Hold Still Review

Hold Still by Nina LaCour

Publisher: Dutton

Release date: October 20, 2009

Source: Publisher

dear caitlin, there are so many things that i want so badly to tell you but i just can’t.

Devastating, hopeful, hopeless, playful . . . in words and illustrations, Ingrid left behind a painful farewell in her journal for Caitlin. Now Caitlin is left alone, by loss and by choice, struggling to find renewed hope in the wake of her best friend’s suicide. With the help of family and newfound friends, Caitlin will encounter first love, broaden her horizons, and start to realize that true friendship didn’t die with Ingrid. And the journal which once seemed only to chronicle Ingrid’s descent into depression, becomes the tool by which Caitlin once again reaches out to all those who loved Ingrid—and Caitlin herself

Review:

It’s hard to put into words how I felt about Hold Still. It was filled with so much emotion, great characters, and a unique plot line. Caitlin was a terrific main character and her narration was heart wrenching and extremely personal. From the first page I was drawn into the book. I’ve never read many books about suicide before so I was wondering how LaCour would present it. She did an excellent job and I really felt for Caitlin and all she was dealing with. I really liked the inside look at Ingrid’s feelings through her diary. It’s hard to imagine that the person you’ve always felt closest to could really have this whole other life going on. Caitlin’s reaction to all the secrets Ingrid revealed in her diary would be the same as mine, a mix of surprise, horror, and sadness that my best friend couldn’t open up to me enough for me to help her. Caitlin’s depression in the beginning of the book really changed by the end, and I loved the characters that help her recover.

Taylor, Dylan, Maddy… they were all fantastic and very well developed. They were all the people Caitlin needed to make the leap over her depression. Dylan was the perfect friend for Caitlin, not a replacement for Ingrid, but a new friend, someone else Caitlin could open up to. Caitlin had a lot of different conflicts going on and, other than her friends, building and photography really helped her. I learned a lot about photography that I never knew and made me realize how true that statement is that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. In addition to taking pictures, Caitlin also worked on building a tree house. She bonded better with her family and could release a lot of her anger while she was up in the sky hammering in nails and bolts. Hold Still was realistic, heart breaking, and overall very well written. It’s a book I will recommend again and again, and Caitlin is a character that will remain in my mind. A fantastic read, I’m looking forward to more by Nina LaCour.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars

In My Mailbox (17)

This week I got..

For review, trades, & swag:

The Real Real by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus (for review + signed!)

Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus (for review. Does anyone have a copy of The Nanny Diaries they want to swap or something?)

Airhead by Meg Cabot (Swapped with Ashley)

My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman (Swapped with Yan)

This Is What I Want to Tell You by Heather Duffy Stone (Swapped with Yan)

Sea bookmarks (Thanks Yan!)

TMI bookmark (Thanks Ashley!)

Bought:

What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne

Beautiful Americans by Lucy Silag

Betrayals by Lili St. Crow

Those are the awesome books I got this week! What did you get?

Saturday Specials (2)

Cool new blogs!

Sara @ YA Vampire Books

"My name is Sara and I have been blogging for about two and a half months. I was born in Sweden, but I have lived in the US (Washington D.C) for six months (during December 08 - May 09), so if my grammar sucks sometimes, you know why! ;) My blog is basically about Vampires. I mostly write about vampire books (Books I want to read, and reviews of books I have read), but also TV series, music and movies. I have a weekly future called Vampire of the Week, where I future hot vampires! (Edward, Angel, Spike, Bill - you know the drill! :p) If anyone has a suggestion for a future Vampire of the Week - don't hesitate to tell me!"

Visit her blog: http://www.yavampirebooks.blogspot.com/

Erin @ Erin Explores YA

"I'm currently completing my Masters of Library and Information Science. My blog was originally part of a course I took on young adult materials. I decided to keep it up once the class finished. I try to highlight Canadian authored or Canadian published YA whenever possible. Also, I'm participating in the CYBILS this year as a first-round judge in the MG/YA Non-Fiction category."

