THE READ CARPET PODCAST

Guys, this is a podcast you're going to be wanting to check out. We (as in my sister and I) will be two of the hosts for next time, which is super exciting.

Anyhoo, the contributers did a superfabulous job, and three cheers for Adele for setting it all up!
Whooohoo!

(Now go listen to it...seriously.)

GIVEAWAY OF FLYGIRL by Sherri L. Smith

Summary (from Amazon):Ida Mae Jones dreams offl ight. Her daddy was a pilot and being black didn’t stop him from fulfilling his dreams. But her daddy’s gone now, and being a woman, and being black, are two strikes against her.
When America enters the war with Germany and Japan, the Army creates the WASP, the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots—and Ida suddenly sees a way to fl y as well as do something signifi cant to help her brother stationed in the Pacific. But even the WASP won’t accept her as a black woman, forcing Ida Mae to make a difficult choice of “passing,” of pretending to be white to be accepted into the program. Hiding one’s racial heritage, denying one’s family, denying one’s self is a heavy burden. And while Ida Mae chases her dream, she must also decide who it is she really wants to be.

So, you've heard about it here and here. (and probably elsewhere.)

But here's YOUR chance to OWN this book.

Leave a comment with your email on this post (that is, unless you have a public blogger profile WITH an email.)
+1 if you mention this contest with a link to the post (this one) and tell me about it. Each time you mention it, you'll get another entry.

Contest will end on Febuary 6th, 2009.

So, ready...set...go. ENTER!

Waiting on Wednesday: Perfect Fifths

Wednesday January 28, 2009

Yay, it's Waiting on Wednesday time. Thanks to Jill over at Breaking the Spine for creating this.

The title that I'm lusting after this week is...

Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty.
Date of Publication: April 14, 2009


Summary (taken from Megan McCafferty's Site):Old flames are reignited in this eagerly awaited fifth and final book in the Jessica Darling series. Captivated readers have followed her through every step and misstep, from a tormented, tart-tongued teenager, to a college grad stumbling toward adulthood. Now a young professional in her mid-twenties, Jess is off to a Caribbean wedding. [SPOILER ALERT! Proceed with caution if you haven't read Fourth Comings.] As she rushes to her gate at the airport, she literally runs into her former boyfriend, Marcus Flutie. It’s the first time she’s seen him since she reluctantly turned down his marriage proposal three years earlier—and emotions run high. Marcus and Jessica have both changed dramatically, yet their connection feels as familiar as ever. Is their reunion just a fluke or has fate orchestrated this collision of their lives once again? Partly told from Marcus’s point of view, Perfect Fifths finally lets readers inside the mind of the only person who’s both troubled and titillated Jessica Darling for years. Expect nothing less than the satisfying conclusion fans have been waiting for, one perfect in its imperfection.

Sounds good, doesn't it? *squee* I can't wait till it's published. The only downside is the hit it's going to be taking on my wallet. $25 dollars. *gulp* But I'm sure it'll be worth it...

Evermore by Alyson Noel

January 26, 2009 After miraculously surviving the car accident that claimed the lives of her parents and youngest sister, Ever gains psychic abilities. She's able to read the minds of others, learn everything about them from just one touch and see auras. Weird, right? Well, on top of that, Ever's dead younger sister keeps on visiting her.

Ever's life will never be the same again. She's moved in with her Aunt Sabine and has pretty much everything that a girl could ask for(and more). But of course, all Ever wants is her family back. And for her psychic powers to be gone.

Her psychic powers force Ever to hide under her sweatshirts' hoods, listen to loud music she doesn't like and avoid peoples' touch to keep herself from being overwhelmed from the onslaught of her powers.

That's when Damen arrives at Ever's school. He's the one guy who doesn't have an aura, and who can silence the noise in her head. Damen is the "off switch" for the powers that Ever can't control. And of course, Ever is drawn towards Damen even though he's definitely not of this world.

