100+ in 2011 Challenge

With just an hour and a half left in 2010, I have chosen another 2011 challenge to participate in (or, if you want to be grammatically correct, a 2011 challenge in which to participate). That's the 100+ Books in 2011 Challenge, hosted by My Overstuffed Bookshelf.

From what I can tell, it's basically exactly what it sounds like: read at least a hundred books in 2011. I'm definitely in! My first book is going to be Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, because even though I listed it as my "currently reading" earlier today, I haven't actually started it yet and probably won't in the next hour and a half (anything started before January 1 doesn't count for the challenge).

Also, allow me to call your attention to the new "Challenges" page that I've added. On this page, I'll be keeping track of my current challenges, as you might guess from the title.

Enjoy the end of 2010, those of you who are still there, and to those of you who have already reached 2011 -- Happy New Year!

Goodbye 2010

Hello, internet, I have returned! It feels like I've been away from Bookworm Boulevard for ages, even though it's only been a few days. I have missed it.

It's crazy to think that six months ago, at the beginning of July, I had no idea the whole book-blogging community existed. I just liked blogging and books and decided to put them together -- and in the process, I discovered the awesome world that is book-blogging.

Thank you guys so much for making it such a wonderful and rewarding experience! I love being a part of all this. Here's to an even better time in 2011! Happy New Year, everybody!

Review: Paranormalcy

Title: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 335
Series: Paranormalcy #1
Rating: 4.5/5
From the book jacket: 
Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

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

So much for normal, indeed. Paranormalcy is about as far from your normal paranormal romance as it gets while still being a YA paranormal romance, and I mean that in a good way.

The idea of IPCA, the International Paranormal Containment Agency, is brilliant. Because really...if paranormal creatures existed in large numbers, wouldn't the government know about it and have a department for it? It's such a creative spin on the whole thing. I love it. And the story built around it...wow. It will keep absolutely keep you turning pages wanting to know what happens next.

And the characters! Evie is a wonderful character. Her narration is funny and genuine (although I will admit that her obsessions with pink clothes and boys reeeally got on my nerves at times; that was really my only problem with the book - too much pink!). She is so much fun to read about and her voice is incredibly real. The other characters are great too, although I wish we got to see more of them. I wanted more Lish! I could feel Evie's reactions to Reth, and Lend...well, he's just awesome.

Also, I loved that the romance developed normally. Evie and Lend become friends, based first upon their personalities, and that friendship develops into a romance at a normal (if expected) pace. And there was no sex and no swearing, and Evie sticks to one boyfriend. Hooray for an awesomely written story that actually has some semblance of morals! Not that I have a problem with most paranormal romances (I love the genre), but this one was just such a nice change.

In short, Paranormalcy is a delightfully entertaining, refreshing, and all-around fun read that will leave you wanting the sequel. (*tries very hard to wait calmly for Supernaturally*) Absolutely worth your time.

Links: 
Kiersten White's website
Kiersten White's blog

Merry Christmas!

Okay, technically it's Christmas Eve. But tomorrow is Christmas, and I will be spending that time with my family and not on the internet. So I'm sending out my holiday wishes today. Merry Christmas, everybody!

And if you don't celebrate Christmas, I wish you a very happy holiday of your choice and hope your December 25 is simply a lovely December day!

I'll probably have a review up on Boxing Day (and, hey - if any of you know of any actual holiday-ish things that happen on Boxing Day, let me know! It's just a regular day here...), because I just finished Paranormalcy (loved it by the way), and after that I really will be taking a break until New Years.

You guys rock. Thanks so much for reading and I'll see (er, write to?) you in January! ♥

Review: Numbers (or, I Clearly Excel at Avoiding the Internet)

Title: Numbers
Author: Rachel Ward
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 325
Series: Numbers #1
Rating: 4/5
From the book jacket: 
Since the day her mother died, Jem has know about the numbers.

Numbers that pop into her head when she looks into someone's eyes. They're dates, the numbers. Dates predicting with brute accuracy each person's death.

Burdened by such grim knowledge, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. Maybe they can find happiness together, if only in the brief time that remains before his expiration date.

But on a trip to London, Jem foresees a chilling chain of events: The city's a target. The clock's running out. The countdown is on to a blowup!

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

The premise of this book is so cool. The idea just drew me in. It wasn't about exactly what I thought it would be about - the book jacket makes it sound like it's about the discovery of a terrorist plot or something, but that's only in the first quarter of the book. It's more about Jem and Spider on the run afterwards.

I love the Britishness of Numbers. I love the characters. I really love the story. Jem and Spider are so much fun to read about, and Jem is such a complex character - she's literally an outcast of society, and readers can relate to her. And she's got so many questions and problems, about letting people in and and trusting people and coming to terms with death. I wish Spider had been a bit more developed, and the other side characters. Britney, for example - I loved her. I wanted to know more about her.

I also loved the way Rachel Ward explored the idea of knowing when people will die. Is it better to know when you will die or to leave it a mystery? By coming into contact with someone, can you change their future? How much of life is predestined from birth and how much can be changed? So many interesting concepts. It's so cool.

I was not a fan of the ending. Because I am also not a fan of spoilers, I'm not about to tell you what that ending is, but I will say that it would have been a much better book (in my opinion) without the epilogue. If it had stopped before that, it would have been great. That aside, though, I will definitely be reading the sequel soon (I actually have an ARC in my possession, which is what prompted me to read Numbers in the first place).

Also, can I just take a moment to say that this cover is really awesome?

Oh, and one more thing before I go: this book comes with warnings. There's some pretty heavy swearing and, hopefully this isn't a spoiler, a little bit of sex. So keep that in mind before you pick it up.

Links:
Rachel Ward's website

On Accidental Re-reads and Holidays

I sat down in an armchair around noon this afternoon and looked at the stack of books on the table next to me, all YA books that my dad had brought home to read for the YA Lit class he teaches. Among these books was An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. I picked it up and read the author's note in the back and the explanation of the mathematical formula. My cat hopped into my lap, curled up and went to sleep. I didn't want to dislodge him, so I read the first couple of pages of Katherines...and then I read the whole book.

I didn't mean to read the whole thing. But I did. (And I would like you to know that it was just as awesome the second time around. Definitely worth reading. I love it. Not going to do a full review, but it's definitely a five-stars book. Read it!) And you know what? It was nice. I have a massive pile of books that I want to read, but it was very pleasant to just sort of chill and read something that I picked up almost by accident. I haven't done that in a long time. It was incredibly relaxing. So I advise you today: read something just for fun! If you're a reviewer, read something not for review. Just read something for the sake of reading it!

Also, I want to talk about holidays. I realize not everyone celebrates Christmas, so for those of you who don't, I wish you a simply splendid holiday or non-holiday of your preference. To those of you who, like me, do celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas on Saturday.

I say all this now because I may or may not be posting much of anything between now and New Years. I'm on a break from school, finally have some time to relax and catch up on my reading and hang out with my family, plus we'll be traveling. So, I think it might be a good time to take a little bit of a blog-holiday as well. I'll still be posting a little bit, probably, because I'm not very good at staying away from the internet (>_>) but you probably won't see as much of me until January first.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and see you later! <3

Review: So Much Closer

Title: So Much Closer
Author: Susane Colasanti
Publisher: Viking (Penguin)
Pages: 256
Rating: 3.5
From the book jacket: 
In the city that never sleeps, Brooke wakes up to a whole new life.

Scott Abrams is the love of Brooke's life. he just doesn't know it yet. So when his family moves to New York City the summer before senior year, Brooke has no choice but to follow Scott. It's her last chance to prove to him that they're meant to be together.

But the city is full of surprises for Brooke. Ever since a painful family trauma, she's been closed off to her family, to her friends, and even to herself. Now, inspired by the thrilling energy of the bustling and creative city around her, Brooke starts to explore her talents and become someone she never dreamed she'd be.

