Waiting on Wednesday {20}: The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater | Goodreads

Expected Publication: September 18th, 2012 from Scholastic Press

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

(Synopsis and Image from Goodreads)

I love Maggie Stiefvater’s other novels, and I have no doubt this one will be any different. Also, this sounds kind of like a Maureen Johnson to more for some reason…

What are YOU waiting on? Comment for me to check them out!

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes: Book Review + Guest Post!

Novel: Cupcake Club:Peace, Love, and Cupcakes by Sheryl and Carrie Berk | Goodreads

Release Date: April 5th, 2012

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Format: ARC

Source: Publisher

Challenge: None

Quiet fourth-grader Kylie Carson is sort of a an outsider–she’s constantly bullied by popular girl Meredith and has no friends, until her new drama teacher encourages her to start a cupcake club at school: Cupcakes for a Cause will raise money for the new EcoCenter. Soon, Kylie and other misfits are baking up a storm.

(Synopsis and Image from Goodreads)

Willa’s Rambles:

Cupcake Club: Peace, Love, and Cupcakes is an adorable middle-grade. I read it in one sitting and really enjoyed the storyline!

Kylie is a charismatic character who I immediately liked for her caring and sweet heart, and her compassion towards people. She wanted to believe the best in everyone – or she tried – and all she wants the entire book is to be accepted at school. She reminds me so much of myself and many of the girls I knew at her age, and from that point in my life, I can totally relate to the issues she is having. They are so true to every girl!

This book was a quick, fun, and sweet read that I highly recommend for someone looking for a quick middle grade read that will make you feel happy and joyful inside when you’re done!

Thanks Sourcebooks for sending this one on to me, and now on to the Guest Post from the authors!

——————

For years, Sheryl Berk has been a top ghostwriter/book collaborator in Hollywood. “I’ve worked with everyone from Britney Spears and Carmen Electra to Whitney Port and Tia Mowry,” she explains. She also co-authored the New York Times bestseller Soul Surfer with Bethanny Hamilton (also a hit movie). But even with all those A-listers, her 9 year old daughter Carrie remains her favorite writing partner. Here’s how the two cooked up the idea for The Cupcake Club book series:

Carrie: I was having a sleepover with my BFF Jaimie. We were bored so I took out some paper and started writing a story. It was about four girls who started their own cupcake club. I showed it to my mom.

Sheryl: She was learning about realistic fiction in Second Grade, and she was a huge fan of Judy Moody books. But she was always looking for a book series she could relate to more.

Carrie: I wanted to read about cupcakes!

Sheryl: So she wrote up a summary of her idea, and I sent it to my literary agent.

Carrie: We got a book deal really fast and I was excited. I was going to be an author.

Sheryl: It’s great to work with her on the series. She draws inspiration for the characters and their adventures from her school, her friends, her teachers. There’s a realness to The Cupcake Club, and that comes directly from the fact that it’s written by a kid. The book deals with issues that kids deal with, like bullying, crushes, friend drama.

Carrie: My mom and I talk about how the book will go: what the characters will do, what problems they’ll have, how they’ll solve them. Then she writes the first draft and I edit it.

Sheryl: Sometimes she can be a little tough! I get comments in the margins like, ‘A kid would never talk like that!’ or ‘Needs more explanation!’ She has some very strong opinions.

Carrie: I want it to sound like a kid said it. And I read a lot, so I know what’s a good book for my age.

Sheryl: And we also incorporate a lot of crazy cupcakes in the story. Stuff like a cannoli cream cupcake, a spaghetti and meatball cupcake, or maple red velvet.

Carrie: I watch Cupcake Wars and take notes. Then I give my mom some ingredient suggestions. I just saw a cupcake with pickles and peanut butter and I want to do something like it for Book 3!

Sheryl: We work closely with a recipe developer, Jessi Walter from Taste Buds. Carrie does a tasting and they talk over what cupcakes we want to create from each book.

Carrie: Like The Eco-licious Cupcake from Peace, Love and Cupcakes. I’m an EcoKid in my school, and I really wanted to give readers a recipe that was all organic and used recycled paper cupcake wrappers.

Sheryl: I’ve learned a lot about cupcakes from Carrie, and I think she’s learned a lot about the writing process and publishing business from me.

Carrie: I never knew how many times you have to revise a manuscript! My favorite part is when we get the galleys. Then you can really SEE what the book looks like. And I also didn’t know how long it takes. It’s about six months from the time we write it to the time it’s in stores.

Sheryl: The best part is we get to be creative and imaginative together.

Carrie: The best part is making and tasting cupcakes together. We just went on a Cupcake Crawl in Boston. We’re always looking for great new cupcakes to spotlight on my blog site (www.carriescupcakecritique.shutterfly.com) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/PLCCupcakeClub).

Sheryl: It’s the sweetest job I’ve ever had!

Carrie: One day, I want to be a bestselling author. Or maybe a judge on Cupcake Wars. Maybe both.

It sounds delicious, right? Check it out!

BEA: Here I Come!

Hello my lovely Willa’s Ramblers!

First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support in my blog. I love you all more than you can imagine. Today I was thinking about how different my life would be if I hadn’t met Meredith. Maybe I would be at a different school not being nerdy, or being a closet nerd. Or I would be fangirling and not being able to talk with the authors I love. Either way, I doubt I would be blogging. And blogging has given me so many opportunities! One of those is….

BEA!!!!!

*does little dance* Can you believe it? I’M GOING TO BEA!!!! I can’t wait. I’m meeting up with Jess, Katie, Andye and Amy, Kristi, and a bunch of other awesome bloggers! It’ll be awesomeness. But I want to know what you all want!

What do you want coverage of? I’m bringing my camera so I can take video footage, and I’ll be doing a recap every day fo you all can see the inside scoop on BEA. I’ll probably do some crazy stuff of me and bloggers too, being our crazy cool selves. But what do you want? Twitter? Video? Instagram? (I’m willing to get one for you all….) Shoot off in the spreadsheet below so I can make sure you get what you want.

Discussion Starters: Dystopian Novels

Welcome to the very first Discussion Starters! These will occur bi-weekly on Monday to start the week off on a bang! *cue horn* This week’s topic is…

DYSTOPIAN NOVELS

I really wanted to share some information about a widely growing genre (and one of my favorites) DYSTOPIAN. The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Ashes are among my favorites. These books are often thought of as end-of-the-world types, but that isn’t always true.

Dystopian means an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one, and is the opposite of a utopia. I believe that one of the first dystopian novels was The Giver, published in 1993 – there was definitely ones before this like Farenheit 451, War of the Worlds, and others, but this was the first one that is similar to what dystopian is now.

Now, dystopian has become an umbrella genre that encompasses things from Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Matched by Ally Condie. When Matchedcame out, many people were relating it to The Giver, and saying how it resembled the Giver so strongly – even The Society (the ruling force in Matched) was named the same thing that The Giver’s ruling society was called.

I talk about this issue frequently, and people are always agreeing with me: that the dystopian genre needs to be revaluated, because books are being placed in a genre that doesn’t fit them. As readers, and some of us bloggers, we need to tell publishers this, and advocate for developing this booming genre and industry! Somehow, dystopian has become fascinating to us, and it will only grow – and we must prepare for this. Take a few seconds and think about your favorite dystopian novels, and ask yourself – are they end-of-the-world? Have you not broken into the genre much past The Hunger Games? If so, check out a list of my favorites complied below.

1. Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick – While Alex is mountain climbing, an electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the continent, and everyone from early twenties to seniors are killed. Alex takes in a young girl name Ellie when her grandfather is killed by the pulse, and they fight for their lives with the help of Tom, a young soldier. Can the threesome make it in this dangerous world?
2. Divergent by Veronica Roth – Beatrice has to make the life changing decision: which faction does she belong to? There isn’t second chances, so she has to make sure her decision is right. When she chooses Dauntless, and she faces the highly competitive initiation along with discovering things about herself she never knew – and is forced to keep secrets that could destroy her and the world as she knows it.
3. Delirium by Lauren Oliver – In Lena’s world you don’t fall in love, and it’s treated so you never do. Love (or deliria) is dangerous, according to scientists, and when every child turns eighteen, they are treated and their live is perfect with no heartbreak. But then, with only ninety-five days left until treatment, Lena does the unthinkable – she falls in love.
4. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card– this was the first Dystopian novel I read, and I loved it. In order to develop a secure defense against the alien race’s next attack, the government breeds child geniuses and train them as soldiers. Ender and his sister Valentine are canidates for the soldier-training program but don’t make the cut, and Ender heads off to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous and frightening military training.
5. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson – When seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox wakes up from a coma, she is told she is still recovering from a terrible accident she was involved in year ago. But if that really is why she just woke up, why she can’t remember anything that happened? And what happened the night of the accident? And most disturbing of all: Are these memories even hers?

