Shout Out...More Contests (but they're not mine!!!)

Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf is giving away a copy of The Dark Divine by Bree Despain. It is open to everyone and will end on January 12th. Click on the image to enter : )

Hooked on YA Books is having a Holiday & 150+ Follower Contest. It is open internationally (thank you for considering those outside of the States). It will end on January 31st. So click on the image to enter : )

***Now go and grab your cup of tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and enter these contests along with my 100 Follower Giveaway and HAPPY readings!!!***

Review: Let it Snow

Title: Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances

Authors: John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-14-241499-6/Speak (part of Penguin)
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult

Three stories by three authors in one book and it all takes place during a Christmas snowstorm in a small town in North Carolina. Three teens each tell their own story.

The first story belongs to Maureen Johnson and her character Jubilee (I love the name of this character). Jubilee has to leave home because her parents are in jail. Now, she is stranded in the small unfamiliar town and ends up meeting a boy that makes her reconsider the relationship with her too-busy-during-Christmas boyfriend.

John Green's A Cheertastic Christmas is an incredibly funny story about three friends (two boys and a girl) and their journey to get to their other buddy and a Waffle House filled with cheerleaders. They're on a race to beat other people (the people at the Waffle House are only letting in one group of friends). So JP, Duke, and Tobin journey through the small town while trying to overcome all the icy grounds, snow, and these mean twins (who are trying to get to the Waffle House before them). And then there's the whole chemistry between Tobin and the Duke...does anything happen between them???

Lastly, we get Lauren Myracle's The Patron Saint of Pigs. Addie is a Starbucks employee, self-centered, and trying to figure out if her boyfriend is her boyfriend or an ex-bf. Addie's story is fun like the other two and it does a good job of bringing in the other characters from the two previous stories in.

This book weaves together so well that it's hard to believe that three authors wrote it. But they did and each one does an amazing job with their main characters and even bringing in the other characters from the other stories into their own.

I primarily bought this book because I'm a huge fan of John Green. But now I'm a huge fan of the other two authors. I'm also following Maureen Johnson on Twitter and she is just as funny on her twitter. Now it's time to read more books by ALL three authors : )

Favorite Parts...
Again, I have marked WAAAAYYY too many parts in the book. So go out and get this book. And I'll forgive you if you wait until the next Christmas season to read this : )

My Rating:

(I bought this from a store called FullyBooked)

***Now go and grab your cup of tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) along with a John Green book and don't forget to enter my 100 Follower Giveaway and HAPPY readings!!!***

Review: Paper Towns

Title: Paper Towns
Author: John Green
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-14-241493-4/Speak (part of Penguin)
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult
Awards/Honors: Winner of the Edgar Award for best Young Adult

Quintin Jacobsen and Margo Roth Spiegelman have been neighbors since childhood. Now, they are about to graduate high school. The thing is Quentin has been in love with his neighbor since they were little, but they went there separate ways after discovering a dead body when they were kids. Margo became one of the cool kids and friends with the people that bully Quintin's group (the band kids).

One night Margo shows up at Quentin's window asking for him to join in on an adventure of revenge against her cheating boyfriend and others that knew about the cheating. Q eventually succumbs to Margo's request as long as there is no breaking and entering. And the two of them go around the "paper town" of Orlando.

After their adventure, Margo disappears leaving mysterious clues for Q. Quintin, with the help of his buddies try to figure out the mysterious Margo, but will they find her in time to graduate high school?

When I first picked up the book, I really wanted to know why it was titled Paper Towns. Although there are a couple of definitions, I really enjoyed Margo's thoughts on "Paper Towns." She describes Orlando as one, "It's a paper town . . . look at all those cul-de-sacs, those streets that turn in on themselves, all the houses that were meant to fall apart." In other words, its a fake. And it is something that the characters in this book struggle with as well as real life people. We all struggle with finding what is real and what is fake or seems fake.

Again, Green does an amazing job with the writing...it is witty with wonderful dialogue. I absolutely love the dialouge between Quintin and his buddies...they are a crack up : ) I kind of got bored after a few failed attempts at finding Margo, but in the end, the story brought me back to loving it.

If you enjoyed Green's other books, I definitely recommend this one : )

A few favorite parts...

