Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (March 30)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.

Sisterhood Everlasting (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 5) by Ann Brashares

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.

Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

T
hen Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends, Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one.


Published by Random House
Release Date: June 14, 2011

I found this one by chance on Goodreads, and I can't wait!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Teaser Tuesday (March 29)

What is teaser tuesday?
It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules:
Grab your current read...
Open to a random page
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers.

"Those people's apathy wasn't normal...but neither is this woman's. In fact, all the women I saw in the hallway were a bit off."

-Across the Universe, page 252, by Beth Revis

This week I decided to use another teaser from Across the Universe. I'm not technically reading it at the moment, but I am working on the review.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

In My Mailbox (March 27)

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi of The Story Siren, who was inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. All of the synopses you see below were found on Goodreads. Here are the books I got this week...

For Review:

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Published by Egmont USA
Release Date: June 14, 2011

Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt...and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell by Crickett Rumley

When seventeen-year-old Jane gets kicked out of boarding school (again) and returns to her small town of Bienville, Alabama, she is certain of three things: Her grandmother will be happy to see her. She will be the subject of the town's gossip mill. And there are some people she will have to avoid. But she doesn't expect that those very things will land her smack in the middle of the Bienville's most illustrious event: the Magnolia Maid achievement pageant.

Published by Egmont USA
Release Date: June 14, 2011

Friday, March 25, 2011

Mini-Reviews

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

It's been ages since I actually read this one, but I realized that I never posted about it. The hype surrounding this one left me wondering if it could live up to it. After reading it, I thought that it did, however I had some issues with Evie. I loved the fresh feeling of this book. Despite seeing some common paranormal characters (i.e werewolves, vampires, faeries), they felt new. I also thought that White did a great job of making me care about the characters. Hm, how to write this without giving too much away. I was surprised to find that I was really upset when a certain character died.

I did think that Evie was a little inconsistent. It's not that I thought she was underdeveloped, or that I didn't like her...it was that her emotions were all over the place. I suppose you could blame that on teen hormones, but it was the one thing that stopped me from connecting with her more.

Published by HarperTeen
Rating: C+/B-
Purchased


Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I picked this one up after I found out that this was the book that the film was based on. While not the highest quality movie, I did enjoy the adventure. Plus, the book is always better than the film. This novel definitely proved this rule, and allowed me to understand the characters in a way that the movie didn't.

Tristran Thorn is a regular guy trying to win over the heart of the town beauty. When he promises to retrieve a fallen star for her, however, he gets much more than he bargained for. Adventure, murder, witches, and magic all combine to make an exciting read. The characters were fun, and the ending was quite different from the one in the film.

Published by Harper Perennial
Rating: A
Purchased

Wicked Appetite (the Unmentionables 1) by Janet Evanovich

Since this isn't the genre that I typically review here, I'll make this one quick. It was an interesting start to the series, but I can see some similarities between this and the Stephanie Plum books....not that I'm complaining. It was an entertaining read, and I'm looking forward to the other books in the series. The plot was definitely unique, and it held my interest. Unlike the Plum books, however, I don't think I'll buy these for my collection.

Rating: C
Published by St. Martin's Press
Borrowed from library

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (March 23)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.

The Death Catchers by Jennifer Anne Kogler

On her fourteenth Halloween, Lizzy Mortimer sees her first death-specter.

Confused at first, Lizzy soon learns from her grandmother Bizzy that as Death Catchers, they must prevent fate from taking its course when an unjust death is planned—a mission that has been passed down from their ancestor, Morgan le Fay. Only, Lizzy doesn't expect one of her first cases to land her in the middle of a feud older than time between Morgan le Fay and her sister Vivienne le Mort. Vivienne hopes to hasten the end of the world by preventing Lizzy from saving King Arthur's last descendant—humanity's greatest hope for survival. It's up to Lizzy, as Morgan's earthly advocate, to outwit fate before it's too late.

With its unique spin on Arthurian legend, this fresh, smartly written story will stand out in the paranormal genre.

Published by Walker Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 16th 2011

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Guest Post with Holly Schindler

After obtaining her M.A. in English in 2001, Holly Schindler decided to nix the idea of a full-time job in order to pursue a writing career (her lifelong dream). After wearing out half a dozen or so keyboards drafting too many manuscripts to count, she was thrilled to sell her debut YA novel to Flux! A Blue So Dark released May 1, 2010. A second YA, a romance titled Playing Hurt, is out now!

A big thanks to Holly for taking the time to write a guest post about the topic of bookstores going out of business/closing. It's a topic that's important to me, because I'm pretty attached to my local indie bookstore. On to her post...

