Review...The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Title: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Author: Kate DiCamillo

ISBN/Publisher: 9780763649425/Candlewick Press

Age Group/Genre: Children's Fiction

There's a rabbit named Edward Tulane and he belongs to a little girl whom loves him very much. However, Edward does not know what love is and soon goes on a journey without his little girl.

How will the China rabbit, Edward Tulane's journey end and will it leave us sad?

This is such a simple and easy book to read. Yet, there is more to the story that meets the on coming eyes. The readers will soon discover a story that deals with love, loss, hope, sadness, and even happiness.

I went into this story thinking that it will be an unemotional read and quite fast. However, I found myself thinking about my childhood and the toys I played with. How did I treat them? And where are they now? Then I thought more deeply about love. I am a single woman wondering if love will come my way and yet this book makes me realize how many different kinds of loves there are.

Kate DiCamillo does it again with a wonderful written story. I definitely recommend this book to everyone!

Favorite quotes...

"There's no point in going on if you feel that way. No point at all. You must be filled with expectancy. You must be awash in hope. You must wonder who will love you, whom you will love next." -Chapter 26

"Open you heart [...] Someone will come for you. But first you must open your heart." -Chapter 26

 

My Rating:

(This book was borrowed and downloaded through the San Diego County Library website)

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***

I'm Baaack

So everyone...

I am back and truly back because I have wireless internet with my laptop (my old one was an XP and was not compatible with the wireless that is in my big brother's home).
So here is to new reviews and meeting old and new book friends.

: )

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Wish List Wednesdays (03/23/2011)

Wish List Wednesdays is hosted by Jenn-ay at My Tea Time is Book Time. It's a weekly feature and if you want to share, them feel free to leave a link to your list or leave it the comment box!!! I'm always looking for more books to add to my wish list (and all book lovers have one of those...right?).

Here are some of mine...

So, what's on your list???

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Teaser Tuesdays (02/22/2011)

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MiZB at Should Be Reading (make sure you check out this blog).

Here are her instructions:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here is my teaser this week...
Tales of the MADMAN Underground by John Barnes page 83

"Wonder what's wrong with that there laddie, 'e's a weird one 'e is, eh, eh, eh? A weirdie you know. Eh?"

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Contests Around the Blogosphere...

 

• La Femme Readers: Happy St. Patrick's Day Giveaway (open to U.S. & Canada) and ends April 7th.(Click on image above)
• A Good Addiction: Invincible Summer (open internationally) and ends April 6th.
• All About {n}: Giveaway-Night Road

Seriously...I plan on being back blogging world

Hi Everyone!!!

I moved back to Southern California and I am so enjoying myself. As much as I loved and enjoyed living in the Philippines, I missed my California lifestyle. So now that I am back and starting to get a routine down with reliable internet, I should be able to blog and also check out other blogs more often.

I appreciate everyone that stuck around with my...and I cannot wait to dive into all the books that you all recommend and talk about.

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings!!!***

P.S. I bought a nook the week I came back and I now have a library card to the library down the street from my neighborhood. So yay to more reading!!!

Thursday Cover Throwdown (02/03/2011)

Thursdays will be the day that I compare book covers for one book and we decide which ones we like best. The books I choose to feature are usually the ones where there are multiple covers and I have a debate at the bookstore on which one to get. Or if I know there is another cover out there in the world...do I wait until I find the cover I like?

Here is one of those books...

I absolutely adore Deb Caletti and her books. I actually own this book and I have the one that is in the middle. Although when I look at all these covers, I think I prefer the one on the left. Hmmmm...

What about you...which one do you like???

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because Kari is our guest grab her preference of an iced caramel macchiato (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Oh and I have a baby update on my sister...She gave birth to Andrew Cole on Wednesday, February 2nd at 1 in the afternoon. Mama and baby are doing awesome. My big sister had an all natural birth and she was a tough mama. Baby Andrew came into this world weighing 8 lbs 7 oz and just shy of being 21 inches long...yikes! He's adorable!!!

Wish List Wednesdays (02/02/2011)

Wish List Wednesdays is hosted by Jenn-ay at My Tea Time is Book Time. It's a weekly feature and if you want to share, them feel free to leave a link to your list or leave it the comment box!!! I'm always looking for more books to add to my wish list (and all book lovers have one of those...right?).

Here are some of mine...

So, what's on your list???

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because Kari is our guest grab her preference of an iced caramel macchiato (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Teaser Tuesday (02/01/2011)

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MiZB at Should Be Reading (make sure you check out this blog).

