Friday, August 3, 2012

August's To Be Read

Recently I went to the library to get some books out to read. So I technically should call this blog post In My Library. The three books I checked out of the library will be read this month, I am determined. If anyone else was at the library with me, they would either have laughed or got really annoyed with me. My sister was there and she was on the annoyed side. I went to the teen section, looked at the new books section and started pulling book after book after book that I want to read. Then I went through the rest of the teen section and picked all the books that I also want to read that are the older side of books (not that old, don't worry haha). My stack of books was huge. I picked out so many books and they were all in the maybe pile. Then came the hard part. Picking out the three books I wanted to get. I can't even tell you some of the books that I wanted to get because that list would take a little while and I want to get to the good stuff, the books I am actually going to read for this month. Drum roll please! 
The first book: Abandon by Meg Cabot 
The main reason I got this book. I LOVE Meg Cabot. She is one of my favorite authors. She just knows how to pull you in until the end of the book and then when you are done, you think, "Wow, that was a really good book." I am hoping this is the same thing with me but I am hearing mixed reviews on the book so we will see how it turns out. Please, Meg, do not leave me disappointed. 
My thoughts on the cover- A beautiful girl in a pretty dress. Yeah, we all know it's those same covers now and days, but I still like the cover. Mainly, because she is not looking straight at us. Her eyes are closed and she looks like she is dead, which I figure relates to the story. 
Now on to what the story is about. I briefly read the synopsis because I decided on it because of the author.  It seems to be about a girl who has died before and now that she survived and is back, someone is chasing her because they want her back in the Underworld. It sounds pretty good and I hear it is a modern day telling about Persephone, queen of the Underworld. If this means more Greek Mythology, and after reading Starcrossed, I am in. I am still excited to read this and really hope it is a good book, like all the other Meg Cabot books I have read. 

The Second Book: Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski 
I am a little bit more excited than I want to admit about reading this book. I have heard tons of reviews saying it's a cute, hilarious, quick summer read. Reading what it is about makes it look like it will be super fun to read. And because of that, that is the main reason I checked this book out. 
My thoughts on the cover- it's not the same but it's still not different. It's mediocre. I do like the pink words on the, pink is adorable. haha
A review will be out right when I finish this book because I am I am on the excited side to read it. And no, it's not a good you think it is going to be. You know what I am talking about :P


The third and final Book I got out of the Library is the book I am most excited for: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin 
Edgar Allan Poe. Yes, all of you guys started paying attention now, didn't you? I, along with probably many others, love Edgar Allan Poe. This book is a retelling about Poe's short story The Masque of the Red Death. I read that story along time ago in 10th grade and I am now a sophomore in college. I have a really old book of all of Edgar Allan Poe's poems and short stories so it's probably a good idea to read his story again. I think I will. haha I have heard NOTHING but great things about this book. Even the girl who worked there said she heard this book was a really good when she was checking out my books. 
This book is also a steampunk book and I have never read one of these types of books. But I am psyched to because I could probably get into a new genre of books. If I like this book, which I have a feeling I will, I will be interested to see what other types of steampunk books are out there. 
My thoughts on the cover- for one, it really pulls you in. The mysterious girl wearing the long red and black dress holding this tattered and fading umbrella. It makes you wonder what it is about, but of course, the title clears that up for us. I really do love the colors of red and black put together and they are put together beautifully. I really hope Bethany Griffin, as a debut young adult author, has brought us an astounding book. 

So these are the books I got from the library the other day and I am hoping these reviews will be up right after I finish them. The hardest thing is deciding which one to read first because all of them look super awesome. 
Wish me luck!
Hope everyone is having a blast reading.
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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Currently Reading Right Now

I have got some exciting books for everybody to review in the month of August! I am really excited for these books this month. Also, I think I am going to do Blogust, where I will write a blog post everyday in the month of August. The hardest thing will be thinking of things to review and write about. 
Currently Reading:
Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.

And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.

Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.



I am reading the new Young Adult novel by Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha Van Leer called Between The Lines. It is a modern day version of a fairy tale where the one main character Delilah is trying to find a way for Oliver, the character in her favorite fairy tale that talks to her and vise versa, to get out of the book because he feels trapped doing the same thing over and over again. In this book, when a book is a closed, the characters have a life and like to do things that they want to do. Most of the characters do not have the same personality they have when the book is closed as they have when the book is open. For example, the villain is actually a really nice guy when the book is closed. 
So far, I like it. I have never read a Jodi Picoult novel but I do have The Pact on my To Be Read shelf. I can feel her style of writing but I can also really see her daughter's first time at writing a book's style of writing and it's pretty good. It is a really easy read so far, I am about a little more than halfway through the book and I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of the novel turns out. 
My thoughts on the cover-This is mainly the reason I am reading the book. I think the cover of this book is super cute. I can relate because I am often seen hugging an awesome book to my chest (minus the fairy wand, though I can't say I don't wish I had one) wearing a tank top and sweatpants. I also think this girl on the front is really pretty. 
Once I am finished with this book, there will be a review up for it. I also will be writing two more blog posts for tomorrow so look out for those!
See everyone tomorrow, 
Catie

Starcrossed Review


How do you defy destiny?
Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.
As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

How I found out about this book-two ways. I heard about the second one Dreamless from Kristi (The Story Siren) on one of her videos. I also sampled the second book on iBooks on my Ipad. I was a little lost reading the sample which just made me want to read the first one even more. So I bought it! 
I finished the book Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini. I loved this book. I give it a five out of five stars because of many reasons. One, it was a modern day telling about Helen of Troy and this book got me really into Greek Mythology. Judging on the cover, it is beautiful. It has the main character Helen on the front in this beautiful light purple dress. Many young adults books now feature the girl on the front cover with a big ballgown dress. I liked this one a little better because it fit the mood of the book. It was light and flowy because it fit the description of the ocean.  I really liked the characters in this story. The main character Helen is this beautiful sixteen year old junior in high school. She always knew she was different than the rest of the people on the Island she lives on near Massachusetts. That's something that I also loved about this book. The setting sounded so beautiful. An island with the houses near the sea. Her house has a nice widow's watch. Even one of the giant storms still didn't keep me from wanting to live there. It made me want to be in the story, which I really enjoyed. 
The Furies, which are the women who cried tears of blood, were very creepy. Trying to imagine them, I freaked myself out sometimes. I know that I would never want to be chased by Furies and want to actually try to kill an enemy. 
The other main character Lucas Delos was fabulous. He had some excellent character development. He was of course a gorgeous character, involved with the Greek mythology, some amazing skills and still h ad flaws. The romance between him and Helen was certainly entertaining and I never really wanted the book to end.
The last thing is any problems I had with the book. But I am really trying to rattle my brain and try to think of one but it is not coming to me. I could probably say the length of the book but it did not bother me at all. 

Overall, I really really liked this book and I am super excited the read the second installment of this series. So check it out and you won't regret it.