Sunday, June 30, 2013

This Is W.A.R. Blog Tour Stop: Giveaway


About the Book:
This is W.A.R. begins with a victim who can no longer speak for herself, and whose murder blossoms into a call-to-arms. Enter four very different girls, four very different motives to avenge Willa Ames-Rowan, and only one rule to start: Destroy James Gregory and his family at any cost. Willa's initials spell the secret rallying cry that spurs the foursome to pool their considerable resources and deliver their particular brand of vigilante justice. Innocence is lost, battles are won—and the pursuit of the truth ultimately threatens to destroy them all.


About the Authors:

Lisa and Laura Roecker are sisters-turned-writing-partners with a love of all things Young Adult. Some call it arrested development, but the sisters claim it keeps them young. Plus, its cheaper than Botox. Lisa and Laura live in Cleveland, Ohio in separate residences. Their husbands wouldn't agree to a duplex. Cyberstalking is always encouraged at lisa-laura. blogspot.com and @landlroecker on Twitter.




 
WIN A COPY:
Soho Teen has graciously provided a copy for me to giveaway as part of the books official blog tour. 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

YA Review: What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang





Title: What’s Left of Me 
      (The Hybrid Chronicles #1)
Author: Kat Zhang
# Of Pages: 343
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: September 18th 2012
Source: Library
Level: Young Adult
Rating: 4 Hearts





Synopsis

(From Goodreads)

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

My Verdict

I’m so mad at myself for not reading this book as soon as it came out! It’s one of the most unique books I’ve ever read! Debut author, Kat Zhang, brings a fresh new voice to YA literature.

While I wouldn’t really categorize this book as dystopian, it definitely takes place in a very different world, a world where everybody is born with two souls (a dominant soul and a recessive soul).  That is until one of them settles. Settling is when the “recessive” soul fades away. Forever.

It was a little weird at first, getting used to two characters, two very different voices in one body. But soon you get used to it, and become so immersed in this other world that it seems normal. Our main character(s) are Addie and Eva. We see things from both perspectives and hear both girls’ thoughts but I would consider Eva to be the main focus of the story. As the recessive soul who never faded away, we get to see things from her side of things. What it was like to be forgotten and ignored by her own family, everyone except Addie of course.
Every character in this book from main to secondary was so well developed. Even the bad guys you couldn't help but appreciate. I loved Addie, Eva, Hally, Devon, Kitty, and all the characters SO much!

There is a slight romantic aspect to the book; so slight I almost didn’t mention it. With two people in each body you can imagine how awkward that is…

While this is just the start of a brilliant new series the ending was satisfying on it’s own and could be read as a standalone. But trust me, your going to want to read book two. I snagged a copy at BEA and tore right through it!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Quote of the Week: The Firefly Letters (2)

Quote of the Week is a new segment where I will be sharing some of my favorite quotes, whether they be from books or just something I find inspiring.


"My heart drums with gratitude.
My thoughts sing
with hope."

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

MG Review: Love That Dog & Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech


Title: Love That Dog / Hate That Cat
Author: Sharon Creech
# Of Pages: 128/148
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 8, 2008/ September 23, 2008
Source: Library
Level: Middle Grade
Rating: 2 Hearts / 3 Hearts


Synopsis
(From Amazon)

Love That Dog-
Jack
Room 105 - -Miss Stretchberry
September 13

I don't want to
because boys
don't write poetry.
Girls do

But before he knows it Jack is creating his own poetry and a wonderful story emerges as he becomes interested in this thing that 'girls do'! Not only is Jack inspired to write to his favourite poet, but the poet agrees to visit, and Jack discovers how much more there is to poetry behind the words on the page. A lovely, loving and very impressive novel that defies definition.

Hate That Cat-
Jack

Room 204—Miss Stretchberry

February 25

Today the fat black cat

up in the tree by the bus stop

dropped a nut on my head

thunk

and when I yelled at it
that fat black cat said

Murr-mee-urrr

in a 

nasty

spiteful

way.
I hate that cat.

This is the story of 
Jack
words
sounds
silence
teacher
and cat.


My Verdict

There are two types of middle grade books; those specifically geared for middle graders, and those with enough depth for all ages. These books fell into the first category.

Told in a series of journal entries, Jack communicates to his teacher Miss Stretchberry about his thoughts on poetry. Every time his class learns about a new type of poem or famous poet, Jack writes a poem inspired by them about events in his own life.

Out of the two, I enjoyed Hate That Cat a lot more than the first. I think Jack’s personality came through a lot more than in the first. I liked his sense of humor, he definitely had me smiling =)

He also used the word tintinnabulation is a sentence, which was one of my Wordlover Wednesday Words!

As a 22 year-old, I didn’t particularly get a lot from these stories but I do think they would be good books for their specific age bracket. They both touch on different types of poetry, being embarrassed to put your name on something you’ve created, and most importantly it turns a boy who’s reluctant to write poetry into a boy who loves poetry.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Quote of the Week: Before I Fall (2)

Quote of the Week is a new segment where I will be sharing some of my favorite quotes, whether they be from books or just something I find inspiring.


"It's funny, isn't it? When you are young you just want to be old, and then later you wish you could go back to being a kid." 

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Book Review: Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout




Title: Opal (Lux #3)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
# Of Pages: 382
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: December 11, 2012
Source: Library
Level: Young Adult
Rating: 4 Hearts





Synopsis

(From Goodreads)

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

My Verdict

With the second book surpassing the first, I was expecting things to keep getting better and for this to be my new favorite, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. This was my least favorite of the three.

While it was nice that Katy and Dameon were finally an official couple, I got tired of reading page after page of them making out. The romance was really steamy in this one, a whole slew of descriptive make-out scenes along with one sex scene. I was really getting tired of hearing about Dameons rock-hard abs and great body. It’s book three, I’m pretty sure we all know what he looks like at this point and the fact that he’s hot! I don’t need Katy to go over these points every time he enters a room!

The story was pretty slow going. There was a little action at the beginning followed by a lot of training and build up for the big action scene at the end. And to make matters worse, that scene it had been building up to for 366 pages cuts off during the most intense moment of the book. Bam. Gone. Nothing. I cannot even believe it ended where it did. Probably one of the worst cliffhangers I’ve ever read! I was one Miss Cranky Pants that night, that’s for sure.

I loved getting to learn more about Dawson in this one. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him at first since he hardly ever talks, but he really started to grow on me by the end. I discovered that there’s a short story called “Shadows” that is all about Dawson and Beth before all the crap hit the fan. Hopefully that will give us a better look at what’s going on inside that brain of his ;)  I’ll definitely be reading it sometime during my three-month wait for book number four!

Monday, June 3, 2013

BEA Picture Recap



I SURVIVED! LoL ;) I'm back from BEA and thankfully still in one piece!! The stories of pushing, shoving, and even biting had me a bit scared but it really wasn't like that at all. I basically spent all day hopping from one autograph line to another, where I chatted with other bloggers, and met great authors. I would love to tell you every detail of my trip but that would take forever, and honestly I doubt you'd want to hear it. So below is an overview of my time at BEA in pictures =)

 
Um Guys, it's TAHEREH MAFI!!!!! 
When I met most of the authors I honestly had no clue what to say besides hello, 
but I totally fan girled over Tahereh! She is an AMAZING writer and was SO SWEET when I gushed about how much I loved her <3

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Book News: June Releases


COMING JUNE 4th . . . 

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney

Filled with humor, raw emotion, a strong voice, and a brilliant dog named Sandy Koufax, When You Were Here explores the two most powerful forces known to man-death and love. Daisy Whitney brings her characters to life with a deft touch and resonating authenticity.

Danny's mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation-the one day that she was hanging on to see.

Now Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn't know how to figure out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore.

When he gets a letter from his mom's property manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with his mother's memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There, among the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died.


PODS by Michelle K. Pickett 

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

COMING JUNE 11th . . .


Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance

Fields’ Rule #1: Don’t fall for the enemy.

Berry Fields is not looking for a boyfriend. She’s busy trailing cheaters and liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the affairs she’s sure all men commit. And thanks to a pepper spray incident during an eighth grade game of spin the bottle, the guys at her school are not exactly lining up to date her, either.

So when arrogant—and gorgeous—Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her “nothing amazing,” it’s no loss for Berry. She’ll forget him in no time. She’s more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother’s death.

But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her investigation, always getting in her way? Is he trying to stop her from discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat? And why can’t Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes?

With a playful nod to Jane Austen, Spies and Prejudice will captivate readers as love and espionage collide.

COMING JUNE 18th . . .


Triangles by Kimberly Ann Miller

A cruise ship. A beautiful island. Two sexy guys. What could possibly go wrong?

In the Bermuda Triangle—a lot.

Hoping to leave behind the reminders of her crappy life--her father's death years ago, her mother's medical problems, and the loser who’s practically stalking her--seventeen-year-old Autumn Taylor hops on a ship with her sister for a little distraction. When she wakes up in the Bermuda Triangle, she fears she's gone nuts for more than one reason: that loser’s suddenly claiming they're a happy couple... a hot guy is wrapping his arms around her and saying "Happy Anniversary"... and suddenly, she’s full of bruises, losing her hair, and getting IV medication. Autumn visits the ship's doctor, hoping for a pill or a shot to make the craziness go away. Instead, she's warned that these "alternate realities" could become permanent.

She just has to ask herself one question—how the hell is she going to get out of this mess?

COMING JUNE 25th . . .


Sidekicked by John David Anderson

With not nearly enough power comes way too much responsibility.

Andrew Bean might be a part of H.E.R.O., a secret organization for the training of superhero sidekicks, but that doesn’t mean that life is all leaping tall buildings in single bounds. First, there’s Drew’s power: Possessed of super senses – his hearing, sight, taste, touch, and smell are the most powerful on the planet – he’s literally the most sensitive kid in school. There’s his superhero mentor, a former legend who now spends more time straddling barstools than he does fighting crime. And then there’s his best friend, Jenna – their friendship would be complicated enough if she weren’t able to throw a Volkswagen the length of a city block. Add in trying to keep his sidekick life a secret from everyone, including his parents, and the truth is clear: Middle school is a drag even with superpowers.

But this was all before a supervillain long thought dead returned to Justicia, superheroes began disappearing at an alarming rate, and Drew’s two identities threatened to crash head-on into each other. Drew has always found it pretty easy to separate right from wrong, good from evil. It’s what a superhero does. But what happens when that line starts to break down?

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Novels In Verse Challenge: June Linky List!


The year is flying by so fast. Can't believe it's already June! Hope everyone's still plugging away at their reading challenges. 

May Recap
Last month I read three books toward the challenge: 

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech 
Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech