In My Mailbox (104)

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. A big book week, mostly because of my return to NetGalley! 

Received from author for my teens: Grace Doll by Jennifer Laurens (thank you! Follow the link to Goodreads if you'd like to learn more about this book.)

Won in a contest over at A Life Bound by Books: Morganville Vampires: Black Dawn (thanks, Lisa!):

Borrowed from the library:

• Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You by Joyce Carol Oates
• The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas (yes, I'm still mildly obsessed with books about mothers dying)
• Some slow-cooker recipe books (I'm desperate for some awesome recipes for my 1970's style Crock Pot, so I can justify buying a nice, updated, shiny new Crock Pot. Right now I only have a couple go-to recipes. Have any to share?)
• Some travel guides on Washington, DC (a friend invited Best Girl & I to a football game in early December and I thought I'd make the trip a true learning experience. Best Girl is at the right age to appreciate much of what our nation's capitol has to offer, I think.)

Downloaded to my nook from NetGalley (oh, how I've missed you!):

• Rape Girl by Alina Klein
• The Believing Game by Eireann Corrigan (who was in the audience at the author panel with David Levithan a few weeks ago!)
• All You Never Wanted by Adele Griffin (who was on the author panel with David Levithan a few weeks ago!)

Purchased from Barnes & Noble:

A whole bunch of goodies for the upcoming Collingswood Book Festival next weekend! Everything that AS King has published to date (sadly, her newest, Ask the Passengers, won't be released until later in October. I'm taking some sticker paper, though, that I'm hoping she'll sign for bookplates), some Biscuit books for my nieces, a Skippyjon Jones book for my nephew, and more. I will put them all in a wrap up post about the festival! Are you heading to the festival? Let me know in the comments!

What did you get?

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

The Return of Super Short Reviews!

Basically I wanted to let you all know that I'm still here, and I'm still reading, but not blogging as much. It's been one month since Mom passed and it feels like an eternity but also like it just happened yesterday, if that makes sense. I appreciate all the kind words you've shared with me. I know that time is the answer and I apologize for not posting at all, really, except for IMM posts.

But I have been reading, so I thought I'd let you all know some of what I've loved recently. All links will take you to Goodreads.

If I Lie by Corrine Jackson: read for 2012 Debut Author Challenge, and what a stunning debut it was. There's so much desperation in this novel, and you care so much about the characters. It's one of those books where you can tell early on that there are no easy answers, but you keep reading because you need to know which of the difficult answers is the least difficult. Does that make sense?

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea: I picked this one up because the author is going to be at the Collingswood Book Festival next week and, honestly, there aren't that many authors of middle grade books scheduled this year (i.e., not a lot to interest Best Girl). The book is about fifth graders so technically Best Girl could read it, but some of the topics are a little heavy for her right now. Perhaps towards the end of the school year, or over next summer. It is a wonderful novel of how one teacher can impact an entire class.

Trafficked by Kim Purcell: Almost, ALMOST, scary enough to be on my long-forgotten MAHROAT list. A girl comes to LA to work as a nanny but is instead kept as a slave. It's horrifying and I'm sure that it happens more often than we think. This book will leave you feeling really uncomfortable, I think.

Blizzard of Glass: the Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker: What can I say? I'm already trying to vet new titles for next year's summer reading lists at the middle school and the high school. The middle school list, in particular, was very well received this summer, and I was ASTOUNDED at how popular some of the titles were. I was quick to recommend Candy Bomber to any reluctant boy reader, and They Called Themselves the KKK was not on the summer reading cart AT ALL (and I "borrowed" several copies from other branches). So I definitely think more nonfiction should be added for next year, and I think Blizzard of Glass might fit the bill. It's a fairly quick read and an interesting part of history that I don't think gets covered much (in our area, at least).

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

In My Mailbox (103)

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:

• Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea (in preparation for the Collingswood Book Festival on October 6)
• My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt
• If I Lie by Corrine Jackson
• Blizzard of Glass: the Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker (nonfiction) (can you believe I’m already thinking about Summer Reading 2013?)

From publisher, for my teens (thank you!):

• Pure by Julianna Baggott

What did you get?

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Seconds Away by Harlan Coben

Seconds Away (Mickey Bolitar #2) by Harlan Coben

September 18, 2012 bu Putnam Juvenile

Read for 2012 Sophomore Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

When tragedy strikes close to home, Mickey Bolitar and his loyal new friends—sharp-witted Ema and the adorkably charming Spoon—find themselves at the center of a terrifying mystery involving the shooting of their friend Rachel. Now, not only does Mickey have to continue his quest to uncover the truth about the Abeona Shelter, the Butcher of Lodz and the mysterious death of his father, he needs to figure out who shot Rachel—no matter what it takes. Mickey has always been ready to sacrifice everything to help the people he loves. But with danger just seconds away, how can he protect them when he’s not even sure who—or what—he’s protecting them from?

I am really enjoying this series, which is no surprise considering I really enjoy Harlan Coben's mysteries for adults. Mickey has all the snark and wise-ass cracks that his uncle has, and the tension between the pair continues to make for great reading. Seconds Away takes place almost immediately after the conclusion of Shelter, so there is no time to wander around here--you are immediately swept back up into Mickey Bolitar's world, and this world is scary, dangerous, and, yes, even fun. Harlan Coben has created a great network of characters here, and I cannot wait to see them grow in future books.


I love that Harlan Coben was able to create a YA mystery series that is exactly the same as his adult books without the language and sex that adult mysteries are so soften full of. While I always recommend Harlan Coben to mystery readers at the library (ALWAYS support NJ writers!), I would also recommend these titles to my adult readers at the library who want a mystery series that isn't full of guts and gore. Kudos to Harlan Coben for another successful title!

ARC courtesy of publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Enjoy your reading!
Christi

In My Mailbox (102)

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

I seem to have snapped out of my reading funk and actually read FIVE books this week! The Raft by SA Bodeen was really good, as was Intentions by Deborah Heiligman. Whether I'll have the stamina to write reviews of any of them remains to be seen. I suck, I know. But I do have a giveaway coming up soon, I think. :)

Here's what I got this week:
Won from a 5th Blog Birthday contest (WOW! 5 years!) over at Miss Print: All these lovely goodies to share with my teens (thanks, Emma!):

Borrowed from the library:
Counting Backwards by Lisa Lascaro (reading it now)
Trafficked by Kim Purcell

Purchased:
Every Day by David Levithan, Stone Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel, and Intentions by Deborah Heiligman. Because I went to this amazing author panel Friday night at the Princeton Barnes & Noble featuring these amazing authors and also the amazing Adele Griffin. I am a tool and didn't realize that Adele had a new book out, All You Never Wanted, and because I already have Tighter signed from an event last year, I didn't purchase anything to be signed by her. UGH! Especially because she read from All You Never Wanted and it sounds amazing. (Did anyone else pick up on the fact that I used "amazing" four times in two sentences?) I will try me best to get a recap of the night up soon!

What did you get?

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

In My Mailbox (101)

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

Here's a list of the books I've gotten this week. I'm not really feeling too much like reading, but hopefully I'll snap out of that soon.

Borrowed from the library:

• My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece by Amanda Pitcher (I know, could I be any more morbid?)
• The Raft by SA Bodeen
• Intentions by Deborah Hellingman
• Smashed by Lisa Luedeke

Purchased for my Kindle iPhone app:

• What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen

What did you get?

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Contest Reminder: Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite

Thank you to everyone who posted such kind words, or emailed me, over the past few days. I am fluctuating between denial and acceptance of my mother's passing--most days I simply feel surreal, if that makes any sense.

BUT! That's not why I'm posting today. I'm posting to remind you that I have a contest that's closing tomorrow, and as of this writing there are only two entries. Lianne Simon has graciously offered a copy of her debut, Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite, and I feel really bad that my life is getting in the way of everyone finding out about this sweet, sweet story. So, please head over to my review and just leave your info in the comments sections.

Review can be found here: Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite. Contest closes tomorrow!

Enjoy your reading!
Christi