Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genres: Contemporary | Coming of Age
Released: April 1st 2012
Review Source: Purchased

Eleanor is the new girl in town, and she's never felt more alone. All mismatched clothes, mad red hair and chaotic home life, she couldn't stick out more if she tried. Then she takes the seat on the bus next to Park. Quiet, careful and - in Eleanor's eyes - impossibly cool, Park's worked out that flying under the radar is the best way to get by. Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mixed tapes, Eleanor and Park fall in love. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you're 16, and you have nothing and everything to lose. Set over the course of one school year in 1986, Eleanor and Park is funny, sad, shocking and true - an exquisite nostalgia trip for anyone who has never forgotten their first love.

I had really high expectations for this book. There is so much hype surrounding it - John Green even reviewed it on the New York Times. Even after all of that, this book still surpassed my expectations. It’s witty, awkward, heart-wrenching, and so, so beautiful.

Eleanor comes from not-the-best of families - A father who doesn’t want her, a mother who’s stopped caring, and a verbally abusive step dad. Park, however, is the poster-boy for this city - Mom and Dad met in Korea while his dad was deployed in the military, they fell in love and came back to the U.S., and he has a close relationship to his brother.

When Eleanor returns home to her mother, after being kicked out for the past year by her step dad, she dreads having to start over again. That is until she actually starts speaking to the boy she’s sat next to on the school bus for the whole year. Don’t misunderstand the context - it was all baby steps, side glances, and learning one another. Which I think just adds to why these characters are so special.

They are truly in absolute love with each other, even at only 16 years-old. The language just makes your heart swell and an involuntary smile to spread on your face.

Although, I will say, it has one of those endings that leaves you wanting more even if the whole conflict in the story was resolved. I know even if there were to be a book 2, it would never compare to this masterpiece of literature.

There’s not much else I can say about this book other than to get your hands on it and have the best time while reading it. It really is all you can do.

Adaptation News: Tracey Garvis Graves' 'On the Island' Gets Writers!

Great news for fans of Tracey Garvis Graves' ON THE ISLAND novel. The writers they penned The Vow will be writing a new draft of the book. Marc Silverstein and Abby Kohn will take on this new project. 

If your not familiar with On the Island, where do I begin in telling you how amazing this novel is. On the Island was first self-publised by Graves back in 2012 and when the book started blowing up Penguin's Plume grabbed the rights. This story is beautiful, from the setting to the characters. It will sweep you off your feet and transport you to the island with Anna and T.J. and make you fall in love.

You can read my 5 star review I shared back in 2012 where I just gush about how much I loved this novel.

When a story connects with the reader and makes the reader smile, laugh, hurt or cry. That is what I call perfection. I can sit here and type all day how much I fell in love with this story.

(click book cover to purchase)

I truly hope the MGM continues to move forward with this adaptation. On the Island is made to be adapted. I can only imagine which tropical island they would choose to film. 

A little more about the writers, Silverstein and Kohn have written several romance stories such as Never Been Kissed, He's Just Not That Into you, Valentine's Day and of course the most recent The Vow which starred Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams. 

'On the Island' book synopsis:

Two people stranded on an island struggle to survive—and slowly fall in love—in the runaway New York Times bestseller from the author of the forthcoming novel COVET.

Anna Emerson is a thirty-year-old English teacher desperately in need of adventure. Worn down by the cold Chicago winters and a relationship that’s going nowhere, she jumps at the chance to spend the summer on a tropical island tutoring sixteen-year-old T.J.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to go anywhere. His cancer is in remission and he wants to get back to his normal life. But his parents are insisting he spend the summer in the Maldives catching up on all the school he missed last year.

Anna and T.J. board a private plane headed to the Callahan’s summer home, and as they fly over the Maldives’ twelve hundred islands, the unthinkable happens. Their plane crashes in shark-infested waters. They make it to shore, but soon discover that they’re stranded on an uninhabited island.

At first, their only thought is survival. But as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.’s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

Book News: When We Collide on Sale!

