Waiting On Wednesday (003)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. This isn't something that I will be doing every week unless there's a book I really want to let people know about. I know that it isn't Wednesday, but I have a book that can't wait and I have another book I'll be posting Wednesday. So you get two this week. :)

You by: Charles Benoit
Release Date: Aug. 24, 2010
Summary: (from harperteen.com)
This wasn't the way it was supposed to go.
You're just a typical fifteen-year-old sophomore, an average guy named Kyle Chase. This can't be happening to you. But then, how do you explain all the blood? How do you explain how you got here in the first place?
There had to have been signs, had to have been some clues it was coming. Did you miss them, or ignore them? Maybe if you can figure out where it all went wrong, you can still make it right. Or is it already too late? Think fast, Kyle. Time's running out. How did this happen?
You is the riveting story of fifteen-year-old Kyle and the small choices he does and doesn't make that lead to his own destruction.
In his stunning young-adult debut, Charles Benoit mixes riveting tension with an insightful—and unsettling—portrait of an ordinary teen in a tale that is taut, powerful, and shattering.


I'm not quite sure how I ended up on the HarperTeen website tonight, but I'm glad I did. This book may not sound all that intense, but some lucky ducks have already gotten ahold of it and wrote reviews on goodreads....and they have quite some opinions. Charles Benoit is a debut author even though this book isn't featured in the challenge. I've let Kristi at The Story Siren know about this book via twitter so if she gets that tweet she may add it to the list. I personally will be reading it as soon as it comes out! I cannot wait to get my hands on it. This may be one of those books I end up buying if I don't win it.
It's written in second person, and I've never read a book like that so it'll be a little strange. Hopefully I won't get confused with that. (A preview of that second person is in the summary.)

Do you have a WoW for this week?

Music Monday (001)

Obviously this has nothing to do with books...but where does it say that I only have to write about books!? Music is probably a bigger passion of mine than reading & writing!

I think about every Monday I'll try to post as many songs that I'm in love with right now and let the world in! If you click the song title it'll take you to the youtube link so you can give it a listen.

1. "If We Ever Meet Again" by: Timbaland ft. Katy Perry
2. "Pablo Picasso" by: Citizen Cope
3. "Sideways" by: Citizen Cope
4. "Red" by: Daniel Merriweather
5. "Wolves" by: Iron & Wine
6. "This I Gotta See" by: Jason Aldean
7. "Beautiful Distractioin" by: JoJo
8. "State of Emergency" by: Nick Jonas and the Administration
9. "Gypsy" by: Shakira
10. "Can't Be Tamed" by: Miley Cyrus
11. "Airplanes" by: B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams of Paramore

I have been playing #1 non-stop!! I am kind of obsessed with that song!

I have loved Citizen Cope for a few months now and finally got my hands on his The Clarence Greenwood Recordings album...and let me say that I'm kind of crazy about it. Especially #2 and #3!

#4 has been out for awhile but it's definitely worth a mention. I love it.

I love Iron & Wine. I have so many songs by him...but #5 aside from "Belated Promise Ring" and "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" has to be my favorite by him.

I've seen Jason Aldean in concert, and let me tell you...he is nothing short of amazing #6 is on his latest album, Wide Open and is definitely my favorite.

JoJo will always be my favorite singer...and I cannot wait until her next album is out. Fortunately for us many of the songs she's recorded have leaked and #7 is by far the best of the bunch!!

I know what you're thinking...Nick Jonas? But I have to say...I've always liked the Jonas Brothers, but Nick Jonas & The Administration are on a completely different level. This is grammy worthy stuff here. I'm in love with #8!

Okay...we all see Shakira as this beautiful exotic sex symbol, but #9 is pure love. The lyrics in this song just speak to me, and they're everything I wish I could be and do! Plus the video is amazing & the guy in it has a gorgeous smile!

I respect Miley and always will...I love #10 and think the video is beautiful. I couldn't care less about her personal life.

Okay....I listened to #11 over and over for awhile, but couldn't take much more of the song....but now that I've given myself a break I love it again. I would love to hear more of Hayley on it...but it's said and done. I can't wait for the video. P.S. "Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now." is probably the best line in history!! (Couldn't really find one where Hayley didn't sound like a chipmunk or a dude...so enjoy!!)

Review: "The Body Finder" by: Kimberly Derting

The Body Finder by: Kimberly Derting


Released: March 16th, 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age: Young Adult
Pages: 327
Overall:  4 out 5 stars
Recommend Level: Medium to High
Challenge: 2010 Debut Author (The Story Siren)
Summary: "A serial killer on the loose. A girl with a morbid ability. And the boy who would never let anything happen to her. 
Violet Ambrose can find the dead. Or at least, those who have been murdered. She can sense the echoes they leave behind... and the imprints they leave on their killers. As if that weren't enough to deal with during junior year, she also has a sudden, inexplicable, and consuming crush on her best friend since childhood, Jay Heaton.
Now a serial killer has begun terrorizing Violet's small town... and she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him."

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.
Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.
Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself."

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Review: I think I'd give it three and a half stars, but either way...I liked the book. I loved that Kimberly Derting jumped right into the love story of the book to not only bring you closer to the characters but to get it over with and get to the point of the book. I think this is the first time in awhile I actually really liked the MC, Violet Ambrose. Not one thing annoyed me about her. And if you know me, that's saying a lot!

The one (maybe on of two) complaints is that it's written in third person. And I actually have a hard time with that because I feel like I'm reading from a distance...or that I'm getting a story second hand--days later. I'd rather be in the place of the MC. I enjoyed Kimberly's writing style...except the third person. 
The ending was amazing and that's why I went ahead with the extra .5 to give it a full four stars. I felt like this book left me wanting more in a few places. I did enjoy that there was no run around of "will they-won't they" it got it out of the way in the beginning so all we focused on were Violet's gift, the romance between her and Jay and finding the killer. 
I can't wait to  read the sequel to the book...but it looks like I'll have to!


(Check out the full list of 2010 Debut Authors I have lined up to read as well as the reviews of the ones I've already read. Just click here!)

In My Mailbox (007)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren and it explores the contents of my mailbox or shopping bag on a weekly basis. Here's what I acquired over the past two weeks:


This In My Mailbox post is such a lonely one! After accumulating all those books over the past few weeks. I forgot that sometimes you have to settle down. So this is one book I got from the library today! One that I've been greatly anticipating!

Something Like Fate by: Susane Colasanti
Published: May 4th, 2010
Pages: 240
Summary:  Lani and Erin are bonded for life. One thing that connects them is their fascination of fate. Lani wonders how much of our lives has already been decided and how much we can actually influence. Since the Unknown can unexpectedly change our lives forever, how much can we really control?
From the minute Lani meets Jason, she can't deny the intense connection they share. It feels like she's known him forever. She's not sure if he feels it, too. But it doesn't matter. Because Jason is Erin's boyfriend. Lani is determined to ignore her feelings for Jason, no matter how powerful they are, rather than risk hurting her best friend.
How long can Lani keep running from the boy who might be her destiny?


I'm super excited to read this one. I've loved her others (though I haven't read Take Me There).
So, what's in your mailbox. (Don't I sound like that Capital One commercial? "What's in your wallet?")

Challenge: 2010 Debut Authors

This challenge is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren and is the first challenge that I've ever joined. (I've made up my own, but it's nothing special...more later.)
You are challenged to read as many books during the year 2010 from debut authors! Because I love to read and a few were already on my list I thought I should go ahead and join!
You can check out more information and sign up to join by clicking here.
The challenge is running from January 1st to December 31st, 2010. And include books by first time authors published between those months.
You can see the full list of books in the challenge on goodreads or click here. Books are added all the time so make sure to keep coming back!
Now, here is the list of books that I've chosen to read for this challenge. The ones that are crossed out have already been read and if "review" is in parenthesis next to it click that to see my review!

Here we go: (in no particular order)

1. Before I Fall by: Lauren Oliver | (review)
2. The Body Finder by: Kimberly Derting | (review)
3. Bleeding Violet by: Dia Reeves | (review)
4. A Blue So Dark by: Holly Schindler  | (review)
5. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by: Morgan Matson | (review)
6. The Sky is Everywhere by: Jandy Nelson | (review)
7. The Summer of Skinny Dipping by: Amanda Howells | (review)
8. Della Says: OMG! by: Keris Stainton
9. The Ivy by: Lauren Kunze
10. Paranormalcy by: Kiersten White | (Sept. 21)
11. Hunger by: Jackie Morse Kessler | (Oct. 18th)
12. Sea by: Hiedi R. Kling 
13. Split by: Swati Avasthi
14. The DUFF by: Kody Keplinger | (Sept. 7th)
15. Dirty Little Secrets by: C.J. Omololu
16. The Line (Line #1) by:Teri Hall
17. All the Unquiet Things by: Anna Jarzab
18. Nevermore by: Kelly Creagh | (Aug. 31st)
19. The Ghost and the Goth by: Stacey Kade 
20. The Mockingbirds by: Daisy Whitney | (Nov. 2nd)
21. Anna and the French Kiss by: Stephanie Perkins | (Dec. 2nd)
22. Freefall by: Mindi Scott | (Oct. 5th)
23. The Best and the Hardest Thing by: Pat Brisson
24. Feed (Newsflesh #1) by: Mira Grant 
25. Rot and Ruin by: Jonathan Maberry | (Oct. 5th)
26. Invisible Girl by: Mary Hanlon Stone
27. Elixir by: Hilary Duff | (Oct. 12th)
28. Shade by: Jeri Smith-Ready
29. Under My Skin by: Judith Graves
30. Tell Me a Secret by: Holly Cupala
31. You by: Charles Benoit | (Aug. 24th)

Review: "Before I Fall" by: Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by: Lauren Oliver

Release: March 2nd, 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins
Age: Young Adult
Pages: 470
Overall: 3 out 5 stars
Recommend Level: Medium
Challenge?: 2010 Debut Author (The Story Siren)
Summary: What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she re-lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.

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Review: This book is one of the most highly anticipated, reviewed, and talked about books around the blog community and I was completely ecstatic to read it. I haven't read a long book in a while and was glad to see that it is 470 pages long. I jumped into the book the day after receiving it from the library and was completely taken in...until I got into about Day 3 of the book and was actually annoyed with the repetitive days. By this time I was about 120 pages into the book and once I'm that far in, I can't stop reading. I got frustrated with the girl, Sam, and hated that even though she was repeating the days over and over and knew it she kept making the same mistakes or even worse mistakes than the previous "day". I was so ready for it to be over and I honestly didn't know throughout the entire book if she would find away to save herself or die at the end.......and I still don't know! I loved Day 6 and was excited for Day 7; until it ended.
I liked the writing style and that it was obvious Lauren Oliver is still connected to her youth but I just wish there was more depth to this book.
I'm probably in the minority of liking this book.
On a positive note it did make me look at my life some and think how I overlook things or how I make the smallest things into something completely different. So, I have been trying to take pleasures in the smallest things.

(Check out the full list of 2010 Debut Authors I have lined up to read as well as the reviews of the ones I've already read. Just click here!)

In My Mailbox (006)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren and it explores the contents of my mailbox or shopping bag on a weekly basis. Here's what I acquired over the past two weeks:

Bought or Won:

From A Thrift Store:

1. Pop Goes the Weasel (Alex Cross #5) by: James Patterson
2. The Lake House by: James Patterson
3. Elsewhere by: Gabrielle Zevin

From Big Lots:

1. The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo by: Peter Orner

Won:

1. First Daughter by: Eric Van Lustbader
2. Last Snow by: Eric Van Lustbader (signed)

I finally had a chance to go look in a thrift store that's been "under construction" for awhile. As soon as I saw the wall of books I knew I wasn't leaving empty handed. And I didn't. :) I picked through and ended up with two James Patterson books and Elsewhere that's been on a lot of blogs lately, glad it was there. Both of the James Patterson books are a part of a series I don't have but will later be getting. I do enjoy some of his books.

I've been through Big Lots' bin of books twice before and saw The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo, but I never really thought twice about it. I enjoyed the cover enough to look at it again. I checked out Goodreads and decided that I'd go ahead and get it. Seems interesting.

I just got First Daughter and Last Snow by Eric Van Lustbader in the mail today and was pleased. I really really wish I knew who I won them from so I could personally thank them. Eric signed Last Snow and I'm completely grateful for it. So if you happen to read my blog, or come across it and I won the books from you a big "Thank you"!
*Update: I finally found who I won First Daughter and Last Snow by Eric Van Lustbader. Corrine from Lost For Words! Thank you so much again!! :-D

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From the library:

1. The Boy Next Door by: Meggin Cabot
2. An Open Vein by: J.M. Warwick