Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley

Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley
Publication Date: January 1, 2008
Versions: paperback, kindle

Summary (from goodreads):
The worst thing about having it all is having to deal with it all-th good, the bad, and the just plain weird. Like seeing more of my dad when he's on the cover of Business Week than I do in person. Like the surgeon whose schedule was too jammed with professional ballplayers to deal with my busted up knee...until he heard who my parents were and miraculously his calendar was wide open. Like the pseudo boyfriend who was more in love with my last name than with me.


Everybody thinks Syrah is the golden girl. After all, her father is Ethan Cheng, billionaire, and she has everything any kid could possibly desire, right down to a waterfront mansion, jet plane, and custom-designed snowboards. But most of what glitters in her life is fool's gold. Her half-siblings hate her, her best friend Adrian's girlfriend is ruining their friendship, and her own so-called boyfriend is after her for her father's name. Where her broken heart results in a snowboarding accident that exiles her from the mountains-the one place where she feels free and accepted for who she is, not what she has-Syrah must rehab both her busted-up knee, and her broken heart, and learn that she's worth her weight in real gold.

I really enjoyed this book. It makes you realize what you want in life and how sometimes you have to go against your parents wishes to make it happen. Syrah and Age are really good friends who both have passion for snowboarding. Syrah has always wanted to be a professional snowboarder but when she gets into a snowboarding accident-her parents cut her off and are no longer supportive of her love. When Age and Syrah start growing apart-Syrah will do anything to gain back her friendship even if it means breaking up with her boyfriend who she believes is dating her because of her parents and her money.

I've previously read Justina Chen Headley's other novel, North of Beautiful. Justina has really beautiful writing that she weaves into an interesting and life learning novel. I liked how Syrah cares about other people so much and wants to do better things in life. Age was also a really great character. And I love the whole premise of snowboarding-which usually doesn't take a main role in young adult novels.

Will I reread it?
I will probably pick this one up again. I really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who has read and liked Justina's previous novel, North of Beautiful.

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon Updates

MINI CHALLENGE #3 hosted by Nikki at Wicked Awesome Book

For this mini challenge, you have to pick two characters from separate books that would be a good match. Here is what I came up with:

• John from Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols and Eddie from Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers

I think this couple would be perfect because they both have a lot of issues that they are dealing with. Eddie with her dad's suicide and John with "the bridge"-together they can support each other.

Day 2 Recap

I had a few errands to run so I didn't read as much as I wanted to. But I did finish another book. Here is the book I read on the second day:

• Highland Captive by Hannah Howell

Day 1 Recap

So I didn't do as well as I would have liked and I didn't even read the books that were on my to-be-read list. But I read one! Here is the book I read on the first day:

• Highland Barbarian by Hannah Howell

MINI CHALLENGE #2 hosted by Amber at The Musings of Almybnenr

participated directly at Amber's blog-very fun!

MINI CHALLENGE #1 hosted by Bailey at IB Book Blogging

• Mini Challenge Question 1: What is your favorite type of myth (Greek, Roman, Egyptian, etc)?

Answer: I really like Roman mythology. It's always been interesting to me especially during school.

• Mini Challenge Question 2: What is your favorite book with some type of mythology in it?

Answer: My favorite mythology book would have to be: Girl In The Arena by Lise Haines

STARTING POST

The Once Upon a Read-a-Thon has started (well it actually started seven hours ago) and I'm a little late with reading. I haven't read anything yet but I am hoping to read five books over the course of the next two days.

Here are the books I'm planning on reading:

1.) When Lightening Strikes by Meg Cabot
2.) Code Name Cassandra by Meg Cabot
3.) Safe House by Meg Cabot
4.) Sanctuary by Meg Cabot
5.) Missing You by Meg Cabot

I'm hoping to get through the whole (1-800 where are you) series by Meg Cabot. But we'll see...

Book Bloggers With Book Deals!

I know many fellow book bloggers who want/are trying to publish their own novels (including myself). Publishing novels is not an easy task but recently I have come across a few bloggers whose books are coming out. This is truly exciting and I want to congratulate them for all the hard work they have put into their novels.

DJ from DJ's Life In Fiction
DJ has published his novel with Pendrell Publishing and is dated to be released on August 9, 2011. Here is some information about it:

Hunted by DJ DeSmyter
Publication Date: August 9, 2011

Summary (from the publisher's website):
Seventeen-year-old Lily Atwater has always kept to herself, living a lonely life with her workaholic dad. Not the most thrilling life, but it's quiet and ordinary, two things she's come to expect from living in Victor Hills, Michigan.


When kind and mysterious Alex takes refuge in her home, she is suddenly thrown into his world of werewolves, a world he wants to keep her safe from. But while the two of them grow closer, a relentless hunter continues his search, stalking the woods with hopes of catching the wolf that got away...




Lenore from Presenting Lenore
Lenore has published her novel with Simon and Schuster and is dated to be released in the fall of 2012. Here's some more information (taken from Lenore's blog):

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers has acquired a YA novel called Level Two by Lenore Appelhans, in a joint acquisition with CBS Films. According to S&S, this is the first time the company has coordinated a deal so that an author received a simultaneous book and film offer. In Level Two, the liminal place between our world (Level One) and heaven, Felicia spends her days reliving her memories from the security of her pod—until she gets broken out by Julian, a boy she met on Earth. Appelhans writes the popular YA blog Presenting Lenore. Level Two will be published in either fall 2012 or spring 2013, with a 200,000-copy first printing.



I want to congratulate these two wonderful bloggers! I wish you the best of luck

What do you thing about Selling/Trading ARCs

This has been something that many people have different opinions on. I see many bloggers around the blog-o-sphere trading arcs (advance readers copies) and have also seen some bloggers sell the arcs (gasp!) I can say that I have traded ARCs on my own blog (I am not being hypocritical). Here is what I think about the issue:

Do you think it is ethical to trade ARCs (advance readers copies)?
Yes I actually think this is okay. ARCs are pined for on every blog and I know many, many bloggers want to read them. But since there aren't a lot of them around-many book bloggers don't get the chance to read certain books until the publication date. And I'm not saying it's unfair to have to wait for the publication date-because it is fair. But trading ARCs gives other bloggers the opportunity to read their "waiting on wednesday" reads. And by shipping the book off to other people, they will most likely review the book on their own blog and spread the word even more. This will then publicize the book that much more.

Do you think it is ethical to sell ARCs (advance readers copies)?
No, I do not think it is right to sell the ARCs. I have an ARC of The Duff by Kody Keplinger and an ARC of Forget You by Jennifer Echols in my hands right now. On the cover of The Duff there is a circle sticker that says NOT FOR SALE. On the cover of Forget You (in very small letters) it states (in exact words): This advance uncorrected reader's proof is the property of Simon and Schuster. It is being loaned for promotional purposes and review by the recipient and may not be used for any other purpose or transferred to any third party. Simon and Schuster reserves the right to cancel the loan and recall possession of the proof at any time. Any duplication, sale or distribution to the public is a violation of law.

Yes that sounds very serious and I'm sure they are not happy about the selling of ARCs.

Do you think the trading/selling of ARCs makes the author's sales go down?
No, I do not. Personally whenever I read an ARC that I absolutely love-I go and buy a finished copy when it is available. I do this because the covers are usually different and I want a copy that doesn't have any mistakes or what not. An example of this is: Forget You by Jennifer Echols. The cover on the ARC is plain light blue but the cover on the paperback copy is gorgeous so I had to have it!

UPDATE Because of Trisha's Book Blog post, I have been looking through EBAY at what people are selling for ARCs. Selling them are bad enough but some of the prices are ridiculous!

• Forever by Maggie Stiefvater $45
• Crossed by Ally Condie $74.99
• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater $45
• Lola and the Boy Next Door $74.99

What do you think about this topic? here are some other book blogs that have posted about this issue (you can click on the link and it will take you directly to their posts): Trisha's Book Blog and Confessions of a Bookaholic

Books in the Magazines (1)

Besides books, I also love to read magazines. Among my favorite are: Seventeen, Teen Vogue, Writers Digest, and OK Magazine. And sometimes while reading these magazines, there are ads for books (popular YA books that are going to come out). I think this is great because 1.) it inspires more teenagers to pick up books  2.) magazines are starting to broaden with more intellectual topics instead of just fashion and 3.) the ads are very pretty to look at.

So I'm going to do a weekly/biweekly meme where I will take a picture of the book ad from a magazine and paste it into a post. I will also state what magazine, and month it is from along with what book is being mentioned. Sound good? You can join, too. All you have to do is link back to my blog and leave a comment with the link to your own post.
   

Magazine: Seventeen

Month/Year: April 2010

Books: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver and Hourglass by Claudia Gray

Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley
Publication Date: February 8, 2011
Versions: paperback, kindle

Summary (from goodreads):
Meet Corrinne. She's living every girl's dream in New York City-shopping sprees at Barneys, open access to the best clubs and parties, and her own horse at the country club. Her perfect life is perfectly on track. At least it was...


When Corrinne's father is laid off, her world suddenly falls apart. Instead of heading to boarding school, she's stripped of her credit cards and shipped off to the boonies of Texas to live with her grandparents. On her own in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the live she's supposed to be living. She doesn't care who she stomps on in the process. But when Corrinne makes an unlikely friend and discovers a total hottie at work, she begins to wonder if her life B.R. --before the recession--was as perfect as it seemed.

To tell you the truth, the main character really irritated me. Corrinne's a rich teenager who shops at all the designer stores and is planning to attend an expensive private boarding school with her best friend. But when her dad loses his job because of the recession, she finds out that she won't be attending her dream school and will be moving to Texas to live with her grandparents. Corrinne is not happy about the change, especially now that she's attending a public school. But through all the hard times, Corrinne meets a nice friend and a cute guy.

Like I said before, Corrinne really irritated me. She constantly acted better than everyone else, and said some of the stupidest things. But I see where she's coming from. Corrinne has lived the "rich" lifestyle her whole life so I can see why she acts so selfish when she no longer has money. The story line, even though very predictable, was also very interesting. I actually did enjoy the book even though I didn't like the main character.

Will I reread it?
No, probably not. I did enjoy it, but I don't think this will be on my "re-reading" shelf. But if you're looking for a fun book to read when your bored-it will entertain you for a few hours.

Mini Reviews: The MacLeods Book 1 + 2

I've seen mini reviews around the blog-o-sphere several times but never have done one on my own blog. I feel that books deserve to have their own reviews-and that's where I still stand. But I wanted to review two highlander romance novels (which I loved). But since my blog is for young adult books-I'm going to put these two adult books in the same post.

Charming the Shrew (The MacLeods Book 1) by Laurin Wittig
Publication Date: October 30, 2010
Versions: kindle

Summary (from amazon):
The story of the stormy MacLeods of Assynt begins...


From award-winning author Laurin Wittig comes a captivating story filled with the passion, intrigue and magic of historical Scotland--where Catriona MacLeod, a sharp-tongued beauty, meets her match in a disguised Tayg Munro, fabled warrior of the king, and the man who vows to tame her with the power of his love. Passion flames into a union to be tested again and again. As Cat and Tayg fight to thwart a scheme that could topple thrones and destroy their homeland, they discover a love that will take everything they have to give...

I loved this book! Catriona is such a great character-she's not one of those girls who are shy and stable. She's very interesting and doesn't care what other people think. The chemistry between her and Tayg is undeniable and I loved watching them grow together even though Tayg doesn't want to get married and Catriona thinks she's better than him. This is a must for any highlander romance lover.

Daring the Highlander (The MacLeods Book 2) by Laurin Wittig
Publication Date: November 18, 2010
Versions: kindle

Summary (from amazon):
The story of the stormy MacLeods of Assynt continues...


Ailig MacLeod must become the chief of his clan in order to prevent Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland, from killing his traitorous oldor brothers and setting his clan to fire and sword. But his father refuses to step aside to make Ailig chief, and few in the clan believe that's a problem.


Morainn MacRailt vows never to marry again. One bad marriage to a clan warrior who never loved her was enough. But when Ailig returns home with an impossible task he convinces her to help him set the castle to rights. As she helps him maneuver the treacherous undercurrents, and open distrust, of the clan, she discovers he is nothing like the warriors she has known before. 


As they work together to save the castle and the clan, passion flares, but their love is put to the test by a dangerous and uncertain future...

Morainn was a very different character than Catriana. Morainn is a little shyer but very respectable and honest. Ailig is very strong and knows what he wants-and will go after it. Their connection is immediate from the start and watching their first kiss turn into true passion was amazing. I loved this second book as much as the first.