Spring Fling Giveaway Hop 2013

With all the dreary weather here in my city lately I am excited to take part in something that makes me feel like spring is at least out there somewhere! For my stop of the Spring Fling Giveaway Hop you can enter to win your choice of book from The Book Depository (valued up to $15.) Don't forget to click the link at the bottom of this post to see all of the great stops on this hop, there are over 180 chances to win! 

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Prize is one book valued up to $15

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Criminal Review

TITLE Criminal
AUTHOR Terra Elan McVoy
PUBLICATION May 7th 2013 by Simon Pulse
READ April 01 to 02, 2013
SOURCE Simon Pulse via Edelweiss for review

A searing and gripping read that explores the depths of desperation true love can inspire, from the author of Being Friends with Boys.

Nikki’s life is far from perfect, but at least she has Dee. Her friends tell her that Dee is no good, but Nikki can’t imagine herself without him. He’s hot, he’s dangerous, he has her initials tattooed over his heart, and she loves him more than anything. There’s nothing Nikki wouldn’t do for Dee. Absolutely nothing.

So when Dee pulls Nikki into a crime—a crime that ends in murder—Nikki tells herself that it’s all for true love. Nothing can break them apart. Not the police. Not the arrest that lands Nikki in jail. Not even the investigators who want her to testify against him.

But what if Dee had motives that Nikki knew nothing about? Nikki’s love for Dee is supposed to be unconditional…but even true love has a limit. And Nikki just might have reached hers.

Being a heavy reader I feel it’s safe to say that I have read all kinds of romances. I have read some sweet ones, some boring ones and some pretty twisted ones. CRIMINAL definitely falls into the twisted category. As we meet Nikki and see how helplessly (and unconditionally) in love (or maybe a better word is obsessed) she is with Dee I found myself hating the romance in this book and pitying Nikki so badly, but that’s exactly how I was supposed to feel.

I could not empathize with Nikki personally, but she did feel like a girl you would see on that A&E show Beyond Scared Straight. She had fallen in love with a gangbanger and embraced the lifestyle in a very unhealthy way. It was incredibly sad as the reader to see the romance for what it was, to see Dee for who he really was and watch Nikki lose everything for him. He didn’t really care about her, he used her and what’s worse is that generally, he wasn’t even nice to her. After he gets called in and questioned by the cops he’s not in the mood to talk so when Nikki tries to get details out of him and work on their alibi this is what he says: “What if I put my fist straight through that mouth of yours, crush your pipes so you can't talk anymore, huh? What if that?” Straight after this (what Nikki views as a) romantic weekend Dee is gone and as she struggles to deal with the fallout from the crime he completely cuts her out of his life. There was a point where I felt really bad for Nikki because she was so naive but as she continuously thought of how much she needed to be in Dee’s arms, or just hear him call her baby I got so frustrated with her! He treated her like complete crap and yet the only thing that she yearned for was to please him in any way possible.

The one solid relationship in Nikki’s life is with her friend Bird whom she lives with because the living situation with her drug addict mother is not good. Seeing Nikki lie to Bird, even when she was pulled into the investigation for the murder frustrated me just as much as her need to please Dee. Bird was the one person in this novel that I had some shred of respect for, she had grown up and gotten her crap together. She was trying to live on the straight and narrow and didn’t stand for what Nikki brought into her life. I think the way that she reacted to everything was completely fair. I guess this is where Nikki’s character starts to grow in the novel, we see her confess to the cops so that the heat is taken off of Bird. As the story progresses we see Nikki (slowly) come to terms with what she had done once she is in jail. She gets blindsided when she gets arrested, she thinks that since she was just driving and didn’t actually kill anybody she should be in the clear which just further enforces her naivety.

I’m not really sure how to feel about CRIMINAL. The novel is full of unlikeable characters who make terrible decisions but I couldn’t put down the story. I haven’t come across a book remotely close to this before and while it was uncomfortable at times to read, I really enjoyed it. I felt bad for Nikki in the beginning, got to a point where I was angry with her and then finally just felt scared for her. I think any book that can pull that much emotion out of you is a good book. I couldn’t put myself in her shoes, her situation was very different from any life I have ever known but there are teens getting themselves mixed up in these criminal lifestyles everyday.

I really enjoyed McVoy’s writing here, it was straight and to the point, not flowery. It served the tone and setting of the story perfectly. She does an excellent job crafting characters that feel authentic and creating a love story that is really about how blind love can make you. What served this story best is how linear the plot was, it was constantly moving forward in the aftermath of the murder and didn't stray at all from the story at hand which makes it a story that you don't want to put down.

Book Girls Don't Cry - Genre Trends

In our kick off post for this feature we received a lot of topic suggestions in the form of comments from people wanting us to to talk about bookish trends as far as genre's go.  So this week we decided to tackle this broad topic and I will be talking about what I think is overdone and what genre I always turn to when I know that I need a good read that will really get to me.

First off I just want to throw out there that it can be pretty tiring reading only within the young adult umbrella.  It seems as if years ago when Twilight came out it set a sort of standard when it came to paranormal love stories in YA.  After that everything seemed to have a love triangle and it also started this theme where the guy tries to take himself out of the girls life to protect her.  I have seen those two things in so many books since reading Twilight and it's really starting to grate on me. It has come to the point where if I am reading a book and a second character of the opposite sex of the MC is introduced I actually groan inwardly and assume that a triangle is about to rear its ugly head.  I have seen a few instances where a love triangle was done successfully (Cynthia Hand's Unearthly series, Brodi Ashton's Everneath series and Jessica Shirvingtons Violet Eden Chapters to name a few) but more often than not it doesn't work and just feels completely unnecessary.  I will often buy into a romance much more if the MC that I am following has set feelings and I can feel them grow instead of them always being torn and flip flopping back and forth.

Successful Love Triangles!

Another thing that is starting to wear on me in YA is the dystopian genre as a whole.  I am dystopianed out you guys! There has been a huge influx of these since the success of The Hunger Games and they are all starting to blend together and not stand out in any way.  I can name a few off hand that I have read in the beginning of this year alone that suffered from lack luster world building, annoying romances and characters that are some of the most unlikeable people I have read about (Natalie Whipple's Transparent, Erin Bowman's Taken, Elsie Chapman's Dualed, & Kiesten White's Mind Games.) None of these had the world building to back up the society that the author tried to create.  With the rush of books with dystopian settings coming out the reader needs to be able to get a strong sense of the world.  I need to know how this world came to be, what drives it and why the citizens live as they do.  If I don't have enough information for the setting to be vivid in my mind it just doesn't work! I have to note that I have read one standout title that falls into this genre that I think everyone should give a try and that is The Program by Suzanne Young.  I think this had solid world, character AND relationship building so it really stood out to me as a diamond in the rough.

2013 Dystopia's The Fell Short for Me:

Now onto what is the one fail safe for me, the genre that I always turn to when I need a good read in my life.  Contemporary.  Whether it is young adult or new adult, this is always the genre that I come back to time and time again for a good, solid read.  I get so wrapped up in these stories because I can relate to them.  I can't relate to being an invisible girl on the run, or having to kill my doppelganger or growing up in a society where men disappear at 18 but I can always find something to relate to in a contemp.  These stories feature characters that I can see myself in, ones who are flawed, not perfect, and who are trying to find themselves.  I'm still trying to find myself at 25!  I am always looking for books that feel like a punch in the gut and that have me grabbing for my tissues. These stories often feel as if they are ripped out of the headlines and resonate with readers because there is something that they can grasp onto and relate to.  I have read a few in the last 6 months that have stayed with me all this time and are ones that I can see so many people loving.

Standout Contemporaries That Have My Heart

So, you now know what I think has been overdone and what I can never get enough of and it's time for YOU to weigh in.  What do you think has been done to the death in books? What is the genre you turn to when you need a good read? Let me know!

Stacking the Shelves (52)

Books mentioned (click title for Goodreads): 

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Eve of Chaos (Marked #3) by S.J. Day

Wool (Wool #1-5) by Hugh Howie

Period 8 by Chris Crutcher

Chasers (Alone #1) by James Phelan

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

That Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard

The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey

eBook haul (click cover for Goodreads):

Thank you to Atheneum Books, Sourcebooks Fire, Macmillan, Megan Hand, HarperTeen and AToMR tours this week! Oh and my husband!

So, what did you get this week? Link me up!

Blog Tour: How I Lost You by Janet Gurtler

TITLE How I Lost You
AUTHOR Janet Gurtler
PUBLICATION April 23rd 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire
READ April 13, 2013
SOURCE Sourcebooks for review

There are a few things Grace Anderson knows for sure. One is that nothing will ever come between her and her best friend, Kya Kessler. They have a pact. Buds Before Studs. Sisters Before Misters. But in the summer before senior year, life throws out challenges they never expected. And suddenly the person who's always been there starts to need the favor returned. Grace and Kya are forced to question how much a best friend can forgive. And the answer is not what they expected.

