{Review} SPEECHLESS by Hannah Harrington
9:14 AM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
O P E N I N G H O O K:
in which
national geographic
inadvertently changes my life
national geographic
inadvertently changes my life
The secret I have now is so, so much juicier than that. I'm just about ready to burst at the seams.
(Page 7, US paperback first edition)
By the end of SPEECHLESS, readers truly care about Chelsea and her life. This is a complete 180 from the beginning, when Chelsea is a supremely unlikable character. Chelsea would fit right in with the popular crowd from the movie Mean Girls, living it up at the top of the social pyramid with her friends and trash-talking everyone around her. After her fall, a lot of her peers thought she got what was coming to her. After all, "everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret." In a way, Chelsea reminds me a lot of Samantha Kingston from Lauren Oliver's award-winning BEFORE I FALL. Both Chelsea and Sam are easy to dislike, and it's hard to care about their plight. They both learn hard lessons about the consequences of their actions and become stronger, kinder characters along the way. This particularly shines through in SPEECHLESS because Chelsea must make amends with the friends of the student who was the victim of her words, especially as she realizes how much she likes them.
It's interesting to see the way Chelsea's words and actions change her life. She even takes a vow of silence after reading an article in National Geographic, which fuels more teasing at school from students who don't understand. I know from personal experience that long-term silences (even with just one person) are hard, especially when you want to talk, but don't know how to start things up again after going so long without. In that aspect, I connected with the book on an additional level that other readers might not. I also liked the unflinching way Harrington highlights the consequences of one's actions, the negative side of bullying, and the benefits that come from sticking up for your beliefs and doing what's right. SPEECHLESS is a powerful addition to the teen genre and should be read by teens of all ages, forcing them to consider thinking before they speak.~*~
C O V E R D E S I G N:
This cover is so simple, yet so striking in person. It made me stop and take notice! At first, I didn't even realize I'd expressed interest in the title before as an ARC.
Take a look at this video for a close-up look, but I love everything about this one!
Take a look at this video for a close-up look, but I love everything about this one!
~*~
O F F I C I A L I N F O:
Title: SPEECHLESS
Author: Hannah Harrington
Author: Hannah Harrington
Release Date: Out Aug. 28, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Received: Purchased
SUMMARY:
Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret
Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.
Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.
But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself.
{Review & Giveaway} PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katie McGarry
10:33 PM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
Want a gritty new book to love while waiting for something new from Lauren Oliver?
Stay tuned after today's review at the bottom of this post to enter to win your own copy of the buzzworthy PUSHING THE LIMITS! Today may be my birthday, but HarlequinTeen and I are gifting one of you with this incredible, hard-hitting novel!
Also, did you know there's mythology in PUSHING THE LIMITS? It's true!
Check out my Mythological Mondays post!
Another cool thing? Candace's Book Blog, Natalia @ Dazzling Reads, The Page Turners, Mary @ The Book Swarm and at The Bewitched Bookworms have put together a PUSHING THE LIMITS Read-Along from July 31st to August 28th, including a live Twitter chat with author Katie McGarry!
Click here for more information!
Stay tuned after today's review at the bottom of this post to enter to win your own copy of the buzzworthy PUSHING THE LIMITS! Today may be my birthday, but HarlequinTeen and I are gifting one of you with this incredible, hard-hitting novel!
Also, did you know there's mythology in PUSHING THE LIMITS? It's true!
Check out my Mythological Mondays post!
Another cool thing? Candace's Book Blog, Natalia @ Dazzling Reads, The Page Turners, Mary @ The Book Swarm and at The Bewitched Bookworms have put together a PUSHING THE LIMITS Read-Along from July 31st to August 28th, including a live Twitter chat with author Katie McGarry!
Click here for more information!
O P E N I N G H O O K:
While I've always been more of a fan of fantasy than I have contemporary, especially teen contemporary now that I'm no longer a teen, I've been trying to read more in this genre. PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katie McGarry has been garnering huge amounts of advance buzz this summer, the like of which I haven't seen since Stephanie Perkins released ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. It took me a long time to pick up ANNA because I didn't like the cover or the title and, let's face it, I thought it was pure romance, which I really don't read. But it was devastatingly good and stuck with me long after the book ended because the character development was so superb. PUSHING THE LIMITS also has a very romantic cover, so I overlooked the book when I first saw it online and I ignored the initial buzz. I read an interview that another blogger had done with McGarry and became intrigued. When publisher HarlequinTeen offered me a review copy and a giveaway copy, I jumped at the chance to see the book everyone is talking about. I'm not going to make the mistake I did with ANNA and judge this book by its cover.
I'm so glad I read this. As soon as the book arrived, I dropped what I was reading (Which turned into a DNF anyway, so I'm glad I dropped it...*cough*) to pick up PUSHING THE LIMITS and I devoured it. It was my day off, so I had plenty of time to read, and I stayed up late to finish. It was that good. Like the way Perkins developed characters I became enamored with when reading ANNA, so too did McGarry. Plus, PUSHING THE LIMITS is an issues book. Personally, I love books full of hard-hitting issues because they keep my attention more than a straight-forward romance ever could. Books with issues are the sort of contemporary novels I love best.
Ignore the deceptively romantic cover. All of that romance came at a high price. Told in alternating points of view between main characters Echo and Noah, both characters are incredibly damaged at the novel's start. Echo's older brother died in Afghanistan, which was a huge blow to her family. Her mother, who already suffered from mental illness, did something devastating, something that left scars on Echo despite the fact that her mind has repressed the memory. Noah, on the other hand, is an orphan. His parents died in a tragic house fire and his two younger brothers have been taken away from him and put into separate foster housing. Both Echo and Noah had so much taken from them and have gone through so much ever since their respective tragedies. Despite being from different paths in life, they find one another and learn how to heal, how to let go, how to move on, how to embrace the future and leave the past behind. The journey these two embark on is incredible and by the novel's end, both have come so far.
It's hard to describe PUSHING THE LIMITS without giving things away. All I can say is that McGarry, despite this being her debut novel, is a pro at layering and building up the development of her characters. Their world is real, and it's so easy for readers to get lost in the journey. The book has very raw, realistic emotions reminiscent of teen contemporary queen Simone Elkeles, who actually has a blurb on the dust jacket of PUSHING THE LIMITS. While most of McGarry's secondary characters fall to the wayside (it isn't, after all, their story), it's interesting to see that she'll focus on one of these characters in the 2013 release of her next novel, DARE YOU TO. While the character isn't one I necessarily gravitated to the first time around, it will be interesting to see how McGarry gets into her psyche and whether or not she can make me care the way she did when I read about Echo and Noah. I'll willing to take that chance and find out. Are you?
If I had seen this cover on the shelf and knew nothing about the book, I probably wouldn't have picked up PUSHING THE LIMITS. The cover looks very light, and there are many YA contemporary novels with couples against a locker, so it doesn't really stand out. Most recently, KEEP HOLDING ON by Susane Colasanti comes to mind, and this book also has a misleading cover since it's full of hard issues.
At the same time, the romance that builds between the two main characters is an important part of the story and the character development, so I can see why they went this route. Plus, the cover was designed with darker, grittier colors and a punch of silver, so the coloring stands out. I love that the female model has curly red hair like Echo does, too. Win!
The interior of the design is fabulous. If you take off the dust jacket, you see a full locker-sized image of the cover that spans the front cover, spine, and back cover. Each chapter alternates between Echo's and Noah's POVs, and each character has a unique font well-suited for his/her personality:
I'm so glad I read this. As soon as the book arrived, I dropped what I was reading (Which turned into a DNF anyway, so I'm glad I dropped it...*cough*) to pick up PUSHING THE LIMITS and I devoured it. It was my day off, so I had plenty of time to read, and I stayed up late to finish. It was that good. Like the way Perkins developed characters I became enamored with when reading ANNA, so too did McGarry. Plus, PUSHING THE LIMITS is an issues book. Personally, I love books full of hard-hitting issues because they keep my attention more than a straight-forward romance ever could. Books with issues are the sort of contemporary novels I love best.
