It being the last day of January and the day before my Love month begins, I figured I'd better quickly post this list of books read this month. From here on in, it will be all love posts and love reviews until March! Get ready.
I read 19 books in January. This is a partial list of books you can expect me to review for February - lots of YA romances there. I've really enjoyed a lot of them, but my favourites would have to be Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and Girl Meets Cake by Susie Day. There's still time to enter my giveaway to win copies of either Anna or Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan. It's open internationally. Look out for a giveaway of Girl Meets Cake coming soon.
All of the books here have been read from my TBR shelves, which is excellent. Caught up with lots of review books as well. Review books: By Midnight, Need, My Name Is Memory, Eighth Grade Bites, Tyranny, Low Red Moon, A Beautiful Lie, The Iron King, Long Reach, and Siren. Just one book there bought second-hand in a charity shop (Push), one book recieved from the author (Girl Meets Cake), one book won in a blog giveaway (Anna and the French Kiss) and the rest bought new in a bookstore or bought new on the Internet.
Goals for February? Not screw up Love month! Write a bunch of love themed posts. And possibly get to these books:
Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl by Tanya Lee Stone The DUFF by Kody Keplinger My Soul To Save by Rachel Vincent Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead Pink by Lili Wilkinson The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han and Finding Sky by Joss Stirling
How did reading in January go for you and what are your reading goals in February?
An extraordinarily rich debut novel, set in India in 1947 at the time of Partition. Although the backdrop is this key event in Indian history, the novel is even more far-reaching, touching on the importance of tolerance, love and family. The main character is Bilal, a boy determined to protect his dying father from the news of Partition - news that he knows will break his father's heart. With great spirit and determination, and with the help of his good friends, Bilal persuades others to collude with him in this deception, even printing false pages of the local newspaper to hide the ravages of unrest from his father. All that Bilal wants is for his father to die in peace. But that means Bilal has a very complicated relationship with the truth...
I absolutely loved this book. I'd seen other book bloggers review A Beautiful Lie previously and everyone had lovely thing to say about it, but until I read it, I didn't fully understand. It's such a sweet and sad story, one that will stay with me for awhile.
Bilal is a young boy, living in India with his father. All around him, in his village and in all of India there has been trouble with the news of the upcoming Partition. I was only vaguely aware of what Partition was and what had happened before this book. It seems there was much more turmoil between the major religions in India around the time of Independence than I realised. Bilal's village is changing and you can see during the course of the book the differences in people's attitudes towards each other as things begin to escalate. Stallholders and friends turn on each other, families are leaving, troublemakers and gangs appear and terrorise those left. It seems to be a very sad time in India's history, with the break-up on India into different parts.
Bilal knows that the information of Partition will break his father's heart and it seems particularly important to keep the news from his father as his father is dying. Without too much time left, Bilal tells his major, life-changing lie. He decides to keep news of India's troubles from his father and enlists the help of his friends and other villagers in order to hide the truth. While Bilal goes to greath lengths in order to protect his family, his village and his life are shaken in other ways. What I loved most about A Beautiful Lie is how beautiful the relationships are. The relationships that Bilal has with his three friends and very different, but you can see the loyalty and the affection between each boy. The four boys together are quite sweet, getting into mischief and working as a team to accomplish their goal. I love books with such strong friendships.
But it's really the father and son relationship that pulled at my heartstrings so much. Bilal loves his father very much and you can see how proud of Bilal the father is. As it gets nearer toward the inevitable death of Bilal's father, we are able to see just how much the two really care for each other. It's enough to make anyone cry. Despite the country's wavering stability in the time of Partition, there is always that hope that shines through in the form of Bilal, his friends and those around him who do their best to give one ordinary man peace before the end. It was really heartwarming to see how much Bilal's father has touched those of the villagers around him and how ready they are to do a good thing for him and his son in return. It's a beautiful book this one. One I'm so happy to have read.
It's a story that touches on the importance and morality of telling the truth and telling lies. It's a story of family and friendship set in a period of time in India that I wasn't very aware of, and Bilal and his friends really ran away with my heart. Thank you so much to Bloomsbury for sending me this book for review.
Last Monday I was invited to a very exciting event at one of my favourite publishing houses. It was the first time I'd been invited to such a thing and I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Especially when it turns out I'd been surrounded by proper journalists and official-people-working-in-the-book-industry! And me, just a lowly book blogger!
Luckily, everyone at Penguin are super nice and made me feel at home and I ran into some very friendly faces... Michelle from Clover Hill Book Reviews, who seemed just as nervous as I was, Carly Bennett from Writing from the Tub and Liz from My Favourite Books. I love meeting and re-meeting some of my favourite bloggers!
After some tea and (lovely) biscuits, we were ushered into another room where the presentations were being held. We were taken through an entire year of fabulous books that Penguin will be publishing, watched book and movie trailers and heard some really interesting and sometimes hilarious talks by some very exciting authors, both debut and established!
I was so excited to take loads of photos beforehand, but when it came time, I only ended up with one photo as I was just so interested in hearing what the authors and people at Penguin had to say. Here's my one photo of Meg Rosoff (SQUEEEE) talking about her new book, There Is No Dog, which is out in August.
The book sounds absolutely brilliant and I cannot wait to read it. She talked a bit about the cover and the meaning of the title, which has left some confused. The thing I found most interesting about what Meg Rosoff had to say was that it was really difficult for her to write this book, feeling very nervous. Seems a case of insecurity hit, which surprised me, but I guess it shouldn't have. After the presentation, we all had lunch together and everytime Meg Rosoff walked past me I started fan-girling 'MEG ROSOFF JUST WALKED PAST!' etc - and then we were introduced and she is so lovely to chat to. Was wonderful to meet her and talk to her a bit about her books.
Next up, we watched the fab movie trailer for I Am Number Four (I'd love there to be a blogger meet-up so we can all watch these movie adaptations together!) and watched a video of Rick Riordan discussing his books. (I wrote a note to myself here which said 'must read book by R. Riordan this year!')
Then there was bits about the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books (I've only just watched the film this afternoon, HILARIOUS) followed by the film trailer for the new movie. Holy crap, how much do I want to see that now?! The latest book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is out in February, with other books out later in the year.
Then news of the third book from Charlie Higson to follow on from The Enemy and The Dead out in September, called The Fear. (I have The Dead waiting for me on my TBR shelves, I figure immediately after Love month will be the perfect time to read some zombie fiction, what do you think?) And new covers from Cathy Cassidy to appeal to a new generation of girls. (Here's where I wish I'd been taking photos to show you the new covers!)
Then we went on to hear about the brothers Alex and Simon Scarrow! February sees the arrival of a new series of Roman gladiator books from Simon and the third Time Raiders book from Alex. History never looked like so much fun before :) I'm going to really speed through the next bits here, or we'll be here all day.
Jeremy Strong spoke to us! He really championed this new Campaign For Fun that he's doing, trying to bring fun back into learning. I think it's a brilliant idea and I wish him all the very best with it. This was followed by a talk by a new author, Steven Butler, who was very funny and talked about his new series of books for younger children, The Wrong Pong.
The highlight for me? When he compared the troll on the front cover to his MOTHER. I'm sure she is absolutely THRILLED with that comparison!!! :)
Then James Holland, author of a new book out in June, Duty Calls: Dunkirk talked a bit about why he wrote this book and how he hoped it would help. I must admit, the story of an ordinary boy fighting in WWI definitely sound appealing to me. There was mention of a graphic novel of Richelle Mead's first Vampire Academy book (intriguing!) A new book by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl out in November (will give me enough time to read first two books!) and the new series of books in the Vlad Tod series by Heather Brewer!
This was followed (are you still with me?!) by Matched by Ally Condie. The paperback is out in July and Crossed is out in November! (DYING to read Crossed!!) followed by Across the Universe by Beth Revis! This is my most anticipated read so far! Looks absolutely fabulous and is published (as you well know!) in March.
Tantalisingly, a book was mentioned as a cross between 'Flowers in the Attic and Natural Born Killers' but not much else was said about it. The book is called Brother/Sister by Sean Olin and I am absolutely curious about it now! AND THEN! Penguin staff showed a video of Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, and I nearly CRIED hearing about the interviews and research that Ruta did in order to write this book. Between Shades of Gray is going to be an absolute tear jerker, I can see it already. Not out until April but I have my copy all set to go once Love month is finished. I'm going to sit with a big box of tissues. *sniff*
Already I'm thinking 'wow' at all the information that's been thrown at me, and then they introduce David Almond! Who read from his new post-apocalyptic book entitled The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean, out in September, and I swear to you all, the whole room absolutely hung upon every single word out of David Almond's mouth. I could sit and listen to David Almond talk forever. Wonderful experience.
And because that must have been difficult to follow up with ANYTHING, there was a bit of talk about some birthdays and anniversaries of some classic Penguin books. Ballet Shoes, James and the Giant Peach (which I'll be reading to my two boys at bedtime starting this week!), Peepo, Artemis Fowl (how old do I feel?! The first book is already 10 years old!)
And then we heard from debut author, Phil Earle, author of Being Billy, a book I read and loved recently. He talked a bit about working in a care home when he was younger, some of the difficulties and successes of some of the children he was involved in caring for. I nearly cried again. I've been chatting a bit with Phil Earle on twitter, so it was lovely to hear him speak and chat to him after the event!
We went through some of the beautiful picture books coming out this year, and some of the pre-school titles and baby books. While *I* found this interesting, as I have a pre-schooler myself, I'll skip through some of it. The last thing I DO want to mention however, is that there was mention of Ladybird Live, which sounds a bit like a story-telling tour that will be happening this summer with fun activities and the possibility of celebrity story-tellers. It's something I'm very much interested in and something I think both my boys would love to go to. When I get more information, I shall let you know!
So that is how my day went! Sorry if this was a bit long-winded! I'm just very excited by the authors I heard speak and who I was able to chat with. I was excited about hearing the new bookish news from Penguin and for being invited to such a fun event. The spring rolls at lunch were particularly delicious and thanks to Carly and Liz for keeping me company! I was able to put faces to some of the lovely Penguin women who I've been emailing with and of course, I came home with a very generous goody bag and a whole stack of books to keep me busy reading for awhile.
I love you Penguin. Thank you for inviting me and hosting such an incredible event!
As ever, In My Mailbox, is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Kristi at The Story Siren. IMM showcases the books that us bloggers have recieved during the week. The books listed below are books that I've bought new, second hand in charity shops, were sent to me via the publisher or author for review, borrowed from friends or acquired via a book swapping website.
Just FYI, this will be my last IMM until after February. I'm dedicating the month of February to love and will only be writing love-centric posts and reviews. IMM will commence on my blog again during the first weekend in March.
Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.
Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.
Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.
Absolutely thrilled and excited to have my own copy of Across the Universe by Beth Revis. I've only heard really wonderful things about the book and I'm looking forward to be swept away by this book like so many other bloggers...
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I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore - John Smith has just arrived in Paradise, Ohio, just another stop in a string of small towns where the 15-year-old has been hiding out from the Mogadorians. Those terrifying aliens are hellbent on destroying him and the other nine Loric children who have sought refuge on Earth. The Mogadorians are picking off the surviving kids in numerical order. The first three are dead and John's number is up. Will his Legacies, his defining super powers, develop in time for him to fight against the enemy? I Am Number Four is a breathless page-turner of a sci-fi novel that will have readers rooting for the teen alien who must unleash his fire power to save himself, his human friends, and the planet.
I've already read I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore, but this is the shiny new paperback edition. I'm hoping to see the film at the cinema and possibly share the book with some of my male friends.
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Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys - 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.
This book sounds incredible. Really powerful and emotional. I watched a small trailer in which the author spoke a little bit about her research and some of the interviews that she carried out during the writing process and I nearly wept. I feel like this one will really pull at my heartstrings. At least I hope so.
I haven't read the Time Raiders books before, but I think it sounds like an incredibly interesting concept. I've been reading books lately that have some historical elements to them and I've been quite surprised at well how I've been liking those historical details. This is the third book in the series, so I shall be hunting down the first two books very soon. Has anyone read these books? What did you think of them? Would love to hear someone, anyone's thoughts on these. Did you know he's brothers with Simon Scarrow, who has a YA book out soon about Roman gladiators? Well, I'm looking forward to reading both series.
She has a gift for carving ‘lucky’ wooden-charms. Known as Witch-Blade, her unusual gift attracts dangerous attention in a place where witches are burned. When her village falls on bad times, suspicion falls on Kate. Scared for her life, she seeks the help of a mysterious stranger.
In exchange for her shadow, the stranger will assist her, but Kate becomes part of a terrifying plan, darker than she ever dreamed.
First published in the USA as Plain Kate, this is the heartfelt story of an orphan ‘witch-child’ and her cat, caught in a time afraid of magic.
