I Turn the Pages

TASH HEARTS TOLSTOY by Kathryn Ormsbee | Review

2017-07-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publish Date: June 6th 2017

Page Amount: 367 Pages

Price: $18.99 Hardback

ISBN: 148148933X (ISBN13: 9781481489331)

Learn more about Kathryn Ormsbee Here!

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Cover and Summary of the book are from Goodreads.

After a shout-out from one of the Internet’s superstar vloggers, Natasha “Tash” Zelenka finds herself and her obscure, amateur web series, Unhappy Families, thrust into the limelight: She’s gone viral.

Her show is a modern adaptation of Anna Karenina—written by Tash’s literary love Count Lev Nikolayevich “Leo” Tolstoy. Tash is a fan of the forty thousand new subscribers, their gushing tweets, and flashy Tumblr GIFs. Not so much the pressure to deliver the best web series ever.

And when Unhappy Families is nominated for a Golden Tuba award, Tash’s cyber-flirtation with Thom Causer, a fellow award nominee, suddenly has the potential to become something IRL—if she can figure out how to tell said crush that she’s romantic asexual.

Tash wants to enjoy her newfound fame, but will she lose her friends in her rise to the top? What would Tolstoy do?

Natasha “Tash” Zelenka loves two things; her “dead literary boyfriend” Count Lev Nikolayevich - or, fondly known to Natasha - “Leo” Tolstoy, and the web-series she is currently making with some of her best friends; a modern version of Leo’s own Anna Karenina, cleverly named Unhappy Families.

And, for a teen who is somewhat living in an unhappy family of her own, creating her web-series is a bit of an escape. Her parents love her, but there's so much happening around her that she’s almost lost in the shuffle of it all. Tash's sister Klaudie is going to Vanderbilt in the fall. Tash wants to apply to college, but she knows that she can't afford the prestigious Vanderbilt if she doesn't have the money. She wants to film her web-series, and she's happy to, but the slow viewership doesn't really allow her to pay the bills and work toward her dreams.

Tash has ambition to go far in her life. She wants to continue her career in writing and storytelling, and so far, she's on the right track, attending one of the nation's best creative high schools which is sure to get her a letter from any university she wants to go to (or so says her guidance counselor). She wants to go big, and wants to create more projects with people that she loves, but sometimes, it all seems like it's wishful thinking. (“How could Unhappy Families ever have more than 400 viewers?”)

Until it wasn't anymore.

Because Tash's web-series has gone viral. Her fans are eating up the episodes almost as fast as they're released, and due to her new-found popularity, Tash has some really important and tough decisions to make regarding her web series and her life at home.

Where do I begin?

TASH HEARTS TOLSTOY is an absolutely perfect book for me. From the second I heard about it, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

TASH HEARTS TOLSTOY follows a teenager named Tash, who loves to write scripts, and loves to read Tolstoy's most famous work. As I was reading the book, I kept talking to my friend about it, and we couldn't believe that Natasha and I were not the same person. (We are.) Tash and I have some extremely similar struggles, and the way Tash spoke about what was happening her life and how she handled the situations she found herself in hit close to home, but in the best way possible.

This book has a grasp on my heart, and my heart has a grasp on it too.

I loved this book so much I just had to have a "photo-shoot" for it, and look at how pretty it is against the flowers!

The synopsis pitches this book as more of a contemporary romance than I actually believe it is. Because for me, this book wasn't about whether or not Tash would be able to have a relationship with Thom. This book wasn't about how her fame helped her to be noticed by someone (spoiler alert, it didn't). This book wasn't about love itself. It was about Tash, and what her heart was calling her to do, whether or not that even involved romance to begin with.

There are so many other things happening in Natasha's life, that to simply call this story a "romance only" doesn't do it justice at all. Her sister is moving away to college in the fall, and Natasha has conflicting feelings about that, along with doubts about college for herself. She works with her friends and almost family on a web-series which can sometimes lead to more hurt than help itself; and wrapping that project up means that she'll have to find a new endeavor to busy herself with soon. On top of all of that, there's the possibility that her friends (and her new-found friend Thom) still don't understand her sexuality.

Natasha is asexual, and to see that word on the pages of a book like this even to begin with meant more to me than I could ever say. Asexuality is not something that I have ever seen discussed so explicitly and with such care than I have in this book. Asexuality is discussed and talked about in a positive way, and put into Natasha’s character well. She's a fully developed character and a person with interests and dreams and desires, and as readers, we get to learn about those too.

Her story isn't just about her being ace (asexual). Being ace is a part of who she is, but it's not the only part of Natasha that we see. She's not just an asexual girl. She's a girl who likes to sit in front of her camera and try new types of tea while talking about some of her favorite books. She's a girl who is still trying to find her place in the world. She's a girl who wants nothing but success for her and her cast-mates. She's a girl that wants to be happy and make everyone else happy along with her, and she just happens to be asexual.

And perhaps the most important part, asexuality isn't treated like a label. It labels what her sexual orientation is, but it's not a label in a negative sense. It's not a word that's just thrown in and mentioned once and that's that. According to Kay’s review on Goodreads, the word “asexual” is in the book eleven times, and each time that word is included, it’s explained (as it relates to what is occurring in the book) and discussed and represented in a fantastic way.

Writing a story liked this helped me to connect with Natasha over more than her sexual orientation. She's a person first, and the story and plot of the book treat her like such. Her sexuality is sometimes a point of conflict in the book (some of the discussions about it turn sour, but most of the characters learn from and apologize for their mistakes), but that is part of what made the book relatable to the present issues of today. Asexuality is still not completely accepted, and it's a point that is brought up and addressed well in the book too.

And, speaking of other characters, the side-characters in the story, I didn't really feel were side characters. In fact, they were developed so well that if Kathryn Ormsbee wanted to write a book about each of them individually, she could do it. This book is about a cast of characters, and I felt, even though I didn't get to see them much, that I still knew a lot about Jay and George and Serena, even though we really only get to see them while they are shooting the web-series.

The plot itself moved quickly. At some points, there was a lot happening in the book (which to me, reflected the day to day life of a teenager), but it was never too much to the point where I was confused with what was happening. Natasha's web-series picks up just like that, and she's thrust into dealing with problems she thought she had at least a little more time to prepare for. But, even as her web-series picked up fame, the story focused on the people, and I really enjoyed that. Fame isn't who a person is, and as Natasha mentions in the book, star-idolization isn't something I really understand. I was happy to, especially as Natasha’s fame picked up, not lose the sense of who she was too.

Reading Natasha's story and speaking with her was a lot like speaking to a friend. I love this book more than Tash hearts Tolstoy himself. Anyone who loves to read about YouTubers, filmmaking, web-series production, and even about a girl who loves Tolstoy, this book is for you. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone on the asexual spectrum too.

As Leo Tolstoy himself would say, “If you want to be happy, be.”...and maybe read TASH HEARTS TOLSTOY too. I'm sure Tash will love you for reading her story (and for seeing just a little bit of Unhappy Families too), just, maybe not as much as she loves Tolstoy.

Five out of Five Golden Tubas (Stars)

"If you want to be happy, be." - Leo Tolstoy

A DOG LIKE DAISY by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb | Review

2017-06-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

A DOG LIKE DAISY

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publish Date: June 13th 2017 (January 1st 2017)

Page Amount: 192 Pages

Price: $16.99 Hardback

ISBN: 0062463241 (ISBN13: 9780062463241)

Learn more about Kristin O'Donnell Tubb Here!

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Cover and Summary of the book are from Goodreads.

Max meets A Dog Called Homeless in this sweet and poignant middle grade novel told from the humorous, thoughtful perspective of a rescued pit bull as she trains to be a service dog for an injured veteran and his family.

Daisy has only ten weeks to prove her usefulness or else be sent back to the pound. Yet if she goes back, who will protect Colonel Victor from his PTSD attacks? Or save the littler human, Micah, from those infernal ear muzzles he calls earphones? What if no one ever adopts her again?

Determined to become the elite protector the colonel needs, Daisy vows to ace the service dog test. She’ll accept the ridiculous leash and learn to sit, heel, shake, even do your business, Daisy when told to. But Daisy must first learn how to face her own fears from the past or risk losing the family she’s so desperate to guard—again.

Daisy is a dog that just wants to do good. So, when an older man and his family come in looking for dogs, Daisy knows to be on her best behavior. Humans normally pick the younger puppies anyway, and the two year old pit-bull mix doesn't really think she has a shot.

But before she knows it, she's in a car and on her way home with her new family, and she couldn't be happier! She's getting a home after so many years without one - but wait, did they just mention trying to find a different dog if she didn't pass this test? Daisy doesn't really know what a service dog is yet, or what that entails for her, but she doesn't want to go back to the pound. She'll do anything she can to stay with Colonel Victor - her handler - and help him with whatever he needs.

I was hooked on this book from the very first page. A DOG LIKE DAISY is about a service dog (in training)! There are lots of books about dogs out there, but this is the first book I have seen that tackles the life of a service dog.

Not only is this book about service dogs, but the entire story is told through Daisy's eyes. It's such a unique and interesting addition to an already exciting story. Daisy has such a light, happy voice, and the way she speaks of things happening around her only adds to the magic of the story. I think readers will really love her thoughts on what is happening around her and her perspective on things.

I have my own service dog (a chocolate lab named Scarlet) so to see what could potentially be her thoughts reflected in the pages was a wonderful experience for me. I also went through the route of "owner-training" my dog (of course, with some professional assistance too!) like the character in this story. To see that training process described made my smile grow bigger and bigger. To say the least, it means a lot to me to see the story of a service dog reflected in the pages of this story.

A lot of what happens in the book is a bit exaggerated, and the plot moves incredibly quickly. This book doesn't showcase all of what goes into service dog training, and instead, only focuses on some of the tasks she performs and a lot of what is happening at home with her family.

In terms of educational value, I think Daisy's story has a lot to offer. It's a lovely introduction to service dogs, and the plot of the book helps to explain why the tasks they do are so beneficial as well. This book is also well-researched. The author spoke to a service dog organization called Southeastern Guide Dogs. Making sure a book is well-researched is an absolute priority (and it helps to make the story more authentic and real too), so I was very happy to read about some of the research that was done.

For example, this book helped to illustrate and comment on some of the difficulties that service dog handlers face. There was a point in the book when Daisy and Colonel Victor go to a grocery store, and one of the greeters asks for "national certification" for Daisy before the two of them are allowed into the store. In the United States, there is no such thing as "national service dog certification", and service dogs are allowed to access any public area, or anywhere the general public would be allowed to access. Sometimes, service animal organizations (like the one Colonel Victor went through for help) have their own testing and certification process, but you don't have to have certification to prove your service animal helps. Though it was a small moment in the book, I really liked that it was added.

There was a few issues I had with the book. In one of the chapters, Colonel Victor is having a flashback, and in order to ground him, Daisy ends up biting his hand. I don't work for a service dog organization, but I've heard that if a dog ends up biting someone and drawing blood, that they should be considered to be "washed out" of the program (that means no longer allowed to be a service dog). (Spoiler alert) While Daisy does not become a service dog at the end of the book, I feel like the service dog organization should have washed her out earlier or at least, shown their thought process behind allowing her to continue work. Then again, this book is told through Daisy's perspective, so whether or not she would be aware of this is up for debate. Also, the use of disabled dogs as service dogs (Daisy has trouble hearing in one ear) is still very widely debated/frowned upon, and the book didn’t really touch on this aspect as much as it maybe should have.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It is a very quick read, and is a great way to introduce the concept of service dogs to children. This book is wonderful for dog-lovers and for younger children who may have a service dog themselves, and I’m incredibly happy that this story featured a (service) dog like Daisy.

AN EAGLE IN THE SNOW by Michael Morpurgo | Review

2017-06-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

AN EAGLE IN THE SNOW

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Publish Date: January 17th 2017 (first published October 1st 2015)

Page Amount: 144 Pages

Price: $16.99 Hardback

ISBN: 1250105153 (ISBN13: 9781250105158)

Learn more about Michael Morpurgo Here!

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Cover and Summary of the book are from Goodreads.

The extraordinary story of the man who could have stopped World War Two. A beautiful moral thriller from one of the world’s favourite storytellers.

1940 . . Barney and his mother, their home destroyed by bombing, are travelling to the country when their train is forced to shelter in a tunnel from attacking German planes. There, in the darkness, a stranger on the train begins to tell them a story. A story about Billy Byron, the most decorated soldier of WW1, who once had the chance to end the war before it even began, and how he tried to fix his mistake. But sometimes the right thing is hard to see – and even harder to live with…

The last thing Barney expects to see out of the train widow is a German airplane heading straight for them.

Michael Morpurgo, the author of WAR HORSE, brings us another amazing historical fiction story that is sure to touch the hearts of many. After his house had been destroyed in a bombing, Barney and his mother try and make their way cross-country to reunite with Barney’s family, but their plans fall short when another German air raid begins. In the chaos and fear that ensues, one of the fellow passengers on the train tries to tell Barney a story in order to quell his fears and anxiety about what is to happen next. The only problem is, Barney doesn’t like /boring/ stories. He likes stories full of /action/ and /adventure/, stories just like his grandfather told him, and he /doesn’t/ think that his newfound friend can deliver one of those.

Little does he know that his friend’s story is much more intriguing than any story about pirates or vikings that he has ever heard. The stranger on a train happens to be best friends with a soldier who fought in the First World War. What entails next, well, that’s quite the adventure.

This book is pitched as an “alternate history” book, and I have to admit, the synopsis on the back cover doesn’t do the book justice. This is not a book exploring what would have happened if the Second World War didn’t take place, but rather, a book exploring a soldier’s life. This story explores his time in the armed forces, the many battles he had fought, his dreams, his hopes for the future of the world, and his regrets for the actions he had taken in the past. This book tells the story of world war, and the soldier who has to live through it.

