Young Adult Books

Book Parallel Contributors Samantha E. Reviewer (text) Samantha E. Is it fate or choice that guides the decisions we make in our life? Is it a mix of both? For Abbey Barnes, this question is essential because every day she has to struggle with finding the balance between what she has chosen and where fate has brought her. "PARALLEL is truly a thrilling read...It is the kind of book that you want to start reading and then not put down until hours later when you have read the last word. It's just that good." Teaser Abby Barnes had a plan. She'd go to Northwestern and major in journalism. But one tiny choice --- taking a drama class her senior year --- changed all that. Now Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it's as if her past has been rewritten. Promo Abby Barnes had a plan. She'd go to Northwestern and major in journalism. But one tiny choice --- taking a drama class her senior year --- changed all that. Now Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it's as if her past has been rewritten. About the Book Abby Barnes had a plan. The Plan. She'd go to Northwestern, major in journalism, and land a job at a national newspaper, all before she turned 22. But one tiny choice --- taking a drama class her senior year of high school --- changed all that. Now, on the eve of her 18 birthday, Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it's as if her past has been rewritten. With the help of Caitlin, her science-savvy BFF, Abby discovers that this new reality is the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an alternate version of her life. And not only that: Abby's life changes every time her parallel self makes a new choice. Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby's senior year of high school and falling for someone Abby's never even met. As she struggles to navigate her ever-shifting existence, forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn't choose, Abby must let go of the Plan and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that's finally within reach. read more

Guys. My seventh book review this year, first in 3 months. I'm so good at this blogging thing, eh?Summary (goodreads)After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.**My Expectations: kind of okay? I went into it with a "hoping for the best" mentality, but I wasn't counting on the hype.Delivery: definitely exceeded my expectationsPut-down-ability: 2/10, low. I mean, bought this book, paid full price and everything.**My ThoughtsI haven't read a book I really loved in months, and I've been picking up and putting down countless books recently. Until this one. And I loved that as I was reading it, I was realizing that it was going to be a new favourite of mine and let me tell you, I was never so disappointed to see the Acknowledgements page after that last chapter.Two quotes:That's not how it ends at all.It ends with us killing each other behind rows of empty beer coolers in the dying light of a late-summer day.I went up to him before the last of the light was gone. Not to see if he was dead. I knew he was dead. I wanted to see what he was holding in his bloody hand.It was a crucifix.That passage near the beginning made me sit up and take note, it made my brain scream that this was not a book that was to be ignored."It's hopeless. And it's stupid. It's suicidal. But love is a weapon they have no answer for. They know how you think, but they can't know what you feel." Damn, Rick Yancey, I like your book a lot.---This one took me by surprise, I'm usually one to ignore the hype and I've done my fair share of wandering around bookstores and reading 50 or so pages, then leaving. However, I took this baby home with me ;)Before we get to the brilliance of the writing, can we just talk about the freaking plot? It's so well crafted and builds a solid foundation for the series. Everything from the 1st wave to the Arrival, from Camp Ashpit to Camp Haven, I loved the way Yancey really thought through the Others' plan of attack. It allowed for much better rapport between the protagonist and the actions of the antagonist instead of one directional volleys.Okay, but if plots aren't your thing, maybe writing is. It really is gorgeous, I especially noticed some of the colour imagery (because it was reminiscent of The Book Thief), as well certain distinct features/images like the Eye and the Mothership (reminiscent of the District 9 movie). Some passages were breathtaking and haunting, and definitely made my mind turn over on itself; he fleshes out the complications and pain of war, loss, family, and love, yet still maintains an action-packed atmosphere and a tense feeling of impending doom.So then there are the characters, where I loved the whole bunch. Another thing I didn't expect-- the switching POVs (okay, okay, maybe I didn't thoroughly research this book before reading it) but it was such a pleasant surprise. There was a point where Yancey switched between 1st and 3rd POV which I found interesting and enjoyable. I had a small issue with the central romance, which I thought was lacking... I mean, okay, hopeless devotion is only romantic to an extent. After that it's dull. I much more enjoyed Cassie throwing meat at his head. Yancey leaves an aura of mystery around many of the characters that leaves me eager to find out more.I found one or two of the POVs slowed down the story and

If you "like" the Just One Day Facebook page, you might have seen the article posted a couple of days ago about the new cover for the paperback edition of Just One Day by Gayle Forman. When I heard the news, I was a little hesitant...I really, really love the original cover of Just One Day, and the matching cover for the upcoming sequel Just One Year, which was released earlier this year. Here they are:There is so much I like about these covers--the colors, the lighting, and reflections, and romantic quality that really make their seem so magnetic.Here is the new cover for Just One Day:What I like about this cover: the silhouettes, the setting sun, the clasped hands, and city street. I think that this cover does a great job at hinting at Paris without sticking in any obvious landmarks, and I love that. This cover is effortlessly romantic and it does a great job at drawing you in.My only complaint is the same complaint I have whenever series undergo cover changes, and that is the question of whether or not my book covers will match. So far I haven't seen a new Just One Year cover that matches the new paperback, but we'll see.The paperback edition of this book will be released August 20th, 2013, and Just One Year will be out on October 15th, 2013. I can hardly wait to read it!What do you all think of the new cover?

Last week one of my sons was sick. Not terribly sick, but what he has was contagious and he got ordered to stay home all week. So I stayed home with him for a day and a half. And I finally, finally got some books finished. My Currently Reading list is down to five!I finished: You, Maybe by Rachel Vail; The Bully Book by Eric Kahn Gale (review coming tomorrow); Fat Kid Rules the World by KL Going (review on Wednesday) and The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (which I reviewed last week after I finished it). I also checked the first season of Deadwood out from my public library and am very caught up in that. I tried watching it when it was first on but the swearing and dirtiness kind of got to me. I got over it and am now loving it!Right now I am reading The House of the Scorpion, one I have been wanting to read forever. It is completely engrossing!What are you reading today?

This is a weekly post to spotlight some YA/MG books that will be releasing during this week. All content © by Sab H of YA Bliss

Olive died for a little less than three minutes following a car accident. When she awakes in a hospital - her world has drastically changed. Three weeks later, she's beginning to understand.Her mother no longer trusts her. Her boyfriend never came to the hospital to check up on her. The only people standing by her are her best friend and her younger brother. People talk about her at school. She can't sleep.Her mother believes she needs to talk to a professional. She decides to travel outside her area to attend a Near Death Society support group. It's weirder than she ever imagined, but that's where she meets Nick.Nick makes her feel things. The more time she spends with him, the better she feels. She might be neglecting her best friend and making her parents unhappy, but she's trying to find herself. Should she try to fall back in line or make her own path?My Thoughts: I loved this book - I loved unraveling Olive's story and the layers of relationships. I liked the relationship between Olive and Annie. I like how Annie supported Olive, but wasn't afraid to tell her the truth. I enjoyed the side story of Annie's photography and Olive learning to like taking pictures. Nick and Olive's relationship is adventurous, soul-searching, and sweet. I like how Olive's parents and her understanding of them changed throughout her journey. Cover Thoughts: Cute, but doesn't match the book, which is darker.Source: My LibrarySimilar Read: Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Destiny, Rewritten. Kathryn Fitzmaurice. 2013. HarperCollins. 176 pages.I really enjoyed The Year The Swallows Came Early, and I loved, loved, LOVED A Diamond in the Desert. How did I feel about Destiny, Rewritten? I really, really liked it. I appreciated so many things about the heroine, Emily Elizabeth Davis. She's a heroine who needs to believe in happy endings, who writes out her favorite happy endings from books, who checks to see that there is a happy ending before even reading books, who regularly writes Danielle Steel. She's presented as smart and kind, a girl you want for a best friend, a sister, a daughter. But her life isn't perfect. Emily feels some slight pressure from her mom to live up to her destiny. Emily doesn't embrace poetry; she doesn't feel called to BE a poet just because her mom named her after Emily Dickinson. The inspiring story about how her mom found a first edition complete poems of Emily Dickinson just days before she was born? Well, it makes her love and appreciate her mom--the book of poems is updated in the margins with details from her life--but it doesn't make her want to write poetry or even write about poetry.One day, this treasured book is LOST, donated by accident. Emily and her friends and family come together to search the city for this one-of-a-kind book. Her mom is relaxed, reassuring. If the book is meant to come back to her, then it will. Her mom is all about how destiny can't be forced or rushed, that you just have to accept it, embrace it one day at a time. Emily NEEDS the book, NOW. Why? She's just learned that the name of her father is hidden inside its pages. She never discovered this because she's never read it cover to cover. (Her mom won't tell her who her father is, won't explain why he's not a part of their lives.)So will Emily get her happy ending?!I definitely recommend this one! I really love Kathryn Fitzmaurice's writing. One of the reasons I love her writing is the great characterization. © 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book ReviewsIf you're reading this on a site (other than Becky's Book Reviews or Becky's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

House of Secrets (Book 1) by Ned Vizzini & Chris Columbus The Walker kids had it all: loving parents, a big house in San Francisco, all the latest video games . . . but everything changed when their father lost his job as a result of an inexplicable transgression. Now the family is moving into Kristoff House, a mysterious place built nearly a century earlier by Denver Kristoff, a troubled writer with a penchant for the occult. Suddenly the siblings find themselves launched on an epic journey into a mash-up world born of Kristoff’s dangerous imagination, to retrieve a dark book of untold power, uncover the Walker family’s secret history and save their parents . . . and maybe even the world. (goodreads.com) Ever since I heard Ned Vizzini speak at the 2010 Teen Author Carnival in NYC I have been a huge fan of his. I loved It’s Kind of a Funny Story and The Other Normals very much so when I heard he was co-authoring a middle grade novel I was beyond delighted! I broke my book buying ban to get this book because I needed something fun in my life and the book was just so GORGEOUS. See below! I packed this monstrosity of a book in my suitcase as soon as I picked it up from the post office. It was coming with me on my weekend trip to Toronto whether or not we could fit it in the baggage. (I was going to make sure it fit!) The book was SO GOOD that I almost didn’t want to go and do the things we’d gone away to do because I wanted to stay in the hotel bed and read! However, we didn’t spend all that money and promise to visit people only to have me locked away in a hotel room, so I sucked it up and did what I needed to do. heh This book was just so much fun. So. Much. Fun! I like stories where siblings get along and discover magical, fantastical places and have to work together – each with their own strengths! – to save their lives or the world, or whatever. I just love those kinds of stories. And this story and the house in San Francisco, is magical and adventurous and there are giant bugs and warriors and pirates and, unfortunately, sharks (my only negative about the entire book. THAT FIN ON THE COVER GAVE ME NIGHTMARES!) This story has something for everyone, girls, boys, kids, adults… you name it! I think that’s part of what I loved so much about the story, there’s mystery, magic, adventure, action and you can laugh and be scared at the same time. It was certainly a quick and enjoyable read and just hit all the right spots when it comes to middle grade adventure! I liked all three of the kids in this book, too, which surprised me. Normally there’s at least one that I won’t like (and sadly, it tends to be the brother almost all of the time!) but in The House of Secrets I liked all three siblings, but I didn’t care much for the additional “friends” that were made along the way. I didn’t hate them, but I thought the Royal Airforce dude was a little snooty for my liking. I even liked the pirates and I’m not normally a pirate fan. As scary as they were, I found them very enjoyable. So, yeah, imaginations have full permission to run wild with this story and I can’t wait to read more from these two authors. I gather what with this one being all “Book One!” and everything that there will be more adventures lurking around the corners in Kristoff House and I cannot wait to find out what those adventures will be! © 2013Beyond Books | House of Secrets originally published by Cat for Beyond Books . | This post cannot be republished without permission of the author. If you're reading it anywhere other than a feed reader (or my own blog!) you are in violation of copyright. Illegal is wrong! Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I'm doing Caldecott themed storytime for preschool storytime in January-April.Check out all my Caldecott Storytime plans here.So I did two storytimes with this years winner, but silly me forgot to keep my full plan for Week 14. That week I introduced the winners from this year and read Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, and Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds. My group was a little young, so I abridged some of Extra Yarn. I also wasn't sure if they really liked Creepy Carrots, but we made our own carrots for a craft and after I heard them playing in the department saying "my creepy carrot will get you!" so it must have been a hit!For Week 15, I saved this year's winner for last. It was lots of fun and a great way to end our Caldecott series. Here's what I did:Open: Where Is Thumbkin and Shake My Sillies Out by The WigglesRead: Swimmy by Leo Lionni -A couple of the kids new this one because they had read it before and they were excited to talk about the big black fish the fish make in the end.Song: These Are My Glasses by Laurie BerknerRead: Have You Seen My Duckling by Nancy TafuriSong: Octopus by Charlotte Diamond (the kids loved this song!)Read: This is Not My Hat by Jon KlassenSong: Ten Little Fishes (I got this from my mom and I'm not sure where she got it!) I printed out little fishes and had each kid hold a fish and walk around so their fish could swim. My mom uses this in her music class and tells the kids that the fish swim around and greet each other by getting very close to another fish and saying "hello". So as the kids walk around with their fish, they can go around the room and greet the other kids and their fish. As we walked we sang:"One little, two little, three little fishiesFour little, five little, six little fishiesSeven little, eight little, nine little fishies,Ten little fishes in the sea."Then I added a verse about the "fishies swim high" and "fishies swim low" and had the kids move their fish higher in the air and then low to the ground."Fishies swim high in the waterFishies swim high in the waterFishies swim high in the waterTen little fishies in the sea.""Fishies swim low in the waterFishies swim low in the waterFishies swim low in the waterTen little fishies in the sea."The kids loved this song and loved having fish props to use. I plan to use it again in storytime.Activities: -Rubber Ducks in a tub of water -Blocks with bubbles inside -Reading station (I put out other Caldecott winning titles and had a mat set up where the kids could read and check out other Caldecott titles)-Puppets-we made fish puppets to go with our storyOverall this was a great storytime and I loved doing the Caldecott theme with the kids. As the weeks went by the kids knew what the award was and become more interested in checking out Caldecott winning titles. It was a great success!

Hitting Shelves this Week: Now in Paperback: