If you know anything about young adult lit, you know John Green. Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, An Abundance Of Katherines… and on. Adored by many, obsessed over by rabid fans, his books are really good, great, funny, and oddly real despite characters that seem outside of this world. I had been warned in advance that his latest novel was a tearjerker, probably something I wouldn’t want to read in public, unless I wasn’t worried about the likelihood I would shed a tear, or many. But I decided to read, and read, and read and read, on throughout the whole flight to Denver, and then to Palm Springs, 30,000 feet high in the air, even when I could have turned on my portable electronic devices.

As I expected, The Fault In Our Stars, was a profound movement of a story with a wave flowing high and low, catching my mood and dragging me along every single line. I’m not writing today to review this book or give a synopsis of the plot, I simply felt like I wanted to share how this story felt to me. Hazel, Gus, Isaac, such intense emotion and soul, and compared to these dying teens, I felt like the pencil-drawn version of a full-color comic.

What did Green mean to say by naming his book The Fault In Our Stars? It comes from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: ‘The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.’” Are we beings of fate, destined to a life of living the path, the pain, the hardship that has been dealt to us, or is this fault formed in our stars just one of many given to all people, one of a variety of blips on the radar, something that, while not chosen, is given to us to use, respond, craft, mold, how we will? What is the fault in my stars that I let define me?

I cried, I laughed, and I enjoyed this unexpected journey that was a twisted path of life and death. I’ll eagerly await the film that has just been optioned, and eagerly await John Green’s next work.

So to recap 2011, I’d like to share my top six favorite books I read this year (in no particular order)!

1. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I didn’t blog about this book, but it’s one of my recent favorites. I liked how it combined dystopia with the supernatural, and I’m looking forward to what this series brings next.
2. A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan. I didn’t like this book at all at first. I thought it was weird, didn’t get it, and almost stopped reading. Until I kept reading, and I enjoyed the mystery and suspense, the action, and then, the story and the characters. It was certainly unique, very jarring at times, and I loved it.
3. Lauren Kate’s Fallen series. I avoided these books for so long, I read the synopses, always kept picking them up at the store and the library and then putting them back down. But when I got my Nook, I checked them out from my local eLibrary and fell in love with Daniel and Luce, and can’t wait for the 4th book!
4. All of Mercedes Lackey’s Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms. I picked these up for the first time this year as well, via my Nook and the local library. These books were hilarious, and something completely new when I was seeking a fresh voice from an author.
5. Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien. This is another book I kept annoying  until I finally checked it out and loved it! I enjoyed the romance in this story so much. I have Prized on my Nook right now to read very, very soon!
6. Hourglass by Myra McEntire. I have to be honest, any time travel romance is going to get me, and I loved this.

Be sure to check these out!

In my bed. Cuddling with a cat. I now have the ability to blog from anywhere!

In other news, what am I reading? I just finished The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, which was phenomenal. All the buzz, well deserved. I loved the epicness of the story, along with the fantasy combined with religion. A truly unique tale.

I hope my few readers out there are celebrating TRW with a good book! Give me some recs!

• Back in May, I graduated with my Master’s in Library and Information Science from Kent State University with a 3.98 GPA. It was exhilarating and yet also very scary, as I spent most of April and May searching for a job! (And they are few and far between in the library world!)
• On the day before graduation, I was offered a position at OverDrive, a digital distributor of eBooks and audiobooks, working with libraries (specifically, school and college libraries).
• I started working at OverDrive in late May, and ever since it’s been a whirlwind, learning new things, meeting new people, actually having to get up every day and go to work – ahh!
• I’ve only just now been able to get back into reading!

And there is the brief update on my life, and other wonderful things. I’m very fortunate to be employed right now, and I’m really enjoying my job and all I’m learning! I’m finally also reading like crazy again. I’m currently working my way through Fallen by Lauren Kate, and a reread of The Hunger Games. I’m working on a program with my YALSA mentor for THG, so I need freshen up on the story!

