Winners of Giveaways!

Congratulations are in order for the winners of our giveaways!

Kulsuma @ Sunshine and Stardust for winning a Book Depository book for the 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, June Wrap-Up

and

Shay @ 365 Books a Year for winning an autographed copy of Don't Expect Magic from our 400 Follower Giveaway.

Ladies, you have 48 hours to claim your prizes before I choose alternate winners.

Happy Friday everyone!

Book reviews to come:
Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

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The Miseducation of Cameron Post

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

When Cameron Post's parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they'll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.

But that relief doesn't last, and Cam is soon forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone (as her grandmother might say), and Cam becomes an expert at both.

Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship--one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to "fix" her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self--even if she's not exactly sure who that is. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads

Wow. Just, wow. This book was amazing. I had been in kind of a slump with YA books, feeling like too many of them were too fluffy and sweet and just not very authentic. This book was a welcome reminder that teen literature, at is best, is often brutally, scarily honest and pulls no punches. Cameron is 100% believable and while this fairly long book depends almost entirely on inner character development, it still grabs ahold of you and won't let you put it down. For anyone who is having/ had a tough time as a teen (so, basically, everyone ever), there are many aspects of this book that will ring true.

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Review: My Life Next Door

Stats:
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Date of Release: June 14, 2012
Page Count: 395
Would appeal to: Fans of Sarah Dessen, Sarah Ockler, Sara Zarr, or anyone who wants to fall in love with a love story

Favorite Quotes:
"It's so weird sitting there in the kitchen with this woman I've seen from a distance for ten years. Like finding yourself in an elevator with a celebrity. I repress the urge to say 'I'm a huge fan.'"



"We watch the hawk circling for a few minutes, then he reaches over and takes my hand, squeezes it, and holds on. The river sighs around us, and the little gears in my body that were spinning at breakneck speed all day slow to the lazy speed of the hawk, and the slow beat of my heart."


"It's a far cry from Hodges, which is built like a fortress, with battlements, stained-glass windows, and portcullises. It even has a drawbridge, because you never know when your prep school might be attacked by the Saxons."


"Clay rests his hand in the small of her back, propelling her, as we edge out into the night, which isn't even really dark, kind of tea-colored, since we're in the city."


"I want to reach into her argument and pick out the thread that's wrong, but it all seems like a tangle."

So you know all those reviews that have been hyping this book? They know what they're talking about. You know that last $20 you have from your paycheck that's burning a hole in your wallet but you really shouldn't buy a book because you bought three last week? Ignore your conscience...get this book!

Samantha has watched the Garretts for years, but her state senator mother forbids her and her sister Tracy to have any contact with their next door neighbors. A family with eight kids that leaves toys on their lawn and the Christmas lights up longer than necessary is not a family they need to be associated with. When Jace comes over and says hi to Samanatha, everything changes. She is sucked into a different world. Although it's crazy, it's full of love. As she becomes babysitter, she finds this out quickly. Samantha has a big house, an up-and-coming mom, and the perfect boyfriend, but she learns everything can change in the blink of an eye.

Why You Need to Run Right Out and Buy This Right Now:
I can't believe this is Huntley Fitzpatrick's first novel. She writes with the flow and insight of an author with several books. She says on her website that she kept some of her teenage diaries and reread them, and she definitely channeled her inner-teen. There are so many great my-life-is-over moments, particularly with young Andy who's trying to kiss her first boy ever.

It's full of great characters. You can't not love George, the little four year old obsessed with the Discovery channel, fearing things like black holes and what ice cream's made of. He says the best, most random things that give this story a ton of its humor. I love Alice's overprotectiveness of Jase. Andy's obsession with kissing correctly the first time. And Patsy's interesting first words as the baby.

Ever been to a zoo? The Garrett house is like that. In the best way possible.You'll be swept up in the little moments. I liked the way each sibling takes on a role within the family and how it's easy to tell each sibling apart early on because each is unique. And their parents are in the kind of love that gives you hope!

Jace is wonderful, in fact, very easy to fall for. Sometimes you think, Seen this guy before, but Jace stood out for me. He can fix anything. He loves animals and helping any and all creatures or humans. He carefully thinks through any kind of problem, even his words, so he won't offend Samantha. He's not embarrassed to try out something new that Samantha has also not tried out (no spoilers here). Oh my gosh, I wish I had one of him growing up! Not everyone has to be the bad boy!

If you're a girl, you will appreciate the friendship between Nan and Samantha. Nan shows an interesting, imperfect side of herself that actually reminds me of one or two people I knew growing up. And then there's the ever-wasted, habitual screw-up, Tim, her brother. Great character. Lots of depth. Became one of my favorites by the end.