[Highlight for what I think is a spoiler -->]So what will she do when her dream of love finally comes true...and instead, she wants something more?<--

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

I have very mixed feelings about this book. The writing and the characters were wonderful. Brooke's thoughts and the issues she was dealing with felt very real. Colasanti's writing is splendid. It felt like a real teenager was telling the story the same way she'd tell a story to her best friend - which was excellent, and very well-done, although I will admit that some of the same slang ("like" and the substitution of "goes" for "says") got on my nerves the same way it does in real life.

I loved the characters. It was my love for John and Sadie that really kept me reading to the end of the book, but Brooke was excellent too - she was a genuinely real character, and she challenged herself and the readers to think about what it means to figure out who you are. John was easily my favorite; I wish I could meet a boy like him in real life. Sadie was also fun. I want a Sadie friend. Scott, I did not like. I don't know what it was, he just got on my nerves. He felt flat and boring, and I never understood why Brooke liked him so much. His main character trait seemed to be that he liked The Office. Still, I could put him aside to read more about John and Sadie (and, okay, Brooke too).

But to me, the plot fell flat. I loved the characters and the writing -- I really did -- but the entire premise of the book seemed contrived and ridiculous. At seventeen, she finds out this boy that she's loved from afar for years is moving away, and he just happens to be moving to NYC, where she just happens to have always wanted to go, and where her dad just happens to live? And then she gives up a life with great best friends to move closer to a boy that she doesn't even really know? I mean, I get that teenagers occasionally do dramatic things for what they think is love, but that just seems to be pushing it. And I thought the end was incredibly predictable (although it was executed in such a way that it was also really, really sweet and adorable).

Middle of the road on this one. Characters: A-plus. Writing: A-plus. Plot: D. Maybe a C-minus at best. If you're willing to overlook the strangeness of the premise, though, So Much Closer is still a sweet, fun read. Despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed it.

Links:
Susane Colasanti's website

Bookshelves!

I got a new bookshelf today!

New bookshelves are always exciting. They mean that more books get actual homes instead of just semi-random stacking in completely-random piles on the floor/tops of things/edges of other shelves/etc. And I love going through and organizing my books. Call me crazy and nerdy, but I think it's fun.

Anyway, it's very exciting, so I decided it merited a blog post. Off to continue shelving books! :)

Non-Review: Falling Under

The lovely people from Penguin, working through the lovely people from Goodreads, were kind enough to send me a review copy of Gwen Hayes' upcoming novel, Falling Under. It has a beautiful cover, which is why I entered to win a copy from Goodreads First Reads, and I only had a sort of vague idea what it was about.

I looked at the back cover and became a lot less interested in reading it. It probably speaks poorly of me that I was willing to skip over a book because the jacket copy was uninteresting, but it just isn't what I'm looking for right now. I don't want something that's another romance based on lust where the guy is totally hot and cold with the girl, which is kind of what the cover makes me think of. Harsh words, perhaps, but they're true. Right now I want something that's going to make me think. I love paranormal romance, but it's not what I want right now. But even so, I was going to give it a chance. I've been wrong before, and I'd love to be wrong about this one.

Then I read the first sentence. That sentence contains the phrase "burning man." A boy at my school lit himself on fire a week ago. I can't read about burning men right now. Even so, I kept going, finishing the first page. It was enough to kind of make me wonder what was going on, but not enough to get me past the ridiculous jacket copy and the fact that a girl who has an iPhone calls her dad "Father."

I'm sure there are people out there who will love this book (and even I think the cover is beautiful), but I don't think I'm going to be one of them. Goodreads and Penguin, thank you for sending me the book, but I won't be reviewing it.

Bloggers: Do you ever get books that you requested like this and then realize that you kind of really don't want to read them? Does it ever make you feel guilty? I got a review copy of this that someone else could have gotten, and I'm not going to read it. On the one hand, that's not good, because it feels like I'm shirking my responsibility. On the other hand, I started this blog so that I could talk about books that I want to talk about, not as something to be a chore. I'll probably pass this one along to someone else who will enjoy it and review it somewhere else. I think life's too short to spend time reading books you don't want to read when there's a pile of books you do want to read just waiting for you. What do you think?

