That’s not to say I didn’t thoroughly enjoy the housekeepers in both of these stories, especially Amma in Beautiful Creatures! I wanted an Amma all of my own! Dorothea, the housekeeper in Hush, Hush wasn’t really around much, but she seemed like a great lady. But back to Amma, the coolest housekeeper of all time. I mean, the woman was some sort of tarot-card reading wisewoman. As I read, I pictured her as Dr. Miranda Bailey from Grey’s Anatomy. Short and adorable, but tough and powerful.

Amma?

I can’t remember if she was actually described in the novel, but she’ll always be Miranda Bailey to me! I’m anxiously awaiting Beautiful Darkness to see what’s up with Lena and Ethan after the events in the first book!

But back to Hush, Hush! I get that Patch is hot, bad-boy, super-muscular, dripping with desire, steamy hot. But then I see his name and it’s like someone popped the Elmo balloon I got for my birthday. Patch–what should be a cute nickname continuously reminds me of Patch Adams, that movie with Robin Williams as a doctor that liked to dress as a clown. Very un-hot. So I’m having trouble creating this mental image of Patch, but hopefully once we discover his real name I can rectify that situation.

So, those are a few random thoughts I had on those two books. I didn’t really feel like writing any more reviews this week, but I did want to share these two, as well as how awesome I thought they were!

Captivate by Carrie Jones

Zara and her friends knew they hadn’t solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it—the king’s control over his pixies gets weaker every day. So when a new, younger pixie king shows up, there is war in the air. The new king, Astley, claims he’s not evil. Zara believes him, but Nick—not so much. Then Astley tells Zara she is fated to be his queen, and suddenly the stakes get even higher. [Summary from the Need website]

I really enjoy this series! Probably because I absolutely adore the relationship between Zara and Nick and also their relationship with their best friends, Issie and Devyn. Pixies, werewolves, shape shifters, and more! This book combines all of my favorite types of supernatural creatures into one book. This type of a book makes sense to me–if you’re going to have pixies exist, why not shape shifters? I wouldn’t be surprised if vampires or zombies or something else show up in the next book! And yes, there will be more! This book ends on quite the cliffhanger. You’ll be anxiously awaiting the next one! Captivate is an exciting, quick read. At first glance, it seems similar to so many other fantasy novels out there (Wicked Lovely, Shiver, etc.) but Jones manages to make this story completely unique and her own, with a suspenseful plot that will keep you on edge. Each of the characters continue to grow in this book, as the reader discovers more and more about each character’s past, and as the character’s grow and change.

If you regularly read my blog, you’ll notice I often comment on characters, character development, realism, etc.–this is a particular area of interest to me, and I enjoy when an author can give me fun characters that are believable.

Anyways, for fans of fantasy, fans of pixies, fans of the supernatural, I recommend this series!

Purchased from Amazon.com!

For More: Check out Carrie Jones’ website!

Gone by Lisa McMann

Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her.

She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves–she has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.

Then a stranger enters her life–and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out… [Summary from Lisa McMann's website]

Gone is the third book in the Wake trilogy by Lisa McMann. Janie is faced with the toughest choice she’ll ever have to make: give up walking in other people’s dreams and live a life of isolation, or continue her life as she is now, but lose her sight and use of her hands eventually.

Gone is written in the same way as the two previous books, short segments of time in Janie’s life. The format is unique, quick to read, but very realistic. It reminds me of the diary format that is sometimes common in YA lit. McMann doesn’t shy away from tough or awkward situations and realistic language. There are no happy endings but gritty, real events that happen. The characters in Gone feel very real and confront the situations in the book as real people would. All three of these books are quick to read, but they take awhile to absorb, to think about.

I’m sad to see this series end, but looking forward to whatever McMann comes up with next. You’ll definitely want to check out the first two books in the series, Wake and Fade before reading Gone.

Purchased from Amazon.com!

For More: Check out Lisa McMann’s website!

The Declaration by Gemma Malley

Anna Covey is a ‘Surplus’. She should not have been born. In a society in which ageing is no longer feared, and death is no longer an inevitability, children are an abomination.

Like all Surpluses, Anna is living in a Surplus Hall and learning how to make amends for the selfish act her parents committed in having her. She is quietly accepting of her fate until, one day, a new inmate arrives. Anna’s life is thrown into chaos. But is she brave enough to believe this mysterious boy?

A tense and utterly compelling story about a society behind a wall, and the way in which two young people seize the chance to break free. [Summary from Gemma Malley's website]

I can’t believe that I haven’t read this book until now–and it has a sequel, The Resistance already out, and a third book to complete the trilogy, The Legacy, out this fall. Dystopian futuristic novels are my favorites, especially when elements of science fiction are involved. In The Declaration, adults take Longevity drugs to prolong their lives forever–and if they choose to take these drugs, they are not allowed to have any children. Thus, surpluses–these forbidden children are taught that they don’t belong in this world, and are brought into slavery to serve the “Legals.”

The Declaration had a grip on me from the very beginning, from disbelief that Anna could think that her parents were to blame for her being a Surplus, to surprise and suspense when Peter arrives and challenges all that she had ever held to be true. This book had quite a few twists to it that were unexpected, yet very intriguing, setting the stage for the next novels to come. Fans of Neal Schusterman’s Unwind or Collins’ The Hunger Games will be particularly drawn to this trilogy!

Borrowed from the library!

For More: Visit Gemma Malley’s website to check out her blog and other books!

The Heart Is Not a Size by Beth Kephart

Georgia knows what it means to keep secrets. She knows how to ignore things. She knows that some things are better left unsaid. . . . Or are they?

When Georgia and her best friend, Riley, travel along with nine other suburban Pennsylvania kids to Anapra, a squatters’ village in the heat-flattened border city of Juarez, Mexico, secrets seem to percolate and threaten both a friendship and a life. Certainties unravel. Reality changes. And Georgia is left to figure out who she is outside the world she’s always known. [Summary from HarperTeen]

You may have noticed that I’ve been blogging more lately–hurray! I’ve had time to catch up on my reading. Honestly, my to be read bookcase is filled–4 shelves and counting, over 30 books. I finally was able to pick up and read this book by one of my favorite authors, Beth Kephart. With every novel that she writes, I am amazed by the beauty of her words. Her books are filled with gorgeous descriptions of everything–setting, emotions, etc. The Heart Is Not a Size is no exception! In this short novel so much happens, but the story never feels fast or forced. Georgia is a character that many can relate to: uncomfortable in her own skin, yearning for some sort of change that will bring more meaning into her life. And she cares deeply about her best friend, Riley, who is hiding a dangerous secret. The whole novel the reader wonders: why doesn’t Georgia do something about Riley? If she cares so much, why is she silent? I ask that, if you read this book, think about yourself and what you would do as a teenage girl. What can you do? How can you speak yet save your friendship? Are there things worth losing a friendship over, if only to protect someone?

The Heart Is Not a Size asks all of these questions and many more. I encourage fans of Kephart’s other works to read this, as well as fans of Laura Resau and Laurie Halse Anderson. I hope that everyone who reads this will be encouraged to speak up, even when that’s the hardest thing to do.

It’s interesting to me that I just finished this book last night, as today in church our minister told the story of Joseph, and how because one of his brothers spoke up, he was saved from being murdered (granted, he was still sold into slavery, but at least, alive). He encouraged us all to learn to recognize the times in our lives when we should speak up, when doing so may make all the difference. All it takes is one person to speak up to create change.

Purchased from Amazon.com!

For More: Check out Beth Kephart’s blog, including an excerpt from the book! And, if interested in the story of Joseph, check out my church, Momentum Christian Church, and subscribe to the podcast to hear his story!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical. [Summary from Good Reads]

Two words, a name. TINY COOPER! Tiny Cooper is a very large, very gay teenager, best friends with the 1st Will Grayson. Tiny Cooper made this book fantastic. Tiny Cooper made this book hilarious. Tiny Cooper made this book meaningful and beautiful. I adored this book and all of the characters, especially Tiny and both Wills. I kept laughing out loud, literally, while reading this, and read lines to my roommate from the book. If you love any other works by Green or Levithan, you’ll be a fan of this!

Purchased from Borders!

For More: Check out John Green’s website or David Levithan’s website and check out their other books!

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year- old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck… A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands. [Summary from IfIStay.com]

If I Stay was the first audiobook that I’ve ever listened to. I had to listen to an audiobook for one of my classes, and while this isn’t the one I chose for my class, I did pick this one up as well. I was skeptical at first, since I love reading so much, but because I do have quite a long drive to and from school, this turned out to be a very pleasant experience for me. Plus, I loved the book!

In If I Stay, Mia has a choice to make: should she fight to stay alive, or let her body and life go? The story is told in a back and forth fashion, between the present, where her body lies in a coma-like state, injured beyond belief, and the past, where she relives past moments in her life with her family, her boyfriend Adam, her best friend Kim, and others that have touched her life. Mia is a musician, a cellist, and her music is a large part of her life, a driving force of her existence. She shares this love with her family and Adam, although they love punk rock, rather than classical. Still, the family is tight knit, and despite some problems with Adam, they seem to be truly in love. How will Mia decide? Can she bear to go on with her life, now that everything has changed? Can she just let go, leaving Adam, her family, and friends behind? Read (or listen) to If I Stay and find out!

If I Stay is a beautiful novel, very heart-wrenching and emotional. Especially because I listened to it, I really felt that I knew the characters. I felt very involved in Mia’s life and couldn’t wait to find out whether she decided to stay and live or let go and die.

Audiobook borrowed from my local library!

For More: Visit Gayle Forman’s website and also visit Amazon or Indiebound to purchase the book!

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Available now!

A year has passed since the events of Life As We Knew It, Pfeffer’s first novel detailing the catastrophic aftermath of a meteorite hitting the moon. Miranda’s family has struggled to survive during this year, fighting off hunger, disease, and intense, dangerous weather. This World We Live In is again told in a diary format, from Miranda’s point of view.

Miranda, Matt, Jon, and her mother fight to maintain their sanity and health in their home, scavenging empty houses and wondering anxiously what happened to their father and his wife. Somehow, miraculously, Hal and Lisa survived and return home, with their new baby, plus 3 strangers, including Alex and Julie Morales (from companion novel, The Dead and the Gone). These newcomers disrupt, yet also enrich, the lives of Miranda’s family, as life on this shattered earth begins to move toward a brighter future, until one horrible event causes all of their plans to come shattering down in front of them.

Utterly depressing, morbid, and ever so sad, This World We Live In is haunting, with a melancholy beauty shaking with the last remains of hope for a broken world. This is yet again a title you won’t be able to put down, as every turn of the page creates another shocking event. Reading this, you want to believe that somehow, life on this world will become better for Miranda’s family. Where is the government? Where are the people to fix these problems? In reality, they don’t exist. The world has become a “everyone for themselves” existence, filled with dangers and secrets. With the arrival of Miranda’s father and company, life begins to change for her family. Till this point, they had been isolated, reaching and pulling back from their breaking point, so many times. New faces are a pleasure, yet also a nightmare in this environment where food and resources are scarce. Yet, the families band together to make the situation work, as once they are reunited, they can’t bear to separate again.

You’ll want to cry while reading this, as fate and fortune finds this family extremely unlucky. Despite a year having passed, disaster is unfortunately still too close to home, and you’ll finish this still wondering–what happens next? Is there any hope for this world?

Pfeffer’s work again exceeds all my expectations. This is a true dystopian novel and will appeal to many fans of that genre. This is a book that makes the reader think, and think again, and even rethink many things that we hold true in our privileged lives.

I recommend this for fans of The Hunger Games, Jeanne DuPrau’s City of Ember books, and Lois Lowry’s Giver books.

Digital copy received via NetGalley–thank you!

For More: Visit Susan Beth Pfeffer’s blog and also visit Amazon or Indiebound to purchase this book!

This Wednesday I am waiting on Insatiable by Meg Cabot. What can I say? It’s Meg Cabot, whom I adore, and it’s a vampire book! I can’t wait to read this, as I’m sure it will be amazingly adorable and hilarious.

Insatiable
Release date: June 8, 2010

Summary (from Meg Cabot’s Website):

A modern sequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper.

But her boss is making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn’t believe in them.

Not that Meena isn’t familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you’re going to die (not that you’re going to believe her. No one ever does).

But not even Meena’s precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets — then makes the mistake of falling in love with — Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side…a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire-hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, Lucien’s already dead. Maybe that’s why he’s the first guy Meena’s ever met that she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena’s always been able to see everyone else’s future, she’s never been able look into her own.

And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future…

If she even has one.