ARC Giveaway Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Time for a new giveaway!!  My latest review was on Triangles by Ellen Hopkins, which was a wonderful book written entirely in verse.  You can find the review here.  If you would like to win a copy of this book, you can feel out this form.  As always, you do not have to be a follower of my blog to enter, but it is appreciated if you did follow me!  The contest ends at midnight on October 3rd.  Good luck to everyone who enters!

Teaser Tuesday (2)

     Teaser Tuesday is  a weekly meme anyone can take part in hosted by MizB of Should be Reading.  To participate all you have to do is get the book you are currently reading, open to a random page, and post a two sentence teaser that doesn’t contain spoilers.  Make sure you don’t forget to let us know the title and author of the book so people can add it to their To Be Read list if they liked the teasing!

Here’s my teaser:

It’s when I reach down to take my blade out from under the leg of my jeans that I see the silhouette of the bridge in the moonlight.  Right on cue, the hitchhiker grabs the wheel and yanks it to the left.

Anna Dressed in Blood
Kendare Blake

*Review* Triangles – Ellen Hopkins

 

Triangles

Ellen Hopkins

544 pages

ISBN: 9781451626339

Read 9-23-11

Release 10-18-11

     Ellen Hopkins is the bestselling author of incredibly popular young adult novels, such as Crank and Glass, that are enjoyed both by teens and adults.  Triangles is her first adult novel, which is written in verse instead of the common prose of most novels.  This novel is definitely meant for mature readers, and in my opinion, if you are easily offended, you may not like it because of some of the issues and content that comes up during the story.  That being said, I thought it was a very wonderful book.  It is very artistic in its structure, words, and story. 
     This book follows three women, Marissa, Holly, and Andrea, through some very tough times they are having with family, love lives, and careers.  There are many emotional and personal changes that happen for these women, and the author’s words do an amazing job of transporting you along on their journey.
     The book being written in verse gives a whole different feel to the novel.  It has a different flow and emotions are emphasized in a different way.  When grammar and punctuation are not something you have to pay strict attention to and rules can be bent, other things happen with a story, and the beauty of it can be accentuated even further.  Hopkins’s verses are geniusly written and absolutely exquisite.  
     The personalities of the characters really come through in this work, and I feel as if I know them well.  Their true selves shine through in each verse, raw and real.  The writing of this work is very honest and how-it-is, all reality, making it very believable; it matches the drama of real life.  The pages of poetry are full of lovely descriptions and meaning, both obvious and hidden.
     The only bad thing I could possibly say about this book is that it has a tendency to be confusing at first when it switches from the view points of the three women.  I think that was a me thing, though, and has nothing to do with the author’s style, since I am not very used to reading books with more than two view points.  So many of the author’s words are powerful, but I think the most powerful was the last poem.  Wonderful!

Magnificent, artistic, real, honest, descriptive.         4.5 stars!

Updates

   Hey guys!  I just wanted to point out a couple of changes and apologize for my blog being so quite for the past week and a half.  I’m trying to work on my writing for my application into a creative writing MFA program, so that has been my main focus the past few weeks.  When I had a little downtime, I made a couple changes on my blog.  I added a new tab for blogs that I follow.  They are all fantastic book blogs with great people and great reviews, so check them out!  I will also be adding another new tab for my favorite reads, but that is still in progess (again main focus is getting my app in).  I also added a Twitter follow me link, so if you have Twitter, please add me!  My last addition is my new blog button.  I’m quite proud of myself for making it, so you can grab it if you like 🙂  Thanks for reading!

Teaser Tuesday (1)

Teaser Tuesday is  a weekly meme anyone can take part in hosted by MizB of Should be Reading.  To participate all you have to do is get the book you are currently reading, open to a random page, and post a two sentence teaser that doesn’t contain spoilers.  Make sure you don’t forget to let us know the title and author of the book so people can add it to their To Be Read list if they liked the teasing!

Here’s my teaser:

Shane pounces.  No wonder you
don’t want to take me to the DMV.

You’d get busted for drunk driving.
Do you drink at work too, Dad?

Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

This book is written in verse so my teaser has more than two sentences.

Another ARC Giveaway! Liesl & Po

I just finished Lauren Oliver’s book Liesl & Po, so it is time for another ARC giveaway!  To read the review for this book click here.  If you would like to enter to win, please fill out this form.   If you are not already a follower of my blog, you can subscribe, if you don’t want to that’s okay, too.  Entries will be received until midnight Friday, September 16th.  I’ll notify the winner after the random drawing shortly after.  Spread the word and good luck to all entrants!!

Vyki

*Review* Liesl & Po – Lauren Oliver

Liesl & Po

Lauren Oliver

320 pages

ISBN: 9780062014511

 

     I received Liesl & Po as an ARC copy shortly after I saw a few others’ reviews on it.  I found the cover very interesting and couldn’t wait to read it.  Readers a little younger than teen are able to read this story and the voice of it is that of a rich fairytale.  The story follows Liesl, a young girl who just lost her father and has been locked away in the attic by her awful stepmother.  A pair of ghosts, Po and Bundle, appear to her and she becomes friends with them, they help her to escape the attic so she can take the ashes of her father to a resting place.  What Liesl doesn’t know is that there has been a big mix up and the road to where she needs to go will be a very rocky one.
     This tale is a bit of a grim one, it deals with death, evil people, and cruelty, but the sun does come back out and it is a very good healing story.  The characters are full of life and personality, even the little animal ghost, Bundle, has a wonderful personality.  I especially liked the ending of the book; it was very beautiful and full of hope.  The illustrations in the book provide a wonderful accompaniment to the words.
     At the very beginning, the author has a note where she says she wrote this story because of the sudden death of a friend of hers and never wrote it for the purpose of being published.  I can say I am glad it was published and that she decided to share a story with us that started off just for her healing.

Very enjoyable, quick read, hopeful ending, heart warming.  4 stars.

ARC Book Giveaway!!!

My latest review was on Anna Carey’s young adult dystopian novel Eve, which I really enjoyed (you can read the review here).  I want to share the enjoyment with someone else and I am offering up my ARC copy of this novel for a giveaway.  You do not have to follow my blog, though it would be much appreciated if you did.  All you have to do is fill out this form.  The giveaway will be closed at midnight on Friday, September 9th, and a winner will be chosen via an online random drawing tool and notified of their win.  Thanks for stopping by my blog and good luck to all the entrants!

 

*Review* Eve – Anna Carey

 

Eve

Anna Carey

322 pages

ISBN: 9780062048509

Read 9-1-11

Release 10-4-11

    Eve is a wonderful dystopian novel about a girl by the same name as the title who lives in a fearful world full of lies and a tiny bit of truth.  The world that Eve knew when she was little is far different than the one she has grown up in for most of her life.  Now 17, she is about to graduate from a special school that has been her shelter since the plague that broke out and reduced the population to a tiny fraction of what it once was.  The night before the big day, she sneaks away to discover the truth of what really happens to the graduates.  Fear and betrayal lead her to escape the school into the wild world outside the safety of the school’s walls.  Having been told for years that men were bad and should never be trusted, she doesn’t know what to do when a boy saves her from one of the many dangers of the wild.
     I can say I was very pleased by this book and I thoroughly enjoyed every page of it!  Eve is a strong character who evolves from a sheltered innocent to a teen whose eyes are more open to the truth and more willing to have a hard life in order to do what is right.  She starts out as a pristine student and ends up living in the wild, learning the ways of a much harsher place.
     None of the characters to me seemed flat; I felt that all the main characters grew.  Their relationships with one another felt natural, and I really liked the romantic relationship she developed.  The idea for the book was very interesting and serious, and could even be considered a terrifying concept with the situation for the graduates.
     The imagery is fantastic and it feels so real and emotional in all the right places.  I quickly became attached to all the characters and I can’t wait for the next book in the trilogy.  The only bad thing I really have to say is it left me hungry for more.  A remarkable and riveting novel that is a can’t miss read!  Be on the lookout for this book when it is released; highly recommended for those who like dystopians and strong, fast-paced stories.

Fast-paced, memorable, heart-warming romance, heart-breaking situations, loved every minute!

4.5 stars!!