Review: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Along for the Ride

Author: Sarah Dessen

Publication Date: June 16th 2009

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Genre: Contemporay

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Synopsis:

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

My Thoughts: Sarah Dessen, Sarah Dessen, Sarah Dessen. I'm not sure how much praise I've heard for her, a lot. Everyone seems to love her. So I finally bought some of her books. After asking a friend which one I should start out with, I picked Along for the Ride as my first Sarah Dessen book. It was really, really good!

I have to admit, I felt really bad for Auden. Her parents pretty much didn't pay any attention to her and she ended up becoming and insomniac for it. It's really hard to get out of a routine once you're in it. And once you're used to staying up all night, well that just makes things hard. Auden's parents are divorced and she lives with her mom, but her mom seems to be too busy with grad students to have anything to do with Auden, so she gets sick of it and goes to visit her dad and his new wife, who just had a baby for the summer.

Well her dad's not much better than her mom, worse really in some ways. His wife jut had a baby and he doesn't help at all. Heidi (Auden's stepmother) is really struggling and Auden is the only one who will step up and help out, but she doesn't want Heidi to become dependent on her, so doesn't help all the time. But there were some points where I wanted to strangle her father for being a jerk. Plain and simple.

As far as contemporaries go, this is a pretty good one. Auden grows and changes a lot through out the book, in a good way. Yes, there in a boy, but they help each other get over a few things and it's adorable. Both of them are insomniacs, so the night is theirs. Eli is a really great guy and it was nice to see him finally letting go, but never forgetting, something that wasn't his fault at all. Eli and Auden were meant to be together. I also enjoyed seeing Auden find some girls to be friends with, she didn't have a very normal childhood. So to see things becoming normal for her is great.

Along for the Ride is a great story that will pull at your heart strings! I'm definitely glad I gave Sarah Dessen a chance and can't wait to read more by her!

Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures
(Caster Chronicles #1)

Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Publication Date: December 1st, 2009

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Genre: Paranormal

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Synopsis:

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

My Thoughts: I read Beautiful Creatures because I wanted to go see the movie, which I did, and I can't watch a movie without reading the book first. Well, I completely failed at finishing this before watching the movie. I didn't realize that it was going to take me so long. This is a long book, not that that's a bad thing. I like long books, as long as they are well written and keep me entertained, which this one did. However, because I ended up watching the movie before finishing the book, my reading completely slowed down. I have a hard time reading books if I've watched the movie/show first, because I then know how it's going to end. Well, I shouldn't have worried because the ending was different in the book than it was for the movie, well kind of.

Anyways, this books is from a guys point of view, which was a nice change. Ethan Wate is the protagonist and he completely falls for this girl he's been dreaming about. Lucky him when he walks into school one day and there she is. He knows it's her, even though he's never seen the dream girls face. Now the only thing about her, Lena Duchannes, is that she isn't from around town and everybody seems to hate her. For no reason at all. I guess it was a small southern town who was set in it's ways. But mostly they dislike her because of rumours about her family. Her uncle in particular, Macon Ravenwood. The town's own Boo Radley.

Beautiful Creatures is a well written story that I found to be fairly unpredictable. You might think something was going to happen, but it never did. But that's a good thing because I'm not a fan of reading books that are too predictable. There is a forbidden romance, who doesn't like a forbidden romance? Magic, good, evil, girl drama, and a swoon worthy protagonist with a sad past. I really enjoyed the book and the movie. I'm going to definitely have to continue on in this series. This is definitely a book that owl recommend ;)

Review: Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Dreaming Anastasia
Dreaming Anastasia #1

Author: Joy Preble

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Genre: Fantasy

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Synopsis:

What really happened to Anastasia Romanov?

Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't. Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her. When she wakes up she discovers that she is in the ancient hut of the witch Baba Yaga, and that some things are worse than being dead.

In modern-day Chicago, Anne doesn't know much about Russian history. She is more concerned about getting into a good college--until the dreams start. She is somewhere else. She is someone else. And she is sharing a small room with a very old woman. The vivid dreams startle her, but not until a handsome stranger offers to explain them does she realize her life is going to change forever. She is the only one who can save Anastasia. But, Anastasia is having her own dreams...

My Thoughts: I had been hoping to read this book since it was first published and I finally got around too it. Lucky that too, because I was certainly missing out by putting it to the wayside for so long. It got me so into the mythology and lore of Anastasia again that I just had to watch the animated movie (no matter how inaccurate it may be).

