The Elite/The Selection SIGNED Giveaway! + “Dark Days” YA Author Tour

Dark Days YA Author Tour

Selection and Elite Giveaway

That’s right ya’ll! I was lucky enough to be able to attend the “Dark Days” tour as it rolled through my town. This panel included Kiera Cass (author of The Selection/The Elite), Elizabeth Norris (author of Unbreakable), Aprilynne Pike (author of Life After Theft), and Amy Tintera (author Reboot). Such an awesome panel right?? The good news for you: I have snippets from the Q & A section and a giveaway for SIGNED copies of The Selection and The Elite!!! First the random fun facts :D.

The Selection ARC Giveaway

Amy Tintera, a hedgehog plushie, and I: the best combination

Q&A Fun Facts

  • Amy Tintera was asked why only teens can reboot in her book. She explained that the reboot virus only works to cause a reboot on a still-developing brain; since teens’ brains haven’t quite finished forming, the reboot virus causes them to reboot.
  • Kiera Cass said that the story of The Selection was inspired by Cinderella and Esther from the Bible. She wondered what would happen if a girl had the attention of a prince, but wasn’t actually all that interested.
  • Many of the authors said they like writing YA that doesn’t have anything more than kissing because their moms might read it!
  • Amy Tintera said Reboot needed to have the Buffy/Xander relationship, with the girl being the tough one and the guy being just fine with that.
  • Many authors have theme songs that they listened to while writing their books, but Amy Tintera says she needs absolute silence while writing, so that’s her theme song.
  • Kiera Cass explains the pennies that Aspen gives to America as being the only thing he can give to her. Even just pennies are a huge sacrifice for him because he needs every one of them.
  • Amy Tintera has a Battlestar Galactica themed engagement ring with Cylon heads on the sides!
  • Kiera Cass says she pictures Maxim as Zac Effron in a suit.

The Elite Giveaway

The Elite GiveawayGiveaway!

And now what I’m sure you’re all here for: the giveaway. I’m super pumped for this one. We haaaave:

  • SIGNED HARDCOVER of The Elite
  • and a flipping SIGNED ARC of The Selection (lightly used, it had to be read!)

Isn’t that amazing?? As you can see the signatures are also color-coded to the books :D. Yes, you’re series won’t match since one is a paperback and one is a hardcover, but it’s totally worth it for signed copies, am I right? Now since I will be mailing this out myself, it’s going to be a US ONLY giveaway. It’s going to run for a while since it’s so freaking awesome. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email, otherwise I’ll have to pick someone else.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Do You Have an Addiction to Starting Books?

Starting Books Addiction

Starting Books Addictions

Confession: I’m addicted to starting new books. And by new I don’t mean “omg I got a book from the bookstore/mail, I’m so excited to start reading it!” I mean a grass is always greener kind of problem. Before I start a book, I look at it and see all the possibilities. This is especially bad when the cover is beautiful and the reviews have been positive because I start madly hyping a book in my head. I mean, I seriously stared at Cinder so long that I imagined it to be THE BEST BOOK EVER. Let’s be honest, no book, no matter how good, can live up to that pressure! I’m surprised my copy of Cinder didn’t crumble from all the expectations I heaped on it, the poor thing D:

But seriously, if I wasn’t such a completionist as well (topic for another day!), I probably would never finish a book. I freaking love that feeling when you start reading the first couple of pages and you are discovering a new world and getting to know new characters. I think this is similar to my love of meeting new people and getting to know them, but having a hard time staying in long-term contact with anyone (seriously, it’s a depressing flaw). I have come to love short books even more these days specifically because I know that I will get that starting high and then not have too much more to go before I get that “yey I finished a book” feeling (also a great feeling :D). And then I can start the next one!

This also leads to my book buying addiction because I see the books on the shelves and get so excited about the idea of starting to read it that I simply must buy it! But then I get afraid that it won’t live up to expectations so I put off reading it because then I can’t be disappointed. I’m so weird right??

Please tell me you also love the beginning of books. It’s like that new relationship feeling, ya know? You don’t know the faults of the book yet, and so you can just fill in your ideals into the poor, innocent book. Once  you start reading and bump into a couple of faults, it’s no longer the world’s perfect book. It might still be an amazing book, but no book is perfect right?

Do you get as excited as I do about starting a new book? Do you ever find yourself battling against finishing one book (that you might quite enjoy) versus the temptation of starting that other book that now looks so cool? Am I just freaking insane??? (The correct answer is yes, but this might not be evidence of it, hehe.)

Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings -A

 

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Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I’ve Read

Top Ten Tuesday

Okay, I’m so freaking excited about this week’s TTT topic! I love covers but often don’t super connect with them until I’ve read the book. Then I fall absolutely in love if they actually make sense, haha.

Book that lived up to the cover:

Above World by Jenn Reese  Poison by Bridget Zinn The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson Fire by Kristin Cashore Bane by Trish Milburn Destiny Binds by Tammy Blackwell
I adored all of the these books. The covers were all shiny and tempting and then I was so happy when reading them. I love that these covers all make sense for the book as well. Above world has necklaces like that sea-horse one that are critical to the story. Poison has a scene that matches the cover perfectly. I pictured the MC of The Emperor’s Soul just like the cover (which also helped set the mood!). Fire obviously has a MC big on archery, haha. Finally the two lesser known favorites: Bane is a second book, so check out White Witch if you haven’t yet, and Destiny Binds is the first in an indie series that is seriously the best indie I’ve ever read. You must check out that trilogy if you like YA urban fantasy!

Books that are pretty but didn’t work for me:

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson Red Madrass by Terah Edun
I can’t get enough of these covers, but I didn’t enjoy the books as much as I hoped I would. I know a lot of people liked Stormdancer but it was just too depressing for me. This doesn’t stop me from drooling all over my copy! Zenn Scarlett and The Summer Prince both got me to request them because of those shiny covers, but I ended up being disappointed with the writing styles. Finally, Red Madrassa was a tour book that also swayed me because of that gorgeous cover, but was lacking in the plot department. These are all books that I am still tempted to buy just to have the cover on my shelf >.>.

What have been your favorite covers??

Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings -A

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Bout of Books: Wrap-up

Bout of Books

Bout of Books Finish Line :D

Woooohoooo, we did it! While I’ve signed up for Bout of Books before, this was the first time that I was able to really increase my reading and participate a little bit ;-). As the road-trip continued, I realized that I had no internet access on the final stop, so I’m sorry for suddenly no longer updating and I didn’t get to join any challenges or chats :(. Goals for next time!

All in all I finished 6 books! Two of them were novellas ;-). I also made progress on my read-a-long book. Here they are:

  • Gameboard of the Gods – started a while ago and finished on Monday. Quite enjoyable, recommended for adult sci-fi fans!
  • Legion – novella which I listened to on audio. Started on Sunday, finished on Monday.
  • Siege and Storm – ARC borrowed from a friend that obviously HAD to get read :D. Started on Tuesday, finished on Wednesday and so much love!
  • Through the Door – Netgalley book that has already been published. Started on Wednesday, progress on Thursday, finished on Friday. This was a really fun celtic inspired fantasy (set in modern day), I do recommend you trying it if you got your hands on  a copy.
  • And All the Stars – Netgalley book from aaaages ago that I never got to. What was wrong with me?? This alien invasion apocalypse story was so awesome. Started on Saturday, finished on Sunday and highly recommended if you have an alien invasion craving after 5th Wave ;-).
  • Among the Nameless Stars – Funny story, I got my titles mixed up and thought this one was the above from Netgalley, then realized it was too short and was actually the novella that I had downloaded free, haha. Anyway, I loved this prequel and am going to be ordering For Darkness Shows the Stars asap. Read on Saturday.
  • The Dragon Reborn – This is my read-a-long book that I’m so behind on, but I made progress and hopefully can finish this week in time for the grand finale posts :D.

This was such a successful read-a-thon for me, I never read this many books this quickly! I still have a lot of review books that I need to get going on, but first to the review writing, haha!

How did you read-a-thon go???

Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings -A

 

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2 Stars: The Resurrectionist by E. B. Hudspeth

I was very excited to receive The Resurrectionist by E. B. Hudspeth from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. I love a good fantastical nonfiction that brings to life and reality all of the fun fantasy critters we adore ;-). However, I found my expectations were somewhat misplaced, since The Resurrectionist is not a book about dragons and satyrs being real and dug up. Instead it is a story about a mad “scientist” who constructs mythical creatures from tortured animals and humans in his desperation to be right about their existence. While The Ressurectionist might appeal to those who love a macabre premise and some pretty illustrations, it was not my cup of tea.

Note: I received a copy of The Resurrectionist to review through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.
The Resurrectionist by E. B. Hudspeth Goodreads | Amazon | LibraryThing

Title: The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black
Author: E. B. Hudspeth
Length: 192 pages
Genre-ish: Fictional Nonfiction
Rating★★- Pretty pictures, creepy and inaccurate

Philadelphia, the late 1870s. A city of gas lamps, cobblestone streets, and horse-drawn carriages—and home to the controversial surgeon Dr. Spencer Black. The son of a grave robber, young Dr. Black studies at Philadelphia’s esteemed Academy of Medicine, where he develops an unconventional hypothesis: What if the world’s most celebrated mythological beasts—mermaids, minotaurs, and satyrs—were in fact the evolutionary ancestors of humankind?

The Resurrectionist offers two extraordinary books in one. The first is a fictional biography of Dr. Spencer Black, from a childhood spent exhuming corpses through his medical training, his travels with carnivals, and the mysterious disappearance at the end of his life. The second book is Black’s magnum opus: The Codex Extinct Animalia, a Gray’s Anatomyfor mythological beasts—dragons, centaurs, Pegasus, Cerberus—all rendered in meticulously detailed anatomical illustrations. You need only look at these images to realize they are the work of a madman. The Resurrectionist tells his story.– Goodreads

Strengths:

  •  The premise of The Resurrectionist is interesting. I think all lovers of fantasy like to think about whether mermaids and all the other mythical beasts could have been real. I love the idea of a “nonfiction” book diving into that concept.
  • The illustrations in the second half of the book are lovely and very detailed with all the anatomy of various beasts.
  • The first part of The Resurrectionist definitely felt like a real biography, complete with newspaper clippings and quotes.

Weaknesses:

  •  There were some flaws with the historical set up. Dr. Black refers to genes and inheritance quite frequently and while was working on his theory at the time the book was supposed to be set, he had no idea how inheritance would have worked because DNA and genes had not been discovered yet. It was quite annoying to someone who has studied genetics even briefly.
  • We are going to continue on the science flaws bandwagon here with the flaws of how evolution was presented. While it is entirely possible these were on purpose because Dr. Black was obviously insane towards the end of his life, it still annoys and evolutionary scientist when evolution is presented as the body trying to reach a goal. That is not how it works at all.
  • Further, what Dr. Black was doing in the second half of his life is not science at all. The Resurrectionist continues to refer to his madness as science, when he was really just performing macabre surgeries for carnivals….
  • Finally, the whole story of The Resurrectionist was just waaaaay too creepy for me. Dr. Black is told to have sewn bird wings onto a living dog to try to prove it could work, and the torture and suffering of the animal is described in quite a lot of detail. Dr. Black didn’t keep to animals either, and there are hints of the horrible things he did to human beings to try to recreate harpies and snake-women…. Just too much for me personally.

Summary:

If you enjoy a creepy story with lots of illustrations to accompany it, then you might enjoy The Resurrectionist more than I did. Unfortunately, The Resurrectionist had various scientific and historic flaws that I just could not let go of and the general tone of the story was not what I enjoy.

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Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings - A

 

 The Resurrectionist by E. B. Hudspeth

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5 Stars: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Veronica Rossi’s Through the Ever Night is the second in the Under the Never Sky trilogy and I have to say I think I liked the second book better :D. There will be spoilers for Under the Never Sky, so check out my review of it instead. Under the Never Sky was actually one of the first books I got from the library based on book blogger suggestions, so this trilogy has a special place in my heart ;-). I had some issues with the first book being too romance focused, but Through the Ever Night has completely fixed that problem! Through the Ever Night has strong friendships, heart-breaking adventure, just enough romance to make me smile, but a story beyond just how Aria and Perry feel about each other, haha. I haven’t read the novella about Roar and Liv, and I kind of recommend reading that before Through the Ever Night since I think it would have just upped the feels all the more. But now I get to go read it and get more of these awesome characters :D.
Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi Goodreads | Amazon | LibraryThing

Title: Through the Ever Night
Author: Veronica Rossi
Length: 352 pages
Genre-ish: Dystopia YA
Rating★★★- amazing sequel, can’t wait for more!

