Go check out our thoughts on Eleanor's family, appearances, makeup, and of course, Eleanor and Park's first kiss. =)
On Monday, I'll be hosting our discussion of Chapters 37-45, so if you're reading along at home, stop by then!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Eleanor & Park Read-Along - Chapters 20 - 36!
Go check out our thoughts on Eleanor's family, appearances, makeup, and of course, Eleanor and Park's first kiss. =)
On Monday, I'll be hosting our discussion of Chapters 37-45, so if you're reading along at home, stop by then!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Blog Slowdown + Engagement Photos!
Hi guys, you've probably noticed that Mostly YA Lit has slowed down a lot in the last couple weeks. The reason for this is that wedding planning and work have taken over my life a bit, and I haven't had the time or energy to blog. I knew this was going to happen, but I didn't think it would happen so soon! I hope you guys will stick with me as I try to get through my last few ARCs and reviews. I'll be taking a real blog break from mid June to mid July, but I promise that after that, Mostly YA Lit will be back and better than ever. I've got some BIG things planned for July and my first blogoversary!
In the meantime, here's a little sneak peek at my engagement photos:
More wedding inspiration to come!
In the meantime, here's a little sneak peek at my engagement photos:
More wedding inspiration to come!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Eleanor & Park Read-Along: Chapters 11-19 discussion!
First, some thoughts from read-along participants:
"I loved the line on 71 where Park compares Eleanor’s hands to a heartbeat and butterflies which I thought was so good." - Ardo @ A. A. Omer
The HAND-HOLDING. Holy cow. I felt like my pages were bursting into flames at that moment. - Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit
Park is just so sweet- almost to the point of being too perfect. - Rachel @ Reading Timbits
Those first phone convos as a teen with your crush...sigh. So cute. - Angela @ Reading Angels
I’m not sure if anyone else felt this but these characters feel younger than high schoolers for some reason - Ardo @ A. A. Omer
I did feel it was a little early for some of the things that were dropped in this conversation, but I think that these feelings do come quickly (or at least we felt they did) as teens. - Angela @ Reading Angels
I took offense when Eleanor said she didn’t like Batman. Hopefully Park’s suggestion of reading the Dark Knight Returns (Smart boy) will rectify this. - Ardo @ A. A. Omer
I keep having this feeling of dread every time there is an interaction between Richie and Eleanor’s mom. - Rachel @ Reading Timbits
Could Eleanor's home life be any worse? - Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit
I may have accidentally read a little ahead (I’m only got to 33 before I realized I had not stopped...LOL). - Angela @ Reading Angels
Questions for Discussion:
1. The messages on Eleanor's books - who do you think is writing them? Do you think Eleanor knows?
2. Was Eleanor and Park's relationship was built up too fast and too perfectly? Do things that are too perfect make you feel a little nervous? How much swooniness is too much? How much is just right?
3. We're all really horrified by Eleanor's family, but what about Park's brother and parents? Are they strong role models? How much of Park's family do we see in Park?
If you're reading along at home, let us know what you think about Eleanor & Park in the comments!
If you're reading along at home, let us know what you think about Eleanor & Park in the comments!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
ARC Review: How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Author: Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source/Format: eARC provided on Edelweiss
Publication date: May 7, 2013 (Today!)
Publication date: May 7, 2013 (Today!)
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she’s on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel’s packed with drama and romance!
Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.
To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…
First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she’s on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel’s packed with drama and romance!
Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.
To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…
Review:
How My Summer Went Up in Flames is one of those on the fence novels for me. It's good, but not great, and it's fun, but not hilariously funny. It's right in the middle.Monday, May 6, 2013
Eleanor & Park readalong: Chapters 1-10
Hey guys, for our first discussion of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, hop over to Rachel @ Reading Timbits! We're discussing Eleanor's home life, the 80s setting and more with a bunch of awesome authors and bloggers, including:
| Angela & Loretta @ Reading Angels Christa @ More Than Just Magic Andrea @ Cozy Up With A Good Read Joanne Levy Tura @ Reading Writers |
On Thursday, I'll be hosting our discussion of Chapters 11-19, so if you're reading along at home, stop by then!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Guest Review: Red Moon by Benjamin Percy
You've heard me talk about my fiance - well, today you finally get to meet him! Since I've been super-busy with my wedding and various other ARCs, my fiance is doing today's review!
Evan is the love of my life - and he's also very smart sci-fi, film, and comic book aficionado who usually reads literary stuff like Michael Chabon and Salman Rushdie. He's a big supporter of me and my blog, even though he doesn't usually read YA. He did really like The Hunger Games, so when I got an ARC of Red Moon at the Ontario Blog Squad meet-up last November, I suggested he give it a try. Here are his thoughts (with gifs, courtesy of me!).
Red Moon
Author: Benjamin Percy
Evan is the love of my life - and he's also very smart sci-fi, film, and comic book aficionado who usually reads literary stuff like Michael Chabon and Salman Rushdie. He's a big supporter of me and my blog, even though he doesn't usually read YA. He did really like The Hunger Games, so when I got an ARC of Red Moon at the Ontario Blog Squad meet-up last November, I suggested he give it a try. Here are his thoughts (with gifs, courtesy of me!).
Author: Benjamin Percy
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: Ontario Blog Squad Bloggers Meet-Up 2012
Source: Ontario Blog Squad Bloggers Meet-Up 2012
Format: ARC, 544 pages
Expected publication date: May 7, 2013
Evan's rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
They live among us.
They are our neighbors, our mothers, our lovers.
They change.
When government agents kick down Claire Forrester's front door and murder her parents, Claire realizes just how different she is. Patrick Gamble was nothing special until the day he got on a plane and hours later stepped off it, the only passenger left alive, a hero. Chase Williams has sworn to protect the people of the United States from the menace in their midst, but he is becoming the very thing he has promised to destroy. So far, the threat has been controlled by laws and violence and drugs. But the night of the red moon is coming, when an unrecognizable world will emerge...and the battle for humanity will begin.
They are our neighbors, our mothers, our lovers.
They change.
When government agents kick down Claire Forrester's front door and murder her parents, Claire realizes just how different she is. Patrick Gamble was nothing special until the day he got on a plane and hours later stepped off it, the only passenger left alive, a hero. Chase Williams has sworn to protect the people of the United States from the menace in their midst, but he is becoming the very thing he has promised to destroy. So far, the threat has been controlled by laws and violence and drugs. But the night of the red moon is coming, when an unrecognizable world will emerge...and the battle for humanity will begin.
Review:
I’d like to think my 2.5 out of 5 star rating is less arbitrary than usual. It’s not only my subjective numerical assessment of the quality of the book; I also chose it to reflect my opinion that Red Moon really consists of two books: one that I quite liked, and one that I just didn’t like at all. So I give it 50%, half.
As Benjamin Percy himself writes, in one of his least insightful passages in the Red Moon that I didn’t like:
Everything suddenly feels like a double: […] the sun and the moon, the infected and the uninfected, the United States and the Republic, the president and his contender[…]. [T]he world feels split down the center.
And so does the book.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Giveaway + Review: Game. Set. Match by Jennifer Iacopelli [INT]
by Jennifer Iacopelli
Publisher: Coliloquy, LLC
Publisher: Coliloquy, LLC
Source: eBook sent by author; part of the OBX blog tour
Publication date: May 1st 2013
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Nestled along the coastline of North Carolina, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the best elite tennis training facility in the world. Head Coach, Dominic Kingston has assembled some of the finest talent in the sport. From the game's biggest stars to athletes scraping and clawing to achieve their dreams, OBX is full of ego, drama and romance. Only the strong survive in this pressure cooker of competition, on and off the court.
Penny Harrison, the biggest rising star in tennis, is determined to win the French Open and beat her rival, the world’s number one player, Zina Lutrova. There’s just one problem, the only person who’s ever been able to shake her laser-like focus is her new training partner. Alex Russell, tennis’s resident bad boy, is at OBX recovering from a knee injury suffered after he crashed his motorcycle (with an Aussie supermodel on the back). He's hoping to regain his former place at the top of men’s tennis and Penny’s heart, while he’s at it.
Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. Her parents have seven Grand Slam championships and she’s desperate to live up to their legacy. Her best friend is Teddy Harrison, Penny’s twin brother, and that’s all they’ve ever been, friends. Then one stupid, alcohol-laced kiss makes everything super awkward just as she as she starts prepping for the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.
The Classic is what draws Indiana Gaffney out of the hole she crawled into after her mom’s death. Even though she’s new to OBX, a win at the Classic is definitely possible. She has a big serve and killer forehand, but the rest of her game isn’t quite up to scratch and it doesn’t help that Jasmine Randazzo and her little minions are stuck-up bitches or that Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and oldest brother, is too hot for words, not to mention way too old for her.
Who will rise? Who will fall?
Told from rotating points of view, GAME. SET. MATCH. is a 'new adult' novel about three girls with one goal: to be the best tennis player in the world.
Penny Harrison, the biggest rising star in tennis, is determined to win the French Open and beat her rival, the world’s number one player, Zina Lutrova. There’s just one problem, the only person who’s ever been able to shake her laser-like focus is her new training partner. Alex Russell, tennis’s resident bad boy, is at OBX recovering from a knee injury suffered after he crashed his motorcycle (with an Aussie supermodel on the back). He's hoping to regain his former place at the top of men’s tennis and Penny’s heart, while he’s at it.
Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. Her parents have seven Grand Slam championships and she’s desperate to live up to their legacy. Her best friend is Teddy Harrison, Penny’s twin brother, and that’s all they’ve ever been, friends. Then one stupid, alcohol-laced kiss makes everything super awkward just as she as she starts prepping for the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.
The Classic is what draws Indiana Gaffney out of the hole she crawled into after her mom’s death. Even though she’s new to OBX, a win at the Classic is definitely possible. She has a big serve and killer forehand, but the rest of her game isn’t quite up to scratch and it doesn’t help that Jasmine Randazzo and her little minions are stuck-up bitches or that Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and oldest brother, is too hot for words, not to mention way too old for her.
Who will rise? Who will fall?
Told from rotating points of view, GAME. SET. MATCH. is a 'new adult' novel about three girls with one goal: to be the best tennis player in the world.
Author Bio:
Review:
[Note: This is a New Adult book - there aren't super explicit scenes, but there's definitely some steaminess that's more than PG-rated. I would call this a 16 & up book]Game. Set. Match reminded me a lot of one of my favourite ABC Family shows, Make It Or Break It, which was about four elite women's gymnasts who were really just teenagers trying to live with a massive amount of talent and pressure.
In GSM, there are three viewpoint characters, Indiana Gaffney, the newcomer with a killer serve; Jasmine Randazzo, a strong, steady player who struggles to live up to her parents' legacy; and Penny Harrison, fresh juniors champion and rising star. All of them are dealing with the same kind of pressure as the MIOBI girls, but the difference is, these girls are a bit older, and there are a lot less rules about who or what they do with their time.
Read-along to Eleanor & Park with us! [UPDATED every Monday & Thursday!]
The read-along will start Thursday, May 2nd, and will conclude on Thursday, May 23rd.
Here's the reading schedule:
- Thurs, May 2 - Sun, May 5: Chapters 1 - 10 - discussion at Reading Timbits
- Mon, May 6 - Wed, May 8: Chapters 11 - 19 - discussion at Mostly YA Lit
- Thurs, May 9 - Sun, May 12: Chapters 20 - 29 - discussion at A. A. Omer
- Mon, May 13 - Wed, May 15: Chapters 30 - 36 - discussion at Reading Timbits
- Thurs, May 16 - Sun, May 19: Chapters 37 - 45 - discussion at Mostly YA Lit
- Mon, May 20 - Wed, May 22: Chapters 46 - 58 (end) - discussion at A. A. Omer
- Thursday, May 23 - reviews and final thoughts
For this read-along, we're looking to do something a little more discussion-based. Instead of more formal posts, we're setting up a Google document where all participants can contribute thoughts.
Every Monday and Thursday, either Mostly YA Lit, A.A. Omer, or Reading Timbits will post a selection of some of those thoughts, along with a few discussion questions.
So if you're reading along at home, you can see what we're thinking, and you'll get an up-to-the-minute, unfiltered view of our thoughts.
Grab the embed code for the Eleanor & Park readalong button!
Interested? Grab our button, sign up on the Linky and join us! The Linky list will close on Sunday, May 5th at midnight - but if you still want to read along, feel free, and stop by to see what we're thinking!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Waiting on Wednesday: Relativity by Cristin Bishara
This week's WoW pick is one I'm super curious about - is it YA? Is it MG? Who knows?!
Author: Cristin Bishara
Publisher: Walker Children's Publishing
Expected publication date: September 10th 2013
If Ruby Wright could have her way, her dad would never have met and married her stepmother Willow, her best friend George would be more than a friend, and her mom would still be alive. Ruby knows wishes can't come true; some things just can't be undone. Then she discovers a tree in the middle of an Ohio cornfield with a wormhole to nine alternative realities.
Suddenly, Ruby can access completely different realities, each containing variations of her life—if things had gone differently at key moments. The windshield wiper missing her mother’s throat…her big brother surviving his ill-fated birth…her father never having met Willow. Her ideal world—one with everything and everyone she wants most—could be within reach. But is there such a thing as a perfect world? What is Ruby willing to give up to find out?
Physics, guys. It's no secret that I love me some physics in my YA books. Doesn't the idea of trying to change different parts of your life by accessing a wormhole sound amazing to you? Are you a literary nerd like I am who can't do science to save her life, but really likes the IDEA of it?
Expected publication date: September 10th 2013If Ruby Wright could have her way, her dad would never have met and married her stepmother Willow, her best friend George would be more than a friend, and her mom would still be alive. Ruby knows wishes can't come true; some things just can't be undone. Then she discovers a tree in the middle of an Ohio cornfield with a wormhole to nine alternative realities.
Suddenly, Ruby can access completely different realities, each containing variations of her life—if things had gone differently at key moments. The windshield wiper missing her mother’s throat…her big brother surviving his ill-fated birth…her father never having met Willow. Her ideal world—one with everything and everyone she wants most—could be within reach. But is there such a thing as a perfect world? What is Ruby willing to give up to find out?
Physics, guys. It's no secret that I love me some physics in my YA books. Doesn't the idea of trying to change different parts of your life by accessing a wormhole sound amazing to you? Are you a literary nerd like I am who can't do science to save her life, but really likes the IDEA of it?
Also, look at that beautiful, physics-y cover. The colours!
Are you guys fans of science in YA like I am? Or are you, like, NO MORE SCHOOL in my YA? Does RELATIVITY appeal to you? If not, what are you waiting on this week? Let me know in the comments!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Early Review: You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle
Author: Jennifer Castle
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Digital ARC on Edelweiss
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
For the rest of the world, the movies are entertainment. For Justine, they're real life.
The premise was simple: five kids, just living their lives. There'd be a new movie about them every five years, starting in kindergarten. But no one could have predicted what the cameras would capture. And no one could have predicted that Justine would be the star.
Now sixteen, Justine doesn't feel like a star anymore. In fact, when she hears the crew has gotten the green light to film Five at Sixteen, all she feels is dread. The kids who shared the same table in kindergarten have become teenagers who hardly know one another. And Justine, who was so funny and edgy in the first two movies, feels like a disappointment.
But these teens have a bond that goes deeper than what's on film. They've all shared the painful details of their lives with countless viewers. They all know how it feels to have fans as well as friends. So when this latest movie gives them the chance to reunite, Justine and her costars are going to take it. Because sometimes, the only way to see yourself is through someone else's eyes.
Smart, fresh, and frequently funny, You Look Different in Real Life is a piercing novel about life in an age where the lines between what's personal and what's public aren't always clear.
Even though my schedule is totally packed with books to read, I couldn't resist taking this one on because I loved the concept so much. And while it didn't completely blow me away, You Look Different in Real Life is a solidly written, emotional novel that delves beautifully into teens whose lives were dramatically changed by being caught on camera - both in good and bad ways.
For the rest of the world, the movies are entertainment. For Justine, they're real life.
The premise was simple: five kids, just living their lives. There'd be a new movie about them every five years, starting in kindergarten. But no one could have predicted what the cameras would capture. And no one could have predicted that Justine would be the star.
Now sixteen, Justine doesn't feel like a star anymore. In fact, when she hears the crew has gotten the green light to film Five at Sixteen, all she feels is dread. The kids who shared the same table in kindergarten have become teenagers who hardly know one another. And Justine, who was so funny and edgy in the first two movies, feels like a disappointment.
But these teens have a bond that goes deeper than what's on film. They've all shared the painful details of their lives with countless viewers. They all know how it feels to have fans as well as friends. So when this latest movie gives them the chance to reunite, Justine and her costars are going to take it. Because sometimes, the only way to see yourself is through someone else's eyes.
Smart, fresh, and frequently funny, You Look Different in Real Life is a piercing novel about life in an age where the lines between what's personal and what's public aren't always clear.
Review:
[I somehow thought this book was coming out in May, not June - sorry for the super-early review!]Even though my schedule is totally packed with books to read, I couldn't resist taking this one on because I loved the concept so much. And while it didn't completely blow me away, You Look Different in Real Life is a solidly written, emotional novel that delves beautifully into teens whose lives were dramatically changed by being caught on camera - both in good and bad ways.
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