Book Blogger Hop!

Hey everyone - it's Friday, time for another hop!
Head on over to Crazy for Books to join the Book Blogger Hop, a great way to connect with other book bloggers and share your links!

Thank you so much for visiting Imagination in Focus! Leave me your link too and I'll follow you too! :D

Shout-out to great book review sites

Personally, I want to know what to expect when I read books...just the same as wanting to know what to expect when I go to the movies. However, some book reviews - and I'm sure we've all heard them (maybe even written some ourselves) - sound a little too much like ringing endorsements and less like personal reviews. And even less have content information. We typically write reviews based on how we feel, which can be different from how someone else feels. And if we don't think something is that big of a deal (to us), we may not include it in reviews. For example, I'm unfortunately really uptight about sexual content and really lax about language and violence. One of my goodreads friends pointed out that unless a book has the F-word in it, I won't say anything about language. So I'll try to be more factual in that department... :)

And for a little shout-out within a shout-out: to Juju @ Tales of Whimsy... her reviews were really the first (not the last, but the first) that I saw that actually gave me a good indication of what to expect when reading. If you haven't been to her site, she has different "meters" that gauge content and give age-appropriate suggestions, which is brilliant. So thank you, Juju!

But anyway, on to the sites: These are two of the best sites that I know of for 1) parents and 2) readers who like to know what to expect when going into a book. All of my aunts and several of my other parent-friends know about these sites and use them routinely.

My favorite is Reading Teen: Parental Book Reviews. This site is just like Screenit (the best movie review site on the internet!) only for books. It breaks down topics by content and gives quotes from the book you're reviewing. They update their site often and feature reviews for very popular and new teen books... they're my favorite! I don't know if it's one mom or a team of moms, but I love their little commentaries at the bottom - they're cute! And most importantly, they're effective. In fact, their ratings have a link that takes you to actual passages from the book. In a situation like this, I really don't care about spoilers, but some of you might, so that link is optional.

Another good site is Common Sense Media - Books. This site is definitely more "professional" looking and they have way more titles to search. Personally, I ignore their age categories, because some of the 12-14 books I would consider better suited for 15-17...and a few of their reviews (for books that I've read myself) have left out content, plus obviously different interpretations on what is and is not "graphic." But again, they have more titles to choose from.

Okay, so I don't know how many parents may read this, or how many of you find book reviews like these useful. But I've been meaning to do a post like this for awhile, so here it is. :)

My recommendation? Bookmark these sites!

Which is more popular?

Both are YA dystopian series-novels
Both have legions of fans
Both have film adaptations in the works.

So I'm curious...

Which one is more popular?
and...
Which do you like better?

PS - I may be the only one, but when I hear that a book is going to be adapted into a film, my first reaction is kind of negative...like, ohh how many changes are they going to make THIS time?! Eragon and PJ just lost my faith in film adaptations. But hey! Apparently Suzanne Collins is writing the screenplay herself - that must mean that the movie will be faithful to the books? What are your thoughts on film adaptations of books? Yes or no?

Books for Trade! (US Only)

I got this idea from the wonderful Natalie over at Mindful Musings.
Seeing her post, I realized that I have a lot of books need to be cleared away

Basically they are ones that I...
1) have two copies of
2) probably won't read anymore
3) never read and likely will not get around to them any time soon

Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld
Specials - Scott Westerfeld
Captivate - Carrie Jones
Ask and the Answer - Patrick Ness
This World We Live In - Susan Beth Pfeffer
Rampant - Diana Peterfreund
Oh My Gods - Tera Lynn Childs
Artemis Fowl - Eion Colfer
The Alchemyst - Michael Scott

Review - WONDROUS STRANGE

Wondrous Strange - Lesley Livingston
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
# of pages: 321 (pb)
Amelia's Age-Level Recommendation: 13+
My Thoughts: Did a little something uncharacteristic in that I read two very similar books back-to-back - The Iron King and then Wondrous Strange (both being YA modern-faerie-tale stories). I'm glad I did, though! Truth be told, TIK had me in a little bit of a funk, and I was holding out for a hero to rescue me from bad faerie books (okay, so TIK wasn't "bad" - it just was "flat okay")

And let me tell you - Lesley Livingston is a hero! A hero and a wonderfully creative storyteller, too! This book was so fun, so enjoyable, such a delight to read! I love writing happy, positive reviews! It makes me not sound like a harpy :)

