The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Hello, friends. Just finished up Michelle Hodkin's debut novel, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, and I was not disappointed. First of all, check out this cover:

Isn't it pretty? And not only is it pretty, but it also feels pretty, kind of satiny smooth. Enough about the cover, here's the dish on the book itself.

I honestly didn't know what to expect from the book because I hadn't seen/read anything about it. I was intrigued by the cover (because yes, I do judge books by their covers) so I thought it would be a good read. The story itself is something many people can relate to. Mara is a teenage girl recovering from a tragic experience in a new town. From there, the story takes on a more psychological exploration of how she deals with her previous trauma as well as adjusting to a new school, where she manages to ostracize herself from day one. The story takes a quirky turn into some supernatural elements that I was not really expecting. However, I probably should have expected them. They are slowly unraveled as the story progresses, sometimes almost too neatly. And the ending? There are really no clear answers at the end of the story, which pretty much ensures that there will be a sequel (yay!). Would I recommend it? Absolutely.

Now I'm trying to decide which of the hundreds of books I have I will read next. Any suggestions?
Until the next time, happy reading!

Back in the blog-o-sphere!

Hello friends. I am officially back in the blog-o-sphere and have just returned from this year's fabulous NCTE/ALAN conference with a huge pile of new books to read and review. First up is this book:

I received this book Friday and finished it Sunday. I definitely gobbled it up. First off, I was totally fasinated by this book because it is a combination of pictures and literature. From what I have heard, the author (Ransom Riggs) collected the photos then used them to write a story. Intriguing? Absolutely.

The photo/literature combination is well balanced throughout the book. I can definitely tell that a lot of planning went into the story because there were pictures later on in the story that just fit so well with where he took the story. Also, the story itself is fascinating. I won't give too many details, but basically it is all about a young man who finds himself as he realizes that sometimes stories that seem fantastical can come true. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found that I couldn't put it down. Some of the pictures are a little creepy (and they are actual vintage photos the author collected from others), and initially I chose this book first because of that. Here are a few:

          

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in a good story.

Next up? The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. So far, so good.

Until next time, happy reading!

Nightstand full of books...

Hello all. Shockingly enough, I have finished another book. Today I finished Kathryn Stockett's The Help. Now I've heard a lot of things about the book and the movie, so I had to find out what it was like for myself. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. 
Who would have thought that a book about writing a book would be so enthralling? I think the reason why it's so good is that each character is captured so well. The book is narrated from three different characters' viewpoints, and they are each so different in their own ways. And no book is complete with a villain, and let me tell you, I know plenty of Hilly Holbrooks that are still around today.
I did make one mistake, though, and that was reading this book in my office. I definitely teared up a few times and thought, "Oh my goodness, I hope no one comes in to ask about an assignment." I understand now why so many people say that the movie makes them laugh, cry, and rage all at the same time. I feel like Stockett took a risk writing this book because of the time period.  She definitely captures that era well and all the tensions that were present. Her timing is fabulous and the lines well delivered. More than one time I found myself thinking, yep, I know exactly what she means.
Perhaps this book resonates so well because I am from the South and have lived here from birth. A lot of these old South manners are still in the fabric of my family (though not to the extent of this book, thank goodness) and I think that also helped me relate more strongly to the book. Overall, I would recommend it to anyone who's up for a good read that's not afraid to be brutally honest about a tumultuous time period.

Well, that's on book down from the pile of half read books I have. What to finish up next? I have three books I've half finished that I plan on finishing up (Clash of Kings, Dark and Hollow Places, and The Vampire Diaries). We'll see which one I get through next. Until then, happy reading!

Bloodlines Review

So I finished Bloodlines a few days ago. Let me say, I am completely satisfied with the book. All my favorite characters are present (Yes, we do get cameos from both Rose and Dmitri, although they do not appear at the same time). First of all, I love, love, love that we get more character development on Sydney. I was intrigued by her in the VA series, and she doesn't disappoint here either. Also, soooo happy to see Adrian getting more book time. I find myself rooting him on. As much as I liked when he was with Rose, I know they don't quite fit together as well as Rose and Dmitri. So for everyone who wants to see Adrian happy with someone? You might find yourself pretty satisfied by the end of the book. The premise of the story works well here, too. (Although I wonder if Mead has some connection to boarding schools since that seems to be where her characters always end up.)
Also, I must be slipping because I totally did not see the "villain" coming. Kudos to Mead for a good twist.
Next up on the reading list? I'm going to tackle The Help because I keep hearing how great it is. I don't want to see the movie before reading the book, so it's next in line.
Until next time, happy reading!

New book fun. Aaaahhhhh!

Just received this awesomeness in the mail today:

Just started reading Richelle Mead's new Vampire Academy spinoff, Bloodlines. I'm four chapters in and already super excited. More news to come later. Woot!

Musings on the Disneyfication of the World

Well, friends, I'm not dead. And my computer isn't either. But I have had a rather eventful summer, so my reading...well it didn't really happen. I think I might have finished three books this summer. Shameful, really. So I'm trying to get back on the bandwagon. Currently, I am about halfway through three books, so, I should be able to add three more soon. Yeah!
So anyway, in the meantime I thought I might throw out some random musings about various issues. Heck, some of them might even be literary. Woo hoo.
A few months ago, I attended the ACA/PCA conference, and I had a fantastic time. One of the sessions I went to was all about Disney princesses and whether or not they are a "good" thing. I have my own thoughts on that. Indulge me here.
I am not necessarily a fan of the Disneyfication of life. Think about it. Why do we let little girls grow up with a princess mentality? I am the first to admit I am guilty of this as both of my nieces adore Disney princesses and I do nothing to discredit them. But why introduce the idea of happily ever after when sometimes it's only that--an idea. There's a reason why early Disney stories end when the princess meets the prince.  After that, life happens and things can get ugly.
Let's look at a few examples. Take Aurora (you might know her better as Sleeping Beauty). Her prince kisses her and she wakes up. Hoorah! Riiiiight. (See the original story. Not so neat and tidy there.) She marries a guy she's never met because he kissed her? What happens after she gets to know him and he's a jerk who refuses to listen to anything she has to say? Then there's Cinderella. She meets the prince like, what, once? twice? After a little dancing she just knows he's the one? Really? Come on. Snow White-see Sleeping Beauty.
I know this probably makes me seem cynical, but I'm not. I'm just trying to be a realist here rather than an idealist. I do have to give Disney credit for some of the princesses though. You know, the ones who actually spend more than ten minutes with the prince before deciding to marry him. See: Ariel, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Belle, Mulan, Rapunzel, Tiana (I'm sure I'm missing others here, too. Feel free to add to the list). They get better with time, but the mentality of "the princess has to find her prince to be happy" is still there.
The point is, at some time we have to realize life isn't a Disney movie and that's not always easy. All is not flowers and rainbows and stars and ponies. Life is work, and relationships especially so. Disney never shows the after because that's too real. Besides, who wants to see Cinderella and her prince arguing over the castle budget? You know those mice don't work for cheap.

Anyway, just a few thoughts on Disney and life in general. Feel free to chime in with any of your own ideas, friends. And until next time, happy reading!

I AM still alive :)

Hi friends! I know, I know. It's been a short millenium since I last posted, but I am back for the summer. Woot! I plan on getting much reading accomplished in the next few months (since I still haven't read all the books I acquired at NCTE last year). Aaaaaaand, I have already started with the reading. Last week, I received (and read) the newest Sookie Stackhouse book, Dead Reckoning.

To be honest, I wasn't really thrilled with this book. Or the previous one for that matter. In some ways, I feel like maybe Charlaine is trying to connect with the show too much. Or maybe the show is warping my view of the books? I'm not sure. All I know is these two books have felt  more like filler than anything else. These are the lettuce and tomato, now I need some meat. I want a book like book 4 or the book with the hotel explosion. Now those were fabulous, well written works. I am hoping that the next book in the series will fill that book hole I have in this series. If not, I will continue to be dissatisfied (because who are we kidding? I'll still read the books just to see what happens). That being said, did I still fly through the book to see what happened? Yes. Did I still enjoy it? Pretty much. Can I help compare it to previous books in the series I enjoyed more? Negative. Sometimes it feels like she's trying to put in too much at one time to really get a good thing. We'll see what happens with the next one.

I'm also reading through two other books at the moment, Matched and Clash of Kings.I am very intrigued by the base storyline of Matched. In this society, every single thing is set in place for you. I just read one part where the society selected 100 songs/poems/paintings, etc. that they deemed the best and most worthy of study, then tossed out all the rest. Can you say eek! I am definitely interested to see where this book goes.

So what is everyone else reading? Anything I need to look into? Until next time, friends, happy reading!