2 more months

It would have made more sense if I'd posted this on Thursday, but we've got 2 months (less than 2 months now!) until Mockingjay hits stores!

I just preordered mine a few minutes ago :) Can't go wrong with amazon
I'm probably the only person in the whole reading universe who hasn't read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire yet, but I know I will love them! I just know it. It's one of those "when you wish upon a star" things that's just certain. Why? Because of all the reliable feedback. For me, my beta-book testers are my brothers Hayden and Hutton (who used to read a lot but sadly don't much anymore), my cousin Kirby, and my roommate Lindsey. Oh, and Juju from Tales of Whimsy.

So...only 2 more months to go! It seems like just yesterday the pretty baby-blue cover was revealed. :)
Who's preordered their copies? Who's going to be busting through the doors on August 24th to grab a copy? And I haven't heard of any, but is anyone going to a release party?

2 more months!

Through a Lens: Danielle!

This week I have Danielle from There's a Book and Chicklit Reviews with me! Her sites are awesome, by the way, so if you get a chance, stop by!

Do you have character crushes? List as many as you want!
This is terrible...I only have two that I can think of right away. Captain Gray from Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien, just so much mystery there. And without a doubt Eric Northman from the Sookie Stackhouse books, just perfect!

If you could be any book character, who would you be?

Clary from The Mortal Instruments series, she's strong and has incredible skills. A definite favorite of mine.

If you could live in a fictional world, where would you live?

In Alicante from City of Glass, it just always seemed so peaceful and beautiful and now with so much diversity. It sounds perfect.

Is there a book/series that everyone seems to have read but you?
The Vampire Academy series, I've wanted to, but just can't seem to find the time.

Which book[s] make you cry?

The Half Blood Prince in the Harry Potter series had me balling like a baby for hours.

Which book[s] make you laugh?

I just finished reading Leaving Unknown by Kerry Reichs and it had me laughing so hard I woke my husband up reading it one night. For an every time I need a good laugh - The Sookie Books/True Blood - Charlaine Harris has perfect timing!

Have you ever been unable to finish a book?

Yep, just one that really sticks out - it was a nightmare - and unfortunately the beginning of my distaste for a certain type of book which I won't mention.

What book did you like when you were a kid?

Socks by Beverly Cleary, I think I read it so many times the cover fell off my paperback copy.

Any cool/funny reading habits or quirks?

I prefer to have music playing while reading and actually read about twice as fast if it is. Unfortunately, no else in my house appreciates this except my one year old daughter, who loves music. My husband can't read unless it's silent.

When is your favorite time to read? Favorite place?

At night when everyone is asleep, I can listen to my iPod and read until I pass out. Just love it!

If you could hang out with an author for a day, who would it be?

Just one? Well, it would either be JK Rowling or JRR Tolkien. Both of their imaginations are incredible, I'd just love to see how they came up with it all and what a day would be like in their lives.

If you could adapt a book/series into a movie, it would be...

Without a doubt, The Hunger Games.

What is your favorite word?

Implode - What can I say?

What is your favorite book quote?

“You can want something more than you can say. That doesn’t ever mean it’s yours.” p.205 The Heart Is Not a Size by Beth Kephart - I'm not even sure I could describe what this quote means to me, but when I read it I immediately connected with it. I read over it often just so that I can remember the importance of the words Kephart wrote.

ONE WORD ANSWERS FOR...
Bestsellers Oprah
Book blogs Friends
Vampires Tasty
Science fiction Invaders
Classics Sleeping
Harry Potter Brilliant

If you could recommend ONE BOOK to everyone, it would be...

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, It's a favorite from when I was little and even now as an adult it teaches me to appreciate all I have.

Thanks Danielle! The Giving Tree is one of my favorites, too!
If you'd like to be featured on TAL, leave a comment with your email. :)

YA is funny sometimes...

This is pretty much a post expressing thoughts on the feedback I've gotten from The Dark Divine... As always, these are just my views, arbitrary as they may be.

I've seen it here on this blog and I've also seen it on my goodreads and on other reviews, and now I've talked to 2 people in real life who have echoed this - but apparently The Dark Divine has received negative/mixed reviews. In my own snide mind, I can just take a wild guess as to why. And it just makes me shake my head and want to post my TDD review over and over again, if only to get the word out. Despite what it may seem, I do not like writing negative reviews, so it makes me giddy with glee to write positive ones. And lately, I've had the chance to do that a lot (Sabriel, TDD, Eyes Like Stars, Wildwood Dancing).
So now I come to my obvious thesis: YA is funny sometimes. It really is. It is completely beyond me that a book like The Dark Divine would get mixed and negative reviews. I really, REALLY do not see it. Yet other books like Hush Hush, The Iron King, Tithe and Bleeding Violet (to name a few) generally get glowing reviews, which read more like endorsements. It's just funny sometimes. Seriously, I would find the opposite true. Have you ever felt like you were in the minority on a certain book? On a more lighthearted side, I get that a lot with Twilight, haha! Somebody actually said to me on goodreads "I bet you're one of those Twilight fans" as if that was some kind of pejorative.

I love YA, it's definitely (along with MG) the main genre that I read, but it sure can be funny sometimes. I think it's funny the types of things that readers will let an author get away with in a book, or the things they don't mind reading, and the things that readers on the other hand don't like. Like I said, I must be missing out on something obvious, but I cannot think of anything that would warrant such negative reviews for TDD.
To each her own, I guess, but I just wanted to do a little pro-TDD post again and pose the question, because it sure seems awkward sometimes to feel like somehow you're missing or not getting something. Hmmm!

Review - SABRIEL

Sabriel - Garth Nix
Genre: YA Fantasy; book 1 in the Abhorsen (US)/Old Kingdom (AUS) trilogy
# of pages: 311 (pb)
Publisher (US): Harper Collins
Recommended for: HS & beyond!

My Thoughts: WOW.

Sabriel completely took my breath away.
The fantasy elements were phenomenal: fun, interesting, and unique. So unique, in fact, that it took me a few chapters to wrap my mind around the world Nix created. It's not simply high fantasy, it's more of a parallel world: in one country, the culture seems to mirror an early-20th-century England, and in the other country seems to mirror a more medieval setting. So one culture has technology, the other has magic. Very, very cool!

As for the characters, Sabriel, Touchstone, and Mogget (a spirit who takes the form of a white cat) made an entertaining trio. Nix's characters are written with a great balance of emotion and action, though I will admit to wishing that the romance played a bigger role. (I know, what can I say? I like love stories...*facepalm*) I thoroughly enjoyed Sabriel - once again, a girl who's strong without being snarky. Touchstone was definitely my favorite character, mainly because I don't really see a lot of guys like him in fiction. So many YA love interests seem to have this inherent haughtiness, so it was neat to see a guy who (while not a wuss) struggled with fear and insecurity. It was really cool to watch him come to terms with his guilt and his past. And he's just so sweet!
And Mogget the cat was hilarious and just a little creepy. I tell you what, if he and Grimalkin from the Iron Fey series had a tomcat alley fight, Mogget would WIN. He fights dirty!
But man, oh man, the ACTION of Sabriel was just riveting! I really do think that the best way to write entertaining fantasy that keeps readers' interest is to have some kind of journey or quest. The characters and plot keep from getting stagnate by being in some kind of state of motion, both physically and mentally. And it's just edge-of-your-seat reading!

Final Grade:

Review - THE DARK DIVINE

The Dark Divine - Bree Despain
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
# of pages: 371 (ARC)
Publisher: Egmont
Amelia's Age-Level Recommendation: 13/14+
The Dark Divine @ Parental Book Reviews

My Thoughts:
Simply put, this book exceeded all my expectations.
YA is fun, but let's be honest: sometimes...it can be a little repetitive: you feel like you're reading slightly altered versions of the same story over and over. Ordinary girl meets dark, paranormal bad-boy and "complications" ensue. What kinds of complications? Well, usually the same ones.
In all honesty, The Dark Divine's formula is similar to other popular YA books out there, but there are so many aspects of the story that are very original. For example, authors have been using folk tales/fairytales, myths, and even other classic books as their inspiration for awhile, but this is the first one that I've read that is based off a parable. And Bree Despain's take on werewolves - which I'm sure we're all familiar with - is so INCREDIBLY original and actually makes sense! I remember thinking, "yeah, definitely! Why not?" Bravo, Mrs. Despain!

I don't mind sharing that I connected with this book on a personal level, too. I'm the granddaughter and niece of pastors, and I thought having a pastor's daughter for a main character was exceptionally refreshing. I connected with the Divine family and especially liked the idea of useful, responsible parent-figures. I think we can all agree that parent figures in YA are frequently absent, so it was nice to have helpful parent characters. Now, I do think that sometimes the Divine family was portrayed a little too...stereotypically... Grace and Jude are great characters, and I DO know boys like Jude, so no, I don't believe that he's "unrealistic" at all - but sometimes they both acted a little too contrived (my cousins are children of a pastor, and they do NOT spend their free time at food pantries, nor do they discuss clothing drives. Maybe they *should*, but...)But that one little mention is the only thing that I can think of to say about this book: aside from the Divine family's kind-of blatant portrayal, all the characters were very real, very well-rounded, and easy to relate to. For me, it's always a plus to have grounded, practical characters with values and a good head on their shoulders. Now Grace isn't perfect, and there is one point in the story in which she is swayed by popular opinion rather than rationality, but hey, no one is rational all the time. Jude is a really interesting character, too. At the beginning, he was a little too Richie Cunningham for me, but as the story progressed, he really turned interesting. As the Prodigal Son scenario played out, both he and Daniel became incredibly fun to explore.

Daniel and Grace's relationship was fun to read. It wasn't rushed, but it didn't beat around the bush; it wasn't abusive, it wasn't superficial, it wasn't inappropriate. Rather, I found Grace's devotion to Daniel and her (ultimate) willingness to help him (despite one brief stint of doubt and assumptions) very touching.

Even though this book really doesn't have a designated villain, the plot remained strong and interesting throughout, and the story was evenly paced and for me, never dragged. The Dark Divine was a fast read, but that's mainly because I was so engrossed, I could not put it down!

I really can't praise this book enough. Yes, there are religious elements in this story, and at times, it read like a Christian Fiction novel, (I don't read much of that particular genre, but I will admit that portions of the book read that way) but take it from me, this book is not one to miss. It's not CF, it's not designed to be CF, so please, PLEASE don't let that possibly dissuade you from giving this a try. If there's ever a YA book that I would recommend - besides Eyes Like Stars and Wildwood Dancing - it's The Dark Divine.


FINAL GRADE:

In My Mailbox [11]

Yay - this week I got a few books! My buying freeze is OVER!

Shipped
Sabriel - Garth Nix
Bookstore
Forgive My Fins - Tera Lynn Childs
Uglies - Scott Westerfeld
Trade
The Dark Divine - Bree Despain
^^ thank you Natalie!

Upcoming Reviews
The Dark Divine

Currently Reading
Sabriel

Up Next
Probably Forgive My Fins

Has anyone read any of these titles? If so, what did you think?


Real quick...
I still have a few books left to swap! If you're interested at what titles I have, click on the link at the top of the page, under the Header :)

Through a Lens: Meet Rae!

Today I have my buddy Rae with me. She's an awesome blogger who was kind enough to answer some of my questions! Visit her @ Goodreads or her blog!

If you could be any book character, who would you be?

hmmm...This is a tough one. Probably either Hermione Granger (she's smart and can kick your butt), Annabeth Chase (she's a child of Athena, so she's smart, and she's got mad skills. :) lolz), or Enna from the Books of Bayern (who wouldn't want to be able to 'talk' to fire and wind? of course, with great power comes great responsibility. :))

If you could live in a fictional world, where would you live?

hmmm....Bayern would be a nice place, though the world of Harry Potter would be great. :)

If you were organizing an art exhibit of book covers, which ones would you show?

Ever been scared/freaked out by a book villain?

only occasionally, and I have to be really into the book to get freaked out.

Is there a book/series that everyone seems to have read but you?

Not at this moment- I was gonna say the Book Thief by Markus Zusak, but I'm in the middle of reading it right now. :)

Which book[s] make you cry?

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. I got kinda depressed in New Moon when Edward left, but I didn't cry- I don't normally cry when I read.

Which book[s] make you laugh?

The entire Percy Jackson series, The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg, The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley--I could go on....

Have you ever been unable to finish a book?

sadly yes. I hate it, though I can't help not getting into a book- the author's writing style just doesn't pull me in.

What book did you like when you were a kid?

Ooo yay! an easy one! The Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osbourne, The Babysitter Club by Ann m. Martin, and, of course, could I forget to mention Nancy Drew? (i still love to go back and reread all of these from time to time.)

Any cool/funny reading habits or quirks?

When I come to a funny part in a book/story, I can't just laugh (or appear to be able to), I have to set the book down and clap my hands while squealing- It's weird, I know. I've just always done that (since I can remember I mean.) According to my sister, when I get really into a book, I shush those around me. :)

When is your favorite time to read? Favorite place?

Fave time? whenever I'm not on Goodreads. though I have adopted the *principle* i guess you would say that I have to read before i go to bed to fall asleep.
Fave Place? the couch, in my room, pretty much anywhere really im not partial to one spot.

If you could hang out with an author for a day, who would it be?

hmm....Rick Riordan. He's my all-time favorite author, and he seems very humorous and like a good person to talk to.

If you could adapt a book/series into a movie, it would be...

I would redo the PJO movie. :) but for one that isn't already a movie I would love to see Shannon Hale's Princess Academy become a movie (as long as I can be in charge of casting and help with the script so it don't stink)

What is your favorite word?

befuddle- it sounds like puddle, but with a 'bef' instead of a 'p' hahaha
and awesomesauce- they're tied. :)

What is your favorite book quote?

"The Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy, I thought everyone knew that. They're working to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within using a mixture of dark magic and gum disease." -Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

ONE WORD ANSWERS FOR...
Bestsellers- woo!
Book blogs- awesomesauce
Vampires- Twilight
Science fiction- TARDIS!
Classics- Austen
Harry Potter- wands

If you could recommend ONE BOOK to everyone, it would be

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Thanks for stopping by, Rae! She's one cool girl, and she's the one who introduced me to the Books of Bayern series by Shannon Hale - which are GREAT books by the way! And did you notice how she said she'd redo the Percy Jackson movie? Atta girl!

If you would like to be featured on Through a Lens, just leave me your email in the comment section and I'll get in touch with you!