In My Mailbox (23)

I didn't get many books this week, but the ones I did get look awesome!

Getting Revenge On Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook (Bought)

All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab (Bought)

Demon Princess: Reign Check (For Review)

Swoon at Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter (For Around the World Tours)

wtf by Peter Lerangis (For Review)

IMM Was Started By: The Story Siren

Review: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

"Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it."

"Okay."
"Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?"
"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie---she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

Review:

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to pick up Twenty Boy Summer- it was amazing! Heartbreaking and emotional, funny and sweet, Twenty Boy Summer had everything a 5 star book should. Anna was a great main character. Her narration added a lot to the story, and her on the nose descriptions of everything transported me into the novel- especially to Zanzibar Bay. The details in this book were fantastic, I could picture everything and everyone. I loved the characters as well. Frankie, Matt, Sam, Aunt Jayne, Uncle Red… so many great characters that experienced so much in just under 300 pages.

There was so much feeling in this book, I could tell Sarah Ockler put her all into it. Twenty Boy Summer was emotional; death, loss, sorrow, friendship, love, family, it was all a part of the terrific book known as Twenty Boy Summer. I can’t believe this is Ockler’s debut novel! Unfortunately I started reading it when I was studying for finals, so I could only read it at a few stolen minutes away from the textbooks, but I know if I could have I would have read it straight through. I was pulled in from the first page, and when I finally turned the last page I re-read the last few pages a couple times, soaking it all in. I’m going to definitely recommend this to all my friends.

Twenty Boy Summer showed the ripple effect- how one thing can change/affect the lives of so many people. Sarah Ockler explores the heart break and pain that binds two people together and creates a memorable set of characters and thoughtful plot. I definitely think this is a must read for every girl, and it shows the strong bond that only strengthens in time between two best friends. The ending definitely left me wanting more, but it was as the ending should be, and a sequel isn’t necessary although I would still love to hear more about Anna, Frankie, and everyone else.

Once you read it, you’ll better understand the title, it perfectly suits the novel. The cover does as well, and ohmygod do I love this cover. It’s gorgeous. Sea glass is something my family also collects, and I love the heart set against the boardwalk planks. You’ll also better understand the significance of that one piece of red sea glass in the heart of blue. It’s such a small detail, but means so much. Although this was released last year, it will definitely be at the top of my favorite 2010 reads list. I’m anxious to read more by Sarah Ockler! Definitely go pick up a copy of Twenty Boy Summer today, it’s a story that will stick in your head long after you’ve turned the last page, and the cover is a gorgeous addition to anyone’s collection!

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars

June 1, 2009/Little, Brown BFYR/290 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Trade

Other books by this author: Fixing Delilah

Find Out Friday: Jaclyn Dolamore

What inspired you to write a novel for young adults?

The teenage years get a bad rap in our society, which I think it's too bad. I actually liked being a teenager, mostly. It's a time when you're starting to feel like you can handle the adult world, which is exciting and confusing, and yet you're enough of a child that a good book can still move you in a really deep, down to the core way. (This can still happen to an adult, but it's more difficult.)

Besides that, the young adult market is just a great place to be. So creative, so welcoming.

Are you currently working on any other books?

I'm about to start working seriously on the Magic Under Glass sequel. I've already started poking at it. My next book has been turned in and I'm waiting for edits -- it's about a mermaid whose childhood friend was a winged boy and they meet again when she goes looking for her sister, who ran off with a human. There is a theater show, a setting based on late 18th-century Italy, and more of a Jane Austen vibe.

Personally, what's your favorite YA book?

Anything Kristin Cashore or Maggie Stiefvater, Kenneth Oppel's Airborn trilogy, Clare Dunkle's Hollow Kingdom books, A True and Faithful Narrative by Katherine Sturtevant...so many good ones. Did you really only want one? =)

Who inspired you to start writing?

No one, really. I started writing as soon as I could write. Even before, actually, because my mom used to write down stories I would dictate when I was three. So, she was very encouraging and I must give her the most credit, but I was crazy about books from the moment my consciousness of the world went beyond food and grabbing shiny things. When I was two I fell down the stairs and had to get stitches. Why was I running up the stairs so fast? I was excited to get home and play with the typewriter...(I know, I know, I sound almost annoyingly precocious.)

---

Is the final cover what you imagined it looking like while writing?

Not exactly, although not that far off either. I imagined a girl in a lovely historical costume, maybe standing in some dark and mysterious corridor, holding a key. But, my partner Dade thought they would do the bell jar. So, it was pretty close to what we were talking about. I thought it would be darker looking. Apparently the book just does not read as dark as I thought it did. The UK cover was more of a surprise, but a lovely one!

Did you put any traits of people you know in real life into your characters?

No... not really. I don't really do that often like some writers do. I am more likely to draw from characters in other stories than people I know. Not to say I NEVER do it, but it's not a major inspiration.

Where did you get the idea for the automaton? Did you have to do any research on automatons before writing?

Well, I have always written stories about what I call "created beings" from the time I was a kid. I have a race of living doll people, and I've written about various "robots-with-souls" and things. Erris is really just a Victorian version of a robot with a soul. I did do a lot of research, reading books and websites. I watched Youtube videos of 18th and 19th century automata many times. The way Erris moves as an automaton is based in large part on an automaton called "The Musician", built by Jaquet-Droz in the 18th century and displayed at the court of Marie Antoinette.

The characters names are pretty unique, where did they come from?

Most character names pop right into my head. In Magic Under Glass, I also wanted them to imply a certain ancestry. The countries are not the same as countries on Earth, but I did think loosely of real countries in the attempt to make the names sound like they came from different places. So Hollin Parry is "British" and Garvin Pelerine is "French"; both Annalie Swibert and Karstor Greinfern come from a more Germanic region, and of course Nimira Safei is meant to evoke some eastern country. But lest some linguist shake a finger at me, I must warn you that I didn't do any research on names or languages... it's all about the sound of the syllables evoking the character and their background to me.

--

Thanks so much, Jaclyn!

Click here to visit her website.

Click here to read my review of Magic Under Glass.

Waiting on Wednesday (22)

This week I'm waiting on...

The Fool's Girl by Celia Rees

"A lush, epic historical novel by bestseller Celia Rees, with an added Shakespearean twist.
Young and beautiful Violetta may be of royal blood, but her kingdom is in shambles when she arrives in London on a mysterious mission. Her journey has been long and her adventures many, but it is not until she meets the playwright William Shakespeare that she gets to tell the entire story from beginning to end. Violetta and her comic companion, Feste, have come in search of an ancient holy relic that the evil Malvolio has stolen from their kingdom. But where will their remarkable quest—and their most unusual story—lead? In classic Celia Rees style, it is an engrossing journey, full of political intrigue, danger, and romance.
This wholly original story is spun from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, and includes both folly and suspense that would make the Bard proud." Summary Courtesy of Good Reads

I loved Sovay by Celia Rees and I love historical fiction, so I'm really excited to read this one!

Release date: July 20, 2010

Sing Me to Sleep Review

Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison

Publisher: Razorbill

Release date: March 4, 2010

Source: Author

Other books by this author: Taken By Storm

THE TRANSFORMATION

Beth has always been “The Beast”—that’s what everyone at school calls her because of her awkward height, facial scars, and thick glasses. Beth’s only friend is geeky, golden-haired Scott. That is, until she’s selected to be her choir’s soprano soloist, and receives the makeover that will change her life forever.

THE LOVE AFFAIR

When Beth’s choir travels to Switzerland, she meets Derek: pale, brooding, totally dreamy. Derek’s untethered passion—for music, and for Beth—leaves her breathless. Because in Derek’s eyes? She’s not The Beast, she’s The Beauty.

THE IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE

When Beth comes home, Scott, her best friend in the world, makes a confession that leaves her completely torn. Should she stand by sweet, steady Scott or follow the dangerous, intense new feelings she has for Derek?

THE HEARTBREAK

The closer Beth gets to Derek, the further away he seems. Then Beth discovers that Derek’s been hiding a dark secret from her …one that could shatter everything.

Review:

Sing Me to Sleep was heartbreaking, raw, and original. It was a retelling at it’s best. Now I haven’t seen Beauty and the Beast in a long time, but the connections were definitely there. Beth was made fun to no end, and some of the teasing took an extreme turn, and her nickname was “The Beast”. From the first page, Beth’s personal look into her life drew me in and I was cringing while Beth held her head high when the bullying got particularly fierce. Beth was a very strong and likable main character. The reader felt for her, and her raw narrative made me like the book that much more. Morrison has a fantastic writing style that doesn’t hold back. The descriptions were amazing, and transported me into the book, I could picture everything that was happening. I loved the song lyrics as well, I’m even more impressed by Angela Morrison’s writing ability after reading the lyrics! The choirs added so much to the novel, I loved reading about Beth’s adventure’s with the choir and the girls in the choir.

The romance in Sing Me to Sleep was amazing. Torn between Scott and Derek, Beth is forced to make a choice. I really liked Scott, he loved Beth even when she supposedly looked like “The Beast” and he stuck by her side through all the teasing and tormenting. I also liked Derek, too. He was a real and sweet. I never saw the ending coming, but wow! I cried my eyes out!

There are a lot of tears shed throughout this novel. It’s an emotional read, that draws you in and spits you out at the end in complete shock. I’ve never read anything like Sing Me to Sleep and I’m really looking forward to reading Morrison’s debut novel, Taken By Storm, which is eyeing me from my TBR pile right now! I’d highly recommend this book to anyone, but be prepared with a box of tissues! Great writing, great characters, and an excellent plot- Sing Me to Sleep is definitely making my favorites list of 2010. I know I didn't really do this novel justice in my review, but all I can say is, come March, this is one you need to rush out and buy on its release date!

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars

*Also click here to read my interview with the author!

In My Mailbox (22)

Books for Review:

Rising Shadow by Jacquelyn Wheeler

Beautiful Dead by Eden Macguire

Bought:

Heartless by Sara Shepard

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Firespell by Chloe Neill

Trades:

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Ann Peters

The Girl with the Mermaid Hair by Delia Ephron

Candor by Pam Bachorz

IMM Was Started By: The Story Siren.

Find Out Friday: Angela Morrson + Giveaway

What inspired you to write novels for young adults?

Michael--from TAKEN BY STORM. His voice emerged in a free write and wouldn't be quiet. I wasworking on my MFA at the time. I had to put aside the middle grade time slip adventure I was working on and follow Michael's story. I have three sons and a daughter, so I was surrounded by teen voices. Good thing. I needed them. Plus, I was volunteering at church teaching teens. I knew a lot of girl's like Leesie in STORM. I guess I wrote STORM to tell their stories. AndI keep finding more touching stories to inspire me to explore the courageous path young adults travel on their way to adulthood. I love the coming of age journey and will continue to write about it for the rest of my life.

Are you currently working on any other books?

This fall I wrote the sequel to TAKEN BY STORM--UNBROKEN CONNECTION. Razorbill has it under consideration now. I'm also revising that middle grade time slip novel. I'm replacing the annoying kid in it with a Bronte-esque Victorian heroine. It's going to be Jane Eyre meets the Terminator--but my assassin ain't no robot. My working title is, MY TIME ASSASSIN. I'm also polishing up an romantic historical novel inspired by my Scottish roots. Today I'm calling it MY ONLY LOVE. It's a heartbreaker, too. My next project is the third novel in Michael and Leesie's saga, CAYMAN SUMMER.

Personally, what's your favorite young adult book?

Markus Zusak's THE BOOK THIEF--the guy is a genius. And incredibly cute. I actually got to meet him at a conference in Germany. He blushed a delightful Aussie pink when he was introduced and then stood up and BLEW US ALL AWAY. Genius. Changed the way I write.

Is there a specific author that inspires you?

Wow, there are so many, but I learned most from Katherine Paterson. I wrote my MFA critical thesis about her. My faith is a big part of everything I write. I studied her to find out how to do that without making it bleck. She says your faith, or inner truth, should be the "bones and sinews" of your work. I love that. I've actually got a post up on my liv2writ blog on my website that goes into more detail about what I learned from Katherine.

What inspired you to write Sing Me to Sleep?

My daughter sang with the Junior Amabile Singers when we lived in London, Ontario, Canada. It was so tough on her when we moved to Switzerland and she had to leave that family. Matt, the young man SING is dedicated to, was one of her best friends. He helped keep her laughing when all she wanted to do was cry. Matt, who sang with the boys' choir, and her friends from the JAS chatted with her online to keep her going. When Razorbill asked me to wait to write UNBROKEN CONNECTION, I had the opportunity to develop a new novel. I came up with several ideas, but a story set in the competitive choral world featuring the Amabile family of choirs inspired by a tragedy that happened in that family was the best. My editor convinced her publisher to go with it. But none of us realizedhow powerful this book would be until I'd sent them the finished manuscript, and we couldn't stop crying over it.

Was the cover what you imagined it looking like?

Actually, the cover is kind of what I wanted for TAKEN BY STORM. So when I saw SING ME TO SLEEP's cover I was thrilled. It is so beautiful. They made some changes to it after the catalog and ARCs went to press to make it stand out more. Too many pale blue covers with hands on them. That threw me because I loved the cover, but I like the smoky cover with the pale pink touches even more. I mean, I wrote the novel on pale pink paper, had my new office painted pale pink, and even own a pale pink suit. Pink ballet shoes are my favorite footwear. It's kind of me. So I'm happy it's my cover, too.

What was the hardest part of writing Sing Me to Sleep?

Writing the lyrics was not easy, but I think the hardest thing had to be writing, typing, revising, and editing the ending. Every time I had to read back through those chapters, I cried so much my keyboard got soaked. Emotionally heart wrenching. But I don't know if I'll every write anything as important as those chapters again. I hope you feel every tear I put into it.

Did you have to do any research before you started writing?

I did quite a bit of preliminary research, wrote the first draft, and researched tons more. I still made mistakes. My great copy editors and friends who read the manuscript for me helped get them fixed. Matt's mother was a huge help. We got most of them fixed before the final edition went to press. There are a couple of things I'd like to fix, but NO WAY I'm going to tell you what they are!

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GIVEAWAY TIME!

Angela is awesome and offered a SIGNED hardcover copy of Sing Me to Sleep to one lucky winner!

*Please note- you won't receive the book until after the release date, March 4th!*

Giveaway rules:

US Only.

Followers Only.

Ends 2/12

Fill out THIS FORM to enter!

Trailer:

Waiting on Wednesday (21)

This week I'm waiting on...

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins

"It moves from the story of Kristina Snow, who became addicted to crystal meth (aka crank, "the monster") in Crank, and whose story continued with Glass, to the next generation. Hunter, Autumn and Summer--three of Kristina Snow's five children--live with different guardians and go by different last names. What they share is an absent mother whose real love for the past 20 years has been crank. The novel shifts among their three narratives and incorporates news items that also shed light on their family history--one riddled with the ravages of addiction."

Summary Courtesy of Goodreads

OMG! I am so excited to read this! I really liked Crank and Glass, so I'm interested to see how Fallout goes without Kristina as the main character!

Release date: September 14, 2010 (so far away!)

Review: Undead Much? by Stacey Jay

Undead Much? by Stacey Jay

Megan Berry—Zombie Settler extraordinaire—just wants Pom Squad to trounce Cheer Team in this freakishly funny follow-up to You Are So Undead to Me. But someone’s turning coma victims into settler-resistant über-zombies—and everyone thinks it’s Megan’s fault! Well, except for super-creepy male cheerleader Aaron. (Ew!)

Meg’s also being stalked by a hot—albeit undead— seer named Cliff. Can Cliff’s premonitions help Megan stop a zombies-on-ice deathscapade and discover who’s really behind the coma-killer crusade before an entire army of undead rise up? And when Megan’s boyfriend Ethan grows jealous of Cliff, will it end their intra-settler romance?

Review:

I really enjoyed Undead Much? And although I’m not sure which book I liked better, this one or You Are So Undead to Me, I found this another refreshing book from Stacey Jay. I was worried there might be a little repetition in the plot, but there wasn’t at all. Megan had all new adventures and there were a lot of new secrets uncovered about Megan’s past. Some of her old enemies came back to haunt her, and she became more powerful. The main plot was intriguing, but I really liked a lot of the sub-plots as well. I don’t want to give anything away, but there were new mysteries revolving around Megan’s dad, Jess, and Settlers in general.

In You Are So Undead to Me I felt like Settling took a back seat for more normal things- like the romance between Ethan and Megan. In Undead Much? it was the opposite- Settling was the main plot, and Ethan and Megan’s relationship only came into play on occasion, and I liked it that way. It was easier for me to understand what was going on in the zombie world and I enjoyed reading the scenes with Megan and Ethan without feeling overwhelmed. The zombie genre is really taking off and I’m looking forward to reading more books about the undead in the future. The ending of Undead Much? also left room for another book in the series. There were a lot of cliff hangers that left me wondering what was going to happen. The ending was great, but it definitely left me wanting the sequel! Jay’s writing style is funny and refreshing and Megan’s first person narrative really kept the story moving. All in all I would definitely recommend Undead Much? to fans of You Are So Undead to Me and anyone who hasn’t read the first book, you definitely should!

In addition, the cover is really cool- I love the couple hugging against the white moon. The zombie hand rising out of the ground definitely adds to the effect!

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

January 21, 2010/Razorbill/304 Pages/Young Adult/Book Two

Source: Publisher (ARC)

Other books by this author: You Are So Undead To Me