Teaser Tuesday #5

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: • 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!

"That's the spirit Jo!" He nods. "You'll have a great time. Really reconnect with yourself. You'll see."

I wish. Somehow I'm guessing the only thing I'll be connecting with is my evil side."

Shooting Stars- Page 49 

Look for it starting February 28, 2012

Read my review of Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby here.

Be sure to leave a link to your Teaser so I can check them out! Thanks!

Review: Shooting Stars

Josephine Foster, or Zo Jo as she is called in the biz, is a member of the paparazzi. She is 16 and has a distinct advantage over her competition: she is short and can pass for 11 years old. She is able to get into places that no one else can by pretending to be a young girl looking for her mom, or a young girl playing on her Ipod.

Zo Jo has been given a way out of her paparazzi ways: Snap a few pictures of a young singer at a retreat and hand them off to an editor. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong, She feels awful about invading this young man's privacy, but she needs the money. She goes on an emotional rollercoaster ride while fighting with her conscience. This star, Ned Hartnett, is not your average, steal the spotlight kind of celebrity. He is a real person that she can't get out of her head. Why can't she just take the pictures and get out? Life would be much less complicated if she wasn't falling in love with her target...

I loved this book. It is 265 pages and I was able to finish it in one afternoon. This story is cute and it gives a different perspective to the paparazzi. You always think of these people as "soul stealers", people who will do anything to get paid. Zo Jo isn't like that. She is doing a job she is good at until she saves enough money to go to photography school. I love the fact that she is easy to relate to. She has a hard time sorting through her thoughts and feelings and deciding on whom she can and cannot trust.

There were parts of this book that had me laughing out loud and parts where I was silently cheering for Jo and trying to tell her what to do! The book had a great ending and did not leave any questions unanswered, which I loved...

This book is a wonderful debut novel by Allison Rushby and it will be the perfect addition to my 8th grade classroom library. If you are in need of a good, cute, clean book, this is the book for you! You will not be disappointed.

Shooting Stars will be realeased on February 28, 2012
Published by Walker & Company
Read more about this book on Goodreads

Review: Ditched: A Love Story

Justina Griffith finds herself on the side of the road, in a ditch, the morning after prom. She can't remember much of what happened that led her here. All she knows is her purse and phone are missing as is her date. How could he ditch her at prom?

Justina went with her best friend, Ian, to prom. She had planned the whole night out, right down to the kiss they would share by a hot tub. Unfortunately, the night was a disaster. From her blueberry-like dress to her matching shoes, nothing seems to go her way.

Ian leaves her alone at the dance and he turns off his phone so she can't call him. Desperate to find him she makes a lot of bad decisions and they seem to keep missing each other at every turn. Will they ever find each other? And why did he ditch her at prom? These are the answers Justina is looking for throughout the book.

We hear the entire story from Justina who is telling it to some women she met at the 7-11 (the one she and Ian always go to) and we get glimpses of what went wrong throughout that entire night. She tells the women different pieces of the story and we get to hear their comments as they try to help her piece together the events of that night.

I loved the fact that it was very easy to relate to this story. Every girl has dreams about their proms, about wearing the perfect dress and being asked to go with the perfect guy. The entire story you just keep thinking, "geez, this poor girl just can't catch a break!" She may not have the perfect dress, but she seems to have an amazing guy that she just can't seem to hold on to.

You meet some laughable characters and some jerks. I was able to picture all of these characters from my high school and I loved it. I loved that some of the stories she told were out there but not totally improbable. This story kept me laughing and wanting to read more.

It was a ridiculously cute story that I would not mind reading again. It will also be a book that I will be recommending to lots of people. So, to get that started.... You should go read this book!... Like now!

Ditched: A Love Story was released on January 10, 2012 by Disney-Hyperion.
This is Robin Mellom's debut novel.
Read more about Ditched here
Buy it on Amazon!

Shelf Candy Saturday (#3)

My Shelf Candy Saturday pick for this week is....

 

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison

I was lucky enough to snag a copy of this book last weekend at ALA. I just happened to be walking by the Egmont table, looked over and saw two copies of this book left! I, of course, hurried over and snagged the copies for my friend Sarah and myself! I cannot wait to read it! This cover is so awesome! I love the plainness of it all and then the splash of red blood on the butterfly.

Expected Publication: February 14, 2012

Published by: Egmont USA

Pre-Order a copy here: Amazon

What's your favorite book cover?

TGIF

Buy or Borrow: Where do your books that you read come from? The bookstore? The library? Do you prefer to own a book, or have it on loan?

I'm one of those people who just has to have my own copy of a book. Even if I borrow a book from the library or a friend, nine times out of ten I end up with my own copy eventually... My family says I have a problem... I personally think it's awesome... ;-)

I'm also the type of person who hates putting creases in the binding of a book or dog-earing a page. I've always been obsessed with my books. I even used to "check them out" to my younger sister when I was in 5th grade (and used to make her pay fines if they were turned in late). 

So, basically, I'm a book buying kind of gal. Yes, I spend a decent amount on them, but It allows me to destressify my life, offer up some great reccomendations to my eighth grade students, and I can re-read them anytime I like. :-)

What about you? Would you rather borrow or buy a book? 

Liebster Blog Award

I am so excited to have been nominated for the Liebster Blog award! This is a great opportunity to meet and gain new followers :-) Huge thank you to Shawna LeAnn over at Dreaming in the Pages for nominating me! I am extremely grateful :-) It is so cool to know that people actually read and care about what I am writing. Now that I have been nominated, it is my pleasure to nominate 5 more up and coming bloggers (people with under 200 followers). So, here we go! In no particular order.....
*Drum roll please*

Erika at Rescue Reads

She has got some amazing reviews and has given me a huge number of books to put on my TBR list. 

The Awesome People over at Epic YA Reads

This is a up and coming review site. If you are looking for a new read, this is the place for you!

Pam over at Pamela's Book Spot 

This lovely lady reads a lot of books that I would never have thought of to read. I love reading her posts because it opens me up to books I probably wouldn't have read normally. 

Claire at Project To Be Read

She reads a lot of the same type of books that I read, so it's nice to get a different perspective on books that I have already read or want to read. 

Steph at Steph's Stacks

Her reviews are just AWESOME. She uses real life pictures to relate it to the story, and they crack me up:-) They are definitely something to look forward to! Also, her name is Steph too, what's not to love? :-)

Again, thank you so much to Shawna LeAnn for nominating me for this award! Please check out these five wonderful blogs and give them some love :-)

Thanks for reading and following my blog everyone, I really appreciate it!

~Stephanie

WWW... (#4)

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

 What are you currently reading? 

 I'm about 25% into Ditched: A Love Story by Robin Mellom. This story is extremely cute and I am really enjoying it. Unfortunately,  the only time I have been able to read recently is for the 15 minutes during homeroom everyday when my students are required to read... hopefully I will be able to finish it soon!

What did you recently finish reading?

 Double by Jenny Valentine was an AWESOME book!!! Read my review here.

What do you think you will read next?

 The Girl Who Loved to Run by G.P. Schultz and Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby are both up next for me to read. I am reading them both for review; one from the author and one from NetGalley. I'll let y'all know what I think when I'm done!

What's your WWW?

Teaser Tuesday (#4):

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: • 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!

"I don't know how I ended up on the side of Hollister Road, lying in this ditch. This moment, last night, the details- all fuzzy. A reluctant glance down and I see I'm covered in scratched and bruises."

- Ditched: A Love Story by Robin Mellom

Published January 10, 2012. Buy it on Amazon here.

IMM (#2)

Okay, so I attended ALA Midwinter in Dallas this weekend and it was awesome. I had never been before and did not know what to expect. My friend and I were talking on the way up there thinking, "Okay, if we can get out of there with at least 15 books, we will have paid for our trip there." I was shocked to find out I had grabbed 15 books in less than 15 minutes! So, this weeks IMM is going to be a little insane!! So bare with me :-)

Okay, So I won a copy of Jordan Dane's "On a Dark Wing" through the "On a Dark Wing Tour" that was hosted through many different blogs! I won mine through Sarah's Books and Life blog. So thank you Jordan Dane and Sarah for my beautiful new, autographed copy of this book!

Also, I received this title via Netgalley:

Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby


Okay, now for my ALA haul... These are pics of all the books I received this weekend.... I'm missing a few, but this is the majority!!

These are the titles I'm most excited about!!! :-)  

I'm not going to list all of the titles that I got, if you are curious about a book, just ask :-)


 What books did you get this week that you are most excited about??

TGIF #3

This Friday's Question: 

 Recommend It: Which book from the last 10 you've read would you recommend to a friend?

 
This question's hard! If I had to pick only one book from the last 10 I have read to recommend to a friend, I would have to choose "Blood Warrior" by H.D. Gordon. 
Check out my review here!


A close second would have been "Double" by Jenny Valentine. 
Check out my review here. 

What book would you recommend to a friend?

WWW... (#3)

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading? 

Ditched: A Love Story by Robin Mellom

What did you recently finish reading?

Double by Jenny Valentine

What do you think you'll read next? 

The Girl Who Loved to Run by G.P. Schultz

Review: Double

Chap is a nobody. He has no family, friends or identity. He has been hopping from place to place for the past four years and has no place to call home. That is until his picture is found on a missing person's ad. Cassiel Roadnight. It's like looking in the mirror. Why can't he be him? Nobody would know... These are all the things Chap thinks to himself as he decides to take over this boy's life.
As Chap becomes Cassiel and is brought "home" he learns that this isn't going to be the perfect life that he hoped for, something is wrong. Why can't he talk to the crazy boy in town? Why does his brother seem so perfect? What has he stumbled into? After all, you can't take over a person's life and expect to get away with it.

I was so intrigued with this book when I read the synopsis on NetGalley and the cover is so creepy that I just had to read it! I was not disappointed with it in the least! From the very first sentence I was hooked! This book moves quickly and has so many twists and turns. I loved how I felt I knew what was going on but then the author had me convinced I was wrong. Then she would throw in another curve ball and I would be like "what!?" This book made my pulse race but not in a scary, "ohmygosh I can't read this when I'm home alone" way. There was suspense but it's a good book to read if you aren't usually into suspenseful books because there isn't anything really scary about it. I really enjoyed this book and because it is only about 250 pages, it is a super quick read. You should definitely check this out, you will not be disappointed.

- "Double" by Jenny Valentine

Expected Publication: February 21, 2012 by Disney-Hyperion

 

If you want to check out the first few sentences of this book, read my Teaser Tuesday post.
Check out "Double" on Goodreads.

Teaser Tuesday: Double

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: • 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!

 

"I didn't choose to be him. I didn't pick Cassiel Roadnight out of a lineup of possible people who looked just like me. I just let it happen. I just wanted it to be true. That's all I did wrong, at the beginning."

- "Double" by Jenny Valentine

Expected Publication: February 21, 2012 by Disney-Hyperion

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a way to share the books that you've received over the past week, month, or year. :-)

The books that I have gotten in the past few weeks are:

Via NetGalley:

 Double by Jenny Valentine

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I got this book from the author for review:

The Girl who Loved to Run by G.P. Schultz

I got this book for review on Goodreads:

I'm beta reading this book: (Coming out soon!!)

Empty by Charlotte Abel

I finally bought myself this book from Barnes and Noble...

And lastly, here are a few books that I bought for myself via Amazon Kindle:

 Ditched: A Love Story by Robin Mellom

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Angelfall by Susan Ee

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Afterlife by Keary Taylor

Cursed by H.M. Ward

 What's in your mailbox! Let me know what other great books are out there!


Thanks for stopping by!
~Stephanie

Review: New Girl

New Girl by Paige Harbison
Expected Publication Date: January 31, 2012 by Harlequin Teen
I had the chance to read this book through NetGalley. 
My rating: 3.5

This book was definitely interesting. It is about a girl who goes off to boarding school, Manderley Academy, for her senior year. When she gets to the school she walks into her room to see that the entire room is full of other peoples stuff. She comes to find out that the reason she was able to get a spot at the school was because the person whom she is "replacing" is a missing person who was loved by the entire student body. She is forever being compared to the missing girl, Becca, and is constantly ostracized from the group for taking Becca's place. Throughout the book no one even bothers to call her by her name. She is constantly referred to as "new girl". Slowly the she gains friends and is able to rise above her roommate's ever growing need to destroy her and she comes to grips with her new life at Manderley.

The biggest thing that bothered me about this book is the unfairness of it all. This girl just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and her life was turned to hell because of it. She was constantly being thrown to the wolves by her roommate and supposed friends. It plays up every stereotype of being the new kid in school and I guess this goes to show how catty girls can really be to each other.

I felt like parts of this book were very applicable to a teenage girl, especially if she had lost a friend. But over all I wasn't able to get into the book until about half way through.
I enjoyed this book but I wouldn't say that it was a book I just had to finish as soon as possible.

Shelf Candy Saturday: Insurgent

Shelf Candy is hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews. 
To learn more about Shelf Candy click here.

My Shelf Candy this week is also my most anticipated read of 2012! 

 I absolutely love the cover of Veronica Roth's "Insurgent". I love the skyline in the background and the fog and the swirling colors. I love how the tree is spun around like a vortex. I can not wait to have this book on my bookshelf! This will certainly be a book that I will buy in a hard-copy; a book this good and beautiful does not deserve to be in an e-book format! :-)

TGIF: 2012 Must Reads

TGIF at GReads! {46}: 2012 Must Reads

This Friday's Question:

2012 Must Reads: Which books are at the top of your list 

to be read this year (new or old releases)?

 

The book I look forward to the most is....

 Veronica Roth's first installment in this series, Divergent, was AMAZING! I could not put that book down and I have been impaitently awaiting the second book, Insurgent, for a while now! Only a couple more months until it is out! If you have not read the first book yet, you are truly missing out.

Publication: May 1, 2012 

 

Other books that I am looking forward to include:

Expected Publication: May 8, 2012

Expected Publication: Jan. 24, 2012

Expected Publication: Nov. 1, 2012

 

Expected Publication: June 19, 2012

Expected Publication: Sept. 2012

Other must reads that have already been released include:

• The Iron King Series by Julie Kagawa
• The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
• The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead
• The Forgive My Fins Series by Terra Lynn Childs
• The Firelight Series by Sophie Jordan