In My Mailbox - New Books This Week (15)

In My Mailbox is a shared posting idea run by Kristi at The Story Siren (read all about it here: In My Mailbox) for bloggers to share the books they've gotten that week to help publicize as many titles as possible. IMM is a semi-regular feature here on Teach 8 YA Book Blog to let my students know the books to be looking for on the classroom shelves and for blog readers to know what book reviews to anticipate along with building excitement about new titles coming out. All titles link to goodreads so you can add books to your "to-read" list. 

Won

SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD by Lindsey Leavitt
(Won as part of The Contemps Challenge)
Signed book with signed bookmarks. Thanks so much Lindsey! 

INVASION by Jon S. Lewis
I heard him speak at the ALAN Workshop in November and have been looking for his books ever since (seem great for boys) and now I won a copy. Thanks Thomas Nelson Publishers! 

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver

Title: DELIRIUM
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 1, 2011
Number of Pages: 441
Source of Book: Bought the Hardcover because I'd heard amazing buzz about this book and loved her first book, BEFORE I FALL
Author's Website: www.laurenoliverbooks.com

Goodreads Summary:
Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.
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It's been a few days since I finished reading DELIRIUM, and I can't get Lena's story out of my head. It's a haunting story about love and trust and opening one's eyes to the world around you. Disclaimer: I love dystopian novels - there's just something about stepping into a world that is like ours, but has a different view on something that drastically changes how people live. In this case - love. Love is seen as a disease that can kill, so they've created a procedure (basically brain surgery) that eliminates the possibility of any form of love from those 18 and older. Everyone has the surgery because they're scared not to because they've seen how crazy love has driven others. They believe the world is a better place this way, and Lena believes what she's been told as she is ninety-five days away from her procedure when the book begins. What she doesn't completely see is how unengaged all of the Cureds are. DELIRIUM reminds me a bit of Matched meets Uglies with a little Hunger Games thrown in. And if it reminds me of three of my favorite dystopians, you know I loved this one, too.

I've been a fan of Oliver since reading BEFORE I FALL in which her writing and story arc made me grow to care about a character who was dislikable in the beginning - and that takes quite a bit of talent to make one feel so strongly one way and then be able to guide them toward another through the course of a book. She has a beautiful writing style with descriptions that grab you and heart-wrenching moments and a way that makes you live in this world and care about these people. She makes you want to jump right in and grab them sometimes and cry when they cry and fear when they fear and love when they love. Lauren Oliver's writing is a sophisticated writing style with a literary feel to it. It's writing that makes me really feel for the characters and what they're living through, while feeling fully engaged in the story and the world that she's created. This novel deals with the idea that if you can't feel pain, you can't really live and love - it's all a part of the same emotion.

DELIRIUM was a long book, but a page-turner. It's starts off more subtle, but leads to heart-pounding chance scenes. Following Lena and her discovery of living in a world of lies, a world ruled by fear, made me frustrated at times, brought tears to my eyes at others, and made me want to push her in the right directions as she started to make her own choices and live for herself as she discovered who she was for herself. I almost liked the secondary characters, Alex and Hana and Gracie (there better be more of her in the next book!), more than Lena for many parts of the book; although Lena was the most fully developed character. It became a race to the finish, a ticking clock to beat a deadline, and a hope that friendship and love would win out in a world that doesn't believe in the goodness of love. And the end, oh the end...while feeling resolute also left me really wanting to know what happens in the next few minutes after the book leaves the scene. It's really the end that I can't get out of my head, and the choices made by Lena and Alex, and how they fulfill their hopes and dreams, and how they feel about them that sticks with me the most.

4 1/2 STARS for DELIRIUM
It's going to feel like a really long wait for book 2, PANDEMONIUM, in 2012 and book 3, REQUIEM, in 2013.

MY FAIR GODMOTHER by Janette Rallison

Title: MY FAIR GODMOTHER

Author: Janette Rallison
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
Release Date: Hardcover-January 6, 2009 Paperback-December 22, 2009
Number of Pages: 320
How I Got It: Bought the paperback because I got an ARC of the sequel at the ALAN Workshop
Author's Website: www.janetterallison.com

Goodreads Summary:
After her boyfriend dumps her for her older sister, sophomore Savannah Delano wishes she could find a true prince to take her to the prom. Enter Chrissy (Chrysanthemum) Everstar: Savannah’s gum-chewing, cell phone–carrying, high heel-wearing Fair Godmother. Showing why she’s only Fair—because she’s not a very good fairy student—Chrissy mistakenly sends Savannah back in time to the Middle Ages, first as Cinderella, then as Snow White. Finally she sends Tristan, a boy in Savannah’s class, back instead to turn him into her prom-worthy prince. When Savannah returns to the Middle Ages to save Tristan, they must team up to defeat a troll, a dragon, and the mysterious and undeniably sexy Black Knight. Laughs abound in this clever fairy tale twist from a master of romantic comedy.
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This book is just a fun read. Although Savannah at first seems to be the character that you love to hate, she actually ends up as a really sympathetic character who I was rooting for. I wanted her to get her happy, fairy tale ending, but I wouldn't have thought I'd get there from how I felt about her at the start of the story. I guess that just shows how good of a job Rallison did in writing these characters. I love a well-written sassy, sarcastic character, and this book had that in both Savannah and Chrissy. Their misinterpretations of each other and comical misunderstandings kept me giggling to myself throughout the whole book. Chrissy is hysterical from her flamboyant style to her attitude toward her job.

It was so fun to see a twisted fairy tale told in this way. Chrissy really is only Fair as a Godmother because she can't manage to do the job correctly. First Savannah goes back to the Cinderella story, which, in "real life' is not like the fairy tale version. The prince is not so great. This is due to Chrissy not really listening completely - although she says it's because Savannah is not being clear in her wishes. Then, she accidentally gets sent back to be Snow White. Finally, she has to go back herself to "rescue" the boy who could be her prince at home, but is sent back to become a real prince in fairy tale times.

This book is time travel; and wishes with fairy godmothers; and the world of fairy tales; and a girl coming into her own and finding herself and who she really wants to be. Savannah has a journey that is enjoyable to follow along with, and it gets so much better once she starts to take charge of her own destiny.

3 1/2 STARS for MY FAIR GODMOTHER

The sequel is MY UNFAIR GODMOTHER, releasing April 12, 2011. I'll definitely pick it up (especially since I have an ARC) the next time I want a light-hearted, fun read.

ASH by Malinda Lo

Title: ASH
Author: Malinda Lo
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Release Date: August 11, 2009
Number of Pages: 264
How I Got It: Free Hardcover at ALAN Workshop
Author's Website: www.malindalo.com

Goodreads Summary:
In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.
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I had heard this title quite a bit and was looking forward to reading it once I got it.  This book has lyrical writing creating a fantasy world retelling of the Cinderella story. I enjoy reading retellings of Cinderella stories, the classic little-girl fantasy, and this one took it in a completely different direction. The story just flows with gorgeous detail and a real struggle between two worlds for Ash. I was pulled into the story because of the writing and the main character from the beginning, as I compared it to what I expected of a retelling. Following Ash's journey, and the two options she had to choose between, created a dynamic that kept me reading. I thought the LGBT aspect of the story was beautifully and subtly done. It was honest and true and realistic. When I heard Malinda Lo speak, she said that in the world she created it was completely accepted as a part of their society because it wasn't anything people thought twice about. That's why it's not made to be a big deal in the book. I felt bad for Ash for her circumstances in the beginning, but appreciated when she got out there and started making her own choices. Lo's lyrical fantasy world is calming and beautiful.

3.5 STARS for ASH

I also got an ARC of the prequel Huntress, releasing on April 5, 2011, and am looking forward to revisiting this world when I read that one.

In My Mailbox - New Books This Week (14)

In My Mailbox is a shared posting idea started by Kristi at The Story Siren (read all about it here: In My Mailbox) for bloggers to share the books they've gotten that week to help publicize as many titles as possible. IMM is a semi-regular feature here on Teach 8 YA Book Blog to let my students know the books to be looking for on the classroom shelves and for blog readers to know what book reviews to anticipate along with building excitement about new titles coming out. All titles link to goodreads so you can add books to your "to-read" list. 

Won

RIVAL by Sara Bennett Wealer
One of The Contemps Challenge books
Signed by the author "May your friends be many and your rivals few!"  Thanks Sara!







For Review

BLOOD RED ROAD by Moira Young
Thanks to Simon & Schuster!

FIRELIGHT by Sophie Jordan

Title: FIRELIGHT
Author: Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Number of Pages: 323
Source of Book: Bought the Hardcover on a recommendation
Author's Website: www.sophiejordan.net

Goodreads Summary:
A hidden truth.
Mortal enemies.
Doomed love. 

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form. 

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.
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I really like this book. It's a fantasy with a contemporary setting and feel to it. Once I started it, I didn't want to put it down. The pacing of the story made it a page-turner for me. Every chapter ending had me frantic to keep going in the story instead of putting my bookmark in the page. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Jacinda next. Sophie's writing is beautifully descriptive and creates images that drew me further into the story and Jacinda's life. From Jacinda's first manifest (transformation), I was drawn in by her descriptions and enjoyment of her freedom.

But then things go all wrong and her mother has to keep her safe. Jacinda's struggle with her relationship with her mother and twin sister is a key part of the story. And, of course, there's a boy (it is a romance!). A boy who Jacinda can't be completely honest with and who she shouldn't even be around, but she's drawn to him in a way that won't let her walk away from him. Jacinda struggles with her obligations of duty to her family or her draki pride, and really just wants to be normal as herself as she wants to be. Because she's unique, being the first fire-breather in generations, both her family and her pride have their own plans for her, but she wants to make her own decisions. Will just might be the one who allows her to do that. I enjoyed the wittiness of the main characters interactions (and wanted more of the new best friend!) and the realness of them.

The one thing that bothered me was that I did feel like the ending was a little rushed. Everything building up to it seemed to take its time, but then in the end, it all happened so fast. I may have felt that way though because I enjoyed the story so much that I wanted more of it. The backstory that Sophie Jordan created with the world of the draki (descendants from dragons who can shift into human form) and the hunters was very unique, and I anticipate we'll get more about it in the next book, which I can't wait to read (and the covers are intriguing and gorgeous!).

4 STARS for FIRELIGHT

I'm super-excited for the sequel, VANISH, releasing September 6, 2011, to find out where Jacinda's story goes next.

THE FOURTH STALL by Chris Rylander

Title: THE FOURTH STALL

Author: Chris Rylander
Publisher: Walden Pond Press (A HarperCollins Imprint)
Release Date: February 8, 2011
Number of Pages: 240
Source of Book: Hardcover sent by publisher for review
Author's Website: www.chrisrylander.com

Publisher's Summary:
Do you need something?

Mac can get it for you. It's what he does - he and his best friend and business manager, Vince. Their methods might sometimes run afoul of the law, or at least the school code of conduct, but if you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can pay him, Mac is on your side. His office is located in the East Wing boys' bathroom, fourth stall from the high window. And his business is booming. 

Or at least it was, until one particular Monday. It starts with a third grader in need of protection. And before this ordeal is over, it's going to involve a legendary high school crime boss named Staples, an intramural gambling ring, a graffiti ninja, the nine most dangerous bullies in school, and the first Chicago Cubs World Series game in almost seventy years. And that's just the beginning. Mac and Vince soon realize that the trouble with solving everyone else's problems is that there's no one left to solve yours. 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets The Sopranos in this laugh-a-minute mystery from an exciting new talent.
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I'm always on the lookout for books that will appeal to the boys in my classes. I struggle to find those books that will really engage them through contemporary situations and humor - well I've now found another one to add to my highly recommended for boys list with THE FOURTH STALL. Chris Rylander has created a funny book with heart. Mac, so nicknamed because he can get anything kids want and can solve their problems, thinks he has everything under control at his school as he works from his office in the basement bathroom that no one uses. He has long lines out the door everyday at recess of other kids needing help, and he runs a tight ship of a highly organized business with his best friend, Vince, who is the money guy. The two of them pretty much have control of the school and help people with all kinds of problems - whether it be bullies, dating, homework, or loans - Mac has what kids need. He takes payment or favors for his work. The payment is being saved up so Mac and Vince can go see the Chicago Cubs play in the World Series - if they can make it there. He has an internal network throughout the different levels of the school hierarchy who help him do what he needs - for a small fee. He thinks he has it all under control, until the day Fred walks in with a problem to solve that changes it all for Mac. Someone is infringing on his territory. Now he has to figure out how to solve the illegal gambling ring problem Staples has brought to his school.

This book has a full cast of characters who are each entertaining in their own right. As much as I adored Mac, some of his helpers (I'm looking at you M) were laugh-out-loud funny. The way that Mac runs his business is somewhat mobster-style and is impressive as such a well-oiled machine. Mac's voice is also greatly engaging in this book. It's written as if he's talking right to the reader with asides and side notes. It's like hearing a story from a good friend (almost Ferris Buehler style). Chris throws in some great similes that bring more character to the story overall.  The one aspect I was a little concerned about was the slight glorification of the school bullies. There is a whole range of types of bullies in his school and Mac (humorously describing them all) uses them to do his dirty work. He pays them to be his muscle and while they have his back in the end, I worry if it puts them in too good of a light. I do think, though, that because of the humor and tone of the book, and the way they help protect Mac in the end, that it overall has a positive message about sticking together and standing up for oneself.  The book also deals with friendship and trust and honesty between friends Mac and Vince. There's action and mystery and scheming and humor and friendship. It's a great middle-grades book to recommend to boys that should engage them in reading.


4 STARS for THE FOURTH STALL

Book 4 of 12 for DAC2011