Thursday, January 29, 2009

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway


Released: April 2009
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary
Pages: 435
Source:  Library


Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

When funny, charming, absolutely-normal Audrey Cuttler dumps her boyfriend Evan, he writes a song about her that becomes a number-one hit-and rockets Audrey to stardom!

Suddenly, tabloid paparazzi are on her tail and Audrey can barely hang with her friends at concerts or the movies without getting mobbed-let alone score a date with James, her adorable coworker at the Scooper Dooper. Her life will never be the same-at least, not until Audrey confronts Evan live on MTV and lets the world know exactly who she is!





One word: AWESOME!

I read a blurb - could have been on the cover, I can't remember - that says this book is like a song you can't get out of your head. And it's so true! I'll warn you now, if you've got some plans, don't try reading this book because you're not going to be able to put it down.

Audrey tells you straight out how it all happened, what made her life do a complete 180 when her douche ex wrote a song about her. Going through high school sucks any ways (yeah been there, done that). Being the center of discussion (especially if it's bad - and you know it usually is) really sucks. With witty Audrey and her trusty side kick Victoria, they can take it all on, right? Well...that part you'll just have to see. Each chapter in this book kept getting better. There are a million and one reasons why I loved it so much. From the fast pace up beat humor to the snappy dialogue, and to my favorite - the music! You'll be tapping your foot and bopping your head in now time! Also you'll laugh your silly butt off, and who doesn't enjoy doing that?

Robin Benway is definately another promising author from her debut novel. Cannot wait for what book she has in store next!

♥amber

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

WRITERS WEDNESDAYS

These writers are on fanfiction.net. I have to say their way of writing really draws you in. Makes you feel for the characters.

The first one is here for her Twilight (Dark Edward) stories...YAY!!

BeHappy101

The second is here for her Death Sentence stories...*sighs* Billy...=D

MissIndependent101

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

TEASER TUESDAYS

This is the last week of Cassandra Clare being out Author of the Month. Enjoy her books!!


City of Glass-The third installment in the Mortal Insturments Series

Chapter One: The Portal

The cold snap of the previous week was over; the sun was shining brightly as Clary hurried across Luke's dusty front yard, the hood of her sweater up to keep her hair from blowing across her face. The weather might have warmed up, but the wind off the East River could still be brutal. It carried with it a faint chemical smell, mixed with the Brooklyn smell of asphalt, gasoline and burned sugar from the abandoned factory down the street.

Simon was waiting for her on the front porch, sprawled in the broken-springed armchair Luke had dragged out there last summer, meaning to throw away, but had never gotten around to tossing in the alley dumpster. It smelled like mildew now and there were bits of foam poking out of the rips in the upholstery, but Simon didn't seem to mind. He had his DS balanced on his blue-jeaned knees and was poking away at it industriously with the stylus. "Score," he said, as she came up the steps. "I'm kicking butt at Mario Kart."

Clary pushed her hood back, shaking hair out of her eyes, and rummaged in her pocket for her keys. "Where have you been? I've been calling you all afternoon."

Simon got to his feet, shoving the blinking game cube into his messenger bag. "I was at Eric's. Band practice."

Clary stopped jiggling the key in the lock -- it always stuck -- long enough to frown at him. "Band practice? You mean you're still --"

"In the band? Why wouldn't I be?" He reached around her. "Here, let me do it."

Clary stood still while Simon expertly twisted the key with just the right amount of pressure, making the stubborn old lock spring open. His hand brushed hers; his skin was cool, the temperature of the air outside. She shivered a little. They'd only called off their attempt at a romantic relationship last week and she still felt confused whenever she saw him.

"Thanks." She took the key back without looking at him.

It was hot in the living room; Luke still had the heat turned way up, even though the cold snap had passed. Clary hung her jacket up on the peg inside the front hall and headed to the spare bedroom, Simon trailing in her wake. She threw her heavy sweater over a chair and frowned. Her suitcase was open like a clam shell on the bed, her clothes and sketchbooks strewn everywhere.


Sorry about the small teaser. I just really don't want to give too much away. I snagged this from http://www.cassandraclare.com/ if you want to read more.

Look for our next Author of the Month.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab


Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab


Released: June 2008
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary
Pages: 256
Source: Library


Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 

Matisse Osgood is a New York City girl through and through. She buys her clothes at Andy's Cheapies, watches indie films at the Angelika, and wouldn't be caught dead on a hayride. But when her father gets sick and Matisse's parents decide to leave Manhattan for a small town in upstate New York, her perfect world crumbles. 


As Matisse trudges through life in Prague, she dreams of waking up in her apartment on West 78th Street with a father who's well enough to walk with her in Central Park and a mother who doesn't pretend that everything is okay. When rumors surround Matisse at school and her father's symptoms worsen, Matisse realizes that the friends she's making in Prague are the kind you can count on. They help Matisse find the strength to reach out to her father, who may not be as far from her as she thought. And one particular farm boy shows Matisse that country living is a lot more magical than she ever imagined.

---

More in likely if this book didn't hit home for me, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. There are so many stories about a girl from the big city that stumbles into the small town trying to find her place. No, I never lived in the city and had to move to the middle of no where. I acutally grew up in the middle of no where. But in this story Matisse's father has Parkson's Diease. And in my own life, my father has Multiple Sclerosis. Not the same thing obviously, but the effects it has on a family is exact.

With Matisse, I knew what she was going through. Constantly being asked how your father is doing. Having everyone ignore the big pink elephant in the room. Not wanting to talk about it at all and pretending that life is still the same. But the biggest one is unwanted sympathy.

Your heart will go out for her as she tries to keep things hush-hush while getting use to this new life. I loved the supporting characters that help break down those walls that Matisse has built up around herself since the day her father was diagonsed. And I'm not one for a farm boys, but the one is this story appealed to me!

♥amber

Thursday, January 22, 2009

ROCK THIS! THURSDAY




Title: I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone

Author: Stephanie Kuehnert

Genre: Young Adult


The Clash. Social Distortion. Dead Kennedys. Patti Smith. The Ramones.

Punk rock is in Emily Black's blood. Her mother, Louisa, hit the road to follow the incendiary music scene when Emily was four months old and never came back. Now Emily's all grown up with a punk band of her own, determined to find the tune that will bring her mother home. Because if Louisa really is following the music, shouldn't it lead her right back to Emily?



Honestly, I don't think I can even tell you all the reasons why I loved this book. It's just one of those that suck you and won't let you go, even after it's done.
But here's my spill....

The fact that I'm a complete music freak is what first perked my interest in this book. Plus take a look at the cover! Once I started reading it, I wasn't able to put it down. Stephanie Kuehnert knows good music and it shows.

This isn't a simple read. There's something very real and raw about it. Emily Black is a girl with one dream. Scratch that - she's got two dreams. She's going to get out of the small town of Carlisle. And she's going to do it by being a rock star.

I loved Emily instantly. She's edgy as hell, in your face, and damn do I wish I had the balls she had. There were so many things that I could identify with in this book. Espeically when it came to Emily and her best friend Regan. So many moments where I stopped, almost baffled and eventually called up my best friend and rambled some passages out because it sounded like us. (Even weirder my goddaughter name is Regean).

Even the issues that Emily goes through that I couldn't identify with - I felt them. There were moments I was laughing, got teary eyed, and sometimes even wanted to shake the crap out Emily for some choices she made. But hey, that's what a good book does to you, right?
There is more than one side to this story. It's not just about Emily wanting to be a rock star for the pure passion of music, but to find her mother. Find out what was so speical about it that made her leave without saying goodbye. While you read, you get to see what her mother had went through since the day she left that small town. And just like Emily, you feel her pain as well.
One thing I really loved about this book was the dream. Sure I wanted to be a rock star when I was like five, listening to my own dad's records and pretending to play the guitar with a duster. But in this story you see the dream that Emily, Regan, and drummer boy Tom create with their band She Laughs. Once you get sucked into this world of punk rock and teenage angst and the need for closure, I promsie you, you won't be dissapointed.

Stephanie Kuehnert is a very promising author and her next novel, Ballads of Suburbia will be hitting the book stores in July! *fist pumps air*

--Read a sneak peak into Ballads of Suburbia and join the street team!



♥Amber




Wednesday, January 21, 2009

WRITER WEDNESDAY

As we promised, we are going to be posting some great FanFiction writers. Ones we love and ones we are growing to love.

This week we have two ladies that are not only great fanfic authors, but our friends.

Read their work, show them some love...and enjoy!

Brittany's FanFic Page


Lauren's FanFic Page

--If you are a writer, whether it be fanfiction or orginal work, and would like to be featured, drop us a line! Or suggest someone we should check out! Don't forget to leave reviews, they always love hearing it!! Trust us! =D!!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Book Request

For some crazy reason it won't let me post the actual video on here.

Anywho, I saw something about this book a while back, but after seeing the book trailer I am completely sold! So go check it out!

The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l7pgmcC1rI

Interview With Cassandra Clare

We've seen that some authors like to have a sketch out of what their book is going to be about. Do you do the same?

Yes, I outline all my books, and if it's a series (I've only written series) I outline the whole series ahead of time. When I'm actually working on the book, I outline each chapter. It helps that I work in Scrivener, which allows for easy outlining.

How did the idea of The Mortal Instruments and their world come about?


I think, having watched other writers as well as myself develop ideas, that most ideas are less one single brainwave than a combination of elements that interest that particular author. For me it was New York, tattoos, Paradise Lost, teenagers, Dante, a newspaper article I read about two people who fell in love and found out they were related, and the idea of one single unifying mythology that would explain the existence of all supernatural creatures.

Have you always been interested in this genre?

Dark and urban fantasy? Not always; as a kid, I mostly read high fantasy until I was introduced to the Borderlands series created by Terri Windling. (http://www.endicott-studio.com/borderland.html) — a shared-world series about a town called Bordertown on the edge of the real world and the fantastical. It combined high fantasy and contemporary grit in an incredibly compelling way. I recommend digging up old copies if you can get a hold of them.


In a few interviews, you've stated that you never really saw the story as YA, just a fantasy novel. Was this your first time writing a story that involved teenagers?

Well, this is my first completed novel, period, published or unpublished. Looking back over my old writing though, I can see I was always interested in writing about teenagers, and most of my characters have always been young. I think that's because for me the themes of fantasy and the themes of coming-of-age stories are a natural fit.


What were the challenges you faced in getting the book published?

Finishing the book. In terms of securing an agent and a publisher, I didn't have that hard a time. I was lucky. In terms of writing and rewriting the book, I must have done that a dozen times. I started the book in 2003 and did heavy rewrites for over a year before I went looking for an agent.


Who is your favorite character in the series?

Oh, I don't know if I really have one. I like them all in different ways. I love writing Magnus, he's so much fun.

Was it hard saying goodbye to the story when you wrote City of Glass?

At first I was like, Thank God that's over and if I ever have to think about any of these characters again it'll be a day too soon. That passed after about a month and then I started having nostalgic feelings for them. Now that I'm heavily into writing the new series, it's like moving away from home and making a whole new group of friends but you still miss the good friends you used to have before.

Any upcoming projects you can share?

Sure. I'm already well into writing the prequel series to the Mortal Instruments. It's set in Victorian London and deals with a new group of teenage Shadowhunters, the ancestors of the ones in the MI books. Also there are a few crossover characters, like Magnus Bane, and as usual there's lots of romance, demon-fighting, and battles between good and evil. You can read all about them here: www.theinfernaldevices.com .


---We would like to say a big thanks to Cassandra for taking the time to answer some of our quetsions!

TEASER TUESDAYS

Title: City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

"You've got to be kidding me," the bouncer said, folding his arms across his massive chest. He stared down at the boy in the red zip-up jacket and shook his shaved head. "You can't bring that thing in here."



The fifty or so teenagers in line outside the Pandemonium Club leaned forward to eavesdrop. It was a long wait to get into the all-ages club, especially on a Sunday, and not much generally happened in line. The bouncers were fierce and would come down instantly on anyone who looked like they were going to start trouble. Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray, standing in line with her best friend, Simon, leaned forward along with everyone else, hoping for some excitement.



"Aw, come on." The kid hoisted the thing up over his head. It looked like a wooden beam, pointed at one end. "It's part of my costume."



The bouncer raised an eyebrow. "Which is what?"



The boy grinned. He was normal-enough-looking, Clary thought, for Pandemonium. He had electric blue dyed hair that stuck up around his head like the tendrils of a startled octopus, but no elaborate facial tattoos or big metal bars through his ears or lips. "I'm a vampire hunter." He pushed down on the wooden thing. It bent as easily as a blade of grass bending sideways. "It's fake. Foam rubber. See?"



The boy's wide eyes were way too bright a green, Clary noticed: the color of antifreeze, spring grass. Colored contact lenses, probably. The bouncer shrugged, abruptly bored. "Whatever. Go on in."



The boy slid past him, quick as an eel. Clary liked the lilt to his shoulders, the way he tossed his hair as he went. There was a word for him that her mother would have used —insouciant.



"You thought he was cute," said Simon, sounding resigned. "Didn't you?"



Clary dug her elbow into his ribs, but didn't answer.








Title: City of Ashes

Author: Cassandra Clare

"Are you still mad?"

Alec, leaning against the wall of the elevator, glared across the small space at Jace. "I'm not mad."

"Oh, yes you are." Jace gestured accusingly at his stepbrother, then yelped as pain shot up his arm. Every part of him hurt from the thumping he'd taken that afternoon when he'd dropped three floors through rotted wood onto a pile of scrap metal. Even his fingers were bruised. Alec, who'd only recently put away the crutches he'd had to use after his fight with Abbadon, didn't look much better than Jace felt. His clothes were covered in mud and his hair hung down in lank, sweaty strips. There was a long cut down the side of his cheek.

