Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

The new cover for the final book in the Linger trilogy was revealed today!  Hooray!!!!!  It is a beautiful cover too.....just check it out!

 

But WAIT!!!!  That's not the best news!  You can actually pre-order an autographed copy of the book from Fountain Bookstore in Richmond VA!  They also have autographed copies of Shiver and Linger available.  So what are you waiting for? 

CELEBRATE BANNED BOOKS WEEK!!!

This week is a very important week. We celebrate our freedom to read what we choose!!!!

Of course, there have been a lot of sad news stories recently in which people want to burn, destroy or ban books. In my humble opinion, that is not only closed-minded, it's un-American! So celebrate this week by reading a banned book!

Before I highlight the first banned book of the week, I need to link you to an article about the book. In Missouri, a local business professor is attempting to get several books removed from schools, called them "filthy" and "soft porn".  Here's the link.

So, in honor of you, Professor Scroggins, the first book for Banned Books Week is:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson(

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. (from the description on GoodReads.com)






I am ashamed to say that I have not read this book yet, and it doesn't look like I'll be reading it in the near future.  It's ironic that going to library school is preventing me from reading for pleasure!  However, all the reviews on this book agree that the book is amazing and that it deals with some fairly heavy teen subjects.  So run out and read it just for Professor Scroggins!  If you do read it, or you have read it, leave a note in the comments!

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

Who doesn't love free books?  This is a fabulous giveaway being sponsored by Good Choice Reading.  They are sponsoring the "Welcoming Fall Giveaway".  If you visit their blog, they have a giveaway AND a linky list to over 50 other blogs that are sponsoring giveaways!  Whoa!

Feature Friday

Ok, since I've been so fail lately about posting and I missed Waiting on Wednesday this week, I thought I might try something new. On Feature Friday, I will just put up some books. They might look interesting. They might be something I've read but it's been a while, so I don't feel comfortable writing a full review. Or, like in the case of today, I'm going to talk about a book I'm waiting for and the book that came before it.

This summer,I read and absolutely loved "Once a Witch" by Carolyn MacCullough. This book was amazing! It was a mystery, a romance and witch-coming-of-age story all rolled into one! I loved Tamsin, the main character. I really felt invested in her story. So, when I finished the book, I was soooooo frustrated because it sort of ends on a cliffhanger. Not a "Catching Fire" type cliffhanger, but it was still one nonetheless.

Of course, I immediately started searching for a sequel and, lo and behold, I found it! The book is entitled "Always a Witch" and it is supposed to be released in January, 2011 according to Goodreads. But they still haven't released a cover and I can't find anything else about it on any of the author's official sites. So I'm sitting here hoping that it really is going to arrive in January.

If you haven't read this book, you need to go grab it right away!  The author also has a fabulous website to go along with the book that traces the history of witchcraft and how witches have been persecuted throughout time.  You can check it out at www.onceawitch.com. 

If you read it, leave me a comment.  I'd love to know what people think of it!

Halloween Fun!

I seriously love Halloween.  To the point that I decorate my house with black chiffon curtains and everything!  So when I saw this even hosted by WORD for Teens, I was so excited!  Who doesn't love Halloween?



I'll have the button in my sidebar so that you can find it when you want!

Giveaway at Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf

Lauren over at Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf is hosting a contest to win a copy of "I Now Pronounce You Someone Else" by Erin McCahen.  Check out her blog and her review here.

I have to say that after reading her review, I am really curious about this book now.  It will definitely move up in my TBR pile.  My only hesitation is the whole marriage thing.  If the main character is 17, why on earth would she get engaged?  Of course, Lauren's review talks about how the author doesn't rush the relationship, so maybe the book spans a period of years?  I don't know.  So I guess I'll have to read it to find out, right? : )

Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith

At last, Miranda is the life of the party: all she had to do was die. Elevated and adopted by none other than the reigning King of the Mantle of Dracul, Miranda goes from high-school theater wannabe to glamorous royal fiend overnight. Meanwhile, her reckless and adoring guardian angel, Zachary, demoted to human guise as the princess's personal assistant, has his work cut out for him trying to save his girl's soul and plan the Master's fast-approaching Death Day gala. In alternating points of view, Miranda and Zachary navigate a cut-throat eternal aristocracy as they play out a dangerous and darkly hilarious love story for the ages. (from Goodreads)

I just finished reading "Eternal" last night.  It took me a while to sort out how I felt about it.  It was intriguing in many ways, but I didn't really love it.  The beginning was very good, full of mystery and foreboding, but as the story progressed, I found that I couldn't relate to Miranda's voice any longer.  I suppose that is what the author was trying to do, but I found it hard to remain interested at first.  I did like the way that the POV changed back and forth and I eventually became comfortable with Miranda's voice and found myself becoming totally engaged in the story.  The story was quite thrilling, actually.  So, I suppose the thing that I really didn't like and the thing that kept me from loving the book is the ending.  I was extremely disappointed in the turn of events at the end of the book.  Everything that took place leading up to the ending was fabulous, but the decision made by Zachary and Miranda at the end just seemed too dark and too depressing for me.  I just can't agree with their decision and, for that reason, I can't love the book.  I really enjoyed the story, but those last few pages just ruined it for me.

My grade:  B-
Based on the ending alone, it would probably be a C-, but the book up until that point was a solid B or B+.

BLOGFEST 2010!!!!

What is BlogFest, you ask?  Only one of the best ways for you to check out new blogs AND possibly win some amazing books and swag!  It's sponsored by A Journey of Books.  Basically, you start at their blog, log into the tracking site and it will pull up the entire list of blogs that are participating.  Then,  you can just start visiting blogs!  You can check off each blog as you visit it and then easily move to the next!  Each participating blog will be offering a giveaway, which is great, and you might find new book blogs that you want to read, which is even better!!!  Click here or on the link above to get started!

"Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Words escape me when it comes to describing how much I loved this book. Now, I know that many people found it unsatisfying, but in my humble opinion, this was the ending that worked for these characters.

I am really glad that Katniss did not jump up and grab the revolution flag and become a super supporter of the revolution, like Gale. Why, you ask? Because that would have gone completely against her character. For Katniss, what is and what always has been important is her family and those she loves. She went to the Hunger Games to save her sister. She defied the capital to save Peeta. She joins the revolution, not out of some sense of a higher cause, but because it will save the people she cares for the most.

In fact, Suzanne Collins stayed so true to the characters in this book that I really couldn’t see any other choices that she could make. The ending is superb and, given the circumstances and what the characters have survived, is surprisingly happy. At least for these books. If she had written a book in which everyone got everything ::clears throatBreakingDawnclears throat:: it would have felt unrealistic. This is not a rainbows and unicorns sort of book.

It is, however, a gritty and sometimes gruesome tale of survival and love under the most horrible conditions. It celebrates humanity’s ability to keep going against all odds and make the best of the worst situations. The scary part? I could see all of this happening in real life. And THAT is what a writer is supposed to do—make the story feel real.

So, how do I rate what might possibly be the best book I’ve ever read?

Grade: A+ 4.0 GPA summa cum laude valedictorian! : )

Teaser Tuesday

I know, I've been lame about updating the blog lately!  The beginning of the school year is always so busy!  Anywho, I'm hopefully back on track with my days and I should be posting 2 reviews this week plus a post about my adventures at the Decatur Book Festival!  Hooray!  Now, on to today's event....

Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. You open up the book you're currently reading to a random page. Choose 2 sentences and share them. They should not contain spoilers!

I'm currently reading "Eternal" by Cynthia Leitich Smith. 

p. 208...
"Angels?"  It's an odd question.  I know Clarence from "It's a Wonderful Life", and the Bible is chock-full of winged guys who start sentences with "lo."

Happy Tuesday and happy reading!

Waiting on Wednesday

                                                                                  





Waiting on Wednesday is a fabulous event sponsored by Jill at Breaking the Spine Here, I will highlight a book that will be coming out that I'm really looking forward to reading.

This week's book is Wuthering Bites by Sarah Gray.  At first, I thought this was another one of those monster mash-up books.  But it's not!  The author obviously uses the characters and situations from "Wuthering Heights", but has re-written it to include, of course, vampires!!!!  I think this is going to be very interesting because the idea of Heathcliff as a vampire is not really that much of a stretch, if you think about it.  So, I was happy when I saw this book and immediately added it to my TBR pile (which is now so large that I will probably die before it is ever finished!).

I will try to post 2 book reviews later today!  In the meantime, happy reading!