Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Waiting On Wednesday...










Jill at Breaking the Spine began hosting this, and well you know how these things start (especially if it's an awesome idea!) This post alerts those that visit, about "THE" book that we CANNOT wait to get our hands on!Truth is we all hate waiting for anything...I personally enjoy instant gratification, but because this isn't a perfect world, I have to wait. And the book I am currently waiting (desperately) for is:


Pandemonium
 By: Lauren Oliver
 Expected publication: 03/06/12 
 HarperTeen 
 ISBN-13: 9780061978067

"I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite."



Tuesday, November 29, 2011

YA Novel Film Adaptations!

Here are some of the YA novels that have been opted for film adaptations:

Firelight
firelight
The new book by bestselling author Sophie Jordan, is coming to the big screen. Mandalay Pictures has picked up the rights to this young adult novel. Stay tuned for casting and release dates!
  
Incarceron
incarceron  
If you’re a Taylor Lautner fan you may be interested to know that he is reported to star in the movie adaptation of Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. The movie is due to come out sometime in 2013. You can also check out the sequel, Sapphique, here at the library!


Wake
wake  
Miley Cyrus is attached to star in the movie being developed by MTV Films which is based on the novel Wake by Lisa McMann. Be sure to check out the sequels available at the library, Fade and Gone. McMann also has a new novel coming out in February called Cryer’s Cross.

City of Bones
cityofbones
Actress Lily Collins, who is best known for her role in "The Blind Side", has been cast as Clary in the movie adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones: The Mortal Instruments due out in 2012.

The Hunger Games
hungergames
It's due out March 23, 2012, and I personally cannot wait! to see which actors will be portraying which characters, and the most recent theatrical trailer, you can Click Here

The Maze Runner
mazerunner
Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke is set to take James Dashner’s first novel of the sci-fi trilogy to the big screen. Be sure to check out the sequel The Scorch Trials at the library!


If I Stay
if_i_stay
Release Date: TBA
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Director: Heitor Dhalia
Screenwriter: Shauna Cross
Starring: Not Available
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Official Website: Not Available
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: Not Available
Production Stills: Not Available


Plot Summary: Based on Gayle Forman's novel of the same name. "If I Stay" is the story of the gifted classical musician Mia and her boyfriend, Adam, an up and coming indie-rock star. Torn between two paths in life, her art or her relationship, Mia is forced to make an even starker choice between life and death when she is caught in a fatal car accident with her family one snowy morning in Oregon.

Trailer:
Coming Soon!

Even if the movie is slightly corny, and low-budget, it will never compare to what my imagination has already made the characters up to be in my head. The movie is an after thought, the book is where it all started.

Red Glove By: Holly Black

Curses And Cons. Magic And The Mob.
     
Book blurb: In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth-he's the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything-or anyone-into something else.
     That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her.  Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's be cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion-working mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.
     When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue-crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too-they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone-least of all, himself?
     Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.


Review: It took me a few months to battle through this book. Not because it wasn't interesting, but I made the major mistake of putting it down to read the Hunger Games Trilogy, HUGE mistake on my behalf. I had to basically let my mind wander a few days with Katniss Everdeen before I was able to give Red Glove the attention it deserved, and let me tell you...it totally deserved it.


Holly Black has outdone herself AGAIN! I was instantly reconnected with my favorite usual suspects, Cassel, Sam, Daneca, Lila, Barron, Shandra, Zacharov and a few new unsavory characters that captivated me just the same as the old one's. 
As soon as I began reading, I remembered exactly where White Cat left off, keeping me in the loop so as not to have to back track. The cons are the same, the stakes are higher, and Cassel is a now senior at Wallingford Prep...but this changes nothing, he is still tormented by what the future holds for him, a life of crime and guilt. Soon after his arrival back to school,  A new student emerges at Wallingford, throwing a huge wrench in Cassel's plan to lay low, and soon after all hell breaks loose. Love, Murder, mayhem, lost memories, nightmares and seduction are just some of the plots that occur during the unfolding of the on going mystery and yet the questions stay the same, who is the murderer? how did they do it? and why? during Cassel's (along with Sam and Daneca) investigation of the mystery murderer, the Zacharov crime family are attempting to recruit Cassel for assassination purposes, while the FBI wants him for their own personal agenda. Either way, Cassel can't catch a break, and he's beginning to realize, that when it rains...it REALLY rains. This story reminds me of The Godfather (if the Corleones could kill you by touching you, or make you forget your life with the brush of a finger tip against your skin.) the betrayals, and victims, and the unraveling of lies, makes Red Glove deliciously wicked. I've never rooted for the villian in a book until now...is it wrong I have a soft spot for Lila's dad? especially when you finally get a small glimpse into his back story. It made me sympathize with him...at least a little bit. 
I don't want to give away too much of the story for those of you who haven't read it yet. I loved it, at times it got steamy, and definitely left me wanting more, no doubt. Can't wait for the next book, ESPECIALLY, with an ending like that :)


4/5

Teaser Tuesday!

Melissa Marr's Carnival of Souls

I fell into Melissa's Wicked Lovely world immediately upon opening. I was thrust into a land of wonder, fantasy, and fear. Beautiful and deadly, the series left me wanting more, despite being content with it's end. 
So...you can imagine my excitement when I found that she was writing another YA novel called Carnival of Souls (Her "accidental" novel, in her words not mine.). I have scowered the internet looking for a synopsis of any kind, and unfortunately came up empty...well almost empty. I DID in fact find a paragraph from a random chapter of the book that Melissa posted on her live journal page for her "Sentence Sunday's" post.
So without further ado,  the paragraph from Carnival Of Souls (unedited):


"Evening was falling as Kaleb walked toward the ladder that would take him into the rafters above the Carnival of Souls. The carnival was the center of [the city]. Everything of note started or ended here. Judgments were served here; negotiations of every sort took place in the shadows of vendors’ stalls. Music played constantly. Blind drummers played outside the tents were delicate deals where arranged; ensembles in the employ of the pleasure vendors enticed customers with their music as dancers demonstrated their flexibility; and others simply played for the coins that were tossed into their baskets. At times it was a glorious cacophony. Jugglers and fire-twirlers showed their skills in time to the music. Hawkers sold their wares to those ensnared by the music, sometimes literally. The only witches allowed in [the city] were low level ones, but it took very little magic to twist traps into songs. The art was in doing it skillfully enough to avoid detection."

Expected Publication 2012. Hardcover...The anticipation is killing me. There's not even a cover for me to obsess over.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Welcome Guest Reviewers

I encourage any and all of you, who are interested in guest reviewing on my blog, to email me with any of your recent literary findings along with your review. I would be happy to post them on my page, along with a link to your website and/or blog. Please include in your email the following:

*Full name
*Final draft of your book review
*website/blog (if you don't have either that's okay too.)
*optional: A Pic. Either of yourself, or an image that best fits your personality.

I will post guest reviews on Monday of every week. I will need your review by Sunday, no later than 8pm Pacific Standard Time, in order for your review to be posted for that week. If it is received after 8pm it will not be posted until the following week.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

RACHEL CAINE - BITE CLUB

Stumbled across the book trailer of a book I'm currently reading...I love when this happens :)

Silence By: Becca Fitzpatrick

I would like to just start by saying, it had been awhile since I read "Crescendo", and upon starting "Silence", I was completely lost and had to refer back to reiterate which characters were which. Once the confusion passed I was back on track with the story of Patch, Nora and the Black Hand...

Review:

Though the story, at times, was very predictable, it didn't stop me from wanting to continue the story. Through out the book you knew who the characters were, even if Nora's memory was too clouded to. I was excited every time she regained a new memory prior to her kidnapping. The once familiar world, now strange and swarming with seedy characters, and mythical beings. Nora has trouble deciphering what it is her kidnappers wanted her to forget, but at the same time with each clue she comes closer to a truth that doesn't feel odd to her at all.  I enjoyed "Silence", the third installment in the "Hush Hush Saga", but I wouldn't go as far as to say it was an excellent read. It kept me involved, but was far from a jaw-dropping, edge-of-your-seat literary confection.

3/5








Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!



"How can I describe it? Good food is like music you can taste, color you can smell. There is excellence all around you. You need only to be aware to stop and savor it." ~Gusteau (Ratatouille)

Have A Safe Holiday All!

Monday, November 7, 2011

I'M BAAAAAAACK....Thanx for hanging in there


So I just finished reading The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins, and now I'm in turmoil over what to read next! I just loved all of the books so immensely that I am having a bit of difficulty starting another book. At the moment I'm just marinating in the world that Mrs. Collins created for us...so...I decided, while I'm obsessing over the series, that I would compile a playlist of songs that reminds me of the books, and their characters. I know, I know, I've reached a whole other level of NERDism, but I don't care :)