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When We Collide
Author: A.L. Jackson
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Released: November 1st 2012 

From the New York Times bestselling author of Lost to You and Take This Regret comes a gripping new tale of loss and love.

William has spent six years running from his past and the last eight months trying to rid his mind of the dreams that increasingly haunt his nights. Trapped in a world of false ambitions and feigned affections, William knows he’s reached a breaking point and something’s going to give.

Maggie had lived her entire life without hope until one man showed her what it meant to be loved. He’d been her light in a lifetime of darkness. Six years ago, that darkness stole him away. Without him, she’s surrendered herself to an existence she doesn’t know how to escape.

When the family William left behind is struck by tragedy, he is called back to the one place he’s sworn to never return to again.

In a moment that will change his life forever, William comes face to face with the girl who, with one look, captured his heart. He is unable to ignore the buried desires and the hope for the future they’d once believed they’d have.

Now William is ready to fight to take back what had been stolen from him six years before.

But he never imagined what that fight might cost him.

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 Excerpt:

“You know him?” Amber asked. 
I glimpsed the confusion on her face. 
William. 
My secret, my heart. 
The beautiful man I’d lain with for hours under the stars, our lives poured out in a torrent of stories and words. The way he held me while I shared the ones that hurt me the most. How he touched me, the way he made me feel incredibly safe. How that hold had escalated from safety to ecstasy as the soft pads of his fingers would dance across my lips when he locked himself to me, the perfect weight of his body, the expression on his face when he came. 
The heartbreak in his eyes when I told him goodbye. 
I knew it all. 
“Yeah.” My voice was soft. “I know him.” 

---

A.L. Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Take This Regret and Lost to You, as well as other contemporary romance titles, including If Forever Comes, Pulled and When We Collide, as well as the New Adult Romance Come To Me Quietly due out January 7, 2014.

She first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student. She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.

Years later, she shared a short story she’d been working on with her two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel. A.L. now spends her days writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three children. Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves.

Book Review: Program 13 by Nicole Sobon

Program 13
The Emile Reed Chronicles #1
Author: Nicole Sobon
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Released: August 12, 2012
Review Source: Author

Recommended for fans of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse!

Two identities. One Body.

17-year-old Emile Reed, may have died, but she isn't dead. Her body now belongs to Program Thirteen, where her every thought, every movement, is controlled. Until Emile begins to find her way back inside of Thirteen's core, where she manages to fend off Thirteen’s programming to reclaim the life that she lost. But Charles McVeigh, the owner of Vesta Corp, isn’t willing to let Thirteen go. And he will stop at nothing to reclaim control of Thirteen's programming. Because without her, McVeigh has nothing.

What makes you human?

Like I've said before, I'm not much of a Sci-Fi person, but I thought the premise was pretty cool, so I gave it a try. I love the cover and the colors go really well together. With self-published books it can be a hit or miss, but I really liked this one. You can tell that a lot of time and consideration was taken into putting it together.

As for as the story goes, I liked it, but I feel that I've read this storyline a few times. The character dies, but then becomes a robot. Her soul is still there inside the robot, but she isn't in control. There's a scientist who doesn't want her to take control and wants her killed. I've seen this plot before in a few books that I've read recently, so it wasn't anything new or inventive about it. I wish there had been something a little more to make it stand out, but in the end, I felt it was a little flat. The writing wasn't all there for me either. I found a few things that I would have liked a little more, but felt like some scenes were cut a little short.

I did like the characters Emile and Colton. I could see myself being friends with Emile and have a crush on Colton. The author did a really good job of making sure the characters weren't flat and had a back story. It did feel a little weird to see the two of them have feelings for one another because she was a robot, but the point of the book was that she had a human soul inside and that's what is important. McVeigh was the "bad guy" and I felt that she did a good job of making him someone you really didn't like.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but felt that I've read it before. I will read the rest in the series to see what happens to Colton and Emile because the ending was the best part of the book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good robot, Science Fiction book.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Realistic Fiction | Drama
Released: January 10th 2012
Review Source: Purchased

Now a Major Motion Picture
TODAY Book Club pick
TIME Magazine’s #1 Fiction Book of 2012

