tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13266902243916967702024-03-04T22:46:22.802-08:00The Book BelieverYA fiction reviews - with some occasional surprises ;)McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-1420175557180827762016-09-02T00:19:00.001-07:002016-09-02T00:19:15.429-07:00WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN by Lionel Shriver (School Review)<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Image result for we need to talk about kevin book" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41mWK6BnelL._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" /><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kevin </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Khatchadourian is guilty of murdering nine of his classmates, a cafeteria worker, and a teacher. He now resides in prison, heavily guarded and being tried as an adult. While locked up, his mother Eva Khatchadourian, comes to visit him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Need to Talk About Kevin</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is the story of Kevin through Eva’s eyes, written in letters to her estranged husband Franklin. She describes raising Kevin in detail, from the day he was born and refused to drink his mother’s milk, to his odd distaste for everything from the very moment he was able to function on his own at all. The story is just as frightening as it is eye opening - you are forced to ask yourself the age old question “Nature or nurture?” Kevin seems to have come into the world angry and manipulative, but could he really have turned out so bad if he had been raised ‘perfectly?’</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There were many themes in this book, including a lot of American culture and bias. A native Armenian, Eva once made mention to Kevin by saying that he was ‘as American as he could be’ after shooting out his school, because she found this action to be distinctively “american.” She also addresses America’s optimism and “high-hopes-crushed” attitude, which is especially embodied in her husband, Franklin. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More importantly, I think that </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Need to Talk About Kevin</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is very psychologically centered, focused on Kevin and trying to show all sides of who he was as a child, teenager, and finally a near adult in a jail cell. After a lot of contemplation, I would say the main theme was exactly the question that I asked above: Are people like Kevin (diagnosed psychopaths and sociopaths) born or made? Or on what side of the scale does it usually tip? In this book particularly, it tries to make it seem like a ‘born’ situation - and does a very convincing job of it - but it’s also a big controversy associated with this book in particular. Eva didn’t deserve a “Mother of the Year” award by any means, but Kevin’s behavior was uncalled for and unexpected even from the time that he was a screaming infant. At the same time, Shriver seems to offer the possibility that Eva’s ambivalence towards maternity may have affected his development, and yet there is no scientific or logical proof that it could happen.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I chose to compare </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Need to Talk About Kevin </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with the song “The Chosen Pessimist” by In Flames </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 26.4px; text-indent: 36pt;">(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7XR-dtexX0)</span>. I chose this song because of the tone and feel of it, and because of the lyrics “Approaching constant failure” and “</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Between love and hate/ Which path to follow?/ How can I keep balance in this race?/ Come faith, I’m dying...” I think that these lyrics really capture Kevin’s mindset. He sees that he is “approaching constant failure” and “between love and hate.” With these viewpoints, it doesn’t seem that there is a wrong or right path, and that the outcomes and consequences are all just blurred together. But if you only see yourself as approaching a “constant failure”, is there really anywhere else to turn?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, I think it was a very well written book with undeniable literary value. It was thought provoking and realistically disturbing; the psychology so real and possible that it nearly made me develop agoraphobia. Shriver definitely did her job.</span></div>
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" 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McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-59641579482282889692016-01-27T05:46:00.002-08:002016-01-31T13:36:36.394-08:00SANDS by Kevin L. Neilson<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 21px; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal;">For nine months of the year, the sands of the Sharani Desert are safe. The genesauri—giant, flying, serpentine monsters who hunt across the desert in enormous packs—lie dormant. The smallest of their kind is able to take down a single man with ease, and the largest is able to swallow entire clans. The people of the desert have always been able to predict the creatures’ appearance, but this year, the genesauri have stopped following the rules. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 21px; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 21px; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 21px; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal;">When the genesauri suddenly attack her clan, seventeen-year-old Lhaurel draws a sword in her people’s defense—a forbidden practice for women of any clan—and is sentenced to death by her own people. Chained to a rock and left to be eaten by the next wave of genesauri, Lhaurel is rescued by a mysterious, elusive clan said to curse children at a glance, work unexplainable terrors, and disappear into the sands without a trace. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 21px; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 21px; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 21px; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal;">With the fate of the clans hanging in the balance, Lhaurel discovers she possesses a rare and uncontrollable power—one that will be tested as the next deadly genesauri attack looms on the horizon and the clash between clans grows more inevitable by the hour. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sands</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Kevin L Neilson is definitely unlike anything I have ever read. It was new, engrossing, and had a different and interesting feel. If I could give it any big overall award, I would for sure label it as unique.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sands</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is set in a very interesting setting with a complex, thought out plot. It takes a vivid imagination to think up - or even understand - this one, but the author did a great job of describing it. There were a lot of things that I loved about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sands,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and some things that I did not like quite as much - I believe I will try my first “list review” on this one!</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-a7fc7947-8353-62f1-6921-267641e7a077" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">THINGS I LOVED:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lhaurel was an amazing MC. She was strong and independent, even given her background (a clan where women are totally disrespected and treated like trash). I always love a good character that can fight back, and Lhaurel was one of them.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I have already mentioned, I loved the setting. I can honestly say that I have never read a book with a even a similar setting, and (trust me) I’ve read a lot of YA books</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The genesauri. Dang, those things are scary as heck, but also totally realistic. They’re basically just like dinosaurs on steroids... yeah. Sweet dreams.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The light romance put in there. I myself am a romantic, so I appreciated it and found it a lot more believable than the ‘insta-love’ we see so much in Young Adult books today.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The world didn’t feel foreign - what I mean to say is, the author was obviously well acquainted with the world that he built and knew it inside and out. He was able to provide good, thoughtful detail to help me know how to navigate its complexities.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plot twists. I love me some plot twists.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">THINGS I DIDN’T LOVE SO MUCH</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This one is obviously opinion, but I have never liked having more than two (sometimes I can tolerate three!) points of view. Especially since some of the names sound so foreign to me, I sometimes got lost and it would turn my head around for a few pages before I finally caught on. If you’re good with names, this won’t be a problem for you.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There were some minor editing problems. They weren’t so frequent that I was distracted from the story or anything, but they were there.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s a tad bit slow in the beginning.</span></div>
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</ul>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, it was a very refreshing read. I personally love finding books that are diverse, so it was very a entertaining and fun ride. I highly recommend for you fantasy lovers (I might even classify some of this as epic fantasy, but that’s my opinion going off again) and anybody who loves a good book that requires you have a brain (we all know those YA books that you could read on 1 hour of sleep and understand completely) </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ending rate, I give it 3.75 stars for the reasons above. Happy Reading! :)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img src="http://www.gomedigap.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/3.75stars.png" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span>McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-14079824315266069782016-01-23T17:36:00.001-08:002016-01-23T17:36:36.872-08:00HOTEL RUBY by Suzanne Young<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="400" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/bqsf__cElh_Nmdznejmpu3amlbj-dqjo5HI5s44f020T_PM8fOd93EuDVR5sJNjI5hIxH6Ttsg34pEI-Go7nZci4e8mEUM8WQOyg78oFNLi-EeMIlBySmxKC6QOHcJUGQSnZgYI" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="264" /></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-9fc054a5-7145-a469-4422-b2446c43f666" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stay tonight. Stay forever.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Audrey Casella arrives for an unplanned stay at the grand Hotel Ruby, she’s grateful for the detour. Just months after their mother’s death, Audrey and her brother, Daniel, are on their way to live with their grandmother, dumped on the doorstep of a DNA-matched stranger because their father is drowning in his grief.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audrey and her family only plan to stay the night, but life in the Ruby can be intoxicating, extending their stay as it provides endless distractions—including handsome guest Elias Lange, who sends Audrey’s pulse racing. However, the hotel proves to be as strange as it is beautiful. Nightly fancy affairs in the ballroom are invitation only, and Audrey seems to be the one guest who doesn’t have an invite. Instead, she joins the hotel staff on the rooftop, catching whispers about the hotel’s dark past.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The more Audrey learns about the new people she’s met, the more her curiosity grows. She’s torn in different directions—the pull of her past with its overwhelming loss, the promise of a future that holds little joy, and an in-between life in a place that is so much more than it seems…</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Welcome to the Ruby. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve always been fascinated with the song “Hotel California” by The Eagles. In seventh grade, my friends and I would debate on what the meaning of the song was and what we thought was really going on at that hotel. That’s why this book was such a perfect match for me. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hotel Ruby</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is basically Hotel California in YA book form - and it perfectly captures the image. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When The Casella’s decide to stop their road trip momentarily to rest at the Hotel Ruby, everybody is excited. It’s a very beautiful building, they’re treated like kings and queens, and Audrey gets to spend a little more time with her dad before she needs to part with him. But the beauty of the hotel is only a fleeting glimpse before the Hotel’s true colors start to show. Audrey is put on the 13th floor alone, where she beings to see and hear things that aren’t there. She keeps hearing a particular song being played over and over, but she doesn’t know where it’s coming from or even if it’s real or just a figment of imagination. But just when Audrey thinks things couldn’t get any creepier, her brother and dad start to change... her dad keeps insisting that they stay longer and her brother keeps hanging out with this totally wack chick that Audrey can’t seem to persuade him is crazy. All she wants to do is leave, but it seems her dad and her brother want to live at the Hotel.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But when Audrey meets the sexy Elias she starts to think huh... maybe this isn’t so bad after all! But is Elias just another thing to be afraid of?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hotel Ruby</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was a bit of an emotional roller coaster, but my favorite part of this book was how much it blew my mind. One of those </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Were Liars </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">types that totally messes with you, but you love it because after it’s finished all you can do is stare at the wall and say “Whoa...” over and over. In just a few words: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hotel Ruby</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a haunting blend of romance and mind-blowery. And if you love Hotel California, you’ll love this book for sure!</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="123" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Ztt0BroFPDGiCeb0vZ77AiBFLFsevrbKex6okz2mJLiqoCpe2IiEEH6ZEGMZxqCaTTgL0tB4S5JqDPaeng7zFGL4cfCrmoD5fB_sKaqzdzX_8pYyJDvbkxnYdJLY6UUMgihXZ28" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span>McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-31094909321102200212015-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:002015-12-16T06:00:01.964-08:00First Children's Book Reviews! THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST RECIPE and THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST UNIFORMS by Jerome Jones<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="234px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/58OtsJB8VHMxIB5y8bDG3z0urVWzbfhd7hw4bcs6ARu3i_IrwxwjLBhKJeBYqksR182J14QE7ygHB2fA4wGrGAY1_2zO8t1_xw5r6Xo57CxkoZuLBRrCi0UL4fyFGwKXYdFxM60" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="395px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jerome Jones contacted me recently on writing a review on his children's books </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Mystery of The Lost Recipe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Mystery of the Lost Uniforms. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both books follow Abby and Tommy as they solve mysteries in their hometown Pismo. I was very excited to review these books, but because I am no longer a child, I brought in the real professionals - my younger siblings.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My first sibling to help me out was Sophie, who is eight years old. Weston, the second to help me along in writing this review, is currently six years old.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s what we think of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lost Recipe:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lost Recipe </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was all three of our favorites of the two. Sophie once exclaimed, “These kids are awesome!” while I was reading. Afterwards, she remarked that it was “fun and interesting.” she also liked that they found the recipe and that Mr. Nut “had a funny name.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weston felt the same way. But while he agreed that he liked the book, he had to admit that he didn’t know why he liked it. Except, of course, because of Mr. Nut who had a “funny name.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their favorite parts were the pictures, which Sophie liked because they “helped [her] solve the mystery” and Mr. Nut. At the end of the day, I think that we could call these two a Mr. Nut enthusiast.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lost Uniforms:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie was interested in this book as well, but thought that it was a little bit too long. In her opinion, she liked that the other one was shorter and a little more to the point. Aside from this point, they were both excited for a new story involving Abby and Tommy and loved listening to the new mystery. And of course, when Mr. Nut made an appearance they were very excited. No joke, they exclaimed, “Mr. Nut!” as soon as his face appeared on the pages.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have to agree that of these two, I liked </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lost Recipe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> more because it was a little more exciting and to the point. However, it was not significantly better than </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Mystery of the Lost Uniforms</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. And while there were little problems along the way (such as occasional redundancy) both books were a fun and exciting read. My twelve year old sister had even been found eavesdropping, and she said that she found it enjoyable to listen to. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But aside from just being a fun and exciting read, the kids felt like solving a mystery and eating healthier afterwards, which was a big theme in these books. Abby and Tommy are outside constantly when solving mysteries and getting involved in their communities, and they never forget to stop for a nutritious meal. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, I found the book very fun both personally and for my siblings. But even more than that, I loved the messages that it shared. Kids are getting increasingly more lazy, and the promotion of being active is very important. Tommy and Abby are great role models and exciting to read about! So if you have a child around the ages of 4-12 and are looking for some good books, I would definitely recommend.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="84px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Q12ABfHz7FQU4EkeBcnWQK4yB6j2m0R_kM1IAGiHUSVerB7QZHYGPLxIlZLS26g3kuDnJTmeJGPfHK2A54xuLPTjTCuanjCDbGGlaR8Vj9WRBFxOFOsYIMVo77-vyPPrbqttJkc" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="84px;" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="85px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/HUMGFtoVqVNhL94mk4Ugkmk9eiCjJnK6wNufNozYFAF0Febh2JyfJpeaO2svZQkyNeBrg91AFs-klGXEjLuvK8Ce2rbwXgtiqs0DPy8-TYXh58uBbaiJH-bO7BSTEMi9Vp-azsQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="85px;" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="86px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/u7FJ1hfyUEHrPmpTqAwSLjczhvE9BmE-XoVf5N6fWNLVKb4fFMVBQGSuh1pILrY4POFKjGf5M-8VvWE0mI7iHvWu9EdN9-MYXx6rOScxqs-91njYYzPyB93E_FVCHXQqcmxNRHg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="86px;" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="84px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MksImJzdNsV_3vL0dDOfs2e7GNizNl5ke8Xx_zqz6JmR9ZqmqSE7o7Hjn-OrAhW3je0LF0lUIDH8V5Rh9KAruTSBaBD75DK-VYiKnRWv2-aKnLZmueALQJ8RhRBBa_7-FtFZZ0o" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="84px;" /></span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span>McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-27135253900240440122015-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:002015-12-08T06:00:01.123-08:00WHAT YOU LEFT BEHIND by Jessica Verdi<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="355px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/5r_DBKniFJBaWCqUZbi71IJ4qlE4YAOm9-RxS5MhvgubCs2Dg38mev0D-4WtN-W4-PgIhYREKnfvmYbARdl3KkrsVdwaMap5tBxRZaddUqGjgcUMB3AwJDjCv_bTaY4z9gKlCYk" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="237px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s all Ryden’s fault. If he hadn’t gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead, he’s failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it’s not like he’s had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She’s fun and energetic—and doesn’t know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg’s journals only stirs up old emotions, and Ryden’s convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can’t let go of the past?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What You Left Behind</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a heart breaking book of loss and recovery. By far, it is one of the saddest books that I have read in a long time. In fact, if I were to say there was only one flaw about this book, it would be that it was TOO sad. Which is saying a lot, coming from someone who has survived novels like </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Fault in Our Stars</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the likes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book starts right in with Ryden and his six month old baby, Hope. As to be expected, he is discouraged having to take care of a baby at the young age of 17 without much help. And just to pile onto the already terrible situation, Hope is the reason that Meg - Ryden’s lover - is dead. He doesn’t blame little Hope, but there is a part of him that is unhappy with the little girl whom he isn’t even sure likes him. But as a reader, I couldn’t blame him too much. After all, he just went through the traumatic experience of losing somebody that he loved dearly and in the process, had a huge responsibility placed on his shoulders.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While juggling school, his job, and his fatherly responsibilities, Ryden is also hoping to play for his High School Soccer team, and hopefully get a scholarship into college with it. But with his already precarious situation, it can only go downhill when he discovers that Meg left a journal for her sister - and when he sees a check list of journals Meg chose to write on the back of it and sees his name, he knows there is a journal out there waiting for him. He thinks that it will help him cope; but his mom and friends think it will only make it worse.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So he works out schedules with Meg’s best friend Aaron about babysitting Baby Hope while he goes to soccer practice and looks for journals. And in between time doing that, he’s got Joni on the side. But while the synopsis of the book may allude to this being a more romantic novel, it is not something I would categorize it as personally. Romance is in there for sure, but it is far from the purpose of the book. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What You Left Behind</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a story of loss and getting back up on your feet after everything has gone wrong. Ryden’s situation brought me to tears and forced me to take regular breaks because it was honestly too much for me to read sometimes. But then, isn’t life like that sometimes? Ryden’s in a bad situation for sure, but we all find ourselves having trials - some bigger than others, but we’ve all been there. This book was an inspiring tale of being able to rise again and smile more, even after you feel like everything good has vanished.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the end, it was a good read. Will you be an emotional wreck? Most likely. But it’s worth it in the end.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span>McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-58792600082239660222015-11-05T15:37:00.002-08:002015-11-05T15:37:50.309-08:00LET'S TALK COVERS - LUX SERIES<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hey guys! I’m sorry I have been so absent of late. I’ve been trying to get back into the school routine. Anyway, let’s get back into the groove with another “Let’s Talk Covers!” And I’m not the only one who has experienced grief with these covers. Introducing... The Lux series.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="260px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ineOa2t-z2n-xwzMULETxPiL8k5OeKrhiNenxf7yt_ZrdoxIH48bZVMKvCayjMHs2RbDd-zcTGa_NA6gEYXgGUD1UwG_mnxz2Ve9OvOSxp2G9JioW0A23Lod99ZAku4OWA1BDdM" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624px;" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lux series is one of my all time favorites. The story is awesome, Katy is basically my fictional twin, and Daemon. Who could ever forget Daemon Black, the super sexy, funny guy with a weakness for being over protective. It’s also... and hear me out before you click out of the page... a love hate romance. And I know a lot of bibliophiles nowadays hate them, but if it’s done right who can deny the amazingness! What can I say, I love it when the lovers fight. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have to be completely honest and say that I do like the first cover. I actually found </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Obsidian</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by walking around the Library and finding myself caught by Daemon’s entrancing eyes. Not to mention, he’s about the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. So I checked it out and BOOM. One night read, just like that.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really only started to get upset with the latter covers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Onyx </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Opal. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TERRIBLE covers! For one, Katy doesn’t look like... well... Katy. The character I know didn’t go traipsing through the forest in scandalous dresses trying to look super sexy. Same with the third book. Literally the whole series Kat is telling Daemon that he doesn’t need to protect her all the time and that he needs to lay off being so overprotective. It doesn’t much look like that on the cover, does it?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And Origin... I think I cried when I first saw this cover. WHAT HAPPENED, IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN THE LAST TWO. For one, he looks like he’s from the nineties, his leather jacket looks like it’s a denim jacket (which clashes horrifically with those jeans of his!) and WHAT, what, WHAT happened to his delicious hair that was all messy and floppy? In this cover it looks... okay, I guess, but his beard thing! Ew! And what is he doing? Just slow-mo walking through a desert in a cowboy costume? Halloween is over. Really, I could go on for hours about this one.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, after much complaint, we got an announcement from Jennifer L. Armentrout: NEW COVERS! And dang was I excited. And so appropriate as well - these things were hideous. So I awaited excitedly for the next covers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then they came out.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="312px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/18-gIRfeP-ulA0WJzPTReaYcA08vDHGzwvEJUZd57jKfCpkyfeoPxIbiltOKEC6zreZ3YCpkaodIozqGrrOwnFFBH5q8nXwlyMWp63rUij9SF66DbrysT1-dCJ30QYaPTUhFcbc" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624px;" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHYYY. I mean... sure. They’re cool or whatever, and in real life they are sparkly, but come on. They’re both shirtless, the makeup on “Katy” is super over the top, and worst of all... I CAN’T SEE DAEMON. Except for half of his face in the last book, I don’t get the full glory of him. And that’s sad for me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the end, I accepted that I would never be content with the Lux covers. But I PROMISE, the story is amazing. If you’ve ever thought twice about reading this series, let me make the process easier by saying: Just do it.</span></div>
<br />McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-13633448712241257682015-09-26T11:10:00.002-07:002015-09-26T11:13:17.595-07:00THE DREAMER by E.J. Mellow<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="378px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/XUoIRUCLnv-S2peVKwRURL471zKXhNpJUZqxky4TMMwJ5B9LZ5fusjPDO_iUaMbB2jjp2hiNdj0VeulD32nFKsJI2YrSGgUU7mgH0Zabb75F_XFuBZQa_hXHh15pInTvZFGW6g" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="252px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Molly hasn’t slept well since the night of her twenty-fourth birthday. Being struck by lightning might have something to do with it, but then again, her chicken </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">did</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> look a little undercooked at dinner. Whatever the culprit, her life quickly catapults from mundane to insane as, night after night, Molly is transported through her once dreamless sleep to a mysterious land illuminated by shooting stars.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There she meets the captivating but frustrating Dev, and together they discover Molly possesses a power coveted by his people—the ability to conjure almost anything she desires into existence. Seduced by the possibilities of this gift, Molly shifts her attention from waking life toward the man, the magic, and the world found in her dreams.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Molly must ask herself—does something truly exist if you only see it when you close your eyes?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faced with the threat of losing everything—her job, best friend, boyfriend, and most importantly, that little thing called her sanity—Molly will learn just how far she’ll go to uncover what is real and what is merely a figment of her imagination.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do admit that I was a little bit reluctant to read </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Dreamer.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I’ve always been a little bit skeptical of indie books because of previous experiences. But I am happy to say that I was not disappointed by </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Dreamer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two main things that I absolutely loved about this book - the idea, and the romance. Let’s start with the idea.