Book Review: Little Black Lies

Title: Little Black Lies

Author: Tish Cohen

Pub. Date: October 2009
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Format: Hardcover, 320pp
Age Range: 12 and up
ISBN-13: 9781606840337
ISBN: 1606840339

Source: from Agent/publisher

Sara Black is tiptoeing across a fraying tightrope.
As the new eleventh grader at Anton High – the most elite public school in the country – she sticks out like an old VW bus in a parking lot full of shiny BMWs. But being the new kid also brings a certain advantageous anonymity.
In Anton High’s world of privilege, intelligence, and wealth, Sara can escape her family’s tarnished past and become whomever she wants.
And what’s the harm in telling a few little black lies when it can lead to popularity? That is, until another it girl at Anton becomes jealous of Sara’s social climbing.
With her balance evaporating, one small push could bring Sara crashing down. 

Hmmm...Little Black Lies is an awesome book! I loved it. It had all the good qualities in a book i was looking for, it was well written, witty, and the characters were believable. I loved the message in the book, as the story goes on Sara learns some important lessons about the value of a good parent(i mean her dad is awesome), the love of a friend, and the importance of honesty.Because a little black lie can lead to just a BIG web of lies.

Sara was my favorite character, being the main character she took on those challenges in life like her dad's OCD, her parents divorce(her mom being so far away in) no friends, and a new school.I think a lot of teens can relate to her. The only problem i had with her was the lies, but i wasn't surprised that she was just making an invented life to impress her peers well the High School Mean Girl and her clique. At one point in the book I was so mad at Sara because of what she said about her father. At times i really did think she didn't deserve a father like Charlie.But that's what made her believable because she had her flaws, it made her human. I liked Poppy too! I wish she had a bigger role in the book. I guess we can call her the weird girl who video camera's everything but she knows who she is and what she wants. All The characters were awesome(LEO!!)They well developed, they had strong hero/heroine personalities.

I liked the way Tish Cohen dealt with lying(being a troublesome/difficult issue). As much as i like Sara i didn't like her lying. But I'm not angel either.In the end it proved how much trouble you can cause and how much you can hurt people. "Honesty is KEY",as my teacher would always say and never to abandon the people you love most. As for the romance, It wasn’t a big part of the book, but when there was some(tease lol) it was sweet. The ending was perfecto! and Leo and Sara are a cute couple. I'm happy with the ending.So if you haven't read this book you should!

My Rating 4.5/5 hearts

♥♥♥♥.5

Book review: Candle Man, Book One: The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance

Title: Candle Man, Book One: The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance

Author: Glenn Dakin

Pub. Date: September 2009
Publisher: Egmont USA
Format: Hardcover, 320pp
Age Range: 10+
Series: Candle Man Series, #1
ISBN-13: 9781606840153
ISBN: 1606840150

Murder, mystery, and adventure aren’t your typical birthday presents ....
But for Theo, anything that breaks up his ordinary routine is the perfect gift.
A mysterious “illness” and Theo’s guardians force him into a life indoors, where gloves must be worn and daily medical treatments are the norm. When Theo discovers a suspicious package on his birthday, one person from the past will unlock the secret behind Theo’s “illness” and change his life forever.
Molded into an exhilarating steampunk adventure that gives birth to the next great fantasy hero, Theo Wickland, Candle Man: The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance is the first book in a trilogy by debut author Glenn Dakin.

The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance was pretty good. It had lots of action, adventure, and best of all mystery. It starts of pretty intriguingly, and once I hit the middle I couldn't stop reading.Hooked until the end, I wanted to know what would happen with Theo. I really liked the different but weird characters, and the story....lets just say it was new/fresh(in a good way) 

The cover fits the story. It have that Series of unfortunate events feel to it. That was my favorite series when i was in 7th grade.I like Dakin's writing. It had alot of twists and turns in Candle Man that kept me turning the pages to uncover the mysteries surrounding Theo’s ability and his importance to The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance. This book is a great start to a series with a great cast of characters and a thrilling plot. This book also has some interesting/odd creatures like smoglodytes (foul creatures that can only survive in the smog) and garghouls (gargoyles) not to mention some great Villains that build even more excitement throughout the book. It will be very interesting to see what the next adventure for Theo and The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance embark on in the next installment. Candle Man book one is Glenn Dakin's first novel for children, and I think he did an excellent job. I'm looking forward to reading the next books in the Candle Man trilogy.  I would recommend this to younger middle school readers(my brother is reading it 2), but if you older, you would probably like it too. Candle Man book one is Glenn Dakin's first novel for children, and I think he did an excellent job. I'm looking forward to reading the next books in the Candle Man trilogy. 

