Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a while. With the new school year starting, everything got a little crazy. But I'm back and ready to review something completely new: Owlcrate. For those of you that don't know, OwlCrate is a monthly subscription that sends you a book and a bunch of "bookish keepsakes" to go along with it. Each month there's a theme; this month's theme is "Leading Ladies."
"OwlCrate was created to share the joy of reading with the world. We believe in the importance of literature, and the magic of the written word. Stories help to expand our minds, expose us to new experiences, and show us that we're not alone. But we also know that reading can often feel like a solitary activity, and we wanted a way to bring book nerds together. " (OwlCrate).
Now that you know a little about it, I'm excited to share with you this month's unboxing! However, if you are still awaiting your box, look no further. I wouldn't want to spoil this for anyone.
First Opening
I open my box with impatience. This is what I've been looking forward to for the whole month! Couldn't wait to see what was inside.
Divergent Tote Bag
1. A Divergent Tote Bag- I actually haven't read these books, but I do love the movies. Possibly more than Hunger Games! I think it's perfect for the theme "leading ladies" because it shows the traits of Tris- brave and fearless. I can definitely see myself using this bag for books or to go to the gym. It's very versatile.
Funko Key Chain
2. Daenerys Key Chain- Again, I haven't read the books. If I'm being totally honest, I don't like GoT at all (I'm sorry, I'm sorry). However, this little Funko girl was just too cute. So while I probably won't be carrying it around on my key chain (or else I'd look like a fake fan), it's cute enough to sit on my desk!
Arrow Necklace
3. Arrow Necklace- One of the cutest, most practical, things in here is this adorable necklace. Apparently, it was inspired by Katniss from the Hunger Games (which I can see why). I love this almost the most, because it's something I can see myself using every day!
Cute Little Things
4. Other Cute Trinkets- Not sure exactly what to title these, but the box also came with some cute little gifts. A really cool picture of Hermione (from Harry Potter of course), a sticker from the book, another Hermione postcard (with her wonderful cat for all you cat lovers out there), and a cute Divergent bookmark. There were also another things not pictured which was a note from the author. Which brings us to...
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
5. The Book- This month's book was Dumplin' by Julie Murphy. I'll quote what OwlCrate said about it as a little insight. "...one of the most hilarious, strong, and unconventional female leads we've ever come across. Willowdean Dickson will have you laughing, cheering, and tearing up throughout the entire novel." I'm sure I'll be reviewing this in the future, so I'm not going to go into too much other details. Basically, it's about a strong girl who knows who she is.
The Finished Unboxing
Overall, I am so happy with what OwlCrate does. It gives me the chance to discover new books, remind myself of the nerd I really am, and have access to such cute trinkets on a monthly basis. When the daily struggles of life get to me, this is something that cheers me up instantly. I hope you all have the chance to check it out! OwlCrate is a friendly company that loves all of the people involved. However, there is a wait list. The theme for next month is Spooky, so I definitely recommend you get over there as fast as possible!
I'm sorry I didn't get any reviews out this week! School started and it was a little crazy. But I won't let the reviews stop because of school again. I just needed to get the hang of things. So here are this week's releases:
September 8
Maggie Sanders might be
blind, but she won't invite anyone to her pity party. Ever since losing
her sight six months ago, Maggie's rebellious streak has taken on a life
of its own, culminating with an elaborate school prank. Maggie called
it genius. The judge called it illegal.
Now Maggie has a
probation officer. But she isn't interested in rehabilitation, not when
she's still mourning the loss of her professional-soccer dreams, and
furious at her so-called friends, who lost interest in her as soon as
she could no longer lead the team to victory.
Then Maggie's whole
world is turned upside down. Somehow, incredibly, she can see again.
But only one person: Ben, a precocious ten-year-old unlike anyone she's
ever met.Ben's life isn't easy, but he doesn't see limits, only
possibilities. After awhile, Maggie starts to realize that losing her
sight doesn't have to mean losing everything she dreamed of. Even if
what she's currently dreaming of is Mason Milton, the infuriatingly
attractive lead singer of Maggie's new favorite band, who just happens
to be Ben's brother.
But when she learns the real reason she can
see Ben, Maggie must find the courage to face a once-unimaginable
future... before she loses everything she has grown to love.Source
A captivating and
profound debut novel about complicated love and the friendships that
have the power to transform you forever, perfect for fans of The Perks
of Being a Wallflower.
Mira is starting over at Saint Francis
Prep. She promised her parents she would at least try to pretend that
she could act like a functioning human this time, not a girl who can’t
get out of bed for days on end, who only feels awake when she’s with
Sebby.
Jeremy is the painfully shy art nerd at Saint Francis
who’s been in self-imposed isolation after an incident that ruined his
last year of school. When he sees Sebby for the first time across the
school lawn, it’s as if he’s been expecting this blond, lanky boy with
mischief glinting in his eye.
Sebby, Mira’s gay best friend, is a
boy who seems to carry sunlight around with him. Even as life in his
foster home starts to take its toll, Sebby and Mira together craft a
world of magic rituals and impromptu road trips, designed to fix the
broken parts of their lives.
As Jeremy finds himself drawn into
Sebby and Mira’s world, he begins to understand the secrets that they
hide in order to protect themselves, to keep each other safe from those
who don’t understand their quest to live for the impossible. Source
SERPENTINE is a sweeping fantasy set in the ancient Kingdom of Xia and inspired by the rich history of Chinese mythology.
Lush
with details from Chinese folklore, SERPENTINE tells the coming of age
story of Skybright, a young girl who worries about her growing
otherness. As she turns sixteen, Skybright notices troubling changes. By
day, she is a companion and handmaid to the youngest daughter of a very
wealthy family. But nighttime brings with it a darkness that not even
daybreak can quell.
When her plight can no longer be denied,
Skybright learns that despite a dark destiny, she must struggle to
retain her sense of self – even as she falls in love for the first time. Source
Lorrie Hollander used
to be a rich girl, but now she’s lost everything because of the secrets
and lies of the people around her. It’s been 12 years since Lorrie’s
mother skipped town and left Lorrie in the care of her unstable aunt
Gigi. Together they live in a neglected, decrepit mansion called
Edgewater, the eyesore in a town of extraordinary wealth and privilege.
When Charlie, the son of an esteemed senator, takes an interest in
Lorrie, her shame for her family and lifestyle runs deep. But what she
doesn’t know is that Charlie’s family is hiding something, too, and that
their secrets are inextricably tied. Now Lorrie must confront the truth
about her family—and everything she ever thought she knew about
herself.Source
Fourteen-year-old Joan
Skraggs, just like the heroines in her beloved novels, yearns for real
life and true love. But what hope is there for adventure, beauty, or art
on a hardscrabble farm in Pennsylvania where the work never ends? Over
the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart out into her diary as she seeks
a new, better life for herself—because maybe, just maybe, a hired girl
cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl
could only dream of—a woman with a future. Newbery Medalist Laura Amy
Schlitz relates Joan’s journey from the muck of the chicken coop to the
comforts of a society household in Baltimore (Electricity! Carpet
sweepers! Sending out the laundry!), taking readers on an exploration of
feminism and housework; religion and literature; love and loyalty;
cats, hats, and bunions.Source
Sibling rivalry goes too far...
Sixteen-year-old
Kasey Fishbein has a lot to repent for. She single-handedly abandons
the dance team right before Nationals, ruins her best friend’s love
life, alienates the guy she loves, and permanently injures her older
sister’s hip, effectively destroying Lara’s prominent dance career.
Guilt keeps eating away at Kasey but no one will listen to her
apologies. So she does the next best thing: she starts a blog to confess
her sins.
But the only way to truly earn forgiveness from those
she wronged isn’t to offer them an explanation. It’s to fix everything
she broke. She may not be able to help her sister dance again, but there
has to be another way to get her back on her feet. Literally. Right?Source
Fifteen-year-old bender
Kivali has had a rough time in a gender-rigid culture. Abandoned as a
baby and raised by Sheila, an ardent nonconformist, Kivali has always
been surrounded by uncertainty. Where did she come from? Is it true what
Sheila says, that she was deposited on Earth by the mysterious
saurians? What are you? people ask, and Kivali isn’t sure. Boy/girl?
Human/lizard? Both/neither? Now she’s in CropCamp, with all of its
schedules and regs, and the first real friends she’s ever had. Strange
occurrences and complicated relationships raise questions Kivali has
never before had to consider. But she has a gift—the power to enter a
trancelike state to harness the “knowings” inside her. She has Lizard
Radio. Will it be enough to save her? A coming-of-age story rich in
friendships and the shattering emotions of first love, this deeply felt
novel will resonate with teens just emerging as adults in a sometimes
hostile world. Source
Dark times have fallen
on remote Balrog County, and Mack Druneswald, a high school senior with a
love of clandestine arson, is doing his best to deal. While his family
is haunted by his mother’s recent death, Mack spends his nights roaming
the countryside, looking for something new to burn. When he encounters
Katrina, a college girl with her own baggage, Mack sets out on a path of
pyromania the likes of which sleepy Balrog County has never seen
before. Source
Jarra never wanted to be
a celebrity. All she ever wanted was to gain some respect for the
people left on Earth: the unlucky few whose immune system prevents them
from portaling to other planets.