Doesn't this have the most gorgeous cover? I think it's very pretty with the shiny words and little circles on the cover. And butterflies. Did I ever tell you like that I like butterflies? Anyway, I've read a couple of really great reviews of this one, so I'm hoping that it lives up to my expectations.
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Rockaholic by CJ Skuse - Jody's obsessed with a rock star. At Jackson Gatlin's concert, she's right at the front. But when she's caught in the crush, Jody's carried backstage. Throw in concussion, a super-wired super-star, and a Curly Wurly - and she finds herself taking home more than a poster. OMG! Jody's kidnapped him. But what happens when the rock god in her garage doesn't want to leave? Jody's stuck between a rock idol and a hard place!
How much fun does this one sounds? Kidnapping a rock star? Yes please, I'll read that. Super excited to get to this one. I don't know what it is about this combination of music and YA books that gets to me, but I'm always looking for a good book that involves music in some way. How would I feel about being in the same space as my favourite rock star? (Who IS my favourite rock star? Who's yours?)
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The DUFF by Kody Keplinger - Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.
But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.
I knew as soon as I heard what DUFF stood for that I wanted to read this one. Don't we ALL sometimes feel like the ugly, fat friend? I know I did growing up. And I have to giggle at the term 'enemies with benefits' - I hope this one is as fun as it sounds!
The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad’s ironclad curfew and putting her boyfriend’s loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls for a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld — a consequence they can’t possibly understand. Kaylee can’t let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk....
OH MY GOD! How excited am I to read this one?! I absolutely ADORED My Soul To Take when I read it last month! The characters and the stories of this one have me absolutely eager to see where the story will go next. I know it's been out in the US for ages, but I'm only just discovering this series. And I'm in love.
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Lament by Maggie Stiefvater - Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She's about to find out she's also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy who enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of thin air. Trouble is, the enigmatic and gorgeous Luke turns out to be a gallowglass—a soulless faerie assassin. An equally hunky—and equally dangerous—dark faerie soldier named Aodhan is also stalking Deirdre. Sworn enemies, Luke and Aodhan each have a deadly assignment from the Faerie Queen. Namely, kill Deirdre before her music captures the attention of the Fae and threatens the Queen's sovereignty. Caught in the crossfire with Deirdre is James, her wisecracking but loyal best friend. Deirdre had been wishing her life weren't so dull, but getting trapped in the middle of a centuries-old faerie war isn't exactly what she had in mind . . .
Yeah, yeah. I know that I've told absolutely BILLIONS of other people that I don't like books about faeries. At least that many people, AND YET, here's me picking up another one. I wouldn't do it without some severely good recommendations OR unless it's Maggie Stiefvater. In this case, it happens to be both.
I've been meaning to read a book by Sophie McKenzie for awhile. I thought it would be Girl, Missing or Blood Ties, but no. I'm going to start with The Medusa Project, I think. Seems like a lot of fun. Can't say that I've heard much about this particular series, but I keep hearing good things about Sophie McKenzie, so I shall leap right in completely blind. I don't do that often enough anyway!
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And that's it for me this week! Which books did you get?
Five years, what a long time. I've loved almost every minute of my time spent blogging. I've met some incredible people and have had the most amazing experiences. I've always been searching for some place where I belong, and I feel like I've found that place amongst you, my blogging friends and readers. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog, for encouraging me and making me feel less alone. Really, I can't say THANK YOU enough.
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I wanted to say 'thank you' in some way. I decided I'd do that this year by giving away two of my favourite books that I've read recently. I should probably wait until February's Love month starts, but I won't.
Here now, is your chance to win copies of either Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins or Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan. Both books are finished hardback copies. There will be two winners - the first can choose which book they'd most like to win, the second person chosen will have which ever book is left.
As I'm lucky enough to have readers all over the world, this giveaway will be open internationally. There are no requirements for this giveaway, other than entering the form below with a name and email address. While being a follower of this blog is not required, it is always appreciated, as are blog posts or tweets that bring attention to my giveaway. The giveaway will close and I will draw two winners on the 5th of February.
Good luck to all, and here's looking forward to another 5 years of blogging...
In Tyranny, brisk, spare text and illustrations that deal head-on with anorexia propel the reader along on Anna’s journey as she falls prey to the eating disorder, personified as her tormentor, Tyranny.
The novel starts with a single question: “How did I get here?” The answer lies in the pages that follow, and it’s far from simple. Pressured by media, friends, the workplace, personal relationships, and fashion trends, Anna descends into a seemingly unending cycle of misery. And whenever she tries to climb out of the abyss, her own personal demon, Tyranny, is there to push her back in. The contest seems uneven, and it might be except for one thing: Anna’s strength of character has given rise to her deadly enemy. Ironically, it is that same strength of character that has the ultimate power to save her from the ravages of Tyranny.
Brilliantly and realistically presented, Tyranny is a must-read for anyone looking for a better understanding of eating disorders and for everyone looking for a compelling page-turner that is truly a story of triumph and hope.
A really big thank you to the people at Walker for sending this book for me to review. I've never seen a graphic novel deal with the topic of anorexia before, so I was intrigued with it even before I had a copy in my hands. As some of you may know, I had my own experiences with an eating disorder as a teenager, so it is a subject very close to my heart.
The cover of this really stood out for me. It's very striking, the yellow with the drawing of Tyranny. Right from the cover, I realise that one's going to be pretty powerful. The first question, asked 'How did I get here?' and all the memories of my own eating disorders just washed over me. The idea that our main character, Anna, has this other nasty, mean person, Tyranny, hanging around her, telling her things in order to keep her thin and not eating is carried throughout the graphic novel.
Anna is a young woman struggling with her appearance, her new curves as she goes through puberty. She struggles with how she appears to others and her distorted view of herself. She feels like she's being bombarded with the 'ideal image' everywhere she goes, from friends to colleagues to fashion magazines. She comes across quite a few other women along the way with their own battles with dieting, body-image and eating disorders. And it isn't all rosy. In fact, Tyranny is very straight-forward and blunt in the consequences, if Anna continues to let Tyranny be in control. There's no subtlety in this slim graphic novel. Straight to the point, no beating around the bush.
And I think that's where the power and the beauty of Tyranny lies. This hard-hitting look at anorexia at it's deepest level, I feel, is really necessary in order to get the message through to young people everywhere who still struggle with their own versions of Tyranny. There's no glamourising anorexia here, people with eating disorders can end up seriously damaging their health, end up in hospital, face death.
