Friday, June 29, 2012

Something Like Normal - Trish Doller

Synopsis: When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero. (From Goodreads)

This novel is small, but man alive is it a powerhouse of emotion, relevance, and meaning. It's told from Travis's point of view, so only the necessary information and thoughts go into the book - there's no over-thinking or flowery prose that often come with female protagonists. The sparse narrative made the story much more immediate and the emotion so raw.

Trish Doller did an amazing job with Travis's emotions. Like so many boys I know, he doesn't like to talk about his emotions. He does better with using his actions either mask how he's feeling or to really show it. I could see where he was trying to set his feelings aside and I could see where he was putting them right out in the open. It's hard to pinpoint exactly how she pulled this off so wonderfully, but that's probably the genius of it.

It's also wonderful that not everything was resolved or tied up in nice bows by the end. This book is a snapshot of Travis's life - we only get to see a few weeks when he's home. And that isn't enough time to fix everything that's wrong. It's about taking things one step at a time, one day at a time. The love story was great and beautiful, but it functioned more as a part of the healing process than as its own story line. It was understated and it made it feel private. Harper came in to show Travis that he's still human and he can still love.

Then there's Travis's home life. Which is way screwed up. His father and brother are a couple pieces of work, holy moses. Plenty of dysfunction there. But Travis's mother is such an incredibly strong and beautiful character. I don't think there was a page that she was on that I wasn't a sobbing mess. Her son is out fighting for his country, and she is at home fighting for her son. She gives insight into what it's like to be the family of a soldier and if you're off at war, you want someone like her on your side. Travis does a lot of stupid things once he gets back, but I knew deep down he was a great person just from the way he treated his mother. That story line gives me goosebumps, it's so gorgeous.

My point is, read this book. It won't take you long and it's so important, especially in this world we live in. Even if you don't know a marine or someone with PTSD, I think it's worth it to know what could possibly be going through their minds or why they could be acting the way they do. Travis is an amazing character and he represents so many amazing people who are fighting this war, who come back and have to deal. For all those people, here is one voice calling out to be heard.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

What's Next? (3)

What's Next is a new meme hosted by Iceybooks, and you can participate!
Every Thursday select three-five books that you want to read but can't decide which one to read first.
So here are the books I'm trying to choose between, along with their first sentence and reason they're on my TBR. Vote for which one you think I should read next in the comments!

Defiance by C.J. Redwine
First Sentence: "The weight of their pity is like a stone tied about my neck."
Why it's on my TBR: Blurbed - for fans of Kristin Cashore. Dystopia, warrior girl, awesome cover...etc. I have a long list for this one.

Glitch by Heather Anastasiu
First Sentence: "I felt it coming this time."
Why it's on my TBR: Minnesota author. Blurbed by Andrea Cremer.

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samatha Van Leer
First Sentence: "Once upon a time in a land far, far away there lived a brave king and a beautiful queen, who were so much in love that wherever they went, people stopped what they were doing just to watch tme pass."
Why it's on my TBR: Actually, I'm more curious than anything else...

Monday, June 25, 2012

Don't You Wish - Roxanne St. Claire

Synopsis: When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school. 
In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.
But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.
So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?
The choice isn't as simple as you think.
 (From Goodreads)


This book is adorable. Who hasn't wondered how their life would be different if they were born into different circumstances? And this book explores that possibility so well. The characters were great and the fantasy of living the my-sweet-sixteen life is spot on. I want to hug this book for how cute it is, but at the same time, it is exactly what it looks like. You wonder how it is, you go - have a blast, learn a few things about life, and come home from that vacation (or finish the book) and live your life just the way you did before. Still it's worth exploring the possibilities of all the different ways you could be living your life.

Annie/Ayla is such an endearing character. It's remarkable that Roxanne St. Claire completely took a character out of her own body and made her unique. It wasn't the things she did, what she looked like, or what she was surrounded with that made who who she is. Somehow, and it's hard to point out exactly what it is, but this character is specifically Annie - it's like you could spot her no matter what body or life she was put into. You hope that if you were put in Annie's situation, you'd have the strength to remain true to who you are and do what you feel is right. So with all this universe hopping it comes down to that it is what is inside that defines you - something that is really great to see demonstrated in a YA novel.

Image plays a big part in this novel - and it probably says a lot more than I care to go into here - but the representations of image that stand in the foreground are engineered. There is science and thought that goes into creating those images. It creates an interesting battle of popularity vs. geekdom, as well as unnatural beauty vs. natural beauty. Of course, it's hard not to notice these things because they are completely saturated through the entire story line. It's all about how everyone looks.

But there are some really great, mechanical things going on under the surface. The parallel universes need scientific explanation - a feat that was handled gracefully. I'm the biggest dunce when it comes to science and math, but I never felt like I didn't understand what they were talking about. And of course, all this science stuff is wrapped up in a sweet, smart boy and that makes it easier to pay attention.

It's a quick read and it's a lot of fun. You can read it and speculate what your life would be like if you woke up in another version of yourself. You can wonder what you would do if you were Annie and woke up as Ayla. It's a great summer read that's light, but doesn't make you feel like you're losing brain cells. Actually, you might inadvertently learn something - which is always a nice surprise.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Secondary Character Saturday (14)


This is a weekly meme created to honor the characters that don't always get their voices heard, who support (or work to destroy) our beloved protagonists. This is for the third wheel in the love triangle (can you have wheels on a triangle?), for the BFFs, the family members, or even just the kind and loving (or deceitful and creepy) stranger who shows up and changes the game. We all know these stories wouldn't hold up without support so I'd like to take the time to highlight the best secondary characters I come across. This is an opportunity to talk about what makes these characters special, maybe to speculate what their world would be like without them, or maybe cast them in their own primary roles. If you'd like to create a SCS post leave your link in the comments and I'll check it out!

So today it's all about:

Paige from Something Like Normal


I hardly know where to start, but I'm curious about Paige. There are some really incredible characters in this book. Travis, his mother, Harper, the other marines, and Charlie are all such great, wonderful, honorable characters. Then there's Travis's brother, who we actually don't see too much of - and Paige.

 She was Travis's girlfriend but while he's in Afghanistan she hooks up with his brother. As soon as Travis gets back, she starts hooking up with him behind his brother's back. She's depicted as a gorgeous girl - meant to be the opposite of Harper, more porn star than girl next door. So her function in this story is fascinating. She's a link to Travis's life before he joined the Marines and he seems to have a little trouble letting that go, despite what the fact that he seems to want nothing to do with who he used to be.

I didn't care for Paige, I found her shallow and felt a little sorry for her. But I really wonder what's going through her head. She wants to be loved and to be the one who leaves, but she needs it too much. I also really wonder what readers are supposed to think about her. Are we supposed to judge her? Hate her? Feel bad for her? Does she serve a purpose beyond complicating Travis's life? Travis calls Harper the "happily-ever-after" kind of girl. So what does that make Paige, or girls like Paige? Girls like Paige pop up here and there in YA lit, but this book really made me wonder about the role this type of girl plays. And if we look at this story through Paige's eyes, what will we see? And what would be a happy ending for her?

Friday, June 22, 2012

Tiger Lily - Jodi Lynn Anderson

Synopsis: Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .
Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.
Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.
With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart. (From Goodreads)


Tiger Lily broke my heart. Utterly ripped me up and tore me to shreds. Like all things that are worth it, you just have to go in knowing there isn't a happy ending, but still go through it because it's beautiful and inspiring.

I got off to a rocky start with Tiger Lily. The story is narrated by Tinker Bell, and during the set up to the story I was worried she was too whimsical for me to follow. Once she got through all the introductory elements and the story began, all these worries faded and it turns out Tink is a brilliant narrator. She's the perfect person to observe, and her voice is so full of raw emotion that it practially drips off the pages. Her love for Peter and her fascination with Tiger Lily make her the perfect narrator to expose the gravity and devestation that leaks out of this beautiful story.

I'm so fascinated by Victorian England and colonialism and this book is so full of colonial connotations: An Englishman washes up on shore and after Tiger Lily saves him, he then attempts to convert the tribe to Christianity. This story line is enriched by Tik Tok, the shaaman and Tiger Lily's adoptive father. He is one of the most fascinating characters and I think I felt the need to write down every word that came down out of his mouth. His story line was subtle and underplayed, but it is so important in the larger picture. Because this book goes so far beyond Tiger Lily and Peter Pan. It's about the world getting smaller and magic slipping away. It's about time and what time really means in different contexts. The images and concepts of time were much more than the standard - I don't want to grow up - stubbornness that we've come to associate with Peter Pan. Time is an inevitability, bringing fluctuations  in space, cultures, even the people to whom it seemingly has to effect.

Between knowing that Wendy is going to show up and draw Peter away into civilization and knowing that eventually this world will disappear into myth because of that civilization heartbreak is a part of the inevitability of time. But the story has its moments of beauty and happiness - Tiger Lily running around with Peter and the Lost Boys - Pine Sap and all the sweet things he does - Tik Tok's moments of wisdom - the crows that the tribe believe Tiger Lily controls - and the best, when Tink realizes that Tiger Lily and Peter notice her when she's around, even though she doesn't expect them to.

Jodi Lynn Anderson's retelling of one of my favorite classic stories is absolutely brilliant. It's full of love and magic, wildness and beauty. This is a book you cherish, one you hold close to your heart. There's so much more to it than I can even articulate. I know I'll go back and read it and it will give me something new, will become deeper and more meaningful. Despite the heartbreak Tiger Lily caused, I'm still so in love.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Kathryn Knutson: Author Interview & Giveaway

I'm so excited to have Kathryn Knutson, author of The Possession of Cassie Quinn, answering questions on the blog today. I loved this YA horror novel, with some truly eerie scenes, a forest that plays tricks on the mind (or does it?), and an ending that leaves you needing to know what happens next. You can read my full review here.

