Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Smantha Van Leer

Summary from Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult and her teenage daughter present their first-ever novel for teens, filled with romance, adventure, and humor. What happens when happily ever after…isn’t?

Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.

And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.

Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

Review

So, I read this one really quickly. Who hasn’t dreamed about fictional characters being real? I feel like there are so many retellings of fairy tales and Jane Austen stories that it is clear that a lot of people dream of this. (Not to mention all the fan fic out there). And who hasn’t dreamed of the male protagonist coming to life in the real world and falling in love with them?

What this book does really well though, besides bring an adorable fictional prince to life, is it plays on this concept of all book characters being real. When a reader isn’t reading the book, all of the characters in the fairytale get to relax, collect butterflies, cook pastries, and enjoy each other’s company. It’s like they’re actors that act out the same play over and over again, but when no one is paying attention (reading the play), they get to be themselves.

Jodi Picoult, in her adult books, likes to go back and forth between different characters’ points of views. She and her daughter do this too. And hands down, the best parts of the book, are the parts where we get to see the fairytale characters in their real lives. The mermaids who fell in love with the prince in the story are actually feminists. And the evil villain prefers reading about insects to just about anything. All of these characters become real. And we get to see Delilah in the real world, Prince Oliver in the fairy tale world (wishing to do more than just keep acting out the same story), and we also get to see the actual fairy tale.

Throughout the whole book, are gorgeous illustrations. There are pictures of Oliver in his story, but also there’s pictures of things from Delilah’s story, and little pieces of the magic between them. I wish I got to see more pictures of the characters too, but I guess it was mostly about Oliver, so that makes sense.

I felt bad for Delilah and what she was going through at school, but she really didn’t seem 15 to me. And it’s not because she loved a children’s book (because well, I’m an adult who loves children’s books). Her problems with friends and her ways of handling them just seemed more like the actions of a 11 or 12 year old. Nothing is really wrong with this. However, Delilah’s emotions and real life problems made this book seem more for a younger audience than YA. The situations at school felt kind of Disney Channel Original movie, and not so much like high school.

I also wasn’t really buying the romance. I felt like Oliver didn’t really know Delilah. He knew what her room looked like, and what her eyes looked like. And he liked her for wanting to help him, and being able to hear him. But other than that, they didn’t have too much background for love. Though, I guess, if they are following fairy tale guidelines, everyone falls in love instantly? I also felt bad for a new character at the end, and kind of felt like that story was rushed too much.

All in all, the characters were fantastic, the illustrations were gorgeous, and the concept was amazing. It definitely read as more of a book for the younger spectrum of the YA audience (I’d have no qualms with putting in the Children’s room at my library, as compared to the teen room –same category as Gail Carson Levine). The romance was handled kind of abruptly. And not all of the loose ends were tied up with the happily ever after. I read it really fast and I can see a lot of people loving this one. I give it 8/10.

Fragments by Dan Wells

Summary (from Goodreads):

Kira Walker has found the cure for RM, but the battle for the survival of humans and Partials is just beginning. Kira has left East Meadow in a desperate search for clues to who she is. That the Partials themselves hold the cure for RM in their blood cannot be a coincidence—it must be part of a larger plan, a plan that involves Kira, a plan that could save both races. Her companions are Afa Demoux, an unhinged drifter and former employee of ParaGen, and Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed her and saved her life, the only ones who know her secret. But can she trust them?

Meanwhile, back on Long Island, what's left of humanity is gearing up for war with the Partials, and Marcus knows his only hope is to delay them until Kira returns. But Kira's journey will take her deep into the overgrown wasteland of postapocalyptic America, and Kira and Marcus both will discover that their greatest enemy may be one they didn't even know existed.

The second installment in the pulse-pounding Partials saga is the story of the eleventh hour of humanity's time on Earth, a journey deep into places unknown to discover the means—and even more important, a reason—for our survival.

Review:

So, I cannot believe how long I have ownend this book before I finally got to reading it! I feel like I have forgotten just how awesome book 1 was. As soon, as I started this sequel though, things started coming back to me.

It’s a little massive (564 pages), and maybe this is why I kept putting this farther behind in my TBR piles, However, I read it super quick. The action, the adventure, and all the clues that keep coming through out the whole suspenseful story just made it so impossible to put down. It’s one of those books that will have you up late, dying for answers. 

And thankfully, here is a sequel that does give us answers! Kira discovers so much history about partials, about herself, and about how her world came to be as bad as it is. She has to work extremely hard to get these answers though. To start with, she scavenges the ruins of NYC. She battles panthers, conquers floods, escapes bullets, and befriends a crazy loner. When she does eventually meet back up with Samm and Heron, things only get harder.

They cross rivers, survive acid rain, outsmart soliders and partials, and communicate with survivors back home. The book kind of reads like its part dystopia, part sci fi, part war story, part horror movie, and part epic fantasy. The quest Kira goes on with her friends to cross half of a decimated country was both terrifying and wonderful. Getting to see how the rest of the country faired from so much disease, war, and genocide was so, so amazing to read.

