Teen Author Carnival!

I was fortunate enough to get a chance to attend the Teen Author Carnival in NYC today--and I had a blast! Many thanks to the lovely bloggers from FiveAwesomeYAFans, Alley Of Books & Korianne Speaks for organizing this event!



I met lots of wonderful authors and great fellow bloggers!! I finally got to meet Melissa Walker, Elizabeth Scott, Libba Bray, Susane Colasanti, Michael Northrup, and soooo many other wonderful authors! They are the nicest bunch of people! Melissa is such a sweet person (she's getting married in July!! congrats!! =D), Libba Bray is hilarious!, and everyone is just so nice!

I'm so glad I got to meet so many of you! I really had a fantastic evening. And thanks to all the generous authors who donated copies of their books to ravenous readers like me! I was lucky enough to get a copy of Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott and I'm loving the book so far!

I hope I'll have pictures up soon!

Anyone going to BEA? I'm gonna try to see if I can go, but I'm still working on that :P

But once again, thanks to the fantastic bloggers and all their hard work in organizing this event!! Please visit their sites!! :D


oh, and just a side note, Facebook took the liberty of deleating my account a few weeks ago, so my appologies if anyone tried to reach me through that :(

Purge by Sarah Darer Littman

Janie Ryman is your ordinary teen--except one thing: she's bulimic. But Janie doesn't really think she is. I mean, what's wrong with binging and purging? She can stop any time she wants, right? But why hasn't she? After all, she hates throwing up, so why does she keep stuffing herself, then putting her finger down her throat?

After evading the notice of her parents and friends for a while, Janie's secret is finally discovered, and she is promptly put into Golden Slopes, a rehab center. Janie is slow to respond to the psychiatrist and nurses there, chosing instead to pour all of her thoughts into a diary.

Through these entries, we learn Janie's heart felt story and how she fell into the cycle of bulimia. Janie recounts her first time purging--she had eaten too much and had forced herself to puke. After feeling much better after purging, Janie began to do it more often. She thought she was in control of her purging, but before long, it started controlling her. As the vicious cycle continued, Janie came to hate her body more and more, prompting her to secretly binge then purge.

But when her life started to fray at the edges and more and more things mounted on top of each other: Janie's growing feelings of inferiority towards her older sister, friend and boyfriend troubles, the only way Janie feels good is by purging. Before long, it becomes habbit and everything came crashing down at her sisters wedding. After seeing her boyfriend run off with her cousin and completely humiliating herself in front of everyone, Janie tries to take her own life.

Thus, she ends up at Golden Slopes, where the Barfers and the Starvers are forced to get along and where they are not released until they recover. With nurses watching their every move so they won't purge or starve, Janie feels couped up. Janie tires of the starvers antics to avoid eating, but there is nothing she can do, as she has yet to face her own demons. Lost in the cycle, Janie struggles to understand her purging, and needs to find herself again. Can the people at Golden Slopes help her with her family troubles and feelings of inadequacy too?

Although a bit some parts are a bit predicatble, Purge was well written and realistic. Janie's honest account made the book very believable, and made Purge a good read. There are some very dynamic, but realistic, characters in Purge, which help draw the reader in. Obviously very heartfelt and honest, Janie's account will pull a heart string or two before the book's over. I would recommend this book to those who are interested in learning more about eating disorders.

Raven by Allison van Diepen

Everyone is more than they appear on the outside, and everyone has their own secrets. Beneath her cool exterior, Nicole harbors some family troubles, but she can forget all that when she break dances with her friends.

Ever since she stepped into Evermore, the home bar of the Toprocks (the local breaking team) Nicole has been drawn to the break dancing scene—and to Zin. Zin, the mysterious dancer whom Nicole has felt an undeniable connection to since day one. But Zin has his own secrets, and is careful not to let Nicole get too close.

Her work at Evermore aside, things couldn’t possibly get worse at home for Nicole. Her brother has become a drug addict and keeps asking his parents for more and more money—money that Nicole’s parents are quick to hand over, believing that they are actually helping him, even though they know he’ll spend it on more drugs. As he becomes less and less like the brother she once knew, Nicole is afraid she soon might lose him forever.

As Nicole gets more and more involved in the breaking scene and with Evermore, she finds that Zin is not the only one with secrets. It seems that all the other staff members of Evermore have a secret past and an even darker secret. But does dark necessarily mean evil? Zin and the others at Evermore are friendly to Nicole; what horrific secret could they possibly harbor? And why does Evermore owner Carlos, keep calling her Raven?

But with danger brewing on the horizon, the careful walls Zin and the others have been keeping up might just begin to crumble…

Ms. Van Diepen really knows how to craft a story! The tension and passion between Nicole and Zin was amazing—believable and sustained through the whole book! The break dancing terminology throughout the book may be confusing for non-breakers, but I thought the terms added a cool effect. Although I thought the end wrapped things up a little too nicely, the rest of the book well-written. Ms. Van Diepen captures emotions wonderfully and paints vivid pictures of the various scenes and situations!

Sorry!

Hey everyone!

I'm sooo sorry for my long absence! Life got wayyy too hectic for a while, and then exams hit. So I wasn't able to read much or write any reviews :( But since summer's around the corner and the workload seems to be decreasing a bit, I'll do my best to get caught up!!

thanks for visiting & for all those who started following my blog--it is all very much appreciated!!

I'll have a review up tomorrow morning! :)