Stacking the Shelves (2)

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews

This week's edition of Stacking the Shelves is composed of a couple of books I've recently borrowed from friends/snagged from the library and the few books I bought in the last week or so. Some of the books from last week's edition of Stacking the Shelves remain, but listing them again seems kind of redundant. So I'm not gonna.

BORROWED

   

1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Head of Development at my Hillel House told me I MUST read this. Since I trust him implicitly when it comes to just about everything, I'm pretty sure I have to read this one as soon as possible. 

2. Reached by Ally Condie

Well, I read the first two, so it makes sense that I put the third one on my library holds list the second I remembered to do so!

3. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Tonight I was at my friend's place when another friend took this book off the book shelf and said "Oh, this one's mine. I should take it back now." I took one look at the cover, realized the book was on my TBR list and asked to borrow it. I started reading it while at my friend's place. It now sits, one chapter read, on my desk.

4. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Everyone and their mom loves this book so I decided it was time to take it out of the library. 

BOUGHT

5. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

I JUST saw this movie (Thanks Forever YA!) and decided to use the $10 I won during Whorublog's readathon chat to buy this book. I'M EXCITED. 

6. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Alexa, among others, has been raving about this book for a while now, so when I was on Amazon buying Warm Bodies, I also decided to pick this one up! I love historical fiction, so reading this seems like a good idea.

So this is what's going on with me book-wise this week. What's your story? Let me know in the comments below!

Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

Title: The Selection (The Selection #1)
Author: Kiera Cass
Release Date: April 24th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Page Count: 327
Source: Borrowed from the Boston Public Library
Rating: ★★★☆☆

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

THE REVIEW

I waited a very long time to get my hands on this book. I was on hold 3 different times and 2 different libraries. Maybe it's because of this anticipation that I didn't love The Selection as much as I thought I would when I first saw the pretty cover and read the lovely description in Barnes and Noble last winter.

Let's break this down:

I'm for sure not the first person to say this, but this book is basically a cross between The Hunger Games and The Bachelor. This is kind of problematic for me, even though I like both of these concepts individually. I mean, The Hunger Games deals with sadistic dictatorships, rebellion and teens killing teens. The Bachelor is a TV show about some guy going on tons of dates with different women until he picks the one he thinks he thinks he might want to spend the rest of his life with.

I'm not entirely offended by this combination, mostly because of Prince Maxon. Maxon is by far my FAVORITE in this whole book. He's responsible, mature, honest and caring. If I could, I would marry him. But crushing aside, Maxon makes this mashup work because he adds some seriousness to The Bachelor aspect of the plot. He's the prince who's looking for a wife to help him run the kingdom. He has to deal with princely meetings and rebels who want to kill him and take down his country. Our bachelor isn't going to get distracted by some hussy three weeks after he gives out the final rose and end up as a tabloid scandal - partially because Maxon would never and partially because he just doesn't have that option.

As for the protagonist, America's okay. I like how she's so loyal to her family and insistent on helping Maxon. I even feel for the poor girl - her relationship status issues are particularly harsh. But I'm not really into the whole love triangle, catty side of her. Obviously she's just trying to make everything better, but it really doesn't work. Did I think it would work for her? No. And it really shouldn't because then she'd be a total Mary Sue. But I kind of wish the way it panned out wasn't so cliche. Furthermore, I'm really very mad at her for how she handles everything at the end of the book. This might be because Maxon's my favsies, but I'm pretty sure even non-Maxon lovers can understand how I feel.

Given everything I've noted about America, I don't think I need to go into how I feel about Aspen. But to sum it up with one of my favorite 90's sitcom phrases: "GO HOME, ROGER." 

And when I say Roger, I'm clearly referring to Aspen. So just go home, Aspen, okay?

The world building also isn't so great. It took until the middle of the book for us to get a history lesson (literally). Up until that point, all we really knew was the bare bones of the caste structure and why the selection happens. And then once we do get our history lesson, it's suggested that everything we're learning might just be royal propaganda. It could be an interesting plot point for the next books in the series, but it was kind of frustrating to finally get a little context for this part-modern, part-medieval world only to find out that it might all be lies without even a hint of what the truth might actually be.

It's important for me to note, though, that I didn't totally dislike this book. It was rather enjoyable, very readable and I didn't really want to put it down. I just expected it to be really good based on all the hype and I was surprised when I was more than halfway through and it was still just okay. I'm still interested in reading the sequel, though. The summary makes it sound like we'll be branching out from The Bachelor themed drama and into something a little more exciting, so that's a plus.

The long and short of it?

Plot: Intruiging. I definitely want to see this developed.

World Building: Eh. We're really not given enough.

Character Development: Pretty good. Maxon's obvi wonderful and even though I don't love America or Aspen all the time, it's not necessarily because either character is particularly underdeveloped, it's just my personal feelings.

Prose: Nothing special

Would I Recommend This Book?: It's a quick, decent read. I'm not sure I would buy it, but I might take it out the library again.

BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE!

It looks like the CW is making a TV show based on the book. ETHAN PECK IS GOING TO BE PRINCE MAXON.

ETHAN. PECK.

I watched the ABC Family 10 Things I Hate About You show pretty much exclusively for this man. He has this really deep, yummy voice that totally matches his exceptionally good looks. And he's Gregory Peck's grandson, which is pretty cool.

Not to mention, William Moseley is going to play Aspen. I don't love Aspen, but I like William Moseley. And so does my Narnia-loving little sister so maybe this'll be a show we watch together if it the CW ever decides to air it.

Personal Plea: CW, please decide to air this. I'm going to need something to fill the Gossip Girl shaped hole in my heart and this could very well be it.

Waiting On: Breath by Jackie Morse Kessler (2)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: Breath (Riders of the Apocalypse #4)
Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Release Date: April 16th, 2013
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Contrary to popular belief, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse aren’t just harbingers of doom—they actually keep life in balance. But what happens when their leader and creator, Death, becomes suicidal?

Before the first living thing drew its first gasping breath, he was there. He has watched humanity for millennia. And he has finally decided that humanity is not worth the price he has paid time and again. When Death himself gives up on life, a teenager named Xander Atwood is the world's only hope. But Xander bears a secret, one that may bring about the end of everything.

This heart-pounding final installment of the Riders of the Apocalypse series looks at the value of life, the strength of love, and how a small voice can change everything...  forever.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

Guys. GUYS. We are FINALLY going to hear Death's story. The feels are driving me to distraction. I mean, not only is Jackie Morse Kessler writing about some incredibly important issues, she's doing it well.

And if you aren't EXCITED ENOUGH YET, Jackie Morse Kessler is donating a portion of proceeds from Breath to TWLOHA (a portion of proceeds from Rage also goes to TWLOHA and a portion of proceeds from Hunger and Loss go to The National Eating Disorder Association and The Alzheimer's Association, respectively). A book that's culturally relevant AND let's me give a little something to one of my all-time favorite nonprofit organizations? There's really nothing here I don't love. 

So what are YOU waiting for this week? Let me know in the comments below!

Top Ten Favorite New-to-Me Authors (1)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

For my first ever Top Ten Tuesday, I have the enormous task of picking my top ten favorite authors who are new to me in the year of 2012. This is particularly difficult for me because I've been playing a lot of book catch up this past year. I mostly blame college from keeping me away from my books, although some of it was sheer laziness. But I think this blog more than makes up for that, don't you think?

Anyway, after much internal debate, here are my Top Ten New-to-Me Authors of 2012 (in no particular order):

1. Rebecca Serle - Okay, Rebecca Serle's debut novel only came out this past year, but I still love. The premise of this book is really clever and, better yet, Rebecca Serle isn't afraid to use her life experience to really do the plot justice. I mean, we all knew the ending of When You Were Mine from the start and I was still crying at the end. And she talks about Gossip Girl on Twitter, proving I'm not completely out of my mind for still watching this show.

2. Lauren DeStefano - I actually met Lauren this past summer and she is as nice as her writing is wonderful. She's an amazing author and I'm so happy I had the opportunity to meet the lovely lady behind the beautiful prose! Not to mention following her on Twitter is the most entertaining thing I've ever done.

3. Jackie Morse Kessler - The subject matter of her Riders of the Apocalypse Series is enough to put Jackie Morse Kessler on this list. It absolutely helps that she donates some of the proceeds of her books to relevant charities. Oh and her writing's pretty stellar too!

4. John Green - I read The Fault in Our Stars based on a recommendation. I wasn't going to. I can't remember for the life of me why I didn't want to read such an amazing book. Anyway, since I gave in and read some John Green, my life has never been the same. 

5. Lauren Oliver - I liked Delirium and Pandemonium, but I LOVED Before I Fall. Yet another book where I knew the inevitable ending from the start but still cried and cried for the last 70 pages of the book. I clearly can't control any of the feels. The fact that Lauren Oliver is a particularly wonderful writer didn't help my emotional stability, either, of course.

6. Aimee Carter - After reading everything by Rick Riordan, I was craving some more Greek mythology based YA fiction. Aimee Carter more than filled that gap in my life and I am thankful everyday.

7. Shelley Coriell - Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe attracted me with it's cover. The inside of the book didn't disappoint either. I absolutely love the colorful cast of characters Shelley Coriell was able to pull together to make up her debut novel. The whole book just felt so real to me, so whatever it was about the cover that pulled me in clearly did me a big favor!

8. Gail Carriger - Okay, the books I've read by Gail Carriger aren't quite YA, but the Parasol Protectorate Series still makes me smile. Her books are a really fun romp through supernatural Victorian England (read: Steampunk) with the occasional hint towards naughty adult things. Definitely worth the read if you're looking for something more adult with a bit of fun fantasy built in.

9. Scott Westerfeld - I've been hearing about the Uglies series for a while but I never got around to reading it. Thankfully, I quickly caught up by reading all four books at the end of the summer. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them and I'm very much looking forward to reading more Scott Westerfeld books in the near future!

10. Veronica Roth - Divergent was probably the first of the dystopian books I read this year in my post-Hunger Games daze. It reaffirmed my faith in dystopian fiction and caused me to pick up every dystopian series I could get my hands on. For that alone Veronica Roth definitely needs to be on my Top Ten New-to-Me Authors List.

Wow. That was hard, but I did it. How did YOUR list turn out? Know any good authors I MUST check out ASAP? Sound off in the comments below and let me know!

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date: September 18th, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Page Count: 416
Source: Borrowed from the Boston Public Library
Rating: ★★★★★

"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve. Either you're his true love... of you killed him."

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, and he's a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven boys, they can only mean trouble. 

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed tree other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resent the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem. But as he life becomes caught up in the strange and sister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore. 

[Summary Source: Book Jacket]

THE REVIEW: 

Can I just say the cover of this book is absolutely stunning? I would read it just because of that. But obviously more goes into my adoration of this book than that.

Let's break this down:

The other week, when I was talking books with a friend of mine, I told her she should read Shiver, also by Maggie Stiefvater. I'd mentioned a couple other books, so to emphasize how much she should REALLY read Shiver, I told her that Maggie Stiefvater's prose is so wonderful that she could write about feet and I would still read it. Thankfully, The Raven Boys isn't about feet, but my glowing praise stands. Maggie Stiefvater somehow manages to find the right words to depict a scene and make you feel like you are right there. Her characters are described so fluidly that you could actually imagine doing what they're doing.

Speaking of the characters in this book-every single on of them is incredibly realistic and consistent. It's a pretty amazing feat considering the point of view in the story is definitely not fixed and each of the characters highlighted is important in one way or another. Not to mention, I was only 50 pages in when I started caring about almost everyone. Granted, I'm a sucker for a Stiefvater boy (have you met Sam? HAVE YOU?), but I was actually torn over which of the boys I loved most by the end of the book. And there are four of them.

Then there's the plot. It all starts off slow, but I kind of like it that way. It gave me some time to get used to all this foreign stuff-ley lines, Glendower, psychics and even a little magic. In fact, the whole book moves nice and slow. Even as things begin to really happen at the end, I never feel like I'm being rushed through it, or that anything is ever really unclear.

I also never feel like it's really weird there's all this magic happening in what is otherwise a contemporary setting. I think it's because no one in the story knows everything. Blue's doesn't know about Glendower, the Raven Boys don't totally understand the psychic aspect of everything and neither group anticipates the magic they encounter along the way. This really lets the reader learn about something totally foreign to the main characters with the main characters. Everything is explained and guessed at so that the reader can settle into the fantastical side of things even though we're constantly reminded of work, school, family issues and other everyday kinds of things.

All in all, I think it's crazy impressive that Maggie Stiefvater is able to take an insane number of very different characters and create one goal that they can all agree to and strive to achieve. The book points out a number of time that this group doesn't make sense but at the end of it all, it really just does. Maggie Stiefvater uses incredible character building and delightfully dramatic plot twists to tie everyone to the driving force of the book and to each other. You really can't help but love this rag-tag group of characters.

The long and short of it?

Plot: Intricate and exciting
World Building: Flawless merge of the everyday with the magical
Character Development: Phenomenal
Prose: To die for
Would I Recommend This Book?: Maggie Stiefvater will always be on my list of authors to recommend. This book will definitely be featured in my glowing praise.

Stacking the Shelves (1)

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews

For my first edition of "Stacking the Shelves" I'm only going to include the books I have with me here in school. If I tried to include anymore than that, this post would go on forever. It would also be very much incomplete because I can't remember all the books I have on my shelf to read back at home.

BORROWED

   

1. Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
I'm pretty sure everyone I know wants to give this one a read, just see what the creator of Harry Potter's doing with her time these days.

2. The Selection by Kiera Cass
This one was on my holds list up at the public library near school last semester. My turn never came. At the beginning of the summer, I put it on my holds list at home. I couldn't get my hands on it. This semester I put in on my holds list one more time and I FINALLY have it. So I must read it before I'm done with college.

3. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Everyone's talking about this book. And it's about to be a movie. Both mean I have to read this immediately.

BOUGHT

     4. Fever by Lauren DeStefano I really need to get to this book because I have to be ready for Sever. And because I loved Wither so much.  

5. The Year I Turned 16 by Dianne Schwemm
This is an oldie. I read all four books when I was much, much younger. I loved them all but I lost track of my sister's copies of them. So when I saw them bound together in one set at Barnes and Noble I knew I need a copy for my self.

6. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
I can't believe I haven't read this one yet. But I will.

7. Starters by Lissa Price
This one's been on my shelf for an embarrassingly long time but I'm INCREDIBLY excited to get around to it.

So that's my list for this week. What's on yours? Be sure to let me know in the comments below!

Waiting On: The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter (1)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: The Goddess Inheritance (Goddess Test #3)
Author: Aimee Carter
Release Date: February 26th, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can't stop her--until Cronus offers a deal.

In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he'll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.

With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.

Even if it costs her eternity.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

I got into this series over the summer and I NEED to know what happens to Kate. And Henry. And just about everyone else. February cannot come soon enough.

So what are YOU waiting for this week? Let me know in the comments below!