Evermore by Alyson Noel

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, Ever can see auras, hear people's thoughts, and know a person's entire life story by touch. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen. Damen Auguste is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head—wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can see straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. She has no idea just who he really is—or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

When I posted this book on In My Mailbox, I got tons of comments telling me how amazing Evermore was. Know I understand why. Evermore is filled with fantasy, suspense, and a group of well-rounded characters who properly represent High Schoolers of today. The reader gets to discover the power that Ever possesses and the world she lives in right along with her. The budding romance between Ever and Damen was adorable and I can’t wait to see how their relationship develops in the next book in the series, called Blue Moon, which comes out July 7th. Fans of Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Marr will not be disappointed by this enchanting novel.

Waiting On Wednesday (10)

I'm in a paranormal mood, so my pick this week is...

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH KAYLEE CAVANAUGH
She doesn't see dead people, but...
She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next...

I can already tell this is going to be a great new series, with the sequel already planned, called My Soul to Save. And isn't the cover gorgeous! August 1st could not come sooner!

Waiting On Wednesday was created by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn

Science, spiritualism, history, and romance intertwine in Suzanne Weyn's newest novel. Five sisters and their mother make their way from a spiritualist town in New York to London, becoming acquainted with journalist W. T. Stead, scientist Nikola Tesla, and industrialist John Jacob Astor. When they all find themselves on the Titanic, one of Tesla's inventions dooms them...and one could save them.

Wow, what an interesting, unique book. I loved the majority of the characters, especially the sisters, which is quite unusual. The spiritualism element was interesting, and ended up playing a large role throughout the entire book. I also loved the element of history that was weaved throughout. The reader is introduced to so many historical figures including Nikola Tesla, John Jacob Astor, W.T. Stead, Harry Houdini, the Fox sisters, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as many people associated with the Titanic, like the Unsinkable Molly Brown. What was a little annoying was that the book was labeled as a novel of the Titanic, when really the Titanic doesn’t play a role until about two thirds of the way through the book. The ending has a bit of a love it or hate it vibe, but I overall I was pleased with the read. Give it a try-you’ll have fun and learn something.

One Lovely Blog Award!

I received the One Lovely Blog Award by the amazing Velvet of vvb32 reads! The rules regarding this award are as follows:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.

3) Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.


I am going to nominate:

1. Dahlia of Dahlia's Eclectic Mind

2. Norah of My Bubbles of Nothing

3. Race of Creare

4. Books Make Great Lovers

5. Lauren of Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf

6. Nicole of WORD for Teens

7. Amanda of That Teen Can Blog

8. RR 1 and 2 of Reader Rabbit

9. Steph of Reviewer X

10. Kelsey of Reading Keeps You Sane

11. Laina of Laina Has Too Much Spare Time

12. The Book Muncher

13. Steven of Pop Culture Junkie

14. Crackin' Spines and Takin' Names

15. Chelsea of The Page Flipper

Thanks again Velvet and congrats to the other blogs!

P.S. Watch for my review of Distant Waves coming up tomorrow!

In My Mailbox (4)

Hello all! Here are the books I received this week:

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi at The Story Siren, who was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie

Bought:
Evermore by Alyson Noel

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste… Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen is equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

BookMooch:

The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker

Leeann's older sister Mary Beth has a gift. She is a "song reader." She doesn't read palms or tarot cards; she reads people's secrets and desires from the songs they can't get out of their minds. But as Leeann soon learns, every gift has its price.

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

It wasn't that she didn't love her children. She did. But there was a fortune at stake--a fortune that would assure their later happiness if she could keep the children a secret from her dying father. So she and her mother hid her darlings away in an unused attic. Just for a little while.
But the brutal days swelled into agonizing years. Now Cathy, Chris, and the twins wait in their cramped and helpless world, stirred by adult dreams, adult desires, served a meager sustenance by an angry, superstitious grandmother who knows that the Devil works in dark and devious ways. Sometimes he sends children to do his work--children who--one by one--must be destroyed....

I have a feeling Flowers in the Attic is going to be right up my alley!

Being Dead by Jim Crace

As I am currently in the middle of a mental breakdown revolving my Junior English speech (9 minute long final worth 20% of our grade!) I am going to use Otto Penzler's great review of Jim Crace's remarkable novel.

It begins with a murder. Celice and Joseph, in their mid-50s and married for more than 30 years, are returning to the seacoast where they met as students. They are reliving their first amorous encounter in the sand dunes when they are set upon by the murderer who beats them to death with a rock and steals their watches, their jewelry, and even their meager lunch. From that moment forward, this remarkably written book by Jim Crace becomes less about murder and more about death. Alternating chapters move back in time from the murder in hourly and two-hourly increments. As the narrative moves backward, we see Celice and Joseph make the small decisions about their day that will lead them inexorably towards their own deaths. Eventually we learn about their first meeting, and that this is not the first time tragedy has struck them in this idyllic setting.
In other chapters the narrative moves forward. Celice and Joseph are on vacation and nobody misses them until they do not return. Thus, it is six days before their bodies are found. Crace describes in minute detail their gradual return to the land with the help of crabs, birds, and the numerous insects that attack the body and gently and not so gently prepare it for the dust-to-dust phase of death. Celice and Joseph would have been delighted with the description: she was a zoologist and he was an oceanographer, and they spent their lives with their eyes to the microscope, observing the phenomena of life and death. Some readers might find this gruesome, but the facts of death are told in such glorious prose that these descriptions in no way detract from the enjoyment of the book.
After her parents do not return home, their daughter, Syl, must search the morgues and follow up John and Jane Doe reports until she is finally asked to make an identification of the remains in the dunes. We then discover that the reader has had a more intimate relationship with them in death than Syl ever had with them in life. This small gem of a book, not really a mystery in the usual sense, will stay with you long after you finish.

The Poison Apples by Lily Archer

We all know the stories of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel. But have you ever heard of Alice Bingley-Beckerman, Reena Paruchuri, or Molly Miller? Of course you haven’t. Not yet. What these girls have in common with their fairy tale sisters is this: they are the stepdaughters of three very evil stepmothers. And they’re not happy about it. They think they are alone in their unhappiness until they arrive at Putnam Mount McKinsey, a posh boarding school located in lovely rural Massachusetts. Here is where they will plot their revenge. But first they have to meet.

I’ve got some mixed feelings about this book. The cover and summary of this book sounded intriguing, but I was disappointed to find it a mediocre read in my opinion. The first few chapters were great, when the characters and their evil stepmothers were introduced-character development was one of the successes of this novel. But once the girls arrived at their boarding school, things started to go sour. First off, it took them a while to find each other and actually form “The Poison Apples”. They spent too much time crushing over boys (and falling in love way too quickly) and teachers (I am so sick of the student-crushes-on-teacher scenario!). What was most annoying was that when the girls finally hunkered down to “cast their spell” on their stepmothers, the book was almost over, and their “spells” were extremely half-hearted. Those women were horrible and needed to be taught a lesson! The Poison Apples ended with barely any resolution, and it was difficult to tell if a sequel is in the making. If there is, hopefully it will bring some of the “oomph” that was missing from the first book.

P.S. I do want to give props to the cover artist. That cover is sweet!

In My Mailbox (3)

Wow, the week went so fast! But I was able to get a few new books to share with all of you:

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi at The Story Siren, who was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie)

Bought from B&N:

Dream Factory by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler

When the character actors at Disney World go on strike, the teens hired as replacements learn that it isnt exactly the Happiest Place on Earth. Ella gets to be Cinderella, simply because the shoe fits. It should be a dream come true, but Ella no longer believes in dreams. Luke is a fur character, Dale the chipmunk. Chip is played by his girlfriend, Cassie, who is perfect in every way. Why, then, does Luke find himself more drawn to imperfect things like the theme parks Phantom? A team-building scavenger hunt brings Luke and Ella together. As they uncover the Magic Kingdoms treasures, they discover an undeniable magic between them.

