Reading Is Bliss

Stay Review

2011-04-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

Title: Stay
Author: Deb Caletti
Release Date: March 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pages: 311

Sample Passage:

“First off, I've never told this story to anyone. Not the entire thing anyway, and not entirely truthfully. I'm only telling it now for one reason, and that's because an untold story has a weight that can submerge you, sure as a sunken ship at the bottom of the ocean. I learned that. This kind of story, those kind of things kept secret- they have the power to keep you hidden forever, and most of all from yourself. The ghosts from that drowned ship, they keep haunting." (p.1)

“I thought it was a complement. I was sitting there, soaking in the great ego feed of new love, where your wonderfulness merges with his wonderfulness, magic dust that creates some sky-high shiny Christmas tree sparkling with admiration and flattery and tinsel and lights and a billion, hopeful, unopened presents underneath. I just saw it as praise, falling down now like glittering snowflakes. But it was something else. A drop of poison on that gathering snow. That moment in the fairy tale when we know what just happened but the princess doesn’t.” (p.49)

Mini Review:

Pros: Beautiful prose, Deb Caletti, powerful

Cons: none that really stood out

Overall: Favorite book of the last two years.

Grade: A++

Summary from Amazon:
Clara’s relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it’s almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is--and what he’s willing to do to make her stay.

Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won’t let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough....

Written Review:
Absolutely breathtaking. Caletti has always had a way with words that draw you into a story completely but Stay was so powerful, and so honest, and so beautiful, it took her talent to a whole new level of brilliance.

My favorite thing about all of Caletti’s works but Stay in particular was the way one aspect of the story, one emotion or event that not all can really relate to because most haven’t had the same experience, is expanded and explained in a way that every single person can feel for. There were so many parts of this novel that I had to stop and go find somebody to read it to because of the wisdom of a passage or the emotion portrayed was so close to myself.

With such raw emotions portrayed so vividly, the characters developed just as brightly. Clara has become one of the most realistic characters I’ve read and her story is so powerful and depicted so well that it’s sure to hit home with many. This is more than realistic fiction. It’s just plain real.

This novel is not one that comes close to a light read. It’s deep and full of thought and heart and love and forgiveness and moving on. It’s a story that will resonate with many and will not leave your head for a while after you’ve finished.

Breathtaking, heartbreaking, raw, real, beautiful, Stay is contemporary fiction at its very best.

The Secret Year Giveaway

2011-04-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!

It's time for another contest!

The always lovely Jennifer Hubbard has offered to donate one copy of her book The Secret Year to one lucky person!

If you are a resident of the U.S., thirteen or older, and want to win a copy of this book, enter below now

The contest closes on April 20th so hurry and spread the word.

If you would like to know more about The Secret Year, now available in paperback, it is reviewed HERE

Exposed Review

2011-02-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

Title: Exposed
Author: Kimberly Marcus
Release Date: Feb. 2011
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 272

Sample Passage:

"The Best Trick

When we were small

Mike and I thought

Dad's friend from college

was better than Houdini

the way he could make coins

vanish into thin air.

But now Uncle Nate's traded his pouch of change

for a law degree and a Brooks Brothers suit,

and it's my dad who's on his cell phone

heading out the door, hoping Uncle Nate can make this

nightmare disappear."

(ARC, p.109)

Mini Review:

Pros: perspective, emotion, word choice

Cons: ending, too short

Overall: I strongly recommend it

Grade: A

Summary from Amazon:
Sixteen-year-old Liz is Photogirl—sharp, focused and confident in what she sees through her camera lens. Confident that she and Kate will be best friends forever.

But everything changes in one blurry night. Suddenly, Kate is avoiding her, and people are looking the other way when she passes in the halls. As the aftershocks from a startling accusation rip through Liz's world, everything she thought she knew about photography, family, friendship and herself shifts out of focus. What happens when the picture you see no longer makes sense? What do you do when you may lose everything you love most?

Written Review:
I don't know when it happened, but some time recently I've begun to like verse novels more and more. My latest one to fall in love was EXPOSED by Kimberly Marcus.

EXPOSED gets to the heart of the story quick and the pace only picks up as the story progresses. But this speedy read is in no way a light novel. It's full of an intensity that evokes strong, raw emotions throughout the novel.

Without giving too much away, this book covers so much loss; the loss of trust, the loss of a lifetime friendship, the loss of innocence, the loss of privacy, the loss of any sense of normal. And even towards the end of the novel I wouldn't say it was all gained back.

The prose itself make the novel. Not a word seems out of place and each one carries so much weight that it adds another level of depth and reality to the story.

The ending is real. It is not a happily-ever-after, it does leave questions and suspicions unanswered, and though I can see how some would see this as a definite problem, I feel that this story wouldn't be as true as it could be with anything else.

I greatly recommend this novel. A quick read full of depth, originality, and a different perspective on a touchy subject, EXPOSED is a strong debut that will definitely leave a mark on all who read it.

Delirium Review

2011-02-04T19:13:00.000-08:00

Delirium
By: Lauren Oliver
Release Date: February 2011

Summary from Goodreads:

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Outlined Review:
Character Development: 10/10
Originality: 9/10
Ending: 8/10
Voice: 8/10
Recommendation: 9/10
Total Score: 44
Grade: A

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 3/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 1/10
Sexual Content: 3/10
Violence/Disturbing Images: 8/10

Written Review:

With Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver made us question everything we know about life, and with Delirium she questions everything we know about love.

Though it is starting to be a very new trend in Dystopian YA from the looks of things, the premise of Delirium alone is wonderful. When love is seen as a disease, as something to be feared and protected from, you learn all the things love really affects. Love is the basis of all feelings. Because it controls too much. Or rather, it makes one lose too much control. It makes one lose their emotional balance and actually feel, not feel obliged, but really feel, absolutely everything. Lauren Oliver uses that to her advantage with the building of the relationship between Lena and Alex, making it confusing and raw and beautiful and heart-wrenching.

And with that premise, Delirium leaves you with questions about what love means but also with awe about what we already know it is and the wonder that one could live without a feeling that is so large to encompass and connect to almost every other feeling out there. Oliver leads us into a world that is so exhilarating and unsettling and full of so much despair all at the same time. And though the idea of that is so sad and hard to imagine, Oliver’s strong imagery and convincing prose made it is easy to escape into that tragic world.

The story within was just as intriguing with characters to relate to and a love story to root for amid all the controversy and secrets. Lena was very relatable to everyone with her fears and doubts but also her want for something more. And with her broken past traveling alongside her every decision, you really get a feel for every risk and feeling she’s facing. The purposely detached feeling of some characters only better highlighted the importance of the relationships between Lena and Alex, and Lena and Hanna, again making you feel the importance of love itself.

About the ending: Yes, it was shocking and powerful and full of questions, but all the same, I still found the ending satisfying and leaving me much anticipated for the sequel releasing in 2012.

Overall, with engaging characters, eloquent prose, and a premise unlike most, DELIRIUM is a story that provokes thoughts, questions meanings, and gives the power of love a whole new importance.

You Are Not Here Review

2010-11-23T16:16:00.000-08:00

Title: You Are Not Here
By: Samantha Schutz
Release Date: October 2010

Summary from Goodreads:Annaleah and Brian shared something special - Annaleah is sure of it. When they were together, they didn't need anyone else. It didn't matter that their relationship was secret. All that mattered was what they had with each other.
And then, out of nowhere, Brian dies. And while everyone else has their role in the grieving process, Annaleah finds herself living outside of it, unacknowledged and lonely. How can you recover from a loss that no one will let you have?

Outlined Review:
Character Development: 10/10pts
Originality: 6/10pts
Hookability: 10/10pts
Voice: 9/10pts
Recommendation: 10/10pts
Total Score: 45/50
Grade: A

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 3/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 1/10
Sexual Content: 5/10
Violence/Disturbing Images: 2/10

Written Review:Verse novels aren’t my favorite. I want them to be. I really, really do. But for some reason I can never been able to get attached to a novel written in verse. Knowing this, when I saw the premise for YOU ARE NOT HERE, I knew immediately I wanted to read it, and I am so glad I did.

It was a novel written in verse, yet I still could not help myself from falling in love with it. I cannot see it successfully written any other way. The raw emotions conveyed through the lines gave me such an insight into the grief AnnaLeah was feeling, the questions that were left unanswered, the need she felt to be wanted, to be loved, and the pain so large she couldn’t hide it as much as she tried.

As with anyone who has ever lost someone, I could easily sympathize with the shock of the death and AnnaLeah’s overwhelming sense of grief as she struggled to move on. Losing anyone is hard. Losing someone so young is ten times harder. YOU ARE NOT HERE captures perfectly the wide range of emotions that come with such a loss and weaves them effortlessly into a story of heartache, a story of struggle, and a story of moving on from the past when that’s all you seem to have left.

Overall:
With beautiful prose, powerful imagery, and such strong, real feelings, YOU ARE NOT HERE is a quick read that will easily capture anyone who has ever experienced something as personal and tragic as death.

A Giveaway for.....Low Red Moon

2010-09-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Low Red Moon
By: Ivy Devlin
Look for it in stores now!

About the Book:
The only thing Avery Hood can remember about the night her parents died is that she saw silver—deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast. As much as she wants to remember who killed them, she can't, and there's nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together. Then Avery meets the new boy in school—Ben, mysterious and beautiful, with whom she feels a connection like nothing she's ever experienced. Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash silver. She also learns that she's not the only one who can't remember the night her parents died.

My Short and Sweet Thoughts:
Though this is a very quick and fast paced read, that did not take away from the sense of grief felt with each heavy word, the strong chemistry between Avery and Ben that can rival any other for best instant connection (and Ben by himself is pretty great too), and the mystery of the wolves, the woods, and the vicious murder of Avery’s parents.
Low Red Moon makes for an excellent paranormal debut.
A sequel is scheduled for early 2012

Personal:

5 things readers would be surprised to know about you
1. I don't read much YA paranormal. In fact, I've never even read Twilight (I know, I'm awful!), though I did see the movie.
2. I talk to myself when I'm writing
3. I could eat potato chips all day!
4. I can wink my right eye, but not my left.
5. I love to watch TV, and I don't get it when other writers say it's bad. It's TV! I'm all for reading, but sometimes, you just have to kick back with your favorite show. Or try a new one...

4 things you wish you knew in high school
1. Your jerky boyfriend? Not going to change.
2. The guy you like? Go for it, and don't care what your friends say about how uncool/unpopular/etc. he is. He gets you, and that's what counts.
3. Your mother is wrong, and you do need to take typing so you can learn to type (Yep, I'm THAT old--I remember typewriters!)
4. Try to NOT party before the SATs.

3 things you are embarrassed to own/love/have done
1. I once talked my brother into riding his bike off our front porch (which was very high off the ground!) Luckily, he didn't get hurt, but to this day, he still teases me about it!
2. My habit of singing constantly. And badly.
3. Learn from me and please, *please* don't make out with the hot but total issue-filled guy you meet at a party when you're a freshman in college. When he's following you around six months later and putting cigarettes out in his hand so you'll talk to him, you'll wish you had a restraining order. And had thought things through before the making out.

2 careers you might have chosen if you weren't an author
1. Rich layabout
2. See 1.

1 thing you can't live without
1. My husband

Bookish:

5 words to describe your book
Steamy, intense, surprising, and pretty!

4 reasons you love writing YA

1. Because it's AWESOME!
2-4. See 1. :-)

3 reasons everyone should read your book

1. So I can write more about Ben and Avery!
2. It's really pretty!
3. I really want to write more about Ben and Avery!

2 YA books you adore
Two? Just two? Sorry, can't narrow it down like that!

1 tip for aspiring YA writers
Read everything you can get your hands on.

_______________________________________

Enter Below to win your own copy of Ivy's debut!

An Interview with....Lauren Baratz-Logsted

2010-09-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

The Twin's Daughter

By: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Look for it in stores now!

About the book:

Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled woman appears at the door one day…a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lucy's own beautiful mother. It turns out the two women are identical twins, separated at birth, and raised in dramatically different circumstances. Lucy's mother quickly resolves to give her less fortunate sister the kind of life she has never known. And the transformation in Aunt Helen is indeed remarkable. But when Helen begins to imitate her sister in every way, even Lucy isn't sure at times which twin is which. Can Helen really be trusted, or does her sweet face mask a chilling agenda? Filled with shocking twists and turns, this is an engrossing gothic novel of betrayal, jealousy, and treacherous secrets that will keep you guessing to the very end.

My short and sweet thoughts:

Though slow at first, when this book does pick up it captures you fully. The mystery, the twists and turns, the Gothic-style, and the final, shocking and just a tad unsettling, conclusion, all make for one very suspenseful and very addicting novel that is very much worth checking out!

Personal:

5 things readers would be surprised to know about you:

my lack of height,

my current hair color,

my recent sports obsession,

my indifferent housekeeping skills,

what I have on right this minute.

4 things you wish you knew in high school:

not to hurry time because once you’re a grownup you’re a grownup for good,

that two doughnuts as a mid-morning snack is not a good idea,

that my Sociology teacher was wrong and I would make it in the world,

that it’s not wise to wear a puffy ski jacket on a date in June no matter how good the reasoning for it.

3 things you are embarrassed to own/love/have done:

checking my Amazon rankings every day

and that thing above about the puffy ski jacket.

Sorry, I can only come up with two but as you can see, I don’t embarrass easy. That’s not to say I haven’t done plenty of embarrassing things.

2 careers you might have chosen if you weren't an author:

singer – HA! – or Mayor of Danbury.

1 thing you can't live without:

books.

Bookish:

5 words to describe your book:

Victorian,

suspense,

romance,

mystery,

Kit.

4 reasons you love writing YA:

the enthusiastic audience,

the fact that ideas can still be fresh,

the amazing bloggers,

feeling a part of the writing YA community.

3 reasons everyone should read your book:

because it’s different,

because it’s big (you’ll really get your money’s worth!),

because of Kit.

2 YA books you adore:

Freeze Frame, by Heidi Ayarbe:

King of the Screwups, by K.L. Going.

1 tip for aspiring YA writers:

read everything you can get your hands on.

be sure to check out THE TWIN'S DAUGHTER in stores now.

thanks

Jill

Review: The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June

2010-09-08T18:14:00.001-07:00

Title: The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June

Author: Robin Benway

Release Date: August 2010

Summary (from www.goodreads.com ):

I hugged my sisters and they fit against my sides like two jigsaw pieces that would never fit anywhere else. I couldn’t imagine ever letting them go again, like releasing them would be to surrender the best parts of myself.
Three sisters share a magical, unshakable bond in this witty high-concept novel from the critically acclaimed author of Audrey, Wait! Around the time of their parents’ divorce, sisters April, May, and June recover special powers from childhood—powers that come in handy navigating the hell that is high school. Powers that help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. But could they have a greater purpose?
April, the oldest and a bit of a worrier, can see the future. Middle-child May can literally disappear. And baby June reads minds—everyone’s but her own. When April gets a vision of disaster, the girls come together to save the day and reconcile their strained family. They realize that no matter what happens, powers or no powers, they’ll always have each other.
Because there’s one thing stronger than magic: sisterhood.

Rating:
Character Development: 15/10pts
Plot: 10/10pts
Ending: 10/10pts
Writing: 15/10pts
Recommendation: 20/10pts
Total Score: 100/50

Grade: A++++

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 6/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 2/10
Sexual Content: 5/10

Violence/Disturbing Images: 3/10

Written Review:
The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June is just that: Extraordinary. I can’t get these characters out of my head and I can’t seem to properly formulate a review so bear with me as I try my best to not sound fan-girly.

I had such high expectations for this book after falling in love with Benway’s first title, Audrey, Wait!, and this book surpassed every single one of them. Just like with Audrey, Wait!, this book has the characters I want as my best friends, the snappy dialogue that I only wish I could come up with, and to top it off, it was all so relatable and real even without the main storyline seeming relatable or real at all.

Character development through dialogue is my absolute favorite. Character development through great, smart, witty, completely real and thought through without sounding staged dialogue is even better. The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June would fall into the “even better” category.

Not all authors can accomplish multiple POVs that stay fully separate to where the reader can easily visualize who’s talking without having to flip back to the first page of the new chapter. Yet in The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June, the alternating POVs seem to blend three absolutely individual voices together almost effortlessly. I loved all three of their unique personalities and still can’t figure out who I connected to more (April’s inner control freak and constantly stressed self? May’s sarcastic personality filled with all these things she couldn’t imagine expressing out loud? June’s want for so much but naivety about it all too? Maybe a huge mix of it all?), yet they all still came together to form the strong bond of sisterhood that anyone with a sister should be able to relate too.

Overall, whether it’s the guys and their awkward hotness or the story (because really could it get better than sisters with superpowers?? I strongly don’t think so) or the sister’s themselves, I found nothing less than extraordinary in The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June. The witty dialogue, authentic characters, and tons of heart, make for another win for Robin Benway. I can’t stress enough how much I’m looking forward to her future titles and I strongly suggest you pick up this one fast.

The Contemps

2010-08-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

The day you've been waiting for is finally here!!

Because today is the launch day of www.thecontemps.com

Be sure to check out this fabulous group of 21 authors who are focused on keeping it real.

Those 21 authors include....

April Henry
Brent Crawford
Courtney Summers
Daisy Whitney
Denise Jaden
Elizabeth Scott
Emily Wing Smith
Hannah Harrington
Jo Knowles
Kirsten Hubbard
Kody Keplinger
Kristen Tracy
Lindsey Leavitt
Lisa Schroeder
Melissa Walker
Michael Northrop
Micol Ostow
Mindi Scott
Sara Bennett Wealer
Sarah Darer Littman
Sarah Ockler

Doesn't that sound like a super group!!

So now that you know why today is the day you've been waiting for, be sure to check out thier site at http://www.thecontemps.com/ and also follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/YAContemps

O and one last thing, while you're at their site make sure to check out their "Get Involved" Page to find out how you can win all of their amazing books in the coming year!!!

I know I'm excited for all of this and can't wait to see what these awesome authors have in store!!

Thanks

Jill

Plus Review

2010-08-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

I wrote this a while ago and just found it again and realized I never posted it. So that's why there's no outlined review. I can't remember well enough to judge it fairly now. Anyways, enjoy the review and your last bits of summer. I do remember that this would make a great last book of summer read :)

**********************************

Title: Plus

Author: Veronica Chamber

Release Date: August 2010

Summary (from www.amazon.com ):

Beatrice Wilson is our lovable Cinderella, who just got dumped by her very first boyfriend and put on twenty-five pounds. But then she’s discovered as a plus model. In the eyes of pop culture, Bee is Jessica Alba and then some! Now she must vanquish skinny rivals, fend off sleazy photogs, and banish jealous frenemies in her rise to superstardom. All the while, she’s torn between her first love and the surprisingly sincere up-and-coming rapper she tutors in calculus. But what’s better than finding your prince charming? Finally learning to love yourself!

Written Review:

Plus is a quick, light read with lots of character.

Bee’s voice was very fun and easy to get in to but at times she seemed a little too whiny and immature for a seventeen year old pre med at Columbia. Her “perfect” boyfriend Brian made me want to punch him from the very first time he was introduced. He was a jerk of a guy and I really didn’t like Bee sometimes for not having the common sense to see that. I also didn’t like how she seemed to ditch her friends and alter her personality to be with him. I really wanted to knock some sense into her and tell Brian to stop being such an awful jerk because every time she talked about him I immediately started to get annoyed with her too. And being annoyed at the main character isn’t a good way to connect with the book.

But even though Brian was such a jerk, their breakup could have been one of the best things to happen to Bee. The funk he knocked her into inadvertently led to her superstardom as a plus size model. He is what led her to gain the 25 pounds that made her plus size and he is what led Bee to finding a best friend in Chela, another one of his exes. And Chela was the one to push her into her modeling career.

Even though I didn’t like Bee at all times, I really did like this book though. It was very light and had a great summer feel to it. It also had a great self-image boosting message that not everyone that’s beautiful is paper thin. It had rivalries and friendships, jerky boys and a sweetheart ending, drama, scandal, self-doubt, self-confidence, and a great Cinderella story message.

The one thing that really took away enjoyment while reading this book was constant repetition. Things we already knew were being introduced repeatedly as if we had no clue of who the character was or what the situation happened to be. But I will in no way hold that against this book because I have a very strong feeling that that will be corrected in time for the final copy which publishes this August.

CSN Stores

2010-07-31T17:16:00.000-07:00

Have y'all checked out CSN Stores yet?? I definitely recommend you do. They have over 200 stores that sell everything from a Bedroom Vanity to Houseware to Home Decor to Office Supplies to Shoes to to Bookshelves!

My entire room is being redone at this moment. As is our gameroom and both of my brothers' rooms. And my sister is currently in the process of moving out. So the timing of finding CSN Stores couldn't have been more perfect for my needs of new furniture for my new room and all the other new rooms in the house.

For me, I've been checking out everything from this desk

to this bookshelf

to tons of other awesome stuff to help make my room perfect!! Everytime I check back I find more and more items that would help complete my room.

I think you should start browsing their sites too....You'll be sure to find tons of things to add to your wish list too.

*Check back for a review of a CSN product soon*

Happy Summer :)

Jill

Forget You Review

2010-07-18T10:07:00.001-07:00

Title: Forget You

Author: Jennifer Echols

Release Date: July 2010

Summary (from www.goodreads.com ):

WHY CAN’T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . . AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER? There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon. But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

Rating:
Character Development: 10/10pts
Plot: 9/10pts
Ending: 10/10pts
Writing: 10/10pts
Recommendation: 10/10pts
Total Score: 47/50

Grade: A+

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 7/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 4/10
Sexual Content: 9/10

Violence/Disturbing Images: 2/10

Written Review:
I really don’t know what to say to accurately describe my love for this book. My reviews are usually super long because I have so much but to share but for FORGET YOU no words can express what a wonderful read this was. I have tried to write this review so many times but I can’t figure out what to say so please bear with me here.

The emotions that it covered so realistically, the characters I knew so well, and the fabulous chemistry between Zoey and Doug all made me fall in love with another one of Jennifer Echols dramas.

The chemistry was probably the main thing actually. Doug might just be a new guy to add to your Hot Fiction Crushes list. He was this super hot bad boy who everyone admired from afar because no one wanted to get close to a kid from juvie. But Doug was really a sweetheart who had more depth than your typical bad boy. I loved every scene with Zoey and him in it. From the beginning when they couldn’t stand each other to the car wreck to the bus ride to everything else. It all felt so real and just made me smile.

But of course drama was there too. Both Zoey and Doug were facing some very difficult personal issues. Zoey was dealing with her parent’s divorce and her mom’s suicide attempt and her own memory loss. Doug was battling his father’s daily disapproval of him for not being brave enough, strong enough, or following his father’s dreams for him. All of these issues and how the characters reacted to them were portrayed with honesty and realism to where I could easily relate and sympathize with them.

I’m trying to write this review without sounding too fan-girly but I truly don’t have much to criticize. Zoey and Doug’s relationship developed realistically. They had fights. They were there for each other. They had awesome chemistry. They were in love. There was drama with friends and drama at home and relationship drama too. It even took place on the beach making it the perfect summer beach read. What more could you want?

Overall, FORGET YOU has chemistry, drama, a beautiful way of writing, and a story you won’t soon forget. Keep this one close to you whenever you need a good story of love and all the heartbreak that comes with it. I definitely recommend this book.

Thanks

Jill

An Interview with Holly Schindler

2010-06-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

An Interview with the lovely Holly Schindler, author of A BLUE SO DARK, in stores now!

Personal:

5 things readers would be surprised to know about you:

1) I will never, never, never pierce my ears.

2) I’m completely blind—my vision’s 20/700!—and while I really do love my glasses these days (I chucked my contacts a few years ago), I’m rarely photographed wearing them.

3) My favorite non-writing gig was working as a model for a floral show—I wore a hideous blue bridesmaid’s dress, but I got to be with some super-cool florists whose bouquets were WAY artistic.

4) I far prefer vintage to new—costume jewelry, instruments, hats—anything that’s already lived a life or two before I acquired it.

5) I really, honestly think dandelions are beautiful.

4 things you wish you knew in high school:

1) Parallel parking never gets any easier. NEVER.

2) Anything in life is bearable if you just keep your sense of humor.

3) Latin will come in handy. Seriously.

4) Those notebooks I doodled poetry and character sketches in throughout high school would turn out to be INVALUABLE as I wrote that first YA novel. (If I could, I’d go back to high school and kiss me for keeping all those notebooks—really helped me reconnect with my teen voice. Might’ve written even MORE back then, if I’d had a way to see into the future…)

3 things you are embarrassed to own / love / have done.

1) Spiral perm, circa ’88.

2) When I was younger, I HATED wearing my glasses. Mom wanted me to be in high school before I started wearing contacts, so I used to pick out the most HIDEOUS frames on the planet, in order to try to guilt my mom into buying me contacts a few years early. Yeah. That didn’t work so well.

3) My brother and I used to make up stories and act them out on cassette tapes when we were kids…My mom has them all in a drawer. It was great fun, but think I might be kind of embarrassed to listen to myself play-act when I was so young…

2 careers you might have chosen if you weren’t an author:

1) Literature professor

2) Lawyer

1 thing you can’t live without:

Coffee, coffee, coffee…

Bookish:

5 words to describe your book:

Does art free or cripple? Okay—that’s vague. I’ll explain:

In A BLUE SO DARK, Aura Ambrose is terrified that her mother, a schizophrenic and an artist, is a mirror that reflects her own future. As the novel progresses, we find Aura struggling with her overwhelming desires to both chase artistic pursuits and keep madness at bay.

As her mother sinks deeper in the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet keeps drawing Aura toward the depths of her imagination—the shadows of make-believe that she finds frighteningly similar to her mother’s hallucinations.

Convinced that creative equals crazy, Aura shuns her art, and her life unravels in the process….

Essentially, for Aura, art and madness are inextricably linked. And there’s no denying that many of our great artists have been both creative AND mad…so, for her, the central question is, DOES ART FREE OR CRIPPLE?

4 reasons you love writing YA:

1) YA literature still respects plot, in a way a lot of literary adult fiction doesn’t.

2) I still feel seventeen—so close to my own teenage experiences.

3) YA encompasses SO many genres—it can be almost anything.

4) YA has the best fans going!

3 reasons everyone should read your book:

1) It’s lyrically written.

2) It’s brimming with realistic characters you will fall in love with and root for.

3) It’ll make you feel…well, everything. You’ll laugh and you’ll think and you’ll cry. I guarantee.

2 YA books you adore:

1 (contemporary) ELSEWHERE, Gabrielle Zevin

2 (classic) CATCHER IN THE RYE , JD Salinger

1 tip for aspiring YA writers:

Don’t take criticism personally, but don’t ignore it, either. Think of it the same way you would if you were, say, trying to fix your lawnmower. I mean, if you spent all afternoon working on it, and it STILL refused to start after you got it put back together, you wouldn’t think the lawnmower was attacking you personally, or telling you that you were stupid or completely inept, right? You’d just think you’d screwed up somewhere. Time to take it apart and start again—no biggie.

Same with a manuscript. Nobody gets it right the first time. And nobody’s born knowing how to write a novel. You learn by doing…and by listening. If an editor (or agent) has taken time out of his / her day to give you advice, that’s a real compliment. Listen. Internalize it. Revise accordingly. And be grateful that someone sees potential in your work!

Every writer gets there eventually…the only way you DON’T is by giving up

********************************

Thank you so much Holly for stopping by!

Be sure to check out her new novel A BLUE SO DARK in stores now!

And find out more about Holly and all her latest projects at www.hollyschindler.com

Happy Summer!

Jill

Survey Time!

2010-06-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

As I work to improve my blog, I would love to hear feedback from y'all so please follow the link below and take a short survey about how I can better this blog. It is completely anonymous unless you choose otherwise so please feel free to voice any opinions or criticisms you have (be that they are constructive and not just plain mean). I promise that I will try my hardest to implement every constructive comment into my blog the best way I can :)

CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY

Thanks for all the help and happy summer!

Jill

Lifted Review

2010-06-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

Title: Lifted
Author: Wendy Toliver
Release Date: June 8, 2010

Summary (from www.barnesand noble.com) :

Being bad never felt so good.

Poppy Browne never stole anything in her life before moving to Pleasant Acres and meeting Mary Jane and Whitney. But when Poppy walks out of the mall with her two new friends and her first pair of stolen jeans, she's hooked.

Before long, Poppy is lifting whenever she gets the urge—it's never about the merchandise, it's always about the thrill. But when her secret gets out, Poppy's clique turns on each other. As she watches her life collapse around her, Poppy must decide where her loyalties lie...and how far she'll go to protect herself.

Outlined Review:
Character Development: 10/10
Originality: 9/10
Hookability: 9/10
Ending: 8/10
Voice: 8/10
Recommendation: 10/10
Total Score: 54
Grade: A

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 4/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 1/10
Sexual Content: 4/10
Violence/Disturbing Images: 2/10

Written Review:

From the original and intriguing storyline to the insanely awesome chemistry between David and Poppy, from the friendship and family issues to the completely satisfying ending, from the questions it raises to the lesson it brings, there was definitely a lot to love about LIFTED. I read this whole 300 page book in two sittings. I just couldn’t stop.

Friendship was a main theme in this novel. Whitney and Mary Jane very quickly became Poppy’s best friends. I was wary of them from the beginning. Especially with Mary Jane’s ex-best friend Bridgette’s horror stories of Mary Jane’s bitter betrayal. But they did eventually grow on me. They were genuinely nice, popular girls who shared a very disturbing habit. But that habit heavily influenced Poppy and what started out as a little bit of peer pressure from them turned into a full blown addiction within a matter of weeks. The same people who Poppy needed to help pull her out of this mess pulled her in to it in the first place.

Poppy’s shoplifting addiction developed realistically and her thoughts appropriately became stronger as the addiction became harder to break. It was much easier to identify with Poppy seeing the habit develop from the simple start to the obsessive need that it became. She never liked herself for stealing. She knew it was wrong. She knew not to do it. But it’s a gray area between what makes a person ‘good’ and what makes a person ‘bad’. And sometimes making the right choice isn’t as easy as it should be.

Poppy was a great main character. The way her shoplifting habit affected her wasn’t lost on her either and she knew it needed to be stopped after each lift but the high was too much. The pressure she felt from her mother, the relief she felt when she lifted, and the inability to trust anyone with such a heavy burden were all issues she faced and voiced clearly. Her sense of humor and the way she connected with David was great too. He had such a charm about him that was a nice step back from the weightiness of Poppy’s habit.

The ending satisfied me though I can also see how some may view it as too happy for such a complex read. Consequences were doled out but relationships that almost seemed torn beyond repair were mended. And there was a somewhat happily ever after feel to the whole thing. I personally loved it though. I like books to end happy J

Another thing I loved (it was minor and maybe only related to me but still) was the tiny Texas Baptist town of Pleasant Acres. I do not live in a small Texas town but you can trace my roots back to one. One that may even be tinier than the one described in this book if you can imagine. But instead of the Baptist nature of Pleasant Acres, mine is a completely Catholic town with few of any other faith mixed in. How easy it was to gain information, the reputations you try to keep, the gossip that gets spread, the insults you can get away with as long as it is directly followed by or preceded with “bless her heart”, the faith driven community, the friendliness of the town, and overall the fact that almost every house has a porch swing, all reminded me of where my family is from and made that town seem so much more real and relatable to me which was nice. The main difference is I wouldn’t see our town as hick as Poppy made it seem to be in the very beginning. But who knows maybe it is and I just don’t know it?

With a topic that makes you think about the power of addiction, characters who make you question the lines between good people and bad choices, and writing that captures you and brings you deeper into the story with each page, LIFTED should be the next book you pick up. But please don’t steal it. (:

Thanks

Jill

And the Winners are....

2010-06-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for your participation and Congrats to all the winners!
*Winners were found using http://www.randomnumbergenerator.com/*

of the copy of PURGE...

1. Pat Z.M.

2. Jessica L.

of the signed bookmarks...

1. Robby A.

2. Leslie G.

3. Mike J.

4. Melina C.
5. Beth M.

of the ARC of DECEPTION...

1.Erica H.

Thank you so much to all who entered! Your prizes should be on their way soon. Please email me at readingisbliss@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks again!

Jill

My Double Life Review

2010-06-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

Title: My Double Life

Author: Janette Rallison

Release Date: May 2010

Summary (from www.goodreads.com ):

Her whole life, Alexia Garcia has been told that she looks just like pop star Kari Kingsley, and one day when Alexia’s photo filters through the Internet, she’s offered a job to be Kari’s double. This would seem like the opportunity of a lifetime, but Alexia’s mother has always warned her against celebrities.

Rebelliously, Alexia flies off to L.A. and gets immersed in a celebrity life. Not only does she have to get used to getting anything she wants, she romances the hottest lead singer on the charts, and finds out that her own father is a singing legend. Through it all, Alexia must stay true to herself, which is hard to do when you are pretending to be somebody else!

Rating:
Character Development: 10/10pts
Originality: 6/10pts
Plot/Story Line: 8/10pts
Ending: 10/10pts
Voice: 10/10pts
Recommendation: 10/10pts
Total Score: 54/60

Grade: A

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 1/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 1/10
Sexual Content: 1/10

Violence/Disturbing Images: 0/10

Written Review:I LOVED this book! It was a fast read but it kept me hooked from the very first page.

Alexia’s voice was so funny in ways I didn’t expect. I laughed a lot through this entire book and I don’t even know exactly why. It just kept me entertained and turning pages with her so typical-teen-girl voice but with an added something that made me love her entire attitude and personality so so so much and not just see her as some cliched character. She was someone I would want to be friends with!

The story was great too. It was just light-hearted enough to be a perfect summer read but it also had just the right amount of depth with the family issues and the completely adorable romance with Grant to make the otherwise shallow story a very enjoyable read.

Also, Alexia and Grant’s chemistry was undeniable and I loved every bit of it. I want a Grant just for me! He was just so perfect! I wish they had more page space but this wasn’t a romance driven novel so I understand why they didn’t.

I couldn’t have read a better book to not only get be out of my reviewing slump but to kick the summer off with! I recommend everyone grab up this book as soon as you can! Then find a pool to lay out by and read while you tan! With a completely relatable main character, a great plot line for the season, and an adorable romance that makes you say aww, it won’t take more than one day to completely devour this book. Which means you’ll have plenty of time to jump in the pool and cool off after you finish J (Can y’all guys tell I’m loving summer right now?)

*********************************

Thanks so much for bearing with me everyone as I worked through my slump. I’m back now though and I have plenty of time to read this summer so we should be back to an active blog now.

Also don’t forget about my TWO contests going on right now. Links are at the top of the page if you are interested in entering.

Love, Jil

Deception Blog Tour: An Interview with Lee Nichols

2010-06-06T21:14:00.001-07:00

Deception Blog Tour

About the Book:
When Emma Vaile’s parents disappear, her brother’s cute best friend, Bennett Stern, whisks her away to New England. There, Emma settles into his family’s museum-like mansion and enrolls in a posh prep school. But the eerie visions she’s been hiding from everyone get worse. Emma confides in Bennett and learns she is a ghostkeeper, a person who can communicate with ghosts. Bennett needs Emma’s help tracking an other-worldly murderer. Private by Katie Brian meets Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl in this tale of tradition, mystery, and forbidden romance. The shocking ending will leave readers desperate for book two.

And now an interview with Lee Nichols, author of Deception, hitting the shelves on June 8^th(that’s tomorrow!)

Personal:
5 things readers would be surprised to know about you

I cannot make it through the day without caffeine and sugar.

How much I love David Tennant as Dr. Who, and how worried I am I won't like the new guy.

I'm actually a very good classical singer, but couldn't sing a pop song to save my life.

Despite my sugar addiction, I don't like chocolate nearly as much as people think I do.

I'm highly competitive at board games.

4 things you wish you knew in high school

That high school really is the best time of popular people's lives. Then they have another 6o year to fill.

That Spanish comes in handy, and you should work harder at learning it.

That being an adult kinda sucks more than you think it will.

That your body will never look hotter and you should enjoy it more.

3 things you are embarrassed to own/love/have done

A pink cruiser bike with white Aloha flower decals. I just bought it.

I passed out one day in high school, in a room full of 60 people. That wasn't fun.

The kind of Parmesan cheese that comes in a can. I think it's all sodium, but taste delicious on tomato sauce.

2 careers you might have chosen if you weren't an author

Music teacher

Librarian

1 thing you can't live without

My family.

Bookish:

5 words to describe your book

Fun, funny, romantic, scary, sad.

4 reasons you love writing YA

I love reading it.

Awesome camaraderie among YA authors.

Hope to inspire reluctant readers.

It's fun.

3 reasons everyone should read your book

Emma is a kick-butt, loyal, lovable character.

Ghosts are the new vampires.

It's good.

- 2 YA books you adore

Hunger Games, By Suzanne Collins

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, By E. Lockhart

1 tip for aspiring YA writers

Don't follow trends and write from your heart.

Enter below for a chance to win your own ARC of Deception. The contest ends June 15^th so spread the word!

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Summer Kickoff with Sarah Darer Littman (and a contest!!)

2010-06-03T17:50:00.000-07:00

Let’s Kick off Summer right with a chance to win a great new book and a terrific interview with a terrific author! And a new trailer to watch for that great new book by that terrific author and made by yours truly J Enjoy.

Personal:

5 things readers would be surprised to know about you

1) I’m named after my great grandmothers Sarah and Esther, but I had another great grandmother called Clara and my parents seriously considered calling me Sarah Clara Darer. Is it any wonder I grew up with deep psychological problems - and a sense of humor?

2) After having lived ten years on a farm in South West England, I’m probably one of the few women living in Greenwich, CT who could have a reasonably intelligent conversation about the lactation yield curve of a dairy cow. Unfortunately it’s not a topic that ever comes up at cocktail parties.

3) The all-girls school I attending in England from the ages of 7 to 12 didn’t just have a school uniform. We had to wear regulation UNDERWEAR. Synthetic granny pants, just like

these but in maroon. Really attractive – NOT!

4) My older brother and I used to recite entire Monty Python skits from memory, complete with silly accents.

5) I have a large collection of “Bad Mummy Awards” from my kids, which I have displayed on my bulletin board. The first one, drawn by my son, has a delightfully unflattering picture of me complete with devil horns, a trident and a whippy tail with a little speech bubble saying: “I AM EVIL!” It’s really awesome.

4 things you wish you knew in high school

1) Get help for those eating and food issues because why waste so much time and emotional energy hating your body when it can be spent on more productive and interesting things?

2) The best is yet to come - and all of this will be material for your books someday.

3) Be glad that you didn’t peak in high school. It’s much better to be a late bloomer, even though it might not feel like it when you’re a teen.

4) If you can survive the humiliation of high school gym class, you can survive pretty much anything.

3 things you are embarrassed to own/love/have done

1. I own a Hanson CD. Mmm-Bop, baby!

2. I let my cousin visiting form California apply an overdose of Sun-In. Instead of blonde highlights, I ended up with brazen, brassy hooker hair.

3. In college, I did a summer program at New College, Oxford. When it was my turn to eat at the High Table with the professors, I was told there were very strict rules about passing the port wine served at the end of the meal. It had to be passed to the left, and must not be allowed to stand on the table. Oh, and you had to empty your glass before the decanter came round again. Alas, I obeyed the rules to the letter. Apparently, I was the life of the party that evening, but paid for it dearly the next day when we had a bus excursion to Bath. I haven’t touched a drop since.

2 careers you might have chosen if you weren't an author

· Librarian

· Editor

I would definitely still want books to be a part of my life!

1 thing you can't live without

My iPhone. For many reasons, but the most important is because it’s what my kids refer to as “Mummy’s Electronic Brain.” Without it I have no idea who is supposed to be where, when. I also love that I can set audible alarms, because I have been known to get so caught up in my writing that I’ve forgotten to drive the carpool, thereby earning myself yet another “Bad Mummy Award”.

Bookish:

5 words to describe your book

· Raw

· Funny

· Authentic

· Moving

· Hopeful

4 reasons you love writing YA

1) The teens who read my books are Just. So. Incredible. They inspire me every day.

2) YA is the best of grown-up literature but without the…er… pretentiousness. (I was going to say something else, but I’m trying to watch my language.)

3) I get to live through high school again the way I wish it had happened instead of the way it did.

4) Other YA authors are seriously fun to hang with. Just sayin’.

3 reasons everyone should read your book

1) Jill liked it enough to make an awesome book trailer. That’s got to tell you something.

2) How many of us have looked in the mirror and given ourselves unflattering self-talk about how we look? Even if we don’t have a full-blown eating disorder, it helps to understand the issues around distorted body image and why food, eating and diet have such a grip our lives.

3) Because if you don’t I’ll feel like a loser and it’ll be like high school all over again. And you wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?

2 YA books you adore

· The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

· A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valerie Zenatti

1 tip for aspiring YA writers

· Stock up with dark chocolate and coffee, get your rear end in the chair and write. Then revise. Repeat as necessary. There are no shortcuts.

WIN A COPY OF PURGE OR SOME ABSOLUTELY AWESOME SIGNED BOOKMARKS!!!

I have 2 copies or Purge and 5 bookmarks to give away so enter away!

This “Kick off to Summer” Contest starts today and ends June 15^th so hurry and enter and spread the word!

Want bonus entries?

+1 follow Sarah on Twitter @sarahdarerlitt

+1 Become a fan of her page on Facebook http://bit.ly/buMdqn

+1 post about this contest somewhere and include a link (Facebook, Twitter, Your blog, etc.)

Or go HERE to enter

Thank you so much for stopping by Sarah! I’m so glad you were the first author for me to host to kick off the start of summer! It has truly been a blessing getting to talk to you so much! You are fantastic! Sorry for the delay in posting this though……

And to everyone else……….don’t hesitate to buy Purge! It’s now available in a wonderful paperback too so you have no excuse J And also don’t forget to check out Life, After hitting stores in July!

Love, Jill

The Deadly Sister Review

2010-05-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

Title: The Deadly Sister

Author: Eliot Schrefer

Release Date: May 2010

Summary (from www.goodreads.com ):

Abby Goodwin is sure her sister Tabitha isn't a murderer. But her parents don't agree. Her friends don't agree. And the cops definitely don't agree. Tabitha is a drop-out, a stoner, a girl who's obsessed with her tutor, Clyde Andrews...until he ends up dead. Tabitha runs away, and leaves Abby following the trail of clues. Each piece of evidence points to Tabitha, but it also appears that Clyde had secrets of his own. And enemies. Like his brother, who Abby becomes involved with...until he falls under suspicion.

Is Abby getting closer to finding the true murderer? Or is someone leading her down a twisted false path?

Rating:
Character Development: 6/10pts
Originality: 6/10pts
Plot/Story Line: 8/10pts
Ending: 8/10pts
Voice: 8/10pts
Recommendation: 8/10pts
Total Score: 44/60

Grade: B

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 5/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 7/10
Sexual Content: 6/10

Violence/Disturbing Images: 6/10

Written Review:
I wasn’t a huge fan of Eliot Schrefer when I started this book after being disappointed with the first novel of his I read (The School for Dangerous Girls) but this novel definitely upped his brownie points with me and got me super excited to read any of his upcoming releases.

This thriller was gripping, surprising, kept me hooked, and left me shocked. Things I loved about it were that the ending was memorable and tied up all loose ends cleanly, that the family dynamics in this story seemed very true to life, and the fact that almost every character had a strong motive to kill Jefferson which kept you guessing and the story moving.

It was fast paced for a murder mystery and I didn’t feel like I completely connected to any of the characters except Maya and Abby but that didn’t stop me from getting totally wrapped up in this novel. Schrefer was great about placing clues that make you think you have it all figured out. But right you’re thinking it’s too predictable, he adds a twist and everything changes again.

This was a novel of twists and turns and secrets. It’s a story of who you are when no one is looking and who you become when they are. It’s a story of how far one will go to protect the ones you love.

Overall, it’s a novel worth checking out if you are looking for an entertaining plot and a quick read that’s shocking, addicting, gripping, and filled with secrets.

I definitely recommend checking this one out for a new kind of summer read.

Thanks

Jill

Ten Truths About Friendship by Jennifer Jacobson

2010-04-12T02:28:00.001-07:00

“Ten Truths About Friendship”
A guest blog by Jennifer Jacobson

author of The Complete History of Why I Hate Her out this April

Writing The Complete History of Why I Hate Her offered lots of opportunity to reflect on the nature of friendship. Here are ten things I believe today:

1. Friendship seldom grows out of obligation. If you think you should be friends with someone, don’t bother. The desire to spend time with someone is the only reason to be friends.

2. A friend not only supports who you are, but brings out the best in you.

3. A genuine friend knows that when one of you succeeds, you both succeed.

4. Friendships change. Not all friendships were meant to last a lifetime. Or perhaps Saint Jerome was correct when he said: "The friendship that can cease has never been real."

5. Competition in tennis or scrabble is a joy. Competition for center court in friendship spells trouble.

6. In the movie, “Away We Go”, Verona (Maya Rudolph) requests that when dealing with their soon-to-be born daughter, Burt (John Krasinski) “be a really good listener and fight her fight.” Isn’t this what we really want from a BFF?

7. It’s impossible to be friends with a narcissist. Truly. Impossible.

8. If your friend gossips about others, she gossips about you too.

9. In true friendship, faults are easily overlooked.

10. There’s no greater comfort that a trusted friend.

Thanks for the opportunity to appear as a guest on your blog!

My very best wishes –

Jennifer

Joy.

2010-04-03T21:18:00.001-07:00

Wishing you all a very happy Easter filled with joy, family, the wonderful presence of Christ, and, of course, those delicious chocolate bunnies

and as a side note my lack of posting is due to school reading that must take priority. sorry about that but I'm almost finished with the book and with this school year so it shouldn't be too much longer.

Tangled Review

2010-03-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Title: Tangled

Author: Carolyn Macker

Release Date: December 2009

Summary (from www.barnesandnoble.com ):

Paradise wasn't supposed to suck.

Not the state of being, but a resort in the Caribbean.

Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen are all there for different reasons, but at Paradise their lives become tangled together in ways none of them can predict. Paradise will change them all.

It will change Jena, whose first brush with romance takes her that much closer to having a life, and not just reading about those infinitely cooler and more exciting.

It will change Dakota, who needs the devastating truth about his past to make him realize that he doesn't have to be a jerk just because people think he's one.

It will change Skye, a heartbreakingly beautiful actress, who must come to terms with the fact that for once she has to stop playing a role or face the consequences.

And it will change Owen, who has never risked anything before and who will take the leap from his online life to a real one all because of a girl he met at Paradise. . . .

From confused to confident and back again, one thing's certain: Four months after it all begins, none of them will ever be the same.

Rating:
Character Development: 9/10pts
Originality: 9/10pts
Plot/Story Line: 8/10pts
Ending: 7/10pts
Voice: 10/10pts
Recommendation: 10/10pts
Total Score: 53/60

Grade: A

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 7/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 5/10
Sexual Content: 7/10

Violence/Disturbing Images: 4/10

Written Review:
I read this in 3 days. I don’t read books in 3 days. I can usually finish a book in one week if the book is super great but almost never can I finish in 3 days. I’m that slow of a reader. That alone should be the review and should convince you to go pick up this book but I’ll go ahead and continue anyway with my reasons just to assure you that it’s as great as my 3 days makes it seem.

Number 1: The characters were great. Relatable, Real, and each with interconnecting stories to tell. Each had their own voice that was very distinguishable. As the point of view changed the voice clearly did too so no perspectives ever got blurred. And each voice was entertaining to read also. They were all real characters with such distinct personalities that I felt like I knew each one individually and connecting with the characters really made this book shine.

Number 2: The stories were so well thought out. The way the four stories intertwined from beginning to end flowed so perfectly and that made them that much more relatable and all too real. We’re introduced to each character by the first narrative but didn’t fully get to know them and their perspective on events around them until their own narratives. And when we finally did get to hear their say, I loved the moment when things started to connect and make more sense. And you’d flip back to that part of the novel and think “that’s why this happened and why she said that” or “so when she said that she was really thinking this”. Their stories still held a common theme. As each character dealt with their own set of insecurities and worries, their individual stories weaved together a theme of understanding and learning to accept what you cannot change and change what you can.

Number 3: Their stories were absolutely, positively, perfectly tangled up and I could not get enough of them. They were about how we are all tangled up somehow, much more than we know. About how one quick connection can make a difference in someone’s mood, day, and even life. It’s about the lasting affects that just reaching out to others can cause. Tangled tells four separate yet interlocking stories about love, redemption, heartache, and the power of one. I recommend this well written novel, full of heart and humor, to everyone.

Thanks and be sure to pick this one up soon! I think it makes the perfect read for a nice spring day!

-Jill

Keep Sweet Review

2010-03-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

Title: Keep Sweet

Author: Michele Dominguez Greene

Release Date: March 9, 2010

Summary (from www.barnesandnoble.com ):

Alva Jane has never questioned her parents, never questioned her faith, never questioned her future. She is content with the strict rules that define her life in Pineridge, the walled community where she lives with her father, his seven wives, and her twenty-eight siblings. This is the only world Alva has ever known, and she has never thought to challenge it.

But everything changes when Alva is caught giving her long-time crush an innocent first kiss. Beaten, scorned, and now facing a forced marriage to a violent, fifty-year old man, Alva suddenly realizes how much she has to lose—and how impossible it will be to escape.

Rating:
Character Development: 10/10pts
Originality: 10/10pts
Plot/Story Line: 10/10pts
Ending: 8/10pts
Voice: 8/10pts
Recommendation: 10/10pts
Total Score: 56/60

Grade: A+

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 0/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 0/10
Sexual Content: 9/10

Violence/Disturbing Images: 10/10

Written Review:

Sitting down to write this review tons of words come to mind. Horrifying. Shocking. Appalling. Inexcusable. Scandalous. Disgusting. Strange. Addicting.

And all of those words accurately display the themes in this novel. This book did shock me multiple times. It made me wonder who could ever live this way? Could ever see this as normal? As okay? But as strange as it is, this novel is very addicting. I was hooked into this mysterious world from the very first page until the last. It exposes some of the hidden truths many wonder about the FLDS’s secretive life in such a clear and well written way that you can really begin to understand the scene, the people, and the lifestyle.

The plot never stopped moving as more and more shocking truths about the ways of the FLDS were uncovered each chapter. The character of Alva Jane developed really well. Though the truths in this book were haunting to the reader, they were normal, day to day routine for her. But as insane commands, punishments, and expulsions were ordered, Alva was brought more and more into the light. Her character developed very gradually and believably. The rest of the characters had just as distinct personalities through Alva’s narrative.

Though some parts of this book were predictable to me, there were enough twists in the plot to keep me interested. It was also very descriptive. From their way of life down to their way of intimacy, this novel overflowed with details. Some of the images seem hauntingly real which makes me want to recommend this to an older audience.

Overall, I really did love Keep Sweet. Yes it was shocking, and haunting, and absolutely horrifying to see how these people lived (and the most horrifying part of it all is that it’s real. People really see this as right, as the pathway to heaven and to being with God.) But it’s also a well written novel that gives insight into a very different and secretive world where the lines between what society sees as acceptable and what they do are very, very blurred. Powerful and heartbreaking, the words on these pages will forever linger long after you’ve finished reading.

An Interview with the Fabulous Dandi Daley Mackall

2010-02-28T20:23:00.000-08:00

An Absolutely Amazing Interview with the Fabulous Dandi Daley Mackall!!!

I would like to apologize to everyone but especially to Ms. Mackall for not posting this on the correct date. It was my fault to not add it to my calendar on the day we agreed upon it. So everyone, to repay Ms. Mackall for my mistake how about we all go buy ourselves 1, 2, or 472 copies of her newest book My Boyfriends’ Dogs!!! Not convinced that it’s a great book? Read my review HERE

I am truly sorry for this mistake and hope that your fabulous self can forgive me. Thanks J

Personal:

5 things readers would be surprised to know about you

1. I love riding horses bareback, and I rode my first horse solo when I was 3 years old.

2. I started out writing for grown-ups, never dreaming I’d write for any other age group. Then I had kids! At one time, I wrote Scooby-Doo books, and Yogi Bear, Jetsons, Flintstones, etc. Now I’ve written for all ages.

3. I get up about 5:-5:30 AM every day, read the Bible for about 30 minutes (to get my head straight!), then write—sometimes for 12-14 hours.

4. I LOVE to dance—every kind of dance!

5. At a wedding or birthday party, I trade my cake for other people’s frosting. I adore frosting…cake, not so much.

4 things you wish you knew in high school

1. There would be other boys and better boyfriends.

2. One great friend beats a clique of fair-weather, popular friends.

3. If you open up and share real things, like real problems, hopes, and dreams, fears, questions—other people will open up to you. I would have peeled more layers from myself and my friends so we could get down to the heart and things that really matter.

4. Family members can actually be some of your best friends—and they’ll still be around long after you’ve lost track of most high school friends.

3 things you are embarrassed to own/love/have done

(I could list 300!)

1. I got to attend the University of Aix-Marseilles in France when I was a junior in college. That summer I bummed around student hostels in France and ran out of money—before I bought my return ticket. So I sang (with guitar) at sidewalk cafes, and people put money in a hat. It was great—actually got enough for the ticket—until the French police did a “sweep” of street performers. I didn’t have a license (I didn’t know I needed a singing license!), so I spent a few hours in the Paris police station. I never did tell my parents, so mum’s the word, eh?

2. Once I sent an email to a fellow writer, confiding how difficult my editor was to work with and what a poor editor she was, etc. Only (you guessed it) I accidentally sent the email to that editor. Gulp!

3. First date with a fantastic guy in high school. Trampoline. My pants split…all the way up. No second date.

2 careers you might have chosen if you weren't an author

1. Horse trainer

2. Librarian

1 thing you can't live without

Seriously, only one? OK—we’ll take God, husband, children, and books for granted. The answer is: cheese.

Bookish:

5 words to describe your book

Funny

Quirky

Real

Romantic

Satisfying

4 reasons you love writing YA

1. I think I’m stuck at this age—my memories are so fresh.

2. YA readers are open—I can switch genres, experiment with things, like three novellas tied together as one novel, or two points of view, a guy’s and a girl’s. In Love Rules, I told the story through my heroine’s eyes and point of view; but I switched to the guy’s point of view every time she was on a date (she dates a lot). Usually the guy thinks he’s doing great…then we go back to our heroine’s point of view and discover he wasn’t impressing her at all.

3. I love doing school visits with YA readers—makes me keep up with music, dialog, dreams, etc.

4. So many decisions to make as a YA. I love thinking about readers riding inside the head of my main character and watching the good and the bad decisions and their consequences.

3 reasons everyone should read your book

1. Jill likes it!

2. You get 3 books for the price of one: 3 guys, 3 dogs, 3 love stories…and 1 girl.

3. I promise you’ll laugh (and remember that the scenes with Goofy really happened…to me).

2 YA books you adore

1. Speak by Laura Halse Anderson

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (OK—not strictly YA, but wonderful, a classic (yes, it’s old)

1 tip for aspiring YA writers

Use your edge—If you work at McD, put your character there and give us insider details. If you know and love horses, write about horses. Use your life, your edge, your voice.