Poll Results: Book by Book

Yay! I think I like this choice too. To those of you who didn't vote and aren't happy with the results, this should teach you that every vote counts!

Now I just have to think of a new poll... with the Blogger poll widget.

**EDIT**To those of you who couldn't see the poll... sorry about that. The poll was basically asking how you would like us to review a series. The choices were "Book by book"; "As a whole"; "I don't want to read a review on a series"; or "I could care less."

"Book by Book" won.**EDIT**

-Briana

In My Mailbox (6)

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren. Click here to learn more about it.

Briana: This week was better than last week! I bought two books that I've been wanting for a while and borrowed a book from a friend.

(Bought)

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either...

This sounds like it can definitely be a creepy read! I don't think I've ever read something that really scared me, so I'm excited to experience a new type of genre!

Wake by Lisa McMann

Not all dreams are sweet.

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does — they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

I've heard nothing but amazing things about this book and it's supposed to be a creepy read, which I want to try! I also love all of the covers for this series.

(Borrowed)

L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad

Los Angeles is all about the sweet life: hot clubs, cute guys, designer . . . everything. Nineteen-year-old Jane Roberts can't wait to start living it up. She may be in L.A. for an internship, but Jane plans to play as hard as she works, and has enlisted her BFF Scarlett to join in the fun.

When Jane and Scarlett are approached by a producer who wants them to be on his new series, a "reality version of Sex and the City," they can hardly believe their luck. Their own show? Yes, please!

Soon Jane is TV's hottest star. Fame brings more than she ever imagined possible for a girl from Santa Barbara—free designer clothes, the choicest tables at the most exclusive clubs, invites to Hollywood premieres—and she's lapping up the VIP treatment with her eclectic entourage of new pals. But those same friends who are always up for a wild night are also out for a piece of Jane's spotlight.

In a city filled with people chasing after their dreams, it's not long before Jane wakes up to the reality that everyone wants something from her, and nothing is what it seems to be.

L.A. Candy is a deliciously entertaining novel about what it's like to come of age in Hollywood while starring in a reality TV show, written by a girl who has experienced it all firsthand: Lauren Conrad

A girl from work lent me this book since she couldn't even get through it. I'm curious to know if I'll enjoy it or not. At least Lauren Conrad is doing something more respectful with her life than Heidi (Montag) Pratt, who is modeling for Playboy... but tweets about how much she loves God every 5 minutes? Confusing. What ever happened to "Your body is a temple."?

DVDs (for New Movie Monday):

“Push” is a sci-fi thriller that takes us into the secret world of psychic espionage. Our hero in the movie “Push” is Nick Gant (Chris Evans), a young man whose father was genetically altered to be the perfect government assassin. After the brutal murder of his father, Nick swears revenge on the agency that created him. Hidden in the underworld of Hong Kong, Nick assembles a group of rogue psychics to defeat Division, the covert agency responsible for creating and experimenting with psychic drugs for decades. Nick teams up with Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning), a thirteen-year-old girl who can see the future, to track down a missing girl and a stolen suitcase that could potentionally bring the downfall of Division — the key to their mutual revenge. Combining their skills, they outwit assassins and learn about Division’s latest secret weapon — a powerful and new experimental drug called R16, which could shift the tides of psychic warfare. The movie “Push” was filmed on location in Hong Kong. “Push” is a Summit Entertainment theatrical release.

This week I was so excited because there were two DVDs that I actually wanted to watch, and of course, Push was one of them. I watched this movie already so expect a review tomorrow!

In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one mysterious girl fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead. Fifty years later, a new generation of students examines the capsule's contents and the girl's cryptic message ends up in the hands of young Caleb Koestler. But it is Caleb's father, professor John Koestler, who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years. As John further unravels the document's chilling secrets, he realizes the document foretells three additional events -- the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve John and his son. When John's attempts to alert the authorities fall on deaf ears, he takes it upon himself to try to prevent more destruction from taking place. With the reluctant help of Diana Wayland and Abby Wayland, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the prophecies, John's increasingly desperate efforts take him on a heart-pounding race against time until he finds himself facing the ultimate disaster -- and the ultimate sacrifice.

I watched this movie last night, so expect a review tomorrow!

(Arielle and Marisa may post later)

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Beth Fantaskey
Published 2009
368 pages
Rating: A-

Synopsis

The undead can really screw up your senior year . . .

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

My review

Okay so here is another great book about a teenage girl and a sexy, dangerous vampire. Jessica is just a normal teenage girl, except for the fact that she is actually a Romanian vampire princess named Antanasia Dragomir. Both her parents were vampires and rulers of one of the most powerful vampire clans, the Dragomirs. The Vladescu clan is one of the other powerful clans and the two clans are in a war. To settle this war, Antanasia (Jessica) and Lucius Vladescu are betrothed at birth.

And then Antanasia's parents are killed and she gets adopted by two Americans. They bring her back to America and name her Jessica. They never tell her about her past and plan to keep it that way.. until Lucius shows up, determined to bring Jessica to Romania to be his vampire princess.

Throughout the book you'll read about the steamy love square. Lucius does everything he can to try to woo Jessica into loving him but Jessica just wants to be a normal teenage girl and really wants nothing to do with him. She has a big crush on this cute boy, Jake, and even starts dating him. That's when Lucius gets jealous and actually gets tired of chasing after Jessica. So he starts to date Faith. Jessica then realizes how much she actually cares about Lucius and she fights to get her prince back. If her and Lucius don't marry, the two vampire clans will forever be in a war and she knows that cannot happen.

I really loved this book. It definitely kept me hooked on what would happen between Jessica and Lucius. I really liked the whole European vampire idea. The book had lots of twists and turns and some very romantic,sexy and dark moments. I also laughed a few times while reading the book. I really liked how the book ended too. It was very different and exciting. Beth Fantaskey did a great job for her first book. Here is Beth's website if you want to know about the author or her book:

www.bethfantaskey.com

-Marisa

Candor by Pam Bachorz Giveaway!

I am so excited for this book to come out! It sounds amazing. Sharon Loves Books and Cats is hosting a giveaway and I want to get as many entries as I can, so I'm telling you guys about it!

I couldn't find a synopsis, but there's an awesome book trailer.

You can enter to win this book here.

New Layout & Poll

First, I'd like to thank Kelsey from Just Blinded Blog Makeovers for making me such a beautiful layout! She did an amazing job with it and I feel so lucky that I found her site early enough. I bet in at least a month, she'll have a bunch of bloggers begging her to makeover their blog, she probably won't even have time for me lol. So, I'm not just recommending her, I'm giving you good advice that you should take this opportunity while it still exists. You can also check out her book review blog here. I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

Second ... Arielle, Marisa & I would like your thoughts on something. The poll is off to the right and we would appreciate it if you would vote. After all, we write the reviews for you!

-Briana

Wishlist Wednesday (6)

Marisa:

Wake by Lisa McMann

Not all dreams are sweet.

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does — they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

I saw this book at the back of my Night World series books and when I read what it was about I was instantly curious and excited to read it. It sounds like a great book and a lot of people have told me it's fantastic.




Briana:

Alyson Whitestarr by Isobelle Carmody

Are Alyzon’s new abilities a blessing . . . or a curse?

Alyzon Whitestarr doesn't take after her musically talented father or her nocturnal, artistic mother. In fact, she’s the most normal member of a very eccentric family . . . until the day that an accident leaves her more unique than she ever could have dreamed.

Suddenly colors are more vibrant to Alyzon; her memory is flawless; but strangest of all is Alyzon’s sense of smell. Her best friend smells of a comforting sea breeze. She registers her father’s contentment as the sweet scent of caramelized sugar. But why does the cutest guy in school smell so rancid?


With Alyzon’s extrasensory perception comes intrigue and danger, as she becomes aware of the dark secrets and hidden ambitions that threaten her family. In the end, being different might be less of a blessing than a curse. . . .

I saw this book in the "New Releases" section the other day at Barnes & Noble. The cover is so intriguing so I had to pick it up and take a look at it. Next time I'm there, I'll probably end up buying it.


(Arielle may post later)

Books Turned Into Film News

Yay!!! Omg when I saw this I was soo excited! The Hunger Games is a really amazing book. I read it in two days! And now it's going to be turned into a movie which is totally awesome! The movie will definitely be great because the book was full of action, suspense, twists and turns and romance. I can't wait for the movie to come out!

Lionsgate announced today that it has acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film version of Suzanne Collins' best-selling futuristic young adult novel The Hunger Games. Collins will adapt the screenplay from her novel, the first in a trilogy. Nina Jacobson is producing through her Color Force shingle. The announcement was made by Joe Drake, Lionsgate President, Motion Picture Group, and Co-Chief Operating Officer. "The Hunger Games" was published by Scholastic last year, and has been singled out for raves by "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer. The trilogy's eagerly anticipated second installment, "Catching Fire," is due out September 1, 2009. Lionsgate President of Motion Picture Production, Alli Shearmur, will oversee the production for the studio, along with Lionsgate Senior Vice President of Motion Picture Production, Jim Miller.

Click here to see more information!

-Marisa

Boy Girl Boy

Ron Koertge

Published 2005

164 Pages

Rating: B-

Is it June yet?

Summer can’t arrive fast enough for Teresa, Larry, and Elliot. But even though they’re eager to make high school part of ancient history, they don’t plan on going their separate ways. As soon as they chuck their caps and gowns, they’ll head to California… together. Just the three of them: boy, girl, boy.

Despite their shared dream, these friends are nothing alike. Larry, a brilliant student is dealing with being gay in an ultraconservative town. Teresa aces all her exams but bears the emotional scars of having been abandoned by her mother. And although star-athlete Elliot may look the part of a happy teenager, he worries that out in the world he’ll seem worthless compared to his two smart, ambitious best friends.

Do they really have a chance of making a new life together in California?

(taken from back of book)

This book is very short, but it is by no means a light read. It deals with some very heavy issues right from the beginning.

Elliot is a confused guy. He wants to get away from his town as soon as possible, but his parents have something more for him. They want him to go to the University and major in Engineering, Elliot definitely doesn’t think he is smart enough for that, and he doesn’t want to tell them that he is moving to California. And his parents especially wont be thrilled to hear that when they find out it’s with his two best friends, Larry and Teresa.

Teresa is a broken girl. Her mother left her when she was 13 years old, and ever since then she barely eats and does nothing unless it’s with Larry or Elliot. She is a smart girl and could get into so many schools with scholarships, but what she really wants is to get away. To get away from all the looks and stares people give her, the one whose mother left her.

Larry is… different. He is gay. He found out when he was 13 and when people around his town started finding out he was gay, they started treating him like he had an incurable disease, and he hates that. He wants to get away to a place where people accept his lifestyle choice and don’t put him down because of it. He is a smart guy and has so much potential, but no one will let him show it. Except Teresa and Elliot.

Three best friends deal with issues of real life, and its very interesting to see the paths they take.

This book is a quick read and I think it is a decent book. It got a B- mainly because I think the author could have gone into detail more about what each character was going through, but I also liked how it was straight to the point and no fluff around the edges. It was a book that dealt with issues that some people shy away from and I think it teaches you a little something about what people go through.

I say, give it a try. It isn’t that long of a book anyway. You’ll be done with it in 3 hours, tops.

-A.