TGIF! (7)

TGIF is brought to us by Ginger at GReads!

It's a way for bloggers to celebrate the end of the week with a nice re-cap of their weekly posts and to answer a random question.

YA Saves: How do you feel about the "dark" books filling our YA shelves today?

I don't think any of the YA books are "dark." At least, not in the sense "dark" is being taken these days. I think some YA books are "depressing" or "raw" or "insightful." Not "dark."  "Dark" - as it's been used in the past few days/weeks - undermines YA literature.  To say YA books are "dark" is to say that no good comes from them.  As an avid reader of YA literature, I have to disagree; the good comes in many different forms, but it's there, even in "dark" YA books.

Do I personally agree with every action or thought attributed to the heroes/heroines/characters in the "dark" books? No, of course not. There's always going to be that girl that feels she needs to be perfect. There's always going to be that guy (or many guys) looking for nothing but sex. There's always going to be the overlooked best friend that needs you in times of trouble, even though you're fighting. There's always going to be the damsel in distress that makes men appear superior.  There's always going to be the fighter.  There's always going to be the winner and the loser.  But just because there's always going to be these things - these types of characters - it doesn't mean that I have to be, or will be, like any of them. It doesn't mean one, two, three books are going to overturn my own sense of reality and identity.

Even if the issues/problems have never personally happened to me before, it doesn't mean I should be ignorant of them. 

I don't think there's anything wrong with "dark" books filling our shelves. I think it's about time people tackle the issues few are willing to discuss/express out loud or in person. The good's always there. Some just refuse to see it.

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Playing Hurt thank you!

Waiting on Wednesday
REVIEW! For Keeps
In My Mailbox

Coming up this week:

Review of Going Bovine by Libba Bray!

Playing Hurt thank you!

 Holly Schindler, author of Playing Hurt, created a video for everyone involved with her book tours, blog posting, etc. Check it out!

QUICK REMINDER:

My giveaway for Playing Hurt is still going on! You have 4 days left to enter!

Form is here.

Waiting On Wednesday (10).

Waiting On Wednesday is from Jill, at Breaking the Spine.

A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley

A summer of friendship, romance, and songs in major chords. . . .

CHARLIE DUSKIN loves music, and she knows she's good at it. But she only sings when she's alone, on the moonlit porch or in the back room at Old Gus's Secondhand Record and CD Store. Charlie's mom and grandmother have both died, and this summer she's visiting her grandpa in the country, surrounded by ghosts and grieving family, and serving burgers to the local kids at the milk bar. She's got her iPod, her guitar, and all her recording equipment, but she wants more: A friend. A dad who notices her. The chance to show Dave Robbie that she's not entirely unspectacular.

ROSE BUTLER lives next door to Charlie's grandfather and spends her days watching cars pass on the freeway and hanging out with her troublemaker boyfriend. She loves Luke but can't wait to leave their small country town. And she's figured out a way: she's won a scholarship to a science school in the city, and now she has to convince her parents to let her go. This is where Charlie comes in. Charlie, who lives in the city, and whom Rose has ignored for years. Charlie, who just might be Rose's ticket out.

I'm a sucker for alternating viewpoints. Could possibly be cheesy, but I'm intrigued.

In My Mailbox (12).

Summer's Crossing by Julie Kagawa.

I heard this takes place after the Iron Queen, so unfortunately I'll have to hold off reading it until I can snag a copy of the other.

REVIEW! For Keeps.

For Keeps 

Natasha Friend

For sixteen years, Josie Gardner and her mom, Kate, have been a team. It's been the Gardner Girls against the world, and that's how Josie likes it. Until one day, they find out that Paul Tucci, Kate's high school boyfriend-the father Josie has never met-is back in town. Josie's mom suddenly turns back into the heartbroken teenager she was when Paul moved away. Meanwhile, Josie's on the verge of having her first real boyfriend. And when Josie learns some surprising truths about Paul Tucci and the past, she begins questioning what she thought she knew, and finds out what happens when a girl gets the guy she always wanted and the dad she never knew she needed.

My rating: 3 stars.

MY THOUGHTS:

Charming, approachable, sweet.

For Keeps begins with a good premise, good characters, good descriptions/dialogue/etc.  In many ways I was reminded of that TV show, Modern Family (Ever heard of it? So funny.). The characters are quirky but real and relatable.  And then there's Matt, Josie's sort-of boyfriend; he's perfect, which makes him incredibly flat and boring. But aside from him, I don't have many complaints against the rest.

When Josie finally interacts with Paul Tucci's parents, I was hooked. But shortly thereafter, the pace slows and the book flounders.  Issues that arise with her mom are out of character for the two of them. Josie's friend, Liz, suddenly interrupts with her own drama. Matt swoops in with his boyish charm. And I was left wondering where the plot was going. Too many things are going on at once, and not all to Josie, so it's difficult to only focus on her. But it's not that those other characters and their problems are uninteresting. It's just that this should be Josie's story, and to me it feels as though they're telling the story for her - like they're doing all the work. (Like I said - Modern Family.)

For Keeps is still a pleasant, easy read.  It just didn't go in the direction I anticipated, even though it has so much potential to do so.

TGIF! (6)

TGIF is brought to us by Ginger at GReads!

It's a way for bloggers to celebrate the end of the week with a nice re-cap of their weekly posts and to answer a random question.

Book Love: Do you share your books with others? Who was the last person you sent a book to?

You're going to think I'm awful, but I don't share my books. I'm terribly OCD/paranoid about their condition(s). I don't want the pages dog-eared, stained, crumpled, etc... And the way the spine gets after opening the book too widely, so then they never lay flat? I hate that, too.

But, I've been known to lend to really close friends that know of my paranoia. I've also participated in blog tours, and we all know those are sent, and arrive, with varying conditions.

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Waiting on Wednesday
REVIEW! Playing Hurt.... +GIVEAWAY!
In My Mailbox

Coming up this week:

Waiting On Wednesday (9).

Waiting On Wednesday is from Jill, at Breaking the Spine.

Every You, Every Me by David Levithan

In this high school-set psychological tale, a tormented teen named Evan starts to discover a series of unnerving photographs—some of which feature him. Someone is stalking him . . . messing with him . . . threatening him. Worse, ever since his best friend Ariel has been gone, he's been unable to sleep, spending night after night torturing himself for his role in her absence. And as crazy as it sounds, Evan's starting to believe it's Ariel that's behind all of this, punishing him. But the more Evan starts to unravel the mystery, the more his paranoia and insomnia amplify, and the more he starts to unravel himself.

I haven't even gotten around to reading The Lover's Dictionary and I'm already waiting on another David Levithan novel. But I can't help it! I absolutely love his writing.