Intense plot turn! This story asks hard questions about the difference between right and wrong. I really got into Samantha's head when things started unravelling. The chapters are short and have great need-to-turn-the-page moments. This book will make you sigh out loud. It will stick with you until you have to take it out again.

My Issues:
Jace is almost too understanding at times. I feel like there could have been longer fights between him and Samantha, especially since Jace is so kind and would expect that in return from his girlfriend.

When Jace calls Sam his "girlfriend" for the first time in public, even if it's just Tim, there's no acknowledgement from Sam like "Did I really just hear that correctly?" They didn't have a talk as to their status prior to that, so I'd assume she'd have a moment of giddiness/freakout/celebration at that point.

Final verdict:
Samantha and Jace's experience with first love will make you long to revisit yours; the quickening heartbeat, the reaching for tissues, the knowledge that someone else is rooting for your success in such a crazy world.

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Feature & Follow Friday (#15)

 

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop sponsored by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Answer a question and hop around to meet other bloggers:)

Question: Summer reading. What was your favorite book that you were required to read for school?

It's hard to pick just one. All of these were memorable in some way. To Kill a Mockingbird would have to be my favorite because I remember the most things from it. Apparently we had a crappy reading selection after freshman year.




Summer before 9th grade, we got to pick off of a list. When I finished this book, not only had I fallen in love with writing, but I proved to myself that long books didn't have to be intimidating. I couldn't find the cover that was on the library book I read from.

 9th grade. Memorable characters. 

Important exploration of racism. Had a

satisfied grin on my face by the end.

Also 9th grade. The idea of burning books was so foreign a concept that I was immediately hooked. 

What was your favorite required read?

Check out our giveaway for signed books (ending soon!).

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Under the Never Sky

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland - known as The Death Shop - are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild - a savage - and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads

This dystopain-lite novel was ok. If you are looking for a more intense, menacing, or developed dystopia, I would recommend that you keep looking. For a more exciting sci-fi novel with, again, stronger dystopian elemends, I'd really suggest Across the Universe and its sequels. For a survival flavored dystopia, check out After the Snow. Finally, if you like your bleak futures and evil governments softened by a little romance, go for Matched or Delirium.

If it sounds like I'm really underselling this book, it's because I kind of am. Sorry! There were things to like about it- for instance, it had all those elements I mentioned in one handy place (sci-fi, dystopia, romance, survival). I liked the male lead, Perry, and his role in a post-apocalyptic tribe of hunters and gatherers was pretty neat. The action sequences were solid, the roving, killer electrical storms were interesting. The main reason I'm reviewing this one though, is to bring up one of the coolest reasons to read sci-fi in 2012: our technology is developing so quickly, that you can read about some amazing future tech in a book one day, and see a REAL WORLD EXAMPLE OF IT IN THE NEWS THE NEXT DAY.

In Under the Never Sky, Aria and her fellow city dwelllers have an ocular device that connects them to each other in a huge network and enables them to access information, view their surroundings differently, and communicate across large distances. Kind of like, oh, I don't know, the device worn by Steve Mann, the "father of wearable computing." He made the news in July when several workers at a French McDonalds " took exception to his "Digital Eye Glass" device and attempted to forcibly remove it from his head." This has been referred to in the news as possibly the "world's first cybernetic hate crime." Welcome to the future, people.

Oh, and if the idea of a wearable computer on your face appeals to you (and honestly, why wouldn't it? Think of the reading you could do! The things you could Google while walking through a museum! You could play Angry Birds with your eyes!! Just don't go to French fast food establishments), there's good news! Google is well on its way to completing on of its many (somewhat terrifying) endeavors: Project Glass.

This device runs Android, the same operating system used by millions of smart phones already. I don't know about you, but I'm a little excited for our rapidly approaching/kind of already here sci-fi future.

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Waiting on Wednesday (#8): If I Lie

 

Jill at Breaking the Spine hosts this meme for bloggers to feature books they're so patiently waiting on to be released. 

This contemporary, to be released August 28th, explores emotion and relationships, specifically how the dynamic alters when one person cheats on the other. 

As someone with two military family members, I'm looking forward to it for the military aspect. It also got some pretty great reviews on Goodreads. 

What are you waiting on?

A dramatic and powerful novel that explores the gray space between truth and perception.

Cheater. Traitor. Slut.

     Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Shunned by everyone she knows, Quinn loses her friends, her reputation, and her identity. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s a Marine who’s serving overseas, and beloved by everyone in their small, military town.

     But Quinn didn’t cheat. She could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. So she stays silent, and waits for Carey to come home.

     Then Carey goes MIA, and Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.
-Amazon

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Vote for Your Favorite Teen Novels!

Choose up to ten books and help npr complete their list of Top 100 Teen Novels!

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