Are. You. Ready?

Monday.
July 6th.

I show the world the new WORD for Teens website
_{complete with hangman, graphics, blogs, reviews, and more!}
and the new forum, "Today's Readers"
_{for every reader, not just the book a holics.}

The question is...
Are you ready?

Gone

Check out Lisa McMann's new cover for the latest installment in her best selling trilogy!



Isn't it a beaut?

Don't forget to come back later this month for the interview with her!

Skinned

Skinned
Author: Robin Wasserman
Series: Skinned (#1)
Publisher: Simon Pulse
How Received: library

Lia Kahn was perfect: rich, beautiful, popular -- until the accident that nearly killed her. Now she has been downloaded into a new body that only looks human. Lia will never feel pain again, she will never age, and she can't ever truly die. But she is also rejected by her friends, betrayed by her boyfriend, and alienated from her old life.

Forced to the fringes of society, Lia joins others like her. But they are looked at as freaks. They are hated...and feared. They are everything but human, and according to most people, this is the ultimate crime -- for which they must pay the ultimate price.

On a purely coverwhore aspect: I love this cover. It captures the book really well, not to mention just being pretty itself.

I enjoyed this book. Overall, it's well written, perfectly described, and oh so quotable. The characters were real people - yes, even the 'skinners'. The thing was...

It was the reverse Uglies.

Anybody whose read Scott Westerfeld's Uglies know that those books kick booktastic butt. They're just excellent novels. Lia was everything Tally wasn't - Tally wasn't pretty, but Lia was. Tally wanted to be pretty, Lia wanted her life back. Tally went to live with those who loved nature, Lia went and dealt with the 'skinners'. Tally fell in love with a pretty and a natural - Lia fell in love with a human and had feelings for a 'skinner'.

So, even though I enjoyed Skinned, the similarities it had to Uglies completely distracted me throughout the whole novel.

Overall Rating: 8/10
Skinned or Uglies?: That's the question, isn't it? As much as I thoroughly enjoyed Skinned and look forward to reading the sequels - it's the first of a trilogy - I've always adored Uglies. Both books are excellent, but something about Uglies just makes it that much better.

~N

My Sister's Keeper: The Movie

As somebody whose never read the book, I'm judging this movie PURELY on movie value.

As for keeping to the book, the only thing I know is Jodi Picolout's style - she tends to jump back and forth between characters, and the movie stuck to that. You get the thoughts of the lawyer, the mother, the siblings, and the father. In that aspect, I loved it.

As a movie itself, it was amazing. From start to end, the whole movie was a powerful experience. Not once did you believe the characters were fake. The relationships between the characters was near perfect. If you didn't know better, you'd say there were the real people themselves. The relationship between the two kids, sick with cancer, was a beautiful thing to watch unfold.

The soundtrack could've been better.

Notes to people seeing it: Bring tissues.

Sundays with Scott - Rowan of the Wood

Rowan of the Wood
Christine and Ethan Wood

Circa 592 A.D. - Caledonia
After thirty years of prosperity, Rowan and his love Fiana are ready to become Priest and Priestess of their tribe - and for their wedding. But on this happiest of nights, the tribe is ambushed. Using his powers, Rowan manages to transport Fiana and the surviving tribe members through a veil to the Otherworld. To avoid being himself killed, Rowan traps himself in his own wand, until his love can one day release him from his prison...

Present Day - California
Cullen Knight is in unusual circumstances, to say the least. Orphaned at such a young age, Cullen's only real family are in the books he reads so eagerly. While walking through the forest one day, though, Cullen discovers an object right out of his stories: a wand. After finding this wand and saying some mysterious words, Cullen wakes up in bed... with a tree on his chest. He has accidentally "released" Rowan into his own body. Now the two must search out Rowan's love Fiana from almost 1400 years ago. But even is she is alive somehow, will she still love him? Ow will their lives be entirely changed?


This is why I love doing this job - I get to find and read great books like this one. With believable characters, memorable settings, and a decent plot line, Rowan of the Wood is a solid and likeable story. Not the greatest, but definitely worth reading!

Rowan of the Wood or Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye?: Erec Rex and Rowan are fairly similar in that they both have child heroes and, unusual for stories of magic, take place in a city. You really have to decide if you want a more realistic story or obvious fantasy here, because they're both too great to compare to each other.

Rating: 8/10; keep an eye out for the sequel!

- Scott

Final Fridays - Todd McCaffrey

If you were transported to a mythical land of dragons and Thread and were allowed to take only one person with you, Todd McCaffrey would be that person. A New York Times bestselling author, he inherited the pen that writes Pern from mother Anne McCaffrey (my favorite author ever. in the history of the universe) and keeps the series going as strong as ever.

What inspired you to start writing the Pern series, with and without your mother?
Well, actually, I had at one point sworn that I would never write on Pern. ("Be careful with your words / and be certain they are sweet / for be certain that they /you one day will have to eat!")

Years passed. A full decade or more. And then one day, over a decade past, I was cornered by Mum's editor and reminded that Mum would not live forever. This editor was very worried that without someone actively writing on Pern the series would, like too many others, wither and die.

Now, I would really like a world where we don't have to write stories about strong women beating sense into dumb men. I'd like a world where women and men respect each other and rely on each other. Sadly, that world isn't here yet (although with Michelle Obama's buff arms, it may have moved somewhat closer).

But still, I thought. I don't have any stories to write on Pern. And I thought that I'd be judged as a coat-hanger, a nepot. But I mentioned the idea to some of my writer friends and one said, "Why not? You've got a kid to put through college." I thought, at the time that that was a sensible notion.

Still.... I didn't have any ideas to write on Pern. I wasn't going to write a bad story just to be writing. Readers are willing to go so far before they give up reading a world if all they're getting is junk.

And then I woke up from a dream in the middle of the night and I had the original version of "Wind Blossom's Song" and the plot for Dragonsblood.

And Dragonsblood, indirectly, set the stage for Dragonheart -- the two books actually start with the same Weyrleaders' meeting. And Dragonheart/Dragongirl/Dragonrider/Dragon?? form a series that answers the big unanswered question left over from Dragonsblood which is -- how, with about a thousand dragons out of the three thousand required, can Pern be kept Thread-free?

And *that* question sets up more questions which will be answered, too (at some point).

So I had Dragonsblood and I had Kindan. Dragon's Kin came by a round-about way that I've described elsewhere (check my letters and FAQ) and after that Dragon's Fire and Dragon Harper. Right now Mum and I are talking about combining forces for Dragonrider which is the sequel to Dragongirl (which itself is the sequel to Dragonheart) as there's a spinoff from that story which we both want to work on only we have to get the stuff in Dragonrider told first or the other story won't make sense.

What world - besides possibly Pern - would you transport yourself into if given the chance?

Well, I started writing when I was 13 and I had plenty of my own ideas. (Some of those will see the light of day, maybe, someday.) Since then, I've come up with several other ideas that I'd like to pursue and right now I'm looking at an idea I've been building upon since the late 90's.

I'm not certain that I'd like to transport myself to another world. I wouldn't mind a starship, though. I'd like to "boldly go" -- I think that could be cool.

What's your favorite movie? Book? Celebrity? Item to throw at an unsuspecting passerby?
Favorite movie? Nah, that's a moving target. I can give you a list of movies I thoroughly enjoyed:
E.T., Star Wars (episode IV), Back to the Future, To Kill a Mockingbird, It's a Wonderful Life, The Incredibles, Star Trek II-IV -- but the list is incomplete and no one is a favorite.

Ditto for books. Right now I'm enjoying Jim Butcher's "The Dresden Files" series. I'm also enjoying Patricia Briggs' "Mercedes Thomson" series. I read Janet Evanovich's "Stephanie Plum" series for fun -- they're a guilty pleasure. I enjoyed Harry Potter but wished that the last book had worked better for me.