Of course, the “what if” element pitched in the synopsis - what if history had changed? What if the Second World War didn’t occur? - plays into the story, but it is not the story itself. The main character, Billy, deals with this dilemma, but in terms of his own actions. The “what if” itself is not a plot point, but a discussion point, and I love the way that Morpurgo incorporated this into the story. History didn’t change, but he opens up a lot of questions and discussion points himself with how he portrays this in the book.

I read this in Grace’s review on Goodreads, but I also hold the same sentiment. One of the reasons I liked this book so much is because it feels like someone is /telling/ you the story rather than you /reading/ it. The way Morpurgo selects his language and crafts his sentences is phenomenal. The story has a flow to it that cannot be disturbed. For younger readers, or for those that enjoy having “breaks’ in their reading, the book was split into multiple parts and multiple chapters within those parts, so it won’t be hard to progress in the story even if you only have a few minutes to spare.

In terms of character development, my favorite character in the entire book was Billy. Since AN EAGLE IN THE SNOW recounts Billy’s life, it makes sense that I would be attached to him since when I first learned of him. To put this in Barney’s words, it wasn’t just because his story was interesting and full of adventure. Billy is a truly dynamic character who will touch the hearts of all who read this story.

I loved hearing the conflicts that Billy was having and the way that his thoughts and actions were described was absolutely phenomenal. As a soldier, he struggled often with “survivor's guilt” and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The way that Billy deals with what is happening in his own life, how he processes what he sees in the war, and how he acts because of it speaks volumes of his character. As a reader, we learn a lot about him through his story despite not taking the journey /with/ him, only hearing about it through stories of the past.

In terms of content, the book itself covers heavy subjects. The ideas of World Wars and the consequences they cause can be a difficult subject to talk about with younger readers, but Morpurgo broaches this subject with care. In addition, his story involves the after effects of combat, the aftereffects of living and growing /up/ in a time period dominated by war. He manages to capture the atmosphere of the world during both world wars, and sheds an important light on a soldier’s plight, struggles and attitudes during both of these time periods.

I think this book holds tremendous educational value as well. It does tell a fictional tale, but is based and rooted in history. The life of Henry Tandey (famously known as “The Soldier Who Didn’t Shoot Adolf Hilter”) was inspiration for Billy Byron’s story, as described in the forward and in the back of the book. Not a /lot/ is known of Henry Tandey’s life, and Morpurgo crafts what /could/ be his story. Personally, I like how Henry Tandey’s life was explained, it shows that Morpurgo did his research and also explains the roots of AN EAGLE IN THE SNOW as well. I didn’t know anything about Henry Tandey before reading this book, and now I’m excited to learn as much as I can about him!

Overall, I really enjoyed this read. I would recommend this book to any reader who loves history, especially those who have an interest in World War Two and learning about historical figures. Younger readers and older readers alike will enjoy this captivating read, and they won’t be able to put this book down!

LOOKING FOR GROUP by Rory Harrison | Review

2017-06-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

LOOKING FOR GROUP

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publish Date: April 25th 2017

Page Amount: 368 Pages

Price: $17.99 Hardback

ISBN: 0062453076 (ISBN13: 9780062453075)

Learn more about Rory Harrison Here!

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Cover and Summary of the book are from Goodreads.

Looking for group for the quest of a lifetime.

Dylan doesn’t have a lot of experience with comfort. His room in the falling-down Village Estates can generously be categorized as “squalid,” and he sure as hell isn’t getting any love from his mother, who seemed to—no, definitely did—enjoy the perks that went along with being the parent of a “cancer kid.”

Now that Dylan’s suddenly in remission, all he’s left with is a lingering OxyContin addiction and a hunger for something—anything—but the life he’s known.

His only escape has been in the form of his favorite video game—World of Warcraft—and the one true friend who makes him feel understood, even if it’s just online. Dylan met Arden playing Warcraft, and now he wants to take her on a real mission, one he never thought he’d live to set out on: a journey to a mysterious ship in the middle of the Salton Sea.

But Arden is fighting her own battles, ones that Dylan can’t always help her win. As they navigate their way west, they grapple with Arden’s father (who refuses to recognize his daughter’s true gender), Dylan’s addiction, and the messy, complicated romance fighting so hard to blossom through the cracks of their battle-hardened hearts.

Dylan and Arden are two fun-loving teenagers. They like to talk for hours, they have their own inside jokes about the things that they love and they want nothing more than to explore some of the world’s great wonders. The only problem is, they only know each other through the computer screen.

That is, until Dylan decides to make the trip to go visit Arden, and invite her on the trip of a lifetime; a quest to find buried treasure in a shipwreck that has never been found. But as the trip commences, the two friends realize they are fighting battles in the world that the other knows almost nothing about.

This book was a road trip book, which I wasn’t quite expecting from the outset of the book itself, but I actually really grew to love it. It didn’t just jump in straight to the adventure, and it spent a lot of time setting up who these characters are and the situations they were in. Dylan is a cancer survivor, and he has to remind himself multiple times that he’s not in hospice anymore and that the cancer went away. Arden is a girl who is not supported in her own home. Both of these characters are incredibly lonely people who feel very misunderstood by those around them. They found companionship in one another through a game they both play on the internet.

"I love the premise of LOOKING FOR GROUP, and I think the book does a great job commenting on parts of an online friendship brought into a more physical world."

I wanted to read this book because of the premise of an internet friendship. In today’s day and age, I think a lot of people make friends online and at the same time, a lot of individuals frown upon this idea. Internet friendships are incredibly important. Just because of the way someone meets another person (whether through a game or in person) doesn’t make the friendship any less of a friendship. I love the premise of this book, and I think the book does a great job commenting on parts of an online friendship brought into a more physical world.

There’s one scene that illustrates this very well, when Dylan is meeting Arden for the first time. He finds it hard to speak with her, because the only time they spoke was through the computer. I can’t help but imagine that with people meeting their friends for the first time, there is bound to be some awkwardness and navigation of the waters, but that’s quickly overcome once both of you realize that the person you’ve been speaking to for years is right in front of you. I found that passage in particular to be incredibly powerful.

Speaking of Dylan’s voice, it was extremely easy to follow through the entire story. The formatting of the pages were a little strange (there were large blank sections after each paragraph) but his voice flows wonderfully. The book is written so Dylan is almost “speaking” to the reader, which is something that meshes really well with me.

I also really enjoyed how Dylan didn’t assume his reader had knowledge of World of Warcraft, and every analogy he made was explained. He explained why certain parts of the game were special to him, some of the places within the game, how the mechanics of the game functioned and even the game itself. As a reader, I was never left out on their inside jokes. Granted, there were still some pieces of the game I didn’t understand, but in terms of context of the story, I thought World of Warcraft was adequately described to and for someone who has never played it before. Not having knowledge of the game won’t hinder your understanding in any way.

I did feel at times that the book dragged, and a lot of the “conflict” in the book was just introduced for there to be some disagreements, only for it to be “resolved” three pages later. I also didn’t like how most of the arguments and disagreements Dylan and Arden had were never really discussed, and left behind for the sake of continuing the journey forward. Dylan could make a joke, and suddenly everything would be okay, leaving what they argued about almost completely undiscussed with no apologies for things done wrong. I didn’t like how that was handled, nor did I like that it happened more than once.

Relating to this point, I wanted to mention as well that a lot of Dylan’s actions toward Arden are very transphobic. Arden’s father is abusive, and Dylan encourages her to go back into an environment that doesn’t support her. Now, when I read it, I support the notion that people can change, and maybe Arden’s father realized the error of his ways and stopped his abuse, but as a reader, we don’t actually get to realize if that’s true (and that also doesn’t mean the scars from abuse in the past disappear). There is never a good reason for putting anyone into an abusive home, and a large theme of the book focuses on Arden’s desire to start her own life without the abuse following her wherever she goes. So to end on a note where Arden’s abuse could be continued doesn’t sit right with me. Dylan also continuously misgenders Arden under the guise of “protection,” and he doesn’t change his outlook upon things after being made aware that misgendering is an issue, and that is something that also doesn’t sit well with me.

Overall, this book was a quick read. LOOKING FOR GROUP follows two friends trying to escape the negatives in their lives, and for once, truly live; by this time, taking their adventures to the real world. The premise of an internet friendship hooked me instantly, but the transphobic and harmful actions in this book are things I cannot overlook.

A SEASON OF DARING GREATLY by Ellen Emerson White | Review

2017-04-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

A SEASON OF DARING GREATLY

Publisher: Greenwillow Books (An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)

Publish Date: February 14th 2017

Page Amount: 432 Pages

Price: $17.99 Hardback

ISBN: 0062463217 (ISBN13: 9780062463210)

Order A SEASON OF DARING GREATLY Here!

Learn More About Ellen Emerson White Here!

Learn more about the book on Goodreads here!

When eighteen-year-old Jill Cafferty makes history as the first woman to be signed by a major league team, she goes head-to-head against coaches, players, and fans who are determined to keep baseball an all-male sport. The first step? Proving she’s talented enough to be there. An engrossing story about defying conventions and living up to impossible expectations, for fans of John Corey Whaley and Catherine Gilbert Murdock.

Jill Cafferty just made history as the first woman signed by an MLB team, joining the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate only days after high school graduation. Despite the reassurances of coaches and managers alike, not everyone is happy to have her there. A few of her teammates are giving her trouble, making crude jokes and claiming there’s no way she can play at this level. The media presence following Jill at each of her games adds to her own misgivings about choosing pro baseball over a normal college experience. And to top it all off, Jill is struggling with the responsibilities of being a national hero and a role model for young women everywhere. How can she be a role model when she’s not even sure she made the right choice for herself? Featuring a strong female character trying to mark out a place for herself in a male-dominated world, this literary and accessible book is a great choice for fans of John Corey Whaley and Catherine Gilbert Murdock.

Cover image, synopsis, and other information about the book taken from Goodreads.

Jill Cafferty is making history. At seventeen years old, she’s already found herself being chased after by agents, scouts and recruiters alike, every one of them interested in her /amazing/ pitching skills on her high school’s baseball team. She has plans to go to Stanford in the fall and play baseball there on a scholarship, but this girl finds her aspirations of being a professional baseball player a reality when she’s informed she had been drafted to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Jill is able to find support in her friends and family, along with her adoring friends that are with her every step of the way. She’s making progress, and starting to achieve her dreams and do something she /really/ loves. Though, as happy she is for the support, the “Oh my gosh, a girl can throw a baseball!” act is getting pretty old from those who don’t understand that yes, a girl can play sports and be good at them too.

Baseball is a male-dominated sport, and for each step forward Jill takes, something sets her back. She already deals with sexist comments and protests at her high school’s game, and these hateful acts only get worse. Not only does the media pound her for her mistakes, but they attribute them to her gender, suggesting that maybe allowing female competitors on some of the best baseball teams might not be a good idea. Jill has to decide whether or not paving the way for other girls is something she can handle, and if it’s worth the weight that is currently pressing down on her shoulders.

A SEASON OF DARING GREATLY is an absolute home-run.

We follow our main character Jill through one of the most defining moments of her entire life. Jill is in high school, and is still taking the time to discover herself and her heart when she gets a call that could change the course of her entire career. She’s an extremely strong baseball player, whose pitch can really pack a punch, but underneath her ‘baseball’ persona is a teenage girl who is just trying to figure out her aspirations and where she fits in in the world. Personally, I liked to see this side of Jill, and it helped her appear more human to me. Even though the Major Leagues is something she has always wanted, her struggles and thought process are incredibly authentic to a teenage experience, even if being drafted by the Major Leagues isn’t something that every teenager gets to experience.

Speaking of the narration style, this book was incredibly interesting in the fact that, the majority of the book is told in third person, though Jill’s thoughts are still sprinkled in. Her sass and tone comes through these witty-one liners thrown in after a character says something she doesn’t like, or when someone is being a bit too snappy. The humor and relief weave it’s way into the story without much of a second thought at all. I really liked seeing a change in this narration style because I could still hear Jill’s inner monologue at points even though it wasn’t explicitly being explained to me, and it helped to immerse me into the story and into Jill’s character.

In terms of plot progression, I did think that this book moved slow at some points. The beginning of this book I think is incredibly well-paced, and it sets up who Jill is as a /person/ before she is a /baseball player/, though toward the middle and in some parts of the end it seemed to drag, and the ending itself was slightly disappointing. I was so eager to see Jill progress at a faster rate than she was.

It also didn’t help that I found some of the chapters bogged down by courses of action that I didn’t quite care to read about. The book itself didn’t focus /largely/ on the baseball games, but when a play-by-play was given, or I read about Jill’s pitching for more than a few pages, it hit a bit of a lull. In terms of the baseball terminology itself, for someone that doesn’t play baseball, I definitely felt that the terms characters used were not only authentic, but adequately explained and defined. (There were a few instances where acronyms and slang were used to describe actions instead, and it did distance me from the story, though only for a few moments.)

Though, the most important aspect of this book was that it brought up loads of important issues that we deal with today. Women are still discriminated against based on their gender, unfair assumptions and stereotypes are woven into the fabric of our society, and people still are not treated with the respect that they deserve. It’s important to realize these things, along with loads of others, and work hard to try and improve and change the world for a better future.

Ellen Emerson White knocks it out of the park with A SEASON OF DARING GREATLY. Baseball lovers and others alike will find something to enjoy in this book, whether it is because of the baseball itself or the story of a teenage girl fighting for what she wants and deserves. This story is packed with strong and dynamic characters, and tells a story that is like no other. This book is an absolute home-run!

FTC Disclaimer: I received this Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for review consideration. This does not affect my review of the book in any way. All thoughts expressed in this review are honest and are my own.

THE RIFT UPRISING by Amy S. Foster | Release Blitz

2016-10-06T15:19:00.001-04:00

Today I am partnering with Irish Banana Blog Tours to help promote THE RIFT UPRISING by Amy S. Foster!

THE RIFT UPRISING was just released on Tuesday (October 4th 2016), and I thought it would be the perfect book to share with all of you. I've included some information on the book below, along with some information on Amy S. Foster!

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Publish Date: October 4th 2016

Page Amount: 400 Pages

Price: $18.99 Hardback

ISBN: 0062443127 (ISBN13: 9780062443120)

Order THE RIFT UPRISING Here!

Learn More About Amy S. Foster Here!

Learn more about the book on Goodreads here!

ABOUT THE RIFT UPRISING

Normal seventeen-year-old girls go to high school, binge watch TV shows all weekend, and flirt with everyone on the face of the Earth. But Ryn Whitaker is trying to save it.

Ryn is a Citadel. A soldier. A liar. Ryn and her fellow Citadels were specially chosen and trained to guard a Rift—one of fourteen unpredictable tears in the fabric of the universe that serve as doorways to alternate Earths. Unbeknownst to her family, Ryn leaves for school each day and then reports for duty as an elite, cybernetically-altered soldier who can run faster, jump farther, and fight better than a Navy SEAL—which comes in handy when she’s not sure if axe-wielding Vikings or any number of other terrified and often dangerous beings come through the Rift. A fine-tuned weapon, Ryn is a picture-perfect Citadel. But that’s all about to change.

When a young man named Ezra is pulled through the Rift, Ryn finds herself immediately drawn to him, despite her training. What starts as a physical attraction quickly grows deeper, and Ezra’s curiosity throws Ryn off balance when he starts questioning the Rifts, the mysterious organization that oversees them, and the Citadels themselves—questions that lead Ryn to wonder if the lies she’s been telling her family are just the surface of a much bigger lie told to her. As Ryn and Ezra desperately try to get to that truth, they discover that each revelation blurs the line between the villains and the heroes even more.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

Just from reading the synopsis, I can tell that this book will take readers on a high-stakes action adventure. I am so excited to add this book to my TBR! I'm so excited to see the world-building in this book and see how everything fits together.

ABOUT AMY S. FOSTER
Amy S. Foster is a celebrated songwriter, best known as Michael Bublé’s writing partner. You might recognize her work in his four hit singles, including "Home" and "Haven't Met You Yet.” She has also collaborated with Destiny’s Child, Diana Krall, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and a host of other artists. She is also the author of the novel When Autumn Leaves. When she's not in a studio in Nashville, Amy lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. Amy is the daughter of singer B.J. Cook and the legendary music producer, David Foster. Fun fact about Amy: Her extended family tree includes Bella and Gigi Hadid, Sara and Erin Foster and Brody and Brandon Jenner, and Clay Aiken! The Rift Uprising, her YA debut, will be released on October 4, 2016.

I can't wait to read THE RIFT UPRISING, and I hope you feel the same way!

Let me know in the comments down below what you think of THE RIFT RISING!

THE BFG by Roald Dahl | Roald Dahl 100th Birthday Blog Tour Celebration & Giveaway!

2016-10-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

I am extremely excited to be a part of the ROALD DAHL 100TH BIRTHDAY BLOG TOUR CELEBRATION! For those of you that don't know, I was actually first introduced to Roald Dahl and his books in primary school. Because of this, Roald Dahl and his books helped to shape who I am as a reader and as an individual. Many of his books hold personal significance for me, and I thought that as a part of the official ROALD DAHL BLOG TOUR, now was the perfect time to share one of those stories with all of you.

I've also included a review of THE BFG in my blog post, along with information on the book itself and on Roald Dahl. I hope that you take the time to read through this entire post and enter the giveaway in this post as well! Roald Dahl and his books mean a lot to me, and I hope that these books will make an impact on you as well!

TITLE: The BFG

AUTHOR: Roald Dahl

PUBLISHER:

ISBN: 0141365420 (ISBN13: 9780141365428)

Purchase the book here!

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | KOBO

Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg! Starring Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, Bill Hader, and Adam Godley.

The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!

From the bestselling author of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and MATILDA!

About ROALD DAHL:
Roald Dahl (1916–1990) was one of the world’s most imaginative, successful and beloved storytellers. He was born in Wales of Norwegian parents and spent much of his childhood in England. After establishing himself as a writer for adults with short story collections such as KISS KISS and TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, Roald Dahl began writing children's stories in 1960 while living with his family in both the U.S. and in England. His first stories were written as entertainment for his own children, to whom many of his books are dedicated.

Roald Dahl’s first children’s story, THE GREMLINS, was a story about little creatures that were responsible for the various mechanical failures on airplanes. THE GREMLINS came to the attention of both First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who loved to read the story to her grandchildren, and Walt Disney, with whom Roald Dahl had discussions about the production of a movie.

Roald Dahl was inspired by American culture and by many of the most quintessential American landmarks to write some of his most memorable passages, such as the thrilling final scenes in JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH - when the peach lands on the Empire State Building! Upon the publication of JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, Roald Dahl began work on the story that would later be published as CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and today, Roald Dahl’s stories are available in 58 languages and, by a conservative estimate, have sold more than 200 million copies.

Roald Dahl also enjoyed great success for the screenplays he wrote for both the James Bond film You Only Live Twice in 1967 and for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, released one year later, which went on to become a beloved family film. Roald Dahl’s popularity continues to increase as his fantastic novels, including JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, MATILDA, THE BFG, and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, delight an ever-growing legion of fans.

Two charities have been founded in Roald Dahl’s memory: the first charity, Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, created in 1991, focuses on making life better for seriously ill children through the funding of specialist nurses, innovative medical training, hospitals, and individual families across the UK.

The second charity, The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre – a unique cultural, literary and education hub – opened in June 2005 in Great Missenden where Roald Dahl lived and wrote many of his best-loved works. 10% of income from Roald Dahl books and adaptations are donated to the two Roald Dahl charities.

On September 13, 2006, the first national Roald Dahl Day was celebrated, on what would have been the author’s 90th birthday. The event proved such a success that Roald Dahl Day is now marked annually all over the world. September 13, 2016 is Roald Dahl 100, marking 100 years since the birth of the world’s number one storyteller. There will be celebrations for Roald Dahl 100 throughout 2016, delivering a year packed with gloriumptious treats and surprises for everyone.

REVIEW

THE BFG is a classic book. It may not be a classic in the sense of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE or HUCKLEBERRY FINN, but, for any person that is my age, I can guarantee you that we all have read it, or at least heard of it, in our primary school years.

While I know this post on the tour is supposed to be a review stop, the post would feel incomplete without explaining my connection to Roald Dahl, and the books that he has published, especially THE BFG.

In second grade, I was fortunate enough to be placed into a split-grade classroom with an amazing teacher. For those of you that are not familiar with a split-grade classroom, this basically means that two grade levels share the classroom space and the teacher, each student working on their own tasks that are suitable for their grade level. My classroom was a 2nd and 3rd grade split-room, which meant that when the 3rd graders were working on their worksheets, the 2nd graders would sit in a circle on the floor, reading a book.

I can't recall whether or not THE BFG was, in fact, one of the books that we read as a "class", but I do recall how THE BFG book came into my life. You see, reading books was and still remains my way of connecting with the world, my way of discovering who I am, and my way of escaping the boundaries of reality. Reading books has and always will hold a place in my heart.

My second grade teacher was one of those amazing teachers, the ones who support you, no matter what. I can guarantee that there were moments when tears were shed in that classroom, either about something on the playground, friends, or just, 2nd grade life in general. It seems pretty silly now that I think about it, to have been worrying about the small things, but yet, there I was.

Most days, when I decided not to go out to recess, I would pick a book from the classroom library, sit in my desk, and read. It wasn't something that I minded, I didn't know what I was missing outside. I was immersed in the world of my book and that was all that mattered to me. Like I said, books were my lifeline.

At the end of the year, my second grade teacher pulled out boxes worth of books and placed them on one of our tiny tables, allowing each student to pick one book to take home. Each of the students in my class, went through, one by one, picking out a book that spoke to them, or that had a pretty cover, or the story just pulled them in. As if the book wasn't enough, my teacher spent time "autographing" each student's book, writing a personal inscription that matched exactly who they are, as people.

By the time I reached the table, I think most of the books were picked over, only a few books left here and there. One of them was THE BFG. My teacher saw how I was struggling to pick a book, and I believe that she pitched this one to me. Reading the summary of the book was enough of a hook for me, but seeing the length of a "big-kid book" definitely made me feel that this book was one that I needed to read, especially if my teacher believed in me, too.

I don't want to share the inscription -- it's a bit personal, and, even though it is from second grade of all years, it still holds a place in my heart and I think it's something that I'd like to keep to myself. But I do believe that I was introduced to THE BFG for a reason, and the way that I was introduced to it just makes it feel that much more important.

I still remember what happens in the book. Of course, I don't know it like the back of my hand, but I still do recall some of the scenes and even some of the descriptions of the characters. I read a ton of books each year, and the fact that one book from second grade still stands out in my memory, means that it is expertly crafted. Not only that, but it means that THE BFG is innovative, imaginative, and important.

I can't fully credit THE BFG for completely kickstarting my interest in books, reading, and even becoming an author myself, but I can credit THE BFG and Roald Dahl for being one of those books and one of those very special authors for inspiring me.

While this may not be a typical book "review" that you would find on my blog, I do know that THE BFG speaks for itself in terms of it's literary merit, and it's not just because of how I discovered this book that it is significant to me. As a child, I fell in love with the elements of the story. An outcast giant befriending a small, petite girl spoke to me, in a time where I really needed friends. THE BFG speaks about differences, about appreciating others, and about loving yourself, for who you are. People appreciate you, for who you are, too.

It isn't often that you find a book like THE BFG, or any other book that Roald Dahl has written. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and MATILDA, for example, remain some of my favorites too (and you can read about those on the other stops of the tour!). I loved how THE BFG takes such an interesting concept of a story and still manages to teach some very important lessons along the way.

As for me, I'm just happy that my second-grade self was able to find such an amazing book.

And now, for an amazing GIVEAWAY! One winner can pick (5) books from the Roald Dahl collection! You can enter this massive giveaway by using the RaffleCopter below!

I apologize to my international readers, but this giveaway is US ONLY. If you need some ideas for some titles, I've included a list of them below, along with links to all of the other blogs that are participating on the tour! I highly recommend that you read their posts -- everyone has an amazing story to share when it comes to Roald Dahl!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SCHEDULE OF THE TOUR

Date	Blog Name:	Book	Blog URL:

9/12	Fiction Fare	Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes	www.fictionfare.com
9/13	Nicole's Novel Reads	The Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secrets	http://nicolesnovelreads.blogspot.com
9/14	Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile	Skin and Other Stories	rantsandravesofabibliophile.wordpress.com
9/15	Intellectual Recreation	Love From Boy	http://www.intellectualrecreation.com
9/16	KellyVision	More About Boy	Kellyvision.wordpress.com
9/17	One Night Book Stand	Revolting Rhymes	https://onenightbookstandblog.wordpress.com
9/18	The Quiet Concert	The Minpins	http://thequietconcert.blogspot.com/
9/19	Reads All the Books	Dirty Beasts	http://www.ReadeAlltheBooks.com
9/20	Here's to Happy Endings	The Enormous Crocodile	http://www.herestohappyendings.com
9/21	He Said Books or Me	D is for Dahl	Hesaidbooksorme.blogspot.com
9/22	Dizneeee's World of Books	The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More	http://dizneeeesworldofbooks.blogspot.com
9/23	The Innocent Smiley	The Vicar of Nibbleswick	www.theinnocentsmiley.com
9/24	PaperTrailYa	Esio Trot	PaperTrailYA.co.uk
9/25	Emily Reads Everything	Danny, The Champion of the World	Www.emilyreadseverything.com
9/26	Writing My Own Fairy Tale	George's Marvelous Medicine	Http://www.writingmyownfairytale.com
9/27	Rebelle Reads	Fantastic Mr. Fox	rebellereads.blogspot.com
9/28	Quest Reviews	Going Solo	http://www.questreviews.com
9/29	Mundie Kids	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	http://www.mundiekids.blogspot.com
9/30	Stuck In Books	Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator	http://stuckinbooks.com
10/1	No BS Book Reviews	Matilda	http://nobsbookreviews.com
10/2	Novelgossip	The Twits	https://novelgossip.com
10/3	Forever Bookish	Boy: Tales of Childhood	foreverbookish.com
10/4	Miranda's Book Blog	The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me	https://mirandasbookreviews.blogspot.com
10/5	I Turn the Pages	The BFG	www.iturnthepages.com
10/6	The Irish Banana Review	The Witches	http://theirishbanana.blogspot.com
10/7	Actin' Up with Books	The Magic Finger	http://actinupwithbooks.blogspot.com
10/8	Swoony Boys Podcast	James and the Giant Peach	http://www.swoonyboyspodcast.com

THE WOMEN IN THE WALLS by Amy Lukavics | Review

2016-09-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

Title: THE WOMEN IN THE WALLS

Author: Amy Lukavics

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Genre: Young Adult Horror

ISBN: 0373211945 (ISBN13: 9780373211944)

Order THE WOMEN IN THE WALLS here!

Learn more about Amy Lukavics here!

Lucy Acosta's mother died when she was three. Growing up in a Victorian mansion in the middle of the woods with her cold, distant father, she explored the dark hallways of the estate with her cousin, Margaret. They're inseparable—a family.

When her aunt Penelope, the only mother she's ever known, tragically disappears while walking in the woods surrounding their estate, Lucy finds herself devastated and alone. Margaret has been spending a lot of time in the attic. She claims she can hear her dead mother's voice whispering from the walls. Emotionally shut out by her father, Lucy watches helplessly as her cousin's sanity slowly unravels. But when she begins hearing voices herself, Lucy finds herself confronting an ancient and deadly legacy that has marked the women in her family for generations.
Lucy Acosta doesn’t have much of a family. Her mother died when she was three years old, her father is distant and cold, and the only real affection she can find within the walls of her old family estate comes from her cousin Margaret and her Aunt Penelope.