Except now she's the most famous
Earth girl in the universe - but not everyone in the universe is happy
about it, nor the fact that she has found love with a norm. Jarra's
actions have repercussions that spread further than she ever could have
imagined, and political unrest threatens to tear apart the delicate
balance of peace between humanity's worlds.
On top of everything,
the first alien artifact ever discovered appears to be waiting for
Jarra to reveal its secrets. But to do so, she must somehow find a way
to leave Earth - or else the alien artifact will be lost forever. Is
there a way for Jarra to travel to another planet? Or is her destiny
only to look to the stars - but never to reach them?Source
Set in medieval Venice,
this captivating fairy tale retelling by award-winning author Donna Jo
Napoli explores belonging, beauty, and the transformative power of love
through the eyes of a teenage girl. Dolce has grown up hidden away on an
island in a lagoon. She is a giant, a freak, tormented by everyone but
her loving mother. She spends her time learning the valuable secret of
making mirrors. Following a tragedy, Dolce swims away and lands on an
island where people see her as normal, even beautiful. Marin, a kind
widower, and his little daughter bring Dolce to live with them in their
grand palazzo. Eventually, Dolce and Marin marry. She secretly continues
to make mirrors, not realizing that quicksilver endangers her . . . and
so evil begins in innocence.Source
This is the second part to this week's releases. Here's all the releases that are part of a previous series:
September 1
The Dolls #2
More secrets. More power. More trouble.
The secrets swirling around Carrefour are deepening, and
the lies are more tangled than ever as Eveny discovers the truth about
her past.
It’s only been a couple of months since Eveny Cheval
discovered that she’s a powerful queen of zandara, the voodoo-like form
of magic that has controlled the town of Carrefour for generations. But
she barely has time to consider what this means before she’s attacked by
the murderous anti-magic organization Main de Lumière once again.
Alarmed,
her powerful father takes her – and her sister zandara queens,
Peregrine and Chloe – to his home on mysterious Caouanne Island. But the
island holds its own secrets about Eveny’s past – and her future. Now,
she’s torn between two magical traditions – and two guys: mysterious
Caleb, who’s pushing her away, and charismatic Bram, who seems too good
to be true.
With Main de Lumière closing in and Carrefour’s
defenses crumbling, Eveny, her sister queens, and the townspeople she’s
supposed to protect are in danger. And as the revelations about her past
continue pouring in, Eveny begins to realize that she might just be the
only one who can save them all. Now, she has to fight for the people
and the town she loves – and for her own life.
Welcome to
Carrefour, where long-buried secrets simmer like heat over the bayou and
whatever you desire most can be yours—for a price.Source
Red Queen #0.5
Queen Coriane, first
wife of King Tiberias, keeps a secret diary—how else can she ensure that
no one at the palace will use her thoughts against her? Coriane
recounts her heady courtship with the crown prince, the birth of a new
prince, Cal, and the potentially deadly challenges that lay ahead for
her in royal life.Source
Scorched #3
Once upon a time the world burned. Until a girl and her dragon smothered the flame. But the spark that ignited the apocalypse never went out. And the Scorch is about to begin.
When
Team Dragon rescues Emmy from the government lab, they think the future
is finally safe. But they soon discover that Emmy has a secret--a
secret so dangerous it could trigger the very apocalypse Connor and
Caleb were sent back in time to prevent.
As a dragon hunter,
Connor has committed his life to saving the world. There’s nothing he
wouldn’t do to complete his mission… even if it meant betraying his
brother and losing Trinity’s heart. Even if it meant doing the
unthinkable. But a desperate choice meant to prevent The Scorch, may
become the spark that sets the world aflame once more.Source
Lorien Legacies #6
The sixth book in the thrilling, action-packed, New York Times
bestselling I Am Number Four series! For years the Garde have fought
the Mogadorians in secret. Now all of that has changed. The invasion has
begun. If the Garde can't find a way to stop the Mogs, humanity will
suffer the same fate as the Lorien: annihilation.
There is still
hope. When the Elders sent the Garde to Earth, they had a plan—one which
the Garde are finally starting to understand. In the climax of The Revenge of Seven,
a group of the Garde traveled to an ancient pyramid in Mexico known to
their people as the Sanctuary. There they awoke a power that had been
hidden within our planet for generations. Now this power can save the
world . . . or destroy it. It will all depend on who wields it.Source
Magisterium #2
Callum Hunt’s summer
break isn’t like other kids’. His closest companion is a Chaos-ridden
wolf, Havoc. His father suspects him of being secretly evil. And, of
course, most kids aren’t heading back to the magical world of the
Magisterium in the fall.
It’s not easy for Call . . . and it gets
even harder after he checks out his basement and discovers that his dad
might be trying to destroy both him and Havoc.
Call escapes to
the Magisterium -- but things only intensify there. The Alkahest -- a
copper gauntlet capable of separating certain magicians from their magic
-- has been stolen. And in their search to discover the culprit, Call
and his friends Aaron and Tamara awaken the attention of some very
dangerous foes -- and get closer to an even more dangerous truth.
As
the mysteries of the Magisterium deepen and widen, bestselling authors
Holly Black and Cassandra Clare take readers on an extraordinary journey
through one boy’s conflict -- and a whole world’s fate.Source
Guild Hunter #8
Naasir is the most feral
of the powerful group of vampires and angels known as the Seven, his
loyalty pledged to the Archangel Raphael. When rumors surface of a plot
to murder the former Archangel of Persia, now lost in the Sleep of the
Ancients, Naasir is dispatched to find him. For only he possesses the
tracking skills required—those more common to predatory animals than to
man.
Enlisted to accompany Naasir, Andromeda, a young angelic
scholar with dangerous secrets, is fascinated by his nature—at once
playful and brilliant, sensual and brutal. As they race to find the
Sleeping archangel before it’s too late, Naasir will force her to
question all she knows...and tempt her to walk into the magnificent,
feral darkness of his world. But first they must survive an enemy
vicious enough to shatter the greatest taboo of the angelic race and
plunge the world into a screaming nightmare…Source
The Worldwalker Trilogy #2
Worlds divide, magic slays, and love lies in the second book of Josephine Angelini’s The Worldwalker Trilogy.
"You think I’m a monster, but my choices, as ruthless as they seem, are justified."
Lily
is back in her own universe, and she's ready to start a new life with
Rowan by her side. True, she almost died in the Pyre that fueled their
escape from New Salem, and must hide her magic for the safety of
everyone she cares about, but compared to fighting the Woven, the
monstrous creatures inhabiting the alternate Salem, life is looking
pretty good.
Unfortunately, Lillian, ruthless ruler of the 13
Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. If she can’t persuade
Lily to return to her world, she will force her to come back by doing
away with the ones she loves.
Picking up right where Trial By
Fire left off, Firewalker is another sexy, fast-paced, heartbreaking
thrill ride from internationally bestselling author Josephine Angelini!Source
The Girl from the Well #2
Over the last year
I've gone against faceless women, disfigured spirits, and grotesque
revenants. Some people keep dangerous hobbies; skydiving and driving at
monster truck rallies and glacier surfing. Me? I cast my soul into the
churning waters of potential damnation and wait for a bite.
It’s
been two years since Tark Halloway’s nightmare ended. Free from the
evil spirit that haunted him all his life, he now aids the ghostly Okiku
and avenges the souls of innocent children by hunting down their
murderers. But when Okiku becomes responsible for a death at his high
school, Tark begins to wonder if they’re no better than the killers they
seek out.
When an old friend disappears in Aokigahara, Japan’s
infamous ‘suicide forest’, both must resolve their differences and
return to that country of secrets to find her.
Because there is a
strange village inside Aokigahara, a village people claim does not
exist. A village where strange things lie waiting.
A village with old ghosts and an ancient evil – one that may be stronger than even Okiku…Source
Asylum #3
Sometimes the past is better off buried.
Senior
year is finally over. After all they’ve been through, Dan, Abby, and
Jordan are excited to take one last road trip together, and they’re just
not going to think about what will happen when the summer ends. But on
their way to visit Jordan’s uncle in New Orleans, the three friends
notice that they are apparently being followed.. And Dan starts
receiving phone messages from someone he didn’t expect to hear from
again—someone who died last Halloween.
As the strange occurrences
escalate, Dan is forced to accept that everything that has happened to
him in the past year may not be a coincidence, but fate—a fate that ties
Dan to a group called the Bone Artists, who have a sinister connection
with a notorious killer from the past. Now, Dan’s only hope is that he
will make it out of his senior trip alive.
In this finale to the
New York Times bestselling Asylum series, found photographs help tell
the story of three teens who exist on the line between past and present,
genius and insanity.Source
Throne of Glass #4
Everyone Celaena
Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to
the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to
confront the shadows of her past . . .
She will fight for her
cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight
for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she
will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their
lost queen's triumphant return.
Celaena’s epic journey has
captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This
fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a
passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world. Source
There are a ton of books coming out the first of September so I've decided to do this in two parts. The first will be the new books coming out this week and the second will be the new books that are part of a series.
September 1
Gramps always said that
when the crickets were quiet, something bad was coming. And the
crickets have been as silent as the dead. It started with the murdered
deer in the playground with the unmistakable purple of a foxglove in its
mouth. But in the dying boondock town of Emerald Cove, life goes on.
I
work at Gramps's diner, and the cakes―the entitled rich kids who
vacation here―make our lives hell. My best friend, Alex Pace, is the one
person who gets me. Only Alex has changed. He's almost like a stranger
now. I can't figure it out...or why I'm having distinctly
more-than-friend feelings for him. Ones I shouldn't be having.
Then one of the cakes disappears.
When
she turns up murdered, a foxglove in her mouth, a rumor goes around
that Alex was the last person seen with her—and everyone but me believes
it. Well, everyone except my worst enemy, Jenika Shaw. When Alex goes
missing, it's up to us to prove his innocence and uncover the true
killer. But the truth will shatter everything I've ever known about
myself — and Alex.Source
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.Source
Zoe, Jake, Mia, Gregor, and Whitney meet at freshman orientation. At the end of that first day, they make a promise to reunite after graduation. So much can happen in those in-between years….
Zoe feels like she will live forever in her famous mother’s shadow. Jake struggles to find the right connections in friendship and in love. Mia keeps trying on new identities, looking for one that actually fits. Gregor thought he wanted to be more than just a band geek. And Whitney seems to have it all, until it’s all falling apart around her.
Echoing aspects of John Hughes’s The Breakfast Club, Carolyn Mackler skillfully brings the stories of these five disparate teens together to create a distinct and cohesive whole—a novel about how we can all affect one another’s lives in the most unexpected and amazing ways. Source
One conversation is all it takes to break a world wide open.
Seventeen-year-old Macy Lyons has been through something no one should ever have to experience. And she’s dealt with it entirely alone.
On the outside, she’s got it pretty good. Her family’s well-off, she’s dating the cute boy next door, she has plenty of friends, and although she long ago wrote her mother off as a superficial gym rat, she’s thankful to have allies in her loving, laid-back dad and her younger brother.
But a conversation with a boy at a party one night shakes Macy out of the carefully maintained complacency that has defined her life so far. The boy is Sebastian Ruiz, a recovering addict who recognizes that Macy is hardened by dark secrets. And as Macy falls for Sebastian, she realizes that, while revealing her secret could ruin her seemingly perfect family, keeping silent might just destroy her.
The Fix follows two good-hearted teenagers coming to terms with the cards they were dealt. It’s also about the fixes we rely on to cope with our most shameful secrets and the hope and fear that comes with meeting someone who challenges us to come clean.Source
Silas Hart has seriously shaken up Westlin Beck's small-town life. Brand new to town, Silas is different than the guys in Green Lake. He's curious, poetic, philosophical, maddening-- and really, really cute. But Silas has a sister-- and she has a secret. And West has a boyfriend. And life in Green Lake is about to change forever. Source
Will Caynes never has been good with girls. At seventeen, he’s still waiting for his first kiss. He’s certainly not expecting it to happen in a drunken make-out session with his best friend, Angus. But it does and now Will’s conflicted—he knows he likes girls, but he didn’t exactly hate kissing a guy.
Then Will meets Brandy, a cute and easy-to-talk-to sophomore. He’s totally into her too—which proves, for sure, that he’s not gay. So why does he keep hooking up with Angus on the sly?
Will knows he can’t keep seeing both of them, but besides his new job in a diner, being with Brandy and Angus are the best parts of his whole messed-up life. His divorced parents just complicate everything. His father, after many half-baked business ventures and endless house renovations, has started drinking again. And his mom is no help—unless loading him up with a bunch of stuff he doesn’t need plus sticking him with his twin half-sisters counts as parenting. He’s been bouncing between both of them for years, and neither one feels like home.
Deciding who to love, who to choose, where to live. Whichever way Will goes, someone will get hurt. Himself, probably the most.Source
Everything about Jonah is unexpected. On the first day of school, he sits next to April, when he could have chosen to sit with the popular girl. He turns down an invitation to join the school team and declares he'd rather paint. He encourages April to develop her musical talent and shrugs off the bullies that torment them.
April isn't surprised to find herself falling for Jonah. The unexpected part is when he falls for her too.
But the giddy happiness of their first romance begins to fade when Jonah's unpredictability begins to take a darker turn. April understands that her boyfriend is haunted by a painful memory, but his sudden mood swings worry her. She can't explain his growing fear of cellphones, electric keyboards, and of sounds that no one else can hear. Still, no matter what happens, April is sure that she'll always stand by him.
Until Jonah finally breaks and is committed to a psychiatric ward.
Until schizophrenia changes everything.
Though everyone urges her to let him go, April stays true to Jonah. But as the boy she adores begins to disappear in front of her, she has to face her worst fear: that her love may not be enough to save him.Source
Ebenezer Scrooge: Ghost Hunter expands the original text of Charles Dicken’s classic with all-new scenes of malicious ghosts, soul devouring wraiths, deadly doppelgangers and other terrors from the netherworld. Our story opens seven years after Marley’s violent death. Ebenezer Scrooge has given up ghost hunting and embraced an inevitable slow death by alcohol poisoning. When the spectre of his deceased partner appears to him on Christmas Eve, Scrooge learns that he must face three Ghosts – one who will try to help him, one who will try to harm him and one that cannot be killed.
In a story that spans a lifetime of torment, Scrooge must face the demons of his past and his failures in the present in order to prevent the horror that is his future. The stakes for Scrooge’s soul have never been higher than in this wicked retelling of the classic, A Christmas Carol.Source
A girl’s dark destiny could cause the unraveling of the world in this spellbinding novel from the author of A Creature of Moonlight, which Kirkus Reviews called “cumulatively stunning” in a starred review.
Heed this warning, mortal: stay far away from the three sister Fates. For if they come to love you, they might bring about the end of the world…
Chloe is the youngest. Hers are the fingers that choose the wool, that shape the thread, that begin it. The sun smiles upon her. Men love her without knowing who she is. She has lived forever and will live forever more. She and her sisters have been on their isolated Greek island for centuries, longer than any mortal can remember. They spin, measure, and slice the countless golden threads of human life. They are the three Fates, and they have stayed separate for good reason: it is dangerous for them to become involved with the humans whose lives they shape.
So when a beautiful girl named Aglaia shows up on their doorstep, Chloe tries to make sure her sisters don’t become attached. But in seeking to protect them, Chloe discovers the dark power of Aglaia’s destiny. As her path unwinds, the three Fates find themselves pulled inextricably along—toward mortal pain, and mortal love, and a fate that could unravel the world. Source
A meth lab explosion leaves Arlie permanently scarred — both physically and emotionally. Yet, she develops the street smarts and survival skills to keep her addict mother out of the reach of the law and hidden from her stepfather, Lloyd, the man responsible for the explosion that killed three people.
Shortly after Arlie’s 16th birthday, her mother overdoses, forcing an end to their nomadic lives. Social services steps in and rules suddenly exist where none had before. Soon, she’s living in a 31-foot Airstream trailer with an eccentric uncle and attending high school for the first time.
While her facial scar makes it hard to fit in, Arlie begins to think a normal life might be possible – that is, until her stepfather tracks her down and insists she return drug money her mother had stolen. A final confrontation tests Arlie’s idea of right and wrong, and how far she’s willing to go to protect her new life. Source
September 3
How many times can you lose the person you love?
Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated.
Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace?
Maybe the next together will be different...
A powerful and epic debut novel for teenagers about time-travel, fate and the timelessness of first love. The Next Together is told through a mixture of regular prose, diary entries, letters, "original" historical documents, news reports and internet articles.Source
Cinder, the cyborg
mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling
Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if
she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.
Halfway
around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out
there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the
grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters
Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's
whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably
drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery,
they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay
one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything
for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her
prisoner.
Review
Plot: Following Cinder (the retelling of Cinderella), this book tells the story of Scarlet; better known as Little Red Riding Hood. This story line is a little farther away from the traditional story than the first book. Really the main similarities are the name, the fact that she lives with her grandmother, and that she meets a guy named Wolf. Not much to say without giving away spoilers, but basically Scarlet's grandmother goes missing and she needs Wolf's help to find her. As you probably guess, things don't go quite as she planned. Like I said from Cinder, she does a good job of keeping you on your toes, even though you think you know the story line. Not only that, but she throws in aliens and robots into this fantasy world of Little Red Riding Hood.
Characters: In the first book we heard from Cinder and Kai. In this one, the main character is Scarlet. However, we also hear from Cinder, Kai, and Wolf at some points in the story. I talked about Cinder, and how strong and brave she was. Scarlet is also a good leading lady, but she's a little different than Cinder. She's younger, therefore a little less mature. Even though she can handle herself and get the job done, you can catch her whining at times. She isn't as sure of what she needs to do as Cinder is. Honestly, I like that. Cinder is a great female character to look up to, but not always relatable. She's almost too strong sometimes (if that makes sense). But Scarlet is a little scared and unsure, but still sticks with what she knows is important. That's what I admire about her.
Cover: I lovethe scarlet color in the cover. All these books in the series have that color in the cover, but for this book it's just even more perfect. And I love that you can only see a small part of the girl wearing the hood. It gives just a mystical feel to everything. It's such a simple cover! And yet it's so perfect for the books.
Closing Thoughts: I loved this book! As far as content goes, I enjoyed it just as much- if not more than- the first in the series. However, I think a big flaw was how many characters she wrote in. It was kind of hard to keep track of them all. One minute
you're with Scarlet, trying to learn about her side of the story, and
then they jump you back to Cinder, or sometimes even Kai! To be honest,
it just seems a little much. It's really interesting having all these
points of view, but sometimes I felt like she couldn't focus on what was
going on. The author just kept jumping. I thought maybe it was just because of all the characters, but in the third book (reviewing later) she adds even more characters and it actually flows fine. Other than that, I loved this book. It was romantic yet didn't sacrifice any of the plot for romance. You'd think with these books being based around princesses (or similar) that they would be only focused on the love interest. Half the time, the girls don't even care about the guy, but saving a loved one or even the planet. Marissa Meyer has an amazing series going and I can't wait to continue on.
Things are amiss at 99
Maple Lane. Ingrid's dad's job is in jeopardy and her brother, Ty, is
getting buff—really buff—but his moodiness is making Ingrid start to
wonder . . . Meanwhile, Ingrid's beloved soccer coach is replaced by an
icy newcomer who seems a little too savvy to be in it for the postgame
pizza. True to her hero, Sherlock Holmes, Ingrid begins fishing around
to find out who's really pulling the strings in Echo Falls. But one
morning, while en route to the dreaded MathFest, Ingrid is kidnapped and
locked in the trunk of a car. Even if she escapes, will anyone believe
her story?
Review
Plot: The plot is a very basic YA mystery. Something doesn't seem right and Ingrid needs to get to the bottom of it. However, for being a detective, it seemed like she wasn't very good at picking up the clues. There were so many times the plot line would just drag on because she couldn't figure something out. The main part of reading mystery is to keep me on my toes and excited about what's going to happen next! That wasn't really the case with this book. The pacing was a bit slow and I didn't really cared about what happened next.
Character: I think part of the reason I disliked this book so much was really just because I couldn't connect to the main character, Ingrid. It could be because of how young she was, but I don't think that's it. I've read many books where the characters were much younger than me and I could still enjoy it. There is a similar mystery series with a girl named Gilda Joyce, and I could still enjoy those books to this day. I think that the age of a character shouldn't make the entire novel impossible to read. I just felt like for someone that's supposed to be the leading detective lady, she wasn't very smart and just annoyed me most of the time.
Cover: Even the cover of the book left me worried. Not much to say, however, it did look like a mystery book from the outside which was kind of cool. I like being able to pick up a book and say the cover looks like the book reads.
Closing Thoughts: I give this book an F and I feel very bad to do so. The problem is it was sooooo boring! And to be fair, the characters are really young and so it was hard to connect to them. But I barely even remember finishing this because this was a book I was solely finishing for the challenge. I didn't care about the characters or the plot and it was just very blah to me. I thought that maybe it was the author, but the next book I read (Bullet Point) was actually pretty good! I don't know if he was directing these two books towards different audiences or he just wrote much better in the later one, but I definitely did not enjoy Behind The Curtain, I'm sorry to say. To be fair, I never read the first in the series because I didn't realize it was part of a series. But I don't think reading the first would have made me enjoy this any more. You could possibly enjoy this if you are a younger reader, but I don't really recommend.
After a supernatural
showdown with a serial killer, Evie O'Neill has outed herself as a
Diviner. Now that the world knows of her ability to "read" objects, and
therefore, read the past, she has become a media darling, earning the
title, "America's Sweetheart Seer." But not everyone is so accepting of
the Diviners' abilities...
Meanwhile, mysterious deaths have been
turning up in the city, victims of an unknown sleeping sickness. Can
the Diviners descend into the dreamworld and catch a killer? Source
To everyone who knows
him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular,
way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to
the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the
outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching
his father slowly die of cancer.
Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s
life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told
the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since.
Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she
stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.
As
West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to
someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he
opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.
West
expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at
least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the
quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or
for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her
go… Source
Nicolette’s awful
stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits:
she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now,
though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home.
But
on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the
cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the
mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie,
led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary
existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the
horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her
freedom at last.
Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and
family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an
indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't
want a fairy tale happy ending after all. Source
Lilith Bennette runs at
midnight. She scales walls in the dark and climbs without a harness.
She hopes that if she follows exactly in the steps of her strong air
force pilot mother, she’ll somehow figure out the mystery of her
mother’s death—and the reason why her necklace of Greek symbols has been
missing ever since.
So when Lil is invited to Crete for a
Future Leaders International conference, the same conference her mom
attended years ago, she jumps at the chance to find some answers. But
things in Melios Manor are not what they seem. Lil finds herself
ensnared in an adventure of mythological proportions that leads her and
her friends through the very labyrinth in which the real Minotaur was
imprisoned. And they’re not in there alone. What secrets does the
labyrinth hold, and will they help Lil find the truth about her mother?
This book is perfect for older fans of Percy Jackson and the Olympians
and the Heroes of Olympus--and anyone who wants to find out the true
story behind the magic of the Greek gods. Source
Sophia Dee, the most
unusual spy of Queen Elizabeth’s Maids of Honor, has run out of time for
her psychic skills to fully manifest. A terrible new prophecy now
haunts Windsor Castle, and the Queen demands answers before the next
doomed soul dies.
Thrust into a dangerous and horrifying
competition to solve the deadly prediction, Sophia finds herself pitted
against the most celebrated mystics of Europe: John Dee, her devious
uncle and the Queen’s personal astrologer. . . and Nostradamus, the
renowned prophet-seer of France.
In a court where whispers of
witchcraft, poisonous plots, and grim assassins threaten her at every
turn, Sophia needs answers fast. But does she dare trust Marcus Quinn,
her uncle’s striking and over-ambitious assistant? Or, instead, should
she turn to the tortured dark angel of the spirit realm, who whispers to
her only of sorrow and death?
As new dangers surface and dire
prophecy sweeps toward its final victim, the five Maids of Honor prepare
to do battle. Only then will the girl who so often sees the future
finally discover if she can save the Crown—and herself. Source
When Paige moves from LA
to Idaho with her mom and little brother after her parents’
high-profile divorce, she expects to completely hate her new life, and
the small town doesn’t disappoint. Worse yet, the drafty old mansion
they’ve rented is infested with flies, spiders, and other pests Paige
doesn’t want to think about.
She chalks it up to her rural
surroundings, but it’s harder to ignore the strange things happening
around the house, from one can of ravioli becoming a dozen, to
unreadable words appearing in the walls. Soon Paige’s little brother
begins roaming the house at all hours of the night, and there’s
something not right about the downstairs neighbor, who knows a lot more
than he’s letting on.
Things only get creepier when she learns
about the sinister cult that conducted experimental rituals in the house
almost a hundred years earlier. The more Paige investigates, and the
deeper she digs, the clearer it all becomes: whatever is in the house,
whatever is causing all the strange occurrences, has no intention of
backing down without a fight.
Found in the aftermath, Diary of a Haunting collects the journal entries, letters, and photographs Paige left behind. Source
It's a fairy-tale nightmare . . .
One
girl is kept in a room where every day the only food she's given is a
poisoned apple. Another is kept in a room covered in needles -- and if
she pricks her finger, she'll die. Then there are the brother and sister
kept in a cell that keeps getting hotter and hotter. . .
A
sinister kidnapper is on the loose in Kate's world. She's not involved
until one day she heads to her grandmother's house in the woods -- and
finds her grandmother has also been taken. Already an outcast, Kate
can't get any help from the villagers who hate her. Only Jack, another
outsider, will listen to what's happened.
Then a princess is
taken, and suddenly the king is paying attention -- even though the
girl's stepmother would rather he didn't. It's up to Kate and Jack to
track down the victims before an ever after arrives that's far from
happy. Source
Delia's new house isn't
just a house. It used to be an insane asylum, a place to lock up
"troubled" young women long ago. And a restless, wicked spirit is still
at play--and it doesn't want defiant girls like Delia to go anywhere.
So the house kills her.
Now
Delia is a ghost, trapped in her creepy home forever. As she meets the
other ghost girls who haunt the narrow hallways, as well as the handsome
ghost boy on the grounds, she learns shocking truths about the house's
history. Delia also realizes that her alive and grieving sister might be
the house's next target. Can Delia unlock the mystery of the old
asylum, save her sister, and free herself?Source
August 27
A library apprentice, a sorcerer prince, and an unbreakable magic bond...
The
Solaris Empire is one conquest away from uniting the continent, and the
rare elemental magic sleeping in seventeen-year-old library apprentice
Vhalla Yarl could shift the tides of war.
Vhalla has always been
taught to fear the Tower of Sorcerers, a mysterious magic society, and
has been happy in her quiet world of books. But after she unknowingly
saves the life of one of the most powerful sorcerers of them all—the
Crown Prince Aldrik—she finds herself enticed into his world. Now she
must decide her future: Embrace her sorcery and leave the life she’s
known, or eradicate her magic and remain as she’s always been. And with
powerful forces lurking in the shadows, Vhalla’s indecision could cost
her more than she ever imagined. Source
What if you aren’t the Chosen One?
The
one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or
whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?
What
if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and
maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes
and blows up the high school. Again.
Because sometimes there are
problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you
just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.
Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.Source
