In My Mailbox/ Weekly Reading Wrap-Up (4)

This week was a little slow for me reading-wise. I finished Evernight and posted my review here. I also read Burned by Ellen Hopkins (review coming soon). I'm now reading No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July.



My mailbox was also pretty empty this week, sadly. I only got one new book from Bookmooch, The Accidental by Ali Smith. Thanks again to Kristi at The Story Siren for hosting IMM!

Book Blogger Hop

It's Friday! Hopefully soon that will mean more to me than just another day of the week- I finally got a call to interview for the job I've been hoping for. Of course, Friday also means it's time for the Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy-for-Books.

This week's question is: What's your favorite beverage while reading or blogging, if any?

My answer: I LOVE drinking tea while I read (if the weather is cold enough). It's so soothing. If I'm out reading in the sun, I always have a nice cold glass of water next to me. When I'm blogging, I don't typical drink anything. I'm a bit clumsy so I try to keep drinks away from my precious Macbook :)

For those of you participating in the Readathon this weekend, good luck! I wish I had the time to joing you. Thanks for hopping by!

Book Review: Evernight by Claudia Gray

Book: Evernight by Claudia Gray
Published: HarperTeen, 2008
Genre: Young Adult
Buy It: Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads): Bianca wants to escape.
She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.
Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.
"I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would."
But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

My thoughts:  The first 150 pages or so of Evernight, I was trying to figure out what compelled me to check this book out of the library or why I was still reading it. Not much was happening and I was already almost half way through. Bianca was trying to make it through her first semester at the creepy boarding school, Evernight, where her parents were newly employed. She acts like an outcast and hints that there are things that separate those who "belong" there and those who don't. Although the synopsis on the back of the book doesn't mention vampires specifically, it is pretty obvious that this is another teen vampire novel. So where were the vampires?? Not even a real mention of them aside from Bianca's sort of friend, Raquel, who suspects they exist. 
Finally, around the 150 page mark we learn the secrets of Evernight and Bianca's story comes spilling out. Once it started picking up, I found myself unable to put the book down. Eventually we learn that Bianca's boyfriend, Lucas, has a secret of his own, making it near impossible for the two of them to be together. I found Bianca a little annoying with her whole "Lucas belongs to me" attitude, but otherwise she was likable enough. I wasn't really a fan of Bianca and Lucas even before we learned of their true selves. I was rooting for Balthazar to win Bianca over in the end. I think I'll be picking up the next installment in the series, Stargazer. I'm interested to see what becomes of Bianca and Lucas' love story.

The verdict: 3 stars 

Book Review: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Book: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
Published: Penguin, 2000
Genre: Young Adult
Buy It: Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads): Strange, sleepy Rogerson, with his long brown dreads and brilliant green eyes, had seemed to Caitlin to be an open door. With him she could be anybody, not just the second-rate shadow of her older sister, Cass. But now she is drowning in the vacuum Cass left behind when she turned her back on her family's expectations by running off with a boyfriend. Caitlin wanders in a dream land of drugs and a nightmare of Rogerson's sudden fists, lost in her search for herself.
Why do so many girls allow themselves to get into abusive relationships--and what keeps them there? In this riveting novel, Sarah Dessen searches for understanding and answers. Caught in a trap that is baited with love and need, Caitlin must frantically manage her every action to avoid being hit by the hands that once seemed so gentle. All around her are women who care--best friends, mother, sister, mentor--but shame keeps her from confiding in any of them, especially Cass, her brilliant older sister, whose own flight from home had seemed to point the way.
Dessen has here created a subtle and compelling work of literature that goes far beyond the teen problem novel in a story rich with symbolism, dark scenes of paralyzing dread, quirky and memorable characters, and gleams of humor. With the consummate skill and psychological depth that brought her praise for Keeping the Moon, she explores the search for self-identity, the warmth of feminine friendships, and the destructive ways our society sets up young women for love gone wrong.

My thoughts: I enjoy Sarah Dessen when I'm looking for something light and quick to read. I wasn't really familiar with this one and it just so happened that it was very similar to the last book I read, Speak. I think that I would have enjoyed this much more if I had not read two similar novels back to back.  Nonetheless, it still was a quick read for me and I didn't dislike it.
Caitlin has always lived in her older sister, Cass', shadow. Cass is secretly tired of her parents controlling her life and ends up running away with her boyfriend. While Caitlin and her family learn to deal with the temporary loss of Cass, Caitlin is also trying to figure out how to live her life apart from Cass. She begins dating Rogerson, the mysterious rich guy she met at a carwash. Things with Rogerson are great for awhile and get even better when Caitlin learns Rogerson's father beats him. This brings the couple much closer as she is able to help him deal with his abusive father. Things start to take a turn as Rogerson begins to get jealous and angry more often. Suddenly it seems he is no different from his father. To numb the pain, she starts smoking pot regularly and continues spending all of her time with Rogerson trying to keep him happy. Caitlin becomes almost dead inside from all the pain Rogerson has caused her but she still refuses to tell anyone what is going on. She is able to hide her cuts and bruises. The night of her parent's annual April Fools party, her world finally comes crashing down and her secret comes out.
I actually felt that Caitlin was much more likable than Melinda in Speak. She felt real to me. She had developed this connection and love with Rogerson and then suddenly a switch was flipped in him and her life was changed. Although she never seemed to think about leaving him, she recognized that what he was doing to her was wrong. It tore her apart to know that someone who loved her could hurt her so badly. I really hoped that her friend Corinna would figure out what was wrong and save her much earlier, but that didn't happen. The only good thing that came out of Caitlin and Rogerson's relationship was the the friendship she found in Corinna. Her other best friend, Rina (really? Corrina and Rina??) was a pretty awful friend too caught up in her own life to see there was something seriously wrong. I could not stand her. All along, Caitlin was missing someone she could confide in. She got too lost in her own head to save herself. She was trying to step out of Cass' shadow, which she managed to do but in the wrong way. Overall, this was a pretty decent book about abuse in relationships and what NOT to do. A little heavier than the other Sarah Dessen books that I've read, but it offers a good message about speaking up if you or someone you know if the victim of abuse.

My thoughts: 3 stars

Top Ten Tuesday - Favorite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme started by The Broke and The Bookish. This week, we share our top ten favorite authors.

1. J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter is really what got me back into reading in college. After being a voracious reader through elementary and middle school, I didn't read for pleasure in high school too much. In college, I decided to start the HP series when I was bored and got hooked. I'm very grateful to Ms. Rowling for that!
2. Markus Zusak - Both The Book Thief and I Am The Messenger were fantastic books and I can't wait to read more from Zusak.
3. Nicole Krauss - The History of Love really made an impact on me and I've heard so many great things about Great House.
4. J.D. Salinger - The Catcher in the Rye was pretty much the first book I ever classified as my favorite. It was also the first required reading I'd ever really fallen in love with. I know many people dislike Salinger and don't understand this novel but I just love it. Franny and Zooey is the only other I've read so far and I enjoyed it as well.
5. Jonathan Safran Foer - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is one of those fantastic books that stayed with me long after I finished. I have to say, I read Everything Is Illuminated a year or two before EL&IC and I didn't like it much but I think I'm going to give it another go. I also plan to read Eating Animals in the next couple weeks.
6. Ann M. Martin - The Babysitter's Club books were my childhood. I can't make a list like this without including Ann Martin.
7. John Steinbeck - Ok, so I've only read East of Eden, but the writing in it is so good, I'm fairly sure I'll love more of Steinbeck's collection. I'm hoping to get my hands on some of his other works soon to see if he really should be on this list.
8. Augusten Burroughs - He's from the same area I grew up in and he's hilarious. I love reading about his dysfunctional life and recognizing the places he talks about in his books.
9. Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveler's Wife is one of my all time favorite books so I have to add her to the list. While I didn't love Her Fearful Symmetry, I still thought it was an interesting book (you just have to go in knowing it's going to be totally different from TTW).
10. Sylvia Plath - her life was so tragic but she wrote so beautifully. I've read The Bell Jar a couple times now and I think it's one of those books that gets better each time. I've read some of her poetry and I have her journals on my bookshelf waiting to be read as well.

In My Mailbox/ Weekly Reading Wrap-Up (3)

The past week I did quite a bit of reading. I read and reviewed Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I also read Dreamland by Sarah Dessen (I'll be posting my review tomorrow) and am now reading Evernight by Claudia Gray.


Now, here's what was in my mailbox this week!
Won from Goodreads:


Via Bookmooch:


Bought at Salvation Army (and only $3 for the 4 books!):

Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran Foer
Carry Me Down - MJ Hyland
Good Grief - Lolly Winston
Walk Two Moons - Sharon Creech
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
Slam Dunks and No Brainers: Pop Language In Your Life, the Media and Like... Whatever - Leslie Savan

With these new editions to my library, my bookshelf is officially full with unread or books I'm likely to reread. I'm so excited about the prospective of new bookshelf shopping, but I have no idea where it will go in my apartment. As always, thanks to Kristi at The Story Siren for hosting In My Mailbox!

Book Blogger Hop

It's time for another round of the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy for Books! This weeks question is: How do you spread the word about your blog?

My answer: I'm still very new to book blogging so I haven't gotten too deep into promoting my blog yet. I'm working on getting the content on here first before I start looking for tons of followers. I try to participate in a few of the weekly memes, such as this one, Top Ten Tuesday and In My Mailbox. Those have been my main source for promoting the blog so far. I also have a link to my blog on my Goodreads profile. I've been thinking about getting a Twitter account specifically for this blog sometime in the near future as well.