Here's a cool site for Candle Man: http://www.powerofthecandleman.com/ 



My Rating 4/5 hearts
♥ ♥ ♥♥

In My Mailbox(20)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren!
Hey everybody! Hope you all are having an awesome weekend. So this is what i got this week.

Review:
none


Bought:
 
Devoured by Amanda Marrone 
Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, #4)by Richelle Mead
The Tear Collector by Patrick Jones 
Touch by Francine Prose
Prophecy of the Sisters (Prophecy of the Sisters, #1)by Michelle Zink
When It Happens by Susane Colasanti 
Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires, #1) by Rachel Caine
Forever by Judy Blume

Library:

The Pace by Shelena Shorts
Bending to Break by AJ Hampton 

5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse(Rotten Tomatoes)

O.k so i was looking at Hisgoldeneyes.com and i came across this article talking about ECLIPSE! I saw New Moon! it was AWESOME!! loved it, i have to say it was way better than the first one, 10x better :D I just wanted to share this article w/ all of you that a Twilight fans:
(Hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving!)

Rotten Tomatoes has this great rundown of five things we can expect from Eclipse.

Fact #1: It’s Darker

The brand new poster for Eclipse (left) hints at a darker tone with its brooding storm clouds. With 30 Days of Night director David Slade at the helm, it’s unsurprising. “Every movie is different because we work with a different director on each one, which I love,” Taylor Lautner tells RT. “David Slade is perfect for the third film because it’s darker. Eclipse was my favourite book.”
Ashley Greene, who plays vampire Alice, tells RT that Slade isn’t just a prince of darkness. “David is actually hysterical,” she laughs, “He has such a dry sense of humour that sometimes you don’t know if he’s kidding or not. Eclipse will be amazing because he has made it far edgier and more dramatic. It’s going to look very cool.”

 

Fact #2: There Will Be Less “Love Story” and More “War”
“Eclipse isn’t as intimate as Twilight or New Moon,” Robert Pattinson explains to us. “We’re at war, so I get to interact with more characters, not just Kristen. You’ll also find out more about the other members of the Cullen family. It just feels bigger.” But — fear not, Twihards — that isn’t to say the love story is cast aside altogether. “New Moon set up a love triangle with Bella, Edward and Jacob,” says Lautner. “So we explore that further in Eclipse. It’s a tough situation for all of them because Bella is torn between two guys, Jacob can’t get the girl that he loves and then there’s Edward, with all of his issues.”

 

Fact #3: The Werewolves Will Crank Up the Sex Appeal
“We all know the appeal of the vampire family,” says Nikki Reed, who plays vampire Rosalie. “But the werewolf boys are on a whole different level. They interact with a youthful, playful, comfortable warmth. It’s very sexy.”
As for Pattinson, he admits that his personal jealousy about Taylor Lautner’s newly-ripped physique actually comes in handy for the role. “In Eclipse, Taylor and I have lots of scenes together where we have to be jealous and petty with each other,” he says. “So it helps that I actually do feel inadequate when I see his body, especially because he’s younger than me. He fulfills every criteria of what teenage girls want, physically, in a guy. I felt like a had to prove myself against him.”

 

Fact #4: There's More Action

"Filming Eclipse actually changed my life," says Nikki Reed of the arduous training regime the cast had to endure. "I have never been so fit -- this is the first time in my life I have actually had a bicep. It's bizarre to compare how we look now to how we all looked in the first movie. The entire cast turned up on set for Eclipse looking super-buff."

New cast member Bryce Dallas Howard tried to play a prank on the crew during one stunt, but she didn't count on Pattinson's awkwardness. "We had a fight scene where Bryce had to grab my hair," he laughs. "So she took a clump of hair from my stunt double's wig and was going to pretend she had pulled it from my head. She told me to scream and storm off set, but it was so embarrassing. She had this huge clump of hair in her hand, and I was like 'oww,' really unconvincingly."

