machelle
Publisher: Tell-Tale Publishing
Release date: December 14, 2011
Pages: 152
File size: 995 KB
Format: eBook
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Blaming God for the death of her father, sixteen year old Elizabeth Bridges denounces her faith and vows never to utter His name again. She tries to distance herself from anything spiritual, but the events that occur after an unwanted move make that difficult.

First, the dreams come – dreams of evil creatures, and rendezvous with the gorgeous stranger she thinks her mind created to escape her miserable life. But her first day at Glacier High proves there’s more to it than that.

Elizabeth meets Riel, the boy from her dreams, and he knows more about her than is humanly possible. He says she possesses a coveted gift that all of Hell is clamoring to seize. The monsters she dreams of are real, and they’re battling for her soul. Soon, Elizabeth is thrust into a spiritual realm where she doesn’t know friend from foe. She battles demons in the storage closets of her high school, with Riel, her only protection.

Will Elizabeth be able to trust Riel and help him save what matters most, or will they both join forces with darkness and turn their backs forever on the only One who can offer them the love and peace they so deeply desire?

Saving Elizabeth is not at all what I expected it to be. It is not the typical angel story for reason: Elizabeth's spirituality. Every angel/fallen angel novel I've read has a main character who never discusses what she believes when it comes to God and Christianity. That is not the case with Saving Elizabeth. We know exactly where Elizabeth stands and why, and I really enjoyed that twist on the story, because it added another dimension to the novel.

I enjoyed the characters. I really felt for Elizabeth and completely understood where she was coming from, as a teenager who had lost her dad, was uprooted from her home to a place so different from what she was used to, and who had to watch her mom flirt with someone in their town. All of Elizabeth's reactions to those situations was so realistic. I liked her journey throughout the novel and how by the end of the novel, she had undergone a transformation. Gabriel was just as enjoyable. I liked hearing his side of the story throughout the novel, as it's told between Elizabeth's and Gabriel's alternating viewpoints. Initially, I was confused by the two different viewpoints, but once I figured out what was going on, it was easy to read and know who was narrating what part of the story. I enjoyed reading Gabriel's and Elizabeth's perspectives of the same situations and fully understanding their motivations. I loved it that the battle between good and evil in this book is a battle for Elizabeth's soul, instead of being a battle that she's not a part of except to act as a love interest (although she is a love interest, but not in the typical way).

My only disappointment is that Saving Elizabeth isn't longer. I enjoyed the world Amy Machelle created, and I really wish she would have expanded on it. I almost felt like as soon as the story had started, it was over. She doesn't overwhelm us with information about Elizabeth's world and the existence of angels, the way some novels do, but I felt that it could have used just a little more, mostly in terms of Elizabeth reaching her transformation point. As happy as I was to see Elizabeth change throughout the novel, her major transformation moment was sudden, and I needed a little more justification for it.

The end of the novel sets things up for a sequel, and I hope there is one, because with the cliffhanger Amy Machelle left me with, I need to know what's going to happen. Overall, Saving Elizabeth is a cute paranormal romance (yes, there is a romance, and I liked it, but I'm not sure I love it yet) and a solid debut from Amy Machelle.

Review: Unnatural Law

2011-12-21T06:00:00.001-07:00

Unnatural Law by Natasha Larry
Series: Darwin's Children (#2)
Publisher: Penumbra Publishing
Release date: October 26, 2011
Pages: 284
File size: 537 KB
Format: eBook
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***SUMMARY CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS***Seventeen-year-old Jaycie Lerner’s psychokinetic power surge is over, and her astounding powers are under control for the time being – sort of. As she struggles to maintain her humanity in the face of the awesome terror and responsibility of her abilities, she also yearns for the chance at a normal life – and a relationship with Matt Carter, the best friend she had to leave behind. But Matt’s got a few tricks up his sleeve, and he’s not about to give up on his feelings for Jaycie.
As Jaycie and her family grapple with the day-to-day routine of trying to keep their world together, Jaycie’s mother figure, Allison Young, endures a personal crisis of her own. The superhuman blonde possesses the physical equivalent of Jaycie’s awesome psychic power. So evolved, at ninety-two she still looks twenty. But what good is extended life when everyone else around her is so fragile? With no one to share her unusual life, she’s a uniquely lonely woman yearning for the romantic love she sees all around her. But in a dream she gets her wish – and it quickly turns to a nightmare for everyone else in her life. The memory of a rose is all she can hold onto in the storm of obsession that nearly sweeps her away.
Things quickly turn deadly for the vampires, but the Dey-Vah Guard fairies refuse to acknowledge there’s an imbalance in the nature they protect. As the danger gets ever closer to Jaycie and her family, the race is on to find answers before a secret plot can destroy them all.

Unnatural Law is very different from Darwin's Children in terms of pacing. While I struggled to get through Darwin's Children because of the slow pace, things happened much more quickly in Unnatural Law, and the things that did happen were also much more interesting.

New characters were introduced in Unnatural Law, and with new characters came new superhuman abilities, and I loved it. It was great to learn about new abilities, and it was great to learn more about the abilities from Darwin's Children, and to see all the abilities in action.

The plot gets more intricate in Unnatural Law as well. At times, it was almost confusing, but everything that was happening was interesting. I liked it that not all the plot intricacies were revealed right away; it was fun to try to figure out who was behind some of the events on my own, even though I wasn't always right.

I didn't quite connect with the characters in Unnatural Law any better than I connected with them in Darwin's Children, but I understand them more,and I got to know more about them, which I liked. I just really wish that I could have connected with Jaycie and Haylee more, because it would have helped me enjoy the story more. Though I think there's still room for improvement, the characters are better developed. I enjoyed seeing Jaycie when she was focusing on her art instead of on her abilities, though those moments were rare, and I would have liked to see more of that type of thing with all the characters, not just Jaycie.

Unnatural Law is a good follow-up to Darwin's Children, and I suspect that as Natasha Larry keeps writing, her writing and storytelling will only get better.

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings

2011-12-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm participating in Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings

1. The Iron Knight by Julia Kagawa. I can't believe I haven't read this yet. It came out around my birthday. WHY HAVEN'T I READ THIS?!

2. Without Tess by Marcella Pixley. I've heard really good things about it, and lately, I've been in the mood to read nothing but contemporary fiction.

3. The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. I've heard amazing things about this, and I mean, come on. It's Jay freaking Asher. I loved 13 Reasons Why, so I'm pretty sure The Future of Us will be equally amazing.

4. Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John. Okay, it's not out yet, but I just read Five Flavors of Dumb and fell in love with it, so I want this one NOW.

5. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler. Because it's Sarah Ockler. Do I really need another reason?

6. Ingenue by Jillian Larkin because I loved Vixen.

7. Family by Micol Ostow because even though it's written in verse, which I can't stand, I have a strange fascination/obsession with Charles Manson, so how can I not read this?

8. Divergent by Veronica Roth. No, I haven't read it yet. No, I don't know what I'm waiting for. I need to get on it.

9. Small Town Sinners by Melissa C. Walker. First of all, I just like the name of it. Second of all, I like the cover. Third, it just sounds awesome.

10. Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard, because more of them are coming out, and I don't own any of them, and I am obsessed with them.

Review: Darwin's Children

2011-12-20T06:00:00.002-07:00

Darwin's Children by Natasha Larry
Series: Darwin's Children (#1)
Publisher: Penumbra Publishing
Release date: May 10, 2011 (eBook); June 8, 2011 (print)
Pages: 262
File size: 461 KB
Format: eBook
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Life can get pretty complicated for any seventeen-year-old girl, but for a home-schooled telepathic black girl trying to survive in a prestigious private school in small-town Jonesborough, Tennessee, it can be maddening; especially when her telepathic father keeps eavesdropping on her thoughts!

Jaycie Lerner's family isn't the usual mom-dad-kid setup. Jaycie's mom is MIA, but Allison, her personal live-in trainer, is more than a mom, with her own special abilities, like being able to lift cars and run incredibly fast. And Jaycie's godfather John is more than persuasive; he can literally convince anyone to do anything.

As far as the rest of the world's concerned, Jaycie's on the outside looking in. The townsfolk love Jaycie's paediatrician father, but she doesn't fit in with "normal" kids, and she doesn't really want to. Most of her free time is spent training to keep her telekinetic and telepathic powers under control. But there's one thing she can't control; and that's her feelings, especially when her best friend Matt is nearby. If only he knew what she was truly capable of...

Everything seems to be status quo for Jaycie until she receives a cryptic message from a stranger and meets a very unusual girl new to Jonesborough. Then all hell breaks loose!

I've read books in the past about characters who have superhuman abilities, and what I've found is that most of them are very basic: the characters don't know where their abilities come from, they can't talk to anyone about their abilities, and they might have the problem of a government agency trying to hunt them down. Darwin's Children does not fall into a basic type of superhuman story. The story about how the characters' superhuman abilities came to be is actually very intricate. I liked that aspect of it, because I enjoy superhuman stories much more when I know exactly where the superhuman abilities come from and why.

I also liked it that for once, there wasn't a government agency trying to hunt down any of the characters, and the main character, Jaycie, could actually talk to her godfather, trainer, and father about her abilities, because they also had abilities. It was nice to read a book where the main character understood what she could do and worked to perfect it. It was also really interesting to read about the different kinds of abilities, especially because Natasha Larry took some superhuman abilities that could be seen as overdone and put her own twist on them.

That said, my biggest struggle with Darwin's Children is that I didn't connect with any of the characters. Jaycie really annoyed me at times, and I felt like I couldn't trust Allison. The only character I liked just a little bit was Haylee, and I thought it was unfortunate that the glimpses we got of her past and home life were so brief. I would have loved to delve into her life more. Because I didn't connect with any of the characters, I struggled to get through this book. I also had a hard time because so much of the book is based on explanations of everything, and we get those explanations more than once, as different characters have to be told what's going on. That made the story a little too redundant, and it slowed the story down, but at the same time, it gave me the background I needed in order to fully understand Jaycie's world. It did set things up nicely for the next book, but I think there could have been a little less of all the explanations and more action.

Overall, Darwin's Children is a unique spin on the classic superhuman ability book that I think will interest readers who like superhuman stories.

Blog Tour Interview: D. Robert Pease

2011-12-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm happy to have D. Robert Pease, author of Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble on my blog as part of the blog tour for Noah Zarc.

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Author bio courtesy of Good Reads
D. Robert has been interested in creating worlds since childhood. From building in the sandbox behind his house, to drawing fantastical worlds with paper and pencil, there has hardly been a time he hasn't been off on some adventure in his mind, to the dismay of parents and teachers alike. Also, since the moment he could read, books have consumed vast swaths of his life. From The Mouse and the Motorcycle, to The Lord of the Rings, worlds just beyond reality have called to him like Homer's Sirens. It's not surprising then he chose to write stories of his own. Each filled with worlds just beyond reach, but close enough we can all catch a glimpse of ourselves in the characters. D. Robert's first novel, Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble is available now. He's also finishing up a sequel, due out in 2012, called Noah Zarc: Cataclysm. And there are some other stories, in various stages of completion, on his computer. D. Robert runs Walking Stick Books, a company dedicated to helping other authors succeed.

Noah lives for piloting spaceships through time, dodging killer robots and saving Earth’s animals from extinction. Life couldn’t be better. However, the twelve-year-old time traveler soon learns it could be a whole lot worse. His mom is abducted and taken to thirty-first century Mars; his dad becomes stranded in the Ice Age; and Noah is attacked at every turn by a foe bent on destroying a newly habitable, post-apocalyptic Earth.
Traveling through time in the family’s immense spaceship, Noah, a paraplegic from birth, must somehow care for the thousands of animals on board, while finding a way to rescue his parents. Along the way, he discovers his mother and father aren’t who he thought they were, and there is strength inside him he didn’t know he had.

The Bookscape Report: Ultimately, I read Noah Zarcas a retelling of Noah’s Ark. What made you decide to write a retelling ofNoah’s Ark?

D. Robert Pease: The whole book basically startedwith the play on words, the name, Noah Zarc. Which obviously sounds veryscifi-ish. It just kind of took off from there. But the more I got into it, themore I loved the idea of taking old Biblical stories we may have heard inSunday School and kind of turning them on their heads. What would it be like tohave Noah and the Ark in space? Once I started writing, I couldn't stop. I alsohave another series in the works based (very loosely) on the story of Josephand the coat of many colors. It really is a very similar thing to what RickRiordan did with ancient Greek stories when he wrote the Percy Jackson series.

The Bookscape Report: How much research did you haveto do for Noah Zarc?

D. Robert Pease: I'm not sure much of what I didcan be considered research. (I hope it doesn't show.) I'm kind of a science andastronomy geek, so I tried to incorporate a lot of what I've read in books overthe years. I tried to create rules within the world of Noah Zarc that were atleast slightly plausible and internally consistent. But other than that I can'tsay I did much in the way of research.

The Bookscape Report: Which character in Noah Zarcare you most like and why?

