Goodbye 2011, I wanna be a full-time writer in 2012!

As the last day of 2011, I have finished compiling my list of 2011 reads. With this list I've learned a lot of things about my reading. For instance...

I read 32 books this year. Really that isn't a lot and I wish it was more. However...

17 of my 32 books read were in the summer alone. That's a book a day. Awesome!

My first finished book of the year was the last book of the Vampire Academy series.
My last finished book of the year was the first book of the Vampire Academy spin-off.
Now, tell me that isn't cool! It totally wasn't planned that way.

I surprisingly read a lot of books I didn't want to, or wouldn't have on my own.
Some were for a children's literature class my spring semester.
Some were from recommendations I trusted, even if I didn't believe it.
And one was a professor recommendation.

While The Catcher in the Rye is my all-time favorite book of the classics, this year I have found my all-time favorite book period: Divergent by Veronica Roth.

And most importantly of all, I learned inspiration from all these authors. This year has made me want to write even more than I already did. And starting Jan 1, I plan to write every single day towards one of my planned novels in hopes that by this time next year I will have a manuscript ready for revisions.

So I'll see you next year bloggers! Have a happy and healthy New Year and best wishes to all!!

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Bloodlines (Bloodlines 1) by Richelle Mead ☆☆☆☆☆

I will admit that I put this book off for way too long. I did start reading it when I first got it in the mail, but I had only made it three chapters in when I let the school semester take over my life. Essentially, this book was on the top of my list for my winter break reading, other than the book I borrowed from my professor and another book I was already half way through. Even with reason I feel like I should've dropped everything to put this first.

When I first pre-ordered the book I thought, hey it'd be great to see where the Vampire Academy world goes now. I was thinking in terms of story continuation and nothing more. And I was wrong. This book blew me away. Sydney as a narrator was more than I could have expected and I loved getting to know her and getting to know the world again through her. Most especially, getting to know Adrian again through her. It was brilliant.

The story line was also amazingly well written. There were several different plot twists going on and I am glad to say I figured out all but one of them before they were revealed in the story. The one I didn't figure out was more because my imagination was far too exaggerated. I loved stories were you can interact as a reader and figure the story out for yourself, and she set the story up perfectly in that way to invite the readers to explore it more. Admittedly, one plot point I wouldn't have figured out were it not for her Bloodlines Book Club on YouTube. And not only was the story great, but I must say that the writing has improved dramatically since the first Vampire Academy book, where I gave it a very low reading level and almost didn't finish reading it because of typos. This book impressed me on every angle really. I can't wait for The Golden Lily to be released this summer!

Hula by Lisa Shea

Hula by Lisa Shea ☆☆☆☆

This book was lent to me by one of my favorite professors in hopes that it might me an inspiration for my thesis since I enjoy young adult literature. And while it truly is a great story, it didn't live up to the standards of modern young adult stories.

The cover jacket tells you that the story is about a young girl's abuse by her father and sister, as well as her own journey into sexuality. With this description and a basis in any other young adult book, you'd expect a girl that is beaten on a regular basis and becomes reckless in getting familiar with her sexuality. In reality, the dad was more intimidating than actually causing pain and was admittedly a little psychotic, but there wasn't much more there. Her sister had more sexual awakenings than she did.

This realization that it didn't meet the criteria of the young adult books did create a few questions. Is the genre really pushing issues too far? Angry parents are constantly in the media saying that authors are going too far with their descriptions of abuse, sex, drugs, and more in their books. I've looked back and my own youth and found it justified before, but after this book I start to wonder what truly is too far. Compared to Go Ask Alice, I'm sure this book wouldn't stand up at all. It was definitely worth the read though, and I do believe I learned a lot in reading it.

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Enclave by Ann Aguirre ☆☆☆☆

I made it half way through this book before my first semester as a grad student killed me. Of course, the minute my last assignment was turned in I picked up the book again.

When I first read the cover jacket I wasn't really interested in the book. I bought it because I was reading a lot of dystopian fiction and it was highly recommended. Once I started reading it, I was pleasantly surprised. I quickly got sucked into the story line and didn't want to put the book down. The months that I had to leave it sitting because of other priorities left me wondering what the characters were doing while I was away. That's always a good sign of a book, when you start to lose touch with reality :)

I am not a lover of zombies, and this dystopian society did involve zombies (although they went by several different names that didn't include "zombie"). In fact, the only zombie book I have read made me write off zombie books in general until now. This was somehow more believable to me.

In all though, there were only two things I didn't like. The first was the ending. Had I not known there was a sequel in the works I would have been severely disappointed. The ending was left open too far for my liking. It reached a conclusion, but not a conclusion I would find viable for ending a book. I don't like movies with cliffhanger, or unsatisfying, endings and the same goes for books.

The second thing I didn't like was the "Author's Notes" at the end that explain all the details of how she constructed the book, including website links to go through her research process yourself. I like books that interact with the reader, where we actually have to give as much as the writer. I don't like having the research process laid out for me. It almost felt like "Look at me, I did research! I'm a great writer!" I won't say it wasn't interesting though. There was some good information that could be used for many post-apocalyptic stories that might come in handy, but it seemed a little too neat and clean for a book that left me with an unsatisfying ending.

Overall I really liked the book and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Everlasting (The Immortals 6) by Alyson Noel

Everlasting by Alyson Noel ☆☆☆☆

The finale is here.

I'm glad this series is over. The first and second books were amazing and un-put-down-able, the third and fourth were filler I trudged through, and the fifth and sixth finally started wrapping everything up nicely.

For me, the ending was completely unexpected. There were so many plots and side plots within this series that I was never entirely sure were it might go or end up. And where it did end up was interesting and uniquely Ever.

Ever and Damen's romance is definitely an eternal love fit for any YA fiction series. The fact that they were immortals and not an expected supernatural being like vampires was its own original twist. And I have to say that I learned a lot from this series. I learned there are different mystical properties to stones. I learned how to center myself (whether it works or not I'm still unsure). And I learned to trust myself.

In this book specifically it becomes really apparent how this series stemmed from her own personal loss and her attempts at accepting it and moving on. The journey and experiences that Ever deal with in the final installment mirror the lesson that Alyson Noel learned in her own journey. While I would have preferred it be a less obvious moral it did work for the purposes of the series.

I recently heard it was in the process of selling movie rights. I would like to see how this series would be interpreted as a movie and I'd probably be one of the first in line to see it.

I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies 1) by Pittacus Lore

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore ☆☆☆☆☆

I must confess that in this instance I saw the movie before I read the book. I saw the movie as soon as it came out in theaters, only finding out a week before that it was even based on a series, and with that in mind I didn't have time to read the book before the movie. So, of course, this review ends up addressing both.

I do love the book and the movie equally. On the movie side, it had an amazing scene where they have an image recognition software program that searches the internet for their pictures and instantly deletes their existence. This is Hollywood magic and not in the book sadly. The movie also had a side plot involving why they were in Paradise, OH, how Sam is involved as more than a friend, and how it all ties their pasts and futures together. This was vaguely mentioned at the end of the book, obviously to become a key point of the sequel, and I like that the movie addressed it sooner.

