Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski

Title: Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have)
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
ISBN: 9780061701245
Publisher: HarperTeen
Released: June 7, 2011
Page #: 254
Source: ARC from the publisher - yes, it's a late review

Summary:
"Like any sixteen-year-old would, April jumps at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free. Even though she had to tell her dad a tiny untruth to make it happen (see #1: 'Lied to Our Parents'). But she and her housemate, Vi, are totally responsible and know how to take care of themselves. How they ended up 'Skipping School' (#3), 'Throwing a Crazy Party' (#8), 'Buying a Hot Tub' (#4), and, um, 'Harboring a Fugitive' (#7) is kind of a mystery to them. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart... one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time."
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First Lines:

"I bolted awake. A police siren.
The police were outside my house. Ready to arrest me for underage partying, excessive flirting, and an overcrowded hot tub.
But wait."
Page 1
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Review:

There are only certain times when I really want to read a cutesy realistic book. And this book perfectly fulfilled the requirement.

This is the story of a girl whose parents both have moved out of her hometown (separately), but decided she could handle living there with her friend for the rest of the school year. Of course, her friend's mother is a flighty actress who will be in Chicago for the semester. They start to do some stuff that you would expect - big parties, random purchases, and issues figuring out how to do things on their own.

It's a fun trip into the irresponsibility of teenagers living on their own. Honestly, it was sort of the story that I wished I could be a teen with them. While there are things that seem to get them into trouble, I have to say that they seem super-responsible. Realistic, I'm not sure. I can't imagine too many parents finding out what their kids are capable of.

Anyway, I loved seeing April grow from a girl who depends on her dad for everything to a girl who can take care of herself and face very adult decisions. I think she is a very realistic character and grows in ways that are easily imaginable. I think the author does a good job of pulling in issues of birth control, sex, and STDs in a believable way. I think there are a lot of times that stuff is handled badly. I applaud this author for bringing those issues in without making it preachy.

Well, all in all, I truly loved this book. It took me a little time to get into the story, but once I was in I loved it. And I really didn't want it to be over, but the ending was really well done. I felt like things were pulled together well and realistic. I think that's been my buzz word for this review - realistic. I guess I just think the author did a great job keeping me involved in this story.

I will recommend this book to those that are into some definite chick lit stuff. I'm assuming it will be mostly girls - and it's a great book for relationships, dating and friendship. It's really well done. I haven't read other things by this author, but this book really makes me want to.
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Other Blog Reviews:

Chick Loves Lit
YA Reads
Jessica Lawlor
Taming the Bookshelf
Almost Grown-Up
The Book Scoop
YA Book Shelf
Stuck in Books

Out This Week Oct 30-Nov 5

Here are some wonderful books that are coming out this week...

• 11.1.11 iBoy by Kevin Brooks
• 11.1.11 Liar's Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce
  

• 11.1.11 Last Breath (Morganville Vampires #11) by Rachel Caine
• 11.1.11 Dark Eden by Patrick Carman
  

• 11.1.11 First Day on Earth by Cecil Castellucci
• 11.1.11 Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie
  

• 11.1.11 Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber
• 11.1.11 Sound Bender by Lin Oliver
  

• 11.1.11 My Very Unfairy Tale Life by Anna Staniszewski
• 11.1.11. Reckoning (Strange Angels #5) by Lili St. Crow
  

Waiting on Wednesday (76)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Here's what I'm waiting on this week...

Clockwork Prince (Infernal Devices #2)
by Cassandra Clare
To be released: December 06, 2011

Summary from Baker and Taylor:
"As the Council attempts to strip Charlotte of her power, 16-year-old orphaned shapechanger Tessa Gray works with the London Shadowhunters to find the Magister and destroy his clockwork army, and in the process, she learns the secret of her own identity while investigating his past. Features a previously unseen letter from Will to his family."

It's a short summary, but I'm pretty sure everyone and their mother is already waiting for this book. If you haven't read any of Cassandra Clare's books, the first book in this series is a great place to start. I actually like it better than the first one. Historicalish... fantasy... sexy shadowhunters?! What more could you want?!

What are you waiting on this week?

A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

Title: A Long Long Sleep
Author: Anna Sheehan
ISBN: 9780763652609
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Page #: 342
Released: September 26, 2011
Source: My local public library

Summary:
"Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is woken by a kiss.

Locked away in the chemically induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten subbasement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now her parents and her first love are long dead, and Rose - hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire - is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat.

Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existance, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes - or be left without any future at all."
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First Lines:

"I'd try to hold on to my stass dreams as long as I could. It's a game I would play, struggling to keep track of those misty images that were always so easily lost. I'd try to keep myself in stasis, keep my heart beating too slow to feel, refuse to wake up my lungs."
Page 1
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Review:

I was absolutely blown away by this book. Honestly, I’m going to try not to gush all the way through this review. But I was surprised at how much I loved it and I’m contemplating purchasing it – which is a big deal with me. :)

Okay, so this is a retelling of the sleeping beauty story… in a sci-fi/dystopian kinda way. Rose has been asleep for 62 years. She was forgotten during the Dark Times and was only woken because someone stumbled across her on accident. The whole world has changed and everyone she cared about is gone. Rose had been the daughter of a famous businessman and she wakes up to find out she owns the world’s largest company. But she’s under-aged. So other people make decisions for her and tell her what to do. But that all changes when she realizes someone is out to get her. She has to start fending for herself.

I know the whole re-told story has been really big lately. And so has the dystopian stuff. This book brings those two things together seamlessly. I think the author does an amazing job showing you how things might have been if Sleeping Beauty had lived in the near future, but then slept for another sixty two years. Can you imagine?! I can’t imagine someone waking up today that missed the last 62 years, can you?

I just have to say that the description of the Dark Times gives me the heebie jeebies. Seriously. The whole start of it sounds just like where we are right now. I can only imagine the rest of it happening without too much trouble. It’s super realistic and I applaud the author on that. Let’s just hope none of it really happens. If so, I want to be in stasis! :)

There were a few times that I really wanted to shake Rose and get her to DO something. She’s a little bit of a passive character, but you realize why later on. Things come together really well and you understand her character much better in the end. I think she has the potential to be a really strong character, you just have to get through her weaknesses to get there.

The ending of this book (which I won’t spoil) has so many twists and turns and questions answered that it almost blew me away. I think I said “OH NO!” outloud at least three or four times. This book has been able to elicit some actual emotion from me. There were parts where I teared up, for sure. A few laughs. Some great suspense… it really does have it all.

Read this one. Just do it. I’m recommending to anyone who will listen. I think this book will surprise you just as much as it surprised me. Not to mention that this is a debut author. I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us in the future! And I'm just gonna say this... I want more. I want more of this story. I think there's something to build on in the end and I want more. Take that for what it's worth... :)
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Other Blog Reviews:

Blkosiner's Book Blog
Narratively Speaking
Walker of Worlds
IB Book Blogging
YA Book Haven
Feeling Fictional
That's What She Read
The Book Smugglers

The Ghoul Next Door by Lisi Harrison

Title: The Ghoul Next Door (Monster High #2)
Author: Lisi Harrison
ISBN: 9780316099110
Publisher: Poppy
Page #: 241
Released: April 5, 2011
Source: My local public library

Summary:
"Clopatra De Nile
* New pet snake *Has Deuce - the hottest guy in school - all wrapped up *Herve Leger bandage dress, strappy gold platforms
Cleo was the queen bee of the RADs, the normies, and everyone in between at Merston High. But now it's 'Frankie this' and 'Melody that'... these new girls sure know how to get their lashes in a tangle. When Cleo lands a golden Teen Vogue photo op for her friends, everything seems to be back on track... until they bail to be in some film... Frankie and Melody's film! Can't a royal get some loyal?

Frankie Stein
Frankie lost her head over Brett once and vows to never do it again. Not that she has a choice: Bekka is clinging to her guy like plastic wrap. But when Brett comes up with a plan that could help the RADs live free, sparks fly, and Bekka will stop at nothing to put out the flames... even if it means destroying the entire monster community.

Melody Carver
The clock is tick-tick-ticking. Melody has a serious deadline to save her boyfriend, Jackson, from being exposed by the vengeance-seeking Bekka. But Cleo is making it royally difficult for the normie while threatening her acceptance into the RADs' exclusive group... a group that Melody suspects she has more in common with than she ever thought.

Fitting in is out."
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First Lines:

"The amber-infused air snapped with anxiety. It crackled with anticipation. It popped with impatience. Still, Cleo refused to rest until the de Nile Palace was fit for a king, even if the staff thought she was a royal pain in the -"
Page 1
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Review:

If you haven't read the first book in this series, I highly recommend it. Lisi Harrison is quite a fun author - I'm quickly learning that I should just read everything she writes.

This book is the second in the Monster High series. Cleo is our main girl this time and she is kinda pissed that she isn't the head honcho anymore. Well, she is... people have just forgotten it. She has to find her way back to the top by bribing her friends with a photo shoot. It works... but not as well as she'd hoped. You also get a taste for what Frankie's life is like these days. She had a huge slip up in the first book and she is learning how to cope. And not expose all of her new friends. It's quite the twisty road! :)

Seriously, I think the most fun thing about this book is the names and the maladies. I mean, Frankie Stein?! Come on, now. Too fun. The rest are equally awesome. I think that alone makes for a clever story. I also love some of the new characters in this book. One zombie, one fire breather, and much more. It gives the RADs and interesting dynamic, for sure.

Frankie is really good at coming up with plans, but not always great in figuring out how to impliment them. She finds a way to get people to stop "head hunting" the RADs... and in turn making the normies question everything they saw. And then she comes up with another plan on how to get normies to understand that RADs are just people too. That one backfires a little... but I'm not going to spoil it for you. I think I've been friends with a few of those planners before - not that we ever carried out any of the big plans like that. :)

I am also really starting to like the character Melody. She's trying to fit in with the RADs, but she isn't special in any way. But she knows what it is like to be judged by your looks/talents. It pulls in that topic of acceptance and all - from both sides. There is a little hint in the end that she may not be as normal as she thought... but I won't spoil it for you.

I really will be recommending this series to anyone who loves fantasy humor. This book is lighthearted and a very quick read. It's probably time for me to go request the third book in this series now - since it came out recently. I can't wait to see what else this author has up her super-stylish sleeves!
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Other Blog Reviews:

I Read to Relax!
Reading Vacation
The Road Goes Ever Ever On
"YA" Need Books
Braintasia Books
Bibliopunkk
Badass Bookie