Interview + Giveaway: Author Luisa Plaja

Luisa Plaja is the author of two books I have thoroughly enjoyed, Split by a Kiss and Extreme Kissing. She lives in the UK, is the mother of two small children, works a day job, and keeps a blog of book reviews and more. Despite this incredibly busy schedule, she graciously took some time to answer a few questions for me. Thanks, Luisa!

Tea or coffee? Tea.

Favorite TV show? Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Favorite book? Masha by Mara Kay.

You think astrology is... fun.

When you are not writing, you are usually... reading, book blogging, or reading other people's book blogs.

The most extreme place you've been kissed is... (referring to geography, not anatomy. This is a G-rated interview) Hee hee. Hmm, maybe the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, after I eloped. :)

What drew you to write teen chick lit? I find the teenage years fascinating - it's a time full of first experiences, decisions to be made, and open paths branching out in front of you. It's also often a time when you start challenging your identity. I love reading coming-of-age stories. I've discovered that I also absolutely love writing them.

How did you come up with your book titles? I had a lot of help from the amazing staff of Random House Children's Books for 'Split by a Kiss', which I'd entitled 'Limey Girl Split'. 'Extreme Kissing' was my original title, though. Really, once I'd decided that the book would be about Extreme Travel, and risk-taking in teenage relationships, the title wrote itself.

Which of your characters was the most fun to write? That's hard to answer - I get wrapped up in the lives of all of them! Writing the two sides of Jo from Split by a Kiss was a fascinating puzzle. Carlota from Extreme Kissing was also a lot of fun to write. But the character I've felt most involved with so far has probably been Rachel from Split by a Kiss. Long after I'd finished the book, I couldn't stop thinking about her - so much that I was dying to write a book about her.

According to your bio, you have two children. I have a couple myself, so I'm wondering... when and how do you find time to write? It's difficult! I usually write when they're asleep at night. The main problem with that is having to get up at child o'clock in the morning.What's up next for you?

Do you have a new book in the works? Yes, I'm working on Swapped by a Kiss, the sequel to Split by a Kiss, and you might be able to guess who the main character is from what I said above. :)

I loved the extreme travelling idea from Extreme Kissing. Have you tried extreme travelling, and if so, please share a story. Probably the closest I've been to real Extreme Travel was when I lived in USA. We'd wait until the airlines announced their cut-price last-minute special weekend deals and then use them to fly anywhere in the States for a couple of days, at extremely short notice. It was an amazing way to explore and we went to some fantastic places.

Is there anything else you'd like to add? Thank you very much for interviewing me

Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed! Now, on to the giveaway.

Luisa has graciously offered to give away a copy of each of her books. One winner will receive Extreme Kissing, and one reader will receive Split by a Kiss. To enter, just leave your email address in the comments. This giveaway is open internationally (Thanks, Luisa!) and will close August 22nd.

Want extra entries? You'll get one for tweeting, blogging, shouting from the rooftops, or otherwise publicizing Luisa and this contest. Just mention it in your entry. Good luck, all!

Review: Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Last word first: (4/5) Adventure with a very atypical heroine. I loved it.

Would Joe like this book? No.

Description: Benevolence is not your typical princess. She’s chubby, not waiflike. She has no interest in dancing, needlework, or good penmanship; never mind how to run a state. Fortunately, Ben is far enough down the line of succession that no one insists she learn these things. Then, when a tragic accident occurs, the grieving Ben is left in the clutches of her aunt, the Queen, and her days of ignorance are over. As war threatens the country, Ben will both learn her greatest lesson and face her biggest adventure.

My thoughts: It took me a few chapters to get into this book. I felt badly for Ben, but her whining got on my nerves. This is funny, really, because in her situation I would whine my lips off, but when it happens to someone in a book, I’m totally unsympathetic. “So your aunt is mean to you! So what?”

Once the book got going a little more, I absolutely loved it. Ben is an engaging heroine, with her abhorrence of ball gowns and love of mince pies. Even though you know she’s behaving badly, you can’t help but like her. Murdock has written Ben with the same frankness that I loved about DJ, the heroine of Dairy Queen and The Off Season. I’m a little sad, because I think I’ve got up on the author’s backlist now, so I’ll have to wait for new novels to find anything else by her.

The writing in this book is fast paced and fun. Ben, her aunt Sophia, annoying Prince Florian, and all the other characters leap off the page into full color life as you read. Princess Ben also manages to use more big words than I would expect to see in a book for this age group. Which I mean as a big plus!

I entertained myself trying to keep track of all the fairy tale references in this book. I know I found Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, but there were a few more I couldn’t quite place. This is the kind of princess story I want to save for my daughters. No lying around waiting for a magical kiss for this princess. Ben jumps out there, grabbing her own destiny by the horns. This is a marvellous coming of age tale that I think would be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

About Catherine Gilbert Murdock: My sister Liz, who is now a Very Famous Writer (she wrote Eat, Pray, Love), was my primary companion, even though she wouldn’t even try to jump off the garage roof; not once. Now she travels all over the world collecting stories and diseases, while I stay at home scowling over paint chips, and trying to keep my kids off our garage. So the cycle continues. - from the bio on her website.

Every fairy tale, it seems, concludes with the bland phrase "happily ever after." Yet every couple I have ever known would agree that nothing about marriage is forever happy. There are moments of bliss, to be sure, and lengthy spans of satisfied companionship. Yet these come at no small effort, and the girl who reads such fiction dreaming her troubles will end ere she departs the altar is well advised to seek at once a rational woman to set her straight.

Waiting on Wednesday: Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White

Release Date: Feb. 2010

Description: When someone leaves three mystery flowers outside her dorm door, Laurel thinks that maybe the Avondale School isn't so awful after all -- until her own body starts to freak out. In the middle of her English presentation on the Victorian Language of Flowers, strange words pop into her head, and her body seems to tingle and hum. Impulsively, Laurel gives the love bouquet she made to demonstrate the language to her spinster English teacher. When that teacher unexpectedly and immediately finds romance, Laurel suspects that something -- something magical -- is up. With her new friend, Kate, she sets out to discover the origins and breadth of her powers by experimenting on herself and others. But she can't seem to find any living experts in the field of flower powers to guide her. And her bouquets don't always do her bidding, especially when it comes to her own crush, Justin. Rumors about Laurel and her flowers fly across campus, and she's soon besieged by requests from girls -- both friends and enemies -- who want their lives magically transformed -- just in time for prom.

My thoughts: I've always been fascinated by the language of flowers, and the idea of turning it into a magical system sounds like it has endless potential for fun. This promises to be a great story! I also really like the cover.

Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Last word first: Wintergirls is a powerful and beautifully written story of a teen girl coming apart at the seams. (5/5)

Description: Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? Now Cassie is dead. Lia’s mother is busy saving other people’s lives. Her father is away on business. And the voice inside Lia’s head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps going this way – thin, thinner, thinnest – maybe she’ll disappear altogether.

My thoughts: I’m not ashamed to tell you that this book scared me. Even before I read it myself, I could tell by the reactions other reviewers were having that this book was something powerful. When I finally stopped watching the book out of the corner of my eye and picked it up to read, I found out I was right to be afraid. Still, I’m glad I read it.

Wintergirls is the chilling depiction of a mind in the grip of severe, advanced, anorexia. But in the end, it’s not really about eating disorders. It’s about Lia facing her guilt over her friend’s death and searching for her own reason to want to live. Lia is lost, adrift in her own self-loathing and ambivalence about her family and her future. You cannot help but be touched by this beautiful, talented girl, who nonetheless so hates her own existence that she’s trying to disappear.

