Short Hiatus!

I think I'm going to freak. Honestly. This blog means so much to me, I have to check on it at least once a day, I love replying to all of the comments you guys leave me and no matter how late I am for the bus in the morning I NEED to get that one review up I've been working on :)

But now I'm going to Poland with my school and there's no way I'm going to be able to take care of my little baby so I gotta say buh-bye for a week. I have some posts scheduled but it's my first time doing that so I don't know how it'll work out.

See you guys next Saturday then :D

Keep reading!

PS: Guess which book I'm taking with me??? It's The Casual Vancancy, of course - SO excited :D

Review: Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

Goodreads synopsis:

Everyone has something, someone, somewhere else that they’d rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there. Cara’s parents’ unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love. Kendra covets the perfect face and body—no matter what surgeries and drugs she needs to get there. To score his perfect home run—on the field and off—Sean will sacrifice more than he can ever win back. And Andre realizes that to follow his heart and achieve his perfect performance, he’ll be living a life his ancestors would never have understood.
Everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go? What would you give up to be perfect? A riveting and startling companion to the bestselling Impulse, Ellen Hopkins's Perfect exposes the harsh truths about what it takes to grow up and grow into our own skins, our own selves


Release Date: September 13, 2011
Pages: 622 (Hardcover)
Series? #2
Publisher: Margeret K. Mc Elderry Books

REVIEW:

Perfect is the sequel or companion to Impulse. What surprised me and what I really liked was how it was set at the same time as Impulse, featuring other characters. Among others, Conner's sister Cara and their family and his ex-girlfriend Kendra and her family.

Perfect was in many ways different from Impulse. For one, it didn't take place in a mental facility, but in a small town where the four characters lived.
With that came the aspect of what I'd call a bit more "normal" than Impulse. Although the four characters all struggle with something, most of the time the pressure of being perfect, the majority of them does not have to look back on a truly disturbing childhood.

Which then again, doesn't mean that they are a bunch of happy kids. Kendra has to deal with anorexia in this book, Cara finds herself in a family where noone really cares about anything concerning her - apart from her academical success maybe. Andre has trouble deciding if he should follow his parents' expectations or decide for himself what he wants to do with his life and Sean chooses the wrong way to get where he wants to be.

All these problems, though, felt a bit more identifiable to me, because I think the light versions are what every teen has to go through.
Another reason I could identify with the stories was, of course, again Hopkin's amazing writing style that transports you directly into the characters' skin and lets you become a part of the story.

All in all I think Perfect was another great, deep Ellen Hopkins novel. I'd recommend reading Impulse first, although if you think the stories in Impulse are more than you could handle, it might be a good decision to read Perfect first, because as I said I find it to be a little bit easier to read.

RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties

Review: Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Goodreads synopsis:

Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same. Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act -- suicide. Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade. Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills. And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself. In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun -- and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life -- but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.

Release Date: January 23, 2007
Pages: 688 (Hardcover)
Series? #1
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderrry Books

LONG STORY SHORT:

Impulse didn't surprise me as I was told how brilliant it is so many times before. Nevertheless, I surely couldn't put it down and have to say I admire the author for writing such a deep, sad, disturbing story and creating three very realistic, likeable characters.

 REVIEW:

I was told so many times how Ellen Hopkins was brilliant and a genius and other awesome things so I thought it was about time for me to try her books. I must say, it overwhelmed me. In every way possible.

First of all, it was brilliant. I had to get used to the verse writing, but it didn't take me that long and after a couple of pages it wasn't a problem at all. What makes Hopkins so brilliant, I believe, is her ability to form those incredible three-dimensional characters. They seem so real and the further you read the more you get the feeling that you know them like you'd know real friends.

Also, some authors have a talent of displaying nothing but true life on their pages - and  that's what Hopkins does, too. Sometimes, good things happen. Another time, bad things happen - and you can never predict it because that's just how life goes.

I noticed before I read Impulse that none of Hopkin's books featured light and easy subjects and Impulse doesn't, either. It's set in Aspen Springs, a clinic for teens who struggle with all kinds of mental diseases or drug abuse or other really bad issues. The good thing is that the three characters we take a closer look on in Impulse all seemed weird to me at first and I was a bit frightened to know how they got themselves in the situation they were in - but then their stories were so unique and suddenly made me understand them in a way I never thought I would. Hopkins did a wonderful job here on creating troubled teenagers AND showing the reader what they are like on the inside.

Then again, that's also what I struggled with. After I finished Impulse I did need a little reading break just to get my mind off of the problems and issues the teens faced. Now, I  think that it's important to read about heavy stuff like this from time to time. I can say for myself that it gave me the impulse to look at things from another angle - or to look at things at all, really, but everyone should decide for themselves if they feel ready to read about these kind of things or not.

