Waiting on Wednesday (25)

For those of you that don't know, Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where book bloggers devote a post to an upcoming book release they are particularly looking forward to reading.

THIS WEEK'S PICK:

EVERY OTHER DAY BY JENNIFER LYNN BARNES

Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

I have read Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised by Wolves and Trial By Fire and absolutely loved both books. She is an absolutely fantastic writer and I just can't wait to see what she has come up with in Every Other Day. Plus the premise for the book sounds really interesting. 

Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes will be published December 27th, 2011 by EgmontUSA.

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld + Q&A with Author

Title: Goliath (Leviathan #3)

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR

Release Date: September 20, 2011

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Alek and Deryn are aboard the Leviathan when the ship is ordred to pick up an unusual passenger. This brilliant/maniacal inventor claims to have a weapon called Goliath that can end the war. But whose side is he really on?

While on their top-secret mission, Alek finally discovers Deryn's deeply kept secret. Two, actually. Not only is Deryn a girl disguised as a guy...she has feelings for Alek.

The crown, true love with a commoner, and the destruction of a great city all hang on Alek's next--and final--move.

I couldn't wait to get started on reading Goliath and find out who the trilogy ended. This is a series I had enjoyed since the beginning, and if anything the final instalment was even better than the previous two. It was most definitely a great conclusion to an awesome trilogy.

After having played an important part in the Ottoman Revolution, Deryn and Alek are back aboard the Leviathan, which is now headed to the Far East. Alek's secret has been revealed to the entire world, and life aboard the airship has changed for him. At least he hasn't been declared a prisoner and can still roam freely on the Leviathan. Deryn has more than proven she is a great soldier and that she deserves her place aboard the great airship. But her secret has to stay hidden for that to continue. So when she reveals her true identity and her feelings to Alek, everything seems like it's going to fall apart. But this may turn out to be the least of her worries when things aboard the Leviathan take a turn for the interesting. With crazy inventors and reporters now on board the airship, Alek and Deryn will find out that keeping secrets may become more and more difficult.

I cannot even begin to describe just how much I love the story that Scott Westerfeld created in this trilogy. In Goliath, the story was taken to a whole other level, and there was never a dull moment. I just kept turning page after page. The story captivated me from start to finish and it was a truly great conclusion to the series. No matter how well I know the events and facts of World War On, Scott Westerfeld writes so well that I start having trouble distinguishing what he simply changed from what he made up altogether. That's just how good of a writer he is.

Oh how I love the characters in this series. Alek is so much more than an overprotected and spoiled prince. I have absolutely loved seeing him come into his own over the course of the three books. If anything, by the end of Goliath he was pretty much as far away from being a prince as he possibly could and his evolution and who he became just made me love him more. Though Deryn is the character that completely makes the book for me. Everything about her just makes her leap off the page and feel completely real. more than anything she just makes me laugh. What I loved more than anything was how the relationship between Deryn and Alek completely changed when the truth was revealed about Deryn, but at the same tim stayed the same. And that's how I could see they really cared about each other. I have to admit though, what amused me the most were the perspicacious loris; they just cracked me up every time they spoke. Too bad they don't really exist.

Goliath was a fantastic conclusion to an even more amazing trilogy. It was a truly incredible journey from start to finish. I know I will definitely miss these characters and this world. 

                                                                                           

Q & A With Author Scott Westerfeld

You say in the afterword of all three books in the Leviathan trilogy that some elements of the story are true and others are fiction. How did you choose what to keep true to history and what to change or make up?

I keep the interesting bits and throw the boring ones away. The fact that the assassination of one aristocrat ignited the war is so tragic and strange, and the fact that Franz Ferdinand had a son (who might feel responsible for the entire war, given that his own family tragedy started it) was fascinating. So that was a keeper. The fact that armored vehicles didn't exist in 1914 was rather boring, so I ignored it and gave Alek an awesome walking tank.

Steampunk stories more often take place in Victorian Era Britain. Why did you choose to retell the events of the beginning of the First World War instead?

The Great War is a very strange era for technology. Many of the familiar components of modern warfare, like planes and tanks, appear in World War I, but the forms they took look quite odd to us now. (There are planes with three wings, for example, and the tanks looked like boilers on tractor treads.) So in a way, the fantastical machines of steampunk weren't too far away from the realities of that time, so this era makes steampunk more real, in a way. I also wanted to take the fanciful elements of alternate technologies and place them in a very serious context, a war that became the symbol of all that is wrong with war.

