Monday, 20 May 2013
Hi everyone! Today we're taking part in the Between the Lives blog tour.
Earlier this month I posted my review of Jessica Shirvington's new book Between the Lives. I was so surprised and impressed with this book and how it dealt with a girl living two lives.
Harper Collins Australia has offered us two copies for giveaway! This giveaway is for Aussie entrants only.
Good luck!
Labels:
blog tour,
giveaway
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7
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Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews - it's a way for us to chat about the books we bought, borrowed, received during the week.
I'm in L.A right now but I managed to do a quick vlog and upload it but the quality of the sound is a bit average compared to my usual vlogs ;)
From Maggie:
A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty - signed
The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander
Purchased
The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler - signed
Golden by Jessi Kirby - signed
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Stacking the Shelves,
StS
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19
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Sunday, 12 May 2013
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It's a way for us to share the books we bought, borrowed, and received during the week
For review:
The Disgrace of Kitty Grey by Mary Hooper
Bought:
Raincheck on Timbuktu by Kirsten Murphy (Aus YA)
Saltwater Moons by Julies Gittus (Aussie YA)
The Lucky Ones by Tohby Riddle (Aussie YA)
My Mad Fat Diary by Rae Earl
Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt
Sent:
Michelle sent me
Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O'Porter
A Month with April-May by Edyth Bulbring
Freaks Like Us by Sausan Vaught
This is probably my last vlog until I get back from the USA but I'll still hopefully have STS posts up each week while I'm away :) Have a great weekend!
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Stacking the Shelves,
StS
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36
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Friday, 10 May 2013
Published June 12, 2012 by Balzer & Bray
Source: purchased
Rating: 4 paws
From the blurb: It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund is a
re-telling of Persuasion by Jane Austen. I'm not going to sum it up because
that blurb up there does a good job of it.
I've been on an Austen-kick lately: Pride & Prejudice,
Sense & Sensibility, Emma, so when I
saw Maggie reading this and was reminded of the link to Persuasion, I queued it
up so I could listen to it and then follow it up by reading this.
Diana clearly has a love of Persuasion and Jane Austen and
she did a wonderful job of re-telling this story without copying it scene for
scene but also remaining true to it. Anne Elliot is now Elliot North, the
daughter of a baron, and Captain Wentworth is now Kai or Malakai Wentforth, a
member of the Cloud Fleet and formerly a boy that lived on their estate. The
relationship between them was just as tortured and filled with hurt and misunderstanding,
and just as beautiful as in the original.
What I find funny is that usually I am a get-it-on-already girl – I just want characters to get together and stop wasting time. But when I
read Austen’s books, I'm not like that at all, I enjoy all the little
conversations, interactions, the waiting, and anticipation. And it was the
same for For Darkness Shows the Stars – I was happy to wait while Elliot and
Kai sorted themselves out, possibly because I knew what was coming.
I thought the setting was really clever and took the story
to a completely different time and place to the original. Set in the future,
after the world as we know it has been destroyed, there’s a lack of modern
technology that is reminiscent of the original, but still feels relevant.
Instead of Bath we have the Boatwright Estate, belonging to Elliot’s
grandfather, with tall cliffs overlooking the sea, this gave the story a
windswept-island atmosphere.
You definitely don’t have to have read Persuasion to enjoy
For Darkness Shows the Stars but I’d highly recommend it. I enjoyed comparing
the two, discovering what changes Diana had made, and which parts she had kept
for her story. It’s a wonderfully clever and beautiful book.
Labels:
4 stars,
Diana Peterfreund,
post apocalyptic,
review,
sci-fi,
YA
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24
comments
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
15 Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins
Published May 8, 2013 by Flux
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 5 paws
From the blurb: Fifteen-year-old Laurence Roach just wants a normal life, but it’s not easy when your mum is a depressed alcoholic, and your six-year-old brother thinks he’s a dog. When Mum fails to come home one night, Laurence tells nobody, terrified he and his brother will be taken into care if anyone finds out. Instead, he attempts to keep up the pretence that Mum is still around: dressing up in her clothes to trick the neighbours and spinning an increasingly complicated tangle of lies. After two weeks on their own, running out of food and money, and with suspicious adults closing in, Laurence finally discovers what happened to his mother. And that’s when the trouble really starts . . .
15 Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins is set in the
fictional town of Hardacre, England. Laurence Roach, fifteen, lives in a flat
with his younger brother, Jay, and their alcoholic mother. She started drinking
when she became depressed after the death of his father when he was a child and
now he’s reduced to making sure he and Jay stay out of her way until she’s had
a few drinks and is in a good mood. One night their mum doesn’t return home,
Laurence dismisses it at first and hides it from Jay, but he soon realises she
may not be coming back. Left with little money, Laurence tries to make things
work without alerting anyone to their abandonment.
15 Days Without a Head left me feeling sad and heartbroken,
as I often do when I read a story involving a careless parent, especially if
they’re an alcoholic. Laurence is disappointed and disgusted by his mum’s
behaviour and but feels helpless as there’s not a lot he can do. Once the boys
are on their own, they don’t fare any better as they’re low on cash. They
subsist on mouldy bread, chips, and the occasional pizza, and hearing Jay
describe his tummy aches was saddening.
