Spring Blog Carnival Giveaway HAS ENDED!

Welcome to the Spring Blog Carnival!  THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED! THE WINNER HAS BEEN SELECTED BY RANDOM.ORG AND NOTIFIED.  IT IS MANDA!

This is a way to celebrate Spring, and books, and blogging~ all at the same time!  This fun event is being hosted by Lori at Pure Imagination, Angela at Reading Angel, Mary at The Book Swarm and myself.  It runs from now, May 1st to May 8th.  You will find my giveaway as well as the links to all the other giveaways at the bottom of this post.

It's not only about the giveaways, it wouldn't be a carnival without the booths!  Since I'm holding the food court I'll have a booth with a challenge that fits the theme.  Plus I have a whole stack of books to giveaway! *note that that is a separate giveaway from this one*

The booths with the challenges are:

May 1st-
Reading Angel with the Haunted House (Find it HERE)
Reading Teen with the Fortune Tellers Booth (Find it HERE)

May 2nd-
Candace’s Book Blog (me!) with the Food Court (Find it HERE)
The Mod Podge Bookshelf with the House of Mirrors (Find it HERE)

May 3rd-
Bookswarm with the Roller Coaster (Go HERE)
Actin’ Up With Books with the Karaoke Booth (Go HERE)

May 4th-
Lori at Pure Imagination with the Kissing Booth (Go HERE)
Lovely Lit with Once Upon a Time Booth (Go HERE)

May 5th-
Awesomesauce Books with the Gaming Booth
Books R Us Medieval Booth

May 6th-
Extreme Reader Book Reviews with the Guessing Booth
Colloquium with the Cotton Candy Booth

May 7th-
The Minding Spot with the Teacups Booth
Miss Remmers Review with It’s a Bad World Booth

May 8th-
No Challenges

Each challenge is open one week from the day it goes up.  

My Giveaway:

Now your wondering is there ever going to be a giveaway here?  Yep!  Here it is!  I'm giving away a gift card or order from The Book Depository for the value of $15.   The gift card can be to any bookstore but if you're international you can order anything from The Book Depository that's $15 or less.  

This is open internationally to where The Book Depository ships.

You must be 13 or older to enter.

Ends May 8th at midnight EST.

To Enter:

Leave a comment with contact info.  That's it!

Ready for more?  Follow the linky list to all the other amazing giveaways going on for this wonderful event!  *Please note, through the 1st and 2nd we will be going through and removing any links that do not have giveaways up.  This may take us awhile because Sundays are a family day so we won't have as much time to work on it.*

In My Mailbox (57)- and in other news....

I debated whether I should do an IMM this week because of all the horrible things that have been going on across the country.  Hundreds are dead from devastating tornadoes, and thousands more are left picking up the pieces.  It didn't seem right to be posting about books I got when others have lost everything they own.  But we can't sit and wallow in despair so I'm going to share the books I got.  But I'm going to go through some books and donate a bunch to schools and families that have lost everything.   Our own Lori from Pure Imagination has witnessed, is witnessing, the devastation as she lives in an area hit by a tornado (or a few).  She's okay, but doesn't have electricity.  I know that it's got to be tough seeing the devastation first hand.  I watched it on TV and I felt like I should just be there helping.  But I'm not trained in anything and I probably couldn't really do much.  We need to remember to keep these people in our thoughts and prayers and I hope none of you were affected too badly. 

Also the Spring Blog Carnival starts tomorrow!  The first of May.  Lori has her post prepped so it'll go up, but if you have any questions please try to direct them to Angela or myself since Lori doesn't have electricity right now.  Please check out my reminder post and make sure your ready!

Now, on to the IMM!

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and is where we share the books we got through the week.  I got all mine on Friday so I was a little surprised to even have books to share! 

For Review:

 

Enclave  by Ann Aguirre

Thanks Macmillan!

Purchased:

 

The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith

R.A.K:

Random Acts of Kindness is an awesome feature hosted by Book Soulmates

 

Pale Demon (The Hollows, Book 9) by Kim Harrison

 

These bookmarks are awesome!  You use them to mark parts you may want to come back to.  Or just use them as a bookmark.

