Follow Me friday (4)

I seriously can never believe how fast the week has gone until I write up my next FF post! Follow Me Friday is a weekly book-blogger meme hosted by Parajunkee over at Parajunkee's View (easily one of the sweetest book blogs I've ever seen by the way). Have a book blog? You can join in the fun too! Just visit Parajunkee's site at the pink link above, be sure you are a follower of her blog and the blog she is featuring for the week, put your name in the Linky, create your own FF post on your blog, and then start commenting and following whomever you wish!

This Week's Question:

Keeping with the dystopian and apocalypse theme that seems to be running rampant on parajunkee.com, I have one very hard question for you: If you were stocking your bomb shelter, what books would you HAVE to include if you only had space for ten?

Well I am definitely a classics kind of girl through and through, so even though I do love my YA fiction to death, most of my books would probably be a bit more on the heavy side- I'm guessing I'll have a lot of time in my bomb shelter to get through these :)

1.) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

2.) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

3.) Confessions by Saint Augustine

4.) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

5.) The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

6.) Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

7.) Utopia by Sir Thomas More

8.) Middlemarch by George Eliot

9.) Dracula by Bram Stoker

10.) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

While I have read some of these already, there are just so many classics I want to get through at some point in life, but a lot of them are just really tough! So I figure, if I am stuck in a bomb shelter I'll have no choice but to concentrate and make my way through them... However, I have read Pride and Prejudice at least 8 times, it is my fave book ever, and I've read Jane Eyre probably about 3-4 times. Some classics are just readable no matter what time period you're in :)

Happy happy Friday to you all and thank-you for stopping on by my blog!

Book Review: Bright Young Things

Author: Anna Godbersen
Release Date: October 12, 2010
Pages: 400
Read it in: 1 week

The Hook: The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties.

Summary: Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star. . . .

Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will.

The only person Cordelia can trust is ­Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.

Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the ­illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.

LC's Take: 

So unfortunately I have been MIA for most of this week due to some things that came up this past weekend, but I am now getting back into the swing of things!

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen was another great historical fiction novel that draws you back in time to the sparkling, rowdy life of the Roaring Twenties. The author once again delivers an energetic cast of characters whose lives are all interwoven into a story that has you completely engaged from beginning to end. This book was really fun and keeps you guessing about what will happen to the three main characters until the last few pages (well, actually it keeps you guessing even after that, because this is a series, so I am still wondering!)

The main gist of the plot centers around two girls, Letty and Cordelia, who run away from their boring, ho-hum country town in Ohio to make it big in New York City. Letty is convinced she will become a singing sensation as soon as she is discovered and Cordelia is secretly in search of her long-lost father, who just happens to be one of the richest liquor-smugglers on the East Coast. The story follows the ups and downs of living precariously in an age of danger and decadence. The third main character is Astrid, a girl born into wealth and privilege, but who finds out that even her position is not secure. Intrigue and scandal abound as one by one, each girl becomes entangled in the sins and wrecklessness of life in the fast lane.

Once again, I love Anna Godbersen's ability to create historic worlds that are both vivid and believable. If you've read The Luxe, you know how desciptive Godbersen's writing is and how the details are key to re-creating long-lost times and places. As I read this book I could actually picture what New York City would have been like in the 1920's-- where people lived, what they ate, how they dressed-- no element is left out and this made it possible to step into their world. You can see the differences in how girls would have lived back then, but you also realize that not much has changed and people then probably weren't much different from people now...

The only major thing that bothered me about this book was that some of the characters' actions didn't always make sense to me. For example, Cordelia's whole reason for leaving home and everything she has ever known is to find her father and never have to return to the small-town life she feels trapped in. But then, when she gets everything that she has dreamed of, she meets some guy and basically throws it all away. Maybe if she had been born into wealth and luxery and if she hadn't been dreaming about meeting her father her whole life, I could see her gambling everything on a guy she's only known for a couple weeks, but her position is so precarious that it didn't make sense for her to be so wreckless. She knew exactly what she had to lose and I felt like she just treated things way too lightly. Letty also makes some bad decisions, but in her case she really couldn't have known just how bad they were.

Bright Young Things was a great historical fiction-- if you like this genre you will probably love Anna Godbersen's writing. There was drama, intrigue and mystery as well, with many characters involved. If you like a plot told through multiple perspectives with uncertain outcomes that keep you guessing, I would recommend this book to you too! I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

LC's Rating: 

Another fun, colorful, and intriguing look at the lives of women living in another time period-- Anna Godbersen will have you completely caught up in the short-lived world of glamour, danger, and decadence of the Roaring Twenties!

Follow Me Friday (3)

Happy Friday everyone!

Follow me Friday is a weekly book meme hosted by Parajunkee, and it is a great opportunity to find new blogs, meet new people, make new friends, and learn more about the book blogging community (oh yeah, and get new followers, yea!).

Here is what I have been up to this week:

Book Review: Paranormalcy

Book Review: Wither

Teaser Tuesday

Waiting on Wednesday

This week's question is: What is on your current playlist?

My answer: I realize that this is definitely not at all sophisticated listening but hey, whatev, I love my driving tunes :) I have no shame in admitting that they currently include:  

Till the World Ends by Britney Spears

Automatic by Aubrey O'Day
E.T. by Katy Perry ft. Kanye West
Written in the Stars by Tinie Tempah ft. Eric Turner

Feel Your Love by Kim Sozzi
On the Floor by J. Lo ft. Pitbull

Stereo Love by Edward Maya ft. Vika Jigulina

Down by Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne

Move for Me by Kaskade and Deadmau5

If I Had You by Adam Lambert 

OK, and there may be one or two more Britney songs in the mix too- I love Britney haha... I do have a pretty eclectic taste in music, but right now I am especially loving anything that makes me want to get up and dance :) If I want something a little more mellow I'll usually go for Coldplay or Late Night Alumni. I also really love Sarah Brightman-- she has been my idol ever since I got The Phantom of the Opera album back in 8th grade, and I have been to 4 of her concerts, all of them an unforgettable experience :) Red Hot Chili Peppers and Poe are a couple other favorites!

What are you listening to lately?

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly book meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, where we have the chance to share what upcoming releases we are on the edge of our seats in anticipation for. This week, based on all of the raving ARC reviews I have been seeing for it, I am choosing Divergent by Veronica Roth-- apparently this is one killer dystopian novel, and I am definitely looking forward to getting my hands on it when it comes out!
 

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Release date: May 3, 2011
Pages: 496

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.


Sounds pretty darn good, huh?? What new or upcoming releases are you all waiting for on this wonderful Wednesday?

Teaser Tuesday (3)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

OK, so here's my teaser for this week! It is from Anna Godbersen's Bright Young Things, and I just started it today:

*****

"They were all marching towards their own secret fates, and long before the next decade rolled around, each would escape in her own way-- one would be famous, one would be married, and one would be dead.


That is what I want to tell you about: the girls with their short skirts and bright eyes and big-city dreams.


The girls of 1929."

*****

Ah! I LOVE it!! OK, I know that's technically 3 sentences, but honestly, this was like the best Prologue to a book I've ever read. After reading and loving The Luxe I had to pick up another historical fiction drama by Anna Godbersen-- this time it is set in the Roaring 20's New York City, and I cannot wait to get into this book!

So what teasers do the rest of my lovely readers have? Leave a link for me below!

Book Review: Wither

Author: Lauren DeStefano
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Pages: 368
Read it in: 1 day

The Hook: What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Summary: Thanks to modern medicine, every newborn has become a ticking genetic time bomb-- males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape-- to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

LC's Take:  

OMG, I don't even know where to begin. This book was INCREDIBLE! I read Wither in one day, I just could not put it down. Lauren DeStafano's ability to create a dystopian world and tell the story of a young girl trapped in that world was absolutely mind-blowing.

From the opening quote by T.S. Eliot to the disturbingly nightmarish first chapter to the last pages that bring you some glimmer of hope, this was one of those books you just can't help but be consumed by. Sometime in the not too distant future, Rhine Ellery is a 16 year old girl who lives in a world where females only make it to age 20 and males to age 25. A few generations back, geneticists had tried to create embryos that were immune to all disease and practically immortal, but in the process they introduced some kind of DNA into the genetic make-up that turns humans into ticking time bombs-- everyone now knows the age they will die. In an attempt to save the human race, girls as young as 13 are kidnapped by Gatherers to either be sold into polygamous marriages in order to breed more offspring, or to be killed. Rhine ends up being one of the "lucky" ones and enters into a world of wealth and privilege as one of the the three wives of Linden Ashby. Now she is surrounded by beauty, parties, and luxury-- but right under the surface, they are all closely followed by inevitable death and decay.

I listened to the interview Lauren DeStefano gave after reading Wither, and she says that the main theme of this book is uncertainty. She tells the story in present-tense because Rhine herself has no idea from one day to the next what is going to happen to her, or even if she'll be alive by the last page. It was this sense of uncertainty that had me totally captivated from beginning to end.

For me, Wither was not only completely engrossing, giving me a beautifully tragic story of a dystopian world, but it was intelligent as well. First, the author actually takes the time to tell you how the world got to be where it is, which I think is essential for any dystopian novel  if it's going to be believable for the reader. Given the background, I could actually imagine this world. Second, the novel brings up some really deep questions. For me, I found myself thinking: is it better to be free and live in grinding poverty, or is it better to be held captive in the lap of luxury? Rhine finds herself in a "gilded cage," and only wants to get out to go back home to her brother, but even she sometimes questions: is it really so bad being enslaved when you're given almost everything you could possible want? What if you only had 4 years left to live? Is it really worth fighting for the things you value the most?

My recommendation? Go out and get this book immediately! I was absolutely blown away. The writing is  beautiful. The plot balances both light and dark elements, and you can't help but be sucked into the dark eeriness that pervades Rhine's world where beauty and decay, and youth and death are so closely linked. Finally, the ending leaves you with some hope that life is going to be restored to the way it was, and you can't help but want more. I give Lauren DeStefano a standing ovation for this debut novel, and can't wait for the next book in her Chemical Garden Trilogy!! 

LC's Rating: 

AMAZING. Beautifully tragic, dark and suspenseful, I could not put Wither down. If you are looking for a book that is both well-written and intelligent, this is one book you are going to LOVE!

*****

I also wanted to include here the trailer for the book and the short interview with Lauren DeStefano, just to entice you a little bit more into reading this book ;)







Happy reading everyone!!

Book Review: Paranormalcy

Author: Kiersten White
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Pages: 352
Read it in: 3 days

The Hook: I see things you can't see. I find things that hunt you. I am your protector. But even I can't protect you now.

Summary: Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophesies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophesy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures. 

So much for normal.

LC's Take: 

Oh wow, I really liked this book! I am one of those readers who has to read everything word-for-word in my head in order to follow the story (definitely not a speed reader!) so it takes me longer to get through a book, but even I whipped through Paranormalcy in about 3 days (and that was on top of work, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc.). Not too shabby! Paranormalcy kept me interested the whole way through-- the writing style was smart, witty and made me laugh to myself on almost every page.

The main character is Evie, a normal teenage girl despite her ability to see paranormals, and the story is told through her point of view. I swear it was scary how much Evie and I think alike! She is intelligent and ditzy at the same time, which I can totally relate to-- she has a head on her shoulders but she struggles with all the insecurities and embarrassments that go along with being a 16-year old. And for Evie it's even tougher because, you know, her job is to "bag-and-tag" paranormals like vampires, werewolves and hags with a pink taser and bring them back to headquarters for containment. I loved Evie and I'm really glad Kiersten told the story though her eyes-- her sense of humor and ability to make fun of herself were a welcome change from the angsty, emo-types that seem so prevalent in a lot of YA.

The supporting characters added to the lighthearted feel of the book-- Lend is the shape-shifting hottie Evie has a crush on and who really cares about her. Reth is Evie's ex-boyfriend who is also a faerie and takes on the possessive, won't-take-no-for-an-answer stalker-type role. Lish is Evie's best friend (and a mermaid) who works for IPCA and continually gets censored for swearing though the computer that translates her "Mermish" language (hard to explain but it's pretty darn funny).

My opinion? Definitely check this book out! The plot was clever and fast-paced with lots of action. Evie's sense of humor balances the darker parts of the story, and besides she is an awesome kick-butt kind of heroine. There were only two issues I had with this book: one was the secondary characters. They weren't quite as fleshed-out as I would've liked, and Evie's relationships with them were kind of wishy-washy, so it was hard to feel emotional when something happened to them. The other is that I found the cover/back description to be kind of misleading-- if you think this is some dark, Gothic read with lots of serious writing, it's not-- quite the opposite, it's goofy/campy-- in a good way. Other than that, I thought this was a fun and entertaining read. I really haven't seen a bad review for this book yet and am happy to add on with another happy-reader review!

LC's Rating:

A fast-paced, fun read that combines all of your fave paranormal creatures into one clever and creative story-- you won't regret reading this one!!