Sorry to get all philosophical on you guys. I try to avoid getting too personal and philosophical on the internet, but it still slips out sometimes. On a lighter note, how many other student/teacher bloggers out there are now starting their winter breaks?!

Review: Paper Towns

Title: Paper Towns
Author: John Green
Publisher: Dutton Books
Pages: 305
Rating: 5 stars
From the book jacket:
Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life -- dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge -- he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues -- and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.

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

Ever since I started this book, I have been asking myself one question: WHY did it take me so long to start reading this?! Paper Towns was fantastic. Simply fantastic.

It's written from a guy's perspective, so there is guy humor, which was a little weird for me in places because, well, I'm not a guy. But that aside -- gahh, I don't even know what to say to express my love for Paper Towns. It's funny, it's sweet, it's heartbreaking, it's beautiful. I laughed out loud several times while I was reading it (I love when books can do that), but there were parts too that were just so full of meaning, and it's just awesome. This book is made of awesome.

It is one of the most quotable books I've read in a long time (I'd share a few, but then I wouldn't ever stop and this post would go on forever, which I don't think you want). I got this one from the library, but I'm thinking I may have to go buy a copy, like, right now, because it's one that I already know I'm going to want to read again.

I'm not actually telling you a whole lot about the book, I guess, but that's because I really don't know what to say. The characters are so real, and the story is engaging, and I couldn't put it down. I laughed out loud a lot (yeah, I said that already) and it really made me think (which I love), and also, there are frequent literary references and poetry quotes (that right there is enough to win me over). If you haven't read Paper Towns, I don't know what you're still waiting for. Go get a copy right now.

Links:
John Green's website

Review: Nightshade

Title: Nightshade
Author: Andrea Cremer
Publisher: Philomel Books (Penguin)
Pages: 454
Series: Nightshade #1
Rating: 5 stars
From the book jacket:
Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything -- including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

**********

Nightshade is one of those books that you sit down to review and realize that you don't know how to describe the amount of awesome you want to convey, if that makes sense. I started off wanting to enjoy it, but I wasn't expecting to be completely blown away. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. It was simply fantastic.

Calla Tor is an alpha wolf, used to leading the younger members of her pack, the Nightshades. On Samhain, also her eighteenth birthday, she and Bane pack alpha Ren Laroche will go through the union, which is the Guardian wolf version of a wedding, and form a new pack, an offshoot of the Nightshades and Banes. Everything seems to be going according to plan, until Calla saves a human in the woods - and then that same human, Shay Doran, shows up at their school. Calla likes Shay, and he likes her, but Calla has been promised to Ren. That might be something Calla could accept, except for two things: one, her Keeper, Logan, wants her to protect Shay, who seems to be in danger from something she doesn't understand; and two, Shay challenges Calla to think about the world in a way she's never thought about it before - including the fact that her very existence as a Guardian may not be what she has always believed it to be.

Calla is easily one of my favorite protagonists. She's a totally kick-butt heroine, totally able and willing to defend herself, but she's not scared to let other people see her cry. Despite the fact that she's actually a wolf, she struck me as more human than almost any other female protagonist I've encountered. I really don't know how else to describe it - she could step off the page and be a living, breathing person, wolf and all. And I loved the dynamics between all the characters, too. Ansel and Bryn and Mason and Neville and Fey and Dax and Sabine and Cosette...I just love them. And Efron made me shudder. Andrea Cremer does characters incredibly well.

And then of course, there's Ren and Shay. Usually, when I read a book where the lead girl is torn between two boys, I know exactly what "team" I'm on from the start. But Ren and Shay are both so real and such compelling characters that I honestly don't know. At the moment, I'm thinking Shay, but I love Ren, too. They both have their strong points and their flaws - they, like Calla, could easily be real. I am beyond impressed with the characters I met in Nightshade.

And then there's the story. I need the sequel, like, now. I want to know the truth about the Guardians and the Keepers and Shay and the Scion, and I have to know who Bosque is, and and and.... you get the idea. Nightshade has a plot that sucked me in and kept me turning pages and left me wanting more.

Read this book. Just do it. You won't be disappointed.

Links:
Andrea Cremer's website

Waiting on Wednesday: Wolfsbane

Turns out my timing with this post is a little backwards. I'm supposed to rant and rave about my love for Nightshade before I tell you I'm waiting on the sequel, but I wanted to post the City of Fallen Angels cover yesterday, so my review of Nightshade won't be up until tomorrow.

Now that we've got that figured out...if you haven't already figured it out, this week, my Waiting on Wednesday pick is Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer. I absolutely adored Nightshade and it's going to be veeery difficult for me to wait until July to get the sequel! Plus, I think the cover for Wolfsbane is maybe even more gorgeous than the cover for Nightshade - I love the green:

The only synopsis available on Goodreads yet is "Betrayal, loss, pain, fear. How many trials can love endure and still survive?" I just want more Calla (and Shay and Ren)! Waiting until July 26 is going to be hard.

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

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

City of Fallen Angels Cover!!

I know this is all over the blogosphere right now, but in case you haven't seen it somewhere else yet, here is the cover of City of Fallen Angels:

Isn't it gorgeous? It still has very much the same Mortal Instruments vibe, but it's different, too - especially since Clary and Simon are both on the cover. I'm still deciding what I think of having actual eyes on the cover - something about the characters' faces just seems a little off to me. But still - oh my goodness gorgeous cover!

Of course, I wouldn't care if the cover were the ugliest thing I'd ever seen, I'd still want to read it, because I love love love this series and this world and these characters. But it definitely helps to have a cool cover.

What do you guys think?

Review: The Scorch Trials

Title: The Scorch Trials
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 360
Series: Maze Runner #2
Rating: 4.5 stars
**Warning: Possible Spoilers for The Maze Runner**
From the book jacket: 
Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.

In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety...until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated -- and with it, order -- and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim...and meal.

The Gladers are far from done running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Thomas can only wonder -- does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

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

I'm going to try to avoid too many spoilers for The Maze Runner, but the premise of this book is based on the fact that in the end of the first one, they escape from the maze, so that's kind of a big spoiler right there (although maybe not...I dunno, guess it depends how you look at it). Anyway, The Scorch Trials is set in the Scorch, which is basically post-apocalyptic Mexico. Thomas and the other Gladers race against time and the mysterious Group B, apparently composed entirely of girls, to get to the mysterious "safe haven" within two weeks. If they fail, their lives are forfeit.

I felt like The Scorch Trials did an excellent job of maintaining the same sort of feel as the first book but without blatantly repeating itself. I loved the new characters (particularly Brenda), although I'm still making up my mind about Aris. I loved finally seeing what the outside world looks like. James Dashner has created a fascinating post-apocalyptic dystopian universe, and I know I for one am absolutely fascinated by WICKED and I can't wait for the final book in the series so I can find out what's up with WICKED.

My one complaint is that the walking through the desert started to drag in places, but on the whole, it was really well done and it very rarely slowed down. It kept me turning pages, eager to find out what happened. And just to put this out there: Thomas is a kick-butt protagonist. Seriously, he's awesome.

The Scorch Trials is well-crafted and exciting (although if you haven't read The Maze Runner, you should definitely read that one first) and I cannot wait for the final installment, The Death Cure. I absolutely recommend it!

Links: 
James Dashner's website/blog

In My Mailbox (8)

Before I get to the "in my mailbox" part of this post, I want to thank you guys for your support this weekend. It's been an intense few days. I think I am ready to get back to blogging, though.

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren so we can share what we get each week. I have four new ones this week:

Won:

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick. I won the "Big Ol' Crescendo Contest" on her website and the book, audiobook, and poster arrived a couple of days ago. Thank you so much, Becca, I cannot wait to read this book!!








For review: 

So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti. I think this one looks really sweet and I love the cover. Thanks, LibraryThing Early Reviewers!









From the library:

Wanted by Sara Shepard. Yep, I've finally reached the conclusion to the series....or, you know, not, since she just announced that there will be four more books. I wonder how the series will continue...if it means that we don't find out who the killer is in book eight, I'm gonna be mad, since that may be the only reason I'm still reading them...

Paper Towns by John Green. I have heard so many great things about this book, I've enjoyed John's other books, and I recently fell in love with his and his brother's Youtube channel....so yeah, I'm pretty (extremely) excited to read Paper Towns.








That's it for me this week...what did you get in your mailbox?

There Are No Words...

Have you ever had a day where something so beyond anything you could have imagined happened, and it just seems incredible that the rest of the world doesn't know and is still functioning normally?

Today was one of those days. And not in a good way.

To me, on a personal level, it seems impossible that the blogosphere is still running smoothly and people are happily discussing books. There's a hole in the world that didn't used to be there.

A boy from my school died today.

I'm going to try to get some posts up this weekend, but I don't know if that'll happen or not. We'll see. I didn't even know him, not really - I saw him pretty frequently, but we never talked. But it still hurts more than it seems like it possibly could. It's the sort of thing that happens at other schools, never at your own. But it did happen.

If prayer is something you believe in, please keep his family and my school in your prayers.

Sorry for the somber mood and the blatantly off-topic post, but I can't just say nothing. Apologies in advance for any lack of posting, and thanks for understanding. <3

Waiting on Wednesday

First of all, I'd like to apologize for my silence over the last couple of days, but I was finishing my senior thesis project! It is now completely finished, and for the record, it went very well. :) So that's one less thing I have to worry about as we head into the holidays, which is always a nice feeling.

But you're here to see what book I am interested in for Waiting on Wednesday (hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine), and this week that book is Wildefire by Karsten Knight. I love the cover - I can't quite decide what it is, but it's really cool-looking. And it sounds like a fun new paranormal sort of thing (without vampires, which is nice). I'm intrigued by the whole volcano-goddess idea.

Description from Goodreads:
Ashline Wilde never received an instruction manual on how to be a 16-year-old Polynesian volcano goddess. If she had, it might have contained helpful warnings such as:

• Dreaming about your (thankfully) mortal boyfriend may cause your bed to spontaneously combust
• Oven mitts should be worn at all times during heavy make-out sessions

Instead, Ash has to learn these life lessons the hard way as her dormant powers erupt at the most awkward times. In the wake of a hometown tragedy, Ash transfers to Blackwood Academy, a boarding school nestled in California’s redwoods, where a group of fellow gods-on-earth have mysteriously convened. As if sophomore year couldn’t get any worse, her storm goddess older sister, the wild and unpredictable Eve, resurfaces to haunt Ashline. With a war between the gods looming over Blackwood, Ash must master the fire smoldering within her before she clashes with her sister one final time, which leads us to life-lesson #3:

• When warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm. 

**********

I also really love the tagline at the end about "when warm and cold fronts collide, there's bound to be a storm." It sounds ominous and funny at the same time, and I can't wait to read it! Wildefire comes out July 2011, and I'll have to check, but I believe it counts for the Debut Author Challenge. If it does, I shall have to add it to my list!

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

In My Mailbox (7)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a cool meme that lets book bloggers share what new books they got during the week.

As you may have noticed, I didn't even try to do an IMM with the books from NCTE/ALAN, but I have gotten a few other new books since then. The book links go to Goodreads.

For review: 

Falling Under by Gwen Hayes. Thanks to Goodreads First Reads for sending me this one! It sounds delightfully dark and mysterious, and the cover is gorgeous.

From the library:

Numbers by Rachel Ward. I picked up the sequel to this one at NCTE but hadn't read the first one, so I decided to fix that. I love the cover on this one, it looks really awesome, but I have no idea what it's about. (Yeah, I'm judging a book by its cover. We all do it.)

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. I have heard so many good things about this book and I'm excited to finally get the chance to read it!









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

Nerdfighters!

Just a quick post today, you guys, but it's to share something really awesome.

