Between the Bookcovers

Review: Tiger's Quest (Book 2 in The Tiger's Curse Series)

2011-11-04T16:59:00.009-05:00

Author: Colleen Houck

Published: June 7, 2011

Pages: 496

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

Kelsey Hayes is no ordinary college freshman. In fact, the eighteen-year-old girl has just returned from India, where she risked her life—and her heart—to rescue a handsome Indian prince from a terrible curse. Back home in Oregon, Kelsey is determined to move on, despite the lingering feelings she has for the man she left behind. She meets Li, a completely average guy who offers the promise of an ordinary, curse-free life. But just when Kelsey is ready to move on, Ren reenters her life, on a quest to reclaim her heart. Danger threatens their newly rekindled love and to save him, Kelsey must journey with someone else—a man who wants her for himself. The saga begun in Tiger’s Curse continues in Tiger’s Quest, as Kelsey finds herself in an epic battle between good and evil. From the shores of the Pacific Northwest to the jungles of India, the mountains of Nepal and Tibet, and the mystical realm of Shangri-la, this suspenseful tale of love, sacrifice, and redemption is not to be missed.

Review:

This book picks up where the first left off. The first part finds Kelsey back home in Oregon and attending college, trying to put her tiger adventure behind her. But Ren comes to find her and danger follows. In an attempt to unravel another prophecy, Kelsy travels to Nepal and the mythical city of Shangri-la. Another action packed adventure follows as she attempts to save the tigers from their curse.

This is Houck's second novel and the writing shows vast improvement from the first book. There is none of the slower, simple writing found in the first book. This book will capture your attention from the first pages and not let up until the very end. The details of the prophecy are amazing and Houck's ability to come up with unique, exciting adventures is notable. Those who enjoyed the first book will be very pleased, this sequel will continue to capture your attention and heart as Kelsey tries to help the tigers while finding the love she seeks. If you did not read the first novel you can

pick up this one and understand what is going on. This is an excellent series and I am looking forward to the next one.

Rating: An excellent and well done adventure/love story that is well worth your time.

Review: Ashfall (Ashfall #1)

2011-10-20T20:05:00.002-05:00

Author: Michael Mullin

Published: September 27, 2011

Pages: 476

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

Review:

Alex is a normal teen who hates visiting his uncle so much that his parents agree to leave him home by himself for the weekend. Soon after a super volcano erupts, changing his world to a dark, ash filled moonscape where the survival is an everyday struggle

There are an abundance of post apocalyptic YA books out there but few provide the impact of Ashfall. Mulligan has provided a realistic and terrifying book that starts with a bang that will leave you breathless until the last page is turned and keep you thinking for days afterward. The world he created is dark with glimmers of hope and a powerful message about the choices people make when faced with disaster. There are no supernatural beings or man eating zombies here. There is no need; the way man changes when survival is uncertain are scarier than any imaginary beings could ever be.

The story is told from Alex's point of view, a refreshing change. He is a typical teen who is realistic and imperfect. I came to care for him as he seeks his family and loved the way he changed and grew as the novel progressed. The other main character, Darla, is a smart, quirky farm girl with mechanical knowledge that she uses to problem solve. The relationship that develops between them is natural and believable, and the romance is understated and beautifully written.

There are many lessons learned here: life can change in the blink of an eye; society is fragile and can easily disintegrate in the wake of a large disaster; and difficult decisions have to be made when survival is on the line. One of my favorite quotes of the book: "For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my spices. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles and our airplanes, but it hadn't taken our humanity. No, we'd given that up on our own."

This is a book that should not be missed. I raced through it and then came back later to reread it again. It will make you stop and think about how you would react in the same situation. And it made me want to prepare for a disaster so that I would have the resources available if society broke down and we had only ourselves to count on for survival.

This is the first of a planned trilogy. I and anxiously awaiting the next installment, due out in October 2012.

Rating: Do not miss this one! A powerful, realistic story that will leave you wanting more.

Note: I received this book from the publisher via NeyGalley for review but did not get any compensation for the review.

Review: Tiger's Curse

2011-10-17T15:33:00.007-05:00

Author: Colleen Houck
Published: January 11, 2011
Pages: 448
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world.
But that’s exactly what happened.
Face-to-face with dark forces, spell- binding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.
Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

Review:

Kelsy just graduated high school. She is alone in the world, having lost her parents to a car accident. She gets a job in a circus, and cares for a white tiger. When the tiger is bought by an Indian gentleman for a wild life park in India she is offered a job to escort the tiger there. When in India the tiger reveals that is is actually a man cursed to remain a tiger for most of each day. The only way to break the curse is to follow an ancient prophecy. But the wizrd who cursed him is still around and anxious to stop the quest. As Kelsey works to help her tiger they begin to fall in love, making this a love story as well.

When I started this book I felt that it was going to be an average book. The first
few chapters told an interesting story but the writing seemed to be somewhat simple, with information that did not seem necessary. But as the book progressed the story took off and I was hooked, leading me into a wonderful journey filled with magic and a quest to find the tresure that will break the curse of the tiger. The quest is full of adventure and intrigue, incorporating Indian legends and Gods. The author did her work, the stories made me want to hop online and do some research on my own, to learn moreof the old stories and gods in the novel.

Kelsey is the main female character. She started as a typical American teen, but as the story unfolded she added multiple layers of dimension and I grew to like her. Ren, the white tiger
who changes to a man is also an interesting but I wanted to know more about him.
But they are developed enough that I came to care for them both, hoping they would be succesful in thier search. The love story is well done without overt sexual scenes.

I liked this book and it is the first of five, I can't wait for the next book as the quest continues. The rights have been picked up for a movie as well.

Rating: An great adventure story, worth your time.

4 stars

Review: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

2011-08-10T12:23:00.007-05:00

Authors: Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Published: October 26, 2010
Pages: 272
Rating: 3/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

“I’ve left some clues for you. If you want them, turn the page. If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.” So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions? Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

Review:

Dash and Lily are alone for the Christmas holidays. When Lily leaves a notebook with clues in a bookstore, Dash finds it and they begin to communicate via the notebook, developing a relationship on paper until they can meet.

This is a good little book with the undertones of love, but not an overwhelming love story and would be enjoyed by both sexes, this is by no means a chic lit book. The characters were well developed and shared the things we all were scared about as teens - being liked, what is normal, how to fit in. Dash and Lily had many things in common, making their adventure a bit more believable.

As Dash follows the clues they lead to more dares. He in turn dares Lily to follow his clues and so the relationship is built. The dares in the book were fun to follow and see how each character would react. When Dash and Lily finally meet it is a disaster, and only in a book do things turn out so perfectly.

I liked the story but felt myself wanting more. The ending seemed abrupt and I wish there was a few more chapters to wrap things up. But this is a book worth reading, as the writing is fun and the message can be enjoyed all.

Rating: Enjoyable book worth a look.

Review: The Enclave

2011-07-25T14:54:00.004-05:00

Author: Ann Aguirre
Published: April 12, 2011
Pages: 212
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known.

Review:

The story starts with girl 15, who gets named Deuce on her 15th birthday. It is sometime in the future and she lives in an underground world where life is hard and short. She has trained to become a huntress, and her job is to find food and fight off the "freaks", transformed people who have sharp teeth and claws and hunger for human flesh. I won't add anyspoilers, but we follow Deuce as she becomes a huntress and her life as it unfolds in the Enclave.

I love dystopian literature, and this should be considered among the best. It is fresh and original with all the elements you want in a this type of book. And although it is not long, there are no wasted words. I applaud Ann Aguirre for creating such believable worlds, both below and above ground. The Enclave was hot and creepy, I found myself becoming claustrophobic just reading about it. When Deuce moves above ground another world is created, just as interesting and dangerous as the first.

The characters are well developed. Deuce is a strong female protagonist who grows throughout the novel as she learns to trust herself and others, and even finds love along the way. The secondary characters are just as well developed.

And while there is a love interest, this is by no means a love story. It is one about survival in a world where everything that can go wrong has, and survival is measured by days not years. It is an exciting read with danger around every turn.

I loved this book. I started reading and could not put it down. And when it was over I was left breathless and wanting more. It stayed with me for several days, as I relived the journey of Deuce and her friends, and pondered survival in their world. I am so happy a sequel is planned, I cannot wait for the next installment.

Rating: Not to be missed, a great dystopian novel

Review: Rot & Ruin

2011-07-15T22:15:00.003-05:00

Author: Jonathan Mayberry
Published: September 14, 2010
Pages: 464
Rating: 5/5Stars

Description from Goodreads:

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

Review:

The world changed 15 years ago when something made people into zombies who spread the sickness by biting. Now the populations exist in small groups behind wire fences, and the zombies rule most of the world. This is the setting where Benny Imura is introduced, now at the age when he must declare a vocation in order to live in the town and share in its resources. After trying several jobs he decides to follow in his brothers footsteps and become a zombie killer. But the job is nothing like he imagined and as he leaves the town to venture into the world he learns many life lessons.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this novel and I was pleasantly surprised. Mayberry has provided a wonderful story about what is important in life, tucked into a zombie novel with lots of action. There are so many colorful characters inside, including Tom Imura, Benny's brother, his childhood friends and Lilah, the wild girl who is the object of legend, living alone in the wilds and killing zombies that wander the world outside the gates ("the ruin").

Benny doesn't really like Tom, he is nothing like the "cool" zombie killers named Charlie Pink Eye and he can't imagine why he is respected by the townspeople. When Tom takes him into the Rot & Ruin he comes to see Tom as a compassionate man who sees zombies for what they once were - people like them with hopes and dreams, and lives worth living. He sees how Tom uses this compassion to "quiet" the zombies and give them a final death.

He also comes to see the cruel people who use the zombies for fun and games. He realizes that the world inside the gates of Mountainside is only a glimpse of what is really happening. When his friend is kidnapped and taken to be used in zombie fights he must risk everything to save her.

Mayberry has created an interesting world where zombies outnumber the living and the world is a dangerous, dark place. But it also holds spots of goodness if you look for it. There is plenty of zombie type violence here, but it is used as needed to make the story real. I found this one of the better YA novels with zombies. I found myself immersed in the Rot and Ruin and could not stop reading until I found out how things turned out. I highly recommend the book for the moral story it teaches. It will be appreciated by teens and adults for the wonderful story it tells.

Rating: A wonderful story with zombies, don't miss this one

In Book News: Releases in the Coming Week

2011-07-14T14:48:00.005-05:00

There are quite a few new releases in the next week, July 12-18:

Sass & Serendipity
Author: Jennifer Ziegler

Description from Goodreads:

For Daphne, the glass is always half full, a situation is better managed with a dab of lip gloss, and the boy of her dreams—the one she's read about in all of her novels—is waiting for her just around the corner.
For Gabby, nothing ever works out positively; wearing any form of makeup is a waste of study time, and boys will only leave you heartbroken. Her best friend, Mule, is the only one who has been there for her every step of the way.
But when the richest boy in school befriends Gabby, and Daphne starts to hang out more and more with her best friend, Mule, Gabby is forced to confront the emotional barriers she has put up to stop the hurting. And for once, her sassiness may fall prey to her definition of stupidity.

Sometimes it Happens
Author: Lauren Barnholdt

Description from Goodreads:

On the last day of her junior year, Hannah's boyfriend Sebastian dumped her. Facing a summer of loneliness, Hannah turns to her best friend Ava for comfort. Ava does what BFFs do: she stays by Hannah's side...until it's time for Ava to head up to Maine for the summer. Also left behind is Ava's boyfriend, Noah, who's such a great guy he gets Hannah a job at the diner he waits tables at. Slowly, Hannah comes out of her funk thanks to Noah's good conversation and their fun times at the diner. But things get complicated when their friendship turns into attraction--and one night, into a passionate kiss.

The novel opens on the first day of senior year; the day Hannah is going to see Ava, Sebastian, and Noah all in one place. Over the course of the day secrets and betrayals are revealed, and alliances are broken and reformed. In the end, everyone is paired up once again, but not the way you might think...

