genre: young adult | Scribbles & Wanderlust | Page 22

Tag: genre: young adult
- This Week’s News!
  
  Posted at 6:47 pm by Laura, on May 26, 2012
  Apologies once again for the lack of posts. I’ve accepted a job and have either been busy at work, busy sleeping, or busy looking for apartments near my grad school I’ll attend in August. Big things are heading my way, so other obligations fell through a bit.
  
  And now, for the news!
  1. The Shrinking of HMH – Want to hear more about the bankruptcy? Publisher’s Weekly provided a brief overview of why Houghton Mifflin Harcourt filed. “In its filing, HMH blamed the recession and subsequent decline in school funding for what it acknowledged has been a “substantial decline” in revenue. The filing noted that despite the financial restructuring in March 2010 “due to the continuing contraction of funds for state education spending and higher deferrals of awarded business than expected,” HMH “continued to experience “financial difficulties,” which led to another round of discussions with lenders about a new restructuring.” Lots of internal struggle, financial issues, and education issues all play in this messy game.
  2. Gay Superheroes Soar into Comic Books – I think this is a very positive thing, a good step forward! The Guardian’s article talks about Marvel’s plan for a same-sex marriage between Northstar and his boyfriend, and DC plans to reveal a gay character sometime this summer.
  3. Hachette Launches Facebook Excerpt App – “The app, ChapterShare, lets Hachette publishing divisions, authors and retail partners post free chapters of books on their Facebook pages. Readers can preorder the books directly from the page and share links to sample chapters with their Facebook friends.”
  4. Profanity in YA Books – TIME reveals a study on 40 teen novels and the use of profane language in the novels. Apparently, the characters who have the most foul language are also the most attractive characters. You can look at this study several ways: young adults are reading things parents would prefer they didn’t, young adults are being exposed to “dangerous” things, young adults are being exposed to things they already have exposure to outside the home, young adults are finding healthier ways to escape the real world. I’m of the escapism party, and I think it is good to have teens read this sort of fiction. Not all good characters are good, not all attractive people are attractive, and issues with sex (the recent The Fault in Our Stars ban) and violence (The Hunger Games controversy) will become more difficult to parents if children aren’t exposed to these things in a much healthier form. Even still – this study’s findings is incredibly interesting. Take a look!
  For something entertaining…”celebrate” the 10 million copies of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy by watching this Funny or Die video starring Selena Gomez!
  Posted in books, Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged books, comics, genre: young adult, magazine, news, newspaper, publishing, technology
- Upcoming Books! [18]
  
  Posted at 12:00 pm by Laura, on May 20, 2012
  
  Title: Of Poseidon
  Author: Anna Banks
  Genre: young adult, fantasy
  Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
  Publishing Date: May 22
  Summary: Galen, a Syrena prince, searches land for a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. It’s while Emma is on vacation at the beach that she meets Galen. Although their connection is immediate and powerful, Galen’s not fully convinced that Emma’s the one he’s been looking for. That is, until a deadly encounter with a shark proves that Emma and her Gift may be the only thing that can save his kingdom. He needs her help–no matter what the risk.
  
  ~
  
  Title: Jane Austen Marriage Manual
  Author: Kim Izzo
  Genre: fiction
  Publisher: St Martin’s Press
  Publishing Date: May 22
  Summary: Katherine Shaw—Kate— is happy with her life. She has supportive friends, a glamorous magazine career, and a love of all things Jane Austen. But when she loses her job, her beloved grandmother falls ill and a financial disaster forces a sale on the family home, Kate finds herself facing a crisis that would test even the most stalwart of Austen heroines.
  Friends rally round, connecting her to freelance gigs, and presenting her with a birthday gift— title to land in Scotland—that’s about to come in very handy. Turns out that Kate’s first freelance assignment is to test an Austen-inspired theory: in the toughest economic times is a wealthy man the only must-have accessory? What begins as an article turns into an opportunity as Kate—now Lady Kate—jet-sets to Palm Beach, St Moritz and London where, in keeping company with the elite, she meets prospects who make Mr. Darcy look like an amateur. But will rubbing shoulders with men of good fortune ever actually lead her to love? And will Kate be able to choose between Mr. Rich and Mr. Right?
  
