Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas

Publisher: Avon (website)
Publication Year: 2004
ISBN: 0060091290
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Author Website:
http://www.lisakleypas.com/

Place(s) Traveled to: London, England (1841)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 star

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas is the first book in a quartet series called The Wallflowers. This series takes place in Regency England at the start of a London Season and involves four girls who are very close to being put on the shelf and taken off the marriage market for being too old…thought they are all only in their early 20s. At the start of the series none of the girls know each other but they begin to bond as they sit dance after dance together. Secrets of a Summer Night tells the story of Annabelle Peyton who is the oldest of the four girls. She is also among the prettiest of the group, she remains unmarried however because her family is virtually penniless and has no money for a dowry. This season is her last and if she doesn’t find an eligible match then she might have to enter into service as a governess or similar field. Enter Simon Hunt, a wealthy man who was born among the working class but has used his brain to make a solid business (and sizable fortune) for himself.

Secrets of a Summer Night is a quick read that doesn’t have a whole lot of substance to it. It’s in the romance genre so its fairly predictable as there is really only one romantic potential for the heroine. There are also no subplots for the reader to keep track of. This is just a straight telling of how boy and girl meet and how they end up together. I’m the first to admit that the Romance genre isn’t one of my top choices when I go to a book store. But I gave this one a shot because Sarah MacLean highly recommends the book Devil in Winter (also by Lisa Kleypas) and that is the 3rd book in this series. I’m the sort of person who likes to read books of a series in order whenever I can. While I did enjoy the world that Kleypas has created I think that I would have enjoyed it more if there was a bit more to the plot. Perhaps a small mystery to solve…or something. My brain was looking to be engaged and that never really happened with this book. However, this would be an excellent book to read on the beach or on those days when your brain is just looking for a little candy to keep it occupied but without taxing it too much. I enjoyed Kleypas’s writing style and I will be picking up the other books in this series to see what happens to the other Wallflowers and how they meet the men who will become the love of their lives.

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (Audio)

Publisher: Listening Library (website), Miramax (website)
Publication Year: 2006 (audio), 1423103343 (paperback)
ISBN: 0739331191 (audio), 2007 (paperback)
Format: Audio
Pages: 304
Audio Length: 7 discs (~8 hrs)
Narrator: Jesse Bernstein

Websites:
http://www.rickriordan.com/
http://voice123.com/jessebernstein

Rating: 5 out of 5 star

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan is the second installment in his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This book finds Percy in the midst of another race against time. This time it is Camp Halfblood that is in danger as the magical borders that protect it are beginning to fail. Percy finds himself swept up in the quest that will take him through many perilous paths as her runs into more mythological monsters.

I listened to this on audio and found it to be really fun. I enjoy the adventures that Percy and his friends have. Is the book perfect? Not by any means, but I wasn't looking for perfect. I was looking to be entertained on my drive into work and that's what this series does. It entertains. The one real issue that I had with this one was the narrator. He does a good job overall but there are many times in which he loses the voice of some of the characters. It will change mid-way through...and then there are times when he seems to use the same voice for multiple characters so it can get confusing. But I have heard much worse when it comes to narrators so I'll keep listening.

The Cradle by Patrick Somerville

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company(website)
Publication Year: 2009
ISBN: 0316036129
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 208
Websites:
http://www.patricksomerville.com

Rating: 3 out of 5 star

The Cradle by Patrick Somerville is the story of one man's search for the cradle that his wife remembers from her childhood. Matt loves his pregnant wife Marissa but thinks that she is setting herself up for disappoint by her desire to have this cradle. She claims it is a family heirloom and it hasn't been seen since her mother walked out on the family many years before. Against his better judgement Matt packs up his truck and heads off to try and find this cradle and make his wife happy.

The Cradle is a short book weighing in at only 208 and is actually two stories wrapped into one. At first the two stories are very different from each other and adds confusion to the reading because you just don't know how they connect at first. The main story is that of Matt as he drives across states trying to track down a cradle. Along the way he meets various characters from his wife's mother's past and begins to learn a bit about his wife's history. The Cradle is a story about not just finding an object but also about finding out about himself and his wife. For me this book a slow read. I never really connected with any of the characters and didn't like how the narrative would switch between Matt and Renee. (Renee is a children's book author dealing with her son going off to serve in Iraq). The two stories just seemed so at odds with one another that I found them both to be distracting. As I read this I found that as it unfolded it just got more and more predictable and formulaic. Its a short read but not an engrossing one (at least not for me) and I'm not sure that I'll read anything else by Patrick Somerville.

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (website)
Publication Year: 2009
ISBN: 031253275X
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Websites:
http://www.alysonnoel.com/

Rating: 5 out of 5 star

Evermore is the story of 17 year old Ever Bloom who recently was the sole survivor of a car accident that killed her parents, little sister and the family dog. Ever goes to live with her aunt and struggles to adjust to her new life. On top of dealing with the extreme loss of her family, a new house, new school & new friends Ever also has to cope with being able to read peoples thoughts. Ever since the accident she has the ability to see a persons aura and here their thoughts. There are times in which is is literally drowning in voices. Her one bright spot is the occasional visits from her sister Riley who never fully crossed over. Then one day Damen Auguste shows up at school and when he's around the voices in Ever's head stop. But who is Damen and just what does he want with Ever?

I have to say that I loved this book. Loved loved loved it. I thought that the writing was very lyrical and poetical and found the story to be magical. Its not a complicated story with tons of twists and turns. But its the simplicity of it that really gives it such a huge impact. I was sucked into this story from the start and didn't want to put it down. So its a good thing that I started it on a Saturday because that meant I could stay up late reading. =) The worst thing about this book was the end. Now before you get your panties in a twist I'm not going to spoil anything...nor was the ending a bad ending for the book. It was actually a really good ending. I just hated that there had to be one. This is one book that could have gone on twice as long and I would have remained a happy reader. Sadly this wasn't the case. Fortunately for me though there is a sequel in the works, Blue Moon, which is due out in stores on 07 July 09. Mark your calenders because if Blue Moon is anything like Evermore then its not going to be a book that you want to miss.

French Milk by Lucy Knisley

Publisher: Touchstone (website)

Publication Year: 2008

ISBN: 1416575340

Format: Paperback

Pages: 208

Websites:

http://www.lucyknisley.com/

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

French Milk is a graphic memoir by Lucy Knisley that chonicles the time she spent living in Paris with her mother. This book came about as a result of a journal that Knisley kept while there and details events from the things she ate, to places she went, and details of the crazy things that exist in the flat that they lived in. Interspersed with all the drawings were some black & white photographes which tended to accentuate the things that Knisley was drawing about.

The drawings are simple black and white line drawings and have a very cartoonish feel to them. Its a simple style that really works for this book. I enjoyed seeing the sights and sounds of Paris through Knisley's eyes. My one small complaint was the food talk would often overwhelm the story as a whole. I know I know I'm being a bit nitpicky and I'm sure that if you are a lover of food then you'll love this aspect of the book. But for me I like to have more 'story' then 'descripters'....even when it comes to a memoir. Knisley obvisouly loves her food (and even more so she loves the way the French make milk) she writes about it, draws about it and writes some more. For me personally, I would have like to see more about the things and the people that she saw. But again just a small nitpicky complaint based on my own personal perference. When all is said and done there is probably something for everyone contained in this memoir and I look forward to seeing what else Knisley comes up with next.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Audio)

Publisher: Listening Library (website), Miramax (website)
Publication Year: 2005 (audio), 2006 (paperback)
ISBN: 0307245306 (audio), 0786838655 (paperback)
Format: Audio
Pages: 392
Audio Length: 8 discs (~10 hrs)
Narrator: Jesse Bernstein

