On yesterday's topic..

Yes, I realize there haven't been any reviews lately. But I've had finals. And, sadly, they take priority over reviewing.



But I thought I'd share:




Bah. Study time again. AT LEAST IT'S THE LAST ONE!!

Twilight...

I was on the internet NOTSTUDYING, when I noticed THIS article which is called: 10 Ways Twilight has ruined a generation of high school girlfriends.

It's an article you definitely want to read.

Some tidbits from said article:

"It used to be hard to get a date in high school. Now, thanks to Twilight, it's got to be damn near impossible. What Mr. Darcy did for husbands, Edward Cullen is doing for boyfriends"
....
"So what makes Edward the Vampire Fantasy Boyfriend such a PR problem for real life teens who just want to get a date to take to dinner and hang out with at the prom? ..."

"9. Edward has super powers like running superfast and walking up trees, which he can perform while carrying you, making you feel very small and thin."

"3. At the beach, his skin turns into diamonds. Real boys turn red and blotchy."

Awesome, right?

Check out the ARTICLE to see number 1 and MORE!!

Waiting on Wednesday: Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson

The Waiting on Wednesday meme was created by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

My pick for this week is:
Pub Date: August 11, 2009


Patient Name: Leigh Nolan Age: 18 years Presenting Concerns: Leigh Nolan has just started her first year at Stiles College. She has decided to major in psychology (even though her parents would rather she study Tarot cards than Rorschach blots), despite reporting that she thinks, "Psychology is a load of crap." Patient has always been very good at helping her friends with their problems, but when it comes to solving her own...not so much. Patient has a tendency to overanalyze things, particularly when the opposite sex is involved. Like why doesn't Andrew, her boyfriend of over a year, ever invite her to spend the night? Or why can't she commit to taking the next step in their relationship? And why does his roommate Nathan dislike her so much? More importantly, why did Nathan have a starring role in a much-more-than-friendly dream? Aggravating factors include hyper-competitive fellow psych majors, a professor who's badly in need of her own psychoanalysis, and mentoring a middle-school-aged girl who thinks Patient is, in a word, nave. Preliminary treatment will include Introduction to Psychology, but may require more if she's going to answer these questions and make it through her freshman year. Diagnosis: Psych Major Syndrome

It seems like a fun, unique read.

I want! ;)

This is so sad...

Have you guys read this article yet?

It's so sad, yet so touching.

And really.

Why the $^&* could they not get her a wheelchair?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REVIEWER X

Okay. Thank god my sister told me that it was a month from her birthday. Because I thought it was June 17...(yes, I realize I am retarded. And potentially delusional.) HOWEVER, SINCE I NOW KNOW IT IS JUNE 18TH, I MUST PROCEED IN WISHING STEPH (REVIEWEX) A VERY AWESOME BIRTHDAY!

Reading Slump + Link on WHY you DON'T want to get published!

Check out the AWESOMEFUNNYLINK: HERE


And now a message from READER RABBIT:
Finals have put me into a horrid reading slump.
I've only been rereading old favorites, and can't bear to start anything new.
So.You guys need to recommend some new stuff that will pull me out!
Please? :)

<3
Reader Rabbit

Waiting on Wednesday: Cape Storm

Waiting on Wednesday originated over at Breaking the Spine.





My pick for this week is: Cape Storm by Rachel Caine
Pub date: August 4, 2009

Check the forecast for the series that’s “an addictive force of nature that will suck you in .” (News and Sentinel)Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin and her new husband, the Djinn David, are running from a malevolent hurricane bent on destroying her. Joined by an army of fellow Wardens and Djinn onboard a hijacked luxury liner, Joanne has lured the storm into furious pursuit. But even their combined magic may not be enough to stop it—nor the power-mad ex-Weather Warden controlling it...





If you're a fan of Rachel Caine's YA series, you should check out her Weather Warden series as well. :)

Contest Alert!

Giving It Away For Free(the only time Momma would approve)

Serena Robar is giving it away for free the entire month of June. That’s right. A book a day, every day in honor of her latest book release Giving Up the V. All you have to do to is sign up for her newsletter and you are entered to win. Enter once and you are in the running to win a book every day the entire month of June.

-Serena Robar

Giving Up The V, June 2009, Simon Pulse release

So much drama over one little letter.

