Happy Halloween!

Hey guys! In case anybody missed it, it's October 31 - Happy Halloween!


Yeah, look at me being all colorful. Fun fun. :D

If you haven't been keeping up with Book Spooks at WORD for Teens, today would be a good day to go catch up on Nicole's awesome posts about authors, books, and Halloween. I know there are a lot of other book bloggers doing Halloween events as well, so you won't have to look too hard to find stuff going on.

I'm celebrating Halloween by eating too much candy, handing out candy to little kids, and preparing for the onset of November (where are my fellow NaNo-ers? Leave me a comment or add "chameleon_bex" to your writing buddies!)(If you missed it, I'm super excited about NaNoWriMo). Also finally starting Beautiful Darkness! And, okay, yeah, a little bit of homework.

But anyway, here's wishing all of you a wonderful holiday with entirely too much sugar and lots and lots of fun! What have you got planned?

Ooh, Ahh (New Cover!)

On Thursday, Maureen Johnson revealed the cover of The Last Little Blue Envelope. Yes, this is the sequel to Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes, which I read a while back and really enjoyed. Here's the cover - isn't it pretty?

And she has a face! As those of you who read MJ books often will know, faces are a rare thing on her covers. She also revealed the title of her new paranormal murder mystery/thriller series, coming October 2011. The first book will be called The Name of the Star and it's the first book of the Shades of London trilogy.

They sound kind of awesome. I can't wait to read The Last Little Blue Envelope and The Name of the Star!

Waiting on Wednesday: Red Glove

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine.

This week, my pick is Red Glove by Holly Black. It's the second book in the Curse Workers series, the sequel to White Cat. I read and loved White Cat over the summer so I absolutely cannot wait to read Red Glove!

Cover picture is a bit small, but it's all I could find. I also don't think there's a jacket flap available yet, but the book is set to be released April 11, 2011. I hope I can wait that long. ;)

What are you waiting on this week? Post your link in the comments and I'll stop by and visit!

General Updates

Sooo I just finished reading Matched and I absolutely LOVED it. The on-sale date is November 30, so look for my review sometime around then! It is such a wonderful book, you guys.

In other news, I finished a major chunk of my senior thesis project this weekend. It meant I had very little time to read or, you know, do anything useful, but it's done and it's decent and I am quite pleased. So yay for that!

In other other news, my brain is currently MIA, because it got eaten by calculus. I spent a very large portion of last night working on calculus homework and studying for today's test...so.much.math.ahhhhhhh. My thoughts: you know you're taking calculus when your math suddenly contains more letters than numbers.

My big break from AP Calculus last night was watching Castle, which is an absolutely awesome show. Check it out - mystery writers + murder mysteries + comedy = ♥♥♥.

That is all for now, but I'll be back tomorrow for WoW!

Review: The Maze Runner

Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Pages: 374
Series: Maze Runner #1
Rating: 4.5 stars
From the book jacket: 
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. He has no recollection of his parents, his home, or how he got where he is. His memory is blank.


But he's not alone. When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade, a large expanse enclosed by stone walls.


Just like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning, for as long as anyone can remember, the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night, for just as long, they've closed tight. Ever thirty days a new boy is delivered in the lift. And no one wants to be stuck in the Maze after dark.


The Gladers were expecting Thomas's arrival. But the next day, a girl is sent up - the first girl ever to arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. The Gladers have always been convinced that if they can solve the maze that surrounds the Glade, they might find their way home...wherever that may be. But it's looking more and more as if the Maze is unsolvable.


And something about the girl's arrival is starting to make Thomas feel different. Something is telling him that he just might have some answers - if he can only find a way to retrieve the dark secrets locked within his own mind.

----------

When Thomas wakes up in the lift and finds himself in a strange place called the Glade, he has no idea what to expect, mostly because he knows nothing about himself - not his name, not who his parents are, not his birthday, nothing. The other boys quickly inform him that one new boy arrives every thirty days, that he will have to work but should be safe, and that he must never, ever enter the Maze. There's one problem with that: Thomas feels drawn to the Maze, and knows right away that he is meant to be a Runner - one of the Gladers who enter the Maze every day, trying to map it out and find some sort of pattern, some sort of escape.

It took me a while to get into this book, although part of that was probably because I have had so much going on with school and college applications and my thesis project that I haven't had much time for reading. Once I did get into it, though, I loved this book. So much. The premise is just fascinating - an unsolvable maze, a mystery girl, a conspicuous lack of memories...plus the plot is not totally focused on romance. AND I didn't completely figure out what was going to happen before the end! Bits and pieces of it, maybe, but I was still totally taken aback by a lot of what happened, which I love.

And Thomas is a great character. I don't find a whole lot of male protagonists that I actually like in YA, so that's cool, but even if male protagonists were the most common thing ever, Thomas is awesome. And I love the other characters as well - mystery girl (whose name I'll not tell you, since you don't find out until probably almost halfway through the book) totally kicks butt, and Chuck and Newt and Minho are all awesome too.

There is so much to love about this book. Thomas, the plot, just the whole thing. The beginning's a little slow, but do not give up! The Maze Runner will totally rock your socks off. Because it's awesome like that.

Links: 
James Dashner's blog

****
In other news: oh my gosh you guys this is POST #100! I've been blogging long enough to have 100 posts! Wow. That's so exciting! Thanks so much to all of my awesome readers. You guys rock! ♥

Demonglass Cover!

Yesterday, Rachel Hawkins posted the cover of the sequel to Hex Hall on her blog. So without further ado, here is the Demonglass cover:

Is this cover awesome or what?! I completely adore it. I love that it keeps the same reflection kinda look as the first one, but this one has fire and Sophie's not confused, she's totally kick-butt. If you want to read Rachel's thoughts on her cover, you can see the cover-reveal blog post here.

I cannot wait for this book, you guys. I loved Hex Hall and I am so excited for Demonglass!

Waiting on Wednesday: Drought

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm waiting on Drought by Pam Bachorz. I read (and loved) her novel Candor a while back, so hopefully this one will be just as good! I love the cover, and I love the premise (dystopian, too, yay). But don't take my word for it - observe:

Description from Goodreads: 
Ruby Prosser dreams of escaping the Congregation and the early-nineteenth century lifestyle that’s been practiced since the community was first enslaved.

She plots to escape the vicious Darwin West, his cruel Overseers, and the daily struggle to gather the life-prolonging Water that keeps the Congregants alive and gives Darwin his wealth and power. But if Ruby leaves, the Congregation will die without the secret ingredient that makes the Water special: her blood.
So she stays.

But when Ruby meets Ford, the new Overseer who seems barely older than herself, her desire for freedom is too strong. He’s sympathetic, irresistible, forbidden—and her only access to the modern world. Escape with Ford would be so simple, but can Ruby risk the terrible price, dooming the only world she’s ever known?

*******

Doesn't that sound awesome? I can't wait to read this one. Drought comes out January 11th, at which time I shall most definitely have to read it!

Guest Review! The Eternal Ones

Title: The Eternal Ones

Author: Kirsten Miller

Pages: 411

Publisher: Razorbill

Rating: 2.5 stars

Book jacket:

Haven Moore has always lived in the tiny town of Snope City, Tennessee. But for as long as she can remember, Haven has experienced visions of a past life as a girl named Constance, whose love for a boy called Ethan ended in a fiery tragedy.

One day, the sight of notorious playboy Iain Morrow on television brings Haven to her knees. Haven flees to New York City to find Iain and there, she is swept up in an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Is Iain her beloved Ethan? Or is he her murderer in a past life? Haven asks the members of the powerful and mysterious Ouroboros Society to help her unlock the mysteries of reincarnation and discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves, before all is lost and the cycle begins again. But what is the Ouroboros Society? And how can Haven know who to trust?

____

So, I must first clarify a few things before I get into my review. First, I’d like to thank Bex for letting me guest on the lovely Bookworm Boulevard. Second, I normally don’t judge a book by its cover; however, in this case, I kind of did. At least, I judged by the title, and who could not love this one?! Especially the subtitle “What if love refused to die?” So intriguing! Third, I’d like to tell you all that this is the first book I’ve read in about, oh, a month. And a half. SCARY long time without books, if you ask me, all thanks to school. So all I had read before this was random stuff for my English class. Oh, and analyzing Macbeth.

Any book you read after analyzing Macbeth is just not gonna cut it.

That being said, there were definitely parts of this book I loved, and a majority of the book that I liked. Beau Dexter, for one, is the most amazing best guy friend I can think of (I mean, he drove to New York City from Tennessee just in time for the amazing rescue. He is amazing). However, I was still in analysis-mode for most of the beginning of the book (and by this, I mean the first half or so), so I definitely picked up on the heavy religious parallels, as well as a few major contradictions (Haven is deeply religious, enough so to believe her grandmother when she says she’s possessed, yet she has sex before marriage; the book is about reincarnation, but the main character is supposed to be very religious… I was really confused). I think the main problem I had with the book was the contradiction between genre and setting: this was a paranormal romance, yet the settings were small-town in the Bible Belt of Southern America, New York City, and Rome, with somewhat sudden transitions between each. But the way the story played out was different (not your straight-forward plot outline), which I enjoyed greatly. I had originally had a few problems with the ending, mainly because I thought it could have stopped earlier and had a better point, as opposed to the and-now-we’re-all-happy-yay it seemed to be, but now that I know there will be a sequel, I’m a lot happier: it all makes sense now.

All in all, I do recommend this book, because it was a good book – just not exactly my cup of tea. I think. (As a matter of fact, I’m still somewhat confused about whether I like it or not.) And everybody should know who Beau Dexter is. Because he is just that amazing.

******

Thanks, Tonya! <3

Introducing....Tonya!

So as you may have noticed in yesterday's In My Mailbox post, I mentioned that my dear friend Tonya would soon be posting a guest review. That will be up tomorrow. In the meantime, Tonya has written a little introduction mini-autobiography type thing that she (and I) would like to share with you all, especially seeing as she might post more guest reviews later on. So without further ado...Tonya!
**********

HEY Everybody!

So, I’m Tonya, and I’ll be guest-reviewing for you in a little bit, mainly because I was like “OOOO book that looks interesting” when Becky was reading one of her books recently, but also because I do like to read, am one of Becky’s close friends at school, and quite frankly would have a blog of some sort like this if I weren’t too lazy to go make one. Therefore, I am mooching and posting a review on the Bookworm Boulevard instead. Yay me.

In all honesty, it was Becky (who I shall from now on refer to as Bex) who first asked me to review for the blog, and I really do feel honored to be invited. But I felt that some introduction of myself would be needed, so here I am, ready to give you a few important factoids.

Name: Tonya. But not really. That’s just my Blogger identity; however, my friends do call me Tonya in real life, and I will respond to it as readily as my true name.

Grade: senior. I’m also 17, and about two months older than Bex. :) We attend the same high school, and have been friends since we met at a writing camp the summer before 9^th grade (we both wore our high-school t-shirt to camp one day, and were like “OMG you’re going there too?” and then bonded over our shared love of Harry Potter, as the 7^th book was being released that week).

Interests: Obviously reading, as well as writing (although not as much as Bex, who writes constantly). But I’m also one of the Cross Country captains this year, having run varsity the past four years, and will hopefully be one of the varsity soccer captains this spring (I’m a four-year member of that team as well). And I’m somewhat of a computer geek, inasmuch as I am taking AP Computer Science, and plan to major in Computer Programming.

Um, I think that’s all I really need to say, as of now. Hopefully, I will be able to do more than the one review; for now, I just hope you all look forward to my review of The Eternal Ones, by Kristen Miller. Until then, this is Agent Tonya, signing off!
**********

Thanks, dahling! And now you're all excited to read her review, right? ;) Don't worry, it will be up tomorrow! (I told her to follow any format she wanted, and she chose to follow mine, but don't hold her too closely to my system.)

In My Mailbox (6)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren. I was going to do a vlog for this post, but unfortunately, my internet connection couldn't handle uploading the video, so you're stuck with a normal all-text post instead. Eventually, my friends, eventually I will make vlogging work.

For Review: 

Matched by Ally Condie. I'm so excited to read this one, I love dystopian novels. And the cover. Oh my goodness, the cover. I love the cover design, the green-dress-girl in a bubble...but the best part is that when you move it around in the light, it shimmers. Rainbow shimmers. *manic giggle* In all seriousness, though, I can't wait to read this one. Thank you, LibraryThing and Dutton Books!


Borrowed: 

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. Aliens and science fiction and action? Yes please. This one looks very awesome and I cannot wait to read it! Also, they're making a movie of it (staring Alex Pettyfer...eye candy!), which means I absolutely have to read the book first.

Firelight by Sophie Jordan. Dragons! I love dragons. Paranormal YA anymore is all vampires and werewolves and faeries. Don't get me wrong, I love faeries and werewolves and even well-done vampires, but I need a change, and j'adore dragons. Point of interest: my friend Tonya, from whom I borrowed Firelight, will be appearing on the blog soon with a guest review! Get excited.