Ignore the deceptively romantic cover. All of that romance came at a high price. Told in alternating points of view between main characters Echo and Noah, both characters are incredibly damaged at the novel's start. Echo's older brother died in Afghanistan, which was a huge blow to her family. Her mother, who already suffered from mental illness, did something devastating, something that left scars on Echo despite the fact that her mind has repressed the memory. Noah, on the other hand, is an orphan. His parents died in a tragic house fire and his two younger brothers have been taken away from him and put into separate foster housing. Both Echo and Noah had so much taken from them and have gone through so much ever since their respective tragedies. Despite being from different paths in life, they find one another and learn how to heal, how to let go, how to move on, how to embrace the future and leave the past behind. The journey these two embark on is incredible and by the novel's end, both have come so far.
It's hard to describe PUSHING THE LIMITS without giving things away. All I can say is that McGarry, despite this being her debut novel, is a pro at layering and building up the development of her characters. Their world is real, and it's so easy for readers to get lost in the journey. The book has very raw, realistic emotions reminiscent of teen contemporary queen Simone Elkeles, who actually has a blurb on the dust jacket of PUSHING THE LIMITS. While most of McGarry's secondary characters fall to the wayside (it isn't, after all, their story), it's interesting to see that she'll focus on one of these characters in the 2013 release of her next novel, DARE YOU TO. While the character isn't one I necessarily gravitated to the first time around, it will be interesting to see how McGarry gets into her psyche and whether or not she can make me care the way she did when I read about Echo and Noah. I'll willing to take that chance and find out. Are you?
~*~
C O V E R D E S I G N:
 |
| The cover WITHOUT the dust jacket. Image from Katie McGarry's blog b/c I'm LAZY, lol. |
At the same time, the romance that builds between the two main characters is an important part of the story and the character development, so I can see why they went this route. Plus, the cover was designed with darker, grittier colors and a punch of silver, so the coloring stands out. I love that the female model has curly red hair like Echo does, too. Win!
The interior of the design is fabulous. If you take off the dust jacket, you see a full locker-sized image of the cover that spans the front cover, spine, and back cover. Each chapter alternates between Echo's and Noah's POVs, and each character has a unique font well-suited for his/her personality:
~*~
O F F I C I A L I N F O:
Title: PUSHING THE LIMITS
Authors: Katie McGarry
Authors: Katie McGarry
Release Date: Out July 30, 2012
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Received: Received for Review
SUMMARY:
No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.
Now it's your turn.
You have until August 15th to enter to win the awesome PUSHING THE LIMITS by debut author Katie McGarry.
Good luck!
Review: ALL THESE THINGS I'VE DONE by Gabrielle Zevin
10:49 PM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
Love DELIRIUM? Here's another great dystopian novel to tide you over while awaiting PANDEMONIUM!
Title: ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Release Date: Out Now (Sept. 6, 2011)
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux/MacMillan
Received: Finished copy for review
Goodreads
SUMMARY:
In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.
I’ve been wanting to read Gabrielle Zevin’s ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE ever since hearing about it back in 2010. I was so excited to finally get my hands on it. The first book in her BIRTHRIGHT trilogy, Zevin’s new novel is full of all things forbidden: the mafia, coffee, and…chocolate? Yes, it’s true! In this world, chocolate and coffee are illegal substances. Would you want to live in such a world? I know I wouldn’t! The mafia is composed of various families that were once chocolate distributors, etc. The main character, Anya Balanchine, is part of the Balanchine clan, makers of the best chocolate in the world. They still sell chocolate illegally and make a fortune off of doing so. Parts of this book really remind me of both Mario Puzo’s THE GODFATHER series and Holly Black’s CURSE WORKER series. The book also has a dystopian flair to it, but in a refreshing change of pace, the characters aren’t trying to break free of and take down a controlling government.
The book starts off with a more mature Anya Balanchine narrating in past tense. The year is currently 2083, and “This was back when caffeine, along with about a million other things, was against the law. So much was illegal (paper without a permit, phones with cameras, chocolate, etc.) and the laws changed so quickly, you could be committing a crime and not even know it” (pg. 3, first US edition). Anya and her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend Gable are leaving a coffee speakeasy, having gotten high off coffee (and in Gable’s case, espresso laced with shots of Prozac) and have an argument because Anya wants Gable to leave before the city-wide midnight curfew. Gable, of course, would rather stay and get Anya to feed him chocolate and finally get her into bed. A few nights later, he comes to her begging for chocolate and she gives him two bars from a newly-delivered case. But it turns out the new shipment was poisoned. Gable winds up in the hospital and Anya is sent to Liberty Children’s Facility, where she is treated poorly before her new friend Win gets his dad, the new District Attorney, to free her after it’s discovered that all chocolate has been contaminated, not just Anya’s personal shipment. From here, the story really picks up speed. Anya is falling for Win, but his hotshot DA father doesn’t want his son with the daughter of a notorious crime lord. This adds a little bit of a ROMEO AND JULIET spin to the story. In addition, strange things begin occurring within the Family, and deceit and betrayal linger in the air. Anya no longer knows who to trust or why the Family is suddenly interested in her mentally handicapped older brother Leo. Anya wants to protect her siblings and her grandmother and keep everyone safe, but she no longer knows who to trust, and things will get far worse before they have a chance of getting better.
ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE packs a powerful punch. It starts off slowly, but by the final 2/3rds of the book, I was hooked and knew I wanted to continue on with the BIRTHRIGHT series. Some readers have mentioned a lack of world-building in that they never knew “why” certain contraband was considered to be illegal, but there are still two books to come, so this doesn’t bother me so much. We had everything we needed. The characters are strongly developed and it’s easy to get attached to them. At times, this first book is very much developing everything we’ll need to know going into the second book, which is why I think it has a slower start. There’s so much world-building to do, from creating character motivation and letting readers know who everyone is to building Family ties. I have a feeling the next book will have a steadier pacing that doesn’t wait until the end to throw its final punch. Zevin has a much more mature writing style that’s easy to fall in love with and I look forward to reading more of her novels soon.
COVER DESIGN:
You might be surprised since the cover is so understated, but this is one of my favorite designs of the year. This is one classy cover. It stands out because it looks so different. I love the shiny red, the beautiful chocolate heart that looks real enough to eat (despite its drippy imperfections as it falls apart) and the way there’s pale gray in the background telling the prospective reader more about what lies within. I love the wax-like texture to the dust jacket that reminds me of a bar of chocolate and the way that when you pull out the flap, it looks like candy bar packaging. But most of all, I adore the way there’s a second hidden cover when you take off the dust jacket, making the who book look like a bar of chocolate. The coolest part of THAT is the fact that the chocolate is Balanchine Special Dark. Main character Anya Balanchine’s family produces chocolate and her favorite type was always Special Dark. (Me too, dark chocolate is my favorite!) This cover is genius, but don’t take my word for it…I filmed the cover for you to enjoy!
You might be surprised since the cover is so understated, but this is one of my favorite designs of the year. This is one classy cover. It stands out because it looks so different. I love the shiny red, the beautiful chocolate heart that looks real enough to eat (despite its drippy imperfections as it falls apart) and the way there’s pale gray in the background telling the prospective reader more about what lies within. I love the wax-like texture to the dust jacket that reminds me of a bar of chocolate and the way that when you pull out the flap, it looks like candy bar packaging. But most of all, I adore the way there’s a second hidden cover when you take off the dust jacket, making the who book look like a bar of chocolate. The coolest part of THAT is the fact that the chocolate is Balanchine Special Dark. Main character Anya Balanchine’s family produces chocolate and her favorite type was always Special Dark. (Me too, dark chocolate is my favorite!) This cover is genius, but don’t take my word for it…I filmed the cover for you to enjoy!
Labels:
ALL THESE THINGS I'VE DONE,
Book Review,
cover design,
dystopian society,
family,
friendship,
Gabrielle Zevin,
romance,
YA
Review: LIESL & PO by Lauren Oliver
2:48 PM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
Title: LIESL & PO
Author: Lauren Oliver
Release Date: Out Now (Oct. 4, 2011)
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s
Received: ARC for review from work/Also purchased first-edition hardcover copy
SUMMARY:
We meet Liesl the night after the day her young father has died. That same day she is visited by a ghost, Po, an eight year old boy who lives on the other side, the territory between life and death that runs parallel to the living world. Po has come to tell her that her father is stuck on the other side, and that she is the only one who can help him cross over.
A couple of wooden boxes. Some ashes. Some magic dust. A ghost, its pet, and a boy who forgot to wear a hat in the cold.
