tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78346987680088886942024-02-20T16:49:23.702-05:00Snark and RambleSnark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.comBlogger196125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-58942545710949789392012-07-08T20:08:00.002-04:002012-07-08T20:08:40.914-04:00City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>THIS IS THE REVIEW FOR BOOK FIVE, SO UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE ONES BEFORE IT, EXPECT TO GET VARIOUS PIECES OF THE PUZZLE SPOILED.</u></b></span></span><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.1829703461844474" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">P</span></span></b><b style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ublisher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Margaret K. McElderry Books</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 534</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Book 5 in the Mortal Instruments series</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can the lost be reclaimed? What price is too high to pay for love? Who can be trusted when sin and salvation collide?</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">THIS! The reason I re-read the first four Mortal Instruments in a haze of Shadowhunters and demon ichor! I finally got to read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Lost Souls</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">! (Due to me being extremely busy and neglectful of my blog as of recent times, this was actually like a month and a half ago, but here’s the review!)</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jace is gone, and the Clave has pretty much decided to worry about everything else they have to worry about. Clary has gone off to save him from the dark side, though it turns out that maybe someone is liking the dark side? Only time will tell. Isabelle is dealing with some heavy family issues in addition to the problem of her adopted brother, while Alec is delving into deals with consequences that he is way not prepared for. Simon continues to be an underrated badass intent on helping everyone. This book was pretty much non-stop action and emotional breakdowns, so a lot happened in the 500+ pages.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have to hand it to her: Clary kicked ass and took names in this book. I heard some complaints about her character before I was able to read it, namely that she obsesses far too much over Jace. Since he was trapped in a forced connection to the dark side, I could understand her concern and single-mindedness when it came to his rescue. And frankly, she did a great job at keeping her head throughout this mess.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clare dealt with some difficult, incredibly emotional and touchy issues in a very realistic way. The situation with Clary and the information Isabelle deals with are presented with interactions and reactions that make complete sense. I’m being totally vague here, but I’m trying not to speak of spoilers just in case.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Magnus and Alec’s relationship continued to be the best handled in the series. Though I was also very pleased with the way things are going between Isabelle and Simon, especially since Isabelle is such a stubborn, proud female character. It was good to see the development of her trust issues and how she is dealing with past information about her family.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BONUS: Even MORE references to the Infernal Devices, which makes me so happy. I cannot WAIT for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clockwork Princess</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, regardless of the fact that it’s still like 250 days away.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 5 - this might actually be my favorite of the Mortal Instrument books so far!</span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-75971674381432715522012-07-07T19:13:00.000-04:002012-07-07T19:13:27.366-04:00City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE FIRST THREE BOOKS IN THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES. HERE BE SPOILERS.</b></span></span><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.3867717287503183" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon and Schuster)</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 424</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Book 4 in the Mortal Instruments series</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Mortal War is over, and Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most important of all—Clary can finally call Jace her boyfriend.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But nothing comes without a price.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Someone is murdering the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her. His mother just found out he’s a vampire and now he’s homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse wrecking his life. And they’re willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he’s dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: She herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in </span><span style="color: #181818; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Fallen Angels</span><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So close to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Lost Souls</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">! I’m actually really glad that I re-read these, it made me appreciate them more than I remember.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book kicks off with the good! Jocelyn is awake and engaged to Luke! Jace and Clary can be together without it being super effing weird! Simon is adjusting to life as a Daylighter sporting the Mark of Cain with the help of not one but two superhot girlfriends! Alec and Magnus are traveling the world like the bosses they are! Of course, this lasts for like two and a half seconds. Jace is pulling away from Clary and she doesn’t know why. Simon’s mother finds out his secret and kicks him out in a flurry of fearful prayers. On top of everything else, someone is out there killing former Circle members--someone no one expected to see. The Shadowhunters aren’t able to rest easy for long.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As complex as the original three Mortal Instruments book are, the next ones take it to a new level. The relationships and feelings between the characters are becoming even more complicated since they’re maturing. One of the best things in Clare’s series is the relationship between Alec and Magnus. The portrayal of Alec’s jealousy and the issues that would occur between a mortal and immortal are well explored.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I enjoyed that Simon became more of a central character. When I first read these books, the sheer level of jealousy and possessiveness that Simon had in regards to Clary got to me. Since I re-read these and focused on the characters rather than the straight up plot, I had more sympathy for Simon, especially when I saw the way the Shadowhunters treated him. I love that by this point, he has gained the respect of the Shadowhunters and fits more into their world than he did when he was human. This book explores what it means for him to be a vampire who can walk in the sun, sporting Heaven’s Mark.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The focus given to Jace and Clary’s relationship was a little much for me when it came to this book. Jace started to annoy me because he didn’t just speak to Clary about what was going on, instead hiding out by protecting Simon. Clary started to annoy me because rather than ask Jace for the majority of the book what his deal was, she obsessed over it. She redeemed herself later by demanding an explanation, but for a good chunk of this book I was like, “Girl, there is more to life than Jace, ask what his deal is or get over it.” I understand that they’re this epic couple, but for real now.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, BONUS: the appearance of Camille Belcourt and her references to William Herondale. INFERNAL DEVICES REFERENCES FOR THE WIN! I love seeing the connections between the two series!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While City of Fallen Angels is probably my least favorite installment of Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, it is still a highly entertaining novel. It provides the set up for the new trilogy utilizing the characters that were already explored in the previous trilogy, with the addition of a few new ones (Kyle, Camille Belcourt) and a new villain that is certainly a force to be reckoned with.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 3.5/4 - good.</span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-44087549524102148582012-07-06T23:17:00.000-04:002012-07-06T23:17:30.533-04:00City of Glass by Cassandra Clare<b id="internal-source-marker_0.14235362061299384" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVE NOT READ CITY OF BONES AND CITY OF ASHES. THERE ARE SPOILER-Y THINGS GOING ON.</span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18oX5YBaDV_o5-K06_6rrKovWrA6VuTXnyKMKbLLeqZCpOHclHaUCO5ajrlpjh1_5ZgGeQwAghCN3W_75X2lD6BircD-aN8KPSEZ3IhqY6dghUFQgYFABxbhI3Ux8Gnze44r-8meeGx5R/s1600/cityofglass.jpeg" 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/AVvXsEg18oX5YBaDV_o5-K06_6rrKovWrA6VuTXnyKMKbLLeqZCpOHclHaUCO5ajrlpjh1_5ZgGeQwAghCN3W_75X2lD6BircD-aN8KPSEZ3IhqY6dghUFQgYFABxbhI3Ux8Gnze44r-8meeGx5R/s320/cityofglass.jpeg" width="210" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Margaret K. McElderry Books</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 541</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Book 3 in the Mortal Instruments series</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the </span><span style="color: #181818; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">New York Times </span><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And so the re-read continues...</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The secret to healing Clary’s mom is in Alicante, so to Idris we go! Except Jace is trying to prevent Clary from getting there. A last minute demon attack makes him successful--but then Clary gets there the illegal and highly dangerous fashion, meaning it would have been better for her to just go with them how it was intended. Simon gets dragged along and thrown in Shadowhunter jail, because no one trusts a vampire that can walk in the sun. Mysterious new Shadowhunter Sebastian wants to help Clary--and perhaps be a little bit more, a prospect that makes Jace more than a bit touchy. When information is revealed about Clary’s family history and Valentine’s plan, the Shadowhunters realize that it’s necessary to work alongside Downworlders in order to save everything they have.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’ve reached it! The highly dramatic culmination of the original trilogy! Almost the entire story takes place in Idris/Alicante, which is a break from the previous two novels that took place in New York City. I loved the different setting and how the plot unfolds in the Shadowhunters’ homeland.