What's Left of Me (The Hybrid Chronicles #1) by Kat Zhang

I ended up checking this book out from the library because I was able to get an egalley of the 2nd in the series, and so of course needed to read this first.  I'd been interested in the series for a long time, the premise sounded really good.
Now I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a futuristic world where something has happened to cause people to be born with 2 souls, or if it is kind of an alternate world where that is just how things are.  I do know that it is after a war, where people fought those who kept both souls, or hybrids as they call them, and it is America.  In this world, by the age of 4 or 5, the dominant souls usually begins to take over and the recessive soul goes away.  But sometimes, as in Addie and Eva's case, the recessive soul is still hanging around in the background.  But they have to be careful, and no one can know because they would take them away and "fix" them.  And Addie and Eva don't want to make any trouble for their family because their younger brother Lucas  is sick, and they don't want to do anything that would keep their family from getting what they need to help him.  But one day one of the weirder girls at school, Hally, seems to start being around them all the time.  And one day she gets them to come home with her, and the tea she gives them, well, it knocks them out.  Or more specifically it knocks Addie out, and lets Eva come to the surface.  After it wears off, Hally and her brother Devon invite them to come over to learn more about how to help Eva come out and be able to sometimes control their body.  They know about this because they too are hybrids. Hally and Lissa, and Devon and Ryan.  The drug was easy to get because their mother is a nurse.  But they should have been more careful, because Hally and Devon are also considered a foreign race, and that makes them more dangerous to those trying to "cure" the hybrids.  And one day Hally does something, runs off by herself, and is caught. When she's caught, then they come after Devon.  And soon they show up at Addie and Eva's house.  They tell her parents they just want to do some tests, and they'll only be gone for a few days.  But once the girls get to the place/compound, 2 days gets extended.  And they find out from talking to their father that their brother was able to get on a list for a surgery for something to help him.  All because they let the girls go, and let them keep them.  Turns out this place may not be actually curing the kids.  And some kids may not be making it past the actual surgery to help them supposedly.  While all 3 of them, or you might say 6, are there, soon they must make a plan to get out before one of them is put under the knife.
A very interesting story.  I'll be interested to see where it is going next.  And maybe there will be more to answer my original question, and maybe it's not needed.

The Collector (Dante #1) by Victoria Scott

I got to meet the author of this book and get a copy at the RT Convention this past May.  I'd been following the author, Victoria Scott, for awhile, I believe on Twitter?  On her blog and such for sure.  So I had to get this when I saw her.  Now, it sounded like a really interesting story, and I was excited to read it.  But, and this is the only bad thing about it, when I got started reading, I had a bit of trouble getting into it at first.  I just didn't think I'd like this cocky, arrogant soul collector named Dante.  But, as I had lots of time to read this on this past Saturday, enough so that I read the whole thing in one day, you can guess that eventually, and actually, pretty quickly, I was hooked.  I liked the way this Dante was pretty honest about what he was doing, and it wasn't like a "love at first sight" even though she was really dorky he could tell she was really cool and perfect for him.  That happens so often in books that it gets old really quick.  In fact I recently had to give up on a book that started like that.  This book was true and honest to what the characters would be like in my opinion.  And how totally dorky Charlie Cooper is?  Just perfect.  I actually felt a real connection with her, as I know I was that dorky in high school.  So, here is a summary of the story:
Dante Walker is a soul collector, one of only 6.  Basically he goes around putting seals on people's souls and once they get so many, he can collect the soul and they have no choice but to go to hell.  But people who have souls that aren't quite so full of the seals that come from sinning get a choice when they get there, and can often be chosen to go to heaven.  Dante has been given 10 days to collect the soul of a teen girl named Charlie Cooper.  This is something new, and Dante can't quite figure out why in the world his boss, guess who that is, would want this girl so bad.  While he's there working on her, he notices that some of these people are getting these pink sparkly seals on their souls, seals he's never seen before.  And not only that, he has this strange feeling that another Collector is stalking him.  And word from his best friend is that if he doesn't complete this job, the one that will also get Dante a promotion, one that will keep him from ever having to go back into hell, that there will be literally "hell" to pay.  The circle that Dante described as being made of ice.  Now Dante was a cool kid when he was alive, and so of course he can see how this Charlie is treated like she is by the other kids at her school.  But for some reason, he begins to feel protective of her.  He justifies it by telling himself that she is his to corrupt, not these other people's punching bag.  He at first thinks the pink sparkly seals must somehow be coming from Charlie, but soon learns that there are more mysteries in this world that his boss never let him in on.  And he had thought he was the right hand man.  As his 10 days draw to a close, Dante finds it harder and harder to want to complete this assignment, especially as he learns more about what the reasoning is behind it, and also gets to know Charlie and her friends and family more.
As I said, I read this in one day.  Yes, I did end up with lots of time to read on Saturday, but normally I might be interrupted by playing on the computer, watching tv, etc.  Not with this book though, any time I had, I read.  Anything on tv was background stuff.  I highly recommend this book if you haven't read it, and I can't wait to read on in the series!
And because you know I have to share, below I've got my picture with the author, as well as her autograph in my book.

Replica by Jenna Black

I have to thank Tor Teen for the first time for allowing me to read this e-galley in April.  I think this was one of my first downloads from Edelweiss once I finally figured out how to do it!  And what a great choice to read!  I really did enjoy this book.
At first the title seemed a bit broad for what the actual story seemed to be about.  This is a dystopian future.  The "states" are now basically governed by Corporations.  And you are either one of the Executives, or their employees, or you live in the outskirts, called The Basement.  This story takes place in New York City, or what used to be NYC.  The main character is Nadia, who is a daughter of a high level Executive.  And she is promised to marry Nate, the son of the Chairperson, the highest ranking person in their state.  The unfortunate thing for Nadia is that, even though they have grown up together and are best friends, she isn't quite Nate's "type".  Instead it is his personal servant, Kurt Bishop, who he is in love with.  Nate and Nadia intend to still go through with the marriage, even though Nadia knows it will not be a normal marriage. The book basically starts with a big fancy event.  Nate, who is a bit of the reckless playboy son of the chairman, a somewhat stereotypical character (but not in a bad way!), seems to take pleasure in doing whatever he can to shock society.  And at the party, he convinces Nadia to go outside with him alone.  As they are not married, it is kind of frowned upon, but he is able to convince her in order to save her from being with the catty girls she has been having to talk to.  Once they are outside of the party, Bishop is there.  And it seems that Nate is hoping Nadia will stay as a lookout for them as they hook up in one of the nearby rooms.  She refuses, mad that she has been put in this position, and goes back into the party.  Later that night she is woken up by her mother to hear that Nate has been murdered.  And this is where all the horror begins.
First, Nadia is accused as she was the last person anyone saw with Nate.  But she can't give away his secret about Bishop, he would have been reprogrammed.  But she knows that Nate will be replicated.  It will be his body, with all the memories that were saved from the last time he stopped by the lab.  Meanwhile the chief of security at Paxco, Dirk Mosely, is who Nadia is interviewed by when she is taken to the police.  And he is not a nice man.  He threatens her family if she doesn't tell him everything.  And when she tells all but his secret, she is now charged with spying on the replica of Nate, and even getting a bug put on him or his things somehow, so that they can try to track him back to Bishop to capture and arrest him.  Because that is who they really think murdered Nate. Possibly because he was seen running from the scene covered with blood.  Nadia doesn't want to betray Nate in this way, and like Nate's replica even protests, she also doesn't believe that Bishop would have done this, she knew the two of them were in love.  And things get worse.  There is a new servant in her house, that stays in her classes, named Dante, and Nadia is sure he is there as a spy for  Mosely.  When Nadia doesn't move as quickly as Mosely wants, or he can tell when she is lying, he actually gets physically violent, and punches her in the stomach.
Meanwhile Nate sees that Bishop took all the money he had in the safe.  And so while he figures that means that Bishop must be safely away, he doesn't want to give up on trying to find him, not only because he still loves him, but also because he doesn't remember what happened the night of his murder, and he needs to know.  Both to settle his own mind, as well as to help Nadia when he does find out what Mosely is trying to do.  And he even dares to go into The Basement alone, something that is not really safe, in his search for Bishop.
There is betrayal, and forgiveness, some attraction between Nadia and Dante, which was easy to see coming.  And at the end of the story the science behind what the title is, Replica, finally comes into the story. And it comes in a good, yet very frightening part of the story.  I won't tell you more and spoil it, just know that it was a story that I had trouble putting down.  And I'm pretty sure it must be going to have a sequel, as the epilogue left it open!  It doesn't have to I guess, it could stop there, but I'd kind of like to know what happens next.
The only drawback for me to the story/book, is  the cover.  The cover reminds me of the types of science fiction books I see when I work at the bookstore, that usually don't interest me.  But again, I have to say not to judge a book by its cover. Although the cover does really fit, so really that is just one of my own little idiosyncrasies.  This book will come out in July, so keep your eyes open for it!

Stacking the Shelves - June 15, 2013

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  As I said last week, I'm going to try really hard to keep up with this during the summer.  And because the book I finished and reviewed today isn't published until September, I can't post the review till August.  I also already have a review scheduled for tomorrow, so I decided to go ahead and post my StS today.

From Edelweiss this week I got:

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia.  I was very excited to get this, as I also loved Margaret Stohl's new book Icons.  I'd hoped to maybe get an actual physical ARC, but I'm very happy with an e-galley.  I haven't actually downloaded it yet as I have so many others to read right now, and it will expire in 60 days, so I'm waiting till probably the end of July to download it.  But since I got approved, I figured I'd go ahead and include it!

