A Good Week in Books (26)

This week was a light week, but a great week. I received one book as a gift from a neighbor who is related to the author! She learned that I loved YA, and told me I absolutely had to read this book. It unfortunately came out around the same time as The Hunger Games, and I can easily see that being a problem for a book with this title; however, the description sounds very different and completely awesome too and I’m so excited to read it! And then I bought three books for myself online.

Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines (Thank you, Sandy!)
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (finally!)
Nevermore by Kelly Creagh (Been meaning to get this one for forever…)
Whispers at Moonrise by C. C. Hunter (!)

Side note: I have a couple of big giveaways coming up real soon (a fantasy one and one for my birthday). My birthday is October 21^st! And as you can imagine, I buy a lot of books around the time of my birthday and because of this I need a lot more space. And more space means more books to giveaway. I’m giving away two fantasy books for the fantasy giveaway! And I’m giving away a surprise box of books for my birthday! So, come back soon.

Every Day by David Levithan

What a unique story! Seriously, I have never read anything like this. And right when I thought I was getting used to the author’s voice or used to the changes the main character kept having to make, something else would happen entirely and surprise me some more. I have an ARC that I checked out from my library, but I seriously need to purchase my own copy of this novel.

It’s about A, a person who changes every day, literally. Every day, A wakes up as someone else. There’s things A has learned to expect. He/she only wakes up in people the same age as he/she is. The only way A can move to a new location is if A is in the body of someone who takes a trip or moves away themselves. Also, gender, race, ethnicity, and religion have absolutely no effect on anything; A can be anyone.

A also has his/her own set of rules for things. For starters, A never wants to greatly change the life he/she is borrowing for the day. There is no leaving bodies anywhere but their beds (except for one time). A tries to live the day as the person would (usually going to school or work or helping with the family). A has illegally worked as a maid, has been fat, has dated a jerk, has lived with psychotic families, has been in the body of potheads, and has seriously lived in every possible scenario. I can easily see how this book could have become an after school special about what not to do with your life –but it so never breached that boundary. Usually A hopes for something simple, but a lot of time A gets something really tough and complicated.

For instance, becoming a depressed girl, who has a set date for upcoming suicide, was really hard. A doesn’t ever change the lives of the people he/she’s in, but should there be exceptions to this rule? If he/she can stop a death, should he/she? Or if A can help a boy stand up to his terrible parents, should he/she? And where is the line between A and the people he/she borrows for the day? Does A have his/her own personality or is A just as good as the person he/she is for the day?

And all of A’s questions seriously take another turn when A falls in love with the girlfriend of the person he/she’s inhabiting on one particular day. A begins to do a little bit more for him/herself. A even tells the girl about his/her life and starts each day be figuring how far away he/she is located from said girl.  And then it’s not just how much A can tolerate all these changes, but how much the girl can too. And can anyone really love someone who is a different person every time they see him/her? How much does gender, race, social class, religion, etc. really matter?

This book addresses everything from gender stereotypes, to homosexual relationships, to biases about weight, to teen suicide, and to religious zealotry. It really makes readers question how important the visual is. A goes to gay pride celebrations, funerals, Sunday services, tutoring sessions, libraries, schools, houses, parties, and each time as someone else. And while this all seems insanely lonely, and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for A most of the time, A occasionally will have things like this to say (note I copied this quote from a Quotation Page on GoodReads because I could be giving the wrong words from an ARC):

“It's only in the finer points that it gets complicated and contentious, the inability to realize that no matter what our religion or gender or race or geographic background, we all have about 98 percent in common with each other. Yes, the differences between male and female are biological, but if you look at the biology as a matter of percentage, there aren't a whole lot of things that are different. Race is different purely as a social construction, not as an inherent difference. And religion--whether you believe in God or Yahweh or Allah or something else, odds are that at heart you want the same things. For whatever reason, we like to focus on the 2 percent that's different, and most of the conflict in the world comes from that.”

So, even though A never really gets to know what having a best friend or having a family is like (or at least what having one common best friend or family is like), A gets to experience something so significant and amazing; A gets to experience a life completely and utterly free of prejudice. A learns to focus on the 98% of people’s similarities and not how each person is different. And I have to include this as well (also from the quote page on GoodReads):

“I am a drifter, and as lonely as that can be, it is also remarkably freeing. I will never define myself in terms of anyone else. I will never feel the pressure of peers or the burden of parental expectation. I can view everyone as pieces of a whole, and focus on the whole, not the pieces. I have learned to observe, far better than most people observe. I am not blinded by the past or motivated by the future. I focus on the present because that is where I am destined to live.”

