2011 Debut Author Challenge: 2/12

The third annual Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren.

2011 Debut Author Challenge: To read at least twelve novels from debut Young Adult or Middle Grade Authors.

This is book 2/12

The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

Goodreads summary:
Vera and her brother, Will, live in the shadow of the Great Panic, in a country that has collapsed from environmental catastrophe. Water is hoarded by governments, rivers are dammed, and clouds are sucked from the sky. But then Vera befriends Kai, who seems to have limitless access to fresh water. When Kai suddenly disappears, Vera and Will set off on a dangerous journey in search of him-pursued by pirates, a paramilitary group, and greedy corporations.
Timely and eerily familiar, acclaimed author Cameron Stracher makes a stunning YA debut that's impossible to forget.

My thoughts: 5/5
I love the cover; it's very eye-catching. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

It starts off slow giving the reader a chance to know and care about what happens to the main characters; Vera, Will, and Kai - something a lot of books fail to do - but it quickly becomes very fast-paced and full of perils. Even the minor characters are interesting as you learn if they are friend or foe.

Be sure to read it with a tall glass of ice water handy, it can be a very dry read. (No, I couldn't resist that one either!)

Friday56: Water Wars

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find any sentence that grabs you.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or if you do not have your own blog you can post on Freda's comment section.
* Post a link along with your post back to Freda's Voice

Closest Book: Water Wars

Author: Cameron Stracher

Page 56: Everyone knew there was no water for miles, he insisted.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Vampire Mine

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Vampire Mine - Kerrelyn Sparks
Publication: March 29, 2011

From Goodreads:

Nothing on earth can make this vampire fall in love . . .

After 499 years of existence, Connor Buchanan has arrived at an inescapable conclusion: he is a cold-hearted SOB. He's been watching his friends—those poor romantic fools—plummet off the cliff into love like a dazed herd of sheep. But not Connor. He knows that love leads to nothing but heartache.
Until Marielle . . .
She is an angel cast down from heaven for disobedience. Trapped in mortal form, she finds a protector in Connor, a Scottish vampire haunted by a dark past. Marielle hopes to heal his broken heart and earn her way back home, but suddenly she has these . . . feelings. This strange yet pleasant physical yearning—for a vampire! Is this the work of a demon luring her into hell, or has this angel found heavenly bliss?

Teaser Tuesdays: The Lost Saint

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~*Grab your current read
~*Open to a random page
~*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Lost Saint (The Dark Divine #2) by Bree Despain

Tears stung behind my eyes, but I forced them back. Bursting out crying right now wasn't going to convince anyone that I was the pinnacle of control.

~* page 146

2011 Debut Author Challenge: 1/12

The third annual Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren.

2011 Debut Author Challenge: To read at least twelve novels from debut Young Adult or Middle Grade Authors.

This is book 1/12

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Goodreads summary:
Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.
Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.
Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

The book comes with a reversible cover with a map of the ship:
The end flap has a picture of Amy while she was frozen and how Elder first saw her:


My thoughts: 5/5
This isn't an easy to read book; it leaves you feeling disturbed yet hopeful.
The plot has plenty of twists and it twists the reader along with it.
It is truly an emotional ride, especially with Amy's and Elder's alternating POV and their on-going trails as they cope when secrets start to unfold within the confines of the ship.



The people onboard are supervised by Eldest and his protégé, Elder. The people are organized into three groups; Keepers, Shippers, and Feeders as indicated by the levels of the ship. All live in harmony until their lives are disrupted when someone new and different awakens.

Explore the ship, Godspeed - HERE

I highly recommend "Across the Universe" by Beth Revis to anyone who likes sci-fi and futuristic stories.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Red Glove

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Red Glove (Curse Workers #2) by Holly Black
Publication: April 5th 2011

The cons get twistier and the stakes get higher in Red Glove, the sequel to White Cat.

Teaser Tuesdays: The Amaranth Enchantment

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~*Grab your current read
~*Open to a random page
~*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry

Papa and Mama and I were dancing, round and round in the ballroom. I arched my back and let Papa's strong arms carry me, while overhead the gilt chandlier spun.

~* page 55

Quote It! Saturday

A weekly meme hosted at Freda's Voice!
Please feel free to grab the button and create your own post. Add as many quotes as you wish, from whom ever you wish. It can even be lyrics to a song. Just tell us who it is. Anonymous welcome too. And please leave your link.

One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are, when you don't come home at night.
~ Margaret Mead (American anthropologist, 1901-1978)

Friday56: Beautiful Darkness

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find any sentence that grabs you.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or if you do not have your own blog you can post on Freda's comment section.
* Post a link along with your post back to Freda's Voice

Closest Book: Beautiful Darkness

Authors: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Page 56: Like so many things, it was nothing but ashes now.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Dust & Decay

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Dust & Decay (Benny Imura #2) by Jonathan Maberry
Published: August 30th 2011

From Amazon:

Six months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin. It’s also six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives. Now, after months of rigorous training with Benny’s zombie-hunter brother Tom, Benny and Nix are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future. Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny’s best friend Lou Chong are going with them.
Sounds easy. Sounds wonderful. Except that everything that can go wrong does. Before they can even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town. But as soon as they step into the Rot & Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, insane murderers and the horrors of Gameland – where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all…could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?
In the great Rot & Ruin everything wants to kill you. Everything…and not everyone in Benny’s small band of travelers will make it out alive.

Fire and Ice's New Year book blowout

Enter Fire and Ice's New Year book blowout HERE for a chance to win one of the following books.

1) Wolves Boys & Other Things That Might Kill Me hardback by Kristen Chandler
2) Need by Carrie Jones
3) The Wizard of Ooze Book Two Ravenspell hardback by David Farland
4) Brothers Below Zero by Tom Seidler
5) Judy Moody Gets Famous by Megan McDonald
6) Bright Blue Miracle by Becca Wilhite
7) A Love Like Lilly by Kay Lynn Mangum
8) Shades of Gray by Pamela Carrington Reid
9) The Sky is Everywhere ARC by Jandy Nelson
10) Middleworld ARC by J&P Voelkel
11) Freshman for President by Ally Condie
12) Dragon Breath Curse of the Were-Weiner ARC by Ursula Vernon
13) The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 2 hardback by Tony Di Terlizzi and Holly Black

Thirteen winners in all.
Open to US and International entries with a US shipping address.
Ends 1/31/2011

Lauren Oliver's Delirium Giveaway

Lauren Oliver is giving away five signed finished copies of Delirium.


Enter HERE for a chance to win.
Plus, a book thong designed by The Book Pixie
Contest is over at the end of the month.

Books read - December + Pick of the Month

Glimmerglass (Faeriewalker #1) by Jenna Black
Lockdown (Furnace, #1) by Alexander Gordon Smith
Chasing the Night by Iris Johansen
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
Autumn by David Moody
The Shifter (Healing Wars, #1) by Janice Hardy
Blue Fire (Healing Wars, #2) by Janice Hardy
Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie
Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry
Nevermore (Nevermore, #1) by Kelly Creagh
Bound by Donna Jo Napoli
The End of the World: Stories of the Apocalypse by Martin H. Greenberg, Robert Silverberg
Rot & Ruin (Benny Imura, #1) by Jonathan Maberry
No Place to Run by Maya Banks
Beasts and BFFs (13 to Life prequel) by Shannon Delany - short story

Plus, my pick of the month is Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry.
A well-written coming of age story filled with zombies.
Told from the point of view of fifteen year Benny, this is one of the best zombie driven dystopian stories I've read since "The Forest of Hands And Teeth". There is more gory and violence but it fits the plot.

Summary by Goodreads:
In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.