Sunday, July 31, 2011

Summer Giveaway Hop



It's time for the Summer Giveaway hop.  This one is hosted by Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not a Writer and there are over 300 blogs participating, so after entering mine, make sure you check through others on the list as well.  Lots of great reading items to win!

My giveaway is for 3 books from my giveaway page which will have more books added to this week (and some taken away - I'm behind on drawing some winners) but there will be plenty of books to choose from and all kinds as well.  I really need to reduce some of my piles!  To enter, it's simple, just fill out the form.  Want a way to keep track of whether you have entered.  Leave a simple comment in the comments (I saw this on another blog and thought it was helpful).  But this is not required, only the form is required.  This is open to US/Canada only.  Giveaway runs August 1 - 7 and I will try to draw a winner by early next week.

If you can't see the form, you can find it here.








Saturday, July 30, 2011

Book Review: Perfectly Invisible by Kristin Billerbeck


Perfectly Invisible by Kristin Billerbeck
Publisher: Revell
Publish Date: July 1, 2011
Paperback, 266 pages
Young Adult
ISBN: 9780800719739
Universally Misunderstood #2





My Review:
I found Perfectly Invisible to be a cute, fun and lighthearted book while still trying to teach a lesson, much like the adult Kristin Billerbeck book I have read.  It is actually the second book in the series, and while I felt I would have benefitted from reading the first book, I wasn't completly lost and felt like as the book went on Ms. Billerbeck did a good job of filling in any holes that I felt were left in the early stages of the book.

The book is about Daisy Crispin and her final few months of high school at a Christian prep school where she is the poorest student there.  I did kind of get tired of her poor me attitude, but realized through the book it was important for her growth in the book for her to be like that.  I actually felt for her through part of the book.  She's just your average everyday confused teenage girl.  She's not sure what is going on with her best friend, her supposed boyfriend or even her parents.  Lots goes on in this book and there is quite a bit of humor and that is what makes the book for me.

I enjoyed watching Daisy grow in this book, and I love the interaction with the various players in her life, her parents, her grandparents, Gil (her boss), her best friends, Max, Chase and many others.  There are a lot of great characters and I hope there is another book to follow Daisy on her next adventure and I plan on going back and finding the first book to read too.


My Rating: 4.0/5.0

About the Book:

Life after high school is so close . . . and yet so very far away.
It's Daisy Crispin's final semester of high school, and she plans to make it count. Her long-awaited freedom is mere months away, and her big plans for college loom in the future. Everything is under control.
Or is it?
Her boyfriend is treating her like she's invisible, and her best friend is making her sell bad costume jewelry in the school quad—and hanging out with her boyfriend. To top it off, Daisy's major humiliation of the year will be remembered in the yearbook for all eternity. It's enough to make her wonder if maybe being invisible isn't so bad after all.
Can Daisy get her life back on track? Or is she stuck in this town forever?

Available July 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

About the Author:
Kristin Billerbeck is the bestselling, award-winning author of several novels, including What a Girl Wants and Perfectly Dateless. She lives with her family in northern California. 
Website
Blog
Facebook 
Twitter


Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life.  They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

For more information, visit www.RevellBooks.com.

***I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  I do not receive money for my amazon links since I live in NC (something about some law), so they are up purely for my readers to have a place to check out the book.***

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Book Review: The Girlz of Galstanberry by Garen S. Wolff








The Girlz of Galstanberry by Garen S. Wolff
Publisher: WolffHouseBooks & Publishing
Publish Date: September 22, 2010
Paperback, 180 pages
ISBN: 978-0615391298
Young Adult, Middle Grades, Fiction

My Review:
An interesting introduction into what looks like a promising middle grade series for girls that is different from a lot of what is out there.  The Galstonberry Academy for Girls brings together five girls who bring a mixture of cultures, social status and ideas about life into one setting where they learn more about themselves and others around them.

I really like the premise for the series and enjoyed the first book.  It should be known up front that the first book is simply a chance to get to know each girl on the day before they leave for Galstanberry.  I really enjoyed this peek into each of their lives in their home situations.  I feel this gives a better feeling for the girls than just starting the series at school.  At a boarding school, it is easy for the girls to reinvent themselves so seeing them in their natural environment will shine a little more light on the girls and decisions they make in further books.  The only time the Academy is really mentioned is in the introduction which tells how the Academy came into being and in the very last chapter when the girls first arrive at school.  Otherwise there is a chapter for each girl and learning about her.

I also like the diversity of the characters.  Brooklyn, NY, Austin, TX, Atlanta, GA, Beverly Hills, MI and San Francisco, CA are the home towns of the 5 girls.  Then there are two white girls, an African-American girl, a Chinese girl and a Puerto-Rican girl, you can't get much more diverse.  I really look forward to seeing how they interact in future books.  I can definitely see budding friendships and friction forming between the individuals.

My one gripe with the book was that it was simply getting to know the girls and not much about when they arrive at Galstanberry, so just be forewarned that this is the case.  But the story is good and I really did like getting to know each girl and now I look forward to the next book in the series which comes out July 4, 2011.


A charming read with girls of all types, a ballerina, a break-dancer, an equestrian competitor, a socialite and a poet make the girls very interesting and the story an intriguing one to follow into the next book.  Ms. Wolff has a knack for writing a middle-school age girl well and I enjoyed her writing.  I just wish there had been a little more to the book.

My Rating:  3.5/5.0

About the Book:
The Girlz of GalstanberryFrom the boroughs of New York, to the beaches of San Francisco, girls hail from all walks of life, to sport the violet blazer, pink beret, and coveted Galstanberry Girl title. The Galstanberry twenty acre estate, flanked by a magnificent rose garden and horse stables, rises up from the horizon like a French chateau with interconnected balustrades and high-spiraling turrets that seemed to touch the clouds. It was constructed in 1926 by Mr. Charles Galstanberry, an earnest gentleman that believed a son to be the only proper heir to the vast family fortune. Yet when Eleanor gave birth to their only child, Aundrea, not Andrew, he vowed to make her as academically astute as her male counterparts. Decades later, 5 girls a spoiled equestrian, funky B-girl, skilled ballet dancer, freestyle poet, and clever debater from different cities, socio-economic backgrounds and ethnicities are admitted into Galstanberry Girls Academy, a now world renowned boarding school in Connecticut. Their varied personalities and backgrounds lead to inevitable drama and internal conflicts. However, with each triumph and tribulation, the girls grow, transforming themselves and the academy.

About the Author:
G.S.Wolff has lived in Boston, New York and Washington D.C. Born and raised in Michigan she attended the prestigious private school Detroit Country Day from Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade. Before receiving her Bachelors Degree in Neuroscience from Wellesley College, she became first author on a groundbreaking scientific publication. She also holds a Master of Science degree from Wayne State University's School of Medicine. In 2010, G.S.Wolff moved to Washington D.C. to conduct research at the National Institute of Health as a Research Award Fellow. It was during this time that, The Girlz of Gawlstanberry, was written as a way to unwind after laboratory experiments. Since Book #1's October 2010 release, it has been featured on blogs in the United States, Canada, and London. Additionally, it has been catalogued in the International Youth Library, which is located in the Blue-ten-berg castle in Munich, Germany. It is the largest library for children and youth literature in the world. Currently, she is a Mathematics professor at Wayne State University. This spring, she will tour London, Paris and Italy with the book, before entering Indiana University School of Medicine as a first year medical student in August 2011.



Website
Blog

Contest:


The Galstanberry team is hosting the Galstanberry Grand Gift twitter contest for US residents only. The prize includes:
1) Book #1
2) Book #2
3) Stickers
4) Bookmark
If bloggers want to participate, they just copy and paste the tweet below:
 
Follow @GalstanberryFan, and RT this for a chance to win the Galstanberry Grand Gift!http://t.co/vdVLz4v #giveaway #contest
 
Once someone tweets this above phrase, they will be automatically entered into the contest. The contest ends July 29 @ 3 p.m.  People can tweet it as many times as they want.




FTC Information: I received this book through The Teen Book Scene to review for the current tour.  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.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Book Review: In Search of the Rose Notes by Emily Arsenault




In Search of the Rose Notes by Emily Arsenault
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publish Date: July 26, 2011
Paperback, 384 pages 
Fiction, Mystery
ISBN:
978-0062046345











My Review:
I just keep lucking up on my reads lately.  In Search of the Rose Notes sounds intriguing from the blurb, but the blurb does not do it justice at all.  The book is so much more.  It's amazing, it's haunting, it's just a great suspense read that kept me turning pages.  I have really been enjoying this different suspense genre that drives the book at a pace that different from the breakneck speeds of a James Patterson or a Brad Thor or the like.  This is character-driven suspense, not action-driven suspense and I am learning that I really like this kind of suspense.

