Haunted Week: Day 8

October 31st - Beware of Book Review

To finish off a week of spook-tastic fun, review a scary story of your choice!
Boy how time flies! I can't believe it has already been a week, which means that today is the last day of Haunted Week =( Thanks so much to Cheyenne for putting this whole thing together!!!  It really was a blast!!  Okay, so I haven't read anything too scary lately but I didn't want to miss out on the last day of Haunted Week "Beware of Book Review," so I'm stretching the rules a little! 
The Raft is about a girl who's plane goes down over the ocean and she and one other survivor are stranded in the middle of the ocean on an inflatable raft. Not much else could be scarier than being stuck in the middle of the ocean, on a little raft, with sharks!!  You can check out my review in the post below =)

Haunted Week: Day 7

October 30th - Written in the Tombstone

The epitaph is the inscription on a tombstone—you could say it's a person's last words. Today, quote the last line of five books. (No spoilers, please!)

" I love you. Remember. They cannot take it."

" It was a sign something exceptional was going to happen."

" This girl is starting now."

" Maybe I never was."

" And while Luce dreamed below of the most glorious wings unfurling--the likes of which she'd never seen before-- two angels in the rafters shook hands."

Do you think last lines are as important as first lines? 

What do you think of these last lines? 

Haunted Week: Day 6

October 29th - Tricked or Treated

Some books aren't at all what you expected—which can be good or bad. Today feature five books you read that were either a pleasant or nasty surprise.

Pleasant Surprise:

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

My first experience with fallen angel books wasn't a pleasant one so even though this series was on the New York Times Bestseller list I steered clear of them. Then one day I finally caved and decided to give it a try, and guess what? I LOVED IT!!

The Selection by Kiera Cass

I really knew nothing about this book going into it, except that it was dystopian, had a gorgeous cover, and there was a lot of hype about it in the blogosphere. 

I read it, I loved it, I can't wait for the next! 

Starters by Lissa Price

I had been seeing a lot of not so great reviews for this book, which dropped my expectations, but I still wanted to read it.  I'm so glad I did because I stinkin loved this book! 

Nasty Surprise:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Gorgeous cover = lots of online hype.
This one just didn't live up to it for me. It was strange, Mara was crazy, there is random violence and Noah was a jerk.

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

Another book surrounded by a lot of hype (gorgeous covers tend to do that.) This didn't sound like my normal type of read but I wanted to read it anyways because everyone was talking about how much they liked it. I guess I should have stuck with my gut because this absolutely wasn't for me. The main character drove me crazy and the romance was just messed up.

What are some books that surprised you?

Haunted Week: Day 5

October 28th - It Came From the Web

You never know what's going to creep onto the web. Sometimes, however, you get a pleasant surprise. Today feature and link to five amazing book blogs you've found recently. 

1. Supernatural Snark

2. Forever 17 Books

3. Forever Literary

4. Late Nights With Good Books

5. Book Overdose

Have you discovered any book blogs lately?

Haunted Week: Day 4

October 27th - Back From The Grave
Get ready to dig up your past and bring some of your old friends back to life: Today feature five books you read and loved as a kid.

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR 

by Don and Audrey Wood

Just seeing the cover of this again makes me smile! I remember this was a book that my mom frequently read to me as a kid =) 

Small Fur by Irina Korshunow

I seriously used to return this book to the library, sit there and wait for them to re-shelf it and then check it out again! 

The Aunt Eater Mysteries by Dough Cushman

Another library favorite 

The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla

I honestly don't even remember what I loved about this book I just know that I LOVED it. 

 Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne
I still have the first fourteen books of this series on my shelf. I loved them so much as a kid I just can't bear to part with them. 

What were some of your favorite childhood books?

Haunted Week: Day 3

October 26th - Skeletons on My Bookshelf

Supposedly, everyone has a few skeletons in their closet—I think everyone has a few on their bookshelves, too. Today feature five books you've owned for a long time but never read.

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

I bought this book with a gift card I got for Christmas. It's practically Christmas again, and I haven't picked it up from the shelf even once. I almost forgot I had it. 

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I honestly don't know what's wrong with me. I've heard nothing but AMAZING things about this set of books yet for some reason I still haven't read them!

The Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L 'Engle

Another one that I bought with Christmas giftcards, and has been sitting on my shelf ever since.

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

I won this book from another blog over a year ago. I remember being so excited at the time but never actually got around to reading it...

Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

Of all the verse novels I've read that aren't very well known, here is one that is wicked popular and I'm probably the only person left who hasn't read it. 

Have you read any of these books? 

If so which would you recommend I finally dust off and read?

Haunted Week: Day 2

October 25th - Bats in your Book Pages

Even the biggest book enthusiasts have some bats in their belfries about things in books that drive them insane. Today tell your readers about five things that drive you crazy in books.

When I first read todays topic of discussion I thought it was going to be hard for me to think of five things that drove me crazy, but once I started thinking I actually came up with a lot more than just five and had to cut my list down! 

So here are my top five pet peeves when it comes to books:

1. Profanity
When there are more swear words coming out of the characters mouths than anything else I usually stop reading. I just don't see the need for it. PG-13 movies only allow 1-2 F words before it becomes R, if books followed this same rule it would put a good chunk of YA books in the R rated category.

2. Explicit sexual content
I understand that this is young adult books we're talking about here, which are bound to contain sexual content on some level or another. I just don't want to read every excruciating detail of it.

3. Unnecessary Violence
I'm a pretty big wimp when it comes to blood and gore. Yes, I have read The Hunger Games (who hasn't?) And yes they were the most violent books I've ever read in my life. But violence was essential to the plot, without the violence there would have been no books. It's got to be essential to the plot line in some way, if it's just thrown into a story to make the readers squirm than I'm not going to put myself through it. 

4. Stereotyping
There nothing that disconnects me from a character more than stereotyping. I want the heroes and heroins of my books to be unique individuals whom I can relate with or look up to. I don't want some cookie cutter personality that I've read about a hundred times before. I find this happens most often with side characters, just because there not in the leading role doesn't mean they shouldn't be well rounded, and personable characters.

5. Insta-Love
I know I'm not alone on this one! Insta-Love seems to be one of the most loathed topics of YA right now. Almost any book review you read either says "No insta-love here" or "I really liked this book, except for the insta-love." Relationships take time, we want to see the characters slowly fall for each other not look into one another's eyes and head for the altar.

What is your biggest book pet peeve?

Haunted Week: Day 1

October 24th - Ghosts of Books Half-Read 

Ever had the feeling that someone was watching you? It just might the spirit of a book you haven't put to rest. Today feature five books you began but never finished. 

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

I hated the main character of this book within the first few pages. Her bucket list was full of not-so-nice things and her sarcasm drove me insane. After about 50 more pages of torture I decided it wasn't worth it. 

The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze

This was another one I gave up on fairly quickly. The writing just wasn't doing it for me, it felt hollow and lifeless. 

The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson

I felt like the writing of this was geared way more towards guy readers than girls. The way the main character described things that happened to him were like, "the commander in my head was screaming at the other technicians inside my body to repair the ripped tissue" it was weird to say the least.

Insanity by Lauren Hammond

I got sucked into this book because of the beautiful cover but let me tell you the inside is anything but beautiful. This "YA" was so sexually explicit it was ridiculous!  I've never felt so filthy while reading something in all my life. Once I stopped reading I wanted to burn my Kindle because it felt defiled.

You by Charles Benoit

The title says it all, this book was written in Second Person, where "You" become a part of the story.
This point of view is very uncommon in YA and I hadn't come across it before but it took only a short time for me to see why.

Have you read any of these books? Did you feel the same or differently? 

Let me know in the comments! 

Haunted Week: Announcement Post

Coming soon to a blog near you . . .

Starting this Wednesday, October 24th I'm going to be joining Cheyenne from {This Girl Reads} and countless others in Haunted Week. What is Haunted Week, you ask?

It is a week full of spook-tacular book topics to be discussed each day.
Here is the lineup:

October 24th - Ghosts of Books Half-Read 

Ever had the feeling that someone was watching you? It just might the spirit of a book you haven't put to rest. Today feature five books you began but never finished. 

October 25th - Bats in your Book Pages

Even the biggest book enthusiasts have some bats in their belfries about things in books that drive them insane. Today tell your readers about five things that drive you crazy in books.

October 26th - Skeletons on My Bookshelf

Supposedly, everyone has a few skeletons in their closet—I think everyone has a few on their bookshelves, too. Today feature five books you've owned for a long time but never read.

October 27th - Back From The Grave

Get ready to dig up your past and bring some of your old friends back to life: Today feature five books you read and loved as a kid.

October 28th - It Came From the Web

You never know what's going to creep onto the web. Sometimes, however, you get a pleasant surprise. Today feature and link to five amazing book blogs you've found recently. 

October 29th - Tricked or Treated

Some books aren't at all what you expected—which can be good or bad. Today feature five books you read that were either a pleasant or nasty surprise.

October 30th - Written in the Tombstone

The epitaph is the inscription on a tombstone—you could say it's a person's last words. Today, quote the last line of five books. (No spoilers, please!)

October 31st - Beware of Book Review

To finish off a week of spook-tastic fun, review a scary story of your choice!

Want to take part in Haunted Week? Just sign up @ {This Girl Reads}