Category: Bookanistas

Bookanista Rec – THE BOOK THIEF

40 Comments

summer reading. #books, #reading, #summer

Oh, my. I haven’t done a Book of the Month post since… FEBRUARY. Bad Katy! So, since yesterday was the first day of SUMMER, let’s play catch up, shall we?

I present:

The Books I Read This Spring (with a Bookanista rec at the end!)

Delirium by Lauren Oliver – Delirium sat on my nightstand for months. I passed it up time and again (I’d been underwhelmed by several dystopians of late), and honestly, I thought the idea of love-as-a-disease was a little hard to buy into . Turns out it wasn’t, not when written by the incredibly talented Lauren Oliver. Delirium was good. Quiet, but with lovely prose and characters I wanted to know. I recommend it!

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver – This book grabbed me and never let go. If you were disappointed by the slow pace and inherent quietness of Delirium (I, as I mentioned above, was not), you should know that Pandemonium is a turn around. While it’s similar to Delirium in its gorgeous writing and gripping characters, it’s also action-packed, with tension that made it utterly unputdownable. You can read my Bookanista recommendation HERE.

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard – I’m a sucker for beautifully written contemporary YA, especially when the story is set somewhere warm and beachy, and ESPECIALLY when there’s a slow-burn (read: realistic) romance involved. In these ways, Wanderlove is a triple threat. Oh, and Kirsten Hubbard’s writing is enviable. My Bookanista recommendation is HERE.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore – What I loved most about Graceling‘s Katsa is that her strength, while very much present, is not at all black and white. She’s layered, definitely not perfect and not always likable, but very real. And the Graced prince, Po? You will totally fall for him! More about why I adored Graceling HERE.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi – Main character Aria’s steep, authentic arc transformed her from a character I felt eh about, into a character I wanted to befriend, a character whose story I can’t wait to continue reading. This book has it all: fantastic pacing, world building that blew my mind, and a romance that had me flipping pages late into the night. More on Under the Never Sky HERE.

Ten by Gretchen McNeil (available September 18th, 2012) – I found this book to be reminiscent of the movies Scream and The Ring. It’s a murder mystery, a big group of kids secluded during a storm, picked off by the unknown killer among them. Ten is packed with tension and twists right up to the very end. A scary but fun read.

Happy Families by Tanita S. Davis – A no-nonsense contemporary about a family going through a big change. It’s narrated by a brother-sister pair (good, smart kids with lofty goals), and while I liked the protagonists and their respective arcs, the tone of this book was a little on the young side for my taste. Still, if you love stories about complex family dynamics, Happy Families is one to check out.

This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers – Not regular Courtney Summers contemporary fare, but just as absorbing, just as unputdownable, as any of her other novels. Raw and unflinching, I suspect that even non-zombie-lovers will be captivated by this book! My YA Confidential review is HERE.

On Writing by Stephen King – The end-all-be-all of craft books! I was long overdue in giving this one a read, but I’m so glad I finally did. Stephen King writes with honestly and a touch of irony that made this book hard to step away from. It helped me reflect on my writing goals and writing practices in a way I haven’t before. I recommend this one to anyone who writes or wants to write, and to non-writers who simply enjoy Stephen King’s nonfiction articles (he’s had many pop culture bits published in Entertainment Weekly… they’re awesome!).

Insurgent by Veronica Roth – I had mixed feelings about this one right up until the big reveal at the end, which is when I fell in love. I enjoyed Tris and her narration throughout, but my thoughts during most of the book were this: Too much action (YES). Not enough Four. But, I have to see where this is going. I’m glad I did, because Veronica Roth made it all worthwhile at the end. I can’t wait to see what the final installment of this trilogy brings.

Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield (available July 5, 2012) – Kat Rosenfield holds nothing back in the weaving of Rebecca and Amelia’s parallel stories. Her prose is enchantingly gritty, and the relationships she fosters between her characters feel real and flawed and dangerously precarious. One part literary fiction, one part murder mystery… This book blew me away. My Bookanista recommendation is HERE.

And, finally(!), my favorite book of the season, one I highly recommend: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak.

The Book ThiefFrom Goodreads: It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . . Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

I’ve read quite a few books set during the Holocaust, stand-outs being Number the Stars, Night, Sarah’s Key, and The Diary of Anne Frank. The Book Thief has quite a bit in common with these stories, yet in many ways it isn’t like them it all. It focuses on blonde, German kids, “normal” kids who attend book burnings and Hitler Youth rallies. They’re kids who, as part of their everyday lives, deal with the Gestapo and food rationings and parades of emaciated Jews marching through their streets toward probable death. It’s rare to hear stories about these kids, kids caught between innocence and evil who, for the most part, lack the power to make real change in a world many of them recognize as incredibly unjust.

A few points about The Book Thief:

~ It was a slow read for me, but that was okay. The characters (even the lesser characters) were absolutely captivating. I didn’t want to hurry their story along.

~ The language… Oh, my gosh. So gorgeous. The imagery and the personification and the metaphors. This novel is a study in weaving beautiful prose.

~ The narrator of the story is Death. I was weirded out by this initially, but I got used to it quickly. In my opinion, Death’s perspective was the only one from which to tell this story.

~ The only (tiny) thing I didn’t like about Death’s narration was that he wasn’t one for foreshadowing. He gave away big plot points seemingly willy-nilly, which I could have done without.

~ Rudy Steiner. *sigh* I absolutely adore that kid. He is by far my favorite character. Such a little shit, but with the world’s biggest heart. He alone is worth picking up The Book Thief for.

So, that’s that. The Book Thief: If it’s one of your gap books, please, please please run to your local bookseller or library to pick it up!

Don’t forget to check out what my fellow Bookanistas are up to: 

Elana Johnson can’t get enough of See You At Harry’s

Shannon Messenger shares some YA cover lust

Shelli Johannes-Wells talks about the cover for The 13th Sign–with a contest!

Stasia Ward Kehoe and Nikki Katz gush about Surrender

Jessica Love has feelings for The List

Tell me, have you read The Book Thief? If so, what did you love about it? If not… WHY?!

Bookanista Links…

1 Comment

I’ll be back next week with a recommendation for a so-called “gap book” (one everyone’s read but YOU). It  was aMaZiNg, just to pique your curiosity. 🙂

For now, please do check out all of the Bookanista goodness  going on this week:

Stasia Ward Kehoe is blown away by DINOSOARING

Jessica Love celebrates SECOND CHANCE SUMMER

Nikki Katz is crazy about Holly Black’s Curse Workers series

Shelli Johannes-Wells shares a guest post by SURRENDER author Elana Johnson

Shannon Messenger champions ALL THESE LIVES–with a GIVEAWAY!

Gennifer Albin swoons for A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHTMARE.

Bookanista Rec: AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE

14 Comments

Today’s Bookanista recommendation: Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield (Available July 5, 2012)

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone

How gorgeous is this cover?

From Goodreads: An arresting un-coming-of-age story, from a breathtaking talent… Becca has always longed to break free from her small, backwater hometown. But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town–and Becca–into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life. Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson’s life are intercut with Becca’s own summer as the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and relationships on the edge twist the reader closer and closer to the truth about Amelia’s death.

Amelia Anne had me at hello. The beautiful cover, mesmerizing synopsis, and steady stream of rave reviews were initially intriguing. But then there was the first line:

The night before Amelia Anne Richardson bled her life away on a parched dirt road outside of town, I bled out my dignity in the back of a pickup truck under a star-pricked sky.

Amazing, right? I’m happy to report that each line that follows the first is equally stunning. So are the characters, the setting, and the desperate, raw tone of this novel.

Kat Rosenfield holds nothing back in the weaving of Rebecca and Amelia’s parallel stories. Her prose is enchantingly gritty, and the relationships she fosters between her characters feel real and flawed and dangerously precarious. Amelia Anne is a fast read, one part literary fiction, one part murder mystery, with a twist that packs one heck of a punch. It’s also one of those books that is simultaneously inspiring (I want to write a book like this!) and discouraging (I’ll never be able to write a book like this…). Writers: Read it, perhaps, when you’re not drafting or in the middle of heavy revisions. But DEFINITELY read it.

