SIGN UP!

If you are a reader, blogger, author, and you also have school, children, and work to deal with outside of bookish demands, this blog post is for you!*

I want to do a feature where I interview different bloggers with different responsibilities outside of blogging. If you have a hectic school life (like me) and have a lot of homework, I want to interview you, and see how you make time to read, review, and keep a book blog running! If you are a blogger and a mom, I would also love to interview you! You do not need to be a blogger to be featured, if you read or you are an author, I want to know how you make time to read and write between jobs, classes, children or other responsibilities.

I want to see how many people would be interested in signing up, then I will start e-mailing interviews after that.

Here is the form:




Thank-you so much for singing up!

*image source

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1) by Jessica Spotswood
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Souce: LibraryThing Early reviewers!
Age Rec: I would recommend this book for ages 12 and over.
Reader Rec: Recommended for fans of Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters series.

Summary*:
Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship--or an early grave.

Review:  Read this book. Read it right now, read it in ten years, read it tomorrow, I don't care when, just read it! 

The message above is for people who I know won't read the entire review, its alright,  just read the sentence above!

For those of you who like to read the whole review (thank-you),  prepare yourself for some major gushing. I started Born Wicked with no major expectations, I really love it when  fantasy and historical fiction mix, so I was intrigued.

From the beginning, it was all secrets and magic. I was flipping the pages madly, trying to find out what happened next. This book was action, mystery, fantasy and forbidden romance. It was just that good.

Cate Cahill was such an amazing and strong character, she has two sisters to look over after her mother's death. She puts them first, she would give anything for them. She is really an awesome character, Jessica Spotswood does such a good job at writing up lovable characters that you just cannot help yourself and fall in love with Cate and wish she was your best friend.

Finn, he is more than just the love interest and dream boy, he is brave and humble. I just love everything about this boy. I need more of him on the next book, please!

The plot of this story was amazing, the twist and turns were just making this but IMPOSSIBLE to put down, just when you think things cannot get any worse, they do, and the ending just about broke my heart

I started the year off really good,  I am glad I chose this book to be my first read of the year, because this book will probably in my top books of 2012. That is just how good Born Wicked was.

Also, I will be posting the book trailer too, because I just LOVE it so much! Great book trailer for a great book!

Rating:

Trailer:

368 Pages of Heartbreak

Why We Broke Up written by Daniel Handler and art by Maira Kalaman
Publish Date: December 27, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Age Rec.: There are a couple of love scenes so I would recommend it for teens 15 and older.

Summary*:
Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

My Review: 


Why We Broke Up brought me back to the time when I was smaller, and I read those books with smooth pages and colorful pictures every other page. But this book was not about colorful caterpillars or fish with shiny fins, this book was about first love and that first heartbreak everyone experiences eventually.

Not only was the book in such a unique format, but the way it was written, so unique and detailed, it just kept me turning page after page until I had gotten to the last of it. 

While I enjoyed the millions of references, I felt a little out of the loop. I sometimes had NO idea what Min was talking about, but I was amused nevertheless by her quirky attitude and funny dialogue, so I didn't feel that clueless.

The development of this relationship is not like any I have read in other books. It wasn't rushed, and it had so many special moments that I mourned for their relationship as if it were mine.

To sum it up, I loved this relationship, their story and I felt Min's anger and tears as she wrote Ed the letter of why they broke up.

So if you get a chance, pick up Why We Broke Up, you won't regret it!



Rating:

*Summary from Goodreads.com

ALA: The Books

Since I really cannot show you ALL of books I got at ALA, I decided just to take a shot of the ones that I really REALLY went crazy for when I got them.

I am not going to list them or anything, the picture is not very good quality so if you don't know what one book title is, let me know in the comments and I will be happy to clarify that for you.

I cannot wait to read all these wonderful titles, and all the other that weren't in the picture. I want to thank all the amazing publishers that were nice enough to put up with my teenage girl fangirling and those frequent stops to their booths to ask them if they had certain titles out yet. I hope I can go to ALA some other time, maybe many years from now, but I think I have enough books to read for a couple of years.

Hope you guys have a great week!

FRACTURE Blog Tour: Review AND GIVEAWAY!

Fracture by Megan Miranda
Date Published: January 17, 2012
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Source: Publisher, for blog tour
Age Rec: I would recommend this book to teens 14 and over.

Summary:
 Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine-despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?
Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?
For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death.

My review: 


Fracture surprised me from page one. I expected it to be just a quietly written contemporary novel that talked about a tragic almost-accident. Or I was expecting it to be the same story as If i Stay by Gayle Forman (if you haven't read this, you should). I was amazed at the originality of the story, such a mundane accident, causing great shifts in Delaney's life.

Fracture was mystery, contemporary romance, and a thriller all rolled into one story. The characters were original and they were brought to life flawlessly.

The plot has so many twists and turns that you are left confused at one moment only to flip the page and be shocked at the other. The romance did not become such a big part of the story, and Megan Miranda does a very good job at keeping it that way. While some of the blurbs mention that there is a love triangle, in my opinion, there was none. I was confused at a certain point about the intentions of each of the boys in Delaney's life but it was all settled down without any love triangle.

What else can I say about Fracture that will convince you to read it? The ending will catch you by surprise just like every single turn of events that happened in the story. While the romance is not a main focus it is still a good love story for all of us romantics. For those who love thrillers, this will also be a perfect read for you.

If you are a contemporary loving, thrill seeking, mystery thirsty romantic, then this would be the perfect book for you. If you aren't , well you can at least give it a try before you dismiss the idea of it, trust me you won't regret it.

GIVEAWAY!

FRACTURE ARC Version Giveaway!

Giveaway Ends January 29!

My first ALA experience!

Well as many of you know, I recently attended ALA Midwinter in Dallas. It was my first time, and to say that I was nervous is an understatement. I had no idea what to do or where to go, I was by myself the first day of the even (which was a Friday).

Friday:

I woke up about 7 AM (I missed school)* and I was on my way to Mesquite, Texas, which is where my aunt lives. After panicking with my mom, who doesn't like to drive in Dallas, we finally reached our destination and I started to prepare myself for ALA.

*Missing school is not a thing I do often, but being an A-B honor roll student has its perks sometimes.

I entered the Dallas Convention Center to the lobby and found this:

After many failed attempts at taking pictures with it, I resigned myself to just taking a picture of it.
Then a very nice lady, kindly offered to take a picture of me with it, and of course I said yes!

Thank-you nice lady!

So I went up the escalator, with trembling fingers from the nerves, and I got in line and I received my first ever event badge (with the ALA bag that you can see above). 

Here's a closer look at my badge:

Here's what the little banners in my badge say:
-Read Irresponsibly (favorite one)
-I *heart* Booklist in print and online (I do)
-ALA First Time Attendee

After I registered, I sat around the lobby for about 30 mins.:

All while using my Dad's iphone to look nonchalant and cool about the whole thing.

A few minutes later, a line started forming, full of Texas Bloggers! The only blogger I had met before that was among everyone was Michelle from Windowpane Memoirs who was so sweet and adopted me as her little sister for the continuation of ALA. She is a super awesome person and blogger, so go check her blog out!

While we were waiting in agony for the doors to open, I was so nervous that I didn't even take the time to take any pictures. Seriously, one of the most overwhelming days of my short life. I had no idea how many books there was going to be that first day (it wasn't even BEA!). I didn't take any pictures because it was so crazy I had no time, I was carrying about two bags full of books for like an hour. My shoulders were KILLING me, until Michelle had to leave for the dinner (which I didn't attend) and I was left alone. She was sweet enough to guide me to the bag check-ins (3 dollars a bag for those who want to know). I was free to roam freely after that, but still didn't take any pictures until the end. This picture is so bad, but I still want to show you what I got my first day I took the picture at the lobby, while was waiting for my mom.