I hope everyone goes out and finds a dystopian book they didn’t know about, and remember: may the odds be ever in your favor.

What are your favorite Dystopians? Tell me all about them!

TGIF {37}: How Willa’s Ramblings Came To Be

A Book Blogger is Born: What made you decide to start your very own book blog?

I kind of have to give tons of credit to Meredith of Mint Tea and a Good Book. When I started this blog, it was a writing blog, where I shared my angst and anger that I couldn’t get anything written, and barfed up words on a blog. It was massively horrendous. But Meredith stuck by me, designing my blog on the way, and making me into a very happy girl with her love and support.

Then I discovered that Meredith had a book blog. SHE NEVER EVEN TOLD ME!

The book that made me feel like I could fly.

And then, I decided to mix some reviews in after I wrote a review for her blog as a guest poster. I loved how it made me feel – it gave me an outlet for my book recommending fetish. So this blog was born.

It kept the same name as the original one, because these are still my ramblings, except they’re ramblings that are amazing and read-able, and have given me so much happiness and joy in life. They’ve helped me meet amazing people like Jess, Katie, Erika, Andye, Ginger and so many more. They’ve helped me feel more comfotable with strangers. They’ve taught me how to write professional emails
Lastly, they’ve made me the person I am today. I forever grateful to my little words.

And it’s Friday. Deep breaths. In and out. Almost there to summer.

Angel Fire: Book Review

Novel: Angel Fire (Angel  #2) By L.A. Weatherly | Goodreads

Release Date: January 24th, 2012

Publisher: Candelwick Press

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Challenge: None

In Book Two of L. A. Weatherly’s wildly romantic, action-packed trilogy, the angels are back with a vengeance . . . and they don’t have heaven in mind.

In the wake of the Second Wave, the angel menace has exploded, and Alex and Willow are on the lam. Willow’s prophetic dream points them to Mexico City, where they connect with a fledgling group of angel killers led by the exotically beautiful Kara, an Angel Killer from Alex’s past. But the team remains suspicious of Willow, even after the more-experienced Alex takes over as leader, training them hard for a rush attack on the Seraphic Council, or “The Twelve.” This elite group of all-powerful angels is also under the scrutiny of Willow’s angel-father, Raziel, who has his own sinister plan to defeat them.

What Willow hasn’t told Alex is that there was also a mysterious boy in her dream, one she felt overpoweringly attracted to. When brooding, gorgeous Seb shows up in the flesh, he turns out to be another—possibly the world’s only other—half angel. He’s been searching for Willow all his life, and when Alex enlists this rival to help keep Willow safe, he can’t predict what chemistry will pass between them . . . or how far Willow might go to keep Alex safe. Will their love endure or spell doomsday for the human race?

(Synopsis and Image from Goodreads)

Willa’s Rambles:

I loved Angel Burn because the storyline just sucked me in, and the romance was fantastic. It’s the perfect rainy day book, and this one is just the same way!

Willow is at a whole new level in this installment. She is not only protecting herself, but she discovers that being exposed could not only hurt her, but also everyone she cares about. She meets Seb, and she realizes how much she doesn’t know, and how vulnerable she really is. Suddenly, her time with Alex is next to nothing, and she starts feeling attracted to Seb, although she doesn’t know if she wants to be.

Alex kind of annoyed me in this novel. I really just wanted him to either confront Willow about how he felt about the growing time she was spending with Seb, or grow up. But then I saw the parts I love about him – how sweet and kind, and absolutely amazing he is, especially around Willow. These parts kind of evened out the parts I didn’t like as much.

Seb was an okay character. I think he could’ve toned down his emotions toward Willow a tad bit, but then again, he is in love with her. This caused some pretty awkward scenes, but awesome you got to see a different side of Willow, and learn much more about her angel because Seb and Willow were working of protecting her angel.

Angel Fire is a fantastic sequel to Angel Burn and I can’t wait for the next heart-pounding, breath-taking, and exhilarating book! Hopefully with just as much romance.

Have you read Angel Burn or Angel Fire? What did you think?

Waiting on Wednesday {19}: Pushing the Limits

Pushing the Limits by Matie McGarry | Goodreads

Expected Publication: July 31st, 2012 from Harlequin Teen

I”I won’t tell anyone, Echo. I promise.” Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. “You didn’t do that-did you? It was done to you?” No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

“An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!”-Gena Showalter,  New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series

So wrong for each other…and yet so right.

 
 
No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.  Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

(Synopsis and Image from Goodreads)

Looks like an intense romance and I’ve heard some good things about it. What do you think?

What are YOU waiting on? Comment for me to check them out!

Tris and Izzie: Book Review

Novel: Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison | Goodreads

Release Date: October 11th, 2011

Publisher: Egmont USA

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Challenge: None

A modern retelling of the German fairytale “Tristan and Isolde”, Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until — she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school.

(Synopsis and Image from Goodreads)

Willa’s Rambles:

I was really excited about reading Tris & Izzie. It looked fun, cute, and romantic. I didn’t at all realize it was about what it really WAS about, and honestly? I wish it had been a cute romance. It would have been a lot better.

Izzie annoyed me from Day 1. She was boring, dramatic, over-reactive, and quite annoying. I didn’t understand any of the decisions she made in the book, or why she even liked Tristan. He was weird, dark, and way too perfect. He had NO flaws. I just wanted her to yell and scream and for him to yell and scream back a few times, just so I could realize they weren’t one dimensional. But did they? No. And did they ever become more than one dimensional? No.

The storyline that Tris & Izzie follows is crazy. It really made no sense. One day Izzie and Tris were meeting, the next they were announcing their undeniable love for each other and fighting huge beasts that popped out of nowhere. The most crazy part was when Izzie goes, “I need to fight them.” And Tris says. “Let’s go now.” IT WAS MIDNIGHT. AND HER MOTHER LETS HER GO RISK HER LIFE WITH HER BOYFRIEND TO A MONSTER THAT KILLED HER FATHER. Crazy much?

As you can tell, I really disliked this book. The characters were one dimensional, the storyline made no sense, and I really just wanted it to be happy and fluffy and romantic. It wasn’t.

Did you like Tris & Izzie? Or did you have the same reaction I did?

Wherever You Go: Book Review

Novel: Wherever You Go by Heather Davis | Goodreads

Release Date: November 14th, 2011

Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Challenge: None

Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?
As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?
Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob,Wherever You Gois is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light.

(Synopsis and Image from Goodreads)

Willa’s Rambles:

I’d heard a few things about Wherever You Go and seen it on a few blogs, but I had, unfortunetly, not read it yet. I grabbed it from my local library, and decided to give it a try!

I really enjoyed the relationships that were built in this book. From Holly’s and her grandfather’s, to Jason and Holly, to Rob and Holly, and Holly and her mother. They were real, and grounded in the characters and their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. I really loved how all of them had their flaws, and Holly recognized those, and tried to move past them.

The story is told from third person, and rotates perspectives between Holly, Rob, and Jason, which means you get a perspective from a ghost. I actually loved these parts of the book, because you got to know more of Rob, other than in Holly’s memory. You got to understand why he did the things he did, and what actually happened the night he died. The relationship between Holly’s grandfather and Rob was very interesting (Rob could communicate with him) and this led to some amusing and poignant parts of the book, when Holly was talking to Rob and telling him to leave her grandfather alone, but he couldn’t say anything back.

Probably my favorite part of the book was Holly and Jason. They were such fictional characters together, but separately, they were so real. Together, they were perfect – happy, caring, loving, and a bit too over the top, but hey! It’s fiction.

I enjoyed this novel that delves into the relationships between grandfathers and granddaughters when the grandfather has Alzheimer’s, and questions what dying really does to you.

Have you read Wherever You Go? What did you think?

IMM {28}: Welcome Crazy, This is The Messy Peculiars!

Four more exciting books in the mail this week from Abrams and BookPeople Teen Reviewing!

Sorry about the flipped picture! I couldn’t get it to go the right way.

For Review:

Welcome Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQueery

Messy by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Crazy by Amy Reed

Thanks Abrams and BookPeople!

What was in YOUR mailbox this week?