The Summer I Learned to Fly
Author: Dana Reinhardt

Description from Goodreads:

Drew's a bit of a loner. She has a pet rat, her dead dad's Book of Lists, an encyclopedic knowledge of cheese from working at her mom's cheese shop, and a crush on Nick, the surf bum who works behind the counter. It's the summer before eighth grade and Drew's days seem like business as usual, until one night after closing time, when she meets a strange boy in the alley named Emmett Crane. Who he is, why he's there, where the cut on his cheek came from, and his bottomless knowledge of rats are all mysteries Drew will untangle as they are drawn closer together, and Drew enters into the first true friendship, and adventure, of her life.

Texas Gothic
Author: Rosemary Clement-Moore
Description from Goodreads:

Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.

The Other Countess
Author: Eve Edwards

Description from Goodreads:

It's 1582 and eighteen-year-old Will Lacey's family is in trouble. After years of wasteful spending, his late father has run Lacey Hall to near ruin. Tasked with marrying his family back into fortune, the new Earl of Dorset is all set for a season at court to woo not just the Queen but potential brides with his jousting skills. But when Ellie – a strong-willed girl with nothing to her name but a worthless Spanish title – catches Will's eye, he faces a bigger battle than he could ever have anticipated.

The Hidden Coronet (The Relic Master #3)
Author: Catherine Fischer

Description from Goodreads:

The coronet, a potent ancient relic, might be the only way to defeat the power that is destroying Anara. But it has been lost for centuries, and only legend tells of its whereabouts. Will Galen and Raffi be able to find it before the Watch does?

Forever (The Wolves of Mercey Falls #3)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Description from Goodreads:

The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stiefvater

then.

When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love moved from a curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

now.

That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.

forever.

Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

Review: A Kiss in Time

2011-07-11T22:59:00.006-05:00

Author: Alex Flinn
Published: April 27, 2010
Pages: 400
Rating: 3/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

Talia fell under a spell...Jack broke the curse.
I was told to beware the accursed spindle, but it was so enchanting, so hypnotic...
I was looking for a little adventure the day I ditched my tour group. But finding a comatose town, with a hot-looking chick asleep in it, was so not what I had in mind.
I awakened in the same place but in another time—to a stranger's soft kiss.
I couldn't help kissing her. Sometimes you just have to kiss someone. I didn't know this would happen.
Now I am in dire trouble because my father, the king, says I have brought ruin upon our country. I have no choice but to run away with this commoner!
Now I'm stuck with a bratty princess and a trunk full of her jewels...The good news: My parents will freak!
Think you have dating issues? Try locking lips with a snoozing stunner who turns out to be 316 years old. Can a kiss transcend all—even time?

Review:

Jack and his friends are on a tour of Europe when they wonder off from their tour. They stumble on a village frozen in time. When he finds a beautiful girl (Talia) who is sleeping he is compelled to kiss her, breaking a curse that awakens her from a 300 year nap. The story follows Jack and Talia as they make their way back to the United States and Talia adapts to life in the modern world. Will it be the perfect love story or will the evil witch who cursed Talia win in the end?

Finn has adapted a classic fairy tale and added a twist of having to adapt to a new time period. The characters are well done and fun to watch. Talia is a typical spoiled princess at first but soon changes as she must rely on Jack to help her make her way in her new world. Jack has his own problems too, parents who expect him to do as told, and not choose a career that he desires. In the background is the wicked witch who placed the curse on Talia and is determined to recapture her.

The plot is predictable and at times funny, especially as Talia tries to adapt to the new technology she finds in Jack's world. I did find it an easy read, but saw the ending coming half way through the book. I enjoyed the novel, it is a light and fun book if you enjoy revisiting the fairy tales from your past with an updated twist.

Rating: An enjoyable, fun retelling of a classic fairy tale.

Review: Forbidden

2011-07-04T19:11:00.008-05:00

Author: Tabitha Suzuma
Published: June 28, 2011
Pages: 464
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But ...They are brother and sister.

Review:

Lochan and his sister Maya have grown up in a dysfunctional family where they have been abandoned by their father, their alcoholic mother is absent most of the time and they and are struggling to keep their siblings together and out of the eye of social services. Close in age, they have grown up as best friends as well as brother and sister. Both are stunned when they realize they are falling in love with each other and that the feelings are mutual. This is an absorbing story of their dilemma and how they handle this taboo, and how it is likely to end.

Tabitha Suzuma has taken on a subject not often written about, especially in YA novels. But she has done a beautiful job in making the story of Lochan and Maya come alive and exploring the difficulties and heartbreak found when siblings fall in love. Incest is most often portrayed with an aggressor and a victim, here it is a mutual desire without victims, but not without consequences.

The chapters are in first person and alternate between Lochan and Maya, giving us a view from both main characters. This allows us to get inside their heads and get to know them both, and I found that I found myself thinking that they deserved to find the happiness they wanted and deserved. All characters were well developed, I found myself wanting to cry for the situation these siblings were left in by the adults who were supposed to care for them.

Despite the topic, I found that this was an incredibly well written book. I wanted for things to work out for Maya and Lochan, despite the views of society and the law, but I knew that the book was not destined to have a happy ending, stories like this never do. However, the ending was not what I expected and it was a tragic, heartbreaking conclusion to one of the better books I have read this year. This is definately written for the older set of teens, but anyone older will also find this an absorbing book.

Rating: An excellent book about a taboo subject, not to be missed

In Book News: Releases in the Coming Week June 28 to July 4

2011-06-29T12:03:00.008-05:00

There are just a few new books being released this week.

Forbidden
Author: Tabitha Suzuma

Description from Goodreads:

She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But ...They are brother and sister.

Lost Voices (Lost Voices #1)
Author: Sarah Porter

Description from Goodreads:

Fourteen-year-old Luce has had a tough life, but she reaches the depths of despair when she is assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village. She expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waves below, but instead undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid. A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: the mermaids feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks. Luce possesses an extraordinary singing talent, which makes her important to the tribe—she may even have a shot at becoming their queen. However her struggle to retain her humanity puts her at odds with her new friends. Will Luce be pressured into committing mass murder?

The first book in a trilogy,Lost Voicesis a captivating and wildly original tale about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive.

Also, in June several books were released in paperback editions. You may want to check some of them out:

In My Mailbox (#8)

2011-06-18T18:18:00.007-05:00

The In My Mailbox feature is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. I had a great week, considering I was moving. Here is what I received, let me know which one you would like to see reviewed next:

Welcome to all my new readers. I have been involved in moving so my blogging has not been as frequent as I like, but I hope to get back to my 5-7 posts a week. If there is anything you are really wanting to have reviewed, please leave me a comment and let me know.

Review: The Dead: An Enemy Novel

2011-06-15T00:39:00.006-05:00

Author: Charlie Higson
Published: June 14, 2011
Pages: 496
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

THE DEAD begins one year before the action in THE ENEMY, just after the Disaster. A terrible disease has struck everyone over the age of sixteen, leaving them either dead or a decomposing, flesh-eating creature. The action starts in a boarding school just outside London where all the teachers have turned into zombies. Together they begin a terrifying journey to find safety, and home.

Review:

Ever since I finished reading The Enemy, I have been anxiously awaiting the publication of The Dead. And Higson didn't disappoint with this one. The book opens with the start of the disease, and the YouTube video of The Scared Kid. As the disease spreads a group of boys find themselves stranded at a boarding school, fighting off the teachers who have become living monsters who want to eat them. It follows them as they watch the progression of the disease through the staff until the kids are left to fend for themselves. Anyone over sixteen has been stricken, and once again we follow the trials of the kids as they look for ways to survive in a world where they have no adult assistance and have to fight for their lives.

Higson has given us several wonderful characters, all of whom have their own unique traits and you will find yourself hoping that they can figure out a way to survive in a world turned upside down. It is heartbreaking to follow them as they realize that their parents are likely dead or diseased and that the world as they knew it is gone.

There is plenty of zombie type violence here, but necessary for the kids to keep themselves safe. The journey they take from the countryside into London had me on the edge of my seat and I found I could not put this book down.

This book explains a lot of questions that I had after The Enemy, but if you have not read the first book you could start here and then read it. You will not be disappointed and this one is not for the YA audience alone, anyone who loves zombie books will find this series well done and worth your time. I hear that there are six book planned for this series, I cannot wait to see how the story progresses and this series at the top of my wish list. Oh, and make sure to stop by and see "The Scared Kid".

Rating: An outstanding series, do not miss this one!

Note: I received this book from the publisher via NeyGalley for review but did not get any compensation for the review.

Review: Putting Makeup on Dead People

2011-06-06T16:20:00.006-05:00

Author: Jen Violi
Published: May 24, 2011
Pages: 336
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

Since her father’s death four years ago, Donna has gone through the motions of living: her friendships are empty, she’s clueless about what to do after high school graduation, and her grief keeps her isolated, cut off even from the one parent she has left. That is until she’s standing in front of the dead body of a classmate at Brighton Brothers’ Funeral Home. At that moment, Donna realizes what might just give her life purpose is comforting others in death. That maybe who she really wants to be is a mortician.

This discovery sets in motion a life Donna never imagined was possible. She befriends a charismatic new student, Liz, notices a boy, Charlie, and realizes that maybe he's been noticing her, too, and finds herself trying things she hadn’t dreamed of trying before. By taking risks, Donna comes into her own, diving into her mortuary studies with a passion and skill she didn’t know she had in her. And she finally understands that moving forward doesn’t mean forgetting someone you love.

Jen Violi’s heartfelt and funny debut novel is a story of transformation—how one girl learns to grieve and say goodbye, turn loss into a gift, and let herself be exceptional...at loving, applying lipstick to corpses, and finding life in the wake of death.

Review:

Donna is on the cusp of adulthood but is still trying to get over the loss of her father. After the death of a classmate she realizes that she is drawn to the funeral home and is interested in learning more about becoming a mortician. As she explores her options for the future she realizes she must confront her grief from the past in order to move on.

Adolescence is such a difficult time of change when teens must choose their careers and face life after high school. Jen Violi has captured the difficulty of this time so well in this book, it is a wonderful primer on how to deal with making choices even when they go against everything your parent wants.

Donna is a complex and well developed character. She faces a difficult choice of pleasing a parent or choosing a career that makes her happy. The courage she displays in making a choice that endangers the relationship with her remaining parent was remarkable. The way she grew while dealing with her unresolved grief made me want to reach in and hug her. The secondary characters are also well developed and interesting, making this a very well rounded book.

The main topic was strange for a YA book - handling the dead. The author has opened a window into a world not often explored. And it is a fascinating world where the art involved in caring for the dead is explored. It makes it clear that death is something we all must deal with and makes one thankful for those who care for our loved ones after death.

Grief is also with here but not the main theme of the book. This is a wonderful book about making difficult choices and the rewards that are there when one seeks them.

Rating: A wonderful story about difficult choices

Note: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review but did not get any compensation for the review.

Review: Hollowland (The Hollows #1)

2011-05-20T19:40:00.006-05:00

Author: Amanda Hocking
Published: September 28, 2010
Pages: 306
Rating: 5/5 stars

Description from Goodreads:

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."

Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

Review:

Remy is left alone with her small brother in a world where a rabies type virus has turned most of the population into zombies. She has learned to protect herself and when her brother is transported to a government safe house she has to try to find him. The story follows her as she goes across the western US, picking up colorful characters along the way. There is plenty of zombie type violence and the action is nonstop as she tries to locate her brother as readers wonder what makes him so special that the government wants to protect him?

I was sucked into this book from the first page and found it hard to put down. Remy's is a wonderful character, strong and independent, but wanting to be with others makes her vulnerable. She is on a mission to find her brother, all she has left of her family. The other characters are also well done: Lazlo, a rock star, and Tatum, a soldier who goes out of his way to help Remy, and a tame lion they find on the side of the road. There is plenty of blood and gore here, with zombies who seem to be getting smarter as they evolve.

There is no guarantee that the characters will survive, and many don't as they run for their lives. The dark, hostile world Hocking has created is a joy to read about, and the love story thrown into the action packed novel makes this a wonderful read.

Rating: An Excellent story you will not want to miss.

Review: The Magnolia League

2011-05-16T23:26:00.006-05:00

Author: Katie Crouch
Published: May 3, 2011
Pages: 368
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

After the death of her free-spirited mother, sixteen-year-old Alex Lee must leave her home in northern California to live with her wealthy grandmother in Savannah, Georgia. By birth, Alex is a rightful, if unwilling, member of the Magnolia League, Savannah's long-standing debutante society. She quickly discovers that the Magnolias have made a pact with a legendary hoodoo family, the Buzzards. The Magnolias enjoy youth, beauty and power. But at what price?

As in her popular adult novels, Crouch's poignant and humorous voice shines in this seductively atmospheric story about girls growing up in a magical Southern city.

Review:

Alex grew up in a commune in California, a life she thought was perfect until her mother dies in a car wreck and she is left alone. Soon she is sent to live with her grandmother in Savannah, Georgia, and finds that she is very out of place. Her grandmother is the head of the Magnolia League, a secret society within Savannah that rules the town. At first Alex thinks it is some type of social club, but soon learns that it is a secret group that relies on the magic of hoodoo, an African American folk magic. With hoodoo the power within the Magnolia League is unlimited: wealth, youth, love. But the price one pays for the power is high. Alex wrestles with the power of the magic and her desires to pursue her own life, but does she have a choice in the matter?

I wasn't sure what to expect with this novel. The use of the supernatural has become so common in YA literature today that many of the books seem to run together and it can be hard to find something new. Ms. Crouch has really provided something refreshing and interesting in her use of the hoodoo magic. I was not aware of this type of magic and found it fascinating. The use of a magic so powerful that those who practice it will not partake speaks volumes about the bad side of using magic to get your needs met. But magic has a seductive side too and those who are in the League cannot seem to see the dark side of using it to craft their lives.

The story grabbed me from the start and I found it hard to put it down. The setting of Savannah was perfect for the story and a place where hoodoo magic had deep roots. Alex is a wonderful character who longs to belong somewhere but has a hard time finding out what she really wants. Unfortunately for her, her grandmother is all too happy to dictate what she should do.

Following Alex's journey of discovery through the maze of hoodoo magic and how it has been woven into the lives of her family kept me on the edge of my seat as she found skeletons in the closet that I was not expecting. There was also plenty of romance and intrigue to be found in the story. I loved this book and cannot wait for the next installment, I can't wait to see how Alex's story turns out.

Rating: An excellent story you will enjoy

Note: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review but did not get any compensation for the review.

Review: Bumped

2011-05-10T23:31:00.004-05:00

Author: Megan McCafferty Published: April 26, 2011 Pages: 336 Rating: 4/5 stars

Description from Goodreads:

When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents are forced to pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and had never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Until now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in religious Goodside, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to bring Melody back to Goodside and convince her that “pregging” for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

Review:

In the near future, a virus has made most people over the age of 18 infertile. This has made it popular, even encouraged for teens to become pregnant for others as soon as they can. Babies are now a commodity, and educated, white females can demand high prices for their "deliveries" (babies are not discussed). In this world we find identical twin girls, separated at birth, now meeting for the first time. Melody's parents have encouraged her to hold out for the highest bidder, making her pregnancy a high priced deal. Harmony was raised in a religious community where girls are encouraged to marry at thirteen, and she has come to make Melody realize that pregnancy for hire should not be done.

When I started reading this book I wasn't sure I liked it. The ideas were so foreign it was hard to read. But as I delved into the book it became a fascinating look at what could happen in a world where the pursuit of money is more important than then babies you create. It soon became clear that the adults in this world had changed the way their children think, and had the ability to encourage them to sell their womb space to the highest bidder. I felt sorry for the teens who felt they had to join in and help populate the world.

The two main characters were at first glance so very different, but as the story progressed, the ways they were alike became more apparent. The story was told from two view points, each twin alternating chapters. Their characters were well developed with Harmony the easiest to like with her sweet language and good intents. The slang used by Melody made her a bit harder to follow, but you could see her realization of her real predicament as the story progressed. The secondary characters were also well developed and likable, even fascinating. It was hard not to be disgusted with the parents, although they were not present for much of the story it was clear that their own desires drove them to make choices for the girls that were in the best interests of themselves, not their children.

This is a book that made me think. Parental approval, even encouragement, to become pregnant along with the financial gain, and peer pressure, made giving birth just another teen milestone. The way McCafferty set up the future world where this, along with constant advertising that was geared toward encouraging teen pregnancy made it clear that this is something that could happen if the circumstances were right.While the book could be seen as a lighthearted, fluffy read, the themes are real and deserve to be examined. Women are clearly devalued in this world and the way the characters eventually stood up for themselves made me want to cheer. The ending was a bit abrupt, but I soon found out that a sequel is planned, and I can't wait for the next installment.

Rating: An excellent story that will leave you thinking

Note: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review but did not get any compensation for the review.

In Book News: New Releases for the Week

2011-05-07T18:33:00.008-05:00

Here are the new young adult releases for the first week in May:

Skeleton Creek Author: Patrick Carman

Description from Goodreads:

Strange things are happening in Skeleton Creek . . . and Ryan and Sarah are trying to get to the heart of it. But after an eerie accident leaves Ryan housebound and forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her videocam to search things out. . .and then email the clips for Ryan to see.

In a new, groundbreaking format, the story is broken into two parts -- Ryan's text in the book, and Sarah's videos on a special website, with links and passwords given throughout the book.

The Magnolia League

Author: Katie Crouch

Description from Goodreads:

After the death of her free-spirited mother, sixteen-year-old Alex Lee must leave her home in northern California to live with her wealthy grandmother in Savannah, Georgia. By birth, Alex is a rightful, if unwilling, member of the Magnolia League, Savannah's long-standing debutante society. She quickly discovers that the Magnolias have made a pact with a legendary hoodoo family, the Buzzards. The Magnolias enjoy youth, beauty and power. But at what price?

As in her popular adult novels, Crouch's poignant and humorous voice shines in this seductively atmospheric story about girls growing up in a magical Southern city.

Moonglass

Author: Jessi Kirby

Description from Goodreads:

From Jessi Kirby, a debut novel about confronting the past in order to move ahead.

I read once that water is a symbol for emotions. And for a while now, I've thought maybe my mother drowned in both.

Anna's life is upended when her father accepts a job transfer the summer before her junior year. It's bad enough that she has to leave her friends and her life behind, but her dad is moving them to the beach where her parents first met and fell in love- a place awash in memories that Anna would just as soon leave under the surface.
While life on the beach is pretty great, with ocean views and one adorable lifeguard in particular, there are also family secrets that were buried along the shore years ago. And the ebb and flow of the ocean's tide means that nothing- not the sea glass that she collects on the sand and not the truths behind Anna's mother's death- stays buried forever.

So Much Closer

Author: Susane Colasanti

Description from Goodreads:

When Brooke's crush, Scott, moves from their suburban town to New York City, she decides to follow him there. Living with her formerly estranged dad and adapting to a new school are challenging, and things go from bad to worse when Brooke learns that Scott already has a girlfriend. But as she builds her new life, Brooke begins to discover a side of herself she never knew existed. And as she finds out, in the city that never sleeps, love can appear around any corner...

Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Description from Goodreads:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

Illusions

Author: Aprilynne Pike

Description from Goodreads:

Laurel hasn't seen Tamani since she begged him to let her go last year. Though her heart still aches, Laurel is confident that David was the right choice.

But just as life is returning to normal, Laurel discovers that a hidden enemy lies in wait. Once again, Laurel must turn to Tamani to protect and guide her, for the danger that now threatens Avalon is one that no faerie thought would ever be possible. And for the first time, Laurel cannot be sure that her side will prevail.

Spring Blog Carnival Giveaway

2011-05-03T17:03:00.004-05:00

I am participating in the Spring Carnival Giveaway.

Easy entry to win The Subway Girl . Just leave a comment, you get an extra entry if you are a follower. International entries OK for this giveaway. Good luck!

Review: Subway Girl

2011-05-02T23:44:00.006-05:00

Author: P. J. Converse
Published: March 15, 2011
Pages: 224
Rating: 3/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

He is shy. Unassuming. Inexperienced.

She is Subway Girl. Cool. Unattainable.

From the moment he sees her on a Hong Kong subway, Simon is intrigued by Amy, but he doesn't have the nerve to talk to her. When he finally works up the courage, he realizes he can't. Because Amy doesn't speak Chinese, and Simon is failing English.

But somehow, Amy and Simon connect, and they find that they understand each other. Enough for Simon to admit that he is dropping out of school. Enough for Amy to confess that she is pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's baby. Amy and Simon feel lost in a world so much bigger than they are, and yet they still have each other.

In this brilliant debut by P. J. Converse, two unlikely teenagers discover that love has a language all its own.

Review:

Simon grew up in Hong Kong in a traditional Chinese speaking family. Owners of a small shop, his parents do not understand his need for education or the need to speak English. Now Simon is failing English in school and will soon have to leave school for a job that does not require a higher education. Amy grew up in San Francisco. When her parents separate her mother brings her to Hong Kong where she was raised. Amy is "the Subway Girl" a beautiful, mysterious girl who rides the subway back and forth to school without speaking to anyone. One day Simon decides to speak to her and finds out that she does not speak very much Chinese. Suddenly Simon has a reason to speak English, as he pursues Amy. But Amy is dealing with serious problems: an abusive boyfriend and an unplanned pregnancy. The novel follows two teens from very different backgrounds as they discover each other and work through their problems.

The story is told by Simon and Amy, each alternating chapters. Their voices are realistic and ring true for teens who have poor adult role models and lack the understanding of their peers. Their characters were well developed but I really wanted to understand the emotional impact of Amy's pregnancy more, instead it was treated as another event in her life, like a school event or movie that she had to attend.

Their relationship developed slowly, as one would expect with a language barrier. The difference in language was used help Simon improve his English, and maybe his life if he can pass the exam and stay in school. They come to rely on each other as Amy helps to tutor Simon so he can try to pass the test. Simon helps Amy as she deals with her pregnancy and the complications that come with it.

I do have to applaud Converse for tackling important topics like pregnancy, dating violence and abortion. The book left me wanting to know how life turned out for Amy and Simon and the ending was not perfect, but neither is real life and I think this is the message that Converse was trying to relay.

Rating: A good book that deals with important teen issues

Review: Accomplice

2011-04-25T16:48:00.004-05:00

Author: Eireann Corrigan
Published: August 1, 2010
Pages: 304
Rating: 4/5

Description from Goodreads:

They've gotten good grades - but that's not good enough. They've spent hours on community service - but that's not good enough. Finn and Chloe's advisor says that colleges have enough kids with good grades and perfect attendance, so Chloe decides they'll have to attract attention another way. She and Finn will stage Chloe's disappearance, and then, when CNN is on their doorstep and the nation is riveted, Finn will find and save her. It seems like the perfect plan - until things start to go wrong. Very wrong.

Review:

Finn and Chloe have been best friends for years. Near high school graduation the school counselor advises them that they will have to be very memorable to get into the college of their choice. Chloe comes up with a plan to fake her disappearance, believing that she will have a great story to put on her college application. She hides out in an empty house, while Finn has to watch the fallout of the fake kidnapping. Chloe's parents are distraught, Finn hates lying about the disappearance and then a friend is arrested for the kidnapping. The novel follows the entire plot and the consequences of their actions.

The book is fast paced and suspenseful and it kept my attention from the first page right through to the end of the book. The story was narrated by Finn whose teenage voice was realistic and we watch her character grow as she realizes that everyone has to pay for the choices they make and that sometimes the cost of friendship can be too high. Chloe was also a well developed character who was so self centered that I didn't like her. But it was the combination of the two that made the book work and it was fascinating to view the insides of their friendship. This was a captivating book and I couldn't wait to see how it all turned out. The ending was satisfying and by the end of the book the message was clear: your actions affect more people than you think and the consequences last a lifetime.

Rating: An excellent book with a unique story

Review: Warped

2011-04-21T17:09:00.009-05:00

Author: Maurissa Guibord
Published: January 11, 2011
Pages: 352
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

Tessa doesn't believe in magic. Or Fate. But there's something weird about the dusty unicorn tapestry she discovers in a box of old books. She finds the creature woven within it compelling and frightening. After the tapestry comes into her possession, Tessa experiences dreams of the past and scenes from a brutal hunt that she herself participated in. When she accidentally pulls a thread from the tapestry, Tessa releases a terrible centuries old secret. She also meets William de Chaucy, an irresistible 16th-century nobleman. His fate is as inextricably tied to the tapestry as Tessa's own. Together, they must correct the wrongs of the past. But then the Fates step in, making a tangled mess of Tessa's life. Now everyone she loves will be destroyed unless Tessa does their bidding and defeats a cruel and crafty ancient enemy.

Review:

When I was a child I loved reading fairy tales. They have all the things for a great story - a good character, and evil character, royalty, and magical events that are usually far fetched. Guibord has given us an updated fairy tale: all of the elements of a good tale woven into a young adult novel. The story opens when Tessa (good character) and her father acquire a tapestry at an auction. The tapestry has a large unicorn with a castle in the distance, and every time Tessa touches it she experiences memories of the past. When she pulls a loose thread the unicorn falls out of the tapestry in the form of Will de Chauncy (magical event), a prince (royalty) who had been imprisoned in the tapestry for 500 years by Gray Lily (bad character). Throw in some mythology about the Fates and we have a story that is compelling and unusual in young adult literature. The novel follows Tessa as she tries to save Will from Gray Lily and as she unravels the mystery of the connection between the past and present. And of course, a little romance is thrown in to make it interesting.

While the events may not be your typical read, it has all the elements present to make this a fascinating contemporary fantasy. The story alternates between the present and the past, and when returning to the 15th century the historical elements are well done. The characters are well done but not as developed as I would have liked. Tessa is a strong heroine, she has a great best friend who I would love to have for a friend and Will de Chauncy is a dream prince. The plot is interesting and original, and I could not put the book down until I learned how it all turned out. This is a different type of paranormal read, one that has fantasy, romance,and intrigue. It is a story that is memorable for the unique way the author has woven the fairy tale into a great young adult read.

Rating: An excellent book with a unique story

In Book News: Releases in the Coming Week

2011-04-18T23:07:00.007-05:00

There are just a few new releases to tell you about this week. I will be reviewing The Betrayal of Maggie Blair on Friday. Hope you can find something new in the following:

April 18

The Betrayal of Maggie Blair
Author: Elizabeth Laird

Description from Goodreads:

In seventeenth-century Scotland, saying the wrong thing can lead to banishment—or worse. Accused of being a witch, sixteen-year-old Maggie Blair is sentenced to be hanged. She escapes, but instead of finding shelter with her principled, patriotic uncle, she brings disaster to his door.

Betrayed by one of her own accusers, Maggie must try to save her uncle and his family from the king’s men, even if she has to risk her own life in the process.

Originally published in the UK, this book has a powerful blend of heart-stopping action and thought-provoking themes.

April 19th

Morpheus Road: The Dark

Author: D.J. MacHale

Description from Goodreads:

Cooper Foley always had a knack for finding trouble, but nothing he’s ever experienced could have prepared him for his latest adventure: He has landed square in the middle of a border war between the worlds of the living and the dead.

At the end of The Light, Book One of the Morpheus Road trilogy, Marshall Seaver learned the truth about what happened to his missing best friend, Cooper. Now, the mystery continues to unfold, only this time through Cooper’s eyes.

What did Marshall’s terrifying encounters with Gravedigger have to do with spirits from another existence? Who is Damon, and what role did he play in Cooper’s dilemma? Most importantly, what is the mysterious Morpheus Road? It’s time to learn, as bestselling author and master of thrilling suspense D.J. MacHale delivers another fast-paced, fantastical story that has all of existence hanging in the balance.

Defiance: Strange Angels #4

Author: Lilith SaintCrow

Description from Goodreads:

The heart-stopping fourth novel in New York Times bestselling author Lili St. Crow's Strange Angels series.

Now that sixteen-year-old Dru's worst fears have come true and Sergej has kidnapped her best friend Graves, she'll have to go on a suicidal rescue mission to bring him back in one piece.
That is, if she can put all of Christophe's training to good use, defeat her mother's traitor, Anna, once and for all, and manage to survive another day . . .

In My Mailbox (#7)

2011-04-17T00:41:00.012-05:00

Each week Kristi at The Story Siren hosts the In My Mailbox feature so we can share all the wonderful books that have found thier way into our mailboxes. I have some great ones to share this week:

I have already read What Comes After, you can see the review here. Which book do you think I should read next? Hope you had some great things show up in your mailbox this week.

Review: What Comes After

2011-04-15T00:19:00.012-05:00

Author: Steve Watkins
Published: April 12, 2011
Pages: 334
Genre: Realistic YA Fiction
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Description from Goodreads:

After her veterinarian dad dies, sixteen-year-old Iris Wight must leave her beloved Maine to live on a North Carolina farm with her hardbitten aunt and a cousin she barely knows. Iris, a vegetarian and animal lover, immediately clashes with Aunt Sue, who mistreats the livestock, spends Iris’s small inheritance, and thinks nothing of striking Iris for the smallest offense. Things come to a head when Iris sets two young goats free to save them from slaughter, and an enraged Aunt Sue orders her brutish son, Book, to beat Iris senseless - a horrific act that lands Book and his mother in jail. Sent to live with an offbeat foster family and their "dooking" ferrets, Iris must find a way to take care of the animals back at the farm, even if it means confronting Aunt Sue. Powerful and deeply moving, this compelling novel affirms the redemptive power of animals and the resilience of the human spirit.

Review:

Iris Wight doesn't remember much about her mother, she left when Iris was five years old and never returned. Now Iris is sixteen and she has just buried her father. The friends who promised her father they would care for her are having marital issues and can no longer keep their promise. She is forced to leave Maine and move to a farm in North Carolina to live with her Aunt Sue who she met once 14 years earlier. It soon becomes clear that the only reason her aunt agreed to take her was the money in her father's estate. Her life is lonely and difficult and the only comfort she finds is in the animals on the farm. But when Aunt Sue decides to slaughter her favorite goats Iris rebels and tries to save them. This results in an assault that lands Iris in the hospital and Aunt Sue and her son in jail. Iris is moved to a foster home and has to leave her beloved animals behind. Watkins has produced a touching novel about a strong, determined young woman who has been abandoned by those she loves for most of her life. Her response is to withdraw and try to do things on her own. But as the book progresses she realizes that she cannot accomplish her goal of keeping the animals safe all alone. She slowly opens up to the people around her, and even develops a relationship with a classmate who is dealing with his own loss.

This is one of the most heartbreaking novels I have read in a long time. This is not an action packed read, but rather a character driven story that was a delight to read. The main character, Iris, is a real teen who has had more hardship than should be allowed but her strength and determination shine through to allow her to remain strong and likable. She has abandonment woven into her life. It started with her mother leaving, continued with her father's sudden death and was seen in her friend's inability to keep their promise. When she is faced with the dilemma of having to leave her beloved animals when she was placed in foster care she could not abandon them as others have done to her, no matter what the cost.

The secondary characters are just as memorable. From the Buddha looking school counselor who preferred to sit on the floor instead of behind a desk to the quirky, ferret loving foster parents, I was drawn to each one and would be glad to have people like them in my life. Watkins even made the animals within the novel come to life, each one with a unique personality, making me feel just as invested in their safety as Iris was.

The violence Iris experienced at the hands of Aunt Sue and her son was shocking and as a mother I wanted to jump in and give her she the comfort she desperately needed. When they were put in jail for their actions the school bullies stepped in and continued to harass Iris. How she dealt with these issues was remarkable, making her a memorable character.

On the surface this could be seen as a simple story about a girl who loves animals and tries to do what is right for them. But it is so much more. It is a wonderful tale about loss, grief and triumph over adversity. It teaches us that while everyone faces challenges in life, it is the way we decide to deal with them that dictates who we will become.

Rating: An excellent book with life lessons and memorable characters

Online Conference for Book Bloggers

2011-04-12T01:14:00.003-05:00

I wanted to let you know about the Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference, which starts tomorrow. This conference bring the publishing world and the blogging world together so issues important to both can be discussed. The best part is that is all online so you can take part in it without leaving home. It is not too late to sign up, so be sure to check it out.

Some things of interest:

30 panels will be discussing things from writing reviews to the legal aspects of blogging
Forums are already active to discuss blogging issues
Publishers have donated books for giveaways
All discussions will be recorded so you can access the information when it is convenient for you

I am excited to be able to take part in this conference. As a new blogger I am hoping that it will help me to improve my site and make it a better place for those who stop by. If you have a book blog I hope you will stop by and check it out. It looks like it will be a great resource for all involved.

Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

2011-04-11T15:19:00.003-05:00

Author: Morgan Matson
Published: May 4, 2010
Pages: 352
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Four months ago Amy Curry had a perfect teenage life. Now her Dad is dead, her mother has moved across the country and her twin brother is in rehab. To top it off her mother expects her to drive across the country with a stranger. The book opens as Amy meets Roger, a college guy who has problems of his own. They decide to detour from the trip Amy's mother planned and see the country as they make their way from California to Connecticut. The book follows their road trip and their discovery of each other along the way.

Morgan Matson has created such an engaging story that I was sucked right into the backseat and went along for the ride. There was no fast paced action to pull you along, but I still was so drawn to the book that I could not put it down. Instead, it was the story and the characters that kept me reading. Amy and Roger's characters had so many layers, it was a joy to see them revealed as the trip progressed. The secondary characters were equally well developed, from the video game player on a quest to the topiary creating teen, each was unique in their own way. The slow building romance followed the pace of the journey, and was wonderfully done. The journal kept along the way was genius, it added so much to the story, from the receipts to the doodles, it allowed us to peak into the journey through the minds of Amy and Roger. And the play lists helped set the mood of the trip as it progressed.

This was a great book about grief, friendship, heartbreak and romance. It tells the story of how to move on with life by letting go. And it reminds us that the best discoveries are the ones we make when we aren't looking for them. I suggest you read this one, it is a journey you will not want to miss.

Rating: Outstanding, don't miss this one.

In My Mailbox #6

2011-04-09T20:10:00.009-05:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. This week I received some great things:

Did you have any good things land in your box this week?

Review: The Dark and Hollow Places

2011-04-07T19:17:00.003-05:00

Author: Carrie Ryan
Published: March 22, 2011
Pages: 384 pages
Rating: 4/5 Stars

The third and final book in the Forest of Hands and Teeth Trilogy finds Annah living alone in The Dark City (later revealed as New York City). It has been three years since Elias left her and she decides to leave, believing he will never return. Just as she leaves she see her twin sister Gabry entering the city. What follows is her search for her sister, finding out about Catcher and the return of Elias. Any further information would spoil the book, something I don't do on this blog.

This book is closely related to the second in the trilogy. Many of the characters are the same. The introduction of Annah is a wonderful treat. She is a character who is in pain over leaving her sister behind and feels worthless and angry as she struggles to survive. The undead zombies are prominent in this installment, always seeking live flesh, and they add a dark, scary flavor to the story. Danger is constantly present and it is a struggle to survive. As in the previous books the writing here is beautiful and haunting, making the reader think while feeling the emotions displayed by the characters.

In the end the book is about life and the choices we make on how to live it. Do you limit yourself, keeping safe while missing all that life holds? Does one take a chance on love, knowing that pain and heartache can follow? This is a wonderful book and it provides a satisfying end to the trilogy. While you can read this one without having read the others in the series, the second book will provide a lot of the story about what has happened in the lives of the main characters prior to this book.

Rating: An excellent book that you will enjoy

In Book News: New Releases in the Coming Week

2011-04-05T15:51:00.009-05:00

There are just a few new releases this week. Here they are:

The Anti Prom
Author: Abby McDonald

Description from Goodreads:

Three unlikely allies team up for a night of rebellion, romance, and revenge in a high-stakes dramedy from acclaimed young author Abby McDonald.

They’ve spent years at the same high school without speaking a word to one another, but that’s all about to change. Popular Bliss was having the perfect prom until she found her BFF and boyfriend making out in the back of a limo. Bad girl Jolene wouldn’t be caught dead at the prom, yet here she is, trussed up in pink ruffles, risking her reputation for some guy - some guy who is forty minutes late. And shy, studious, über-planner Meg never counted on her date’s standing her up and leaving her idling in the parking lot outside the prom. Get ready for The Anti-Prom, Abby McDonald’s hilarious, heart-tugging tale about three girls and one unforgettable prom night.

Enclave
Author: Ann Aguirre

Description from Goodreads:

New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters—or Freaks—who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight, in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs. As the two are guided by Fade’s long-ago memories, they face dangers, and feelings, unlike any they’ve ever known.

What Comes After Author: Steve Watson

Description from Goodreads:

After her veterinarian dad dies, sixteen-year-old Iris Wight must leave her beloved Maine to live on a North Carolina farm with her hardbitten aunt and a cousin she barely knows. Iris, a vegetarian and animal lover, immediately clashes with Aunt Sue, who mistreats the livestock, spends Iris’s small inheritance, and thinks nothing of striking Iris for the smallest offense. Things come to a head when Iris sets two young goats free to save them from slaughter, and an enraged Aunt Sue orders her brutish son, Book, to beat Iris senseless - a horrific act that lands Book and his mother in jail. Sent to live with an offbeat foster family and their "dooking" ferrets, Iris must find a way to take care of the animals back at the farm, even if it means confronting Aunt Sue. Powerful and deeply moving, this compelling novel affirms the redemptive power of animals and the resilience of the human spirit.

The Gathering (Darkness Rising #1)
Author: Kelly Armstrong

Description from Goodreads:

Strange things are happening in Maya's tiny Vancouver Island town. First, her friend Serena, the captain of the swim team, drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. Then, one year later, mountain lions are spotted rather frequently around Maya's home—and her reactions to them are somewhat . . . unexpected. Her best friend, Daniel, has also been experiencing unexplainable premonitions about certain people and situations.

It doesn't help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret, and he's interested in one special part of Maya's anatomy—her paw-print birthmark.

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Author: Stephanie Meyer

Description from Goodreads:

This must-have hardcover edition--the only official guide--is the definitive encyclopedic reference to the Twilight Saga and provides readers with everything they need to further explore the unforgettable world Stephenie Meyer created in Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. With exclusive new material, character profiles, genealogical charts, maps, extensive cross-references, and much more, this comprehensive handbook is essential for every Twilight Saga fan.

Welcome to Fool For Books Giveaway Hop

2011-03-31T17:16:00.005-05:00

I am participating with over 200 other blogs in the Fool for Books Giveaway Hop. If you want to enter to win some great books, the hop will provide you lots of opportunities.

My giveaway is for a new copy of In the Arms of Stone Angels. I recently reviewed this book and thought it was such a good book, I wanted to share it. I know I have a lot of international readers, and my giveaway is open to you as well as U.S. readers, so please enter! If you are a follower you get an extra entry.

To enter leave a brief comment below. If you are a follower tell me in your comment for an extra entry. I will email the winner. Your email address will not be displayed and you do not need to put it in the comment box. The contest ends Saturday, April 2 at 11:59 p.m. Good Luck!

Review: Where She Went

2011-03-30T08:55:00.003-05:00

Author: Gayle Forman
Published: April 5, 2011
Pages: 208
Rating: 5/5 Stars

When we left Mia in If I Stay she was just waking up from a coma. Her parents and brother have been killed in a car accident and when her boyfriend Adam begs her to stay she decided not to join them but continue living. When this book opens it is three years later and we find that she left for Julliard several months after the accident. She didn't just leave Oregon behind, she left Adam.

"She kissed me good-bye. She told me that she loved me more than life itself. Then she stepped through security. She never came back."

Now he is a famous rock star but his life is a mess because he has never gotten over the loss of Mia. He doesn't know why she left him, or what she is doing now. The book explores the events that have happened in the last three years, in flashbacks just like we reviewed Mia's life in the first book. Why did Mia leave and is there any hope for their love to be renewed?

When I started to read the book I was surprised to find that it was in Adam's voice. At first I didn't like it but I soon realized that it was a genius move by the author to explore life from his point of view. Very few novels view a love story from the male side and I found it very refreshing. The prose is beautiful and the story is emotionally powerful. Forman has created some very compelling characters here, people who have real life flaws and problems. There is no glossing over the problems Adam has experienced since Mia walked out of his life. And the message that fame and fortune are not always the answer was impressive. Flawed though he may be I found myself hoping that things would work out for Adam. The flow of events was very realistic and touching and having worked with people experiencing grief it was clear the author did her research on this subject. The book is a wonderful example of how love can destroy, heal and help overcome life's obstacles. Fans of the first book will find a satisfying sequel, I liked it better than the first book. If you have not read the first book you can pick up this one and still enjoy the it. I highly recommend this one.

Rating: An impressive sequel not to be missed

Note: I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley for review,but did not get any compensation for my review.

Review: If I Stay

2011-03-30T08:47:00.004-05:00

Author: Gayle Forman
Published: April 6, 2010
Pages: 272
Rating: 4/5 Stars

A family outing on a beautiful winter day turns tragic when a car accident leaves three dead and one fighting for her life. Mia finds herself outside her body, staring at her dead parents and watching as she is whisked off in a helicopter to a trauma center. What follows is her decision to stay alive or follow the rest of her family in death.

Forman has told a gripping story is such an eloquent way, readers will be thinking about this one long after they finish the last page. As Mia watches her body being worked on she remembers the important parts of her life in snippets of flashbacks. From the birth of her younger brother to her first kiss, we learn about who she is and how her family was the rock of her life. Easy to read prose tells the story in a compelling way, with grief, friendship and love woven throughout. The characters are well developed and jump off the page. They are people you would like to have in your own life. This is a story that evokes emotions and makes the reader stop and think: what would my choice be? A sequel, Where She Went, will be released in early April 2011.

Rating: A gripping story that is wonderfully told. A great read

In Book News: Releases in the Coming Week (#4)

2011-03-28T20:05:00.018-05:00

There are quite a few new books being released this week. First I want to call your attention to one I missed last week. I had my dates wrong and this was released last week. My review of the novel was posted yesterday. This is such a wonderful book, one of the best I have read in a very long time, please take time to check it out:

In the Arms of Stone Angels Author: Jordan Dane

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Two years ago I did a terrible thing. I accused my best friend of being a killer after seeing him kneeling over a girl's body. That moment and that outcast boy still haunt me.

Now my mom is forcing me back to Oklahoma and I can't get White Bird out of my mind. But when I find out he's not in juvie—that he's in a mental hospital, locked in his tormented brain at the worst moment of his life—I can't turn my back on him again.

No one wants me to see him. My mom doesn't trust me. The town sheriff still thinks I was involved in the murder. And the other kids who knew the dead girl are after me.

I'm as trapped as White Bird. And when I touch him, I get sucked into his living hell, a vision quest of horrifying demons and illusions of that night. Everything about him scares me now, but I have to do something. This time I can't be a coward. This time I have to be his friend.

Even if I get lost, as well…

March 29:

Entwined

Author: Heather Dixon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

March 31:

Department 19

Author: William Hill

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In a secret supernatural battle that's been raging for over a century, the stakes have just been raised -- and they're not wooden anymore. When Jamie Carpenter's mother is kidnapped by strange creatures, he finds himself dragged into Department 19, the government's most secret agency. Fortunately for Jamie, Department 19 can provide the tools he needs to find his mother, and to kill the vampires who want him dead. But unfortunately for everyone, something much older is stirring, something even Department 19 can't stand up against.

April 1:

Lost & Found

Author: Shaun Tan

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A collection of three jaw-dropping stories: THE RED TREE, THE LOST THING, and THE RABBITS, by New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Shaun Tan

A girl finds a bright spot in a dark world. A boy leads a strange, lost creature home. And a group of peaceful creatures loses their home to cruel invaders. Three stories, written and illustrated by Shaun Tan, about how we lose and find what matters most to us.

Never widely available in the U.S., these tales are presented in their entirety with new artwork and author's notes.

April 4:

The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group

Author: Catherine Jinks

Synopsis from Goodreads:

I still hadn't fully absorbed the terrible possibility that I might actually be a werewolf. A werewolf. I kept stumbling over that word; it made no sense to me. How could I be a werewolf? Werewolves didn't exist.

When Tobias Richard Vandevelde wakes up in hospital with no memory of the night before, his horrified mother tells him that he was found by the police. At Featherdale Park. In a dingo pen.

As if that isn't weird enough, suddenly a very menacing looking guy and a priest show up at his door.

As the mystery unfolds, Toby finds himself keeping company with some very strange and sickly looking people - members of a suburban vampire support group. And when he's abducted in broad daylight, he will need all their help to break free ... and to come to terms with his own incredibly rare condition.

April 5:

Flip

Author: Martyn Bedford

Synopsis from Goodreads:

One December night, 14-year-old Alex goes to bed. He wakes up to find himself in the wrong bedroom, in an unfamiliar house, in a different part of the country, and it's the middle of June. Six months have disappeared overnight. The family at the breakfast table are total strangers.And when he looks in the mirror, another boy's face stares back at him. A boy named Flip. Unless Alex finds out what's happened and how to get back to his own life, he may be trapped forever inside a body that belongs to someone else. Questions of identity, the will to survive, and what you're willing to sacrifice to be alive make this extraordinary book impossible to put down.

Jasper Jones

Author: Craig Silvey

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Late on a hot summer night in 1965, Charlie Bucktin, a precocious and bookish boy of thirteen, is startled by an urgent knock on the window of his sleep-out. His visitor is Jasper Jones, an outcast in the regional mining town of Corrigan. Rebellious, mixed-race and solitary, Jasper is a distant figure of danger and intrigue for Charlie. So when Jasper begs for his help, Charlie eagerly steals into the night by his side, terribly afraid but desperate to impress. Jasper takes him to his secret glade in the bush, and it's here that Charlie bears witness to Jasper's horrible discovery. With his secret like a brick in his belly, Charlie is pushed and pulled by a town closing in on itself in fear and suspicion as he locks horns with his tempestuous mother; falls nervously in love and battles to keep a lid on his zealous best friend, Jeffrey Lu. And in vainly attempting to restore the parts that have been shaken loose, Charlie learns to discern the truth from the myth, and why white lies creep like a curse. In the simmering summer where everything changes, Charlie learns why the truth of things is so hard to know, and even harder to hold in his heart.

Stay

Author: Deb Caletti

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Clara’s relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it’s almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is—and what he’s willing to do to make her stay.

Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won’t let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough....

Through Her Eyes

Author: Jennifer Archer

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Tansy Piper moves with her grandfather and her mother, a horror writer, to the setting of her mother's next book--a secluded house outside of a tiny, desolate West Texas town. Lonely and upset over the move, Tansy escapes into her photography and the dark, seductive poems she finds hidden in the cellar, both of which lure her into the mind and world of a mysterious, troubled young man who died sixty years earlier.

The Time Traveling Fashionista

Author: Bianca Turetsky

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Louise Lambert receives a mysterious invitation to a traveling vintage fashion sale in the mail, her normal life in suburban Connecticut is magically transformed into a time traveling adventure.

After a brief encounter with two witchy salesladies and donning an evening gown that once belonged to a beautiful silent film star, Louise suddenly finds herself onboard a luxurious cruise ship in 1912. As Alice Baxter, the silent film star, Louise enjoys her access to an extensive closet of gorgeous vintage gowns and begins to get a feel for the challenges and the glamour of life during this decadent era. Until she realizes that she's not just on any ship-- she's on the Titanic!

Will Louise be able to save herself and change the course of history, or are she and her film star alter ego, destined to go down with a sinking ship in the most infamous sea disaster of the 20th century?

Where She Went (If I Stay #2)

Author: Gayle Forman

Synopsis from Goodreads:

It's been three years since the devastating accident ... three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Julliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

Plague: A Gone Novel

Author: Michael Grant

Synopsis from Goodreads:

This is a blood-pumping, white-knuckle sci-fi thriller of epic proportions. The FAYZ goes from bad to worse...The darkness has been foiled once again and the resurrected Drake has been contained. But the streets of Perdido Beach are far from safe, with a growing army of mutants fighting against the humans for power in the town. In a small room of a house near the edge of town, Little Pete lies ill on a bed. In his fevered dreams, he continues his battle with the hidden evil that seeks to use his power to bring about anarchy and destruction.

