Then I Met My Sister by Christine Hurley Deriso

Title: Then I Met My Sister
Author: Christine Hurley Deriso
Published: April 8, 2011 by Flux
Pages: 264/Paperback
Source: Bought


Summary: Shannon has been the backdrop of my life since the moment I was born.

Summer Stetson lives inside a shrine to her dead sister. Eclipsed by Shannon's greatness, Summer feels like she's a constant disappointment to her controlling, Type A momzilla and her all-too-quiet dad. Her best friend Gibson believes Summer's C average has more to do with rebelliousness than smarts, but she knows she can never measure up—academically or otherwise.

On her birthday, Summer receives a secret gift from her aunt: Shannon's diary. Suddenly, the one-dimensional vision of her sister becomes all too solid. Is this love-struck, mom-bashing badass the same Shannon everyone raves about? Determined to understand her troubled sister, Summer dives headfirst down a dark rabbit hole and unearths painful family secrets. Each revelation brings Summer closer to the mysterious and liberating truth about her family—and herself.

Review: SUCH AN AWESOME BOOK! I love love love this book! It was wonderful and everyone should read it.

I loved Summer from the very first page. She was funny and sarcastic and full of spunk! She is the character that I'm always dying to read and hardly ever get to. She showed that yes she was rebelling against her mom but she was also sensitive and had actual emotions besides anger and sarcasm (is that an emotion?) when she was "meeting" her sister. 

The relationship between Summer and her mom was especially nice to read. I could see it developing and evolving from where it started out in the beginning. I also felt like there was a relationship between Summer and Shannon. As Summer read more of Shannon's journal she learned more about who her sister was and, even thought Shannon was dead, I think she formed a special kind of relationship with her.

I love to see couples who start out as friends because then I know that they actually know each other and have stuff in common and there's an actual reason for them being together. That couple was Summer and Gibs. They were just so cute together and, as I said in the previous sentence, you could see why they liked each other, and they actually seemed very good as a couple.

Then I Met My Sister can be quite emotional one second and then very funny the next. It shows the evolution of relationships wonderfully and is filled with amazing characters. I can honestly say I have nothing bad to say about this book. I think it's one of those that everyone should read. It's just that good. 

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

Title: Moonglass
Author: Jessi Kirby
Published: May 3, 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 224/Hardcover
Challenge: 2011 Debut Author Challenge
Source: Bought


Summary: Anna's life is upended when her father accepts a job transfer the summer before her junior year. It's bad enough that she has to leave her friends and her life behind, but her dad is moving them to the beach where her parents first met and fell in love- a place awash in memories that Anna would just as soon leave under the surface. 

While life on the beach is pretty great, with ocean views and one adorable lifeguard in particular, there are also family secrets that were buried along the shore years ago. And the ebb and flow of the ocean's tide means that nothing- not the sea glass that she collects on the sand and not the truths behind Anna's mother's death- stays buried forever.

Review: I was initially drawn to this book because of its cover, and that along with the summary made me get really excited for it. Although it was a good book it didn't live up to the hype I'd associated with it.


I liked the story behind Moonglass, but at first I wasn't sure what it was. I didn't know if Anna was trying to remember her mom or find out more about her at the beach. I did like that moonglass was an important part of the story, because I like for titles to be relevant to the story.


I liked the characters but I didn't have much invested in them. They seemed flat to me and I never got much out of them, but they were still nice to read and follow their story.


Moonglass is a well written story that has characters and a story you learn to like. It was a little rough going into it, but it smoothed out and became quite nice by the end.

Waiting on Wednesday (35)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Summary from goodreads!

If I Die by Rachel Vincent 

September 20, 2011 

No one wants to be this teacher’s pet . . .

Everyone else is talking about Eastlake High’s gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck, but Kaylee Cavanaugh has bigger things on her mind. Kaylee’s a banshee—her scream is a portent of death.

But the next scream might hit too close to home. Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline has almost run out.

Yeah—it’s a shock to her, too. So to distract herself from her own problems, Kaylee is determined to defend her school against the latest supernatural threat. That hot new teacher is really an incubus, who feeds from the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend’s delinquent ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren’t quite human either.

But Kaylee’s running out of time, and those who love her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

Soul Screamers: The last thing you hear before you die.

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I love this series so much! The only thing I don't like about it is that I have to wait so long for If I Die to come out. This series has pretty much everything. An interesting paranormal world, good plots, romance, and strong characters. 

Blog Tour: Girl Wonder Tens List

The blog tour for Girl Wonder is being hosted by The Teen Book Scene (you should go check out the other awesome tours they have). As part of the Girl Wonder blog tour I asked Alexa Martin what were her ten reason for becoming a writer. Here's what she had to say!

1. My parents read to me when I was young in very animated voices--and for this reason I internalized the rhythm of language. When I started to read I HEARD the voices in the story. To be a good writer I think you have to be a good reader.

