Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) - Down the TBR Hole #41

This meme was started by Lost in a Story.  Here is how it works:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

Because I have so many to do, I'm going to try to do this weekly, and do 10 at a time. 


1.   How to Handle Difficult Parents by Suzanne Tingley:

"How to Handle Difficult Parents" is a funny, but practical, guide to working effectively with parents and avoiding unnecessary conflict. Whether you're a teacher (regular or special education) or a coach, this book will give you practical suggestions regarding what to say and how to say it to parents who question your lesson plans, challenge your disciplinary decisions, or threaten to tell the principal on you. Bringing years of experience as a teacher, principal, superintendent, and professor, the author shows teachers how to handle the most difficult parent types, including the Helicopter Mom, the Caped Crusader, Ms. "Quit Picking on My Kid," The Intimidator, No Show's Dad, and Pinocchio's Mom, among others. Emphasizing ways to help create constructive conversation, the revised edition of "How to Handle Difficult Parents" is a must-have for teachers everywhere, both those just beginning and those already deep in the trenches.
 
My thoughts:
Well, I'm no longer in the classroom, and as a librarian, the most difficult parent I've had, knock on wood, is when they try to tell me their student told them that they didn't check out a book that we have as missing.  Not sure this is too relevant for me anymore. 

Verdict:  Toss


2.  Nerve by Jeanne Ryan:

ARE YOU PLAYING THE GAME OR IS THE GAME PLAYING YOU?

Vee doesn't know if she has the guts to play NERVE, an anonymous online game of dares. But whoever's behind the game knows exactly what she wants, enticing her with lustworthy prizes and a sizzling-hot partner. With Ian on her team, it's easy to agree to another dare. And another. And another. At first it's thrilling as the Watchers cheer them on to more dangerous challenges. But suddenly the game turns deadly. Will Vee and Ian risk their lives for the Grand Prize dare, or will they lose NERVE?


My thoughts: 
I might have had a copy of this at one point, but not sure I'll ever get to it.

Verdict: Toss 



3.  Rogue by Gina Damico:

Lex is a teenage Grim Reaper with the power to Damn souls, and it’s getting out of control. She’s a fugitive, on the run from the maniacal new mayor of Croak and the townspeople who want to see her pay the price for her misdeeds. Uncle Mort rounds up the Junior Grims to flee Croak once again, but this time they’re joined by Grotton, the most powerful Grim of all time. Their new mission is clear: Fix his mistakes, or the Afterlife will cease to exist, along with all the souls in it.　

The gang heads for Necropolis, the labyrinth-like capital city of the Grimsphere. There, they discover that the Grimsphere needs a reboot. To do that, the portals to the Afterlife must be destroyed…but even that may not be enough to fix the damage. Things go from bad to worse, and when at last the fate of the Afterlife and all the souls of the Damned hang in the balance, it falls to Lex and her friends to make one final, impossible choice.

 

My thoughts:  
Loved this series and know that I need to know how it ends.  I will definitely be reading this at some point.  Not positive, but I may actually even own this.  I need to check

Verdict:  Keep


4.  The Forsaken by Robin Palmer:

As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.

The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.


My thoughts:  
This one sounds like a mash-up of a few different famous YA stories, but I don't know if I'll get to it. I think we do have it in my school library, so if I do want to read it, I can get it there.

Verdict: Toss

5.   Program 13 by Nicole Sobon:

Recommended for fans of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse!

Two identities. One Body.
17-year-old Emile Reed, may have died, but she isn't dead. Her body now belongs to Program Thirteen, where her every thought, every movement, is controlled. Until Emile begins to find her way back inside of Thirteen's core, where she manages to fend off Thirteen’s programming to reclaim the life that she lost. But Charles McVeigh, the owner of Vesta Corp, isn’t willing to let Thirteen go. And he will stop at nothing to reclaim control of Thirteen's programming. Because without her, McVeigh has nothing.
What makes you human?

My thoughts:
Is this like a Terminator story?  Kind of?  Not sure, but don't think I'll get to it either.

Verdict:  Toss



6.  Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz:

What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever?

Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different--except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other.

The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiraling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever.

This is a dazzling debut that will steal readers' hearts.

My thoughts:
As much as I wish I could live in my dream worlds, they're much better than my real life, don't know that I need to read this one.

Verdict: Toss



7.  The Program by Suzanne Young:

In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

My thoughts:  
I still thinks this is a really good one.  I'll get to it some time.

Verdict:  Keep


 8.  The Infects by Sean Beaudoin:

A feast for the brain, this gory and genuinely hilarious take on zombie culture simultaneously skewers, pays tribute to, and elevates the horror genre.

Seventeen-year-old Nero is stuck in the wilderness with a bunch of other juvenile delinquents on an “Inward Trek.” As if that weren’t bad enough, his counselors have turned into flesh-eating maniacs overnight and are now chowing down on his fellow miscreants. As in any classic monster flick worth its salted popcorn, plentiful carnage sends survivors rabbiting into the woods while the mindless horde of “infects” shambles, moans, and drools behind. Of course, these kids have seen zombie movies. They generate “Zombie Rules” almost as quickly as cheeky remarks, but attitude alone can’t keep the biters back.

Serving up a cast of irreverent, slightly twisted characters, an unexpected villain, and an ending you won’t see coming, here is a savvy tale that that’s a delight to read—whether you’re a rabid zombie fan or freshly bitten—and an incisive commentary on the evil that lurks within each of us.
 
My thoughts:
It kind of sounds good, but as I've said, not sure if I read a lot of zombie books these days.

Verdict:  Toss


9.  Break My Hearth 1,000 Times by Daniel Waters:

Living in the aftermath of the Event means that seeing the dead is now a part of life, but Veronica wishes that the ghosts would just move on. Instead, the ghosts aren't disappearing-they're gaining power.

When Veronica and her friend, Kirk, decide to investigate why, they stumble upon a more sinister plot than they ever could have imagined. One of Veronica's high school teachers is crippled by the fact that his dead daughter has never returned as a ghost, and he's haunted by the possibility that she's waiting to reappear within a fresh body. Veronica seems like the perfect host. And even if he's wrong, what's the harm in creating one more ghost?

From critically acclaimed Generation Dead author Daniel Waters, comes a delectably creepy and suspenseful thriller. Break My Heart 1,000 Times will leave readers with the chills. Or is that a ghost reading over the page?
 
My thoughts:
I liked Generation Dead, but don't know that this is one I will get to.

Verdict: Toss



10.  Unstrung by Neal Shusterman:

How did Lev Calder move from an unwillingly escaped Tithe to a clapper?

In this new ebook original short story, author Neal Shusterman opens a window on Lev's adventures between the time he left CyFi and when he showed up at the Graveyard.

Lev's experiences on a Hi-Rez, an extraordinarily wealthy Native American Reservation introduce him to a teen with remarkable musical talent... and whose gifts are destined to end up in the hands of another. And it is this teen's heart-breaking story that inspired Lev to choose the clapper's path.

Pulling elements from Neal Shusterman's critically acclaimed Unwind and giving hints about what is to come in the long-awaited sequel, UnWholly, this short story is a must for fans of the series.

My thoughts:
This is one of my favorite series, so I know I will go back and read it some time!

Verdict:  Keep 



Final Thoughts:
Keeping three this week, which seems to be about the norm for me.

Once again you can see that I may have dropped some, but you can also see how many I've added during the week as well because I'm also pointing out how many books are on my Want to Read list on Goodreads each week.  This week, after taking these 7 off, I have 3,135 books listed now, and last week I ended with 3,142.  So I improved about 7 this week, that's good!

Have you read any of these?  Would you suggest I keep any I'm tossing?  And if you're inspired to do this on your blog, please feel free to join in and share a link in the comments, since it will also get you an extra entry into my giveaway at the bottom of this post.      
 

Giveaway:
Once again this is a US only giveaway, unless you are International and see a book here you really want and would be willing to pay for the difference in the shipping through Paypal or some other way.  You get to pick any two books from the pictures below, as long as they don't get traded away, or picked by last week's winner, and I will pick a surprise book from the piles to add to your choice.  As I mentioned above, unpacking is finding a lot of books to get rid of, so you have even more to pick from this week!  Here are your choices:   

2018 ARCs:

2017 ARCs:

I'm continuing to add in my early 2019 ARCs now.  You can pick one of your two choices from the picture below, the other book you pick needs to come from the pictures above.  

And here are the older ones I've cleaned out as I unpack:

2010-2014 ARCs:

2015-2016 ARCs:

Once again I'm going to let you pick two, along with me throwing in a surprise third book!  Just enter the Rafflecopter below.   Disclaimer:  Unfortunately, while I've only had it happen once, I'm going to have to make a statement like other giveaways I've seen on blogs that I am not responsible for lost mail.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ARC Review: Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

Book info:

Title:  Girls with Sharp Sticks
Author:  Suzanne Young
Series:  Girls with Sharp Sticks #1
Genre:  YA science fiction
Release Date:  March 19th, 2019
Publisher:  Simon Pulse
Source:  ARC received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  5 stars

Synopsis:
The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardians, the all-girl boarding school offers an array of studies and activities, from “Growing a Beautiful and Prosperous Garden” to “Art Appreciation” and “Interior Design.” The girls learn to be the best society has to offer. Absent is the difficult math coursework, or the unnecessary sciences or current events. They are obedient young ladies, free from arrogance or defiance. Until Mena starts to realize that their carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears.

As Mena and her friends begin to uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations will find out what they are truly capable of. Because some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.

My Review:
It only took one time of picking up and I was hooked! This story was so unique, and there was a lot details left to fall out as part of the plot in such a seamless manner, but also in a way that kept the suspense going the whole time.  We got introduced to characters that seemed like they might be the good guys, the ones out to help these girls who may not have understood what really they were being subjected to.  Even with those helpful things they did, there was always the niggling sensation in the back of my mind about what exactly were the motivations behind the supposedly good guys' actions.  Were they entirely selfless?  Or as we learn with at least one of them, there might have been some selfishness in the reasons.  

When finally we get into some of the science behind what is going on, it made me think of lobotomies, yet I couldn't imagine how in the world that worked with what was going on while they performed the procedure.  The ending fit the title of the book so perfectly, but also left you hanging a bit.  While some things, for our main characters really, might have been solved or somewhat fixed, overall, there are still a few loose ends left at the conclusion.  Ones that may leave this open for a sequel.  And that sequel could have more to do with our original cast, but I am going to guess the ones who still need help will be in that story as well.  

This is only my 2nd book by this author, but it only makes me more determined to read The Program series!  I will definitely be purchasing this for the students in my school library to read as well with my next budget money for next school year, as it has some great tie-ins to things going on in the world today.  And the acknowledgement by the author at the end is really perfect.

Review: Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young

First of all thanks to Simon Pulse and Edelweiss for allowing me to read an e-galley of this title. This is the first book I've read by this author, although  I've had one of her other series on my TBR list for a long time.  And now that I've read and enjoyed this one, I'll try to move that other series up on my list to read!  First I have to say that this book really kind of reminded me in a way of this season of American Horror Story, which is set in a hotel.  Actually, this book was a little better than I feel the tv show has been this year though.

The  main character is Audrey.  She's on her way with her brother Daniel, and their father, to go live with her grandmother.  Their mother died a little while ago, and their father never really recovered from it.  He plans to leave them with their grandmother, and go off for awhile until he is better.  On the way though, he decides they are going to spend a night at this hotel that is on the way.  He says it will be there one night of "vacation".  This hotel is beautiful.  And when they get there, there aren't enough rooms on the same floor, so Audrey gets a room on a different floor from her dad and brother.  The hotel is really grand, Audrey can't believe how fancy her room is.  And it's not just her room, the whole hotel seems to be one much more expensive than her family should be able to afford.  She meets a very cute boy named Elias the first night. And she somehow ends up in a ball room where there is a very fancy party going on.  Her father seems to be coming out of his funk and almost back to his normal self.  He decides they will stay till the end of the week, and really make a vacation out of it.

But things are really still kind of weird.  When Elias takes her to hang out with the people who are the staff, she finds out that is not allowed.  And when she tries to go back to the fancy party, she is told she hasn't been invited.  Her dad and brother both get invitations, but she doesn't.  Plus, Elias has an old girlfriend who also lives at the hotel, like he does, and she is hateful and rude.  And the guy who is the concierge, kind of the person in charge of the hotel, is really cruel to her.  Even threatens her when he finds her fraternizing with the staff.  Soon Audrey starts finding things out about the history of the hotel, as well as seeing weird things happening.  The staff all seem to think that the hotel itself can do things.  And they are all scared of the concierge.  Her dad and brother say they are going to stay, but that on Friday she has to go ahead and head to her grandmother's without them.  The weirder things get, the more Audrey find out what is really going on, and the scarier it gets.

While I kind of had a feeling what might be going on, the way it was done was very clever and interesting to read.  As I said it was creepy, and I really enjoyed the story.  They should make a tv show based on this hotel, it was much more interesting than I've found the one on American Horror Story to be so far.  A great read, highly recommended to those who enjoy scary stories.