Spooktacular Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to my stop on the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop!  I am giving away a copy of 2 scary books to the winner!  You can win a copy of The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson and a copy of Crossing Over by Anna Kendall.  Just enter the rafflecopter below and then go check out the other blogs on the hop!

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I smiled and I cried at The Beginning of Everything

Book:  The Beginningof Everything

Author:  Robyn Schneider

Publisher:  Katherine Tegan

Date:  Now available

Source:  Publisher via Edelweiss

My grade:  A+

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

Initial Reaction

::wipes eyes::  Remember the very first time you ever fell in love?  Like, real love???  And how it broke your heart?

Cover Story

Thank God they changed the title and cover on this one.  When I first got this review copy it was called “Severed Heads and Broken Hearts” and had the most butt-ugly cover ever!  Who came up with that title?  I hope they got fired!  But “The Beginning of Everything” is a GORGEOUS title and I like the cover.  It’s bright and eye-catching without being cheesy or too teen girl.  I would proudly read this book in the doctor’s office with no fear of judgement.

What’s the Story?

Ezra was the popular jock boy on campus.  Then he did something dumb.  Really dumb.  He drove drunk one night and had a wreck.  One girl was hurt pretty badly and he completely smashed his knee.  Now, he can’t walk without a cane and his sports career is over.  He basically spends all summer in his house along, ignoring all the phone calls and only leaving to go to physical therapy.

Fast forward to the first day of school.  Ezra arrives late and is offered a seat by the kid he used to be friends with in middle school, but who is not really his friend now.  So he and Toby reconnect and Ezra finds himself avoiding the jock table at lunch in favor of the Misfit table.  And he discovers that he actually “speaks geek” really well and he completely fits in with this little group of high school misfits.

Enter Cassidy, the free spirit girl who seems to be the antithesis of the popular girls that Ezra has dated.  She’s mysterious, she’s philosophical and she seems to get Ezra.  He is totally taken by her and she becomes part of the group.

One of the things that made this novel so remarkable is the really likeable cast of characters.  I really liked Ezra, even though at times he was a total, well, dumbass.  He was such a typical teenaged boy and I think that Robyn Schneider did a fabulous job of capturing the teen boy voice.  I never once found myself thinking that a man would have written his voice differently, so bravo Robyn!  I also found myself wanting to sit down at the lunch table with the rest of the characters and just hang out with them.  Toby was especially fun!

This is such a beautiful coming-of-age story.  I loved watching Ezra trying to find himself.  He struggled in many ways and he sometimes made the wrong choices, but I feel like he had such a strong character by the end of the novel.  And even though it wasn’t exactly a happy ending, I closed the book knowing that Ezra would grow up to be a wonderful man.  He really did find his true voice, or at least he began the process very well.

This story didn’t really have a lot of action.  It was much more character driven than plot-driven, but it totally worked.  The plot was Ezra’s search for who he is and where he fits in and how he decides what sort of man he wants to be.  I laughed with him and cried with him and in the end, I was just so damn proud of him.

I loved this book.  I loved Ezra.  I loved Toby.  I can’t wait to recommend this book and see how many of my students love it too.

The Soundtrack

Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michaelson

Life Is Beautiful by The Icarus Project

A Beautiful Mess by Jason Mraz

We Belong Together by Gavin DeGraw

Skinny Love by Bon Iver

Can’t Make You Love Me by Bon Iver

The Final Grade

My final grade for this book is an A+.  This is a poignant, bittersweet coming-of-age novel that will both break your heart and make you smile.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.  I was given no compensation, financial or otherwise, for this review, especially not a hot geeky guy.

The book may be Of Beast and Beauty, but the story is beauty through and through!

Book:  Of Beast andBeauty

Author:  Stacey Jay

Publisher:  Delacorte

Date:  Now available

Source:  Publisher via Edelweiss

My grade:  A+

In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...

In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.

Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.

As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.

Initial Reaction

BEST.  FREAKING.  RETELLING.  EVER!!!

Cover story

Love, love, love….::hums the Beatles::  This cover is stupendous.  In one picture, it completely captures the juxtaposition of the traditional with the alternate/sci fi universe of the novel setting.  It is pure brilliance.

What’s the Story?

At first, I was skeptical.  I mean, a fairy tale re-telling taking place on another planet that is sort of futuristic/dystopian but not really?  And are these people human or what?  If you find yourself shying away from this book because these things don’t seem to appeal to you or make sense to you, STOP THINKING ABOUT THEM AND READ THE BOOK ALREADY!

This book took what I thought was a far-fetched premise and made it beautiful.  I read Stacey Jay’s Romeo and Juliet books, but this book so surpasses those 2 that I can hardly believe it’s written by the same author.  It is easy to see that Stacey Jay has grown into her own as an author.

This book’s writing lends an almost dreamlike and poetic quality to the entire novel.  It feels like an ancient myth and if I had to draw it as a picture, it would be surrounded by a cover of mist.  And that world just sucked me right into the story.  I grew to love and to hate so many of these characters.  It truly was a story of Beauty and a Beast, although at times, I wondered just who was supposed to be the beauty and who was the beast.

One of the most magnificent things about this book was the way that Stacey Jay managed to take so many of the elements from the original tale but twist them into something that was so entirely new.  It’s like she created her own mythology with this tale.  She didn’t shy away from the very dark elements of fairy tales, either.  This is not your Disney version, for sure.  But it is achingly beautiful.  It made me weep in places and often it was not because of the sadness of the tale but because it reached inside me and touched my very soul.

This is a standalone novel, but I have to say that I would not object to another book in this world because I was simply loath to leave it.

If you are a person who only likes traditional re-tellings, this one may not work for you, but if you love to read beautifully told tales full of magic and have them touch your heart, then this is definitely a book for you.

Soundtrack

A Sorta Fairytale by Tori Amos

I’m on Fire by Bat for Lashes

Collide by Howie Day

Distance by Christina Perry with Jason Mraz

Always You by Ingrid Michaelson

The Final Grade

My final grade for this book is an A+.  I cannot fully express how beautiful this story was and just how much I loved it, so just go read it.

I received this copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.  I did not receive any compensation, financial or otherwise, for this review, and especially not my own loveable beast.

Yes, I'm Back!

::hangs head in shame::

Yes, I've been gone from my blog for a bit.  School started back on August 25th and I had the school opening from hell, basically.  Then I sort of hit a reviewing slump.  Not a reading slump, mind you.  I've been reading and I've read some really AWESOME books, but I just couldn't make myself sit down and write reviews after long, long days at work that were exhausting.  But I'm catching up now, so I'm going to try to get back on track with the blog.  If you're still reading this blog, I humbly thank you for your patience. : )

Authors Are Rock Stars Tour with Kelly Keaton

I'm sure that many of you can hear my fangirling wherever you may be.  Why?  Because today, I have KELLY KEATON, yes, KELLY KEATON stopping by my blog!!

First, let me explain why Kelly is a rock star.  You guys, here heroine in the Gods and Monsters series is totally kick-ass!  She is not one of those whiny girl characters who has to wait for a boy to come save her.  And she fights Greeks goddesses!  And she's a Gorgon!!

Second, her books are ah-mazing!  They have tons of supernatural creatures, lots of action, interesting characters and a plot that doesn't stop.  I can't put them down.

Third, she can write a totally swoon-worthy love interest.  I mean, I am totally in love with Sebastian even though that makes me the world's worst cougar, but he's just so HOT!

Finally, Kelly is a fellow North Carolinian.  It's like we're neighbors!  Now, if I could only convince her that we need to have a sleepover and be BFFs!

I probably can't convince her of that, but I did convince her to give us a playlist to go along with The Wicked Within!  So keep reading to hear from Kelly Keaton herself.

Random Ten Playlist for THE WICKED WITHIN:

Hey guys! Very glad to be here for the Authors Are Rock Stars Tour.  One thing you might not know about me is that I cannot listen to music when I write. Absolutely cannot. I have tried many times—after all, music is so inspiring; it brings out so much emotion and can set the mood like nothing else. Yet, when I try to write the words in my head while an entirely different set of words (lyrics) are playing, my brain seems to short circuit. I end up focusing on lyrics and my fingers freeze over the keyboard.

That being said, I use music to set the mood before I write, as I plot, and to help me work out any issues when I feel stuck. THE WICKED WITHIN was written in a very short amount of time—actually, the story simmered in my head way longer than it took to write the first draft, and during this time I had some terrific go-to songs for the story itself and just to get me in the writing mood:

1. F*CKIN’ PERFECT by P!NK -- the queen of kickass anthems. Love her, and the way her lyrics combine grit and truth and vulnerability. Several of her songs are always on my playlist.

2. STAY by RIHANNA and MIKKY EKKO – This was my ‘go to’ song for Ari and Sebastian’s relationship. In THE WICKED WITHIN, they’re dealing with the aftermath of events in A BEAUTIFUL EVIL and they have a lot of obstacles to overcome. But there is something between them, despite all the issues… 

3. UNTITLED by SIMPLE PLAN – from the very beginning of the series, this song put me right in the middle of all the angst and hurt that shaped Ari before we meet her in DARKNESS BECOMES HER.

4. RADIOACTIVE by IMAGINE DRAGONS – Sebastian’s bad ass song. Makes me see him, how he feels about the changes that happened to him, and how pissed off he is... He’s waking up, people. Welcome to the new age. 

5. DON’T TAKE AWAY MY HEAVEN by AARON NEVILLE – just one of his songs I listen to that always puts me in a New Orleans frame of mind.

6. GIRL ON FIRE by ALICIA KEYS – Every time I listen to this, I can see Ari walking down the battle-scarred French Quarter streets with a bloody blade in her hand. Retribution, baby. This girl is on fire. :D

7. SO WHAT by P!NK – Perfect for when Ari is feeling like she wants to start a fight.. ;-)

8. BABYLON by DAVID GRAY – Always reminds me of New Orleans because I listened to his album, White Ladder, during one of my long driving trip to and from the city.

9. LASERS by LUPE FIASCO – gets me in the mood to start work and get the writing show on the road… :)

10. MY SONGS KNOW WHAT YOU DID IN THE DARK by FALL OUT BOY – St. Louis Cathedral. Major show down. Ari and crew light ‘em up in a big, big way. :D 

Thank you so much, Kelly, for stopping by and sharing your playlist with my readers!  If you haven't read Darkness Becomes Her or A Beautiful Evil yet, what are you waiting for?  You can find my reviews of them below:

Darkness Becomes Her

A Beautiful Evil 

You can also check out The Wicked Within on Goodreads and go buy it on September 17.

45 Pounds (More or Less) but with a message worth its weight in gold!

Book:  45 Pounds (More or Less)

Author:  K.A. Barson

Publisher:  Viking Juvenile

Date:  Available now

Source:  Publisher via Netgalley

My grade:  A+

Here are the numbers of Ann Galardi’s life:

She is 16.
And a size 17.
Her perfect mother is a size 6.
Her Aunt Jackie is getting married in 10 weeks, and wants Ann to be her bridesmaid.
So Ann makes up her mind: Time to lose 45 pounds (more or less) in 2 1/2 months.

Welcome to the world of infomercial diet plans, wedding dance lessons, embarrassing run-ins with the cutest guy Ann’s ever seen—-and some surprises about her NOT-so-perfect mother. 

And there’s one more thing. It’s all about feeling comfortable in your own skin-—no matter how you add it up!

"Deliciously relatable with a lot of laughter on the side." -- Rita Williams-Garcia, New York Times best-selling author  (cover and description from www.goodreads.com)

Initial Reaction

What a delightful book!!!

Cover Story

Love this cover!  It pretty much nails it.  And the title does too.  Why aren’t there more book covers like this one???

What’s the Story?

What a refreshing book!  This book looked at body and self-image issues without taking itself too seriously.  But it still delivered a fantastic message in the end.  How did you do that, K.A. Barson??  You are a freaking genius!

First, let me start by saying that the real success of this book lies with Ann, the main character.  She is just so…..likeable!  Yes, she sometimes falls into the “Woe is me!” routine, but seriously, what girl doesn’t from time to time?  I know I still do!  But she pretty much keeps right on plowing through.  She’s not a popular girl, but she’s not the school pariah either.  She seems to be pretty well-liked by most everyone, even though she’s not really close to anyone.

I think this book really nails it when it comes to weight struggles and body image issues.  What made this book great though, is that it managed to look at weight issues in society while still maintaining a good sense of humor.  It was an uplifting story, even though Ann never did lose that full 45 pounds.  And I was more than ok with that!

I think this book did a great job of addressing America’s unhealthy obsession with weight.  From the whole diet infomercial fiasco, to the revelation of an eating disorder to Ann’s epiphany about how weight obsession is affecting her little sister, this novel cuts to the quick of pretty much every weight issue in modern day America.  And it was inspiring to see how well it addressed all of those!

I loved watching Ann come to terms with her weight and her family and her friendship situation and find a balance that worked for HER.  Her growth emotionally mixed with her physical weight loss had me cheering for her the whole time!  Not to mention the cute boy who liked her no matter what size dress she was wearing.

I was so happy when Ann started to realize that she didn’t have to take scraps of love and friendship from people any longer and that she could start to assert herself and make people treat her the way she wanted to be treated.  This book was such a wonderful statement of standing up for yourself and demanding respect.  It was also a wonderful look at the problems of body image and how our obsession with thinness is hurting girls in our society.

I loved this book and I can’t wait to start recommending it to my students!  If you are looking for a book that deals with some pretty heavy issues (no pun intended!) but manages to leave you laughing and feeling good, pick this book up as soon as possible!

The Soundtrack

Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) by Mika

So Beautiful by Superchick

Video by India Arie

Unpretty by TLC

Beautiful by Christina Aguilera

Born This Way by Lady Gaga

The Final Grade

My final grade for this book is an A+.  This is a very timely book that approaches a serious issue in a way that makes you think but doesn’t leave you completely depressed and despairing.  A fun book about a serious issue might sound like an oxymoron, but this book delivers on both counts!

It may be The Theory of Everything, but it just doesn't explain this book....

Book:  The Theory of Everything

Author:  Kari Luna

Publisher:  Philomel

Date:  Now Available

Source:  Publisher via Negalley

My grade:  C-???

One part Libba Bray's GOING BOVINE, two parts String Theory, and three parts love story equals a whimsical novel that will change the way you think about the world.

Sophie Sophia is obsessed with music from the late eighties. She also has an eccentric physicist father who sometimes vanishes for days and sees things other people don’t see. But when he disappears for good and Sophie’s mom moves them from Brooklyn, New York, to Havencrest, Illinois, for a fresh start, things take a turn for the weird. Sophie starts seeing things, like marching band pandas, just like her dad.

Guided by Walt, her shaman panda, and her new (human) friend named Finny, Sophie is determined to find her father and figure out her visions, once and for all. So she travels back to where it began—New York City and NYU’s physics department. As she discovers more about her dad’s research on M-theory and her father himself, Sophie opens her eyes to the world’s infinite possibilities—and her heart to love.

Perfect for fans of Going Bovine, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The Probability of Miracles.  (Description and cover from www.goodreads.com)

Initial reaction

This is the most bizarre book I can remember reading.

Cover Story

Rather like the book, this is a bizarre cover, but it definitely fits what’s inside.  So, I’m going to say that this one works.

What’s the Story?

To be honest, I’m still not sure what the story is on this one.  I mean, I read the whole thing, and I understood all the words, but I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND!!!!

This is what I think the deal is.  Sophie Sophia is the daughter of a brilliant physicist.  Who has disappeared.  Her mom thought that he was crazy, but he believed in string theory, which apparently is a theory in physics that would allow for parallel universes that at times intersect with our own.

Here is where I had problems with this theory.  I’m ok with the idea of a parallel universe.  However, why would that parallel universe have pandas that could talk, walk and participate in marching band???  Shouldn’t a parallel universe have to follow all of the rules of our own universe?

Another problem I had was that the novel never explained why only certain people were allowed to travel into this parallel universe.  What made Sophie and her dad so special that they could suddenly find themselves in the midst of one of these parallel realities but the rest of us plain joe schmoes can’t do that???

For that reason, I had a hard time buying the whole storyline.  It felt like the end was going to be some big reveal about mental illness instead.  And what happened to bring everything to an end was even more bizarre and unbelievable than the rest of the book.  I don’t know.  I was left totally confused and in complete denial of any of the explanations. 

To me, this felt like one of those paranormal books that doesn’t allow for the suspension of disbelief.  It felt as if the author wasn’t following her own rules, you know?

The writing was great and I enjoyed the characters to a certain extent, I just never was able to buy into the explanations for the dancing pandas.  Honestly, I think that Parallel by Lauren Miller is a better novel exploring string theory.  (Read my review here.)  The explanation for why only one person was experiencing the parallel universe made more sense in that one because there actually WAS an explanation.

The Soundtrack

She’s Lost Control by Joy Division

Brain Damage/Eclipse by Pink Floyd

Day Dream by Smashing Pumpkins

A Quiet Mind by Blue October

Parallel Universe by Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Final Grade

My final grade for this book is C-.  This book just didn’t work for me.  There are a lot of people who like it on Goodreads, so you might want to read some more reviews of it, but it just fell flat for me.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I received no compensation, financial or otherwise, for this review.  And certainly not a talking panda.