November Top 5

Every month I come up with the top five books I read that month. I'm a little behind on reviews (as you can probably tell by my left side bar) so the reviews for these books are coming up early in December. But I still think it's worth mentioning these books. This is my way of distinguishing what I loved to what I freaked out about. My mom asked me this week if I just love everything I read - and while I like a lot of things (I do dislike books every now and again) I do have my books that surpass others and become the ones that jump into my head any time I'm asked for recommendations. These books are the ones that stood out to me this month.

1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

This book is definitely in my top five for the entire year and has made it onto my top favorite YA books EVER. It's so imaginative and gorgeous. It's not only an incredible and unique story - the way that it's told is so magnificent. I can't praise this book enough - you just have to read it.

2. The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

This one I have actually reviewed, and you can read that here. This was a great November release. I love that it's a cross between a dystopia and a fairy-tale, which makes it feel different than other dystopias. I also had a lot of fun putting together a playlist for this novel, which you can check out here. 

3. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

This one just makes me want to sigh with far off wonderment. Theres something so magical in this story. It's written with such grace, especially for such a brutal setting, that it just wraps you in its pages until it becomes a part of who you are.


4. Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Okay, so over Thanksgiving break I went on a total contemporary kick. I usually read a contemporary book here and there, but I just plowed through one right after the other. And this one completely shocked me. I expected it to be pretty fluffy, nothing too important. Imagine my surprise when there was actually an important reflection on social conventions that surfaced at the end.


5. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Part of my contemporary marathon. I've been meaning to read this book for ages and I finally picked it up. I fell in all kinds of love with everyone in this book. Another really great, really raw, portrayal of high school life. And it's from a new voice - the girl who always feels like a sidekick. I think most girls will be able to relate to this story.


What were your top reads this month?

I Love Dark YA Blogfest and Giveaway Winner

This is the last day of the I Love Dark YA Blogfest, hosted by YAtopia. Which is sad. This has been a fun month. But today we are all looking ahead to the dark YA book we are most anticipating (of course I can't pick just one...) so if you need some books for your TBR lists, today is a good day to hop (you can find the list of participants by clicking the I Love Dark YA picture here to the left). 






Here are just a few of the Dark YA books coming out that I can't wait for:

Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
Release Date: July 3, 2012
Synopsis: A girl and a vampire fall madly in love... The girl's best friend is deeply unimpressed.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Synopsis: Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction. 
As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions. 
They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY.

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
Release Date: June 12, 2012 
Synopsis: Generations ago, a genetic experiment gone wrong—the Reduction—decimated humanity, giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.
Eighteen-year-old Luddite Elliot North has always known her place in this caste system. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. But now the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress and threatening Luddite control; Elliot’s estate is floundering; and she’s forced to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliott wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she abandoned him.
But Elliot soon discovers her childhood friend carries a secret—-one that could change the society in which they live…or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she has lost him forever.
Inspired by Jane Austen’s PERSUASION, FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

2012 is going to be an incredible year for books - and these are just a few that I'm really excited about. But I want to know what you're looking forward to! Leave me a comment with what you're anticipating (I'm fishing for TBR suggestions here! - Not because I need them, but because I want them)

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And finally - the winner of the Dark YA giveaway is:

Sarah!

I've sent an email (make sure you check your spam folder) so get back to me within the next 48 hours with your book choice. Can't wait to see what book you choose!

All These Things I've Done - Gabrielle Zevin

Synopsis: In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

It's prohibition for the future. I love this world - well, not love, because it would suck if coffee and chocolate were illegal. But the imagination and possibilities here are endless. It's a probable future, in which all resources are scarce and a lot of things are illegal. It's been classified as dystopian, but I don't think it really fits into this category. No one is trying to pull this off as a perfect example of a society - it's one that's riddled with crime and power-struggles - no one is hiding that. I think maybe it was marketed as a dystopia because it definitely appeals to dystopia-addicts like me. There's plenty of corruption, turmoil, and really strong and interesting characters to rise up in the face of it all. 