From the library this week I checked out:

All of these are books I need to read before I can read e-galleys I've received from Edelweiss and Netgalley.  I still need the 3rd book in the Amanda Hocking series, so waiting on that from the library.

Oh yeah, and since Barnes and Noble was having such an awesome sale on the Nook HD this week.  My mom loaned me the money to get one until I get some things sold, and I now own my own shiny new Nook HD.  It is so much nicer to read the egalleys on this screen than on the Nook Simple Touch.

So what will you be stacking on your shelves this week?

Feature and Follow Friday 2013 #5

Feature and Follow Friday is sponsored by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.  The purpose of this event is to learn about the two featured bloggers each week, as well as to increase your own blog following by joining in on the fun! This week looks like we're doing something different, and it's something I've even done once before.  Instead of just answering a question, we have an activity:

Q: Activity: Spine Poetry. Create a line of poetry with your book spines (take a picture). Not feeling creative? Tell us about your favorite poem.

So, since I think the spine poem thing is kinda fun, here is a new one from me:

So, have you tried this before?  Leave me a link to your FF post so I can check out your Spine poem!

Austenland by Shannon Hale

So I guess I'm glad my sister in NYC ran out of things to read and called or texted and asked me for some ideas of books to get, because she bought Austenland and so I got to read her copy and loved it!  I'd wanted to read it for awhile.  Especially since I saw the ads for the movie.

After having read the book, I would say that the part of Miss Charming must have been written with actress Jennifer Coolidge in mind, because she fits exactly what the character is in the book, based on seeing her in other shows, not to mention her looks.  I'm not sure that Keri Russell fits my image of the main character Jane.  According to the book I imagine someone not skinny or with no figure, which to me is Keri Russell.  The guys can look like however, I'm good with that.

So basically the story is about Jane Hayes who is obsessed with Jane Austen stories, Pride and Prejudice especially.  She is looking for her own Mr. Darcy.  A very old great aunt sees Jane's obsession and when she dies, she leaves something for Jane in her will.  What it turns out to be is a trip to Austenland.  Austenland is a theme park?  More like a resort, in England of course.  Where women can go and have their own Austen story experience.  And it is an experience!  You have to wear the clothing, you have to give up your modern day technology, etc.  And you have to act according to the rules, which includes how you talk to others, including the opposite sex.  Jane arrives and finds that she is not the normal kind of client.  Normally they are rich women who are there, and will return.  The lady in charge, Mrs. Wattlesbrook, lets Jane know right away that she is not who they normally have, and that she is just looking for anything to kick her out for.  At first Jane finds it hard to get into the spirit.  The clothes aren't comfortable, and the men, eh.  There are enough for everyone at first, until Miss Heartwright shows up.  As nice as she is, now Jane ends up on her own.  Until, Captain East shows up.  It seems Captain East and Miss Heartwright must have a past.  And then soon Miss Charming begins complaining that she is not getting her money's worth, and soon Colonel Andrews begins to make a play for her.  Now early on in the trip, Jane notices one of the gardeners, Martin.  She is careful about going to his cabin/apartment in the "staff" ground area so that she won't get herself in trouble, or him.  But soon she realizes that he isn't real either, and decides to immerse herself in the experience.  Mr. Nobley is pretty much playing Mr. Darcy.  Now, Jane doesn't seem to see this, at least not to me, while it is so obvious that is exactly what his part is.  Soon, Mr. Nobley begins showing interest in Jane, and while it is exciting, Jane is sure it is all just part of the experience, and tries to keep herself from getting her hopes up.
The book is very good, humorous, romantic, etc.  While there are things Jane does that I'm like, STOP!  Give him a chance!  Don't be stupid!  I guess if you're in that type of situation and not sure what is real, I can see doing that.  Of course Jane has to sneak her cell phone in, and of course it almost gets her kicked out, except she is saved by Miss Heartwright unexpectedly.  The ending is pretty much what you'd expect.  Now, I will admit I've only ever read one Jane Austen story, Sense and Sensibility.  I chose to read that during my phase of reading classics instead of Pride and Prejudice, because I'd seen that movie.  I wasn't a fan of Sense and Sensibility, so I think I'll stick to the movies which will get me past the hard to read books themselves.  And that's okay.  Now, I'm really excited to see the movie!

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?

Intuition (Transcendence #2) by C.J. Omololu

Once again I am thanking Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishers for allowing me to read the e-galley of this book.  And I was jumping up and down and squealing because I was so happy when I got approved for this!  I had loved the first book, Transcendence, although, from my review, you can't quite tell that.  As I went back and looked at it, I can't believe I gave it a 4 out of 5 on Goodreads, and my very short review doesn't quite give me the answer as to why I did that.  The first book was the one book that I saw on a shelf at BEA last summer, 2012, and asked the person at the booth if I could have it, and they told me to come back the last day and ask.  So I did, and when I went back, a different person told me they would be doing the giveaway at 2 pm.  So I went back then, and guess what, they'd already given it away.  I was so disappointed.  But then, when I got to see the author at the RT Convention this past May, she was so nice!  And so of course, I had to buy it then.  Let's see if I can do a better review of the 2nd book.  Although I will try not to give away too many spoilers if you haven't read the first one.  If you haven't read it, you should go to my link on the title of the first book above and read that first.
We start the book back with Cole and Griffon.  They are able to be together now and are in love.  But Cole is now not sure of her future with the cello as her left arm was damaged so bad in the confrontation with Veronique in the first story.  Cole also came away with a scar.  But everything seems to be going perfectly other than that.  She is still able to teach students even as she relearns to play with her other hand, even the really annoying ones that don't want to be there.  But now the boyfriend of her ex-boss at the clothing store, Drew, has started acting funny.  Saying that they were together in a past life.  And when he touches her, with her empathic abilities, Cole sees the life he is talking about, and feels that he was her husband in that life.  Cole doesn't want to feel this connection as she is in love with Griffon and doesn't want to lose him for anything.  She is continuing her lessons with Griffon's mom to try to improve her empathic ability.
But Drew keeps coming back and pestering her.  And while at first she doesn't tell Griffon, when she does, he tells her she needs to give that connection a chance, and breaks up with her.  And not only is this going on, her best friend Rayne is being pestered by Veronique, who is trying to convince her that she is Akhet as well.  Shortly after Cole convinces Rayne it is not true, Rayne get seriously ill.  And it seems that Griffon and his mom and the others in their group can help.  Meanwhile Cole gets to know Drew better, and the Akhet that he spends his time with.  She gets to meet so many famous people, as well as people that were famous in past lives, and at least one other that she may have a connection with from a past life.
I'll stop there, just know that it has a lot of suspense and you have to wonder if Drew really isn't the perfect guy.  He's 20 years old, yet has millions of dollars!  Lives in a really fancy apartment, penthouse to be exact!  And he can buy anything.  Cole could have the perfect life with no responsibilities other than to be with Drew and have a family.  But is that what Cole wants?  She has to decide.  And it's not just a romantic story, as I said, they have to figure out why Rayne got sick, and what other things it might be leading to in the Akhet world.
Such a great story.  I know I was a bit upset that Griffon wasn't on the cover of this book like he was on the first one.  But it makes sense as I read it.  And I wasn't left unhappy with how things turned out, I was happy.  And of course, more loose ends left, so there has to be ANOTHER one!  Again, it will definitely be a staff recommendation for me at the bookstore where I work.
And finally, a picture of me with the author, C.J. Omololu at the RT Convention in May.

Exposure (A Twisted Lit Novel) by Kim Askew and Amy Helms

I've been intrigued by these updated takes on Shakespeare plays since I first saw them as giveaways on Goodreads.com.  I received this book as part of a trade through the YA Book Exchange, from another blogger, The Book Babe.  And it wasn't too bad!  I will admit that I've only actually read two of Shakespeare's plays, haven't even seen that many in plays or movies.  This book is supposed to be a twist on Macbeth.  So I'm familiar with a lot of the things that are kind of trivia for this one, "out damned spot", the three witches, etc.  So it was an enjoyable story, and would be interesting for a class that had read the real play to read and compare.
The main character is Skye, and she is a nerd, at least in the fact that she's quiet, and is happier being behind the scenes, which fits well with her love of photography.  However she does have a crush on the big man on campus, Craig.  Now she and Craig had been good friends when he first came to Alaska.  Then that school year, I think sophomore year, started and as Skye figured, he was so attractive that the "in crowd" immediately accepted him as one of their own, and she lost touch with him.  Not that he still doesn't talk to her when he sees her, and tries to include her by inviting her to parties and other events.  She never takes him up on it, until the one time she decides to call his bluff.  And it is like she thinks, he is very awkward once she actually accepts the invitation.  So she goes, riding with him and his cheerleader girlfriend to the party.  They play this game of flashlight tag, and while Skye hangs back, not wanting to play, she isn't having the greatest time at this party.  And during the game, Duncan, Craig's best friend, has disappeared.  They find him the next day, he'd fallen into the ice, then climbed out, and frozen to death.  Skye has a feeling that maybe Craig and his girlfriend know what happened, and even though she is not happy with Craig, she doesn't want to ruin it for him, so she keeps his secret.
A lot of the stuff from the original Macbeth is sprinkled in the details of the story, the titles of the chapters, and even lines within the dialogue.  A quick, easy read.

Stacking the Shelves - June 9, 2013

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.   I'm going to try really hard to keep up with this every week this summer.  Which also means I have to make sure I keep track of the egalleys and such as I get them!  This week I've got 6 books to talk about.

E-Galley from Edelweiss:

I loved the first book in this series, and had actually thought it was only going to be a trilogy.  I guess if I was caught up on the series I would have known that!  Now that I've got until August 2nd before this expires, I'll have to check out #2 and 3 in the series so I can read it!

Book from YA Book Exchange:

I read the first book in this series, Abandon, a long time ago!  And then of course I didn't get the 2nd one for awhile.  I traded with someone on the YA Book Exchange for it, not realizing they were an international trader until I'd already decided to do the deal.  It took 2 months for me to get this book, just finally got it this week.  So, I probably won't do anymore international trading on that website, but I am glad I got this, because of one of the e-galleys I got from Netgalley below is the book after this one in the series!

E-Galleys from Netgalley:

As you can see I now have the 3rd book in the Abandon series by Meg Cabot as an e-galley, and it expires on July 31st, so I have to get going!  I also got the sequel to a favorite book, Transcendence, that I was able to finally get a copy and meet the author at RT Convention in May, it's called Intuition, and I'm actually reading it as I am posting this post.  

E-galley from an author for review:

I really enjoyed being a part of the Stitch tour last fall, and loved the book.  So of course I signed on to be a part of the tour for its sequel, Shudder.  Partly because I get a free copy of the book to read again!  But don't forget you can get a free copy of the first book in the series using the links in my last post HERE.

Books I purchased:  

I also purchased a book titled:  Hounded:  The Lowdown on Life from Three Dachshunds by Matt Ziselman.  And I'd love to share the cover with you, because it is so cute!  But no matter where I download the cover from, Blogger is saying it is not a picture or video.  So I've linked the title for you.  It is one that I think Mary from Bookhounds would probably enjoy as well!  My "books I've purchased section needs to be zero as much as possible because I am broke!  But I couldn't resist because I'd ordered this into my bookstore specially, and it arrived just in time for our employee appreciation days when we got 40% off books!

So, what books did you add to your shelves this past week?

Free e-book of Stitch by Samantha Durante

Unfortunately as far as I know it is only available on Kindle, and I am a Nook person, but, I still want to promote it!

Stitch by Samantha Durante is FREE on Kindle this Friday (June 7th) to Tuesday (June 11th)

A college ghost romance with a SURPRISING dystopian sci-fi twist, Part 1 of this trilogy is sure to keep you on your toes! (And better yet, Part 2 - Shudder - launches on the 15th!) You definitely don't want to miss this innovative debut novel that will appeal to fans of the YA and New Adult genres - check out my review HERE.

Stitch (Stitch Trilogy, Book 1)

by Samantha Durante

Genre: YA/NA Dystopian/Paranormal Romance

Synopsis: see Amazon or Goodreads

Rating: 4.3 stars (100+ reviews)

Get Your FREE Kindle Copy Today! Limited Time ONLY (June 7-11th):

http://www.amazon.com/Stitch-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B008RC3NAM/

Share the news for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card! (Open Internationally)

Enter the $25 Amazon GC Giveaway HERE!!!

Two Bits of Exciting News in My Life!

Normally I don't do "personal" posts, but since both of my good news items are book related, and the book I just finished I can't post my review until August, I'm going to share them anyway!
As many of my followers may know, I have long been trying to get a library job.  I got my Master's in Library Science back in 2003, and a few years after that I decided I was ready to move to the next stage in my teaching career and started looking for a school library job.  I've been pretty much unsuccessful since then, other than an offer that my current school district said they wouldn't let me out of my contract for because of the late date, and another offer from a school district that would have been a HUGE pay cut, like half of what I'm making now, and I'd have had to move out of town, which when you own a house, isn't easy to do.  So anyway, this week I interviewed with a school district in the town right across the state line from where I live, and they offered me the job!  I'm so excited, the interview went great, and I think it is the first one that I've come back so excited about what kind of an opportunity it would  be.  So now, I will really be able to say I am a school librarian.
My 2nd bit of news is that I was recently contacted by a publishing company that published the little biography books that you see in school libraries.  They are getting ready to produce a line of books about authors.  They sent me a message on Facebook asking if they could use one of my pictures that I'd taken, or had taken of me at BEA last  year with Maggie Stiefvater, the picture you see below.  They will be publishing it next year in a book about her, and I will get credit, and got a small payment for it as well.

So this has been a really good week for me, a great start to my summer after a year that was not great teaching.  I'm so looking forward to moving on with my career into the direction I've been so excited to get into.  I hope that all of you are having a good summer so far as well.

Wishlist Wednesday: Maureen Johnson: The Novel: The Board Game: The Musical on Ice by Jameson Morrissey

Wishlist Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted at Pen to Paper Blog, in which feature a book we can't wait to get off of our wish list and onto our shelves!  I normally participate in Waiting on Wednesday sponsored by Jill at Breaking the Spine, but the book I am talking about this week is one that isn't a new book, not a new release.  It is one that was a very limited run of books, that is very hard to get.  I thought I had one ordered off of Amazon, then later the day I ordered, I got a message saying they'd already sold it.  So that really sucked!  So now, I'm hoping that maybe someone out there has a copy, or knows where to get one, because this is a book that I think would be so much fun!  
One author that just cracks me up on Twitter is Maureen Johnson.  And there is a book about her, with some very humorous, yet I hear somewhat or mostly truthful tidbits.  See my picture below where I met her last year at BEA.

Here is the information about Maureen Johnson:  The Novel:  The Board Game:  The Musical on Ice from Goodreads: 

Did you know that NY Times Bestselling author Maureen Johnson was once a part-time beekeeper? That she once encountered Mexican Jumping Tigers in New York City? Or that her fellow author friend Scott Westerfeld is impervious to death? Read the wildly hilarious secret past of YA author and Twitter Phenomenon Maureen Johnson! Personally tweeted to her legions of fans, Maureen has verified publicly that everything in this book--every detail--is true. All of it. For the first time, the mysterious blanks in her past are filled! A loving tribute to Nerdfighteria and Maureen's manic past, this book is crammed full of actual events and inside jokes, written to be accessible to even the most casual of readers. No prior knowledge needed! Pick up your copy today and see why the author herself has tweeted it to her legions of fans, stating "I barely have words for its majesty!"
How about you, have you heard of this?  Do you know where I might be able to get my hands on a copy?  This is a book I would kill to get my hands on!!  
What about you this week?  What book/books are you dying to get your hands on?

The Lost Sun (The United States of Asgard #1) by Tessa Gratton

First, let me say that I got this ARC for free at the RT Convention Teen Day party at the beginning of May.  And second, let me say that if you are looking for an original teen book, I think this fits the bill.  Now, this book is quite a change from the other books I've read by this author, Blood Magic, and The Blood Keeper. While those were pretty much about magic, as you'd guess from their titles, this book is about viking mythology.  With the new Viking show on the History channel, that I hear is pretty good, this is the right time to bring out a book like this.
The main character is Soren Bearskin, and he was born to be a berserker like his father.  His father is famous for when he berserked in a crowded mall.  Soren doesn't know what set him off, and never will, because his father immediately ran into the guns of the police that were there when it happened and died.  So Soren tries to do what he can to keep the beserking from ever actually taking hold in himself.  Exercises, meditation, etc.  Even though he is now marked with a tattoo on his face so that everyone knows who he may become, he still wants to fight it.  A new girl comes to his boarding school, her name is Astrid Glyn and she is able to see the future, thanks to her gift from the goddess Freya.  And for some reason, she immediately connects with Soren.  Tragedy strikes their country when Baldur the beautiful, one of their gods, does not resurrect from his ashes as he is supposed to do every year.  But Astrid has a feeling, actually a dream that night, that made her believe he is alive somewhere.  And when the scientists find the evidence that those ashes were not Baldur's, a search begins.  And so Astrid takes Soren with her, to help ground her as she seeks the lost god.
I loved the take on this country that is basically America, but I'm guessing it is a bit of history retold, with the Vikings settling here and being more of the majority of people.  The names and sayings that are changed to fit the theme.  For example, the days of the week named after their gods, Tyrsday, Thorsday, Freyasday.  Instead of English, it is called Anglish.  And the names of places, South Lakota, Kansa, the White Hall instead of the White House.  Some of these were so clever I chuckled to myself as I read them.  There was even Christianity snuck in to the story/society in what was a very believable way in my opinion.  But along with the basic changes, there were still magical things.  The berserking, and future telling, and the fact that the gods were kind of real people, as well as that there are trolls in this world, those things kept it a magical new type of place to be, and kept the story interesting.
The only thing I kind of didn't like, is something I will agree with others on Goodreads about.  The cover.  I'm not a fan.  I'd rather see it more like the author's other cover for The Blood Keeper.  Maybe some kind of viking symbol or something.  But hey, the cover isn't horrible, just not what I'd pick first.  And even though I saw the author at the RT Convention, and got my book signed, I don't have a picture from then.  So I'll just share the picture of the autograph.

Stacking the Shelves - May 2013 Round-up

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.   With the end of the school year, things get really hectic, especially in my school where we have to pack up all our stuff in our classroom every year.  So, I've gotten several books, ebooks, etc., since my last STS post.   I tried to write them down as they came, but I think I may not get all of them.  Here are the ones I remember/wrote down:

Although I was disappointed to get 4 rejections of books from Edelweiss over the past two weeks, two of which I did REALLY want, I was approved for Asylum by Madeleine Roux, the author of a zombie book I enjoyed called Allison Hewitt is Trapped.  This is her first teen novel, and it is compared to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.  So excited to get this one!

I won an e-book of The First Days by Rhiannon Frater, from At Random Blog from the Spring Carnival Blog Hop.  This is one I've been interested in awhile, even blogged about it in one of my "Hazards of Working at a Bookstore posts.



I had 2 successful trades through the YA Book Exchange.  I got an ARC of Light by Michael Grant from Lori, and Exposure by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes from Megan @ The Book Babe.



And finally, the Scholastic Book Warehouse had their big sale, similar to the one I bought about $200 worth of books at last December.  But since I am not teaching English next school year, and just bought a bunch at the RT Convention at the beginning of May, I limited myself to the 2 books you see above.  Finally I can read the very popular Cinder by Marissa Meyer, as well as The Always War by Margaret Peterson Haddix, one of my favorite authors.

What about you?  What books did you add to your shelves this week?

Armchair BEA Day 5: Genre: Children's Literature

So up until now I've only been following others posts on Armchair BEA, which is kind of a virtual convention for those of us who really wish we could be there but are unable to attend for whatever reason. After winning a prize through the Twitter party yesterday, I decided to get more involved.  So today's topic is about children's literature, which I find an appropriate topic considering my blog tends to be mostly YA.
I'm a 40 year old teacher, so why am I almost exclusively reading and reviewing YA?  I like to think back and figure out how did I get started on this.  I mean about 4 or 5 years ago, I occasionally read YA, but was still mostly reading adult authors like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and lots of what I call Chick Lit.  But then, I started getting involved in my state library association, partly trying to help get myself a library job, and partly to be involved with my students were reading.  And I discovered just how great YA books truly are these days!  I've even gone back to some of my favorite authors, Dean Koontz to be specific, and had trouble getting through the book.  I think maybe what is so great about YA is that the stories usually move pretty fast.  And when you're really busy, it is nice to not always have to read through tons of character background and development, sometimes when it all seems a bit too much or unnecessary for the story.

Okay, let me share a list of my favorite YA books:

1.  Twilight
2.  Harry Potter
3.  Divergent
4.  Rot & Ruin
5.  Hunger Games
6.  The Lightning Thief

As a kid, some of my favorite books/series included:

1.  The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
2.  A Wrinkle in Time
3.  Nancy Drew
4.  The Giver
5.  The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

What about you?  Are you a YA book fan?  I assume many or most of my followers are, as that is mostly what I post about.  But do you, like I do, also read adult fiction?  And how would you compare them?

Feature and Follow Friday 2013 #4

Feature and Follow Friday is sponsored by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.  The purpose of this event is to learn about the two featured bloggers each week, as well as to increase your own blog following by joining in on the fun!  Looks like I've been kind of lax with this meme this year.  Yikes!  Here's to participating more often now that school is out for the summer!  And now, this week's question:

Q: What blogger would you most like to meet in real life? Tell us about him or her.

So, this is a REALLY hard question. Because honestly, I would love it if I could meet ALL my blogger friends that I follow, or that follow me, or both, at some point.  And I've gotten to meet several, first at BEA last summer, then at RT Convention earlier this month.  I think, to go along with this event, I'm going to say that I really would love to meet the hosts of Feature and Follow Friday, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read!!  I've followed them both because of FF, and how they bring us bloggers together through this is just an awesome thing!  One other blogger I'd love to meet because of how much she does for bringing other bloggers together is Kathy at I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.  She was so busy last year with some kind of giveaway, or two running pretty much every day of the year!  She's taking some time off this year, and I say it is well deserved!  Oh yeah, and I'd also like to meet Mary at Bookhounds, because she is a dachshund lover like me!!

How about you?  What blogger would you like to meet?  Or maybe who are some cool bloggers that you have already met?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Shade of the Moon (The Last Survivors #4) by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  This week I've chosen a book from a series that I've read this year with my students, one that I read originally for a state book award, and used to read with students in an enrichment class several years ago as well.  The first book was Life As We Knew It, and that is the book we read.  Because of talking about this, the other teachers reading this right now also heard about how there is going to be a 4th book in the series.  Without further ado, here is the blurb from Goodreads.com:

The eagerly awaited addition to the series begun with the New York Times best-seller Life As We Knew It, in which a meteor knocks the moon off its orbit and the world changes forever.

It's been more than two years since Jon Evans and his family left Pennsylvania, hoping to find a safe place to live, yet Jon remains haunted by the deaths of those he loved. His prowess on a soccer field has guaranteed him a home in a well-protected enclave. But Jon is painfully aware that a missed goal, a careless word, even falling in love, can put his life and the lives of his mother, his sister Miranda, and her husband, Alex, in jeopardy. Can Jon risk doing what is right in a world gone so terribly wrong?

Now, while I am very excited to follow these characters and see what has happened next, my fellow teachers and I have one problem with this.  Jon was a baseball player, so, how is soccer now his thing?  Speaking of which, that is a question I need to email the author and ask!  Other than that one thing, I'm very excited to read on, and if you haven't read this series yet, you should go ahead and get started so you'll be ready to read this when it comes out this August.

