In My Mailbox (46)

I haven't done one of these in a while, so it's big. Ready? *takes a deep breath*

For review:

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann (Love Lisa!)

Stay by Deb Caletti

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Family by Micol Ostow

Alex Rider: Socrpia Rising by Anthony Horrowitz

(Thank you Simon & Schuster, EgmontUSA, and Penguin.)

Bought:

Hold Me Closer Necromancer by Lish McBride

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain (My review)

*not pictured* Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (My review)

Gifted from my super-awesome friends for my birthday:

The Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

Raised By Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Gifted from my grandma for Christmas (gotta love pre-orders):

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (My reveiw)

Guilt Gifts from my mom for going to NYC and The Strand without me:

The Revenge of Lord Oda: Blood Ninja 2 by Nick Lake

A Strand t-shirt and other Strand-y stuff

Books mom bought that I fully intend to steal *evil laugh*:

Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakely-Cartwright

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

Beautiful Dead: Arizona by Eden Macguire

Wishful Thinking by Alexandria Bullen

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Never Slow Dance With A Zombie by E. Van Lowe

Threads and Flames by Esther M. Friesner

Buffy The Vampire Slayer 1+2 by Various Authors

The Fallen: Vol. 1 + 2 by Thomas E. Sniegoski

The Fortunes of Indigo Skye by Deb Calletti

Thirst Vol. 2 by Christopher Pike

(God bless my mother's inability to turn down a bargain.)

E-books for review:

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Bite Me by Parker Blue

Two Moon Princess by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

68 Knots by Michael Robert Evans

Mercy by Rebecca Lim

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready (YAY! WE SO EXCITED!!)

(Thank you HarperTeen, Tanglewood Press, HarlequinTeen, Disney Hyperion, Netgalley, and S&S Galley Grab.)

I'm sooo glad April has been declared Netgalley month. I've got way too many.

Phew. OK. Done. Go books!

Hunger Review

Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Release Date: October 18, 2010
Pages: 184 (e-galley)
Publisher: Graphia
Most Appropriate For Ages: 14+
Where I Got It: For review from Netgalley

"Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world."

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

     

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home—her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power—and the courage to fight her own inner demons? 

A wildly original approach to the issue of eating disorders, Hunger is about the struggle to find balance in a world of extremes, and uses fantastic tropes to explore a difficult topic that touches the lives of many teens.

 Hunger was an original take on eating disorders that quickly grabbed me until the end.

I think that every teenage girl has a "Thin voice". You know, the small voice in the back of your head that's always pointing out the worst in you. Your nose is too big. You're too short. You're so fat. Lisabeth Lewis (or Lisa, as she's commonly called) has not only let the Thin voice control her diet, but her life. She's pushing away her friends and loved ones due to her depression and extreme issues with food. And because Lisa's so lost to anorexia, we don't really get to know her that well, but Kessler shows just enough glimpses of who she was before her anorexia that we can see how much it's taken her over. It's honest and terrifying.

The Horsemen definitely added a new twist to the average anorexia story. However, I would've liked some more background about the Horsemen. I don't know much about them, and I sometimes found myself confused when it came to them.

Despite it's small size, Hunger is raw and real. I liked it a lot, and think it will resonate with everyone in one way or another. Bring on the sequel.

Book Report:

Plot: Unique and grabbing.

Characters: Likable, but we don't get to see too much of them. And I loved Death.

Writing: Impressive.

Ending: Done really well.

Kid friendly? Well--obviously--there's lots of talk about eating disorders, but I think this one is pretty safe.

Should I read it? Yeah, you should.

Overall:

  
Other reviews:
Wondrous Reads
Steph Su Reads
The Book Smugglers

Good Books and Good Wine

Waiting On Wednesday (44)

This week I'm waiting on....

Misfit by Jon Skovron

Are some girls just born to cause trouble?

Jael Thompson has never really fit in. She’s changed schools too many times to count. The only family she’s ever known is her father, a bitter ex-priest who never lets her date and insists she attend the strictest Catholic school in Seattle. And her mother—well, she was a five thousand year old demon. That doesn’t exactly help.

But on her sixteenth birthday, her father gives her a present that brings about some unexpected changes. Some of the changes, like strange and wonderful powers and the cute skater boy with a knack for science, are awesome. But others, like the homicidal demon seeking revenge on her family? Not so much.

Steeped in mythology, this is an epic tale of a heroine who balances old world with new, science with magic, and the terrifying depths of the underworld with the ordinary halls of high school.

Coming August 2011 from Amulet

I'll admit that it's cover is kind of blah, but it sounds really good, and Jon Skovron really impressed me with his debut contemporary, Struts & Frets. So woo hoo August!

Kat, Incorrigible Review

Author: Stephanie Burgis
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Pages: 262 (ARC)
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Most Appropriate For Ages: 9+
Where I Got It: For review from Galley Grab
Challenges: Debut Author 2011 Challenge


Katherine Ann Stephenson has just discovered that she's inherited her mother's magical talents, and despite Stepmama's stern objections, she's determined to learn how to use them. But with her eldest sister Elissa's intended fiancÉ, the sinister Sir Neville, showing a dangerous interest in Kat's magical potential; her other sister, Angeline, wreaking romantic havoc with her own witchcraft; and a highwayman lurking in the forest, even Kat's reckless heroism will be tested to the upmost. If she can learn to control her new powers, will Kat be able to rescue her family and win her sisters their true love? 

Kat, Incorrigible--or A Most Improper Magick as it's known in the UK--is mysterious, humorous, and always a good time.

Kat is the kind of brave heroine that every girl dreams of being. She pretty much made the book. She's adventurous, brave, clever, funny, and just plain awesome. She's exactly the kind of protagonist middle grade readers need to be exposed to.

Actually, each of the characters were really well-written. From her sisters to their love interests and even their stepmother. While none of them are layered and complicated, we know them very well by the end of the book and begin to feel like they're our family as well as Kat's. (Also--and maybe this is just cause I've been watching tons of Buffy lately but--Mr Gregson reminded me a lot of Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So, naturally, I liked his character a lot.) The characters we didn't really see are Charles, Kat's oldest and only brother, and her father. Hopefully we'll see more of them in the sequel.

The plot wonderfully combined magic, humor, mystery, and family values. While I wasn't quite glued to the pages until the end, the plot did keep me engaged well enough. This makes me think that this isn't quite the perfect book for reluctant middle grade readers, but avid readers will enjoy it a lot.

I don't usually love middle grade books, but I found Kat, Incorrigible to be really cute and charming. I think anyone from age 9 to 90 will find something about it to find entertainment in, cause I sure did.

Book Report:

Plot: Well-paced and fun.

Characters: Kat is a wonderful main character, and the side characters are a blast.

Writing: Very good.

Ending: Wrapped everything up well, but I'm thinking there'll be a sequel--yay!

Kid friendly? Very.

Should I read it? Yes, especially if you're a fan of middle grade, magic, and Jane Austen-type books.

Overall:

 

A Blue So Dark Review

Author: Holly Schindler
Release Date: May 8, 2010
Pages: 288 (PB)
Publisher: Flux
Most Appropriate For Ages: 14+
Where I Got It: From library

Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura's dad left them. Convinced that "creative" equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.

With an enticingly emotional plot that was beautifully executed, A Blue So Dark hooked me quickly and I stayed up late into the night to see how Aura's story would close.

Throughout the book I felt nothing but pity for Aura; her mom's a schizophrenic, her dad's abandoned her and her mother, and her best friend is too wrapped up in her new baby to help. But her inner voice isn't self-pitying at all, instead it's wonderfully witty and true. And that's why I loved her.

I was really impressed with Schindler's writing when I read Playing Hurt, and I think I was even more impressed with it this time around. I literally found myself re-reading passages, and thinking how great of a Facebook status it would make.

Full of desperation, hope, love, fear, A Blue So Dark was just...awesome. I really loved it. Read it, k?

Book Report:

Plot: Grabbing.

Characters: Loved all of them. And Jeremy was pretty swoon-y.

Writing: GREAT.

Ending: Perfect.

Kid friendly? There's some swearing, and a teen mom.

Should I read it? Fo SHO.

Overall:

Other reviews:

Candace's Book Blog
Steph Su Reads
Opinionated? Me?

Epic Extravaganza Winners!

I kinda suck at posting winners, huh? Well, anyways, here they are.

For the win!

The winner of contest #1 (choice of books) is...

Jamad Artan

The winner of contest #2 (Prophecy of Days book 1) is...

Lexie@BookBug

The winner of contest #3 (Vampires Prize Pack) is...

Miranda (email starts with mamurray)

The winner of contest #4 (Wake) is...

Buzz

Congrats to the lucky winners! I'll be contacting you shortly, so if you don't hear from me in a few days, feel free to email me. And everyone, keep your eyes peeled for some new contests coming soon.

Waiting On Wednesday (43)

This week I'm waiting on...

Watched by Sharde Richardson

Mikayla doesn’t want much: just to rock out to her favorite band, become the next Kwiki Stop video gaming champion, and keep her Q-tip habit under control. What she does want is the sight of the sudden inexplicable dark auras around everyone to stop. Problem is, those auras are demons and Mikayla is the last trait holder with the power to ban them. Which is a total buzz kill.

To make matters worse, the town folk of Sulphur Springs don’t look the same, and her classmates are a little dark in the eyes. There are murders, suicides, reckless skinny-dipping, gratuitous use of Q-tips, and newfound powers that Mikayla must learn to control.

Her past becomes present when a shape-shifter tells her what her true identity is, and how to keep the demons of Hell from nipping at her Converse. Through him she’ll discover who to trust, who to kiss, and how valuable her abilities are to the right beings. Because the evils of Hell aren’t staying down without a fight.

Or without her soul.

Coming May 30 from Jolt

You had me with rock out to her favorite band! And isn't the cover awesome?