Monday, September 13, 2010

Book Review: The Candidates (Delcroix Academy Book 1)


 Delcroix Academy, Book One:: The Candidates
The Candidates (Delcroix Academy Book 1) by Inara Scott
Publisher: Hyperion Book  CH
Publish Date: August 24, 2010
Hardcover, 304 pages
Young Adult


My Review:
Why I read this: I love boarding school novels and this one had paranormal elements and sounded really good, plus it was the beginning of a series, and I love series.

How is the novel driven: This one is character and plot driven.  There is time spent in this the first novel in the series getting to know the characters and the surroundings, but I think it's more plot-driven. 


My thoughts:  This book was hard to put down.  As I stated above - I love boarding school novels so that is what attracted me to this, but really the boarding school aspect in this book is different from most books.  This doesn't focus on cliques as much, they are there, but Dancia doesn't want to be noticed or be a member of a popular clique - she wants to fly under the radar and simply learn more about the power she has.  The boarding school seems to be a character of it's own, is it normal or is there something else going on there besides typical learning?

Add in two hot guys, one the most popular guy at the school and the other the bad boy and you have the typical love triangle that is not so typical in this book.  I really like both Jack and Cam for different reasons as does Dancia.  I love the mystery surrounding Jack and the school.  And I like Cam because he does seem to care.  Dancia is a great character, she's trying to figure her power out, but she's not whiny, and she learns in this book she has strength.  She's also not a girl that pines for a boy, in fact she really doesn't want to get involved, she wants to be her own person and I like that in the female leads in YA books.

The book is well-written, the plot moves quickly and since this is part of a series the ending has me eager for the next book so I hope Ms. Scott is writing quickly. 

My Rating: 4.75/5.0

About the Book:
Dancia Lewis is far from popular. And that's not just because of her average grades or her less-than-glamorous wardrobe. In fact, Dancia's mediocrity is a welcome cover for her secret: whenever she sees a person threatening someone she cares about, things just...happen. Cars skid. Structures collapse. Usually someone gets hurt.  So Dancia does everything possible to avoid getting close to anyone, belieiving this way she can supress her powers and keep them hidden.
 
But when recruiters from the prestigious Delcroix Academy show up in her living room to offer her a full scholarship, Dancia's days of living under the radar may be over. Only, Delcroix is a school for diplomats' kids and child geniuses--not B students with uncontrollable telekinetic tendencies.  So why are they treating Dancia like she's special? Even the hottest guy on campus seems to be going out of his way to make Dancia feel welcome.
 
And then there's her mysterious new friend Jack, who can't stay out of trouble. He suspects something dangerous is going on at the Academy and wants Dancia to help him figure out what.  But Dancia isn't convinced. She hopes that maybe the recruiters know more about her "gift" than they're letting on. Maybe they can help her understand how to use it...But not even Dancia could have imagined what awaits her behind the gates of Delcroix Academy.

About the Author:
Inara Scott lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband and children. She is currently hard at work on the next book in the Delcroix Academy series.

Her Website
Blog

FTC Information: I received this book through Book It Forward Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Giveaway: The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard



The Good Daughters: A Novel

Thanks to William Morrow, I have one copy of The Good Daughters, the latest release by author Joyce Maynard to give away to one lucky blog reader.  Simply fill out the form to enter, extra entries are available, but not a necessity to enter.  Good luck - I'll be reading this one later this week so look for a review coming soon.  Open to US/Canada only, ends 9/27.

About The Good Daughters:

They were born on the same day, in the same hospital, into families that could hardly have been less alike. Ruth is an artist and a romantic, with a rich and passionate imaginative life. Dana is a scientist and realist whose faith is firmly planted in what she can see or hear or touch. Yet these two very different women share the same struggle to make sense of their place in a world in which neither of them has ever truly felt she belonged. Told in the alternating voices of Ruth and Dana, "The Good Daughters" follows these birthday sisters as they make their way through the decades, from the 1950s to the present. Master storyteller Joyce Maynard chronicles the unlikely ways the two women's lives intersect - from childhood and adolescence to first loves, first sex, marriage, and parenthood; from the deaths of parents to divorce, the loss of home, and the loss of a beloved partner - until an unavoidable moment when a long-held secret from the past alters everything...

What are you Reading Monday - September 13

Come post weekly and see what others are reading too just so you can add to your tbr - I always do! For more information see Sheila at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books and join in!

Books Completed Last Week 
  • Candor by Pam Bachorz
  • Last to Die by Kate Brady
  • Crusade by  Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie  
  • The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan  
Reading Now:
  • Definitely Dead (audible on my Kindle)
  • Tough Customer by Sandra Brown (audiobook in car)
  • Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich
  • The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
Next:
  • She's Gone Country by Jane Porter
  • Simply from Scratch by Alicia Bessette
  • Re-read of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins to prepare for:
  • Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Reviews completed this week (books read before this week):
Other books still need to review:
  • Wings by Aprilynne Pike (library) 
  • The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (mine)  
  • The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz
  • Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs (audiobook)
  • Matched by Ally Condie (review)
  • Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs (audiobook) 
  • Evermore by Alyson Noel (library)  
  • Spells by Aprylynne Pike (library) 
  • The Candidates: Delacroix Academy by Inara Scott (review) 
  • Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford (review)
  • Nightshade by Andrea Cremer  (review)
  • Manifest by Artist Arthur (review) 
  • Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler (review)
  • Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers (review)
  • The Absolute Value of -1 by Steve Brezenoff (review)
  • God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein (review)
Summary -

Good week - not as much reading time as I would like, but still fun.  Went fishing with my boys, read with the youngest at night.  A new experience.  My oldest learned to read at pre-K and I didn't have anything to do with it.  The youngest didn't learn during pre-K so parents help the children in kindergarten so I've been helping him - it's a lot of fun and the books we are reading bring back a lot of memories of reading with my oldest.

Best of the week:  Last to Die by Kate Brady - excellent romantic suspense - she is now an author on my must-buy list.