Celeb Status.

I FEEL LIKE A TWITTER CELEB! A few minutes after posting my review on Forever, something popped up on my Twitter newsfeed:

[Ensue minor freak-out and admission that perhaps I was a little harsh with my disappointment. But maybe I'm not perceptive enough! Must redeem myself.]

...which I fully intend on doing. I really do love this series, and it has been a while since I read the other two books. I see a marathon Shiver-Linger-Forever weekend in my future. 

OMGOSH. SO EXCITED. I'm a big fan of Maggie's, so this was officially THECOOLESTTHINGEVER. And you know what? She's probably right. The clues are in the series. So, Book Nookers, go do some sleuthing! It's worth it.

Follow Maggie on Twitter here! (And me here!)

Quote of the Day

"You're beautiful and sad," I said finally, not looking at him when I did. "Just like your eyes. You're like a song that I heard when I was a little kid but forgot I knew until I heard it again." For a long moment, there was only the whirring sound of the tires on the road, and then Sam said softly, "Thank you."

Shiver

Forever

Written by Maggie Stiefvater

Synopsis:
then.
When Grace met Sam, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love moved from a curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.
now.
That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.
forever.
Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment -- a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.


My Confession: The first book in this series, Shiver, is one of my favorite YA books. The characters are so engaging, the mystical aspect so refreshing. Linger  introduced a new character, Cole, and developed a tenuous relationship between him and the other characters, namely Sam, Grace, and Isabel. And at the end of the second book, the careful peace established among the characters shattered when Grace turned into a wolf. This sends Cole into a crazed frenzy as he tries to discover a cure that will last. With Linger  ending with such a bang, I knew a lot had to be resolved in Forever. Would Grace be cured for good? Was Sam really cured? What was going to happen to their relationship? Would Isabel's father succeed in his mission to annihilate the wolves?

Well, we can answer one of those: [SPOILER ALERT!] The plot really revolved around the massive wolf hunt instigated by Tom Culpepper, Isabel's dad. It's a problem from the moment the book opens, and remains the driving force and only real sense of urgency throughout the story. Everything revolves around when this wolf hunt is supposed to take place, and I found myself becoming bored. I wanted more information about a cure (which, in the end, still isn't resolved). I wanted to see Isabel and Cole's relationship evolve more--all I ended up feeling with them was that no matter how attracted to each other they were, their "love" still couldn't hold a flame to what Sam and Grace shared. But I kept getting the feeling that Cole and Isabel were being underestimated because they were merely second-string players to a bigger love story. I think they had something special as well, and perhaps it was so magical because it was so subtle.

I love the relationship between Sam and Grace. It's unconditional without becoming annoying or creepy. At one point, they're both wolves together -- something they've both dreamed of -- and Cole realizes that they have the same connection as animals that they have as humans; it translates. I was so invested in them and their story. Which is why I was so upset that their story was left as open-ended as it was, with Grace still a wolf, Sam still a boy, and the cure still unknown. Even though a massive crisis was averted with the wolves, we were still left in the same problem Linger  left behind. Meningitis may or may not be the cure. Grace and Sam are still beholden to the weather. What happens when Grace's summers are numbered? I didn't like how there was no resolve. It's the last book in the series; there isn't another opportunity to wrap these frayed ends up. And I needed more closure than what Forever  left me with.

Recommendation: Stiefvater is a fantastic writer, and I've loved this series. If you've read the first two books, you have to read this. It's a good book--written well, great dialogue, great romance. I really enjoy how the story is told from four different perspectives (five, if you count Shelby's voice in the prologue) and how those narrations give the story extreme depth. This story is so great, which is perhaps why it can illicit such a strong emotion of disappointment from me. I understand that not all stories get their "happy ever after," but I would have liked to know if it was even within reach. There's open-ended, and then there's just open. Too open.

Rating: 3/5

386 pages, published by Scholastic Inc (July 12, 2011)

Quote of the Day

"I hope that one day you will have the experience of doing something you do not understand for someone you love."

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Yours to Keep

Written by Shannon Stacey

Goodreads Synopsis: Sean Kowalski no sooner leaves the army than he's recruited by Emma Shaw to be her fake fiance. Emma needs to produce a husband-to-be for her grandmother's upcoming visit, and, though Sean doesn't like the deception, he could use the landscaping job Emma's offering while he decides what to do with his civilian life. And, despite his attraction to Emma, there's no chance he'll fall for a woman with deep roots in a town he's not planning to call home.
Emma's not interested in a real relationship either; not with a man whose idea of home is wherever he drops his duffel bag. No matter how amazing his "pretend" kisses are...

