If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
rating 9/10

[close] In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeenyear- old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...


A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.



 If I Stay was a real emotional read. It would be anyway, but it was written in such a way that made it more so. The writing was beautiful.
 
I really liked Mia. There was so much to her and I really liked that. With all the flashbacks, there was so much to connect with. One reason she was easy to connect to for me was because of her love for music. There was so much music, it was such and important aspect of the story and I loved that.
 
One thing that was great about this book was Mia and Adam's relationship. It was so real, not the same cookie-cutter love that you always see. They did love each other, but they had their problems. I really appreciated this.
 
If I stay was a wondrous read. It was beautiful and awe-inspiring.

In My Mailbox (8)

In My Mailbox was created by the Story Siren

~ She's So Money by Cherry Cheva

~If I Stay by Gayle Forman

~Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick

~Hate List by Jennifer Brown

~Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

If you look on the picture on the top, you will see a picture of my new puppy! Sorry it's not a very good picture of him, he wouldn't sit still and then my camera died. I also got a Malamute. I'll have a picture of hime next week.

What did you get this week?

Ginormous Contest

Choco at In Which a Girl Reads is having her 100 follower contest! There will be 3 winners and 25 books to choose from. Check it out here.

Congrats!

Deadly Little Lies

Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz
rating 8/10

Last fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, the mysterious new boy at school who turned out to have a very mysterious gift--pyschometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry, and experiencing her own strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow rubbed off on her. Can the power of psychometry be transferred?

Even once Ben returns to school, Camelia can't get close enough to share her secret with him. Despite the romantic tension between them, Ben remains aloof, avoiding contact. Then when an unexpected kiss leads to a frightening argument, Camelia makes the painful decision to let Ben go and move on. Adam, the hot new guy at work, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn't. Adam is easygoing, and seems to really care about her.
But when Camelia and Adam start dating, a surprising love triangle results. A chilling sequence of events upturns secrets from Ben's past--and Adam's. Someone is lying, and it's up to Camelia to figure out who-before it's too late.

I loved Deadly Little Secrets, so I was really excited to read Deadly Litlle Lies. Deadly Little Lies had just as much mystery, suspense and romance as the last book.

Camelia and Ben's relationship truly was like a roller coaster. There was so much tension between the two and I loved it. The love triangle brought into this was way different from anything else. There was so many secrets and mystery in this part of the book alone.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book. The writing and the plot were great. Sometimes Camelia's stupidity was a little too much for me, though. With everything that was happening, it seemed like she never took her own safty seriously. But it still was good  and I can't wait for Deadly Little Games.

2010 100+ Reading Challenge

I'm going to participate in 2010 100+ reading challenge over at J. Kay's Book Blog

1. The goal is to read 100 or more books. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.

--Non-Bloggers: Post your list of books in the comment section of the wrap-up post. To learn how to sign up without having a blog, click here.



2. Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, YA, Young Reader, Nonfiction – as long as the book has an ISBN or equivalent or can be purchased as such, the book counts.



3. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.



4. Crossovers from other reading challenges count.



5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010. Books started before the 1st do not count.



6. When you sign up under Mr. Linky, put the direct link to your post where your books will be listed. Include the URL to this post so that other viewers can find this fun challenge. If you’d prefer to put your list in the sidebar of your blog, please leave your viewers the link to the sign up page. Again, so viewers can join the challenge too.

If you'd like to participate, too, click here

Shadowland

Shadowland by Alyson Noel
rating 9/10

At the start of this breathtaking novel, Damen and Ever travel to Summerland in search of an antidote to reverse a powerful poison. But instead of the cure they seek, they find something far more sinister: the truth about their existence and the fate lying in wait of an immortal’s soul.


Now, with Damen fighting to save them from the Shadowland, Ever turns to magick, hoping to break Damen’s curse. Along the way Ever encounters the mysterious Jude, finding herself drawn to him in a way that will test her love for Damen like never before . . .

I loved both Evermore and Blue Moon, but Alyson Noel has truly outdone herself with Shadowland. There was more twists and turns and there were so many things that I didn't expect to happen, just like Blue Moon. this series just keeps getting better. They are all magnificently and beautifully written. I'm dying for the next book!

Another Faust

Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri
Rating 7/10

A devilish debut by a brother-sister team invites us into the world of the elite Marlowe School, where some gifted students are having a hell of a year.

One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish — only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange and elegant governess. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust teenagers to the city’s most prestigious high school, where they soar to suspicious heights with the help of their benefactor’s extraordinary "gifts." But as the students claw their way up — reading minds, erasing scenes, stopping time, stealing power, seducing with artificial beauty — they start to suffer the sideeffects of their own addictions. And as they make further deals with the devil, they uncover secrets more shocking than their most unforgivable sins. At once chilling and wickedly satirical, this contemporary reimagining of the Faustian bargain is a compelling tale of ambition, consequences, and ultimate redemption.

Another Faust was dark and twisted, and deffinatly intruiging. There were times that it got slow-paced and boring. Even through these parts, though, there was something in it that you couldn't help but keep reading.

One thing that I highly appreciate in this book was how the characters were portrayed. Usually when there are three or more main characters its hard to really know them and get inside their minds. But in Another Faust I really knew the characters and understood how they worked. I didn't like them all, for instance Victoria, but at least I could understand them all.

Like I said before, much of the time it was slow and slightly boring. This is just something that you need to get over though because it was a pretty good book overall.

In My Mailbox (7)

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren

Deadly Little Lies~ Laurie Faria Stolarz

Shadowland~Alyson Noel

Deadly Little Lies- Last fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, the mysterious new boy at school who turned out to have a very mysterious gift- pyschometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry, and experiencing her own strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow rubbed off on her. Can the power of psychometry be transferred?

Even once Ben returns to school, Camelia can't get close enough to share her secret with him. Despite the romantic tension between them, Ben seems aloof, avoiding contact. Then when an unexpected kiss leads to a frightening argument, Camelia makes the painful decision to let Ben go and to move on. Alex, the hot new guy at Knead, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn't. Alex is easy-going, and seems to really care about her.
But when Camelia and Alex start dating, a surprising love triangle results. A chilling sequence of events upturns secrets from Ben's past- and Alex's. Someone is lying, and it's up to Camelia to figure out whom- before it's too late.

Shadowland- At the start of this breathtaking novel, Damen and Ever travel to Summerland in search of an antidote to reverse a powerful poison. But instead of the cure they seek, they find something far more sinister: the truth about their existence and the fate lying in wait of an immortal’s soul.

Now, with Damen fighting to save them from the Shadowland, Ever turns to magick, hoping to break Damen’s curse. Along the way Ever encounters the mysterious Jude, finding herself drawn to him in a way that will test her love for Damen like never before . . .

Snap

Snap by Carol Snow
rating 8/10

Madison Sabatini thought she knew who she was: an almost-sophomore with a bright future. The newest photographer on her school paper. A shopaholic with great hair and a fabulous wardrobe. Then, in a flash, everything changed.

Now she's stuck in Sandyland, a gloomy beach town in the middle of nowhere, living with her parents in a crappy hotel "suite." Instead of spending the summer with her friends at home, she's hanging out with pink-haired Delilah, an artist who works in a shop called Psychic Photo, and a skater boy named Duncan who's totally not her type. Except, maybe he is . . .
Determined to make the best of things, Madison throws herself into her one passion: photography. But when strange figures start appearing in her pictures - people who weren't there when she snapped the shots, people who are later reported dead - she begins to question everything about who she is . . . and who she wishes she could be.


I wasn't quite sure how Carol Snow would do with this book. I wasn't too impressed with Switch, but Snap was different. I thought it was pretty good.
If your expecting Snap to be mysterious and scary, it's really not. It is a little, but mostly its about other things. The description is a little decieving. For the most part, the paranormal parts tied in with the rest pretty well. Anyway, snap was pretty original. At times, Madison could be a little over the top and dramatic. (SPOILER!!) Also, towards the end she thought the was going to die and she took it a little too well. But mostly, Snap was a good book. The story was good and creative.

In My Mailbox (6)

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren

~Going Too Far- Jennifer Echols

~Another Faust- Daniel and Dina Nayeri

Going too Far- All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over....

Another Faust- A devilish debut by a brother-sister team invites us into the world of the elite Marlowe School, where some gifted students are having a hell of a year.

One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish — only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange and elegant governess. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust teenagers to the city’s most prestigious high school, where they soar to suspicious heights with the help of their benefactor’s extraordinary "gifts." But as the students claw their way up — reading minds, erasing scenes, stopping time, stealing power, seducing with artificial beauty — they start to suffer the sideeffects of their own addictions. And as they make further deals with the devil, they uncover secrets more shocking than their most unforgivable sins. At once chilling and wickedly satirical, this contemporary reimagining of the Faustian bargain is a compelling tale of ambition, consequences, and ultimate redemption.

Viola in Reel Life

Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani

rating: 8/10

I'm marooned.

Abandoned.
Left to rot in boarding school . . .
Viola doesn't want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.
Ick.
There's no way Viola's going to survive the year—especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.
Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.
But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.


Viola in Reel Life was incredibly cute. Despite it being another boarding school story, for the most part it was very original.
Viola was a good character. Trigiani did a great job with showing how much Viola grew over the course of the book. Viola started off as and only child, city-girl, but grew up a lot by the end.
Most the time, Viola in Reel Life was original. There were times that were a little predictable, but it was still good. Thes was an adorable coming of age story and Trigian did a good job for her first young adult novel.

Gone

Lisa McMann is giving away 3 advanced copies of Gone (!!!) in a contest
She's also giving away copies of Wake and Fade
For all the details, click here

Now, you know how much I love these books, and if you don't then I really really love them! I can't wait for Gone!

In My Mailbox (5)

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren

~Treasure Map of Boys- E. Lockhart

~Snap-Carol Snow

~Kiss of Life- Daniel Waters

~Viola in Reel Life-Adreana Trigiani

~Immortal- Gillian Shields

Treasure Map of Boys- Ruby is back at Tate Prep, and it’s her thirty-seventh week in the state of Noboyfriend. Her panic attacks are bad, her love life is even worse, and what’s more:

Noel is writing her notes, Jackson is giving her frogs, Gideon is helping her cook, and Finn is making her brownies. Rumors are flying, and Ruby’s already-sucky reputation is heading downhill.
Not only that, she’s also: running a bake sale, learning the secrets of heavymetal therapy, encountering some seriously smelly feet, defending the rights of pygmy goats, and bodyguarding Noel from unwanted advances.
In this companion novel to The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book, Ruby struggles to secure some sort of mental health, to understand what constitutes a real friendship, and to find true love—if such a thing exists.

Snap- Madison Sabatini thought she knew who she was: an almost-sophomore with a bright future. The newest photographer on her school paper. A shopaholic with great hair and a fabulous wardrobe. Then, in a flash, everything changed.

Now she's stuck in Sandyland, a gloomy beach town in the middle of nowhere, living with her parents in a crappy hotel "suite." Instead of spending the summer with her friends at home, she's hanging out with pink-haired Delilah, an artist who works in a shop called Psychic Photo, and a skater boy named Duncan who's totally not her type. Except, maybe he is . . .
Determined to make the best of things, Madison throws herself into her one passion: photography. But when strange figures start appearing in her pictures—people who weren't there when she snapped the shots, people who are later reported dead—she begins to question everything about who she is . . . and who she wishes she could be.

Kiss of Life- The phenomenon that's been sweeping the country seems to be here to stay. Not only are the teenagers who have come back from their graves still here, but newlydeads are being unearthed all the time. While scientists look for answers and politicians take their stands, the undead population of Oakville have banded together in a group they're calling the Sons of Romero, hoping to find solidarity in segregation.
Phoebe Kendall may be alive, but she feels just as lost and alone as her dead friends. Just when she reconciled herself to having feelings for a zombie -- her Homecoming date Tommy Williams -- her friend Adam is murdered taking a bullet that was meant for her. Things get even more confusing when Adam comes back from the grave. Now she has romantic interest in two dead boys; one who saved her life, and one she can't seem to live without.

Viola in Reel Life- I'm marooned.

Abandoned.
Left to rot in boarding school . . .
Viola doesn't want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.
Ick.
There's no way Viola's going to survive the year—especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.
Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.
But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.

Immortal- Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming. When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed. Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness.

Evie's only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance. As Evie's feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past. And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl—a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she cannot control. And as the extraordinary, elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate.