Monday Meme Spotlight: Time Travel

 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel to the past? Or to the future? These novels take the author's idea of what the past or future may hold and spin us a tale. 

Waterfall/Cascade/Torrent (The River of Time)- Lisa T. Bergren: This is definitely one of my favorite series. It's got knights, battles, romance, and espionage, and it's all so well-written that you just can't put it down. I was so desperate to have the second and third books that I couldn't wait for the library to get them- I went and bought them myself, and I've read them several times since then. Click here to check them out. 

The Future of Us- Jay Asher, Carolyn Mackler: Josh and Emma were best friends. When a mysterious AOL CD shows up in the mail, they install it on Emma's computer (under duress). What they find is Facebook, even though Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're seeing themselves fifteen years in the future. Every decision they make changes the pages of their lives, and they have to make some big decisions to see where life should really take them. I love this book, and Jay Asher is a great writer, so if you're interested, click the link.

Passenger- Alexandra Bracken: I don't even know how to describe this book. It's music, time travel, pirates (okay, privateering) and excitement all wrapped into a gorgeous package. Of course, this is all speculation, because Passenger doesn't hit the shelves until January 5 of next year. But I think it'll be worth the wait. 

Teen Book Review: The Fill-in Boyfriend by Kasie West

This book was an absolutely hilarious read. I think it's fair to say that it was a stroke of genius for West. Although it was a little predictable once it got to the last few chapters, it was still very well written. It was very easy to fall in love with the characters. Hayden, a.k.a replacement-Bradley, of course was very likable. Although he's fictional, he never once failed to make me laugh. Gia on the other hand was very sassy and manipulative, she vaguely reminded me of Rose from Titanic. Although very full of herself in the beginning, she soon revealed her true self. This book would be a very good read for any teen, because it lets you know that no matter how desperate you are you shouldn't lie to your friends. I look forward to reading more from this author. 4/5 stars

(Reviewed by Gingerbread637, 14, Western High School)

Reserve your copy of The Fill-In Boyfriend. 

Waiting On Wednesday: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine, and it gives you a chance to spotlight a book that you are eagerly waiting to be released.

This week, I picked:

Walk On Earth A Stranger

By Rae Carson

Publication Date: September 22, 2015

From Goodreads:

The first book in a new trilogy from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Rae Carson. A young woman with the magical ability to sense the presence of gold must flee her home, taking her on a sweeping and dangerous journey across Gold Rush–era America.

Lee Westfall has a secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her. Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could such a magical girl find herself, find safety? Rae Carson, author of the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, dazzles with this new fantasy that subverts both our own history and familiar fantasy tropes.

Walk on Earth a Stranger, the first book in this new trilogy, introduces—as only Rae Carson can—a strong heroine, a perilous road, a fantastical twist, and a slow-burning romance. Includes a map and author’s note on historical research.

Why I picked it:

I really liked Rae Carson’s previous series, and I think that this one will be just as good. It’s definitely going to be just as unique. If you would like to read this book when it comes out, click here to put your name on the hold list.

Monday Meme Spotlight: Ally Carter

Ally Carter writes about spies. 

Well, she has a series about spies, and a series about thieves, and she's just started a new series about embassy kids embroiled in a conspiracy. 

Ally is a ranch girl from Oklahoma. Her first series was one for adults, published in 2005 and 2006. Then she began what is her most well-known series, the Gallagher Girls. I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You was published by Disney-Hyperion in April 2006.  It was followed by Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (October 2007), Don’t Judge a Girl By Her Cover (June 2009), Only the Good Spy Young (June 2010), Out of Sight, Out of Time (March 2012).  United We Spy (September 2013) is the sixth–and final–Gallagher Girls novel.*

She also published Heist Society (February 2010) and its sequels Uncommon Criminals (June 2011), and Perfect Scoundrels (February 2013).*

All Fall Down is the first book in her new Embassy Row series. It was published on January 20, 2015 and will launch a new three-book series with Scholastic.*

All of the books in every one of those YA series is awesome- as a long-time fan since Love You Kill You I've read all of her books. I'd recommend them for any age and any fan base with an unconditional love. 

So click here to check out the library's Ally Carter selection, and enjoy.

*All book titles and information taken from allycarter.com/ally/detailed-bio/ 

Teen Book Review: Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell

Dear Killer was as close as you can get to perfect. I loved it! Katherine Ewell definitely made this one very unique and exciting. From the first page to the acknowledgments, you don't want to stop reading. I have never read anything like it, it was very original. Often times while you read a book, you see a pattern similar to another book. This one was entirely outside the box. Even though it was pretty amazing, I would not recommend this to anyone who is sickened by the thought of death. It wasn't too gruesome though. But it would be more of a pg-13 rated book, considering that is does contain quite a few cuss words, and murders throughout the story. The only misleading comment was on the book cover where the author said "I belong to no one but the grim reaper herself" which led me to believe that the grim reaper would actually be in it. However, she wasn't mentioned more than once... But if you can get past those extra little things it was very well written. Be warned though, it does leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger! 4/5 stars

(Reviewed by Gingerbread637, 14, Western High School)

Reserve a copy of Dear Killer.

Waiting On Wednesday: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine, and it gives you a chance to spotlight a book that you are eagerly waiting to be released.

This week, I picked:

Everything, Everything

By Nicola Yoon

Publication Date: September 1, 2015

From Goodreads:

This innovative, heartfelt debut novel tells the story of a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she’s ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Why I picked it:

This book sounds fascinating, and I only hope that it’s not going to break my heart. If you would like to read this book when it comes out, click here to put your name on the hold list.