The way Goliath ends sort of leaves a door open and a possibility for more stories about Deryn and Alek. Do you think you will ever go back to their stories?

There will be a guide to the world called The Manual of Aeronautics, a full-color large-format collection of art from behind the scenes. Keith, my illustrator, created deck plans for the Leviathan, cutaways of the vehicles, and color rendering of all the uniforms and beasties. As for going back to Alek and Deryn as characters, I'm not sure. If I do, it will probably be in another medium, like manga or film.

Thank you to Scott Westerfeld for answering these questions and be sure to grab your own copy of Goliath, in stores today!

In My Mailbox (14)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. It's a post where we talk about the books we received during the week either for review, from the bookstore or anywhere else.

This week I'm going to be showing two weeks' worth of books. These past weeks have be quite good for me book wise, though I didn't receive any books for review. But I still bought a fair amount. So here's what I got these past two weeks.

Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater (Flux October 1st, 2009) - I’m not going to say the same thing twice but I’m really existed to read this series and see how it compares with Maggie Stiefvater’s Wolves of Mercy Falls series.

Lament by Maggie Stiefvater (Flux October 1st, 2008) - I absolutely love Maggie Stiefvater’s Wolves of Mercy Falls series so I decided to pick up her other series. I’ve heard some people say that they liked this series better than the Shiver series. I’ll have to see for myself.

Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon (Hyperion September 21st, 2010) - I’ve been seeing this one at the bookstore for quite come time but never picked up. I recently heard someone talking this book up and it sounded really interesting so I decided to give it a shot.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic July 12th, 2011) - There is obviously a lot of Maggie Stiefvater in this In My Mailbox. This is the final book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together and what happens to some of my favorite characters.

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles (Walker August 16th, 2011) - I was so excited when this book arrived in my mailbox. I have been waiting for it since last year and I can’t wait to read it. Luis always seemed like the good brother so it will be interesting to see what’s going to happen to him and go back to see what happened to the other two Fuentes brothers.

Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt (Simon & Schuster July 12th, 2011) - I’ve never really read anything by Lauren Barnholdt but every time I go to the bookstore I see her books and am tempted to pick one of them up. I finally gave in and got one so we’ll see what happens. Plus, I don’t read anywhere near enough contemporary.

We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han (Simon & Schuster April 26th, 2011) - Another final book in a series. This is a contemporary series that I really enjoy and I can’t wait to see what is happening with the characters. The biggest mystery has to be who will Belly end up with, Conrad or Jeremiah?

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger (Poppy September 5th, 2011) - Kody Keplinger is a genius. I loved her first book when I read it last year, and if anything Shut Out was even better. I’ve already read it and it was so good I did so in the span of a few hours. You can definitely expect to see a review of this one soon.

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann (Aladdin August 30th, 2011) - I don’t read a lot of Middle Grade books, but every time I do I always enjoy them. I decided to pick this one up because I’ve heard a lot of great things about the book and its author so we’ll have to see. Plus it’s dystopian, how can it really go wrong?

So that's all for me this week. My classes are starting up again on Monday so I expect to be quite busy. But I'll always find the time to read. 

What did you get in your mailbox?

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Title: Hereafter (Hereafter #1)

Author: Tara Hudson

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: June 7, 2011

Source: Gifted

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

The only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead, trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. But everything changes when she finds Joshua drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

But as Amelia and Joshua struggle to keep their secret bond hidden from the living, a frightening spirit is doing everything in his power to drag Amelia back into the ghost world...forever.

I'll admit, what originally drew me in to Hereafter was the absolutely gorgeous cover. Of course the ideo of a ghost story also sounded really interesting, but it was truly the cover that got me to read the book. As it turned out, there was a lot more to this book than just a pretty cover.

