One Final NaNoWriMo Post

I did it! I won! I finished! I wrote 50,000 words in 30 days!

For three consecutive years, I have participated in and won NaNoWriMo. It's incredibly exciting. The fact that I've done it twice before doesn't make it any less exciting and awesome this time around. Of course, my story isn't quite done yet; I may have hit the 50k mark, but the story part still has some wrapping-up to do. Maybe I'll get to that later tonight, but between now and then I must acknowledge reality and do some homework.

But anyway, yay for NaNo! How has it been for the rest of you NaNo-ers out there? If you're not done yet, do not despair! You still have nearly 5 hours (well, if you're on EST like I am) in which to finish, and 5 hours is plenty of time for writing. If you still have words to write... good luck! You can do it! If you did finish already, congratulations!! :)

Also, just a small reminder that Matched is out in stores today. And it is just waiting for you to read it.

Happy Tuesday!

Review: Matched

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Publisher: Dutton Books
Pages: 384
Series: Matched #1
Rating: 5 stars
From the book jacket: 
Society matched them, but love set them free.

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It's barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one...until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path no one else has ever dared follow - between perfection and passion.

---------------

I don't even know where to start. Matched was such an utterly amazing book that I really have no idea where to begin. So I suppose I'll begin by saying that I absolutely adore this cover. It is so gorgeous. Also, it shimmers. Love love love.

And the story! It's set up within a typical dystopian frame - "perfect" society, someone rebels. (I'm totally not trashing this frame, by the way - it's just part of the genre.) But it feels like it has so much more to it than that! The Society is so intricate, so well-developed. It just kind of makes you shiver with how these are all realistic people acting so...machine, but still with their human characteristics. I'll stop now before I go off into my whole spiel about how much I love dystopian fiction, but suffice it to say that the Society in Matched is one of the best.

The background is perfect: just add characters. Honestly, I feel like the characters could have been boring as all get-out and the book would still have been semi-readable because the backdrop is so good, but Ally Condie did so much better. Cassia is one of the most real protagonists I've encountered, especially with this kind of set-up. And Xander and Ky....oh, man. I love Xander and all, but Ky is so....ahh. I would not want to have to choose. Poor Cassia.

Okay, I recognize that I'm rambling. I shall attempt to stop that. Basically, Cassia gets Matched to Xander, so the two of them will be married...but then, for just a moment, Cassia sees Ky's face on her Matching screen. Cue forbidden love and all sorts of intrigue.

The plot sounds kind of basic, but the execution...I could read pages and pages of absolute nothing, as long as it was written as beautifully as this book. I love love love Ally Condie's writing. And when paired with an awesome dystopian society (er, Society) and some amaaazing characters...well, you're in for a novel you don't want to miss. My only complaint was that I wanted to see more development of the minor characters, but really, I felt like even they were well-rounded.

Long story short, I love this book. Definitely, definitely read it.


Matched is in stores November 30, 2010 (that's tomorrow, for those of you reading this on the day I'm posting it). I recommend finding a copy.

me with Ally Condie at ALAN

Links: 
Ally Condie's website/blog

NCTE/ALAN 2010, Part 2: Many Pictures

I promised pictures...so here is a very abbreviated selection of my pictures from this weekend! There are a ton of author pictures, so I've picked out just a few; you'll see others soon, I'm sure. When I post a review of a book by one of the authors whose picture I haven't added in this post, I'll show you that picture then. Enjoy!

books. lots of books.

me with Deborah Wiles, author of Countdown

me with Melissa de la Cruz

me with Lisa McMann

me with Holly Black (at which point I tried very hard to remain calm and not go all spazzy fan)

me with Lauren Oliver

me with Robin Wasserman, author of the Skinned trilogy

me and topiary Mickey Mouse

me with Carrie Ryan. One of my favorite quotes of the weekend was in her ALAN speech:
"Hello, zombies. You are strange, and I am now in your company." I was amused.

the room where ALAN occurred

me with Heather Brewer, author of the Vladimir Tod series

a very tall man named Walter picking up me and Lauren Myracle (we're both short)

Tada! A small selection of what occurred at NCTE/ALAN last weekend. :)

NCTE/ALAN 2010, Part 1

After tagging along with the Best Dad Ever to NCTE/ALAN in Orlando and a wonderful Thanksgiving with my extended family, I'm back home and ready to start blogging again! I hope all of you had a lovely holiday as well (or just a lovely week, if you're not in the US).

The NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) conference/convention/whatever-it-is (I'm not actually sure which word they prefer) was incredible. I spent most of the time hanging out in the exhibit hall, collecting free books and talking to people. I got to talk to some fabulous authors and some lovely publishing people as well. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly and willing to talk about books and publishing and even blogging. To those authors and publishers, I want to say an enormous THANK YOU! Y'all rock. :)

ALAN (Assembly of Literature for Adolescents at NCTE, I think, but don't quote me on that) was also amazing. Two days of listening to authors talk about their books, their writing, their lives, and other random stories, plus the opportunity to chat with them and get a box of free books...it was pretty spectacular. To all those authors who spoke at ALAN: you guys were awesome!

On the whole, it was a fantastic experience and I am so grateful that I got the chance to go. I could go on and on telling you all about the minute details, but I'll spare you; I'd get bored listening to me, so you all probably would as well. But I'll be back tomorrow with some pictures to share!

Happy Thanksgiving!

To those of you within the US of A, Happy Thanksgiving! (To my international readers -- hello, international readers! Y'all rock too -- happy ordinary Thursday!)

I'm spending today with family, having a grand old time with relatives I rarely see and eating lots of good food and remembering all the wonderful things I have to be thankful for. My awesome blog readers made that list easily. Thanks, guys!

Here's wishing you all a great day!

~Becky

Waiting on Wednesday: The Lucky Kind

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

This week I'm waiting on The Lucky Kind by Alyssa B. Sheinmel.

Description from Goodreads:
High school junior Nick Brandt is intent on getting a girlfriend, and Eden Reiss is the one that he wants. He has exactly four semesters to get the girl, but when the phone rings on an otherwise ordinary Tuesday night, life for Nick and his parents will never be the same. What had been a seemingly idyllic home life has become something else entirely. But with this shake-up comes a newfound confidence for Nick; he's become a bolder version of himself, no longer afraid to question his parents, and no longer afraid to talk to Eden.

Alyssa B. Sheinmel has written a powerfully gripping story about family secrets, falling in love, and finding luck in unexpected--and sometimes unwelcome—circumstances.

**********

I think The Lucky Kind looks intriguing and I want to know what that news is that Nick got! I'm already excited to read this one, and it doesn't come out until May 10, 2011.

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

Review: Firelight

Title: Firelight
Author: Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 323
Series: Firelight #1
Rating: 4.5 stars
From the book jacket: 
A hidden truth. Mortal enemies. Doomed love.

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki -- a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away -- if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

----------

I shall begin by saying that I adore the cover of this book, because it is just gorgeous. But I shall move very quickly from the lovely cover into the equally lovely story within.

Dragons! There are dragons! Well, sort of. Technically they're draki, which are different from dragons. But still. Dragons make me happy. It's basically Forbidden Love, Draki Edition -- which has the potential to be boring and unoriginal, but it totally wasn't. Jacinda especially was such a relatable character. I just loved her. It was so hard watching her struggle to fit in, feeling like the outcast of her family...it was clearly fantasy, of course, but at the same time it was heartbreakingly real.

And then there's Will. I still can't decide quite what I think of him, but I think I like him. He certainly makes a good love interest for Jacinda. And Cassian and Xander are so easy to despise. I wish we had gotten to see more of Jacinda's best friends, Azure and Catherine, because they seem like great characters. We'll have to see what happens with that arc in book two!

Aaand the romance. My goodness. Mmm. Perhaps not the most realistic, but who cares? It was delightful to read about.

Firelight was not a perfect book. There were places where I just wanted Jacinda to shut up about Will and actually do something, and there were places where I was just confused. However, despite all that, I loved it, and I definitely think it's worth reading. Dragons and intrigue and danger and a literally sizzling romance...go read it now!

Links:
Sophie Jordan's website

2011 Debut Author Challenge

As 2011 rapidly approaches (and I am still trying to pretend that it is not), I've decided to participate in the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, which is hosted by The Story Siren. The goal, if I understand correctly, is to read at least twelve 2011 YA debut novels during the year 2011. You can find out all the official rules and how to participate here.

I'm sure this list will change, but the novels I plan to read for the challenge are as follows:

• Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
• Vesper: A Deviants Novel by Jeff Sampson
• Timeless by Alexandria Monir
• Across the Universe by Beth Revis
• Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
• Rival by Sarah Bennett-Wealer
• So Shelly by Ty Roth
• Exposed by Kimberly Marcus
• Entwined by Heather Dixon
• Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
• The Revenant by Sonia Gensler
• Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard

And that's a dozen, although from reading the list that Kristi has so graciously posted on her website, I am sure I will read way more than that. There's a lengthy list of 2011 debuts that look awesome.

I'm so excited to participate in this challenge! Thank you, Kristi, for hosting it, and to all the other participating bloggers: good luck and have fun!

