Reviews by a REAL Teen: Abandon by Meg Cabot

Meet Christina, a “real” teen, and her opinions on YA books!

Abandon by Meg Cabot

I read the book Abandon by Meg Cabot and first off, I want to say that I’ve been wanting to read this book since it came out, but when the time came to get books, I never got it. I regret that now because this book was amazing!

This book is about a girl named Pierce who has died, but was brought back to life. Her mom is making her go to New Pathways school because her mom wants Pierce to get a fresh start after the “incident”. Pierce is trying to find out more about her death, but the only person that she can think of who knows anything is John. When Pierce died, John gave her a necklace to protect from evil. Well, the necklace that John gave her when she died was thrown across the cemetery because John was angry, but when the Cemetery Sexton finds her necklace she has no choice but meet up with him to get the necklace back that is supposed to protect her. John doesn’t like her, for example, when she made him mad he smashed a gate in the cemetery with only one kick. She finds out some information about where she went when she died and a little bit of history on John and why he is the way he is. She starts to give him a chance because she learns something about him, that he would never tell her himself.

Some things I liked about this book were the characters, because they were unique in their own way, like Kayla and Alex. Alex did freak me out a little at the end though.  I also liked that this wasn’t like most other YA books. It was not a big “romance” book (not that all YA books are romance books).

But there was a point in the book, when I was about halfway through it when I asked myself, “What is the point of the book so far?” I couldn’t really answer that question because I didn’t know what the point was. That was the only thing I didn’t like because the rest of it was amazing.
The end surprised me, but I loved it!! I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

In My Mailbox (173)

Welcome to In My Mailbox! You can find official information like how to participate, why it was started and other goodies about IMM on the IMM page!

Two fabulous books for me this week!

The Night Circus by by Erin Morgenstern
Tokyo Heist by Diana Renn

I hope that you had a wonderful week in books too!

(Continue Reading…)

Debut Dish: April II

Welcome to THE DEBUT DISH!

What exactly is The Debut Dish? Well it’s a way to highlight a few debuts. To let you know a little bit more about them and the author! Perhaps after you read The Dish, you might want to pick one of them up!

Storm, Book 1 of The Elemental Series by Brigid Kemmerer

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: K Teen (Kensington)
Age Group: Young Adult

Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys—all the ones she doesn’t want. Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her.

Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water—just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They’re powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.

And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

Secrets are hard to keep when your life’s at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who’s hiding the most dangerous truth of all.

What is your favorite movie candy?

Candy? CANDY? I go solely for the popcorn.

Describe your book in three words.

Four hot brothers.

What is your favorite beverage?

Diet Pepsi, but only from a fountain. I’m not a big fan of canned sodas.

BREAKING BEAUTIFUL by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult

Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a tragic car accident—including her memory of the event. All she has left are the scars and a sneaking suspicion that the crash wasn’t an accident after all. When the police reopen the investigation, it quickly turns on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around their small town. As the threats begin and the survivor’s guilt sets in, Allie’s memories collide with a dark secret about Trip she’s kept for too long. Caught somewhere between her past and her future, Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free?

What is the oddest thing on your desk right now?

Desk? Who has a desk? I use a laptop because I write everywhere I go. The oddest place I’ve ever written was in the bathroom at a campground this summer. It was the only place in camp that had a place to plug in my laptop.

If you had to retitle your book, what would you call it and why?

The original title of my book was TIGERSEYE, so if I had to retitle, I’d probably go with that. But I love the title BREAKING BEAUTIFUL now. I’d have a hatd changing back.

What is your favorite office supply?

This summer I coordinated a group of Japanese exchange students and they came with these fabulous mechanical pencils. They write so smoothly, they make even my handwriting look great! But I can’t find them here. If any of my Japanese kids are reading this, please send more mechanical pencils!

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins
Age Group: Young Adult

Two days before her junior year, Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, her life flashing before her, then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she’s opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And though it isn’t possible, she knows with every fiber of her being that Ben has brought her back to life.

But her reincarnation, and Ben’s possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI-agent father’s files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what’s right in front of her: Everything that’s happened—the accident, the countdown clock, Ben’s sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. As the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she’s needs to uncover Ben’s secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.

UNRAVELING is a gripping story of one girl’s fight to save her family, her world, and the one boy she never saw coming.

What is the oddest thing on your desk right now?

A vase of pink roses that died several days ago.

What is your favorite movie candy?

Sour Patch Kids

Who is your favorite super hero?

Rogue from X-men

12 Days of Morganville Madness: Kiss of Death and Giveaway

To celebrate the upcoming release of BLACK DAWN….You can win a signed copy of The Morganville Vampires: KISS OF DEATH by Rachel Caine!! (Book #8!)

A new chapter in the New York Times bestselling Morganville Vampires saga.

Vampire musician Michael Glass has attracted the attention of a big- time producer who wants to cut a demo and play some gigs-which means Michael will have to enter the human world. For this, he’s been assigned escorts that include both a dangerous immortal as well as Michael’s all-too-human friends. And with that mix of personalities, this is going to be a road trip from hell…

An interview with Rachel about Kiss of Death:

1. What kicked off the concept for this book?

Man, I wanted to break out of the Morganville barriers, and do a road trip book! So. This was that. A road trip, in Eve’s car, headed for trouble.

2. Which character do I think stood out in this book, and why?

Michael really took on maturity, I thought – he had to face facts about himself, about his future, about his ambitions … and come to terms, somewhat, with his vampire state.

3. Five things I loved about writing this book:

A. Who doesn’t want Oliver for a chaperone when you’re out of town, ready to cut loose with your friends?
B. Eve’s car obsession. Especially buying the new hearse.
C. The cluelessness that our three Morganville natives have about how to act out in the modern world. They underestimate how dangerous people are, never mind vampires.
D. Morley. He was quite fun to write.
E. Combat librarians!

4. Five things I didn’t love about writing this book

A. Not enough Myrnin.
B. Not enough Myrnin.
C. I wanted to have Michael actually rock out at a show somewhere, but the dramatic pacing would have been thrown off.
D. I wanted to keep my original title of BACK IN BLACKE. What? You’re not an AC/DC fan? C’mon.
E. I wished I’d been able to do more with Morley, honestly. Lack of time and page count.

5. If I could do this book over, what would I do differently, and why?

I’d probably have made their encounters with real life – outside of the bubble of Morganville – even more amusing and dangerous. At the same time.

6. Favorite quoted passage from the book

“I promise not to eat anyone.”

“Very funny,” Mrs. Grant said. Morley gave her a grave look.

“I wasn’t joking, dear lady,” he said. “I do promise. And I never make a promise I don’t intend to keep. You should feel quite secure.”

“Well, I’m sorry, I don’t,” she said. “You’re just — ”

“Too overwhelmingly dashing and attractive?” Morley grinned. “A common problem women face with me. It’ll pass. You seem like the no-nonsense sort. I like that.”

7. What I learned from this book

Because the covers are done far in advance of the book being finished, I had to match Claire’s dramatic new hair color on the US cover (pink!) to what I had written in the book. So I learned how to adapt the book to the cover, somewhat. (She bought a pink wig at the mall.)

8. Fun research moment

I got to pay visits to a few small Texas towns that were quite remote, take pictures of their courthouses, try to imagine how I’d survive the Vampire Apocalypse locked inside of one. Yes, they pay me for these things. AMAZING.

Official Contest information:

• to enter, please fill out the form below
• entrants must be 13 years of age or older
• contest open to US Only
• the winner will be announced on this blog post at the conclusion of the contest
• the winner will be notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.
• DO NOT PUT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION
• check out my Contest Policy/Privacy Policy

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine

Release Date: April 27, 2010
Author Info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Signet
Age Group: Young Adult
Shelfability: Acquire/Borrow
Pages: 241
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Interest: Series
Challenge: None
Buy the Book: Amazon
Get the Audiobook: Audible

Oh how I have missed Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael. Perhaps even Oliver and Myrnin, although he wasn’t in the book as much as I would have liked!

If you haven’t read the Morganville Vampire series, you are missing out! They are fun, quick and entertaining reads. Claire is an imperfect, flawed but lovable main character. She never ceases to amaze me. I absolutely devoured this book. Picked it up and didn’t put it down. I don’t want to get into the plot of the book a whole lot since this is book 8, and if you haven’t read the others you should really start at the beginning!

I’ll just touch on a few things! As much as I love Claire and the gang remind me that I never want to go on a road-trip with them! I think they do about everything possibly except make it to their destination. Well, I guess they do in the end. It wouldn’t be a true adventure without several near death experiences. Their lives are never dull, I give them that much.

I can’t wait to see where Rachel takes us next. It seems like she always has something up her sleeve that takes me off guard!