Upcoming Read-a-Thons

I love read-a-thons :)! The reason being is that I am very competitive!! So naturally they are a good fit for me and I have signed up for a few that are coming up. They also help reduce my TBR pile that is just sitting on the floor by my nightstand.

Read-A-Thons:
The 2011 Spooktacular October Paranormal Reading Challenge (10/1 - 10/31)
The Inheritance Cycle Re-Reading Challenge (10/18 - 11/8)
Wrapping Up 2011 Read-A-Thon (12/22/11 - 1/1/12)

So those are the ones that I have plan to do at the moment; I'm sure that if I stumble across another one that I will most likely join it as well :)
<3 Shannon

Top Ten and Teaser Tuesday (6) + Tune In Tuesday (2)

Top Ten Books I Want To Reread

1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

 This is one of the series that I love to read over and over and over again! It will probably always be my favorite!

2. The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld

 This is my favorite series of his and I have read this series a lot as well! I enjoy reading his books and I'm constantly looking for ways to get my hands on his books that I don't currently own.

3. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

 Out of all of her books this one is probably my favorite! I've been dying to reread this one for awhile now but I just haven't found the time yet :(

4. Saints at the River by Ron Rash

 I was assigned to read this book for my Eng 102 class and I did not have high hopes for it because of the cover or the synopsis. It just wasn't in the genre that I was reading at the time. However, when reading this book I fell in love with it. Ron Rash is a local writer and his book takes place in Tamassee, SC (I went to a track meet at their high school). This is a fantastic book and I would definitely recommend it for you to read.

5. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkein

Love! Love! Love! I absolutely love this book!!

6. Burned by Ellen Hopkins

 This book is probably my second favorite book of hers. If I remember correctly the male protagonist is totally crush worthy and not many books of her's have that element. I also did not expect the way that she ended the book AT ALL! Total shocker for me!! This is probably one of her saddest books :(

7. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

 This series is probably one of my favorite high fantasy genre books and I enjoy going back and rereading it every so often. Also the fourth and final book is coming out in November so I am definitely due for a reread!!

8. Mad Kestrel by Misty Massey

I read this book about three years ago for my school's SCYABA contest and I enjoyed it a lot! It was one of my favorite books from that year's list! The last two weeks I have had this urge to reread it so that is why it is on the list!

9. The Host by Stephenie Meyer

This is on my list of favorite books and it's obviously my favorite book by the author :P! I was really skeptical when I was first told to read but I'm really glad that I did. It definitely has a slow start but when it gets going it really takes off.

10. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

 This is my second favorite book by Sarah Dessen (The Truth About Forever is my favorite) and all of her books are must reads! All of the guys will have you in love with them before the book is even halfway done. They are just simply fantastic!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read, open to a random page, and share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My Teaser:

"If someone were to look carefully, the angry red marks underneath the fine cotton of her blouse would be clearly visible. But nobody ever does look carefully."

-pg. 26 "Willow" by Julia Hoban

A weekly feature hosted by Ginger at GReads! that showcases music!!

This week I went with songs from The Beatles and John Lennon :) <3

Can't Buy Me Love by The Beatles
(my all time favorite Beatles song!)

Blackbird by The Beatles

Imagine by John Lennon

Well that is my Tuesday, now off to bed I go :)!

<3 Shannon

Follow Friday (5)

Q. Do you have a favorite series that you read over and over again? Tell us a bit about it and why you keep on revisiting it?

