So Many Books, So Little Time: 2012 Standalone RC

Showing posts with label 2012 Standalone RC. Show all posts

Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 Sophomore Reading Challenge-- Completed

2012 Sophomore Reading Challenge

What books count towards the SRC?
Any second YA or MG book published by an author in 2012 counts – it can be the second in a series, a new series, or a standalone. The only requirement is that it is the SECOND book the author has published in the YA or MG realm (and it must publish in 2012 in your home country)! I have started a Goodreads list HERE – as you can see, there are probably many many books on that list you are planning on reading already

When does the challenge run?

Books read before January 2013 count for this challenge.

Why should I join this challenge?
Reading debut novels is AWESOME. It is by far my favorite challenge – it allows me to find many new authors that I love. What better way to support these authors than to read their next published book?

What are the guidelines of the challenge?
Your challenge is to read 10 sophomore YA/MG novels in 2012. To officially participate, you need a Goodreads account or blog where you post reviews in English.

What should I do if I’m an author coming out with a sophomore novel?
I would love to feature you on my blog! Please contact me via THIS FORM or by e-mail (shanynlee at gmail.com).

How do I join?
Link your blog or Goodreads account below, and make a list of the sophomore novels you’re looking forward to

There will be prize packs given away to challenge participants throughout next year. You will receive an automatic entry for signing up to participate – options for additional entries will be announced at the time of the giveway.

*Completed on 12/31

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge--Completed!

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge

Why a Standalone Reading Challenge?
There's a challenge for Debuts, there's a challenge for Sophomores, why not a challenge for Standalones?

So what's the challenge?
To read 15 standalone YA books in 2012!

What books count towards the 2012 Standalone Reading Challenge?
Any Young Adult standalone book that is released between December 27, 2011 and December 31, 2012. Any format (paperback, hardcover, e-book, ARC) counts, but they must be read during the year 2012.

Where can I find out which books can be read for the SARC?
We have started a list for you HERE. Please note, this list is public and won't be 100% accurate. We will try to keep it updated as best as we can. If you know of any standalones we may have missed, please feel free to add to this list.

I'm an author with a standalone novel coming out in 2012!
If you're an author with a standalone novel releasing in 2012, whether its a debut or not, you can participate too. It would be super spectacular if you would like to either donate a book/swag or sign up for an interview/promotional post! Please fill out the form HERE.

Who can participate?
Anyone with a blog or a Goodreads account where they are able to post reviews (in English) can participate.

Why should I sign up?
One, there will be a lot of fun. Two, there will be periodic prize packs (more info to come) given out to participators, as well as fun posts from and interviews with authors who have standalone YA novels releasing in 2012. And three, its a fun way to promote those novels that aren't part of a series/trilogy!

Book Review- Try Not to Breathe

I finished Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer Hubbard earlier today.

From Goodreads:

Learning to live is more than just choosing not to die, as sixteen-year-old Ryan discovers in the year following his suicide attempt. Despite his mother’s anxious hovering and the rumors at school, he’s trying to forget the darkness from which he has escaped. But it doesn’t help that he’s still hiding guilty secrets, or that he longs for a girl who may not return his feelings. Then he befriends Nicki, who is using psychics to seek contact with her dead father. This unlikely friendship thaws Ryan to the point where he can face the worst in himself. He and Nicki confide in one another the things they never thought they’d tell anyone—but their confessions are trickier than they seem, and the fallout tests the bounds of friendship and forgiveness.

Often times, I have a hard time connecting when the main character is a male. And unfortunately, that was the case in this story. I never really connected with either of the main characters--Ryan or Nicki, or with the story.

Sure, I felt sorry for Ryan and Nicki and their own personal problems. But I didn't really care that much. Which is sad because I wanted to. Suicide is such a strong topic and I wanted to feel for them but I just felt distant. And I don't think the way the story was written helped much either. I just never really got into it.

It wasn't a bad story by any means. And it did hold my attention. But I just could never get as emotional wrapped up as I wanted to be.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 93
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 74
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 80
Completely Contemp Challenge 2012: 2012-18
2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge: 6
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 19
2012 Sophomore Reading Challenge: 10

*FTC Disclosure: This book was given to me for free by the publisher for a honest review.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge- December Update

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Book Review- Lucid

I just finished reading Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever?

Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different--except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other.

The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiraling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever.

This is a dazzling debut that will steal readers' hearts.

Wow. After sititng here reading the ending, my mind is circling round and round trying to figure out just what happened. I mean, I'm pretty sure I got who the real person was at the end, but getting there was just weird.

I liked both girls. I liked reading about Maggie's glamourous-ish life but also felt so sorry for her. Her mother who acted more like a sister instead of a parent. Her father who died too soon. And the responsibility of taking care of a younger sister who she was crazy about. And I liked Sloane. I liked who she was as a person and wanted her to be happy. She seemed so normal, with the loving family yet slight teenage angst towards her mom.

I knew that it would turn out that one girl was the real one, but there was also this part of me that was just waiting for the book to turn into some sci/fi story. Luckily, it did not. But the ending completely threw me for a loop. The last couple of chapters were just so random and both girls' thoughts were thrown together so it was hard to get who was thinking and saying what. And I didn't particularly enjoy that. In fact, I really enjoyed the book up until that point. And then it just lost my interest. It was too much. I bet a lot of readers will love this ending but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Oh well.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 83
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 69
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 72
2012 Debut Author Challenge: 21
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 18

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge- November Update

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Book Review- 34 Pieces of You

I just finished reading 34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodrigues for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

A dark and moving novel—reminiscent of Thirteen Reasons Why—about the mystery surrounding a teenage girl’s fatal overdose.

There was something about Ellie... Something dangerous. Charismatic. Broken. Jake looked out for her. Sarah followed her lead. And Jess kept her distance, and kept watch.

Now Ellie’s dead, and Jake, Sarah, and Jess are left to pick up the pieces. All they have are 34 clues she left behind. 34 strips of paper hidden in a box beneath her bed. 34 secrets of a brief and painful life.

Jake, Sarah, and Jess all feel responsible for what happened to Ellie, and all three have secrets of their own. As they begin to confront the darkest truths about themselves, they will also find out what Ellie herself had been hiding all along....

I saw that many were comparing this book to Thirteen Reasons Why. And while I knew many loved that book, I didn't. I didn't find myself caring about Hannah (the girl who committed suicide) in that book and so I was hoping that this book would be different since suicide is such a tragic and important topic. Unfortunately, I pretty much felt the same way about Ellie as I did about Hannah.

Yes, I get that Ellie had an extremely hard life and went through things that no person should ever have to go through. But I wanted to FEEL for her. And to feel for her, I had to like her. And I just didn't. I didn't like her personality at all. There was nothing that made me care for her.

And at the beginning, I felt that way about the other narrators in the story, the people that were closest to her. But as the book went on, I felt myself feeling sorry for those people. I never changed my mind about Ellie, but Sarah and Jake and Jessie started to grow on me. Especially Jessie (although I won't give away why). By the end, I actually cared about them.

I wish I could have cared more about Ellie. It's unfortunate that she was written in a way that I just didn't.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 72
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 59
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 62
Completely Contemp Challenge 2012: 2012-16
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 17
2012 Sophomore Reading Challenge: 6

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Monday, October 1, 2012

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge- October Update

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Book Review- Origin

I just finished reading Origin by Jessica Khoury for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home—and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin—a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost. This is a supremely compelling debut novel that blends the awakening romance of Matched with the mystery and jungle conspiracy of Lost.

I enjoyed this book. It was more sci-fi than anything else, which I don't always like, but I did like this one.

I think it was the fact that I liked Pia so much. She was just a great character. All her life she grew up hearing how perfect she was yet you could tell that she knew something wasn't quite right. For being immortal and so perfect, she had a heart that was real and emotions that were real. I liked Eio too although I feel that their relationship was a little quick.

The only thing that I didn't like was that the story and reason of how Pia became immortal, and how others tried to become immortal was a little confusing to me. I got it by the end, but at the time when the story was told, and when she figured it out, I was lost.

But overall, great novel by a debut author. I look forward to reading more by Jessica Khoury.

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

Origin was released today.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 65
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 53
2012 Debut Author Challenge: 17
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 56
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 16

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge--September Update

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Book Review- Touching the Surface

Early this morning, I finished reading Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Experience the afterlife in this lyrical, paranormal debut novel that will send your heart soaring.When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.

Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.

As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.

I had been in a little bit of a reading slump so this was a nice change. I easily fell into reading the story--the words just flowed so well for me and I found myself halfway through the book quicker than I imagined.

I do have to admit that I found myself rolling my eyes a couple of times, especially at the way the word "love" was thrown around. But that didn't diminish from my enjoyment.

I enjoyed reading this version of the afterlife. The idea of souls going into humans several times so they can "grow" with a central meeting place between lives was a new one. I liked reading about the past lives through Delves and thought the triangle between Elliot, Oliver, and Trevor interesting as well as the friendship between Elliot and Julia.

Unfortunately, I think this book is a standalone. I would love to read about what happens to Elliot next!

I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.

Touching the Surface will be released on October 30, 2012.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 62
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 50
2012 Debut Author Challenge: 15
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 53
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 15

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Book Review- Stealing Parker

I finished reading Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally earlier this week for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Parker Shelton pretty much has the perfect life. She’s on her way to becoming valedictorian at Hundred Oaks High, she’s made the all-star softball team, and she has plenty of friends. Then her mother’s scandal rocks their small town and suddenly no one will talk to her.

Now Parker wants a new life.

So she quits softball. Drops twenty pounds. And she figures why kiss one guy when she can kiss three? Or four. Why limit herself to high school boys when the majorly cute new baseball coach seems especially flirty?

But how far is too far before she loses herself completely?

First, I have to say that I loved all of the baseball talk. I am a huge sports fanatic, so I loved reading about a girl so involved in a sport. Plus, I play on a company softball team, so her love of softball had a soft spot in my heart.

That being said, I didn't like some of the other aspects of the book. I do not like religious books. I usually find them preachy and it's just not my thing. I usually try to stay away from them. This book was definitely all about church and God. And there was nothing in the summary to lead me to think this book would be so heavily involved in religion so I could stay away from it. And I think the whole idea of Parker and the baseball team coach/teacher relationship was so inappropriate. I get that is part of the idea of the story, but it just creeped me out. Maybe its the fact that I'm a teacher so any kind of teacher/student relationship is so very wrong to me.

I like that the book also tackled homosexuality. At first, it got on my nerves because it seemed like Parker was against her mom being a lesbian but once we learn about another main person in her life being gay, she seems to be more okay with it. And so I was less annoyed.

I wanted to like this book more. I really did.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

Stealing Parker will be released on October 1, 2012.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 59
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 47
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 50
Completely Contemp Challenge 2012: 2012-15
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 14

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Friday, August 3, 2012

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge- August Update

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge- July Update

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Book Review- Over You

I finished reading Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus for an Around the World ARC Tour yesterday.

From Goodreads:

After the grand explosion of her relationship, seventeen-year-old Max Scott developed what every girl in the history of the world has been waiting for: a way to get over being dumped. Now Max is the go-to guru for heartbroken high-school girls all over NYC. But when her ex unexpectedly shows up in her neighborhood, Max’s carefully controlled world starts to unravel. With her clients’ hearts hanging in the balance, Max will have to do the seemingly impossible: get over him once and for all.

Brilliant at bringing humor to the trials and tribulations of the lovestruck, #1 New York Times bestselling authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus have crafted a tale that will resonate with any girl who has ever been in love or had her heart broken. It brims with smart observations, features a pitch-perfect teen voice, and will attract fans of Jenny Han, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Barnholdt. Readers are sure to fall head-over-heels for this sharp spin on breaking up, making up, and getting even.

I was excited to read this book because it is by the same authors as The Nanny Diaries, and I enjoyed those books. Unfortunately, this fell a little on the blah side for me.

I felt like a lot of this book was corny and immature. There were just a lot of times I rolled my eyes. There was something about the writing and the dialouge that just left me wishing it were different. And I had a problem with the fact that Max's mom was perfectly okay with her dropping out of high school, getting her GED and then not doing anything. Her mom didn't know about her company, but she wasn't working a side job or taking college classes.

That being said, I like the idea of an Ex, Inc. I definitely had my heartbreak and could have used something like that. (Although I don't think it's that easy to get over a loved one). But I could feel Max's heartbreak and I knew what she was going through.

On the other hand, some of the characters didn't do it for me. Ben? Yeah, don't get the appeal in him. He just seemed boring. I liked Max some of the time and some of the time I felt myself rolling my eyes at her. My favorite character was definitely Zach. I just loved his character!

Overall, not a great read but not a horrible one either.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

Over You will be released on August 21, 2012.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 48
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 41
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 45
Completely Contemp Challenge 2012: 2012-10
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 13

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Book Review- When You Were Mine

I finished reading When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle early this morning for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Rosaline knows that she and Rob are destined to be together. Rose has been waiting for years for Rob to kiss her—and when he finally does, it’s perfect. But then Juliet moves back to town. Juliet, who used to be Rose’s best friend. Juliet, who now inexplicably hates her. Juliet, who is gorgeous, vindictive, and a little bit crazy… and who has set her sights on Rob. He doesn’t even stand a chance.

Rose is devastated over losing Rob to Juliet. This is not how the story was supposed to go. And when rumors start swirling about Juliet’s instability, her neediness, and her threats of suicide, Rose starts to fear not only for Rob’s heart, but also for his life. Because Shakespeare may have gotten the story wrong, but we all still know how it ends…

I love Romeo and Juliet. Love it! So I was excited to read a retelling of it and from a different point of view. But maybe its because I love the original so much that I felt like this book was lacking in several areas.

First the good. I love Rosaline! She is such a great character. She's part of the popular crowd but still down to earth and questions about how she got to be popular. I just feel like she's someone I would be friends with in real life. And I liked Charlie. She reminds me of a girl I used to be best friends with. Loud and outgoing and straightforward. Olivia got on my nerves some though. The boys were okay. I liked Ben and how he seemed a little nerdy. And I really liked Rob at the beginning. But then the big surprise happens and I feel like he turned into a complete jerk. And Juliet. I love Juliet in the original so it was fun to hate it her in this version.

And I liked the overall plot. I like the idea of Rosaline getting her heartbroken by her best friend, just not how it was done (not that I like the idea of heartbreak, just that it makes for a good story). And I liked the general idea of what happens at the end, just not the rumors going around about it.

What I have problems with are pretty spoiler-y, so I'm going to write them below. You can highlight them if you want to be able to read the words.

I didn't like how Rob and Juliet got together. Juliet asks to Rob to take her to the dance, in front of Rosaline, and he says yes?? Um, how about no?!?! Then when Juliet isn't there yet, and Rosaline goes into the bathroom for 5ish minutes, she comes out and suddenly they're wrapped up in each other, totally in love? Yeah, not so much. The quickness of it just drove me crazy. It would have made more sense if it had grown at least over a couple of weeks. Then Juliet's attempted suicide. I guess we can assume why she tried to kill herself at the end, because of her dad's affair, but that happened a decade ago so I'm not sure that would be the reason and nothing else is given. And it's completely glossed over. There's no mention of Juliet going through therapy or anything. This didn't work for me either. And the death of Rob and Juliet. In the book, it's sad and tragic yest somehow romantic. Here, its just another sad drunk driving accident. Nothing romantic about it. Then at the end, she finally decides to be with Len the day of (or it might have been a few days after) Rob's funeral. I get that maybe she realized that she was really over Rob, but come on! Have some respect! And really, with the way Rosaline treated him, why would Len even want to be with her??

So yeah, while I liked the beginning, and the idea of the end, the problems were pretty major for me. They had me shaking my head several times throughout the book. I think I'll stick to the original Romeo and Juliet.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 46
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 39
2012 Debut Author Challenge: 14
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 43
Completely Contemp Challenge 2012: 2012-9
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 12

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Friday, June 1, 2012

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge- June Update

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Book Review- Team Human

I finished Team Human by Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan yesterday for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn’t mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It’s up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity!

On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.

While I really liked the premise of this book, unfortunately it was just okay for me. The idea of vampires being out in normal society, with the option of humans applying for a license to transition to a vampire, was an interesting one. And then add on the fact that if the transition didn't go right, the person either died or became a zombie. Definitely interesting.

But it was the characters that didn't do it for me. I didn't like Mel. At all. I thought that she was rude and seriously lacked in manners. And for vampires to be such a common thing, Mel seemed kinda racist (not sure if that would be the right term, but seriously judgemental and in the wrong). Cathy just seemed weak to me. I get that she found the guy that she thought was the one but she just suddenly seemed to be all about Francis. Francis was just ehh for me. No personality really. Ty was funny and I figured him out early on. I find it hard that the other characters didn't. Anna was okay. I felt bad for her. But now Kit on the other hand. I really liked him! He was funny and I loved his lines about things humans find normal (or what he thinks is normal).

So overall, not one of my top books, but not horrible either.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

Team Human will be released on July 3, 2012.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 43
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 38
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 40
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 11

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Book Review- Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe

I finished reading Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell for a Teen Book Scene Blog Tour.

From Goodreads:

Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and lNowoner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

My undergrad was in broadcast journalism and we had to work in the radio station before moving to the television station. So radio will always have a special place in my heart. And I loved this little radio station. I loved the members that made it a little family. Each member had his or her own quirk or problem that just made you love them even more.

And I really liked Chloe. She had such a good heart and not a mean bone in her body. She grew throughout the story and matured. And I loved her quirky sense of humor and fun side. And she definitely got it from her Grams. What a great older character! I want to be like her when I get old! Duncan was an interesting character, but honestly, I found him a little boring. I loved how he took such great care of his drug-addicted mother and I get how he had to spend his time working several jobs just to live but his character just seemed a little flat to me. But maybe that's why he balanced out outgoing Chloe so well.

I rarely have a favorite part of a book. I usually just absorb it all. But I have a favorite part, without a doubt, of this book.

As our hands melted together, I realized the perfect gift to give Duncan, something to show how I cared. The first day of kindergarten Grams had given it to me, and this past August, I'd given it to my brother Zach when he left for med school.

I raised Duncan's hands to my lips. First I kissed one palm, then the other. "When you feel lonely, I'll be there."

Now, anyone who doesn't have child or doesn't teacher a younger grade level might not get this reference, but it's from A Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. It's about a young raccoon going to school for the first time and is scared so his mom gives him kisses in his palms to always remember her love for him. I teach Kindergarten and always read this the second day of school to my kiddos. So I love this book and LOVE this reference!

Anyways, this was a light read and something right up my alley. Great book by a new debut author!

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 42
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 37
2012 Debut Author Challenge: 13
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 39
Completely Contemp Challenge 2012: 2012-8
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 10

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Teen Book Scene.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Book Review- Tiger Lily

I finished Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson for an Around the World ARC Tour on Thursday.

From Goodreads:

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.

I am Disney girl and so any story that is being retold that has anything to do with Disney is something that I jump on. So when I read that Tiger Lily was the retelling of Peter Pan but from Tiger Lily's perspective, I jumped on board!

Unfortunately, it's not what I expected. The whole book seemed to have an underlying sadness to it. Even the love story was sad. I was expecting there to be this great love story that we never got to hear about in the Disney version. And while there was a love story, I don't really think it was all that great.

Tiger Lily never really drew me in--I never really liked her. I wanted her to have some redeeming qualities, but she didn't really to me. Peter Pan was okay. But I really liked reading about the Lost Boys. I think we got to know them much better in this book than we do in the movie. Some of them were so cute!

And while I knew what the ending was going to be, it made me sad (theme for the whole book). Maybe I'd like a book told from Wendy's point of view better. Oh well, I'm still glad that I read it!

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

Tiger Lily will be released on July 3, 2012.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2012 Reading Challenge 150+: 38
2012 ARC Reading Challenge: 33
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 35
2012 Standalone Reading Challenge: 9

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

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