Vlog a la Julie :)

Here is my vloggy vlog with questions from Julie over at BookHookedBlog! Please beware of cursing, fighting cats, and me looking a hotmess. You get what you get :)

The questions:

1) Show us or tell us about the most valuable book in your collection - either for monetary or sentimental value.

2) What are your literary pet peeves?

3) What is your favorite non-book literary possession?

4) Show us/tell us about where you usually read.

5) Give up a literary confession - something you do that would drive other readers nuts.

6) What book/genre is your guilty pleasure?

7) Describe your biggest fangirl moment relating to books.

8) What book have you reread the most times?

9) How many books do you own?

10) Show us/tell us about how your books are organized.

Do one and post a link to me!

Book Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by @michellehodkin I came, I read, I cried, I laughed, I recommend.

I love this book. Most of you who've followed me for a while know that I read this while I was betaing Mara for Michelle. I read this story so many times, I have parts of it memorized. One scene in particular, I won't mention it, but it still makes me all swoony-giggly-blushy. Yeah... I know. You'll know what I'm talkin' about when you read it. ;)

It is truly an intriguing, emotional, heart-thumping, complicated tale.

Our main character Mara is distressed, but she's no damsel looking for a white knight. Noah is gallant, but he's not sporting any shining armour.

Mara is my love. She is tough, smart, feisty, and will put you in your place, in more ways than one.

Noah will make you swoon. He's smart, snarky, sexy, and foreign.

Aren't those the requirements for a heartthrob? Give him a brain, a body, and a British accent and he's golden, yea?

I will brag about Michelle because she's my friend and I love her... I will brag about Mara because it's a damn fine story with suspense and pain, heart and humor.

This is a fantasy paranormal YA thriller and I hope you'll put it on your list. It's gonna freak you the hell out and you'll love it. Go check out www.michellehodkin.com to find out more about my girl Michelle.

Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by @KamiGarcia & @MStohl

What can I say? I loved this book! And not just because my girl Michelle Hodkin sent me a book that Kami and Margaret signed for me!

I really enjoyed getting to know Ethan and Lena... I really wanted to know them. From very early on I was attached to both of them. Some books take me a while to care about a protag, but in this story, I wanted to know them and I did really care about what was happening from  very early on.

Lena is strong, but she is self-conscious as well. She's passionate and beautiful, but she's also temperamental and has a lot on her mind for a teenage girl.

Young Ethan stole my heart pretty fast as well. He's so head over heels in love with Lena, the Caster girl down the road. He knows that he shouldn't, but he does. His dreams of her haunt him before he even knows who she is, but when he meets her, he knows she's a missing piece and will do anything to help her. Even die.

The young language and fun conversations weave perfectly within the spell casting and otherworldly beings that seem to find their way to Ethan and Lena at every turn.

And then there are the humans. They cause more problems for Lena and Ethan than the creatures! The bigoted Southern town is a character in and of itself mixed with nuts, loons, and Daughters of the Revolution. I kept picturing Ethan's best friend Link's mom as Loralie's mom, Emily, from Gilmore Girls.

I truly enjoyed this story immensely. I wish that I'd had more time to dedicate to sitting down and reading it in one sitting rather than over an entire month. It is a long one, but it is definitely worth it. Kami and Margaret have a way with words and the demonic :)

I loved being wrapped up within a fun YA Romance that was mixed with the paranormal mystery. It was a fun mix and it worked very well. It really is a great mind vacation!


Now I need Beautiful Darkness! Michi, you wanna send me that one too?!

@michellehodkin has a book cover!!!!

Check out the beauty that is The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer!

The Michelle Show

Go leave her some love :) Tell her I sent you!

A most awesome gift from @michellehodkin via @kamigarcia :)

She got me a book. Which is awesome.
But more than just a book... she got me an inscribed book from Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl!

She had them inscribe it and I was having such a bad day with my sick puppy and some personal stress and this is what I came home to today!

Thank you Michi. Love you!

@MichelleHodkin's debut novel climbing lists everywhere! @Borders Top Teen Reads for 2011!

I got this email this morning, you might have too! It's listing out all the top YA and children's reads for 2011. If you look at the new releases for 12-18, my girl's book is right there! :)

If you haven't preordered this incredibly amazing book, go now! AMAZON.COM

And you can check out my info on it on my goodreads.com page!

I've read it several times and I'm not bored of it yet. Michelle's voice is astounding and sharp, her Mara is incredible as the heroine and well, she makes me laugh with her sarcasm. Beauty with bite :)

As Lavar Burton says, "Don't take my word for it!" Preorder today :)

@thebump attacks Pit Bulls with ignorance. Please Sign Petition! Help save animals from ignorance.

My dear friend Michelle Hodkin wrote an amazing article and since she did such a great job explaining the issue, I'll just let her do it. Please click the link to read:
http://animals.change.org/blog/view/the_bump_blasts_pit_bulls_parenting_site_spreads_breed_discrimination
Please help end this kind of ignorance that kills animals.

Top Reads of 2010

Several friends asking for my top ten reads of 2010, so even though it is a little late, here goes!

1- Anna and the French Kiss

Why? ABSOLUTE PERFECTION!!!!
This story had everything. Really.
There were swoon-worthy moments. Sighing. Beautiful, not-perfect boys. Snarky, smart, sweet girls. Sighs. Stomach drops. Cheering. Yes... I cheered. I even squeed a little. I'm not ashamed.
My husband even mocked me for hugging the book after I wrote my note in it. Yeah, hugged it. That's how good it is.
This book had so many great moments and I can't think of anything I would change about it. It had me up and down and that's how I know it was good. It affected my emotions, for better and worse, it had me stuck to it; sneaking reads at my desk and in between teaching, dreaming of what would happen to Anna next, and it was just simply lovely.
Stephanie Perkins has a wonderful YA voice, but it's not immature. And thankfully, it's not contrived or condescending. Anna doesn't sound like a grown woman trying to sound like a teen girl. It's just Anna and her friends and her foes and Etienne'.
Ooooooh Etienne. "He has an acute accent and a cute accent." *le sigh*

2- The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Why? I am one proud beta momma. My friend Michelle Hodkin is official. I always knew she would be :) I have read her story probably 20 times in it's entirety as her beta reader and I am still not bored of it!
Look out YA world, here comes the enigmatic Mara Dyer and her incredible boy wonder, Noah Shaw. Michelle's cast of friends and family create a dynamic tapestry that envelopes you in a world of mystery and laughter. Her words grip you by the throat and heart and don't let you go til the adrenaline-pounding end. I'd like to tell you more, but then I'd have to kill you!


On shelves September 2011 :) You can preorder through Amazon.com now!

3- Lament

Why? SO GOOOOOOD!
Maggie has done it again! I loved Dee and James and Luke. They were such wonderful and deep characters. I was able to read this in one day. We were camping so I started it on the ride up the mountain then finished it in the hammock by the fire. It was phenomenal! Maggie once again creates a world and you can see it in your head so clearly.
I didn't find anything in this book that I didn't like. Her voice was perfect and her imagery was amazing.
I highly recommend this! SO GOOOOOOD!
Maggie has done it again! I loved Dee and James and Luke. They were such wonderful and deep characters. I was able to read this in one day. We were camping so I started it on the ride up the mountain then finished it in the hammock by the fire. It was phenomenal! Maggie once again creates a world and you can see it in your head so clearly.
I didn't find anything in this book that I didn't like. Her voice was perfect and her imagery was amazing.
I highly recommend this story.

4- Hunger Games

Why? FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC!!!!!!!!!
Suzanne Collins is my new hero. She wrote a tough, thrilling, compelling story that pushes your heart into your throat repeatedly and makes you yell at your book and sigh and moan and groan and complain to your book friends that made you read it. You beg for spoilers and then yell, "No no no don't tell me!" over and over again.
I highly recommend for my YA friends as well as those who enjoy a good thrill a minute action story.

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I FREAKIN LOVED THIS!
I'm so inlove with Katniss. She's exactly the kind of heroine that we need in YA books. She's tough and kind and full of spirit and spunk and moxy and a whole pile of other adjectives.
There were quite a few parts of this book that shook me. Rue in particular had me worrying my lip and yelling at my friends who made me read this. She was a fantastic addition and loss to the book. It hurt so much while reading.
I adored Peeta straight off, from the moment with the bread, I knew he'd be tugging at my heart the entire time. I did find myself asking "What about Gale?" All throughout the book as well.
I found myself so conflicted and torn throughout the entire story. You are so saddened by the situation of all these children but yet you are rooting for some to die. It really makes you think. I found myself drawing parallels as a HS teacher to my own students and their desire to kill each other and themselves both mentally and physically.
This story is intense. All the way to the last page, last sentence even. I am going out to find Catch Fire tomorrow for sure!

5- Catching Fire

Why? Incredible!
Suzanne Collins had me completely horrified and transfixed with Hunger Games and I thought she had a fifty-fifty shot of doing it again with this book. She did it. I was sucked in completely. I had to stop mid-way through to do NaNo but I would whine to my friends about wanting to finish it. I was happy that it was my last year of 2010 and I am now onto Mockingjay as my first read of 2011. I thought I would need a break from the series since Catching Fire is so incredibly intense and you find yourself panting because of the suspense, but I could not wait to read book three.
Collins has an uncanny ability to end every single chapter on a cliff and you are willing to stay up to all hours and slack off at work just to find out more about Katniss and her world. In Hunger Games I was Team Katniss, in Catching Fire I became Team Peeta, in Mockingjay I think I'm Team Buttercup/ Cinna :)
If you've not read Hunger Games, I won't put in spoilers, but you need to read this series. It is such a ride and it grabs your attention from the first chapter and doesn't let you go through book three. I'm actually wanting to go back to MJ right now!
If you know me, you know I don't do gore and much violence unless it is necessary to the plot... trust me, everything that happens is there for a reason and you will be stuck to the terror and pain just as much as you are to Katniss' incredible inner monologue and Peeta's selflessness and Gale's passion. You will gasp, sigh, and ignore those around you for this story. I promise! :)

