tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63592265562601961962024-03-05T19:47:05.786-08:00read it writereaditwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-56346140174044269092014-01-18T13:08:00.000-08:002014-01-18T13:08:31.721-08:00Building a Fictional World! Hey everyone!<br />
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It's been a loooooooonnnngggg time since we posted anything here... BAD MEGAN AND RACHEL! Yes, we know... we know...<br />
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But today I have something a bit different for you. It's something I came across whilst on my travels through the deep dark depths of the internet... hope you like it and maybe find it slightly useful!<br />
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PS: aren't TedTalks just the best invention? ;)<br />
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keep readin' it write!<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Megan </span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-53651565377753419162013-10-17T10:18:00.002-07:002013-10-17T10:18:48.435-07:00Review: The Fault in Our Stars <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvApSIWPScWXdMdhsHmj1plX08m50EybtItOcfQepsPOyGw_O13tU6ts79Ol2HzjF7LGPya744Yw09t3w5cE3PONAE5rQoDEzbi5zPglkj3x_WfAsA8BLQpwmV3RibslZGN-V_oQyaUO4z/s1600/11870085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvApSIWPScWXdMdhsHmj1plX08m50EybtItOcfQepsPOyGw_O13tU6ts79Ol2HzjF7LGPya744Yw09t3w5cE3PONAE5rQoDEzbi5zPglkj3x_WfAsA8BLQpwmV3RibslZGN-V_oQyaUO4z/s320/11870085.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holy crap. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HOLY FREAKING CRAP.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">OH MY FREAKING HOLY CRAP. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't normally fangirl much but this book deserves it, BIGTIME. It is honestly one of my favourite books of all time. It's just that good. I laughed, I cried, I smiled, I felt every possible emotion while reading this book. It wasn't just a book. It was an experience. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was skeptical of the rave reviews this book kept getting, but honestly, none of those reviews lie. Not even a little bit. John Green deserves all the praise that he has gotten, plus more. I'm 100% serious. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the moment I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down. The characters are instantly lovable, and intriguing. The various plot lines and characters sprinkled throughout this book make it very diverse and eye opening. Yes, this is a book about cancer, I'm not going to avoid that fact. But I believe that it is written in the best possible way for the subject. John Green expertly synthesizes the unfortunate and sad truths of this tragic disease, with insightful and inspiring life advice. The characters are extremely strong and intelligent. For me, reading this book really put my life into perspective. I may get upset about little things that go wrong in my life, but there are people going through things way worse than me, and they are handling them impeccably. I found a great amount of inspiration in this book, even though it is a work of fiction. The message that John Green is displaying to his readers is one that everyone can apply to their life in some way. No matter what situation you have been placed in in your life, there are always good things to hold on to. And everyone has negative things in their lives, and they do not define who you are. Although Hazel has cancer, she realizes that she is not cancer. She is Hazel. I think that this motif of self is very inspiring and relevant in today's society. </span></span><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some other things that kept me hooked on this book, were:</span></span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-the adorable romance </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-the humourous narration by Hazel </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-the visuals and settings presented in the book</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-John Green's style of writing</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-the natural flow of the story, and the relatability</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Overall, this book was- oh, <span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>JUST GO READ IT! NOW! xD</b></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Good: </span></span></b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">characters, writing style, <span style="font-size: small;">humour, <span style="font-size: small;">adorab<span style="font-size: small;">leness....<span style="font-size: small;">I could go on forever...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Bad:</span></span></b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> ummm, what?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">The <span style="font-size: large;">Verdict: </span></span></span></b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">no question abou<span style="font-size: small;">t it<span style="font-size: small;">. <b>a solid 10/1<span style="font-size: small;">0. </span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">keep readin' it write!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Megan </span></span></span> </span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><b> </b></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-8679240328930971502013-10-16T20:26:00.001-07:002013-10-16T20:26:01.780-07:00WOW #22 Sorrow's Knot by Erin Bow + Another book!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISGBUR42nyZDDMz-6p-Nqp8C6JX8P5533iWvNIEuiTYGFFWUKe5j9AgkLFbPdZ5NIkuHMOLHaUPrMgREG4u2Zyxv98B-t7cxhArO8TwTa5YirqzHGx-jFKU98YuHNbApLJFU9bLpeLoGN/s1600/Waiting-wed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISGBUR42nyZDDMz-6p-Nqp8C6JX8P5533iWvNIEuiTYGFFWUKe5j9AgkLFbPdZ5NIkuHMOLHaUPrMgREG4u2Zyxv98B-t7cxhArO8TwTa5YirqzHGx-jFKU98YuHNbApLJFU9bLpeLoGN/s1600/Waiting-wed.png" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breaking the Spine </span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event meant to showcase the not-yet-released books that we are eagerly awaiting. This week I've chosen <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9879358-sorrow-s-knot">Sorrow's Knot</a> by Erin Bow.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">In the world of Sorrow’s Knot, the dead do not rest easy. Every patch of shadow might be home to something hungry and nearly invisible, something deadly. The dead can only be repelled or destroyed with magically knotted cords and yarns. The women who tie these knots are called binders.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Otter is the daughter of Willow, a binder of great power. She’s a proud and privileged girl who takes it for granted that she will be a binder some day herself. But when Willow’s power begins to turn inward and tear her apart, Otter finds herself trapped with a responsibility she’s not ready for, and a power she no longer wants.</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Release Date:</b> October 29, 2013</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Continuing with the slightly creepy theme of October, I found Sorrow's Knot. Doesn't it sound pretty awesome?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Also, I did it again where I missed posting last Wednesday, so here's a bonus today! The second book is: </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.390625px; text-align: justify;"> </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14741373-the-dollhouse-asylum" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.390625px; text-align: justify;">The Dollhouse Asylum</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.390625px; text-align: justify;"> by Mary Gray.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">A virus that had once been contained has returned, and soon no place will be left untouched by its destruction. But when Cheyenne wakes up in Elysian Fields--a subdivision cut off from the world and its monster-creating virus--she is thrilled to have a chance at survival.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">At first, Elysian Fields,with its beautiful houses and manicured lawns, is perfect. Teo Richardson, the older man who stole Cheyenne's heart, built it so they could be together. But when Teo tells Cheyenne there are tests that she and seven other couples must pass to be worthy of salvation, Cheyenne begins to question the perfection of his world.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">The people they were before are gone. Cheyenne is now "Persephone," and each couple has been re-named to reflect the most tragic romances ever told. Everyone is fighting to pass the test, to remain in Elysian Fields. Teo dresses them up, tells them when to move and how to act, and in order to pass the test, they must play along.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">If they play it right, then they'll be safe.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">But if they play it wrong, they'll die.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>October 22, 2013</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Another somewhat creepy/mysterious book for October. The cover is stunning and the book sounds very intriguing.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-31252300979616898312013-10-15T17:57:00.003-07:002013-10-15T17:57:52.733-07:00Green Angel by Alice Hoffman <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i>Left on her own when her family dies in a terrible disaster, fifteen-year-old Green is haunted by loss and by the past. Struggling to survive physically and emotionally in a place where nothing seems to grow and ashes are everywhere, Green retreats into the ruined realm of her garden. But in destroying her feelings, she also begins to destroy herself, erasing the girl she'd once been as she inks darkness into her skin. It is only through a series of mysterious encounters that Green can relearn the lessons of love and begin to heal enough to tell her story.