New feature on the blog
I'm excited to share with you all my newest feature here in The Words. Welcome wanderers to a monthly post entitled . . .
I need to work out a better name. Suggestions are always welcome in the comments section. I've wanted to do this for a while, but the end of a month comes and goes too quickly. Before I know it I look up to find that I'm smack dab in the middle of the next month, scratching my head and wondering how I got here. To make matters worse, I'd missed another opportunity to tell you all about the lovely books I've been reading.
No more time to waste. We begin. Even if my title is lame.
Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC, played host to five Young Adult (YA) fantasy authors on Penguin's Breathless Reads book tour, on February 25, 2011. On February 20th, I convinced myself that I could get all the books from the library, read them, find a sitter for my kids, and attend this exciting event.
Yes, I am known for delusions.
Needless to say, it wasn't until March that I got to read them.
THE ETERNAL ONES by Kirsten Miller.
In this story of reincarnated love, Haven Moore has grown up in a small town in Tennessee plagued by romantic visions she can't understand. When she sees Ian Morrow, a New York playboy, her current world shifts violently. She knows him although they've never met before. Not in this life anyway. Haven's life becomes a race to stay ahead of death long enough to learn who her true love really is.
For me, this romance was fast paced and interesting (I'm kind of fascinated by reincarnation). A highly entertaining read.
MATCHED by Ally Condi.
Matched is a dystopian story about a society so perfect it has figured out a formula for finding one's best love interest. The Society decides people's jobs, how much they eat, who they marry, where they live, and even when it is time to say goodbye. Cassia is relieved when she learns her best friend Xander is her match. Just one more proof that The Society knows what it is doing. That is, until she learns they may have made a mistake because it seems Ky is also her perfect match. What's a girl with no choices to do?
This book was a killer for me to get through. I felt absolutely caged in by The Society while reading, just as I imagine Cassia began to feel as her perfect world slowly (very slowly) unravelled around her. I must give Ally Condi sincere congratulations on crafting compelling characters full of life in such a lifeless world. Chilling.
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis.
The Godspeed is on an intergalactic mission to colonize a new planet. Carefully planned, the mission should take 300 years. No problem since Amy and the other colonists will be perfectly cryogenically preserved as they await their arrival. At least that was the plan, but Amy is awoken 50 years early. She and Elder, a teenage boy in line to captain the ship, must figure out who tried to kill her and why. They quickly discover the Godspeed holds many secrets deep within its holds.
I read a preview of the first chapter of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE months ago and was immediately intrigued by Amy and the story's premise. The novel was definitely worth my wait. As an added bonus, Beth Revis is a North Carolina author and for the time being, I am still a North Carolina reader.
THE REPLACEMENT by Brenna Yovanoff
Mackie is a replacement. A sickly, otherworldly creature exchanged in the dark of the night for a healthy baby boy. He knows he is different. His new family knows he is different. Everyone in town knows he is different. But that is a truth that no one is willing to admit. Mackie is content to live a shadow of a life in this human town. He has an odd collection of good friends and there's this intriguing girl named Tate that he can't help but notice, but when Tate's baby sister is replaced, Mackie must choose to ignore the untruths the town is happy to believe or find the answer behind the disappearing babies and his own true identity.
I'm not going to lie. I was scared to bejeezus to read this horror book. The cover is downright frightening and my hubby was out of town and I have spooky dreams anyhow and insomnia that won't let up and a weak bladder. In the end, it wasn't actually scary. Proof that you can't judge a book by its cover. Mackie was an interesting character and I liked the book's idea of making a choice to either believe the truth or make up a more comfortable truth. This was almost lost however in the drama going on in Mayhem (the underworld) that felt forced and secondary to what Mackie really needed to discover for himself. Overall a good read though.
NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer
I'm not finished with this one, but will be before March is over, so I'm including it. However, the following is a blurb from the NIGHTSHADE web page.
I also read books two and three of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. For those not familiar with YA literature, this trilogy is hugely popular. It is a dystopian story about a civilization rebuilt after a devastating civil war. The Capitol controls the people in the districts as if they are slaves and remind them every year of their powerlessness by holding The Hunger Games, in which two children from each of the 12 districts, one boy and one girl, are put into a deadly arena and must fight to the death. The last child standing is honored as a winner and freed from slaving in the districts. Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her young sister's place when Prim is chosen for the games. Peeta Mellark, a boy that has secretly loved Katniss for years, is to be one of her opponents. If you aren't horrified by this story yet, you must have grown up playing some really horrifying video games that have completely desensitized you. This is disturbing stuff, but teens (and adults like me) are eating it up because Katniss, for all her weaknesses, is the kind of hero we want to love.
CATCHING FIRE In this second book, the games are over, but not for long. I don't want to say much more for fear of ruining it for you all (because I know you want to read it now. Admit it. It's okay). I can say that I enjoyed this book almost as much as the first. I was frustrated though with Katniss's slow emotional growth, but she's only human. Fictional, but human.
MOCKINGJAY The final installment finds Katniss wading through the rights and wrongs of war. It is my least favorite of the three. Well worth the read because you have to see how this story is all going to end, but the pacing felt off and some of the character's seemed to stagnate. Still, the twists and turns of the plot are mind blowing.
Lastly, I finally read Stephen Chbosky's THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. This has been on my "to read" list for quite some time. After reading so many fantasy books, I felt I needed a little reality break. This contemporary fiction novel is a story about a boy named Charlie who prefers the safety of watching and wondering about life to actually living it. When he reaches high school, he decides to give living a try and falls into a strange and wonderful group of friends who help him to realize his true self. Even the ugliness that lurks deep within.
I enjoyed participating in Charlie's life with him. He makes shockingly simple, yet painfully astute statements about growing up that often made me laugh out loud, or gasp, or even hold back tears.
Whew! That took a while. I need to remember to read fewer books this month so as to not have to spend so much time recounting them all! Luckily for me, April is going to be a busy month filled with packing and moving and disarray. Which might actually mean I retreat further into the much less chaotic fictional worlds of books. Yep, I just compared moving to surviving the Hunger Games.
I hope you will check out some of the provided links above. I'd love to hear your opinions on any of these YA gems. Just leave me a comment. Happy reading!
. . . wait for it . . .
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| Photo by Piotr Bizior www.bizior.com |
Books I Read This Month.
I need to work out a better name. Suggestions are always welcome in the comments section. I've wanted to do this for a while, but the end of a month comes and goes too quickly. Before I know it I look up to find that I'm smack dab in the middle of the next month, scratching my head and wondering how I got here. To make matters worse, I'd missed another opportunity to tell you all about the lovely books I've been reading.
No more time to waste. We begin. Even if my title is lame.
Books from March
Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC, played host to five Young Adult (YA) fantasy authors on Penguin's Breathless Reads book tour, on February 25, 2011. On February 20th, I convinced myself that I could get all the books from the library, read them, find a sitter for my kids, and attend this exciting event.
Yes, I am known for delusions.
Needless to say, it wasn't until March that I got to read them.
Books from the Breathless Reads Tour
 |
| Buy me at Better World Books |
THE ETERNAL ONES by Kirsten Miller.
In this story of reincarnated love, Haven Moore has grown up in a small town in Tennessee plagued by romantic visions she can't understand. When she sees Ian Morrow, a New York playboy, her current world shifts violently. She knows him although they've never met before. Not in this life anyway. Haven's life becomes a race to stay ahead of death long enough to learn who her true love really is.
For me, this romance was fast paced and interesting (I'm kind of fascinated by reincarnation). A highly entertaining read.
 |
| Buy me at Better World Books |
Matched is a dystopian story about a society so perfect it has figured out a formula for finding one's best love interest. The Society decides people's jobs, how much they eat, who they marry, where they live, and even when it is time to say goodbye. Cassia is relieved when she learns her best friend Xander is her match. Just one more proof that The Society knows what it is doing. That is, until she learns they may have made a mistake because it seems Ky is also her perfect match. What's a girl with no choices to do?
This book was a killer for me to get through. I felt absolutely caged in by The Society while reading, just as I imagine Cassia began to feel as her perfect world slowly (very slowly) unravelled around her. I must give Ally Condi sincere congratulations on crafting compelling characters full of life in such a lifeless world. Chilling.
 |
| Buy me at Better World Books |
The Godspeed is on an intergalactic mission to colonize a new planet. Carefully planned, the mission should take 300 years. No problem since Amy and the other colonists will be perfectly cryogenically preserved as they await their arrival. At least that was the plan, but Amy is awoken 50 years early. She and Elder, a teenage boy in line to captain the ship, must figure out who tried to kill her and why. They quickly discover the Godspeed holds many secrets deep within its holds.
I read a preview of the first chapter of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE months ago and was immediately intrigued by Amy and the story's premise. The novel was definitely worth my wait. As an added bonus, Beth Revis is a North Carolina author and for the time being, I am still a North Carolina reader.
 |
| Buy me at Better World Books |
Mackie is a replacement. A sickly, otherworldly creature exchanged in the dark of the night for a healthy baby boy. He knows he is different. His new family knows he is different. Everyone in town knows he is different. But that is a truth that no one is willing to admit. Mackie is content to live a shadow of a life in this human town. He has an odd collection of good friends and there's this intriguing girl named Tate that he can't help but notice, but when Tate's baby sister is replaced, Mackie must choose to ignore the untruths the town is happy to believe or find the answer behind the disappearing babies and his own true identity.
I'm not going to lie. I was scared to bejeezus to read this horror book. The cover is downright frightening and my hubby was out of town and I have spooky dreams anyhow and insomnia that won't let up and a weak bladder. In the end, it wasn't actually scary. Proof that you can't judge a book by its cover. Mackie was an interesting character and I liked the book's idea of making a choice to either believe the truth or make up a more comfortable truth. This was almost lost however in the drama going on in Mayhem (the underworld) that felt forced and secondary to what Mackie really needed to discover for himself. Overall a good read though.
 |
| Buy me at Better World Books |
I'm not finished with this one, but will be before March is over, so I'm including it. However, the following is a blurb from the NIGHTSHADE web page.
Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she’ll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters’ laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything - including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?I'll let you know next month!
 |
| Buy me at Better World Books |
 |
| Buy me at Better World Books |
CATCHING FIRE In this second book, the games are over, but not for long. I don't want to say much more for fear of ruining it for you all (because I know you want to read it now. Admit it. It's okay). I can say that I enjoyed this book almost as much as the first. I was frustrated though with Katniss's slow emotional growth, but she's only human. Fictional, but human.
 |
| Buy me at Better World Books |
 |
| Buy me at Better World Books |
I enjoyed participating in Charlie's life with him. He makes shockingly simple, yet painfully astute statements about growing up that often made me laugh out loud, or gasp, or even hold back tears.
Whew! That took a while. I need to remember to read fewer books this month so as to not have to spend so much time recounting them all! Luckily for me, April is going to be a busy month filled with packing and moving and disarray. Which might actually mean I retreat further into the much less chaotic fictional worlds of books. Yep, I just compared moving to surviving the Hunger Games.
I hope you will check out some of the provided links above. I'd love to hear your opinions on any of these YA gems. Just leave me a comment. Happy reading!
Ooh, love this new monthly blog idea! I always need suggestions for new reads. I just finished book 2 of the Hunger Games series and am dying to know how it ends. Gotta get the 3rd one. Hope all is well with you!
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