THE NEW BROWSE


When I was little, we had this fantastic little bookstore in my hometown—the place had these giant, heavy doors with lions on them—kind of library-style—and tall shelves, and ladders, and it was just as cozy as a house inside.


I didn’t know it at the time, but it was an indie bookstore. The kind of place that’s becoming extinct.


My own hometown of Springfield, MO doesn’t have a single indie store anymore. Recently, my favorite used store shut down. The Borders Express in the mall’s gone, and our larger Borders (which hosted my first author signing) is also in the process of shutting its doors.

As an author, you’d think I’d HATE the closing of bookstores—100%. In all stark honesty, I’m divided about how I feel about it. I’m 50% sad, and 50% optimistic.


Yep—that’s right. Optimistic.


Of co

urse I’m saddened by the fact that the art of bookstore browsing is dying. There’s nothing quite like the experience I’d once had at my indie bookstore, easing my way up and down aisles, pulling spines off shelves, holding books in my hand, sifting through them, sampling passages, discovering new voices.


But the bottom line is, I know that while bookstore browsing is becoming something of a past-tense, sheer browsing is not. Now, it’s something done online—with the help of online retailers and boo

k bloggers.


As a reader, where have my book recommendations come from? Bloggers. They’ve helped my own books get into the hands of readers who loved them, and have also helped me find new authors I adore. I even occasionally ask, via Twitter, for bloggers to send recommendations my way.


Thing is, bloggers are librarians, they’re literary students, they’re writers trying desperately to break into the publishing world. Bloggers know their stuff. And when they find something they like, they will do ANYTHING they can to promote it—for the love of literature. Out of the desire to have an impact on the literary landscape.


That’s an incredible thing—and why I adore book bloggers so, so much…

_________________________________________________________


Holly's Books:


Playing Hurt

Star basketball player Chelsea “Nitro” Keyes had the promise of a full ride to college—and everyone’s admiration in her hometown. But everything changed senior year, when she took a horrible fall during a game. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.

As a graduation present, Chelsea’s dad springs for a three-week summer “boot camp” program at a northern Minnesota lake resort. There, she’s immediately drawn to her trainer, Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player who’s haunted by his own traumatic past. As they grow close, Chelsea is torn between her feelings for Clint and her loyalty to her devoted boyfriend back home. Will an unexpected romance just end up causing Chelsea and Clint more pain—or finally heal their heartbreak?



A Blue So Dark

Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura's dad left them. Convinced that "creative" equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Book Review:Betrayal by Lee Nichols

Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great when she's battling the wraith-master Neos, but terrible when she's flirting with fellow ghostkeeper (and soul mate) Bennett. When ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power, and that's not something Bennett can handle. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school with fellow ghostkeeper, Natalie. When a new team of ghostkeepers arrive—one a snarky teen boy, the other a British scholar—Emma finds solace in training for the battle against Neos. But as the team grows stronger, they are threatened by an unknown force. One they thought was good.
As chilling and page-turning as Deception, this sequel will grab readers and hold them to the last page. No one is safe from suspicion as Emma closes in on the traitor. (From Goodreads)

I really enjoyed Deception, the first book in the Haunting Emma series. Since I loved it so much, I had pretty high expectations for the follow-up, and Nichols was able to live up to them. There's more adventure, romance, and ghosts. Plus, a fairly shocking end to the traitor mystery!

Things haven't been easy for Emma since we left her in Deception. Her old friends blame her for the death of Coby, her relationship with Bennett is unable to move forward, and she still has to worry about Neos. As the book moves forward, we get to see her learn more about her powers, and gain more experience using them. Old characters return (the Rake is back!), and we get to meet some new additions to Emma's crew. There's Simon (he reminded me a bit of Giles), and Lukas, and they both kept the book feeling fresh.

The seriousness of Emma's situation seemed to really sink in over the course of this book. Coby's death is being dealt with, and things got violent. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but there were a couple scenes that left me saying "Woah, did that just happen?! What will they do now?" Even in the relationship between Emma and Bennett things seemed grim. After all, he can't exact revenge if he loses his power because of Emma. Still, the romance was there, and the scenes were great! I really love them together, even if Bennett tries to protect Emma by acting cold. The reader learns a bit more about Neos, and experiences how truly evil he is. He pulled out all the stops trying to get Emma out of his way.

I'm always pleased when the second book in a series is just as good as the first book. I'm actually thinking that Betrayal was even better than Deception. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and now I'm dying to read book 3.


Betrayal (Haunting Emma 2)
By Lee Nichols
304 Pages
Published by Bloomsbury USA
Rating: B+
Received for Review

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Playing Hurt and A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler

I'm sure that many of you remember A Blue So Dark, which was released to excellent reviews in the spring of last year. Since that's been on my wishlist, and Holly Schindler's second book is out now, I just wanted to do a short post about it.

Playing Hurt

Star basketball player Chelsea “Nitro” Keyes had the promise of a full ride to college—and everyone’s admiration in her hometown. But everything changed senior year, when she took a horrible fall during a game. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.

As a graduation present, Chelsea’s dad springs for a three-week summer “boot camp” program at a northern Minnesota lake resort. There, she’s immediately drawn to her trainer, Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player who’s haunted by his own traumatic past. As they grow close, Chelsea is torn between her feelings for Clint and her loyalty to her devoted boyfriend back home. Will an unexpected romance just end up causing Chelsea and Clint more pain—or finally heal their heartbreak?


Published by Flux, and out now!



A Blue So Dark

Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura's dad left them. Convinced that "creative" equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.

Published by Flux

First, the covers of her books are awesome! Second, I'm not sure how it's possible that I haven't read A Blue So Dark yet. It deals with schizophrenia...so that's definitely moved up to the top of my reading list. Check out the links below for more info on Holly and her books.

Holly's website: http://hollyschindler.com/

If you want to check out the book, you can go here:
Amazon: Click Here
IndieBound : Click Here

Waiting on Wednesday (March 16)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.


So Silver Bright (Théâtre Illuminata 3) by Lisa Mantchev

Things are never easy for Beatrice Shakespeare Smith. Something's happened to the Théâtre Illuminata, putting the only home she's ever known in limbo. Her mother's sanity is fraying under the strain, her father has vanished and an angry goddess is out for revenge. Bertie is caught between her duties and her dreams, just as her heart is torn between Ariel and Nate. But hope glimmers in a Distant Castle, and if Bertie can put on the performance of her life, maybe she can win the magical boon that may save them all.

Published by Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: September 13, 2011 (too far away!)

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Teaser Tuesday (March 15)

What is teaser tuesday?
I
t's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules:
Grab your current read...
Open to a random page
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers.

"Little was right. Before I'd realized that I might be in danger for the crime of being a poor singer, Hamish and Mercy had returned"

-The Education of Bet, Page 79, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Friday, March 11, 2011

Book Review:Human.4 by Mike Lancaster

Kyle Straker volunteered to be hypnotized at the annual community talent show, expecting the same old lame amateur acts. But when he wakes up, his world will never be the same. Televisions and computers no longer work, but a strange language streams across their screens. Everyone’s behaving oddly. It’s as if Kyle doesn’t exit.

Is this nightmare a result of the hypnosis? Will Kyle wake up with a snap of fingers to roars of laughter? Or is this something much more sinister?

Narrated on a set of found cassette tapes at an unspecified point in the future, Human.4 is an absolutely chilling look at technology gone too far. (From Goodreads)

Human.4 was an edge of your seat, nail-biting sci-fi read. In Lancaster's debut, Kyle and a few of his neighbors are the only people unchanged after the community talent show. Of course, the book doesn't begin with the talent show, so I got a bit anxious as I got to know Kyle and his family. It got to the point where I was tempted to skip ahead to the hypnosis, because I didn't want to get attached to any characters who wouldn't "survive" the talent show. Not only is he dealing with the loss of everyone he knew, excluding the few who were hypnotized with him, but he's also dealing with some feelings for Lilly (his best friend's girlfriend...or ex-girlfriend post-hypnosis). I thought that added a coming-of-age element to the book, that made the story even more interesting.

The book is told through cassette recordings that are being played back. Within the earlier chapters there are editor's notes which guess at the meaning of phrases Kyle uses. These phrases have since been lost, and people can only guess at their meaning.

Although the story was captivating, the book did feel a bit short. While I did connect with Kyle, I found the secondary characters didn't really matter much to me. There were a few scenes where they were all in danger, but I really only cared about whether Kyle made it out. I can't assume that Lancaster would have gone deeper into the secondary characters, but it would have given me more time to learn about them. Kyle's story is also open-ended, which aren't for all readers. I didn't mind it, because it left things to my imagination. I do know, however, that some people prefer to see exactly what happens.

Human.4
By Mike Lancaster
Published by Egmont USA
240 Pages
Rating: B

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (March 9)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin" Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately half-hearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

Published by Reagan Arthur Books
Release Date: April 5, 2011


Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Teaser Tuesday (March 8)

What is teaser tuesday?
I
t's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules:
Grab your current read...
Open to a random page
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers.

"Do this: Go to your bedroom. Your nice, safe, warm bedroom that is not a glass coffin behind a morgue door."

-Across the Universe, page 32, by Beth Revis




Monday, March 7, 2011

Book Review:Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris

Kate Grable is horrified to find out that the football coach has given the team steroids. Worse yet, the steriods are having an unexpected effect, turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless flesh-eating zombies. No one is safe--not her cute crush Aaron, not her dorky brother, Jonah . . . not even Kate!

She's got to find an antidote--before her entire high school ends up eating each other. So Kate, her best girlfriend, Rocky, and Aaron stage a frantic battle to save their town . . . and stay hormonally human. (From Goodreads)


I may have drawn this conclusion from the cover, but I was expecting Bad Taste in Boys to be a silly zombie book, where the zombies don't really pose a threat. Yeah, I was incredibly wrong about that. Harris didn't shy away from violence (although, there isn't too much), and it was actually quite scary.

Kate is smart, snarky, and already has a plan for her future. This plan involves working as a trainer for the school football team...it gives her experience before college, and a chance to check out football star Aaron. She's definitely a take charge kind of character, especially after she realizes that she may have played a role in the zombification of a large percent of the football team. The football star wasn't a jerk, hurrah. I was happy that Kate didn't spend her time crushing on a guy who was going to treat her badly. I also think that Jonah, Kate's brother, may have been my favorite character. He tried to protect his family, and was both dorky and awesome.

I don't think it's too spoilery to tell you that not everyone survives. I won't say who/how people perish, but it actually made it an interesting zombie book. I mean, it really isn't that fun to read about a zombie epidemic that doesn't actually have consequences. I feel that I should also mention that the zombies were slow. Personal preference, I hate fast zombies. They scare the living daylights out of me.

I will say that this one was really short. I read it within a few hours, and I wish there had been more. On the other hand, everything fit really well into the story, so adding length would have been unnecessary, and may have altered the flow of the story. Overall, it was a zombie book that was both surprising and entertaining.

Bad Taste in Boys
By Carrie Harris
Published by Delacorte Press
256 pages
Release Date:July 12, 2011
Review from Around the World ARC Tours
Rating: C+

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Book Review: The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker

Kate Lowry didn't think dead best friends could send e-mails. But when she gets an e-mail from Grace, she’s not so sure.

To: KateLowry@pemberlybrown.edu
Sent: Sun 9/14 11:59 PM
From: GraceLee@pemberlybrown.edu
Subject: (no subject)

Kate,
I'm here…
sort of.
Find Cameron.
He knows.
I shouldn't be writing.
Don't tell.
They'll hurt you.

Now Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace’s death was more than just a tragic accident. But secrets haunt the halls of her elite private school. Secrets people will do anything to protect. Even if it means getting rid of the girl trying to solve a murder... (From Goodreads)

When I think of mysteries taking place in a boarding school I think of a pretty formulaic story. Girl goes to boarding school, mystery presents itself, bad guy is introduced, and the ending is easily predictable. Either that, or the mystery gets dragged out for 5+ books. So, I was happy to find that neither category applied to The Liar Society.

Things haven't been easy for Kate since her best friend Grace died, and her other friend, Maddie, deserted her. So, when she receives the email from Grace, she throws herself into solving the mystery of what really happened the night that she died. She makes some unwise decisions (confronting Grace's ex, sneaking onto school grounds at night, ignoring threatening messages), but solving the mystery seemed to become a way for Kate to deal with Grace's death. Luckily, she's got her conspiracy-loving neighbor Seth to help her. There's also Liam, he found his way to Pemberly Brown after getting kicked out of public school, and he's interested in Kate. The characters were a major part of the reason that I couldn't set this one down. I genuinely cared about what happened to them, and was worried that someone close to Kate was responsible for her best friend's death.

The book kept me on the edge of my seat, and constantly guessing. I failed horribly at predicting who was behind what happened to Kate, and my guesses at motives were way off base (I'm being vague here to avoid spoilers). The ending was quite a surprise, and it both tied up the loose ends, and left enough open for more books in the series. Overall, it left me hoping that we might get to see more of Pemberly Brown Academy, and the secrets it houses.

The Liar Society
By Lisa & Laura Roecker
Published by Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Received for Review
Rating: B

Teaser Tuesday (March 1)

What is teaser tuesday?
I
t's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules:
Grab your current read...
Open to a random page
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers.

"The EMTs looked back and forth between Mike and me, trying to determine whether they ought to be treating the butt groper or the screaming hysteric. Mike got to his feet with a noise somewhere between an exhalation and a moan and threw the CPR mask at me."
-Bad Taste in Boys, page 36, by Carrie Harris


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