Meet Kathryn!

 Can you tell a bit about yourself, including something completely random?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember and it’s something I’ve always loved to do.  Ghost stories are probably my favorite to write, but I also write science fiction, fantasy, and realistic fiction.  I am currently getting my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Hamline University.  Something random…I always sleep with the fan on—probably to block out the sounds of ghosts creeping around my house!

Will you tell everyone what your book is about in six words or less?

Honestly, I think the title does a really good job of summarizing my book in five words—the possession of Cassie Quinn.  Something a little more boring: girl moves into haunted house.

What was the inspiration behind Cassie’s story? Why did you decide to write a horror novel?

I’ve always loved reading and writing ghost stories.  I actually had the basic idea for this story when I was younger, and even wrote some pieces of it when I was thirteen (like the dividing the room with the blankets scene).   I always had that idea with me, and as an adult I went back to it.  The setting for Cassie’s story was inspired by a house I actually lived in.  It was a very creepy place to live!

This book is filled with chilling moments. What was your favorite ghost scene to write? Why?

My favorite scene to write was the last chapter.  I knew people wouldn’t be expecting it, and I love to read and write unexpected endings.  I am not a fan of the happy ending, especially in horror, and think the best endings leave you hanging or wondering what happens.

The woods outside of Cassie’s house are spooky, especially considering that’s were the boy who used to live in her house died. Considering I also live right on the edge of the woods in Minnesota, this spooked me a bit. What, do you think, it is about the woods in Minnesota that lends itself to the perfect haunted setting?

I’m realizing that the woods play a part in a lot of my books I’m writing, as in most of my stories the characters live by woods - even for stories that are not horror stories.  I think the woods can seem so haunted for a number of reasons.  I think a lot of people aren’t in touch with nature now and for that simple reason nature can be scary.  We aren’t familiar with all the sounds and sights of the woods, especially at night, and don’t know what might be lurking in the darkness.  That unknown is really scary!  Plus the woods, whether at night or during the day, tends to be more dark and quiet, and you really can’t see very far and anything could be hiding behind the next tree, watching us, waiting to jump out and scare us.  I have a woods behind my house, and I often imagine what might be out there, hiding in the trees, watching me…

I’m still hung up on that ending! Did you know how it would end when you began writing or did you figure it out as you went along?

I figured it out as I went along.  I originally had a different ending in mind, but as I was writing I knew the ending had to be what I eventually made it.  That’s where the story kept leading me. 

The Possession of Cassie Quinn ends with a "The story continues…June 2013” note. Can you tell us a little of what to expect in Book 2?

Just be happy I’m going to write a sequel – originally I wasn’t planning on it!  The sequel is going to pick up exactly where the first book left off, but told through the eyes of Ashleigh.  She’s going to find a hidden diary that was written 90 years ago and talks about a similar haunting at the house and find out some useful information that can help her. 

What is your favorite horror novel?

Hmm…I don’t get much chance to read nowadays (sadly).  I really liked Stephen King when I was growing up.  Also, one of my favorite books growing up was Wait Til Helen Comes – by Mary Downing Hahn.  Not quite horror, but a great ghost story!

Favorite horror movie?

The Grudge – I usually don’t get scared from movies, but this movie terrified me!  I even had to close my eyes at the end—too scary for me to watch!

You can find Kathryn Knutson online at http://kathrynknutson.com/!
You can buy The Possession of Cassie Quinn at Indiebound :: Amazon :: Barnes and Noble :: Book Depository

I'm also giving away a copy here. This giveaway is international as long as Book Depository ships to you. You must be 13 or older to enter. Giveaway ends on July 11, 2012. 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Possession of Cassie Quinn - Kathryn Knutson

Synopsis: A long, dark driveway towards an old farmhouse. A new stepsister with a nasty streak. A little sister who runs off. Something sinister lurking in the woods. Cassie Quinn's new home comes with . . . complications. Cassie never believed in ghosts before. But now she is receiving strange messages, telling her to stay out of the woods. Are the messages just a ploy by her stepsister? Or are they warning her of an evil that stalks the shadows of the woods beyond her home? (From Goodreads)

For the last month I have been searching for a good YA horror novel. I'm not sure why I was craving it, but I do know that it was really hard to track something down that I really wanted to read. I pretty much gave up and then I stumbled across The Possession of Cassie Quinn. I was excited enough about the word "possession" in the title, and then I got even more excited when I saw that it was a Minnesota author pubbed by a Minnesota press.

The beginning of the book reads like a good horror movie - kind of quiet, almost eerie snapshots of this new house that Cassie and her family have just moved to. It gives you the feeling that there is a shadow over everything, but maybe you're just imagining things. Then, when apparitions start popping up and leaving messages, you know it's not just your imagination. Even though Cassie still thinks so. I appreciated Cassie and her disposition to find a reasonable explanation for messages left on the the mirror and the wall. It takes her a bit of persuasion to come to terms with a haunting, and not the fact that her possibly-evil stepsister isn't just trying to freak her out.

There's more to the book that chilling moments and building tension. Cassie and her stepsister, Ashleigh, quickly fall in with the group of friends who knew the boy who died in the woods outside their house. They offer the background story - a story that I think would have been just as thrilling and terrifiying to read. There are quite a few secondary characters that play roles in this story, and Knutson handled that quite nicely. The novel could have easily been overwhelmed by the number of characters - but there is something in the safety of numbers when it comes to the paranormal that makes them all crucial to the story. And Ashleigh's friend, Amber, the self proclaimed spirit expert, is such a fun character to read.

This story hit close to home, quite literally. It takes place just about an hour or so from where I live. I also live right on the edge of the woods, like Cassie does. The woods are indeed terrifying. Just walking by them at night freaks me out a bit; I can't imagine actually going in them when it's dark. Knutson utilizes the over-active imagination that kicks in when in proximity to a setting like this in order to create a really great setting. Even better, I had ghosts of my own when I was a teenager. I used to have a group of friends come over and we'd hope for the ghosts to show themselves. Reading this book just brought out that incredible teen energy, twinging with nervous anticipation.

I was reading this book half expecting my ghosts to reappear and thinking I'd lift my head and there'd be messages burned into my wall. The story behind the spirits haunting Cassie is rich and full of the potential of more to be uncovered. The ending in itself is worth reading the book for. Thankfully, there will be a sequel, out in June 2013, because I am dying for more of this story after the way it ended. This was a great debut and exactly what I was hoping for when I was looking for good YA horror.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
This week's topic is: Top Ten Books on my Summer TBR

1. Something Like Normal by Trish Dollar
2. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

3. Reunited by Hilary Grahm
4. Defiance by C.J. Redwine

 5. Pushing the Limits by Katie
6. Embers & Echoes by Karsten Knight

7. False Memory by Dan Krokos
8. Team Human by Sarah Rees Brennan & Justine Larebalestier

9. Rift by Andrea Cremer
10. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Monday, June 18, 2012

Hemlock - Kathleen Peacock

Synopsis: Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.
Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.
Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.
Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.
Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love. (From Goodreads)

If you hang around my blog at all, you've probably gotten the message that I'm a werewolf kind of girl. They're warm, fuzzy, dangerous, and they have so much life in them it takes on two forms. I really love what wolves are and what shape shifters represent. So I went into Hemlock fully expecting to love it and I got everything I expected.

Kathleen Peacock's world is one where werewolves are common knowledge, but to be a werewolf is to be afflicted with a disease (by society's standards). Because a person bitten by a werewolf is no longer considered human, or is a second class human - there were a lot of parallels to gender or racial struggles and human rights movements. Once bitten a person is locked up in a camp, the rights of werewolves are the hot topic debated in politics, there are vigilantes, calls to citizens to turn in their neighbors, and werewolves hiding out pretending to be something their not. All these things make the common person so much more dangerous than the thing they are supposed to fear. In this sense Peacock takes a werewolf story and hooks it back into history and social convention and deepens the meaning behind each word.

Also, it's just a great story. It's very cinematic. I could actually see things happening - and I stopped every once in awhile to close my eyes and watch the things I just read replay in my mind. I kept thinking that this should be a movie or a TV show. I'd definitely watch that. The writing feels effortless, so it's easy to just get wrapped up in the movement and the snapshots. Everything about this story, the characters, the places, the actions, just feel so real.

The world is great, the writing is wonderful, and I really feel like I came to know and care about the people who live in these pages. Mac is your typical YA heroine, but it's the people around her who make her into something else. The images of Amy haunting her dreams are some of the most vivid and telling parts of the novel. Kyle and Jason are two great points on a love triangle (don't run away screaming if you hate love triangles - this one isn't just girl can't choose - it's so much more complicated than that - plus if you throw Amy in there, it's really more of a love square). I loved Kyle and I am rooting for him, but Jason was a richer character and I'm just fascinated by him.

I loved Hemlock  so much. It got my pulse racing and it defintitley left me wanting more. I'm so nervous and excited to see where these characters are headed next.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

One Year Blogoversary + Giveaway

Yup. Today marks one year. Really, it feels like I've been doing this a lot longer. A year ago I thought, I've read all these books and I barely remember them. I read so fast and furiously, moving quickly from one book to the next, devouring whenever and whatever I can, so some books easily get lost in that frenzy. And then I thought of all the amazing book blogs I'd been following for months and thought I could do that, if only to keep a record of my thoughts and a catalog of the books I'd read.

When I started I'd just moved back to the States after living in Spain for a year. I'd just finished my first year of grad school and had the summer stretched in front of me before I started classes again and started teaching for the first time. I had every intention of following the Ph.D. track I was on. But the more I blogged, the more I read what I LOVED to read, the more I was interacting with authors and other readers, the more I remembered a dream I had when I was in high school.

And that was to work in publishing. In my senior year book I said that my future plans were to become an editor. I'd gone to school with that intention. But somewhere that track shifted. I went from wanting to know everything about contemporary authors, publishing trends, and publishing imprints, to disecting older works of literature and studying dead authors. All that was really great and I loved it for a long time. But I never loved it as much as I love what I do now - working with current texts and discovering the past, present, and future of a vibrant field.

I had no idea when I started this a year ago it would change me so much. I expected it to make a difference, but I didn't know that it would lead me back to a dream I held onto years ago. It's something I didn't know I still wanted. The teaching thing didn't work out (yeah, won't ever do that again. I was NOT meant to be a teacher) and I lost faith in my graduate program and where I was going with it. I wasn't enjoying my work, my studies, or even reading anymore. And then I met the professor who taught my Young Adult Lit class, and she encouraged me to pursue working with YA books. Between that professor and my blog, I feel like I've been led back to what I really want to do and where I want to go.

It's amazing what a year can do. It's amazing how something, so seemingly simple, as this blog led me somewhere unexpected. I'm amazed and blessed.

And you, my dear readers, I appreciate you more than you know. Thanks for caring what I have to say and letting me share my passions with you.

Here's to one year, and hopefully many more.

Because I appreciate you so much, I'm going to have a quick and simple giveaway. There are three books that released this week that I've highly anticipated. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below - you must be 13 or older to enter, giveaway is international as long as Book Depository ships to you. There will be one winner who will get his/her choice of one of these three books. I'll contact the winner by email. Contest will end July 1, 2012 at 12:01 AM.


AND! I've written down a number between 1-25. I have some fun swag - so for US only, if you guess the number I wrote down, I'll send you some swag!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Secondary Character Saturday (13)


This is a weekly meme created to honor the characters that don't always get their voices heard, who support (or work to destroy) our beloved protagonists. This is for the third wheel in the love triangle (can you have wheels on a triangle?), for the BFFs, the family members, or even just the kind and loving (or deceitful and creepy) stranger who shows up and changes the game. We all know these stories wouldn't hold up without support so I'd like to take the time to highlight the best secondary characters I come across. This is an opportunity to talk about what makes these characters special, maybe to speculate what their world would be like without them, or maybe cast them in their own primary roles. If you'd like to create a SCS post leave your link in the comments and I'll check it out!

So today it's all about:

Maris from Lies Beneath


Really, any of Calder's sisters are worth talking about. These three girls are so twisted and just fascinating. Each of these sisters clearly has their own story and one that would be worth reading about.

But Maris. Man. I'm so curious about her. She's running the show. These mermaids do what she says, or else. She's cold, she's ruthless, and totally frightening. At the same time, you have to admire how fiercely protective she is of her family and of who she is. The moments where she shows Calder that the things she does are because she has to, not because she wants to, I saw all new dimensions of her.

Now I wonder, what has she gone through? What was her relationship really like with her mother? What does she say to her sisters when Calder isn't around? What does she think when she drowns someone? I really wish I knew what goes through her head - does she make decisions because of her nature or because she thinks she has to? 

Friday, June 15, 2012

In Honor - Jessi Kirby

Synopsis: Hours after her brother’s military funeral, Honor opens the last letter Finn ever sent. In her grief, she interprets his note as a final request and spontaneously decides to go to California to fulfill it.
Honor gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn’s best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn’t seen Rusty in ages, but it’s obvious he is as arrogant and stubborn as ever—not to mention drop-dead gorgeous. Despite Honor’s better judgment, the two set off together on a voyage from Texas to California. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn’s memory—but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences? (From Godreads)

I've had books that leave me crying at the end, or that illicit a few tears through the middle, but I have to say this is the first book that had me broken down and sobbing on the first page. That wave of emotion I felt at the very beginning receeded and came crashing back just as if the pages of this book were drops of water in the ocean. The movement and the emotion are the power behind this story.

I loved Honor and Rusty together. They spent the trip rebuilding a broken relationship, almost as if their reunion was a side effect of the grieving and healing process. Both of them have pasts which are rooted in their memories of Finn, and because of this there's an organic separation of past and present. The only time anything is remembered or has already happen, Finn is a part of it. But we don't know much about who Honor or Finn were before he died. We get to see them now, and we get to see them move forward, in a future where Finn isn't present. And that time between when he enlisted and when he died barely seems to exist outside of a few recalled letters. It's almost as if the world was suspended and the conclusion of that, unfortunately occuring in Finns' death, allowed them, or rather, propelled them forward finally. The dynamics of time are so interesting in this respect.

My only complaint is that it was too short. I really wish there was more to this story, but I do love that, inspite of the death that begins Honor's journey, there's so much living that she does in this short amount of time. Honor is so open to experiencing new things, it's inspiring. The book is all about honoring Finn, the wonderful human being who sacrificed his life for his family and his country. He's a beautiful person and so worth honoring. And Honor shows that the best way to honor lost loved ones is to live. (*And cue more tears.)

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Lies Beneath - Anne Greenwood Brown

Synopsis: Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him. (From Goodreads)

This is the second mermaid book I've ever read. I read one last year and didn't care for it at all. So I was wary to venture back into the genre. I chose to pick this one up because Anne Greenwood Brown is a Minnesota author and parts of the book take place in MN. I've also lived on a lake most of my life and so I was more than curious about mermaids that live in lakes. Granted, my lakes are no where near the size of Lake Superior, but still, it was intriguing. And I will say that, even though I'm not a big swimmer, I'll probably be a little more wary if I venture into the water this summer.

I'm so glad I picked up this book, because not only are mermaids a fresh creature for me, but the way the story is told is refreshing. I thoroughly appreciated both the fact that the story is told from the male perspective and from the view of the paranormal creature. The story is still girl meets someone more than human, is in danger, but falls for him anyway - but the voice is that of the dangerous paranormal - not the unwitting human girl. Just that small switch in perspective made all the difference. Calder was a great narrator. He's a guy who's under the control of all the women in his life. All he wants is freedom and revenge. Watching him struggle with his natural dark impulses and try to find a way to escape from that was fascinating. And when he couldn't figure out why humans acted a certain way, I was charmed by him.

His sisters are something else. I'd want to escape from them too. The dynamics in this family were complex and twisted. They're his support system and his lifeline, but they're crazy. Each of his sisters has some serious issues. They're great characters, as I think I'd be interested in reading about what each one of their lives had been like up until this point.

Lily is also a great, colorful character, but, even for a love story, she doesn't seem to be the main event. It's kind of like everything in this book is just slightly out of focus. And since either Calder is out of his element on land or Lily is out of her element on water, that writing technique is wonderful. Reading this book is like realizing you're having a really fascinating dream and you do everything you can to hold onto sleep so you can find out where your subconscious is going to take you. It has a quality that is subtle and just out of reach of explanation.

I love books that portray the northwoods the right way. The second Lily said, "Uff da," this book latched on to my heart. I'm very proud of my Minnesota accent and when I hear Minnesota speak I feel immediate kinship. But that's just a part of why I love this book. The setting is gorgeous, the characters are wonderful, and the writing style is just lovely.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Beach Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
This week's topic is: Top Ten Books I'd Recommend as Good Beach Reads

1. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
This series is the epitome of the perfect beach read: Love. The meaning of life. Hot boys. Beaches.


2. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen IS summer.


3. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
Such an incredible contemporary novel. I'd consider it a summer read, but I wouldn't actually read it on the beach. Unless I wanted to cry in front of a lot of people.


4. Past Perfect by Leila Sales
The book is about a summer job and a girl who samples every flavor of ice cream. And finds out what it means to move on. Which, if that's not a beach read, what is?


5. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
I measure my summers by good road-trip novels. And this was the one that did it for me last summer.


6. Heist Society by Ally Carter
I read this one while hanging out in the sun on my lawn chair, so I associate it with beach reading.


7. Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols
Jennifer Echols is great anytime. But especially in the summer. And this is one of her best yet!


8. Wanderlove by Kristin Hubbard
Read this when you have time to actually contemplate traveling the globe. It's actually kind of torturous, in a sweet way, to have to read it while you're stuck somewhere.


9. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Beach reads are about feeling good. And this is the kind of book that will make you feel like you've swallowed sunshine.


10. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
I associate contemporaries with beach reads. But if you're a paranormal romance person - this is the ideal beach read! Light and fun, with a bit of a punch.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Until I Die - Amy Plum

Synopsis: Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.
As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series. (From Goodreads)

If zombies were anything like Vincent and the other revenants, I'd say bring on the apocalypse. The revenants are such a great twist on the paranormal and I love Amy Plum for bringing something fresh to the genre. In this second installment, the lore behind the revenants and the numa is explored futher. As it turns out they may not be as secret as they thought they were.

I was so happy to be back in Paris with Kate, Vincent, Jules and the rest of the group. Paris comes to life in these pages and seeing it through Kate's eyes is enchanting. As she tries to figure out a way to be with Vincent in a way that won't bring either of them pain, she travels to some pretty interesting places, both in Paris and in France. There were a couple times I wanted to smack Vincent for treating Kate like she couldn't handle things, but Kate even handled not knowing his secrets with grace. These two really trust each other - even when they aren't telling each other everything. Their relationship is beautiful and it really makes it worth fighting for.