As a Canadian I am always quick to support Canadian authors, so last year when I found out that Janet Gurtler was not only from Canada but lived in Calgary, I was quick to pick up some of her books. Prior to HOW I LOST YOU I had only gotten to read one, WHO I KISSED and I have to say that HOW I LOST YOU blew that one out of the water. This was a novel full of characters that I connected to emotionally and at the heart of the story is one of the most wonderful family units I have had the pleasure of reading about.

The real charm here kicked off in the very first chapter when it came to light that Grace (our MC) and her best friend Kya are kickass paintball players. These girls don’t just play the game here and there but they excel at it. They take part in tournaments and most of the time they whip the guys butts. They have earned a level of respect in the paint balling environment as they compete and work at Grace’s dad’s indoor paintball arena, Splatterfest. The added element of the sport and camaraderie gave me a feeling reminiscent of what I have always felt when reading Miranda Kenneally’s Hundred Oaks series, which was definitely a welcome feeling. I loved what a headstrong character Grace was and watching her function in this primarily male environment.

This novel doesn’t only have the adrenaline that the sports scenes lend to it, it also throws some strong emotion at the reader as it deals with some pretty heavy issues. Grace, Kya, and their other friend James’ relationships are really put to the test as they harbor secrets and hidden feelings for one another. I couldn’t really peg James for much of the novel but as his story came to light and we find out what he has had to deal with with the girls and with his mother who is ailing from MS I really felt for him. He was a caring, present friend in their lives despite all that he was going through. Kya was someone that I felt really bad for but I also wanted to slap some sense into her. She was incredibly impulsive to the point of being self destructive. We also get to watch the characters grow and along with that comes relationships and hurt feelings. Grace’s romance with Levi was incredibly sweet and I loved watching it grow very slowly and naturally.

The relationship at the forefront of the novel is Grace and Kya’s. These girls have been best friends forever and we watch them grow apart. There is an elephant in
their closet that has been letting Kya get away with her unhealthy antics for too long and watching Grace come to that realization was pretty emotional. It was intense to see her come around and start putting herself first. Helping her get there is a great support system in the form of her family. Her parents were awesome! Her dad was an ex-cop and her mom an ex-lawyer with quite the personality. Their witty banter with one another was heartwarming and I loved her mom’s dry sarcasm so much.

HOW I LOST YOU is an exceptional novel with so many layers that it has a little something for everyone. Chalk full of great action sequences, layered relationships and well-developed characters, it’s a fun, empowering read that isn’t scared to draw out emotion. I think Gurtler has hit it out of the park with this one and I can’t wait to see what she throws at us next.

Excerpt from How I Lost You

     “Climb over,” Kya called from her yard.
     I sized up the fence. It wasn’t designed for climbing. I shook my head. “I’ll come around to the front on the street.”
     “Come on. Climb over. You’re already out here. It’s not hard. We’ll catch you,” Kya shouted.
     It was a test. One she didn’t necessarily want me to pass. I found out later how much Kya liked to test people.
     “Come on, new girl. Try,” Kya called.
     I could hear James protesting, trying to stick up for me.
     But the challenge trickled over the fence. And right there, I fell for her hard. Actually, I fell right on top of her. I climbed the fence and when I swung my leg over the top of it, my pant leg caught on a branch of lavender. I hung there until Kya grabbed my leg and yanked. Hard to say which was louder, the rip of my jeans or my shriek, and then I landed on top of Kya. Fortunately, she laughed. The crazy snort laugh didn’t suit her stunning looks but it was contagious. I started to laugh too and then James joined in. Lavender flowers came down with me and tickled at my skin, and when I pulled them out of my pant leg, the smell filled my nose, mingling with our laughter. Lavender would forever remind me of that day.

Janet's Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Janet lives near the Canadian Rockies with her husband and son and a little dog named Bruce. She does not live in an Igloo or play hockey, but she does love maple syrup and says “eh” a lot. Janet only gives 5 stars to the books she reviews because she is an author herself and knows that no book can appeal to everyone, but like a child, it is very special to the creator.

I'M NOT HER was published by Sourcebooks Teen Fire in May 2011 | IF I TELL released Oct 1, 2011 from Sourcebooks Teen Fire | WHO I KISSED Sourcebooks Fire 2012.

Janet's work will also appear in the THE FIRST TIME anthology, DEAR TEEN ME anthology and WHO DONE IT anthology.

This post is a part of the How I Lost You blog tour brought to you by Jean Book Nerd

Click the tour banner below to see all the stops on this tour

One + One = Blue Review

TITLE One + One = Blue
AUTHOR M.J. Auch
PUBLICATION April 30th 2013 by Henry Holt and Co.
READ April 11, 2013
SOURCE Raincoast Books for review

Twelve year-old Basil knows he’s special—he’s been associating numbers with colors since he was a kid. His gift (or curse) has turned him into somewhat of a loner, but his world begins to change when he meets Tenzie, the new girl in school who has similar freakisms. She, too, has synesthesia (a condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another). At first, Basil is somewhat annoyed with Tenzie’s pushiness, but after Basil’s estranged mother returns, his life is turned upside down . . . and Tenzie may be the only person to help him put it back together again.

Once again, MJ Auch has written a thoughtful coming-of-age novel that explores friendship, family, and fitting in.

I was so excited when I picked up ONE + ONE = BLUE and saw that the book deals with synesthesia. When I read about the condition in R.J. Anderson’s ULTRAVIOLET I quickly became fascinated with how people associate every day things with colors, or taste emotions. Could imagine being able to smell fear? M.J. Auch didn’t delve into the logistics as much as I was hoping she would, but with this novel we got a really cute story about relationships and family.

Basil is a 12 year old boy who has just entered the public school system for the first time after being homeschooled by his grandmother. Quickly we see that he is having a lot of trouble in math due to his condition. When he looks at a worksheet instead of seeing numbers and problems, he sees a rainbow. What’s worse is that some numbers in his pallet have the exact same color (1 & 0 both being white for example.) I felt really bad as he struggled with keeping up with the students around him. It was quite frustrating at the same time because he just wouldn’t ask for help and instead tried to BS his way through everything. Through this and other aspects of his life it became clear that Basil was pretty thick headed and stubborn. Oftentimes I found myself really frustrated with him because he had a tendency to be downright rude. But we do get to see a softer side of him as Tenzie begins to break down the barriers that he has had up for so long. Tenzie had such a big personality, she knew who she was and didn’t follow all of the social norms. I liked what she brought out in Basil (or Pesto as she would have us call him.) She was an incredibly sweet girl who showed Basil that he wasn’t alone as she pretty much forced herself into his life.

As these two get to know each other we learn a lot about their families and things aren’t always great in that department. Tenzie’s story broke my heart. She had ever present parents but ones who didn’t pay attention to her at all. They were so tied up in their work and they didn’t make time for her. They were also pretty selfish, always putting what they needed first and what Tenzie needed (like school supplies) second. Basil’s home life had issues too. Sure he lived with his sweet grandmother (who was awesome and artsy by the way) but he was left there by her mother as she shipped off to pursue her Hollywood dreams. As you can probably imagine, circumstance sets Basil and Tenzie off on an adventure that brings them and their families together in a great way.

A fun story about relationships and characters, ONE + ONE = BLUE is a sweet story for any middle grader. It is definitely one of the more simplistic and innocent stories I have read in the genre but it was a fun read nonetheless. I do wish we had gotten more about the synesthesia that Tenzie and Basil both had because I feel like for much of the story that was put on the back burner and only mentioned here and there. Touching lightly on junior high bullying and heavily on the importance of family this is a cute story that is sure to please any young reader.

Eleanor & Park Review

TITLE Eleanor & Park
AUTHOR Rainbow Rowell
PUBLICATION February 26th 2013 by St. Martin's Press
READ April 07 to 08, 2013
SOURCE Purchased

"Bono met his wife in high school," Park says.
"So did Jerry Lee Lewis," Eleanor answers.
"I’m not kidding," he says.
"You should be," she says, "we’re sixteen."
"What about Romeo and Juliet?"
"Shallow, confused, then dead."
''I love you," Park says.
"Wherefore art thou," Eleanor answers.
"I’m not kidding," he says.
"You should be."

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.

This is a novel that I went into with incredibly high expectations. So many of my Goodreads friends and people that I talk to on Twitter have been raving about this book the last few weeks. I was honestly a little nervous that my expectations would get the better of me because I really didn’t think there was any way a book could live up to them. This book surpassed those expectations, it blew them away, it left them in the dust, it was perfect. I have no idea what I could bring to the ELEANOR & PARK fanclub that is new so I am going to keep this short and talk about my favorite things in the novel.

The real gem of this book is the portrayal of the main characters Eleanor & Park. They are incredibly flawed in their own ways and live completely different lives and yet through some shared interests they begin to slowly (very slowly) open up to one another. There was an innocence to their relationship and a sense of wonderment as they explored their emotions for one another. I loved that even after they fell for one another their worlds didn’t stop and focus solely on their love for each other. They were still incredibly self conscious and even pretty damn selfish at times. Eleanor had a lot to deal with, not only did she have to put up with bullshit at school but she had to put up with just as much (if not more) of it at home. I felt for this girl so much you guys. I hated her stepdad, I hated her mother for being so weak and I hated the bullies at her school. But through those things I came to really admire Eleanor, she was herself through and through. She didn’t parade around trying to be something that she wasn’t to make those crappy things in her life go away, she faced them. Park leads a much different life, he comes from a stable family with two parents who are madly in love with one another. I thought he was so adorable. He had this dark rebellious side to him that wasn’t really brought out until he had Eleanor and he realized that some things are worth fighting for.

Their relationship is exactly the polar opposite of insta-love (how refreshing, right?) This is definitely a slow burn romance, the slowest I have ever read and I loved every small step that these two took with one another. As I had mentioned there was an innocence to it as it was new to both of them and they didn’t know what they were doing at all. Most of the romantic scenes were actually pretty awkward which is perfect because at that age they are awkward! Where do you put your hands? How much is too much? You can never be sure. What made these scenes, and everything in the novel really shine was the dual POV. There were random switches between Eleanor and Park's POV some spanned a few pages and some mere sentences but they were perfectly placed to really give you both sides of the story.

I don’t think I would have picked this book up based on the cover, actually I know I wouldn’t have because at one point I did get a review request for this one that I turned down. What a fool I am! Now when I look at the cover there is absolutely nothing that I would change because it is so perfect for the novel. Filled with real life turmoil, a relationship that will warm your heart (seriously I thought at one point that my heart might actually burst) and a general honesty about life that is hard to find, ELEANOR & PARK is a story that you don’t want to miss.

The Program Review

TITLE The Program (Program #1)
AUTHOR Suzanne Young
PUBLICATION April 30th 2013 by Simon Pulse
READ April 03 to 06, 2013
SOURCE Simon & Schuster Canada for review

In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

This is the kind of review that I hate writing. I read THE PROGRAM and really really liked it. There are so many aspects of the story and happenings in the plot that I want to talk about but I just sat down to write this and saw that 90% of what I had wanted to talk about isn’t even mentioned in the blurb and would therefore be a spoiler. Going by the blurb I can only really talk in depth about the first 120 pages of the book, so here I go, watch me be vague.

In the story we have a very vivid dystopian setting painted for us. We meet Sloane who knows that even the smallest outburst of sad emotions could land her spending 6 weeks in The Program and lead to her having everyone she has ever known outside of her family being completely wiped away. She was a great MC, she was an incredibly smart girl who questioned everything around her. I also came to care about her core group of friends and her boyfriend James. James, oh James. He was everything that I look for in a book boyfriend. He was so supportive and fiercely protective of Sloane. These two knew each other inside & out and had been through hell and back together which really had me rooting for their relationship.

There is an immediate intensity to this story as we are thrown into this world and watch Sloane live day to day in hiding. The handlers are constantly around when she is at school and their lingering makes you realize that with a moments notice one of the characters could be taken away to have their memory wiped and be “cured” of their depression. While I won’t talk about this too deeply I have to point out that I really liked the explanation for what led to the suicide epidemic in this story, it is frightening in that it was something that could very well happen in our future, so kudos to Young for that. There are 3 parts to this story (which was cool, yet super weird because each part started back at page 1 & chapter 1, strange right?) All of the parts went together really well and felt as if they were stories that could have held their own apart from the novel.

What I took away from this story is a strong message about true love and how important all of the happenings (the good and the bad) in our lives are in shaping who we are. You can’t just forget all the bad crap in your life and move on because it is a part of you and you don’t really know who you are without it. A story that focusses heavily on relationships, THE PROGRAM is the kick off to a series that I am very excited for. I can’t wait to be in this world again with the characters that I came to really care about. The ending of the novel sets up for some definite excitement and the epilogue had me grinning because it was so well placed. Read this book people, this is going to be a series that you don’t want to miss.

Book Girls Don't Cry - Scheduling

I'M BACK!

Hey everyone! I had a fairly enjoyable week off and am happy to be back into the swing of things.  This week us Book Girls are talking about our scheduling and reading habits.  In my video I ramble on about how I schedule the ARC's that I receive and also how I stray from that and read a lot of "me" books.  Watch on to see what my process is like and be sure to weigh in in the comments section and let me know how you run things for your blog:


So what is your process like? How do you balance getting all of your review books read and yet still finding time to read what you want?  Let me know!

Also, don't forget that we are always looking for topic suggestions from viewers/readers so be sure to stop by the Book Girls Don't Cry page here on the blog and fill out the form.  You can also find the form by clicking HERE.