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BONUS: more parent backstory I love when Clare does backstory for the adults, it’s always all tragic and salacious and stuff. Hearing more about Valentine, Jocelyn, Luke, the Herondales, the Lightwoods, and how they got to the point they’re at is always welcome. (See other examples: any time JK Rowling showed a peek of teenage James Potter, Lily Evans, Snape, and the Marauders)</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Epic good versus evil battle! I love me some end of days battle scenes. As the original closing book of the trilogy (that turned into six books instead of three), </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Glass</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> provides for a very satisfying concluding story if you choose to stop there or want to use this one as a breaking point before tackling the other three (one of which isn’t even out yet). I’d suggest going further--the story only gets crazier from here.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 5 - fantastic!</span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-35071985376380569412012-07-05T20:35:00.000-04:002012-07-05T20:35:25.802-04:00City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare<b id="internal-source-marker_0.5748508367687464" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVE NOT READ CITY OF BONES. IT’S LIKE CITY OF SPOILERS UP IN HERE.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2hV8UbtV72lBUG9aGygQ_nklBaAmIAe5f6tjuEy5CvZOEDzpG8ZhotoC9SVQGcqKqj97IpU4dvCFq85U5KhuUXLndcemsgTmEoKndOxZconfePQYT1AMHRpZM_PipK-hzbLmlfssaQJ8/s1600/city-of-ashes.jpeg" 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/AVvXsEjx2hV8UbtV72lBUG9aGygQ_nklBaAmIAe5f6tjuEy5CvZOEDzpG8ZhotoC9SVQGcqKqj97IpU4dvCFq85U5KhuUXLndcemsgTmEoKndOxZconfePQYT1AMHRpZM_PipK-hzbLmlfssaQJ8/s320/city-of-ashes.jpeg" width="211" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon and Schuster)</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 464</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Book 2 in the Mortal Instruments series</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this breathtaking sequel to </span><span style="color: #181818; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Bones</span><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m speeding through reading the rest of the Mortal Instruments again in preparation for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Lost Souls</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">! </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So...Jace and Clary were revealed to be siblings. How awkward. Anyway, Ma and Pa Lightwood have returned to the Institute, and former Circle member Maryse is pissed at Jace for being Valentine’s son. The Clave Inquisitor is gunning for Jace in some sort of misplaced vengeance against Valentine. Clary is still dealing with her mother’s magical coma and her newly blooming relationship with best friend Simon, who ends up having quite the problem. Meanwhile, evil villain Valentine is after the Soul Sword, number two of the three Mortal Instruments, along with the blood of murdered Downworlder children in order to work some dark magic on the angelic instrument. So yeah. The heroes of our tale have some stuff to deal with.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I find that sometimes the sequels in a series can be just as good, if not better--in a world as complicated as the Shadowhunters’, it’s nice to have the background out of the way so the “FOOT-STOMPING, HEART-POUNDING ACTION ACTION ACTION” (credit to the early 90’s Nickelodeon show </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Roundhouse</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to that quote) can begin. This book introduced a host of new conflicts in addition to the old ones. Clary has to figure out where she fits in amongst Shadowhunters since she was raised as a Mundane. She and Jace must try to reconcile as siblings rather than love interests (ick, right? How sucktastic). Jace has to cope with his adoptive mother’s distrust. The Shadowhunters (along with Luke, Magnus Bane, and Simon) as a whole must stop Valentine from getting full use of another Mortal Instrument for his nefarious purposes. I love all the conflicts and the complicated relationships that exist in these books!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More demons = more demon-y action scenes! Clare can write action scenes that are very intense but aren’t so chaotic that I can’t figure out what’s going on. I can usually picture them quite well and I appreciate it.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bonus: more Magnus Bane! He’s introduced in the first book, but he gains more backstory and involvement in this one. I especially love the slightly complicated relationship that he and Alec share. Fantastic character all around.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Ashes</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is the even more action-packed sequel to Cassandra Clare’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Bones</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. With the characters established, Clare was able to concentrate even more on the plot and the fight between the Nephilim and Valentine. Great installment to the series!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 4.5 - awesome!</span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-27442944415227555722012-07-04T15:17:00.001-04:002012-07-04T15:17:57.217-04:00City of Bones by Cassandra Clare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6LeEjrGvNJ1PTbqqCJ2cdOIQwwAN1-daj2lj8W5-Xebz_5G41tB925MqrOUZ_uH9a5ZUgMTuxqYHM39uR5TQ0NQ6FRztoXQRIreLALOq2jLCeD1cN5Q_71EvT4nf2MBSIJgFr2dG35D_/s1600/City+of+Bones.jpeg" 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/AVvXsEil6LeEjrGvNJ1PTbqqCJ2cdOIQwwAN1-daj2lj8W5-Xebz_5G41tB925MqrOUZ_uH9a5ZUgMTuxqYHM39uR5TQ0NQ6FRztoXQRIreLALOq2jLCeD1cN5Q_71EvT4nf2MBSIJgFr2dG35D_/s320/City+of+Bones.jpeg" width="208" /></a></div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6013679874595255" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Margaret K. McElderry</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 496</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Book One in the Mortal Instruments series</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">RE-READ ALERT! I read the original Mortal Instruments trilogy in the summer of 2009, so it’s been awhile. I wanted to revisit the books in order to truly enjoy </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Lost Souls</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> after it came out. I remembered bits and pieces, but not any overarching story, which made reading </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Fallen Angels</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> kind of lackluster. Now that I have more free time to read, I decided to avoid a repeat of that experience with a re-read!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Clary Fray encounters tattooed teenage fighters attacking someone at the Pandemonium Club, she throws herself directly into the situation without too much concern for her safety. She was previously unaware of their world--the three teenagers, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle, are Shadowhunters, warriors charged with keeping the world safe from demons and rogue Downworlders. A demon attack and her mother’s magically comatose status make it impossible for Clary not to be drawn into the world she was apparently born for.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Bones</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a great introduction into the young adult urban fantasy genre. Clare is a clever worldbuilder, exploring the traditions, knowledge, and places of the Shadowhunters within New York City. I really enjoy the paranormal lore that provides the structure for these stories. Since Clary is new to the world, the reader is able to see it revealed through her eyes, with her questions as a guide. Clare does a wonderful job setting up the wide variety of vibrant characters in this first installment, my favorites including Alec and Isabelle Lightwood and the High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clary Fray, despite her abominably cutesy name, is a fine protagonist. She’s fierce and does not take the slightly condescending crap (which they unfortunately tend to dole out to “mundanes” or humans) from the young Shadowhunters she meets. One of my favorite moments is when she finds out that Jace did something that had a 90% chance of saving her and a 10% chance of turning her into a soulless Foresaken, she slaps him and explains that it’s for “the other ten percent.” You go, girl. Your life should not be used in a guessing game and I’m glad you knew that. Basically, I like that the girl’s got rage and a fighting concern for her comatose mother. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For anyone who hasn’t read these books (except my sister, who was unfortunately around the first time I read them, sorry for spoiling it for you by loudly complaining!), there’s a pretty big twist at the end of this one. I give props to Cassandra Clare for having the guts to pull that one, yikes. Talk about uncomfortable.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you haven’t read them yet, Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series is a fun, drama-filled urban fantasy read. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Bones</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> serves as a brilliant introduction into the world of the Shadowhunters.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 4.5 - awesome!</span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-30995179770570293702012-07-04T15:17:00.000-04:002012-07-04T15:17:48.397-04:00Waiting on Wednesday (22)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSd06YsACISrBojQ5aSL2aGJMUySd6fn2HkCN9oz0jtYq98BJINA7fPWrU6_F7sA3M9phr52tHLXqe82XR6l04Dz_9w2_Gn-Ou1KcWikuXrouKQn53DCzQgqVtcEPalXZf0tKz0CRkjll/s1600/13549523.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSd06YsACISrBojQ5aSL2aGJMUySd6fn2HkCN9oz0jtYq98BJINA7fPWrU6_F7sA3M9phr52tHLXqe82XR6l04Dz_9w2_Gn-Ou1KcWikuXrouKQn53DCzQgqVtcEPalXZf0tKz0CRkjll/s320/13549523.jpeg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Cadet of Tildor</i> by Alex Lidell</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Having already survived six years at the Tildor’s top military academy, sixteen-year-old Renee De Winter is determined to graduate, training day and night to compete with her male classmates. When the boys overpower her parries, she works harder. When a bully sabotages her gear, she fights without it.</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">But when an underground crime group captures her mentor for its illegal gladiatorial games, she must choose between her career and her conscience. Determined to penetrate the group’s inner circles, Renee will leap from academia to the crime filled streets, pick up a sword, and weigh law against loyalty.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><b>Release date: January 10, 2013</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Gladiatorial games! Swords! Loyalty! Badass female protagonist! I'm so excited for this one!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #015782; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;">Breaking the Spine</a></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-59240279202772371842012-07-03T20:26:00.002-04:002012-07-03T20:26:33.555-04:00Top Ten Tuesday (24)<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u><b>Top Ten Books for People Who Love Sarah Dessen</b></u>:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHX3Ps-y-PU3Ufbqn2ZAD1j14a08nIGNLBDeFA9IInDtvaIblOyUTG2BwjLq8mpfy43dJBnW2eGoRlPvG7U7UC6_5R5rpaZfZT-0XweqBotVh3GQVXH_2wG4baKy1k-Wo3yUlFfh8GDhs3/s1600/SarahDessenBooks-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHX3Ps-y-PU3Ufbqn2ZAD1j14a08nIGNLBDeFA9IInDtvaIblOyUTG2BwjLq8mpfy43dJBnW2eGoRlPvG7U7UC6_5R5rpaZfZT-0XweqBotVh3GQVXH_2wG4baKy1k-Wo3yUlFfh8GDhs3/s1600/SarahDessenBooks-1.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When people ask me for teen recommendations at work, Sarah Dessen is usually the author they name most often as a point of reference for things they like. I present a list of contemporary, sometimes issue driven YA books for Sarah Dessen fans that want to branch out a bit!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1. <i>Saving Francesca</i> by Melina Marchetta</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2. <i>Anna and the French Kiss</i> by Stephanie Perkins</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3. <i>Lola and the Boy Next Door</i> by Stephanie Perkins</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4. <i>Sometimes It Happens</i> by Lauren Barnholdt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5. <i>Sloppy Firsts</i> by Megan McCafferty</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">6. <i>The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight</i> by Jennifer E. Smith</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">7. <i>The Key to the Golden Firebird </i>by Maureen Johnson</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">8. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>How to Save a Life</i> by Sara Zarr</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">9. <i>Sean Griswold's Head</i> by Lindsey Leavitt</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">10. <i>Going Underground</i> by Susan Vaught</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by </span></span><a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/2012/02/kimberlys-top-ten-books-to-save-if-her.html" style="background-color: white; color: #5797b0; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Broke and the Bookish</span></a></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-13404733134342709372012-07-02T07:06:00.000-04:002012-07-02T07:06:51.541-04:00In My Mailbox (26)<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>BOUGHT:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4jZbEffq0KQNRq2k9fRqdlbztTzrSPTfOI6CAZD5krfmk8SeQ-uCa3rYCqG4LUudv5tgXgk7h8wNR2vdZSvZL207vNHVAXaAUVXP20m1_AmDETBJgNjLL3DO70VaVFo06_WJsv4NRclA/s1600/bought.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4jZbEffq0KQNRq2k9fRqdlbztTzrSPTfOI6CAZD5krfmk8SeQ-uCa3rYCqG4LUudv5tgXgk7h8wNR2vdZSvZL207vNHVAXaAUVXP20m1_AmDETBJgNjLL3DO70VaVFo06_WJsv4NRclA/s320/bought.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Shade</i> by Jeri Smith-Ready</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Rampant</i> by Diana Peterfreund</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Timepiece</i> by Myra McEntire</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>LIBRARY</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ2AIUHAu7OB-crRGBe6oVW5Bd1F_fjApqjERHNSaWwCfkIkciLcxDNhsP_NJYpU6t1m2w2ILquSN_w_kVwH5DdmnFgYPhiZ4ORzddSV44ItLwZqTYa8gxO2X1AUUXzVjCV3GbX7-yoYp8/s1600/8492825.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ2AIUHAu7OB-crRGBe6oVW5Bd1F_fjApqjERHNSaWwCfkIkciLcxDNhsP_NJYpU6t1m2w2ILquSN_w_kVwH5DdmnFgYPhiZ4ORzddSV44ItLwZqTYa8gxO2X1AUUXzVjCV3GbX7-yoYp8/s200/8492825.jpeg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6gCgS1VeylqtMDUZ1pUQH_pYewU7pEYtgKGKpZjGB2N_ZZbd-pGPJfIGiLWL0xgjvUK4MG4SDRTfyOd6de6DYMhbAFytnOYmN0MgKW5zGHDjejlSSpuZccVS6w0LzAyFapkG-kclX7mb/s1600/library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6gCgS1VeylqtMDUZ1pUQH_pYewU7pEYtgKGKpZjGB2N_ZZbd-pGPJfIGiLWL0xgjvUK4MG4SDRTfyOd6de6DYMhbAFytnOYmN0MgKW5zGHDjejlSSpuZccVS6w0LzAyFapkG-kclX7mb/s320/library.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Where She Went</i> by Gayle Forman</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Scumble</i> by Ingrid Law</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Stunning</i> by Sara Shepard</span></div>
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<br /></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-19371109283369193122012-07-01T22:47:00.003-04:002012-07-01T22:47:55.238-04:00MIDDLE GRADE SUNDAY: Savvy by Ingrid Law<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3MsjjdGvaqhbh-aU-FBfS1lbP2ewqmH8h7APn0pgG3iDzZo-fnfhMpl-fdLQmlbwKQV5B76waNqEBDO3ldw3SWHqfFC8xZa5uvb9dIwIj-sKB_R5AURogi07S1BGspy6XGJl1XTl_Dao/s1600/savvy.jpeg" 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/AVvXsEhu3MsjjdGvaqhbh-aU-FBfS1lbP2ewqmH8h7APn0pgG3iDzZo-fnfhMpl-fdLQmlbwKQV5B76waNqEBDO3ldw3SWHqfFC8xZa5uvb9dIwIj-sKB_R5AURogi07S1BGspy6XGJl1XTl_Dao/s320/savvy.jpeg" width="209" /></a></div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6369366215076298" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Puffin Books</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 342</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: has a companion novel called </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scumble</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a "savvy" -a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity . . . and now it's the eve of Mibs's big day.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As if waiting weren't hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs's birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman's bus . . . only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up-and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s magic, secrets, and a great family story in this one. The whole idea of the “savvy” was really cool--there were abilities that seemed totally human, like Mibs’s mother’s ability to do everything perfectly, but also supernatural ones, such as her brother’s control over electricity. I love the idea that everyone, even the non-magical ones, have some sort of savvy that affects the people and environment around them.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mibs is an awesome protagonist. She doesn’t fit in very well at her school, but she knows that once her savvy kicks in, she’ll probably be pulled from her school anyway so she doesn’t worry about it. She tries to ignore the bitchy girls and stay true to herself and her family. For example, when the girls mock her youngish dress, she doesn’t let it bother her too much because her father bought it for her birthday.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The close-knit relationship Mibs’s family had was really the strong point of this novel. Her love for her father drives the entire story, considering Mibs, her siblings, and friends run away in an attempt to visit him while he’s in the hospital. It was great to see such a great family dynamic in a middle grade book.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ingrid Law’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Savvy</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was a wonderful middle grade story with a touch of magic. I’ll definitely be reading </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scumble</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 4.5 - great!</span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-81433164655993142782012-06-29T23:54:00.001-04:002012-06-29T23:54:09.791-04:00Tessa Masterson WILL Go to Prom by Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakAjCmahoc0VuXluDP46zdqIpw0mKqNNWkbxkckG9I-k9kAc9P3rNYdyKM1HMb0YaNyaIZfHIsbOwyS9y7C7SXf9F6K9JBpqDmhidy12JsDnrAoeLGaXOf8G-IXuapeadM5L40Wi7Z2Wk/s1600/11983920.jpeg" 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/AVvXsEgakAjCmahoc0VuXluDP46zdqIpw0mKqNNWkbxkckG9I-k9kAc9P3rNYdyKM1HMb0YaNyaIZfHIsbOwyS9y7C7SXf9F6K9JBpqDmhidy12JsDnrAoeLGaXOf8G-IXuapeadM5L40Wi7Z2Wk/s320/11983920.jpeg" width="212" /></a></div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.4301098673604429" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Walker Children’s</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 257</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Stand Alone</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lucas and Tessa’s friendship is the stuff of legend in their small Midwestern town. So it’s no surprise when Lucas finally realizes his feelings for Tessa are more than friendship and he asks her to prom. What no one expected, especially Lucas, was for Tessa to come out as a lesbian instead of accepting his heartfelt invitation. Humiliated and confused, Lucas also feels betrayed that his best friend kept such an important secret from him.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s worse is Tessa’s decision to wear a tastefully tailored tuxedo to escort her female crush, sparking a firestorm of controversy. Lucas must decide if he should stand on the sidelines or if he should stand by his friend to make sure that Tessa Masterson will go to prom. </span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin tackle both sides of a ripped-from-the headlines story to show that true friendship will triumph after all.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve heard bits and pieces about the Constance McMillen prom fiasco that occurred in the very recent past and wanted to check out a fictionalized story based on it. I found this one particularly intriguing because it flipped points of view between the girl at hand and her best male friend.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lucas finally decides to let his best friend know that he’s in love with her and wants to take her to prom in a very public way--just in time for her to admit to him that she is gay and wants to take her secret girlfriend to prom. Lucas is enraged and embarrassed that his best friend wouldn’t confide something like that to him and accidentally sets off a media fiasco in the town. Lucas and Tessa must figure out how to fix their friendship in the midst of prejudice, boycotts, and other ridiculous behavior their small-minded town feels the need to act on in order to prove that they’re traditional or something.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tessa Masterson WILL Go to Prom</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> follows a storyline similar to the real life Constance McMillen case, only it’s directly from the girl’s point of view. We also get the point of view of Lucas, her best friend, who has some choices of his own to make in regards to Tessa’s situation.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved that Lucas and Tessa were very believable teenage characters. The problems and emotional reactions to things within the story made complete sense--Lucas was angry that his best friend kept a secret that resulted in his embarrassment. Tessa worked really hard to fade into the background to keep her secret, but once she was out she didn’t feel as if she needed to entirely fade out. She felt like she could finally be herself and enjoy life the same way everyone else did.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I found the story to be well-developed, but the characters aside from Tessa and Lucas were not so developed. The plot didn’t really require the other characters to be developed, but I thought it would flesh out the story just a little bit. I also wanted to see more of Tessa’s family--I knew that they supported their daughter and how the town’s behavior affected their business, but I would have liked to see how they dealt with it at home and away from the public eye.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While I would have liked to see more about some of the characters in Franklin and Halpin’s collaboration, I thought they did a great job with their subject matter. They told a fictionalized account of the story that everyone should know about. Franklin and Halpin work well together to create a seamless joint effort--I’ll definitely be checking out their other book, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jenna and Jonah’s Fauxmance</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 3.5 - good</span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZYT41Lf7-tJPnkcjM_ZCj63p3SH_MuVi4Bt0DwpciAc4ynLBjeXpXXKnI4LN6q1SZ-po2hPdNoNbVUTJZ4KR6Jd7NCS7Xf1Xm1cVuNtSJlLZ6DOZRrTg_bBgt_PQpVxEyENkpzlrH22KV/s1600/contemp.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZYT41Lf7-tJPnkcjM_ZCj63p3SH_MuVi4Bt0DwpciAc4ynLBjeXpXXKnI4LN6q1SZ-po2hPdNoNbVUTJZ4KR6Jd7NCS7Xf1Xm1cVuNtSJlLZ6DOZRrTg_bBgt_PQpVxEyENkpzlrH22KV/s1600/contemp.png" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-4119532575789658572012-06-28T22:40:00.002-04:002012-06-28T22:40:44.030-04:00The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RlOaA-95-4ClSw0p3rNKRj-0hYCO7u6L3D4ahyphenhyphenYkBL_MBF6UJJRp8RyMNEAIl6YuXpofTc56apEA0xuyz8AjhmyG5_FOU8_-prdWX8tMN2JMYqE-KJhE-SjSO9xIMRxm0pbcawKMtfDe/s1600/9780060541408-l.jpeg" 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/AVvXsEj-RlOaA-95-4ClSw0p3rNKRj-0hYCO7u6L3D4ahyphenhyphenYkBL_MBF6UJJRp8RyMNEAIl6YuXpofTc56apEA0xuyz8AjhmyG5_FOU8_-prdWX8tMN2JMYqE-KJhE-SjSO9xIMRxm0pbcawKMtfDe/s320/9780060541408-l.jpeg" width="216" /></a></div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.8485889553558081" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="goog_276428321"></span><span id="goog_276428322"></span>Publisher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: HarperTeen</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 304</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Stand Alone</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The funny thing about stop signs is that they're also start signs.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mayzie is the middle sister, sent to private school because of her brains. Brooks, the oldest, is a beautiful athlete who's conflicted about her two loves: softball and Dave. Palmer is the youngest, tentative in all but her blistering pitches as the only freshman on varsity softball. Though very different, the Golds are sisters through and through.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the unthinkable happens -- the death of their father -- a year passes in shattered silence. Brooks begins drinking, Palm withdraws, and May is left to fend for herself. She gets a job at a coffee spot, and hits the books. But the one thing she can't do alone is learn to drive. That's when Peter, her lifelong nemesis and all around thorn-in-side, assumes a surprising new role in May's life: he teaches her to drive, and the connection between them changes from childhood animosity to one that May can't understand, or doesn't yet want to.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As May slowly starts to pick up the pieces of her life, her sisters struggle with their own demons. The Gold sisters have been changed irrevocably, and they are all but lost to one another, until the key is found. The key to their father's Pontiac Firebird.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have wanted to read this book since I heard Maureen Johnson’s name back in high school--probably circa 2006. I finally took it out from the library like three months ago. Of course, I waited as long as possible before I actually read it. I don’t get my deal sometimes. Whatever!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">May’s father died while she and her sisters were out pulling a prank on their neighbor, Pete. After his death, May’s older sister Brooks turned to partying with a bad boyfriend, her younger sister Palm threw herself into softball and an empty television, and May completely committed herself to succeeding in school and work. Since it seems the only thing she can’t do is learn to drive, formerly-annoying neighbor boy Pete is around to help her out. When May realizes that she can’t hold their family together alone, the three girls come back together with the help of their father’s Firebird.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Key to the Golden Firebird</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is very character-driven, so if you’re a plot person I wouldn’t completely recommend this one. Johnson’s story explores how three daughters, along with their mother, deal with the aftermath of their father’s death in entirely normal ways. While Johnson’s early novel isn’t the most memorable of stories, it’s a well written exploration of teenage loss.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really loved May as a protagonist. With the protagonists I’ve previously read about in Johnson’s books (13 Little Blue Envelopes and The Name of the Star) I didn’t entirely connect with them. Straight up personality-wise, May and I were similar, both being Type-A academically minded with a tendency to be prickly rather than overtly friendly. Her bitchy attitude made it so she wasn’t just a martyr figure, attempting to take care of the family whilst no one else cared. Even when her father was alive, she felt that she didn’t fit in their athletically inclined family. She was entirely relatable and awesome.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved the relationship between Pete and May. I found it to be fascinatingly normal--they grew up as family friends and enemies until Pete starts showing up more to help their family out after May’s father died. They had good, subtle chemistry and I wanted to see them work it out!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Key to the Golden Firebird</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a great read about grief and coming together as a family. Johnson created a great protagonist in May, along with a believably flawed/entertaining cast of characters surrounding her.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 4 - good!</span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-44725071384260372462012-06-27T23:47:00.004-04:002012-06-27T23:47:41.380-04:00Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid5bnzfJFtgvg_h_MSNfZutaosXIbrSSdyqatS_qy_16WmO19s-OUY-OdIyxfTqjkGQoTfSkoS6Ws2ESSFMDtB6m-Px_CHgVjfo_qJKGgyfz30Z6P3TIt137uH4etdcBcbyUytGsxrELqm/s1600/breakbeautiful.jpeg" 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/AVvXsEid5bnzfJFtgvg_h_MSNfZutaosXIbrSSdyqatS_qy_16WmO19s-OUY-OdIyxfTqjkGQoTfSkoS6Ws2ESSFMDtB6m-Px_CHgVjfo_qJKGgyfz30Z6P3TIt137uH4etdcBcbyUytGsxrELqm/s320/breakbeautiful.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.20858816569671035" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Walker Books for Young Readers</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 354</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Stand Alone</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident—including her memory of the event. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she’s kept hidden for so long: the horrible reality of their abusive relationship.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the police reopen the investigation, it casts suspicion on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free? Debut writer Jennifer Shaw Wolf takes readers on an emotional ride through the murky waters of love, shame, and, ultimately, forgiveness.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jennifer Shaw Wolf’s debut novel was on my Spring TBR list! Since I had only read two books on that list (I have trouble when my reading habits are expected to follow some sort of structure) I decided to revisit it before summer made itself known.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Allie is broken after a car accident scarred her and killed her boyfriend, Trip. What’s worse is that Allie isn’t entirely sorry Trip is gone--their abusive, controlling relationship was wearing on her life. The new investigator in town begins to suspect that something is up with the accident when Allie begins seeing her best friend and the town delinquent, Blake. Allie has to work through her hidden memories in order to solve the mystery of why Trip is dead and who she can truly trust in her life.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Breaking Beautiful</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> falls under the increasingly popular “amnesia girl” books, in which the protagonist cannot remember past events that affect her current situation. Throughout the book, she must attempt to remember, usually resulting in bits and pieces of the whole story being unraveled to the reader. This was perfect for the mystery of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Breaking Beautiful</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Allie has little idea as to where Trip’s body is and why he’s missing/presumed dead. I read through this one really fast because I wanted to figure out who was responsible for the couple’s accident. Even though I didn’t buy into the misdirection (or red herring, if we’re going with true mystery speak), I couldn’t figure out who was responsible until I was told. Well done, JSW!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My issue with this one is that the drama stretched a tiny bit too far. The antagonistic characters were too one-dimensional-evil for my taste. There was absolutely nothing redeemable about Trip or his father to make them well rounded characters. They seemed like soap opera and silent film villains--not really humanized at all. The bad was very black and white when it comes to these people. While abuse is a very black and white issue--it’s straight up bad and shouldn’t be happening--people in real life are rarely so. For this reason, I found the mystery to be a stronger aspect in the story than the character study.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jennifer Shaw Wolf’s <i>Breaking Beautiful</i> is a mystery-driven story with a darkly human twist. While I thought that the characterization needed some work, the mystery was well-plotted and kept me reading quickly!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 3.5 - fair/good.</span></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-84185931666155552092012-06-27T23:47:00.001-04:002012-06-27T23:47:04.519-04:00Waiting On Wednesday (21)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Venom</i> by Fiona Paul</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Cassandra Caravello is one of Renaissance Venice’s lucky elite: with elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, her own lady’s maid, and a wealthy fiancé, she has everything a girl could desire. Yet ever since her parents’ death, Cassandra has felt trapped, alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape.</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">When Cass stumbles upon a murdered woman—practically in her own backyard—she’s drawn into a dangerous world of courtesans, killers, and secret societies. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a mysterious artist with a mischievous grin... and a spectacular skill for trouble. Can Cassandra find the murderer, before he finds her? And will she stay true to her fiancé, or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco?</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Beauty, love, romance, and mystery weave together in a stunning novel that’s as seductive and surprising as the city of Venice itself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Release date: October 30, 2012</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #015782; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;">Breaking the Spine</a></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-42455479429881677242012-06-27T01:20:00.000-04:002012-06-27T01:20:01.867-04:00This is SO Not Happening by Kieran Scott<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.73100825259462" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN THE SERIES. SPOILERS ALL UP IN HERE FOR </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SHE’S SO DEAD TO US</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> AND </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">HE’S SO NOT WORTH IT</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 320</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Book 3 in the She’s So/He’s So trilogy</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After their long summer apart, Ally and Jake were hoping for a drama free senior year. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like things will work out that way...again. — It turns out that Chloe is pregnant and says that Jake is the father. Hammond is pissed at his best friend, but mostly can't believe that Ally would stay with Jake. But Ally is tired of being apart from Jake and is willing to make it work. But that is easier said than done when Jake starts blowing Ally off to go to doctor's appointments with Chloe and Ally joins the school play and meets a new cute guy.</span><br /><span style="color: #181818; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But as graduation approaches, things get more complicated as new secrets come out and Ally realizes maybe Jake isn't the guy she thought he was. After everything they've been through can Ally and Jake get out of Orchard Hill with their relationship intact?</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been waiting for the conclusion to Kieran Scott’s contemporary teen drama series since I read them last October/November! I ordered it as soon as it was listed in the library system.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is SO Not Happening</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> starts where the last one left off--Jake in the midst of getting the crap beat out of him by Hammond, who just told Jake that he knocked up Chloe. HIGH DRAMA! The gist of the book is that Jake has to deal with the whole Chloe-having-a-baby thing, while Ally has to deal with sharing Jake with the mother of his baby--if it’s actually his baby (dun dun DUUUUUN). It sounds ver soap opera-y, and I suppose it is, only in a teenager-y way.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is SO Not Happening</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> provides the closing chapter in the story of the Cresties and the Norms. I enjoyed seeing how the friendships came full circle from Ally’s less than welcome return in the first book. Reading about when all the girls come together, then everyone comes back together by the end was reminiscent of the end of a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gossip Girl</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> season, when the original four best friends work together to help someone or pull a scam over on the villain of the moment. Kieran Scott really captured the comings and goings of tumultuous friendships that can occur during high school well with this series.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would have liked to see a bit more about the other characters not directly involved in the Chloe-Jake-Ally-Hammond drama. Shannen, who is probably my favorite character in these stories, was demoted to a plot device rather than a character that has her own storyline going on. She became the friend that shed light on the situation for Jake. In the first two, Shannen was a decently big character, but by the third the pregnancy storyline and Jake and Ally’s relationship overtook other issues previously involved in the story.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kieran Scott’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is SO Not Happening</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was a satisfying conclusion to the She’s So/He’s So trilogy. I enjoyed these contemporary teen dramas, but I’m happy that their stories have come to a close. I like that she had them conclude with high school graduations and not go into an unrealistic vision of a communal college experience (ah, the downfall of a lot of teen television shows).</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rating<span style="font-weight: normal;">: 3.5/4 - good</span></span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-65568163660881816842012-06-25T07:32:00.000-04:002012-06-25T07:32:55.458-04:00In My Mailbox (25)<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>LIBRARY</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Underworld</i> by Meg Cabot</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>My Life Next Door</i> by Huntley Fitzpatrick</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>If I Stay</i> by Gayle Forman</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>KINDLE</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Fallen Grace</i> by Mary Hooper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Demon Trapper's Daughter</i> by Jana Oliver</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Evermore</i> by Alyson Noel</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Hereafter</i> by Tara Hudson</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">IMM is hosted by </span><a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/in-my-mailbox" style="background-color: white; color: #015782; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;">The Story Siren</a></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-40983496016596558752012-06-21T22:24:00.001-04:002012-06-21T22:24:37.338-04:00Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYFXpQ_navNIzcSYJdvPDSsnHE9tm38gb_vGvLdPJEMQ8zyKp4bmdY7wC81TA6gH7zcohZuVp9I88aObemW07YBts8TW1qZljjMif9g7mJtDRhE-_dngw74f7qC9JY2uA20ZIr3GS_o_k/s1600/6621143.jpeg" 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/AVvXsEjvYFXpQ_navNIzcSYJdvPDSsnHE9tm38gb_vGvLdPJEMQ8zyKp4bmdY7wC81TA6gH7zcohZuVp9I88aObemW07YBts8TW1qZljjMif9g7mJtDRhE-_dngw74f7qC9JY2uA20ZIr3GS_o_k/s320/6621143.jpeg" width="211" /></a></div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7901675894390792" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Viking Juvenile</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 268</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Stand Alone</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Best friends Lani and Erin couldn't be more different. Lani's reserved and thoughtful; Erin's bubbly and outgoing. Lani likes to do her own thing; Erin prefers an entourage. There's no possible way they could be interested in the same guy.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So when Erin starts dating Jason, Lani can't believe she feels such a deep connection with him--and it may be mutual. The more Lani fights it, the more certain she feels that it's her fate to be with Jason. But what do you do when the love of your life is the one person you can't have?</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I used to think that I wouldn’t enjoy a book about someone who goes after their best friend’s boyfriend. I assumed that any character in that position would try to justify it with lame excuses and half-apologies. After I read </span><a href="http://snarkandramble.blogspot.com/2012/03/sometimes-it-happens-by-lauren.html"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lauren Barnholdt’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes It Happens</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, I saw that this wasn’t true--Hannah was a great character and the story was crafted so that the situation was complicated. She never provided a lame excuse. She knew what she did and she knew it was wrong--but she also stuck to her convictions. Anyway, since I enjoyed that book and am interested in reading Melissa Walker’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unbreak My Heart</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, I figured I’d give this one a try, despite my loathing of the cover.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lani and Erin are best friends that are clearly growing apart. Erin spends her time with a big group of friends doing service projects, whereas Lani spends all of her time with either Erin or her in-the-closet friend Blake. When Erin starts dating Jason, Lani suddenly begins thinking they might have more in common.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unfortunately, I do not have the same good feelings for this book as I did for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes It Happens</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I prefer these types of books to know what they are. This one started off with Lani claiming that she could NEVER even like the same person as Erin, a conviction which falls to pieces as soon as Blake tells her she should be interested in Jason. I need my book to be more self-actualized than that.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was not all that much to the plot of this one, but it’s clearly more of a character study so that’s fine. However, I couldn’t stand Lani. Lani was a judgmental environmental activist with an obsession with fate and astrology. I felt like she explained her incredibly selfish behavior by invoking fate, which is crap. I don’t care what you think your cosmic plan is, your actions are your own and you have to take responsibility for them.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While I didn’t really enjoy Lani from the beginning, I knew that I was done with her when she said the following quote: “This is too much. It’s like we don’t even have a choice about being together. Fate decided this for us a long time ago.” (139) Ahem, no. If it’s one thing I cannot abide by, it is people and characters that claim they have no choice in their behavior. If a friend said this to me, I’d tell her that she was full of it.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The good thing about this book was that it did attempt to have more than one plot thread--the B-plot involving Blake and his verbally abusive dad was far more interesting and tolerable than Lani’s woes over dating her best friend’s ex-boyfriend. Blake, you should have been the narrator of this book. You’re a better character than Lani was and I’d like to hear about this from your point of view.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 2 - meh.</span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-84649342361118268852012-06-20T23:29:00.004-04:002012-06-20T23:29:58.457-04:00Waiting on Wednesday (20)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-taB1-THe5uEgu2lX7Y_QVJ2ppcBf7izI_MMf_7_QMdEzjKmaYGaR4zrajBrE912mA1OZaBWzchxasRSW0kfnal4ZUf0Tlgn0Ts0k0G8xvR4Y8FR1Vli5T00pN79xE-W1Xl2B03nv-OQ8/s1600/11340586.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-taB1-THe5uEgu2lX7Y_QVJ2ppcBf7izI_MMf_7_QMdEzjKmaYGaR4zrajBrE912mA1OZaBWzchxasRSW0kfnal4ZUf0Tlgn0Ts0k0G8xvR4Y8FR1Vli5T00pN79xE-W1Xl2B03nv-OQ8/s320/11340586.jpeg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Carnival of Souls</i> by Melissa Marr</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11340586-carnival-of-souls">goodreads</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">In a city of daimons, the Carnival of Souls hosts a deadly competition. Once in a generation, every citizen can fight to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">In our own world, Mallory knows that her father—and every other witch—fled the daimons’ city long ago. She trains to be lethal because it’s only a matter of time until the daimons catch up with them.</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans there for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence that is the Carnival of Souls.</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series, comes a brand-new tale of secrets, love, and the struggle to forge one’s own destiny.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Release date: September 4, 2012</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #015782; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;">Breaking the Spine</a></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-62456706483248303712012-06-19T23:27:00.001-04:002012-06-19T23:27:17.881-04:00Top Ten Tuesday (23)<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Top Ten Books on My Summer To Be Read List!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFmUaD1INzONGkE7Fuf4Rwm6BO73BuFzGOu9iKMKa52Nw6t0n8h4G9uqqqxhOK9xBF71v-dGsD91HqdPsJmKvbXpZZJeVTkm1wtRVmuUTnEsnSv35HgRxtIZksBEz3QOuyXJZWECOBBYQ/s1600/second+chance+summer.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFmUaD1INzONGkE7Fuf4Rwm6BO73BuFzGOu9iKMKa52Nw6t0n8h4G9uqqqxhOK9xBF71v-dGsD91HqdPsJmKvbXpZZJeVTkm1wtRVmuUTnEsnSv35HgRxtIZksBEz3QOuyXJZWECOBBYQ/s200/second+chance+summer.jpeg" width="130" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_KHvqYijFi3cPyM4WDk0yVhCWqRN-fQpDiCT4URpIImFr6CfU1dgRxk0f3z4Wtwhf9Y6RxlygYLR2zlgYIghlfl0X7_aHvWpEjqqdXZBlyM_nlUFvSZ9ni211BkeJwYeEpKUFnJW7IGbl/s1600/twowaystreet.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_KHvqYijFi3cPyM4WDk0yVhCWqRN-fQpDiCT4URpIImFr6CfU1dgRxk0f3z4Wtwhf9Y6RxlygYLR2zlgYIghlfl0X7_aHvWpEjqqdXZBlyM_nlUFvSZ9ni211BkeJwYeEpKUFnJW7IGbl/s200/twowaystreet.jpeg" width="134" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJqwpS5Fp6RYC8xUw-XmTpgddUL9dx0M9gE986nlGxYbntHp20Z3SwwpgcRnp3irifbYVA4Ie85e4A_9bBl-ABPkNVjkgNGKtrDmsDYQuptk0HC2E2OJforN6fgDnYbjZgDdF9hNWlTEP/s1600/lifenextdoor.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJqwpS5Fp6RYC8xUw-XmTpgddUL9dx0M9gE986nlGxYbntHp20Z3SwwpgcRnp3irifbYVA4Ie85e4A_9bBl-ABPkNVjkgNGKtrDmsDYQuptk0HC2E2OJforN6fgDnYbjZgDdF9hNWlTEP/s200/lifenextdoor.jpeg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSbe10dQA54Dp4HbvYsM5wYdcA8A0SJipK2nf5MMa-Ha3C0VlqewIryXlyd5AUJ2Hit1QMD59M4x50v7Y8t1diuYOvaZCqXCarkhEuyJm98Zh71rl5VtocIiYflZYw6Y9VlmuI4LWzLXT/s1600/unbreak.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSbe10dQA54Dp4HbvYsM5wYdcA8A0SJipK2nf5MMa-Ha3C0VlqewIryXlyd5AUJ2Hit1QMD59M4x50v7Y8t1diuYOvaZCqXCarkhEuyJm98Zh71rl5VtocIiYflZYw6Y9VlmuI4LWzLXT/s200/unbreak.jpeg" width="132" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Second Chance Summer</i> by Morgan Matson</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Two Way Street</i> by Lauren Barnholdt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>My Life Next Door </i>by Huntley Fitzpatrick</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Unbreak My Heart</i> by Melissa Walker</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxekCt_S05Z1NpCitrJgTaKYPHfXrmK-HdENxNJjORrbR9dcMNlvV2oy0VCINJgaEtocPkIJUT4oDDtzecpVuFnrm_i6_kL2wv-iA80lbklj7OTzr5ak3UctS24VRZNIXHrLzgy9G29O94/s1600/0316051594.01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxekCt_S05Z1NpCitrJgTaKYPHfXrmK-HdENxNJjORrbR9dcMNlvV2oy0VCINJgaEtocPkIJUT4oDDtzecpVuFnrm_i6_kL2wv-iA80lbklj7OTzr5ak3UctS24VRZNIXHrLzgy9G29O94/s200/0316051594.01.jpeg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66ROzpTue9LylzEwlF6vQaHm6ytz5PSCbLjZgn9dWfGo_L5aaYXcoPu952FGR0rtfEbE5CMpoqdLYTKhX0cveP8-oTrf0lvPNvS8L6FpkfGRktalUFpp7Ei4pzbhKdLNvqEbkrzFlEvBI/s1600/summerturned.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66ROzpTue9LylzEwlF6vQaHm6ytz5PSCbLjZgn9dWfGo_L5aaYXcoPu952FGR0rtfEbE5CMpoqdLYTKhX0cveP8-oTrf0lvPNvS8L6FpkfGRktalUFpp7Ei4pzbhKdLNvqEbkrzFlEvBI/s200/summerturned.jpeg" width="141" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Twenty Boy Summer</i> by Sarah Ockler</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Summer I Turned Pretty</i> by Jenny Han</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwc5pD6CVdSNivmrox3GrWTvVmpbyvhU-yNJiT1IvIloRqAlG0pJU-Oq30596tRAyHf9Z5k7NviW0ZCdFMgBJo760AiWhyphenhyphenAdg3zW9yrXrC_6p1HVhXqzqnOE04j3G3AW7OZTfhv4htv1tn/s1600/inhonor.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwc5pD6CVdSNivmrox3GrWTvVmpbyvhU-yNJiT1IvIloRqAlG0pJU-Oq30596tRAyHf9Z5k7NviW0ZCdFMgBJo760AiWhyphenhyphenAdg3zW9yrXrC_6p1HVhXqzqnOE04j3G3AW7OZTfhv4htv1tn/s200/inhonor.jpeg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxMlEvkQpeASZuD5lP-GAm2JMeoCOOKsUB9-9h_S_RT2m5COVv6S5wVJ65FSyseStodAK0yDfN3LvbPJvosDE3jveRgUP0jO8P9ggyu3lQm7eKYj6LkI19XW653674ODgFato7xvu4OLso/s1600/12805941.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxMlEvkQpeASZuD5lP-GAm2JMeoCOOKsUB9-9h_S_RT2m5COVv6S5wVJ65FSyseStodAK0yDfN3LvbPJvosDE3jveRgUP0jO8P9ggyu3lQm7eKYj6LkI19XW653674ODgFato7xvu4OLso/s200/12805941.jpeg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfebsCq5E_Bj_xs0yjpouKDlLJhqxsEVBMyzJq_Irqy8Xi43oZtZRaOr-GGgHKtiq1ts7Lz0iLJ_3WkoJsa2wHhUUtofKQ_HSgeaaMY5QlRxra7PA2nvnnrnhzSnCmGVdfW5fhTNlUtJZZ/s1600/midsummersnightmare.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfebsCq5E_Bj_xs0yjpouKDlLJhqxsEVBMyzJq_Irqy8Xi43oZtZRaOr-GGgHKtiq1ts7Lz0iLJ_3WkoJsa2wHhUUtofKQ_HSgeaaMY5QlRxra7PA2nvnnrnhzSnCmGVdfW5fhTNlUtJZZ/s200/midsummersnightmare.jpeg" width="130" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0TJV-kaM_F8qhm6dbROrGbwjJeSI4CZxFW8XHUmI4yH7Y3PnvsM5_ZczqpOvJXhbiSHcZNyEL5De0Dpri2TUTvlNA0_y6av0aA53QkKsDrSPhJzTC7d8f_-oOQa7OoO8QDzStjsJUV23/s1600/ferocitysummer.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0TJV-kaM_F8qhm6dbROrGbwjJeSI4CZxFW8XHUmI4yH7Y3PnvsM5_ZczqpOvJXhbiSHcZNyEL5De0Dpri2TUTvlNA0_y6av0aA53QkKsDrSPhJzTC7d8f_-oOQa7OoO8QDzStjsJUV23/s200/ferocitysummer.jpeg" width="129" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>In Honor</i> by Jessi Kirby</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Perfect Escape</i> by Jennifer Brown</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>A Midsummer's Nightmare</i> by Kody Keplinger</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Ferocity Summer</i> by Alissa Grosso</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by </span></span><a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/2012/02/kimberlys-top-ten-books-to-save-if-her.html" style="background-color: white; color: #5797b0; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Broke and the Bookish</span></a></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-82477637700405109882012-06-18T21:13:00.002-04:002012-06-18T21:13:12.201-04:00In My Mailbox (24)<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>LIBRARY</b>:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKLeLbcRTQUrTd2VBk8j3dW7x8oMJuvD7b55ovMK64tAo4ywkY2zGF6Lj1q8GJBg8OLqaOUUPg9FdjHw4QJR5tUkTa1ciX7rDUIH-mwpNAqZwNgJWslU4q1lAQswBekPQY3TveN5TlijRq/s1600/frostbite.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKLeLbcRTQUrTd2VBk8j3dW7x8oMJuvD7b55ovMK64tAo4ywkY2zGF6Lj1q8GJBg8OLqaOUUPg9FdjHw4QJR5tUkTa1ciX7rDUIH-mwpNAqZwNgJWslU4q1lAQswBekPQY3TveN5TlijRq/s200/frostbite.jpeg" width="131" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Frostbite</i> by Richelle Mead</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>KINDLE</b>:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZuDss1h_8LU7Q-GdK7ftI-e_B3ISG-j0UPzgUAtVNzFXsa1EV1wqskLkElEkvS9AXNvWljI_0VpTZmf8F51gx9AXJHFFOth6d5vWkyobfaHy7f3kasNQAnt_Qbt37Pq4sMrzF5esos4W/s1600/snark5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZuDss1h_8LU7Q-GdK7ftI-e_B3ISG-j0UPzgUAtVNzFXsa1EV1wqskLkElEkvS9AXNvWljI_0VpTZmf8F51gx9AXJHFFOth6d5vWkyobfaHy7f3kasNQAnt_Qbt37Pq4sMrzF5esos4W/s320/snark5.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Eve</i> by Anna Carey</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Girl is Murder</i> by Kathryn Miller Haines</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>In Too Deep</i> by Mandy Hubbard</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Daimon</i> by Jennifer L. Armentrout</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Half-Blood</i> by Jennifer L. Armentrout</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Obsidian</i> by Jennifer L. Armentrout</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">IMM is hosted by </span><a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/in-my-mailbox" style="background-color: white; color: #015782; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;">The Story Siren</a></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-21273987614821323482012-06-13T23:54:00.001-04:002012-06-13T23:54:16.374-04:00Waiting on Wednesday (19)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_hvSo8g2C67lz3AxymPtS9NhvmJ3NVU48UXa_nf7bjZLQ-aWf0YJYKJFsVaWyieM1YJKPZC42t4F-8-jMp-zz_UyXhjpg0w6RsvhocJb6QOVLWPHPtHHBNVJXm-uxvt2x80ukB9SAPZz2/s1600/10929432.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_hvSo8g2C67lz3AxymPtS9NhvmJ3NVU48UXa_nf7bjZLQ-aWf0YJYKJFsVaWyieM1YJKPZC42t4F-8-jMp-zz_UyXhjpg0w6RsvhocJb6QOVLWPHPtHHBNVJXm-uxvt2x80ukB9SAPZz2/s320/10929432.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i>The Archived</i> by Victoria Schwab</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10929432-the-archived">goodreads.com</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous—it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Release date: January 22, 2013</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #015782; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;">Breaking the Spine</a></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-80228306712942293772012-06-12T16:42:00.000-04:002012-06-12T16:42:08.938-04:00Top Ten Tuesday (22)<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9769011629224519" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Top Ten Beach Reads:</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvA8Y0R1usfyrMvdviwQCfVrDQiq8dW0lTynM09ZgX7hN43LTWfeN32SWHuN59yJytIc8uchaR0X2pYnoJAlzYGN9gyR0WsFjL1muEuyrLDM5bQ6nDNg6j5YjmmqYKz-ty6isW6E9ExA6c/s1600/book-sunglasses-beach_h528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvA8Y0R1usfyrMvdviwQCfVrDQiq8dW0lTynM09ZgX7hN43LTWfeN32SWHuN59yJytIc8uchaR0X2pYnoJAlzYGN9gyR0WsFjL1muEuyrLDM5bQ6nDNg6j5YjmmqYKz-ty6isW6E9ExA6c/s320/book-sunglasses-beach_h528.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Since
I am not a beach person AT ALL (I wish I was! I really wish I was!) I
had to imagine what others might want to read on a beach...which turned
into me creating a list of beach-set or summer-centered books I have
enjoyed over the years. People want to read books about beaches while
they’re on them, right?</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Keeping the Moon</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Sarah Dessen</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Morgan Matson</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pants on Fire</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Meg Cabot</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Au Pairs</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Melissa de la Cruz</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Summer Boys</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Hailey Abbott</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">6. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He’s SO Not Worth It</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
by Kieran Scott (okay, so maybe this is the second book in a trilogy.
It takes place at the beach and would be an awesome vacation book!)</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">7. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Along for the Ride</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Sarah Dessen</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">8. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sometimes it Happens</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Lauren Barnholdt</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">9. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pieces of Us </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by Margie Gelbwasser</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">10. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Imaginary Girls </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by Nova Ren Suma</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Enjoy your beach books! For now, I’ll just be reading in my backyard.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: center;">Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by </span><a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a></span></div>
<a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/2012/02/kimberlys-top-ten-books-to-save-if-her.html" style="background-color: white; color: #5797b0; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"></a><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-51155220301845583252012-06-11T21:45:00.000-04:002012-06-11T21:45:05.231-04:00In My Mailbox: BEA Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3wYbujWfmS9uAQcKGvkxMvy7oaOq0cutVnQ-Ruw2Vwq-CnxDX4mvE2cHZGNLW63UkI7xGCisrhXZfIOjF40HZT9YsVYVNt9vLkkpxzWiSjc4Q1ZzUDo1s4g8IJlCfc7n1epputxC5UtY/s1600/BEA1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3wYbujWfmS9uAQcKGvkxMvy7oaOq0cutVnQ-Ruw2Vwq-CnxDX4mvE2cHZGNLW63UkI7xGCisrhXZfIOjF40HZT9YsVYVNt9vLkkpxzWiSjc4Q1ZzUDo1s4g8IJlCfc7n1epputxC5UtY/s320/BEA1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The City's Son</i> by Tom Pollock (signed!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Zom-B</i> by Darren Shan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Darkest Minds</i> by Alexandra Bracken</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>What's Left of Me</i> by Kat Zhang (signed!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Out of the Easy</i> by Ruta Sepetys</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Between Shades of Gray</i> by Ruta Sepetys (signed!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Because It is My Blood</i> by Gabrielle Zevin (signed!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Glass Heart</i> by Amy Garvey (signed!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>When It Happens to You</i> by Molly Ringwald (signed!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Black City</i> by Elizabeth Richards</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Sun of Apollo</i> by Darab Lawyer and Clinton Libbey</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Level 2</i> by Lenore Appelhans (signed!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Spindlers</i> by Lauren Oliver (signed!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Raven Boys</i> by Maggie Stiefvater</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Rules of Civility</i> by Amor Towles (signed!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Origin</i> by Jessica Khoury</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Keeper of the Lost Cities</i> by Shannon Messenger</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Feedback</i> by Robinson Wells (signed!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Partials</i> by Dan Wells (signed!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Diviners</i> by Libba Bray</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Confessions of a Murder Suspect</i> by James Patterson</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY34ljfkhTb40EVpAcFUvBb4dKGIE6YdICf0EkMrj8uefa0TsqdKtoH99dy8-KDQ4vUplpH7wj4wGM8mKnSEaLLkpUPe-aKQUey2CLxebkES4HpXU8gAEQh5_SlzCKXg-xLQsQFFzn_HIx/s1600/BEA2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY34ljfkhTb40EVpAcFUvBb4dKGIE6YdICf0EkMrj8uefa0TsqdKtoH99dy8-KDQ4vUplpH7wj4wGM8mKnSEaLLkpUPe-aKQUey2CLxebkES4HpXU8gAEQh5_SlzCKXg-xLQsQFFzn_HIx/s320/BEA2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Land of Stories</i> by Chris Colfer</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Butterfly Clues</i> by Kate Ellison (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Demon Catchers of Milan</i> by Kat Beyer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Every Day</i> by David Levithan</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Immortal Rules</i> by Julie Kagawa (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Daughter of Smoke and Bone</i> (+<i>Days of Blood and Starlight</i> preview) by Laini Taylor</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Fathomless</i> by Jackson Pearce</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Altered</i> by Jennifer Rush</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>In a Glass Grimmly</i> by Adam Gidwitz</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Falling Kingdoms</i> by Morgan Rhodes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Chanel Bonfire</i> by Wendy Lawless</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Shadows</i> by Ilsa Bick</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Diviners</i> by Libba Bray (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Bootlicker</i> by Steve Piacente (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Beta</i> by Rachel Cohn (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>For Darkness Shows the Stars</i> by Diana Peterfreund (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Night Circus</i> by Erin Morgenstern (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Name of the Star</i> by Maureen Johnson (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Throne of Glass</i> by Sarah Maas (signed!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Also, that postcard holds Holly Black's autograph! She ran out of books, but I really didn't care about the book at that point.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbfGM2lXbWopv1QyEBlWQZR4JJ5fyYw0GtIIqHGIlYDJ9LPLiYXXHf1iuQXvA873rJrvPkyZZuC8m1141_2HF8ViiNHIckCC-0CXK19w0VWju3navu8C-YdWNJQP0-bNyIb4NWAOhqhVN/s1600/BEA3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbfGM2lXbWopv1QyEBlWQZR4JJ5fyYw0GtIIqHGIlYDJ9LPLiYXXHf1iuQXvA873rJrvPkyZZuC8m1141_2HF8ViiNHIckCC-0CXK19w0VWju3navu8C-YdWNJQP0-bNyIb4NWAOhqhVN/s320/BEA3.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Theory of Everything</i> by JJ Johnson(signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Ferocity Summer</i> by Alissa Grasso (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Fathomless</i> by Jackson Pearce (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Entice</i> by Jessica Shirvington</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Bzrk</i> by Michael Grant</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Code Name Verity</i> by Elizabeth Wein</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Cursed</i> by Jennifer L. Armentrout</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Jepp Who Defied the Stars</i> by Katherine Marsh</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Starry River of the Sky</i> by Grace Lin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Every Day</i> by David Levithan (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Burn for Burn</i> by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Time Between Us</i> by Tamara Ireland Stone</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Darkest Minds</i> by Alexandra Bracken (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Skylark</i> by Megan Spooner (signed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Hollow City</i> by Dan Wells</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Curiosities</i> by Maggie Stiefvater, Brenna Yovanoff, Tessa Gratton (signed!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">KINDLE:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWiCKziUpsttDOHCGP7My1ydc8AJ7QewvDfB-DrhzcZ8rNdKyPNp2MA6TseMpmojeznQAx2hMonX8Mcau9M-caMU8Ix8V02idulhJhkGNRN3PqFY9zQ5cwGKWP3TKRoVFBQiWTUwLALVJY/s1600/A+Discovery+of+Witches.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWiCKziUpsttDOHCGP7My1ydc8AJ7QewvDfB-DrhzcZ8rNdKyPNp2MA6TseMpmojeznQAx2hMonX8Mcau9M-caMU8Ix8V02idulhJhkGNRN3PqFY9zQ5cwGKWP3TKRoVFBQiWTUwLALVJY/s200/A+Discovery+of+Witches.jpeg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrmbeImuQPjOMcel6bMjjK8dZTfejizq3LoP5Py6XGyZVlPl1YOek8qSkYHOKKQpbcw4xK_4Gq4RwkhN9nWIXHxx9__YL2wWC_N4uBcZIPeFl35iXj_OoTk0QC7xpj_WFNXXA5bExvaQY/s1600/bridgetoterabithia.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrmbeImuQPjOMcel6bMjjK8dZTfejizq3LoP5Py6XGyZVlPl1YOek8qSkYHOKKQpbcw4xK_4Gq4RwkhN9nWIXHxx9__YL2wWC_N4uBcZIPeFl35iXj_OoTk0QC7xpj_WFNXXA5bExvaQY/s200/bridgetoterabithia.jpeg" width="137" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>A Discovery of Witches</i> by Deborah Harkness</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Bridge to Terabithia</i> by Katherine Paterson</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">IMM is hosted by </span><a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/in-my-mailbox" style="background-color: white; color: #015782; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;">The Story Siren</a></div>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-71709817903011298602012-06-10T22:04:00.002-04:002012-06-10T22:11:58.342-04:00Black Heart by Holly Black<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7011253379750997" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW WITHOUT FIRST READING WHITE CAT AND RED GLOVE. I do not want to spoil the magic that is reading Holly Black’s Curseworkers series for anyone.</span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gTxFPOsFvzTr_UVbw9p_eUQNsuhOL0_cgm3D-BpQ7R474-kP0xkCvPIkmzmy77-p_hKyki7HfXfKjxxV_pdG0h9Z9X3QKsHNZJHZQuOU2yLhiwIH0qvj4yzLaH680fDw3qmu0FyI4rpQ/s1600/blackheart.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gTxFPOsFvzTr_UVbw9p_eUQNsuhOL0_cgm3D-BpQ7R474-kP0xkCvPIkmzmy77-p_hKyki7HfXfKjxxV_pdG0h9Z9X3QKsHNZJHZQuOU2yLhiwIH0qvj4yzLaH680fDw3qmu0FyI4rpQ/s200/blackheart.jpeg" width="132" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon and Schuster)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 296</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Book Three in Holly Black’s FLAWLESS Curseworkers trilogy</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves about to take her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what’s right and what’s wrong becomes increasingly blurred. When the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what’s a con and what’s truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love.</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOlhGoXekCbl3O3f2iVyHw-NxMsvnj6ipHlpDR-bhkv6dtjBrPHdCI2XkNfd0HXLhcsIowun8N9bgo2sp0C83zfdRTkmP9Ltjm8ZW6lwUE92cxbsHnA2RQ7tu6Hz07gHiOLXdfjAVH9xw/s1600/BlackHeartBook.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOlhGoXekCbl3O3f2iVyHw-NxMsvnj6ipHlpDR-bhkv6dtjBrPHdCI2XkNfd0HXLhcsIowun8N9bgo2sp0C83zfdRTkmP9Ltjm8ZW6lwUE92cxbsHnA2RQ7tu6Hz07gHiOLXdfjAVH9xw/s200/BlackHeartBook.jpeg" width="131" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have been looking forward to this book since the first time I read the last page of </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Glove</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. That is all.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite a remarkable criminal history as both a con artist and an assassin, Cassel Sharpe is attempting to turn his life around. Going against the community he grew up in, the girl he loves, and his own intuition, Cassel trains with the Feds in order to find a different use for his dangerous transformation powers. Only, it turns out that the Feds want exactly the same things from Cassel that the Mob did. With the help of Lila and his unreliable brother Barron, Cassel has to figure out who’s playing him and how he can possibly live free from ties to people who want to use him.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just when you thought that the Curseworkers books couldn’t get any better, Holly Black slapped you in the face with the “gosh you’re wrong” stick and handed you a copy of </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Black Heart</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Her characterization is flawless. Cassel continues being plagued by internal conflicts, with his crime upbringing battling with his desire to be a good person and help the Feds. This, of course, becomes even more complicated when the Feds begin to manipulate him and he no longer knows who is in the right. Does Cassel ever just sit around and brood about how difficult his life is, even though is one of the few characters I think might just deserve to? NO! He is constantly thinking about his situations, the people he cares about around him, and acting in order to preserve their safety (though not usually his own, as can definitely be evidenced by some of his choices). That’s why he’s so wonderful.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then we have Lila. Fierce, used-to-be-a-cat-for-awhile-but-is-better-now Lila, who is now officially a part of the Zacharov crime family with a second smile to prove it. Now that she’s come out of her emotion working (thanks to Cassel’s mother) she’s pretty pissed, making her even more of a force to be reckoned with. But Lila also has a well expressed vulnerability that doesn’t get in the way of her totally kicking ass and taking names.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was stressed out throughout a significant portion of this book. I find a high literary stress level to be a wonderful sign for a book--if I’m stressed out about a character, it means that I care immensely about them. It means I’ve forgotten that a character, say Cassel Sharpe, is entirely the figment of someone’s imagination and therefore has a future already outlined for him. With his situation with the Feds and his familial ties to organized crime, I could not figure out how Cassel was going to avoid being used as a transformation working pawn for the rest of his life. The story that results from this is a fantastic, action/mystery/magic-driven tale that made me hurt every time I had to put the book down.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Black Heart</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Holly Black proves that there’s a damn good way to create the perfect end to a trilogy. The entirety of Cassel Sharpe’s story is brilliantly executed with a well-imagined alternate world, awesomely grey characters (meaning not black and white-nothing is simple in these books), and plots that just don’t quit. In case you haven’t noticed, I would recommend this series to anyone and everyone.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 5 - woo!</span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-43414448041571131622012-06-08T17:58:00.000-04:002012-06-10T22:11:44.993-04:00Red Glove by Holly Black<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6017929802183062" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHITE CAT</span><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. WILD SPOILERS FOR THAT BOOK ABOUND.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwgaKieb-PlZx0k6UvjjwiIQTvXgPABYHoXAIr2IdGyhGtqkZi6b2hzUNqZ4oQpP2gfx-WManC_4ePLP-RlFGYKuXTLcZygAYUx0njWvSI0lL0VjWr6ooohGQmEuP3UiUTOFcGrkFTzWJ/s1600/-2-red+glove.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwgaKieb-PlZx0k6UvjjwiIQTvXgPABYHoXAIr2IdGyhGtqkZi6b2hzUNqZ4oQpP2gfx-WManC_4ePLP-RlFGYKuXTLcZygAYUx0njWvSI0lL0VjWr6ooohGQmEuP3UiUTOFcGrkFTzWJ/s200/-2-red+glove.jpeg" width="131" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Margaret K. McElderry (Simon and Schuster)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 325</span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Book Two in Holly Black’s AMAZING Curseworkers trilogy</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she’s human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila’s been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila’s love is as phony as Cassel’s made-up memories, then he can’t believe anything she says or does.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Cassel’s oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can’t trust anyone—least of all, himself?</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I continue my reread of the Curseworkers series in preparation for reading </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Black Heart</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I also continue to gush about how much I adore these books in an embarrassing fashion. Just kidding, you have to have book shame in order to be embarrassed about something like that. I support these books 100% and will continue shouting it from the rooftops in a shameless fashion.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life just isn’t going Cassel Sharpe’s way. You think it would--he finally found out that he’s an incredibly transformation powerful worker, one of the rarest worker types that exists. Lila, the girl he previously thought dead, is very much alive and completely in love with him. Only the reason for Lila’s feelings is the magical touch Cassel’s mother gave her making her hopelessly devoted to him--and making it so Cassel now has to stay away from her. When Cassel finds out that his oldest brother Phillip has been murdered, he knows he has to find the killer. Problem is, both the Feds and various crime families want to recruit him for his extraordinary abilities. Cassel has to try to work outside of both in order to find out the truth--before more people are hurt in the process.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They just. Keep. Getting. BETTER. This was another re-read for me, but it was like I was reading the book for the first time. If I thought I really needed to know what happened at the end of White Cat, it was nothing compared to needing to know the answers to the questions in Red Glove. Who is Phillip’s killer? What does Cassel choose, helping the Feds or joining the Zacharovs in a life of crime (this time one he actually chose?)? All right, I knew the answer to these questions, but I raced through it to figure out how Cassel managed to get there.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While I’m here, bonus points for a murder mystery! Holly Black did the whole mystery thing right when Cassel tried to figure out his missing memories and what happened to Lila in the first book, but took it to a new level when Cassel had to figure out who killed his mob worker brother. SO GREAT!</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Obviously, the characters are still amazing. I adore Cassel, who is still discovering pieces of missing memories (for instance, where his least favorite chair came from...) and dealing with staying away from Lila when all she wants to do is be near him for all the wrong reasons. Their relationship is painful and amazing. Lila is a strong female character despite being cursed into devotion to Cassel. I was happy to see more of Sam and Daneca, especially since more backstory and depth was given to Daneca.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Glove</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is the perfect continuation of the Curseworkers series by Holly Black. This is one series that I was happy knowing it was going to be a trilogy--one or two books with Cassel, Lila, and their companions is certainly not enough. I’m going to doubt that three will be enough for me, but I’m looking forward to reading the conclusion to Cassel’s story. </span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 5 - shelf of favorites</span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7834698768008888694.post-72781548195317192222012-06-07T22:55:00.000-04:002012-06-10T22:11:27.125-04:00White Cat by Holly Black<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7410821805242449"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Publisher</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon and Schuster)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pages</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 310</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series or Stand Alone</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Book One in Holly Black’s FABULOUS Curseworkers Series</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: (from goodreads.com) The first in a trilogy, this gritty, fast-paced fantasy is rife with the unexpected. Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn’t fit in at home or at school, so he’s used to feeling like an outsider. He’s also used to feeling guilty—he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas—and a plan to con the conmen.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I re-read </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">White Cat</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> so that all the details were fresh in my mind so I could properly enjoy the third book, </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Black Heart</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, when it was released. Also, I loved this book so much that I really couldn’t wait to re-read it. I have it on my kindle (thanks to its $2.99 sale price) and I recently bought a copy in a store at a low bargain price in the event that I need to lend it to someone.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a world in which working magic is known and outlawed, Cassel Sharpe is a liar and a con artist. Skills like his were learned from childhood while surrounded by magical organized crime and his emotion-manipulating con artist of a mother. Cassel’s entire life is spent pretending to be something he’s not--pretending it doesn’t matter that he’s not a curseworker like the rest of his family, pretending he’s a normal teenager at his boarding school, pretending not to be bothered by the memory of the last time he saw his childhood friend and love Lila--dead, with him standing above her, holding a knife. Cassel starts sleepwalking and having dreams about a white cat. Once he notices that people around him are being memory-worked. Cassel knows he must find out the truth about what happened to Lila--and what’s been happening to him before more people get hurt.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We all know I adore this book, so I’ll just cut to the chase. The storyline is fantastic. I’m a fan of urban fantasy. I love seeing the world we know tweaked by magic and supernatural beings. In Cassel’s world, curseworking is outlawed. Everyone, worker or not, must wear gloves in order to prevent bare hand contact. Organized crime plays a major role in this book, with many of the characters involved with the Zacharov family. The government is attempting to make it so that everyone must be tested for abilities, causing worker rights advocacy groups to fight for privacy. Holly Black’s worldbuilding, though built into a recognizable reality for us, is fantastic. Politics and crime are just like they are in our world--except that magic plays a major role.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know I’ve spoken about my love for Cassel in Top Ten All Time Favorite Characters and Top Ten Favorite Narrators, but I can’t let this review go without shouting it from the rooftops again: I LOVE CASSEL SHARPE’S CHARACTER. Holly Black created an incredibly believable male voice and a perfect unreliable narrator to boot. Cassel lies and cons people, all while carrying a huge burden and a tangle of internal conflicts. All he wants is to be a normal teenage guy, not just act like one. Oh, Cassel. Good luck with that one.</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even though I had already read this book, I had to race through the end to find out what happened again (and maybe I finished it while I was supposed to be working, what of it?). Holly Black’s </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">White Cat</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a great start to the Curseworkers trilogy and a brilliant urban fantasy novel. I’d recommend it to anyone who might listen to me. Now, ON TO </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Glove</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">!</span><br /><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 5 - whoever thought this didn’t end up on my shelf of favorites clearly hasn’t listened to me speak</span></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NOTE: I was able to meet Holly Black at BEA yesterday and it was the BEST THING EVER!!! She was absolutely fantastic and I was able to talk to her about how much I adore these books. Woo!</span></span></b>Snark and Ramblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00305689024684637060noreply@blogger.com0