tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352Fri, 27 Mar 2015 11:37:12 +0000Book ReviewIn My MailboxDazzling DebutsTeaser TuesdaysContestInterviewMusic MondaysWinnersLittle BrownPenguinSimon and SchusterThink About It ThursdayBlog TourIndie TakeoverScholasticSimon PulseSpencer Hill PressAuthor EventsBan This 2010Cover RevealWaiting On WednesdayHarper TeenHarperCollinsIn Case You Missed the CoverMiddle GradeTwilight ObsessionSourcebooksBlogoversary CelebrationBloomsburyHyperionMacmillanRandomnessSelf-PublishedThe Hunger GamesHoughton MifflinKate Kaynak2010 ChallengesDelacorte PressDuttonEntangled PublishingHarry PotterRandom HouseBEA11Beautiful CreaturesBreathless ReadsCassandra ClareDewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thonDialDisney/HyperionMichelle ZinkNovember Novella ChallengeOnce Upon A Read-a-thonPutnamRazorbillSuzanne Collins2011 YA SpooktacularC.S. LewisEgmontFeiwel and FriendsFluxGanzfieldGraphiaGuest PostHarcourtHarper TrophyJackie Morse KesslerJennifer L. 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StineRansom RiggsRead-a-thonRidley PearsonRobert Louis StevensonRobert Paul WestonRodrigo CorralRuta SepetysRuth PennebakerSara GrantSara GruenSara Wilson EtienneSaundra MitchellSavant Books and PublicationsShadow Falls seriesShannon MessengerSiobhan VivianSkyship AcademyStephanie BurgisStephanie ThomasStephen ChboskyStephen EmondStephenie MeyerSteven E. WedelTabitha SuzumaTamara Ireland StoneTate PublishingTaylor SwiftTeri HallThe Mortal InstrumentsThree Words WithTim BowlerTor TeenTwilight Times BooksValentine's DayVeronica RothVintageWander Dust Blog TourWilliam JoyceYA SpooktacularYallFest 2011Wicked Awesome Bookshttp://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/noreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))Blogger909125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-1527478069351551458Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:00:00 +00002012-07-31T10:00:04.947-04:00Book ReviewGina RosatiMacmillanRoaring Brook PressBook Review + Giveaway: Auracle by Gina Rosati<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ER_bkBplfWM/T_5guUD-_tI/AAAAAAAADhc/Q1TOXPuHAcs/s1600/Auracle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ER_bkBplfWM/T_5guUD-_tI/AAAAAAAADhc/Q1TOXPuHAcs/s200/Auracle.jpg" width="136" /></a></div><b>Title: </b> <i>Auracle</i><br /><b>Author: </b>Gina Rosati<br /><b>Reading Level: </b>Young Adult<br /><b>Publisher: </b>Roaring Brook Press<br />ARC, 298 pages<br /><b>Date Published:</b> August 7, 2012<br /><b>Source:</b> Publisher<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11362198-auracle">Goodreads</a>): </b><br />16 year old Anna Rogan has a secret she's only shared with her best friend, Rei; she can astrally project out of her body, allowing her spirit to explore the world and the far reaches of the universe.<br /><br />When there's a fatal accident and her classmate Taylor takes over Anna's body, what was an exhilarating distraction from her repressive home life threatens to become a permanent state. Faced with a future trapped in another dimension, Anna turns to Rei for help. Now the two of them must find a way to get Anna back into her body and stop Taylor from accusing an innocent friend of murder. Together Anna and Rei form a plan but it doesn't take into account the deeper feelings that are beginning to grow between them.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" /></a></div>Are you looking for a book that has the precisely perfect combination of snarky, sweet, and just a tad paranormal? If you are, or if you’re just looking for some phenomenal YA, then <i>Auracle</i> is the book to pick up.<br /><br />Anna’s strange power to pull herself out of her body and travel anywhere she wants would seem impossible, but she accepts it and loves it. Rei Ellis, here best friend, accepts it to, but doesn’t necessarily love it that much. With good reason too, because she uses just that power one night and finds herself locked out of her body when evil high school classmate Taylor meets her untimely death, but instead of going into the bright white light, she goes straight into Anna’s body.<br /><br />Hilarity ensues. Along with a good amount of snark, mean girl-ness, and some seriously sweet Rei and astral projection/sorta-not-really-there Anna. The funny seems strange because a girl did really die and a good guy is really on the run because of it, but Taylor is so genuinely horrible that it makes it a little easier to laugh throughout the book. Taylor and Anna square off more than once, leading to some great scenes.<br /><br />The story unfolds quickly, with a good mix of humor, serious scenes, and the blossoms of romance. Anna is undeniably easy to relate to. She comes off as real and has a great sense of humor. The story, the characters, and the dialogue are fresh and exciting, making <i>Auracle</i> both incredibly fun to read and impossible to put down. <br /><br /><b>Opening line:</b> Rei Ellis whispers to me as the light goes dark. ~ pg. 1<br /><br /><b>Favorite lines/passages: </b>I know I feel like nothing more than a gentle vibration beneath his fingers, but I can feel him, so gloriously solid.<br />I feel like a dream sitting next to reality. ~ pg. 233<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This is the ARC version and lines, pages, cover art may differ from final copy</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fW-RtCYLDxo/THGpuHLys3I/AAAAAAAABn4/LfWwuaDreAI/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fW-RtCYLDxo/THGpuHLys3I/AAAAAAAABn4/LfWwuaDreAI/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This review is my honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation from it. </span> <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>GIVEAWAY:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Two lucky people will win an <i>Auracle</i> swag pack, pictured below:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LyUKhqzpakI/UBeZTKJ4VWI/AAAAAAAADkY/2eNoANefJEc/s1600/Auracle+swag+pack.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LyUKhqzpakI/UBeZTKJ4VWI/AAAAAAAADkY/2eNoANefJEc/s320/Auracle+swag+pack.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The dirty details:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Open to US only</div><div style="text-align: center;">One entry per person </div><div style="text-align: center;">Normal <a href="http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/p/contest-policy.html">contest policy</a> applies</div><div style="text-align: center;">Ends August 6, 2012</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">To enter:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: center;">leave a comment with a way to contact you </div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Gina Rosati online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ginarosati.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://ginarosati.wordpress.com/">Blog</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/GinaRosati">Twitter</a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Buy it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1596437103?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1596437103&amp;SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/auracle-gina-rosati/1106910622?ean=9781596437104&amp;r=1&amp;cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10%3a1&amp;">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Auracle-Gina-Rosati/9781596437104">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781596437104">Indiebound</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/07/book-review-giveaway-auracle-by-gina.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-7944085224653273779Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:42:00 +00002012-07-25T15:42:42.664-04:00Movie NewsThe Mortal InstrumentsThe Mortal Instruments Cast Thus Far<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WsJSBsWW6MI/UBBF2x_8uKI/AAAAAAAADjE/kuklUZ5s3hQ/s1600/City+of+Bones.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WsJSBsWW6MI/UBBF2x_8uKI/AAAAAAAADjE/kuklUZ5s3hQ/s400/City+of+Bones.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://screenrant.com/mortal-instruments-movie-lena-headey-jarred-harris">Source</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Casting for The Mortal Instruments first book-to-movie adaptation, City of Bones, is well under way. So far, we have a good chunk of the main characters cast and more keep on rolling in each day.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Here's a list of the cast thus far:</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sl1kOKAw2Sk/UBBG5064XPI/AAAAAAAADjM/fmErMh4SSRs/s1600/Lily+Collins+-+Clary+Fray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sl1kOKAw2Sk/UBBG5064XPI/AAAAAAAADjM/fmErMh4SSRs/s320/Lily+Collins+-+Clary+Fray.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bleedingcool.com/forums/front-page-film-tv-video-news/56655-lily-collins-will-hunt-demons-mortal-instruments-after-all-harald-zwart-directing.html">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Lily Collins as Clary Fray (still not 100% sold on this one)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oaKbYt1eUhk/UBBHErENy5I/AAAAAAAADjU/8MRLXcWCyq4/s1600/Jamie+Campbell+Bower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oaKbYt1eUhk/UBBHErENy5I/AAAAAAAADjU/8MRLXcWCyq4/s400/Jamie+Campbell+Bower.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tmisource.com/movies/the-mortal-instruments-city-of-bones/mortal-instruments-cast/">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace Wayland (he's growing on me, sorta)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HHeD7n4mWRI/UBBHSP95ybI/AAAAAAAADjc/P4W7R6tjCg8/s1600/Robert+Sheehan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HHeD7n4mWRI/UBBHSP95ybI/AAAAAAAADjc/P4W7R6tjCg8/s400/Robert+Sheehan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cassandraclare.com/faq/who-has-been-cast-in-the-mortal-instruments-movie/">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Robert Sheehan as Simon Lewis (OMG love this!!)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nERFtMdnzC4/UBBHrE8LK6I/AAAAAAAADjk/OYKP4XyOzkE/s1600/Jemima+West+-+Isabelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nERFtMdnzC4/UBBHrE8LK6I/AAAAAAAADjk/OYKP4XyOzkE/s400/Jemima+West+-+Isabelle.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mortalinstrumentsind.grou.ps/blogs/item/aktris-jemima-west-terpilih-memerankan-isabelle-lightwood-cobmovie/">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Jemima West as Isabelle Lightwood</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6_nYRZkY5d0/UBBH2CNAOHI/AAAAAAAADjs/nZ6ExiLoZ-Y/s1600/Godrey+Gao.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6_nYRZkY5d0/UBBH2CNAOHI/AAAAAAAADjs/nZ6ExiLoZ-Y/s400/Godrey+Gao.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.amerikanki.com/sexiest-men-china-list/">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Godfrey Gao as Magnus Bane (I could get behind this casting)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F5YCyWNnQsI/UBBIYJ_trMI/AAAAAAAADj0/yK8qLgL3MPk/s1600/Lena+Headey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F5YCyWNnQsI/UBBIYJ_trMI/AAAAAAAADj0/yK8qLgL3MPk/s400/Lena+Headey.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://famousmonstersoffilmland.com/2012/07/20/the-mortal-instruments-adds-jared-harris-lena-headey-to-cast/">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Lena Headey as Jocelyn Fray (I'm liking this one)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I_g0BvNR_v8/UBBKYFexNyI/AAAAAAAADj8/3gy7YSdvi5U/s1600/Jared+Harris+-+Hodge+Starkweather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I_g0BvNR_v8/UBBKYFexNyI/AAAAAAAADj8/3gy7YSdvi5U/s320/Jared+Harris+-+Hodge+Starkweather.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thatfilmguy.co.uk/jared-harris">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Jared Harris as Hodge Starkweather (OMG could he be more perfect?!)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1WvidFG9jhA/UBBLkOBxYEI/AAAAAAAADkE/VJqGDjOoQg8/s1600/Kevin+Durand+-+Pangborn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1WvidFG9jhA/UBBLkOBxYEI/AAAAAAAADkE/VJqGDjOoQg8/s400/Kevin+Durand+-+Pangborn.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fanpop.com/spots/lost/images/14757242/title/kevin-durand-photo">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Kevin Durand as Pangborn (He's so good at playing bad)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7QC9Qmc0Sgo/UBBLyFSZKDI/AAAAAAAADkM/9-AP5JPLgtE/s1600/Robert+Maillet+-+Blackwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7QC9Qmc0Sgo/UBBLyFSZKDI/AAAAAAAADkM/9-AP5JPLgtE/s400/Robert+Maillet+-+Blackwell.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://trialx.com/celebrities/2011/07/28/robert-maillet-images/">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Robert Maillet as Blackwell</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">*Will update as more cast members are revealed</div><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/07/the-mortal-instruments-cast-thus-far.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-8006469462009801181Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:30:00 +00002012-07-23T09:30:03.942-04:00Book ReviewHarlequin TeenKatie McGarryBook Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kg8-K4bBxJ8/UARBoXmwSFI/AAAAAAAADiU/3D4-Kx89gTg/s1600/Pushing+the+Limits.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kg8-K4bBxJ8/UARBoXmwSFI/AAAAAAAADiU/3D4-Kx89gTg/s200/Pushing+the+Limits.JPG" width="131" /></a></div><b>Title: </b><i>Pushing the Limits</i><br /><b>Author: </b>Katie McGarry<br /><b>Reading Level:</b> Young Adult<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Harlequin Teen<br />ARC, 392 pages<br /><b>Date Published:</b> July 31, 2012<br /><b>Source: </b>BEA<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10194514-pushing-the-limits">Goodreads</a>): </b><br />"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.<br /><br /><b>So wrong for each other...and yet so right.</b><br /><br />No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.<br /><br />"An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" /></a></div>Do you ever feel like you’ve come across the most perfectly perfect book? Like a book that you cannot put down, that you do not want to put down, and something that just kills you in the best ways? That’s exactly how I felt with <i>Pushing the Limits</i>. Katie McGarry writes from the alternating perspectives of good girl with serious family issues, Echo, and seemingly bad boy also with serious family issues, Noah. And each of their voices are so true and the entire tone of the book is absolutely genuine.<br /><br />Readers will feel Echo and Noah; their every emotion, their spark, their despair. The book will make you smile, fan yourself with the smexiness, and yes, cry. I cried my eyes out at certain points.<br /><br />Echo is kind, and damaged, and so trapped in her loneliness. She experienced a trauma, but she cannot remember any of it. All she knows is that her father remains overbearing, she’s left with scars littering her arms, and her mother isn’t allowed to see her. But she doesn’t know why. The aftermath of whatever has shut down her memory has left her isolated.<br /><br />Enter Noah. He comes off as a bad boy, but he has his own hidden issues. And with very good reason, having lost both his parents in a house fire, and only barely managing to get his younger brothers out. Now Noah has to contend with the foster care system and try to get his life together to gain custody of his brothers. Noah and Echo seem like complete opposites, but they’re really the only ones who can understand each other. The spark they share is incredible. Any scene with the two absolutely explodes with tension.<br /><br />McGarry skillfully tells each character’s own story, and then ties Echo and Noah together. I loved that. Not only is there a well-developed and slowly unfolding relationship, but both characters can stand up individually as well. Echo’s disconnect from her father is so sad, it made my heart hurt. Her pain is evident throughout every page of the book, but her surprising happiness with Noah makes you root for them. I wanted to see them both break free from their pain, all the while knowing how difficult it would be.<br /><br />Noah’s storyline in the book hit a little closer to home for me, just because I have younger brothers, so I know how I’d feel if I was in his position. Noah is a truly good guy. He’s messed up in the past, but when we see him with his brothers, we get to look past the guy that slacks off in school and smokes pot; we see a guy who loves completely. And then we see him begin to share that side of himself with Echo as well.<br /><br /><i>Pushing the Limits </i>is easily one of the best contemporary stories I’ve ever read, and by far one of my favorite reads this year. It had a little bit of everything and YA readers will eat it up and beg for more. I know I did.<br /><br /><b>Opening line: </b>“My father is a control freak, I hate my stepmother, my brother is dead and my mother has. . .well. . .issues. How do you think I’m doing?” ~ pg. 7<br /><br /><b>Favorite lines/passages: </b>The worst type of crying wasn’t the kind everyone could see – the wailing on street corners, the tearing at clothes. No, the worst kind happened when your soul wept and no matter what you did, there was no way to comfort it. A section withered and became a scar on the part of your soul that survived. For people like me and Echo, our souls contained more scar tissue than life. ~ pg. 278<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This is the ARC version and lines, pages, cover art may differ from final copy</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">This deserves like a gazillion stars!!!</span></b> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fW-RtCYLDxo/THGpuHLys3I/AAAAAAAABn4/LfWwuaDreAI/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fW-RtCYLDxo/THGpuHLys3I/AAAAAAAABn4/LfWwuaDreAI/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This review is my honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation from it. </span> <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Katie McGarry online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.katielmcgarry.com/">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/katiemcgarry">Twitter</a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Buy it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0373210493?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0373210493&amp;SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pushing-the-limits-katie-mcgarry/1108266707?ean=9780373210497&amp;r=1&amp;cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10%3a1&amp;">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Pushing-Limits-Katie-Mcgarry/9780373210497">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780373210497/katie-mcgarry/pushing-limits">Indiebound</a><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/STLPst06GuU?rel=0" width="480"></iframe> </div><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/07/book-review-pushing-limits-by-katie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-7109235347890099507Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:48:00 +00002012-07-22T11:48:10.208-04:00In My MailboxIn My Mailbox - (7/22/12)In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi at the The Story Siren. It is a list of any of the books you may have received in the past week from bookstores, libraries, authors/publishers, trades, etc.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sorry for the lack of posting lately. I meant to. Really. I was going to post some reviews (I have 7 or so pending) or do a little blogging world drama post (I've stayed out of it), but instead I've been reading a ton (woo!) and watching A LOT of Doctor Who.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">All that aside, here are the books I've picked up in the last few weeks:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fegRuJmIWPk/UAwfU3ZI6pI/AAAAAAAADi4/NakPVvBw5uE/s1600/July+22nd.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fegRuJmIWPk/UAwfU3ZI6pI/AAAAAAAADi4/NakPVvBw5uE/s400/July+22nd.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><b>For Review:</b><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11733187-the-dark-unwinding"><i>The Dark Unwinding</i></a> by Sharon Cameron<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13449693-the-raven-boys"><i>The Raven Boys</i></a> by Maggie Stiefvater<br /><br /><b>Bought:</b><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13375237-pretty-amy"><i>Pretty Amy</i></a> by Lisa Burstein<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9779094-this-dark-endeavor"><i>This Dark Endeavor</i></a> by Kennenth Oppel<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12974770-never-enough"><i>Never Enough</i></a> by Denise Jaden<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12640578-team-human"><i>Team Human</i></a> by Justine Larbalestier &amp; Sarah Rees Brennan<br /><br />*Special thanks to Scholastic!!<br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/07/in-my-mailbox-72212.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-8486413297786549115Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:30:00 +00002012-07-16T09:30:04.324-04:00Book ReviewContestIsla NealMartin LeichtSimon and SchusterBook Review + Giveaway: Mothership by Martin Leicht & Isla Neal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zCpGaZv19ps/UAJDhuo_3cI/AAAAAAAADh0/g8_MmpPwrkY/s1600/Mothership.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zCpGaZv19ps/UAJDhuo_3cI/AAAAAAAADh0/g8_MmpPwrkY/s200/Mothership.jpeg" width="131" /></a></div><b>Title: </b> <i>Mothership</i><br /><b>Authors: </b>Martin Leicht &amp; Islan Neal<br /><b>Reading Level: </b>Older Young Adult<br /><b>Publisher: </b>Simon &amp; Schuster<br />Hardcover, 308 pages<br /><b>Date Published:</b> July 10, 2012<br /><b>Source:</b> Marketing/Publisher<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from Big Honcho Media): </b><br />Pregnant. In space. Yeah, things are really looking up. <br /><br />It’s 2074 and Elvie’s unplanned pregnancy (with Cole Archer, who bolted out of town half a millisecond after hearing the news, not that Elvie’s bitter about it or anything) forces her to leave her best bud back on Earth and spend her junior year aboard a corny old space cruiser with forty-five other hormonal teen girls (one of whom just happens to be her arch-nemesis). Getting shipped off to the Hanover School for Expecting Teen Mothers was not how Elvie imagined spending her junior year, but she can go with the flow. That is, until a team of hot commandos hijacks the ship—and one of them turns out to be Cole.<br /><br /><i>Mothership </i>is the first installment in a new trilogy from Martin Leicht and Isla Neal that has been described as Juno meets Pretty In Pink…but in space. </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" /></a></div><i>Mothership</i> is absolutely insane. Absolutely insane and full of witty one-liners and crazy, hormonal preggo girls. I was delighted with the perfectly placed foul-mouthery and the hilarious, ridiculous, ruckus of a plot kept my eyes glued to the pages.<br /><br />Elvie Nara is certainly a new kind of heroine for readers to cheer for. And the authors are pro at keeping the girl on her toes and likable. She’s a spitfire with quite the attitude, but a brain to back it up. Despite the fact that she’s living on a ship of pregnant teens, and despite the fact that her baby daddy left her, and despite the fact that he shows up all gung-ho and gun-wielding with lots of fighting and death, Elvie is pretty bomb. <br /><br />She’s my kind of girl because she’s quick-witted and sarcastic. Oh the sarcasm!! It made my sarcastic little heart go all pitter patter. <i>Mothership</i> is beautifully sarcastic, but it’s also wonderfully funny. Sure, if cracking jokes about pregnant teens isn’t your thing, then I understand that, but I loved it. Seriously loved it. The sci-fi-ness was also a nice touch, as the alien races were well-explained and kind of made sense in the grand scheme of things. And hello, they’re in space! So awesomeness is sure to abound.<br /><br />So there are a lot of dumb. preggo girls running around? So what. They help make the book awesome. And I totes enjoyed the flashbacks to pre-pregnant days with Elvie and her best friend Ducky and her cluelessly awesome and has a drawer full of ‘in case of crisis’ folders, dad. Even Cole – the not-so-boyfriend who took off at the mention of pregnancy – makes for a good character.<br /><br />So yeah, <i>Mothership</i> is pretty flipping cool, yo! Elvie and the Goober baby, and the alien races up to who knows what is beyond entertaining. Fans of slightly inappropriate humor will eat this up, but I have a feeling so many others will love this book, if they give it a shot. I know I did!<br /><br /><b>Opening line:</b> As far as scientists have been able to determine, the primary function of the human coccyx, or tailbone, is to remind us that once upon a time we were all monkeys or something. ~ pg. 1<br /><br /><b>Favorite lines/passages: </b>Honestly, part of me feels sorry for Cole. The guy looks like he wants to drop a smoke bomb and ninja vanish. ~ pg. 82 <b>(Freakin’ Ninja Turtles reference FTW!!!!!!)</b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>And some foul language, but I love it anyway: </b></span></div>Man, this shit just got ominous. ~ pg. 113<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>4.5 all the way baby! ALL. THE. WAY. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z27mh7-XXlQ/TJgl7GFlfJI/AAAAAAAABxc/eWoatU7RRro/s1600/4+Star+Rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z27mh7-XXlQ/TJgl7GFlfJI/AAAAAAAABxc/eWoatU7RRro/s1600/4+Star+Rating.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">*This review is my honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation from it. </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">&nbsp;<b>Now for the giveaway:</b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">*Two (2) lucky readers will win their own copy of <i>Mothership</i></span></span><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">The dirty details:</span></span></b><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Open to US only</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">One entry per person </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Normal <a href="http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/p/contest-policy.html">contest policy</a> applies</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;Ends July 23, 2012</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">To enter:</span></span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">leave a comment with a way to contact you</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">That's it. Nice and simple.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">*S&amp;S is providing prizes and will do all mailings</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Find Martin Leicht online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Martin-Leicht/81533918/">S&amp;S Author Page</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinLeicht">Twitter </a><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Find Isla Neal online:</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Isla-Neal/81533923">S&amp;S Author Page</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/IslaNeal">Twitter</a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/MothershipBook?sk=app_190322544333196"><span style="font-size: large;">Check out Mothership on Facebook&nbsp;</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Buy it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1442429607/simonsayscom">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mothership-martin-leicht/1105945926?ean=9781442429604">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Mothership-Martin-Leicht/9781442429604">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781442429604">Indiebound</a><br /><br /></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/D6KxtOux5Jc?rel=0" width="480"></iframe><br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/07/book-review-giveaway-mothership-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-129310350876319816Sun, 15 Jul 2012 14:30:00 +00002012-07-16T01:58:17.954-04:00In My MailboxIn My Mailbox - (7/15/12)In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi at the The Story Siren. It is a list of any of the books you may have received in the past week from bookstores, libraries, authors/publishers, trades, etc.<br /><br />I've been trying to read a lot, instead of buying a lot more, since BEA. Thus far it has been fairly successful, though there are several books I realllllllly want, so I'll probably be caving and buying some soon. For now though:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ug5U6F-P61k/UAMMZHJSFfI/AAAAAAAADiA/WbUpE55S5a4/s1600/July+15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ug5U6F-P61k/UAMMZHJSFfI/AAAAAAAADiA/WbUpE55S5a4/s400/July+15.