Item to throw at an unsuspecting passerby? Wouldn't the only logical and decent item to throw be a kiss?

What has been your favorite event to attend and why?
Again, with the favorites! Life is far too varied to have *one* favorite anything!

That said, I *do* like science fiction conventions, particularly Dragon*con with its hugeness and Texas A&M's Aggiecon with their friendly smallness.

I do Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure (particularly the Animation Studio) on a regular basis -- because I live in Southern California.

And, to stick with the favorites theme I seem to have going, who has been your favorite character to write?
Again, I'm not so certain about a favorite as they vary over time. That said, however, Fiona has been the most interesting character to cross my pages since I started writing. I expect Xhinna will also surprise me and I have an enduring love of Lorana and her spirit.

Do you think anybody will continue the Pern series once you tire of it, or will it end with you?

Well, as Yoda said to Obi-Wan's ghost, "There is another." In fact, if Mum has her way, there are two others: my sister, Georgeanne Kennedy, and my daughter, Ceara. At this moment, however, neither of them are champing at the bit to write on Pern.

Quick. You're about to be mauled by a rabid hippopotamus. What do you do?
Die. Hippopotami are *big*! I'd expect to be nothing but pump.

Let's say you survive the rabid hippopotamus. What do you eat afterward? (Translation being: What's your favorite food?)
Well, as it's a *rabid* hippopotamus my favorite "food" for the longest time will be rabies shots. And, as I recall, the needles are long and go straight into your stomach, I doubt I'll be up for any gourmet meals for the foreseeable future.

But, if I ever recovered from the rabies and got out of Africa (by the way: common or pygmy?), I'd probably want to scarf down some honest-to-goodness New York pizza on my way back to wherever. Pizza is not usually my favorite food and New York pizza is the only proper pizza to consume -- proper New York pizza, at that.

As for favorite snacks -- it's a toss-up between popcorn and Jelly-tots (neither are good for me).

One household favorite is my mother's famous tuna casserole. Here's the recipe:

1 - large can white tuna
1 - large back of Lay's Salt&Vinegar potato chips
1 - can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup (concentrate)
1 - medium onion, diced
pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Drain the tuna. Place it in a large oven-proof casserole dish. Using a fork (or whatever), mash the tuna into individual strands. Add the diced onion, mix. Add the Cream of Mushroom concentrate (do *not* add water!). Mix. Add pepper to taste (this can be a bland dish without enough pepper).

Now comes the fun part. Pop the top of the large bag of chips and then mash the chips into little itty-bitty bits. Miniscule, microscopic. Pour in a portion of the smashed chips, stir into the mix. Pour in more, stir. Repeat until all the chips are in the dish. By the end, the mix should be very dry -- don't worry.

Place in the oven for about 45 minutes, until the top is brown and the onions have cooked.

Serve hot. Usually makes about 4 servings, never lasts for leftovers. I usually serve fresh (or frozen) peas and corn on the side.

--

I do love California Pizza Kitchen and eat there when we can (contrary to popular belief, most writers aren't millionaires -- not even close). For myself, I like a nice vegetable curry (home made), I also like Chili, spaghetti, most of the usual stuff. What I hate are mussels and scallops (they make me ill). When it comes to hot dogs (one of my favorite foods), Hebrew National are the only choice (I get the reduced fat version but don't get the fat-free version which just doesn't taste right).

I also like Chinese and Thai foods. When we're in Ireland we usually make a pilgrimage to China Sichuan and I invariably have the Beef with Garlic sauce (or as the Chinese say, Beef with Fish Sauce -- apparently the inlanders decided that the smell of garlic was a fishy smell, hence the name).



Thanks for stopping by, Todd! Check out the DragonRiders of Pern series as soon as you get a chance, oh lurvely readers - they kind of pretty much rock.

~N

Covers

I seem to be finding a lot of covers lately.

Artist Ruden Toledo took some of the classics and gave their covers a much more modern look...

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice


Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights


Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter




Yay or nay?

New Moon

Holy shiz.
I LOVE the new book cover.