The Ghoul Next Door (Monster High #2)

Author: Lisi Harrison

Synopsis from Goodreads:

New pet snake
Has Deuce-the hottest guy in school-wrapped
Herve Leger bandage dress, strappy gold platforms Cleo was the queen bee of the RADs, the normies, and everyone in between at Merston High. But now it's "Frankie this" and "Melody that" . . . these new girls sure know how to get her lashes in a tangle. When Cleo lands a Golden Teen Vogue photo opp for her friends everything seems to be back on track...until they bail to be in some film . . . Frankie and Melody's film! Can't a royal get some loyal?

City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments #4)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Synopsis from Goodreads:

City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

Viola in the Spotlight (Viola #2)

Author: Adriana Trigiani

Synopsys from Goodreads:

Viola is finally where she belongs—back home in Brooklyn, where there are no khakis or sherbet-colored sweaters and people actually think her yellow flats are cool.

But her BFFAA, Andrew, has started acting weird around her, and a new boyfriend has her friend Caitlin ditching her every chance she gets. When Viola’s roommates from Prefect Academy show up for a visit, she starts to wonder—is Brooklyn where she wants to stay? When a tragic event shakes everyone’s world, Viola realizes it’s not where she belongs that matters—it’s who she’s with that really counts.

Huntress

Author: Malinda Lo

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn't shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people's survival hangs in the balance.

To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin, two seventeen-year-old girls, are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly. And yet the two girls' destinies are drawn together during the mission. As members of their party succumb to unearthly attacks and fairy tricks, the two come to rely on each other and even begin to fall in love. But the Kingdom needs only one huntress to save it, and what it takes could tear Kaede and Taisin apart forever.

Like I said, a lot of new ones this week. Check back tomorrow when I will review Where She Went, another great read!

Review: In the Arms of Stone Angels

2011-03-28T00:08:00.007-05:00

Author: Jordan Dane
Published: March 22, 2011
Pages: 384
Rating: 5+/5 stars

Brenna Nash grew up as a loner in Shawano, Oklahoma. Not one to follow the latest trends and fads, she dressed funny and spent time in the cemetery, probably because she could see dead people. Raised by a single mother, an outcast of her peers, she develops a friendship with White Cloud, an orphan Indian boy who longed to be adopted by the local Euchee tribe. They form a bond as only those who have been alone can but it all falls apart when Brenna finds White Cloud over the bloody body of a dead classmate.

Fast forward two years. Brenna and her Mom are returning to Shawano after having been forced to leave because of the rumors surrounding the killing. Her grandmother has died and they need to settle her estate. Brenna learns that White Cloud has been hospitalized in the local sanatorium, catatonic since his arrest for the stabbing of the local girl. Heartbroken and feeling guilty about accusing him without knowing the whole story, Brenna decides to investigate what really happened the night Heather Madsen died. The mystery that unfolds is truly gripping and had me guessing until the very end.

Every once in awhile you run across a book that proves to be a rare gem. Twenty pages in and I knew I had found such a book - something readers long for, a book that you can curl up on the couch with and disappear into for hours of pure pleasure. The book is sprinkled with colorful characters, the best being Brenna Nash. Anyone who has ever felt on the outside of the in crowd will recognize a piece of Brenna. Her loneliness, pain and strength came together to form one of the most unforgettable characters I have seen in a long time. I was rooting for her and more than once my heart broke for her. The growth she displayed over to overcome her personal demons and love herself was remarkable. The other characters are equally compelling, from the town bully to the local Sheriff. The small town was painted as a rural place where prejudice still lived and colored the opinions of those who live there. The incorporation of Native American lore and mysticism was just magic and so well done that you could tell the author did her homework on this one. The mystery of who killed Heather Madsen was compelling and I was surprised at the identity of the real killer. The wonderful combination of mystery, unforgettable characters, friendship and the power to overcome personal obstacles makes this one of the best books I have read in over a year, and one of the few books that have a permanent place on my bookshelf.

Rating: 5++ Stars A rare find, DO NOT miss this one!

Note: I received this book via Netgalley from the publisher for review, but did not get any compensation for my review

In My Mailbox (#5)

2011-03-26T18:18:00.008-05:00

This has been another great week in my mailbox. Kristi at The Story Siren hosts this each week. What did you get this week? On with the show:

Review: Water Wars

2011-03-26T00:02:00.001-05:00

Author: Cameron Stracher
Published: January 1, 2011
Pages: 256
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review:

In a futuristic, dystopian America environmental disaster has occurred and water is the new gold. Countries have dammed their rivers and fresh water cannot be found. This is the world Vera and her brother Will grew up in. Their mother is ill and bedridden, sick from drinking toxic water. Then the meet Kai, a rich kid with a father who drills for water. When Kai is kidnapped and they try to find him, Vera and Will find themselves in danger after being kidnapped by water pirates. Their odyssey through post apocalyptic America weaves a story that is fast paced and well told.

The story grabbed me in the first chapter and the nonstop action carried me along to the end of the book. The dry, parched world was so well developed, you could feel the thirst of the characters. In a world covered with water it is a scary thing to think that the drinkable portion could be taken and used as a commodity. The characters were well developed and you wanted to cheer them on as they fought for their lives. The story was believable to a point, but it is unlikely that someone will be there every time you need help. But that is the fun of fiction so I was willing to overlook this flaw and go with the story. It was a fun, fast read and although the ending was satisfying, I can't wait for the sequel to find out what happens to Vera and Kai in the future.

Rating: A fun, fast paced adventure that you will enjoy

Review: No and Me

2011-03-25T00:02:00.000-05:00

Author: Delphine de Vigan
Published: August 3, 2010
Pages: 256
Rating: 3/5 Stars

Review:

Lou is a precocious, introverted teen with an IQ of 160 living in Paris. Her mother is in a deep depression since the crib death of a younger sibling and her father is just trying to keep the family together. Lou attends school with much older teens and feels lost and out of place. When she begins to research a paper on the homeless she meets Nolween (No), an 18 year old homeless teen who has been neglected most of her life and is lost and alone. Eventually No moves in with Lou and her parents but her alcohol and drug use cannot be cured with their kindness.

The book explores the relationship between these two unlikely friends and how each affects the others lives. One particular quote also shows how the book addresses the problem of homelessness:

"We can send supersonic planes and rockets into space, and identify a criminal from a hair or a tiny flake of skin, and grow a tomato we can keep in the fridge for three weeks without getting a wrinkle, and store millions of pieces of information on a tiny chip. Yet we're capable of letting people die in the street" (p. 72).

This is a harsh look at life on the street interspersed with moments of tenderness. The journey Lou and No go on to explore the world around them felt real and was well done, Their characters were well developed and grew throughout the book. I did feel that the ending was abrupt, but really there is no easy solution to the problem of homelessness, so maybe I was just hoping for a different ending. This book is a good look at how people are changed by those around them, and was an enjoyable if somewhat depressing read.

Rating: An interesting, worthwhile read

In Book News: Releases in the Coming Week

2011-03-21T23:02:00.005-05:00

There are some great new books coming out this week. One, The Dark and Hollow Places, has been on my wish list ever since I started reading the Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy.

March 22:

Between Shades of Gray
Author: Ruta Sepetys

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously—and at great risk—documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

The Dark a nd Hollow Places

Author: Carrie Ryan

Synopsis from Goodreads:

There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.

Annah's world stopped that day, and she's been waiting for Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again.
But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah: can she continue to live in a world covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?

Ten Miles Past Normal

Author: Frances O'Roark Dowell

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Janie Gorman wants to be normal. The problem with that: she’s not. She’s smart and creative and a little bit funky. She’s also an unwilling player in her parents’ modern-hippy, let’s-live-on-a-goat-farm experiment (regretfully, instigated by a younger, much more enthusiastic Janie). This, to put it simply, is not helping Janie reach that “normal target.” She has to milk goats every day…and endure her mother’s pseudo celebrity in the homemade-life, crunchy mom blogosphere. Goodbye the days of frozen lasagna and suburban living, hello crazy long bus ride to high school and total isolation--and hovering embarrassments of all kinds. The fresh baked bread is good…the threat of homemade jeans, not so much.

It would be nice to go back to that old suburban life…or some grown up, high school version of it, complete with nice, normal boyfriends who wear crew neck sweaters and like social studies. So, what’s wrong with normal? Well, kind of everything. She knows that, of course, why else would she learn bass and join Jam Band, how else would she know to idolize infamous wild-child and high school senior Emma (her best friend Sarah’s older sister), why else would she get arrested while doing a school project on a local freedom school (jail was not part of the assignment). And, why else would she kind of be falling in "like" with a boy named Monster—yes, that is his real name. Janie was going for normal, but she missed her mark by about ten miles…and we mean that as a compliment.

Frances O’Roark Dowell’s fierce humor and keen eye make her YA debut literary and wise. In the spirit of John Green and E. Lockhart, Dowell’s relatable, quirky characters and clever, fluid writing prove that growing up gets complicated…and normal is WAY overrated.

Wither

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

Wither also looks like a great one, and the UPS man just delivered it to my door! Hope you find something to peak your interest.

Review: Nightshade (Witches War #1)

2011-03-20T00:18:00.010-05:00

Author: Andrea Cremer
Published: October 19, 2010
Pages: 528
Rating: 3/5 Stars

In Aspen, Colorado there are three factions of supernatural beings living among the mortal population:

1) The Keepers: a group of witches and warlocks
2) The Guardians: werewolves who are sworn to protect the Keepers, They shift from human to wolf form and can heal with their blood
3) The Searchers: another group of witches/warlocks who are have been fighting against the Keepers for centuries.

There are two packs of werewolves: the Nighshades and the Banes and they are due to merge with the marriage of the alphas on their 18th birthdays. Their union has been planned by the Keepers since their birth, it is their destiny and cannot be changed. They patrol and protect the Keepers from attack. In return for protection the Keepers provide everything the Guardians need, from housing, to clothing to education.

Calla is the alpha female of the Nightshades. While on patrol Calla encounters an injured male hiker and cannot bring herself to let him die, so she heals him with her blood, something that is forbidden by the Keepers. The next day he arrives at her school and is introduced as the nephew of one of the powerful Keepers. He recognizes her but agrees to keep the healing a secret, and their relationship begins to develop, setting up a love triangle between Calla, Shay and Ren, the alpha male of the Bain pack. As Calla tries to fight against her desires for Shay she begins to question why the Keepers control every aspect of their lives. As she researches the history of the pack and the Keepers she realizes that everything she has been told is a lie and she has to decide to continue on the path dictated by the Keepers or to break free and follow her heart.

This was a long book. I don't mind longer books, in fact I enjoy them because it usually means there will be more depth to the story. But that was not the case here. The characters were one dimensional and poorly developed. There was nothing that made them interesting and so much time was spent on the love triangle, it was well, boring. Fortunately the author redeemed herself in the last third of the book when the action picked up and the story took off at a fast pace. It made reading the whole book worthwhile. And it made me want to know what happens next. So I will pickup the sequel when it arrives in a couple of months. This is a worthwhile read if you can stick with it through the slower parts of the book.

Rating: A fun read especially when you get to the last third of the book

In My Mailbox (#4)

2011-03-19T19:12:00.021-05:00

Enter my giveaway for The Blizzard by Marty Martins. Comment on this post to enter.

Kristi at The Story Siren hosts In My Mailbox each week. I have had a great week as far as new books go. Unfortunately my local Borders is closing,but on the bright side it is a great time to get some things I have been wanting to read. I have also received several great things in the mail, and some new Netgalley reads as well. Now I just need time to read them all!

These things actually arrived in my mailbox:

Here are my Borders finds:

Finally my Netgalley reads:

Here is what you can find on my blog in the coming week:

I will be reviewing the following books:

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher
No and Me by Delphine de Vigan

On Tuesday In Book News will let you know what books will be released over the next seven days. Hope you will stop by.

Follow Friday

2011-03-17T23:45:00.005-05:00

Enter my giveaway for The Blizzard by Marty Martins. Comment on this post to enter.

Follow Friday is a blog hop sponsored by Parajunkee's View. The question this week is:

How did you come up with your blog name?

I tried to come up with something that had to do with books and clever too. I tried lots of things and guess what? They were already taken! Finally I came up with Between the Bookcovers (but my husband keeps confusing it with between the sheets!). Anyway, that is my story. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a great weekend!

Book Review: The Maze Runner

2011-03-16T00:02:00.002-05:00

Enter my giveaway for The Blizzard by Marty Martins. Comment on this post to enter.

Author: James Dashner
Published: October 6, 2009
Pages: 400
Rating: 2/5 Stars

My Review:

Thomas wakes up to find that he has arrived in a strange place called the Glade, a and he has no memory of his past life. The Glade is a dystopic self sufficient colony without adults in the middle of a maze with lots of boys and weird monsters. This is the setting for The Maze Runner. The kids in The Glade have tried for two years to find a way out of The Glade without success. Every day several boys run through the maze trying to find a way out, every night the walls in the maze move. The day after Thomas arrives a girl also arrives, an event because there had never been a girl in The Glade before. The book explores how Thomas reacts to his situation in The Glade, what his relationship with the new girl is, and if there is a way out of the maze.

I am a huge fan of dystopian fiction and I was really looking forward to The Maze Runner. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was disappointed. The characters in the book were not well developed and there was nothing to make me care about what happened to them. Even when they died, I felt nothing for them. The premise of the story sounded good, but after hearing about the maze that could not be solved over and over again, I didn't really care if they found a way out or not. What was meant to be an adventure with building tension was a boring story that I found difficult to get through. The use of words unique to The Glade didn't make any sense. I think that if an author uses unique words or languages, there should be a reason for it. As used the words made no sense and were distracting. Finally, the end was abrupt and obviously a set up for the sequel, but I think books should have some sort of a stopping point, not just a cut off that leaves the reader hanging. There was nothing here that made me want to seek out the next book in the trilogy.

I will note that my opinion of this book is in the minority. Many other reviewers love the story and have given it very positive reviews. I encourage you to read other opinions and decide for yourself if this is a book that will appeal to you.

My Rating: A disappointment

In Book News: Releases in the Coming Week

2011-03-15T01:51:00.013-05:00

Enter my giveaway for The Blizzard by Marty Martins. Comment on this post to enter.

Once again, another great week for new books. Here is what is coming in the YA section of your bookstore:

March 15

Steel
Author: Carrie Vaughn

Description from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure.

The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.

Time travel, swordplay, and romance combine in an original high-seas adventure from New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn.

Subway Girl
Author: P.J. Converse

Synopsis from Goodreads:

He is shy. Unassuming. Inexperienced.

She is Subway Girl. Cool. Unattainable.

In this brilliant debut by P. J. Converse, two unlikely teenagers discover that love has a language all its own.

March 15:

Chime

Author: Frannie Billingsley

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment.

Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He's as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she's extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn't know.

March 21:

Those That Wake

Author: Jesse Karp

Synopsis from Goodreads:

New York City’s spirit has been crushed. People walk the streets with their heads down, withdrawing from one another and into the cold comfort of technology. Teenagers Mal and Laura have grown up in this reality. They’ve never met. Seemingly, they never will.

But on the same day Mal learns his brother has disappeared, Laura discovers her parents have forgotten her. Both begin a search for their families that leads them to the same truth: someone or something has wiped the teens from the memories of every person they have ever known. Thrown together, Mal and Laura must find common ground as they attempt to reclaim their pasts.

Hope you can find something here to add to your bookshelf, Steel looks like an interesting read, I may have to get it. Are there any you are looking forward to?

Indie Appreciation Week Giveaway: The Blizzard

2011-03-14T00:35:00.006-05:00

This week I am participating in the Indie Appreciation Blog Hop, celebrating authors and books who are published via the Independent Market. Marty Martins has donated a copy of his book, The Blizzard, for my giveaway. You can review The Blizzard here.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment to this post. If you are a follower let me know in your post and you will be given an additional entry. The contest ends on Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 11:59 pm CST. I will email the winner to get your address.

Book Review: The Blizzard

2011-03-13T23:56:00.008-05:00

Author: Marty Martins
Published: September 16, 2010
Pages: 188
Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In Marty Martins's novel, The Blizzard, readers are taken on a journey that touches on questions of morals and ethics, and the need for parents to learn to communicate with their children...

What ensues is an emotional and very important story about parental expectations, the decisions teenagers and young adults must make that impact their self-respect, their confidence, and their relationships with parents and community. This is a novel about coming of age, romantic love, and the importance of trust.

My Review:

Chet Bucek is the new guy in school and Melanie Hondel soon catches his eye. Chet is self assured and reliable, things that are not often seen as ideal qualities to young girls. But when Melanie meets with violence at the hands of another classmate, she becomes lost in a blizzard and in danger of losing her life. Chet is able to rescue her and in doing so finds he is accused of assault and kidnapping.

This book deals with the timely topic of dating violence. Sure we warn our kids of stranger danger but how many girls are warned about violence at the hands of her high school sweetheart? In addition the way to handle problems that arise as the result of misunderstandings is also addressed. The characters were believable and the story was well told. I found the book to have a fast pace and important message that will appeal to an audience of young adults and beyond.

My Rating:

An good read with several important messages

note: I received this book from the author for review, but did not get any compensation for my review

In My Mailbox This Week

2011-03-12T00:02:00.001-06:00

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. Wow, this has been a busy week for my postman! I have received a lot of books from various sources. These are the hard copies I received:

In addition, I was granted digital access at Netgalley to read and review these soon to be released books:

I will post reviews of the upcoming books about 10 days before they are released. Help me pick my next read: Which of the first five books do you want me to read and review next? Leave me a comment and the most requested one will be next.

Follow Friday:

2011-03-11T00:51:00.003-06:00

Hello to my fellow bloggers, welcome to my little corner of the net. I hope you enjoy your visit. I am fairly new to blogging so I appreciate your comments and suggestions. Make sure to join me next week for the indie blog hop! Thanks to Parajunkee for hosting the Follow Friday Hop.

The question this week: Who are You? The Boy / Girl, instead of YOU, the blogger?

I am a stay at home mom of two teens who enjoys crafting and reality television in addition to reading.

Review: The Atomic Weight of Secrets or The Arrival of the Mysterious Men in Black

2011-03-08T23:55:00.008-06:00

Author: Eden Unger Bowditch
To be published: March 15, 2011
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Pages: 320
Rating: 3/5 Stars

My Review:

In 1903 five very intelligent children come from around the world and are deposited at Sole Manor Farm, a school outside Dayton, Ohio. They have several things in common: all their parents are well known scientists, they were brought to the school by mysterious men dressed in odd black outfits and now all their parents are missing.

This is the setting of the book as the children try to make sense of their missing parents and the men in black. They fear their parents have been kidnapped and in their efforts to find and rescue them they create an exciting invention. The book explores their feelings of having been left alone and how they form a bond of friendship to find a way out of their situation. Despite being smart enough to invent things and solve scientific problems the children still want to be held, kissed and loved by their parents.

I found this book to be enjoyable. The characters were well developed and likable, and the story was told from each characters point of view during the novel. So many books now use the supernatural to insert magic into the story. Here the magic is found in the way the children see the world around them. I found myself wanting to solve the mystery of their parents disappearance long with the kids. The book kept me engaged throughout and held several surprises along the way. As the book ended some questions were answered, but many more remained, setting up the next book in a planned trilogy. While listed as young adult, I would say it is geared toward the younger end of this group, but is an enjoyable read for all ages.

Rating: An enjoyable read

note: I received this book via netGalley from the publisher for review, but do not get any compensation for my review

In Book News: Releases in the Coming Week

2011-03-08T08:40:00.000-06:00

There are some great books being released in the next week. They include:

March 8:

Blink & Caution
Author: Tim Wynne-Jones

Description from Goodreads:

Boy, did Blink get off on the wrong floor. All he wanted was to steal some breakfast for his empty belly, but instead he stumbled upon a fake kidnapping and a cell phone dropped by an "abducted" CEO, giving Blink a link to his perfect blonde daughter. Now Blink is on the run, but it’s OK as long as he’s smart enough to stay in the game and keep Captain Panic locked in his hold. Enter a girl named Caution. As in "Caution: Toxic." As in "Caution: Watch Your Step." She’s also on the run, from a skeezy drug-dealer boyfriend and from a nightmare in her past that won’t let her go. When she spies Blink at the train station, Caution can see he’s an easy mark. But there’s something about this naïve, skinny street punk, whom she only wanted to rob, that tugs at her heart, a heart she thought deserved not to feel. Charged with suspense and intrigue, this taut novel trails two deeply compelling characters as they forge a blackmail scheme that is foolhardy at best, disastrous at worst - along with a fated, tender partnership that will offer them each a rare chance for redemption.

Illegal
Author: Bettina Restrepo

Description from Goodreads:

Instead, Nora is on a desperate journey far away from home. When her father leaves their beloved Mexico in search of work, Nora stays behind. She fights to make sense of her loss while living in poverty—waiting for her father's return and a better day. When the letters and money stop coming, Nora decides that she and her mother must look for him in Texas. After a frightening experience crossing the border, the two are all alone in a strange place. Now, Nora must find the strength to survive while aching for small comforts: friends, a new school, and her precious quinceañera.

Bettina Restrepo's gripping, deeply hopeful debut novel captures the challenges of one girl's unique yet universal immigrant experience.

Afterlife: An Evernight Novel

Author: Claudia Gray

Description from Goodreads:

The fourth book in this electrifying vampire series has all the romance, suspense, and page-turning drama that have made Claudia Gray’s Evernight books runaway successes.

Having become what they feared most, Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They must return to Evernight Academy, Lucas as a vampire and Bianca as a wraith. But Lucas is haunted by demons, both personal and supernatural. Bianca must help him fight the evil inside him, combat the forces determined to drive them apart—and find the power to claim her destiny at last.

Readers have fallen in love with Bianca and Lucas, and they will be thrilled to read this exciting conclusion to their romantic adventure.

The Piper's Son

Author: Melina Marchetta

Description from Goodreads:

Melina Marchetta's brilliant, heart-wrenching new novel takes up the story of the group of friends from her best-selling, much-loved book Saving Francesca - only this time it's five years later and Thomas Mackee is the one who needs saving.

Thomas Mackee wants oblivion. Wants to forget parents who leave and friends he used to care about and a string of one-night stands, and favourite uncles being blown to smithereens on their way to work on the other side of the world.

But when his flatmates turn him out of the house, Tom moves in with his single, pregnant aunt, Georgie. And starts working at the Union pub with his former friends. And winds up living with his grieving father again. And remembers how he abandoned Tara Finke two years ago, after his uncle's death.

And in a year when everything's broken, Tom realises that his family and friends need him to help put the pieces back together as much as he needs them.

Book Review: Paper Towns

2011-03-07T00:05:00.006-06:00

Author: John Green
Published: October 16, 2008
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Genre:
Pages: 305
Rating: 5/5 stars

Description from Goodreads:

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

Printz medalist John Green returns with the brilliant wit and searing emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of listeners.

My Review:

Quentin and Margo Roth Spiegelman grew up as next door neighbors. They were friends until the age of ten when Margo ditched him for the cool crowd. Over the next few years he watched her from afar, mesmerized by her antics. The story finds them on the cusp of high school graduation. Margo is the girl that every high school has, beautiful, popular figure who seems to have the world at her fingertips. One night she appears at his bedroom window, asking him to join her in a night of pranks to get even with those who have wronged her. This experience provides new hope to Quentin that their friendship can be renewed, but the next day Margo is gone, run away from home and her life. But she has left some clues for him, and as he unravels them he finds that he never really knew her at all.

His first fear is that she has committed suicide, a reasonable thought with what she was experiencing in her life at the time. He follows the clues, fearful that he will stumble on her dead body. Finally the clues lead Quentin and his geeky buddies on a hilarious across the country road trip. We watch his journey as he strives to find Margo, and in doing so he finds himself.

