Lola and the Boy Next Door

by Stephanie Perkins
394 pages

In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think. For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous, the outfit - more sparkly, more fun, more wild - the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door. When the family returns and Cricket - a gifted inventor and engineer - steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Super cutie companion novel. Costumes + moon + automation + millions of bracelets = I love, love Lola & Cricket! Throw in the figure skating and I’m almost pushed over the edge :)

And I loved that I got to see that Etienne and Anna were still madly in love and moving seriously moving forward.

100 Unforgettable Dresses

by Hal Rubenstein
208 pages


100 Unforgettable Dresses is filled with the stories, secrets, intrigue, and insights behind the most indelible dresses in our collective memories. Featuring looks from the runway, film, television, the red carpet, and the worlds of royalty and politics, this book celebrates the staying power of these gorgeous, sleek, sultry, and outrageous creations as well as the lasting impact they’ve had in fashion, popular culture, and our own lives. More than two hundred images, a witty, informative text, and exclusive interviews with the designers and the women who wore the dresses reveal the initial spark and captivating drama behind the making of each dress. Also featured throughout are extensive anecdotes and observations about great style makers—Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Cher, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Cate Blanchett—highlighting the conception of their most spectacular looks and examining their lasting influence.


Such a cool book! I remember seeing many of these dresses and reading about how they were significant. My favorite entries were the Revenge Dress Princess Diana wore the night Prince Charles publicly announced his affair, the pink Grace Kelly gown by Ralph Lauren for Gwyneth Paltrow, Mondrian dress  and the Safari dress by Yves Saint Laurent.

Fallen

by Lauren Kate
452 pages

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Good plot, it just didn’t grab me. Decided not to continue on with the series because I ‘m just not that into Luce & Daniel.

Anna and the French Kiss

by Stephanie Perkins
372 pages

Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more.  So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris-until she meets Etienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Etienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.
But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true.  Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

This books is so cute! I was hooked from the very beginning. Couldn't put it down, stayed up to finish it. Just to make sure that yes, they finally kiss.

However, Anna & Etienne each keep messing things up a bit in the end and that was a slightly annoying, but it all wraps up nicely. None of it was too far fetched and real life type events, so I guess I’m not that annoyed :) Because it was so just so dang cute.

Oh, and I'm totally adding this to my everyday language: pants. Instead of crap, shite, etc :) When Etienne says this Anna, she says, "Oh heavens, that's cute."  

Plus, I totally think the author is making fun of Nicholas Sparks. It was cracking me up.

Did I mention I thought it was cute?...Just kidding.

Chime

by Franny Billingsley
361 pages

Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment.
Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He's as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she's extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn't know.

Not my cup of tea. It reminded me of Tithe by Holly Black, which I also didn’t like.

It’s like Briony is writing, telling her story and it’s just stream of consciousness sometimes. It was making me crazy. She would go off into these little limericks or poems, then come back to the story. A lot of repeating that she was wicked, she mustn’ forget Stepmother, what she did to her sister, Rose and etc. etc. etc. Too tiring. Perhaps this won several awards because this style is brilliant. Again, just not my cup of tea.

And probably the biggest thing for me is that while there is a HEA, the author messed it up for me with a bit of “rape and pillaging” but then they are okay and end up together. Also, the inevitable kiss is referred to early on with a specific page number. I know that’s what is likely to happen, but I don’t want to know exactly when, what fun is that?

Clockwork Prince

by Cassandra Clare
502 pages

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.
Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?
As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

Loved it! The story is moving along so nicely; Tessa’s made out with both boys, there’s a mole and you never guess who it is, we find out just how strategically devious Mortmain is and Tessa ends up engaged...to the wrong boy, of course.

Can’t believe I have to wait until November to read the final installment. I mean c’mon Ms. Clare, you have like 5 books out for Mortal Instruments. Which I heard were a lot like Infernal Devices, so I’m on to those next.

Phrases that crack me up: Horrors no (our Hell no), By the angel (our OMG) and Infernal Devices (things that Henry makes that are supposed to work)

Clockwork Angel

by Cassandra Clare
673 pages
(Large Type edition)

When sixteen-year-old orphan Tessa Gray's older brother suddenly vanishes, her search for him leads her into Victorian-era London's dangerous supernatural underworld, and when she discovers that she herself is a Downworlder, she must learn to trust the demon-killing Shadowhunters if she ever wants to learn to control her powers and find her brother.

What’s not to love about this book? It’s my favorite time period (Victorian-era), in one of my fav places (London) about a supernatural underworld with a love triangle. I can't wait to devour the second book.

Fever

by Lauren DeStefano
341 pages

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but they’re still in danger. Outside, they find a world even more disquieting than the one they left behind. Determined to get to Manhattan and find Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan, the two press forward, amid threats of being captured again…or worse. The road they are on is long and perilous—and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and men die at age twenty-five, time is precious. In this sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price—now that she has more to lose than ever.

This second installment of the Chemical Garden trilogy is lame. Rhine and Gabriel are captured again on like page 2, escape again on like page 182 then Rhine literally walks directly back into the arms of Housemaster Vaughn and back to the mansion on like page 302. Really? Let me guess what happens in book 3...Gabriel goes back to the mansion and rescues Rhine...again.

Chopsticks

by Jessica Anthony, Rodrigo Corral
272 pages

After her mother died, Glory retreated into herself and her music. Her single father raised her as a piano prodigy, with a rigid schedule and the goal of playing sold-out shows across the globe. Now, as a teenager, Glory has disappeared. As we flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, we see a girl on the precipice of disaster. Brilliant and lonely, Glory is drawn to an artistic new boy, Frank, who moves in next door. The farther she falls, the deeper she spirals into madness. Before long, Glory is unable to play anything but the song "Chopsticks."

But nothing is what it seems, and Glory's reality is not reality at all. In this stunningly moving novel told in photographs, pictures, and words, it's up to the reader to decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along....

OMG! This is such a great book! I completely loved it. The story, the format, just everything. If you haven’t read it, Google all the YouTube links, it’s so fun, sort of gives more madness to the story. I know what the authors want us to think happened, but I know what I believe :)

420 Characters

by Lou Beach
169 pages


Within this collection of miniature stories, entire worlds take shape—some like our own, some hallucinatory fairylands--populated by heartsick cowboys, random criminals, lovers and drifters. In a dazzling narrative constellation, Beach’s characters contend with the strange and terrible and beautiful in life, and no outcome is certain. Begun as a series of Facebook status updates, 420 Characters marks a new turn in an acclaimed artist and illustrator’s career, and features original collages by the author.

Jonathan Lethem wrote this review (featured on the cover), “Holy sh*t! These are great!”  Mr. Lethem I totally agree.

World of the Hunger Games

by Kate Egan
192 pages

This is the definitive, full-color guide to Panem. Gorgeous photographs from the movie make this a rich visual dictionary for the incredible world that Suzanne Collins created and that has come to life on the big screen. It showcases the major players and participants in The Hunger Games, the life and home of Katniss Everdeen, and the perils of the Games themselves — injuries, fire, muttations, and all the rest. A glossary and new quotes from Suzanne Collins herself complete the package. Fans of both the Hunger Games novels and the stunning forthcoming film will treasure this book.

I didn’t get this during my pre-movie prep time, but went ahead and read through it. It’s actually a great way to get the story and see some movie stills without any *major* spoilers, without reading the book or watching the movie.

Bitterblue

by Kriston Cashore
576 pages
ARC copy

Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle--disguised and alone--to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past. Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn't yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

I was graciously lent this arc copy, which I have been dying to read. But I must say I was left unsatisfied. It just took too many pages for Bitterblue to learn what she must and for them to finally locate and befriend the Dellians -- Lady Fire. And I had read the author's blog, which she says she's so happy about the cover "feeling like Bitterblue" and the significance of the keys. So I was expecting some grandness to the keys. Well, guess, what? They unlock a mystery. Really? And the way Bitterblue comes to own them was sort of anticlimactic for me.


And I like my endings all tidied up, which this story did not give. Yes, very unsatisfied indeed.

Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins
374 pages (X 2)

Continuing my prep for the movie. Still love the story, the characters, everything. They better not screw this movie up.


edited: Posting after I saw the movie. I read and re-read the book the week before the movie premiere. Perhaps it would've been better not to get so engrossed in all the details.

The Hunger Games: the Official Illustrated Movie Companion

by Kate Egan
158 pages

The New York Times bestseller by Suzanne Collins is now a major motion picture -- and this is your guide to all of the movie's excitement, both in front of the camera and behind it. Go behind the scenes of the making of The Hunger Games with exclusive images and interviews. From the screenwriting process to the casting decisions to the elaborate sets and costumes to the actors' performances and directors' vision, this is the definitive companion to the breathtaking film.

More prep for the movie. Still mad that basically the same photo stills and etc. are being used again & again, not much more offered here, than what we see in the trailers, website and etc. Even Effie’s outfit she’s in to promote the nail polish line is the same one we’ve been seeing. At least I don't have to wait too long to see it all!

The Hunger Games Tribute Guide

by Emily Seife
128 pages

Here is the ultimate guide to the twenty-four Tributes participating in Panem's 74th annual Hunger Games. Follow the Tributes' journey from the Reaping to the Games, with a look at all the highlights along the way--the Tribute Parade, the stations of the Training Center, the interviews, and more. Get exclusive information about the Tributes' strengths and weaknesses, their weapons of choice, and their experience in the Capitol before entering the arena.

Prep for the movie. It’s amusing -- it’s told from the Capital point of view.

Supernaturally

by Kiersten White
342 pages

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees. But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself. So much for normal.


A bleeping fantastical sequel!

The Hidden

by Jessica Verday
387 pages

In the long-awaited conclusion to the bestselling saga of Abbey and Caspian, readers finally learn the truth about Kristen's untimely death, the dark destiny that links Abbey to Caspian and ties them both to the town of Sleepy Hollow, and the hard choices that Abbey must make if she is to accept Caspian's love and their unexpected fate. Beautifully spun, emotionally gripping, and irresistibly romantic, The Hidden will leave readers breathless.

Got answers in a one page rant from villain. Not all, but most. Other than making me obsessed with Sleepy Hollow, don’t know if I’m compelled to recommend this series.

The Haunted

by Jessica Verday
467 pages

After a summer spent reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget the boy she fell in love with--the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead--Abbey returns to Sleepy Hollow, ready to leave the ghosts of her past behind. She throws herself into her schoolwork, her perfume-making, and her friendship with Ben, her cute and funny lab partner, who just might be her ticket to getting over Caspian once and for all. But Abbey can never get over Caspian, and Caspian has no choice but to return to her side, for Caspian is a Shade, and Abbey is his destiny. They are tied not only to each other, but also to the town of Sleepy Hollow, and to the famous legend that binds their fates--a legend whose dark truths they are only beginning to guess....

Still didn’t get answers.

The Hollow

by Jessica Verday
515 pages

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead…and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.
Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

This book left everything, everything up in the air. No questions answered, just more questions. And I did not see one of the plot twists at the end. Maybe should have, but I didn’t, so I was like what? Even with all that, I still enjoyed it. I’ve already started the sequel so I can get to those answers!

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour

by Morgan Matson
343 pages

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

After I saw Chelsea’s review, I knew I had to read this, and soon. It was so cute. Road trips + awesome music + a scrapbook + not obviously falling in love (as Chelsea so accurately stated) = the most epic read :)