There isn't much that Amelia remembers about herself. She knows her name and she knows that she's eighteen years old. And she knows that she died drowning in a river after having thrown herself off of a bridge. What she doesn't know is how long she's been a ghost or why she threw herself off the bridge. If that's even what happened. When one day a car falls in her rive, Amelia does everything she can to save the boy in the car, Joshua, from the same fate she suffered. And then everything changed. Even though he is very much alive, Joshua can see Amelia. Not only that, but he can even talk to her and touch her. With Joshua's help, Amelia may finally be able to discover who she is and exactly what happened on the night that she died. But as the two work together to uncover the mysteries of Amelia's past, more than just secrets may come to light.

I absolutely love ghost stories and it was no different with this one. The story was mesmerizing and pulled me in right from the first page. I just had this need to know more about the characters, especially when it came to finding out exactly what happened to Amelia on the night that she died. And the way Tara Hudson writes just made me want to keep reading until there was nothing left to read. Her words just flowed on the page and were absolutely wonderful. I loved her way of telling the story and especially the voice she gave Amelia as the narrator. With Hereafter, the writing was definitely a large part of why I enjoyed the story as much as I did.

Amelia was great as a narrator but I sometimes had trouble with her as a character. At times she came off as a bit whiny, but eventually I came around to her. I guess if I had been all alone with no one able to see me for an indefinite period of time I would do a fair amount of complaining myself. What I did like about her was all the mystery surrounding where she came from. As for Joshua, I didn't really like how easily he accepted that Amelia was a ghost, but other than that I liked him. What I especially liked about him was that he was ready to stand up for Amelia when the time came to do so, even if he wasn't sure how everything going on as possible. As for the relationship between Amelia and Joshua, I really liked it. The way it was done didn't feel like overkill, it was just right.

Overall, Hereafter was a very enjoyable read, one I would recommend to those who enjoy a good story with a ghost. I now look forward to reading whatever comes next from Tara Hudson.

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Title: Forgive My Fins (Fins #1)

Author: Tera Lynn Childs

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: May 19, 2010

Source: Library

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it's not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you're a normal teenage girl, but when you're half human, half mermaid, like Lily, there's no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily's mermaid identity is a secret that can't get out, since she's not just any mermaid--she's a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn't fell quite at home in Thalassinia, and she's been living on land and going to Seaview High School ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems--like her obnoxious biker-boy neighbour, Quince Fletcher--but it has that one major perk: Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren't really the casual dating type--the instant they "bond", it's for life.

When Lily's attempt to win Brody's love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily ever after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.

Why I waited so long to read Forgive My Fins is a complete mystery to me. It was such a fun, light read and I enjoyed every page of it. I knew a mermaid story would be fun, I just had no idea it would be this fun.

Of course everyone in high school has secrets, but Lily's secret is bigger than most. The thing about her is that she's half human and half mermaid. That only makes high school that much more complicated for Lily, because she has a lot more on her plate than just being a mermaid. Her crush, Brody, doesn't really seem to return her affections she is determined to take him to her father's kindgom, Thalassinia, and make him her mermate for life. But not everything goes quite as planned. And the reason for that is Quince Fletcher, Lily's annoying next door neighbour, who just seems to butt in everywhere he's not needed. And now he has screwed up all of Lily's plans. What starts out as a simple case of mistaken identity ends ups completely changing the outlook of Lily's love life and causing a lot more drama than she ever thought possible.

This book was nothing if not absolutely adorable. And how could that not be when it's about a half human, half mermaid girl going to a regular high school. All this to say, I just loved this story and everything that came along with it. The story was nothing extraordinary or deep, but it was the perfect light summer read. One of my favorite aspects of the book was how real all of the settings felt, whether it was on land or in the water. It was amazing how easily I could picture Thalassinia and the whole world under the sea Tera Lynn Childs created. Though my absolute favorite part was all the sea related vocabulary Lily used in her expressions. It just made me laugh every time.

Lily was so much fun. I loved her right from the start though at times she really frustrated. Especially when it came to Brody. She just seemed completely blind to the fact that he in no way returned her affections. But still, her crazy plans to win him over amused me to no end. That and her fish related expressions had me constantly giggling. Quince was also pretty awesome. To me, it was quite obvious right from the start that he had a thing for Lily and that whole situation kept me amused. But at the time time, I felt really bad for him because Lily was so oblivious to it all. Let's just say I was totally rooting for him the whole way through.

Forgive My Fins was a fantastic read and I enjoyed every page of it. I can't wait for more of Lily's mermaid adventures when I read the sequel, Fins Are Forever.