Thursday, June 26, 2014

Highlighting an Author: John Green

JOHN GREEN
 
John Green's first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award presented by the American Library Association. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New York Times bestseller and won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best YA Mystery. In January 2012, his most recent novel, The Fault in Our Stars, was met with wide critical acclaim, unprecedented in Green's career. The praise included rave reviews in Time Magazine and The New York Times, on NPR, and from award-winning author Markus Zusak. The book also topped the New York Times Children's Paperback Bestseller list for several weeks. Green has also coauthored a book with David Levithan called Will Grayson, Will Grayson, published in 2010. The film rights for all his books, with the exception of Will Grayson Will Grayson, have been optioned to major Hollywood Studios.In 2007, John and his brother Hank were the hosts of a popular internet blog, "Brotherhood 2.0," where they discussed their lives, books and current events every day for a year except for weekends and holidays. They still keep a video blog, now called "The Vlog Brothers," which can be found on the Nerdfighters website, or a direct link here.
 
 
Books:
 
An Abundance of Katherines
by John Green
Published September 21st 2006 by Dutton Junvenile
 

 

Looking for Alaska
by John Green
Published December 28th 2006 by Speak
 
 
 
Let it Snow
by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
Published October 2nd 2008 by Speak 
 
 
 
Paper Towns
by John Green
Published September 22nd 2009 by Speak
 
 
 
Will Grayson, Will Grayson
by John Green and David Levithan
Published April 6th 2010 by Dutton Children's
 
 
The Fault In Our Stars
by John Green
Published January 10th 2012  by Dutton Books
 
 


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Goodreads Tag

Goodreads Tag
 
 
1. What was the last book you read?
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
 
2. What book are you currently reading?
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
 
3. What was the last book you marked as to-read?
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
 
4. What book do you plan to read next?
The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
 
5. Do you use a star rating system?
Yes, I use it for all of the books I read. Although I wish they had half stars!
 
6. Are you doing a 2014 reading challenge?
 My goal for 2014 is to read 75 books and I have only read  books so far!
 
 
8. What book do you want to buy next?
Currently, I don't have any in mind.
 
9. Do you have any quotes?
I have a whole list of goodreads quotes!
 
10. Do you have any favorite authors?
Marie Lu, Marissa Meyer, Sarah Dessen, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Rachel Hawkins, Jenny Han, John Green, Michelle Hodkin, Alexandra Bracken, Cassandra Clare, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, Sarah J Maas, Lauren Oliver, Maggie Stiefvater, Veronica Rossi, Megan Miranda and MORE!!!
 
11. Have you joined any book clubs?
On Goodreads I am apart of:

Epic Reads Book Club
Top 5 Wednesday
Penguin Loves YA Book Club
YA Book Reviewers
Young Adult Book Club
Blogger Lift
 


Top Ten Tuesday 6/24


Info:
http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Book Covers
 
Clockwork Angel
by Cassandra Clare

The Archived
by Victoria Schwab


Say What You Will
by Cammie McGovern

Entwined
by Heather Dixon


To All The Boys I've Loved Before
by Jenny Han

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
by Jennifer E. Smith


The Assassin's Blade
by Sarah J Maas

The Selection
by Kiera Cass


Shatter Me
by Tahereh Mafi

These Broken Stars
by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

 

Monday, June 23, 2014

Cruel Beauty Review

Cruel Beauty
by Rosamund Hodge


Published January 28th 2014 by Balzer + Bray
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Pages: 342
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 Stars
 
 
Description:
 
 
Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.
 
 
My Thoughts:
 
My first thought: This is not a contemporary, and it's a standalone! Don't get me wrong I love series as much as the next book worm however, this was a very refreshing read for me. I decided to continue my fantasy obsession by picking this book up and was not disappointed. Now this is not your typical Disney Beauty and the Beast retelling, this story is much darker and morbid. I found it a bit hard to get into it but once I did I finished the rest of it in one sitting! This book was very entertaining and unpredictable, a very well written book!
 
Quotes:
 
"Where you go, I shall go; where you die, I shall die, and there will I be buried."
 
"'Why is he scared of the dark?"
I meant the words for a joke, but Shade nodded seriously. "Like all monsters. Because it reminds him of what he truly is."


About the Author:

When my older brother was thirteen, he started a writing club with his friends and wouldn’t let me join because I was only eight. I promptly swore that I would become a writer and make him sorry.
He still isn’t sorry. (I checked.) But in 2014 I will publish my first novel with Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins, so I guess everything worked out okay.
Some other facts about me:

• I practice Shorinji Kempo, a Japanese martial art based on Shaolin Kung Fu.

Cruel Beauty is my debut novel, but it is somewhere between the third and sixth that I ever completed, depending on how you count things. (There was the 40,000-word mess I called a novel when I was sixteen, and the 220,000-word mess I briefly pretended was a single novel in 2009.)

NaNoWriMo changed my life and got me finishing novels again after a long hiatus. But Cruel Beauty is not a NaNoWriMo novel. (The NaNoWriMo project that changed everything was the 220,000-word mess. Someday I may even revise it.)

• I grew up as a homeschooler in Los Angeles, and I spent my childhood marinating in Greek mythology, which is where all the Greek elements in Cruel Beauty come from.

• Then I got a B.A. in English at the University of Dallas, and an M.St. in Medieval English at Oxford. Naturally, I moved to Seattle and got a job with computers.

• I have studied five languages (Spanish, French, Latin, Old Norse, and Japanese), though sadly I am still not able to speak any of them.

• I love some things more than T. S. Eliot’s poetry. But not many things.

• I am represented by Hannah Bowman of Liza Dawson Associates.

http://www.rosamundhodge.net/

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Liebster Award

Liebster Award
 
I have recently been nominated for this award by the Fictionista:
 
 
This award is a great way to get involved into the book blogging community! Shout out to Michelle for nominating me!!!
 
The Rules
1. List 11 facts about yourself. 
2. Answer the 11 questions asked by whoever nominated you. 
3. Nominate 9 bloggers with less than 300 followers and leave them a comment saying they've been nominated.
4. Ask 11 new questions for your chosen nominees.
5. You cannot re-nominate the blog that nominated you.


FACTS

 
1. Today is my first day of summer vacation!!:)
2. I play violin, guitar, and piano.
3. I love to watch college football.
4. I love BBQ!
5. I have always wanted a pet Husky or German Shepard!
6. I have two brothers and one sister.
7. I have never been out of the US, unless you count Niagara Falls (which I don't!)
8. I LOVE TEA!!
9. I am on my high school's track and cross country team.
10. I have worn glasses ever since fourth grade.
11. Last but not least...a list of my favorite movies:
Remember the Titans, The Blind Side, Mean Girls, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Austenland, and any Avengers movie!!
 
ANSWERED QUESTIONS
 
1. What is your favorite feel-good book?
I love any books by Rachel Hawkins, her writing is fast-paced and just sucks you in!
 
2. What book has made you cry the hardest?
Well I could go with the obvious, TFIOS. However, We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han was an emotional roller coaster for me. This trilogy is so much more than a fluffy contemporary. A must read!
 
3. If you could live in any book universe, which one would you pick?
I have always been fascinated by the world from the Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.
 
4. What book that you were really looking forward to really let you down?
I was really excited to read 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher however, I found I was trying to push myself to finish it.
 
5. If you had to be a Downworlder (vampire,werewolf, warlock, or fairy) which one would you want to be? I would definitely be a warlock, I would love to cast spells!
 
6. What's your all time favorite stand alone?
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, will forever be one of my favorites!!
 
7. If you could meet one author who would you pick?
I would love to meet Michelle Hodkin, author of the Mara Dyer Trilogy, only because it's my FAVORITE trilogy!!!
 
8. Which book character do you want to be best friends with?
I'd be best friends with Max from the Angel Experiment by James Patterson, she is very outgoing and I feel like there would never be a dull moment with her!
 
9. If you had the opportunity to slap one book character who would you smack?
 Clancey from the Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken, he was soooo frustrating!
 
10. What's your favorite book-to-movie adaptation?
I loved Catching Fire, they included a lot of the great aspects from the book that I loved!
 
11. What book has had the most life-changing impact on your life?
The Help by Kathryn Stockett was one of the books that left me thinking about it long after I had finished it. The book and the movie are incredible!

 
NOMINATED BLOGGERS
 
 
MY QUESTIONS
 
1. Who is your all time favorite villain?
2. What is your favorite classic?
3. What book can you read over and over again without being bored?
4. In Divergent, what faction would you be in? (Dauntless-the brave, Candor-the honest, Erudite-the intelligent, Amity-the peaceful, or Abnegation-the selfless) 
5. What is your most anticipated book of 2014?
6. What is your favorite genre?
7. If you could go on an all expense paid trip to anywhere, where would you go?
8. If you would be an animal, what kind would you be?
9. What's the first quote that comes to your mind?
10. Favorite flavor of ice cream?
11. Favorite book you have read in 2014?
 
THIS IS SOOOO EXCITING!!


 
 
 
 

Birthday Update!!

 

My birthday is just around the corner, June 15th. It's my sweet sixteen and I am very excited. Below I will include my Amazon wishlist so you can get an idea of what I am hoping for this year. I am very grateful to be able to share my birthday this year with friends and family! Comment down below when your birthday is so I can be sure to wish you a happy birthday!


https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2Q0TV8AEOHW28/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_o?sort=universal-price-desc&itemPerPage=25

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday 6/3

Info:
http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag


Open Road Summer
by Emery Lord


Since You've Been Gone
by Morgan Matson


We Were Liars
by E. Lockhart

Anna and the French Kiss
by Stephanie Perkins


The Moon and More
by Sarah Dessen

Pushing the Limits
by Katie McGarry


The Distance Between Us
by Kasie West

Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell


Exile
by Kevin Emerson
This Song Will Save Your Life
by Leila Sales

Sunday, June 1, 2014

June Releases


2014 June Releases

Vivian Divine is Dead
by Lauren Sabel
Published June 3rd 2014 2014by Katherine Tegen Books



The Murder Complex (The Murder Complex #1)
by Lindsay Cummings
Published June 10th 2014 by Greenwillow Books
Hexed (Hexed #1)
by Michelle Krys
Published June 10th 2014 by Delacorte Press
(Don't You) Forget About Me
by Kate Karyus Quinn
Published June 10th 2014 by HarperTeen
Wicked Games
by Sean Olin
Published June 10th2014  by Katherine Tegen Books


Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3)
by Leigh Bardugo
Published June 17th 2014 by Henry Holt and Co.

#scandal
by Sarah Ockler
Published June 17th 2014 by Simon Pulse
 
Graduation Day (The Testing #3)
by Joelle Charbonneau
Published June 17th 2014 by HMH Books for Young Readers



Otherbound
by Corinne Duyvis
Published June 17th 2014 by Amulet Books



In the End (In the After #2)
by Demitria Lunetta
Published June 24th 2014 by HarperTeen


The Things You Kiss Goodbye
by Leslie Connor
Published June 24th 2014 by Katherine Tegen Books