Waiting on Thursday? (#25)

So, I forgot to post my W.O.W. yesterday, so I'm posting it today. Better late than never, right? Well, anyways. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. It showcases upcoming titles that we are currently awaiting. 

This weeks selection is....

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

Release Date: May 19th, 2015

Synopsis: Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, Silver Linings Playbook, and Liar.

Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal. 

Funny, provoking, and ultimately moving, this debut novel featuring the quintessential unreliable narrator will have readers turning the pages and trying to figure out what is real and what is made up.

What are you waiting on this week? Let me know down below! 

Discussion: The Shack by William Paul Young

Title: The Shack

Author: William Paul Young

Release Date: July 1, 2007

Publisher: Windblown Media

Source: Own 

Synopsis (Goodreads): Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his "Great Sadness," Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

Discussion

Hey guys! So, I just finished reading The Shack, and I know what you're thinking. Lauren, isn't this a YA book blog? Well, yes it is. But, sometimes there are times when you want to branch out a bit and maybe touch on a subject that impacted you. This is one of those times. 

I initially picked up this book for the Popsugar Reading Challenge I'm participating in, to fulfill the challenge of reading your Mom's favorite book. My mom had been telling me how amazing this book is for about a year, and I was very intrigued. However, it wasn't something that I normally would read, so I kept putting it off. But, thanks to the wonder of reading challenges, I finally picked it up. 

Now, I don't really want to review this book. To review this book would take away all the beauty and messages that it has, and I don't want to do that. Instead, I wanted to just say that this book impacted me, and gave me a greater view on life and my faith. It has so many messages and themes in it, that it would be impossible to name them all without completely spoiling the book. I just wanted to say that I know everyone can find something for them in this book. I strongly recommend it. 

Rating: 5/5 worms

Just read it. You'll be glad that you did. 

Top Ten 2015 Debuts

Top Ten Most Anticipated Debut Novels of 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. They give bloggers a topic and we say our top ten things that fall under that list. Today we're talking debut novels, so let's jump right in!

1. My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga: This book just sounds quirky and weird, but also awesome! 

2. Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett: This sounds intensely creepy, but strangely interesting. 

3. Made You Up by Francesca Zappia: The cover drew me in on this one, but a book about schizophrenia sounds really good, especially since I just watched "A Beautiful Mind". 

4. Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley: Aza Ray is drowning in thin air. Does that not sound cool?

5. Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert: Another one with a cool cover and a really cool premise to back it up. 

6. I Am Her Revenge by Meredith Moore: Another twisted book, this one about revenge. This is definitely the theme for 2015! 

7. The Way We Bared Our Souls by Willa Strayhorn: People trading sorrows, literally? That sounds kinda awesome. 

8. Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra: I will read anything ballet, and this sounds like something I'll really like. 

9. When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez: Thirteen Reasons Why meet's poetry by Emily Dickinson? Count me in! 

10. Everything That Makes You by Moriah McStay: This book is about what happens if things go differently in life, and sounds epic! 

So that's my Top Ten Tuesday, feel free to leave your's down below!   

LAUREN

No More Chateau

 Today's post is a sad one for me, because today I'm talking about the closing of one of my favorite bookstores. No, this isn't an indie bookstore, but actually, a Barnes and Noble. But this Barnes and Nobles was special. In Rochester, MN, the old Chateau Theater was converted into a Barnes and Noble many years ago, and it was completely dazzling. Words can't do this place justice, so I'll just insert some pictures here.

  

Anyway, this bookshop was my favorite place to go when I was in the city; I would wander the shelves, look up at the starry sky, and gaze at the castle as I pondered my purchase. However, the Chateau Barnes and Noble has closed it's doors, and it's really saddening. I love supporting bookstores because I love to go to bookstores, especially this one. There is something special about walking through shelves of books and picking the right one for your mood at the moment, especially when you're walking through a medieval castle. I also loved getting something to eat at the Chateau Barnes and Noble and sitting down to read for awhile. The Chateau was mesmerizing, and I can't look at a normal Barnes and Noble the same way again.

The Chateau's future is still uncertain, but there is talk of it becoming a performing arts theater again. I hope this is the case, because this place is too historic to be closed forever. Tell me in the comments below if you guys have any historic bookshops in your area, because I would love to know.

Articles for more information:
What's next for the Chateau?
Barnes & Nobles closing the book on Rochester Store

New Year, Blog Changes?

Happy New Year! I hope that 2014 was a fantastic year for you, and I hope you're as excited for 2015 as I am. So, when I looked back on 2014 and made my list of booktubing resolutions for 2015, I noticed something. This blog gets neglected. I post one of two things a month if I'm lucky, and then I ignore it and focus on my YouTube channel. So this year it's my resolution to post more on my blog, preferably three times a week. I'm planning on posting my Booktube videos on here for you guys to see, as well as reviews, wrap ups, Top Ten Tuesdays, Waiting on Wednesdays, and some other stuff that I'm working on in my brain. I might miss some days, but I'm gonna give this a try. Now, let's rock 2015!

Lauren 

The Gift of Charms (The Land of Dragor) by Julia Suzuki

Title: The Gift of Charms

Author: Julia Suzuki

Publisher: Dino Books

Release Date: September 4, 2014

Pages: 288

Source: Author

Synopsis (Goodreads): In a secret land, far away from the habitation of man, dwell the world's remaining dragons -- hoping the dragsaur beasts have vanished forever. Here they try to live their daily lives, but all is not well and their talents are fading. 

Things change, however, when, from a strange egg, Yoshiko is born - a dragon with a unique destiny. 

Great adventure lies ahead as many challenges must be overcome, leading to a dangerous mission to the human world in attempt to return to the clans their missing magic!

Can Yoshiko make it in time?

My Review

I had never heard of The Gift of Charms before the author contacted me to review it, but I'm really glad that I read it. It's a really cute middle grade book that I flew through. 

The Gift of Charms tells the story of a dragon named Yoshiko, who is born different then any other dragon. It tells the story of his adventure that he undertakes and is a really quick read. I thought that the writing style was really easy to fall into and it kept me engaged throughout the book. I wish that the book would have gone a little more in depth and been a little bit longer, but it is a middle grade book so I totally understand why. 

I thought the world of Dragor was really interesting to read about, as well as the back story about this incredible land. There was a lot of information in this book that got carried throughout the story, so you got to see characters and events that were mentioned earlier come back in the end. The land of Dragor was described very well and I could picture the setting very well. The characters and clans were also described really well, and I had no trouble picturing the colored dragons. 

I found that I liked the main character Yoshiko more as the book went on. He started out rather whinny, and kind of hard to relate to, but as the book went on he really grew up both mentally and physically. He turned into a character that I enjoyed reading about. The other characters in this book were nice to read about too, especially Guya. I liked reading about some of the side characters stories, and would have liked to have known even more about them. 

Rating: 4/5 worms

This book is a very well written middle grade book that I would recommend to anyone who wants a fun and quick read! 

 

Broken City by D.D. Chant

Title: Broken City

Author: D.D. Chant

Release Date: February 11, 2011

Format: Ebook

Page Number: 363 

Source: Author

Synopsis (Goodreads): Deeta Richards has never seen the outside world. Before she was born a banking crisis brought civilization to an end and now no one leaves the safety of the compounds unless they need to, but Deeta still dreams of seeing more than the building she was born in. 

Tom is in the guard, this group are the only people that the tribal elders allow to leave the compound and Tom knows only too well that Deeta could never survive the harshness that exists outside. Then tragedy strikes and Deeta and her sister Jan find themselves captured by a hostile tribe. Why does Tom know so much about these people? And why do they know so much about him? As this mystery draws to a climax, they discover that their friend Tom is not quite what he seems...

My Review

Broken City took me way longer to read that I planned, but that was completely my fault. I had school, after school activities, and life in general, but that's besides the point. I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to discuss it. 

Broken City is set in a post apocalyptic world where the world is divided into various tribes, and many people never go outside. When I was reading Broken City, I thought that the world building and the descriptions of the world were beautiful and very vivid. There is a particular scene where the descriptions are particularly lovely. There are various settings, and I was able to imagine all of them with perfect clarity. There is a lot of information given to you about the world in this book, and I think I would have retained a lot more of this book if I read it in less sittings, but never the less, I really enjoyed the world. 

The characters were rather hard to keep straight. There were so many characters that I couldn't keep them all straight; this also might have been because I read this book during a long period of time. Deeta's character was good; she was very trusting and compassionate. Tom felt very guarded during the book, but you find out why in the end. I absolutely loved Jan as a character, because she was so spunky and funny. She had funny dialogue and I couldn't help thinking of Jan from the Brady Bunch when I was reading this book. Meeting the characters from other tribes was also really interesting, because you get to see the differences in their ways of life in the book. 

I really enjoyed D.D. Chant's writing style. There really weren't any slow parts, and the book kept a good pace. There was a lot of words I had never heard before, and I really appreciated the variety of vocabulary. A lot of the dialogue in this book was hilarious, and I marked various passages that I loved. I also liked that this book wasn't filled with instalove, and all of the romances were developed and drawn out.  I felt that the ending of the book was very abrupt, but there is a sequel, so I can understand the abruptness. 

Rating: 4/5 worms

I really, really enjoyed this book and I wish I would have read it quicker. This book is a really great post apocalyptic book that has a lot to offer!