Mailbox Monday- May 11

Mailbox Monday
is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.

Here is what I got last week in my mailbox.

Perfection: A Memoir of betrayal and renewal
by Julie Metz
-The whole premise sounds promising...Every wife's worst nightmare. In the aftermath of her husband's death, one woman discovers her life has been a lie. This is the author's own memoir. Should be good!





Valeria's Last Stand
by Marc Fitten
--This one intrigued me because of the eccentric characters. Look forward to reading it!

What came for you in the mail?

BoneMan's Daughters- My Thoughts

BoneMan's Daughter's
Author: Ted Dekker
Genre: Christian Fiction/Suspense
Published: 2009 by Center Street
Pages: 416

Short Synopsis from Goodreads:
A Texas serial killer called BoneMan is on the loose, choosing young girls as his prey, His signature: myriad broken bones that torture and kill - but never puncture.Military intelligence officer Ryan Evans is sent to Fallujah and captured by insurgents, he is asked to kill children not unlike his own.Returning home after the ordeal, a new crisis awaits. A serial killer is on the loose, and his method of killing is the same. Ryan becomes a prime suspect, which isn't even the worst of his problems: Ryan's daughter is BoneMan's latest desire.




My Thoughts:

I have read Ted Dekker in the past and enjoyed his books. This one is a fast and compelling read, but there were moments for me that just didn't work. The relationship between Ryan, his wife, and daughter was not developed at all. The reader is just suppose to accept the hatred coming from the wife and daughter towards Ryan. It did not ring true to me. When he comes home from his ordeal of being captured and tortured, neither his wife nor his daughter welcome him home. In fact, they treat his so horribly that I was honestly turned off by it. The other thing that distracted me from my reading was Dekker's habit of writing the same thing over and over again. Here's what I'm talking about:

There were two things Alvin loved, three that he would kill for.

There were two things that Alvin Finch, aka BoneMan, wanted; nay, three that he would cut off his own hands to possess.

This is just a few of them...it happened throughout the book. The flow just didn't work for me and I'm upset by that because the story is pretty good, but my mind kept getting hung up on those little oddities. Dekker does make up for most of this in the ending of the book. It kept me hanging on and wondering if what I read was true or not....I'm still questioning who the BoneMan really was. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, and I'm glad that I took the time to read it. If you've enjoyed Dekker in the past , then I'm sure you will like this one too.

Other reviews that are much better than mine!!
Dar- Peeking Between the Pages

If you reviewed BoneMan's Daughter's let me know so that I can post your link here!!

Library Loot- May 6

Library Loot hosted by Eva and Alessandra
asks us to list what we brought home from
the library this week.

I've been very good once again this week!! I feel like I'm actually making a dent in my library pile. It probably has something to do with my reading being on a schedule!! I made up a calendar for May and so far I'm only 1 day behind....o.k. I'm a few days and 1 book behind!!! Oh well, here's more to add to the madness!!!



The Accidental Demon Slayer- Well, I had to get this so that I can start at the beginning of this series that looks to be fun, fun, fun!!

Vibes- I picked this up because I liked the cover! Don't you think it's cute? Also, I'm on a YA binge right now!!!

Ink Exchange- This is the next book after Wicked Lovely, which I fell in love with. Let's hope this one doesn't disappoint!!






Swallow Me Whole- I can't remember how I came across this book. Very strange...but it's a graphic novel and looks like it is going to be a good read!

Life Sucks- I finally get to blame someone!! And that someone is Linda from Silly Little Mischief. She told me about this cool YA Graphic novel and I can't wait to read it!!

A Homemade Life- Another person to blame for a book!! The blame goes to....drumroll please.....DAR!! Who would've thought? yeah, I know...Dar's responsible for a lot of people adding to their TBR list!! She featured this cover on a Cover Attraction post and I am a sucker for covers. Loved this one and a bonus...the story sounds like it's going to be a very enjoyable read!!


To Read List Total today 4/29/2009: 737
Last Week's To Read List total 4/15/2009: 707
Books Read in 2009 to date: 65
Number of Books Checked out from the library: 29

Teaser Tuesday and It's Tuesday..Where Are You?

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

But he looks at me, gazing into my eyes as he say, "I'm not interested in Drina. I'm only interested in you."

p.115 from Evermore by Alyson Noel

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It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I'm in the present day attending a swanky school in California. My family died and now I live with my aunt. The accident that changed my life also changed me. I can now hear everyone's thoughts. I try to melt into the background and drown out their voices but nothing I try works, until the day I meet Damen.

-Evermore by Alyson Noel

Where has your reading taken you today?

Mailbox Monday- May 4

Mailbox Monday
is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.

This past week was very good to me as I received 2 books from contests, 1 from Dar's kind heart, and another from Marcia, who believes in Reading It Forward. She likes to pass on her ARC's to her readers as she's finished with them...what a fantastic idea and one that I will hope to copy in the future. I've also received a few books from publishers and one from an author. I take a lot of time in reading the descriptions of the books before I ask for anything because I don't think it's right to just try to "hoard" books as they come out. I'll try to explain my madness with the title of each book as I list them here.


Contest Wins

First Dog
won at A Patchwork of Books
Isn't that cover adorable?




Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark
won at Peeking Between the Pages
I likey the front cover!!! Can't wait to see what awaits me "between the pages"!!








Galway Bay
sent to me by the lovely Dar at Peeking Between the Pages
I am so looking forward to this fantastic read!







The Wish Maker
sent to me by Marcia at The Printed Page. This is a book from her Read It Forward philosophy. Thanks Marcia!!







In the Land of Cotton
I received this from the author Martha A. Taylor
It's about a young girl living in the south during the 50's. Sounded very interesting and I'm really looking forward to reading this one.







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The following books I received from Shelf Awareness and various publishers.

Best Intentions by Emily Listfield
I requested this because I thought the story sounded really interesting. I like stories about women, their friends, and how they cope with the changes good and bad in their lives. This looks to be a good one and I've never read any books by this author.



The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama
I requested this book for a few reasons:
1) I loved the cover
2) I am obsessed with India
3) They enticed me by saying that this was a book Jane Austen might have written had she been lucky enough to set foot in a contemporary Indian marriage bureau.



The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers
By Angie Fox
I absolutely love paranormal romance books and this cover captured me immediately. I didn't realize at the time that this was book two. I NEVER read anything out of order, so I have to pick up Book #1 on Tuesday from the library!!
Looks like a fun series!!




Made in the U.S.A.
by Billie Letts
I absolutely LOVED Where the Heart Is and have read good reviews of this one. I love the whole story plot....look forward to this read!!

What did you get in the mailbox last week?

More YA Obsessive Reviews!!!

I've given myself just 1 hour to get this post done (because it's so nice outside!!) so I'm going to make it short and sweet. These next two books were absolutely FANTASTIC!!!!
So here they are:

If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Published: 2009 Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 199
Genre: YA

Short blurb about book: In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen year- old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

My Thoughts:
This book quite simply put, is breathtakingly beautiful. I loved every single page and how the author went back and forth between Mia's past, so that you could see her life as it was, and the present, to what she would be waking up to. That is if she decides to wake-up. I've always believed that people in comas can sense others around them, can hear people talking to them, and I also believe in out-of-body experiences. Right around the time I finished this book, a co-worker's mother was on her death bed. She hung in there for two weeks while she was in the hospital, towards the end she said she wanted to GO HOME. She hadn't been inside her own home in almost a year. They took her home on a Thursday evening and she died Friday morning. I believe people can will themselves to die and will themselves to live. This book will touch you.......and make you look at the after-life with a different slant of light.

Other Reviews:
Presenting Lenore- I'm so glad that Lenore is out there in the blogging atmosphere because I would've missed out on this fantastic book if it weren't for her beautiful review....thank you Lenore!!
The Bookbind
A Patchwork of Books
The Story Siren


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Wintergirls
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Published: 2009 Viking Juvenile
Pages: 282
Genre: YA

Background:
Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.

My Thoughts:
What can I possibly say that hasn't already been written? Anderson has always been one of my favorite authors ever. I've loved and recommended every single one of her books. Why? Because she writes with an unflinching honesty that draws teens, children and adults to her words. Wintergirls is no different. It's dark, gritty, emotional, heartbreaking, and unfortunately all too REAL. There are no answers in this book, only the deepest, rawest emotional experience of Lia as she journeys through her own personal hell to learn how to live again, to learn how to WANT to live again. I have never flagged so many passages in one book and there are far too many to list. Click here to visit my other blog if you're interested in reading all the passages that struck me so hard. But I am going to leave you with one of my favorite:

I inscribe three lines, hush hush hush, into my skin. Ghosts trickle out.

p.61

If you have never read a Laurie Halse Anderson book then you must! It's just that simple...go find any of them....they're all great, but don't let another day go by without experiencing this truly gifted author.

Other reviews:
A Patchwork of Books
Book Addiction
Presenting Lenore
Devourer of Books
The Compulsive Reader
Stuff As Dreams Are Made On

Obsessed with YA- My thoughts on many books

Over the past couple of weeks I've read some fantastic YA books but never carved out any time to post them to my blog. So today I decided to do a mini-review for these wonderfully written gems.........

Perfect: A Novel
Author: Natasha Friend
Published: 2004
Genre: YA

Short Synopsis from Goodreads:
Isabelle Lee has a problem, and it's not just Ape Face, her sister, or group therapy for an eating disorder, or even that her father died and her mother is depressed and in denial.Caught in the orbit of popularity and appearances, Isabelle must navigate a world with mixed messages, false hopes, and potentially harmful turns, while coping with her own flailing family and emotions.

My thoughts:
This author does a great job of introducing harmful body image and eating disorders to the 12 year-old demographic and above. I have found that my middle-school students really like reading her books and we find a lot to talk about. I know of girls who at the early age of 10 don't eat lunch and think they're fat. Friend takes the reader into the life of Isabelle and shows the reader how through depriving herself of food, Isabelle thinks she's controlling a part of her life that she feels is totally out-of-control. The author does list quite a few resources for parents and girls who find this story a reflection of themselves.
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Wicked Lovely
Author: Melissa Marr
Published: 2007 by Harper Teen
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Fae/Faeries

Background info from Goodreads:
Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention. But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King, who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries. Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries. Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world.

My thoughts: This book for me was wickedly DELICIOUS!! I loved it. In fact, I loved it more than any of Holly Black's books....please don't kill me Black fans! This book was just the right mix of faerie, real-life, intrigue, and a little romance. I'm so happy that this is a trilogy because I really enjoyed Marr's writing and I wasn't ready to leave this world behind. I brought home the second book this week from the library!!! I have a lot of girls at school all in a tizzy because I've been gushing about this book constantly and my favorite thing to say about it is this:

After I read Wicked Lovely, I said to myself.....Edward who?
I'm officially in love with Keenan- the Summer King and
Seth, who is Aslinn's mortal boyfriend.

Keenan was staring at her, too intently for comfort. "I don't know why certain people shine for others. I don't know why you and not someone else." He gently pulled her forward and whispered, "But it's you I think of when I wake each morning. It's your face in my dreams."

He didn't move, he just stood there in the middle of the room, watching her. "You're what matters.""Hold me? if you still want to, I mean. She looked away."Everyday"- and then he was there, lifting her into his arms,holding her like she was fragile and precious- "I want to hold you every day. Nothing will ever change that."
- scene between Aslinn and Seth

Do you understand now? I'm swooning!!!!!
Read this!

Other Reviews:
The Written World
Books and NeedlePoint
Em's Bookshelf
A Striped Armchair
Unmainstream Mom Reads
Beth Fish Reads
Things Mean A Lot

Tomorrow I will post two more reviews of some of my all-time favorite YA books that I've read this year....Wintergirls and If I Stay.....hope to see you then!!