Sorry for the bad quality guys, it was quite dark.

Second day of ALA was not as crazy, because I knew what to expect and I had my friend Fany with me. We had extra bags ready and we had a plan. TIP: ALWAYS HAVE A  BAG PLAN (where are you going to put your bags at when one of them is full). Thing weren't so crazy then, so I had time to take some pics for you guys!

You can see I stalked the Harper booth like crazy, they came out with 5 books at a time, so once they were gone, they were gone.  Lemme tell you, they were gone fast.

 While we was stalking the Harper booth, in walked Katherine Tegen, THE Katherine Tegen. Seriously she exists. I didn't get any pictures of her but guys believe me, SHE IS REAL.

Day two went without any problems. I met some very awesome bloggers and publishers, and so not very nice ones. But lets talk about the nice ones! I met Katie from Katie's Book Blog, she was so sweet and she remembered me from our gmail conversations. I also met Bailey from IB Book Blogging, who was exceptionally sweet, and also remembered me from our Twitter conversations.  I could go on forever, there were more nice people than the not so nice ones, believe me. For example, there was a moment where Harper put up 10 copies of Wings of the Wicked, when I went to get one, they were all gone. I was so disappointed, until this blogger came up to me and offered to me, just like that. I just had to know what her blog was, people just don't hand out their books just like that. So thank you Jen A Book and a Latte, I hope I am thanking the right person, because I asked her for her business card and I lost it! I don't know what happened. Thanks Jen! Some other bloggers handed me the new Diana Peterfreund. Thank-you bloggers!


Day Three was intense. There had been rumors that Harper was going to put up ALL the books they had first thing in the morning. As always, I was one of the first ones in line. I woke up early for this, dedication FTW! Anyway, so they opened the doors, and in we went. Me and my friend fast walked to the Harper Booth, yes there were some runners, there were piles of books there, I grabbed Pandemonium because that was #1 on my list. I was handing my friend out one copy and she was handing me copies of other books. We were a team. But unfortunately, I was the one with the glasses, someone elbowed me in the face, and down they went. Before I could register what was happening I stopped everything I was doing and picked the glasses up. First, I needed them and I knew I would not get a second pair if they broke. Second, they were expensive. I can buy those Harper titles when they are released, but a 200+ dollar pair of glasses are almost irreplaceable for me.  Afterwards I retired from the crowd, I was okay with not getting all of the Harper titles, I had gotten the one I was really anticipating, and my glasses were intact.


We were only able to stay till 12 for Sunday (day #3) but we still managed to get some pretty cool books and swag. We also got to attend the Penguin Book Buzz event, which was pretty cool, and a whole new experience for me. Finally we left Dallas and headed to Fort Worth, it took us about an hour to be able to pack up our luggage and me and my friend's books, but somehow we managed. We were a little squished though.

By Monday, I was so sore I could not lift my arms up at all, but I was excited to have gotten all these amazing titles. If you ever have a chance to attend ALA, do it. It is an amazing (but tiring) experience that you will never forget. TIP: If you DON'T have anything important (school or work) to do the day after ALA, seriously MISS IT, I went to school and boy was I sorry.

I have a quick video of Sunday at ALA which is just footage of me and my friend walking around the exhibit hall. But if you want to see it, let me know in the comments and I would love to upload it for you guys! Also, the books I got at all were a lot but there are some titles that I am more excited for. The ALA books post will be tomorrow, so stay tuned!

**If you are a future ALA newbie and have no idea what is going to happen, I hope this post is useful for you guys. If you have any more questions comment below or e-mail me at morethanjustabook(at)gmail(dot)com, I would be more than happy to answer (to the best of my abilities) any questions that you have.**

Have an amazing Saturday!