Along with Ever's developing romance with Damen comes danger. Drina, a close friend of Damen's, takes a strange interest in Ever's friends. A dangerous interest...

But when Ever discovers what Damen really is, she must make a choice and decide if she and Damen are really meant to be together.

I've been looking forward to reading Evermore for the longest time. The plot summary and the cover art just got me. (I have a thing for purple. *ahem*) Anyways, this cover is enticing so props to the cover design people! Random ramble aside...

Lots of people seem to be comparing this book with Twilight* and the House of Night series. In terms of quality, I have to agree. Evermore is up to par with the well-read House of Night series.

The first person storytelling in Evermore, is intimate and emotional. Ever's voice is realistic; all of her reactions as a grieving teenager make sense. Many times, in YA novels, authors make little blunders portraying teenagers. I have to say that Alyson Noel manages to do it pretty darn well, if not perfectly. It was really easy to relate with Ever as she struggled with keeping away from Damen, dealt with her younger sister and tried to control her wayward powers.

The relationship between Damen and Ever is somewhat reminiscent of that between Edward and Bella. You know, that whole immortal thing, "I've waited for you for years" angle which is where the Twilight comparison probably comes in. Anyways, their evolving relationship is intriguing to read about (though, a few times, it felt a bit contrived...but just a little) especially as Ever starts to realize more and more about Damen.

Truth be told, Damen was overtly mysterious. I wanted to know more about him and I wanted his character to be more well-rounded. However, there is time for that to be accomplished as the Immortals series is 4 books long. Here's to hoping that the next book will explore Damen's character more.

And I definitely can't wait till the second book in the Immortals series comes out...just so I can find more out about Damen. And because the summary sounds like it has some promise (though it does seem a bit cheesy...but I'm sure Alyson Noel can pull it off.) The second book is titled Blue Moon and will be out in August 2009. (Yay, at least there won't be too much of a wait!)

Anyways, this is a book that deserves to be added to your bookshelf. So go on your favorite book purchasing site (Amazon?) and add this one to your shopping cart now. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Originality: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Readability: 9/10
Overall: 8/10 + a red tulip (read the book to find out what THAT means...hehe)

*It seems like I'm implying that Twilight is the standard that all YA books should try to emulate. I'm not.

Anyways..

Happy Reading,
Reader Rabbit

So.

Opinions on the new layout? (Courtesy of blogbuster.com since we are html-challenged.)

Yay or nay?
ETA:
ANYONE KNOW HTML

The date appears to have VANISHED!!

The Rule of Won by Stefan Petrucha

"The secret of The Rule of Won is simple, yet its power has been suppressed for generations. The universe is one of infinite abundance—ask, and you shall receive."

When newcomer, Ethan, comes to town and starts up a new club based on the mantra of the book, The Rule of Won, the entire school is fascinated by the idea.

Students flock to the meetings, known as "Craves", where Ethan convinces them to "imanifest" their desires into existence. If they want something enough, he insists, you will have it.

Of course, slacker Caleb doesn't want to have anything to do with the group. It's only when his overachieving girlfriend basically forces him to join, that he does so.

Slowly, Caleb begins to become a believer when things that the group has been imanifesting for come true.

That is, until Caleb sees that things have become way out of hand. One of his friends, Erica, has been doing horribly in her algebra class and instead of studying, she spends all her time writing "I will pass my next algebra test" in her notebook.

It doesn't stop there. Things continue to escalate out of control as more and more people begin to follow The Rule of Won. In fact, they become fanatics.

As the club continues to become increasingly destructive, Caleb realizes exactly what he's gotten into and that he has to do something to stop it.

But can slacker Caleb stop slacking to save the day? Read The Rule of Won to find out.

I've only heard positive things about this book and I have to say that it lived up to every one of them.

The main character, Caleb, is perfect for the role that Petrucha casts him in. Despite being a notorious slacker, Caleb is insightful and witty. Also, he is well-developed; it is easy to see why Caleb makes the decisions he does.

