SHATTER ME's Release Day and MARA DYER News!

9:20 AM Posted by Ella Preuss

Today's the release day of SHATTER ME, by debut author Tahereh Mafi! I think I'm right in saying it's one of the most anticipated books of the season. Just look at its cover!
Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

Or, look at its trailer (which is ah-mazing!):




*drops jaw* 

Happy book birthday SHATTER ME! I shall soon get my hands on you!

And, speaking of awesome books: THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER is on its SECOND PRINT! Just after being on the shelves for 6 weeks! SIX WEEKS! Wow, that's great! 
I'm reading this book right now (as a matter of fact, I'll go and keep on reading it as soon as this post it up) and I tell you, I'm loving it. My review will probably be up next week.
Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.
She's wrong.

I still have uni to worry about, but classes are ending which means I'll have more time to read soon!

xo,
Ella

Root - A new interactive story from Guardian Teen Books

10:06 PM Posted by Ella Preuss

Remember I told you about Michael Grant's new interactive project a few months ago? Well, someone from The Guardian has just emailed me something really exciting, and not unlike Grant's project:
Guardian Teen Books has partnered with Random House for a new interactive, serialised story called Root - a fast-paced thriller set in the shadowy world of computer hacking and espionage. 
ESPIONAGE! I love the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore, I read a few of them -that were not reviewed here-, and ever since I've loved the idea of teen spies.
Every weekday for six weeks a new chapter will be released on guardian.co.uk/teen-books. The content will be directly influenced by readers’ contributions, such as their ideas for characters' personalities and skills.
The story's already begun, it's on its twelfth chapter now. But I'm definitely gonna start reading it as soon as I can!
The heroine Molly Root is a 15 year old computer genius whose friend Danny is killed after being caught stealing priceless data from a ruthless global corporation. Now she's in over her head. So far Molly Root's mission to get to the bottom of her best friend's murder has taken her on a perilous trail across London. Her key lead is a dodgy police detective - and her attempts to expose his shady contacts are testing her ingenuity to the limits.
Yep, I'm loving the summary!
As well as incorporating suggestions from readers, the story will also be brought to life via several social media platforms. For example, Guardian Teen Books' Twitter and Facebook accounts will be providing behind the scenes updates of how Molly is progressing, along with clips on Audiobooks featuring the voicemails that Molly has discovered. This will be accompanied by onsite quizzes and photo puzzles on Flickr.
How exciting is that? I know it's convinced me! You can go and take a look if you want, click on any of the links above to visit the site.

Happy birthday Lauren!!!

6:24 PM Posted by Ella Preuss

Today's our favourite author's birthday! And although we didn't prepare anything special for today* we wanted to greet her and tell her thanks for sharing her talent with us, and for being an overall beautiful person.

So, go on and say hi to her! You can do it here, on her blog, her facebook or her twitter.



*Check back later, we might have something special coming up...

The ReadIt1st Movement

9:00 AM Posted by Ella Preuss

Right, Doctor? Nerdfighters are cool, he says.
Nerdfighters are among the coolest people on Earth, and they've created something that deserves to be spoken of. 
I only just learned about it, and I already think it's amazing.

Have you ever watched a film based on a book and swore you'd never waste your time reading said book? Well, you might have missed out on reading a really good book, all because of its crappy on-screen adaptation. 

The ReadIt1st Movement (I don't know if it's actually a movement, I just like to call it that) is all for reading the book before watching the film! It's something I've always believed in. I haven't watched the Jane Eyre remake because I still have the book waiting for me in a box (I know, tragic, but I still haven't gotten shelves for my new flat).

I love it when you can see on the big (or small) screen something you've previously imagined in your mind. It's magic, isn't it? Of course, a book's adaptation to a film isn't always accurate (The Vampire Diaries is a series I love, but on TV, the show's taking turns that L. J. Smith didn't even write! And it isn't necessarily a bad thing.) and we must remember that when watching a film or a TV show based on a literary work. 

So, if you also think like me, and you're willing to take the pledge, you can go to readit1st.com and sign up!

Book Review: The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire, by Various Authors

8:32 PM Posted by Ella Preuss

The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire, by Various Authors on Goodreads
Release Date: July 28th, 2009
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Age Group: Young Adult
Overall: 4 Stars 
Categories: Vampires, Paranormal, Romance
Challenge: 100 Books in a Year
Finished in November 2011

Summary:
There’s an allure to vampire tales that have seduced readers for generations. From Bram Stoker to Stephenie Meyer and beyond, vampire stories are here to stay. For those fresh-blooded fans of paranormal romance or for those whose hunt and hunger never dies, these stories have what readers want!This collection of original tales comes from some of the hottest, most popular, and best-selling YA writers, including:
• Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Tithe)
• Libba Bray (A Great and Terrible Beauty)
• Melissa De La Cruz (Blue Blood)
• Cassandra Clare (City of Bones)
• Rachel Caine (Morganville Vampires)
• Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie (Wicked)
• Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof, Queen of Cool)
• Kelley Armstrong (Women of Otherworld)
• Maria V. Snyder
• Sarah Rees Brennan
• Lili St. Crow
• Karen Mahoney
• Dina James
They will make everyone a sucker for eternal kisses.

My Opinion:

Vampires are among my favourite otherworldly creature, and this book didn't disappoint! What an amazing book from such talented authors!

From romances between vampires and their hunters (the drama!), and vampires who've been so for years to people who've just changed or are hoping to be turned, this book has it all.

I seriously can't remember reading a book so full of action as well as sexual tension, and so well written. Because, let's be honest, teens' hormones are all over the place 24/7, it's no use denying it. And these writers use it to their advantage, creating stories that'll leave you pining for an undead boyfriend/girlfriend of your own! Just subtle kisses (hence, the book's title) that make you feel a chill crawling up your spine and keep on reading until the end are what this book is about.

You'll find your typical gorgeous type of vamp and vampires that are anything but glamourous and living in ghettos, surrounded by police guarding them so they don't leave that place.

Many of these authors I'd never heard of, but now, I'm definitely going to start looking into their work.

If you love vampire stories as much as I do, you'll love this book.

xo,
Ella

Lauren is nominated on the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards!

4:12 PM Posted by Ella Preuss

Lauren has been nominated in 4 categories on the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards, and she needs our votes!

You can vote for her here
And in Lauren's words:
Voting ends on November 30, you have to vote for your faves by November 13 to get them into the semifinals! Don't delay, VOTE NOW!!!