Now the book was just plain awesome in its own right. Rather than a whirlwind Hollywood romance, John and Sarah get to know each other for months rather than days, and their relationship is natural and real. My favorite part of the book is all his flashbacks of Lorien so that as readers we can see the planet in all its glory (and subsequent destruction) which isn't available in the movie. These scenes not only explain where he came from, but who he is, and it shows his family on the planet. This also allows for information on how he gets his Legacy powers, who they come from, etc. And as for his Legacies, there are more of them and they are more interesting than the movie could even handle.

I highly recommend this book and I can't wait for the sequel to it that comes out at the end of the month!

Book: 5 stars
Movie: 4.5 stars

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Across the Universe by Beth Revis ☆☆☆☆☆

Take young adult romance and coming of age, add a dystopian society and a murder mystery, and top it off with a little science fiction and you have this book. I don't usually read science fiction, it's just not my thing, but a few reviews of this book and some classic shelf placement at the book store made me pick it up. And I devoured it.

One of my favorite things about this book is its usage of social commentary. On the surface is a story about assuming responsibility and a budding romance. But below the surface is thinly veiled critique of society in the past, present, and possible future. Revis takes our world histories of violence and racism and shows the many different ways that it can be misconstrued. At the same time she plays off of the idea of the differences between crazy and normal and flips what/who can be filed into the categories created. I loved just how many levels this book worked on.

The other thing I really loved was how much emotion I had for the book. I felt angry when the characters were angry and angry when they couldn't see what was right in front of them while I could. I felt helpless with the conditions they were faced with and wanted so badly to take them and give them happy endings before I even reached the ending myself. I really felt for this book and the characters in it. And this is especially purposeful when a large portion of the book questions the lack of emotion in people and the desire to feel anything even if the feeling is rage.

Now while I wasn't entirely satisfied with the book, and while I wouldn't necessarily read it again, I still give it five stars instead of four because I like what it said underneath and not just on top. I liked how it had more layers than I could ever possibly explain. And it's because of those layers that I would recommend people I know to read it.

Night Star (The Immortals 5) by Alyson Noel

Night Star by Alyson Noel ☆☆☆☆

I gave this series another shot and for once wasn't disappointed. So here is a breakdown of what happened with my feelings toward The Immortals series:

Evermore -> couldn't put it down, loved how it was a different supernatural element than vampires or witches, etc

Blue Moon -> also couldn't put down and subsequently ignored the then bf in favor of immersing myself in the book

Shadowland -> (help me, oh please!) this book was filler than only served to frustrate me and make me sad

Dark Flame -> and then I was further saddened, every single time you thought a plot line was about to be tied up she added yet another plot line, if I remember right by the end there were about five different plots and only one had been tied up

And so we get to Night Star. I pre-ordered this book before it came out and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since. The last two books really changed my mind about the series and I was hesitant to go any further, however, I can never seem to put down a series until it's over so I bought the next book anyway. I still put it off obviously....until I saw at the bookstore that the final book just came out so I decided to just read it and get it over with. I had no hopes of this book being any better, but I was pleasantly surprised. Enough to give this one four stars. While it did have several running plot lines, they all seemed to run smoothly together in this book and at least attempt to tie themselves up if they didn't actually reach that point. In a six book series, books three and four apparently fell victim to the middle-filler-bridge of the story arc. I'm actually looking forward to the final book now.

If you're willing to read this series, the first two books are incredible and the fifth is too. Just try and hold out through three and four and know that it'll get you where you need to go eventually. At the very least, you'll be lucky enough that you don't have to live with that unresolved feeling while you wait a year for the next book to come out, you can just pick up the next one immediately and push through it.

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Bumped by Megan McCafferty ☆☆☆

Not the best book I have read. I had a hard time getting into it and that feeling never really let up. I don't like books that have their own languages without explaining it and this was one of those books. While I was able to pick up on some of the meanings as I read, I still felt lost most of the way.

This book did elicit emotion from me though. I was angry at Harmony for most of the book. And I felt a helplessness for Melody. I was anxiously awaiting everything to turn around and go the way it was expected, but it didn't make it. Part of that doesn't make me want to read the sequel that I discovered is in the works, however, the ending did leave some interesting ideas open that I wouldn't mind exploring out of pure curiosity.

While I did score this book low it doesn't mean I hated it. It's between 3 and 4 stars for me. It's definitely a good book at looking at what a world would be like if teen pregnancies were profitable and overmarketed, and a jab at the overpopularization already present with shows like 16 and Pregnant or even the Octomom. The warring alternating POVs of Harmony and Melody show deep contradictions in not only how the girls were raised, but also contradictions within themselves against how they were raised. It's a working dystopian society novel, but it just didn't work on all levels for me.

Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry 2) by Simone Elkeles

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles ☆☆☆☆☆

I had to order this online because I was on a waitlist at the library and didn't want to wait! Luckily Amazon even had it on sale! Unluckily I waited longer to read it then I would have if I had just waited for the library to send it. Irony at its best.

I loved this book! Getting to that in a second, I'd like to add what I didn't like: the epilogue. This is the same problem I had with the first book. To me both felt like they had the perfect ending (which I don't say often) to where I wasn't anxious for anymore information and just felt satisfied with what I was given. And then you come to the unnecessary epilogue that felt like reading bad fan fiction. In Perfect Chemistry the epilogue was set 23 in the future and in this book it was 26 years. It's not necessarily tying up loose ends (especially since there aren't any); it's just, in both cases, showing history repeating itself in a humorous way. Without the epilogues they would be perfect books.

However, I do still love the book in so many ways. This book mimicked my own high school life (without the gangs): an arrogant Mexican boy that continues to get in trouble and a down-to-earth gringa that doesn't care about her appearance and is willing to give herself fully if it means getting love. Honestly, I wish I would have had this book to read a decade ago and maybe the choices I made would be very very different. That being said, if I identified with it that much then I'm sure there are many other girls (or guys) that would as well, and so I am very glad that this book is out there for them to read and look at the choices they're making in an entirely different way.

This book pulled me in so easily and so tightly that I didn't want to give it up. I was literally dreaming the book while I slept, just waiting until I could pick it up again. And I anxiously handed it off to my friend so that she could love it as much as I did.

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler ☆☆☆☆

Box of tissues required!

I knew this book was about death and grieving, but as I began to read it I was holding up pretty well, it wasn't overly emotional, so I didn't think anything of it. Until they sat down on the beach and the weight of everything hit. I couldn't stop crying and I cried and cried for several chapters. Luckily I had tissues by my bed from the last time I my allergies acted up so I was good to go, just stuffy as I was falling asleep.

The reviews on the back of the book declare that Ockler will break you heart to pieces and put it back together again and she definitely delivered. While the book may not have ended the way I hoped for, it did end perfectly. She takes you complete through the grief of the protagonist who had finally begun to live her dream of being with her best friend's brother until he dies before they can label it, and without anyone knowing about it she is left to grieve on her own while she helps her friend grieve the death of her own brother. But more so, she takes you through the grief of the entire family as they try to piece their lives back together on a summer trip they had never made without him before.

I say it ends perfectly because in the aspect of the grief, they are forced to deal with their emotions and come full circle back through them until they reach something short of normal. So why did it not end how I hoped? Because in true "twenty boy summer" context I fall for a boy on the beach and hate that they had to leave. So now in my head I am recreating an epilogue ending in which they return to the beach the following summer and she moves out there for college the summer after that. There is my classic happy ending. But truthfully it was about the girls and the family and not about the boys so I can't ask for anything more.

There is only one thing I have a hard time believing (and this is where it loses a star) and that is the fact that this brother doesn't seem to have any friends of his own. While I admire his bond with his sister and her best friend that he falls for, he spends all his time with them and there is a two year age difference between them. I don't know many teenage boys that would fit that picture. Everything else is completely believable though and spot on.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme posted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new top ten question is posed every week. I encourage you to start your own Top Ten Tuesday list. This week:

Top Ten Rebels In Literature (characters or authors)
Those people who stood up for what they believed in despite the cost of doing so.

1. Harry Potter - The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Ok, so this is partly because the final movie is next week, but really he is one of the biggest rebels in literature. He went against the Ministry of Magic to destroy an evil they didn't believe existed anymore.


2. Dumbledore - The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Where there is a Harry Potter rebel there is a Dumbledore rebel. He risked his position as Headmaster, getting sent away and replaced by the Ministry for supporting Harry. He risked his life to protect him and the wizarding world. And we come to realize he was a rebel even as a young adult.

3. Rose - The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
Rose is one of the biggest rebels there ever was. She drops out of school to protect her best friend, ignores any and all school rules, drops out of school again to hunt down someone special, ignores any and all Court rules, breaks someone out of jail, breaks herself out of jail, you name it she's done it.

4. Tris - The Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth
Tris makes a choice that could and does change her entire life. In the process she has to hide who she really is because the secret about her is that she is designed to be a rebel by nature. And in the end she follows her rebel nature to its limits.

5. Claire - The Morganville series by Rachel Caine
She rebels against the vampire race, facing them down even when she's told not to. She tries to save them, but ends up challenging other vampires in the process. And she rebels against her own housemates when they try to keep her locked away in the house when she'd rather be out facing the world and taking everything as it comes.

6. Shane - The Morganville series by Rachel Caine
He rebels against the vampire race too, but as a hunter. His dad trained him to be a mole for insider knowledge to hunt them. But when his dad returns, he has to put that rebel nature behind him to rebel against his father to save his own life as well as the lives of the ones he loves.

7. Cassia - The Matched trilogy by Ally Condie
As she begins to learn the truth about the Society that she's grown up in and under the control of, she realizes that what she wants and what she believes in is something entirely different and she's willing to fight for that even if it means leaving everything behind and risking her life.

8. Alex - Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
He turns his back on his gang to be with the girl he's falling for and to protect his little brothers from meeting the same fate as him. He loses people he loves as the gang life dictates. And eventually he rebels entirely against the gang when he chooses to leave it and gets jumped out brutally.

9. Frankie - The Monster High series by Lisi Harrison
She only has a month of life behind her while her friends have years, but she doesn't want to hide who she really is behind normie makeup and doesn't want her friends to hide either. She wants equality between normies and RADs (monsters). While she doesn't exactly succeed in her attempts, she isn't entirely failing either. It's just a continuing pile of drama as she rebels and convinces others to rebel with her one-by-one.


10. Percy - The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
Rebel against the gods? Always. He rebels against his father for "abandoning" him. He rebels against Zeus for believing him to be a thief. He rebels against Camp Halfblood when they tell him he can't leave camp and he knows he's the only one that can do the quest no matter what they say. He knows what he has to do and learns what he's capable of in the process and doesn't let anyone hold him back.



I like rebels. I think that's why dystopian societies are starting to grow on me because they are full of rebels. Rebels make books more fun! And I try to be a rebel in my own right every day!

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth ☆☆☆☆☆

I have to say that this by far is the best book I have ever read hands down. Yes, it was that good. If I could I'd give it an 11 of 5 stars.

From my creative writing background, Veronica Roth is a genius. The book was amazingly well planned out. No information seemed unnecessary. Halfway through the book I had that great moment I love as a reader where something clicks and immediately flip back to the beginning of the book to check my suspicions. (My suspicion was right!) The clues she left in the text were spot on and didn't seem out of place or like foreshadowing, well disguised. Honestly, I'm jealous...especially since she's a lot younger than I am too.

The characters in this book are above and beyond well developed. It is told from the point-of-view of Tris, a 16 year old girl who is incredibly strong and determined. While I see her determination in myself often, I could never have the bravery she has. And then there is Four.... I am in love with a boy named Four! From the moment he was first introduced in the book I couldn't stop focusing on every aspect of him. There is one quote that seems to sum him up perfectly: "He is not sweet or gentle or particularly kind. But he is smart and brave, and even though he saved me, he treated me like I was strong. That is all I need to know." It was in that moment that I realized why I was drawn to him and will always been drawn to him. The five factions of society were so interesting and exciting too (and almost reminded me of Harry Potter houses at first).

I'd never really read dystopian society stories before, but they seem prevalent now. I was hesitant to read it because they can get science-fictiony if not done right, but this didn't go there. Besides having strong, identifiable characters and an amazingly well written structure and plot, my favorite part of this book was that no part of it was slow. A lot of the books I have been picking up are slow in the first half, attempting to introduce and set up everything to not leave the reader hanging, but this story was fluid. Everything in this world was explained without leading me away, it left me no lingering questions about how things developed, and definitely didn't leave me bored. In fact I dreaded having to put this book down. And yet....this book had my heart racing with excitement, desire, and intrigue so often that I had to set it down regularly for a few minutes just to slow my heart rate down and think about what I was reading. It was fun!

I can't wait until the sequel. To me this one was left too open and I want to see so much more. Even better, the film rights have already been sold to Summit Entertainment. Oh the upcoming years look great :D

The Ghoul Next Door (Monster High 2) by Lisi Harrison

The Ghoul Next Door by Lisi Harrison ☆☆☆☆

This sequel to Monster High was definitely better than the first book. It was full of so much intrigue and lighthearted humor that I couldn't put it down. Not to mention the boys in the book are absolutely to die for (pun possibly intended).

