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.

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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!

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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?<--

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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! :)