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><b>For Review:</b><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15721628-white-lines"><i>White Lines</i></a> by Jennifer Banash<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12993856-mothership"><i>Mothership</i></a> by Martin Leicht &amp; Isla Neal<br /><br /><b>Bought:</b><br />Awesome Doctor Who Postcards in a cool little TARDIS box!!<br /><br />*Special thanks to Penguin &amp; Big Honcho/S&amp;S! <br /><br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/07/in-my-mailbox-71512.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-5991820755811499816Tue, 10 Jul 2012 18:13:00 +00002012-07-10T14:13:30.703-04:00Book SpotlightContestDenise JadenNever Enough Is Finally Out!!<div style="text-align: center;">Last year I read and loved <a href="http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2010/10/losing-faith-by-denise-jaden.html"><i>Losing Faith</i> by Denise Jaden</a>, and today, her sophomore novel Never Enough is finally out. I've yet to read it, but I have no doubt I'll love it.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GVVtw7jS6HE/T_xuLHImBaI/AAAAAAAADhQ/JbePz-UrP6E/s1600/Never+Enough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GVVtw7jS6HE/T_xuLHImBaI/AAAAAAAADhQ/JbePz-UrP6E/s400/Never+Enough.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12974770-never-enough">Goodreads</a>):</b><br />From the author of Losing Faith, a novel about two sisters and the eating disorder that threatens to destroy their family.<br /><br />Loann’s always wanted to be popular and pretty like her sister, Claire. So when Claire’s ex-boyfriend starts flirting with her, Loann is willing to do whatever it takes to feel special… even if that means betraying her sister.<br /><br />But as Loann slips inside Claire’s world, she discovers that everything is not as it seems. Claire’s quest for perfection is all-consuming, and comes at a dangerous price. As Claire increasingly withdraws from friends and family, Loann struggles to understand her and make amends. Can she heal their relationship —and her sister—before it’s too late?</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">So now you have an idea what the book is about...Having a title like <i>Never Enough</i> makes it obvious that self-esteem will play a role here. Denise, along with several other authors, came together to make a video highlighting how they, like everyone else, can feel like they're never enough. I hope you'll take a few minutes to check it out!</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IvwLGDWsXoM?rel=0" width="480"></iframe><br /><br /><b>Oh, and a little giveaway...</b><br /><br /><a href="http://denisejaden.blogspot.ca/2012/07/blog-tours-and-entries-and-prizes-oh-my.html">Anyone who comments here, then heads over to Denise's blog to comment, will be entered to win numerous prizes. </a></div><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/07/never-enough-is-finally-out.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-1957491122409344448Mon, 09 Jul 2012 07:26:00 +00002012-07-09T03:26:22.114-04:00Book ReviewDavid AlmondDelacorte PressRandom HouseBook Review: My Name Is Mina by David Almond<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B8Wb-JI3CJc/T_M0ThAXG0I/AAAAAAAADgY/g8EIZ_wGMSI/s1600/My+Name+Is+Mina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B8Wb-JI3CJc/T_M0ThAXG0I/AAAAAAAADgY/g8EIZ_wGMSI/s200/My+Name+Is+Mina.jpg" width="129" /></a></div><b>Title:</b> <i>My Name Is Mina</i><br /><b>Author:</b> David Almond<br /><b>Reading Level:</b> Young Adult<br /><b>Publisher:</b> Delacorte Press<br />Hardcover, ARC 300 pages<br /><b>Date Published: </b>October 11, 2011<br /><b>Source:</b> Publisher<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10471552-my-name-is-mina">Goodreads</a>):</b><br />Mina loves the night. While everyone else is in a deep slumber, she gazes out the window, witness to the moon's silvery light. In the stillness, she can even hear her own heart beating. This is when Mina feels that anything is possible and her imagination is set free.<br /><br />A blank notebook lies on the table. It has been there for what seems like forever. Mina has proclaimed in the past that she will use it as a journal, and one night, at last, she begins to do just that. As she writes, Mina makes discoveries both trivial and profound about herself and her world, her thoughts and her dreams.<br /><br />Award-winning author David Almond reintroduces readers to the perceptive, sensitive Mina before the events of Skellig in this lyrical and fantastical work. My Name is Mina is not only a pleasure to read, it is an intimate and enlightening look at a character whose open mind and heart have much to teach us about life, love, and the mysteries that surround us. </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" /></a></div>Having never read <i>Skellig</i>, there’s a good chance that my review of <i>My Name Is Mina</i> is far different from someone’s who has read that book. <i>My Name Is Mina</i> is said to be a prequel to Skellig and though I never felt confused about any of the book, I think it lacked focus. The story is simply about a girl who is unlike most other girls and other children.<br /><br />Mina is precocious and imaginative in ways that other children are not. She views the world with bright-eyed innocence and sees beauty everywhere. Having the entire novel from her point of view allows the readers to see the world with fresh wonderment. But Mina’s journal entries tend to wax poetic about feathers and flying and words, etc. It all becomes repetitive and the point becomes muddled.<br /><br />For 300 pages, readers can live in Mina’s head, but that’s essentially it. There is no greater plot, other than seeing Mina. We see how she views the world, how she tends to hate school, how she loves her mother, and how she is beyond curious about all the things she encounters. She’s a loner, but sweet enough. It’s just that that is it. Mina’s story has no relevancy other than that.<br /><br /><i>My Name Is Mina</i> has some incredibly glowing reviews, but I couldn’t view it the way others have. My suggestion is to most definitely read <i>Skellig </i>prior to picking this one up because I think it will change any readers view on Mina and the entire book. I have no doubt that this precocious British school girl will sweep other readers away into her imagination.<br /><br /><b>Opening line: </b>My name is Mina and I love the night. ~ pg. 9<br /><br /><b>Favorite lines/passages: </b>I sit in my tree<br />I sing like the birds<br />My beak is my pen<br />My songs are my poems ~ pg. 181 <br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This is the ARC version and lines, pages, cover art may differ from final copy</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZKF2e-_tTp4/T_qHW2-nyHI/AAAAAAAADg4/F4_W7Eu8LFo/s1600/2+Star+Rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZKF2e-_tTp4/T_qHW2-nyHI/AAAAAAAADg4/F4_W7Eu8LFo/s1600/2+Star+Rating.png" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This review is my honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation from it. </span> <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find David online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.davidalmond.com/">Website</a> </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Buy it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385740735?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0385740735&amp;SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-name-is-mina-david-almond/1103141383?ean=9780385740739&amp;r=1&amp;cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10%3a1&amp;">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/My-Name-is-Mina-David-Almond/9780340997260">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780385740739">Indiebound</a></div><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/07/book-review-my-name-is-mina-by-david.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-5029415108774718172Wed, 04 Jul 2012 09:51:00 +00002012-07-10T15:12:23.038-04:00Cover RevealJennifer BanashCover Reveal + Giveaway: White Lines by Jennifer Banash<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KWnI4QV7NaU/T_QG6IXpA8I/AAAAAAAADgs/TqQsQtIZ09E/s1600/White+Lines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KWnI4QV7NaU/T_QG6IXpA8I/AAAAAAAADgs/TqQsQtIZ09E/s400/White+Lines.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Scheduled for release on April 4, 2013</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15721628-white-lines">Goodreads</a>): </b></div><div style="text-align: center;">A gritty, atmospheric coming-of-age tale set in New York’s Lower East Side </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Seventeen-year-old Cat is living every teenager’s dream—she has her own apartment on New York’s Lower East Side and at night she’s club kid royalty, guarding the velvet rope at some of the hottest clubs in the city. The night with its crazy, frenetic, high-inducing energy—the pulsing beat of the music, the radiant, joyful people and those seductive white lines that can ease all pain—is when Cat truly lives. But her daytime, when her real life occurs, is more nightmare than dream.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The sounds of the city grate against Cat’s nerves, she shrinks away from human touch, and can barely think the words “I love you” even when she feels them. Having spent years suffering her mother’s emotional and physical abuse, and abandoned by her father who’s found happiness in another woman, Cat is terrified and alone—unable to connect to anyone or anything. But then someone comes along who makes her want to stop escaping her life and actually live it, only she’ll need to summon the courage to confront her demons and take control of a life already spinning dangerously out of control. Both poignant and raw, <i>White Lines</i> is a gripping tale and the reader won’t want to look away.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Jennifer Banash online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jenniferbanash.com/">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/jenniferbanash">Twitter</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-order it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/White-Lines-Jennifer-Banash/dp/0399257888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1341393312&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=white+lines+by+jennifer+banash">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/White-Lines-Jennifer-Banash/9780399257889">The Book Depository</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED - WINNER NOTIFIED</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Putnam has also offered up a nice little excerpt:</b><br /><div style="height: 300px; overflow: auto; width: 480px;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 35px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">THREE </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’M SITTING ON THE STONE STEPS at school, pretending to en joy an apple that I bought from an Asian grocery a few blocks over, when all I’m really thinking about is how long I have left until I can go home and start getting ready for the club, every stroke of makeup on my skin sliding me further from daylight. I tongue the white flesh and sink my teeth in, wishing the ripe fruit was the tanned blond head of one of the salad girls. </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 15pt;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since Manhattan Prep is housed in a brownstone and has a population of only one hundred students or fewer in the entire school, we don’t have a cafeteria. Or a prom. Or dances. Or phys ed. Instead, the Park Avenue girls buy salads at a cafeteria next door and sit in the glass atrium picking at their wilted greens, retouching their lip gloss with sticky pink wands. Even though we are all essentially weird in some way— after all, this is a school for kids who have gotten into some kind of trouble—it’s not enough to banish cliques completely. We still have the same bullshit categories as any other school: the jocks, the popular girls, the nerds. And the untouchables. </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 15pt;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like me. It goes without saying that nobody wants to have lunch with the weirdo who goes to clubs all the way down town every night, so I sit on the steps and try to pretend that it doesn’t matter, when really, I’d do just about anything to have a friend here. This silent admission makes my cheeks flush with shame. How can I be so weak? Even at Nightingale, I only ever really had Sara, her blond curls hanging over my shoulder, elaborately folded notes tossed at my feet during study hall. Somehow, it was almost enough. But here, with no one to talk to day after day, the loneliness creeps in like an old friend I no longer want to know. Worse yet, it wants to make small talk. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh, it’s you again? How’ve you been? </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 15pt;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Across the street, Julian, the new kid, sits on the curb in front of Ray’s Pizza, a slice dangling from one hand. As he brings the pizza to his lips, the cheese falls off in one giant greasy slide to his lap. Julian has long dark hair that hangs to his shoulders and looks as if it hasn’t made friends with soap or water in days. His skin is the color of café au lait, and there’s something about the tilt of his eyes that makes me think he’s vaguely Asian. He wears jeans so tight that I’m sure years from now he’ll be sit ting in some clinic with his frosty blond wife, stammering that he has no idea WHY they’ve had such a difficult time starting a family. All I know about Julian is that (a) he sits right across the aisle from me in history class, and (b) he transferred from Dalton last week after some kind of scandal involving his ex-girlfriend, and (c) he’s totally into the Ramones. He doesn’t talk to anyone, and never raises his hand in class, just stares down at his binder and scribbles what looks like pictures of Transform ers on the cover with a black pen.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 15pt;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Julian finishes scraping melted cheese off his jeans and looks up, an irritated expression clouding his face. When his eyes meet mine, I feel a rough shock of recognition between us and raise my apple core in a kind of demented greeting, the air suddenly as thick as pudding. Julian tosses me a curt nod and promptly goes back to stuffing the rest of the slice into his mouth, gnawing hungrily at the edges of the crust, watching me all the while. Even though I love staring, and I think that generally other people’s lives are way more interest ing than TV, I feel uneasy as Julian’s eyes lock on to mine. My face burns as he chews the last bite and brushes his hands against his black jeans before walking toward me. I turn the apple core over and over between my palms, my heart careen ing in my chest as he approaches, glad that my hands have something to do even if the core is damp, sticky, and turning browner by the minute. As Julian moves closer, I can’t help but notice how he shakes the hair from his eyes with one ex pert, jagged motion, how his hazel eyes change from green to brown in the light His skin is smooth and slightly bronzed, as if he’s just returned from some exotic locale. He tilts his chin in my direction defiantly, his eyes flicking coolly over my body, taking me in. </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 15pt;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“See something you like?” He raises one dark eyebrow, and I feel like I’m going to spontaneously combust, which is what always happens when someone potentially interesting talks to me in the real world—especially if that person happens to be a guy. And up close, Julian is definitely interesting—though it makes my stomach churn spasmodically to even think the word to myself. People are dangerous, unpredictable. I know this implicitly, and every time I come into contact with them, I become a caged animal, a panther pacing back and forth behind steel bars, wary and agitated. </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 15pt;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah,” I stammer, turning redder by the second and wish ing that a manhole would just open up and swallow me whole. I look down at my black boots and scramble for something to say, my brain a jumble of images, none that entirely make sense. “Your pizza—I was just . . . hungry.” </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 15pt;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The minute the words leave my lips, I know they are the truth. My stomach begins to growl loudly as if in agreement, and I look up into Julian’s amused face and laugh, my voice echoing in the street, too loud, even with the noise of a pass ing bus belching a thick cloud of black smoke. As the sound vibrates through me, jolting me into the present, I realize that it’s been forever since I’ve laughed at something legitimately funny or awkward without being prompted by the ingestion of some mind-altering substance. Still, I can’t quite turn off that ever-present voice inside my head, the one that holds up an in visible hand to stop me from going further, from moving closer. </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 15pt;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People are dangerous . . . </span></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 15pt;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well,” Julian says, laughing along with me and holding out a hand, “that’s remedied easily enough. C’mon.” </span></b></div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.9654559397604316" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I stare at his hand, the long fingers, and look into his eyes, which I can now see are flecked with gold. I toss my apple core to the concrete and take hold of him, ignoring the voice that begins, even now, to protest more loudly, whispering like a flock of ruffled birds, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t touch, don’t trust. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I draw a deep breath and follow him blindly across the street, unsure of where I’m being taken.</span></b></div></div><br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/07/cover-reveal-giveaway-white-lines-by_04.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-7953166711165229086Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:07:00 +00002012-07-03T14:07:02.645-04:00David AlmondTeaser TuesdaysTeaser Tuesday - My Name Is Mina by David Almond<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/StUNvc_x9pI/AAAAAAAAAE4/zESyc-jTEZA/s1600-h/teaser+tuesday.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #745c05; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/StUNvc_x9pI/AAAAAAAAAE4/zESyc-jTEZA/s320/teaser+tuesday.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(85, 136, 170); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(85, 136, 170); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(85, 136, 170); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(85, 136, 170); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" /></a>Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of&nbsp;<a href="http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/" style="color: #745c05; text-decoration: none;">Should Be Reading</a><br /><br />The Rules:<br />•Grab your current read11<br />•Open to a random page<br />•Share two (2) or so “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page<br />•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)<br />•Share the title &amp; author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I'm pretty sure it's been forever and a day since I've done one of these, but here we go!&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">This week's teaser comes from David Almond's <i>My Name Is Mina</i>. Having never read Skellig (which I guess is kinda amazeballs) this story has started off very strange to me. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but I'm going to stick it out and see where it goes.</div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: center;">Words should wander and meander. They should fly like owls and flicker like bats and slip like cats. They should murmur and scream and dance and sing. ~ pg. 11</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This is the ARC and lines, pages, and cover art may differ from the final copy</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mY8loPuH308/T_M0o-8x_hI/AAAAAAAADgg/j65gxG-OLDU/s1600/My+Name+Is+Mina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mY8loPuH308/T_M0o-8x_hI/AAAAAAAADgg/j65gxG-OLDU/s320/My+Name+Is+Mina.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>There's an empty notebook lying on the table in the moonlight. It's been there for an age. I keep on saying that I'll write a journal. So I'll start right here, right now. I open the book and write the very first words: My name is Mina and I love the night. Then what shall I write? I can't just write that this happened then this happened then this happened to boring infinitum. I'll let my journal grow just like the mind does, just like a tree or a beast does, just like life does. Why should a book tell a tale in a dull straight line?<br /><br />And so Mina writes and writes in her journal, and through her stories and poems there grows an opus of her life - her lessons, her loves, her beliefs, her mum, her dad, her thoughts and her dreams.<br /><br />In this stunningly designed book, David Almond revisits Mina before she has met Michael, before she has met Skellig, in what is a thought-provoking and extraordinary prequel to his best-selling debut novel, Skellig.<br /><br />From the winner of the Whitbread Children's Book Award the Carnegie Medal and the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award comes the extraordinary prequel to the award-winning Skellig.<br /><br />*Description taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8526585-my-name-is-mina">Goodreads</a> <br /><br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/07/teaser-tuesday-my-name-is-mina-by-david.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-4031289492939899157Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:30:00 +00002012-07-02T12:54:04.362-04:00Book ReviewLara ZielinPenguinPutnamBook Review: The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4MV8dCb5ank/T-x9lHXxvQI/AAAAAAAADf8/a7q6puQvliU/s1600/The+Waiting+Sky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4MV8dCb5ank/T-x9lHXxvQI/AAAAAAAADf8/a7q6puQvliU/s200/The+Waiting+Sky.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><b>Title: </b> <i>The Waiting Sky</i><br /><b>Author:</b> Lara Zielin<br /><b>Reading Level: </b>Young Adult<br /><b>Publisher: </b>Putnam (Penguin)<br />ARC, 246 pages<br /><b>Date Published:</b> August 2, 2012<br /><b>Source:</b> Publisher<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12849258-the-waiting-sky">Goodreads</a>): </b><br />One summer chasing tornadoes could finally change Jane's life for the better<br /><br />Seventeen-year-old Jane McAllister can't quite admit her mother's alcoholism is spiraling dangerously out of control until she drives drunk, nearly killing them and Jane's best friend.<br /><br />Jane has only one place to turn: her older brother Ethan, who left the problems at home years ago for college. A summer with him and his tornado-chasing buddies may just provide the time and space Jane needs to figure out her life and whether it still includes her mother. But she struggles with her anger at Ethan for leaving home and feels guilty--is she also abandoning her mom just when she needs Jane most? The carefree trip turned journey of self-discovery quickly becomes more than Jane bargained for, especially when the devilishly handsome Max steps into the picture.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" /></a></div><i>The Waiting Sky</i> has a road-trip book feel to it, with roadside diners, cute boys, deep-seated resentment, familial issues, oh, and tornados. Can’t forget the tornados. Because that’s what Jane does. She leaves her alcoholic mother for the summer, to sort out her life by tagging along with her storm-chaser older brother.<br /><br />The thing about this book is that it is far, far deeper and more meaningful than one can imagine. Sure there’s some storm-chasing – and it’s really kind of cool – and sure, there’s a cut boy – and he’s really kind of awesome, but the big thing Jane comes up against, is herself. She’s been living a life of cleaning up after her alcoholic mother. And in the end, it could kill her; it almost killed her best friend Cat.<br /><br />Now for anyone who has ever come face to face with alcoholism or any kind of drug abuse in their family, this book will resonate down to the marrow. It’s real, it’s heartbreaking, and it’s so beautifully told. Jane’s denial fills her up. She makes excuse after excuse for her mother because that’s what someone in her shoes does. She’s not just the daughter of an alcoholic, she’s all her mother has. Her brother Ethan got out when he could. And she hates him for that. Every emotion Jane experiences, whether the reader agrees with her or not, is entirely honest and realistic. The growth she has is tremendous. <br /><br />Despite the heavy subject matter, Lara Zielin has an easy way with words. There is plenty of humor, thanks in great part to the TorBros crew and the suave Vermont boy Max. I found myself grinning through a good chunk of the book. On top of that, most of the characters come front and center at one point or another. They aren’t tertiary beings, as Zielin makes Ethan, Max, and even grumpy Victor take on important roles.<br /><br /><i>The Waiting Sky</i> is a sensational story about growing up, moving on, and love of all kinds. The Tornado Alley backdrop allows readers to have a peak into a life that most of us have never imagined; but it comes to life in such clarity that it feels like we’re there, right along Jane, crying over a mother that was never a mom, learning to forgive a brother who is trying to make up for leaving, slowly falling in love with a stranger who could be so much more, and growing up during a summer of storms along a ragtag group of friends who become family. It was equal parts sweet, funny, and heartbreakingly beautiful. I cannot recommend it enough. <br /><br /><b>Opening line:</b> Even though there’s a black wedge of sky in front of me that might drop a twister at any second, I can’t get my mom’s voice out of my head. ~ pg. 1<br /><br /><b>Favorite lines/passages: </b>His hands are on my back, in my hair, on my hips. His fingers move like I’m Braille, like he’s trying to read me just by touching me. ~ pg. 180<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This is the ARC version and lines, pages, cover art may differ from final copy</span>&nbsp; <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fW-RtCYLDxo/THGpuHLys3I/AAAAAAAABn4/LfWwuaDreAI/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fW-RtCYLDxo/THGpuHLys3I/AAAAAAAABn4/LfWwuaDreAI/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" /></a></div>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: x-small;">*This review is my honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation from it. </span> <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Find Lara Zielin online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.larawrites.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://larawrites.com/blog/">Blog</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/larazielin">Twitter</a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Pre-order it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Sky-Lara-Zielin/dp/0399256865/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1321956520&amp;sr=1-5">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-waiting-sky-lara-zielin/1106010299?ean=9780399256868&amp;r=1&amp;cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10%3a1&amp;">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Waiting-Sky-Lara-Zielin/9780399256868">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780399256868">Indiebound</a></div><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/07/book-review-waiting-sky-by-lara-zielin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-8661507472310104469Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:46:00 +00002012-06-28T11:46:58.472-04:00RandomnessSome Days I Just Want To Read...Six, nearly seven months into the year and I've realized something...<br /><br />Some days I really just want to read. I want to glue myself to a chair, or the couch, or my bed, and JUST READ. The other night I read <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11362198-auracle"><i>Auracle</i> by Gina Rosati</a> in practically one sitting. I had gotten about 20 pages in earlier that day, went out, did some stuff when I came home, sat down on my bed, and just read; straight through, no stopping, just soaking it in.<br /><br />Safe to say, it was a reading day.<br /><br />And I don't think I have very many of those days anymore.<br /><br />My job messes with my sleeping hours and, most of the time, I just relax, doing nothing. Reading takes up too much brain power for me most days. Horrible, right? Especially since I love it so much.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0WcduDiWt9g/T-x8LkA7_mI/AAAAAAAADfw/KLJPj9vrdKI/s1600/work-life-balance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0WcduDiWt9g/T-x8LkA7_mI/AAAAAAAADfw/KLJPj9vrdKI/s320/work-life-balance.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://aplusadminservices.co/personal-days-business">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table>That being said, I haven't read nearly as much this year as I did last year. I haven't reviewed nearly as much and I certainly haven't checked out nearly as many blogs. It sucks, but it's life. I still haven't figured out the perfect way to balance work, reading, blogging, and maintaining a social life.<br /><br />I'm not sure I ever will, but I'll have to settle for THIS for now.<br /><br />Oh, and in case you were wondering, today is sooooo not a reading day. It's a curl up and sleep day. And a work day. Boo for work!!<br /><br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/06/some-days-i-just-want-to-read.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-7032261853339355395Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:00:00 +00002012-06-26T09:00:14.692-04:00Book ReviewGina DamicoGraphiaHoughton MifflinBook Review: Croak by Gina Damico<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lDCHOJ8C5QQ/T-C7d2kUtnI/AAAAAAAADd0/mJMn0aJeTLI/s1600/Croak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lDCHOJ8C5QQ/T-C7d2kUtnI/AAAAAAAADd0/mJMn0aJeTLI/s200/Croak.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><b>Title:</b> <i>Croak</i><br /><b>Author:</b> Gina Damico<br /><b>Reading Level:</b> Young Adult<br /><b>Publisher: </b>Graphia (HMH)<br />Paperback, 311 pages<br /><b>Date Published:</b> March 20, 2012<br /><b>Source:</b> Bought<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11836538-croak">Goodreads</a>): </b><br />Fed up with her wild behavior, sixteen-year-old Lex's parents ship her off to upstate<br />New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of<br />dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort's true occupation is<br />much dirtier than shoveling manure.<br />He's a Grim Reaper. And he's going to teach Lex the family business.<br />She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by<br />reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. But Lex can't stop her desire for<br />justice--or is it vengeance?--whenever she encounters a murder victim, craving to<br />stop the attackers before they can strike again. Will she ditch Croak and go rogue with<br />her reaper skills? </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" /></a></div>Croak is a town out in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York. It also happens to be a town full of Grims – people who literally cultivate the dead. Lexington Bartleby happens to be Croak’s newest resident (the population number even changes when she crosses the town line) and wacky mayor Mort’s niece. Lex is quite the spitfire, with her attitude, stubbornness, and penchant for fighting; she’s also unabashedly sarcastic and acts a bit childish at times.<br /><br />Despite that, I loved Lex. She rarely thinks before she acts and mouths off far too much, but she’s easy to relate to and her actions make sense in the grand scheme of things. Not to mention the entire nature of the Grims is interesting and takes a whole new spin on grim reapers. The Killers, the Cullers, and all other Grim people live in this bubble that no one else knows about. They’re isolated, but have found a way to live fulfilling and fun lives. The town of Grim is as much a character as Lex.<br /><br />Speaking of characters though, there are a good number of them. Lex feels very real. She has her issues and I loved her for them. Her frustratingly wonderful partner, Driggs, is the level head when Lex wants to go off half-cocked. He attempts to keep her grounded, but she’s hard one to rein in. Their relationship has just the right amount of spark and tension to keep their scenes nice and interesting.<br /><br /><i>Croak</i> is an intelligent and witty read, full of dark ends and clever interactions. Gina Damico has shown up with a truly unique and amusing read. I devoured <i>Croak</i>, flew through its pages, and cannot wait to see where Lex goes from here and if she can learn to rein in her attitude enough to do what must be done.<br /><br /><b>Opening line:</b> Lex wondered, for a fleeting moment, what her principal’s head might look like if it were stabbed atop a giant wooden spear. ~ pg. 1<br /><br /><b>Favorite lines/passages: </b>“Well, you did just shiv your own uncle with a stick.” ~ pg. 40<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>And another one:</b></span> </div>“Oh my God,” she said, rolling her eyes. “This is so high school. I’m gonna go cry into my locker.”<br />“Forget it. We’ll talk later.”<br />“Good idea. That’ll give me time to consult my cootie catcher.” ~ pg. 258<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fW-RtCYLDxo/THGpuHLys3I/AAAAAAAABn4/LfWwuaDreAI/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fW-RtCYLDxo/THGpuHLys3I/AAAAAAAABn4/LfWwuaDreAI/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This review is my honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation from it. </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Find Gina Damico online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ginadami.co/">Website</a> | <a href="http://ginadamico.wordpress.com/">Blog</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/ginadamico">Twitter</a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Buy it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547608322/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=gindam-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=0547608322">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/croak-gina-damico/1104324420?ean=9780547822563&amp;r=1&amp;cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10%3a1&amp;">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Croak-Gina-Damico/9780547608327">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780547608327?aff=GinaDamico">Indiebound</a><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XkIivAxaW3w?rel=0" width="480"></iframe> </div><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/06/book-review-croak-by-gina-damico.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-6544948394633033921Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:20:00 +00002012-07-10T15:11:45.186-04:00Amalie HowardCorey F. GodwellKristi CookGiveaway: Mirage SIGNED by Kristi Cook + swag!<div style="text-align: center;">This is a little late, but back on June 12th, I had the chance to go to NYC with the lovely Cindy Thomas (<a href="http://cindythomasbooks.blogspot.com/2012/06/happiest-kind-of-post-hint-agent.html">who recently signed with an agent because she's awesome</a>) to venture to Kristi Cook's launch for MIRAGE. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ndsEOBlXYFI/T-iM4TzBCNI/AAAAAAAADfk/74dhrBmE9SQ/s1600/Mirage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ndsEOBlXYFI/T-iM4TzBCNI/AAAAAAAADfk/74dhrBmE9SQ/s320/Mirage.JPG" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pizza eating, sandwich-making, and house tours occurred. Along with NY drivers, rain, and a gloriously fun night at Books of Wonder!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">So not only was Kristi launching MIRAGE into the world, but <a href="http://amaliehoward.com/">Amalie Howard</a>, author of <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10679230-bloodspell"><i>Bloodspell</i></a>, and <a href="http://www.nukleuscomics.com/">Corey F. Godwell</a>, author and illustrator, were there as well. Suffice to say, it was a great time. Check out the photos below and head to the bottom of the post for the giveaway.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wP3-6CzkAw0/T-iIuk6kpgI/AAAAAAAADeY/Wjf6DWFm1qo/s1600/IMG_0452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wP3-6CzkAw0/T-iIuk6kpgI/AAAAAAAADeY/Wjf6DWFm1qo/s320/IMG_0452.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I3Z26o4nlj0/T-iIy7i_bGI/AAAAAAAADeg/wofQh8fcHfI/s1600/IMG_0454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I3Z26o4nlj0/T-iIy7i_bGI/AAAAAAAADeg/wofQh8fcHfI/s320/IMG_0454.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0B4_WVh5jzk/T-iI0FcoRRI/AAAAAAAADeo/ly11Mhasj5c/s1600/IMG_0455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0B4_WVh5jzk/T-iI0FcoRRI/AAAAAAAADeo/ly11Mhasj5c/s320/IMG_0455.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amalie reading from Bloodspell</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9BpMXSsjd4k/T-iI3FJFbVI/AAAAAAAADew/GNauOiMuzM0/s1600/IMG_0456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9BpMXSsjd4k/T-iI3FJFbVI/AAAAAAAADew/GNauOiMuzM0/s320/IMG_0456.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristi reading from Mirage</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b-htfBNreO4/T-iJ9GYpWYI/AAAAAAAADfU/svK3_K1GbwY/s1600/Corey+Godwell.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b-htfBNreO4/T-iJ9GYpWYI/AAAAAAAADfU/svK3_K1GbwY/s320/Corey+Godwell.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corey with the Winterhaven posters he created for Kristi's series</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: large;">GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED - WINNER NOTIFIED</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Kristi Cook online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://kristi-cook.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://kristi-cook.com/blog-2/">Blog</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/Kristi_Cook">Twitter</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Buy it online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mirage-Kristi-Cook/dp/1442442999/ref=la_B003USXNI0_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1340640180&amp;sr=1-1">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mirage-kristi-cook/1104239955?ean=9781442442993">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Mirage-Kristi-Cook/9781442442993">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781442442993">Indiebound</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gefezle2DzA?rel=0" width="480"></iframe> </div><br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/06/giveaway-mirage-signed-by-kristi-cook.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-8851367624703690002Fri, 22 Jun 2012 16:24:00 +00002012-06-22T12:24:34.658-04:00Erin BowmanIn Case You Missed the CoverTahereh MafiIn Case You Missed the Cover: Unravel Me & TakenThere have been soooo many incredible cover reveals lately and here are two:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-02vXV6_cquA/T-SXO_2sUVI/AAAAAAAADeA/4IEvCR83JdM/s1600/Unravel+Me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-02vXV6_cquA/T-SXO_2sUVI/AAAAAAAADeA/4IEvCR83JdM/s400/Unravel+Me.jpg" width="265" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Scheduled for release February 5, 2013</b></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.harperteen.com/books/Unravel-Me-Tahereh-Mafi/?isbn=9780062085535">HarperTeen</a>):</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">tick </div><div style="text-align: center;">tick</div><div style="text-align: center;">tick</div><div style="text-align: center;">tick</div><div style="text-align: center;">tick</div><div style="text-align: center;">it's almost</div><div style="text-align: center;">time for war.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13104080-unravel-me"><span style="font-size: large;">Add it on Goodreads</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Tahereh Mafi online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.taherehmafi.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://stiryourtea.blogspot.com/">Blog</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/TaherehMafi">Twitter</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-order it online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062085530?ie=UTF8%20&amp;tag=harperteen-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0062085530">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unravel-me-tahereh-mafi/1111397856?ean=9780062085535&amp;cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-MdXm68JZJz8-_-10%3a1&amp;">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Unravel-Me-Tahereh-Mafi/9780062085535">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062085535">Indiebound</a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X7iBXvjPVOM/T-SZ1DWM8hI/AAAAAAAADeM/imrZItecJ9E/s1600/Taken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X7iBXvjPVOM/T-SZ1DWM8hI/AAAAAAAADeM/imrZItecJ9E/s400/Taken.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Scheduled for release on April 16, 2013</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11044367-taken">Goodreads</a>):</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">There are no men in Claysoot. There are boys—but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends...and he’s gone.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">They call it the Heist.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Gray Weathersby’s eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he’s prepared to meet his fate–until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to question everything he’s been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. And what lies beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot–a structure that no one can cross and survive. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken–or risk everything on the hope of the other side?</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Erin Bowman online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.embowman.com/">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/erin_bowman">Twitter</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-order it online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Taken-Erin-Bowman/9780062117267">The Book Depository</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">No other pre-order links available :( </div><br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/06/in-case-you-missed-cover-unravel-me.