Young Adult Books

Today is another day of the Indie/New Adult feature where I provide you with mini-reviews from the many (mostly New Adult) books I've read lately. I had a ton of books get a 4 star rating from me and this is the 3rd day I'm featuring those. Check my previous posts for the other 4 star books and my 5 star favorites that posted on Monday. Waiting for You by Shey Stahl Add to Goodreads This book started out for me as a raving, sparkling 5 stars. I absolutely loved Bailey and the fact that she wanted to escape her "perfect" life. She chooses to do this by jumping in the car with Dylan, the local bad boy, and heading off to who-knows-where. I am a sucker for road trip books and this one had so many amazing parts. Dylan started out as the perfect bad-boy character and I actually liked Bailey a lot because she showed how independent and rule-breaking she could be. Then, about 2/3rds through the book it took some strange turns. I won't say what happened but I will say that Dylan did something to Bailey that raised some reg flags for me. I couldn't brush off that uneasy feeling and the book never quiet grabbed me again after that. Either way, this may not be an issue many people find in this story. Maybe it just hit a sore spot for me, but I'd still recommend people give this one a try. The Future of Our Past by Kahlen Aymes Add to Goodreads I'm a sucker for books that involve teenagers who have been friends forever and question their relationship. I think many girls want to have that male best friend that we adore, and then we find out that maybe that's who we are meant to be with. In this book, Julia and Ryan are at that moment and neither know what to do. Once together, they deal with typical relationship issues, like distance, and it was good to see how they worked through those problems. By the end, the drama was a bit more boring and I hated that it ended on a huge cliffhanger. I still plan to read the next book in the series soon to see what happens. Falling Into You by Jasinda Wilder Add to Goodreads I know so many people who just looooved this book. I enjoyed it a lot but it didn't blow me away like I expected. I will say though, the first part of this story had me in tears. It was the saddest thing ever! As with many titles I've read, the beginning was fabulous. I got the emotional connection with the characters after the accident and Nell and Colton were believable and obviously had a lot of chemistry. Towards the end I just wasn't into the story as much. I started skipping a few parts and didn't get the drama going on. But again, that beginning was insanely good and I do plan to read more from this author. Fire Always Burns by Krista Lakes Add to Goodreads This is a book you may not have heard of before but it's definitely worth the read. In this story we meet Holly, a young girl who lost her scholarship after too many late nights. This is something we rarely see in NA books (a person who fails at college and ends up back home in their small town), but it happens every day! She has best friends still in the town and one of them is Luke, a guy who is dealing with his parent's divorce and his little brother having to move. Then we have Andrew, a guy forced to take care of his mother after his father passed away. They all felt so stuck. I totally got these situations. They were similar scenarios but so relateable. Some parts I didn't fully understand (like how Andrew's mother was a nurse, but she was bats*it crazy sometimes), but I still enjoyed the overall story in this book. Take This Regret by A.L. Jackson Add to Goodreads I adored this story. Christian abandons his girlfriend, Elizabeth, after finding out she's pregnant. Now he tries to come back and connect with her and his child. I was frustrated at Christian at times because he let his families control go so far, but I felt that once he came back he really did want to try to m

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney Release Date: June 4, 2013 Publisher: Little Brown Pages: 257 Series: n/a Review Source: Netgalley Synopsis: (from Goodreads) Filled with humor, raw emotion, a strong voice, and a brilliant dog named Sandy Koufax, When You Were Here explores the two most powerful forces known to man-death and love. Daisy Whitney brings her characters to life with a deft touch and resonating authenticity. Danny's mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation-the one day that she was hanging on to see. Now Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn't know how to figure out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore. When he gets a letter from his mom's property manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with his mother's memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There, among the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died.My Thoughts: Daisy Whitney has a special way with words. The things that she writes just reach out and touch my heart. It sounds cliche, but I find her writing incredibly meaningful. I love how the themes in ‘When You Were Here’ (love, life, loss, finding meaning) are universal, and yet it felt like Danny's words were meant directly for me, for me to feel & experience. This one stands out to me, first and foremost, because of the male narrator. Danny is a lovely character: so sweet and a little bit broken as he copes with the death of his mother. The book is sad, of course, because of the theme, but it was the type of sad that I can handle. It was bittersweet throughout, with a few bursting moments of hope and renewal at the end. The book also features two main female characters, Holland and Kana, who are very distinct from one another, and yet I adored them equally, in such different ways. I really loved the platonic friendship between Danny and Kana. It just felt so perfect to me, that representation of an incredibly meaningful relationship between a boy and a girl that wasn't romantic. ‘When You Were Here’ is sad but hopeful, and I found it to be beautiful and moving. It has a great travel aspect with Danny going to Tokyo, and also features an incredibly sweet relationship between a guy and his dog. This book is just so lovely and I highly recommend it; my first thoughts after finishing it were: 'So. Freaking. Good.' The Cover: Really like it! Rating: [5/5] Find When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

The Rules By Stacey Kade Hardcover, 416 pages Expected publication: April 23rd 2013 by Disney-Hyperion GoodReads | Amazon | BN 1. Never trust anyone. 2. Remember they are always searching. 3. Don’t get involved. 4. Keep your head down. 5. Don’t fall in love. Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created,

Now that BEA is officially here, the excitement is starting to grow! I'm so excited to talk with everyone about books and to meet new and old friends! I'll be sharing my tips each week until the big event! The last few things to talk about:Phone: The wireless in the building is terrible - it will eat your battery. Double check that you have your charger because you WILL need it! Also think about taking the wireless capabilities off of your phone for the day. It will save your battery - somewhat. Manners: Don't forget these at home. It's hard when there are so many people, but we're all book people and we all just want to talk about books. Treat everyone with respect and don't push your way through. Fun: Have a blast there! It's meant to be fun. Yes it can be exhausting, but it's also like Christmas - getting to meet so many awesome people and talk about so many books!Get your face out there: It's a week away! A lot of peoples' names I might not recognize, but I know your blog name. Add your blog name to your name tag. Add a photo of yourself to your blog:This is me, say Hi if you see me, and I'll promise to do the same!

Corrigan, Eirann. Accomplice. 1 August 2010, Scholastic Press.Living on the east coast, Finn and Chloe are afraid that their high school academics are not good enough for them to get into elite colleges. After seeing a news item about a girl who was abducted and held for months by kidnappers and then got into the college of their choice, they come up with an elaborate plan-- Chloe will disappear for a while, Finn will help "find" her, and they will both not only get accepted into whatever college they want, but will get scholarship money. Their plan goes well, and Chloe is hiding in Finn's grandmother's house. Chloe's family and friends are understandably upset, especially when she is gone long enough for the local lake to be dragged. When her boyfriend, Dean, becomes a "person of interest" and is later arrested, Finn starts to question their plan and wants to back out, but Chloe wants to stick with it. In the end, their plan costs them more than they get out of it.Strengths: This is a well-paced, unique thriller with a fantastic cover. I think that this will go over very well with my middle school students who always want murder mysteries. Weaknesses: I've never understood the whole "elite college" thing, and my daughter got in to three different colleges, so the whole premise seemed unlikely to me, but then (thankfully) I don't live on the east coast! Martin, Ann M. Better to Wish (Family Tree #1)30 April 2013, Scholastic PressE ARC from Netgalley.comAbby is looking back at her life in the year 2022, when she is 100 years old. In anecdotal chapters, she recalls various scenes from her life that made an impact on her. Raised by a controlling father and a sad, frail mother, Abby and her sister Rose live in a small coastal town and get along as best they can. Strengths: Historical events such as the Great Depression and WWII effect Abby, and details of everyday life are nicely portrayed.Weaknesses: This was possibly the most depressing historical fiction book I've come across. Whatever bad things could happen, did happen. The poor mother. She suffers the father's abuse, has multiple miscarriages, finally has a baby boy who is "feeble-minded" and is sent to an institution and eventually dies. At least Abby manages to break free from her family, but the whole book made me too sad to think about handing it to a student. I was surprised at Martin-- Picky Reader adored the Doll Family books, which are a bit happier!Another review of this at Secrets and Sharing Soda.You Know It's Time For School To Be Over When: I tell a teacher "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." When the students start to arrive at this time of year, I need to be hunting them down for overdues, not hooking up an LCD projector to a computer, expecially when two days ago I suggested to the same teacher that I could give her better service with a little more advance notice. She replied that it's not always possible to plan. Really? Because I got in to school at 4:30, and you're rolling in at 7:30, so that's not really the thing to say to make me want to help you.I'm normally not that cranky.

US // UKI'll be honest and admit that I've never been a fan of the new UK covers for this series, not since the very first Divergent cover that was the same as the US one. The re-releases have never caught my eye and I don't think they capture the essence or excitement of the series, which the US covers manage do so well. So already my vote goes with the US cover - sorry, UK!I much prefer everything about the US cover for Allegiant, especially the title font, main image and bright colours. Even the tagline is better, though it's good to see that the UK cover actually has one as often that's something left off our covers. I do like the blue of the UK cover, though I think the feathers look out of place and like they've just been plonked there using Photoshop. Our UK covers have always disappointed me and I'm not entirely sure why the decision was made to re-release them and deviate from the US jackets. It's a shame!So, which do you prefer? Do you agree with me about the UK covers?

Heidi Acosta was born on Long Island, New York. Moving around a lot when she was younger, she has lived in New York, Arizona, New York (again), Washington, Georgia, and Florida, in that order. Each place offered her something special, but she will always consider New York her home. Heidi started writing as soon as [...]

The Kill Order by James Dashner 327 pages Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers Publication Date: August 14th 2012 Source: Library Add it on Goodreads Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, the sun flares hit the earth and destroyed the world mankind took for granted. Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there's something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, It's mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees. Mark and Trina are convinced there's a way to save those left from descending into madness. And they're determined to find it - if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you're worth more dead than alive. I'm a big fan of James Dashner's the Maze Runner trilogy so I was super excited when he announced that he was writing a prequel to the series! Of course, in classic Julia fashion, I didn't actually get around to reading the prequel till 8 months after it was published. Hehe. But the good news is, I finally did read it and I definitely think that if you're a fan of TMRT you should read it too! The Kill Order is set several months after solar flares have hit earth and destroyed most of society and the world as we know it. Mark and Trina are two of the lucky few survivors left on earth. Unfortunately, the solar flares were just the beginning of their problems. Now they have to face a deadly disease, one that turns people insane and is mutating at an alarming rate. Together, with a band of other rag tag survivors, Mark and Trina have to discover the source of the virus before it takes them down. The Kill Order was a fast-paced thrill ride. If you've read James Dashner's other books then you're already familiar with his style of writing; short chapters, cliff hangers, and lots of action. An added bonus of The Kill Order was that it had a lot of flashbacks which, though unexpected, ended up becoming my favorite part of the novel. These flashbacks told all about how Mark and Trina survived the original solar flare incident and personally I feel like the Kill Order could have been an even better novel if it was simply based around the characters living through and surviving directly after the solar flares instead of focusing on the Flare virus. The Kill Order was great, but I found myself pushing through the present tense chapters just to get to Mark's flashbacks. In my opinion those chapters were packed with twice as much suspense and intrigue as the rest of the novel. I just love a good heart pounding survival story! However, I can definitely see why James Dashner had this prequel center around the Flare virus since that was more of a focal point for the Maze Runner trilogy as a whole. The characters of The Kill Order were pretty standard. However, I don't read James Dashner stories for the characters, I read them to get swept up in an adventure. That being said, I really did love Alec, a super badass military veteran with a heart of gold. No one does badass characters quite like James Dashner! None of the other characters really stood out to me, but that didn't matter because the story and plot were engrossing enough to keep me hooked. For a prequel I felt like The Kill Order was an enjoyable read. It wasn't super fantastic, but it definitely answered some of the questions I had about the Maze Runner trilogy and that's what prequels are all about. If you're a fan of James Dashner and this series then I would give it a read! Julia :)

The Girl With the Iron Touch (The Steampunk Chronicles #3) by Kady Cross Hardcover, 384 pages Expected Publication: May 28th, 2013 by Harlequin TEEN Source: NetGalley In 1897 London, something not quite human is about to awaken When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What's left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons—or forfeit her friends' lives. With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by the Aether, the young duke's sanity is close to the breaking point. Seeking help, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. When Jack kisses her, Finley must finally confront her true feelings for him...and for Griffin. Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily, from Whitechapel's desolate alleyways to Mayfair's elegant mansions. He would walk into hell for her, but the choice she must make will test them more than they could imagine. To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist's ultimate creation—an automaton more human than machine. And if she's to have any chance at triumphing, she must summon a strength even she doesn't know she has.... I have really been enjoying this series a lot and have read them each year diligently before they are released (that never happens, I almost ALWAYS fall behind). I love the world created in the books and the setting. The last book took place in America and in this one we are back in London. Surprisingly I loved the American setting in the last book, but I still found myself happy to be back in London. Not only that, but Jack Dandy is in London and that is a character that I love to read about! Now that description hints at a love triangle. Well, more than hints, and there's not really one. Finley already knows who her heart belongs to and the person who it doesn't belong to is someone she still cares about but he also understands that she's made her decision. There's not really any drama concerning them anymore. The previous books seemed to focus on Finley more and in this one Emily was much more center stage. We still know what's going on with Finley and all that, but Emily is the one kidnapped and we see everything she goes through and just get to know her better. She's a really strong and kick butt character and I loved getting to know her better. I love all the characters in this series. Finley is great and I loved where the romance started to go in this one. Not a new turn or anything, it just moves forward. And Griffin has some major issues to deal with but I felt like we barely touched on them and that will be the focus of the next book. Sam has grown as a character in finding to accept himself. In this book Jasper is pretty absent. When he was there, he wasn't really there. That made me sad and I hope that we see more of him in the next book and that he might find his HEA. And Jack Dandy, oh I think Jack Dandy is my most favorite character of all! It might be that lovely cockney accent (faked accent?) or his terminology and mannerisms, but he is a character I would love to read more about! We see that Jack may end up with his own HEA... but that's yet to be seen, just my prediction. Because my lovelies, there's a new character introduced in this book and my lips are sealed! You must just wait to meet her yourself! The steampunk aspects of this series are pretty great. For the most part I really love them. The things that bug me a tad are that there's some rather 'convenient' devices so they can get in touch (like cell phones, but not) and some other inventions that just seemed a bit out of place and felt more convenient than anything. It's not a big issue for me though. The plot of this one moves along rather quickly. I was surprised at ho

You don't just luck into things as much as you would like to think you do. You build step by step, whether it is friendships or opportunities. Attribution Barbara Bush