Follow Friday (17) and Hunger Games Movie Countdown Trivia and Giveaway (8)

Q: Have you ever looked at book's cover and thought, This is going to horrible? But, was instead pleasantly surprised? Show us the cover and tell us about the book.

Hmm.  This is a very hard question because I do not usually try to remember the books with covers I do not like.  But here are some that I felt like the cover did not really tell me much about the book:

I had not heard about Ellen Hopkins until I started watching the book blogging community. At the bookstore, it did not draw me in. I kept looking past it. Then I heard other people talk about Ellen Hopkins and I just had to try her for myself. I love her now! And I guess the consistency in her covers have made it easier for me to recognize her books.


Another book where I felt like the cover did not give a lot of clues about the book, but now that I have started I can easily identify that the books are part of the series.

But now that I have answered the question, I feel like I need some of my favorite covers to balance it all out:

__________________________________________

My blogging buddy, Jen, and I have been working on a sequel to our Valentine's day celebration (the Famous YA Couples Trivia Quiz). 

So everyday I will post a trivia question about either a YA dystopian novel in general or the Hunger Games in particular.  Everyone gets one opportunity a day to answer--and it does not matter if you are right or wrong.  Any answer is worth a chance to win a prize!  This contest will continue until March 16.

The prize:
1) The Girl Who Was on Fire
2) The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook
Since these books are available from the Book Depository, I will open this giveaway internationally to any place that BD offers free shipping to.

What does Katniss' mother always say is the first treatment for burns?
A) Herb compound
B) Butter
C) Salt Rub
D) Cold Water

Please fill out this form to submit your answer.

The Book Addict Reviews: Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Genre: Poetry, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
Ellen Hopkins has done it again.  She has written a wonderful book full of engaging characters.  I could not put it down until the very end. 

Review:
I started Triangles with some reservations. I love Ellen Hopkins' young adult books, but I worried that her style and her voice would not transfer well into adult literature.  I should not have worried.  Ellen Hopkins' handled this story and these characters with the same eloquence that has marked her young adult books.

Triangles focuses on three women.  They are linked by family or friendship, but they each live very different lives.  The variety and scope of their experience will allow the majority of readers to find someone they can relate to.  Someone who feels authentic to them.  Someone who will draw them into the story.  For me, that person was Andrea.  So many aspects of her story resonated with me--so many of her feelings about what was going on around her struck me as similar to the way I would react in a similar situation (SPOILER ALERT: well except for her reaction to Jace which I felt was very very bad!).

But Ellen Hopkins' use of three voices allowed me to learn that my view and perspective is not the same as everyone around.  Maybe other people will not react to adultery or attraction the same way I would--but that does not instantly make them wrong and me right.  We have different perspectives, different experiences, and different concerns.

And once again, I found Ellen Hopkins' use of poetry and verse allowed her a freedom of expression that I do not see in many romance novels.  It feels a lot more like the way I think before I have to structure them into sentences and paragraphs.  It feels very organic and raw--which is where these characters seem to be as they work through all of the events that happen over the course of the book.

And this book is full of action, events, and movements.  There is always something going on in the lives of these women, which helps with the realistic feel of the story.  At least I know that is how I constantly feel!

The one thing that I was not crazy about was the ending--I wanted more resolution, more of an idea of where the women, their families, their friendships, their lives ended up.  It felt very unfinished to me--which makes me think there may be more of this story coming?  (I really really really hope so!)

Recommendations:
I have another Ellen Hopkin book waiting near the top of my TBR pile:


But I just found out that she has a couple more coming out this year.  One for adults called Collateral (due out in November 2012) and one for Young Adults:

TBR Intervention (12)

I am calling it a draw.  Some successes that I am proud of but I did not make my mark entirely.

Last Week

I finished this book. In some ways it is very different from her YA books but in other ways it is not. I really liked it and I hope Ellen Hopkins does more adult books in the near future!


In some ways I found this one to be more predictable than her first book--but I really do like Kinsey. I already have the next on reserve.


Here is my failure. Triangles took me longer to read than I expected (or maybe it is more accurate to say that I did not get as much uninterrupted reading time as I had planned), so I did not get this one started as early as I thought I would. But the opening has grabbed my attention!

This Week

First, I have to finish Best Seller.  I am definitely looking forward to this one. 

After that, I have a book coming due to the library:

Summary (from inside flap):
Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother.  Her only friends are the shadows and the mice--until one night a ghost appears from the darkness.  It is Po, who comes from the Other Side.  Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.

That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery.  He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.

Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places.

For my audiobook--I have decided to start a series I have heard so much about by have not had a chance to start.  Better late than never, right

Summary (from Goodreads):
Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana, but she keeps to herself and doesn't date much because of her "disability" to read minds. When she meets Bill, Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking. He's the type of guy she's waited for all of her life, but he has a disability, too--he's a vampire with a bad reputation. When one of Sookie's coworkers is killed, she fears she's next.

And because I always like to set my bar high, I am hoping to re-read (this time as an audiobook):

Summary (from Goodreads):
Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash--fast--but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family.

Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company. She's got no experience. But that doesn't matter. Neither does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli. From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e. And now the hot guy is in hot water--wanted for murder.

Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't. Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she'll make a cool ten grand. All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight--and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man.

So do you what do you want to read this week?

TBR Intervention (11)

I am calling this week a TBR success--and I am very proud of that. :)

Last Week

I finished this one. I am not 100% sure how I feel about it--so I am waiting until I can put my feelings into words before I write the review.


I have started this one but I am not done with it yet. It will be my first success of next week!


I was so excited to get reacquainted with Kinsley that I devoured this book in what felt like a second. I have the next one on reserve at the library!

This Week

I already told you about Triangles: A Novel but I am also committed to reading:

I am participating in a blog tour for this one in March--I am so excited to finish it and write my review.

Summary (from back cover):
Thirty-five year old fiction writer, Richard Rossi would do just about anything to get his manuscript published.  However, months of rejection and unanswered prayers have strained his capacity to hope.  Alone in New York City, he teeters on the brink of alcoholism, as his hope erodes into desperation.  His prayers are finally answered when a simple misdirected piece of mail spawns a chance encounter with an extraordinary man, Seth Volos, Publisher.  And while their unholy alliance thrusts Richard to the top of every Best Seller list in America, the horrifying outcome of the book's legions of fans is anything but a happy ending.

My audiobook focus for this week is: 

This is a re-read for me, but I am finding Lena to be a less charming character this time around.

Summary (from Amazon.com):
Ninety-five days, and then I’ll be safe.

I wonder whether the procedure will hurt.

I want to get it over with.

It’s hard to be patient.

It’s hard not to be afraid while I’m still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn’t touched me yet.

Still, I worry.

They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness.

The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don’t.

After I finish these books--I have so many options it is going to be hard to pick the next book.  Maybe you can help me.  Which book should I read next?

The Book Addict Reviews: Glass by Ellen Hopkins

Genre: Young Adult, Social Situations, Parents, Emotions & Feelings
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed this book from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
After reading Crank, I was hopeful that Kristina would get the help that she needed.  While I loved Ellen Hopkins poetry and style, I did struggle with some aspects of the story.  But I am hopeful that in the final installment many of my concerns will be addressed.

Review:
I always struggle with my emotions after reading Ellen Hopkins' books.  Her use of poetry to tell her story is unique and full of emotion.  Her writing is powerful and full of impact.  All of these things I love.  But the topics she covers in her stories are tough.  They are gritty.  They take a long hard look at the parts of society that tend to be ignored or glossed over.  All of these things make me very glad I read her books, but not really sure I will re-read them very often.

Glass continues the story of Kristina, who we met in Crank.  She has promised herself and her new son that she is done with the monster.  She will get her GED and continue the life she had before her trip to visit her father, or at least as much of that life as possible now.

But the call of the monster is too strong--and Kristina cannot resist it.  Slowly she gets in over her head and ends up losing everything; her family, her home, her freedom.

The entire time I was reading this book, I wished that someone had gotten Kristina professional help; particularly during the time when she had been dedicated to being a good mother.  It felt like her love for Hunter would have been enough enticement to encourage her to change her life.  Addiction is not something that a person can generally give up through willpower alone--and I feel like that is even more true for someone so young.  It almost felt too late by the time that Kristina's mother took a stand--and the stand of kicking her out without another option seemed a little counterproductive to me.  Why not offer to send her to rehab?  I agree that she probably would have said no--but then I would be upset with her.  Right now, I am angry with her mother!

I was hoping the Kristina/Bree break would be explore more in this book--particularly the hints that the split within Kristina started before she went to her fathers.  What prompted it?  Why can she not bring the two parts of herself together into one--and have a clearly defined sense of self. 

Recommendations:
I have the final book in this series on reserve--I am hoping that the final installment will address my concerns:

I have also ordered the supplemental book that I was looking forward to: