Book Review: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Title: Just Listen
Author(s): Sarah Dessen
Release Date: April 6th, 2006
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 371
Format: Paperback

Synopsis (Goodreads): Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything"—at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store.This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to
truth-telling. With Owen's help,maybe Annabel can face what happened
the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

My Review: This wasn't my first Sarah Dessen book, but it was the one I was the most impressed with. Just Listen had so much heart and soul in the pages of it that I was pulled in and when I sat down to read, I would lose track of time completely.

Annabel was my favorite thing about this book. She was so scared and quiet and unable to open up to anyone at the beginning of the book that I wasn't sure what was going to happen. But then she met Owen and, while she was still scared to speak, things got to get better. And with his help, she could finally say what had been on her mind for months.

The plot of this book was so intricate. There were so many things in it that I didn't know how Sarah Dessen was going to pull it all together. With Whitney's eating disorder and the mysterious ending of Sophie and Annabel's friendship, among other things, I was really nervous if she would pull it all together. But she did and it was wonderful.

When I first started reading the book and learning about Annabel and Sophie's friendship, I was really curious about what caused it to crash. About halfway through the book I started to guess what had happened, and when I found out I was right I was wondering how Dessen would pull it off. But she had done such a great job with everything so far that I didn't have a doubt that she could pull this off too. The writing in this book is well worth your time.

Overall Rating: 5/5 worms. This book had everything. Great characters, great plot, and great writing, all rolled up into one. This book is fantastic and definitely worth your time. It is definitely one of my favorite reads this year!

                                                       

TGIF (2)

                                              
TGIF is a weekly feature hosted by Ginger at GReads! She asks bloggers a question and we answer it.

This Friday's question is....

Christmas in July: If Santa were to come down your chimney in the middle of summer, which books would you want him to leave for you under the tree?

I would definetly want Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal and Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick.

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

Waiting on Wednesday is a feature hosted over at Breaking the Spine that showcases titles that we are patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for.

This week's selection is.....

Burn for Burn
By Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
Publication Date: September 18

Synopsis from Goodreads:

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...
THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.

Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

Book Trailer: Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal

Mothership was published July 10th 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. I saw the trailer a couple of days ago and I thought I would share it with you!

Teen pregnancy is never easy—especially not when extraterrestrials are involved. The first in a new trilogy.

 Elvie Nara was doing just fine in the year 2074. She had a great best friend, a dad she adored, and bright future working on the Ares Project on Mars. But then she had to get involved with sweet, gorgeous, dumb-as-a-brick Cole—and now she’s pregnant.

Getting shipped off to the Hanover School for Expecting Teen Mothers was not how Elvie imagined spending her junior year, but she can go with the flow. That is, until a team of hot commandos hijacks the ship—and one of them turns out to be Cole. She hasn’t seen him since she told him she’s pregnant, and now he’s bursting into her new home to tell her that her teachers are aliens and want to use her unborn baby to repopulate their species? Nice try, buddy. You could have just called.

So fine, finding a way off this ship is priority number one, but first Elvie has to figure out how Cole ended up as a commando, work together with her arch-nemesis, and figure out if she even wants to be a mother—assuming they get back to Earth in one piece.

                                              

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine which showcases upcoming releases we are currently awaiting.

This week's book is:

Breathe
by Sarah Corssan
Publication Date: October 2nd

From Goodreads: Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe . . .

The world is dead.
The survivors live under the protection of Breathe, the corporation that found a way to manufacture oxygen-rich air.

ALINA
has been stealing for a long time. She’s a little jittery, but not terrified. All she knows is that she’s never been caught before. If she’s careful, it’ll be easy. If she’s careful.

QUINN
should be worried about Alina and a bit afraid for himself, too, but even though this is dangerous, it’s also the most interesting thing to happen to him in ages. It isn’t every day that the girl of your dreams asks you to rescue her.

BEA
wants to tell him that none of this is fair; they’d planned a trip together, the two of them, and she’d hoped he’d discover her out here, not another girl.

And as they walk into the Outlands with two days’ worth of oxygen in their tanks, everything they believe will be shattered. Will they be able to make it back? Will they want to?

What's your waiting on pick this week?

Review: Waiting for You by Susane Colasanti

         Title: Waiting for You
         Author(s): Susane Colasanti
         Release Date: May 14, 2009
         Publisher: Viking Juvenile
         Pages: 320
         Formant: Hardcover

Synopsis(Goodreads): At the beginning of her sophomore year, Marisa is ready for a fresh start and, more importantly, a boyfriend. So when the handsome and popular Derek asks her out, Marisa thinks her long wait for happiness is over. But several bumps in the road—including her parents’ unexpected separation, a fight with her best friend, and a shocking disappointment in her relationship with Derek—test Marisa’s ability to maintain her new outlook. Only the anonymous DJ, whose underground podcasts have the school’s ear, seems to understand what Marisa is going through. But she has no idea who he is—or does she? In Waiting For You, this third romantic novel from Susane Colasanti, Marisa learns how to “be in the Now” and realizes that the love she’s been waiting for has been right in front of her all along.

My Review: I bought this book for the wrong reason. I bought it because it was four dollars. I hadn't read the synopsis or anything else by this author, but, come on it was four dollars. So I snatched it up and put it on my shelf to look pretty, not knowing when I would read it. But there comes a time in every readers life that something happens, and that something is a reading slump. So in an attempt to get out of it I grabbed this book, and I'm glad I did.

When the book started, I was excited. It was summer turning to fall, Marisa was exciting, and everything started off good. But then Marisa started to talk about Derek and all she talked about was Derek and that when I had a problem. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good romance. Just, not a "I'm obsessed with you and I want the whole world to know it" romance. That just gets old.

But I kept going. I was still interested. And as the book progressed I kept getting more interested. The writing style was really good, even if it was kind of typical contemporary. The book went along nicely with no slow dragging parts and I really enjoyed it.

My Rating: 4 worms because although this book was interesting, I had some issues with Marisa. Otherwise this book was definitely one to check out.

Cover Reveal: Clockwork Princess

Finally!! The long anticipated Clockwork Princess has a cover!!!



This cover is absolutely beautiful. Even though YA does a lot of pretty girls in dresses this cover takes the cake. I love that she's wearing the clockwork pendant and is holding a book with light pournig out. I have only read the first book in the Infernal Devices series and none of the Mortal Instruments, but this book has me excited to read the rest!!

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feautre hosted at Breaking the Spine. It showcases upcoming titles that we are currently awaiting.

This week's title is:

Alice in Zombieland
By Gena Showalter
Publication Date: September 25


Synopsis from Goodreads:

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….


I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently.
I'd tell my sister no.
I'd never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I'd zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I'd hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
I'd tell them I love them.
I wish... Yeah, I wish.

Beginning, Middle, and End (1)

Hey everyone! Today I am doing my first Beginning, Middle, and End. This is a feature created here at The One Minute Bookworm where I take a random book that I haven't read yet and pick out the first, middle, and last sentence and I have to guess what its about.
The book I've chosen is: Eon by Alison Goodman

  First Sentence: I let the tips of both my swords dig into the sandy arena floor.

  

  Middle Sentence: I was stiff and every bit of me felt brusied, but complaining would not change it.

Last Sentence: "And I want to join your resistance."

I think this book will have a lot of fighting in it,but that's just a general observation from sentences one and two. I think the main character in this book will have been living a lie and then decide to change it at the end. Other than that, these sentences leave a lot of mystery in this book.

Agree or disagree? Leave a comment and take a guess yourselves. But if you've read the book, please don't leave any spoilers. That would ruin the book for others.

That's all for me. Enjoy and happy reading!

TGIF (1)

 TGIF is a weekly feature hosted by Ginger at GReads! Every Friday she asks a fun question and bloggers answer it!

     This Week The Question is......

    Which kind of books do you read when you need so extra comfort in your life?

    Whenever I need some extra comfort in my life you can usually find me on my bed reading anything by Gail Carson Levine or any of the Harry Potter books.

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone-  I don't think I need to tell you what Harry Potter is about. This book is total action and mayhem and pure awesome and it helps when I need some comfort. When I need something comforting, I pick up this book.

2. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine- tThis was the first book I read in middle school, so naturally it should be one of my favorites. Its a great fairytale retelling and, come on, you can't go wrong with a fairytale retelling!

3. The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Stories by Gail Carson Levine-  With a name like that, this book wasn't high on my TBR list. But after I read it I was definetly comforted. It's a good read when you can't fall asleep. And fairytale retellings, you can't beat them!

What are your comfort reads? Feel free to leave a comment telling me!



  

Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

  Title: Beautiful Creatures
  Author(s): Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
   Release Date: December 1, 2009
   Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
   Pages: 563
   Format: Hardcover
   Source: Library

Synopsis (Goodreads): There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

My Review: I didn't expect much from Beautiful Creatures when I picked it up from my library and thought, "I'll give it a go." I expected another paranormal romance where the girl falls in love with the guy, the guy tells her he's not interested, girl keeps telling guy she loves him, guy continues to say no, some strange event occurs, guy and girl start dating, and girl falls all over the guy. Those were my thoughts before I started reading Beautiful Creatures, but I didn't have the same thoughts after.

Beautiful Creatures is my absolute favorite paranormal romance of 2012, because instead of the typical paranormal romance listed above, this book was told from the guy's point of view. And finally, for once, the girl had the powers and she wasn't falling for the guy. It was like the Fallen series in reverse and I loved it.

The plot of this story was amazing as well, full of fun and excitement. It went at a great pace and I was never board with this book. Kami Gracia and Margaret Stohl did a wonderful job of keeping the reader entertained as well as keeping them guessing on what would happen next. The characters in this book had such great development and so greatly described.

The beginning of the book was also so awesome. It started out telling Ethan's life story, but I wasn't bored during any of it at all. It was necessary to learn about his life so the story could go on. I loved all the detail and description put into this book.

Rating: Definitely 5 worms. This is a book that if you haven't read, you need to, NOW. This book was so fantastic and I can't wait to get the next one!

Hope you enjoyed and happy reading!

                                          

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Movie Trailer!!

Okay. If you've been following me on Goodreads or my Youtube channel you know that I haven't read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky yet. But when I saw the trailer for this movie I finally have a reason too! This book has been on my reading wishlist for over a year now and I can't wait to finally read it. So without further ado, here is the movie trailer!