  ~
  
  Title: The Enchantress
  Author: Michael Scott
  Genre: young adult, fantasy
  Publisher: Delacorte Press fror Young Readers
  Publishing Date: May 22
  Summary: Sixth and final book in the series “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.”
  San Francisco:
  Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel have one day left to live, and one job left to do. They must defend San Francisco. The monsters gathered on Alcatraz Island have been released and are heading toward the city. If they are not stopped, they will destroy everyone and everything in their path.
  But even with the help of two of the greatest warriors from history and myth, will the Sorceress and the legendary Alchemyst be able to defend the city? Or is it the beginning of the end of the human race?
  Danu Talis:
  Sophie and Josh Newman traveled ten thousand years into the past to Danu Talis when they followed Dr. John Dee and Virginia Dare. And it’s on this legendary island that the battle for the world begins and ends.
  Scathach, Prometheus, Palamedes, Shakespeare, Saint-Germain, and Joan of Arc are also on the island. And no one is sure what—or who—the twins will be fighting for.
  Today the battle for Danu Talis will be won or lost.
  But will the twins of legend stand together?
  Or will they stand apart—
  one to save the world and one to destroy it?
  
  ~
  
  Happy reading!
  
  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: young adult, upcoming books
- Upcoming Books! [17]
  
  Posted at 8:51 pm by Laura, on May 13, 2012
  
  Title: A Confusion of Princes
  Author: Garth Nix
  Genre: young adult, sci-fi, fantasy
  Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
  Publishing Date: May 15
  Summary: You’d think being a privileged Prince in a vast intergalactic Empire would be about as good as it gets. But it isn’t as great as it sounds. For one thing, Princes are always in danger. Their greatest threat? Other Princes. Khemri discovers that the moment he is proclaimed a Prince.
  He also discovers mysteries within the hidden workings of the Empire. Dispatched on a secret mission, Khemri comes across the ruins of a space battle. In the midst of it all he meets a young woman named Raine, who will challenge his view of the Empire, of Princes, and of himself.
  
  ~
  
  Title: The Chemistry of Tears
  Author: Peter Carey
  Genre: historical fiction
  Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
  Publishing Date: May 15
  Summary: London 2010: Catherine Gehrig, conservator at the Swinburne museum, learns of the sudden death of her colleague and lover of thirteen years. As the mistress of a married man, she must struggle to keep the depth of her anguish to herself. The one other person who knows Catherine’s secret—her boss—arranges for her to be given a special project away from prying eyes in the museum’s Annexe. Usually controlled and rational, but now mad with grief, Catherine reluctantly unpacks an extraordinary, eerie automaton that she has been charged with bringing back to life.
  As she begins to piece together the clockwork puzzle, she also uncovers a series of notebooks written by the mechanical creature’s original owner: a nineteenth-century Englishman, Henry Brandling, who traveled to Germany to commission it as a magical amusement for his consumptive son. But it is Catherine, nearly two hundred years later, who will find comfort and wonder in Henry’s story. And it is the automaton, in its beautiful, uncanny imitation of life, that will link two strangers confronted with the mysteries of creation, the miracle and catastrophe of human invention, and the body’s astonishing chemistry of love and feeling.
  
  ~
  
  Title: As the Crow Flies
  Author: Craig Johnson
  Genre: mystery
  Publisher: Viking Adult
  Publishing Date: May 15
  Summary: Embarking on his eighth adventure, Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire has a more important matter on his mind than cowboys and criminals. His daughter, Cady, is getting married to the brother of his undersheriff, Victoria Moretti. Walt and old friend Henry Standing Bear are the de facto wedding planners and fear Cady’s wrath when the wedding locale arrangements go up in smoke two weeks before the big event.
  The pair set out to find a new site for the nuptials on the Cheyenne Reservation, but their scouting expedition ends in horror as they witness a young Crow woman plummeting from Painted Warrior’s majestic cliffs. It’s not Walt’s turf, but the newly appointed tribal police chief and Iraqi war veteran, the beautiful Lolo Long, shanghais him into helping with the investigation. Walt is stretched thin as he mentors Lolo, attempts to catch the bad guys, and performs the role of father of the bride.
  
  ~
  
  Happy reading!
  
  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: mystery, genre: sci-fi, genre: young adult, upcoming books
- Book Review: “Grave Mercy” by Robin LaFevers
  
  Posted at 6:12 pm by Laura, on May 12, 2012
  
  Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
  
  Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?
  
  Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.
  
  Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?
  
  I should start this review by saying I was not expecting too much from this novel. I bought it on my Nook because I liked the cover and the idea of historical fantasy / assassin nuns. However, I expected it to be extremely silly and a young adult version of a trashy romance novel, while also tossing in some royal political Philippa Gregory-style intrigue.
  
  Admittedly, there are moments when it becomes borderline trashy romance, but so much of the novel is taken up with character development, plots, mysteries, schemes, and politics of medieval/Renaissance Brittany that this can be overlooked. Gavriel Duval, the character who has “stolen Ismae’s heart” is a wonderfully complex character without any of those typical brooding descriptions. Ismae is a hard nut to crack, firmly stubborn, sometimes blind, and wildly bitter — and rightfully so.
  
  The historical time frame is a bit hazy, but if I knew more about weapons and poisons and the political history of Brittany I could narrow it down pretty well. LaFevers does an excellent job of describing historical artifacts and the different tricks courtiers are notorious for (having read The Courtier and The Prince for a Renaissance history class, it is clear LaFevers has done her research). The drawback for me as a reader is my lack of knowledge of Brittany. If I had known more about this little duchy, the century would have become more clear. Because of this hindrance, I had to suspend any disbelief I may have held in regards to historical context.
  
  The fantasy, however, is fantastic (ha!). I love the idea of combining old religions with Christianity, masking them with different names. Apparently there were 9 gods that ruled Brittany, later renamed as saints for the sake of the Church. Ismae’s is the god of Death, and not Death as we would understand it. At first we find Ismae misunderstanding her tasks as missions of vengeance, but she soon grows to understand (and become blessed by Death) that her mission is one of mercy.
  
  I read through this novel as quickly as I could between job interviews and visits to the vet for my poor cat – I’m sure if I had a full day to sit and be alone, this would have been plowed through in a few hours. I was drawn to the tale, for that’s what it is. A really good story – not of literary merit or praise or any such thing as that, but a tale of faith, death, and love in a time of political turmoil.
  
  Rating: ★★★ of 5
  Goodreads: 4.09 of 5
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, ebooks, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: young adult, goodreads, review
- Book Review: “Pandemonium” by Lauren Oliver
  
  Posted at 9:44 pm by Laura, on May 9, 2012
  
  Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
  
  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.
  
  Once again, Oliver delivers a ride like none other. Unlike the first in her dystopian trilogy, Delirium, this second installment focuses on survival, growth, and rebellion rather than the discovery and immersion of love.
  
  The book is dividing into then and now to illustrate the development of Lena’s character. She describes herself as reborn in the Wilds, hardening with work, hunger, and violent weather. The thens are filled with survival tactics. Oliver delves into the pain of heartbreak and grief without becoming melodramatic. The reader learns with Lena just how the people in the Wilds (or rather, “the other side”) live off remains and help from sympathizers. The nows jump to the future, almost a year after Lena’s escape, to her immersion back with the cureds in New York City. She works as a double agent of sorts, and falls into a trap, a scheme, that leads her to another boy, Julian.
  
  This is where the second book fell short of five stars and suffered the Middle Book Syndrome. Of course, because it’s YA and dystopian, there needs to be a love triangle. Sure. Fine. And maybe, realistically, this would happen to Lena if she truly believes Alex is dead. Even still, the romance seemed forced, far too rushed considering the time frame in the now lasted roughly two weeks at most. However, it certainly sets up for an explosive ending in the third book: politics, the definitive rise of rebellions, plus a little love war in the midst of it all.
  
  I’m really looking forward to Oliver’s next installment in the Delirium trilogy!
  
  Rating: ★★★★ of 5
  Goodreads: 4.25 of 5
  
  I am now over halfway completed with my 50 Books Challenge!
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged 50 book challenge, book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: young adult, review
- Upcoming Books! [16]
  
  Posted at 9:14 pm by Laura, on May 6, 2012
  
  Title: City of Lost Souls
  Author: Cassandra Clare
  Genre: fantasy, young adult
  Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
  Publishing Date: May 8
  Summary: The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.
  No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?
  Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.
  And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?
  
  ~
  
  Title: Home
  Author: Toni Morrison
  Genre: historical fiction
  Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
  Publishing Date: May 8
  Summary: Frank Money is an angry, self-loathing veteran of the Korean War who, after traumatic experiences on the front lines, finds himself back in racist America with more than just physical scars. His home may seem alien to him, but he is shocked out of his crippling apathy by the need to rescue his medically abused younger sister and take her back to the small Georgia town they come from and that he’s hated all his life. As Frank revisits his memories from childhood and the war that have left him questioning his sense of self, he discovers a profound courage he had thought he could never possess again.
  
  ~
  
  Title: Bring Up the Bodies
  Author: Hilary Mantel
  Genre: historical fiction
  Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc
  Publishing Date: May 8
  Summary: Though he battled for seven years to marry her, Henry is disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son and her sharp intelligence and audacious will alienate his old friends and the noble families of England. When the discarded Katherine dies in exile from the court, Anne stands starkly exposed, the focus of gossip and malice.
  At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down. Over three terrifying weeks, Anne is ensnared in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour stands waiting her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. But Anne and her powerful family will not yield without a ferocious struggle. Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies follows the dramatic trial of the queen and her suitors for adultery and treason. To defeat the Boleyns, Cromwell must ally with his natural enemies, the papist aristocracy. What price will he pay for Anne’s head?
  
  Woo! Happy reading!
  
  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: young adult, upcoming books
- Upcoming Books! [15]
  
  Posted at 3:28 pm by Laura, on April 29, 2012
  
  Title: Insurgent
  Author: Veronica Roth
  Genre: young adult, dystopian
  Publisher: HarperTeen
  Publishing Date: May 1
  Summary: One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
  Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
  See my review of the first book in this trilogy, Divergent!
  
  ~
  
  Title: The Proposal
  Author: Mary Balogh
  Genre: historical fiction, romance
  Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
  Publishing Date: May 1
  Summary: Gwendoline, Lady Muir, has seen her share of tragedy, especially since a freak accident took her husband much too soon. Content in a quiet life with friends and family, the young widow has no desire to marry again. But when Hugo, Lord Trentham, scoops her up in his arms after a fall, she feels a sensation that both shocks and emboldens her.
  Hugo never intends to kiss Lady Muir, and frankly, he judges her to be a spoiled, frivolous—if beautiful—aristocrat. He is a gentleman in name only: a soldier whose bravery earned him a title; a merchant’s son who inherited his wealth. He is happiest when working the land, but duty and title now demand that he finds a wife. He doesn’t wish to court Lady Muir, nor have any role in the society games her kind thrives upon. Yet Hugo has never craved a woman more; Gwen’s guileless manner, infectious laugh, and lovely face have ruined him for any other woman. He wants her, but will she have him?
  
  ~
  
  Title: Death Comes Silently
  Author: Carolyn Hart
  Genre: mystery
  Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
  Publishing Date: May 2
  Summary: Winter has arrived in Broward’s Rock, South Carolina, and business has slowed for Annie Darling, owner of mystery bookstore Death on Demand. So when the island’s resident writer publishes the latest in her popular mystery series, Annie jumps at the chance to host a book signing, even though it conflicts with her shift at the local charity shop, Better Tomorrow.
  Luckily, fellow volunteer Gretchen Burkholt agrees to sub for her. The signing goes well, but Gretchen interrupts the event multiple times, leaving voice mails about scandalous news she’s dying to share. Even though Gretchen tends to be excitable, Annie heads over to Better Tomorrow, where she finds Gretchen dead on the floor, an axe by her side.
  Annie enlists the help of her husband, Max, to piece together a puzzle involving an overturned kayak, a stolen motorboat, a troubled love affair, and a reckless teenager. And she must tread carefully in her investigation, because a killer is on the loose, and that killer works well in the foggy days of winter…
  
  ~
  
  Happy reading!
  
  Posted in books, Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged books, genre: adult fiction, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: mystery, genre: romance, genre: young adult, upcoming books
- Book Review: “Delirium” by Lauren Oliver
  
  Posted at 4:29 pm by Laura, on April 27, 2012
  
  Delirium by Lauren Oliver
  
  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 government 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.
  
  Thank heavens the second of this trilogy is already out! The massive and thrilling cliff-hanger at the end is too much to bear!
  
  This YA dystopian novel is the first book of the Delirium trilogy. It’s important to note that this is primarily a love story that takes place within a dystopian world, not a dystopian world with a love story (like Hunger Games).
  
  While love stories can become cheesy, this one most definitely did not. The desperation between Lena and Alex is real, solid, and threatening within their world. The US is the only nation with “the cure” and it is separated from the rest of the world, keeping the “cureds” within and the “infected” outside. Even the cities are locked within electric fences, preventing people from escaping into the Wilds, the area where all the Invalids (uncured or infected) inhabit.
  
  I found two things that really pulled me into and through the story: Lena’s transformation and enlightenment, as well as Oliver’s language. Lena is a perfectly rational, calm girl, awaiting the day of her surgery to become cured of the disease amor deliria nervosa. The rational behind the dangers of love make some sense: the pain, the drastic behaviors, sweating palms and strange appetites. These are all things people in love experience, but the world twists it in a negative way, causing everyone to fear love and fear those in love. By the end of the novel, she feels “alive” and “awakened,” wanting desperately to escape to the Wilds with Alex so she’ll never have to undergo the procedure. Her transformation is an adventure in its own right.
  
  The language – my goodness! It’s so beautiful. Although this novel is for young adult readers, Oliver does not underestimate her audience’s reading abilities. The language reads like adult novels, full of elegant descriptions and fantastic imagery and sensory detail. You become Lena, you experience everything she experiences, your heart pounds in fear, anxiety, and thrill when hers does.
  
  I like to also offer my two cents on social commentary. Oliver says she was inspired by Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s quote that great books are about love or death. While this is incredibly interesting and I love her take on it, I think there’s more that can be said. Suzanne Collins was inspired by wars and the media to write Hunger Games – the political commentary on that is immense. I think Delirium could also be a commentary on what modern society deems as acceptable love and human rights. Today, only a man and woman can marry. But there are also taboos within this freedom: younger men marrying older women, young girls marrying men the age of their grandparents, people marrying “too young” or marrying because of pregnancy. But this also does not leave room for men to marry men, women to marry women. Our society scoffs at teenagers who say they are in love — “You don’t know what real love is, you’re only 14.” We should take a step back and ask ourselves…whatis love? And why do we have such social pressures and regulations on what we believe is love?
  
  Food for thought.
  
  Rating: ★★★★★ of 5
  Goodreads: 4.6 of 5
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: romance, genre: young adult, review
- Book Review: “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins
  
  Posted at 8:52 am by Laura, on April 22, 2012
  
  Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
  
  Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But she’s still not safe. A Revolution is unfolding, and everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans – everyone except Katniss.
  
  And yet she must play the most vital part in the final battle. Katniss must become their Mockingjay – the symbol of rebellion – no matter what the personal cost.
  
  Before I begin my review, I should warn any new readers to take this third book slowly. The first time I read it, it was finished in a day and I was left angry and riled up. The war, trauma, and conflicting emotions heighten the tension and despair. It’s vastly different from the previous two, and there’s a very good reason (which I’ll explain later). I read this again slowly, and found I enjoyed it much more and I was able to process everything much more easily.
  
  Spoilers ahead!
  
  Katniss and Peeta have been separated, and now it’s Gale’s time to shine. He’s very aggressive and forward in his decisions about the rebellion, which intimidates Katniss at first. In Chapter 7, when they visit District 8 and are attacked by the Capitol, Katniss has only one motivation for the rest of the story: to kill President Snow.
  
  She is traumatized and hospitalized more than I can count in this novel. With each visit, she deteriorates more and more. Most people have been bothered by the way the narrative changes with her mentality – but I will instead applaud Collins for accurately portraying a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is difficult for Katniss to function in “normal” society, but the second she enters combat she focuses on her motivation. Peeta experiences PTSD as well, and an advanced form of brainwashing. These two are stripped to their most basic personalities by the end of the novel – broken but attempting to heal, each helping the other to survive in a world without the Games.
  
  Beloved characters die, violence dominates the storyline, and political agendas twist the plot with each chapter. The readers experience every devastation with Katniss, who takes a speedy journey from a self-preserving teenager to a sacrificing, damaged adult.
  
  Rating: ★★★★ of 5
  Goodreads: 4.8 of 5
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: young adult, goodreads
- Upcoming Books! [14]
  
  Posted at 7:30 am by Laura, on April 22, 2012
  Title: The Good Father
  Author: Diane Chamberlain
  Genre: fiction
  Publisher: Mira
  Publishing Date: April 24
  Summary: Four years ago, nineteen-year-old Travis Brown made a choice: to raise his newborn daughter on his own. While most of his friends were out partying and meeting girls, Travis was at home, changing diapers and worrying about keeping food on the table. But he’s never regretted his decision. Bella is the light of his life. The reason behind every move he makes. And so far, she is fed. Cared for. Safe.But when Travis loses his construction job and his home, the security he’s worked so hard to create for Bella begins to crumble.
  Then a miracle.
  A job in Raleigh has the power to turn their fortunes around. It has to. But when Travis arrives in Raleigh, there is no job, only an offer to participate in a onetime criminal act that promises quick money and no repercussions.With nowhere else to turn, Travis must make another choice for his daughter’s sake. Even if it means he might lose her.
  
  ~
  
  Title: Unraveling
  Author: Elizabeth Norris
  Genre: young adult, paranormal
  Publisher: Balzer + Bray
  Publishing Date: April 24
  Summary: Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she’s opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn’t possible, she knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.
  But her revival, and Ben’s possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI agent father’s files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what’s right in front of her: Everything that’s happened—the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben’s sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she’s going to need to uncover Ben’s secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.
  
  ~
  
  Title: The Elizabethans
  Author: A.N. Wilson
  Genre: history, nonfiction
  Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
  Publishing Date: April 24
  Summary: The acknowledged master of the all-encompassing single volume of history demonstrates the profound impact the Elizabethan age has had on contemporary Britain.
  With all the panoramic sweep of his bestselling study of The Victorians, A. N. Wilson relates the exhilarating story of the Elizabethan Age. It was a time of exceptional creativity, wealth creation and political expansion. It was also a period of English history more remarkable than any other for the technicolour personalities of its leading participants.
  
  ~
  
  Books to look forward to later in 2012 and in 2013!
  - Laura L. McNeal’s Dollbaby, a debut novel pitched as in the tradition of The Secret Life of Bees and The Help, set in 1964, in which a girl from the Pacific Northwest visits her estranged grandmother in New Orleans and meets Dollbaby, the maid who guides her through the ghosts of her grandmother’s past and the racial turmoil that may tear the family apart
  - Erin Kelly’s third novel The Burning Air, a psychological thriller about the family of a private school headmaster and the child he passes over for a scholarship, who spends years constructing a spectacular revenge plot against the entire family
  - Charles Graeber’s The Good Nurse, the explosive story about serial killing nurse Charles Cullen and the nine hospitals that covered up his crimes over 15 years
  Happy reading!
  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged books, genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: nonfiction, genre: young adult, upcoming books
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- Hello, I’m Laura!
  
  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to travel, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm always down for chips-and-queso nights. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!
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