The characters come off stronger. I actually began to care for the lesser-present characters, particularly Marcus, who goes on some adventures of his own.

And almost more interesting than all the violence, battles, and destruction is Kira’s own history. What is she? How did she come to be? And is it really possible for her to attain her goals of a peaceful co-existence? Partials are dying off because of their expiration date. And humans are dying slowly because the disease that prevents the survival of new babies is still thriving, despite the cure that Kira found. 

As all the best dystopias are, Fragments, is loaded with tough questions, tougher answers, and some seriously moralistic dilemmas. Kira has a lot to learn, a lot to sacrifice, and a lot to do if she really wants to save the world (both humans and partials alike). There’s a very tiny bit of romance in this one, and I was actually really okay with this. It was more about survival, about saving the human race, and deciding how far you can go to do what you think is right.

I was super impressed by the setting, about how thought out Wells’ destroyed world is. I was even more impressed by the questions this book address about survival.The bad guys also super impressed me. Good and bad is a little bit blurry here and that makes everything even more interesting. I wasn’t quite as interested in Marcus’ story as I was with Kira’s, but who could really compete with Kira?

I think I enjoyed this one even more than I enjoyed book 1. It was fast, action packed, and just so good. I highly recommend this series to fans of Divergent, The Hunger Games, and Blood Red Road. I give it a 10/10.

International Follower Giveaway!

So, I’ve been having a bunch of US followers only giveaways (because I’ve been giving away books in my possession). And I promised an International Follower Giveaway, so here it is. I’m giving one International winner their choice of two of the books I’m listing below.

It’s a little over halfway through the year, and there have been a ton of really good YA titles released so far. These are my current favorites of 2013 so far. Winner gets to pick two! If the book isn’t out yet (I’ve read and ARC of it), I will preorder it for you.

Standard rules apply. This is for International followers only. You do need to live somewhere that either Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or the Book Depository will be able to ship to you. I will have more contests for everyone soon. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email or I will have to randomly select a different winner.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Fragments by Dan Wells
The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (preorder)
This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
Gates of Paradise by Melissa De La Cruz
Requiem by Lauren Oliver
The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead
The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender
Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

Good luck!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Need the shelf space Giveaway!

So, I seriously need more shelf space. All of the books up for grabs are books I have multiple copies of or I have already read or I just don’t think I will get to in a reasonable amount of time. And I know I promised an international giveaway, and there will be one soon, but this one is just for my US FOLLOWERS. I am doing the shipping.

I will have 3 winners! First place winner can have up to 3 books of what is listed below. Second place winner will have their choice of up to 3 books of what is left. And the 3^rd place winner with have the last 2 (if he/she wants them).

Again, this is for US FOLLOWERS ONLY. (I have an international contest soon though).

Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email with their book choices and their shipping address. If I don’t hear back by 48 hours, I will have to randomly select a different winner. 

What’s up for grabs:

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (paperback)
The girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry (hardcover)
Unwholly by Neal Shusterman (hardcover)
Fox Forever by Mary E. Pearson (hardcover)
The Creature Department by Robert Paul Weston (ARC)
Under the Empyrean Sky by Chuck Wendig (ARC)
The Cutting Room Floor by Dawn Klehr (ARC)
The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna (hardcover)

Good Luck! And happy summer!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

(First, happy 4^th of July! What a great book to post about on the 4^th.)

Summary (from Goodreads):

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

Review:

What a great summer book! I need to say right off the bat that the book summary is a little wrong (if not leading you in the wrong direction). It’s not really about dating a guy and finding someone new/different. Emaline’s boyfriend, Luke, also never comes off as “perfect.” He refuses to wear a shirt most of the time. He also meets up with a girl at a nightclub, and Emaline finds out about it (from a note left behind from the girl). The two break up before Emaline considers Theo, the New Yorker.

And even more misleading is the idea that this book is all about the romance. Because as tends to be the case with all of Dessen’s books, it’s more about growing up. Emaline is spending her last summer at home before heading off to college. And a lot of this book felt like her coping with her inevitable goodbyes. There’s also a lot going on in Emaline’s family life. Her birth father, after coming back into her life and encouraging her to apply for ivy league schools, bails on her when she finally comes to rely on him again.

Instead of having Columbia paid for, Emaline’s birth father sends her a rather cold letter telling her he can’t pay for it after all, and doesn’t even respond to an invitation to her graduation. Emaline’s mom really tries hard to protect her daughter from any disappointment her birth father is certain to continue to give. And her dad, the one she grew up with, seems to handle it all in stride.

Just when Emaline begins to sort of let go of the disappointment of her father, he comes back into her life, with her half-brother, Benji.

The summer is spent working in her family rental business, befriending her brother, and hanging out with her friends who are all having their own separation anxieties. There’s dress-making, documentary-making, art shows, house-cleaning, and a lot of letting go. The book deals with high school relationships ending, new relationships beginning, and most of all it deals with change.

Dessen totally nails that feeling of wanting to change, but also not wanting to let go. I loved watching Emaline get to know her brother better. And I super loved all the divisions between the tourists and the townies. A huge part of this book was the differences between New York and Colby, between college and work, between summer and fall, between temporary and long-lasting. I love how everyone in Colby respected one another. They gave free Ferris wheel rides to fellow townies. They gossiped at the gym. They understood and trusted each other way more than they ever would an outsider. It was so entertaining watching Theo and his boss try to break into their mindset, and never really get there.

I never really liked Theo. He reminded me way too much of a boy I once knew in high school, a boy I knew Emaline would not work with. He was just way too much in his own head, and not enough in anyone else’s. All of the mistakes he made and bad places he took Emaline were rather hilarious though. The book was so entertaining because of all the things he didn’t know. Yet, he saw Emaline as the more ignorant one. Emaline just becomes so much stronger as the summer goes on. I was so happy when she finally saw Theo for who I saw him to be from the beginning.

The book deals with the pressures of parents, jobs, boyfriends, college-applying, and just all of the things a teen would/should/does go through. The characters were so real.  Also, there were so many cameos of past Dessen characters that it felt like a mini beach vacation reunion for me. This is a perfect summer read. There’s nothing too intense going on in it, though Dessen has this magical power to put it all through the lense of a teen, so everything seems so important and intense in the moment.

I give it a 10/10, and I highly recommend it to contemporary fans (particularly Dessen fans). It’s one of my favorites by her.

Waiting on Wednesday (52)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating.

This week I am waiting on Evertrue by Jodi Ashton (1/24/14):

So, there doesn’t appear to be a description yet for this book…Which is kind of weird because descriptions do exist for other books being published months after this one. Oh well. I guess I don’t need a description to know I need this book! The first two were wonderful! The darkness, the mythology, the unique retelling of things, and the romance! I want this third installment right now! Also, I love how all three books in the series have covers that go together!

What are you waiting on this week?

Gravity by Melissa West

Summary (from Goodreads):

In the future, only one rule will matter:

Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

Review:

So, this book definitely had 3 things going for it, right off the bat: 1) a gorgeous cover, 2) dystopian elements, and 3) some dark sci-fi plot arcs. I was expecting to just eat this one up. And well, I kind of did.

The whole concept of an alien race coming into your room every night and sucking some of your energy is just so beyond terrifying. Ari knows its something you just have to get used to. But, deep down, you know it always freaks her out. Can you imagine putting a helmet on every night before 10 pm and knowing some stranger you can never see, will have access to you. So, so creepy.

And then just when you kind of get used to the creepy aliens and the contract they have with the humans, West turns everything around. The humans kind of become the bad guys. They don’t want to hold to their end of the contract. They refuse to co-exist with aliens. And in the time the aliens are getting used to the environment and going into bedrooms to do whatever it is they need to do, the children/teens of earth are all being trained on how to fight.

Ari has been trained every day in the art of fighting, defending, and beating aliens. She’s kind of in a military family, and spends nowhere close to enough time sleeping, and way too much time trying to appease her strict father and fight better. The book is loaded with training sessions, fighting, tests, simulations, and all kind of work. There’s also school bombings, air-born viruses, death, and a lot of political propaganda. When Ari gets to know the ancient (alien) assigned to her, her whole life changes.

I kind of liked that the humans ended up being really bad. They refused to accept anyone that was different and went to extremes to get rid of differences. But all in all, both aliens and humans ended up killing innocent people. Though, I do think a lot of lives would have been spared if the humans actually held up their end of the bargain.

I loved learning about the ancients alongside Ari. I loved how Ari was willing to take note of where she was wrong. Nothing is set in stone with her, and it’s so nice having a main character who is so willing to learn. I kept expecting this book to go a certain way, and it didn’t. And I’m actually really pleased that it didn’t have the same storyline as a lot of other similar sci-fi’s. Though, I did still predict most, if not all of the big twists (like who certain characters really were).

I wasn’t an enormous fan of the romance. I kind of kept waiting for the power couple to have more in common, or to grow closer. Instead, they kind of just instantly were a couple without much buildup. Granted there’s a lot of suspense going on, but still. I just didn’t take Ari for the instant love kind of character. Not that I didn’t love Jackson. I did. I just wish their relationship was built upon something besides him keeping an eye on her all the time, over the years. It’s another kind of stalker-like romance to add to the instant love YA titles (at least another romance where the boy watches the main character sleep).

Besides the romance though, I did really enjoy this one. I found the characters entertaining, the plot suspenseful enough to make you not want to put it down, and the story itself, rather unique. I give it an 8/10.