From these seemingly odd, random characters Oliver weaves the enchanting story of how, with the aid of Liesl, these elements come together over the course of one week to restore love and luster to a world gone grey and heartless.
It’s not often that I find a novel as rare and delicate as LIESL & PO by Lauren Oliver. This is the type of book I would have owned as a kid, the kind I would have read and re-read until it fell apart. It’s a throwback to so many of my childhood favorites. I’m really rooting for this one to at the very least be nominated for the Newbery Award. Heck, I’d like to see it win—the golden cover would look complete with a golden Newbery to match. I’d even take Silver, because it would be in good company with two of my other middle-grade favorites, ELLA ENCHANTED by Gail Carson Levine and PRINCESS ACADEMY by Shannon Hale. I think publisher HarperCollins is also eyeing up the big awards. The ARC for LIESL & PO compares the novel to Newbery winners THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman and THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX by Kate DiCamillo. It’s also compared to Newbery Honor book CHARLOTTE’S WEB by E.B. White. AND the final edition has a quote on it from last year’s Newbery winner Rebecca Stead (WHEN YOU REACH ME). What a line-up! To keep comparing LIESL & PO to other childhood staples, when reading it, I often felt like this had a Roald Dahl feel to it (especially MATILDA), that there are elements of Cinderella (Liesl lives locked away in the attic and has an evil stepmother and a stepsister), and that the golden embossed cover with ghosts peeking out is very reminiscent of A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens. On top of all that? The artwork reminds me a little of the care and love put into Caldecott winner THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick. That litany alone should make LIESL & PO stand out to the committee.
This book is fantastic, destined to be a true classic. It’s whimsical and enchanting. Oliver wrote LIESL & PO after the death of her best friend and pulled together a story from her tragedy, stating that this is the most personal of all her writing. The care and attention she paid to this idea truly shows. Her first middle-grade novel follows a young girl named Liesl who discovers that ghosts are real after her father’s untimely death. A ghost named Po appears in her room along with its pet ghost, Bundle. Liesl can’t tell if Po is a boy or a girl, if Bundle is a cat or a dog…and the truth is, neither ghost knows, either. Those things no longer matter once one has crossed over. Liesl is precocious and smart. Her favorite word is ineffable, because “it meant a feeling so big or vast that it could not be expressed in words” (Pg. 12). These are the types of gems scattered throughout LIESL & PO, humanizing the characters and making them easy to relate to. Liesl’s journey begins when Po informs her that it’s possible to make contact with her father. Because of Po, she’s able to escape from her evil stepmother and step out into the world, where she is joined by Will, a boy who has embarked on a sad journey of his own. Together, Liesl and Po must lay Liesl’s father’s ashes to rest, never knowing that they are actually in possession of the most powerful magic in the world…magic that corrupt adults will stop at nothing to obtain.
I know I’m not explaining the layers and nuances that make this novel so stunning well at all. At the same time, maybe that’s a good thing: It leaves more for you to discover on your own. The inside front flap leaves readers with this: “From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places.” Perhaps that’s the easiest way to describe something as perfect as this.
COVER DESIGN:
This cover is beautiful, the kind that would make me instantly pick it up to see what it’s about. I love all the gold embossing and feel it’s a throwback to a lot of classic children’s literature. The gold oval image with ghosts peering out reminds me a lot of A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens for some reason (perhaps it reminds me of the haunted doorknocker?). The fact that you can take the jacket off and see a secondary cover beneath the book really seals my love for this design. The cover is even more beautiful beneath, complete with two images that capture moments from the novel. The only thing that would make this cover better would be a golden (or even silver…but I want gold, darn it!) Newbery Award seal! But don’t take my word for it…this is one of those cases where you have to SEE the cover to believe it!
Labels:
adventure,
Book Review,
cover design,
family,
fantasy,
friendship,
Lauren Oliver,
Liesl and Po,
middle-grade
Book Review and GIVEAWAY!
10:03 AM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
If you liked the idea of karmic retribution that resonates throughout BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver, you might also like....
Title: THE KARMA CLUB
Author: Jessica Brody
Release Date: Out Now (Apr. 27, 2010)
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan
Received: Library copy
Goodreads
SUMMARY:
Madison Kasparkova always thought she understood how Karma works. Do good things and you'll be rewarded, do something bad and Karma will make sure you get what you deserve.
But when Maddy’s boyfriend cheats on her, nothing bad comes his way. That’s why Maddy starts the Karma Club, to clean up the messes that the universe has left behind. Sometimes, though, it isn’t wise to meddle with the universe.
It turns out Karma often has plans of its own.
Author: Jessica Brody
Release Date: Out Now (Apr. 27, 2010)
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan
Received: Library copy
Goodreads
SUMMARY:
Madison Kasparkova always thought she understood how Karma works. Do good things and you'll be rewarded, do something bad and Karma will make sure you get what you deserve.
But when Maddy’s boyfriend cheats on her, nothing bad comes his way. That’s why Maddy starts the Karma Club, to clean up the messes that the universe has left behind. Sometimes, though, it isn’t wise to meddle with the universe.
It turns out Karma often has plans of its own.
Jessica Brody is one of my new favorite contemporary YA authors. Her novels are adorable…and the ones coming out in the future sound amazing. I already have a whole list of her books marked as TBR on GoodReads! This summer, I really enjoyed reading MY LIFE UNDECIDED (which I’ll be reviewing on A Backwards Story in November for Ashley from Basically Amazing’s Just Contemporary event) and moved right on to her debut YA novel, THE KARMA CLUB. While I didn’t like it quite as much as MY LIFE UNDECIDED, it was still really cute. Brody has a way of making readers genuinely care about her characters.
The novel revolves around Madison Kasparkova, a teenager who wants nothing more than to be popular. Maddy submits her boyfriend’s picture and bio to a popular teen magazine, and when he’s chosen as the featured boyfriend, she’s ecstatic. Finally, people will notice her! Only…the most popular girl at school notices her boyfriend, who promptly dumps Maddy despite everything. Maddy’s devastated, of course. Why is it fair that he gets to be happy when she did so much for him? Everyone always says that what goes around comes around, but how long does she have to wait for Karma to rear its head? Maddy decides to take matters into her own hand. She forms The Karma Club with her best friends (who have also been wronged by guys in the past). The club seeks to right the wrongs that have been done to them in a kind of “pay it forward” fashion. They also seek to swear off boys in a fashion that reminded me of last year’s THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB by Elizabeth Eulberg (review here). Whenever a plan’s successful, the girls go out and buy a charm for their special charm bracelets. But what about the fact that Maddy is falling for someone new? Will she be ostracized by her friends? And is playing with fate the right thing to do? What happens when it turns around and wants retribution?
This book was so much fun. At first, I didn’t overly love Maddy or the way she dealt with various situations, but over time, I grew to love her. I really like the way Brody wove characters together and set up a scene that brings everything to a climax in the perfect way. The romance was light and sweet, and the friendship was solid. At times, I felt the girls went to extreme ends to complete their methods of revenge, but it felt like…Like, “Hey, this is a book for all you girls who have ever been dumped for no good reason. Don’t you want to smash your ex’s face in or slash his tires or just shove a pie in his face? Something, ANYTHING to humiliate or aggravate him? Well, here’s your chance to live vicariously!” This is a dream world where revenge CAN come true and the girlfriend CAN get back at the ex dumb enough to let her go. So extreme, yes, but also therapeutic!
COVER DESIGN:
While this isn’t my favorite cover in the world, it pulls directly from the novel. The notebook the model is holding is supposed to the notebook where the girls write down everything they do in The Karma Club. Which, if you think about it, isn’t the smartest idea. Why would you write stuff like that down? Aren’t your charm bracelets enough? So the notebook is integral to the story!
I do like the fact that the notebook’s cover is a fun shade of red, which add a pop of color to the cover. The title reminds me a bit of a sea resort, though I like the way it’s in the yin yang. It also reminds me a bit of a bracelet charm! I also like the way the author’s name is the same color as the logo for the club.
I do like the fact that the notebook’s cover is a fun shade of red, which add a pop of color to the cover. The title reminds me a bit of a sea resort, though I like the way it’s in the yin yang. It also reminds me a bit of a bracelet charm! I also like the way the author’s name is the same color as the logo for the club.
BOOK TRAILER:
(And this trailer is pretty awesome. It’s what first made me want to read this!!)
GIVEAWAY:
Have you entered to win MY LIFE UNDECIDED by Jessica Brody yet? If not, do so now! Just click this link and fill out the form at the bottom of the page (The form is linked to my blog account, so I don't think I can copy/paste it directly here. Sorry for the extra step, DF Fans!).
[But heeeeeey, you get to see another trailer by doing that if you wish!]
So far, it’s my favorite of Brody’s two YA novels and I can’t wait to share my love with a lucky bookworm!
It's also the last day to enter to win two paranormal novels, EARTH BLEND and HUMAN BLEND by Lori Pescatore. Enter HERE!
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Book Review: Crescendo (Hush, Hush, #2), by Becca Fitzpatrick
11:16 PM Posted by Ella Preuss
Release Date: October 19th, 2010
Publisher: Simon and Schuster's Children's Publishing
Overall: 4 Stars
Other books in the series: Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1), Silence (Hush, Hush, #3)
Summary:
My Opinion:Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but atleast she got a guardian angel out of it: a mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever and even worse, he's started spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar.
Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadnt been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something.
Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death, Nora puts herself increasingly in dangerous situations as she desperatly searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.
Hush, Hush was such an amazing, exciting, and fun beginning to a series, that I was hoping to be even more in love with Patch in Crescendo. But I was a little disappointed.
It took me a while to remember that Nora's sixteen years old, therefore some of her actions and decisions seemed a little immature to me. Even so, I couldn't help think sometimes that she could make a better choice. Or tell her, "Why don't you see what he's doing to you?" (he being either Patch, Scott or Rixon).
All that aside, I loved how Becca put even more drama into Crescendo, making Nora question her father's death, thinking it might have been Patch who did it, which led to the two of them eventually breaking up. All I could think was, "No! Don't do that! You can't leave Patch, he loves you!" But I've got to admit, she was very determined, and didn't change her mind like some little girl who says first they want one thing, and then they want another. I liked that.
The Marcie Drama was a little too undeveloped, I think it needed more, I needed to know more. But the Scott Issue was really well written! I loved that.
And the ending! Argh, you can't do that Becca, that's mean! Why did you leave us hanging like that? I tell you, it was all worth it for those final chapters!
So, all in all, while I didn't love this book as much as I did Hush, Hush, I still liked it, and that's why I'm giving it 4 Stars.
Have you read Hush, Hush and Crescendo? Are you waiting for Silence too?
Do you love Patch as much as I do? *swoon* (He's no Alex, though!)
xo, Ella
Resister Report: ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins
10:51 AM Posted by Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
To all employees:We have received word that resister Stephanie Perkins is spreading propaganda against the cure. She is calling it ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS and trying to tell teenagers that falling in love is a good thing, treating the warning signs of the deliria as a necessary building block to true love. The tale stirs up too many emotions and will have law-abiding citizens second-guessing the cure. This blatant attack on our regime will not be tolerated.
The pamphlet containing the short story has a modest enough cover. The two teenagers in love remain at a respectable distance, though their hands are too close together and the girl has a lovestruck expression on her face. Unfortunately, the word “Kiss” stands out and lets citizens know what the contents really contain. If you see copies of this lying around, confiscate them immediately. Bring all citizens with the work in their possession to Headquarters immediately.ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS has enough angst that it would make a good candidate for the sanitization process, stripping out certain parts to turn it into a proper cautionary tale. For one thing, Anna pines for a boy at her boarding school named Étienne, who already has a girlfriend. Both characters go through a lot of heartbreak in order to be together, an emotion no teenager should have to experience. By heightening the turmoil and cutting back on the view of love as a good thing, this book will be acceptable for public viewing.
Resister Stephanie Perkins mentions that she will be writing at least two more propaganda-filled tales, LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR and ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER. Capture the subject at all costs before she is able to spread her filthy lies about romance and hopes and dreams to the law-abiding masses.
This is a Code Red alert. Destroy memo after reading and memorizing the contents.
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....If you're still reading this, you have entered the right password to override the government's system. Congratulations, fellow resisters!
For a more representative review of this fantastic book that our illustrious government doesn't want you to read, check out this top secret review through the proxy channel.
Spend no more than five minutes reading or the connection can be traced.