Gift: 

Countdown by Deborah Wiles. I actually got this one a few weeks ago and forgot to mention it because I put it in a special place away from my Stack o' Books to Mention in IMM. Deborah Wiles came to my dad's YA Lit class a while ago and talked about writing and books and all sorts of awesome things, and I didn't get to visit as planned because of school. But my dad (because he is the awesomest dad in the universe) got me a copy of her book, signed to me, and hopefully I'll get the chance to meet her in November, so that shall be cool.

That's what I got in my mailbox this week! What did you get in yours?

Review: Killer

Title: Killer
Author: Sara Shepard
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 321
Series: Pretty Little Liars #6
Rating: 4 stars
**WARNING: Contains spoilers from books 1-5.**


I'm not even going to bother posting the jacket cover description because it is so ridiculous and not related to the plot of the novel. It includes the line "Spencer is stealing - from her family." She's not. The other lines about what the characters are up to are equally irrelevant, and the rest of it is just background (Ali's dead, the girls are being stalked. We've known this since book one).

That said, these books just keep getting more and more mysterious. And I love the cover for this one. The purple is great. I think it's my favorite cover in the series, at least so far, and I've seen the other two, so I'm pretty sure this one is my favorite.

Anyway, though, the story. It is so difficult to define a specific plot for any one of these novels - they're like one big extended plot, which is probably why each one makes me want the next one ASAP. Hanna still annoys the heck out of me and Aria is still my favorite; the whole story with Spencer in this one seems kind of out of character but totally understandable, and I feel so much sympathy for Emily, especially with the whole Isaac thing set up in the previous book. Hanna excepted, I love the characters, and I love the way Sara Shepard develops mysteries.

The major thing that's going on in Killer is that the girls are tracking down who killed Ali. I won't say who (spoilers are horrid), but at the end of this one, it seems like they pretty much know who did it...I can't wait to find out where it goes in the next one.

So overall, great plot, good characters, and I've already put Heartless on hold at the library!

Links: 
Pretty Little Liars website

Waiting on Wednesday: Tempestuous

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm waiting on Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston. I don't think there's an official flap copy available yet, but it's the third book in the Wondrous Strange trilogy. I loved the first two and I really wanna know how the story concludes! Plus, the covers are sooo pretty:

So that's my pick this week! What's yours? Leave a link in the comments!

Beautiful Darkness!

This is the part where I squeak like a fangirl because Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl comes out today. I am so beyond excited to read this book - I adored the first one. Sadly, I couldn't get to B&N today, but I will definitely make an excursion to get this book veryverysoon.

I know there are several other awesome books that come out today, but this is the only one that I know off the top of my head, and I have a buuunch of Spanish homework that needs doing. I'm sorry I can't spotlight all of today's great releases. But this one I am absolutely psyched about, so I had to remind everyone that today's it's big welcome-to-the-world day!

Cover Love!

I got home a few minutes ago and was checking updates for blogs I follow, and the first thing I saw was this:

Yeah, that is exactly what you think it is. This is the absolutely freakin' gorgeous cover of Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel, the sequel to Infinite Days (my review is here). Side note: Infinite Days was one of the first books I reviewed on Bookworm Boulevard! It was awesome, if you're wondering.

I love this cover. It's so pretty. So, so pretty. And I can't wait to read the book! The ending of Infinite Days left me wanting more, so I'm definitely excited for this one. Who's with me there?

And in other news, I just wanted to congratulate Kristi at The Story Siren on reaching 100 "In My Mailbox" posts yesterday! I didn't have any new books to post about, but IMM was the first book-blogging meme that I encountered that I got excited about participating in, and Kristi's blog has been so inspirational and helpful to me as a new book blogger. So three cheers for Kristi and The Story Siren!

Being Jamie Baker

Hey guys! Today I bring you news about a book and a contest.

Kelly Oram's debut novel, Being Jamie Baker, came out in June. I haven't had the opportunity to read it yet, but I have read the first chapter online (which you, too, can do by clicking on this link; you can also watch the trailer here, although I've been having some trouble getting it to load) and it looks like it would be a fun read. Here's the summary from Goodreads, if you're curious:

"Most superhero stories start with a meteor shower or a nasty insect bite, but mine actually starts with a kiss..."