D. Robert Pease: One of the things I really wantedto do in Noah Zarc was give a little picture of just how much parents, dadsspecifically, love their kids. So I poured much of what I believe a dad shouldbe like into Noah Zarc, Sr. I would do anything and everything to save my kidsif they were in trouble, just as Noah's dad would. It was kind of a fictionalaccount for my own kids of just how much I love them.

The Bookscape Report: The versionof Noah and the flood that the caveman tells Noah and his father is differentfrom the Christian version of Noah and the flood. Was the caveman’s version areal version of Noah and the flood, or is it something you made up for thebook?

D. Robert Pease: One of thethings I love about the story of Noah's Ark is there are versions of it in manycultures around the world. I wanted to play off that idea and give an accountthat was pretty close to the Biblical version, but still have it colored by theculture and the traditions of the storytellers. So, yes, I made it up, but Ididn't want it to be unrecognizable to the reader.

The Bookscape Report: Who wasyour favorite character to write?

D. Robert Pease: That's prettyeasy, Noah, of course. He is such a blast because he's everything I wish I wereas a kid. Daring, reckless, and adventurous. I knew I'd get in trouble if Iacted that way, but that's the beauty of fiction. You can do whatever you wantwith your characters. I also must say, I had fun writing the villain, Haon. Ididn't want some two-dimensional character who was evil just for the sake ofbeing evil. Sure that's what the Zarc family thinks at first, but I hope by theend the reader starts to see he is more than that. I really tried to get insidehis mind and find out the whys behind his actions.

The Bookscape Report: If you could travel to anyother time, what time would you travel to and why?

D. Robert Pease: The older I get, the more I feellike I am a time traveler. We are living in an age of technological innovationthat just makes my head spin. But I guess if I could time-travel it woulddefinitely be to the future. Maybe not as far ahead as the Zarc's timeframe --I'm not sure humans will still be around 1,000 years from now -- but maybe acouple hundred years. I want my jet pack, darn it!

The Bookscape Report: What is your favorite sciencefiction book and/or author?

D. Robert Pease: Dune. No question about it. Ihave a soft spot for books that I call epic. Books that don't just stay tell asimple story but have characters and events that change the course of history.Frank Herbert created such an amazing universe that is so rich in detail; Ican't help but feel like it exists somewhere.

The Bookscape Report: If you were Noah and you couldonly save one animal, what animal would you save?

D. Robert Pease: Well I hope I could at least savetwo, a male and female. That's a hard question though. Like Noah, I love mydog, but that seems like such a mundane answer. Maybe I should pick somethingmore majestic, like the elephant, or the blue whale. Yikes, do I really have tochoose? Ok, my dog's giving me those hound dog eyes of his right now. I have tochoose him. Notice I didn't say anything about my cat. She's nowhere to be seenat the moment, so she loses out.

In My Mailbox: 47

2011-12-18T00:00:00.001-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. In this meme, we share the books we received for review, purchased, checked out at the library, etc.

This week, I only purchased one book.

Butterfly Kisses: Jessica's Journey by Julie Tucker

In late 2004, the Tucker family found out they were going to have a
baby girl. They were ecstatic, and when the day finally came all
seemed well.

But a few months after Jessica’s birth, they discovered that she had
an exceedingly rare disease called Niemann-Pick Type A. It was
so rare that even the doctors had to search for it on the internet.

This is thier journey. Raw, unedited, and powerful, it will help you
be thankful every day for those you love.

Sorry about the Amazon image; it was the only image available for this book. Butterfly Kisses is really personal for me because my cousin's wife wrote it. I never had the chance to meet my cousin's daughter, Jessica, but my family was always kept up-to-date on what was happening. I haven't started reading the book yet, but I'm going to start it soon, and I'm prepared to have a sob-fest while I do.

Aside from that book, I checked out several books from the library. They're all children's books, so I won't list them all, but one of them was:

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.
That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.
Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

I wasn't planning on Liesl & Po, but I love Lauren Oliver, and when I found out I could read it for the library services and materials for children class I'm taking, I knew I had to read it.

That's all I got this week. What did you get? Happy reading!

Review: Five Flavors of Dumb

2011-12-17T20:13:00.001-07:00

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John
Publisher: Dial
Release date: November 11, 2010
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
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The Challenge: Piper has one month to get the rock band Dumb a paying gig.

The Deal: If she does it, Piper will become the band's manager and get her share of the profits.

The Catch: How can Piper possibly manage one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl? And how can she do it when she's deaf?

Piper can't hear Dumb's music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb.

I don't even know where to start with this review. I loved so much about this book that I'll just list what I loved.

1. The greater understanding I gained of deaf culture. When I was in first grade, there were some hearing-impaired kids in my class. I always loved watching the interpreter sign for them, and I loved having a sign just for my name. In college, I took one American Sign Language class. Aside from that, I didn't have a great understanding of deaf culture and what it's like to be deaf. I think a lot of people have misconceptions about what it's like to be deaf, from the fact that there are different levels/types of hearing loss, to different ways to communicate, etc. I know I had some misconceptions, and they were definitely addressed in this book. I loved it that I was thrown into Piper's world, and that through her, I really saw what it was like to be deaf and part of the deaf culture. I assume a huge amount of research had to go into this, and I love what Antony John did with it.

2. The characters. Piper is amazing. She's strong in so many ways, even when she doesn't realize it, and she just grows stronger throughout the novel. I absolutely loved her. The different personalities of everyone in Dumb was amazing. I loved the cast of characters and how diverse they were. Two characters tied for my second-favorite character: Finn and Kallie. I loved the relationship between Finn and Piper and how realistic it was. Sibling rivalry was there, but they were still there for each other in the end. As for Kallie, I loved her character because she is not at all what you'd expect her to be.

3. The music. I love books about music, and I have to say, Five Flavors of Dumb is one of the best I've read. I love it that it focused on rock music. I loved the scenes where Piper visits Kurt Cobain's and Jimi Hendrix's houses. I love the entire premise of the book and how it revolves around music. I love how music is so important to the characters in such different ways. Five Flavors of Dumb makes me want to do two things: listen to more alternative rock and grunge rock from the 90s as well as classic rock, like Led Zeppelin, and it makes me want to learn to play the guitar and piano (which I already wanted to do; the desire is just stronger now).

4. The writing. It. Is. Incredible. This is the only book by Antony John that I've read, but I am totally in love with his writing. I marked so many passages in this novel. I can't wait to read his next book, Thou Shalt Not Road Trip.

Five Flavors of dumb is one of my favorite contemporary novels. To say it's incredible is an understatement. It was one of the best books I've read this year.

Book Trailer: Saving Elizabeth

2011-12-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

For your viewing pleasure, here is the book trailer for Amy Machelle's debut novel, Saving Elizabeth. Be sure to keep an eye out for my review of this book, which I'll be posting next week.

Review: Feyland: The Dark Realm

2011-12-16T08:00:00.001-07:00

Feyland: The Dark Realm by Anthea Sharp
Series: Feyland (#1)
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release date: December 15, 2011
Pages: 326
File size: 384 KB
Format: eBook
Website

WHEN A GAME…

Feyland is the most immersive computer game ever designed, and fifteen-year-old Jennet Carter is the first to play the prototype. But she doesn’t suspect the virtual world is close enough to touch — or that she’ll be battling for her life against the Dark Queen of the faeries.

TURNS REAL…

Tam Linn is the perfect hero — in-game. Too bad the rest of his life is seriously flawed. The last thing he needs is rich-girl Jennet prying into his secrets, insisting he’s the only one who can help her.

WINNING IS EVERYTHING…

Together, Jennet and Tam enter the Dark Realm of Feyland, only to discover that the entire human world is in danger. Pushed to the limit of their abilities, they must defeat the Dark Queen… before it’s too late.

I am extremely impressed by Feyland: The Dark Realm. Once I read the synopsis for it, I was sure I would love it, but I certainly did not expect to love it as much as I did. I have to admit, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting it to be, but I loved what it was.

The blend of faeries (fey? I still don't know what the right term to use is. Someone please tell me!), ballads, and video games was amazing. It might seem like a strange combination, but Anthea Sharp wove everything together perfectly so that it wasn't strange at all. Instead, everything made perfect sense. Each element was given much thought and care. I enjoyed getting to see the elements individually and as they came together as a whole.

The characters were fabulous. I loved Tam and Jennet's relationship and how it progressed throughout the novel. I loved it that they were able to see beyond appearances and dismiss stereotypes to see each other for who they really were. They bonded quickly and had a strong friendship throughout the novel, and it was all completely believable. I never felt like the development of their relationship was happening too quickly. I also enjoyed Marny, Tam's friend, and I wish we could have seen more of her. I really hope she makes a greater appearance in the sequel.

The uniqueness of the story is fantastic; it's what made me want to read the book in the first place, and it's what kept me captivated by the story throughout the novel. The concept of fae using video games as a portal to invade our world is creepy, but so awesome. I have never read anything like Feyland: The Dark Realm, and now that I have, I want to read more like it.

Win a manuscript critique!

2011-12-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

I recently received an email for a manuscript critique contest that I wanted to share with everyone, because I know a lot of us bloggers are also aspiring writers (myself included). Here's all the information I received in the email.

Win a literary agent or acclaimed author's feedback on your unpublished manuscript for young adult or middle grade readers. This rare opportunity is being offered to the six winners of an essay contest recently announced by the literacy charity Book Wish Foundation. See http://bookwish.org/contest for full details.
You could win a manuscript critique from:

Laura Langlie, literary agent for Meg Cabot
Nancy Gallt, literary agent for Jeanne DuPrau
Brenda Bowen, literary agent and editor of Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal winner Out of the Dust
Ann M. Martin, winner of the Newbery Honor for A Corner of the Universe
Francisco X. Stork, winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for The Last Summer of the Death Warriors
Cynthia Voigt, winner of the Newbery Medal for Dicey's Song and the Newbery Honor for A Solitary Blue

All that separates you from this prize is a 500-word essay about a short story in Book Wish Foundation's new anthology, What You Wish For. Essays are due Feb. 1, 2012 and winners will be announced around Mar. 1, 2012. If you win, you will have six months to submit the first 50 pages of your manuscript for critique (which means you can enter the contest even if you haven't finished, or started, your manuscript). You can even enter multiple times, with essays about more than one of the contest stories, for a chance to win up to six critiques.
If you dream of being a published author, this is an opportunity you should not miss. To enter, follow the instructions at http://bookwish.org/contest.
Good luck and best wishes,
Logan KleinwaksPresident, Book Wish Foundation
What You Wish For (ISBN 9780399254543, Putnam Juvenile, Sep. 15, 2011) is a collection of short stories and poems about wishes from 18 all-star writers: Meg Cabot, Jeanne DuPrau, Cornelia Funke, Nikki Giovanni, John Green, Karen Hesse, Ann M. Martin, Alexander McCall Smith, Marilyn Nelson, Naomi Shihab Nye, Joyce Carol Oates, Nate Powell, Sofia Quintero, Gary Soto, R.L. Stine, Francisco X. Stork, Cynthia Voigt, Jane Yolen. With a Foreword by Mia Farrow. Book Wish Foundation is donating 100% of its proceeds from the book to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to fund the development of libraries in Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad.

Make sure you check it out if you're interested--and if you do enter the contest, good luck!

Blog Tour Review: Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble

2011-12-14T00:00:00.004-07:00

Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble by D. Robert Pease
Series: Noah Zarc (#1)
Publisher: Walking Stick Books
Release date: August 12, 2011
Pages: 321
File size: 466 KB
Format: eBook
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Noah lives for piloting spaceships through time, dodging killer robots and saving Earth’s animals from extinction. Life couldn’t be better. However, the twelve-year-old time traveler soon learns it could be a whole lot worse. His mom is abducted and taken to thirty-first century Mars; his dad becomes stranded in the Ice Age; and Noah is attacked at every turn by a foe bent on destroying a newly habitable, post-apocalyptic Earth.

Traveling through time in the family’s immense spaceship, Noah, a paraplegic from birth, must somehow care for the thousands of animals on board, while finding a way to rescue his parents. Along the way, he discovers his mother and father aren’t who he thought they were, and there is strength inside him he didn’t know he had.

I've read very few retellings of well-known tales, like fairy tales, and I have definitely never read a retelling of a Biblical story. I really enjoyed the retelling of Noah's Ark that D. Robert Pease created. It was interesting and fun, and I enjoyed every word of it.

I do have to say that the concept of time travel in this book confused me. It was really hard for me to wrap my mind around how exactly the time travel worked. I love books about time travel, but Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble is different from any other time travel book I've read, so the time travel wasn't as easy to explain, especially because the characters can travel to the past and the future. I think if I were to read the book again, I'd probably understand just how the time travel works a little more. My confusion of how the time travel works didn't keep from enjoying the actual time travel, though, and the places and times the characters traveled to.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Noah and Adina. I liked it that though they were immediately drawn to each other, there was no full-blown, immediate, hard-to-believe romance between the two. Their relationship was based solely on friendship, and I liked that. I don't think there are enough books that have male and female characters whose relationships are based primarily on friendship and not the romance aspect.

