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Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

2012-02-01T11:55:00.001-05:00

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Page Count: 318
Date Published: January 10th, 2012
Summary: Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Review: I've read two book this year. I've been lazy. But anyways:

I received TFiOS a few weeks ago, when it first came out, and promptly dropped everything to read it. I LOVE John Green--I am an avid Vlogbrothers fan and I adore his previous works. I had a slight problem in the beginning of the book, because I couldn't help reading it in his voice, but that stopped about halfway through. Still, it was weird.

I loved this book but that isn't to say I didn't find some things a bit... off. Sometimes the prose was sparse where it shouldn't have been or Green's overuse of the word 'this' instead of 'the'. And I agree with a review I just read: this was a John Green Book. And like Sarah Dessen Books, the formula of an incredibly smart/witty character + shitty life thing happening to them + typical John Green humor. No one really talks like his characters do, but it's still fun to entertain the notion.

On one hand, I don't like books to be formulaic like that. I want something new, something that is pushing the limits with writing. And I felt like TFiOS didn't push any limits. In fact, the writing was not as good as in any of his previous books, because it seems like his editor got lazy.

But none of this makes sense because I gave this book five stars.

I feel an obligation to any book that I have to put down because it has hit me so directly. I cried for the entire last third of TFiOS. And not just like, cute little quiet crying. I pretty much used half a tissue box.

And when I finished it, I felt like a piece of myself had been ripped out.

So none of those things really matter to me as a person. As a reader, sure. But I can ignore them because this book has taken a peice of me with it.

Rating: 5/5 stars

New Year's Resolutions:

2011-12-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

It's almost that time again, folks. This year has gone by so quickly, way quicker than last year did--probably because I had more fun! My first year and a half of college, already over with. I honestly can't believe that. And so many cool things happened this year: I got to meet Meg Cabot and Maggie Stiefvater and Libba Bray, I finished The Shape that Breaks, I got on the Dean's list, I got (and quit/lost) two jobs, and I wrote almost 3 full novels. I didn't read quite as much this year, but that's okay. I'll get back on the bandwagon in 2012.

Anyway, I wanted to share some of my New Year's Resolutions! Not all of them have to do with writing or reading, but just things I want to get done this year.

Finish editing TSTB and get an agent!
Read 100 books.
Write a fantasy novel (and finish it).
Don't eat any fried food. (This one is gonna be the toughest. It's a challenge!)
Run a whole heck of a lot, swim a whole heck of a lot, and basically be a super in-shape person.
Get straight A's both semesters.
Figure out if I'm going to NY this summer and if I am, make all the necessary arrangements for that.
Get a job!

I think that's about it! Pretty lofty goals, but I can do it. I believe in myself.

Finishing a Novel

2011-12-27T17:28:00.000-05:00

I'm gonna tell you all a little story.

When I was fourteen, I was absolutely obsessed with the idea that my first love would be my only and that he would come save me from my mundane life and take me on some epic adventure. I wrote because that was the only way I could get close to it while I waited. Until I really fell in love, that is. And it was beautiful and awesome and invigorating, but an adventure it was not.

During this period, I started working on a novel that I called 'Golden Eyes' about a girl who's abusive ex dumps her and she falls in love with a boy with golden eyes. The first incarnation of The Shape that Breaks is nothing like it ended up being and though I've finished drafts before this one, none of them were really where I wanted to take the story. The last draft I finished before my break-up with my ex and it didn't feel quite right, the ending. It wasn't what I'd been aiming at.

And then, last year, my ex and I broke up and I threw all of my energy into the newest incarnation of The Shape that Breaks, the one where the ending reflects every single action that happens in the book. And here I am, a year and a month later, done with this draft. The last written draft, I'm confident. I can feel it in me: this book is done. I need to edit and edit and edit, but all the tough stuff, the whole slog, is done.

When I finished, I felt so strange. I kept stopping myself and thinking that I should be writing and then realizing that I was DONE. Then I'd start to cry or hyperventilate a little bit. I've given this book five years of my life and it is such a part of me that being done feels like a betrayal. Like I'm leaving behind one of my friends.

What's really going to hit me is tomorrow, when I go pick up the bound draft at OfficeMax. I've never seen the entire novel printed out, words on a physical page. I'm probably going to cry in the middle of OfficeMax, like some kind of weirdo.

This was total word vomit. But I wanted to let the world know: I've finished The Shape that Breaks.

And as soon as I'm done editing, I'm going to start the querying process again. This is so exciting. I'm really confident in this draft.

Wish me luck, guys!

Review: The One that I Want by Jennifer Echols

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

It kind of bugs me that the guy doesn't look Japanese.

Title: The One That I Want
Author: Jennifer Echols
Page Count: 256 pages
Release Date: Dec. 6th, 2011
Summary: Gemma can’t believe her luck when the star football player starts flirting with her. Max is totally swoon-worthy, and even gets her quirky sense of humor. So when he asks out her so-called best friend Addison, Gemma’s heartbroken. Then Addison pressures Gemma to join the date with one of Max’s friends. But the more time they all spend together, the harder Gemma falls for Max. She can’t help thinking that Max likes her back—it’s just too bad he’s already dating Addison. How can Gemma get the guy she wants without going after her best friend’s boyfriend?

My Thoughts: First things first, I may be a little biased because I have not read a Jennifer Echols book that I didn't like. There's something about the way she writes sexual tension that makes you feel that goosebumps and the butterflies. Any book of hers is a good escape from singledom, especially if you like your fictional men to be stubborn and domineering, but in the sexiest way possible.

When I read the summary for this book, though, I have to admit that I was hesitant. It felt kind of shallow and I wasn't sure if I would live it, especially the whole 'mix-up' plot that I hate so much in most books and movies. But once I started it, I kind of fell in love with the main characters, as is usually the case with Echols' books. Gemma is flawed and kind of a bitch to her 'best' friend, but she's also so determined and smart and witty--she is most definitely NOT a weak character at all. And her attraction to Max is so relatable it kind of hurts your heart to read about it.

Max: I was about in love with this guy. I need to meet a Max in real life, stat.

The kissing scenes were, as always, swoonworthy. And the resolution to the plot was awesomeawesomeawesome--everything happened just the way I wanted it to, plus there were a ton of moments where I had to book down to squeal.

I read this book in two sittings over two days (during finals week, when I should've been studying), and I absolutely loved it. I would recommend it to anyone else who has liked Jennifer Echols' books.

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

The Lazy Life of a College Student on Winter Break

2011-12-19T17:37:00.003-05:00

10pm: Fall asleep watching Psych on Netflix.
6am: Wake up confused and disoriented and realize you fell asleep at ten last night and that's why you're waking up when it's still dark out, like some crazy person who is motivated or something. Try to convince yourself to get out of bed and exercise or something, but instead go on your computer and find out that Kim Jong-Il is dead and browse Reddit reading about it.
6:45am: Decide that being awake this early is a lot lamer than you expected. Go back to sleep.
11:47am: Wake up again and finally get up to get coffee and cereal. Decide that the most productive thing you will do today is go to the pool.
2pm: Go to the pool. It's windy and in the 70s outside because you live in Florida, but it's still just warm enough to where swimming is nice. Do breaststroke for one lap and pretend that's a workout, then go into the hot tub and read a Jennifer Echols book on your Nook.
3pm: Go home. Go on Tumblr.
5pm: Realize how little you've gotten done. Decide to write for the rest of the night.
5:30pm: Write a blog post instead.

My first day of freedom and I feel as if I've botched it. I meant to wake up at a decent time and write, then maybe go running. I wrote one sentence of TSTB today. It's been super productive.

How's everyone else's break going so far?

Finals Week

2011-12-12T14:59:00.001-05:00

College is awesome. It's the time when people are finding themselves and are constantly evolving, beginning to resemble their more mature, adult selves. And while I may go to a school known more for its parties than its programs, it was still super easy for me to find people that I connected with, even if I'm not into the whole 'party every single day of my life, you only live once, time to get black-out drunk' scene.

But there comes a time, at the end of the semester, where everyone starts to get a little crazy. People at the library are either on such a high dosage of Adderall that nothing but the apocalypse could tear them from their studying or they are browsing Facebook with their study guide open in the background, hoping to absorb the knowledge through some kind of Internet osmosis. Last year during this time, when it was cold and windy and gray and most of campus was running on less than three hours of sleep from a combination of papers and projects and finals, I got really sick. I got a scalp infection that did something to my brain, so I had a debilitating migraine for a week straight. I went to the emergency room three times, where they put me on higher and higher doses of painkillers, and still it didn't go away. My mom was so worried about me she demanded I come home, so I took the bus back for the entire 10 hour drive, sitting next to a newly-released prison inmate with his only belongings in a tiny mesh bag and snores so loud I couldn't fall asleep, even with all of the painkillers.

Because of that, I have not had to endure the Winter Final Fever until this year. And for once in my life, I'm actually on top of things. I've been studying for my Nutrition final since Friday morning (it's on Thursday at 7:30am, urgh), and I think I know most of the material. I have (unfortunately) completely stopped reading/writing until this is over, but I'm done on Thursday, so hurrah!

In the meantime, I'm kind of going insane from the amount of caffeine I've consumed today. My roommates and I stopped at Panera on the way home from this organic food store called New Leaf Market, so I'm halfway through my second cup of coffee. But I've studied a bunch, yay!

Other college students: how are you coping with finals/finals week?

NaNoWriMo = Failure

2011-12-11T16:56:00.001-05:00

I called it, folks. I failed NaNo before the halfway point because life got the best of me. Hanging out with friends and doing delinquent college things overtook my life last month, plus all the preparation for finals with papers and projects. I'm glad I opted out of it before my life got too hectic, because I had a buttload of projects due last month.

Anywho, other things going on in my life:

Tara from Hobbitsies was in my American Lit. class that just ended a few days ago, so we bonded over books and blogging and BEA and probably other b-things. She gave me a copy of Blood Red Road by Moira Young, so look for a review of that as soon as I finish, probably near the end of this month.
I finished a short story that I'd been working on for a couple of weeks last night, called A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, although the title is subject to change because I hate that title. I'm pretty proud of my use of prose in it, so I think I might submit it to a couple of literary magazines and see if it get's accepted. After revising it a bit more, I think. It could be a bit tighter/more coherent.
It's finals week. I've mostly been fine about my classes, aside from Nutrition, which I'm studying like a mad person for. That has been stressing me out.

Otherwise, my life is pretty unexciting. I may post from retrospective reviews of books I really liked and maybe another vlog when I go home for break, because I'm way too self-conscious to record myself acting like a fool while my roommates are in the room. If not the full return of me, at least it's a partial return.

Blogging NaNoWriMo: Day Six

2011-11-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

Current Word Count: 8,641

I am not writing right now. I am playing Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 and trying to beat Icy Adventures. I'm pretty much a professional writer. I'll be published pretty soon at this rate, I think. Maybe I can write my own guide on how to beat this game (that's probably about ten years old now) and then sell it online and make millions.

Well. Anyways.

Somehow, last night, I managed to get ahead, even with watching The Fellowship of the Ring and Batman Begins and Nichijou and Le Chevalier D'Eon. My characters are much different than I expected them to be, acting different than I'd planned out in my head. Indy is supremely messed up when it comes to caring about people and Luke is a humongous jerk. I was thinking a lot about plot last night because, well, I don't really have one, and I'm pretty sure I know where this is going. I just can't make Indy and Luke care about each other for a long time into the narrative. They hate each other. It has to be so subtle that you don't even notice when they stop hating each other.

It's kind of nice to be blogging again. I missed this whole community as well as constantly being on Twitter and talking to people. So, after this month, I'll try to be more regular about blogging. I've missed all you guys!

Blogging NaNoWriMo: Day Five

2011-11-06T01:52:00.000-05:00

Current Word Count: 8,370

I was behind all day and it was freaking me out. Last night, I stayed over my friends' house and watched The Blair Witch Project and wrote way too little, so I made myself drink coffee and write when I got up from my four-hour nap today. Now it is almost two am and I am still awake, sitting at the same friends' dining room table, listening to them watch Batman Begins while I realized that I am finally ahead on my word counter. Even though it is technically not Day Five any longer.

I feel like I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. I was so stressed about being behind, but today was a thankfully productive Saturday. I'm not sure how tomorrow is going to be, but we shall see!

On a completely different note, I made cupcakes for my best friend, Lauren's, birthday. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. They were absolutely delicious and by delicious I mean I ate five. Five is apparently an auspicious number for me: day five of NaNo and I am finally ahead and five cupcakes.

Blogging NaNoWriMo: Days Three and Four

2011-11-04T17:43:00.001-04:00

Current Word Count: 5,112

Welp, Day Four and I am stuck.

I don't know how I didn't expect it. I had no plot. I had two character who hated each other and a zombie apocalypse. I have an ending and two or three scenes in between. But now I don't know how to connect any of those things into something that makes sense.

Here's the thing: I love it when two characters start out hating each other. But it's never done well enough for me. In most books, they become love interests, but I think that, if you really dislike someone, even if you can come to accept them as a person eventually, I don't feel like you can ever REALLY fall in love with them. And nemesis relationships are never raw enough. When they start out becoming friends, it can't be some pitiful insults hurled--there needs to be tangible dislike. It's never tangible enough for me.

That's why I wanted to work with Indy and Luke. They hate each other with a passion. But that's making them a tad unpalatable to me. Indy just seems like a bitch because we don't know why she hates Luke so much and Luke just seems like the innocent bystander who gets punched in the face. That's why I'm stuck. That's why I got stuck last night, along with sleeping over my best friends' house and watching Disney songs on Youtube, plus the stress of having to turn in a project today that I'd barely started last night. I have the rest of today to catch up, though, until I go back over to hang with my friends. I need to get to 6666. I will. I will.

Or I'll just read House of Leaves and dick around.

To paraphrase Mindy Kaling: Writing is 90% dicking around and 10% getting things done.

Current Mood: Blah.

Blogging NaNoWriMo: Day Two

2011-11-02T19:26:00.000-04:00

Current Word Count: 3,887

I finished Her Fearful Symmetry last night, during the time I should've been writing. (I had a massive headache, so that was my excuse not to write. But I can still read. Even though it makes my head hurt worse.)

I was not a happy camper.

Lemme give you all a one-sentence summary of this book: Twins are weird and ghosts are evil. There we go. I've spared you from having to read this book that was a disappointing follow-up to The Time-Traveler's Wife, which was awesome and great and made me cry. This book did not. This book made me want to throw things across the room. I can't rant sufficiently without spoilers, so I won't rant here, other than to say: skip this if you want to be satisfied. If you really loved TTW, give it a try, perhaps. But it just wasn't for me.

Whoa, way to be a Debbie Downer. As far as writing goes, today has not been productive. I've written about 800 words, but I'm still fairly ahead. I'm already wanting to give up. I think that's a sign that things are going well, when I want to give up.

This is the first year I am going by the seat of my pants. And it's kind of awful and awesome, at the same time.

Tomorrow: I'll introduce you guys to my characters.

Mood, thus far: Annoyed at everything.

Blogging NaNoWriMo: Day One

2011-11-01T14:33:00.000-04:00

Word Count: 2,878

I am breaking my radio silence to bring you this, my dear neglected readers: I am not writing YA for NaNoWriMo this year. I know, I know. It's a shock to your delicate systems, already hurt by my lack of posts for months and months. However: The Symmetry of Grace still contains a teenage protagonist. It also contains zombies. And it is literary fiction. We'll see how this goes.

I went to a meet-up last night with people at my university and ate a bunch of Warheads while I tried to bang out my daily quota before going to bed. We sat in the breezeway of the dorm I lived in last year and I was disappointed by the lack of coffee. So now I'm in the library, where I've been for two hours, dawdling and drinking a delicious (though now-cold) coffee.

Anywho, here was the announcement I promised: I am going to try to blog every day of November, even on dear Thanksgiving and the days before and after I will be traveling home and back to school. It is going to be rambly. I may do a book review or two, but they'll most likely be on the classics we're reading in my Lit. class or the weird books I'm reading for leisure (right now, it's Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenaksdjasegger. Next up, House of Leaves!)

Outlook for the Day: Promising. This may or may not be fueled by coffee and the really cute guy sitting next to me.

I'm not dead.

2011-10-23T17:31:00.000-04:00

I am just... hibernating.

And by hibernating, I mean: watching Doctor Who, trying to convince myself to write, drinking too much coffee, reading far too little, and eating far, far, far too much frozen yogurt.

The life of a college student is pretty much all about frozen yogurt. At least if you're me and my roommate, who eat it about 5 times a week. Draining my Starbucks budget, you are!

Anywho: expect some kind of revival of this blog sometime soon. If you're impatient and want to read about writing, head on over to my tumblr: yeahwriting.tumblr.com. (If you're also into Doctor Who and other nerdy pursuits, feel free to follow my personal tumblr: vagabond-ing.tumblr.com.)

Happy trails!

Sorry for the silence!

2011-08-03T20:09:00.000-04:00

I've been moving for the past week-ish, so I haven't had much time to blog, since I'm doing Camp NaNo.

SPEAKING OF WHICH:

Oh! Oh! I have an idea!

2011-07-29T17:22:00.000-04:00

I've been vlogging a lot this past week, so you may have heard me mention in one of them that I've decided to write a fantasy novel. I've been busy plotting it out, getting all excited for it, since it definitely seems like it'll need more than one book to be complete. I've never even tried to write a series before!

However, there's one small problem: I'm currently in the middle of another project. Several other projects, as a matter of fact. There's the more-than-half-finished TSTB rewrite, which is coming along pretty well. (Kissing scene was written the other days, lots of swoons to be had.) There's what I planned to write for NaNo, another YA romance called I KILLED FIONA WASHBURN, whose characters I am in love with. There is the not-finished rewrite of THE UNLIKELIHOOD OF NOSTALGIA. Finally, there is the disaster that is THE REAPING OF JONAH SALT, a 12k word monstrosity that was more of a fun exercise than it was ever a real, viable idea.

I find it ironic that the most oft-asked questions of authors is, "Where do you get your ideas?" The question should be, "Where don't we get ideas?" It's constant, this influx of ideas. From movies, to television shows, to other books, to real life, to stories on the news--that where our ideas come from. And it can get really annoying when you're in the middle of one thing and another catches your eye, like you're a bird who is trying to build her nest with as many shiny (half-baked) ideas as you can.

My advice, however: don't switch horses in the middle of the stream.

If you are in the thick of one manuscript and you want to start another one, WAIT. Wait until you've come out of the other side in the darkness that is the middle, boring part of writing, and then see how you want to do your next idea. It's so tempting to stop what you're doing for a shiny new plot and set of characters who don't have the problems of your current manuscript, but it's really hard to finish one thing if you have ADD of the brain and can't stop jumping back and forth.

How do you deal with errant plot bunnies? Do you ignore them, wait, or jump right into a new story, no matter where you are in another?

How to Procrastinate

2011-07-28T17:19:00.000-04:00

Have Hope, All Ye Weirdos

2011-07-27T11:49:00.000-04:00

Perhaps one day you will be as awesome as me! Then, the world will thank you for being strange when you were younger.

In other news: I have consumed so much coffee and consumed so little sunlight in the past few days that I am almost sure that is the reason I still have a tan. I'm turning coffee-colored.

Also, I got to 30,000 words yesterday! Woohoo!

You Are Probably Insane

2011-07-26T13:58:00.000-04:00

This video is the product of too many cups of coffee, an Avatar marathon, and writing until my head starts to bleed.

This is Teen Event!

2011-07-24T12:08:00.000-04:00

Last night was amazing! I met Maggie Stiefvater, Meg Cabot, and Libba Bray, as well as another aspiring author while standing in line to get my books signed. It was such a great night.

Maggie was so nice! She asked if I was done with Forever yet and I was like, No, I'm near the end though!

I got a little fangirl-y when I went up to Meg Cabot and I completely forget everything I was gonna ask her!

Libba Bray! Ah! I bought Beauty Queens and I can't wait to read it!

Review: A Dance with Dragons

2011-07-20T20:32:00.001-04:00

Title: A Dance with Dragons

Author: George R. R. Martin
Date Published: July 12th, 2011

Page Count: 959, if you don't include the 100 pages of appendices.
Summary: BASICALLY, all your favorite characters who were not in AFfC are back! Dany, Tyrion, Jon, Bran, Arya (barely), Davos, along with some new and newly-not-dead ones! Dany putzes around in Mereen, trying to bring peace. Tyrion, who recently murdered his father and ex-whore-lover, travels around Essos, sometimes a slave, sometimes a mummer, always a dwarf, asking, "Where do the whores go?" incessantly. Jon is actually a good leader and saves tons of wildlings and is basically awesome, until the end, when the Night's Watch ruin everything. Bran travels way up into the North with Coldhands. Arya learns more about becoming a Faceless Man and is all-around awesome. Davos continues to be honorable. Theon somehow manages to make you like him. Jaime shows up once, with a really annoying cliffhanger ending to a chapter. Asha gets kidnapped. Victarion is a dick to everyone who ever lived and laughs at pain whilst traveling towards Dany.

Just read it. It's hard to summarize.

Review: WARNING, this review will be semi-spoiler-y! I know most of you probably don't read ASOIAF and that's fine, but I don't want to spoil any future readers! So if you haven't gotten to ADwD yet or you plain haven't read any of the books, that's fine. Just don't continue to read this review. You have been duly warned.

Anywho, first reaction: WHY THE HELL WAS THIS BOOK SO LONG?

I had the feeling that this one would be packed with action, unlike its predecessor, the rambling and boring A Feast for Crows. It came on the heels of A Storm of Swords, easily my favorite book in the series, but I was not prepared for its length, where absolutely nothing happens. I expected more from ADwD, especially since it took so long to write. But nope. In the vein of AFfC, it was all set-up. Which is fine, but someone needs to get GRRM a better editor, because we do not need nearly 2,000 pages of set-up. I understand it's an epic story. But really, GRRM, you're just drowning yourself and your readers.

Second of all, I have a problem with all of the cliffhangers. I feel like cliffhangers that resolve NOTHING are super cheap to the reader, because we have to wait such a long time to find out what happens. It's like in TV shows where the MC dies at the end of the season and you have to wait months to find out, oh, they weren't really dead. It's cheap. A good cliffhanger should resolve most of the plot while still leaving some juicy threads. GRRM's cliffhangers are all threads. Nothing was resolved. Dany continued to be annoying in Mereen, where she hooked up with Daario only AFTER getting engaged. Jon became a good leader but then was 'killed' at the end. (Quotations because I know he is not dead. I hate that GRRM brings so many people back from the dead. I thought that, after Ned and Robb, we knew people could die. But now they either don't die or are resurrected. It's annoying.) Tyrion's chapters at least contained some character development. There were only two Arya chapters, only ONE Jaime chapter in which he was kidnapped by an obviously-alive Brienne, and a small number of Bran chapters. For so many pages, we could've gotten more of their stories and he could've cut out some of the food description.

The only thing that I really loved about this book was Theon's character arc. I HATED Theon in ACoK, but I felt so bad for him as Reek and I was immensely satisfied at his final words in ADwD. Say what I will about GRRM, but he is awesome at characterization. He made me love Jaime and he made me love Theon.

If only because this is an ASOIAF book, I'll give it:

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

There's a reason for my now and future silence:

2011-07-13T12:27:00.000-04:00

Got this yesterday and I've been reading non-stop, as well as drinking coffee and somehow managing to write a few thousand words to the rewrite of TSTB. I also have to finish up reading an excerpt from a possible CP and write my commentary on that, so no posts or vlogs for the next week or so!

I Love My Laptop and Lies

2011-07-09T13:41:00.001-04:00

Today's post is going to be in two parts, just because both of these things are on my brain and I'm also procrastinating from writing TSTB. (I'm up to 18k on the rewrite--more than a quarter done! Hoping this one will top at 60k-ish.)

Anywho, part one: I really, really, really love my laptop.

Last night, I was without my beloved HP and when I got back to it an hour ago, I realized just how much I love my computer. It doesn't usually complain or freeze on me, even when I've been on it for hours at a time, and though it isn't awesome enough to play The Sims 2 for longer than ten minutes at a time, it can still handle my excessive tweets and the fourteen new documents I open when I'm trying to figure out a problem within my writing that cannot be solved. I love Google Chrome and Tumblr and Reddit and LiveJournal and Twitter and Tweetdeck and Window Media Player (not so much with Windows Movie Maker, that thing sucks). I love Microsoft Word and Q10 and my fast Internet connection (that, at the end of the month, basically stops working). I love free Wifi at Starbucks and at Panera (where I now work). I love my keyboard, even though the R and the shift key have both been sticking lately. I love the worn parts of the space bar, exactly where I always touch it.

I am incredibly grateful for my laptop.

Part Deux:

I have a problem reading books where the main conflict hinges on a huge lie by the protag. I have some social anxiety and just the thought of lying and keeping the charade up for so long gives me a really bad stomachache, so when I read books where I know the entire time that the main character is lying, I usually have to put them down. They make my anxiety meter go off the charts.

The reason I mention this is because I recently picked up Bumped by Megan McCafferty at the library and I stoked (I can't believe I just used that word) to start it because I'd been looking for it for awhile. I got about 100 pages in and then I stopped reading. Not because it was bad; on the contrary, I loved all the slang and the characters and everything about it was great. I just really couldn't handle the huge lie and the inevitable scene where everyone finds out about it.

I guess I just don't lie, in general. I'm bad at it because I never do it. It just freaks me out.

Does this kind of thing both anyone else?

And, an added bonus:

On July 23rd, I'm going to see Maggie Stiefvater, Libba Bray, and MEG FREAKIN' CABOT in Miami! I am beyond excited because I never get to go to these things; when Sarah Dessen came down here a few years ago, I almost went, but then I couldn't find a ride. My mom is being awesome enough to drive me and I am freaking out because a) I love all of them and b) MEG CABOT. THE MEG CABOT.

That is all for today. I'm done procrastinating.

An Homage to Writers (now in list form!)

2011-07-05T23:59:00.001-04:00

Rewriting or, THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE

2011-07-05T16:24:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the radio silence, dudes and dudettes! I've been reading ravenously and writing just a little less hungrily, but my online presence has been severely lacking. I was going to do this blog post as a vlog, but I'm so awkward on camera that every time I tried to record it, I played with my hair a lot and talked in a very low voice so no one else in my house would know I was talking to the man in the computer. So, this is a text post to spare all of you from second-hand embarrassment!

Onto today's topic: REWRITING, or THE ABSOLUTE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE

My name is Sam Ripley, and I am a chronic rewriter.

As many of you know, I've been working on The Shape that Breaks (heretofore referred to as TSTB for brevity), since I was fourteen. I started it the winter break of my first year of high school and while the story has changed quite a bit, the characters have mostly stayed the same. (Aside from Alex, that is. First he was an abusive boyfriend, then he was a really good guy, and now he's kind of a jerk again.) At first, it went by the lame name of GOLDEN EYES, back when Aiden had golden eyes because I thought that was SOSPECIAL!1!!oneone. But now, it is just TSTB.

And I am working on my fourth rewrite of the damn thing.

Don't get me wrong. I love the story. I love the characters. I love everything about it. But it has overtaken my life for the past five years and as soon as I think the draft I finished a few months ago was all polished and ready for querying, I realize that my writing has improved a lot over the course of this draft. And I started a rewrite for NaNo last year, so I started to read that one, and I'm like, WELL THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER, WHY DID I STOP WRITING IT?

So I'm 16k into another rewrite.

I want to bash my head on the table. (I'm at Starbucks or else I would do this. You guys can have a .gif of John Green doing the giant squid of anger, though.)

Eff yeah, Nerdfighteria!

Anyways, I think a lot of writers get to that stage in their manuscript where they just want the story to be DONE, already. If TSTB never gets published, I don't think I'll care as much as I would if I never finished this draft. But I believe in this story so much. It has been my life for so long that I think I'll feel empty when I finally finish it.

Is anyone else a chronic rewriter?

WHAT COMES AFTER Author Interview!

2011-05-15T21:58:00.000-04:00

Sorry the radio silence, y'all. I got a job here at home and that's literally eaten up all of my time. That, and Veronica Mars on Netflix and baking cookies and generally not doing anything productive.

Anyways, today I have a very awesome interview with the author of WHAT COMES AFTER, Steve Watkins! Not only is he awesome, but he also attended FSU, just like I do.

After her veterinarian dad dies, sixteen-year-old Iris Wight must leave her beloved Maine to live on a North Carolina farm with her hardbitten aunt and a cousin she barely knows. Iris, a vegetarian and animal lover, immediately clashes with Aunt Sue, who mistreats the livestock, spends Iris’s small inheritance, and thinks nothing of striking Iris for the smallest offense. Things come to a head when Iris sets two young goats free to save them from slaughter, and an enraged Aunt Sue orders her brutish son, Book, to beat Iris senseless - a horrific act that lands Book and his mother in jail. Sent to live with an offbeat foster family and their "dooking" ferrets, Iris must find a way to take care of the animals back at the farm, even if it means confronting Aunt Sue. Powerful and deeply moving, this compelling novel affirms the redemptive power of animals and the resilience of the human spirit.

Obviously WHAT COMES AFTER deals a lot with animal abuse - are you a big advocate of animal rights?

Well, yes and no. I don’t believe, as some animal rightists do, that animals are people too. That is, I don’t believe they have the same level of sentience, of consciousness, of self-awareness as we do. That said, I believe we humans have a collective responsibility to treat animals—to treat everything on Earth—responsibly and ethically and in a kind and loving manner. We’re the stewards here. We don’t own it. We’re just responsible for taking care of the place, and everything that lives here.

When did you first start writing?

Probably about the time I read my first book. But the first thing I remember actually writing was a story called “The Glisening Sword” (and yes, I did leave off the silent “t” in glistening throughout the book, which I not only wrote, but illustrated as well). I was probably in second grade. It’s about a boy named Tommy who brings his dog to this place called Death Drop Off (which I misspelled as “Death Drop Of,” also throughout) to investigate a mysterious, malevolent sword that has been terrorizing the neighborhood. While they’re camping next to Death Drop Of (or Off), the sword, which has tentacles on the handle, shimmies up the side of the thousand foot hole, comes out, and impales the poor dog, killing it instantly. The sword then knocks Tommy knocked down into Death Drop Off (or Of). Fortunately it’s a soft, mucky bottom and he survives the fall. The place turns out to be a diamond mine, which oddly, also has cabbage-size rubies, one of which Tommy grabs and bashes the Glisening Sword into submission. He escapes. The end.

How did you come up with the idea for WHAT COMES AFTER?

From an article I read in our local newspaper. The article at the beginning of WHAT COMES AFTER is actually a lightly fictionalized version of the actual article from the newspaper. I was recently contacted by the detective who investigated the case in real life, asking if it was the same case he had worked on. He said he was proud of his work on that case because he was able to solve what happened, and help out someone who desperately needed it. I intentionally didn’t find out what happened to the girl in the actual case, though my friends in social services and the organization CASA—Court Appointed Special Advocates—did know her and her circumstances. I’m sure she’s aged out of the foster care system by now. The detective thought she might be back in New England. I’ve worked on a number of abuse and neglect cases as a child advocate and investigator, and know that there’s always so much more to anyone’s story than the minimal explanation you often see in the paper about the victim, and so I wanted to imagine this girl’s story, and so I did.

You also have a book of short stories published. Which would you say you find easier, short stories or novels?

Short stories are much more difficult in some ways. It’s such a compressed form, you have to develop your characters, your situation, your conflict, your plot, and find your thematic resonance all in such a short amount of time and space. I’ll spend easily ten times the amount of time writing a short story as I will a novel chapter of comparable length. Very different challenges, those two genres. I love both, but probably haven’t written a new short story in five years. (Though I have written three novels in that time—one a work in progress, my next book with Candlewick Press, called JUVIE.)

Who's your favorite author?

I’m going to quote myself here—from another blog post I did for someone else, who asked if I ever had a fanboy moment. I said yeah, all the time, and then I listed a bunch of writers and works, all of whom and which I’d have to include in my list of favorites, because nobody, and I mean nobody, has just one favorite author: Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Dante’s Inferno, Joseph Heller’s Catch 22, Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains, E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus, Tobias Woolf’s This Boy’s Life, Louis Sacher’s Milkweed, Anne Tyler’s Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Jean Merrill’s The Pushcart War, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold, James Joyce’s Dubliners and especially “The Dead,” Peter Matthiessen’s At Play in the Fields of the Lord, Thom Jones’ “The Pugilist at Rest,” William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, Ecclesiastes, Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd’s Runaway Bunny, so many others and so many works that have left me stunned into stillness and silence and awe.

What are your biggest writing inspirations?

I don’t know if you could call it an inspiration or not, but when I was little I used to get scared a lot at night and I would beg my older brother to let me crawl into bed with him. He was on the bottom bunk; I was on the top. He had two conditions for letting me in: one, I had to bring my own pillow and lie with my head at his feet, and two, I had to tell him stories. So I would be lying awake deep into the night, spinning these wild stories, caught up in my own narratives, long after he started snoring. I wrote a fictionalized version of that in a scene in my YA novel DOWN SAND MOUNTAIN. I don’t think my brain has ever stopped making up stories since then, and now it’s not so much a case of needing inspiration to write as it is that I write because I can’t not write.

Why do you write for young adults?

I didn’t mean to at first, but my agent thought DOWN SAND MOUNTAIN would make a good YA novel, and Candlewick agreed. They were very generous with their offer to buy DSM, which I hadn’t consciously written for a younger audience, and they were so wonderful to work with, especially my editor, Kaylan Addair, that I decided I wanted to write another for them. That next book was WHAT COMES AFTER, and now I’m working on a third for Candlewick, JUVIE, which I mentioned above. What truly has drawn me back to writing YA novels is that it’s such a hopeful genre. Younger readers—and that includes many readers all the way up to retirement age and beyond—want challenging and compelling characters and stories and themes. They don’t want to be patronized—they understand that life can be hard, can be VERY hard, and painful at times. But they haven’t given up hope—for finding meaning even in the hardest of circumstances, for truth, and for grace--and they want a literature that reflects that.

Awesome, very insightful answers, Steve! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of WHAT COMES AFTER, which was published April 12th!

New WIP?

2011-04-27T15:44:00.002-04:00

"Like I said, I'm good at being alone. But being alone when no one's around and being alone in a school full of judgemental teenagers are two completely different things. One is solitude. The other is loneliness."

I love you, new WIP.

I christen thee, I KILLED FIONA WASHBURN.

"Writer's Block"

2011-04-22T15:11:00.000-04:00

So, I'm listening to NPR and doing nothing instead of studying for my exams and writing, like I should be. And the thought occurs to me, a thought that has probably stabbed you in the arm a few million times if you're a writer like myself or something that has never occurred to you, as you are a reader, absorbing the fruits of whoever you're reading being stabbed a few million times.

Is there such a thing as writer's block?

I'm inclined to say yes. I'm inclined to say, of course there is! Then I have a reason to not write for two weeks straight and not plot enough and not fall asleep thinking about all the different possible outcomes of my current WIP. Then I have an excuse to everyone who asks, "Hows the writing going?"

I'll just frown and say, "Writer's block." They'll nod, like they completely understand. Which most probably don't, aside from my few friends who do write. And that's fine! Keeping those out of the know makes it seem more legitimate.

But when I open up a new Word document or peruse an old one, kind of whispering to myself all of things I've written down before, I have to concede that I don't really believe in writer's block. I believe in my inner editor, who wants everything figured out before I put the words down on the page, who wants every plot point tucked neatly into that corner of my brain labeled 'Writing', who would rather not write anything at all if it's not going to be perfect. I believe in my lust for words, in loving them so much that when I read a good, wordy book (and not even anything ridiculously literary - Deb Caletti satisfies this for me!), I gobble those finely-structured sentences up and then pick them apart in my brain. I believe in not having ideas, which is not writer's block, not at all. Because the absence of ideas is when you break out your Moleskine and do freewrites or when you write poetry about how the summer sun looks outside, while you sit, dipping your feet inside of a fountain.

But writer's block? No. Writer's block is writer-slang for being afraid or for being lazy or for beating yourself up for not writing everything perfectly. Writer's block is an excuse, and I refuse to make excuses.

What do you think? Am I just talking out of my butt?

WIW: April 11-17th, 2011

2011-04-18T15:37:00.000-04:00

Total Words Written: 12, 419
Total Cups of Coffee Drank: 9
Total Number of Headdesks: 43,000

This week was pretty awesome. Last Monday, I had a burst of inspiration fueled by too much caffeine and too much sleep and I wrote 10k words within two days. But I have finals next week, so this week is not going to be a very productive one in terms of writing. (In terms of everything else, probably not either. I will probably just watch Weeds and finish Season 5 and listen to Manchester Orchestra.) I did, however, get another story idea this morning that my mom really helped me with, so I'm going to file that away in the idea bank for a later time.

Just wanna bang out this scene that's been in my head for the past few days, so hopefully my word count will shoot up a little bit more.

Announcement!

2011-04-14T20:11:00.000-04:00

As some of you who follow me on Twitter may know, I've been working on a new WIP these past couple of days. On Monday, I wrote 7,000 words, and 3,000 the following day, which excites me to no end. I am not a fast writer by any means, but the voice of this character and the idea for this story was just bursting out of me. That stream has already slowed to a trickle, but I'm not going to give up hope!

Anyways, in light of that, I've had a lot of time in front of my computer lately, listening to indie music (I've made the observation that most of my favorite bands have two-word names: Snow Patrol, Say Anything, Vampire Weekend, Manchester Orchestra), and therefore, a lot of time to think. About maturity and loneliness and death and, after listening to a live show with John Green today, the experience of being someone else. I don't indulge in these types of thoughts enough; it's easy to get so caught up in life's shallow ideas that you forget to wonder about just being human. Not that being caught up is a bad thing, but for my writing, it hasn't been necessarily helpful.

When I first started this blog, it was because I loved YA and because I wanted to share that with the world and maybe talk about my writing a little bit. But as things have happened in my personal life, I've definitely matured a lot in the past year and realized that the most important thing of all to me is writing. The absolute most important thing in my life.

Thus, I've decided that Read Sam, Read! is going to become less and less about my adventures with reading and reviewing YA and more about my adventures in writing and what that's made me think about. My current WIP has made me realize how little significance can be given, in novels, anyway, to violence towards other people, especially death. It's also made me wonder how I would feel if both of my parents suddenly died or if I had to be uprooted and live with a bunch of supernatural creatures to get away from the supernatural police.

And I like thinking about that type of thing! I like sharing it with the world and see how other people view those things. It's interesting how in my own head I am, and how often I have really groundbreaking thoughts that I never share with anyone but myself. It's a trope of being a writer, I think, that I converse with myself inside of my head daily. In any other passion, that might be looked at a little strangely.

This is not to say that I will not review any more YA novels -- on the contrary, I will definitely still being reviewing them! But that is no longer the central focus of this blog. I may even --gasp!-- change the name to something more appropriate.

If you've gotten this far in this post, I commend you. Thank you for reading half of a novel worth of my thoughts.

Review: Enclave by Ann Aguirre

2011-04-13T19:33:00.000-04:00

Title: Enclave
Author: Ann Aguirre
Pub. Date: April 12th, 2011 (Yesterday!)
Page Count: 259 pages
Summary: New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters—or Freaks—who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight, in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs. As the two are guided by Fade’s long-ago memories, they face dangers, and feelings, unlike any they’ve ever known.

Review: I'm not gonna lie - I'm not a huge fan of the cover. But I love post-apocalyptic novels, especially those that are really well-done (like my absolute fave, THE ROAD, by Cormac McCarthy, or Garth Nix's SHADE'S CHILDREN), so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one.

Aguirre's writing style is very direct, which I love. There weren't any flowery passages that I had to get through, just pure, simple description. It fit the tone of the book well, because Deuce, the main character, is more concerned with being a Huntress than admiring the beauty of anything. The mysterious Fade is assigned her partner and, I'm not gonna lie, he made me a little swoony. But I thought their relationship fell a little too flat and the ending, which I will not reveal here, didn't wrap things up the way that I'd like it to. It didn't wrap much up at all, actually. I hate it when books do that because even though I know there's going to be a sequel, I want there to at least be SOME closure. But there really wasn't.

Another thing that I didn't enjoy about ENCLAVE was the main character, Deuce. As I said before, the tone of the the novel suits her, but she comes off as a little too cold and too into combat for my tastes, and I couldn't relate. Not that you need to relate to the MC to make a novel good, but in most YA, it helps makes the character more believable, I guess.

Overall, there were aspects of ENCLAVE that I really loved - mostly, the writing and Fade's swooniness - and while there were others that I didn't, my opinion about it is most definitely positive. I will be reading the sequel, I assure you! And I encourage you to pick up a copy as well - it just came out yesterday!

Overall: 3.7/5 stars

The Journey of Awesome

2011-04-09T12:54:00.000-04:00

The other day, I was sitting in my Fiction Technique class, scribbling in my moleskin, trying to come up with a new story idea while my professor droned on and on about how she is now a DOCTOR and we should call her DOCTOR and she has an AGENT and she's publishing her NOVEL and none of us students could possibly ever write the way that SHE does.

So I started to freewrite, and what came out of that little freewrite is what is now my new WIP that I'm super excited about. It's been so long (probably two years?) since I've come up with an idea this big and inspirational and I really need something to work on while I'm querying TSTB, or else I'll drown myself in edits until TSTB is polished within an inch of its life. I love that novel so much, but goddamn. It had consumed my life for three years.

I've spent the past four days just turning this idea over and over in my head, picking out plot points and figuring out the love interest and trying to wrap my head around writing something that is completely outside of the contemporary realm within which I usually write. I won't give a huge summary right here because it's still in the planning stages (ish, I've written like 4 pages), but I will reveal to you the AWESOME name that I came up with while trying to fall asleep the other night:

THE REAPING OF JONAH SALT

Expect to hear more soon! (This might account for my spastic amount of posts last week and the absolute dearth of them this week.)

Enclave Author Interview!

2011-04-06T19:17:00.000-04:00

"New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters—or Freaks—who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight, in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs. As the two are guided by Fade’s long-ago memories, they face dangers, and feelings, unlike any they’ve ever known."

1. Tell us how you came up with the idea for Enclave.
Recently, in an interview, I was asked why I chose a post-apocalyptic world for my YA debut. The answer is actually two-fold. First, I wasn't sure I had the voice to write a beautiful contemporary in the vein of Jennifer Echols, but I wanted, quite desperately, to write a YA. So I decided if I couldn't do a compelling young protagonist in this world, I'd invent one.

I'm a child of the eighties, and we saw filmstrips about what would happen if the bomb dropped. Sometimes we had nuclear drills in addition to fire and tornado. When I think about twenty small children huddled under their desks in case the Russians let one fly, well, it's rather absurd, isn't it? But that sort of fear shaped my psyche, so that's definitely a contributing factor. The other reason? Well, I'll just quote the interview I did with Karen from For What It's Worth: "I think it's because they're uplifting. No, seriously. You take a world in utter disarray. Things are incredibly bleak. Then a hero arises, someone who has the desire and drive to succeed, no matter what. And this person changes his or her world in some fashion. How can that message not be incredibly valuable to young adults? I think it lends hope that there can always be brightness, no matter how dark it seems."

For me, that's the absolute crux of the matter. People need to believe they can make a difference--that one person standing strong can turn the tide. It's easier to demonstrate that in the Razorland world, but that example of internal fortitude will serve readers (of all ages) well.

2. When did you first start writing?
When I was eight, I wrote a story for a school writing competition called THE MYSTERY OF THE GOLDEN DOUBLOON. This seminal, self-illustrated work was about two best friends who went to Florida on vacation and busted an illegal treasure hunting ring. I won the contest. I went to the state finals and met Shel Silverstein, who read to a bunch of us from WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS. In that moment, sitting on my square of carpet, I thought, they pay him for his words. this is what I want to do. Later that same year, my teacher told me writing wasn't a real job and I should pick something else. As it turns out, I am stubborn beyond the point of common sense, as I never did choose another career.

3. What are your favorite YA dystopian reads?
I don't read in the genre I'm writing, so the only YA that even comes close to that description that I've read is THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO. Loved that one. My favorite dystopian novels are LORD OF THE FLIES, A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ and THE HANDMAID'S TALE.

4. I know that you usually write for adults - what made you decide to write a book with a teen protagonist?
The age of the protagonist fit the world.

5. Who are your biggest writing influences?
I love many authors' work, but consciously, nobody, because I strive to write my own books and not emulate anyone else.

Moleskins Ahoy!

2011-03-31T08:05:00.000-04:00

I was at the art store with my friend Lauren a couple of weeks ago, right after I got back from spring break, and I had some money that my mom had given me for my birthday. (Which was on Friday, woohoo!) They had this whole display of Moleskins set up and most of them were for art, but there was a tiny section of softcovers that had lines in them. They were so overpriced, but I still bought one. I've never had one.

So, here is my confession: I own way too many notebooks. I buy them and I buy them and I buy them, hoping that one day, I will finally finish one (I've only done that once). I like the new, blank pages and the stories waiting to be written down. I like it when they are crisp with writing and when I can feel the pen marks through the pages. But most of all I like opening them up when I've written a few pages and seeing all of the words covering the blank space. Which is why I took the above picture.

I used to do most of my writing longhand, usually under my desk in Geometry class or in English, when I was pretending to take notes and I was actually writing stories. I don't that much anymore, just because my laptop is so accessible, but I still love the feeling of notebooks and I'm still addicted to buying them. In the above picture there's a zombie story, featuring a dead father who believes that the liberals caused the zombie apocalypse.

Oh, and also, for your viewing pleasure, here's a zombie music video that I participated in. I'm at the very end, in the black v-neck, dancing like an idiot.

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

2011-03-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

Doesn't this sound amazing? Someone recommended it to me on Goodreads and I'm absolutely foaming waiting for it to come out! May 24th, you cannot come fast enough!

Review: Opposite of Amber by Gillian Philip

2011-03-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

Title: The Opposite of Amber
Author: Gillian Philip
Pub. Date: April 4th, 2011
Page Count: 320 pages
Summary: Ruby and her older sister, Jinn, are on their own, just about making ends meet. Jinn is beautiful, with glittering blonde hair, and makes it her business to look after Ruby. They are horrified by, but try to ignore, the local newspaper stories of prostitutes who are murdered, their bodies eventually discovered underwater. Then the no-good Nathan Baird turns up on the scene – again – and Jinn starts to change and no longer has time to look after Ruby. And it seems to Ruby that Jinn herself needs looking after. Her beautiful glittering hair starts to lose its shine. And then Jinn disappears.

A deeply moving, chilling, and incredibly powerful thriller that celebrates the love two sisters have for each other and mourns the events beyond their control that will conspire to drive them apart.

Review: First of all, don't you just love the cover? My ARC copy didn't have this cover, so when I looked up TOA on Goodreads, I was absolutely in love with the cover. And it totally meshes with some of the prevailing images of the entire book.

Let's start with the things that I loved. Philip's prose was delicious; she can really string words together. And while sometimes it can get a bit dense, when you delve deep inside of it, it's even more rich than you realized at first. One literary device I like a lot of is the use of motif, and the title of the book is one of them. Another thing I really liked about this book was the light that it shed on getting with the 'bad boy'. In a lot of YA books, the romantic interest is a bad boy, but in this, Ruby's older sister is the one who gets with him. And boy, does he ruin her life. Her love for him becomes the only thing that matters to her, to the point where she basically abandons her sister. He was a very seedy character and not in a good way.

Onto the things I didn't like - this book seemed to drag, a lot. I thought it could've been more tightly-plotted because it was really hard for me to try to read it, knowing that most of the things I was going to read about were very pretty but didn't add much to the story. The timeline became confusing as well; it jumped around a lot and sometimes I'd think we were still in the past, but we were back in the present. I wish I'd enjoyed this book more, if only because Philip is such an awesome writer, but it didn't seem much like a 'thriller' to me at all until about the last 50 or so pages. Even then, there didn't seem to be much urgency, and by that time, I was just reading to get to the end and didn't really care what happened.

Overall, I was not crazy about The Opposite of Amber. The prose was gorgeous but the plot dragged. I think this just wasn't my kind of book - I've seen some really good reviews for it! It's coming out soon, so go pick it up yourself!

Overall: 2.5/5 stars

Opposite of Amber Character Interview: Jinn

2011-03-28T08:00:00.002-04:00

Ruby and her older sister Jinn live together on their own, just about making ends meet. Jinn is beautiful, with glittering blonde hair, and makes it her business to look after Ruby. They are horrified by, but try to ignore, the local newspaper stories of prostitutes who are murdered, their bodies eventually discovered underwater. Then the no-good Nathan Baird turns up on the scene - again - and Jinn starts to change. First Nathan moves in with Jinn and Ruby, making Ruby feel an outsider, and then Jinn and Nathan move out, leaving Ruby alone. Jinn no longer has time to look after Ruby. And it seems to Ruby that Jinn herself needs looking after. Her beautiful glittering hair starts to lose its shine. And then Jinn disappears. A deeply moving, chilling, and incredibly powerful thriller that celebrates the love two sisters have for each other and mourns the events beyond their control that will conspire to drive them apart.

Did you ever resent your mother for leaving you to take care of Ruby?

It was kind of hard to resent Lara for anything, mostly because she was such a flake. I mean, she couldn’t be relied on for anything, really, so we soon learned not to try. Don’t get me wrong – I did love Lara a lot. But I think I always knew I was better at looking after Ruby than she was. Better at looking after myself, too. I suppose in some ways I like being in charge, being responsible. There are times when I think Lara was pretty selfish and stupid to get herself run over like that... well, OK. Yes, sometimes I do resent her. But I try not to.

It is definitely natural to be attracted to a bad boy - and Nathan is pretty much the quintessential bad boy. Did that every stop you from wanting to be with him?

No. This sounds awful, but it never did. You’re right, bad boys are such a temptation. He was always just so different to everyone else, and I know it wasn’t usually in a good way, but he always seemed so lively and funny and... charming. When Nathan talks to you, it’s like you’re the only person in the universe. When he ignores you, the whole world seems off-kilter. Well, maybe I’m only describing my reactions there – but I know it isn’t just me. You ask me, Ruby kind of fancied him too. Nobody hates anybody as much as she hated Nathan without there being a spark of attraction, too.

It seems like everyone in OoA (aside from Ruby, of course) goes by a nickname, the most prominent one being you. How did you go about choosing that as a nickname?

I didn’t really choose it – or only partly. It was what Ruby used to call me when she was tiny and couldn’t get her tongue round ‘Jacintha’. I think she’s forgotten that, but since I always liked it much better than my real name, I decided to use it all the time.

How did you feel about the conflict between Alex Jerrold and Ruby? How much did she tell you?

She didn’t tell me much... but then she never tells anyone much, does she? I admit, I didn’t realise just how fond she was of him. But neither did she: that’s my theory. Looking back, I think they’d have made a good couple. I guess it’s too late for that, though. Maybe if Ruby had been able to say what she was thinking, it would all have gone differently.

Did you ever see yourself being in the situation that you were by the second half of the book?

God, no. Never. I don’t think anyone does. I’d like to say I regretted it, but that would mean I regretted Nathan. And I don’t. Not for a minute.

THE OPPOSITE OF AMBER comes out on April 4th, 2011.

Review: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

2011-03-26T15:41:00.001-04:00

Title: Warm Bodies
Author: Isaac Marion
Pub. Date: April 26th, 2011
Page Count: 239 pages
Summary: "R" is an existentially tormented zombie shuffling through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, or the plague of the Dead—he isn't sure which. He remembers nothing from before, and although he has a deep inner life full of wonder and longing, his ability to connect with the outside world is limited to a few grunted syllables. After experiencing a young man’s memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice to rescue the boy’s girlfriend, beginning a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship that will transform R, his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.

Review: Alright, let me start this review off by saying: I LOVE ZOMBIES, Y'ALL.

I don't know what it is about them. The idea of a zombie apocalypse has always intrigued me and although I'm sure I'd feel differently if it actually happened, zombies are just awesome. Especially the zombies in WARM BODIES. I love the title, by the way--totally works for the novel. It's not often that I find books like that.

Anyways, from the start, I loved R. He was always a little different from his fellow zombies--a little more aware, his mind always churning. And Marion's prose is absolutely beautiful, which made me love R even more. Here's a little excerpt:

I watch them disappear into the pale daylight at the end of the hall. Deep inside me, in some dark and cobwebbed chamber, I feel something twitch.

It's just kind of incredible how well-handled R's ascent back to humanity is. Zombies in this novel can talk, if only a few syllables at a time; they play at life by getting 'married' and having weird zombie sex that isn't really sex. They have 'kids', who are children who have been stunted in their zombie state, and they watch over them. Another awesome key to this world--when zombies eat brains, it's kind of like a drug to them. They relive the memories in someone's head and are them for a fraction of a second. Which is what happens when R eats Perry's brain and basically sets off a spark that transforms all the zombies forever.

(SPOILERS AHEAD, MATEYS!) I think the most awesome thing about this book is that it is not only a work of fiction, but it has a big fat metaphor wrapped around the narrative. Big fat metaphors and me usually do not mix, because I like my fiction to be all fiction-y, and when I first finished WARM BODIES, I was a tiny bit disappointed. There wasn't some simple explanation, or even a big scientific explanation, of why all the zombies transformed. It was basically the power of love. Yuck, I thought, when I was done. Really? That's all I get?

But the more I stewed in it, the more it made sense. I'll let you figure out the message of the metaphor for yourself, when you buy this awesome book, but FOR REAL. YOU MUST BUY IT. I COMMAND YOU.

Overall: I love zombies. That is all.

Overall: 4.3/5 stars

Review: Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

2011-03-24T16:14:00.000-04:00

Title: Ship Breaker
Author: Paolo Bacigalupi
Publication Date: May 1st, 2010
Page Count: 326 pages
Summary: Set initially in a future shanty town in America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet Nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew, searching for copper wiring to make quota and live another day. The harsh realities of this life, from his abusive father, to his hand to mouth existence, echo the worst poverty in the present day third world.

When an accident leads Nailer to discover an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, and the lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl, Nailer finds himself at a crossroads. Should he strip the ship and live a life of relative wealth, or rescue the girl, Nita, at great risk to himself and hope she'll lead him to a better life. This is a novel that illuminates a world where oil has been replaced by necessity, and where the gap between the haves and have-nots is now an abyss. Yet amidst the shadows of degradation, hope lies ahead.

Review: Although I never got to see this cover in-person (I bought this on my Nook!), I've heard it is absolutely beautiful, mostly from Maggie Stiefvater's review. (It's weird, the past two books I've read, she's reviewed them!)

Anyway, this book is absolutely amazing. The world-building is awesome as well as super realistic--sometimes in scary ways. The life that Nailer and his group of friends lead are not glamorous to say the least and they're lucky if they have enough food to eat, let alone any luxury. Nailer's life is even worse, if only because of his SCARY abusive father. (Let me tell you, that man scared the crap out of me. Whenever he came into a scene, I was literally afraid.) But then, Nailer finds Nita, who he deems Lucky Girl, and it seems like his life will be turned around, for the better, if only he could get her back to her parents. He'll be what everyone calls a Lucky Strike, after a man who owns a salvaging company that basically bought his own freedom.

I'm always a fan of sci-fi that creates its own slang. I thought it was done especially well in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series and it was done well in Ship Breaker also. It just makes the society, which was already pretty realistic, even more so.

The characters themselves are as amazing as the story. Nailer wanted to be bad-ass and show no mercy, kind of like his father (but not quite as addicted to drugs), but that just wasn't in his personality. At one point, he has a chance to kill Nita and steal all of her jewels, which are worth more than anything he's ever seen before, but he decides not to, and that defines his character throughout the rest of the book. At the end, there is a final showdown with his father, who is pretty much the antagonist of the book, and it does not disappoint. Nailer's friends were equally well-developed--I especially like the half-man (I forget his name!), who helps he and Nita out near the middle of the book. I hope his character comes back!

Overall, this is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It was brutal, but I think it could also appeal to younger YA readers, especially boys, because there is tons of action and not too much romance (although the amount of it was definitely satisfying). I would definitely recommend it!

Overall: 4.5/5 stars

Sam's Ramblings

2011-03-23T15:19:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the silence lately! I haven't been reading much, mostly from lack of time, so I haven't had a lot to review. I did manage to buy a couple of books, only one of which being YA, that I recently finished, and another ARC that was sent to me to review, so look for those soon!

I've actually been trying to get through the epic that is A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. I LOVE long books, but it takes me a while to get through them, even if I'm really into the story (which I am, in this case! If you haven't started this series, please do so!). I've also been writing a lot - I'm working on a revamp of The Unlikelihood of Nostalgia without the whole amnesia bit, so it's a completely different story, tentatively titled THE ESSENCE OF FLIGHT. Still involves running and Zack Morris being a complete dick (although, somehow I still love him), but Zoey is not an amnesiac. Whenever I tried to write up a sample query for TUON, everyone jumped on me for using the soap-opera trope in it and it bothered me that FORGET YOU, an amazing book by Jennifer Echols, had a protag with the same name and a problem similar to my own protagonist. Hence the revamp. I'm about 3k in so far and while it's a little bleak, I like having something new to work on.

The last couple of months I've sent out a few queries for TSTB and I've received some interest, which I'm happy about. I'm really looking for CPs, so if anyone wants to partner up with me, I'd love it! I like any kind of YA, but I'm pretty partial to contemporary, so just shoot me an email if you're interested.

Those are about all the updates I have for now! How's everyone else been doing lately?

Review: Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler

2011-03-16T08:00:00.004-04:00

Title: Playing Hurt
Author: Holly Schindler
Page Count: 308 pages
Summary: Star basketball player Chelsea "Nitro" Keyes had a full ride to college—and everyone's admiration back home. Then she took a horrible fall during senior year. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.

That summer, Chelsea's dad hires Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player and "boot camp" trainer, to work with her at a northern Minnesota lake resort. As they grow close, Chelsea finds that Clint's haunted by his own tragedy. Will their romance end up hurting them all over again—or finally heal their heartbreak?

Review: I really wanted to like this book. I really did.

But I didn't. That's not to say I disliked it.

To start, there's something about Schindler's writing style that gets kind of bulky to me. I found that some sentences and paragraphs were so overloaded that I had to go over them a couple of times to figure out their meaning. And it got really cheesy at some points, kind of like an adult romance novel that features Fabio on the cover would, as if the chemistry between the main characters was really forced and had to resort to cliches to make it sound real.

I thought Chelsea was absolutely selfish, though. I mean, I understood her motives and why she didn't break it off with her boyfriend, but from the standpoint of someone who's been broken-hearted in that kind of situation, it just seemed really immature. I think I couldn't get into her character as much because of that - I didn't agree with what she did.

That being said, I did enjoy Schlinder's writing style when it wasn't terrible bogged down with details and I really did like the idea of the setting; it sounded absolutely beautiful. And, as an athlete who was sidelined because of an injury, I know how crappy it feels when the thing that you love is suddenly taken away from you.

Overall, I'm not sure I'd recommend this one. I didn't enjoy it very much and it seemed like a chore to get through. Some of the writing was very good, but other than that, everything else seemed forced. Also, the cover? I'm not a fan.

Overall: 2.5/5 stars

Review: A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell

2011-03-06T08:32:00.027-05:00

Title: A Map of the Known World
Author: Lisa Ann Sandell
Publish Date: April 2009
Page Count: 272 pages
Summary: Cora Bradley dreams of escape. Ever since her reckless older brother, Nate, died in a car crash, Cora has felt suffocated by her small town and high school. She seeks solace in drawing beautiful maps, envisioning herself in exotic locales. When Cora begins to fall for Damian, the handsome, brooding boy who was in the car with Nate the night he died, she uncovers her brother's secret artistic life and realizes she had more in common with him than she ever imagined. With stunning lyricism, Sandell weaves a tale of one girl's journey through the redemptive powers of art, friendship, and love.

Review: I think the only reason I picked this book up was because I loved the cover. I thought the title was AWESOME and I thought that it would have a lot to do with maps, kind of like North of Beautiful, which tied them in really well. And while I wouldn't say I was disappointed, I wasn't exactly satisfied.

First off, the characters - they were very well-developed and definitely believable, especially Cora's new friend Helena. I was not satisfied by how her relationship with her best friend Rachel panned out and I thought her romance with Damian was a little too easy. At the end, everything was wrapped up a little too tightly, leaving no room for questions, which I like at the end of novels, even if there is a happy ending. I think Cora was a little young for my tastes - just starting high school - and so I didn't relate to her as much.

The narration was bogged down by over-description, which made me skim a little too much for my liking. While some people may think that Sandell's prose is lyrical, I have to disagree. I don't think that it added much to the narration to describe feeling to nth degree. In fact, I think it made the prose weaker, since it relied on - sometimes cliched - descriptions.

Also, Nate. (This may be a little spoiler-y.) I thought it was kind of a HUGE coincidence that both he and Cora were into art. He even had his own studio with Damian in an old barn? It was just easy. And he thought he was so messed up because he loved art and hated school, but he never even told anyone he liked art; he just assumed that he and Damian were screwed up because of it. I could see if both of them did lots of drugs or something, but they didn't. They just skipped school and made art and were kind of assholes, but they're teenage boys. That is not strange at all.

Overall, I thought this book was okay. I wasn't blown away by it or anything, but I didn't love it or anything. I guess I'll just say I had no strong feelings about it.

Overall: 3/5 stars

Playing Hurt Book Trailer + A GIVEAWAY

2011-03-04T08:31:00.002-05:00

Recently, I had the pleasure of receiving an ARC of Holly Schindler's newest book, Playing Hurt! Playing Hurt is a contemporary YA romance about a former basketball player sidelined by an injury who goes on vacation to northern Minnesota. Even though she has a boyfriend who has been there for her throughout the mental anguish of having to give up basketball, she finds herself drawn to her "boot camp" trainer there, Clint. What proceeds is wildly romantic and gave me shivers! It takes a lot for a book to do that.

Anyway, I am offering a giveaway to one lucky person of a copy of this ARC! Please enter by leaving your name and email in the comments below - the giveaway will end March 14th, so be sure to get your entries in by then!

Without further ado, here is the book trailer for Playing Hurt, as well as a little blurb that Holly wrote about book trailers! Enjoy!

ON BOOK TRAILERS…

Trailers, I think, are a tricky ground for a writer to tread on. It’s different for a movie or a TV show: those trailers are just spliced together from existing footage. A montage of some of the best points, meant to entice a potential audience. When I go to the movie or tune in to the TV show, I’ll see those scenes or snippets…But a book trailer can involve hiring actors specifically for the trailer, or including illustrations that are not featured within the book.

I think that writers can almost do themselves a disservice with ultra-slick trailers…They always run the danger of creating something that actually overshadows the book.

My own favorite official book trailer is for Laurie Halse Anderson’s WINTERGIRLS—it incorporates a section of cover art, and the same three words, “must. not. eat.” flashing faster and faster. That trailer tells readers that the book is about anorexia, and by giving us a section of that cover, it allows readers to instantly recognize—and hopefully gravitate to—that icy turquoise cover in a bookstore. Great advertisement. And in no way does it threaten to overshadow Anderson’s writing (which would be pretty tough, as incredible as her work is).

I really did want to do something visual leading up to the release of PLAYING HURT…Especially since I’ve recently become really intrigued by vlogging. It’s incredible, as an author, to be able to let readers into my world as well as into my work.

I knew that I wanted to put together something that would allow readers to “see” or interact with my books in a visual way…And I definitely didn’t want to overshadow my work…So…

What I came up with is a kind of extended trailer / virtual tour of Southwest Missouri—which is the setting for A BLUE SO DARK and much of PLAYING HURT.

My trailer is in no way super-slick or flashy…But I really like that, too. I’m the kind of gal who prefers antique instruments, handwritten notes…I love to see a creator’s “hand” in their projects. In that respect, my trailer has my signature on it…

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to mention before that the giveaway is ONLY in the US/Canada - sorry, you international folks!

Like Mandarin Author Interview!

2011-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited because I've had the pleasure of interviewing Kirsten Hubbard, author of the upcoming novel LIKE MANDARIN!

Tell us about the process of getting Like Mandarin published.

The history of Like Mandarin is a long one, but I'll keep it brief! It actually began as a short story for the final project of a fiction class during my freshman year at UCSD. In the years after, I couldn't get the characters out of my head. I expanded the story into a screenplay for a later class, then into a novel when I was 22. The Like Mandarin you'll read today is a second version I overhauled at age 25 -- infinite times better, though the heart of it is the same.

When I queried this version of Like Mandarin, my agent, Michelle Andelman, requested a full within half an hour and offered representation after the weekend. Following a few weeks of revision, it went to auction and sold to Delacorte in a two-book deal. It was a crazy whirlwind! Or a wildwind, I should say.

Who is your favorite character in Like Mandarin?

I adore Taffeta (Grace's little sister), empathize with Momma, and totally heart Davey Miller – a side character readers tend to fall for. What I feel for Grace is a very real love, part sister and part daughter and part what you feel for younger versions of yourself, even though I wasn't much like Grace. But I'd have to say my favorite character is Mandarin Ramey. I knew my readers wouldn't believe Grace's fascination with her if I weren't fascinated with her myself, and that feeling has never left me. I wonder about her often.

I love the cover! What was your reaction when you first saw it?

Thank you! I first saw it hanging on a bookshelf in my editor's office, during an NYC trip where I met both my agent and editor for the first time. It was completely unexpected – both being confronted with it, and the cover itself. I'd expected Mandarin, with her black hair in the wind, or a panorama of badlands. But my cover is so much better – almost movie poster iconic, with the white space, and intensity, and simplicity. I am a very lucky author.

Do you think that travelling so much has helped you as a writer?

Like nothing else. (Well, other than reading!)

Here's why. Writing is a solitary pursuit that takes a lot of repetition, and a lot of alone time. It's introverted by nature, and it's easy to fall into a stay-at-home rut, where nearly all of what you "take in" is media – movies, books, television, the internet. While all that's rich and varied and necessary, none of it beats real-life experiences as idea fodder for novels. And nothing creates experience like venturing outside your comfort zone – especially somewhere stunning, culturally and visually. Travel puts you in situations you could never imagine. It forces interaction with all kinds of people, and inspires in completely unforeseen ways. I'm also obsessed with compelling settings, and though authors are master imaginers, visiting a place always results in more vibrant writing. As a result of my trips (both deliberate for research purposes and accidental), many of my favorite scenes were written in evocative places.

For example, there's a scene in Like Mandarin where Grace is walking through the Wyoming badlands. In part:

"I followed one of the water-trails tapering into the hills. The only sounds were the crunching of my shoes, the occasional low-pitched buzz of an insect, and a gentle wind—not the slightest bit wild—ruffling the dry grasses and shrubs. As I stopped at the top of a crest, gazing out at the gradients of blue hills, brown hills, gray hills, I thought: Mandarin would have loved it out here."

I took notes for that scene on a walk through the actual Wyoming badlands. Now, when I reread it, I'm there.

What is your favorite YA book of 2010?

Can't name just one! Recently, I loved The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. I think I read Finnikin of the Rock in 2009, but it's a 2010 book – Melina Marchetta is a genius.

Thanks so much, Kirsten! LIKE MANDARIN comes out March 8th. :)

Review: Matched by Ally Condie

2011-02-11T17:06:00.001-05:00

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Page Count: 366 pages
Summary: Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Review: I try not to review books the day that I've finished them because my thoughts are always so muddled. It's only after I've read a bunch of reviews and had time to think about the book that I really can know what I think. Matched is definitely one of those books - I just finished it today and trying to gather my thoughts.

First, I've heard that there's this whole controversy surrounding it because of its similarities to Lois Lowry's amazing The Giver. Though I never finished reading The Giver (somehow I lost my copy before I was done), I really don't think that the similarities are anything special or exciting. Also, I tried to see Matched as its own book, completely separate from all of these things.

Lets begin with what I liked - Condie's prose was absolutely beautiful at times, although it could get the point of being overwritten sometimes. However, most of the time, I was pretty amazed at the prose, which is not something that happens often when I'm reading YA. Also, Condie's use of the 'banned' poems throughout the story was breathtaking; I think they worked very well with the themes of the book.

The things I didn't like so much: I always felt really bad for Xander and even though I understood that Cassia (I love that name, by the way!) was falling in love with someone else, I just thought she was being selfish to keep seeing Ky. I'm not very good when I read stories that are set in dystopias - I always want them to follow the rules, just so they won't get in trouble. It's safe to say that isn't my favorite genre. (Although, I love really gritty ones, where the characters are already rebels, like in Garth Nix's Shade's Children.) I think it was because Xander seemed like an awesome character, but of course, the girl is always attracted to the brooding, forbidden guy. How predictable.

My overall thoughts are pretty scattered. I did like this book and would definitely encourage people to read it, but I wasn't really into it by the end. That's why my rating is so low, because I couldn't stay in the story. (Although, I did read it on my computer, which often gives me headaches, so maybe that wasn't my brightest idea. For some reason, the format I bought it in was giving me trouble on my Nook.)

Overall: 3.5/5 stars

Review: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

2011-02-05T10:40:00.000-05:00

Title: Twenty Boy Summer
Author: Sarah Ockler
Page Count: 290 pages
Summary:According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in ZanzibarBay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie—-she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

Review: I actually bought this on a whim - I was on the Absolute Write YA message boards in a thread about the best sex scenes in YA, and someone mentioned this book! That's not really the only reason I bought it, though, because I'd been wanting to read it since it came out, but with my awesome Nook, I got it instantly. (Totally not product placement, I just love my Nook so much.)