The voices of the other characters' are also distinct. For instance, it is easy to distinguish the different people who write the entries on the message board that the Rule of Won members use even though those characters are pretty minor.

The one thing that bothered me was how undeveloped the relationship between Caleb and his ex-girlfriend was. I didn't quite understand why Caleb still wanted to be with her. However, it's a minor complaint and doesn't really detract all that much from the novel.


Overall, The Rule of Won is an insightful look into what happens when people begin to blindly follow an inane cause. And it's not at all preachy. Instead, it's honest, funny and a must-read.

Rating:
Originality: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Readability: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Go read it. Now!

-Reader Rabbit

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

Like father, like daughter. Flying is in Ida Mae's blood, she never feels happier than when she's in the air. Unfortunately, everything seems to be working against her, now that her dad is gone, to keep her from flying.

Then the second world war starts. Ida Mae's brother enlists in the army but Ida still feels that she could do something to help. And maybe she could even fly again.

Women were not allowed to be pilots in the United States Army but there was a new program known as WASP (or Women Airforce Service Pilots.) that she could possibly enlist in. WASP would allow her to do her part, as the lack of able bodied men in the country had caused a need for pilots to ferry planes to drop off points.

But there is a slight catch...colored people aren't allowed to join WASP. Luckily, Ida Mae has very light skin (her father was part white), that she's inherited from her father, and she has her father's pilot license. She uses this to gain entrance into the WASP training program.

However, Ida Mae's true roots are never far from her mind. Exposure would mean arrest and expulsion and she can't dare let that happen. But even as Ida Mae's dreams of flying are realized; Ida must decide who she wants to be and figure out if WASP is what she really wants.

One thing I can say about Flygirl, is that it definetely surpassed my expectations. I never expected to really enjoy this book...but I did. Which is a plus, for sure.

Flygirl deals with alot of tough topics like discrimination and racism. Ida Mae is discriminated against because of her skin color and because of her gender. It's hardhitting and really show how life must have been like for those people back then.

My favorite part of this novel was the relationship that developed between Ida Mae and two other women who were also training to be part of WASP. (*spoiler*I was worried, before she entered the training camp, that her race would be discovered by some bitchy fellow trainee and it'd be held over her head for the entire book. Thank goodness it didn't...)

Anyways, the friendship between Ida, Lilly and Patsy was really well done, I think. The trials and tribulations they faced in the camp made it so much more realistic and understandable. You can see these women bond over their love of flying and when a disaster strikes the trio, it just hurts that much more.

Ida's relationship with the people back home (ie. her mother, brothers and her friend Jolene) are also remarkably well done, I think. You can see Ida's mother's conflict with letting her daughter go off to fly especially with Ida's older brother off at war. All of it is just so heartwrenching and shows the problems that people went through because of the war with their losses and so on.

I'm not saying that the characterization was fantastic or that the storytelling was the best thing ever...but I will say that Sherri L. Smith pulled off the story well. History buffs, make sure you pick this one up when it's released tomorrow!

Rating:
Characterization: 6/10
Readability: 8/10
Originality: 8/10
Overall:7.75/10

Happy Reading,
Reader Rabbit

Free Ebook:Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan LIMITED TIME ONLY and giveaway!

Penguin is having a promotional free ebook event in celebration of the 6th book of the bestselling Ranger's Apprentice Series! This promotion will run until Febuary 15th...so get reading!

Now, for the giveaway part.

Penguin has kindly offered to donate book 6 (which is being published in the summer) ARCs for a contest!

To enter:

Comment here for 1 entry.

Link the contest from your blog for another entry for another entry! Make sure you include the link in a comment.
This contest will run until Febuary 15th...


To read it or scroll down below to see the embeded book!

They have always scared him in the past—the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied. . . .


Read the embeded book below:

Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan

Publish at Scribd or explore others: eBooks fantasy young adult

Now isn't that awesome?

Happy Reading,

Reader Rabbit
ETA: We'll be giving away two copies instead of one!

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

Deirdre Monaghan is a gifted harpist...except when it comes to actually performing. She always hurls right before a performance. So right before a big performance, Deirdre ends up hiding backstage dreading her upcoming performance because of her extreme stage fright. Of course, that's when the mysterious man she's been dreaming of (literally) comes along, calms her down and helps her through her performance. As following the cliche, Deirdre is drawn to the strange man and Luke has secrets that he can't tell...secrets that could kill him.

Weird, unheard things begin to happen to Deirdre. Four leaf clovers begin popping up everywhere. Her musical talent increases tenfold, she starts reading minds....and she even gets the power of telekinesis.

As things get stranger and more dangerous, Deirdre has to figure out exactly what Luke is, who she can trust and what the fae want from her.

I swear, fairie books have taken over the YA genre. At least for now. And I'm not complaining, not when gems like Lament are around.

Deirdre's character is realistic and she's an easy character to relate to and to feel sympathy for. Watching her grow and change over the short span of the novel was enjoyable and I love how she was such a dynamic character. Static characters...generally suck. Anyways, her reactions to the events were believable for the most part and so were the changes she went through in the novel.

Deirdre's best friend, James, was also well-developed. His reactions, his self...it was all done wonderfully. I would love to read more about him.

And of course, Deirdre's grandmother, Granna, was one of my favorite characters. I loved her relationship with Deirdre and her personality.

I do wish that Deirdre's aunt and parents had been more developed as I felt there was quite a bit of potential there. Oh well.

Deirdre's relationship with Luke was introduced well, I think. The build-up was gradual and believable and worked well with the rest of the storyline. It also helps that Luke's character was done well; while reading Lament, I wanted to know more about his life.

Finally, I adore the way that music was written into the novel. It gives Lament an extra flavor that sets it apart from other YA faerie novels. My appreciation for music elevated while reading Lament and I'm not even a musician! (In fact, I even quit piano and flute...because I couldn't stand playing.) So if it worked for me, then Lament should work for you!

Overall, Lament is a beautiful story that many readers will enjoy. There's something for everyone in this lyrical and unpredictable novel; even for those of you who don't particularly like faeries...

So don't forget to buy it now :)

Rating:

Characterization: 8/10

Plot: 9/10

Readability: 9/10

Overall: 8.75/10/...rounded to 9/10

Happy Reading,

Reader Rabbit

Midterms

Had them/Have them?
Which ones?

And don't they just suck.

Twilight: The Movie

(Also known as, a very late review of a movie that RR1 watched a few months ago and RR2 watched a few weeks ago. But, hey, it might be in time for the DVD release?)

I waited to watch Twilight for while (my sister watched it when it first came out) just to see whether people thought it was worth shelling the 12 bucks to go see it. The verdict: not quite but it came close.

The movie starts off with Bella bemoaning her move and contemplating death. She goes to school, everyone loves her except Edward. Edward pouts whenever he sees her. Bella finds this irresistable. She discovers that he's an evil monster vampire and yet decides that she can't live without him.

(End of first half)

In the second half, all of sudden, James and his cronies turn up and try to kill Bella. And of course, pouty Edward and his fellow crew of good vamps, come to the rescue! (And then he proceeds to suck her blood. Yumyum. And of course all the girls in the theatre moaned and groaned about how they'd do anything to have Edward suck THEIR blood!)

I never really felt any chemistry between Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Their love seems really creepy/stalker-like. Appearing in her bedroom at night? Following her around? You know, Bella, now would have been a good time to take out that pepper spray...

I felt as if the book gave much more depth to their relationship. Which makes me wonder how much people who didn't read the book liked the movie..thoughts, anyone?

Kristen Stewart was okay with Bella. She could have done a much better job but with the script and the characters she was given to play, I don't think she could have done much better. And it's not like she matters much. No one really cares about Bella. They're all reading (or watching) Twilight for Edward.

Robert Pattinson: I'll give him this, he's very good at pouting (which is basically all he does for the first half of the script). He did...a good job? Fine, he did an okay job. Good really isn't a term I want to waste on his performance.

Jacob Black: I can't get past the hair. I'm sorry, okay? I can't wait till he cuts his hair in New Moon...

As for the meadow scene, it looks like RPattz is sweating profusely. O.O Quite nasty, if you ask me. Couldn't they have done a better job. OR PERHAPS. COULDN'T THEY HAVE GOTTEN A BIGGER BUDGET?

Summit had to know Twilight was going to be a huge moneymaker (I refuse to say hit. It wasn't a hit. It was a MISS.) They should at least had the decency to pony up some extra cash to keep the effects from making our eyes bleed.

But, it wasn't all bad. There were some moments when the script made me genuinely laugh out loud. The special effects weren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be (possibly because I had super-low expectations). Although, seriously, I'm left wondering how they're going to do the Breaking Dawn birth scene. Because, it is  gonna be nast-ay. Anyways, I do have to say that the place where it was shot was just gorgeous.

And I suppose that the movie stayed pretty much true to the book-passages of the book were incorporated into the script. But then again, the translation from paper to screen really wasn't all that smooth...
 

So....the verdict's gonna have to be...

 It was horrid. Horrid enough that I'm going to shell out that $12.50 next year and go see New Moon when it comes out, just because I'm sure the entire thing will be unintentional comic relief.

Happy Watching,
You Know Who

(And yes, Harry Potter owns Twilight. Any day.)

Waiting on Wednesday

First time ever doing this :) It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

"Don''t worry, Anna. I''ll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it.""Okay.""Promise me? Promise you won''t say anything?""Don''t worry." I laughed. "It''s our secret, right?"According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in ZanzibarBay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there''s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there''s something she hasn''t told Frankie---she''s already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie''s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

Published:June 1, 2009

Just added this one to my Chapters wishlist. Love the cover and the premise. Dang, why does June have to be so far away...

Xen: A Novel from the Future by DJ Solomon...

Someone, convince me to read thisss....
I'm supposed to return to a friend so she can read it and write an essay for a schoalrship.
And that means, I'll never see it again. Or at least not in time for ME to write an essay.
Oh goodness...

http://www.sffworld.com/book/4120.html


I'm thinking that I don't want to write that essay.

Why didn't anyone tell me...

..that Speak was a movie?

For those of you who are in YA darkness and have not been introduced to one of Laurie Halse Anderson's hardhitting novels, Speak is possibly a YA classic. In fact, it's tenth anniversary is this year.

I, first, discovered one of her books when Catalyst was nominated for an award in my library. A few years later, I read Twisted because the cover told me not to. Nothing like a bit of reverse psychology to get you to pick up a book. (coughLemonySnicketcough). A few months ago, I read Speak and it completely blew me away.

So, when I heard there was a movie, I had to watch it. (Yes, indeed, it's one of those elusive movie reviews).

It's interesting that in Twilight, a lot of people criticized Kristen Stewarts bodily and facial movements. Here, in Speak, all the acting she has to do is through her facial and bodily movements because Melinda doesn't speak. And, I think that Kristen Stewart was probably the best actor in this movie. The rest were pretty meh but it wasn't particularly bothersome because the movie mostly focussed on her.

Another good thing-Kristen Stewart actually looks like a sophomore as opposed to all those movies where the characters look like they've failed a couple of grades. 

And, if you're one of those people who are sick of movie's chopping books up, well, you'll be glad to hear that this one stays mostly true to the book. Definitely one of the better book-to-movies.

Basically, if you haven't watched it and loved the book, do so now. 

Happy Watching!

-the Rabbits