"It's Mission Impossible shit now. Used to be I could just sneak out like a regular goddamned American---just climb out the window and jump off the roof. But God, these days, it's like living in a fascist dictatorship." -Margo, page 29

"I shaved this morning for precisely that reason. I was like, 'Well, you never know when someone is going to clamp down on your calf and try to suck out the snake poison.'" Margo, page 75

RHAPAW ran not on gasoline, but on the inexhaustible fuel of human hope. Q describing his friend's Buick called RHAPAW (Rode Hard And Put Away Wet), page 90

And I really liked the scenes when Q's parents gave him presents...you'll have to read to find out what they were and why I thought they were funny...even my mom cracked up at these parts.

My Rating:

(I bought this from a store called FullyBooked)

***Now go and grab your cup of tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) along with a John Green book and don't forget to enter my 100 Follower Giveaway and HAPPY readings!!!***

Shout Out....More Contests (but they're not mine!!!)

Dark Faerie Tales is having a Happy Holidays Book Blowout. It will be open to everyone so make sure to click on the image to check out all the books up for the giveaway. It'll end on January 5th.

The Book Resort is giving away a copy of Gone by Lisa McMann. It is open internationally and ends on February 25th. So click on the image to go and enter!!!

April over at Good Books & Good Wine is having an amazing giveaway! Only the winner of the one book will be open internationally, but it still amazing of her to offer this up (shipping can be quite expensive...I should know). Winners will be posted on January 1st. So click on the image to enter!!!

Giveaway, Giveaway, Give-a-WAAAYYY...The Truth About Forever

It was my birthday on December 21st and I actually made it to 100 followers on that day. How cool was that? So thank you to everyone for making the day even extra special!!!

So, I'll be giving away a new copy of The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. This was by far my favorite book by Sarah Dessen. I hope you guys will celebrate this blog milestone with me by entering!!!


From the back cover...
That's what Macy has to look forward to while her boyfriend, Jason, is away at Brain Camp. Days will be spent at a boring job in the library, evenings will be filled with vocabulary drills for the SATs, and spare time will be passed with her mother, the two of them sharing a silent grief at the traumatic loss of Macy's father.

But sometimes unexpected things can happen---things such as the catering job at Wish, with its fun-loving, chaotic crew. Or her sister's project of renovating the neglected beach house, awakening long-buried memories. Things such as meeting Wes, a boy with a past, a taste for Truth-telling, and an amazing artistic talent, the kind of boy who could turn any girl's world upside down. As Macy ventures out of her shell, she begins to wonder, Is it really better to be safe than sorry?

(I bought this book from a store called FullyBooked)

***the form below may look cut off, but it's not. Just click on the form and scroll down***

Review: An Abundance of Katherines

Title: An Abundance of Katherines
Author: John Green
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-14-241070-7/Speak (part of Penguin)
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult
Awards/Honors: Michael L. Printz Honor Book

Colin Singleton is a child prodigy (and he notes that we shouldn't confuse that with a child genius) and is amazing at anagrams. He just graduated high school and was also dumped by his nineteenth Katherine. So his BFF, Hassan takes him out on a road trip to help him get over Katherine XIX.

They end up in Gutshot, Tennessee, the place where Archduke Franz Ferdinand is buried. But most importantly it is home to Hollis and her daughter Lindsey Lee Wells. Hollis ends up hiring the boys because she saw Colin on a game show and he's a kid genius. Now the two boys need to interview the employees of Gutshot Textiles (where tampon strings are made). Meanwhile Colin tries to come up with a math formula that mirrors his relationships with each Katherine in hopes of predicting the future of any romantic relationship.

Will Colin be able to truly figure out relationships and will it help him in his quest in keeping a girlfriend???

John Green continues with his witty writing and boy did I enjoy it. Reading about boys and their close friendship is always refreshing from the books I typically read. This is a cute book, especially after reading Looking for Alaska.

The boys and Lindsey Lee are memorable characters and extremely funny. The dialogue and the whole story flow together very well and beautifully. The only thing that bothered me was wrapping my head around the paragraphs that involved math (but that's just because it's been awhile since I've seen an equation). I also learned a lot from this story because Colin is such a smarty pants (facts and explanations can be found in the footnotes and appendix).

I definitely recommend this book...it is totally fun and cute!!!

Just a few favorite parts...

"Hassan Harbish. Sunni Muslim. Not a terrorist." "Lindsey Lee Wells. Methodist. Me, neither."

But you know what they say about Gutshot: the population never goes up and never goes down, because every time a woman gets pregnant, a man leaves town.

My Rating:

(I bought this from a store called FullyBooked)

***Now go and grab your cup of tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) along with a John Green book and don't forget to enter my 100 Follower Giveaway and HAPPY readings!!!***

Friday Finds (12/25/09)

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!!!

From the back cover of Sixteen Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday edited by Megan McCafferty

Remember what it was like to be sixteen? Whether it was the year your teeth were finally free of braces or the year you were discovered by the opposite sex, that magical, mystical age is something you will never forget. Edited by Megan McCafferty, author of the runaway hit novels Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings, Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday is a compilation of short stories inspire by all the angst, melodrama, and wonderment of being sixteen.

Sarah Dessen's "Infinity" is about a girl confronting two major milestones: getting her driver's license and losing her virginity. The Dead Girls in Jacqueline Woodson's "Nebraska 99" have already decided to "do it" and must now cope with being teenage mothers. And Carolyn Mackler's "Mona Lisa, Jesus, Chad, and Me" explores whether friendship can survive when partying and prayer clash. Also included is a new Jessica Darling story by Megan McCafferty about the last fifteen minutes Jessica spends ---or rather, doesn't spend---with her best friend, Hope, who is leaving Pineville.

Featuring stories by Steve Almond, M.T. Anderson, Julianna Baggott, Cat Bauer, Emma Forrest, Tanuja Desai Hidier, David Levithan, Sarah Mlynowski, Sonya Sones, Zoe Trope, Ned Vizzini, and Joseph Weisberg, these hilarious, poignant, and touching tales are perfect for both those who have yet to reach that milestone and those who want to reminisce about their "sweetest" year.

What did you find???

(I bought this from a store called Fully Booked)

Shout Out...More Contests (but they're not mine!!!)

Steph Su Reads is giving away an ARC of Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers. It's open internationally and ends on Christmas. So click on the image to enter!!!

The Neverending Shelf is part of The 12 Blogs of Christmas giveaways. The books shown here are just the grand prize. So click on the image to check out the other prizes. It is open internationally and closes on December 31st.

Princess Bookie is also part of The 12 Blogs of Christmas giveaways. The books shown here are just for the first winner. So be sure to enter and check out the other prizes. It is open internationally and closes on December 31st.

Review: Looking for Alaska

Title: Looking for Alaska
Author: John Green
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-14-240251-1/Speak (part of Penguin)
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult
Awards/Honors: 2006 winner of the Michael L. Printz Award

Miles Halter is a Florida teenager and basically doesn't fit in around his community. So he leaves his home and parents for a boarding school in Alabama to explore and maybe find the "Great Perhaps."

An interesting thing about Miles is his interest in famous people's last words, especially François Rabelais's, "I go to seek a Great Perhaps." At Culver Creek Preparatory School, he becomes friends with his roommate Chip, aka the Colonel and the beautiful and unpredictable book loving Alaska.

They become close throughout the school year with their schooling, a few pranks, breakups, and stuff about their personal lives. But then the story comes to the life altering part of the book, one that will change Miles forever and leads him to new conclusions about the value of his cherished "Great Perhaps."

"Pudge" aka Miles adds in a lot of interesting information to the book about famous people and their last words. It kind of made me interested in this topic since I love quotations. And John Green is an amazing, witty writer. This was my first book written by him and it definitely would not be my last.

The story was written in sections title "X amount of days before" and "X amount of day after." And I had no idea what the middle part was going to be about and I was kind of surprised when it did happen. However, I wasn't angry with what happened. The characters were people that I would have loved to be friends with in high school (even though I probably wouldn't have done certain things with them because I was a scaredy cat). Looking for Alaska is a story that I will love to read again and recommend to others. The perspective from a boy is something that I don't usually read, but I have loved (especially when it is written by John Green).

This is actually a really good coming of age story that I have recently read. I remember that my sophomore year in high school this was the theme and I kind of hope that teachers will start to put this book on their list for their students to read (even if there is some controversy, but hey it's still a great book for high school teens to read!!!)

Favorite parts of the book...
There were way too many & the lines would be way to long here...so I guess that means you need to out and read it!!!

My Rating

Now go and grab your cup of tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) along with a John Green book and HAPPY readings!!!

(I bought this from a store called Crown Books)

Friday Finds...from (12/18/09)

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!!!

From the back cover of Becoming Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty

Bindy Mackenzie is the smartest girl at Ashbury High. The kindest too - she often offers to share her knowledge in lunchtime sessions at school. But then Bindy discovers that NOBODY LIKES HER! It's time to banish benevolent Bindy - and be ruthless instead.

Bindy records her rebellious life in a project. But it also becomes the key to a bizarre mystery - with Bindy herself at the centre. And she's got no friends left to help her.

What did you find???

(I bought this from a store called Fully Booked)

MY BDAY!!!

It's my 24th birthday!!! And I also have 100 followers now...YAY!!! So, later on today or maybe tomorrow I shall update my blog with my regular posts and reviews. Also look out for a little giveaway...okay???

I'll be back later...so stay tuned!!!

Hey!!!

Hey Book Friends!!!

I know I'm totally slacking on my blog this month. I'm behind on my weekly posts and totally behind on reviews...sorry!

It's been a kind of stressful past few weeks. But this week, I'll try to catch up on everything before I have to go in for a little surgery. The doctors found a lump, but they believe its probably benign. But still...my mom is worried and I'm a bit as well. So they're going to remove it after Christmas and get it biopsied. So after my bday and before the surgery I shall work on my blog!!!

HAPPY readings everyone and HAPPY holidays & MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Friday Finds (12/12/09)...it's a little late

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!!!
From the description on Goodreads of Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

California high school student Audrey Cuttler dumps self-involved Evan, the lead singer of a little band called The Do-Gooders. Evan writes, “Audrey, Wait!,” a break-up song that's so good it rockets up the billboard charts. And Audrey is suddenly famous!

Now rabid fans are invading her school. People is running articles about her arm-warmers. The lead singer of the Lolitas wants her as his muse. (And the Internet is documenting her every move!) Audrey can't hang out with her best friend or get with her new crush without being mobbed by fans and paparazzi.

Take a wild ride with Audrey as she makes headlines, has outrageous amounts of fun, confronts her ex on MTV, and gets the chance to show the world who she really is.

What did you find???

(I bought this from a store called Fully Booked)

Shout Out...More Contests (but they're not mine)

Laura's Review Bookshelf is giving away a signed copy of Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. The contest ends on December 11th. So make sure to click on the image to enter!!!

Extreme Reader Book Reviews is having a huge holiday giveaway. If she gets up to 150 followers, there will be four prizes for four winners. So click on the image and enter!!! It's international and ends on December 19th!

Parajunkee is having a 200 follower giveaway and you must enter it to win by clicking on this amazing image. It's open internationally and ends 12/30!

Time For Some Awards...

One Lovely Blog Award
(Thanks a bunch to Kari @ A Good Addiction)

So here are the rules: Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

The Blonde Diaries
Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!
Mom-Musings
Reality Bites...Fiction Does it Better!
Once Upon a Bookcase
[Bloggers [[heart]] Books]

A Bookful of Thoughts
A Reader's Adventure!
Books Obsession
Crystal Reviews
Escape In A Book
Good Golly Miss Holly
Pure Imagination
Reading with Tequila
Roboloblyn's Universe of Books

Now go and grab your cup of tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) while you go check out all these awesome blogs and HAPPY readings!!!

The 2nd Reading Challenge

This challenge is to go with the 1st in the series challenge. I'm super excited about this one because now I'll definitely have to continue a series. It's hosted over at Royal Reviews...so go and sign up!!!

Here are their guidelines...
Challenge Guidelines:
1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
--Non-Bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.

2. There are four levels:

-- Curious – Read 3 novels that are 2nd in a series or second time you've read the author.

-- Fascinated – Read 6 that are 2nd in a series or second time you've read the author.

-- Addicted – Read 12 novels that are 2nd in a series or second time you've read the author.

-- Obsessed – Read 20 novels 2nd in a series or second time you've read the author.

3. Any genre counts.

4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010. Only books started on January 1st count towards this challenge.

6. When you sign up under Mr. Linky, put the direct link to the post about the 2nd Reading Challenge. Include the URL so that other participants can find join in and read your reviews and post.


I'm going to participate in the fascinated category, but might change it next year...Here's my tentative list...

1. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
2. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
3. The Struggle by L.J. Smith
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
5. You Know You Love Me by Cecily von Ziegesar
6. tbd