Wondrous Strange, to me, offered a very clever, very interesting amount of mythology and folklore to explain the faerie world. This is particularly interesting because the entire story takes place in New York City - the "Otherworld," as it is known, is only referenced.
There's something in particular that I found really neat: So often in faerie fiction, you hear the same things over and over: Seelie/Unseelie, Winter & Summer Courts. Well, those concepts are all here, but Livingston brings more to the table by having 4 courts: yes, Autumn and Spring are represented too! That was really cool. And the Midsummer monarchs: Titania and Auberon (instead of Oberon--cool!) are here as well, but they're not near as stereotypical. In fact, Titania is only referenced, and Auberon is portrayed in a way that makes sense with his character background.
This may sound redundant (because it is a FAERIE book), but in WS I actually liked the portrayal of the faeries. What I look for are not necessarily cute, adorable little J.M. Barrie/Tinkerbell fairies... but I do look for faeries that make sense for what they're portrayed to be. For example, if fairies are so magical/wonderful/beautiful/immortal/exotic, that should reflect in their culture and behavior. I don't want to get off-track here, but the easy way to write faerie fiction (it seems) has been to portray them as raunchy and too over-the-top... Not so here. Faeries aren't perfect - by any means - but they're not overdone.
Girls, you will *love* Lesley Livingston's writing style! It's just so beautiful, lyrical, and incredibly witty. Seriously, there were a few passages and quotes that made me laugh out loud!
Also, I loved that Livingston chose to tell Wondrous Strange using double perspectives. Sometimes seeing things from the point of view of the "normal girl character" can be a bit limiting, so it was really cool to read Sonny's perspective and be able to have a window into the faerie world through him.
And last but not least: the main character. I liked Kelley Winslow a lot. She's smart, spunky, and capable, but she's also able to let somebody else take the lead, too - a very good quality to have in a well-rounded and mature person. And she graduated early - very cool (I liked that little bit because I graduated early too!).

If you are a fan of faerie fiction, Shakespearean-influenced literature, or just a fun, entertaining summer read, definitely check out Wondrous Strange!

Final Grade:
I have Darklight, but I want to make the series last as long as I can! Wondrous Strange #3 won't be published until January 2011!

What to read next? need input!

Right now I'm reading The Spook's Nightmare, book 7 in the Wardstone series, but after that... I'm stuck in a rut. Help!

These books have been waiting patiently on my bookshelf, but now they're getting restless!
Which books should I read next? Have you read any of these, and if so, what did you think of them?

Round Two!

Life as We Knew It - Susan Beth Pfeffer
Impossible - Nancy Werlin
Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater
Darklight (Wondrous Strange #2) - Lesley Livingston
The Wizard Heir & The Warrior Heir - Cinda Williams Chima
The Hunger Games & Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
The Maze Runner - James Dashner
The Golden Spiral (Hourglass, #2) - Lisa Mangum

A Quick Interview with Lisa Mantchev!

That's right! The exceptionally talented, creative, and very-busy Lisa Mantchev stopped by to answer a few of my questions. She's currently working on Theatre Iluminata #3, so it was even more incredible that she made time out of her busy schedule to stop by!

How would you describe your writing style in 4 words?

Descriptive, lush, theatrical, silly

What was the inspiration for the THEATRE ILUMINATA series?

Bertie entered into my head with her full name (Beatrice Shakespeare Smith) and the mental picture of her surrounded by fairies flying on wires.

Your books are full of great quotes from classic Shakespearean plays. Do you have any favorite quotes?

I love almost all the super-snarky quotes from Taming of the Shrew.

What can readers look forward to in the 3^rd book?

More of the love triangle between Nate, Ariel, and Bertie, of course. More family issues, plus some surprising complications on the road back to the theater!

If Peaseblossom, Mustardseed, Moth and Cobweb were coming over to your house for tea, what would you serve them?

Chocolate ganache cupcakes, lemon-glazed apple pie, cheesecake, strawberry tarts, fudge, orange soda, and hot chocolate topped with whipped cream.

If the THEATRE ILUMINATA had a soundtrack, what songs would be included?

There is actually a song called "Eyes Like Stars" by a band called Faulter, plus "The Assassins' Tango" from the Mr. & Mrs. Smith soundtrack (that's Ariel and Bertie's tango.) Other than those two, the soundtrack from Cirque du Soleil's Corteo and Kooza were favorites!

How would you finish this sentence? A successful author is someone who _______.

writes every day.

Thank you again, Lisa! I love the snarky dialogue from The Taming of the Shrew, too (and the inspired musical, Kiss Me Kate!)

Where to find Lisa on the web:

The Theatre Iluminata (a must-see place for Theatre fans!)

Lisa Mantchev's website
Lisa on Goodreads
Lisa's Livejournal

And of course, here are the masterpieces: