In My Mailbox (96)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and is where we share the books we got through the week.  

Gift:

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Thank you Steph at Once Upon a Chapter!  She also sent an awesome bookmark and pen for her blog!

I've been wanting to read this one for a long time!

From Lynn Weingarten some awesome tattoos to distribute at bookstores.

Thank you Lynn! 

 

Review:

Eye of the Sword (Angelaeon Circle #2) by Karyn Henley

 Masquerade (Heven & Hell #1) by Cambria Hebert (Kindle book)

Bought for Kindle 

(all under $2.99 I believe)

Intrinsical by Lani Woodland

 Been wanting to read this since it first came out!

High Heels Mysteries Box Set (Books 1-5) by Gemma Halliday (Hmmm... just noticed this is the same author as Deadly Cool!)

I couldn't resist the good deal.  And they're suppose to be funny, which I love!

Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane 

Alexa from Pages of Forbidden Love talked me into getting this one.

Hunted by DJ DeSmyter

I've wanted to read this just because I know DJ (as a blogger) and I finally have a kindle to read it on!  (I couldn't afford the paper copy.)

Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina

I've heard good things about this and it's suppose to be short.  Plus I can't resist steampunk!

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

This is a novella that takes place before The Girl in the Steel Corset.  It works fine as a stand alone or to test the waters to see if you want to read the series. 

Thanks to amazon vine, Cambria Hebert, Stephanie and Lynn Weingarten for the tattoos! 

Saturday Situation- Link Up Your Reviews & Give@ways!

 Saturday Situation is hosted by both Lori at Pure Imagination and myself.  It's a linky for you to link your book related Giveaways and Reviews (and whatever neglected posts you may have).  You'll find the same linky's at Pure Imagination, so don't enter them twice!

Keep in mind that you can add your links through the entire week.  

You can find this post again by clicking the button on the right side of my blog.  I'll try to keep it up to date to go to the newest Saturday Situation post.

Review: Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
Young Adult
Hardcover, 389 pgs.
Published October 12th, 2010 by Harper
Source: Library

From the "New York Times"-bestselling author of the Luxe books comes a new series set amid the decadence and excitement of 1920s New York City and Long Island.

I've wanted to read this book since before it came out.  I think the 20's is a fascinating time period and I've really wanted to see how it came out in this book.  I thought the author did a brilliant job in creating the setting.  I felt transported back in time and it was perfect!  

I thought the characters were all good but not quite brilliant.  We get the story from three different girls but Cordelia seemed to have the most face time.  I liked her quite a lot but yet never really felt like I quite knew her.  I like that she lets things roll off her shoulders and doesn't stress things too much.  Letty is the next one we get and her and Cordelia are best friends.  The two get separated almost straight away so their stories are separate through the majority of the novel.  She's quite naive but she's not weak.  She can stand up for herself when need be and she's quite determined to find her way.  I felt for her because she had to find some strength to stick around after going through some terrible things.  Astrid is the third girl and she's the daughter of a mother who goes through husbands like candy and seems to marry them just for their money.  Astrid is a bit snooty but we see her good side come out and I really felt bad for her and the things she's gone through.  She seems very tough on her exterior but underneath she's very broken and sad.  Her and Cordelia become good friends and I loved that their friendship was so easy.  No hurting each other or blaming the other when they make mistakes.   Overall all three girls were good characters but I'm anxious to get to know them a bit more.  It really feels like this is just the start and so I can't wait to read the next book.

The story line was pretty interesting.  I thought it played out well and I was anxious to keep reading.  I didn't ever really know where things would go and so was always surprised with the twists.  They weren't anything mind blowing, but it was still unpredictable most of the time.  I didn't really feel like the story was really great until the very end though.  So I was left feeling happy but I remember wishing for a bit more before that.  

I'll give this one 3.5/5 stars but I do recommend it.  Especially for the setting, it was perfect!

Review: The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
Young Adult/ Contemporary (LGBT)
Hardcover, 480 pages.
Published Feb. 7th, 2012 by Balzer + Bray
Source: Gifted an ARC

When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief she’ll never have to tell them that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.

But that relief soon turns to heartbreak, as Cam is forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and not making waves, and Cam becomes an expert at this—especially at avoiding any questions about her sexuality.

Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. To Cam’s surprise, she and Coley become best friends—while Cam secretly dreams of something more. Just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, her secret is exposed. Ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to “fix” her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self—even if she’s not quite sure who that is.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a stunning and unforgettable literary debut about discovering who you are and finding the courage to live life according to your own rules.

This book was quietly beautiful.  It had many passages that really moved me, words that really stuck in my head and felt so very perfect.  It was slower paced but never boring.  I found myself captivated by Cameron Post and her life as it felt so very similar to my own as a teenager.  I didn't struggle with the same issues she did exactly but I still felt such a strong connection to so much in this book it took me back to my teenage years more then probably any other contemporary I've read.  One reason is that this book takes in Miles City Montana and while I grew up in Sturgis South Dakota (a small town as well) I did spend many weekends and most summers in Sheridan Wyoming which is quite close to Miles City.  We shopped in Billings (those from Miles City did as well) and we just lived similar lives.  Lots of cowboys, lots of super religious people, lots of parties and smoking of weed (yes, there's lots of marijuana smoking in this book) and all those little things just brought me closer to Cameron and her life.  I also had a very close friend who liked girls and struggled with the things that Cameron did.  As her close friend it was so hard to watch her go through everything, to be ridiculed and put down and told it's a sickness and she needs to be strong in her faith and overcome it.  I spent so many nights with her trying to convince her that nothing was wrong with her and once she was 18 she could get out of there and she would see that she's not the only one in the world and that others will accept her.  


Another thing that I loved was that this takes place in the early 90's.  I was a teenager in the 90's as well so the pop culture references, the music, the movies, the words, every little thing, that was me, that was my life as a teen.  I remember watching Beaches over and over with my friend and crying and crying.  I remember listening to the music Cameron listened to.  All these things aren't that important to the story, but for those of us that lived through that, it's just a big bonus and made the book that much better for me.


This isn't a book for everyone.  It has a strong LGBT theme.  There's drug use (just marijuana) and drinking.  There's cursing.  There's sex (no description really, you just know what happens).  Personally none of this bothered me which is strange since I usually dislike much of any of that and all of it is actually quite present in the book.  Maybe it was because I was transported to being a teen and this book felt as accurate and authentic as it gets.  


I very highly recommend this book and if you're concerned about getting it for your child or your classroom give it a read first.  It's one I really feel should be in classrooms as there are so many teens that could really benefit from it, but I can also see that it is probably a book that will enrage some parents.  It's definitely a high school and older kind of book.


Please, please give this book a chance.  It makes me tear up to think about it, but this was a book I really could have used as a teenager.  Whether a person is LGBT, it doesn't really matter.  There's so much to connect with in this book for any teenager. 


I give this one 5/5 stars, how could I not?  It's perfect!

Weaving a Message in Your Writing by Meredith Zeitlin

Today I have Meredith Zeitlin on the blog.  She's the author of the brilliant young adult contemporary, Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters.  This is one of the few books that as soon as I finished I wanted to turn it over and start reading it all over again.  It's fun, hilarious and has one of the best characters I've ever read about.  Please be sure to check out my review, which I posted yesterday HERE.

About the book:

Kelsey Finkelstein is fourteen and FRUSTRATED. Every time she tries to live up to her awesome potential, her plans are foiled – by her impossible parents, her annoying little sister, and life in general. But with her first day of high school coming up, Kelsey is positive that things are going to change. Enlisting the help of her three best friends — sweet and quiet Em, theatrical Cass, and wild JoJo — Kelsey gets ready to rebrand herself and make the kind of mark she knows is her destiny.

Things start out great - her arch-nemesis has moved across the country, giving Kelsey the perfect opportunity to stand out on the soccer team and finally catch the eye of her long-time crush. But soon enough, an evil junior’s thirst for revenge, a mysterious photographer, and a series of other catastrophes make it clear that just because KELSEY has a plan for greatness… it doesn’t mean the rest of the world is in on it.

Kelsey’s hilarious commentary throughout her disastrous freshman year will have you laughing out loud—while being thankful that you’re not in her shoes, of course…

Weaving a Message in Your Writing

I'll be honest: I didn't think at all about weaving a specific message into my book. Anytime I've consciously tried to do that, the story – or article, or whatever – has ended up seeming contrived and preachy. (Shockingly, no one really seems to be into that stuff. Hmm.) I think the work that's most successful has messages that end up in there by accident... messages that boldly sneak in when the author isn't paying attention.

When I set out to write Freshman Year... I mainly wanted to create characters that were more relatable than those I'd seen recently in YA books. Girls who weren't necessarily polished, or uber-fashionable, or the prettiest in school, or rich... girls who were, well, normal.

I felt like there was a major dearth of normal girls having normal experiences, and instead a whole lot of battles with supernatural creatures in suburban backyards and six-figure shopping sprees at Bergdorf Goodman's. Sometimes simultaneously. Which is fine, and even awesome... but certainly not normal fourteen-year-old behavior.

At least, it wasn't when I was fourteen. Or thirty. (But I digress.)

I think the message that snuck up on me – which I was happy to discover, and one I'm really passionate about sharing – is that it's okay, and even fantastic and funny and exciting (though sometimes exhausting and excruciating), to just be yourself. And that it's okay to screw up and not be perfect – all the time, or even EVER. It's something I have to remind myself every day, and something I treasured reading between the lines of my favorite YA books growing up. Not the world's most original message, to be sure, but such an important one. (It takes Kelsey awhile to get it, to be sure.) And I think what makes that message successful (I hope!) is that readers will be too caught up in Kelsey's and her friends' adventures to wonder what I'm REALLY trying to tell them about, like, life and stuff.

Ultimately, my sage advice on the matter would have to be: don't think about the message too much. If you have one, it'll come through your characters and what happens to them over the course of your story. THAT'S the part to focus on – the world you're creating.

You might even be surprised to find out what your message is – maybe it's totally different than what you initially started out thinking it would be. And different readers might have wildly varied opinions about it. Which, in my opinion, anyway, is how you know you've succeeded.

What do YOU think?

About the Author: 
Meredith Zeitlin is a writer and voiceover artist who lives in Brooklyn with two adorable feline roommates. She also writes a column for Ladygunn Magazine, changes her hair color every few months, and has many fancy pairs of spectacles. In case you’re wondering whether any of Kelsey’s experiences are based on Meredith’s own, the answer is NO WAY. When she was fourteen, Meredith looked and behaved perfectly at all times, was never in a single embarrassing situation, and always rode to school on her very own unicorn.

Author's Websites:
Meredith Zeitlin’s Twitter:
@zeitlingeist

Meredith Zeitlin’s Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/FRESHMANYEARBOOK

Meredith Zeitlin’s website:
www.kelseyfinkelstein.com

Meredith Zeitlin’s blog:
http://www.kelseyfinkelstein.com


FRESHMAN YEAR AND OTHER UNNATURAL DISASTERS by Meredith Zeitlin from Anne Walls on Vimeo.