Matched - Ally Condie - 2010

Title: Matched (1st in series)

Author: Ally Condie

Year: 2010

Overall: * * * * * (5/5)

GoodReads blurb: Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Plot: * * * * *

Characters: * * * *

Stlye (writing style): * * * * *

My Review: This is the first book in a new dystopian series. It was like the Uglies series, The Giver, Logan's Run, and a passing drifter all got together and made a book baby. In the very best way possible. Cassia is different and kind and a teenager in a world where teenagers don't really get to do the things we currently associate with being young and carefree. There are strict rules, everything in your life is planned for by somebody else, and people generally aren't supposed to question this. Like the Uglies books without the weird plastic surgery part, though they do get rid of all the "anomalies." I really liked this take on what our possible future could be. I don't know when dystopias became something I really liked reading about, but they really pull me in and I like reading about how Cassia learns of the different types of love as she grows.

To Buy: Amazon

The Lying Game - Sara Shepard - 2010

Title: The Lying Game (1st in series)

Author: Sara Shepard

Year: 2010

Overall: * * * * (4/5)

GoodReads blurb: I had a life anyone would kill for.

Then someone did.

The worst part of being dead is that there’s nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It’s enough to kill a girl all over again. But I’m about to get something no one else does—an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.

Now Emma’s desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me—to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends? Convince my boyfriend she’s the girl he fell in love with? Pretend to be a happy, carefree daughter when she hugs my parents good night? And can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?

From Sara Shepard, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of thePretty Little Liars books, comes a riveting new series about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.

Let the lying game begin.

Plot: * * * *

Characters: * * * *

Stlye (writing style): * * * *

My Review: This is the first book in Shepard's new series. And I am totally hooked. I love how Shepard can just suck you into this completely bizarre story and take you away from reality for a few hours and keep you wanting more once you're finished. The mystery aspect of it is great so far, though just like in the Pretty Little Liars books there are twin sisters involved. I like that Sutton is realizing how awful a person she could be at the same time that Emma is discovering it too, it almost makes it feel like there are 3 sisters involved instead. I am very excited for the next book in the series, "Never Have I Ever," which comes out sometime in the Summer. I never really reach the point with Shepard's books where I can say they are truly fantastic novels, but they are great fun to read and keep me so entertained!

To Buy: Amazon

Along for the Ride - Sarah Dessen - 2009

Title: Along for the Ride

Author: Sarah Dessen

Year: 2009

Overall: * * * * (4/5)

GoodReads blurb: It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

Plot: * * * *

Characters: * * * *

Stlye (writing style): * * * * *

My Review: This was also a reread. I enjoyed it as much the second time around as I did the first, and though I remembered most of the plot clearly, there were so many little details about the characters and their interactions that I had forgotten, which made it really fun to be reminded of. Auden is a bit different than a lot of Dessen's characters. She can be very blunt, if only because she hasn't quite figured out that people don't like that, and she really has a hard time being social with people. I had forgotten that Eli has long hair in the book, which made it hard to picture him in my head. I love that almost all of the characters had layers that Auden sort of had to peel off in order for her to see that people aren't just one thing or another.

To Buy: Amazon

Currently reading: Trying to figure that out still...

Vacation

I just returned from the Caribbean, which was amazing to say the least. The water was beautiful, our cruise ship was great, and we made great friends. We also read a lot. Mike listened to the audiobooks of The Lord of the Rings and I read three books. The reviews of those books will follow.

It was nice to relax and enjoy some quiet time in between all of the activities the ship offered.

The next three posts will be dedicated to these books:

Matched by Ally Condie

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (a reread)

Graceling - Kristin Cashore - 2008

Title: Graceling

Author: Kristin Cashore

Year: 2008

Overall: * * * * * (5/5)

GoodReads blurb: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight — she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme, and in her case horrifying, skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace — or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away... a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Plot: * * * * *

Characters: * * * * 1/2

Stlye (writing style): * * * *

My Review: This was actually a reread for me. I read this for the first time in early 2009, and I think I waited just the right amount of time to read it a second time through, because somehow I had forgotten much of the plot. I remembered the basics about the characters, but I had forgotten the intricacies and small details of the characters and the land that makes up the 7 Kingdoms. I still love Katsa and Po so much, but upon a second reading, I realized how much I enjoyed the secondary characters. Raffin & Bann, Bitterblue, Ror & Skye. Cashore does such a great job of giving each character a unique voice, or sense of humor, just something that makes you forget that all of these characters came from the mind of one person. I really want to reread Fire now!

To Buy: Amazon

Currently reading: Matched by Ally Condie (2010)

Recent acquisitions

I will try to do this post every once in a while to keep up to date lists of books I have recently acquired in some way.

Matched - Ally Condie - Released Nov 30, 2010

Blurb:

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Matched on Amazon

The Lying Game - Sara Shepard - Released Dec 7, 2010

Blurb:

I had a life anyone would kill for.

Then someone did.

The worst part of being dead is that there’s nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It’s enough to kill a girl all over again. But I’m about to get something no one else does—an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.

Now Emma’s desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me—to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends? Convince my boyfriend she’s the girl he fell in love with? Pretend to be a happy, carefree daughter when she hugs my parents good night? And can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?

From Sara Shepard, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of thePretty Little Liars books, comes a riveting new series about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.

Let the lying game begin.

The Lying Game on Amazon

New review format!

I'm going to introduce a new format to my blog, so I can keep track of books better and actually have some standards on why I did or did not like the books I read.

Here goes!

Title:

Author:

Year:

Overall: (0-5 stars)

GoodReads blurb:

Rating

Plot:

Characters:

Stlye (writing style):

My Summary:

To Buy: (Amazon link)

Here is the first run through with the new format:

Title: The Summer of Skinny Dipping

Author: Amanda Howells

Year: 2010

Overall: * * * (3 of 5)

GoodReads blurb: Sometimes I still wake up shivering in the early hours of the morning, drowning in dreams of being out there in the ocean that summer, of looking up at the moon and feeling as invisible and free as a fish. But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the very beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start of something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before seem like it belonged to another life.

My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything.

Plot: * * * 1/2

Characters: * * *

Style: * * *

My Review: There were times when I really liked this story, but I felt like what happened wasn't a surprise because of how frequently it was hinted to that "the undertow was badddddd." I liked Mia for the most part, though I got the "poor me" vibe from her a lot, and she seemed to be very "typical female protag." I wasn't a big fan of Simon as a character either. There just weren't enough likable people in this story for me. Also, I was remind of Lucas by Kevin Brooks, without the "angry village" bit.

To buy: Amazon

Upcoming book releases

As promised, the updated list of books coming out soon (and a few from the past 2 months that I need to pick up):

Behemoth - Westerfeld - Oct 5

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares - Cohn/Levithan - Oct 26

Matched - Ally Condie - Nov 30

The Lying Game - Shepard - Dec 7

Fall For Anything - Summers - Dec 21

Deadly Little Games - Stolarz - Dec 28

The Education of Hailey Kendrick - Cook - Jan 4 2011

The Iron Queen - Kagawa - February 2011

Delirium - Oliver - Feb 2011

Miles From Ordinary - Lynch Williams - March 15 2011

Where She Went - Forman - April 5 2011

Stay - Caletti - Apr 5 2011

The Anti-Prom - McDonals - Apr 12 2011

Bumped - McCafferty - April 26 2011

The Last Little Blue Envelope - April 26 2011

What Happened to Goodbye - Dessen - May 10 2011

Bitter End - Brown - May 10 2011

Beauty Queens - Bray - May 24 2011

Between Here and Forever - Scott - May 24 2011

Nightspell - Leah Cypress - May 31 2011

Sisterhood Everlasting - Brashares - June 14 2011

Forever - Stiefvater - July 12 2011

Never Have I Ever - Shepard - July 26 2011

He's So Not Worth It - Scott - Summer 2011

As I Wake - Scott - Fall 2011

I am very excited about some of these titles.

Especially excited that "Fall For Anything" will be out when I get back from my honeymoon!

I am still sticking with Stolarz's "Deadly Little..." series even though I don't think I particularly liked the second one, but how can I not stick with a character named Camelia?

I am curious about Brashares' "Sisterhood Everlasting." Is it a 3 Willows book or Traveling Pants book? I can't even find confirmation if it's real or not...

I hope Sara Shepard's next series is as entertaining as Pretty Little Liars is.

Of course my old faithfuls Dessen, Caletti, & Scott are coming out with new ones and I have to say I am most excited about Caletti's "Stay."

Thought what I would REALLY like is for Kristin Cashore to come out with the next 7 Kingdoms book. Please?

2011 YA Debut Author Challenge

I am signing up for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren. Starting Jan 2011 and ending Dec 31 2011, I will read, at the very least, 12 YA novels written by debut authors. I'm hoping to read more than 12 though, and I will count them towards my annual goal of reading at least 5o books a year. To learn more about the Challenge and sign up, you can go here.

I have chosen a few titles from The Story Siren's spreadsheet of debut author's to check out and have started a list:

XVI - Julia Karr - Jan 6

Across the Universe - Beth Revis - Jan 11

Other Words for Love - Lorraine Zago Rosenthal - Jan 11

Where I Belong - Gwendolyn Heasley - Feb 8

Exposed - Kimberly Marcus - Feb 22

Falling Under - Gwen Hayes - March 1

Unlocked - Ryan G Van Cleave - March 1

Ten Miles Past Normal - Frances O'Roark Dowell - March 22

Bumped - Megan McCafferty - April 26

I will keep updating as I do more research and as some of the debut titles add more information to the book descriptions on Amazon.

In my next post I will update with my other upcoming "books to read" and their release dates.