Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found by Sophie Blackall

I'm a big fan of non-traditional books, ones that don't exactly fit in any one category and Missed Connections by Sophie Blackall is a great example of one. Sophie Blackall has a fascination with missed connections, a glance on a train or a brief chat, a meeting at the time didn't maybe mean a whole lot (or maybe it did) and a person wishing after the fact they could get in touch with the person.

Missed Connections is a blog turned book of beautifully illustrated missed connections. Blackall takes the words people have written and turns them into beautiful pieces of art. Originally I was taken with Blackall's beautiful paintings (beautiful and delicate detail and color) but I also found the idea of exploring Missed Connections really interesting. Blackall has written a really nice introduction to her book so when you look at and read the missed connections it is much more meaningful than just looking at some pretty pictures.

One of my favorite Missed Connections from the book

If you loved missed connections or beautiful artwork you should definitely check out Sophie Blackall's Missed Connections.

Missed Connections was released October 4th 2011
Genre: Awesome
4.5/5 Stars
Accepted Review Copy

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins + A Chance to Win Lola

Unless you are living under a rock you probably have heard at least a little something about Anna and the French Kiss. Maybe how squee worthy St Clair is or how it is the best type contemporary fiction out there. And you know I'd definitely agree with all of that. It was just a fun book but not a fun book you'd just brush off and go on your way, a fun book that stays with you. If every book had just a little bit of Anna's magic that would be a dream come true.

I really adored the setting of this book, boarding school in Paris, can you say jealous? I know I can. It sets the stage for Anna and what a beautiful stage it is. And St Clair, what a sweet character. I really think this book could become a wonderful movie. All the lusting these kids do it's crazy!

I'm going to keep this review brief but I wanted to touch on the very few things that bothered me in the book, I thought Anna cried a bit too much, I mean yes she's a teen, far away from home and going through some emotional stuff, but still. Too much. And the way something played out (vague to avoid spoilers), I wasn't so happy with it, but oh well.

Luckily I've had the chance to read Stephanie Perkin's next book, Lola and the Boy Next Door, the companion to Anna and I like it even more! Ahh Stephanie Perkin's has a gift and I hope she never stops using it.

Anna and the French Kiss was released on December 2nd 2010
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher

Speaking of Lola, I have an extra copy I want to give away to one of you!

Here's how to enter to be the winner of an ARC of Lola and the Boy Next Door !

Fill out the entry form here.

Entries left in the comments of this post will not be counted.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S.

You must be 13 years or older to enter this contest.

The giveaway will end August 17th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

I'm asking for your address straight up.  I will also email you so you know you have won. I will delete the spreadsheet once I have got the winner's information.  

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Amazon.com:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

I really loved and appreciated The DUFF. In a sea of Young Adult Literature it really comes off as authentic and real to me. I loved the storyline, a girl falling for the guy she she cannot stand, I mean how does that happen and once it does what do you do!

I adored Bianca she's a rather average and normal girl but she's not boring or someone that fades into the background, she's a real person with real problems and I loved seeing her story unfold on the page. And Wesley, who doesn't know someone that comes off slimy like that! All the characters in the book were great!

I know a lot of people have commented on the language and the sex in this book. This is my take on it, the language didn't bother me one bit, I actually liked that it was written that way, it made the dialogue seem a hell of a lot more real that way. And the sex, while there was a lot, it didn't happen without explanation and I found the book to really flesh out and explain everything, nothing was meaningless.

Overall this was a breath of fresh air and I can't wait to read more from this author!

The DUFF was released on September 7th 2010
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
Picked up at BEA

Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz

Amazon.com:

In her first full-length graphic memoir, Julia Wertz (creator of the cult-hit comic The Fart Party) documents the year she left San Francisco for the unfamiliar streets of New York. Don’t worry—this isn’t the typical redemptive coming-of-age tale of a young woman and her glorious triumph over tragedy or any such nonsense. It’s simply a hilarious—occasionally poignant—book filled with interesting art, absurd humor and plenty of amusing self-deprecation. Box by box, Wertz chronicles four sketchy apartments, seven terrible jobs, family drama, traveling fiascos, and too many whiskey bottles to count.

Being a fan of Fart Party, I was so excited to see Wertz had a new book out and in this case it's a more of a whole store, a graphic memoir, instead of stripes compiled together.

I really think there was no way I couldn't like this book, Julia travels to New York to see what she thinks of it there and being a fan of New York myself I love reading about people's experiences with it.

While we might not have a lot in common hobby wise (I SO don't like beer), I feel like she's the comic voice of my generation. She perfectly describes what it's like to be a 20-something, sometimes you just have no idea what is going on with your life and it sucks. Through it all though she keeps a mostly positive attitude and finds new adventures and discovers more things about herself.

Wertz's sense of humor is great, and no it's not just a fart party people! She's funny and her illustration style is approachable, she keeps it simple and that's what I love in my graphic novels style wise. Besides the humorous bits she mixes in the hard parts of her life and the troubles with her family, to me it flows really well and it extremely honest yet she never gets to down, always seeing the hilarious side of every situation.

If you want to try something a little new and different in graphic novels and are ready to break away from the "classics" of graphic novels, give this one a try!

Drinking at the Movies was released on August 31st 2010
Genre: Graphic Novel
4.5/5 Stars
ARC from Amazon Vine

Tweet Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick

Amazon.com:

Claire is a #hopelessromantic. Lottie is determined to set up her BFF with Mr. Perfect. Will wants his #secretcrush to finally notice him. Bennett is a man with a plan. Claire can’t believe it when her dream guy starts following her on Twitter. She never thought he noticed her, and suddenly he seems to understand her better than almost anyone. But the Twitterverse can be a confusing place, especially when friends act differently online than they do in person. Things get even more complicated when Claire realizes she’s falling for someone else, the last person she ever would have expected…. Told in an innovative format combining tweets, emails, and blogs, Tweet Heart is a contemporary romantic comedy that will set your heart atwitter.

What drew me to this book was the format, Twitter messages (and direct messages), emails, blog posts, and advice columns, honestly I’d read just about anything with this sort of format. But the storyline is what kept me reading. I think the format took this cute and sweet story and made it seem real to me. I mean looking at this kids twitter icons allowed me to see what they "looked like" and imagine them actually typing these sentences and going through these situations.

I think the author really captured the essence of Twitter and how people use it. You want to vent about something but since it’s a public forum you are sort of cagey about what you are saying and then go and Direct Message (DM) your friend to give them the full scoop.

And while you don’t get full on narrative from these characters I still feel like you really got to know them. You see them having honest conversations with their friends, talking to their crush when their crush is oblivious etc. Honestly if the book was 4 times as long that would have been just fine with me, I became attached to these characters and wanted to keep going along reading their tweets!

Tweet Heart was released on June 29th 2010
Genre: Young Adult
5/5 Stars
Purchased at Borders

Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Amazon.com:

WHY CAN’T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . . AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER?

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

While Jennifer Echols's book, Going Too Far still holds the number one spot in my heart I found Forget You to be also pretty darn engaging. She has such a way with words you better protect your heart because she just makes you fall in love with her male characters, in this case Doug.

It started off a little rocky for me, I didn’t instantly understand Zoey but she began to grow on me once I got to know more about her and her family. One thing that kept throwing a hitch in the wagon was how Zoey could ever even call her friend, Brandon her boyfriend, it was laughable and made her look desperate beyond belief. I mean I guess it makes a bit of sense why she clung to that (as her family fell apart before her eyes) but she clung so hard and so stubbornly to it, for so long, I wanted to smack her upside the head.

But when that phrase ("Brandon is my boyfriend") wasn’t being repeated by her constantly I really started to enjoy Zoey’s journey. Especially her journey with Doug. I didn’t get why he would lash out verbally at her in the beginning but then we get to know about their almost past and his past and it all starts to fit together. Doug was just hot, damn hot. Whenever he was around the book was golden. He was so nurturing and protective of Zoey, I mean he had his own problems and that just helped keep the book realistic.

Another thing I really liked was the mystery of what happened in the gap of Zoey’s memory, before/during and after her car crash. It sort of kept you guessing as to who you could really trust and where the story would end up. Overall a bit of a rocky start but ended with a great finish!

Forget You will be released on July 20th 2010
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by publisher

Stay by Allie Larkin

Amazon.com:

Something Borrowed meets Must Love Dogs in this big- hearted debut about friendship, love, and a German Shepherd named Joe.

Savannah "Van" Leone has been in love with Peter Clarke ever since she literally fell head over heels in front of him on the first day of college. Now, six years later, instead of standing across from him at the altar, Van's standing behind her best friend Janie as maid of honor, trying to mask her heartache and guilt as Janie marries the only man Van's ever loved. Before, Van's mother died, she told Van never to let Peter go, but as the couple exchanges vows, Van wonders if her fairy tale ending will ever come true.

After the wedding, Van drowns her sorrows in Kool-Aid-vodka cocktails and reruns of Rin Tin Tin, and does what any heartbroken woman in her situation would do: She impulsively buys a German Shepherd over the Internet. The pocket-size puppy Van is expecting turns out to be a clumsy, hundred-pound beast who only responds to commands in Slovak, and Van is at the end of her rope... until she realizes that this quirky giant may be the only living being who will always be loyal to her, no matter what.

Van affectionately names her dog Joe, and together, they work to mend the pieces of Van's shattered heart. And it certainly doesn't hurt that Joe's vet is a rugged sweetheart with floppy blond hair and a winning smile. But when the newlyweds return from their honeymoon, Van is forced to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice in order to have everything she ever wanted, proving that sometimes life needs to get more complicated before it can get better.

Warm and witty, poignant and funny, Stay is an unforgettable debut that illuminates the boundlessness of love and marks the arrival of an irresistible new voice.

From the cover you might think to yourself that Stay is a dog book. Well sorry, but no. Yes there is a dog, that is a character and he shows up as much as other characters but the book is by no means solely focused on him. I wouldn't call myself a dog person so for me this was great, but strangely enough Joe (the dog) had such a great presence and personality you can't help but love him! He helps pull Van out of her funk and for that he's completely lovable.

Van, I loved Van's story. With one foot in the world of privilege and the other not so much. She has to sit there and let her heart take a beating when her best friend marries the love of her life from college, it was so heartbreaking to read. What I really liked about this book was that this plot line comes up in a lot of books but here it was really explored to the fullest and was extremely realistically, it all hangs out. For awhile there, really until the end I wasn't sure what was going to happen and I love the author for it.