</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've had this book FOREVER sitting on my shelf and honestly, I'm not sure why it took me so long to read it. It's SHORT. (128 pages, seriously!) and so it wasn't even like it was a time commitment or anything. No huge risk factor with this book. So anyways, I FINALLY got around to reading it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">I liked this book. Even after thinking about it for a few days, I'm still not 100% sure what the message of the book was supposed to be (and I'm almost positive there was supposed to be some kind of meaning) but I still feel like it affected me in some way.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">The book doesn't have a lot of dialogue, which somehow seems to add to the mood of the story. The story gives off a very detached, isolated feeling which, I think, is exactly how Green feels throughout most of the book. It's also eerie and sort-of mysterious with hints of slightly creepy every so often. (hence why it's here for Spooky October!) I liked the description in the book and also the growth of Green's character. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">I don't really have a ton to say about this book, especially since it was so short, but I just know that I really did like it. It wasn't exactly WOW HERE READ THIS *SHOVES IN FACE* I WONT BE YOUR FRIEND IF YOU DONT READ IT but it certainly was not a waste of time. It was good.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>The Good:</b> Mood, character growth</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-31891211601789363422013-10-02T15:24:00.002-07:002013-10-02T15:25:29.527-07:00WOW #21 Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano Plus Bonus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breaking the Spine </span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event meant to showcase the not-yet-released books that we are eagerly awaiting. This week I've chosen <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17339241-perfect-ruin">Perfect Ruin</a> by Lauren DeStefano.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">Sticking with Spooky October, here's our first WOW creepy book!</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose.</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">So maybe this book came out yesterday, but it fits our slightly creepy, mysterious theme for October. I've read Lauren DeStefano before (<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/49294-the-chemical-garden">The Chemical Garden Series</a>) and it was a satisfying mix of somewhat creepy and also not.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">ALSO BONUS: last week I missed posting the Waiting on Wednesday, so bonus this week!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.390625px; text-align: justify;">This second book is </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15829686-tandem?ac=1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.390625px; text-align: justify;">Tandem</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.390625px; text-align: justify;"> by Anna Jarzab.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Everything repeats.<br />You. Your best friend. Every person you know.<br />Many worlds. Many lives--infinite possibilities.<br /><strong>Welcome to the multiverse.</strong></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Sixteen-year-old Sasha Lawson has only ever known one small, ordinary life. When she was young, she loved her grandfather's stories of parallel worlds inhabited by girls who looked like her but led totally different lives. Sasha never believed such worlds were real--until now, when she finds herself thrust into one against her will.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">To prevent imminent war, Sasha must slip into the life of an alternate version of herself, a princess who has vanished on the eve of her arranged marriage. If Sasha succeeds in fooling everyone, she will be returned home; if she fails, she'll be trapped in another girl's life forever. As time runs out, Sasha finds herself torn between two worlds, two lives, and two young men vying for her love--one who knows her secret, and one who thinks she's someone she's not.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">The first book in the Many-Worlds Trilogy, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Tandem</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> is a riveting saga of love and betrayal set in parallel universes in which nothing--and no one--is what it seems.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>October 8, 2013</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-25461727724903108382013-10-01T17:38:00.000-07:002013-10-01T17:38:17.370-07:00TTT #25 Book Turn-Offs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by </span><a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.ca/">The Broke and Bookish</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Each week they give a topic, and then other blogs make their top ten lists for that topic.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This week's topic is Top Ten Things that Turn Me Off A Book</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In no particular order, as per usual:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1) Immature Characters:</b> I'm talking about those characters that you have to remind yourself are supposed to be 16-18 because you keep assuming they are 12-13. Immature dialogue, childish actions, and lack of judgement all contribute to this and they are SO. ANNOYING.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2) Misleading Synopses: </b>Usually by the time I'm far enough into a book to realize the synopsis wasn't what it seemed I'll finish reading, but it still will negatively impact my overall opinion of the book. If your book is about a certain topic, don't try and change the meaning in the blurb!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3) Plot Holes:</b> I really, really, really do not like it at all when there are glaringly obvious holes in plots. You know when characters have to make up some big elaborate solution when there's another solution that they either didn't even think of or wasn't explained? I guess that was a pretty vague explanation, but I think everyone knows what plot holes are. This makes me so annoyed and frustrated with a book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4) Weird Names:</b> This mostly only comes up in contemporary books, but when characters have some obscure old/faerie/unpronounceable/bizarre name appears, I am immediately wary of the author's writing. This was particularly prevalent in Evermore, with the main character being Ever Bloom. <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>why</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5) Slut Shaming/ Rape Culture:</b> If you are not sure what I'm talking about, <a href="http://www.yahighway.com/2013/09/rape-culture-dont-be-bystander-with.html">this</a> is a good place to start. I see this more often than I'd like to in books and it's a huge deal for me. This is probably one of the biggest turn offs there are in books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6) Weird Descriptions/ Repetitive Descriptions:</b> When the author uses words that really don't make a ton of sense given the situation, often in a metaphorical form. Don't get me wrong, I love description and literary devices, but adjectives can't just be squashed together. It's also annoying when and author uses the same few words to describe something over and over again. "Sky blue eyes" is fine once or twice, but not necessary everytime a character is mentioned.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7) Freaky Characters that are Supposed to be Popular Among Readers: </b> An example would be Warner from Shatter Me. After reading the book and then reading some reviews, I was surprised that so many people seemed to root for Warner and hope that Juliet would fall for Warner latter! He came across as manipulative and abusive to me, and the exact type of person that you should get far, far away from.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8) Love Triangles as Plot Points (or any romance as a plot point)</b>: It's super annoying when some sort of romantic relationship is created basically just to further the plot in a story, and not that it was just a natural progression for characters. It just seems like a short cut!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9) Characters with a COINCIDENTALLY Useful Skill:</b> I find this super annoying. It's when some character is supposed to be just a normal person EXCEPT they have some kind of weird hobby or special skill, and then something happens to them and WHAT A COINCIDENCE, it's what saves their life or makes them 'ahmazing'. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10) Helpless Heroines:</b> Another big one for me, this is a huge turn-off. Heroines that can't/won't/don't do anything for themselves. Sometimes you gotta help yourself, ladies! If they can't, and they <i>try</i> to do something, that's okay. It's when characters simply do not do anything that they become infuriating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So there's my list! What's your biggest turn off?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rachel</b></span></div>
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readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-27937662985580664942013-10-01T13:36:00.005-07:002013-10-01T13:36:58.931-07:00October with Read it Write!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi everyone! It's the first of October, and I've been planning some stuff for this month for awhile! For the month of October here at Read it Write the site will be focused around the spooky and paranormal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Waiting on Wednesdays all have creepy themes, and there will be some reviews coming up about some spooky books. There's also a few other things planned, but you will have to wait and see what they are later in the month!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neither Megan or I are <i>huge</i> into thrillers, so the books will, for the most part, be spooky and maybe creepy, but not full-out horror. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesdays will not be much different than usual, however. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've also started up a book tumblr to be a more instant-type blog for my book needs, and this month I will be doing a book photo challenge hosted by <a href="http://books-cupcakes.tumblr.com/">Books & Cupcakes</a> (see it <a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/a85bb5c208510746a2edb9600175d82c/tumblr_mtyfjsuaBN1rzheafo1_500.png">here</a>) that has a bunch of Halloween themes this month. You can find my blog <a href="http://thelibrarypegasus.tumblr.com/">here</a> if you are interested in seeing what books I select.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now who's ready for some spooky stuff?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rachel</b></span><br />
<br />readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-21960582306035430382013-09-18T23:07:00.001-07:002013-09-18T23:07:15.277-07:00WOW #20 Fault Line by Christa Desir<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breaking the Spine </span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event meant to showcase the not-yet-released books that we are eagerly awaiting. This week I've chosen <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13482832-fault-line">Fault Line</a> by Christa Desir.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Ben could date anyone he wants, but he only has eyes for the new girl — sarcastic free-spirit, Ani. Luckily for Ben, Ani wants him too. She’s everything Ben could ever imagine. Everything he could ever want.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">But that all changes after the party. The one Ben misses. The one Ani goes to alone.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.</span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>November 12, 2013.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book sounds like it could be both adorable and sad. Plus I love the cover.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-90411832484516332022013-09-17T14:42:00.000-07:002013-09-17T14:42:51.043-07:00TTT #24 Fall TBR List DOUBLE FEATURE!!! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by </span><a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.ca/">The Broke and Bookish</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Each week they give a topic, and then other blogs make their top ten lists for that topic.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This week's topic is Top Ten Books On My Fall 2013 TBR List</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In no particular order, as per usual:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9460487-miss-peregrine-s-home-for-peculiar-children">Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</a> by Ransom Riggs:</b> I got this book from the library, and just looking at it, <i>wow.</i> It looks fantastic and also pretty creepy. I can't wait to read this one.</span></div>
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<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1338613368l/8490112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1338613368l/8490112.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8715032-blood-magic">Blood Magic</a> by Tessa Gratton:</b> I've been trying to find this book <i>forever</i> and finally I have it from the library! I loved Tessa Gratton's short stories from the Merry Fates, so I can't wait to read this. I almost feel like I should have waited for Halloween to read it, but I can't wait much longer!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8490112-daughter-of-smoke-bone">Daughter of Smoke and Bone</a> by Laini Taylor: </b>Ever since I first heard about this book I knew I needed to read it, and now I've been eyeing it at the school library for ages. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17675462-the-raven-boys?ac=1">The Raven Boys</a> by Maggie Stiefvater:</b> I got this for my birthday last year and I still haven't read it! And the sequel comes out today! I think I need to hurry it up a bit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1582996.City_of_Ashes?from_search=true">City of Ashes</a> by Cassandra Clare: </b>I need to know what happens next! Also I need to work on my never-finishing-series habit.</span></div>
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<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1325528367l/12394100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1325528367l/12394100.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12394100-seraphina?from_search=true">Seraphina</a> by Rachel Hartman: </b>I picked this book up during the summer and ever since Maggie Stiefvater recommended I have wanted to read it. Plus the author has the same name as me(score!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10441025-dark-days-at-saddle-creek?from_search=true">Dark Days at Saddle Creek</a> by Shelley Peterson: </b>Ever since I could read horse books were always my favourite. I've since widened my reading horizons and read waaayyy more than horse books, but I still read the very odd one. Shelley Peterson is my favourite horse author, so naturally I have almost all her books. I've been saving this one!</span></div>
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<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320483095l/153780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320483095l/153780.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/153780.Trickster_s_Queen?from_search=true">Trickster's Queen</a> by Tamora Pierce:</b> Seeing as she's my favourite author, I have paced myself so that I always have a few books from her that I haven't read. That way, I know I always have something wonderful and new to read. And it's time to crack another new spine, I think! </span></div>
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<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327877670l/6644117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327877670l/6644117.jpg" height="200" width="126" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6644117-the-iron-king?from_search=true">The Iron King</a> by Lisa Kagawa: </b>Another book I picked up this summer, I can't wait to read it! I love reading different takes on the Fae. The way authors combine the myths to make their own stories is so interesting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7812659-safe-haven?from_search=true">Safe Haven</a> by Nicholas Sparks: </b>I have it on loan from a friend, and this will be my first Nicholas Sparks book(and I was supposed to read one LAST fall. Oops.) I'm looking forwards to reading it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's my ten! Now have a look at Megan's...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rachel</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9972882-juliet-immortal?from_search=true">Juliet Immortal</a> by Stacey Jay: </b>I picked this up at Chapters for like $2! Who can resist a retelling of a classic love story, especially at that price? I can't wait to give this one a read. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2213661.The_Graveyard_Book?from_search=true">The Graveyard Book</a> by Neil Gaiman: </b>I bought this book <i>ages </i>ago, because I love Neil Gaiman. I loved Coraline, and also the Doctor Who episodes that Mr Gaiman has penned. I've heard good things about this book! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5_EtPlhki9Z0TcXsCNPBRHJU0g3IPWjHoTq0PLNbcCaBlkZORPpPAq1RrC0pE_azPEwusQv1Pfdti144r8DIERlNej7IQZbrnGJN6w2SlVAAOAsAmxOmHwoJ4GOHJYuey9ZO7fhS5VDd/s1600/10429015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5_EtPlhki9Z0TcXsCNPBRHJU0g3IPWjHoTq0PLNbcCaBlkZORPpPAq1RrC0pE_azPEwusQv1Pfdti144r8DIERlNej7IQZbrnGJN6w2SlVAAOAsAmxOmHwoJ4GOHJYuey9ZO7fhS5VDd/s1600/10429015.jpg" height="200" width="135" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16248068-the-elite?from_search=true">The Elite</a> by Kiera Cass: </b>I loved The Selection! I felt like I was in the middle of a modernized fairytale, and it was amazing. I need to read the next instalment in the series!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6304335-beautiful-creatures?from_search=true">Beautiful Creatures</a> by Kami Garcia: </b>My dad picked this up for me from a second hand bookstore this summer. I'm excited to read it, it sounds different from anything else I've read in the past, and they made a movie of it! That must mean there's something enjoyable about it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10429015-cold-kiss?from_search=true">Cold Kiss</a> by Amy Garvey: </b>This book just looks good. Heartbreaking, but good. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16160797-the-cuckoo-s-calling?from_search=true">The Cuckoo's Calling</a> by Robert Galbraith AKA JK Rowling: </b>Ummm... does this one even need an explanation? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/332775.Incarceron?from_search=true">Incarceron</a> by Catherine Fisher: </b>Somehow I haven't read this book yet! I've heard TONS of good stuff about this book and I'm so stoked to finally read it. :) <b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9256414-hereafter?from_search=true">Hereafter</a> by Tara Hudson: </b>ghosts, and boys. and the cover is SO PRETTY. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1582996.City_of_Ashes?from_search=true">City of Ashes</a> by Cassandra Clare: </b>OHMYGOSHINEEDTOKNOWWHATHAPPENSNEXT. THEENDOFTHEFIRSTONENOOOOOOOOOOOOOWHYDIDYOUDOTHAT?! <b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">TOO MANY BOOKS AND NOT ENOUGH TIIIIIIIIIIIME! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">lol. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">keep readin' it write!</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Megan </span></div>
