The Passage and The Twelve by Justin Cronin

Ah crap! There is just never enough time to read everything that I want to read. If the definition of a good book is a book that stays with you long after you read it, or you continue to think about it in new and different ways or if you have dreams, or in my case nightmares, long after you read the book. Well, then The Passage by Justin Cronin is a GOOD book! No book has ever taken me on such a roller coaster ride of emotions the way The Passage did. One minute I'm loving it, the next I want to throw it out the window and not because the writing was bad but because the heart break was just too much. I know, I know it's probably hard to believe that a story of a vampire apocalypse could do that. But that's just it, The Passage was so much more than about vampires. It was about relationships and building communities in the aftermath of the apocalypse. Dr. Cronin is an English professor and so the writing is phenomenal. I am always hesitant to mention the vampires because I worry people will think Twilight or bad writing. Not so. And now the 2nd book in the series has been released. I'm not sure when I will get to it. Hopefully soon. I do want to re-read The Passage before I start The Twelve. Wish me luck in finding the time to do that.

Shelf Awareness Review of The Twelve

BAD... just BAD

Eve and Adam by Michael Grant, Katherine Applegate

uh...well...see...hmm...

This book was recommended to me at the American Library Association Annual Conference. I was excited about the concept, girl creates the perfect boy. The characters were okay and the story was also okay. I was just disappointed that it wasn't better or more or something. I didn't feel anything for these characters. They could literally live or die and I wouldn't feel anything for them. I love, LOVE Young Adult books. But this one... :/

Below is a link to a much more positive review.

Shelf Awareness Review

Louis Vuittion and Literary Salon

Fancy Louis Vuitton opens a Paris Literary Salon. Oh la la.

Los Angeles Times

Teen Opens Bookstore to Pay For College

This is a cool story. I wondering if he would ship books out of state...

Teen Opens Bookstore

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is probably my favorite book of 2012. While it came out awhile ago and I read the Advance Reader's Edition almost a year ago, I've been recently reminded just how awesome this book is. A student of mine just finished reading this book after I suggested that she might like it. She loved it and cannot wait to read the 2nd installment.

Cinder is the retelling of Cinderella, where Cinder is a cyborg.and lives in New Beijing. She is a second-class citizen and the property of her evil stepmother. There is a also a prince and an evil Queen. Cinder is such an original take on Cinderella that you welcome the original parts and love the new twist and turns.

I've already read Scarlet, the 2nd book in the series and I am soooo HAPPY to say that it's even better than Cinder. Scarlet doesn't come out until February 2013. I cannot wait until book 3 and 4 come out. I haven't been this hard-core in love with a series since The Hunger Games.

Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill

I really, REALLY wanted to like this book. I even wanted to love it. But I did not. I'm not sure what was missing. Maybe nothing. Maybe I'm just too old to see the magic in this book. Princess Violet is a GREAT character. All of the characters are great. But the story is lacking that magic, that 'something', that makes me want to have to entire world read this book.



Shelf Awareness Review

The Last Dragonslayer: The Chronicles of Kazam, Book One by Jasper Fforde

I loved this book!!! It is sooooooo well written. If anything, it's probably the most well written books I have read all year. For a lack of a better way of describing it, at it's core it is a simple story but it is so well thought out with believable and lovable characters that it's hard to put the book down.

Jennifer Strange, the narrator, is a 15 year old indentured servant. Jennifer is the acting manager for the wizards of Kazam Mystical Arts Management in the Kingdom of Hereford of the Ununited Kingdoms. Fforde does a wonderful job blending old and new to create an alternative world where magic is real and indentured servants are a common occurrence. Oh and dragons are real too in this world and it turns out that Jennifer is the last dragonslayer. She is faced with the tough choice of 'following her destiny' or doing what she thinks is best.

A fun read for all ages!

Shelf Awareness.com Review

If only I had the $$$$$

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/9571826/In-pictures-JK-Rowlings-2.25m-home.html?frame=2353060