The Treasure Map Of Boys by E. Lockhart

The Treasure Map Of Boys
E. Lockhart
Release Date: July 28, 2009
Delacorte Press
Pages: 256
Reading Level: 12 & up

Rating: 4 stars

Ruby is back at Tate Prep, and it’s her thirty-seventh week in the state of Noboyfriend. Her panic attacks are bad, her love life is even worse, and what’s more:

Noel is writing her notes, Jackson is giving her frogs, Gideon is helping her cook, and Finn is making her brownies. Rumors are flying, and Ruby’s already-sucky reputation is heading downhill.

Not only that, she’s also: running a bake sale, learning the secrets of heavymetal therapy, encountering some seriously smelly feet, defending the rights of pygmy goats, and bodyguarding Noel from unwanted advances.

In this companion novel to The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book, Ruby struggles to secure some sort of mental health, to understand what constitutes a real friendship, and to find true love—if such a thing exists.

This was a really cute book. It would be a really good read for just lounging around reading on a summer day or something. It's not a real complicated plot so it was easy to get (which was good, as I hadn't read the previous 2 Ruby Oliver books).
Ruby's character was really fun and tries to do the best. You can't help but to love her through all the things she does!

In My Mailbox (5/25-5/30)

In my mailbox was started by Kristi over at The Story Siren! In My Mailbox is a way to share the books you received each week.

This week I received 3 books:


Strange Angels
by Lili St Crow
Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.)
Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?
I'm really excited to read this one, it looks really good!


Waiting For You
By Susane Colasanti
Derek
Friendly and popular
Style: Cali surfer boy
Awesome at flirting
Future career: landscape architect
Boyfriend potential: high

Nash
Shy but sweet
Style: totally geeked out
Only talks to girls when absolutely necessary
Future career: robotics engineer
Boyfriend potential: none

Derek is clearly the boy Marisa's been waiting for, but there's just one problem. He has a girlfriend. Nash is wrong for Marisa, but he wants to take care of her. As if life wasn't complicated enough, Marisa's also dealing with overcoming a major problem from her past, a family that's falling apart, and a best friend who won't stop talking to sketchy guys online. Only the anonymous DJ, who has the school's ear with his underground podcasts, seems to get what Marisa's going through. But she has no idea who he is - or does she?
I'm so excited to read this one! I loved Susane Colasanti's other 2 books, so I can't wait to read anothher. I got this one thanks to a contest over at The Reviewer X



The Girl Who Stopped Swimming
By Joshilyn Jackson
Laurel Gray Hawthorne needs to make things pretty, whether she's helping her mother make sure the very literal family skeleton stays buried or turning scraps of fabric into nationally acclaimed art quilts. Her estranged sister Thalia, an impoverished Actress with a capital A, is her polar opposite, priding herself on exposing the lurid truth lurking behind middle class niceties. While Laurel's life seems neat and on track--a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in suburban Victorianna--everything she holds dear is suddenly thrown into question the night she is visited by the ghost of a her 14-year old neighbor Molly Dufresne.

The ghost leads Laurel to the real Molly floating lifelessly in the Hawthorne's backyard pool. Molly's death is inexplicable--an unseemly mystery Laurel knows no one in her whitewashed neighborhood is up to solving. Only her wayward, unpredictable sister is right for the task, but calling in a favor from Thalia is like walking straight into a frying pan protected only by Crisco. Enlisting Thalia's help, Laurel sets out on a life-altering journey that triggers startling revelations about her family's guarded past, the true state of her marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming
This one sounds really interesting too! This one is from a contest via Mary at Bookfan-Mary


What'd you guys get this week?

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

The Awakening
Kelley Armstrong
Release Date: April 28, 2009
Harper Collins
Pages: 368
Reading Level: Young Adult

Rating: 5 stars

If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

Now I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.