My Confession: Are you ready? This was my first ebook purchase. Yup, you read that correctly. I bought this book on my Nook. And as far as I can tell, this book only exists in an electronic format. Now, I've never been quiet about my disdain for the ebook technology; I'm hopelessly old-fashioned when it comes to books. I love holding them in my hands -- I love lining them up on my bookshelves. But, in the spirit of my then-upcoming publishing program, my parents bought me a Nook as a graduation present. And I couldn't just let it sit there collecting dust, right? It's not exactly a cheap piece of equipment. Yours to Keep was a perfect purchase; I'm going to be honest -- it's not a cover I'd want to be caught with on the subway. But the plot seemed cutesy and light enough for a rainy-day read.

Hardly Harlequin: And while this was, most definitely, a slightly watered-down romance novel, I have to admit that I really enjoyed it. While the plot really did revolve around sexual tension and will-they-or-won't-they questions, there were some genuinely funny and sweet moments. Like when Sean leaves Post-It notes for Emma on their bathroom mirror. Or when they're both up to their elbows in mulch while working at Emma's landscaping business. There was a lot of build up and character development throughout, and while I could tell where it was all going to end up, I was so satisfied when it finally got there. I was pretty invested in the characters and their relationship. And every time I started to get bored with the romantic song-and-dance, something new was introduced to keep the story from getting stagnant. Not bad for a fluffy read.

Recommendation: If you have an eReader, go for it. This book is relatively cheap (under $5), and it's worth the Abe Lincoln if you're looking for something mindless, sweet, and with a happy (and sappy) ending. If you don't have an eReader, you won't hear me advocating you to go out and buy one. While I've warmed up a little to my Nook, I can't imagine that technology ever becoming the primary way I read books. I'm too tactile a person, and swiping my finger across a screen doesn't come close to simulating turning a real page, not matter what the commercials promise. But this was a worthwhile ebook purchase. Have at it!

Rating: 3.5/5

published by Carina Press (June 6, 2011)

Quote of the Day

"When I was five, I learned to read. Books were a miracle to me - white pages, black ink, and new worlds and different friends in each one. To this day, I relish the feeling of cracking a binding for the first time, the anticipation of where I'll go and whom I'll meet inside."

Good in Bed

Meeting Jennifer Weiner

Bet you thought my authorial escapades ended with Meg Cabot, huh?

No no no no no.

While in New York, I fully intended to capitalize on every opportunity I had to meet famous people (did I mention I saw Captain America on the street? WOW). When I heard Jennifer Weiner was going to be at Barnes & Noble, I just had to go. She's one of my favorite authors. You probably know her best as the author of her breakout hit novel, Good in Bed, or as the writer behind the Cameron Diaz movie In Her Shoes. What I love best about Jennifer is that she pulls no punches -- her heroines are always smart, sassy, and sophisticated, and they're never ever  a size 2. I couldn't help but thank her for writing about women who look like myself, women I can relate to, who know how to laugh at themselves and still get the guy (sometimes--always by their own choice) in the end, regardless of whether society believes them conventionally "pretty" or not. She turns the romantic comedy on its head and isn't afraid to explore the true complexities that exist in real human relationships.

Jennifer herself is everything she writes about. She's extremely personable, funny, and laid-back. She has a big, contagious smile, and her dry wit (which is best showcased on her Twitter, especially when she live-tweets The Bachelor  and Bachelorette) makes her feel more like your best friend than a New York Times-Bestselling author. A Philly girl at heart (like me!), she told of her escapades in LA, where she co-produced the new ABC Family series State of Georgia. She's such an incredible success story, and one of my inspirations as a writer. Her voice is so identifiable -- and that's such an important thing for a writer. I can only hope that she too, one day, will read what I write.

Okay, so maybe I didn't embarass myself with extreme word-vomit the way I did with Meg Cabot. But I was every bit as starstruck. And as I gushed, Jennifer looked up at me with an expression that read, Oh you poor thing. Why are you making such a fuss?

Which is why she's awesome.

Her new book, Then Came You, is available now! Go get it, and then check back here soon for my review!

Quote of the Day

"Some things don't last forever, but some things do. Like a good song, or a good book, or a good memory you can take out and unfold in your darkest times, pressing down the corners and peering in close, hoping you still recognize the person you see there."

This Lullaby

Impossible

Written by Nancy Werlin

Goodreads Synopsis: Lucy has nine months to break an ancient curse in order to save both herself and her unborn daughter.
Lucy is seventeen when she discovers that the women of her family have been cursed through the generations, forced to attempt three seemingly impossible tasks or fall into madness upon their child's birth. But Lucy is the first girl who won't be alone as she tackles the list. She has her fiercely protective foster parents and her childhood friend Zach beside her. Do they have enough love and strength to overcome an age-old evil?

My Confession: This is another example of a book I picked up because the cover intrigued me. But the plot synopsis intrigued me even more--an entire novel based around a song? An old Simon and Garfunkel song, no less. Scarborough Fair's lyrics, when listened to closely, actually do tell the tale of three seemingly impossible tasks--tasks that don't seem feasible for a human to complete. Using this song as the cornerstone of this story was an extremely original and fascinating idea, one that ends up working really well. Listen to the song below and read over the lyrics--the "tasks" are italicized.

