Waiting on Wednesdays: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Publish Date: September 9, 2014

Publisher: Doubleday Children's Books

A book co-written by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare? What more could you want?

Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen

Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen

Release Date: April 15, 2014
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Source: Borrowed

Summary

A touchingly honest, candidly hysterical memoir from breakout teen author Maya Van Wagenen

Stuck at the bottom of the social ladder at pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here,” Maya Van Wagenen decided to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help Maya on her quest to be popular?

The real-life results are painful, funny, and include a wonderful and unexpected surprise—meeting and befriending Betty Cornell herself. Told with humor and grace, Maya’s journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence.(courtesy of Goodreads)

Manga Mondays #184: Death Note vol. 11 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Manga Mondays Meme

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog almost 4 years ago. It started out as a personal feature, but I decided to turn it into a meme last year. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme is a great way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Death Note vol. 11 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Summary

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal...or his life?

Kindred Spirit

Light's latest machinations are putting a strain on even his formidable intellect as Near flies to Japan to beard Kira in his den. Near is sure that Light is Kira, but his sense of honor as L's heir will allow no doubts. He doesn't want to just stop the Kira murders, he wants to expose Light as the Death Note killer. Light thinks he's up to the challenge, but will the pressures of his fiancée, his new flame, and his acolyte prove to be fatal distractions? (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

Feature and Follow Friday #198

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

---

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

---

The Forever Song by Julia Kagawa

Sekret by Lindsay Smith

Release Date: April 15, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: Borrowed

Summary

VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?

With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

MONSTER

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.(courtesy of Goodreads)

Waiting on Wednesdays: Mortal Hearts by Robin LaFevers

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!

Mortal Hearts by Robin LaFevers

Publish Date: November 4, 2014

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

I am so in love with this series. I am very sad that I have to wait until November to read this. I hope it's at BEA!

Sekret by Lindsay Smith

Sekret by Lindsay Smith

Release Date: April 1, 2014
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan Children's
Source: Netgalley

Summary

An empty mind is a safe mind.

Yulia's father always taught her to hide her thoughts and control her emotions to survive the harsh realities of Soviet Russia. But when she's captured by the KGB and forced to work as a psychic spy with a mission to undermine the U.S. space program, she's thrust into a world of suspicion, deceit, and horrifying power. Yulia quickly realizes she can trust no one--not her KGB superiors or the other operatives vying for her attention--and must rely on her own wits and skills to survive in this world where no SEKRET can stay hidden for long.(courtesy of Goodreads)

Manga Mondays #183: Death Note vol. 10 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Manga Mondays Meme

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog almost 4 years ago. It started out as a personal feature, but I decided to turn it into a meme last year. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme is a great way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Death Note vol. 10 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Summary

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal...or his life?

Deletion

With Near openly suspecting the new L of being Kira and sowing doubt in the hearts of the taskforce members, Light is once again forced to pass the Death Note on to another to take the heat off himself. But this time, Kira chooses a disciple from among his true believers. With no way to contact his successor directly, Light must rely on his faithful follower's adherence to Kira's goals. Will this newest move bring Light's ideal world closer to reality? Or will losing control of the Death Note spell Light's doom? (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

Feature and Follow Friday #197

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

---

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

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Why Do People Hate Award Winning Books?

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Books on the Nightstand, this afternoon and they discussed a fascinating recently published study called The Paradox of Publicity. The study was on a topic that I've heard discussed before: When books win literary awards, the amount of negative reviews for said books increases. The study looked at reviews from Goodreads for 64 books that have won or were shortlisted for literary awards. As expected, the study noted that the number of negative reviews went up. It then came to some conclusions as to why that may be.

Waiting on Wednesdays: Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!

Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally

Publish Date: July 1, 2014

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Miranda Kenneally can do no wrong. I adore her Hundred Oaks series and can't wait to read the next installment!

Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill

Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill

Release Date: January 7, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte
Source: Library

Summary

Meet Sloane Emily Jacobs: a seriously stressed-out figure-skater from Washington, D.C., who choked during junior nationals and isn’t sure she’s ready for a comeback. What she does know is that she’d give anything to escape the mass of misery that is her life.

Now meet Sloane Devon Jacobs, a spunky ice hockey player from Philly who’s been suspended from her team for too many aggressive hip checks. Her punishment? Hockey camp, now, when she’s playing the worst she’s ever played. If she messes up? Her life will be over.

When the two Sloanes meet by chance in Montreal and decide to trade places for the summer, each girl thinks she’s the lucky one: no strangers to judge or laugh at Sloane Emily, no scouts expecting Sloane Devon to be a hero. But it didn’t occur to Sloane E. that while avoiding sequins and axels she might meet a hockey hottie—and Sloane D. never expected to run into a familiar (and very good-looking) face from home. It’s not long before the Sloanes discover that convincing people you’re someone else might be more difficult than being yourself.(courtesy of Goodreads)

Manga Mondays #182: Death Note vol. 9 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Manga Mondays Meme

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog almost 4 years ago. It started out as a personal feature, but I decided to turn it into a meme last year. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme is a great way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Death Note vol. 9 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Summary

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal...or his life?

Contact

Light has always been confident in his ability to outthink everyone, but L's proteges are proving to be more of a challenge than he anticipated. The more Light mentally maneuvers, the tighter the net around him becomes. And now Near and Mello are working to break the taskforce apart and expose Kira from within! Light has always held up under pressure in the past, but will the stress of this new line of attack and the strain of maintaining three different personalities be the beginning of his end? (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

Feature and Follow Friday #196

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

---

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

---

Your Dream Summer Book Camp?

Anderson's Bookshop outside of Chicago is hosting a Divergent book camp this summer. It's a week long day camp. Each day will focus on one of the five factions: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite.

This sounds like something I would have loved as a teen. It made me think of what kind of book summer camp I would have wanted to go to when I was 13. Here are a few that I would have loved most:

Waiting on Wednesdays: Not in the Script by Amy Finnegan

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!

Not in the Script by Amy Finnegan

Publish Date: October 7, 2014

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's

I adore books about Hollywood. I want to live vicariously through the lives of the rich and famous. I really hope this is at BEA!

Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg

Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg

Release Date: February 25, 2014
Publisher: Point
Source: Netgalley

Summary

For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can’t be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan’s friends. They are platonic and happy that way.

Eventually they realize they’re best friends — which wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t keep getting in each other’s way. Guys won’t ask Macallan out because they think she’s with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can’t help but wonder . . . are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?

From romantic comedy superstar Elizabeth Eulberg comes a fresh, fun examination of a question for the ages: Can guys and girls ever really be just friends? Or are they always one fight away from not speaking again — and one kiss away from true love?(courtesy of Goodreads)

Manga Mondays #181: Death Note vol. 8 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Manga Mondays Meme

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog almost 4 years ago. It started out as a personal feature, but I decided to turn it into a meme last year. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme is a great way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Death Note vol. 8 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Summary

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal...or his life?

Target

Light - working as Kira, the newest member of the NPA intelligence bureau, and L - has nearly succeeded in creating his ideal world. But the years of uncontested victory have made him complacent, and he is unprepared for a new attack close to home. With his younger sister Sayu kidnapped and the NPA's Death Note demanded as ransom, Light must travel across the world and confront two new adversaries, each with a very different agenda. Will Light's quick wits be a match for this new challenge, or will he be forced to choose between Kira's ambitions and his own family's lives? (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

Feature and Follow Friday #195

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

---

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

---

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

Release Date: May 13, 2014
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Source: Netgalley

Summary

Summer, boys, and friendships gone sour. This new series has everything that perfect beach reads are made of!

Gemma just got dumped and is devastated. She finds herself back in the Hamptons for the summer—which puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend that she wronged five years earlier. Do people hold grudges that long?

When a small case of mistaken identity causes everyone, including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh, to think she’s someone else, Gemma decides to go along with it.

Gemma's plan is working (she's finding it hard to resist Josh), but she's finding herself in embarrassing situations (how could a bathing suit fall apart like that!?). Is it coincidence or is someone trying to expose her true identity? And how will Josh react if he finds out who she is?

Katie Finn hits all the right notes in this perfect beginning to a new summer series: A Broken Hearts & Revenge novel. (courtesy of Goodreads)

Waiting on Wednesday: No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!

No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown

Publish Date: December 9, 2014

Publisher: Harper Teen

This doesn't come out for awhile - December - but it sounds like exactly my kind of book!

Help! Happy / Funny Books Wanted!

Like most people, my taste in books changes frequently. Based on my mood. Based on book genre fatigue. Based on what's new. Etc.

Lately, I'm in the mood for contemporary fiction that will make me laugh and leave me with a smile on my face.