It’s been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don’t take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe’s precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both. Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder,Can their love survive through the ever night? – Goodreads

Strengths:

  •  Based on most of the YA books I’ve read, I’ve been convinced that boys and girls can’t be friends without falling in love. Through the Ever Night fixed this, yey! I was relieved and excited to see a strong friendship between Aria and Roar that didn’t have love triangle overtones (well, except for that one amusing moment with Perry >.>).
  • The action just keeps heating up in Through the Ever Night. The Aether is getting worse and not even Aria’s former home in the pod is safe. Everyone wants to find safe haven and I was biting my nails waiting to see how far they’d go to find it.
  • I know I said the romance wasn’t the major focus, and it isn’t, but I actually really like books where the main characters’ relationship is established and a comfy background to stressful plot developments. It’s like what real relationships are ya know?
  • If you’ve read Under the Never Sky, you already know this, but the writing of Through the Ever Night was fluid and compelling. The world-building is awesome (hope this doesn’t happen to our planet for reals D:). The characters develop and interact and grow together as real people. Also can I be best friends with all of them? I just need to hug Cinder and Willow :D.

Weaknesses:

  •  I had a bit of vertigo when I started Through the Ever Night. I don’t re-read previous books before jumping into a sequel and I’ve never found it to be a problem. However, I felt like I had missed something when I started Through the Ever Night and actually went to make sure the novella wasn’t 1.5 and required to read 2. It’s not, you’ll get it figured out, just keep reading.
  • Ummm… when is the third book released please? (That’s all I got, I loved Through the Ever Night, sorry!)

Summary:

I like this pattern I’m seeing in second books where the romance becomes a secondary element and we get to really bite into the plot. Everything is being ratcheted up in Through the Ever Night and the friendships and relationships developed in the previous book are necessary for everyone to stay sane from the stress! If you were a little disappointed with the ending of Under the Never Sky, keep going! It’s totally worth it and you will (hopefully) not be disappointed. I wasn’t at least ;-).

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Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings - A

 

 Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

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Bout of Books: Let’s Do This

Bout of Books

Bout of Books Starting Line

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Yey it’s finally here :D *hops around excitedly* All right, so my reading list is changing a bit since I decided to join in the Clean Sweep challenge and therefore want to read all review copies! I also was very lucky and a certain awesome friend of mine gave me a lot of ARCs (old and newer) that she didn’t want to hold on to. I therefore have lots of ARCs to read, yey! I’m also lucky enough to be able to take a couple days off this week and go to my mom’s graduation which is a 12-hour drive away. My boyfriend prefers to drive and I prefer to read, so that’s 24+ hours of reading right there :D.

Note: I didn’t wisely plan lots of posts ahead of time and so I will not be posting anything besides Bout of Books things this week until Friday (when you can check out my review of Through the Ever Night :D). However, I will be updating this posts every day and entering in the challenges, yey! 

There are some books that I accepted for review many many months ago that still need to get some love. Those will be first, though I’m not promising that I’ll read in any order, haha:

  • The Breeders
  • The Order of Dimensions
  • Tavern on the Edge of Time
  • Carlousia

And then I have a couple of NetGalley books that I need to read so NetGalley doesn’t get mad at me:

  • Gameboard of the Gods Finished 5/13/13 (4 Stars!)
  • Some Quiet Place
  • Through the Door
  • Playing Tyler
  • Mist

Then a couple of the old/new ARCs that I just really want to read and they totally count right?

  • Siege and Storm (omg, so excited) Amazing – 5 stars
  • Colossus Rises
  • Hero’s Guide to Saving the Kingdom
  • Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle
  • The Wells Bequest
  • Winterling
  • Summerkin
  • Spellbinding
  • Different Girl
  • Rush

Finally, I have one short book that I borrowed from a friend and so will throw in if I’m craving it ;-)

  • Searching for Dragons

Still a very long list, but I’m not actually expecting to get all of them read, I just like lists, haha.

