Hop & Follow Friday! (4)

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books.  Have you checked out her blog? No? WHY NOT? Do so now. :-)
This week's question: "Since today is April Fool's Day in the USA, what is the best prank you have ever played on someone OR that someone has played on you?"
To be quite honest, I'm not much a prankster.  Last year a friend of my husband's told everyone that she was pregnant as an April Fool's joke and people freaked out.  It was HILARIOUS.  (I totally guessed it...but my husband totally fell for it and so did his other friends).  I've had a couple of different friends pretend to have broken up with their serious boyfriends, which actually, isn't generally all that funny!   "Follow My Book Blog Friday" is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. Check out her site for guidelines for participating and join in the fun!
This week's question...

What is the book that you that your really don't want to admit to loving?

Well, I'm kind of a big believer in not being ashamed of anything I read (i.e. I <3 the Reader's Bill of Rights).  But...let's just get this out in the open:  I especially like the Riley Jensen Guardian series by Keri Arthur, but when I check them out from the public library, I always use the self-checkout... (*blush*)  Actually, ummm....I kind of also love the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurel K. Hamilton...another self-checkout type of series.  Oh! But probably most embarrassingly...I like the MacCarrick Brothers trilogy by Kresley Cole, despite the terrible Scottish dialect that she attempts to write into the books.  SO...I guess what I'm saying...is that smutty romance novels have a special place in my heart...
Guess I'm kind of lame in the April Fool's department, and *shhhhh* don't tell that I read smutty romance novels!  Can't wait to read your stories!  Leave me your link!
TGIF!

Review: Where She Went

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Publication Date: 5 April 2011

Publisher: Penguin

Buy it!: Amazon | BookDepository | B&N

Goodreads description:

It's been three years since the devastating accident ... three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Julliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.
Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

My Thoughts:

I was a little nervous going into this one because I loved the first book so much.  If I Stay is one of the only books I’ve read in a long time that I can guarantee I will read again and again.  It’s also the first one to make a move for Lovely Bones’ spot as my favorite book in years.  I knew that Adam instead of Mia as the narrator would also bring a new perspective to the story, and I guess I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that.

When the book started out, I had a bit of a hard time getting into the new POV.  It’s not that I didn’t like Adam’s story.  I actually think that I was, for some subconscious reason, ANGRY with him.  I’m not sure why, exactly, but I so wanted him and Mia to be together and I couldn’t understand why his life was in such shambles if he was basically living his dream.  I had so many questions at the beginning when I realized they weren’t together and he was living on this celebrity image with the celebrity girlfriend and everything.  I think it broke my heart more than a little to see how Adam was living because I loved him in the first book.  However, the book really takes you through his story in his flashbacks and everything really starts to come together.  

I eventually really did fall in love with Adam as the narrator.  His flashbacks on Mia’s coma and recovery were so eye-opening and, well, heart-breaking.  

I loved how the author brought Mia back into Adam’s life and the way they spent what little time they each had together.  There isn’t an unrealistic, instant “I forgive you for everything because I love you” moment when they first meet again, which was good because I would have put the book down right then and there. These characters are real people with real issues to work through.  I mean, they haven’t seen each other for three years! 

Well, I think I should stop my ramblings before I start giving away the story~!  I really, really enjoyed this book.  It left me satisfied and with a smile on my face. I plan on buying this one when it comes out in paperback (because I bought the first one in paperback and I’m (a) OCD like that and (b) kind of broke right now).  Thanks a bunch to NetGalley and Tarah from Penguin Young Readers group for access to an eGalley of this book!

"Waiting on..." Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are patiently eagerly awaiting.

The upcoming book that's I'm looking forward to this week is...

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Publication Date: 3 May 2011

Publisher: HarperCollins

Goodreads description: 

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. 
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Sounds awesome, right?  I don't even remember how I stumbled upon this one at first, but I think it sounds like a great read.  It has a lot of competition in the genre, no doubt, so we'll have to see how it holds up.  I already have it on hold at the public library for when it comes in.

What are you waiting for this week? 

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Publication Date: 22 March 2011

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Buy this: Amazon | BookDepository

Goodreads description:

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left

My Thoughts:

I was worried when I picked this one up.  There was so much hype about it and I'd heard so many good things...and a pretty large handful of bad things.

But this book didn't let me down. No matter what anyone else says, I loved this book.

Wither's opening scene pulled me right in a Rhine described being in the van, not knowing up from down, then being unloaded, chosen, and herded into a limo while the other girls are killed.  It was the kind of opening that kept me turning the page.  As the story unfolds, I found myself diving right into this future world and getting lost in its complications and twists and turns.  Why did someone kill Rhine's parents?  If they cured cancer, why can't they stop this life-ending disease?  I hated Housemaster Vaughn so much, but I still wanted him to find the darn cure!

Rhine was a great character for me.  So many YA novels that I've read lately have had these clumsy, oblivious female leads and while I've still enjoyed some of those novels, I have craved strong females who try to get something done (hence, my love for Gaia in Birthmarked and Katniss in the Hunger Games). Rhine falls into this category of strong female.  She knows what she wants (to escape and find her brother) and what she'll need to do to get it (deceive her husband to win favor).  I loved that she sometimes forgot that she was "pretending" to be in love with Linden because that sort of questioning of her feelings made her more human.

Linden was a character that struck such conflict in me while I was reading. I wanted to hate him--I really, really did.  However, as his oblivion is slowly revealed bit-by-bit (and you realize that everything is Vaughn running the show), I couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy.  He was no less a pawn in his father's game than the girls.   There were definitely points in the book where I was rooting for him to steal Rhine's heart and I would catch myself and be like "What about Gabriel?!"  

There were some things about this story that were difficult to believe.  For one, the emphasis on procreation (especially by the young men_ when there doesn't seem to be any kind of push/brainwashing by the "first generations" to convince the younger generations. If this type of emphasis was being pushed, then these girls would ALL be like Cecily with her desire for a husband and children...but they aren't. Also, killing teenage girls when they are apparently vital to the next generation? Especially ordered dead by a man desperate for the cure? 

Despite any minor qualms I may have had with this book, my opinion remains: I loved this book and I cannot wait for the next one. (When does it come out?! What is it called?! I want to know so bad!)

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Release: April 6, 2010 (Paperback edition)
Publisher: Speak (Paperback)
Buy this: Amazon | BookDepository
Available formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, Nookbook


Goodreads description:

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

My Thoughts: (**ALERT: minor spoiler ahead!**)

This is a painfully beautiful story. The car accident that kills Mia's family happens only about 15 pages into the story, but I felt like Forman ripped my heart out and stomped on it.  In those 15 pages, I was already in love with Kat, Denny, Teddy, and Mia. Despite every description about this book available on the internet, I held on to this shred of hope that Teddy was still alive--all because Mia thought it was so.  It has been a long time since I connected with a character and a book in this way and I was truly blown away by Forman's writing.

When reading a story that is mainly told in memories and recollections, I've often felt less connected with the characters (besides the main characters).  This was not the case with this book.  Through Mia's memories and the flashbacks Forman writes in, I felt myself connected and drawn to Mia's whole family. There were points when she was telling a flashback that I would forget that Mia's parents were dead because the words and stories made them really come to life.

And Mia.  Mia was such a dynamic, well-written character.  Between watching her struggle with her decision and reading through her memories, I felt like I knew her.  I could have sat down and had a conversation with her.  I wanted her to stay and live (largely for Adam, whom I was practically in love with) but I SO understood her hesitation.  When her grandfather tells her he'd understand if she leaves, I just about lost it.  (And all I could think was--"You still have 50 pages to read. Don't start bawling now!")

One last thing: I loved Adam.  I loved him because he seemed fabulous is Mia's memories.  I loved him because they didn't have some perfect romance.  I loved him for trying to break into ICU to see her.  I loved him because of this quote:

"If you stay, I'll do whatever you want.  I'll quit the band, go with you to New York.  But if you need me to go away, I'll do that too.  I was talking to Liz and she said maybe coming back to your old life would just be too painful, that maybe it'd be easier for you to erase us.  And that would suck, but I'd do it.  I can lose you like that if I don't lose you today. I'll let you go.  If you stay."

I'll leave it there for now because I'm on the verge of spilling too many spoilers.  I loved this book--not everyone will.  I'd recommend it without any reservations for fans of Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. 

In My Mailbox (1)

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren.

I don't usually do these posts, largely because I've been on a bit of a book buying/borrowing hiatus.  This week proved to be a tad different however and I'm SO excited about my new reading material that I just had to share.

Won:

A Modern Witch by Debora Geary

I won this one on LibraryThing! I was SO EXCITED because I never win ANYTHING and I thought that this book looked like an interesting story.  

For Review:

(my first books from NetGalley!)

(Did I mention I was pretty sure I'd get declined again so I requested a bunch? And I'm already behind on my reading list because I gave up reading for Lent!)

Bite Me by Parker Blue

Heir to the Everlasting by Janice Daugharty

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Lost in Dreams by Roger Bruner

The Blackhope Enigma by Teresa Flavin

Bought:

Sovay be Celia Rees

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Sovay I fell in love with when I stumbled upon it while shelving at the local public library.  The cover drew me in at first, but then the story just caught my attention.  I've wanted to check it out from the library for awhile, but I found I couldn't put it back down after I found it at the bookstore. So, home it came.

If I Stay has been on my to read list basically since it came out. The other day I saw the sequel available on NetGalley and decided I'd request it (even though I figured I'd get declined...). Then I found the paperback of this one while wondering around the bookstore (the same trip that I picked up Sovay) and it ended up coming home as well.  I couldn't help it! 

WITHER BY LAUREN DESTAFANO!!!!


OHMYGOODNESSI'VEBEENSOEXCITEDABOUTTHIS!!!  I pre-ordered this book for my NookColor so that I could download it the morning it came out.  Not that I will be able to read it for a could of weeks yet, but just to have it! I am THAT excited to read this.  (And I'm seriously worried that it has been over-hyped and I'll hate it...)


(Did I mention I also have an order from The Book Depository coming my way? More details next week!)


What's new in your book world this week?

Happy Reading!