A. I have several series that I keep reading over and over again. They are:

Harry Potter by JK Rowling

The Redwall Adventures Series by Brian Jacques

The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld

The Heir Chronicles by Cinda Williams Chima

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

The Moral Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare

The Diary of a Crush Series by Sarra Manning

The Impact Zone Series by Todd Strasser
Any book by Ellen Hopkins

Any book by Sarah Dessen

I've read every single book in these series at least three times! I'm pretty sure that I don't need to explain why I love and have read Harry Potter multiply times. The Redwall Series by Brian Jacques, I love love love this series. When I was in middle school we had a crappy library so I found this series there and just read every single one of them (that was out at the time) over and over again. It's obviously a middle grade series about a bunch of woodland creatures that go on adventures and save the day! The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld, I love the world that he created and I also really like his characters as well. Just in general this series is very good. The Heir Chronicles by Cinda Williams Chima, I'm not really sure why I like these books so much other than they are a fantastic read and she makes her male protagonist totally swoon worthy in my opinion! The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini is a high-fantasy series and that is one of my all time favorite genres! The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare, is just fantastic! She always puts the right amount of humor in her books and they are also really well written too. The Diary of a Crush Series by Sarra Manning, I picked this series up my freshman year of high school and I really loved it. It's your usually chick book with unnecessary drama and a total crush worthy guy but it's a easy and a good read! The Impact Zone Series by Todd Strasser, I picked this book up when I was waiting my mom to finish her grocery shopping and sat down in read part of it. I was hooked and I managed to convince my mom to buy me the first two books! It's a book about surfing (which is something I've always wanted to learn) and it's a nice light/fast read. Any book by Ellen Hopkins, her books are written in prose and all of them are about real issues! That is the main reason that I love her books. They are fast to read and they will also take you on an emotional journey too. Any book by Sarah Dessen, my favorite book by her is The Truth About Forever and it is also one of the books that got me back into reading since our high school actually had a good reading selection.

Those are all of the series that I own  and reread over and over again! Which is a lot and I'm actually due to reread some of them soon!
<3 Shannon

Review: The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

• Reading Level: Young Adult 
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
• ISBN-10: 1402243693
• ISBN-13: 978-1402243691
• Received From: I bought it.

   From Goodreads:
Vera and her brother, Will, live in the shadow of the Great Panic, in a country that has collapsed from environmental catastrophe. Water is hoarded by governments, rivers are dammed, and clouds are sucked from the sky. But then Vera befriends Kai, who seems to have limitless access to fresh water. When Kai suddenly disappears, Vera and Will set off on a dangerous journey in search of him-pursued by pirates, a paramilitary group, and greedy corporations. Timely and eerily familiar, acclaimed author Cameron Stracher makes a stunning YA debut that's impossible to forget. 

My Thoughts:
I had really high expectations for this and unfortunately I was let down. I did not connect with the characters at all! They didn't really seem to have personalities at all. The only think I know about Vera is that she likes Kai. Why she likes Kai, I have no idea. Their "love" just came out of nowhere. The only character that I really felt like I knew who they were was, Ulysses the pirate, and I really liked his character! The author of this book spent so much of the story telling us how the world came to be that it was a information overload!!

I loved the plot idea for the book, it has so much potential but it just fell short. I'm not sure if this book is a part of a series or not, but if the sequel came out then I would definitely buy it because I still think that it can be redeemed. Also the cover of this book is absolutely phenomenal! Overall, I give this book 3.5 Quills!

<3 Shannon

Waiting on Wednesday (5)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 From Goodreads:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself? 

How awesome does this book sound?? If you answered "amazingly awesome" then you are correct! I have heard a lot of great things about this book and I so want to read it! It also takes place in Prague!! If a story is set in another country then they automatically have me wanting to read the book because I love to travel!! It comes out the 27th of September! Which is only 6 days away!!!

Tune In Tuesday

A weekly feature hosted by Ginger at GReads! that showcases music!!



Hello Fascination by Breathe Carolina

Hello Mexico by Sparks The Rescue

Gypsy Woman by Anarbor

I just stumbled across this feature and I love music so I decided to do it. I was currently listening to my 2010 Warped Tour CD and I decided to pick three songs from there. 

<3 Shannon

Top Ten and Teaser Tuesday (5)

Top Ten Books I Feel As Though Everyone Has Read But Me

1. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

I really really really want to read this book! The only reason that I haven't gotten around to reading it is because I haven't had the money to buy it/my library never seems to have it when I'm there to get a book. :(

2. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I really really really want to read this book as well! I have the same reason for not reading this book, that I have for Water for Elephants. I just simply haven't had the chance to get my hands on it.

3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Once again, the same reason as Water for Elephants and The Perks of Being A Wallflower! I really really really want to read this book as well. I really need to step my game up on acquiring books to read!

4. The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead

I haven't really read too many vampire books since the shelves were flooded with them from everybody feeding off of the Twilight craze. However, I have heard some really good things about this series and I'm hoping to be able to get the first book and start reading it soon.

5. The Iron King Series by Julie Kagawa

For some reason I had never heard of this series before I started this blog, in July. I've read a few reviews for it and it sounds really good and I honestly have no idea how I haven't heard of it since it is in one of my favorite genres!

6. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkein

I have no idea why I haven't read this series yet either! I read The Hobbit about three years ago and absolutely LOVED it!! I still have to get The Fellowship of the Ring and then maybe I will start reading the series.

7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I've started to read this book and I was reading it really slowly because it was taking me awhile to get used to how he wrote the book. So by the time that I was starting to get into it I had to return it to the library and I couldn't renew it. Ever since then I just haven't gotten around to buying it/checking it back out.

8. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I want! I want! I want! I so want this book!! I really need to find a job soon so that I can have some money to buy all of these books that are on my wish list!! I've heard a million good things about this book and it just makes me want to read it so much more!!!

9. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Once again, I've heard a lot of good things about this book! It is also dystopian which is my second favorite genre!!

10. If I Stay & Where She Went by Gayle Forman

I've heard a lot of bloggers give these books a ton of praise. They also sound really interesting as well.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read, open to a random page, and share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My Teaser:

"But I think when a person gets older she should be able to discuss her problems and thoughts with other people, instead of just with another part of herself as you have been to me."
- pg. 213 "Go Ask Alice" by Anonymous

"I hope so, for you are my dearest friend and I shall thank you always for sharing my tears and heartaches and my struggles and strifes, and my joy and happinesses."
-pg. 213 "Go Ask Alice" by Anonymous

It's about time that I started to post these again! Look for my review for The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher on Thursday. I'm tired and I'm going to bed so goodnight.
<3 Shannon

Review: Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

 Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

• Reading Level: Young Adult 
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse
• ISBN-10: 0689817851
• ISBN-13: 978-0689817854
• Received From: I bought it.

   From Goodreads:
This groundbreaking classic is more compelling than ever for today's readers. A sensation when it was first published and a perennial bestseller ever since, this real-life diary charts an anonymous teenage girl's struggle with the seductive--and often fatal--world of drugs.

My Thoughts:
I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this book. I thought that I would like more than I did because my friend, who has similar book tastes as me, recommended it. Overall I am basically 'meh' about the book. I didn't particularly care for the MC of the book because she was so flaky, and it really got on my nerves. I didn't get anything literary from this book but it did reinforce my ABSOLUTELY NO drugs policy!!!

This is a banned/challenged book and I have no idea why. Yes, it is a little 'woah!' when it comes to the drugs, but if one person wants to start taking drugs after reading this book then there is something wrong with them. The descriptions of what happened when the MC accidentally took acid freaked me the heck out!!! So honestly you think the parents would want their children to read this book to scare them AWAY from drugs!!

***WARNING!: I would not recommend this book for anyone under 18. I'm 20 and one part of this book was a little bit too much for me and I had to quickly skim/skip that section so that I wouldn't get sick to my stomach!!

Overall, I'm still 'meh' about this book. I'm not going crazy for it nor am I absolutely hating it, but it was definitely interesting to say the least. So I am giving it 3 Quills!

 <3 Shannon

In My Mailbox (3)

In My Mailbox is a meme created by The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie! It is a list of what books you have received over the previous week, either for review, from the library, from the bookstore, or from trades.

For Review:

The Sleepwalkers by J. Gabriel Gates (netGalley)

Tankborn by Karen Sandler (netGalley)

Reel Life Starring Us by Lisa Greenwald (netGalley)

There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones (netGalley)

You Are My Only by Beth Kephart (netGalley)

That's what I got over the past two weeks, what did you get in your mailbox?

<3 Shannon

100 Most Popular YA Books; How Many Have You Read?

The books:
  • I've read will be bolded
  • I own but haven't read yet will be underlined
  • I haven't read will remain in black.