A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell

Cora is dealing with the death of her older brother, Nate. Surviving in a small town while trying to unravel who her brother really was, she dreams of distant places she might one day visit. Her passion is to draw beautiful enhanced maps. When Cora begins to relate to Damian, the boy who survived her brother's car crash, she finds truth, friendship, and her own way through her world.

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

the first of four books about an ordinary girl named Laurel who discovers she is a faerie sent among humans to guard the gateway to Avalon. When Laurel is thrust into the midst of a centuries-old battle between faeries and trolls, she's torn between a human and a faerie love, as well as her loyalties to both worlds.

BookMooch:

The Last Plague by Glen E. Page

A young girl is brought into Dr. Douglas Hunter's ER one night with her abdomen ripped open. One of her ovaries has been stolen; the other is as hard and black as coal. When the bodies of more young girls are discovered, their ovaries also missing, Dr. Hunter and his family of adopted misfits find themselves unwittingly drawn into a dark plot of government intrigue and biblical prophecy. As more secrets come to light, Dr. Hunter realizes his family may be facing the last plague, the beginnings of the Apocalypse.

Being Dead-Jim Crace

A haunting novel about a couple caught and killed in flagrante delicto -- how they got there, and what happens before they're found.

Wide variety, huh? Should be interesting!

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever. Now I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.
One word: Spectacular! Even better than its prequel, The Awakening is filled with action, drama, supernatural twists, and characters you absolutely love! I also loved the aspect of the characters being on the run, hopping from place to place, trying to avoid the bad guys while continuing to discover more about themselves and their powers. What I had looked forward to most in this book was the development of Chloe and Derek’s relationship-and I wasn’t disappointed! Although they are not exactly where I want them to be, hopefully they’ll get there in the next book—yes, there will be another! Not sure of the specifics yet, but I will be keeping my eyes and ears open for info on the next installment of Kelley Armstrong’s amazing series, Darkest Powers. As for right now, go out and buy The Summoning and The Awakening and get caught up in the adventures of Chloe Saunders.

P.S. I did some research and the Darkest Powers series will be a trilogy, ending with The Reckoning, scheduled for a May 1, 2010 release, though it is subject to change. Good news!

Waiting on Wednesday (well...Thursday)

Candor by Pam Bachorz

Oscar Banks has everything under control. In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, he's found a way to secretly fight the Subliminal Messages. He's got them all fooled: Oscar's the top student and the best-behaved teen in town. Nobody knows he's made his own Messages to deprogram his brain. Oscar has even found a way to get rich. For a hefty price, he helps new kids escape Candor, Florida before they're transformed into cookie-cutter teens. But then Nia Silva moves to Candor, and Oscar's carefully-controlled world crumbles.

This looks sooooooo good! My friends and I are obsessed with Subliminal Messaging-it's so weird! And the cover is hot-especially the guy...Candor will be released on September 22nd 2009.

P.S. Ignore the post below, I accidently posted it on the wrong blog, silly me!

Fledgling Photography (3)

These are some pictures that I used a few months ago for my Great Gatsby project at school. Unless you've read the book, and even if you have, the photos might not make sense, and I'm not gonna repeat my two page paper explaining them to you. Create your own interpretation!

This is my brother, and okay, I'll just say it--the leaves represent the American Dream slowly slipping out of his (Gatsby's) hands.

This is my brother and his friend running rather queerly, but I like it, and the effect from Photoshop.

I love this one of my brother jumping off a swing-sweet, huh?

Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien

Ann Burden is sixteen and, as far as she knows, the only person left in the world. The nuclear radiation that destroyed the rest of the world has not touched the valley where she lives, and so she has remained, surviving the best she knows how, for the past year. The smoke from a distant campfire shatters Ann’s solitude. Someone else is still alive, and making his way toward the valley: John Loomis, a scientist, protected from the radiation by a “safe-suit”. He asserts his will almost immediately. And as his behavior becomes more and more extreme—finally culminating in violent confrontation—Ann must choose how she will live, in a world unlike any she has known.

This book has been on my “To Read” list for over a year and I was finally able to find a copy on BookMooch. It was definitely worth the points! Robert C. O’Brien’s legendary novel did not disappoint. It was well-written, page-turning, and narrated by a great heroine. I was a bit surprised that the action didn’t start until about ¾ of the way through, but surprisingly the descriptions of how a girl lives all alone in a valley were really interesting and added greatly to the story. The moment John Loomis arrives and ventures into Ann’s house, you know something is up-the hints toward his peculiar intentions propelled me to turn the pages and see if the man could be trusted.

In My Mailbox (2)

I've gotten a lot of books in the past few days mostly products of birthday money and BookMooch. Here they are:

BookMooch:

The Black Sheep-Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout

Fifteen-year-old Kendra, an only child, has grown up in a sterile and highly controlled Manhattan household. As she sees it, her distant parents, both bankers, are simply grooming her to assume their overprogrammed urban lifestyle. Frustrated, she enters and wins an essay contest that qualifies her to be a costar on a reality show, The Black Sheep, in which she changes places with a West Coast girl from a completely different type of family. The Mulligan household consists of a pair of aging hippies and their six children, one of whom is an attractive boy with a passion for saving threatened sea otters—a cause that Kendra quickly adopts. She discovers that it is difficult to be an amorous activist—and nearly impossible to find your true self—when you're being tailed 24/7 by a camera crew and a pushy producer.

Never Let Me Go-Kazuo Ishiguro

Kathy, Tommy and Ruth are students at Hailsham, a very exclusive, very strange English private school. They are treated well in every respect, but as they grow older they come to realize that there is a secret that haunts their lives: Their teachers regard them with fear and pity, and they don't know why. Once they learn the secret it is already far, far too late for them to save themselves.

Bought:

The Poison Apples-Lily Archer

We all know the stories of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel. But have you ever heard of Alice Bingley-Beckerman, Reena Paruchuri, or Molly Miller? Of course you haven’t. Not yet. What these girls have in common with their fairy tale sisters is this: they are the stepdaughters of three very evil stepmothers. And they’re not happy about it. They think they are alone in their unhappiness until they arrive at Putnam Mount McKinsey, a posh boarding school located in lovely rural Massachusetts. Here is where they will plot their revenge. But first they have to meet.

Distant Waves: A Novel of the Titanic-Suzanne Weyn

Science, spiritualism, history, and romance intertwine in Suzanne Weyn's newest novel. Four sisters and their mother make their way from a spiritualist town in New York to London, becoming acquainted with journalist W. T. Stead, scientist Nikola Tesla, and industrialist John Jacob Astor. When they all find themselves on the Titanic, one of Tesla's inventions dooms them...and one could save them.

They all look so good! I don't know how I'm going to decide which to read first!

Sisters in Sanity by Gale Forman

For sixteen-year-old Brit Hemphill, it's hard to know who she can trust. Convinced she's out of control, her father has sentenced her to Red Rock: a center for supposedly rebellious teens, where the therapy consists of name-calling and the girls who get privileges are the ones who rat out their peers. But then Brit meets V, Bebe, Martha, and Cassie—four girls who keep her from going over the edge. Together, they'll hold on to their sanity and their sisterhood despite the bleak Red Rock reality.
I think a good word to describe this book is refreshing…I hadn’t read a book in quite a while that is filled with so much girl power! Gayle Forman’s characters are fresh and interesting, each with their own obstacles to overcome. The upbeat writing and snappy dialogue keep the pages turning, as well as the adorable romance mixed in. At first I noticed similarities to School for Dangerous Girls by Eliot Schrefer, but it quickly became a novel all its own—much milder and more uplifting, though it does show some of the atrocities of facilities like Red Rock. If you’re looking for a quick read with an interesting setting, kick-a$$ characters, and lots of girl power, then Sisters in Sanity is the book for you!

Waiting on Wednesday

Eyes Like Stars: Theatre Illuminata, Act I by Lisa Mantchev

All her world's a stage. Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater. She is not an orphan, but she has no parents. She knows every part, but has no lines of her own. Until now.

Enter Stage Right

NATE. Dashing pirate. Will do anything to protect Bertie.

COBWEB, MOTH, MUSTARD SEED, and PEASEBLOSSOM. Four tiny and incredibly annoying fairies. BERTIE’S sidekicks.

ARIEL. Seductive air spirit and Bertie’s weakness. The symbol of impending doom.

BERTIE. Our heroine.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every place ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

I have been patiently awaiting the arrival of this book--it looks absolutely mesmerizing! This is going to be a great summer read for those nice, windy days. Lisa Mantchev's debut novel will be released July 7th.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia’s mother is busy saving other people’s lives. Her father is away on business. Her stepmother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia’s head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps going this way—thin, thinner, thinnest—maybe she’ll disappear altogether.

Absolutely everything about this book is chilling-the setting, the characters, the cover, and Laurie Halse Anderson’s bitter descriptions of a young girl’s descent into the world of anorexia. Daniel Kraus from Amazon stated in his review, “Anderson illuminates a dark but utterly realistic world where every piece of food is just a caloric number, inner voices scream “NO!” with each swallow, and self-worth is too easily gauged: “I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.” Struck-through sentences, incessant repetition, and even blank pages make Lia’s inner turmoil tactile, and gruesome details of her decomposition will test sensitive readers.” His words couldn’t be more true. You could easily make the argument that Wintergirls is a horror story, filled with death, ghosts, and startling prose that will leave you curled up in a blanket feeling the chill radiating off the pages. This book isn’t necessarily one you enjoy, but one that changes the way you look at the people around you, and one that you give to everyone you know.

In My Mailbox

Yes, I have decided to jump on the IMM train. I had refrained from it before because of how sporadically I received new books, but since I have recently joined BookMooch (absolutely amazing concept, I love it) I find that I am getting more and more books each week. Mind you, my IMM posts will most likely not be on an exact day every week, but more like whenever I have a good bunch I want to show off. I mostly receive books from BookMooch, the library, and bookstores when I have the cash. So, there you have it...

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi at The Story Siren, who was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie)

BookMooch:

Red Sea by Diane Tullson

Libby, 14, is on a yearlong sailing adventure with her mother and stepfather, Duncan. Stuck in Djibouti awaiting favorable seas, she makes her discontent known to everyone, at every turn. She deliberately dilly-dallies on the day of departure, which causes her boat to miss traveling with the flotilla as planned. Sailing through dangerous waters, Libby's family is alone when pirates attack. Duncan is killed, and her mother is badly wounded. The teen is left to her own devices to survive, nurse her mother, and find the right course to safety.

The Creek by Jennifer L. Holm

Caleb Devlin is a legend on Mockingbird Lane, the boy who terrorized an entire town before he got sent away. They say he hurt other kids, tortured animals, set fires, and did things grown-ups speak of only in whispers. But that was all before Penny and her little brother moved here.
Now Caleb's back, older and more dangerous than ever, and terrible things have started happening again. The whole town knows he's responsible, but the police can't do anything without proof. So Penny and her friends have no choice but to try to stop him themselves.
Except now he's after them.

Early Birthday Presents from Norah:

Hit and Run by Lurlene McDaniel

It was an accident. But when the people involved don’t come forward, doesn’t it become a crime?Four young people whose lives intersect, who never dreamed of hurting each other. Each makes choices that cannot be changed. Each needs to take the consequences of those choices, to find love, to face reality, and to go on.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love— music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind? Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it’s the only one that matters.

I'm uber excited for all of these books! And be expecting a large IMM post to come-my birthdays tomorrow and I'm anticipating quite few small rectangular packages, if you know what I mean! (sorry If I Stay is off to the side, I've tried and can't seem to fix it)