All in all, Impulse was a fantastic novel all around and I would recommend it to everyone who thinks he or she can handle issues like abuse, violence or cutting.

RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Series I Haven't Finished

1. Vampire Academy
...although I really want to! I loved the first book and everyone say they're only getting better!
2.The Mediator
...I was a REALLY late bloomer :) Started reading this series last June - and have only yet read the first installment.
3. Matched
...which is not THAT bad, because I'm pretty sure I'll get to Crossed before Reached comes out in November.
4. Hush Hush
...which I probably won't finish because it's absolutely not my cup of tea :/
5. The Immortals
...one of the few Paranormal Romance books I actually like. I read the first one during Bout of Books 4.0, but I'm not in a rush to finish it, seeing as is already over anyway. I will read the other books sometime, though!
6.Delirium
...which I LOVED! I'm kind of saving Pandemonium up for a VERY special moment.
7. The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy
...also a great series, but whenever I want to buy the books I end up putting others in my cart...
8. Pretty Little Liars
...which is pretty overwhelming. I still have to read 8-11. And I will. But I gotta be in the mood...
9. Abandon
...I guess I'll just wait until Underworld is out in paperback - I'm not as thrilled with  the series that I'd spend money on the hardcover version. And I have Abandon in paperback, too.
10. Gossip Girl
...even more overwhelming than the Pretty Little Liars. Someday, Sometime, I guess :)

Week of September 24

All New Stories:



Sequels:



Paperbacks:



My Thoughts:

Everyone has been so fraking excited about Alice in Zombieland - pretty much since I started blogging! It's finally here now and I want it real bad :) Also, I'll have to read Ashes and Shadows sometime soon...

Feature & Follow Friday

This week's question is:

What hyped up book do you think was worth all the talk?

My answer:

Harry Potter! But that one was obvious. A book I read this year? Partials, probably. And I was thrilled by Delirium. Yeah, those two...

Thank you, guys!

Hey everyone!!!

I just wanted to check in and share with you what's SO special about today!!

1) I'm taking three super important exams next week.

2) I'm drowning in stuff I need to study and running out of time.

3) I'm going on a class trip in a few weeks and am totally unprepared.

4) My room's a MESS because I don't have the time to even do my bed.

5) It's my SIX MONTH ANNIVERSARY!!!

Yup, you heard right. Bad coincidence it collides with the busiest week of the whole entire year, but whatever:)

I'm sorry I can't provide something super special for all of you guys AND I'm sorry that I don't even have the time for a real post, but there's one thing I have to say anyway:

THANK YOU!

For supporting me and my blog.

For reading the random stuff I come up with.

For sharing awesome recommendations, tips and tricks with me.

For welcoming me into a world and community that I can't imagine leaving behind. Ever.

Review: Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

Goodreads Summary:

Grace and Sam share a kinship so close they could be lovers or siblings. But they also share a problem. When the temperature slips towards freezing, Sam reverts to his wolf identity and must retreat into the woods to protect his pack. He worries that eventually his human side will fade away and he will be left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance.

Release Date: August1, 2009
Series? #1
Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance
Pulisher: Scholastic Pres




LONG STORY SHORT:

I loved this book if only for the amazing writing style. The characters were all very likable and the plot is the perfect example for those kinds of books that you just glide through without really noticing and then in retrospect ask yourself why it went by so fast although it was actually rather slow. The ending makes you longing for the sequel but is no cliffhanger, so that the book comes to a decent conclusion.

REVIEW:
I bought this book basically because everyone is raving about Maggie Stiefvater and her writing style and because I felt left out. Also, this was some kind of a challenge. I hate werewolves and I was interested if Stiefvater could actually make me love them. She couldn't.

The best thing about Shiver was the writing style. Oh man, it was amazing. So lyrical, so fluent so fairy-tale-ish. Somehow soft and sweet and wonderful! I don't know how Stiefvater does it but she makes the story of a normal girl preparing breakfast in a kitchen sound like a centuries-old myth.

The writing is the base for everything else I loved about Shiver. The characters were described in just enough detail, just enough emotion to identify with them and to understand how they feel. The proof for that is that I actually understood how Grace felt. The thing is that I don't like any kind of animal very much. I mean, I treat them well and stuff. I am a vegetarian, by the way, as I think that every being on this planet has the right to live, but I don't like touching them, I don't find them cute and stuff (maybe a really cute puppy would make an exception...), so I don't understand how one could fall in love with a wolf. Even if he's part human. I still don't. But Stiefvater made me understand Grace - and like her, too. She was such a nice girl , dealing with some issues but throughout the whole story she's never whiny. She also goes through some typical teenager problems that I could relate to very well. The other characters were very well developed, as well. Alex was amazing, a great love interest but also a good friend. The story turned even better in my opinion when Isabel started to play a bigger role in it. She was the funny part somehow, although we do get to see some more serious sides of her, too. All the characters impressed with their depth and variety, no stereotyping at all!

The plot itself as I said was rather slow, but enjoyable. Grace and Sam's relationship developed slowly and in a very sweet way. Credit to the realistic way everything fell into place - never forced, never cheesy.

I could go on and on about how much I loved this book, but I'm just going to stop now by telling you to read this book, but read it slowly, carefully. Read it like you eat your favorite dessert!

RATING:

3 out of 3 Smarties

Top Ten Tuesday

 Top Ten Bookish People I'd LikeTo Meet

1) JK Rowling - duh!
2) Meg Cabot - because I think talking to her would be hilariously funny :)
3) Harmony from Harmony's Radiant Reads - because I love her reviews and everything else she posts - she's so funny!
4) Sarah Dessen - I always feel like she has a TON of experience with surviving high school and your teen years, so it'd be great to ask for some advice :)
5) Cornelia Funke - in interviews she always talks so mysteriously and somehow...magical. I love when authors pretend (or do they?) that their worlds and characters are real!
6) Maggie Stiefvater and
7) Lauren Oliver
because I adore their writing styles - they have something poetic!
8) Nicholas Sparks - uh..you know just to check if he's anything like that weirdo of a dad in Anna and the French Kiss :)
9) Cassandra Clare - I have a feeling she's one of the most funny people you can meet on this earth!
10) Kafka - Because I felt like including a dead - classic- author. :D

Week of September 17

All New Stories.


Sequels:


Paperbacks:


My Thoughts:

I burn for Burn for Burn! Sorry, lame I know, but I couldn't stop myself. And yes, I am a total moron because I still haven't read The Girl of Fire and Thorns, but I plan to - same for The Crown of Embers, of course!

Words of the Week

Ipod - Oh well. I guess I'm going to start saving. Have you seen the new Ipod Touch? I know I shouldn't be so obsessed with tech stuff, but I LOVE it and I WANT it :)

Cold - I hate when my nose is running and my eyes are urning. ARGH! How am I supposed to run when I have to blow my nose constantly???

Time - Yeah. Got none. But then again - it's my last year of school and I even enjoy doing homework - because I know I'll miss it like crazy :) Ha, the nerd that I am!

And the new books (I bought all of them on Amazon.con):

Feature & Follow Friday

This week's question:

What hyped up book do you think was not worth all the talk?

Can I choose Hush Hush again? No? Okay, I'll admit it does get boring...I guess City of Bones was like that for me. Everyone was so hyped up about Cassandra Clare but the book actually didn't impress me AS much. I've read the rest of the series now, though. And I totally get it. Like totally, totally get it. By now I'd buy and read everything by Cassandra Clare.

Review: Whispers in Autumn by Trisha Leigh

Goodreads synopsis:

In 2015, a race of alien Others conquered Earth. They enslaved humanity not by force, but through an aggressive mind control that turned people into contented, unquestioning robots. 
Except sixteen-year-old Althea isn’t content at all, and she doesn’t need the mysterious note inside her locket to tell her she’s Something Else. It also warns her to trust no one, so she hides the pieces that make her different, even though it means being alone. 
The autumn she meets Lucas, everything changes. 
Althea and Lucas are immune to the alien mind control, and together they search for the reason why. What they uncover is a stunning truth the Others never anticipated, one with the potential to free the brainwashed human race. 
It’s not who they are that makes them special, but what. And what they are is a threat. One the Others are determined to eliminate for good.



Release Date: July 24, 2012
Pages: 388 (Paperback)
Series ? #1
Publisher: Create Space

LONG STORY SHORT:

Whispers in Autumn sounded good from the premise, the cover is plain beautiful and the beginning of the book convinced me that it must be epic. Well, a little bid closer to the middle I wasn't so sure anymore. I certainly liked the world building and the overall story idea, but it lacked uniqueness, suspense and plot for me.

REVIEW:

Whispers in Autumn totally had me in after I read the synopsis. The whole idea of including seasons and the elements and season-travelling into a dystopian novel sounded so original to me that I had to read it!

I was a bit disappointed, though.
I liked this book in the beginning, when the reader was introduced to the story, this whole new dystopian world. The concept of who ruled the world was very different from everything I've ever read before, but then the how was very ... unoriginal.

Whispers in Autumn reminded me a lot of Matched with the daily routine everyone has to follow and the food that's served in just the right amount and the exercise everyone has to get and how the government chooses your job for you and how Althea had to pretend she was like everyone else while she was clearly not.
The elements that could've been original - as I said the story of how the US became what it is in Whispers in Autumn or who the government really was - ended up being a blur to me. Nothing was really, clearly explained, everything came in bits and pieces that somehow made sense and somehow didn't.
What I was missing, as well, was really fast action. I mean there were a lot of incidences that increased the suspense, very crazy things happened to people and in general, but throughout the whole book there was never that moment when my hands begin to shake and I can't put the book down because there is a very bad fight or a life-saving escape or something.
The story just goes on, the situation gets kinda dangerous, the government is sorta suspicious and the time is somewhat running out for the kids.
And then the book ends and leaves us guessing what will happen next and I'm not sure yet if I want to find out.

Don't get me wrong, though. In retrospect Whispers in Autumn lacked a lot of things for me, but in general I enjoyed reading the book and it was pretty short, so that I would recommend it to people who really liked Matched and who don't need a lot of action in their dystopias.

Review: Marked by Kristin Cast and P.C Cast

Goodreads synopsis:
The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed.  In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire -- that is, if she makes it through the Change.  Not all of those who are chosen do.  It's tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling.  She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx.  But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers.  When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends


Release Date: May 1, 2007
Pages: 306 (Paperback)
Series? #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

LONG STORY SHORT:
Despite all the hype I haven't read any House of Night book yet and I wasn't even planning to do it, because
a) I usually don't care that much for vampyres
b) the whole thing seemed very fake to me
It was. Kind of fake, I mean. But in a good, enjoyable way.
So if you're able to ignore certain elements that may not be as unique in this book and are up to a light, entertaining story, I'd recommend you pick up Marked!

REVIEW:
I've heard a lot of things about the House of Night Series,but given my relatively short time of blogging, only about the latest installments and it all went pretty much like "It' s my guilty pleasure series" or "I only read it because I want to know what happens next".
But I mean there had to be reason why the series sky-rocketed in the first place so I needed to start reading it and the first book just had me in me after a few pages.

The protagonist is pretty hilarious. And by pretty I mean, very snarky and sarcastic - it's just a bit too much sometimes, there were passages I didn't find very teenager-authentic. However, the narrator is actually a plus because the book just never gets boring.

The set-up kind of feeling - sadly - joined me throughout the whole book. Zoey's situation at home and at school was cliche most of the time, the setting - especially the House of Night setting seemed just too perfect for me to be true.

Leaving all of this behind let's focus on why I am addicted to this series now:
First of all - boarding school. I'm a sucker for boarding schools, always have been! And as soon as you forget that the House of Night is way too stereotypical and unrealistic it becomes the best school you could think of! I wanna have Zoey's classes and her room and the cafeteria and their mini kitchen and all that stuff!! Also, her group of friends is way cool and not even as cliche as you would think they were.

And then, there is of course the suspense. That feeling that you just don't know who to trust. It drives me crazy and is the main reason why I need to have the second book! And the third! And all the others.

So, overall Marked is not a brilliant high-fantasy novel. But it sure comes with a ton of magical boarding school fun!

RATING: 3 out of 3 Smarties

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Books That Make You Think

1) Wintergirls by Lauria Halse Anderson
Obviously - it tackles an issue that is getting more and more common among teens - which is frightening enough to make me think!

2)Impulse by Ellen Hopkins and
3) Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
...same thing, actually. And also, it makes it clear to me that most of us worry way too much about beauty or how others see us.

4) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
5) Partials
Because sometimes I wonder if our world is that much better for some people than the world Katniss has to live in.

6) If I Stay by Gayle Forman
It always makes me think of how I need to appreciate my family more and spend more time with them.

I can't think of any more books that seriously make me think...but to make up for it, these six really do :)

Books of the Week

All New Stories:


Sequels:


Paperbacks:




My Thoughts:
This is a lot of books! :) However, I really do have to cut back on the bookbuying ... fall is just about to come and I feel like that's the time of year when I get most excited about books! Although I love Ellen Hopkin's writing I think I won't pick up her new book right away, just because I'm really not in the mood for something heavy and I won't buy it and then let it sit on my shelf for months. As for the Firelight and Secret Circle Series...both series I'd like to start reading, so it will happen sooner or later. As for all these paperbacks here - they sound good but I'm actually not that interested. Apart from Belles, of course, which is already on my shelf (in hardback version) and which should be added to yours, as well - I loved it!