I was drawn in from the first page as you watch the live of Nora, Charlotte and Rose slowly unravel before you.  Switching from the present when Nora has gone back to visit with Charlotte when Rose's remains have finally been found to the past during the time leading up to Rose's disappearance and some afterwards makes the book interesting.  It really gives the characters a chance to develop to see them as budding teenagers and then again as twenty-somethings trying to make sense of this chapter in their lives.

I loved this book and did not put it down.  I would not have if I did not have to go back to work this week and have my husband's birthday fall during this week - pretty inconsiderate of hubby and work, wasn't it, to interrupt a really good book.  I just don't know what else to say, I don't want to give anything away, jusst get your hands on this book any way you can and read it.  It's suspenseful, it has great characters and it will suck you right into Nora and Charlotte's world and won't let you out until the last page is turned.  I'm not even sure it lets you out then since I'm still thinking about them now.  It's just that good.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

About the Book:
Eleven-year-olds Nora and Charlotte were best friends. When their teenage babysitter, Rose, disappeared under mysterious circumstances, the girls decided to “investigate.” But their search—aided by paranormal theories and techniques gleaned from old Time-Life books—went nowhere.
Years later, Nora, now in her late twenties, is drawn back to her old neighborhood—and to her estranged friend—when Rose’s remains are finally discovered. Upset over their earlier failure to solve the possible murder, Charlotte is adamant that they join forces and try again. But Nora was the last known person to see Rose alive, and she’s not ready to revisit her troubled adolescence and the events surrounding the disappearance—or face the disturbing secrets that are already beginning to reemerge.

About Emily Arsenault

Emily Arsenault is the critically acclaimed author of The Broken Teaglass, a New York Times 2009 Notable Mystery. She lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.

Visit Emily at her website.

 

 

 

Emily’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, July 26: Sarah Reads Too Much
Wednesday, July 27: My Reading Room
Friday, July 29: Reviews from the Heart
Monday, August 1: Life In Review
Tuesday, August 2: Reflections of a Bookaholic
Thursday, August 4: Reading Lark
Monday, August 8: The Whimsical Cottage
Tuesday, August 9: Chaotic Compendiums
Wednesday, August 10: A Bookworm’s World
Friday, August 12: Cozy Little House
Monday, August 15: Reviews By Lola
Friday, August 19: “That’s Swell!”

FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher through TLC Book Tours for an honest 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.




Book Feature: In Search of the Rose Notes by Emily Arsenault




In Search of the Rose Notes by Emily Arsenault
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publish Date: July 26, 2011
Paperback, 384 pages 
Fiction, Mystery
ISBN:
978-0062046345



*** My review will be coming later today.  This is an amazing book, twisting suspense, love the back and forth, present and past looks at both girls and the other characters and of course at Rose through the characters, so you can already tell I am excited about this one! ***



About the Book:
Eleven-year-olds Nora and Charlotte were best friends. When their teenage babysitter, Rose, disappeared under mysterious circumstances, the girls decided to “investigate.” But their search—aided by paranormal theories and techniques gleaned from old Time-Life books—went nowhere.
Years later, Nora, now in her late twenties, is drawn back to her old neighborhood—and to her estranged friend—when Rose’s remains are finally discovered. Upset over their earlier failure to solve the possible murder, Charlotte is adamant that they join forces and try again. But Nora was the last known person to see Rose alive, and she’s not ready to revisit her troubled adolescence and the events surrounding the disappearance—or face the disturbing secrets that are already beginning to reemerge.

About Emily Arsenault

Emily Arsenault is the critically acclaimed author of The Broken Teaglass, a New York Times 2009 Notable Mystery. She lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.

Visit Emily at her website.

 

 

 

Emily’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, July 26: Sarah Reads Too Much
Wednesday, July 27: My Reading Room
Friday, July 29: Reviews from the Heart
Monday, August 1: Life In Review
Tuesday, August 2: Reflections of a Bookaholic
Thursday, August 4: Reading Lark
Monday, August 8: The Whimsical Cottage
Tuesday, August 9: Chaotic Compendiums
Wednesday, August 10: A Bookworm’s World
Friday, August 12: Cozy Little House
Monday, August 15: Reviews By Lola
Friday, August 19: “That’s Swell!”

FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher through TLC Book Tours for an honest 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.