Anne is, I have to say, one of the most down to Earth girls ever to grace the pages of a paranormal young adult book. Oh, that guy you just met following you around like a creepy stalker? Ask him if he has been following you, tell him to stop and warn him you are going to call the police. What a normal reaction, I love it! Oh, a one-hundred year old immortal boy stuck at eighteen wants to kiss you? Instantly tell him how wrong it is that someone his age, despite his looks, wants any sort of relationship with a sixteen year old. I adore Anne.

Ethan (or Etanovich) is a Russian immortal who was eighteen at the time of the deaths of the Romanov family. He has to find the girl who is supposed to break the curse placed on Anastasia to save her life and finally set her free. He is full of old-world charm and can be virtuous to a fault.

This story kept my attention from the first page. It is full of mystery, folktales and lore about Russia in general and the events surrounding the revolt and assassination of Tsar Nicolas and his family. It has packed full of action and mystery and I enjoyed it immensely.

T.G.I.F. (17)

Thank Great Illustrators Fridays is a book meme created and hosted by Owl Read It.

They say don't judge a book by it's cover, but a lot of the time the cover is what draws you to the book in the first place. This meme is to show appreciation to the artists who put their time and effort into creating the great book covers of our beloved series.

To Participate:

• Pick a book cover you love (any book will do - released or not)
• Post the picture of the book along with the author & publisher 
• Post a brief summary of why you like the cover. 
• Take the pic above and link back to us :)

This week's TGIF cover:

The Dark Divine

(The Dark Divine #1)

Author: Bree Despain

Publication Date: December 22, 2009

Publisher: Egmont USA

Genre: Fantasy/Werewolves

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Synopsis:

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared--the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood--but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy's dark secret...and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it--her soul.


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I just love black colours with that pop of colour. Since having my daughter one of my favourite colours has been purple (lighter shades). So, it is safe to say I adore this cover. Can't wait to jump into this book either!

What are your favourite book covers?  Leave us a link to your own T.G.I.F. :)

Review: My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Save

(Soul Screamers #2)

Author: Rachel Vincent

Publication Date: December 29, 2009

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Genre: Fantasy/Supernatural

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Synopsis:

When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies.

So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn’t wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can’t cry for someone who has no soul.

The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad’s ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend’s loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can’t possibly understand.

Kaylee can’t let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk...

My Thoughts: Things have completely changed for Kaylee Cavanaugh since the previous book, My Soul to Take.  After a tragic loss, Kaylee's father has returned for good and she has moved in with him - for the first time since she was a toddler.  It is taking some major adjustments on both of their parts, with Kaylee having more rules than she ever did with her aunt and uncle.

I like that with each book I read I am learning (along with Kaylee) more and more about the weird world that she lives in - and the one she doesn't.  The Netherworld is full of fiends and hellions and killer plant life.  Things that Kaylee can't even imagine, but has to face along with Nash and Tod in order to save the souls of two semi-famous sisters.

I have to say, I did enjoy the previous book in the series more; however, with Kaylee learning how to harness her supernatural abilities in this book, I still found it completely enthralling.  The more I learn about the characters and the world they live in the more I want to read.  I love Kaylee's sense of responsibility and conscious, I love Nash's loyalty and bravery and Tod's personality.  The parents are pretty cool too.

And the sexual tension between Nash and Kaylee is so palapable that I could feel the heat radiating off of the pages!

I am fond of this series and can't wait to move onto the next one when I can squeeze the time in!

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Review: My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Take

(Soul Screamers #1)

Author: Rachel Vincent

Publication Date: August 1, 2009

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Genre: Fantasy/Supernatural

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Synopsis:

She doesn't see dead people. She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next

My Thoughts: I purchased this book and the sequel to it a while back and they have just been sitting on my bookshelf, regrettably.  I am glad that I finally picked it up and read it!  One good thing that happened from my e-reader being on the fritz is I managed to finally make it to the Soul Screamer series.

Kaylee Cavanaugh is just a regular girl - aside from the fact that she can predict when someone dies by screaming uncontrollably. The first time this happens to her, she gets locked up in a psych ward and she is determined to never let that happen again.  Unfortunately, with her pretty female classmates dropping like flies around her, the scream is hard to keep in.

It would have been impossible to stop the threatening scream if not for Nash, the most handsome and popular guy in school that inexplicably knows how to keep her screaming at bay.

This is a fantastic read and certainly a new "supe" to read about. I heard all about the legends these ones originate from growing up, since I come from an Irish family ;).  My friend referred these to me and told me what they were about, so I knew what I was dealing with going into the books and I wasn't quite sure how Vincent was going to pull it off, but I must say it was extremely well done.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to hop into the next one. The storyline was different, the characters were enjoyable and the supes were new. All in all, I would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys fantasy and some good old-fashioned folklore.  Well done, Rachel Vincent!

 

Review: Witch & Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

Witch & Wizard
(Witch & Wizard #1)

Author: James Patterson

Publication Date: January 1st 2009

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Genre: Paranormal / Dystopia

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Synopsis:

The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they'd never dreamed of. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents--and maybe the world?

My Thoughts: For some reason I really enjoy how James Patterson make his chapters so short. There is always something interesting that happens in each chapter and since they are so short they fly by. His novels tend to be page turners for me, Witch & Wizard was no exception. I read it relatively fast, and enjoyed it, but I felt like there was something missing. I'm not really sure what it was that was missing though. It might have been the world development. It's done ok, but I guess I'm just used to more description of the world.

Withc & Wizard is told from two points of view. Whit and Witsy, a brother and sister pair who are suddenly seized one night and put in jail for being a witch and wizard, which they think is completely rediculous, until they start making strange things happen. They escape with help from a dead friend and are asked to help save hundreds of other children that have been thrown in prison.

I liked both of the characters, Witsy just a little bit more because she is a ginger afterall! They seem like great characters and are just a little overwhelmed with everything that's going on. They have a loving sibling relationship and want nothing better than to find their parents, who managed to escape being captured.

Overall, Witch & Wizard is a good book, I would recommend it to James Patterson fans and someone who's looking for a dystopian or paranormal that has a bit of humour in it. This book definitely had some parts that had me laughing. It's a quick fun read!

St. Vladimir's Summer School: Blood Promise

Ashelynn at Gypsy Book Reviews, Jen at Jen Ryland/YA Romantics and Steph at The Fake Steph Dot Com  started the St. Vladimir's Summer School. So I figured I would tag along and read some Vampire Academy since I still hadn't read it!! Lauren at The Headless Owl has also joined us this week!

Blood Promise
(Vampire Academy #4)

Author: Richelle Mead

Publication Date: August 25th 2009

Publisher: Razorbill

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Paranormal

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Synopsis:

Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same.

The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters . . . Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

My Thoughts: Ok, I'm not really sure where to start with this one. This series is just so amazing, I still can't believe I've never read it before. I loved Blood Promise almost as much as Shadow Kiss, but not quite! There was a lot that happened and it was fairly fast paced, always a good thing. I can say that once again it was extremely hard not to pick up the next book immediately after finishing it. Richelle Mead is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors, I just love her writing style and characters so much!

It pretty much started off where Shadow Kiss leaves off.  Rose leaves school to go in search of Strigoi Dimitri. She hears that he went back to Russia and so she goes there and starts looking. She leaves lots of other dead Strigoi behind her, but there is no sign of Dimitri.  Eventually she meets Sydney, an Alchemists, who isn't very happy about Rose's trail of bodies since she's the one who's been cleaning them all up. Sydney takes Rose to Dimitri's hometown and Rose meets Dimitri's family and feels right at home with them. She delivers the bad news and they have a funeral for Dimitri. Eventually, Rose continues on looking for Dimitri, and finds him! But can she really kill him?

Rose grows even more in this book. She realizes more about her relationship with Lissa and Dimitri. She realizes that her mom  isn't so different from her after all and that sometimes duty does have to come first. She loses the man she loves, nearly loses her best friend, she almost even loses her life. I like her character a lot more than I did when I started out the series, she just matures so much with each new book. I'm still holding out for her and Adrian, but after the ending of Blood Promise I'm not to sure what's going to happen with them anymore. Dimitri is absolutely psychotic in this one, of course, he is a Strigoi so it  is expected.

Blood Promise is an amazing read. You really should read the series if you haven't. As I said, Richelle Mead is a wonderful author and she has created this cast of characters that I can't get enough of. Luckily, there is another series based in the same universe, so I'm looking forward to reading that one as well. Seriously, read. It. Now! You won't be sorry you did! I'm off to read the next book now!

Review: If I Stay

If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman

Publication Date: April 26th, 2010

Publisher: Speak

Genre: YA/Contemporary/Romance

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Synopsis:

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

My Thoughts:  If I Stay hits hard right from the beginning. There is no easing into the heartache in this story, we are tossed right into it and we ride that incredibly emotional wave until the very end.

The story starts off with the tragic event this entire story revolves around. The car accident that involved Mia's entire family. Mia is wandering around the scene taking in what seems to be a nightmare when she thinks she sees her brother's hand sticking out the car window. She walks over to grab hold of it only to find she is grabbing her own hand. But how can she be in the car, and outside the car at the same time? Mia is lost in a realm that is between life and death. Throughout the story we get flashbacks and peeks into the life she has been leading. She comes from a family that I think we all wish we could have been part of. The closeness was definitely something to be envied. As Mia watches her family members mourn, she is left with the decision; should she go back even though she would be all alone, or should she move on into whatever comes after death?

This story will break your heart on a whole new level. My eyes welled up on many an occasion. Especially in the one on one moments where her family members were talking to her comatose self and Mia was actually there listening. Those moments were seriously hard to bear. Forman has captured these heart breaking emotions in a way that I have seen no Author do before. If you can handle roller coaster emotions and to feel your own heart break, then I seriously recommend you read this story. I only picked this book up twice. I started reading it the afternoon after I bought it, then put it down to do things with my children. I was up early in the morning before my kids and I picked it back up and finished it. It's a book worth getting up early to finish.

Prepare to embark on an emotional journey like no other. I am so glad I bought the sequel at the same time because I cannot wait to find out what happens next. If you do read this I recommend you also have the second on hand because the ending is such a cliffhanger!!  All in all, it's an incredibly beautiful story about love, loss and life. About the choices we make in life and where they lead us, and sometimes some choices are so hard we wish someone else could make them for us.

I can thank Jenn for my purchase of this book, after her review (here), I felt so compelled to get my hands on this book and I am so glad I did! That's two 5 hoot reviews from Owl Read It, we seriously think you should go read it.

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay
(If I Stay #1)

Author: Gayle Forman

Publication Date: January 1st, 2009

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Genre: Realistic Fiction / Contemporary

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Synopsis:

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heart-achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

My Thoughts: If I Stay is probably one of the most heart-wrenching, beautifully written, amazing books that I have ever read. Every one kept telling me to make sure I had a box of Kleenex when I read it. Yes, you definitely need it. I have this thing where I never remember to read the synopsis of a book before I read it. Like, I've read it before  when adding the book to my TBR, but generally forget what it's supposed to be about, just that I wanted to read it.  Well, I forgot again with this and therefore didn't realize there was going to be an accident. All I can say is Gayle Forman has written something amazing. This book it definitely going to be one of my favorites for this year I think, it was just so good. 

If I Stay revolves around Mia, the protagonist, as she experiences an out of body experience after a tragic accident while driving with her family to visit friends. It takes her awhile to realize that she's not ok, about until she finds her own broken body laying on the ground, and then she thinks she died. She didn't die and follows her body to the hospital where she watches as the doctors try to save her and as her family and friends wait patiently for her to awake from her coma. The story takes place over a 24 hour period and constantly alternates between the present and past. After the accident, every time there was a scene from the present I literally had tears streaming down my face. Mia faces a choice. Stay and live, or move on. She doesn't know which she should pick. 

Gayle Forman is an extremely talented writer. Her writing style makes you fall in love with Mia and suffer with her. I was so emotionally attached to the story and just couldn't put it down. I'm extremely glad that I have the second book, Where She Went to read because I just need to know what happens next. If I Stay left off at a point that leaves a lot of questions going through my mind, but since it was so amazing, I have high hopes for the next one. 

So if you haven't figured it out yet. Yes, I completely LOVED this book. I will probably read it again. Sometimes I just need a really good cry and this book definitely helps get that out. Maybe too much. I had to keep wiping off my tears since there were so many. My shirt was getting soaked. I think this is a great book to buy and I'm so glad I own a copy because I will definitely be recommending and lending and rereading. So should you read this? Yes, yes you should.