Me on This Week's Book Week (94)

This Week's Book Week is rather similar to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews only with far more rambling and a less witty title. ;)

It's still March! Looking outside, you'd never know that about 2 weeks ago we were buried under a foot or so of snow. And the Paralympics have started. Who else is excited? I know they're not as publicized as the Olympics, but they're still exciting. If you're interested in watching, I'd suggest checking out the IPC website or their YouTube channel.

I did a guest post this week. Yay for branching out! The wonderful Crystal at Raincoast Books asked if I'd be interested in interviewing Cecil Castellucci, author of the recent outer space coming of age adventure Tin Star. And so I said yes while quietly freaking out. Here is the Q&A. Cecil's answers sure make it look like I asked some intelligent questions. ;)

Speaking of Q&A's... when thinking up questions for Cecil, and when thinking up a blog topic for Robert Paul Weston for Blues for Zoey, it was more that I had an observation or a feeling about something and wanted to know why. Why write this kind of book, why write this character, why make them question their humanity? How curious is it that books make me ask why. Well, the news also makes me ask why, but the answer is quite often fear or ignorance.

Reviews for this week will feature Strange Sweet Song by Adi Rule and another but I'm not sure which one yet. Surprise!

Bought/borrowed/received:
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski (from Raincoast Books)
Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis (from Canadian Manda Group (the distributor for Abrams in Canada, for those curious))
Mara by Veronica Bane (e-galley from the author)
Miyuki by Veronica Bane (e-galley from the author)
The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke (from Strange Chemistry through NetGalley)
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley (borrowed from the library)
How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller (borrowed from the library)
Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers (borrowed from the library)
Tokyo Heist by Diana Renn (borrowed from the library)

Me on Don't Even Think About It

Title: Don't Even Think About It
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Release Date: March 11, 2014
Publisher: Random House Children's Books

We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper. Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same. So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

Don't Even Think About It is a quirky, funny, interesting look at possible downside to flu shots. What if after the shot you could read minds? Cool, right? But what if the other twenty people in your homeroom could also read minds? What if it then became impossible to keep secrets from them? What would you do?

The story is told by "we," by all of them, an ensemble cast from Homeroom 10B with a few stand out voices. Olivia. Mackenzie. Cooper. Tess. Pi. Because of the multiple characters, the book becomes multiple glimpses into their lives as their new-found ESP ruins their lives. They get caught up in secrets and truths, hearing what they don't want to hear from friends and family members. It was an interesting way to tell the story. Complicated and busy, but interesting. Everyone's voice was heard. Everyone has moments, quips, quirks, snide comments, and harsh realizations.

Secrets are a curious thing, and often painful when revealed. To the person who isn't supposed to find out. To the people around you who aren't part of the situation. When you're the one keeping it. When you discover those close to you are keeping it from you. Secrets can suck, they can stab deep into the heart of us, and they will always be revealed.

The idea of this book is what initially drew me in: flu shots giving a class of teens psychic abilities. Why not? I thought it was a great idea, very inventive. I was a little surprised at the collective narrator but not put off. I found this book to be very funny, very entertaining, and rather believable in terms of everyone's reaction and subsequent actions. This was my first time reading a book by Sarah Mlynowski, and if they're going to be this fresh and amusing, it won't be my last.

(I received an e-galley of this title from Random House through NetGalley.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (168)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Relax, I'm a Ninja
Author: Natalie Whipple
Release Date: June 3, 2014
Publisher: (self-published)

From Goodreads:

A Clan of ninjas in San Francisco may sound improbable—but as the son of a ninja master, Tosh Ito knows what lurks in the shadows of his city. Or at least he thought he did.

When a killer with a poisoned blade starts cutting down teens, Tosh enlists Amy Sato—newest ninja recruit and his best friend’s crush—and sets out to uncover the killer’s identity. What they find is ninjutsu more evil than they could have ever imagined.

As Amy and Tosh grow closer, they discover their connection unleashes a legendary power that could stop the murders. Problem is, that power may be exactly what the killer is looking for, and wielding it could cost them both their souls.

I don't read a lot of self-published books, or any for that matter, but I want to read this so bad. It sounds different, it sounds interesting, and considering it's by Natalie, it sounds both exciting and lots of fun. :)

Me on The Nightmare Dilemma

Title: The Nightmare Dilemma
Author: Mindee Arnett
Release Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Tor Teen

Dusty Everhart might be able to predict the future through the dreams of her crush, Eli Booker, but that doesn't make her life even remotely easy. When one of her mermaid friends is viciously assaulted and left for dead, and the school's jokester, Lance Rathbone, is accused of the crime, Dusty's as shocked as everybody else. Lance needs Dusty to prove his innocence by finding the real attacker, but that's easier asked than done. Eli's dreams are no help, more nightmares than prophecies. To make matters worse, Dusty's ex-boyfriend has just been acquitted of conspiracy and is now back at school, reminding Dusty of why she fell for him in the first place. The Magi Senate needs Dusty to get close to him, to discover his real motives. But this order infuriates Eli, who has started his own campaign for Dusty's heart. As Dusty takes on both cases, she begins to suspect they're connected to something bigger. And there's something very wrong with Eli's dreams, signs that point to a darker plot than they could have ever imagined.

The Nightmare Dilemma is dark and dangerous. Here we have the return of an unlikely detective and her friends investigating the curious and the deadly at their magical boarding school. Unfortunately for me, I felt something was missing from the first book.

This time around, after revealing some secrets and getting tossed around in more ways than one, Dusty is torn between a lot of things. Between getting on with her life post-Marrow, getting back to school, and doing what's asked of her. Between Eli, the other half of her Dream Team, and Paul, her ex-boyfriend who was part of the plot that changed everyone and their magic. Between worrying and not worrying over her mother, whose morals are questionable.

There were times where it felt like the love triangle/romance situation was taking over the mystery. Dusty and Eli are teens with normal teen angst and hormones and emotions, yes, but it just seemed like the romance was taking over, that Dusty was worrying more about how she felt for both Eli and Paul instead of worrying about her classmate's assault, what might happen next, and her nightmares. If she didn't want to deal with Paul, as she sort of doesn't, she could've said no when asked to spy on him.

I sort of miss Dusty from the first book. This Dusty has a huge weight on her shoulders. She's tired, stretched thin, she can't move beyond the image in her nightmares or her feelings for Eli (who avoids her) and Paul (who doesn't want her to avoid him). There's still some spunk, some snark, but not as much, and I'm wondering if that's because things have changed. I didn't necessarily like this one as much as the first, but I'm still curious as to what the next book will bring.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)

Me on This Week's Book Week (93)

This Week's Book Week is rather similar to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews only with far more rambling and a less witty title. ;)

It's March. Weird. Time is a curious creature. And it was snowing earlier in the week. So weird.

So, I was going to review Half Bad by Sally Green, the current next big thing out of the UK (because everyone's forgotten Samantha Shannon and The Bone Season in the last 6 months), but my ARC rather clearly says "Not for Review." Hmmmmmmm. I've also heard it's changed a bit between this ARC and ones printed more recently so I don't think I'll be reviewing it. Maybe in the future after it comes out and I read a finished copy. It sounds interesting so I'll still be reading it.

I don't really feel like reading anything right now, to be honest. Perhaps it's because I've had an unfortunate string of books I thought were just ok/didn't necessarily enjoy/not that interested in to be honest. I think I need to read something new that I know I'm going to enjoy. Or something that I want to read. Hmmmmm.

Reviews for next week will feature The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett and possibly Dangerous by Shannon Hale (because one is for a blog tour and I don't have the date for my review yet, I can't give dates). :)

Bought/borrowed/received:
Fragile Spirits by Mary Lindsey (borrowed from library)
Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi (borrowed from library)