tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76818281119639297842024-02-07T12:37:51.657-06:00Novel MindedNovel Minded is a book blog based mainly on Ya fiction. Some of the most often genres reviewed are: dystopian and utopian fiction, contemporary fiction, fantasy, and lots of other genres. Come check it out!Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-39792939024266894752012-10-09T16:24:00.001-05:002012-10-09T16:24:55.425-05:00So Long, Farewell, Auf Weidersehen, and Goodbye<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I'm sure you can already tell I haven't updated Novel Minded in a while. (Since August!) I've decided to go on a long, if not indefinite, hiatus. I've gotten way too behind on reviews and trying to crank one out for every book I read has made reading much more of a chore than fun than at this point. So, at least for now, I will not be updating Novel Minded. I would like to thank all of my readers for taking the time to read from my little corner of the web. Thank you again and maybe we'll meet again someday.</span>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-38921373138558245842012-08-09T22:06:00.000-05:002012-08-09T22:06:02.461-05:00Future Release Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX27uPck9owaF3VEnppSuJ5J51t1Evv1lxsfG-7wigcrgHB0xnkE8_X4DmXYzGrvJlVtsNOzWz-ls4XuePjRi2Kulr55bfy3lnWGaWNOn_7J1XNiQkGXLX4_-ih-y7Dj4p1SFKe_3ipcDN/s1600/Diviners,+The.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX27uPck9owaF3VEnppSuJ5J51t1Evv1lxsfG-7wigcrgHB0xnkE8_X4DmXYzGrvJlVtsNOzWz-ls4XuePjRi2Kulr55bfy3lnWGaWNOn_7J1XNiQkGXLX4_-ih-y7Dj4p1SFKe_3ipcDN/s320/Diviners,+The.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> The Diviners<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Libba Bray <a href="http://libbabray.com/">site</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> ARC, 578 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Release Date:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 9/18/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Little, Brown BYR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Borrowed from a librarian<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“<b>Do
you believe there are ghosts and demons and diviners among us?</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Evie O’Neil has been exiled from her
boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York
City--and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is the city of
speakeasies, shopping, Broadway plays, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is
running with glamorous Ziegfeld girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is
that she has to live with her uncle Will, curator of the Museum of American
Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult—also known as the Museum of Creepy
Crawlies.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Will is haunted by the occult, and
Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has
only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl
branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes
her gift could help catch a serial killer.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As Evie jumps headlong into a dance
with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young
man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is
running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And
they will soon discover something dark and evil has awakened… ” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-Book Jacket<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In The
Diviners, in its many chapters we see from the point of view of many
characters. Too many to write about. So I’m going to focus on the two most
featured characters, Evie and Memphis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Evie is a
modern girl in a modern world. She’s no stranger to a drink, and loves to party
late into the night like any flapper. She loves attention, and will go to just
about any means to get it, many of them selfish. Though she has good
intentions, things never quite seem to work out the way she plans. Evie starts
out as not very likable. But she did grow on me. It’s not that she get less
selfish/attention getting, but it gets to be more understandable. I still
wouldn’t want her to be my best friend, but she does have good intentions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Memphis is a
black number runner for the local numbers game (local lottery), and writes
poetry by moonlight in the local cemetery. Both of his parents are out of the
picture and he’s just trying to take care of his younger brother who, like Evie,
is developing supernatural powers. Memphis actually didn’t leave a huge
impression on me. I liked him well enough, but I’m not sure how I feel about him yet in the series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And just
something else I wanted to mention, I loved that there are some LGBT characters
thrown in the mix of characters. It’s unfortunately rare in historical fiction.
(Although it should be said that Libba Bray’s other historical fiction/fantasy
series “A Great and Terrible Beauty” also had an LGBT character. Go Libba!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This book
should not be mistaken for a murder mystery. It’s not a story about a spunky
girl with supernatural powers solving crimes as the book jacket suggests. As
the reader, it made pretty clear for the start who/what the murderer is. The
book is much darker than that. The parts with the killer are just downright spooky
and creepy. Real goose bump and heebie jeebie producers. <i>The Diviners</i> is of a slower pace than I’m used to and its about 600
pages, so it felt and read like a long book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Another
adjective I would use to describe <i>The
Diviners</i> is “introductory”. Even though there is a lot of book here and
there was definitely a plot and plenty of suspense, it feels like we only get a
glimpse of the characters and of what is to come in the series. It’s almost
like a “calm before the storm” or “here it comes” kind of feeling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I just love
Libba Bray. She’s not only one of my <a href="http://novelminded.blogspot.com/2012/06/author-gods.html">author gods</a>,
she always weaves a damn good story. I know my review is already very long so I’ll
keep it short and sweet. I give <i>The Diviners</i>
4.5 of 5 stars. If you like historical fiction or just good fantasy, do yourself
a favor and pick up a copy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpO5OQV67Qbvw4zC35O05rlRKTUoh2rgU5qYhft0kmOg-HFlAbbVJHYIGO0OL2sMS6iVMHOQO1qdjZ5ws2ueYYI8CwiibJo3BFF1YKegpYL2A6qvpTa8xvtLmWIKYDbvrcPP8xY3PPNire/s1600/4.5+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpO5OQV67Qbvw4zC35O05rlRKTUoh2rgU5qYhft0kmOg-HFlAbbVJHYIGO0OL2sMS6iVMHOQO1qdjZ5ws2ueYYI8CwiibJo3BFF1YKegpYL2A6qvpTa8xvtLmWIKYDbvrcPP8xY3PPNire/s400/4.5+brains.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-24820156809852579912012-07-27T17:09:00.000-05:002012-07-27T17:09:56.719-05:00Review: Shut Out by Kody Keplinger<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFIHVWSTxNdU39N0RcFUPek9KtGSYsRgkKmRozLfUGpQK2jS99BZuJKxu9bl5fMPhbg-yk-8eTObOAIMgkbcevFr0sNkpIuwFlsD3nKDhWDx5mdNTNtq6Vj8F3fLK9Prhj_4yZHrklyDJZ/s1600/Shut+Out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFIHVWSTxNdU39N0RcFUPek9KtGSYsRgkKmRozLfUGpQK2jS99BZuJKxu9bl5fMPhbg-yk-8eTObOAIMgkbcevFr0sNkpIuwFlsD3nKDhWDx5mdNTNtq6Vj8F3fLK9Prhj_4yZHrklyDJZ/s320/Shut+Out.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Shut Out<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Kody Keplinger </span><a href="http://kodykeplinger.com/"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">site</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Audiobook, 6 discs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Narrator:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Kate Reinders<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Published:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> 9/07/2011<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Brilliance Audio<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Library<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Challenges: </span></b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Standalone
Reading Challenge (hosted by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.iceybooks.com/"><span style="color: #973f8a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Icey Books</span></a><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">), and the Completely Contemp Challenge (hosted
by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://chickloveslit.com/2011/11/completelycontempchallenge.html"><span style="color: #973f8a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Chick Loves Lit</span></a><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Most high school sports teams have
rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football
team versus the soccer team. And for her part, Lissa is sick of it. Her
quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with
the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions
Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is
done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry
once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike.
The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams
make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys
showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa
never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash
Sterling...” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10757771-shut-out"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Somehow, a
rivalry started between the football team and the soccer team of Hamilton High.
Lissa’s boyfriend Randy is the quarterback and therefore very involved in the
rivalry. Lissa is tired of being put second to a stupid feud. Her plan to break
up the rivalry: get all of the girlfriends of both the football and soccer team
to go on a sex strike. And, surprise, it stirs up a whole lot of trouble…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Lissa is very
organized and neat, controlling and over protective. She puts herself in charge
of everyone she holds dear. Lissa is kind of a shrew, but she definitely knows
it. I’m not sure why, but that makes her more likable. She also kind of has a
reason for being an over protective. Anyway, I warmed up to her. Not exactly a
surprise since I have a thing for imperfect protagonists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I’m also a
sucker for hilarious best friends, which is why I loved the character Chloe. She’s
extremely confident and funny, and I wish I had a real live Chloe in my life.
She is also often the unexpected voice of reason. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I like the
whole message/conversation about sex that happens throughout the book. The way
the characters converse about sex is very honest and frank and informative in a
very non-invasive way. It isn’t about using protection or STDs, but about how
different individuals feel about it. Those who like it and those who don’t,
those that are scared of sex and those that want to wait. Since I’m not a big “contemporary
romp” fan, the informative conversation was its saving grace for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Last fall,
around the time <i>Shut Out</i> came out, it
was the book everyone and their mother were reading in YA. And though the buzz
has gone down, I finally got the chance to pick it up and I’m so glad I did. Shut
Out is funny and meaningful. It’s definitely one of the best contemporary YA
novels I’ve read. It definitely lived up to the hype. I give it 4.5 of 5 stars.
I would highly recommend it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJoayON_wB5fSsbz3-wavpTqHf8zK8U6ygFPUbnI9YhJ-UQFDw-ftZJhHyQSOZhM_bRKOLbk7lTZ8Z-MBaVVMNSPVDWuoy43AUbQKHGfnSw3ueL9aZquevJrKWEo1PomPpJDWrr7Qjkxc/s1600/4.5+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJoayON_wB5fSsbz3-wavpTqHf8zK8U6ygFPUbnI9YhJ-UQFDw-ftZJhHyQSOZhM_bRKOLbk7lTZ8Z-MBaVVMNSPVDWuoy43AUbQKHGfnSw3ueL9aZquevJrKWEo1PomPpJDWrr7Qjkxc/s320/4.5+brains.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-42311535141341403602012-07-22T14:23:00.003-05:002012-07-23T18:34:09.450-05:00Review: Draw the Dark by Ilsa J. Bick<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgKfgbOhDwiyVoetkdvi659rUdzZTqqu8mAg8TZ9iGryKaiBlEq2TeuvVnV57DvbrhxMmIG-hzut5wVkAhQChb30RarzGeC8Y2ONRhzAXCeMpwY-U11pxLs25RzjG1xPE-5cjcN8mPrgG/s1600/Draw+the+Dark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgKfgbOhDwiyVoetkdvi659rUdzZTqqu8mAg8TZ9iGryKaiBlEq2TeuvVnV57DvbrhxMmIG-hzut5wVkAhQChb30RarzGeC8Y2ONRhzAXCeMpwY-U11pxLs25RzjG1xPE-5cjcN8mPrgG/s320/Draw+the+Dark.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Draw the Dark <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Ilsa J. Bick </span><a href="http://www.ilsajbick.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">site</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Hardcover, 338 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 10/01/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Carolrhoda Labs (Lerner)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Library<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“There are things in Winter,
Wisconsin, folks just don't talk about. The murder way back in '45 is one. The
near-suicide of a first-grade teacher is another. And then there is 17-year old
Christian Cage. Christian's parents disappeared when he was a little boy, and
ever since he's drawn and painted obsessively, trying desperately to remember
his mother. The problem is Christian doesn't just draw his own memories. He can
draw the thoughts of those around him. Confronted with fears and nightmares
they'd rather avoid, people have a bad habit of dying. So it's no surprise that
Christian isn't exactly popular. What no one expects is for Christian to meet
Winter's last surviving Jew and uncover one more thing best forgotten the day
the Nazi's came to town.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7811598-draw-the-dark"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Christian
Cage is a 17 year old artist, living in the small town of Winter, WI. Strange
things have always seemed to happen to those close to Christian, so most of the
town is wary of him. When Christian ends up sleep painting on the side of a
barn belonging to the richest and most influential man in town, it opens up a
whole new can of worms involving a mystery over half a century old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As for
Christian, I don’t have much to say one way or the other. He’s a very
unimpressionable character for me. He was definitely on the angsty,
everybody-hates-me, depressed/crazy artist side of things. I did like that
another character in the book plainly pointed this out, so I know it was
intentional. I don’t usually like self-pitying protagonists though, so it’s a
given. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Draw the Dark</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is definitely an unconventional book
written in an unconventional way. It is also a hard book to critique because
I’m not sure of all that happened. It took me 100 pages of the book to finally
understand what was going on, and then I was lost for the last 100 pages. It
was an incredibly hard book to follow and understand. I don’t think at all that
Ilsa Bick was just winging it or BS’ing the reader in any way. I could tell
that the author had a clear picture of what was going on. The problem was in
conveying her vision to the reader. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Something positive
I can say for the book is that, in the middle part I understood, the book does
cover an interesting piece of US history I was unaware of. I would say what it
is but for those who intend to read the book, I don’t want to spoil anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Unfortunately
this book was very hard to understand and I wasn’t always sure what was going
on. I really wanted to like it because I’d liked Ilsa J. Bick’s other novel <i>Ashes</i> so much. In the end, I give it 2.5 of 5 stars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wfs0h1cwsIlVZY2_beVZ880RryeJXdKuE9_iWZhsAq4_KLsd4iCu1W0YZxqOSyfu5ms6BMgojbxLkcIERgfKynGaM7mz8hz5DSoFeiO1CuuXSS3dl1g06XCRD8uCK7zhWXLsE6cWs7zt/s1600/2.5+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wfs0h1cwsIlVZY2_beVZ880RryeJXdKuE9_iWZhsAq4_KLsd4iCu1W0YZxqOSyfu5ms6BMgojbxLkcIERgfKynGaM7mz8hz5DSoFeiO1CuuXSS3dl1g06XCRD8uCK7zhWXLsE6cWs7zt/s200/2.5+brains.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-13316996723315548662012-07-14T00:49:00.000-05:002012-07-23T18:34:30.382-05:00Future Release Review: Glitch by Heather Anastasiu<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5E3ECsYHQJdFw9Og65jVe5VyGFqy3u2rtSqF-mjW__R7eSVlcSgzmmJ4dtu4CF5cuZTZ-tnO6S8Q_EtskoKvQ5JOENxjubWx0jF66QRBMvf5g1hR7nuL2PKyiclMVSGQexzJ4PCRN_9cl/s1600/Glitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5E3ECsYHQJdFw9Og65jVe5VyGFqy3u2rtSqF-mjW__R7eSVlcSgzmmJ4dtu4CF5cuZTZ-tnO6S8Q_EtskoKvQ5JOENxjubWx0jF66QRBMvf5g1hR7nuL2PKyiclMVSGQexzJ4PCRN_9cl/s320/Glitch.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Glitch<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Heather Anastasiu </span><a href="http://heatheranastasiu.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">site</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> eARC, 371 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Release Date:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 8/07/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">St. Martin’s Press (Macmillan)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Netgalley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Challenges:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted
by </span><a href="http://www.workadayreads.com/2011/11/2012-ebook-challenge-sign-up.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Workaday Reads</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“In the Community, there is no more
pain or war. Implanted computer chips have wiped humanity clean of destructive
emotions, and thoughts are replaced by a feed from the Link network.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When Zoe starts to malfunction (or
“glitch”), she suddenly begins having her own thoughts, feelings, and identity.
Any anomalies must be immediately reported and repaired, but Zoe has a secret
so dark it will mean certain deactivation if she is caught: her glitches have
given her uncontrollable telekinetic powers.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As Zoe struggles to control her
abilities and stay hidden, she meets other glitchers including Max, who can
disguise his appearance, and Adrien, who has visions of the future. Both boys
introduce Zoe to feelings that are entirely new. Together, this growing band of
glitchers must find a way to free themselves from the controlling hands of the
Community before they’re caught and deactivated, or worse.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10535458-glitch"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Zoe is
glitching. She has broken free of the Community’s brain-washing Link and has
started to feel emotions and see in color. Along with developing telekinetic
powers. Zoe has to escape and soon, lest she be discovered as a glitcher and
deactivated. But she’s not the only glitcher in the Community. When they reveal
themselves, Zoe dreams of escape and rebellion. But not all her fellow
glitchers plan on leaving. Can they make it out of the Community alive?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Zoe is a
person waking up and discovering emotions, not to mention telekinetic powers.
She has a strong moral compass and wants to save and help everyone no matter
the cost to herself. Zoe is a cry baby. She cries and screams in surprise way
too much for my taste. It’s understandable for her situation and it’s not necessarily
a bad thing. It just annoys the crap out of me. But I could disregard that. I
know that I’m picky and I try to put that aside for my reviews. Even if Zoe
didn’t cry at the drop of a hat, she like many heroines before is a textbook case
of PCD. (Perfect Character Disorder) She’s just too unrealistic and inhuman to
be likable for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This review
took a lot more thought than usual. I knew when I’d finished that I wouldn’t
read a sequel, and that I didn’t care for the book. The tricky part of writing
this review was figuring out why. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are
two reasons. Firstly, <i>Glitch</i> isn’t
very original. It feels like bits and pieces of other books and movies slapped
together in a hardcover. The book makes sense, and there is a plot. I’m not
saying that it was a mindless read, but it’s in no way fresh and new. The
second reason is in a way the cause of the first; I found the book utterly
forgettable. It just slid right off my brain as though it were coated in oil. I
don’t entirely know why, but it just isn’t a memorable read. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I love
science fiction in YA, but I’m sorry to say that Glitch didn’t wow me. I give
it 2 of 5 stars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lH2oygXlLBYz0bf_wxtM4lfwrY_1gRpRmM_I2v3_ThMdMH-EZDf9zcZ-CUAEMaPT_2cUfzCTeimtBKysy__gCOGaMWyNZ-icJvX_b72wi_qvQxqs3sBeGRu9ICKXoCGhqouHCr994gyf/s1600/2+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="74" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lH2oygXlLBYz0bf_wxtM4lfwrY_1gRpRmM_I2v3_ThMdMH-EZDf9zcZ-CUAEMaPT_2cUfzCTeimtBKysy__gCOGaMWyNZ-icJvX_b72wi_qvQxqs3sBeGRu9ICKXoCGhqouHCr994gyf/s200/2+brains.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-64760561163363306862012-07-10T22:02:00.001-05:002012-07-23T18:29:56.952-05:00Review: The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuWGcdhw2Ijxd_LtrIC23bAofQfvOaoPU8r7CiWK8PjCCL2sZcXlnMPtsP1IuHPG4er6GgDr8bKDxidElMglfRIkv963J2tb2m2nwAFjuoGY4AqrrDUVlMCw1vxGuJijVTJrA3X68RHnm/s1600/Eleventh+Plague,+The.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuWGcdhw2Ijxd_LtrIC23bAofQfvOaoPU8r7CiWK8PjCCL2sZcXlnMPtsP1IuHPG4er6GgDr8bKDxidElMglfRIkv963J2tb2m2nwAFjuoGY4AqrrDUVlMCw1vxGuJijVTJrA3X68RHnm/s320/Eleventh+Plague,+The.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> The Eleventh Plague<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Jeff Hirsch </span><a href="http://www.jeff-hirsch.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">site</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Audiobook, 6 discs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Narrator: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dan Bittner<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">8/01/2011<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Scholastic Audio<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> eMedia Library<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“In an America devastated by war and plague,
the only way to survive is to keep moving.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the aftermath of a war, America’s
landscape has been ravaged and two-thirds of the population left dead from a
vicious strain of influenza. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family were
among the few that survived and became salvagers, roaming the country in search
of material to trade. But when Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father falls
into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler’s Landing, a
community that seems too good to be true. Then Stephen meets strong, defiant,
mischievous Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. And when they play
a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the
midst of a battle that will change Settler’s Landing--and their lives--forever.”
