Review: A Northern Light

Title: A Northern Light (aka A Gathering Light)
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-15-205310-9/Harcourt
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult

A Northern Light is set in the Adirondack Mountains of New York with sixteen-year-old Mattie Gokey as the main character. After her mother dies and brother leaves, Mattie is left on the farm with her sisters and dad. Now, she is left with the responsibility of helping out her dad on the farm and keeping a promise to her mother.

Mattie takes a job at the Glenmore to help bring some income for her family. This is where she meets Grace Brown and also where Grace gives her a bunch of letters to burn. But before Mattie can burn them, Grace's dead body is found in the lake. It is through the letters that Mattie learns what really happened to Grace.

The thing is, Mattie was never good at the whole farming/mothering thing. Mattie was good in school and especially writing. She wants to leave for college, but can she pull herself away from the responsibilities she has with her family and follow her dreams???

I picked this book up because it was a group read for Wild Things: YA Grown Up at Goodreads and I thank everyone there that voted for this book. A Northern Light is a wonderful coming-of-age story that actually deals with some tough realistic family issues that can somewhat still be related to today's teenagers...like having to deal with a parent's death (particularly breast cancer), taking care of siblings, and racism. Donnelly also wrote about childbirth and how it isn't pretty, but the result can be wonderful.

And probably my favorite, favorite, favorite part of the novel was Mattie's love for learning and words. I found myself loving the story as a whole, but I really looked forward to Mattie's word of the day and her duals with Weaver.

Mattie Gokey is one of my new favorite characters and she is hard to forget. I recommend this book to everyone so go pick it up!!!

Favorite parts of this story...

Recouriumphoration. Re for "again," and cour for "courage" and a bit of triumph tacked on, too, for good measure. Maybe it will get into the dictionary one day, I thought. And if it does, everyone will know its meaning: to have one's hope restored. Mattie, page 159

Words are just words, Royal would say. But words are more powerful than anything. Mattie, page 292

I know it is a bad thing to break a promise, but I think now that it is a worse thing to let a promise break you.

My Rating:

Now go and pick up your favorite cup of tea (or whatever you prefer) and HAPPY readings!!!

Shout Out...More Contests

Irish at Ticket to Anywhere is celebrating her Happy Birthday and Happy UnBirthday to the rest of us. She is giving away $32 in an Amazon Gift Card so go check it out!!!

Ticket to Anywhere is also doing a BBAW Big Giveaway. ARC's included are

1. One gently used ARC of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (Simon & Schuster Oct 13, 2009)
2. Signed first Chapter of Cassie Clare's next book tentatively titled Clockwork Angel, (Simon & Schuster, Sept 7, 2010)
3. Signed first Chapter of Holly Black's next book The White Cat (Simon & Schuster, May 4, 2010)
4. Signed copy of Pingo by Brandon Mull (Shadow Mountain, Aug 5, 2009)
5. ARC of Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr (Little Brown, Oct 1, 2009)
6. ARC of Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda (Hyperion Books, Sept 1, 2009)
7. ARC of Forest Born (Books of Bayern) by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury, Sept 15, 2009)
8. Signed copy of The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn (Avon, Jun 25, 2007)
9. ARC of Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci (Little Brown, Aug 1, 2009)
10. Brava, Strega Nona!: A Heartwarming Pop-Up Book (Sealed) by Tomie dePaola (Putnam Juvenile, Oct 30, 2008)
    
11. ARC of Fire by Kristen Cashore (Dial, Oct 5 2009)
    
12. ARC of The Unusual Mind of Vincent Shadow by Tom Kehoe (Little Brown, Nov 1, 2009)

The Book Resort is giving away a copy of Rampant by Diana Peterfreund. Check it out by clicking on the cover!

Review: Shrimp

Title: Shrimp
Author: Rachel Cohn
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-689-86613-5/Simon & Schuster (part of Simon and Schuster)
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult

***WARNING...This may contain spoilers because it is part of a series (and it is kind of hard to discuss this book without referring to the previous novels in the series)***

Cyd Charisse is back in San Francisco for her senior year. This time around she is totally looking forward to her partial attendance of school (Sid-Dad hooked her up with a work experience program) and she's also looking forward to getting back together with Shrimp (her true love).

Things aren't all that simple for CC because she is a teenager. Her little sister tries to doll nap Gingerbread, Sid-Dad learns about the abortion and is totally disappointed, Mom wants Cyd to go to college, and then...her favorite half-brother breaks up with his "true love."

Does true love really exist??? And is Shrimp Cyd's true love???

When I first started this book, I really wanted to know how Cyd Charisse's life would continue. And Shrimp was an awesome follow up to Gingerbread. I really liked how Cyd and Nancy came to a better understanding in their relationship. It wasn't perfect, but no mother/daughter relationship is. Also, this time around it was about Cyd and finding friends and not just boyfriends. She gets to learn that there are other relationships to life besides the physical type.

Again, Cohn deals with teenager topics that aren't usually in the books they read. Topics include lust, sex, oral sex, and the aftermath of abortion. The main character, Cyd Charisse is not your everyday girl in young adult fiction, but one that is unforgettable in her own ways. This is a great read to those who want to know what happens after Gingerbread and I can't wait to read the third and last book of the series.

Favorite quotes...

True loves may come and go in your lives, but your best friends, those are the people who will be with you throughout your lives, the ones who will stay with you. Sugar Pie, page 163

Life is funny, baby, and that's no joke. Sugar Pie, page 174

My Rating

***Now go and pick up your favorite cup of tea or because it's Rachel Cohn's fave: cappuccino (or whatever you prefer) along with a Rachel Cohn book and HAPPY readings!!!***

And the Winner is...

The winner of my first giveaway contest is...Shooting Stars Mag!!! Be sure to keep checking for the next contest...the book still to be determined!!!

Thank you all for participating and HAPPY readings!!!

Friday Finds At the Store (09/11/09)

Friday Finds at the Store is a meme hosted by Jennay at My Tea Time is Book Time. It is totally easy and everyone can join. Basically just post the books you found at the bookstore or library. Now others can see the great finds you had and maybe they will pick it up on their next bookstore/library run. HAPPY readings!!!

Here are the books I decided to get at the store...
From the back cover of Prom Nights From Hell, by Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephenie Meyer, & Lauren Myracle

In this exciting collection, bestselling authors [...] take bad prom nights to a whole new level---a paranormally bad level. Wardrobe malfunctions and two left feet are nothing compared to discovering you're dancing with the Grim Reaper-and he isn't here to tell you how hot you look.

From vampire exterminations to angels fighting demons, these five stories will entertain better than any DJ in a bad tux. No corsage or limo rental necessary. Just good, scary fun.

From the back cover of Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult

For years, Jane Jones has lived in the shadow of her husband, renowned San Diego oceanographer Oliver Jones. But during an escalating argument, Jane turns on him with an alarming volatility. In anger and fear, Jane leaves with their teenage daughter, Rebecca, for a cross-country odyssey charted by letters from her brother Joley, guiding them to his Massachusetts apple farm, where surprising self-discoveries await. Now Oliver, an expert at tracking humpback whales across vast oceans, will search for his wife across a continent---and find a new way to see the world, his family, and himself: through her eyes.

Description of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (found on Goodreads)

When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope. In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life on Earth continuing without her-her school friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her family holding out hope that she'll be found, her killer trying to cover his tracks. As months pass without leads, Susie sees her parents' marriage being contorted by loss, her sister hardening herself in an effort to stay strong, and her little brother trying to grasp the meaning of the word gone. And she explores the place called heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. There are counselors to help newcomers adjust and friends to room with. Everything she ever wanted appears as soon as she thinks of it-except the thing she most wants: to be back with the people she loved on Earth. With compassion, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to mend. Her father embarks on a risky quest to ensnare her killer. Her sister undertakes a feat of remarkable daring. And the boy Susie cared for moves on, only to find himself at the center of a miraculous event. The Lovely Bones is luminous and astonishing, a novel that builds out of grief the most hopeful of stories. In the hands of a brilliant new writer, this story of the worst thing a family can face is transformed into a suspenseful and even funny novel about love, memory, joy, heaven, and healing.

Review: Away Laughing on a Fast Camel

Title: Away Laughing on a Fast Camel

Author: Louise Rennison

ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-06-058936-3/Harper Tempest

Age Group/Genre: Young Adult

Oh no! The Sex God left the country and is now in Kiwi-a-gogo land. Georgia really misses him and decides she doesn’t want her heart broken any more, so she decides to practice glaciosity to the opposite gender.

Then, the Stiff Dylans get a new lead singer (half-Italian and half-American) and he is a Dreamboat. Is Masimo (Dreamboat) the key to heal Georgia’s heart???

Once again, Louise Rennison does it again. Book five in the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series is funny, funny, funny. This time around, we're introduced to my new favorite words for fake eyelashes...boy entrancers. We also get to read about the awkward, ridiculous situations that can happen with these boy entrancers.

Somehow Georgia still gets herself in these weird situations, but that is the fun part in reading these books. Don't you want to read about Georgia setting an old lady on fire in a church. Pick up this series and really enjoy all the laugh out loud moments. The humor is wonderful, but read it in the comforts of your own home if you don't want funny looks from other people!!!

A few favorite moments...

What Georgia thinks the classic, Heidi is all about...

About some girl who goes up a mountain in Swisschesseland to live with some elderly mad bloke in lederhosen, who sadly for her is her grandfather. page 32

This is what Georgia takes away from the book Heidi...

Always push invalid chairs off the top of mountains when you get the opportunity. page 76

The Ace Gangs sacred vow...

"We, the ace gang, will never let any boy come between us and the ace gang. We are one for one and one for all, once and for all." Or whatever it is that the Three Musketeers say. page 181

Happy readings!!!

My Rating:

Review: Gingerbread

Title: Gingerbread
Author: Rachel Cohn
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-689-86020-1/Simon Pulse (part of Simon and Schuster)
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult

Cyd Charisse is back home in San Francisco because she was kicked out of a fancy schmancy New England boarding school. Her parents, Nancy and Sid, drive her crazy in their big, rich house. So, thank goodness she still has her childhood doll Gingerbread.

Back in SF, Cyd prefers to spend her time at the nursing home with her old pal, Sugar Pie and also wherever her BF Shrimp is at. The problem is, Nancy and Sid-Dad don't like "that boy" (Shrimp). They are annoyed with all of Cyd's sneaking around and breaking rules (i.e. curfew).

As a result, Cyd is sent to New York City to spend time with bio-dad. But this is something that Cyd has been dreaming about all her life...meeting her half-siblings and her "real" dad. Will this family in NY be everything she imagined???

Okay, I'm guilty...I originally picked this book up because I liked the cover of Cupcake (the third book in the series). The store didn't have Gingerbread in, so I ordered it. Thankfully I did that because this book is really good.

This book deals a lot with family and it made it pretty relatable. The major family issue was the father/daughter relationships. Through Cyd's experiences, the reader learns the real characteristics of a father. Cyd also has older siblings and younger siblings. The book shows the different emotions that siblings feel toward each other. Most importantly, the reader sees the rocky and emotional relationship Cyd has with her mom, Nancy. What teenage girl doesn't go through this? I know, there were certain times while I was reading, I was on the verge of tears because the mother/daughter relationship was so raw.

And of course, our caffeine addicted Cyd also has her boy issues. There's an ex-boyfriend, possible true love, and the boys she just likes to stare at. As great as guys are, they can lead to trouble for some girls. In this book, Cohn also writes about a pretty big issue...abortion. The book describes the choices of it and also the aftermath of it.

Gingerbread may seem like a complicated and crazy book to read, but I promise it was an easy one. Cohn's writing style (usage of slang) made it fun and easy to read. But my favorite part were the different relationships that our girl Cyd has. It made her and the others real and also characters that I can't forget.

A favorite quote...

Sometimes you need to lose a person to find yourself. Sometimes only then can you get that person back. Sugar Pie, page 109

I hope you get the chance to read it!

My Rating

***Now go and pick up your favorite cup of tea or because it's Rachel Cohn's fave: cappuccino (or whatever you prefer) along with a Rachel Cohn book and HAPPY readings!!!***