Both items came from Lori at Romancing the Darkside

A huge thank you to her!

Saturday Situation- Link up your Reviews and Giveaways! 4/30

 Saturday Situation is hosted by both Lori at Pure Imagination and myself.  It's a linky for you to link your  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 top right of my blog.  I'll try to keep it up to date to go to the newest Saturday Situation post.

BOOK REVIEWS AND OTHER NEGLECTED POSTS

BOOK RELATED GIVEAWAYS

Please include end date and who it's open to (US, US/Canada, Internationally)

Book Review: Shift by Jeri Smith -Ready

Title: Shift (Shade #2)
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Details: e-arc, published Hardcover, 384 pgs.
Published: May 3rd, 2011 by Simon Pulse
isbn: 1416994084 (ISBN13: 9781416994084)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Publisher


Description: Please note that this is the second in a series and contains spoilers from the first book. 

Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to. Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.
As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.

This book was crazy intense!  I wanted to skip to the end just to check and make sure that things would be okay.  But I had an e-arc and it's probably a good thing I did! 


I love the world that Jeri Smith-Ready has created.  Where ghosts can be seen by those under 18.  But it's not only about the ghosts, or even about the relationships of the characters.  What I love the most is the mystery.  Aura and Zachary are trying to figure out why the shift happened.  Why were they born? And who is Aura's father?  There are so many questions and this book answers some of them!  Thank goodness!

I like Aura.  But she started getting on my nerves a bit with her decisions when it came to her relationships.  But my anger and frustration never seemed to last.  Just at times I really did want to scream.  And sometimes it wasn't her, but the others that frustrated me.  It's good that I was invested enough in the story to really care, but I noticed that when I'm frustrated with the story then I tend to snap at my kids and get frustrated in real life.  So if I'd had a real book I would've been scanning ahead just to ease that frustration.

This series is definitely for the older YA crowd.  There's cursing, drinking and sex.  Though not descriptive.  I think it reflects realistically for the most part, but I still don't think that it's necessary to remind teens, or make them think that it's all okay.  


Overall this is a terrific series and I'm incredibly anxious to continue it! 

Find the author:

Website |  Twitter

Purchase:

Shift at Indiebound

Shift at Amazon

Disclosure: I recieved an e-arc of the book from the publisher for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way. 

Get Well Soon Wishes for my friend from The Eager Readers

My friend, who goes by Violet on her blog The Eager Readers, has had a debilitating condition that has made life difficult and has been a terrifying ordeal.
On April 12th she blogged about it.  I've grabbed just the first paragraph for you guys that kind of sums it up.

I have spent the past two weeks dealing with an unexpected health crisis involving a relentless splitting headache, debilitating vision problems, several visits to various specialists (including an opthamologist and a neurologist), an MRI, and a lumbar puncture.  Thankfully, all of my doctors have been working as quickly as possible to rule out something extremely serious like a brain tumor, vasculitis, or a blood clot in my head.  At this point, the swelling on my optic nerve and the elevated spinal fluid levels point to a pseudotumor cerebri (basically a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid that mimics a brain tumor and puts pressure on the optic nerve), and I started taking medication based on that diagnosis last week.  I have already seen some improvement (particularly in reducing the pain when I shift my eyes), which is great.  I have another visit with my opthamologist tomorrow morning to go over my MRI and lumbar puncture results, and she also plans to do a visual field test so that we can monitor my improvement as my condition *hopefully* continues to improve. 

You can find the rest of it HERE and she talks about the fear of losing her sight which any reader would be terrified of (well, anyone would).  
I got an update from her today and she's no better and actually feels worse.  They thought she was having an allergic reaction to some medication so changed it but it didn't help.  At this time she's in horrible pain.  I'm not sure if she's able to read at all right now, so I'm hoping she has some audio books to listen to.  I know that she did read City of Fallen Angels when it came out and it helped her keep her mind on other things. 
She is such a wonderful friend to me.  She's the friend I go to book signings with, the one local'ish (she's a couple hours away) friend I can always count on to show up at bookish events as well as someone to talk books with.  I hope you'll all keep her in your thoughts and prayers and whatever you do to send vibes of wellness her way. 
Also if you have a book, or audio book in particular, that you think is perfect to read or listen to while going through a scary situation like this, please leave a comment what it is.  I know she has a HUGE pile of books to read, but if she's getting audio books from the library knowing some are narrated really well, etc, may help. 

Kind of a blurry picture of Violet, myself and Suzanne Young (author of The Naughty List books and A Need So Beautiful {June 2011}) at a booksigning in March.

Reminder and update info on the Spring Blog Carnival

Hello everyone!  It is only 3 days until the Spring Blog Carnival begins!  Are you excited?  Or do you not have a clue what I'm talking about?  If not please check out the original post.

All the emails have been sent out to everyone who has signed up on the google form.  If you are in the linky but did not fill out the form then you have not received an email and will need to contact me at (candace_redinger(at)yahoo(dot)com) to get the linky code.  The rest of the information I'll include here, in this post. 

At this time we have 209 blogs entered into the linky. Hopefully we’ll have even more entered in before the hop begins. Feel free to spread the word by tweeting and posting on your blog!

When the giveaway goes up please be sure that you have the link to your giveaway post on highly visible areas of your blog. At the top or top sidebar. In your giveaway post please include links to the hosts (Candace’s Book Blog http://www.candacesbookblog/, Reading Angel http://www.readingangel.com/, Pure Imagination http://www.pureimaginationblog.com/, and The Book Swarm http://www.bookswarm.blogspot.com/) and the Spring Blog Carnival Button as well.

Your giveaway must be book related!  You can give anything away, of any value, as long as it's book related!  That's the only rule for the giveaway.
 
We made some changes to the event when we found things to be confusing, so please check out my post here in case you signed up before those changes were made. This is very similar to a giveaway hop but we have switched things up by having daily challenges. All those who are hosting the challenges on their blogs have already signed up to do so and have received their instructions. Each day, except the last, there will be two challenges related to their booth.  You will be able to find these challenges and when they are scheduled to go up on each of our blogs (the hosts).  I also have the list up at the bottom of this post.

You're going to have a lot of fun entering all of these booths and signing up for great prizes!

Now, what do you need to do?

Could you please head over and make sure that your blog is entered into the linky correctly?  If  your not in the linky and would like to be please fill out the google form as well as enter into the linky.  If you're in the linky but have not received an email please email me (candace_redinger(at)yahoo(dot)com) for the linky code to include in your giveaway post.  Or if you have any questions feel free to email me with them.

Your giveaway needs to be scheduled to post as close to 12:01 AM EST on May 1st as possible. If you use a blog platform that doesn't allow you to schedule posts in advance that's ok. Just post as soon as you can that morning. We will be checking on the 1st and removing the sites from the linky that do not have giveaways posted.  It will not be first thing in the morning.  Your giveaway needs to end May 8th around midnight EST.  The challenge giveaways will each be open for one week from the day they go up. 

If you want to opt out of this, please let one of us know so that we can remove you, we understand that real life sometimes changes our plans! We want our linky to be as accurate as possible now so theres not so much to check come time for the giveaway.

Thank you all for participating in the Spring Blog Carnival! I hope we can make this event epic and perhaps make it a yearly event! Perhaps I’m jumping my guns on that one, we’ll see how it goes ;)
Challenge Booth Schedule






May 1st-
Reading Angel with the Haunted House
Reading Teen with the Fortune Tellers Booth

May 2nd-
Candace’s Book Blog (me!) with the Food Court
The Mod Podge Bookshelf with the House of Mirrors

May 3rd-
Bookswarm with the Roller Coaster
Actin’ Up With Books with the Karaoke Booth

May 4th-
Lori at Pure Imagination with the Kissing Booth
Lovely Lit with Once Upon a Time Booth

May 5th-
Awesomesauce Books with the Gaming Booth
Books R Us Medieval Booth

May 6th-
Extreme Reader Book Reviews with the Guessing Booth
Colloquium with the Cotton Candy Booth

May 7th-
The Minding Spot with the Teacups Booth
Miss Remmers Review with It’s a Bad World Booth

May 8th-
No Challenges

Book Review: Shine by Lauren Myracle

Title: Shine
Author: Lauren Myracle
Details: egalley, (published Hardcover, 376 pgs.)
Published: May 1st, 2011 by Amulet Books
isbn: 0810984172 (ISBN13: 9780810984172)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Netgalley and the publisher

Description:

When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice.
Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

I write a lot of good reviews.  I often have a hard time finding words to describe how much I loved the book.  But I think it's pretty rare to find a book that gets to me as much as this one has.  That makes me think this much.  That reminds me of some of my own teenage years in a way completely different from any other book. That really leaves me speechless in my love for it.  For 2011 (my 68th book read this year) it is my favorite so far.

The characters in this book are flawless in their flaws.  Meaning none are perfect, but they are perfectly imperfect, making them easy to relate to and realistic.  Making them us, our friends, our neighbors, people we know.  People we love, people we hate, people we can't help but love and hate at the same time. 

I grew up in a small town.  It wasn't in the south, but it had many of the same issues.  The drug use, the anti-gay feeling from most everyone, the stupidity of people in their close mindedness.  I felt so confined growing up.  Feeling like the only person with an open mind and willing to accept people no matter what color they were, or what their sexual preferences were.

This is a mystery.  Cat is out to find the perpetrator responsible for the hate crime against her friend.  Through the entire book your trying to put two and two together to figure out the person who's guilty.  There are twists all along the way making it impossible to figure out.  On top of that we know that Cat has a secret.  Something happened to her that made her withdraw herself and stop hanging out with her friends.  Something that has kept her from knowing all the secrets that this town is hiding.  It kept me wondering until she finally tells us and then it was quite a ride watching Cat grow as she discovers herself and her strength within.

In my opinion this book had everything.  Though it's focused on the mystery, the self discovery of Cat, as well as a minor romance that we mostly only got a hint of, is also a part of it.  And the town itself sucks you right in.

This story was real.  I can't stress enough how real this book felt to me.  I felt like I was sucked into this world and living it.  This is certainly one of the best books I've ever read.

This is where I give my warnings, or alert people to content.  But this is one of those books that all profanity, drug use and sexual references is significant to the story.   They are what makes this story.  That people go through things like that.  The negligence, the close mindedness, the blindness around us.  This is not a pro drug book and there's not drug use except in reference.  We see what drugs do to people.  If you have a teen they must read this!  There's other content as well that may not always fit in YA books.  It does here.  This book is true.  This is what is happening all across America.  This is a book that every young adult out there needs to read.

Dear Lauren Myracle,
Thank you.  I can't say that enough.  Thank you for writing a story that is true (even if it's fiction), and that matters, really matters.  This book affected me more then pretty much any book I can think of.  It's a book that will sit in a place of honor on my shelves (if I'm able to get my hands on a copy, that is!).

I give this book 5 toadstools, but really it deserves 10/5.  If only it was possible...

Find the author:

Website | Twitter

Purchase:

Shine at Indiebound

Shine at Amazon

Disclosure:  I received an e-galley of this book from netgalley for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way. 

Book Review and #Giveaway: Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

Title: Invincible Summer
Author: Hannah Moskowitz
Details: Paperback, 269 pgs.
Published: April 19th, 2011 by Simon Pulse
isbn: 1442407514 (ISBN13: 9781442407510)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Publisher
 

Noah’s happier than I’ve seen him in months. So I’d be an awful brother to get in the way of that. It’s not like I have some relationship with Melinda. It was just a kiss. Am I going to ruin Noah’s happiness because of a kiss?

Across four sun-kissed, drama-drenched summers at his family’s beach house, Chase is falling in love, falling in lust, and trying to keep his life from falling apart. But some girls are addictive....

Not your typical beach read.

This book is about family and the struggles they have.  That's really what it's about.  But we also see the struggles Chase has in becoming a teenager, with noticing girls, struggling with lust, and with all his hormones on the rampage.  

I love that it's a male narrator, it's not as common and it always feels like a treat.  Chase is not an average guy.  He really loves his family and he shows it.  How many guys are like that?  That actually hug their siblings?  Especially an older brother.  And although I liked that, I kind of felt like it wasn't realistic.  But then he said somewhere that Claudia (his sister) was helping him with not being so touchy feely.  That made it much more real to me, just being told that it wasn't normal, and wasn't just me, made me feel like it was possible.  It's just rare to find guys like that I suppose.  Other then that I felt like he as a normal teenage boy.  Especially when it came to girls.  Thinking about them, and sex, constantly.  And the things he did even when it bothered his conscious.  

I mentioned that this is about family and Chase has a large one.  Every one of them had an important role in the story and they were all so intricate.  Each one was SO individual that I felt like their personality's got a little too deep.  It drew the story out just a bit too much.  I wouldn't say it's a huge downside, it just was a bit too much for me.  There's no way I can get into all the characters here, I'll just tell you that they all have very strong personalities.

Another thing that was important in this story is that Chase has a little brother who's deaf.  So we got to see the struggles they have as a family dealing with that.  With communicating with him and with them struggling not only to accept it, and him, but in caring for him and his wishes and desires.  I felt like all of that was very realistic and anyone who has had to deal with a deaf sibling or family member could really connect with the story on that aspect.

This book gets pretty deep.  The kids are constantly quoting Camus and I really grew bored with that.  I think that some may really like that though, it showed that the characters had depth and personality.  Or at least that they were insightful.    I also felt like we saw into their angst quite a bit and although that's truthful, it all just grew a little bit tedious to me.  And they all felt like they were beyond their years. 


When I finished up the book I found myself thinking about it for quite some time.  So although some aspects of the story were slightly annoying as I was reading, some of those things are what really stuck the book in my head.  So this was a bit different of a review to write.  It's actually one that I'm struggling to keep it from being too long.   


This book has quite a lot of sex.  Talking about sex and sex.  We don't see it though we do know what goes on.  There's a fair amount of cursing as well.  I would recommend only to an older teen of high school age.  But that's just my opinion.  

Find the author:

Website | Twitter 

Purchase: 

Invincible Summer at Indiebound

Invincible Summer at Amazon

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.

I am on the tour for this book and the next stop is Jamie at bookmarked.  Be sure to check it out tomorrow at 

http://www.bookmarkedblog.com/

 

The Giveaway:

I'm giving away my once read finished copy to one US commenter.  

You must be 13 or older to enter.

You must enter by May 10th, 2011.

To Enter:

Leave a comment with contact info.

Book Release PARTY (really just a #giveaway) for The Hidden Goddess by M.K. Hobson or The Native Star

Tomorrow (April 26th) is the release of The Hidden Goddess, the second book in The Native Star series by M.K. Hobson.  I was completely blown away by how much I LOVED The Native Star and so I wanted to share my love with you and am giving away a copy of The Native Star or The Hidden Goddess.  This book will be ordered from The Book Depository and is open to anyone The Book Depository will ship to.  You can find my review of The Native Star HERE.

In the tradition of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, this brilliant first novel fuses history, fantasy, and romance. Prepare to be enchanted by M. K. Hobson’s captivating take on the Wild, Wild West.

The year is 1876. In the small Sierra Nevada settlement of Lost Pine, the town witch, Emily Edwards, is being run out of business by an influx of mail-order patent magics. Attempting to solve her problem with a love spell, Emily only makes things worse. But before she can undo the damage, an enchanted artifact falls into her possession—and suddenly Emily must flee for her life, pursued by evil warlocks who want the object for themselves.
Dreadnought Stanton, a warlock from New York City whose personality is as pompous and abrasive as his name, has been exiled to Lost Pine for mysterious reasons. Now he finds himself involuntarily allied with Emily in a race against time—and across the United States by horse, train, and biomechanical flying machine—in quest of the great Professor Mirabilis, who alone can unlock the secret of the coveted artifact. But along the way, Emily and Stanton will be forced to contend with the most powerful and unpredictable magic of all—the magic of the human heart.

 In a brilliant mix of magic, history, and romance, M. K. Hobson moves her feisty young Witch, Emily Edwards, from the Old West of 1876 to turn-of-the-nineteenth-century New York City, whose polished surfaces conceal as much danger as anything west of the Rockies.
 
Like it or not, Emily has fallen in love with Dreadnought Stanton, a New York Warlock as irresistible as he is insufferable. Newly engaged, she now must brave Dreadnought’s family and the magical elite of the nation’s wealthiest city. Not everyone is pleased with the impending nuptials, especially Emily’s future mother-in-law, a sociopathic socialite. But there are greater challenges still: confining couture, sinister Russian scientists, and a deathless Aztec goddess who dreams of plunging the world into apocalypse. With all they must confront, do Emily and Dreadnought have any hope of a happily-ever-after?

The Giveaway:

One copy of The Native Star or The Hidden Goddess.
Open Internationally to anyone The Book Depository will ship to.
Must be 16 or older to enter (these are adult books, but the first one had a YA feel and didn't have serious adult themes.  I have not read the second one yet and cannot attest to content.) Ends 5/10/2011

To Enter:

Leave me a comment about what makes you want to read these, or makes you anxious for the second one if you read the first.  Leave contact info as well.

My Thoughts on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

For those of you who don't know I signed up for some challenges to read Harry Potter this year.  No, I haven't read them before.  And no, I haven't watched the movies other then bits and pieces.  This is my first time. 
In January I read the first three books.  I then said that I would read one a month until I've read them all.  Unfortunately in February I didn't find time.  I didn't in March either.  Finally I made myself pick it up this month.  It wasn't because I didn't want to read it, I really did, I just have so many review books to read I felt guilty.  But what I did was read a bit and then read a review book before I went back to it.  So it took me a week, but I read a few other books as well.
So what did I think?  Well, this is where things started feeling really intense.  I can see where things are getting scary and this felt more young adult then the others, who felt more middle grade.  It seems crazy that Harry has already had 3 years behind him at Hogwarts. 
The twists and turns seemed to surprise me for the most part and I'm so glad that I don't know what happens.  That I never caved in and watched the movies because there's nothing like the first time reading them with fresh eyes and no idea of what's going to happen. 
I definitely was happy with how this one went.  I don't think I really have any complaints.  And I'm very anxious to see where things go in the next one!
I think I'll plan to read it in July as I really have a lot of books to read.  But if I can fit it in sooner I'll definitely be doing that! 

Winners of The Ylem and

The winners of The Ylem by Tatiana Vila are...

Serena at Pensive Bookeaters 

And

Elleira

Tatiana is sending them the books and will be contacting them shortly.

The winner of BELLYACHE: A Delicious Tale is...

mverno

They've been contacted and have 48 hours to reply before a new winner is picked.

As always the winners were selected by using random.org

Thanks to everyone for entering the contests and I hope you have all checked out the contests I have listed at the top of my blog.

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Details: ARC, 496 pgs.

Published: May 3rd, 2011 by HarperCollins, Katherine Tegen Books

isbn: 9780062024022

Reading Level: Young Adult

Source: Another blogger sent it as a gift

Description:

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.

My Thoughts:

Wow.  Just W.O.W.  Seriously, like so many other dystopian books out there, I'm speechless.  But speechless is one sucky review so lets see what lame words I can come up with to try to get my point across at how amazing this book was.  I can tell you this~ this was one of those books that I wanted to tweet every five minutes saying omygoodness, omygoodness, omygoodness!  This book is freaking AMAZING!  But I refrained.  Mostly.  I did share with some personal friends though.  They loved my enthusiasm.

I heard so many amazing things about this book like the day after people started getting ARC's.  And I already knew I was dying to read it.  So when I got my hands on it I scheduled a day of reading.  Hey, I knew I wouldn't want to put this one down!  

I'd heard this was the next Hunger Games trilogy.  That it rivals all other dystopians out there.  I'm not sure if I can really compare it to others because to be honest it seems like I love them all!  They are almost all amazing and leave me with this wonderful feeling of awe.  And so all I can say, is it lived up to all my expectations and beyond.

The first part of the book is learning about the world.  You know how it is, as you read you piece the pieces  of the puzzle together and learn how it all works.  At least as much as the author allows you to see.  Or as much as the character's seem to know.  Everything is a clue so every detail is important and interesting.

Tris is perfect as a lead character.  You see in the beginning that she's grown up having to be meek and quiet, but we find out that maybe that's not how she feels she really is, inside.  She's tough, she's strong, she's devoted to everyone she loves and cares about, she's fearless, she's outspoken... she's so much more then she ever even knew she was.  She's amazing.  That's all I can say.  

The way this world works is crazy.  Crazy, and weird and unbelievable.  It just doesn't seem right, I mean, you can only be ONE thing?  Seriously?  You can't be kind, and you can't be selfless, or fearless, etc all at the same time?  To be honest at the very beginning it felt a little silly to me.  But as the story went on I got why it went that way, what the purpose was originally. 

The romance.  Sigh... seriously, this is kind of impossible to talk about without giving spoilers.  I'll say this, it. was. amazing.  The sexual tension was insane.  The way the author made us feel the romance between the two without ever really being told.  Make sense?  Maybe not.  But it all started with the simplest things but we feel it.  We feel that chemistry between them.  

The way she ended the story was genius.  It wasn't a conclusion, not by a long shot. But it was the closing of one chapter.  So we weren't left screaming "Did she/he live?!" but it was open enough that we'll be anxious for book two.  And seriously, I'm VERY anxious!  

This is one of those books that's above and beyond 5 stars, but that's all I've got.  Just know, you HAVE to read this book!

 You can find Veronica Roth on her:

Website | Twitter 

Disclosure: I received this book as a gift and all opinions expressed are my own.  I was not paid or influenced in any way. 

In My Mailbox (56)- Vlog

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

For Review:

*links to amazon*

Under the Green Hill by Laura L. Sullivan

Thank you Laura and Henry Holt

Illusions by Aprilynne Pike

The Ivy: Secrets by Lauren Kunze

Thank you Harper Teen!

Sent for Giveaway:

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Thanks Megan!

Bought:

The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4) by Rick Riordan

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris

Magic Lost, Trouble Found (Raine Benares, Book 1) by Lisa Shearin

Won:

The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard

Thank you Cindy (Princess Bookie) and Jennifer Hubbard!

It's been crazy busy here with Easter, and my mom and sister have been here all week.  My sister just left today (Saturday) but my mom will be here another week.  So I haven't been commenting on blogs as much.  

Saturday Situation- Link up your Reviews and Giveaways! 4/23

 Saturday Situation is hosted by both Lori at Pure Imagination and myself.  It's a linky for you to link your  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 top right of my blog.  I'll try to keep it up to date to go to the newest Saturday Situation post.

BOOK REVIEWS AND OTHER NEGLECTED POSTS

BOOK RELATED GIVEAWAYS

Please include end date and who it's open to (US, US/Canada, Internationally)

Earth Day Post~ Review of Compost Stew, and more!

Today I'm on the tour stop for the fabulous childrens book, Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals and illustrated by Ashley Wolff.  I'm suppose to show you some of the fabulous spreads (illustrations) but blogger isn't letting me :(  Let me tell you though~ this book is full of fabulous illustrations!  And Amazon lets you inside to see some of the illustrations, just go HERE.

Apple cores
Bananas, bruised
Coffee grounds with filters, used
Just add to the pot
and let it all rot
into Compost Stew!
From eggshells to wiggly worms, this delightful recipe in bouncy verse features items — some familiar and some not so — that are fit for the home compost bin and will nourish Mother Earth.
Vibrant collage illustrations use recycled and found materials to further a timely message. And to keep young environmental chefs fully informed about composting do’s and don’ts, there’s a note in the back about what’s not fit for the bin.

Composting is something we did when I was growing up.  We lived in the country a lot of the time and we just had a pile we dumped it in and every once in awhile someone would go out and mix it up.  Now as an adult I've forgotten what is compost-able, other then coffee grounds, eggshells and banana peels.  So although we've been composting it wasn't even half of everything we could have been adding.
We have horrible soil here.  This was a rock pit before they dumped in some dirt and built houses, so we have very rocky soil and very little dirt.  On top of that our house was a repo and the previous owners had used the backyard as a garbage dump so every time I dig I find garbage.  I'm determined to get some better soil and hopefully have some beautiful gardens.  One thing I can do to help that soil is make my own compost.  And it's keeping all that I compost out of the landfill, always a good thing! 
Compost Stew tells us what can be put in the compost, and it's done in a fun and rhyming way.  My kids LOVE this book!  It's interactive in the way that they can get involved in composting; the illustrations are cute, vibrant and really catch the eye; and the story is fun!  And guess what?!  Adults can learn from it too!
Some things I learned that could be put in the compost are hair snippings, laundry lint, paper shreds, quarry dust, and seaweed strands (a few).  That's just a few of the items listed that I wouldn't have thought to put in.

Mary McKenna Siddals has a great website where she has activities for kids listed under the books.  So be sure to check out her website.  She's also giving away five copies of Compost Stew and two prints so go HERE to enter before April 25th. 

Purchase: Compost Stew on Amazon , Compost Stew on Indiebound

Book Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Title: Bumped (Bumped #1)
Author: Megan McCafferty
Details: egalley (published in Hardcover, 336 pgs.)
Published: April 26th, 2011 by Balzer + Bray
isbn: 0061962740 (ISBN13: 9780061962745)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: NetGalley and the publisher, Balzer + Bray

When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents are forced to pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and had never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Until now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in religious Goodside, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to bring Melody back to Goodside and convince her that “pregging” for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common. 

This is going to be interesting... First of all, I'm not a fan of satires.  I tend to mostly feel annoyed at the ridiculousness.  But sometimes it's hard to resist books and this was one that I felt like I wanted to try because "all my friends were doing it".  Okay, so yes, I can be a follower.  At least when it comes to books.  It wasn't until later that I actually read reviews and started having serious doubts that I would even like it.  But guess what?!  I loved it!  Yeah, it was ridiculous.  I couldn't stop rolling my eyes.  But it gave me the giggles too.   And the characters actually grew on me!  I think I'm glad I went in thinking I wouldn't care for it, because I think it made me like it more.  


The first bit was a little bit hard to get through because you don't really understand all the slang.  But as you start to pick it up it gets funnier, but even though it's funny and completely ridiculous, you can almost see that happening.  And while I didn't love either of the girls for at least the first half, and at times I wanted to smack them silly, I kind of started to understand their thinking.  My favorite character was definitely Zen though.  He's Melody's best friend and has a personality that practically jumped off the page.  You couldn't help but really love him.


Megans writing is superb!  She'd write just a few lines of songs and you could actually hear the song.  Without ever actually hearing it.  I mean, your just reading the words.  How she made it possible I do not know.  There were scenes that were described so well that I seriously could see it all like a movie.  That takes some serious skill and I think that was the best part of the whole book, the writing.


I think this is a book that will definitely end up on the banned books list.  There is constant talk of sex, but it's all in slang so it's a little different, but I think it was still clear what they were talking about.  I think that some will be offended about the whole religion thing too.  I think that by the end the author had made her point and was clearly not against religion, but some may not see it that way.  In my opinion I would maybe let a mature teen read it.  Let me put it this way, if it were a movie I was watching with my mother I would be squirming and blushing the entire time.


I enjoyed this book quite a lot and look forward to the next one!

Find the author:

Website |  Twitter 

Purchase:

Bumped on Indiebound

Bumped at Amazon

Disclosure: I received an e-galley of this book free of charge for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are my own, I was not paid or influenced in any way.