back from nyc

Hey everybody! We got back from New York last night and I've spent today pretty much sleeping and crying over the fact that our high today was 110 degrees. You absolutely suck, West Texas.
Bad news? I miss New York like crazy...what an amazing town! Good news? I am this close (thumb nearly touching forefinger) to finally finishing Divergent.
This week I'll upload pictures from the city and when I get my stuff in the mail, I'll post a late IMM.
Hope everybody had a good last week! Stay cool and drink lots of water!

Question of the Midweek: If you could recommend ONE YA book...

...to anyone (let's assume it's someone who actually *likes* to read), what would it be?
Because let's face it, I bet several of you have heard some kind of disparaging comment about YA literature, how it's beneath one's level, how it's superficial, how it's light reading, how it's *gasp* "kiddie lit." What one book would you recommend that proves those thoughts wrong?

My answer...
I'm going to fudge a little, and I'm going to give a whole series instead of just one book.
The one series I'd be able to recommend to the greatest number of people, with the greatest possibility of favorable reception, would be the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. They are so extremely fun, have a witty and endearing cast of characters...but above all, the reason I think adults would be able to appreciate the series...is because it's so clever. The way Riordan seamlessly weaves myth after myth together into modern day America is just pure genius.
I already know several professors (people who read AND WRITE those long academic articles that appear in journals and whatnot FOR FUN!) who swear by this series.
(I gotta admit, though, I'm a little nervous about where the spinoff series - The Heroes of Olympus - is going! I almost wish some of the characters from the original werent in this sequel series!)

So what say you all? What one book or series would you recommend, if you could ONLY recommend one?

In My Mailbox [9]

In My Mailbox this week! (started by the Story Siren)
Bought
Divergent - Veronica Roth
^^it was just so pretty and shiny! I couldn't help but buy one

Trade!
Supernaturally - Kiersten White
^^thanks Khadija!

Received!
So Silver Bright (Theatre Iluminata #3) - Lisa Mantchev
Special thanks to Macmillan Children's USA!

--and this has absolutely nothing to do with mailboxes or book-buying, but I made a crazy-mad exhibit hall map for Javits, and I wanted to show it off, because this is the closest I ever get to making artsy stuff... :P

What did everyone else get this week?

Review - THE GODDESS TEST

The Goddess Test - Aimee Carter
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy/Mythology spinoff
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
# of pages: 304 (pb)
The Goddess Test @ Parental Book Reviews
Recommended for: HS & Beyond

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests. Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

Raise your hand if you check out reviews of a book right before you read it. I must have read at least fifteen reviews for The Goddess Test on Goodreads and the blogs and many if not most of them said the same things: the mythological characters (Greek gods, in other words) are portrayed very differently from the real myths, Hades in particular doesn't seem very Hades-ish, and there's a bit of religion-mixing with regard to the plot.
Now here's where I come in: yeah, all of those things are true, and for me, they totally worked.
Yep, there was something very 'cool' (for lack of a better word...it's been a long day) about this book, about its plot, about the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it and read it pretty fast, too!
For one thing, The Goddess Test was consistently (read: always) interesting. The main character, Kate Winters, was one of the more cheer-worthy heroines I've encountered lately. She possessed a lot of the qualities I like to see in a protagonist: she was kind and considerate of others (read: 'I'm not the orbital center of the solar system') and she had a sense of loyalty that would make Lassie herself seem like a flake. However, the girl really needs a self-esteem injection. It didn't always seem like she was the most balanced character, because several times throughout the story she would let other characters completely walk all over her, which made her seem kind of weak. But I thought the way she wanted to help her mom (and Henry) really sweet.
Henry/Hades was actually my favorite character. Depending on how many other reviews you've read of The Goddess Test, you may have noticed some disappointment over his portrayal. Honestly, I kind of liked the way Henry was portrayed here, even if he didn't seem very Hades-ish. And there was one thing about him in particular that I really liked, but hardly see anymore in YA lit, so that was fun. However, the synopsis labels him "dark" and "tortured," which I did not think he was. Actually, he was more gentlemanly and distant; I didn't get much of the 'tortured' vibe.
When you think of Hades...you think Hades and Persephone, right? Maybe? Well, The Goddess Test is not supposed to be a retelling of that myth. Just thought I'd reiterate that, because I definitely expected it to be. I actually thought this book had more in common with the myth of Cupid and Psyche (girl goes to a big palace-y place and befriends the staff...has to pass all these tests...falls for an elusive guy she doesn't know all that well...angry/jealous family members wreak havoc...). The tests that Kate had to pass were kind of downplayed throughout the story, and you didn't really even find out what they were until the very end. I would have liked to have seen the tests take more focus, but I have a feeling there will be way more in store for Kate and company later!
My word to those fellow mythology lovers who gobbled up Percy Jackson and are looking for the newest must-have myth-based book: go into The Goddess Test with an open mind. Ms. Carter certainly is a creative girl who has a fascinating story to tell, so I wouldn't expect the "god/goddess" characters to be too similar to their real myth counterparts. If you have to, imagine them as completely separate characters.

hur dur dur dur - HP goes MEAN GIRLS!

(if you haven't seen A Very Potter Sequel on youtube, 'hur dur dur dur' is how Dolores Umbridge laughs. As much as I'd love to claim the weirdness, that's where it comes from!)
So this is an epic post of silliness, but I compiled a list of hilarious Harry Potter-meets-Mean Girls best-of-both-worlds funfest. Enjoy!

BEA links & tips

this is just a resource page for all the posts about Book Expo America

Tips, Advice, Etc.

BEA: All You Need to Know +More! (2)
^^ Thank you La Femme Readers & Red House Books
Reading with Tequila: Advice for Bloggers Attending Book Expo
^^I loved this so much, I printed it out. Will probably laminate.
Poisoned Rationality: Do's and Don'ts
Miss Remmers' Reviews: What to Bring, What to Wear, Questions Answered
^^ these are so thorough! and they're vlogs, too!
Bookjourney: What I Learned at BEA
^^so many good tips here!
Evil Wylie's Blog: Ultimate BEA Party Guide 2011
^^hilarious!

2010 Recaps, Pictures. Etc
By date:
Book Faery: Pictures from BEA, (2)
Bloody Bookaholic: BEA Day 2 Part II - The Books, BEA Day 2 Part I - The Content and the Buzz, BEA Day 2 Part III - The People
La Femme Readers: In My Mailbox - BEA Edition

if I hear of or see any other links, I'll put 'em in here.

the "Don't Worry, I Still Love You" Reading list

If there's one thing having a Goodreads account teaches, it's that we all have different tastes.
Some books that we may love, other folks...not so much with the lovin'. And vice versa.
Have you ever found yourself loving a book that you'd seen not-so-hot reviews for?

A couple books I love and love to defend are...

The Dark Divine - Bree Despain
I read this over the summer, and it was easily one of my favorites of 2010.

Reasons why I liked it: I loved the main character, Grace, and really clicked with her. I liked her family (even if they were portrayed a little stereotypically), I liked that she was assertive but still compassionate and empathetic of other people, and of course, the story world. I loved Despain's take on "werewolves" and overall, The Dark Divine was a surprisingly good book! Haven't read The Lost Saint yet, but it's on my shelf.

Skellig - Dave Almand
I remember reading this in high school, and besides being one of the first young adult books I ever read (in the last few years), it's also one of the very few books that made me cry.

Reasons why I liked it: Almand's writing style is so effective: lyrical, poignant, but also crisp and to-the-point. And the imagery - oh my! A boy walks into a dilapidated shed and finds a creature that resembles an angel... just remembering the ins and outs of the story gives me goosebumps. I've seen quite a lot of negative reviews for it, but honestly, it's one of my absolute favorites. No matter what grade I end up teaching, I *will* have a class copy of Skellig in my room!

Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater
Another of my favorite 2010 reads (not forgetting the sequel, Linger, which I enjoyed just as much). I think that my the review that most sticks out in my mind - though I can't remember if I saw it on Goodreads or on one of the Amazons - was "a boring book for boring readers." Well if that's true, I'll gladly post a sign on my back that says "I'm a boring reader!"

Reasons why I liked it: Maggie's writing style. It's just so...wait, stop. Stop a minute. If you haven't read a book by author Maggie Stiefvater (preferably her Wolves of Mercy Falls books, which Shiver is), I'd like for you to go right now and make a note to either buy one or check one out of the library. Every author is talented, yeah, but I can literally count on my fingers the number of truly beautiful, lyrically-possessed-writing-style authors out there. No Dante Aligheri, sorry dude but you don't count. You're kinda dead.
Next, her characters. They're real: capable of growth and change, which I love. Don't give me screwed up characters, authors! Give me ones who are *dynamic* and capable of growth! And last but not least, Sam. Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, etc. Want to know what I think qualifies as the ideal love interest in YA lit? Well, read the Percy Jackson series, cause Percy's my favorite. Or read about Taran in the Chronicles of Prydain. But the third guy? Sam. All the way.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
(this is mostly based on what folks I know in real life say)
This is another book I read way back in the day, way back before my book-blog, way back before Twilight and Percy Jackson. In fact, I think I was waiting on the next Harry Potter installment when I picked this up. Holy flying guano, Batman! That was a *long* time ago!
But duuuude...most of the sweet darlings I know at school can't stand this book. "It's weird." "It's pointless." "Christopher talks like a weirdo." "It didn't make any sense."

Reasons Why I Liked It: If you haven't heard of this book, it's a fictional book written in journal-format and tells the story of Christopher, an autistic teenager, as he investigates the death, Sherlock Holmes-style, of his neighbor's dog. Author Mark Haddon not only wrote the voice of a teenage boy, but an autistic one. Yes, friends-in-real-life, Christopher sounds a little different than we do. That's kind of the point of the book, and the fact that it reads so believable is a credit to the author's incredible talent. I loved this book. It didn't make me cry Skellig-style, but it was moving.

and of course...

Twilight - Stephenie Meyer

No, Twilight is not the best book ever written. No, it's not the best book I've ever read. But for what it was, at the time, it was fun and enjoyable. I remember reading this book back in the day, before a third of today's hottest and bestselling series books were out. And yeah, bashing Twilight seems to be a cool thing to do, and yeah, Bella sure was whiny and a little on the boring side, but...there were more things I liked about Twilight than didn't like. As the series went along, it did get a little repetitive and anti-climactic, but...gosh darn it, I still think Stephenie is a pretty awesome gal. And she is definitely someone in the literary world (in addition to the Planet Earth world) that I admire. So yes, I liked Twilight when I read it back in 2007, and I still have a good opinion of it. Just sayin.

So those are 5 that I just thought of! I'd love to know what you guys thought of any of these books. If you were to do a post on books you loved (but felt like you were the *only* one who loved it), what books would be listed?