Review: Countdown

Title: Countdown

Author: Deborah Wiles

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 377

Series: Sixties Trilogy #1

Rating: 4.5 stars

From the book jacket:

A time that changed the world. A time that changed Franny’s life.

Franny Chapman just wants some peace. But that’s hard to get when her best friend is feuding with her, her sister has disappeared, and her uncle is fighting an old war in his head. Her saintly younger brother is no help, and the cute boy across the street only complicates things. Worst of all, everyone is walking around just waiting for a bomb to fall.

It’s 1962, and it seems that the whole country is living in fear. When President Kennedy goes on television to say that Russia is sending nuclear missiles to Cuba, it only gets worse. Franny doesn’t know how to deal with what’s going on in the world – no more than she knows how to deal with what’s going on with her family and friends. But somehow she’s got to make it through.

 **********

Countdown is a little outside the genres I usually read – it’s historical middle-grade, rather than contemporary/paranormal YA – but I loved it. Franny, who is eleven years old, is a wonderful narrator: the perfect blend of humor and seriousness, completely believable, and Deborah Wiles captured the voice of a child perfectly. The other characters are just as good: Franny’s parents, her brother and sister and crazy uncle, her friends, the boy across the street…this could very easily be a totally true story.

It gets even easier to believe when you consider the documentary part of the novel. The whole book is full of actual footage from the 1960s – photographs, quotes, ads, political cartoons, reminders to stay safe in the bomb shelters if the air raid siren goes off…it’s all there, in between chapters. Seriously the coolest way to set up a historical book that I have ever seen. The book would be worth reading just for that. But there’s more to it than that.

The story is great too. Reading about an eleven-year-old protagonist was kind of different for me, but Franny is great and the story is amazing. I think it’s easy to forget that while the Cold War was going on, life was still going on like normal – for those of us who have never lived through something like that, it’s just history book stuff. Countdown takes those events that we read about in history class and makes them real, which is really awesome. Historical events aren’t the focus of this novel; they’re the setting. The story is about Franny and how she comes to terms with what it means to be afraid and, more importantly, what it means to be a friend.

Countdown is such a sweet, fun, and interesting book. I know those aren’t particularly original adjectives, but they certainly apply. It’s also very much a stay-up-until-you-finish-it kind of book. Definitely, definitely read it if you get the chance!

Books from Before (2)

I liked the "Books from Before" idea, so I have decided to continue with it. In the previous post, I talked about Magic Under Glass and reposted something from a very short-lived "forerunner" of Bookworm Boulevard. In the same post on the old blog, I talked about The Light by D.J. MacHale, so I'm going to share that one with you today. (Don't worry, these won't all be repostings of old stuff.)

What I Said: 
THE LIGHT was written by D. J. MacHale, who also wrote the wonderful sci-fi/fantasy/adventure Pendragon series. THE LIGHT was a really strange book that took me a little bit to get into, but in the end, I really enjoyed it and I'll definitely read the second one when it comes out.

The book is about Marshall ("Marsh") Seaver, a quiet boy with one real friend who lives alone with his father because his mom died. He's planning a wonderful summer vacation, but then two strange things happen: Marsh's best friend Cooper disappears, and the scary comic-book super-villain that Marsh has been doodling everywhere starts appearing in real life. When it starts becoming clear that the two occurrences are related, Marsh has to team up with Cooper's sister Sydney to find out what happened to his best friend and put a stop to Gravedigger (the super-villain)'s dangerous behaviors.

I can't count the number of times I said "This book is so weird" while I was reading it, but in the end, I did think it was a good book and it definitely kept me reading. THE LIGHT was full of mystery and creepiness and adventure, and Marsh is a pretty well-developed character. It plays with your mind and makes you want to find out what happens. There are definitely a few plot holes that need to be addressed and hopefully will be later in the series, but it's definitely worth reading. You can find out more about stuff at D. J. MacHale's website. 


The Light was a fun read and I will be looking for the sequel, The Black, in April. Apparently the sequel will be told from Cooper's POV, so that should be interesting. D. J. MacHale has some fun stuff - if you haven't read anything by him, definitely fix that. :)

Travel Notice!

This afternoon, I'm leaving for Orlando to attend the NCTE/ALAN annual convention with my dad (because he is awesome and brings me along to his English-teacher events). I'm incredibly excited about this trip. (Thank you, Daddy! ♥) The conference goes from Friday to Tuesday, at least the parts I'm there for, and then we'll be off to visit family until after Thanksgiving, so I'll be away for a while.