Anderson does an excellent job using language to convey the combined seductiveness and repulsiveness of the mindset of anorexia. The writing style is a little unorthodox, with lots of strike-outs, incomplete sentances, and words run together. The mesmerizing, slightly confused style of the narration gives the reader a crystal-clear insight to the cloudiness of Lia’s mind.

So I will be joining the chorus of voices recommending this book. I thought originally this might be a book geared toward helping teens who suffer from an eating disorder, but I don’t think I would recommend it for that. I think I might be afraid it would end up having the opposite of the desired effect. Wintergirls would be a fantastic book club read, or for individuals who enjoy reading something a bit more thought provoking. As a parent, I think this would also be a great read for parents of teens who maybe need a little help remembering what that time of your life was like.

About Laurie Halse Anderson: She was born Laurie Beth Halse. This would be a good place to clear up the matter of the pronunciation of her name, because it is, after all, her name, and she is weary of hearing it mangled by well-meaning people. Halse rhymes with waltz. Not “hal-see.” No, no, no, no. Halt-z. If she could have anything she wanted, it would be world peace. But if she could have a second thing, it would be having people say her name correctly. After being born, Laurie went on to be a child, and she did a pretty good job. Her second grade teacher showed her how cool writing was during a haiku lesson. She read all the time. She was awful at math, but then, most creative people are, and she has gotten over it. – from the bio on her website

Book vs. Movie: Howl's Moving Castle

Beware! This post contains many spoilers for both the book and the movie. If you don't want to read spoilers, please check out my book review of Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.

The first half of the book and movie are actually very similar. Sophie is cursed by the Witch of the Wastes, she becomes and old woman, and she falls in with Howl, Calcifer and Michael in the moving castle. After that, the plots really diverge. In the movie, Howls ends up serving the King of Ingary by fighting in war, which turns Howl into a monstrous creature. In the book, the plot focuses much more on Howl's attempts to evade the curse placed upon him by the Witch of the Wastes and Sophie's mission to cure her own curse.

While I liked the movie, I found it confusing. Sometimes Sophie's an old woman, sometimes she seems to be getting better, then she's an old woman again. Howl is a bad guy. Howl is a good guy. Howl is turning into a bizarre monster. WHAT? While some of these same events happen in the book, the story flows a lot more smoothly by virtue of the narrator's comments giving you hints about what's going on.

I liked the character of Howl a lot better in the book. The choppiness of the storytelling in the movie made it tough to see the good sides of his character, and then Sophie started falling in love with him and I couldn't figure out why. Then you have to factor in that even though he was voiced by the incredible Christian Bale, he still looked like a girl! However, Calcifer and the Scarecrow were better in the movie. I guess they're the type of characters who really need visual aids. Also, several characters who are in the book were eliminated or severely cut back for the movie. I know that almost every book ends up with those kinds of cuts for the movie version, but in this case, the story is significantly richer with the extra characters.

It's hard to beat a Miyazaki movie for visual appeal. I loved how the castle looked and acted in the movie, and the characters' appearance and animation has a beautiful style to it. Even Howl's green-slime temper tantrum (one of the story's funniest moments) is disgustingly fantastic.

In the final reckoning: I like the book better, but the movie is well worth watching too. The story is more cohesive and the ending makes more sense in the book. But if you like darker and more complicated, the movie might just be your cup of tea. The Howl-as-sinister-beast scenario is definitely an interesting one.

Review: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Last word first: An intriguing story with a slightly fairy-tale-esque feel to it. (4/5)

Would Joe like this book? Yes.

Description: In the Land of Ingary stands a moving castle. Inside its smoke-darkened walls is the Wizard Howl, whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the souls of young girls. The workings of destiny and magic begin when Sophie Hatter falls under a spell and enters the castle. First she faces Calcifer, the fire demon. He will help Sophie if she will break his contract with Howl. But the Witch of the Waste, dormant for fifty years, is ready to do her worst... – from the book cover.

My thoughts: This story had me at hello. I read the first paragraph and I knew I would like it.

“In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortunes. Sophie Hatter was the eldest of three sisters.”

And that’s pretty much how it goes on. Tongue in cheek, self-deprecating humor all around. This isn’t a laugh out loud funny book, nor is it a fairy tale retold, but it has elements of both.

With characters like Howl and Sophie around, it’s hard not to laugh. When the Witch transforms Sophie into an old woman, Sophie finds herself strangely freed. No longer her dormouse-quiet self, she tells everyone exactly what she thinks of them. She also sticks her big feet and long nose into absolutely everything, so despite her good intentions, she never quite seems to get anything right. Howl, on the other hand, is a bit of a scoundrel. He’s a coward, he’s vain, and he’s selfish. And yet he has moments of kindness and bravery that make it hard to totally dislike him. And with his brilliance, he rarely puts a foot wrong. Toss these two together, add a few good supporting characters, and you’ve got a great mix.

Storywise, even those of you who have seen the movie will find a few surprises here, because the plots are fairly different. The book focuses very much on Sophie’s attempts to save herself and, by extension, Howl, from the curses of the Witch, which was actually a small portion of the movie. The story is well-written, though there were a few annoying typos, and I found the style very enjoyable to read.

Recommended for lovers of fairy-tale type stories, as well as those who like fantasy.

Check out my book vs. movie comparison.

About Diana Wynne Jones: "I think I write the kind of books I do because the world suddenly went mad when I was five years old. In late August 1939, on a blistering hot day, my father loaded me and my three-year-old sister, Isobel, into a friend’s car and drove to my grandparents’ manse in Wales. "There’s going to be a war," he explained." - from the bio on her website

My question to you: What kind of curse would you want to put on someone who was annoying you?

Slightly Off-Topic: On Commenting

I spend almost as much time reading and commenting on other people's blogs as I do working on my own. This is partly self-serving. I learn about new books I want to read, I find out about trends and opportunities going on in the blogging community. Partly I just do this because I know how encouraging it is as a blogger to get those comments.

I have a few questions. Do you, bloggers, like to get comments on your posts, even if it's just a generic "Great review" or "Interesting concept" type dealie? I know these are the virtual equivalent of scrawling "Vanessa wuz here" on the bathroom wall, but I leave them sometimes, just because I figure it's nice for you to know that yes, someone was there and liked what you wrote. Most of the time I try to leave a comment that's a little more unique and interesting, though.

Second question. Commenters (aka the joy of my existence), do you like getting responses to your comments? I know I do, and I like to interact with those people who take the time to read my blog, so I try to respond to as many comments as I can. The thing is though, I pretty much only respond to the comments that have an email address attached to them, so I just hit "reply" in my email program and away we go. I know that it's really hard for people to make it back and actually read replies I've left for them in the comments, so I usually don't bother. (NOTE: Make sure to attach an email address to your blogger profile, so I am able to respond to your comments.) For myself, I know that recieving a response to one of my comments virtually guarentees I'll visit that blog again, because I enjoy the sense of interaction.

I guess what it boils down to is this: how interactive do you want this (or any other blog) to be? Discuss.

Review: Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

Last word first: Loved it! Absolute zany hilarity from start to finish.

Would Joe like this book? I read Joe selected excerpts from this book and he thinks they’re hilarious, but I doubt he’d want to read the whole thing.

Description: Do you really need a description? OK. Stephenie Plum, bounty hunter/ disaster waiting to happen, is at it again. This time, her friend Lula has witnessed a murder, and now the killers are out to eliminate the troublesome observer. At the same time, Ranger’s business is under attack by someone sabotaging his clients’ security.

My thoughts: I’m not going to say a whole lot about this book, because the truth is, one book in this series is very much like another. Stephenie chases bad guys, who mostly get away from her. Stephenie and Lula get into embarrassing trouble together. Morelli and Ranger are both extremely hot (one problem of Steph’s that I wouldn’t mind having.. hehe). It’s formulaic, but it’s a winning formula.

I thought Fifteen was better than Fourteen, maybe because it features Ranger more than Morelli. I love Ranger. Also, Lula gets into some really funny messes. Picture Lula in a chef's costume and flak vest with her hat on fire. If you like this series, you’ll like this instalment. It’s pure fun, great escapist reading.

About Janet Evanovich: "When I was a kid I spent a lot of time in LaLa Land. La la Land is like an out-of-body experience --while your mouth is eating lunch your mind is conversing with Captain Kirk. Sometimes I'd pretend to sing opera. My mother would send me to the grocery store down the street, and off I'd go, caterwauling at the top of my lungs. Before the opera thing I went through a horse stage where I galloped everywhere and made holes in my Aunt Lena's lawn with my hooves. Aunt Lena was a good egg. She understood that the realities of daily existence were lost in the shadows of my looney imagination." -from the bio on her website

My question to you: Ranger or Morelli?

Review + Giveaway: The Unexpected Gift by Atha & Wagar

Last word first: (3/5) A sweet and touching story of the real difference friendships can make.

Would Joe like this book? No.

Description: Drew Robbins Warren is a beautiful, intelligent successful mother of two whose husband has just left her for a younger woman. Leah Cline is a pregnant eighteen year old with no family, no friends, and no money. The only thing these woman have in common is loneliness. But when Drew delivers a box of hand-me-down baby clothes to the projects, fate brings the two together, and a remarkable journey begins. (from the book cover)

My thoughts: This is really a feel-good fantasy-about-reality kind of book. You know, those moments when life sucks and you just wish you could sweep in there and fix it, but reality is overwhelming? This story overcomes those odds. Realistic? Maybe not, but it sure was fun to read. I was definitely rooting for Drew and especially Leah as the story went on.

There’s an interesting point in this book where Drew intervenes to help Leah walk away from a toxic situation. I can’t say that I’ve ever been in this type of situations, but I have been around them, and I have never seen one resolved this easily. I don’t know if this portrayal hurts women by making it look like leaving an abusive situation should be quick, easy and painless. Maybe it will help by encouraging people to believe that it’s even possible. I just don’t know. Any thoughts?

The writing style in this book wasn’t its best feature. There are a few speeches in this book that really felt strange in their settings. Drew speaks out to her husband, the neighbourhood gossiping biddies, and her son with an overreaction that had the feeling of those retorts you make up in your mind long after the time for response has passed. I’m sure it was cathartic for the authors in the process of writing, but it didn’t feel genuine to me. On the other hand, it was fun to imagine.

I rate this book 3 out of 5.

About Michelle Bulmer Atha & Meghan Gonzales Wagar: When long-time friends Meaghan Gonzales Wagar and Michelle Bulmer Atha experienced the pain of a broken marriage at the same time, self-pity, pints of ice cream and loads of Chinese take-out would have been an easy escape. But these two Atlanta-area school teachers found a different medicine to soothe their heartache: a little dose of charity.

My question to you: Have you ever received a random act of kindness that meant a lot to you?

GIVEAWAY! If this book sounds like something you’d like to read, this is your lucky day. Just answer my question above and leave your email address to be entered to win one of three copies of The Unexpected Gift. Open to addresses within the US and Canada, winners will be chosen and emailed on or around July 31, 2009. Good luck!

Can't wait? Click the book cover image to purchase from Amazon.

Be sure to have a look at my birthday giveaway with three great books to choose from, open internationally!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Line

Title: The Line

Author: Teri Hall

Description: Set in the near future, THE LINE chronicles the adventures of fifteen year old Rachel Quillen. Since her father died in a war, Rachel and her mother, Vivian, have lived in relative isolation on a place called The Property. It's the home of Ms. Moore, a taciturn woman who makes her living growing orchids. She hired Rachel’s mother as a housekeeper, even though she sensed Vivian was in some sort of trouble. Ms. Moore couldn’t be too picky, for there are reasons that good help is hard to find when you live too near the Line.

The National Border Defense System is an impenetrable barrier intended to protect the Unified States from invasion. Because of an impending attack, construction of the System had to be rushed, and the last section—called the Line—was built inside the U.S. border. When it was hastily activated, it created a permanent division between those lucky enough to be on the U.S. side and those who were not. Families were ripped apart, lovers separated. The territory left unprotected became known as Away; the abandoned unfortunates who survived the enemy attack became the Others. Over the years frightening stories circulated about the Others, stories about strange abilities and evil intentions. The Line became a place to avoid.

For Rachel, the activation of the Line is just a history lesson; it happened long before she was born. Life on The Property has been good, if rather dull, and the Line is just something that has always been there. But things are about to change in ways she never imagined and suddenly the world outside The Property—a world of government control and corruption, where people without power or influence have few choices—begins to intrude.

My thoughts: This sounds like a really great dystopian world that I think I'm really going to enjoy. As long as I don't have to live there.

Review: Ruined by Paula Morris

Last word first: Steeped in beautiful New Orleans culture, this book is a creepy page-turner. (4/5)

Release date: August 1, 2009. Preorder Ruined from Amazon.

Would Joe like this book? Probably not, but mostly because he doesn’t like ghost stories. This book was surprisingly not very girly/romancy.

Description: When 16-year-old Rebecca’s father has to go work and live in China for six months, he insists that Rebecca leave their home in New York and go to live with her aunt in New Orleans. Immersed in the strange culture of her new home, Rebecca almost feels like she’s in a different country. The only person who seems to like her is Lisette, a young girl she met in the cemetery next to Rebecca’s aunt’s home. The fact that they met in a cemetery makes sense when you consider that Lisette’s a ghost. She’s a ghost with a tragic and mysterious past that, strangely, seems to coincide with Rebecca’s future a little too closely for comfort.

My thoughts: Loved it! Ruined started out strong and kept going that way. The book distinguished itself right off from so many others in this genre because it is told in the third-person, rather than the first. At first this threw me off a little, but I think it also gave the story more depth by enabling descriptions of things that Rebecca wouldn’t necessarily notice.

There wasn’t as much of a romantic storyline to Ruined as I thought there was going to be. Based on the book cover blurb, I thought Anton was going to play a bigger role. He didn’t have much dialogue, so while Anton was present at a lot of scenes, he didn’t feel like a huge presence. There also isn’t a lot of obsessing about him on Rebecca’s part. What? A sixteen year old girl who doesn’t obsess about her crush! Is that even legal in this genre? While the lack of dialogue and teen-girl obsessing definitely make this book more Joe-friendly, I might have preferred a few more “talking parts.”

However, Ruined is, first and foremost, a ghost story. Rebecca’s mission is to figure out what happened to Lisette, why she is stuck here as a ghost, and how that relates to the mysterious curse placed on some of the most prominent families of New Orleans. The strange thing is, and maybe this is just me, but it wasn’t really scary. I don’t read a lot of ghost stories, but aren’t they supposed to be scary? Hmmm... anyway, in order to discover the answers she’s looking for, Rebecca must delve into the history of her new city, and of the families she’s trying to help.
The city of New Orleans is really the star of the book, if you ask me. I loved reading about the krewes, parades, debutantes and balls. There is also a lot about Katrina and its aftermath, so I really felt like I got a feeling for the city after reading this book. Which is great, since I can’t really afford to travel there.

In the end, I really liked this book. Its rich descriptions and vivid storytelling make it a captivating read.