Websites:
http://www.rickriordan.com/
http://voice123.com/jessebernstein

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

What if the Greek myths weren’t myths at all? What if the stories of Zeus and the other Greek Gods were real? What if as the center of civilization moves so does Mt Olympus? What if I told you that Mr Olympus is now currently located on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building in New York City ? You’d probably laugh and think I was making up stories and you’re right. In a way…the myths can’t really be real, can they? They can in Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief which is the first book in series involved Percy Jackson. Percy isn’t your typical 12 yr old boy. He’s has a knack for getting kicked out of schools, suffers from ADHD and trouble just seems to follow him around. Turns out though there is a reason for all that trouble, Percy is the son of a Greek God…one of the Big Three (Zeus, Hades, Poseidon) and so that makes him highly attractive to all the various monsters that exist between the world of mortals and that of the Greek Gods. Percy is only just learning about his demigod status and that the myths are real when he is thrust into a quest to find out who stole Zeus’s lightning bolt….because right now all the evidence is pointing towards him!

I loved this book. Loved loved love it! Way more than I thought I would. Percy is such an enjoyable character. He is flawed and so endearing at the same time. I love the idea that the Greek Myths are real and that all the creatures and people within them are real. I think that Riordan does an amazing job in blending the mythological world with the real one. He creates a believable reality and makes the reader wonder what they might be missing because they aren’t looking closely enough. The central characters are all well written and lifelike and I love Percy’s wit and way of telling a story. But what really sold this book for me was the narrator, Jessie Bernstein, he did such an amazing job that I actually looked forward to driving into work in the morning just to hear more. (Don’t get this confused with me actually looking forward to being at work once I’m there, just the drive in.) If you like the Greek myths then this book is a must read for you.

The Season by Sarah MacLean

Publisher: Orchard Books (website)
Publication Year: 2009
ISBN: 0545048869
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Websites:
http://www.macleanspace.com/
http://www.librarything.com/profile/sarahmaclean

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

It is the year 1815, the elite of London are still the titled class (aka the Ton) balls and parties are a common thing and if you are a young girl, around 17 you are about to enter your first Season. The Season is a big deal it is where all ladies and gentlemen of a certain class go to mingle, to see and be seen…and if you are an unmarried girl you go with the purpose of trying to find a suitable match in the crush of society. Any man won’t do and love really isn’t the aim of young single girls. Its all about elevating your status. To marry above you rank if possible or at the very least marry someone of equal status. To marry below could result in doors being shut to you and your family. This is the world that Alexandra Stafford is born into. She is the only daughter and youngest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Worthington. Her mother has been waiting for Alex to come of age almost since the day she was born and would be having the grandest of times….if only Alex would cooperate. Alex has other plans though she wants to enjoy time with her best friends Viv and Ella. She doesn’t want to get married at only 17…especially when most of the eligible marriage minded males are at least twice her age! But she goes to the balls to appease her mother and she makes sure to drag along her 3 older (and eligible) brothers and old family friend Gavin Sewell, the new Earl of Blackmoor. For as they say, misery loves company. During the crush of the Season, Alex and her friends stumble on a mystery…a question that the previous Earl of Blackmoor, Gavin’s father, may not have died of an accident. That he may have been murdered. Sensing some fun and intrigue to what would otherwise be a boring Season, Alex and her friends begin to investigate….and along the way may end up where they least expected.

The Season is the first novel of the amazing Sarah MacLean. She has created a rich and vivid world with some of the most intriguing and believable characters (can I just give a shout out to Freddie?? Love him!). Alex is filled with life and spunk and just makes you want to be her friend. If I could survive in Regency England then I would so try to be a part of her crowd. They conform without really conforming and are able to maintain their sense of self in a time and place where it is really difficult to be a woman. The options open to Alex, Vivi & Ella are far far different then what girls our age face today. MacLean does a wonderful job in giving the history of this world and its social constraints without bogging the narrative down in details. The mystery isn’t one that is over the top and is realistic as is the involvement of Alex and her friends. While not an ideal pursuit for ladies of their social standing they always do their up-most best to keep from causing a scandal and bringing shame upon themselves. For while I am sure that there were many ladies happy to toe the line and stay fully within the social dictates there were those that would push the limits to see just how far they could go. Alex is a fun & witty character and I love her interactions with her family and her friends (have I mentioned Freddie?). This was a great read and I am eagerly awaiting books to be written for other characters in the series like Vivi and Ella….and of course Freddie!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Publisher: Delacorte (website)
Publication Year: 2009
ISBN: 0385736819
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Websites:
Carrie Ryan
Random House

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the debut novel of Carrie Ryan. I first heard about this book when I stumbled across this book trailer for it:



This really intrigued me and so when it was released I ran right out to get it. It then sat at the top of Mt TBR just waiting for me to get to it. Then during one fateful Twitter conversation I happened to let drop to Tiffany that I had the book….she had recently read it and was eagerly looking for someone to discuss it with. What then followed was some of the worst book bullying I’ve ever experienced. (Seriously this was traumatic it will take years of therapy to recover.) And since I’m fragile it didn’t take long for me to succumb.

I started to read and then I found that I couldn't put it down. Sadly I started this book on a week night and bleary eyed I shut the book just over 1/2 way through in the wee hours of the morn because I didn't want to be a total wreck for work. Then the moment I could that evening I began again and didn't put the book down until I was then. As it was getting late I Tweeted a message to Tiffany that I was done and we could chat about it the next day. I got the immediate response back to talk now? After some logics issues we began talking and debating and just oozing some book love. She apologized for being a book bully and I supported her bad habit in saying how much I absolutely loved the book and was so glad to have been forced into reading it.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth isn't a 100% original story (see movie The Village of a few years back) but it was remarkably well written. I loved the society that Carrie Ryan created and her characters. I admit I did not like Mary much. I thought that she was very selfish and focused on what she wanted most. Her dream of the ocean. She spared no thought to what others might want and just plowed ahead. They either followed her or they'd be left behind. I was sucked into this world and hated how it ended. But it was also a good ending. But I didn't want it to end...I wanted the story to continue. Thankfully Ryan is writing another book in this world called The Dead Tossed Waves....don't you just LOVE these titles?!?! The cover for it is also amazing (see it here) and I really can't wait to see what Ryan comes up with next. This book is about zombies, but not your typical zombies. Its also not your typical teen book but it is a book that is a must read. I can't praise this book enough. And you won't regret it once you pick it up and read it. Trust me.

Where am I Wednesday 11 Mar 09?

This Wednesday finds in 1815 London, I'm 17 years old and about to start my first Season. My name is Lady Alexandra Stafford, I'm the only girl and the youngest in my family and my mother is eager for me to enter society and find an eligible match. (Have I mentioned that my father's a Duke?) However, I don't want any part of it...so its very grudingly that I attend the opening ball at Almack's. I'm currently hiding out in an alcove with my two best friends trying to avoid all those "eligible matches." We're giggling and gossiping a bit when across the room I spy a fine looking gentleman, but what am I doing admiring shoulders....especially ones that end up belonging to Gavin Blackmore...he's like another brother and he just lost his father in what may not have been accident. 'Boys, ballgowns, murder...This year's season will be unforgettable!'*Learn more about my story in The Season by Sarah MacLean.

Where are you this Wednesday? Leave me a comment and let me know.

*quoted from the back cover

And the winner is...

(For the record no, this is not me...just a pic I found online)

First off I just want to thank everyone who entered my contest for the 3 books in the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. Tallying all the various ways that there were to enter I had a grand total of 83 entries! To generate a winner I first randomized the list in excel and then moved that list into Random.org to get the final winner. So without further ado the winner of the 3 books in the Night Huntress series is (drum roll please)....

CASPETTE!!!

Caspette is the owner of The Narrative Causality blog. Her favorite literary vampire is Thomas from Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files and her favorite on screen vampire is Joe from Moonlight. Caspette, please let know know who your preferred book vendor is and I'll have the books shipped to you direct. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did.

Thanks again to all who entered!

The Sandman Vol 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman

Publisher: Vertigo (website)
Publication Year: 1991
ISBN: 156389016X
Format: Paperback
Pages: 160
Websites:
http://www.neilgaiman.com/

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Dream Country by Neil Gaiman is the continuation of his Sandman graphic series starring the Lord of Dreams. I’ve enjoyed the previous installments of this series and I was looking forward to this one as well. However, that wasn’t the case. This volume of the series contained a series of short stories that just seemed slow to me. I found it hard to get into all of these stories and it took a bit to get through them all. I still really enjoyed the drawings involved but what really made this volume for me was the end extras in which you got to see the script that is used in order to make a graphic novel. It was great too see how it all comes together. This is something that I’ve wondered about so found it all very interesting. =)

Friday Fill-ins: 06 Mar 09

Janet is the Host of Friday Fill ins. My responses are in bold and italics.

1. Buying dinner for a friend was my last random act of kindness.

2. Another place I want to travel to is China, maybe in 2011.

3. Fight with all your might in matters of the heart.

4. Coffee, tea or water. That's what I almost always drink

5. Sometimes the best thing to do with a person you know is to take separate paths.

6. Our President reminds me that there is hope.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing after a long week at work, tomorrow my plans include something that I haven't fully decided on and Sunday, I want to work on my blog and read!

Top Teen Books Meme

I stole this from Alea who stole it from Jocelyn!

The following list of books teens love, books teens should read, and books adults who serve teens should know about was compiled IN ABSOLUTELY NO SCIENTIFIC MANNER and should be taken with a very large grain of salt.

Instructions:
Put an “X” next to the books you’ve read
Put a “+” next to the books you LOVE
Put a “#” next to the books you plan on reading
Tally your “X”s at the bottom
Share with your friends!

I'm going to use # as books I plan to read that I already own.

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams X+
2. Kit’s Wilderness / David Almond
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie
4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson #
5. Feed / M.T. Anderson
6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews X
7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher #
8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway
10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block
11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor
12. Forever / Judy Blume X
13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell
14. Tyrell / Coe Booth
15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares X+
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray
17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot
18. The Stranger / Albert Camus
19. Ender’s Game / Orson Scott Card X+
20. Postcards from No Man’s Land / Aidan Chambers
21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky #
22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie X+
23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn
24. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan X
25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer
26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins
27. The Midwife’s Apprentice / Karen Cushman
28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen
29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow
30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly
31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer
33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman X+
35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden
36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles X+
37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going
38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding X
39. Looking for Alaska / John Green
40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes
41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse
42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen
43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton X+
44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins
45 The First Part Last / Angela Johnson
46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause
47. Arrow’s Flight / Mercedes Lackey X+
48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson
49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee X+
50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan
51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart
52. The Giver / Lois Lowry
53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry
54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar
55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch
56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler
57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey X+
58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean
59. Sold / Patricia McCormick
60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta
61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr X+
62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer X
63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock
64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers
66. Step From Heaven / An Na
67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix
69. Sabriel / Garth Nix
70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini X
72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen
73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer #
74. The Golden Compass / Phillip Pullman X
75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison X+
76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan #
77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
78. how i live now / Meg Rosoff
79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling X+
80. Holes / Louis Sachar
81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger X+
82. Push / Sapphire
83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi X+
84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman
85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli
87. Chanda’s Secrets / Allan Stratton
88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien X+
91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar X
93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld X+
94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger
97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang
98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin
99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak #
100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak X+

Read: 24

Have to Read: 6

I've read about a quarter of the books on the list...how many have you read?

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: HarperCollins (website)
Publication Year: 2008
ISBN: 0061662690
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 400
Websites:
http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong is the first in a new Young Adult series starring Chloe Saunders. Chloe is your typical teen in that she just wants to make friends and survive high school. That is until the day in which she sees her first ghost. Not fully realizing what is happening she panics and is eventually sedated. As the event happened at school she is told that she must under go some therapy before being able to return. So she is sent to Lyle House, a half way house for troubled teens with parents who have the means to be able to send them to the exclusive house. While there she meets some other teens and slowly comes to learn that Lyle House might be all that it seems.

When I first saw this book I thought that based on the cover and the title that this would be a book involving magic. Instead I was a bit surprised to learn that Chloe sees ghosts and is a budding necromancer. For me this book started off pretty slow. It took awhile for the core story to develop and for the action to begin. But once it did the pace of the book really picked up and the pages began to fly by. Chloe and the other kids at Lyle House are believable characters and I enjoyed their interactions with each other. As this book is the first in a trilogy there was a lot of set up for what’s to come. The ending isn’t solid and the book isn’t one that can stand on its own. Rather than being a disappointment though this only leaves the reader wanting more since you know that there are more books coming. =) According to my friends over at Amazon the next book, The Awakening, is due out on 28 April 2009. I’m really looking forward to it because after the cliff hanger in The Summoning I am eager to see what happens next.

What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers (website)
Publication Year: 2007
ISBN: 0316166391
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
Websites:

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
http://www.gailgiles.com/Welcome.html

What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles is a gripping story about a teen, Kyle, who dealing with the recent suicide of his younger brother. Kyle can't fully accept his brother's death and he needs someone to blame. His focus falls on Cass McBride, a pretty and popular girl who recently turned down his brother when he asked her out on a date. Kyle doesn't just blame Cass he wants to make her pay and so he kidnaps her from her room and holds her prisoner. What follows is a gripping, fast paced thriller that keeps the reader on the edge of his/her seat.

This book is told in 3 voices: Kyle, Cass and the police officer who is investigating Cass's disappearance. Each voice tells the story from a different angle which is a technique that is hard to use because if not down right can lead to a ton of confusion if not done right. Gail Giles does a wonderful job though. The main characters tell their story and manage to not give anything away even though they are all telling the story from different points. The fear that Cass is experiencing as she goes through her ordeal is real and is felt by the reader with every turn of the page. Kyle is complex and heartbreaking and he's a character that you hate in many ways and in others you really feel for the pain that he is in. I loved the writing of this book and found it hard to put down. (I know I've been saying this a lot lately but I've just had some great luck with books!) So, what happens to Cass McBride? Well, you'll just have to read this one yourself and find out.

Challenge Summary:
Book 23 for my 75 Book Challenge
Book 8 out of 12 for my Young Adult Challenge

Where am I Wednesday 04 Mar 09?

This Wednesday finds in me in Buffalo, New York. I'm 15 years old and trying to fit in at school. I've gone to a lot of schools over the years but finally my dad says that I can stay in this one, no matter where we move that I won't have to change schools. I can make friends and immerse myself in all the film classes offered at this art school. Things are going great until I get my period...i should be happy that its finally come...but moments after it happens a freakin' monster comes out of the wall and chases me around the school. Only no one else can see him! In the ruckus I hit a teacher and so have been sentenced to a special home for disturbed teens, Lyle House. There are some other kids here and we're all learning how to deal with our issues and about Lyle House, which might not be what it seems. Learn more about my story in The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong.

Where are you this Wednesday? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Teaser Tuesdays 03 Mar 09

Teaser Tuesdays hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading asks you to:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Let the book fall open to a random page.
3. Share with us a couple of “teaser” sentences from that page.
4. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
5. One final thing...please avoid spoilers!

My sentences are:

"But once she surprised me. That day she wasn't uninteresting at all."

~ pg 76 of What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles