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The Book Vixen is hosting a YA of the 80s and 90s Challenge.

It's pretty flexible in terms of which books, how many etc, as long as they were originally published in (duh) the 80s or 90s. I've decided to try for 15-30 (a new book for me if I reach 15, a new book for one of you if I reach 30, so recommendations are welcome, and remembered!)

A lot of the books on my list right now are re-reads that I've been meaning to revisit for a while, but haven't gotten around to. Who knows if I'll make time for them all, but it's nice to know they are on there.

Here is my tentative reading list: (I'll add more later...)
~1. After the Rain ~2. The Moorchild ~3. Yolanda's Genius ~4. One-Eyed Cat 5. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 6. The Mists of Avalon 7. Beyond the Chocolate War 8. Goodnight Mr. Tom 9. The Wright Brothers: How they Invented the Airplane ~10. December Stillness *11. Midnight in the Dollhouse *12. When the Dolls Woke *13. Homecoming *14. Dicey's Song *15. A Solitary Blue *16. The Runner *17. Come a Stranger *18. Sons from Afar *19. Seventeen Against the Dealer *20. The Hero and the Crown *21. The Blue Sword 22. Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mt. St. Helen's ~23. The Golden Compass ~24. The Subtle Knife 25. Howl's Moving Castle 26. Sabriel 27. In the Forests of the Night 28. 29. 30.
*marks re-read ~marks owned

I love Read-a-Thons, and I haven't participated in one for a while. So, when I heard that The Bookish Type and Book-Savvy were hosting a Read-a-Thon, I knew I wanted to sign up. So, head on over to their blogs to participate in the Out with a Bang Read-a-Thon!

Here are the details, as listed on their sites:
The Readathon will run from December 29 — 31 and participants will be reading as many books as they can during that time! This Readathon is mainly to finish off the fabulous debuts for the Debut Author Challenge, but participants don't have to focus on that category if they have non-debut books that they would like to finish before 2010 ends.

And, if you need an extra incentive to participate, we'll also be giving away tons of swag and books during the Readathon (and a lot of it will be signed!)

Several awesome authors have been kind enough to donate items! I will do a special thank you post once we have all the details so that I don't miss anyone!

Heather and I will be hosting giveaways during the event, and there will also be fun daily Mini-Challenges, hosted by the following fabulous bloggers: (see their sites for the list)

The free-verse poetry is as powerful as even, invoking images and emotions within the reader easily. I've read several authors who use verse to tell their stories, and none of them are as powerful writers as Hopkins. The intensity she writes with with astound you. It is painful, stark, real. This much honest emotion in a story takes my breath away, even as is breaks my heart. None of these children have had an easy time with life and the legacy Kristina has left for them is heartbreak, addiction and destruction. Not very hopeful, is it?

Life is never all about you. There will always be other people hurt or affected by our decisions, and I think it is important to realize this. You are always able to chose your own actions, but you do not get to chose your consequences for yourself or those around you. I once again commend Hopkins for an amazingly powerful story, one that will stay with me for a long time.

It's Friday again, which means that both Parajunkee's View and Crazy for Books are hosting their weekly blog hops. I think it's a lot of fun to participate and love meeting new bloggers and finding new blogs! (And, I just have to say how totally excited I am that it's Friday the 13th. It's like... Awesome!)

If you are new, Welcome! Please leave me a comment with your blog URL so I can return the favor! And, please, enter my current giveaway for Samantha Bee's hilarious memior, I know I am but what are you?. You can find it HERE.

Jennifer asks us a question each week. Today's question is How many books are on your TBR Shelf?
Well, if it was a shelf of books that I actually own needing to be read? Almost 200. However, if it's all the books that I want to read and think, I need to read that someday? Then the number is actually closer to 1400.:) I love books!

Thanks again for dropping by!!

Looking for Alaska by John Green is a story of friendship, betrayal, grief, happiness, hope, despair, laughter, tears, and growing up. I could go on and on about how many facets of life this book embodies, but I think you get the point.

Miles, Chip and Alaska were perfectly drawn characters. We were able to see both their strengths and their weaknesses, their perfections and their flaws. These characters each have so many dimensions to them, it's hard to believe they aren't actually real. Sometimes they get along, sometimes they make good choices, and other times they act recklessly, with a complete disregard for the rules and their own well being.

This is definitely not a perfectly wrapped story, decorated with ribbons, and wrapped with a bow, so if that's the story you're looking for, look elsewhere. However, if you are interested in reading a story that is going to alter the way you view your world, I highly, highly recommend this book.

The characters in this story are really stupid at times. But they learn. Miles went to boarding school, searching for his 'great perhaps'. He's lived a fairly boring life, nothing exciting ever happens to him, and he's looking for something, but he doesn't know quite what that something is. When he gets to school, he meets his new roommate, Chip, and one of his best friends, a beautiful and exciting girl named Alaska.

John Green shows an amazing talent for writing with this story. He manages to create in Miles a character who is intelligent, and able to think deep and philosophically without talking over the reader, or condescending to them. Miles thinks a lot about what he's learning, especially in his world religion course, and because he is our narrator, we hear a lot about what he's thinking and feeling. But, I never once felt preached to or overwhelmed.

This is a story about the hard parts of growing up. It's a story about those things every parent wishes didn't happen. But these things do happen and to ignore them, brush them under the rug and act as if they are not real is doing everyone a disservice. I makes kids feel like they are alone and that no one else has ever felt the way they do. But this story lets us know that there are other people out there who can relate to us, and that it's okay to hurt, okay to cry and okay to move on.

John Green, I think you are a brilliant man and I cannot wait to pick up your next story.

Today we are pleased to have joining us Marissa Meyer, author of Cinder, a futuristic retelling of Cinderella. Guys! Be excited! Cinder is a 2012 debut, and a little birdie on the inside tells me (Misty) it's fabulous! Make sure to stop back on Friday for a guest post from Marissa!

Now let's get down to business. "Serious" Questions:
~Can you tell us a little bit about Cinder and the series?Gladly! CINDER is a young adult futuristic retelling of Cinderella. In it, Cinder, a 16-year-old cyborg mechanic, must piece together her mysterious past in order to protect her country from an impending war. It's the first in a four-book series, each of which revolves around a different fairy-tale-inspired heroine (Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White), as they join forces to save the world and find their happily-ever-afters. CINDER is scheduled to release in early 2012.

~Why fairy tales? What is it that calls to you, personally, as a writer, and why do you think readers connect to them the way they do?
I’ve always loved fairy tales. When I was growing up, I loved them for the romance, the magical kisses, the dresses, the princes in their fancy castles. Now I’m drawn to them for their timelessness—these are story archetypes that have been retold and recycled in 8 billion different ways, yet authors and artists and movie directors are still coming up with new ways to tell them. And because they still relate to issues that every society deals with, whether it’s childhood neglect a la Hansel and Gretel or just wanting to improve your social status a la Cinderella—these stories hold as much meaning for us now as they did in the time of the Grimm Brothers.

~What’s your favorite scene you’ve ever written? EVER ever? Gosh, that’s a lot of scenes. Can I say every single kiss? I’m a big fan of kissing scenes. The fun part of writing a four-book series with four different heroines who have four different romances is that there’s lot of opportunity for great kissing! Book 2: SCARLET (Little Red Riding Hood) will have some particularly smoldering ones.

Quickfire, Silly and Random stuff:
~Rapunzel is named after lettuce; what odd thing would you be named after if you were in a fairy tale? I love this question, because I was tempted at one point to call my Rapunzel character “Arugula”! I ended up settling on “Cress” though, which is also a type of lettuce. If I were in a fairy tale, I think my odd name would be something geeky and literary, like maybe Pencil or Comma.

~ Using that name, give us a line from your life as a fairy tale: The fairy godmother waved her magic wand and Pencil found herself with this a real live book deal—a dream come true! She was about to retire to Hawaii and do nothing but lie on the beach and drink fruity cocktails for the rest of her happily ever after... when it occurred to her that she still had to write the rest of the books. And back to work the princess went.

~Best fairy tale villain and why? I’m partial to Rumpelstiltskin. He’s sly, crafty, can actually spin straw into gold (quite the feat!), and goes after what he wants. I also love that the story leaves open a big mystery: why does he want the queen’s firstborn at all? It could be very cruel and awful (maybe he plans to eat it!) or more sympathetic (maybe he just wants a family).

~Favorite tale from childhood? Favorite tale as an adult? Least favorites? I always loved The Little Mermaid—it was my favorite Disney movie as a kid, and I only fell in love with it more once I read the Hans Christian Andersen version and learned how truly tragic the story was. It has so much depth to it (pun kind of intended). As for now... it’s so hard to choose! Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are probably neck and neck for my all-time favs. As for least favorite... I don’t know that I really have one, although something about the end of Hansel & Gretel always bugged me. I felt like the dad got off way too easy in that tale!

~If you could be any fairy tale character, or live through any fairy tale "happening," who/what would it be? Cinderella’s ball! I love big beautiful dresses and dancing and food!

~Would you rather:
- — live under a bridge with a troll, or all alone in a high tower? Tower, definitely! Just think how much reading you’d get done.

- — ride everywhere in a pumpkin carriage (messy) or walk everywhere in glass shoes (uncomfortable)? I’ll take the carriage, with hopes that the fairy godmother had the sense to scrape all the guts out of it.

- — have a fairy godmother or a Prince Charming? Between getting engaged and getting my book deal for CINDER both in the past few months, I think I already have both!

Thanks so much for the fun interview, Ashley and Misty! Oh course! We were happy to have you, and can't wait for Cinder! Thanks for stopping by! So who else is super excited for Cinder? *raises hand* Stop back on Friday for a special guest post from Marissa Meyer. And don't forget to leave her some love in the comments!

Today is my first actual Memory Monday post, and I'm pretty excited about it! If you missed what Memory Monday is all about, you can read this post here for a more detailed explanation.

I thought for a while about which book I want to start with, but couldn't really settle on one book. Two of the books I read this week happened to be fairy tale retellings, and I have quite a few (a lot) more on my read and to-read lists, so I decided I would start my Memory Monday postings with the reason I love fairy tales so much. And that reason is:

Grimm's Fairy Tales as written and collected by The Brother's Grimm!

Have any of you read their collection of fairy tales?! It's wonderful!

I first read this when I was 10 years old. We were spending a week or so visiting my grandparents, and I was bored. I love my grandparents very much, but at 10 years old, just being in the same house is usually enough. I'm sure you can all relate...

Always having been a reader, I was looking for a book. They had a few picture books, a lot of plays (my grandfather and that whole side of my family is very big into theater), and a bunch of non-fiction — biographies and the link. When you are ten, all of that equals one big BLAH.

I can't tell you how much time I spent searching their shelves just hoping that something interesting would appear and give me something to read. There are only so many times you can play "River Wild" in the hammock. (That's another long story...) Ahem...

As I was searching the shelves, my grandpa pulled an old copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales from the bookcase and told me to give it a try. I was skeptical at first but soon because deeply fascinated by these dark and often morbid tales. Disney never told me that Cinderella's bird friends pecked out her evil-stepsister's eyes, or that Snow White 'dies' two or three times before finally eating the apple, and that it's the dwarf's who save her the first times. There were so many more tales that I had never heard of before and they were all so fascinating. Not all of the heroines are helpless, waiting for their prince to come. A lot of them are ultimately the ones who save their princes and even the tales that have a happy ending are not nearly as peaceful getting their as the current tales would have you believe.

I overheard my grandpa remarking how impressed he was with me to my parents because of my reading. I was sitting on the couch while my brothers were watching cartoons when my grandpa walked through the room. He assumed we were all watching TV, but was impressed and pleased to find me tuning out the TV and little brother noises to focus on my book. I was, as my grandma says, tickled pink. I remember that day, and I remember that book. I loved the stories so much that my parents got me my own copy that Christmas which I promptly sat down and read again, and would use night after night to read bed time stories to my younger brothers. I have such fond memories of these stories, and I love reading them in their original form and retold in new and unique ways.

Because of this book, I also read The Complete Tales of Hans Christian Anderson, and although there were a few favorites there (namely The Little Match Girl and Thumbina) the stories of the Brother's Grimm are most definitely the favorites. (Do you know that HCA has a fairy tale (no lie) about a dung beetle? Ya, I thought it was weird too).

The Brother's Grimm had a very definite impact on me early reading, and what interests me today. Do you have any old favorites? I'd love to hear about them! Leave me a comment telling me about your childhood favorites, or linking me to your blog post, or telling me about your experiences with Grimm's Fairy Tales! I'd love to hear from you!

So, Princess Bookie is hosting a contest craze full of books and prizes and challenges and all that good stuff. I don't normally post about stuff like this, and I haven't, as yet, participated in any of the Waiting on book memes or things like that, so I figured that I'd add my comments this time.

She is asking for us to name our Top 5 books of 2011. I've run across enough 2011 releases lately that I'm willing to add what I'm waiting for. It should be fun. So, the top books I'm waiting for are:

1. Where She Went by Gayle Forman. The sequel to If I Stay, one of my favorite 2010 reads, this will be released in April and after the blog teaser tour a few weeks ago, I'm going crazy waiting to read this book.

2. Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I read Before I Fall this year and I loved it. When I realized Oliver was coming out with a second book, and a dystopian one at that, I was thrilled! It comes out in February.

3. Bitterblue by Krisin Cashore. I just finished reading Graceling and Fire and I loved them. Cashore is a great writer, and I've loved the world she's created. It's tentatively planned for April, but I'm not sure if that's official yet.

4. Cloakedby Alex Finn. I love fairy tale retellings, and I've enjoyed Finn's other modern retellings (Beastlyand A Kiss in Time) There aren't a lot of retellings about the Frog Prince, and I'm pretty excited to read this one.

5. Entwined by Heather Dixon. As I mentioned, I love fairy tales and their retellings and The Twelve Dancing Princesses has been my favorite as long as I can remember. Plus, if you look on Goodreads, the cover for this one is beautiful.

So, at the moment, these are my 5 most highly anticipated releases of 2011. What are yours?

*Disclaimer: I received this book through One ARC Tours.

Losing Faith by Denise Jaden is a story of life and death, pain and hope, and friendship. Brie hasn't been close to her sister Faith for several years. Their parents are deeply religious, and Faith is a fervent believer as well. Brie is more interested in whether she really wants to spend alone time with her boyfriend than listening to people talk God, and it's caused some tension between family members.

Then Faith dies. Brie feels like she's losing ground, and there's no one for her to talk to. People at school don't know how to deal with her (what do you say to someone who's been that close to death?) her boyfriend is more interested in her body and her parents are so wrapped up in their own grief there is no room for Brie.

Then, Tessa starts talking to Brie. She's the tough chick, always dresses in black, scowls at everyone and seems more than willing to beat you up. Brie's always been terrified of her, so she's definitely wary when Tessa starts being, almost... nice. Turns out, there's a lot more to Tessa than meets the eye and she's the only one there for Brie as she starts getting closer to the answers about why her sister died.

The characters in this novel were amazing. I was so impressed with how Jaden wrote these characters. Because they are real. I believed in them. They didn't always act how I wanted them to, but I never felt that anything they did was really out of character. The only character I didn't fully believe was Faith, but I won't tell you why because that would spoil the book, and she's dead most of the time, so I can overlook that. Tessa is tough. She doesn't take crap from anyone, and because she's been so isolated from people for so long, she's really abrupt and doesn't really know how to communicate. And she stayed that way. Too often in books we have the tough guy/girl who just needs that one friend to open them up to show that, Hey! They really are totally great after all. But, most people who have gone years without much in the way of interpersonal communication have a lot to learn about being with other people, and it's definitely not something you learn overnight.

The only character I wasn't satisfied with was Pastor Scott, the youth pastor. I really felt that Jaden did him a disservice in her description. Maybe the problem is with me, but I totally kept waiting for it to be revealed that he was a creep of some sort or another, and every time he was mentioned, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. But, even though he's described in a way that makes me feel like he's creepy, he isn't. He's actually pretty minor.

The characters in this story were all developed really well, and their relationships with each other were intricate, and believable. I'm sure it's not surprising, given the nature of the YA coming of age novel, but there was a lot of growing up done in this book and it wasn't a disappointment. They grew as people in a believable way, enough to leave you satisfied that these people will continue to develop into great people you'd actually want to spend time with, but not so much that it leaves you disbelieving it actually happened.

The story also makes you think about what people are like inside. It's scary when you realize that someone who seems normal and likable is all kinds of crazy underneath. This is realistic fiction — something that could happen to any of us, but also something that I wouldn't wish upon anyone. It's definitely a book to make you think, to make you wonder, and one that I'll be thinking about for a while yet. And, I'm very interested in what Jaden does next.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a book I've been meaning to read 'for real' since my senior year in high school. It is the one of only two books I have ever been assigned and not read completely. (The other is A Diary of Anne Frank and I feel horribly guilty over that one)

So, I started Heart of Darkness for my AP English class, like I was supposed to, and then got bogged down in Conrad's endless description. So, I skimmed the rest, asked my English teacher for 'help' because I, 'didn't understand' the message, wrote my thesis paper, and got an A.:) No one ever knew.

But, I always felt like I hadn't been fair to Mr. Conrad's book. I owned my AP copy, it's not even 80 pages, and I figured I could just read it and mark it off my slate of unfinished (shameful) reads. I even hoped that if I gave it another chance I wouldn't hate it so much the second time.

Although it will never be one of my favorite books, I will say that Heart of Darkness was improved the second time around. I liked it much more this time (although that isn't saying much, since I loathed it the first). One of my earliest concerns with this book is the narrative voice. The narrator and the storyteller are two different people. People are sitting around a fire, listening to a man tell a story about his trip through the heart of the African Congo, and one of the men around the fire is telling it to us. It's weird, and it makes the descriptions and language that much stranger, because really... Even back then, who talks like that around a campfire?! I don't really see the point, and I thought it made the story more stilted than it needed to be.

I also felt that a lot of the book was superfluous, which in a 78 page book is a problem. Nothing really happens until the end of the book. Now, I'm perfectly willing to admit my part in this. I know that I read this book faster than I should have, and that I missed some of the important parts to the story. But, I don't care. I still found a lot of it dull, meandering and pointless.

There is a surprising amount of depth to this story. I missed it entirely the first time, because I was intentionally blocking out any meaning to the story, and I think I barely touched it this time, but I was impressed by what Conrad is able to convey in just 80 or so pages (closer to 40 or 50 if you consider that I felt the first half mostly irrelevant). But, once Kurtz becomes an important and active part of the story, I think you can learn a lot. Although I didn't love this book, and I doubt I ever will, I'd like to read it at least once more to try and glean more because I think there is more that this book could teach me.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce was utterly wonderful. I've always love fairy tale retellings, but my especial favorites are the stories that take a familiar tale and make it entirely their own. Sisters Red does this marvelously.

The writing itself was captivating. It's told in chapters narrated alternately by Scarlett and Rosie. I loved that we got to listen to each sister. Their outlook on life is so different, their views so varied that their voices didn't need much help being unique. It was easy to tell which sister was thinking or talking. I also loved both the prologue and epilogue which were written as fairy tales. It's such a small detail that definitely makes a big difference. (Big smile).

Jackson Pearce is not the first author to take the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and turn the sinister wolf in the forest into a werewolf. It's been done before, but never have I read it done like this. Pearce is brilliant and I'll definitely be signing up to read any and all fairy tale retellings she writes up in the future. Scarlett is mauled while trying to protect her younger sister Rosie from the werewolf (Fenris) that killed her grandmother. She loses her eye and gains an intense hatred for the Fenris and a passion for hunting them down. And, she's good at it. It drives her life and often blinds her to anything else. This is her mission, her role. She needs to protect others and remove as many of these horrid monsters as possible, with the help, of course, of her lovely sister Rosie and their childhood friend Silas. (Side note to say thank you for not making the werewolf the love interest... Ahem... Very big thank you.)

Oh ya, and the red cloak — it's a lure. I just can't get over how much I loved that detail. Red is the color of passion, lust, desire and blood and the Fenris just can't resist the lure. It made me happy.

Anyway... I will admit that I saw the twist coming from a long way off. I can't remember actually being surprised at anything that happened, although I know we were supposed to. But, I'm okay with that. Pearce writes in such a way that I didn't mind figuring everything out long before the characters. It just felt like I was in on the secret. And, I'm much, much more lenient with fairy tales being predictable than I am with the average book. Fairy tales are supposed to be familiar. And, the great writing, and realistic characters more than made up for that. And, it was great writing. It's one of those stories that just pulls you in and holds you close until you finish the last page metaphorically gasping because you just can't handle it anymore.

And can I just add that I love when authors combine more than one fairy tale?! It makes me so happy! And before I go into that, understand that this may very well be me reading more into it than the author intended... Maybe she's not actually familiar with the tale Snow White and Rose Red, and I may have seen the slight correlations because I wanted to, but I wanted to. So there... It's really subtle and I noticed it more in the personalities of the girls and their relationship to each other than the actual story line, but the faint hint of this tale was there, almost like a perfume that lingers long after the woman has left.

If you haven't read this yet, and you have any enjoyment at all for fairy tales, strong heroines, dashing young men, exciting fight scenes and stellar writing, I suggest you locate a copy now, and read it. I finished it a week ago, and already I'm wanting to read it again.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through We Love YA Tours.

This review is posted as part of Once Upon a Bookcase's Body Image and Self-Perception Month.

