TBR Intervention (9)

Last Week

I am calling last week a "so-so" success.  I got a lot of reading done (success), but I did not get a lot of the TBR Intervention reading done (fail):

I finished it!  I loved it!  My review is up. 

I am almost done--close enough that I think I will be done by the end of the day.  I love it!!  I have been recommending this book to everyone I know--particularly those with kids 8-13 years old.  Review coming soon.

This is my epic fail--because I have not even started this book.  And with my giveaway--I need to read the books before I give them away!  So this one is going back on my TBR pile for a while.

This Week

My new supervisor has been recommending the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn.  I read the first one this week--and now I have to read the next one this week (absolutely have to know what happens next!):

Summary (from back cover):
Werewolves Do It Better

The country's only celebrity werewolf, late-night radio host Kitty Norville prefers to be heard, not seen.  But when she's invite to testify at a Senate hearing on behalf of supernaturals, her face gets plastered on national TV.  Kitty's been in hot water before, but jumping into the D.C. underworld brings a new set of problems.  And a new set of friends and enemies, including the vampire mistress of the the city; an uber-hot Brazilian were-jaguar; and a paranoid, Bible-thumping senator who wants to expose Kitty as a monster.  Kitty quickly learns that in this city of dirty politicians and backstabbing pundits, everyone's itching for a fight.

Adam Rex is coming to my favorite local bookstore (changing hands) so I am going to start my giveaway reading with:

Summary (from back cover):
Doug Lee is undead quite by accident--attacked by a desperate vampire, he finds himself cursed with being fat and fifteen forever.  When he has no luck finding some goth chick with a vampire fetish, he resorts to sucking the blood of cows under cover of the night.  But it's just not the same.

Then he meets the new Indian exchange student and falls for her--hard.  Yeah, he wants to bite her, but also wants to prove himself to her.  But like the laws of life, love, and high school, the laws of vampire existence are complicated--it's not as easy as study Dracula.  Especially when the start of Vampire Hunters is hot on your trail in an attempt to boost ratings...

Searing, hilarious, and always unexpected, Fat Vampire is a satirical tour de force from one of the most original writers of fiction today.

I also had a few books I have been waiting for at the library--and of course they have all come at once.  So I have to get them done before they are due.  For this week I am focusing on finishing:

Summary (from inside flap):
Crank. Glass. Ice.  Crystal.  Whatever you call it, it's all the same; a monster.  And once it's got hold of you, this monster will never let you go.

Kristina thinks she can control it.  Now with a baby to care for, she's determined to be the one deciding when and how much, the one calling the shots.  But the monster is too strong, and before she knows it, Kristina is back in its grips.  She needs the monster to keep going, to face the pressures of day-to-day life.  She needs it to feel alive.

Once again the monster takes over Kristina's life and she will do anything for it, including giving up the one person who gives her the unconditional love she craves--her baby.

The sequel to Crank, this is the continuing story of Kristina and her descent back to hell.  Told in verse, it's a harrowing and disturbing look at addiction and the damage that it inflicts.

I read Crank and it affected me--it's hard for me to say that I loved it because it is not a story to love.  But it will always stick with me.  

And of course I have to be listening to a book.  This week I think I am going to focus on listening to: 

Summary (from Amazon):
“Ruby, where is your mother?”

Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she’s been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return.

That’s how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn’t seen in ten years, and Cora’s husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future—it’s a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?

It feels like I have been away from Sarah Dessen too long!
 
What books do you plan to read this week?  Have you read the books I am planning?  What did you think?

The Book Addict Reviews: The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction,
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Jay Asher's Blog | Carolyn Mackler's website | Jay Asher's Goodreads | Carolyn Mackler's Goodreads
Rating: 3 stars
Borrowed book from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
I will never look at Facebook the same way again--or maybe it is more accurate to say I wish I had had the access that Josh and Emma had into Facebook and into my future when I was in high school (although I seriously think I would have searched out the opportunity to invest before Facebook hit big!).  Overall, I liked the book but I do not feel that it will stick with me nearly as much as Th1rteen R3asons Why did.

Review:
Josh and Emma have lived next door to each other their whole lives.  For most of that time, they have also been best friends.  Until last November when Josh revealed that he had a crush on Emma.  From that moment everything changed--became more awkward--and they have b.  Until Josh's family gets a free America Online CD-ROM in the mail and have him offer it to Emma who just got a computer.  When she installs AOL on her computer, it opens "Facebook," a website they have never heard of.  Quickly they realize that Facebook is something from the future--and they are seeing where they will be in fifteen years.  Through a series of trial and error, they begin to realize that things they do today have major effects on their future lives.

I got a kick out of how Emma and Josh talk about technology in 1996.  Cell phones were unusual--only one teen has one in this book.  The AOL CD is going to take so long to download that Emma can do some other things while it is downloading, so she decides to put on her walkman and pull her hair up in a scrunchie to go for a run.  Facebook is a complicated website filled with lots of personal (and yet superficial) information and cryptic status updates.   There was a little bit of a nostalgic feel that made me reminiscence about this time in my life which I found charming--but it also made me look at all of the technology around me differently.  Like right now, I am at McDonalds writing this review on my laptop using wifi.  In 1996, this action would have been unheard of.  