I loved Noah's loyalty to his family and Adina. Despite a situation that could have drastically changed his life, Noah recognized what and who was truly important, and I loved that. He was young, but he had a maturity that was believable, because of the things he experienced throughout the book. At the same time, the relationships Noah had with his siblings reminded me that despite everything he was faced with, he was still twelve years old and in the process of growing up. Noah was an incredibly realistic character for me. All the characters were.

What I liked the most about Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble is that I believed it. I might have been confused by how the time travel worked, but I believed that it was possible. Nothing seemed far-fetched; there was never a moment when I thought, "That could never really happen." I don't read science fiction very often, so the fact this book was believable makes me really appreciate the sci-fi genre a little more.

Blog Tour Notes

OVERVIEW
Noah lives for piloting spaceships through time, dodging killer robots and saving Earth's animals from extinction.
Life couldn't be better.
But the twelve-year-old time traveler learns it could be a whole lot worse. His mom is kidnapped and taken to Mars; his dad is stranded in the Ice Age; and Noah is attacked at every turn by a foe bent on destroying Earth... for the second time.
Get your copy today by visiting Amazon.com (available in paperback or as an eBook) or the online retailer of your choice (more links below).
CASH PRIZES
Guess what? You could win a $50 Amazon gift card as part of this special blog tour. That’s right! Just leave a comment below saying something about the post you just read, and you’ll be entered into the raffle. I could win $50 too by having the most comments. So tell your friends to stop by and comment on this post too!
GIVEAWAY
Win 1 of 5 copies of the paperback version of Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble by entering the giveaway on GoodReads.
THE AUTHOR
D. Robert Pease has been interested in creating worlds since childhood. From building in the sandbox behind his house, to drawing fantastical worlds with paper and pencil, there has hardly been a time he hasn't been off on some adventure in his mind, to the dismay of parents and teachers alike. Also, since the moment he could read, books have consumed vast swaths of his life. From The Mouse and the Motorcycle, to The Lord of the Rings, worlds just beyond reality have called to him like Homer's Sirens. It's not surprising then he chose to write stories of his own. Each filled with worlds just beyond reach, but close enough we can all catch a glimpse of ourselves in the characters.
Discover ways to connect with the author by visiting his site at www.drobertpease.com
BOOK TRAILER

THANK YOU! for visiting. And don't forget to comment below for that chance to win the $50 Amazon gift card. And of course head on over to your favorite online book store and buy a copy of Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble, for you or for the kids in your life.
Amazon Paperback | Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble Nook | Apple iBookstore | Smashwords | Diesel eBook Store | CreateSpace Paperback | Amazon UK | Amazon France | Amazon Germany

Giveaway Extended: Nightingale by David Farland

2011-12-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

The deadline for the giveaway for Nightingale by David Farland has been extended! The deadline, which was originally tomorrow, is now December 28.

Bron Jones was abandoned as a newborn. Thrown into foster care, he is rejected by one family after another, until he meets Olivia, a gifted and devoted high-school teacher who recognizes him for what he really is—what her people call a “nightingale.” But Bron isn’t ready to learn the truth. There are secrets that have been hidden from mankind for hundreds of thousands of years, secrets that should remain hidden. Some things are too dangerous to know. Bron’s secret may be the most dangerous of all.

Want to enter the giveaway? Click here to read David Farland's guest post about reading in the future and for information about how to enter.

Review: Saving June

2011-12-12T00:00:00.001-07:00

Saving June by Hannah Harrington
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release date: November 22, 2011
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Blog

Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.

When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going California.

Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.

Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.

Saving June is intense. I didn't quite expect all the emotions that are in this book. Obviously, death is emotional, but I didn't expect Harper's emotions to be so raw. They were, though, and they were beautiful as a result.

Harper was such a vivid character. I felt the things she felt about her sister. Whenever she compared herself to her sister, or wondered about the parts of her sister's life that she wasn't a part of, I initially cringed, because other books I've read that are about a girl's sister dying brings up the same issues. I was so afraid that Saving June would just be more of the same, but it wasn't. Harper wasn't the same as the other characters I've read who compare themselves to their sisters and wonder about their sisters lives. Her personality and how she dealt with (or didn't deal with) June's death set her apart from characters in other books I've read.

I loved Harper's last attempt to save June. It's such a unique idea, to take someone's ashes to California instead of having your divorced parents divide the ashes between each other. Harper's journey and her evolution throughout the book was incredible. I loved how she was able to experience things she never would have otherwise experienced, like going to a protest and a concert that she never would have gone to if it weren't for Jake. I do have to admit that I found one potential flaw in the book: it's not likely that the characters would have ended up a few miles outside of Santa Fe, unless they had taken a detour off of I-40 and taken a back road north to Santa Fe. Because I'm from New Mexico, that didn't seem too plausible to me, but I went with it. Speaking of the scenes in New Mexico, they definitely made me giggle. I actually started talking to the characters at that point: "Yes, there are rattlesnakes in New Mexico. We've found them in our backyard before" and "Yes, the desert does get cold at night, even in the summer. But being the fifties or sixties on a summer night really isn't that bad. You get used to it."

I loved how music was incorporated into the book. It was fabulous to see different perspectives on music, through Jake and Harper. I loved it that there were playlists included at the end of the book. I can't remember the quote word for word, but at one point, Harper tells Jake that even manufactured pop music means something to someone and can impact someone in such a significant way, and that really stood out to me. After finished Saving June, I have a much greater appreciation for music than I did before, especially the genres of music I don't typically listen to.

Saving June is beautifully written. I was engaged from beginning to end, and I was sad when it ended, because I enjoyed the characters and their journeys so much. This is definitely one of my favorite novels of the year, and I can't wait to read more of Hannah Harrington.

In My Mailbox: 46

2011-12-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, in which we share the books we received for review, purchased, checked out from the library, etc.

For review

Saving Elizabeth by Amy Machelle

Blaming God for the death of her father, sixteen year old Elizabeth Bridges denounces her faith and vows never to utter His name again. She tries to distance herself from anything spiritual, but the events that occur after an unwanted move make that difficult.

First, the dreams come – dreams of evil creatures, and rendezvous with the gorgeous stranger she thinks her mind created to escape her miserable life. But her first day at Glacier High proves there’s more to it than that.

Elizabeth meets Riel, the boy from her dreams, and he knows more about her than is humanly possible. He says she possesses a coveted gift that all of Hell is clamoring to seize. The monsters she dreams of are real, and they’re battling for her soul. Soon, Elizabeth is thrust into a spiritual realm where she doesn’t know friend from foe. She battles demons in the storage closets of her high school, with Riel, her only protection.

Will Elizabeth be able to trust Riel and help him save what matters most, or will they both join forces with darkness and turn their backs forever on the only One who can offer them the love and peace they so deeply desire?

Happy Birthday to You by Brian Rowe

***SUMMARY CONTAINS SPOILERS***Newlyweds Cameron and Liesel Martin aren't able to celebrate their wedding bliss for long. Not only is Liesel unexpectedly pregnant... they're also facing the end of humanity!
Liesel's evil witch sister Hannah has cast a spell to make all humans on Earth age a whole year with every day. It's up to Cameron and Liesel to stop her... and save the world! Who will survive? And who will perish?

Thank you to Florence Price of Tell-Tale Publishing and Brian Rowe for sending me review copies of Saving Elizabeth and Happy Birthday to You!

From the library

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?
At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:
As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.
As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.
When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

Lexi is cursed with a dark secret. Each day she goes to school like a normal teenager, and each night she must swim, or the pain will be unbearable. She is a siren - a deadly mermaid destined to lure men to their watery deaths. After a terrible tragedy, Lexi shut herself off from the world, vowing to protect the ones she loves. But she soon finds herself caught between a new boy at school who may have the power to melt her icy exterior, and a handsome water spirit who says he can break Lexi's curse if she gives up everything else. Lexi is faced with the hardest decision she's ever had to make: the life she's always longed for - or the love she can't live without?

That's all I got this week. What did you get? Happy reading!

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood

2011-12-09T10:06:00.000-07:00

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Series: Anna (#1)
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release date: August 30, 2011
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Website

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

As soon as I started reading Anna Dressed in Blood, I was completely sucked into the story. At first, I wasn't too sure about Cas having to find a hitchhiking ghost who kills people, because that's a well-known urban legend, but I loved what Kendare Blake did with it. She took the urban legend and made it interesting, and she pulled me into the story and kept me there until the last page.

I love ghost stories, as long as they're fiction (ghosts tend to really creep me out). Anna Dressed in Blood is no exception. As far as ghost stories go, this is one of my favorites. I loved all the layers of Anna that we got to see as her story developed. I loved it that even though she had this incredible power and rage and had done some horrible things, I still liked her. She had a scary side, but she also had an innocent side, and I felt so much sympathy for her.

All the characters in this book were great. Cas was an awesome narrator. He was strong and determined. He knew what he wanted and he went after it. But he didn't have all the answers, either, and I appreciated that. The supporting cast of characters was equally awesome. I enjoyed watching the relationships among all the characters develop, and I loved it that not all the characters knew everything, but what one character didn't know, another character did. The characters were able to share their knowledge with each other to come up with solutions, and as a result they all complemented each other so well.

The best part of Anna Dressed in Blood is that Kendare Blake doesn't hold anything back. Murder is gruesome, and she doesn't gloss over it. When we find out how Anna died, we don't get a pretty little picture of it. We get the whole, horrible, gruesome image. It would have been so easy for Kendare Blake to tell us in one sentence who killed Anna and why, but she doesn't do that. Instead, she lets us actually see it happen. I loved that, because it made Anna's character that much better for me. It helped me understand Anna better.

Anna Dressed in Blood is a fabulous debut. I was a little worried that the book wouldn't live up to all the hype it's been getting, but it did. I can't wait to read more of Kendare Blake.

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door

2011-12-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release date: September 29, 2011
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Website

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Stephanie Perkins has done it again--completely blown me away, that is. I am such a fangirl when it comes to her.

I can think of plenty of adjectives to sum up Lola and the Boy Next Door--amazing, incredible, and fabulous, just to name a few--and while those things are true, I'm not convinced that they're completely sufficient. To say that I loved Lola and the Boy Next Door would be an understatement.

Stephanie Perkins has an incredible way with words. She really does. She manages to come up with great stories that have a wonderful cast of characters. Her books are so vivid; I'm always able to picture everything exactly as she describes it. When I read Stephanie Perkins, I feel like I'm in the story myself, tagging along with the narrator, and that's exactly how I felt when I read Lola and the Boy Next Door. Reading Stephanie Perkins is like catching up with old friends I haven't talked to in a while.

On that note, I have to talk about Lola. I loved her. I didn't think she was as funny as Anna from Anna and the French Kiss was, but her voice was just as strong, and she did make me laugh in some places. What I didn't understand was what she saw in Max. Every time she talked about Max or was with Max, I wanted to scream at her to break up with him and pick Cricket. Max is one of the most unlikable characters I've ever read. I could not stand him. He was such a jerk--I hated everything about him, from the way he treated Lola to the way he thought he was superior to others. He never actually said anything to indicate the thought he was superior to others, but to me, the way he acted and spoke just screamed it.

I've heard people say that Lola and the Boy Next Door is better than Anna and the French Kiss, but I can't make that comparison. I love them both equally, but for different reasons. The writing in both is excellent, the characters in both are amazing. But while Anna and the French Kiss is strong in its humor, Lola and the Boy Next Door touches on more serious issues while remaining lighthearted. Both are feel-good stories, and I don't think either one is better than the other. Stephanie Perkins continues to amaze me. I can't wait for Isla and the Happily Ever After.

Review: Ugly to Start With

2011-12-06T06:00:00.001-07:00

Ugly to Start With by John Michael Cummings
Publisher: Vandalia Press
Release date: October 1, 2011
Pages: 168
File Size: 1165 KB
Format: eBook
Website

Jason Stevens is growing up in picturesque, historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in the 1970s. Back when the roads are smaller, the cars slower, the people more colorful, and Washington, D.C. is way across the mountains—a winding sixty-five miles away.

Jason dreams of going to art school in the city, but he must first survive his teenage years. He witnesses a street artist from Italy charm his mother from the backseat of the family car. He stands up to an abusive husband—and then feels sorry for the jerk. He puts up with his father’s hard-skulled backwoods ways, his grandfather’s showy younger wife, and the fist-throwing schoolmates and eccentric mountain characters that make up Harpers Ferry—all topped off by a basement art project with a girl from the poor side of town.
Ugly to Start With punctuates the exuberant highs, bewildering midpoints, and painful lows of growing up, and affirms that adolescent dreams and desires are often fulfilled in surprising ways.

John Michael Cummings' writing reminds me of Sherman Alexie. While I was reading Ugly to Start With, I kept thinking about The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, and how both books are made up of short stories that come together to form a whole. I love Sherman Alexie, and I liked it that Ugly to Start With reminded me of Alexie's writing.

