Theme Song Thursday (9)

After quite a hiatus of theme songs, I finally am able to get on my computer on a Thursday! High five for me! This week I am reading Ellen Hopkins new YA book, Perfect, which is a companion novel to Impulse. Both of these novels focus on the pressures of society and how different people cope with life. Impulse focuses on 3 teens who attempted suicide and end up in a rehab unit. Perfect deals with some of those left behind by the characters of Impulse and others that are dealing with maintaining the image of "perfection" as set by their environments. What better song to fit the book Perfect than a song called Perfect?

Alanis Morissette-Perfect


I think this song may be self-explanatory as to why it fits the book Perfect so...well...perfectly. Sorry, felt the need for a bad pun there *snickers*. It definitely showcases Cara's and Andre's relationships with their parents and how they can never live up to their expectations. Also who doesn't love some Alanis from time to time?

Harmonic Feedback Review

Harmonic Feedback
by Tara Kelly 

Sixteen-year-old, music- and sound design-obsessed Drea doesn't have friends. She has, as she's often reminded, issues. Drea's mom and a rotating band of psychiatrists have settled on "a touch of Asperger's."
Having just moved to the latest in a string of new towns, Drea meets two other outsiders. And Naomi and Justin seem to actually like Drea. The three of them form a band after an impromptu, Portishead-comparison-worthy jam after school. Justin swiftly challenges not only Drea's preference for Poe over Black Lab but also her perceived inability to connect with another person. Justin, against all odds, may even like like Drea.
It's obvious that Drea can't hide behind her sound equipment anymore. But just when she's found not one but two true friends, can she stand to lose one of them?

RESONATING.
Tara Kelly's book, Harmonic Feedback, develops such a parallelism between the rhythm of life and music that by the end you are so lost in the sound of society. This book stirs up the same emotions as sitting back, closing your eyes and listening to the most meaningful songs you've ever heard.

The book starts out with Drea, a teen girl who seems to live a life of constant complications. Her mom is always moving her around, constantly with a new boyfriend. Her only solace is obsessing over sound design and creating music. Drea has always been thrown from doctor to doctor and it is very prevalent that she is just diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger's and that that is apparently all that defines her. She can't seem to fit in with societal norms and escapes with music. When she moves in with her grandmother, she meets Naomi. Naomi is the girl across the street who "is trouble" according to everyone else. Quirky, crazy Naomi quickly befriends Drea and accepts her for just who she is. Justin is the boy from school who is also new and slightly off-beat. The three of them bond over a love of music. As the book progresses, it becomes less of a normal contemporary YA book to a heavy, moral-questioning story about drug abuse, addiction, relationships and life. This book left me rethinking why I follow society's behavior and why a different way of thinking is just categorized with a disease name and therefore wrong. Chills...this book definitely gave me them.

The characters all have such intensely descriptive personalities that you can't help but love them. Naomi reminds me of a character from an Ellen Hopkins book. She is struggling with life and deals with drugs and wrong decisions. But she has such a pure spirit, she only sees the good in people and accepts everyone. She was very inspiring. Justin starts off as the typical cute boy from school who takes a liking to the protagonist. He turns out to have an equally as conflicted soul as Naomi. Drea is so frustrated with being looked at as different because she has issues communicating normally. Because this book is written from her perspective it is so easy to see why. Not one of the characters in this book is simple.

The writing is what accomplishes that. Because the book is told in first person, it aids you in understanding the frustrations of a person with slight mental handicaps. And as I write that, I hate even saying the term "handicaps" because that isn't what it should be considered at all. Tara Kelly's writing inspired me to not only take a look around me and see how fake society is, but to question why I should follow its standards. As a character, Drea helped me to see that, as a representation of real people, she touched me in a way few book characters can. I strongly back Kelly's writing in this book and feel that everyone should read this. It is fantastic, musical writing that made me laugh, made me cry and made me want to live life how I want.

5 out of 5 stars, top shelf, magical.

Cover Crazy (6)

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme hosted by The Book Worms on Mondays.  Its a brand new meme where the idea is to showcase a  beautiful book cover each week.  This week I'm crazy about.....

Pieces of Us

by Margie Gelbwasser

What I love about it:

• The simplicity of the empty swing giving the idea that someone just jumped off of it. Brings back childhood memories but at the same time is kind of ominous as to why they jumped or if they meant to.
• The muted colors of the trees and grass and the dark gradient scale of the sky in comparison to the only bright color: the red of the swing.
• The simple font for the title and that none of the words are capitalized, visually appealing.

What cover are you crazy about this week?

In My Mailbox (5)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by awesome Kristi at The Story Siren which allows bloggers to share what books they bought/received each week.

I didn't get that many books this week, yay me for having self restraint!

 Purchased:
Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Received:
I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler

Also this may not be book related but I got my preorder of This is Our Science, Astronautalis' new album in my mailbox this week. He is an amazing indie rapper, any of you who have not heard of him, check him out. This CD has just been playing on repeat in my car this whole week.

On My Wishlist (4)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where we list all the books we desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming

Apparently I'm feeling the need for books that are "The (insert female specific noun) of 'something' and 'something'" this week. They aren't related in anyway but I have been hearing about both of these books for a while now. Both sound equally as awesome.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
by Laini Taylor
 Release Date: September 27th, 2011

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

 The Girl of Fire and Thorns

by Rae Carson

Release Date: September 20, 2011

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.
But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.
Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.
And he’s not the only one who needs her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.
Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.
Most of the chosen do.

Vanish Review

Vanish
by Sophie Jordan

To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever

ENTICING.
In Firelight, Sophie Jordan ties you into the string of events that were woven into a thread of typical paranormal romance. In Vanish, you are strung out across a gap of drama, melancholy, intrigue, and relationships. Can't wait for the next one to see what this rope bridge leads. 

Vanish picks up right where Firelight left off; Jacinda, Tamra and their mom are being taken back to the pride after being exposed to humans and hunters. This book parallels the first one pretty closely in that they are still experiencing the "outsider" feeling even though they are amongst family. They are looked down upon for endangering the pride and Jacinda is struggling to find her place once again. After Tamra turns out to be a Shader, another rare type of draki, Jacinda is no longer the special one which leads to a lovely twist on the all ready present drama between them. Will is no where to be seen so Cassian steps up to try and convince Jacinda that he is the best and only choice for her. While she tries to accept this and move on, she knows that she can't forget Will. This book is very much the "in between" book, much like New Moon. Not much romance is present because Will is not around, and Jacinda starts to build up her feelings for Cassian because he is who helps her through everything. But you know much more is to come of the love triangle.  

The characters are still being built up for the first book. But I stick to what I originally thought of all of them: they are simple yet loveable. The only twist from typical paranormal romance YA characters is the dragon thing they have going for them. I like that that is a subject that hasn't really be touched upon. But they all have their quirks and traits that follow the formula of teen paranormal reads, which is good to read from time to time.  

The writing also follows this trend. Don't get me wrong, it is in no way bad, I can honestly say I love reading these books as a break from contemporary and fantasy reads. It is very simple and easy to read, the twists may be somewhat predictable but some I definitely did not see coming. It is very captivating. 

4 out of 5 stars, middle of the bookshelf. Can't wait to see where this series ends up.

Ashes Review

Ashes
by Ilsa J. Bick

Alex has run away and is hiking through the wilderness with her dead parents' ashes, about to say goodbye to the life she no longer wants to live. But then the world suddenly changes. An electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky zapping every electronic device and killing the vast majority of adults. For those spared, it's a question of who can be trusted and who has changed... Everyone still alive has turned - some for the better (those who acquired a superhuman sense) while others for the worse (those who acquired a taste for human flesh). Desperate to find out what happened and to avoid the zombies that are on the hunt, Alex meets up with Tom - an Army veteran who escaped one war only to find something worse at home - and Ellie, a young girl whose grandfather was killed by the electromagnetic pulse. This improvised family will have to use every ounce of courage they have just to find food, shelter, while fighting off the 'Changed' and those desperate to stay alive. A tense and involving adventure with shocks and sudden plot twists that will keep teen and adult readers gripped.

GRUESOME.
Ilsa J. Bick pulls you into this horrifying apocalyptic world by the throat and doesn't let go until you are begging for more. Don't say uncle to this book.  

Ashes is everything I want in a zombie thriller, finally a book that has not been tamed to a "young reader" level. The nightmare that Alex, the protagonist, goes through is just that, a horrible dream that can't possibly be real. We start off meeting Alex, who is a teenage girl with a brain tumor that just can't be cured. She goes off on a last hurrah, a hike through the mountains by herself. She runs into Jack, an elderly man, and his granddaughter Ellie, a very bratty eight-year old. Soon after meeting them, the EMP hits, giving you the first glimpse at just how gory this book is going to be. After a mere minute or two of throwing up blood, dead birds falling from the sky, crazed deer jumping off a cliff, and Jack dropping dead, Alex is left with Ellie. They move on from there to only more and more graphically disturbing scenes while they fight for survival in the mountains. They eventually meet Tom, who is on leave from the military and those three become the main characters of Ashes. With their combined knowledge of survival, they learn how to make in a world where everyone from puberty to senior citizen status has become a rabid zombies looking for some carnage. 

The characters are extremely realistic. In no way are any of them overdone or unbelievable. Alex is such a strong heroine in this that you are envious of her ability to overlook everything bad in life. Yet she has such a dark past that you can't help be feel sorry for her that she just can't get a break. Tom seems to be that perfect person to run into during such a catastrophe that it just seems to be too good to be true. It is. Ellie is such a little brat that at times you want to smack her and at times you just want to hug her for having to go through this. The zombies are so perfectly gross. Ilsa does not hold back any detail from the blood bath they create. You are so horrified by every scene with them but you can't seem to look away from the book.  

Needless to say the writing is great. For how repulsive the entire book is, it is so beautiful. That is talent. The descriptions are so vivid that you can't help be just as terrified as the characters are when they stumble across something. She plays up the senses a lot in this book. They play a significant role in the story so you are so enthralled in each scene. You literally smell the rotting meat and hearing the bones crunching and see every pus-pouring wound. Yeah...stomach-churning. But at the same time it is so elegantly composed that you will not put it down until you reach the last page.  

And then you will throw it across the room when you realize that it will have a sequel....or maybe that was just me...But come on! Just a little more!? Please? 

5 out of 5 stars. This book was everything I wanted The Forest of Hands and Teeth to be and more. Top of the bookshelf. Buy this book! ...or the zombies will eat you, and trust me it's not pretty.

Cover Crazy (5)

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme hosted by The Book Worms on Mondays.  Its a brand new meme where the idea is to showcase a  beautiful book cover each week. This week I'm crazy about.....

The Storyteller

by Antonia Michaelis

What I love about it:

• The contrast of the red rose with the snowy background. The combination of red, white and black always draws my eye. 
• This reminds me a lot of the cover of Jane Yolen's Briar Rose and it also sounds very similar in plot as well; Briar Rose was one of my all time favorite books from when I was younger too.
• I like that the hint of icy blue swirls in the background almost seem like the stem to the rose, yet is more delicate than an actual thorny stem.
• The stem is then reflected in the font of the title which I love. It is harsh too look at and yet swirls out of the Y in feminine organic loops, emulating the same feeling of a rose.
• Everything about this cover intrigues me, I couldn't wait to read the synopsis when I saw it.

What cover are you crazy about this week?

The Elfin Child Review

The Elfin Child
by Philip G. Bell



This is a children's fantasy story that follows a boy recovering from illness in the city and sent to the country to stay with his Aunt during the school holidays. Whilst playing in a nearby wood, he meets an Elfin boy of the same age. Although initially wary, he eventually allows himself to be drawn into a parallel world , full of strange creatures. He also discovers that prophecies foretold that he would save this world from a dire fate. The book was originally written for children from around the age of 9 years and up, but has proved popular with teens and adults.




CHARMING.
The Elfin Child is exactly what I always want a children's fairy tale to be. There are elements that are comical, magical, scary, and captivating. This book put me back in the imaginative mindset of a child. 

Once upon a time...
An eleven year old boy is sent to his aunt's house for the summer to toughen up his body and mind. While there, an Elfin child talks to him in the woods and brings him into the realm of the elves. He is told of this prophecy in which a human child saves the elfin race from the evil Voros, a Bogenvalk, who is destroying all the mythical creatures one race at a time. In order to fulfill the prophecy he goes on the adventure of a lifetime through this fantasy world with the elfin child as his guide.

The characters in this book are so loveable and definitive of the fantasy genre. The boy himself is written as the typical protagonist of most children's fantasy books; starts off weak and picked on and through his adventures, strengthens himself physically, mentally and emotionally. He is very childlike and it is so easy to stay in the mind of a child throughout the book which is why I think I found this book so enchanting. The elfin child himself is almost intimidating at first because he is very haunting. But then you realize he is just playful and mischievous like woodland creatures should be. The elves remind me a lot of hobbits from The Lord of the Rings. Each chapter of the adventure we meet a new character who personifies significant traits of fantasy characters. 

The writing is very interesting. It is written for kids with reading disabilities who can't focus or process a lot at once. So every page is broken into short paragraphs with gaps between them. There are also some dialogue that is either all capitalized or bolded. This serves to allow the mind to process short amounts of the text before moving onto the next. I actually found this style to be extremely helpful for me and I don't even have a ready disability. This book is a gateway for children to be welcomed in the genre of fantasy. It has stories and characters in it that remind me of famous fantasy stories like Labyrinth, Spirited Away, The Odyssey, and The Lord of the Rings. Yet this book remains very childlike and it left me smiling.

4 out of 5 stars, middle of the bookshelf, lovely book that reminded me of the magic of your imagination.

In My Mailbox (4)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by awesome Kristi at The Story Siren which allows bloggers to share what books they bought/received each week.

HOLY BOOKS BATMAN!

I apparently felt the need to make up for not buying any books last week by going to the final couple days of the Borders sale. And man oh man did I make up for it.




Borrowed:
Vanish by Sophie Jordan
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski


Purchased:
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Heart of Darkness & The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
The Fall by Chuck Hogan & Guillermo Del Toro
The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier
Token of Darkness by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Morpheus Road: The Light by D.J. MacHale
Dust by Joan Frances Turner
Department Nineteen by Will Hill
Moon Palace by Paul Auster
Selkie Girl by Laurie Brooks
Dog Blood by David Moody
Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
Dragon's Oath by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde
Ancestor by Scott Sigler
Ascendent by Diana Peterfreund
Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly
Grendel by John Gardner
Thirteen Days to Midnight by Patrick Carman
Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Night Star by Alyson Noel
Inconvenient by Margie Gelbwasser
Dream Girl by Lauren Mechling
Dream Life by Lauren Mechling
Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Graveminder by Melissa Marr

Whew...that's it.

What did you get this week? Did anyone else take advantage of Borders closing?

Cover Crazy (4)

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme hosted by The Book Worms on Mondays.  Its a brand new meme where the idea is to showcase a  beautiful book cover each week.  This week I'm crazy about.....

Pure

by Julianna Baggott

What I love about it:

• Even though it is following the Twilight inspired trend of black simplistic covers that I am so sick of seeing, I have to admit I do like this one. It actually intrigues me to find out what the butterfly in the jar represents instead of just looking at it be thinking, "Hey look a flower on a black cover...again...cool."
• I like that the glass jar reminds me of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, simple but very meaningful use of "containment" for the butterfly.
• I like how bright blue the butterfly is in contrast to the black and also in contrast to the dusty fog in the jar.
•  The use of light is interesting, how it is shining from one side and yet the dome seems to glow.
• The lettering may be the typical bold swirly lettering on a lot of these covers but I like that it fades out.

What cover are you crazy about this week?

In My Mailbox (3)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by awesome Kristi at The Story Siren which allows bloggers to share what books they bought/received each week.

This week I actually didn't buy any books! *pats self on back* But I did get a few galleys from netGalley and I went to the library. So this is what I got.

Borrowed:
Zombie, Ohio by Scott Kenemore
Diary by Chuck Palahniuk
Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski
Monkeewrench by P.J. Tracy

Received:
Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison
Daughter of the Centaurs by K.K. Ross

I honestly have no idea when I will have time to read these or what made me go to the library in the first place this week but I'm sure you can all relate to that unnatural drive to new books. Le sigh...here's hoping I get to them!

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

On My Wishlist (3)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where we list all the books we desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming

Vanish
by Sophie Jordan
Release Date: September 6th, 2011

To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone. Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love? In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever.

 Damned

by Chuck Palahniuk

Release Date: October 18th, 2011

The newest Palahniuk novel concerns Madison, an eleven year old girl who finds herself in Hell, unsure of why she will be there for all eternity, but tries to make the best of it.

The author described the novel as "if The Shawshank Redemption had a baby by The Lovely Bones and it was raised by Judy Blume." And "it's kind of like The Breakfast Club set in Hell."

Freeze Tag on the Highway 

by Brian Krans

Release Date: July 19th, 2011

Freeze Tag on the Highway takes place during the last week of summer at Camp Wazeecha, a therapeutic, confidence-boosting camp for teens with developmental disorders, low self-esteem, and authority issues. While the brochure promises positive results, the camp s director, Jake, sedates himself with the kids' medication while leaving them to play on the jungle gyms of their chemical imbalances. When most of the staff quits in protest, Jake is forced to watch a few of the kids he despises more than the camp itself. Author Brian Krans ruthlessly intertwines images of picturesque summers and the chaos of being a teenager.

Theme Song Thursday! (7)

This week I am reading Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick. So far it is an extremely horrific and disturbing zombie apocalypse type of story. The pages are filled with gore, terror, and sheer survival. The song I picked for Ashes is out of a concept album called Home by Gavin Castleton.

Gavin Castleton-The Wall Starts to Give

Find more Gavin Castleton *NEW VIDEO* songs at Myspace Music 

Sorry for not having a video, couldn't find one for this song but at least there's a link!
This song parallels the part of the book I am at with the part of the album perfectly. In both, the characters are starting to realize just what they are up against and that they are desperate for safety from the oncoming horrors of Z-Day. This entire album is very similar to Ashes, both follow the story of a zombie apocalypse complete with all the grossness and vulgarity of the situation. Definitely check both this book and this CD if you are into zombies and horror.