The newfound affection doesn’t last long, and one of her relatives goes missing after wandering outside of the estate. Lucy finds herself confronted with a slew of problems. Her cousin Margaret seems to be hearing voices through the walls of the house, her father is still keen on hosting a dinner party for “the club”, and Lucy finds herself surrounded with more questions than she has answers to -- especially in regards to the estate, and why in the world her father is more worried about the estate than her relative that disappeared.

Margaret was by far my favorite character in the book. I absolutely loved Lucy’s perspective, but there was something unique about Margaret that made me connect with her character. It’s clear from the beginning of the book that Margaret is an introvert. She prefers to keep to herself most of the time and it takes a lot for her to like and eventually trust a person. She is almost a perfect contrast of Lucy’s character -- at least in my mind -- which adds dimension and complexity to the story because of how she not only drives the plot but how she deals with the main conflict as well.

While I most enjoyed seeing Margaret’s way of coping with the mysterious disappearance and also how it affected her, I also appreciated seeing the different coping mechanisms of each character. Lucy’s curiosity about the disappearance and questioning of her father shows that she’s not afraid of a little challenge, or the unknown. Margaret’s isolation means that there is more to her than meets the eye, or more emotion to her than she might want to admit. Lucy’s father’s unhealthy obsession with a “club dinner party” means that something might be up in the Acosta estate. The decisions that each character makes while in grieving helps to illustrate who they are as characters. Lukavics beautifully illustrates how grief can change a person, but also how grief affects each person in their own way, while still setting up the greater plot of the story.

I loved WOMEN IN THE WALLS because the world building, character development and plot progression were all happening at the same time. Within the same page, I picked up details about each character, learned new information about the plot and constructed the social dynamic in Lucy’s world. Nothing felt “bogged down” to me. I feel that this book has a very good balance of these important elements.

In terms of pacing, I loved how the book was structured. The synopsis does give some of the plot elements away rather than just general context of the world, but I still enjoyed it reading the book even if I knew what the characters didn’t at some points.

The book didn’t jump straight into the “voices in the walls” and that’s what I enjoyed. Lukavics gives context to that situation, forms solid characters and develops the world before that all happens. I had a sense of who the characters were before the main plot drives the book. I was able to see how the plot events altered each character because of how the book was structured and paced. Had the book been more rushed in the beginning, or even if the book had been shorter, I probably wouldn’t have been able to pick up on that.

I will note that I was somewhat disappointed with the ending. I loved the pacing of the book, but when all of the information and plot-twists were being revealed, I felt that it was being revealed to me too fast. I felt as if it was an information dump -- I couldn’t quite understand what was happening or even why it was happening -- but that may have also been because I wasn’t expecting that kind of ending in the first place. I don’t say this often with books, but I wish THE WOMEN IN THE WALLS was a little bit longer so that the ending had the same chance for development, character reactions, and, ultimately, closure.

I do have to put a disclaimer for the content of this book, just because as I was reading it I found some content to be slightly disturbing and it made me a little bit uncomfortable as I was reading this book. This book is very heavy on descriptions, especially that of gore/death. Also, the characters in the book also deal with self-harm and there are descriptions of that process. If you are sensitive to suicide, self-harm or even descriptions of gore, just be cautious going into this book.
THE WOMEN IN THE WALLS is a perfect read for Halloween! Lukavics blends mystery, intrigue, and horror together. She creates a bone-chilling thrill-ride of a story, and any reader who loves the “darker” side of young adult novels will find themselves in love with this story.

Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5 Stars

I enjoyed it!

The Baby by Lisa Drakeford | Review

2016-09-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publisher: The Chicken House

Publish Date: October 26th 2016 (1st published: July 1st 2015 UK)

Page Amount: 256 Pages

Price: $17.99 Hardback

ISBN: 0545940273 (ISBN13: 9780545940276)

Order THE BABY Here!

Learn More About Lisa Drakeford Here!

Learn more about the book on Goodreads here!

When Olivia opens the bathroom door, the last thing she expects to see is her best friend Nicola giving birth on the floor – and to say Nicola is surprised is an understatement. She’s not ready to be a mum, and she needs Olivia’s help. But Olivia has her own problems – specifically her bullying boyfriend, Jonty, and keeping an eye on younger sister Alice. And then there’s Nicola’s friend Ben, who’s struggling with secrets of his own …

I'll be honest, when I looked at the summary for this book, it didn't seem like it fit my taste of books. I thought that the summary was a little bit "weird" and that this book would take me places I didn't necessarily want to go. I wasn't sure that THE BABY was a good fit for me, and I strayed away from this book, until it appeared on a fellow book blogger's blog.

Amber over at The Mile Long Book Shelf had raved about this book in several of her videos and blog posts. From what I have read of Amber's reviews and from the videos that I have seen, Amber and I tend to have a very similar taste in books that read.

Thus, when she said that she absolutely loved this book, I put it on my To-Be-Read List, hoping that eventually, I would get around to reading it. I definitely trust Amber's opinions in books and I was excited to get this book in my hands.

Little did I know that THE BABY was exclusively available in the UK at this point in time -- which was more than a year ago. I would have to wait (and hope) that this book would eventually come into the United States with printing and publishing rights so that I could get my hands on it.

Luckily enough, that day came around this month, when I saw THE BABY listed on Miss Print's ARC Adoption Agency. After refreshing my memory, I had to jump on this book again, and I eagerly requested this one to review.

I had to tell you the backstory to how I received this book, and also how long it has been on my radar, because it does affect my reading experience. As a reader who had anticipated this book for over a year, this is definitely a book that is well worth the wait.

The last thing Nicola expected was to be a teenage mother, let alone the fact that she gave birth in her best friend Olivia's bathroom. Her unexpected daughter shakes the world around her, creating rifts and tears in friendships that she used to find solid, changing the dynamic of her familial relationships, and most importantly, changing the very foundation of Nicola's character. With all of the drama surrounding the birth of her daughter, she can't take on the task by herself, and she needs some help.

However, her friends are carrying their own burdens. Her best friend Olivia is trying to sort out a very damaging relationship with her boyfriend Jonty. Nicola's friend Ben is questioning who he is at the very core, and Olivia's sister Alice just wants to groom the horses in her imaginary barn. Her friends try to help her the best that they can, but that can be extremely hard to do when Nicola isn't telling them the entire truth.

THE BABY takes the reader on a journey spanning several months after the birth of Nicola's daughter Eliza. Told through multiple points of view with a very diverse cast of characters, THE BABY offers insight on way more than just Nicola's pregnancy and child.

THE BABY pulled me in because it mainly is about teenage pregnancy, something I haven't read a lot about. I definitely agree with Vicky from A Backpack Full of Adventures when she says "Teenage pregnancy – and especially teenage parenthood – is a hugely important issue which, I think, doesn’t get the attention it should in YA literature." Teenage pregnancy is very seldom mentioned in today's society, and even when it is mentioned, it is only mentioned as a consequence and not as an issue in and of itself.

Those who have children while in their teenage years can be alienated by their friends, peers, and even their family members. They can be ostracized from their communities and treated as less than human. There was a study done for a class project, in which a teen named Gabby Rodriguez faked a pregnancy and recorded how she was treated (called the Pregnancy Project) and the results were absolutely astonishing.

Teenage pregnancy can have very negative consequences, but the problem is that no one ever talks about it, except as a consequence itself.

THE BABY brings a breath of fresh air to the young adult genre by approaching a topic like teenage pregnancy in a way that has never been done before. Drakeford, instead of shoving the dialogue about teenage pregnancy to the side, makes it an integral piece of the story. Talking about issues like teenage pregnancy can help to decrease the rates of it's occurrence, and I really appreciate Drakeford's honesty and full-frontal focus on the topic. Drakeford really lets her reader's know that they can find a safe space within the pages of THE BABY, and she is able to craft a discussion about teenage pregnancy (and several other social issues) with care and understanding.

Aside from the subject matter of the book, I really loved how the book was laid out. The book is told through multiple perspectives, with each one of the characters it highlights sorting through their own personal lives and trying to break free of their struggles. The narration opens with Olivia and moves through four more characters, each varying in age, gender, occupation, and relation. I love the diversity of the characters within this book, and I believe that reading the point of view from each character really helped me to appreciate that. I was able to get so much more out of the story because of the differences between the characters and I walked away with a deeper appreciation for the story as a whole. The multiple points of view does a very good job in conveying who the characters are, their thoughts, and communicates the meaning of the story as a whole.

This book is a little on the shorter side, and while that's not one of it's faults, I wish there was more to it. Toward the end of the book, the reader gets hints and nudges about what might happen in the future, but they don't get to see it. There is a giant twist dropped near the ending, but the reader doesn't really get to see the follow-through. I can't say too much more without revealing it, but I personally really wanted to see how that played out. Introducing conflict at the end of the book can be a great play or a very bad one, and for me personally, I just wasn't feeling it because of how it was brought up.

Lastly, I have to mention this, because I absolutely fell in love with Alice -- the younger sister of Olivia. Alice is constantly called "strange" or "weird" throughout the book, and reading things through her perspective made it clear to me that she doesn't process the world and it's happenings like the other characters do. I loved seeing this new perspective and I really feel that I relate to her. Alice doesn't quite understand social situations, but she is very bright and knowledgeable. Her faults are not her only pieces of character, and I truly appreciate seeing this.

THE BABY discusses a variety of important issues -- the discussion is not limited to teenage pregnancy itself. THE BABY delves into sensitive topics, like bullying, domestic violence/abuse, and the absence of a parent. The diversity of not only characters but social issues faced in this book is something that is not usually seen in the publishing world and makes it a pleasure to read. Drakeford teaches important, valuable lessons through the lines of the THE BABY, and she delivers on a wild ride that will have you hooked from the very first page.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

FTC Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book to review, and this in no way affects my review of the book. All reviews are honest and my own. I received this ARC as part of Miss Print’s ARC Adoption Program.

My Favorite TV Shows! | Top Ten Tuesday

2016-09-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is TOP TEN TV SHOWS or a variation on that theme, because of Fall TV shows. For this week, I thought I would share some of my favorite TV shows with you. I blog an awful lot about books and I figured that this would give you a better opportunity to get to know me!

Here we go!

I mean, honestly, how can you go wrong? This TV show is a MUST for pretty much everyone. My friend introduced me to this show all the way back when we first met, and it has been a wild ride ever since! I fell in love with Lorelai and Rory the second I saw them on the screen. I love the dynamic that they have, I love that Rory loves books, and I love that Lorelai is determined and will do absolutely anything she can to get what she wants and/or needs.

I haven't even mentioned half of the other characters! Luke is one of my favorites -- he owns his own diner and coffee shop, which I want to do when I'm a little older too -- though each and every single character has their own little quirks and unique personality!

I'm telling you, Stars Hollow is where I want to live! I'ts a perfect, quaint and cute little town. Everyone knows each other, which, yes, can cause some drama, but also, there is an extreme sense of family and everyone looks out for one another.

I haven't finished the show yet (I'm only on Season 4!) but I definitely plan to binge-watch the rest before the "continuation" of the series comes out on Netflix in November!

I am a bit of a medical nerd, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, partially because of this show. Pretty much everyone who I talk to has seen this show at least once, and it's for a good reason.

Now, due to some medical issues of my own, it would be extremely difficult for me personally to be a surgeon or to practice within the medical field (at least in the way that I want to). The good thing for me, is that I get to see a "behind-the-scenes" look at a Level One Trauma Center hospital, thanks to intern Meredith Grey.

Don't get me wrong, this show has tons of elements that don't relate to medicine/surgery, but I do have to say that seeing "life in a hospital" is one of my favorite things about the show. Plus, as I mentioned with Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy also makes sure that every main character (yes, there are several) has their own unique personalities, quirks and drama to deal with on their own.

This series is a long one, I think it just was renewed for season 13, so if you want to watch this one, I suggest trying to use Netflix to get caught up. I used to watch a few episodes here and there with my mother, and I ended up being spoiled on some of the biggest reveals. You definitely want to start from the beginning!

Private Practice is a spin-off of Grey's Anatomy. It follows ONE of the main Grey's Anatomy characters -- though I can't say who -- on their journey to another medical practice.

I started to watch this series because I love this character, and I wanted to see what their life would look like and how it would change once they move to another medical practice. As expected, there is still a ton of drama, scandal, and even a little bit of romance to keep you on the edge of your seat.

There is an extra bonus if you watch this show -- if you watch the corresponding Grey's Anatomy episodes too, there are some tie-ins to each show. Here's what I mean by that. Drama/A Medical Case/etc. is introduced on Private Practice, and then followed on Grey's Anatomy, or the other way around. It might only be for an episode or two, but I still think that is an extremely cool element and adds depth to the story in itself.

I can't remember how I discovered this show -- maybe it was through a Netflix session -- but I remember how this show was basically insta-love for me (in a good way, I promise).

The first episode of the series introduces you to a girl named Callie, who finds herself released from Juvie and in need of a place to stay for a few weeks until a foster family situation can be sorted out.

Introducing....the Foster's! Or, most specifically, the Adams Foster's. They agree to take in Callie for the time being, but things spiral out of hand as secrets are kept, escapes are made, and people are rescued, and this is only in the first few episodes! Trust me, you definitely want to see how all of this drama starts, and how everything unfolds.

(Added Bonus: I tweeted how much I loved this TV show one day, and the official account for the TV show actually retweeted me! How cool is that?!)

The early seasons!

Once Upon A Time is an extremely unique show. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to give any of the plot points away, but I will say this. Fairytales, mischief, and other dimensions/realms are a wonderful combination for a great TV show.

SPOILER ALERT
When I was younger, I actually wrote a story that was kind of like the premise of the show: a bunch of fairytale characters living together in the same world and getting into a bunch of shenanigans together. While this is only the very basics of Once Upon A Time, imagine my delight when I saw my dreams coming true on the screen in front of me!
END SPOILER ALERT

Aside from the actual plot of the show, I absolutely love the characters and the acting. I instantly connected with Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas' characters. They are some of the most kind-hearted characters in the show, often sacrificing pieces of themselves to save other people or to make sure that other people are happy.

Plus, tell me that you don't want to live in their cute little apartment?!

Now, as I'm typing this, you should know that I stopped watching this show I think in the third season. I'm probably missing out on a lot, and I definitely do want to continue watching and get back into it, but I definitely think that the first season is the best season. Do yourself a favor and watch that for me, okay? :)

That's it for this week! Tell me in the comments below: What is your favorite TV show? What about your favorite TV show to watch in the fall? Was there a show that was cancelled that you still love?

Tell Me Something Real by Calla Devlin | Mood Board, Blog Tour & Giveaway!

2016-09-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

INSERT SOMETHING HERE

ABOUT TELL ME SOMETHING REAL:

Three sisters struggle with the bonds that hold their family together as they face a darkness settling over their lives in this masterfully written debut novel.

There are three beautiful blond Babcock sisters: gorgeous and foul-mouthed Adrienne, observant and shy Vanessa, and the youngest and best-loved, Marie. Their mother is ill with leukemia and the girls spend a lot of time with her at a Mexican clinic across the border from their San Diego home so she can receive alternative treatments.

Vanessa is the middle child, a talented pianist who is trying to hold her family together despite the painful loss that they all know is inevitable. As she and her sisters navigate first loves and college dreams, they are completely unaware that an illness far more insidious than cancer poisons their home. Their world is about to shatter under the weight of an incomprehensible betrayal…

LINKS: Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository

ABOUT CALLA DEVLIN:

Calla Devlin is a Pushcart nominee and winner of the Best of Blood and Thunder Award whose stories have been included in numerous literary journals and in anthologies, including Because I Love Her: 34 Women Writers Reflect on the Mother-Daughter Bond, for which she was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Magazine. Tell Me Something Real is her first book.

LINKS: Website | Twitter

Instead of answering the "typical" questions that I would for a mood board like this one, I wanted to just take a minute and chat about my mood board, and what I wanted to incorporate in my mood board.

From scouring Goodreads, I learned that each of the three sisters has their own way of coping with this news. One of the sisters turns rebellious and has a bit of a swearing problem. She also learns to draw in order to release her emotions. Another has a deep connection to the piano, and she invests more of herself into music as the situation with her mother gets worse. The youngest sister develops an obsession with Catholic Saints. The father of the three girls is seemingly absent, because he pours himself into his work. Each of the characters in this book has an extremely unique way of coping with the situation in front of them. I wanted to do the best that I could to capture that in a mood board, because I do believe that it speaks loads about the characters themselves.

The other pictures in the mood board tell the basic story. The three sisters who have their hair braided together lets you know that the story follows three sisters. Sure, the focus of the book is on the middle sister, but there is a very large amount of importance and stressed placed on familial relationships, hence why all three girls are included. The hospital beds clearly represent the clinic that the mother has to go to for her treatment (and yes, I did try to find a picture that was historically accurate!). Lastly, the tears and hugs represent the emotions of the characters and just the fact that they are trying to cope in and of itself.

I had a blast making this mood board! In fact, I didn't even speak about why I am so interested in this book to begin with! (I might as well do that now, because I feel like it didn't come across as much as I would like in the mood board. Hannah had pitched this book to me as a dark historical fiction, and yes, it is historical! It takes place in the 1970s, while also dealing with something that is still close to home today. I thought that was an extremely interesting combination and I knew it would hook me right away. Not to mention the mystery surrounding the lies within the family, and a big secret that is revealed in the book!

Overall, I really enjoyed making this mood board! I love being able to share "new-books-to-me" with my readers, because I do hope that these books will interest you and/or you will want to learn a little bit more about them! I'll definitely have a review for this book later on my blog, but for now, I want to share a little treat with you all!

GIVEAWAY

(3) Three Finished Copies of TELL ME SOMETHING REAL! (US only!)

Hannah from Irish Banana Tours and the publisher have happily sponsored a giveaway for all of you! This giveaway is tour-wide and US only (sorry, international people!).

By entering this giveaway you acknowledge that I Turn the Pages is not responsible for and cannot be held accountable for any part of this giveaway. This includes the shipment of the prize, notification of a winner, etc.!

Click below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to stop by the other amazing blogs on this tour to learn a little bit more about Calla Devlin and TELL ME SOMETHING REAL! Just like the sisters in the book, we all have our own ways of sharing information and being a part of a great tour! Plus, why not familiarize yourself with some other amazing blogs? The tour schedule is listed below for your convenience, and you can click the name of each blog to be taken to their website. :)

Tour Schedule:

Week 1:

8/22: That Artsy Reader Girl - Guest Post

8/23: Pondering the Prose - Review

8/24: Rebelle Reads - Top 10

8/25: The Litaku - Review

8/26: Never Too Many to Read - Q&A

Week 2:

8/29: Arctic Books - Review

8/30: Such a Novel Idea - Guest Post

8/31: The Book Return - Review

9/1: I Turn the Pages - Mood Board <-- That's me!!

9/2: Tales of the Ravenous Reader - Review

Again, I just want to say a big thank you to Hannah from Irish Banana, Calla Devlin and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to be a part of an amazing blog tour for an amazing book!

Just Kill Me by Adam Selzer Mood Board | Blog Tour & Giveaway!

2016-08-31T00:00:00.000-04:00

Today, I'm partnering with Irish Banana Blog Tours and Adam Selzer to bring you a mood board inspired by Adam's book, JUST KILL ME! Be sure to keep reading for some information about the book and the author, to see my mood board & to enter the AMAZING giveaway that Irish Banana Tours put together for all of you! :)

I'm still in the process of finishing this book, but from what I've read so far, I absolutely love it. JUST KILL ME follows a girl named Megan, who applies for a job at a ghost tour company. That doesn't seem so bad, right? To Megan, it's not. But if her mother doesn't approve, it's game over. After all, it would decrease the reputation of Megan's family. What does it say when your family owns a funeral home, but you work in a ghost tours business?

But when the ghost tour business begins to take off, things get kind of scary. In order to drive business, Megan's boss suggests that someone may have murdered people at the tour stops. Will Megan get involved with this? There is a lot more to these ghost tours than meets the eye....

If that brief summary didn't pull you, I don't know what will. But, just in case my summary didn't do it justice, I included the official one below so that you can decide if this book is for you, as well as some information about Adam Selzer!

ABOUT JUST KILL ME:

Megan Henske isn’t one to heed warnings…

When the last letters in her alphabet cereal are D, I, and E, she doesn’t crawl right back into bed. When her online girlfriend won’t text a photo, she just sends more of herself.

And when she realizes that Cynthia, her boss at a Chicago ghost tour company, isn’t joking about making stops more haunted by killing people there, she doesn’t quit her job—she may even help.

But who is responsible for the deaths of prominent figures in the murdermonger industry? Could it be the head of the rival tour company? Or could it be someone near and dear to Megan?

Soon after she learns that she has an uncanny resemblance to a flapper who disappeared in 1922, Megan receives a warning she can’t ignore: the next ghost on the tour might be her…

LINKS: Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository

ABOUT ADAM SELZER:

His first book was HOW TO GET SUSPENDED AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE (now available in a "Now With More Swearing") edition, his next one is PLAY ME BACKWARDS (for satanic young adults), and his best known is probably I KISSED A ZOMBIE AND I LIKED IT, a Twilight satire that was not marketed as a satire.

He also writes the SMART ALECK'S GUIDE series and has published a bunch of Chicago history/ghostlore books.

You can also find him under the name SJ Adams, the name he used for SPARKS: THE EPIC, COMPLETELY TRUE BLUE (ALMOST) HOLY QUEST OF DEBBIE, which won a Stonewall honor and made the YALSA popular paperback list.

LINKS: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Without further adieu, I present my mood board for this book!

Who was your favorite character in the book?
Is there really a question here? I'm still finishing the book right now, but my favorite character has to be the main character; Megan! She's a "black diaper baby", which makes her life extremely interesting to read about, plus she just has a great personality. So far, she is completely different from me, which makes it especially interesting on a personal level because of how she thinks.

Did you pick any specific characters or scenes to be represented in your Mood board?
Well, when I was reading the synopsis specifically, a lot of things stuck out to me. For example, her cereal spelling the word DIE. I just thought that was really funny, and I had to include it in the mood board. I also wanted to capture a little bit more of the story, like the flapper ghost that she has an uncanny resemblance to.

Did your Mood Board take a specific color scheme? If you actively chose one, why did you chose that specific color?
The majority of my mood board is black and white -- which, for the nature of the book, seems very fitting -- and I love it! The pictures I chose of a flapper clearly created this theme, considering they are older pictures. Also, it just seems fitting because of Megan and where she grew up. Most people consider ghosts to be scary, and their stories are normally from years and years ago.

Was there a picture that you just couldn't find to incorporate into your mood board? If you can answer it with little to no spoilers, tell us how it related to the book!
You know, I actually found the pictures that I wanted to! As an afterthought, I really would have loved to find a picture of the trio in an alleyway, with their backs facing the photographer, but that picture I know would be incredibly hard to find! I'm very happy with how this mood board turned out, and I still can't believe I found a picture with cereal spelling DIE! I'm beyond ecstatic!

If you read the book, what was your rating for it? Link us to your review if you have one! :)
I haven't reviewed the book yet, so be on a lookout for that later on my blog! :)

Now, for the giveaway! The publisher has happily sponsored a tour-wide giveaway for all of our readers! I am so excited to share this book with you, and I hope you all love it! With the fall and Halloween coming up soon, it is the perfect book to get you into autumn!

By entering this giveaway, you acknowledge that it is a tour-wide giveaway and I Turn the Pages is not responsible for the giveaway. This includes things such as a lost package in the mail, getting your prize to you, and notification if you with the giveaway.

Giveaway:

3 Finished Copies of JUST KILL ME (US Only)

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Also, don't forget to stop by the other stops on the tour to see more reviews, Q&As, and a guest post! I put the tour schedule below so it would be a little more convenient for you all. :)

Tour Schedule:

8/29: Bookish Lifetsyle - Guest Post

8/30: Life According to a Bibliophile - Review

8/31: I Turn the Pages - Mood Board <--- That's me!

9/1: Pondering the Prose - Review

9/2: Never Too Many to Read - Q&A

As always, thank you SO much to Hannah from Irish Banana Blog Tours and Adam Selzer for not only allowing me to be a part of this tour & create my own original content, but also for sponsoring the giveaway for all of you guys! I can't wait to see what kind of adventures (and potentially trouble) Megan gets herself into.

Let me know in the comment section below: Because this is the perfect book for the fall, tell me about a book that you love to read either in the fall, or a book that gets you in the mood for Halloween! I know that it's a ways away, I just get excited about my holidays. :)

Wish by Barbara O'Connor | Blog Tour & Moodboard Monday

2016-08-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Today, I am extremely excited to be a part of the blog tour for Barbara O'Connor's Wish! I was wishing to be on this tour ever since I found out about it, and I'm so excited to share the content that I created with you!

For my stop on the tour, I'm sharing a mood board that is inspired by the characters and events in Wish! If you know me, you know that I absolutely love to make mood boards, so I had a blast putting this one together! (Plus, I absolutely love dogs, and this mood board gave me an excuse to spend hours on the internet looking at cute dogs!)
Before you see the mood board, I wanted to provide you with a summary of the book and a little bit about the author!

ABOUT WISH:
Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite. But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all.

ORDER WISH HERE! Amazon | B&N | iBooks

ABOUT BARBARA O'CONNOR:
Barbara O'Connor's awards include the Parents Choice Gold and Silver Award, American Library Association Notable Books, IRA Notable Books for a Global Society, School Library Journal Best Books, and Kirkus Best Books. Her books have been nominated for children's choice awards in 38 states and voted as a state favorite by children in South Carolina, Indiana, Kansas, and South Dakota.

Barbara was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. She draws on her Southern roots to write award-winning books for children in grades 3 to 6.

She currently lives in Asheville, NC. Her latest book is Wish, a middle grade novel published by FSG.

VISIT BARBARA O'CONNOR'S WEBSITE HERE! Website

Who was your favorite character in the book?
This definitely won't be a surprise, but I absolutely loved Charlie. Howard was one of the most interesting "side" characters that I have ever read about, and it would be extremely interesting to read another story from his point of view. I mentioned this in my review of this book, which is going live on the blog soon, but the disability representation was amazing & I connected instantly with Howard. (If you don't know, I'm disabled and I have a "funny walk" like Howard!).

Did you pick any specific characters or scenes to be represented in your Mood board?
I definitely wanted to pick up on the change in location throughout the book. I wanted to capture the mountains, while also capturing how Charlie might be feeling about the move. Most of the pictures are actually from descriptions in the very beginning of the book - Charlie thinks that the only thing in North Carolina is dirt roads, and that the people who live there eat squirrels for dinner.

The other part of the moodboard is divided between Wishbone (the dog) and Charlie's wishes. Charlie knows almost every way to make a wish, whether it be seeing three birds on a wire or picking a penny up from off of the ground. Especially when her wish involves Wishbone, the stray dog she meets, I couldn't leave him out!

Did your Mood Board take a specific color scheme? If you actively chose one, why did you chose that specific color?

No, it didn't! I honestly think that this is one of the only mood boards I have created where there really is not a clear color scheme! I guess the pictures I found just didn't mesh together -- but it definitely makes for an interesting mood board!

Was there a picture that you just couldn't find to incorporate into your mood board? If you can answer it with little to no spoilers, tell us how it related to the book!

I really wanted to find a picture of Charlie on her bike, seeing Wishbone. It is a very pivotal moment in the book, and I would have loved to represent that in my mood board. I'm not going to say much more than that -- because I don't want to reveal much more than that -- but it was very hard for me to find a picture like that. I am extremely happy with the pictures that I found, though!

If you read the book, what was your rating for it? Link us to your review if you have one! :)

I read the book a while ago, but my review for the book isn't live yet! You can look for my review a little bit later on my blog! I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars, and it was such a quick and enjoyable read!

GIVEAWAY!

Thanks to Macmillan/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, I have a giveaway for (3) Three Finished Copies of Wish! Librarians, Teachers, and Parents, you definitely want this book in your libraries, so you should enter the giveaway! This giveaway is US only, and because the giveaway is tour wide, by entering the giveaway you acknowledge that I Turn the Pages is not responsible for shipping the prize, if it gets lost in the mail, etc.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to stop by the other stops on the tour to see more content surrounding Wish -- like a Q&A, reviews, and more original content! Plus, you can rack up some more entries on the giveaway!

8/28: The Hardcover Lover - Review

8/29: I Turn the Pages - Mood Board <- That's me!

8/30: Charmingly Simple - Review

8/31: A Book & A Latte - Q&A

9/1: Go Read A Book - Review

9/2: Quite the Novel Idea - Hand Lettering

9/3: The Irish Banana Review - Review

Thank you so much to Hannah from Irish Banana Blog Tours and Barbara O'Connor for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour! Charlie & Howard (and of course, Wishbone too!) have become my favorite trio of middle grade characters! I loved getting to know them and their stories!

FISH WIELDER by J R R R Hardison | Release Blitz + Giveaway!

2016-08-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

When I first read about FISH WIELDER, the very first thing that I thought of was Monty Python and the Holy Grail. FISH WIELDER is full of funny characters, a silly story and sometimes outright strange mission. While FISH WIELDER may be an epic fantasy, it's completely different than anything on the market. A talking fish and a depressed brute take on the seemingly hopeless mission of retrieving the lost pudding -- not to eat, but to save their planet!

With that, I'm very happy to share a little bit about the author, the book, and give you a chance to try the book for yourselves! Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of this post!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jim has worked as a writer, screen writer, animator and director in entertainment and commercials since graduating from Columbia College of Chicago in 1988. He is the author of The Helm, which YALSA praised as one of 2010’s best graphic novels for young readers, and has directed animated commercial and entertainment projects, including spots for M&M's, AT&T, and Kellogg's. He co-founded Character LLC in 2000 and has given story advice to many of the world's largest brands, such as Target, Verizon, Samsung, McDonalds and Walmart, and has even appeared on NBC's "The Apprentice" as an expert adviser on brand characters. Jim lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, two kids and two dogs. Fish Wielder is his first novel.

About FISH WIELDER:

Fish Wielder is kind of like Lord of the Rings, set in Narnia, if it was written by the guys who made Monty Python and the Holy Grail while they were listening to the music of They Might Be Giants.

In ancient times, the Dark Lord Mauron cooked the most powerful magic chocolate dessert ever made, the Pudding of Power. One thousand and two years later, the evil leader of the Bad Religion, the Heartless One, is trying to recover the lost pudding in order to enslave the peoples of Grome. Only the depressed barbarian warrior Thoral Might Fist and his best friend, Brad the talking Koi fish, have a chance to save the world of Grome from destruction, but that's going to take a ridiculous amount of magic and mayhem. Thus begins the esepically silly epic fantasy of epic proportions, Fish Wielder—book one of the Fish Wielder Trilogy.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE! Amazon | Barnes & Noble

EXCERPT:

GIVEAWAY!

1 winner will receive a $10 (USD) Amazon Gift Card and a copy of FISH WIELDER
*Gift card is open internationally, but FISH WIELDER can only be mailed to a US mailing address*

Rafflecopter Code:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I Turn the Pages is not responsible for sending the giveaway prize nor is I Turn the Pages responsible if the prize is lost in the mail, by entering the giveaway, you acknowledge this!

Thank you so much to Hannah from Irish Banana for allowing me to be a part of this release blitz and to J R R R Hardison for letting me share an excerpt from his book AND have a giveaway for all of my lovely readers!

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake | Waiting on Wednesday

2016-08-24T00:00:00.000-04:00

Howdy, folks!

I know I haven't done an official "Waiting on Wednesday" post in a while, so I thought I would bring it back to the blog. There are a ton of books that I am really anticipated for, and some of the release dates are right around the corner, so I wanted to share one with you all today.

The book for this week is.....

THREE DARK CROWNS by Kendare Blake

Publisher:

Page Amount:

Price:

Release Date:

Learn more about Kendare Blake here!

Order THREE DARK CROWNS here!

Learn more about the book on Goodreads here!

Is there anything special about this book that you are looking forward to?

The entire synopsis hooked me. Three sisters, all fighting with different powers and abilities, and only one of them can survive. It reminds me of THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins because of the "fight-to-the-death" piece. Honestly, I actually enjoy the "fight-to-the-death" trope because a lot more can be "on the line" in these kinds of books. Can you be anymore extreme than an author who dangles their character's lives in front of the reader AND we know that going into the book?

Through the story aspect as well, I think the actual fight itself reveals a lot more about the characters. I don't know a lot about this book, but I imagine that we get to know the sisters before the fight begins. The way that the characters fight and even handle the idea of fighting can speak volumes about who they are. I can't wait to see that!

Not to mention: two of the sisters are FAKING their powers! This might be my favorite piece of the synopsis, because it adds so much more dimension to the story! I'm so excited and extremely nervous to see how this plays out. I was already hooked on the beginning piece, and to have this added into the equation means that I am going to be on a wild ride from start to finish.

How did you hear of this book? From a Goodreads Search, Blogger Buddies, Twitter, etc.?
Jess over at a Princessica of Books recommended this to me, but I actually had this book on my TBR for a while before that interaction! I think Hannah over at Irish Banana had sent out a blog tour invitation with this book on it, and it looked really interesting!

Have you read any of the author's works before?
Nope! I can see on Goodreads that she has published other books, but I haven't read them. I know a lot of other bloggers have read them and they enjoyed them, but I think I'm going to save those for the Halloween season. :)

What do you think about the cover? What about the title?

The cover is simple, stunning, and captivating. I recorded a BookTube video a while ago (it's not live yet!) where I was talking about book covers. I said: "If you have to have a black cover for a book, pair it with gold! It makes the book stand out & look very sophisticated & interesting." For this cover in particular though, I love how each of the crowns looks different, and is likely representing the three sisters.

I like the title as well -- I can't really describe this well but the addition of DARK in the title adds mystery to the story. I haven't even read the book and I'm already wondering how far the siblings will go -- will they actually try to kill each other for power, or will they fight back against the system that encouraged it? I think it perfectly encapsulates that there is a conflict going on, that it has to do with royalty, and that it can have extreme consequences for those involved and those who are spectating. How will it play out for the two sisters who are faking their powers? I have absolutely no idea!

When is the release date for this book? Do you think you can wait that long to read it?

This book comes out on September 20th. I'll probably go and read it at my library, if they buy a copy! I don't necessarily have the money to spend on books anymore -- or I'll wait until I can find it in the bookstore near me for a slightly cheaper price.

What do you think of this week's pick? What are you waiting on? Let me know in the comments below!

Ten Books That Have Been On My TBR From Before I Started Blogging That I STILL Haven't Read Yet | Top Ten Tuesday

2016-08-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

For this week's Top Ten Tuesday, it's all about books that we meant to read in our pre-blogging era. Granted, that was two years ago (I would have been 15) and I still haven't really purged the books I don't want to read anymore from my shelves . However, the books on THIS list are books that I have FULL INTENTIONS of reading -- I just haven't gotten to them yet.

Maybe you could help me by suggesting a few to read from this list, or linking me to your own TBR so I can get some more ideas :)

Without further adieu, here are some of the books I mean to read in the near future. :)

PERCY JACKSON: THE LAST OLYMPIAN by Rick Riordan

I know..I know...this book has been out for an extremely long time. It's strange because I absolutely loved the series, but for some reason I just couldn't get through the last book. Thanks to the giveaway I won from Katie's Book Blog, I now have the entire Percy Jackson series, and I'm slowly working my way through them. I'm on the third book now, and I'm actually enjoying my re-read!

THE PROGRAM by Suzanne Young

Okay, I really want to read this one! It has still been on my TBR, I just can't find a copy of it! I don't order books online, unless it is for a pre-order, and that's probably one of the only reasons I haven't read this book yet. The bookstore that I love to go to always has the other books in the series, but never the first one! I guess I'll just have to play the waiting game.

CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein

A friend of mine recommended this book to me, and we both have very similar taste in books. I love historical fiction, and this one seemed right up my alley. I don't know -- I guess as soon as I started blogging (which was around when I heard about this book) I was swept up into reading books that were a little bit different. I guess this one just fell behind the other books that I was reading, though I do intend to read it someday.

SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo

Even now, everyone LOVES this book. I didn't add this book to my TBR before I started blogging, but it was pretty soon after, so I think this counts. I still haven't read this book. I have it, it's signed to me, and I met Leigh, but still, I haven't read it. To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure what it's about, and I think that scares me just a little bit.

THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Steifvater

I won a copy of the first book through my school's summer reading program, and I meant to read it that summer. I didn't. I met Maggie this year at one of her tour events for THE RAVEN KING (Maggie, by the way, is absolutely amazing and I loved every minute of her tour). I even put this book at the tip top of my TBR this summer, and yet, I still haven't read it. I'm going on vacation soon, so maybe this will be a nice book to read over the drive.

That's it for this week's Top Ten Tuesday! Do you want to help me out and leave a book recommendation below? What did you enjoy about each of these books? (no spoilers please!) Do you have a book that you still haven't read after years of it being on your TBR? Let me know in the comments below!

For This Life Only by Stacey Kade | Blog Tour & Giveaway

2016-08-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of the Irish Banana Blog Tour for FOR THIS LIFE ONLY by Stacey Kade!

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publish Date: August 30th 2016

Page Amount: 320 Pages

Price: $17.99 Hardback

ISBN: 1481432486 (ISBN13: 9781481432481)

Order FOR THIS LIFE ONLY Here!

Learn More About Stacey Kade Here!
Learn more about the book on Goodreads here

"A young man struggles to move forward after the death of his twin brother in this gripping, coming-of-age tale about loss, redemption, love, and the moment you begin to see the world differently.

Three minutes.

Jacob Palmer died for three life-changing minutes.

And when he woke up, nothing was the same. Elijah, his twin brother, is dead, and his family is broken. Jace’s planned future is crushed, along with his pitching arm. Everyone keeps telling him that Eli’s in a better place, but Jace isn’t so sure. Because in those three minutes, there was nothing.

Overwhelmed by guilt and doubt, Jace struggles to adjust to this new version of the world, one without his brother, one without the certainties he once relied on. And then Thera comes into his life.

She’s the last girl he should be turning to for help.

But she’s also the first person to truly see him."

LINKS: Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository

ABOUT STACEY KADE:

As an award-winning corporate copywriter, Stacey Kade has written about everything from backhoe loaders to breast pumps. But she prefers to make things up instead.

She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg, and two retired racing greyhounds, SheWearsThePants (Pansy) and Shutter. When she’s not reading or writing, you’ll likely find her parked in front of the television catching up on her favorite shows (Scandal, The Vampire Diaries, Almost Human, The Walking Dead, and Sherlock, among others.)

Stacey is the author of the The Ghost and the Goth trilogy (THE GHOST AND THE GOTH, QUEEN OF THE DEAD, and BODY & SOUL) and The Project Paper Doll Series (THE RULES and THE HUNT). You can find her (far too often) on Facebook and Twitter as well as http://www.staceykade.com

LINKS: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr

If you know me well, you know that I absolutely love to make mood boards for my blog! I decided to make a mood board for my stop on the FOR THIS LIFE ONLY! I really hope you enjoy it!

As you can probably tell by the mood board below, this book does contain some pretty heavy themes. I'm actually extremely happy about that, because I feel like a lot of YA in the past had not discussed ideas like the death of a sibling, or the connection to a character's faith, or the aftermath of a disaster. I love how the publishing industry is changing and embracing more books that contain extremely important narratives. While it might not relate to you personally, there is a reader out there who might need a book like this one.

With that, let's reveal my mood board for this book!

Note: I received a copy of the book in the mail today (8/21) and already finished it! I didn't want to redo the moodboard/explanations because I put a ton of time into this post, and I also want to do a formal review comparing my initial thoughts to my final ones!

I've decided to change this post and make it a little bit different than the post for my Mood Board Mondays, simply because the book isn't out yet (and I haven't received my copy yet!), so I feel like if I tried to answer some of those questions, I would not be able to.

For this mood board, because I haven't read the book yet, I pulled most of what I know about the book from other advanced reviews and the summary. I wanted to try and capture the essence of the story - that is, a boy dealing with the lost of his twin brother - even if I couldn't read the book yet.

The main character in this book loves baseball, and has a very strong connection to his faith, so I wanted to include those two pieces as elements of my mood board. Jace, however, has to give up his passion for baseball when his pitching arm is crushed, in the same accident that killed his twin brother.

Throughout the book, not only does he have to grieve the loss of his twin, but learn how to cope with losing one of his passions as well.

I do know that this book deals with some sort of a friendship/romance through one of the girls that he meets, but seeing as I didn't know the exact nature of it, I didn't want to include it in my mood board. Instead, I wanted to focus my mood board on Jace and his family, along with the feelings he might be dealing with. The little girl in the mood board is his younger sister. I thought it would be interesting to include her in the mood board, because I wonder how much of the story focuses on her and how she is coming to terms with something that she might not understand completely.

Overall, I really enjoyed creating this mood board for the tour! I can't wait to get my hands on this book and read it! I'll definitely be writing a review on this, and I would love to see how my initial interpretations of the story compare to the writing.

Now, for the giveaway!

Giveaway:

3 Finished Copies of FOR THIS LIFE ONLY (US Only)

This giveaway is being run TOUR WIDE, so I Turn the Pages is not personally responsible for this giveaway nor if any of the items get lost in the post, etc.

Click below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to rack up some more entries in the giveaway and stop by the other posts on the tour as well!

8/22: I Turn the Pages - Mood Board

8/23: Tales of the Ravenous Reader - Review

8/24: What Sarah Read - Q&A

8/25: Oops! I Read A Book Again - Review

8/26: Andi's ABCs - Top 10

8/29: Jenuine Cupcakes - Review

8/30: He Said Books or Me - Q&A

8/31: The Book Swarm - Review

9/1: Swoony Boys Podcast - Dream Casting

9/2: Writing My Own Fairytale - Review

What was one book that you needed to read about when you were younger? Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you SO much to Irish Banana Blog Tours and Stacey Kade for allowing me to promote a book that is very much needed in the YA world!

UNKNOWN by Wendy Higgins | Release Day Blitz + GIVEAWAY

2016-08-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

Today, I am very excited to partner with Irish Banana Blog Tours and Wendy Higgins to bring you some amazing news on Wendy Higgins' new book, UNKNOWN, which releases today!

I know this is a New Adult series, and it's not suitable for the younger readers in my blog, but I figured it would be a nice deal to share! I know a lot of my readers read New Adult as well, so I want to share this amazing new series with you from a NYT Bestselling Author!

There is an amazing sale going on, but it's only for a short time! You can purchase UNKNOWN for only $2.99 (USD)! If you ask me, that is definitely an AMAZING DEAL. A whole book, for less than the price of a coffee at Starbucks.

Since you know you definitely want to buy the book, I'll include a summary of the book and the links to purchase below!

About UNKNOWN:

Amber Tate believes the worst thing she’ll suffer in life is dealing with the unrequited love she feels for her brother’s best friend, Rylen Fite. She also believes war is something unfortunate that happens places far, far away from her rural Nevada town. She’s wrong on both counts.

When an unknown organization meticulously bombs major cities in the United States and across the globe, a trickle-down effect spreads to remaining towns at an alarming speed—everything from food and water sources to technology and communications are compromised. Without leadership, the nation is split between paralysis and panic, but Amber isn’t one to hide or watch helplessly. She’s determined to put her nursing skills to use, despite the danger, even if it means working alongside the man she can never have.

In this first installment of NY Times bestselling author, Wendy Higgins’s debut New Adult series, a frighteningly realistic apocalyptic America is brought to life, entwined with searing romantic tension that will leave you eager for more.

ORDER UNKNOWN HERE! For only $2.99 USD!
Kindle: https://goo.gl/KEKn2D
iTunes: https://goo.gl/R9nav8
Kobo: https://goo.gl/XiYj6g

ABOUT WENDY
Wendy Higgins is the USA Today and NY Times bestselling author of the SWEET EVIL series from HarperTeen, the high fantasy duology THE GREAT HUNT, and her independently published Irish Fantasy SEE ME.

After earning a Creative Writing degree from George Mason University and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford, Wendy taught high school English until achieving her dream job as a full-time writer.

Wend lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her husband, daughter, son, and little doggie Rue.

*********

And now for the really fun part, the GIVEAWAY!!!

This giveaway is open internationally, which means all (and I mean all) of you lovely readers can enter to win a prize pack!

The GRAND PRIZE is the picture below.

If you are the GRAND PRIZE winner, you will receive: a Signed Paperback Copy of Unknown, an Unknown Poster, Bookplates, and Bookmarks!

But WAIT! There are going to be two more winners for this giveaway, with each of the "runner-ups" receiving a digital copy of UNKNOWN from either Barnes and Noble or Amazon), with signed bookmarks and bookplates!

This giveaway runs blitz-wide, so I'm not responsible for anything lost in the mail/anything bad happening if you win. (I won't see your information either, so don't worry!)

BUT: You should definitely enter because this is an amazing opportunity for ALL of you guys!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Again, thank you so much to Irish Banana Blog Tours and Wendy Higgins for allowing me to promote a great book and a great sale!

I Have a BookTube Channel! | Youtube

2016-08-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

Let's just cut to the chase: I made a YouTube channel!

(ou can view my new channel by clicking the link above!)

You might be thinking: Sheridan, if you already have a blog dedicated to books, why did you have to make a YouTube channel as well? Are you not just accomplishing the same thing?

The answer is, well...complicated.

Yes, I will now have a blog and a YouTube channel, both of which are geared toward books, whether that be book reviews, mood boards, tour stops or even book related Q&As can depend on the week in which I'm posting or recording a video.

I chose to make a YouTube channel as well because I want to explore a little bit. I want to play around with the format of my reviews, and also improve my oral communication skills. Plus, I realize that not everyone likes to sit in front of a computer screen and read my words off of a page - loads of people are auditory learners, which means that people learn better from hearing someone speak instead of reading words off of a page.

I want to make sure that people who don't like reading blog posts or have difficulty doing so can also find a home in my blog of I Turn The Pages. I don't want anyone to feel alienated or not feel like they are a part of the community.

That's not the only reason I created a YouTube channel. I created a YouTube channel because I wanted to, and I feel that it will be a fun, creative adventure. I wanted to challenge myself, and this was one of the things that I came up with.

So, to answer the original question: no, I'm not accomplishing the same thing. I go a little bit into detail in the next few questions, if you want to know my thought process!

What does this mean for your blog? Are you going to stop posting?

The answer to this one is incredibly straight forward. The answer is: No, I am not going to stop posting! My blog isn't going anywhere!

My YouTube channel is an additional outlet for me to talk about books. For me, I think about it as having multiple social media accounts, like Facebook and Twitter. You can use Facebook and Twitter for the same thing (connecting with other people & sharing your opinions), but you reach different people, and you may have different things to talk about based on who is in your social circle on each account and the parameters of the website itself. It can be hard to get into a debate on Twitter, where tweets can only be 140 characters, but relatively easy on Facebook because the word limit is much higher there.

For the book community, think about unboxings. For me, it is very difficult to write a blog post featuring the items that I opened in a subscription box or that I was sent in the mail, but if I do an unboxing video, it's very simple! I already have to open the package to see what is inside, so why not film my reaction to it as well?

So, when you are asking about the impact on my blog, here is what I have to say. Nothing is happening to my blog! It will be here forever. I will continue updating it, writing posts, and doing what I love. The only thing that will change on my blog is the consistency of posts, and that's a good thing! I want to become more consistent on my blog! My YouTube Channel will not hurt my blog, at all!

Sure, I might have a video and a blog post overlap on the same book, but that's okay. For example, I filmed a video review of AND I DARKEN by Kiersten White and I wrote a review about it to post on my blog. You can pick which one to watch/read, but because of the medium, they both come across a little bit differently.

While I didn't mean to have two reviews here on the blog and on my YouTube channel, I have bright ideas for the future. I might review a book on my YouTube channel that I have posted about on my blog multiple times. I might do a Q&A with the author on my blog, and talk about the book in other ways on my YouTube channel.

My YouTube channel is meant to bring my love of books full circle. It is way easier for me to do a haul video, rather than write a blog post about it. I can't write a blog post about a "Follow Me Around" video. Starting a YouTube channel is just about getting another medium to share my content in an effective way and in a way that is best for me to share that content.

So no, nothing is changing about my blog! Ease your mind of all of your worries, I will be here, better than ever, and still doing what I love.

Okay...do you have an upload schedule yet?

Nope! I'm still hammering out the kinks on that one. Once I have one, I'll update you, here and on my YouTube channel to let you know if that changes!

But, if you want to be notified when I post a new video, you can subscribe to my channel now, and my videos should appear in the nice little subscriptions box that YouTube prepared for you.

I want to leave you all with this: Don't worry! My YouTube Channel is full of exciting adventures, just like my blog, and I'm so excited to start my own channel in addition to blogging!

Do you have a YouTube channel? Let me know your BookTube channel and link me to it in the comments below if you do! Are there any kinds of videos that you would love to see from me? Let me know!

AND I DARKEN by Kiersten White | Mood Board Monday

2016-08-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

You may recall that on Friday, I posted my written review of AND I DARKEN on the blog, and I also recorded a video review that I posted on my YouTube channel a couple of weeks ago.

Well, I thought that now would be a perfect time to create a mood board for this book as well!

Who was your favorite character in the book?
This won't be a surprise, but I absolutely adored Lada!

Did you pick any specific characters or scenes to be represented in your Mood board?
Because of my love for Lada, I wanted to grab a few pictures that represented her as a character and also her roots of where she came from. While I couldn't find some of the pictures that I wanted, I did incorporate the buildings & architecture from Wallachia and the Ottoman Courts. To me, that represents her roots and the new struggles and changes that she has to deal with throughout the book.

Did your Mood Board take a specific color scheme? If you actively chose one, why did you chose that specific color?
I think my mood board took on a grey-ish color scheme. I didn't actively choose one, but once I noticed that the majority of my pictures for this weeks mood board had a similar color scheme, I tried to stay away from images that didn't fit the color scheme!

I think this week's mood board was steered toward a grey-ish color scheme because of the castle pictures I chose. Also, the background for the images of Lada's character also are darker, which contributes to that theme as well.

Was there a picture that you just couldn't find to incorporate into your mood board? If you can answer it with little to no spoilers, tell us how it related to the book!
Yes, there were a few pictures I couldn't find to incorporate in my mood board, but I can only reveal one of those pictures! I don't want to spoil this book for you!

I wish I could have found a photo of Janissaries training that suited the color scheme of my mood board. I found one picture of a Janissary, but it was a painting and it also didn't fit with the color scheme of my mood board. Oh well!

If you read the book, what was your rating for it? Link us to your review if you have one! :)

I did read this book! As I mentioned at the top of this post, I have a written review, and a video review, which you can read/watch by clicking on the respective links!

I loved this book, and I can definitely understand the hype around this one! I rated it 5 out of 5 stars, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

AND I DARKEN by Kiersten White | Written & Video Review

2016-08-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

Before you read this review, I want to let you know that I also recorded a video review! So, if video reviews are more "your style", you can click here to watch it (and subscribe to my channel, if you would like!)

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publish Date: June 28th 2016

Page Amount: 475 Pages

Price: $18.99 Hardback

ISBN: 0553522310 (ISBN13: 9780553522310)

Order AND I DARKEN Here!

Learn More About Kiersten White Here!

Learn more about the book on Goodreads here!

No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

Victoria Aveyard’s RED QUEEN meets Sarah J Maas’ THRONE OF GLASS in this historical fiction by MIND GAMES author Kiersten White.

Lada Dragwyla and her younger brother Radu have lived peacefully in Wallachia --- their father’s kingdom --- for as long as they can remember. But just because the pair have been living peacefully doesn’t mean they have been happy. Lada is forced to follow in her mother’s footsteps, knowing all well that the only value she holds is in marriage to create an alliance, even if that’s not what she wants. Radu, on the other hand, has been forced into the spotlight as the “Son of the Dragon”, as he has been taking classes to learn how to become a true warrior. Lada would kill for that opportunity --- literally.

But when Lada learns of chaos coming to their humble home which threatens her father’s rule, it tears their life apart. Under the pressure of an Ottoman authority, Lada’s father surrenders his children to the Ottoman Courts, causing the pair to adjust to a completely different lifestyle, with different people, rules, and expectations. But the “Daughter of the Dragon” has her own bite, and she doesn’t play by the rules --- even if it means the lives of herself and her brother could be taken away in an instant.

Being the history buff that I am, I fell in love with the way that Kiersten White brings the Ottoman Empire into a fictional story. White is able to flawlessly weave the fabrics of reality and fiction together, bringing in historically accurate information into a story while putting her own spin on the time period. I almost forgot that this story was a fictional encounter, and didn’t actually occur in history!

While adjusting to the new lifestyle in the Ottoman Courts, Lada goes through not only a change in her lifestyle, but several transformations of her personality, values, and morals. Lada, being more of a female Vlad the Impaler in the beginning of the book, not only questions her life back in Wallachia, but how she has treated others, what she values and what she wants her future to be. Radu, Lada’s brother, also goes through a period of transformation, questioning his family, his home, and above all, his religious beliefs.

As a teen myself, I enjoyed seeing these characters question what they have been taught and the situations they have grown up in. I think that this questioning helped to change and strengthen their frame of mind, and it was not all that different to what young adults and teenagers do during our transition from our adolescence to our adult lives. Seeing uncertainty, doubt, and fear on the page made these characters human, and ultimately, helped me connect with them a lot more as a teen reader going through the same questioning of everything that I know.

AND I DARKEN follows Lada, Radu, and a slew of other characters during very important times in their lives. The book opens during Lada and Radu’s time in Wallachia, their homeland, and progresses through their time in the Ottoman Courts. Within both of these settings, characters are introduced to new and tricky scenarios, and forced to make decisions that will change the course of their lives. It does take the characters quite some time to make decisions and see the consequences of their actions, so the plot progression can be slow at spots in the book. However, once the characters begin to realize the consequences of their choices, the plot thickens, and several high-intensity scenes occur right after another.

I would recommend AND I DARKEN to anyone that likes to read Young Adult literature. Because the book takes place within the Ottoman Empire, AND I DARKEN does include references to historical events and figures.AND I DARKEN already had me sold on the “gender-swapped Vlad the Impaler” piece, but the story is much more than these historical tidbits. Sure, AND I DARKEN showcases the successes and perils of the Ottoman Empire, but also explores the concepts of free will, hope, family and religion in ways that all readers understand. Kiersten White crafts a thought-provoking, captivating, and enthralling tale of two young siblings trying to find their place in the world and discover who they truly are.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from Emma's ARC ADOPTION AGENCY in exchange for a review. This in no way affects my review of the book. All reviews are honest and my own.

Dear Zoella: A Note About Your Book Club | Discussion Post

2016-07-27T00:26:00.000-04:00

Dear Zoella,

My name is Sheridan. I am seventeen years old, and I have been watching your channel for years.

I don't remember how I stumbled upon your channel, but the only thing I remember is my cousin introducing me to your "How to Deal With Anxiety/Panic Attacks" video.

I can't put into words how much that helped me, how much that changed my life. I don't think I formally recognized that my "school-age shyness" was something completely different. I didn't know that I likely had an anxiety or panic disorder until I watched that video. Though I'm still not at a point mentally where I can convince myself to go to therapy for anxiety (hence why I am hesitant to say that I have anxiety), your videos have helped a lot. I see a great girl doing amazing things and not letting her own anxiety stop her. If you can do it, why can't I?

As hard as that was to put into words, I think you can understand the impact that you & your videos have had on my life. You are such a positive role model for me and I look up to you. I have a ton of respect for you.

Please keep this in mind as you read the following: I'm only seventeen and I still haven't mastered how to put the pen to the page, if you know what I mean. While some of this may seem very cross, that's not the intention at all.

What you might not know about me is that I am an author. Yes, a published author, at seventeen. I wrote a children's book about anti-bullying (Hank and Lui: King of the Mountain) and I couldn't be prouder of my accomplishments. I'm also an avid reader. Reading was and still remains one of the only ways that I can escape the negativity and cruelty of the world, and sometimes, even my own self-doubt and paralyzing anxiety.

When you announced your book club, I was so excited. I had already read a few of the books on the list at the time that it was announced, and I was excited to see how it progressed.

Recently, you held a twitter chat for your book club. This was really exciting because, not only do we get to talk to you, but we get to talk to you about books (which, to me, is the greatest thing that money can buy!)

But in all honesty, I was hurt when I saw that you responded to one of your questions like this.

[image description: A twitter user asked "What advice would you give to someone who doesn't particularly like to read?" Zoella replies: "Start with something a little easier, maybe a YA or something smaller to spark your love of books]

I know that it probably didn't cross your mind when you were answering the question, and I know that you didn't mean any harm by what you said, but I still am hurt.

I know that you might not have realized that what you were typing can hurt, but that's what I'm here to inform you about.

I was hurt that you called YA, one of my favorite genres, an easier genre to read.

While you might not realize it, calling a certain genre of books "easier" to read, is an insult to both the readers and the authors. It implies that the books themselves are not complicated, that it's an "easy breezy read", that a YA book is a fast read because it doesn't make you think too hard about it.

As an author, I know the term "easier genre" can be extremely insulting, even if you didn't mean it to be. It implies that YA books are easier to write, and calling a book an "easier" read can also be an insult to the intelligence, hard work and creativity of an author.

While your channel has been almost like a second home to me, books have been there for me when no one else was. I grew up reading Harry Potter (and I still think that it is so cool that you were an extra in one of the movies!). I grew up reading every single day. I grew up finding versions of myself in other characters. I grew up in a hateful world, but I had books to escape it.

Books have helped me in ways that I cannot quantify. Books have literally saved me, when I thought that saving myself wasn't possible. It is authors and characters and story-lines and villains and heroes and words on pages that did that for me. As a fellow author, I know you understand that, and I know that your book has done that for someone else. (I personally, haven't been able to find the book in my bookstores, and so I haven't been able to read the series).

To hear something like that which belittles the YA community stings where it hurts. It doesn't make me feel good, to be frank. It feels like, by saying that YA is an "easier" genre to read, you're also saying that my own experience and journey with YA is not as important; that it doesn't mean as much and that I took the easy way out when it comes to reading. I didn't.

I know you likely didn't mean any harm in your tweet. After all, I know it is just a tweet, and a lot of context, body language and emotion can be lost when our conversations are mainly through screens. I'm not writing this letter in anger, and I'm not writing this to try and make you feel bad. I'm only writing this to help you realize that your words have influence. Your words have power and sometimes, they can make people feel emotions that you didn't intend.

I hope you realize that.

Zoe, I love your videos, I love your optimism, and I am absolutely sure that I will love your books! I know that you have great things ahead of you and I cannot be more excited for what is to come. I just wanted to let you know about this. Hopefully, you'll listen to a little young subscriber like me. <3

Love,

Sheridan

xoxo

The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis | Moodboard Monday & Blog Tour

2016-07-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

Today, I'm partnering with Irish Banana Blog Tours to promote THE WOLF ROAD by Beth Lewis!

What better way to promote and amazing book than with a mood board for #MoodBoardMonday?

Without further adieu, here is the moodboard that I created to celebrate this book!

It took me a very long time to find the pictures that I wanted to use for this book, but I am so happy with how my moodboard turned out!

Who was your favorite character in the book?
I have to say that I really like Elka. I tried my best in the moodboard to represent her.

Did you pick any specific characters or scenes to be represented in your Moodboard?
As I mentioned in my last answer, I tried to grab pictures that represents Elka or parts of her past. I wanted to capture who she was as a person along with the tragedies & realizations she has had.

Did your Mood Board take a specific color scheme? If you actively chose one, why did you chose that specific color?
I think that my mood board took a woodlands color scheme, which is completely understandable. Elka spends her life in the forest, learning how to survive with Trapper, so I felt that the majority of the pictures should be tied into the forest in some way, shape or form.

Was there a picture that you just couldn't find to incorporate into your mood board? If you can answer it with little to no spoilers, tell us how it related to the book!
This time around, I don't think that there was a picture that I couldn't find. There were a bunch of shots that I originally considered for the moodboard, but I found other shots that captured the essence of Elka and The Wolf Road a little bit better. I am extremely happy with how this mood board turned out!

I will say that while some of the pictures represent Elka herself, I tried to find other pictures that represented the situations she has dealt with in the past and in the future. The wanted poster, the storm and the cabin in the woods are examples of those, but I am not going to tell you exactly what happens!

If you read the book, what was your rating for it? Link us to your review if you have one! :)

I don't have a review for this one, but I have included a bunch of additional information on this book in case you want to learn more about The Wolf Road, Beth Lewis, or you want to order the book for yourself! All of the information you need is located below.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In her debut novel THE WOLF ROAD (July 5, 2016; Crown), author and managing editor at London’s Titan Books Beth Lewis introduces us to a world decimated by an unnamed, apocalyptic event and inhabited by desperate people accustomed to hunting, tracking, and killing to survive. Among them is Elka, the young heroine whose unmistakable voice guides us through the untamed landscape of the area formerly known as British Columbia on her journey to escape the horrors of her own past.

Everything Elka knows of the world she learned from the man she calls Trapper, a solitary hunter who took her under his wing when she was just seven years old. He has taught her how to shoot, track, set snares, and start fires—all the skills necessary to survive in a wild, lawless land where men are at the mercy of the elements and one another. But when wanted posters begin appearing in town, Elka realizes that the man she thinks she knows so well is harboring terrible secrets. The more Elka finds out about him, the less sure she becomes about her own identity—especially as she begins to recover some of the painful memories she’s kept at bay throughout her childhood.

As the horrific facts emerge, Elka makes her escape, armed with nothing but her knife and the survival skills he’s taught her. She sets out in the hope of finding her true parents, who traveled to the frozen north years earlier in pursuit of gold, but Elka can tell by the shadows that follow her that Trapper’s on her trail—and he won’t be letting his little girl go without a fight. As she encounters physical hardships, violence, and loneliness that at times test her sanity, she also strains to distinguish between fact and fiction in her own recollections. Ultimately, she will have to turn and confront not just Trapper but the dark reality of her past.

THE WOLF ROAD is a tautly suspenseful cat-and-mouse tale of justice and revenge, played out against a vast, unforgiving landscape—told by an unforgettable, tough-as-nails young heroine fighting desperately to escape the terrors of her childhood and rejoin humanity.

Additional Publication Information:
Crown Publishers • July 5, 2016 • Price: $26.00 hardcover • 368 pages
ISBN: 978-1-101-90612-5 • eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-90613-2

LINKS: Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | The Book Depository

PRAISE FOR THE WOLF ROAD:

“An unrelenting psychological thriller of wilderness survival wrapped in a terrifying hide-and-seek game of trying to escape an unspeakable past. … Fans of suspense with a touch of horror will be pulled into Elka’s intense struggle to find peace and redemption as the whole truth is finally revealed.”
—Booklist on The Wolf Road

“A white-knuckle trip through a gritty, frightening, and all-too-plausible post-apocalypse. You won’t know whether to root for or be afraid of heroine Elka, and you won’t be able to put the book down."
—Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts

“Stark and soulful, The Wolf Road is a brutal yet poignant journey into the truth of one girl’s origins in a shattered wilderness. It masterfully dances between the savagery of the wild and the raw, blunt humor of frontier logic. A rollicking, striking read.”
—Robert Jackson Bennett, author of City of Stairs

“An extraordinary novel—dark and funny and full of wild energy. Elka is a brilliant creation—fierce and vulnerable at the same time. Her story and her voice pull you in from the first page and never let you go. Gripping and unforgettable.”
—Antonia Hodgson, author of The Devil in the Marshalsea

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beth Lewis was raised in the wilds of Cornwall and split her childhood between books and the beach. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and has had close encounters with black bears, killer whales, and great white sharks. She has been, at turns, a bank cashier, a fire performer, and a juggler, and she is currently a managing editor at Titan Books in London. The Wolf Road is her first novel.

Beth’s website is: www.bethklewis.co.uk

You can follow her @bethklewis

Thank you so much to Irish Banana Blog Tours for allowing me to take place in an amazing tour! My mother actually saw the synopsis of the book and she now wants to read it for herself!

Barnacle is Bored by Jonathan Fenske | Blog Tour & Review

2016-07-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Publish Date: April 26th 2016

Page Amount: 40 pages

Price: $14.99 Hardback

ISBN: 1419701762 (ISBN13: 9781419701764)

Order BARNACLE IS BORED Here!

Learn More About Jonathan Fenske Here!

Learn more about the book on Goodreads here!

Barnacle is stuck on the underside of a pier, wishing he had something to do. Every day is exactly the same. The tide comes in and Barnacle gets wet. The tide goes out and Barnacle dries off. Boring! Barnacle wants something exciting to happen. Then a colorful fish swims by. Barnacle bets the fish doesn't have a boring life. In the end, it turns out exciting isn't always better...

This picture book is an irreverent and playful answer to any child's declaration of boredom!

I knew right away that this book would be a perfect fit for my two cousins, Lola and Quinn. I was so excited to request this book for a review & to be a part of the blog tour!

Of course, for this review to be authentic, I just had to have my cousins review it for themselves.

Pictured below is Lola, holding her book and wearing one of the buttons that was sent in the wonderful swag pack! I didn't get her reaction on video, but she was SO excited to get a new book and wear her button. She wouldn't take it off all day!

I decided to sit down with her and read the book to her right before she ate her afternoon snack. The pages are filled with vibrant, beautiful artwork that captures Barnacle's personality and outlook on his life.

Barnacle is just so CUTE!

Personally, I loved how the majority of the page was artwork rather than text. In between all of the pages, Lola and I had discussions about what was happening in the picture, and she used those clues to help her digest what Barnacle was saying. (She can't read on her own yet, and there were a few animals that she didn't know, but seeing them in the illustrations helped her, I think!).

This is an example of one of the pages. Barnacle mentions dolphins,and they are in the artwork. Lola could easily identify the dolphins on the page!

As for Lola, she was smiling and laughing at almost every turn of the page. She was shocked at the ending of the book, which I won't reveal here, and she wanted to read it again and again!

My younger cousin Quinn also wanted it read to him a little bit later. He was laughing harder than Lola and loved to point out Barnacle on the page and mimic his facial expressions. I think that Quinn really enjoyed it as well!

Lola didn't know this the first time we read the book, but she noticed the little doodle on the cover page along with the signature! She had a little message to tell Jonathan. (Click on the video below!)

Thank you so much to Jonathan and Scholastic for letting me celebrate Barnacle is Bored, especially for it's paperback release! I know that my cousins absolutely adored this book and they cannot wait to read more like it!

Introducing...BOOK NOOK BLOG TOURS! | Book Nook Blog Tours

2016-07-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

I Turn the Pages & Fable's Library are coming together to shatter worlds!

Well, kind of.

We are kicking off a BRAND-NEW blog tour company called.....

I am so excited to kick off this amazing journey with another one of my favorite book blogs! The girls behind Fable's Library are so kind, sweet and nice, and I can't wait to embark on this amazing journey with them.

Most of the information for both BLOGGERS & AUTHORS/PUBLISHERS who are interested in having their books promoted via Book Nook Blog Tours can find all of the information that they need on the "BLOG TOURS" tab of my website.

Through that tab, BLOGGERS & OTHER REVIEWERS can sign up to be Tour Hosts for either a specific book, or sign up to be on an email list which notifies you of every upcoming tour.

AUTHORS & PUBLISHERS can read a little bit more about Book Nook Blog Tours and what we aim to do with our services through that tab as well. If you are interested in having us arrange a tour for you, please email us at booknookblogtours@gmail.com.

I We are actually opening sign ups for our first DEBUT tour, for THE PRINCESS SAVES HERSELF IN THIS ONE, and you can sign up using the Google Form below.

I won't be posting every time that we have a tour sign up, so if you want to be on a tour, you should sign up to be on the tour host email list so that we can send you all of our future tours straight to your inbox. Just head over to the "BLOG TOUR" tab to sign up!

Fill out the form below to sign up for THE PRINCESS SAVES HERSELF IN THIS ONE and be entered to win a $20 gift card to Book Depository! (This tour is US only for now, but if you are international, please sign up and let us know in the comments so that we can try and accommodate you in the schedule!)