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-369113395085243929Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:00:00 +00002012-06-20T09:00:03.618-04:00Book ReviewJackson PearceLittle BrownBook Review: Purity by Jackson Pearce<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-neT8bVcbfHw/T91vWbmQ2aI/AAAAAAAADdY/ZYxtx30cwos/s1600/Purity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-neT8bVcbfHw/T91vWbmQ2aI/AAAAAAAADdY/ZYxtx30cwos/s200/Purity.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><b>Title:</b><i> Purity</i><br /><b>Author:</b> Jackson Pearce<br /><b>Reading Level: </b>Young Adult<br /><b>Publisher: </b>Little, Brown<br />Hardcover, 218 pages<br /><b>Date Published: </b>April 24, 2012<br /><b>Source: </b> Publisher<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9268789-purity">Goodreads</a>): </b> <br /><i>A novel about love, loss, and sex -- but not necessarily in that order.</i><br /><br />Before her mother died, Shelby promised three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Those Promises become harder to keep when Shelby's father joins the planning committee for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live pure lives -- in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex.<br /><br />Torn between Promises One and Three, Shelby makes a decision -- to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby starts to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" /></a></div>Jackson Pearce holds a special place in my heart because I’ve loved her retellings, but <i>Purity</i> is something entirely different from her previous work. And it’s just as good, if not better. <i>Purity </i>has this depth to it that I didn’t quite expect. <br /><br />Shelby is looking to lose her v-card, not because she’s ready or she necessarily wants to, but because she made these Promises to her mom on her deathbed, and one of those Promises was to listen and obey her dad. Somehow she interprets this by skirting his orders and her plan to get around a purity vow at the Princess Ball is to have sex <i>before</i> the ball, making said vow null and void. It sounds kind of crazy (and it is), but I get it, I really do. <br /><br />Pearce has this way of making Shelby’s thinking process make perfect sense. A plan to pop the cherry is insane and Shelby does struggle with it. She struggles with the loss of her mother, of the disconnect with her father, and with her anger towards God. She’s lost and beyond confused. The Promises and the Life List (like a bucket list, but a little more lengthy and daring) give her focus, give her purpose beyond herself. She lives without restraint, jumping off of bridges and such, because she thinks that’s what her mother wanted her to do. To be there for her father, to love, and to <i>live</i>. The only problem is that Shelby’s mother is gone and she has no idea just how much and how far she should be going to keep the Promises.<br /><br />Shelby’s two besties, Ruby and Jonas, bring some fantastic humor to the story as well. The writing is not only funny, but clever. These teens aren’t stupid and it shows. Jonas and Ruby don’t 100% agree with what she’s doing, but they support her and, in turn, drudge up some hilarious one-liners. Shelby’s constant struggle with religion also has its funny moments. But the honest way Shelby approaches it – with skepticism, but a desire to believe in something – gives the story a great deal of heart<br /><br /><i>Purity</i> is much more than a fluff story about a girl desperate to lose her virginity; it is about loss, about life, and about love. Jackson Pearce has shown that she can easily move outside of fantasy and approach contemporary YA with just as much skill as seasoned veterans. <i>Purity</i> is reminiscent of Sarah Ockler, in that it’s wondrously funny, but heart-rending at the same time. I’m eager to see Pearce dish out more and more contemporary in the future. <br /><br /><b>Opening line: </b>When I said it, I didn’t mean it. ~ pg. 1<br /><br /><b>Favorite lines/passages: </b>People expect you to miss the big things after someone you love dies. They expect you to think about graduating, falling in love, getting married without your mother there. And I do think about those things. But the things I really miss are smaller, fractions of my life intersected with hers, the moments I didn’t bother remembering because they seemed too unimportant – going to the grocery store, coming down the stairs in the morning, watching television, folding laundry. Things that happened a thousand times that will never happen again. ~ pgs. 41-42<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Now less serious, more hardy har har</b></span> </div>“Oh, and I put some extra makeup in that bag – you need to wear more blush and some sparkly powder. Sparkly powder was made for balls, even creepy virgin ones.” ~ pg. 201<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fW-RtCYLDxo/THGpuHLys3I/AAAAAAAABn4/LfWwuaDreAI/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fW-RtCYLDxo/THGpuHLys3I/AAAAAAAABn4/LfWwuaDreAI/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">*This review is my honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation from it.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;</span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Jackson Pearce online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jackson-pearce.com/">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/JacksonPearce">Twitter</a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Buy it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Purity-Jackson-Pearce/dp/031618246X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1318050527&amp;sr=1-5">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/purity-jackson-pearce/1106244209?ean=9780316182461">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Purity-Jackson-Pearce/9780316182461">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316182461">Indiebound</a></div><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/06/book-review-purity-by-jackson-pearce.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-8724162795347945678Sun, 17 Jun 2012 14:00:00 +00002012-06-18T00:49:17.470-04:00In My MailboxIn My Mailbox - (6/17/12)In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi at the <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren</a>. It is a list of any of the books you may have received in the past week from bookstores, libraries, authors/publishers, trades, etc.<br /><br />I've been meaning to do one of these since before BEA...so I finally am now. This is a collection of books from the past month or so; all non-BEA related.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w4517tPosiA/T96sczGXwiI/AAAAAAAADdk/z9bhvUvz_CQ/s1600/June+17th.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w4517tPosiA/T96sczGXwiI/AAAAAAAADdk/z9bhvUvz_CQ/s400/June+17th.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><b>For Review:</b><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12872080-darkness-before-dawn"><i>Darkness Before Dawn</i></a> by J.A. London<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13531021-splendors-and-glooms"><i>Splendors &amp; Gloom</i></a> by Laura Amy Schlitz<br /><br /><b>Bought:</b><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8673931-possess"><i>Possess</i></a> SIGNED by Gretchen McNeil<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10151730-fair-coin"><i>Fair Coin</i></a> SIGNED by E. C. Myers<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11983940-scarlet"><i>Scarlet</i></a> SIGNED by A.C. Gaughen<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9591398-the-girl-who-circumnavigated-fairyland-in-a-ship-of-her-own-making"><i>The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making</i></a> by Catherynne M. Valente<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10802210-across-the-universe"><i>Across the Universe </i></a>(PB) by Beth Revis<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9302583-the-piper-s-son"><i>The Piper's Son</i></a> by Melina Marchetta<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8755776-city-of-lost-souls"><i>City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5)</i></a> by Cassandra Clare<br /><br /><b>Gifted:</b><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12988101-mirage#"><i>Mirage (Winterhaven, #2)</i></a> SIGNED by Kristi Cook<br /><br />I also had the pleasure of running into local debut author <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11362198-auracle">Gina Rosati</a>, who threw lots and lots of bookmarks at me :)<br /><br />*Special thanks to Harper, Candlewick, Kristi Cook, Cindy!!, and Gina<br /><br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/06/in-my-mailbox-61712.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-2178973254013480076Fri, 15 Jun 2012 13:30:00 +00002012-06-15T11:29:44.294-04:00Adam GidwitzBook ReviewDuttonMiddle GradePenguinBook Review: A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0YYr1lK7WNY/T9tM0so54xI/AAAAAAAADdI/unTF6FH5jH4/s1600/A+Tale+Dark+&amp;+Grimm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0YYr1lK7WNY/T9tM0so54xI/AAAAAAAADdI/unTF6FH5jH4/s200/A+Tale+Dark+&amp;+Grimm.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><b>Title: </b><i>A Tale Dark &amp; Grimm</i><br /><b>Author: </b>Adam Gidwitz<br /><b>Reading Level:</b> Middle Grade<br /><b>Publisher: </b>Dutton (Penguin)<br />Hardcover, 251 pages<br /><b>Date Published: </b>October 28, 2010<br /><b>Source:</b> Bought<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7825557-a-tale-dark-and-grimm">Goodreads</a>):</b><br />In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches. Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after. </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" /></a></div><i>A Tale Dark &amp; Grimm </i>is certainly dark at times and very much grim as well. Adam Gidwitz’s fairy tale retelling is imaginative and properly Grimm. There is blood and death and despair, but also happiness in its pages. Hansel and Gretal are the two main characters and they give the reader an instant connection. We know who these two children are, but we’ve never heard their story this way before. And I must say, this version of their tale is far more complicated and gloomy than anything I ever expected.<br /><br />We all know the tale of Hansel and Gretel and we’ve all heard many Grimm Brothers tales, but I guarantee that no one has ever read something like this before. Gidwitz has deftly woven several Grimm stories into the lives of young Hansel and Gretel. We get dragons and man beasts and old women with houses made of food; there are kingdoms and devils and destruction. The best part though, the part that middle grade readers will revel in, is that, in the end, it’s the children that conquer; the children that make all of it worthwhile. <br /><br /><i>A Tale Dark &amp; Grimm</i> is a fun, fast-paced, creatively entertaining fairy tale retelling that readers will love. It’s a bit darker than most fairy tales are, but stays in the vein of the original Grimm Brothers tales. There are lessons in each chapter, and two characters to adore and grow with. Oh, and the narrator is hilarious throughout…what with his warnings to children and the bad things to come. <br /><br /><b>Opening line:</b> Once upon a time, in a kingdom called Grimm, an old king lay on his deathbed. ~ pg. 5<br /><br /><b>Favorite lines/passages: You see, to find the brightest wisdom one must pass through the darkest zones. And through the darkest zones there can be no guide.</b><br /><b>No guide, that is, but courage.</b> ~ pg. 238<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;<b>4.5 stars</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z27mh7-XXlQ/TJgl7GFlfJI/AAAAAAAABxc/eWoatU7RRro/s1600/4+Star+Rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z27mh7-XXlQ/TJgl7GFlfJI/AAAAAAAABxc/eWoatU7RRro/s1600/4+Star+Rating.png" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This review is my honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation from it. </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Find Adam Gidwitz online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.adamgidwitz.com/">Website</a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Buy it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525423346?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0525423346&amp;SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tale-dark-and-grimm-adam-gidwitz/1100257729?ean=9780525423348&amp;r=1&amp;cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10%3a1&amp;">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Tale-Dark-Grimm-Adam-Gidwitz/9780142419670">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780525423348">Indiebound</a><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yiRVnkYcJ2I?rel=0" width="480"></iframe> </div><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/06/book-revewi-tale-dark-grimm-by-adam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-1572609462955037369Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:55:00 +00002012-06-11T09:59:51.146-04:00BEA12BEA Haul 2012<div style="text-align: center;">I was able to get sooo many books that I really wanted at BEA...and I wanted to share the ones I am MOST excited about here, so you can be on the lookout for my crazy love for them!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kr5w5dcH-zM/T9X4g89mmnI/AAAAAAAADcs/s2Vspa58Vrg/s1600/IMG_0424%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kr5w5dcH-zM/T9X4g89mmnI/AAAAAAAADcs/s2Vspa58Vrg/s400/IMG_0424%5B1%5D.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13490795-entice"><i>Entice (Violet Eden Chapters, #2)</i></a> by Jessica Shirvington<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13455553-the-peculiar"><i>The Peculiar</i></a> by Stefan Bachmann<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9761778-deity"><i>Deity (Covenant, #3)</i></a> by Jennifer L. Armentrout<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11945589-cursed"><i>Cursed</i></a> SIGNED by Jennifer L. Armentrout<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13445306-let-the-sky-fall"><i>Let the Sky Fall</i></a> by Shannon Messenger<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10859509-altered"><i>Altered</i></a> by Jennifer Rush<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13406403-34-pieces-of-you"><i>34 Pieces of You</i></a> by Carmen Rodrigues<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13262783-every-day"><i>Every Day</i></a> SIGNED by David Levithan<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12842828-keeper-of-the-lost-cities"><i>Keeper of the Lost Cities</i></a> SIGNED by Shannon Messenger<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10352973-skylark"><i>Skylark </i></a>SIGNED by Meagan Spooner<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11985913-fathomless"><i>Fathomless</i></a> SIGNED by Jackson Pearce<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13547215-red-rain"><i>Red Rain</i></a> SIGNED by R.L. Stine<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12812550-days-of-blood-and-starlight"><i>Days of Blood &amp; Starlight</i></a> (chapter sampler) by Laini Taylor<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13089710-the-kill-order"><i>The Kill Order</i></a> (chapter sampler) SIGNED by James Dashner<br /><br />*Totes meant to add <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13591678-endangered"><i>Endangered</i></a> by Eliot Schrefer, but forgot to add it to the picture because I'm reading it now! <br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/06/bea-haul-2012.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-982309079786543354Sat, 09 Jun 2012 17:57:00 +00002012-06-11T10:00:20.190-04:00BEA12Chris ColferDavid LevithanJennifer L. ArmentroutR.L. StineRandomnessScholasticSimon and SchusterBEA 2012 Wrap-UpSo BEA happened this past week...I spent five days in NYC, having an absolute blast!<br /><br />Last year's BEA was stressful and a very chaotic, but this year I have no complaints. The outside events were spectacular, the authors were all so kind, and the publisher's were beyond nice. I have so many highlights and moments I'd love to relive, but that would make this post way too long, so I'll share a few.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2S5-Z7xG3eQ/T9ONN6SMgSI/AAAAAAAADcg/VhBCpmmQ_PU/s1600/IMG_0415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2S5-Z7xG3eQ/T9ONN6SMgSI/AAAAAAAADcg/VhBCpmmQ_PU/s320/IMG_0415.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BEA 2012 stairs</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Day 1: The day of OMG I have no idea where I'm going</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Meeting R.L. Stine - I think this may be my favorite moment from the entire convention, no just day 1</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MLdP1hd_xIU/T9OEirQ0rOI/AAAAAAAADbE/ObOm7qUHNe4/s1600/IMG_0419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MLdP1hd_xIU/T9OEirQ0rOI/AAAAAAAADbE/ObOm7qUHNe4/s320/IMG_0419.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I wanted to make it to the R.L. Stine signing, but it wasn't my number one priority. Once I was in line, I was excited...once I got up to the table, I kind of fangirled because it was <span style="font-size: large;">R.L. STINE</span>. And he was there, in front of me, talking to me, signing his adult book (<i>Red Rain</i>) for me, and joking with me.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">It was an incredible moment and I don't think I'll ever forget it.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Day 2: The day of much awesomeness</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Meeting Chris Colfer - Because he's Chris Colfer and his book looks sooooo good</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mEBfyC4wXsI/T9OGn5TKS8I/AAAAAAAADbM/zm6Y3J3qWa8/s1600/IMG_0389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mEBfyC4wXsI/T9OGn5TKS8I/AAAAAAAADbM/zm6Y3J3qWa8/s320/IMG_0389.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hanging out for 1.5 hours in the HarperTeen signing line for Veronica Roth, Bethany Griffin, Aprilynne Pike, and Elizabeth Norris</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n_DWUZBVLtg/T9OG7kQLQoI/AAAAAAAADbU/8mrjfjQ9RC4/s1600/IMG_0393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n_DWUZBVLtg/T9OG7kQLQoI/AAAAAAAADbU/8mrjfjQ9RC4/s320/IMG_0393.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Meeting Jennifer L. Armentrout</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X8QuJ4PhKn0/T9OHFzpuGzI/AAAAAAAADbg/rF4F4QyOliU/s1600/IMG_0418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X8QuJ4PhKn0/T9OHFzpuGzI/AAAAAAAADbg/rF4F4QyOliU/s320/IMG_0418.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jen was super sweet! I got my copy of<i> Cursed</i> and another book I've been dying for! We were even staying in the same hotel and Jen told me I could stop by her room to get my other book signed...I never did get around to doing that, but it was so kind of her to offer.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Also, the Spencer Hill Press booth was the best! Everyone there was nice and so friendly. I didn't expect anything less from such a fab indie pub.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Day 3: The day of relaxed meandering</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">BEA was winding down on Thursday, but I still had a nice looking schedule in place. I met James Dashner right off the bat - he's a riot and the nicest! I've seen him several times now and it's kind of cool that I can walk up to him and he remembers me AND my blog!&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I also got to see Jeri Smith-Ready again</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4WNE34fzutY/T9OImq94VaI/AAAAAAAADbo/RAqwib6yPiQ/s1600/IMG_0402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4WNE34fzutY/T9OImq94VaI/AAAAAAAADbo/RAqwib6yPiQ/s320/IMG_0402.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I met David Levithan again and was able to get a signed ARC of <i>Every Day</i>!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N_yEZIqjneM/T9OI0RbQaFI/AAAAAAAADbw/mmizt335S9I/s1600/IMG_0404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N_yEZIqjneM/T9OI0RbQaFI/AAAAAAAADbw/mmizt335S9I/s320/IMG_0404.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I also saw Victoria Schwab - who is super awesome and incredible and I want to throw hugs at her - and waited in line to get a signed PB of <i>The Near Witch</i>, with a sneak peek of <i>The Archived</i>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Outside events: The days of was I <i>really</i> invited to this??</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">S&amp;S threw this fantabulous party and had their book covers blown up on the wall above the bar! That was a sight to see.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">Carmen Rodriguez, Lenore Applehans, Jenny Han, Siobhan Vivian, Tonya Hurley, and Shannon Messenger were all open and chatty and wiling to hang out with everyone. The S&amp;S peeps were also kind and made sure they said hi to everyone there. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oNDnB2As4x0/T9OJahbf2EI/AAAAAAAADb4/B9jluyuJXRc/s1600/IMG_0416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oNDnB2As4x0/T9OJahbf2EI/AAAAAAAADb4/B9jluyuJXRc/s320/IMG_0416.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Having never been to the Scholastic headquarters, it was kind of awesome to walk through the front door and see Harry Potter and The Hunger Games in such a glowing way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6vXLR1RaG4/T9OKHgNYybI/AAAAAAAADcA/-WDEXqt32kI/s1600/IMG_0417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6vXLR1RaG4/T9OKHgNYybI/AAAAAAAADcA/-WDEXqt32kI/s320/IMG_0417.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The party was awesome (I've used that word a zillion times in this post) and I had a ton of fun!</div><div style="text-align: center;">The featured authors - James Dashner, Maggie Stiefvater, Eliot Schrefer, Sharon Cameron, Donna Cooner, Jeff Hirsch, Kate Messner, and Raina Telgemeier - all schmoozed around and talked to all the attendees.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cvnM13HYZiE/T9OMGtkeb-I/AAAAAAAADcQ/f3ZxDwMjKTo/s1600/IMG_0354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cvnM13HYZiE/T9OMGtkeb-I/AAAAAAAADcQ/f3ZxDwMjKTo/s320/IMG_0354.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Then! They acted out their books in a live storytelling kind of event. This equaled much hilarity and me yearning for the books.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fTxEth3JQxU/T9OMS-j5QvI/AAAAAAAADcY/b9bbvn1lGf4/s1600/IMG_0355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fTxEth3JQxU/T9OMS-j5QvI/AAAAAAAADcY/b9bbvn1lGf4/s320/IMG_0355.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">And for those excited for the Infinity Ring series (who isn't?), James gave us a sneak peek into the video game (so freaking cool) and made me even more ready to start the series.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm positive that I'm leaving out so many things, but this post is very long already, so I'm going to wrap it up.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">BEA 2012 was a blast! I had so much fun, met so many other great bloggers, authors, publishers, etc. Going to BEA made me excited to be a blogger again, and not just because of the books, but because of the atmosphere. There's something overwhelmingly beautiful to be surrounded by books and by people who love books. It's a wonderful experience and I hope to do it again next year.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/06/bea-2012-wrap-up.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-5775662414348846345Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:00:00 +00002012-06-04T08:00:12.647-04:00Barry LygaBook ReviewLittle BrownBook Review: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IbbXv12VSsc/T8rZvwF7ZDI/AAAAAAAADas/_N29wanpUYU/s1600/I+Hunt+Killers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IbbXv12VSsc/T8rZvwF7ZDI/AAAAAAAADas/_N29wanpUYU/s200/I+Hunt+Killers.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><b>Title: </b><i>I Hunt Killers</i><br /><b>Author:</b> Barry Lyga<br /><b>Reading Level:</b> Young Adult<br /><b>Publisher: </b>Little, Brown<br />Hardcover, 361 pages<br /><b>Date Published: </b>April 3, 2012<br /><b>Source: </b> Publisher<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7766027-i-hunt-killers">Goodreads</a>): </b><br /><i>What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?</i><br /><br />Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.<br /><br />But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could--from the criminal's point of view.<br /><br />And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.<br /><br />In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret--could he be more like his father than anyone knows? </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" /></a></div>Omgomgomg…that is how felt right after finishing<i> I Hunt Killers</i>. That’s because Barry Lyga’s psychological serial killer slasher is incredible! Jasper “Jazz” Dent is screwed up and maybe a killer to be and maybe a killer already, but he’s a teenager that is so amazingly likable. He knows how to play people, thanks to Dear Old Dad – a notorious serial a killer – and he knows that he’s manipulative. Jazz sees his own faults and they scare even him.<br /><br />But Jazz is grounded by his fragile, but awesome, best friend Howie, and his more than understanding girlfriend Connie. Both of these secondary characters are fleshed out and have some very pivotal scenes. They, along with the local sheriff G. William round out the cast of characters well. Lyga employs Jazz’s narrative and intersperses the killer’s as well, making for a messed up, but thrilling reading experience. <br /><br />Every chapter, every page offers something new and opens up the story just a little bit more. I had no clue who the killer was the entire time. I had ideas, I had suspicions, but I was so off on all of them. That’s the beauty of Lyga’s story: he writes this compelling, no holds barred story, but he writes it in a smart way. The killer isn’t plain as day and the characters aren’t without fault. Poor Jazz is far more damaged than anyone could imagine. He did grow up with a serial killer for a father though. And that serial killer taught him everything he knew…<br /><br /><i>I Hunt Killers</i> is a surprisingly gripping and taut thriller, with characters to love and story that refuses to let up. It’s being touted as a Dexter-like read for a younger audience, but having never seen Dexter, I just like to think of<i> I Hunt Killers</i> as a phenomenally engaging and intense read. And the ending is the most screwed up, thrilling, I-want-to-scream-expletives-at-its-perfectness, and an insanely good way to wrap up the book that I’m sitting astonished at Barry Lyga’s genius. MUST. READ. BOOK. 2. NOW.<br /><br /><b>Opening line:</b> By the time Jazz got to the field outside town, yellow police tape was everywhere, strung from state to stake in a sort of drunken, off-kilter hexagon. ~ pg. 3<br /><br /><b>Favorite lines/passages:</b> Sometimes hope could be the most frightening thing in the world. ~ pg. 92<br />“This is why I forgive, but I don’t forget. When you forget someone, the forgiveness doesn’t mean anything anymore. So, let’s say she left. Fine. You forgive her for that. Good. But you’ll never, ever forget her.” ~ pg. 144<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>And this one:</b></span> </div>He easily gathered her in his arms; Gramma was made up of skin and bones and hate and crazy – and hate and crazy don’t weigh anything. ~ pg. 183<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6-smV16gnZE/TJgl4yFUNpI/AAAAAAAABxU/DYsLrFW76V4/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6-smV16gnZE/TJgl4yFUNpI/AAAAAAAABxU/DYsLrFW76V4/s1600/5+Star+Rating.png" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This review is my honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation from it. </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Barry Lyga online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://barrylyga.com/new/">Website</a> | <a href="http://barrylyga.com/new/blog.html">Blog</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/barrylyga">Twitter</a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Buy it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/I-Hunt-Killers-Barry-Lyga/dp/0316125849/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1326297474&amp;sr=8-15">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-hunt-killers-barry-lyga/1106028212?ean=9780316125840&amp;itm=1&amp;usri=i+hunt+killers">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/I-Hunt-Killers-Barry-Lyga/9780316125840">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316125840">Indiebound</a></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0wwRp7Ou53E?rel=0" width="480"></iframe><br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/06/book-review-i-hunt-killers-by-barry.