While the first book involved alternating points-of-view of Frankie Stein and Melody, this sequel adds the third point-of-view of Cleo. And even with three separate POVs it is still clear as ever to read. The addition of little pictures of the "narrator" above each of their chapters make it even easier to follow along with who is being featured. There is also a fourth point-of-view for a heart-breaking two page chapter involving Billy, who I adore so much. I am looking forward to seeing even more of him the next book. He better play a bigger role! :)

As lighthearted as it is, like the first it is true to high school life. It may contain monsters and puns galore, but it focuses on friendships and fitting in more than anything else. In this book in particular, the most popular girl has to cope with losing her friends, boyfriend, and social position by giving them an ultimatum they decided to protest; Frankie has to deal with the nervousness of letting her friends down as well as her growing emotions for the boy of her dreams; and in the end, Melody is faced with news that could change her entire life in a cliff-hanger ending. This is a great book at looking at all those potentially destructive emotions that everyday teens face in a way that keeps the seriousness on the back burner.

My only complaint about these books is label dropping. I know absolutely nothing about fashion and there are so many clothing labels I have to look up just to keep up. And fashion aren't the only labels dropped, it's almost like there are merchandise sponsors, haha!

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver ☆☆☆☆

I couldn't get into this book at first. The five page prologue could have been a self-contained story. The seventy-two page first chapter could have been a self-contained story. I just didn't see where it was going because I just don't get post-death stories. And then I get to chapter two and realize that this book is Mean Girls meets Groundhog Day. The moral almost felt like it was being shoved down my throat. But the more the characters developed, the more I found it harder to put the book down.

My biggest problem is that I tend to read books that are highly recommended before even finding out what the book is about. So obviously, when I don't read post-death books, it was a little unsettling to find myself in the middle of one.

The characters start out as stereotypes: the top of the popular girls/the mean girls, and then those that are bullied. But as each relived day unfolds the characters are revealed to be even more and more complex. This story screams high school and reminded me of what I was like that long ago, except that I wasn't one of the popular girls. I was more like Anna Cartullo (and I wish I could have seen more of her in the book). This book was just so real and it's something that every high schooler should read. However, there is the issue that it's aimed at mean girls that need to rethink their actions and I doubt any of the popular girls would read a book like this (if at all). Nevertheless, this story really went where it needed to go and more... I just wish the ending was different, it left me unsatisfied and empty, even though I know it was part of the point.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme posted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new top ten question is posed every week. I encourage you to start your own Top Ten Tuesday list. This week:

Top Ten Reasons I Love Being A Book Blogger/Bookish Person

1. Knowing that somewhere out there are other people that love books as much as I do, and one day having the opportunity to share this love for books with them.

2. Going to the movies and being in on information that was left out of the movies, but that we all know is so important to the plot ;)

3. Learning author styles I admire and hope to emulate in my own writing.

4. Likewise, seeing through blogs what everyone else is into so that I know what my writing path should be (and possible future reader pool).

5. Knowing that I can go to my favorite blogs to find suggestions on books I wouldn't necessarily have picked up on my own while also knowing that I'm recommending books that others may not have picked up otherwise.

6. Practically living at the library. (I've got my job interest card in there, but they are never hiring.) It's quiet and comforting and peaceful. Who could resist that? And...I can drop my son off in the kids computer lab for even more peace :)

7. Escape. I love that when I'm in a horrible mood I can pick up a book and escape to some other place. And...true story: My grandma asked what I was doing this summer out of school, I said reading because that's what I do every summer to catch up on what I missed, she said I should be getting out of the house and actually do something, I said I didn't want to spend the money to leave the house when I could travel wherever I wanted with a new book. Haha, at least I leave every now and then to go pick up another library book!

8. Seeing how excited my son is about reading. He can finally read some picture books on his own and he wants me to start reading him chapter books without pictures. Shock! We've already bought Peter Pan to attempt this summer.

9. Meeting some really amazing guys! I don't care if they don't exist. I mean it sucks that all my favorite guys are fictional characters, but at least it shows me the kind of guy I'd love to have in my life one day, setting standards and all that...

10. And blogwise...keeping track of what I'm reading (and my thoughts on it). Looking at my blog I always feel a sense of accomplishment for all that I've read, it stands as a sort of trophy, and reminds me why I love reading and writing.

Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires 4) by Rachel Caine

Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine ☆☆☆☆☆

Rachel Caine grabs my heartstrings again! I am absolutely in love with this series and take joy that there are many more books still left to read in this world. I am madly in love with Shane's personality and his resolve. I am proud of the strength of Claire. I want to hold Michael and comfort him. And Eve needs all the support she can get in this installment of the Morganville Vampires series.

The downside to a well-planned story arc is that every book ends in a cliff-hanger because the ends can't be tied up in one novel. This book of course was no difference, ending in a cliff hanger that makes me want to grab book 5 immediately, but I really have to tackle some of te other books on my stack first.

I love the places that this book went and how fluid the story is. And most importantly I love love love the humor in this. I wish I had the guts to highlight sections of a book because if I did there would be so many one-liners and sections highlighted that my book would glow. However, I do mark them with post-it note strips and the result is making my book look like one of my school books ;)

Maybe my craving for book 5 will make me read the books in between faster. Here's to hoping!

Gemini Bites by Patrick Ryan

Gemini Bites by Patrick Ryan ☆☆☆

Why did I pick this book? The synopsis tells you it's not twins, the girl is straight and the guy is gay, and they fall for the same vampire. Awesome, right? Well I thought it would be so I gave it a shot.

This book was draining me. It was almost like a chore to read it at first. Each chapter was incredibly long which didn't leave room for easy stopping points I need while reading. And I just wasn't sure about character development and plot. This book also had (the ever present now) alternating points of view between the twins which worked quite well in showing you just how different they are from each other, and at the same time just how much they have in common.

So I was trudging through my reading when suddenly I got to an explicit sex scene. An explicit gay sex scene. And I was floored. I make it no secret that I love boy-on-boy and that scene was incredible. The character development and scene were just there in every way. And better yet...it's a male author. Who'd have expected that?

After that scene it became so much easier to read, as if the characters themselves started loosening up. I stayed up until sunrise just to finish reading the last half in one night. It was a great story, I like where all of the characters finally took themselves. However, the story ended a little too neatly, like everything was tied up in a nice little bow, and that made the story fall a little short for me. I won't give away anything plot related, but if you chance to read it you'll understand.

Monster High by Lisi Harrison

Monster High by Lisi Harrison ☆☆☆☆

I have to say that I am in love with the dolls and jumped at the chance to read this when it was recommended to me. Draculaura is a vampire who loves pink and whose favorite subject is creative writing. I am a creative writing major who loves pink and vampires. Match made in heaven!

Despite that, this book isn't one of my favorites. It was hard to get into for me and I was just forcing myself through it. When Harrison finally started introducing who the characters really were then it got more interesting, finally ending with a cliff hanger (I have the sequel in my stack already).

This book uses the alternating points of view of a human named Melody and a newly created monster named Frankie Stein, who is of course, the grand-daughter of the Frankenstein monster. I seem to be reading a lot of alternating points of view books lately and I find that interesting, especially because it isn't something I would particularly choose, yet it seems to be working for the most part in the books that I have been reading. And no, I'm not choosing this style purposely. :)

Monster High has a great subject matter. It isn't just about blending classic monsters and horror tales with modern teen life. It's about acceptance, accepting who you are inside, how you look, the whole package. And in Frankie's case it's also about learning that sometimes hiding for protection is part of that acceptance. For an issue that teens face every day in accepting their own bodies, it's an excellent theme mixed with an interesting monster plot that's sure to amuse.

Top Ten Tuesday

I haven't been around in a while because of school, but it's about time I get back in the swing of things. What better way that a Top Ten Tuesday?


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme posted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new top ten question is posed every week. I encourage you to start your own Top Ten Tuesday list. This week:

Top Ten Settings In Books
(All those real or imagined locations/worlds you loved reading about OR settings you think would be perfect in a book)

1. Boarding schools!
Who doesn't love a good book with a boarding school? Harry Potter, Vampire Academy, The Catcher and the Rye.... Young adults without parental supervision makes for the best stories.

2. The South.
I love to see how authors portray the Southern accents in their writing. Now, I'm from the South, but where I'm at, there isn't a Southern accent like the rest of Texas or rest of the South East USA. But I love a good accent (read: British, Italian, Australian, you get the picture), and something about Southern accents makes my heart swell. Maybe it's Southern hospitality and the idea of Rhett Butler. Yeah, I'll go with that.

3. West Coast.
I've only been on the West Coast once, but I'll never forget it. It's not like I can see the beach on a regular basis and I love books where I get to imagine being on the beach all the time, lying in the sand, feeling the waves wash over me. Especially when reading a summer book in the winter.

4. The forest.
Even if a book isn't a magical fantasy novel, I still imagine fairies and elves and such. A forest is an enchanting place full of magic and wonder all on its own. Even if it's filled with big bad wolves and murderous rampages, there is still something engaging in it.

5. Local.
I like books that are set where I'm at locally. Right on the Mexican-American border in the middle of the desert. Who doesn't like reading about home when you're from a small seemingly unrecognized place and you're reading a book that has national or even international appeal? I love when I hear El Paso, Texas in comedy sketches, Food Network shows, etc. and it stands even more so in books that last well beyond media.

Ok, since I was more general with my answers I couldn't make ten this time around, but still good to be back in the swing of things. And hooray for summer, I'm blowing through books like there is no tomorrow and the librarians are wondering why I'm there almost every day, haha :)

The Dead Girls' Dance (Morganville Vampires 2) AND Midnight Alley (Morganville Vampires 3) by Rachel Caine

The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine ☆☆☆☆☆

Love, love, love! All the drama that built up in the first book and ended with a major cliff hanger just keep right on and didn't let up even once. This series is definitely one I am very very glad to have picked up after meeting the author and don't ever want to put down.

One of the best parts of this book was the development of Shane's character. There were so many sides to him and so many layers that every time you saw him you felt like you were looking at someone entirely new. And so see just how much guilt and pain he was holding inside was heartbreaking.

And then you have Monica Morrell, who you think can never get any worse and more destructive than she already is....and then proves you wrong by something equally or even more horrendous. This series makes you lose your faith in humanity just as much as it portrays vampires as the mob-like bad guys. And if vampires have to be portrayed as bad guys in this day and age where they are usually the unsung heroes, then it's only fair that humans are just as cruel, if not more so.

In the first book, I marked one page for re-reading over and over. In this one I marked at least three different sections in this one.


Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine ☆☆☆☆☆

So even though the second book didn't end in a cliff-hanger, I couldn't resist picking up the third right away and it didn't disappoint.

In terms of marked pages...I can't even count how many pages I marked in this one. Between romance and just overall humor...wow.

And humor, my god, Rachel Caine, I do love you. I was literally laughing out loud at so many points during this book. And I don't have that much of a reaction often. I'll smile or sometimes laugh a little, but with this book I'm talking about gut-wrenching laughter. There were some moments that were so funny that I wanted to text it to my friend, but then realized I'd have to put it in context and it would take too long. Now, of course, I'm telling her to hurry up and read the books and catch up with me. Oh, how I hate reading alone.

There was so much going on in this book. There was pain and anguish, drama that can't be expressed. So much was on the surface and so much more was just below and barely accessible. The plot unraveled slowly, revealing how much she's had planned from book one and how much more she still has planned for the readers. And, like the first, it ended with a cliff-hanger, but I'm going to try my hardest to hold out on the fourth. (I have two enormous stacks of books to read plus I can't seem to leave the library so make that almost three stacks to catch up on.) Can't wait til I can get to it though, this series is to die for (pun probably intended).

Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt ☆☆☆☆

Amazon recommendation based on my wishlist. I was so excited to read this that I had to drive across town to get it from another library because I didn't want to wait for that library to ship it to mine. And I was pleasantly surprised.

The story is about a girl that has to drive across country to college with her ex that broke up with her two weeks before for another girl he met on the internet. Yeah, cruel and unusual punishment. But this story was so so so much more.

The first notable thing about this book is that it is set in alternating points-of-view. You get to see both sides of the story, his and hers. It's not a writing style I typically read, but being this was the second book I read recently with that style I was familiar at least. What was unfamiliar and interesting was that it was set in alternating time periods also. And it wasn't confusing! The story begins when their road trip begins, yet as you alternate between each of their voices, the story goes back in time to show their different views on how they first met and how their relationship started and progressed. You get to see how they fall in love in the midst of experiencing their breakup and it is amazingly written.

This book was so well written and engaging that I read it in one day, which doesn't happen for me. Even my favorite books take three days to a week to read. (The ones for school I typically read in a day, but that was because I procrastinated and had to go without sleep to get it read in time.) I just couldn't put this story down and it was reading so quickly. And this book made me feel incredibly smart, I figured out what was going on early on in the book before it was revealed and it was not obvious in the slightest. I love books that are constructed so well that if you really pay attention you can work it out. It shows that the author has a lot of foresight about what is going on behind the scenes in her book and where she intends to go with her information.

So why did it lose a star if I'm speaking so highly of it? Careless errors. I hate typos and the most careless they are the more I lose faith in the book. So there was one main typo in it, but I could excuse it: doing instead of going as it should have read. A one letter mistake can be forgiven even if it throws off the whole sentence. What I couldn't forgive was the author and/or editor not paying attention to the story itself. I don't know how many people remember the great movie mistake in Pretty Woman where she goes from eating a pancake to eating a waffle because of the way the scenes were cut together, this story did that....not once, but twice. The first happened during the first time Courtney and Jordan went out to eat and she picked up her hot chocolate to drink and set down her coffee. I though I read something wrong and went back over it several times. A few chapters later, Courtney is sitting at lunch with her best friend who picks up her chocolate milk to drink, then drinks from the soda she's holding, then drinks from her chocolate milk. And no, she didn't have two drinks. Besides, who drinks milk and soda together?

So this story was freaking awesome beyond awesome and if you can get passed those two errors and the typo then it's the perfect book to read this summer. So stop reading this review and pick it up already!