The new characters were great too. There are two new revenants in the Paris clan, both coming from 15th century Brittany. So Violette is way old fashioned, at least until she starts hanging out with Kate. I adored that she knew the Victorian language of flowers and commuicates with Kate with bouquets. And then there's Arthur who looks like Kurt Cobain. He's cranky and quiet, but I rather enjoyed his character.

What really struck me when reading were the three relationshps depicted of one mortal and one immortal. There's Kate and Vincent who are trying for a future together. There's Genevieve and her husband who's future is ending. And then there's the book Kate finds that tells the story of such a relationship in the past. I feel like most immortal/mortal relationships generally end up with one gaining immortality - and maybe that could happen here, but they're really exploring the possibility of Kate growing old while Vincent lives on. I kind of love that. It's tragic, but it feels so much more natural and beautiful.

I loved this installment in this amazing series. There were moments where I felt the plot was lacking, but it's more than made up for in information and character building. Oh, and that ending. Yeah, that was mean. Seriously, like four more words probably would have made me a lot happier. In any case I'm definitely eager to keep reading Kate and Vincent's story.

Just because I love it so much - I also wanted to share the book trailer. Watch it and tell me that you aren't dying to be in Paris right now.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Secondary Character Saturday (12)


I've started a new weekly meme here and I'd love for you to join me. Saturdays are now dedicated to honor the characters that don't always get their voices heard, who support (or work to destroy) our beloved protagonists. This is for the third wheel in the love triangle (can you have wheels on a triangle?), for the BFFs, the family members, or even just the kind and loving (or deceitful and creepy) stranger who shows up and changes the game. We all know these stories wouldn't hold up without support so I'd like to take the time to highlight the best secondary characters I come across. This is an opportunity to talk about what makes these characters special, maybe to speculate what their world would be like without them, or maybe cast them in their own primary roles. If you'd like to create a SCS post leave your link in the comments and I'll check it out!

So today it's all about:

Jason from Hemlock

Jason is a complex character that I can't quite figure out. He's almost present enough not to qualify as a secondary character, and I have a feeling in the future he will be front and center. But so much of what he does is happening off the pages, he pops in and out without much warning, and you even find out things about him from other people. Not a lot of substance comes out of his mouth, but he's still an incredibly substantial character.

I wish I could get into Jason's head. He's so contradictory that I just want to know what goes through his mind. I love him and hate him at the same time. I want to shake him and hug him. I want him to have no involvement and I want to see more of him. I don't know that I've ever been so undecided about what to think of a character, especially when there are only two options, and they are extreme. He makes terrible choices, he thinks terrible things, but he has redemption as well.

But I also love that, while he deals with most of his problems through violence, he's clearly emotionally conflicted. He's not just bad to be bad. And obviously, Mac cares about him and he's been through a traumatic event, so it's easier to see through the wall he's putting up. But after he kind of goes off page, running off with the Trackers I kind of want to go with him. I want to see the things he sees, hear what he hears, and know what he knows. And I want to know what he really thinks of all these things. 

Friday, June 8, 2012

The Glimpse - Claire Merle

Synopsis: In a near future, society is segregated according to whether people are genetically disposed to mental illness. 17-year-old Ana has been living the privileged life of a Pure due to an error in her DNA test. When the authorities find out, she faces banishment from her safe Community, a fate only thwarted by the fact that she has already been promised to Pure-boy Jasper Taurell. 
Jasper is from a rich and influential family and despite Ana’s condition, wants to be with her. The authorities grant Ana a tentative reprieve. If she is joined to Jasper before her 18th birthday, she may stay in the Community until her illness manifests. But if Jasper changes his mind, she will be cast out among the Crazies. As Ana’s joining ceremony and her birthday loom closer, she dares to hope she will be saved from the horror of the City and live a ‘normal’ life. But then Jasper disappears.Led to believe Jasper has been taken by a strange sect the authorities will not intefere with, Ana sneaks out of her well-guarded Community to find him herself. Her search takes her through the underbelly of society and into the pits of the human soul. And as she delves deeper into the mystery of Jasper's abduction she uncovers some devastating truths that destroy everything she has grown up to believe, but she also learns to love as she has never loved before. (From Goodreads)

This is a book that I ultimately have mixed feelings about. On one hand it feels like an important social commentary and on the other hand, as a story, it fell short in a few places. I was so fascinated by the setting and the treatment of separation and classification of mental illnesses. Yet, I never grew to love or care for the main characters and I feel like there are some holes that haven't quite been addressed. I think if you crossed Matched by Allie Condie with Delirium by Lauren Oliver - you'd get The Glimpse.

I really wish I knew more about the politics behind this situtation. Claire Merle does an excellent job at taking a social flaw, putting it under a microscope, expanding it and exposing it. If I'm looking at this book solely in the world that is created, I think it's really well done. I don't know enough about the actual politics, or what's going on in the English government, to comment too much on this. It was interesting to look at what mental illness really is. For a book about mental illness, you don't actually see a lot of it - which is probably part of the point. Kind of - if everyone's crazy, then it's the sane people who become crazy - kind of situation. But it goes beyond mental illness to drug companies and the scary amount of power they have.

Not to mention, I'm pretty sure I'd be considered a crazy in this world. The 3 major mental illnesses are schitzophrenia, anxiety, and depression. But they also consider things like low-self esteem, irrational behavor, impulsive behavior, or even just outbursts to be signs of mental disease. Yeah, I'd be kicked out of the pure community so fast. How those pure people don't die of boredom is beyond me. But even the pures do things like abduct people, shock people, turn them into zombies. You know, the usual. The dyanamics of this world are just so well done. The conspiracy, the lies, the psycosis - all thought provoking.

It's where the story resembles that of Matched that this book loses me. So basically the romances. There's a love triangle in this book, and the relationships that Ana has with both boys feel totally empty. She's bound to Jasper and she adores him, goes to extraordinary lengths for him, but that felt a little undeveloped. Then there's Cole, who's a member of the Enlightenment Project, which basically goes against everything the Pures stand for. Ana winds up mixed up with him, and all they talk about is the society. They never really get a chance to know each other, but all of a sudden they're burning to be together. That connection was just missed. I think this book would have been so much better without all the relationship stuff. There's already plenty of drama, and the moments with the romance just felt empty.

And Ana's father. I don't understand him. I can't figure him out. His wife commits suicide and I can't tell if he is happy or sad about it. I can't tell if he's evil or misguided. I don't like that I don't know what his motives are, what he feels about certain situations. And it's so hard to tell if he's acting of his own volition or if he's just a corporate puppet. It's so frustrating.

The book ends with a set-up into another book, but I don't know if it will be a series or not. I think I'd keep reading, just because there are some questions I want answered. There were some things that were great here, and some that just fell short. I'd recommend this one if you are a fan of dystopia or books with a political statement.

Armchair BEA: Blogging Advice

I'm just days away from my one year blogoversary. And I still feel like I'm in no position to give advice. But I have a few things I've learned, and I don't think they're different from what others will tell you. Still, it took me a little bit of time to figure these things out. Again, this is just as much my own advice to myself as it is to other bloggers.

The Past: Save the Drama for the Fictional Characters
Drama is going to happen. Don't get sucked in. I spent a long time worried that I'd somehow become a part of the drama and was hyper aware of everything I was doing. But at some point, I had to stop and remember that this blog is my space and I get to say what gets posted. I did recently feel the need to create my own blogger pledge to establish my own views and values on blogging. You can read it here.

The Present: Tip for New Bloggers
You'll hear it from a lot of people - be respectful, don't blog just for ARCs, be original - but I think one of the most important pieces of advice I can pass on is: Network! I caught onto the importance of Twitter pretty quickly. But I was afraid to talk to people. I was a relatively silent spectator. But once I realized that people wanted to talk to me too, I started reaching out and joining conversations. Nothing brings people to your blog like making friends! I'm still tenative about who I talk to (for my own mental reasons) and I know I need to knock it off. I love my blogger friends and I always love meeting more people!

The Future: Keep Going!
I get to talk about books. That's what this blog comes down to. I love that I have a platform to gush about my favorite books, maybe rant a little about ones that weren't so good, and fangirl over amazing authors. It doesn't get much better than that. I've had my lower moments. I've gotten really behind or have avoided writing posts. I've been in reading slumps and just get really down on it all. But at this point, not blogging would leave a huge hole in my life. It's so much of what I do now. It's kind of funny how quickly it became such an important piece of who I am. So even those low points aren't enough to outweigh the love of it. Talking about books. Gushing about characters. Freaking out about the epicness of it all. Reaching out to authors. Hearing from publishers. Recommending books. Connecting with other readers. These are the things that make book blogging amazing. 

Thursday, June 7, 2012

What's Next? (2)

What's Next is a new meme hosted by Iceybooks, and you can participate!
Every Thursday select three-five books that you want to read but can't decide which one to read first.
So here are the books I'm trying to choose between, along with their first sentence and reason they're on my TBR. Vote for which one you think I should read next in the comments!

Here are the three I'm trying to decide between right now. If you want a synopsis, click on the book cover and it will either take you to Indiebound. Let me know your votes in the comments!

Skylark by Meagan Spooner
First Sentence: "The din of the clockwork dawn was loudest in the old sewers, a great whirring and clanking of gears as the artificial sun warmed up."
Why it's on my TBR: Honestly? The cover is pretty.

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
First Sentence: "She stands on the cliffs, near the old crumbling stone house."
Why it's on my TBR: Love everything Peter Pan.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
First Sentence: "After a year of slavery in the Salt Mines of Endovier, Celaena Sardothien was accustomed to being escorted everywhere in shackles and at sword-point."
Why it's on my TBR: Fantasy. Assassins. Awesome.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Something Like Normal - Trish Doller

Synopsis: When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero. (From Goodreads)

This novel is small, but man alive is it a powerhouse of emotion, relevance, and meaning. It's told from Travis's point of view, so only the necessary information and thoughts go into the book - there's no over-thinking or flowery prose that often come with female protagonists. The sparse narrative made the story much more immediate and the emotion so raw.

Trish Doller did an amazing job with Travis's emotions. Like so many boys I know, he doesn't like to talk about his emotions. He does better with using his actions either mask how he's feeling or to really show it. I could see where he was trying to set his feelings aside and I could see where he was putting them right out in the open. It's hard to pinpoint exactly how she pulled this off so wonderfully, but that's probably the genius of it.

It's also wonderful that not everything was resolved or tied up in nice bows by the end. This book is a snapshot of Travis's life - we only get to see a few weeks when he's home. And that isn't enough time to fix everything that's wrong. It's about taking things one step at a time, one day at a time. The love story was great and beautiful, but it functioned more as a part of the healing process than as its own story line. It was understated and it made it feel private. Harper came in to show Travis that he's still human and he can still love.

Then there's Travis's home life. Which is way screwed up. His father and brother are a couple pieces of work, holy moses. Plenty of dysfunction there. But Travis's mother is such an incredibly strong and beautiful character. I don't think there was a page that she was on that I wasn't a sobbing mess. Her son is out fighting for his country, and she is at home fighting for her son. She gives insight into what it's like to be the family of a soldier and if you're off at war, you want someone like her on your side. Travis does a lot of stupid things once he gets back, but I knew deep down he was a great person just from the way he treated his mother. That story line gives me goosebumps, it's so gorgeous.

My point is, read this book. It won't take you long and it's so important, especially in this world we live in. Even if you don't know a marine or someone with PTSD, I think it's worth it to know what could possibly be going through their minds or why they could be acting the way they do. Travis is an amazing character and he represents so many amazing people who are fighting this war, who come back and have to deal. For all those people, here is one voice calling out to be heard.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

What's Next? (3)

What's Next is a new meme hosted by Iceybooks, and you can participate!
Every Thursday select three-five books that you want to read but can't decide which one to read first.
So here are the books I'm trying to choose between, along with their first sentence and reason they're on my TBR. Vote for which one you think I should read next in the comments!

Defiance by C.J. Redwine
First Sentence: "The weight of their pity is like a stone tied about my neck."
Why it's on my TBR: Blurbed - for fans of Kristin Cashore. Dystopia, warrior girl, awesome cover...etc. I have a long list for this one.

Glitch by Heather Anastasiu
First Sentence: "I felt it coming this time."
Why it's on my TBR: Minnesota author. Blurbed by Andrea Cremer.

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samatha Van Leer
First Sentence: "Once upon a time in a land far, far away there lived a brave king and a beautiful queen, who were so much in love that wherever they went, people stopped what they were doing just to watch tme pass."
Why it's on my TBR: Actually, I'm more curious than anything else...

Monday, June 25, 2012

Don't You Wish - Roxanne St. Claire

Synopsis: When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school. 
In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.
But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.
So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?
The choice isn't as simple as you think.
 (From Goodreads)


This book is adorable. Who hasn't wondered how their life would be different if they were born into different circumstances? And this book explores that possibility so well. The characters were great and the fantasy of living the my-sweet-sixteen life is spot on. I want to hug this book for how cute it is, but at the same time, it is exactly what it looks like. You wonder how it is, you go - have a blast, learn a few things about life, and come home from that vacation (or finish the book) and live your life just the way you did before. Still it's worth exploring the possibilities of all the different ways you could be living your life.

Annie/Ayla is such an endearing character. It's remarkable that Roxanne St. Claire completely took a character out of her own body and made her unique. It wasn't the things she did, what she looked like, or what she was surrounded with that made who who she is. Somehow, and it's hard to point out exactly what it is, but this character is specifically Annie - it's like you could spot her no matter what body or life she was put into. You hope that if you were put in Annie's situation, you'd have the strength to remain true to who you are and do what you feel is right. So with all this universe hopping it comes down to that it is what is inside that defines you - something that is really great to see demonstrated in a YA novel.

Image plays a big part in this novel - and it probably says a lot more than I care to go into here - but the representations of image that stand in the foreground are engineered. There is science and thought that goes into creating those images. It creates an interesting battle of popularity vs. geekdom, as well as unnatural beauty vs. natural beauty. Of course, it's hard not to notice these things because they are completely saturated through the entire story line. It's all about how everyone looks.

But there are some really great, mechanical things going on under the surface. The parallel universes need scientific explanation - a feat that was handled gracefully. I'm the biggest dunce when it comes to science and math, but I never felt like I didn't understand what they were talking about. And of course, all this science stuff is wrapped up in a sweet, smart boy and that makes it easier to pay attention.

It's a quick read and it's a lot of fun. You can read it and speculate what your life would be like if you woke up in another version of yourself. You can wonder what you would do if you were Annie and woke up as Ayla. It's a great summer read that's light, but doesn't make you feel like you're losing brain cells. Actually, you might inadvertently learn something - which is always a nice surprise.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Secondary Character Saturday (14)


This is a weekly meme created to honor the characters that don't always get their voices heard, who support (or work to destroy) our beloved protagonists. This is for the third wheel in the love triangle (can you have wheels on a triangle?), for the BFFs, the family members, or even just the kind and loving (or deceitful and creepy) stranger who shows up and changes the game. We all know these stories wouldn't hold up without support so I'd like to take the time to highlight the best secondary characters I come across. This is an opportunity to talk about what makes these characters special, maybe to speculate what their world would be like without them, or maybe cast them in their own primary roles. If you'd like to create a SCS post leave your link in the comments and I'll check it out!

So today it's all about:

Paige from Something Like Normal


I hardly know where to start, but I'm curious about Paige. There are some really incredible characters in this book. Travis, his mother, Harper, the other marines, and Charlie are all such great, wonderful, honorable characters. Then there's Travis's brother, who we actually don't see too much of - and Paige.

 She was Travis's girlfriend but while he's in Afghanistan she hooks up with his brother. As soon as Travis gets back, she starts hooking up with him behind his brother's back. She's depicted as a gorgeous girl - meant to be the opposite of Harper, more porn star than girl next door. So her function in this story is fascinating. She's a link to Travis's life before he joined the Marines and he seems to have a little trouble letting that go, despite what the fact that he seems to want nothing to do with who he used to be.

I didn't care for Paige, I found her shallow and felt a little sorry for her. But I really wonder what's going through her head. She wants to be loved and to be the one who leaves, but she needs it too much. I also really wonder what readers are supposed to think about her. Are we supposed to judge her? Hate her? Feel bad for her? Does she serve a purpose beyond complicating Travis's life? Travis calls Harper the "happily-ever-after" kind of girl. So what does that make Paige, or girls like Paige? Girls like Paige pop up here and there in YA lit, but this book really made me wonder about the role this type of girl plays. And if we look at this story through Paige's eyes, what will we see? And what would be a happy ending for her?

Friday, June 22, 2012

Tiger Lily - Jodi Lynn Anderson

Synopsis: Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .
Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.
Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.
With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart. (From Goodreads)


Tiger Lily broke my heart. Utterly ripped me up and tore me to shreds. Like all things that are worth it, you just have to go in knowing there isn't a happy ending, but still go through it because it's beautiful and inspiring.

I got off to a rocky start with Tiger Lily. The story is narrated by Tinker Bell, and during the set up to the story I was worried she was too whimsical for me to follow. Once she got through all the introductory elements and the story began, all these worries faded and it turns out Tink is a brilliant narrator. She's the perfect person to observe, and her voice is so full of raw emotion that it practially drips off the pages. Her love for Peter and her fascination with Tiger Lily make her the perfect narrator to expose the gravity and devestation that leaks out of this beautiful story.

I'm so fascinated by Victorian England and colonialism and this book is so full of colonial connotations: An Englishman washes up on shore and after Tiger Lily saves him, he then attempts to convert the tribe to Christianity. This story line is enriched by Tik Tok, the shaaman and Tiger Lily's adoptive father. He is one of the most fascinating characters and I think I felt the need to write down every word that came down out of his mouth. His story line was subtle and underplayed, but it is so important in the larger picture. Because this book goes so far beyond Tiger Lily and Peter Pan. It's about the world getting smaller and magic slipping away. It's about time and what time really means in different contexts. The images and concepts of time were much more than the standard - I don't want to grow up - stubbornness that we've come to associate with Peter Pan. Time is an inevitability, bringing fluctuations  in space, cultures, even the people to whom it seemingly has to effect.

Between knowing that Wendy is going to show up and draw Peter away into civilization and knowing that eventually this world will disappear into myth because of that civilization heartbreak is a part of the inevitability of time. But the story has its moments of beauty and happiness - Tiger Lily running around with Peter and the Lost Boys - Pine Sap and all the sweet things he does - Tik Tok's moments of wisdom - the crows that the tribe believe Tiger Lily controls - and the best, when Tink realizes that Tiger Lily and Peter notice her when she's around, even though she doesn't expect them to.

Jodi Lynn Anderson's retelling of one of my favorite classic stories is absolutely brilliant. It's full of love and magic, wildness and beauty. This is a book you cherish, one you hold close to your heart. There's so much more to it than I can even articulate. I know I'll go back and read it and it will give me something new, will become deeper and more meaningful. Despite the heartbreak Tiger Lily caused, I'm still so in love.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Kathryn Knutson: Author Interview & Giveaway

I'm so excited to have Kathryn Knutson, author of The Possession of Cassie Quinn, answering questions on the blog today. I loved this YA horror novel, with some truly eerie scenes, a forest that plays tricks on the mind (or does it?), and an ending that leaves you needing to know what happens next. You can read my full review here.

Meet Kathryn!

 Can you tell a bit about yourself, including something completely random?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember and it’s something I’ve always loved to do.  Ghost stories are probably my favorite to write, but I also write science fiction, fantasy, and realistic fiction.  I am currently getting my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Hamline University.  Something random…I always sleep with the fan on—probably to block out the sounds of ghosts creeping around my house!

Will you tell everyone what your book is about in six words or less?

Honestly, I think the title does a really good job of summarizing my book in five words—the possession of Cassie Quinn.  Something a little more boring: girl moves into haunted house.

What was the inspiration behind Cassie’s story? Why did you decide to write a horror novel?

I’ve always loved reading and writing ghost stories.  I actually had the basic idea for this story when I was younger, and even wrote some pieces of it when I was thirteen (like the dividing the room with the blankets scene).   I always had that idea with me, and as an adult I went back to it.  The setting for Cassie’s story was inspired by a house I actually lived in.  It was a very creepy place to live!

This book is filled with chilling moments. What was your favorite ghost scene to write? Why?

My favorite scene to write was the last chapter.  I knew people wouldn’t be expecting it, and I love to read and write unexpected endings.  I am not a fan of the happy ending, especially in horror, and think the best endings leave you hanging or wondering what happens.

The woods outside of Cassie’s house are spooky, especially considering that’s were the boy who used to live in her house died. Considering I also live right on the edge of the woods in Minnesota, this spooked me a bit. What, do you think, it is about the woods in Minnesota that lends itself to the perfect haunted setting?

I’m realizing that the woods play a part in a lot of my books I’m writing, as in most of my stories the characters live by woods - even for stories that are not horror stories.  I think the woods can seem so haunted for a number of reasons.  I think a lot of people aren’t in touch with nature now and for that simple reason nature can be scary.  We aren’t familiar with all the sounds and sights of the woods, especially at night, and don’t know what might be lurking in the darkness.  That unknown is really scary!  Plus the woods, whether at night or during the day, tends to be more dark and quiet, and you really can’t see very far and anything could be hiding behind the next tree, watching us, waiting to jump out and scare us.  I have a woods behind my house, and I often imagine what might be out there, hiding in the trees, watching me…

I’m still hung up on that ending! Did you know how it would end when you began writing or did you figure it out as you went along?

I figured it out as I went along.  I originally had a different ending in mind, but as I was writing I knew the ending had to be what I eventually made it.  That’s where the story kept leading me. 

The Possession of Cassie Quinn ends with a "The story continues…June 2013” note. Can you tell us a little of what to expect in Book 2?

Just be happy I’m going to write a sequel – originally I wasn’t planning on it!  The sequel is going to pick up exactly where the first book left off, but told through the eyes of Ashleigh.  She’s going to find a hidden diary that was written 90 years ago and talks about a similar haunting at the house and find out some useful information that can help her. 

What is your favorite horror novel?

Hmm…I don’t get much chance to read nowadays (sadly).  I really liked Stephen King when I was growing up.  Also, one of my favorite books growing up was Wait Til Helen Comes – by Mary Downing Hahn.  Not quite horror, but a great ghost story!

Favorite horror movie?

The Grudge – I usually don’t get scared from movies, but this movie terrified me!  I even had to close my eyes at the end—too scary for me to watch!

You can find Kathryn Knutson online at http://kathrynknutson.com/!
You can buy The Possession of Cassie Quinn at Indiebound :: Amazon :: Barnes and Noble :: Book Depository

I'm also giving away a copy here. This giveaway is international as long as Book Depository ships to you. You must be 13 or older to enter. Giveaway ends on July 11, 2012. 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Possession of Cassie Quinn - Kathryn Knutson

Synopsis: A long, dark driveway towards an old farmhouse. A new stepsister with a nasty streak. A little sister who runs off. Something sinister lurking in the woods. Cassie Quinn's new home comes with . . . complications. Cassie never believed in ghosts before. But now she is receiving strange messages, telling her to stay out of the woods. Are the messages just a ploy by her stepsister? Or are they warning her of an evil that stalks the shadows of the woods beyond her home? (From Goodreads)

For the last month I have been searching for a good YA horror novel. I'm not sure why I was craving it, but I do know that it was really hard to track something down that I really wanted to read. I pretty much gave up and then I stumbled across The Possession of Cassie Quinn. I was excited enough about the word "possession" in the title, and then I got even more excited when I saw that it was a Minnesota author pubbed by a Minnesota press.

The beginning of the book reads like a good horror movie - kind of quiet, almost eerie snapshots of this new house that Cassie and her family have just moved to. It gives you the feeling that there is a shadow over everything, but maybe you're just imagining things. Then, when apparitions start popping up and leaving messages, you know it's not just your imagination. Even though Cassie still thinks so. I appreciated Cassie and her disposition to find a reasonable explanation for messages left on the the mirror and the wall. It takes her a bit of persuasion to come to terms with a haunting, and not the fact that her possibly-evil stepsister isn't just trying to freak her out.

There's more to the book that chilling moments and building tension. Cassie and her stepsister, Ashleigh, quickly fall in with the group of friends who knew the boy who died in the woods outside their house. They offer the background story - a story that I think would have been just as thrilling and terrifiying to read. There are quite a few secondary characters that play roles in this story, and Knutson handled that quite nicely. The novel could have easily been overwhelmed by the number of characters - but there is something in the safety of numbers when it comes to the paranormal that makes them all crucial to the story. And Ashleigh's friend, Amber, the self proclaimed spirit expert, is such a fun character to read.

This story hit close to home, quite literally. It takes place just about an hour or so from where I live. I also live right on the edge of the woods, like Cassie does. The woods are indeed terrifying. Just walking by them at night freaks me out a bit; I can't imagine actually going in them when it's dark. Knutson utilizes the over-active imagination that kicks in when in proximity to a setting like this in order to create a really great setting. Even better, I had ghosts of my own when I was a teenager. I used to have a group of friends come over and we'd hope for the ghosts to show themselves. Reading this book just brought out that incredible teen energy, twinging with nervous anticipation.

I was reading this book half expecting my ghosts to reappear and thinking I'd lift my head and there'd be messages burned into my wall. The story behind the spirits haunting Cassie is rich and full of the potential of more to be uncovered. The ending in itself is worth reading the book for. Thankfully, there will be a sequel, out in June 2013, because I am dying for more of this story after the way it ended. This was a great debut and exactly what I was hoping for when I was looking for good YA horror.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
This week's topic is: Top Ten Books on my Summer TBR

1. Something Like Normal by Trish Dollar
2. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

3. Reunited by Hilary Grahm
4. Defiance by C.J. Redwine

 5. Pushing the Limits by Katie
6. Embers & Echoes by Karsten Knight

7. False Memory by Dan Krokos
8. Team Human by Sarah Rees Brennan & Justine Larebalestier

9. Rift by Andrea Cremer
10. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Monday, June 18, 2012

Hemlock - Kathleen Peacock

Synopsis: Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.
Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.
Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.
Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.
Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love. (From Goodreads)

If you hang around my blog at all, you've probably gotten the message that I'm a werewolf kind of girl. They're warm, fuzzy, dangerous, and they have so much life in them it takes on two forms. I really love what wolves are and what shape shifters represent. So I went into Hemlock fully expecting to love it and I got everything I expected.

Kathleen Peacock's world is one where werewolves are common knowledge, but to be a werewolf is to be afflicted with a disease (by society's standards). Because a person bitten by a werewolf is no longer considered human, or is a second class human - there were a lot of parallels to gender or racial struggles and human rights movements. Once bitten a person is locked up in a camp, the rights of werewolves are the hot topic debated in politics, there are vigilantes, calls to citizens to turn in their neighbors, and werewolves hiding out pretending to be something their not. All these things make the common person so much more dangerous than the thing they are supposed to fear. In this sense Peacock takes a werewolf story and hooks it back into history and social convention and deepens the meaning behind each word.

Also, it's just a great story. It's very cinematic. I could actually see things happening - and I stopped every once in awhile to close my eyes and watch the things I just read replay in my mind. I kept thinking that this should be a movie or a TV show. I'd definitely watch that. The writing feels effortless, so it's easy to just get wrapped up in the movement and the snapshots. Everything about this story, the characters, the places, the actions, just feel so real.

The world is great, the writing is wonderful, and I really feel like I came to know and care about the people who live in these pages. Mac is your typical YA heroine, but it's the people around her who make her into something else. The images of Amy haunting her dreams are some of the most vivid and telling parts of the novel. Kyle and Jason are two great points on a love triangle (don't run away screaming if you hate love triangles - this one isn't just girl can't choose - it's so much more complicated than that - plus if you throw Amy in there, it's really more of a love square). I loved Kyle and I am rooting for him, but Jason was a richer character and I'm just fascinated by him.

I loved Hemlock  so much. It got my pulse racing and it defintitley left me wanting more. I'm so nervous and excited to see where these characters are headed next.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

One Year Blogoversary + Giveaway

Yup. Today marks one year. Really, it feels like I've been doing this a lot longer. A year ago I thought, I've read all these books and I barely remember them. I read so fast and furiously, moving quickly from one book to the next, devouring whenever and whatever I can, so some books easily get lost in that frenzy. And then I thought of all the amazing book blogs I'd been following for months and thought I could do that, if only to keep a record of my thoughts and a catalog of the books I'd read.

When I started I'd just moved back to the States after living in Spain for a year. I'd just finished my first year of grad school and had the summer stretched in front of me before I started classes again and started teaching for the first time. I had every intention of following the Ph.D. track I was on. But the more I blogged, the more I read what I LOVED to read, the more I was interacting with authors and other readers, the more I remembered a dream I had when I was in high school.

And that was to work in publishing. In my senior year book I said that my future plans were to become an editor. I'd gone to school with that intention. But somewhere that track shifted. I went from wanting to know everything about contemporary authors, publishing trends, and publishing imprints, to disecting older works of literature and studying dead authors. All that was really great and I loved it for a long time. But I never loved it as much as I love what I do now - working with current texts and discovering the past, present, and future of a vibrant field.

I had no idea when I started this a year ago it would change me so much. I expected it to make a difference, but I didn't know that it would lead me back to a dream I held onto years ago. It's something I didn't know I still wanted. The teaching thing didn't work out (yeah, won't ever do that again. I was NOT meant to be a teacher) and I lost faith in my graduate program and where I was going with it. I wasn't enjoying my work, my studies, or even reading anymore. And then I met the professor who taught my Young Adult Lit class, and she encouraged me to pursue working with YA books. Between that professor and my blog, I feel like I've been led back to what I really want to do and where I want to go.

It's amazing what a year can do. It's amazing how something, so seemingly simple, as this blog led me somewhere unexpected. I'm amazed and blessed.

And you, my dear readers, I appreciate you more than you know. Thanks for caring what I have to say and letting me share my passions with you.

Here's to one year, and hopefully many more.

Because I appreciate you so much, I'm going to have a quick and simple giveaway. There are three books that released this week that I've highly anticipated. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below - you must be 13 or older to enter, giveaway is international as long as Book Depository ships to you. There will be one winner who will get his/her choice of one of these three books. I'll contact the winner by email. Contest will end July 1, 2012 at 12:01 AM.


AND! I've written down a number between 1-25. I have some fun swag - so for US only, if you guess the number I wrote down, I'll send you some swag!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Secondary Character Saturday (13)


This is a weekly meme created to honor the characters that don't always get their voices heard, who support (or work to destroy) our beloved protagonists. This is for the third wheel in the love triangle (can you have wheels on a triangle?), for the BFFs, the family members, or even just the kind and loving (or deceitful and creepy) stranger who shows up and changes the game. We all know these stories wouldn't hold up without support so I'd like to take the time to highlight the best secondary characters I come across. This is an opportunity to talk about what makes these characters special, maybe to speculate what their world would be like without them, or maybe cast them in their own primary roles. If you'd like to create a SCS post leave your link in the comments and I'll check it out!

So today it's all about:

Maris from Lies Beneath


Really, any of Calder's sisters are worth talking about. These three girls are so twisted and just fascinating. Each of these sisters clearly has their own story and one that would be worth reading about.

But Maris. Man. I'm so curious about her. She's running the show. These mermaids do what she says, or else. She's cold, she's ruthless, and totally frightening. At the same time, you have to admire how fiercely protective she is of her family and of who she is. The moments where she shows Calder that the things she does are because she has to, not because she wants to, I saw all new dimensions of her.

Now I wonder, what has she gone through? What was her relationship really like with her mother? What does she say to her sisters when Calder isn't around? What does she think when she drowns someone? I really wish I knew what goes through her head - does she make decisions because of her nature or because she thinks she has to? 

Friday, June 15, 2012

In Honor - Jessi Kirby

Synopsis: Hours after her brother’s military funeral, Honor opens the last letter Finn ever sent. In her grief, she interprets his note as a final request and spontaneously decides to go to California to fulfill it.
Honor gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn’s best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn’t seen Rusty in ages, but it’s obvious he is as arrogant and stubborn as ever—not to mention drop-dead gorgeous. Despite Honor’s better judgment, the two set off together on a voyage from Texas to California. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn’s memory—but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences? (From Godreads)

I've had books that leave me crying at the end, or that illicit a few tears through the middle, but I have to say this is the first book that had me broken down and sobbing on the first page. That wave of emotion I felt at the very beginning receeded and came crashing back just as if the pages of this book were drops of water in the ocean. The movement and the emotion are the power behind this story.

I loved Honor and Rusty together. They spent the trip rebuilding a broken relationship, almost as if their reunion was a side effect of the grieving and healing process. Both of them have pasts which are rooted in their memories of Finn, and because of this there's an organic separation of past and present. The only time anything is remembered or has already happen, Finn is a part of it. But we don't know much about who Honor or Finn were before he died. We get to see them now, and we get to see them move forward, in a future where Finn isn't present. And that time between when he enlisted and when he died barely seems to exist outside of a few recalled letters. It's almost as if the world was suspended and the conclusion of that, unfortunately occuring in Finns' death, allowed them, or rather, propelled them forward finally. The dynamics of time are so interesting in this respect.

My only complaint is that it was too short. I really wish there was more to this story, but I do love that, inspite of the death that begins Honor's journey, there's so much living that she does in this short amount of time. Honor is so open to experiencing new things, it's inspiring. The book is all about honoring Finn, the wonderful human being who sacrificed his life for his family and his country. He's a beautiful person and so worth honoring. And Honor shows that the best way to honor lost loved ones is to live. (*And cue more tears.)

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Lies Beneath - Anne Greenwood Brown

Synopsis: Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him. (From Goodreads)

This is the second mermaid book I've ever read. I read one last year and didn't care for it at all. So I was wary to venture back into the genre. I chose to pick this one up because Anne Greenwood Brown is a Minnesota author and parts of the book take place in MN. I've also lived on a lake most of my life and so I was more than curious about mermaids that live in lakes. Granted, my lakes are no where near the size of Lake Superior, but still, it was intriguing. And I will say that, even though I'm not a big swimmer, I'll probably be a little more wary if I venture into the water this summer.

I'm so glad I picked up this book, because not only are mermaids a fresh creature for me, but the way the story is told is refreshing. I thoroughly appreciated both the fact that the story is told from the male perspective and from the view of the paranormal creature. The story is still girl meets someone more than human, is in danger, but falls for him anyway - but the voice is that of the dangerous paranormal - not the unwitting human girl. Just that small switch in perspective made all the difference. Calder was a great narrator. He's a guy who's under the control of all the women in his life. All he wants is freedom and revenge. Watching him struggle with his natural dark impulses and try to find a way to escape from that was fascinating. And when he couldn't figure out why humans acted a certain way, I was charmed by him.

His sisters are something else. I'd want to escape from them too. The dynamics in this family were complex and twisted. They're his support system and his lifeline, but they're crazy. Each of his sisters has some serious issues. They're great characters, as I think I'd be interested in reading about what each one of their lives had been like up until this point.

Lily is also a great, colorful character, but, even for a love story, she doesn't seem to be the main event. It's kind of like everything in this book is just slightly out of focus. And since either Calder is out of his element on land or Lily is out of her element on water, that writing technique is wonderful. Reading this book is like realizing you're having a really fascinating dream and you do everything you can to hold onto sleep so you can find out where your subconscious is going to take you. It has a quality that is subtle and just out of reach of explanation.

I love books that portray the northwoods the right way. The second Lily said, "Uff da," this book latched on to my heart. I'm very proud of my Minnesota accent and when I hear Minnesota speak I feel immediate kinship. But that's just a part of why I love this book. The setting is gorgeous, the characters are wonderful, and the writing style is just lovely.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Beach Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
This week's topic is: Top Ten Books I'd Recommend as Good Beach Reads

1. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
This series is the epitome of the perfect beach read: Love. The meaning of life. Hot boys. Beaches.


2. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen IS summer.


3. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
Such an incredible contemporary novel. I'd consider it a summer read, but I wouldn't actually read it on the beach. Unless I wanted to cry in front of a lot of people.


4. Past Perfect by Leila Sales
The book is about a summer job and a girl who samples every flavor of ice cream. And finds out what it means to move on. Which, if that's not a beach read, what is?


5. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
I measure my summers by good road-trip novels. And this was the one that did it for me last summer.


6. Heist Society by Ally Carter
I read this one while hanging out in the sun on my lawn chair, so I associate it with beach reading.


7. Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols
Jennifer Echols is great anytime. But especially in the summer. And this is one of her best yet!


8. Wanderlove by Kristin Hubbard
Read this when you have time to actually contemplate traveling the globe. It's actually kind of torturous, in a sweet way, to have to read it while you're stuck somewhere.


9. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Beach reads are about feeling good. And this is the kind of book that will make you feel like you've swallowed sunshine.


10. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
I associate contemporaries with beach reads. But if you're a paranormal romance person - this is the ideal beach read! Light and fun, with a bit of a punch.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Until I Die - Amy Plum

Synopsis: Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.
As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series. (From Goodreads)

If zombies were anything like Vincent and the other revenants, I'd say bring on the apocalypse. The revenants are such a great twist on the paranormal and I love Amy Plum for bringing something fresh to the genre. In this second installment, the lore behind the revenants and the numa is explored futher. As it turns out they may not be as secret as they thought they were.

I was so happy to be back in Paris with Kate, Vincent, Jules and the rest of the group. Paris comes to life in these pages and seeing it through Kate's eyes is enchanting. As she tries to figure out a way to be with Vincent in a way that won't bring either of them pain, she travels to some pretty interesting places, both in Paris and in France. There were a couple times I wanted to smack Vincent for treating Kate like she couldn't handle things, but Kate even handled not knowing his secrets with grace. These two really trust each other - even when they aren't telling each other everything. Their relationship is beautiful and it really makes it worth fighting for.

