A short vacation for me - no reading, some writing.

Just writing you this wee little note to let you know that I'm just having some time off blogging. Summer is always busy and tomorrow I'm going to a concert with friends and next week I'm going to be maid of honor at my best friends wedding. Needless to say perhaps but there is things to before the wedding(not to forget things to do with my own children and family) so I'm a little busy this week and the next. Not getting much reading done but I'm going to do some writing, I'm going to write a speech that I'll be giving to my best friend at the wedding. I'm looking forward to let those closes to her know how much she means too me, but I'm a little nervous since there'll be about 80 people listening to me.. Iiiik.

I hope everyone is doing fine! Don't forget that it is still time to enter our blogoversary giveaway.

Book Review: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Summary:

Connor, Risa and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

My thoughts:

I always start out with very high expectations when a book has received 5 stars from all of my friends on GoodReads, but Unwind is one of few that I actually feel lives up to its rating. The concept of Unwinding is very original and the setting and how this came to be is all well described, without all the open questions, missing explanations and loose ends of many other dystopian settings. The action is non-stop from the very first chapter, and there's enough twists to keep us all guessing almost all the way to the end. My only regret is that I never felt closely connected to any of the three main characters. We get a short introduction from each of them, but I would still have loved to know a little more about what's made them the teenagers they are today.

What I really liked about Unwind is that I still think about it days after I finished it. Not just about the story itself, but about all the moral questions it poses. Could our world ever come to a point where we'd start harvesting healthy body parts from teenagers, just to donate them to someone more "worthy" of a set of hands, a liver, a brain? What happens to our soul if our body is split up into pieces, but never actually dies? Do we even have a soul? I feel like Unwind is one of those dystopian novels that every fan of the genre needs to read, and I'll happily recommend it to anyone who's not afraid to shed a few tears through the final chapters of a very good book.

The cover:

Almost a little spooky, which I guess goes well with the story.

My rating of this book:

5 stars out of 5

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:

Presenting Lenore

Want to know more?
Add Before I Fall to your Goodreads wishlist
Visit Neal Shusterman's website

Follow Neal Shusterman on Twitter

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Published: November 6th 2007

Pages (hardcover): 335

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

ISBN: 1416912045 (ISBN13: 9781416912040)

Full disclosure: Checked out at my local library

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book review: The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My summary:
In Calcutta in the 1930's a soldier is fleeing with two precious bundles in his arms. He has to make it across town and deliver the two bundles somewhere they're safe, death is on his heels.


Now sixteen years have passed since that dreaded night and evil is back in town but why is it after the twins?

My thoughts:
This is the third novel I've read by author Carlos Ruiz Zafón and while I have enjoyed all three of them I feel like he found a receipt for success and decided to stick by it. The Midnight Palace was a nice and at times chilling read but I feel that it bears a lot of resemblance to both The Prince of Mist and The Shadow of the Wind. 

The main character in this story grew up  in a orphanage in Calcutta and he and his friends there started a secret society. Since there is a small society involved the story has several different characters, each of them brought something to the story and non of them felt like they were added just as a filling.


Readers who haven't read the two books I mentioned in this short review will probably enjoy this book  a lot more than I did.
.

Book trailer:

The cover:
Ominous - who's that scary guy coming right at us! A great choice of cover for the story.

My rating of this book:

3 stars out of 5

Want to know more?
Add The Midnight Palace to your Goodreads wish list.
Visit Carlos' homepage 

The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Published: May 31st  2011
Pages(hardcover): 304
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0316044733 (ISBN13: 9780316044738)
Full disclosure: ARC received from the publisher via NetGalley.  

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.  

Book review: Tiger's Curse (The Tiger Saga #1) by Colleen Houck

My summary:
Kelsey Hayes is looking for a summer job and ends up at a circus selling tickets, souvenirs and helping out with the white tiger. Kelsey quickly bonds with the dangerous animal and when she one day hears the tiger, Ren, is going to be sold and shipped off to India Kelsey is a bit sad, but she wants this beautiful creature to be free.

The buyer wants Kelsey to come along and escort Ren, the tiger, to India. Soon Kelsey is in the middle of an adventure she never could have dreamed of, let alone imagined herself being the most important character in it. Kelsey is a part of a 300 year old Indian prophecy; she is the girl who will break an old spell. 

My thoughts:

Hi guys! Have you missed me? I've been a few hours in India and I just got back. Well, I haven't really been to India but I wish I'd been there anyway. Author Colleen Houck paints a vivid picture of India (at least for a person who haven't been there - I cannot vouch for the accuracies), you can almost believe your out in the jungle with the main characters, taste the spicy food and the juice of a ripe Mango. 

