YA Verse Books Challenge

If you've read some of my past reviews, you may have noticed that I have a special place in my heart for books written in verse because a) that style of writing can be so powerful and emotional when done right, and b) they're really fast reads and I think there's c) other stuff that I can't remember right now.

Anyways, my point is that if you like verse books or think you should ('cause you should) then continue reading.

I am hosting a YA Verse Reading Challenge for 2012!

Who: You! And everyone you know.

What: The challenge is to get some YA books written in verse read in 2012! They can be from any year, as long as they are in verse and YA. There's a great Goodreads list with verse books, and Sarah Tregay, the author of the upcoming verse novel Love and Leftovers, has a great list on her site, in case you need some ideas.

There are three reading options you can choose from.

You can challenge youself to:

Newbie--Read 2 YA books written in verse.

Fan--Read 5 YA books written in verse.

Super Fan--Read 10 YA books written in verse, or more.

(Personally, I'm gonna stick with Fan because I hate to be really committed. I'm like a guy that way.)

When: In 2012. Sign-ups will end February 28, 2012.

Where: Here, at Shut Up! I'm Reading. Duh.

Why: Cause verse books are awesome. I used to fear them before I'd read one myself, but I now love them. My hope is that someone else feels the same way after participating in the challenge!

Sign up right here! Note: You don't have to have a blog to enter, but if you have a Goodreads or Shelfari account, link to that instead.

Hope you'll join! And if you do, grab the button and share it on your blog or wherever else you are on the internet.

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2012 Contemporary Challenge

2012 is right around the corner, which means it's time to do some challenges. (Though, I'll admit, I hardly do challenges unless I know I can reach the goal, so it's not very challenging at all. But still.)

If you've read my blog this year you may have noticed that I've fallen more and more in love with the contemporary genre, so it makes perfect sense for me to sign up for the 2012 Contemporary Challenge, hosted by Katie and Angela.

Plus, their buttons are pretty, and it's a good excuse to put something pretty on my blog.

I've decided to try for Level 2, meaning my goal is to read 10 contemporaries released in 2012. Here's my list of them, consisting of books I already have on Netgalley, and books I know I'm going to have to run out and buy when they're released:

1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
2. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
3. Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz
4. Zero by Tom Leveen
5. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
6. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
7. Fracture by Megan Miranda
8. Guitar Notes by Mary Amato
9. The Disenchantment by Nina Lacour
10. Dead to You by Lisa McMann
11. Something Like Normal by Trish Doller (Had to add it!)

I can't wait to get started! Go sign up if you love contemporary too, or even if you just want to love it.

Also, sign up for the Debut Author Challenge, hosted by Kristi, just because it's awesome.

2011 Debut Author Challenge+City of Fallen Angels Cover

I didn't sign up for the 2010 Debut Author Challenge, and I've regretted it ever since. So this year I'm proud to be a participant in the 2011 Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren. I know that I'm dying to read Wither by Lauren Destefano and XVI by Julia Karr, but other than that I'm not sure exactly which debuts I'm reading this year... So, yeah, this post was kind of pointless, but you should go sign up.

Oh, and while I've got you here check out the newly released City of Fallen Angels cover if you haven't seen it already:

I like everything about it...well except Clary. I mean, come on, they couldn't find a younger model? She looks like she's in her late 20s/30s. (I actually still need to read City of Glass...)

 

Strange Angels Review

Author: Lili St. Crow

Release Date: May 14, 2009

Pages: 304 (Paperback)

Publisher: Razorbill

Most Appropriate For Ages: 14+
Where I Got It: Won from ChicaReader
Challenges it counts for: Read your Name Challenge (1 of 2 S' for Jessica)

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?
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It's not secret that I'm an action junkie. I grew up on the Maximum Ride series, and my current all-time favorites are The Hunger Games series. So, naturally, I gobbled up Strange Angels and then was hungry for more.

The plot is original. It's clearly not your typical paranormal romance. Actually, there's hardly any romance. There's a hint of romance that I suspect may become deeper in the next book, Betrayal. It's simple, and action-packed, and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Dru was awesome. Sarcastic, kick boo-tay, and everything else that I look for in a heroine. Graves, her best friend, was so easy to love and loyal. I really want them to get together....The there's Christophe. I liked him, but I didn't get to know him as well as I would've liked to, but I'm hoping we'll get to know him better in Betrayals.

Lili St. Crow's writing was impressive. Most of this was narration, definitely little dialogue. Usually, this would annoy me very badly, but Lili St. Crow made it work and then some!

My only complaint is that, and maybe this is just me being slow, sometimes I would miss things. Like moving to a new place, or exactly what was going on. Not sure if this had to do with the writing or the plot, or again just me being slow, but I didn't let it bother me. Overall, I really enjoyed Strange Angels. I can't wait to get my hands on book two!

How kid friendly is it? Kind of. There's lots of language in Strange Angels, as well as some violence.

Dystopian Challenge at Parajunkee's View

I'm a brand new, proud participant of Parajunkee's View's Dystopian Challenge!



I'm doing level two, Addict. Here are a few of the books I'm hoping to read:

The Hunger Games book 3
Feed
The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Brave New World
Animal Farm
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Extras
The Forest of Hands And Teeth
The Dead Tossed Waves
Inside Out
The Maze Runner
Incarceron
and I think there were a few more....

Anyways, check out the contest page for more info on how to sign up.

In My Mailbox (10)/Read Your Name Challenge

Thanks to Kristi from The Story Siren for hosting this awesome meme. None for review this week, but I still managed to get a great haul!

Won:
Firespell by Chloe Neill
Ash by Malinda Lo
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Signed!!! That was such a happy-making surprise!)
(I won all four of those from Dark Faerie Tales. Thanks again!)
The Body Finder Swag (Including a signed bookmark! Thank you again to Sasha from The Sweet Bonjour!)

From Paperbackswap:
Thirst by Christopher Pike


Won:
The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong
The Faerie Path by Frewin Jones
Far World by J. Scott Savage
(Thank you to Cat from Beyond Books for sending me these!((Twitter followers: this was the mystery package.)

Bought:
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent
The House of the Scorpion (Bought last week from Goodwill and completely forgot to mention it last week.)

Borrowed (from friend):
If I Stay by Gale Foreman (That's the white book without the dust jacket. Apparently she doesn't trust me with her dusk jacket.)

That's it for me this week.
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Oh, and I've just found a challenge that sounds like a lot of fun, the Read Your Name Challenge. The books I'm planning to read for the challenge are:

Jekyl Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey
Everlost by Neal Shusterman
Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow
Seven Tears Into The Sea by Terri Farley
I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Angus, Thongs, And Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

If you want to sign up, go here.

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!