So it's October....

I realize that this post is extremely over due, but I've been taking a break from blogging for various personal reasons. (Moving, School, and life in general as some examples.) I plan on really giving my self more time for reading for fun in the near future though, so I figured getting more active on the blog would be a good step.

Since it is October, I've seen that a lot of people have decided to read only Halloween/Horror this month. In general, I prefer reading, well, whatever. So the TBR pile for the rest of this month is mostly just what I have at the top of my pile.

1. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin


2. Burned by Ellen Hopkins (I ordered this one off of Amazon and I can't wait till it gets here!)


3. Nightsahde by Andrea Cremer


For now I think I'm going to try and be realistic and stick with these three for the rest of the month. Some others might sneak their way in here....but this is the meat of what I'll be reading this month. I've actually already started The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and it's really good so far. Except a review some time early next week. :)

Happy Reading!

--Alexis

Today is my birthday! Usually on Sundays I post an IMM, but I'm taking today to celebrate my birthday and, well, read. I plan on doing an IMM/Book Haul sort of thing later this week to talk about the books that I'm (hopefully) getting. I won a giveaway this week too, so that post is probably going to pretty lengthy and amazing. :) I hope you guys have had a good weekend!

Happy Reading!

--Alexis

Title: Choker
Author: Elizabeth Woods
Format: Hardback
Release Date: January 4th, 2011
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing
Source: Library
Pages In This Edition: 233
Rating: 4/5

On the Cover:

Beyond the Cover:

Summary from Goodreads:

"Sixteen-year-old Cara Lange has been a loner ever since she moved away from her best and only friend, Zoe, years ago. She eats lunch with the other girls from the track team, but they're not really her friends. Mostly she spends her time watching Ethan Gray from a distance, wishing he would finally notice her, and avoiding the popular girls who call her "Choker" after a humiliating incident in the cafeteria.

Then one day Cara comes home to find Zoe waiting for her. Zoe's on the run from problems at home, and Cara agrees to help her hide. With her best friend back, Cara's life changes overnight. Zoe gives her a new look and new confidence, and next thing she knows, she's getting invited to parties and flirting with Ethan. Best of all, she has her BFF there to confide in.

But just as quickly as Cara's life came together, it starts to unravel. A girl goes missing in her town, and everyone is a suspect—including Ethan. Worse still, Zoe starts behaving strangely, and Cara begins to wonder what exactly her friend does all day when she's at school. You're supposed to trust your best friend no matter what, but what if she turns into a total stranger?"

Review:

Going into Choker, I thought I knew what I had in store for me. I had seen multiple reviews describing it as "creepy" and "unsettling", and though the prologue was both of those things, it seemed like as I got into the meat of the novel that it wasn't that scary at all. But then the drama started to unfold. The hints were dropped, some obvious, some completely off the wall and indistinguishable. It WAS creepy; It WAS unsettling. I don't want to give too much away, so I won't say more. But jeez. It's like an amazing psychological thriller in YA novel form.


What made it a great read was Cara. We see the story through her eyes, and it's an amazingly complex pair of eyes to see through. As the story unwraps itself, the layers of Cara begin to peel off like an onion, and the more layers that came off, the closer to knowing who Cara really was I came. Her relationship with Ethan throughout the book also added to the depth. They had a seemingly good give-and-take relationship that made me want to keep reading. The only downside to Choker was a couple spots were the plot dragged a little, but the romance and character building that happened during those spots made it okay.


I don't think I'm able to say much more without completely blowing the amazing ending to the book, so I just going to conclude the Choker is a must-read for anyone who loves a good creepy, goose-bumps-raising, edge-of-your-seat, thrill ride.


--Alexis

It's Sunday and that means (insert drum roll here) it's time for In My Mailbox, a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. IMM is where bloggers get to talk about the books that they have bought, borrowed, and received for review.

This week, I didn't get any books. But I was informed that I won Tempest by Julie Cross (St. Martins Griffin, January 3rd 2012)! I won it because of an Early Reviewers giveaway at LibraryThing. :) I thought I would spotlight it even though it hasn't got here yet. (It sounds amazing guys!)




"The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world." (Summary from Goodreads)


I can't wait to get this book! It sounds out-of-this-world.


That's it for me this week? What did you get in your mailbox? Let me know in a comment or post a link in a comment and I'll be sure to check it out. :)


Happy Reading!


--Alexis

If you read, you probably know that this week (September 24-October 1) is Banned Books Week. This is the week were people everywhere celebrate the right to read anything and everything that they want. I feel really offended personally when I hear about books being challenged and banned; books have been a major part and influence in who I am as a person. I even feel like my life would be different if I hadn't read the books I've read. I think that it important that everyone's opinion is heard; people may have their own personal opinions on the topics discussed, but they have no right to take an other person opinion and ban it from public view.

ALA has a list of the top ten challenged books of 2010 and I thought I would list and talk about the ones I've read. (If I've read it it's in orange. If I haven't it's in blue)

1) And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson

2) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

3) Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

4) Crank, by Ellen Hopkins

I actually haven't read Crank yet, but I have read other books by Ellen Hopkins and they all have been mind blowingly amazing. They do deal with topics that to some might seem controversial, but they are realistic and thought-provoking.

5) The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games. Who hasn't read this at this point? I see no reason why anybody would ban this.

6) Lush, by Natasha Friend
 
7) What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones

Another amazing novel told in verse. I think verse novels in particular are challenged just because they seem more raw and realistic. I'm guessing this one was challenged because some lying does occur in the book. I guess the people who challenged it never lie themselves? 

8) Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich

9) Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
 
10) Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

This one falls into The Hunger Games category with WHO HASN'T READ THIS. Twilight is all in good fun. All sane people know that vampires are fiction. It isn't telling its readers to go sign a contact with satan.

So what do you think about books being banned? What are some of your favorite banned books? Have anything cool you are doing for banned books week?

Happy Banned Books Week and happy reading!

 --Alexis

"Claudia Emerson has a good friend who shares the same first name and last name. That friend unfortunately dies in a tragic accident during homecoming dance. Claudia is distraught at the loss of her friend, but is even more disturbed by her dreams, which seem to take her to another place called Crossroads. Unknown to her, Crossroads is like a second heaven, a place between heaven and earth. It is where the souls of humans in comas or near death experiences may wander. Where, Claudia meets Michael, a nephilim, a half angel, half human, whom she often meets in her dreams. It turns out that this isn’t her first visit to Crossroads, which is an enigma for no human can ever travel there until Claudia.
 
Now the fallen and demons are after her, suspecting she must be special and it is up to Michael and the other nephilims to protect her. Her dream becomes a nightmare as more secrets are revealed, about who she really is, and the true identities of the people she loves most. Can Michael fight his growing feelings for Claudia and protect her as a guardian angel should?"

Sounds great right? I'm happy to say that today on the blog I'll be featuring Mary Ting (the author herself!). 






"About Crossroads