At first, I wondered if the hard-hitting message was for the best. I wondered if a more personal and emotional approach would be better (I didn't particularly connect with Anna's character but definitely did connect to the message) but now I feel like it's probably for the best. I think the stark and simple illustrations fit with the story's message perfectly and that Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield is quite an important read. Powerful and straight to the point.
Seventeen-year-old Eddie Savage is shocked to learn that the body of his brother, Steve, has just been washed up in the Thames. But he soon discovers something even more disturbing: that Steve had actually been working undercover for the police – and was probably murdered in the line of duty. Determined to avenge his brother's death, Eddie relinquishes his old life and identity to take up where Steve left off, throwing himself headlong into his first mission – to infiltrate a tough south London gang. But as he becomes caught up in the world of crime, Eddie begins to question where his loyalties lie. Then he makes a terrible discovery...
I was absolutely thrilled when the email from Walker came through about this book. The product description actually made me really excited to read it. I wouldn't say that it's the normal type of book that I read (though perhaps it should be!), but this book is incredible. Very past-paced and gritty and believeable.
There's something about this book that made me unable to put it down once I'd started. I really loved Eddie as a character. The news of his brother's death and what Steve had really been up to left a big mark on Eddie. It's never nice being told your older brother has committed suicide, or that he lived an entire life in secret. Still, Eddie decides to follow in his brother's footsteps, go undercover and work with this government agency. At first, his assignment is as simple as getting close to another student at school, the daughter of a crime lord, and then things progress further and further and Eddie realises that his assignment is so much more complicated and dangerous. Possibly even deadly.
Eddie is only 17 and already he's been thrown into something possibly more than he can handle. I love watching him struggle to adjust to this new life and to his new identity. He's living on his own, with more money than he's used to, with iPhones and laptops thrown at him. He's told to become friends with this hot girl at school. It really sounds like he's landed into something good. But things don't stay easy for long. There was a rather painful and arduous training session before things got started. His handler, Ian doesn't approve of Eddie being in the field. When communications between Eddie and his old family friend, Tony and with Ian slow down to an almost complete stop, Eddie is mostly isolated.
Eddie begins to wonder if Tommy Kelly, the leader of this crime organisation in London is really such a bad guy after all. He seems to take care of his family, cooks, has an interest in art. Would it really be so bad, working with him? I love Eddie's confusion, but it is very understandable, especially as he's told so little from Ian and Tony. Eddie's been manipulated into going really deep undercover with no previous experience. The stakes are high, and Eddie's life seems to hang in the balance.
Honestly, Long Reach is really gripping stuff. It's really interesting seeing this experienced through Eddie's eyes. He's got a very authentic teenage voice. During training before going undercover and also during a long few weeks training for an important boxing match, it's really shown how hard-as-nails and tough Eddie really is. He's got a great sense of humour and a huge curiousity to know what exactly happened to Steve and how and why he ended up like he did. But things are bound to go wrong, they have to, especially with Eddie being so new to all. My heart kept jumping into my throat at Eddie's near-misses with catastrophe. I cared for Eddie and his well-being right from the start. As well as Eddie's perspective, we're also shown snippets from the point of view of Donnie, a hired thug of Tommy Kelly's, which reinforces for the reader that Tommy Kelly and his gang are really up to no good and that Eddie is constantly in danger.
Long Reach really is a perfect fast-paced, gripping thriller for the YA audience. It has me incredibly excited to read more in the series. A huge thank you to the lovely folk at Walker for sending this book for me to review.
Junior high really stinks for thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers and no one to teach him, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a strange substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he realizes he has a much bigger problem: He’s being hunted by a vampire killer who is closing in . . . fast!
Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer is such fun. First book in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, we see our hero through eighth grade. And middle school isn't easy on anybody. It's such an awkward year and everyone's unsure of themselves, no one more so that Vlad Tod. He has reason to be, as a he's half-vampire.
Vlad is such a great character, he's a very different vampire than I've read before. Uncomfortable with himself and unsure of where he belongs. No moodiness or angstiness. Instead I could relate to his experiences a lot more, having been a teenager and gone through eighth grade myself. Plus I love his sense of humour.
Vlad is the target of bullies at school, his new teacher is stacking up the homework. Besides that, he's hopelessly in love with Meredith, but she seems to have a crush on his best friend, Henry instead. He lives with his 'aunt' Nelly after his parents died and Vlad struggles to remain normal despite the need to drink blood. I absolutely love the sweet relationship between Vlad and Nelly. I love that they aren't technically related but you can really tell how much each cares about the other. And his friendship with Henry. Very teenaged boy relationship, but I'm glad that Vlad has someone outside of family who knows his secret and is accepting of it.
I love how OK with being a half-vampire Vlad is. He is what he is and that's it. Until he goes searching for information on his family for a class project and uncovers more about his father and his role in the vampire world than he'd ever known before. And suddenly his vampireness seems to be putting him in danger.
I think this is an excellent beginning to a great series. I think there's so much room to grow and move forward from here. The characters are interesting and loveable, especially Vlad and Nelly. And I can't wait to find out what happens next for Vlad in the rest of the series.
Huge thanks to Penguin sending this book for me to review!
Hello and welcome to another edition of In My Mailbox! The lovely Kristi of The Story Siren hosts this weekly meme where bloggers post details of the books that they picked up each week. As always, all of the books listed in my posts were bought new/sent for review via publishers or direct from the author/borrowed from friends/acquired via a book swapping webiste/bought secondhand in a charity shop.
Girl Meets Cake by Susie Day -Geeky fangirl Heidi, 15, has a great fantasy life thanks to her TV and her laptop - and no wonder, when she's stuck at the boarding school for crazy drop-outs where her parents teach, with only a cake-shop Saturday job to escape to. At least she's got her best mates - but when they all start coupling up, Heidi needs a boyfriend - and fast. Enter Gingerbread Ed, a sexy lovemuppet with a motorbike. He'd be perfect - if he actually existed. Heidi's mad online life collides hysterically with her real one in a laugh-out-loud uber-cool teen novel.
I am SO excited for this one. I'm going to read it very soon and then look out for a giveaway during my LOVE month (coming up sooner than I realised! EEP.). I think the idea of making up a fantasy boyfriend and calling him 'Gingerbread Ed' to fit in with all my friends sounds like such fun. It's been described as 'quirky' which, in my book, make it sound even better. Review coming soon, promise!!
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Delirium by Lauren Oliver - Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that one love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.
I can't think of a better suited book for my LOVE month than Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I've already read and LOVED it, but this is a stunning finished hardback. I'm seriously considering a re-read so soon because I really just enjoyed it that much. Look out for cool Delirium/Love month posts/possible-giveaway coming soon. You won't be disappointed.
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Gladiator: Fight For Freedom by Simon Scarrow - It's Rome, 61 BC. Recruited as a gladiator, young Marcus Cornelius Primus faces a new life of brutal training, governed by strict rules, as he learns the skills of an elite warrior. But Marcus cannot simply forget his past. His father lies murdered by soldiers and his mother has been kidnapped and forced into slavery. Marcus is determined to find his father's old commander, Pompeius the Great, to seek justice for his family and set his mother free. Yet, unbeknown to him, Marcus is hiding a life-threatening secret. And if the Romans discover it, there will be no escape...
Ooh. So here's a very different type of book than I'd normally read. I've never read anything by Simon Scarrow before, though I am familiar with the name. Roman gladiators, a hunt for justice, secrets. It sounds very excited. I'm really intrigued by it.
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Small Blue Thing by SC Ransom - Celebrating the end of exams with best friend Grace, 17 year-old Alex rescues a swan caught on a wire in the Thames mud and finds an extraordinary bracelet. Through its disturbing and compelling powers, she finds Callum, a soul locked in a half-life of sadness and mystery following a terrible accident, and his persuasive and sinister sister, Catherine. As Alex and Callum grow closer despite the enormous obstacles to their love, the dangers mount until Alex must risk everything to save Grace and Callum must risk everything to save Alex.
I've seen enough reviews of this by now to know that it's a book that I think I would like to read. Just reading the review makes it sound a wee bit confusing, which is why I'd hesitated before now, but oh well. Who am I to resist books? :)
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And that is it for me today. A far cry from the 19 books from last week and it's a sort of strange mix, but I'm excited! I'm looking forward to reading (or re-reading) each of this books for very different reasons. Which books did you pick up this week? I'd love to know. And as always, happy reading :)
I've had a long break away from my university courses. Since November I've been free to read what I like and not worry about assignments or exams or whether I'm caught up with the reading in my textbooks. Not so for very much longer!
Thankfully this year's course is the one I've been most looking forward to, the Child Development course. I hope it lives up to my expectations :) I really am excited about this course and I can't wait to get back into studying. Wish me luck...
Grace was raised to be an Angel, a herald of death by suicide bomb. But she refuses to die for the cause, and now Grace is on the run, daring to dream of freedom. In search of a border she may never reach, she travels among malevolent soldiers on a decrepit train crawling through the desert. Accompanied by the mysterious Kerr, Grace struggles to be invisible, but the fear of discovery looms large as she recalls the history and events that delivered her uncertain fate.
Told in spare, powerful prose by acclaimed author Elizabeth Scott, this tale of a dystopian near future will haunt readers long after they've reached the final page.
I really adore Elizabeth Scott. I am sure to read anything she writes. But when I first started reading Grace, I wasn't so sure. I doubted that even Elizabeth Scott could pull off this story. I hadn't realised it was dystopian before reading, and at first, everything was a little confusing. I knew that Grace was on the run, but the specifics of what had happened and the different groups populating this new world were a little too strange at first. And then another few pages later and I was hooked. Such is the skill of Elizabeth Scott.
Grace is an Angel. Destined to be a type of suicide-bomber in the cause that she thinks she believes in. When it comes time though, she decides she would rather live. She knows that she can never go back to home as she knew it, so instead she finds herself on a train risking everything and forced to trust a mysterious stranger.
Not a lot actually happens in Grace. Instead we learn the history of Grace's past, how she came to be in this place and also that of her travelling companion, Kerr. Grace hasn't lived an easy life and you can see how her experiences really shape her into the person that she is. And Kerr is full of surprises as well. It can be hard to find your place in the novel, as it does go back and forth between before the failed-bomb incident and the present, where Grace and Kerr are escaping on the train, but stick with it, things will be less confusing and up in the air.
Maddeningly, we don't learn a great deal about the circumstances of how the world ended up in this place. With two main groups - one in political power and quite ruthless with a tyrant at it's helm, the other more environmental but the same ruthlessness. This lack of value of human life on both sides was quite sad to read but there's still such hope instilled in both Kerr and Grace. This isn't a very long book at all, but it's got more than I realised packed into it.
Despite my uncertainties, despite the lack of plot, Elizabeth will forever hold a place in my heart. With Grace, she maintains her rightful place on my list of favourite-ever authors.
I've been thinking for awhile that I wanted to read a bunch of YA romances now so that by the time I wrote my reviews, they'd be published in the lead-up to Valentine's Day next month. Good idea, right? Then yesterday, I looked at my most immediate TBR pile and thought to myself 'I probably have enough books there to ONLY review YA romances during February' And that led my brain to think it would be an interesting idea to make all of February's posts into Love-themed posts.
I mentioned it on Twitter and a positive response with a few people agreeing to guest posts. Following that, emails were sent out this morning and even more people have responded, some are even excited to participate. So I figured I would share this with all my readers and see what everyone else makes of it. Besides the book reviews, I've been trying to brainstorm ideas for other love/romance type posts. A lot of which I'd like to be book-related, this is after all primarily a book blog. Lists of favourite love interests, favourite couples in literature, love poetry. But not entirely book-related either. Music, television, movies, couples in history. I want to share with you all my own experiences with love, tell funny stories about crushes in high school.
If you'd like to take part, I would love to hear from you! I would especially love to hear from you if you any skill whatsoever with graphics or creating a fun button for the event. But if you'd like to write a guest post on a love theme to be featured on my blog during the month of February, please leave a comment or send me an email! I'll send you details.
Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.
She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.
In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear.
Need by Carrie Jones is not what I expected. I go through phases of being turned-off by paranormal YA and phases where all I want to read is something a little more fantastic. I'm going through a latter phase at the moment, and I think I picked up this book at the perfect time.
I love the quirkiness of Need. The main character, Zara, is obsessed with phobias. There's a phobia for everything from fear of flying, to peanut butter to the fear of being alone. Zara believes that if you give something a name it makes it less scary. And she needs that sort of comfort at the moment, as she's just lost the only father she's ever known. And in her depression and grief, her mother doesn't know what to do with her. So, she sends Zara away from her home in Charleston to a cold sleepy town in Maine to live with her grandmother.
Even before leaving Charleston, Zara has believed that someone's been following her, stalking her even. She hopes that by coming to Maine, the man will have disappeared. Only he hasn't. She sees him just outside the airport, and again at school. He points at her in a really creepy fashion. Luckily, Zara falls in with a friendly bunch of students at her new school: Devyn, whose recent accident sees him now in a wheelchair; perpetually happy Issie and hot loner Nick. With her new friends' help, Zara must discover who the man stalking her is, what he wants from her and how to protect herself, her grandmother and her new friends.
I knew beforehand that the paranormal creature we're dealing with in this series of books are pixies. I'm not an expert on pixies at all. They seem like a type of fairie and I'm not a fan of fairie fiction, but this one worked for me. There was enough plot-wise that I wasn't aware of to keep me surprised and guessing. I liked the friendship between Zara and Issie and Nick was suitably hot. I'd have liked a little more tension and build-up, but that isn't a big issue.
I think it was Zara who really kept me interested. Her love of running and phobias made me smile, whereas her grief for her father is very apparent. I thought she reacted to the bizarre new information and how it changes her world reasonably well and she's pretty brave in the face of extreme danger. I am pleasantly surprised with this book and I can look forward to the next two books in the series! :)
A huge thank you to Bloomsbury for providing me with this copy for review.
And it's a return of the mini-reviews! Here are my brief thoughts on So Much To Tell You by John Marsden, A Certain Age by Rebecca Ray and Push by Sapphire. Hope you enjoy.
So Much To Tell you by John Marsden - Scarred, literally, by her past, Marina has withdrawn into silence. Then, at her new boarding school, she is set the task of writing a diary by her English teacher, and finds a way of expressing her thoughts and feelings and of exploring the traumatic events that have caused her distress. Through Marina's diary we gain an insight into life on her dormitory, and her difficult relationship with her father, who injured her in an angry moment. Eventually, Marina makes tentative friendships and, in a moving denouement, is reconciled with her father.
I really only picked up this one because I've had John Marsden's Tomorrow series on my shelf since forever unread. I thought by reading one of Marsden's other non-series books that it would make me excited to read his Tomorrow books sooner than expected.
For me though, So Much To Tell You felt like very heavy reading. It isn't particularly long, but it felt dense. The story is told by Marina through diary entries at a boarding school in Australia. She's gone through some unknown trauma involving her father that's left her face scarred. She isn't able to speak about her experience, so instead writes all her thoughts and observances of school-life down in her diary.
You can tell at the start, the trauma is still too close for her and as readers we only see a little of Marina's inner thoughts about it all. She writes in details of some of her classmates and the way she is treated at school, but none of the characters made much of an impact on me and they feel very two-dimensional and on the sidelines of the story. Marina feels very fragile and with the help of a particularly helpful and friendly teacher, Marina can slowly make her way out of her depression and difficult feelings to a place where she's more able to accept herself and what's happened to her. I'm not sorry that I read it, but I was hoping that I would have connected more emotionally to Marina and her story.
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A Certain Age by Rebecca Ray - Teenager Rebbecca Ray's debut novel paints a deeply disturbing portrait of the life of an adolescent girl growing up in small-town England in the dying breaths of the 20th century. The humiliations of her first day at secondary school soon give way to grudging acceptance as Ray's unnamed heroine learns how to "fit in". Letting boys touch her and hanging out with the misfits and trouble-makers makes daily life bearable. Which is just as well as home life is far from bearable. With a brow-beaten, ineffectual mother, whose own feelings of self-worth have long since been ground to a pulp by a bullying, overbearing husband, it comes as no surprise when their 14-year-old daughter starts dating a man old enough to be her father. Sex, drugs, paedophilia and masochism are all shrugged off by our 14-year-old leading lady whose feelings of self-loathing grow deeper, page by gripping page, until they reach a disturbing, inevitable conclusion. Written in the first person, Ray's narrative is stark and shocking. She describes a life, a family, a society too darkly accurate to be pure fiction.
I really can't remember how or why I decided that this is a book I should read? Perhaps I read reviews of it recently? I don't remember. On a whim, I decided to choose a random book off my shelves to read and my hand landed on this one. I knew from the outset that it was a book with a very inappropriate relationship between a 14 year old girl and a 27 year old man and that I would struggle with reading about such a thing, but I found that I struggled with a lot more than that as well. This isn't a book that I enjoyed very much and I'd have a hard time recommending it. Perhaps it's saying something about society? I'm really not sure. If it is, I'm not smart enough to pick up on it.
The main character of this book is 14, she isn't treated very well in school. In fact, as a way of fitting into a crowd of kids that don't really accept her, she allows herself to be felt up and kissed by some of the boys. This leads to an abusive and controlling relationship with another boy. Which in turns leads to the relationship with the older man. At the same time, she's dealing with an embarassing friendship with a very needy girl and how to balance that out with her 'cool group of friends.'
You can also see how that her relationship with her parents is very central to the story. Her parents argue a lot, she gets stuck in the middle. Her father seems very domineering and controlling as well as belittling to both our main character and to his wife. It isn't pleasant reading at all. Everything about the book sort of drips with unpleasantness from her sexual partners, her friendships, her parents.
The part where I nearly gave up the book is when she tells both parents about her new boyfriend. And that's he's 27. The way in which her parents are accepting of this and seem to have little concern over this fact is very troubling. Perhaps that's the point of the novel? To shock readers with all of the issues in the book? I don't know. It didn't quite work for me.
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Push by Sapphire - This is the story of Precious Jones, a sixteen year old illiterate black girl who has never been out of Harlem. She is pregnant by her own father for the second time, and kicked out of school when that pregnancy becomes obvious. Placed in an alternative teaching programme, she is urged to write down her thoughts in a book. This is Precious' diary, in which she honestly records her relationships and her life. Told with tremendous power, vitality and wit; this is an uncompromising and hugely enjoyable novel.
Here's one that really surprised me. Push by Sapphire is the book that the movie Precious was based on. I haven't seen the movie and I didn't know beforehand the extent of which this book would go to. Wow. I finished it of an evening (it isn't very long at all) and absolutely mesmerised by the character ofPrecious Jones. What a resilient and courageous character.
Precious Jones, is 16 and illiterate. When she's kicked out of school for being pregnant (for the second time and by her father) she is given the opportunity to attend an alternative school instead. There, surrounded by other young people in similar circumstances, Precious is able to learn in a more supportive environment with a teacher and other students who care about her. All of her life, Precious has been abused, sexually by her father, physically and emotionally by her mother. She's foul-mouthed and angry at the start and as the story continues she doesn't lose any of that attitude. But she is able to see more clearly, her worth, and her capabilities.