Here are her instructions:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here is my teaser this week...
Hate List: A Novel by Jennifer Brown page 157

"Tell us what to think, Valerie. Tell us how it really went down."

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because Kari is our guest grab her preference of an iced caramel macchiato (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

P.S. I'm waiting for my sister to go to the hospital to bring a new addition to the family. Come on Baby Andrew...the world is waiting to meet you : )

Featured Blogger...Kari from A Good Addiction

This week our featured blogger will end January 2011 with us and take us into February : )

This week we shall welcome Kari from A Good Addiction. So now lets learn a little bit about a fellow reader!!!

1. Why don't you tell us about yourself???

I’m 25 and work for a radiologist group in Dallas, but am also an aspiring writer. I wrote three manuscripts in 2010, the first of which I am doing the final revisions on to query, and working on tightening up the other two to send out to my beta readers. Other than that, I have a dog who I feature weekly in my IMM post and he’s a pain, but I love him… and that’s about it.

2. Tell us about your blog. When did you start it and why? Anything interesting for readers to expect or special features?

I started in September 2009 when a friend insisted I do it. We talked books constantly, and she had a blog, so I figured ehh why not. Like I said above, my awesome beagle/basset mix is featured in my IMM weekly, and I get a lot of comments of people coming just to look at him. I can't really blame them. He’s adorable. Monday’s I do my From the Boy Closet post, which is basically me gushing about a different hot boy from YA every week. Thursday’s I do my Ladies and Their Tramps feature, which is a couples mishmash, creating new couples I think would be awesome using a boy and a girl from two different books.

3. What type of books do you read? 

Basically all YA, and mostly contemp at that. I just love contemp. It’s what I write as well. It’s so intense and emotional, and there is such an incredible range within it. From happy to sad to tear your heart out, there is honestly something for everything, and I don’t find the overlap within it that I do with paranormal/fantasy. Don’t get me wrong, I love those too, but I can't read them a lot at a time. With that kind of genre, there is expected overlap, and I have nothing against it, I just need a break from it. I also love dystopian… especially the ones that really make me think.

4. If you were stuck on an island and can only have 3 of your favorite books, what would they be and why?

Is it cheating if I say Vampire Academy, as in the series? No way I could pick just one of those, though it would be book 4 or 5 if I had to. I also completely adore Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala, and I think it’s one that would continually make me think with every reread. And for the times when I want good romance (though I guess if I’m stuck alone on an island I might not really want to see other’s happiness), I’d take Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles.

5. If you had to leave our world, but can live in any book, which one would it be? And why?

Hmm…. This is a hard one, but I think I would go with Paranormalcy. Not only would meeting Evie and Lend be awesome, but just the entire world is so well done, so intricate, and so original. Plus, I’d totally take my taser to the hags. 

6. I find that many readers develop crushes while they read books. Do you have a crush on any book characters???

Adrian from Vampire Academy is without a doubt my favorite YA boy. He’s sweet and sexy, and the sardonic playboy does me in. Running a very close second is Will from Angelfire. I’d want to fight reapers just to watch him fight with his six foot sword, and hope the poor boy doesn’t get impaled…

7. Lots of YA books are being adapted into movies. Do you watch them and if you do, what’s your favorite adaptation? And which ones are you looking forward to watch?

I will watch them, just because it is interesting to see how someone else took what I read and how they saw it, and turned it into something visual. I really enjoyed how the Harry Potter films have been done and though I did dislike how they’ve handled a few things, overall, considering the actual content of those books and the size and scope of them, those movies really do tell the story. Definitely cannot wait for the last one of those, and it’s probably the one I am most waiting for. Although a screenwriter is about to start work on Firelight by Sophie Jordan, and that’s another one that I think would make a fantastic movie, so hopefully that one does come to fruition.

8. I love music.  So I was wondering what you listen to since I’m always looking for new songs, what songs and/or artists are on you listening to right now on your ipod or CD player?

I’m a big fan of country music, and on a Matt Stillwell kick right now. Tim McGraw and Reba are my favorite singers, ever, though, so I do listen to both of them a lot. And yes, I own all of Tim’s CDs and almost all of Reba’s. On the rock/alternative side, I listen to a lot of Sick Puppies, Breaking Benjamin, Trust Company, and… plenty more.

9. Any last thoughts to share with us???

 Thanks for having me, and check out my blog. From cute dogs to hot boys, I have a range. I also corun The {Teen} Book Scene, a site dedicated to setting up promotional blog tours for YA authors, so I have been able to work with and talk to a lot of awesome authors through that which is such a reward.

10. Oh, and before I forget, when you go to a Starbucks or Coffee Bean (or any coffee/tea serving place)…what do you order???

Iced caramel macchiato.

Great answers Kari!!! I'll let you take a series onto the island because it'll be too much of tease if you can only bring part of the series ; ) And I definitely like your choice of Perfect Chemistry (I heart this book). I enjoy learning so much about fellow bloggers and I hope you all did too. Thanks again Kari!!! Now everyone...go hop over to her blog and check it out : )

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because Kari is our guest, grab her preference of an iced caramel macchiato (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Thursday Cover Throwdown (01/27/2011)

Thursdays will be the day that I compare book covers for one book and we decide which ones we like best. The books I choose to feature are usually the ones where there are multiple covers and I have a debate at the bookstore on which one to get. Or if I know there is another cover out there in the world...do I wait until I find the cover I like?

Here is one of those books...

I actually don't own this book, but I really do want it because I want to finish the series. Or maybe I'll just borrow it from the library...hmmmm. However, if I do get some extra cash to own this book, then I choose the hardcover because I like how the crown is more dominant on the cover.

What about you...which one do you like???

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Wish List Wednesdays (01/26/2011)

Wish List Wednesdays is hosted by Jenn-ay at My Tea Time is Book Time. It's a weekly feature and if you want to share, them feel free to leave a link to your list or leave it the comment box!!! I'm always looking for more books to add to my wish list (and all book lovers have one of those...right?).

Here are some of mine...

So, what's on your list???

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Teaser Tuesday (01/25/2011)

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MiZB at Should Be Reading (make sure you check out this blog).

Here are her instructions:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here is my teaser this week...
Kick by Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman, page 30

All morning in school I felt eyes looking at me. Whenever I turned to look at someone who I felt was staring, we'd make eye contact for a brief second before they turned away quickly.

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Review: The Lying Game

 

Title: The Lying Game

Author: Sara Shepard

ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-06-186970-9/Harper Collins

Age Group/Genre: Young Adult

Summary...

Emma is a teenager and she has been in foster care since she was a little girl because her mom took off one day. So Emma never really knew her family and until her foster brother shows her video of a girl that looks exactly like her...things change. Emma discovers that she is a twin and goes on a search for this look alike girl named Sutton. So she leaves the life that she knows and heads out to Arizona. This search leads to something weird because the reader knows that Sutton died. However, no one else knows...not Sutton's  friends or family. While in Arizona, weird and threatening notes are given to Emma when she become suspicious about her twins disappearance. Will Emma find out what happened to Sutton???

Thoughts...

This was my first book by Ms. Shepard and so I went into it knowing that she was a popular author, but not realizing that this would be such a mystery. I'm not much of a mystery novel type of girl, but this book totally sucked me in. 

I'll be honest, I was a little confused during the first few chapters because the narration was coming from Sutton and then we get Emma's story. So it took me a bit of getting used to, but it got easier to understand who was who. But I was really captivated by the mystery of the story and the want to figure out if Emma can help her sister (even if she'll never meet her). Then, we read about mean girls. Now living in a world of bullying, it was sometimes hard to read because I couldn't and didn't want to believe (even if it is fiction) that this could happen. So I really appreciated the end where Ms. Shepard recognizes that these were mean acts that she came up with and that they in no way should happen in real life.

This is book one of The Lying Game series and I really cannot wait for the rest of the series to come out. I want...no I NEED to know what will happen to the characters. I wish the book didn't end!

Go pick this one up if you're a fan of YA mysteries!!!

(This was an Advanced Readers E-Proof downloaded from NetGalley)

Rating

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because Mariah is our guest, grab her preference of a salted caramel hot chocolate OR peppermint hot chocolate (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Friday Finds (01/21/2011)

Friday Finds at the Store is a weekly feature here at My Tea Time is Book Time. It is totally easy and I encourage you let me know what you find. Basically just post the books you found at the bookstore or library or in your mailbox. Now others can see the great finds you had and maybe they will pick it up on their next bookstore/library run. HAPPY readings!!!

From the back cover of Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black and Holly Castellucci

Geektastic celebrates all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, of if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic has something for everyone. Get your geek on!

(This book was bought from a store called Fully Booked.)

What did you find???

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because Mariah is our guest, grab her preference of a salted caramel hot chocolate OR peppermint hot chocolate (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Thursday Cover Throwdown (01/20/2011)

Thursdays will be the day that I compare book covers for one book and we decide which ones we like best. The books I choose to feature are usually the ones where there are multiple covers and I have a debate at the bookstore on which one to get. Or if I know there is another cover out there in the world...do I wait until I find the cover I like?

Here is one of those books...

 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was one of those books that I HAD to read before I watched the movie. And I'll be honest...I did prefer the movie. However when it came to choosing which book ti buy it was an easy choice for me. I like the simplicity of the book on the left and that is the one that sits in my bookcase.

What about you...which one do you like???

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because Mariah is our guest, grab her preference of a salted caramel hot chocolate OR peppermint hot chocolate (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Wish List Wednesdays (01/19/2011)

Wish List Wednesdays is hosted by Jenn-ay at My Tea Time is Book Time. It's a weekly feature and if you want to share, them feel free to leave a link to your list or leave it the comment box!!! I'm always looking for more books to add to my wish list (and all book lovers have one of those...right?).

Here are some of mine...

So, what's on your list???

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because Mariah is our guest, grab her preference of a salted caramel hot chocolate OR peppermint hot chocolate (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Teaser Tuesdays (01/18/2011)

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MiZB at Should Be Reading (make sure you check out this blog).

Here are her instructions:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here is my teaser this week...
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, page 89 

I often walked inside to find my mother crying.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's your sister," she said. 

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because Mariah is our guest, grab her preference of a salted caramel hot chocolate OR peppermint hot chocolate (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Featured Blogger...Mariah from A Reader's Adventure

Yay...we're into week three for the featured blogger : )

This week we shall welcome Mariah from A Reader's Adventure. So now lets learn a little bit about a fellow reader!!!

1. Why don't you tell us about yourself???

I am an 18 year old book lover! I have been reading everything I could get my hands on ever since I could read on my own. Because of this some people find it odd that I am planning to go to school to become a biomedical engineer. What can I say I love reading, writing, and science!

2. Tell us about your blog. When did you start it and why? Anything interesting for readers to expect or special features?

I originally started my blog to keep track of what books I was reading and what I thought of them. I am thinking about doing a new feature about kick-a** heroines so look out for that!

3. What type of books do you read? 

I read YA fiction primarily, because I am a young adult I find these books to be the easiest to relate to. But once I am no longer a young adult I think I will continue to read YA because it is such a diverse and fun compilation of books that anyone can relate to. Also the authors are so nice!

4. If you were stuck on an island and can only have 3 of your favorite books, what would they be and why?

A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker this is the funniest book I have read in a long time!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

And either the Lioness Rampant series by Tamora Pierce (unless that is cheating) or Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

For all of these I would choose them because they all have amazing female characters that keep me entertained for hours!

5. If you had to leave our world, but can live in any book, which one would it be? And why?

Probably the world of Graceling, I mean it sounds so beautiful, I would not want to mess with the villain but the world itself would be amazing! And Po, Po, Po.

6. I find that many readers develop crushes while they read books. Do you have a crush on any book characters???

Well as you can see above I totally fell in love with Po. But there are many different love interests that I have really liked but some of my favorites are, Valek, from Poison Study, and Jonathan from the Alanna books.

7. Lots of YA books are being adapted into movies. Do you watch them and if you do, what’s your favorite adaptation? And which ones are you looking forward to watch?

I have only seen one or two and I did not really like them. I did like the Disney adaptation of Meg Cabot’s Avalon High even though they changed the ending. I am really excited for the Moral Instruments movie, and of course the Hunger Games!

8. I love music.  So I was wondering what you listen to since I’m always looking for new songs, what songs and/or artists are on you listening to right now on your ipod or CD player?

I don’t really listen to music too often beyond classical.

9. Oh, and before I forget, when you go to a Starbucks or Coffee Bean (or any coffee/tea serving place)…what do you order???

During the winter I order peppermint hot chocolate, or my new favorite salted caramel hot chocolate.

Great answers Mariah!!! I need to go grab the Meg Cabot's Avalon High, then I need to check out the movie. I enjoy learning so much about fellow bloggers and I hope you all did too. Thanks again Mariah!!! Now everyone...go hop over to her blog and check it out : )

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because Mariah is our guest, grab her preference of a salted caramel hot chocolate OR peppermint hot chocolate (or whatever beverage your prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Friday Finds (01/14/2011)

Friday Finds at the Store is a weekly feature here at My Tea Time is Book Time. It is totally easy and I encourage you let me know what you find. Basically just post the books you found at the bookstore or library or in your mailbox. Now others can see the great finds you had and maybe they will pick it up on their next bookstore/library run. HAPPY readings!!!

No books this week, but what did you find???

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because Lanna is our guest, grab her preference of a mocha (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***