While the rest of the cast were having fun with stunts, spare a thought for poor Taylor Lautner. "Eclipse is a lot more physical for my character," he explains, "but any time I have any kind of action, I'm a wolf, so it's all done with CGI. It's a bummer."

Fact #5: The Ending Will Be Nicely Set Up For a Fourth - And Perhaps Fifth - Film
There are four books in The Twilight Saga: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. But Ashley Greene gave RT the strongest indication yet that there might be five films. "We have finished filming Eclipse and one would assume that, if New Moon does as well as Twilight, then we'll start filming Breaking Dawn next year," she says.
"The only thing is, Breaking Dawn is a very large book so it would be a really long movie. We're thinking they might decide to split it into two parts, like they did with Harry Potter. Either way, we need to get on with shooting them because, unlike Harry Potter, vampires don't age. So we all need to look the same!"
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is released worldwide in the summer of 2010.

Article by Rotten Tomatoes

Waiting on Wednesday(18)

 
Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson
May 18th 2010 by Simon Pulse   

Christine Johnson’s CLAIRE DE LUNE, in which a teenager learns that she is a werewolf, descended from a long line of female werewolves, and must balance her human and werewolf lives, while tracking down the rogue werewolf preying upon the people of her town.

My thoughts: Any book that has werewolves in it count me in, thank Carrie Jones and MaggieStiefvater for that :D

hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Author Interview: Carrie Jones

Today I'm super excited to be interviewing author Carrie Jones about her awesome novels, Need. Which is now available!  I can't wait until Captivate comes out!

                                                            

What inspired Need? Did you know your were going to make a sequel?

I was at the Common Ground Fair, which is this huge, cool fair in Maine that’s sponsored by Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association (MOFGA). To get to the main part of the fair you have to walk through this sweet trail that curves through these tall spruce trees.
Right in front of me was this guy. He had a weird vibe. He was wearing all corduroy – blazer, pants. And sticking out from his blazer was this long tail-like appendage that was wrapped in different colored earth-toned cloth. I guess he could tell I was checking him out because he turned his head and looked at me. His eye was this startling silver color. How startling? So startling that I actually gasped and got creeped out.
Then when we were in line to pay we made eye contact again and his eyes were brown.
I know! I know! I probably imagined the silver eye color.
It doesn’t matter. That was one of the main things that got me started. Then, I just had this image of a man standing outside an airport pointing at an airplane this girl was on.
It also creeped me out.
So, I started writing.

I didn't know I was going to write a sequel NEED came out. I was up at Vermont College's School of Fine Arts, doing a graduate assistant gig. It was all cold in my dorm room and I just sat at the computer and started writing CAPTIVATE. I had about 20,000 words down and I thought, "Hmm... I wonder if Michelle (my editor) would mind a sequel...."

Do you have any must haves while you write?

I prefer not to write in blood so it's good for me to have a computer or a pen.

Do you have any phobias?

I am terrified of downhill skiing. I used to be terrified of the dark. I've overcome that one though.

Pixie or Shape-shifter? If shape-shifter, what animal?

Shape-shifter. I don't know.... It would be a toss-up between werewolf and were-tiger. I like the whole pack element of wolves because I like to cuddle and have a support network. Then I think - Does wolf breath equal dog breath?

And were-tigers are so cool. They are so strong and sleek and fierce.

Honestly though I'd probably end up being a were-mountain-pony. Sadness.

What’s your favorite candy?

Reese's peanut butter cups but I can only eat one or I get sick. I am super sensitive to candy.

Tell us a little bit about Captivate, maybe a teaser? pretty please

Oh! I wish I could.

Here's what the publisher wrote:

Pixie-led: to be lost, to be confused, to be led astray

Zara and her friends knew they hadn’t solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it—the king’s control over his pixies gets weaker every day. So when a new, younger pixie king shows up, there is war in the air. The new king, Astley, claims he’s not evil. Zara believes him, but Nick—not so much. Then Astley tells Zara she is fated to be his queen, and suddenly the stakes get even higher.

On the webpage the publisher made there are some sneak peeks. You can click here if you want. It's a bit long!

http://www.needpixies.com/captivate-sneakpeeks.html
 

Thank you so much for the interview. It's super kind of you to host me.
                                                                                                                                
Thanks Carrie! you one of my favorite Authors. I think Wolf breathe and Dog breathe are the same lol.
I'd want to a were-panda b/c their cute and they have really good ninja skills lol

In My Mailbox(19)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren!

Hey Everybody! Can u believe Thanksgiving is like a few days away. I'm sooooo hungry*drool* lol. Yum. on top of all that i get a vacation! YAY! that will check me up on my TBR list.

I've checked out other bloggers IMM and i'm not the only one who didn't receive any review books. BUT i did buy some books.

The Purchase:

1. Reign or Shine (Demon Princess, #1)by Michelle Rowen
2. Night World, No. 1: Secret Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Spellbinder (Night World, #1-3) by L.J. Smith  
3. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
   

AWESOME WINNER(contest)

OMG you guys! like there was ALOT of extra entries i had 2 count. i thought i was going to go crazy i mean 300+ extra entries and 223 awesome people who entered this contest. Thanks you guys!!! your awesome. I'm sooo sorry you guys had 2 wait this long. Now the winner is.....

Leslie @ The Book Teller
 (i have already email u, be back w/ me in 48 hrs)

There are more contest on the way! Congrats Leslie! thank u 2 everyone that participated in the contest.
 

 (i have already email u, contact me back within 48 hrs)

Book Review: Intertwined

Title: Intertwined

Author: Gena Showalter

Publisher: Harlequin
Pub. Date: September 2009
ISBN-13: 9780373210022
Age Range: Young Adult
448pp

There’s something about the new guy at Crossroads High . . .

Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:

One can time-travel.
One can raise the dead.
One can tell the future.
And one can possess another human.

With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends. But now, they’re causing him all kinds of trouble.

Like, he’ll blink and suddenly he’s a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he’ll change the future. Or, he’ll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she’s going to die.

He’s so over it. All he wants is peace.

And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices. Well, for as long as he’s with her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He’s a loner; she has friends. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it. For her sake, he should stay away. But it’s too late. . .

Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendship. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own and a vampire princess Aden can’t resist. Two romances, both forbidden. . . doomed. Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger. . . but not everyone will come out alive. . .

Intertwined was a fun read but it got kind of tangled(if that make any sense), let me explain,i LOVED Gena's writing style but the storyline had too much going on. I got a little confused here and there. I think this is one of those books that would probably get untangled in the next book.What kept me reading was the World that Gena put me in. Fairies,flesh eating goblins, throw in a couple hot guys. This book was good but it had it's flaws.


I liked all the characters, even the souls in Aden's head. Aden kept the story interesting. Although the focus shifted off him to Mary Ann. I found the characters well developed in the world of crazyiness.
As for the two romances,it was kind of rushed, O.k So it goes like this: the first people we meet in this book are Aden and Mary Ann. They meet the other two main characters and BAM crushes have been formed.I understand the soulmate thing but, there has to be a development in the relationships. Call me old fashion but i like the I getting to know you to happen first. So the romances didn't do it for me, but there was a couple of cute moments.I can totally see all of them being together. Just take it a little slower.


There was alot of action in the book, from the first page.There was alot of biting, stabbing, time traveling, and well kicking some evil butt! lol It was fast paced but at the last 2 chapters the book sort of fast forwarded to a quick ending that left me still looking for the last page. It wasn't a cliffhanger, but it felt well....rushed again. Like o.k BYE! you know?
 
 A biggest problem I had with the book was that there was a lot of ideas being thrown at the reader,it kind of worked for the story because it keep you on your toes. But at some parts it was a little too much.I would have liked that the author concentrate on Aden and his story.Intertwined is promising, i'll be reading the next book in the series.I know the next book would be better. Plus, i hope it would be, because I LOVE paranormal books.
 
My Rating 4/5 hearts
♥ ♥ ♥♥

In My Mailbox(18)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren!

Hey Everybody! hope u all R having an awesome weekend. I'm soo happy, My i got 2 awesome books for review. i'm sooo eager to read them:

For Review:

The Mark by Jen Nadol

(ARC/ Bloomsbury/Feb,2010)

Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu 
(ARC/ Walker/Feb,2010)

Bought:

Another Faust by Daniel Nayeri, Dina Nayeri
(HB/ Candlewick/Aug,2009)

PBS:

The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, #1) by Gena Showalter
(PB/ HQN Books/May,2008)

Book Review: Fragile Eternity

Title: Fragile Eternity
Author: Melissa Marr

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub. Date: April 2009
ISBN-13: 9780061214714
Age Range: Young Adult
400pp

synopsis

Seth never expected he would want to settle down with anyone—but that was before Aislinn. She is everything he'd ever dreamed of, and he wants to be with her forever. Forever takes on new meaning, though, when your girlfriend is an immortal faery queen.

Aislinn never expected to rule the very creatures who'd always terrified her—but that was before Keenan. He stole her mortality to make her a monarch, and now she faces challenges and enticements beyond any she'd ever imagined.

In Melissa Marr's third mesmerizing tale of Faerie, Seth and Aislinn struggle to stay true to themselves and each other in a milieu of shadowy rules and shifting allegiances, where old friends become new enemies and one wrong move could plunge the Earth into chaos.

O.k. So seriously, i really wanted to like this book but I have to say this was not my favorite in the series. I was so lost in the "love Triangle" between Seth, Ash,and Keenan. It just never ended. Keenan and Ash's "love" is weakening the Summer Court and when Ash had to choose between them(sorry no spoilers), but she always loved Seth, why does she have to think about it, she only loves Keenan as a friend. Keenan and the Winter Queen can't work.I was just so frustrated. I was lost in the bickering love triangles. Everybody just steps all over Ash. War.... with people who were suppose to be her "friend". I just didn't love this book. It was o.k. I hope this gets all sorted out in the next book. I love Melissa Marr as an author and i'll continue the series.

I do think Fragile eternity was a good addition to the Wicked lovely series. Overall it was a good book, with all the twist and turns. It was just the love triangles it just... argh! made me mad*happy place* So the next book in the series is Skin Starved. i hope it will be about Niall and Les, because there is some unfinished biz there.


rating 3.5/5 hearts
♥ ♥ ♥.5

Immortal and Gringolandia Winners!!

 The Winner of Immortal by P.C. Cast(Various Authors) is:

Rachel @ The Story Book Sweetheart

 

The Winner of the of Gringolandia by Lyn Miller-Lachmann  is:

Alexa @ Hooked on YA Books

CONGRATS! Thanks to everyone that entered the contests! I've emailed you both.  get back w/ me in 48 hrs. My other AWESOME contest is going to end Friday so hurry up and enter.

Waiting on Wednesday(17)

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (HarperTeen)

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

My thoughts:

OH the suspense!

scary thriller + a little romance+ = an awesome book that I WANT!

Book Review: My Invented Life

Title:My Invented Life 

Author:Lauren Bjorkman

Pub. Date: September 2009
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Format: Hardcover, 240pp
Age Range: Young Adult

ISBN-13: 9780805089509
ISBN: 0805089500

With Roz and Eva everything becomes a contest—who can snag the best role in the school play, have the cutest boyfriend, pull off the craziest prank. Still, they’re as close as sisters can be. Until Eva deletes Roz from her life like so much junk e-mail for no reason that Roz understands. Now Eva hangs out with the annoyingly petite cheerleaders, and Roz fantasizes about slipping bovine growth hormone into their Gatorade.

Roz has a suspicion about Eva. In turn, Eva taunts Roz with a dare, which leads to an act of total insanity. Drama geeks clamor for attention, Shakespearean insults fly, and Roz steals the show in Lauren Bjorkman’s hilarious debut novel.

My thoughts:

Everybody needs to read this book! it is soo funny and i loved every minute of it. I was taking this book with me everywhere I went, sneaking a page here and there. My Invented Life is  light-hearted and you can't help but smile and love the characters. It's also honest and it tackles some really serious issues like sexuality and acceptance.

Roz is one of my FAVORITE characters. I mean she is so funny, and she reminds me of me and my friends.She would always say "my father is no prostitute" that had my cracking up. I just loved her. I loved the bond she had with her sister Eva. While she was helping her sister, she ended up finding herself. We don't have to impress people, just be yourself and everything well just fall in place. 

I know some of us want one of those "do-over" days or we play out in our minds how we want a scene to be.But some thing we can't erase,you should say what you feel(unless it is totally mean or gossipy, Roz had to work on that) My Invented life has definitely touched my heart, Filled it was joy and laughter thanks to Lauren. She is an awesome writer and i look forward to more of her books in the future.

Rating 4.5/5 hearts

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥.5

Author Interview:Lyn Miller-Lachmann & Giveaway!

Today I'm thrilled to be interviewing author Lyn Miller-Lachmann about her awesome novel, Gringolandia. Which is now available! 

                                                            

What inspired Gringolandia?

In the 1980s I taught English to refugees and students from Central and South America. Through them and through friends who had fled the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile (1973-1990) I organized concerts of Chilean musicians whose songs protested the lack of freedom and human rights in their country. Many were living in exile, banned by the dictatorship from returning. Others, still in Chile, were forced to perform and to sell their recordings in secret while struggling to make a living in other ways and enduring the constant threat of arrest or death. I was moved by the heroism of these talented artists, and some of their stories were heartbreaking.

One of the musicians was expelled from Chile and separated from his young children, who remained behind with his ex-wife. Twelve years later, his son, then 18 years old, came to live with him. On tour through the United States, they stayed at my house for several days. Seeing them together gave me the idea for writing a novel about a son and a father separated for many years and then reunited after experiences that had so dramatically changed them both.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Maybe other writers find it easy, but I find writing well to be almost impossibly difficult-so difficult that I really can't find one aspect of it that's more challenging than any other. Characters have to be complex, believable, and likable. The story has to have enough conflict to keep readers turning the pages. The language has to be fresh and vivid. And so on. So the most challenging thing for me is not to give up because writing is so hard, and so is the business of getting published.

I did quit writing years ago, after finishing an earlier version of the novel that would become Gringolandia. I had won a prestigious work-in-progress grant from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, which paid for me to go to Chile and research the novel. There, I spent weeks there interviewing people, taking up a lot of their time and building up their hopes that their stories would be told to the rest of the world. But miscommunication between the editor and me led to my not getting the publication contract that I had expected, and I gave up in discouragement. Even so, I never forgot the investment a lot of people made in me. Sixteen years later, I started over and ended up writing a much better book.

What's the most interesting comment you have received about your books?

I enjoy speaking to teen reading groups, because the questions and comments are always interesting. Some of them have become the subject of posts on my blog or articles I've written for other magazines.

At E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Connecticut-one of my first visits to a reading group after Gringolandia was published-a student asked me whether my main character Daniel's father is supposed to be the hero or the villain. I intended Daniel's father, Marcelo, to be the antagonist, because he's the person preventing the main character from getting what he wants. Daniel wants the kind of close relationship he had with his father before Marcelo was arrested, imprisoned, and tortured for publishing an illegal newspaper critical of the Pinochet dictatorship. Marcelo doesn't appear to want that kind of relationship-all he wants to do is return to Chile to continue the fight for democracy. That is, if he doesn't drink himself to death first.

The question, though, made me think about the fact that we usually associate the antagonist with the villain in a universe made up of good guys and bad guys. But real life is a lot more complicated, as are human beings. And I want to capture that complexity in my novels, rather than settling for simplistic battles between good and evil.

Do you have any “must haves” with you while you're writing? i know some authors like to listen to music while they write.

Music got me into this project in the first place, and it's still important to me. I like to listen to the same music that my characters listen to, which means I end up with very broad tastes, from Latin American and U.S. folk and protest music to heavy metal, reggae, and hip hop. I also need coffee in the morning and Diet Dr. Pepper in the afternoon and evening. And I couldn't live without my laptop. I take it everywhere.

Is there another genre that you'd like to write?

In addition to writing novels for teens, I've also written a novel for adult readers. Dirt Cheap, which came out in 2006, is the story of a college professor with leukemia who pursues the chemical company that he believes gave him his illness and contaminated his upscale suburb. I'd like to write more novels for adult readers, since I can't guarantee that the characters who show up in my mind demanding to have a story written about them will be teenagers-though most of them are.

                                                                                  
Now it's time for the fun part! GIVEAWAY!!

Just leave a comment with your email

contest ends NOV. 10

Good luck!!

Book Review: Gringolandia(Blog Tour)

Title:Gringolandia

Author:Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Pub. Date: May 2009
Publisher: Curbstone Press
Format: Hardcover, 250pp
Sales Rank: 249,929
Age Range: Young Adult

ISBN-13: 9781931896498
ISBN: 1931896496 

[A] story with both horror and redemption . . . of a family struggling to find its way back to one another. A stunning achievement.”—Deborah Ellis

Daniel’s papá, Marcelo, used to play soccer, dance the cueca, and drive his kids to school in a beat-up green taxi—all while publishing an underground newspaper that exposed Chile’s military regime.

After papá’s arrest in 1980, Daniel’s family fled to the United States. Now Daniel has a new life, playing guitar in a rock band and dating Courtney, a minister’s daughter. He hopes to become a US citizen as soon as he turns eighteen.

When Daniel’s father is released and rejoins his family, they see what five years of prison and torture have done to him. Marcelo is partially paralyzed, haunted by nightmares, and bitter about being exiled to “Gringolandia.” Daniel worries that Courtney’s scheme to start a bilingual human rights newspaper will rake up papá’s past and drive him further into alcohol abuse and self-destruction. Daniel dreams of a real father-son relationship, but he may have to give up everything simply to save his papá’s life.

This powerful coming-of-age story portrays an immigrant teen’s struggle to reach his tortured father and find his place in the world.

My thoughts:

After reading the first page of the book I was hooked. It was so eventful and i love going on the journey that Lyn took me on.The plot kept me turning the pages. I wanted to know how this was going to turn out. I've never read anything like Gringolandia, it sad to think that stuff like this really happens. Gringolandia is a real eye opener.

I found the characters to be real and also powerful. Daniel when through alot....it was sad, i mean right from the beginning, I don't know what i would do without my father let alone try to pick up the pieces. You can tell he's just trying to make the best of it and live a 'normal" teenage life. But in the back of his mind that incident just changed everything. It's so haunting to think about.As i kept reading sometimes i would take a little pause because some of the scenes were just painful to read, especially the ones about Marcelo. I wanted to just jump in the book and defend him.

Overall it was a good book.I couldn't put it down. I've grown to love all of the characters and loved Daniels voice as the story was told. I look forward to more of Lyn's books. I think everybody should read Gringolandia because it was soo amazing.

Rating 4.5/5 hearts

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥.5

Special Thanks Jo Ann(she set up this awesome book tour and i'm soo glad to have been a part of it, To the other blog hosts, you guys are awesome too!)
                                                                                    

 The next tour stops:

Nov 10 Melaine Melaine’s Musings http://melanies–musings.blogspot.com/

Nov 11 Hope Hope’s Book Shelf http://www.princess2293.blogspot.com/

Oh and there's going to be a GIVEWAY for this book!
so keep an eye out :D

In My Mailbox(17)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren!

Hey Everybody! hope u all R having an awesome weekend. I'm soo happy, i mean YAY! i got like a 3 day break! So anyways i got two awesome books that i'm sooo eager to read:

For Review:

The Seven Rays by  Jessica Bendinger

(HB/ Simon & Schuster/Nov 24, 2009)

You are more than you think you are.

THAT IS THE ANONYMOUS MESSAGE that Beth Michaels receives right before she starts seeing things. Not just a slept-through my-alarm-clock, late-for-homeroom, haven't had-my-caffeine-fix kind of seeing things. It all starts with some dots, annoying pink dots that pop up on and over her mom and her best friend's face. But then things get out of control and Beth is seeing people's pasts, their fears, their secrets, their desires. The images are coming at Beth in hi-def streaming video and she can't stop it. Everyone thinks she's crazy and she's pretty sure she agrees with them. But crazy doesn't explain the gold envelopes that have started arriving, containing seeing keys and mysterious tarot cards. To Beth, it all seems too weird to be true. You are more than you think you are? But here's the thing: What if she is?

The creator of Bring it On, Jessica Bendiner, brings her teen savvy writing to this paranormal romance, The Seven Rays.

The Naughty List by Suzanne Young

(ARC/ Razorbill/Feb. 2010)

As if being a purrfect cheerleader isn’t enough responsibility!

Tessa Crimson’s the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad–turned–spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. Boyfriend-busting wouldn’t be so bad . . . except that so far, every suspect on the Naughty List has been proven 100% guilty!

When Tessa’s own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa’s sneaky ways end in catastrophe?

The Naughty List. Is your boyfriend on it? 

 

Author Interview: Heather Davis

Today I'm thrilled to be interviewing author Heather Davis about her debut novel, Never Cry Werewolf . Which is now available! 

                                                            

 Since you already picked an actor for Austin(Heather Ledger*hot*, good choice that's how i pictured Austin) what actress would be Shelby?

I really like the girl from The Wizards of Waverly Place.   Originally, I had Amber Tamblyn in mind, but that was a few years ago when I wrote the book.

What part of your novel was the most fun to write?

I love the scenes in the forest.  I'm an "action" person - so I really like when I get to take readers on an adventure. Having been lost in the woods before, it was easy to get down on the page.

How did you feel when Never Cry Werewolf turned into book form?

I was really excited to see the first copies of Werewolf in a Barnes & Noble in Seattle.  And of course, signing the books at my local indie store for the launch party was surreal.  We had a great turnout - way better than I could have dreamed.

What’s your favorite Halloween candy?

Do I have to pick one?  I like chocolate a lot.  Maybe too much.  But on halloween, I'll go with Peanut Butter cups or Whoppers.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

My next book is The Clearing, which comes out in April 
2010.  It's the story of a girl healing from an abusive relationship who meets a boy stuck in the endless summer of 1944.  It deals with themes of moving forward with your life, making your own choices, learning to trust again.  It's a serious, romantic book for 14 and up, nothing like the very whimsical Werewolf - but it has a similar emotional heart.  I hope readers who like paranormal and time travel elements will enjoy it.

                                                                                                             

Her Books:

Never Cry Werewolf ~ HarperTeen Sept 2009
The Clearing ~ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Spring 2010
___________________________________________

Thanks Heather for doing this Interview with me! it was so fun*eating a Peanut Butter Cup hehe*, I can't wait until her new book The Clearing comes out.

Waiting on Wednesday(16)

Hearts at Stake: House of Drake(December 22nd 2009)

 My Love Lies Bleeding(January 4th 2010)

by Alyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry 

                                     

The Blakes are rather different to your usual neighbours. They are vampires and some of the members of the family date back to the twelfth century. One of the children, Solange, is the only born female vampire known and, as such, she poses a direct threat to the vampire queen. Her best friend Lucy is human, and when Solange is kidnapped Lucy and Solange's brother, Nicholas, set out to save her. Lucy soon discovers that she would like to be more than just friends with Nicholas. But how does one go about dating a vampire? Meanwhile, Solange finds an unlikely ally in Kieran, a vampire slayer on the hunt for his father's killer.

MY thoughts: o.k so I'm totally confessed about this book, but i know i want to read it. I really don't know which book there going to go with. So if you know tell me please. But i love both covers!

hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Teaser Tuesday(13)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme held by Should Be Reading Teaser Tuesdays go like this:

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!  
hosted by Breaking the Spine.

"You know how some people have an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other? Well...your angel hangs out around your heart.But your devil is in charge of your tongue."

pg. 134 My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman



My thoughts:who moi?!? never LOL*my favorite passage*, I have grown to love Roz in the book, this passage definitely describes her, she means well but hey she has a BIG gossipy mouth. but i still love her(and this book, it's so funny)

In My Mailbox(16)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren!

O.k. so i was planning on posting my IMM Monday, i'm so tired from last night. Aside from the late party, i was handing out candy and i RAN OUT of candy! i mean who runs out of candy! i had to turn away a cute little baby in a POOH BEAR costume!*sad*  I haven't been in the reading mode either and school, argh! i don't even what to talk about it. So this is what i got, i hope you guys had an awesome Halloween!

for review:


Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols(signed! Thanks U Jennifer!)


Bought:
 

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
Kiss & Hell by Dakota Cassidy 
The Brothers Torres by Coert Voorhees(saw this @ Eleni's blog, thought i'd check it out, I ♥ Perfect Chemistry)



Library:





Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott
Chasing Boys by Karen Tayleur