I really loved the message of this novel, to keep pushing forward and working hard to make something of yourself, to go after your dreams. I did find it a little difficult to read Precious' story as it's a written diary with spelling mistakes and bad grammar, but once I was used to the feel of it, I couldn't put this book down. Precious is a wonderful character, who I'll have a hard time forgetting.
This has to be my longest IMM ever, sorry. A big thank you to Kristi at The Story Siren for hosting this weekly meme. The idea is that everyone shares the books they bought or recieved in a week. As ever, the books that are seen on my IMM posts have been bought new, sent via the publishers or by the authors, bought secondhand in charity shops, won in giveaways, swapped via a book swapping website or borrowed from friends. Off we go...
Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles - When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now.
I didn't love Perfect Chemistry with every fibre of my being like some other readers did, but it was really enjoyable, and I have been looking forward to this, the next book in the series! I wasn't sure how that rain would translate on the cover of the book, but it's interesting.
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A Note of Madness by Tabitha Suzuma - Life as a student is good for Flynn. As one of the top pianists at the Royal College of Music, he has been put forward for an important concert, the opportunity of a lifetime. But beneath the surface, things are changing. On a good day, he feels full of energy and life, but on a bad day being alive is worse than being dead. Sometimes he wants to compose and practise all night, at other times he can't get out of bed. His flatmate Harry tries to understand but is increasingly confused by Flynn's erratic mood swings. His friend Jennah tries to help, but Flynn finds it difficult to be around her as he struggles to control his feelings and behaviour. With the pressure of the forthcoming concert and the growing concern of his family and friends, emotions come to a head. Sometimes things can only get worse before they get better.
After reading and loving Forbidden last year, I promised myself that I would try to find and read some of Tabitha Suzuma's backlist. She seems to write very dark books. And I love dark books, so I'm hoping that I love this one. I love reading books involving music, but I enjoy books about mental health even more. This one is both.
"Okay." "Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?" "Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"
According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in ZanzibarBay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie—-she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.
Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.
This one has been on my wishlist for quite some time, but especially after the furore last year involving book banning/censoring, I knew that I wanted to read this one, and fairly quickly. Sarah Ockler has a new book out as well and I'm just as excited to read that one as well.
All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.
This one sort of intimidates me. I've heard really wonderful things about it .. but I've also heard that it can be quite confusing as well. But it's got a cow holding a gnome on the front cover and apparently contains an epic road trip - who am I kidding? There's no way I could resist this book!
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Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott - Kate Brown's life has gone downhill fast. Her father has quit his job to sell vitamins at the mall, and Kate is forced to work with him. Her best friend has become popular, and now she acts like Kate's invisible.
And then there's Will. Gorgeous, unattainable Will, whom Kate acts like she can't stand even though she can't stop thinking about him. When Will starts acting interested, Kate hates herself for wanting him when she's sure she's just his latest conquest.
Kate figures that the only way things will ever stop hurting so much is if she keeps to herself and stops caring about anyone or anything. What she doesn't realize is that while life may not always be perfect, good things can happen -- but only if she lets them....
Ah, Elizabeth Scott, I heart you. My current favourite author, I really need to read all of her books. I've done an excellent job so far, but before I read one of her grittier sounding books, I thought I'd try this romantic YA first. I can't wait to read this one.
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A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker - When the principal announces that every senior must participate in a mandatory year-long Marriage Education program, Fiona Sheehan believes that her life can't get any worse. Then she marries her “husband”: jerky jock Todd, whose cheerleader girlfriend, Amanda, has had it in for Fiona since day one of second grade. Even worse? Amanda is paired with Fiona's long-term crush, Gabe. At least Fiona is doing better than her best friend, Marcie, who is paired up with the very quiet, very mysterious Johnny Mercer.
Pranks, fights, misunderstandings, and reconciliations ensue in an almost Shakespearean comedy of errors about mistaken first impressions, convoluted coupling, and hidden crushes.
Have you ever bought a book because Amazon's recommendation thingy continuously bombards you with a specific book? No? Is that just me? This one kept popping up and this idea sounds cute. I'm in a contemporary YA romance phase at the moment, so I thought now might be a good time to pick this one up. Marriage classes in high school seem pretty far-fetched, but I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for a little while :)
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Identical by Ellen Hopkins - Kaeleigh and Raeanne are 16-year-old identical twins, the daughters of a district court judge father and politician mother running for US Congress. Everything on the surface seems fine, but underneath run very deep and damaging secrets. What really happened when the girls were 7 years old in that car accident that Daddy caused? And why is Mom never home, always running far away to pursue some new dream? Raeanne goes after painkillers, drugs, alcohol, and sex to dull her pain and anger. Kaeleigh always tries so hard to be the good girl — her father's perfect little flower. But when the girls were 9, Daddy started to turn to his beloved Kaeleigh in ways a father never should and has been sexually abusing her for years. For Raeanne, she needs to numb the pain of not being Daddy's favorite; for Kaeleigh, she wants to do everything she can to feel something normal, even if it means cutting herself and vomiting after every binge.
How Kaeleigh and Raeanne figure out just what it means to be whole again when their entire world has been torn to shreads is the guts and heart of this powerful, disturbing, and utterly remarkable book.
I think I should make one of my reading goals in 2011 to be 'Read more books by Ellen Hopkins' - It seems like a very worthy goal. I've only read her Impulse, but it was fantastic. I'm sure to not leave this one on my shelf for very long unread. I love the cover of this one. Shiny like a mirror but scratched beyond belief. Seems to be telling a story even before I've gotten started.
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Stray by Rachel Vincent - There are only eight breeding female werecats left . . . And I'm one of them.
I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds.
Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked.
I'd been warned about Strays -- werecats without a Pride, constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female, and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared.
This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back . . . for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever -- and whoever -- I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays -- 'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them . . .
In my recent review of Rachel Vincent's My Soul To Take, I said that I wanted to read Rachel's adult series, so here we are. I'm true to my word. I'm a little surprised that this book is so chunky, but hurrah. More for me to love, I hope!
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Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - St. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school—it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's—the very place where they're most in danger...
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy's ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world's fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.
I felt incredibly left out last year when everyone got all excited that Last Sacrifice had been published. I wanted to feel included in that, but hadn't read any of the books! Now I have the first two. I've been told they're really addictive reading and I need the entire series to hand...
It's winter break at St. Vladimir's, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy's crawling with Guardians—including Rose's hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn't bad enough, Rose's tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason's got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks… This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.
But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price…
I'm going to be a rebel however, and just start the first two and see where we go from there! :) I bet all of the rest of you are right though and I'll be making a mad dash to the bookstore. Oh well. I look forward to it.
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How Not To Be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler - Maggie Dempsey is tired of moving all over the country. Her parents are second-generation hippies who uproot her every year or so to move to a new city. When Maggie was younger, she thought it was fun and adventurous. Now that she’s a teenager, she hates it. When she moved after her freshman year, she left behind good friends, a great school, and a real feeling of belonging. When she moved her sophomore year, she left behind a boyfriend, too. Now that they’ve moved to Austin, she knows better. She’s not going to make friends. She’s not going to fit in. Anything to prevent her from liking this new place and them from liking her. Only . . . things don’t go exactly as planned.
This one sounds like a lot of fun. I really love the red in the cover. But really, a sense of belonging is something that I really strive for and I love reading books about it as well.
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The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells - Sometimes I still wake up shivering in the early hours of the morning, drowning in dreams of being out there in the ocean that summer, of looking up at the moon and feeling as invisible and free as a fish. But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the very beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start of something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before seem like it belonged to another life.
My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything.
This one looks like a very light, book to read on a sandy beach on holiday somewhere, but I'm wondering if it'll actually be something else entirely. I thought to myself the other day that I'll have a bing on YA contemporary romances so that by the time I read and review them all it will be around Valentine's Day. That's a good idea, right?
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Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles - Caleb Becker left Paradise eight months ago, taking with him the secret he promised to take to his grave. If the truth got out, it would ruin everything.Maggie Armstrong tried to be strong after Caleb broke her heart and disappeared. Somehow, she managed to move on. She’s determined to make a new life for herself.
But then Caleb and Maggie are forced together on a summer trip. They try ignoring their passion for each other, but buried feelings resurface. Caleb must face the truth about the night of Maggie’s accident, or the secret that destroyed their relationship will forever stand between them.
Last year I read and really enjoyed Leaving Paradise, so I knew that at some point I would read this book. Despite its sort of tacky looking cover, I'm really excited to get back to Caleb and Maggie!
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Take Me There by Carolee Dean - Dylan has a bad-boy past and a criminal record. He knows that rich, beautiful Jess is way too good for him—but she has always been the one person who sees through his tough exterior and straight to his heart, and he has been hopelessly in love with her from the first time they met. He would change his life for a chance with her.
But trouble follows Dylan wherever he goes, and a deadly mistake soon forces him to hit the road and leave his dreams behind. He’s on the run and in search of answers—answers to questions he wishes he’d never asked.
The cover alone makes me want to read this one. But then there's a bad boy and hopefully a road trip and young love and I'm sold! :)
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In The Bag by Jim Carrington - Joe and Ash are best friends. Ash is the leader, Joe the one who follows. Then one night after a party, Joe and Ash come across a holdall, seemingly abandoned by the side of the road. They open it up ...and find GBP20,000 in cash. Of course they're going to hand it straight to the police. Aren't they? Or is all that money just too tempting? Whoever has lost it won't notice if a bit goes missing, will they? And that is precisely when the trouble starts ...Jim Carrington has already established himself as a fine writer for teens with his debut novel, Inside My Head. With In the Bag, he shows how horribly easy it is for two teenage boys to make a car crash of their lives, through an unlucky combination of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and making a handful of wrong decisions.
Really looking forward to this one!
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Becoming Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty - To prove her likeability, Bindy decides to document her life in transcripts, essays, and e-mails. What this reveals is a girl who's funny, passionate, hilariously self-righteous...and in danger. Bindy Mackenzie believes herself to be the smartest, kindest girl at Ashbury High. Unfortunately, she is alone in that belief.
Someone wants to kill Bindy Mackenzie. The clues are in the documents. The detectives are the very students who hate her most. And time is running out.
I'm slightly worried that this is a sequel to some other book? Have been wanting to read something, anything by Jaclyn Moriarty for absolutely ages.
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Finding Cassie Crazy by Jaclyn Moriarty - Popular Aussie writer Jaclyn Moriarty, author of the smash debut, Feeling Sorry for Celia avoids the notorious sophomore slump with this bouncy epistolary follow-up that is brimming with self-confidence and charm. In The Year of Secret Assignments, a tenth grade English teacher attempts to unite feuding schools by launching a pen-pal project. Best friends Cassie, Emily and Lydia initiate the correspondence, and are answered by Matthew, Charlie and Seb. Emily and Lydia are more than pleased with their matches, but quiet Cassie has a frightening experience with Matthew. When Lydia and Emily discover that Matthew has threatened their fragile friend, the Ashbury girls close ranks, declaring an all-out war on the Brookfield boys. Soon, the couples are caught up in everything from car-jacking and lock-picking, to undercover spying and identity theft.
Is this a sequel as well? *cries* This is probably why I've never read any books by Jaclyn Moriarty :( :(
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Mortlock by Jon Mayhew - The sister is a knife-thrower in a magician's stage act, the brother an undertaker's assistant. Neither orphan knows of the other's existence. Until, that is, three terrible aunts descend on the girl's house and imprison her guardian, the Great Cardamom. His dying act is to pass the girl a note with clues to the secret he carries to his grave.
What a fab cover. And it sounds like SUCH a fun read.
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Siren by Tricia Rayburn - Vacationing in Winter Harbor, Maine, is a tradition for Vanessa and Justine Sands, and that means spending time with the Carmichael boys. This summer, Vanessa is determined to channel some of her older sister’s boldness, get over her fear of the ocean, and maybe turn her friendship with Simon Carmichael into something much more.
But when Justine goes cliff-diving after a big family argument, and her body washes ashore the next day, Vanessa is sure that it was more than an accident. She is more certain of this, when she discovers that her sister was keeping some big secrets and Caleb Carmichael’s gone missing. Suddenly, the entire oceanfront town is abuzz when a series of grim, water-related accidents occur, with the male victims washed ashore grinning from ear to ear.
Vanessa and Simon team up to figure out if these creepy deaths have anything to do with Justine and Caleb. But will what Vanessa discovers mean the end of her summer romance, or even life as she knows it?
The cover is slightly creepy looking to me, but this one sounds really good.
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And that is FINALLY it for me for this week. Which books did you recieve this week? Where do you think I should start with these books?
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