Fighting Dreamer

[Top Ten Tuesday] Top Ten Books At The Top Of My Summer TBR List

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:17:00 +0000

Top Ten Books At The Top Of My Summer TBR List

The "Dust Collectors" - books that have been on my tbr for a long time. Far too long! I'm dying to read them though. So, why haven't I read them yet? Too many books, too little time? Other books got in the way? Both, I guess.

On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

The Devotion of Suspect X (Detective Galileo #1) by Keigo Higashino

The Goddess Chronicle (Canongate Myths #13) by Natsuo Kirino (review copy)

GLBT!!! - I've heard some AMAZING things about Coda and Freakboy is going to be my first verse novel. Can't wait~

Coda (Coda #1) by Emma Trevayne

Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark (review copy)

More GLBT - I have heard some mixed things about If You Could Be Mine, but it sounds like something I'd... "enjoy", so I'm hopeful. And Green Fairy? I'm going to LOVE that book, no doubt here.

If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan
Green Fairy by Kyell Gold

Fresh from the ~~Oven~~ Printer - Boy Nobody sounds like my kind of book for sure (a teen assassin who has no feelings!) and Neil Gaiman is Neil Gaiman (duh). Proxy (a "retelling" of The Whipping Boy? I don't know, I haven't read that book) is another book with mixed reviews, but I'm intrigued by its premise *fingers crossed*

Boy Nobody (Boy Nobody #1) by Allen Zadoff - came out last week
Proxy (Proxy #1) by Alex London - came out today (and I think this has a GLBT character as well...)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - also came out today!!! Happy Book Birthday, TOatEotL&Proxy!

[Book Review] Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:15:00 +0000

Before Cracking Open the Book

I've had my eyes on Teeth since I first heard of it. Although I knew very little about it beforehand, having loved Gone, Gone, Gone, I eagerly waited for its release. I didn't read any reviews before reading it, mostly because I wanted to avoid spoilers but also because I didn't want to be biased in any way. Because, you see, the more interested I'm in a book, the less I want to know about it, before reading it that is. I have to discover the book by myself as to not be tainted by others' opinions. Also, it gives me that satisfactory feeling similar to making the first tracks in virgin snow, which is one of the best feelings. So I went into Teeth blindly, and with the belief that I'm going to love it. I wanted to love it

... Onto the Book

standing on the island of conflicted emotions

and well.... I didn't hate it, not exactly. Okay, I hated it, but also loved it. I had some very conflicted emotions about Teeth. The writing was very Moskowitz - poetic, beautiful and gritty. I loved that. Teeth is a very out of the box modern -dark- fairy tale. What the blurb doesn't give away, you may can tell it from the cover though, is that Teeth features a merman, or merboy really. So unknowingly, when I picked Teeth I picked my first mermaid YA book as well. I've to admit I'm not a huge fan of mermaids/mermen. I always thought they were the least attractive of all mythical creatures. Because they're half-fish and that's just gross. Sorry, Ariel. Not to mention that according to the legends, mermaids are vicious, heartless, bloodthirsty killers who lure men to death with their beautiful singing. However I'm all for creative approaches, and what Teeth offers is so totally unique and creative, it was fascinating enough to draw in even someone like me who doesn't fancy ~~fish~~ merfolk and has never read a mermaid story.

the cursed or saved?

The story is set on a cold, windy and dreary island and the islander are all have a... coldness, hollowness in them, as though they are all cursed. Cursed to live on the island for ever. I felt sorry for Rudy and his family for not having a choice, but to live on the island.

At home I never would have believed this shit. I used to be a reasonable person. But now we're living on this island so small and isolated that it really feels like it's another world, with rules like none I learned growing up. We came here from the middle America. We stepped into a fairy tale.

the merboy & the boy

My feelings for the characters were mixed to say the least. I felt many different emotions ranging from love and like to indifference and even hate. I liked the protagonist, Rudy (most of the time), and loved (and pitied) Teeth, the merboy.

Then there is Diana. I never really knew what to think about the third main-ish character, but I think indifference would be the best way to describe my feelings. And I hated, absolutely hated the fishermen.

Rudy was just a normal boy, while Diana and Teeth were anything but. Especially Teeth, being a half-fish and all. However, Teeth was nothing like how I would have expected a merman to be. He was lonely, foul-mouthed and piteous and I couldn't help but root for him.

Rudy started out as an onlooker, a visitor on the island, but once he started to "hang out" with the fish-boy, that all changed. He changed (no he didn't grow a tail)...

out of the box, into the water

Teeth "lured" Rudy into his dangerous world and Rudy couldn't resist him. Maybe there is some truth in the old belief and merfolk do hold some kind of alluring power over humans. Or maybe Rudy, like Teeth, was just lonely and desperate for a friend. Be that as it may, I really liked their friendship. Actually what was between them was a little more than friendship. Teeth is not just a modern merman tale, but also a unique boyxboy love story. But if I'm being honest, while the romance plot was definitely, if subtly, there, their relationship looked more like strong friendship rather than a romantic one.

After Words

Teeth was a rather slow book, but thankfully it never dragged on. In fact, the slow pace fitted the atmosphere of this cold, cold book. I could feel the cold slowly seeping its way into my bones, which was not an enjoyable feeling but for some reason the more I read it, the more I came to crave the coldness. I think it was Teeth. He kept me engaged and turning the papes. When the book ended I was both relieved and devastated... It definitely was a dark and cruel fairy tale where nothing is black or white. I'm glad that I read it, but I don't know if I could ever reread it. Teeth wasn't all that I hoped it would be, but it was definitely something I was captured by, something I'll never forget.

Blurb

A gritty, romantic modern fairy tale from the author of Break and Gone, Gone, Gone.

Be careful what you believe in.

Rudy’s life is flipped upside-down when his family moves to a remote island in a last attempt to save his sick younger brother. With nothing to do but worry, Rudy sinks deeper and deeper into loneliness and lies awake at night listening to the screams of the ocean beneath his family’s rickety house.

Then he meets Diana, who makes him wonder what he even knows about love, and Teeth, who makes him question what he knows about anything. Rudy can’t remember the last time he felt so connected to someone, but being friends with Teeth is more than a little bit complicated. He soon learns that Teeth has terrible secrets. Violent secrets. Secrets that will force Rudy to choose between his own happiness and his brother’s life.

Published:
January 1st 2013 by Simon Pulse

Goodreads - Amazon - Book Depository

[RantAlert] When love turns into boredom

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 22:21:00 +0000

Rant Alert - a semi-regular feature, where I ~~talk~~ rant on (and on) about books I read and various bookish topics.

8. When love turns into boredom

It goes down like this: You pick up a book from an author for the first time - it could be a well-known, already established author or a newbie, doesn't matter - and you end up LOVING the book. You fall in love with the characters, the story, the writing style - everything. You have found your new favorite book (as well as author).

You write a gushing review and you're pushing the book to everyone you know. You want to read the best contemporary/post-apocalyptic/zombie&alien love story ever, THIS is it. You don't like contemporary/post-apocalyptic/zombie&alien love story? You will, after THIS. Because I'm telling you THIS book is like... a sudden whiff of spring blossoms, the scent of summer rain, the joy of the first snow, the high you get from listening to your favorite song - it's beyond expression. If nothing works, then it's time for the secret weapon: *pleading puppy eyes* Because everyone has to read This Book!!!

Okay, I'll admit, I might go a little crazy, when I fall in love with a book.

You're on your personal cloud nine made out of said book. And you feel that you have to know everything about the author of this masterpiece. You find all kinds of ways to ~~stalk~~ follow the author. You add them on Twitter, you sign up for their newsletter, you lurk on their blog daily - basically, you become a fan, a huge one. Your stream is full with gushing tweets about the book. You send a fan mail to the author. You mention The Book very frequently on your blog. You include it in all the Top Ten Tuesday posts. You think about the book all the time. You're in lurve.

Dear book,

(credit, credit)

- I might be exaggerating a little, but just a little.

You start to realize that you might be a tiny bit obsessed, but you don't hurt anyone, and you're happy, so all is good. What good - great!

Then you read another book from your New Favorite Author. And you get all the feels, again.

Then you read yet another book. And.... it's...okay? But you're still not worried.

Not until you read the next book, which turns out to be.... pretty meh. That's when you start to panic:

What happened? Where has the magic gone??

What happened is that you got bored. B.O.R.E.D. Bored by the repeating story lines and the over-used characters. The plot twists that felt new and exciting in the first, second book now feel predictable and boring. And you only thought that the characters were unique until you saw them reappearing in the author's books again and again, the only thing that has changed is their names.

What happened is that you fell for a one-trick author. An author who uses the same plots and same kind of characters, over and over. Which is not necessarily bad. All authors are "one-trick" authors, to some degree. It all depends on how much they can bring out from their trick. But undeniably, it could get reaallly boring for the reader.

(credit)

So you stop buying their books. You stop talking about how excited you are for their new release. You might even quitely unfollow them. The love is over.

But it wasn't all for nothing. Your "relationship" with the author failed to morph into the forever kind of love you hoped it would, but you got The Book out of the deal. Even if you stop reading the author's books, you still have that one book. The Book you loved. Your feelings for that book will remain. And if you, instead of picking up the author's new release, would rather reread The Book, so what?

I still ♡ you, Book.

I'm not going to name any authors, it doesn't show good manners to bad-mouth after the break-up, so instead of that - to close this post on a positive note - let me name a few "one-trick" authors that manage to make me fall in love with their stories again and again, more and more: Agatha Christie (The Queen of Crime), Stephen King (The King of Horror - though we had our ups and downs *Dreamcatcher, I'm shooting daggers at you*) and L.M. Montgomery (The Queen of Orphan Girls: Anne Shirley, Sara Stanley, Emily Starr).

Have you ever got bored with an author('s writing style)?

Are there any authors you will never get bored with?

Previous Rants:

7. Dystopian dreams and disappointments

6. Addicted to guilty pleasure books

... More

[Top Ten Tuesday] Top Ten... Beach Reads?

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:12:00 +0000

- hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten... Beach Reads?

I'm starting to think that I'm TTT-challenged, as I don't think that I can provide you with a list of 'beach reads', especially not if by 'beach reads' you mean light, easy-breezy, contemporary books. I love beaches and reading on the beach/at the poolside, but the books I read are not your typical "beach reads". So instead of trying to come up with ten beach-appropriate books, I'll talk about the kind of books that I like to take to the beach/pool:

Paperbacks - because they are light, easy to carry.

Library books - because I don't mind that much if/when they get a little dirty (I know, I know it sounds horrible - those poor library books. And really, I try to keep them as safe/out of water as possible, but accidents happen....)

Audiobooks - for when I want to rest my eyes a bit. Why yes, I enjoy being lazy on the beach. It's also perfect for blocking out annoying ~~children~~ sounds.

Classics - Maybe it's just me, but I like to read classics on the beach. It makes me look intellectual - haha, j/k. I used to reread the Count of Monte Cristo every summer when I was in high school and the habit of reading something classic has just remained, I guess. This summer I'm planning to read Love in the Time of Cholera and Rebecca. And might pay a visit to the Count as well.

Rereading favorites - Revisiting some of my old favorites makes me... nostalgic of the summers of middle/high school - I enjoy "basking in nostalgia" with my old friends. I think I'll be rereading a L.M.Montgomery book this summer... probably The Story Girl.

Travel guides - When I'm vacationing somewhere I like flipping through travel guides on the beach, planning what to do later or the next day. It's a super fun "activity" ;)

Crime novels/Anything by Agatha Christie - Crime/suspense is my favorite genre to read on the beach. And I just love rereading AC's mysteries, they are the right balance of interesting and relaxing. I know what will happen but am still enjoying it all the same. I could never get bored by her stories.

Books that have a bit/LOT of travel in it and books set on a beach/island - Anna and the French Kiss (read it in July, 2011), What Happened to Goodbye (read it in August, 2011). Also, On the Island, which is on my summer tbr list. And these books would fit under the category of "beach reads" beautifully!

Nothing too funny - Some laughing while reading is okay, but I don't want to have a laughing fit in public.

Nothing too sad - I also prefer to avoid crying in public places.

Tell me about your "beach reads"! :)

Character Likes & Dislikes

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 17:41:00 +0000

Character Likes & Dislikes

LIKES:

Sad, broken characters:

- I have a "thing" for them. But(!) I only like sad characters not sad books.
Happy end is much preferred, but I can settle for a hopeful one too. I just want their story to end on a positive note.

LGBTQ+ characters:

- I read boyxboy stories because I enjoy it. Plain&simple, right? And I'm not going to say that everyone should read LGBTQ+ books, because it's important and blah-blah-blah. Everyone should read what they want to read. I feel that I have read so many girlxboy romances that they can't surprise me anymore. And I want to be surprised! Boyxboy books can do that and much more:)

Characters of color:

We live in a colorful, diverse world and I want to see that represented in my books as well. Click HERE for some books that are worthy of a nod not only for diversity, but simple for being awesome as well.

~~Crazy~~ Unique characters:

- Give me something I have never read before!

DISLIKES:

Stereotypes:

- Good for you.

Cardboard cut-outs:

- Well honey, we all have our delusions...

Clones:

- ... . .... . that's the dust in my wake. I ran for the hills.

Perfect, flawless characters:

- NO.

What kind of characters do you like/dislike?

Cover Likes, Dislikes and Everything in between

Title Likes, Dislikes and Everything in between

Bookish Likes, Dislikes and Everything in between

[Book Review] Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:52:00 +0000

Before Cracking Open the Book

There is something about parallel universes that I find absolutely, spellblindingly fascinating. I "blame" the wonderful world of anime (more specifically Escaflowne or Fushigi Yuugi) for this obsession of mine. Therefore, when I read the blurb of Between the Lives I knew that I had to get my hands on it asap.

The other thing that pulled me in was the cover. It's so pretty, and so 'ME'! She looks sad and broken, and that is the kind of protagonist I always look for in contemporary novels.

...Onto the Book

rinse and repeat

Sabine is 18 years old twice. She is literally living two lives. In two parallel worlds, or something like that - it's never really explained. I can be picky about the world-building, but this time I didn't care about the whys and hows, my mind was too into the story to stop and nitpick over it. But I'll say, to really enjoy Between the Lives, you'll have to suspend your sense of belief a little and just go with the flow.
In one life Sabine has two older brothers, in the other a younger sister. In one life her parents are divorced, but rich. In the other they are not so happily together and struggling to make ends.

In one universe she lives in Roxbury. In the other in Wellesley.

In one life she is the girl that everyone likes and envies: Harvard-bound with the perfect although 'no spark' boyfriend. In the other she sports black mini skirts with boots and has only one friend.

Every night at midnight the Shift happens and she changes "lives". She lives a Saturday in Roxbury, and the "next" day is Saturday again, but this time in Wellesley. And so on.

broken - not broken

Albeit Sabine hates living in this constant limbo, at the point where the story begins she pretty much gave up the hope that anything would/could ever change. However, an accident changes everything. She breaks her wrist and when she wakes up the next day in her other life - it's unbroken. Up until now it wasn't possible to alter anything. If she was sick in one world, she would be sick in the other as well. Now something has changed. Now might be the opportunity to finally end her double life, to choose one life and end the other, permanently.

But how? Sabine wants, yearns to be normal. But which life to choose? Neither of her lives are perfect, and, be it a sister who needs her or the perfect boyfriend who planned their whole life ahead, both lives have a "claim" on her.

I liked Sabine and could sympathize with her feelings. Following her in two entirely different environment and seeing her leading this "double" life was both enthralling and terrifying. You would think it would be cool and fun to have two lives? Well, think again! And read this!

feeling all the emotions

From a remark of Sabina's brother and Dr Levi's hints, it became obvious (to me) how the conclusion would play out quite early into the book, but it didn't take away any of my enjoyment. Between the Lives is a book that your read with your heart, not your head. At least, it was that way for me.

The romance aspect of the story was beautiful and heartbreaking. It's one of those love stories that stays with you for a long time and it made the book one of the best contemporary -paranormal- novels I have read. However, I also felt that where the book ended that was when the real story began. Like Between the Lives was just the set up - a beautiful, captivating set up. I almost didn't believe my eyes when I saw that this book was indeed a standalone. I felt a little like when Every Day ended...

After Words

Shirvington has a writing style akin to that of Colleen Hoover and Katja Millay, so it's no wonder that I lapped this book up like an addict. I was totally enraptured by Between the Lives and it left me feeling all the emotions. Me and this book were insta-love. And you know, while instant love does feel perfect, it's far from it. Maybe that's the appeal. That you don't care, you just feel and love. And I just loved Between the Lives.

It might not be for everyone, but I would definitely - without any hesitation - recommend it to fans of Slammed, The Sea of Tranquility, The Time Traveler's Wife or Every Day.

Blurb

Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole. Until now, that is...

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other. With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted... But just what - and who - is she really risking?

Published:

May 1st 2013 by HarperCollins Australia

Goodreads - Book Depository - Amazon - Fishpond

[Top Ten Tuesday] Top Ten Books Featuring Travel In Some Way

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 04:06:00 +0000

- hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books Featuring Travel In Some Way (road trips, airplanes, travelogues, anything where there is traveling in the book!)