This is a book I wish I were capable of memorizing and quoting in front of people. Some of the things mentioned in here are just so profound and powerful. It’s the kind of book that has you thinking about it days (and most likely months and years) after you finish reading it. It had me question how I see things and wishing I could be as real and true and understanding as A. The sacrifices A makes every day are so sincere and honest and heart-wrenching. I really wanted things to work out for A and Rhiannon. And while I really, really was hoping for explanations and more answers for A’s life, I also get how much better this book was without such direct answers.

One last quote (promise): “There will always be more questions. Every answer leads to more questions. The only way to survive is to let some of them go.” This book gets a 10/10 from me. I cannot stop thinking about it. And David Levithan is one seriously brave, unique, and beautiful writer. I recommend this one to everyone.

Waiting on Wednesday (15)

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 The Elite by Kiera Cass (4/23/13):

Description on GoodReads:

“Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.”

So, I fell in love with The Selection already. It was just such a fun mix of dystopia, fairy tale, and reality tv show. I loved the love triangle. I loved the crazy society that doesn’t seem too far off from other more modern day caste systems. I found the whole book to just be so much fun to read! And the sequel sounds just as promising. I’m dying to know which boy America picks. And I really want to know what happens in regards to the people rebelling. I don’t know how I can wait for April. Also, Loving the pretty dress covers!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

After meeting Stephanie Perkins at Leaky Con, I pushed this book to the top of my TBR piles. She was awesome! I was only a quarter way through this book before I decided to order Lola and the Boy Next Door online. I was hoping it would be here today, but alas, tomorrow is a new day.

This is one of those books where I don’t recall ever hearing a negative thing mentioned. The blogs love Perkins, my friends (who don’t blog) love Perkins, and overall I didn’t want to go into this with too much expectation, but it was inevitable that I would. Thankfully, in this case though, my high expectations were met and I just fell in love with this one completely!

This is sort of one of those classic YA coming of age in boarding school type stories. And while a lot of it is rather formulaic, what seriously makes this book unique and stand-out-able are the characters. That and the fact that the school the main character is shipped to is in Paris, and she doesn’t speak French. Anna’s dad is famous for writing tear-jerking bestsellers that mostly seem to involve cancer, and with the success of his books and his books turned to movies, he decides his family needs a little more culture –hence the shipping of Anna to Paris, France for her senior year of high school.

At first Anna is devastated and terrified. She doesn’t ever venture out of her school because she can’t speak French. She won’t even order food at her school cafeteria because she is too afraid of what the chef will think of her. At home, she has a fantastic best friend, a younger brother to take care of because her busy/divorced parents aren’t always around for him, and a crush/movie theater co-worker who is just turning into something more than a crush. Despite Anna’s father’s growing wealth, he gives her very little money, and Anna works to make more. It’s not too big of a deal until she starts attending a school in Paris with the children of senators and she realizes more and more of her father’s misgivings.

But once Anna makes friends in Paris, and discovers that Paris is actually the home to cinema (her big passion), Paris becomes a lot more bearable. She also has a new crush (who unfortunately is dating someone else). There’s long distance emails and phone calls. There’s first nights out drinking. And every single scene where Anna is alone with Etienne St. Clair is just pure magic. Paris is magic when the two of them are together. There’s tourist sites, and small cinemas, and graveyards, and unbelievable French restaurants that had me drooling in hunger.

This book is about growing up and overcoming your fears. It’s about love and family. It’s about realizing who your true friends and family are. It’s about falling in love for the first time. All those super awkward moments where Anna and Etienne were just lying next to each other and not touching, and all the tension between them at the movie theaters was just so spot-on! Add that to some remarkable phone/email conversations and the romance here was pure YA romance bliss (seriously). There were some tough things in this book too. There was divorce, breakups, lying among friends, forgiveness, cancer, and a lot of family drama. And Anna is not perfect. There were a lot of things I wished she could of realized earlier. But her imperfections just made her all the more believable.

There’s this moment after a phone call with Etienne, when Anna finally starts to feel happy at home again and Perkins writes, “And for the first time since coming home, I’m completely happy. It’s strange. Home. How I could wish for it for so long, only to come back and find it gone. To be here, in my technical house, and discover that home is now someplace different” (250).  There is this feeling I had the first time I came home after being away at college –this feeling or this loss of understanding of what home means. It’s like you expect the whole world to stay on pause while you’re gone and growing up, but actually your family grows and changes too. And this is such a small part of this book, but it is a part that stuck with me.

This is a book compiled of small parts that stick with you. Add these memorable moments to the slow building romance and to the setting of Paris, and frankly, I don’t know how it could have been much better. The other characters were really strong as well. I kind of wish I knew them a little bit better, if only because of how awesome they were. They each had their own stories and their own crazy parents.

The school itself seemed to be a steppingstone to any university around the world and the students seemed to all get into remarkable schools. And the food at the school seemed too good to be true…I was jealous. I wish I could experience this school too. And it’s around the time that Anna really realizes the extent of her school’s amazingness (that it actually represents something for other to be jealous of), that I really feel like she grew up. This so gets a 10/10 from me. And here’s hoping that Perkin’s next book arrives to me tomorrow!

A Good Week in Books (25)

I had another fantastic book week! I received three books for younger readers in the mail for review (I’ll most likely be keeping/reviewing one of them and donating the other two to one of my libraries). I purchased three new books this week (one at the signing I went to, and two at my favorite Chicago bookstore). I also got four October ARC’s from my magical Chicago bookstore that gives them away.

From Harper Collins:

 
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
The Red Pyramid: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan and adapted by Orpheus Collar
Let’s Go for a Drive by Mo Willems

Purchased:

 
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

The October ARC’s:

Breathe by Sarah Crossman (10/2/12)
Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson (10/9/12)
Beta by Rachel Cohn (10/16/12)
Dustlands: Rebel Heart by Moira Young (10/30/12) !!!!!

Meeting Libba Bray and Maggie Stiefvater!

So, Libba and Maggie did a signing together last night! Libba Bray is my favorite author. I have read, loved, re-read, and loved some more all of her books. I really like Maggie Stiefvater too (though, I’d met her once before in New Orleans). I’d been so excited for this signing. I cancelled a tutoring job. I also couldn’t eat all day (and I love to eat) because I was so excited for the reading. The books pictured above are the ones I got signed!

It was a bit of a drive to get to the bookstore (The BookMarket, in Glenview), but it was so worth the drive. Also, it’s a fantastic bookstore! It was a nice, small crowd there too which always means more time for the authors to do their thing and more time to spend talking with them during the signing! Plus, I got to meet up with my new friend, Eti, again (who is working on a blog of her own: In the Key of Books), and we had so much fun geeking out YA style. Plus, we were both brave enough to ask questions in the Q&A part of the evening. Go us.

Libba and Maggie together are fantastic! I wasn’t sure if I was at a book signing or a comedy show at points, and frankly this had me questioning the greatness of all other book signings I’ve ever been to. I seriously don’t think I have laughed that much in a long time. And that alone is enough reason to go meet them if you ever have a chance. Then they did these dramatic readings of their new books, and this gave me goose bumps.

There’s nothing quite like hearing an author read out loud their own work. But even better was how when Libba was reading from The Diviners, Maggie would do the voice of the guy/possible love interest, and vice versa Libba did the voice of the guy/possible love interest in The Raven Boys. It just became even more clear than it already was (from YouTube) how much these ladies were more than just writers; they were performers who had complete attention of the whole room (including a little baby who kept laughing –usually at the right moments). 

My wonderful friend, Eti, took these pictures for me. Please note though that it was raining all day and don’t judge the frizzy hair.

This would be me and Libba Bray! She hugged me when I told her she was my favorite author and that I have been reading her books since I was a teen(!):

This is Maggie Stiefvater and me(!):

These are what some of my signed books look like (Notice the crazy flower Libba Bray drew on Beauty Queens after making a mistake and apologizing profusely for it –I just felt lucky to have so much signage!). Also, I love when authors draw things when they sign (also notice, Libba’s martini glass and Maggie’s raven):

Waiting on Wednesday (14)

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 Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill (11/13/12):

Description on GoodReads:

“Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question.

It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be").

But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.

Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.”

The cover is so what first got my attention. It’s unique, yet also familiar. Also, there’s London in the background, and I absolutely love London. The colors just make the cover so gorgeous. And then of course I read the description, and what’s not too like about a wild goose chase around London and the promise of true love? I’ve also already read some good reviews for this one and I don’t have too long to wait (just till November).