Monday Meme Spotlight: WAITING

So, I know kwatanabe is all over the Waiting on Wednesday, and I LOVE her picks. But I want to tell you all about some 2016 picks that I think are going to steal the scene! These are mostly early 2016, so hopefully the wait isn't too terrible!

Blackhearts- Nicole Castroman: It's a pirate origin story. It's the story of Blackbeard and how he came to be, as well as the girl he loved. Trapped by society and destinies that seem inescapable, can two vastly different people find a way to change the world? I'm dying for this book. Pirates? Yeah, that's the only thing you need to say before I'll pick your book. And Nicole Castroman, whom I've had the pleasure of talking to just a little bit, is an absolutely awesome person. So GET READY, because this one is shaping up to be fabulous. 

Passenger- Alexandra Bracken: Time travel can be dangerous, as a violin prodigy finds out when she finds herself mysteriously sent hundreds of years into the past and thrown into the middle of a sea battle (so, basically, more pirates). She's been drawn there for a reason, and as she searches for a stolen object, her chance to get home gets less and less possible. Seriously. Cannot wait. 

(I'm realizing just now that I seem to have a theme with my books that I want. Pirates, things in bottles, etc. But look at how pretty they are. Can you blame me?)

The Winner's Kiss- Marie Rutkoski: Let me break the trend. This is a total fantasy novel, the conclusion to a series that I could rave about for years. You don't want to get me started on The Winner's Curse series- you may die of starvation before you can get away. But this will be the climax, the end-all be-all of Kestrel and Arin and their heartbreaking story. *Crossed fingers for a happy ending*

Waiting On Wednesday: Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine, and it gives you a chance to spotlight a book that you are eagerly waiting to be released.

This week, I picked:

Legacy of Kings

By Eleanor Herman

Publication Date: August 25, 2015

From Goodreads:

Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.

Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series. 

Why I picked it:

This sounds a little bit like Fire, and Graceling by Kristin Cashore, which I think is rather fantastic. If you would like to read this book, click here, to put your name on the list.

Monday Meme Spotlight: Traveling

Are you a traveler? A wanderer? Maybe you just like to pretend you are. Not all of us can travel, but in books, we can make-believe. Here are a few books in which we find travel to be something beautiful.

Just One Day- Gayle Forman: The writer of If I Stay cannot be held to that one novel. In this one, she writes of a sheltered American who finds love and imagination where you would least expect it. In her travels, she searches for what was lost, and over the course of a year, she comes to find it again. Click here to find the novel, as well as its companion, Just One Year, told from a new perspective.

13 Little Blue Envelopes- Maureen Johnson: When Ginyy receives 13 envelopes from her aunt, each with specific instructions for traveling, finding people and places and things all over the world, she does it. She and a starving artist (envelope assignment 3) travel to many beautiful and exotic places to find what her aunt wanted her to find. Click here to find out what was in envelope 13.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight- Jennifer Smith: She misses her flight. Meets the perfect guy. And then she loses him again. Click here to see if true love really wins.

So if you're traveling, have fun. Take a book or two. And remember:

Waiting On Wednesday: Reawakened by Colleen Houck

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine, and it gives you a chance to spotlight a book that you are eagerly waiting to be released.

This week, I picked:

Reawakened

By Colleen Houck

Publication Date: August 11, 2015

From Goodreads:

When seventeen-year-old Lilliana Young enters the Metropolitan Museum of Art one morning during spring break, the last thing she expects to find is a live Egyptian prince with godlike powers, who has been reawakened after a thousand years of mummification.

And she really can't imagine being chosen to aid him in an epic quest that will lead them across the globe to find his brothers and complete a grand ceremony that will save mankind.

But fate has taken hold of Lily, and she, along with her sun prince, Amon, must travel to the Valley of the Kings, raise his brothers, and stop an evil, shape-shifting god named Seth from taking over the world.

From New York Times bestselling author Colleen Houck comes an epic adventure about two star-crossed teens who must battle mythical forces and ancient curses on a journey with more twists and turns than the Nile itself.

Why I picked it:

I liked Colleen Houck's Tiger Saga series, and I thought that the whole premise was pretty unique. This one sounds like it will be just as awesome, with all of the Egyptian mythology. If you would like to read this book, click here to put your name on the hold list

Monday Meme Spotlight: Steampunk

 

     Have you ever wanted a new kind of superhero? Is Batman too mainstream to you? Do you like historical fiction, but with there was more action involved? Then steampunk is for you! Here are a few excellent examples of steampunk in books. 

Leviathan- Scott Westerfeld:  This is a great example of a divergent steampunk adventure, set in an alternate history where DNA was discovered much sooner and the world- beasties versus mechanics- is on the brink of World War II. In this world, animal airships and mechanical walkers battle on the snowy tundras and forests down to the dusty lands of the Ottoman Empire. Click here to get your copy, and don't miss the other two books, Goliath and Behemoth.

Incarceron- Catherine Fisher: No fantasy steampunk is complete without a living prison that changes and moves to keep its captives inside. This is exactly what Incarceron provides, a thrilling adventure starring the daughter of the warden of this prison, who willingly goes in to escape an arranged marriage. There are three books in this series as well, so click here to check it 

Airman- Eoin Colfer: This book is close to my heart. Most certainly one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure to read, it's set in various places and times, but the gist is this: Connor is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, and sentenced to serve out his term on a deadly mining island while the villain usurps control and endangers the princess- the new queen, Connor's best friend. He must find a way to escape and take back his reputation and save his friend before it's too late- and the novel is a complete thrill. Click here to get it for yourself.