Month End Author Spotlight: David Levithan

February ended and it was the end of my month filled with David Levithan books. I really enjoyed them and I am sooo glad that I picked them all up. I cannot wait to read the ones I missed and all his future books.

Just a little bio...
David Benjamin Levithan was born in 1972 and graduated from Brown University in 1994. Music plays big parts in his writing. So, his favorite songs include Death Cab for Cutie's "Transatlanticism", Dar Williams' "February", and Crowded House's "Four Seasons in One Day." He has a short factual bio on his website, but he does add that he is addicted to Dr. Pepper and My So-Called Life.
***Want more info??? Check out his website***

D.L.'s books...
You Are Here, This Is Now (Anthology) (2002)
Boy Meets Boy (2003)
The Realm of Possibility (2004)
Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday: "The Alumni Interview"
Are We There Yet? (2005)
Where We Are, What We See (Anthology) (2005)
Friends (Anthology, edited with Ann M. Martin) (2005)
Marly's Ghost (2005)
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (co-written with Rachel Cohn)(2006)
Wide Awake (2006)
The Full Spectrum (Anthology, edited by Billy Merrell) (2006)
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List (co-written with Rachel Cohn) (2007)
This is PUSH (Anthology) (2007)
21 Proms (Anthology, edited with Daniel Ehrenhaft) (2007)
How They Met, and Other Stories (2008)
Likely Story (co-written with David Ozanich and Chris Van Etten) (2008)
All That Glitters (co-written with David Ozanich and Chris Van Etten) (2008)
Red Carpet Riot (co-written with David Ozanich and Chris Van Etten) (2009)
Love is the Higher Law (2009)
Will, Grayson, Will Grayson (co-written with John Green) (due to come out in 2010)
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares (co-written with Rachel Cohn) (due to come out on October 12, 2010)

Books adapted into movies...
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)

His favorite authors (but the list can go on and on...according to his site)...
M.T. Anderson
Margaret Atwood
Rachel Cohn
John Green
Alice Hoffman
James Howe
David Leavitt
Milly Merrell
Anne Tyler
Virginia Euwer Wolff
Markus Zusak

Where to find David Levithan...
Website
MySpace

Overall Rating...

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

Friday Finds (02/26/10)

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!!!

Hmmm...I kind of decided to go on a little book shopping spree this week because I somehow managed to get a 100% on my final research paper for one of my sociology papers. And it also helped that my mom & I were stuck in some major traffic in the city. So we made a few stops at Starbucks and it just so happened that the Starbucks were next to a bookstore : )

From the back cover of Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee

Rosemary Goode has never been the prettiest or the most popular girl in school. How could she be, when she tips the scale at almost 200 pounds and lists Sara lee and Oprah as her only real friends? And it sure doesn't help that her mother runs the most successful (and gossipiest!) beauty shop in town, where everyone scrutinizes her from her highlights down to her pedicure.

But when the scale reaches an all-time high, and she takes special notice of a certain cute boy in school, Rosemary realizes that not only do things NEED to change, but she WANTS them to change. And so begins a powerful year of transformation and a journey towards self-discovery that surprisingly has little to do with the physical, and more to do with an honest look at how Rosemary feels about herself.

From the back cover of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

For twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort.

Now he has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter's defeat of You-Know-Who was Black's downfall as well. And the Azkaban guards heard Black muttering in his sleep, "He's at Hogwarts...he's at Hogwarts."

Harry Potter isn't safe, not even within the walls of his magical school, surrounded by his friends. Because on top of it all, there may well be a traitor in their midst.

From the back cover of Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Scarlett Martin has grown up in a most unusual way. Her family owns the Hopewell, a small Art Deco hotel in the heart of New York City.

When each of the Martins turns fifteen, they are expected to take over the care of a suite. For Scarlett's fifteenth birthday, she gets both a room called the Empire Suite and a permanent guest named Mrs. Amberson. Scarlett doesn't quite know what to make of this C-list starlet and world traveler. And when she meets Eric, an astonishingly gorgeous actor who has just moved to the city, her summer takes a second unexpected turn.

Before the summer is over, Scarlett will have to survive a whirlwind of thievery and romantic missteps. But in the city where anything can happen, she just might be able to pull it off.

From the back cover of The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

Lifelong best friends Nina, Avery, and Mel face their first separation the summer before their senior year, when Nina attends a ten-week program at Stanford. But how much can happen in ten weeks?

Plenty, it seems. Nina finds herself blindsided by Steve, the adorable ecowarrior down the hall. Too bad he lives in Oregon and she's from upstate New York. When the Stanford program ends, she has to wait 8,736 hours before she can see him again.

At least she'll soon be reunited with Mel and Avery. But Nina isn't the only one whose life has turned upside down in ten weeks. While Nina was gone, Mel had her first real kiss. With Avery.

From the back cover of Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

Seventeen-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their shadowy power struggles. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life.

The tattoo DOES bring changes---not the kind that Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that bind Leslie to Irial, a dark and dangerous faery king fighting for the soul of his court. Slowly, Leslie is drawn deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils....

What did you find???

(these books were bought from a store called FullyBooked)

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

Review: Wide Awake

Title: Wide Awake
Author: David Levithan
ISBN/Publisher: 0-375-83466-4/Knopf (part of Random House)
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult

Wide Awake is set in the future (to the point where the teens don't know what 'getting jiggy with it' or 'who let the dogs out' mean. BTW that made me feel old...LOL). Anyways, a gay Jewish man is finally elected president of the United States of America. This makes the main character, Duncan, extremely excited not only because he worked on the campaign, but also because he is gay and Jewish.

But not all can stay in the happy, celebrating mode because the governor of Kansas (the decisive state) demands a recount (it reminded me of Florida). Now, Duncan and his campaigning buddies, including his boyfriend, rally out to Topeka, Kansas to support the maybe President Stein. On the way out to Kansas, his friends and him encounter relationship problems, despite the uniting of such a wonderful event.

If you read Levithan's, Boy Meets Boy you will want to read this one because this one is set in a such a different world than we have now. For one thing, Duncan and his friends shop at a "non-shopping mall." This means that instead of paying the store for the item, you make a donation to a charity of your choice. Aids is something that is in the past, but democracy is still going strong, but with a few changes.

I really enjoyed this novel because the writing was so wonderfully done and even inspirational. The speeches that are written are amazing...Mr. Levithan could totally have been a speech writer for a politician. There also some historical notes in this novel including the Boston Tea Party (which you need to read on pages 151-153. A little hint is that Duncan thought it started with...Betsy Ross's birthday party gone wrong) and Bleeding Kansas.

I'll recommend this book to mature young adults and adults because I'm sure there are some people that won't agree with Duncan's perspective. There are some radical ideas and some sexual scenes, but they totally fit into the characters relationships. However,a lot of other readers will find it thought provoking because there is lots to think about...where our society is headed and how individuals affect our society. And lots and lots on equality rights. The themes of prejudice, freedom, tolerance, and love are in this book and beautifully written.

A few favorite lines...

"There is no such thing as equality for some. Equality must be for all. That is what freedom is. That is what liberty is. No human being is born more or less important than any other. How can we allow ourselves to forget that? What simpler truth is there? page 14

There's a great speech about community on pages 26-27.

There's a great explanation about the electoral college and popular voting on page 54. (sorry it's a couple paragraphs).
Don't let them get to you. All they have is hate and in the end hate is worthless. They want for us to become hateful, too, and to forfeit His love in our anger. page 139

Only when you are challenged---and only when you challenge yourself---do you discover what truly matters. page 208

Another great speech on pages 217-218.

My Rating

(This book was bought at a store called FullyBooked)

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

Friday Finds (02/19/10)

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 I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.

That's when Ed becomes the messenger.

Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?

From the back cover of Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

In a moment, Deanna Lambert's teenage life is changed forever. Struggling to overcome the lasting repercussions and the stifling role of "school slut," Deanna longs to escape a life defined by her past. With subtle grace, complicated wisdom, and striking emotion, Story of a Girl reminds us of our human capacity for resilience, epiphany, and redemption.

What did you find???

(these books were bought from a store called FullyBooked)

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

Review: How They Met and Other Stories

Title: How They Met, and Other Stories
Author: David Levithan
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-375-84886-5/Knopf (part of Random House)
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult

How They Met, and Other Stories provides 18 short stories. They range from a teen eyeing the hot Starbucks barista to a Chinese-American teen girl getting sent out on a blind date with her dad's business partner's son. And then there is a gay boy trying to figure out love...or is it lust??? And my favorite...the story of David's grandparents...awwww (it reminded me of my grandparents...I even had my mom read this story).

David Levithan does it again with providing a great book about love and perfect to read during February. This one is eighteen short stories about all types of love...the longing for it, love between family & friends, and that love that you can't quite get. There is a love story here that any young adult or adult can relate to.

I definitely, definitely recommend this book (which reminds me, I'm going to let my Starbucks barista borrow it)...especially if you're in the mood for love (I mean come on...this started out as a Valentine's day present), but don't worry it's not all "awwww" moments, there are some "LOL" moments, too.

I even re-read certain parts of the book for this review and I just couldn't help but smile. These are love stories, but the great part of this book is that it remind you that it doesn't matter what a person's gender or race is...love is universal and always a great theme to read about.

A few favorite lines...

"Do you have a boyfriend?"
I was about to bitch and moan---the usual response---but then I realized who I was talking to. Only in New York (and maybe San Francisco) could a six-year-old have a gaydar. "Starbucks Boy" page 11

"H&M. I know it stands for something Swedish, but really it should be Homosexual & Metrosexual." "Starbucks Boy" page 14

He held up his finger and showed me his wedding ring, then pulled at a thin chain around his neck to reveal another ring---hers---that he kept under his clothes.
"One for my hand, one for my heart," he explained. "The Number of People Who Meet on Airplanes" page 93

(Definitely read "How They Met"...it's my fave & I can't type out the whole thing)

It doesn't have to be on Valentine's Day. It doesn't have to be by the time you turn eighteen or thirty-three or fifty-nine. It doesn't have to conform to whatever is usual. It doesn't have to be kismet at once, or rhapsody by the third date.
It just has to be. In time. In place. In spirit.
It just has to be. "Intersection" page 244

My Rating

(This book was bought at a store called FullyBooked)

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

Author Update...Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

So...I'm checking out some of my favorite author's websites and I came across some new news to me. Well, I already knew that this book was coming out, but there's a picture and a release date.
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares is set to come out on October 12, 2010. But go check out Rachel Cohn's site for her post about it!

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

Shout Out...to those that also shop at FullyBooked

Dear Book Friends,

If you live in the Philippines or are visiting the Philippines...you should know that Neil Gaiman will be coming in March!!! So if you want to attend the book signing...you need to check out the FullyBooked website.

I'm so glad I didn't buy one of Mr. Gaiman's books today because I'll be doing a little shopping spree in the next couple weeks (just on his books). So...hopefully I'll see a few of you there at the signing!!!

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