U.S. Virtual Road Trip- Day 25- Missouri

Hey everyone, haven't had time to blog today.  I had a great writing date with my friend that helped me back in November to actually win NaNoWriMo in the morning, which led to me uploading 4 more chapters of that novel to Wattpad HERE.  And then this afternoon we had my stepmom's birthday party.  But I wanted to make sure to check in and send everyone over to a post I got to be a part of at Reading Away the Days.  You can learn all about my lovely home state of Missouri!

Only one thing I have to do a little correction on, I listed author Heather Brewer as living in Missouri, but recently she has come out to the public as being transgender, and she is now a he, as in Zac Brewer.  So forgive me for the info in the post as I sent my information to Megan before the announcement.

Review: The Cemetery Boys by Heather Brewer

First thanks to HarperTeen and Edelweiss for allowing me to read an e-galley of this title.  I have to say that I am one of the biggest fans of Heather Brewer, and consider myself to belong to her minion horde.  I've met her several times, and plan to meet her again any time she is in my town or at some event where I'm at. She's such a great voice for young people, and her stories are all very good!  Okay, I'm  not very good at gushing I guess, that was kinda silly.  So here goes my review of this book!

A majority of the book does take place in a cemetery like the title would lead you to believe.  The main character is Stephen, and he has just had to move with his dad back to the small town where his dad grew up.  They are having to move in with a grandmother that he never knew.  And she seems really particular from how his dad tells them that they have to move in.  And once she shows up, Stephen sees that his dad wasn't kidding.  They've had to move because Stephen's mom kind of had a breakdown and had to go into a mental institution.  His dad has lost his job, and they can't afford his mom's medical bills anymore. 

Stephen's first introduction to the small town was a guy just standing outside his house staring up at the house.  But Stephen isn't the kind of guy to act scared, nope, he yells out the window that he's going down and immediately heads down to confront the guy.  The guy is gone by the time he gets down there, but has left a leather book, a journal on the sidewalk.  Stephen grabs it and goes chasing after the guy.  On the way he runs into a girl named Cara.  A girl he'd already seen at a diner in town when she'd had to convince her mother to leave after the mother had been yelling at people that they were going to burn!

Stephen is definitely attracted to Cara and she seems interested in him as well.  Then the guy who'd been standing outside his house shows up, and it is her brother, Devon.  Devon says he has something he wants to show Stephen, and from then on, kind of takes Stephen into his group of friends.  This group likes to go to the cemetery at night and drink. 

But the journal that Stephen found is Devon's, and it has all these drawings of huge wings, and something that everyone in the town calls "the Winged Ones".  The myths about these winged ones says that when they come and take a sacrifice, of a human, the town's bad times will be over.  Now Stephen must decide what is real, and what isn't. And if his new friends are crazy and murderous, or if he is just buying into the seemingly urban legends.

Several bits of this really gave me a feeling of the movie The Lost Boys, from the 80s with Kiefer Sutherland and the two Coreys, Haim and Feldman.  One of my favorite movies that I watched over and over, probably why I saw the parallels.  But the feeling was a good one, as I loved the movie, and I also like the way the new kid in town is initiated in this story.  There is a bit of a twist at the end, and I would say that it also isn't left with a clear yes or no answer about the Winged Ones.  And I like that.  As the author thanks Stephen King in her bit at the end of the book, this reminds me a great bit of his stories as well.  Often you're left wondering just what was real, and what wasn't.  I also wondered at first if the winged ones would be like those that supposedly just alert people to bad things happening, but no.  The ones in this story were ones that supposedly ate people. 

I highly recommend another great story from Auntie Heather!

Waiting on Wednesday - The Cemetery Boys by Heather Brewer

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.   The book I've chosen this week is one that I'm going to be waiting on quite awhile as it is not supposed to be published until March of 2015.  I had hoped to get an ARC in time for my Blogoversary giveaway, but the author unfortunately didn't get as many as she'd hoped.  I had planned to read it of course, before I sent it on to a winner.  Heather Brewer is one of my favorite authors, but not only is she a great author, she is a great inspiration to many people.  If you follow her on Facebook, you can see just how much she reaches out to her fans (minions).  She shares her struggles and I think that makes her easier for teens to relate to. 

When Stephen is forced to move back to the nowhere town where his father grew up, he’s already sure he’s not going to like it. Spencer, Michigan, is like a town straight out of a Hitchcock movie, with old-fashioned people who see things only in black-and-white. But things start looking up when Stephen meets the mysterious twins Cara and Devon. They’re total punks–hardly the kind of people Stephen’s dad wants him hanging out with–but they’re a breath of fresh air in this backward town. The only problem is, Cara and Devon don’t always get along, and as Stephen forms a friendship with the charismatic Devon and something more with the troubled Cara, he starts to feel like he’s getting caught in the middle of a conflict he doesn’t fully understand. And as Devon’s group of friends, who hang out in a cemetery they call The Playground, get up to increasingly reckless activities to pass the summer days, Stephen worries he may be in over his head.

Stephen’s fears prove well-founded when he learns of Spencer’s dark past. It seems the poor factory town has a history of “bad times,” and many of the town’s oldest residents attribute the bad times to creatures right out of an urban legend. The legend goes that the only way the town will prosper again is if someone makes a sacrifice to these nightmarish creatures. And while Stephen isn’t one to believe in old stories, it seems Devon and his gang might put a lot of faith in them. Maybe even enough to kill for them.

Now, Stephen has to decide what he believes, where his allegiances lie, and who will really be his friend in the end.

It just sounds like such a great story once again by Heather Brewer.  What book are you eagerly awaiting this week?


While you're here, don't forget to enter my 5th Blogoversary Giveaway, just click on the picture below.

And I also have a sign up for a Blog Hop and my September is for Sequels Challenge for you to sign up for with the buttons below.

A to Z April - V: Vampires

Now, I know that a lot of people don't consider the Twilight stories to be "real" vampires, and since I honestly feel it is more of a love story than a vampire story, I will leave it out of this post, even though it would definitely be one of my favorite vampire stories.  So here are 5 of my favorite vampire books/series.


1.

 

Of course one of my very favorites is the Anne Rice series.   The weird thing is that I actually began the series with the third book, The Body Thief.  And I remember why, I was in the college bookstore at the time, looking at the small selection of fiction they had, because I wanted something to read.  I didn't have a lot of books to read in college, because then it was all about the textbooks unfortunately. But I did always try to have something to read around.  So I read the 3rd book, liked it, and told my mom about it. She and I read a lot of the same thing back then. So she bought the first two and we began reading the series the correct way.

2.

 

First off, I do NOT watch the tv series.  I read the books way before then.  And I admit, I was very excited for the tv show.  Then, I sat down to watch the first episode, and I turned it off and was done within the first 15 minutes.  Too many big things were changed about important characters for me and so I knew I couldn't watch it.  I'm sure it is a good tv show in its own right, I know people who really like it.  I just was turned off in the first episode and have never given it another chance.

3.

 

Now this is the series that got me to notice Julie Kagawa.  It is newer, the final book is just now coming out, but I loved the series, and highly recommend it.

4.

 

This series I didn't start until the tv show True Blood started.  And even then I wanted to wait to read each book until right before the new season.  Of course that's not relevant anymore now that the tv series is so far off the books.  But I actually gave up after the 2nd season and just read through all that were there.  I still have the last 2 to read.  And I do still watch the tv show, just it is a whole separate entity now.  Guess I could give The Vampire Diaries a chance like that.  Just don't think I will.

5.

 

Finally is another YA series that I love.  The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer.  The stories are great, and the author is really cool!

So, are you a vampire fan?  What are your favorite books?  I could do a whole other post on vampire movies, but since this is a book blog, I'll restrain myself.

While you're here, you can go enter my Bloglovin 900 follower giveaway HERE.

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday: Third Strike (The Slayer Chronicles #3) by Heather Brewer

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting. I feel like there are a lot of books I'm waiting on, but that they don't have covers yet to show, so I'm having some trouble coming up with ideas.  But I saw the cover was showing up for one of the versions of this on Goodreads, so I remembered how much I can't wait to read, and I believe finish, this series! I chose the 3rd book in The Slayer Chronicles by Heather Brewer, so aptly titled Third Strike.  Last time I saw this author, I believe she said this was going to be the last book.  Which makes me sad, because I love this world, and so I hope that it will maybe not be?  But we'll see.  There still isn't much of a blurb about it on Goodreads, as  you can see:

Joss is given a mission to eradicate vampires in his home town of Santa Carla, where he will need to protect his family including cousin Henry, who still carries a grudge.
This series fills in the summers in between the books in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod.  So really we will know what happens after this book if you've read that series.  And the author now has her Legacy of Tril series for us to look forward to.  Although I still have the first book on my TBR shelf, and need to get around to it soon!  And as always, I'll have to include my pictures from when I met this author, twice now that I've had my picture taken with her.  Mrs. Brewer, or Auntie Heather as her minions call her, is so nice.  Last year she even sent me a copy of the 2nd book in this series to help celebrate my Blogoversary!