Lyrics:
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
(On the side of a hill in the deep forest green)
Parsely, sage, rosemary & thyme
(Tracing a sparrow on snow-crested ground)
Without no seams nor needlework
(Blankets and bedclothes a child of the mountains)
Then she'll be a true love of mine
(Sleeps unaware of the clarion call)
Tell her to find me an acre of land
(On the side of a hill, a sprinkling of leaves)
Parsely, sage, rosemary, & thyme
(Washed is the ground with so many tears)
Between the salt water and the sea strand
(A soldier cleans and polishes a gun)
Then she'll be a true love of mine
Tell her to reap it in a sickle of leather
(War bellows, blazing in scarlet battalions)
Parsely, sage, rosemary & thyme
(Generals order their soldiers to kill)
And to gather it all in a bunch of heather
(And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten)
Then she'll be a true love of mine
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine


Recommendation: This, very quickly, became one of my favorite books. It's just so interesting. And suspenseful. There's the realm of reality, where Lucy and Zach are normal teenagers stumbling through their growing feelings for each other, and then there's the fantastical element, where Lucy is raped by a demon who is hell-bent on cursing every woman in her family. Once pregnant, Lucy has nine months to solve the "riddle" in the Scarborough Fair song, or else risk falling into madness like her mother and grandmother before her. There's a real quick pacing to the story, and the way these tasks unravel, and the way Lucy attempts to solve them, is truly imaginative and remarkable. Regardless of the mystical elements, everything feels very real. You can't help but root for Lucy while also worrying that perhaps those tasks really are impossible. But the lesson Werlin weaves throughout about love, and strength in numbers, makes this a must-read.


Rating: 4/5


384 pages, published by Penguin (Sept. 18, 2008)

Quote of the Day

"Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it."

My Sister's Keeper

Wither

Written by Lauren DeStefano

Goodreads Synopsis: What if you knew exactly when you would die? 
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb--males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape--to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding and anecdote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

My Confession: I loved this story for perhaps one main reason: its humanity. Dystopian stories oftentimes focus so strongly on the elements of darkness mixed with fantasy that they forget to mold characters that are still human. Just because people live in a post-apocalyptic world doesn't mean they're robots; in fact, it should be strictly the opposite. What's so chilling and eerie about Wither is that because the characters are crafted so well (they could be my own friends, from their personalities to their actions), you feel that this predicted world could be our future. It was downright bizarre to read about the twenty-first century as the "past world," and even though we're never told exactly when this story takes place, the technological and chemical advances that our society makes today creates a scarily possible prediction. It's the scientific obsession with curing all human ailments and the obsessive quest for perfection that manifests a genetic disorder, cursing the "perfect" first generation with terminally damaged children. Hunger Games meets 1984. And it's a startlingly awesome combination.

Sister Wives: No, not the TLC show. The element of forced polygamous marriages proved an interesting and pivotal plot point. I just loved how well-formed these characters were. Rhine's sister wives are anything but predictable, and the bond the three form as the story goes on defies the easy plot twist of love triangles and unrelenting jealousy. The husband, Linden, is extremely multi-faceted, and I enjoyed reading how his character developed. The way this story pulled away his layers leaves the reader with a character we want to hate, but somehow can't. The supporting cast, from Rhine's "makeup team" to the charming servant Gabriel, mirror the human predicament of complacency. No matter where you go, no matter who you meet, there will always be people who will never see a situation for as bad as it truly is. On the flip side, there will also always be people who refuse to give up fighting for something better. And I just love how this book puts both ideals into action and allows the true humanity of life (no matter the century) to shine through.

Recommendation: Wither is the first in a trilogy, but if I didn't already know it was a part of a series, the ending wouldn't have clued me in. I'm glad that the author didn't end this book on a supermassive cliffhanger just for the sake of doing so. Most writers, when they're setting up for a series, purposely end a book prematurely or at a really pivotal moment to ensure that readers will come back for the second book. Wither doesn't feel the need to do that. Yes, there's more to the story. Yes, most of my questions were answered, and yes, I'd be pretty satisfied if it all ended on that last page. But DeStefano left plenty of wiggle room in this story. She mastered the art of solving some problems while creating others. And that leaves the door open just enough. Series or no series, this stands on its own merit while trusting that Rhine's narrative is more than enough to bring readers back. And it is.

Rating: 4.5/5

358 pages, published by Simon & Schuster (March 22, 2011)

Quote of the Day

"Needless to say, the fact that he actually spoke to me at all practically caused me to pass out. And then the fact that he was actually saying something that sounded like it might be a prelude to asking me out--well, I nearly threw up. I mean it. I felt really sick, but in a good way." 

The Princess Diaries

Meeting Meg Cabot

Lauren, me (in the middle), and Hannah with Meg Cabot !

Can you say BEST DAY EVER? I've been a fan of Meg Cabot since I was, like, 10. No joke. I grew up on The Princess Diaries and then proceeded to spend the entirety of my adolescence reading every book she's ever written. I swear, they kept me sane. They also turned me into a writer. I credit Meg with helping me become the writer I am today. Ever since reading her books, I've been inspired to write my own. Her style helped me hone my own. It was truly beyond an honor to meet her. Our conversation went something like this:

Me (fumbling with my book as I struggle to contain my excitement): Hi!
Meg (glancing down at the book I've basically thrown at her): Hello! You must be (looks down at yellow post-it affixed to the cover of said book) Andrea!
Me (choking on my saliva): That's me!
Meg (signing book with a flourish): Thanks so much for coming out!
Me (deciding on word vomit rather than star-struck silence): Oh my gosh it's such an honor to meet you I've been reading your books forever and someday I hope to be a writer too and it's all because of you I hope you get a chance to read what I write someday because I don't know if I mentioned it but I became a writer because I read your books and I just loved them I think you're awesome

[I pause for a breath]

Meg (with a poise that only comes from encountering crazies like me all the time): That's wonderful! Thank you so much! I hope to someday read something you write!
Me (finally stunned into awed silence): Thank you so much!

Yeah, something like that. She really is awesome, though. And I swear, I'm a completely normal person. I was just SO EXCITED. Ask my friends (check out their awesome blogs here and here). I've known those two girls less than 6 weeks, and they tolerate me better than most people I've known my whole life. Totally made friends for life.

And Meg? One of the highlights of my time here in New York. I'm serious about getting published someday, and I'm completely honest about her being the reason I hope to do so. She's a rockstar. And I hope, one day, she really will read something I write.

Quote of the Day

"There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you'd better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you'll never understand what it's saying."

Just Listen

Quote of the Day

"So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, every day. You and me...every day."

The Notebook

Quote of the Day

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Thirteen Reasons Why

Written by Jay Asher

Synopsis: You can't stop the future. You can't rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret...is to press play.
Clay Jensen doesn't want anything to do with the tapes Hannah Baker made. Hannah is dead. Her secrets should be buried with her.
Then Hannah's voice tells Clay that his name is on her tapes--and that he is, in some way, responsible for her death.
All through the night, Clay keeps listening. He follows Hannah's recorded words throughout his small town...
...and what he discovers changes his life forever.

My Confession: I assumed this book was going to be heavy as soon as I picked it up. The back cover does a pretty good job summarizing that no matter what else you learn from the almost-300-page novel, a girl killed herself. That's a plot point that cannot be undone. No matter how attached you become to her character, no matter how sympathetic you feel toward her situation, she's still dead. Nothing changes that.

I didn't foresee this as a problem. Okay, so the girl's dead. No big, right? That's the whole point of a story--it's not real. Curiosity made me pick this up, and even though the subject surpassed morbid, I felt like I could keep a healthy barrier between myself and the story that was about to unfold before me.

Wrong.

Numerous times I felt myself biting back moments of pure rage. Moments where, like the main character Clay--who's forced to listen to the tapes even though he cared greatly about Hannah--I wanted to stuff my fist in my mouth and scream against the barrier. The "thirteen reasons" Hannah purposefully overdoses on pills never feels justified, but I sure as hell felt her pain. And I almost understood why she did it. Almost.

Talk it out: There's a lot to be learned from a book like this. Nowhere is teenage life glorified. Parties are the smelly, sweaty, uncomfortable, claustrophobic spaces we all remember from adolescence but choose to remember as the "glory days." The bubbly, pretty, popular girls are represented as the fake, condescending, image-obsessed people they are. Hannah takes the mystique and sheen off the pretty high school picture painted by the ignorant, those who choose to believe everything they see and hear at face value. In the end, rumors killed Hannah Baker. And while I still walk away from this desperately wanting her to choose differently, her suicide was the only way to make this story pack the powerful punch it did. I dare someone to not feel something after reading this. No teenager could, or should, be the same after reading this. Maybe, in real life, people will be able to identify the warning signs sooner than those around Hannah were able to. Maybe this book can save a few lives, if only by allowing people to hear Hannah's story.

Recommendation: Have I ever thought seriously about suicide? No. Have I ever felt that no one around me gave a shit about whether I lived or died? Yes. But this book shows how a no to the first question can turn to a yes. I was never truly in danger of that happening to me, which is perhaps why a small barrier remains between myself and the heart of this story. I cannot comprehend that suicide is the right answer, ever. Nothing in life can ever be that bad. And even though we, as readers, learn Hannah's motives, and sympathize with the events that led her to such a final act, my hope is that more readers than not find Hannah's actions terrible. An act that they themselves could never foresee turning to.

I was bullied. I know how alone you can feel. Like you're the only person in a room full of crowded people who know each other, but can't--and won't--spare you a second glance. Use this book to keep an eye out for people on the fringe, people who seem okay, but your gut tells you something's wrong. If anything, read this book because it's real. And terrifying. And sad. Read it because it can teach you something. Read it because the next time you see someone with their head hanging low, you have the chance to save their life. All Hannah needed was someone to believe in. She finds it in Clay, but only after she's convinced herself that dying is her only option. Be someone's Clay.

Listen to Hannah's thirteen tapes here.

If you, or anyone you know is thinking or talking about suicide, go here. There's help out there. Don't let what happened to Hannah happen to you or someone you love.

Rating: 4.5/5

288 pages, published by Razorbill (Oct. 18, 2007)

Quote of the Day

"I think of how life takes unexpected twists and turns, sometimes through sheer happenstance, sometimes through calculated decisions. In the end, it can all be called fate, but to me, it is more a matter of faith."

Love the One You're With

Wake

Written by Lisa McMann

Goodreads Synopsis: 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. 


My Confession: This is such a fascinating idea. It's one of those books that causes insane, irrational jealousy to bubble in my stomach as  I question Why didn't I write this first ? And the way Lisa McMann writes this story makes it all the more unique. The chapters are short and serve as more a stream-of-consciousness rather than traditional narration. Very quickly, we get inside Janie's head, right from the moment the book opens. There's no set-up, no "here's how I came to get sucked into people's dreams" explanation. We just jump right into a dream with Janie and don't question the how or the why. It's believable from the beginning. The fragmented sentences and minuscule background mirror the choppy, lonely life that Janie leads. There's no flowery language or upbeat optimism. Janie's not a particularly happy person. At all.

Until Cabel comes along, that is: Of course there's a boy. There has to be a boy. But Cabel? He's just as damaged--if not more so--than Janie. Now, two pessimists together don't exactly bring out the best in each other. Cabel brings out the insecurity in Janie, and Janie brings out fear in Cabel. They both keep secrets close to the chest, and their brutal pasts combine to make for some pretty dark moments. But the ending offers them an opportunity to put their anger and energy into a cause and gives Janie an outlet for her "curse." The story moves along at a fairly quick pace, seeing as how the language is as to-the-point as possible. I think that's why I liked this book so much. It treats the reader like an adult who can follow a slippery premise without loads of build-up and/or flashbacks. This way of writing cut out a lot of unnecessary drama or story diversion that many supernatural-ish books fall prey to.

Recommendation: This is the first book in a trilogy, and the way the story ends here will make you want to go pick up the next two. The covers are quite stunning and seem to mirror the theme of simplicity showcased in the writing. Wake is a really good example of how minimalist, powerful writing really can work in a book universe drowned in verbosity and unnecessary words. Considering this novel is YA, the quickness and brevity to the story really do cater to the assumed audience, but you don't have to be 14 to enjoy this book. It's not super-happy or extremely uplifting. But it's fascinating, and it will leave you thinking about it long after you're finished.

Rating: 4.2/5

210 pages, published by Simon Pulse (March 4, 2008)

Quote of the Day

"Love who you love while you have them. That's all you can do. Let them go when you must. If you know how to love, you'll never run out."

My Name is Memory

Overbite

Written by Meg Cabot

Synopsis: Meena Harper has a special gift, but it's only now that anyone's ever appreciated it. The Palatine Guard--a powerful secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican--has hired her to work at their new branch in Lower Manhattan. With Meena's ability to predict how everyone she meets will die, the Palatine finally has a chance against the undead.
Sure, her ex-boyfriend was Lucien Antonescu, son of Dracula, the prince of darkness. But that was before he (and their relationship) went up in flames. Now Meena's sworn off vampires for good...at least until she can prove her theory that just because they've lost their souls doesn't mean they've lost the ability to love. 
Meena knows convincing her co-workers--including her partner, uber-demon-hunter Alaric Wulf--that vampires can be redeemed won't be easy...especially when a deadly new threat seems to be endangering not just the lives of the Palatine, but Meena's friends and family as well.
But Meena isn't the Palatine's only hope. Father Henrique--aka Padre Caliente--New York's youngest, most charming priest, has also been assigned to the case.
So why doesn't Meena--or Alaric--trust him?
As she begins unraveling the truth, Meena finds her loyalties tested, her true feelings laid bare...and temptations she never even imagined existed impossible to resist.
This time, Meena may have finally bitten off more than she can chew.

My Confession: I'm a huge Meg Cabot fan. Huge. She always manages to balance a light, satirical voice with big problems and crazy-cool action. Overbite isn't too different from that successful formula. A follow-up to Insatiable, I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to like this book. First of all, I'm allergic to vampire novels. Literally--I'm sick of these books. I find them annoying. I'm not-so-patiently waiting for the supernatural craze that has overtaken all of literature to die. I'd gladly put a stake in this phenom myself. One of my friends even proclaimed that Meg had "sold out" when she wrote Insatiable, seemingly jumping on the undead bandwagon. In the beginning, I kind of agreed. Even so, it caused me great pain to not pick up Insatiable and read Meg's take on the vampire world.