Hopefully I will have internet and so I will be able to continue posting, and I have a few posts already scheduled. However, just in case I don't manage to find a magical internet corner somewhere, I wanted to let you guys know where I'm going to be.

I'll tell you all about it, promise. And I'll take pictures.

Happy Thursday, Blogosphere.

Waiting on Wednesday: Burn Bright

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

This week, I'm waiting on Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres. The cover makes it look so delightfully dark and creepy (I don't read enough dark and creepy. I like dark and creepy), and the summary is just awesome. But don't take my word for it...here, cover and description:

Description from Goodreads:
In Ixion music and party are our only beliefs. Darkness is our comfort. We have few rules but they are absolute . . .

Retra doesn’t want to go to Ixion, the island of ever-night, ever-youth and never-sleep. Retra is a Seal – sealed minds, sealed community. She doesn’t crave parties and pleasure, experience and freedom.

But her brother Joel left for Ixion two years ago, and Retra is determined to find him. Braving the intense pain of her obedience strip to escape the only home she’s ever known, Retra stows away on the barge that will take her to her brother.

When she can’t find Joel, Retra finds herself drawn deeper into the intoxicating world of Ixion. Come to me, whispers a voice in her head. Who are the Ripers, the mysterious guardians of Ixion? What are the Night Creatures Retra can see in the shadows? And what happens to those who grow too old for Ixion?

Retra will find that Ixion has its pleasures, but its secrets are deadly. Will friendship, and the creation of an eternal bond with a Riper, be enough to save her from the darkness?

Listen well, baby bats. Burn bright, but do not stray from the paths. Remember, when you live in a place of darkness you also live with creatures of the dark.

*****

I just think this sounds like the kind of book that would draw me in and be so much fun to read. Possibly a do not read after dark book? Hm... Anyway, Burn Bright releases March 1, 2011, so I'll be looking for it then!

What are you waiting on this week? Leave a link in the comments and I'll come visit!

From Bad to Cursed

Katie Alender, author of Bad Girls Don't Die (which was delightfully creepy and also generally awesome), posted on her blog today a picture of the ARC and the jacket copy for the sequel, From Bad to Cursed.

She's trying not to spread the picture of the not-quite-final cover all over the internet, so I'll let you click here to see her original post with the picture and her comments, but I will post the jacket copy here:

From Bad to Cursed
Alexis is the last girl you’d expect to sell her soul. She already has everything she needs–an adorable boyfriend, the perfect best friend, and a little sister who’s finally recovering after being possessed by an evil spirit, then institutionalized.

Alexis is thrilled when her sister joins a club; new friends are just what Kasey needs. It’s strange, though, to see how fast the girls in The Sunshine Club go from dorky and antisocial to gorgeous and popular. Soon Alexis learns that the girls have pledged an oath to a seemingly benevolent spirit named Aralt. Worried that Kasey’s in over her head again, Alexis and her best friend Megan decide to investigate by joining the club themselves. At first, their connection with Aralt seems harmless. Alexis trades in her pink hair and punky clothes for a mainstream look, and quickly finds herself reveling in her newfound elegance and success.

Instead of fighting off the supernatural, Alexis can hardly remember why she joined in the first place. Surely it wasn’t to destroy Aralt…why would she hurt someone who has given her so much, and asked for so little in return?

I can't wait to read this! Also, if you go and look at the cover - isn't it awesome?

Review: Halo

Title: Halo
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pages: 484
Series: Halo #1
Rating: 4.5 stars
From the book jacket: 
An angel is sent to earth on a mission. But falling in love is not part of the plan.


Three angels -- Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, the youngest and most human -- are sent by Heaven to bring good to a world falling under the influence of darkness. They work hard to conceal their luminous glow, superhuman powers, and, most dangerous of all, their wings, all the while avoiding all human attachments.


Then Bethany meets Xavier Woods, and neither of them is able to resist the attraction between them. Gabriel and Ivy do everything in their power to intervene, but the bond between Xavier and Bethany seems too strong.


The angels' mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening. Will love ruin Bethany or save her?

----------

I have to start off with a little bit of cover love. I absolutely adore this cover. I'm not sure what it is about it that makes it so amazing, but it is seriously one of the most gorgeous book covers I can think of. Beautiful.

And of course, it helps that the story inside is also wonderful. I love Bethany as a protagonist. She is so wonderful and relatable and she just feels so genuine, even though she's an angel. Also, if anyone is worried about this book getting "too preachy" since it's about angels...quit worrying. Yes, obviously talk about God is involved, it's about angels, but it's not trying to convince anyone to convert.

