Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Have you entered my Reading Road Trip Giveaway yet? Tomorrow's the last day!

Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Balzer & Bray, September 18, 2012

Read for 2012 Sophomore Challenge and 2012 Standalone Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

And their doom comes swiftly.
It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.
But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.
Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

I just finished this book and I'm reminded of the fact that there just aren't enough murder-mysteries in YA fiction. I get why, really--the overly gruesome descriptions are usually a requirement for murder mysteries, and that can quickly put off many teen readers, or send them to the adult mystery section.

But Ten is a fun, fun read...well, as fun as a book about teenagers being tortured and murdered can be, at any rate! It's a perfect read for when you're looking for something scary and want some twists and turns. The cast of characters reads like any realistic scary movie--the linebacker, the computer nerd, the  overbearing girl, the "normal" girl and her unbalanced best friend--but like any realistic scary movie, you're anxious to see who's next to get offed, and how many people will have to die before the killer is revealed. Fun, like I said. :)

There are enough twists and turns to keep any reader guessing--I thought I had the killer figured out, but was wrong, and then wrong again--and the sense of hopelessness at being stranded in a gorgeous house, seemingly the only occupants on an entire island, with no method of communicating with anyone else and a serial killer methodically killing everyone? This is a great read, trust.

ARC won in contest. Ten will be released on September 18 and I urge you to pick it up!!
Enjoy your reading!
Christi

In My Mailbox (97)

Have you entered my Reading Road Trip Giveaway yet??

In My Mailbox is an Internet meme hosted by The Story Siren to share new books received, purchased, or borrowed.

I apologize for the formatting errors, I have no idea what I did or how to fix them. Anyway, here's what I got this week:
ARC received from publisher: Seconds Away by Harlan Coben:

I am so excited for this one! I love Harlan Coben's adult fiction and I loved his YA debut, Shelter, so obviously I can't wait to jump into the next Mickey Bolitar adventure!


Received from author in exchange for an honest review: Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite by Lianne Simon. The premise sounds really interesting, I'm looking forward to it!

Won in a contest over at First Novels Club: all these goodies!

The contest was a baby pool for one of the women who run the blog, Sara, and apparently my guesses were closest to the actual birth/day/time/sex/hair color/time/etc., so I got first pick of a slew of titles. I chose Clockwork Prince and The Immortal Rules because they're both signed and will be awesome end-of-summer prizes, and ARCs of Ten and Narc because they both sound amazing (and will be great giveaways when I'm done with them!).

Borrowed from the library:

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (adult fic. Actually, I borrowed it from someone who borrowed it from the library LOL)
• The Final Leap: Suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge by John Bateson (adult nonfic. I requested this through interlibrary loan and the library purchased it, so I hope it's really, really good.)

So that's five must-reads for me over the next week or two (already finished Gone Girl) with at least two definite reviews to come.

What did you get?

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

In My Mailbox (96)

Have you entered my Reading Road Trip Giveaway yet??

In My Mailbox is an Internet meme hosted by The Story Siren to share new books 
received, purchased, or borrowed.

Here's what I got this week:

Borrowed from the library:

• Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown
• Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield (have been seeing this one pop up a lot lately!)
• The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt

What did you get?

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Super Short Reviews (11)

Have you entered my Reading Road Trip giveaway yet?

Welcome to my Super Short Reviews feature. With my life being the chaotic, hectic mess it is, I'm finding it difficult to keep up with my reviews. Hence, the Super Short Review, which is basically what it says--a couple lines about some of my recent reads. All links will lead to Goodreads.

My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend: Read for 2012 Standalone Challenge. This was an interesting read about a beautiful girl at the top of the social ladder who falls hard after a car accident leaves her face permanently disfigured. I felt that forgiveness was given far too quickly, but I am not that quick to forgive, so that might just be my perception. This book addresses the question of what happens to the person who is judged based solely on their looks, when their looks are drastically changed? Borrowed from the library.

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger: Read for 2012 Standalone Challenge. I felt this was a fun summer read, perfect for the beach. Like Kody's previous works, sex (either the actual act, or talking about the act) and drinking are everyday occurrences in this novel, so if reading about those things bother you, Kody is probably not your girl. But I felt this was a realistic, fun novel--although Kody's debut novel, The DUFF, remains my favorite of hers. Borrowed from library.