I also recently purchased a Nook, which is my new best friend, and I am crazily downloading books from my local library, through, who else, OverDrive! So, please, keep reading, and look for some new, fresh reviews soon. Can’t wait to get back into blogging!

Dash & Lily has been one of my favorite audiobooks to listen to thus far. Each chapter switches point of view between Dash and Lily, and the narrators are perfect for the voice of the characters, in my opinion. I’m pretty picky about listening to someone read me a book–I can’t stand annoying voices, but these two people are perfect!

Cohn and Levithan have again crafted a really great read. The story begins when Dash finds a red moleskine notebook in a bookstore in NYC, daring him to take on the tasks listed by the author of the notebook. He does so, and then dares Lily on to another task, the game goes back and forth between the two, with each gradually learning more and more about each other, all over the Christmas holidays. Dash and Lily are witty, unique, well-read, and intellectual beyond their teenage years, but still extremely relatable and very funny.

I have a little over an hour to go on this one, and can’t wait! The suspense on what is going to happen with these two is killing me, and I look forward to hearing the end. It’s a short audiobook that will appeal to many ages, especially those that may lose interest easily while listening. Can I get any recommendations for my next audiobook? I can’t wait to try another!

Purchase Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares at Audible.com or borrow from your library powered by OverDrive!

New American Library, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-451-23268-7
336 pages
Borrowed from my local library!

Theia lives under the constant watch of her father, a strict man, with a cold personality grown from the devastating loss of his beloved wife, and Theia’s mother, years ago. A British girl living in California, she’s always felt out of place, except with her two best friends, Amelia and Donny. Everything changes the night a man falls from the sky, burning with fire, and as she kneels beside him, he disintegrates into dust. From that night on, she dreams of him, until unexpectedly he shows up, unharmed, as a fellow student in her school by the name of Haden Black.

Haden is at times devastatingly charming and handsome, and at others cruel. Theia can’t comprehend his behavior, but is inexpliciably drawn to him. Despite the warning bells ringing in her head, she grows closer to him, even as he pulls away. They meet in her dreams at night, and by day they dance around each other, both gradually realizing they are quickly moving into a dangerous situation. And when Haden’s dark past and the truth behind his presence in her small town are revealed, Theia will have to fight for herself, her friends, and Haden’s soul.

Gwen Hayes enters the world of the paranormal with a fascinating romance between two characters that are at times likable and at others extremely frustrating. The novel starts out fairly typically for this genre, and for my tastes, much too typically. Girl has an unexplained encounter, girl dreams of boy, girl meets boy at school, girl gets partnered with boy in a class, boy tells girl he’s dangerous, girl still likes boy, etc. The cliches at the beginning of this novel were almost too much for me, but I am thankful I kept reading past. Once the beginning of the story is established, Hayes quickly moves us into something new and fresh, envoking storylines including magic, the underworld, and even a cross-dressing psychic! While Haden and Theia’s romance is, as standard with this genre, fast and heavy, it still remains in the realm of the believable, and the added stories of Theia’s friends, and her relationship with her father, create depth for the characters. I enjoyed where the story takes the characters, and look forward to more stories from Hayes, as I expect this may be the beginning of a series. However, while Hayes does create a unique world with interesting characters, I warn readers that this still feels fairly typical of a paranormal romance, but, I loved it!

Recommended For: Fans of Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamer series, Alyson Noel’s The Immortals series, and fans of Maggie Stiefvater’s novels.

Check Out: The recent reviews by Confessions of a Bookaholic, Alpha Reader, and The Allure of Books and Gwen Hayes’ website!

I read Maria Snyder’s teen sci-fi, Inside Out last year and reviewed on my blog. I enjoyed the novel and looked forward to the sequel. I’ve finally have had a chance to read it! I checked out the book from the library, unfortunately having to use Interlibrary Loan (my local branches didn’t have it!). I devoured the book over this past weekend.

