YA Book Tour- Rhode Island

Next stop on the book tour is Rhode Island represented by Maureen Johnson's Devilish.

Jane is the school smart girl.  She is not popular but is content with her social standing.  Her best friend, Allison, on the other hand is desperate to be something more, but seems to be a walking social disaster.  Like on the day seniors pick freshmen as littles, Ally ends up vomiting all over one of the freshmen.

Jane tries to help Ally recover from this, when a new girl, Lanalee, steps in and offers to be Ally's little.  She just happens to be more than what she seems.  Ally begins to change, act different and dress different, and Jane is worried what has come over he best friend.

Around the same time, a strange man, Mr. Fields, keeps bumping into Jane in town and striking up conversations with her.  Jane is also being stalked by a freshman boy from St. Sebastian's, Owen.

Things take quite a turn for the weird when Ally tells Jane she has sold her soul to become popular. Jane, being the most awesome best friend, tries to fix it, only to get herself in trouble with the devil with a serious sweet tooth.  Now only stalker boy, Owen, can help her out of this mess.

Devilish was a quick and entertaining read.  I did enjoy the character of Jane, who would do anything for her best friend.  Allison got on my nerves a little.  She really can't see at times how much her best friend cares for her.

The whole Jane still pining over her ex. Elton, was an annoying means to end of a plot point.  I did like Owen, but wish there was more of him in the book.  I did feel as though the author left me hanging a little why he was the way he was (I would tell you, but that would be a big spoiler).

The end of the book felt like there should be just a few more chapters to wrap up all the unanswered questions, but overall a good read.

Currently Reading:
The Queen of Kentucky
by Alecia Whitaker

YA Book Tour- New York

Libba Bray's The Diviners is representing the New York for the next stop on the United States of YA tour.  I am going to go ahead and put it out there, that I adore Ms. Bray's writing style, setting, and characters.

Evie O'Neill is too big for her hometown of Zenith, Ohio, and after a party gone wrong her parents ship her off to to her Uncle Will in New York City.  This is the place she was made for with its glamour and glitz, after all Evie is a modern flapper.  She is a live in the moment kind of girl with a secret talent.  She just happens to be able to read people's secrets from their personal items, which sometimes brings her big trouble.

As the story progresses, Evie becomes caught up in some crazy occult murders with her Uncle and his assitant Jericho.  There are, also, some subplots going on with other characters.

Memphis Campbell is a numbers runner in Harlem with dreams of being a poet like Langston Hughes.  He has a reoccurring dream of crossroads with a storm coming and an eye symbol.

There is Theta, a Ziegfield's girl with a haunted past.  Her best friend Henry with secrets of his own.

And then there is one of my personal favorites, Sam Llyod, who is quite the scoundrel, but lovable in his own way.

Ms. Bray has quite a way with imagery in the book.  You really feel as though you're transport to New York in 1926.  In the first chapter when she describes the wind traveling through the city and through time, it is written so beautifully that it is one of my favorite parts of the book.

She keeps you so interested in the book that just can't wait to see what happens next.  And the end leaves you wanting so much more, unfortunately the next book is not due out until next spring.  The end definitely hints at bigger things to come, and a possible love triangle between Evie, Sam, and Jericho.

On another note, if you are keeping up with the order, why yes I did skip the Virginia book.  I have it on hold at booklending.com, and will read it as soon as it is a available.  I will also be skipping Vermont's book, because it is not available on Kindle.  I will just have to wait until I get back to the states in August to read it.

Currently Reading:
Devilish
by Maureen Johnson

YA Book Tour- New Hampshire

New Hampshire is the next stop on the tour, and Sarah Tregay's Love and Leftovers is the pick.  It is not often that books leave me a little lost, but this one surely did.  Calling this a novel is using the word very, very loosely.

So the official description on Goodreads is this:
 My wish is to fall cranium over Converse in dizzy daydream-worthy love.

(If only it were that easy.

Marcie has been dragged away from home for the summer--from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She's left behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father.

By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "summer vacation" has become permanent. She has to start at a new school, and there she leaves behind her Leftover status when a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? Can you even know it until you've lost it?

Love & Leftovers is a beautifully written story of one girl's journey navigating family, friends, and love, and a compelling and sexy read that teens will gobble up whole

Sounds like it could a good story about learning to deal with the curveballs life throws you, right.  And if you thought that you would be wrong.  It is basically reading the poetic ramblings of a teenage girl with a couple of songs and IM/phone conversations thrown in for good measure.

There must the some slim pickings for YA novels set in New Hampshire, because not only is this not really a novel, but only half the book takes place in New Hampshire.  The rest is in Idaho. So if you a skipping a United States of YA book, this would be the one to skip.

Currently Reading:
The Diviners
by Libba Bray

YA Book Tour- Maryland

And the book tour rolls on to the next stop, Maryland with Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate. Going to go ahead and throw it out there that this was not my favorite stop on the tour, not the worst but nowhere near the top.

Vivian loves being loup garou, but her life has been in chaos since her pack was forced out their West Virginia home by a fire that killed her father.  She has an intense need to feel connected to someone, and tries for that in a human, or meat-boy, at school.

The pack is also going through some changes with having to find a new leader, and a new place to live because they cannot live in Maryland forever.  The front runner for the job is the young, but dangerous Gabriel.

Honestly Vivian many times seems too self involved for her own good.  She even, at one point, wonders if the reason she doesn't make friends at school is because she is too beautiful.  Really, what 16 year old girl ever truly has that thought.  The author does not put an effort into making her a likable character.

Aiden, the meat-boy, is a hippie at the wrong time, or so he believes.  It just comes off as an attempt to be rebellious against his parents.  As someone who constantly talks about the possibilities of the universe, he is quite the closed minded jerk at the end.

I did like the character of Gabriel, and really wished he had been more prominent throughout the book.  It is not until the end that the author really brings him to life.

The story drags a lot in the beginning, and it was hard to get into.  It isn't until over half way through the book that the story truly gets interesting.  The author spent way too much time focusing on the Vivian-Aiden relationship, and not nearly enough time establishing the relationship between Vivian and Gabriel.

Currently Reading:
Love and Leftovers
by Sarah Tregay

YA Book Tour- Massachusetts

Massachusetts is the next stop on the YA book tour and Josephine Angelini's Starcossed is representing.

Helen Hamilton has always felt different from everyone else, and tried her best to hide it in every way possible.  That becomes a lot harder to do once the Delos show up, especially as soon as she sees Lucas Delos, she wants to to kill him. In fact, every time she is near one of them, she is haunted by these creepy women who make her homicidal.

That all changes one night after she learns she can fly, and Lucas saves her from death.  The creepy women, who it turns out the the Furies of ancient Greece, are no longer haunting any of them.

Helen and Lucas begin a strange relationship somewhere between friendship and romance.  Helen learns more of who and what she is from the Delos family, and just how different she is from normal humans.

The story has several little twist that kept me interested despite the characters seem a little cookie cutter to YA fiction.  Some of the twist you can see coming, and others hit you from no where.  While in general I liked Helen, Lucas, and the rest of the Delos family, they did feel like characters I had encountered before in other novels at times.

I do enjoy the story idea, and the healthy mix of Greek mythology in it, which I have always liked.  I know the mythology is not spot on to traditional myths, but the difference keep it a little fresher.  I am interested to see who the series will progress, especially seeing the prophecy that the author gives toward the end.

Currently Reading:
Blood and Chocolate
by Annette Curtis Klause

YA Book Tour- Connecticut

Rolling across America on the YA book tour and the next stop is Connecticut with Huntley Fitzpatrick's My Life Next Door.  This is one of those just perfect YA books about dealing with life.

Samantha Reed's mother runs a strict and sterile home.  Everything has its place and schedule are made, and kept.  Chaos is not tolerated in the Reed house.  The neighbors, the Garretts, are none of that.  Chaos seems to reign over there, and it is definitely not sterile.  Naturally, Samantha spends most nights on her roof outside her window watching them.

Samantha has her summer all planned out because that is how things are done in the Reed house.  Then one night, her mother comes home with a man, Clay, who appears to be here to stay for a while.  Clay is a bossy prick from the beginning, which annoys Samantha to no end.  But her night meeting Clay is not all bad, because it is the same night she meets Jase Garrett.

Jase brings her in to the Garrett house, where she thrives and really learns the meaning of family.  As the summer moves along she is faced with best friend issues and most importantly how to do what is right, even when someone you love may be hurt by it.

I absolutely love the characters of Samantha and Jase.  They are both so well developed and deep characters. I couldn't help but wish I could be their friend. Samantha is a mature and loyal young lady, who doesn't seem to know her own beauty, which makes her all the more enduring character.

And Jase, who would not love to have a guy like that to take home to mom.  He is smart, caring, and can fix just about anything.  Oh, and he loves animals, which makes him a star in this vet student's heart.  I love that his snake is named Voldemort (any author who can make a Harry Potter reference gets a kudos from me).

The rest of the Garrett family is pretty fantastic, too, especially George.  Adorably cute and paranoid George, and love the nickname he gives to Samantha, Sailor Supergirl.

The story is engaging without being over the top.  It keeps you interested from beginning to end, and I just loved it.

Currently Reading:
Starcrossed
by Josephine Angelini

YA Book Tour- New Jersey

New Jersey is up next with Holly Black's White Cat.

In Cassel's world there are people who are called curse workers, or workers for short.  They basically have magic and can use it on you by skin to skin touch.  There are different kinds of magic, ones that influence your emotions, luck, and some that even work on the physical body.  Here is the thing, "working" is banned in the U.S. which forces many workers to a life of crime and working for large crime families.

Cassel is from a family of workers.  His mother workers emotions, his grandfather is a death worker, and both of his brothers have talents.  Too bad Cassel did not get any working talents. He did, however, get his mother's talent for running a con.  Even at his school, he is the resident bookie. Oh, and he killed his best friend, Lila, when he was 14.

The book starts with Cassel waking up on the roof of his dorm, not sure how he got there.  After that happens, the school forces him to take medical leave until a doctor gives him to okay to come back to school.  His brother Philip takes him home, where Cassel begins to suspect that not everything is what is he thought it was.

He continues to sleepwalk, and has a recurrent dream with a white cat.  His brothers seem to be very secretive, more than usual, lately. Oh, and he gets the feeling that parts of his memory are missing.  Someone is working him with a memory curse.

Cassel is a complex character, who is trying to balance a normal life with his criminal life. He doesn't have problems blending in with people, but at the same time he is not really a part of the crowd.  He doesn't really have true friends until about half way through the book, but Sam and Daneca are really great friends.

Ms. Black captures the fear of having everything you thought was true be a lie really well.  What is scary than knowing that your memories, things that define you, may not be real or are missing.

Here is my problem with the book, while an enjoyable read, it does not really inspire me to know more about the characters or the world it creates.  And I have a personal belief that if you write a series, then at the end of your first book I should be so hooked that I can't wait to start the next one, and White Cat did not do that for me.  It was good, just not good enough.

Currently Reading:
My Life Next Door
by Huntley Fitzpatrick

YA Book Tour- Pennsylvania

Next up on the United States of YA is Pennsylvania represented by Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars. This book is definitely deliciously scandalous.

Alison, Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily were the best of friends in the seventh grade. Then the horrible happened, Alison went missing that summer.  The others girls began to avoid each other, and drifted apart.

Fast forward three years, and everyone is starting their junior year of high school, and each girl has there own issues.

Spencer is trying to be the perfect student and constantly in competition with her sister.  She seems to have a serious case of boyfriend envy when it comes to her sister's new boyfriend, but not like that hasn't happened before.

Hanna has major body issues, especially after clawing herself for the chubby dorky girl she used to be by any means necessary.  Not to mention the daddy issues she is harboring making things worse.

Aria has just returned from three years in Iceland, and she seems the most well adjusted of the girls.  Too bad she is attracted to a guy that is totally off limits, and she is still haunted by her father's secret.

Emily strives to be the perfect daughter.  Being a star swimming, and even her boyfriend is a swimmer.  Too bad Emily thinks she doesn't really like boys and not sure is swimming is really her thing.

As the school year starts, each girls begins to to get mysterious text and notes from -A, who seems to know all their secrets.

This book keep the intrigue coming to the very end, and really makes me want to go on and dive into the next book (too bad I have other books on my list to read first).  The author does a great job of leaving you wanting more at the end of each chapter, and at the end of the book.  The characters where all wonderfully flawed with each dealing with their own issues. Ms. Shepard appeals to one of humans darkest fears, the fear of someone knowing our deepest secrets and threatening to tell.  I am excited to see where she will go with this series.

On another note, I finished my finals yesterday, so two and half weeks of freedom from school.  That should mean that I am getting a lot more reading done.  Hopefully a big dent in my YA book tour, and for all you readers (all 2 of you) more blog post.

Currently Reading:
White Cat
by Holly Black

Study Break

Here is the deal, I am currently living on a Caribbean island where there is no bookstore, and the only library available to be is Vet school one, which is lacking in the fictional book area.  Therefore, my source of new reading material is my Kindle, which may be the greatest gift someone has ever given me (Thanks Mom!). Unfortunately, buying books constantly on my Kindle can get a little pricey, and since I am just a poor vet student, I needed to find a way for reduce my book cost. 

First, I started using my brother's library card from back home to check out books digitally. (Mine is no longer good because it hasn't been used since I moved here.) That worked great for a couple of weeks, but now, the Georgia library downloads won't let me on to check out book for the last week.  Don't panic, I have my brother on the case to figure out why.  Still, even library has only so many books available for Kindle.

And that brings me to my main point, did you know that you can lend certain digital book on Amazon?  Crazy right, but then who do you know that wants to borrow your books and who has books you want to borrow from?  Well, I recently find the perfect website a solution to that problem: http://www.booklending.com

And why yes, I did find this when I should have been studying for Large Animal Medicine and spent over an hour on there.  While, not every book is available for lending because of publisher restrictions, this place is a great resource for ones available.  I already have 2 books on hold for when someone has them available, and I am sure in the future there will be more.

YA Book Tour- Delaware

Next up on the United States of YA book tour Delaware represent by Julie Schumacher's The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls. Let me just go ahead and throw out there that there must not be many YA books that take place in Delaware, because if this one was the top pick for the state then there must be some slim pickings.

Adrienne Haus injured her knee and is unable to go on her planned camping trip for the summer.  So her mother creates a mother daughter book club with mothers of other girls in her upcoming AP class.

Let me start by saying that in theory this sounded like it could be a good book, but it totally missed the mark, in fact I think it went in the opposite direction of the mark.

Adrienne's character has an extremely dull personality, and is easily talked into things she that she really doesn't want to do by one of the other girls, CeeCee.  In fact in the beginning of the book CeeCee ask Adrienne what kind of girl she is, and even she can't come up with her whole personality.

CeeCee's character is definitely pushy and snobbish, which did not make her likable. Jill was kind of a know it all, and also very pushy. Wallis seemed like the only character with potential.  She basically invites herself to the book club, and her mother is never able to attend.  She is very private about where she lives and having her picture taken.  And after a strange encounter with a drunk Adrienne, you are really left wondering what is her deal.  SPOILER ALERT: you are still wondering what her deal is at the end of the book.

I really felt like that there was not really a cohesive plot to the book, and that it brought up way too may topics that author never really addressed to my satisfaction.  Besides Wallis issues, I was left wondering what is the big secret about Adrienne's father, and what bad thing happened to Adrienne's mother at the beach many years ago.

On top of all the the character and plot issues, the format of the book was a little off putting.  It was suppose to be like Adrienne's English paper, so at the beginning of each character there was a definition to the components of story telling.

Oh, and one more thing, that probably wouldn't bothered me so much if the rest of the book was good, the girls are suppose to be going into 11th grade, but somehow they are all 15.  I don't know about Delaware, but most of the rest of the country starts their junior year of high school at 16.


Currently Reading:
Pretty Little Liars
by Sara Shepard

YA Book Tour Update

The ones with stars are books that I have either read or am currently reading up until now.  I will continue to repost this map about every 10 books or so with the stars added.  I know the pattern seems a little crazy so far, but that is because the books I have read recently were ones I could get from the library on my kindle.

I plan on the the other books to go in an order that appeals both to OCD and history dork in me.  I will reading them in the order they gained statehood.

I do have a couple still on hold with the library, assuming I can get them.  The account is having technical difficulties which I hope to have sorted out by the end of the week.

This may be my last post until next week because finals start on Monday.

Also, I don't know if I said this, yet, but please feel free to comment on any post.  Agree or disagree just be polite please.

Tethered

Tethered is the follow up novella to Meljean Brook's Heart of Steel.  It is part of her steampunk romance series, The Iron Seas.  This is one of my favorite steampunk series, and I highly recommended it anyone.

Yasmeen and Archimedes are continuing to grow in the new found love for each other when Archimedes ex- salvaging partner  and friend, Bilson, shows up.  His brother has been taken by New Eden, which is an airship flotilla that takes other airships and forces the crew and passengers to join their uptopian society or die.  He wants to use Yasmeen and her airship for the rescue mission.

Archimedes refuses to use Yasmeen's ship and crew for the rescue after what happened to her last ship.  Bilson, however, has other plans and blackmails them into helping him. He even has contingency plans in case the other plan falls through.  Yet, he still underestimates Yasmeen and Archimedes, who definitely out think him.

One of my favorite moments of the book was as Yasmeen carefully dissects Bilson's character, and explains the fatal flaws he makes in his plans.  He chooses to go for people's weakness to get them to do what he wants, instead of playing to their strengths to make them want to help him.

I love the progression of the love between Yasmeen and Archimedes, and how each discovers that their love for one another is a great strength.

Side Note: Probably tomorrow, I will post a list of the YA book tour update, and explain how I decided to progress through the remaining books.

Currently Reading:
The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls
by Julie Schumacher

Hereafter

So I am taking a short break from my United States of YA book tour, although Hereafter by Tara Hudson does have a tie in to it.

Amelia has a traumatic past.  Traumatic as in she is dead, and died by falling from High Bridge into the river and drowning.  She knows very little about her life, only her first name and that she died by drowning.  That all changes when she tries to save a boy that has crashed his car into the river. She tries to find a way to save him even though she is no longer among the living.  He opens his eyes, and he can see her. Even as they carry him into the ambulance he talks to her.

After the incidence with the boy, she starts to become more aware of the world.  It is no longer like she is drifting through it.  Several days after the incident she is on the bridge again, when the boy, Joshua, shows back up.  He not only able to see her and talk to her, but he can touch her.

Joshua reintroduces Amelia to the world of the living.  As she becomes more involved with him, she gets more flashes of her life.  Together they discover who she was when she was alive.

Of course, life (or death in Amelia's case) never really can go that smoothly.  First there is Eli, another ghost who has a huge creepy factor going on, and what exactly is his job is even more sinister.  Then there is Joshua's grandmother, Ruth, who like him is a Seer, and she is not crazy about her grandson hanging out with a ghost.  In fact, she is convinced that Amelia is evil and needs to be banished from the world of the living.

Overall I really liked this book, but there were moments I felt like I had read this story before.  I think it is because the principle of the story reminded me a lot of Meg Cabot's Mediator series. Only this one the girl is the ghost and the boy is the Seer.  It definitely has a  darker tone than the Mediator series, but I think that helps the story.  The book has me really wondering how this romance between Amelia and Joshua  will progress throughout the series.

Oh, and as for the YA book tour tie in, the second book in the series is the book for Louisiana.

Currently Reading:
Tethered
by Meljean Brook

YA Book Tour- North Carolina

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen represents North Carolina on the United States of YA book tour.

Macy Queen's Dad died about a year and half ago in front of her, and ever since then, she has been doing her best to be perfect and in control of everything.  Her boyfriend, Jason, is the perfection she strives for, 4.0 GPA, student council president, works at the library, and is involved in lots a community service projects. He has been her calm since her dad died, and he going away to Brain camp and she is taking over his library job for the summer. Oh, and he is kind of elitist jerk.

Macy is miserable at the library.  The other girls working there are snubs of the highest order, and are in no way, shape, or form welcoming to Macy.  Her summer really starts to turnaround when she meets the staff of Wish catering who work one of her mothers sells parties.

The highly pregnant Deila and her quirky staff really start to teach Macy to live again.  There is the adorable Bert, who is obsessed with Armageddon. Kristy, who is looking for extraordinary boys, and maybe the best friend that Macy has ever had.  Monica, Kristy's sister, who is slow and really only says three things. And most of all Wes, the artist with a bad boy past.

Her new friends, especially Wes, teach her how to grieve fro her father which she has never really done, and how to be happy again.

While never experiencing a loss quite like Macy, I felt the book really gave the reader an understanding of her grief, and how she learns to deal with it. All the characters felt relatable in one way or another, like people everyone knows in their own lives.  It really was a good book for showing how life throws curveballs, but we have to roll with the punches because life will never be perfect.

Currently Reading:
Hereafter
by Tara Hudson

YA Book Tour- California

Next stop on my YA book tour is Richelle Mead's Bloodlines for California.  The book is a new series from her, but set in the same world as her Vampire Academy.  I have not read the Vampire Academy series, and I felt at a slight disadvantage for it, so if you want to read this probably want to read the other books first.

Sydney Sage is an alchemist, which are humans dedicated to keeping vampires existence from being known by other humans, and protecting them from the vampires.  She has been given a chance to redeem herself from re-education after she basically went rogue. (Pretty sure it happened in one of the Vampire Academy books.) Oh, and vampires are divided into two types, which are pretty much good and bad.  The good are Moroi and the bad are Strigoi, and then there are the half vampire protectors of the Moroi, the dhampir.

Sydney is being sent to protect the Moroi princess, Jill, because if she is killed her sister can no longer be the queen. Because apparently you need to have a living relative to be elected queen of the Moroi. Jill had an assassination attempt on her at Court, and is being sent to hid at a boarding school in Palm Springs. Maybe not the wisest choice to send a vampire to a desert community in Southern California, especially since her magic is water magic.  Oh, and Sydney is going to have to enroll in the school to be with her, even though she has already graduate. (Talk about my own personally hell, repeating high school.)

She has to report to Keith, a major d-bag, whom she as a history with.  She knows he has done something really bad, but the book is almost finished before you find out what that is, despite hints being dropped several times throughout the book.

Sydney and Jill, along with a dhampir, Eddie, start school at Amberwood, and Sydney really seems to like school.  Probably because she has never really had a experience like this, being home schooled with Alchemist training.  Jill on the other hand is having a very hard time getting the hang of it.  Sydney gets noticed for her unique Alchemist gold lily tattoo, many of the students are demanding to know where she got it.  She notices that several students has metallic tattoos, the copper ones for a euphoric high and the silver ones for strength.

Sydney spends about half her time trying to appease Adrian, another Moroi, who there for Jill's support because of what happened at Court.

Like I said before I really felt I as missing out by not having read the Vampire Academy books before reading this one.  I think reading them would not only help with the references to past events, but also understanding to Moroi society better.

Sydney was definitely a socially awkward character because of her up bringing and the prejudice instilled in her by the Alchemist.  Despite that she is very adaptable and is slowly becoming more social, and she is miles a head of Keith.

Oh, then there is Trey.  He is another student at the school, Sydney's chem partner.  At the end, there was definite hints that he is more than what he seems.

Currently Reading:
The Truth about Forever
by Sarah Dessen