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles ☆☆☆☆☆

Oh, thank you my library staff! Wandering around the young adult section (as I do so often) I saw this book displayed on the end of the shelf and totally judged the book by its cover. I had to get it right then and there, no exceptions. I mean how could anyone resist this cover? :)

So this is one of the first times I've ever read a book with alternating voices. The last one being Time Traveler's Wife. It was a bit confusing. I was so engrossed in the story that I'd start reading the next chapter without remembering to switch voices. Those moments were hilarious though.

This book made me disappointed in myself though. I live on the border, I speak Spanglish, as does everyone else here. This book is FULL of Spanglish. And yet, I had to use the translator on my phone to follow along in certain points in the book. A lot of books that use Spanish will let's say ask a question in Spanish while the other character answers them in English while somewhat repeating the question so that you can get the jist of it in context. This one didn't do that. Which, in it's context was a good thing because she wasn't going to understand anything that he and his group said so it definitely worked. But I was disappointed that I didn't know as much as I should. A lot of the dialogue I hear on a daily basis and never really know the exact meaning, I have a general idea of the meaning, but that's it.

When I first started this book I wasn't all that impressed. The characters were both super cliche. She was a rich white girl and head cheerleader, he was a Mexican gang banger. But the way their characters developed, the things you learned about them, was realistic, fluid, and amazing. I tend to read before bed a few chapters a night, when I got to the half way point of this book and went to read my few chapters I literally couldn't put it down. My son came into my room when he woke up asking why I never went to sleep....and it still took me until noon before I finished it. That's impressive to me. In fact, it made such a difference in my perspective that I bought the sequel on Amazon immediately because there was a wait list at my library and I didn't want to wait. That review is on its way....

The only true complaint I would have about this book was the ending. It felt rushed and almost forced. Things didn't naturally progress as they had in the rest of the novel. But as good as the story was I was perfectly okay with that. And then.....there was the epilogue. Eww, could have completely done without that, thank you very much. It was unnecessary and more than forced. The best I could describe it would be someone's attempt at fanfiction after the novel. I'm hoping the sequel makes up for this, but I'm looking past it regardless. :)

UTEP - College of Liberal Arts - Class of 2011

I GRADUATED!!!!

Today I received my Bachelor's Degree for Creative Writing with a minor in English and American Literature. Graduated with honors, cum laude. I don't feel any different, but yey! I did it!

Next on the agenda.....graduate school this fall. I was already accepted at my school in their MFA Creative Writing program and I received a TA position in the English dept. But for now I have the summer to myself!

So basically, that's why my blog hasn't been active...finals and everything. Within the next few weeks it should start to become busy again. After all, summers for me are all about reading everything I can and catching up on movies I missed during the school year :)

Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye ☆☆

This book was disappointing. The description on the back tells you of an American girl that moves to the Middle East where her dad is originally from so that he can live closer to his family and join the two cultures. The description also alludes to a Romeo/Juliet type of romance that brews between the protagonist and a Jewish boy that she meets. The disappointment develops in that there is no romance in the book at all. Sure, they weren't supposed to be friends and fought to keep their friendship, but that's about as far as it went before the book ended.

Besides all that, the story just wasn't all there. As much as an upsetting change as it would be expected to be for a teenage girl to be uprooted to a new country after her first kiss, she just goes with it. She doesn't show much anger at all, if any. There isn't really any drama that takes place with her directly.

The drama that does take place in this story involves the country itself and the problems that the people in the Middle East are facing at the time of this story. In that aspect, it is an interesting look at a culture we very rarely see in anything but a negative light. This was the last assignment for my Children's Literature class and we came to a conclusion that the only reason that this book was chosen for young students to read is because it is one of the only books about the Middle Eastern culture, rather than for any great story-telling merit.

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales ☆☆☆

Surprisingly good book. However, by the mid-range star count you can tell I wasn't immediately impressed.

This was another class assignment as we were covering cultural studies through literature. This book delves into the Hispanic culture and how it shapes this girl's life and influences the choices she makes into her future.

My main problem with this book was continuity. At the beginning of the book you learn she is eight years old, but after a few chapters, suddenly her much younger brother is eight. There was never any indication to me or my class that years were passing rather than months. And the book kept hopping like that. By the time she's a teenager, the story slows as it progresses through adulthood and starts to make more sense.

The book is exceptional in tying everything together. Little traditions mentioned through her childhood, quips, family nitpicks, everything comes back throughout the story and nothing is wasted. Even the tequila worm itself makes it's way from the first chapter through the last. Canales also showed a nice perspective of a Hispanic girl that is smart enough to make it into a well-off private school and how she has to learn to be around rich white kids who made it there through money more than brains, all when she is so vastly different. The downside to this perspective though is you start to realize that the story is most likely more creative non-fiction than fiction after reading her bio in the back of the book.

All in all it's worth a read for multicultural studies and does show something new and different.
But if you get confused easily while reading then it may not be the best when it comes to following along in the story when the time periods change without mention.

The Watsons Go To Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Watsons Go To Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis ☆☆☆☆

Yet another book read as a class assignment. However, this was also a recommendation in the youth section of my local public library. And I can see why.

It follows the story of a young boy and his voice is ever present. He jumps from topic to topic as any kid voicing his direct train of thought would. You end up learning more about his family and the things going on in his life than you would think were necessary.

At first glance, with 1963 and an African-American family you're expecting a wide variety of racial disputes. However, the disputes found in the beginning follow a class and economic status dispute more. He makes friends with two extremely poor boys that my teacher and most of my class believed were white. I assumed otherwise, but there is no real answer to the question.

The racial disputes and real drama aren't until the end of the story. And I just have to say I was in tears. Sure I cry reading quite a few books, but never like this. I was crying so hard I had to put the book down and walk away until I calmed down. And that took a while. This book moved me in ways I hadn't expected it to. It became more than just a class assignment to me and it is a worthy read for anyone even slightly interested in this time period, or in the strong voice of a young 10-year old boy and how his life and mental state warp and change.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme posted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new top ten question is posed every week. I encourage you to start your own Top Ten Tuesday list. This week:

Top Ten Authors That Deserve More Recognition
This is an easy one for me. You want to know my answer?

All of them!

As an aspiring author myself I don't feel like enough writers get the recognition they deserve. A big part of that is also a issue of genres.

Many of us YA bloggers know the effects of being "caught" reading YA in a group of people who deem us as incompetent or childish because of our book choice. Of course with an experience like that there is no doubt to why YA authors don't get the credit they deserve.

I've done a research paper on feminist criticism in writing and found that female authors still don't receive the respect they deserve because the world is still vastly male dominated whether we want to admit it or not. And yet, majority of readers seem to be females. So there is the under-appreciated chick-lit genre for you.

In general I think that genres and the authors within them need more respect, their appeal needs to be expressed, and what better way than book review blogs. It is the bloggers that gain more recognition for deserving authors and I hope that one day when I finally publish that all the bloggers out there will spread my name on their top ten lists.

Happy Tuesday everyone! I went more psychological than straight list this week, but it was something I was more passionate about ;)

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson ☆☆☆☆

So this book was another I read as a class assignment. Obviously, by the title, it takes place in 1793. It revolves around the Yellow Fever epidemic in Philadelphia during 1793. I've never really come across historical fiction until these last two books for class and I have to say that both impressed me. I hadn't read anything about the 18th century except when I was in middle school and it was nice reading about Ben Franklin and George Washington like it just happened yesterday.

This book was exceptional at placing me in the time period letting me truly experience the fear and anxiety that overwhelmed all in the area. The characters were well-written, and the main character, Matilda, had one of the most amazing character developments I have ever seen. It was shown through metaphorical images as well as literal ones. Bravo Anderson!

As historical fiction this book does a much better job of teaching the subject than any text book ever could. It kept me intrigued and I couldn't put the book down (besides the fact that I didn't have time to put it down). I'd love to see what this author can do with modern characters. I think it would be more than worthwhile. The only thing that was awkward was the language barrier. I didn't figure out a "necessary" was an outhouse until I was most of the way through the book, which of course makes it historically accurate, but it was just a sticking point for me. Good review none the less :)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick ☆☆☆☆☆

As a homework assignment for class, I didn't give this book much hope, but as you can see it surpassed expectations with a glorious five star rating from me.

This book falls into the genre of graphic novel, but I have to admit I believe it's better than that. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE comics (yes, I'm that geeky), but in terms of academic graphic novels I haven't been impressed. I have read both Persepolis and Maus for classes and while they were good at getting the story across, I found it difficult to concentrate on every single image. I know, that's contradictory to why graphic novels are now being used in the classroom, kids are supposed to be able to follow it better because their train of thought isn't lost in lines and lines of words. What I love about this book is that it is a perfect balance between pages of literature and pages of images.

The illustrations in this book were captivating and it definitely pulled off the effect of a film. I recently heard this book was going to be made into a film and I think it would be easy since it's already set up that way. Besides the visual aspects of this book, my other favorite part of it is how the book deals with the notion of the unconventional family. The majority of children today are now part of an unconventional family (my son is no exception) and for a book to include this storyline it opens up a dialogue for children to express how they really feel. This is a wonderful book that I highly recommend to anyone and everyone.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme posted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new top ten question is posed every week. I encourage you to start your own Top Ten Tuesday list. This week:

Top Ten Bookish Pet Peeves
(all those things that annoy you in a story, with book covers, bookstores, etc)

Oh I can't express just how much I love this topic. As shown by my bio I definitely have a number 1 pet peeve and now I can think about others that really get to me.

1. Bookstore section titles (aka "Teen" rather than "Young Adult")

Look at the variety of book blogs on the internet and you'll discover that women between 20-40 LOVE young adult books. People of all ages really. And when I walk into an aisle labeled "Teen" I feel like I'm out of place and should be embarrassed. It has gotten to the point that I'll refuse to shop at places that label their young adult section as such.

2. Typos.

I don't mind a few. Sometimes it's just unavoidable. J.K. Rowling had her share. I loved that when reading Glass Houses by Rachel Caine I only found one typo in the entire book. Bravo! However, there is one book series that I couldn't forgive and I won't list. There were multiple glaring typos. And sentence structure? Hor-ri-ble! Example: "the glass's shattered surface," no thanks I hate pluralizing inanimate objects, let's try "the shattered surface of the glass" please.

3. Slow and unexciting first half.

There are two books I have read so far that I almost put down until I got to the middle. The first was because the writing was juvenile and hard to follow. An elementary student could have written it better. However, by the middle of the book I was hooked IN the story and stopped caring. The second, is Matched, in which I was stuck in not knowing what was going on until the middle of the book and the drama finally arrived and again I stopped caring about everything else. The whole point of a book is to catch the reader's attention as quickly as possible, that failed, and both are lucky that I have an inability to put down a book even if I have to force myself through it, and even luckier that they eventually won my heart.

4. Too many issues that don't get resolved.

I was in love with a series that I didn't want to put down. That is, until the third book. The first book was cut and dry--introduce drama, resolve it, leave opening for sequel, done. The second book same thing with a reasonable cliff hanger ending as well. Book three? Waiting for the cliff hanger drama to resolve and then another dramatic plot twist is introduce, still waiting for first twist to resolve, third major plot twist introduced, one chapter left in book and first twist is finally resolved, and then it ends. I'm sitting there going "WHAT?!" The fourth book comes out and at that point I didn't even want to read it, but I did. The two remaining plot twists were resolved near the end of that book and another introduced, and a linger of a twist from book two I might add. Book five came out last summer, it's still sitting on my shelf, any wonder why?

5. Picking up where we left off.

Doesn't sound like a bad thing, right? Then let me explain. Most books when you pick up a sequel and you're reading through it, the author reminds you of background info, details from the past books, etc. Now I used to hate this because I was reading a series all at once and didn't need the reminders. And then I came to a point in which a series I was reading didn't have a subsequent book until a year and a half later and I realized that those reminders were pretty awesome because I don't usually re-read something. Then one day I picked up a sequel book to one I had read a year or two before and it started right in the middle of the action where the other one left off. I have NO idea what was going on and realize I have to re-read the first one if I even want to know. Thanks for the waste of time, I have other books to read.

6. Cliff hanger chapters.

I don't necessarily mind cliff hanger endings because then I'm excited about the next book even though I'm impatient as well. However, cliff hangers at the end of chapters? Not so good. I read before bed, only a chapter or two at a time. And then there are books where I reach my two chapter limit and it's a freaking cliff hanger so I start reading the next chapter, and then it happens again and gah next thing I know three hours have passed and I have to get up in only a couple hours. Many times I've been forced to stop in the middle of a chapter, which I hate, just to avoid the cliff hanger and get to sleep.

7. Real people on book covers.

I can't imagine characters the way I want when that happens. And many times the person on the front of the book has absolutely nothing in common with the descriptions in the book. Example: Rachel Caine said that for one of the books from her Morganville series the cover was shown to her including a girl with pink hair, she couldn't argue so for it to make sense she added a scene at the end of the book where the main character wears a pink wig. I would rather have an artistic cover with filigree or such. My favorite cover: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I love the cover for their sequel too.

8. Photoshopped covers that look like an amateur did on the first try.

I totally judge a book by its cover. If the cover looks amateur I imagine the writing is too and I have no need to read it. Even if I see a review or recommendation for the book that is wonderful I will question its integrity.

9. A series that starts in paperback and then suddenly the next one is hardcover.

I like my books to match thank you very much. I began reading the Harry Potter series in paperback because they were cheap and once I was hooked I gave all my paperback copies to a young girl I knew and went out and invested in the hardcovers so that everything would match and look great on my shelf. I have one series in which the first three books were released in paperback, the next two in hardcover, now my shelf is uneven, but I don't feel like going out and buying the paperback versions when they come out almost a year later. Another has similar numbers. And I've seen others that have the first six to eight books in paperback and then suddenly a hardcover.

10. Uneven prices.

When a book comes out I can find it at Walmart for around $3 off the cover price. Yet Barnes & Noble sticks to the cover price like they're afraid of sale stickers. And then they wonder why they're losing business. Even Amazon has much cheaper prices and often even with the shipping they come out cheaper than B&N. Especially with their pre-orders when they refund you the difference if the price drops even more after you already pre-ordered. While I love sale prices, I wish that they'd be more even so I wouldn't have to troll the internet and Walmart for the books I want just so I don't have to sacrifice the extra money and gas for a trip to B&N.

Well I didn't think I'd make it to ten, but look at that I did. This industry is insane. And you know what, I want to add a.....

Runner-up: Kindle/e-books
The price isn't much different than the price for the book itself and you know what it's easier to read from a page than it is for me to read from a screen. I like having a bookshelf to look at everyday instead of a "playlist" of sorts.

Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie ☆☆☆☆

This is going to be a complicated review. Mainly because I have to admit that I expected to give this book only two stars. It sat on my "currently reading" forever. Part of it was because of assignments at school. But I told myself that during spring break I would finish it. I did of course and that's why I'm writing this now. But it was more than school that kept me from reading it. Through spring break I was dragging through it too. And I realized in ranting to my mom just how much I was hating this book.

Why? Because nothing was explained. Sure I knew it was a dystopian society, but I wanted to know how it got that way. She says that a committee made a lot of the changes like narrowing it down to 100 poems and 100 songs and destroying the rest, etc. But what was the trigger? How did things get the names they now have? And especially what happened to the space bar? That doesn't make sense until you read it. There are plainclothes, greenspace, newroses, etc. You eventually learn that plainclothes are kinda like scrubs, but everyone wears them as the rule of conformity, greenspace is grass, newroses are a new hybrid rose, and so on. And yet I don't understand.

So this confusion and questioning goes on for over the first half of the book. So towards the end of spring break I finally hit just past the halfway point, in which I planned to only read two chapters and suddenly I couldn't stop. I got caught in the drama, couldn't catch my breath, and I wanted to be in their lives and not leave their story. I fell in love and instead of dreading the sequel I am now anticipating it. And thus, the story went from two stars to four.

In conclusion I want to share my favorite quote from the book:
"Every moment you spend with someone gives them a part of your life and takes part of theirs."

Book Giveaway

Who doesn't like free stuff?

I'm currently reading Matched, but Across the Universe and Nightshade were also on my to-read-list so this is a great contest to enter.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme posted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new top ten question is posed every week. I encourage you to start your own Top Ten Tuesday list. This week:

Top Ten Book Characters I'd Want as Family Members

Great topic. An easier one would be what characters we wouldn't want as family members haha. There are so many that I would love to have in my life for real.

1. Holden from The Catcher in the Rye.
I wouldn't be the only crazy one in the family and that support might keep us both sane.

2. Rose from the Vampire Academy series.
Her strength is contagious. And a lot of the time her Rose-logic reminds me of my own.

3. Sally Jackson from The Lightning Thief.
Best Mom EVER. All the sacrifices she made for him were heartwarming.

4. Riley from The Immortals series (by Alyson Noel).
Ghost or not, she'd be an awesome little sister. The right amount of snark and sweetness.

5. Ky from Matched.
I want to be the one to support him and tell him everything will be alright. I think he'd be a great brother.

6. Shane from The Morganville Vampires series.
He proved to be an awesome big brother and protector. And I love how laidback he is. Besides, who doesn't want to try his famous chili? :)

7. Michael from The Morganville Vampires series.
Yes, I know, same book. Clare is lucky to have two awesome guys that have her back. And I have a thing for acoustic music, the guitar relaxes me so much.

8. The Weasleys from the Harry Potter series.
Oh yeah I want all of them as family. They represent the epic, loving, supportive family.

9. Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series.
Another book repeat, so sue me. He'd be the best crazy grandpa ever! With an affinity for candy!

10. The Cullens from the Twilight series.
Another solid family I'd want as my own. I love vampires and a family full of them would be awesome. They all have such amazing and vastly different personalities that would be interesting to get to know. And I've always loved Alice, she's sweet and spunky and fun for all.

Well now I'm a little sad. At the end of the list we realize they never could really be part of our families. The whole reason I read young adult fantasy is escape reality, and at the end of every book I feel a sense of loss of the people and the world I have come to love and feel a part of. It's okay though, there is always the next book to read and lose myself in, and I'm off to do that now.

Percy Jackson (books 1 & 2) by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson 1)

[and]
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson 2)
by Rick Riordan ☆☆☆☆

I read both of these books about a year ago or so, before I had this lovely blog. So why now? Because I'm taking Children's Literature and we had to read book 1 for an assignment on fantasy fiction. Re-reading it reminded me how much I loved these books and I hate that I never got the chance to read the rest.

First off let me express just how much I LOVE Greek mythology. When I was a kid I absolutely hated reading, like you wouldn't believe. However, there was one book I couldn't live without and checked it out from my elementary school library religiously: D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths. I happily now own it. So when I pick up a young adult book using all aspects of Greek mythology there is no doubt how much I would love it. The best part of this book is that I learned a few new Greek myths that I wasn't aware of. Somehow I never learned about Charon or Chiron.

The Lightning Thief did a great job at introducing the story of Percy Jackson. It had the right mixture of drama and humor that can keep any kid interested and eager to keep reading. I loved how Ares was portrayed with the biker boots and red sunglasses. I loved the idea of Westernization and the Western world of power moving. I loved Percy's boldness with shipping Medusa's head to Olympus and that his mom used it to get rid of her abusive husband. And most especially I loved all of the chapter titles. I think they were my absolute favorite actually. It was a great one-liner to start each new challenge that Percy and the gang faced.

The Sea of Monsters was equally as humorous. A satyr in a wedding dress, how can you get more original than that? This book had more of a presence of Poseidon as well as Luke's father, Hermes, who was intent on saving him if it was possible. Way to go loving dad's, even if they did have to abandon their children. And while The Lightning Thief touched on the ideas of the abandoning father, the threatening step-parent, and spousal abuse, The Sea of Monsters went even further. It introduced the half-sibling that is unexpected, confusing, and potentially embarrassing. These books touch on a lot of subjects that most authors are afraid to touch on, but subjects that many children today face. These children want to know that not only are they not alone in what they're experiencing and what they're feeling, but also that there is always hope. That's what makes good Children's Literature of course, the idea of hope surpassing all challenges. And if anyone remembers their Greek mythology then they'll remember that this is what the story of Pandora's box was all about, that even after all the bad things came out of the box there was hope at the bottom.

I can't wait til I can get to the other books in the series so that I can see what other touchy topics that Rick Riordan can introduce next. And just how much more I can learn about Greek mythology that apparently missed my childhood or was forgotten in growing up. I also can't wait until my son is old enough to read these books and enjoy them the way I have.