What's On Your Desk - Wednesday

I was tagged by La Femme Readers. Why do people always pick me for these things - I have no willpower to say no!

(Actually, I love doing them. I don't know if I'll do them every week, though.)


Desk/top of my dresser, which works as an extended desk top for me.

List at least 5 BOOKISH things:
1) Skinned by Robin Wasserman
2) Druids by Morgan Llwelyn
3) Dragonspell by Donita K. Paul
4) Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner
5) The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay

List at least 5 NON BOOK things:
1) My cellphone & it's charger
2) Kristin Chenoweth autograph
3) my pink iPod shuffle & charger
4) my old school notebook
5) The Other Boleyn Girl CD

Tag at least 5 people to do the same:
Whoever wants to do it. :] To quote La Femme "Okie well, there is no pressure, if you don't wanna do it, you don't have too...have fun loveys!"

~N

How To Procrastinate

Aka Nicole's Explanation As To Why She No Longer Enters Contests, Studies for Finals, or Does Anything Worth Doing (Except Reading and Blogging)

The library.

To properly procrastinate, you must go to the library.
(Bringing a cloth bag, preferably a large one, is recommended.)
First, go the CD section. Pick out some new CDs, preferably instrumentals. All good procrastination needs background music.
Then go to the YA section and spend five to six minutes picking books purely on covers.
Then spend another two to three minutes actually reading the backs of the books that you didn't choose strictly on cover to add more to your pile of books.
Once you've reached over twenty books, go back downstairs and check out the adult fiction section. Choose a few from there. It's never a bad time to expand what you read!

Check out.
Go home.
Read.



This is what happens every time I go to the library...
... and may or may not be the reason I don't get anything done during the summer.

Happy reading, fellow reading procrastinating people!

~N

PS: Notice my spiffeh new scrolly thingy on the sidebar? Yup. Courtesy of all the books from the library... :3

Suite Scarlett Giveaway

This giveaway is over.

You're Invited - Giving Away Five Copies of Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

When: June 22 to July 6
Where: This Uber Spiffeh Blog Post
Who: Five will win. US residents only. Sorry!
How To Win: Post on this blog with your email address and name, along with what actor (or actress) you'd be more than happy to let you sweep off your feet.
Extra Entries: Follow my blog, post about this contest, or link to my blog - and tell me!



Ya ready for this suite giveaway?

~N

Sundays with Scott - The Fires of Merlin

The Fires of Merlin
T.A. Barron
Others in Series: The Lost Years of Merlin; The Seven Songs of Merlin

Merlin is finally finishing the last task of a true wizard: creating a magical instrument. If a young wizard can magically create music, they are supposed to come into all of their power. If it does not play, however, they lose their powers. Just when Merlin is about to play the instrument, however, it is destroyed by Urnalda, magical queen of the dwarves. She needs Merlin to come repay his debt from when she taught him the Song of Protecting.

But Urnalda has betrayed him. A great dragon has awakened, and is ravaging the dwarven lands looking for the person who killed its young. Now, without magic, Merlin must discover a way to defeat the dragon. An ancient riddle may hold the answer, but with so many people out to get him, it might already be too late...

Oh. My. Awesomesauce. This book is possibly the most violent in the entire Merlin series. Which is perfect, because most Merlin books are very tame. And it still has a decent storyline! An awesome book by almost anyone's standards.

The Fires of Merlin or The Seven Songs of Merlin?: Let me see - awesome book number one or awesome book number two? Um... I refuse to pick. They're both great!

Rating: 9.5/10

- Scott

My Friends Are Dorks

This is what happens when Scott (yes, Sundays with Scott-Scott) and Kevin have too much time on their hands.

What Not To Do At Hogwarts - version Kevin/Scott
1. I will not use the Polyjuice Potion to turn myself into Harry and sell live action fan fic videos.
2. I can not cast spells with any part of my anatomy to cast spells...no matter how much it looks like a wand.
3. I can not use house elves to out source the Chinese.
4. The potions room is not a meth lab and I will not treat it as such
5. I am not allowed to sell my video of flying with Slythern house as bootleg "Snakes on a Plane" DVDs.
6. I can not use the Imperious curse to get revenge on you for making me lose the game.
7. I cannot have people levitate me up into the girl's dorms.
8. Selling ostrich eggs to Hagrid as dragon eggs may be funny, but is totally against the rules.
9. No tricking first years into eating lunch under the Whomping Willow.
10. Charming books to attack Hermione when she opens them is...actually, that one's hilarious! But still not a good idea....
11. I am not allowed to use repairoe to cure my blindness after looking at Hermione's fan fic.
12. I am not allowed to charge Muggles money and bring them to Hagrid's house to "show them the world fattest man".
13. It's in poor taste to refer to Harry, Ron, and Hermione as the super friends
14. I may not refer to levitation magic as the Force.
15. I know it's more effective, but I'm not allowed to use a shot gun instead of a paddle to block blodgers....or shut Malfoy up...
16. Using stupefy to ''get what you want'' is worthy of expulsion.
17. I can not bring in Sirius to show and tell to scare the other kids.
18. I can not speak Parseltongue, and should not try in front of Justin Finch-Fletchey.
19. I cannot use Hogwarts students as my own personal army.
20. If you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat... and clean your pee off of Myrtle's face.
21. Just because Hermione wants to go out for Wicked dosen't mean I can turn her skin green
22. We are not in Oz and I may not refer to Gringotts as the Lollipop Guild.
23. I will not punt the house elves.
24. I will not sing ''We're off to see the Wizard'' when riding up to the school.
25. No transfiguring suits of armor into the Tin Man.
26. I will not punt Professor Flitwick.
27. I will not ask Snape why he dropped out of the Cullen clan.
28. Just because they have long hair and also live in the woods does not mean hippies are related to Hagrid.
29. I can not smoke anything in Hagrid's hut, or sell it to pay for my tuition at Hogwarts.
30. I will not replace Harry's invisibilty clock with a glow in the dark blanket with a bulls eye on it,




Dontcha love my friends?

Demon Princess

Demon Princess
Author: Michelle Rowen
Series: Demon Princess
Publisher: Walker & Company
How Received: borrowed

As if trying to fit in at a new school isn't stressful enough, sixteen-year-old Nikki Donovan just found out that her long-lost father is, in fact, the demon king of the Shadowlands—the world that separates and protects us from the Underworld. When she is brought there by the mysterious—and surprisingly cute—messenger Michael, she learns that her father is dying, and he wants her to assume the throne. To complicate matters, a war is brewing between the Shadowlands and the Underworld, her half-demon qualities are manifesting, and her gowing feelings for Michael are completely forbidden. Ruling a kingdom, navigating a secret crush, and still making it home by curfew—what's a teenage demon princess to do?

I really enjoyed this until about the last four chapters. I loved the plot, I loved the characters. But then... the characters changed really quickly. Everything that should have taken about another 100 pages to be done adequately was done in about twenty, and the end was ridiculously fast paced. It was a great book up until then, but the end kind of ruined it for me.

Overall Rating: 7/10
Demon Princess or Bliss?: I remember distinctly hating Bliss by the time I got to the end of it. Demon Princess, at least, I have a character (the Shadow stalking Nikki) that I loved. In Bliss, I had nobody. So... Demon Princess wins.

~N

Sundays with Scott - The Seven Songs of Merlin

The Seven Songs of Merlin
T.A. Barron
Others in Series: The Lost Years of Merlin

Emrys, nicknamed Merlin, is traversing the Dark Hills, using the Flowering Harp to bring the Dark Hills back to life. However, he has grown arrogant and thinks himself a great wizard. Despite warnings from his friends Rhia and Cairpre the scholar, Merlin attempts to bring his mother from mortal Earth to Fincayra. Thankfully he succeeds...

But the evil force in Fincayra, Rhita Gawr, has set a trap.; Now Merlin's mother has only one month to live unless she is given a special elixir from the Otherworld. Merlin will have to uncover the seven songs of wizardry and become a true wizard before he is ready to travel to the spirit realm. As Merlin discovers the songs, though, what else will he discover on his quest to save his mother's life?


T.A. Barron is, without a doubt, one of the best authors EVER!!! The Seven Songs of Merlin is one of the most memorable books I have ever read, and is probably my favorite book of all time. With its developed characters, vivid settings, and subtle moral thrown in, The Sven Songs will be the greatest book you read this summer.

(Nicole would like to not that Scott has yet to read The Hunger Games and therefore may change his mind on this by the end of the summer.)

The Seven Songs of Merlin or The Lost Years of Merlin?: Mr. Barron definitely outdid himself in the second book of the Merlin series. The Lost Years is a great book, but The Seven Songs is much more of an adventure!

Rating: 10/10

- Scott

A Micro-Rant

(Not to be confused with a mini-rant. Mini-rants are much longer than micro-rants.)

My brother and his friends keep bashing on my love of reading and saying that it's stupid, books are stupid, their's no point, blahblahblah. And when I say you could the same thing about video games, they ignore me and keep bashing. They don't realize that, yeah, once or twice isn't bothersome.

Once a day for the last two months of school on every bus ride home? It kind of hurts.

Anything like that ever happen to you?

Email Alert. Thing. Yeah.

Just wondering - if I created an email alert/newsletter/thingamagig that alerts you as to new contests, the Final Friday interviews, and other things...

Would you be interested?

~ N

Good Omens

Good Omens
_{The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch}
Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

Warning: Do not read if you are super religious. You will most likely be offended.

What happens if somebody predicted the end of the world (albeit correctly)? What happened if that day was, say, Saturday?





I'm tired after Macbeth day, but this was so funny. Sometimes, annoying - I tended to skip certain parts because the book flicks through points of view faster than a soap opera - but it's so funny. Definitely worth reading if anybody gets a chance.

... I'm tired. I'm not doing a comparison! (Besides, I have nothing to compare it to.)

Rating: 8/10

~ N


PS: Want to know what Macbeth Day is? The documentary shall be up on Youtube by the end of next week...

Sundays with Scott - Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye

Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye
Kaza Kingsley

Erec Rex is an unusual boy in unusual circumstances. His family, his brothers and sisters, are all orphans who have problems. Erec's problem is that he has a glass eye in place of one of his real eyes. He also gets what he calls "cloudy thoughts", sudden impulses to do things -- mostly preventing accidents. But when Erec's mother goes missing one day, he must rely on this strange ability to seek her out.

Aided by his new friend Bethany, Erec discovers a whole new world, Alypium, underneath our own, an "underworld" that can still use magic. While there, Erec and Bethany wind up in a contest to be the next king or queen of Alypium. With so many bad-intentioned people involved in the contest, however, do the duo really stand a chance? And what does this all have to do with his mother's lullaby? Read and find out!


This book was fairly challenging, but also fun! Kaza Kingsley flawlessly takes you into her world with vivid scenery and clever diction. The characters, in addiction to being realistic, were also easy to relate to. An overall fantastic book, and one definitely worth reading.

The Dragon's Eye or Buggy Crenshaw and the Bungler's Paradox?: TBP, in my opinion, shows the ligheter side of magic more than it's darker counterpart, while TDE shows both sides almost evenly, and with a nice balance of characters. While both books are extremely well written, I'd have to pick this over the Buggy Crenshaw series.

Rating: 8.5/10

- Scott

Darkness vs. Light

Wow. Adults have FINALLY realized that teenagers aren't reading Gossip Girl novels!

This article mentions some of the most appealing dark(er) young adult fantasy books. (They conveniently missed Elizabeth Scott's novel Living Dead Girl.)

I'm waiting for a follow up opinion article that says teenagers shouldn't be reading such dark stuff and it's bad for us and yadayadayada.

Ah well. Back to the books!

~N

Website

I take a web design class.
(I am a geek and I am proud.)
Our final project was to create a professional website for an actual business.
I was uber excited.
(What? I am a geek and I am proud.)
Because...
I got to make a WORD for Teens website!
Now, the year is almost over and I'm almost done with the website.

However, is there anything you'd like to see on there?

~N

Catching Fire

Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games (#2)
Publisher: Scholastic
How Received: ARC borrowed from librarian
Comes Out Sept. 1 '09

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

I promised I wouldn't do spoilers.
I won't.
But...

It. Is. As. Good. As. The. First. One. I was smart when I didn't start it until I knew I would have a chance to read it straight through - I wasn't able to put it down. Suzanne Collins has written another fiery, brilliant novel whose amazingness can't be described in words.

Y'all are just gonna have to read it for yourselves.

Overall Rating: 10/10
The Hunger Games or Bloody Jack?: Both.

Still squeeing and wanting Suzanne Collins to get the next book out NOW.

~ N

Librarians

Librarians freakin' rock.

One of mine sent a teacher friend to visit a book-festival-like-thingy, and he picked up a whole bunch of Advanced Reading Copies for her.

One of them was Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games series.

Guess who she lent it toooooooooo?

-squee-

I shall have a review for you tomorrow!

~ N

Spark of Summer - June's Contest

This giveaway is over.

Lo and behold, it's the end of another month!

The winner of last month's contest is...

-drumroll-

Lady Roxi! (I've emailed you to collect.)



This month's books?
I'm so glad you asked.

But first, remember...
-You must include what I've asked you to say, or else I'll understand you haven't read the post.
-Following my blog and informing me will get you an extra entry.
-Posting about this contest and informing me will get you an extra entry.
-Linking to WORD will get you an extra entry, but you must inform me or I won't know!
-Contest valid only to U.S. residents. Sorry!

Secrets of My Suburban Life by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Everything changed for Lauren ("Ren") after Harry Potter killed her mom. No,it's not what you think—Harry Potter didn't come to life and stab her oranything. A stack of those thick books crushed her. Now Ren is stuck out inthe suburbs of Connecticut, dragged out there because her father is too grief stricken to continue living in New York.

Ren tries to fit in at her new school, but the most popular girl, Farrin,keeps icing her out. Then Ren discovers that Farrin has a secret: She's been communicating online with an older man, and they are actually planning to meet! Ren can't let Farrin go through with it—she's witnessed enough tragic events as it is. So she comes up with the perfect plan to stop the perv. But then she finds out who he is...

Runaway by Steve Simpson


ARC of Intertwined by Gena Showalter

There's something about the new guy at Crossroads High.
Most sixteen year olds have friends.
Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him.
One can time travel,
one can raise the dead,
once can tell the uture,
and one can possess another human...

Playing with the Boys by Liz Tigelaar

New girl Lucy is desperate for friends. She tries out for Beachwood High soccer, but despite her amazingly accurate kick, fails to make the team. When the Coach points out that varsity football is looking for a new kicker, Lucy is skeptical. Football? Isn't that a boys' game?

But on the gridiron Lucy discovers that she feels strong-in control for the first time since her mother died. She loves football. She actually wants to play! (She also wants to hang out with super-cute quarterback Ryan Conner. But that's just icing on the cake.)

Too bad no one else wants her on the team. Not the boys' coach, not her teammates, and especially not her overprotective dad. Will Lucy cave in to the pressure? Or will she prove she's pretty tough after all?

Book of Nonsense by David Michael Slater

The book is ancient, ravaged and full of utter nonsense. But the moment it enters Daphna and Dexter's lives, bizarre things begin to happen. Why is their father, who found the book, suddenly so distant? Is the old man who took it form his some kind of hypnotist? Why is a giant, red-eyed by menacing them? And what does their thirteenth birthday have to do with all this? Daphna and Dexter can't stand each other, but they'll have to work together to learn the truth about the Book of Nonsense—before their lives come apart completely.

Happy start of the summer!

~N