Rebecca Behrens was kind of enough to pass an ARC of Amelia Anne to me through a giveaway (read her thoughts on the novel HERE), and I’d love to do the same…

Leave a comment below promising to share what you like (or love!) about Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone through the social media outlet of your choice (your blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), and tomorrow (Friday) at noon, I’ll randomly choose one commenter to receive the ARC.

{This giveaway is open internationally, and I’d be grateful if you’d take a moment to help spread the word through Twitter/Facebook/your blog.}

♥ Thank you, lovelies! ♥

And a few more Bookanista recommendations for you to check out…

Nikki Katz has been hit by STRUCK

Jessica Love is thrilled by TRANSCENDENCE

MAY I tell you something about Aria?

23 Comments

Today’s Bookanista recommendation is Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, and to tie it in to Blog Me MAYbe, I’d love to talk about one of the story’s two main characters, Aria. First, a quick synopsis:

Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, #1)

From Goodreads: Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse. Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland – known as The Death Shop – are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild – a savage – and her only hope of staying alive. A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile – everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

Let me be honest about Aria… I did not find her initially likable. When we meet her at the novel’s beginning, she’s naive and pampered and pretty helpless — although through no fault of her own. Aria is Aria because of her environment, the Pod she grew up in, confined and safe and clueless, and she appears to embrace that lifestyle. That said, there’s much more to Aria than meets the eye, and after life throws a few major curve balls her way, she starts to become a protagonist readers can believe in.

While Aria at first resists her new world and all its challenges, it’s not long before she takes initiative. She learns to feed herself and defend herself and, in the process, to be herself. She has a way of dealing with Peregrine, her “ally,” that I found very intriguing. Though they’re opposites in many ways, in several instances Aria seems to know intuitively exactly what Perry needs. Their relationship was balanced and grew out of respect, which made its progression a satisfying climb. The more Aria accepted her new world, and Perry, the more I grew to love her, until I found myself invested, rooting for her and thinking about her plight even when I wasn’t actively reading. Aria’s steep, authentic arc transformed her from a character I felt eh about, into a character I adored, a character whose story I can’t wait to continue reading.

And, if Aria isn’t enough to make you desperate to pick up a copy of Under the Never Sky, here a few more ways in which Veronica Rossi’s story amazed me:

1. Word-building – Thorough, creative, inimitable. There are so many thoughtful, unique details in Aria and Perry’s world.

2. Pacing – Unputdownable! A surprise around every corner…

3. Perry – Tortured, tough but secretly sensitive, courageous, intelligent and loyal. Oh, and he makes leather pants look good.

4. Prose – Straight-forward, yet elegant and descriptive. I found myself rereading passages because they were so beautiful.

5. The Spontaneous Kiss — Yes, it’s a thing, and it’s so sweet!

Please, please, PLEASE check out Under the Never Sky if you haven’t already!

Check out what my fellow Bookanistas are up to today:

Christine Fonseca revels in TO RIDE A PUCA

Stasia Ward Kehoe gushes over GILT

Tracy Banghart delights in THE DISENCHANTMENTS

Gennifer Albin celebrates SHADOW AND BONE

Jessica Love is wowed by YOU’RE THE ONE THAT I WANT

Shelli Johannes-Wells is crazy for CLOCKWISER

Have you read Under the Never Sky? Thoughts?

W is for WANDERLOVE

18 Comments

 

Today’s Bookanista recommendation: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard…

 

From Goodreads: It all begins with a stupid question: Are you a Global Vagabond? No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path. Bria’s a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan’s a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they’ve got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward. But Bria comes to realize she can’t run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back. 

I’m a sucker for beautifully written contemporary YA, especially when the story is set somewhere warm and beachy, and ESPECIALLY when there’s a slow-burn (read: realistic) romance involved. In these ways, Wanderlove is a triple threat. Kirsten Hubbard’s sophomore novel is simply lovely. Fully realized, perfectly imperfect characters. A setting that will give you a severe case of wanderlust. A hot, angsty, incredibly literate boy with a dragon tattoo(!). Wanderlove immersed me in its story, in its world. It made me feel like I was on vacation, and because of that, it was utterly unputdownable.

Bria is an every-girl protagonist in the very best way. She reminds me of ME when I graduated from high school, and that put me immediately on her side. Bria spends much of Wanderlove second-guessing decisions, suffering from crippling self-awareness, and yearning to be something more, something different. With help from Rowan, Bria gradually becomes more comfortable in her skin (and in her past mistakes), and she grows into a remarkable person, one I want to know. Kirsten Hubbard illustrates (literally) Bria’s transformation by sprinkling gorgeous drawings throughout the text. They’re an added bonus to an already beautiful book that I highly anticipated as I read.

In case you missed it, I discussed Wanderlove‘s glorious setting for March’s YA Book Club post… You should totally check it out! And, when you’re done with that, please please PLEASE pick up a copy of Wanderlove. I suspect you’ll adore it as much as I do!

Check out what my fellow Bookanistas are up to today:

Elana Johnson more than “likes” BEING FRIENDS WITH BOYS

Nikki Katz is crazy about CREWEL

Stasia Ward Kehoe  adores BREAKING BEAUTIFUL

Tracy Banghart  takes a shine to A MILLION SUNS

Jessica Love is wowed by WELCOME CALLER, THIS IS CHLOE

Debra Driza marvels at MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH – with giveaway

Tell me: What’s your favorite travel-inspired novel?

K is for Katsa

31 Comments

Happy Bookanista Thursday! Today I’m excited to recommend a kick ass (K again!) book, one I should have read ages ago:

Graceling by Kristen Cashore

Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms, #1)

Love this cover!

From Goodreads: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away. . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.

I shouldn’t have waited so long to read Graceling. I should have known, having seen the rave review of my friend Erin Bowman (who has exceptional taste in books), that Graceling would blow my mind. And it did!

Graceling reminds me a bit of Plain Kate by Erin Bow (fantastical elements, multi-faceted herione), a bit of Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (epic power struggles, shady politics), and also a little of X-Men, what with the Graced and their exceptional skills. Thanks to Kristin Cashore’s elegant and imaginative writing, all these larger-than-life components come together in an incredibly captivating story.

Because I have no interest in spoiling the awesomeness of Graceling for you, I only want to discuss one of its aspects, and that just happens to be one of my favorite aspects: Katsa’s character arc. Anyone who reads and/or writes YA probably knows about the call for strong female protagonists. There’s a lot of discussion about what makes a female protagonist strong (ex: Katniss) or weak (ex: Bella) and what affect these varying degrees of strength have on the teenage girls (or adult women!) who read about them.

What I loved most about Graceling‘s Katsa is that her strength, while very much present, is not at all black and white. Sure, she’s physically strong (thanks to her Grace, she can whip the asses of scores of men all at once), but inwardly, she’s kind of a mess. She’s fiercely independent, but she’s not in control of her bodily power — in fact, she’s afraid of it and the carnage it’s capable of causing — so she spends quite a bit of time doubting herself, her integrity, and her intelligence. But once Katsa begins to confront her anger and her past (thanks in part to the unwavering friendship of one very adorable Graced prince), she learns to trust, and she’s able to start taking control of her physical strength and get a handle on her emotions. A slew of external challenges force her to continuously test her patience and willpower, and Katsa eventually grows into a wholly likable and entirely powerful person.

And if Katsa’s steep and compelling arc isn’t enough to convince you to pick up a copy of this book…

That Graced prince I mentioned above? You will TOTALLY fall for him. ♥

Check out what my Bookanista friends are up to today:

Christine Fonseca gives a shout out for REGRET
Carrie Harris swoons for STRUCK
Corrine Jackson cries heaps over STORY OF A GIRL
Stasia Ward Kehoe loves up THE LIBERATION OF MAX MCTRUE
Tracy Banghart shares some CLARITY and PERCEPTION
Jessica Love delights in THE SCORPIO RACES
Hilary Wagner hosts a Guest Post by Author Aaron Kato on YA Voice

Tell me: Which YA heroine do you consider to be exceptionally strong?

E is for Eleanor

35 Comments

Today’s Bookanista recommendation: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard (July 24, 2012)

Something Strange and Deadly

From Goodreads:  Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—The Dead are rising in Philadelphia. And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor… from her brother. Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

There is so much to love about Something Strange and Deadly, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to give this book an early read. It’s a mash-up that shouldn’t work, an equation that looks something like this:

A scant pinch of historical + a few shakes of steam punk + a generous dollop of horror (spirits and zombies — oh my!) = Something Strange and Splendid

Eleanor Fitt is a fantastic protagonist: strong and smart and funny, definitely no damsel in distress. And Daniel! He’s equal parts hilarious and alluring. He and Eleanor have awesome banter. But my, do they have problems. Their world is falling apart around them, and they learn pretty quickly that nothing is as it seems. There are twists and turns and tremendously written action sequences around every corner, which made this book the best kind of page-turner.

One of my favorite aspects of Something Strange and Deadly was  the way the elegant Victorian setting contrasted with the eerie creepiness of the Dead. It was a trip to be immersed in fancy turn-of-the-century customs in one scene, then, in the next, to be thrust into a spine-tingling supernatural confrontation. But it TOTALLY worked. Susan Dennard’s voice and style and attention to detail are amazing — perfect for this unique and suspenseful story. Definitely check out Something Strange and Deadly when it debuts in July.

Thanks so much to Holly Dodson for arranging the
Something Strange & Deadly ARC Tour!

Check out what my Bookanista friends are up to today!

Christine Fonseca  is wowed by WANDERLOVE
Stasia Ward Kehoe reads for National Poetry Month
Tracy Banghart honors THE HEX HALL trilogy
Corrine Jackson is thrilled over A TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER
Hilary Wagner deems the DANNY DRAGONBREATH Series fantastic

Tell me: What’s your favorite scary story?

Bookanista Recommendation: PANDEMONIUM

24 Comments

Happy Bookanista Thursday! Today I’m thrilled to recommend one of my favorites of 2012 thus far:

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver…

Pandemonium (Delirium, #2)

From Goodreads: I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

I adore everything about Lauren Oliver’s writing. Seriously. She could write 80,000 words about her latest trip to the grocery store and I’d happily pay $17.95 for the hardcover. She has an amazing way with words. She crafts protagonists who are smart and strong and likable, and romantic interests who are thoughtful and layered and, um… hot.

A little background: Delirium sat on my nightstand for months. I passed it up time and again because I couldn’t get excited about another dystopian (I’ve been underwhelmed by several lately), and, honestly, I thought the idea of love-as-a-disease was a little hard to buy into . Then I won an ARC of Pandemonium and knew I’d have to give Delirium a go before I could start on its follow-up. Well, turns out Delirium was pretty good. So good, in fact, I dove straight into Pandemonium upon finishing it.

Let me tell you, Pandemonium was AMAZING. It grabbed me immediately and never let go. If you were disappointed by the slow pace and inherent quietness of Delirium (I, incidentally, was not), you should know that Pandemonium is quite a turn around. While it’s similar to Delirium in that it boasts gorgeous writing and gripping characters, it’s also action-packed, with tension that made it utterly unputdownable.

Pandemonium is told in a then-and-now format, which had me turning pages at an alarming rate, anxious to find out what was going to happen next in each of the dual story lines. It was also an ideal format for illustrating Lena’s transformation and how it relates to her role in the resistance. She’s not a perfect girl, especially when she first enters the Wilds. She breaks down (for good reason), and she has her selfish moments. But, she is intrinsically strong, and she fights for what she wants, what she believes in. I love that about her. (In case you’re interested, Forever YA describes Lena’s awesomeness in their Pandemonium review a heck of a lot better than I did here!)

This installment of the trilogy introduces several new characters, many of whom I came to adore (Julian and Raven, especially). It also delves a little deeper into Lena’s world, the United States that declared love a communicable disease, but if I had one gripe about Pandemonium (and Delirium as well, actually), it would be the slight lack of world building. While reading, I found myself wanting to know more about the restructuring of the country’s boundaries, the government, and the histories of the DFA and varying resistance groups. Something tells me, though, that we’ll get more background in the third and final book of the trilogy.

Even considering world building that I found to be slightly lacking, I was still entirely consumed by Pandemonium, a true testament to the importance of exceptional writing, relationships readers care about, and characters they can’t help but root for.

And the end… Oh! Em! GEE!

(Haha! No spoilers here!)

I highly recommend Pandemonium (and Delirium!), and I cannot wait to read the final book in this trilogy, not to mention any and all of Lauren Oliver’s future work.

Check out what my fellow Bookanistas are up to today:

Christine Fonseca is awed by A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS

Stasia Ward Kehoe shares some scoop on DEAR TEEN ME

Tracy Banghart thinks SCARLET is spectacular

Gennifer Albin brings you her Bologna trendwatch

Jessica Love sings for NEVERSINK – with giveaway!

Shelli Johannes-Wells interviews LACRIMOSA author Christine Fonseca

Tell me: Have you read Pandemonium? What about Lauren Oliver’s other books? Thoughts?

Bookanista Thursday

13 Comments

For today’s Bookanista post I thought it’d be fun to highlight a few of my most anticipated 2012 releases. The books on today’s list are particularly special because their gorgeous cover art was revealed in the last week or so.
Check them out…

Defiance by C.J. Redwine
August 28th, 2012 by Balzer + Bray/Harper Collins
Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her. At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared. As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making. 

Ten by Gretchen McNeil
September 18th, 2012 by Balzer + Bray/Harper Collins
It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives – an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury. But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine. Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off the from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang
September 18th, 2012 by HarperTeen
Eva and Addie live in a world where everyone is born with two souls, but where only the dominant one is allowed to survive childhood. Fifteen years old, and closer even than twins, the girls are keeping Eva, the ‘second soul’, a secret. They know that it’s forbidden to be hybrid, but how could they ever be apart? When a dramatic event reveals what really happens to hybrids if they are discovered, Eva and Addie face a dangerous fight for survival, neither wanting to be the one left behind…
 
Through to You by Emily Hainsworth
October 2nd, 2012 by Balzer + Bray/Harper Collins
Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. Viv was the last good thing in his life: helping him rebuild his identity after a career-ending football injury, picking up the pieces when his home life shattered, and healing his pain long after the pain meds wore off. And now, he’d give anything for one more glimpse of her. But when Cam makes a visit to the site of Viv’s deadly car accident, he sees some kind of apparition. And it isn’t Viv. The apparition’s name is Nina, and she’s not a ghost. She’s a girl from a parallel world, and in this world, Viv is still alive. Cam can’t believe his wildest dreams have come true. All he can focus on is getting his girlfriend back, no matter the cost. But things are different in this other world: Viv and Cam have both made very different choices, things between them have changed in unexpected ways, and Viv isn’t the same girl he remembers. Nina is keeping some dangerous secrets, too, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day. As Cam comes to terms with who this Viv has become, and the part Nina played in his parallel story, he’s forced to choose—stay with Viv or let her go—before the window closes between them once and for all. 

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone
October 19th, 2012 by Hyperion
Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett’s unique ability to travel through time and space brings him into Anna’s life, and with him, a new world of adventure and possibility. As their relationship deepens, they face the reality that time might knock Bennett back where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate—and what consequences they can bear in order to stay together.

Don’t these sound (and look!) amazing? What are your most anticipated releases of 2012?

Check out what my Bookanista friends are up to today!

Elana Johnson is crazy for CASSAFIRE

Christine Fonseca  falls for EVERNEATH

Tracy Banghart  goes wild over BORN WICKED

Stasia Ward Kehoe announces an author visit giveaway

Gennifer Albin  is givin’ some cover lovin’

Jessica Love wonders at WHY WE BROKE UP