Teen Tuesday

Weekly Wrap Up (2)

2011-03-18T19:30:00.000-05:00

Here is my Weekly Wrap Up for this week!

Anna.

Weekly Wrap Up (2)

2011-03-18T19:27:00.000-05:00

Here's my Weekly Wrap Up vlog for this week. :)

What I Read This Week:

I read and completed So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti.

What I Am Currently Reading:

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (for AP English)

What I Hope to Finish by Next Friday:

Between Here and Forever

Bee Season by Myla Goldberg (for my Outside Reading Novel for AP English)

Anna.

I Know It's Not Tuesday...

2011-03-18T12:06:00.004-05:00

Hi Everyone! I know it's not Tuesday, but I was just checking to see if anyone stops in here anymore or reads these posts! It's been over a year...

So here's a little plug...head on over to Larkin's Book Bloggers! We're currently doing a book giveaway and some swag giveaway for the new novel Clarity by Kim Harrington. Haven't heard about it? Check out the review on our blog as well! One winner will receive an autographed copy of the novel, a sticker, and an autographed bookmark! Two other winners will get an autographed bookplate, autographed bookmark and a sticker!

http://blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin

Come check us out and restore my faith that people still hang out at Teen Tuesday!

J. Larkin

HELLOOOOOO Teen Tuesday!

2010-03-30T09:55:00.002-05:00

I just finished an excellent book - The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting. It's her debut novel and it is fantastic.

Violet can find the dead bodies of people who have been murdered. She senses their "echoes" and the imprints they leave behind on their killers. Only her family knows her secret. Entering her junior year in high school, Violet has enough to worry about - including a hard core crush on her best friend since forever, Jay. But a serial killer is now on the loose, and Violet becomes tied to the case when she discovers the dead body of one of his victims. Searching for echoes and imprints leads her deeper and deeper into the investigation. Can Violet stop him?

Seriously - this book had me reading non-stop. Violet was a great character and the plot was fast-paced and suspenseful. There were some great twists and turns, and of course the romantic twist with Violet and Jay provided some funny moments! I also liked how the author mixed in some chapters that were told from the perspective of the killer - especially at the part in the novel where Violet is at the party. The echoes and imprints was also interesting and added a lot of drama at different parts - especially when Violet didn't know what she was sensing.

Definitely read this - if mystery/suspense/drama is your genre, you won't want to miss this one.

It Is Teen Tuesday, Right?

2010-03-09T13:26:00.003-06:00

Well, we've been reading too many books to write about here...head on over Larkin's Book Bloggers to read more about Creepers, The Clearing, Once, and MORE!

http://http://blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin/

Lucky Enough to Read the ARC of Linger!

2010-02-02T06:54:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I traveled to Boston with our school's libarian/media specialist and attended the ALA's midwinter conference. I was in HEAVEN! We received tons of ARCs and copies of newly released books. However, it was when we went by the Scholastic booth that we really got excited...there on the table was the ARC for Linger! Yes, Linger - the highly anticipated next book of the Shiver series. I devoured it in one day - and all I'll say is...awesome. A little predictable in some areas, but I loved the new male wolf character, and the love story is still what drives the heart of the story. I also loved the ending - the drama of the hospital, conflict with the parents, and the cliffhanger which means - another book!

Check out our blog...Larkin's Book Bloggers -

blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin

My middle school students will be posting a review soon - of Linger and many other new novels! And watch for a new contest soon...we'll be giving away an ARC of Linger!

Checking in on Teen Tuesday...

2009-12-08T19:24:00.002-06:00

So I just finished reading My Most Excellent Year - A Story of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park. And I LOVED it. Growing up in New England and a huge fan of the Sox myself, the setting of Brookline, Boston, and other parts of MA appealed to me - as did all of the Red Sox references! I loved reading about TC - dealing with his mother's death, finding Augie, falling for Ale, finding Hucky - his whole journey was amazing. Augie was hysterical and having a gay main character was great - not something you commonly find in today's YA lit. Hucky and Mary Poppins - what a sweet storyline - and the ending wrapped that up so nicely. A definite read if you haven't done so already!

Next up is Bloom - recommended by one of my students! Thanks Gabby! Has anyone out there read it yet?

Blog updates and such

2009-12-01T14:53:00.002-06:00

So, you all know about the BIG FAT NERD JOURNAL:

but a friend and I have started another blog called THE CRAZIES, in which we basically post little half-written stories, poems, etc. We're also working on an interactive story, so check that out:

http://thecraziesdotcome.blogspot.com/

Happy Tuesday,
Danielle

Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz

2009-12-01T06:58:00.003-06:00

Have you ever dealt with addiction? Has it had an impact on your family or someone close to you? I just finished Last Night I Sang to the Monster and I really enjoyed it. Zach, the main character, tells us a fragmented story as he attempts to put his life back together. We meet Zach inside a treatment center as he battles alcohol addiction. We also meet many other interesting addicts - especially Rafael and Sharkey. But Zach's story is different, as he doesn't remember how he got to the treatment center - what happened that finally set him over the edge?

The beginning of the story was slow going - I had a hard time connecting with Zach. The story was very choppy and his expressions just became repetitive and boring. But as each character told their story during therapy ("Storytime"), and as we learned more about Zach, I really became attached and cared about what happened to each of them. Like Zach, I was upset when Sharkey left and cried along with him at certain key points in this story. And it is very powerful when he finally reveals his story and what caused him to end up where he is. I loved the character of Adam and how he was such a positive character in the story. Definite 4 out of 5 - thanks to Benjamin Alire Saenz for a great story about addiction, battling addiction, and survival.

Check out our blog as we're currently giving away THREE novels!

http://blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin/

The Big Fat Nerd Journal--Sign Up TODAY!

2009-11-17T17:31:00.003-06:00

Hello, all. For anyone who's been reading le blog, this is old news. But, since I'm pretty sure that's none of you, I'll explain anyway.

The Big Fat Nerd Journal is just that--a journal. A plain, marble one that you can get for fifty cents at a Stop and Shop (though, depending on the economy crisis, things might be getting a tad steeper). It looks like this:

The lowdown is that I will send this journal out to one person across the Americas. They will carry it around for as long as TWO WEEKS, scribbling and doodling and just generally writing whatever happens to be on their mind (limited to three pages, please). Then, when they are done, they will take a picture with the journal. It can be anything--the journal with their cat, their house, their bed, computer, stack of books, on a bench, on a rock, in the kitchen...etc etc etc. They will then email this picture to me, along with a few words on their "experience" with the journal (which I will post on the Offical Blog). I will in turn give them the address of someone else, and they will send it to that person. Rinse, wash and repeat. The goal is to get this journal to as many people, places and countries as physically possible. I think it will be a fun way to connect to other folk around the world. It's also a way to plug your blog/website, or any other buisness endeavers. I would really appreciate if you were to check out the site to sign up, and I look forward to seeing what you scamps have to say!

(international participants welcome)

Danielle

Helloooooo Teen Tuesday!

2009-11-17T06:44:00.001-06:00

Whew! It's been awhile since I've posted! Let's catch up...

First, check out our blog for a review of Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.

http://blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin/

I finally finished the book Liar by Justine Larbalestier. And if I said I loved it, I'd be a liar. The story is about Micah, a high school student and a compulsive liar. When her "secret" boyfriend is killed, Micah takes us through her story...her history, as we try to discover the truth behind how and why Zach was murdered. Told in alternating times - Before, After, History of Me, etc., the story drags and you never know when Micah is really being honest. And then the book shifts in a totally different direction when Micah reveals something about her true self - and the story becomes even more crazy. I was bored by the story and it took me forever to finish this book. I really wanted to love it - but I didn't.

I also finished the book Looks by Madeleine George. This is a story about two high school girls who don't fit in. Meghan is extremely overweight and is either completely ignored by the student body, or tormented by them. Aimee is the new girl and is the complete opposite - she's anorexic. After Aimee is seemingly accepted by a popular girl, she then gets backstabbed and bands together with Meghan to get revenge. The book barely gets started and then ends - leaving so much unanswered - does Cara get away with it all? What happens with J-Bar? What happens between the English teacher and "coach"? This novel had a great start, but finished on a weak note.

Currently I'm reading Deadline by Chris Crutcher...I'll catch you up on that next time!

:) Enjoy the Tuesday!

This week has been a little bit more eventful...

2009-10-20T13:32:00.004-05:00

Well as the title of this post says this week has been pretty eventful. I got some cool stuff in the mail which you can find here. And I got another book in the mail today but your just gonna have to wait until Sunday to see what that was, and also what else, because I am expecting some more stuff soon.

As far as books that have been read, I finished Alis by Naomi Rich and reviewed it, and I am currently reading Need by Carrie Jones. I am going to try and kick things up and get at least two books in a week. Depending on how hectic my schedule is.

I think that's it this week. If I think of anything else, I'll update!

Also I dont know if it was like this last week, but I updated the look of my blog so check it out and let me know what you think of the new layout!!

Teen Tuesday, really, really slow!!!

2009-10-13T22:13:00.002-05:00

Ok so I did not post anything last week because honestly, I had nothing to talk about. I didn't post any reviews last week or anything. The book that I just finished, I didnt really enjoy so it took me a while to read it. I did finally finish it though, and got the review of it up here. Other than that I can't think of anything that has happened. I did get a book in the mail today and I am expecting more through out the week but I dont want to ruin it by posting them today. I think that I am going to wait until Sunday and see what I can do for my IMM. I am thinking about doing a Vlog but I dont know how well that will go. I can never upload video from my camera to Youtbe.

Another Teen Tuesday Is Flying By...

2009-10-13T12:57:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone! I forgot today was Tuesday until just a few minutes ago...we had Friday off, Monday off, and then today was a professional development day - so I've been losing track of days.

This week I finished Hunger - the sequel to Gone. I talked about Gone in my last post. So if you haven't read it yet, I don't want to reveal too much about the next book. But, our characters are still living in the FAYZ, they are still without adults, and the conflict between Caine and Sam is still out there. But in Hunger, add in starvation, growing violence between the "humans" and the "freaks", and the added mystery of the Darkness - or gaiphage...and this series continues strong. I didn't like it as much as Gone - but it was still good. And by the end, with the resolution (or so we are led to believe) of one conflict - what will happen now? How will the kids escape the FAYZ? Will powers continue to grow? What will happen between Caine and Sam now? The series is a definite read - I would recommend it.

Next up is Liar - and with all the hype I'm hearing about this book, I hope it's fantastic.

Talk to you next week -

Is anyone posting anything?

2009-10-06T19:40:00.001-05:00

I GOT MY COPY OF CATCHING FIRE IN THE MAIL TODAY!!!!

...but I also have to read A Seperate Peace. I guess it evens out.

Have a nice Tuesday :)

Teen Tuesday..... kinda slow week.

2009-09-29T17:00:00.003-05:00

Well it has been a some what slow week. I only got one book in but let me tell you it was good. And what would that be, you may be asking??
Well it would be CANDOR!! This book actually just came out last Tuesday, the 22nd. I read this for the 1 ARC Tours. You can check out my review of it here. It took me a little while to get into but once I did it was great! Other than that nothing that I can think of has really happened. I started Madapple by Christina Meldrum today. I read a review of it on Goodreads, and just from the first paragraph of that I can't wait to finish it and see how it goes. If anyone has read it, please let me know what you thought.

~ Jordan

I'm hosting a giveaway, foolz!

2009-09-29T14:28:00.002-05:00

Well, if you don't read my blog, Opinionated? Me?, then you probably don't know I'm hosting my first ever giveaway:

Details here!

--Danielle

Seems like a slow Teen Tuesday...wait, it is Tuesday, right?

2009-09-29T13:24:00.003-05:00

So in the middle of a very hectic week...NYC on Friday, field trip to URI on Monday, off to a Red Sox game tonight...I did manage to sneak in one book!

I just finished reading Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs. Think female Percy Jackson - Phoebe, the main character, discovers that her mom has fallen in love, is getting married, and they're moving to some random, mysterious Greek island. But wait, that's not all. Once she arrives on the island, she discovers that it's filled with descendants of Greek Gods and Goddesses - and they have powers. As the only mortal girl on the island, Phoebe is definintely feeling a little self-conscious about entering the ultra-exclusive Academy - her alternative high school for the next year. So what's in store for Phoebe? Will she make any friends? Will her new step-sister fit the typical evil step-sister stereotype? Will she ever see her friends from back home again?

First, let me just say that I love the Percy Jackson series. So I was definitely psyched about reading this. And it didn't disappoint! While the Percy Jackson series is more action-adventure and mystery - this is more high school girl romance. The jokes, jabs, insults and super power demonstrations were definitely funny and I really liked the character of Phoebe. I'll be getting a copy of the sequel...Goddess Boot Camp.

Up next...Slob by Ellen Potter and Hunger - the sequel to Gone.

Teen Tuesday...well, Thursday!

2009-09-24T09:41:00.003-05:00

I know, I know...it's not Tuesday! But things got crazy here at school this week and I couldn't get to my computer - so Thursday it is!

I just finished Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen. Not typically my type of genre, I really liked it. I loved the dynamic between Auden and her mother - and then later with Auden and her father. The picture of step-mom Heidi that I had created in my head was quickly blown to smithereens once we actually first meet her...overwhelmed and stressed as she's become a mom and deals with a newborn. There's some great interaction between Auden and the beach girls - Esther, Leah, and Maggie - especially after Auden's embarrassing first-night hook up. And what can I say about Eli? Loved him. A great, easy, quick read.

I'm 10 pages away from finishing Gone by Michael Grant...AND I LOVE IT!!!!! It's like The Stand combined with Girl Who Owned a City with Lord of the Flies with lots of awesomeness and super powers!! What more could you want. Next in my "to read" pile is the sequel, Hunger!

That's it! Don't forget to check out my blog for my contest...we're giving away an autographed copy of Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen!

http://blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin/

Teen Tuesday (4)

2009-09-23T22:39:00.004-05:00

This week has been kind of busy. I had been gone for the last two weeks and brought lots of books with me and came home to some that I got in the mail. To find out what those books are you can check out my In My Mailbox post for this week.

I finally finished Envy by Anna Godbersen. I was hoping to have it sooner but I had the flu and was so sick that all I did was sleep. I had a constant fever and couldn't eat anything, and it was bad! But I'm all better now, so I'm back to reading. And anyways I linked the review for that about. I also read a book that I didn't plan on reading but I was glad that I did. It was actually one of my sisters school books. It was called Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour Reit. It was a non-fiction book about a woman who disguised herself in the Civil War. I didnt review this one but I did enjoy reading it, though it was short. The woman who it was about actually wrote her own book but it was made more than 120 years ago and you cannot find it. I linked the book on amazon in case anyone was interested.

