Angieville

So we haven't talked about the three new Shatter Me books that we are getting from the lovely Tahereh Mafi yet, have we? I've been remiss. I know. I mean, I'm pretty sure you could have guessed that I'm positively delighted by the prospect. I was one of the ones happy with how and where she left things in  Ignite Me . I know others were not. Which is why I think it's no small task Ms. Mafi has set herself in returning to this world and picking up the threads of her tale. But I'm along for the ride. That was never really even a question. The first book is titled Restore Me and is due out next month! The sixth, to be exact. I do love this whiteout version of the set of covers we've got going for the series. Actually, it might be my favorite cover thus far. But my question for you today is have you read the first four chapters excerpt they released yet? I wasn't planning on it, opting to just sort of ride out my gentle anticipation until release day....

You guys, I'm just avidly excited about these three upcoming pretties. I need them now and I will not have them until October (in two cases) and next April in the other. Alas. Alack. Until then, I shall have to content myself with the odd gaze at these instances of the benevolence of the Cover Gods. A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas As you know. I love Sherry Thomas. Historicals, YA fantasy, you name it, she can do it. This time she's turning her hand to a gender-swapped Sherlock Holmes retelling. Charlotte Holmes takes the name of Sherlock Holmes in order to solve the mystery behind a trio of murders that have cast suspicion upon her sister and father. Say no more. Due out October 18th Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin I'm sorry, but this cover, you guys. It's like my heart grew ten sizes the day I saw it. It is utterly perfect for a book about one lonely girl who has a heart that ticks and builds a robot companion. Set in a dystopian/ste...

"Nothing like a nice bag."  Love.

OMG PIPER

I don't know why I do this to myself. November? Gah. But I'm pretty sure it's because all I wanted to do when the credits on The Hunger Games rolled was watch Catching Fire . Immediately.  Oh. And also  GALE!

I'm relieved the Cover Gods decided to repackage this series. The "I'm gonna eat you for breakfast" model photo from the original cover of Shatter Me was seven different kinds of wrong. The only thing I loved about that original cover was the slashed title. I do miss that and kind of wish they'd ported it over in the repackaging. And while I'm not a huge fan of the sky blue and pink they've opted for in the new covers, I applaud the general direction and the nod to some of the overarching themes of the series. Most of all, I hope it reels in new readers for Tahereh Mafi , because she (and her books) really deserve them. Not long back, I caved and read Destroy Me , the e-novella Ms. Mafi wrote from Warner's perspective. It takes place in between the first and second books, and I finished it even more crazy devoted to that crazy psycho than I was before (and that is saying something). And, of course, I've spent the last handful of months impatient...

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted here @ Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! Honestly, it's like trying to articulate why you love your child reviewing some of these books. I don't know how anyone can be expected to do them justice. But I am going to press on foolhardily, if only because this is one of the ones I never stop talking about, never stop thinking about. Originally published in 2004, How I Live Now is Meg Rosoff 's debut novel and winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. I've loved many a Printz Award winner, but this one is truly the best of the best. I remember it came in the mail, on loan from a friend who somehow knew how much it would mean to me. I slid it out of the envelope and wondered at how slim it was and at th...

Wow. These books . . . they need to be on my shelf. Like I am starting to glance at my calendar and mumble about how many months left in the year. Not only have they all three been on my must-have list for some time now, but they got themselves such fantastically pretty covers to boot. Way to go, little books! Way to stand up for yourselves and demand the eye-catching treatment. Now why do you have to go and be out next year?! Catherine by April Lindner This is the second novel from Ms. Lindner. After falling utterly in love with Jane , her contemporary retelling of Jane Eyre , I was signed on for life. But knowing that her sophomore novel is a contemporary retelling of Wuthering Heights sort of nudges me over into supreme fangirl territory. How will she update that bit of insanity? I can't wait to find out. Love the idea, love the cover, love everything. Due out January 2nd Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi I'm incredibly pleased with the cover revamping that went on with ...

The good news is these are all due out in the spring. So, not really that far away at all. The bad news is one of them is only coming out in Australia. When, oh when, will the American publishers tune in to the awesome that is Kirsty Eagar ? I refer you to my review of Raw Blue . All three look interesting to me, and I'll be searching them out come springtime for sure. Night Beach by Kirsty Eagar After falling hard and fast for  Raw Blue , I am quivering with anticipation over this upcoming release. As with its predecessor, this one looks like it involves surfing and a girl finding solace in the sea. Unlike its predecessor, it also has Gothic mystery elements. Uh-huh. Where do I sign? Due out (in Australia) April 26th. The Selection by Kiera Cass Another pretty dress, I know. Apparently I am still prey to the allure of the ruffles and the endless reflections. Ah, well. You can only grow up so fast. This is a dystopian. And though it does sound a bit like Princess Academy...

Oh. Holy. Crap.

Shatter Me came across my radar purely through the blogosphere. I'm fairly certain I wrote it off initially based on the cover alone. Having read it now, I'm even less of a fan of the cover. In fact, I vastly prefer the plain white cover of my ARC. It retains the slashed title (which I love), but otherwise it is just a field of white. The final cover sells the book short, in my opinion, especially Juliette herself. The model, her expression, and the dress are just too froufy and faux intense for Juliette and for my taste. I feel like the story deserved a starker, more ambiguous cover. So what encouraged me to check out this debut novel was definitely not the cover, but rather the collective heart attack it seemed to be giving a slew of my favorite bloggers. I heard "beautiful writing" and "awesome dystopian" and I hoped. But I made sure to go in with carefully measured expectations, because I've had a few of those "beautiful writing awesome dys...

So while the EW cover featuring Gale and Peeta left me . . . underwhelmed. This still here and this one over here have me, well, smiling pretty big. I really cannot wait to see it.

It's a little bit strange, but I feel as though I've grown particularly choosy when it comes to the dystopian novels I pick up lately. I'm not sure if this is a result of the seemingly increased number of YA ones, in particular, being released. Or if it's merely that my taste is evolving somewhat over time. I did read several for the SciFi/Fantasy panel I served on for the Cybils this year. Some were good, some not so good., as is to be expected. But so often the substance fails to live up to the premise for me. And those are sad days, where I wonder what went wrong and if it was the book, the execution, or me. In any event, I was looking forward to the release of Julia Karr 's debut novel-- XVI -- with a fair amount of anticipation and curiosity, hoping it would stand out among its fellows and earn a permanent spot on my shelves. I read it in the space of a single evening and have been examining my thoughts on it for a little while now. Nina Oberon is about to tu...

Well, don't these three make you want to run for cover? After grabbing a copy of each and tucking away with them somewhere warm and cozy, of course. I don't know, I think they each look spectacular in their own way and on this fall afternoon I'm feeling like something dangerous and uncertain. Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James I've actually had my eye on this one for awhile now. Ever since reading an article about it in an Australian newspaper awhile back and being intrigued. Katherine Patterson's life is torn apart when her sister dies. After moving to a new town and a new school, she makes friend with a happy and vivacious girl named Alice and life begins to look up. But there are darker currents running through this friendship and not everything is as it seems.  Out now.  The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines I really cannot wait to get my hands on this one. Just look at that cover. And that title! It calls out to me, you guys. It does. Details are few, ...

I was so excited to go to my local bookstore's midnight release party for Mockingjay . I hadn't been to a midnight release party for quite awhile and it's such a singular experience, wandering the aisles and just soaking up the high pitched excitement and general camaraderie in the air. And this time I got to do it all with my always-up-for-a-good-time sister Liza and the lovely Holly from Book Harbinger . Together the three of us admired the radical Capitol hairstyles, watched the archery contest, and stood slack-jawed as a couple of serious fans wowed the audience with their insane knowledge of Hunger Games trivia. And when we stopped in the cafe for some drinks and snacks and saw the special offerings (Creamsicles for Team Peeta vs. Root Beer Floats for Team Gale), I just went ahead and ordered that root beer float as a last toast to the guy I thought she'd be happiest with. When I walked out of the store that night with my shiny blue copy, I could not wait to get h...

And all I have to say (at this incredibly late hour) is Holy. Crap.   Oh, and Always.

I'm about to walk out the door to go to my local Mockingjay release party and figured I'd go ahead and say it one last time before I go quiet: Happy reading!

Phew. Back from a weekend trip and trying to get caught up on everything from family to work to blog, etc. Just a couple of stops worth making this Monday morning. Penguin interviewed the very lovely Moira Moore about her Heroes series and the recently released fifth installment-- Heroes Return . You can read my review of the book here , but I definitely suggest going over and checking out the Penguin interview for a fix on all your Lee & Taro needs. Lenore of Presenting Lenore is in full swing mode during her Dystopian August extravaganza! She's got interviews, giveaways, roundups of blogger reviews of dystopian books, and more. So if you've been wanting to read a dystopian novel and review it on your site, now is your chance to join in and see what all the fuss is about. Lastly, the Book Smugglers are pressing forward with their second annual Young Adult Appreciation Month. They're churning out lots and lots of reviews of young adult novels, including Ana'...

So this is the book everyone was buzzing about at BEA this year. It's name just seemed to be in the air everywhere I went. And I made it a point to sit in on the Dystopian Lit panel and the YA Buzz panel, both of which featured the delightful Ally Condie  with her new novel Matched . And she really was delightful. One of my most memorable moments from the entire conference was listening to her describe the origins of a scene in the book, which included her chaperoning a high school prom in which a boy proposed to his girlfriend on the steps of the building. Needless to say, it was a sticky situation for the chaperons as they weren't sure whether to be happy for them or to jump in the middle and yell, "You're making a big mistake!" We in the audience had a good laugh at that one. So it was with great anticipation (and not a little fear) that I cracked open Matched a few nights ago. Whenever the hype surrounding a book is built up so high, I find myself afraid to s...

R etro Friday is a weekly meme hosted here at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! I include roundups from participating bloggers in my weekly post.  Originally published back in 2001 in the UK, Noughts & Crosses is the first book in a series by British author Malorie Blackman . I first encountered it as part of the Young Adult Reading Group (YARG) over at Readerville. It was chosen as one of our monthly selections and a dear friend of mine actually picked up copies for several of us while she was in England and mailed them out so we would have time to read them before the discussion. Those were just the kind of people that filled the YARG in those days. Sometimes I miss them all so much it hurts. But my copy (pictured above left) came just in time to take it to Italy with me to visit my ...