TOP TEN TUESDAY (3)

Books that had me cryin', laughin', and/or (but not limited to) screamin'

Rebekah

1. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling. I know many people are gonna be like "well duh." BUT YEAH?!!! HOW CAN YOU NOT JUST FREAK OUT?!?!?! HELLO!?!?!? DOBBY??!?!?!?!

2. The Lovely Bones. Whew. Wasn't even planning to read it. Then one day, I just sat down and grabbed it out of my sister's bag and just couldn't stop.

3. My Sister's Keeper. And you thought the movie was sad....

4. Bridge to Terabithia. Read it in 5th grade and still can't help but cry....

5. Room by Emma Donoghue. I am doing a review on this spectacular book ASAP. So beautiful. LOVE it and hate it all at the same time.

Taylor

6. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. like what? i STILL don't know how i feel about this book. the ending just made me want to throw it across the room.

7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I just felt like I was reading something so absolutely beautiful and heart wrenching at the same time. I really need to pick up some more of his books.

8. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. Just wanting to throw a happy one in there since we seem to find books easily that make us sad or angry! I was laughing outloud like the whole time i read this book. i dont even know what possessed me to read it since im not a big paranormal girl (okay probably because it's about a boarding school), but it was so funny! Can't wait to read Demonglass.

9. The Maze Runner Trilogy. These books just made me so mad and confused! yet i loved them. but they were definitely edge of your seat the whole time books.

10. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. This book just made me so happy! I felt young and in love while i was reading it. It was such a precious story. LOVE STEPHANIE PERKINS!

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IMM

Hosted by The Story Siren

We got some gooooood ones this week. I LOVE AMAZON!

REBEKAH:

1. Flawless by Sara Shepard
2. GONE by Lisa McMann
3. All-American Girl by Meg Cabot


TAYLOR:

1. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
2. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
3. Entwined by Heather Dixon
4. Eve by Ana Carey
5. Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
6. Rosebush by Michele Jaffe

and lastly, our first book for review, This Girl is Different by JJ Heller!! Thank you so much Peachtree Publishers! Go check out their blog!

Leave a comment so we can go check out your IMM!

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YA Sub Genres- Dystopian

Taylor here! One of my favorite things that other book bloggers blog about is different book genres, their experiences within the genres, and books from that genre they have read or would recommend. So, I thought I would do the same! One thing to remember though, I have only truly gotten into YA books this summer, the summer of 2011. Therefore, I have not read NEAR as many books as a lot of the other awesome book bloggers out there. I'm going to do one or two sub genres a post and stagger them over the next few weeks. Hope you enjoy!

1. Dystopian

This is definitely my favorite genre. I love getting a glimpse into what a future world might look like (although, most of the time in these books, it is not looking too good!)

My absolute favorite Dystopians

 I think one thing these three have in common is that they are all totally action packed. Especially The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games. I would highly, HIGHLY recommend all three!

Dystopians I really liked

 

The only reason these weren't included in my favorites is because they can't ALL be my favorite! And these I liked just a touch less than the others. Both still REALLY awesome reads. Inside Out is another one with a good amount of action. Wither isn't too action packed but still leaves you almost creeped out by the strange world you find yourself invested in.

Dystopians I somewhat enjoyed

I know, I know. All These Things I've Done?? But, yes. I just didn't see what was SO appealing about it. Don't get me wrong, it was still an enjoyable read, but it just didn't live up to the standards of the other great dystopians i have read in the past. And I have a review of Possession up right underneath this post so you should go check it out to see my thoughts regarding that one.

Dystopians on my shelves I am DYING to read

AHHHH. why have i not read these yet??

Dystopians I am DYING to get my hands on

 Whew. That was one long post! Please, if you have any other dystopian recommendations, let me know! Because, obviously, I am kind of obsessed with this genre.


Let us know if this is a series you would like to see continued!

There may even be a giveaway at the end! ;)

thanks for reading!

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Follow Friday - Dinner with a character

This is a feature hosted by Parajunkee and alisoncanread.

Q:  If you could have dinner with your favorite book character, who would you eat with and what would you serve?

This one's a given for me. DUMBLEDORE, duhhh. We would talk about what it's like to be on a Chocolate Frog Card, muggle knitting, and drink pumpkin juice. I'd probably serve something delicious with the help of my house elf friends....and make sure he had lemon drops to end. 

Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?

-Rebekah

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Review: Possesion by Elana Johnson

Possession by Elana Johnson
402 Pages
2.5/5 Stars
 
Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Summary taken from goodreads

My Expectations: pretty darn high. I thought this was going to be an action packed dystopian that would leave me craving the next installment. 

In Actuality: It let me down, guys. It wasn't one of those books that was just torture to get through, not at all. But I just found myself SO confused most of the time. There would be some big, climatic moment and I would just be like, huh? I just don't feel like some of the characters were set up in a way that made it easy for me to see the connections made throughout the story.

Vi, our main character, was not a strong heroine. At least, in my humble opinion. She was too busy figuring out which boy she wanted to be with forever.. yes, this means yet ANOTHER love triangle. And, quite frankly, I didn't really like either of the boys. at all. 


My last complaint is that the writing was confusing. When there was an "action"scene I just could not set it up in my mind. The scenes were not written in a way where I could set them up in my mind.


ON THE OTHER HAND, I am not trying to bash this book. I did enjoy reading it (which seems kind of odd given the complaints I just made..), and it was a decent book. Just definitely not what I expected, and maybe not a book that catered to my reading style.

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Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted over at Breaking the Spine

SHATTER ME.
by Tahereh Mafi
November 15, 2011


THIS BOOK LOOKS EPIC. So many bloggers who have ARCs have been raving about this book, and we can't wait to get our hands on it! A girl whose touch is lethal?! How is this possible??

november 15. That's all I have to say.


thanks for reading! leave your WoW's below so we can add even more books to our "can't wait to read" list!

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Creepy Reads - Top Ten Tuesday

SOME TOP BOOKS TO READ DURING HALLOWEEN!

hosted by : The Broke and the Bookish


In the spirit of Halloween and all that spooky fun, I just wanted to share a few books I have read or want to read that gave me a good fright!
I'll be honest though, I can handle scary movies. But a scary book.....that's another ballgame.

Let's just start with a classics.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
If you're like me, you had to read this in a high school English class. I'll be honest, it is not my fave, but I definitely understand the creepy Gothic factor in it.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

Ok, don't lie. You know you liked it. But it was kind of creepy, huh? Heathcliff? Yeah? I like him...but he was creepy.

Goosebumps by R.L. Stine

OK Please tell me you've read at least one of the Goosebumps back in the day? Ok no, this isn't Stephen King, but I was pretty scared when I read them. 

Currently Reading...

Wake by Lisa McMann

AHH SO GOOD! I'm loving it. Read like 100 pages last night.

FUTURE READS....

Frost by Marianna Baer

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

The Sookie Stackhouse books by Charliane Harris

I must be honest. Sometimes I just want to read Twilight around Halloween. What can I say? It is fitting.

What about you? Creepy or not so much?

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Musing Mondays (2)

 Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Should be Reading

This week’s musing asks…

Do you listen to audiobooks? Why, or why not?

Taylor's Answer:
My answer to this question is a big, fat YES. I mostly listen to audiobooks when I'm driving in the car. I pretty much always have one playing. I hate to say it, but sometimes I get kind of bored listening to music. With a book, it just whisks me away to some other place and someone else's story! I think a big part of this is that i grew up listening to Adventures in Odyssey in the car with my dad. It was like a ritual. We ALWAYS did it. So, I guess I just grew up listening to stories and getting lost in another place just by listening. They are also a way to help slowly chip away at my massive TBR pile :)

Taylor's currently listening to Split by Swati Avasthi

 Rebekah here.
Ok, so I haven't really listened to audio books before until now. I'm currently listening to Shiver on audiobook in my car.....and I really, really like it. I didn't think I would because I love reading so much, but basically I think I'm just like Taylor on this one....it is just easy for us to get lost in a story! OK yeah, if the narrators voices are annoying it is kind of difficult...but I guess you just kind of get used to it if it is a good story to tell.
Still love reading those physical books though.

thanks for reading!

 Rebekah's currently listening to Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

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In My Mailbox (2) and TBR Pile!

Hey y'all! So it was a pretty slow week for us on the book buying/checking out from the library front. The amount of books I have on my shelf that I haven't read are ridiculous. But, it didn't stop me from ordering 6 books on amazon last night (this is Taylor by the way..)! so, next week's in my mailbox should be rockin!

what we got..

Taylor:

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson: I've been craving some historical fiction, and I have heard nothing but good things about her books. So, I decided to pick this one up at the library!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore: Scored this one at books a million for $4.97! Still getting into fantasy, but this is one that i have read nothing but rave reviews on.

Rebekah:

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson

The Last Summer (of you and me) by Ann Brashares

So, overall a decent week! I just wanted to give a quick update of my TBR pile for the next week or two as well. 

(wow the cover of Delirium looks so creepy here!)

I am currently reading Possession by Elana Johnson. I am not bored, yet I don't feel like too much has actually happened.

Next up, Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. 

Then Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson.

and finally...

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver! I've had this one for a few months now but have yet to crack it open! I'm not sure why.. but it is high time. 

Check out our In My Mailbox next week as the amazon order should be in!

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Review: Divergent

 Divergent by Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris, and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together, they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret: one she’s kept hidden from everyone, because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly-perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves . . . or it might be what destroys her.

http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/ 

Rebekah here. So if you've read any of our past posts, you might have noticed our kind of  "obsession" with this book.

Yeah. That pretty much sums it up.

A lot of people keep saying how similar this book is to "The Hunger Games" and other teen dystopian novels, and sure I can see that, but I'm a firm believer that every story is different and has something different to say.

And I loved this one.

Beatrice aka TRIS is awesome. She's tiny, but don't let that fool you. More than anything, I found her believable. She's a good girl, but she isn't perfect.

But my favorite character was the lead male - Four. I don't want to spoil anything for you, but I LOVE him. EEEEEK.

This story makes you decide what bravery really is. What virtue really is.

4.5 out of 5.

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My Ever Growing Book Collection

Yes. It's Taylor. And, yes. I am a self confessed book-buying addict. Now, I know to other book bloggers, my collection looks like nothing compared to their mounds of books. But, you see, I have only just recently started collecting. Since June. So, I accumulated all 56 of these books in 4 months. Oops. And i may have just accidentally ordered 6 more on Amazon (okay, maybe it wasn't such an accident...). So, I didn't really know what to post about tonight, so i just snapped some iphone 3gs quality photos of my shelf.

i'll mention the ones i have read from each section (which is not a lot..). Please tell me which ones I should have in my November TBR pile!

{not too good of a shot, but the already full bookshelf}

{my very lovely Harry Potter Collection. I of course had already read Harry, but when I came home from studying in Spain this summer, my dad surprised me with this beautiful collection :) }

{out of these, i've only read Anna and the French Kiss (!!), Wither,  and, Brightly Woven}

{in this lovely row of books i have read Divergent (!!), Hex Hall, and City of Ashes}

{here, I have read Looking for Alaska, The Book Thief, and Kite Runner

{i've read If I Stay, Inside Out, and Rebel Angels}

{Sarah Dessen kind of rules this shelf... I've read all of the ones seen here except for This Lullaby}

thanks so much for reading!

Taylor

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