About Paula Morris: PAULA MORRIS is also the author of several adult fiction novels. She lives in New Orleans and knows the city’s nooks and crannies first hand. - borrowed from Amazon

My question to you: What is your favourite ghost story? Book or otherwise.

Happy Birthday to Me Giveaway!

So, the Canada Day giveaway ended yesterday, and today is my birthday, so these things seem to add up to... GIVEAWAY TIME! This time I'm going to let you win my three favorite books of the year so far:

1. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Because I'm feeling benificent today, I'm going to make this easy for you. Just leave a comment with you book pick and your email address to enter. If I recieve 20 entries, I'll give away one book. 50 entries, 2 books. 75 entries, I will be picking three winners.
+1 if you are/become a follower or subscriber, just be sure to mention it.
+1 for posting a link to this contest on your blog, Twitter, etc, just let me know and leave a link.

Ends August 8th, 2009. Open to EVERYWHERE!

Good luck, everyone!

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Release date: September 1, 2009

WARNING: Catching Fire is the sequel to The Hunger Games. This review contains spoilers to the previous book in the series. If you haven't read The Hunger Games (and WHY haven't you?), you might want to stop reading this review.

Last word first: Absolutely fantastic. I loved every minute and I'm still living it in my head. You must read this. 5/5

Would Joe like this? Joe LOVED it.

Description: Using a dangerous gambit, Katniss and Peeta have become the first dual winners in the history of the Hunger Games. They have embarrassed the President and the Capitol, and they know retribution will come, sooner or later. Meanwhile, seeds of rebellion are growing in the oppressed districts and Katniss needs to decide where she stands. Can she find the courage to join in the fight? Will she even live long enough to decide?

My thoughts: I forced myself to read this book slowly, over the course of three days, because I just couldn't stand that it had to end. WOW. Given how much I loved The Hunger Games I didn't think it was possible for Catching Fire to live up to my expectations, but it exceeded them. In all my speculations on where Collins was going to take Katniss and Peeta, I didn't even get close. I'm going to try very hard to stay away from any spoilers here.

First off, this book managed to continue the adrenaline level of the Hunger Games far more successfully than I would have thought was possible. It does start off a little slowly, with Katniss and Peeta preparing to take their victory tour around the districts. The pace kicks up a few notches when they discover that their act of contempt toward the Capitol has had more of an effect, in more places, than they could have imagined. Katniss needs to decide- will she attempt to protect herself and her family, or allow herself to become the figurehead of a much-needed rebellion?

Peeta a much fuller role in this book. Now that he realizes Katniss was only pretending to be in love with him in order to win the Games, how will he treat her? As they find themselves together in a new fight for their lives and the lives of their families, Katniss and Peeta must rely on each other again. The tension between Katniss's desire for self-preservation vs. her desire to protect her friend is almost unbearable, especially as she is again serving as the narrator and the reader is hearing her thoughts.

I have so much admiration for Collin's writing. When I am reading this book, I am actually with Katniss as she's going through her struggles. One of my favorite parts of The Hunger Games was the way it played with my mind and my sympathies, and the same type of conflict goes on in Catching Fire. I couldn't just pick one character to cheer for. I wanted Katniss to be OK, but there were so many others that I just knew couldn't make it. Beyond the excitement, Catching Fire explores deeper issues like social responsibility and the effects of normalized violence on teens and young adults. Honestly, the book is still playing in my mind weeks after reading it.

If, for some reason, all the rave reviews for this book and its prequel have failed to sway you, I will add my voice to the clamor. READ THIS BOOK! PREORDER THIS BOOK! I cannot recommend Catching Fire enough.

Suzanne Collins, on her influences for The Hunger Games series: "Other early influences would have to include watching too many gladiator movies which dramatized the Romans' flair for turning executions into popular entertainment, my military specialist dad who took us to battlefields for family vacations, and touring with a sword fighting company in high school. But it wasn't until the much more recent experience of channel surfing between reality TV programming and actual war coverage that the story for this series came to me." (borrowed from the Scholastic website)

Second opinions: Presenting Lenore - Angieville -

Canada Day Giveaway Winner

And the winner is...

Ladybug from Escape in a Book!

Congratulations, Ladybug! The book she chose is Tatsea, which will be winging its way to her as soon as I receive her mailing address.

For all those who did not win, don't despair. A new international giveaway starts tomorrow!

Review: Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

Last word first: A little formulaic, but I enjoyed it. 3.5/5

Would Joe like this book? No.

Description:

' “Selkie merfolk are usually recognizable by a few key features, such as: a lush, sensitive beauty; a predilection for the colors red and gold; kindness towards visitors and explorers; and homes close to the shore.” ' (Sea Change, p. 36 HC)

Studious Miranda isn’t expecting much when she goes to join her mother in their recently inherited summer home. They’re just going to pack the place up and get it ready for sale. Yet Miranda cannot help but be intrigued when she hears the legends told about Selkie Island. She’s even more interested when she realizes that those legends are reminding her a lot of Leo, a boy she meets on the island.

My thoughts: I think it has to be said that I am have just about had it with all the Twilight read-alikes out there. After normal-girl-falls-for-vampire became so wildly successful, we’ve got that normal girl falling for werewolves, fairies, ghosts, and pretty much every other mythical being known to man. Now mermen are covered, too, but I think ogres and gnomes might still be up for grabs. Good luck making THAT sexy.

But clearly there was room in my heart for at least one more Twilight spawn, because I actually quite enjoyed Sea Change. I bounced between loving and being annoyed with Miranda, who, while she seems like the kind of girl I would like to hang out with, also kept having huge reactions to nothing. I did appreciate that she came with a backstory that explained some of it, though. Our leading man, Leo, had a great blend of mysterious and charming working for him. His rival, TJ, provided some great contrast with suave jerkitude at its best. (Yes, I think I just invented a word.) The other background characters helped to set the stage as the story took me on a tour of the upper class lifestyle in the Old South. Which sounds awesome, by the way. The parties, the debutantes, the courteous gentlemen... the food. Too bad I don’t have any Old Southern relatives to get me entrance to aforementioned lifestyle.

Other than Miranda’s slightly spastic behaviour, my only real complaint about this book is that nothing really gets resolved. I would have liked to see the merpeople mythology fleshed out and explained a little more. What it does ensure, though, is that I will be reading the sequel. I hear there is one in the works.

About Aimee Friedman: Aimee Friedman was born and raised in Queens, New York, in an apartment filled with books and different languages. She wrote her first story at the age of five, and was off and running from there. Aimee wrote all through her years as a student at the Bronx High School of Science and then Vassar College. -from the bio on her website.

My question to you: Can you think about mermaids without picturing Ariel? Because I can’t.

Second opinions:
Juju @ Tales of Whimsy fell in love!

Review: The Great Plague by Pamela Oldfield

Last word first: A great way to learn about a historical event without falling asleep. 4/5

Would Joe like this book? Yes.

Description: The fictional diary of a 14-year-old girl named Alice living in London in 1665. As the bubonic plague sweeps the city, Alice documents its progress even as she struggles to survive herself. The story covers events through the Great Fire of 1666.

My thoughts: As my husband the history buff will tell you, I tend to start nodding off whenever someone brings up events that happened longer ago than yesterday. But if you’re going to read about history, this book is definitely the way to do it.

I was completely absorbed by the story of the Plague, as seen through Alice’s eyes. Looking at an even t in the first person (even vicariously) is so much more compelling than just reading a paragraph in a history text. The fear and horror come alive as the death toll rises and Alice wonders if the world as she knows it could really be coming to an end.

This is a great book for anyone curious about this historical period who doesn’t have the patience or stomach for something like Ken Follett’s World Without End (great story, though not as good as Pillars... and LONG). I’ll be passing this one along to my friend the 8th grade teacher for her classroom library.

My question to you: What historical event/time period do you find most fascinating?

Slightly Off Topic: Covers That Have Nothing to Do With the Story

Have you ever picked up a book, read it, and then wondered to yourself, "What on earth does the cover have to do with anything?" I do, too. I'm not saying that every book cover has to precisely depict a scene from the story, but it would be nice if they were at least in the ball park of mood. Sometimes they seem deliberately misleading. Oh, well. It ends up being pretty entertaining, at least. This is one of my favorites:

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. I love John Wyndham. He wrote these old-style science-fiction novels. My dad owned them all and I read them while in my younger teens. Look at this cover and decide what you think this book is about. Maybe aliens, or mutated people of some kind? This story is actually about a group of children/teens who can communicate with each other telepathically. They aren't green. There are no monsters of this kind in the story. I don't get it. Maybe the cover is trying to say that this is how people perceive the telepaths?

Do you see my point? Book covers are a huge part of what makes me pick up a book, so I get really annoyed when they are off-topic. I may even use the word deceitful. So, if you'd like to suggest any more misleading book covers, I'd be happy to do a post about them. Just leave your suggestion in the comments or send me an email at gypsyrover21 AT yahoo DOT ca

Since I don't have much to say today, I'm going to leave you with a picture of Indy, who is now almost three months old and growing quite literally like a weed.

Review: And Then Everything Unraveled by Jennifer Sturman

Last word first: Chick-lit with fun, likable characters, and a mystery to boot. Good times! 3.5/5

Would Joe like this book? No.

Description: After the research ship that 16-year-old Delia’s mother was travelling on mysteriously disappears in the Antarctic, Delia is shipped across the country to live with her aunt. Her flaky aunt, whom Delia has never met. Everyone is telling Delia to give up hope, but she doesn’t believe her mother is gone for good, and so she decides to take the investigation into her own hands.

My thoughts: Unraveled was a good, fun read. I found it to be a bit of a slow starter, but great once it got going. I really enjoyed Delia’s character, and her interaction with the King of Ennui (or is he?), Quinn. The dialogue and internal commentary were snappy and fun. Delia’s kooky Aunt Charley adds a splash of color, and Aunt Patience makes a great Evil Witch of the West. Overall, good characters and writing.

On the “mystery” side of things, this book reminded me a bit of the old Nancy Drews that I read growing up. Though Unraveled is set in modern times, and no one ever “goes steady.” The plot doesn’t have a whole lot of twisty turnings, but it was enough to keep me involved, trying to guess who the bad guys were. The ending was unsatisfying, but at least there's a sequel.

I think teens, particularly younger teens, will really enjoy this book and have fun reading it. And if you are an adult who likes teen fiction as a rule, you’ll probably get a kick out of this story. The plot lacks enough complexity for me to recommend it for adults in general, though.

Content warning: The only issue is one incidence of a minor consuming alcohol, though it is not glorified at all.

About Jennifer Sturman: Jennifer Sturman is the author of several mystery novels, including The Pact and The Jinx. After graduating from Harvard College, Jennifer earned her MBA from Harvard Business School. She now lives in New York City, a few blocks from Delia’s aunt Charley. She has no free time, but if she did she would probably spend it watching teen movie classics from the '80s. (from the bio on her website)

My question to you: Cliffhanger endings. Love them or hate them?

Review: Airhead by Meg Cabot

Last word first: Fluffy fun times. 3.5/5

Would Joe like this book? Nope, we’ll put this solidly in the chick-lit camp.

Description: Em Watts is definitely not one of the A-listers at her high school, but she’s happy, and that’s good enough for her. In fact, she looks down on all the cookie-cutter cheerleader types- you know, the ones who only eat salad? Then Em is in an accident, and when she wakes up in the hospital, things are a little different. She finds herself transported into the body of celebrity supermodel, Nikki Howard. As Em tries to walk a mile in Nikki’s stilettos, she starts to realize that being someone like Nikki is harder than she thought.

My thoughts: I love Meg Cabot. Everything she writes is funny. Her characters each have a unique voice, and I always feel some type of connection with them, even if I don’t particularly like them. And everything she writes is FUNNY. Did I mention that? Airhead is no exception.

The idea of a feminist-brainiac type of girl being stuck in the body of a teen supermodel is just pretty entertaining to begin with. And then there’s the usual random musings inside someone’s head that you get to be privy to when reading a Cabot novel. Add a healthy dash of romance. To top it all off, they make fun of cheerleaders while also being nice to them, so you can laugh and not feel bad.

This is just a fun, light-hearted romp of a book. If you like Cabot’s books in general, or if you just enjoy a good piece of fluff every once in a while, this one will be great for you.

About Meg Cabot: She was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. -borrowed from Meg Cabot's bio on her website.

My question to you: If you were to wake up in a hospital and find yourself wearing someone else's body, whose body would you hope to be wearing? That is, whose life would you like to assume as your own?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Body Finder

I just discovered the Tenners. I know, I know... I'm behind. But now I think I have enough WoW posts to last me until 2010, when these books start coming out.

Title: The Body Finder

Author: Kimberly Derting

Release Date: Winter 2010

Description:Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world…and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer…and becoming his prey herself.

My thoughts: Yikes! This just sounds so exciting, I know it will be right up my alley.

Review + Rant: The 6th Target by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

This should possibly be entitled "A Random Musing in the Guise of a Review."

Last word first: 3 stars. Definitely not the best of the series, but ironically the one that has me dying to get my hands on the next book. Read more below.

Would Joe like this? Yes.

Description: Book six of the Women's Murder Club series. This one starts out with a slightly crazy guy shooting a bunch of people on a ferry, and then sweeps into an investigation of serial kidnappings and another crazy guy stalking a condo building. But I'm not really here to talk about the plot.

My thoughts: I admit that I have been propelled through the series to this point largely by reading inertia; it was there, so I read it. Actually, I have a similar problem with dark chocolate, but that's besides the point. I enjoyed the books, but they weren't great enough that I would actually seek them out. I find that they're entertaining, but slightly disjointed and unfocused in a way that makes it difficult for me to really get involved in the series. After reading book 6, though, I am dying for 7.

Did the plot get better? Actually, I found that this one was more disjointed than most, covering a random series of events that never quite seemed to flow in a way that made sense to me. No, what drew me in was the addition of a fantastic plot complication: the love triangle. That's right, there's trouble in the land of Lindsay and Joe, and there's a new love interest on the scene. Fans of the series may have an idea who it is, he of the provocatively leaning on doorways, smouldering eyes (how exactly does one get one's eyes to smoulder, anyway?) and swooning secretaries.

Like the tension between Morelli and Ranger that has me coming back to Stephanie Plum book after book, this complication has me committed to find out what happens next. But, if you, unlike me, cannot be swayed by the desire to find out who gets together with who, you might want to skip this book, because it didn't have much else to recommend it. Hope the next one is better, plot-wise.

Review: Green Angel by Alice Hoffman

Last word first: Lyrical and moving. 3.5/5 (Yes, I'm doing ratings out of five now... look at my review policy for more info about what it means)

Would Joe like this book? Nah.

Description: Green is the quiet one, the one who is more comfortable with plants and animals than she is with people. Her sister Aurora is the bright one, the dancing one who loves people and is loved by them. They are perfect together. When Green loses her entire family in a terrible fire, she doesn’t know if she can stand to continue living herself. As she girds herself in thorns and anger, she protects her heart, but she might be losing her own sense of who she is.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this story. Hoffman’s writing style manages to say a lot with very few words; the book weighs in at a slim 116 words, yet each page conveys vivid pictures. Told in the first person from Green’s perspective, Green Angel examines the grieving process in the mind of a young girl left all on her own. Combining elements of a survival story and a more reflective narrative, this book used a dreamy-yet-vivid style to convey the strangeness of a world in which nothing is what it used to be.

One of the many wonders of fiction is that it allows us to experience an event, and perhaps even learn a lesson from that experience, without the experience itself. You can go ahead and say “time heals all wounds” or “help others to help yourself,” but without the background of experience, even a fictional one, they seem clichéd and trite. I have never experienced a grief like Green’s, but I was nonetheless moved by her journey of grief and recovery.

The book wasn’t perfect. I thought the metaphor of the ashes in the eyes was a little over the top. It made something TOO literal, and then it wasn’t treated literally, which bugged me a little. That said, Green Angel was a well-crafted, fairy-talish book, and I liked it.

About Alice Hoffman: Her short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, Kenyon Review, Redbook, Architectural Digest, Gourmet, Self, and other magazines. Her teen novel Aquamarine was recently made into a film starring Emma Roberts. (from the bio on her website)

Review: The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

Last word first: A perfectly satisfying read. I loved every page.

Would Joe like this book? Nope. Poor Joe. I haven’t had any good recommendations for him lately.

Recommended by: More people than I can count.

Description: Macy's summer stretches before her, carefully planned and outlined. She will spend her days sitting at the library information desk. She will spend her evenings studying for the SATs. Spare time will be used to help her obsessive mother prepare for the big opening of the townhouse section of her luxury development. But Macy's plans don't anticipate a surprising and chaotic job with Wish Catering, a motley crew of new friends, or ... Wes. Tattooed, artistic, anything-but-expected Wes. He doesn't fit Macy's life at all--so why does she feel so comfortable with him? So ... happy? What is it about him that makes her let down her guard and finally talk about how much she misses her father, who died before her eyes the year before? (from Sarah Dessen’s website)

My thoughts: Perhaps it’s stubborn of me, but when too many people tell me I’ll like something, I tend to rebel. Maybe that’s why it took me so long to read something by Sarah Dessen. To all of you who recommended the author, I’m sorry. You were right, and I was obstinate. The Truth About Forever is fantastic. It’s funny and sweet and romantic and touching and all those good things rolled into one.

There is definitely a strong romance component to the story, but for me, the biggest part of the book was watching Macy come alive again after her father’s death, and seeing her family start to heal. Macy and her mother have basically come to an implicit agreement not to have any feelings or problems, to the point where they don’t even have a real relationship. Macy has essentially lost both her parents with her father’s death, and it broke my heart.

I don’t really have too much to say about this book, other than I really enjoyed it. If you enjoy a light, feel-good romance with more going on than just smouldering eyes and heaving bosoms (there are actually none of those here) this might be the book for you.

About Sarah Dessen: "I was always a big reader, mostly because my parents were. I used to get frustrated with my mom because she bought me books for Christmas when what I really wanted were the gift my friends got, things like sweaters and jewelry. But I did love to read. When I was eight or nine my parents gave me an old manual typewriter and a little desk in the corner of our den, and I'd sit there and type up my stories. I was the kind of kid that people always sighed over and said, "She has such a wild imagination," which usually meant "I wish Sarah would try to stick to the truth." From the bio on Sarah Dessen's website. There's more!

My question to you: Which Dessen should I read next?

A New Look for Today's Adventure!

I'm so excited!! For those of you looking at this in a reader, click through and see the glory that is my new layout. Isn't it pretty? I am SOOO happy with it. Observe my capacious columns, my delightful background. Gaze upon my beautiful header. Sigh... I'm in love.

The mastermind behind the new layout is Judi at Doodlebug Designs. If you want a custom design for the old bloggy, she's the woman to help you out.

Please be patient with me over the next couple of days as I move things around and get them set up just the way I want them. The author index and contact form, in particular, are still under construction.

Slightly Off Topic: Cover Look Alikes (3)

The first two out of this grouping were featuring in my second cover look-alikes feature. Avisannschild suggested the third, The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki. If you look down in the comments on the other post, you will see that Dan Poblocki actually stopped by to make a comment. I was so excited, I'm rerunning this to show you what the cover of The Stone Child looks like alongside the others. Good call, Avisannschild. I'm also excited to have discovered The Stone Child, which is due for release on August 25th. It sounds awesome.

Ok, now on to the new matches:

Mercy by Jodi Picoult and The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement Moore. Close-ups of roses. I prefer The Splendor Falls by a huge margin. I love the color, the font, the way you're looking down on the rose... it's pretty and yet ominous at the same time.

A Robert Jordon, Wheel of Time montage. Also known as "Rand holding up his arms before awed onlookers." This series has, in my opinion, some of the worst cover art ever. Pretty funny.

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott and The Insiders (not to be confused with The Outsiders) by J. Minter. Footsie time! I like the Elizabeth Scott cover best, because I like that both figures have bare feet. I also like the colors better and the way it feels a little more innocent.

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. I actually liked the cover of Breaking Dawn when I saw it (though the Eclipse cover is my favorite), but somehow, next to the Tevis cover, it looks overly plasticky.

Which covers do you like best? By the way, if you want to suggest a cover look-alike, please mention it in the comments or drop me an email at gypsyrover21(at)yahoo(dot)ca

Review: Testimony by Anita Shreve

Last word first: An excellent book if you’re looking for something with a lot of “meat” for discussion.

Would Joe like this book? Yes.

Recommended by? I won this over at Popin's Lair.

Description: A sex scandal breaks at an expensive private school in Vermont. Three older teens have been filmed having sex with a fourteen year old girl. In Testimony, each of the people involved in the incident, from the headmaster to the man who sold alcohol to the teens to the kids' parents, has their say as they explain their side of the story and how their lives have been changed.

My thoughts: Testimony opens with Mike, the headmaster of the school in question, watching the sex tape. “And it was then that the word containment entered his mind. And with that word, moral, ethical and political choices were made, though Mike would realize the implications of these only later, when it occurred to him that he might have chosen at that moment another word, such as revelation, say, or help.” - Testimony, page 12.

And so the tone for the story is set. Attempts are made at damage control, but the damage from the incident spins out of control. My reactions to this story ran the gamut from outrage to sympathy (not always with the person you’d expect) to sorrow back to outrage. Early in the story I was appalled with the behaviour of the boys in the video, and ready to start screaming for their heads. But as each character gets a chance to tell their side of the story, it’s hard to know who to blame, and I found myself wondering if it was really THAT big of a deal, anyway. As one character asks, is his behaviour for one hour out of one day in his entire life justification for the destruction of his entire future?

I found the book a bit confusing at times, because the various characters are speaking from different times and places and perspectives. Some characters are represented by their writings, others as they speak to a researcher who is looking into the incident. What I loved is how every character truly had a unique voice, which is no small feat when there are over a dozen characters speaking in the first person as the point of view jumps from chapter to chapter. Some of the voices made me a little crazy (the fourteen year old victim (?) is really not a sympathetic character), but that just goes to show how evocative the writing is.

Testimony is well written and compelling. The material is heavy, but, I think, ultimately hopeful. The story ticks along at a good pace, never boring. At the end of the day, I don’t know if I could say I ENJOYED this book, but I definitely recommend it. I think it will make great discussion reading.

Content warning: There is obviously a significant amount of sexual content in the book, but other than the initial description of the taped incident, most of it is not graphic.

About Anita Shreve: Joking that she could wallpaper her bathroom with rejections from magazines for her short stories ("I really could have," she says), she published her early work in literary journals. One of these stories, "Past the Island, Drifting," won an O. Henry prize. Despite this accolade, she quickly learned that one couldn't make a living writing short fiction. Switching to journalism, Shreve traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, where she lived for three years, working as a journalist for an African magazine. One of her novels, The Last Time They Met, contains bits and pieces from her time in Africa. - from the bio on her website.

Second opinions: She Reads and Reads (didn't like it)

Review + Giveaway: The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget by Josh Dorfman

Last word first: A timely and user-friendly guide to easy greener living. Read it!

Would Joe like this? Yes! Joe is all about saving money.

My thoughts: The title of this book is a perfect description of me. I do a few good-for-the-environment type of things, like using eco-friendly cleaning products (excellent for households where every item is a potential chew toy) and walking as many places as I can (tire out those kids for a nap and get some exercise at the same time!) I buy local veggies, because they're so much tastier than the ones at the grocery store. But I definitely don't go WAY out of my way to be green.

Can I just say, it is incredibly refreshing to read a book about green living that doesn't spend several chapters making you feel guilty about everything you aren't doing right? This book is so positive, I love it! It is guarenteed to get you excited about doing something good for the planet, and your wallet. My copy has a dozen pages dog-eared with things I'm going to go back and look into.

There is a chapter in this book for just about every area of your life, from your kids to your car to your home, with suggestions on how you can reduce your negative impact on the environment. What is even better, Dorfman has listed, at the end of each chapter, where you can find just about every product or service mentioned. There's a low-flow shower head mentioned that's so inexpensive, I'm definitely going to get one. As a mom, I was especially excited to read about responsibly-harvested wooden toys, and organic kid's clothes and bedding that I could actually afford. Did you know that Wal-mart is the world's largest purchaser of organic cotton? It's true! They have an entire line of organic baby clothes.

Dorfman has also listed some fantastic services. There's a company that will recycle your old electronics and pay for them. Hurray! No more guilt about the ancient laptop collecting dust in the closet. There's a service that will repair your old jeans so they look like new. Though, at the prices cited, they would have to be expensive jeans to make it worthwhile. But if I ever rip my one pair of really nice jeans, I will know not to start crying.

Obviously, you have to use your critical thinking and calculator skills when evaluating the concepts presented in this book. I worked out the numbers on a few and I found some that made great economic sense, some that were just even or slightly more expensive than their less-eco-friendly counterparts, and one or two that were much more expensive. Also, a lot of the services and products are only available in the states at this time. So, you can't be totally lazy using this book, but it will definitely make being green a little easier. Recommended!

About Josh Dorfman: Josh holds an MBA from Thunderbird, The School of Global Management, and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. His international background includes posts at the Economist Intelligence Unit in Hong Kong, Delphi Automotive Systems in Paris, France, and Kryptonite Bike Locks in Nanjing, China where he had his major environmental epiphany. In 1996, while traveling throughout China selling bicycle locks, Josh recognized that this hugely populated country of a billion bicyclists would one day develop into a nation of a billion car drivers, causing potentially unprecedented stress on the local and global environment. How all nations enable their populations to raise their living standards while simultaneously bringing their lifestyles into balance with nature is a vital challenge for the 21st century and what Josh’s ventures strive to address.

GIVEAWAY! Does this book sound like exactly what you need to green up your life? Of course it does! And you can even get a copy for free, along with an awesome Nalgene water bottle. Just comment here and tell me one thing that you do to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle, and your email address so I can contact you for your mailing address if you win. Contest open to anyone in the US and Canada. I will pick a winner on July 17th.

Review: Hollywood Is Like High School With Money by Zoey Dean

Last word first: Fun and flirty. Light, summery reading at its best.

Would Joe like this? HA! Ahem, no.

Description: Taylor has always wanted just one thing - to make movies. She just landed her dream job at Metronome Studios in Hollywood, and her goals are almost within reach. OK, it's not really her dream job, but it's a feeder position for her dream job. The only problem is that in order to move up in the world of the beautiful people, Taylor is going to need to channel her inner mean girl. Which she doesn't have. Enter Quinn, the daughter of Taylor's new boss and Queen Bee extraordinaire. With Quinn's guidance, Taylor is hoping she can develop the skills that film school never taught her.

My thoughts: Going into this book, you know it's not going to be deep, life-changing material. What it is is pure fun. Enter the world of beautiful, shiny people in beautiful, shiny clothes. The world of gossip and glamor, name-dropping and novelty. Basicly, it's as close as I ever want to get to living in Hollywood.

There are several moments in this book where you (or at least, I) want to tell Taylor to smarten up and realize that the Mean Girls are, hello! MEAN GIRLS. She backstabbed you in the last chapter, do you really think that she wants to help you now? But other than that, Taylor was a great protagonist. She's nice enough to be likeable, but not so nice as to be cloying.

I read this book in an afternoon- it's fun, light reading that I think is perfect for a little summer escape if your budget doesn't stretch to Cuba.

About Zoey Dean: Zoey Dean is the author of tons of novels, including the A-List series. She divides her time between Beverly Hills, California, and her favorite small islands in the Caribbean. (gleaned from her page on Fantastic Fiction)

More reviews: Drey's Library -

Review: The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Last word first: I loved it!

Would Joe like this? Probably not.

Description: DJ Schwenk survived the summer on the farm, made the (boys!) football team, and managed to pass English. She's sorted things out with her best friend Amber after that awkward incident in the summer. And it seems like her friendship with Brian might be moving in the direction of something more. Life is good, right? That's when it all falls to pieces.

My thoughts: I read and reviewed the previous book in this series, Dairy Queen, not long ago, and I wasn't a wholehearted fan. However, enough people recommended that I continue with the series that I took their advice. I am SO happy I did, because I absolutely loved The Off Season!

DJ, with her down-home, farmgirl sensibilities, is delightful. Even though I was never a big sports girl, I love that DJ is strong and athletic and that she's proud of it. DJ feels like a real person, and she has this deadpan way of speaking that cracks me up. A favorite quote (just so you'll get it, Doing Something Stupid is what gets you pregnant): "...and while I hadn't Done Anything Stupid, I wasn't sure where exactly I stood on the whole subject. I mean, it's not that I wanted to do anything Really Stupid, but I wouldn't be so against doing something Kind of Stupid- something A Little Silly, maybe."

I felt like The Off Season had a lot more substance to it than Dairy Queen. This is due largely to an accident that befalls one of DJ's family members. As the family starts to deal with the changes that have befallen them, they all start to grow up a little, and actually deal with what's happening, even if they can't talk to each other. It's a Schwenk thing. This story really dealt with a lot, while still being light-hearted overall and maintaining a PG rating.

So, good characters, strong writing, entertaining plot.... definitely recommended.

About Catherine Gilbert Murdock: For the record, I did not play football or basketball in high school. I ran cross-country and track, badly, but I have absolutely no skill whatsoever with ball sports. Nor did I write much – but I read my little eyeballs out. I was the empress of our library’s four-shelf YA section. I still read YA and middle-grade fiction far more than any other genre. When someone recommends a book, I immediately ask, "Is it for grownups? Because I don't read those." This followed by "Does it have dragons?" (Borrowed from the bio on her website. She sounds like my kind of girl!)

New Look Preview

I'm working on a bit of a makeover for the old bloggy. I won't tell you everything, but I'll give you a little preview. These are the graphics I'm thinking of using (minus the iphoto, of course). What do you think?

Slightly Off Topic: Three Deadly Sins

Note: For the purposes of this posting, I’m using “series” to mean a group of books that tell the same story. For examples, you could think of The Lord of the Rings, the Twilight novels, or the Mortal Instruments. When using the word “series” in this post, I do not include the serial, which is a group of books that tell different stories about the same characters, or the same world. For example, the Stephenie Plum books.

Note 2: I use the example of a trilogy, but I think the same principles could be applied to a longer series.

I’ve always read a lot, but since I’ve been reviewing books in earnest, I find notice different things about books than I noticed before. I start to see patterns that I didn’t see. One of them is what I like to call book “birth order.” The first, middle, and youngest children of a series have things in common with others of their place in the family. Are you still with me? Good.

Today I’m just going to talk a little about some flaws that I notice frequently in first, middle and final books of a series. I’m calling them the deadly sins, because they have a way of killing my excitement about a series, and also because it sounds catchier that way. I am not an author, I don’t really understand how hard it is to be an author, and I don’t mean to offend anyone, I am just explaining my personal experience as a reader. With that disclaimer, let’s get started.

The Deadly Sin of first books: Sloth. Maybe it's just me, but lately I've read a lot of novels that feel like extended exposition. Wake, The Summoning, and I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You. They're all first novels in a series, they all have great concepts, but they all feel slightly lacking in the plot department. I enjoy them, but they just don't have quite the same oomph as, say, The Hunger Games, City of Bones, or The Lightning Thief. I hope I'm making sense. It feels like the authors in the first group of novels didn't allot enough action to the first novel, using it instead to build characters and set up worlds. The books are entertaining, and if you read my reviews you'll realize I liked them. They just failed to grip me in the same way that the second group did by setting up a strong external conflict right away.

The Deadly Sin of second books: Tedium. The middle book’s curse is that middles just aren’t as much fun as beginnings and endings. Take Tolkien’s The Two Towers as an example. The conflict is all set up, the characters are all on their way. But it’s not time for the big battles and final triumphs yet. Nope, everyone just travels everywhere. Frodo’s on his way to Mount Doom, Aragorn’s on his way to Gondor... yawn. Nothing really happens! If you’ve only seen the movies, you’re probably saying to yourself, “Are you kidding? Tons of stuff happens in TT! Helm’s Deep, the fall of Saruman, and those awesome tree guys!” I agree, the movie of the Two Towers is fantastic! Yet somehow, even though all those events happen in the book, they manage to be kind of boring.

I’m going to take a moment to hire myself some protection from all the LOTR fans who want to tear me to shreds right now. I like the series, really I do, I just don’t think it is completely lacking in flaws.

The Deadly Sin of last books: Self-Indulgence. I’ve never written a book, much less a series, but I can just imagine how bittersweet it must feel to get your characters to the end of the road. The hard part is over, the stage is set. Now it’s just time for them to triumph! Maybe it’s even a little hard to let go. It’s tempting to keep the story going, fill in those blanks, and sneak in the information that you just couldn’t find a place for in the previous books under the guise of “Epilogue.” In my opinion, that urge should be resisted.

For an example, I’m going to use Breaking Dawn from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I loved this book, I loved that I didn’t see the plot twists coming, and I was happy with the ending. But I had one complaint. There were just way too many scenes and sidelines that had little or nothing to do with the actual plot of the book. I don’t mind the occasional sidebar, but Breaking Dawn crossed over the line into rambling. There was enough extra wordage to write a companion book, and I would have enjoyed the story a little more if it were sharpened up a little.

So that's it for me. What do you think? Do you agree with me? Maybe you think I’m crazy. Either way, I want to hear from you. Let the discussion begin.

Review: 4th of July

Title: 4th of July (Audiobook)
Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Recommended by: This audiobook was a contest win from Linus's Blanket.

Last word first: Meh. Not as good as I wanted it to be.

Description: Despite the loss of one member, the Women's Murder Club is still going strong. In this episode, Lindsay is nearly killed, then ends up the target of a lawsuit. As if that wasn't enough, mysterious killings are ruining her (unplanned) vacation.

My thoughts: I didn't read books 2 and 3 of the series, but I really didn't have any trouble picking up the story. The authors do a good job of giving you pertinent facts about what happened in the last book, without ruining the story, either.

This wasn't my favorite installment of the series so far. These definitely aren't deep thinking, change-your-life books, but I really enjoyed the first one. This one just kept losing me. They spent so much time with Lindsay's trial, when I wish there would have been more focus on the mystery.

On the plus side, I like the addition of a new member to the Murder Club. And I think Lindsay's new beau is delightful. I'll keep going with the series in the hopes that the next story is better.

Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date: August 1, 2009 Preorder from Amazon.

Last word first: I gobbled up this up in big greedy bites. This book has a way of casting a spell over you so you forget mundane things like eating and sleeping.

Would Joe like this book? He’d like parts of it, but he’d end up flipping through all the “talking about feelings ” parts.

Description: When Grace was eleven, she was attacked by the wolves that live in the forest behind her home. She would have died, but one of the wolves saved her life. Since that day, she’s been obsessed with the wolves, observing them, almost wishing she was one of them. She thought she was crazy, until the day she met Sam - her wolf - in his human form. As winter approaches, Sam fights to remain human, to stay with Grace. But Sam isn’t the only wolf out there, and they aren’t all as nice as he is.

My thoughts: Swoon.

I loved every page of Shiver. It quietly drew me in, without me even realizing it. The new presentation of werewolf mythology appealed to me. I liked that they were real wolves instead of some kind of slavering, moon-crazed creatures. I don’t want to give too much of the story away, so let me just say the concept of this book was fantastic.

Even the greatest concept is nothing without good characters, and Grace and Sam deliver. Grace has a girl next door, introverted charm that makes me wish I was friends with her. My only complaint was that she spent a little too much time whining about her parents ignoring her. Sam was my favorite, though. He's handsome (but not too handsome), he's mysterious, he's humble, he plays guitar and composes lyrics in his mind... sigh. They both felt so real to me, in their thoughts and in their dialogue, that I found myself wanting to talk to them as I was reading.

The point of view switches back and forth between Grace and Sam. This is a device I’m not always a fan of, but I think it really works here. The book wouldn't have been as good, or as gripping, without hearing the inner thoughts of both characters. Grace's longing to keep Sam, and her determination to find a cure couples nicely with Sam's determination to do the right thing, despite how much he wants to stay with Grace. The combination gives the story as a whole a sort of haunting melancholy that I absolutely loved.

I was struck by how eloquently this book was written. Stiefvater wields her words with style. There were so many phrases that I read over and over, just because I loved the images and the way they sounded. I was hoping to give you another quote, but in the end, my favorite is the one from the back cover of the ARC version of the book, "And then I opened my eyes and it was just Grace and me – nothing anywhere but Grace and me – she pressing her lips together as though she were keeping my kiss inside her, and me, holding this moment that was as fragile as a bird in my hands." (p.88 ARC)

Other than a couple of scenes that seemed a little over-dramatic (candy shop!), I adored Shiver. So, in summary, I highly recommend this book! Go and preorder it now!

Content alert! This book does contain some sexual content that would make me hesitant to recommend it for younger teens.

When you are left wishing for more... you can take comfort in the fact that Shiver is going to have a sequel! Linger is due out in Fall 2010. It is unclear from Maggie Stiefvater’s website whether the sequel will be about Sam and Grace specifically.

About Maggie Stiefvater: All of my life decisions have been based around my inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which I've tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists, musicians, and artists (I've made my living as one of these since I was 22). (borrowed from the Maggie Stiefvater website. You should go read it!)

Book Trailer:

Other reviews: The Bookbind - Harmony Book Reviews - Presenting Lenore - The Story Siren -