<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10369932-the-eleventh-plague"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">His mother is
long dead and he’s just buried his grandfather when his father gets into an
accident and falls into a coma. Now that Stephen is on his own he has no one to
follow. Who will Stephen be? Will he follow in his grandfathers footsteps and
leave everyone behind, survival his only agenda? Or will he be more like his
mother and father and be more than the world would make him?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Stephen is
really a boy lost. He has always followed others and hasn’t ever had to decide
things for himself. He’s trying to find out who he really is. What kind of
person he wants to be, and what paths he will take. Stephen is a very admirable
character. I feel like he starts from scratch, without a formed personality and
decides on his own to be a good person. To help others, and to be loyal to the
ones he loves. And also to, eventually, own up to his responsibilities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jenny is
lovably stubborn. She never holds back and refuses to just stay safe on the
side lines. I loved that she’s no one’s damsel in distress. She stands up for
herself and whatever she feels is right, never pushed around by anyone. I liked
that she was so kick ass without being arrogant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Something
that I think is very unique about <i>The
Eleventh Plague</i> is that it isn’t just a post-apocalyptic YA novel. The
post-apocalyptic element isn’t the main part of the story. It really should be
categorized as a coming of age story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One of the reasons
I love this book so much is because I agree with everything the author is
trying to convey. And this story says a lot. For a book under 300 pages it
speaks volumes. Something that may turn off some readers is that the pace of
the book is kind of on the slow side. Usually that is something I would
complain about, but the rest of the book is so good it didn’t bother me at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Do you ever
read a book and really liked it, and then a lot of time passes and you think
back on the book and doubt it was as good as you thought it was? I started
having these doubts after a few books I’d thought I’d loved had their
unfortunately obvious flaws pointed out to me by other bloggers/friends. (None
that I’ve reviewed though) I’m happy to say that rereading this book I regained
some faith in my book critiquing abilities. (I’d originally read the ARC in
August 2011) I loved <i>The Eleventh Plague</i>
just as much, if not more than before! I give it 5 of 5 stars, and if you
haven’t read it yet you should definitely give it a try!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-45067001166957498072012-07-06T01:06:00.000-05:002012-07-23T18:30:38.495-05:00Review: The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LHnOavpZLvFqwdLycQ4z9ti8rnl1SFHE5bHn1iggGHBH5nu3rSA1BB4BprZKBI8rMVzHoCz-KGygkdLd9OWDU76tcyKDjI1SPBI2d7kiIzmchSzaFFd1Q4zF6j1kQnWNjejTNhAxZnaJ/s1600/Butterfly+Clues,+The.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LHnOavpZLvFqwdLycQ4z9ti8rnl1SFHE5bHn1iggGHBH5nu3rSA1BB4BprZKBI8rMVzHoCz-KGygkdLd9OWDU76tcyKDjI1SPBI2d7kiIzmchSzaFFd1Q4zF6j1kQnWNjejTNhAxZnaJ/s320/Butterfly+Clues,+The.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> The Butterfly Clues<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Kate Ellison <a href="http://kateellison.com/">site</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Hardcover, 325 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 2/14/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Egmont USA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Library<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Challenges: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Standalone Reading Challenge (hosted
by <a href="http://www.iceybooks.com/">Icey Books</a>)<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved
to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up
moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by
collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new
place—possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But in the year since her brother
Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially
dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant
during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having
been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as
"Sapphire"—a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo
begins to obsess over something, she can't get the murder out of her mind.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As she attempts to piece together the
mysterious "butterfly clues," with the unlikely help of a street
artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent
underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined—a world, she'll
ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother's tragic death.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11418182-the-butterfly-clues"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Penelope, who
prefers to be called “Lo” has severe OCD and compulsively steals/hoards things.
When just outside Cleveland, the bad side of town called “Neverland”, a girl
known as Sapphire is murdered. Lo has never met her, but she feels inexplicably
connected to her and decides to try to solve her murder herself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Penelope has
severe OCD and a compulsion to steal beautiful things. Her life is ruled by
numbers, everything she does must be done in 3’s, 6’s, and 9’s to “keep her
safe”. <i>The Butterfly Clues</i> is one of
the most empathetic books I’ve read. I could really feel as Penelope felt, her
emotions are so easily conveyed within the pages. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Butterfly Clues</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is full of mystery and suspense. I
ended up with a lot of theories as to the killer was, and who “Bird” was. But I
wasn’t ever really sure until the very end. I was also didn’t guess right who Bird
was. I was very surprised. So, some of the book was predictable and some of it
wasn’t. This book kept me guessing, and I like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My one and
only complaint about this book is the ending. It didn’t match the tone of the
rest of the book at all. It went from a mystery/thriller to a light
contemporary romp for the last 15-20 pages. And I really don’t understand why.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Except for
the ending, I really liked this book. It was fast paced and uputdownable from
the first chapter. I give it 4 of 5 stars. I’m really excited to see what debut
author Kate Ellison will write next. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDJrAflz47_HQLu097-RYSjW1MoG1nSdquldAFYHp5YyAkt36jtOptpzMHmFySipVt6fuGv63_rYPYt6OZd4-6bRYaY9qjViDfLXsU_2h1wwg8mHoWzaspERRzCX9-DaNL6qFWT7pqhru/s1600/4+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDJrAflz47_HQLu097-RYSjW1MoG1nSdquldAFYHp5YyAkt36jtOptpzMHmFySipVt6fuGv63_rYPYt6OZd4-6bRYaY9qjViDfLXsU_2h1wwg8mHoWzaspERRzCX9-DaNL6qFWT7pqhru/s320/4+brains.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-71259476536362411842012-07-04T01:31:00.000-05:002012-07-23T18:31:23.738-05:00Future Release Review: Holding on to Zoe by George Ella Lyon<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyruw9-8_yly39lk2yWxQrEtuQknVexL4cuZUB5lwOoPAu44LoVf7oetUCFt56VVPtCtVUXhQNyL-fvmtuH5MJ1K3c_uDjlhdRT54eY4pmIKuO2XPYzGX9rAY62JP_MDNyJb1Vwe-BACi/s1600/Holding+on+to+Zoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyruw9-8_yly39lk2yWxQrEtuQknVexL4cuZUB5lwOoPAu44LoVf7oetUCFt56VVPtCtVUXhQNyL-fvmtuH5MJ1K3c_uDjlhdRT54eY4pmIKuO2XPYzGX9rAY62JP_MDNyJb1Vwe-BACi/s320/Holding+on+to+Zoe.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Holding on to Zoe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> George Ella Lyon <a href="http://www.georgeellalyon.com/">site</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> eARC, 174 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Release Date:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 7/07/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR
(Macmillian)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Netgalley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Challenges:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted
by </span><a href="http://www.workadayreads.com/2011/11/2012-ebook-challenge-sign-up.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Workaday Reads</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">), Standalone Reading Challenge
(hosted by <a href="http://www.iceybooks.com/">Icey Books</a>), and the
Completely Contemp Challenge (hosted by </span><a href="http://chickloveslit.com/2011/11/completelycontempchallenge.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Chick Loves Lit</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“After sixteen-year-old Jules has her
baby, Zoe, it doesn’t matter anymore that her mother thinks she’s a drama
queen, or that her father left them years ago, or even that Zoe’s father is
gone, too. She and her baby make a family now; she doesn’t need anyone else in
the world except Zoe. Though it's tough being a new mom, balancing Zoe’s needs
with working at the Toyota factory and thinking about how to finish school,
Jules is sure she’ll figure it out. Still, she wonders, why can’t anyone be
happy for her and Zoe? And why does her mom refuse to believe that Zoe's real?”
<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12952173-holding-on-to-zoe"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I don’t think
I can top the Goodreads one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jules is
someone who doesn’t have many people to lean-on or turn-to. Her mother is
extremely cold to her and she’s had to become very independent. That’s why she’s
so happy to have Zoe, to have someone in her life for her to love and be loved
by. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m kind of
at a loss for describing words for Jules. All I can think to say is that she’s
a good person and very likable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I was drawn
in from the first chapter and read it in one sitting. Even though this book was
only 174 pages long, it wasn’t too short. The whole premise of <i>Holding on to Zoe</i> is unique to anything
I’ve read before. It’s very interesting how the story evolves and changes as it
goes along. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This book
wasn’t what I’d expected, but in a good way. It was short, but isn’t lacking
plot in the least. I’d highly recommend it for someone looking for a short and
different read. I give <i>Holding on to Zoe</i>
4 of 5 stars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-77663427569064945442012-06-28T01:15:00.000-05:002012-07-23T18:33:30.841-05:00Review: Infinity by Rachel Ward<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABM8wUmLeaBZQqgGH_d8gb4wDqlro8ZsIn03k8Mmec42QdI8rDbTFz6y1EXeWEK5pidChnOLTbHP9Ctq7rtmb5rkpTIXvSoUSQeM6pUfzX6pXNOHqnOSODzbHiJUV0Br8Ri4rRJckE5pz/s1600/Infinity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABM8wUmLeaBZQqgGH_d8gb4wDqlro8ZsIn03k8Mmec42QdI8rDbTFz6y1EXeWEK5pidChnOLTbHP9Ctq7rtmb5rkpTIXvSoUSQeM6pUfzX6pXNOHqnOSODzbHiJUV0Br8Ri4rRJckE5pz/s320/Infinity.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Infinity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Rachel Ward </span><a href="http://www.rachelwardbooks.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">site</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Hardcover, 256 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">5/01/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Chicken House (Scholastic)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Library<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">**Spoiler Alert** </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Infinity is a sequel and may spoil the
rest of the series for you. You have been warned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Because everyone wants to live
forever.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">No matter what it takes, Sarah's
desperate to escape from the numbers.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Always numbers. Sarah loves Adam, but
can't bear the thought that every time he looks in her eyes, he can see her
dying; can see her last day.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It's 2029. Two years since the Chaos.
Sarah and Adam are struggling to survive. She knows he always envisioned them
together "'til death do us part." But will a child come between them?
The child she loves. The child he saved.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Little Mia was supposed to die that
New Year's Day. The numbers don't lie. But somehow she changed her date. Mia's
just a baby, oblivious to her special power. But ruthless people are hunting
her down, determined to steal her secret.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Because everyone wants to live
forever.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12797981-infinity"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s 2 years
since Adam went on television to warn people of the Chaos and London is in
shambles. The survivors are living in tent cities across England, forced to
fend for themselves. Adam and again pregnant Sarah are preparing for another
tough winter for their family. But everything changes when government workers
on motorcycles snatch Adam, Sarah, and Mia away to an underground government
facility. They want Adam to tell them peoples number, to decide whether some
refugees are worth bringing aid. Or so they say. Saul, the head of the facility
seems to want something else from Adam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One of the
reasons I was disappointed reading this book is that there’s not really any
character development. There aren’t really any new characters, and we’re left
with the exact same characters from <i>The
Chaos</i>. In all honesty, the characters left me bored. I didn’t find out
anything new about them; nothing about them changes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The only kind
of new main character is Mia, Sarah’s biological daughter. There’s a lot of
speculation on Adam’s part about whether Nan had given Mia here number or if
she somehow stole it. It’s meant to be a kind of mystery throughout the book,
but it’s never really answered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I feel like <i>Infinity</i> was a wasted opportunity. I was
really disappointed, because I really enjoyed the first two books in the series,
<i>Numbers</i> and <i>The Chaos</i>. I didn’t see anything special or new in this book. There
were a couple of surprises in the ending, but nothing “mind-blowing” as
described. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Well, I’m
sorry to say that overall Infinity was unsatisfactory. As far as disappointing
books go, <i>Infinity</i> is second only to <i>Crossed</i> by Ally Condie. ‘Nuff said. I
give it 1 of 5 stars, because I know this one could have been so much better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-25707478442235433882012-06-25T00:16:00.000-05:002012-07-23T18:35:34.373-05:00Review: Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKogVjis5wUAJo8ec13pqkDjektT0yw4tAybPsfmNsgmBy-ijdxIWQgcw13Glu-wLVAKLFm6HB8MxehLub1WOUpNXrOt5mKX_FcNgqUmX8VaxOXdF_Gswhc9y4CzeVhmK6p8IZbzh0Evkh/s1600/Lies+Beneath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKogVjis5wUAJo8ec13pqkDjektT0yw4tAybPsfmNsgmBy-ijdxIWQgcw13Glu-wLVAKLFm6HB8MxehLub1WOUpNXrOt5mKX_FcNgqUmX8VaxOXdF_Gswhc9y4CzeVhmK6p8IZbzh0Evkh/s320/Lies+Beneath.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Lies Beneath<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Anne Greenwood Brown </span><a href="http://annegreenwoodbrown.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">site</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> eARC, 303 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">6/12/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Delacorte BYR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Netgalley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Challenges: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted
by </span><a href="http://www.workadayreads.com/2011/11/2012-ebook-challenge-sign-up.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Workaday Reads</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Calder White lives in the cold, clear
waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To
survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their
energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure
revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a
long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has
a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's
daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his
irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. Only this time Calder
screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that
there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And
just as his sisters are losing patience with him.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10479750-lies-beneath"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Calder and
his three sisters, Maris, Pavati, and Tallulah, have a mission. To avenge their
mother by killing Jason Hancock. Ever since their mother died, Maris has become
the matriarch of the family. She is the cruelest sister, and all Calder wants
is to be out of her control. Maris makes Calder an offer, get close to Lily and
use her to lure her father out into the lake and she will set him free. If he
fails, she will never let him go. Getting close to her is easy, and soon he has
Lily wrapped around his finger. The only problem? Calder has started developing
feelings for her. Will he trade freedom for true love?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Calder is
just your usual murderous mythical creature, fighting against his nature. He
was very self pitying and in the end tries to be a martyr. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lily was kind
of an empty character. She has a thing for Victorian poetry. For supposedly
being strong willed, she would do pretty much anything Calder told her. As soon
as they get together, she completely loses her fire. I also didn’t like that
she romanticized everything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Is it just
me, or do these characters (and set up) sound familiar?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I didn’t like
the way that the chapters would jump far forward without a lot of explanation.
I also thought that some actions of the characters in the book weren’t very
well described. And the worldbuilding left much to be desired. It was
confusing. However, I was a little surprised by the ending. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’ll start by
saying that I’ve never really read a mermaid YA book before. They are starting
to become quite popular. This book was definitely a letdown, but I won’t give
up on mere-fiction just yet. I give <i>Lies
Beneath</i> 1.5 of 5 stars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcKzAwJzG3x0AWoEEVBR45q6DxbYvV92z-gz7E_towbHsKz32objRYZqEYrRAU79XSuKZX5tnkYbYhyphenhypheneipQHREcL9vgXwMHF23Hdt1kVznxQr9uCZ35BfghbihrYsXVyoF8EZ3UHHxnvz/s1600/1.5+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="74" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcKzAwJzG3x0AWoEEVBR45q6DxbYvV92z-gz7E_towbHsKz32objRYZqEYrRAU79XSuKZX5tnkYbYhyphenhypheneipQHREcL9vgXwMHF23Hdt1kVznxQr9uCZ35BfghbihrYsXVyoF8EZ3UHHxnvz/s200/1.5+brains.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-14759929765353110832012-06-15T00:32:00.000-05:002012-07-23T18:36:27.641-05:00Review: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTZrJ2wyhA4WgVwSQIgtFeZ9e4IelDdvA8byKgSd9iNBRRyompzPT8GDDa6FpOjs4MmXPNFvAjaFJrAW-YxPrKsd_8ksT0W-6P4HvQQ5vy-f6lzoWj2rzA3KC4-e5rc7gqox4-aNKPwGB/s1600/I+Hunt+Killers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTZrJ2wyhA4WgVwSQIgtFeZ9e4IelDdvA8byKgSd9iNBRRyompzPT8GDDa6FpOjs4MmXPNFvAjaFJrAW-YxPrKsd_8ksT0W-6P4HvQQ5vy-f6lzoWj2rzA3KC4-e5rc7gqox4-aNKPwGB/s320/I+Hunt+Killers.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> I Hunt Killers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Barry Lyga<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Hardcover, 359 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 4/03/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Little, Brown and Company<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Library<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could--from the criminal's point of view.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret--could he be more like his father than anyone knows?” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7766027-i-hunt-killers"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jasper Dent,known as Jazz, is the only son of the world’s most infamous serial killer.Before he was caught and sentenced, Butcher Billy taught Jazz everything heknows about murder. But now there’s a new serial killer in Lobo’s Nod. Butdespite his pleadings, the sheriff, G. William, refuses to believe it’s aserial killer. So Jazz is forced to take investigations into his own hands, toprove that there is a serial killer in Lobo’s Nod. But Jazz wonders if, withall his father’s brainwashing, it’s just a matter of time before he takes upthe family business. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jazz’ssarcastic and has a dark sense of humor, he’s also a great actor and definitelya charmer. His biggest worry that it’s inevitable that he’ll become a serialkiller, just like his father. I liked Jazz, and I was invested in hiswellbeing. He wasn’t my favorite character though. My favorite character wasHowie, Jazz’s type A-hemophiliac best friend/sidekick. Every other thing thatcame out of his mouth was hilarious. You just never know what he’s going to saynext.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I Hunt Killers</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is dark, disturbing, and downrightbloody. Very bloody. It’s an unputdownable mystery/thriller, and sure to makeyou squeamish. I hung on every word. The book ran at a pretty fast pace, whichwas great for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I reallyliked that it was a YA mystery. There aren’t enough of those. Let alone onesthat you can’t guess the plot. And I know that, in real life, the policeprobably wouldn’t let a 16 year old boy help them find a serial killer. Butthat didn’t bother me and I loved it anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I picked thisbook for no other reason, than that Barry Lyga wrote it. (He’s one of my “<a href="http://novelminded.blogspot.com/2012/06/author-gods.html">author gods</a>”)I loved his debut <i>The AstonishingAdventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl </i>and would recommend it to anyone. <i> IHunt Killers</i> is a nonstop thrill ride and the first of a series I can’twait to read. I give it 4 of 5 stars! Definitely a must read for fans ofmystery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-52591608357884729082012-06-12T22:50:00.002-05:002012-06-12T22:50:51.162-05:00Author Gods<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I’m not a
religious person, I’m technically an agnostic. But I do have gods that I
worship. They’re my author gods. These are the authors that have so impressed
me with their work that I listen to everything they say. I will read anything
that they write, and just about anything that they blurb. In a way, they
control what I read. They are like reading mentors, but also teach me life
lessons. Here are some of my author gods, and what they taught me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> <b>Libba
Bray</b> has taught me to be confident and strong, and never be afraid to make
light of the situation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Lemony Snicket</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> taught me from an early age that no
matter how bad thing are, there is always somebody that has it worse. That I
should always be grateful for what I have. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Neil Gaimen</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> taught me that somethings we humans
do without thinking are pretty stupid. And that cats have a lot of interesting
things to say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jonathan Maberry</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> taught me that even the bad guys are
human. Even serial killers are brothers, daughters, and husbands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Barry Lyga</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> taught me how much anger a person can
have. And that sometimes it’s best to let go of anger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Ned Vizzini</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> taught me that I’m not alone, and to
take serious subjects with just a touch of optimism and humor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Laurie Halse Anderson</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> taught me how to be brave. That above
all else, life must go on no matter the situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">M.T. Anderson</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> taught me to look at my own actions
from another’s perspective. Not everyone sees life the same way you do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Scott Westerfeld</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> taught me that the future may not
always be golden. And that you can only be beautiful if you yourself think you
are, and are a good person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Amy Kathleen Ryan</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> taught me that right and wrong are relative.
She taught me to be skeptical, and to never assume anything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Do you have any “author gods”? What
have your favorite authors taught you?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-90675869262559395232012-06-09T01:01:00.002-05:002012-07-23T18:37:30.699-05:00Review: Girl Parts by John M. Cusick<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikd2MU7i-5VYwWCcowmgPxns70ZU8hLD56wHiG_fvCLIQSDAEo0g4ZUXkcEqKlIrnK1GfVx28HY826yi9BChbQxYT45XBPFV1gvuHbuk8fAujZC1f7Fq5Xbkmvfya34Js4CVIO_E0PsKyb/s1600/Girl+Parts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikd2MU7i-5VYwWCcowmgPxns70ZU8hLD56wHiG_fvCLIQSDAEo0g4ZUXkcEqKlIrnK1GfVx28HY826yi9BChbQxYT45XBPFV1gvuHbuk8fAujZC1f7Fq5Xbkmvfya34Js4CVIO_E0PsKyb/s320/Girl+Parts.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Girl Parts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> John M. Cusick </span><a href="http://johnmcusick.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">site</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Hardcover, 218 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 8/10/2010<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Candlewick Press<b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Library<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“<b>What
happens when a robot designed to be a boy’s ideal “companion” develops a will
of her own? A compulsively readable novel from a new talent.<o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">David and Charlie are opposites. David
has a million friends, online and off. Charlie is a soulful outsider, off the
grid completely. But neither feels close to anybody. When David’s parents
present him with a hot Companion bot designed to encourage healthy bonds and
treat his “dissociative disorder,” he can’t get enough of luscious redheaded
Rose — and he can’t get it soon. Companions come with strict intimacy
protocols, and whenever he tries anything, David gets an electric shock. Parted
from the boy she was built to love, Rose turns to Charlie, who finds he can
open up, knowing Rose isn’t real. With Charlie’s help, the ideal “companion” is
about to become her own best friend. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In a stunning and hilarious debut,
John Cusick takes rollicking aim at internet culture and our craving for
meaningful connection in an uber connected world.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7422080-girl-parts"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Set in the
near future… It all starts when a girl named Nora Vogel kills herself on a live
web cam over the internet for all to see. David is just browsing the web when
he sees it and watches. He thinks nothing of it until he is called into the psychiatrist’s
office where he is confronted about doing nothing to stop it. He is diagnosed
with “dissociative disorder”. His recommended course of treatment is to get a
Companion, a robotic girl whose universe revolves around him to help him relate
to others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There was
something very human about David and Charlie. David is a very popular boy who
has the pick of any girl he wants. Of course he doesn’t treat them well, and
doesn’t care for long term relationships. Charlie is very smart and reclusive,
but is also kind of arrogant and puts himself in a league above others. Both were imperfect characters, which I always
like, and they both had an air of realism about them. And Rose was very
likable, and I was really rooting for her throughout the book. She’s naïve, but
she really takes a stand for herself. She gains more confidence and self
respect, while remaining humble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There is a
kind of ease and disconnected-ness about the writing. I was interested to see
what happened in the story, but I didn’t feel particularly connected with the characters.
It was almost like viewing them from a distance, but not exactly in a bad way.
It is pretty steadily paced, and I wasn’t left bored. And although the book is
only 218 pages, <i>Girl Parts</i> wasn’t too
long or too short, it was just right. The
ending of the book is unexpected. I’m not sure whether I think it’s good or
bad. It was just different. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Girl Parts</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> was a short read, but an enjoyable
one. There was something distinctly different and likeable about it. I didn’t
find it “hilarious” but it’s still worth reading. It was short, direct, and to
the point while still being entertaining. I give it 4 of 5 stars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-64302146746715904222012-06-07T23:00:00.002-05:002012-06-07T23:00:44.607-05:00Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWvOKW7cuEqe6616QLuw79lRp4qdY9kihrkifL8eTdw1ALyh0DWv72VUEd20GUfp9d7Ch_Beh55mnYX_xfllgs_gw1IjO_mdgkIVzLwZbhdP-EQKTgwCQbGwyAFCtJFiyELeSlg5Lwojb/s1600/Monument+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWvOKW7cuEqe6616QLuw79lRp4qdY9kihrkifL8eTdw1ALyh0DWv72VUEd20GUfp9d7Ch_Beh55mnYX_xfllgs_gw1IjO_mdgkIVzLwZbhdP-EQKTgwCQbGwyAFCtJFiyELeSlg5Lwojb/s320/Monument+14.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Monument 14<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Emmy Laybourne </span><a href="http://emmylaybourne.com/"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">site</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> eARC, 294 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Release Date:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> 6/05/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Feiwel & Friends (Macmillian)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Netgalley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Challenges:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted by </span><a href="http://www.workadayreads.com/2011/11/2012-ebook-challenge-sign-up.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Workaday Reads</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Your mother hollers that you’re going
to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug
her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind,
patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a
run for the corner.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Only, if it’s the last time you’ll
ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those
things. Maybe even missed the bus.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But the bus was barreling down our
street, so I ran.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Fourteen kids. One superstore. A
million things that go wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed
debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders
(one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore
build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating
disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical
weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12753231-monument-14"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In the year
2024, Dean and his younger brother Alex get on the school bus in Monument,
Colorado. Suddenly huge hail rains down on their town and kills many. After a
near death experience escaping the bus, the14 surviving kids and their bus
driver, Ms. Wooly, flee to a nearby super store. But when Ms. Wooly goes to
find help, they end up on their own. Can they survive earthquakes, toxic
chemicals, and just plain isolation?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I liked Dean.
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there was something very authentic and
human about him that I liked. He just wants to keep his brother safe and get
Astrid to notice him. He’s also kind of an underdog of the group, and I’m a
sucker for underdogs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">There is
something indescribably fresh and real about Laybourne’s writing. It was good
on the eyes if you know what I mean. It
was very fast paced, the story was always moving. And that’s a good thing for
me. I was on the edge of my seat and my heart was actually beating with
excitement at all the right parts. Oh, and that action packed, cliff hanger
ending. I’m still buzzing about it. I need the sequel, like, NOW! I know I’m
kind of all over the place, but there are s many things to like about this
book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I was worried
it would be, but <i>Monument 14</i> isn’t
your run of the mill post-apocalyptic. The premise isn’t the most original idea,
but it is very well written and the story is quite a ride. If you’re into
post-apocalyptic YA, I would definitely recommend <i>Monument 14</i>. I’m giving it 4.5 of 5 stars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0tQY1SoM_GiV2JYybhoa3atsalFt9CiOJ9Z5Z-1YDNs9Ufti10K2CJc7B01mwyL8G0i3qlc0Y0UsUe9vHTT8DHeqsBLLKCfT31arfJPx85YkVUoIB-i7FrFQ894MpsQK55PGt4Oh9yBf/s1600/4.5+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0tQY1SoM_GiV2JYybhoa3atsalFt9CiOJ9Z5Z-1YDNs9Ufti10K2CJc7B01mwyL8G0i3qlc0Y0UsUe9vHTT8DHeqsBLLKCfT31arfJPx85YkVUoIB-i7FrFQ894MpsQK55PGt4Oh9yBf/s320/4.5+brains.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-62455648456439924382012-06-04T23:43:00.000-05:002012-06-07T23:01:43.005-05:00Future Release Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_5wWkNOVY4WMmmsI_frBoeCEvRaRCEgXAe1r9e9xQRuepurTCWlbxQvv6LkJbufDUIKLwVg2ID_9ku5EH3Y1JZo8bpwSBUV8ztGq8-PzAt5DYOM29M2CA9EVTzhdsoj3xigIm5A50nrc/s1600/Shadow+and+Bone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_5wWkNOVY4WMmmsI_frBoeCEvRaRCEgXAe1r9e9xQRuepurTCWlbxQvv6LkJbufDUIKLwVg2ID_9ku5EH3Y1JZo8bpwSBUV8ztGq8-PzAt5DYOM29M2CA9EVTzhdsoj3xigIm5A50nrc/s320/Shadow+and+Bone.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Shadow and Bone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Leigh Bardugo <a href="http://www.leighbardugo.com/">site</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> ARC, 358 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Release Date:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 6/03/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Henry Holt and Co. (Macmillian)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Received from publisher for review<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Surrounded by enemies, the once-great
nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near
impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its
fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Alina Starkov has never been good at
anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is
brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power
that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from
everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as
a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Yet nothing in this lavish world is
what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her
untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the
secrets of her heart.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10194157-shadow-and-bone"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Alina and Mal
have been best friends since they were very young, orphaned by a centuries old
war. Although she wishes they were more, Mal is oblivious to her feelings. In
an emergency situation she accidentally reveals the power she didn’t know she
had. She is the long awaited Sun Summoner, a Grisha. The only one who can
destroy the Fold. She is whisked away from Mal and taken to the King’s Palace
to live with the other Grisha and learn to use her power. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Alina was
very likable. She’s witty, humble, and self confident with a strong moral
compass. She’s just trying to find her place in the world, trying to find where
she belongs. Alina and Mal were really funny together. The banter between them
was actually believable, not the usual obviously scripted repartee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">For awhile it
looked like this book was going to be imaginative, but predictable. All of the
pieces were fitting together into the assumed puzzle when BOOM! Out of the
blue, there’s a really big twist that I didn’t see coming. Huge game changer. It
totally knocked my socks off. (Not that I was wearing any) And basically right
there and then, my liking of this book went from 3.5 stars to 5 full blown
freaking stars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What really
sets this book apart from other fantasy novels is the superb world building. I
was instantly immersed in this fantasy world that could be set in the very distant
past or future. And it was incredibly easy to understand what was going on. I
really liked how the language and terms were drawn from foreign languages such
as Russian. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I honestly
wasn’t expecting to love this book so much. I didn’t even request the ARC, I
just ended up on a bulk mailing list and got it by surprise. I had it sitting
on my shelf for a long time, and then realized it was going to be released soon
and thought I should get to it. I wish I would have read this book months ago!
It was really a splendid read! I have no hesitation giving it 5 of 5 stars. I
highly recommend checking it out from your local library or going to your local indie bookstore and picking up
a copy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuQXDQ8qBZ9dPcCpjFaa-weqOqDuUCCdp7wE-RcG_LIRnZMPottUzkoNtY407zZy6HdC29a4BacW7rl47fseO6iesxakhEfPUHLjaSz_cZG-Of_kxuu1c2ArM-BX-rwKANDPZ4Jb_YX-j/s1600/5+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuQXDQ8qBZ9dPcCpjFaa-weqOqDuUCCdp7wE-RcG_LIRnZMPottUzkoNtY407zZy6HdC29a4BacW7rl47fseO6iesxakhEfPUHLjaSz_cZG-Of_kxuu1c2ArM-BX-rwKANDPZ4Jb_YX-j/s320/5+brains.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-67430295166898210552012-06-03T22:20:00.001-05:002012-06-07T23:02:21.314-05:00Review: Hoodie by Brendon Lancaster<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8TipiLiqvz24o0hhYFEYTZwu-dMlZmrXpxjAGsSgurgGQYsi1HFxcbhSbZOkIaZ98a-0-4aiw9KTJFhl94ZQzagEJucA7CkWzhWcbPOlDIW85J5z3j8t8U-oFaibRO4u5E3S5yOU4CS6/s1600/Hoodie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8TipiLiqvz24o0hhYFEYTZwu-dMlZmrXpxjAGsSgurgGQYsi1HFxcbhSbZOkIaZ98a-0-4aiw9KTJFhl94ZQzagEJucA7CkWzhWcbPOlDIW85J5z3j8t8U-oFaibRO4u5E3S5yOU4CS6/s320/Hoodie.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Hoodie<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Brendon Lancaster </span><a href="http://www.brendonlancaster.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">site</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Ebook, 309 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 5/28/2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Self Published<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Received from author for review<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Challenges:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <span style="background-color: white;">Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="http://www.workadayreads.com/2011/11/2012-ebook-challenge-sign-up.html"><span style="background-color: white; color: #973f8a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">Workaday Reads</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">), and
the Self-Published Reading Challenge (hosted by </span><a href="http://www.workadayreads.com/2011/11/2012-self-published-reading-challenge.html"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Workaday Reads</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“<span style="color: #222222;">Hoodie<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>tells the story of Ben a contemporary
urban anti-hero, struggling to retain his integrity in a world of shifting
values and find direction where few choices exist. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>During his ‘summer of love’, we follow
his attempts to engage with the real world with frustration and
compassion. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Along the way
he meets his previously unknown father in the most unexpected circumstances and
discovers that there is more to his best friend’s loyalty than he ever
suspected. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>His experiences
of job-hunting will resonate with anyone who has gone down that road. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>He discovers that sex can be ugly and
exploitative, and that maybe his mum is a person after all.<br />
<br />
The story covers topical and controversial issues in a thought provoking manner
and provides the perfect antidote to alarmist right wing reporting of youth
issues, exploring the problems of modern day Britain from the perspective of a
disempowered, disaffected teenager. Its blend of up to date edgy realism,
dream like escapism, gritty hard hitting action, humour and tragedy provides a
broad appeal to adult and youth alike.</span>” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-Author<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ben, known as
“Hoodie” to his friends “The Shady boys”, has decided that he is going to skip
school altogether and just find a job and move on in his life. A local homeless
man called “Old Joe” gives him a palm reading and discovers that Ben has the
rare “simian lines” on his palms. This only fuels his ambition to start his
life now. How will Ben and his friends fare in this coming of age story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ben is the
definition of the double simian lines on his palms. It is supposed to mean that
his head and heart lines are one and the same, and in total harmony. He’s
ambitious, impulsive, and very easy going. He’s very empathetic to other
people. It’s hard for me to say whether I liked Ben as a character as he wasn’t
very opinionated, except about the legality of marijuana. But I did like that
he was an imperfect character. No PCD. I could go either way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As for all of
the supporting characters, I found them very transparent from the start. I
could tell which of the group of friends had a thing for Ben. And which of his
friends wouldn’t end up doing the right thing. I wish they would have been a
little more mysterious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To put it
plainly, <i>Hoodie</i> was very slow paced. Too slow paced for me. When a book is slow
paced, I usually find myself getting distracted by other things. And when I get
distracted I end up rereading sentences over and over. Monotony isn’t good for
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One of the
parts I liked the most in <i>Hoodie</i> were the part were Ben has vivid dreams from
the point of view of different animals. They were very well written, faster in
pace, and just plain interesting. The only problem is that these dreams don’t
really seem to mean anything in regards to the story. They were good but unnecessary.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Unfortunately
I didn’t love <i>Hoodie</i>. It was a book
that intrigued me, but didn’t impress me. There’s not much else to say. I give
it 2.5 of 5 stars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgHhB08DsZIk2U3aewoAo0rK4zfSJOhMiAtK4_xXMltyjjPykaw6siZZockRIbJLNFMBNaCoJmFO_1yaIsCGBcFtWOewnpM1SACoa6dfOIZ93LBQf5-Bu3m5nv8QsHV8sVjBzXCpRu4Nm/s1600/2.5+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgHhB08DsZIk2U3aewoAo0rK4zfSJOhMiAtK4_xXMltyjjPykaw6siZZockRIbJLNFMBNaCoJmFO_1yaIsCGBcFtWOewnpM1SACoa6dfOIZ93LBQf5-Bu3m5nv8QsHV8sVjBzXCpRu4Nm/s200/2.5+brains.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-75218797599744572922012-05-23T01:24:00.001-05:002012-06-07T23:03:07.777-05:00Review: You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYWj7V_QEqapF-61-9FWzwTlfx25cxUM37vjJG2IW1o-up1Fy7uhDa_2rJSa6sY2HxW6C4iOol8eJnYKXcgXuPy6dqJrtoJ3yaMEyOPy4e8L8GWM02_jn3ZmgU3mWxk_Ttzs3x3lNQFFxI/s1600/You+Have+Seven+Messages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYWj7V_QEqapF-61-9FWzwTlfx25cxUM37vjJG2IW1o-up1Fy7uhDa_2rJSa6sY2HxW6C4iOol8eJnYKXcgXuPy6dqJrtoJ3yaMEyOPy4e8L8GWM02_jn3ZmgU3mWxk_Ttzs3x3lNQFFxI/s320/You+Have+Seven+Messages.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> You Have Seven Messages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Stewart Lewis </span><a href="http://www.stewartlewis.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">site</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Hardcover, 304 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 9/13/2011<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Delacorte Press (Random House)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Received from Book Divas for review<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Challenges:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <span style="background-color: white;">Standalone Reading Challenge (hosted by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.iceybooks.com/"><span style="background-color: white; color: #973f8a;">Icey
Books</span></a><span style="background-color: white;">), and the
Completely Contemp Challenge (hosted by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="http://chickloveslit.com/2011/11/completelycontempchallenge.html"><span style="background-color: white; color: #973f8a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Chick
Loves Lit</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">It's been a year since Luna's mother, the fashion-model wife
of a successful film director, was hit and killed by a taxi in New York's East
Village. Luna, her father, and her little brother, Tile, are still struggling
with grief.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"> When Luna goes to clean out
her mother's old studio, she's stunned to find her mom's cell phone
there—charged and holding seven unheard messages. As Luna begins to listen to
them, she learns more about her mother's life than she ever wanted to know . .
. and she comes to realize that the tidy tale she's been told about her
mother's death may not be the whole truth.</span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">”
<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9705058-you-have-seven-messages"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Summary:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Luna finds
her mother’s cell phone a year after her sudden death, and finds seven voice
mail messages. As Luna listens to the messages and meets the people behind
them, she learns that her mother had many secrets and may have been cheating on
her father. Is Luna willing to forgive and forget for the ones she loves? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The main
theme of the book seemed to be forgiveness or learning to forgive. Whether Luna
could forgive her dead mother for past wrongs, her father for keeping secrets,
and her boyfriend for cheating on her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Luna wasn’t
very memorable for me. She seemed have a more breezy and optimistic perspective.
She had some interesting insights, but also some weird and downright preachy
ones. Her younger brother, Tile, was really funny. I ended up liking him much
more than his sister. And I can’t say that I cared for Oliver, the love
interest, either. When weird and odd things happened between them, he didn’t
really explain his actions much. I didn’t like that Luna just accepted
everything he did either.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Maybe I’m
alone in thinking this, but the official synopsis seems to imply that the main
focus of the story is the mystery surrounding the seven messages on her late
mother’s cell phone. But that part of the story really takes a back seat to all
the other happenings in the book. For example, Luna’s romance with Oliver. The
rest of the book was a lot rest interesting to me and I think I would have
liked it better had the mystery of the messages been more of a focal point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I was bored
reading this book. If I had not had to review it, I probably would have put it
down. It had good intentions but for me it was ultimately not worth reading.
All in all, You Have Seven Messages get a rating of 2.5 of 5.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-8179207705555512242012-05-20T23:51:00.000-05:002012-05-24T00:37:13.396-05:00100 Follower Giveaway!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It finally happened. After 8 months of blogging and 26 book reviews, Novel Minded got 100 GFC followers! (And 138 Twitter followers!) Yay! As a thank you to all my followers, I'm hosting a giveaway</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Enough of that, let's get on to the details.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Nitty Gritty</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are 3 prize pack, and 3 individual winners.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You do not need to follow to enter, though it will get you extra entries.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This giveaway is US only. Sorry, but I'm paying for the shipping.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will have 48 hours to respond before I draw a new winner.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only Rafflecopter entries will be counted. Do not leave entries in the comments section.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There will be 3 winners. The first winner will receive a paperback copy of "Across the Universe" by Beth Revis, a signed sticker, bookmark, book plate, and a pink rubber bracelet. The second and third winners will receive both a pink and a glow-in-the-dark rubber bracelet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15px;"><b>**Update**</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I was "moderating" the Rafflecopter entries for my other giveaway and discovered an impossibly large number of entries from one individual, under the guise of many. <u>I thought this should have been obvious, but only one set of entries per individual.</u> I check ALL entries for authenticity and will delete any phony entries. </b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15px;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhno9sYBKEzT1KgmpzyiwwN9wzeRwD6YdjR6uB5Xv3-BMpast_DPhdUDBaE05-GAUVg4lqCWlFzZ2oBthw6GkzWqHdf4Apc-uZJrfNGy69RsMBG3vektMq2T6DTsSnXK_LHcvfXzSKNDmOJ/s1600/IMG_1352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhno9sYBKEzT1KgmpzyiwwN9wzeRwD6YdjR6uB5Xv3-BMpast_DPhdUDBaE05-GAUVg4lqCWlFzZ2oBthw6GkzWqHdf4Apc-uZJrfNGy69RsMBG3vektMq2T6DTsSnXK_LHcvfXzSKNDmOJ/s400/IMG_1352.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/" id="rc-6758105">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js">
</script>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-53317575453448292262012-05-15T21:54:00.001-05:002012-05-24T00:35:18.922-05:00Just Because Giveaway: "The Golden Lily" by Richelle Mead Autographed ARC and Posters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last month, the RT Booklover convention was held in the Chicago area and I got to go to there Teen Day with some friends. At the end, they handed out gift bags loaded with all kinds of books, swag, and ARCs. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of "The Golden Lily" by Richelle Mead and a poster autographed at the convention. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And just because I'm so nice (and I need to start getting some things out of my house), I decided to do a giveaway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4tH_ANeBIQULOZtuP8Z2ZBhOFOqSZShpEBlWXq4yaDYGFdbxqV6mb4Ms8-cAdlsnrPRjBbRwWgsBVlU2mhI1Zoa0FG2DuyyU7BNkyvxhqmpHFxTFIGkXeWEh_lLQZfXjBR_uafEbv9i2/s1600/IMG_1290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4tH_ANeBIQULOZtuP8Z2ZBhOFOqSZShpEBlWXq4yaDYGFdbxqV6mb4Ms8-cAdlsnrPRjBbRwWgsBVlU2mhI1Zoa0FG2DuyyU7BNkyvxhqmpHFxTFIGkXeWEh_lLQZfXjBR_uafEbv9i2/s400/IMG_1290.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">I have two prizes/prize packs available. The first prize winner will receive signed ARC of The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead and a poster. The second place winner will receive a signed poster. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzS3nK61x6iqNX-orfQqwPVRSj1lFY3dBCS_PQP-X4TkcbI1oIATmsbXANql-NmNTLEcCNaX8OgslkiW97asFVQk4caXLEgLAoCol-agEfHJiO2CnsofWebuzXgJf21UP2qiaQxYogYItP/s1600/IMG_1291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzS3nK61x6iqNX-orfQqwPVRSj1lFY3dBCS_PQP-X4TkcbI1oIATmsbXANql-NmNTLEcCNaX8OgslkiW97asFVQk4caXLEgLAoCol-agEfHJiO2CnsofWebuzXgJf21UP2qiaQxYogYItP/s400/IMG_1291.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">You don't have to follow to enter, although it will get you more entries. This giveaway is US only. Please do not leave entries in the comments section, only Rafflecopter entries will be counted. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b>**Update**</b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I was "moderating" the Rafflecopter entries and discover an impossibly large number of entries from one individual, under the guise of many. <u>I thought this should have been obvious, but only one set of entries per individual.</u> I check ALL entries for authenticity and will delete any phony entries. </b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/" id="rc-6758104">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js">
</script>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-73612707844867183072012-05-11T14:05:00.002-05:002012-05-18T00:52:19.793-05:00Review: Happy Families by Tanita S. Davis<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wqmFcoyCP-yDSJfw5QUCISIH0Ssuxib8c9DT8UQNzMQyCE4OlkIUTwD53xqQHdCURB8fy8uQ05onEDJijPtn9c7SNceVaRaIgy8LKA95f2W6kmxpO_dVl3FTFGS_tg3i6EbwkC9a-aJy/s1600/Happy+Families.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wqmFcoyCP-yDSJfw5QUCISIH0Ssuxib8c9DT8UQNzMQyCE4OlkIUTwD53xqQHdCURB8fy8uQ05onEDJijPtn9c7SNceVaRaIgy8LKA95f2W6kmxpO_dVl3FTFGS_tg3i6EbwkC9a-aJy/s320/Happy+Families.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Happy Families<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Tanita S. Davis </span><a href="http://tanitasdavis.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">site</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> eARC, 237 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Release Date:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 5/8/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random
House)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Netgalley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Challenges: </span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ebook
Reading Challenge (hosted by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.workadayreads.com/2011/11/2012-ebook-challenge-sign-up.html"><span style="color: #973f8a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Workaday Reads</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">),
Standalone Reading Challenge (hosted by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.iceybooks.com/"><span style="color: #973f8a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Icey Books</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">), and the Completely Contemp Challenge (hosted
by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://chickloveslit.com/2011/11/completelycontempchallenge.html"><span style="color: #973f8a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Chick Loves Lit</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Teenage twins Ysabel and Justin Nicholas are lucky. Ysabel's
jewelry designs have already caught the eyes of the art world and Justin's
intelligence and drive are sure to gain him entrance into the most prestigious
of colleges. They even like their parents. But their father has a secret—one
that threatens to destroy the twins' happy family and life as they know it.</span><span style="color: #181818;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Over the course of spring break, Ysabel and Justin
will be forced to come to terms with their dad's new life, but can they
overcome their fears to piece together their happy family again?</span></span>”
<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12654784-happy-families"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Basic Summary:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Twins Ysabel
and Justin had the perfect, happy, Christian family. But things change when
their father is discovered to be transgender. Their father moves out of the
house, and things fall apart. Ysabel and Justin are then forced to spend spring
break with their father in an attempt to mend their broken family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Justin and
Ysabel’s narrative voices were too similar, they needed to be more
differentiated. It was often hard to discern whose point of view I was reading.
Neither character came off the page for me; they were both kind of bland and flat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One of the
highlights of the book for me was when Ysabel would do her torchwork. It was an
art form I hadn’t ever heard of, and I thought it was really cool. The way it
was described, I could perfectly picture it in my head. It totally made me want
to learn to make glass beads. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What really
had me interested to read <i>Happy Families</i>
was the subject matter. YA fiction about transgender individuals and their
families aren’t all that common. I really liked it for the first half of the
book, but toward the end it got kind of strange. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The ending
seemed to be both Ysabel and Justin deciding they were okay with their father,
and then suddenly changing their minds over and over again. And I feel like
there wasn’t a lot of closure in the ending either. Now, I don’t need things
tied up in a tidy bow but there were a lot of things left up in the air. Such
as what Justin planned to do about his girlfriend. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I really
liked the premise of <i>Happy </i>Families,
but it just didn’t come together for me. The characters didn’t seem “real” enough. I
liked the first half of the book, but it kind of went downhill from there. Final verdict, 3 of 5 stars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJ-rrgfeV22CmcuZB0IDEAformPknzalptTsz0MG3iT2otPA4udVM2IHYzllT3_aRXh9itEwpYGQxxlUjt6tDHQVSS3OnwJJe9p1ctS0O0E-YJ3VSiDnESMGzH77q4PBURO6zsl84S93o/s1600/3+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="74" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJ-rrgfeV22CmcuZB0IDEAformPknzalptTsz0MG3iT2otPA4udVM2IHYzllT3_aRXh9itEwpYGQxxlUjt6tDHQVSS3OnwJJe9p1ctS0O0E-YJ3VSiDnESMGzH77q4PBURO6zsl84S93o/s200/3+brains.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-11471781467002822202012-04-28T02:58:00.000-05:002012-07-23T18:38:57.586-05:00Future Release Review: Struck by Jennifer Bosworth<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieV_jR6XEMfbpr0JSJNBAnCqMT9PlWh9j4UuJfGbQauHaiqDA4NgPtdd_JHZduSpJwCRQASuYbqNH_DqJ-6G9_2tXlNlLNcB7YEh_8LziVy8JdSwWtAKUsyTtxSKrf7RmKvRrroUlUhGFt/s1600/Struck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieV_jR6XEMfbpr0JSJNBAnCqMT9PlWh9j4UuJfGbQauHaiqDA4NgPtdd_JHZduSpJwCRQASuYbqNH_DqJ-6G9_2tXlNlLNcB7YEh_8LziVy8JdSwWtAKUsyTtxSKrf7RmKvRrroUlUhGFt/s320/Struck.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title:
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Struck<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jennifer Bosworth </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.jenniferbosworth.com/">site</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">eARC, 385 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Release Date: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">5/8/12<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Farrar, Straus, and Giroux Books for
Young Readers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Netgalley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Challenges: </span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted by </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.workadayreads.com/2011/11/2012-ebook-challenge-sign-up.html">Workaday Reads</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Mia Price is a lightning addict. She's survived countless
strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life
and the lives of those around her.</span><span style="color: #181818;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is
one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake
devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and
danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling
wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each
night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two
warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing
doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical
storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet
to come.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring
Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn't who he claims to
be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their
downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full
horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.</span></span>”
<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12432229-struck">Goodreads<o:p></o:p></a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Let’s be
honest, an unwilling heroine is nothing new in YA fiction. It’s a character
that has been done countless times, and, in all probability, will continue to
be done. And Mia is no exception. She doesn’t want to jump into all the action;
she’s not trying to be courageous. She just wants her family together and safe.
Mia’s character is by no means original and probably not realistic, but I still
liked her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The rest of
the “cast” also had the same problems. They weren’t very original and didn’t
seem real. The adjectives that come to mind are “okay” and “fine”, I just
couldn’t get excited about the characters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Struck is
centered around these two feuding cults, the Followers and the Seekers. The Followers
are a religious cult who believe that the coming end of the world is a sort of cleansing
brought on by God, and that in following “Prophet” they will be spared and
brought to heaven. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Seekers
take the opposite view. They believe that the Followers are being controlled by
Prophet’s supernatural power, and that the end of the world needs to be
stopped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Both sides
try to lure Mia to their side by different means, and Mia really just wants to
stay neutral. But it’s really hard when both of her other family members have chosen
the opposite side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Although
there were some twists and turns in the book I didn’t see coming, I found some
large parts of the plot obvious. Like Jeremy’s true identity for example.
Again, there isn’t anything out-right wrong about the book I just wish it could
have been more unique and original.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Struck </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ended up being one of those books that
after I read it I thought I liked it, but when I go to review it I ended up
seeing it in a new light. Unfortunately, this new light wasn’t as flattering. Having
a main character that’s a “lightning addict” was such a cool idea, and the
cover really intrigued me. I’m sad to say that, in the end, I was left disappointed.
I give <i>Struck</i> 3 of 5 stars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIVgvvDl4sBuVjF5Lx5I5C0mbDC8KcsKBsQX9C2J5sjPtUcOipEXApwjLTOlPmhQ7cOaz-u3iI6Dte6mpxcPJ_6iu2q4kjPQhaeAkS3Y8zdh0zCR81ormH6dLYKcG_HQ_azPoXxxQGns-/s1600/3+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="74" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIVgvvDl4sBuVjF5Lx5I5C0mbDC8KcsKBsQX9C2J5sjPtUcOipEXApwjLTOlPmhQ7cOaz-u3iI6Dte6mpxcPJ_6iu2q4kjPQhaeAkS3Y8zdh0zCR81ormH6dLYKcG_HQ_azPoXxxQGns-/s200/3+brains.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I don’t mean
to sound harsh. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Struck</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is a fine
post-apocalyptic YA novel and it kept me entertained. It was well structured
and paced, but it is very similar to countless others of its kind. My blog isn’t
about just finding enjoyable books; it’s about finding books that break the
mold. Books that stand out for all the right reasons. </span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-4275490658603224152012-04-22T21:59:00.000-05:002012-05-01T22:47:18.948-05:00Review: Hushed by Kelley York<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjjgZL0cM5k7AGNrUBnKinoWQzKJX0-CF5ZvNm_Tg-yo-qp5p-RHMiqxCkalKQZFSqYNUzPSD1PWLwWiV0CNZoBZ3caFGYeDab2-oGXI4VfHxY55cRf2-Jlm_JMXqhkkrnyBy1DygKvW5/s1600/Hushed.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjjgZL0cM5k7AGNrUBnKinoWQzKJX0-CF5ZvNm_Tg-yo-qp5p-RHMiqxCkalKQZFSqYNUzPSD1PWLwWiV0CNZoBZ3caFGYeDab2-oGXI4VfHxY55cRf2-Jlm_JMXqhkkrnyBy1DygKvW5/s320/Hushed.gif" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Hushed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kelley York </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.kelley-york.com/">site</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">eARC, 224 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">12/6/11<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Entangled Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Netgalley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Challenges: </span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Completely Contemp Challenge (hosted by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://chickloveslit.com/2011/11/completelycontempchallenge.html"><span id="goog_462546298"></span>Chick Loves Lit</a><span id="goog_462546299"></span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">), Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted by </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.workadayreads.com/2011/11/2012-ebook-challenge-sign-up.html">Workaday Reads</a></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #181818;">He’s saved her. He’s loved her. He’s killed for her.</span><span style="color: #181818;"><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn’t protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he’s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn’t matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another—Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Then along comes Evan, the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer’s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn’t get what she wants… And what she wants is Evan’s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.</span></span>” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11842962-hushed"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Archer was kind of brooding and pessimistic, yet also naïve in an endearing way. My heart really went out to him. I love that even though Archer has killed 3 people, I still felt overwhelming sympathy for him. I had to continually remind myself that he was the murderer. Though, I thought that his character waivered on the “lost puppy” side just a little too much, especially when he was with Evan.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I really liked Evan. He was optimistic, compassionate and understanding, kind and caring, and completely loyal. He’s probably the most perfect of all perfect characters ever written. His character is unrealistic, but he just seems so genuine that I really didn’t mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Now I have never gotten into the whole “favorite couples from books” thing, but I think that Evan & Archer have to be my favorites I’ve yet read. They are the definition of “opposites attract”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Hushed</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> starts out with a huge attention getter. (A murder made to look like an accident.) After I read the first chapter, I knew I wouldn’t be able to put it down. It was very fast paced, and it didn’t feel rushed at all. Not an easy feat for a 224 page book. (The finished version is 260 pages, and I wasn’t able to get a copy of the book in time for the review, so I’m not sure what changes were made.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I want to recommend this book to everyone I meet! I loved <i>Hushed</i>! It’s one of those books that you’ll never forget. I’m giving 5 of 5 stars to an awesome LGBT thriller. I don’t think that there’s much more to be said. I can’t wait to see what Kelley York writes next. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-18391279052468681692012-04-16T19:26:00.002-05:002012-05-01T22:49:38.563-05:00Review and Giveaway: Perfected by Girls by Alfred C. Martino<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdev2nMeTqxIFDkowAx2sNbeb0zCwVVAHe_CC30HkZ7GX_MLReWFn4exjDP-ahWrDwjDdXVnZWRsuhVQWyTraYQE94QiIZWxdTdCA_knZV0L9YZ8WnywC-JnljoNVaMoBADRe_4zO1PSfu/s1600/Perfected+by+Girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdev2nMeTqxIFDkowAx2sNbeb0zCwVVAHe_CC30HkZ7GX_MLReWFn4exjDP-ahWrDwjDdXVnZWRsuhVQWyTraYQE94QiIZWxdTdCA_knZV0L9YZ8WnywC-JnljoNVaMoBADRe_4zO1PSfu/s320/Perfected+by+Girls.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Perfected by Girls<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Alfred C. Martino </span><a href="http://www.alfredmartino.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">site</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Paperback, 310 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">11/1/2011<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cole Street Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Received from author for review<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Challenges: </span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Completely Contemp Challenge (hosted by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://chickloveslit.com/2011/11/completelycontempchallenge.html">Chick Loves Lit</a></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #181818;">Navigating high school isn't easy for Melinda Radford.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #181818;">She's the lone girl on the Ashton High wrestling team, grappling with opponents who refuse to compete against her, a few who want to crush her, and a coach who's less-than-pleased having a female in his practice room. At home, Mel's parents forbid her from seeing her new boyfriend, her grandmother insists she start preparing for her future by taking a dreary office internship, and her infuriating older brother, who's the varsity team captain, flirts with her best friend, Jade.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #181818;">Just when it seems things can't get any more complicated, an off-handed comment puts Mel at odds with her teammates, her brother, and, worst of all, her coach. But through a twist of tragedy and fate, Mel is given an unexpected opportunity to accomplish something no girl in her school's history has ever done - something that just may redeem herself in the eyes of her detractors. But is she strong enough to handle the pressure?</span>”</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11116387-perfected-by-girls"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Goodreads</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I have to say, I was a little skeptical that the author would be able to write a convincing female character. But I can happily say that I feel that Mel was a very believable, and for the most part realistic, female voice. She definitely wasn’t a cookie cutter. And I loved how passionate she was about wrestling. So much so that it got me excited as well, and I’ve never watched a minute of wrestling in my life. I think that’s one of the signs of a good writer, to be able to convey your feelings strongly through your writing and make the reader feel the same. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Too often in contemps, the message the writer is trying to get across is obvious in the plot and is so repetitive it makes the reader want to tear their hair out. I have to applaud Alfred Martino for writing a novel partly about girl power, without the story being over wrought with the same monotonous message. The only part of the story that irked me was something that happened at the end. **<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">SPOILER ALERT** (Highlight section to read)</span> <span style="color: white;">Melinda gets back together with her boyfriend. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but it really obvious and somewhat implied that he’s only with her to get into her pants. When they were together he was always pushing her to go further that she was comfortable. It seemed like the author was trying to make them getting back together a positive thing, a happy ending.</span>* <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Perfected by Girls</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is from the point of view of Melinda, nicknamed Mel, an amateur wrestler and the only girl on her high school JV team in Ashton, Michigan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I really enjoyed <i>Perfected by Girls</i>. I absolutely love it when an author is so passionate about something, in this case wrestling, that it shines through and can make the reader feel that passion. I think it’s one of the attributes that make a good writer. If you like contemporary fiction, I’d give this one a try. I’m giving <i>Perfected by Girls </i>4 of 5 stars. Chick Power!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know how much you all like giveaways, and the author of Perfected by Girls has kindly offered up two signed copies of his book!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After I finished </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Perfected by Girls</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, I did some snooping on the internet and was happy to discover that Alfred C. Martino, the author, is a big animal lover as well. He helped start </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dogparkpublishing.com%2F&h=LAQGYk3EM">Dog Park Publishing</a></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, a totally cool organization</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> that specifically help pit bulls. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And even if you don't enter the giveaway, be sure to visit </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dogparkpublishing.com%2F&h=LAQGYk3EM" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dog Park Publishing</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and their </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/ittypitties" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pit Bulls and Itty Pitties</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Facebook page. You'll be in for some very cute pet pictures.</span><br />
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<noscript>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://rafl.es/enable-js"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;.</noscript>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-1835568216955056612012-02-14T21:35:00.001-06:002012-05-01T22:51:01.933-05:00Review: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Article 5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kristen Simmons <a href="http://www.kristensimmonsbooks.com/">site</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ARC, 362 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1/31/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Tor Teen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Received from the publisher for review</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #181818;">New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.</span><span style="color: #181818;"><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.</span></span>” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10677277-article-5">Goodreads</a></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ember is one of the most annoying protagonists I’ve ever encountered. She was very, very dense. She had to have even the most obvious things spelled out for her. And when she made obviously bad decisions, there didn’t seem to be any motive behind it. Needless to say, she wasn’t very likable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I feel like Chase’s character was really see-through, and had been done a million times before. He is the muscled and attractive boy next door with a tortured past, that comes back into the picture after a long absence. He’s supposed to be kind of mysterious with a hidden secret, but it’s a very easy secret to guess. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In short, I didn’t really care for either of the main characters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">For the most part the plot was alright. It progressed enough to keep you reading. But it wasn’t as balanced between romance and dystopia as I would have liked. Although the things happening in the dystopian world get in the way on occasion, it’s really about whether or not Chase and Ember will get back together after both of them have changed so much. This set up can be appealing to some, but it definitely isn’t for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And I wish that the author had been clearer in her descriptions throughout the book. A lot of times it would seem as though the two main characters were alone having a conversation when out of nowhere there would be another character. Or it would seem like Chase and Ember were either riding or sitting in the car, but they were actually hiking. These seem like small inconveniences, but they all really add up and make reading the book confusing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Point of View:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Article 5 is written in first person from the point of view of Ember.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Although the premise/synopsis of the book was intriguing, <i>Article 5</i> left me disappointed. It was a very hard book to finish, especially with such an unlikeable main character. I don’t think I’ll be pursuing a sequel. I give it 2 of 5 stars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt0UZRENuuJRcGtQZgYcb74oHVXAzNoEbVxRXJ_s6UHxYqtQ85saqEk1IAyRrT6GgBLjOqNwa-yKwtofVwRc143HwRI8QHsI3lXr_jc1eKODOARs3DUzMz0XAj3cyk1cDCuZjtm8v2Cgq/s1600/2+brains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="74" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt0UZRENuuJRcGtQZgYcb74oHVXAzNoEbVxRXJ_s6UHxYqtQ85saqEk1IAyRrT6GgBLjOqNwa-yKwtofVwRc143HwRI8QHsI3lXr_jc1eKODOARs3DUzMz0XAj3cyk1cDCuZjtm8v2Cgq/s200/2+brains.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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</span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7681828111963929784.post-83056643764596866462012-02-08T19:12:00.003-06:002012-05-01T22:51:41.116-05:00Review: Pure by Julianna Baggot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXJA_C4cHtIklcILD3GJpD2WrdR-Zt2fuZqTPn1Xuxp4LEPXcAiltClVb_GhZ3ksQlHwdqmufM4QU7nPHqlLq2G05PSTEhy7ufbWZ2yWypUyoKigW05ZwiKH9Ex5k0Pw67n3MtOiZMQlI/s1600/Pure2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXJA_C4cHtIklcILD3GJpD2WrdR-Zt2fuZqTPn1Xuxp4LEPXcAiltClVb_GhZ3ksQlHwdqmufM4QU7nPHqlLq2G05PSTEhy7ufbWZ2yWypUyoKigW05ZwiKH9Ex5k0Pw67n3MtOiZMQlI/s320/Pure2.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Title: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Pure<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Julianna Baggot <a href="http://www.juliannabaggott.com/">site</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Format: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">eARC, 368 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Release Date: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2/8/2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Publisher: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Grand Central Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Netgalley<b> </b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Challenge:</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted by </span><a href="http://www.workadayreads.com/2011/11/2012-ebook-challenge-sign-up.html">Workaday Reads</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22px;">)</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #181818;">We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
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<i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9680114-pure">Goodreads<o:p></o:p></a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Characters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At first, <i>Pure</i> seemed to have an interesting assortment of characters. Unfortunately these characters have a nasty habit of behaving out of character, doing things that don’t make sense based on the picture painted of the character. I had really liked Pressia in particular. And El Capitan. I can’t say I cared for Partridge though. Partridge became really uninteresting once he left the Dome. I almost dreaded the parts of the book from his point of view. (Lyda eventually became the same.) Still, even when there were characters I liked, they weren’t consistent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plot and Story:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What I’d really liked at the start of the book, were the creepy creatures/ deformities as a result of the bomb. Julianna Baggot has a great voice for creating almost disturbing mental images that are sure to give you goose bumps. But as the story progressed, even this attribute became too much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There was way too much going on in this book for 368 pages, and that’s saying something. It was like an episode of the 3<sup>rd</sup> season of <i>Heroes</i>, you almost need to take notes to follow it. The story became too hurried. All of the different twist and turns of the plot, and all of the new information introduced toward the end of the book was just too much for one novel. It almost seemed like the author was trying too hard, and just kept adding and adding to the story until there wasn’t room left for more. What I read was just a review copy and the final version has almost one hundred more pages, so perhaps the end result will be a little more balanced. Though, I’m doubtful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Point of View:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Pure </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">is written in third person selective multiple, following the POVs of Pressia and El Capitan, who live outside of the Dome, and Partridge and Lyda, who live/lived inside of the Dome. (For more information on different POV types, click <a href="http://www.leighmichaels.home.mchsi.com/point_of_view_examples.htm">here</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Pure</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> had a good start but in the end, left me disappointed. I’m rating it 2.5 of 5 stars for inconsistent characters and an overcrowded plot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></div>Emma B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08370332107264345721noreply@blogger.com2