Infinity (Numbers #3) by Rachel Ward: I have heard ZERO about this trilogy, and I can't imagine why. I found the premise to be exceptionally interesting--what would life be like if you looked at people and saw their death dates?--and I thought the books were suspenseful and fast reads. Why no one else likes them, I don't know. Because I don't want to ruin the trilogy for anyone who hasn't read it, let me just say that it came to a satisfying conclusion. If you haven't checked out this trilogy (Numbers and Chaos are books 1 & 2), I obviously think you should. Borrowed from library.

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

In My Mailbox (95)

Have you entered my Reading Road Trip Giveaway yet??

In My Mailbox is an Internet meme hosted by The Story Siren to share new books 
received, purchased, or borrowed.

Here's what I got this week:


Won in a contest over at Uniquely Moi Books: a signed copy of Camp by Elaine Wolf (thanks, Jodie!):

Downloaded to my nook:

• Easy by Tammara Webber ($3.99 at Barnes & Noble! Have heard such great things about this book!)

Downloaded to my Kindle app on my iPhone:

• What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor ($1.99 at Amazon! It was the same price at B&N, too, until I had the chance to purchase it--then the price went up to $7.99. Kind of glad I have the opportunity to purchase both nook and Kindle books!)

That's it, really. I currently have ZERO books checked out from the library, which is forcing me to finally read some of the books from my to-read pile. Making progress is fun!

What did you get?

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

June in Review and Summer Reading

Have you entered my Reading Road Trip giveaway yet?

June was a fun month. BEA, of course (gah! Still owe you a recap!), and that weekend I took Best Girl to Disney for a spur of the moment weekend trip. I desperately needed to get away for a few days. Yes, my problems were still there when I got home, but for a few days I was able to step away.

Anyway, in June I read 12 books--not bad. I was able to knock 6 titles off of my 2012 Standalone Challenge, and 2 for the 2012 Sophomore Challenge. I also discovered my #2 favorite book of the year--Every Day by David Levithan (#1 is still See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles).

I also spent the bulk of June preparing for summer reading at my library. I was lucky enough to be able to single-handedly create the summer reading list for the 7th and 8th grade middle school in my district. !!! I'm not much of a bragger but I have to say the list looks pretty awesome. All told there's about 130 titles on the list--standalones, series, nonfiction, boy books, girl books, both books, books for kids reading on a 5th grade level up through 9th grade. I have had, so far, a 100% success rate of pairing books with teens.

Some of the titles I included, in case you were interested:
All of the Weenie books, and Dunk, by David Lubar
The Pull of Gravity by Gae Polisner
The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner
Candy Bomber by Michael O. Tunnell *nonfiction
They Called Themselves the KKK by Susan Campbell Bartoletti *nonfiction
Al Capone Does My Shirts or Al Capone Shines my Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko
The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot

Those are only a few of the titles on the list. I spent a lot of time creating this list, and a lot of time making sure the Summer Reading cart has books on it, so it's absolutely amazing to have parents and teens give me such positive feedback. Makes my heart happy.

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Super Short Reviews (10)

Have you entered my Reading Road Trip giveaway yet?

Welcome to my Super Short Reviews feature. With my life being the chaotic, hectic mess it is, I'm finding it difficult to keep up with my reviews. Hence, the Super Short Review, which is basically what it says--a couple lines about some of my recent reads. All links will lead to Goodreads.

Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti: Read for 2012 Standalone Challenge. This was a powerful novel about bullying. I have to admit, I love love love Susane as a person, and I've found her other novels to be entertaining, but this one really hit home for me and is hands down my favorite by her. This is a strong novel about bullying and neglect and it will leave you feeling hopeless and hopeful, which is a feat to pull off in one novel. I got a finished copy at BEA.

Skinny by Donna Cooner: Read for 2012 Debut Author Challenge and 2012 Standalone Challenge. This debut novel is a moving account of 15 year old Ever, who weighs over 300 pounds. She's tormented not only by her peers but by the ever-present voice in her head that Ever not-so-affectionately names Skinny. After many humiliating moments, and one in particular, Ever makes the decision to pursue gastric bypass surgery. Donna Cooner has had gastric bypass surgery, so Ever's experiences ring true. The delight Ever feels the first time she goes clothes shopping post-surgery was so realistic that I teared up a little. A wonderful debut. Skinny will be released October 12 from Scholastic. I received an ARC at BEA.