Colleen Houck has written an original fantasy love story, which in my opinion stands out from the crowd. Tiger's Curse is the story of two Indian princes who was cursed over 300 years ago, they now live life as tigers (well mostly as tigers anyway). There is some nice action scenes in this book that is perfect for an Indiana Jones movie with royal tigers in it.

Tigers are some of my favorite animals and in Tiger's Curse we get to know a beautiful white tiger named Ren, I fell in love with him from the very beginning. There's also a black tiger, Kishan, in this story and he deserves to be mentioned as well, he is just the kind of flirtatious and confident type that I like. I actually had to read up on my tiger knowledge because I knew little to nothing about black tigers. It was interesting to see that there have been reported sights of black tigers, but not very often and quite a few of the sights have been dismissed as illusions.

A few pet peeves of mine:

• Kelsey, our heroin, states time and time again how handsome her crush is(a bit like Bella) 
• Kelsey putting herself down during the last 100 pages or so - very annoying.
• A few bits of unnecessary information which I wonder why is in the novel at all.

These are minor flaws in the big picture and this was a pleasant reading experience. I'm looking forward to figure out more about the curse and to get to know Kelsey, Ren and Kishan even better.

Book trailer:

The cover:

I fell in love the moment I laid eyes on this beautiful white tiger.

My rating of this book:

3.75 stars out of 5

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:
Mystifying Paranormal Reviews
Page Turners
Eating YA books
Serendipity

Want to know more?
Add Tiger's Curse to your Goodreads wish list.
Visit Colleen Houck's homepage 
Read Colleen's blog 
Follow Colleen on Twitter

Tiger's Curse (The Tiger Saga #1) by Colleen Houck

Published: May 26th 2011
Pages(paperback): 512
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 1444734601 (ISBN13: 9781444734607)
Full disclosure: This book was sent to me for an honest review by the publisher. 

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.

Winner of Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison

Last week I did an interview with author Paige Harbison and the publisher kindly offered a copy of the book to one of my readers. The giveaway ended 6/8 and it is now time to announce the winner. The winner has been notified by email and it was Ren who won. Congratulations, Ren, I hope you enjoy the book!

Book Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Summary:

What if you had only one day to live?

What would you do?

Who would you kiss?

And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High - from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death - and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

My thoughts:

Before I Fall is everything a novel should be. It is moving, inspiring, romantic, frustrating, heartbreakingly sad, and yet incredibly optimistic. Samantha might just be the most real girl I've ever read about in a YA novel, and I couldn't help but love her despite, or maybe because of, all her faults. Her actions are always very believable, if she's hanging out with her little sister or making fun of someone in the school cafeteria, and the amount she develops in just one week is nothing short of amazing. 

It was very refreshing to read about teenagers getting drunk, joking about a friend losing her virginity and smoking weed in the school bathroom, without any of the judgement that most authors always add on. Lauren Oliver is an amazing writer, and has managed to make Sam's story come alive in a way that made me unable to put the book down before I had read the last page. And even then, I still cried for a couple of minutes before getting on with my day.

Book trailer:

The cover:

Simple, yet very pretty.

My rating of this book:

5 stars out of 5

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:

Confessions of a Book Addict

The Hiding Spot

Want to know more?
Add Before I Fall to your Goodreads wishlist
Visit Lauren Oliver's website

Read Lauren Oliver's blog

Follow Lauren Oliver on Twitter

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Published: March 2nd 2010

Pages (hardcover): 472

Publisher: HarperCollins

ISBN: 006172680X (ISBN13: 9780061726804)

Full disclosure: Checked out at my local library

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.

Possess - Waiting on Wednesday

 

Possess by Grethen McNeil. Release date: August 23rd 2011. Published by Balzer + Bray(A Harper Collins Children's imprint).

Why am I pining for Possess?

A story about banishing demons back in to the hole the crept out from sounds like something I might enjoy reading + I'm a little bit in love with the cover. I don't usually like faces on covers but this just looks great.

Synopsis(borrowed from the Goodreads):

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

Check out the book trailer:

Want to know more about the authors or the book?

Visit the homepage of Grethen McNeil
 Read Gretchen's blog
Follow Gretchen on Twitter

Add Possess to your Goodreads shelf

What are you waiting for this week?

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This event spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. Please visit Jill's blog to find out what other book bloggers are waiting for.

Strange Angels - Teaser Tuesday

This weeks teaser is brought to you from Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow, paperback page 107 :

What am I going to tie him to? The mattress? Jesus, a fine time to wish I had a four-poster.

I've had this book on my shelf since way back in 2009 and something just made me want to read it now. So far it's been good, it has a nice dose of humor and creatures that goes bump in the night. I have a feeling that this might just be a great series.

MizB of Should Be Reading host this meme called Teaser Tuesday . Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!