Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales

Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales

Release Date: October 5, 2010
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 288

Violet Tunis is a junior at Westfield Prep, a private all-girls school in Boston. She and her best friend Katie are your typical HS students; trying to manage their academic, social and family lives. But unlike Kate, extracurricular and grades do not come so easily to Violet--she actually has to work for them. Nevertheless, Violet is a good student and the editor-in-chief of The Wisdom, the school's literary magazine.

Differences or no, Violet and Katie have been friends forever; they share similar interests, both have a good sense of humor, and both lust for the same guy; Scott Walsh, the cutie from Harper-Woodbane, the nearby all-boys school. The two cause their fair share of shenanigans and seem to share matching wits. The two have their own adventures together, trying to get the typical "teenage girl experience" which is no easy feat in some aspects, since their interaction with boys is rather limited.

But as junior year progresses, Katie starts to change, she starts ditching the extracurricular activities she used to love, gets a boyfriend who isn't as nice or hot as Scott Walsh (in Violet's opinion at least), and hardly cares about her school work any more. Violet doesn't understand why Katie would ditch everything she has: stellar grades, effortless skill at extracurricular activities, including crew, and a good reputation--everything Violet has to work so hard to get. As the two start drifting further apart--both as friends and their opinions--Violet may learn more about what her best friend and her viewpoints. Violet will have to learn to open her eyes since she's been in private school her own life, but their transformations may just help both of them learn more about themselves and how to stand up for what they believe in.

Although the premise of the book is a bit cliche, I think Violet's voice made it stand out. She's funny, quirky and believable. Despite the fact I attend public school and not private school like Violet does, Violet is still a character many teenage girls can relate to; many of us work for good grades, worry about college, and pine for cute boys. I really liked how there were short little chapters with fun titles--some were funny, some simple and to-the-point, but Violet's voice can be heard clearly through all of them. I loved the vignette-style of this book; that along with Violet's voice really made this book very enjoyable for me.

Overall, I have to say I had a fun time reading Mostly Good Girls and going on Violet's journey with her. Violet's got a wry sense of humor that provided plenty of laughs and readers really get to see Violet and Katie grow as they learn more about themselves and what they care for. Mostly Good Girls is not too heavy, but not too light-hearted either. It's a good debut from Leila Sales that most readers will enjoy!

Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway

Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway

Release Date: August 3, 2010
Publisher: NAL Trade
Pages: 256

Anastasija Parker is not your typical teen--she's a witch. She's always known that, but on her 16th birthday--the day her True Witch initiation is supposed to take place--she's about to find out a whole lot more about her supernatural self.

But for now, Ana is more worried about her initiation. Unlike her best friend Bea, she doesn't think she possesses any powers as a witch. She can't conjure spells or summon her magic like Bea does, which is a problem, seeing that she needs to preform magic for her initiation. Ana is less than confident for her Initiation, despite Bea and her mother's beliefs that she has powers that just haven't shown themselves yet. Sadly, her day does not get any better; the school's resident dumb jock Thompson has to get in her daily taunting.

Heading home from school slightly dejected and extremely nervous, Ana is in for a surprise when her father that she has never known shows up on her doorstep, demanding her not to go to her initiation. Before Ana can react, her mother quite literally throws him out of the house. And why this unceremonious departure? Because, Ana learns, her father is a vampire. It also happens that vampires are the moral enemies, so what's Ana to do?

The only stroke of luck Ana seems to have at her initiation is her interaction with Nik, a hot guy and a fellow witch. Nik seems to reciprocate her affections, which is a boost for Ana's confidence, since she's always seen herself as a bit of a plain jane, and a failure as a witch. But just when things start to get warm between Nik and Ana, Elias shows up. He's vampire who's sworn to protect her and soon checks on her constantly. Despite his protectiveness, he is also a gentleman and Ana can't help but like him too. It seems that Ana will not only have to chose between her two bloodlines, but also between these two cute guys as well.

Before she knows it, the witches and vampires are fighting to claim her as their own. Is Ana a Witch or the princess of the vampires? Each side is intent on having her be solely vampire or solely witch, but what will Ana chose? Can she even chose, and turn her back on one of her parents and half her blood?

In the the description for Almost to Die For, the novel is described as "Twilight-meets-The Princess Diaries," however, I found the later is more true than the former; the girl-finds-out-she's-a-princess-and-her-life-changes idea does show up in this book, but while Ana has to adjust to the fact that she's royalty, the book does not focus solely on her trying to become a monarch. Almost to Die For does also share some similarities with Twilight; mostly the fact that two boys are vying for her attention, and both of those boys are part of two races that are sworn enemies, but not much more than that. I feel that the biggest issue Ana struggles with is her choice between her two heritages--which one should she follow?

At first, I found it rather hard to get into Almost to Die For--it sounded like another vampire and supernatural book and Ana complained too much for my liking in the beginning. Eventually, the plot picked up and it wasn't half bad. Although it seems a bit cliche at times and does not have the most original of plots (overall, it does sound like a mesh between Twilight and the Princess Diaries series) supernatural fans will find Almost to Die For enjoyable. The writing is not bad and the quirks and twists as the novel progresses will keep supernatural fans interested. I'm glad that Ana grew more as a character; it was nice to see her confidence increase and to see her take more control over her own life.

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Pegasus by Robin McKinley
(Putnam Juvenile/November 2, 2010)

Because of a thousand-year-old alliance between humans and pegasi, Princess Sylviianel is ceremonially bound to Ebon, her own pegasus, on her twelfth birthday. The two species coexist peacefully, despite the language barriers separating them. Humans and pegasi both rely on specially-trained Speaker magicians as the only means of real communication.

But it’s different for Sylvi and Ebon. They can understand each other. They quickly grow close—so close that their bond becomes a threat to the status quo—and possibly to the future safety of their two nations.

I am simply dying to read this book! It sounds amazing and I've always loved mythology so I'm interested in seeing this new world Robin has created! Can't wait to read this book!

Tell Me a Secret book trailer!

I recently read, reviewed and loved Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala, and there's a new trailer for her novel! Check it out!



Nice, isn't it? I like the animation for this one!

Wisdom Teeth & giveaways

So I ended today with 4 less teeth than I began...bye bye wisdom teeth! The surgery went pretty well, but recovery hasn't been brilliant unfortunately. I threw up quite a few times because of the meds, so I have to go in and get checked later this week.

I'm still reading & reviewing, but it might be a bit slow this week. So I'd like to give you guys a bit more time to enter the 2 giveaways I have running right now. They'll both end on 8/8/10
thanks for understanding & thanks for all your comments lately; they made my day!

In My Mailbox (1)

What'd you all get to read this week?

P.S. I finally started using my GoodReads account again and I'm glad I did! It's great hearing what everyone else has to say about books I've read as well as finding more books to add to my TBR list! (though I must admit my TBR list is already too long! haha)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme inspired by The Story Siren--check here for more details!

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Release Date: August 31, 2010
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 496

The small town of Venus Cove has always been a peaceful place, but lately, there have been darker happenings. A girl died in a local fire and small troubles and misdeeds have sprung up around town. In response to the growing darkness around Venus Cove, three angels have been sent down from Heaven to renew the town's faith and to bring goodness back.

Ivy is a healer, Gabriel a warrior, and Bethany a young angel who is still trying to figure out what her gift is. Bethany is the youngest of the three angels sent to Venus Cove, and also the most human--something Ivy and Gabriel often worry about. Bethany is an angel, but is also prone to human mistakes, and begins to get far more involved and emotionally invested than other angels would consider safe.

Ivy, Gabriel and Bethany try to blend in, working subtly to help set things right. Bethany wants to experience what being a teenager is like, but even she catches the Ivy and Gabriel by surprise when she starts to fall for the handsome Xavier Woods. How can an angel fall for a mortal boy? The other angels had expected Bethany to know better and to have more control, but Bethany has never experienced anything like falling in love before and craves Xavier's company.

Soon Bethany's amorous feelings for Xavier will the be the least of the angel's worries when a newer, more powerful dark force arrives to wreck havoc on Venus Cove. Will it undo everything the trio has worked so hard for? And what will they do when a dark, handsome, seductive stranger arrives in town and sets his sights on Bethany?

Halo is not an action-heavy novel. It not a book that focuses entirely on plot but rather, focuses on the journey the characters go on. Although it slow at times, it was nice seeing how Bethany tried to fit in. She was rather clueless at times and I wish she was stronger, but she did grow a bit as the novel progressed.

If you're into books that have a set and clear plot and are filled with action, you might find Halo a bit slow. In my opinion, Ms. Adornetto was not focusing just on the end product, but also on the journey. In a way, Halo reminded me of the film Children of Men in the way that both gave more attention to the journey the character experience, rather than just what happens at the end. Both have key occurrences that move the plot along, but the focus is on how characters reach the end, not just the end.

Despite featuring angels and their battles against dark forces, I did not find Halo very preachy. It was not over the top and was not trying to force religion down your throat, which was nice and allows you to just enjoy the book.

I thought Halo was very well-written and was very impressed to learn that the author is only seventeen years old! Halo is an interesting story and provided an intriguing take on angels and their differences (in both expectations and existence) from humans as well as the structure of Heaven . I definitely enjoyed Halo and am really glad I was able to snag a copy at BEA this year! It lived up to my expectations and I am eagerly awaiting the next novel in the trilogy, Hades!