My favorite story in Ugly to Start With was The Scratchboard Project. There is so much packed into that story that shows Jason's character, all the positive and negative things about him. Of course, a lot of the negative things about him, like his instances of racism, come from his parents and the environment he grew up in, but the positive things come from his realizing that parents aren't always right, although he never acknowledges it. I liked seeing both sides of him because it made him more realistic as a character.

I loved how we get to know the other characters through Jason's perspectives of them. I love how Jason doesn't just describe people based on what they look like. One of my favorite descriptions of another character in the book was when Jason described his mother by saying that for her, pictures are as good as the real thing, and that she has a coffee table book of Italian pottery that has the pictures she talks about in it. It tells us so much about Jason's mother, and it tells us so much about he sees her.

There were parts of the book that made me cringe, not necessarily in a bad way, but in way where I was thinking, "Is this really happening?" or "Did he really just say/think that?" One story that had me cringing throughout was Carter. It was a really tough story to read because of the subject matter, but it was so well-written that even though I hesitate to say I enjoyed it, because of the subject matter, it certainly did hold my interest.

John Michael Cummings did a fabulous job with this book. From the beginning to the end, it held my interest. The writing was wonderful, the characters were great, the imagery was vivid. As far as short story collections go, this is a short story collection that is absolutely worth reading.

Review: The Bards of Bone Plain

2011-12-05T08:00:00.001-07:00

The Bards of Bone Plain by Patricia A. McKillip
Publisher: Ace Trade
Release date: December 6, 2011
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback

Scholar Phelan Cle is researching Bone Plain-which has been studied for the last 500 years, though no one has been able to locate it as a real place. Archaeologist Jonah Cle, Phelan's father, is also hunting through time, piecing history together from forgotten trinkets. His most eager disciple is Princess Beatrice, the king's youngest daughter. When they unearth a disk marked with ancient runes, Beatrice pursues the secrets of a lost language that she suddenly notices all around her, hidden in plain sight.

The Bards of Bone Plain was surprisingly good. Initially, I found the cover to be a turn-off, but this is a case where you can't judge a book by its cover.

I don't read fantasy often. I think the last time I read a full-blown fantasy novel was in high school, when I tried reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I'm always wary about it, because I never know what to expect, and I never know if I'll like it or not. I really liked The Bards of Bone Plain, though, because of the musical aspect. Music is a passion of mine, and I love books about music. Because it's a fantasy novel, The Bards of Bone Plain deals with music in a much different way than I'm used to reading about in the contemporary novels I've read. I love the idea of the amount of magic and power that can be contained in music. I loved reading about how music affected different characters, and I loved it that a bard's music has the ability to affect not just people, but also things like buildings.

The writing is phenomenal. Everything flows really well, and there are some lovely passages in the novel. I wasn't expecting to mark any of the passages in this novel, the way I tend to do with contemporary novels, but there were a few that I just had to take note of

Nairn dropped his eyes, pitched every note, sang every word of longing and passion in the ballad to all the music he had never heard, might never hear, the treasure hoard of it, hidden away like forbidden love behind windowless walls, within indomitable towers. (Page 27)

"Music doesn't lie," the bard said after a moment. "If you play a false note, it sounds. But words can shift their meanings so easily, weigh so lightly one moment, fly like a star, or drop like a stone in the next. How many times have you spoken the word 'love' and meant anything but that?" (Page 84)

He had unraveled his heart for them, spun it into gold and woven gold into a web. The two flies buzzing obliviously on the outermost strand of it would cause the bard dissatisfaction greater than his pleasure in all the trapped and motionless morsels within the shining threads. (Page 157)

One of my favorite things about this book was reading Phelan's paper, which is given to us in pieces at the beginning of specific chapters. I like how it tied everything together, and it was really interesting to read. If it were a real scholarly paper, it's one that I would be completely engrossed in. The chapters alternate from Phelan's time to the history that he's researching, and I enjoyed that, too. In the end, everything in the alternating chapters comes together, and creates a wonderful ending that I didn't expect.

I hesitate to say I want to read more fantasy now that I've read The Bards of Bone Plain, because fantasy is such a broad term, but I won't hesitate to pick up another of Patricia A. McKillip's books, especially if they're also about music.

In My Mailbox: 45

2011-12-04T00:00:00.003-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, in which we share the books we received for review, purchased, checked out at the library, etc.

I received one book for review this week.

Notes to Self by Avery Sawyer

Two climbed up. Two fell down.
One woke up.
In the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury, Robin Saunders has to relearn who she is and find out what happened the night everything changed.

Thank you, Avery Sawyer, for sending me a review copy of Notes to Self!
Library loot:

Stay With Me by Paul Griffin

Fifteen-year-olds Cece and Mack didn't expect to fall in love. She's a sensitive A student; he's a high school dropout. But soon they're spending every moment together, bonding over a rescued dog, telling their secrets, making plans for the future. Everything is perfect. Until. Until. Mack makes a horrible mistake, and in just a few minutes, the future they'd planned becomes impossible. In this stark new reality, both of them must find meaning and hope in the memories of what they had, to survive when the person they love can't stay.

And I finally used the Amazon gift card I got for my birthday to get the following:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can. She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.There is. She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong.

Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.
When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going California.
Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.
Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose. Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?

Frost by Marianna Baer

Leena Thomas’s senior year at boarding school begins with a shock: Frost House, her cozy dorm of close friends, has been assigned an unexpected roommate: confrontational, eccentric Celeste Lazar. But while Leena’s anxiety about a threat to her sanctuary proves valid, it becomes less and less clear whether the threat lies with her new roommate, within Leena’s own mind, or within the very nature of Frost House itself. Mysterious happenings in the dorm, an intense triangle between Leena, Celeste, and Celeste’s brother, and the reawakening of childhood fears, all push Leena to take increasingly desperate measures to feel safe. Frost is the story of a haunting. As to whether the demons are supernatural or psychological . . . well, which answer would let you sleep at night?

Beautiful Days by Anna Godbersen

***SUMMARY CONTAINS SPOILERS***

For the bright young things of 1929, the beautiful days seem endless, filled with romance and heartbreak, adventure and intrigue, friendship and rivalry.
After a month in New York, Cordelia Grey and Letty Larkspur are small-town girls no longer. They spend their afternoons with Astrid Donal at the Greys’ lush Long Island estate and their nights in Manhattan’s bustling metropolis. But Letty’s not content to be a mere socialite. She is ready at last to chase her Broadway dreams—no matter the cost.
Cordelia is still reeling from the death of her father at the hands of Thom Hale, the man she thought she loved. Now she is set to honor Darius Grey’s legacy . . . and take her revenge.
Promised to Cordelia’s half brother, Astrid is caught up in a world of dazzling jewels and glittering nights—and the sparkle is blinding. Charlie Grey is a gangster playing a dangerous game; and for Astrid, Cordelia, and Letty, the stakes could be deadly.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay. When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home. But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

That's all I received this week. What did you get this week? Also, make sure you enter my giveaway for a copy of David Farland's Nightingale. Happy reading!

Review: It's Not Summer Without You

2011-12-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
Series: Summer trilogy (#2)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release date: April 5, 2011
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Website

***SUMMARY CONTAINS SLIGHT SPOILERS***Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach? It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come. But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach.

It's Not Summer Without You blew me away. I liked The Summer I Turned Pretty, but I didn't love it, so I wasn't expecting to fall in love with It's Not Summer Without You, either, but I did. It's so much better than The Summer I Turned Pretty. The writing is more focused; the chapters switch back and forth between Belly's and Jeremiah's narrations, but it's not confusing, the way I found the jumps in time confusing in The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Belly was so much more enjoyable in this novel. Because of the events in The Summer I Turned Pretty, she's more mature in It's Not Summer Without You, and I liked that. It was easier to like her and to connect with her in this book. I loved Conrad and Jeremiah, too, and finding out more about them. I loved the history of Belly's relationships with them and the history of her relationships with her mom and Susannah that Jenny Han sprinkled throughout the book. One of my favorite scenes was when Susannah put makeup on Belly, because that scene told us so much about the characters as individuals as well as the characters in relation to each other. I loved the descriptions of what Belly's mom and Susannah kept in their makeup bags, and how it was used to compare the woman and show how Belly feels about them. Little things like that made me love this book.

It's Not Summer Without You is the type of book that leaves me at a loss for words. I don't know what else to say about it other than I loved it. It's a heartbreaking story, and by the end of it, I felt a little depressed. Those don't sound like good things, but for me, they are, because it just shows how much this book affected me emotionally. I love books that affect me the way It's Not Summer Without You affected me. I can't wait to read We'll Always Have Summer.

Guest Post and Giveaway: Reading in the Future with David Farland

2011-11-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm happy to have David Farland, author of Nightingale, on my blog, as he shares his vision of what reading will be like in the future. Thanks, David, for stopping by!

Bron Jones was abandoned as a newborn. Thrown into foster care, he is rejected by one family after another, until he meets Olivia, a gifted and devoted high-school teacher who recognizes him for what he really is—what her people call a “nightingale.” But Bron isn’t ready to learn the truth. There are secrets that have been hidden from mankind for hundreds of thousands of years, secrets that should remain hidden. Some things are too dangerous to know. Bron’s secret may be the most dangerous of all.

David Farland bio: David Farland is the international bestselling author of nearly fifty books, including such award-winning novels as the science fiction masterpiece On My Way to Paradise (Philip K. Dick Memorial Special Award Winner, Best Novel in English Language) and the historical novelIn the Company of Angels (Whitney Award Winner: Best Novel of the Year). He is best known though for his fantasy work, which includes the New York Times bestselling series The Runelords, and his lovable and wacky middle-grade fantasy series Ravenspell.
With Nightingale, Dave makes his first foray into creating his own young adult series. (Dave has written young adult novels for both the Star Wars and Mummy franchises as Dave Wolverton, but this is the first young adult universe that he's created for himself.)
In addition to writing novels, Dave has also worked in videogames on such international bestselling games as Starcraft: Brood Wars, and Xena: The Talisman of Fate.
More recently, Dave has worked in the film industry as a movie producer and a screenwriter. His screenplay for the Runelords in now in development for a major motion picture.
Throughout his career, Dave has worked extensively helping new writers through his work as coordinating judge of the Writers of the Future, as a creative writing instructor at Brigham Young University, and by teaching writing seminars. Many of his students have gone on to become some of the most successful writers of our time, including such #1 international bestsellers as Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, and Stephenie Meyer.

Reading in the Future
by David Farland

Imagine that you put on your “reading glasses.” The glasses are dark, fitted with lasers andhigh-quality stereo earbuds, so that as you put them on, your entire field ofvision is captured. A laser inside theglasses flashes a novel title on the interior surface of your eye.

Of course, the book you see is my book (why not, it's myfantasy). The letters start small, off in the distance and they quickly drawcloser to you, but they don't stop, they wash right over you and just when itseems they're all around you, they explode in a burst of light, “Nightingale, by David Farland.” You can hardly imagine what life was like before3D. As soon as you read the last word, a laser with a computer link that tracksyour eye movement cues the background music, and images begin to flash in youreye—a holographic video-clip of the character of Bron, as an infant, beingabandoned outside the door of a cheap hotel in the Utah desert. The camera pans up to the face of his mother,Sommer, bitter and broken, with tears in her eyes. We flash to the prologue, where Sommer runsthrough a forest at night, her breathing deep, while dogs snarl and bark asthey give pursuit. Fireflies rise uparound her.

Words to the novel appear on screen, as background musiccontinues, and you begin to read. AsSommer twists her foot and falls, the lasers pace your reading and insert asound-effect—the thud of a body falling, the hiss of breath knocked fromSommer’s throat. The dogs bay moreexcitedly. A man’s heavy footsteps canbe heard tromping through the brush behind the reader, and a startled mewlingcry escapes Sommer’s throat. . . .

Welcome to the future of reading, where text, images, soundsand music forge a collage. That’s thevision I have that led me to become a co-founder of East India Press.

The technology to do this already exists. The use ofheads-up displays in fighter jets was pioneered in the 1960s, and thattechnology has now gone public. Thoughreaders now are using the iPad2 and the Kindle Fire, I’m looking forward to thedevices we’ll have five years from now, or ten years.

How can reading technology be better than with current books?

We don’t want to replace reading. We don’t want to makemovies. Reading often engages theaudience’s imagination in ways that movies fail to. We want to keep it that way. We want the reader to be a partner with us inbringing a tale to life. At the sametime, we hope to ‘enhance,’ the story, help readers become more fully involvedwith it, yet keep budgets reasonable. With film clips, animations, illustrations, background music, and soundeffects, we can create something that fuses a lot of storytelling tools.

Creating e-books has become cheap and easy. This year, it is estimated that three millionpeople will be putting their own e-books up for sale. That’s a staggering number. If you spend twelve hours a day justexamining those titles, and spend only ten seconds studying each e-book put upthis year, you wouldn’t be able to glance at even 1/100^th of all thebooks that will be published—much less read one!

Readers are being deluged, often with books that aren’t anygood. Most of those books, unfortunately,wouldn’t have made it past an editor. The author just wasn’t ready. Sure, there will be a few diamonds among all of that coal, but no editorwill have time to sort through it.

I've had my share of sorting through manuscripts. For nearly a decade I was the first judge forone of the world’s largest writing contests. A funny story, once an editor of a major publisher asked me to help picka book to give the “big publicity push to” for the next year. I read through thirty books and selected abook that the marketers thought was “too-long” for its intended audience. I pointed out that the book was also writtenseveral grade levels too high for its intended audience. But it was a greatbook, so I urged them to push it despite the book’s apparent problems. It was called Harry Potter.

Even though authors can publish their own works, we’re goingto need editors in the future who understand how to green-light a novel, whocan recognize what will please an audience. But once a work is selected, the editor will take the role of aproducer—assembling a creative team of composers, musicians, illustrators,animators, directors, sound-effects engineers, and so on.”

Distributing enhanced books won’t be expensive. After all, it will be done electronically. There are no copies to print, ship, orstore. But creating them will be expensive and time-consuming.

Still, it will be a lot less expensive than making amovie. To create a really great moviewith a lot of special effects can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and itwill only give the viewer an hour or two of entertainment. But by meshing technologies, we can create asimilar experience with novels, spending perhaps only a hundred thousand ortwo—and it will give a reading experience that might last for twenty or thirtyhours or more! Novels have a uniqueability to let us achieve deep penetration into the minds and emotions of acharacter, much more so than with a film. I’m excited about the possibilities.

In fact, I am so excited about the possibilities that I wentindie with this next novel. I didn't have to by any means. I'm an award-winningNew York Times bestseller. Instead, I decided to start my own publishingcompany for enhanced novels. I seepotential. Nightingale is the firstyoung adult novel I’ve written, outside of a little work with Star Wars and theMummy. I knew it could be a hit, but Iwanted to do something . . . unique with it. I've trained dozens of other #1international bestsellers, people like Brandon Sanderson and Stephenie Meyer, andI've learned to spot “good,” whether it's someone else's work or my own. Nightingale has it.

Now that it’s done, this is a first step toward creating amore-engaging form of novel, the kind that kids who are reluctant readers mightdevour. I’m looking forward to see whatwe can do in ten or twenty years. But Nightingaleis a step toward that future.

Nightingale is the story of a young man, abandoned at birth,rejected from foster home after foster home. People see that he’s brilliant and talented, but also “strange.” He’s the ultimate loner until he meetsOlivia, a marvelously gifted teacher, who recognizes that Bron is somethingspecial, something that her people call a “Nightingale,” a creature not quitehuman.

I was excited to see how it would be received. I was evenmore excited when the first reviewer said, “I devoured the novel. It was absolutely incredible! . . . Istruggled to explain just how much I enjoyed it in my review. . . . Afterreading Nightingale, I don't think Iwill even be able to go back to reading regular e-books again. Like it says in my review, reading theenhanced Nightingale felt like an‘experience.’ It didn't feel quite like a book or a movie. It initiated all ofmy senses. . . . enhanced ebooks are actually a real deal.” That's whatwe were hoping people would see in it. The future of books is beginning now.

Best of all, East India Press has created a new websimulation technology that mimics how the book appears on the iPad, so you cansee and hear it for yourself for free at www.nightingalenovel.com.

And now it's giveaway time! David Farland and East India Press are giving away one copy of Nightingale. To enter, they've asked that you view the trailer for Nightingale, and you must also fill out the entry from. The contest will be open until December 14 and is open to everyone. Please keep in mind that Nightingale is an enhanced eBook when entering. The winner will be chosen at random, and I will email the winner the code and instructions for accessing Nightingale.

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Review: The New Phenomenon

2011-11-29T06:00:00.003-07:00

The New Phenomenon by Chris Raabe
Publisher: WriteLife
Release date: October 25, 2011
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Website

Every teenager wants to fit in, and Christian Pearson is no different. He is a phenomenon on the athletic field and in the classroom, but a terrifying accident on a fishing trip with his grandfather changes Christian's life forever. As he enters his freshman year of high school, Christian hides a secret that he plans to take to his grave. When the Pearson family moved from the city to the sleepy town of Red Oak, Iowa, before his freshman year of high school, Christian hoped for a smooth transition to small town life. Being the new kid in school has been a blessing and a curse. Most of the boys in Christian's class view him as a threat, so Christian struggles to fit it, but as an outcast, his secret is safe. When three freshmen, all from the same family, start school a week late, Christian senses something different about these new students. He reaches out to "The Three" seeking some semblance of friendship in his new hometown. When "The Three" confront Christian about the secret he hides, Christian is faced with a huge problem. Will this secret cost Christian his friends, his family, his freedom, and even his life?

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Is that sufficient to sum up how I feel about The New Phenomenon?

Okay, it's not. So, let me just say this:

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

All caps completely necessary. Really, it was awesome. The action starts right away and the story stays interesting up until the very end. At one point, I was worried that the book was going to take a turn into the cliched government-is-after-kids-with-superpowers story, but it didn't. I was so glad when it didn't turn out that way; if it had become a cliche, I would have been incredibly disappointed. I don't want to give too much away about the book, but I will say this: the reason it didn't become a cliche for me was because of Roswell. When Roswell, New Mexico first came up in the book, I thought, "Here we go. Time for aliens." But Chris Raabe takes all the UFO stories about Roswell and spins an awesome explanation for them. Being from New Mexico, I really appreciated this.

I loved the wholesome aspect of this book. Small town life was realistically portrayed, and Chris Raabe did a great job of portraying life for teenagers in a small town, where football is the big thing, and the high school students throw parties and drink after the games, while creating a character who plays football but doesn't conform to his peers' standards. Christian was great. I loved it that he was a football player but that he didn't go out partying and drinking. I loved it that he loved his family and that he cared about positive things, like doing well in school, doing well in football, and staying out of trouble. I loved it that he was a positive role model for his sisters, even though we didn't see much of his sisters in the book.
There really isn't much that I didn't love about this book. I fell in love with Christian and his friends, Alexis, Ray, and Samantha. Alexis was my favorite character; I felt completely drawn to her, even though she's a relatively private character in that she doesn't reveal everything about herself. I loved what she added to the story, and I want to know more about her. The descriptions of the town are great; it was easy to imagine everything. The story is intriguing and kept my interest throughout the novel.

The way the novel ends sets it up for a sequel, and I really hope there's going to be a sequel, because I need to know what's going to happen next. The New Phenomenon is one of the best books I've read that deals with teenagers having unusual abilities. I can't wait for to read whatever Chris Raabe has in store for us next, sequel or otherwise.

Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty

2011-11-28T00:00:00.001-07:00

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Series: Summer #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release date: April 6, 2010
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Website

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

The Summer I Turned Pretty didn't blow me away like I thought it would. I didn't hate it, but I didn't completely fall in love with it, either. I'm a little disappointed, because after hearing so many wonderful things about it, I expected it be as amazing as Twenty Boy Summer or a Sarah Dessen novel. And while The Summer I Turned Pretty was really, really good, I don't know that I would call it amazing.

The reason I didn't fall in love with it completely was Belly. She annoyed me so much throughout a lot of the book. I really sympathized with her feeling left out and feeling like the boys treated her like she was a little kid, but sometimes, that was exactly how she acted. She had so many moments where she was so immature, and I just wanted to shake her and tell her that she was acting exactly how she didn't want to be treated. She grew on me by the end of the novel, though, because by the end of the novel, I could see a significant change in her. She still wasn't 100 percent mature by the end of the novel, but she was more mature than she had been. If I hadn't seen that change her, I think I would feel differently about the book than I do.

I wasn't always sure what to make of Belly's relationships with Conrad and Jeremiah, but overall, I liked them. I liked it that in their own ways, they each showed that they cared about Belly. At the same time, they treated her the way they probably would have treated a little sister, and I liked that, too. It was realistic. I think my issue with Belly's relationships with Conrad and Jeremiah stemmed from Belly and not the boys. I hated how she overreacted to things at times and how she couldn't take a joke. Sometimes the boys embarrassed her, which is understandable, but sometimes, she just completely blew things out of proportion.

I also found the time changes in some chapters confusing at first. I didn't realize at first that right under the chapter number, it sometimes said how old Belly was during that particular chapter, so it was confusing to me when the story jumped around in time. Once I figured it out, it wasn't a problem, but I'm not sure I liked it. I think the same information could have been given as back story throughout the present time narration, instead of being given its own separate chapters.

The characters were all great, even if they did annoy me. None of them were perfect, and I liked seeing their good qualities and their flaws. I also liked it that Belly recognized the flaws in the people she loved while still recognizing all that was good about them, especially when it came to Conrad. There were moments when how Belly saw Conrad showed how good of a person he could be, and there were moments when how he treated Belly and how she perceived him showed how he wasn't always a great person, and how he had issues of his own to deal with. The portrayal of the adults in the novel, Belly's mom and Susannah, was perfect. They were present enough to be important to the story, but Belly was also given space to grow as a person on her own as well as with their guidance. It was the perfect balance.

Overall, I enjoyed The Summer I Turned Pretty. I noted some lovely quotes in it, and I can't wait to delve into the rest of the trilogy. I love summery beach reads like this, and The Summer I Turned Pretty is a great summery beach read.

In My Mailbox: 44

2011-11-26T23:32:00.001-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. The purpose of this meme is to share the books we purchased, checked out from the library, received for review, received as gifts, etc. Sorry for the lack of cover images--Blogger is acting up and I can't post them properly.

Here's what I received for review this week:

Ugly to Start With by John Michael Cummings

*Summary is from Amazon*

Jason Stevens is growing up in picturesque, historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in the 1970s. Back when the roads are smaller, the cars slower, the people more colorful, and Washington, D.C. is way across the mountains—a winding sixty-five miles away.

Jason dreams of going to art school in the city, but he must first survive his teenage years. He witnesses a street artist from Italy charm his mother from the backseat of the family car. He stands up to an abusive husband—and then feels sorry for the jerk. He puts up with his father’s hard-skulled backwoods ways, his grandfather’s showy younger wife, and the fist-throwing schoolmates and eccentric mountain characters that make up Harpers Ferry—all topped off by a basement art project with a girl from the poor side of town.

Ugly to Start With punctuates the exuberant highs, bewildering midpoints, and painful lows of growing up, and affirms that adolescent dreams and desires are often fulfilled in surprising ways.

The New Phenomenon by Chris Raabe

Every teenager wants to fit in, and Christian Pearson is no different. He is a phenomenon on the athletic field and in the classroom, but a terrifying accident on a fishing trip with his grandfather changes Christian's life forever. As he enters his freshman year of high school, Christian hides a secret that he plans to take to his grave. When the Pearson family moved from the city to the sleepy town of Red Oak, Iowa, before his freshman year of high school, Christian hoped for a smooth transition to small town life. Being the new kid in school has been a blessing and a curse. Most of the boys in Christian's class view him as a threat, so Christian struggles to fit it, but as an outcast, his secret is safe. When three freshmen, all from the same family, start school a week late, Christian senses something different about these new students. He reaches out to "The Three" seeking some semblance of friendship in his new hometown. When "The Three" confront Christian about the secret he hides, Christian is faced with a huge problem. Will this secret cost Christian his friends, his family, his freedom, and even his life?

Thank you John Michael Cummings and Cindy Gray for sending me these books!

Received from the library:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Purchased:

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

The Challenge: Piper has one month to get the rock band Dumb a paying gig.
The Deal: If she does it, Piper will become the band's manager and get her share of the profits.
The Catch: How can Piper possibly manage one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl? And how can she do it when she's deaf?
Piper can't hear Dumb's music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb.

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

From the moment she sets foot at her new school in Ireland, Megan is inexplicably drawn to the darkly handsome Adam DeRis. But Megan soon discovers that her feelings for Adam are tied to a supernatural fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that unites them could be their ultimate destruction.

This electrifying debut novel was first discovered on inkpop.com. the online community for aspiring writers. THE CARRIER OF THE MARK sizzles with unbridled romance, a unique supernatural hook, and a breathtaking Irish setting, and will entice fans of the Need series by Carrie Jones and the House of Night series by P. C. and Kristin Cast.

Received as a late birthday present from my sister:

The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers by Michael Newton

From Jack the Ripper to the FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP), the Encyclopedia of Serial Killers provides an exhaustive overview of what is undoubtedly the most macabre and fascinating branch of crime and modern criminology. More than 240 entries and 70 photographs detail individual cases of serial murder from ancient Rome to the present day, law enforcement agents and their techniques, the factors that contribute to the development of a serial killer, and how society chooses to deal with and punish these vicious criminals.

I love CSI and I read a lot of true crime, so I'm super-excited about the book my sister got me. I'm really excited about everything I got this week, actually. I can't wait to dig into all of them. What did you get this week? Happy reading!

Review: Kevin's Point of View

2011-11-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

Kevin's Point of View by Del Shannon
Publisher: Flatiron View Books
Release date: October 26, 2010
Pages: 400
Website

To escape the emotional turmoil of his father’s death 12-year-old Kevin Tobin has retreated inside himself, developing his imagination into a dangerous foil and a powerful ally. While he antagonizes everyone with his superhero antics, his ability to escape inside himself becomes critical to his survival after his life is once-again turned upside down a year after his father’s death. When a mysterious package arrives in the mail, Kevin and his best friend are hunted by a ruthless villain who is determined to retrieve the package, which holds the key to his plans for world domination. After enlisting Kevin’s teenage sister and her pizza-delivery boyfriend in a battle for control over time itself, the group escapes into the mountains west of Boulder, Colorado and eventually discover that Kevin’s entire existence is because of the love of someone we never expected.

I was not expecting there to be so much action in Kevin's Point of View, but it turns out it's a fantastic adventure story with great characters, an interesting plot, and a psychological aspect that I found fascinating.

I was sucked in from page one. Kevin's Point of View is one of those books I just couldn't stop reading. I had to know what was going to happen next. There's a lot happening in the book, but Del Shannon weaves it all together wonderfully. I love how he handled Kevin's issue of daydreaming with humor while still showing the serious side of it. There was a huge psychological aspect to Kevin's daydreaming, and I loved it. I love psychology, so I enjoyed seeing how Kevin was affected by loss and what his coping mechanisms were, especially when it was such an interesting coping mechanism. I'm also glad that he didn't have a coping mechanism that wasn't explained. There's a point in the story when Kevin explains to Tony why he daydreams the way he does, and that was one of the best parts of the story for me, because we found out the reason for his daydreaming directly from Kevin.

The characters in Kevin's Point of View are awesome. They're so unique and so much fun. My favorite character was Scratch. He cracked me up. Sometimes, he came off as a little stereotypical, but I was too busy laughing to care. I also loved the relationships the characters had with each other. The sibling rivalry with Kevin and his sister throughout much of the novel was fantastic. The fact that they do care about and love each other was also fantastic. Tony bugged me sometimes, when he got fed up with Kevin and said he was done and then ended up going with Kevin anyway, which he did a lot, but in the end, Tony and Kevin were there for each other no matter what, and I liked that part of their friendship.

I wasn't sure I would like all the action in the story, but I did. It's well-paced, and it's never dull. There were moments that had me on the edge of my seat, especially near the end of the novel. I'm not going to give away the ending, but OH MY GOSH. I loved it. At one point, I thought I knew how it was going to end, and I thought it was a little predictable, but I turned out to be completely wrong, and I'm so glad I was. The actual ending was so much better than what I thought it was going to be.

Kevin's Point of View is an excellent debut. 400 pages seems like a lot, but it's a quick, great read. I enjoyed every word of it.

Review: Nightingale

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Nightingale by David Farland
Publisher: East India Press
Release date: October 31, 2011
Size: 157 KB
Format: eBook
Website

Bron Jones was abandoned as a newborn. Thrown into foster care, he is rejected by one family after another, until he meets Olivia, a gifted and devoted high-school teacher who recognizes him for what he really is—what her people call a “nightingale.”
But Bron isn’t ready to learn the truth. There are secrets that have been hidden from mankind for hundreds of thousands of years, secrets that should remain hidden. Some things are too dangerous to know.
Bron’s secret may be the most dangerous of all.

What better way to get me excited about a book than music?Music and books are my two loves, and after previewing the soundtrack forNightingale, I was more than ready to jump right into the book.

The soundtrack is amazing.Some of the tracks had a rock feel to them, some had an opera feel, and therewas one that had a country feel—Can’t Breathe. That might be my favorite trackjust because it was so country (I am a country girl at heart). But I really,really loved the preview for Firefly Run. The soundtrack set the tone of thenovel for me, and took to me to another world even before I started reading. Iloved it, and once I started listening, I couldn’t wait to start reading andfind out how the music was tied into the novel.

After I listened to the previewof the soundtrack, I listened to the preview for the audiobook, and I have tosay, it was awesome. I don’t listen to audiobooks because I haven’t found anarrator I like yet, and because I just can’t focus on them. I always startdoing something else, like cleaning, and an hour later, I realize I have noidea what I’ve just listened to. The audiobook for Nighingale is completelydifferent from any other audiobook I’ve tried to listen to. The narrator isgood. And it’s more than just someone reading to you; when dogs bark and growlin the story, you actually hear dogs barking and growling. When the scene is atnight, you can hear crickets in the background. I loved it. It made theexperience of listening to an audiobook so awesome. I wish all audiobooks werelike this.

Before each chapter, there areinterviews with the author. Initially, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it; itseemed like it could be disruptive to the reading experience. What I found,though, was that I really enjoyed it. Before you actually delve into a chapter,you can also listen to the soundtrack, which I really enjoyed, and there isalso artwork accompanying the beginning of each chapter. The artwork isbeautiful and like everything else, it sets the tone. Not all of the enhancements were included yet, but theones I got to experience were fantastic.

In reading, there are certainwords and phrases that are highlighted, so you can click on them to find out moreinformation. I knew I would be clicking on every single one of them; they actas footnotes, and I have a hard time not reading footnotes, even thoughsometimes it takes me out of a story and makes it take that much longer for meto read the novel. But I loved these “footnotes.” I loved getting glimpses ofhow certain things came about—like a character’s name, her actions (e.g.,Bron’s foster mother throwing shoes at him), and places. We all know thatwriters use their own experiences in their novels, but we don’t always knowhow, or what experiences they had inspired certain things in their novels. InNightingale, you get to know exactly what inspired parts of Nightingale, and Iloved that. It was one of my favorite things about the novel. Some of thesefootnotes also act as information about certain things, like psychologicaldisorders and plants, which I loved, because it all relates to the story, andbecause I felt like I was learning something
.
Nightingale made me laugh atloud. In the first chapter, Bron worries about having to eat enchiladas all thetime. I’m from New Mexico, and I love my enchiladas, so that just cracked meup. I’m sure it was supposed to elicit a chuckle from the reader, despite theseriousness of what’s happening to Bron in that scene, and it definitely gotmore than a chuckle out of me. I can’t imagine not eating enchiladas all the time! (Okay, not really all the time,because there is so much other delicious New Mexican/Mexican food that I love,but you get the idea).

Bron’sstory is heartbreaking. All the time he spends in foster care, how he’streated. . . . It was devastating to read about. There’s one scene inparticular that includes a kitten that really broke my heart, for Bron and forthe kitten. I hate anything that includes hurting animals, and I hated Bron’sfoster father for what he did in that scene to Bron and to the kitten. I loved Bron as a character. He was so realistic, and I became attached to him right away.

One of my favorite things about Nightingale is that it is so different from anything else I've read. I loved the anthropology aspect to it. I loved the characters. I loved everything about this novel. I read it in one sitting; I just couldn't get enough of it, and I am now addicted to this kind of reading experience. I wish more eBooks were like Nightingale, in terms of all the interactive elements of the experience. I loved it that all my senses were engaged with this book. Nightingale is one of my favorite books of the year.

Review: Nightshade

2011-11-22T00:37:00.000-07:00

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Series: Nightshade
Publisher: Philomel
Release date: October 19, 2010
Pages: 528
Format: eBook
Website

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything- including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

Oh. My. Gosh. Why did I wait as long as I did to readNightshade?! Oh, right. Because of the whole werewolf thing, and not likingwerewolves. I’ve had Nightshade on my TBR list for a long time, but I’ve beenputting off reading it because I was suddenly not sure I wanted to read itanymore.

I wasn’texpecting to love Nightshade as much as I did. As soon as I started reading it,though, I knew I was going to love it. When I was doing things other thanreading, all I could think about was how much I wanted to get back toNightshade. I had forgotten exactly what the book was about, other than beingabout werewolves, so it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. I was expecting itto be more along the lines of The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy (which I adore)or Twilight (which I don’t like). The fact that it’s nothing like either ofthose series’ made me so incredibly happy.

If I had to describeNightshade in one word it would be sexy. There were some scenes between Callaand Ren that were incredibly sexy. I mean really, that scene in the school’sgirls’ bathroom? That was one of the sexiest scenes I’ve ever read in a YAnovel. There were a few sexy scenes between Shay and Calla, too, but I didn’treally care about those. I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to be Team Shay, but I’mnot. I’m Team Ren. He was a jerk sometimes, but the rest of the time, he was sofreaking swoon-worthy. Plus, Shay just annoyed the heck out of me. I felt likehe was really selfish. He really rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t care what hisredeeming qualities were. I don’t care if he truly cared about Calla. I hatedhim for forcing Calla to do things she didn’t initially want to do, like read War of All Against All. Ren might have been a jerk sometimes, but at leasthe wasn’t a wimp. I really felt like Shay was a wimp. That’s the best way I candescribe it. And I hated him for it. He was the exact opposite of Ren, andsince I loved Ren, I obviously had to hate Shay.

I’m not completely sure yethow I feel about Calla. Sometimes, I loved her, and other times, I had a hardtime sympathizing with her. There were so many times when I wanted to tell herto stop doing what she was doing, and it always revolved around Shay, mostly interms of their relationship and not the other forbidden activities they wereinvolved in. Overall, though, she was a strong heroine, and I liked that about her. I liked it that she was willing to take risks, even if I didn't always like the risks she was taking.

The endingreally left me hanging. The last few chapters were pretty intense. I washolding my breath for Calla. How the book ends sets the next book up perfectly.I can’t wait to dig into Wolfsbane.

Review: Spirits of Glory

2011-11-21T06:00:00.001-07:00

Spirits of Glory by Emily Devenport
Publisher: Smashwords
Release date: October 24, 2010
Pages: 113 (255 KB)
Format: eBook

One morning the people of the North woke up and the people of the South were gone. That s the first thing every child learns on the colony world of Jigsaw. But for one girl, knowing about The Disappearance is not enough. Hawkeye wants to know why. That's why she spent half her life researching The Disappearance. And that's also why eight Neighbors show up on her doorstep, demanding that she accompany them into the Forbidden Cities ruled by the Southern gods to speak with the Spirits of Glory. Everyone thinks Hawkeye is an expert on Neighbors, these almost-humans who move, talk, and think as if they were born inside one of the Time Fractures. But she can't imagine what they want to ask the ghosts of their ancestors, or why they need her to go along. The Southern gods caused every human inhabitant of the Southern cities to disappear overnight; what else might they do? But the Northern gods say Hawkeye should go and her curiosity won't let her refuse, even though she's going into more danger than she can imagine. Pain and puzzlement wait along the broken interstate, along with scavengers who want to kill them all. Hawkeye's questions only generate more questions as they move farther and farther into the South, right into the heart of the Disappearance, until Hawkeye's questions have all been answered. Even the ones she was afraid to ask.

Spirits of Glory is short, but there is a lot going on in this novel. I loved the journey the characters went on. It was interesting. It kept me wanting to know more about Jigsaw and what was going to happen to Hawkeye, Boss, Wolfy, and Brat. I have no idea how Devenport managed to create an entire world in just 113 pages. She did a really good job with it. The descriptions were great; I could really imagine the landscape, the different cities, and the different libraries. I couldn't just imagine them; I could feel a sort of gloom or misery hanging over those places. Sometimes, Jigsaw also felt somewhat creepy. It's awesome that I felt the atmosphere of the world.

I loved it that Hawkeye was a librarian, since I'm getting my MLIS right now. I also loved it that I didn't think she was a stereotypical librarian in literature. As much as I liked Hawkeye, though, my favorite character was Wolfy. I adored Wolfy! Every time he did something or said something, my thoughts when something like this:

"Omg aljsdfklsjlkfjljsdf he's so cute!!! I want one!"

Wolfy actually reminded me of my favorite character from Stephen King's Dark Tower series, a billy bumbler named Oy (a billy bumbler is a cross between a raccoon and a terrier). Oy could talk, too, much in the same way that Wolfy talks. I was really excited, as a result, to have Wolfy in the story. His relationship with Daisy was so freaking adorable.

The only thing I wish is that this book had been longer. I would have loved to spend more time in the world Devenport created, and to see the characters and Jigsaw fleshed out even more. She did a great job with this book, though. No scene is unimportant, no character is unimportant, and we aren't left at the end with any loose threads. Spirits of Glory is a fun fantasy, and if you're looking for something that's more of a light read, definitely check it out.

In My Mailbox: 43

2011-11-20T00:00:00.001-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, in which we share the books we received for review, purchased, received as gifts, checked out at the library, etc.

I had a slower week this week. I received two books for review and nothing from the library.

Darwin's Children by Natasha Larry

Life can get pretty complicated for any seventeen-year-old girl, but for a home-schooled telepathic black girl trying to survive in a prestigious private school in small-town Jonesborough, Tennessee, it can be maddening; especially when her telepathic father keeps eavesdropping on her thoughts!

Jaycie Lerner's family isn't the usual mom-dad-kid setup. Jaycie's mom is MIA, but Allison, her personal live-in trainer, is more than a mom, with her own special abilities, like being able to lift cars and run incredibly fast. And Jaycie's godfather John is more than persuasive; he can literally convince anyone to do anything.