1. Alex Finn – Beastly
2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
3. Ally Carter – Callagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4. Ally Condie – Matched
5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)
12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)
17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3, 4)
18. Christopher Paolini – Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)
21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse
23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere

27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest

28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)

29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)
31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why
33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
37. John Green – Looking for Alaska
38. John Green – Paper Towns
39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)

42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)

43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)
44. Lemony Snicket – Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
48. M.T. Anderson – Feed
49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)

52. Markus Zusak – The Book Thief
53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55. Mary Ting – Crossroads
56. Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57. Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
58. Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
60. Meg Rosoff – How I live now
61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)

63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road

64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind
69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline

70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust

71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist

76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere carnal over 40 winks
79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
82. Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key
83. Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever
84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
85. Scott Westerfeld – Leviathan (1, 2)
86. Scott Westerfeld – Uglies (1, 2, 3, 4)
87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92. Stephanie Meyer – The Host

93. Stephanie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)

94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped

I saw this on The Bookish Brunette who saw this at Pretty Deadly Reviews who saw this at Starry Sky Books who saw it somewhere else, and so on and so forth! So I thought that I would do this because it seemed like it would be interesting to do.
  <3 Shannon

Follow Friday (4)

Q. It's that pesky magic book fairy again! She has another wish: What imaginary book world would you like to make a reality?

A. I'm going to sound like a huge nerd but, Harry Potter. Then my second choice would be a high-fantasy (a specific book isn't coming to mind at the moment) world with ELVES!!! My third choice would be a sci-fi world (I haven't read to many sci-fi books but it's definitely on my to do list). So I obviously can't make up my mind so I would take all three.

<3 Shannon

Waiting on Wednesday (4)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

From Goodreads:

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.


This book comes out on September 27th, and I absolutely cannot wait to read this book! If you have not heard about this book and how much everybody is raving about, then you must be living under a rock. A couple of bloggers are now hosting something called Mara Mondays and you should definitely check it out. It is definitely getting me excited about the release of this book!! But yeah, I'm super excited and this book is definitely on my 'must buy now' list!!

<3 Shannon

Book Blogger Hop (4) and Follow Friday (3)

Q. Have you ever wanted a villain to win at the end of the story? If so, which one?

A.  Probably the villain in The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher. The reason being, I would have liked the story to have been longer, and be made into a series because I think that it would have given me more time to like the characters and to care more about them. 

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event hosted by Crazy For Books in which a question is asked and an answer is given! This week's question/topic is:

“Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn’t read that genre anymore?”

I have been reading more contemporary books lately, but my favorite genres are dystopian and high-fantasy. So if they stopped writing contemporary I would just read dystopian and high-fantasy and probably be perfectly happy. However, I'm not really picky when it comes to a book genre, I'll read anything as long as it's not horror.

Those are my answers for this week and I should be posting the review for The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher this weekend and maybe the one for Misfit by Jon Skovron as well!

<3Shannon

Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

• Reading Level: Young Adult 
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Poppy
• ISBN-10: 0316084239
• ISBN-13: 978-0316084239
• Received From: Rachel as an RAK (Random Acts of Kindness)

 From Goodreads:  
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.
But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book; it was a very fast and easy read. I really liked all of the characters that Kody Keplinger created. I loved Bianca’s character, of course one of my best friends has the same exact personality (she’s cynical, doesn’t tell people stuff, etc) so saying that I hated Bianca is like saying that I hate my friend. However, even if one of my best friends wasn’t like Bianca I still would’ve liked the character. I also like Jessica as well, which was surprising because usually ditzy/clueless characters get on my nerves. When I started middle school, I had a best friend who joined the cheerleading team and I got put in the GT classes (gifted and talented) we tried to remain friends but we eventually grew apart and made new friends in our separate groups. So, I really liked the fact that Casey kept Bianca as her best friend, especially since she was a cheerleader and Bianca wasn’t. Because usually in high school when your friends develop different interest than you they make more friends and you tend to grow apart. I of course liked Wesley as well. In the words of Sarah Dessen, “Sa-woon”!

I also like the plot as well. It is very realistic, especially in today’s society with shows like 16 and pregnant and Teen Mom. I don’t think that it is giving teens a bad message. Just because a character in a book is doing something doesn’t mean that your child/relative/friend is going to do that, and if they do then you need to have a talk with them. It’s like the age old quote “If your friend jumped off a bridge, would you?”

I did however feel really skeevy reading the sex parts. Especially when Wesley was going down on Bianca! That part was just a little bit too much for me. At the very end it seemed to get a little too preachy for me. The story was a good message but the way that it was worded had me doing a little bit of an eye roll. 

Overall I thought that this was a very good book and I give it 4.5 quills!

 <3 Shannon

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

From Goodreads:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.
When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

This is the companion book to Anna and the French Kiss and it comes on out September 29th!!! I have heard such great things about this book. I've also heard that Anna and St.Clair are in this book as well!!! I've entered so many contests to win this book, so if I don't win it by the time that it comes out then I am definitely buying it!!!

<3 Shannon

Y'all Fest

 The Y'all Fest is taking place in Charleston, SC on November 11th - 12th, 2001.

You can find their website here.

They have an awesome list of authors that are going to be at the festival! The one that I am most excited about is Ellen Hopkins!! They also have Michelle Hodkin coming as well! The list of authors can be found here.

Also if you are a book blogger, they have a contest that you can participate in where you can win swag, some books, exclusive all-access to the festival, and maybe some more stuff as well. You can find the rules and how to enter by clicking here.

I'm really excited to (hopefully) be able to attend this festival!!

<3 Shannon

September RAK/August RAK Wrap Up Post

It is September and that means a new month for Random Acts of Kindness! RAK is hosted by Book Soulmates and this is their sixth month hosting this feature on their blog. 

This is my second month participating and I'm still very excited about participating in this event!! My updated wish list can be found at the top of the page where the pages links are or you can click here.

Last month in the August RAK I received 5 books! So I want to thank Rachel, Sara, and Tynga for sending me these books!

Books I Got From RAK:

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger (from Rachel)

Fade by Lisa McMann (from Rachel)

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (from Sara @ Sara's Urban Fantasy Blog)

The Last Days from Scott Westerfeld (from Sara @ Sara's Urban Fantasy Blog)

Matched by Ally Condie (from Tynga @ Tynga's Reviews)

<3 Shannon

Labor Day Weekend Read-a-Thon Wrap Up

This is the wrap up post for the Labor Day Weekend Read-a-Thon! 

So, on Day 3 I finished up reading Misfit by Jon Skovron and I also started and finished Possess as well!

Day 3 Page Count: 671

During the Read-a-Thon I ended up reading and finishing:
The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher
Misfit by Jon Skovron

Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Total Page Count: 1,258

My reviews for all of those books should be up soonish (I hoping by next Monday), all I have to do is type them up and post them!
<3 Shannon

Labor Day Weekend Read-a-Thon Update #2

It is the end of Day 2 and I unfortunately did not get as much reading as I would have like done today.
Page Count: 587

Today, I went shopping with my mom so I didn't have that much time to read. :( I finished reading The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher and I read 70 pages of Misfit by Jon Skovron. Tomorrow I am hoping to finish Misfit and maybe start Possess by Gretchen McNeil.
<3 Shannon

Labor Day Weekend Read-a-Thon Update #1

It's the end of Day 1 and I'm about to go to bed. 

Page Count: 339

So far today I have finished The DUFF by Kody Keplinger, and read 62 pages of  The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher. Tomorrow I am planning to finish reading The Water Wars and to start and maybe finish Misfit by Jon Skovron!
<3 Shannon

Labor Day Weekend Read-a-Thon

Katie @ Katie's Book Blog is hosting a Read-a-Thon:

The Labor Day Weekend Read-a-Thon!!

Click here to see the post.

Here Are The Books I Plan To Read:

The DUFF by Kody Kepling

Misfit by Jon Skovron (not pictured, is an e-book)

Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

Possess by Gretchen McNeil

1984 by George Orwell (if I have enough time)

So, those are the books that I plan to read :). I'm getting a little bit of a late start because I just saw the post like an hour ago, but I don't know how I missed it?? Katie is also do some giveaways during the read-a-thon for the participants only :) and who doesn't love giveaways?
<3 Shannon