The Best Books Ever

The Outside By  Laura Bickle Published on September 3rd 2013 Published by Harcourt Children's Books Source: Netgalley One girl. One road. One chance to save what remains… After a plague of vampires is unleashed in the world, Katie is kicked out of her Amish community for her refusal to adhere to the new rules of survival. Now in exile, she enters an outside world of unspeakable violence with only her two “English” friends and a horse by her side. Together they seek answers and other survivors—but each sunset brings the threat of vampire attack, and each sunrise the threat of starvation. And yet through this darkness come the shining ones: luminescent men and women with the power to deflect vampires and survive the night. But can these new people be trusted, and are they even people at all? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, it’s up to one Amish girl to save her family, her community, and the boy she loves . . . but what will she be asked to leave behind in return? ...

Jessica Darling's It List #1: The (Totally Not) Guaranteed Guide to Popularity, Prettiness & Perfection By  Megan McCafferty Published on September 3rd 2013 Published by Poppy Source: Publisher I hadn't even gotten to homeroom yet and I'd already discovered five hard truths about junior high: 1. My best friend had turned pretty. 2. She didn't know it yet. 3. It wouldn't be long before she did. 4. That knowledge would change everything between us. 5. And there wasn't a thing I could do about it. It's the first day of seventh grade. Is Jessica Darling doomed for dorkdom? I read the Jessica Darling series back when it first came out- it was my first foray into YA Contemporary fiction.  I absolutely loved the story of Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie.  I was pretty excited when I saw that this was indeed the same Jessica Darling of that series. Jessica Darling's It List is a middle grade book that doesn't read like a middl...

Thanks to  TLC Book Tours , we're pleased to present a review for  Son of a Gun , a new memoir by Justin St. Germain. Make sure to  check out the rest of the tour stops  to see other reviews! Son of a Gun By  Justin St. Germain Published on August 13th 2013 Published by Random House Source: ARC for blog tour In the tradition of Tobias Wolff, James Ellroy, and Mary Karr, a stunning memoir of a mother-son relationship that is also the searing, unflinching account of a murder and its aftermath. Tombstone, Arizona, September 2001. Debbie St. Germain’s death in her remote trailer, apparently at the hands of her fifth husband, is a passing curiosity. “A real-life old West murder mystery,” the local TV announcers intone before the commercial break, while barroom gossips snicker cruelly. But for her twenty-year-old son, Justin St. Germain, the tragedy marks the line that separates his world into before and after. Long after his mother’s death is...

The Chaos of Stars By  Kiersten White Published on September 10th 2013 Published by HarperTeen Source: Netgalley Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up. Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal. Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to de...

Starry Nights By  Daisy Whitney Published on September 3rd 2013 Published by Bloomsbury USA Childrens Source: Netgalley Seventeen-year-old Julien is a romantic—he loves spending his free time at the museum poring over the great works of the Impressionists. But one night, a peach falls out of a Cezanne, Degas ballerinas dance across the floor, and Julien is not hallucinating. The art is reacting to a curse that trapped a beautiful girl, Clio, in a painting forever. Julien has a chance to free Clio and he can't help but fall in love with her. But love is a curse in its own right. And soon paintings begin to bleed and disappear. Together Julien and Clio must save the world's greatest art . . . at the expense of the greatest love they've ever known. This book was exactly what I needed at the time: mostly light-hearted, cute, romancey fluff. I had read a bunch of fairly heavy/dark books in a row, and I knew the next one I had scheduled to read for a review was fair...

Thanks to  TLC Book Tours , we're pleased to present a review for  Save Yourself , a new contemporary/thriller by Kelly Braffet. Make sure to  check out the rest of the tour stops  to see other reviews! Save Yourself By  Kelly Braffet Published on August 6th 2013 Published by Crown Source: Netgalley/blog tour Patrick Cusimano is in a bad way. His father is in jail, he works the midnight shift at a grubby convenience store, and his brother's girlfriend, Caro, has taken their friendship to an uncomfortable new level. On top of all that, he can't quite shake the attentions of Layla Elshere, a goth teenager who befriends Patrick for reasons he doesn't understand and doesn't fully trust. The temptations these two women offer are pushing him to his breaking point. Meanwhile, Layla's little sister, Verna, is suffering through her first year of high school. She's become a prime target for her cruel classmates, not just because of her strange name and...

Taking Chances By  Molly McAdams Published on October 16th 2012 Published by William Morrow Source: Publisher Her first year away is turning out to be nearly perfect, but one weekend of giving in to heated passion will change everything. Eighteen-year-old Harper has grown up under the thumb of her career marine father. Ready to live life her own way and to experience things she's only ever heard of from the jarheads in her father's unit, she's on her way to college at San Diego State University. Thanks to her new roommate, Harper is introduced to a world of parties, gorgeous guys, family, and emotions. She finds herself being torn in two as she quickly falls in love with both her new boyfriend, Brandon, and her roommate's brother, Chase. Despite their dangerous looks and histories, both men adore Harper and would do anything for her, including taking a step back if it would mean she'd be happy. Note to Author: Molly McAdams, it is absolutely not nic...

Rose Under Fire By  Elizabeth Wein Published on September 10th 2013 Published by Disney-Hyperion Source: Netgalley While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her? Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival. Let's get a few things out of the way first.   Rose Under Fire is a companion book to Elizabeth Wein's outstanding novel Code Name Verity , in that it takes place in roughly the same time perio...

Thanks to  TLC Book Tours , we're pleased to present a review for  Dark Horizons , a new Doctor Who YA novel by Jenny Colgan. Make sure to  check out the rest of the tour stops  to see other reviews! Dark Horizons By  Jenny Colgan Published on July 4th 2013 Published by BBC Books Source: Finished copy from publisher for blog tour On a windswept northern shore, at the very tip of what will one day become Scotland, the islanders believe the worst they have to fear is a Viking attack. Then the burning comes. They cannot run from it. Water will not stop it. It consumes everything in its path - yet the burned still speak. The Doctor is just looking for a game on the famous Lewis chess set. Instead he encounters a people under attack from a power they cannot possibly understand. They have no weapons, no strategy and no protection against a fire sent to engulf them all. Add in some marauding Vikings with very bad timing, a kidnapped princess with a ...

Doon By Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon Published on August 20, 2013   Published by Zondervan DOON… Veronica doesn't think she's going crazy. But why can't anyone else see the mysterious blond boy who keeps popping up wherever she goes? When her best friend, Mackenna, invites her to spend the summer in Scotland, Veronica jumps at the opportunity to leave her complicated life behind for a few months. But the Scottish countryside holds other plans. Not only has the imaginary kilted boy followed her to Alloway, she and Mackenna uncover a strange set of rings and a very unnerving letter from Mackenna's great aunt—and when the girls test the instructions Aunt Gracie left behind, they find themselves transported to a land that defies explanation. Doon seems like a real-life fairy tale, complete with one prince who has eyes for Mackenna and another who looks suspiciously like the boy from Veronica's daydreams. But Doon has a dark underbelly as well. T...

Cloneward Bound: The Clone Chronicles #2 By  M.E. Castle Published on February 12th 2013 Published by EgmontUSA Source: Publisher Fisher Bas and Two were able to thwart the evil Dr. X, but after somehow surviving the explosion at TechX Enterprises, Two is in Hollywood looking for his "mother." Fisher must bring him back to Palo Alto before his cloning secret is discovered. When a class field trip to see the Dr. Devilish science show arises, it becomes the perfect opportunity for Fisher to find his clone. But all kinds of complications will get in the way--including Amanda Cantrell, who knows more than Fisher would like about Two's identity. As Fisher, FP, and Amanda team up to find Two, they find trouble, high jinx, and the return of an evil mastermind--all set in the glitz of Hollywood. Loving the first book was simply a precursor to loving the sequel (and anxiously awaiting the third installment)! Cloneward Bound picks up shortly after we left our hero...

For this Best Book Ever, I asked everyone to share with me their favorite books from when they were children or teenagers.  Since most of us are adults who still love YA, I was curious to know what we were actually reading when we were around that age.  Check out our selections and let us know what you think in the comments. My favorite book when I was a tween was The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. In fifth grade, I read it thirteen times. Yes, you read that right. Thirteen. I would check out a bunch of books from the library, including The Outsiders , and I'd read one non- Outsiders book, followed by The Outsiders , then one non- Outsiders book, followed by The Outsiders and so on until my name filled up the check-out card and the librarian gave me funny looks. I didn't just love that book; I was obsessed. Why? Looking back, I think it was because the characters lived a life so different from mine, and the book allowed me to step into a completely different — but still ...

Descendant By Leslie Livingston Published on August 27, 2013   Published by Harper Teen Source: Publisher The last thing Mason Starling remembers is the train crossing a bridge. An explosion . . . a blinding light . . . then darkness. Now she is alone, stranded in Asgard—the realm of Norse legend—and the only way for her to get home is to find the Spear of Odin, a powerful relic left behind by vanished gods. The Fennrys Wolf knows all about Asgard. He was once trapped there. And he’ll do whatever it takes to find the girl who’s stolen his heart and bring her back—even if it means a treacherous descent into the Underworld. But time is running out, and Fenn knows something Mason doesn’t: If she takes up the Spear, she’ll set in motion a terrible prophecy. And she won’t just return to her world . . . she’ll destroy it. So I already mentioned how much I loved Starling (and was a little surprised based on how my fellow bloggers felt).  I loved ...

The 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is hosted over at Good Books and Good Wine .  Today, we're talking about our blogging quirks.  I bet we've got a lot of them. Sarah says... I almost never write a book review in the order that it gets posted in.  A review usually starts as a jumbled series of sentences, some of which get punted to the end, some of which might make it into the lead paragraph.  At this point I appear to be completely unable to just write something start to finish in order. If I know I'm not going to have time to write out a proper review, I'll usually jot down some bullet points in a draft post so I don't forget what I wanted to say. I have a small bookshelf next to my desk where I keep ARCs and other books for review.  The top shelf is partly books that I'm reviewing for tour, partly new books that I've purchased and want to read ASAP, and partly books whose publish date has already passed (oops).  The bottom shelf is all books th...