6- Linger

Why? (only halfway through but I love it!) I adore Maggie, I'll read the phone book if she writes it. Her characters, especially Sam Roth make my heart happy. I can't wait to finish this one, but I'm waiting until we get closer to Forever because waiting for Linger sucked. So I am waiting just so I don't have to stress later :)

7- The Mortal Instrument Series

Why? Holy bejebus this is a great series! I was riveted! I read most of it in one sitting the nit took me two days because of work to get through the last fifty pages! Torture!
Clary is a fun, snarky character, she's believable in an unbelievable situation. I was rooting for her to toughen up. You find yourself on the edge of your seat while reading. It's truly beautifully written and fun to read. I highly recommend if you are into Paranormal YA. Jace is awesome, he's now on my list of great male protags :) He's cocky, smart, strong, but needs a little ass kickin :) I love it!

8- Hex Hall

Why? This was such a fun quick read! Thank you Angel for sending it to me!
Hawkins does a great job with creating a little world within the pages. Her voice as Sophie Mercer is hysterical and so enjoyable. It's nice to see YA female protags that aren't whiny and apathetic! Sophie has weakness, but she's feisty and snarky and not afraid to fight. We need more FMC like that! I really enjoyed this story! The other characters were awesome I loved Archer and Jenna. Both characters added so much! This was such a fun quick read! Thank you Angel for sending it to me!
Hawkins does a great job with creating a little world within the pages. Her voice as Sophie Mercer is hysterical and so enjoyable. It's nice to see YA female protags that aren't whiny and apathetic! Sophie has weakness, but she's feisty and snarky and not afraid to fight. We need more FMC like that! I really enjoyed this story! The other characters were awesome I loved Archer and Jenna. Both characters added so much to the story.
It was truly a great tale and it helped keep my mind off of a horrible flight. We spent an hour on the tarmac because of a storm, then three hours in flight during the storm. I was terrified. But, amazingly enough, Hex Hall kept my attention for almost all of it! That's saying a lot since flying terrifies me, especially turbulence!
I highly recommend Hex Hall and I can't wait to read the next one and find out more about both Sophie and Archer!

9- Hush, Hush

Why? I really, very much enjoyed this story. Becca (has a great name) has a fantastic voice within this story and it's a fun read as well as being intriguing. I thought I had figured it out, but then it twisted a bit and I didn't know half of what I thought I knew. I must say though, Vee annoyed me to no end and I kinda wanted someone to drop her off a building, but other than her, it was a great story. You have a fairly strong, non-whiney protag, in Nora- and Patch is well, just yummy :) I recommend this story to anyone in the market for a quick romp with some dark subject matter, but with fun characters and a fun climax that keeps you interested. I wish the ending had been more detailed because I just didn't want this story to end!

10- Crazy School

Why? I was totally enthralled by this story! I found so many parallels between Madeline and myself. Cornelia Read gave Madeline such a fantastic voice and I found myself giggling at every chapter until the end when I was just awestruck by the story. Even then I was cracking a smile while on the edge of my seat.
Although I'm not of Madeline's generation, I felt a kinship with her as I read along. I loved her husband Dean and her good friend Lulu. I also adored the students, especially Weisner and I was totally enthralled by this story! I found so many parallels between Madeline and myself. Cornelia Read gave Madeline such a fantastic voice and I found myself giggling at every chapter until the end when I was just awestruck by the story. Even then I was cracking a smile while on the edge of my seat.
Although I'm not of Madeline's generation, I felt a kinship with her as I read along. I loved her husband Dean and her good friend Lulu. I also adored the students, especially Weisner and Sitzman. I've always been partial to the troubled smartasses though! The characters are compelling, the plot is driving, and the climax has you clenched and eager for resolution, but sad when you know the story's done. I hated turning that last page because I didn't want it to end.
It's almost 1am and I just couldn't put it down. I had to know how it finished. The story is incredible. I would highly recommend to anyone. Especially teachers.
DO READ!

@MichelleHodkin's book cover!!!!!! SO PROUD OF MY GIRL!

I am so incredibly proud of my friend Michelle and I love Mara. I've read this already and I know it will be an incredible tale for YA and Para-thriller fans a like!

Here's my review from a while back after I had beta'd the novel-

I am one proud momma. My friend Michelle Hodkin is official. I always knew she would be :)
Look out YA world, here comes the enigmatic Mara Dyer and her incredible boy wonder, Noah Shaw. Michelle's cast of friends and family create a dynamic tapestry that envelopes you in a world of mystery and laughter. Her words grip you by the throat and heart and don't let you go til the adrenaline-pounding end. I'd like to tell you more, but I'd fave to kill you!

PREORDER AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!