Library Holds

I think libraries are fantastic. If I purchased every book I read, I'd go broke buying books. I think I've read nearly 30 books from my library already this year.

There's a problem with using my local library for recent releases, though, and that problem is that I'm not the only person who wants them. Sometimes, I manage to be the first person to put a hold on them, and then I get to read them as soon as the library has them ready. Other times, there are a few other people who put them on hold before I do, which means that after waiting for a book to be released, I have to wait even longer to read it from the library.

So, here's a list of all the books I'm currently waiting for from the library.

Truly, Madly, Deadly Hannah Jayne	Belle Epoque Elizabeth Ross	The Testing Joelle Charbonneau
The Book of Broken Hearts Sarah Ockler	Icons Margaret Stohl	Reboot Amy Tintera
The Ward Jordana Frankel	Identity Theft Anna Davies	The Rules Stacey Kade
Emilie and the Hollow World Martha Wells	Requiem Lauren Oliver	Eleanor and Park Rainbow Rowell

Rethinking Things - An Update

Ok. So you may have noticed that I haven't posted anything in a week. Or maybe not; I'm not sure that anyone actually reads this blog regularly enough to notice that sort of thing. When I started this blog, my goal was to make posts every weekday, and for most of those posts to be reviews. I figured that would be managable, because I can and often do read books that quickly. The problem I'm having, one which I didn't anticipate at all, is that I cannot write reviews that quickly. To write a good review, I need time to mull the book over, to reflect on why I liked or disliked it, and then to try to express my feelings with the clearest wording possible. What I've been doing instead is sitting dow at the ends of long, stressful days and pounding out reviews just so I'll have a post for that day. And they haven't been very good. So what's going to happen now is that I'm going to ease up a little. You won't see reviews from me as often, and I won't be reviewing every book I read, but hopefully the reviews I do post will be more well thought out. And maybe I'll even try to do some more posts about other book-related things. See you soon, Tierney

The Symptoms of My Insanity by Mindy Raf

Published April 18th 2013 by Dial Books for Young Readers When you’re a hypochondriac, there are a million different things that could be wrong with you, but for Izzy, focusing on what could be wrong might be keeping her from dealing with what’s really wrong. I almost raised my hand, but what would I say? “Mr. Bayer, may I please be excused? I’m not totally positive, but I think I might have cancer.” No way. Then everyone at school would know, and they would treat me differently, and I would be known as “Izzy, that poor girl who diagnosed herself with breast cancer during biology.” But Izzy’s sense of humor can only get her so far when suddenly her best friend appears to have undergone a personality transplant, her mother’s health takes a turn for the worse, and her beautiful maybe-boyfriend is going all hot and cold. Izzy thinks she’s preparing for the worst-case scenario, but when the worst-case scenario actually hits, it’s a different story altogether—and there’s no tidy list of symptoms to help her through the insanity.

Rating: 2/5

Review:

Honestly, I'm having trouble writing a review for this one.  Usually in my reviews, I try to say what I liked and disliked about the book.  For The Symptoms of My Insanity, I'm coming up blank.  Almost nothing about this book made an impression on me in any way.  The characters and the story were just bland.

The only think that did stand out to me about this book was the dialogue.  There were lots of ums, people trailing off in the middle of their sentences, getting interrupted, awkward small talk, and rambling.  These are things that happen regularly in everyday speech, but there's a reason they're not usually included in books.  It's frustrating to read this sort of unclear dialogue.

This book gets a low rating because of how unremarkable it was.  If you ask me in a year or so, I probably won't remember having read it at all.

Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz

Published January 1st 2013 by Simon Pulse Be careful what you believe in. Rudy’s life is flipped upside-down when his family moves to a remote island in a last attempt to save his sick younger brother. With nothing to do but worry, Rudy sinks deeper and deeper into loneliness and lies awake at night listening to the screams of the ocean beneath his family’s rickety house. Then he meets Diana, who makes him wonder what he even knows about love, and Teeth, who makes him question what he knows about anything. Rudy can’t remember the last time he felt so connected to someone, but being friends with Teeth is more than a little bit complicated. He soon learns that Teeth has terrible secrets. Violent secrets. Secrets that will force Rudy to choose between his own happiness and his brother’s life.

Rating: 5/5

Review:

Oh, wow.

Teeth was an excellent book.  It's the kind of book that I want to read again and again.  And the best part is that I can't quite put my finger on the reason it was so great.

That might seem like an odd statement, so I'll explain.  That's the best part because it means that I became immersed.  The part of my brain that usually analyses and nitpicks about everything I read was silent, because I was too busy enjoying the story.

Teeth probably isn't for everyone.  It's a strange book with mystical elements that gets very dark at some points.  The fact that one of the characters, Teeth, is half-boy and half-fish should give you an indication of how odd this book is.  If the description appeals to you, then give it a try.  I think you'll be glad you did.

Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan

Published May 7th 2013 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Seventeen-year-old Meg Fellowes is a wry, resourceful thief forced to join an elite group of female spies in Queen Elizabeth’s Court. There she must solve a murder, save the Crown, and resist the one thing that will become her greatest freedom–and her deadliest peril.  For Meg and her fellow spies are not alone in their pursuit of the murderer who stalks Windsor Castle. A young, mysterious Spanish courtier, Count Rafe de Martine, appears at every turn in the dark and scandal-filled corridors of the Queen’s summer palace. And though secrets and danger are Meg’s stock-in-trade, she’s never bargained on falling in love…

Rating: 4/5

Review:

The best thing about Maid of Secrets is the main character, Meg.  Meg is a sassy, resourceful, no-nonsense heroine.  I enjoyed watching her piece together the complex puzzles facing her.  I also loved the strong sense of loyalty she displayed, both to the acting troupe she grew up with and to the queen and her fellow spies.

Maid of Secrets has a compelling plot with unexpected twists.  The side characters are interesting and have unique skills.  It incorporates history, romance, danger, and a touch of magic.  It was an incredibly fun, fast read with no issues that jumped out at me.  This book is Jennifer McGowan's first novel, and the first in a series.  I look forward to seeing more from her.

Note: I won a copy of this book from a giveaway run by the publisher.

Five Summers by Una LaMarche

Published May 16th 2013 by Razorbill Four best friends, five summers of camp memories.  The summer we were nine: Emma was branded “Skylar’s friend Emma” by the infamous Adam Loring... The summer we were ten: Maddie realized she was too far into her lies to think about telling the truth... The summer we were eleven: Johanna totally freaked out during her first game of Spin the Bottle... The summer we were twelve: Skylar’s love letters from her boyfriend back home were exciting to all of us—except Skylar... Our last summer together: Emma and Adam almost kissed. Jo found out Maddie’s secret. Skylar did something unthinkable... and whether we knew it then or not, five summers of friendship began to fall apart.  Three years after the fateful last night of camp, the four of us are coming back to camp for reunion weekend—and for a second chance. Bittersweet, funny, and achingly honest, Five Summers is a story of friendship, love, and growing up that is perfect for fans of Anne Brashares and Judy Blume's Summer Sisters.

Rating: 2/5

Review:

I was under the impression that Five Summers was going to be a novel about a friendship between four girls.  Instead, it was mostly about boys.  Emma and Skylar were both interested in the same guy, Maddie was heartbroken over her ex-boyfriend from back home, and Jo was too oblivious to see that a really nice guy liked her.  Almost the whole book revolved around relationship drama, and everything else, including the friendship, seemed like an afterthought.

I've never been interested in the kind of shallow relationship and friendship drama that this book is about.  The characters acted immature for their age and the friends constantly treated each other poorly.  If I'd had any indication that that's what this book would be like, I never would have picked it up.

Friday Faves: First Lines I Love

Hello lovelies,

I'm introducing a new feature to my blog today, called Friday Faves. This is going to happen on the first Friday of every month. Each month, I'll pick a category, and then list books I love that fall under the category. I'll usually aim for a minimum of five books for each of these posts, but it could always be more.  Today's category is great first lines, so let's get started.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen First Sentence: "I taped the commercial back in April, before anything had happened, and promptly forgot about it." Why I Love It: If there's a before, then there must be an after.  The after is what I'm interested in, and it's clearly what the story will be about.

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld First Sentence: "After a year of hunting, I finally caught up with Sarah." Why I Love It: The word choice makes this sentence.  Hunting is active, predatory, and intriguing.  Sarah is most likely a person's name, which makes me wonder who hunts people and why.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver First Sentence: "It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since scientists perfected a cure." Why I Love It: This opening is giving me vital information right away.  I'm clued in and ready to go.

Ordinary Ghosts by Eireann Corrigan First Sentence: "Understand I didn't earn the key." Why I Love It: It makes me wonder.  What is the key to?  How could he have earned it?  Since he didn't earn it, how did he get it?

Skinned by Robin Wasserman First Sentence: "Lia Khan is dead.  I am Lia Kahn." Why I Love It: Ok, so this one is actually two sentences.  But it's so good, I just had to include it.  It just gives me the immediate reaction of But how? and I have to keep reading to find out.

Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz First Sentence: "At night the ocean is so loud and so close that I lie awake, sure it's going to beat against the house's supports until we all crumble onto the rocks and break into pieces." Why I Love It: It's beautifully descriptive and just a little morbid.  This line might not work for everyone, but it totally appeals to me.  (P.S. I finally got my hands on this book and a review is forthcoming. Keep an eye out if you're interested.)

Are there any first lines you love? Tell me in the comments.