Have you ever found yourself rooting for the bad guy? Knowing that the character deserves every bad thing coming his way, but hoping that, somehow, things will work out better in the end? I don't know that I had ever truly experienced that before reading Tenderness by Robert Cormier. I generally prefer (ahem-totally love) reading books where the bad guy totally gets his comeuppance. I'm all about hard-core justice for my villains. Mercy?! *Scoff,* What's that. Don't you know what he's done?!

Reading this book changed that. This is the first time (or at least the only time that comes immediately to mind) where I have truly felt bad for our bad guy. Other times when the bad guy is pitiable or shown mercy, it is because they aren't really all that bad, merely misunderstood. Eric Poole may be misunderstood. That's a distinct possibility. But, there is no denying the fact that he is bad. He's a sociopath. When we meet Eric, he's been in a Juvenile Facility for the last three years for the cold-blooded murder of his mother and step-father. Or course, it was justified because of the 'severe abuse' Eric has been living with, so the state tries him as a juvenile instead of an adult, which means he will be released after he turns 18 and his record will be expunged. No one knows about the three young girls Eric murdered, or so he thinks.

If I had to sum up my thoughts/feelings/idea of this novel in one sentence, it would be revolve around the quote that begins this novel: "To know the pain of too much tenderness" — Kahlil Gibran. One generally equates tenderness with only positive things. It brings to mind images of gentleness, kindness and love. But, what about the idea of too much tenderness? Is that possible? Apparently. Lori and Eric are searching for that tender emotion. Almost every action is driven by this desire to experience tenderness. They are always seeking it, they look for and find it in all the wrong places and they never grasp it for long. It creates intense dysfunctions within each character.

Eric kills young girls to find it and Lori subjects herself to all manner of unwanted and unwelcome sexual advances to feel it. Their paths cross and Lori decides that Eric is the one who can give her what she seeks. She goes with him, knowing that he murdered his mother and step-father (but he was so abused!) and later discovers that the murmurs about Eric killing young girls is also true. But, Eric is tender with her. She loves him. She informs Eric that she will stand by him, ignoring his past and assisting him in the future if he will simply remain tender with her. And how can he refuse that, especially once he begins to care for her, as much as he is capable of caring for anyone.

If we only heard from Lori's perspective, it would be incredibly easy to hate Eric and despise him for the crazed cold-blooded killer he is. But, he isn't, is he? I still don't know. We also hear from Eric. While Eric never demonstrates any remorse for what he's done, he too merely desires a little tenderness in his life. Before his mother remarried, she and Eric had a very close relationship. The man she married and Eric do not get along at all. Eric despises him and he thinks Eric is rather in the way. Eric seeks compassion and tenderness from these girls and finds that the only way he truly feels able to experience it is upon their deaths. However evil that is, I can't hate him for it. He seems genuinely puzzled when the main detective on the case calls him a monster and surprisingly, I found myself agreeing.

By the end of the novel, he seems genuinely concerned for Lori's welfare. He takes care of her, makes her feel special and begins to show her what she has been searching for. And there is no doubt that by the end, he truly cares for her. Although abrupt and a bit jarring, the ending suited the story perfectly. It was tragic, but it was the only way to end the story and be true to each character. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that I ended up heartbroken for each of our main characters. None of them really received their happy ending.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time, and one that will influence my thoughts as well. I can't imagine someone with such a low image and perception of themselves that they would be willing to subject themselves to what Lori willingly puts herself through before and after meeting Eric. What would drive an attractive young woman to such lengths and who is to blame for not teaching this girl that she has value all on her own. This is a story that will both warm and break your heart and one that will linger in your thoughts long after you've turned the last page.

I have a whole bunch of books I know that I should be reviewing right now, but I'm in one of those moods where I'm just not interested in doing anything that will require that much thought, and I'm tired, which right now translates into I'm not going to write anything nice/worthwhile, and most of the books I have in my review que are books that I really, really enjoyed. I don't want those reviews to be crappy, because these books deserve more than that. I thought about not doing anything for today, but I did that yesterday. I was browsing my bookshelves, and I saw my copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I read Walden (or Walden Pond, depending on your copy) about a year ago and wrote up a short review on goodreads. I've been wanting to read and talk about more than just YA lately, and decided that now was as good a time as any.

So, in my title I ask if I'm in the majority or the minority. Meaning — I want to know if anyone who has read this book actually liked it. I've talked to a lot of people who like Thoreau. And, after conversing with them further, I discovered that all of them (except for one) were lying. At least a little. They had read excerpts of Walden or individual quotations and thought them to be insightful and thought-provoking. I agree. When taken one sentence at a time, after, of course, carefully screening for only those which inspire deep thought and meditation, Thoreau is just fine.

I read most of Civil Disobedience in HS as well as excerpts from Walden and I spent a few years thinking Thoreau was pretty hot stuff (literarily speaking of course...) . So, when I found a pretty faux-leather bound copy of Walden and Other Writings at a used bookstore, I grabbed it, and went home so excited to read it, thinking I was going to be so edified. And then, after I started reading it, I realized I was so bored. Thoreau takes 300+ pages to talk about spending 2ish years in the woods, and with the amount he rambled, I'm thinking 100 to 150 pages would have been better. He told stories that related to nothing. In the middle of a chapter about walking around, he's suddenly start spouting off about this dove/dog/man who were all searching for each other and then... and then... and then... nothing. No resolution. He even itemized how much it cost him to build his little home in the woods. (Or rather, how much it should have cost him, because I swear, everything he took with him was donated by someone else...)

Anyway, I could have gotten past the fact that Thoreau's life was a little dull, because really — he's spending 2 years in the woods with very little human contact, and no amenities. Don't get me wrong — I love the woods. I'm not gonna lie — I'd totally go live in the middle of the woods if I had the chance, although I'd make sure I took electricity and a flushing toilet with me... So, I could have forgiven that, and probably enjoyed this book a lot more if Thoreau didn't come off as so darn pompous and self-righteous. I'm kind of glad I never had to meet this man, because his writing makes him sound like one of the most condescending men I've ever come across. And, living in the woods for 2 years without the luxury of a doormat and then moving back to your original home does not make you qualified to tell me that my luxuries are the beginnings of my downfall into evil. He doesn't exactly say this, but it's pretty close and I definitely felt like Thoreau was talking/looking down on the rest of us. I might take Thoreau and his preachings about the benefits of an entirely simple life if he had always lived by Walden. But he didn't. He went home after a few years. But, he's still better than all the rest of us who invite evil into our lives. Bully for you Thoreau.

I understand that this opinion very possibly makes me sound like an uncultured, uneducated philistine. I mean really, Thoreau is one of the Transcendentalists, right up there with Hawthorne, Whitman, and Emerson. I get that... But, I don't care. I didn't enjoy Walden. It's entirely possible that I was simply in the wrong mood to read this type of literature/philosophy when I gave it a shot, but I don't think so. Because I own the book and doubt I'll be getting rid of it (it's pretty and looks great on my bookshelf) I'll probably give this a try again in a few years, when I'm older and hopefully wiser and all that great stuff. And, if I'm still blogging, I'll be sure and let all of you know about my new opinion, if it changes at all.

But I'm confused by all the 5 star ratings on Goodreads. Many more than I would have expected. The 4 and 5 star reviews strongly outweigh the negative reviews. So I wonder... Is there something that I'm missing? Or has the general population bought into the idea that they have to give the book a higher star rating to prove that they did, in fact, get it, as so many of us lesser people seem to not. Perhaps this paragraph doesn't make as much sense as it should... Although I was quite put off by Thoreau himself and his writing, I can see where the basic ideas of economy and simplicity could really resonate with someone. Perhaps, because I was raised to understand that living within my means and avoiding debt and extravagant lifestyles made this book superfluous to me, so I didn't feel it connect with me, but regardless. Whatever the reason I or you come up with, Walden was not for me.

So, I'll ask you again. Am I in the majority, or the minority on this one? How did YOU feel about Walden and Thoreau's writing in general?

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is my first real experience with zombies, and I can't say I was disappointed. It was... Wow.

There were a lot of things that I really liked about this book, something I really didn't like about this book, and things I didn't really like, but couldn't have had it happen any other way. Sigh... I love when a book can bring such varied reactions at the same time while still being great! This is definitely a book that grabs your attention and keeps it, all the way to the end.

I do wish that we had learned more about the Sisterhood and the Guardians. Both groups (but especially the Sisterhood) gave off these real creepy sinister vibes, but we never really get to learn about them. It's hinted at and alluded too, but never spoken.

I also was fairly dissatisfied by the ending. It left a lot of unanswered questions, some I believe will be answered in the sequel(s), but some I imagine will never be answered. The very end was also the only time I actually felt that Mary was selfish. I've read quite a few reviews that complain about how selfish Mary is throughout the entire story, but I didn't see it. Sure, she was a teenager with the natural amounts of self-centeredness that goes along with that, but I didn't think she was anymore selfish than the average teenager, until her choices at the very end, which I won't tell you (obviously) because it would be a shame to spoil this book for you like that.

Although there were a few things I didn't love about this book, for the most part I was incredibly pleased. The writing was wonderful and captivating, beautiful and heartbreaking. I love that the undead were referred to as 'unconsecrated'. It changed the rhythm of the story (if that makes sense) and I definitely liked it. Any way you talk about them though, I definitely don't want to live in a world where zombies exist. ~shudder~

This book, although beautifully written and brilliantly designed is not a happy book. It's about the end of the world, and zombies, so it's to be expected. And, while I definitely prefer reading books with a happy ending and lots of closure, the stark realities of their world, and the unhappiness they have to live with is infinitely more logical, likely and realistic. So, even while crying, and wishing things had ended differently, this ending made sense to me, and felt right.

This is definitely a book that will stay with me for a while. And, I'm eagerly awaiting the chance to read the sequels.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff is the story of Mackie. Mackie is in high school, and he desperately wants to fit in, and live his life, but he has a secret, one that, if anyone found out, would likely mean the end of him.

He lives in Gentry, a quiet, unassuming town that hides a secret beneath the ground. Every so often, a child will disappear in the night, to be replaced with a child who looks similar but is, somehow, not quite right. Those children generally die soon after, and although the family grieves, no one acts like anything out of the ordinary has happened.

Until Tate's younger sister Natalie disappears, and Tate knows that what died in the crib was not her little sister.

The town of Gentry seriously creeped me out. Not because they have fairy like (evil) creatures living underneath their streets, but because no one ever talked about it, or acted as if it was anything out of the ordinary. I don't understand how people can live in a place like that, and do nothing about it. I would move. I especially don't understand why Mackie's mom stuck around. She hates the fey creatures that inhabit the underground, and is terrified of them, but (and this is a pretty big but) she stayed there. Why?!

Anyway, this was such a great book. The writing was wonderful, and I really felt like I could believe that these things were happening. It made me think about what I would do in a similar situation, which makes me think of Tate. I pretty much think she is like, the greatest teen heroine character I've read in a very long time. She's hard-core. She knows that what died in place of her sister wasn't really human, and she refuses to accept that everyone is just going to turn aside. She knows something isn't right, and she does something about it. I would like to feel that I would react like Tate in a similar situation. I've always been really close to my family, and I'm pretty sure that if you vanished with one of my little brothers, or my nephews I would raise hell to get them back and bring you down. Tate just made me really happy in that little angry place inside.:)

Mackie is also a great character, and I was amazed at how well he was crafted. (I feel weird saying crafted about a character that's so realistic to me.) High school is a hard time for everyone. It's when you are learning who you are, and trying to find and create your place within your surroundings. Everyone has those moments when they feel like they don't belong. How much harder would it be for someone like Mackie who wants to fit in, but knows that he really doesn't belong.

I loved watching Mackie learn more about himself, and why he is unique. Most of the replacement children die soon after being left in the human world, but Mackie has lived topside now for years (although he is sick all the time...) Anyway, watching Mackie learn that there were people who knew him, and understood him (more or less) but still loved him and wanted to be around him. It warmed my heart, because he's such a great character. He's a guy I'd like to run into in 10-15 years just to check up and see how he's doing.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through Star Book Tours.

* Disclaimer: I read this book through 1 ARC Tours.

Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin is the first book I think I've read where fairies play a predominant role. At least it's the first book that I can remember. So, I was pretty open minded about this one, the cover is attractive (I am especially fond of the way her hair looks, although it's harder to see online) and I'd heard some good things about the author and the book. So, I was excited for the chance to read this one. All in all though, I can't say I was thrilled with what I got.

This book is about Phoebe Rothschild and her unfortunate run ins with the Fey. The book begins with an aura of secrecy. In the beginning, all we know is that the fairies have sent someone to pretend to be human in order to gain contact with Phoebe, but their intention, although sinister in tone, is, as yet, unknown.

Phoebe ends up befriending Mallory, the fairy in disguise. (That makes me want to sing Elvis... You're the devil in disguise, oh yes you are...) And, I don't think Elvis is too far off. Although Mallory does seem to genuinely like Phoebe, it's obvious that ultimately, whatever evil plot the fey have cooked up with triumph.

I liked the idea of this book and the writing was stunning. There is no doubt that Werlin is a great writer. Emotions are clearly conveyed from the characters to the reader, and Werlin is able to give a great deal of insight into the motivation of characters with just a few words. I will be reading more by Werlin because I loved the clarity and beauty of her writing.

However, I felt that the words ordinary and extraordinary were incredibly overused. After a while, I felt like I was being beaten with extraordinary. Nothing like beating a dead horse. Seriously. No one I've ever met uses those words to describe themselves in everyday conversation, especially not like these characters do. I know people with incredibly high self esteem, over-inflated egos etc and none of them call themselves extraordinary, or talk about how awful it would be to be ordinary. They say things like amazing, awesome, cool, better than you, etc. I understand the significance of the word, because I've read the book, and there's no doubt it's important, but I feel like they could have arrived at exactly the same place by occasionally substituting ordinary with other words or phrases. Constantly reading about being ordinary vs. extraordinary was awkward and unnatural.

I also had a hard time relating to Phoebe. Part of it was this obsession with whether or not she is ordinary or could maybe be extraordinary, but most of it came from her interactions with Ryland; her secret boyfriend and Mallory's brother (fey and human.) He is the epitome of an abusive boyfriend and although he wasn't doing it because he is a crazy psycho, he was doing it deliberately to emotionally destroy Phoebe, which I kind of think is worse. Each scene involving the two of them made me incredulous that someone with so many loving relationships would allow herself to be locked into such an abusive relationship (although it does explain that she doesn't really have a choice, them being magic and all...) but they also made me sick to my stomach. No one should have to endure what Phoebe does and it severely limited my enjoyment of the story.

I can easily see where and why this book could become a favorite, but it wasn't one for me. I enjoyed it, loved the writing and will definitely be reading more by Werlin, but I didn't love the story itself.

* Disclaimer: I received this book as part of One ARC Tours.

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin was a great read. For the most part, Avery was a great character. My heart broke for her as she tried to accept and understand the senseless and brutal murder of her parents. For most of the book, I felt that Avery was a strong character, and someone I could have been friends with in high school. The only time I didn't particularly love Avery was when she was swooning over Ben. Don't get me wrong, I really liked Ben. I actually thought he was a good love interest, and a great addition to the story, and I liked almost all the scenes where they were actually together. However, it got a little old listening to Avery having the same thoughts about Ben over and over.

I also loved the descriptions of the forest. I have always loved trees and the woods. When I was younger, and playing those imagination games, I used to pretend that I was being chased through a thickly wooded area by someone just faster than me. But, my unknown pursuer was also bigger and less agile than I was, and kept running into the trees and brambles that I so nimbly avoided. Oddly enough, this was never a scary game, it was always one that left me feeling empowered and free. (Don't ask my why... I'm sharing potentially embarrassing childhood information here, give me a break!) Reading about the forest in this book brought all those great memories back. It makes me want to look around for some wooded areas to run through, preparing myself for that inevitable day when being able to run through the forest will be what saves my life. It isn't often that a description in a book brings back such vivid memories for me.

I've also always loved fairy tales, and although they were very subtle, I loved the slight elements of Little Red Riding Hood this book contained. The fairy tale elements aren't overt or anything, are in fact subtle enough I could very well be imagining them, but either way, I feel like it added a lot to the story. I won't share them, other than a young girl going through the woods to live with her grandmother because it is fun to look for them on your own, and several of the connections I noted are spoilers. I had such a great time reading this book and watching everything unfold that I wouldn't want to ruin that for anyone.

everyone! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, or if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, a rockin' Thursday.

It's Friday again, and I'm hopping again. So, thanks to all the newcomers, for stopping by my blog! I hope you like what you see, and I'd love for you to leave a comment telling me what you enjoyed! (or not, if such is the case.: () If you are visiting, leave me a comment, and I'll be sure to return the favor, and stop by your blog as well!!

So, this blog hopping goodness is hosted in two separate locations, Parajunkee at Parajunkee's View and Jen over at Crazy For Books.

Jen asked us this week about our favorite book covers. I don't think there is room enough for me to answer this question, because there are tons of books that I think have stunningly beautiful/eye-catching covers.

Although, I have noticed that YA (especially recent YA) seems to do a better job at creating attractive covers than most adult fiction. I intend to write up a whole post talking about that in the near future, and why I think that might be so, and I'd love to have you stop by again to let me know what you think about that.

Anyway, some covers (just a few, just real fast) that I find I really loved and to help myself narrow it down a little, I'm picking simple covers that just really hit me:

Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang is the story of young Emmajin, the eldest grandchild of the Great Khan. Her closest friend is her cousin, Suren, the eldest grandson of the Khan. Strength and fighting skills are valued in their culture, and Emmajin desperately wants to be allowed to serve in her grandfather's military. She would be the first.

Her grandfather gives her an important assignment. She is to become the companion and guide to the young traveler Marco Polo, and his father and uncle, who are traveling with them. She is basically a spy — sent to extract secrets that will make it easier for her grandfather to conquer their lands, and fulfill the prophecy from the Gods that their empire would unite the world.

Predictably, as Emmajin gets to know Marco better, she stops thinking of him as a stranger, or enemy and begins to consider him a friend, and then — more.

Although I found several parts of this story to be fairly predictable, I still really enjoyed the book. I thought that Emmajin was a great character, and we see a lot of growth in her over the course of the story. She really comes into her own. In the beginning, she is enthralled by the stories told in the courts about the mighty battles their warriors fought, and the grand acts of heroism and valor in battle. She can't imagine anything more rewarding or wonderful than being involved in something like that. But, as the story progresses, and she begins to learn more about Marco Polo's European ideals, and his desire for peace, she starts to question her belief systems, and view their culture from the eyes of an outsider. Eventually, Emmajin learns the hard way that battle is not all glory. The enemies have faces, lives, and stories of their own.

I loved watching her learn about differing points of view, and realizing that there isn't only one way of doing things. I thought Emmajin was a very well drafted and carefully thought out character. Unfortunately, she was about the only character I thought was fully imagined. Suren is Emmajin's best friend. They've been inseparable since they were tiny, and continue to be close as they grow. But, Suren is only ever fleshed out in relation to Emmajin. It's almost like he is only fully a person when sitting next to Emmajin. I felt like that about most of the other characters, including Marco Polo. To toss in a bit of philosophy, it reminded me of Idealism, which is the idea that there is no real reality. Everything we know/see only exists in relation to us. Sort of like The Matrix, except we aren't really plugged into any machines.

I wished that there had been more character development outside of Emmajin, but my biggest problem with the story was the ending. I thought that the ending was unrealistic. I don't want to go into details, because that really ruins the story, but I didn't believe it at all. I stopped believing what was happening as soon as Emmajin was sitting around the fire at the camp with Marco Polo, her grandfather and other members of the court and hunting party. It just would not have happened like that, and I feel like the author just needed a quick and happy resolution.

I do think this is a book worth reading. I wish the author had stayed a little truer to her characters when writing the ending. I think it was a disservice to both the characters and the reader to end it as she did. That being said, overall, I still enjoyed Emmajin's character and her discoveries about her world, and I enjoyed following her interactions with people.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through Around the World Tours.

Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger won the John Newbery Award in 1925. I didn't know anything about the book when I picked it up other than it's Newbery, but I must say, I was quite pleasantly surprised by what I found.

I have always loved Fairy Tales. Like, a lot. If you remember, a few weeks ago I talked about my first experience reading Grimm's Fairy Tales, which helped cement my love for reading them as well. (If you are really interested, in my blog, and you can go back and read it.) So, imagine my delight when I realized this was a collection of 19 fairy tales recorded by Finger from South America. Although I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about other countries and their rich cultural histories as I'd like to be, I'm always open to learning more. And I think you can learn a lot about a society from their fairy tales and children's stories.

This was a real treat for me to read, and one I'm definitely looking forward to adding to my shelves and rereading, not only for myself but also to read to kids. I used to read some of the Grimm's fairy tales to my little brothers as a bedtime story, and I'd love to be able to add these tales to stories I can read/tell to young kids.

Although some of these stories might be classified as more mythology than fairy tale, I felt the same way reading these as I did reading the classic fairy tales. There's that sense of magic and possibility, where you know anything can happen, and although things might get a little rough along the way, and there probably won't be super happy ending, the good guys do win in the end.

I also noticed that the emphasis of each tale was placed on the struggles of each character rather than the resolution. The ending is always over so quickly. Normally, this is something that is a major no-no in writing, I mean, seriously. Who wants to read a 400 pg. build up to a 4 paragraph resolution?! But it seems to work in fairy tales. The stories aren't about what happens, it's about learning how to get there. We see their struggles, know their challenges and then we get to know they end up relatively alright in the end.

This is definitely a book I would recommend. The writing is a little older, but to anyone who is a fan of fairy tales in their original setting (or people who want to write a fairy tale retelling but are wanting new material) this is a great book to read and one that I strongly recommend.