Visit her blog: http://theothererin.wordpress.com/

Kari @ A Good Addiction

"I am a 24 year old bibliophile and aspiring author that spends my downtime living the fictional world, both my own and others. I post updates about my novel progress on my blog, partly just because it motivates me to keep going with it so I have something to update rather than just not doing it. My favorite author of all time is Jodi Picoult and I have read all her books but the first 3, which got pushed to the wayside when I came into the YA world hard and strong and now that I am writing a YA fantasy novel of my own, I seem to be stuck in it but when I read those books, and her new one coming out in March, I will be posting tose reviews as well on my blog. For YA Authors, I really like Rick Yancey- I recently read the Monstrumologist by him and LOVED it. The Darkest Powers, Vampire Academy, and Percy Jackson series are also ones that I really enjoy and appreciate the writing in it."

Visit her blog: http://agoodaddiction.blogspot.com/

Danielle @ Opinionated? Me?

"I like to think I offer witty, in depth reviews of YA, horror and fantasy books, as well as movies. I'm a high school student (fresh-meat, baby) and often use this to determine whether a YA book features "realistic" angst or "adult" angst--as in, the type of angst adults assume all teenagers have even though most teenagers would beat up any kid who was whining about said angst. I update about two to four times a week."

Visit her blog: http://readingwatchingliving.blogspot.com

All these blogs are awesome so be sure to check them out!

Any new blogger who is interested in being featured on Saturday Specials please fill out this form.

Find Out Friday: Kristina Springer

What inspired you to write a book for young adults?

It kind of just happened. I started writing fiction about 4 or so years ago and the ideas I had all seemed to take place at the high school age. And the voice came to me pretty naturally too.

What's the best part about being a writer?

There are a lot of wonderful parts but I guess the best would be seeing your book in a bookstore.

Are you working on any other books?

Lots! I've written five more since The Espressologist. One of them (My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours) is coming out next year and I'm hoping to sell more.

What's your favorite young adult book?

Oh, that's hard!! I read so much and there are tons of great ones. My favorite right now is the funniest book I ever remember reading- A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker. I read it as an arc but it will be out in Feb 2010.

The Espressologist Questions:

What was your favorite part to write in The Espressologist?

All the coffee descriptions.

Where did you get the idea for The Espressologist?

I got it while sitting in my local Starbucks.

Was the cover what you imagined it looking like?

No, it turned out way better than I imagined.

Were any of the characters inspired from people you know in real life?

Heck yeah! There were A LOT of characters in my books (people coming in to be matched and such) and I did end up basing a lot of them on people I know or people that happened to be walking into the Starbucks that I was writing in.

Thanks so much Kristina!

Click here to read my review of The Espressologist.

Click here to visit Kristina's awesome website!

Define Normal Review

Define "Normal" by Julie Ann Peters

Publisher: Little, Brown

Release date: May 7, 2003

Source: Library

Antonia is a "priss," Jazz is a "punk." Antonia belongs to the math club. Jazz hangs out at the tattoo parlor. Antonia's parents are divorced and her mother struggles to pay the rent. Jazz is from a traditional family and lives in a mansion with a pool. But when these two very different girls find themselves facing each other in a peer-counseling program, they discover they have some surprising things in common. Alternately hilarious and heart-wrenching, this is an absorbing read that will keep audiences thinking and laughing

Review:

I’ve never read anything by Julie Ann Peters before, but I’ve heard such great things about her. I picked this up at the library and read half of it straight through. I finished the rest soon after. It was a quick read, but filled with so much. I loved the characters. Jazz and Antonia looked like complete opposites on the outside- Antonia the smart, perfect girl while Jazz was the troubled goth. In reality this wasn’t the case. Both were dealing with trouble at home, but Antonia even more so. It wasn’t until Jazz became friends with Antonia that she realized how lucky she was. The bond between the girls was really great, and I know both of their lives were changed because of the other. It really proved how important it is to have someone you can open up to and talk to. The title really fit the book, because Antonia and Jazz talk about what it means to be normal, which is a great part of the book. When you think about it- what is “normal”?

Peters did a great job of proving that you should never judge someone by their appearance. You should always see what’s inside first. The peer counseling idea was really creative and it was what really let Antonia and Jazz open up to each other. This is actually a good book for readers in middle school as well because Jazz and Antonia are only in eighth grade. It was an easy read for me, but I would recommend it to older readers, too, because it had a great message with great characters.

Some things were a little repetitive and the novel was a little predictable, but all in all I’m glad I read it. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more by Julie Ann Peters in the future.

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

2010 Debut Author Challenge!

What is the 2010 Debut Author Challenge?

• The objective is to read a set number of YA (Young Adult) or MG (Middle Grade) novels from debut authors published this year. I'm going to challenge everyone to read at least 12 debut novels! I’m hoping to read at least 30! You don’t have to list your choices right away, but if you do feel free to change them throughout the year. I will also be focusing on mostly Young Adult novels.

• Anyone can join, you don’t need a blog to participate. If you don’t have a blog you can always share your views by posting a review on Amazon.com/BarnesandNoble.com/GoodReads/Shelfari, or any other bookish site.

• The challenge will run from January 1, 2010- December 31, 2010. You can join at anytime!

Hosted by The Story Siren, this challenge sounds awesome. I was already planning on reading a bunch of 2010 debut author releases, so I can't wait to get started!

Bold: Read already!

Italics: Own!

Normal: Want to read

1. A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker
2. The Line by Teri Hall
3. The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubard
4. Dirty Little Secrets by CJ Omololu
5. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
6. The Naughty List by Suzanne Young
7. Queen of Secrets by Jenny Meyerhoff
8. Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
9. Beautiful Dead: Book One- Jonas by Eden Maguire

1. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
2. The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy
3. The Mark by Jen Nadol
4. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
5. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
6. Forget Her Nots by Amy Brecount-White
7. Princess For Hire by Lindsay Leavitt
8. The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride
9. Every Little Thing in the World by Nina de Gramont
10. Sea by Heidi R. Kling

1. Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly
2. Mistwood by Leah Cypess
3. Other by Karen Kincey
4. Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
5. Shadow Hills by Anatasia Hopcus

I'm hoping to read at least 25, so the list should grow and change throughout the year!

Awesome New Site: Lit Drift!

I've been meaning to post this for awhile..

I got a nice email a couple weeks ago from someone who works for Lit Drift. What is Lit Drift...? Let me tell you what the email said:

"I'm hoping you'll check out Lit Drift (http://www.litdrift.com), a
brand-spanking new blog, resource, and community for young adults

dedicated to the art & craft of fiction in the 21st century.

Besides editorial content, we've got daily creative prompts, daily short
stories, and a weekly free book giveaway called Free Book Friday. This

week, we're giving away a copy of Floodmarkers by Nic Brown. We also

accept reader submissions-if you or your readers would like to contribute

anything from fiction to photography to mixtapes, we'd be happy to

showcase it on our website.

The site is free to use, no sign-up required, no strings attached. We just
genuinely want to get more teens and adults reading and telling stories-and
to have a blast doing it."

Doesn't that sound awesome? I checked out the site and it's really cool! Again here's the link: http://www.litdrift.com/. Come check it out!

A Match Made in High School Review

A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker

Publisher: Razorbill

Release date: February 4, 2010

Source: Around the World Tours

When the principal announces that every senior must participate in a mandatory year-long Marriage Education program, Fiona Sheehan believes that her life can’t get any worse. Then she marries her “husband”: Jerky jock Todd, whose cheerleader girlfriend, Amanda, has had it in for Fiona since day one of second grade. Even worse? Amanda is paired with Fiona’s long-term crush, Gabe. At least Fiona is doing better than her best friend, Marcie, who is paired up with the very quiet, very mysterious Johnny Mercer. Pranks, fights, misunderstandings, and reconciliations ensue in an almost Shakespearean comedy of errors about mistaken first impressions, convoluted coupling, and hidden crushes.

Review:

A Match Made in High School turned out a little differently than I expected. It was a fun, enjoyable read, but there were a lot of sub plots going on that were very important. A lot of my feelings on the characters changed throughout the book. You never knew who was suddenly going to turn nice or who was going to turn around and stab you in the back. I really enjoyed Fiona and Todd’s pranks and it was fun trying to guess what they were going to cook up next. At first, when Todd did his first prank on Fiona, I wondered what she would do. I didn’t know how she would react at all. I was pleasantly surprised to see Fiona’s personality was a lot different than I originally suspected. She could totally stand up for herself! There were so many characters in the book I liked- Todd, Johnny, Sam, and even a bunch of the cheerleaders. On thing that disappointed me was that some of the characters kind of faded into the background- Sam, Fiona’s parents, and even Gabe. The ending with Gabe was such a surprise! I’m really glad everything didn’t turn out as I expected.

* Highlight to read, contains spoilers for those who haven’t read the book*

The ending was really good, and I really liked that Gabe got his comeuppance. I hated how he turned out, such a jerk! It wouldn’t have been as cool if Johnny punched him in the face. Fiona really needed to do it to let go off all her anger at him and everyone else.

* End of spoiler*

In addition to the characters I also really liked the plot. It was original and something that got me thinking about how kids at my school would react if we suddenly had to do this course. Probably about the same way Fiona’s did. I don’t think I could deal with being fake-married to someone for an entire year. The course seems like it almost consumes your whole life. Fiona was a super cool main character. Her narration was fresh, fun, and humorous. Her pranks and jokes were fun to read about and her descriptions of everything were really fun. Kristin Walker created a fabulous main character who I would love to read more books about.

Finally, every high schooler should read this book. It shows that anything is possible and not to judge someone from the outside. Also, how what a different a year makes. So much of Fiona’s life changed in such short amount of time. She faced losing friends, protesting parents, angry guidance counselors, cute boys, mean boys, surprising girls, and everything in between.

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Anyone Want?

Is anyone interested in any of these books? I really need to make room on my shelves! We can trade or if you don't have anything I can send a couple to you for free, I just really need more room! I'm planning on donating them to the library in the end...

Comment below or email me (kelseythebookscout@gmail.com) if you're interested in any or want more info about any of the books!

In My Mailbox (16)

I am so excited about what I got this week!!!

For review:

The Line by Teri Hall (Really excited for this one!)

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott (OMG! This was a complete surprise- no idea it was coming! Can't wait to get started on it!)

The Seven Rays by Jessica Bendinger (I hadn't heard of this before- but the summary sounds great!)

Bought/trade/won/etc

Shadowland by Alyson Noel (I love this series!)

The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler (The cover is adorable!)

Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri (Traded with Morgan)

A Practical Guide to Vampires (Won from Book Divas)

Dirty Little Secrets swag

I had an amazing week and can't wait to get started on all my books!

(IMM was started by The Story Siren)

Play Me Review

Play Me by Laura Ruby

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release date: October 6, 2009 (Paperback)

Source: Publisher

Other books by this author: Good Girls, Bad Apple

Eddy knows how to play the game. Not only has he got a hit online TV show, but in the game of love Eddy knows all the tricks, and who will play with him. The girls who know he doesn’t make any promises. The girls who are cool with it. But as graduation looms, everything starts deviating from Eddy’s master script. Never in a million years did he expect to be facing off with unapproachable Lucinda Dulko. For once, he’s not in control—but to be with Lucinda, he’s willing to get swept up by the game. What happens to a player when the rules change? Laura Ruby, author of the highly acclaimed Good Girls, has crafted another beautifully written, utterly honest teen novel—this one showing love and heartbreak from a guy’s perspective.

Review:

I own all of Laura Ruby’s books (Good Girls, Bad Apple, & Play Me) but haven’t read any until Play Me. The narrator was male, which made me like the book a little better. I don’t think I would have liked it as much if Lucinda or Gina was the narrator. Now from the summary I was expecting the book to be mostly Eddy chasing after a bunch of different girls. This wasn’t the case. His being a “player” wasn’t really a big part of the book and I liked that his film making took more of an up front role. I liked all the discussion and quotes from different movies and especially their top five lists. I felt bad that Eddy’s mother left them to go work on a TV show, but this added a lot to the book. If she hadn’t left Eddy’s father Marty and Meatball would never have had a role in the book. Eddy’s family was one of the most unique I’ve ever heard, he lived with his father, stepfather, and stepbrother. They all had a great relationship and I liked how they all stuck together after Eddy’s mother left them all.

Riot Grrl 16 was the name of the show Eddy and his friends were filming as part of an MTV competition. They put the shows up online and they mostly had nice comments except for one rude commenter- The Tin Man. I wished that the Tin Man’s identity was revealed at the end, though. I was thinking that this was going to be a big mystery revealed, but in the end it wasn’t really a big deal.

I liked all the characters though- Rory, Meatball, Gina. Lucinda wasn’t my favorite and although I understand Eddy learned a lesson from her, I wished the ending didn’t end as it did.

The plot was original and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more by Laura Ruby. Her characters were great and the plot was also enjoyable. All in all I would recommend this book to everyone, and although some parts weren’t my favorite and the summary was a little misleading, it was an enjoyable read. I also really liked the cover.

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars