Waiting on Wednesday (29)

"Waiting on" Wednesday spotlights upcoming releases that everyone's excited about. (Created by Jill at Breaking the Spine)


Darkness Falls -- Cate Tiernan
Book #2 Immortal Beloved

"Nastasya has lived for hundreds of years, but for some reason, life never seems to get any better. She left her spoiled, rich girl life to find peace at River's Edge, a safe haven for wayward immortals. There, she learned to embrace River's Edge, despite some drama involving the sexy Reyn, who she wants but won't allow herself to have. But just as she's getting comfortable, her family's ties to dark magick force her to leave.

She falls back into her old, hard partying ways, but will her decision lead her into the hands of a dark immortal? Or will it be her first step to embracing the darkness within her?" 
From Goodreads


Release Date: January 2, 2012

In My Mailbox -- Week of November 20

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme that is hosted by The Story Siren. Check out the post to see what others received in their mailboxes this week!

 

Also Known as Rowan Pohi -- Ralph Fletcher

  

 The Lost Saint -- Bree Despain

Received from author

 

Ripple -- Mandy Hubbard

Received from Dorine White @ The Write Path

 

The Mephisto Covenant -- Trinity Faegen

Received from Young Adult Books - What We're Reading Now

Waiting on Wednesday (28)

"Waiting on" Wednesday spotlights upcoming releases that everyone's excited about. (Created by Jill at Breaking the Spine)

Hallowed -- Cynthia Hand   

"For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning." -- From Goodreads

Release Date: January 17, 2012

Spirit of Texas

The Spirit of Texas is a new committee for the Texas Library Association's Young Adult Round Table.

If you know of a Texas author or illustrator please consider nominating them and/or their works for the Spirit of Texas Reading Program.

214 - Prized

214
Prized -- Caragh M. O'Brien

Gaia Stone and her infant sister Maya have escaped from Enclave. They arrive in Sylum, a town where women outnumber the men, men have no rights, and physical contact is illegal.

Maya is instantly taken away from Gaia to be raised by a proper family. Gaia is taken to live with the matriarch of the town. There Gaia assists with births and miscarriages.

Leon is also in Sylum and Gaia fights for him to be released from prison. They disagree with the way Sylum is run and begin looking for a way to help the society move away from the sickness that surrounds the village.

213 -- Crossed

213
Crossed -- Ally Condie

In all honesty, I have read Crossed. I'm still looking for the words to write a summary...

In My Mailbox -- Week of November 13

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme that is hosted by The Story Siren. Check out the post to see what others received in their mailboxes this week!

    

 The Iron King -- Julie Kagawa

The Iron Daughter -- Julie Kagawa

The Iron Queen -- Julie Kagawa

    

The Iron Knight -- Julia Kagawa (Won from BookTrib)

    

Prized -- Caragh O'Brien

Wonderstruck -- Brian Selznick

Shatter Me -- Tehereh Mafi

212 -- Wonderstruck

212
Wonderstruck -- Brian Selznick

Two stories that find their way to each other.

1977 - Ben has been living with his aunt and uncle since his mother died. Besides his mother, he's missing something in his life.

One night during a storm, Ben's house is struck by lightning, leaving him deaf. He sets off on an adventure to find the father he never knew.


1927 - Rose is unhappy living with her father. She leaves in search of her mother, a famous actress in New York. Unwanted by her mother, she searches for her brother.

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

"Waiting on" Wednesday spotlights upcoming releases that everyone's excited about. (Created by Jill at Breaking the Spine)

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine
-despite the scans that showed significant brain damage.

Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death. -- From Goodreads

Release Date: January 17, 2012

I Read Banned Books: Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop

I Read Banned Books: Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop: Hey hey hey! It's time to say thank you with a giveaway hop. This one is brought to us by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and All-Consuming Bo...

211 - Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

211
Cabin Fever -- Jeff Kinney

Greg Heffley is back in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book #6 and he's up to his same old tricks. So they aren't really tricks. Misunderstandings? If that's the case, the poor guy is probably the most misunderstood middle-schooler ever.

This time, he's stuck in the house during a blizzard. Food is running low, the electricity goes out, the basement floods, and Greg is forced to take care of Manny.

He's also wanted by the police for vandalism. Maybe they'll forget that by the time the snow melts.

210 -- Windows on the World

210
Windows on the World -- Andrea White

It's 2083. Shama Katooee has been living in LowCity, DC. She's a orphan  who spends her time escaping gangs and attending Teleschool like most other students. 


She has just been accepted to the Chronos Academy in UpCity, DC. Shama has no idea why. 

The Chronos Academy is home to the QuanTime machine, a  machine that allows people to go back in time. Students there are asked to think of going back in time to save lives, and think about how that would change the world. (In this case, September 11, 2001.)

Shama, with her new best friend, Deenay, a bird, must figure out why she's there.

209 -- Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick

209
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick -- Joe Schreiber

Perry is just your average high school senior. He has a band. He has plans to attend Colombia and be pre-law.

Perry has spent his senior year with their foreign exchange student Gobi Zaksauskas. (His mother thought it would be a wonderful experience for the family.) 

They cohabited fine throughout the year. Now, his mother insists that he take Gobi to the prom. 


After a brief appearance at prom, Gobi persuades Perry to take her for one last night on the town in New York before she heads back to Lithuania. That night on the town turns into a wild ride of speeding down the streets being shot at and murder. -- A night that will change Perry's future.

208 -- Bunheads

208 -- Bunheads -- Sophie Flack                                           Hannah's life has been dancing. Her life revolves around ballet. She's been a member of the Manhattan Ballet Company for years. Hannah must make a decision. Is her heart really into ballet? If not, what would she do? Enter Jacob, a musician who will not let Hannah forget that there is life outside of ballet.

In My Mailbox -- Week of November 6

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme that is hosted by The Story Siren. Check out the post to see what others received in their mailboxes this week!

     

 Wherever You Go -- Heather Davis

The Fourth Stall Part II (ARC Received from WaldenPress) -- Chris Rylander

Crossed -- Ally Condie

     

Dark Eden -- Patrick Carman
Bunheads -- Sophie Flack
Anna Dressed in Blood -- Kendare Blake

 

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick -- Joe Schreiber

Waiting on Wednesday (26)

"Waiting on" Wednesday spotlights upcoming releases that everyone's excited about. (Created by Jill at Breaking the Spine)
  
Why We Broke Up -- Daniel Handler

I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped. -- From Goodreads


Release Date: December 27, 2011

207 - Just Your Average Princess

207 --
Just Your Average Princess -- Kristina Springer

Everything is just fine for Jamie Edwards. In fact, nothing could go wrong in Average, Illinois. That is until cousin Milan shows up from Los Angeles to take a "break" from things.

Now Jamie sees Milan as competition. After all, Milan is gorgeous. Jamie's father starts taking her ideas about the family owned pumpkin patch into consideration. Everyone just falls all over Milan, including Jamie's crush Danny. Milan is even threatening Jamie's chances at being Pumpkin Princess.

206 - The Implosion of Aggie Winchester

206
The Implosion of Aggie Winchester -- Lara Zielin

Goth girl Aggie Winchester is not worried about the upcoming prom. She has other things to occupy her time. Will her mom, also the principal of her high school, survive breast cancer? Does her ex-boyfriend really want to get back together, or is he just looking for a good time?

So, if the school wants to elect and nominate her fellow goth friend Sylvia, let them. Even if Sylvia is pregnant and some people don't think she should hold the title of prom queen.

Aggie finds herself in the middle of the prom scandal not knowing which side to believe.

In My Mailbox -- Week of October 30

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme that is hosted by The Story Siren. Check out the post to see what others received in their mailboxes this week! 

 

 The Future of Us (autographed ARC received from Jay Asher) -- Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

   

Reasons to Be Happy -- Katrina Kittle
Stupid Fast  -- Geoff Herbach

        

The Carrier of the Mark -- Leigh Fallon

Liesl & Po -- Lauren Oliver

Tantalize (Graphic Novel) -- Cynthia Leitich Smith

Meant to Be -- Tiffany King

Forgotten Souls -- Tiffany King (both received from the author)

205 - The Future of Us

205
The Future of Us -- Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

It's 1996. Emma just received a computer from her father. Along with it came a disk for 100 free hours for America Online. Emma puts in the disk, sets her username and password...and opens up Facebook.

The problem? In 1996, Facebook doesn't exist. Emma finds herself looking at herself 15 years into the future. She doesn't like what she sees for herself and her best bud Josh. Can she change her/their future by doing things in the present? If so, is it the right thing to do?

ARC received from Jay Asher.
Release date: November 21, 2011

204 - The Name of the Star

204 -- The Name of the Star --Maureen Johnson

Rory Deveaux has just moved to London from the swamplands of New Orleans. Upon her arrival, the Jack the Ripper murders seem to have started up again. Obviously it's not the real Jack the Ripper. Nevertheless, London is panicked.

Rory watches the murders unfold in the area of her school. She even witnesses the prime suspect on campus, but she's the only one who saw him.

Now he's after her, but  why?

An Update (Because there in no catching up at this point)

I can no longer use baseball as an excuse for not reading. My team, the St. Louis Cardinals, won the World Series. It was an amazing ride.They did the impossible, even without me there for support. (My husband decided that paying the mortgage was more important than going to the World Series. And he calls himself a fan?!?)

David Freese getting his jersey torn off by his teammates in Game 6

In all honesty though, I feel like I've hit a brick wall. I don't feel like reading. I've never really felt this way...it's odd. What use to take a day to read is now taking a week. My stack of books to read just keeps getting higher and higher, and I keep taking books home to add to it.

(No, that's not my stack of books. Mine are much neater.)

Where's my motivation?

Update (In No Particular Order)

Here's what I've read since I last updated the blog. I can't guarantee that it's everything.
To see a summary, click on the title. It will take you to Goodreads.

How to Save a Life -- Sara Zarr

The Son of Neptune -- Rick Riordan

As I Wake -- Elizabeth Scott

Journal of a Schoolyard Bully -- Farley Katz

Lola and the Boy Next Door -- Stephanie Perkins

Prince of Dorkness  -- Tim Collins

Paradise -- Jill Alexander

Dark Paper Strikes Back -- Tom Angleberger

Hourglass -- Myra McEntire

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children -- Ransom Riggs

A Need So Beautiful -- Suzanne Young

OyMG -- Amy Fellner Dominy 

The Power of Six -- Petticus Lore

Sweet Venom -- Tera Lynn Childs
 

Once a Witch -- Carolyn MacCullough

Always a Witch -- Carolyn MacCullough

Mercy -- Rebecca Lim

Texas Gothic -- Rosemary Clement- Moore

Twisted -- Sara Shepard

The Vespertine -- Saundra Mitchell