Sucker Punch (March 2011)
I kid you not, I watched this trailer three times before I could even think straight. I feel like Zack Snyder decided to make a movie of Everything That Amber Ever Loved and we got Sucker Punch as a result. Incredible!
Red Riding Hood (March 2011)
It's been criticized as being too much like Twilight but I don't really care. This movie looks so visually stunning and with such great actors that I can't wait to see it.
Beastly (March 2011)
What did Sucker Punch miss? My intensely scary love for Beauty and The Beast. Well, I get it in Beastly. I love modern fairytale re-tellings and this is the best story of all! Can't wait for this one. Especially since Hudgens doesn't sing in it (no offense to those who like her voice, I just find her way too nasally and liked her a lot better when she was just watching Efron sing).
I Am Number Four (February 2011)
I don't like the story of how this novel come about but regardless, I want to see this movie. It looks great though I don't think the trailer did it justice.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
TEAser Tuesdays (15): Bad Apple by Laura Ruby
TEAser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
- Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others!
Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles!
"[She] holds it up so I can see:
SHOW US YOUR BOOBS!
"They want me to take a photo and send it to their phones."
"Some girls actually do it," I say.
"I know," she says. "Because it's so romantic to have absolutely no self-respect." "
--Pg. 28 of "Bad Apple" by Laura Ruby
I picked this particular passage because it was funny. I haven't started this one yet but I'm definitely interested in it!
So what are you tempting me with this week?
Monday, November 29, 2010
The Iron King Giveaway Winner & Signed Nightshade Bookplates Winners
As always, I'd like to thank everyone who entered these two giveaways! I had so much with YA Love Triangle Week and it couldn't have happened without everyone who wrote guests posts and voted!
The Iron King Giveaway Winner:
I tallied up the votes (and there were a lot of them hence the time frame and me being only *slightly* lazy*) and plugged them into the random number generator:
I got the numbers:
The Iron King Giveaway Winner:
I tallied up the votes (and there were a lot of them hence the time frame and me being only *slightly* lazy*) and plugged them into the random number generator:
That's 315 individual entries! |
The winner is of The Iron King is...
Freakchiq!
Nightshade Bookplate Winners:
Again, the numbers were added up...
I got my four winners...
The winners are...
Congrats to Vivien, Kailia Sage, Steph & Julie!
Here's what your bookplate will look like:
Congrats to all the winners!
First Come, Second Served Master List
*This isn't the completed list yet!*
Events:
December
5th: Julie at That's Swell! A Reel Swell Production Blog has a giveaway of Gillian Shields' novel Immortal
6th: Ava at Book Infinity has a giveaway of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
7th: Interview with Carolyn MacCullough (Once A Witch, Always A Witch) here!
8th: Becky at Becky's Barmy Book Blog has a giveaway going on!
9th: Julie at That's Swell! A Reel Swell Production Blog has an interview with Gillian Shields (Immortal, Betrayal)
11th: Post up a review of a sequel here and instantly enter to win a Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough!
12th: Win Fade by Lisa McMann here! (US only)
13th: Amy at i heart reading is hosting a giveaway! & Jen Bigheart at I Read Banned Books is also holding a giveaway!
14th: Interview with Katie Alender (Bad Girls Don't Die, From Bad To Cursed) and giveaway (USA only) here!
15th: Mary at The Book Swarm's guest post on "what makes a good sequel"
16th: Julie at That's Swell! A Reel Swell Production Blog has an interview with Lauren Kate (Fallen, Torment)
17th: Ava at Book Infinity has a interview and giveaway with Artist Arthur (Manifest, Mystify)
18th: Post up a review of a sequel here and instantly enter into a giveaway!
19th: Julie at That's Swell! A Reel Swell Production Blog has a giveaway of R.L. LaFevers' novel
20th: Win The Riddle by Alison Croggon here! (US only)
21st: Interview with Kimberly Derting (The Body Finder, Desires of the Dead) here!
22nd: Ava at Book Infinity is holding a Challenge/Giveaway for a book of your choosing from The Book Depository
23rd: Giveaway of The Iron King here! (US only)
25th: Post up a review of a sequel here and instantly enter into a giveaway!
27th: Interview with Ednah Walters (Awakened) here!
29th: Ava at Book Infinity is giving away Bloody Valentine by Melissa de la Cruz
30th: Julie at That's Swell! A Reel Swell Production Blog has an interview with R.L. LaFevers (Theodosia Throckmorton series)
Nov. 1st: Post up a review of a sequel here and instantly enter into a giveaway!
Participating blog's books of choice:
Me here at Down The Rabbit Hole:
Events:
December
5th: Julie at That's Swell! A Reel Swell Production Blog has a giveaway of Gillian Shields' novel Immortal
6th: Ava at Book Infinity has a giveaway of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
7th: Interview with Carolyn MacCullough (Once A Witch, Always A Witch) here!
8th: Becky at Becky's Barmy Book Blog has a giveaway going on!
9th: Julie at That's Swell! A Reel Swell Production Blog has an interview with Gillian Shields (Immortal, Betrayal)
11th: Post up a review of a sequel here and instantly enter to win a Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough!
12th: Win Fade by Lisa McMann here! (US only)
13th: Amy at i heart reading is hosting a giveaway! & Jen Bigheart at I Read Banned Books is also holding a giveaway!
14th: Interview with Katie Alender (Bad Girls Don't Die, From Bad To Cursed) and giveaway (USA only) here!
15th: Mary at The Book Swarm's guest post on "what makes a good sequel"
16th: Julie at That's Swell! A Reel Swell Production Blog has an interview with Lauren Kate (Fallen, Torment)
17th: Ava at Book Infinity has a interview and giveaway with Artist Arthur (Manifest, Mystify)
18th: Post up a review of a sequel here and instantly enter into a giveaway!
19th: Julie at That's Swell! A Reel Swell Production Blog has a giveaway of R.L. LaFevers' novel
20th: Win The Riddle by Alison Croggon here! (US only)
21st: Interview with Kimberly Derting (The Body Finder, Desires of the Dead) here!
22nd: Ava at Book Infinity is holding a Challenge/Giveaway for a book of your choosing from The Book Depository
23rd: Giveaway of The Iron King here! (US only)
25th: Post up a review of a sequel here and instantly enter into a giveaway!
27th: Interview with Ednah Walters (Awakened) here!
29th: Ava at Book Infinity is giving away Bloody Valentine by Melissa de la Cruz
30th: Julie at That's Swell! A Reel Swell Production Blog has an interview with R.L. LaFevers (Theodosia Throckmorton series)
Nov. 1st: Post up a review of a sequel here and instantly enter into a giveaway!
Participating blog's books of choice:
Me here at Down The Rabbit Hole:
- Week 1: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
- Week 2: Fade by Lisa McMann
- Week 3: Ascendant by Diana Peterfruend
- Week 4: Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
- Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
- Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
- Spells by Aprilynne Pike
- Thirteen Curses by Michelle Harrison
Mary at The Book Swarm:
- Ghost Town by Rachel Caine
- Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Marcia Stohl
- Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
- Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
- Betrayal by Gillian Shields
- Torment by Lauren Kate
- Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Marcia Stohl
- Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris & Theodosia and the Eye of Horus by R.L LaFevers
Ava at Book Infinity:
- Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
- Mystify by Artist Arthur
- Hunger by Micheal Grant
- Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz
Have some of these books on your shelf? Follow along with us! Just check out the daily scheduled posts and join in!
Off The Shelf Challenge
Hi! My name is Amber and I'm a book addict. There, I said it. Whew!
I've decided to join this challenge because my TBR pile is pretty much overflowing and it never seems to get any smaller. The point of this challenge is to whittle down your TBR pile by reading books from your TBR pile. I'm going to be starting this one Jan. 1st as well as the 2011 Author Challenge so I get a good mix of old and new. I'll be counting the books I get for Christmas as part of my TBR shelf but everything I get after Jan. 1st is not going to count towards this challenge but rather, to the other one.
Since I'm super noncommittal, I'm not picking how many books I hope to read for the year so here's to doing the best I can!
Visit BA Reading Challenges for more info!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Book Review: Need by Carrie Jones
Need by Carrie Jones
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1599904535
ASIN: B0041T4TA8
Source: Books-A-Million
Cover: This cover is stunning. The pure white skin against the black backdrop and the silhouette of the tree limbs over the white skin fits this novels mood perfect. The snow white skin also allows the gold lips (which make perfect sense when you read the novel) jut out and the shape of those lips are flawless. This cover is beautiful.
First Sentence: "Everybody has fears, right?"
The Mini-Review: Filled with a fun cast of characters, a unique plot, a different type of paranormal monster and a whole lot of fun phobias, Need is one novel not to miss.
The Book Summary:
The Review:
I wasn't expecting a fun, refreshing novel to be set against a chilly Maine winter, but Need warms its way into your head and doesn't let go. Perhaps because I've heard little about it, Need surprised me with its interesting characters, its different take on fairies and the overall feeling I got while reading it.
I wasn't prepared to like Zara as much as I did but she felt real to me. Still in mourning from the loss of her step-dad (who was like her father) she is sent to a blistery small town in Maine to try to learn how to live again. I believed in Zara's sorrow and generally felt sorry for her. I thought she was a pretty well rounded main character who had genuine interests. The phobia obsessing was interesting and made for a unique read. I loved that phobias were stated for each chapter and mostly had something to do with what would follow. I also liked that she enjoyed to run and was an advocate for peace though I didn't really get her whole pacifist thing. Liking her made the story a much more enjoyable read.
However, I didn't understand where she got the whole dangerous vibe from Nick. She kept repeating that she shouldn't be with him because he's "dangerous" but I never felt he was dangerous. Every time he was in a scene, he was helping her and he had two good friends who told Zara he was a good guy so I never believed him to be scary or dangerous. I also knew what he (and several other characters) were but I wouldn't have expected Zara to figure this out. Overall, I like Nick as a male lead. His temper was a bit annoying and sometimes his anger felt a bit unbelievable, especially when it was in the middle of something really life threatening but I was mostly willing to overlook that.
Another thing worth mentioning is Zara can be a bit ignorant at times. I tend to dislike heroines that put themselves in danger even though they know they shouldn't and Zara does do this a few times. However, this is where her activism excuses her. She wants to help people, not let them be hurt. I get that. I think its dumb but I get it.
The plot of this story was really good. While I could guess some of the major things, several thing also surprised me and I was dying to know who the stranger who was falling her was and what he wanted. It was also creepy only seeing the dust trail he left behind and hearing his voice in the woods.
I loved the setting. It was "wicked" cool. I think this has a little to do with the fact that my late mother-in-law was from Maine (close to Bangor actually) so I liked seeing bits of her culture in this novel. The snowing setting also helped give the novel a darker feel. I can only describe this by saying that it described cold so well that I wanted to be snug in my bed after a hot shower while reading it and loved the parts where Zara was warm.
I also really liked the usage of 10 codes. Being a 911 dispatcher, I got a kick out of hearing the radio and knowing that Zara understood it too. I know this sounds silly but the fact that the codes were accurate and served a purpose made me very happy.
As fun as this novel was, it had its fair share of flaws. A huge one for me was the repetition of facts. I counted many times where almost the exact same sentence would appear several times throughout a few chapters. Also, her being sad for her father was repeated constantly almost as if Jones didn't trust the reader to remember. I think this wrinkle has more to do with this being Jones' debut and less with her a writer as a whole. I say this because Need was wonderful at using the simplest words to convey complex emotions. That's really hard to do.
Another flaw was how quickly Zara believes in the idea of pixies. I saw the author try to drag it out but anytime Zara thinks about it, it felt more like she was trying to talk herself out of believing in the idea rather than into believing the idea. This is key because I wanted to relate to Zara and it was hard to relate to someone who believed the outrageous so quickly. Another minor thing I had a problem with is Zara's two friends Devyn & Issie. Separate they were fine but I got super annoyed with how agreeable they were together and how "cute" Zara thought they were together. I just kept thinking "get a room".
While I'm not sure I describe this book as "Stephen King mixed with Stephanie Meyers" I would agree that it's truly Captivating and a generally wonderful story. With a great setting, a dark mood, fun characters and an interesting plot, Need is definitely one to check out. I know I'm happy I did!
Rating:
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1599904535
ASIN: B0041T4TA8
Source: Books-A-Million
Cover: This cover is stunning. The pure white skin against the black backdrop and the silhouette of the tree limbs over the white skin fits this novels mood perfect. The snow white skin also allows the gold lips (which make perfect sense when you read the novel) jut out and the shape of those lips are flawless. This cover is beautiful.
First Sentence: "Everybody has fears, right?"
The Mini-Review: Filled with a fun cast of characters, a unique plot, a different type of paranormal monster and a whole lot of fun phobias, Need is one novel not to miss.
The Book Summary:
Zara White suspects a freaky guy is semi-stalking her. She memorizes phobias and chants them when she's nervous. And okay, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But moving to a shivery Maine town to stay with ehr grandmother is supposed to be the perfect fix--so her mom says.
Except, this new plan of getting away to help Zara stay sane? Yeah, not working. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's imagination. 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 are pointing to Zara.
The Review:
I wasn't expecting a fun, refreshing novel to be set against a chilly Maine winter, but Need warms its way into your head and doesn't let go. Perhaps because I've heard little about it, Need surprised me with its interesting characters, its different take on fairies and the overall feeling I got while reading it.
I wasn't prepared to like Zara as much as I did but she felt real to me. Still in mourning from the loss of her step-dad (who was like her father) she is sent to a blistery small town in Maine to try to learn how to live again. I believed in Zara's sorrow and generally felt sorry for her. I thought she was a pretty well rounded main character who had genuine interests. The phobia obsessing was interesting and made for a unique read. I loved that phobias were stated for each chapter and mostly had something to do with what would follow. I also liked that she enjoyed to run and was an advocate for peace though I didn't really get her whole pacifist thing. Liking her made the story a much more enjoyable read.
However, I didn't understand where she got the whole dangerous vibe from Nick. She kept repeating that she shouldn't be with him because he's "dangerous" but I never felt he was dangerous. Every time he was in a scene, he was helping her and he had two good friends who told Zara he was a good guy so I never believed him to be scary or dangerous. I also knew what he (and several other characters) were but I wouldn't have expected Zara to figure this out. Overall, I like Nick as a male lead. His temper was a bit annoying and sometimes his anger felt a bit unbelievable, especially when it was in the middle of something really life threatening but I was mostly willing to overlook that.
Another thing worth mentioning is Zara can be a bit ignorant at times. I tend to dislike heroines that put themselves in danger even though they know they shouldn't and Zara does do this a few times. However, this is where her activism excuses her. She wants to help people, not let them be hurt. I get that. I think its dumb but I get it.
The plot of this story was really good. While I could guess some of the major things, several thing also surprised me and I was dying to know who the stranger who was falling her was and what he wanted. It was also creepy only seeing the dust trail he left behind and hearing his voice in the woods.
I loved the setting. It was "wicked" cool. I think this has a little to do with the fact that my late mother-in-law was from Maine (close to Bangor actually) so I liked seeing bits of her culture in this novel. The snowing setting also helped give the novel a darker feel. I can only describe this by saying that it described cold so well that I wanted to be snug in my bed after a hot shower while reading it and loved the parts where Zara was warm.
I also really liked the usage of 10 codes. Being a 911 dispatcher, I got a kick out of hearing the radio and knowing that Zara understood it too. I know this sounds silly but the fact that the codes were accurate and served a purpose made me very happy.
As fun as this novel was, it had its fair share of flaws. A huge one for me was the repetition of facts. I counted many times where almost the exact same sentence would appear several times throughout a few chapters. Also, her being sad for her father was repeated constantly almost as if Jones didn't trust the reader to remember. I think this wrinkle has more to do with this being Jones' debut and less with her a writer as a whole. I say this because Need was wonderful at using the simplest words to convey complex emotions. That's really hard to do.
Another flaw was how quickly Zara believes in the idea of pixies. I saw the author try to drag it out but anytime Zara thinks about it, it felt more like she was trying to talk herself out of believing in the idea rather than into believing the idea. This is key because I wanted to relate to Zara and it was hard to relate to someone who believed the outrageous so quickly. Another minor thing I had a problem with is Zara's two friends Devyn & Issie. Separate they were fine but I got super annoyed with how agreeable they were together and how "cute" Zara thought they were together. I just kept thinking "get a room".
While I'm not sure I describe this book as "Stephen King mixed with Stephanie Meyers" I would agree that it's truly Captivating and a generally wonderful story. With a great setting, a dark mood, fun characters and an interesting plot, Need is definitely one to check out. I know I'm happy I did!
First Come, Second Served Month
Just a reminder to everyone that First Come, Second Served Month (a sequel themed month with the goal to whittle down the sequels on your bookshelf) is starting December 5th-January 1st. There are a lot of great interviews, giveaways and guest posts!
For more info, go here.
The Master List will be posted shortly letting you in on all the great stuff going on.
So grab those sequels off your tbr pile and get ready to join in the fun!
Want to help? Email me at AmberInBlunderland@yahoo.com and let me know if you are interested in doing a guest post or review!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
In My Mailbox (14)
In my mailbox is a weekly meme created by The Story Siren that encourages other book bloggers to share what they bought, won, begged for or borrowed. It is usually held on Sundays!
This week I actually bought two books but I have a rule that after Thanksgiving, everything I buy gets wrapped up and placed under the Christmas tree. So I have one amazing thing to share this week.
I got an ARC:
- Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky (Thanks so much to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for allowing me to review this ARC)! Expect to see this one up a week before its publication date.
So tell me, what's in your mailbox?
Friday, November 26, 2010
Contest: Giving Thanks Contest from Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm
Hope over to Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm and enter her contest which ends Jan. 1, 2011. Why? Care about any of these books?
You could win a chance to own these and more. 1 lucky winner, 3 awesome books of your choice from the listed title. All you have to do is enter! Check it out!
First Come, Second Served
Hey guys,
I still need some guest posts/giveaway for First Come, Second Served Month. Email me at AmberInBlunderland@yahoo.com.
For those of you who do, here, take a cookie:
I still need some guest posts/giveaway for First Come, Second Served Month. Email me at AmberInBlunderland@yahoo.com.
For those of you who do, here, take a cookie:
With mucho love to you, from me!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
All I Want For Christmas Is... (7)
This is a great new meme created by Danya over at A Tapestry of Words. Hop over to her blog on Thursdays and join in the fun! The object is to share what you are hoping to find wrapped up in a nice little bow under your tree this year!
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
“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.
For the most part, I've heard really good things about this novel. I think the premise of a guy and a girl daring each other is really fun and I've read a teaser in Dash's POV that really stuck with me so that makes this novel even more appealing. It definitely helps that I'm a huge Nick & Norah fan.
What would you like for Christmas?
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
“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.
For the most part, I've heard really good things about this novel. I think the premise of a guy and a girl daring each other is really fun and I've read a teaser in Dash's POV that really stuck with me so that makes this novel even more appealing. It definitely helps that I'm a huge Nick & Norah fan.
What would you like for Christmas?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
First Come, Second Served- Introduction
Awesome button made by the even more awesome Steph from Thoughts of A Book Junky |
What is First Come, First Served Month?
It's the entire month of December devoted to reading and reviewing all those sequels sitting on your TBR shelf. The sophomore novel for a writer is almost more crucial than the first as it allows the publisher to know if the author is going to sell. It's essential that we support our authors on their journey! So bust out those sequels and get ready to win some prizes for reading them!
When is First Come, Second Served Month?
It's from December 5th to December 31st.
How can you participate?
You can participate by reading sequels the entire time as well as joining in on the schedule posted below and participating in giveaways and challenges.
What's the schedule?
Sunday- Book Intro (tell us a little about the book you are reading)
Monday- Fantasy Cast
Tuesday- Teaser Tuesday Sequel themed
Wednesday- Waiting on Wednesday Sequel themed
Thursday- Stop by here and read a Guest Post about sequels
Friday- Book playlist
Saturday- Post up your review
At the end of each week, hop over to this site and link up your reviews plus fill out a quick form for extra points. On the form, all you have to do is check off which events you participated in for the week for extra points towards my giveaway. I'll be giving away a book a week but there are a lot more giveaways going on on other blogs so stay tuned for the master schedule.
How can I help?
I still could use some more people to do guest posts and giveaways for the month of December. Wanna participate? Email me at AmberInBlunderland@yahoo.com. Don't forget to grab a button when they are up!
Waiting on Wedneaday (17): Between the Sea & Sky by Jacolyn Dolamore
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where you can post about upcoming books you're looking forward to.
This is a wonderful chance for blogger to show off what's coming out soon that they are excited about! Every week my wishlist balloons thanks to this awesome meme.
For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her sister as a siren, the highest calling a mermaid can have. But when her sister runs away to the mainland, reportedly to elope with a human, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her.
Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily through the streets of New Sweeling. There, she will come upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood - Alandare, a boy, now a man, who belongs to a winged race of people. Together, Esmerine and Alandare put aside their differences to find her sister, and in the process discover a love that cannot be bound by land, sea, or air.
This cover is to die for. Literally, it's spine-tingling beautiful. Plus, the summary is awesome. Mermaids seem to be the new it thing and I like the idea that not all mermaids are sirens, they have to be "promoted". This is like a reverse Little Mermaid" story. I can't wait to get my hands on this one!
Between the Sea & Sky is out June 7, 2011!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
TEAser Tuesdays (14): Legacy by Cayla Kluver
TEAser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
- Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others!
Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles!
" "I suppose you're going to demand that I relinquish my weapon," he calmly explained.
Tadark said nothing but snatched the proffered knife from Narian's hand.
"It is of no great loss to me," the young man continued, as Tadark tucked the dagger away in his belt. "A Corkyrian is never without a weapon." "
--Pg. 201 of "Legacy" by Cayla Kluver
I plan on starting this one really soon. I'm really interested to see how this novel is because it was written by a sixteen year old. The book itself is gorgeous accept for where one of my no good kitties chewed the top corner.
So what are you reading?
Monday, November 22, 2010
Cover Envy (12)
It's that time of week again! I'm showing another couple of covers that make me green with envy and stuck sitting on my hands until the novels they cover come out.
I hope you enjoy!
Hereafter by Tara Hudson- What isn't to love about this cover? The long flowy dress is a trend in YA cover but this one is done so differently. Ghosted out so we only get a hint of what it looks like, the dress now resembles the water of the background. This is especially great as the main character is a ghost. The coloring on this is also amazing. I love the yellow creeping in on the right side and as we go to the left it turns deeper blue. This cover is gorgeous!
Summary from Goodreads:
Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection ofher past life - or her actual death - she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existense. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowing in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection she helps him survive.
Amelia and Joshua grow evern closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world...forever.
Hereafter comes out June 7, 2011.
Lost Voices by Sarah Porter- Okay, just wow. I love, love , love this cover! The light shining through the water makes the ocean look inviting and the clear blue color is so attractive. I'd want to be a mermaid too if the ocean really looked like that. The fact that the mermaid is slightly off to the right adds interest to the cover and I love how natural the tail looks. The squiggles off "s" in Voices mimic a going under motion that meshes with the mermaid pose perfectly. This cover is wonderful!
What happens to the girls nobody sees—the ones who are ignored, mistreated, hidden away? The girls nobody hears when they cry for help?
Fourteen-year-old Luce is one of those lost girls. After her father vanishes in a storm at sea, she is stuck in a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village with her alcoholic uncle. When her uncle crosses an unspeakable line, Luce reaches the depths of despair. Abandoned on the cliffs near her home, she expects to die when she tumbles to the icy, churning waves below. Instead, she 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. The mermaids are beautiful, free, and ageless, and Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: they feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks.
Luce’s own talent at singing captures the attention of the tribe’s queen, the fierce and elegant Catarina, and Luce soon finds herself pressured to join in committing mass murder. Luce’s struggle to retain her inner humanity puts her at odds with her friends; even worse, Catarina seems to regard Luce as a potential rival. But the appearance of a devious new mermaid brings a real threat to Catarina’s leadership and endangers the very existence of the tribe. Can Luce find the courage to challenge the newcomer, even at the risk of becoming rejected and alone once again?
Lost Voices is a captivating and wildly original tale about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive.
You can looks for Lost Voices out July 7, 2011.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Book Review: Gone by Lisa McMann
Wake (Dream Catcher #1) by Lisa McMann
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 224
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Language: English
ISBN-10:1416974474
ISBN-13: 978-1416974475
Source: Books-A-Million
Cover: It's alright. It looks good with the other covers and after reading the novel, I don't have a better one in mind but it was never something that jumped off the shelf. I like the glowing quality to the letters.
Signature: "Amber, Don't dream & drive"
First Sentence: "Janie Hannangan's math book slips from her fingers."
The Mini-Review: A quick enjoyable ride, Wake will have you staying up to figure out how to make Janie sleep!
The Book Summary:
The Review:
Picking up the 200+ page book, I wasn't expecting too much between the pages. After all, how well can you tell a story with so few words? Turns out, you can tell a story very well with fewer words. Wake isn't necessarily spectacular for its plot or its character (though both of these things are good too) but rather how it is written. It takes so many "rules" of literature and throws them out the window. McMann wanted to write a book the way she saw fit and din't let anything stop her from telling a raw, gritty story of a girl with a truly interesting problem.
We are thrust directly into a dream in the beginning of the novel, much like how Janie is every time someone sleeps, and are shown firsthand how invasive this is not just for the dreamer but for the dreamer invader. We see that not even Janie's body or sleep belongs to her and this is sad because we find out rather quickly that not much else belongs to her either.
Janie is poor and not in the "my mom can't afford to get me designer clothes to match the other girls in school" sort of way. She's poor in the "I wonder if I can feed myself" sort of way. Not only is this rare in YA, but it's super tricky to pull off believably and without it feeling like a gimmick. I believed in Janie's struggle. That's what made this novel gritty. We were really living this life with Janie. She works for her money and is putting every last ounce of energy she has into trying to get herself out of her situation. So I liked Janie as a character. She was an active participant in her life. Rather than playing the victim about her "dream walking" (my own terminology) she gets proactive and uses it to her advantage.
The only thing I really didn't like about Janie is her inability to face one problem head on-- Cabel. I get that she was hearing a lot of crap about him but anytime we go close to figuring out what was really going on (and he tried many, many times) Janie decides magically that she just doesn't want to hear it and marches out. As a reader this was frustrating. I'd have rather Cabel told us miserably that he couldn't share a lot of things than get an almost answer and have Janie choose not to listen. It was especially frustrating because she faced down everything else like a champ.
I was very surprised at the language in this novel. Explicit language doesn't offend me but I was excepting to find it here. At first, I was kind of annoyed because I wasn't sure why it was there. Then I realized that it was thereto tell me something. It was telling me the type of characters Janie and her friends are. It told me something about their characters and after that, it didn't bother me at all.
I had no idea where this novel was going. It was told in such quick little pieces that the puzzle was lost on me until it was almost over. I'm really interested to see where the next installment of this series takes me.
The writing is where this novel pulls away from the rest. Told in short snippets, hopping around from one point in Janie's life to the another and only highlighting important things, the writing was lyrical and scanty and beautiful for both of those reasons. Once McMann decided you saw what you needed to from one scene, it was over and we were onto the next. It made this already brief novel fly by. The only downside to this type of writing style was sometimes I got lost or felt like I missed something. I also felt disconnected from the character's a bit. Sometimes someone would say something like "it's raining" and the other would say "what do you mean you love me?" and I'd be scrambling to figure out when we stopped talking about the rain and started making confessions about love. This isn't a deal breaker and didn't happen to often but it's just something that pulled me out of the story a bit and worth mentioning.
Wake is something completely its own and shines for this fact. Filled with unforgettable characters and writing so quick and sparse its beautiful in the way nature is, Wake is definitely worth a read.
Rating:
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 224
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Language: English
ISBN-10:1416974474
ISBN-13: 978-1416974475
Source: Books-A-Million
Cover: It's alright. It looks good with the other covers and after reading the novel, I don't have a better one in mind but it was never something that jumped off the shelf. I like the glowing quality to the letters.
Signature: "Amber, Don't dream & drive"
First Sentence: "Janie Hannangan's math book slips from her fingers."
The Mini-Review: A quick enjoyable ride, Wake will have you staying up to figure out how to make Janie sleep!
The Book Summary:
For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.
She can't tell anybody about what she does--they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant...
The Review:
Picking up the 200+ page book, I wasn't expecting too much between the pages. After all, how well can you tell a story with so few words? Turns out, you can tell a story very well with fewer words. Wake isn't necessarily spectacular for its plot or its character (though both of these things are good too) but rather how it is written. It takes so many "rules" of literature and throws them out the window. McMann wanted to write a book the way she saw fit and din't let anything stop her from telling a raw, gritty story of a girl with a truly interesting problem.
We are thrust directly into a dream in the beginning of the novel, much like how Janie is every time someone sleeps, and are shown firsthand how invasive this is not just for the dreamer but for the dreamer invader. We see that not even Janie's body or sleep belongs to her and this is sad because we find out rather quickly that not much else belongs to her either.
Janie is poor and not in the "my mom can't afford to get me designer clothes to match the other girls in school" sort of way. She's poor in the "I wonder if I can feed myself" sort of way. Not only is this rare in YA, but it's super tricky to pull off believably and without it feeling like a gimmick. I believed in Janie's struggle. That's what made this novel gritty. We were really living this life with Janie. She works for her money and is putting every last ounce of energy she has into trying to get herself out of her situation. So I liked Janie as a character. She was an active participant in her life. Rather than playing the victim about her "dream walking" (my own terminology) she gets proactive and uses it to her advantage.
The only thing I really didn't like about Janie is her inability to face one problem head on-- Cabel. I get that she was hearing a lot of crap about him but anytime we go close to figuring out what was really going on (and he tried many, many times) Janie decides magically that she just doesn't want to hear it and marches out. As a reader this was frustrating. I'd have rather Cabel told us miserably that he couldn't share a lot of things than get an almost answer and have Janie choose not to listen. It was especially frustrating because she faced down everything else like a champ.
I was very surprised at the language in this novel. Explicit language doesn't offend me but I was excepting to find it here. At first, I was kind of annoyed because I wasn't sure why it was there. Then I realized that it was thereto tell me something. It was telling me the type of characters Janie and her friends are. It told me something about their characters and after that, it didn't bother me at all.
I had no idea where this novel was going. It was told in such quick little pieces that the puzzle was lost on me until it was almost over. I'm really interested to see where the next installment of this series takes me.
The writing is where this novel pulls away from the rest. Told in short snippets, hopping around from one point in Janie's life to the another and only highlighting important things, the writing was lyrical and scanty and beautiful for both of those reasons. Once McMann decided you saw what you needed to from one scene, it was over and we were onto the next. It made this already brief novel fly by. The only downside to this type of writing style was sometimes I got lost or felt like I missed something. I also felt disconnected from the character's a bit. Sometimes someone would say something like "it's raining" and the other would say "what do you mean you love me?" and I'd be scrambling to figure out when we stopped talking about the rain and started making confessions about love. This isn't a deal breaker and didn't happen to often but it's just something that pulled me out of the story a bit and worth mentioning.
Wake is something completely its own and shines for this fact. Filled with unforgettable characters and writing so quick and sparse its beautiful in the way nature is, Wake is definitely worth a read.
Rating:
Saturday, November 20, 2010
In My Mailbox (13)
In my mailbox is a weekly meme created by The Story Siren that encourages other book bloggers to share what they bought, won, begged for or borrowed. It is usually held on Sundays!
This week I got four great books. One of them is a delicious ARC and the others I found for a great price!
From the publisher:
- Wither by Lauren DeStefano (Thanks so much Simon & Schuster)
- Stork by Wendy Delsol (for $2.35)
- Secret Society by Tom Dolby ($4.00)
- Into The Wild by Sarah Beth Durst ($4.00)
I couldn't BE more excited about Wither! So what did you get this week?