Van is such a realistic person, she makes mistakes, screams her feelings loudly but also keeps them locked up so tightly it kills her. Because of her dog Joe we are introduced to veterinarian Alex who seems like a really caring person. My only issue with the book is I wish his relationship with Van had a bit more time to develop, I feel like he's there in the beginning and end of the book but in the middle he sort of isn't present so it feels like their relationship doesn't have the full book to develop. I would have loved to have seen a bit more of him.

Overall I found this to be a wonderful book, so touching and realistic but also hilarious, it was a great mix of my favorite things!

Stay was released on June 10th
Genre: Chick Lit
4.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by Amazon Vine

The Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Amazon.com:

When Will and Bet were four, tragic circumstances brought them to the same house, to be raised by a wealthy gentleman as brother and sister. Now sixteen, they’ve both enjoyed a privileged upbringing thus far. But not all is well in their household. Because she’s a girl, Bet’s world is contained within the walls of their grand home, her education limited to the rudiments of reading, writing, arithmetic, and sewing. Will’s world is much larger. He is allowed—forced, in his case—to go to school. Neither is happy.

So Bet comes up with a plan and persuades Will to give it a try: They’ll switch places. She’ll go to school as Will. Will can live as he chooses. But once Bet gets to school, she soon realizes living as a boy is going to be much more difficult than she imagined.

The Education of Bet is a sweet and humorous story told in a wonderful voice! I have read at least one historical novel where a woman dresses like a man to do something only a man can do and I absolutely adored it, so when I heard about The Education of Bet bringing this concept to the YA genre I was really excited!

And Bet didn't let me down. From page one I had a lot of fun reading about her adventures in school masquerading as a boy. The author crafted her voice in such a way that she is so proper even while doing scandalous boy type things, I loved it! And falling for her roommate that thinks she's a boy, priceless! Her relationship with James (her roommate) is so sweet, even when they are both boys, they really look out for each other. We don't see a ton of her relationship with her "brother in spirit" Will save for the beginning of the book but I really liked what I saw of Will as well.

I knew eventually Bet would have to be discovered by someone as a girl but I didn't know how and it was so fun getting there. The Education of Bet was a sweet and very cute book, which I definitely recommend!

The Education of Bet will be released on July 12th 2010
Genre: Historical Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by Amazon Vine

Perfect (Pretty Little Liars #3) by Sara Shepard

**WARNING SPOILERS FROM PREVIOUS BOOKS**

Amazon.com:

In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four perfect-looking girls aren't nearly as perfect as they seem.

Aria can't resist her forbidden ex. Hanna is on the verge of losing her BFF. Emily is freaking out over a simple kiss. And Spencer can't keep her hands off anything that belongs to her sister.

Lucky me. I know these pretty little liars better than they know themselves. But it's hard keeping all of their secrets to myself. They better do as I say . . . or else!

-A

Perfect is probably my favorite of the Pretty Little Liars series. It was the first book that made me really sit up and say WOW A really means business! A is really out to do some serious damage to these girls. Some big stuff goes down in this book! I love how each book starts with something from the past when Ali was still around, we get to know more and more about her and her very apparent baggage and more and more clues are thrown into the mix.

I'm not sure which book this really starts to come into play but there are some really great instances of creepiness in this series. Like the girls see people in the shadows watching them or crouching by cars. It totally works too, it freaked me out! And there is a Rosewood Stalker on the loose too in this book, I mean it's bad enough we have A but now another stalker too! Or is it? And A starts to keep creepier, leaving the girls notes in places that make it obvious that A had just been standing right by them.

I'll leave you with this, if you find the first two books just ok and are thinking of not continuting to read, at least read through this book and then see how you feel. From about this book on I read about a book a day until the end of the series!

Perfect was released on May 27th 2008
Genre: Young Adult
4/5 Stars
Purchased at Half Price Books

Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl by Rachel Renee Russell

Amazon.com:

Rachel Renee Russell's sequel to DORK DIARIES is packed with adorable art and tons of laughs.

I was SO excited to hear that the Dork Diaries series would be continuing with this second book, Dork Diaries: Tales From A Not-So-Popular Party Girl. I adored the the first book, the author has such a way with humor that I think all her jokes are funny and I just adore Nikki! And the situations Nikki finds herself in, oh man, I’m not the target audience but they were hilarious! There is something about the way that Nikki writes her journal that is so innocent and genuine that she’s instantly lovable.

In this book nemesis MacKenzie really starts to show her claws so it’s really interesting to see how Nikki will handle these situations in her polite and innocence manner. Nikki’s friends Chloe and Zoey are also a great backup duo to Nikki and her crazy ideas! While I would have loved to have seen Nikki’s little sister Brianna a bit more in this book, she was still as funny as I remember her from the first book.

I can see the Dork Diaries series going on for a long time and with each book Nikki is maturing a bit more and learning new things about herself. I love how this book ended and it’s set up for what I’m sure will be a great third book to the series! Can’t wait to read it!

Dork Diaires: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl will be released on June 8th
Genre: Middle Grade
4.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by the publisher

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha

Amazon.com:

Based on the award-winning 10-million-plus-hit blog 1000awesomethings.com, The Book of Awesome is a high five for humanity and a big celebration of life's little moments:

• Popping Bubble Wrap
• Wearing underwear just out of the dryer
• Fixing electronics by smacking them
• Getting called up to the dinner buffet first at a wedding
• Watching The Price Is Right when you're home sick
• Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row
• Waking up and realizing it's Saturday

Sometimes it's easy to forget the things that make us smile. With a 24/7 news cycle reporting that the polar ice caps are melting, hurricanes are swirling in the seas, wars are heating up around the world, and the job market is in a deep freeze, it's tempting to feel that the world is falling apart. But awesome things are all around us-sometimes we just need someone to point them out.

The Book of Awesome reminds us that the best things in life are free (yes, your grandma was right). With laugh-out-loud observations from award- winning comedy writer Neil Pasricha, The Book of Awesome is filled with smile-inducing moments on every page that make you feel like a kid looking at the world for the first time. Read it and you'll remember all the things there are to feel good about.

The Book of Awesome reminds us of all the little things that we often overlook but that make us smile. With touching, warm, and funny observations, each entry ends with the big booming feeling you'll get when you read through them: AWESOME!

If it is not obvious already, The Book of Awesome is.... AWESOME. Whenever you need a laugh, a giggle, a smile a little pick me up, The Book of Awesome is right there waiting for you.

The format of the Book of Awesome is sort of an extended list. Each title describes the awesome thing and then the actual body copy ranging from a word to a few pages details the awesome. Pasricha goes off on a lot of tangents and tells a lot of stories and gives a lot of scenarios but his way with words made me follow him everywhere he went and it was very satisfying. It's like one of my very clever and funny friends wrote it, seriously!

I'd have to say I agreed with about 99% of the things he declared awesome, this guy has great taste. Some of my favorites include: Fixing electronics by smacking them, When you're really tired and about to fall asleep and someone throws a blanket on you, and Terrible businesses run by children. There is so much here!

This is a book that should be kept around forever and always. Who doesn't need a dose of positive attitude or memories of happy moments. This book is happy making and it's ... AWESOME!

The Book of Awesome was released on April 15th
Genre: Awesome/Humor/Non-Fiction
4.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by Amazon Vine

Blog Tour: Balancing Acts by Zoe Fishman

Amazon.com:

A poignant debut novel about the transformative powers of yoga and friendship for four women on the verge of realizing their dreams

With beauty, brains, and a high-paying Wall Street position, Charlie was a woman who seemed to have it all—until she turned thirty and took stock of her life, or lack thereof. She left it all behind to pursue yoga, and now, two years later, she's looking to drum up business for her fledgling studio in Brooklyn. Attending her college's alumni night with fliers in tow, she reconnects with three former classmates whose post-graduation lives, like hers, haven't turned out like they'd hoped.

Romance book editor Sabine still longs to write the novel that's bottled up inside her. Once an up-and-coming photographer and Upper East Side social darling, Naomi is now a single mom who hasn't picked up her camera in years. And Bess, who dreamed of being a serious investigative journalist a la Christiane Amanpour, is stuck in a rut, writing snarky captions for a gossip mag. But at a weekly yoga class at Charlie's studio, the four friends, reunited ten years after college, will forge new bonds and take new chances—as they start over, fall in love, change their lives...and come face-to-face with haunting realities.

Balancing Acts came into my life at precisely the right time, I started yoga about 2 months ago and have been loving it. Balancing Acts was the perfect meld of yoga and the type of book I love to read, I just loved it.

I'm instantly attracted to books that are told in rotating perspective and Balancing Acts happens to explore these 4 women's journeys through each of their 4 voices. I loved all four of their voices with Bess just coming in slightly behind the other 3 women because of her initial motives to join the yoga class and not letting go of it as fast as I would have liked.

I liked how the story balances humor and serious matters, it was just a joy to read, with each woman going through her own journey. Specifically I loved Sabine's interactions with someone she called Subway Crush (I can relate), Naomi's occupation as a graphic designer (again, I can relate) and how she leans on the people in her life when she's used to taking care of herself and her son, and Charlie's journey from Wall Street to Yoga and the sweet cafe owner she finds on the way.

I also want to mention, that just because I've been doing yoga doesn't mean I think you have to be a yogi to enjoy the book. I will admit it's fun comparing it to my own yoga experience but I know I would have liked it if I would have read it without having any knowledge of yoga. There is really something for everyone to relate to here. Would definitely recommend it!!

Balancing Acts was released on March 16th 2010
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
4.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher

TLC Book Tours

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

From the author's website:

Everyone knows the unwritten rule: You don't like you best friend's boyfriend.

Sarah has had a crush on Ryan for years. He's easy to talk to, supersmart, and totally gets her. Lately it even seems like he's paying extra attention to her. Everything would be perfect except for two things: Ryan is Brianna's boyfriend, and Brianna is Sarah's best friend. Sarah forces herself to avoid Ryan and tries to convince herself not to like him. She feels so guilty for wanting him, and the last thing she wants is to hurt her best friend. But when she's thrown together with Ryan one night, something happens. It's wonderful...and awful. Sarah is torn apart by guilt, but what she feels is nothing short of addiction, and she can't stop herself from wanting more...