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We meet Molly, our MC, right as she gets struck by lightning. Luckily, she is fine, but she starts having these odd dreams of this different, all too vivid world. This idea almost seems cliche, but when I thought about it I realized I have never encountered a book where dreaming is actually a reality. It takes Molly a while to realize that this world she is being transported to is a real place, and when she does, she realizes that she has a real problem. She has a hard time coming to terms with it (because really, who wouldn’t have a hard time with that?) but as all lovable main characters are, she is up to the challenge. And her biggest might just be... Dev.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dev. Don’t even get me started! He’s that super attractive guy that every good NA/YA novel needs. But at the same time, it’s kind of like... Do I even like him? He kind of sucks. But daaaang he is attractive. We’ve all been there as readers of Young Adult novels. But then of course, we won’t only have Dev, but we also have Jared, who is her super nice (earthly) boyfriend who only wants nothing more than to be there for her. The two extremes. And to be honest, I still don’t know where I stand when it comes to choosing between them...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While there was a lot of great things in this novel, I did have one slight problem with </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Dreamer - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">it was a little bit slow. It almost was like an introductory book to get us ready for the awesomeness that the second book promises (which I am sure is coming). It was still interesting, but I didn’t feel that the plot was completely developed and at times didn’t see character’s goals. Nonetheless, it ended in a way that was too tempting to say no too. Talk about a cliff hanger! I need the second right now!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do recommend</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Dreamer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for slightly older audiences (I would say 15 and up) and for those who enjoy fantasy and romance. I give it 3.9 stars, because it deserves more than 3.5 by doesn’t quite make four because of the pacing.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Get ready for </span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Divide,</span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> which comes out this October!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/VFAd_bJyQUVbCueYgXhBiFI_bPNhDQQYtz_nMYeFa3p3LNWFdeDkPoa6kGLZKjiC1qiaHdwZOy-MtmOak_96LxJV2q3FkDbPU8dJdB_f7qRWH2RUFWTjPiNh4zIZc1NCrys4hw" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*GREAT BIG THANKS TO E.J. MELLOW FOR A REVIEW COPY*</span></div>
McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-66705712768777639872015-09-17T06:00:00.000-07:002015-09-17T06:00:03.659-07:00YOUR VOICE IS ALL I HEAR by Leah Scheier<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was the one he trusted. I was the one he loved, the only one who believed him, even when his own mother had locked him up and thrown away the key.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And now, I was going to pass down the white tiled hallway, knock on his doctor’s office door, slam his secret notebook on her desk and make her read it, make her understand what he was hiding, make her see what only I had seen.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">April won’t let Jonah go without a fight.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He’s her boyfriend—her best friend. She’ll do anything to keep him safe. But as Jonah slips into a dark depression, trying to escape the traumatic past that haunts him, April is torn. To protect Jonah, she risks losing everything: family, friends, an opportunity to attend a prestigious music school. How much must she sacrifice? And will her voice be loud enough to drown out the dissenters—and the ones in his head?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have always been a sucker for books that battle the stigmatisms surrounding mental illnesses. So when this one crossed my path, I knew that I had to get my eager hands on it.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Your Voice is All I Hear </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is probably one of the best books that I picked up in 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your Voice is All I Hear </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is all about the relationship between April and Jonah. From the very beginning, I was drawn into this book by the characters. April was shy and soft spoken, and when Jonah comes into her school as a new student, she thinks she has no chance. But instead of looking at the prettiest girls in the class, he looks right to April and outright calls her pretty on the first day in front of everybody. This inevitably leads to their coming together in an official boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, and a really cute one at that.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And next thing we know, Jonah’s in a mental hospital.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The most painful part of this book (and there was a lot of pain) was when her mother told April to give up on Jonah, because she deserved better. I feel like this happens all too much. Jonah was a nice, great boy, but because he has a mental illness people automatically think lowly of him and accuse him of being “crazy.” I wanted nothing more than to shout at the mother that though mental illness can be hard to deal with, it is still none other than a sickness. And there </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> cures, and ways to deal with it. April stayed by Jonah’s side faithfully throughout the book, and it was because of this that I felt a great deal of respect toward the main character. Through thick and thin, she was with him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would be lying if I said that this book wasn’t painful to read. It was emotional and brutal - and yet, honest. These are issues that need to be addressed, whether people want to or not. It’s a book that you look back and you remember, definitely not the kind that you finish, set down, and forget about.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only reason I don’t give </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your Voice is All I Hear </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">five stars</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- I sometimes felt that the pacing was somewhat off. I felt like Jonah’s condition went from critical for one hundred pages, to suddenly stable and acting one hundred percent normal. But with the whole book put into consideration, it was hardly a problem. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would say that </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your Voice is All I Hear</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is for a bit of an older audience just because it does get scary and upsetting at times. But there are obvious positive messages and role models. A must read for sure!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So next time you’re in your local bookstore, make sure you look for </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your Voice is All I Hear!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="97px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/UcSfZ7M0R-kQ9wuMXa0vb9KqfqsmVwNn59_m1_FTEnc_S4lVxvXaPfa8cQTOWs2JdrJgEvviJXAtHpFiXixi_obnZFn9nXSVtxrd1AiheE_sVohuKrKYmO-dO3jyPngfDQ=s1600" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="129px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="98px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4LY8x1cozg8kRqvuEsYd1CDo2B4EjG5O8r8cUcGcxXTTyslcaXfOJR0LfsZRUhYO4cfTuKT6YrG-Wn8JhTiesSGSyLwzBKcanctqGHIosY77_VghwiPIv9xV_e7ghjqR=s1600" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="131px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="95px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/8xmxadH1B5f3PzuV-2xY1qc2d9NdlZwLXnNT8gr-isXsIx5b-vnk9k58-wVy5CLiep3yuOo78w2WOkNVU6u3xpPHG2KtW_pz2bTxi6hj6fi7bgfJ8aNahcgHXBPbH_0=s1600" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="127px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="101px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/eNfRguShvDQceEFd-YUIWxE5YEsObPzJ_684Sewy6QKyKJsg9V2aRqP-370PoYooXyAT28MGapnWNtcdy0z9wibASBLP0gTKt6J3rAikpAFztCuuqdKUmvUXo6jDmQ_taQ=s1600" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="135px;" /></span></div>
McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-4863147928578884772015-08-24T05:06:00.000-07:002015-08-24T05:06:31.205-07:00THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This review is doubling as a school assignment</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="342px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/USmlIihtCnFuXn7DruIg_cnr9pdl0Fl0P1p-jhpG31i9jqkRpgBf22lnI5NuLppIIY3t6PuGqQQ8onrCKMYTNasrGHJ1qm2kDne2EAbmc6WtgWQ21dD_UwYKn-u6gcjFZKcEGQ" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="225px;" /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Official Summary: Aibileen is a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, who's always taken orders quietly, but lately she's unable to hold her bitterness back. Her friend Minny has never held her tongue but now must somehow keep secrets about her employer that leave her speechless. White socialite Skeeter just graduated college. She's full of ambition, but without a husband, she's considered a failure. Together, these seemingly different women join together to write a tell-all book about work as a black maid in the South, that could forever alter their destinies and the life of a small town...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Summary: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Help is a beautifully written, inspirational novel that follows three different women’s point of view during the Civil Rights era. Aibileen, a house maid raising her seventeenth white baby, Minny, also a maid, that is always running into trouble with her sassy comments, and Skeeter, a twenty two white woman who dreams only to become a writer. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a child, Skeeter was practically raised by her house maid, Constantine. Though she left during her college years and she does not know the reason behind her disappearance, Skeeter has always held more respect for the Colored people than that of her friends. One day, Skeeter asks Aibileen if she ever wished she could change things. This question eventually led to the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Help,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a compilation of Black house maid’s experiences working for white families. It is a risky move, but Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny are all willing to risk it in order to get their views and experiences out into the world during one of the most monumental times in all of history.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Theme: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While there are a lot of obvious themes, such as racial injustice and gender roles, what I most learned from </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Help</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was that sometimes risks need to be taken for the greater good. And on a more personal level, that people have feelings and they need to be treated as such. Aibileen and Minny were putting a lot on the line by giving Skeeter their stories - at this time in history, colored people were being beat or even killed for miniscule mistakes such as accidentally walking into a </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whites Only</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> building. They were paid less than minimum wage, accused of carrying non existent diseases, and at times, treated like they were nothing more than scum. Yet they agreed to help Skeeter because they knew it could make a difference, a difference that had to be made.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But it wasn’t only dangerous for Aibileen and Minny, but for Skeeter as well. Being white, she was mostly protected from physical harm, but not so much social. While writing </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Help, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skeeter lost the majority of her friends and took a major fall on the social ladder. When the end of the book was being written, she knew that she was almost in as much trouble as her colored friends in the sense of being harassed and thrown into jail. But Skeeter wanted to do something for a better future just as much as Aibileen and Minny did.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A song that I thought closely related to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Help </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was Fight Song by Rachel Platten. (</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UqfrH74wc0" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UqfrH74wc0</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) because as the song says, Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny only had one match, but with it they could make an explosion. The song makes me think of looking for a better tomorrow for yourself and making it a reality, which is exactly what these three women did by committing to writing </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Help. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was risky, and it was nerve wracking, but they wanted to show that they still had fight left in them and they weren’t going to succumb to the Whites and their cruel, unjust treatment.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the end, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Help</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was one of the most inspirational and rewarding books that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The story was complex and beautiful, as were the characters. One of the most impressive aspects of this book for me was that though there were more main characters than I am used to reading, each character was very individual and distinct. The characters kept the suspense going until the very last minute, where I barely held myself back from crying. While not everything was resolved on the outside, all characters found their internal peace, and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was what made this book for me. Something they had been so reluctant to start had turned into their greatest achievement, and the thing that revived them and made them realize, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I deserve better than this.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> They crossed a seemingly uncrossable line that eventually led to their own personal finish line. Or, to say it better, a </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">new, better</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> starting line.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you have not read </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Help,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I greatly encourage you to do so. I give it a rating of five stars.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="77px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KGbC0OK2aIaO87TOc2ygXQhxEP43tkYsolobzoruAco71Yhq1TsZ8SUzP_VUMX_WtWQFXejhUIiov3Pbu9UmKoXkYTqyII3Z7a-IHNpd16p2Q-5RJHim77QgcupC6y4tm0PeA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="74px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="77px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/qAhPh9ovrk36MfWC6bkUPsqD_aOOPbkYI5peumft-_s0M4yJpjPxqxtPDmlsc4R756V8H6afRJTJXW-hibXcLK2PNcG585AR1DSXdFc6nH2YnQ4fQME1c6VrtQtGYDHIg1xHFQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="75px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="82px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BVBLDIikw6UoHHIjjzv9muiDETXudpzAyDL_ChOdin7D66BiKzuaN7Mmf0KUpyRrwSo7s-VGY0El3hcRqCVxf07CPdqcDIWfSM52GCcLGeHs3KaZinnkteJJqKxiiuHmsO3WvA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="80px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="79px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/G9HKWv6PQPru9Ed79KiG5bpbSEd2OaBwdP8itQAnxsl3y8D9fP0yTQUFyH9p-INMzbb_q-t_hAqwSy79CoMS314UmCYvgJM7u5w_agoR8jRJLlDVkwiQO5LMoZBDzpA5djTRqw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="76px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="80px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2BNTBQp3maV3lxwQ9m8WDcZfk_DUiC84LTn8w5EHsaQ0xMCDPvxWTmY_hLM0Qo2Zc3kJM7wa5VW4K3qwhTIk4mhu4t1G9sk91snkeCaLuhDzKdb8bTZb_zqwOQTBzwep7aXOlg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="79px;" /></span></div>
McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-66733469295195256662015-08-17T21:02:00.001-07:002015-08-17T21:11:38.738-07:00Book Vs. Movie: Paper Towns<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">***This post will contain spoilers of the book! Do not read if you have not yet read Paper Towns and still plan to***</span><br />
<img src="http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/07/paper_towns_john_green_cover.jpg" height="400" width="266" /> <img src="http://pre13.deviantart.net/7a83/th/pre/i/2015/073/a/3/paper_towns__movie_poster__by_blantonl98-d8loztt.jpg" height="400" style="line-height: 1.38;" width="270" /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s really no question about who is going to win the war waged between books and movies. The books, obviously! But nonetheless, I enjoy comparing them to one another. I do it in my head all the time, so I figured I might put it on paper as well! So without further delay, Paper Towns - Book Vs. Movie!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I picked up Paper Towns only about two weeks before the movie was coming out. I LOVED it, but it was definitely something that I saw as being more popular in book format than as a movie. Not that the story wasn’t amazing, but the biggest reason that I loved it was just because I love the way that John Green writes. Paper Towns had a ton of deeper, hidden meanings that I loved to discover, and the characters were so beautifully written. I basically went to that movie just for the characters!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For a based-off-the-book movie, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paper Towns </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">did not bother me too often. I loved the way that they portrayed and kept real to the characters. Quentin was Quentin, Margo was Margo, Ben was Ben... so I applaud their work there.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But without fail, there was one flaw that bothered me throughout the entire course of the movie.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I personally felt like the most dramatic parts in the book were dimmed down considerably in the movie. In the book, Quentin and his friends ditch graduation in a last minute plan to go find Margo (a plan that Angela was NOT A PART OF), and the whole thing is an intense mad dash to Anglo New York that, if they did not succeed, they would not find Margo </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at all </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and would most likely lose her forever. The stakes were higher than missing hair appointments and getting ready for Prom. And remember when Quentin almost hit the cow and got himself killed? In the book, everything slowed down, he accepted his fate, and when they spun off the road he was bawling his eyes out. In the movie, he laughed it off and acted like he had NOT ALMOST DIED. And then they get out of the car and mess around, even though as I recall, they were rushing to find Margo! Because she was going to leave!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then my biggest problem...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They didn’t give Quentin the opportunity to get mad at Margo!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the end of the book, after Quentin had found Margo, she had been a jerk (once again) to him. In the movie, he just took it. In the book, he defended himself. And yeah I egged him on! The girl dragged him around during the last weeks of his whole high school experience! And when he found her? She wasn’t impressed or happy at all, instead deciding to tell him that she hadn’t meant to be found at all and to go home. All of his work had been for nothing. So yes, I loved when he stood up for himself to Margo. But in the movie? He still just stared at her like a lost puppy who just needed love. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whyyy!!! I gained a lot of respect for Quentin at that point in the book! Because he finally said to her, you walked all over me. And I’m not okay with that.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wasn’t the only one who thought this, either. My mom actually leaned over to me and asked me, “Why doesn’t he say something to her? She’s been nothing but a brat!” I couldn’t agree more. Which is why we should </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stick to the book, people.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And if you haven’t read it, I definitely recommend. It is quite possibly my favorite book by John Green.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stay tuned for more Book Vs. Movie posts! This was a really fun idea that I hope to do it again in the future. Happy reading!</span></div>
<br />McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-1228805003278038412015-08-06T22:15:00.000-07:002015-08-06T22:28:09.824-07:00Let's Talk Covers - Anna and the French Kiss<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="400" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/2_y3idyiVU7HayFLl6Or2l3lxEH1iSDtgYDUj68Ru1Ae7aDJXoBnnyzfqRG2IFMnc7joD39zXjBnwIAgXitQxSJgVv5dYQoZUY2hK62GUrtSNQcTw9CThiMkUTvTVnf5er409H0" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="259" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have never been a fan of this cover. In fact, I pushed off reading it for about a year (even though my Goodreads insisted that I would love it) because I hated the look of it so much. But after manning up and picking it up from the library, Anna became my new favorite contemporary. My opinion of the cover, however, did not change. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First… how is it significant? All we see is a girl leaning over smiling at a boy’s arm, with the Eiffel tower in the background. My biggest problems would probably be…</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That doesn’t look a lot like Anna. The way that the girl on the cover is acting is super Un- Annaish. She’s smiling all flirtatious and bubbly, but do we remember how she actually met St. Clair? Not so smooth. Also, he had a girlfriend and she respected that. She was completely cool with being friends. Not so sure what’s going on in the picture… I would accept it if he were smiling back, but he just looks disinterested.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some of you may think that this is a ridiculous reason and I admit that it kind of is… but HIS ARM LOOKS SO GIRLY TO ME. It just doesn’t look right! Maybe I’m the only one who feels this way. But seriously, I can’t get over it.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It just looks too simple and photoshopped, not at all as phenomenal as the book is. It would have been better it if were a bit more sophisticated. It just doesn’t properly capture what is inside of the book. WHICH IS AMAZINGNESS.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="363px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7CQwLbDfUnJYbWzaCiEWsl3y41hXYTBsO3oHSOXqv0J3ohM622bPxqdbJ6i64DtSvK7if7rRuPWQ0y8DftkCfUqYWX7PvXGt1Z-sd8pKjUCse4HsaM0y1Qdjx6P7zvA9c_dHJSQ" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="242px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, let’s talk about this new cover…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know I may be contradicting myself - well, no, I am - when I say that I love it for it’s simplicity. After all, up above I said that it looks too simple. But this is the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">right</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> kind of simple. A gorgeous paris scene tinted pink, with the cover’s writing over top? I don’t have any problems with it. It may not be my favorite possible cover for the book, but I don’t have any real complaints. It has the right amount of sophistication, but still promises a cute and fluffy book.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And look at that gradient effect! Gorgeous!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So yes, in the end I am happy with the way that this cover change turned out. Good job to the people who designed this new cover, whoever you are! I absolutely adore it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-39479685873112227912015-07-24T06:00:00.000-07:002015-07-24T06:00:07.013-07:00THE EDGE OF FOREVER by Melissa E. Hurst<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="334px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-QS_MYnhf4moQ3ePLT-LKJaPUw1EhJecnpHFBBlcLotMQ9UR7BxSZWG9EymbQ0hjn-Ko5VGTiBxn60ImDSfv9o9BNvdIvmH0SHiYDvmbxt9vDmTlc6or378-DfN90sqykZq5Ffg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="223px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2013: Sixteen-year-old Alora is having blackouts. Each time she wakes up in a different place with no idea of how she got there. The one thing she is certain of? Someone is following her.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2146: Seventeen-year-old Bridger is one of a small number of people born with the ability to travel to the past. While on a routine school time trip, he sees the last person he expected—his dead father. The strangest part is that, according to the Department of Temporal Affairs, his father was never assigned to be in that time. Bridger’s even more stunned when he learns that his by-the-book father was there to break the most important rule of time travel—to prevent someone’s murder.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And that someone is named Alora.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Determined to discover why his father wanted to help a “ghost,” Bridger illegally shifts to 2013 and, along with Alora, races to solve the mystery surrounding her past and her connection to his father before the DTA finds him. If he can stop Alora’s death without altering the timeline, maybe he can save his father too.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The very first thing that I can tell you all about </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Edge of Forever</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is that the world building was completely, absolutely AMAZING. It gave me that feeling that everybody is chasing after while they are reading a book - like you are a part of the story, that you are actually </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">there </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with the character. This is the number one reason that I loved this book, but I do have two more equally respectable reasons.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reason #2 as to why I loved this book so much was</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the unique (and in my opinion, better) way that Hurst wrote and handled time travel. I do not usually enjoy time travel books - it always confuses me how the characters can just dawdle around with time with basically no consequences at the end of the day. When I (kind of) watched </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lake House</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I was confused about how the couple could end up together at all - they are in totally different time zones. It’s confusing, it’s frustrating, and it’s totally unrealistic (aside from the fact that they are traveling through time). But in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Edge of Forever</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> there are very specific rules about what they can and can not do in different time zones. Only time traveling specialists, who are all invisible, are allowed to travel through time, and even then it is only to observe. The travelers are not allowed to prevent something that happened in the past (such as stopping a loved one’s death) from happening again, and they can’t talk to anybody that is not from their specific time zone. These rules made it a lot easier for me to comprehend, and stopped me from dwelling on it to long and gave me time to actually pay attention to the story.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reason #3 - there was minimal swearing, and I never felt uncomfortable reading the book. Sometimes it is hard to come across a YA book that you can completely get through without squirming even a little bit (for me, anyway), but it still had perfectly adorable romance and didn’t seem too middle grade and innocent. There is a made-up swear word that the characters use in place of the f-word, Furing, but I would take that over the original word any day.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the end, I think that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Edge of Forever</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was beautifully written, and a fun read. It was a book that kept on giving, and a very rewarding book to finish! Needless to say, I am excited for the Sequel!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BREAKING NEWS!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have landed an Interview with...</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MELISSA E. HURST!!!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Thank you so much for spending some time for an interview Melissa! Can you tell us a little bit about your book, The Edge of Forever? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s a young adult time travel novel that features Bridger, a teen Time Bender from 2146, who receives a message from his recently deceased father to save someone named Alora. It turns out that Alora is a teen girl living in 2013 who is destined to be murdered.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Where did you get your inspiration for The Edge of Forever? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The original spark came when I was driving one day and heard a song on the radio, If I Die Young by The Band Perry. I was also thinking about an old time travel movie from the 1980’s, Somewhere in Time.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Did you have a favorite character in The Edge of Forever, or a character you took a particular liking to? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really identify with Grace. She’s super protective of Alora, and I’m the same way with my children.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Do you plan on doing anything else with the characters of The Edge of Forever? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes! There will be a sequel.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. How do you get in the zone while writing? Do you listen to music? Do you have anything you need to have nearby? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can’t listen to music while writing, but I often listen to a few songs that set the tone for a scene I’m going to write. I also like having chocolate nearby.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7. Do you have a dream cast for if The Edge of Forever if it were to become a movie?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I’ve always pictured AnnaSophia Robb as Alora and Josh Hutcherson as Bridger. I also think Kim Basinger would be great as Alora’s Aunt Grace.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8. What is the best writing advice you have ever received, and the worst? Do you have any writing advice for future writers? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best writing advice: Don’t chase trends. Worst writing advice: Only write what you know. Writing advice for future writers: For years, I said I’d write a book when I had more time, and that never really happened. It was only when I started making time to write that I actually finished a book. You don’t have to spend hours each day writing. It’s amazing how much you can achieve with small blocks of time.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9. Was there a specific time in your life when you realized that you wanted to become a writer? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was during my middle school years. I had two fantastic teachers who encouraged my writing, and that made me think I could possibly become an author one day.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10. Do you have any other projects that you are working on, or can you share some ideas you have for future books?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I’m currently working on The Edge of Forever’s sequel, On Through the Never. </span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">***GREAT BIG THANKS TO SKY PONY PRESS FOR A REVIEW COPY!***</span></div>
McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-54256745855834589402015-07-21T15:03:00.001-07:002015-07-21T15:03:20.247-07:00THE DARKEST LIGHT by Ashley Earley<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="400" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/2ZGToaev8XGRBfgxtp1AKTHJ_fTQYK7gOjSnUXUGqQj_HxiUEx4A_jlbp0zhVGyit0TkOqUKiO63RV1S-O6hWfPdTKy4h9UbK1gN_q_shyy_g0R61dTK7ySj2LpYOLd1fX-zsQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="259" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After discovering a secret her parents have kept from her all her life, Alyssa’s life begins to unravel, and she’s thrown into a magical world she never knew existed—one that’s both frightening and intriguing to her.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While trying to discover who she really is, and who her father was, she begins to see the darkness this unknown land holds, and fears becoming part of that darkness.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Torn between this new world, and the human world, Alyssa must make the ultimate decision between the possibility of losing herself forever to become part of it, or stay behind and let the world of Föld perish.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As if her life wasn’t complicated enough, she’s falling for two guys—that live in totally different worlds. Wesley and Archer couldn’t be more different, but they both have her captivated.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A battle is coming. Will Alyssa be forced to fight against the people she loves?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Filled with action, adventure, and romance, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Darkest Light</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> captivates from the start. As soon as you meet the protagonist, Alyssa, you fall into her life, and her world. She is fighting depression and still constantly thinking of her father, who died in a car crash, and you can’t help but feel bad for her unfortunate situation. Her mother, in an attempt to help Alyssa regain her equilibrium, brings her to Alyssa’s grandmother’s house.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which is how Alyssa finds out about Föld. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Föld was a beautifully written world, full of elves, dragons, and other magical beings. If I could relate this to another book that I have read, I would say it resembled fablehaven in a lot of ways (which was a favorite of mine when I was younger). In Föld, Alyssa finds out all about her destiny. Being part elf, she is welcomed into Föld, but in order to be fully accepted she has to go through a choosing, where she can either be chosen by the elves that fight and strive for darkness, or the elves that fight for the light.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I thoroughly enjoyed reading </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Darkest Light.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The romance was innocent and adorable, and the action was intense and heart-pounding. I did, however, find the genre to be a little confusing and misleading.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While reading this book, I found that it more closely resembled a middle grade book. There were no swear words. The romance was almost as innocent as it could get (few kisses here and there, but none too intense or descriptive) and it was an easier read. Only until the last one hundred or so pages, where it started to become a little more Young Adult when some swear words started popping up(d-word, s-word, nothing too bad.) So I would say it’s an easier, relaxing YA book, or a Middle Grade for more mature readers who are okay with a few swear words.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The last thing that I would say about </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Darkest Light</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is that it is a good book when you are looking to escape your current reality, but don’t want to invest yourself with something extreme of a book. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="72px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_PalOdxbw3uNOm-JgCf5RDADxBR5DuXaexReOpUwR_S_J7jl6cdteFtihuE_92QTHwBja69PazHUXCztFOGcs9FtDFFELXzRDdG7ltAm0UxfoYssQicidgLagkBhX7mz8zMlng" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="374px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">***GREAT BIG THANKS TO ASHLEY EARLEY FOR A REVIEW COPY***</span></div>
McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-45419443213083932662015-07-13T18:00:00.000-07:002015-08-06T19:29:47.061-07:00SUICIDE NOTES FROM BEAUTIFUL GIRLS by Lynn Weingarten<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="346px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Ar_fbqSmM--i9Tw7Pt9cKcfbuIh21R02IH0K8eaF_VIa38LjJlXsRz0GzaJPsj9VLAL29s0tD4ps9KMXBmUjV3YIloj5hSghWGPtAdt1gNjTta6pto-RpmCoIddv1zPvmWFLug" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="231px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pitched as Gone Girl meets Thirteen Reasons Why</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">June barely has time to mourn the death of her best friend Delia, before Delia's ex-boyfriend convinces her Delia was murdered, and June is swept into a tangle of lies, deceit, and conspiracy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The very beginning of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> seemed very promising and mysterious. There were so many twists, turns, and leads that it was almost dizzying, and I liked trying to figure out for myself just what had happened to June’s (mostly former) best friend, Delia. If there was one good thing about this book, it would be the beginning and how put together the plot seemed to be. There were a lot of different things going on, but it all seemed to fit together and make sense, creating this beautiful mystery that just begged to be solved. But then while I loved this aspect, there were just too many things about this particular book that I did not like.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Throughout the book, June has some flashbacks of her and Delia’s past together. It was here that I found out that I </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">really </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">don’t like Delia. For one, she is in plenty of ways a terrible friend. But June still loves her (she acted kind of like a lost puppy for the majority of the book), because she relies on Delia for everything. Delia can sabotage June all she wants, because she knows that June will just take it and still like her. Second, she was super creepy. She thought things that just weren’t right, weren’t normal, and I know that was the point but she seemed dangerous and it caused her to be the bad friend described above. For the sake of spoilers, I won’t go any further into that.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another thing that I didn’t like about this book was </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all of the swearing</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Especially the f-bombs. Those were out of control. I literally felt like there was one on every page, especially where Delia was concerned. So if you have a sensitivity to language, then I definitely wouldn’t recommend this read.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, I mark this down as a very dark and mature read. There is sexual content - the fade to black kind without any detail, but in every case it was too weird or wrong for it to be romantic in any way. The language was already discussed above as really strong, and I didn’t find any characters to be good role models.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I give this book 2 stars.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="83px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/bPpUYiv-BbK4-XEWR9T1Kse3CAkD8wjAwNqQfTIr0A8jU0TdLVzd_i3s4fKTTQ1mCe8f9kRBDHaDakeYsdoIrVWXDvWTuVt0z3wXOrkq1tj7aB0K9XEpH72R-pKc6BDWvRMtmg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="86px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="81px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/rlePEszcn6t4jSGc11vQkvSt-YhBMR73VYLl7Xi90yOHx3X9FHU3kdhr8Cl-TuCUOdHQcis2Vwxfaasr45snpdcImTgorQbSWE_CGCwb66V1-2IvC9zB2a0YQqILc8yszFR05A" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="85px;" /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">***GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO SIMON PULSE FOR A REVIEW COPY***</span></div>
McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-17924755462121349002015-07-09T10:40:00.002-07:002015-08-06T19:30:12.377-07:00OUT OF CONTROL by Sarah Alderson<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Q-k3rUpheqr2J1Xak56hxcc0697UQndEFWEJc_-cOzdY86O_Mb-sJHHK55HCiSfmGUlpI2eg_Q0sC7uUudp9X517k_6rCsP7yG-RlNOBbBQL5Vu6XPjBBsiqDsOLrJT78cSOEag" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="265" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When 17 year old Liva witnesses a brutal murder she’s taken into police custody for her own protection. But when the police station is attacked and bullets start flying it becomes clear that Liva is not just a witness, she’s a target.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Together with a car thief called Jay, Liva manages to escape the massacre but now the two of them are alone in New York, trying to outrun and outwit two killers who will stop at nothing to find them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you live on the edge, there’s a long way to fall.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yay, the first review of The Two Week Thriller! I know it’s late, but I will be getting plenty of reviews up in the next couple of days, now that I once again have internet. On to the review!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Out of Control</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> stuck true to it’s title. There was a lot of things that were just... out of control! The story was unbelievable in it’s craziness - but in the end, it made sense and was definitely possible. It wasn’t </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">too</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> far fetched, but it was definitely chaotic (in the best way possible!)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We start out with meeting our main character Liva, who is in the police department as a witness to a murder. When a man dressed as a police officer comes in and shoots the department out, she helps Jay (who was in for car theft) escape safely. It becomes immediately clear that Liva is a good girl who has never done anybody any harm, even though the fact that she is being stalked and shot at says differently. Both Jay and Liva team up after the massacre, when they find out that it isn’t over for either of them - especially not Liva.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book spans over a twenty four hour period, where all the while Jay and Liva must avoid detection until her father, who works with a government agency that focuses on human trafficking, to fly in from Nigeria in the morning. But the people after both of them are good at tracking, and they don’t go down without a fight.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book was a great mixture of action and adventure, mystery, and romance. While being constantly scared for Liva and Jay and wondering what was going on, I was half of the time dwelling on their relationship. Jay was so attractive, and such a great guy - always looking for the good in people, and all he ever wanted in life is to help people out. Isn’t it enough that he is protecting Liva while blood thirsty murderers are on her tail? WHY WOULDN’T THEY LOVE EACH OTHER? Patience was key there, I’m afraid.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, I don’t feel like I can say a lot more about this book. Going any further would probably be a spoiler. So all I will say is read it, because it kept me guessing and I </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">never </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">would have saw that ending coming. As for your final reason - Jay and Liva are worth it. They are both amazing characters, and made me want to be a better person. So go pick it up!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="102px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/e79cl2BlKJn3E9N9j2CP-00rkfKfQLLnTrp0BNlEWlAzbnQTyMXSMqgaWG7MOjEr8abpyQyMCqSv2vMCP4_8XKnriC7iP1nqAZ5qAT9pa23MC1bx9e_PjiX_giTc0ZQmkxNx2TY" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="107px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="101px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/jM3er2mDSWocBS-cYeXEKkWAgQHY8QoqIFExdJYlPeSsgKZ5YjdOWMO5xNXd7Nmyvz890RrSQaWNNTVceljO-Ctu784ufZwXc0k7C7bfcHaV0iOTyRMhK_-roi20pccG79gue9k" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="105px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="103px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/lgtseNYFcxFP8OuLkTnrWdodsk-U5DbZPXIEiAN8GIH3FP2V-soBCL0mnsVuDZ81_lt8oSsH8xr0DHeyg_krMhn6jCm7D-tqHiC_aRieQVyw2KuP94dRDjawccF_2v6ENrT7XpU" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="108px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="102px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/LAziwl7JK1X3ftRaK5jPv-L9sOf0uykJLYEfWbxw2z_tYq8wS5CTCFutAyLczBIV3N6tM1MrVS3NF0mant5j1_jG-Dp-EON2WKNaQrF6950mKs6i0fyKxJ-ThOY7qwq517-fdg0" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="107px;" /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">***GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO SIMON PULSE FOR A REVIEW COPY***</span></div>
McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-65327781345984990512015-06-27T17:08:00.002-07:002015-06-27T17:11:15.124-07:00Upcoming Two Week Thriller!<img height="480" src="https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/13J89TI2YUqkV6Qvax1VPKCVz2XwJcwUgtyZQ92I1Jlg/pub?w=960&h=720" width="640" /><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exciting news! This is the first announcement for my upcoming Two Week Thriller! During these two weeks, I will only be reading Thrillers, or Thriller-esque books. A few of my followers have been wanting me to read more suspenseful books, and I thought that was a great idea! After all, I have only been running Book Believer during the Summery months, which means I have been reading a great deal of contemporaries. </span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-8446bc7c-377e-48c5-4e19-39f50dfac20e"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s some titles that I plan to read and review for The Two Week Thriller!</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-8446bc7c-377e-48c5-4e19-39f50dfac20e"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin: </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It can.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She's wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The truth about Mara Dyer's dangerous and mysterious abilities continues to unravel in the New York Times bestselling sequel to the thrilling The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.She can't. She used to think her problems were all in her head. They aren't. She couldn't imagine that after everything she's been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets. She's wrong. In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She should.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She will now.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Retribution has arrived.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Three Reluctant Promises by Kierstin Marquet:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whoever heard of a kidnapper with a sense of honor?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Illegal immigrant Tommy Ramirez takes odd jobs to make ends meet after a car crash leaves him and his sisters orphaned. A bad day becomes a nightmare, when he discovers kidnapped girls in the back of his semi-truck. A victim's mother enlists his help to free the girls, and she is mortally wounded in the attempt. Bound by honor, Tommy makes three promises to her. Dodging death, deportation, and dyslexia, Tommy knows he can’t keep his word by himself. When he makes a desperate grab for help—literally—Ashten Mason, a cop’s spitfire daughter, doesn’t come willingly.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Three Stupid Lies by Kierstin Marquet:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How could trying to do the right thing turn out so wrong?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 'Three Reluctant Promises' stunning sequel, Ashten Mason is determined to help her magazine-cover-handsome kidnapper. Tommy Ramirez might've risked his life to save hers, but lying to her police father and the FBI about their relationship turns out to be the stupidest thing Ashten has ever done. Now the FBI think she's his accomplice, the hit men see her as bait for Tommy, and her dad thinks she has Stockholm Syndrome. If her dad finds out her secret - including how deep her feelings for the felon really are - Tommy might be safer seeking sanctuary with the hit men trying to kill him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Staying alive is a minute-by-minute challenge Tommy is seconds away from losing. Not sure if a raging flood or hitmen working for a powerful criminal syndicate will take him out. Tommy must dig deep to find the strength to survive. Crawling through hell to accomplish that and keeping the promises he made to a dying woman turns out to be easy compared to protect the cop's daughter he can't get out of his mind.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ruthless by Carolyn Lee. Adams: </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A spine-tingling debut about the ultimate game of cat-and-mouse in reverse as a teen struggles to retain hope—and her sanity—while on the run from a cunning and determined killer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ruth Carver has always competed like her life depends on it. Ambitious. Tough. Maybe even mean. It’s no wonder people call her Ruthless.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When she wakes up with a concussion in the bed of a moving pickup trick, she realizes she has been entered into a contest she can’t afford to lose.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At a remote, rotting cabin deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ruth’s blindfold comes off and she comes face-to-face with her captor. A man who believes his mission is to punish bad girls like Ruth. A man who has done this six times before.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other girls were never heard from again, but Ruth won’t go down easy. She escapes into the wilderness, but her hunter is close at her heels. That’s when the real battle begins. That’s when Ruth must decides just how far she’ll go in order to survive.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back home, they called her Ruthless. They had no idea just how right they were.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pitched as Gone Girl meets Thirteen Reasons Why</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">June barely has time to mourn the death of her best friend Delia, before Delia's ex-boyfriend convinces her Delia was murdered, and June is swept into a tangle of lies, deceit, and conspiracy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Out of Control by Sarah Alderson: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When 17 year old Liva witnesses a brutal murder she’s taken into police custody for her own protection. But when the police station is attacked and bullets start flying it becomes clear that Liva is not just a witness, she’s a target.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Together with a car thief called Jay, Liva manages to escape the massacre but now the two of them are alone in New York, trying to outrun and outwit two killers who will stop at nothing to find them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you live on the edge, there’s a long way to fall.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diary of a Haunting by M. Verano: </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Paige moves from LA to Idaho with her mom and little brother after her parents’ high-profile divorce, she expects to completely hate her new life, and the small town doesn’t disappoint. Worse yet, the drafty old mansion they’ve rented is infested with flies, spiders, and other pests Paige doesn’t want to think about.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She chalks it up to her rural surroundings, but it’s harder to ignore the strange things happening around the house, from one can of ravioli becoming a dozen, to unreadable words appearing in the walls. Soon Paige’s little brother begins roaming the house at all hours of the night, and there’s something not right about the downstairs neighbor, who knows a lot more than he’s letting on.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Things only get creepier when she learns about the sinister cult that conducted experimental rituals in the house almost a hundred years earlier.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The more Paige investigates, and the deeper she digs, the clearer it all becomes: whatever is in the house, whatever is causing all the strange occurrences, has no intention of backing down without a fight.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Found in the aftermath, Diary of a Haunting collects the journal entries, letters, and photographs Paige left behind.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am super exciting to read these books and review them all! Unfortunately, I will not be able to review each book right away because the first week of The Two Week Thriller will be spent on the Houseboat in the middle of Lake Powell. So while excited for this vacation, it obviously means that I won’t have any way to blog. For that reason, I plan to only read while on the houseboat, and then spam you all with reviews when I get back.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you follow my Instagram, you will soon find out that I am inviting all of you to join in The Two Week Thriller with me! You don’t need to read only Thrillers for two solid weeks with me, but if you end up reading even one Thriller then I would love to hear what you think! I will be featuring other people’s bookstagram pictures on my bookstagram as well, so definitely check out </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">@book_believer</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> tomorrow to get more information :)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All and all, I am ready to start! I think that it will be very fun to read some suspenseful books ;) See you all back in a week! I will miss you!</span></div>
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</span>McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-25630050127338108622015-06-26T15:27:00.002-07:002015-06-26T15:32:03.023-07:00MY LIFE NEXT DOOR by Huntley Fitzpatrick<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="My Life Next Door (My Life Next Door, #1)" height="400" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394240144l/12294652.jpg" width="265" /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.73879997253418; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time."</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-09575568-31fb-51bb-2b48-4afb1be5c2be"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase's family embraces Samantha - even as she keeps him a secret from her own. Then something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha's world. She's suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I first picked up this book, here is what I was expecting: Girl and boy meet, girl thinks boy is attractive, boy thinks girl is attractive, they get together, some dramatic happening that probably could have been solved if they had only talked, they make up finally, they kiss, and the audience screams and cries because though we have all seen it before, it was just so beautiful and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cute!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One or two of these expectations hit the target, but </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Life Next Door </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">surprised me with it’s moments of deepness, and it’s interesting plot twists. Think Anna and the French Kiss. The only way that I can really think to explain it is that It’s one of those books that you expected a little bit less and got a lot more.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Samantha was a wonderful character to read about. Sure, she was fortunate with money (her mother was plain rich) and from the outside, her life looks pretty amazing. After all, she works two respectable jobs, and her mother is state senator. But of course, it’s harder for Samantha than it looks. Her mother isn’t all that kind, and because of work, she was never home for Samantha. (And her sister hardly even existed throughout this whole book.) So Samantha was expected to work two jobs for the summer, and when her hours were done, to hole up in her house and wait for her mom. But Samantha didn’t demand pity - she knew that she was in a pretty good situation, by the world’s standards, and that she should be grateful for it. She has a natural curiosity that I admired as well, and throughout her life, a lot of that curiosity was focused on the Garretts.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved the Garretts family, probably because I belong to a similar one myself. My family has three less kids than them (the Garretts have eight) but it’s still quite the handful. But while it is, as the book itself says, loud and messy, we are also affectionate and loving for one another. It is definitely ridiculous at times, but I love being part of my huge family. You never run out of things to do, that’s for sure, and you’re never lonely. I think that’s what Samantha was seeing in the Garretts. But her mother, who I did not like, does not want Samantha to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ever</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> socialize with the Garretts. There are too many of them, and their lifestyle is too much to handle. In her mother’s eyes, Samantha is better than to slum it with them, but to Samantha… there’s a certain charm to the Garretts.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then we meet Jace. Jace was… perfect! Oh, I loved him. He was incredibly nice, and completely trusting of Samantha. He didn’t hold her back, and he loved all of her little quirks and astronomy facts she had stored in her head. To say the least, he adored her, and she adored him. Their romance was totally something to aspire to, and I loved being right there with them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BUT THEN! The ending drama. Reading through other reviews of this book, I found that a lot of reviewers didn’t like the above mentioned drama. But I guess I am just my mother’s daughter. I love a healthy dose of drama, and it only added to the oh-so-beautiful ending. You just can’t do contemporary without drama, don’t you think?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, I loved this book. Very easy, but still has it’s thought provoking moments. I give it four very cute stars!</span></div>
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</span>McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-1047185717888125462015-06-24T10:13:00.004-07:002015-06-24T10:29:38.512-07:00THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE by Leila Sales<div style="text-align: center;">
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" 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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.8; white-space: pre-wrap;">Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-eccef02a-268d-a9aa-da29-b37c29434cd0"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This Song Will Save Your Life</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-eccef02a-268d-a9aa-da29-b37c29434cd0"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This Song Will Save Your Life</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was an interesting read with a great message. Though I loved the message and honesty of the book, I wish there would have been more uniqueness in the writing, character, and sometimes, in the plot. The writing did not hit me as exceptional, but neither did I have a problem with it. Elise, on the other hand, I felt like I had met a thousand times. Not in her music obsession, it was much stronger than the majority of characters in Young Adult novels, as the book practically revolves around it (which you can probably assume by the title) but in how she acted, she definitely felt familiar to me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elise just wanted to have attention. Isn’t that what most teenagers want? We all want to feel loved, and we all want to feel appreciated. That was why, though my heart did ache for Elise, I felt like it was too familiar. She didn’t have any weird quirks, she wasn’t funny, she wasn’t serious, she was just...Elise. (Which maybe was the point, but I always like defining characteristics in a character.) The beginning made sure to make a point of this by taking a while (maybe a little bit longer than I would have liked) expressing this fact. And I don't mean to be insensitive by saying this. I know that it is hard to be bullied in school, but in this book I was definitely striving for her to find what she was really destined for, and to find acceptance in herself.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There were, however, some aspects that I really liked about this book. For the first thing, I loved the message. That message being that only you really know who you are, and you need to love and accept yourself. And then, after you have learned to do this, other people will, too. It is a message I believe we have all been told at least once before, but it’s one of those things we should be reminded of constantly.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another thing that I did like about </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This Song Will Save Your Life</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was the brutal honesty of it. There were pieces of the book that you really didn’t appreciate happening, but at the same time it was a lot closer to reality than what you wanted to happen. For the sake of not giving spoilers, I will just leave it at that.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In conclusion, I give </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This Song Will Save Your Life</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> three stars because it was worth the read, but I don’t put it among my favorites.</span></div>
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</span>McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-45413006993939420852015-06-19T20:28:00.002-07:002015-06-19T20:28:51.931-07:00P.S. I STILL LOVE YOU by Jenny Han<span id="docs-internal-guid-5e04534f-0f01-2acb-0ad2-d84573ce9ffb"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lara Jean didn’t expect to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">really</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> fall for Peter.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">New York Times</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bestseller </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To All the Boys I've Loved Before</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of my very favorite contemporary books of all time is </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I also really enjoyed Jenny Han’s </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Summer I Turned Pretty</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. To say I was anxiously awaiting </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">P.S. I Still Love You</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is an understatement - some days, I felt like the only thing I was doing was waiting for this book. And I wasn’t disappointed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved coming back to the characters. Lara Jean, her family, and her friends are all very interesting characters that I love to read about. And another plus to this book was the drama, which I feel was bigger than the first book. My life as a high schooler really isn’t like Lara Jean’s high school life, very different actually, but at the same time it was not</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> too</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> far fetched to believe. Her and Peter were cute as ever, though it was a little bit different because they were </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">really</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> together, and not just faking it. Sometimes I actually thought they were cuter when they were faking it, but of course I was rooting for them to be in a committed relationship since square one. That was, until this </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">new boy </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">came into the picture.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, I know, it’s exasperating. JUST STAY WITH PETER. I felt this way when I first found out that it was only going to be Peter in the picture. I didn’t like the idea of having Lara Jean liking a boy while she was liking Peter, but Peter was being pretty frustrating at the time and I found that I sort of supported the relationship with this “new boy”. I maybe even started to root for them a little bit… though I always prefer when a relationship has to be worked for then just pure and happy (in books, anyway), and this boy is exactly what was needed to add in that extra tension.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only things that I didn’t like about this book - I kind of felt like it took a little longer than I was expecting to get good. I don’t exactly know why. There were instances that should have been exciting, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I did start to get excited again after a little while, so it wasn’t like it wasn’t worth reading, but it did take a little longer than I expected it would, being the second book and all.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the end, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">P.S. I Still Love You</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.3333333333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> did not disappoint. I loved the cuteness. I loved Lara Jean, I loved Peter. Well, for the most part I loved Peter ;)</span></div>
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</span></span>McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-84035214131389021182015-06-09T15:59:00.002-07:002015-06-11T14:47:17.807-07:00JOYRIDE by Anna Banks<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="417px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/z9ne95L2kKZwacF38yifo-yzt3hekNO2uxhj2iK2YC9JjjI7uTcCA-PcXpBmfvWLTpo_gRZvmDlwGgMfQzR4lqFPU8BIrC2C9Hz5QpopOHilFf-K5ELYtzmR1nY5AnGA3DwE5w" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="279px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other—in this sparkling standalone from NYT-bestselling author Anna Banks.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s been years since Carly Vega’s parents were deported. She lives with her brother, studies hard, and works at a convenience store to contribute to getting her parents back from Mexico.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He dated popular blondes and had fun with his older sister, Amber. But now Amber’s dead, and Arden blames his father, the town sheriff who wouldn’t acknowledge Amber's mental illness. Arden refuses to fulfill whatever his conservative father expects.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All Carly wants is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to NOT do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they’ve been living according to others. Carly and Arden’s journey toward their true hearts—and one another—is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joyride!</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> It was nothing like I was expecting - it was </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">better </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">than I expecting! Let me share my love on this beautiful novel with you all. Starting, of course, with the romance.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The romance was a total love hate in the beginning. And by this I mean, Arden was captivated by Carly, and Carly wanted NOTHING to do with Arden. And let me just admit it now - I love these type of romances. They add so much tension and make me root for the romance that much more. And it didn’t hurt that I was totally in love with Arden’s character either :)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carly was an interesting character herself. Her parents had been deported back to Mexico years ago, and since then her and her brother Julio have been working hard in able to get the money needed to get them back into America. Carly puts all of her work into saving money for her parents, and studying for school in hopes of earning a scholarship. She can’t remember the last time she got up and hand fun, or did something for herself. She tries her hardest to stay under the radar, since what she is doing is illegal, but it is no longer as easy for her as soon as Arden comes into the equation.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So when Arden, one of the most popular boys in school, starts to show an interest in her, Carly isn’t too fond of the idea of getting close. In fact, she shows just how she feels about him by dumping her lunch all over poor Arden.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But as she and Arden start to talk and hang out more, things start changing. She no longer wants to punch him when she sees his face, and Arden is falling just as hard. But it will take more than attraction to get them through with a surviving romance. The pathway to a happy romance for them is full of obstacles, but together they are determined to make it happen. Because Arden feels that Carly is filling a part of him that he lost when Amber died, and he showed Carly that it’s okay to have fun and do things that YOU want to do every once in a while.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To put in my personal opinion, I loved this theme. I am often one to push myself too hard, and I think that teenagers do need to realize that there is only so much that they can do. We (and not just teenagers) all need to have fun and do things for ourselves every once in a while! It’s important to be motivated and get our tasks done, but it isn’t ever bad to destress.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall opinion - I loved the romance in this book, and it had a lot more action than I was expecting. Sometimes it was downright scary. I definitely recommend this book. A lot.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 18.6666666666667px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FOUR AND A HALF CARS!!!! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Get it, because it’s called Joyride? And that smart car is a half of a car, yes.)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**Great big Thank You to Macmillan Publishing for an ARC of this book!** </span></div>
McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-7981732088834868362015-06-06T09:18:00.004-07:002015-06-11T14:47:42.718-07:00THE SUMMER OF CHASING MERMAIDS by Sarah Ockler<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="465px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/A4Mx0uxluxTUMIWxvAhZPrmvu4zvJCiKEoHUNxAnuk2v3hAKJwlD1_W8AYt9eNUs_m7P1G4R5Og91UXtdgLEsSnEXCIc2DLU072fX4Tk63xqiF_7OcvSJEZTFI7w6GKbW_atXg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="310px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The youngest of six talented sisters, Elyse d’Abreau was destined for stardom—until a boating accident took everything from her. Now, the most beautiful singer in Tobago can’t sing. She can’t even speak.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seeking quiet solitude, Elyse accepts a friend’s invitation to Atargatis Cove. Named for the mythical first mermaid, the Oregon seaside town is everything Elyse’s home in the Caribbean isn’t: An ocean too cold for swimming, parties too tame for singing, and people too polite to pry—except for one.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christian Kane is a notorious playboy—insolent, arrogant, and completely charming. He’s also the only person in Atargatis Cove who doesn’t treat Elyse like a glass statue. He challenges her to express herself, and he admires the way she treats his younger brother Sebastian, who believes Elyse is the legendary mermaid come to life. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Christian needs a first mate for the Cove’s high-stakes Pirate Regatta, Elyse reluctantly stows her fear of the sea and climbs aboard. The ocean isn’t the only thing making waves, though—swept up in Christian’s seductive tide and entranced by the Cove’s charms, Elyse begins to wonder if a life of solitude isn’t what she needs. But changing course again means facing her past. It means finding her inner voice. And scariest of all, it means opening her heart to a boy who’s best known for breaking them . . . </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A couple years ago, I made friends with a girl in my gym class who never talked. At first I thought that she, Emily, was just shy, but I soon learned that she had a speech impediment that she was very self conscious about. She wouldn’t talk to me verbally, but I eventually I got to the point where I could read a lot of her motions and the looks in her eyes. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book reminded me a lot of that experience. Though unlike Emily, Elyse didn’t have a speech impediment. She completely could not talk. I felt bad for her for a lot of the book, but it definitely made the book new and interesting. Sometimes I feel that authors put too much faith into the characters dialogue to show you who the character is. It works most of the time, but sometimes the emotion that also helps to tell a character's story is left out to make room for more dialogue. With Elyse, I felt like I got to know the deepest parts of her because all I could read were her emotions, actions, and thoughts. Another person who did that for Elyse was Christian.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christian was a lovable character - charming and attractive, but much more caring and understanding than one would expect from the Cove’s “Scoundrel”. He was wholly sweet to his brother, and was basically a father to the young Sebastian. After all, their biological father wasn’t very good to them, and Christian felt the need to step in.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved Christian, but I did have a slight problem with him - sometimes Christian would pass that point of legally perfect. He could read practically everything Elyse mouthed and the looks in her eyes (and come on, that’s hard to do) and he never got mad, along with a lack of weakness. Sometimes he was just too perfect to be real for me, and I always like to have a healthy dose of “real” in my characters.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But overall, it was a wonderful story of broken hearts and healing, finding your voice, and expressing yourself. Elyse showed me that while painful things happen, it can always get better, and that we always need to express ourselves and not let ourselves go unheard. Sarah made a beautiful speech in her acknowledgments about this. If you want to read this book, I would definitely recommend reading that last note in the acknowledgments as well.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Summer of Chasing Mermaids </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was definitely worth the read! I give it four stars and recommend it, especially to you ocean lovers ;)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="80px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Sn3DPdjmKSGCYoxpnIR-8aCjK-79Ga-nZnK3sKViI3Qg9a1nC7Z5dLgkVUGz5r8brkP54ixbz2ru6-TRTCJBZuNY7_-9_NwCetNeqSiB7jZyHlAdHAnIPHjqqKGGHRnI6jRn2g" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="417px;" /></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 27px;">***GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO SIMON PULSE FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK***</span></span></div>
McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-69281771613916366942015-06-02T14:31:00.000-07:002015-06-02T14:31:33.880-07:00THE HEIR by Kiera Cass<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="387px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/YeRc03-dQBbkTUbA0D8gOZ_8i_YmSyyGNwz4tTteLktsFy0huqLgRYzkJWp5NW3GGztvsVKslaMi0-6q3uXRVAzCmmE8HY9YuXBQ5UOGi8UgAWN1OVe18ZkthtvXDi8WtXBsbw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="255px;" /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon—and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she'd put off marriage for as long as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But a princess's life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can't escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eadlyn doesn't expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn's heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The very first thing that comes to my mind when somebody mentions </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Heir </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is how bratty Eadlyn is. She’s entitled, self centered, and pretentious. Basically, the opposite of what I was expecting when I thought about what sweet Maxon and America’s baby would be like (their other children, however, were a lot closer to what I imagined). But Eadlyn was always complaining about how she has to be the queen in the future and not her brothers, and that she has it the worst. She also likes to constantly remind us that she is the most powerful person in the country. But I guess after you get over her character, there are some things to like about this book...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Something that I liked more about this book than the rest of The Selection series - it wasn’t incredibly predictable. There were parts in the first books where Cass would try to throw me off, but the whole time I knew what was going to happen. In this book, I didn’t have a clue for even a minute. I still don’t know. And while I like it more when it isn’t predictable, I think that it springs from a lack of romance (This book is mostly a build up for the next, I believe) there were hinting clues to a romance, but Eadlyn is dead set on not falling in love. I love an independant woman, but she needs to let people help her - she was always contradicting herself. She has too much on her shoulders and she can’t handle all the pressure on her own, but she doesn’t want to have help because ‘she can do it herself.’</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I only give this book for 3.5 stars, but only because I wasn’t all that entertained by it. However I do recognize that this is mostly a build up for the second book, so I’m not discouraging anybody from reading it. I do have higher hopes for the next book in the series. I understand that it isn’t that fun going through books that are just a build up for a later installment, but I encourage all to read it for that sole purpose.</span></div>
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<img height="90px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/L_ASOBIj91PD5BA1Co1GSPnveF5GPtc542ic7btYvUgvPuCrnP4tUs1GhXE1FKT2SuAkdUfFwRn95-jOngC-RVnxUeTB04f6nyOp1iot3BvKZzeFBI2uL1P5PkvtbaD8UD0hQA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; transform: rotate(0rad); white-space: pre-wrap;" width="366px;" /></div>
McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-16529778159588256532015-05-26T17:55:00.000-07:002015-05-26T18:39:37.734-07:00LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE by Gina Ciocca<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="346px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/B4IqBZ32Yhv08vaE00KBofhPLTf1BFpXXPJhCSPyRdX4P05v96nesU1UbXUjKnnS6ZC2-nHrQ9oFuIWe5slmcRYhkecKVz0G05nJj6LSx_4WuxT16NL3r0YqxtBf8shNPUKnCA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="230px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kelsey and David became best friends the summer before freshman year and were inseparable ever after. Until the night a misunderstanding turned Kelsey into the school joke, and everything around her crumbled—including her friendship with David. So when Kelsey's parents decided to move away, she couldn't wait to start over and leave the past behind. Except, David wasn't ready to let her go...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now it's senior year and Kelsey has a new group of friends, genuine popularity, and a hot boyfriend. Her life is perfect. That is, until David's family moves to town and he shakes up everything. Soon old feelings bubble to the surface and threaten to destroy Kelsey's second chance at happiness. The more time she spends with David, the more she realizes she never truly let him go. And maybe she never wants to.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First thing you need to know about this book - it’s one of those books that makes you work for what you want. I’m not kidding. Have you ever read one of those books where you go through a couple of hundred pages just so that you can get an outcome? This is one of those books.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kelsey and David were well written characters. They were real in the sense that they had strengths, weaknesses, and good background stories. I felt bad for David immediately, at least until he came in and started to act like a jerk (which of course only encouraged Kelsey to act like a jerk as well.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To say the least, it was exhausting reading their many jabs back at each other. One second they’re best friends and hugging it out, and then they’re really mad at each other again and trying to be the one who hurts the other the most. From the very beginning of the book, it mentioned that something had happened in their past that was making their relationship this complicated. But after getting to that point, it wasn’t as painful of a memory as I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a truly terrible thing that had happened, but mostly it just made me roll my eyes. It was simple teenage drama, basically, and my biggest problem with this book. But I suppose I can’t hate too hard - I know, as a teenage girl myself, that we can be pretty ridiculous. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> My second biggest problem was how often they threatened to shove each other out of their lives, when supposedly they “loved” each other. If you love somebody, wouldn’t you want them in your life no matter what? Even if you weren’t with them? Maybe wait for each other? But it could just be a character defining moment, and it wasn’t too far fetched. If somebody had hurt me a lot I would most likely try to distance myself as well.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, I loved the emotion and I liked the ending. The pain was good as well. Call me masochistic, but I like when the feels are physically painful while I am reading. Crazy, I know, but that’s how it is.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s my first complicated rating! It was better than 3.5 stars but maybe not as good as 4 stars, so somewhere around 3.8-3.9 stars.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="159px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/VFAd_bJyQUVbCueYgXhBiFI_bPNhDQQYtz_nMYeFa3p3LNWFdeDkPoa6kGLZKjiC1qiaHdwZOy-MtmOak_96LxJV2q3FkDbPU8dJdB_f7qRWH2RUFWTjPiNh4zIZc1NCrys4hw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="583px;" /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">***GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO SIMON PULSE FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK***</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span>McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-12528672430596640932015-05-22T07:20:00.000-07:002015-05-22T07:20:13.184-07:00BETTER OFF FRIENDS by Elizabeth Eulberg<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="350px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Tmxbw4kENAh9LQlVQkG0hCJEvaMRSWJY-CJ__G45b5iD55y4FS01eLSpg_DoQB4rVzSu_dwp5qxBVUt48OIK0Byo-u9iR_i014V6UBe3kD5isLitD6PLnVI3I4oXr8Z-8SUug" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="228px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can’t be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan’s friends. They are platonic and happy that way.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eventually they realize they’re best friends — which wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t keep getting in each other’s way. Guys won’t ask Macallan out because they think she’s with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can’t help but wonder . . . are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From romantic comedy superstar Elizabeth Eulberg comes a fresh, fun examination of a question for the ages: Can guys and girls ever really be just friends? Or are they always one fight away from not speaking again — and one kiss away from true love?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the very beginning of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Better Off Friends</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I was nervous that it would be a seventh/eighth grade romance novel the whole way through, falling more under the genre of an eye roller than a YA contemporary. But I was pleasantly surprised by what Eulberg did with this book - instead of having Macallan and Levi meet for the first time at age sixteen or seventeen and deciding that they liked each other, it starts way back in seventh grade, where their friendship first begins. They are strictly friends for years, though in eighth grade some romantic tension starts to develop (only slightly) but it was there nonetheless. Considering the only real crush I have ever had was in eighth grade, I was able to relate to this. Oh, eighth grade romances.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now let’s talk about the characters. As I have mentioned before, I am a very character motivated reader. If a book has an iffy plot but wonderful characters, I like the book. And Macallan and Levi didn’t disappoint. They were very real to me, and I loved how their weaknesses were shown and mentioned just as much as their strengths were. They weren’t “made for each other” nor were they attracted to one another simply because of looks. They liked each other because they knew each other and they liked who they were. Of course they had occasional problems, as to be expected from any relationship, but they worked it out eventually. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aside from being relatable, I felt that both characters were great protagonists and role models. Macallan and Levi had a respectable relationship that was definitely something to aspire to. After all, I have always thought it better to be friends before pursuing a romantic relationship. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One last thing that really did it for me with this book - the lack of profanity. I'm not a big fan of strong language (and strong for me may be considered mild for many others) but because I read Young Adult novels, it's only be expected that I would run into a lot of profanity in what I read. If I am remembering correctly, this book had a complete lack of such language. Along with this, the jokes remained pure (with the exception of two mildly mature cracks) and funny. I never once felt uncomfortable during the reading of this book.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All and all, I loved this book. I would give it five stars if it had had a bit more substance and originality. But because it was a lot like other books that I have read in this genre, I have to give it four stars. It may have just been that I have been in desperate need for a lot of fluff novels lately (for whatever reason) that I liked it so much, but nonetheless, it was an entertaining read.</span></div>
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McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1326690224391696770.post-66271143147621909342015-05-11T20:20:00.004-07:002015-05-11T21:46:28.640-07:00LOVE, LUCAS by Chantele Sedgwick<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="374px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PtS-TOL4R463aARPkTloqIkq_Ocryj8mc9cl3gqTJNJERPIf4aOuzF3Kh0GhkCHTyPjlNPPSDkS4-1vgNU8LPAo5JTRnN_vbjRGUWgD2qlHM8iPdNvWAmwd3TgIck3II0UuvlQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="250px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>A powerful story of loss, second chances, and first love, reminiscent of Sarah Dessen and John Green.</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Oakley Nelson loses her older brother, Lucas, to cancer, she thinks she’ll never recover. Between her parents’ arguing and the battle she’s fighting with depression, she feels nothing inside but a hollow emptiness. When Mom suggests they spend a few months in California with Aunt Jo, Oakley isn’t sure a change of scenery will alter anything, but she’s willing to give it a try.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">In California, Oakley discovers a sort of safety and freedom in Aunt Jo’s beach house. Once they’re settled, Mom hands her a notebook full of letters addressed to her—from Lucas. As Oakley reads one each day, she realizes how much he loved her, and each letter challenges her to be better and to continue to enjoy her life. He wants her to move on.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">If only it were that easy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">But then a surfer named Carson comes into her life, and Oakley is blindsided. He makes her feel again. As she lets him in, she is surprised by how much she cares for him, and that’s when things get complicated. How can she fall in love and be happy when Lucas never got the chance to do those very same things?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With her brother’s dying words as guidance, Oakley knows she must learn to listen and trust again. But will she have to leave the past behind to find happiness in the future?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This book broke my heart apart and then pieced it back together. It may have been that it hit me personally, because just a year ago I had my grandpa pass away from cancer. So while it was a little painful to read, it was also very heartwarming in the end. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first two hundred pages, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love, Lucas </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was 3.5 stars for me - the writing wasn’t incredibly exceptional, and the characters were alright. It was sad and I connected with Oakley, but I wasn’t feeling anything too special between us. But it was good enough to keep me reading until around page 215, and then....WOW.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next seventy pages amazed me. Sedgwick perfectly captures Oakley’s hopelessness, and I repeatedly had to look away from the book and air my eyes out because they were about to spill over and birth a river. And I’m not a big book crier - I am easily upset, but I don’t often cry or get so close. But the feelings from Oakley were so real, from the hopelessness turning into hope, and all of the words that were exchanged were so precious and perfect. Oh, and did I mention that her and Carson are total couple goals?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In those last seventy pages </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love, Lucas</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> jumped a whole star. That would make this book 4.5 stars, therefore incredible. I learned a lot from Lucas while I read his letters to Oakley. I have always wanted a big brother, and while reading this book I felt like Lucas </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> my big brother. He gave me great advice, made me laugh, and made me tear up plenty of times. I’m tempted to write down all of his tips in a notebook and carry it around with me everywhere I go, but since I own the book I will just settle for that :)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> So do I recommend this book? Yes! Of course! And if you’re going to the beach anytime soon, I would especially recommend it!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">***If you would like to win a copy of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love, Lucas</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> go onto Instagram and enter my giveaway! My username is @book_believer. Giveaway ends on the 13th of May***</span></div>
McKennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282758472242364729noreply@blogger.com1