Ockler's writing style is absolutely beautiful, although at times it didn't seem to fit the teenaged protagonist. I won't fault her for that because Ockler definitely has some talent in the writing chops department, especially in the area of description. I always like it when authors can describe the most mundane things in completely new ways, or just so specifically that you can totally imagine it - Deb Caletti does this, as does Sarah Dessen, two of my favorite YA contemporary writers.

I could definitely empathize with Anna and she was a very understandable character, but her best friend, Frankie, kind of got to me. I understand that Frankie's brother had just died a year ago, but she was so selfish and immature about it that it pissed me off. And maybe that was Ockler's intention, to make Frankie immature, but it just didn't hit me the right way. But I really liked the way that Anna's feelings were described - she felt like an outsider because, even though Matt had been her best friend, he wasn't family and so she couldn't mourn in the same way that Frankie's family could've. At least, in other people's eyes.

My only problem: both Matt and Anna's newer love interest, Sam, were not fleshed out enough in my opinion. Especially Sam. I couldn't see what Anna thought was so great about him, other than he was cute. I think there have just been some awesome love interests in past YA contemps that I've read, so that's why I felt both Matt and Sam were a little lacking.

Overall, though - this book was very good. I don't like to judge a book by how fast I finish it, but that's usually an indication, and I finished this one in two days. It made me feel that little chill of first love, of the first guy you kissed, which I always love in YA. I'd definitely recommend it.

Overall: 4/5 stars

Sam's Ramblings

2011-01-30T19:58:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been having trouble getting into some of the books I've bought, some that have been touted as AWESOME YA books, because they tend to get on the juvenile side. And this kind of worries me because the only genre I've ever stuck with is YA, but the only ones that I've been able to stomach lately have been exceptional.

For instance, coming off the high that was Anna and the French Kiss and Finikkin of the Rock, I read Across the Universe by Beth Revis. And even though it wasn't terrible by any means, I found myself unable to get into the characters because they acted so... young. Elder especially, although I know his naivety was part of his character. It just seemed very quaint to me and not in a bad way, just in a way that didn't suit my reading style. I think maybe my tastes must be maturing, which accounts for some lack of enthusiasm with blogging as of late.

I've been trying to read some more mature novels - I just finished Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris - and though I liked it, it wasn't any more so than most of the YA books I've been reading. So I don't know aht the problem is, exactly.

Any ideas?

Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

2011-01-25T15:52:00.000-05:00

Title: Across the Universe
Author: Beth Revis
Page Count: 398 pages
Summary: A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Review: So, this book was totally not what I was expecting. I'm not quite sure exactly what it was that I was expecting, exactly, and it certainly didn't blow me away the way I'd anticipated, but it was definitely a good, solid read.

First of all, the whole Elder/Eldest thing threw me off. At times, it seemed really contrived and kind of stupid, not to mention that I totally got confused whenever they were in the same room together. Secondly, the person behind the killings was ridiculously obvious to me the entire time. I pretty much knew from the beginning. And while it's good to have little hints, it was practically GLARING at me.

Onto the good: Elder and Amy were absolutely adorable together. Elder was such a good character (almost too good, at times) that I just rooted for him in everything that he did. But in the parts where they were separate, I wasn't too compelled. I really wanted to get into the story because the premise had seemed so interesting and Beth Revis can definitely write a love story, but I just thought there should've been more focus on one or the other. I didn't think it all flowed well together, if I'm articulating myself correctly.

That is not to say that I didn't enjoy Across the Universe, because I definitely did. But I wasn't as into it as I thought I would be, mostly because a lot of the science fiction aspects seemed contrived and kind of overplayed. I really loved the descriptions of the getting put in the cryo chamber and almost drowning getting out of it - I thought those were wonderful.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of books that change perspective. It seems like lazy writing to me, honestly. While I wouldn't say that I liked that this did so, but it didn't take away from the story either.

Overall, I did like Across the Universe but the mystery of the murderer as well as the science fiction aspects of the book felt a little lacking. I would definitely recommend it, though - maybe you can articulate yourself better than I can?

Overall: 3.5/5 stars

Review: Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

2011-01-16T13:22:00.000-05:00

Title: Finnikin of the Rock
Author: Melina Marchetta
Page Count: 416 pages
Summary: At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh in order to save the royal house of his homeland, Lumatere.

And so he stands on the rock of three wonders with his childhood friend Prince Balthazar and the prince's cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood. And Lumatere is safe.

Until the 'five days of the unspeakable', when the King and Queen and their children are slaughtered in the palace. And an imposter king takes the throne.
And a curse is put on Lumatere, which traps those caught inside and forces thousands of others to roam the land as exiles, dying of fever and persecution in foreign camps.

But ten years later Finnikin is led to another rock to meet the young novice, Evanjalin. A girl plagued by dark dreams, who holds the key to their return to the Land of light...

Review: I loved this book so much. Like with Jellicoe Road, it took me a while to get into the story, especially since when I read fantasy, I hardly ever pay attention to the politics of it. But you definitely have to pay attention to the politics in this book, because it is without the epic magic you are used to in fantasy. But it grew on me and by the time I was done, I didn't want it to be over. I wanted to keep reading about Evanjalin and Finnikin - both of whom I loved as characters. I think that's one of Marchetta's strong points: the characters. They're just so deep and their motivations are so strong. Argh, I can't even put it into words.

The only thing I didn't love about this book - AND THIS IS A SPOILER - is that, at the end, when it is revealed who Evanjalin actually is, she becomes some kind of saint. I know it is because they hold her in th highest respect and because Finnikin is hopelessly in love with her, but it just seemed forced, because throughout the entire book, she has definitely had her flaws. It just seemed stupid to take that away.

Other than that, though, I loved Finnikin of the Rock. It's not one of those books that I could speed through and still get everything that I wanted out of it. It was like a flower - it slowly opens itself up to you, little by little, until you don't even realize how entranced you are by it.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Overall: 5/5 stars

Kitty from Where I Belong Interview!

2011-01-11T21:01:00.000-05:00

Today, I have had the honor of interviewing a character from a novel I recently finished, Where I Belong! Kitty is Corrine's best friend, albeit she is befriended reluctantly, and one of the most awesome characters I've come across in a while!

Corrinne Corcoran’s upscale Manhattan life is perfectly on track—until her father announces he’s been laid off and she’s shipped off to Broken Spoke, Texas, to live with her grandparents. All alone in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the glamorous life she’s supposed to be living. But as she grudgingly adjusts—making new friends and finding romance along the way—this city girl begins to realize that life without credit cards and shopping sprees may not be as bad as it seems....

In this sparkling debut that flawlessly balances romance and humor, readers will grow to love sharp and sassy Corrinne as she goes on her totally reluctant but completely irresistible journey of self-discovery.

1. You have such a positive outlook on life. What is your advice to people who get down sometimes?

I’m a cheerleader for the football team, but I also try to be a cheerleader for myself. It’s important to root for your own success too.

2. What was your first impression of Corrinne?

That we’d never be friends. She seemed way too glamorous to want to hang with a country girl like me.

3. When did you first start to notice a change in Corrinne once she moved to Broken Spoke?

When she was willing to pee cowgirl style.

4. Are you ever planning on leaving Broken Spoke?

Yes, I am looking into summer art programs in NYC.

5. Do you and Corrinne still keep in touch?

I might be from small town Texas, but we still have the internet, facebook and cell phones. I am constantly in touch with Corrinne.

Sam's Ramblings

2010-12-30T16:11:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what number I'm on, but whatever!

So, as I'm working on my list of top 10 favorite reads of this year, I realized how much I love being a blogger. Although I definitely can get careless at times and not update (usually from laziness) for long periods of time, everything else makes it worth it.

Especially when some of my favorite authors retweet me or @reply to me on Twitter! It's such an honor to be able to talk to them and know they ACTUALLY respond, that they aren't these famous people who don't have any time for a reader like me.

I think that's why I want to be an author so much. Because it's not about fame or money to the people who write books - it's about the books.

I love you guys! :)

Review: Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

2010-12-27T13:40:00.000-05:00

Title: Fall for Anything
Author: Courtney Summers
Page Count: 224 pages
Summary: When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?

Review: I am a huge Courtney Summers fan - Cracked Up to Be and Some Girls Are are two of my favorite books. And even though Fall for Anything was definitely different in tone, I think it worked really well. Before, in her writing, we've seen characters that are witty and sarcastic or ex-mean girls, but while Eddie is broken like they both are, she is nothing like them.

For the first half of the book, I wasn't quite as into it as I have been with Summers' other novels; it felt as if there was something missing to make the story interesting to me. From the get go, I loved Milo - he was sweet and obviously cares so much about Eddie, whereas Culler just seemed super creepy to me. And while I wasn't quite taken in by the first half of the book, the second half had me going. It was just really interesting how Summers' can give you this impression of the characters without explicitly saying anything, while barely even hinting at it. I think that takes real talent, because I wasn't sure who I was supposed to like until nearer to the end of the book. And the suspense of that definitely made it worth it.

The thing I always like about Summers' books is that they are raw. There isn't any narration that isn't in character and the story is told more through the actions of the characters than any fluffy inner monologues, which I style that I strive to write in.

But while I did like Fall for Anything, I didn't quite as much as Summers' other books. Maybe because this one was so dark and there wasn't any funny sarcasm to lift me out it for a moment, but it definitely worked for the story. I couldn't see it being written any other way.

Overall: 4.5/5 stars

Teaser Tuesday!

2010-12-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm reading Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky!

"Because at some point, you need to start calling the shots. At some point, you have to start believing that you know what's best. Or, I thought with a smile, you just stop asking for their permission in the first place." - Page 124

Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

2010-12-18T14:41:00.001-05:00

Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Page Count: 440 pages
Summary: Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Review: God, I loved this book. Maybe not quite as much as Before I Fall, but it was definitely not a disappointment at all.

First of all, the character development is CRAZY good. In the beginning, Lena was this shy girl who didn't like to break the rules, but inside of her she knew there was something different than most of the people she had to spend her days with. And in the society she lives in, this is not a good thing. So she tries to cover it up.

But then she meets Alex and her entire world is flipped upside down. I didn't realize the depth of the loathing of love in her society until this point - parents who've had the procedure don't tell their children they love them, they don't comfort them when they cry. And while I can understand not wanting romantic love to ruin you, to feel the pain of it, to not love your child in the same way? Argh, it just hit me so hard. And I knew Lena needed to leave.

Her and Alex's relationship was... it was exactly like first love should be. I thought it fit so well - with her little insecurities melting away and her shock at seeing him shirtless for the first time. It just melted my heart. But at the same time, it flourished when love isn't supposed to.

The ending was so heartwrenching, but I thought it was a perfect ending for the book. I'm not going to give anything away and some people might disagree, but the ending worked so well. And it showed that love, even when you try to suppress it, cannot be stopped.

I guess I can't write this review without gushing. But there was only one thing I disliked about the book and that, too, eventually grew on me: the premise seemed a little hard to believe at first. But once I got into the book and saw the depth of it, of people believing that love will actually kill you, it definitely worked.

Overall, I loved this book. I don't have much more to say than that.

Romance: 4.7/5
Overall: 5/5

Delirium comes out in February, 2011.

Review: Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund

2010-12-11T14:49:00.000-05:00

Title: Ascendant
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Page Count: 392 pages
Summary: Astrid Llewelyn is now a fully trained unicorn hunter, but she can't solve all her problems with just a bow and arrow. Her boyfriend, Giovanni, has decided to leave Rome, the Cloisters is in dire financial straits, her best friend's powers seem to be mysteriously disintegrating, and Astrid can't help but feel that school, home, and her hopes of becoming a scientist are nothing but impossible dreams.

So when she's given the opportunity to leave the Cloisters and put her skills to use as part of a scientific quest to discover the Remedy, Astrid leaps at the chance. Finally, she can have exactly what she want--or can she? At Gordian headquarters, deep in the French countryside, Astrid begins to question everything she thought she believed: her love for Giovanni, her loyalty to the Cloisters, and most of all her duty as a hunter. Should Astrid be saving the world from killer unicorns, or saving the unicorns from the world?

Review: I think there are some books that affect me in such a way that I can't do my standard bullet point reviews. The last book I finished, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly was one of those and Ascendant definitely is. I think there's something in the rawness of these books that I can't make bullets about what I liked; I can ramble in paragraphs about it, however.

Ascendant took me a little too long to finish, but not for lack of interest. I'm glad I took it slow, because I could savor it. And even though it wasn't as fast-paced and exciting as Rampant was, with the whole, "Will she do it with Giovanni?" thing, I think it was definitely better for it. It was more mature. And you can definitely see the change in Astrid from the beginning of the book until the end. It wasn't some kind of dumb character development that I didn't believe - I really, really believed it. It was done so well.

I won't say I absolutely loved Ascendant, because I probably would've finished it earlier if I had, but the ending was awesome. I don't want to reveal too much, but Astrid is bad-ass. Even more bad-ass than in Rampant, if that's humanly possible. I know I like my characters to be kind of hard, to have a tough outer shell, but Astrid has to earn that, because that's not really the kind of person she is.

I'm really interested to see where this series goes!

Overall: 4/5 stars

Blog Update

2010-12-10T12:38:00.000-05:00

Finals are over, hooray! Well, they were over for me a lot earlier than most people. I got sick after I got back from Thanksgiving at school, which accounts for my MIAness lately. I went to the doctor twice, the urgent care center, and the emergency room twice, and no one could help me. So my mom had me shipped home early because she was so worried about me and I've thankfully gotten a lot better. But since most of my friends hadn't come home yet, all I did was watch TV and EDIT.

The first round of edits on The Shape that Breaks are COMPLETE. I'm so excited and ready to start with critique partners. I've never been this close to finishing a novel and I'm so freakin' excited I've been neglecting reading. Right now, I'm finishing up Ascendant by Diana Peterfreud (I always have to look up how to spell her name). Also, I got a couple of ARC tours coming up, which I'm super excited about, so hopefully I'll be more active this winter break!

I think about once a week or so, to help with the fact that I have no money, I'm gonna review an old favorite of mine. And I have a ton, so be ready!

Happy holidays, everyone!

Across the Universe Book Trailer

2010-12-03T17:13:00.000-05:00

I know everyone and their mother is posting about this, but I'm so freakin' excited for this book that I had to post this.

A book trailer for Beth Revis's upcoming novel, Across the Universe!

Sam's Ramblings (3)

2010-12-02T11:58:00.000-05:00

I think I have mono. I have to go to the doctor tomorrow to confirm but I don't feel THAT crappy. That would be very bad, if I actually did have mono.

I'm here to talk to you about: WINTER.

I live in Florida. I've lived in South Florida for my entire life, with only vacations to places where it gets colder and there are mountains. (Lake Tahoe!) But Florida, for those of you who don't know, is a LONG state. It takes about seven hours to get from where I live to FSU, if that gives you a little bit of an idea. So, down south, there really isn't a winter. It gets in the 50s, maybe the 40s, everyone complains, and it's back to 80 for two weeks until the next cold front.

So, living in Tallahassee? Yeah, there's a winter. It was 30 degrees this morning when I left my dorm and even though I wasn't that cold, it's so weird to see people COMPLAINING about 50 degree weather. If it was 50 degrees, I could lay outside and read a book and not wear gloves.

This rambling today has no purpose. I'm reading, a review for Revolution to come in a day or so, and I'm getting through Ascendant! Hope everyone is doing well and had a great Thanksgiving!

In My Mailbox (11)

2010-11-27T18:06:00.000-05:00

Got two books this week!

Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

Ape House by Sara Gruen

What did everyone else get?

Teaser Tuesday!

2010-11-23T11:13:00.000-05:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm reading Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley!

"Senor Luis gives me a heartthrob smile. At my old school, he'd be T.M.F.G., Total Material For Gossip, and I'm sure some student would try to seduce him. Wait... that's one way to get myself kicked out of Texas, but I really don't want to be the subject of a Lifetime movie. At least not for that." - Page 54

Sam's Ramblings (2)

2010-11-22T22:27:00.000-05:00

I go home for Thanksgiving break tomorrow! :) I'm so excited.

Today, I'm going to talk about REVISIONS.

This is in all capitals because I have never done serious revisions before. I'm a master at revising short stories, although I have yet to start in on my latest work that I finished in September, so approaching THE SHAPE THAT BREAKS is difficult. Usually when I'm dissatisfied with a draft, I rewrite it. But as I learned in NaNoWriMo this year, there isn't a point in rewriting the same thing if there will be the same things wrong with it. So I need to change them in this draft. But it's hard, opening up that document. It's like I don't know where to start. And it just brings about doubts that I've been having about it regardless.

It's also kind of heartbreaking to read through TSTB over and over again because I'm going through the same exact thing that Celeste was at the moment. It's funny - when I'd begun writing this draft, I'd never known heartbreak, but I nailed it. I've always been complimented on my ability to make things seem real, such as the issue of suicide in my a recent short story, so I guess I'm grateful for that. My former self must've known that this would be a kind of therapy for me.

But again, it's a daunting process. You'd think that writing the damn thing would be the hard part, and in many ways, it is. But revisions aren't nearly as fun as pondering plot points all day and being excited to get home, so you can work on the scene you've been playing with in your head for the past three hours you were supposed to be listening to your professor talk.

So, I'm diving headlong into this process. Wish me luck! :)

In My Mailbox (10)

2010-11-20T19:51:00.000-05:00

This week I got a couple of AWESOME books:

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund

What did everyone else get this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

2010-11-10T14:10:00.000-05:00

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

WHEN A VIRUS makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents must pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and had never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Until now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they search for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in religious Goodside, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

Sam's Ramblings (1)

2010-11-10T10:14:00.000-05:00

So, I'm going to talk about The Shape that Breaks today.

For NaNo, I decided I wanted to rewrite TSTB once again, but about three days into it, I realized that it wasn't needed - the previous draft was a lot better than any crap I could crank out during NaNo. And even though I'd never experience heartbreak when I'd written that draft, I'd hit the nail on the head with how it feels. It's kind of funny, because I was just imagining it. Now that I've actually experienced it, I feel like I can relate to Celeste a lot better.

Anyways, last night I decided to finish the rewrite, which only had a few more pages to go when I'd stopped writing it. And even though the ending wasn't perfect, I really love how it turned out. Next step is to edit, edit, edit. I'm hoping I can get a bound copy to edit out of - there's a copy place down the street from me and it should only be like ten bucks (a lot less than a new black ink cartridge for my printer).

It's just a strange feeling. Finishing TSTB was always put off because, for two years, I was in my own little story. I didn't have to write to imagine my love story coming true because I had my own. I feel like finishing it was kind of a catharsis, though.

So, anyone have recommendations for a first-time novel editor? :)

Things I Don't Usually Talk About

2010-11-09T14:35:00.000-05:00

So, I've failed NaNoWriMo, but, as people who follow my blog have probably seen, I've been under a super amount of stress anyway, so this doesn't come as a big surprise. I try not to talk about my personal life on here, just because I think a) no one really cares and b) I'd like to keep my blog as professional as possible. So no gory details. Sorry.

BUT, onto the good things:

I feel like Read Sam, Read! has lost some of its oomph. And I don't just mean in the sense that my reviews have slowed down or that my twittering has almost come to a halt. I've just felt a kind of lack of inspiration, of new things to write about. I don't like to have posts with me just blathering on because I think that gets boring, but I'm going to try to post at least once a week about something in the writing/blogging/YA book world that really interests me. Just word vomit, basically. I just want to see if this will help me get some of my oomph back.

I'm going to call this new feature: Sam's Ramblings! (This is where I would cue a graphic if I was artistically inclined to make one!)

Also, I know I've said this a million times, but I PROMISE my posts will get more regular. Right now, my life is still pretty hectic, but the crew season is over in about a week and then I have Thanksgiving break, finals, and then I'm done! And you can expect that between December 10th and January 4th (my winter break) I will be posting ridiculous amounts. Just FYI.

Author Guest Post: Denise Jaden

2010-11-06T08:00:00.002-04:00

I'm super excited because today Denise Jaden, author of Losing Faith, has agreed to do a guest post for her blog tour!

What was the process of getting Losing Faith published?

I’ve been writing seriously for about seven years. Although I have had no formal training, I have devoured books on writing craft and attended workshops and conferences since the day I became interested in stories.

I queried two other books unsuccessfully prior to the writing of Losing Faith. In November 2007 I made my first attempt at NaNoWriMo (writing a novel in a month) and had a first (really crappy) draft of Losing Faith in 21 days. I revised and revised and then revised some more, getting feedback from all of my many critique partners along the way.

I began querying in July, 2008 (paused querying to revise after getting some great feedback at a conference in October). I queried again in November and had offers of representations later that month. Even though I had a few different offers (which I’m still blown away by – it doesn’t seem like it could be real after enduring so much rejection!), that first offer is still saved on my answering machine. There’s nothing better than the first moment an industry professional validates all your blood, sweat, and tears.

My new agent, Michelle Humphrey, did a line edit for me over Christmas and we sent LOSING FAITH out on submission in mid-January. We had an offer by early March. The offering editor was from Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster, and she was one of the editors I had met with in the conference back in October. We had a phone conversation, with my agent listening in, so she could explain her vision for changes in the manuscript. When I agreed, she made an offer, and the rest is history!

I sold in March of 2009 and my book hit the shelves in September, 2010, so about a year and a half from sale to publication. It felt like forever at first, waiting for revision letters, cover art, back text copy. But then the last six months flew by. I’m still pinching myself that this is actually happening and my book is really out in the wild. Every time I walk into a bookstore and see it on the shelves, my heart stops for a few seconds.

Thanks so much, Denise!

Review: Losing Faith by Denise Jaden

2010-11-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Losing Faith
Author: Denise Jaden
Page Count: 400 pages
Summary: When Brie's sister, Faith, dies suddenly, Brie's world falls apart. As she goes through the bizarre and devastating process of mourning the sister she never understood and barely even liked, everything in her life seems to spiral farther and farther off course. Her parents are a mess, her friends don’t know how to treat her, and her perfect boyfriend suddenly seems anything but.

As Brie settles into her new normal, she encounters more questions than closure: Certain facts about the way Faith died just don't line up. Brie soon uncovers a dark and twisted secret about Faith’s final night...a secret that puts her own life in danger.

Review:
What I Liked:

Mystery! I really liked the story - I'm not so into books that contain mystery, so it's weird that I was so enchanted by this one!
Crazy girl! I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just leave it at that!
Religion. I don't normally read books that have inspirational, religious messages, which originally would've made me put this book down, but it definitely wasn't what I expected! It didn't take any kind of stance on religion, which I thought was great - not that there's anything wrong with that! Those kind of books just generally aren't my kind of thing.

What I Didn't Like:

Pacing. This might just be a me thing, but I felt like the pacing of the novel was really off. I thought it moved too slow when I wanted to figure things out, but the mystery of what happened seemed to be prolonged for a huge amount of time.
Characters. I wasn't really into the love story that accompanied this book at all. It felt a little forced and because of this, I couldn't really connect with Brie the way that I wanted to.

Romance: 2/5 stars
Overall: 3.5/stars

NaNoWriMo!

2010-11-04T13:51:00.000-04:00

So, I'm sure you guys have noticed my absence as of late. While it has as much to do with school and crew practice (I'm going to Tennessee this weekend to see a race - wish the varsity good luck!) as anything else, the thing that has been preventing me from blogging is the specter we all like to call:

NaNoWriMo

*cue the scary music*

This is my fourth year doing NaNoWriMo and I'm currently working on a rewrite of The Shape that Breaks. Hopefully, this will be the draft that I can get through revisions (since it is the second rewrite) and finally, maybe, get an agent with. I was originally going to work on something else, called Other, but I decided against it at the last minute. I have to say, I'm glad I did. TSTB is as close to my heart as anything can get - I started writing it as a fifteen-year-old, not knowing much about love or anything else, and now that I'm finally going to finish it, I've grown so much and so many things have happened to me.

I have a review coming up tomorrow as well as an author interview, so I'm not completely dead! I feel like my college is in the middle of nowhere, though - I have to order books instead of going to the bookstore all of the time, since the bookstore is so out of the way.

I'm so excited to go to Tennessee - the bus leaves tonight at 2AM. Wish me luck on getting some sleep; the crew kids tend to be rowdy!

Winner of the Jumpstart the World Giveaway!

2010-11-01T12:29:00.002-04:00

And the winner of the Jumpstart the World giveaway is:

Lauren!

I've emailed you and you have until this Friday to answer, then I'll pick another winner!

Review: The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance by Catherine Ryan Hyde

2010-10-31T13:26:00.000-04:00

To end my awesome week of Jumpstart the World, the awesome book by Catherine Ryan Hyde, I have another review of a book that she wrote: The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance! Today's the last day to enter my giveaway for Jumpstart, so go enter!

Title: The Year of Miraculous Reappearance
Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde
Page Count: 240 pages
Summary: Cynnie takes care of herself—and more importantly, she takes care of her little brother, Bill. So it doesn't matter that her mom is drunk all the time. Cynnie's got her own life. Cynnie's the one Bill loves more than anyone. Cynnie's the real mother in the house. And if there's one thing she knows for sure, it's that she'll never, ever sink as low as her mother.

But when things start to fall apart, Cynnie needs a way to dull the pain.

Never say never.

This unflinching look at the power of addiction is the story of one girl's fall into darkness—and the strength, trust, and forgiveness it takes to climb back out again.

Review: I'm doing a book tour for the awesome Catherine Ryan Hyde, who also wrote Pay It Forward, to promote her new book, Jumpstart the World. Her books are so inspirational - I love them!

Again, I'm not going to be able to do this review in my normal format, just because they get me so emotional and it's hard to whittle down my thoughts into bullet points.

Hyde's books are so raw and real - characters are definitely her strong point. You root for them even when you know that they are going to make bad decisions, and in this novel, Cynnie was such an awesome character. She was strong but she didn't know it and even when she turned to alcohol to solve her problems, I rooted for her the entire time to get better.

I could go on and on about how awesome this book is, but I don't think it was quite as awesome as Jumpstart. The characters were amazing, the story was amazing and heartwarming, and the reality of it sometimes astounded me. There wasn't anything that I disliked persay, but I think that, in comparison to Jumpstart, this one is a close second.

Overall: 4.5/5 stars

Sorry!

2010-10-27T21:20:00.000-04:00

Sorry for my complete lack of posts! I've been swamped with school and I haven't been getting much reading done, although my review for another of Catherine Ryan Hyde's books - The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance - is coming up tomorrow or the next day. Coupled with homework and papers is the fact that I'm going home this weekend, so I'm frantically trying to get everything done! So, have no fear, I will be back!

Also - if you haven't already - enter my Jumpstart the World contest! :)

Review: Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde

2010-10-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Jumpstart the World
Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde
Page Count: 192 pages
Summary: Elle is a loner. She doesn’t need people. Which is a good thing, because she’s on her own: she had to move into her own apartment so her mother’s boyfriend won’t have to deal with her.

Then she meets Frank, the guy who lives next door. He’s older and has a girlfriend, but Elle can’t stop thinking about him. Frank isn’t like anyone Elle has ever met. He listens to her. He’s gentle. And Elle is falling for him, hard.

But Frank is different in a way that Elle was never prepared for: he’s transgender. And when Elle learns the truth, her world is turned upside down. Now she’ll have to search inside herself to find not only the true meaning of friendship but her own role in jumpstarting the world.

Tender, honest, and compassionate, Jumpstart the World is a stunning story to make you laugh, cry, and honor the power of love.

Review: For this novel, I'm going to deviate from my usual format of reviews because I feel that this would do it better justice.

First of all, I loved Jumpstart the World! Loved, loved, loved it. There's something about the way that Hyde writes that is so authentic and real and raw that you can't help but love the characters - this happened in The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance as well. And Elle, she was so endearing. She said awkward things and then overexplained herself and ended up offended people more than usual, something that I tend to do a lot. She also didn't have a very good relationship with her mother - and for good reason!

Frank was another amazing character. I don't read much LGBT literature, but the way that the issue of him being transgendered is portrayed is as though it really isn't an issue at all, just a part of life, which I thought was really awesome. And I could tell why Elle loved him; he was just one of those characters that, like Elle, are so raw and real and even though they've been through crap in their lives, they came out of it a better person and just make everyone around them happy. It touched my heart.

I think the thing that made this book amazing are the characters. I cannot stop talking about them, I swear. I keep trying to write about the plot or something else, but it always comes back to them - Frank, Elle, Elle's friends, Elle's mom - they all just pop off of the page. And they have faults, yes. But it didn't make me dislike any of them because it just made them seem like real people.

Honestly, I don't have a bad thing to say about this book. It was really, really great and it touched me in a way that Hyde's books only can, in the same way that her other books have. I definitely think you should go buy a copy, if you haven't already! Also, if you haven't, you should check out my giveaway for the book!

Overall: 5/5 stars

Jumpstart the World Blog Tour (Excerpt)

2010-10-20T15:29:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! I hope all of you have entered by Jumpstart the World giveaway! Today I'm going to be showcasing an excerpt from Jumpstart the World, Catherine Ryan Hyde's newest novel. The summary is in the post below, in case you're interested. Just a little background on the excerpt, just in case you're wondering: Elle has moved into her own apartment at the request of her mom, whose boyfriend didn't want her in the house. She has a cat named Toto and in the excerpt, the cat has become sick, and Frank, her next-door neighbor, is going with her to the animal hospital. Hope you enjoy!

"We walked fast to the subway together, and Frank held the carrier. I felt like I should, because he was my cat. But he was heavy, and it’s hard to walk fast lugging an extra fifteen pounds. I could barely keep up with Frank as it was.

The street was crowded with people, walking in both directions, and now and then someone wouldn’t yield, and I got separated from Frank and Toto, and had to run a few steps to catch up. Half the people who passed us were chatting on their cell phones, and their cigarette smoke blew back and caught me in the face, and I waved it away.

I felt relieved when we trotted down the steps into the subway. I like the subway. I’m not sure why.

Right away I could feel it get cooler. It’s always cooler down in that tunnel, and a little bit moist, like a cave.

I used to like to stand right by the edge of the platform and look down the hole, waiting to see the lights of the train. Back in the old days, when hardly anybody got pushed onto the tracks.

Without a word to each other, without any discussion of how we do these things, Frank and I took a spot with our backs up against the cool wall. I could feel the edge of an ad frame against my back. I could feel the wood of the bench we’d chosen not to sit on. It was right up against my left leg.

I thought about Frank’s friends from the party, then pushed the images out of my head again. But I kept having that constant feeling like there was something I was purposely not thinking about.

When the train came, the lightness of the inside of it seemed comforting somehow.

We sat on the hard plastic seat, the cat carrier between us on the floor. I was wondering why we weren’t talking.

Then I realized it was me.

I clam up when I’m upset. But realizing that didn’t exactly fix it.

I just sat there, stony, watching the lights flick off and then on again. Listening to the clatter of the metal wheels on the tracks. Feeling the rocking that is pure subway, that just doesn’t feel like any other transportation in the world.

Then I said, “I should’ve known he was sick. What was I thinking? Letting him sit in there for days. I never even looked around for him.”

“He’s a different kind of cat,” Frank said. “You expected that kind of remote behavior from him. If he ever came around on his own, I’m sure you would have missed him when he stopped.”

I wondered if that meant Frank thought it was Toto’s fault. I didn’t figure it could be. It was never the cat’s fault. That would be like blaming a three-year-old. I was the grownup in charge. The buck had to stop with me.

“Are you saying it was Toto’s fault?”

“I’m saying there’s no point blaming anyone in this case.”

We sat quiet a while longer, feeling the distinctive rocking. Comforting.

Then Frank said, “Nobody else would have taken that cat out of the pound, Elle. You know that. That cat would already be dead if it wasn’t for you. You’re taking the best care of him you can, and he doesn’t make it easy. Can you let yourself off the hook for this?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Sure. I guess.”

But I was halfway lying. Telling Frank what he wanted to hear. Maybe I could let myself off the hook. Eventually. But not just like that.

Another very long silence. But this one was more strained and painful. At least for me.

“What’s top surgery?” I asked.

I heard him pull in a deep breath. It was probably only a second or two before he answered. But it was the longest second or two in the history of civilization.
“It’s a phase of gender reassignment surgery.” A heavy, dead weight in my stomach. A little nauseating. “It’s a double mastectomy, but then also with some cosmetic surgery to give the chest more of a male shape and appearance.”

“I guess it’s none of my business,” I said.
The words sounded like they were coming from someone else. My lips felt numb. Also my brain.

“Well, you’re my friend,” he said.

Which I took to mean I could ask more questions. If I wanted to. But there was only one more question I could think to ask.

I didn’t want to."

Jumpstart the World Giveaway!

2010-10-18T08:00:00.003-04:00

Elle is a loner. She doesn’t need people. Which is a good thing, because she’s on her own: she had to move into her own apartment so her mother’s boyfriend won’t have to deal with her.

Then she meets Frank, the guy who lives next door. He’s older and has a girlfriend, but Elle can’t stop thinking about him. Frank isn’t like anyone Elle has ever met. He listens to her. He’s gentle. And Elle is falling for him, hard.

But Frank is different in a way that Elle was never prepared for: he’s transgender. And when Elle learns the truth, her world is turned upside down. Now she’ll have to search inside herself to find not only the true meaning of friendship but her own role in jumpstarting the world.

Tender, honest, and compassionate, Jumpstart the World is a stunning story to make you laugh, cry, and honor the power of love.

Hey everyone! This week is super exciting because not only am I participating in the Jumpstart the World blog tour - I'm also hosting a giveaway of the book! Catherine Ryan Hyde also wrote the super-famous Pay It Forward, the book that inspired the movie, and I got a chance to read not only Jumpstart the World but also another awesome book of hers - The Year of My Miraculous Reappearance (review to come this week!)

Anyway, the way to enter this giveaway is super easy and simple! The entries are:
+1 for email and name
+1 for Tweeting about the contest
+5 for blogging about the contest
+1 for adding all your entries

Leave all of your entries in a comment and the giveaway is set to end at 12AM on November 1st, so get all of your comments in by then! This giveaway is not international, unfortunately, but I promise the next one that I have will be! I'm so excited for this giveaway and this blog tour - I love Catherine Ryan Hyde's books! :) This giveaway is not international, unfortunately, but I promise the next one that I have will be!

Review: Firelight by Sophie Jordan

2010-10-14T21:15:00.000-04:00

Title: Firelight
Author: Sophie Jordan
Page Count: 326 pages
Summary: With her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the draki—the descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms. But when Jacinda’s rebelliousness leads her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is Will, whose family hunts her kind. Jacinda can’t resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she’s risking not only her life but the draki’s most closely guarded secret.

Review: I've heard such good things about this book and I was so excited to read!

What I Liked:

Sex! Alright, there was no actual sex in this book. But Jacinda getting all worked up at the sight of Will? It got a little steamy. And I loved that! Teenagers + hormones + Jacinda being a dragon = some hot times.
Jacinda's struggle. I felt so bad for Jacinda. She messed up once and almost died, so she has to suppress this whole part of herself? It just sucked, really really badly. I wanted to throttle her mother sometimes. It just wasn't fair at all. And even though this is a book about a girl who can turn into a dragon of all things, it really resonated with me. Sometimes your parents are unreasonable and even if it makes you angry and it makes you want to throw a temper tantrum, you still have to listen.
Will! Oh god, there is something about how forbidden this is that just makes me want Jacinda and Will together! She tries to fight so hard against it because she knows what he is and it just, argh. It kills me! I can't even describe it.

What I Didn't Like:

Dragons? Well, I knew this going in to the book - the people can turn into dragons? Dragons? For real? And it worked, but only somewhat. Maybe it was more a me thing than a bad thing about the book, but that seemed far-fetched.I know it's fantasy, I know, but sometimes my disbelief was not really suspended.
Pacing? It got a little slow at times. I read most of it on the bus to Tampa and I had to put it down and do other things sometimes. It just didn't drag me in.

Overall, I really enjoyed Firelight, although not as much as some other reviews have said. I was a little let down by the pacing, but I did love the sexual tension between Will and Jacinda - it was so strong you could feel it!

Romance: 4.3/5 stars
Overall: 4/5 stars

(Sorry for the lack of reviews lately. Stress + relationship drama + midterms = not very much reading. Hopefully things will be a little better after this weekend, but I'm not sure. Over Thanksgiving and Christmas break though, I'll be posting all the time!)

Teaser Tuesday!

2010-10-12T08:37:00.000-04:00

Instead of a teaser from my current WIP, I'm here to give you a little teaser from the book I'm currently reading, Losing Faith!

"Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!"

This is from page 192: "I wonder what happened to make Dad freak this way. Did he suddenly just decide that it's time for Mom to get over her daughter dying, and that's that? And shouldn't the solution be for us to talk about it?"

I'm loving this book so far! It's mystery and grief, all rolled into one!

In My Mailbox (9)

2010-10-09T09:59:00.000-04:00

This week, I didn't get much, probably because I didn't let myself buy a lot of books. :)

Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Losing Faith by Denise Jaden

What did everyone else get?

Teaser Tuesday! :)

2010-10-05T14:28:00.000-04:00

Sorry if I've been a little dead on the blogosphere - my boyfriend and I broke up last week and thankfully I had all my posts for last week scheduled so I didn't have to stress about that as well as homework, so that's the reason for my absence. I'm trying to get back on track but it's kind of hard with all my schoolwork/crew practice/friends. However! I have been writing, or rather rewriting, TSTB. I'm not sure if I'm actually going to overhaul the whole thing and do another epic rewrite for NaNo but I definitely have been sympathizing with Celeste as of late. Anyways, here's a brief little snippet!

“I need to tell you something.” He kept staring at the comforter; he didn’t even raise his eyes when he said it.

I sat down next to him, thighs touching through our jeans. “What’s up?” I asked, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. He turned his head at the last moment and I caught his lips. And he kissed me, hard, but only for a moment. Quick and passionate.

I’d forgotten to breathe when he pulled away. He looked into my eyes as I tried to catch my breath. “Celeste…” he said, my name like a sigh.

He stood up, pushing himself up off of my bed. And the sentence, the one that broke me, came out of his mouth: “We have to break up.”

I blinked, not comprehending. “What? Why?”

“I’m moving,” he said, not meeting my eyes. “On Friday.”

“Friday? What? When were you going to tell me this?”

He shoved one hand in his pocket and shrugged, but I could tell it was forced. “Now. I told you now.”

I think the fact that he hadn’t told me hurt me more at that moment than him saying we had to break up. Because I could fix a break up, because we could get back together, but this? Out of my power. And he’d waited until the last moment.

“Where?” I felt like a reporter, ‘Who? What? When? Where? Why?’

“Seattle,” he replied, leaning on my bed post.

“Well,” I said, “We can handle long-distance. Seattle’s only a few hours away.”

He shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, Celeste. And I don’t think we should. I think it would be better to do this now because neither of us have cars and it’s not like your mom would drive you to see me.”

“Are you serious?” I asked and I wanted to yell, but I could feel the tears starting behind my eyes. I could feel that catch in my throat, that bitter taste in my mouth, and I knew I was going to cry. “Alex, we’ve been together for a year. A year. Are you really going to do this?”

He shrugged. “I still want to be friends. You’re my best friend.”

Something snapped inside of me when he said that, like I could be his friend after going out with him for so long. Like he hadn’t just broken my heart a moment ago. “Get out, Alex,” I said.

The worst part? He listened.

In My Mailbox (8)

2010-10-03T00:00:00.002-04:00

I went to visit my boyfriend last weekend in Tampa, where he goes to college. Technically, I bought these all last week, but we won't worry about semantics. We went to this really awesome used bookstore and I got a couple of classics along with a newer YA book.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

When It Happens by Susane Colasanti

I've been in love with Steinbeck ever since I read Of Mice and Men and I read East of Eden last year as well. I've seen Les Miserables the movie a million times and I loved it, so I figured the book should be even more awesome. The other books are just ones that I've wanted to read for a while!

What did you guys get this week?

Review: The Duff by Kody Keplinger

2010-10-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Title: The Duff
Author: Kody Keplinger
Page Count: 288 pages
Summary: "Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone."

What I Liked:

SEX! Maybe just because I'm still a teenager, but I love that this book didn't edge around the fact that teenagers do have sex. This always gets a big star from me because a lot of YA books like to think that the most teenagers do is kiss, which is obviously not true!
Ugly Ducking Narrator? The main character isn't a beautiful girl who just doesn't know it, although she does realize near the end that she isn't as ugly as she thinks she is. I just liked that she wasn't absolutely gorgeous and just had low self-esteem like everyone else on the face of the YA-verse.
Mmm, Man Whore! Enough said, Wesley sounded pretty gorgeous.

What I Didn't Like: (These are a little spoilery!)

Wesley? Although Wesley did sound pretty hot, I did not believe his transformation at all. I just felt like I didn't get a very good handle on his character and because of that, him liking Bianca besides what they had going on didn't make much sense to me. It seemed like a little fairytale.
Ehh... I'm hesitant to say this, but this whole book just seemed like a fantasy for the author. I know it's been said that it's awesome that Keplinger wrote the book in high school (go her, by the way! I wrote some but none were good enough to get published, not that I tried.) but it seemed like something that someone in high school would write. I don't mean to attack the author but that's just my point of view on it. I know the first novel I wrote was pure fantasy-fulfillment. Those are the best kinds because they're just for you! :)
I just couldn't get into it! There are some books that just absorb you completely and you can't wait to get back to reading them when you're away from them. The DUFF was not one of those books. I wanted to read it, but I didn't have any sense of urgency.

Overall, I did enjoy The DUFF because it didn't skirt around the subject of sex and the narrator wasn't a gorgeous Mary-Sue. However, the novel did feel a little like fantasy fulfillment and I couldn't get into one of the main characters.

Overall: 3/5 stars

Review: Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

2010-09-29T08:00:00.001-04:00

Title: Going Too Far
Author: Jennifer Echols
Page Count: 256 pages
Summary: All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far... and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge - and over...

Review: We all know of my epic love to Jennifer Echols, as evidenced by my post a few days ago. So it's no surprise that I loved this book.

What I Liked:

STEAMTASTIC! I've mentioned this numerous times before, but I'll mention it again - Echols has this power to make sexual tension just leap off the page. When I'm reading a book and I get to the parts where it's all tension-y and it's really good, I know because I get this feeling in my stomach. I guess it's kind of similar to the feeling you get when you're about to kiss someone you like except not quite as awesome. Almost the entire book gave me that feeling, so, it's a winner!
Meg! I loved Meg. She was such a bad ass but you could totally tell that something had happened to her that screwed her up, really bad. Same with John, but I pretty much guessed what had happened near the middle of the book.
One sitting? Okay, I didn't read this book in one sitting, but it was close. The only interval was sleep. I just couldn't stop reading! I don't know what Echols has done to me - she sucks me in!
Overall, I lovedlovedloved this book, unless that wasn't obvious. I cannot think of anything I didn't like, but my favorite book by Jennifer Echols still continues to be Forget You, which is a ten on the awesome scale of awesomeness. Go! Read this book! :)

Overall: 4.4/5 stars

Teaser Tuesday!

2010-09-28T08:00:00.001-04:00

No writing to share this week! So:

"Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!"

Currently, I'm reading Firelight by Sophie Jordan. Here's my little teaser from page 128:

"His words echo inside me. You should stay away from me. Something I already know, but sitting in the front seat of his car, I'm not quite succeeding at that."

Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

2010-09-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Page Count: 479 pages
Summary:When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: Jem, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa.

As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Review: I read City of Bones a few years ago and borrowed its sequel from someone after that, but my interest in the series kind of petered out after I learned of the whole controversy surrounding Cassandra Clare, so I never got around to reading the last one. That, however, didn't hamper my enjoyment of Clockwork Angel.

What I Liked:

Steampunk FTW! I don't read many paranormal fantasy or whatever this genre is called, lol. But steampunk is always awesome, no matter how little I read of it. And I feel like this was starter steampunk - not too in-depth and not confusing at all to follow, like some that I've tried to read.
Will? Wow, Will was an asshole. But he was so entertaining that I couldn't help but like him! By the end of the book, I was kind of on the fence about liking him, though. We'll see what happens in the next book with him!
Betrayal! All I'm gonna say, for those of you who haven't read the book. I don't want to reveal anything, but it stings!
Worldbuilding! I gotta say, Clare is an expert on her world, which I think is totally awesome. A reason why I don't like to write fantasy is because I can never get so in-depth with the world and remember all the details I need to, so I commend her!
What I Didn't Like:
Length, urgh. I love me some thick books and Clare tends to write some that are pretty huge. While I felt like there wasn't anything that I could've picked out and said, this wasn't needed, I did feel it got a little overlong. That's why it took me more than a week to finish!
Cliffhanger? I HATE CLIFFHANGERS. That is all.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this book to fans of The Mortal Instruments - you'll even recognize some of the characters! I think the world that Clare has created it awesome, although I did find Clockwork Angel to be a little long.

Overall: 4/5 stars

In My Mailbox (7)

2010-09-26T00:00:00.001-04:00

I really think I need to get a Kindle or a Nook - maybe I'll ask for one of them for Christmas. I think it would take a while, but it would be less expensive to get one because all I buy lately are hardcovers.

Anywho, this is my awesome pull this week:

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

What did everyone else get this week?

Another little hiatus!

2010-09-17T15:49:00.000-04:00

Sorry I've been pretty dead lately! I've been busy with school and rowing and all that other good stuff. And I don't want Read Sam, Read! to suffer because I'm busy. So I'm gonna take a week or so, probably until the Monday after next, off from the whole blogosphere. I'm going to visit my boyfriend in a week anyways.

Sorry, guys! Read Sam, Read! will come back better than ever!

NaNoWriMo?

2010-09-15T12:27:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I'm aware that it's September. I'm also aware that delaying something for as long and you possibly can can only make it better when it actually happens. So, I've started to plan for my novel for NaNoWriMo.

Is it sad that two out of the three novels that I've finished were NaNo novels? I'm bad without a definitely deadline and thousands of other people trying to do the same thing, I guess.

This discussion happens with writers all the time: Are you a plotter or a pantser? And now, pantser's don't pants people: they just have an idea and go wherever it may take them! Plotters, on the other hand, plot every detail they can out until they know exactly what is going to happen, exactly how their characters would act, etc. Me, I've always been a pantser. I treat my first draft like my outline, just using it to get to know the characters and what parts of the plot work and don't work. A very, very long outline.

Yeah, most of the time I don't have the patience for this. Like last year, with TUON. I wrote it, hated it because I was a pantser and now I hate the story even more with the second draft. Maybe because people keep telling me, "THIS IS SO CLICHE. LIKE A SOAP OPERA. Blah blah blah." You're not supposed to listen to those people, but they've wormed their way into my head. So, TUON is on haitus.

And the rewrite of TSTB? Well, I like that one. But I can't get over the idea, once again. Celeste is so whiny. And I didn't really understand heartbreak when I started writing it because I'd never had a boyfriend.

And now, we have my NaNo novel. The idea itself has been puttering around in my head for a couple of years but I'd never fleshed it out enough to make it make sense. But! I've been writing notes!

So, I've totally been productive. And since there's a month and half left until November, maybe I can actually outline! For once!

Is anyone else doing NaNo? Started planning yet?

A Love Letter to Jennifer Echols

2010-09-14T14:50:00.000-04:00

No teaser this week - I haven't written anything worth showing off!

Dear Jennifer Echols,

At first, I wanted to dislike you. You had a book about amnesia that featured a character named Zoey, for God's sake! Everyone would think I copied you or something. But then I gave Forget You a chance. And I fell in love. Forget You and me, we had a love affair, but as always seems to happen, it was over far too quickly.

Then I got Endless Summer. Then Going Too Far.

It has been decided, Ms. Echols. You have surpassed Sarah Dessen on the YA contemporary scale that I hold so dear. And that's mighty hard to do - Sarah and me, we were going strong for at least two years.

Never stop writing books! You have a way of describing characters and sexual tension that makes me swoon like none before.

Love,
Sam

:) Creepy or what?

Review: The Boys Next Door and Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

2010-09-13T15:08:00.000-04:00

Title: The Boys Next Door & Endless Summer
Author: Jennifer Echols
Page Count: 587 pages
Summary:
The Boys Next Door: Lori lives for summertime on the lake. She spends all season wakeboarding, swimming, and hanging with her friends—including the two hotties in the house next door. With the Vader brothers, Lori's always been one of the guys.

But while Lori and the "baby" brother, Adam, are inseparable friends, she can't deny a secret crush on Sean, the older Vader boy. This year Sean's been paying Lori a lot of attention, and not in a brotherly way.

But just as Lori decides to prove to Sean she's girlfriend material, she realizes that her role as girl friend to Adam may be even more important. And by trying so hard for the perfect summer romance, she could be going way overboard....

Endless Summer: The sequel to The Boys Next Door sees Adam and Lori happy together - until they fall asleep in his truck for an entire night. Lori and Adam can't stay away from each other, but they're forced to because of Lori's dad, who absolutely forbids it after they spend the entire night together. To make things worse, Adam will be sent to military school if he can't stay away from Lori. Told in alternating viewpoints, we get a peak into both character's personalities.

Review: Sorry for my craptastic summary of Endless Summer - I couldn't find an official one and I didn't want to copy another reviewer's! I'm gonna review these two books as one because they were packaged that way.

What I Liked:

Swoon! I don't know what it is about Jennifer Echols, but she makes me swoon like no other! Adam is gorgeous and he and Lori's scenes together have sparks absolutely flying off the page. It's rare that I get that dropped-out stomach feeling so many times in a book, but this one takes the cake!
Characters! Again, I don't know how she does it, but Echols makes characters so real! They are so genuine and you can't help but like them - they seem like real people! Her characters are maybe some of the most believable that I've ever read.
Adam. This part should probably be in the swoon category, but Adam get's his own, haha. I loved him, although he did get a little jealous and controlling in the second book, but I could totally look past that because that's how he is! Same with Lori - she's always making stupid plans that are so over the top but I think it's the flaws that made me like her.

What I Didn't Like:

Plot of Endless Summer? It was a little flimsy - I think this was just more to play with the characters than anything else, but that doesn't excuse the fact that the plot was just - Lori and Adam can't see each other! Ah! It kept me captivated because the writing made me swoony, but I was a little eh about the plot
Adam being Adam! I know, I know. I was almost certain I wouldn't mention this, but Adam frustrated me so much! I can totally get where he was coming from, but sometimes he had these blinders that were all LORI LORI LORI and it made him jealous and overprotective. Lori can take care of herself. Well, kind of. But it just bothered me to see him get to jealous and then doubt her.

Overall, I recommend Endless Summer but I liked Echols's other book, Forget You, more than this one. If you're gonna start with any one, start with that one!

Romance: 4/5 stars
Overall: 3.8/5 stars

In My Mailbox (6)

2010-09-11T09:41:00.000-04:00

I haven't had much time to read lately, but I have gotten some awesome books IMM! :) As always, IMM is hosted by the AMAZING Story Siren.

So, here are the great, fabulous, amazing books:

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols (!!)

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

I'm actually about halfway through Clockwork Angel and I'm still reading Endless Summer, so I'll have reviews of those up this week! :)

What else did everyone get this week?

Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

2010-09-08T10:44:00.001-04:00

Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Page Count: 390 pages
Summary:Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans -- except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay -- no matter what the personal cost.

Review: There will most definitely be spoilers inside, so beware if you haven't read it yet! I can't write a review of this without spoilers - I don't think it's possible!

What I Liked:

The Final Hunger Games! Um, hello? What's not to like about the final installment of this awesome series? Although this one was definitely darker and gorier than the last two, where the violence wasn't quite so war-like and more for survival, I still loved it to pieces. It had a different tone as well and I think I liked the first book the most of all, but I don't think you can even compare them - all three are so different!
Katniss is messed up! Okay, this might be a great thing to like, but I thought it was so realistic how damaged Katniss was during this book. She's been through so much and it's taken a huge toll on her. I loved that she didn't just stay strong and carry on, like we always expect protagonists to.
Reality show? Loved that Katniss' becoming the Mockingjay, the symbol of the revolution, made her have more TV time. I thought that the revolution would be me underground than that, but it made so much sense when you consider the culture of this book.

What I Didn't Like (Okay, these won't be minuses, really. Just things that made me sad.):

Peeeeeeeeeta! You don't know what you got till it's gone, right? And Peeta, oh Peeta. I was so happy when he was rescued, halfway into the book, and then he's CRAZY. Like insane. It made me so sad and I wanted the old, sweet Peeta back so bad.
ANOTHER Hunger Games? Okay, there has been much debate about this part of the book. Why would Katniss agree to have a Hunger Games with Capitol children? To scare Snow before he dies, because she meant to kill Coin all along? Or was she just going crazy?
Violence. Near the end of Mockingjay, I got a little sick to my stomach from all the violence. Everyone dying in these disgusting ways, urgh, and then PRIM. I think the violence was necessary, but it shocked me. Until now, the violence in these books has been pretty tame, but the end, gah. Thinking about it makes me feel bad.
Overall, I still think that the first in this series was the best, but I did love Mockingjay. A definite book to read.

Overall: 4/5 stars

Teaser Tuesday! :)

2010-09-07T11:33:00.001-04:00

I've finished the last story I posted, well the first draft at least. It was just a short story, although it doesn't have a name yet.

Today's teaser is from something I just started to work on! :) Enjoy!

The first time I saw Win, he was sitting at a cafeteria table by himself, reading a book. The idea that he was reading a book while he ate his sandwich shocked me more than the fact that he was sitting by himself, but it should've been the other way around - he was gorgeous. And not in a bad boy, sensitive artist type of way. No, he had a buzz cut and even though he was hunched over the table, I could tell that his biceps were huge. He looked like he'd just gotten back from boot camp or something.

I didn't sit down next to him or across from him. I wanted to, desperately, but Cynthia was waiting for me at a table near the huge pictures windows. But curiousity overcame me, as it always did when I saw people reading, and I approached him. "Excuse me?" I said.

He looked up quickly, like he'd just been pulled out of a dream. It was always kind of a physical shock when someone shook you from a good book. "Yes?" he said, and his voice was very deep.

"I just wanted to ask: what're you reading?"

He smiled halfway, just using the corners of his mouth, and lifted up the book so that I could see the cover. It was covered in library laminate, so the edges crinkled a little bit as he held it open.

"Catch-22," I said, rolling the name on my tongue. "Is it any good?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's awesome. I'd definitely recommend it."

I pressed my lips together, trying to keep from smiling. He set the book down on the table and took another bite of his sandwich. "I'm Emma," I told him.

He swallowed the bite, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Win," he replied. "Well, Winston, really, but no one calls me that."

"Nice to meet you," I said, beginning to walk away.

His smile was huge when I looked back over my shoulder but I kept mine secret, tucking my head down toward my chin.

In My Mailbox (5)

2010-09-04T22:30:00.000-04:00

Sorry for not posting an IMM for the past few weeks, I've been super busy! :) Anyways, just went to Barnes & Noble's yesterday (with my boyfriend who is visiting from USF!) and got:

Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

So excited to read this! I just finished Forget You by the same author, which is a book I definitely recommend.

What did everyone else get?

Review: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

2010-09-04T22:15:00.001-04:00

Title: Perfect Chemistry
Author: Simone Elkeles
Page Count: 360 pages
Summary:When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

Review: I've been hearing about this book for AGES. Right before I left for college, I picked it up at B&N, even though I'd always thought it looked pretty cheesetastic. Might as well give it a chance.

What I Liked:

Chemistry. No, not the class. The main characters did have chemistry, which is always good. Alex was flawed and he sounded gorgeous, although as he was a gang member, I can totally see Brittany's apprehension.
Flawed characters. Oh yes, both of them were definitely flawed. I'm glad that Brittany's character wasn't a Mary-Sue, which I think she totally could've turned into.

I'm moving on to the things I didn't like quickly because I have a little more to say there.

What I Didn't Like:

Brittany, urgh! In the beginning of the book, I hated Brittany, although I did warm up to her near the end. She was just so... she needed to think for herself, stop whining about needing to be perfect, argh. I just couldn't deal with her. She needed to chill out. I guess it was more her parent's fault than hers, but still. It was too much.
Cheesetastic! I'll be the first one to say that I get swoony at well-written, realistic romance, but this book was totally a ball of cheese. Sometimes it worked and it was engrossing, but other times, like the gag-tastic epilogue, I wanted to shoot the author.

Brittany's sister. Disability as a plot device? Eh, not my thing. It seemed like Brittany's sister's disability was something just to give Brittany depth, not something realistic at all. I don't know, it just didn't strike a chord with me at all.

Overall, I was a little apathetic about this book. The plot was entertaining, but it had this kind of romance novel-esque feel about it that made me want to put it down sometimes, so I guess not even in the engrossing sort of trashy way of romance novels. I don't mean to be harsh, but I really wanted to like it and I was disappointed that I didn't.

Romance: 3.2/5 stars
Overall: 3/5 stars

Teaser Tuesday!

2010-08-31T16:25:00.000-04:00

Still reading Mockingjay. Still excited. :)

So, I haven't done a teaser in a while. This is from the rough rough rough draft of a story I've been working on. I can't decide if it's gonna be short or long, but at this point, it's looking more novella length than novel length.

Some background: The MC, Sienna, is just out of high school and her little sister, Amber, committed suicide about a year and a half ago at this point. She works at a public pool as a lifeguard and Danny is her manager. (He's only like three years older than her, though.)

Warning - there's some sex.

"Morning," I said to Danny, pulling open the other side of the gate. He grunted but didn't say it back, his usual style. He liked to grunt instead of answering things, like a cave man. But I could kind of understand his grunts now. They were like his own little language.

I went into the back office and pushed my backpack into my cubbyhole. They were all labeled with our names and you could tell who was messy just by whatever crap was left inside of them.

I heard Danny's footsteps come inside the room and turned around. "Sienna," he said. It was weird to hear him speak and whenever he did, it sent goosebumps down my arms.

Then he was walking towards me and I saw all of him in one snapshot: unshaven stubble, dark brown eyes, hair falling into his eyes. He'd wanted to be an Olympic swimmer when he was younger but he got injured, so how this was his job. But he still had the huge biceps from being a swimmer.

"Yes?" I said, but I knew what he wanted before I'd even finished the question. He was there, strong arms pinning me to the wall next to the cubbies. He pressed his forehead against mine and stared at me for a second, biting his bottom lip.

This was why I got to work early.

I was the one who bridged the gap between us, angling my lips towards his. Then his body was flush against mine, pressing into every part he could. He was the best kisser I'd ever kissed, his tongue tracing the tip of mine, nipping at my bottom lip. He grabbed my thigh, just skin because I was only wearing my bathing suit, and wrapped it around him, then dipped his head to my neck and bit me softly right at the curve of my skin.

I wanted him, all of him, right then. We stumbled toward his office, not relinquishing our touch on each other for a second, and he slammed the door with his foot. He set me down on top of his desk, pulling at the straps of my bathing suit. We didn't even lock the door. We didn't care.

I sat up and pulled his white v-neck off, revealing his deliciously tanned skin. His shoulders were so broad that I felt safe within the confines of his arms, more safe than I'd felt anywhere in a long time.

This is what happened next, because I will spare you the details: my fingernails made claw marks in his back and he bit my neck to keep from crying out and he collapsed on top of me, holding most of his weight on his hands so he didn't crush me. He was a big guy.

And then I went to work.

Being a lifeguard means boredom, but it also means endless time to think about things. I don't like to think about things, especially what I've done wrong. Like that day - talked about Amber to my mom. My dad liked to talk about Amber, but my mom, no. She liked to pretend Amber hadn't existed. Amber's room was now an office for her.

When I got off for lunch, I ate my turkey sandwich in the air-conditioned confines of the back office. Danny was in his office, typing at his computer. I stopped in there before I left, sitting down on the tearing vinyl chair in front of his desk. "Can I ask you something?" I said.

He shrugged, taking his eyes off of his computer screen.

"Why do we do this?"

His eyes met mine, just for a moment. I thought he would shrug again or grunt noncommitally, like he always did, but for once his voice came out. "Because we're fucked up."

I went home, played the piano for an hour, and took a nap.

MOCKINGJAYYYY!

2010-08-30T14:54:00.002-04:00

I have it. In my hands.

After a slight upset at the UPS store, I have it.

So, blogosphere, I will be back.

Review: You Wish by Mandy Hubbard

2010-08-29T15:34:00.000-04:00

Title: You Wish
Author: Mandy Hubbard
Page Count: 284 pages
Summary: Kayla McHenry’s sweet sixteen sucks! Her dad left, her grades dropped, and her BFF is dating the boy Kayla’s secretly loved for years. Blowing out her candles, Kayla thinks: I wish my birthday wishes actually came true. Because they never freakin’ do.

Kayla wakes the next day to a life-sized, bright pink My Little Pony outside her window. Then a year’s supply of gumballs arrives. A boy named Ken with a disturbing resemblance to the doll of the same name stalks her. As the ghosts of Kayla’s wishes-past appear, they take her on a wild ride . . . but they MUST STOP. Because when she was fifteen? She wished Ben Mackenzie would kiss her. And Ben is her best friend’s boyfriend.

Review: I haven't read Prada & Prejudice yet, so this was the first thing I'd read by Mandy Hubbard! I've been following her blog and twitter for awhile, so I was super excited when I saw this book in the store. I got it right before I left for college and it took me less than two days to finish.

What I Liked:

Ben. Ben was super dreamy, guys. He was adorable and did motocross and was sweet and laughed at Ken and generally - all he did was be amazing. He made me swoon and this is hard to get me to do over a character.
The wishes! This shouldn't count as a spoiler, but - Kayla's Raggedy Ann doll turns into a real person and she is super entertaining! Kayla's a total loner at the beginning of the book, but the main plot point - the wishes - really turned her life around! Her character development was totally spot on because of these things and she becomes a better person because of it.
Super Loner Girl? One of my professors talks circles around why it's dumb that you should feel you have to relate to characters, but I think it just enhances the story - I love to relate! And relate to Kayla I did. She made fun of popular girls, had twenty different pairs of Converse shoes, and was totally fine being a loner. And I'm totally like that, guys. But she realizes - spoiler alert! - that being a loner is usually self-made. It's not like she was just a freak. She just used that to cope. WHICH I CAN SO RELATE TO.

What I Didn't Like:

Cheesy? Maybe a little. The premise itself sounds like a Disney movie, as my friend Tom so eloquently put to me. And it does. The writing isn't intense or literary, which I don't think was the author's purpose. Maybe what I'm trying to say is: It was a little too light and fluffy, candy for the brain. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing!

Overall, I enjoyed You Wish a lot. It had great characters and character development, some really funny moments, and some very witty prose at times. If you're looking for an intense read, though, this really isn't it! But that doesn't detract - it was still lots of fun!

Romance: 4/5 stars
Overall: 4/5 stars

Review: Other by Karen Kincy

2010-08-27T09:48:00.000-04:00

Title: Other
Author: Karen Kincy
Page Count: 326 pages
Summary:Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.

When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate-into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and-most importantly-stay alive.

Review: Sorry for the lack of reviews lately! I've just been getting settled into college like. But, without further ado:

What I Liked:

Crazy Christians! In Other, the super religious Christians believe that being an Other, usually something that is out of your control, means that your soul is damned and you are automatically a sinner. For some reason, this made me laugh. It reminded me how some fundamentalist Christians are against people who are homosexual, so I like that tie in with real life.
Sex! Yay, the last two books I've read don't skirt around the fact that teenagers have, and always will, have sex! I like it when there's some steamy moments, although the steaminess factor in Other couldn't really touch the amount of steam in Forget You.
Even the Others are prejudiced! I found this to be really funny - at the beginning of the book, Gwen hates werewolves and vampires because they are seen as thieves and murderers, but they are Others just like her, only made that way. I think that's sometimes a way to cope in a society that is prejudiced against you; say, "Well, at least I'm not like them."
What I Didn't Like:
School? Gwen states in the beginning of the book that she is homeschooled. However, not once in this book is she actually homeschooled. The author seems to use this as a device to make sure she doesn't have anything in her way to going to investigate things.
Police? This one is more of a question than an actual thing I didn't like: why are Gwen and Tavian more competent than the police? I understand that the police are prejudiced, whatever, but they just seem to be oblivious in this book, to an infuriating point. It just didn't seem realistic to me.
Boyfriend? A lot of people complain that the first half of this book is slow because it is mostly character development. I kind of agree and something that really bothered me about the first half of this book is how Gwen's relationship with her boyfriend is completely not realistic. They don't seem to know each other well or because comfortable around each other - it's like they've just started going out.
Overall, I did enjoy Other and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of paranormal fiction. However, a lot of the characters and the world seemed a little too unbelievable for my taste, which kept me from enjoying the book as much as I would've. (Also, the format of the book, at least mine, made me uncomfortable. The pages were super white and the font was super dark - the contrast was a bit too much.)

Romance: 3.8/5 stars
Overall: 3.5/5

Mockingjay

2010-08-26T16:52:00.000-04:00

No, this isn't a review. I've been kind of avoiding the blogosphere because I don't want to read reviews.

Nope, this is a complaint.

I still haven't gotten it yet!

Barnes & Noble, I'm disappointed. Amazon gave me Deathly Hallows that day it was released and you can't even manage to get it to me two days later?

I actually went to the mailbox place (at my university) all excited because I thought it had arrived. I had a package, yay! I waited in line for a couple of minutes, excited to start reading.

That package wasn't Mockingjay. It was a book for class.

Grrrrr.

Author Interview: Jackson Pearce

2010-08-23T20:32:00.000-04:00

Right after I read Sisters Red, I asked Jackson if she'd like to do an interview. Of course, this woman is amazing and busy and what-have-you, so I've just now gotten around to posing it! Blame my first day of college for it!

If you guys are unaware, Jackson is the author of two YA books: As You Wish and Sisters Red, both of which are amazing and both of which I own! I'd definitely recommend you read them.

Anyway, here's my review of Sisters Red, which I was totally in love with. I liked how it stuck to the roots of scary, not-sexy werewolves, even if I am a fan of sexy, Native American werewolves. (Ahem, I did not just admit that!)

What was the first novel you ever wrote called and what was it about?
My first book was called THE KEYBEARER, and it was about a girl who finds out the attic in her deceased mother's house leads to another world when she uses a set of old keys in the door. It was a fun book, but a little too overdone to be publishable (I now realize).

What do you think is the hardest part of being a writer?
The hardest part of being a writer is juggling the writing side with the author side. As a writer, my only job is to write, edit and revise. But as an author, I have to answer emails, do interviews, live shows, talk to publishers-- I love BOTH the writer and author side of the profession, but sometimes it's tough to make time for both!

Who is your favorite character in Sisters Red?
I truly don't have a favorite character-- I love both Scarlett and Rosie. I do find myself a little more empathetic to Scarlett, perhaps since I'm an older sister too. When people say she's too obsessed with hunting, or that she needs her own love story, I get really defensive!

A lot of authors have been romanticizing werewolves in recent novels (Twilight Saga, The Dark Divine, Shiver). However, Sisters Red definitely doesn't do this. Were you trying to contradict the current trend? (I loved the idea of returning back to the scary roots of werewolves. They seem a little too... whiny nowadays.)
I wasn't really trying to contradict the trend, I was just writing a book I loved! It just happened to be the opposite of what's going on with werewolves nowadays. I did, however, want to make sure that if my wolves were monsters, they were REALLY going to be monsters. The eat-your-face kind :)

And, a random bonus question: Are you a dog or a cat person?
I've got one of each! I love both dogs and cats.

Review: Forget You by Jennifer Echols

2010-08-22T09:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Forget You
Author: Jennifer Echols
Page Count: 292 pages
Summary: There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four-year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. With her life about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon.

But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people—suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

Review: First of all, me and this book have a little history. I read the summary a while ago and I started freaking out: A girl named Zoey and an amnesia plot? It totally looks like I copied for The Unlikelihood of Nostalgia! This made me sad. But it also made me realize - hmm, this book sounds interesting.

So, without further ado:

What I Liked:

Amnesia - Is it obvious by the TUON summary that I'm a fan of amnesia? I know it seems overdone sometimes and a little soap-opera-esque, but there's something about it that just intrigues me. If you don't remember something, it's like it didn't happen, right? But it did!
Doug - I think that Doug just might be one of my favorite love interests. Not only is he smoking, but he and Zoey had such good chemistry that I had that tingly-please-kiss feeling right from the beginning of the book! And he and Zoey had some steamy moments.
Sex! I'm a pretty vocal advocate of YA books containing sex - it's just a part of life as a teenager and even though it's still a big deal, it happens, which a lot of people try to skirt around. But no, this book definitely didn't! It was so steamy that sometimes I had to stop and fan myself. (Well, figuaratively.)
I honestly can't think of anything I didn't like about this book! Zoey was such a real character and so genuine and trying so hard to keep it together after what happens with her mother that I just felt for her. Doug and Zoey's chemistry was through the roof - I'm astonished by how tingly I felt on the first page he was introduced! That usually doesn't happen to me; I tend to be a little less reactionary to books than I am to real life. Anyway - go read this book! It's great!

Romance: 5/5 stars
Overall: 4.5/5 stars

Tiny Hiatus!

2010-08-13T09:37:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! So I'm going off to college next Thursday and I've been packing like mad. I don't want you guys to think I'm neglecting you or something, so I've decided this - no more blogging until I'm settled in. This means, of course, that I won't be on here or Twitter until next Friday about, but I will be writing posts in my spare time for AWESOME books I've been reading lately.

See you guys next week!