I think it's impossible for someone not relate to something in The Unwritten Rule. Be it having a crush on your friend's (or best friend's) boyfriend or maybe being friends with someone that uses you as a stepping stool, they can't give you a compliment without sort of insulting you at the same time. There is a lot here and I know it sure gave me a lot to think about and all the while Scott is writing in her relatable and humorous voice.

I love how the book is super romantic but also very serious when it comes to friendship and family issues. It's really a very well rounded book. At first Sarah's best friend Brianna seems like the sweetest friend ever but little by little you realize she's doing things for herself that are uncomfortable and wrong for her friend and boyfriend but she's not doing it without reason. She has some serious family issues but the book makes you think about the fact that you can only help a person so much without getting wrapped up in their issues and messing up your own life.

And normally you'd think of a potential boyfriend stealer as someone horribly awful but Scott writes Sarah and her past with Ryan in such a way that you (at least I did) think they should be together and it's always meant to be that way. And same with Ryan, he didn't come off as the sleazy boyfriend, he was almost angelic and wanted to do what was right for his girlfriend but also himself.

I tore through The Unwritten Rule wanting to find out how this how love triangle was going to work itself out and let me tell you I loved the entire ride and outcome. Of the 3 Elizabeth Scott books I've read this is definitely my favorite!

The Unwritten Rule will be released on March 16th
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
ARC borrowed for ARC tour

Noonie's Masterpiece by Lisa Railsback with art by Sarajo Frieden

Amazon.com:

Fantastic illustrations with a fresh, contemporary look enrich this debut novel about a 10-year-old aspiring artist stuck living with an aunt, uncle, and cousin who clearly don't recognize her genius. A humorous and heartfelt reminder that 'a brilliant artist is never afraid,' this book reveals that sometimes our greatest masterpieces are the bonds we unexpectedly forge with the people in our lives.

Noonie's Masterpiece would have been my FAVORITE book in elementary school. Noonie is a surprisingly dedicated artist for a 4th grader, she carries her art supplies with her everywhere and creates art whenever the mood strikes her, be it a parking lot or in the hallway. But it's not surprising Noonie has latched onto art the way she has, her mother died when she was younger (she was also an artist), her father is away on archaeological digs and she lives with her aunt, uncle and cousin.

The story is very rich for those of us that love the arts, it's like a who's who of famous artists, I think it's a wonderful way for children to be introduced to these masters of the art world in a fun and relevant way. And the book doesn't just talk about art, it IS art. The illustrations and paintings in this book make it for me. They are silly, random, touching and so so colorful. I found myself being disappointed when there wasn't more than a little pattern on some of the pages after seeing other pages so over saturated with art. I love it.

I would highly suggest this for elementary school aged children that show an interest in the arts!

Noonie's Masterpiece was released on February 24th
Genre: Childrens
4.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by Amazon Vine

Book Trailer:

Something About You by Julie James

Amazon.com:

There's something about Julie James...

Staying overnight in a luxury hotel, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde overhears a high-profile murder involving a U.S. Senator. Special Agent Jack Pallas is assigned to the investigation-the same Jack Pallas who still blames her for nearly ruining his career three years ago. Now the pair will have to put their rocky past behind them, focus on the case at hand-and smother the flame of their sizzling-hot sexual tension.

Something About You is my second Julie James book and I think I've found a new favorite author! Once again Julie's heroine, Cameron is very confident and good at what she does, she's not sitting around waiting for a man to fill her life. Through a series of (murderous) events she finds herself thrown together with Jack Pallas the glowering Special Agent who she was mutually attracted to before she pissed him off and he embarrassed her three years ago.

I love seeing what hoops characters in romance novels have to jump through to end up in a situation where the guy and the girl are stuck together, usually against their will... at first. I just love it!

The mystery in this book was great, it's not so much who, because you find out early on, but how, how it is going to end, all the while Cameron and Jack's relationship is growing. I also love how the secondary characters are important in Something About You, it's not strictly about Cameron and Jack. They both have friends and things they do outside of being together which makes the story very well rounded.

I mentioned in my review of Just the Sexiest Man Alive that it borders on Chick Lit and I think Something About You veers more so into the Romance genre, especially with the naughty bits! Can't wait to read more from Julie James!

Something About You was released on March 2nd 2010.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
4.5/5 Stars
Purchased at Borders

Blog Tour: The Life of Glass by Jillian Cantor

Welcome to The Life of Glass blog tour! I'm pleased to host author Jillian Cantor today! Let's start with her guest blog!


Alea asked me to write about my writing rituals, and so I will confess, that I don’t actually have any writing rituals! I know some writers go to coffee shops or listen to playlists, or. . . I guess have actual things they must do and have in order to write. But for me, I need quiet. That’s it, just quiet and my computer. I like coffee, and if I’m writing in the morning and I have a cup, that’s nice, but not necessary. (There are plenty of times I write without coffee, too.)

Though quiet might not sound like a lot, at my house, it is. I have two little boys, both under the age of five, who I spend the majority of the day playing with, feeding, driving places, cleaning up after, etc. Quiet (and time on my own) is rare. And so I write in the afternoons for an hour or two when they’re napping. I write after they go to bed at night. Sometimes I write on weekend mornings when my husband is home to entertain them.

But I am usually trying to squeeze my writing into quick, fleeting pockets of time. The in-between spaces of life. There is no time for rituals or preparing myself to write. I just have to do it when I can, in those few rare hours a day where quiet prevails.

Maybe that’s the interesting thing about my “rituals” or my process, if you will. That I must be able to do it, on demand, when I can fit it in. My writing mantra over the past few years has simply been to set a daily goal for myself, whether it be a number of words or pages to write or a number of chapters to revise. I write these goals down, on scraps of paper, or sometimes, if I’m really feeling organized, on a calendar. And then I stick to them. I make myself stick to them. Even if I’m tired. Even if there’s a good show I’d rather be watching on TV. Even if I don’t feel like it.

Oddly enough, I’ve found I get a lot more done than I used to before I was so busy, back in those days before I had kids, when I actually had time and leisure to have some writing rituals. I think I get a lot more done because time feels a lot more valuable to me now, and so I’ve come to an understanding with myself on how not to waste it.

I’m curious, though, other writers – what rituals do you have? Are there things you need to have and do before you sit down to write, or like me, do you just have to squeeze it in when you can?

Thanks Jillian! Onto my review!

Amazon.com:

Before he died, Melissa's father told her about stars. He told her that the brightest stars weren't always the most beautiful—that if people took the time to look at the smaller stars, if they looked with a telescope at the true essence of the star, they would find real beauty. But even though Melissa knows that beauty isn't only skin deep, the people around her don't seem to feel that way. There's her gorgeous sister, Ashley, who will barely acknowledge Melissa at school; there's her best friend, Ryan, who may be falling in love with the sophisticated Courtney; and there's Melissa's mother, who's dating someone new, someone Melissa knows will never be able to replace her father.

To make sure she doesn't lose her father completely, Melissa spends her time trying to piece together the last of his secrets and finishing a journal he began—one about love and relationships and the remarkable ways people find one another. But when tragedy strikes, Melissa has to start living and loving in the present as she realizes that being beautiful on the outside doesn't mean you can't be beautiful on the inside.

This is a lyrical tale of love, loss, and self-discovery from the author of The September Sisters.

The Life of Glass is one of those books, one of those books that encompasses the whole high school/growing up experience and in my opinion the author does it beautifully.

At first glance I thought the book was going to be mostly about Melissa dealing with her dad's death and all the other things being sort of secondary plots but turns out her father's death was sort of the map that she experienced everything else on and it came together so perfectly. Melissa reads from her father's journal when she needs to feel close to him or just needs something, and one of my favorite parts of the book is inside that journal. Her father (and also Melissa) write these wonderful little stories of how couples met and got together (her parents, her parent's parents etc) and they were just so touching.

So as I mentioned the focus of the book is not just on Melissa and dealing with her grief but it's also about her family and how they move on, her friends (new and old in school) and finding love for the first time. I hated the way that Melissa's sister Ashley treated her and even her mother sometimes, they were sort of off in their own little world but what was really impressive was that Melissa didn't really care that she was not like them and did her own thing. Yes she grows and changes and finds more in common with them but she still remains her own person and I think that's one of the most important messages in the book.

And probably my favorite plot involved Melissa and her friend Ryan, they have been friends forever never thinking about anything more than hanging out and riding the wash and then new girl Courtney jumps in the middle of their friendship and turns everything upside down.

The Life of Glass is a wonderful book that covers so much and I definitely will be checking out Jillian's previous release and any other books she has to come!

The Life of Glass was released on February 9th 2010
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 stars
ARC provided for blog tour

And one more exciting thing!

THE LIFE OF GLASS GIVEAWAY

Enter to win free copies of Jillian Cantor's books and cool prizes! One grand prize winner will receive two glass spirit stones (one for you, one for a friend) from Arizona, where THE LIFE OF GLASS is set, along with an autographed copy of each of Jillian's novels: THE LIFE OF GLASS and THE SEPTEMBER SISTERS. Two lucky runners-up will receive a signed copy of THE LIFE OF GLASS. To be eligible, send an email to contests@jilliancantor.com with the subject line "The Life of Glass Giveaway". All e-mail entries must be received by midnight (PST) on February 14, 2010. The winners will be selected at random on February 15, 2010. Be sure to include your name and e-mail address with your entry (If you're under age 13, give your parent's contact info). One entry per person. Jillian Cantor's complete blog tour schedule can be found at www.jilliancantor.com. Good luck!

Blog Tour: In A Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

Welcome to the In A Heartbeat blog tour! Today I'm excited to host Loretta Ellsworth! Let's start with her guest blog!

Thank you, Alea, for asking me to be a guest blogger. My blog post today is about cellular memory. When I first started researching heart transplants, I’d never heard of the theory of cellular memory, which is the idea that memory is stored not just in our brains, but at the cellular level. If every cell in our body has its own mind and if you transfer tissues from one body to another, then the cells from the first body will carry memories into the second body.

I read about many cases of heart transplant recipients who felt as though they’d inherited new memories along with their new hearts. I read about a woman who’d received the heart of a young man who’d died after being stabbed in his lower back. After the surgery she experienced shooting pains in her lower back. Her husband reported that during the night she’d have nightmares and wake up screaming, pointing to her lower back. I read about people who experienced profound personality changes, who suddenly started liking different types of music and food than before, and others who dreamed of their heart donors. In his book The Heart’s Code, Paul Pearsall described the case in which a young girl received the heart of a murdered girl and who had nightmares about a man attacking her. Her description of the man was so detailed – the time, the weapon, the place, the clothes he wore, that her psychiatrist decided to call the police, and they were able to arrest the man based on her description.

Candace Pert is a scientist who has been studying how chains of amino acids, called neuropeptides, send messages back and forth between the brain and the body. It used to be thought that neuropeptides only existed in the brain, but now they’ve been found throughout the whole body, especially in the heart. And the heart has been found to have its own complex nervous system, which influences the communication between brain and heart.

What scientists don’t understand is why some people claim to have these memories and others don’t. Many doctors feel that these experiences are just side effects of the immunosuppressive drugs that patients take. In some online blogs I read, patients stated that they don’t tell their doctors about these feelings even when they do have them. I doubt there’s enough known about cellular memory to draw any conclusions at this time. But it does warrant more research and transplant patients do need validation of their feelings.

After reading these accounts, I knew that this would be the bridge for my two characters – a heart that would connect them in more ways than just as a donated pump. Eagan, who is so different from Amelia, helps her learn to live life to the fullest by the personality traits she passes on to her. And those newfound traits end up leading Amelia back to Eagan’s family.

If you’re interested in learning more, here’s a link to a video about cellular memory and heart transplants:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK6iPXHY_Nc

And if you’re interested in organ donation, here’s another link:
http://www.donatelife.net/

Thanks Loretta! Onto my review!

Amazon.com:

When a small mistake costs sixteen-year-old Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition, she leaves many things unreconciled, including her troubled relationship with her mother. From her vantage point in the afterlife, Eagan reflects back on her memories, and what she could have done differently, through her still-beating heart.

When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns she will be getting a heart transplant, her fear and guilt battle with her joy at this new chance at life. And afterwards when she starts to feel different—dreaming about figure skating, craving grape candy—her need to learn about her donor leads her to discover and explore Eagan’s life, meeting her grieving loved ones and trying to bring the closure they all need to move on.

Told in alternating viewpoints, In a Heartbeat tells the emotional and compelling story of two girls sharing one heart.


In a Heartbeat was a fascinating book about love, life and making changes told from the viewpoints of two teen girls, Eagan and Amelia.

I love how both Eagan (an ice skater that hits her head on a board during a performance and dies) and Amelia (a girl with a bad heart that receives Eagan's heart) have such different lives and never actually meet but compliment each others stories and learn from each other. It's a beautiful story that is made all the better but the short chapters that switch back and forth from both of their viewpoints.

If I was asked to compare this book with another I would say it has a few similarities with The Everafter, at least when it comes to Eagan's story. They both reflect back on someone's life and look forward into the everafter.

I love how one heart, Eagan's heart brings these two families together and changes both girls for the better. Eagan is able to let go of her regrets and past and Amelia is able to blossom and start her new life with her new heart. It's a wonderful book that I would definitely suggest!

In A Heartbeat was released on February 2nd!
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by author for tour
Loretta Ellsworth's website

And something really exciting, a chance to win a signed copy of In A Heartbeat!

Here's how to enter to win a signed copy of In A Heartbeat!

Fill out the giveaway entry form here.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S. and Canada only.

The giveaway will end February 23rd at 6:59 pm Central Time.

**Copy provided by the author**

Blog Tour: Beautiful by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma

Welcome to the Beautiful blog tour! I'm pleased to welcome author Cindy Martinusen- Coloma today to share a guest blog about Writing YA Fiction and then also my review of the book!

Writing YA Books – Create Authentic Worlds

As a child, I sailed away on the Dawn Treader and explored Narnia with Aslan by simply opening pages in a book. While living in rural California, I also grew up in River Heights with Nancy Drew as we solved mysteries together and with Laura Ingalls as we moved from the Big Woods to a sod house and later a little house on the prairie during an era more than a hundred years old.

While I love movies and many forms of entertainment, there’s nothing like reading to really escape into an alter-reality. There’s just something magical about that to me.

It’s essential for a writer to remember what it’s like to be a reader. The writer is in the creator seat, imitating the true Creator and building fictive worlds, people and dramas.

For the young adult market, the importance of creating a “real” fictive world is even further essential. This world is created in descriptions, language, slangs, fashion, styles, and social groups. In my first YA, Ruby Unscripted, Ruby had always dreamed big in her small-town life with her lower-middle class conservative family. But as her dreams come true, she has culture shock when she moves to the affluent and liberal Marin County. In my second YA, Beautiful, Ellie is one of those seemingly perfect Christian girls while her sister Megan is labeled “trouble.” And in upcoming Caleb+Kate, Kate is wealthy and attends a private school while the guy she falls in love with has a very different background.

For each of these books and characters, the styles, voices, slangs, fashion, groups of friends, even bedroom décors are all very different from one another because of who they are, where they come from, and what time and place the book is set. For YA fiction, writers MUST make the outside and inner worlds of our characters believable or readers will shake their heads and toss the books aside.

Author Margaret Culkin Banning said, “Fiction is not a dream. Nor is it guesswork. It is imagining based on facts, and the facts must be accurate or the work of imagining will not stand up.”

What’s fun is that the same experience I had while reading is also the experience I have in writing. I escape into new realms and picture my readers with me. Together, we discover people and worlds not our own and have the chance to live thousands of lives. As writer and reader, it’s an experience like no other.

Thank you Cindy! Now onto my review!

Amazon.com:

Her friends once thought she was perfect. Now she must face the mirror--and herself--to discover what true beauty is.

Ellie Summerfield has everything a girl could want--she's beautiful, she's Senior Class President, has a calendar full of social engagements, volunteer commitments, and church activities. In short, she's perfect, according to most of the students at West Redding High School. But something is bothering Ellie, like a loose string on a dress she can feel but can't see. Does she really love her boyfriend, Ryan? Who are her true friends? And is she really happy in her picture-perfect life?

Then in the course of a few minutes, the loose string in Ellie's life completely unravels. Forever changed, she must face herself as she discovers what it really means to be beautiful.

I could take a guess what Beautiful was about based on the book summary and book cover but I pushed it out of my mind so I could fully enjoy the book and be in the present moment with Ellie as everything happened. And I am sure glad I did because this book was beautiful and heartbreaking.

Ellie never had to work hard to make her life the way she wanted it, unlike her sister Megan, who to most is invisible. When Ellie has to restart her life she knows she can't just go back to the way things used to be, but what can she make of her life now? It's about Ellie finding herself and accepting herself for who she was and who is know is.

One thing I hadn't realized about Beautiful was that it was a sister story! Not only do we hear things from Ellie's point of view we get to know Megan as well, who I rather liked also! It's about them really getting to know each other after having lived in the same house for 17 years and really not actually knowing each other.

I liked and didn't like how everything in the book wasn't clean cut. Sometimes you just want everything to work out exactly how you'd imagine but really we know that's not always true. So I think this book did a great job of portraying this situation with honesty. Maybe you'll never exactly know where you stand with the boys in your life, or maybe for awhile you didn't want to believe in God or maybe your plans for the future had to be completely re-written. 

One thing I wanted to address was this is a Young Adult Christian Fiction story (my first actually) but I found it very relatable as someone that is not a Christian. It's a very universal story.

Overall, Beautiful was beautiful and honest and heartbreaking.

Beautiful was released on November 3rd 2009
Genre: Young Adult Christian Fiction
4.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher

Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

Amazon.com:

Looking for a new beginning after a terrible mean girl past, Charlie Healey realizes there’s no escaping high school drama.

Charlie Healey thinks Harmony Falls is the beginning of a whole new life. Middle school was brutal. But high school is Charlie’s big chance to start over and stay out of drama, except that on her first day she runs into Will, her ex–best friend, who had moved away. Now a varsity athlete and hotter than Charlie remembered, Will hangs with the crowd running the school. But Charlie doesn’t understand their power until an innocent delivery guy falls victim to a near-deadly hazing prank.

Torn between doing what’s right and her secret feelings for Will, Charlie must decide whether to turn in her very best friend or live with the guilt of knowing what he did.

Rosalind Wiseman’s first novel for young adults is a fresh, funny, and juicy read about friendship, betrayal, and how far some will go to be accepted.

When I heard Rosalind Wiseman was making her fiction debut for teens I just had to read it. I knew her non-fiction book, Queen Bees and Wannabes was the inspiration for the movie Mean Girls and knew this had to have some of that same spirit and it definitely did.

I love how in Charlie's past is a realization that mean girls walked all over her and she stood by and let them hurt people. She realized what had gone down, left the situation and those so called friends behind to start high school with that behind her. She thought she would be able to face off with any mean girls at her new school and do the right thing but she doesn't realize that even though you've been through it once you might not be an old pro by the second time. And this time the situation is different, it's mean boys that have never been stopped but will Charlie be the one to stop them?

I really liked the balance in this story, there are friends (new & old), family, school, and a little romance. It's all there and it just sucked me in. It's funny, it's serious, it's tender and real, it's awesome.

Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials will be released on January 12th
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by publisher

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Amazon.com

Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around. Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge. If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day. She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully. Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first. Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be.

Some Girls Are will knock the wind out of you, literally. I felt busted up after I finished the book. It's a rare book that can make you physically feel something. The book is so complex it's hard to describe but I will try. It's like driving by a car accident you really don't want to see but just have to. It's catty like the movie Mean Girls but it's like Mean Girls on drugs. The girls in Some Girls Are are the types of girls you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley or get on the wrong side of.

I found myself wondering how they would top their last stunt or who was going to make the next move. Main character Regina is interesting. She used to be one of the Fearsome Fivesome and then she's out (because of something she didn't actually do). So you can't exactly like her because she's just as bad as her enemies but at the same time you can see she does feel bad about some of the things she's done and realizes that they were wrong, so you are rooting for her to make it out of this in one piece. And she finds a sort-of alley in Michael, a boy whom she herself tortured. Their relationship is hard, they both know it won't be easy and that they really shouldn't but then end up leaning on each other.

While I liked Summers's previous book, Cracked Up To Be slightly more because it was more relatable, Some Girls Are is a strong, strong second novel that will kick the crap out of you!

Some Girls Are will be released on January 5th
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by the publisher