I'm not sure how I missed out on knowing about nerdfighteria until now, but I discovered John and Hank Green's videoblog a few days ago and have since spent lots and lots of time watching their videos and being amused. (Yes, John Green as in the author, and his brother Hank.)

I really don't know how I didn't know about this sooner. It is awesome. And I kind of love these videos.

Check out their website or their Youtube channel if you haven't already, and watch some vlogbrothers videos. You won't regret it.

DFTBA, guys (Don't Forget to Be Awesome. Yes, that is a nerdfighter thing.)

Blog Hop!

It's been a while since I participated in the Book Blogger Hop (hosted by Crazy for Books), but I suppose I just felt like it today.

This week's question is, "What very popular and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?"

Fortunately, I haven't come a whole lot of books lately that I really disliked. Obviously there have been some that I enjoyed more than others, but most of the books I've read recently have been pretty enjoyable, and I generally choose not to review ones that I can't come up with something good about unless I have specifically agreed to review them. The most recent one that I can think of was Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin. It just was not my cup of tea. I can see what other people would have enjoyed about it, but it didn't work for me. And I felt okay with putting that review up, because hey - not every blogger likes every book, and I wasn't trashing the book or anything; I said why it didn't work for me and why I think somebody else might like it, and it did kind of redeem itself a bit at the end.

And that is my rather long-winded answer to this week's blog hop question! See you later, blogosphere!

Review: Glimmerglass

Title: Glimmerglass
Author: Jenna Black
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 294
Series: Faeriewalker #1
Rating: 4 stars
From the back cover: 
Dana Hathaway doesn't know it yet, but she's in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides she's had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn't just an ordinary teenage girl -- she's a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.

Soon, Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone's trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she'll never have a chance with... until she does. Caught between two worlds, Dana isn't sure where she'll ever fit in or who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again.

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

Ahem. Shiny, glittery dots on the cover. Hee hee.

Okay, easily-distracted moment over. I loved the premise of Glimmerglass -- the idea that humans are very aware of faeries and vice versa and that they interact normally, but only in one city because that's the only place their worlds connect and they can't cross realms, is a really cool idea. And I love that being a Faeriewalker is something that can just happen and has a totally rational explanation; the novel avoids that contrived feeling that a lot of fantasy novels have. The whole concept of the fae/human politics is just awesome, too. Kudos to Jenna Black on an original fantasy piece that still very much plays into the traditional faerie mythology. Love love love.

And the story is well-executed too. Dana is an incredibly complex character, and her narrative is fun to read (except for the parts where she whines. I feel like almost all female protagonists in YA fantasy now are too whiny), and her emotions are real. As annoying as her obsession with Ethan can get, it's also very realistic and well-done. And Ethan - great character. His sister, Kimber, is also an absolutely wonderful character (j'adore Kimber, she's an excellent Best Friend character), and I really want to find out what's up with the Ethan-Kimber tension. Character development is excellent in Glimmerglass, even if I did get kind of bothered by Dana sometimes. My favorite characters were probably Finn and Keane - I hope we see lots more of them in Shadowspell.

The story is intriguing and fascinating. The fact that I didn't always like Dana very much made it hard to read in places, but on the whole I think Dana is a great character too - some of the stuff I disliked about her, I recognized as being pretty common to most teenage girls. But the worldbuilding is great, and we're not hit over the head with it -- it's just there, and it's lovely.

My recommendation here comes with a warning (can you guess? the narrator irked me sometimes), but I do recommend it. Glimmerglass is another wonderful addition to the growing collection of YA faerie novels with a really cool spin on the faerie world.

Links:
Jenna Black's website

Waiting on Wednesday: Ultraviolet

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

This week I'm waiting on Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson. I found this one while browsing on Goodreads and... well, here, I'll show you and then I'll explain:

Description from Goodreads:

Once upon a time there was a girl who was special.

This is not her story.

Unless you count the part where I killed her.

***

It's so short and it says so much. I really want to know who this girl was and who this person is who apparently killed her. The teeny-tiny little description draws me in and I already want to know what happened. Ultraviolet comes out May 5, 2011, and I will be oh-so-ready to read it.

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