A-Z Challenge 2013

So I have recently joined another group on GoodReads which I told myself I would not do anymore, but I did anyway. This particular group hosts an A-Z Challenge, which I always hear about, but never participated in. So I decided this year I will give it a try. For anyone else who wishes to start their own challenges, or know more about what the challenge entails, I am posting the rules below:

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Rules:     
Duration: January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013.

You can read in any order you wish.

Although we are a YA Book Club, for this challenge, if you wish, you can read adult books as well, as long as at least 50% of the books read are young adult.

You have 12 months to read 26 books.

Either the first word in the title of the books or the author’s name (first or last) should correspond with a letter in the alphabet.

You should omit “a” and “the” in the titles.

Letters Q, X and Z can be positioned anywhere in the titles or author names.

Examples: C - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, D - Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

 

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The books I chose for my challenge are listed below. As I complete a book from the list, I will cross it out. I'll be adding a tab on the top of my blog for easier access.
 

A.      Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) by Kendare Blake

B.      Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

C.      Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare

D.      Die for Me (Revenants #1) by Amy Plum

E.       Everbound (Everneath #2) by Brodi Ashton

F.       Forbidden by Syrie James & Ryan M. James

G.     Gates of Paradise (Blue Bloods #7) by Melissa de la Cruz

H.      Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

I.        Insight (Insight #1) by Jamie Magee

J.       Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

K.      The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

L.      The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan

M.    Mortal Obligation (Dark Betrayal Trilogy #1) by Nichole Chase

N.     Neverfall (Everneath #1.5) by Brodi Ashton

O.     Ordained (The Immortal Archives #1) by Devon Ashley

P.      Persuasion by Jane Austen

Q.     The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey, #3) by Julie Kagawa

R.      Radiant (Unearthly #2.5) by Cynthia Hand

S.      Significance (Significance #1) by Shelly Crane

T.       The Tears of Elios (Elgean Chronicles #1) by Crista McHugh

U.     Until I Die (Revenants #2) by Amy Plum

V.      Dark Visions (Dark Visions #1-3) by L.J. Smith

W.    Wander Dust (The Seraphina Parrish Trilogy #1) by Michelle Warren

X.      Hex Hall (Hex Hall Series #1) by Rachel Hawkins

Y.       Slumber (The Fade #1) by Samantha Young

Z.       World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

 



The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief
(Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1)
byRick Riordan

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

With cover art from the major motion picture, this first installment of Rick Riordan's best-selling series is a non-stop thrill-ride and a classic of mythic proportions.

“If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.”
― Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

 I am going to be completely honest and admit that I saw the movie before I read this book and I liked it. Now, I know  many people who would happily flog me (yes flog) for liking the movie adaptation, but I always feel the need to remind them that when I first saw it, I had not read the book and therefore had nothing to compare it to. Upon completing the book, I can admit I see what people were so angry about; the book and movie are completely different. And I understand the anger. But just to clear the air, I still like the movie...now, let me elaborate. When looking at the movie from the perspective of it being based on a book, then yes, I agree it is a pretty poor adaptation. But, if one were to look at the movie itself, without comparing it to anything, then in my opinion, it is pretty awesome.

So now that that is out of the way, let's talk about the book!

I feel like such a complete fool for not reading this book earlier, espeically when I was around the age group the book it targeted for. I admit, it was weird for awhile reading a book about a twelve year old after so many years in YA now, but after a while, the weirdness faded.

I have always loved mythology; especially Greek. In school, I enjoyed the lessons about all the different gods and what they all stood for. So naturally, I was excited going into this book. Also, one of my best friends kept pushing it on me.

The characters had personality, depth, and most importantly, grew as the story continued. At the beginning, Percy changed so much from the beginning of the book to the end. He had much more confidence towards the end of the book, which is always great to see in a character. Grover also grew as a character. He was always sort of stuttering around, and seemed just a tad cowardly, but was a loyal, trustworthy friend. Percy and Annabeth could count on him when he was needed most. Annabeth I will admit, I found a bit annoying at first. She was sort of rude and irritating, but I found myself liking her a lot more as the story unfolded.

The plot of the story had me interested the whole time. However, it was a bit predictable at times. The action was fun and exciting.

I really liked this book, but I didn't LOVE it, hence the 4 out of 5 stars. Overall, it was a fun read. I wasn't expecting it to be the best book ever, and I wasn't too hard on it because I knew it was aimmed at the younger audiences. Though, I feel as though everyone, no matter what age, should read this book at some point in their lives just because it's a fun read for any age. Planning on reading the next book soon. I actually borrowed it from my friend but left it at my house when I came back to school from break. So I'll just have to wait until my next visit, or get it from the library. :)

Below, I am posting the trailer for the movie (with the amazing Logan Lerman ;) lol)

 

Waiting On Wednesday (#6)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This meme highlights some of the books whose releases bloggers are most anticipating this year.

The book whose release I am most excited for this week is...

 

                      

                              Just Like Fate

By: Cat Patrick & Suzanne Young

Expected publication: August 27th 2013

Just Like Fate follows the dual possible narratives that spring from one girl's fateful choice: to stay by her dying grandmother's bedside, or to go to a party and miss her grandmother's last moments.

So I know what you are all thinking: the synopsis is not very long, and in all honesty, not very interesting. I admit, it sounds like it is about a vain teenage girl. I mean, who would go to a party when their grandmother is dying? But despite my own skepticism, I absolutely love Cat Patrick's writing so I am willing to give it a try. And who knows? Maybe it is better than it sounds.

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1)

byKami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

*4 out of 5 Stars*

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

 

- "Sixteen Moons, Sixteen Years
Sixteen of your deepest fears
Sixteen times you dreamed my tears
Falling, Falling through the years"

The story takes place in a southern town very much like old Savannah, Georgia. They have a very strong, and slightly obsessive, sentiment towards the civil war. However, they only see the war from one side: the South’s. As far as they are concerned, they won the war.

I loved that the authors really nailed the character development. In my opinion, there has to be character development for a story to be even remotely interesting. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have ended up loathing a book because the character makes the same mistakes over and over and never learns a thing, or they never grow as a person throughout the novel.  In this story, the authors have done an amazing job! The main characters each have unique, yet believable, backstories. They also remain true to themselves throughout the story, never straying from who they are. The characters grow and mature. More importantly, they have their own epiphanies and realizations about the events in the book.

Lena, poor Lena. I felt so terribly bad for her throughout the book. She was treated so horribly by the kids at school and the rest of the town in general. Ethan was such a sweet heart to Lena and I was glad to see that this story lacked a love triangle. Love triangles seem to be in almost every piece of YA fiction these days, and while sometimes they make the story interesting, most of the time, they are just irritating. Link was an awesome best friend! I would love to meet him, if he was real that is. Amma could be…scary at times. She was definitely a little out there with her strange rituals and charms, but she cared for Ethan which is what matters. I had mixed feelings for Uncle Macon for a while, and honestly, I am not quite sure still where I stand with him.

The plot, while I found it somewhat predictable, was intriguing. I was never bored while reading, though I was disappointed when I saw a major event coming before it happened. Naturally, most people like being right about these kinds of things, and I normally agree, however I found it rather tiresome that I was almost always right; it left out the element of surprise. The predictably alone it the only reason why I did not give the book 5 stars.

 

I will definitely read the rest of the series (I already have a BEAUTIFUL box-set I received for Christmas ;)). And naturally, I will watch the movie. However, I am already disappointed by what I see in the trailers. I am especially disappointed to hear that Aunt Marian isn’t even in the movie. I have heard that they are combining Amma and Marian’s roles, which to me, makes little sense. Both characters played a huge role in helping Lena and Ethan, so I don’t quite see how this combo is going to work (if it’s true that is).  But what are your views on the book and movie? I’ll be sure to post my thoughts on it next month when I get around to seeing it J

BOOK TRAILER

 

MOVIE TRAILER

 

Merry Christmas!

Here's to hoping that everyone has a wonderful (and safe) Christmas today! Today is all about (all religious beliefs & affliations aside) spending time with loved ones, family, and friends; the food and, of course, presents are great too, but never forget what the holiday season is really all about.

For those of you who do not celebrate Christmas, then I wish you all happy holidays!

Warm Bodies (Warm Bodies #1) by Isaac Marion

Warm Bodies (Warm Bodies #1)

byIsaac Marion

4 out of 5 Stars

Hardcover, USA Edition, 241 pages

Published April 26th 2011 by Atria

R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams.

After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a blast of color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.

Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies is about being alive, being dead and the blurry line in between.

 

“I am Dead, but it's not so bad. I've learned to live with it.”
― Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies

I am actually surprised I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I am not really a fan of zombies; I have read one zombie novel previous to this one and hated it, and 'The Walking Dead' both bores/disturbs me, so I have no interest in watching it, unlike, it seems, everyone else I know. The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is because I felt like the last part of the book should have spent more time elaborating and explaining why exactly the changes going on are happening. In my opinion, it ju...moreI am actually surprised I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I am not really a fan of zombies; I have read one zombie novel previous to this one and hated it, and 'The Walking Dead' both bores/disturbs me, so I have no interest in watching it, unlike, it seems, everyone else I know. The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is because I felt like the last part of the book should have spent more time elaborating and explaining why exactly the changes going on are happening. In my opinion, it just sort of ended, and I feel as though there could have been more there especially since the book was not relatively long at all. The main character, R, is of course, our lead zombie. R is not his real name, however. In fact, he has no idea what his name was, or anything about his life previous to becoming a zombie. As previously stated, this book caught me by surprise. I never expected it to be such a heart-warming story, with a quite loveable hero. But can you really blame me? A zombie-romance? I have read my share of paranormal romances so it really shouldn't have made me cringe as much as it first did. However, I am glad I picked this up; I was able to finish it in less than a day.   The story line was definitely intriguing. I found myself fascinated with the world Marion created. What I found most interesting was how everytime R takes a bite of his meal's brain, he is hit by a rush of his victim's memories and glimpses of their lives. This plays a major role in the story, as R keeps seeing into Julie's (the love interest) boyfriend's memories throughout the story because he had, unfortunately, killed him. With my aversion to zombie tales, I was quite relieved to see that the book wasn't filled with shuffling zombies, crying out "Brainsss!" As I said, I really enjoyed this novel except for the ending. You're never really told what specifically is going on to the zombies to make them change. You know that it was all triggered by Julie and R, but the whole situation is never really elaborated upon. Overall, it was a great and quick read. Did it change my views on zombies? Eh, probably not so much. However, I do know I will be eagerly awaiting the release of the movie adaptation in February. Below, I am going to post the book trailer, along with the movie trailer. Enjoy! :D

Heartache in the World

My heart aches for the victims of the Connecticut school shooting and their families. Only an incredibly screwed up individual could do something like murder innocent children. It's just hard to comprehend how someone can perform such an atrocious act, and not just to children, but to any other human beings as well. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this tragedy, and I sincerely hope they get some justice and/or closure. It's such a difficult time for them, and I only hope that the media and press leave this poor people alone so they can grieve in their own way.