Through a Lens: Jillian!

For this week's TAL, I'm featuring my good blog buddy Jillian from Random Ramblings. She's a fun girl and her blog is always fascinating to visit - stop by her site and meet her yourself!

Here we go -
Do you have character crushes? List as many as you want!
- Yes! Tobias from Animorphs, Todd Wilkins from Sweet Valley series, Kent from Before I Fall, Guy from Willow, And Landon Carter from A Walk to Remember.

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

- Annabeth Chase or Hermione Granger!

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

- Probably in a world like Fablehaven (by Brandon Mull). Of course, it will have to be walking distance from Hogsmeade (HP) and driving distance to the shire (LOTR) ;)

Ever been scared/freaked out by a book villain?

- Most definitely. Professor Umbridge from HP series, Sauron from LOTR, Alex de Large from A Clockwork Orange, Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of The Lambs, Patrick Bateman from American Pyscho, and Norman Bates from Psycho.

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

- The Mortal Instruments series!

Which book[s] make you cry?

- A Walk to Remember, Where The Red Fern Grows, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Book Thief, Still Alice, Bridge to Terabithia.

Which book[s] make you laugh?

- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams!

Have you ever been unable to finish a book?

- I actually tried reading 1984 by George Orwell back in middle school, and could not finish it. I only got to read it completely when I was a senior in high school.

What book did you like when you were a kid?

- Babysitters Little Sister, Animorphs, Nancy Drew, The Secret Garden, and A Little Princess.

Any cool/funny reading habits or quirks?

- I hate book and spine creases, tears, smudges, writings, and folds. However, I do dog-ear them when I stop reading. I never use a bookmark -- though I do collect and have so many of them!
- Oh and I can not read in cars and planes because I get nauseated easily, which is quite frustrating. What else am I supposed to do to kill hours and hours?

When is your favorite time to read? Favorite place?

- My favorite time to read is at night. But I read whenever I get the chance to! I bring a book with me everywhere. Favorite place would be in my room, in bed!

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

- Lauren Oliver (because she seems extremely nice, fun, and so down-to-earth!) And J.K. Rowling....... just because that's J.K. Rowling.

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

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, The Book Of Lost Things by John Connolly, and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

What is your favorite word?

I actually have a lot of favorites but I'll just give four: Carnations, Serendipity, Subconscious, and Ethereal.

What is your favorite book quote?

From The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield; "I never read without making sure I am in a secure position. I have been like this ever since the age of seven when, sitting on a high wall and reading The Water Babies, I was so seduced by the descriptions of the underwater life that I unconsciously relaxed my muscles. Instead of being held buoyant by the water that so vividly surrounded me in my mind, I plummeted to the ground and knocked myself out. I can still feel the scar under my fringe now. Reading can be dangerous."

ONE WORD ANSWERS FOR...
Bestsellers : cool
Book blogs : best!
Vampires ; eh
Science fiction : sure
Classics : bronte!
Harry Potter : favorite.

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

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak.

Thanks, Jillian! I loved the Animorphs series too (Jake was my crush!). And 'ethereal' is definitely an awesome word :)

If you'd like to be featured in TAL, leave me your email address so I can get with you.
Happy 4th, everybody!

Review - FORGIVE MY FINS

Forgive My Fins - Tera Lynn Childs
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
# of pages: 298
Publisher: Harper Collins: Katherine Tegan Books
Amelia's Age-Level Recommendation: 12+ (great for middle schoolers and up)My Thoughts
Forgive My Fins was a fun, entertaining read perfect for summertime. It's also the only book I can think of that's about mermaids. I definitely enjoyed reading about a new "paranormal" creature, that's for sure! (*New YA trend prediction!*)

There were several things I liked about this book. I don't think I've ever read a YA story about mermaids, so I had nothing to compare this to. Therefore I went in with a pretty open mind and as far as a story about mermaids goes, I liked it. Childs did a great job of creating the mermaid kingdom of Have-No-Idea-How-to-Pronounce, and her mythological backstory was very creative and original. Thank you, Tera Lynn! Creativity is something I look for in my "grading", and Fins really impressed me!
Childs is also the kind of author who pays attention to "the little things." She's even gone so far as to create mer phrases/slangs, which may come across as a little cheesy, but still fun and cute. Childs does cute very well.
Honestly, I've read a lot of other reviews that say that Fins is a little on the predictable side. I would have to disagree. There were actually several times throughout the story when I was really surprised by the turn of events. Some of the time, I could guess what was going to happen next, but several times something would happen that I didn't expect. Not going to spoil anything, but I was a little disappointed with the ending. If you've read Fins, do you agree?
As much as I enjoyed Fins, though, and as much as I love Ms. Childs' books, I just had a really hard time warming up to the main character, Lily. I think that's because the story is told in her narrative, and so we get a little too much "Lily" and not enough other people. Sometimes she'd say things that were just downright mean, and so I know this review sounds kind of awkward, because as much as I loved the story, I kind of didn't like the main character. Have you ever had a reading experience like that?

HOWEVER: There were SO MANY GOOD THINGS about this book, and so I definitely recommend you give Fins a try! It's also a CLEAN read, so this is one that I can recommend to my students as well!

Final Grade:

So long, June!

Whoa, June is gone, July is here, and summer is halfway over!
June was a pretty good month reading-wise. I'm averaging about 1 book a week, which was actually my school-year average. Between going home, youth trips, and summer classes, 1 book a week doesn't seem so bad!June was an especially good month due to all the AMAZING, A+ books I read in a row. Here are some stats:

Number of books: 6
Favorite Read: Wondrous Strange
Least Favorite Read: Forgive My Fins (sorry, but it's true!)
Succeeds in Originality: Sabriel (it's part high fantasy, part alternate history, all creative!)
Succeeds in Imitation: The Iron King (just not enough originality to outweigh all the cliches)
Best Narrator/MC: Grace Divine, The Dark Divine (a girl who is smart, compassionate, not whiny and learns from her mistakes)
Worst Narrator/MC: Lily Sanderson, Forgive My Fins
Best Love Interest: tie between Sonny, Wondrous Strange & Touchstone, Sabriel
Best Wisecracking Sidekick Character: Mogget the talking cat in Sabriel
Author (out of this group) I'd love to hang out with: Lesley Livingston (author of Wondrous Strange)
Total # of pages read: 2,067

Final Grades:

The Iron King
Wondrous Strange
The Spook's Nightmare: not reviewed, but I'd give it anThe Dark Divine
SabrielForgive My Fins: review coming up

Book Blogger Hop!

New twist to the hop!
The question I'm supposed to answer is my name and why I started blogging. Here goes!

I'm Amelia, and this is Imagination in Focus, a blog dedicated to reading/reviewing and interacting with other book bloggers. The title comes from a quote by Mark Twain. I started blogging because I wanted to have a place to store all my book reviews and interact with other reading enthusiasts. :)

If you're a new follower from the Hop, thank you for stopping by, and I hope you'll come again! Leave the link to your site so I can check it out.

And now for some shameless promoting - check out my newest post on Books to Swap!

Surprise In My Mailbox [13] IT CAME!

Normally I do my IMM posts over the weekend, but I just couldn't wait!
I'm so excited - a package came for me yesterday and I knew immediately who it was from! Getting a package, by the way, is an amazing feeling, yes?!

Thank you so much Razorbill/Penguin for...

The Replacement - Brenna Yovanoff
and thank you also for sending
The Eternal Ones - Kirsten Miller
Virals - Kathy Reichs

Can't wait to read!

3rd WONDROUS STRANGE has a name, cover!

Got home from work today and noticed that Wondrous Strange #3 is now called Tempestuous. Very cool - I can definitely see the Shakespearean theme!

And look at the pretty cover design!

Tempestuous is scheduled to be released January 7, 2011.

Teaser Tuesday: FORGIVE MY FINS

As always, Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB @ Should be Reading.Here's how it works: Grab the current book you're reading- Open up to a random page- share a little "teaser" from somewhere on that page.***Make sure your section is spoiler free!!
Here's my teaser from Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs:

"I pop back above water. 'What's wrong?'
'Kiss me.'
'What?!'
That's what got us into this mess in the first place.
'Kiss me,' he repeats, stepping closer. 'I trust you, but what do I know? If this is going to be my last breath, I want it to be a good one.'"

- Forgive My Fins, pg 85