Giving It Away for Free (the only time momma would approve)The entire month of JUNE

Enter to win a book a day, every day at www.serenarobar.com

Posh And Prejudice by Grace Dent

The sixth book in the Diary of a Chav series, Posh and Prejudice brings us back with Shiraz as she makes the decision to go back to school for her A-levels or not. After recieving her GSCE results, Shiraz is astounded to find out that she's not exactly thick...in fact, she may actually have some brains. After some deliberation, Shiraz decides to enter the Sixth Form and study her A-levels. In Sixth Form, Shiraz is joined by old classmates, friends and complete strangers as she tackles her AS-Levels. Shiraz begins to grow closer to her new classmates but with the newfound closeness comes a distancing from her longtime boyfriend, Wesley. But as Shiraz approaches the end to her AS-levels, she begins to wonder if school is really right for Shiraz Bailey Wood. Shiraz brings us on a mad ride as she makes witty observations, encounters interesting personas and learns who she is and what she values.

The major thing that makes Posh and Prejudice so enjoyable is Shiraz's character. Each page you read is distinctly Shiraz; she's literally spilling from every sentence in her mannerisms, speech (which tie to English surburbia slang) and her actions. Everything that she does, ridiculous or not is uniquely Shiraz even as she grows from the beginning to end.

Shiraz's changing relationships are also well portrayed. The distancing from Wesley, her growing closeness with Josh andthe ultimate reveal about one of them are all interesting and realistically shown.

The crew of characters created by Grace Dent are all fun and unique. From Shiraz's hardworking mom to her flighty best friend Carrie, the range of characters is wide. Each of them play their own little roles in the book with their interactions with Shiraz which she records in her diary. Overall, each character is integral to the book and each have their own little quirks that make them enjoyable to read about.

Overall, Posh and Prejudice is an enjoyable and fun read to pass the time. Fans of the Georgia Nicholson series will enjoy this one, so be sure to pick it up.


Rating:
Originality: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Readability: 7/10
Overall: 7.25/10

Happy Reading,
Reader Rabbit

20 Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

When Anna is invited to spend her summer vacation with her best friend Frankie in Zanzibar Bay, California, she, of course, says yes. And when Frankie deems their 20 Days in the bay to be one of boys and romance, Anna relutantly concedes. But Anna can't tell Frankie that she isn't in the mood for a whirlwind romance. She's still hung up on Matt, Frankie's older brother who died a year ago (The book is littered with moments from before his death, flashbacks of their friendship and romance.) In Zanzibar, the girls and Frankie's family find more than they had ever hoped for. For the family, Zanzibar Bay is littered with memories of Matt. And for Anna, the secret that she has kept rises to the surface, begging to be revealed. But how do you tell your best friend that you're in love with her dead older brother?

20 Boy Summer revolves around the effects of love and loss and I particularly adored the angle it took. Ever since Matt's death, Frankie has gone through a dramatic change. She's become so different that our protagonist, Anna, knows she never would have been friends with her if they had met after Matt's death. But they are, and Anna is Frankie's hold on normality in the midst of the family turmoil that the death caused. Since Matt's demise, Anna has had to suppress her grief and give the outward impression that she's fine as she has to be there for Frankie. But in reality, Anna is fixated on Matt, she isn't able to let go of him. In her notebook she recounts things to and about Matt. Anna still feels tied to Matt, though he's dead and gone. For Anna, the summer is about getting over Matt and perhaps learning to love again.

For Frankie's family, Zanzibar Bay has a different effect. Both of Frankie's parents have been dealing with Matt's death in their own way and going to visit the setting of many fun family vacations is hard for her mother and father to deal with. Since Matt's death, the family has been shattered and broken and unable to properly grieve. The vacation gives them a chance to grieve, reconnect and pick up the pierces of their lives. The parts including the family really made the novel for me. It really showed the entire ramifications of Matt's death. Children look to their parents in crisises but sometimes even they don't have it all together.

Sarah Ockler effectively and heartrendingly portrays the family and Anna's grief through the novel, but with it she leaves behind a message of hope.

That's not to say it's 100% perfect, as there are few things in life that are. For one thing, I wish there had been more characterization on Frankie. I felt like the Frankie in the flashbacks and the present day Frankie were disconnected. I would have liked a more...fluid progression?

Also, I did not like Anna's love interest Sam. I mean, he was fine and all but I didn't feel any connection between them either. What she felt for him paled from what she'd felt for Matt. I kind of would have preferred Anna to find a way to move on without a guy but Sarah Ockler made it work so whatever.

But all in all, 20 Boy Summer was pretty darn good, and for a debut novel? It's nearing amazing. Be sure to pick it up at a bookstore near you!

Rating:
Originality: 8.5/10
Characters:8/10
Readability: 8.5/10
Overall: 8.5/10


Happy Reading,
Reader Rabbit

Waiting on Wednesday:Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert

Waiting on Wednesday was created by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

My pick this week is: Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert (Pub: July 21, 2009)

Kara hasn't been back to Oak Park since the end of junior year, when a heroin overdose nearly killed her and sirens heralded her exit. Four years later, she returns to face the music. Her life changed forever back in high school: her family disintegrated, she ran around with a whole new crowd of friends, she partied a little too hard, and she fell in love with gorgeous bad-boy Adrian, who left her to die that day in Scoville Park....
Amid the music, the booze, the drugs, and the drama, her friends filled a notebook with heartbreakingly honest confessions of the moments that defined and shattered their young lives. Now, finally, Kara is ready to write her own.



Sounds good, I loved I Wanna be Your Joey Ramone....can't wait to read this one!

And stay tuned for the review of 20 Boy Summer!

Winners of a 20 Boy Summer Giveaway

It's time to announce the winners of the giveaway for 20 Boy Summer

Drumroll, please....


And the *3* WINNERS ARE:

1)Michelle Kuo
2)ilonga
3) Amee


We'll be emailing you guys soon. Or if you see this first, send us your address at deadly.chocolate*at*gmaildotcom

CONGRATS, GUYS

AND EVERYONE, THANK YOU FOR ENTERING!

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

16 year old Dru has always been fairly independent. But when she's forced to kill her father when he comes home. zombiefied, things get out of hand for her. See, Dru has, what her grandmother calls, "the touch." But now, Dru has no one to turn to and she knows whoever attacked her father is after her.

Graves, a strangely kind Goth boy, offers Dru comfort and a place to stay. His kindness gets him bitten by a werewulf and Dru, feeling guilty for exposing him to the Reel world so harshly, is forced to let him tag along as they deal with the supernatural creatures so adamant on killing Dru.

Luckily, just as things are beginning to look hopeless, another supernatural, Christophe who is a djamphir (the child of a vampire and a human) insists that he can help them. Dru and Graves have no choice but to accept his aid, as she is now the object of a hunt and she has no idea how to deal with it.

The main things that caught my eye in regards to Strange Angels were the unique cast of characters and that Strange Angels was packed with action (something that gave me the faintest reminder of Rachel Caine's Morganville Series.)

Point being. Dru is not exactly your average teenager and yet her quirks and her emotions let you relate to her, easily. Her worry and loneliness over her father and his death are realistically depicted and the parts of Dru's past that are shown help reveal why Dru is the way she is.

Graves and Christophe are also fairly unique, though they respectively could loosely carry the stereotype of the typical boy next door and mysterious guy found in many YA books. Graves and Christophe also have their own histories and their own motivations though Christophe and his secrets are much more dangerous, especially as he may know somethings about Dru that she doesn't even know

Secrets are hinted on and revealed in Strange Angels, the plot is fast-moving, though somewhat typical and while I wish there had been more development of Graves and Christophe, I'm sure they will be further explored in the sequel to Strange Angels.

Rating:
Originality:7/10
Characters: 8/10
Readability: 7/10
Overall: 7.5/10

Happy Reading,
Reader Rabbit

Waiting on Wednesday: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Waiting on Wednesday was created by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

My pick for today is: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Pub: Oct 13, 2009



Summary: Falling in love was never so easy . . .



or so deadly.

High school sophomore Nora Grey is irritated to find herself partnered in biology class with a "tall, dark and annoying" senior named Patch. But their barbed exchanges only showcase their undeniable chemistry, and Nora soon finds herself lured toward Patch's shadowy past, frequently enlisting her best friend Vee to help uncover his secrets.

Then, a vindictive young man from a nearby private school begins stalking Nora. He's been double-crossed, and he wants payback. Nora goes to the police, but they don't believe her. Alone and vulnerable, she turns to the only person she believes can help her - Patch. But when she discovers scars on his back, she realizes she may be in more danger than she bargained for: Patch, a fallen angel banished to Earth, has crossed centuries on a single-minded mission to get his wings back. But for his wish to come true, someone must die...and Nora may be the perfect sacrifice.

The plot sounds great and it has a swoon-worthy cover. And it's coming around my birthday, *hinthint*