New Look!

I thought that my blog needed a make-over and look what the awesome Kelsey did! LOOK! How pretty is it? We went through I think two before we found this one. I think I stressed Kelsey out to the max, but look what we got in the end! Thank-you Kelsey!



When the new template went up, I lost all of my widgets, so I don't have my blog list anymore. If you were on my blog list could you please comment so that I can re add you?


Don't forget to check out the AYA this week. We're focusing on Arrival by Charlotte McConaghy. An absoloutely awesome novel that I recommend to all of you. There will be an interview with Charlotte up on AYA later this week, so stay tuned. Want to know more about Arrival? Check out Black Dog Books and, well the AYA this week.


--Allie.

Waiting On Wednesday (4)

Waiting on Wednesday is the awesome weekly segments that allows us book lovers to drool over soon to be released books. Find out all you need to know here.

This week I chose Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend's restless spirit.

I've seen reviews EVERYWHERE and it makes me want to read this book SO much more. It looks so amazing. Everything about it so captivating, the cover, the title. I can't wait until I can read this one.

Allie.

Teaser Tuesday (1)

Here's my first Teaser Tuesday. The book I'm reading at the moment is Undine by Penni Russon.

This is how it works:

*Grab your current read
*Let the book fall open to a random page
*Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
*You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

"It was dangerous: it was the glittering blade of a knife; it was the momentum of a single mindedness of a bullet. But it was also vivid and intoxicating."

What I love about this book is the descriptions! They give you some great imagery.

The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Rating: 4/5.

Summary: (from inside of book) Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, a librarian, who have known each other since Claire was six and Henry was thirty, and were married when Clare as twenty-two and Henry was thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement: periodically his genetic clock resets and she finds himself misplaced in time, pulled into moments of emotional gravity in his life, past and future.

Review: Not a YA book, but it deserves a review all the same.

It’s a long book, but it’s worth it. The Time Travellers Wife is an epic tale of Henry and Claire’s truly heartbreaking story and how they defy the odds, even with Henry jumping through time at unexpected times only to wind up in another unexpected time. It took me a very long time to get into it and I had high hopes for an amazing story, and in a sense, I got one, in another very small one, I was disappointed. It starts off really strongly, the prologues, from both perspectives are really amazing.

For a while I couldn’t really feel Claire and Henry’s love for one another. Slowly it sunk in. Some events made it fade away, others made it stronger. I liked the way that everything was really built up and if I were to reread this novel, I would probably cry in some points because I’ll know 100% what’s going to happen and the foreshadowing and events that are clues will be very clear. There were quite a few confusing events that had no explanations but they all kept me hooked and really made this story a page turner. Some parts though, were boring.

The writing style was really blunt, there was Niffenegger didn’t hesitate to swear or use raw descriptions, especially during the sex scenes. That kind of language kept me hooked and really helped me feel a part of the story.

I love the comedic aspect that took away from the anticipated heartbreak Claire was about to face. At some points through the novel I felt like we were focusing on unimportant things.

The way that they described Henry’s condition was amazing. It added the scientific part of the novel in a really interesting and informative way that I enjoyed whole heartedly. Niffenegger made it seem believable.

It was a thought provoking story that really makes you ask: what if? As I write this review I think of scenes and it makes me want to cry.

Unlike the YA romance novels I read, this one unravelled a lot of a married life together. I liked that, though I did very much enjoy when Claire was a teenager in the story.

Seeing and knowing what was going to happen to Henry made it that much more of a page turner. You waited in anticipation for it to happen, you waited it out and then you had to experience it. There are some really intense scenes there that make your heart break.

The end was heartbreakingly wonderful. Personally it was my favourite part of the novel and has me in tears just thinking about it. I’m holding back a spoiler filled rant right now.

Four out of five. It was utterly thought provoking and magical. When I finished I had tears in my eyes and their romance is still with me now. I think that it will be the same for you.

In My Mailbox (4)

In my Mailbox was created by The Story Siren.

Nothing came in the mail for me this week. So, to make myself feel a little bit better I bought myself:
Evernight by Claudia Gray.

Bianca wants to escape.

She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.

Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.

"I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would."

But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

I've been seeing, hearing, reading a fair bit about this book and couldn't resist when I came across it Thursday. I love the cover of this one as well.

What did you get this week?

Fabulous Blog Award

Adele from Persnickety Snark awarded me the Fabulous Blog award.

Here are 5 things that I am obsessed or addicted, or both to:

1. Coke. It rots your teeth very badly, I know, but I can't get enough of it.

2. BOOKS! I love to read, obviously. I love looking at books that are about to be released. I could spend hours in a bookstore.

3. Photos. I LOVE taking photos of me and friends, family, having a good time.

4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Most fantastic show in the whole world.

5. The computer and everything on it. I spend too much time on the computer, checking my emails, writing up reviews, writing, editing pictures (badly), blogging, posting. The list goes on and on.

Haven't been tagged yet? Well I'm tagging you!

Allie.