This book was beautifully written. The details used to describe moments found in real life created a masterpiece. The wonderful, quirky character development made even minor ones come to life and I could see them in the halls of my local high school. There were many moments when I laughed out loud while reading. The story stayed with me for days after I read it. On the surface it seemed to be a mystery to solve, but on reflection the true, deeper meaning of the book becomes evident. It was almost like I was so interested in him finding Margo that I almost missed the point of the exercise. While you may want to speed through this book along with the story, I suggest you slow down and savor each moment, novels like this don't come along everyday.

My Rating: An outstanding read you will not want to miss this one

In My Mailbox This Week

2011-03-05T19:39:00.009-06:00

This week was a great one for my mailbox. I now have books piling up faster than I can read them. I really need to get busy! Kristi over at the Story Siren hosts In My Mailbox each week. What goodies did you get this week?

Book Review: Delirium

2011-03-02T08:42:00.001-06:00

Author: Lauren Oliver
Published: February 1, 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 448
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Description from Amazon:

Lena Haloway is content in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a. love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid” community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine, border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. But 95 days before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to the procedure. In this powerful and beautifully written novel, Lauren Oliver, the bestselling author of Before I Fall, throws readers into a tightly controlled society where options don’t exist, and shows not only the lengths one will go for a chance at freedom, but also the true meaning of sacrifice.

My Review:

"It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure. Everyone else in my family has had the procedure already. My older sister, Rachel, has been disease-free for nine years now. She's been safe from love for so long, she says she can't even remember its symptoms. I'm scheduled to have my procedure in exactly ninety-five days, on September 3rd. My birthday."- Opening from DELIRIUM.

This novel is set in the future where the government has declared love a disease, known as deliria. In order to control the disease everyone gets "the cure" at age 18, basically a laser guided lobotomy to make you forget about feelings, fears and other things that may make you want to rebel against authority. Strictly enforced by regulators, everyone has to have the procedure and then live the life the government has planned for you, from your job to your spouse to the number of children you will have.

This is the world where Lena Haloway lives. She is weeks away from high school graduation and her 18th birthday, when she will be "cured". Her past harbors a dark secret: when Lena was eight years old her mother committed suicide because she was infected with love. Despite three attempts at a cure, none worked and she was left to suffer all the emotions associated with the disease. Lena's memories of her mother include laughter, gleeful dancing and her whispers of "I love you," something unheard of in their world. As she prepares herself for the cure she begins to notice the world around her. She notices how calm and serene those who have been cured seem. In fact they are robotic people, void of emotion and who mindlessly follow what the government tells them to do. Then she meets Alex who introduces her to an underground world where people believe that love is not a disease and that the cure should be avoided at all cost. She learns how they live in the world beyond the restricted borders of her town.

Lena begins to question everything she has been told about the disease of love, especially when she begins to fall for Alex. We follow her awakening to the feelings of love and to her realization that her mother was not crazy, just a woman in love. We follow her journey as she learns more about her mother and tries to escape the mandated cure.

I found this to be a terrible premise that could happen in a society where people do not have the ability to question authority. It would be so easy for a government to control people who feel no joy, love or pain. And I think there are leaders in the world who would welcome having this type of control.

The book is beautifully written and a joy to read. It made me think about how emotions can alter your perception of the world and how different the world would be without love. Lena's journey and her discovery of love reminded me of those early feelings of love one discovers during the teen years. A sample of the wonderful prose is found when Lena realizes she is falling in love:

"I know what the problem is, of course. The disorientation, the distraction, the difficulty focusing - all Phase One signs of deliria. But I don't care. If pneumonia felt this good I'd stand out in the snow in winter with bare feet and no coat, or march into the hospital and kiss pneumonia patients." (p.237).

The book stayed with me for days after I finished it, thinking about Lena's heartbreaking and painful journey to discover herself. In fact, the more I thought about it, the better the story became and I came to appreciate the deep inner meaning of the book. I was sorry to see the story end, but pleased to learn that there is a sequel in the works. I can't wait to find out what happens next for Lena.

Rating:

An outstanding, thought provoking read, don't miss this one

In Book News: New Releases in the Coming Week:

2011-03-01T10:00:00.000-06:00

I have decided that on Tuesdays I will post In Book News where I will let you know about new releases, award winners and general news that pertain to the books I read. Today I have several new releases in the coming week:

March 1:

I Am J Author: Cris Beam

Description from Amazon:

Amazon Best Books of the Month, March 2011: Growing up, J (born as Jennifer) always thought of himself as a boy stuck in the body of a girl. In elementary school J shunned his mom’s attempts to stick him in dresses and preferred the rough-and-tumble play of boys on the playground. Now, as a teenager, J’s Puerto Rican mother and Jewish father want him to think about his future and one day start a family, a possibility that makes J feel misunderstood and anxious about what lies ahead. So after an argument with his best friend, J strikes out on his own. He starts classes at a school for transgender and gay teens, but the complications resulting from who he is and who he wants to be prevent J from truly connecting with anyone. Fed up hiding inside layers of oversized t-shirts, J decides to explore testosterone treatments and embarks on a path that will test his patience, maturity, and commitment. Author Cris Beam’s extraordinary understanding of this often overlooked population shows in J--a complex, conflicted character whose emotional journey will resonate beyond the final page. Equally impressive is Beam’s vivid dialog, which illuminates relationships and situations that any teen who has felt isolated will easily relate to. Thoughtfully researched and written, I Am J is ultimately an inspiring novel about deciding to lead the life one is meant to--no matter at what cost.

Recovery Road
Author: Blake Nelson

Description from Amazon:

From acclaimed author Blake Nelson, the story of girl meets boy...in rehab.

Madeline is sent away to Spring Meadows to help with a drinking and rage problem she has. It's a pretty intense place, but there is the weekly movie night in town--where Madeline meets Stewart, who's at another rehab place nearby. They fall for each other during a really crazy time in their lives. Madeline gets out and tries to get back on her feet, waiting for Stewart to join her. When he does, though, it's not the ideal recovery world Madeline dreamed of. Both of them still have serious problems. And Stewart's are only getting worse....

Strings Attached
Author: Judy Blundell

Description from Amazon:

From National Book Award winner Judy Blundell, the tale of a sixteen-year-old girl caught in a mix of love, mystery, Broadway glamour, and Mob retribution in 1950 New York.

When Kit Corrigan arrives in New York City, she doesn't have much. She's fled from her family in Providence, Rhode Island, and she's broken off her tempestuous relationship with a boy named Billy, who's enlisted in the army.

The city doesn't exactly welcome her with open arms. She gets a bit part as a chorus girl in a Broadway show, but she knows that's not going to last very long. She needs help--and then it comes, from an unexpected source.

Nate Benedict is Billy's father. He's also a lawyer involved in the mob. He makes Kit a deal--he'll give her an apartment and introduce her to a new crowd. All she has to do is keep him informed about Billy . . . and maybe do him a favor every now and then.

As she did in her National Book Award-winning What I Saw and How I Lied, Judy Blundell traps readers in a web of love, deceit, intrigue, and murder. The result? One stunner of a novel.

To Timbuktu: nine countries, two people, one true story
Author: Casey Scieszka, Illustrated by Steven Weinberg

Description from Amazon:

Casey and Steven met in Morocco, moved to China then went all the way to Timbuktu. This illustrated travel memoir tells the story of their first two years out o f college spent teaching English, making friends across language barriers, researching, painting, and learning to be themselves wherever they are.

Daughters of The Sea: May
Author: Kathryn Lasky

Description from Amazon:

Book 2 in Kathryn Lasky's shimmering quartet about mermaid sisters and supernatural love.

May feels her life drying up. The sea calls to her, but her parents forbid her from swimming. She longs for books, but her mother finds her passion for learning strange. She yearns for independence, but a persistent suitor, Rudd, wants to tame her spirited ways. Yet after her fifteenth birthday, the urge to break free becomes overpowering and May makes a life-changing discovery. She does not belong on land where girls are meant to be obedient. She is a mermaid-a creature of the sea.

For the first time, May learns what freedom feels like-the thrill of exploring both the vast ocean and the previously forbidden books. She even catches the eye of Hugh, an astronomy student who, unlike the townspeople, finds May anything but strange. But not everyone is pleased with May's transformation. Rudd decides that if can't have May, no one will. He knows how to destroy her happiness and goes to drastic measures to ensure that May loses everything: her freedom and the only boy she's ever loved.

Num8ers: The Chaos
Author: Rachel Ward

Description from Amazon:

The curse of the NUM8ERS continues in Rachel Ward's CHA0T1C, earth-shattering sequel!

Adam has more than inherited his mother's curse: When he looks in someone's eyes, he not only sees the date of their death...he feels the searing, shocking pain of it. Since Jem died, Adam has lived by the sea with his great-grandmother, Val. But when rising tides flood the coast, they return to London. The city is an alien, exciting, frightening place. Most disturbing of all, Adam can't help but clock how many people's numbers are in January 2027; how many are on New Year's Day. What chaos awaits the world? Can he and Sarah stop a catastrophe? Or are they, too, counted among the "twenty-sevens"?

There's No Place Like Home (Secrets of My Hollywood Life #6)
Author: Jen Calonita

Description from Amazon:

After her brilliant run on Broadway and surviving the harsh concrete jungle of New York City, seventeen-year-old Hollywood "It Girl" Kaitlin Burke is back in L.A. starting a sitcom with her former-nemesis-now-BFF, Sky. The show is a huge success! In fact, maybe a little too huge, Kaitlin realizes, after a bad run-in with aggressive paparazzi puts her boyfriend Austin in danger. She wishes, once again, that she could have a normal life.

But what Kaitlin doesn't realize is that her Hollywood life has had a positive influence on just about everyone she loves, and it takes a minor car accident and a nasty concussion to truly grasp how lucky she is. In Jen Calonita's sixth and final Secrets of My Hollywood Life novel, Kaitlin learns at last about the price of fame, the unending upside of friendship, and that there really is no place like home-even if it's Tinseltown.

March 7:

The Vespretine
The Author: Saundra Mitchell

Description from Amazon:

It's the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him. When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia's world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she's not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

Book Review: Beautiful Darkness (The Caster Chronicles #2)

2011-02-28T15:51:00.000-06:00

Authors: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Published: October 12, 2010
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Pages: 512
Rating: 4/5 stars

Description from Goodreads:

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

My Review:

This is the sequel to Beautiful Creatures and picks up Ethan's story the day after the events that occurred on Lena's birthday. While you can read this book without having read Beautiful Creatures, the story will make more sense if you have the background knowledge of the first book.

The story takes us back to Gatlin and finds Lena in despair over the death of her uncle on her sixteenth birthday. Ethan does not remember the events that happened that night or how Lena saved his life, so he does not understand her ambivalence toward him. While she loves him, she feels guilty that by saving him her uncle had to die. Her grief is driving a wedge between them and their relationship is very strained. In order to help Lena pull out of her grief and to find answers of his own about his mother's death, Ethan explores the Caster world under Gatlin and beyond. The book finally answers many questions I had in the first book. We find out what really happened to Ethan's mother, as well as what her connection to the Cater world was. We also find out what special powers Ethan has and how he relates to the Caster world around him. I was surprised more than once at relationships between the many characters in this book, and loved how the authors wove events from the past into what is happening in the present.

This is another epic novel at 512 pages, but once again it allowed the story to develop in a way that left me satisfied and the action kept my interest throughout the book. It is darker than the first book, with much of the book set in the underground and the continued battle between Light vs Dark. The sequel is every bit as good as the first in the series and left me wanting more. Fortunately it looks like we can expect two additional sequels, the next in the Fall of 2011. The authors have a website where you can find more information: Beautiful Creatures the Book.

Rating:

An excellent, fun read you will enjoy

In My Mailbox This Week

2011-02-27T13:42:00.000-06:00

Kristi at The Story Siren hosts In My Mailbox every week. I decided to join in and let you see what I received this week. I have some good ones this week and can't wait to read them:

The first three came from my favorite book source, Amazon. The Blizzard came from the author. Looks like some good reading! And a nice mix too. What was in your mailbox this week?