On "fantasy" roads:

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Boys on the road:

How to Repair a Mechanical Heart by J.C. Lillis - boys in love and on a road trip to a convention

Talisman by Stephen King - a boy's journey to another world

We Were Here by Matt De La Pena - boys on the run (from a group home)

On the roads of time (time traveling):

Tempest by Julie Cross

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

Sex, road and rock&roll (road trips!):

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

The Edge of Never by J.A.Redmerski

Road never traveled before (I have yet to read it):

Addicted to You by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie

I'm... inspiring?! Very Inspiring Blogger Award

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 22:15:00 +0000

I was nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award by the lovely Asti over at A Bookish Heart!

Thank you, Asti! It's much appreciated, especially coming from a great&inspiring blogger like you.

My bookish ♡ hearts A Bookish Heart ;)

let's get down to business - rules:

Display the award badge on your blog

Announce your win with a post and link to whoever presented you with the award

Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers

Drop them a comment to tip them off after you have linked them in the post

Post 7 interesting things about yourself

"interesting" things about moi:

I like milk, but can only drink it from non-transparent containers. Because it's so... white. Its.... whiteness makes me sick. I know, it doesn't make any sense. (I should try to drink it with my eyes closed or something)
I hate the taste of mint. (so no mint flavoured gum or toothpaste for me.)
I have never worn glasses. I do wear contacts when driving though. I did pass the eye test, so my licence doesn't require it, but my sight is not 20/20 and I feel safer with them. (and I can justify spending on colored contact lenses)
I've never colored my hair. (but if I were to, it would be dark red)
I own 16 bracelets (yes, I counted them. I rarely wear bracelets though...)
My favorite movie is Gattaca. (I love the story and I really love Ethan Hawke)
Thunderstorms get me excited and hyper. (I love extreme weather)

and I'm nominating:

Laura @ Owl Tell You About - She writes short, to the point book reviews. Laura also features manga reviews and great discussion posts!
Trish @ Between the Lines - I love that she posts reviews from a variety of genres. I picked up my first Tana French book, In the Woods, because of her Green Giants post and it was fan-bloody-tastic!
Reem @ I Read and Tell - She writes awesome&funny post like Why Girls Hate Game of Thrones, 6 Reasons to Like Villains or Less Romance, More Bromance
Lottie Eve @ Book Adoration - Such an adorable blog! I love that she loves&reviews manga as well as ya.
Faye @ A Daydreamer’s Thoughts - She thinks up things like the LGBT readathon, which was by far my favorite readathon (so far), not only because we read LGBT books but also for the epic twitter chat.
Chelsea @ Starbucks & Book Obsession - She had me at Starbucks. Her Saturday @ Starbucks discussion posts are to die for!
Janita @ Book, Interrupted - Her Design Basics for Bloggers posts are really inspiring me to work on my design skills.
Eve @ Paper Sanctuary - I absolutely love her blog design as well as her fantastic reviews.
Jude @ In Between - her vlogs always make me laugh and want to buy more books
PetSugar @ Drop Dead Cute - so many cute&inspiring things
+ 5 tumblr blogs: My Crazy Litte World, Innocence-Walker, My shutter log#, 一人ぼっち, Add a spoon full of sugar

[Book Review] Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Fri, 31 May 2013 22:05:00 +0000

Before Cracking Open the Book

I first saw Being Henry David on some blog, months before it was published. Now, normally I don't read promo posts, but for some reason, I did that time. Something about it caught my eyes. Maybe it was the huge trees on the cover or the title with the name in it what pulled me in or I was just bored, but by the time I had finished reading the blurb I knew I had to read Being Henry David. I've always been fascinated by the concepts of amnesia, so a story told from the POV of an amnesiac sounded right up my alley. Especially from a male POV.

I should have added it to my TBR list right then, but I didn't. In fact, I promptly forget about it until the other day, when I stumbled upon it yet again on Goodreads. I saw this as a sign from the book gods and decided it was time to meet the enigmatic Henry David.

...Onto the Book

a boy without a past

He wakes up sitting on a bench at Penn Station in New York with no memories of himself, not even his name. He can't recall anything of his past or why is he at the station. Other than a few dollars and the clothes on his back, his only worldly possession is a copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Also, he's around seventeen, good-looking and he probably suffered some kind of head trauma, judging from the lump on his head. What a crazy set up, right?