An accident that should end in tragedy instead gives seventeen-year-old Jamie Baker a slew of uncontrollable superhuman abilities.

To keep her secret safe Jamie socially exiles herself, earning the title of Rocklin High’s resident ice queen. But during a supercharged encounter with star quarterback Ryan Miller she literally kisses anonymity goodbye. Now the annoyingly irresistible Ryan will stop at nothing to melt the heart of the ice queen and find out what makes her so special.

Unfortunately, Ryan is not the only person on to her secret. Will Jamie learn to contain her unstable powers before being discovered by the media or turned into a government lab rat?

More importantly, can she throw Ryan Miller off her trail before falling in love with him?

Intriguing, no? But wait! you say. You haven't told us about the contest yet! Well, on her website, Kelly Oram describes a contest in which she'll be giving away one signed copy of her book each week through the month of November. You can find out more about that here.

And from what I can tell from the first chapter, there's a lot of talk about a character named Becky. If novel-Becky ends up being a significant character, I'm going to feel like I'm talking about myself in third person a lot when I talk about Being Jamie Baker. I haven't encountered a whole lot of literary Beckys (Becky Thatcher in Tom Sawyer excepted, of course).

Laters!
~Becky

I Am on a Horse

I apologize, dear readers, for the lack of bookishness in the last few BOOKworm Boulevard posts, but I have been very busy what with school and preparing to take the SAT tomorrow (again). I haven't had much time for reading. I shall hopefully remedy that this weekend.

In the meantime, though, I present this video for your amusement, shared with me by one of my best friends. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Old Spice commercials (I love them, they're hilarious), but I'm pretty sure you all know Sesame Street.

I am still laughing hysterically at this. Observe:

It's Wednesday Again!

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week the book I found is Razorland by Ann Aguirre. It's a dystopian sci-fi and the summary reminds me a little bit of the fifth Pendragon book (series by D.J. MacHale, definitely worth reading).

Description from Goodreads: 
In Deuce’s world, individuals become adults—and earn the right to a name—only if they survive their first fifteen years. By this point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups: breeders, builders, or hunters. As the names imply, each group has definite roles to play for the survival of the group.

As a Huntress, Deuce’s purpose is clear—to roam the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading the ferocious humanoids known as Freaks. This has been the status quo for as far back as anyone can remember; this is, the elders tell everyone, the way it has to be. With the introduction of Fade, a male hunter a couple of years older than Deuce, who had been adopted into her enclave a few years earlier, she becomes aware of the hidden realities of the Orwellian society in which she was born. Deviation from the norm is punished quickly and harshly.

As Deuce’s perception of her world shifts, guided by her complex partnership with Fade, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival in the tunnels. The Freaks, considered dangerous only due to their sheer numbers and ferocious appetite, have long been held as incapable of any level of thought. And yet, as Fade and Deuce encounter them in the tunnels while in a reconnaissance mission to the nearest enclave, the creatures’ behavior is evidently cunning, and therefore more dangerous. It is evident that the danger is imminent, and yet Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she's ever known.

*****
Honestly, I don't find the cover that attractive. I might really like it, but something about the girl's face seems...off to me. Still making up my mind on the title, too. But the summary looks like something I'd enjoy and the early reviews I've seen have been very positive! Razorland comes out on April 12th. I shall be looking for it then!

What are you waiting on this week? Leave your link in the comments, I'd love to see!

Review: Intertwined

Title: Intertwined
Author: Gena Showalter
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 440
Series: Intertwined #1
Rating: 4.5 stars
From the book jacket: 
There's something about the new guy at Crossroads High...

Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:

One can time-travel.
One can raise the dead.
One can tell the future.
And one can possess another human.

With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends. But now they're causing him all kinds of trouble. Like, he'll blink and suddenly he's a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he'll change the future. Or he'll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she's going to die.

He's so over it. All he wants is peace.

And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices. Well, as long as he's near her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He's a loner; she has friends. He doesn't care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it. For her sake, he should stay away. But it's too late...

Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendship. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own, and a vampire princess Aden can't resist. Two romances, both forbidden. Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger - but not everyone will come out alive...

**********

Before you start reading this review and think that I'm trashing this book, I want you to know that I really enjoyed it. It was excellent, and I'm definitely going to have to read Unraveled (the sequel) as soon as I can get my hands on a copy. But...

