Saturday, November 29, 2008

Paper Towns


(From Barnes & Noble) Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

Paper Towns could be the best book of 2008! Is it perfect? No (but what book is?), yet John Green has created a phenomenal story that mixes romance, adventure, mystery, and humor. All the things that make up a fascinating, page-turning read.

I absolutely loved the characters--with the exception of Margo. Q was a character to whom I could easily relate. He was the typical guy next door--smart, considerate, and strong. His friends, Radar and Ben, added humor to the story. Radar was the cool, closet nerd with a good heart and embarrassing parents. Ben was the hilarious, free-willed friend that every person longs to have. Margo, on the other hand, just had too many issues. I like complicated characters, but Margo seemed to have gone off the deep end. While I understand her motives, her actions and timing remain confusing to me.

The settings and mysterious plot flowed nicely together, as each place in Paper Towns is relevant in its own way. This said, John Green has this magical gift of giving every place and every action a deeper meaning than a reader might expect.

I was anticipating that Paper Towns would be an exceptional story since it was written by John Green, the literary genius. I was not disappointed, in fact, it exceeded my expectations! Fans of other John Green novels and Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why will once again be spellbound by thought-provoking material and extraordinary characters.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Another Awesome Contest!

Carol from Bookluver-Carol's Reviews is hosting a contest in time for the holidays. The lucky winner will receive up to $30 worth of books of their choice!

Enter HERE before December 15. This is one contest you don't want to miss!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Waiting on Wednesday


Waiting on Wednesday is an idea that I borrowed from Steph over at Reviewer X, one of my favorite blog sites.

My first pick for Waiting on Wednesday is Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers.

From Courtney's website: Perfect Parker Fadley isn’t perfect anymore. She’s quit the cheerleading squad, dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she’s failing school. Her parents are on suicide watch and her counselors think she’s playing games. But what they don’t know, the real reason for this whole mess, isn’t something she can say out loud. A horrible thing has happened and it might be her fault…

First, let me say that I love the cover of this book. Of course, I am drawn to a book by its cover; however, I usually find something about it that I do not like. This cover is amazing and I find no fault with it.

After reading a couple of early reviews of this book and the excerpt from Courtney's page, I am eager to read it. I am intrigued about what the "horrible thing" is. For some reason, I immediately think it is something similar to what happened to Audrey in Good Girls by Laura Ruby or Melinda in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (I highly recommend both books).

If you are like me and cannot wait to get your hands on this book, you won't have to wait long. Cracked Up to Be is set to be released on December 23 (that's right, 2 days before Christmas, for all you last minute shoppers)!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

The Season Giveaway

The ladies from My Favorite Author are hosting a contest!!! Up for grabs is an ARC of Sarah MacLean's The Season. This book does not come out until March 2009, and if you are like me, there is no way you can wait so long to read this book.

What are you waiting for? Follow the link and ENTER now!!!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Jennifer Banash Chat

Last night I had so much fun. Chelsea from The Page Flipper hosted an author chat with Jennifer Banash. I have never read the books from The Elite series; however, I've been dying to, which is why I joined in on the chat.

Jennifer Banash was awesome! She was so down to earth and funny. In the chat group,we discussed everything from Jennifer's books to sensitive guys vs. bade boys to 80s movies. After seeing how genuine Jennifer is and hearing the other bloggers rave about the books, I will be purchasing The Elite during my next trip to Borders!

* special thanks goes out to Chelsea, Lauren, Kristi, Paradox, Sarah Ockler (author of Twenty Boy Summer), Khy, Carol, Sarahbear and all the other bloggers who made me feel as though I have been a part of the online community forever!!!

Saturday, November 08, 2008

One More Contest Before the Next Review!

Okay, I know I promised the next post would be a review, but I am a super slow reader these days. Part of this is because I have been so busy that I don't recall picking up a book in the last 4 or 5 days. This weekend, I plan to devote my time to reading, but while you are waiting, check out this contest...

Elaina from Reading Mania is hosting a contest! The contest ends November 15. Elaina is going to be reviewing some pretty awesome books and all you have to do to be entered in the contest is post a comment. It doesn't get much easier and the prizes are awesome. Visit the link and enter TODAY! (I did.)

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Top 8 Contest

Ok, so I know it's past time for another review. I assure you that one is on the way. In the meantime, I wanted to notify everyone of another contest going on--cause let's face it--everyone loves a good contest.

The Book Vault is hosting a contest--and get this--giving away 5 copies of Top 8 by Katie Finn. The contest ends at midnight November 16, so hurry up for your chance at one of these books!