As far as the rest of the world's concerned, Jaycie's on the outside looking in. The townsfolk love Jaycie's paediatrician father, but she doesn't fit in with "normal" kids, and she doesn't really want to. Most of her free time is spent training to keep her telekinetic and telepathic powers under control. But there's one thing she can't control; and that's her feelings, especially when her best friend Matt is nearby. If only he knew what she was truly capable of...

Everything seems to be status quo for Jaycie until she receives a cryptic message from a stranger and meets a very unusual girl new to Jonesborough. Then all hell breaks loose!

Unnatural Law: Darwin's Children, Book 2 by Natasha Larry
**SUMMARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**

Seventeen-year-old Jaycie Lerner’s psycho-kinetic power surge is over, and her astounding powers are under control for the time being – sort of. As she struggles to maintain her humanity in the face of the awesome terror and responsibility of her abilities, she also yearns for the chance at a normal life – and a relationship with Matt Carter, the best friend she had to leave behind. But Matt’s got a few tricks up his sleeve, and he’s not about to give up on his feelings for Jaycie.

As Jaycie and her family grapple with the day-to-day routine of trying to keep their world together, Jaycie’s mother figure, Allison Young, endures a personal crisis of her own. The superhuman blonde possesses the physical equivalent of Jaycie’s awesome psychic power.

So evolved, at ninety-two she still looks twenty. But what good is extended life when everyone else around her is so fragile? With no one to share her unusual life, she’s a uniquely lonely woman yearning for the romantic love she sees all around her. But in a dream she gets her wish – and it quickly turns to a nightmare for everyone else in her life. The memory of a rose is all she can hold onto in the storm of obsession that nearly sweeps her away.

Things quickly turn deadly for the vampires, but the Dey-Vah Guard fairies refuse to acknowledge there’s an imbalance in the nature they protect. As the danger gets ever closer to Jaycie and her family, the race is on to find answers before a secret plot can destroy them.

Thank you, Lisa McGeen, for sending me these books! Keep an eye out for my reviews, which I'll be posting just before Christmas.

What did you get this week? Happy reading!

Discussion: Rating Systems and Reviews

2011-11-19T04:00:00.002-07:00

Discussion: Rating Systems and Reviews

I've been thinking about rating systems and reviews a lot since I posted a review for The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels. I want to talk about my current thoughts of rating and systems and reviews, but I want to know what everyone else thinks, too. I'm going to break this discussion into two parts, because I think it'll be easier that way.

Part One: Rating Systems

I used to use a rating system. I stopped, though, because it's hard to assign a rating to a book. I could never decide how to rate a book. Should I rate it based on my overall impression? Should I base a rating on a compilation of aspects, such as characters, writing, plot, etc.? What happens when I don't care for the writing so much, but I really like the story? Or what if I like everything about the book except the characters? WHAT MAKES A BOOK GOOD?!

Here's why I stopped using a rating system: Not all books are equal. You might be reading this and thinking, Well, duh. But here's the thing. The reason why I love one book will not be the same reason why I love another book. Rating systems don't reflect that. That's what the review is for. I'm not going to talk about my reasons for not using a rating system anymore, because I talked about in a previous post. What I really want to talk about is the fact that I still use the rating systems on sites like Good Reads and Amazon, because more people use those sites than view my blog, and if I'm not going to give an official rating on my blog, I feel like I should give one on those sites.

When I posted rated The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels on Good Reads and Amazon, I noticed something that kind of really bugged me: the rating systems were not the same. They both have five-star rating systems, but each site assigns different meanings to the number of stars you give a book. On Good Reads, three stars means "I liked it." On Amazon, three stars means "It was okay." So, there I was, trying to rate this book I had read, and I was presented with a dilemma. My feelings for the book were definitely "I liked it," not "It was okay." So, I rated it a good, solid three on Good Reads. On Amazon, though, I wasn't quite sure what to do. If I wanted to say "I liked it" on Amazon, I needed to rate it four stars. But in my mind, four stars do not equal "I liked it." They equal "I really liked it." Obviously, rating systems don't mean the same thing for everyone. Everyone--every website and every individual--assigns a different meaning to how many stars they rate a title. Not all rating systems on websites are going to assign the same meanings as you would if you created your own rating system. So, what do you do?

This is what I did: I rated the book a three on both sites, because I felt that was the best representation of how I feel about the book. I can't bring myself to rate a book as three stars on one site and four stars on another site, because it seems to me that there's a disparity if I do. Won't it confuse authors and publishers if I assign two different ratings to a book on two different sites, if you look at how many stars I gave the book and not what each site says those stars mean?

When I read reviews and look at how people rated a book, I always check to see if the book was rated three stars or higher. For me, three stars means the book is a good, solid book. It has room for improvement, of course, but it's worth the read. I honestly would never have known how Amazon and Good Reads assign their star ratings if I hadn't noticed it when rating The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels. This brings up another question: When you go to a website like Amazon or Barnes and Noble, do you know how those sites assign their star ratings when you look at the ratings? Or do you say you don't care, and you assign your own meanings to their rating systems? I've always assigned my own meaning.

It is entirely possible that I'm overthinking this. I overthink things a lot. What are your thoughts on rating systems? Am I the only one who feels this way about using rating systems on other websites?

Part Two: Reviews

How often do you read a book and think, "Oh my gosh, this book is not good. I have no idea how I'm going to write a review on this without just bashing the book. What good points can I pull out of the book? How can I make my review honest and fair, even if it's a negative review? How can I make sure I don't hurt the author's feelings?"

I think this sometimes. I've accepted books for review that I've read and haven't loved. And when that happens, I've done my best to post a fair and honest review, bringing up positive points of the book when I can, while still explaining what I didn't like and why the book wasn't for me. It's much easier to do this when the book I'm reviewing is one I've purchased or checked out from the library.

I've had two negative experiences come from me posting less-than-stellar reviews of books I've accepted for review. With the first experience, the author and I had discussed doing an author interview. One I posted my review, however, I never heard from the author again. The interview never happened. For the second book, I had discussed doing a giveaway after I posted the review. Once again, I posted my review and never heard from the author again. The giveaway never happened.

Initially, I felt bad for seemingly hurting the authors feelings, especially when I read more positive reviews of their books. In a way, it makes it harder for me to post negative reviews, because now I'm worried that if I do, I'm going to hurt someone's feelings. But here's the thing. I don't want to not post negative reviews. Of course, I would much rather post a positive review, but if I'm not into a book for whatever reason, I can't magically make myself love it just to post a positive review. That's not to say I won't try to find positive things about the book, but I'm not going to gush over something that I truly didn't love, either. It frustrates me, because I have to worry about my credibility as a reviewer, which means that yes, I will post both positive and negative reviews. I won't bash a book, and I hope that authors don't think that's what I'm doing when I post a negative review.

I have a really hard time with this sometimes, because writing is a huge part of my life. I have always been a reader and a writer. I've had a few poems published, and I want to publish YA novels someday. So, I know how important writing is for so many people, and I want to support all writers, because it's a huge dream, it's not easy to get published (well, it might be a little easier than it used to be, but whatever), and because I know how exciting it is to see something you created published for so many people to see. Ever heard of a runner's high? When my poetry was published, it felt like that, except it's a writer's high. But as much as I would love to support every author out there, there are just some books I don't like, not just by new authors who aren't really known yet, or authors who self-publish or publish with small companies, but also New York Times bestselling authors (Jodi Picoult, for example). I would hate to discourage anyone from writing, because I know that other people are going to like or love a book I couldn't get into, and because I would never want to be discouraged as a writer by a review I've read. Do you ever feel like you need to post a positive review just because you want to support authors and writing in general? Do you ever post negative reviews? If you do, how do you write a tactful negative review? Have you had experiences similar to mine, where you don't hear back from an author about guest posts, interviews, giveaways, etc., because you posted a negative review of their book?

I don't want to end this post on a negative note, so I'm going to talk about a more positive aspect of writing reviews. I love writing reviews, even though it really stresses me out sometimes. I'm a writer, so anytime I get to sit at my computer and write, especially when I'm talking about books, I love it. I loved writing my review for A Long Long Sleep because it was a fun review for me to write, and because I loved the book so dang much that I couldn't wait to tell everyone how much I loved it. While I was writing my review for The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels, I discovered another thing I love about writing reviews: realizing, while I'm writing a review, must how much I like a book. I started my review by saying I felt lukewarm about The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels while I was reading it, and I did. I wasn't sure how I was going to post my review, because I wasn't sure how positive the review would be. And I was worried, because I didn't want to be dishonest and gush about the book if I didn't love it, but I didn't want to post a completely negative review, either.

But then, I started writing the review. I actually took notes while I read The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels, which isn't something I normally do when I read. As I was looking over my notes, trying to figure out what I wanted to put in my review and what I wanted to leave out, I read certain things and thought, "Oh my gosh! I really liked that more than I thought at first!" Then, when I was actually writing the review, all I could think was, "Wow, I liked this book way more than I thought I did. Yay!" This actually happens to me fairly often: I don't realize how much I liked something until I actually sit down and start sorting out my thoughts for a review. That doesn't always mean a book would go from a one- or two-star rating to a five-star rating, if I were using a rating system. Usually, it means my rating would go from a one or two to a good solid three or three point five rating. (On that note: I agree with Good Reads, that three stars means "I like it," not "It was okay." If I were still using a rating system, many of the books I read would be rated a three or three point five.) I love it when that happens. Does this happen to anyone else?!

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on any or all of these things. Let me know what you think in the comments, and happy reading!

Books to Covet

2011-11-18T00:00:00.002-07:00

Books to Covet is a somewhat regular feature I do. I was inspired by Kristi at The Story Siren's feature Books to Pine for. The difference with Books to Covet is that I also include books that have already been released, not just books that haven't yet been released.

The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee § Bloomsbury USA § July 17, 2012

Dark Storm by Sarah Singleton § Simon & Schuster § March 2012
Hollowland by Amanda Hocking § CreateSpace § September 28, 2010
Dark Eden by Patrick Carman § Katherine Tegen Books § November 1, 2011*
The Sharp Time by Mary O'Connell § Delacorte Books for Young Readers § November 8, 2011
Underworld by Meg Cabot § Point § May 2012

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White § HarperTeen § August 31, 2010

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen § HarperCollins § September 23, 2008

*I know I gave Dark Eden it's own Books to Covet post, but I had to feature it again, because it sounds so freaking awesome.

Review: The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels

2011-11-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels by Tannis Skye
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Release date: October 18, 2011
Pages: 154 (328 KB)
Format: eBook

Below our feet, where the damned roam undetected, a whole other world exists. Once a distinguished, high ranking tier nine angel, Lucifer challenges the vision of The Light King. Before a rebellion can be formed, Lucifer is banished from the Upper Levels, where he plummets to the center of the Earth. Lucifer forms a lava oasis, which descends nine levels deep, into the very core. In this new world he creates an army of hellions, renounces his former identity and stands as Abaddon. One of his hellions Valafar has been in his service since the beginning and millenniums later, it is his turn to prove himself worthy of being Realm Lord of level Four. Before doing so, he is released from the hell-mouth with the task of dragging a soul back with him. Thinking himself triumphant, Valafar’s intended victim becomes his greatest folly. Kai’s soul has been stolen, but his body remains. Without a soul and not quite dead, Kai lives on, as a shade. It’s been over seventy-five years since the birth of his new life. Kai seeks a quiet existence with the possibility of the human interaction he has been without. But Kai is not the only supernatural being to reside within the sleepy town of Madeira Park. Unlike Keetes, Kai’s soul has been stolen from his body by a demon, leaving him as a shade; a stronger version of a vampire. Keetes is the best friend to Riley, the town’s fire cracker and hot mouth. Meeting at night classes and sharing a mutual love of art, Kai’s connection to Riley is undeniable. Riley is unaffected by any form of compulsion thanks to a shield her unaware clairvoyant friend and she is a puzzle that Keetes has grown bored of trying to solve. It’s time to change her. Kai struggles with his need to remain anonymous and his blossoming feelings for the infuriating red-head. Unwilling to let Keetes turn her, Kai is forced to reveal his unequalled skill. As he is thrust onto a wooden spike and lit aflame, Keetes vows to seek out Kai’s maker within the Lower Levels and inform him that his mistake is siding with humans rather than his own kind. There is only a matter of weeks before Keetes will find Valafar and when he does, a whole army of hellions will be sent to wreak havoc on the disobedient shade. The only hope Kai has is seeking out the phantom Unholy Priest.
“What will be able to do?” Riley asks.
“Show me the hell mouth entrance.”
“And then what?”
“I go in and retrieve my soul. With my soul, I am human.”

Have you ever read a book that you felt just lukewarm about it while you read it and right after you finished it, but then after some time passes, you realized it was better than you thought? That is exactly how I feel about The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels. (Warning: This is not going to be a short review!)

I was so frustrated with this book while I was reading it! Initially, I couldn't stand Riley. She annoyed me in the littlest ways, like how she always called her car her baby, but then drove it pretty recklessly. And I hated it that she didn't seem to like very many people--she complained a lot. And her jealously toward Lance drove me nuts. BUT. Yes, there is a but. BUT, Riley had redeeming qualities. She might not have liked a lot of people, but there were people she cared about, and when she cared about people, she did so with all her heart, it seemed. She was so incredibly loyal to Willow and Fly, even if she didn't like who they dated or the choices they made.

My other main point of frustration was with Kai. We know he's a shade. But I've never heard of a shade before, so I didn't really know what it was. I went through the book frustrated that it wasn't explained what a shade was until almost the end. Looking back on it now, though, I think it was subtly explained throughout the novel, and I just didn't quite pick up on it. Now that I realize this, I'm thinking, "Oh, I see what the author did there. I think I like it."

The writing was shaky in some areas. There were instances of the incorrect words being used (for example, "wondering" instead of "wandering"). I usually try to overlook these kinds of things, but I have to admit that it drove me nuts with this book. It was a little distracting sometimes. But then there were times when the writing was good. And when the writing was good, it was good. I loved the descriptions of the landscape and town. Some of it seemed to be randomly placed (there's a chunk about halfway through the novel that describes the town in a very thorough manner; it took me out of the story a little bit, and I wish we would have gotten it in bits and pieces instead of one big piece), but the author did a great job of creating a place that I could see. I could imagine Riley's cabin (which is adorable in my mind, by the way) and the woods surrounding it. I could imagine the Grasshopper in detail. And then there's a scene near the end of the novel that revolves around Kai, Keetes, and Riley, and that is where the writing is strongest. During that scene, I was so nervous for Riley! That scene really grabbed my attention and held it. I couldn't wait to see how it would unfold.

As good as that scene was, it actually wasn't my favorite part of the novel. My favorite part of the novel was a scene during Riley's art class, when the class has to draw a picture from France, 1826. I love characters who create things, whether they're artists, musicians, or writers. Those kinds of characters really resonate with me. For me, too, watching a character play an instrument, write a poem, or draw something, tells me so much more about the character than anything else can. Riley pulling a painting out of the trash and cleaning it up to hang her room because it was too beautiful to be thrown away tells me more about her than anything else can. I loved the descriptions of what Riley drew compared to what Keetes drew. I loved it that she wanted to know what kind artist Kai was, because that's how I am with books. Whenever I see someone reading, I do everything I can to figure out what they're reading--without actually asking them. It goes back to that kind of thing being able to tell me a lot about a person, and I feel like maybe that's how Riley felt--knowing what kind of artist Kai was would have told her a lot about him.

I also really loved the mystery aspect of this book. I've noticed that in some books, the "mystery" is revealed right away: so-and-so is a vampire, this is how he lives, this is who his enemies are and why, and this is what's about to happen. That wasn't the case with The Shade and the Nine Lower Levels. By the time I finished the book, I didn't know everything. I know what's going on with certain characters, but I don't know everything yet. There's still a lot I don't understand about the Nine Lower Levels and the role Fly and Riley are going to play in everything. There's still so much I don't know about the way things work with characters like Kai and Keetes, and I like that. It makes it more interesting, and it gives me a reason to keep reading.

Review: The Sky is Everywhere

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Publisher: Dial
Release date: March 9, 2010
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Website

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.

Whoa. I mean seriously, whoa. I've heard mixed reviews about The Sky is Everywhere. Some people love, some don't. I am one of those who loves it.

I love contemporary novels that deal with death. We all have to deal with it eventually, and we all struggle to make meaning of it, to understand it, and to understand and come to terms with our own mortality. Every book I read that deals with death in some way brings a new perspective to it. The Sky is Everywhere definitely falls into the category of a book about death that brings a new perspective to it.

For me, this new perspective is stepping out of the shadow of a sibling who has died. There's a quote in the novel about every person being charge of their own story. The narrator, Lennie, also talks about how she was a companion pony to her racehorse sister until her sister died. And I just, wow. I'm at a loss for words. This is one of those books where I stopped several times to write down quotes that I loved.

The depth of the emotion is this novel is incredible. I loved it that Lennie took her emotions and put it into her music and into how she lived after her sister's death. I love novels that tie music into them, which The Sky is Everywhere does. In fact, after reading this book, I am determined to finally learn to play an instrument, the way I've been wanting to do for a couple of years now. If a book can inspire and challenge me to learn to play an instrument, then it is an amazing book.

I fell in love with every character in this book. They all had fantastic quirks that made them come alive on the page. The humor in this book is subtle, and sometimes I felt like I wasn't supposed to be laughing, but I was. It's the characters who created that humor, brief, light moments in a story that isn't full of sunshine and flowers (horrible cliche, I know).

The Sky is Everywhere is a fabulous debut. I have no idea if Jandy Nelson is working on anything else right now, but I really hope she is, because if she is, I will snatch up whatever her next book is as soon as I can.

NaNoWriMo novels: from works in progress to published novels

2011-11-15T00:00:00.001-07:00

In the spirit of NaNoWriMo, I thought I would do a post about YA books that started as NaNoWriMo novels and are now published. I know a lot of people have very different views about NaNoWriMo, and I agree that there are definitely pros and cons to it. Instead of focusing on the negatives of it, though, I want to focus on the positives. I know a lot of bloggers are also participating in NaNo this year, including myself, and I figure we need all the encouragement and inspiration we can get, instead of people telling us NaNo is a horrible thing we shouldn't participate in (okay, that last part might be an exaggeration, but you get the point). Without further ado, here is a non-comprehensive list of YA novels that started out as NaNo novels.

Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen (Okay, I know this isn't a YA title, but it's such a huge title that I had to include it.)

Losing Faith by Denise Jaden

The Night Circus by Ellen Morgenstern (I'm not actually sure if this is a YA title, but it's been on YA blogs a lot in recent weeks, so I assume it is.)

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins That's right. ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. One of my favorite books EVER. But wait! It gets better. On her blog, Stephanie Perkins said that Lola and the Boy Next Door and Isla and the Happily Ever After also have NaNo drafts. Scroll through the post a little bit to see it.

A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan Another one of my favorite books EVER.

Jessie Hearts NYC by Keris Stainton

It looks like a small list, but keep in mind, this isn't the full list of writers who have had their NaNo novels published. For the full list, go to NaNoWriMo website.

I love NaNoWriMo. Despite all the negative aspects of it, I really, really love it, and am so glad I decided to participate in it this year (I almost didn't). The above list of YA titles that started out as NaNo novels just makes me love more.

Hunger Games: Full Length Movie Trailer

2011-11-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

No words are needed for how awesome this is. I. Can't. Freaking. Wait.

NaNoWriMo update

2011-11-14T00:00:00.001-07:00

I'm participating in NaNoWriMo again this year. Last year was my first year really participating in it, and I loved it, so of course, I had to do it again this year. I'm noticing a lot of differences between last year and this year, though. The biggest difference is that the novel I'm writing this year seems to be flowing better and more easily than more story did last year. The writing process seems much smoother this year.

The second thing I discovered is that my theory about playlists was all wrong. Last year, I created a huge playlist of songs to listen to while I wrote my NaNo novel. I did the same thing this year, except the playlist was much smaller, and after cycling through it three or four times, I got sick of it, and I realized that a lot of the songs weren't the appropriate songs for my novel. One of the main characters loves country music, and I have very little country music in my playlist. So, I've stopped listening to my playlist and started listening to nothing but country instead, which I love just as much as my character loves (that part of her is completely based on me).

Here's a sample of my original playlist.

People as Places as People by Modest Mouse
Don't Go Away by Oasis
Who You'd Be Today by Kenny Chesney
Minstrel Boy by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros
Clumsy by Our Lady Peace
Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles
Black Balloon by the Goo Goo Dolls

There's more of course, but I don't want to list them all. My somewhat more unofficial playlist now consists of Chris Young, Dierks Bentley, Billy Currington, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, David Nail, and The Band Perry. In fact, the one song that is in my original playlist and my unofficial playlist, and that is the main inspiration for my novel is The Band Perry's If I Die Young.

It's not just the lyrics and the music of If I Die Young that have inspired my novel. It's the video itself and the images in it (and on a completely unrelated note, I am in love with Kimberly Perry's dress in this video. I want it.).

Currently, I am ahead of schedule with my word count. I don't know how long that will last, especially with Thanksgiving coming up, but I am finding it very difficult to tear myself away from writing. After I shut my computer down last night and started getting ready for bed, I came up with a few more lines that I wanted to put into my novel. Of course, by that point, I didn't feel like turning my computer back on and waiting for it to boot up, especially since I didn't want to forget what those paragraphs were while I waited for it. Fortunately, I recently bought an adorable little journal that I can carry around with me wherever I go just for times like these.

Buying that journal is one of the best decisions I've made writing-wise. It's a great way for me to write down fragments, ideas, or complete paragraphs whenever I'm not using or able to use my computer. I love it that I can take it anywhere, and I love it that it helps keep me organized, instead of having random scraps of paper with notes and ideas floating around, the way I usually do.

If you're doing NaNoWriMo this year, how are things going? Do you have a set writing routine? Do you create a different playlist for each novel you write, the way I do? I love to talk about NaNo and writing with others, so let's talk! Also, if you want to add me as a buddy on NaNo, you can find me under Stinkfist.

In My Mailbox: 42

2011-11-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, in which we share the books we received for review, purchased, checked out from the library, and so on.

I received a few more things for review this week.

The Bards of Bone Plain by Patricia A. McKillip

Scholar Phelan Cle is researching Bone Plain-which has been studied for the last 500 years, though no one has been able to locate it as a real place. Archaeologist Jonah Cle, Phelan's father, is also hunting through time, piecing history together from forgotten trinkets. His most eager disciple is Princess Beatrice, the king's youngest daughter. When they unearth a disk marked with ancient runes, Beatrice pursues the secrets of a lost language that she suddenly notices all around her, hidden in plain sight.

Thank you to Ace Trade for sending me this book!

Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble by D. Robert Pease

Noah lives for piloting spaceships through time, dodging killer robots and saving Earth’s animals from extinction. Life couldn’t be better. However, the twelve-year-old time traveler soon learns it could be a whole lot worse. His mom is abducted and taken to thirty-first century Mars; his dad becomes stranded in the Ice Age; and Noah is attacked at every turn by a foe bent on destroying a newly habitable, post-apocalyptic Earth. Traveling through time in the family’s immense spaceship, Noah, a paraplegic from birth, must somehow care for the thousands of animals on board, while finding a way to rescue his parents. Along the way, he discovers his mother and father aren’t who he thought they were, and there is strength inside him he didn’t know he had.

Thank you D. Robert Pease for a copy of Noah Zarc.

Kevin's Point of View by Del Shannon

To escape the emotional turmoil of his father’s death 12-year-old Kevin Tobin has retreated inside himself, developing his imagination into a dangerous foil and a powerful ally. While he antagonizes everyone with his superhero antics, his ability to escape inside himself becomes critical to his survival after his life is once-again turned upside down a year after his father’s death. When a mysterious package arrives in the mail, Kevin and his best friend are hunted by a ruthless villain who is determined to retrieve the package, which holds the key to his plans for world domination. After enlisting Kevin’s teenage sister and her pizza-delivery boyfriend in a battle for control over time itself, the group escapes into the mountains west of Boulder, Colorado and eventually discover that Kevin’s entire existence is because of the love of someone we never expected.

And thank you Del Shannon for a copy of Kevin's Point of View.

I also checked out a few books from the library this week.

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything- including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

Frost by Wendy Delsol
SUMMARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

After the drama of finding out that she’s a Stork, a member of an ancient and mystical order of women, and that her boyfriend, Jack, is a descendent of the Winter People able to control the weather, Katla Leblanc is delighted when all signs point to a busy and peaceful Christmas. That is, until the snowstorm Jack summons as a gift to Katla turns into the storm of the century, attracting Brigid, a gorgeous scientist who, in turn, attracts Jack. Between the school play, a bedridden, pregnant mother’s to-do lists, and keeping an eye on her aging grandfather, Katla doesn’t have time to question Brigid’s motives or deal with Jack’s increasingly cold behavior. But Katla’s suspicions mount when Jack joins Brigid on a research expedition to Greenland, and when the two of them go missing, it becomes clear that Katla is the only one who can save her beloved Jack from the Snow Queen who holds him prisoner. Adventure, romance, and myth combine in this winter escapade for teens who like a bit of fire with their ice.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier*

Micah will freely admit that she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents, and she’s always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as naturally as breathing? Taking readers deep into the psyche of a young woman who will say just about anything to convince them—and herself—that she’s finally come clean, Liar is a bone-chilling thriller that will have readers see-sawing between truths and lies right up to the end. Honestly.

*I will not be reviewing this title.

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.

That's it for me this week. I feel a little overwhelmed right now with all I have to read, but I'm also super-excited for everything I've gotten during the past couple of weeks. What did you get this week? Happy reading!