Wow! The Awakening was just as great as The Summoning. I loved every minute of it!
The plot was exciting, never letting up for a moment. What Kelley Armstrong had in The Summoning just kept growing and getting better in The Awakening.
Throughout The Awakening, you see the characters develop more and more, learning more about them. You learn not only more about the characters themselves, but their powers and how they work. It's interesting watching the relationship between Derek and Chloe. I want to know exactly what it all means. At different points in the book, I thought I'd finally find out, but no luck. :)
The book ends with a great ending, leaving you pining for the next book just as The Summoning had.
This book essentially just wowed me to no end. I loved it! And am now more impatient than ever for next year to come so The Reckoning will be released :)

Castration Celebration by Jake Wizner

Castration Celebration
Jake Wizner
Release Date: May 26, 2009
Random House
Pages: 304
Reading Level: Young Adult

Rating: 4 stars

It’s High School Musical—rated R!

When the girl who’s foresworn men meets the boy who’s devoted himself to picking up women, there’s bound to be drama—perfect for a sixweek summer program devoted to the arts. Olivia’s summer goal: to write a musical that censures men with wandering eyes. Max’s summer goal: to hone his acting skills, along with his talent for attracting the ladies. Before camp is over, they’ll perform Olivia’s musical onstage and in real life—though the ending may turn out differently than either expects.

Jake Wizner’s story within a story takes the battle of the sexes to a whole new level in a bawdy, uproarious romp that’s laugh-out-loud fun.


This was an interesting book... Pretty much the entire thing was hilarious. Though this book may not be the book for everyone.
It was well-written, and I liked the format it was written. The main character, Olivia, is writing a play and you switch between reading about what's actually going on at the summer arts program at Yale, and her play.
Though, the whole part about Olivia playing hard to get and that Max keeps going for it. All the stuff she does is just rididulous and to me was annoying to read. The other characters were great though, Trish and Zeke were my 2 favorites.

Waiting on Wednesday (3) - Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

Waiting on Wednesday is a topic brought to life by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. In it, you get to introduce to everyone the books you're looking forward in the upcoming year and such.



Blue Moon (Book 2 in the Immortal Series)
Alyson Noel
Release Date: July 7, 2009
St. Martins Griffin
Pages: 304
Reading Level: Young Adult

Just as Ever is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an immortal, initiated into the dark, seductive world by her beloved Damen, something terrible is happening to him. As Ever's powers are increasing, Damen's are fading—stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life.

Desperate to save him, Ever travels to the mystical dimension of Summerland, uncovering not only the secrets of Damen's past—the brutal, tortured history he hoped to keep hidden—but also an ancient text revealing the workings of time. With the approaching blue moon heralding her only window for travel, Ever is forced to decide between turning back the clock and saving her family from the accident that claimed them—or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows weaker each day...

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Evermore (The Immortal Series)
Alyson Noel
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: February 3, 2009
Pages: 301
Reading Level: Young Adult

Rating: 5 stars

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, Ever can see auras, hear people's thoughts, and know a person's entire life story by touch. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen.

Damen Auguste is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head—wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can see straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. She has no idea just who he really is—or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

I could not wait to get my hands on Evermore! I had read Alyson Noel's other books, and could not wait to read another! I absolutely loved it! I read straight through this one.
The world Noel created was fascinating. It was exciting and kept you interested. The writing was great, you really felt like you were with Ever.
Ever's character was intriguing. I could really feel for her, what she was going through. Damen was interesting, but you did not find out as much about him or feel for him as much. Not much of a backstory was given, but maybe that's to come? Miles was one of my favorite characters. Something about him was just very agreeable. Haven was a great character. She was different and realistic. Drina was interesting as well, but there could have maybe been a bit more to her.
I thought the cover was absolutely beautiful.
I simply cannot wait for Blue Moon, book 2 in the Immortal Series. I read the preview in the back of Evermore, and it sounds just amazing!

Also, I'd just like to add this. I've heard so many comparisons of Evermore to Twilight, and I really do not get it. They are completely different. Everything these days is compared to Twilight...

How To Buy A Love Of Reading by Tanya Egan Gibson

How To Buy A Love Of Reading
Tanya Egan Gibson
Pages: 400
Publisher: Dutton Adult (May 14, 2009)

Rating: 4.5 stars

Fall in love with reading all over again.

To Carley Wells, words are the enemy. Her tutor’s innumerable SAT flashcards. Her personal trainer’s “fifty-seven pounds overweight” assessment. And the endless reading assignments from her English teacher, Mr. Nagel. When Nagel reports to her parents that she has answered “What is your favorite book” with “Never met one I liked,” they decide to fix what he calls her “intellectual impoverishment.” They will commission a book to be written just for her --- one she’ll have to love --- that will impress her teacher and the whole town of Fox Glen with their family’s devotion to the arts. They will be patrons --- the Medicis of Long Island. They will buy their daughter The Love Of Reading.

Impossible though it is for Carley to imagine loving books, she is in love with a young bibliophile who cares about them more than anything. Anything, that is, but a good bottle of scotch. Hunter Cay, Carley’s best friend and Fox Glen’s resident golden boy, is becoming a stranger to her lately as he drowns himself in F. Scott Fitzgerald, booze, and Vicodin.

When the Wellses move writer Bree McEnroy --- author of a failed meta-novel about Odysseus’ failed journey home through the Internet --- into their mansion to write Carley’s book, Carley’s sole interest in the project is to distract Hunter from drinking and give them something to share. But as Hunter’s behavior becomes erratic and dangerous, she finds herself increasingly drawn into the fictional world Bree has created, and begins to understand for the first time the power of stories --- those we read, those we want to believe in, and most of all, those we tell ourselves about ourselves. Stories powerful enough to destroy a person. Or save her.


This was definitely a page turner! I loved it. It took a few chapters to really get into the book, then I had a hard time putting it down. Tanya Egan Gibson really spins a unique story. The plot is really unique, which really got my attention. Also, she writes in different point of views, which generally makes a story better. You hear from the main character Carley, her best friend Hunter, the author Bree, and a few others. It's really interesting hearing insight from more than one or two characters.
Also the ending is really unsuspected. You don't really consider it. Gibson leaves you with a definite ending, but two possibilities of what it meant, which leaves you pondering.
All the characters were realistic, and as the story goes on you see each grow in their own individual ways, some for the better, while others for the worse. You find yourself really feeling for the characters as they encounter problems.

Overall, it was a great debut novel, I'd definitely recommend it to everyone!

Waiting on Wednesday (2) - The Law of Nines by Terry Goodkind

Waiting on Wednesday is a topic brought to life by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. In it, you get to introduce to everyone the books you're looking forward in the upcoming year and such.



The Law Of Nines
Terry Goodkind
Release date: 8/18/09


The #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers a stunningly original thriller in this powerful page-turner.

Trouble will find you

They watch you through mirrors…

“Your mother was twenty-seven when it came to her. Now you’re twenty-seven, and it’s come to you.”

The skin of Alex’s arms tingled with goose bumps. By her twenty-seventh birthday insanity had come to his mother….

Turning twenty-seven may be terrifying for some, but for Alex, a struggling artist living in the mid-western United States, it is cataclysmic. Inheriting a huge expanse of land should have made him a rich and happy man; but something about this birthday, his name, and the beautiful woman whose life he just saved, has suddenly made him — and everyone he loves — into a target. A target for extreme and uncompromising violence…

Where do you turn when your own reflection spells doom?

In Alex, Terry Goodkind brings to life a modern hero in a whole new kind of high-octane thriller.


This one probably the one book I'm looking most forward to for the rest of the year! Terry Goodkind is my favorite author!

New YA Book Forum!

Check out this new YA book club forum!

http://yabookclub.50.forumer.com/index.php?sid=6eefb50da100f77781f6464795a52506

If you join, please say that "TheBookCellar" recruited you on this thread:

http://yabookclub.50.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=18

Thanks, and enjoy!

Author Recommendation!

Ok, so I'm a major fan of Terry Goodkind's Sword Of Truth. Basically, the series was turned into a mini series, and the season finales this weekend. So in honor in that I thought I'd do an review of Terry Goodkind as a whole in reference to his entire series consisting of 11 books and 1 prequel.

1. Wizard's First Rule

2. Stone Of Tears

3. Blood Of The Fold

4. Temple Of The Wind

5. Soul Of The Fire

6. Faith Of The Fallen

7. Pillars Of Creation

8. Naked Empire

9. Chainfire

10. Phantom

11. Confessor

Prequel- Debt of The Bones


Terry Goodkind is an amazing author who has to ability to create amazing stories. He wrote the Sword of Truth series, which consists of eleven books and one prequel. He captivates characters charm and unique personalities, all while keeping you hooked on reading. All of these books are over 500 pages, a few nearing 1000 pages, so to write a story that can be that long with out it being dragged out and boring shows true talent. I have read that entire series many many times and still an surprised and enjoy it every time. Goodkind makes his characters real, and makes them so you're able to relate to them. All the characters are different, and have their strengths and weaknesses and strive to do what they see best. You watch characters grow and mature throughout, and you also see them make their mistakes. The story itself is very complex and the thought that went into it is extensive and obvious. So many books, espcially teen girl books, are the same over and over. Goodkind on the otherhand mixes romance and adventure, into his own unique fantasy world. Goodkind puts a new twist on fantasy that other authors in the future will have to strive to keep up. After reading Goodkind's works, it is sometimes hard to look back at some other books that used to seem so amazing. They are truely outstanding.

Has anyone else read these?

When It Happens by Susane Colasanti

When It Happens
By: Susane Colasanti
Pages: 310
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Puffin (May 1, 2008)

Rating: 5 stars

At the start of her senior year, Sara wants two things: to get into a top college and to find true love. Tobey also wants two things in his senior year: to win Battle of the Bands and to make Sara fall in love with him. A popular jock named Dave, though, moves in on Sara first. But Tobey's quirky wit and big blue eyes are hard for Sara to ignore. Plus, he gets the little things that matter to her - like why she loves the Lloyd Dobler boom-box scene in the movie Say Anything....Can a slacker rock-star wanna be win the heart of a pretty class brain like Sara?

Hilariously and movingly told through Tobey's and Sara's authentic voices, Susane Colasanti's debut novel sizzles in its portrayal of two young people searching for the one.



Ok, this is one of my favorite books! I just love it, it's so cute. The plot is great, and is your typical high school setting.

Susane Colasanti adds so much more to the story by writing in alternating perspectives, it gives you insight to both characters instead of just one. The characters themselves are real, and represent all corners of the social scale in your high school. Tobey's the slacker whose character is just adorable, but at times seems a bit desparate. Then Dave the average high school jock with big head and then there's Maggie and Laila too. Personally I love Maggie. Her character is not necessarily totally unique, but just adds something to the story. Then there's Sara who is just looking for that someone who they can find true love. I'm a huge sucker for romance.

I'd definately recommend it to everyone!

I Know It's Over by C. K. Kelly Martin

I Know It's Over
C. K. Kelly Martin
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 256
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Rating: 3 stars

Pure. Unplanned. Perfect. Those were Nick's summer plans before Sasha stepped into the picture. With the collateral damage from his parent's divorce still settling and Dani (his girl of the moment) up for nearly anything, complications are the last thing he needs.
All that changes, though, when Nick runs into Sasha at the beach in July. Suddenly he's neck-deep in a relationship and surprised to find he doesn't mind in the least. But Nick's world shifts again when Sasha breaks up with him. Then weeks later, while Nick's still reeling from the breakup, she turns up at his doorstep and tells him she's pregnant, and with his emotions and hopes crashing in around him, Nick finds himself struggling once more to understand the girl he can't stop caring for, the girl who insists that it's still over.

Overall I thought this was a great book! The characters were great. I loved Jillian's character as well as Sasha, especially the first impression Nick has of her. The plot was great as well but the plot just bugged me a bit. In parts I felt it was just a little to slow, and I felt the beginning was a little confusing but once you got into it, it was fine. Plus, I'm a hardcore pro-life supporter, so I was a bit hard for me to get through it, so that might've been part of my rating.

Waiting On Wednesday (1) - Betraying Season by Marissa Doyle

Waiting on Wednesday is a topic brought to life by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. In it, you get to introduce to everyone the books you're looking forward in the upcoming year and such.



The Betraying Season (Book 2 in the series)
Marissa Doyle
Release Date: May 26, 2009
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers



Penelope Leland has come to Ireland to study magic and prove to herself that she is as good a witch as her twin sister Persy. But when Niall Keating begins to pay her court, she can’t help being distracted from her studies. Especially when she learns that the handsome young nobleman is reputedly an illegitimate cousin of the new young Queen Victoria, her friend and idol, whom her sister saved from an ambitious wizard’s control spell the year before.

Niall Keating has strict orders from his sorceress mother Lady Keating: to make young Miss Leland fall in love with him so that she can be convinced to use her magical powers to help reconcile him to his true father, the Duke of Cumberland, Queen Victoria’s uncle. Niall is delighted to comply until he discovers his mother’s true aim: to assassinate Queen Victoria by magic and put Niall’s father on the throne of England.

Penelope is thrilled when Lady Keating reveals her powers and offers to tutor her in magic. But Niall has fallen deeply in love with the lovely young woman. Even if he halts his mother’s evil plans, will Penelope be able to forgive him for trying to seduce her into a plot against her beloved queen?

Only a few more weeks 'til it comes out! :) I can't wait for this one.

Epic Contest!

So I found this, the Reviewer X is having an Epic Contest involving a giveaway of 50 copies of The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams!
http://reviewerx.blogspot.com/2009/05/epic-contest-chosen-one.html Here's a link to the contest
and a link to her review of the book (which is fantastic):
http://reviewerx.blogspot.com/2009/05/chosen-one-by-carol-lynch-williams.html


Just thought I'd post it :)

CONTEST!

Ok, I'm going to be hosting my first contest :)

I'll be giving away an ARC of Kisses and Lies by Lauren Henderson!


Entries:
+1 Leave a legit comment here with a contact email.
+1 Become a follower
+2 If you're already a follower
+1 If you spread the word about this contest (Up to 5 entries)

This contest will run until June 5, and sorry it's only open to US residents.

Kisses and Lies by Lauren Henderson

Kisses and Lies
Lauren Henderson
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 320
Previous Books in the Series: Kiss Me, Kll Me

Rating: 4 stars

After discovering that someone saw what looked like Dan’s emergency EpiPen in A-lister Plum’s designer handbag, Scarlett and her tough American sidekick, Taylor, sneak into a posh London nightclub, where Plum has a private table. Scarlett is stunned to discover a piece of evidence that might implicate another girl in Plum’s exclusive circle, Lucy Raleigh. Which means Scarlett must cast a wider net in order to catch the right suspect.

Back at school, groundskeeper Jase is hoping to take Scarlett’s mind off her troubles with some heart-stopping kisses. Scarlett can’t help but feel guilty for indulging in romantic rendezvous when she should be hunting down Dan’s killer. However, once Scarlett finds out how Lucy is connected to Dan, she knows she must drop everything and travel to the McAndrew estate in Scotland to hunt for more clues. But when she arrives, Scarlett becomes the target of a dangerous hunt herself.

Ok, this was great book! I think it was an equal, or possibly better than book 1, Kiss Me, Kill Me. It was really easy to get caught up in. Henderson does a great job creating characters that were all different and unique, no character was really the same. Plus, while some parts were predictable, others you couldn't guess.

Though one thing I didn't like was the fact, that Scarlett writes a letter to Dan's family saying I have something of Dan's to give back to you. What the heck? She essentially invites herself to Castle Airlie, and if Dan's family said no, they'd look bad.

Overall though, I recommend both this one, and Kiss Me, Kill Me! They were great books, though I would suggest reading them in order. I received Kiss and Lies in the mail, and started to read it. I didn't understand anything, and then I realized there was a book 1.

:)

My First Award Ever :)

Amy over at Addicted To Books gave me my first award ever! :)