Right now I am currently reading Candor by Pam Bachorz for my 1 ARC Tours. I am only on the third chapter but it is ok for only being that far. I hope that it gets good, which from the reviews that I have seen, it will. I should have the review for this one up in a couple day so be looking for that.

And last but not least I am holding a Michelle Moran contest. It will be for a paperback signed copy of The Heretic Queen and a signed hardback copy of Cleopatra's Daughter. I will be reading and reviewing these in the near future and let me tell you I am so excited to read them. If you are interested head on over and check it out.

That is all that I can think of that has happened in the last two weeks. I would like to say that I am sorry for the delay. I just got back yesterday and am trying to get back into my routine .

~Jordan

speaking of ah-mazing...

2009-09-22T19:44:00.002-05:00

This week, I have been reading...

Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter, which was amazing. This series is fantastic.

Now I am in the middle of The President's Daughter by Ellen Emerson White. It was recommended to me by my school librarian and I like it so far.

Next: Crashed by Robin Wasserman and Chasing Fire by Suzanne Collins. So excited!

Hunger Games is AH-MAZING!

2009-09-22T12:06:00.002-05:00

I just posted my review on my blog, The Clock Monkey.

Does anyone else agree with me in saying this is a truly wonderful book?

One of the best books I've read in a while.

Head over to TCM and disscuss!

xo,
Ella

Wazzup

2009-09-21T20:04:00.003-05:00

I is reading...

...and that's about it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, House is on!

Author Guest Post: Megan Crewe

2009-09-15T17:41:00.001-05:00

The lovely Megan Crewe has written a very clever post
on how she created her ghosts
for her new book:
Give Up The Ghost

Let give her a round of applause, people!
---------------------------------------------------------

Creating a ghost

You can find stories about ghosts going back thousands of years. So when I
started writing GIVE UP THE GHOST, I had to decide which bits of ghostly
mythology I might use, and how I would shape them to fit my story and make my
ghosts unique.

Here are a few of the things that define my ghosts:

1. My ghosts have a confused sense of time. This was inspired by the stories of
ghosts who seem to be living out or mourning a tragedy over and over, even
though it happened decades or centures ago. In GIVE UP THE GHOST, the ghosts
have strong memories of their lives, and have trouble remembering anything that's
happened afterward. They can recall recent events for a few hours or even days,
depending on how long they've been dead, and then they forget again. The only
things that start to stick are changes that stay the same. For example, when one
ghost's parents first cleared out her old bedroom, she would freak out over it every
few hours when she'd forgotten and was surprised by it again. But after a few
weeks, the change "sank in" (as Cass puts it) and she accepted it as if it'd always
been that way.

2. My ghosts can travel, but they have a relatively small location they feel most
comfortable at. Most ghosts in stories seem to be stuck to a particular place,
often the place where they died. For my ghosts, it's a place where they felt at
home when they were alive. One ghost who had an abusive father hangs out in
the halls at school where he used to meet up with his friends; another, who
dreamed of becoming a ballerina, lingers near the gym where she used to practice.
But because they're more human than many ghosts, they can decide to leave their
comfort place if they want to--they just won't feel totally at ease until they come
back.

3. My ghosts have an individual smell. This wasn't based on anything specific in
ghost mythology--it just seemed to make sense, that wispy and ethereal as ghosts
are, they would carry something wispy and ethereal like a scent. Each ghost's
scent is related to their life: one ghost trails of a whiff of the hair oil he always
used; another travels with the smell of his favorite tea.
All of that added together, I hope, makes for ghosts who seem appropriately
ghost-like, but a little different in their own way, too!

Thanks for hosting me,
Megan
------------------------------------------------

What an interesting post! Really!
I loved having you, Megan!
Come back any time! ;)

Give Up The Ghost hits the shelves TODAY!
*deafening round of applause*

Make sure you go to your nearest book store a snatch a copy of this amazing book!

AND, I'm guessing you'll be needing a bookmark to go with your copy of GUTG.
So, I'm giving away (thanks to Megan, of course)
a bunch of this awesome GUTG bookmarks!

Just go to The Clock Monkey, and leave your e-mail in the comments section, and you're in to win this beauties!

There'll be two winners!

(US/Canada addresses only, please, we don't want to leave Megan penniless!)

In the meantime, I'm leaving you with the GUTG Book Trailer (which I love <3)

So...

2009-09-15T17:18:00.001-05:00

Not much going on. Reading this:

That's about it.

Happy Tuesday!

best reading week in awhile

2009-09-15T12:16:00.002-05:00

This past week, I did more reading than I have in awhile, which is really sad but also exciting.

I finished At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks, which I really enjoyed. Nicholas Sparks is one of those authors that I read for something fluffy with substance. I haven't read much of him in the past couple years, so I picked this up and started reading and I liked it. However, as soon as I got to the end I found absolutely no point to the book whatsoever. It seemed cheesy and pointless, and I can't get into details but I must say I was not pleased with the end at all.

Funny story: I just found out right at this moment that At First Sight is the sequel to True Believer. And I had no idea... whoopsy. Maybe I would like it better if I read True Believer?

I also finished Paradise Lost by Kate Brian, which I can't believe I haven't read sooner. I love this series, but I put off reading Paradise Lost because I heard it was not as good as the rest. While I'll admit, it may not be the best, but it definitely was worth my time, and I am still just as addicted to the series as before. I am also somewhat glad that I waited this long to read it, because now I can jump right into Suspicion as soon as I get my hands on it.

Now I am putting most of my energy into Ivanhoe, for my Reading Unlimited class. However, I do plan on doing a little extra reading inbetween.

<3>

Ballad/ Shiver Contest

2009-09-08T19:59:00.001-05:00

This is a teaser from Maggie Stiefvater's BALLAD, a novel involving homicidal faeries and kissing that's coming out October 1st.

He turned towards me. For a long moment, he stood facing me. I was held, anchored to the ground – not by his music, which still called and pushed against the music already in my head and said grow rise follow – but by his strangeness. By his fingers, spread over the ground, holding something into the earth, by his shoulders, squared in a way that spoke of strength and unknowability, and most of all, by the great, thorny antlers that grew from his head, spanning the sky like branches.

Then he was gone, and I missed his going in the instant that the sun fell off the edge of the hill, abandoning the world to twilight.

Buy it here. Enter the contest at Maggie's blog here.

Maggie Stiefvater is holding a Ballad Contest every Tuesday until October 1st, Ballad's release day.

Here are the prizes:

1) A signed Shiver audio book.
2) Another signed Shiver audio book.
3) A CD of my Homicidal Faerie Mix -- the music I played while writing Ballad. - Maggie Stiefvater

The contest ends next Thursday, the 17th.

So....

2009-09-08T14:43:00.002-05:00

Well, I started my freshman year today. In short? Little fish in BIG pond. Seriously. I'm no where near ANY of my friends, im in classes with all upper classmen, and my locker is on the other side of the school from all of my classes.

So, what am I reading?

Sleepless by Thomas Fahly.

And that's it.

Peace,

Danielle

Checking in on Teen Tuesday

2009-09-08T09:42:00.003-05:00

Good morning everyone! I'm sure by now everyone has read Catching Fire - the sequel to Hunger Games.

I thought it was incredible! It definitely started out a little slow for me, but once the changes began in District 12 and the Quarter Quell twist was announced...I couldn't put it down. And what an ending - once again I'm left with my mouth open and waiting for Book 3.

Another book I just finished was Shiver. I took this book with me on our trip to New Hampshire over the long weekend and I couldn't put it down. I was reading it every free minute I got - it was driving everyone NUTS! Told in alternating points of view - Sam and Grace - we hear the story of a girl and how she was saved by wolves. Or should I say one wolf in particular. Years later, she is obsessed with the wolves - and her one wolf. But are they dangerous? A classmate is killed, or is he? Mystery, confusion, suspense - it's all here - plus an amazing love story. I loved it!

Finally, I read Once Upon a Witch - I got this as an ARC and not sure if it's out yet. But it's amazing. Witchcraft, sibling rivalry, time travel - this one has it all. Read my blog for the full review!

http://blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin/

What's in my pile to read? I'm looking at a copy of Along for the Ride by Sara Dessen - so that is next! And I'll be giving away an autographed copy of that same book on my blog - so check it out!

Jen L.

Teen Tuesday (3)

2009-09-08T01:30:00.003-05:00

Ok so what all has happened this week.... nothing too exciting im afraid, although at the same time it did. I found out the other day that I won a book, Meet me at the Boardwalk by Erin Haft, that I am so excited to read! I got approached by my first author about reviewing her book that doesn't come out until February of next year. I contacted an author and am getting two of her books that I am ubber ubber excited about getting in the mail!!! Um I have Candor on the way soon for my 1 ARC Tour, which again I can't wait to read! I feel like my blog is really starting to take off and Im loving it! I dont want to go into too many details right now because I am leaving on Wednesday and won't have internet access so I want to wait until I get back to talk about everything! Umm as far as reading goes, again I didnt do too much reading this week I just finished Hunted a little while ago and you can find my review for it here, but hopefully when I get back in the next couple weeks I will have many, many reviews to post. Not having internet will probably help me read alot more :) Umm also I got some Give Up the Ghost bookmarks, and If anyone is interested in obtaining one or two e-mail me at jmoose09 AT gmail DOT com and I would love to send you one. Please include your address in the e-mail it makes things so much easier :) Anyways I think that is all I really have to talk about this week. Oh, the bookmarks might take a little while to get sent with me not being home and everything but I promise once I get back everything will be back into swing :) Thanks for reading my ramblings and here is a picture of the bookmarks....

first day of school!

2009-09-01T20:47:00.003-05:00

I am extremely glad to say I am going to be a senior this year! Hooray for the class of 2010!

Now, onto book related stuff. I did some reading this week (or past two weeks). I dropped Eon because I just wasn't that interested, and I picked up Crash Into Me by Albert Borris. You can find my review here.

In short: it was great. However, if you're looking for a fantastic suicide book (for whatever reason you may be searching for something like that...) I would always recommend 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Absolutely fantastic.

I also started At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks, for a change of pace. I have been a fan of Nicholas Sparks for awhile, but it went away for awhile as I started to discover new things. Now, I'm going back to my roots. I'm really enjoying it so far :)

I am also excited to say that I am taking a reading course in school, where we are planning on reading romantic and victorian lit (of the Austen/Bronte variety) and also global literature. I hope to expand some reading knowledge with this class.

More next week,
Chelsie

PS. Sorry about the lack of pictures and fun stuff, but it's late and I still have lots to do before getting to bed.

Teen Tuesday......

2009-09-01T09:27:00.001-05:00

Oh well this week was kind of eventful and at the same time not. I am participating in Zombie Appreciation week, this week. Which you can find out more about that here. I am also doing a challenge for that. It is not too difficult, I just have to make a post about me accepting the challenge and then two zombie related posts during the week, which I have gone far over... teehee. You should really go check out the pictures that I found. They are hillarious.

Also this week I started the 2009 YA Challenge. And if Im not mistaken the 1st in a series challenge. If you click on the links you can see how far I am on those.
Also i just finished Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway, last night. I dont have the review up yet but if you check in a couple hours it should be. Now im gonna start Hunted by P.C. & Kristin Cast, so that I can be fully caught up when Tempted comes out!!!

CATCHING FIRE IS HERE!

2009-09-01T00:52:00.003-05:00

Today's the day, Teen Tuesday--Catching Fire, the sequel to acclaimed YA novel The Hunger Games, is HERE!

*dies*

What with all the contest going around, I figure I have a pretty good chance to win!

However, if I DON'T win...well, I could just wait for the paperback.

Now, I'd say something else, but isn't this all you folks at Teen Tuesday care about?

...TEAM PEETA *ninja vanish*

My first Teen Tuesday post

2009-08-25T22:49:00.005-05:00

Ok so I guess we just talk about the things that we have done this week and read and so forth so here I go.

Yesterday I finished, the AMAZING, The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong, and you can find my review about it here. I absolutely loved it! i never expected it to end the way that it did. When I finish it I was so... hyper I guess you could say, because I was really getting into it and then BAM!! It's over. So I read that this week and right now I am currently reading Audrey Wait by Robin Benway. Im not too sure what I think of it yet. I am only on like page 10 so. I have heard a lot of good things about it and hope that I am going to like it.

And now for my OMG moment of the day, I dont have these everyday but I did today. I recently contacted an author about a book for my brother. He read their first series, and loved it so I asked about her new book that she has coming out soon. Well when I opened my mailbox this morning there it was. He has no idea about it and I cant wait to give it to him because I think that he would just die if he knew about it right now. I know that when I do give it to him though I am going to have to lift him up off the floor.

Also I am waiting for my WAKE and FADE books by Lisa McMann to get here! We ordered them just earlier this week and they are supposed to be here by the 31st and I want to read them so, so, so, so bad! So thats all this week and I will be looking forward to talking about what has happened between now and next Tuesday. Hope you liked my first post.

Is It Really Tuesday?

2009-08-25T22:09:00.004-05:00

Alright, I have no idea if it's Tuesday or not. My internal clock is at a whack from sleeping for something like three days straight.

I'm going to assume it IS Tuesday and write a quicky post about what I'm reading.

There are so many ballads. Achy breaky country songs. Mournful pop songs. Then there’s the rare punk ballad, the ballad of suburbia: louder, faster, angrier . . . till it drowns out the silence.

Kara hasn’t been back to Oak Park since the end of junior year, when a heroin overdose nearly killed her and sirens heralded her exit. Four years later, she returns to face the music. Her life changed forever back in high school: her family disintegrated, she ran around with a whole new crowd of friends, she partied a little too hard, and she fell in love with gorgeous bad boy Adrian, who left her to die that day in Scoville Park. . . .

Amidst the music, the booze, the drugs, and the drama, her friends filled a notebook with heartbreakingly honest confessions of the moments that defined and shattered their young lives. Now, finally, Kara is ready to write her own.

I'm loving it so far. I'm around the part where Christian is insisting Kara go out with him, and I think he is just THE SWEETEST. Plus, this author has my EXACT taste in music and disdain in metal heads. It's seriously a great book and I can't wait ot finish so I can write my review. I started it yesterday and I'm already half finished. I didn't even finish and I'm already reccomending it to all my friends.

Other then that, it's a rather uneventful reading week for me. I got a few ARCs in the mail, but nothing worth talking about.

So, that's it for me. Have a great Tuesday, you little scamps!

---Danielle

Holaaa!

2009-08-18T17:16:00.002-05:00

Hey, everyone! I haven't posted here in a long time... wow! It feels like foreverrr. =)

I read INSANE AMOUNTS last week.

