The Scorpio Races

The Scorpio Races

by Maggie Stiefvater

Some race to win. Others race to survive.

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.
Some riders live.
Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition - the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen. (description from Amazon.com)

Wow. I apologize to anyone who previously told me that I needed to read this book...

I picked it up at BEA *last year* because the premise just sounded soooo cool.  Then I remembered how much I, uh, did not really enjoy Shiver and I put off reading it forever...

Now. Now I am kicking myself.  Whatever it was that did not work about Stiefvater's writing style for me in her earlier books, it totally clicked here.

I LOVED The Scorpio Races.  It was lyrical. It was gritty. It was the perfect mix of folktale and old-style cautionary fairy tale that I just can't seem to read enough. There was romance in a very realistic way. There were killer water horses that were beautiful and enticing and thoroughly deadly. There were word choices that just sang in my ears. Stiefvater really knocked this one out of the park!

I also want to mention that I listened to this book as an audiobook and I think it was phenomenally done.  The actors chosen perfectly suited their characters and the tone of the book was great on audio. My only problem was that when it came to nearing the end, I couldn't sit in the car long enough to finish it!! I finally broke down and read the last fifty pages or so.

I loved this book enough to give it a coveted GOLD STAR.

And...here is me echoing the words of those before me...

If you haven't read this one, yet, WELL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Read it. Really. 

Full disclosure: ARC received at BEA 2011

Dead End in Norvelt

Dead End in Norvelt

by Jack Gantos

Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a fiesty old neighbor with a most unusual chore—typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launced on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder. (description from Amazon.com)

This was a strange and weirdly wonderful book.  Told by Jack Gantos, this is a fictional autobiography...very weird indeed.  These two months in Jack's life, have a very, very strange tone that kept me captivated even as I was trying to piece together exactly what was going on. 

The story starts with a series of seemingly unrelated events.  As the tale spins on, though, both Jack and the reader begin to piece things together and all these strange things meld into one wild tale! I couldn't wait to see what happened next...

I also have to tell you that I listened to this as an audiobook and the author reads it himself. Jack Gantos has this slightly quirky voice that just fit this book perfectly.  It was a great audiobook! I am so glad I experienced the story that way. I highly recommend it.

Full disclosure: Audiobook received at BEA 2011. 

What Happened to Goodbye

What Happened to Goodbye

by Sarah Dessen

Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out. (description from Amazon.com) 



Sarah Dessen's books alway make me cry at least a little. They are great summer reads and they are great for any time that you want something that will make you both smile and tear up. They deal with family and relationship issues in such a great way, too.

For example, in What Happened to Goodbye, McLean is dealing with her "issues" following her parents divorce. Rather than move in with her mom and her mom's new husband and twin toddlers, McLean chooses to live with her father...and that means moving from place to place for his job. McLean loves the fact that they move, though, because it gives her the chance to reinvent herself in each place.

When she finds a guy who really seems to get her, though, she finds that she suddenly wants to be "herself" again. Can McLean rediscover who she was or wants to be today?

This book dealt with the fallout of McLean's parents divorce really, really well. What I loved most was that they were a family that finally pulled together in the end...around McLean... when she needed it the most. I loved the restaurant setting and I loved the secondary characters that worked at Luna Blu.

Another great book from Sarah Dessen.

Perception

Perception

by Kim Harrington
Clarity, book two

When you can see things others can't, what happens when someone is watching you?

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.

Only, Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.

But then someone starts playing with her head and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared. Clare needs to see her way to the truth -- before it's much too late. (description from Amazon.com)

I loved this follow-up to Clarity.

 

I still think that Clare is a fantastic character and I love her power.  It would be cool, interesting, and sometimes creepy to be able to touch things and see visions!

 

I thought that there was a lot of great stuff going on with Clare's family in this book. I love the bond that she and her brother share...and thought it was well tested in this book.  I also love watching Clare and her mother figure things out...

 

I have to confess I was eagerly anticipating the romance element of this book. I could not wait to see what would happen with Clare and her two beaus...I thought that Harrington did great with this aspect.  It was realistic and fun.

 

The mystery in this one was totally creepy. Stalker books always give me the heebie-jeebies.  I will confess that I figured out who the bad guy was just a hair before Clare did...but not by much! I thought the mystery was well done.

 

I can't wait for what happens next. :)

 

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ARC Giveaway - Belles by Jen Calonita

Belles
by Jen Calonita

Publication date: April 10, 2012

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Fifteen-year-old Isabelle Scott loves her life by the boardwalk on the supposed wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina. But when tragedy strikes, a social worker sends her to live with a long-lost uncle and his preppy privileged family. Isabelle is taken away from everything she's ever known, and, unfortunately, inserting her into the glamorous lifestyle of Emerald Cove doesn't go so well. Her cousin Mirabelle Monroe isn't thrilled to share her life with an outsider, and, in addition to dealing with all the rumors and backstabbing that lurk beneath their classmates' Southern charm, a secret is unfolding that will change both girls' lives forever. (description from Amazon.com)

Want to win an ARC? Leave me a quick comment with your name and email address before the end of the day on Mon., April 9th. I will randomly draw a winner on Tues., April 10th and contact them for their mailing address (US only, sorry!). Good luck!!




We have a winner! Thanks everyone for entering. :)

I'll Be There

I'll Be There

by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Sam Border wishes he could escape. Raised by an unstable father, he's spent his life moving from place to place. But he could never abandon his little brother, Riddle.

Riddle Border doesn't talk much. Instead, he draws pictures of the insides of things and waits for the day when the outsides of things will make sense. He worships his older brother. But how can they leave when there's nowhere to go? Then everything changes. Because Sam meets Emily.

Emily Bell believes in destiny. She sings for her church choir, though she doesn't have a particularly good voice. Nothing, she feels, is mere coincidence. And she's singing at the moment she first sees Sam.

Everyone whose path you cross in life has the power to change you--sometimes in small ways, and sometimes in ways greater than you could have ever known.  (description from Amazon.com)

This novel reads beautifully. It is touching and compelling.  I think that almost every reader would find something here to love. 

While Sam and Emily find each other, the romance is only a fraction of this book.  There are great examples of familial relationships and there is also the perfect example of a horribly dysfunctional family.

There is danger, there is excitement, there are secrets, betrayals, and hidden agendas.

There is beautiful music, art, and cooking. 

There are facets and hidden nooks in this book that make it wonderful and it reads very quickly.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone. 



A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness
(based on idea originally by Siobhan Dowd)

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. (description from Amazon.com)

I really loved this book. Not only was the story great... it's a boy dealing with his grief in an unusual way... but the illustrations were a *perfect* match for the author's tale. This book was dark and haunting, sad and thrilling, dangerous and loving. It was exceeding well done and the fact that it is based from an idea that the late Siobhan Dowd came up with just adds another layer of special to the book.

Well worth checking out! *And have a box of tissues nearby...just in case*

Hidden

Hidden
by Helen Frost

When Wren Abbott and Darra Monson are eight years old, Darra's father steals a minivan. He doesn't know that Wren is hiding in the back. The hours and days that follow change the lives of both girls. Darra is left with a question that only Wren can answer. Wren has questions, too.

Years later, in a chance encounter at camp, the girls face each other for the first time. They can finally learn the truth—that is, if they’re willing to reveal to each other the stories that they’ve hidden for so long. (description from Amazon.com)

This book was interesting. It's told in poetry format, in alternating "chapters" between the two girls perspectives. I found it pretty easy to read and I also thought that the poems gave the author the opportunity to make the reader feel as if they were seeing into each girl's innermost thoughts.

I thought the plot was interesting. I loved the idea of the accidental kidnapping and subsequent escape. I liked thinking about how the two girls would interact years later. I thought the author could have done a little bit of a better job with the girls interactions at camp, though. Some of their interactions felt a little forced and the ending felt somewhat rushed. I would have enjoyed if the book had been a little longer and more fleshed out...

To be honest, I felt a little silly when I read the author's note and realized that I had totally missed a facet of the poems in the book. Then I realized I'm not sure that anyone would have thought to read just the last word in each long line of one girl's poems to make an additional statement... it was only something that the author and someone who read the note first would have picked up on. Interesting when you went back, though.

Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss
by Stephanie Perkins

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited? (description from Amazon.com)

Well, first off I have to apologize to the blogosphere and the twitterverse. The buzz for this book was huge, and me being stupidly, oh SO stupidly stubborn, decided to ignore the gazillions of posts/tweets/etc. that simply stated, "READ THIS ONE!!!"

I am so so so so so sorry that I did not take that advice earlier. This book is...well, I can't really describe what this book is... it is EPIC and AWESOME.


It is absolutely deserving of a GOLD STAR.


Kudos, Stephanie Perkins, you have officially written one of my new favorite books...and a perfect couple!
*melts*
I love Anna and St. Clair. They are perfect together. In a perfect setting. With the perfect amount of gush, guts, and glorious non-perfect-ness.

Really. I cannot tell you how this book made me smile, tear up, smile, grin, chuckle, smile again, squee with happiness, and then sigh when it ended. I do not know how I am going to wait now to read Lola and the Boy Next Door! It seems so unfair that I cannot just run to my bookshelf, dig behind some other books, and magically pull it out...I must have more ASAP!!

I now add my sincerest advice to the blogosphere/twitterverse. If you were holding out like me...STOP! RUN NOW, PICK UP THIS BOOK! You will want gleefully devour it - I swear.

For now, I am in withdrawl...and if anyone out there has a LOLA that they would be willing to share...

Mixed Messages

Mixed Messages
by Tina Wells
Mackenzie Blue, book four

Mackenzie Blue and her crew are plugged in!

Zee and her band, The Beans, are getting ready for their biggest show yet! Everyone's talking about it online at Bluetopia—the coolest social-networking site ever.

Top three reasons that Bluetopia is the best:

*I can keep all my thoughts safe in a private blog, and I won't have to worry about anyone stealing my diary (finally)!

*The Beans have a huge show coming up, and we can make sure everyone knows about it!

*Jasper (my best guy friend) is in the spotlight for creating the site. He's so talented—he deserves it.
(description from Amazon.com)

This series really is a lot of fun. I love easy it is to read, how there are little pictures of the characters breaking up the story, and the great little messages that are worked into the story without being at all preachy.

Zee is still one of my favorite middle grade characters. She is very real. She's uber creative and fun, but also gets wrapped up in real-life worries and makes mistakes. She's who I wanted to be in middle school - not afraid to do my own thing, but still fun and totally approachable. Zee rocks!

I love the budding romance in this book. I don't want to spoil it for anyone that might check the series out, but things that have been building for awhile might finally come to fruition soon!! :)

I love that Zee balances her friendships so well. She has to work at it, but that only makes her that much more of a positive role model to middle grade readers out there.

The whole addition of the Facebook like site, "Bluetopia" in this book seems very timely and fresh. It's also a really great way to introduce the need for internet safety on social networking sites without lecturing tween readers.

Well done.

Mercy: The Last New England Vampire

Mercy: The Last New England Vampire
by Sarah Thomson

Fourteen-year-old Haley is struggling to cope with her stepmom and baby brother, with her beloved cousin's terminal illness, and with dropping grades at school. When she digs deep into her family history for a school project, she uncovers a disturbing New England tradition and a ghostly past. Haley must overcome her doubts and confront a vampire in order to save herself and her family. (description from Amazon.com)

In a crazy slew of vampire novels, this short tale by Sarah Thomson stands out. It's a fantastic blend of historical fiction and a chilling ghost story. This gives a new twist to the origin of vampirism and ties into a real and scary time in New England's history. Haley's school project is a perfect device to bring the historical background into this tale.

Haley is a great character. She's trying desperately to hold it together, to deal with her real-life issues. Being only fourteen, she is totally believable in both her terror and her tenaciousness. Her relationship with her father, stepmother, and baby brother is totally believable. The grief she feels and the resolute determination she has to try and save her dying cousin brought tears to my eyes.

A quick and interesting read. I'll be looking for more books by Sarah Thomson in the future.

Full disclosure: Review copy received to review for VOYA

Forget You

Forget You
by Jennifer Echols

WHY CAN’T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . . AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER?

There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon. But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug. (description from Amazon.com)

This book was compelling. Really. The plot hooked me right in from the first sentence and did not let go. It's funny because it's really not the best written book ever...there were parts in the first half where I caught myself saying, "Oh, that sounds awkward," but man, once started reading I could not stop. Two nights in a row, I stayed up TOO late and had to force myself to put in the bookmark and place. the. book. down.

Zoey's life just, well...sucks. Dealing with two messed up parents and the fact that neither one really seems to care at all about how she's doing...ugh. No wonder she bonds (or should I say re-bonds) with Doug...his Dad is seriously F*ed Up! I loved Doug. He was what really kept drawing me back in. He smoldered right off the page. *sigh*

I really liked how Echols gave readers solid hints about occurrences during Zoey's lost time. Just enough so that I constantly tried to convince myself that I knew, but really knew that I had only an inkling. There were some good little twists that got thrown in...

As an adult reader, this book also had just the right amount of heat. It was somewhat graphic without becoming "erotica" and still managed to leave some things to the reader's imagination, but was totally realistic about what types of sexual activity teenagers actually engage in today. I thought that was very well done. I don't think I'd recommend this book to anyone too young, though.

All in all, though not my favorite book ever, I did really enjoy it and would recommend it.

The Inside Story

The Inside Story
by Michael Buckley
The Sisters Grimm, book eight

After the shocking ending of The Everafter War, this book picks up with Sabrina, Daphne, and Puck stuck in the Book of Everafter, where all the fairy tales are stored and enchanted characters can change their destinies. The girls (and Puck) must chase the Master through a series of stories, where they’re willing to change what they need in order to save their baby brother. Soon, however, they are confronted by the Editor—the book’s guardian—who, along with an army of tiny monsters known as Revisers, threatens the children with dire consequences if they don’t stick to the stories. As they chase their quarry and dodge the Revisers, they meet Alice, Mowgli, Jack the Giant Killer, Hansel and Gretel, the Headless Horseman, and more. But will they find their brother in time? (description taken from Amazon.com)

This is one of my all-time favorite series. The part of me that has never really grown up revels in the idea that someone else out there...not just me!...imagined a world where fairy tale creatures were real. There is just something purely magical about the world that Sabrina and Daphne inhabit!

Each of the characters is captivating. Sabrina, Daphne, Relda, and yes, even Puck grow and change throughout the series. In this particular volume, Sabrina deals with some severe self-doubts. Surprisingly enough, Puck assists Daphne in talking her around. Puck even makes some surprising discoveries about himself, his relationship within the family, and drops some hints into his own deeper feelings.

I admire Sabrina's sheer determination and fierce family loyalty, Daphne's heart and endless optimism, but most of all I think I love Puck's well "pucktastic"-ness. He is definitely my favorite character in the series.

This is the second to last book in the series and again ends with a nice cliffhanger. I cannot wait to see how everything works out!

Selkie Girl

Selkie Girl
by Laurie Brooks

Elin Jean has always known she was different from the others on their remote island home. She is a gentle soul, and can’t stand the annual tradition of killing seal babies to thin the population. Even Tam McCodron, the gypsy boy to whom she is strangely drawn, seems to belong more than she does.

It’s just a matter of time until Elin Jean discovers the secret of her past: her mother, Margaret, is a selkie, held captive by her smitten father, who has kept Margaret’s precious seal pelt hostage for 16 years. Soon Elin Jean faces a choice about whether to free her mother from her island prison. And, as the child of this unusual union, she must make another decision. Part land, part sea, she must explore both worlds and dig deep inside herself to figure out where she belongs, and where her future lies. (description taken from Amazon.com)

This a well-written, haunting folk tale based book. I loved the imagery of the selkies shedding their skins, their underwater culture, stories told through song...I was so sad at the descriptions of the culling, a brutal practice.

What struck me the most every time I picked this book up, though, was how awful this cover choice was for this particular story. The art team that created this cover obviously had no inkling of what the story was about... it literally made me cringe every time I looked at it. A. There are NO mermaids in this story. B. The coloring, wavy lines, etc. makes it look like a frothy fantasy...ummm. No.

Thankfully, they redid the cover for the paperback and now, though still not fantastic it is a much, MUCH better fit! The darker tones are much more fitting to the somberness of the story (it really reminds me of the moody feel that I always got from "The Secret of Roan Inish") and the girl suspended in the water perfectly matches a description of Elin Jean in the book.



