Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield

July 5, 2012 from Dutton Juvenile
ISBN: 9780525423898

Becca has always longed to break free from her small, backwater hometown. But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town–and Becca–into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life.

Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson’s life are intercut with Becca’s own summer as the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and relationships on the edge twist the reader closer and closer to the truth about Amelia’s death.

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It’s May 15th!

Not only does THE NEAR WITCH by Victoria Schwab come out in paperback TODAY, but, to celebrate its release, “The Ash-Born Boy” is finally up over at Disney*Hyperion’s website!

So, what IS “The Ash-Born Boy”?

It’s a free story Victoria wrote as a thank-you to her fans, and she wrote it to answer ONE question: “Who was Cole before he came to Near?”

Now, if you’ve already read THE NEAR WITCH, “The Ash-Born Boy” is guaranteed to change the way you see Cole.

And if you haven’t read THE NEAR WITCH yet, don’t worry, “The Ash-Born Boy” won’t spoil anything!

So basically, either way, you should go read Cole’s story

And if you want to wait and read THE NEAR WITCH first, don’t worry! Cole’s story will stay up on Disney*Hyperion’s website, and if it ever comes down, Victoria will carve out a space for it on her own site. It will always be available somewhere, and it will always be free.

And!

Cole’s story isn’t the only goodie to go along with the paperback release. In the back of the paperback itself, you’ll find the first chapter of Victoria’s new book, THE ARCHIVED, which doesn’t come out until January!

So what are you waiting for?

Help Victoria celebrate today by taking a look at “The Ash-Born Boy!”

About The Near Witch:
The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen.
The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.
And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

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Book Summary:
Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students–children of the wealthy and powerful–carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Richelle Mead’s breathtaking Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive. In this second book, the drama is hotter, the romances are steamier, and the stakes are even higher.

Review:
The only disappointing thing about The Golden Lily was how I found out many people haven’t started this series at all yet! Why!

Many are shocked to hear that I really loved the Vampire Academy series (I don’t hide it, but I don’t often read vampire things). Several years ago I saw people raving about it and I read Vampire Academy #1 on a long road trip (the same road trip where I first read The Hunger Games. Ended up being an epic reading trip!) and when the last book of the series came out I felt slightly torn apart. UNTIL! Until this spin-off was announced.

At Book Expo America last year I was able to meet Richelle Mead and get Bloodlines (epic moment of my life), and I’m happy to say that The Golden Lily brings the depth and magical writing of Mead even more than the first in the series.

If I were to explain what goes on in The Golden Lily to those of you that haven’t read anything by Mead it would seem ridiculous (and you may be wondering how I’m able to keep it straight since I’m notorious for reading confusion), but it just shows how great Mead’s world is. She builds and adds and expands and solves, and it has been building essentially for eight books now so you can only imagine where we are in The Golden Lily.

Sydney is the protagonist in this series, and Adrian is around a lot (I’m not particularly an Adrian lover but I know many are). Sydney can be unlikeable at times, but especially at the end of The Golden Lily she starts finding herself and figuring out what she stands for rather than blindly following rules and being hard to relate to.

The Bloodlines series is separate from Vampire Academy, but if you plan on reading both please start with Vampire Academy as some things in Bloodlines will spoil your experience of the other books. And if you’ve read VA and haven’t read Bloodlines then why! Go go. I hope this series continues on for a long while because I don’t want to say goodbye to the world and characters I am so invested in.

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Book Summary:
Lydia Bentley has heard stories about the Montauk Project all her life: stories about the experiments that took place at the abandoned military base near her home and the people who’ve disappeared over the years. When she stumbles into a vessel that transports her to a dangerous and strange new reality, Lydia realizes that all the stories she’s ever heard about the Montauk Project are true—and that she’s in the middle of one of the most dangerous experiments in history.

Alongside Wes, a darkly mysterious boy whom she is wary to trust, Lydia begins to unravel the secrets surrounding the project. But the truths behind these secrets force her to question all her choices. And if Lydia chooses wrong, she might not save her family but destroy them… and herself.

Review:
So Close To You isn’t exactly my kind of book typically (science fiction + some history) BUT I DID IT! I actually enjoyed myself for the most part, too.

Lydia has heard about the Montauk Project her whole life, not only because she lives near where everyone thinks experiments take place, but also because her grandfather is slightly obsessed with it. He is convinced that the Project is real, and Lydia often accompanies him to parts of the abandoned military base while he explores.

Nothing much has come of any of these trips until Lydia finds herself inside a structure containing a vessel which accidentally transports her back in history, to a time where her grandfather is a small child and lots of questions are suddenly quite important.

The time traveling bit isn’t too hard to follow, which is one of the reasons I was able to enjoy my reading. Rachel Carter does a good job of spacing out the details so we have time to grasp one thing before moving on to another (don’t take that to mean you can figure out everything quickly, though).

The one thing that bothered me a bit was how stubborn Lydia was about getting her mystery solved. While I appreciate steadfast characters, it seemed slightly unrealistic to me that she would never question her own safety in lieu of finding the answers to her questions. But I never was a daredevil teen either, so maybe it’s just me

The book sits well by itself, but I’m interested enough to want to read further books in the series. I appreciated that it didn’t end on a total cliffhanger (because it definitely could have).

So Close To You is a fun mix of time travel, romance, and history, which makes it pretty unique. I also approve it as a book that is okay to read even if you don’t like history much. I’m interested to see how the series continues!

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Book Summary:
Vanessa is wise beyond her years. She’s never really fit in at school, where all the kids act and dress the same. She’s an artist who expresses her talent in the wacky colors she dyes her hair, her makeup and clothes. She’s working on her biggest art project, and counting the days until she’s grown up and can really start living. That adult world seems closer when Vanessa gets her dream job at the art supply store, Palette, where she worships the couple who runs it, Oscar and Maye. And she’s drawn to a mysterious guy named James, who leads her into new, sometimes risky situations. Is she ready for this world, or not?

Review:
The biggest problem I had with My Not-So-Still Life was with the main character, Vanessa, which unfortunately is a huge issue and hard to overcome. While I did like that she enjoyed art (and, subsequently, that she got to work in an art store), I did not like her poor decision making in attempts to drastically change her life. She wants to be older, wants to be seen as mature and not as a high schooler. I identified with some of her feelings (as I’m sure most high schoolers do at some point), but the quick succession she attempted to make changes did not seem realistic, and certainly less realistic for a 200 page book.

Maybe even worse for me, someone who enjoys good character development, is how fast her problems were resolved in the end. She seemed to learn lessons instantly, changing her view and allowing the events that happened in the book to make an immediate impact. When I was a teenager I certainly did not often learn the lessons she did so quickly, and this added to the unrealistic feeling for me.

Perhaps had I known this was a companion to The Opposite of Invisible I would have known what to expect from Vanessa, but as it stands, she’s not a character I related much to. Had this book focused on one or two events I think I would have enjoyed it much more, as I really liked Liz Gallagher’s writing style.

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