I started off by finishing How it Ends by Laura Weiss. I liked it, but I kind of wish it was a little better. The writing sometimes seemed a little choppy, but the story line was really good. =)

I then read Meridian by Amber Kizer which really sucked me in -- I had it finished the next day! It's very action filled and keeps you hanging until the very end. I believe I heard from someone that there is going to be a sequel and I cannot WAIT to read that.

After Meridian, I started Crank by Ellen Hopkins and had that finished that night. Crank is so disturbing, but it's SO GOOD and you can't put it down. I just started reading Ellen Hopkins this summer and let me tell you - if you haven't, please start soon. They're horrible to read, but you can't. put. them. down because they're amazing.

After Crank, I read Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe which is released in September. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but that's a good thing! After a little tiny bit of a slow start, it got rolling and I had it finished the day after I started it.

After that, I read The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams. This book is also quite disturbing, but it's really good. Polygamy is a very interesting topic, and this book is a wonderful example of a polygamy compound. I read and finished this in one day.

After The Chosen One I read Invisible Touch by Kelly Para. I was sucked in from the first chapter and was left wanting so much more at the end. =)

And now I'm reading Possessions by Nancy Holder, another September release. =) I'm about 150 pages in, and I'm hoping to finish it soon!

hope.

uneventful

2009-08-18T11:56:00.002-05:00

My week of reading has been sadly uneventful.

Lately, I have been inching my way through Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman. I'm liking it, and it's actually kind of reminding me of another book I've read: Graceling by Kristen Cashore. The two books have the same kind of aura about them, I suppose, and similar main characters in a way.

Either way, I hope I can get through this soon so that way I can actually have an interesting Teen Tuesday post. =D I have so many books that I have to read, and the pile keeps building up.

Anyways, this is my little update... hopefully more fun stuff to come next week =D

<3 Chelsie

My First Teen Tuesday!

2009-08-18T11:24:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm so happy to be posting here for the 1st time!
I had been thinking about what to post over here today, and the idea of Sequels came to mind.

I recently read Marked by PC and Kristin Cast, and I really liked it. (click here to read my review).
Once that one was finished, I started listening to the audiobook for the 2nd part of the series, Betrayed.
Let me tell you that I was really disappointed. I listened up to the 12th chapter, and just put it aside because it wasn't appealing to me at all.
The main character, Zoey, was constsntly reminding us of what had happened in the first book, and that could go on for several minutes.
It's ok to refresh our minds, maybe we've forgotten something, but I felt like half of the book were explanations of why this was happening, and how it was connected to a previous event.

I mean, if we're reading the 2nd book in a series that usually means we've read the 1st. Right? We don't need to be reminded every second of what happened before, or how something came to be.

Another thing I didn't like, was the AB narration. It felt completely drained of emotion, and it was really hard to listen to the female narrator without falling asleep.

This was the only sequel I've ever had problems with. I thought I was going to love it, as I love the 1st book, but then I got my bubble burst.

I'm going to give it one more chance, but if the situation doesn't speed up, I'm going to have to give up on it completely.

Thanks for reading,
leave a thought,
and you can visit my book blog too!

xo,

Hello, Teen Tuesday!

2009-08-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

Why, hello there. I'm a new recruit at Teen Tuesday, and I'm thrilled to be here. For my little introductory post, I thought I'd give a run down on my recent reads, just 'cause...

Fade by Robert Cormier, about a boy who learns he can vanish from sight, with horrifying consequences...

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent--it's about BANSHEES. I mean, come on. When was the last time anyone wrote ANYTHING about banshees?

I also got Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel, Ballads of Suburbia, and Deathwish by Rob Thurman.

Hopefully Cruel Summer will be better then Alyson Noel's paranormal effort, Evermore (which I reviewed here--it was AWFUL):

I also read this great ARC of a "blog novel" called EyeLeash (reviewed here).

Jade Ashton is a sassy virgin. In her private blog, she vents about “fitting in” a world where superficiality reigns supreme.

Suddenly all logic flies out the window when she meets Novan: the former geek, who’s morphed into a delicious songwriter-musician.

They decide to be “friends-with-benefits”. But it’s Novan, with his poems and riddling passages on his own blog — which *isn’t private* — that backs out.

EyeLeash captures self-discovery in the 2000s, and showcases the colorful, intricate drama in two youths’ relentless search for themselves — and what’s really in their hearts.

Here are some books I'm DYING to read:

Anywho, I hope this was a decent enough first post. Til next Tuesday!

A Newbie to Teen Tuesday

2009-08-18T08:22:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone -
This is my first time posting to Teen Tuesday...thanks for inviting me to join! I've been reading a lot lately, but here are a few I've finished recently...

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot - AWESOME! This is the sequel to Airhead - if you haven't read the series, I highly recommend it. I mean, it's Meg Cabot!

Wings (The Mysterious Mr. Spines) by Jason Lethcoe - fantasy and really good! If you like fantasy, good vs. evil, ties to mythology - I recommend this and can't wait for the next one in the series.

In my "To Read" pile -

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen - a few of my students read it and really liked it.

My Most Excellent Year (A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park) by Steve Kluger - saw this on someone else's blog and as a die-hard Red Sox fan, I have to read it. I also want to see if it's something my students would like.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Have any of you read any of those? Please log on and check out my blog - the contributors are my 7th grade students and myself and we are constantly reading and blogging about YA literature!

http://blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin/

Jen

I Suck. Majorly.

2009-01-06T16:56:00.002-06:00

So, basically, I always forget to post these things on Tuesday. But I now REMEMBER! That's right, pigs must be flying, I remembered to post Teen Tuesday... and *huge gasp!* it's actually being posted ON TUESDAY! I'm so proud of myself. :]

Before break, I read Moonstone by Marilee Brothers, which I had gotten to review a few months back, but hadn't read. So, I read it. I was completely hooked from the second or third chapter. The sequel is coming out sometime later this year (I think, haha) and I was soooo happy when I found out that I would be getting that one to review, also. Like, you have no idea how happy I was, lol.

Then, over break, I read a bunch of books, too. I have finally gotten back into my reading kick! Whoopee!

Over break, I read:

Playing With the Boys - Liz Tigelaar
Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year - Amy Belasen
Amor and Summer Secrets - Diana Rodriguez Wallach
Cormac - Sonny Brewer

Two of them were fabulous.
One of them was okay.
One was horrible.

You thought I wasn't gonna tell you which ones, didn't you? lol.

The two fabulous ones were Amor and Summer Secrets and Playing With the Boys. I got so engrossed in the stories that I was about to kill my family if they interupted me while I was reading, haha. I could relate to all the characters, and both of them had plots that I had never heard of before.

The one that was okay was Cormac by Sonny Brewer. I got this book from BookDivas to review. It had a good story - once it got interesting. However, it didn't get interesting until around page 100-ish. Then, towards the end, it got really slow again. Otherwise, the story was wonderful and I loved it.

That leaves the horrible one. Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year. I just... didn't like it at all. It started off okay, besides the fact that the main character is a girl who is spoiled, gets whatever she wants, and says the word 'like' way too often for my taste. But as you kept going, it just got worse and worse... and worse. And the ending was waccckkkedddd ouuutttt. Seriously. If you're going to end a horrible book, at least end it in a good way, right? haha. So... I wouldn't recommend going out to buy that one... if you really want it, get it from the library.

Right now, I'm reading Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel. I'm about halfway finished and I'm hoping to finish it tonight (though that probably won't happen). It took me a while to get interested in it, but once I got hooked into the story, I was just that -- hooked. I didn't want to put the book down.

Well.. that's about it for me. My reading will become slower in the next few weeks because our midterms are the week after next (whoopee for me!). So, I'll be studying my butt off for those. I'll be reading as much as I possibly can though! I also have Solo and Ensamble, a singing competition (where I go as a soloist) a week from Saturday (!!!!), so I will be memorizing my Italian this week, lol. :D

hope.

I finished it!

2009-01-06T05:34:00.000-06:00

Pride and Prejudice is now finished! I am wayyy proud of myself! I am not going to do an official review of it, because I think I'd be too prejudiced (haha pardon the pun) but if you'd like to chat about the book or hear my opinions, email me at bookluverreviews@hotmail.com.

After Pride and Prejudice, I started Bloom by Elizabeth Scott. I bought it last June, and didn't get around to reading it until now, after my friend read it and loved it. It took me a day to finish it, I was absolutely hooked. It was fantastic... and I hear that her other books are even better.

Which makes me glad that I bought Perfect You last summer as well. Because now I plan on reading that asap.

However, I also got around to another book that I have had to read for awhile: How to be Bad by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and E. Lockhart. To be honest, I've had this book to review since last May (I suck, I know) and I am just now getting to it. And I am three chapters in, and I am crossing my fingers that it goes in a decent direction... there are such fantastic possibilites with this, I am almost nervous that I have such high expectations.

Either way, I have awhile to go, but I am looking forward to finishing it and seeing what happens!

And that's it for this week...

ttyl,
Chelsie

In the Past 2 Weeks...

2008-12-30T12:20:00.002-06:00

Website: whatvanessareads.wordpress.com

In the past two weeks I tried to finish The Mrs Marridge Project by Pauline Fisk with no success. I ditched it because it sucked and picked up Girl vs. Bear: Stories from the 80s by Lisa Kerr (click title to read review). I also read Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman which was scary. Then I read In Your Room by Jordanna Fraiberg which wasn't as good as I expected. Now I'm reading Shelter Me by Alex McAulay. I like it so far. Also, I reviewed Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart. I interviewed Susane Colasanti (When It Happens, Take Me There), click here to see the interview.

My past week has been especially productive.

Lastly, I wrote about an idea to a book blogger chat. Here's what the post said:

I got the following idea because of The Page Flipper’s Author Chats (which are awesome and you should check out). I have been thinking about holding a book blogger chat. It would involve basically any book blogger (or author, if they’d like to join us) in the YA world who would like to chat about whatever they’d like: books, music, TV, movies. It could be a cool way for us to ditch the robotized reviews to have a real-time talk and make friends with each other (or rather, make better friends).
It would be held on a chat site like chatzy or chatmaker at 8 pm eastern time one day between Jan. 5 and 11.
What I would like is if you could give me feedback on this, commenting which day from January 5 to the 11 is the best day for you to chat.
I really hope you guys like this idea. Leave all your thoughts in the comments!

To comment the entry, saying if you'd like to be a part of this and which day is best click here.

Hope you guys are reading as much as me!

Dear Teen Tuesday,

2008-12-30T00:00:00.000-06:00

I am a terrible person.

Not only did I not post anything last week... but I also haven't read anything in the past two weeks.

Except for Pride and Prejudice.

Which I'm not even halfway through with.

My only excuse: Christmas. Which is a sucky excuse, because vacation should be making me read more.

Either way, that is my only update. This is probably even more pitiful than last week's lack of posting. =(

<3 Chelsie

Roll the Credits

2008-12-16T10:32:00.003-06:00

Hi Teen Tuesday-ers.

Site: whatvanessareads.wordpress.com

I feel as though I've come back into my book blogging. I wasn't very active for about three weeks and now I have a bunch of posts scheduled for this week including reviews, memes, and a very special contest (read the end of this entry!). Stay tuned on my blog for all of this!

Basically all I have this week is Harry. I finished Harry Potter on Friday and liked it very much. I wonder how my review is going to go. I want the rest of the series now!

I'm currently reading and will soon finish Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom which is very good. I feel like I'm learning a lot. The story is so great and yet so sad at the same time. [Edit: I finished Tuesdays with Morrie and wow.... I bawled like a baby. How can I possibly write a review for this?]

Next up on the line will be The Mrs Marriage Project by Pauline Fisk or Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (it all depends on my friend giving me Harry Potter books or not).

I recently put up two new reviews: An Abundance of Katherines and That Was Then, This Is Now.

Also, click here to read about Lisa Schroeder's release party contest for her new book Far From You which she asked me to take part in. I think that basically explains everything.

Yay. That's it.

See you next Tuesday,

Vanessa

whatvanessareads.wordpress.com

whatvanessareads (at) gmail.com

Consistency [Chelsie]

2008-12-15T22:41:00.002-06:00

So, this week I finished Jars of Glass. I also read and finished Ever by Gail Carson Levine, and started Pride and Prejudice for my school's book club.

Jars of Glass was good. I had a problem with one of the characters (ugh, following the trend again). But then again, this character was someone that the readers is supposed to have a problem with.

Ever was just... okay. I love Gail Carson Levine, but this book just didn't do it for me. And this is why: usually, Levine writes books that are fantasy, but have some sort of realistic element to them. Ever didn't feel that way to me. It just seemed like a book made of coincidences and people/things/events that were there just to be there. It didn't have a purpose... except a possible religious purpose, which was the book's main redeeming quality. Overall it wasn't bad, but I wouldn't recommend this book over Fairest or The Two Princesses of Bamarre.

And Pride and Prejudice... I am only 27 pages into it. But so far, it's not bad. At all. I was thinking there'd be a huge language barrier, but there really isn't... it's not something that I am having too hard of a time trying to understand. I actually like it. =D (By the way, that cover is the actual cover of the copy I bought last week... and it's pink and green and I love it... it's so cute!)

So that's my update. Anyone else have a good reading week?

Also, an interesting tidbit: I did some calculations, and I read one book every 2.7 days. Which is actually not as bad as I thought it would be.

ARC's Galore!

2008-12-09T20:54:00.002-06:00

Hi. This will be quick.

This week I've read:

Finished Beautiful Americans by Lucy Silag
2/3 of Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Willow by Julia Hoban
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
1/3 Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

So, yeah, EXCELLENT reading week for me. and 4/5 of those are ARC's which is just CRAZY. I've never been surrounded by so many ARC's in my life. I've been by so many ARC's that I've had a few questions:

How many ARC's do you usually get in the mail in a week, month, whatever? Also, how do you pronounce ARC? I've heard it pronounced like Arc/Ark and A.R.C/A-R-C. How do you pronounce it?Myself? I pronounce it A.R.C./A-R-C.

Okay, enough about that. This week I hope to get to:

Finish Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Finish Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin
Breathe My Name by R.A. Nelson
and/or
Pretty Face by Mary Hogan
and/or
Take Me There by Susane Colasanti

So, yeah. Arrivederci (That's Italian)

~Kelsey

Long Time No See, Teen Tuesday

2008-12-09T16:42:00.008-06:00

Hi there. Yeah, I'm still alive.

Site: whatvanessareads.wordpress.com

Lately I've been reading a consistent amount of books. However, I kind of have a problem. I'm reading too many books at once.

I started reading The Mrs Marridge Project by Pauline Fisk and got like 30 pages through when I was assigned Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers for my English class. I thought it went kind of slow at times but was still good in the end. It took me a

while to finish it because it wasn't that spectacular until like 200 pages in.

While in between those two books I got sidetracked (I just wanted something that wasn't about the Vietnam war and killing--which is what Fallen Angels is about) so I started The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty. I really like it and how it's presented. I got 30 pages into that one too.

I exchanged books with my friend Danny and guess what I got? Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Is it weird that I've never actually read the books? When they first came out I was like six. When the first movie came out I was ten and I went to the theatre to watch it and didn't really like it. When the book really got hyped and the fandom was starting to peek, I wasn't much of a reader. Recall that I don't like fantasy much also, in books and movies.

But since I watch the fiveawesomegirls so much and they blab about Harry so much, I gave in and started reading it. I'm about halfway done with it and I really like it. I see how things are shaping, I know there's lots of space for a lot of things to happen. I'm glad I don't remember any spoilers from anything. It's so weird how Harry is 11 years old right now that I'm reading him, but when I think of Harry I think of Daniel Radcliffe and he's so much older now. (Remember when Hermione/Emma Watson's hair was a frizz-ball?)

After I'm done with that book I will read The Year of Secret Assignments and then The Mrs Marridge Project.

By the way, I finally have made a new review. I did it differently this time... I made a video review.

The review is for Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Just click here to watch it. I'm posting it on my wordpress site also. Leave comments on youtube or wordpress, I don't mind where... Hope you like it!

Lastly, I would like for you guys to know that on Dec. 15th I will post some information regarding a contest of Lisa Schroeder's for her new book which is titled Far From You.

Check it out then. :)

Till next time,

Vanessa

whatvanessareads.wordpress.com

whatvanessareads (at) gmail.com

myspace.com/whatvanessareads

likeomgteensread.com

Book Chic (Dec. 9)

2008-12-09T09:41:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone! This is my first Teen Tuesday post, and I'm so excited for it!! :)

This has been a hectic week, so I haven't read a whole lot, though I think I did pretty well considering.

Beginning from last Tuesday, I've read Bewitching Season, which I reviewed here,
and Prom Nights From Hell by Rosemary Clements-Moore,
which I hope to put up a review for shortly (though I'm feeling very lazy so who knows when it'll happen). And right now I'm finishing up Princess Diaries 3: Princess in Love and I started Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston last night during my break at work. It's really good so far.

I'm also really enjoying re-reading the PD books. It's great fun and it's good so I can be prepared when I read the 10th book since it's been so long since I've read a PD book and I've kinda lost track of what went on. Reading them all in order as close together as possible helps a LOT. I'm so excited to read the 10th book! I'm actually planning on getting the audio CDs for PD5-9 from my library because at the job I have now, I can listen to stuff while I work, so perfect opportunity for me to continue the PD series while saving time to read stuff for my site when I'm not on work. :)

Coming up soon in my reading are these books:

Princess Diaries 4: Princess in Waiting- continuing the re-reading process

Hell Week by Rosemary Clements-Moore- reading the sequel to Prom Dates from Hell. I can't wait to see what Maggie gets involved in this time!

I So Don't Do Mysteries by Barrie Summy- I'm excited for this book and have been for a while. I love the title and the summary sounds great. Barrie is also my December Fresh New Voice of YA, along with Lesley Livingston. Look out for the FNV posts coming up next week!

--cross-posted at bookchicclub.blogspot.com--

2... 3... 4 books!

2008-12-08T22:42:00.002-06:00

So it's late on a Monday night, I had to work today so I'm really tired... and right now the only thing I want to do is curl up into a ball and fall asleep... But for the sake of Teen Tuesday, I must post!

Plus, I read a lot this week.

I finished Untamed. I have very strong feelings on Zoey, the MC, which barely ever happens to me (as far as being picky about the characters). She was just... ugh, so annoying. Here is a link to my review, in case you're interested.

I also finished Legacy by Kate Brian, which is the sixth book in the Private series, which I absolutely adore. I had forgotten how much I love this series... I read the first five a year ago and then when Legacy came out I didn't have the energy to get into it again; but I decided to come back to it again and I am so. glad. I. did. Legacy was soo good... I don't have a formal review for my blog (I don't like to review books in series, because I've come to find that for most books in a longer series, there is consistency and reviews get to be boring... except in the case of Untamed, which the review was anything but boring to write) but if you're interested in a review, just mention it and I will link you to my Amazon page and you can read it on there. Or something.

After that, I read House of Dance by Beth Kephart. I read it so quickly on Sunday night, and I was just... awed. The book was so good; I am still thinking about it, so I don't have a review written just yet. But I know I will soon, because I have a lot of thoughts about it. Either way, a general summary: this book is ah-mazing, and highly recommended. Especially if you're looking for a quick, but very heart-lifting, book.

And now it's Monday night, and I am reading Jars of Glass by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler. I'm a big fan of these author's books, and so I'm hoping Jars of Glass turns out well. I'm not extremely far into it, though, so I can't say too much yet. But if you wanna know more... come back next week :)

Now, I'm off to bed... and I'll be hoping for a snow day tomorrow... *looks at huge piles of snow and flying snowflakes* It's highly possible.

<3 Chelsie

How long has it been?

2008-12-02T20:30:00.003-06:00

Over a month. The last time I posted was October 28th!!! So, since then, I'll post all the books I read every week since.

Nov/02-Nov/09

The Bermudez Triangle
Paper Towns

Nov/09-Nov/16

Sisters of Misery
The Blonde of the Joke

Nov/16-Nov/23

You Had Me At Halo
Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year

Nov/23-Nov/30

Invisible Touch

Nov/30-Dec/07

Secrets of My Suburban Life
3/4 Beautiful Americans

So, in total, I've read 8 books in November, averaging 2 books a week. Not bad I guess. In total, Invisible Touch by Kelly Parra was by FAR the best. Excellent. Paper Towns and Sisters of Misery were pretty great. You Had Me At Halo, The Blonde of the Joke, and The Bermudez Triangle were good but kind of boring. Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year was strange and good enough, and Secrets of My Suburban Life was REALLY predictable and shallow.

I'm reading Beautiful Americans by Lucy Silag and it's pretty good. It will be released in January. I also started BookSwim and just got my first batch of books from them, Pretty Face by Mary Hogan, Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast, and Take Me There by Susane Colasanti. I also should by getting Willow by Julia Hoban soon and You Are So Undead To Me by Stacey Jay, and maybe a few other exciting ARC's!

Glad to be back!

Kelseyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Hope (Dec. 2)

2008-12-02T04:00:00.000-06:00

I'm actually remembering to cross-post this time! Yay!

Last weekend was Thanksgiving Break, so I didn't have school for five days! (Including weekend, of course. :D) I took advantage of this time and was a bookaholic. Well, more than usual. :)

I read:
1. Fahrenheit 451 (for school)
2. Cycler
3. Bite Me
4. The Second Virginity of Suzy Green
5. Revelations (Blue Bloods 3)

I enjoyed most of them. Cycler was a bit... interesting. But I'll save the rest of that one for the review. :p Fahrenheit 451 was okay. I was expecting it to be a bit better, but I just found it really s l o w a lot of the time.

Right now, I'm reading Moonstone by Marilee Brothers. And I'll probably pick up another one here soon because I can't read just one book at a time.

Reviews are coming up soon! I'm scheduling everything right now to make sure that they all get written while I'm thinking about it. :)

hope.

-cross posted at princess2293.blogspot.com-

I miss reading a book every other day

2008-12-02T00:00:00.001-06:00

bookloverreviews.blogspot.com

I am going to make a list... it will keep this post from getting too long.

1. Sovay by Celia Rees
2. Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith
3. Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo
4. 1/3 of Untamed by P.C. and Kristen Cast

Those are the 3.3333333 books I've read this past week, and I am very happy because that's practically more than I read the entire month of September.

Sovay was good; not amazing, but not bad at all.

Tantalize was definitely interesting; I am glad I read it, because it was a different take on the whole vampire/werewolf thing. It was good; not great, but good.

Twenty Fragments... was a short book that I've had since summer that I hadn't gotten to yet, until this past week. And it was actually good. Everyone once in awhile I need something different than my usual, and this was definitely a good kind of different. For one thing, it was set in Beijing, and for another there were actual pictures in this book... not an abundance of them, but every so often there would be a picture thrown in among the text.

My favorite picture was the picture of the Chinese McDonald's. I work at McDonald's, and I also happened to be in McDonald's when I read that part... so I was mildly amused =D

Anyways, that was my reading week. I hope I'm not the only person who posts this week =(

<3 Chelsie

Me and My Twilight Obsessed Friends...

2008-11-18T16:54:00.003-06:00

So, as this is the week that Twilight finally comes out (EEKKKKK!) I think I should talk about that...

A bunch of my friends have read Twilight, and when we're around all our guy friends who haven't read it and we're swooning over Edward or saying that we want to throw Jacob off a cliff, they all look at us like we're crazy and say, "What's the big deal, anyway?"

.... {open, gaping mouths}
...

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?!

This is only one of the most addicting series' EVER, WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?

So, yes, we now ignore them and talk on. :p

Who's going to see the movie? Any thoughts on it?

I'm going on Friday, and I think it's going to be really good. :)

At least, I hope. :p

hope.

Twilight-tastic

2008-11-18T00:00:00.000-06:00

Two Tuesdays in a row! Woohoo, I rock!

My reading week has actually been uneventful.

I started reading Sovay by Celia Rees, and I finally realized why I love her books so much: they always feature a strong leading female character. I love the Sovay, she is such an interesting and strong narrator. It seems like women are stereotypically weak, or dependent, and in her books that just isn't the case. Sovay is definitely not an exception.

I am about halfway through, but I put a pause on that to start reading Hairstyles of the Damned, which was recommended to me by the fabulous Stephanie Kuehnert. I got about twenty pages in that before I realized that there is less than a week before Twilight comes out (eeek!) and so I am now reading Twilight for the third time so it's fresh in my mind.

And can I just say how much I love it? I am 200 pages in and I just don't want to stop reading; I'll take breaks occasionally, just to stretch and get drinks. But then I'm back at it; I haven't read Twilight since New Moon came out, and I am really glad I'm reading it again. It's just as entertaining the third time 'round! =D

Of course, I'm dying for the movie. My school's book club is going to go see it as a group, so we've already pre-bought our tickets and everything. So on Friday at four we'll all be in the theater and getting ready to watch it. We all made Twilight T-shirts last week, and just today (which happens to be Monday, since I'm writing this ahead of time) my friend Sam and I decorated ours with beads and glitter paint and whatnot... it was great fun, and I'll definitely have pictures next week!

Anyways, that's my reading and whatnot... I hope someone else posts this week... I was lonely last week ='(

But I understand anyways!

<3 Chelsie

Better Late Than Never

2008-11-11T22:12:00.002-06:00

It's late, but I feel the need to post. I am one of the creators of this blog, and I haven't even posted in forever. I am ashamed =(

Anyways, this is what I've been reading.

City of Bones and City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare. Can I say one of my new favorite series? Talk about an awesome story and some pretty awesome fantasy creatures. Shadowhunters... how fascinating. I think they are completely awesome (both the Shadowhunters and the books) and now I am dying to get my hands on City of Glass.

The Hunger Games by oh gosh who's the author... *brain fart* Anyways.... OMFG this book was amazing. By the first chapter I was hooked. There is something so interesting about futuristic worlds and strange scenarios... and just the images in this book were so vivid and scary... I couldn't put it down. My school librarian said that it would make a good movie... and I wholeheartedly agree. I'd go see it on opening night.

In related news... does anyone know anything about the second book? Anything at all?

Skinned by Robin Wasserman. Another futuristic world, extremely similar to the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, which I absolutely adored. This book is another one that I have a hard time putting down, and I am about fifty pages or so to the end... I plan on finishing tomorrow. Anyone read it? If you have, I would LOVE to talk about it... it's just one of those books that I need to talk about. So if you've read it please send an email (bookluverreviews@hotmail.com) or something, I'm desperate!

So that is my book-related news. My next book on the list is Twilight, which I'm going to reread for the third time before the movie comes out. After that, Sovay by Celia Rees (I adored her book Pirates, and also Witch Child and Sorceress)

Now that I am done sharing my thoughts (and seriously, please take me up on the email offer if you've read Skinned... or just go out and read it-- believe me, it's worth it-- and then email me. Either way works =P) I'm going to go get ready for bed, it's gonna be a long day tomorrow!

Yes, It's Wednesday. But Let's Pretend It's Tuesday.

2008-11-05T13:16:00.001-06:00

So. I've been forgetting about this. :/ But I always remember the day afterwards, so I'm actually going to post today! Woot-Woot!

I'm somewhat getting back into my reading schedule and everything. . . I still haven't finished any books, but I've been getting further and further into Skinned, and I haven't gotten sick and tired of it yet. Yay!

So, that's pretty much it. haha. Why does nobody post here anymore? I love hearing about everyone's weeks! :)

hope.

Cute Quote =)

2008-11-01T09:42:00.001-05:00

Comments & Myspace layouts

I've Had A. . .

2008-10-28T20:16:00.001-05:00

Reading lull.

Haven't read anything in the past few weeks. :(

Can't get into anything either. Nothing seems to grab my attention.

I'm slowly but surely making my way through Savvy Girl by Lynn Messina, though.

This sucksss guyssss!

I want to finish a book so bad, yet I can't.

Gr.

hope.

(Hopefully I'll see y'all on a better note next week. :p)

Hello? Anybody there?

2008-10-28T19:25:00.002-05:00

I feel lonelllllly. I want to know what everybody else is reading....but nobody is herrrrrrre. Laaaa laaa laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.............................

Anyhow, I've read few books this past week:

I Know It's Over by C. K. Kelly Martin
Skin Deep by E. M. Crane
1/2 of Paper Towns by John Green

So, yeah. Not much else though. Those books were all really good, different books that I both feel in love with. Both are very highly recommended. I Know It's Over is a very hard, emotional, and deep book with a light, airy feeling to it. The characters were amazing.

Skin Deep was a soft novel with a warm, comfy feeling to it that makes you feel all bubbly inside. It wasn't on a very big topic so the feeling and the writing of the novel and the characters were amazing. Think Joan Bauer except better.

This week I plan to finish Paper Towns (!!!), Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall, and maybe start The blonde of The Joke by Bennett Madison.

So, what's up with everyone else?

Quick Update

2008-10-21T20:05:00.002-05:00

Hello! This will be quick because I need to go take a shower before I hit the sack and I want to go to bed earlier tonight since I didn't sleep last night, so the books I've read this week are:

I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert
Dream Factory by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Can you believe I read four books this week? I can't, well, I guess I can since I had a four-day-weekend. They were all really good and the reviews for the last three should all be up before this weekends over. I was actualyl surprised when I got Living Dead Girl in the mail today, and finished it in three hours, because I had no idea I signed up for it or anything..but BookDivas had sent it to me, so I was all for it. I was REALLY excited and read it straight away.

So, this week I hope to get to....Hmm....I Know It's Over by CK Kelly Martin, Skin Deep by EM Crane, and maybe The Blonde of The Joke by Bennett Madison. But that's about it.

Also, don't forget to check out my Halloween/Birthday contest on my blog, click here to direct you to the info about it.

Until next week....

Jeez, How Long Has It Been?

2008-10-14T18:31:00.003-05:00

I don't think I posted these last two weeks. That sucks, I'm sorry! But I've read books. A Lot of books in the last three weeks. So I'll put them all the last Teen Tuesday that I've missed into this post. In the last three weeks, I've read:

Guyaholic by Carolyn Mackler
Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott
How To Build A House by Dana Reinhardt
Fabulous Terrible (Adventures of You) by Sophie Talbot
Project 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Model: A Memoir by Cheryl Diamond.

Wow, remember those days when I read 6 books a week? It feels like it won't ever happen. So I'll put all these together in the Little Bestie Awards:

Best Character: Tie=Cheryl Diamond in Model/Kate Brown in Perfect You
Best Plot: Project 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Best Setting: Tie=Project 17/Model
Best Writing: Elizabeth Scott-Perfect You

Winning Book(s): Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott/Project 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz/Model: A Memoir by Cheryl Diamond.

Well, what can I say? All the books above are fabulous, but those top three were terrific. All of the three were 5/5 stars. Very recommended.

Right now I'm reading I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert, I'm less then a 100 pages and find it addicting so far. I love Emily, she's a great character. So I should finish it this week. I have a lot of books I need to read....Hmmm....let's see, the books I plan to read in the next week are: Dream Factory by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler and Skin Deep by EM Crane and if I'm lucky, Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata. Check out my blog today for an interview with Jennifer Ziegler and also, you might want to check out my blog on Friday. . .

But in other news, is anybody doing the 24 Hr. Read-A-Thon this Saturday? I might. Though it might be hard. Also, tomorrow is my Friday! Yay! I get a four day weekend this week! Aren't I lucky?!?! but guess WHY we get the two days off? Hunting! Though, I'm not apart of it. But I live in Minnesota and EVERYBODY hunts, which is kind of cool becasue you get two days off. So yay me! More reading time!

What are you doing this weekend?

Oh Dear, I Forgot Last Week. :/

2008-10-14T04:00:00.001-05:00

I'm sorry! I forgot last week!

Oh, well. I finally finished Living Dead Girl last Saturday. Since then, I haven't really read much. I've read Fireworks. And A Raisin in the Sun for my history class.

I have, however, found love in scheduled posting. Here's what's been up since I've been gone:

♥Guest Blog with Beth Fehlbaum.

♥Review | Death by Bikini - Linda Gerber
♥Review | Living Dead Girl - Elizabeth Scott
♥Review | Larry and the Meaning of Life - Janet Tashjian
♥Review | Crush du Jour - Micol Oscow

And coming up this week is:

The review for Fireworks.
An interview with April Lurie.
And I might actually review A Raisin in the Sun, too.
The review for The Midnight Twins will also be up this week.

I also posted about my new idea that I've been toying around with since about May. It's the First Annual Young Adult Book Awards. The nominations run until the end of November, so make sure you check them out! I think it's a pretty cool idea, and if it goes over well this year, I'll do it again next year. Please let me know what you think about this idea. :D

Right now, I'm reading North of Beautiful and Savvy Girl. I haven't gotten too far in either, so I can't really tell you how they are yet. :(

hope.

Good-bye, Required Reading [[Chelsie]]

2008-10-13T22:23:00.003-05:00

Done with everything required. 7 Habits is now a thing of the past.

So, what am I reading now? Undone by Brooke Taylor. Which is a good book. When I can find time to read it. I'm reading much faster now than I was, say, two weeks ago. But I'm still not back to my book-a-day self.

But it's better. Less busy. Or more balanced; one of the two. I'm less overwhelmed with everything than I was. Which is such a good thing, because before I was so busy and so confused about what to do and when to do it. Now I can sort of go with the flow and still get things done.

So, I'm reading Undone. That's about it right now; but hopefully next week I'll have tons of exciting news =D

Mrs. Magoo's Blogging Announcements

2008-10-07T21:29:00.004-05:00

www.mrsmagooreads.com

First off, here's a contest to win a personalized, signed copy of Amor and Summer Secrets.

Readers also have a chance to send in their questions to author Jennifer Allison!

I also started a new feature on my blog: Mrs. Magoo's Forum. So far, topics have been the 2008 election and banned books.

Not Much of an Update... (Meaghan)

2008-10-07T18:42:00.003-05:00

I'm reading The Graceling and The Host, and they both are quite interesting, but other then that I don't have much to say. My posts have not been very good. :( Sorry! Hey, is anyone else doing NaNoWriMo? I'm in the Young Writers program, and I am soooo exited in November!

I've Finally Remember!

2008-10-07T15:11:00.004-05:00

Holy crap... How long has it been since I posted here?!? Must be over a month. I honestly don't remember posting since school started.

See, I'm WAY over my head right now. I'm behind on reviews, am having a yard sale this weekend, have to practice for band, am making care packages for the soldiers, AND I'm doing a HUGE project to raise money for the ASPCA's Equine Fund. So you could say I'm a little busy. And next month is only getting worse, as NaNoWriMo is next month and I'm participating. Oh boy...

Anyway, right now I'm reading Secrets of my Hollywood Life: Family Affairs. It's cute and I like it. I actually think it's my favorite out of the whole series. My reviews for the second one will be up soon, hopefully.

After that, I have a series called The Hollywood Sisters I need to read. Has anyone read it? What do you think?

I also read Anatomy of a BF a while back. LOVED it. Definitely this generation's Forever...

Also... this has nothing to do with books but if you guys get bored will you check out myspace.com/charityautographs? It's my myspace for the project. All the info is on there but if guys could spread the word I'd love you forever!

Harmony

Hey! (Vanessa)

2008-09-30T22:16:00.002-05:00

Check my book blog out at whatvanessareads.wordpress.com

Hi guys,

It sucks that I keep forgetting to post and also that I'm busy these days. But today there's no school so I remembered to post!

In the past two weeks I posted a review for Elsewhere and Sisters of Misery. Elsewhere earned a 3 1/2 rating and Sisters of Misery a 5. So click on those links to check out my reviews.

Right now I'm reading Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn. It's a cute book, just nothing to do jumping jacks over. I really like Cyd Charisse and her spontenuity. She's really cool. Also, I wonder what's up with Shrimp (I'm around that part where he's being called Blank). But still, it's something I'm enjoying and hope to finish reading soon.

Coming up on my blog are going to be reviews for Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury which I finished recently for school and a review for Gingerbread when I'm done with it. Another thing coming up is an interview with Megan Kelley Hall.

And about the newsletter that Meaghan was talking about... the next issue will surely be up tomorrow (Oct 1) so I'll probably remind you guys. I think it looks so much better than the last issue. I hope you guys like it! Be in tune for e-mails and/or MySpace comments about the issue! I want to hear what you guys think about it.

Anyway, I'm off.

Have a great reading week guys,

Vanessa

Hope Hasn't Read Much. :(

2008-09-30T13:39:00.001-05:00

I haven't had too much time to read because I've been insanely busy.

I think the only books I've read in the last two weeks are Living Dead Girl and Death by Bikini.

Both are amazing, and I recommend you read them both. If you want summer back, Death by Bikini is a quick, fun read. I can't wait until I can get Death by Latte, the second book.

Living Dead Girl was also really good. It was a bit more serious and intense, but it was still amazing. If you read it, it will have a lasting impact on your life.

Well... that's all for now. I hope everybody has had better reading weeks than me. :p

hope.

small bit of news [[Chelsie]]

2008-09-30T10:11:00.003-05:00

www.bookloverreviews.blogspot.com

So, it's ten in the morning, and... nobody has any TT posts yet?

This makes me wonder whether it is in fact Tuesday, because normally there's a small handful of people who have their posts written and scheduled on Monday night.

I suppose this means everyone is busy... still. =D

I would have forgone this post this week, since once again there isn't (much) going on. However, I have exciting news...

I finished Anne Frank! And I'm done with my book report! Just in the nick of time, too, because it's due seventh hour today.

So, that ends my bookish news. Although I'm hoping this brings more opportunity for me to read something more exciting and enjoyable.

Mrs. Magoo's Edition

2008-09-23T19:08:00.002-05:00

I recently started a new feature on my blog, called Mrs. Magoo's Forum. You can read about it here. I'd love it if you guys would check back for topics and offer your opinions! :)

In terms of books, I'm currently reading Violet on the Runway by Melissa Walker. I also was sent a copy of Brisingr, but I'm not sure if I'm going to read it. I forget what Eragon was about and I never read Eldest, so I'm afraid Brisingr might be majorly confusing.

Also, a local bookstore has asked me to teach a class in January on how to start and run a teen blog!!! How cool is that???

Tuesday again.....

2008-09-23T18:35:00.003-05:00

I was a reading freaggin fool last week! I'm so proud of myself. I haven't read that much in a long time. I mean a long long long time. It was refreshing to see that it's still in me.

Here's the list, Shift by Charlotte Agell, Nailed by Jennifer Laurens, Severed Ties by Keven Krohn, How I Found the Perfrect Dress by Maryrose Wood and Faefever by Karen Marie Moning.

I felt really bad about reading Faefever, since it isn't one of my review books, but I absolutely love the series and I just couldn't wait to read it. So I just had to do it. Plain and simple.

I've been nursing a cold for two weeks now, it sucks immensely. I am one of those people that HAS to breathe through my nose. I don't know why, I just have to. Needless to say I am having a very hard time breathing through my nose at the moment. I've been able to maintain the clearness of one nostril overall. My nose is either running like fountain or so clogged I can't even blow it, which drives me freaggin crazy! I've been drugging myself as to sleep and my appetite has been slim to none.

Don't you feel so much closer to me know that you know my nose in and outs.... sorry it was totally kind of gross....

Totally unrelated to reading.... not that my nose was related to reading, but anyway... Has anyone heard that new Taylor Swift song. "Love Song" I'm not usually a Taylor fan, she does have some songs I like, but I have listened to this song over and over about ten times now, I love it!!

In other book relatedness I did get my copy of Brisinger and Untamed today, which I'm seriously debating reading like now, instead of the review books I should be. Happy Tuesday all, hope you are breathing well!

YAY!!! Tuesday!!! (Meaghan)

2008-09-23T14:23:00.005-05:00

Aside from my mom accidentaly returing one of my books from my teacher's library to the public library, this week has been very, very boring. So, you can say that I've gotten a lot of reading done. I was actualy really exited to come home from school and type this!

So, books I've finished so far: Suite Scarlett, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, Someone Like You and I think that's it.

Book's I've started but haven't finished: Cruise Contol, Memoirs of a Geisha

Book's I'm Going to Read: The Cheat

Now, I have something I would like to tell you. It's exiting news, my friend! Some of you may already know what the news I have to share is. On the last day of September (which is creeping up on me very fast...I'll write tonight, Vanessa!) a newsletter will be made avalible. It is called Like Omg Teens Read Newslette , and so far there's one issue out. In the September issue, you will find an article about Teen Tuesday as a main story!!! So, check it out.

It will be written by me, and I would like a couple of you to comment and tell us why you like writing for Teen Tuesday, if you want to be included. I may have to cut your comments a little to fit the length requirements and some may not appear. Comment if you would like to help me out and be included. Vanessa is writing the Book of the Month and the Author of the Month stories and blurbs, pages 2 and 5. Check it out! So, I guess that's it.

My posts will get better and more fun, I promise!

So Many Books...

2008-09-23T14:09:00.002-05:00

There comes a time, about once a month, where I have a ton of books I have to read and review. It's mostly from review sites that only send books out on a monthly basis, which is even more annoying because I have a deadline for these books. I'm currently reading City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare, which is a library book and therefore means I don't have to review it for any specific site. So I probably shouldn't be reading it right now, but I just finished City of Bones and loved it, and couldn't wait to read City of Ashes. Though, it feels like it's taking forever to finish City of Ashes, because I only have a little bit of time each day to read it.

Anyway, I recently reviewed City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Death By Latte by Linda Gerber and Eva Underground by Dandi Daley Mackall. I recommend reading City of Bones because it was an amazing book!

I also posted Simply Books's first author interview a few days ago! I interviewed SarahBeth Carter, author of Meeting Lizzy, which was released this past Friday.

Now the list of books I need to read for review purposes include Tithe by Holly Black, Dear Julia by Amy Bronwen Zemser, and Trouble In My Way by Michelle Stimpson.

Adios!
Megan
Simply Books

Boo

2008-09-23T12:37:00.003-05:00

So...I haven't posted in quite a while. Well, three weeks. But seriously you guys, I don't think that much has changed since my last post. I think I've read like, 2 books. Okay, more like 8, but still. That's it. It takes quite a bit of time to keep calculus from kicking my butt, let me tell you.

Anyways, the awesomeness award is getting pulled in three different directions this week, and goes to John Green (yeah, he seems to be bathing in awesomeness lately, huh? Have you seen this? ISN'T IT AWESOME?), Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle for their colloboration that is LET IT SNOW. Those three take a holiday romance, turn it up on its head, spin it about, infuse it with humor and craziness and cleverness to make an AWESOME read. The only bad thing about this book is that it will make you yearn for Christmas a little early.

Also, a certain song MIGHT get stuck in your head.

But it's totally worth it.

Anyways, I also read Blue Bloods, Masquerade, the first four chapters of Revelations, and despite their slow beginnings, I now have newfound respect for Melissa de la Cruz. I wasn't a big fan of the Ashleys or the Au Pairs, but Mel knows how to (ahem, pun alert) totally suck you into a paranormal book.

Also on the Halloween/paranormal subject, I finished Witch High, a new anthology about teens who attend Salem Public High School #4, aka WITCH HIGH. On another note, I have found a new appreciation for anthologies/tag teams. A favorite is HarperTeen's Prom Dates From Hell. And unless you live under a rock, you also know that HarperTeen is coming out with another anthology, Love is Hell, with stories from Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier (ooh, I also read her Magic or Madness sometime in the past three weeks), Melissa Marr, etc., ect...

Also, I just finished Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, and I LOVED it. It's one of those reads I've had my eye on for ages, and it was well worth the very long wait. It was just the right mix of love, angst, humor, conflict, and insight. I would most DEFNITELY reccomend it.

Now I am on Tithe by Holly Black. I bought it cause it seems every which way I turn, people are raving about Holly Black's work, but I'm gonna admit, I'm not hooked yet. Maybe I just need to read a bit more? I'm on page 50, but things better bet interesting quick, or I might be tempted to abandon it in lieu of devoting my time to tracking down a copy of UNTAMED, which comes out TODAY! I've a bit of a head cold, which caused me to forget about this detail, but now that know it's out...

Wish me luck in the pursuit of a copy of Untamed, fellow readers, or things might get ugly....

TCR

Repeat [Chelsie]

2008-09-23T00:00:00.004-05:00

So, you might as well slap a different date on last week's post and put it here. I haven't started anything new, nor have I made any significant dent in either The Diary of Anne Frank or 7 Habits of a Highly Effective Teenager. The former is still slightly boring, the latter is helpful but obviously not enough, because I feel like the least effective teenager ever.

*sigh* I just don't have the time or energy to read. I haven't finished a book since I finished Ivy two weeks ago. I wish something could just pull me in, and keep me entertained, but nothing interests me enough. It's depressing, but I guess that's life.

Any suggestions?

Lot's Read!

2008-09-23T00:00:00.003-05:00

Not.

Well, in total, I have read one book this week. It was a mighty excellent book though. It was All We Know of Heaven by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Someone on Teen Tuesday recommended this, and whoever it was, (I don't remember, sorry!) THANK YOU! It was such an amazing book. It was incredible. It's now one of my top books. So thank YOU! Again! And to everybody else, READ IT NOW! You won't regret it. This book is amazing, even if you've read her other books, still read this.

Skipping the Little Bestie Awards this week, again. Sorry!

I reading three books right now, kind of. Pretty Things by Sarra Manning, Prom Nights From Hell by Various Authors, and The Debs by Susan McBride. I'm not very far in either right now, so I'm not sure which will be the next review. Pretty Things, I've heard is good, but it hasn't caught my attention yet. Prom Night From Hell I started with Stephenie Meyer's story and haven't finished it yet because honestly? It is so confusing, and I just am not following it. The Debs is so far not that great, but I have to read it for BookDivas.

So yeah, no more new stuff. Besides the fact that I won Savvy Girl by Lynn Messina, so that's added to my pile and so is Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott and I got I Was A Teenage Popsicle and Beyond Cool by Bev Kats Rosenbaum, so those are officially added also.

But, until next week.

2008-09-23T00:00:00.001-05:00

Name: Samantha
Blog: Words Speak Volumes
Blog URL: writeinpen.blogspot.com
MySpace: myspace.com/wordsspeakvolumes

Me Info: Happy Tuesday to everyone! My name is Samantha and I write for Words Speak Volumes, Wired Wednesday, and Booking Through Thursday. My favorite color is purple, I have tons of cousins, and I love to drink coffee. I'm semi-addicted to MySpace, and I enjoy taking pictures of people. I guess that's a little background information for you.

Blog Info: I was so busy last week that I didn't post anything and I'm sorry. I didn't even post for Teen Tuesday, Booking Through Thursday, or Wired Wednesday. I apologize to all of my regular readers and I am prepared to give an excuse. High School is really time-consuming. I have all of my classwork/homework, plus volleyball, student council, and class meetings. I have practice and I need to save some time for reading. I apologize again and I will do better this week. I promise.

Contest Info: I have the last couple days of my THE ELITE contest open. The last day to sign up is Friday. Do whatever you can to earn points and e-mail me. I have about twenty people entered now and I'd love some more so stop by the blog.

Book Info: I have read the books:

She's So Money
Fringe Benefits
Top Ten Uses For An Unworn Prom Dress
Prom Queen Geeks
Burned

*Please Note*

My first ever high school Homecoming Week is next week and I'm trying to keep up with my blog as I spend this enjoyable week. However, I may be to busy and I apologize ahead of time for any posts I am too busy to post.

Nonfiction Madness! [[Don't I Wish Nonfiction Started With an M?!]] -Chelsie-

2008-09-16T22:06:00.004-05:00

So, I decided to post even later than Vanessa.

I hear everyone talk about how busy they are... and it's quite obvious we are all busy, because Teen Tuesday is lagging (ugh, why must tons of young adult readers be, well, young adults? why must school exist?)... and I am tempted to say to ya'll: Hey! I'm busier! But that's probably not the case, and even if it was that'd be kind of rude. The point is... I think that if it doesn't get easier for me, I'm going to be exhausted by Christmas.

Either way, I forgive everyone who hasn't been posting regularly.

So, my week has been filled with reading. Lots and lots of reading. I read equations in Algebra II, lab directions in Anatomy and Physiology, literary terms in English... and so on. And the only recreational reading I got done is hardly even that.

I'm reading The Diary of Anne Frank. It's for English class because we are required to read a nonfiction book. And I have to be done in oh, two weeks. Which, at the rate I'm going, is going to be impossible.

Especially because I am also reading a nonfiction book for health class: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers. It's good and all (especially for me, because I'm in like a life transition stage blah blah blah), but it seems like the pages are huge. It takes me forever to get through it, and when I've been reading for an entire class period I feel like I haven't even made a dent in the book.

However, I think it's extremely sad that the 7 Habits book is more entertaining to me than Anne Frank. I have always been fascinated by Anne Frank, and I've started reading the book countless times. I should be glad that I'm finally getting to it, but I'm not. I'm only sad that inbetween reading nonfiction (which is not my fave, by the way) and doing homework, I have not been reading anything. Uck.

Hi!

2008-09-16T20:46:00.002-05:00

whatvanessareads.wordpress.com

Yeah, I just remembered it's Tuesday. It's 9:40 pm. Well... let's get to it.

Since last week I read only one book, Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall. It is AMAZING. Probably one of the best books I've ever read. So if you're reading this, please go out and buy Sisters of Misery right now. It's a mystery intertwined with spooky elements, relationships and drama. I just had so many emotions as I was reading it. I could not put it down even though it was 2am! I'll be posting the review for Sisters of Misery around the 25th-ish.

I don't have much else to say. I need to go read a story by Ray Bradbury for English class.

Until next week!

Vanessa

Oh, Dear Tuesday (Meaghan)

2008-09-16T19:34:00.002-05:00

Books I Will Definatley Mention in my Next Post:

New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn
Someone Like You
Suite Scarlett

I've been busy today. I have a rough draft of a myth and math homework due tomorrow, and a project due on Thursday. So after school I read a little of Breaking Dawn, worked on my myth, went to CVS to get posterboard for the project and ended up taking longer than expected, worked on my project, did the rest of my homework, and got a shower.

So sorry there are no book reviews in this post. Next week's entry will be extra cool.

Oh, Dear: Tuesday Already?

2008-09-16T18:56:00.004-05:00

Wow. It seems like just yesterday that it was Tuesday and I was posting a Teen Tuesday post! :D How do the days just slip by so quickly sometimes?

I have finished one book since I last posted. With my schedule, I am really proud of myself. :D The book I finished was Death by Bikini by Linda Gerber. It was amazing. I was hooked quickly and now I cannot wait to read Death by Latte.

You know what I said last week about checking books out from the library is a disease? Yeah, it sooo is. I volunteer at my library on Tuesday's and Thursday's, and when I was there today, I checked out three more books! I have plenty to read here (I just got two books in the mail yesterday) and it's like I know I shouldn't check all these books out, but I do anyway. Gahhh. lol.

The two books I got in the mail yesterday I'm really excited about. One is All About Vee by C. Leigh Purtell and the other is Fabulous Terrible by Sophie Talbot. On Friday, I received Boyfriends, Brothers, and Other Criminal Minds by April Lurie. I'm really excited to read this book, because I read The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine and I loved it. :D

That's all I have for today. See you all next Tuesday!

hope.

The Story Siren......

2008-09-16T17:24:00.000-05:00

Wow! Is it Tuesday again already! Totally just snuck right up on me! Jeepers! Well not too much has happened since last week. I did get some books read though. Which is always a good thing. I was able to read Secrets of My Hollywood Life: On Location and Family Affair. Very cute, fun, clean reads! I’m really looking forward to having Jen Calonita stop by on author tales.

I finished War of the Witches by Maire Carrnaza. It was a good book, didn’t really WOW me, by any means, but it was well written and interesting. I think the story could have been so much more though.

I was able to start Shift by Charolette Agell. Good so far. It’s kind of scaring the shit out of me though, seriously. I’m hoping it continues to be a good read and end well. But so far, so good.

I got a ton of books I the mail today, so I’m super excited about that! Well I got four books, which is a ton for me!

Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland. Not even really sure why I was sent this one? But hey I’m not one to complain. It looks like a paranormal book, so I should love it.

Poseur by Rachel Maude. Yay! I thought the first book was good, so I’m really looking forward to reading this one!

The Devouring by Simon Holt. I’ve heard a few things about this book through the grapevine. Sounds kinda scary!!

Faefever by Karen Marie Moning. I can’t even begin to describe how excited I am to read this book!!!

That’s about all that is going on at the casa de SS. Well I have to go make dinner now, I’m thinking lasagna and some cheesy garlic bread! Yummmy! Have a great Tuesday!

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday.

2008-09-16T16:27:00.002-05:00

I can't believe its Tuesday again. Seriously. School makes the days go by, doesn't it? Well, I've read two in a half books this week. I think. School's been kind of busy. We're finally getting in the real routine of things, knowing which stairs to go down to get the the next class faster. What to bring, the locker combination, etc. It's all becoming routine, even waking up early. I shocked myself when I woke up at 7:30 in the morning this weekend on Saturday and Sunday! It was strange. So far I haven't gotten much homework, but still, some. We even started a project in Civics where we have to make a collage with a partner! Imagine that? a project on the third week of school? Well, I guess, it's not that hard to imagine, especially since we've already had tests and stuff, but yeah, busy, busy.

Well, anyhow, the books I've read this week are:

Sleepless by Terri Clark
Where People Like Us Live by Patricia Cumbie

I'm not going to even have the Little Bestie Awards this week, because I know hand-down that Sleepless will win. I totally enjoyed Sleepless, big time. It was an Ah-MAZING book. And I just absolutely loved it.

Now with Where People Like Us Live, hmm. Well, I was highly disappointed and bored. I thought it was pretty much a waste of time to read it. The only good thing about this book was the writing. The plot and the characters were totally under-done. The protagonists was supposed to be a high school freshmen, but she acted like she was in the 5th or 6th grade. It was just a real disappointment on me.

I'm more then half way done with All We Know of Heaven by Jacquelyn Mitchard. I am absolutely in love with this book. It sad and heartbreaking, but totally plausible and just amazing. I can't wait to finish it, hopefully tomorrow. But I'm just hoping that the ending doesn't disappoint me.

For the books I hope to read this week, hmm. I hope to finish All We Know of Heaven, then read Prom Nights From Hell and Pretty Things and then hopefully either Fabulous Terrible or The Debs.

Well, we'll see about this, huh?

I think that's about it, until next week,

Mrs. Magoo's Edition (not sure which one... third? fourth?)

2008-09-09T20:04:00.006-05:00

www.mrsmagooreads.com

Well, I can safely say that I am VERY behind on my reviews. Here's a list:

Poison Ink
Haroun and the Sea of Stories
The Adoration of Jenna Fox
The Squad: Perfect Cover
Drama! The Four Dorothys
Drama! Everyone's a Critic
The Outsiders
Dream Girl
Peaches
Kiss Me Kill Me
Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty
White Sands Red Menace
Stealing Heaven

So I'll have to get on those. I'm also looking for Saturday's Scribes, so if any authors are out there that are interested, please let me know. Stephanie Kuehnert will be featured this Saturday, and I am currently planning something with Ellen Hopkins!

If you haven't heard about the awesome thing that Chelsea and Lauren are doing, you should definitely check it out.

Meanwhile, I'm brainstorming for a super secret something, and I'm wondering: are authors allowed to help aspiring writers improve drafts of their work? I don't see why not, but somebody told me otherwise. Thanks!

~Mrs. Magoo

The Oh-My-Gosh-School's-Already-Getting-To-Me Post.

2008-09-09T19:22:00.002-05:00

As you can probably tell from the title, school's already getting busy. I have a really hectic schedule and just got home about 23 minutes ago at 8 PM, and I left the house at 7:20 this morning. I almost forgot it was Tuesday and almost forgot that I had to post here... but I didn't. :D (I really need to learn to schedule my posts, lol.)

I've finished one book since last week and that is Crush du Jour by Mical Oscow, and it is a Simon Romantic Comedy. I love Simon Romantic Comedies. They make me laugh and have a good time. :D

I'm also finishing up Anatomy of a Boyfriend right now. I'm in the last fifty pages of it and I'm hoping to finish it tonight.

I also started Chasing Windmills by Catherine Ryan Hyde, though I'm only on the first chapter still... I haven't gotten too far.

Yesterday, I went to the library for a bit and got eight books. Yes, eight. I still have a bunch here I need to read, but I think I just compulsively check books out from the library and put books on hold from the library... it's a really bad cycle.

The one book that I got that I am really excited to read is Impulse by Ellen Hopkins. I read a few of the poems last night, and they were really good. I hope to read more of that this week, also.

The other books I got from the library yesterday were Death by Bikini, Generation Dead, City of Ashes (!!!), Artichoke's Heart, Austenland, The Fold, and On Beale Street. They all look really good and I can't wait to read them all!

That's all the time I have for today, sorry this is so short. See you all next week. :D

hope.

Harmony - The Uh-Oh Edition

2008-09-09T17:48:00.002-05:00

Welll... It's been a while since I've posted. Like, three weeks. *blushes* Just don't hate me, okay? I'm a procrastinator so whenever I remembered "Oh! Teen Tuesday is in a couple days. Maybe I should write the post now!" I'd tell myself no to and then when Tuesday rolled around, I'd forget. So that's my excuse.

Well, that and the fact that school has started with with Algebra 2 and Spanish 1, both tenth grade classes I'm taking as an eighth grader (yes, that's me bragging :P), I'm working my butt off to stay ahead so I never fall behind.

I've also been reading like crazy too.

Anyway, here are the books that I've read since I've last posted (I think), that I've yet to post reviews for.

1.) Anatomy of a Boyfriend (LOVED it)
2.) Song of the Sparrow (Best historical fiction I've read)
3.) Pact of the Wolves (Pretty good but darker than what I normally read)
4.) Writing Magic (my new writing Bible)
5.) The Funeral Director's Son (cute)
6.) Hummingbird (Okay. Not as good as I was expecting)
7.) Sleepless (I.Could.Not.Put.It.Down.!!!!)
8.) Amor and Summer Secrets (Pretty awesome!)
9.) Peaches (Enjoyable)
10.) I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone (Stephanie is a genius!)
11.) Secrets of my Hollywood Life: On Location (Not as good as the first)

So there you have it. ELEVEN books. Actually, there's probably more than that. But still. Whoa. I'm a bit behind on reviews, as you can see, but I'm working on it!

Right now, I'm reading Zoey Dean's Talent. It's okay. I keep forgetting that the girls are only in middle school. It'd make SO much more sense if it was set in high school. *grr!*

Ooh, so everyone heard about the Midnight Sun leak, right? I'm pretty disapointed. Not at Stephenie, but at whoever did it. My friend says it was Robert Pattison but I'm not. I'm hoping it's not because I <3 him...

Any thoughts on that?

Well, that's all for now. I WILL post next week. Promise!

-Harmony

It's Finally Tuesday? Really? (Kelsey)

2008-09-09T16:27:00.007-05:00

My Blog: http://readingkeepsyousane.blogspot.com/

Wow, this last week was like never ending. First I had my first week of school. It went really well, I like my classes and I think I'll be getting more chances to read because I have B lunch and there is only one class in my grade that goes to that lunch and I don't really have any friends in it, so I read upstairs in the library until the bell rings and I go back to English to finish 4th hour because the weird thing is, we go to 4th hour for 30 minutes, then at 12:15, we go to lunch, 30 minutes later, we go back to 4ht period and finish that class up. It's kinda nice because you don't have to put your books in your locker first and all, so yeah, more reading time, yay! Then on Saturday morning, I wake up with the feeling that I'm going to vomit. And what do I do? Vomit. Yeah, you probably don't want the details, the main thing is that I threw up all day Saturday, only eating a slice of toast all weekend and missed school on Monday because of it. But Between that mess of a week, I did get a few books read, yeah! The books I read are:

Harmless by Dana Reinhardt
In Your Room by Jordanna Fraiberg

The Little Bestie Awards:

Best Character: Molly in In Your Room by Jordanna Fraiberg
Best Plot: Tie
Best Setting: In Your Room by Jordanna Fraiberg
Best Writing: Harmless by Dana Reinhardt

Winning Book: In Your Room by Jordanna Fraiberg.

In Your Room is a really neat book. It's REALLY short, like 200 pages max. But I loved the whole plot and Molly was a pretty good character and, it was basically an awesome love story, and I love myself an awesome love story. Harmless was a good book, kind of slow and not as fun. The plot is really good and all, but the whole story and the characters were kind of boring. But I really recommend In Your Room when it comes on sale in October.

I don't know if you've seen it or not, but for some very odd reason, but awesome!, I won a load of contests last week. I won one of the packages Liv was offering for her HUGE contest and I won another contest where I created a banner and she liked that so I won another book, then I won Bookluver-Carol's monthly contest and won two books there. Then I had two books come in last week also, so yeah, I should be getting a TON of books soon.

I'm reading Where People Like Us Live by Patricia Cumbie right now, then I plan on reading Pretty Things by Sarra Manning, then if I get to the library I should get All We Know of Heaven by Jacquelyn Mitchard, that somebody mentioned last week, can't rememeber who, but it sounded good so I requested it at the library and it's there, so I just need to get to the library now.

Then I got Sleepless by Terri Clark and Fabulous Terrible by Sophie Talbot in the mail on Friday and Saturday and I should get Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard(?) and I Was a Teenage Popsicle and Beyond Cool by Bev Kats Rosenbaum and Model by Cheryl Diamond and The Blonde of the Joke by Bennett Madison in the mail this week or next week, so yeah, those are my upcoming books to be read. Oh and Freaksville by Kitty Keswick, I might be reading soon also.

Well, I think that's all.

P.S. My 100th Post Contest was a BLAST and SO many people joined it, and I just wanted to warn you that I will be having another HUGE contest for Halloween and my birthday coming up soon, sometime is October, and will last a month, so look out for that!

Happy Because I'm Going to Barnes & Noble's Today! (Vanessa)

2008-09-09T15:55:00.006-05:00

Name: Vanessa

Blog Name: What Vanessa Reads

Blog URL: whatvanessareads.wordpress.com

MySpace URL: myspace.com/whatvanessareads

Forum/Message Board: likeomgteensread.com (click here where it says "Are you looking for the message board? Click here".

Hi! I totally forgot to post last week and then I was going to post but it was Wednesday and told myself "your punishment for not remembering is not posting". Of course, that's how I remembered this week (woo, go discipline). Anyway let's get started.

First and foremost, head on over to my blog to enter a contest for a copy of I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder if you haven't already. The contest ends September 30th.

Second, I read two books this week. Which is actually pretty good. I read a short book for English class, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, which I loved. And I also read Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. Both great books, but I still have some things to point out.

For one, I thought I got an overwhelmingly recommended to read Elsewhere. So I did. It was good. I liked it a lot. However, I did expect a five-star book but still settled for a four-star (what I'm giving it). I really liked the plot, its something I've never heard of before. I also liked the characters. You'll see more of this over at my blog in about a week (I'm starting a review schedule so my readers always get a consistent amount of material). So wait around for the post.

Next, I read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. This book is GREAT. It was a little plotless in the beginning but it still was an amazing read. I guess you should trust the books you are made to read for English class. The story is about two guys who travel together: Lennie and George. Lennie is always getting into trouble although he never means to do any harm. George takes care of Lennie. They work at a ranch where they farm. George and Lennie's life dream is to own their own "promised land" where they can farm and do whatever they please. However, it's hard to come about that when Lennie is making trouble and they live in a hand-to-mouth existence. If you're looking for a "classic" you should definitely try this book out. The southern language may be hard to get into, but the book is worth it. Wait around for this review also, which will be posted before Elsewhere.

Today I'm going to Barnes & Noble's when my dad comes home from work. I'm going to TRY to keep it at a 3-book minimum (even though that's so hard). I know one book I'm certainly getting is Like OMG Teens Read's September Book of the Month... Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall. I think I'm also going to get Madapple by Christina Meldrum and Amazing Grace by Megan Shull. I'm not completely sure. So that will add to my TBR pile.

Thanks for tuning in! Til next week,

Vanessa

I Have Jumped on the Bandwagon...and I'm Loving it! (Meaghan)

2008-09-09T15:28:00.006-05:00

So, Inisde the Mind of a Book Geek is my book blog. It's located at http://insidethemindofabookgeek.blogspot.com/. If you go and check it out, you'll find that I am running a Best Review of the Week award.

How to Enter:

1. On the post announcing the winner of the last contest and the start of the current contest, leave me a comment.

2. In the comment, leave me a direct link tp the review you want to enter. If you are nominating a review, leave me a link and the e-mail adress of the person. You can enter a review and nominate a review every week.

3. Winners and start of the current contest will be announced every Monday.

4. You can start sending in nominations on Mondays after the contest is announced, and stop on Saturday night at 10 PM Eastern.

5. The first contest started yesterday, so head on over and leave me your entries and nominations! If I get enough nominations/entries, I'll also give out second and third prizes. prizes are actually just little award things.

Now onto my reading week...

I have to say that the highlight of my reading week has been reading New Moon, by Stephanie Meyer. It's book two of the Twilight saga, and yes, I have already read Twilight.

I don't understand why I ever doubted Stephanie Meyer's writing abilities. New Moon is an absolutley amazing book. I haven't finsished it yet, but I plan to very, very soon. And I will read the rest of the series.

"For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning...

Legions of readers entranced by the New York Times bestseller Twilight are hungry for the continuing story of star-crossed lovers, Bella and Edward. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality."
~from http://www.stephaniemeyer.com/

This book so far is...wow. It had me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't wait to get out of school so I could read more. I can't really review it because i haven't finished it, but keep a look out for a New Moon review over at my book blog! Suite Scarlett and all other books mentioned in my previous post have been put on hold for now, so no news about them.

Team Jacob all the way!

A book I finished this week was a short read. It's called Inside Out by Terry Trueman. I read it in about a day. I liked it all the same.

"A busy coffee shop-
a robbery gone wrong.
Two gunmaen,
nine hostages,
flasing lights.
And Zach is caught in the mayhem.

But nobody realizes that Zach- who has no gun and no knife- has a mind more dangerout than any weapon."

Zach is a 16-year-old schizophrenic, and the story is told from his POV. This is the kind of book that will keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire thing. And I loved it. The ending, especially the last two pages is...wow. An ending I never expected. I suggest you check this book out. A full review will be posted soon at my book blog.

Until next Tuesday,

I'm BACK!!! (Kristi)

2008-09-09T05:30:00.000-05:00

I am the worst blogger ever. No, really I am. I have seriously been lacking on my responsibilities as a Teen Tuesday blogger. I mean when is the last time I even made an appearance. I can’t even remember, just pathetic. Well, I’m am so going to remedy that starting right now. I will be posting next week and the week after that and the week after that, I think you’ve gotten the picture.

So what’s been going on with me... as you might have thought, I’ve been busy reading. I’ve read all the Queen Geek series. I was, well I’ll just say disappointed. But they might appeal to some people, but I guess they just weren’t for me. If your still interested in reading them after I just said how much I didn’t like them, well you are in luck because I’m giving away the whole series here.

I also finished a kick a** faerie book. Loved it. Not as dark as Marr and Black, but awesome all the same. If you are a faerie fan or even if your not you should check out Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception by Maggie Stiefvater. She’s a debut novelist! All I’m saying is if this is her first book, I can’t wait to read what she has in store next (which would be the sequel to Lament, entitled Ballad!)

Something very cool happened to me this past weekend too. I was nominated the "Best YA Book Blog” compliments of Amy from My Friend Amy and her BBAW. (Book Blogger Appreciation Week) I seriously didn’t even consider myself to be in the running. When I saw the finalists.... I was like where is Teen Book Review, where is Reviewer X, where is Em, where is -fill in a very cool blog here-. I kept looking at my name thinking... it had to be an error. I’m freaggin thrilled about it though!

I’ve teamed up with Steph from Reviewer X. And we are doing the YA Connection. I think it’s going to be posted every Saturday, alternating between blogs. I’m pretty excited to be doing it. And if you want to be mentioned please email me or Steph!

There is an interview with me today over on Innovative: A Word for the Wri-Teen. Head over there and leave some love!

I’m currently reading War of the Witches by Maite Carranze, I’ll have to let you know how it goes next week. I’m glad to be back, hopefully you missed me!

Tired Version (Chelsie)

2008-09-08T22:43:00.003-05:00

bookloverreviews.blogspot.com

So, I am sitting here and I just thought about the fact that in about an hour and 15 minutes it will be Tuesday. And this is the only time I have for making a post, so I figured I'd do it now before I forget and get too tired.

I read one book this past week. It's taken me a whole week to read Ivy by Julie Hearn.

And, finishing it, I wonder why I even bothered. I don't think I'm going to write a real review of this, because I have very few nice things to say.

Then again, I just finished reading it like five minutes ago. I might need some time to have it settle in my brain, and to actually think about it.

*spoilers below in random places, proceed with caution*

It just seemed so... pointless. 351 pages, and no reason for it. It wasn't particularly exciting, the main character wasn't really the best mc ever. And, like I said, there was no point. I felt like I just read a book about nothing. Sure, things happened. But was the point that Ivy was poor and trying to get away from her family, or that she was trying to get over her laudanum addiction? Or was it about just her relationships with the people she meets in general?

And how does it end? With her floating down a river. Um, hello?! Is this strange or what? I mean, I figured Ivy would change or something, or something would happen. Maybe she would stand up to her cousin, or Mrs. Frosdick, or even say something memorable and brave. But no. She just starts floating down a river. And goes to save some dogs. Woohoo?

That's the problem, I think. There is nothing memorable about this book whatsoever. In a year, I will remember nothing about it other than a beautiful cover and that it took me forever to read it.

*end possible spoilers*

Anyways, that's my reading week. I could probably talk about the weeks I've missed, and what I was reading then, but I seriously am not feeling able to right now. I only had like 4 hours of sleep, and so I really should be getting to bed.

Hope everyone else had a better reading week than I did!

I probably won't be on today because after school (and I am just dying to add this to this post) I will be at orientation for my new job (!!!) and I will be starting dance class, jazz this year (!!!!!!)

Sorry, just had to throw that bit of exciting news in there.

I Read a Book this Week! (Meaghan)

2008-09-02T17:32:00.010-05:00

Yes, book. As in singular. I only read one book this week, but is was a good book all the same, and 310 pages long, no less! It's by Jacquelyn Mitchard, the same author of The Midnight Twins! Isn't that fun?

Anyway, the book I read was All we Know of Heaven, and I loved it. I really like the cover, do you? Take a look at it to your left! I'm going to type up the information about the book that's on the inside front flap.

"Bridget Flanery and Maureen O'Malley have been BFFs since forever. Then a breif moment of inattention on an icy road leaves one girl dead and the other in a coma, battered beyong recognition. Family and friends mourn one friend's loss and pray for the other's recovery. Then the doctors discover they have made a horrible mistake. The girl who lived is the one who everyone thought had died."

As I've said before, I really liked All we Know of Heaven. It was very interesting. I don't want to give away any secerts, so it's hard to say what I liked about the book, but here goes. I liked the characters, especially Maureen and Danny. I also liked the romance, the drama, and, yes! Even the setting. I like it being set in a small town. It adds a certain touch. I liked rooting for Maureen, as she recovered, and crying (or feeling really sad) for her when she got frustrated. Yes, I felt pity for a fictional character! Why not? :D

Jacquelyn Mitchard has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I can't wait to read the rest of The Midnight Twins trilogy, and I can't wait to read more of her books. I hope the rest of her books are as good as the first two I read!

I'm still reading The Book Theif. I like it so far, but it's just one of the books I read slowly. I read I Am The Messanger by Markus Zusak a while ago, back when I first checked out the YA section of my library and remeber really likeing that one. I like The Book Theif, too.

What can I say about The Book Theif? I really like Leisel so far, and I absolutley LOVE how it's narrated by Death himself. That is a very interesting thing about that book. I also like the cover. Look at it, over on your right, this time! I also like how it's set in Nazi, Germany and I also like the character of Hans.

I may get more time to read it now, because I've started school again. We have a 40-minute TEP, in which we can read, which I choose to do, do homework or anything else quiet. And, on Friday's, we get to watch movies! Anyway, I may have it finished within the next week.

The next book I'm going to talk about is Suite Scarlett, by Maureen Johnson. After I finished All we Know of Heaven last night, I started this book this morning and read it during TEP today and after school. I really like it so far. Here's the burb on the front flap.

"Scarlett Martin has grown up in a most unusual way. Her family owns the Hopwell, a small hotel in the heart of New York City. Her nineteen-year-old brother, Spencer, is an out of work actor facing a family deadline to get his career in order. Eighteen-year-old Lola has the delicate looks of a model, the practical nature of a nurse, and a wealthy society boyfriend. Eleven-year-old Marlene is the family terror with a tragic past.

When the Martins turn fifteen, they are each expected to take over the care of a suite in the one elegant, now shabby Art Deco hotel. For Scarlett's fifteenth birthday, she gets both a room called the Empire Suite and a permanent guest named Mrs. Amberson. Scarlett doesn't quite know what to make of this C-list starlet, world traveler and aspiring autobiographer who wants to take over her life. And when she meets Eric, and estonishingly gorgeous actor who just moved to the city, her summer takes a second unexpecter turn.

With Mrs. Amberson calling the shots, Spencer's career to save, Lola's love life to navigate aroud and Marlene's prying eyes everywhere, things won't be easy. Before the summer is over, Scarlett will have to survive a whirlwind of theivery, Broadway glamour, romantic missteps and theatrical deception.

The show, as they say, must go on."

I haven't gotten far into it, but the book looks and sonds very promising. I like the cover of that book, too. :D

The next book, which I also like the cover is, I'm going to talk about is The Missing Girl, by Norma Fox Mazer. That's the book I'm going to read next. So, here comes the book blurb from the front flap!

"He could be any man, and respectable, ordinary man.

But he's not.

This man watches the five Herbert girls- Beauty, Mim, Stevie, Fancy and Autumn- with disturbing fascination.

Unaware of his scrutiny and his increasingly agitated and forbidden thoughts about them, the sisters go on with their ordinary, everyday lives- planning, arguing, laughing and crying- as if nothing could every breach the safety of their family."

I want to talk about Peeps, now. I actually ended up returning Peeps to the library. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but after about 150 pages, I just couldn't get into it. I think I might pick it up again someday. I liked the character of Cal.

I liked the Uglies trilogy, and I read Exras, which was really good, but I couldn't get into Peeps. So, now I'm going to leave you with a SuperPost, with colored text and pictures of book covers. I hope you enjoyed it! It took me about a half an hour to write. :D

See ya next Tuesday!

P.S.- Anyone else have a full day of school today? Oh, man, I felt ready to take a nap after school, I was so tired. So that's why I didn't update earlier. Good luck for the rest of the year, people!

Hello!

2008-09-02T16:53:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone. This is my first post here on Teen Tuesday and I'm very excited. My name is Megan and my blog's name is Simply Books. I read a lot of YA literature and am happy that I get to share a bit about my blog with you every Tuesday.

So I'm currently reading Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld and it's pretty good. It's all about a girl who goes to boarding school, and since I don't go to boarding school, it's very interesting. I wonder how it compares with a real boarding school experience?

On my blog I recently reviewed The Luxe by Anna Godbersen (very, very good), Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier (it was ok) and Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky (also good).

For upcoming reads, I'm finally (finally!) digging into my To Be Read list, which probably has like 50 books. I got City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, which I'm excited to read because I've heard very good things about it and its sequel, City of Ashes. I also borrowed from the library one of my all-time favorite books, Eva Underground by Dandi Daley Mackall. I don't think many of people have ever heard of it but it's so good, and I read it a few years ago and want to read it again. It's about a high school senior who goes to Communist Poland with her father to aid the underground movement. It has romance and action and it's just really good. I also emailed my first author asking for an ARC and she said yes. Isn't that sweet? The book is Death by Latte by Linda Gerber and I'm so excited to read it.

School starts on Thursday and I still have summer reading left, so I better go. See ya next Tuesday.

Megan
http://wwwsimplymegan.blogspot.com

Physical Science at 8:00 AM

2008-09-02T16:32:00.002-05:00

Okay, people! I though this must be a joke, but nope. There she was all perky sitting in her seat a big cup of coffee next to her newly organized desk. Mrs. Blank (for security), my Freshmen Physical Science teacher, was ready. Ready to torture and rudely awaken the awaiting freshmen sitting at the tables in front of her. She then explained to us how this year would go and how there would be no way we could get by cheating the way that most of us did last year (not me, I didn't need to cheat) because we have tests/quizzes every Friday.

I have really survived my first day of high school unharmed, unless you count the matching blisters on the back of my heels from the cutest purple flats in the world. I however didn't have time to read at all and was officially about 20 minutes late to Health class with Mr. Blank (nope, no relation :D) because I had to refill the water machine for Student Council.

This week was a good one for me. I posted reviews for the following:

Anatomy of A Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky - 4.5
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen - 4.5
How I found the Perfect Dress by Maryrose Wood - 2
Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita - 3.5
Violet On The Runway by Melissa Walker - 4
Ambition by Kate Brian - 5
Legacy by Kate Brian - 4.5
Inner Circle by Kate Brian - 4

I am currently reading Fringe Benefits by Valerie Frankel. It's pretty good. I read it until ten last night when I went to sleep. I still can't believe I fell asleep at such an early hour. :)

My blog will be hosting a contest for a surprise author coming soon, plus an author review. Just stay posted.

I've Officially Survived the First Day of School. (Hope.)

2008-09-02T11:10:00.002-05:00

I just got home from school and realized that it was Tuesday and that I should probably post my Teen Tuesday post. :p

I was gone last week on vacation, and I got a lot of reading done. I read seven books:

-->House of Dance - Beth Kephart
-->City of Bones - Cassandra Clare
-->The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eighth Grade Bites - Heather Brewer
-->Courage in Patience - Beth Feldbaum
-->Unbelievable - Sara Shepard
-->The Midnight Twins - Jacqulen Mitchard
-->Larry and the Meaning of Life - Janet Tashjian

I enjoyed all of them a lot. I'll just give you a little rundown of them:

House of Dance was a great book about the relationship of a granddaughter and grandfather. It was written wonderfully and the setting was really nice.

City of Bones was just... wow. It was exciting, and even though it was long, I read it in one day. I have City of Ashes on hold now from my library. Is there any more after City of Ashes?

Eighth Grade Bites was just... okay, in my opinion. It wasn't the best, it wasn't too bad. I don't know if I'm going to read the next one, Ninth Grade Slays or not.

Courage in Patience was a very moving books. It's one of my favorite books now. If you're looking for a light read, you will not find it in this book, but it is still very excellent. I've posted the review on my personal blog. Click here.

Unbelievable was pretty much amazing. It had me hooked and.. gosh. I can't wait for the next one to come out now. I think this may be my favorite Pretty Little Liar book so far.

The Midnight Twins was just okay. I felt that a lot of scenes were forced in it, and it made it very hard to read. I liked the concept - it's something I've never read about before, but it was just too... forced for my taste.

Larry and the Meaning of Life was hilarious. It was very unrealistic - but I still enjoyed it. There are two books before it, which I haven't read, and I didn't know how I was going to feel about it because I haven't read the other two, but everything made sense and the footnotes were really funny. I put the first to on my To Be Read List because they sound really cool.

That's it for now. Sorry if this seems a little rushed to you - I just got my yearbook from last year today and I'm eager to thumb through it. :p

hope.

I'm Bringing Nerdy Back

2008-09-02T00:14:00.000-05:00

Hello again my lovely book buddies,

So are you tired of me complaining about East of Eden every week? I'm tired of me complaining about East of Eden every week. But not to worry! Because I FINISHED! Woo-hoo!

Now I just need to do the work along with it. Seeing as today's the first day of classes and all. But they never ask for summer work on the first day, so I got til tomorrow, right? RIGHT?

Anyways, back to YA:

Richelle Mead stole the made of awesomeness position away from whoever was holding it last week (this is really sad that I can't remember these things) with her Vampire Academy series (Vampire Academy and Frostbite). Like, WHOA! I love a kick butt and full of attitude character as much as anyone, but I'm always a little leary of them in case they turn out to be Mary-Janes. Rose Hathaway? Not so much. Way to go, Richelle! Reviews are forthcoming (I'm a teensy bit behind, due to the fact that I was so busy fine tuning my procrastination skills), and I am totally looking forward to Shadow Kiss!

Also, I finally got to read Ever! It was different from GCL's normal style, but it was good just the same. And the cover totally rocks!

Are you a fan of Mary Hogan's Susanna series, or just like books about girls in the "rich" world? Read Savvy Girl by Lynn Messina, and don't be fooled by the demure cover--it's a little more edgy than it lets on.

La di da, let's see, what else? Oh! I unearthed Justine Larbaestier's Magic or Madness trilogy from within the deep an terrifying depths of my car (don't ask) and am reading that now. I want some magic door action already, but she's taking her own sweet time. Which reminds me, I want How to Ditch Your Fairy. I don't care about the bad reviews, I just really really want it.

Oh! I'm totally psyched about a big contest I'm holding! It's not been announced yet (but there's hints!!), but it'll most definitely include books and cute pink clothing! (Sorry guys, especially Kyle, you probably won't get too excited about cute pink tank tops emblazoned with the words----OH! I ALMOST GAVE IT AWAY! AREN'T YOU INTRIGUED NOW?) Watch my blog!

Well, that's all for now, chums. Be good in school, don't follow my evil procrastinating ways (only professionals should attempt), and read lots! I am on the nerdy fast track and will be engulfed in advanced classes and such nerdfest activities, but don't fret--behind every textbook lurks a YA book, demanding attention.

Cheers,

~TCR

P.S. But on a side note, how many of you are TOTALLY PSYCHED about school?? I love school! I would marry it! I am that nerd whose endless enthusiasm you hate! The coolest thing? Read them YA books, cause that just makes you smarter! And embrace your inner nerdiness! Revel in it! Absorb it and exude it with confidence!

Now go and get smart.

Stinkin' Last Day of Summer Today, Well, Yesterday (Kelsey)

2008-09-02T00:00:00.003-05:00

Yes, I start school today, well technically tomorrow since I'm writing this on Monday and scheduling it for today, but whatever. Okay, now I'm going to shock myself and tell you that I've only read TWO books this week! Yes! Two books! That's kinda low for me, huh? And the last one I had just finished today, well, yesterday! Well, anyhow, the books are:

Gone by Michael Grant
Peeled by Joan Bauer

I have a pretty good feeling who's going to win the awards. Now, time for *me speaking in an announcer voice* The Little Bestie Awards:

Best Character: Hildy Biddle from Peeled by Joan Bauer
Best Plot: Gone by Michael Grant
Best Setting: Gone by Michael Grant
Best Writing: Peeled by Joan Bauer

Winning Book(s): Gone by Michael Grant and Peeled by Joan Bauer.

Okay, here's me shocked for the second time today, well, yesterday. *Shocked* I kind of thought that Gone would win by a landslide, but apparently not, if I really thought about it. Gone by Michael Grant, didn't really have one main character, just a ton of them, and I really liked Hildy's confidence and attitude. Gone had the best plot by far. It was close for the setting, but since Gone was at a beach and Hildy was at a town full of apple's with a ghost in town, I went with Gone. The only thing Peeled won for Best Writing is because Grant used third person, which I'm not a fan of, as you probably know by now, and Bauer didn't so that's the only reason, but really I think Gone is a much, much, much better story overall and would recommend that story, whereas with Peeled I wouldn't necessarily recommend but if you happen to come across it in the library, I'd say pick it up.

This next week I plan to read Where People Like Us Live and maybe hopefully I'll get Sleepless, or Invisible Touch or Fabulous Terrible in the mail and read that, because I doubt I'll be able to read Shrimp and Cupcake before I have to return them to the library. But hopefully I'll also be able to find Pretty Things by Sarra Manning at my school library this week and get that to read soon.

Ohh, I just checked the books at the library that I requested and noticed that I not only have Where People Like Us Live by Patricia Cumbie but also Harmless by Dana Reinhardt! Yeah, Now I'll have those to read also! I just have to get to the library now. Before they go and send the books off again, hopefully tomorrow because, obviously today is Labor Day, well, yesterday was. Oh, and I'm getting In Your Room by Jordanna Frailberg sometime soon too.

But, yeah, that's about it. Don't forget to enter my hundredth post contest! It ends this Friday!

Mrs. Magoo's Third Edition

2008-08-26T23:50:00.002-05:00

www.mrsmagooreads.com

Check out my MySpace blog
Check out my Twitter

Books to Review

Kiss Me Kill Me
Impulse
The Squad: Perfect Cover
The Outsiders
Glass
Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty
Drama! The Four Dorothys
Drama! Everyone's a Critic
Poison Ink
The Adoration of Jenna Fox

I also need to send interview questions to Diana Rodriguez Wallach and Stephanie Kuehnert.

Contests on my blog...

August:
ARC of Farworld: Water Keep
Fun shirt

September:
1st prize: Copy of She's So Money
2nd prize: Family Guy shirt
Fun shirt

October:
Copy of Amor and Summer Secrets

I also introduced a new feature to my blog, Movie Monday. Head on over to see what it's all about! :)

DEPARTMENT OF CRAP, I FORGOT IT'S TUESDAY!

2008-08-26T22:25:00.000-05:00

I'd just like to take a moment to celebrate the fact that I am now MORE THAN HALFWAY THROUGH EAST OF EDEN!

I love you John Steinbeck, but why must you make every other main character a whore? I am just saying...

Now, this is gonna be real quick, seeing as I am already late for volleyball practice, and when you are the coach, this is not a good thing.

DEPARTMENT OF AWESOMENESS

Elizabeth Scott. Living Dead Girl. Whoa. She came and knocked me off my feet. AND she did it in half the amount of pages as everyone else. Go Elizabeth!

DEPARTMENT OF WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW?

Savvy Girl by Lynn Messina. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. And East of Eden, of course.

DEPARTMENT OF COVER COOLNESS

I want to read this book. I dunno what it's about, or if it's YA, or who publishes it, but the cover is kick butt.

DEPARTMENT OF YA TRENDS

Faeries. Or Fairies. Or Feries? Either way, there's gonna be a LOT of them soon, if The Story Siren's snazzy list in any indication.

DEPARTMENT OF REASONS WHY THE UK IS WAY COOLER THAN THE US

Here. Need I say more? I think not. You are welcome, my Hamburger-a-go-go friends.

DEPARTMENT OF AUTHORLY AWESOMENESS

Susan Juby. Have I mentioned her? And her awesome new book, Getting the Girl? Yes? Hm, oh well....

Read on my, my friends. I'm off to go hit balls at middle school girls--I mean coach volleyball.

TCR