March in Review!

March was my first full month blogging and I read and reviewed 14 books.  I decided that it would be a good idea to list everything and pick some overall favorites!  This time I have 3 books I'd like to mention.  In order of their quality according to me, the best books I read in March were:

Wither, by Lauren DeStefano was the best book I read in March!  See my review here.

Revolution, by Jennifer Donnelly is my runner-up choice!  Read my complete thoughts here.

 The Light of the Oracle, by Victoria Hanley gets my honorable mention.  For the complete review just click here.










The rest of my reads were all pretty good.  I was lucky not to pick any books I regretted buying and I got to go on a lot of adventures thanks to all these great authors.  Click on any title below to go to the full review of the book.

March Recap:

The Light of the Oracle, by Victoria Hanley
After, by Amy Efaw
Hex Hall, by Rachel Hawkins
Revolution, by Jennifer Donnelly
The Tail of Emily Windsnap, by Liz Kessler
Wings, by Aprilynne Pike
100 Things I Hate About Pregnancy, by Kate Konopicky
Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld
Pretties (Uglies #2), by Scott Westerfeld
Demonglass (Hex Hall #2), by Rachel Hawkins
Stranger and Stranger (Emily the Strange #2), by Rob Reger
Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen
Forgive My Fins, by Tera Lynn Childs
Wither, by Lauren DeStefano

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read my reviews and share your thoughts!  I can't wait to see what kinds of stories we all read this month!  *hugs*

Gingerbread (Cyd Charisse #1), by Rachel Cohn

Gingerbread was written by one of the authors of Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (which was one of my favorite reads this year) and there was a quirky love story in this one too, but Gingerbread ventured into deeper waters with a controversial topic at its center and language a bit more suited to adults.  I wasn't bothered by either of those things personally, but some people might be, so I feel it's important to note.  This book tells the story of a 16-year-old girl named Cyd Charisse and, interestingly enough, her doll named Gingerbread.  Many think 16 is too old to carry a doll around, but Cyd doesn't care.  She is a young woman wading through the murky waters of adult life, which isn't always as pleasant as some children would think as they eagerly race towards it.  Cyd Charisse is still in high school and her life should be mostly carefree with major concerns being midterms and school dances, but it's a bit more complicated for the protagonist in this story.  She carries the burden of a secret so painful she trusts it to no one.  After her attitude and behavior get her in trouble yet again, her mom and step-dad suggest Cyd Charisse go to New York City to finally get to know her biological dad.  Cyd can't wait to go and get away from all her problems in San Francisco and escape the cold Pacific air, however it's not all roses with her bio-dad and half-siblings.  Life isn't easy and the older we get, the more complicated our decisions become.  Cyd is forced to find that out before her time perhaps, but her decisions shape her and whether or not you agree with her choices, I don't think you'll ever forget the person she becomes because of them.  Rachel Cohn does a fantastic job of writing in a unique and expressive way and the characters she has created for this series are so animated and seem to come to life as a result.  If there was ever a wild child inside of you or if you ever wanted to get to know one of those colorful souls a bit better, this book might be for you.  I found Gingerbread to to be bold, fresh, distinctive and also sweet, just like the baked namesake.  The only thing I was missing was some gingerbread to eat while reading it.  I highly suggest buying or baking some before starting this book so you'll be more prepared than I was, because I can't stop thinking about gingerbread loaves or gingerbread cookies now...  Mmmm...  I would recommend this book to any fans of realistic fiction, chick lit, family stories, coming-of-age or YA in general. 

Favorite things:  Rachel Cohn's spirited writing style and her courage to incorporate a controversial topic, the shifting family dynamics that Cyd helps inspire with her personal growth, the loud cover art, the gritty characters, the element of realism and one of the coolest dolls ever: Gingerbread.

Criticisms:  the language wasn't what I would consider YA and some of the subject matter wasn't either, but since I'm adult, it didn't bother me.

Overall:  5 out 5 stars!  I bought the next one in this series already.  :)

Wither (Chemical Garden #1), by Lauren DeStefano

Wither was on my wishlist since I heard about it months ago and I pre-ordered so it automatically downloaded to my NookColor on the 22nd and I tried starting it then, but the beginning was really dark and disturbing and I have to be in the mood for that sort of thing, so I read a mermaid story first.  :)  I like to switch up my reads and after the fun and whimsical book, Forgive My Fins, I was ready for a haunting tale.  This book lived up to all of my expectations and I was glad I bought it and made the time to read it as well (with such a huge TBR list, sometimes books don't get read for months after I buy them).  The protagonist Rhine is one of my favorite characters ever.  I love her name, her heterochromic eyes, her courage, her strength, her determination, her cunning and her wild hair.  In this strange future humans have contracted a virus that doesn't seem to do anything to them, but all of their offspring end up having very short lifespans.  Men live to the age of 25 and women live to the age of 20 (this is the first gap in the plausibility that I encountered though... why would it be such a certain age and why would it be different for men than for women?), as a result, many young girls are kidnapped and forced into marriages where they will hopefully end up procreating to help ensure the future of the human race.  The people who initially contracted the virus are still alive (they're called First Generation) and everyone is divided between people who are looking for a cure (pro-science) or are accepting the fate of humans and believe it's not right to experiment on people or force them to have children together (pro-nature).  Rhine is a pro-science girl who has conflicting feelings since she certainly doesn't want to be part of the experiment herself.  Unfortunately she doesn't have a choice after she is tricked and forced into a van with other girls headed to a secluded mansion in Florida, miles and miles away from the tiny home she shares in Manhattan with her twin brother Rowan.  She has been kidnapped to become one of Linden Ashby's new wives.  Almost as soon as she arrives she begins to devise a plan for escape and I spent most of the book simultaneously rooting for her and worrying about the potential danger.  In the opening we discover that whoever is in charge isn't above ending a human life and will stop at nothing to continue his efforts (which are supposedly to find a cure for the virus), so I wanted her to escape, but I was afraid when she made any efforts too.  It provided a wonderful tension that carried me through the entire book.  Unfortunately there were a few more holes in the plot that were a bit frustrating, like what happened to the law?  Is it really possible that America could change so much in one lifespan that kidnapping is suddenly easy to achieve and all these forced marriages are suddenly commonplace?  Just because our lifespans are shorter isn't reason enough to worry about the future all humans.  Plenty of people have children young, especially in other cultures and many kinds of animals have a shorter lifespan and they have no problem procreating.  I could see this causing plenty of changes and long-term problems, but I don't see that being a true threat to our whole species.  I guess if the ages were 10 and 15 it might seem a bit more plausible, but it wasn't ever explained how this virus is really threatening the entire population.  However, if you can ignore these gaps and just maintain a willing suspension of disbelief, Wither is really quite good.  I do wish those strange things were explained a little better so I could've focused more on the characters instead of getting distracted wondering how such-and-such made any sense (haha), but I still loved reading this book.  The atmosphere is haunting and the characters leave you with a longing to change their situation, to help them and to know them.  Wither also brought a lot of emotions to the surface for me and it is always a good thing when a writer can make you feel.  I felt butterflies of anxiety and excitement in my stomach, I felt tears welling up in my eyes threatening to spill over and blur my vision and I felt the warmth of love spread through my chest as Rhine explored her most vulnerable feelings.  This book was beautiful in a sad and chilling way and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a slightly darker atmosphere, fans of YA, dystopians or love stories.

Favorite things:  the interesting world that Lauren DeStefano created, the juxtaposition of wealth and privilege against the backdrop of death and disease, the detailed characters that were often torn between conflicting emotions and were so real as a result, the breathtaking cover that felt so true to the story, the macabre tone that was a welcome change from my lighter recent reads and the way it was written to lead in to the next book without leaving us on a cliffhanger (I hate when authors do that knowing that many readers will end up waiting a year or more to find out what happens; you can entice us to read more without cutting us off at an exciting part).

Criticisms:  I already mentioned this but, the holes in the plot were the largest impediment for this book.  I hope maybe the next one will have some more info that helps clear up some of the confusion.  Fortunately they weren't that distracting to ruin my opinion of Wither and I still loved it so...

Overall:  5 out of 5 stars!  I hope Lauren DeStefano doesn't get writer's block, because I can't wait for the next one!

Blog About Your Dog Monday (March 28th, 2011)

It's Monday again and time for me to share some more adorable pictures of my two Plott Hound dogs.  :)  I already did this meme last week, so if you want to know more about each dog their rescue stories and more pictures can be found here and this week I'll just post a couple of new pictures about my sweet girl puppy named Tsukiko and my wild and crazy boy dog named Chanceux. 

Tsukiko

Chanceux

I hope you're having a great start to your week everyone and I'll post some more pictures of my awesome dogs next week!  :)

Forgive My Fins, by Tera Lynn Childs

After reading The Tail of Emily Windsnap (read my review for that here) I have been craving more mermaid stories.  Perhaps my lifelong love of swimming is what draws me to this concept the most, but all the other elements are what keep me interested.  Forgive My Fins is a bit more grown-up than Emily Windsnap and it provides for a different kind of read.  Half-human, half-mermaid Lily Sanderson spends most of this story torn between her two lives and, initially, I didn't like that about this book.  I wanted it to be all mermaid, all the time, but as the story developed and took shape, I began to enjoy the parallels and the contrast between these two worlds.  I definitely liked this book more than The Tail of Emily Windsnap, because it had better writing, it was longer (and that resulted in more development from each character for each of their personalities to shine through) and it was intended for an older audience which allowed for the added element of romance (and most writers and movie-producers seem to know love can be layered in to almost any story to add depth).  I loved that Tera Lynn Childs took the time to explain a lot of things and create a more plausible mermaid world and I would recommend Forgive My Fins to anyone who likes YA, mermaids, swimming, paranormal or love stories.

Favorite things:  the underwater world, the descriptions of swimming, glistening fins and gorgeous eye colors, the writing (save for the very beginning) that kept me engaged (after the full story finally started to develop), one of the guys in this book (who is wonderful in so many ways and most girls would like to date a guy like him and most guys would like to be a guy like him) and the main character Lily who battles issues of self-esteem, her own morals, questions of love and hate and ends up growing a lot in this book.

Criticisms:  it took a little while to get going and it bored me so much I switched to another book for awhile, a couple of the supporting characters are generic enough to actually confuse them while reading and the sequel seemed to be set up in a single sentence (I really prefer a little more foreshadowing instead of having it come out of no where like it seemed to in Forgive My Fins). 

Overall:  5 out of 5 stars...  thankfully the weak beginning was only 38 pages, so I am still giving it 5 stars, however I was considering giving it 4 stars so there is no exclamation mark (lol) and I wanted to clarify a little more as well.

Ttyl everyone and I hope this week is a great week for all!  :)

In My Mailbox (March 26th, 2011)

In my mailbox is a weekly meme started by The Story Siren and inspired by Alea to help everyone showcase their new books.  I got 5 this week and all on my NookColor.  Here's what I bought:

Specials is the third book in the Uglies quartet (read my review for Uglies here and read my review for Pretties here), but I haven't started it yet, because I was in the mood for something different.  I really want to read it and buy Extras before the covers change though.  Even though they're just images on my NookColor, I still want them to match!  I have a hard time believing the cover for Pretties is from this set, but oh well.  I am doing my best to at least have the rest coordinate darn it!  Haha.  *Sigh*  Stupid changing covers, how I loathe thee.

I had been waiting for Wither for a long time and now I finally own it!  I tried starting it the other night and it was a little too dark for my mood then, so I put it down in favor of something more lighthearted, but I really plan on reading it soon so I can get my review posted before it's old news and everyone is done reading it already haha!  :)

After reading The Tail of Emily Windsnap (read the review for that here) I was really in the mood for another mermaid story, so I bought Forgive My Fins and I already started reading it last night.  Look forward to my review (or don't, whatever, lol). 

One of my B&N friends recommended this to me awhile ago when I was asking for something sweet and fun to read and then I've seen it on various blogs as well.  Most everyone seems to agree that it was a good read and I'm excited to lose myself in a Parisian romance while reading Anna and the French Kiss.  :)

The Chronicles of Nick has been on my wishlist for a long time now and I can't take it anymore!  I have to read it and get caught up to read the second one too!  I hate not knowing what everyone is talking about when it comes to this series.  Anyway, who knows when I'll actually read it since my TBR list is always expanding, but I am so glad I bought it and I love the cover even more than I knew, because I got to see a larger image of it and it's more detailed than you can see from the small pictures usually posted.




Anyway, that's my IMM this week and thanks for stopping by everyone!  *hugs*

Follow Friday/Blog Hop (March 25th, 2011)

Today's question:  Inspired by the #100FactsAboutMe Twitter trend... what are five book-related silly facts about you?

My answer:  There are lots I could write about since I've loved reading ever since I started doing it at age three, but I'll try and pick five really interesting ones to share with everyone...

1.  When I was a kid I would check out an overflowing backpack of books from the library almost every week.
2.  I used to get in trouble for reading all the time when I was a kid.  My parents would always catch me up at all hours reading by my nightlight or in the bathroom and then my teachers were always punishing me for hiding books under my desk to read while they lectured!  I always hated lectures though, I learn best by reading or doing it myself.  :)
3.  I wrote my own book when I was 11 or 12 and the lead male had a forever changing name, because I would always name him after my current crush (which apparently didn't last very long haha).  The paper got so worn from so many changes that I eventually started calling him nothing and just left a blank spot!
4.  I have read more books this year than I have any other year of my adult life and it's all thanks to the added convenience and unlimited virtual space on my NookColor!
5.  I loved a book so much once (The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) that after the covers fell off and the pages came apart, I simply stapled them back together and put them in a tiny folder instead of throwing them away.  I finally did get a brand new copy (how I treasure it), but I'll never forget my falling apart copy, read to the point of total destruction.

Today's question:  If you could physically put yourself into a book or series which one would it be and why?

My answer:  My B&N friends already know the answer to this question since I posed a similar question on the B&N boards not too long ago, but...

1.  I would love to live in the world of Harry Potter and be a teacher at Hogwarts.
2.  I would love to live in a house made from a tree like the Berenstain Bears and I've seen some pretty amazing adult tree houses too! 
3.  I would love to be able to fly like the kids in the Maximum Ride series (although some of their adventures are a bit dangerous for my tastes lol, I guess dreaming about flying will have to suffice haha).
4.  I also think The Shire from The Lord of the Rings series would be a wonderful place to call home, although the houses might be a tad short for me (haha) and I've also always wanted to try that amazing bread from the elves! 
5.  The chocolate factory from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl would be such a cool amusement park and if there ever is one, I'm going!  They could serve chocolate drinks near a thick tan river and there could be a bungee trampoline with edible bubbles everywhere!  It could be so awesome.  :)
6.  Last-but-not-least, I would love to visit (not live at) The Restaurant at the End of the Universe from Douglas Adams' epic series: The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and see the universe come to its end over and over in an unbelievable loop of exploding lights and colors.

Well, there's my FF and hop for the week!  Thanks for stopping by, reading, posting and following me everyone!  *hugs*  Oh and for all those Nook and NookColor users out there, don't forget it's Free Friday and this week the book is The Phantom of Pemberly: A Pride and Prejudice Murder Mystery.  It has a total rating of four stars so far and it's definitely worth getting since it's free!  Get it here!

Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen

Hoot is a coming-of-age story about a young man named Roy who decides to take a stand for something.  This seemingly simplistic tale is much more developed than I would've thought just from reading the summary.  The summary talks about bullying, Florida, owls and a boy, but this story is much more than that and those words only penetrate the surface of this book.  Roy's personal growth reflects the growth in each and every one of us and it was wonderful to read about his navigation through those difficult teenage years when you learn to pick your battles.  I was first interested in this book because of the obvious reference to owls (and who doesn't appreciate those adorable creatures?), but there is so much more to love about this story than just those fuzzy little birds.  This book is also about friendship in all its different forms.  It's about standing up for yourself, no matter the risk.  It's about learning to "settle the argument between [your] heart and [your] brain."  And it's about figuring out where your home really is, whether it's a new place you're uncomfortable in or even somewhere besides your own house.  I really loved this book and there was even a tear in my eye at one point.  I didn't think I would become so emotionally involved in this boy's story or so concerned about the plight of tiny burrowing owls, but Carl Hiaasen really knows how to pull at your heart strings.  Hoot alternates perspectives throughout the book as well so the reader can follow the journey of bumbling rookie Officer David Delinko and the constantly worried foreman named Curly, as they try and figure out who is responsible for all the pranks and vandalism at the construction site of Mother Paula's All-American House of Pancakes.  I loved the characters in this book as well, I felt like they were so different from one another and I, too, was intrigued by the presence of a barefoot boy running through the chapters just like Roy was intrigued by the presence of a barefoot boy running through the streets.  There are so many layers of this story to peel back, I'm surprised Carl Hiaasen was able to tie up all the loose ends in less than 200 pages (NookColor page count), but he did and I definitely liked this book more than I thought I would before reading it.  I would recommend Hoot to anyone who likes adventure/survival, coming-of-age, the male perspective and anyone who loves animals, nature or politics. 

Favorite things:  the Floridian setting, the barefoot boy (whose name is a secret), the tiny fuzzy owls and the relatable themes of standing up for yourself and standing up for something you believe in.

Criticisms:  the summary of this book doesn't do it justice and should've been reworked so less people would miss out on this fantastic story.

Overall:  5 out of 5 stars!  This is definitely the kind of book I would like to read again and share with family.