Laurence felt so believable to me and this is what got to me
as I wondered how many kids like him are living a similar life right now.
Despite his mother abandoning them, he is still trying to win them an
all-expenses-paid holiday and just wants to her to come home and take care of
them. Parents who neglect their children never fail to make me wish that people
would actually stop to consider the responsibility that having children brings
before rushing in and having them. Kids are at the mercy of their parents for
so many years and stories like Laurence’s are all too common.
15 Day Without a Head is a realistic look at family life
involving an alcoholic and abandonment. I found Laurence and his story
completely captivating and I could not put this book down.
Thank you to Flux for providing me with a Netgalley copy.
Labels:
contemporary fiction,
Dave Cousins,
realistic fiction,
review,
YA
|
25
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Monday, 6 May 2013
How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You by Tara Eglington
Published February 1, 2013 by Harper Collins
Source: the publisher
Rating: 4 paws
From the blurb: Sweet sixteen and never been kissed – and that’s the way Aurora Skye wants it to be. She’s too busy finding Potential Princes for her two best friends, counselling her sensitive New Age Dad and dealing with the unexpected return of her long-absent mum.But always in the background there’s Hayden Paris, the Boy Next Door and the bane of Aurora’s life. He’s always around to see her at her worst and that’s what makes him so infuriating... even if he is smart, funny and ‘gets’ her like no-one else.Aurora’s on a mission to save her first kiss for the boy who’s truly worthy of it – and that means a prince, not a toad.
How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You by Tara Eglinton is set
in the fictional suburb of Jefferson which I’m sure is based on Sydney.
Aurora Skye lives with her father, who is now into yoga, Buddhism, and
minimalism, as well as her two cats, Snookums and Bebe. She has four close
friends: Cassie, Jelena, Lindsay, and Sara to whom she is always offering
helpful advice, especially when it comes to love and boys. Most of Aurora’s
time is spent bemoaning her neighbour, Hayden Paris, who is always around when
something is going wrong.
This book was really entertaining! I found so many similarities
between it and the movie Clueless (and therefore Emma by Jane Austen) and the dramatic elements mirrored the play
put on by the characters, Much Ado About Nothing.
Aurora Skye falls into the annoying-yet-loveable character
category for me, think Bindy McKenzie and Penny Drummond. She’s intelligent,
opinionated, and a bit of a know it all but she’s also extremely caring,
protective, and loyal. She hopes to be a writer some day, perhaps beginning with
a book for girls on how to tell if a guy likes you. She adores reading,
writing, and spending her free time in bookstores. Her friends were all well
developed, especially as there were four of them and this book was quite
female-friendship positive. Sometimes they do get frustrated or jealous of each
other but there was no sterotypical mean girl character, which I have come to expect
from most YA set in high school.
I have to mention Hayden, who might well win the
nicest-guy-in-the-world award. I am not spoiling it for you when I say he
adores Aurora, despite her treatment of him, this is apparent from the very
beginning of the book. There is plenty of chemistry between them, even if
Aurora does not realise it. I don’t know many guys that would go to the lengths
he did, but all of his gestures were sweet and sincere.
There are two main plot lines: Aurora saving her first
kiss for her Prince and her relationship with her mother. The first one adds a fun and silly
element to the story. I know most people don’t value their first kiss so highly, but
Aurora does and she goes to great lengths to prevent boys from kissing her. The second was more
serious and had to do with why she was so guarded and why she treated Hayden in so mean a way. Her mother is a very superficial, self-absorbed, judgemental woman and
she abandoned Aurora for years only to return with a boyfriend and a new life of
which she was not to be included in. It’s clear Aurora seeks her mother’s
approval, but I was really happy with the growth she showed over the course of
the story in regards to this.
The story was predictable but I did not mind at all as there
was so much going on in this book and I was happy with what I knew would happen at
the end. Also, I usually find that characters who do not communicate infuriate
me but I found it worked in this story, again I felt it reflected the
play they were performing at school.
If I was a reviewer who used gifs this review would be
peppered with ones from Clueless. There were so many moments that reminded me
of that film and it made the book all the more enjoyable for me.
How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You is a sweet, funny, and
entertaining read filled with realistic teenage characters. With a focus on
friendship and love it’s sure to please fans of YA romance. Stay tuned for book
two out later this year.
Thank you to the fantastic people at Harper Collins for my
review copy.
Here's the final song from Clueless which I think suits the end of this book, too!
Here's the final song from Clueless which I think suits the end of this book, too!
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews - it's a way for us to chat about the books we borrowed, bought, and received during the week
For review:
Haze (The Rephaim #2) by Paula Weston
I Own the Racecourse by Patricia Wrightson
They Found a Cave by Nan Chauncy
The Watcher in the Garden by Joan Phipson
Hills End by Ivan Southall
Julius and the Watchmaker by Tim Hehir
The Apprentices by Maile Meloy
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Good for You (Between the Lines #3) by Tammara Webber
Purchased:
Nails by Pansy Alexander
Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick
No and Me by Delphine de Vigan from Michelle :)
And we have a new episode of our podcast now available! This episode the Ladies of YA chat about what we're reading, interview Paula Weston, and ask our Listener Question. Go check it out and let us know what you think!
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books,
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