Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker

Title: Small Town Sinners
Author: Melissa Walker
Published: July 19, 2011 by Bloomsbury
Pages: 259/Hardcover
Challenge: The Contemps
Source: bought


Summary: Lacey Anne Byer is a perennial good girl and lifelong member of the House of Enlightenment, the Evangelical church in her small town. With her driver's license in hand and the chance to try out for a lead role in Hell House, her church's annual haunted house of sin, Lacey's junior year is looking promising. But when a cute new stranger comes to town, something begins to stir inside her. Ty Davis doesn't know the sweet, shy Lacey Anne Byer everyone else does. With Ty, Lacey could reinvent herself. As her feelings for Ty make Lacey test her boundaries, events surrounding Hell House make her question her religion.


Review: I knew going into this book that there was going to be a lot of religion, and I was okay with that. I have my own beliefs that I'm comfortable and I respect other's beliefs. That being said I don't think it was the religion so much as the amount of it that made me not like this book very much. 


I generally don't read books with a lot of religion in them. It's just not my thing. Like some people read only mysteries and won't read horror. There was a lot of religion and church throughout the book and it became kind of monotonous after a while, but I did like learning about how other sects of Christianity worship. 


I really liked Lacey! She was a very strong characters who was strong in her faith, and even though she had her doubts she didn't lose all her faith simply because of her doubts. She learned that there's more than one way to look at things and the world's not always black and white. This growth of characters was very well written and progressed nicely throughout the book. Ty didn't do much for me, but I didn't see the book so much about him as it was about Lacey. I didn't like the relationship between Lacey and Ty. It just didn't work in my mind.


Small Town Sinners is a great book for teens/young adults who are going through a hard time finding themselves, and not just religiously. This book really shows that it's okay to admit that you have your doubts and you can even grow from them. 


More Books by Melissa Walker
Violet on the Runway
Violet By Design 
Violet in Private
Lovestruck Summer

Why I Blog + A Rant About Plagiarism

I was recently informed that one of my reviews was plagiarized by another blogger. That's the inspiration behind this post.

I wanted to give a little insight into why I blog to start. I blog about books because I love them. I love reading books and decided to start a blog FOR FUN. I think of blogging as a hobby, something to do in my free time. I don't look at it as a chore that I hate doing and put off to the last minute.

With that being said I don't see why someone would want to plagiarize another blogger's review, let alone mine. Blogging is suppose to be a fun thing, and the fact that someone has to copy someone else's hobby in order to enjoy their own is sad in my opinion. Blogging is suppose to be fun, so if you can't have fun and blog by using your own words why are you doing it?

That concludes today's rant!

Hopefully

School has started once again. I'm a junior this year so my work load is probably going to be double what it was last year, but I'll probably be more present in my blog. I won't have time to read during the week, but that just motivates me to read more on the weekends and in my spare time.

To all of those who have stayed with the blog through my hiatus I'd like to say thank you. I know I haven't posted much recently, but hopefully I can get back into the swing of things soon!

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

Title: A Long, Long Sleep
Author: Anna Sheehan
Published: August 9, 2011 by Candlewick Press
Pages: 352/Hardcover
Source: e-ARC from publisher and NetGalley
Challenge: 2011 Debut Author Challenge


Summary: Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for 62 years when she is woken by a kiss. Locked away in the chemically-induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten sub-basement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long dead, and Rose - hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire - is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat. Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existence, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes - or be left without any future at all.


Review: This book was amazing. I can not imagine better writing or characters in a book. For a debut author Ms. Sheehan has done one heck of a job. 


I like dystopian books (which is the only way I can think of this book) but I don't like that many of them are centered around governments that control everyone. The fact that this book did not have a dominating government as its theme was very refreshing. 


The plot had a bit of everything. There was definitely mystery which was wonderfully done. I honestly had no clue what was coming, and I'm not just talking about the Plastine for those of you who have read it.


The emotions of the characters were very authentic and added to the characters greatly. I could feel Rose's pain and despair when she woke up to the fact that her family and love were dead. She made for a very well rounded character, as did Bren and Otto. I loved that Bren and Rose were just friends. Of course she loved him, but they both knew it couldn't work at the time and they continued on to become great friends throughout the book. It seems very hard lately to find a book where a boy and girl are friends. Just friends. That in and of itself allowed both of them to grow and fill out there character more because they weren't trying to make some "love" work.


Overall this is a great book that I suggest everyone read. No matter what genre you typically enjoy, A Long, Long Sleep has just about everything. It's characters are strong and real, as is the plot. 

As I'm sure you know + A change regarding reviews

As I'm sure you know I have not been present much lately. I've been taking time to catch up on reading (a bit unsuccessfully) and to spend time with my friends and family. It seems strange but I'm almost positive that once school starts again I'll be blogging more. I seem to be more organized during the school year and seek more reading time as well. So starting August 20 you'll probably see more of me.

During my time off I've thought about how I want to go about doing reviews and came to a decision regarding what I would review.This decision is that I will no longer be accepting books for review. I will only be reading and reviewing books I own or books I receive through NetGalley or the Simon and Schuster Galley Grab.

I think my decision will make reading and reviewing a lot easier for me. I'm sure that I will eventually get back to requesting ARCs and accepting review requests, but right now I need a break from to focus on just my love of reading, not worrying about reviewing.

I hope everyone has been having a good summer! Bye for now!