Lately, I've been really interested in generation gaps. Each generation has to deal with the choices of those who came before them, and often it comes down to a handful of people who make new choices to affect change. It often comes to needing to understand the way the generation before was brought up, what they valued, and why things changed by the time the next generation rises. This book explores these things in depth. Since it's so far in the future, the teens of today are represented through Anya's bed-ridden grandmother. She knows the meaning behind mysterious references like OMG. What I find interesting, is that she's the only figure left to really guide Anya - so even though it's in the future Gabrielle Zevin brings it back to make it relevant to teens today. 


But Anya is a member of a mob family and she has to work very hard against that image she is saddled with. Her life is directly affected by the reputation of her father and the balance of the family chocolate business after he's gone. Her task isn't easy - especially with her siblings to take care of and her fierce sense of family over everything else. Anya is always quoting her father and trying to follow all the things he's taught her - especially to protect her family - but at the same time she's trying to break away from feeding into the corruption. I just loved watching her try and use her father's wisdom for something good and learning that she has her own strength - and I can't wait to see what she does with that in the next book. 


This book seems really important to me - but there's fun things too. Like coffee becomes the new booze - you can only get it at speakeasys and Anya's ex is an addict. I found it highly amusing whenever Anya would think - Man, I can tell he's been drinking coffee. I can smell it on his breath - the same way you might think a girl would groan over her clearly drunk boyfriend. It's funny - the fine line between vices - booze/coffee, drugs/chocolate - because I know our generation often substitutes such things. Most of us need a caffiene fix to get through the day, or high doses of chocolate to drown our stress.


I definitely recommend this book - I loved it so much and I'm anxiously waiting the next book - because I have a feeling it's going a place more powerful. I'm also posting this awesome video of Gabrielle Zevin talking about the places in New York that inspired her story. This makes me want to go to New York. But the New York of today, not the one Anya lives in, because I do need my coffee...

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The Name of the Star - Maureen Johnson

Synopsis: The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper in the autumn of 1888.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police now believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.


Sure, on the surface this book could be classified as paranormal with a protagonist who sees ghosts. But, oh man, it's so much more than that. The narrative is so deliciously layered - it's one of those books you could read over and over and find something different, or a new way to look at it every time. I absolutely love the way Maureen Johnson took one of the first highly publicized murders and brought it into a contemporary time. 


I just love the theatricality of the whole thing. There's a commentary on media in this book, as the mimicking of the Jack Ripper murders become highly publicized. The media feeds the fear and hysteria - while the fear and hysteria feed the media. It's a vicious cycle completely fed by the unknown. Something actually terrifying is going on, yet it doesn't feel like it is the main focus. Someone dies, and that should be enough, but it seems people only die because it's a good story. But that's the reason Jack the Ripper is so popular - there was never any explanation as to why he was murdering people - just a lot of theories, which became good stories. 


This book held a spell over me - up until the end when things slipped too far into the paranormal and further away from reality - that got to be a little much and it didn't really seem fitting with the beginning of the story. However, I still see a purpose in that, especially if we're looking at the way things can spiral out of control until it becomes something unreal. 


And of course - how do you not love a book that not only transports you to England - but to both historical and present day London. I really wished I was there following Rory up and down the streets and through the pubs. Even if it's a dangerous place to be in Maureen Johnson's world, I still wish I could have been there and been a part of it. Although, with the way she brings other random Londoners in, who are experiencing this Rippermania, you do end up feeling like you've been pulled into the chaos. 


The Name of the Star is definitely worth reading - and I think it's a great demonstration of the literary merit of the paranormal YA genre. Because not only is it a great, interesting story, but it's so expertly written, and it's a not-always-pleasant reflection of our social norms. 

YAllFest

This last weekend I was lucky enough to be able to go to YAllFest, which was held at Blue Bicycle books in downtown Charleston, SC. I visited Charleston when I was younger and fell in love, so I took this as an opportunity to take a bit of a vacation - as well as to geek out about meeting some of my favorite authors. The short version of my weekend - Askajavabaskinfracking Incredible. Yes, I made up that expression, but I don't think there's an expression that exists to explain how great YAllfest was. Mostly, it was just a cluster of incredible people - authors and readers - and it never fails to amaze me how embracing and supportive the YA community is. 

So here's just a FEW of the fantastic authors I got to meet:

I may have gushed all over - but it's me
and ANDREA CREMER!!!

Me and Margaret Stohl! 

Me and Beth Revis!

Me and Carrie Ryan!!

I'll also have more pictures posted to my Facebook page. 
But for some bonus pics - 

The day was topped off by all 26 authors gathering on stage and competing in story contests. It was hosted by Kaleb Nation and judged by Sarah Rees Brennan. Basically it was silly awesomeness. 

Sarah Rees Brennan (probably the
coolest person ever) judging!

Carrie Ryan turning into a zombie to take out
Caitlin Kittredge and Kimberly Derting. 

David Levithan making up
part of a story. 

Team Dystopia are crowned winners -
Carrie Ryan, Caitlin Kittredge,
Kimberly Derting, Beth Revis,
and Maragaret Stohl

The whole day was just so wonderful and I had so much fun. I brought back tons of signed books and I'm going to share some with you! Later on I'll be giving away a copy of Beautiful Chaos signed by both authors - but right now I'm giving away a signed copy of The Pledge by Kimberly Derting! Click HERE to go to the giveaway!

THE PLEDGE Giveaway!

At YAllFest I picked up an extra signed copy of The Pledge for one lucky winner! 

This book is incredible - I love it so much! You can read my review HERE!

So here are the guidelines for this contest: 

• You must be 13 or older to enter.
• This contest is US only.  
• Fill out the Rafflecopter form below - you can only enter once -but you can tweet once every day.
• You must be a blog follower to enter. There are also optional ways to gain extra entries.
• This contest will run until December 1st, 11:59 PM Central Time. 
• Winner will be announced by email - if you win you have 48 hours to respond before I pick a new winner.
• 
  Good luck and thanks for entering!
  
  
  ALSO - This is a super special copy of the book - because - Kimberly Derting accidentally ripped the page and then she apologized! How many other people have signed books that are like this one?? 
  
  
  
  
  
  

The Pledge - Kimberly Derting

Synopsis: In the violent country of Ludania, the language you speak determines what class you are, and there are harsh punishments if you forget your place—looking a member of a higher class in the eye can result in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina (Charlie for short) can understand all languages, a dangerous ability she’s been hiding her whole life. Her only place of release is the drug-filled underground club scene, where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. There, she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy who speaks a language she’s never heard, and her secret is almost exposed. Through a series of violent upheavals, it becomes clear that Charlie herself is the key to forcing out the oppressive power structure of her kingdom….

This book makes me all melty. The way this story unfolds is so magical that somehow Kimberly Derting makes a war-torn dystopian society into an enchanted place. I keep thinking that I want to escape into this world, and then I have to remind myself that they have bombs dropping on them and people being hung in the square every weekend. There's plenty of darkness, but it's one of those situations where you have to make it dark so you can see the light. Because there are parts of this book that are just dazzling. 

Charlie is one of those girls you wish you could be - she's an extraordinary girl with brains, guts, and wonderful self-preservation skills that you can be envious of. Plus, she can understand languages easily, which, even though it could potentially get her killed, is something I've always wished I was able to do. Her best friend seems to be her opposite, but she's an awesome part of the novel. In fact, all the secondary characters are so solid and they all give the impression that they have their own secrets that could at any minute completely change the whole story. 

Charlie lives in a dystopian society, but it has hints of fairy-tale magic to it. The country is ruled by a queen, who is growing old and looking for a replacement. She has plenty of male heirs, but they mean nothing to her, so that inverse of monarchy is interesting. I also love the way classes are divided by languages, something that is completely isolating. Yet, because Charlie can understand all languages, you never feel like your exploration of this world is limited, it's just dangerous. The city Charlie lives in also feels a lot like Berlin in wartime - mostly because of the prevalence of clubs and celebration of youth even with the background of violence. 

What really pushed this book over the top from - I love this book- to I freaking love this book, was that every aspect - from secondary characters, to classification, to history, even the club scenes - all held specific purpose and contributed to larger themes. There is so much you can pull out of this book as a reflection on the state of our own society.  Then, the parallels that are drawn to show the relationship between love and war are just wonderful. It's so subtle, but it's there. In love and war - you have to follow your instincts, you need to protect yourself, you have to take extraordinary risk, and every once in awhile - surrendering means winning. 

I love. love. love. this book. I highly recommend it. It came out on Tuesday (November 15) so it's now available, and I suggest you run out and get a copy as soon as you can. It's the first in a trilogy, so I can't wait to see where it's going to go next. I got to meet Kimberly Derting at YAll Fest this last weekend (which was incredible!) - so I'll be giving away a signed copy. I'll have that contest up tomorrow, so check back! 

THE PLEDGE Playlist

This week for the I Love Dark YA Blogfest, hosted by YAtopia, we were to build a playlist or a movie cast for a dark YA book. I went with playlist - because I've been very out of the movie thing and don't know half the actors people talk about these days. 
This playlist is for The Pledge by Kimberly Derting (which is an incredible book!) And making this playlist I'm recognizing all the connections between love and war. I loved putting this list together so let me know what you think! If you've read the book what songs would be on your playlist?


If you haven't read the book yet here's the synopsis, so you can get the general idea behind the playlist: 

In the violent country of Ludania, the language you speak determines what class you are, and there are harsh punishments if you forget your place—looking a member of a higher class in the eye can result 

in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina (Charlie for short) can understand all languages, a dangerous ability she’s been hiding her whole life. Her only place of release is the drug-filled underground club scene, where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. There, she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy who speaks a language she’s never heard, and her secret is almost exposed. Through a series of violent upheavals, it becomes clear that Charlie herself is the key to forcing out the oppressive power structure of her kingdom…

So here's my playlist - I was going to go in order, but yeah, that didn't work well. Plus, I don't want to spoil anything. I'm listing the songs along with a couple lyrics that made me think of The Pledge while listening to the song. 

Songs for the Love Story: 

1. Awake My Soul - Mumford & Sons (my favorite song for this book)
"How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes/ I struggle to find any truth in your lies/ and now my heart stumbles on things I don't know/ My weakness I feel I must finally show."

"In these bodies we will live/ In these bodies we will die/Where you invest your love/ You invest your life." 

2. Your Own Love - VersaEmerge 

"Don't you know I'm still here/ You think you're better all alone."

3. Only You - Cartel
"Then we fall back now to this empty house/ There the wars will rage/ And if you leave me now in this empty house/ Baby, it's okay."


4. Shy That Way - Tristan Prettyman and Jason Mraz
"You know you're stunning/ you're absolutely stunning/ but you're always running/ but I'll catch up to you." 


Songs For Charlie:


5. The Pretender - Foo Fighters
"What if I say I'm not like the others?/ What if I say I'm not just one of your plays?/ You're the pretender/ What if I say I'll never surrender?" 


6. No Giving Up - Crossfade
"So you found out today that you're life's not the same/ Not quite as perfect as it was yesterday but/ When you were just getting in the groove/ Now you're faced with something new..."


7. Let The Rain - Sara Bareilles 
"I hold on to worry so tight/ It's safe in here right next to my heart/ Who now shouts at the top of her voice/ Let me go, let me out, this is not my choice."


Songs for the War and Dystopia:


8. Sleep Through the Static - Jack Johnson
"Shock and awful thing to make someone think/ That they have to choose pushing for peace supporting the troops/ And either you're weak or you'll use brute force-feed the truth/ The truth is we say not as we do."


9. The Youth - MGMT
"In a couple of years/ Tides have changed from booze to tears/ And in spite of the weather/ We could learn to make it together// The youth is starting to change."


10. Justice and Mercy - Flyleaf
"We're human, we reason, we're breathing, protecting/ The living and dying, surviving, we're trying/ to breathe in safety/ come home safely."