In Outside In, Trella’s world has been shaken up after the recent rebellion. A Committee has been formed, consisting of scrubs (the lower class) and uppers (the upper class), and while all should be well now that power is distributed equally, there are still many problems. The Committee is so large that no decisions are ever made, and the scrubs are still unhappy with their situation, citing their jobs and living quarters as unfair, as compared to what the uppers have. On top of all this, Trella is having issues with her possible birth-mother, Dr. Lamont, and her boyfriend, Riley.

Factions form, and people, both scrub and upper alike, begin to get hurt or killed in the ensuing explosions and fires. Loyalties are tested and Trella doesn’t know who to trust. But when it comes down to the line, who is the enemy, and how can she put her fears aside to become a leader and put things, finally, to right?

In most ways I love Trella, and in others I want to shake her and say “what are you doing!” She’s equally admirable and frustrating. Stubborn and reckless, but very loyal and smart. Her character growth throughout this book is gradual and clear and also very believable. She comes to terms with her role in the past rebellion, as well as how she is seen as a leader for the people of Inside. Her relationship with Riley isn’t very prominent in this book, and that’s OK, as you get more time with Dr. Lamont, her supposed birth mother, as well as other characters. This book is again fast-paced and suspense-driven. The events of the novel unfold very quickly, even though a span of many weeks pass. It’s a very gripping read that I think most readers will find consuming.

Outside In contained quite a few twists and surprises which kept twisting in on themselves, leaving me wonder who I, as the reader, could trust, as well as who Trella could believe in. Common assumptions and loyalties from the previous novel were tested, and I felt this book took the story of this world to a new dimension. I enjoyed it and look forward to more work from Maria Snyder!

Copy borrowed from the library!

It’s been a couple of weeks into my last semester now, and everything is going so smoothly. My class in museum studies is definitely interesting, and I’m going to be able to visit a few museums during the semester. I’ll try to write about them here. On Saturday, I’m going to visit the COSI museum in Columbus, which is one of my favorites!

I’ve also started my practicum, and I can’t even describe how much I am loving it so far. A little part of me was worried. Having never actually worked in a library, I had this little seed of doubt in my heart, that when I would finally get the chance to work with teens in a library, I wouldn’t actually like it! I should have known better. I’ve known that this is the path for me for quite some time, and every day at my practicum I see that justified. I’m not saying that every day will be perfect, when I’m a librarian. But to enjoy work, and find it satisfying, and know that what you do may affect someone’s life in a positive way–that’s why I’m doing this.

So yes, school is great. My practicum is excellent. I’ve participated in a few programs, and am coming up with ideas right now for a display case in the library, as well as for some program ideas. I have so many ideas! I can’t wait to see them through to implementation.

And as for other things, I’ve finally had some time to read. I’m still catching up on a lot of the great books from last year, but I’m getting there. I also have a few books to review, which I will hopefully take care of in February. I’m feeling a second (third? fourth?) wind coming on with this blog, and I hope to get back to doing some more reviewing soon!

I’m super excited about it and can’t wait to begin! I’ll also be taking one class this semester, Museum Studies for Librarians, and two workshops, one on video games in libraries (awesome, right?) and another on young adult literature. STOKED! Can you believe I get to go to school for this kind of thing?

This semester I’m really going to focus on building my professional credentials, skills, and experiences, in the hopes that I can find and obtain a job when I graduate. I’m participating in a lot of cool programs, volunteering, and working my butt off to make this happen. Since I’ll be in a library setting much more often than usual, I’m hoping to really amp up my posts here with insights and anecdotes about my experiences in the library.

Wish me luck, and look forward to reading about my first week of my marathon toward the finish line next week!

1. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
2. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
3. City of Ships by Mary Hoffman
4. The Heart Is Not a Size by Beth Kephart
5. My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares
6. The Ruby Notebook by Laura Resau
7. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
8. Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
9. Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine