Buying Hunger Games Tickets!

So, if you didn't already know, I'm kind of a big Hunger Games fan. I've actually been a fan of Suzanne Collins since Gregor the Overlander. But I'm SUPER EXCITED FOR THE HUNGER GAMES MOVIE. So excited that I'm buying tickets to the midnight showing today. FYI to other rabid HG fans, the tickets go on sale at 11:00am CST. So make sure you're near a computer. Fandango.com and MovieTickets.com are the ones that start selling!

Book Review #1297
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Rating: one star (out of four)

This book was thrilling. The first couple of pages got me hooked. I was really intrigued by the world and the instantaneous action! I was drawn in and wanted to know what was going to happen next to the people.

But then it got less and less exciting as I read farther. Even though it was super suspenseful, there were elements that I didn’t think went over so well. It was kind of violent in parts, and I wasn’t really sure if that was necessary. I also felt like a lot of people died, and that just didn't sit well with me. I also didn’t become attached to the characters, I never really connected with any of them and I wasn’t super anxious when anything happened to them. The love story between the two main characters needed help, because I wasn't buying it, I felt like there hadn’t had enough backstory/time/SOMETHING for their relationship and it was a little awkward.

The switching back and forth between the two characters was a little annoying. I was much more interested in what was happening to Waverly and her side of the story than I was in Kerian’s story.


S P O I L E R  B E L O W


I also didn’t like violence in Kerian's ship and thought things got out of hand rather quickly. I didn’t see how all of the boys turned on him so fast. I also hadn’t expected for Seth to take over and nearly succeed. I didn’t get why he snapped – I felt like his character should have turned around and helped Kerian, but instead he became this evil and sinister guy who took over after they lost their adults. It seemed to violent and awfully messy to me. 

 I had been fine with most of the religious aspects up until the people on the other ship were being lead by a cult leader and they thought they were doing the will of God. It seemed a little close to home – even though the author was really good about being vague and not referencing anything in particular, I was just annoyed that the “religious” ship had such despair and corruption. I also didn’t like how the lady in charge turned on everybody because of her strict beliefs. I’m not saying that this can’t happen, but I was just annoyed that it was the only solution. I was kind of annoyed because the people on the other ship weren’t much better and the foreshadowing at the beginning didn’t make it sound like things were going to turn out either. It bugged me that the was such corruption among both sides of the human groups on the two different ships. 


E N D  0 F  S P O I L E R


I think though, the biggest thing that got on my nerve was the religious connotations. I just felt like it was a little bleak and I didn't care for how much corruption was involved with religion. I just wish it was handled differently. The ending was what really tipped this book for me though. I had been racing through the story, anxious to get to the ending, and when I finally reached it I wasn’t left with a “That was so creepy, I can’t believe this happened, what is going to happen next? I HAVE TO READ THE NEXT BOOK” I was left with “That was so creepy, I can’t believe this happened, I’m NOT reading the second book.”

I was left with such a sour taste in my mouth. It left me unsatisfied and I was discouraged by the actions and thoughts of the characters on BOTH ships and how all of the events had unfolded….especially on Kerian’s ship. It felt like a messed-up dystopian thriller smashed with Wall•E.

Random Acts of Kindness Giveaway

I'm giving away an ARC of SHUT OUT by Kody Keplinger! 

Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention

Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling...

If you're interested in winning this book - just check out my giveaway page or click HERE. 

A Selection of Books from ALA Midwinter

These are just some of the books I picked up from ALA that I'm excited/looking forward/wanting to read first.

Of course, if you want to see the full list of books I picked up click here.

Books I'm super STOKED about:

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi
Pub. date: May 1st 2012
Did I foam at the mouth when I saw this? Did I kind of squeal and run towards the stack of ARCS? Did I pinch my friend's arm and declare that I was the most excited person in the room? Yes, yes, and YES. I literally gasped when I saw the sequel to Ship Breaker (which, if you haven't read, you simply must go do that now.) So I've been anxiously looking forward to the day when I have a chunk of time to devote to this book.

A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix
Pub. date: May 15th 2012
A new book from Garth Nix? You bet I'm excited. Also, this might be the first thing I've read by him since the Sabriel series. I also LOVE the title. Looks good!

Bink and Gollie: Two for One by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illustrated by Tony Fucile
Pub. date: June 12th 2012
I loved the first Bink and Gollie book, so when I found out they were giving out the second, I eagerly snatched it up. The illustrations always crack me up!

Books that intrigue me:

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
Pub. date: January 3rd 2012
This looks sweet (pun intended). Plus I've got a Hardback and the cover is kind of glittery.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Pub. date: January 3rd 2012
Even though I've seen a couple of lackluster reviews for this book, I still want to read it for myself and see what I get. I really like the cover.

Winterling by Sarah Prineas
Pub. date: January 3rd 2012
Really like the cover. Fantasy premise looks good too.

The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges
Pub. date: January 10th 2012
The cover is nice. I also like the historical fantasy aspects.

The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
Pub. date: January 10th 2012
It's Christopher Paul Curis. How can I NOT be excited? Plus I LOVE the cover.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Pub. date: January 17th 2012
The cover is just so SWEET looking. How could I not want to read this?!

Tempest by Julie Cross
Pub. date: January 17th 2012
Cover = intriguing. Time travel elements = intriguing.

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Pub. date: January 31st 2012
The cover is so fascinating. But I've been seeing this book float around goodreads for a while now, so I'm interested to read it.

Princess of the Wild Swans by Diane Zahler
Pub. date: January 31st 2012
I love fairy tale retellings/spin-offs. The premise looked good.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Pub. date: February 28th 2012
I've really been meaning to read Delirium, so now that I have the sequel I should be reading it sooner, ey? Plus it's got the dystopian factor.

Partials by Dan Wells
Pub. date: February 28th 2012
It's got that dystopian allure, plus Wendy Darling liked it.

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick
Pub. date: March 1st 2012
Ever since Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, I've been a fan of Jordan Sonnenblick. His writing usually cracks me up.

Starters by Lissa Price
Pub. date: March 13th 2012
The stark white cover pulled me in. Plus it's dystopian. We'll have to see how good it is.

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
Pub. date: April 24th 2012
Cover intrigued me. Premise intrigued me. Amount of people on goodreads who want to read it intrigued me.

Show Me a Story! Why Picture Books Matter edited by Leonard S. Marcus
Pub. date: April 24th 2012
21 different children's books illustrators talking about why children's books are great? Yes I want to read it! Props to my friend Angela who saw this book and grabbed it for me!

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Pub. date: May 1st 2012
I have been meaning to read this series for SO LONG. And then when I found out they were giving out the third book I totally stood in line. It's high on my to-read list.

The Hero's Guide to Saving the Kingdom by Christopher Healy
Pub. date: May 1st 2012
I liked the cover art because it kind of reminded me of How to Train Your Dragon (and I'm in love with all things HTTYD) but my friend Angela also read it while we were at conference and thought it was hilarious, so now I'm really anxious to read it.

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
Pub. date: May 8th 2012
I'm kind of a sucker for books with fancy dresses/cool clothing on the cover. Plus my sister read this book and liked it.

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Pub. date: May 22nd 2012
I (surprisingly) picked up many mermaid/ocean books. But I'm still excited, because it's not a usual topic, but seems to becoming more popular?

Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel
Pub. date: June 26th 2012
Historical fantasy? Sounds good.

Deadly Pink by Vivian Vande Velde
Pub. date: July 10th 2012
It's been a while since I've seen anything by one of my favorite childhood authors. I almost passed by this book until I saw the author's name.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Pub. date: July 10th 2012

This looked good - the publicists also described it as high fantasy, so I was definitely interested because I haven't read a good high fantasy in a while.

Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel

Pub. date: August 21st 2012

I've been waiting for the next series from Kenneth Oppel since Airborn. I also picked up the first book, This Dark Endeavor at ALA last summer, so now I've got both!

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

Pub. date: September 4th 2012

I mean, it's a mermaid book, so already that intrigued me, but the cover is also very haunting. I hope it's good.

Few and Far Between

So you remember that one time when I said I was going to post more consistently? Yeah, sorry.

School has once again consumed pretty much all of my time and I've neglect my blog. Again, I'm sorry.

But I've schedule a couple of book giveaways in the future and I'm hopefully going to read some of my precious ALA ARCS that I picked up at the midwinter meeting. So that's exciting.

I'll have to do a post about the most exciting books I picked up at ALA. But first I have to get a couple of school-related tasks done. Maybe later tonight? No promises though.

Book Review #1296
Go Track a Yak by Tony Johnston, illustrations by Tim Raglin
Rating: two stars (out of four)

The cover and title intrigued me. I wanted to know what the yak was going to do in the story, so I plucked the book from the shelf and read it. It was a fairly amusing tale. The pictures were over the top and cartoonish, but I think children and adults would enjoy them, though they weren't my particular favorite.

ALA Midwinter Meeting!

I'm at the ALA conference! I cannot believe how many books I have picked up! I just can't wrap my mind around it....it's totally crazy! I'll have to do a post later listing some of the books I picked up that I'm super pumped about!

Also, I kind of have a problem. I literally do not know how I'm going to take all of these books plus the books my friends got and drive back home. The car is going to explode from books.

My Top Reads of 2011

So I read over 200 books in 2011 and I wanted to list my favorites from the year. It's always interesting to look back over the year and see what books you loved and what books were lackluster.

So here the fiction books that I gave ratings of 5 stars on Goodreads. (I use the 5 star rating on Goodreads as opposed to my four star rating on my blog.)

5 Star Children's Picture Books

Should I Share My Ice Cream by Mo Willems

Shadow by Suzy Lee

Art & Max by David Wiesner

Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell

Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator by Mo Willems

5 Star Juvenile Book

Scumble by Ingrid Law

5 Star Young Adult Books

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Matched by Ally Condie

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Divergent by Veronica Roth.

And there you have it! What were your favorites of the year?

Book Review #1295
Gooney Bird on the Map by Lois Lowry, illustrated by Middy Thomas
Rating: one star (out of four)

I wasn’t a big fan. I haven’t read other books with Gooney Bird in them, but I didn’t really care for her personality. I may be missing something from previous books, but I didn’t like how much attention Gooney Bird got from her teacher, principal, and classmates. I wasn’t sure why they put up with her crazy styles and antics. I felt like everybody catered to her somewhat outrageous demands and ideas. I didn’t think she was completely bossy and domineering, but I just got frustrated with some of her ideas and the way she seemed to “know” what was best for everyone else. I wouldn’t recommend, but other people might like this book if they enjoyed previous books with this character.

Book Review #1294
Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe by Scott Gustafson
Rating: one star (out of four)

I read part of this book, but then gave up because I wasn’t liking how flippantly they portrayed Edgar Allan Poe and their imagination of his childhood. I know it’s a fiction version with liberties taken to make people interested in his life, but I wasn’t a fan. I didn’t care for the characters and I found myself disinterested several times while reading. The illustrations didn’t really hold my attention either. I wouldn’t recommend.

Book Review #1293
Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes
Rating: two stars (out of four)

A quick and fairly engaging read. I thought the author did a good job of portraying a young narrator who was conflicted by growing up and all of the awkward changes that take place. It was told in verse and I liked having the story develop through poetry. It was an interesting story and I felt that all of the characters were realistically portrayed, but I wasn't super engrossed. I might recommend.

Book Review #1292
Waiting for Magic by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Amy June Bates
Rating: three stars (out of four)

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. It was really sweet and had a poignant message. Even though I'm not a big fan of dogs, I enjoyed the dogs in this story and felt like they gave great insight in the life of the disrupted family. The message was simple and I thought Patricia MacLachlan did an excellent job of keeping the quality of the story while making it something a juvenile reader could understand and enjoy. It's a book that has a wide audience and the characters and illustrations are very much alive and accurately show their personalities. I would recommend this story.

Book Review #1291
Dancing in the Wings by Debbie Allen, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Rating: two stars (out of four)

I picked up the book because of the illustrations. I had read a couple of other books with Kadir Nelson's drawings and enjoyed them. The story was nice and I did like all of the pictures, but I wasn't in love with it. People who are fans of ballerina books might enjoy it more.

Book Review #1290
Wildefire by Karsten Knight
Rating: one star (out of four)

I'm not going to finish this. The violence is disturbing and I'm over 80 pages in and I have no feelings whatsoever for any of the characters. Plus I don't approve of 16-year-olds drinking/breaking the rules and thinking it's not a big deal. Not my kind of book at all. The beginning was really dark and disturbing. I tried reading more to see how it would fare after that and I wanted to give it a chance to turn into something more interesting, or at least explain why those things happened. But it didn’t. I was not at all impressed with how the teenagers acted and especially their reckless view of life. I was annoyed with how easily they broke rules and ignored authority figures. I didn’t like any of the characters and felt they were mean, underdeveloped, and disturbing. I didn’t care what happened to them and that's why I quit reading. I wouldn’t recommend.

Book Review #1289
The Predicteds by Christine Seifert
Rating: one star (out of four)

I wanted to like this book, but there were just so many factors that made that impossible. The premise was really intriguing and I thought the cover and the first couple of chapters were good. I was hooked and I wanted to know what was going to happen. But after those initial few pages of excitement, the story really started to lag and the character development was completely off-base. I was not impressed with any of the characters and thought they needed major revision. The plot took a turn for the worse and there were a lot of things that just didn’t add up in the book. The plot had some awkward gaps that didn’t make sense and some things were left unexplained. I was so annoyed with the lack of character depth and felt like a lot of the people weren't portrayed realistically. I wouldn't recommend, it was a disappointment.

Book Review #1288
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
Rating: three stars (out of four)

I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of Vivian Vande Velde’s earlier novels. Even though the plot was pretty simplistic and the story took place over a seemingly short span of time, I was fairly engrossed the whole time I read. I liked the characters and thought they were portrayed realistically. The story was interesting and I wanted to know how things would end up. It was a short read, but I liked the story progression. It was a one of the better fantasy books I had read in a while. It was a seemingly simplistic fantasy novel, but because of that element, it felt like a breathe of fresh air compared to all of the other fantasy novels I had been reading lately. I would recommend!