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readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-91255850325810759522013-09-16T13:57:00.000-07:002013-09-16T13:57:00.137-07:00Swimming Through Clouds by Rajdeep Paulus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">I live in the in between. Between what if and what is. It’s how I manage. It’s the only way I know. Everyone has their way. This is mine.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">When high school, cell phone disruption forces a classroom ban, the words on a Post-it note spark a sticky romance between two unlikely friends. Transfer student Talia Vanderbilt has one goal at her new school: to blend in with the walls. Lagan Desai, basketball captain and mathlete, would do just about anything to befriend the new girl. One Post-it note at a time, Lagan persuades Talia to peel back her heart, slowly revealing her treasure chest of pain—an absent mother, a bedridden brother, and an abusive father. In a world where hurt is inevitable, the two teens search for a safe place to weather the storms of life. Together.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Once again, I started this book having no idea what I was getting into. It seems to be a trend with me and books, to be honest(maybe I should start reading more just the first two sentences of the synopsis?) . In the first few chapters, I was kind of going "Oh, no, this is not what I thought it would be at all. What am I doing?" But that quickly changed.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Swimming Through Clouds turned out to be a time-well-spent kind of book. At times it was almost painful to read, but it was definitely worth it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">The characters started off as a bit dull to me, but they definitely grew on me the more the story progressed. The book really only had four characters of importance: Talia, Jesse, their father, and Lagan. Without a doubt, I was always rooting for Talia, although, let's be honest, as the victim of an abusive father, I think it would be impossible not to. There were certainly times when Talia confused me and made me somewhat frustrated, but the more I got to know her the more I understood where she was coming from, even though it is impossible for me to relate to what she is going through. There was some definite character growth for Talia in this book and I really appreciate that. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Jesse, T</span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">alia's younger brother, was another good character. He didn't make me frustrated or mad at all, and I really did sympathize with him for the entire story. Their father, though, I felt completely opposite about. 100% hater, just as we are supposed to. Some of he things he did made my stomach turn. As the synopsis says, he is abusive towards Talia and her brother. One thing that I would have liked is a bit more background on him. I felt like I never really got to understand why their father was the way he was.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Lastly, there was Lagan. He was truly a very sweet guy. The way he treated Talia was wonderful, although I do wish that, at least towards the end of the book, Talia had been able to become a bit more independent and not so... spookish. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Also worth mentioning is Rajdeep Paul's's writing and storytelling, which were absolutely wonderful! It was all so detailed, and not in that please-stop-talking-about-the-exact-shade-of-the-neighbours-eyes kind of way, but in that I-can-totally-picture-everything-that-is-happening-in-vivid-detail way, and it was fantastic. Also, the pacing of the book was really really good. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">The one thing that I would have changed in this book is the ending. The ending itself was fantastic, but I think that an epilogue would have been just right to finish off. Swimming Through Clouds had one of those somewhat open-ended endings that lets the reader imagine what happens, but I think it is almost a bit too open in a way. Personally, I would have liked to have a bit more closure. There seemed to be a few things that could have been mentioned while still having that open-ended ending.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Overall, I think this is a book that I would definitely recommend. It was waaayy out of my normal comfort zone and yet I still thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I don't think enjoying this book is the main thing. Instead, I think the most important part of this book is that it made me think about this kind of situation in a way that was meaningful and not always 100% comfortable. It's one of those books that might not be light and happy to read, but is valuable and important.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>The Good:</b> Writing, overall story and meaning</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>The Bad:</b> Possibly could have used an epilogue or something at the end</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>The Verdict:</b> 8.5/10. Loved it!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-69376654087558253702013-09-11T22:09:00.000-07:002013-09-11T22:15:37.003-07:00WOW #19 This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breaking the Spine </span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event meant to showcase the not-yet-released books that we are eagerly awaiting. This week I've chosen <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15777621-this-song-will-save-your-life">This Song Will Save Your Life</a> by Leila Sales.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><b>Release Date: </b>September 17, 2013</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;">Oooohhh, I like how this sounds! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-16955616214139444762013-09-10T17:03:00.002-07:002013-09-10T17:03:30.683-07:00TTT #23 Book to Film Adaptations We Want<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCuRZQakzqoPi6RRDKniZ3S5IDjtmPTsQmZbUXPD2HXMesrTkTkp7qG2f8DbFxC8iLrGMKy17XuLAAFsb566EGDsnpDL49JoWxMriSvSlm589kzUPE6f0pLBPfbv1uzA-gHyK2qylf3Ew/s1600/TTT+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCuRZQakzqoPi6RRDKniZ3S5IDjtmPTsQmZbUXPD2HXMesrTkTkp7qG2f8DbFxC8iLrGMKy17XuLAAFsb566EGDsnpDL49JoWxMriSvSlm589kzUPE6f0pLBPfbv1uzA-gHyK2qylf3Ew/s1600/TTT+copy.jpg" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by </span><a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.ca/">The Broke and Bookish</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Each week they give a topic, and then other blogs make their top ten lists for that topic.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This week's topic is Top Ten Books I want to see Turned into a Movie or TV Show</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>(in a world where adaptations are never crappy)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In no particular order, as per usual:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) <b>Maggie Stiefvater's <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6068551-shiver?from_search=true">Wolves of Mercy Falls</a> series</b>: I love Maggie Stiefvater, and her books that would do best adapted to film are in this series. (PS, did you hear she's releasing a companion novel to this series? Announced today! Check <a href="http://maggie-stiefvater.tumblr.com/post/60852537999/in-which-maggie-writes-a-book-about-cole-isabel">here</a> for info on <i>Sinner</i>, which was previously referred to as White Pants Novel)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) <b>Stephanie Perkins' <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6936382-anna-and-the-french-kiss?from_search=true">Anna and the French Kiss</a></b>: Contemporary romance turned move? Yes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) <b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/924194.The_Last_Book_in_the_Universe?from_search=true">The Last Book in the Universe</a> by Rodman Philbrick</b>: I read this book a few years ago in school, and while it wasn't my <i>favourite</i> book ever, I think this would do very well as a movie.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) <b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11614718-delirium?ac=1">Delirium</a> by Lauren Oliver</b> as a TV series: This was <i>going</i> to be a TV series, but then no. The pilot was cancelled. (Thanks Fox! Not.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5) <b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/394734.Snow">Snow: a Retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves</a> by Tracy Lynn</b>: I'm a huge fan of fairy tale retellings, and I think that this particular retelling would be super awesome to see as a movie. It's dark and creepy, and it's a take on Snow White I've never ever seen before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6) <b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13831.Alanna?from_search=true">The Song of the Lioness</a> by Tamora Pierce</b>: I'm kind of wary about putting this one on a list like this, but seeing as Tamora Pierce is my favourite author of all time ever, I know that I would see a movie if they made one. That being said, though, I 100% do NOT want anyone to make her books into movies. This genre has a pretty awful track record for adaptations (Eragon, Inkheart, Spiderwick was meh, Ella Enchanted was a good movie but a bad adaptation) and I think that there is no way these books could be done in a way that was true to the story without having a ridiculous budget. Even with a ton of money, I would still be skeptical. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7) <b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28194.Inkheart?from_search=true">Inkheart</a> by Cornelia Funke</b>: This book is already a movie, but honestly, I don't think the movie should count cause it kind of sucked. Try again, Hollywood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8) <b>The rest of the Narnia Books</b>: So far we have 3 of them, can't we have the other 4? It would be nice at least to have the rest with the characters we kind of know.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9) <b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13591678-endangered?from_search=true">Endangered</a> by Eliot Schrefer</b>: This book was <i>so. good.</i> It was powerful as a book and I think it would be even more powerful as a movie.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10)<b> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11500217-angelfall?ac=1">Angelfall</a> by Susan Ee</b>: Apocalyptic angels on the big screen? Sounds like a good idea, if you ask me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bonus:</b> This wouldn't be something I'd be terribly interested in now, but who else remembers the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/67465-animal-ark">Animal Ark</a> series or, even better, the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/41463-magic-tree-house">Magic Treehouse</a>? These books were my <i>life</i> when I was starting to read. I think they would be wonderful adapted into a children's tv series. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rachel</b></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-17106817330911644512013-09-08T17:47:00.000-07:002013-09-08T17:57:57.532-07:00The Unfailing Light (Katerina #2) by Robin Bridges<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i>Having had no choice but to use her power has a necromancer to save Russia from dark forces, Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, now wants to forget that she ever used her special powers. She's about to set off to pursue her lifelong dream of attending medical school when she discovers that Russia's arch nemesis--who she thought she'd destroyed--is still alive. So on imperial orders, Katerina remains at her old finishing school. She'll be safe there, because the empress has cast a potent spell to protect it against the vampires and revenants who are bent on toppling the tsar and using Katerina for their own gains. But to Katerina's horror, the spell unleashes a vengeful ghost within the school, a ghost more dangerous than any creature trying to get in.</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">As the second book in the Katerina trilogy, I'd been waiting a long time for this one to release. I enjoyed this book, but I have to say it was a bit disappointing. The first one had finished off so strong and I was dying to read the Unfailing Light, but it just didn't quite make the cut.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Katerina was still great character in The Unfailing Light- she has very clear goals and still does her best to do what's right AND what's best for her. However, George Alexandrovnich did let me down this time :( And I really did like him in the first book, too! He was just a bit of a jerk this time around. The non-insta love that was starting between Katerina and George in the last book did not seem to flow through into this book, since George was being dumb. He completely disregarded what Katerina wanted and underestimated her abilities again and again and again. I also didn't think that Katerina was as frustrated with him as she could have been. Personally, I would have seriously considered giving him a good kick to the shins at times.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Characters aside, there were other parts of this book that I wasn't entirely keen on. The pacing was much slower than the first book, which had me not as excited to keep reading. A faster paced action packed story was exactly what the Unfailing Light needed to keep the ball rolling after The Gathering Storm, but it just didn't really happen. Also, the setting was the same in this one as it was in the first book, despite there being hope of something new.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">A part of the book that I did like, however, was the ghost that was mentioned in the synopsis. The setting as a whole is still as enjoyable as ever. Russia in the late 1800's with paranomal-ness? Yes. Still good.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">So even though this book was a bit of a let down (it seems to be a trend with the middle book in trilogies, or is that just me?) I am eagerly looking forward to the next one, The Morning Star, which came out August 27th. It's on my list to read!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><b>The Good:</b> The world, as always, and Katerina</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><b>The Bad: </b>George, pacing, anti-climatic after the first book</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13414829-the-unfailing-light?from_search=true">Goodreads Link</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-30962315959295466692013-09-04T15:12:00.000-07:002013-09-04T15:13:16.443-07:00WOW #18 The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breaking the Spine </span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event meant to showcase the not-yet-released books that we are eagerly awaiting. This week I've chosen <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12578305-the-chaos-of-stars?ac=1">The Chaos of Stars</a> by Kiersten White.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Release Date: </b>September 10, 2013</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">I've read plenty of books that center around Greek mythology, but none about Egyptian mythology! Plus the cover is gorgeous!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-49387761029859785752013-09-03T18:03:00.002-07:002013-09-03T18:03:40.053-07:00Review: Rory by Ciye Cho<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicu8JV7FERyIPUZGJPj92Ok39nRwbhnSbI7rMKq4omFjSU2PK6SIJtYbQW7FCPllZLaQ9jfm6CGUnFcehTGaIGx0S81Eltq-6LuEZCzcLq3sFe3PnoKkh2AwRFOgewHmR1RooKlBLECA_Q/s1600/cover-600-400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicu8JV7FERyIPUZGJPj92Ok39nRwbhnSbI7rMKq4omFjSU2PK6SIJtYbQW7FCPllZLaQ9jfm6CGUnFcehTGaIGx0S81Eltq-6LuEZCzcLq3sFe3PnoKkh2AwRFOgewHmR1RooKlBLECA_Q/s1600/cover-600-400.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Far beyond heaven, earth and hell is a city known as Palladino, a place ruled by ghosts and filled with demons, magic, and all sorts of darkly beautiful things. A city where no one can ever escape.</span></i></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Eighteen-year-old Rory is a cake decorator who makes stunning confections. But no amount of frosting or miracles can save her when a demon kidnaps her—and carries her to Palladino. Here, Rory ends up in a deadly charm school where young women are forced to become companions for the Ghost Lords. And for her to survive, Rory must become everything that she isn’t: graceful, elegant... and perfect.</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">But nothing is what it seems in Palladino. Not the magic. Not the ghosts. And definitely not Martin Marius, the bizarre Ghost Lord-slash-inventor who is drawn to Rory. For amid a thousand machines and a hundred cats, Martin holds a secret that could change everything. A secret that could either free Rory... or destroy her.</span></i><br />
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<i style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.99305534362793px;">This book was generously given to us from Ciye Cho in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much Ciye! </i><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;">Let me just say, honestly, I LOVED this book. I wasn't too sure what to expect going into it, but once I started reading it, I actually couldn't put it down! I finished the entire book in 2 days. That's how good it was. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;">It was just a really great mix of everything I love in YA fiction. It was surreal, fantastical, although still extremely relatable. The setting is magical, and wonderful, but also dark and dangerous. The pace of the story was good, there were no slow points, or bits that were boring or hard to read through. It was one of those action-packed books that constantly throw plot twists at you to keep you interested. That fact made this book particularly addicting for me.The plot was mysterious, and very unpredictable, so it left me wanting to keep reading to find out what would happen next! And after I finished the whole book, I found myself saddened by the fact that the next book in the series is not published yet! I can't wait to read it! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;">I loved the main character Rory. She's a baker, and my favourite scenes were when she was baking cakes and decorating them. The description of those scenes were just so much fun to read! There was a dream kitchen involved... and let me tell you... I think anyone would love to have that kitchen, even if you weren't a baker! It sounded fabulous! The level of description throughout the whole book was amazing, not just in the baking scenes. I am a very visual person, so when an author can really paint a clear picture in my head with the words they use, it's usually an instant hit with me! Ciye Cho definitely accomplished that! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;">Another thing that was really great about this book was that there was a talking cat. Need I say more? Didn't think so. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;">I'm wracking my brain to try and find something I didn't like about this book... but I don't think there was anything! All around, it was a great book, and very fun to read! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">The Good: </b>everything. no joke. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">The Bad: </b>nothing. it was addicting perfection that I couldn't put down. There's nothing bad about that!!!! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">The Verdict: </b>10/10 peeps. Give it a read. you won't regret it!!!! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;">PS: I can't wait to read Ciye Cho's mermaid series <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14325848-florence">Florence</a>, it looks equally as good! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;">keep readin' it write!</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Megan</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"><br /></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-56436036800243648022013-08-31T10:51:00.000-07:002013-08-31T11:01:35.887-07:00Review: The Bagman by Rachael Rippon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">In the midst of the Second World War, Abigail is deposited at St Winifred's Orphanage for Willful, Wayward and Wicked Children. As soon as she arrives, Abigail is warned of the Bagman and what will happen if she misbehaves. But Abigail is too busy trying to escape to listen. Her estranged twin, Tabitha, is close by and Abigail has to find her before their 16th birthdays. Besides, she doesn't believe in the Bagman.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">He believes in her though. Appearing when she least expects it; he asks her to play his Game. He will give her seven wishes to be used in seven days. But the Game is not as easy as Abigail supposes, and the wishes not as nice…</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Soon, Abigail is getting exactly what she wished for. And the effects are catastrophic.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">If you loved 'Coraline' or 'Alice in Wonderland', then you're sure to love 'The Bagman".</span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 19px;">**Just to clear something up before you start reading this review, there are many bagman in the world this is set in, but this book deals mostly only one. When I talk about the idea of the bag<i>men</i>, I'm talking about the idea as a whole. When I talk about the characterization of the bag<i>man</i>, it's about our bagman, the specific individual that this book is about. In italics, I'm referring to the title.**</span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">It's been a while since I read a book that was in this kind of setting, mood and plot-type. The time period (WWII) isn't one that I read often. Generally, books that I tend to pick are set between the Victorian era and the 20's, a medieval setting, present day or future time periods. This book was a good one to read to get back to the culture that was present during WWII without dealing with the war a lot. (part of the reason I don't read war-time books is because they often end up talking about whichever war is happening instead of the story that the book is about. Sometimes it's fine, but sometime I want something different to read about) </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">It took me a few chapters to get into</span><i style="line-height: 19px;"> The Bagman</i><span style="line-height: 19px;"> but once the pace picked up and the Game started, that was it. The plot was so intriguing, I just </span><i style="line-height: 19px;">needed</i><span style="line-height: 19px;"> to find out what happened next. The characters were engaging and fun to read about, and the plot was completely unpredictable which is a good break from other books I've been reading lately. Once the story got set up and I read through the first few chapters, the pacing was just right for me. Fast enough to keep me excited to read more, but not too fast that I couldn't think about what was happening.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another thing that was done well in <i>The Bagman</i> was the rotating perspectives that some chapters had. Most of the chapters were from Abigail's point of view as she is our protaganist (and a very good one at that!) but every so often we have a shorter chapter from the Bagman's point of view to provide a bit of dramatic irony, a somewhat different story, and to give us information that we need to have but that Abigail wouldn't have a way of finding out.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">My favourite part of <i>The Bagman</i> was THE Bagman. The whole idea of the Bagmen was one of the things that made me want to read the whole book. I didn't completely understand the Bagmen at the beginning, and I wanted to know more about them so bad that I had to keep reading. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Originally, a Bagman is:</span></span><br />
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<span class="hw" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">bag·man</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="pron" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(128, 158, 131); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">(b<img align="absbottom" src="http://img.tfd.com/hm/GIF/abreve.gif" />g<img align="absbottom" src="http://img.tfd.com/hm/GIF/prime.gif" />m<img align="absbottom" src="http://img.tfd.com/hm/GIF/schwa.gif" />n)</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">n.</i><br />
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<b>1. </b><i>Slang</i> A person who collects money, as for racketeers.</div>
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<b>2. </b><i>Chiefly British</i> A traveling salesman.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(from thefreedictionary.com)</span></div>
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which I find very fitting and a bit ironic as well. The bagmen in <i>The Bagman</i> do collect things, although it is a bit more serious than money. They are also, in a way, traveling salesmen, but these salesmen are ones that you really don't want to have to deal with, and not just because they'll try and guilt trip you into buying their newspaper or watch or whatever. And yet, the Bagman repeatedly made my feel sympathetic for him and root for him even though he was completely nasty. The characterization of the Bagman was perfect for the concept. He was mean, cruel and calculating, but still clever and, in a somewhat creepy way, patient and charming. Everything that the Bagman did fit right along with his character and what he was supposed to be. He made a villain that I thoroughly enjoyed reading about. </div>
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Another thing that I liked was the lack of romance. Usually I like a bit of romance in my books, but it was nice to have something to read that had a completely different focus so the characters had different motivators.</div>
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The end of the book was ANOTHER good thing about <i>The Bagman</i>. It was the perfect mix of answers and new problems to keep me happy with what I had read and keep me excited to read the next book.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A favourite quote from the book: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">""Follow your gut instinct, that's the ticket to success. <i>I</i> know." Abigail supposed this might be true, as Mr. Bentley's gut was on the large side."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Good:</b> The Bagman/men, the ending, character perspectives changing, the plot</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Bad:</b> Somewhat slow to start</span><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Verdict:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 8.5/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book was supplied by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Rachael!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span><br />
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readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-72504158090007249632013-08-28T22:22:00.001-07:002013-08-28T22:22:57.757-07:00WOW #17 The Coldest Girl in Coldtown<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breaking the Spine </span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event meant to showcase the not-yet-released books that we are eagerly awaiting. This week I've chosen <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12813630-the-coldest-girl-in-coldtown">The Coldest Girl in Coldtown</a> by Holly Black.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">The Coldest Girl in Coldtown</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;"> is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Release Date:</b> September 3, 2013</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Not only does the title sound promising, so does the synopsis! And this one is out in less than a week, too.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-66601233993499630672013-08-27T22:59:00.002-07:002013-08-27T22:59:52.366-07:00TTT #22 Secondary Characters<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by </span><a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Broke and Bookish</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Each week they give a topic, and then other blogs make their top ten lists for that topic.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week's topic is Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In no particular order, as per usual:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1) Sirius Black from Harry Potter: </b>Sirius has always been my favourite Harry Potter character. Alwaysalwaysalways.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2)</b> <b>George Cooper from The Song of the Lionness (and other Tortall series) by Tamora Pierce: </b>Because yes. He's one of my favourite Tortall characters and automatically makes any scene 10x better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3) Prince Caspian from Narnia:</b> Honestly, it's been such a long time since I've read Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, I don't really remember why I liked Prince Caspian so much, and yet I know I do. So he's gotta be pretty memorable, right? Also, maybe it's time for a re-read.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4) Miracle Max and Valerie from The Princess Bride by William Goldman: </b>I'm going to put these two together because they both make each other so much better, plus they appear for only a short amount of time in the same scene. The way they interact is hilarious, plus I've seen the movie so many times I hear their voices when I read quotes from them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5) Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter:</b> Who doesn't love Luna? She's wonderful. Also, I don't think you can beat her for being most memorable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6) Johanna Mason from The Hunger Games:</b> She's kick ass and doesn't care what other people think. I love it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7) Jack from The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long: </b>So I'm not sure if you could call him a secondary character, but I absolutely loved Jack's character. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8) Tkaa from The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce: </b>Tkaa is a teacher, ambassador, baby dragon babysitter basilisk. Memorable? Yes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9) Inigo Montoya from the Princess Bride:</b> "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10) Finnick Odair from the Hunger Games: </b>District 4 is now my favourite.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are your most memorable characters?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rachel</b></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-74996445039296332802013-08-21T11:15:00.001-07:002013-08-21T11:15:28.020-07:00WOW #16 Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breaking the Spine </span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event meant to showcase the not-yet-released books that we are eagerly awaiting. This week I've chosen <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16068905-fangirl?ac=1">Fangirl</a> by Rainbow Rowell.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Cath is a Simon Snow fan.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Release Date: </b>September 10, 2013</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">A book about a fangirl? That's something I haven't heard of before!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-59847396166055267122013-08-20T11:30:00.001-07:002013-08-21T11:35:28.488-07:00TTT #21 Things that Make our Life as Bloggers/Readers Easier<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by </span><a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Broke and Bookish</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Each week they give a topic, and then other blogs make their top ten lists for that topic.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week's topic is Top Ten Things that Make Our Life as Bloggers and Readers Easier</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1) The Library:</b> Ok, this one should be pretty obvious, but honestly, it's so true! The library helps me in so many ways... I find the most random books that I would never have found before, I find books that I'm curious about but don't want to spend money on, I find books that I don't have the money for but want to read, I can request books from all over the province, even from different library systems, I can find reference books for school projects that I wouldn't get any other way, I can download ebooks to use on my nook, </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2) Review Requests: </b>It's always nice to hear what your audience is into and what kind of books they would like to see reviewed on your blog! Suggestions are always welcome! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3) Book Giveaways/Free Books: </b>I think this one is pretty self explanatory. Free books = less money spent but more books to read! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4) Decent Book to Movie Adaptations: </b>Because there's nothing more heartbreaking than going to see the movie version of a favourite book, and the story you loved being completely slaughtered on-screen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5) Goodreads:</b> This site is one of my most-used sites ever. I'm serious. I use it everday to update what I'm reading, check the groups I've joined, and scan for new stuff. It is so so so useful! I love being able to track all of the books I've read, authors I like, and reviews from other people. There's also giveaways and discussion groups lists with upcoming releases. Basically, it's the perfect site for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6) Sticky Notes: </b>I have a pad of sticky notes on my night stand, and I write on it a lot when I'm reading a book. Most of my reading I do before I go to sleep, so it's always handy right there by my alarm clock and reading light. I can use sticky notes to jot down things that stand out to me, whether I like them, don't like them, or just made me think. I can also use the sticky notes to mark pages in a book that I want to go back to, or if there was a quote I really like. (because who wants to stop and write out a whole quote if you're really into a good book?) Sticky notes mean that I can keep on reading, but still remember things that are important.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7) Thrift Stores:</b> $0.25 for a hardly used book? I'm in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8) Other Blogs/People:</b> About half of the books I choose to read are because I saw good reviews/ people talking about them on other blogs (both normal blogs and tumblr), on goodreads, or on youtube. And most of them turn out to be really really good!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9) eBooks and eReaders:</b> It's like a book, but you can take 17419074893274 of them anywhere all at once! eBooks are also a good way to travel light but still have lots to read. They might never replace a real, physical book on my shelf, but I still have a lot of appreciation for eBooks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10) School Breaks:</b> Less school, more time. It's a win-win for extra reading time, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that my grammar and sentance structure is rapidly decreasing, it's a good thing that list is finished. What helps you blog and/or read?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Rachel </span>& <span style="color: #741b47;">Megan</span></b></span></div>
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readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-32602283259302691372013-08-18T12:32:00.001-07:002013-08-18T12:32:59.743-07:00The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Today, F. Scott Fitzgerald is known for his novels, but in his lifetime, his fame stemmed from his prolific achievement as one of America's most gifted story writers. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," a witty and fantastical satire about aging, is one of his most memorable stories.</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">In 1860 Benjamin Button is born an old man and mysteriously begins aging backward. At the beginning of his life he is withered and worn, but as he continues to grow younger he embraces life -- he goes to war, runs a business, falls in love, has children, goes to college and prep school, and, as his mind begins to devolve, he attends kindergarten and eventually returns to the care of his nurse.</span><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">This strange and haunting story embodies the sharp social insight that has made Fitzgerald one of the great voices in the history of American literature.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the last while I've been wanting to get into classics, but the sheer number of books I already have to read combined with the fact that I don't really know where to start has left me a bit confuzzled. With the release of the Great Gatsby movie as a bit of a prompt, I've finally started to ease my way in to reading classics starting with some of the shorter, easier-to-read ones. And so I read The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (in one sitting! Although given the length of the book, err, short story, I guess that's not really something to brag about)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'m just gonna start off by saying that this was well-worth the half hour it took to read. I was a bit surprised that it was so short, though. For some reason I've always been under the impression that it was more of a novel, and to be honest, I wish it was. The plot, other than it being about a person who ages backwards (although I think that most people already knew that) is nothing incredibly shocking or unusual. Instead what made me enjoy this story is the different perspective it gives. Since Benjamin ages backwards, the normal stages of life are treated differently because he doesn't really fit it. I think the parts that I liked the most were how other people didn't understand how to treat Benjamin or socialize with him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other great thing about this book was that it introduced me to F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing style, which I loved! It seems very practical and straightforward, which makes reading a book that is really kind of silly even more interesting. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the Great Gatsby after reading this short story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The thing to keep in mind while reading this book is that since it is so short there really isn't a ton of time to get to know the characters or get attached. There's not a <i>ton</i> of substance/meaning, at least not that I got out of the book. To me, it was just something to enjoy for half an hour and then set aside and move on, but it was worth the read for sure.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Good:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Writing style, perspective</span><br />
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<b>The Bad:</b> very short = hard get to know the characters/not very thought-provoking<br />
<b>The Verdict:</b> 7/10</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rachel</span></b>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-37086406753008874222013-08-14T19:32:00.001-07:002013-08-14T19:32:34.033-07:00WOW #15 Relic by Renee Collins<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breaking the Spine </span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event meant to showcase the not-yet-released books that we are eagerly awaiting. This week I've chosen <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16079090-relic?ac=1">Relic</a> by Renee Collins.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">After a raging fire consumes her town and kills her parents, Maggie Davis is on her own to protect her younger sister and survive best she can in the Colorado town of Burning Mesa. In Maggie’s world, the bones of long-extinct magical creatures such as dragons and sirens are mined and traded for their residual magical elements, and harnessing these relics’ powers allows the user to wield fire, turn invisible, or heal even the worst of injuries.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Working in a local saloon, Maggie befriends the spirited showgirl Adelaide and falls for the roguish cowboy Landon. But when she proves to have a particular skill at harnessing the relics’ powers, Maggie is whisked away to the glamorous hacienda of Álvar Castilla, the wealthy young relic baron who runs Burning Mesa. Though his intentions aren’t always clear, Álvar trains Maggie in the world of relic magic. But when the mysterious fires reappear in their neighboring towns, Maggie must discover who is channeling relic magic for evil before it’s too late.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Relic</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;"> is a thrilling adventure set in a wholly unique world, and a spell-binding story of love, trust, and the power of good.</span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>August 27, 2013</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, this book sounds pretty darn fascinating, right? I think I'll have to read it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-35288251225688253922013-08-14T19:30:00.002-07:002013-08-14T19:35:50.516-07:00Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLrssIKGAOt8SacQDYi_bPMC_b4GhjOJ039ZqFLLNGjvKa7zLGvmVwkXuAq1xjlxoCpPOfcGp34ehhuTxvtsq3WZduzC2y9lw1mpNXuFWA9BYp27N1fC922SrvXBQ_SWF9AtYA-h-OYMG/s1600/15745753-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLrssIKGAOt8SacQDYi_bPMC_b4GhjOJ039ZqFLLNGjvKa7zLGvmVwkXuAq1xjlxoCpPOfcGp34ehhuTxvtsq3WZduzC2y9lw1mpNXuFWA9BYp27N1fC922SrvXBQ_SWF9AtYA-h-OYMG/s320/15745753-1.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;"><i>Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.</i></span><br />
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<i style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"> </i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 18.99305534362793px;">Let's just start off by saying that I loved this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of reading it. It was just what I needed. I'm not usually caught reading extremely mushy gushy romance books, (don't get me wrong, I LOVE me a good romance) but I don't usually go LOOKING for them in particular. Often books I read will have large elements of romance in them, but it won't be the main genre. (For example The Selection by Kiera Cass, or Divergent by Veronica Roth- they are considered dystopian novels, but have heavy romantic undertones) So this book was a nice change. And after reading this book, I've officially decided that mushy gushy is pretty much the best thing ever. I absolutely love getting butterflies and that warm mushy feeling inside while reading a book, and that is definitely what Eleanor & Park gave me. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"> I also thought that the characters Rainbow Rowell presented to me in this book were very real and extremely relatable. Being in a relationship myself at the moment, I may have been a bit biased towards the subject matter, but I found it amazing. Every little detail that Eleanor and Park noticed about each other was described, and it was all completely adorable. There were times when I just couldn't handle the level of adorability (and YES I just made up a new word right there ;P) </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"> Along with the awesome characters and adorable lovey-dovey-ness, Rainbow Rowell served up an engaging plotline as well! She's just on a roll! I felt very connected to Eleanor as she fought through family struggles, and as Park argued endlessly with his parents. Along with the very real love that they were experiencing, were very real problems that many people in our society unfortunately face. I loved that about this book. It showed that despite the struggles, true love can still come alive.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">The Good: </b>mushy gushy loveeeeee, characters, plot, realism</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">The Bad: </b>I'm sorry, this word does not in any way relate to this book. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">The Verdict: </b>5/5 hands down. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;">keep readin' it write!</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Megan </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.99305534362793px;"><br /></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-5526605842399952012013-08-07T21:40:00.000-07:002013-08-07T21:40:18.802-07:00WOW #14 Love in the Time of Global Warming<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breaking the Spine </span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event meant to showcase the not-yet-released books that we are eagerly awaiting. This week I've chosen <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16059426-love-in-the-time-of-global-warming">Love in the Time of Global Warming</a> by Francesca Lia Block.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Seventeen-year-old Penelope (Pen) has lost everything—her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother. Like a female Odysseus in search of home, she navigates a dark world full of strange creatures, gathers companions and loses them, finds love and loses it, and faces her mortal enemy.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">In her signature style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely. At the helm is Pen, a strong heroine who holds hope and love in her hands and refuses to be defeated.</span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Release Date:</b> August 27th, 2013.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">The cover looks absolutely stunning, the synopsis is especially intriguing, and the title is SO FASCINATING. CAN I HAVE IT?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Rachel</b></span></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6359226556260196196.post-48957435373861393262013-07-31T13:53:00.000-07:002013-07-31T13:53:04.286-07:00WOW #13 The Morning Star by Robin Bridges<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at </span><a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breaking the Spine </span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: justify;">. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event meant to showcase the not-yet-released books that we are eagerly awaiting. This week I've chosen <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16217442-the-morning-star" target="_blank">The Morning Star</a> by Robin Bridges.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, wants to be known as a doctor, not a necromancer. But Tsar Alexander III forbids women to attend medical school; his interest in Katerina extends only to her ability to raise the dead. Twice now, Katerina has helped him by using her power to thwart the forces of darkness—vampires bent on resurrecting the lich tsar Konstantin Pavlovich so that he can take what he sees as his rightful place on the throne. Katerina thought she had bound Konstantin to the Greylands, the realm of the dead, but he has found a way out. Now he is searching for the Morning Star, a sword that will allow him to command a legion of supernatural warriors.</span></i><br />
<i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19px;">Katerina must find the sword before Konstantin does—and she must travel to Egypt to do so. Along the way, she puts up with unwanted attention from her former fiancé, the nefarious Prince Danilo, and struggles with her feelings for her true love, George Alexandrovich. But with the looming threat from Konstantin, Katerina's focus remains on the sword. Russia's fate will be determined by whoever wields the Morning Star—and delivers the final blow.</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Release Date:</b> August 27, 2013.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Review for the first in the series: <a href="http://readitwrite.blogspot.ca/2012/08/the-gathering-storm-by-robin-bridges.html" target="_blank">here</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the final installment in the Katerina Trilogy by Robin Bridges, and I am EXCITED. The first book was absolutely wonderful, the second book wasn't quite as good but still enjoyable, and this last one looks like it will finish off the series strongly!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rachel</b></span>readitwritehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16370452883524080302noreply@blogger.com0