2. In the third grade I won a contest for a "book" I'd written, and my teacher took myself and three other students to see a "real" writer and illustrator. That made quite an impression on me. I wish I could remember this writer's name but alas, I don't. However, he drew really cool rats and I still draw rats the way he drew rats.

3. In the fourth and fifth grade I went to a literary magnet program at a public elementary school. The two teachers I had for those grades had us do all kinds of poetry writing and "book" making. This was a very creative time for me and these two teachers were the BEST teachers I had until college. Very early they helped me to find my voice.

4. I had a God-awful middle school experience. I was bullied. High school wasn't much better. I was a kid who moved around a lot. I've read somewhere that people become writers for one of two reasons... or both: A miserable childhood and/or a failed love affair. You will see, if you read GIRL WONDER, that my main character Charlotte experiences both in spades. Writing about the emotional aftermath of these experiences was ultimately a very healing thing for me, and what I hope, more than anything, is that my book will help teens who struggle feel less alone and hopeful in spite of their suffering.

5. My first year of college I had a teacher's assistant for a college composition class who took an interest in my writing. Without telling me she submitted a couple of my pieces to a college literary magazine and one of them was published. That felt really affirming. Here, at last, was something (writing personal essays) that I could do well.

6. My main creative writing professor in college called me to his office one day and grilled me at length about why I was pursuing writing. He pointed out a bunch of flaws in one of my short stories. I started to cry and then he started to patronize me, to which I burst out "Quit patronizing me!" He respected that. I think, in this moment, he saw that I had the hunger of a writer, and he allowed me to stay in the program. My final piece in college was work-shopped in one of his classes. After the students made their comments he said "In my opinion this story is absolutely perfect." I look back at that piece now and see in it's themes early precursors to GIRL WONDER and Charlotte. That was a very redemptive moment for me.

7. I did a magazine internship a few years after college and learned how to think and read like an editor and proofreader. When it came time to submitting my own work, I turned in very clean and professional looking pieces and manuscripts.

8. I got an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and had the four best teachers a girl could ever have, Susan Cheever, Lucy Grealy, Bob Shacochis, and George Packer. They set the bar very high, but at the same time they really believed in me. One of them wrote in his final evaluation "I predict Alexa will weather the inevitably early rough going of a literary career." You have no idea how those words sustained me my darkest moments of writing a book. Because I respected my teachers I learned to respect myself and my writing.

9. I read the book Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War by Deborah Copaken Kogan. This is a memoir of a young woman working as a war journalist who often has nothing on her side more than gumption. This book was a kick in the pants for me, and made me realize during a time when I was NOT writing that I was being cowardly and letting fear dictate my life. It's a great book... and a great book for women and teens to read! (check it out here)

10. I read Miss Snark, the agent blog. Everything. Her archives are still up on the web. Read her. And read Janet Reid.  These two blogs taught me how to write a query letter and a synopsis. I had a great query letter. That opened the door in every way. Thank you Miss Snark and Janet Reid. My book is going to be released

on May 3rd because of YOU!

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Thank you again to The Teen Book Scene for hosting this wonderful tour, and also to Alexa Martin for stopping by and answering some questions!

Split by Swati Avasthi

Title: Split
Author: Swati Avasthi
Published: March 2, 2010 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 282/Hardcover
Source: local library


Summary: Sixteen-Year-Old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother Christian with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father’s fist), $3.84, and a secret.

He tries to move on, going for new friends, a new school, and a new job, but all his changes can’t make him forget what he left behind—his mother, who is still trapped with his dad, and his ex-girlfriend, who is keeping his secret.

At least so far.

Worst of all, Jace realizes that if he really wants to move forward, he may first have to do what scares him most: He may have to go back. First-time novelist Swati Avasthi has created a riveting and remarkably nuanced portrait of what happens after. After you’ve said enough, after you’ve run, after you’ve made the split—how do you begin to live again? Readers won’t be able to put this intense page-turner down.

Review: I hadn't heard much about this book, and I usually don't read many books that deal with abuse, but boy was I glad I picked this one up.

Split was so realistic it was almost scary. I felt like I had known all of the characters my entire life and that I could see them on the street and talk to them. 

Along with creating fantastic characters Avasthi managed to tackle the subject of familial abuse with pure amazingness. The story didn't feel forced or unnatural. It flowed nicely and was quite a page turner.

I feel bad because this review is so short and feels very inadequate, but this is one of those books that was utterly amazing and I'm simply having a hard time articulating said amazingness. Just trust me when I say this is one book you don't want to miss.

In My Mailbox (35)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi from The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. It was a good week for buying books on my summer-ish reading list!

NetGalley Reviews: 

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma 

Simon & Schuster Galley Grab:

All the Things You Are by Courtney Scheinmel

For Review:

The Fallen Star by Jessica Sorensen

From the Library:

Split by Swati Avasthi

A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper

Bought:

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler

Cover Talk (8)

I started Cover Talk as a way to show off pretty covers that I find for books around the web. Cover Talk isn't a scheduled post, and it was inspired by Steph Su's Cover Lust and Kristi's Books to Pine For.

If I Die by Rachel Vincent

Eternal by Gillian Shields

Fury by Elizabeth Miles

Hades by Alexandra Adornetto

The Predicteds by Christine Seifert

Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala 

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Cayman Summer by Angela Morrison 

The Death Cure by James Dashner

The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen 

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick 

You Against Me by Jenny Downham 

Paperback Reprint

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

Cover War: Die For Me

Cover War is something I decided to start doing after seeing different covers for the same book. I realized that I liked some covers better than others. For example one book might have a different cover for its US and UK copies. I thought making this "Cover War" feature would be a fun way of showing the different covers and why I like one more than the other.


I probably won't have a Cover War for each book that has a different cover. This will most likely only be a sporadic post for "special" covers or books.

---

Today's Cover War is between the original US cover and the new US cover of Die For Me by Amy Plum. The original cover is to the right and the new cover is to the left. 

I think the original cover relates more to the story as far as Kate being in the boat and wearing her blue dress, but the new cover gives more sense of where the story is and is much more eye catching. 

I have to say that the winner of this war is definitely the new US cover. I was never a big fan of the original cover, and the new one is so much more appealing in so many ways. It's not as dark and the colors are beautiful. I love the way the model is standing and the view of Paris. Also, I love that dress, even if it isn't blue (for those of you who have read the book, you know what I mean).

Die For Me by Amy Plum

Title: Die For Me
Author: Amy Plum
Published: May 10, 2011 by Harper Teen
Pages: 352/Hardcover
Series: Revenants #1
Source: e-ARC from publisher and NetGalley
Challenge: 2011 Debut Author Challenge


Summary: DIE FOR ME is the first of three books about Kate, a sixteen-year-old American who moves to Paris after the death of her parents. It introduces a new version of the undead with revenants, beings who are fated to sacrifice themselves over and over again to save others’ lives. Kate finds herself falling for Vincent, who she discovers is not the typical French teenager he appears: he is something else entirely. 

DIE FOR ME presents a new supernatural mythology presented in a city where dreams are sometimes the same as reality.

Review: Die For Me is a book that anyone who likes the paranormal genre should read. It had such an original and fast moving plot it was very hard to put down.

I thought the idea behind Die For Me was quite original. We've seen books go through the vampire and werewolf genres, but I've never seen Revenants. I loved learning about them along with Kate and thought they were well thought out and explained beings. I also like the fact that for once a paranormal being gets to be known for saving people, not trying to stop themselves from killing them.

Two of the things that made me love this book was its setting and the relationship between Kate and Vincent. I love Paris and would love even more to go there someday, so I liked that this book took place there and that I learned about it too. Some books are just located somewhere and you don't know much about it. But with Die For Me Kate told a little about the history of Paris and some personal stories of when she had been younger in Paris. 

The relationship between Kate and Vincent was very good for the first book in the series. At first I didn't see the chemistry, they actually went out on dates and didn't commit to being the we're-so-in-love couple right off the bat. It actually took Kate a while to gain those strong feelings for Vincent, and I'm not sure they even use the L-word in reference to their relationship. I think this gave them more time to develop as a couple and as characters.

The characters themselves were great. I can see myself being friends wit just about any of them, and I thought it was easy to connect with them because they seemed like any other teenagers (despite their paranormal-ness of course).

Overall Die For Me was fast moving book that had good plot and character development and would be great for paranormal fans or those who like a good romance.

Waiting on Wednesday (34)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Summary from goodreads!

Score by Miranda Kenneally

December 1, 2011

What girl doesn’t want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn’t just surrounded by hot guys, though—she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that’s just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there’s a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team…and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate. 

--

I haven't heard anything about this book, but it looks really fun and cute! Also it's a 2011 Debut! 

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Fallen Angels
Author: Cassandra Clare
Published: April 5, 2011
Pages: 424/Hardcover
Series: The Mortal Instruments #4
Source: Personal library


Summary: City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. 

Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

Review: I'm pretty sure Cassandra Clare could write about pigs from outer space and it would still be phenomenal. Suffice to say, I loved the fourth book in the Mortal Instruments series.

I liked that the first three books were their own cycle with their own plot so now there's a new plot but with the same characters. It felt like I was starting a whole new series but with characters I already knew and cared about.

The characters definitely seemed different in this book though. I think they all matured quite a bit after what happened in City of Glass. I noticed a change particularly in Jace. He didn't seem as snarky and sarcastic, and I kind of missed it, but I also noticed that he was a lot more serious about his relationships with people (like the Lightwoods and Clary). All the other characters were just as strong as ever. I loved Jordan and Maia, and I hope to see more of them in future books. I also love that the book focused on other relationships, like Simon's with Isabelle and Maia and Jordan's with Maia, instead of just Clary and Jace.

I think a lot of the plot happened in the end of the book. In the first three books of the series you pretty much knew they were after Valentine and he was the bad guy, but City of Fallen Angels was a little more mysterious as far as knowing who the "bad guy" was. I think that's why most of the action happened toward the end.

The ending, oh that ending. From a literary viewpoint it's a genius way to end a book, but from a fan-girl viewpoint (that would be mine) it's an evil way to torture us until the next book's released.

If you're a fan of the Mortal Instruments series you need to read this book. If you haven't read the Mortal Instruments series then you need to fix that...now. 


More Books by Cassandra Clare
City of Bones
City of Ashes
City of Glass
Clockwork Angel

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Title: Twenty Boy Summer
Author: Sarah Ockler
Published: June 1, 2009 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 290/Hardcover
Source: local library


Summary: 
"Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it."

"Okay."
"Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?"
"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in ZanzibarBay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie—-she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

Review: I was very worried about reading this book. It took me about a year to finally decide to read it. I have nothing against emotional books, but I have a really hard time reading tragic love stories. I'm pretty much what you would call a hopeless romantic. I believe in the happy ending and want every book to end that way. So after reading the summary for Twenty Boy Summer I was very worried about reading this book, but I shouldn't have been.

Yes this book is emotional and, I guess you could say, tragic. But Ockler has a way of writing that you feel the pain of the characters. You know what they're going through even if you've never lost someone. Yet she does it all without making you an emotional wreck like the characters. 

I cared about all of these characters. I don't think I'll ever forget a characters that was written by Sarah Ockler, yet I really only got a connection with Anna. Maybe because the book's from her point of view or because it's focused n her hidden pain. I loved seeing the transformations that each character took as they either found out about Matt's death or were getting over his death.

There's a lot more I wish I could say about Twenty Boy Summer, but this is one of those books that you can't really describe its emotional awesomeness (or its general awesomeness) and what you can describe seems very inadequate. So my only advice is to go out and read it. And remember that happy ending I wanted? Ockler managed to create an ending that wasn't happy per se but was satisfying, realistic, and maybe had a bit of happiness to it.


More Books by Sarah Ockler
Fixing Delilah

Coming Up in May 2011

This post was inspired by Tara's "Excited For..." posts over at Hobbitsies. I decided to do something a little like Tara does and show off some of the books that are coming out this month that I hope get the chance to read and review. Obviously not all YA books coming out in May are going to be here, but the ones I can't wait to read will be.

May 01: I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler (Sourcebooks Fire)

Sounds like a very emotional contemporary novel. Plus (if I'm remembering correctly) it's a debut!

May 01: Instructions For a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson (Sourcebooks Fire)

Yay for books that take place in Europe! Seems like one of those cute and fun books that also has a heart and a good message.

May 03: Moonglass by Jessi Kirby (Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing)

I've been waiting for this for forever! I love beach books (that is, books that take place on the beach) and I love book with pretty covers even more. And it's a debut!

May 03: Divergent by Veronica Roth (Katherine Tegen Books)

This one sounds epic. Truly and wonderfully epic. And another debut!

May 03: The Summer of Firsts and Lasts by Tera Elan McVoy (Simon Pulse) 

Sounds like a fun summer romance. I haven't read Tera's other books, but I hear they're wonderful.

May 03: I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

I've heard great things about this one. I love the fact that it's from a boy's POV. You don't see a lot of that in YA.

May 08: But I Love Him by Amanda Grace (Flux)

I don't read many books like this, but this one fascinates me. The summary says it's a story of "love gone terribly wrong" and that is enough to fascinate me.

May 10: What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen (Penguin Young readers Group)

It's Sarah Dessen people. Sarah. Dessen.

May 10: Flawless by Lara Chapman (Bloomsbury)

A retelling! Who doesn't like a retelling?! And from a debut author!

May 12: Dreamland Social Club by Tara Altebrando (Dutton Juvenile)

The title and cover are enough to make me giggle and interest me, but mermaids and tattooed love? I'm in.

May 24: Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton (Random House Books for Young Readers)

A paranormal-ish debut with a gorgeous cover? WIN!

In My Mailbox (34)

In My Mailbox is hosted (and was started by) Kristi at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

From the Library:

Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Thief Eyes by Janni Lee Simner

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King 

Bought:

Then I Met My Sister by Christine Hurley Deriso

Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler 

Simon & Schuster Galley Grab *

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Ordinary Beauty by Laura Wiess

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

*Thank you to Simon & Schuster!