Updates

I’ll cross books off up above when I finish them, but here is where I’ll also put everything for each day.
[Read more...]

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4.5 Stars: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson ARC

I was very excited to borrow an ARC of The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson from Krys at Bibliopunkk. I am a freaking huge Brandon Sanderson fan, so the opportunity to read his first YA novel was not one to pass up ;-). Like all Sanderson novels, The Rithmatist has a new and intriguing magic system, plot twists on top of plot twists, and characters you can’t help but adore. It also takes place in an alternate history where North America is actually an archipelago and so the United States is less united and more a bunch of island states that grudgingly cooperate! The Rithmatist is definitely a YA novel, though, with a magic school and teenage protagonists. While there isn’t a series indicator on the Goodreads page yet, I’m very much hoping Sanderson decides to write a sequel, because I can’t wait to go back to the world of chalk battles and mysteries. Though I have to admit that I’m still not sure which Rithmatist the title is referring to specifically….

I originally read an ARC borrowed from my friend. However, Tor also sent me a final copy for review, thank you!!! The Rithmatist will be published May 14th 2013, go get your copies tomorrow!
The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson ARCGoodreads Amazon | LibraryThing

Title: The Rithmatist
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 384 pages
Genre-ish: Fantasy YA
Rating★★★★ (4.5) - amazing magic and ending, beginning a little simple

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings—merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.
As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that will change Rithmatics—and their world—forever.– Goodreads

Strengths:

  • First thing is first: chalk magic :D. Certain people get the power to instill their chalk drawings with physical abilities like making an invisible wall above a line of chalk or attacking said walls. The best though are the little doodles that come to life to defend you or attack your opponent :D. There are dragons!!
  • I loved all of the characters for their own unique quirks. Melody is both girly with her unicorn drawings, insecure in her abilities and freaking hilarious in her declarations of “Everything is a tragedy!” Joel is a character many younger readers will relate to in that he is talented and bright when it comes to the subject he loves (Rithmatics) but is struggling in the rest of his classes because he just isn’t interested. Finally, Professor Fitch is a wonderful portrayal of the absent-minded professor, though he has his own strength when it comes to believing in all of his students, no matter their abilities. Seriously, I just want to hug all of these characters!
  • Brandon Sanderson always has awesome plot twists, and so I expected no less. The Rithmatist surprised me, however, with plot twists on top of plot twists with it all making sense in the end. I loved it! You will not be able to guess how this one ends, even when you only have 20 pages left ;-).
  • The alternate history was not emphasized much, but it was quite interesting as a backdrop to the magic and mystery. I am excited to learn more about how their world is different but similar to ours.
  • The ARC of the The Rithmatist that I read had delightful drawings that I’m sure with persist to the final copy. There are drawings at the beginning of every chapter to teach you about Rithmatic lines and strategies and then there are little doodles throughout the chapters of the chalkings (chalk creatures) that are being drawn in the accompanying text. They are awesome :D.
  • While the end of The Rithmatist left me content with what we had learned, it also is already building-up for an amazing sequel. I really hope that the sequel doesn’t take too long *puppy dog eyes*.
  • The ARC I originally read didn’t have a map, however the final copy does and it’s preeeeetty! It also helps a ton with understanding the alternative geography ;-).

Weaknesses:

  • The first 2/3 of The Rithmatist felt closer to MG that YA honestly. There was a strange dissonance in my head of Sanderson’s style that I’m used to in his adult books and the feel of a YA on the young side of the spectrum. 
  • Hopefully this will be fixed in the final version, but there were a fair number of sentences that were quite repetitive, telling me information I had already learned a half page ago.
  • There is a church in The Rithmatist that apparently split from Christianity when Rithmatics was discovered but still is kind of Christian I think. There was some weirdness when it came to referring to the other world religions…. It just didn’t seem to be handled well.

Summary:

I am thrilled that Sanderson has decided to break into the YA genre and I think Harry Potter fans will love The Rithmatist. It has the same magic school with a mystery feel to it and it was just so much fun. The magic system seems simple at first, but we soon start to suspect there is much more potential than has been discovered so far. Sanderson has laid the ground work for an excellent series with The Rithmatist and I really hope he decides to build upon it soon, I must know all the answers!

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Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings - A

 

 The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

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4 Stars: School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins may be a spin-off of her Hex Hall series, but it stands on its own as a fun start to an exciting new series. I haven’t actually read the Hex Hall series and still greatly enjoyed School Spirits. I’m now excited to go track down copies of Hawkins other series just to stave off the withdrawal, haha. I think a lot of us have a soft spot for younger urban fantasy set in high school. School Spirits does this well by approaching from the outsider’s perspective. Hawkins really nailed what it would be like for a home-schooled monster-hunter to try to figure out high school for the first time. I’m very much looking forward to Izzy’s next adventure!

Note: I recieved School Spirits for review through Netgalley. Thank you to Disney-Hyperion and Netgalley!
School Spirits Goodreads | Amazon | LibraryThing

Title: School Spirits
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Length: 304 pages
Genre-ish: YA Urban Fantasy
Rating★★★- well done characters and fun plot

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy’s mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who’s always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt? – Goodreads

Strengths:

  •  As I said above, one of my favorite aspects of School Spirits was Izzy trying to understand this crazy high school thing. She turned to amusingly overdramatic TV shows and those hilarious teen advice magazines. Understandably, there were some laugh out loud moments as she discovered that all she had seen on “Ivy Springs” was not what high school was really like ;-).
  • Many YA novels have a strange lack of parents, but School Spirits didn’t fall prey to this theme. Izzy’s mother was a great character: just as confused as Izzy about this high school thing, trying to deal with Izzy’s sister’s disappearance, and trying to let Izzy grow into a successful monster-hunter.
  • There were some glimpses of the broader UF world that School Spirits’ inhabits at the beginning, which makes me really excited for further book to explore the world more. I assume though that Hex Hall is set in the same world, so I could get my world-building on that way, hehe. School Spirits understandably focused on the ghost aspect as well as a little magic.
  • I looooved the friends that Izzy made at school. Nerds and outcasts are the best in my opinion and what better place for Izzy to make friends than a paranormal hunting club, ha.
  • While you might be nervous at first, there is none of the love triangle angst, scout’s honor!

Weaknesses:

  •  The ending of School Spirits had an easy wrap-up with a good info dump thrown in to explain everything. Not a happy Anya :(.
  • Izzy’s life-story can be very easily compared to early Buffy episodes, not that I don’t like Buffy, I just don’t like obvious comparisons.
  • As I said above, the world of supernatural beings was glimpsed early on in School Spirits, but then all we got was a little ghost-hunting throughout the rest of the book. I want to know more about this Council and all the interesting supernatural powers!

Summary:

School Spirits is a perfect book for those who are addicted to school settings with a supernatural twist. I was loving it all the way to the end when there was a bit of a hiccup in the awesomeness factor. However I’m very hopeful for the sequel to explore more of the mystery around Izzy’s sister and the hints of a pretty epic series plot-line. I also neeeed to go checkout Hex Hall now :D.

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Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings - A

 

 School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

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Mermaid Summer Reading Challenge

Mermaid Summer Reading

 

That’s right folks, one more reading challenge for me this week! I, like Ms. Hill, have been craving mermaid books like nothing else! I was very excited to see her starting this challenge which includes the list of 21 mermaid books she’s found :D. I probably won’t manage all of them, but these are the mermaid books I’m going to see if I can find:

1. Mirage (sequel to Above World)

2. Florence

3. The Forbidden Sea

4. The Vicious Deep

5. The Savage Blue (Vicious Deep #2)

6. Of Poseidon (seen mixed reviews, we’ll see how it goes!)

7. Wake

8. Monstrous Beauty

9. Everblue

10. Madly

11. Semester Aboard

I am aiming for ten book since it seems like a good number, haha. I’m hoping to find more mermaid book recommendations to switch out any that I don’t end up liking, so if you have a recommendation, I would love to hear it!

Anya from On Starships and Dragonwings -A

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