A much better choice!

I highly recommend this book. It's very similar to Donna Jo Napoli's Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale in tone. It has excellent themes (self-acceptance, love, belonging, morality) and is well told.

Anxiously Awaiting...

Rage
by Jackie Morse Kessler

Due out April 18, 2011 from Graphia.
Sequel to Hunger, book one in a thoughtful new series...a twist on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. *see my review here.

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else - Blog Tour Stop for Sept. 19th!

Welcome to day three of the "I Now Pronounce You Someone Else" Blog Tour!!
I'm stoked to offer you a review of this great book today and then later this week I'm going to have a guest post from the author, Erin McCahan, herself!

First, let me tell you about the book:

Eighteen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She's really Phoebe, the long lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That's the only way to explain her image-obsessed mother; a kind but distant stepfather; and a brother who has a small personality complex (he thinks he's Jesus). Bronwen must have been switched at birth, and she can't wait to get away from her family for good.

Then she meets Jared Sondervan. He's sweet, funny, everything she wants - and he has the family Bronwen has always wanted, too. She falls head over heels in love, and when he proposes marriage, she joyfully accepts. But is Jared truly what she needs? And if he's not, she has to ask: What would Phoebe Lilywhite do? (description taken from jacket copy)

This was a book that I connected with on several levels...Bronwen comes from a family that cannot openly communicate. Tragedy tore them apart and mother, sister, brother...never really drew back together for solace. I also come from a family where oftentimes appearance and politeness mask unaddressed issues. It is a very English thing to "put on the happy face" and not really talk about the things that are lying beneath the surface. When Bronwen's mother tells her that she looks beautiful as a blonde, and though Bronwen doesn't like dying her hair, but refuses to tell her mother that she'd like to be brunette like her father was...that totally struck a cord with me.

Even as Bronwen doesn't feel like she fits in with her family, she does not let that affect her ideals, her morals, or let anyone sway her from her beliefs...even if she's not sure how she came about them. She stands firm on her belief in not having premarital sex (which I thought was handled very well in this book - not at all preachy!) and when she decides a relationship isn't working, she stands firm though it may hurt to break up with someone. The times that Bronwen may not stand up for herself may seem incongruous with her character, based on my family history, I can totally understand. Even though Bronwen doesn't eat meat, she does with Jared's family, because she's been raised that it's the polite thing to do...she doesn't talk about family issues, because that's what she's been raised to do...those were all things that I was raised to do, and it takes time to break those habits.

As much as I related to Bronwen, what really struck me about this book was that it has a very refreshing, healthy outlook about relationships. Not just romantic ones, either, but families and friendships, as well. Bronwen, her Mother, and Stepfather have some major issues to address, but once they open up communication with each other, they become much closer and really get to know and understand each other. When Bronwen seeks a family that she thinks is much more "her," and she embraces the Sondervans, she witnesses a family that talks. Unfortunately, as she becomes more involved with them, she does a very typical thing and drops her bestfriend for her boyfriend.

It's not until Kirsten confronts her about it that Bronwen even realizes that she has neglected her friend. McCahan also addresses this very realistically, both in the problem in the first place, and in that there is no easy solution. When the girls begin college, their relationship is never quite the same. In fact, one minor complaint that I had about the book was that the end scene is Bronwen and Kirsten sitting in a cafe having coffee, which has always been their thing, reconnecting, only to have them interrupted with a romantic moment. It would have been better if the happy ending had happened outside the coffee shop afterwards.

I'm trying to be spoiler-free, so I'll only say that the romantic relationship in the book is more like real life than most. Where a lot of books are all about the happy ending and scorching heat and readers not caring how they stay in that moment afterwards, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else reaches the happily ever after moment and then plunges Bronwen into the morass of "what happens next?" that comes beyond. Things do not always work out. Real life can be a mess...but, if it's really meant to be, then it will happen. That is a message that I can really get behind.

I thought this was a really great read. I am very excited now to learn more about Erin McCahan's storycrafting process and I hope you will be, too, so keep your eye out for my followup guest post later this week!

If you are interested in checking out other stops on the INPYSE blog tour, stop by The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly to get the complete tour stop schedule!

Full disclosure: ARC provided by publisher for blog tour