I love that this book is written from two different perspectives: Emma and Josh.  This story focuses on their lives both present and the effect of their present decisions on their future.  And with the two distinct perspectives on the events, we get to see the cause and effect reactions of each of their actions--and the emotions that they tie to the events that are hard for them to admit to even to themselves.  I felt like this insight was important to the book, particularly for Emma's character.  There were many instances where I thought she was very shallow, but seeing her motivation and then seeing how Josh sees her (and why he loves her) helped me to like her more.  I think telling this story from a third person perspective would have made it very difficult for me to like Emma much at all. 

I do wish that we got a little more of Tyson and Kellan's perspectives as well because I felt like there was a lot more to their story than met the eye or the awareness of either Emma or Jacob.  Or it could have been with everything going on with Emma, Josh, and Facebook they missed a lot of the details.  In some ways I wonder if Tyson and Kellan's story was inadvertently affected by Facebook too?  With Emma and Josh so focused on their futures, what did they miss?  Were they not available for their friends when Tyson and Kellan needed them?  Was it a good thing that Tyson and Kellan got together or not?  I do not know, but I was intrigued and wanted to know more.  I felt like there were a lot of holes in this side story.

This book felt more to me like a realistic fiction than a science fiction.  The science fiction element did not cause the changes in the characters as much as it a catalyst for the change.  Facebook gave them glimpses into the future--showed them that their actions and decisions today had a profound effect on their future happiness.  Their story unfolded as they reacted to the changes they saw in their future lives--and determined how they want to define happiness in the future. 

Recommendations:
Before reading this book, I had only read Jay Asher's work (particularly Th1rteen R3asons Why which I loved).  After reading this book I am still a huge fan of Jay Asher, but now I want to read more of Carolyn Mackler's books:

TBR Intervention (8)

Overall, I am very happy with the results of my TBR Intervention this week--I am however not as satisfied with my follow through with reviews.  I am so far behind on getting them written and getting them posted.  I have a major paper due tonight--so I am hoping to get caught up on blogging tomorrow!

Last Week

I finished The Fellowship of the Ring this week! I am so proud of myself! I loved it--and I cannot wait to review it for you all!


Lola and the Boy Next Door was awesome!  I think I may even like it more than Anna and the French Kiss
but in many ways I do not even need to pick because Anna and St. Clair were back!  And playing important roles in this one.  I cannot wait for Stephanie Perkins' next book!  This review is also coming.


Okay now for my one failure. I did not even get to Supernaturally because I realized I had a library book coming due that I had to finish. But I will be starting it this week--I promise!


I have not finished this one--but I started it and since finishing The Fellowship of the Ring was such a monumental accomplishment for me--I think at least getting this one started this week is a major accomplishment.  I love it so far!!  If you have not read this one--you should!!

Next Week

First, I am committing myself to finishing the two books that I did not finish last week.  But I am adding the book I am still working on from last week (the library book that has to be finished before the due date!):

Summary (from inside flap):
It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives.  They've been best friends almost as long--up until last November, when everything changed.  Things have been awkward ever since, but when Josh's family gets an America Online CD-ROM in the mail, his mom makes him bring it over so Emma can install it on her new computer.  When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto Facebook...but Facebook hasn't been invented yet.  Josh and Emma are looking at their profile fifteen years in the future.  Their spouses, careers, homes, and status updated--it's all there.  But it's not what they expected.  And every time they refresh their pages, their future change.  As they grapple with the ups and downs of what their lives hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right--and wrong--in the present.

I wanted to read this book because I loved Jay Asher's first book Th1rteen R3asons Why.  So far, this book has not disappointed me--and I think I may like it even better!

So what do you plan to read this week?

The Book Addict Reviews: Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website
Book Website: http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/ 
Rating: 4 stars
Bought this book after a friend told me about it.

In A Nutshell:
This book really took me through the emotional ringer.  I expected the story to be emotional, but this book surpassed my expectations and left me with a lot to think about.  I am glad that I read it as it is one of the best written, most gripping stories I have read this year.  I could not put it down in much the same way that Clay could not stop listening to the tapes, but I do not think I could read it again.  I could not handle going through that emotional ringer a second time.

Reveiw:
After losing someone important to you, it is natural to ask why or what did I miss.  When that person takes her own life, the need to know why or what was missed magnifies. 

Clay and some of his classmates get the opportunity to hear Hannah’s story after her suicide, but are they really ready to hear what she has to say?  How will they live with what they learned?

Thirteen Reasons Why explores Clay’s journey through learning Hannah’s story.  Jay Asher masterfully leads the reader through all of Clay’s emotions: surprise when he hears Hannah’s voice, guilt over the role he played in her story, anger at the others who played a role in her story, and overwhelming sadness and regret at missing the chance to really tell her how he felt about her. 

In his exploration, Clay discovers how small, seemingly insignificant and unrelated events snowballed to the point that Hannah felt hopeless.  Clay’s exploration leads the reader to question: what do you do when you hear a rumor, see a list where people are described in unflattering terms, or see someone needs help?  Do you ignore it?  Do you try to make a stand and stop it?  Or do you continue spreading without seeing it turn into a destructive snowball?

What are the consequences and who suffers from those consequences?  Who pays the price for your actions or inactions?

Recommendations:

I have not read a book that affected me like Thirteen Reasons Why in a long time.  It is hard to compare it to anything else, but Jay Asher has a book coming out in November that I am excited about.  I hope it is as gripping as Thirteen Reasons Why.