Waiting on Wednesday (111)

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

Spark (Sky Chasers #2)

by Amy Kathleen Ryan

To be released: July 17, 2012

Summary from Barnes and Noble:

"Waverly, Kieran and Seth are in a race against time – and with the future of humanity hanging in the balance, there’s no room for mistakes…

After a desperate escape from the enemy ship, Waverly has finally made it back to the Empyrean. The memory of home has been keeping her alive for the past months… but home is nothing like she left it. Forced to leave their captive parents behind on the New Horizon, she’s returned only to find that Kieran has become a strict leader and turned the crew against Seth. What happened to the Kieran she thought she knew? Now Waverly’s not sure whom she can trust. And the one person she wants to believe in is darkly brilliant Seth, the ship’s supposed enemy. Waverly knows that the situation will only get worse until they can rescue their parents – but how?

Before they have time to make a plan, an explosion rocks the Empyrean, and Seth and Waverly are targeted as the prime suspects. Can they find the true culprit before Kieran locks them away… or worse? Will Waverly follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? Now more than ever, every step could bring them closer to a new beginning – or a sudden end."

I am so excited about this second book in the series! If you haven't read Glow yet, I highly recommend it. It's a crazy space adventure - that is more about the characters than the sci fi aspect. I think just about anyone can get into it. And I know this sequel is going to be amazing! Now all I have to do is get my hands on it :).
What are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (110)

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

Quarantine: The Loners

by Lex Thomas

To be released: July 10, 2012

Summary from Barnes and Noble:
"It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning.



A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you’re as good as dead. And David has no gang. It’s just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school.
In this frighteningly dark and captivating novel, Lex Thomas locks readers inside a school where kids don’t fight to be popular, they fight to stay alive."


While there are tons of dystopian and post-apocalyptic books out right now, I think this book sounds very exciting. I love that it's set in a school and that they carry a virus that kills adults. I cannot wait to get my hands on this one... it sounds epic!

What are you waiting on this week?

Out This Week (June 17-23)

There aren't tons of things coming out this week, but the ones that are look awesome. Here's what we've got:

•  6.19.12 Just Flirt by Laura Bowers
• 6.19.12 Soulbound (The Legacy of Tril #1) by Heather Brewer

•  6.19.12 Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
• 6.19.12 Blood Moon (The Drake Chronicles) by Alyxandra Harvey

•  6.19.12 The Wild Queen: The Days and Nights of Mary, Queen of Scots by Carolyn Meyer
• 6.19.12 Burn Mark by Laura Powell

• 6.19.12 Back to Me (Kimani Tru) by Earl Sewell
• 6.19.12 This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Thumped by Megan McCafferty

Title: Thumped
Author: Megan McCafferty
ISBN: 9780061962769
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Released: April 24, 2012
Series: sequel to Bumped
Page #: 290
Source: My public library

Summary:
"It's been thirty-five weeks since twin sisters Harmony and Melody went their separate ways. Since then, their story has become irresistible to legions of girls: twins separated at birth and living different lives, each due to deliver sets of twins... on the same day! In a future where only teens can 'bump,' or give birth, babies mean money, status, and freedom.

Married to Ram and living in religious Goodside, Harmony spends her time trying to fit back into the community she once loved and believed in. but she can't seem to forget about Jondoe, the guy she fell in love with under the strangest of circumstances.

To her adoring fans, Melody has achieved everything she always wanted: a big, fat contract and a coupling with Jondoe, the hottest bump prospect around. but this image is costing her the one guy she really wants.

Cursed by their own popularity, the girls are obsessively tracked by their millions of fans, who have been eagerly counting down the days to their 'Double Double Due Date.' Without a doubt, they are two of the most powerful teen girls on the planet, and there's only one thing they could do that would make them more famous than they already are:
Tell the truth."
________________________________________________
First Lines:

"I face my reflection, an engorged distortion I barely recognize anymore.
'I'll do it this time,' I say to the mirror.
I mean it too. I'm alone here in my bedroom. The blades are sharp enough and there's no one here to stop me but myself."
Page 1
________________________________________________
Review:

When I read Bumped, I was sort of surprised how I enjoyed this story. Thumped took it to the next level and I'm happy to report that the author did an awesome job with this second book. If you haven't read Bumped, you'll probably be really confused. So go read that first and get back to me :).

Harmony and Melody are twin sisters who were separated at birth and raised in vastly different societies. After they reunited, they have become famous. They're both due to have sets of twins of their own - on the same day (ish). But Melody has a huge secret and it's starting to eat away at her. Harmony has found that she can't just get her old life back. The girls can't do anything without media attention - and that's what they're banking on.

There could not possibly be any more romantic tangles in this book. Everyone is wishing for someone else and nothing starts out the way it should. She likes him, he likes her, she's married to him, and so on... it's a crazy, crazy web. I had a couple of spots where I couldn't remember which sister was which and who she liked. But it's a lot of fun and gives you that romantic romp that we all so love.

I kind of love the slang in these books. They make everything about being pregnant seem cute and fluffy and awesome. And since that is the main focus, even the non-preg stuff relates back to it somehow. It's really clever. There are a few words I've decided to work into my regular rotation :). I also love that Lib - the agent - speaks in all caps. Don't we all know someone like that? It makes his character memorable and real.

On the surface, this book is just about teens getting pregnant. Well, more like they have to for the sake of the human race. But there's also the whole paradigm shift from today - that contraception isn't even available. That teens HAVE to do it. And that they should feel ashamed if they don't procreate - whether or not they are in love with the person they make babies with. It's a hard thought to get my mind around... but then, there are plenty of teens having babies already these days (I sound like I'm 100 years old, but it's true).

The ending of this book - which I won't spoil - makes everything seem a lot more real. I think that helped me come to grips with the world they are living in. From here, the whole concept of the story seems so far fetched and sci-fi. But really, things are put into perspective and people aren't just taking things at face value. It was a great conclusion to a wonderful story. And it really makes you think about what life would be like in this sort of reality... which isn't so far off.

If you haven't read Bumped, I highly recommend that you do so. These two books are super-fast reads, so make sure you have Thumped nearby. After reading this second book, I think the story as a whole is very worth reading. If nothing else, the discussions that this could bring up with a teen book group would be amazing. I would be very interested to see what teens thought of this. Anyway, fun books with an interesting message. Give it a shot!
________________________________________________
Other Blog Reviews:

Diary of a Book Addict
Break the Binding
Fabbity Fab Book Reviews
Reading Everywhere
West Allis Public Library
Starry Sky Books
Rather Be Reading
Breathless Book Reviews
Laura's Review Bookshelf

Waiting on Wednesday (109)

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

Insignia

by S.J. Kincaid

To be released: July 10, 2012

Summary from Barnes and Noble:

"More than anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom’s drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.

Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone’s been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he’s offered the incredible—a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom’s instincts for combat will be put to the test and if he passes, he’ll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War III. Finally, he’ll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom’s always wanted—friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters—but what will it cost him?"

This sounds like such a fun techie/sci fi/mystery book! I could really use one of these right about now. I'll definitely be checking this one out.

What are you waiting on this week?