I was boycotting for the sake of boycotting. Within a week, I gave in. I read all 450-pages of Overbite's prequel and didn't really love it or hate it. It was just there. The end was better than the beginning, and the intensity of the action and suspense shone brighter than the I-love-you-please-become-a-vampire-like-me PDA moments between Lucien and Meena. I didn't read it again, and after I while, I forgot about it. But then I got a copy of Overbite free through my NYU program. And even though I didn't want to admit it to myself, I probably would have ended up buying this book regardless. NYU merely expedited the process and saved me $22.99.

Twice bitten--and much better: The best part about this book is that you don't need to have read Insatiable to understand what's going on. This book is much shorter (275 pages) and packs a much heavier punch. Tension was palpable throughout, and without the story setup that seemed to bog down Insatiable, the plot moved along at a much more rapid and enjoyable rate. Meena is a pretty likable character who never borders on whiny or cliche. I enjoyed the progression of her character as well as the development of both Alaric and Lucien. For once, the vampire boyfriend isn't Edward Cullen perfect. There are moments when it feels like there are too many characters, and trying to juggle them all and remember who they were and how they related to the story was a bit distracting. But on the plot side, Meg kept many different balls in the air at once, not allowing a single mystery to be solved until the end. The suspense and action was pretty fantastic. It was a page-turner. And the vampire-ness? Not nearly as annoying as the rest. By using legitimate history and real places in Manhattan, Overbite felt grounded in reality. The fantasy element was there, obviously, but somehow managed to not overtake the story.

Recommendation: I do recommend this vampire book! Read that again, because it's the first and last time I'll ever write that. This is a really enjoyable and quick-paced read. I surprised myself with how much I liked it, especially since my feelings about Insatiable were lukewarm at best. If you haven't read the first book, don't. Read Overbite first, and then, if you're left wanting more (which you will be, duh), pick up Insatiable. I'm planning on reading it again myself. I think I might actually enjoy it more now having read Overbite. Weird.

Rating: 4/5

275 pages, published by Harpercollins (July 5, 2011)

The Wings Trilogy

WINGS
Written by Aprilynne Pike

Goodreads Synopsis: Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful--too beautiful for words.
Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.
In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

My Confession: I picked this book up mainly because the cover was just so mesmerizing. I loved the simplicity of the title and was intrigued about the notion of faeries and how their seemingly centuries-old folklore could be modernized. The main character, Laurel, discovers that she's a faerie. And not just any ordinary faerie, of course, but a very important one--one who was purposefully planted in the human world for a special mission. The world Pike creates here is new and fresh. It's light, airy, and fun--just like the plant and sunlight-driven characters. There's action, danger (courtesy of the token "bad guys"--trolls), and romance, which, by the end of the novel, looks more like a love triangle than the beginning story allowed. There's sweet human David, who knows all about Laurel's secret, and doesn't care. He even fights the trolls alongside her. And then there's Tamani, the darkly handsome faerie assigned to guard Laurel, whose deep and otherworldly affection dates back to when they were young faeries together. Pike doesn't let the story get bogged down with the typical adolescent angst that usually comes from such triangles. Laurel has a good head on her shoulders, and the action and drama that center around the faerie world take precedence over the romance. As it rightly should.

SPELLS

Goodreads Synopsis: Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger--and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.
When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?

My Confession: I enjoyed the first book so much that I didn't hesitate to pick up the sequel when it hit shelves. And let me tell you, it was just as great as the first. This time, we get a closer look into the faerie world of Avalon, where Laurel is called to spend her summer learning how to fulfill her "destiny" as a powerful Fall faerie. Having only attended school in the mortal world, Laurel is charmingly out of place, despite many of the faeries knowing who she is and treating her like a celebrity. The descriptions of this fantastical faerie realm were vivid and breathtaking, the scenes of carnivals and street fairs startlingly realistic for such a made-up world. We also get to see a lot more of Tamani, which is by no means a bad thing (I think you'll discern my Team Tamani leanings--I always side with the tall, dark, and handsome immortal). Laurel's history with and exploration of Avalon doesn't overtake the whole book--there's plenty of action and danger waiting in the human world. More dastardly characters are introduced, and I must say, I'm impressed with the heroine's lack of damsel-in-distress syndrome. Laurel continually comes off as strong, smart, and quick-thinking. The plot here is fresh and interesting. New faerie "rules" come to the forefront often, but their discovery makes sense. Pike makes sure that her audience is never confused and muddled in this world she's created--even better, they believe in it. Spells, unlike Wings, ends on a cliffhanger. Guess we know what I did next....

ILLUSIONS

Goodreads Synopsis: "I don't do patrols, I don't go hunting, I just stick close to you. You live your life. I'll keep you safe," Tamani said, sweeping a lock of hair from her face. "Or die trying."
Laurel hasn't seen Tamani since she begged him to let her go last year. Though her heart still aches, Laurel is confident that David was the right choice.
But just as life returns to normal, Laurel realizes that a hidden enemy lies in wait. Once again, Laurel must turn to Tamani to protect and guide her, for the danger that now threatens Avalon is one that no faerie thought would ever be possible. And for the first time, Laurel cannot be sure that her side will prevail.

My Confession: If you thought Spells left you hanging, just wait until you reach the breathless conclusion of Illusions. I don't know when the fourth and final book is coming, but I hope it's soon. Very, very soon. The energy and action builds slowly in this book, but the undercurrent of what could be going on just smolders. Tamani reenters Laurel's life once again, but this time, it's in a place she least expects--her school. Naturally, this turns David into a smoking pile of jealously and barely-suppressed rage. Not gonna win you points, human boy. Anyway. For the first time, we get to watch the story unfold from someone other than Laurel's perspective. Much of the narrative comes from Tamani's point of view, which sheds a certain light on his character that we hadn't seen before. It was interesting hearing his and Laurel's conversations through his ears. I was so used to having Laurel as my filter, but Tamani was just as interesting, if not more so. I can't help thinking that there's still more to his character. Perhaps that's why I find him so fascinating, as opposed to David, whose shining traits, while undeniable, do seem to work against him this time. The characters are still evolving, the action still pulsing, and the danger still frightening. Nothing is solved at the conclusion of this book; in fact, a whole new can of worms seems to have been opened. Unlike some supernatural series, who beat the same plot point into the ground over four to seven books, this series does not. It continually finds new ways to introduce old problems and build off them.

Recommendation: I can't wait to see what happens next. If you haven't read these books, or read the first and never finished, use this time before the final installment to reacquaint yourself.

Oh, and watch this.

Until book four....

Series Rating: 4.5/5

Published by HarperTeen

Just a Kiss

Just a thought....

I don't know what it is, but something about this song makes me want to write a book about the two main characters in this video. For some reason, I couldn't stop smiling through the entire thing. Made me want to go hop on a plane and find one of these for myself.

Think there's a story here? I do.

I'd Know You Anywhere

Written by Laura Lippman

Synopsis: "There was your photo, in a magazine. Of course, you are older now. Still, I'd know you anywhere."
Suburban wife and mother Eliza Benedict's peaceful world falls off its axis when a letter arrives from Walter Bowman. In the summer of 1985, when Eliza was fifteen, she was kidnapped by this man and held hostage for almost six weeks. Now he's on death row in Virginia for the rape and murder of his final victim, and Eliza wants nothing to do with him. Walter, however, is unpredictable when ignored--as Eliza knows only too well--and to shelter her children from the nightmare of her past, she'll see him one last time.
But Walter is after something more than forgiveness: he wants Eliza to save his life...and he wants her to remember the truth about that long-ago summer and release the terrible secret she's keeping buried inside.

My Confession: It's been a long time since I read, and really got into, a thriller story. But as soon as I read the basic synopsis of this book, I was hooked. I've always found abduction stories fascinating, perhaps because an author who can create a sympathetic antagonist is special and should be read. But mainly because these types of stories always feel like puzzles, and if I just pay careful enough attention, I can solve it before it's over.

This book didn't quite live up to that expectation. I was really excited to read it. The idea that Eliza had suppressed something horrible that happened during those six weeks and now had to relive it in order to possibly save her abductor--that's pretty powerful stuff. And it would have been, if there'd been a secret at all. There wasn't. If anything, it was a misunderstanding, a matter of semantics. Hardly something that Eliza had purposefully been hiding. My mind had initially jumped to a bunch of crazy conclusions--was she an accomplice? Did she kill that last girl? I was waiting for the promised suspense and "thrilling" conclusion. It just never came.

Slow Burn: There were numerous times where this story moved painfully slow. I liked the idea of jumping from the present time, with Eliza taking care of her children, to the past--1985, to be exact--when Elizabeth was forcibly in the company of Walter Bowman. But it just read like wading through quicksand. It was too slow for a suspense novel. I wasn't waiting in anticipation to see what was going to happen; I already knew what happened, and I guess I was just waiting to see how Lippman was going to write about it. I didn't get chills, didn't feel anxious, and slept like a baby after finishing it.

So, Stephen King--whose bombastic praise is slapped across the cover--I disagree. I don't find this "the best suspense novel of the year." Far from it. If there is praise to be heaped on this book, it comes in the portrayal of the abductor. Walter Bowman is one of the most complex characters I've ever read, and the way I was able to crawl into his head and almost understand what he was doing and why--that's creepy. His carefully planned manipulation of Eliza--creepy. The fact that when he's on death row, and the morality of the death penalty is constantly called into question, I still couldn't make up my mind whether he deserved to die or not--that's unnerving. That's where I wish this book had gone. I wish it had explored further the elements that made my skin crawl. There was too much narrative, too much story, and not enough sweaty-palms fear.

Recommendation: As far as thrillers go, I was nowhere near as uncomfortable as I should have been reading this. In fact, I could put it down, and did numerous times. It just wasn't very magnetic. There wasn't a big conclusion, a gigantic twist that no one saw coming. It all built to this big "secret" that Eliza was hiding, and it turned out there was no secret at all. Too much information was given to the reader, and since the road was blindingly lit and not dark and twisted, I navigated a little too well.

Rating: 2/5

373 pages, published by William Morrow (Sept. 1, 2010)

Sisterhood Everlasting

Written by Ann Brashares

Goodreads Synopsis: From #1 New York Times Bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.
Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn't take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can't seem to shed her old restlessness.
Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever--but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

My Confession: I couldn't pick this book up fast enough. First of all, I didn't know for months that it even existed. After reading Forever in Blue, the final book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, I thought these characters were done. I'd seen the movies, lamented their abbreviation of three-books-into-one method, and made peace with the characters I'd grown up reading. I'd accepted their ending. I was okay with where they were. It made sense to me. I moved on.

And then this book happened.

I wasn't ready for what I was about to read in these pages. All I knew was that I wanted to read about Carmen, Bridget, Lena, and Tibby one more time. I loved these girls. I, myself, am one of four friends who've managed to stay close after high school. I could identify with Lena's shyness, Bridget's occasional depression, Tibby's need to create something bigger than herself, and Carmen's compassion and maternal desire to keep everyone together. I was excited knowing that this book would take place ten years after the fourth book, putting all four women close to their thirtieth birthdays. I'm hedging on 22, so I can't say that I can relate completely, but I expected them to have stayed mostly the same. Characters so deeply ingrained in the hearts and minds of girls everywhere couldn't have changed much, right?

Wrong: I was so wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. There were moments where I felt like I didn't know these girls at all. Bridget was still restless? I couldn't believe that at almost 30, she was still poised to throw away her life with Eric (who she spent the entire series chasing, losing, loving, gaining, and taking for granted) to become the "wild child" she'd been at 16. For some reason, my tolerance for her antics reached a breaking point. I know it sounds cliche, but during her part of the narrative, I shook the book and wanted to yell grow the eff up! numerous times. Even worse, Carmen, the girl I probably related to the most throughout the series, was utterly unrecognizable. Now a big-shot actress, she's engaged to a decade-older, bald, cold-fish man who's everything the hopelessly romantic Carmen who fell in love with Win would never have given a second look. She's forced her voluptuous Latin body into a size 0, talks down to her mother, seems burdened by her newly-widowed father, and acts like a selfish, self-centered beeyotch. I hated her. And then I hated myself for hating her. She'd been my favorite. But, in this book, I didn't know her.

The only one who stayed the same was Lena. Lena, Lena, Lena. Still lamenting over never getting together with Kostos, which is, of course, her fault. She continually ignored his numerous overtures until, understandably, Kostos threw in the towel. But never fear! This star-crossed couple isn't finished. It was mildly satisfying to watch Lena grow something resembling a spine, and Kostos is as gentle and giving as he always was. But while the other two girls seemed forcibly altered, it was Lena who could have used the aging. She was still trapped in her nineteen-year-old mentality. Her insecurity, like it does in the previous books, gets old very quickly.

And then there's Tibby, the whole reason I cried continuously throughout this book. I won't tell you why--it's too big a spoiler. [If you want to know what happens but don't want to pick up the book, contact me and we can chat.] I was angry at Ann for changing the dynamic between the friends this drastically, in this particular way. I'm not sure that it was necessary. I felt a certain detachment from this book that I hadn't felt from the previous four. Maybe it was because I wish many of the events in the book hadn't occurred  or more importantly, that they hadn't occurred to these four people. I loved them too much. I was too attached. I wanted their futures bright, happy, open. This book wasn't where I pictured them ending up.

Recommendation: I won't be able to stop you from picking this book up if you've read the previous four and are just itching to read more. That's what led me to this purchase. It's what led me to crack the cover even though I had a feeling of trepidation. Just let me warn you: if you're looking for the girls you grew up with, you won't find them here. Not really. There are glimpses, cracked windows into the adults that could be the Sisterhood all grown up. The story is dark, the plot a vacuum that leaves you feeling drained, sad, and tired. It wasn't the future I wanted for them. In some ways, a few ends were tied up nicely. But there's a hole--a big, gigantic one--that forms in this book, and it's never filled. I ended up feeling a disconnect from this book entirely, and it felt like a stand-alone novel with characters who only happened to be named Bridget, Lena, Tibby, and Carmen. Read it if you can't stop yourself. Stop yourself if you're happy with the ending that Forever in Blue leaves you with. That's how I'd rather remember those girls: giddy, fun, close, and ready for the future.

Rating: 2.5/5

368 pages, published by Random House (June 14, 2011)