Anyway. Back to how Bethany is a fantastic protagonist, and Xavier is an excellent love interest. (He really is, and he's totally human and non-stalkerish, too. I want my own Xavier Woods.) And have I mentioned that Bethany is just a wonderful character? And Gabriel and Ivy are great too, and Molly, and Jake...Alexandra Adornetto does characters well. Very well.

And the plot was also quite awesome. There were some things that I definitely predicted, but other things that had me wondering, and it sucked me in - I needed to keep reading it until I finished. I also think it wrapped up this storyline nicely enough as a stand-alone but also set itself up well for a sequel (which, by the way, I am dying to read). There were moments where I couldn't help drawing some rather unfortunate parallels to my least favorite part of Twilight, but they were few and far between. And Bethany and Xavier are a much better couple than...well, actually, a better couple than a lot of YA couples.

In places, the writing was a little awkward, but those moments too were few and far between. I noticed them, but they didn't detract from my love of the story. And the characters. I swear, I could go on all day about how much I adore Bethany and Xavier (and Gabriel and Ivy), except that you'd all get bored and tell me to shut up.

To sum up: Do not hesitate. Go read Halo now. You won't regret it. :)

Title Code

Ally Carter posted on her blog yesterday the title to Heist Society #2. Well, sort of...

This post contains a code. Your mission: crack the code and figure out the title of the sequel to Heist Society. (If you haven't read Heist Society, I don't know what you're waiting for. It was an excellent book. You can see my review here.)

I solved it (it is an excellent title), and you can too! Good luck!

Books from Before

...before the blog, that is.

My reading time has been somewhat limited lately (oh my goodness, college applications and calculus are working together to eat my soul. Seriously), but there are so many wonderful books that I read before I started Bookworm Boulevard that I haven't been able to post about! So today (and this may possibly become a regular feature), I'm going to tell you about one of these lovely Books from Before.

Today I shall be telling you about the wonderfulness that is Jaclyn Dolamore's Magic Under Glass. I actually posted a little about this on a short-lived, private blog over the summer about a month before I realized that a full-on book blog was an option, so I'm just going to share with you the Goodreads description of the book and my writing about it from before:

From Goodreads:
Nimira is a music-hall performer forced to dance for pennies to an audience of leering drunks. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to do a special act - singing accompaniment to an exquisite piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets stir. 

Unsettling below-stairs rumours abound about ghosts, a mad woman roaming the halls, and of Parry's involvement in a gang of ruthless sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing young fairy gentleman is trapped inside the automaton's stiff limbs, waiting for someone to break the curse and set him free, the two fall in love. But it is a love set against a dreadful race against time to save the entire fairy realm, which is in mortal peril.

From Becky:
[MAGIC UNDER GLASS by Jaclyn Dolamore] was such a good book. Beautifully written, like Jane Austen infused with sorcery, and it's so poetic and magical and it's a wonderful love story and it's so great.

Nimira is a dancing girl in a poor city, seeking her fortunes after her father's fall from grace. She gets the opportunity to go live with and work for a sorcerer, Mr. Hollin Parry, and sing with his automaton. But the automaton is more alive than anyone realizes, and Nimira may be the only one who can save him. MAGIC UNDER GLASS is a beautiful love story about a girl torn between "a man she does not love and a man she cannot have" (from the jacket cover) and it was so good and so sweet and oh my goodness everyone should read it because it was fantastic.

You can find out more about the author and the book at Jaclyn Dolamore's website. There is a sequel in the works, MAGIC UNDER STONE, but there isn't a release date available yet. Definitely read this book, you guys, it was awesome.


And I can now edit this to say that she also has another book coming out before Magic Under Stone, entitled Between the Sea and Sky, which I posted about for WoW a while ago.


If you haven't read Magic Under Glass, definitely give it a try. It is beautiful and excellent and made of awesome.

One Word: Love

Today, I'm coming to you guys with something completely unrelated to books. Today is To Write Love on Her Arms Day, and this is my spiel about why TWLOHA is important and why you should all take a few moments to write four little letters on your arm today.

To Write Love on Her Arms is a nonprofit organization based in Florida dedicated to helping those who are dealing with depression, self-injury, addiction, and suicide. The website, www.twloha.com, describes their mission with these words:

To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.  TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

The idea of TWLOHA Day is for people to write the word "love" on their arms to raise awareness and spread the message of love to people who need it. I'm gonna get on my soapbox for a minute here: It seems to me like people spend an awful lot of time joking about these sorts of things - every day at my school, I hear people making sarcastic comments about how a hard test made them want to slash their wrists or how they "raped" - did well on - some sort of assignment. There are an awful lot of people out there who think suicide, self-injury, and depression are funny. I can't speak for those people - I can't say they have never been around it or don't understand what it means - but I can say that these things they are joking about are real issues, and I can say that they are not something to laugh about.

Are you ready? I'm about to bring my personal life onto the blog, which I can assure you will not happen often. TWLOHA matters to me because I see these issues every day at school. Someone that I was very close to attempted suicide last year. I see people every day who have dealt with or continue to deal with depression and self-injury, and I have experienced first-hand the relief of knowing that there are people out there who care. Maybe not everyone will take it seriously; maybe it is not what everyone needs. But I have seen the hope and love that TWLOHA shares help someone, and I know it can make a difference. This is something that really matters.

No life is worthless. No one should ever be made to feel like there is no one out there who cares about them, like they have nothing left to live for. No one should ever have to feel like they are completely and utterly alone. TWLOHA exists to let people know that there is always someone who cares and someone to talk to. There is always a reason to keep on living.

I'm writing "love" on my arm today. And you should too. Thanks for reading. ♥

Review: 13 to Life

Title: 13 to Life
Author: Shannon Delany
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 308
Series: 13 to Life #1
Rating: 4 stars
From the back cover: 
Everything about Jessie Gillmansen's life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing. Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But while showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she's about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent -- he's a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie's small town. It seems change is the one thing Jessie can't avoid.

**********

I really dislike the summary of this book. (I do, however, love the cover - the way the moon is the center of the eye? It's awesome.) The summary makes the book sound completely cliched and stereotypical, and it doesn't really talk about what the story is about. BUT! The story inside the book is awesome.

Jessie, a reporter for her school paper, has taken an interest in the "Phantom Wolves" that were supposedly haunting the nearby city of Farthington. So when she starts seeing wolves - big wolves - in her small-town home, Junction, she's naturally somewhat freaked out. And if that's not enough to be getting on with, she's been assigned the job of showing new-boy Pietr Rusakova around school. Pietr, Jessie finds, is impossibly annoying, incredibly mysterious, and more appealing than he should be. She's drawn to him, but she can't explain why. Instead, she pushes him towards her friend Sarah, who is clearly interested in him. Big mistake, especially because Sarah is showing hints of turning into the ice queen she was before the accident. The same accident that killed Jessie's mother.

It took me a while to figure out what exactly the relationship between Jessie and Sarah was. I couldn't decide whether they were friends or enemies or what, but once I got it, it made sense. And I loved the relationship between Jessie and Pietr -- they don't immediately hate each other, and it isn't love at first sight. It develops somewhat more normally than that, which was a very pleasant change from a lot of YA. I felt like Jessie was really slow to make the connection to Pietr's secret, but that was probably just dramatic irony at its finest, and I loved the awesome new twist on werewolf mythology. But what really made me love this book were the characters.

Jessie can be a bit slow at times, but she's a wonderful protagonist. Personally, I would have liked to see more of her best friend, Amy. And Sarah...I'll be interested to see what happens with her in the second book. Weird Wanda, Jessie's dad's girlfriend, makes another interesting addition to the novel, and Pietr's whole family is just wonderful. Max cracked me up so much, and I would love to hang out with Catherine sometime. And then, of course, there's Pietr. Add one more name to the list of "Amazing Fictional Guys." He's sweet, he's protective, he has a sense of humor, he's not a stalker (unlike too many YA guys now), and he's just overwhelmingly real. I love Pietr. And Jessie. And the two of them together.

Parts of the novel were predictable, other parts were a little confusing, but it was absolutely worth reading anyway. J'adore this novel. (Someone check my French? I take Spanish.) It was excellent and wonderful and lots of fun, and I cannot wait to read the sequel, Secrets and Shadows, which I believe comes out in February. 13 to Life was engaging, funny and dark in equal measure and in all the right places, and I just loved it. Well worth your time!

Links: 
Shannon Delany's website
Shannon Delany's blog

Waiting on Wednesday

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

This week, I'm waiting on Memento Nora by Angie Smibert. Honestly, it was the title that made me look further at this book and actually read the synopsis, because I thought of "Memento Mori," which I remembered from The Austere Academy (why yes, I am quite a fan of the Series of Unfortunate Events books). Anyway, I'm glad I did look at the synopsis, because it looks quite intriguing:

Description from Goodreads:
Nora, the popular girl and happy consumer, witnesses a horrific bombing on a shopping trip with her mother. In Nora’s near-future world, terrorism is so commonplace that she can pop one little white pill to forget and go on like nothing ever happened. However, when Nora makes her first trip to a Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic, she learns what her mother, a frequent forgetter, has been frequently forgetting. Nora secretly spits out the pill and holds on to her memories. The memory of the bombing as well as her mother’s secret and her budding awareness of the world outside her little clique make it increasingly difficult for Nora to cope. She turns to two new friends, each with their own reasons to remember, and together they share their experiences with their classmates through an underground comic. They soon learn, though, they can’t get away with remembering.

**********

Dystopia (at least, it sounds like it) and magical forgetfulness pills and remembering secrets? Sounds like my kind of book. I'm not too sure about the whole "ooh popular!" thing, but the cover is awesome and the plot definitely sounds fascinating. Memento Nora comes out in April 2011, at which time I will definitely need to read it!

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

A Noveling Plea for Help

Yup, it's another one of those NaNoWriMo posts...

I realize that the second week of NaNoWriMo is not exactly the best time to be doing writerly research, because speed-writing + homework + college applications != lots of time to look stuff up. But I need to do some writerly research anyway. And I need your help!

The protagonist of my NaNo novel is very involved in fencing, as in the sport, and is also very skilled in the art of actual swordplay. (She's been practicing both for years, so it's not "poof, I can magically do it!" because that would annoy me.)

The problem is, despite my best efforts to the contrary, I've never been able to learn how to fence, and I've definitely never used a real sword. This is where you come in.

If any of you wonderful, awesome, well-read and multi-talented readers know anything about fencing or swordplay or can direct me to a book or website that would help, that would be spectacular. And if it will make you feel better, I can even name a character after you. I'm always short on good names. :) Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Also, just a general update on book-related things: my reading time has been tragically limited by all the schoolwork I'm having to do, but I should have a new review up sometime this week, with any luck at all.

♥ Becky

Review: Beautiful Darkness

Title: Beautiful Darkness
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little, Brown
Pages: 503
Series: Caster Chronicles #2
Rating: 5 stars
From the book jacket: 
A few months ago, I believed nothing would ever change in this town. Now I knew better, and I only wished it was true.

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together Ethan and Lena can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

**********

I loved Beautiful Creatures, the first book in the Caster Chronicles, so I've been dying to read this since way before it was released. Sometimes in cases like that, the sequel can't possibly live up to your expectations, but I think Beautiful Darkness did.

I will confess that I had a hard time getting into it at first - it started off a little slowly. But once it got going, it really got going. After getting through about fifty pages throughout the week in my few free minutes at school, I sat down this morning to read a bit more over breakfast. I decided that I would read while I ate, then go work on college essays and NaNoWriMo. Around 3 pm, with only a brief interruption to get lunch, I finished the novel and hadn't written a word. I simply could not put it down.

Ethan is still crazy in love with Lena, but Lena is struggling with a dark secret and even darker emotions that are pulling her away from Ethan. Suddenly, she's hanging out with her evil cousin Ridley and a mysterious new Incubus, leaving Ethan feeling pushed aside and desperate to save her before she turns Dark. Her Seventeenth Moon is coming up, and Lena will have to be Claimed soon. And Liv, Marian's new assistant at the library, is only convincing Lena that Ethan has moved on. But, of course, in Gatlin, SC, nothing is what it appears to be.

I loved so many things about this book. The characters - Link and Liv especially, and Ethan's great-great-aunts, and Ridley, and of course Ethan most of all - just came to life in my mind. I wish we had gotten to see more of Lena, although I'm confident that she'll be more important in book three. I would read pages and pages of just small talk between these characters, because I love them that much.

And the plot. Oh my goodness. I really want book three NOW, because I just have to know what happens next. Beautiful Darkness keeps working at solving the mysteries introduced in book one, answering a few questions and raising plenty more, and there's always something new happening. I feel like that description is really cheesy and doesn't do the book justice at all, but I'm not sure (1) how much I can say without accidentally spoiling something and (2) how else to say it. It just takes hold of you and refuses to let go until you've read every last word, and then leaves you hungry for more of it.

Long story short: I adored this book, every bit as much as the first one if not more, and I can't wait for book three! Absolutely read the Caster Chronicles.

Links: 
Caster Chronicles website
Kami Garcia's blog
Margaret Stohl's blog

NaNoWriMo By the Numbers

Yes, I'm one of those people. The people who are crazy enough to attempt to write a 50,000-word novel in a month, on top of senior thesis and college applications (*shudder*) and a trip to Orlando for NCTE/ALAN (*squee!!*).

Oh! I should talk about NCTE/ALAN! Because I have the best dad ever and he happens to be an English teacher, I get to go with him to the NCTE convention and ALAN in Orlando this year. I am unbelievably excited about this trip, and I promise to tell you all about it when I get back. With pictures, probably.

But anyway, NaNoWriMo. It's November 5th. Here's NaNo as of today, in numbers:

-Goal word count for today: 8,335
-My current word count: 8,209
-Dances I have performed in instead of writing today: 1 (and it was so much fun! If any of my fellow dancers are reading this, y'all rock <3)
-College applications that I should be working on instead of writing: 2
-Number of essays required by those applications: 9 (I know, 9 essays for 2 applications. Whaaat?)
-Pages I have read of Beautiful Darkness: 96 (and I love it!)
-How long I have left to meet today's word count and still get some essay-writing done: 3.5 hours

Off to write some more now! Whether it will be college application essays or NaNo remains to be determined.

Super Awesome Cover Love

This would be released on a Wednesday when I already have my WoW pick up. I considered scheduling this post to show up tomorrow, but I'm really excited about this, so I had to share it now. Without further ado, I present to you....the amazing-wonderful-awesome cover of The Demon's Surrender by the lovely Sarah Rees Brennan:

I am so excited for this book, you guys. I loveloveloved the first two books in the series and cannot wait to read this one! It's sad that the series will be coming to a close, because I'll miss these characters, but oh my goodness I simply MUST find out what happens.

(The Demon's Surrender, if you don't know, is the third book in the Demon's Lexicon trilogy.)

*wants this book. now.*

Waiting on Wednesday: Between the Sea and Sky

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

This week I'm waiting on Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore. First, look at the cover. It's brand new (revealed on the author's blog on Monday) and it is preeeetty:

I love all the blue-and-white swirlies everywhere. Actually, I just love this whole cover. :)

You can see the full post on Jaclyn's website here, but this is what Goodreads has to say about Between the Sea and Sky:

For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her sister as a siren, the highest calling a mermaid can have. But when her sister runs away to the mainland, reportedly to elope with a human, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. 

Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily through the streets of New Sweeling. There, she will come upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood - Alandare, a boy, now a man, who belongs to a winged race of people. Together, Esmerine and Alandare put aside their differences to find her sister, and in the process discover a love that cannot be bound by land, sea, or air.
***
It sounds awesome and I can't wait to read it! Plus, I love the name Esmerine. Seriously awesome. We'll be waiting on this one until June 7, 2011.

What are you waiting on this week? Leave me a comment and I'll stop by to visit!

Review: I Am Number Four

Title: I Am Number Four
Author: Pittacus Lore
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 440
Series: Lorien Legacies #1
Rating: 4.5 stars
From the book jacket:
Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books - but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya.

I am Number Four.

I am next.

---------------

When I first picked up this book at Barnes & Noble and read the jacket cover, I thought it looked fascinating. Now that I've read it, I can say that I was absolutely right.

The author, using the pseudonym Pittacus Lore, wastes no time in plunging readers into the story of the Loric people and the Mogadorians. Lorien and Mogadore are two of the eighteen life-sustaining planets in the universe. The closest one to them is Earth. Nine Loric children and their guardians (called Cêpan) traveled to Earth after the Mogadorians destroyed their planet. These nine children are the future of Lorien, its only hope of someday being restored to what it once was. They are protected by a charm, so they can only be killed in order. One, Two, and Three are dead. Four - alias John Smith - knows he is next on the list.

There's one problem. John and his Cêpan, Henri, are living comfortably in Paradise, Ohio, and John has started fitting in for the first time ever. He's also come closer than ever to revealing who he really is, because he's receiving his Legacies - the "superpowers" that come naturally to Loric Garde (the ones who aren't Cêpan). He has a girlfriend, Sarah, a best friend, Sam, and a life that he actually doesn't want to leave. Enter the Mogadorians.

The action in this book was incredibly intense. Once I started, I did not want to stop - I had to keep going and find out what happened next. I'm not sure when Book 2 comes out (although according to the website, it will be called The Power of Six), but as soon as it does, I want to read it. I Am Number Four is coming out as a movie (starring Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron) on February 18, and I want to see it so I can see what they did with it, although rumor is it's quite different from the book. At any rate, the insane action in the book should translate really well to film.

But I digress. The plot was amazing, sure, but the characters were great. I love Henri, and Sarah, and Sam, and Six (S, S, S, haha), and of course John is the star of the show. I wish a couple of them had been developed a little more, but the cast is still amazing and they just came to life in my mind. Love, love, love.

Long story short: READ THIS BOOK. My one complaint is that the writing got to be a little more tell than show in one or two places and I wanted more of the characters, but aside from that, this is the best sci-fi action novel I've read in a long time and among the best novels overall that I've read recently, too. It's so awesome!

Links: 
Official Lorien Legacies website