So, what book or books are you anxiously awaiting this week?

Second Chance (The Slayer Chronicles #2) by Heather Brewer

I was so excited to get this ARC, and it came from the author herself!  When I emailed and asked if there was anything she'd be willing to do to help me celebrate my 3rd Blogoversary, she emailed back saying that she was sending me something in the mail, and this was what I got!!  The awesomeness of the author aside, I really enjoyed this book.  I think actually I'd give it a 4.5, if I was able to give half stars on Goodreads.  Not a perfect 5, because I did have one thing that bothered me a tiny bit.  As I got towards the end, it seemed almost kind of rushed, I felt that there could have been more time spent with Joss and the other Slayers in NYC.  Maybe it's just because I wanted more time with them, that their summer seemed really short to me.  And I just didn't want the book to end so soon!!!!

So, as this series goes, we are learning about where Joss was in the summers between when the Vlad Tod books took place.  At the end of last summer (spoiler alert if you haven't read the first one yet) Joss had to kill Sirus, someone he'd grown so close to and even had gotten to be really good friends with his daughter Kat.  But as far as everyone other than Kat knew, Sirus had died in an accident.  And Joss doesn't know for sure if the others knew, but he learned that Sirus was a vampire.  The Slayers' sworn enemies.  What Joss was brought to the camp to learn how to kill.  But Joss was also in trouble for another of the Slayers that died in his negligence at the camp.  We do start the book with Joss coming home for the summer from staying with his cousin Henry.  It was there that he met Vlad Tod, and found out that vampires might not all be horrible creatures, even after he tried to kill Vlad.  I mean, he still remembers how great Sirus was to him.  So Joss has confusion still about the whole right and wrong.  I mean, his family is still messed up from losing his sister.  His father is still mean to him, and his mother is still quite out of it.  So when he gets a call from his uncle Abraham to come spend the summer with him, according to his dad to whip him into shape, but Joss knows it is for the Slayer Society, he is ready to go.  To prove himself for the mistakes he made last summer.  Plus, he is getting cryptic texts from Kat, Sirus's daughter.  She intends revenge for her father's death.  Once in NYC, it turns out there is a vampire serial killer.  One who is killing with what seems to be no rhyme or reason.  As Joss and the other slayers begin to investigate, Joss is given lead on the situation.  And he does find information.  And they follow those leads.  But once again there is confusion, when they run into a family member of the one of the Slayers that is a vampire.  And then Morgan, one of the Slayers, knows Dorian, the man who sent Joss his grandfather's stake, and Joss doesn't know how there is a connection there.

Lots of suspense in this book.  Lots of action, and lots more vampires to learn about.  I'm enjoying reading from this point of view, and relating it back to the Vlad books to fit the pieces together, although some things open more questions!  Which is good, because it means I'm ready to read on in the series!  Once again, Heather Brewer has done a great job.  One reason why I was so excited when the community resources manager at the Barnes and Noble where I work told me she was going to be coming to our store in October!  I can't wait to meet her again!  You can see in the picture below when I met her in the Spring of 2011 at the Missouri Association of School Librarians' Spring Conference, when she accepted her award for winning the Truman award in 2010.

This was my 6th book in my September is for Sequels Challenge.  I was so sure I would be able to make my goal of 8 books, as I was almost finished with this when I went to bed Monday night.  But then, I only got to read a little at breakfast on Tuesday, and then I was sick, had to leave Parent Teacher conferences early, and so no reading yesterday.  Horrible day.  I'm starting a new book today, a shorter one as well.  If I could get it done by Friday, I could sure do my best to get an 8th book done by Sunday at midnight, but we'll see!

Stuck in a Good Book Giveaway Hop

I'm stop 40 on the Stuck in a Good Book Hop sponsored by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and Stuck in Books.  The idea is to give away a book that just grabbed you and and you couldn't put it down.  And so I've chosen to give you a few choices of my favorite books.  This will be international, as long as The Book Depository delivers to your country, click on the the link in this sentence to find out if you are unsure.

Here are your choices:

Soul Screamers Volume 1 by Rachel Vincent:

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz:

Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer:

And finally, Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry:

Or, if you've read all these, I'll allow you to choose any other book for $10 or less.  (US Dollars).  All you've got to do, is sign up on the Rafflecopter below!  And when you're done, be sure to go visit all the other links in the Linky below the Rafflecopter for more great giveaways!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Suck It Up and Die by Brian Meehl

I got this book thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's Books. It's been a while since I read the first one, Suck it Up. That I read for a possible book on the Gateway or Truman book list a couple years ago. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't one of my top picks that year, I think that was the year of The Hunger Games and Gone by Michael Grant, that really drew my attention. But this wasn't a bad book, in a way, similar to the Vlad Tod series by Heather Brewer in that it was a main character of a boy vampire. In this book it is two years after our main character, Morning McCobb has come out as the "poster boy" for vampires that want to be accepted into society, same rights, etc., and they promise they won't drink human blood. Only a blood substitute. That part of course always reminded me a bit of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. The book started out kind of slow for me because it seemed everything was going along just as it was supposed to, no problems to overcome. Kind of how I always figured that whenever I'd wished a book went on, how it would have gone on without any big dangers or plot points to fight. But then we got a new villain, well, sort of a new one. He was created in the forest where all the vampires go when they die. And he joins forces with a human who is the head of a group of people that don't want vampires to live along humans.

Well, soon we learn that when a vampire is actually satisfied and realizing the thing they wanted most in their human lives, well, that causes an interesting change. And Morning begins to get framed by the pair of villians in the public eye. I feel this was definitely a good sequel to the first. I know the first one left off in a way that I knew there had to be a sequel, and this did explain a lot, and kept the series going. Not sure if this one leaves off for another in the series, but it's probably a good chance that it will.
I will count this one as my "U" for the A-Z Reading Challenge for the "Up" in the title.

The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill by Heather Brewer

First Kill by Heather Brewer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. I have to say that I loved the Vladimir Tod series by Heather Brewerand really enjoyed it! Loved the vampire theme from a different point of view. Loved this world that she created. So I entered into the Slayer Chronicles not quite sure how I'd like it, because I kind of liked the vampires better this time, unlike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where you do root mostly for the slayer. And, I didn't really like Joss that much, which this book was about, because of how he tried to slay Vlad in the other series. But, let me say, this book totally blew my preconceived thoughts on this. You knew from the original series that Joss had become a slayer because of his younger sister Cecile getting killed by a vampire. We learn in this book that Joss's uncle Abraham actually didn't want him to be the one in the family to carry on the slayer tradition, he actually thought Henry, Vlad's best friend/drudge, or Henry's older brother would be better. I guess that is funny to me because I know how they actually are with Vlad. But after reading about Joss's life, I did get to feel that I liked him. And learning that kids were mean to him because he had this almost magical strength and endurance. Then his parents almost treating him invisible after his sister died, you can see why he became the boy we know in the Vlad Tod series. And you really get on his side when you learn about how his uncle treats him when he goes to begin his slayer training, and what that training entails. Wow, although I don't agree with some of the things Joss does with the slayers and his uncle, I can see why he is that way, and the story is so good. You know there is possible a "mole" in the group of slayers, and while you want to suspect Uncle Abraham because of what a jerk he is, there are other possibilities, and each are given in a way that makes you think, and wonder. The twist at the end, I thought was sad, and was another way that I was disappointed in how Joss reacted to his situation. But, as I said, it leads right on to where the story is going to go. Such a great story. Heather Brewer is such a great author, I can't wait to read the next in the Slayer Chronicles.
Oh yeah, this is the first book read as part of my TBR pile reading challenge.  I know it's not that old of a book, but it's one I bought, and was so excited when it came out, but then because I was in the middle of something else, probably an e-galley from Netgalley, I put it aside.  So now it counts as my TBR pile.  Great one to start this challenge with!  And it also is going on my A-Z Book Challenge as my "F" title.

View all my reviews

A - Z Book Challenge

So, I really only did one book challenge last year, the Debut Author Challenge hosted by

The Story Siren. And I'm now debating whether to do that one again this year or not. But this is a challenge that sounds really interesting and different. So I'm going to try it. I'm going to go with the "B" method, of just as I read adding titles to the the list. In order to make this list, what I'll probably do is make a post, and then just add to it as I add books to the list and update it. Not sure how else to keep a list on my blog right now. I'm not so great with all the design stuff. But if any of you have suggestions on how I can do it, I'd love it! I'm kind of at the mercy of using Blogger's little widgets right now.

If you're interested in participating, just click on the button at the top of this post and follow the instructions to get involved!

A- Another Jekyll, Another Hyde by Daniel and Dina Nayeri
B- Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer
C- Fever (Chemical Garden series #2) by Lauren DeStefano
D- The Death Cure by James Dashner
E- Revealing Eden (Save the Pearls #1) by Victoria Foyt
F- First Kill (The Slayer Chronicles) by Heather Brewer
G- Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFever
H- Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo
I-  Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
J- Transcendence by C.J. Omololu
K- The White Oak (Imperfect Darkness #1) by Kim White
L- Rebirth (Aftertime #2) by Sophie Littlefield
M- My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1) by Rachel Vincent
N-  On Fire (Teen Wolf) by Nancy Holder
O- Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
P- Pure by Julianna Baggott
Q- Rift (Nightshade preQuel #1) by Andrea Cremer
R- Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves
S-  Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz
T- Torn (Trylle Trilogy #2) by Amanda Hocking
U- Suck it Up and Die by Brian Meehl
V-  Redemption by Veronique Launier
W- The Weepers (Other Life #1) by Susanne Winnacker
X- Truth (XVI #2) by Julia Karr
Y- Monument 14 by EmmY Laybourne
Z- The Kill Order (MaZe Runner prequel) by James Dashner

Waiting on Wednesday - New Style

Okay, what I mean by "New Style" is that I know I'm not doing the exact correct thing here, but I'm so far behind on reading since school started back in August, that I kept thinking about how many new books were out that I'd been waiting on, but hadn't had the time to read them yet. So, hopefully Jill at Breaking the Spine doesn't mind too much if I veer off course this week. Instead of choosing one book that is not published yet that I'm eagerly awaiting, I want to share the books that have recently been published but I haven't had time to read them yet.

First is The Death Cure by James Dashner. This is the 3rd, and as far as I know at the moment, final book in the Maze Runner series. According to bn.com:
Thomas knows that Wicked can't be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they've collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.What Wicked doesn't know is that something's happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can't believe a word of what Wicked says.The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine.Will anyone survive the Death Cure?

Second is Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick, the 3rd, and I think final in the Hush Hush series. According to bn.com: The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

Third is The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson. I enjoy following Maureen Johnson on Twitter, she is so funny. And I've read a few of her others, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Suite Scarlett, Devilish, to name a few. The 3rd one was the closest to my normal type of book, I mean paranormalish. But this new one sounds really in my area, and I did get it for my birthday, so it will be one of the next ones I read. According to bn.com:
The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.
Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Fourth is First Kill (The Slayer Chronicles #1) by Heather Brewer. I loved her Vladmir Tod series. I love following her on Twitter, and I was so excited to get to meet her last spring! I was so excited when I heard about this series which will fill in the summers between the Vlad Tod books, but from Joss, the vampire slayer's, point of view. Here is the summary according to bn.com: Joss McMillan’s perfect life crashes down the night he witnesses his sister’s murder — at the hands of a vampire. He then finds out his family’s secret heritage: They are part of the Slayer Society, a group whose mission is to rid the world of vampires. Joss is their new recruit. As Joss trains, bent on seeking revenge for his sister, he discovers powers that could make him the youngest, strongest Slayer in history. But there is a traitor in the Society, one whose identity would shake Joss to the core . . . if the traitor doesn’t kill him first.
With over a million copies already in print, The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod is still sinking its fangs into new readers every day. Now, bestselling author Heather Brewer brings us the other side of the story, from the perspective of Vlad’s former friend turned mortal enemy: vampire slayer Joss McMillan. This is the first in a series of five books that can be read alongside Vlad Tod or entirely on their own.

The 5th book I came up with, and I know there are many more, is The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore. This is the sequel to I Am Number Four, which I only picked up to read in the first place due to some of the controversy about who the author really was. I'll let you do some research into that on your own if you're interested enough. Here is the storyline according to bn.com:
I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me . . . he's one of us.
Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we'll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?
They caught Number One in Malaysia.Number Two in England.And Number Three in Kenya.They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.
I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.
And I'm ready to fight.

So, as I said, I hope that the blog who does this meme isn't upset with me for diverging from the normal way of doing this for this week. I just really wanted to do a blog about this, and it felt kind of like I was "waiting" so I decided it fit perfectly under "Waiting On Wednesday" because instead of waiting for a book to be published, I'm waiting to have the time to read them!

2011 Debut Author Challenge 6: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Before I get started on my review, let me first say that at the 2nd session I attended at the MASL conference today I got reinspired to try to do book reviews for teacher and library magazines. Wish me luck, and don't let me just forget and not bother with it! I do know that the review will have to be much more tight and much better writing than I do here on my blog. I know I should probably take more time with my entries here, but so far I just kind of like posting as I think. Feels more authentic and personal. Also, very excited to meet both Jay Asher, author of 13 Reasons Why, and Heather Brewer, author of the Vladimir Tod series, tomorrow. And while it's always cool when Heather Brewer replies to my Tweets, or even my Facebook posts, it was cool that she seems to be looking forward to meeting one of her minions as well! Plus, Jay Asher replied to me today too! So exciting! I love technology. Although, with such cool authors as these, it makes it harder to understand the authors I tweet that don't even bother to ever reply, even when I link to my reviews. Oh well. It is what it is. It's obvious who the really COOL authors are.



And, on with the review. Blood Red Road is another ARC. I waited a bit to get to it, while it sounded good, when I first picked it up, I had some trouble getting into it. But once I did, well, let's just say it was a day or two of not wanting to do anything other than read. I even wished I didn't have to go to family birthday parties so I could stay home and read, and there was cake at the party!!! And cake is my weakness. But back to topic.



Our main character is named Saba. She lives with her twin brother, her younger sister, and her father in a place called Silverlake, that is actually a dried up lake now. This is set in a future world, when things have gone wrong, from the few bits and pieces we get, I'm assuming some kind of disease or plague or pollution of some sort. At the very beginning, her brother Lugh is kidnapped, her father killed, and she is left alone with her sister Emmi, who she doesn't much like. Saba sets off to find Lugh, and along the way they get caught and taken to Hopetown where Saba is made to fight in cages. Kind of a gladiator type thing. Made me think of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome for some reason. Saba does really good, winning all her fights. She meets a boy there, Jack, and a girl named Epona, who is part of a group of girls out to win freedom for all. They are able to escape and burn down Hopetown. Saba finds out from another girl that her brother has been taken for a sacrifice. The king wants someone to sacrifice every year to extend his life. This king is obviously crazy and we find out just how much.



This was a really good book. I can see it being a very popular book for teens. My only complaints, and they are minimal, first, I understand why they use a slang type of speech, it fits the type of life the main characters have had, but it is still hard for me to read that as I'm so used to correcting grammar in papers I have to grade. The one other thing I didn't like is that they didn't use quotation marks when someone was talking, so sometimes I'd have to go back to re-read what I hadn't realized was someone talking to help my mind make sense of it. Nothing about the story was bad, just some things that my brain had a little trouble processing. But as I said, it didn't stop my brain from wanting to pick up the book and read constantly! I liked the way the relationship between Jack and Saba developed, its highs and lows were very good, and relatable I think.

Top 10 Tuesday: Books You Want Made Into Movies

I know, I know, it's Wednesday. But when I was scrolling through my blog reading list this morning, I saw this meme on other's and thought it was such a neat topic that I'd join in this week and now have something to do on Tuesdays as well. This is sponsored by The Broke and the Bookish, and I look forward to participating in this because I enjoy lists as well. Now I thought this would be fun, so let's see if I can come up with 10 books!

1. In the Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. I love this series, and since zombie movies really seem to need a good storyline anymore, I think this would be a great one to start with. And then the two sequels could make for a series of movies.

2. The Gone series by Michael Grant. I love this story about a bunch of kids left alone when all the adults, or people over a certain age just disappear. There are some great monsters and scary parts that could really draw in people.

3. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Yes, I know they already made a movie. But I'd like them to re-do it, making it more true to the book so that they can go on and make the rest of the books into movies as well.

4. Another series I'd love to see re-done that they messed up on the very first book is Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews. That movie was so bad, they even had the mother killed at the end of the movie, thereby screwing up any chance of making the rest of the books into movies.

5. I also think the Suite Scarlett series by Maureen Johnson could make for a very humorous movie. Especially if they let the author help out around the set and with the script writing!

6. Delirium by Lauren Oliver. In my love of dystopian books lately, I think this would be a great movie. There are so many scenes that would be so dramatic in a theater.

7. Another dystopian book I've really enjoyed lately is Wither by Lauren DeStefano. I can see as this is supposed to be a series, it might even make for a good tv series.

8. I do think the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer would make for a great movie, or again I could see them as a tv series. On the WB or UPN. :-)

9. I think that after Julie and Julia was such a hit, and Eat, Pray, Love too, that another memoir that would be fun would be The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure. It would be so fun to see her travel to all the different Little House on the Prairie locations and the story was so entertaining it wouldn't even have to be a documentary, it could be done as a fun movie like the two I mentioned at the beginning of this.

10. Finally, wow, there are so many that I love, trying to find one more that I think would make a good movie. I think the book Deadly by Julie Chibbaro would be an intersting historical fiction movie about Typhoid Mary. I would go see it.

Wow, I did it!

Waiting On Wednesday - The Slayer Chronicles by Heather Brewer

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It is a way to highlight those books for which we can't wait for their publication date. This week I choose The Slayer Chronicles by Heather Brewer. Heather Brewer is the author of the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, which I just finished reading over the weekend. Vladimir Tod is a vampire. In the books we meet a slayer named Joss, as well as learning about the other slayers in this world. In this spin-off we will find out Joss's story, as well as what happened during the summers that were left out of the Vladimir Tod series. It says it will feature our favorite vampires, so I'm guessing that will include Vladimir Tod. I enjoyed my last week that I spent getting away to this world, so I'm waiting now for September 20, 2011 to start this next series. If you want my review of the series, scroll down to the blog before this one. Since I don't have a picture of the cover for this book yet, you'll just have to wait.

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer

Well, I wanted to go back and read my review of Eighth Grade Bites, the first in this series, but I can't find it on my blog. So it's possible I read this back when I was still blogging on either Live Journal or My Space. Neither of which I really use anymore. I remember thinking the first book was good, but not just extremely sucked in by them. But when it won the Truman award last year in Missouri, and then I started following the author on Twitter, I have had it on my list to finish reading. And THEN, I found out that the author is supposed to be at the Missouri Association of School Librarians conference this spring, that I am going to, I KNEW I had to read the books. And boy, once I picked up the 2nd one, Ninth Grade Slays, I was hooked! The story really picked you up and got you involved.

I ended up just buying the boxed set of the first 4 books. And zoomed right through the 3 I hadn't read yet. In ninth grade, we get a trip to Siberia for Vlad to learn some vampire lessons. We also learn there are actually vampire slayers, and one of them is in Bathoria to hunt. And Vlad is who they're after. It's shocking when we find out who the actual slayer is.

In Tenth Grade Bleeds, again, we get sucked in again. This time we learn that Henry, Vlad's drudge and best friend, wants to be released. And Vlad must once again go up against D'Ablo. Again, a very good story, I couldn't put it down wanting to know what was going to happen with Henry. And Vlad is thinking it is not safe for him to be around Meredith, his "true love" anymore, because when he gets close to her, he thinks about feeding.

In Eleventh Grade Burns, Vlad's uncle Otis must go to trial. And there is a strange vampire named Dorian, who wants to drink Vlad's blood. In this story, the slayer from ninth grade is back, and he is intent on killing Vlad this time. At the end of the book, there is a huge cliffhanger, leaving us wondering if Vlad's parents are really dead or not.

And finally, Twelfth Grade Kills, I had to check this one out at the library, as it is only in hardcover and I don't have the money to buy it till next weekend. But again, sucked right in. It's Vlad's senior year. And now Otis may be cleared, but Vlad is now having to stand trial, and the only way to save himself is to prove that he really saw his dad, that his dad is really alive. But finding his dad may not be quite the wonderful end that Vlad hoped for. Not to mention that because the slayer has not killed Vlad, the whole Slayer Society now intends to come and completely wipe out the entire population, both human and vampire, of Bathory.

After a week or so of being involved in this world, it's kind of sad to now be out of it. I know the author is writing The Slayer Chronicles now to show the slayer's side and life. And I eagerly await this. I'm so excited to meet Heather Brewer as well, and tell her how much I loved her books. And while I did recommend them before, now that I've read the whole series, I will be recommending it left and right to teens at the bookstore.