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-3763808840611796425Sun, 03 Jun 2012 13:00:00 +00002012-06-03T09:00:01.745-04:00BEA12RandomnessBEA 2012 BABY!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-frA5j9x8Z4s/T8sRMK5GmVI/AAAAAAAADa4/jNckpluov2w/s1600/BEA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-frA5j9x8Z4s/T8sRMK5GmVI/AAAAAAAADa4/jNckpluov2w/s320/BEA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />It's Sunday and as you read this I'm on my way to NYC and BEA. I'm wicked excited!!<br /><br />I also had every intention to post more this past week, but work and pre-BEA planning has really eaten into my reading time. In fact, I had planned on posting an IMM today, but because I'm the world's biggest procrastinator, I put off packing - no, I put off even buying a bag to use to pack - until late Saturday.<br /><br />This post was typed up at 3:30AM on Sunday...because I suck at planning ahead and I'm a total night owl and don't sleep.<br /><br />So, yeah. BEA. Driving. Probably exhausted.<br /><br />Peace, hugs, and bookish love &lt;3<br /><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/06/bea-2012-baby.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-1550575115478400169Thu, 31 May 2012 08:00:00 +00002012-05-31T04:19:56.175-04:00Cover RevealEmbraceJessica ShirvingtonSourcebooksCover Reveal: Entice (Embrace, #2) by Jessica Shirvington<div style="text-align: center;">Do you remember when I <a href="http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/03/book-review-embrace-by-jessica.html">read and absolutely LOVED <span style="font-size: large;"><i>Embrace</i> by Jessica Shirvington</span></a>? And do you remember how I mentioned how ecstatic I was that the books were coming out just six months apart from one another?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Well they are...and I'm thrilled to be able to share the cover for <span style="font-size: large;"><i>ENTICE</i></span>, book two in the Violet Eden Chapters.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fm84JXQ2PYo/T8bojdIVfTI/AAAAAAAADag/Di_f4HUt9h8/s1600/Entice+US.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fm84JXQ2PYo/T8bojdIVfTI/AAAAAAAADag/Di_f4HUt9h8/s400/Entice+US.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div>This cover is much darker than the cover for Embrace and this is what Leah Hultenschmidt (Sourcebooks Fire editor) had to say about it: “For Entice, we really wanted to have the cover reflect the darker edge of the story and Violet’s toughness.”<br /><br />So there you go! A darker cover for a darker story...I can say that, no matter what, I NEED to read it.<br /><br /><b>About <i>Entice</i>:</b><br />Seventeen-year-old Violet Eden’s is back! With a destiny is to protect humans from the vengeance of exiled angels it becomes clear that it won’t be easy as even her partner, Lincoln, is hiding something. And now she has to learn to live with her feelings for him while they work together to stay alive and stop the exiles from discovering the key to destroy all Grigori. It isn’t easy. Especially when the electricity between her and Phoenix ignites and she discovers his hold over her has become more dangerous than ever. Violet's power will be pushed to the extreme with a race halfway across the world to find the one artifact that could tilt the balance of power between Angels and Exiles. And the ultimate betrayal will be exposed.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Check out author Jessica Shirvington's idea of the best reading space, in the video below:</div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/43141350?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Jessica Shirvington online</span><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.jessicashirvington.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.jessicashirvington.com/blog/">Blog</a></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Check out <i>Embrace &amp; Entice</i> online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sites.sourcebooks.com/embrace-the-series/embrace-the-series-home.html">Embrace Website</a> | <a href="http://www.facebook.com/embracetheseries?sk=wall">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcebooks.com/bea-2012.html">Entice Excerpt</a> | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13490795-enticed">Add on Goodreads </a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-order it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Entice-Embrace-Jessica-Shirvington/dp/1402268432/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1338450416&amp;sr=1-1-fkmr1">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/entice-jessica-shirvington/1109328757?ean=9781402268434&amp;r=1&amp;cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10%3a1&amp;">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Entice-Jessica-Shirvington/9781402268434">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781402268434">Indiebound</a></div><a href="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" /></a></div>http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/05/cover-reveal-entice-embrace-2-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-2410384716738554343Mon, 28 May 2012 16:00:00 +00002012-05-28T13:08:54.499-04:00Laura HarringtonPamela Dorman BooksAlice Bliss Comes to Paperback!!<div style="text-align: center;">Several months (just checked my review and it was almost a year ago! wow) ago I gushed about a book. It was a book that I LOVED, that I recommend to family, to friends, that I got my not-very-readerly mother to read...and LOVE; it's a book that I signed up for on Book Crossing, and passed along to a totally random 15 year old girl in South Carolina (I live in New England). It was a book that took me by surprise, that made me laugh, made me cry (more like bawl my eyes out), and that I will always remember.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">It was also the most absolutely perfect book to post about today, Memorial Day.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Because the book happens to follow a teen girl dealing with her father being off in the war.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">That book was <span style="font-size: large;"><i>Alice Bliss </i>by Laura Harrington</span>. And it is being released in paperback tomorrow (May 29th), with a gorgeous new cover and hopefully tons of new readers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j29VNIiDHFI/T8OvILnCx3I/AAAAAAAADaU/VjmrWMxor1k/s1600/Alice+Bliss+PB.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j29VNIiDHFI/T8OvILnCx3I/AAAAAAAADaU/VjmrWMxor1k/s400/Alice+Bliss+PB.JPG" width="258" /></a></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13045064-alice-bliss">Goodreads</a>):</b><br /><b>"Nothing less than a fully realized vision of a young complicated girl." —Entertainment Weekly</b><br />Tomboy Alice Bliss is heartbroken when she learns that her father, Matt, is being deployed to Iraq. Matt will miss seeing Alice blossom into a full-blown teenager: she'll learn to drive, join the track team, go to her first dance, and fall in love—all while trying to be strong for her mother, Angie, and her precocious little sister. But the phone calls from her father are never long enough. At once universal and very personal, Alice Bliss is a profoundly moving story about those who are left at home during wartime and a small-town teenage girl bravely facing the future.</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2011/06/book-review-alice-bliss-by-laura.html">MY REVIEW OF ALICE BLISS</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2011/06/author-interview-laura-harringtion.html">MY INTERVIEW WITH LAURA HARRINGTON</a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Laura Harrington online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lauraharringtonbooks.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/bookalike">Twitter</a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Buy it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Alice-Bliss-Novel-Laura-Harrington/dp/0143121111/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1307163027&amp;sr=1-1">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alice-bliss-laura-harrington/1028578096">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Alice-Bliss-Laura-Harrington/9780143121114">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780143121114">Indiebound</a></div><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/05/alice-bliss-comes-to-paperback.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817433769220984352.post-5317848449913500494Sat, 26 May 2012 14:00:00 +00002012-05-26T10:00:05.894-04:00Book ReviewPushScholasticSiobhan VivianBook Review: The List by Siobhan Vivian<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fn3AymDQmiA/T7sye2tJDuI/AAAAAAAADZs/kn60QB8cyE8/s1600/The+List.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fn3AymDQmiA/T7sye2tJDuI/AAAAAAAADZs/kn60QB8cyE8/s200/The+List.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><b>Title: </b><i>The List</i><br /><b>Author: </b>Siobhan Vivian<br /><b>Reading Level:</b> Young Adult<br /><b>Publisher: </b>Push (Scholastic)<br />Hardcover, 332 pages<br /><b>Date Published:</b> April 1, 2012<br /><b>Source: </b>Friend<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Description (Taken from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10866233-the-list">Goodreads</a>): </b><br />An intense look at the rules of high school attraction -- and the price that's paid for them.<br /><br />It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.<br /><br />This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UQ-8SJkZZ30/TJ61p7RbjrI/AAAAAAAAByg/NRemE8gkF2c/s1600/My+Review.png" /></a></div>The collective PEOPLE always say that high school years are the best ones of your life, but I think we’ve all come to the conclusion that that statement is far from true for most people. For a select few, high school is four years of amazingness, but for most, it’s just a set of years that are good, or okay, or bearable. For others, it’s Hell. Siobhan Vivian’s <i>The List</i> explores a week in the life of eight different high school girls – some popular, some not. Their ages range from 14-17/18 and their social groups come to mean nothing. Absolutely nothing when THE LIST is released and four girls are crowned as being gorgeous and four others are ostracized and deemed the pinnacle of ugly at their high school.<br /><br />Vivian’s take on such a cruel act is told with realistic voices and saddening honesty. It’s in human nature to feel pain, but it should not be human nature to inflict it upon others…but it seems that it is. High school can be beyond cruel and <i>The List </i>highlights how superficial and judgmental it can be. Vivian presents readers with eight girls and eight different perspectives, so, while quite an ambitious undertaking, it does fall short at times.<br /><br />It’s impossible to adequately flesh out eight main characters in 300 pages, so I was okay with some characters sticking out more than others. I even felt a connection to some of them, but I wish there was more to the plot. I also wish the adult characters had more of a role in the entire situation; especially the principal who was involved from the moment the list went up. Instead, she has a couple of scenes with some stern glares and empty threats. <br /><br />Despite all that, <i>The List</i> is still a quick read that shows how hard high school life can be and how objectified women, no girls, can be. The ending is a bit abrupt and leaves so many loose ends, but I still enjoyed the overall story. The ugly girls, the pretty girls, the popular girls, they all have something in common: they’re insecure, they’re self-conscious, and they want to be accepted even when they pretend they don’t. It’s a universal story that all young women can relate to.<br /><br /><b>Opening line:</b> For as long as anyone can remember, the students of Mount Washington High have arrived at school on the last Monday in September to find a list naming the prettiest and the ugliest girl in each grade. ~ pg. 3<br /><br /><b>Favorite lines/passages: </b>And while she certainly isn’t happy about it, <i>ugly</i> is something people say about each other, and say about themselves, without even thinking. The word is so generic, it’s almost meaningless.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Almost. ~ pg. 22<br /><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">And another one:</span></b></div>“Something terrible happened to all of you girls. Someone took it upon himself or herself to single you out, give you a label, and present you as nothing more than the most superficial, subjective version of yourselves.” ~ pg. 78-79<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>3.5</b> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CHcRXzrSdsg/TJY1Y8AnbfI/AAAAAAAABvg/H98OmLbFGFE/s1600/3+Star+Rating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CHcRXzrSdsg/TJY1Y8AnbfI/AAAAAAAABvg/H98OmLbFGFE/s1600/3+Star+Rating.png" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This review is my honest opinion and I received no monetary compensation from it.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;</span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Siobhan Vivian online:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.siobhanvivian.com/Hello/Home.html">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/siobhanvivian">Twitter</a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Buy it online:</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0545169178?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0545169178&amp;SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-list-siobhan-vivian/1105070780?ean=9780545169172&amp;r=1&amp;cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10%3a1&amp;">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/List-Siobhan-Vivian/9780545169172">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780545169172">Indiebound</a></div><img src="http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/ahauntofancientpeace/Blog%20Stuff/BlogSignature.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: medium none;" />http://www.wickedawesomebooks.com/2012/05/book-review-list-by-siobhan-vivian.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books))7
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