I'm going to start off with the stuff I didn't like. There were so many things that reminded me of Twilight! Vampires and werewolves involved in forbidden/impossible romances with humans, and a vampire + bodyguard named Victoria and Riley. Really? And I hate what the jacket flap says. It's way too long winded and it doesn't even get to the point about what the story is about.

What I loved, though, was the story itself, and the characters, and the paranormal elements. They even mentioned dragons at one point, although we didn't see them. For a long time, one of my Random Literary Goals has been to find a book that mentions vampires/werewolves and dragons, because I love dragons but they never appear in the same stories as the others, even though vampires and werewolves and dragons are all paranormal. So this book gets major points for that.

But getting back on track: the story was great. A little predictable in places (the whole Eve thing - you'll understand if you have read it or decide to read it, but I don't want to say more because it's spoilery), but one of the most original storylines I've found in a long time. Aden has these four souls living inside of him, and somehow he did something that called all the paranormal creatures to him - including the vampires, led by Vlad the Impaler, and his daughter, whom Elijah (one of Aden's souls) has seen in a vision. And then there's Mary Ann, who feels just as weirdly drawn to Aden as he does to her, and somehow negates Aden's powers. I really want book two to find out what's going on!

And the characters. It's not often that an author can create this many characters and give them all such distinct personalities - especially with two narrators - but not only do Mary Ann and Aden both feel separate and real, Victoria and Riley and the souls (Eve, Elijah, Julian, and Caleb) are also distinctive, particularly Eve.

Other random asides: I love the idea of the je la nune vampire-killer, and I love the name Aden.

Long story short: READ IT. You may initially draw a few parallels to Twilight but it goes away quickly. It's great!

Links: 
Gena Showalter's official fan page

In My Mailbox (5)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

I have five new books this week. Well, "new" - none of them are actually mine, they all came from the library:

Agh, so it's a little blurry. As you may notice, this is the first time I've uploaded an actual photograph of the books I got, and in my defense, I took this picture with a webcam. Anyway, the books are:

-Fade by Lisa McMann. I read Wake back at the beginning of June and enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

-The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I've heard so many great things about this book (including that it's dystopian), so I'm definitely excited to read this one!

-Killer by Sara Shepard. Yup, it's another Pretty Little Liars novel.

-Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink. I read (and reviewed) the first one, Prophecy of the Sisters, a little while ago and I'm excited for the sequel! Want to find out what comes next.

-Broadway Lights by Jen Calonita. This is the fifth(?) Secrets of My Hollywood Life book. It's been a while since I read the first four, but I heard there was a new one out so I thought I'd check it out. I'm really interested in film production, so if it's got to do with acting or film stuff...I'll read it.

That's it for me this week, guys! What did you get in your mailbox?

Assorted Non-Bookish Things, Mostly

Hello, people of the interwebs! No, I haven't forgotten about you. I have just had the most insane week ever. Homecoming at my high school was last night (we lost the football game 60-6. Hey, it's an academic magnet school, not a sports school), and Spirit Week leading up to it was absolutely crazy. Also totally wonderful. It was made of awesome.

Then I spent five hours or so today working on a physics project (and getting distracted by sparkly Sesame Street t-shirts in Wal-Mart). I understand that physics is useful and relevant and so on in the real world, but in all honesty, I despise physics.

But between physics and Homecoming festivities and the like, I have had very little time to read. I've been about halfway through Intertwined for a while and I hope to finish it before too terribly long, although schoolwork is being interfering and obnoxious and all that. In the meantime, I have some non-bookish things to share with you.

First, the song "The Call" by Regina Spektor. You may have heard it...it's been totally and completely stuck in my head for the last three or four days. Also, the song "Cell Block Tango" from the musical Chicago. This one popped into my head because the theme for our senior homecoming hallway this year was jailbreak. It never fails to amuse me, although I will warn anyone clicking that link who hasn't seen the musical to be prepared for some rather risque dancing. (The links to both of those songs go to YouTube. Please do not download them from YouTube. That is illegal and does not support the artists.)

Also, perhaps this is old news by now but the movie Inception is absolutely and totally amazing. I bring this up only because I was thinking about it earlier.

My family is watching football right now. I don't understand why football is so entertaining to so many people.

If you're looking for a random amusing flash game, Achievement Unlocked can be quite distracting. Yay for procrastinating!

Happy October, everyone. I shall return tomorrow with an IMM post.

~Becky