The new characters were great too. There are two new revenants in the Paris clan, both coming from 15th century Brittany. So Violette is way old fashioned, at least until she starts hanging out with Kate. I adored that she knew the Victorian language of flowers and commuicates with Kate with bouquets. And then there's Arthur who looks like Kurt Cobain. He's cranky and quiet, but I rather enjoyed his character.

What really struck me when reading were the three relationshps depicted of one mortal and one immortal. There's Kate and Vincent who are trying for a future together. There's Genevieve and her husband who's future is ending. And then there's the book Kate finds that tells the story of such a relationship in the past. I feel like most immortal/mortal relationships generally end up with one gaining immortality - and maybe that could happen here, but they're really exploring the possibility of Kate growing old while Vincent lives on. I kind of love that. It's tragic, but it feels so much more natural and beautiful.

I loved this installment in this amazing series. There were moments where I felt the plot was lacking, but it's more than made up for in information and character building. Oh, and that ending. Yeah, that was mean. Seriously, like four more words probably would have made me a lot happier. In any case I'm definitely eager to keep reading Kate and Vincent's story.

Just because I love it so much - I also wanted to share the book trailer. Watch it and tell me that you aren't dying to be in Paris right now.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Secondary Character Saturday (12)


I've started a new weekly meme here and I'd love for you to join me. Saturdays are now dedicated to honor the characters that don't always get their voices heard, who support (or work to destroy) our beloved protagonists. This is for the third wheel in the love triangle (can you have wheels on a triangle?), for the BFFs, the family members, or even just the kind and loving (or deceitful and creepy) stranger who shows up and changes the game. We all know these stories wouldn't hold up without support so I'd like to take the time to highlight the best secondary characters I come across. This is an opportunity to talk about what makes these characters special, maybe to speculate what their world would be like without them, or maybe cast them in their own primary roles. If you'd like to create a SCS post leave your link in the comments and I'll check it out!

So today it's all about:

Jason from Hemlock

Jason is a complex character that I can't quite figure out. He's almost present enough not to qualify as a secondary character, and I have a feeling in the future he will be front and center. But so much of what he does is happening off the pages, he pops in and out without much warning, and you even find out things about him from other people. Not a lot of substance comes out of his mouth, but he's still an incredibly substantial character.

I wish I could get into Jason's head. He's so contradictory that I just want to know what goes through his mind. I love him and hate him at the same time. I want to shake him and hug him. I want him to have no involvement and I want to see more of him. I don't know that I've ever been so undecided about what to think of a character, especially when there are only two options, and they are extreme. He makes terrible choices, he thinks terrible things, but he has redemption as well.

But I also love that, while he deals with most of his problems through violence, he's clearly emotionally conflicted. He's not just bad to be bad. And obviously, Mac cares about him and he's been through a traumatic event, so it's easier to see through the wall he's putting up. But after he kind of goes off page, running off with the Trackers I kind of want to go with him. I want to see the things he sees, hear what he hears, and know what he knows. And I want to know what he really thinks of all these things. 

Friday, June 8, 2012

The Glimpse - Claire Merle

Synopsis: In a near future, society is segregated according to whether people are genetically disposed to mental illness. 17-year-old Ana has been living the privileged life of a Pure due to an error in her DNA test. When the authorities find out, she faces banishment from her safe Community, a fate only thwarted by the fact that she has already been promised to Pure-boy Jasper Taurell. 
Jasper is from a rich and influential family and despite Ana’s condition, wants to be with her. The authorities grant Ana a tentative reprieve. If she is joined to Jasper before her 18th birthday, she may stay in the Community until her illness manifests. But if Jasper changes his mind, she will be cast out among the Crazies. As Ana’s joining ceremony and her birthday loom closer, she dares to hope she will be saved from the horror of the City and live a ‘normal’ life. But then Jasper disappears.Led to believe Jasper has been taken by a strange sect the authorities will not intefere with, Ana sneaks out of her well-guarded Community to find him herself. Her search takes her through the underbelly of society and into the pits of the human soul. And as she delves deeper into the mystery of Jasper's abduction she uncovers some devastating truths that destroy everything she has grown up to believe, but she also learns to love as she has never loved before. (From Goodreads)

This is a book that I ultimately have mixed feelings about. On one hand it feels like an important social commentary and on the other hand, as a story, it fell short in a few places. I was so fascinated by the setting and the treatment of separation and classification of mental illnesses. Yet, I never grew to love or care for the main characters and I feel like there are some holes that haven't quite been addressed. I think if you crossed Matched by Allie Condie with Delirium by Lauren Oliver - you'd get The Glimpse.

I really wish I knew more about the politics behind this situtation. Claire Merle does an excellent job at taking a social flaw, putting it under a microscope, expanding it and exposing it. If I'm looking at this book solely in the world that is created, I think it's really well done. I don't know enough about the actual politics, or what's going on in the English government, to comment too much on this. It was interesting to look at what mental illness really is. For a book about mental illness, you don't actually see a lot of it - which is probably part of the point. Kind of - if everyone's crazy, then it's the sane people who become crazy - kind of situation. But it goes beyond mental illness to drug companies and the scary amount of power they have.

Not to mention, I'm pretty sure I'd be considered a crazy in this world. The 3 major mental illnesses are schitzophrenia, anxiety, and depression. But they also consider things like low-self esteem, irrational behavor, impulsive behavior, or even just outbursts to be signs of mental disease. Yeah, I'd be kicked out of the pure community so fast. How those pure people don't die of boredom is beyond me. But even the pures do things like abduct people, shock people, turn them into zombies. You know, the usual. The dyanamics of this world are just so well done. The conspiracy, the lies, the psycosis - all thought provoking.

It's where the story resembles that of Matched that this book loses me. So basically the romances. There's a love triangle in this book, and the relationships that Ana has with both boys feel totally empty. She's bound to Jasper and she adores him, goes to extraordinary lengths for him, but that felt a little undeveloped. Then there's Cole, who's a member of the Enlightenment Project, which basically goes against everything the Pures stand for. Ana winds up mixed up with him, and all they talk about is the society. They never really get a chance to know each other, but all of a sudden they're burning to be together. That connection was just missed. I think this book would have been so much better without all the relationship stuff. There's already plenty of drama, and the moments with the romance just felt empty.

And Ana's father. I don't understand him. I can't figure him out. His wife commits suicide and I can't tell if he is happy or sad about it. I can't tell if he's evil or misguided. I don't like that I don't know what his motives are, what he feels about certain situations. And it's so hard to tell if he's acting of his own volition or if he's just a corporate puppet. It's so frustrating.

The book ends with a set-up into another book, but I don't know if it will be a series or not. I think I'd keep reading, just because there are some questions I want answered. There were some things that were great here, and some that just fell short. I'd recommend this one if you are a fan of dystopia or books with a political statement.

Armchair BEA: Blogging Advice

I'm just days away from my one year blogoversary. And I still feel like I'm in no position to give advice. But I have a few things I've learned, and I don't think they're different from what others will tell you. Still, it took me a little bit of time to figure these things out. Again, this is just as much my own advice to myself as it is to other bloggers.

The Past: Save the Drama for the Fictional Characters
Drama is going to happen. Don't get sucked in. I spent a long time worried that I'd somehow become a part of the drama and was hyper aware of everything I was doing. But at some point, I had to stop and remember that this blog is my space and I get to say what gets posted. I did recently feel the need to create my own blogger pledge to establish my own views and values on blogging. You can read it here.

The Present: Tip for New Bloggers
You'll hear it from a lot of people - be respectful, don't blog just for ARCs, be original - but I think one of the most important pieces of advice I can pass on is: Network! I caught onto the importance of Twitter pretty quickly. But I was afraid to talk to people. I was a relatively silent spectator. But once I realized that people wanted to talk to me too, I started reaching out and joining conversations. Nothing brings people to your blog like making friends! I'm still tenative about who I talk to (for my own mental reasons) and I know I need to knock it off. I love my blogger friends and I always love meeting more people!

The Future: Keep Going!
I get to talk about books. That's what this blog comes down to. I love that I have a platform to gush about my favorite books, maybe rant a little about ones that weren't so good, and fangirl over amazing authors. It doesn't get much better than that. I've had my lower moments. I've gotten really behind or have avoided writing posts. I've been in reading slumps and just get really down on it all. But at this point, not blogging would leave a huge hole in my life. It's so much of what I do now. It's kind of funny how quickly it became such an important piece of who I am. So even those low points aren't enough to outweigh the love of it. Talking about books. Gushing about characters. Freaking out about the epicness of it all. Reaching out to authors. Hearing from publishers. Recommending books. Connecting with other readers. These are the things that make book blogging amazing. 

Thursday, June 7, 2012

What's Next? (2)

What's Next is a new meme hosted by Iceybooks, and you can participate!
Every Thursday select three-five books that you want to read but can't decide which one to read first.
So here are the books I'm trying to choose between, along with their first sentence and reason they're on my TBR. Vote for which one you think I should read next in the comments!

Here are the three I'm trying to decide between right now. If you want a synopsis, click on the book cover and it will either take you to Indiebound. Let me know your votes in the comments!

Skylark by Meagan Spooner
First Sentence: "The din of the clockwork dawn was loudest in the old sewers, a great whirring and clanking of gears as the artificial sun warmed up."
Why it's on my TBR: Honestly? The cover is pretty.

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
First Sentence: "She stands on the cliffs, near the old crumbling stone house."
Why it's on my TBR: Love everything Peter Pan.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
First Sentence: "After a year of slavery in the Salt Mines of Endovier, Celaena Sardothien was accustomed to being escorted everywhere in shackles and at sword-point."
Why it's on my TBR: Fantasy. Assassins. Awesome.