So tell me, what books are you eagerly anticipating this week?

Darker Still (Magic Most Foul #1) by Leanna Renee Hieber

I got a free copy of this book last summer at BEA, when I also got to meet the author.  I'd been interested in this book for a while even before that as it sounded very interesting, and was a new type of story compared to what was out there.  And of course, what a beautiful cover!
The main character is Natalie Stewart.  Natalie has been mute since her mother died when she was a young girl.  There is no reason she can't talk, she just doesn't.  Her father has decided to go ahead and bring her home from a school for the handicapped, where she really doesn't fit in, as there is no medical reason for her not to be able to talk.  Once home there is a painting of a Lord Denbury that there seems to be some mystery over, and it is coming to the museum where her father works, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.  After hearing the story about it, and seeing the picture of the painting, Natalie is drawn to him, and asks her father for a job at the museum.  He finds one for her, working with paperwork and sketching, etc.  She meets Mrs. Northe, who is really considering buying it.  In the end, she does, and donates it to the museum for safe keeping.  Only Mrs. Northe is a bit more than she seems.  She knows about psychic things, and sees that there is something going on between Natalie and the painting.  The first time Natalie is alone with the painting, something changes in it, and Natalie is not the only one who notices.  There also seems as if Lord Denbury, who is thought to have committed suicide, has an identical twin in NYC.  Although, not quite identical, he has very evil looking eyes, and is not the gentleman you would expect the Lord to be.  Once Natalie gets involved in the whole scenario, which includes a trip into the painting itself to actually meet the Lord, and fall in love with him, she soon must put her life on the line to try to save other women, as it seems there is evil surrounding the painting.  And if she can solve this mystery, and somehow reverse the curse, maybe she can bring Lord Denbury out of the painting, and they may have a chance together if that can happen.
A fun mystery story.  I loved hearing about the places in NYC, as I've been to the city, and now am always curious when I hear about certain places.  Definitely a fun, different type of paranormal romance.  I'll be sure to continue the series as time permits!  Also, here is the picture of me with the author:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

I've been interested in this book since I first saw it at the bookstore.  I remember I started reading it one day when I was working at the cash register.  And it was a page turner!  I mean the story doesn't sound interesting, the way this author told it, or maybe just because of what the story is, it actually is very interesting.  There was a lot of science in it, but I feel the author did a very good job of explaining those things, which  makes sense because the family in the story didn't even really understand most of what was actually happening.  And that is probably part of what was so fascinating about the story.
Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman who found out she had cancer in the 1950's.  At that time there was still a lot of segregation.  In fact she had to go to the John Hopkins hospital because of her skin color.  The doctors took some of the cells from her cervix to see what they were, and of course they found that they were cancerous.  As doctors do, they kept some.  Soon one doctor, George Gey, discovered the unusual qualities of these cancer cells.  They grew and stayed alive outside the body.  Which up to that point, had been impossible in almost every single case they had tried.  The cells were named from the first two letters of the patient's first and last name, and so they became called HeLa.  HeLa cells are so well known in the science community, and for the longest time, no one knew who they came from.  You see, at that time, lots of research occurred without the patients ever knowing they were a part of it.  This is one of those cases.  The things that HeLa was used to help, creating a Polio vaccine, etc., the list is long and amazing.  Where these cells have been, the fact that they are still alive and growing more over 60 years after Henrietta's death, well that is only part of what was so intriguing about this story.
Henrietta and her family themselves are an interesting group.  The things they've suffered through, the things they've overcome, it was very worth reading.  The family had been left out of the loop, had no idea exactly what was going on.  When doctors came back to take blood samples from the rest of the family later on, the family assumed it was to see if they carried the cancer she had.  In fact, the daughter, Deborah, was so scared when she got close to the age when her mother died, that she even started calling trying to find out the results.  But that hadn't been what they'd taken the blood for.  And so of course, they didn't have those answers, and had no record of any test results for the family.  Later on they even had a con artist say he was trying to help them get what they deserved.  This family without much education heard things from him about how their mother's cells had been cloned, or combined with plant cells, or animal cells, and they thought there were actual clones of her walking around, or hybrid creatures that meant Henrietta must be suffering.
So when the author of this book, Rebecca Skloot, tried to get in touch with Deborah, and other members of the family, she had a really hard time getting them to trust her enough to even talk to her.  And even then, one small thing could set them off and make them again lose trust and decide not to talk to her anymore.  The journey of this family, Henrietta's cells, and the author to find and share this story is one worth reading.  I read this while on vacation, and it didn't feel like I was reading something for school, it was like reading a fascinating biography.
If you have any interest in science, or biographies, or even of  how medical issues have changed, this is a book that I think you'll find as intriguing as I did.