Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Award!

Twenty One from Crackin' Spines & Takin' Names gave me my first ever award!


#1: The Lemonade Award
Rules:
Link back to the person who gave you the award.
Nominate up to 10 bloggers who are deserving of the award.
Display the award on you blog.



OK...time for my nominations.

1. All The World's A Stage
2. Everything To Do With Books
3. Nocturnal Reviews
4. The Zen Leaf
5. The Shady Glade
6. Dahlia's Eclectic Mind
7. Escape In A Book
8. Today's Adventure
9. The Optimistic Pessimist
10. Serendipity Book Reviews

Thanks again to Twenty One, I have to clean all day (even though I need to finish Specials) and this made my day.



Saturday, June 27, 2009

Judging A Book By It's Cover: If I Stay

This book was being called "the next Twilight" before it's release date, and already has a movie adaption in the works. It's also a book that I REALLY want to read.


I love it! It's so beautiful. I'm a sucker for leaf-less trees, and I love the blue backround. My complaint? I don't like how it's washed out towards the bottom. Maybe it's a metaphor or something...but I don't like it. What do you think?


Friday, June 26, 2009

Giveaway at The Shady Glade!

I just thought that I'd let everyone know that you can win a ARC of Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games, at The Shady Glade!


Thursday, June 25, 2009

Tantilize Review

Release Date: February 13, 2007
Publisher: Candlewick
Age Group: 12+
Pages: 336


Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her hybrid-werewolf first love threatens to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. And just as she and her uncle are about to debut Austin’s red hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef.

Can Quincie transform the new hire into a culinary dark lord before opening night? Will Henry Johnson be able to wow the crowd in fake fangs, a cheap cape, and red contact lenses? Or is there more to this earnest fresh face than meets the eye?

As human and preternatural forces clash, a deadly love triangle forms and the line between predator and prey begins to blur. Who’s playing whom? And how long can Quincie play along before she loses everything?







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I'd heard that Tantalize was a slow read, one that you could easily put down. I was obviously misinformed because the third chapter includes a supernatural murder, which immediately grabbed my attention. And then, throw a best-werewolf-friend/love interest into the mix and I'm hooked!

I loved just about all of the characters, or a least the ones that were meant for you to love. I even kinda liked the villain. Quincie was an awesome heroine! She wasn't cold, but she was always in control of the situation.

Cynthia Leitich Smith is a very good writer, too. It was really easy to picture everyone, and the storyline was well-plotted and easy to follow.

In the back of Cynthia Leitich Smith's other vampire book Eternal, it states: "Finally, this story takes place earlier in the same universe as my novel Tantilize. Members of both casts will cross over in a forthcoming book, Blessed." I've also read Eternal, which I really enjoyed, but actually liked Tanatlize better. Blessed will definitely be a book I'll be looking forward to! You don't have to read either in any order, though.

Tantilize is a book that I'd recommend to any romance, vampire, or werewolf fans! The book is constantly throwing twist and turns at you, making this a great summer (or anytime) read!



Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Books I'll Pule For!

OK, most people probably don't know what pule means, it was the word of the day yesterday and I like the sound of it. Dictionay.com describes pule as: "to cry in a thin voice; whine; whimper." That's exactly what I'd be willing to do for these books:





Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.)

Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?


















Not all dreams are sweet.

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....














In the late seventeenth century, famed teenage pirate Emer Morrisey was on the cusp of escaping the pirate life with her one true love and unfathomable riches when she was slain and cursed with "the dust of one hundred dogs," dooming her to one hundred lives as a dog before returning to a human body-with her memories intact.

Now she's a contemporary American teenager and all she needs is a shovel and a ride to Jamaica.










Since the dawn of time, the Faerie have taken. . . .

For seventeen-year-old actress Kelley Winslow, faeries are just something from childhood stories. Then she meets Sonny Flannery, whose steel-gray eyes mask an equally steely determination to protect her.

Sonny guards the Samhain Gate, which connects the mortal realm with the Faerie's enchanted, dangerous Otherworld. Usually kept shut by order of icy King Auberon, the Gate stands open but once a year.

This year, as the time approaches when the Samhain Gate will swing wide and nightmarish Fae will fight their way into an unsuspecting human world, something different is happening . . . something wondrous and strange. And Kelley's eyes are opening not just to the Faerie that surround her but to the heritage that awaits her.

Now Kelley must navigate deadly Faerie treachery—and her growing feelings for Sonny—in this dazzling page-turner filled with luminous romance.


These are only a few of many books that I want to read. There's also books in series that I'm dying to read like City of Ashes, Catching Fire, the third book in the Evernight Academy series (which I'm pretty sure is titled Hourglass), and more!



Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Valiant Review

Release Date: May 31, 2005
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Age Group: 14+
Pages: 320
Other Books In Series: Tithe

When seventeen-year-old Valerie runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system.

But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. And when one talks Val into tracking down the lair of a mysterious creature with whom they are all involved, Val finds herself torn between her newfound affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

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I just couldn't get into this book. Even after the halfway point, where I usually got more into the book, I didn't. It took me until the very end to get into it.

I think that the whole drug thing annoyed me. In fact, pretty much all of the characters annoyed me too. The only character that I cared about was Ravus...and maybe Val towards the very end.

Holly Black's writing was, as expected, great once again. But her storytelling abilities weren't as good as they were in Tithe; I had a really hard time picturing everything and everyone.

The plot was OK. Nothing great. Probably not something that I'd pick up if it wasn't the sequel to Tithe.

Hopefully Ironside will be better, because Valiant fell short of my expectations.


Monday, June 22, 2009

Georgia Nicholson Reading Challenge

GreenBeanTeenQueen is having a reading challenge for the Georgia Nicholson series! I bought the first three of these books from Five Below a while back, but haven't gotten around to reading them yet. They're a chick-lity for me, but they look funny so I'll give 'em a try.

Here's the rules:

1. Between now and June 18, 2010 read all ten of the Georgia Nicolson books. They can be any format.

2. There's a Mr. Linky at the bottom of the post-sign up there. She'll post another Mr. Linky to post reviews of the books in another post.

3. Post reviews on all the Georgia books you read and share the Ace Gang fun!

4. If you don't have a blog, no worries-join however you want! Post reviews on GoodReads, Amazon, LibraryThing, or Shelfari (or wherever!) or just talk to your friends about the books you read or just leave comments on the challenge posts telling us what you thought.

5. Anyone can join at anytime! So join in and have fun and laugh out loud with GreenBeanTeenQueen's favorite British teen!

To join, go here.

Good luck everyone!




Thursday, June 18, 2009

Judging A Book By It's Cover: Betwixt

Today, I'm judging Betwixt by Tara Bray Smith. This has been a book that I've been wanting to read for a while.


I personally don't like it. I've never been a fan of yellow covers, and this one doesn't have colors that compliment each other very well. Maybe the weird face on the cover has something to do with the book, but I don't like it. The font's weird too. What do you think?


Goodwill Books

You know how a bunch of book-bloggers do the "In My Mailbox" posts or "Waiting On Wednesday" and stuff like that? Well, I don't get books from Amazon or publishers, but I do find a lot of books at Goodwill. So, I figured I'd share some of my best finds.







"If you ever want to hide from the world, live in a small city, where everyone seems anonymous."

That's the advice of twelve-year-old Ariella Montero, who lives with her father in Saratoga Springs, New York, in a house haunted more by secrets than by memories. The Society of S traces her journey south, to Asheville and Savannah, and on to Florida, as she learns that everything she knows about her family is a lie.

When she finds her mother, she learns the truth: Ariella is a fledgling member of the Society of S.

S stands for Sanguinists: a sect of environmentalists concerned with ethics and human rights -- although they happen to be vampires. S also stands for synesthete: a person able to see words and letters in colors. The letter S is lucky for Sara, Ariella's mother, who gravitates to cities such as Savannah and Sarasota. But will it be lucky for Ariella?





Thirteen-year-old Meg Murry, her little brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin are guided by unearthly strangers as they go on a journey through space and time to search for Meg's and Charles' scientist father who disappeared while experimenting with a new form of space travel.




















Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn’t look all that great; they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach. On the night before she and her friends part for the summer, Carmen decides to toss them. But Tibby says they’re great. She’d love to have them. Lena and Bridget also think they’re fabulous. Lena decides they should all try them on. Whoever they fit best will get them. Nobody knows why, but the pants fit everyone perfectly. Even Carmen (who never thinks she looks good in anything), thinks she looks good in the pants. Over a few bags of cheese puffs they decide to form a sisterhood, and take the vow of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants . . . the next morning, they say good-bye. And now the journey of the pants–and the most memorable summer of their lives–begins.











I was so shocked to find this at a Goodwill! This only came out in what...March? 3 bucks! I would put a description of the book, but I don't want to read any spoilers.


























Demon In My View Review


Release Date: May 9, 2000
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 176
Other Books In Series: In The Forests Of The Night

Though nobody at her high school knows it, Jessica is a published author. Her vampire novel, Tiger, Tiger, has just come out under the pen name Ash Night. Now two new students have just arrived in Ramsa, and both want Jessica’s attention. She has no patience with overly friendly Caryn, but she’s instantly drawn to Alex, a self-assured, mysterious boy who seems surprisingly familiar. If Jessica didn’t know better, she’d think Aubrey, the alluring villain from her novel had just sprung to life. That’s impossible, of course; Aubrey is a figment of her imagination. Or is he?

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I have one big complaint about this book: it should be longer.

I enjoyed In The Forests Of The Night, but I definitely liked this one better. The plot instantly grabbed my attention, making me not want to put it down. I probably would've read it in one sitting if I didn't have to take care of my mom. All of that, and the fact that it's a small book, made it an easy day read.

Aubrey, who I hated in the last book, easily became a great character. Jessica was also an awesome character (and not because we have the same first name, but that was cool). I really didn't hate any of the characters, except for the villain, Fala.

The fact that Amelia Atwater-Rhodes was only 16 when she wrote this (and 13 when she wrote In The Forests Of The Night) amazes me. The story didn't leave any loose ends, and the writing was great, as expected.

I'd recommend this book/series quickly! I cannot wait for the next book, Shattered Mirror. Hopefully, there'll be more of the characters that I have easily fallen in love with.


Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Thireteen Reasons Why Review

Release Date: October 18, 2007
Publisher: Razorbill
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 288

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

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After hearing how amazing this book was, I decided to step out of my usual comfort zone and try it. The plot sounded pretty interesting. I have to say that it left me disappointed.

Hannah was such a whiner. Maybe that's just me being insensitive, but I couldn't relate to her at all. Towards the end, her reasons were more convincing, but she seemed very melo-dramatic to me. Clay seemed like a much better character.

I had no trouble putting this book down. It didn't grab me like some books that I've read. It took me six days to read, and that's not a very good reading time for me.

The one thing that did impress me with this book was the writing. It surprised me that this was Jay Asher's debut novel. He had a great voice, and I can see him going far.

Overall, this book was OK. I'd recommend it to realistic fiction fans. I do plan on reading any more books Jay Asher has to offer, though.



New Vampire Diaries Cover

Does this remind you of anything? Perhaps...I dunno...Twilight? Twilight and The Vampire Diaries are similar, but they deserve to have different covers. I personally thought that the covers were fine.


Tuesday, June 16, 2009

First Post

Well, hi. I really hate introductions. It is crucial to make a good first impression when blogging, and if you don't, then no one will read it. Please don't judge me do to my crappy post about describing myself. I just wanted to review books. More specifically, young adult books, because that's pretty much all I read. Right now, I'm really into paranormal (vampires, werewolves, faeries, demons, ect,), but I'll read just about anything. Um...I'm 13...female...yeah. Did I mention that I love reading, but I guess that's pretty obvious. I really don't know what else to say, and now I'm just rambling on, so I'm ending this right now.