Zoe Letting Go by Nora Price: Read for 2012 Debut Author Challenge and 2012 Standalone Challenge. Zoe's mother drops her off at Twin Birch for reasons Zoe cannot understand. Twin Birch is not a hospital or a rehab, and the methodology is something that hasn't really been seen before. The other girls are obviously suffering from anorexia, but, as Zoe explains in letters to her best friend Elise, that can't possibly apply to her. I found the ending of the novel predictable but I really enjoy reading about the Twin Birch experience, and I hope that the author used a real-life example of a facility--in other words, that places like this really exist for those who need them. I borrowed this book from the library.

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

In My Mailbox (94)

Have you entered my Reading Road Trip Giveaway yet??


In My Mailbox is an Internet meme hosted by The Story Siren to share new books 
received, purchased, or borrowed.


Here's what I got this week:


Borrowed from the library:

• The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison (which I tried to read but couldn't get into)

That's all this week BUT I'm starting to make a nice dent in my BEA books. :)

What did you get?

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Reading Road Trip: You are Here: New Jersey!

The 2012 Reading Road Trip is hosted by Like These Books and Icey Books as a way to showcase the fabulous books and authors that come out of the great USA and Canada! Each participating blog is assigned a state (or Canada) and will be hosting a giveaway of a book or books by an author of their state, or a book about their assigned state. Fun, right?

I picked New Jersey and my original post was an entire rant on how MTV's Jersey Shore is not a true representation of our culture, but I'm guessing most of you know that. Did you know, though, that if you're a local, you go to the beach? Tourists (bennys) go to the shore.

Anyway, instead of ranting about what I hate about NJ, let me tell you the number one reason I will probably never leave this state. Yes, we have gorgeous beaches, miles of beautiful boardwalks, and plenty of historic landmarks. But the reason I will probably be tethered to NJ for the rest of my life can be summed up in two words: PORK. ROLL. Also known as Taylor Ham. I cannot even begin to describe its goodness--you can learn more about it at Wikipedia, although I would never compare it to Spam. It's like a hot dog in that it's a combination of stuff that you would probably be better off not thinking about, but it's so, so good. There is nothing like pork roll, egg and cheese on a hard roll to make everything right in the world. And for some inexplicable reason it's only made in the NJ area. Sure, with the Internet you could probably get it shipped to Anywhere, USA, but there is just nothing like eating a pork roll sandwich in a NJ diner.

Is there a regional delicacy in your area that you can't live without (I'm using the word delicacy very loosely here, I know!)?

Onto the giveaway! One lucky winner will win two SIGNED books by NJ authors--a hardcover copy of She's So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott and a paperback copy of Popular by Alissa Grosso! You can click on each title to learn more about the books at their respective Goodreads pages.

Contest is open to US residents age 13 and up. Simply fill out the Rafflecopter to enter. You don't have to be a follower but you can get extra points for doing so! Contest closes on August 1.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm stop number four on the Reading Road Trip, so be sure to check out all the other stops and follow along!

Click here for the full schedule!!

Enjoy your reading and good luck!

Christi

Still Slumping

Ugh, I thought I was doing so much better, but I seem to have fallen back into the slump. I apologize--this time around it's not because I can't focus on reading but because I can't muster up the energy to write reviews. I have read some great books lately and hopefully I can start reviewing them soon. If not, please bear with me. Sheesh, I still haven't done a BEA recap yet, and I want to post about the awesomeness that is my local district's summer reading lists, and I have some great programs slated for the summer...it just seems that all of my energy is going into actually DOING all of these things, recapping them is more than I can bear. I so apologize.

In the meantime, be sure to check out Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti and This is So Not Happening by Kieran Scott (but only if you've already read She's So Dead to Us and He's So Not Worth It). This is so Not Happening is a most satisfying series conclusion and Keep Holding On is a heartbreaking book about bullying that leaves you feeling alternately hopeless and hopeful. Amazing.

And stay tuned for the Reading Road Trip--a NJ stop is coming up shortly!

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

In My Mailbox (93)

In My Mailbox is an Internet meme hosted by The Story Siren to share new books received, purchased, or borrowed.


Here's what I got this week!



Borrowed from the library:

• My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend
• Zoe Letting Go by Nora Price
• Sex: a book for teens: an uncensored guide to your body, sex, and safety by Nikol Hasler (nonfiction. Don't judge me--this is one of the nonfiction titles up for the 2013 Garden State Teen Book Awards--I had to read it!)

There is nothing like coming back to work after a week off and opening a ginormous box of this goodness:

 

This humongous box of goodies--ARCs and finished copies of books--is from a colleague in the collections department, kindly donated for my End-of-Summer Book Auction!


What did you get?
Enjoy your reading!
Christi