"I am not," Alec said, through his teeth. "Just because you said dragon demons were extinct -- "
I said mostly extinct."

Alec jabbed a finger toward him. "Mostly extinct," he said, his voice trembling with rage, "is NOT EXTINCT ENOUGH."

"I see," said Jace. "I'll just have them change the entry in the demonology textbook from 'almost extinct' to 'not extinct enough for Alec. He prefers his monsters really, really extinct.' Will that make you happy?"

"Boys, boys," said Isabelle, who'd been examining her face in the elevator's mirrored wall. "Don't fight." She turned away from the glass with a sunny smile. "All right, so it was a little more action than we were expecting, but I thought it was fun."

Alec looked at her and shook his head. "How do you manage never to get mud on you?"
Isabelle shrugged philosophically. "I'm pure at heart. It repels the dirt."

Jace snorted so loudly that she turned on him with a frown. He wiggled his mud-caked fingers at her. His nails were black crescents. "Filthy inside and out."

Monday, January 19, 2009

MANIC MONDAY

Title: Queen of Babble

Author: Meg Cabot

Genre: Women's Fiction / Adult Fiction / "Chick Lit" (ßhate that saying)

Summary: Lizzie Nichols has a problem: she can't keep anything to herself. And when she opens her big mouth on a trip to London, her good intentions get her long-distance beau, Andrew, in a major hot water. Now she's stuck in England with no boyfriend and no place to stay until the departure date on her nonrefundable airline ticket. Fortunately, Lizzie's best friend and college roommate, Shari, is spending her summer catering weddings in a sixteenth-century chateau in southern France. Who cares if Lizzie's never traveled alone in her life, and only speaks rudimentary French? She's off to Souillac to lend a helping hand!

One glimpse of gorgeous Chateau Mirac - and of gorgeous Luke, the song of the chateau's owner - and Lizzie's smitten. But thanks to her chronic inability to keep a secret, before the first cork has been popped Luke hates her, the bride is in tears, and Chateau Mirac is on the road to becoming a lipo-recovery spa. Add to that the arrival of her ex-beau Andrew, who's looking for "closure" (or at least a loan), and everything - including Lizzie's shot at true love - is in the la toilette.unless she can figure out some way to use her big mouth to save the day.


Amber's Take On It:

Of course I had heard of Meg Cabot due to the Princess Diaries series, but I never got into those. When I found out she had some adult novels out, and one of her main characters happened to have a fat mouth (like me) - I thought I'd give it a try.

Now saying this, I usually don't get into a book where the main character is fashion crazed. They come few and far between for me. During the first chapter, I almost didn't read the rest. Thankfully, I turned the page.

Meg Cabot has created a very unique and loving character in Lizzie. I actually envy her take on the world. Things in her eyes can always get better, doesn't matter if you're at rock bottom or not. She takes on each thing with an open heart and goes for it. Who cares if she ends up embarrassing herself in the process.

The other characters in this novel are ones you'll instantly love. From her best friend Shari, who shoots it straight to sarcastic Chaz, and then there is - like the back of the book will tell you - gorgeous Luke. (Although my opinion on him changed as the series went on, but in the first book I adored that boy.) And of course I cannot forget the drunken grandma who had me dying laughing every time she appeared in the story.

I don't know what took me so long to discover Meg Cabot, but I'm hooked! She knows how to write a sharp and witty read that will have you racing for the next one.

--If you love this, don't forget to check up on the rest of Lizzie's life in Queen of Babble in the Big City && Queen of Babble Gets Hitched!







Title: Cell

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Horror/Adult Fiction

Summary: What happens on the afternoon of October 1 came to be known as the Pulse, a signal sent though every operating cell phone that turns its user into something...well, something less than human. Savage, murderous, unthinking-and on a wanton rampage. Terrorist act? Cyber prank gone haywire? It really doesn't matter, not to the people who avoided the technological attack. What matters to them is surviving the aftermath. Before long a band of them-"normies" is how they think of themselves-have gathered on the grounds of Gaiten Academy, where the headmaster and one remaining student have something awesome and terrifying to show them on the school's moonlit soccer field. Clearly there can be no escape. The only option is to take them on.

CELL is classic Stephen King, a story of gory horror and white-knuckling suspense that makes the unimaginable entirely plausible and totally fascinating.

Cheryl's Take On It:

It is difficult to ever NOT like a Stephen King novel. His mind is one in a million and his way of writing is genious. This story takes you on a crazy adventure of one of the most scary--to me anyway--ways to end civilization.

Cell phones--something so not given a second thought--are the detinators to reign of crazies that polute the earth. Could it be a terrorist attack? Or could it be something else? Something...worse.

The start of the book introduces you to a character I quite like. Clay Riddell has just landed a graphic novel deal in Boston, which isn’t too far from where he resides in Maine. His day is looking good and an expression of contentment spreads across his face. After buying a gift for his estranged wife, he is distracted by the tinkle of an ice cream truck.

This is where the fun begins.

Waiting for ice cream also are two Power-Puff girls who he refers to as Pixie Light and Pixie Dark, and a woman in a power suit.

Behind him on a stretch of grass, a park is filled with people and their dogs. He takes notice to one man in particular, who he calls the Dog Man. It is a perfect day, filled with good weather. As Clay waits for his turn he listens in on conversations between the Pixies (who are talking on their phones as well as to each other) and the phone call the woman in the power suit is having.

Suddenly, in a matter of a moment everything changes. Power suit and Pixie Light change into attacking machines, Dog Man bites the ear off his dog, things are blowing up down the street and everyone is screaming.

What was a wonderful day filled with good news and a promising future, has now become what we know now as The Pulse.

Like any other person thrown in a bazaar situation, Clay must get away.

Trying to stay alive and helping others along the way, Clay is trying to get to his son Johnny. Nothing is what it seems and everyone is either, dead, scared or the zombie-like mad men attacking the rest of the city. Clay isn’t sure how far The Pulse as spread, but he is sure that this is going to get worse.

The story takes you on a journey with Clay and the people he befriends along the way. Takes you along with him to find his son, before its too late.

Thank God Clay doesn’t own a cell phone.

Friday, January 16, 2009

daily slogans

Ok, so we have seen in many blogs--blogger, livejournal etc.--that have been doing Teaser Tuesdays. We also see that many people have a cute slogan for everyday. Well, we also have cute slogans for everyday, minus Tuesday...that is borrowed. The rest we made up. I hope everyone enjoys them.

MANIC MONDAYS - On Manic Mondays we will going manic over certain books. Whether they are classics from our pasts, or new wonders of our future, we'll be giving you the title, author and description of the book or books.

TEASER TUESDAYS - On Teaser Tuesdays we'll be giving a nice preview of a book, maybe one at random, maybe one we like. But mostly if our Author of the Month has more then one book published we will be taking a different book each week and giving you a taste of something great.

WRITERS WEDNESDAYS - This is one of our favorites. On Writers Wednesdays we will be giving you an introduction to, what we feel are some of the best fanfiction and fictionpress writers. We both are writers on them and we both enjoy immensely reading from both sites.

ROCK THIS! THURSDAYS - Here is another of our favorite days! Every thursday will be a new look into the world of writing around or with music. Stories that have so much passion that you want to jump and dance. Books infused and inspired by music. We all love music...and we all love books. So we're going to give you some of the most rockin' titles on this day.

FANTASY FRIDAYS - I know that we love to disappear into a fantasy world. It's needed sometimes. So on fridays we will share some fantasy titles that we know and love and some that we are just getting to know ourselves. Some will be recommended from friends or other reviewers and authors.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

book request

This brilliant collection, edited by the award-winning and perenniallyprovocative Salman Rushdie, boasts a "magnificent array" (LibraryJournal) of voices both new and recognized.With Rushdie at the helm,the 2008 edition "reflects the variety of substance and style and the consistent quality that readers have come to expect" (Publishers Weekly).

Contributors include T. C. Boyle, Allegra Goodman, Nicole Krauss,Steven Millhauser, Jonathan Lethem, Karen Russell, and others.


Personally I haven't read this yet, but I went to a Fiction Writing class last night in Manhattan and my teacher highly recommended this book. He also recommended the same book from past years. He said that they publish one every year. Last year my favorite author ever, Mr. Stephen King was the editor. So I know I'll be picking these up myself the next time I have enough money to go to Barnes and Noble.

Cheryl

Sunday, January 11, 2009

let's get the pages turning

Hello fellow bloggers and book lovers!

In case you were wondering, our names are Cheryl and Amber. We are both avid readers and aspiring writers. So it was inevitable that the two of us would make a blogger for reviewing books! Our lives revolve around words--whether it be what we read or what we write--and our thoughts about these words are just begging to come out.

We will review books we have already read and ones we’re reading at the moment.

2009 is going to be a good year for us both, and what’s the better way to start the year off other then reading…and reviewing!

Cheryl&Amber