Friday, August 31, 2018

Discussion: When you are NOT the target audience


This Week’s Topic: When You are not the target audience. 

There are many, many adult YA readers, and I am one of them. Just because I am not not the target audience, doesn't mean I cannot enjoy the book. However, when I see adult readers say they found the book "a little juvenile", I sigh and roll my eyes, because guess what? This book was not written for you.


Thursday, August 30, 2018

Review: Meet the Sky - McCall Hoyle

Meet the Sky
McCall Hoyle
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Blink
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
It all started with the accident. The one that caused Sophie’s dad to walk out of her life. The one that left Sophie’s older sister, Meredith, barely able to walk at all.

With nothing but pain in her past, all Sophie wants is to plan for the future—keep the family business running, get accepted to veterinary school, and protect her mom and sister from another disaster. But when a hurricane forms off the coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and heads right toward their island, Sophie realizes nature is one thing she can’t control.

After she gets separated from her family during the evacuation, Sophie finds herself trapped on the island with the last person she’d have chosen—the reckless and wild Finn Sanders, who broke her heart freshman year. As they struggle to find safety, Sophie learns that Finn has suffered his own heartbreak; but instead of playing it safe, Finn’s become the kind of guy who goes surfing in the eye of the hurricane. He may be the perfect person to remind Sophie how to embrace life again, but only if their newfound friendship can survive the storm.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Your Own Worst Enemy - Gordon Jack

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I can't wait for Your Own Worst Enemy!

Your Own Worst Enemy
Gordon Jack
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: November 13, 2018
Goodreads
Three candidates, three platforms, and a whirlwind of social media, gaffes, and protests makes for a ridiculous and hilarious political circus in Gordon Jack’s second highly satirical novel. Perfect for fans of Andrew Smith and Frank Portman. They say that with great power comes great responsibility. Unless you’re student body president at Lincoln High School. Then you get all the responsibility but none of the power. And the three candidates running for president know all about that.

Stacey Wynn is the front-runner, but she didn’t count on Julia Romero entering this race. Julia is challenging Stacey for the title while also putting the moves on Stacey’s campaign adviser and only friend, Brian. And then there is Tony Guo, the way outsider. Tony is usually oblivious to the school’s political campaigning, as he’s oblivious to anything that isn’t about getting high and drinking all the Space Cow chocolate milk he can stomach. But when his favorite beverage is banned at school, a freshman political “mastermind” convinces Tony to become the voice of the little guy. But what kind of voice is that, really?

If this were an ordinary high school election, the winner would be whichever candidate was the most popular. But this year, each candidate may have to sink to a new low to win an election that could change the course of...very little.

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: My Required Reading

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

My Required Reading!

The end of summer is upon us, and you know what that means? Back to school! This week I am talking about those books I was made to read in high school. I actually read a LOT of books for school, and therefore, picked ones I actually remember liking. I think it's sort of sad that most of the books I read were NOT geared towards teens, and most didn't even feature teen protagonists. It is my hope that educators recognize how many amazing YA books are out there, and perhaps, select some of them for required reading.

Monday, August 27, 2018

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Review: Hidden Pieces - Paula Stokes

Hidden Pieces
Paul Stokes
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Suspense, Thriller
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Embry Woods has secrets. Small ones about her past. Bigger ones about her relationship with town hero Luke and her feelings for someone new. But the biggest secret she carries with her is about what happened that night at the Sea Cliff Inn. The fire. The homeless guy. Everyone thinks Embry is a hero, too, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Embry thinks she’ll have to take the secret to her grave, until she receives an anonymous note—someone else knows the truth. Next comes a series of threatening messages, asking Embry to make impossible choices, forcing her to put her loved ones at risk. Someone is playing a high stakes game where no one in Embry’s life is safe. And their last move...is murder.

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Love a la Mode - Stephanie Kate Strohm

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I can't wait for Love a la Mode !

Love a la Mode
Stephanie Kate Strohm
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: November 27, 2018
Goodreads
Take two American teen chefs, add one heaping cup of Paris, toss in a pinch of romance, and stir. . . .

Rosie Radeke firmly believes that happiness can be found at the bottom of a mixing bowl. But she never expected that she, a random nobody from East Liberty, Ohio, would be accepted to celebrity chef Denis Laurent's school in Paris, the most prestigious cooking program for teens in the entire world. Life in Paris, however, isn't all cream puffs and crepes. Faced with a challenging curriculum and a nightmare professor, Rosie begins to doubt her dishes.

Henry Yi grew up in his dad's restaurant in Chicago, and his lifelong love affair with food landed him a coveted spot in Chef Laurent's school. He quickly connects with Rosie, but academic pressure from home and his jealousy over Rosie's growing friendship with gorgeous bad-boy baker Bodie Tal makes Henry lash out and push his dream girl away.

Desperate to prove themselves, Rosie and Henry cook like never before while sparks fly between them. But as they reach their breaking points, they wonder whether they have what it takes to become real chefs.

Perfect for lovers of Chopped Teen Tournament and Kids Baking Championship, as well as anyone who dreams of a romantic trip to France, Love la Mode follows Rosie and Henry as they fall in love with food, with Paris, and ultimately, with each other.

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Books to Chase the Funk Away

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Books to chase the funk away!

I have never really fell into an actual reading slump, but sometimes I fall into mental slumps. Therefore, I am spinning the topic to books that help me chase the funk away. When I am in that sort of headspace, I find I need to keep it light and breezy. I seek out funny books, books with solid HEAs, and more generally speaking, books that make me happy. Here are some recent made-me-happy YA books.

Monday, August 20, 2018

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Review: We Regret to Inform You - Ariel Kaplan

We Regret to Inform You
Ariel Kaplan
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Knopf
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Mischa Abramavicius is a walking, talking, top-scoring, perfectly well-rounded college application in human form. So when she's rejected not only by the Ivies, but her loathsome safety school, she is shocked and devastated. All the sacrifices her mother made to send her to prep school, the late nights cramming for tests, the blatantly resume-padding extracurriculars (read: Students for Sober Driving) ... all that for nothing.

As Mischa grapples with the prospect of an increasingly uncertain future, she questions how this could have happened in the first place. Is it possible that her transcript was hacked? With the help of her best friend and sometimes crush, Nate, and a group of eccentric techies known as "The Ophelia Syndicate," Mischa launches an investigation that will shake the quiet community of Blanchard Prep to its stately brick foundations.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Two Can Keep a Secret - Karen M. McManus

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I can't wait for Two Can Keep a Secret!

Two Can Keep a Secret
Karen M. McManus
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Mystery
Publisher: Delacorte
Release Date: January 8, 2019
Goodreads
The New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying, Karen M. McManus, is back with an all-new, page-turning mystery perfect for fans of Riverdale!

Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.

The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone's declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.

Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she's in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous--and most people aren't good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it's safest to keep your secrets to yourself.

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Blogging Buddies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Blogging Buddies!

This was the HARDEST list to put together, because there are so many wonderful bloggers in this community, who have embraced and supported me, and I am grateful for you all. I am going to start with this list, but I know there will need to be a part 2 (or 3) in the near future.

Monday, August 13, 2018

In a Nutshell Reviews


In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights.

Friday, August 10, 2018

Discussion: What's the Con?

After I read a book, I read a lot of other reviews, to see what other people thought. When the reviewer and I are in agreement, I simply nod my head as I read, but when the reviewer is saying unsavory things about a book I loved, I tend to get a little edgy, and I expect them to explain the cons they attribute their low rating to.

This Week’s Topic: What's the Con?


Thursday, August 9, 2018

Review: Wild Blue Wonder - Carlie Sorosiak

Wild Blue Wonder
Carlie Sorosiak
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
There are two monsters in this story. One of them is me.

Ask anyone in Winship, Maine, and they’ll tell you the summer camp Quinn’s family owns is a magical place. Paper wishes hang from the ceiling. Blueberries grow in the dead of winter. According to local legend, a sea monster even lurks off the coast. Mostly, there’s just a feeling that something extraordinary could happen there.

Like Quinn falling in love with her best friend, Dylan.

After the accident, the magic drained from Quinn’s life. Now Dylan is gone, the camp is a lonely place, and Quinn knows it’s her fault.

But the new boy in town, Alexander, doesn’t see her as the monster she believes herself to be. As Quinn lets herself open up again, she begins to understand the truth about love, loss, and monsters—real and imagined.

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Can't-Wait Wednesday: On Thin Ice - Julie Cross

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I can't wait for On Thin Ice!

On Thin Ice
Julie Cross
Series: Juniper Falls, #3
Release Date: December 4, 2018
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
New York Times bestselling author Julie Cross completes her sexy, relatable hockey series with a fast-paced, shocking romance perfect for fans of Miranda Kenneally.

Jake Hammond is the current Prince of Juniper Falls. He’s also been labeled the next great player to emerge from the Juniper Falls hockey dynasty. When a hundred-year-old hazing tradition at Juniper Falls pond goes all wrong, Jake is left seriously injured, shouldering the blame for the near death of another student and the knowledge that the quiet new girl saved his life.

Maybe if she’d realized how different this small town was from Austin, Brooke Parker wouldn’t have followed her mom here. Not that she had a choice. Same with saving that cocky hockey player from drowning at the pond. Now, she keeps seeing that same guy, wandering the woods between their houses. And they start to regularly meet at midnight in Jake’s old tree house.

Jake realizes that Brooke is full of life, ideas, places, and experiences bigger and broader than anything he’s ever known. Plus, she’s the first person to ever see him as Jake Hammond, a guy who’s not sure what to do with his life, rather than the future hockey star.

Maybe it isn’t enough anymore to just be the town hockey star? For Brooke, relying only on herself might not be enough, either.

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Some Favorite Adult Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Some Favorite Adult Books!


I read a lot, but I don't always read YA books. I actually enjoy mixing it up, and I have read some really great books outside of YA. I don't often scream about my adult reads, well not here on the blog at least, but there have been many deserving of my praise. Without further adieu, here are some of my 5-star reads from my adult shelf.

Monday, August 6, 2018

Friday, August 3, 2018

Discussion: Why I DON'T Reread


This Week’s Topic: Why I DON'T Reread


I do a ton of reading challenges, and every time I see "reread" on the list, I automatically cross it out. I am just not a "re-" person in general. Re-watching movies? Nope. Re-watching TV shows? No, again.

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Review: Let Me List the Ways - Sarah White

Let Me List the Ways
Sarah White
Series: n/a
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: HarperCollins
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
A breezy, sexy contemporary YA about falling in love with your best friend, from Wattpad phenom Sarah White.

Mackenzie Clark has been best friends with Nolan Walker for as long as she can remember. She’s shared everything with him, from adventures with their families and days lounging at the beach, to long talks about their friends and her journey with type 1 diabetes. The only thing she hasn’t shared is the fact that she is in love with him.

Now in their senior year of high school, Mackenzie and Nolan know that in a few short months everything will change as they head off to different colleges. Determined to make the most of the time they still have left, they come up with a list of things they want to do together before graduation. But as they make their way through everything from toilet papering the school bully’s house to having a backyard camp-out like the ones they had when they were kids, Mackenzie can’t help feeling that she’s left the most important thing off the list: telling Nolan how she feels. But when confessing her love could jeopardize the incredible relationship they already have, is honesty really the best policy?

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Pulp - Robin Talley

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I can't wait for Pulp!

Pulp
Robin Talley
Series: n/a
Release Date: November 13, 2018
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Waited on by: Sam
In 1955, eighteen-year-old Janet Jones keeps the love she shares with her best friend Marie a secret. It’s not easy being gay in Washington, DC, in the age of McCarthyism, but when she discovers a series of books about women falling in love with other women, it awakens something in Janet. As she juggles a romance she must keep hidden and a newfound ambition to write and publish her own story, she risks exposing herself—and Marie—to a danger all too real.

Sixty-two years later, Abby Zimet can’t stop thinking about her senior project and its subject—classic 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. Between the pages of her favorite book, the stresses of Abby’s own life are lost to the fictional hopes, desires and tragedies of the characters she’s reading about. She feels especially connected to one author, a woman who wrote under the pseudonym “Marian Love,” and becomes determined to track her down and discover her true identity.

In this novel told in dual narratives, New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley weaves together the lives of two young women connected across generations through the power of words. A stunning story of bravery, love, how far we’ve come and how much farther we have to go.