"The greatest romance story of this decade." —Entertainment Weekly

-Millions of copies sold-

#1 New York Times Bestseller
#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller
#1 USA Today Bestseller
#1 International Bestseller
#1 Indie Bestseller

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.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars brilliantly explores the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Hazel Grace Lancaster is intelligent, sophisticated, opinionated, and a sixteen year old lung cancer patient. After attending a support group at “the literal heart of Jesus,” as recommended by her mother and doctor, she meets Agustus Waters. Compassionate, enthusiastic, fearful of oblivion, and an eighteen year old osteosarcoma patient.

This was the first of John Green I’d read, and I was immediately hooked. His characters are well developed and a bit sassy. This story was in no way stereotypical. It was modern, heartfelt, and almost inappropriately hilarious. It gets down to the core of emotion and the love these characters felt for each other. It almost makes you feel as if you actually knew Hazel, Agustus, and Isaac, their best friend.

From comedy to romance, The Fault in our Stars is an easy read that will whittle you down to your most vulnerable self. Timeless and breathtaking.

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I would like to introduce our newest member on the Once Upon a Twilight review team, my beautiful and talented niece Bianca. Bianca is going to be turning sixteen this December and is a Junior in High School but also attends the local college where she is enrolled in advance classes. All I can say is that I am one proud Aunt!!!

So stay tuned for more amazing reviews from Bianca!

Book Review: On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

On the Island
Author: Tracey Garvis Graves
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 10th 2012
Review Source: Plume

Summary: (from goodreads) When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

Its always a amazing experience when you pick up a book and are completely blown away by it and you never expected that book to cause that kind of a feeling. On the Island was that book, I picked it up in the middle of the night after just having finished a great book and hoped basically that it wouldn't suck. That's what all reviewers don't say out loud but think every time you get a book your not too familiar with or its not in the norm of what you read. So if last night someone would have said Yara, when you start reading On the Island, get ready to stay reading all night long, you won't be able to put it down. I would have said, sure will see about that. Its so hard to read books that are amazing back to back. Well my plan last night at reading 1-2 chapters turned into me forcing myself to put the book down at around 5am. Then finishing it at my desk while I worked today. This book is just pure bliss. 

Where to begin on how just truly amazing the book is. This is one of those books, I will tell everyone to read, even random people I don't know. I had no clue that it existed until I got the email from the publisher. I wished somehow I could had heard about the story when Tracey had gone the self-publishing route first. This is why I hardly turn any review queries down. You never know which of those self-published books will be THAT book. Tracey's writing is just so poetic, it flows so nicely when you read each line. Everything she created or describes connects in such a level, you are just enraptured by the story. I don't have a single flaw to point out. When a story connects with the reader and makes the reader smile, laugh, hurt or cry. That is what I call perfection. I can sit here and type all day how much I fell in love with this story. I didn't want it to end and felt a little pang of pain when it did but then I was back in my happy place. On the Island is that book that stays with you hours, days and months after you finished it. 

On the Island is told in 2 point of views. Its based on Anna and T.J. Anna has been offered a really great opportunity to tutor T.J. during the summer while his family vacations in the Maldives islands. How awesome is that, can you imagine, I would have jump on that chance in a heartbeat. T.J. is not your typical teenager, because he is in remission from his cancer. He lost almost 2 years of school and his parents set it up so he can catch up during the summer with Anna's help. The day has arrived for both of them to head to the Maldives from Chicago. The last plane they have to board is booked and they have to jump on a charter plane instead. The pilot is a real nice guy, then the worst happens, the pilot begins to have a heart attack. They all try what they can to save him but he dies before they even hit the water. Anna and T.J. survive and wash on to the shores of one of the many inhabited islands in the Maldives. This is when the true journey begins for Anna and T.J. How will a teacher and a cancer free teenager survive living on this island. You will cry, hurt, suffer and laugh while you read this story and take the journey with Anna and T.J. 

On the Island - remember that title, so when you head to the store or look online, you add it to your reading list. You will not be disappointed. Even though the book is adult, I think the older YA readers will enjoy this story as well. Some YA books have more sexual content or bad words then On the Island. Its a MUST READ this summer!!!! 

Book Review: Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer

Between the Lines
Authors: Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy | Fairy Tales | Romance
Release Date: June 26th 2012
Review Source: Simon Pulse

Summary: (from goodreads) What happens when happily ever after…isn’t? 

Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.

And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.

Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

As a huge fan of Jodi Picoult, I dove into Between the Lines already expecting to thoroughly enjoy it. The idea for this novel was conceived by her teenage daughter and teaming up, they created a magical story together.

Delilah McPhee is a fifteen year old loner who comes across a fairy tale in her school’s library. She immediately feels a connection to the story because Prince Oliver and Delilah have both lost their fathers. However, within the fairy tale, Prince Oliver has become just as intrigued with Delilah. He decides he will try to speak with her and, to his surprise, she hears him! At first, she is determined that she is hallucinating or going insane. She takes the book everywhere with her, reads and rereads it, to the point where her mother thinks she needs to see a psychiatrist.

Slowly, Delilah and Prince Oliver get to know each other. They share their deepest wishes and secrets. He tells her how hard it is to be part of a story and live out the same life over and over. Each time the book is cracked open, the characters must all take their places and play out a story that ends the same every time. He must marry the princess and live happily ever after, even though he’s not even attracted to her. All Oliver can think of is how to escape the story and live a life where he can make his own decisions. He and Delilah start brainstorming and the outcome of these attempts vary from funny to heart-wrenching.

Several of the chapters are straight from the fairy tale, Between the Lines, that Delilah is reading. Those chapters give you some insight to the fairy tale itself and allow you to get to know the other characters, Oliver’s friends. You’ll meet fairies, mermaids, pirates and trolls, but discover they lead a very different life when the book is closed. You will also find several illustrations scattered throughout the novel, which I found very cute. They added a lot to the imagery of the story.

I loved the book and all of its characters. Jodi Picoult did a beautiful job of bringing her daughter’s ideas to us in these pages. Although it’s not her usual genre, she is a master at wrapping the reader up in her stories. I’d recommend it to anyone who believes “Everyone Deserves A Happy Ending”.

Book Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent
Divergent #2
Author: Veronica Roth
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian | Romance | Science Fiction
Release Date: May 1st 2012
Review Source: Harper Teen
Divergent Reviews: Yara's / Deitre's / Ana's

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Insurgent does not deserve trees and much less 5 trees. I want to give Insurgent a 10 on the Richter Scale. Description of a 10 on the scale is: Massive, Extraordinary and Super. Veronica Roth is Dauntless, she writes without fear. You always wonder how an author will top the last book which was a phenomenon. Well let me tell you Insurgent without a doubt in my mind surpassed Divergent. This just gets me infinitely excited about book 3. I have long jumped on the train with this series.

Insurgent continues where we left off after Divergent. Now be warned, if you haven't read Divergent yet, you might get spoiled reading this review. Tris and Four have survived the attacks barely. The factions are not what they once were. The Dauntless are probably the biggest shock of all the factions. Tris wonders if it will ever be the same again. Tris is basically on the run with Four always by her side (swoons) and a small group they have formed, they are trying to discover what happen and where the future leads then too. All this while not getting killed or captured by the enemy, which is pretty much everyone especially their own faction. You don't know who can be controlled at a drop off a dime and turn on you. Tris will have to make some serious life changing decisions, she will have to hurt those that she loves or holds dear to her heart to be able to succeed or at least she thinks that way. Can a girl get any tougher, Tris will have to and then some. 

Roth has created yet another mind-blowing edge of your seats masterpiece here. You will never have a dull moment reading Insurgent. Roth takes everything to the extreme, romance that will curl your toes, action that will tighten your muscles and fear that will make your hairs stand up. Its really simple really. This book is a perfect example of when all the cards fall into place. Roth has a definitely set the standards even higher for the third book. I have no doubt in my mind she will be able to deliver and then some. 

For all those who were won over by Divergent, wait until you read Insurgent. This book will seal the deal for you in blood. Now if you are one of the few that haven't jumped on the train or the building with Divergent, get ready to JUMP for your life. You will jump and never look back once you do. Good thing to since you can read Divergent then Insurgent right after, without having to wait a full year like most of us did.

What are parts or moments that stood out, well for instance like when Insurgent made its appearance, I applaud how Roth voiced it in her book. The relation ship between Tris and Four, its real. Its doesn't stand out for being cheesy or something you just don't see in real life. They go through a lot together and fight and make-up just like the rest of us. That's REAL, since we know not everything in life is like a fairy tale. 

So what will YOU be doing on May 1th???? READING INSURGENT OF COURSE!!!!!  Happy Reading!!!

CHeck out all the lasts updates on #TeamDauntless and #DivergentNation right HERE. Don't miss any of the fun and unique giveaways we have for all those that join #TeamDauntless. 

http://bit.ly/dauntlessfaction

http://bit.ly/choose_dauntless

Book Review: In Honor by Jessi Kirby

In Honor
Author: Jessi Kirby
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Release Date: May 8th 2012
Review Source: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Honor receives her brother's last letter from Iraq three days after learning that he died, and opens it the day his fellow Marines lay the flag over his casket. Its contents are a complete shock: concert tickets to see Kyra Kelly, her favorite pop star and Finn's celebrity crush. In his letter, he jokingly charged Honor with the task of telling Kyra Kelly that he was in love with her.

Grief-stricken and determined to grant Finn's last request, she rushes to leave immediately. But she only gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn's best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn't seen him in ages, thanks to a falling out between the two guys, but Rusty is much the same as Honor remembers him: arrogant, stubborn. . . and ruggedly good looking. Neither one is what the other would ever look for in a road trip partner, but the two of them set off together, on a voyage that makes sense only because it doesn't. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn--but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences?

I honestly enjoy when a genre I normally don't read puts a smile on my face. In Honor affected me in so many great ways. I knew going in that this book should be great since I loved reading Moonglass also by Kirby. You still have a small tiny fear that "What if I don't like it". That was definitely not the case here. I loved In Honor. It was the prefect book to read at the perfect time.  Its truly all kinds of Amazing!! 

In Honor is the story of Honor. She is a recent high school graduate that is set to head off to college in Austin, TX. This should be the happiest time in Honor's life, but it's not. Honor just laid to rest her brother. Her older brother was killed in action over in Iraq. Honor received the news a few weeks before and it still feels very unreal to her. She still believes her brother is overseas but not dead. The amount of grief Honor is feeling, just breaks your heart. From how she describes her brother throughout the book, its like you yourself lost a great family member. He seemed to be the all around good guy that help everyone and always took care of his own. 

Honor finally gets the courage to open a letter that arrived from her brother 3 days after they received the news that he was dead. She opens the letter the day he was laid to rest. She is determined to fulfill what her brother has requested in the letter, so she jets off on her journey. This journey is to take her all the way from TX to CA to catch a final concert that her brother got her tickets for and told Honor to tell the singer about her big bother. She decides skipping orientation week at college is not as important as fulfilling her brothers wishes. So in the drive-way ready to go after she has lie to her aunt she runs into Rusty. Rusty is her brother's ex-best friend. He sits in the passenger side questioning were she is going before passing out from how drunk he is. So Honor leaves with him passed out. Little does Honor know that this road trip will be the trip of a lifetime. A lot can happen in thousands of miles of road with a old Impala and your brother's old drunk friend. Will Honor and Rusty make it to the concert? Is Honor ready to talk about and find out truths that were hidden from her. Sometimes the truth hurts a lot more than the lie. 

This book sealed the deal. What I mean by that is that anything Jessi Kirby publishes, I will read. Her writing is so honest and detailed. I think that is the main reason the book connects immediately with me and probably with anyone who will read it. If you have never read any of Jessi's books, you will want to. Jessi and Holly Cupala write realistic fiction like its no one's business. Mark your calendars for May 8th when In Honor is released.