And things just get crazier. You meet the strangest kind of persons at bus and train stations, I can attest to that. And, boy, does he meet some...~~strange~~ interesting people. At some point, I started to feel like I was reading a modern Oliver Twist.

becoming "Hank"

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential fact of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I to die, discover I had not lived

- Being Henry David, Cal Armistead (originally quoted from Walden, Henry David Thoreau)

First he calls himself Henry David after the author of his book, then later changes it to Hank. He gets himself into some Oliver Twist-esque trouble and has to leave the city. Since he thinks that the Thoreau book, Walden, might be a clue to his missing memories, he decides to visit Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond, the place that feels familiar. Honestly, he lost me there a little. I just don't get why he thought that an author who lived more than a hundred years ago had anything to do with him. I get that the place described in the book felt familiar, but still.... On the other hand, with no memories and no other place to go, he might as well go to Walden Pond - which is in Concord, Massachusetts. He certainly needed some "escape" - for more than one reasons.

Concord turned out to be a nice place, with some ~~gullible~~ nice people. I especially liked Thomas, the free spirit Thoreau enthusiast/librarian. Plus, I always "liked" Thoreau and thought he was... "cool". I haven't read the whole Walden, only parts of it (because it was required for a course I took), but I remember that I thought that his philosophy on nature and desire to live a simple life was remarkable. Therefore, I really enjoyed (re)reading his thoughts in Being Henry David.

bound together by the Appalachian Trail

Hiking the Appalachian Trail -all 2,181 miles of, from Georgia to Maine- was something my Dad and I used to talk about all the time. It was like all our other camping trips were just training runs for the real thing, the ultimate hike we would take. Someday.

- Being Henry David, Cal Armistead

For my fourteenth birthday, he bought me my first really cool pair of boots and a book on the Appalachian Trail. In the front cover, he wrote we'd hike it together someday and until then, we'd be in training. Every time he's been home, we've tackled bigger trails, longer hikes, getting ready one visit at a time.

- Personal Effects, E.M.Kokie

What are the chances of reading two books right after the other where the main characters both plan to hike the same trail? Sigh. I'm a sucker for these kind of coincidences. Matt and his brother as well as Hank and his Dad planned on hiking the famous Appalachian Trail. Unfortunately, these hikes never happened, albeit for different reasons.

After Words

To go right to the point: Being Henry David wasn't perfect, but I really enjoyed it. I connected to Hank right away and was completely invested in his story. Getting to know him while he rediscovered himself was fun. He wasn't perfect and made mistakes, but things were never as bad as they could have been. Actually, my only niggle with this story is that it was rather... fairy tale-ish. Every time the waves are about to close over his head he (almost miraculously) finds a way out or someone saves him. I was relieved that he got away, but at the same time was bothered by these unrealistic scenes.

Overall, Being Henry David is a finely written coming-of-age story that is definitely worth checking out if you want to read something... different.

Blurb

Seventeen-year-old “Hank” has found himself at Penn Station in New York City with no memory of anything—who he is, where he came from, why he’s running away. His only possession is a worn copy of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. And so he becomes Henry David—or “Hank”—and takes first to the streets, and then to the only destination he can think of—Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Cal Armistead’s remarkable debut novel is about a teen in search of himself. Hank begins to piece together recollections from his past. The only way Hank can discover his present is to face up to the realities of his grievous memories. He must come to terms with the tragedy of his past to stop running and to find his way home.

Published:

April 16th 2013 by Albert Whitman & Company

Goodreads - Amazon - Book Depository

[Top Ten Tuesday] Top Ten Favorite Characters of Color

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Tue, 28 May 2013 04:06:00 +0000

- hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Favorite Characters of Color

Today is a "freebie" Tuesday! At first I was a little at a loss on what topic to pick. As much as I love freebie TTT weeks, it's getting harder and harder to come up with something I haven't done before. Then an idea came to me. As I was reading We Were Here, where all the main characters are persons of color, I thought "Why not share my favorite books that feature multicultural/PoC characters?"

So, I've compiled a list of top ten PoC characters from books I read. (these are all books I loved and recommend). I also picked a quote from each:

I was harder than Dante. I think I'd tried to hide that hardness from him because I'd wanted him to like me. But now he knew. That I was hard. And maybe that was okay. Maybe he could like the fact that I was hard just as I liked the fact that he wasn't hard.

- Ari from Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

I wanted to tell them that I never knew that people like Dante existed in the world, people who looked at the stars, and knew the mysteries of water, and knew enough to know that birds belonged to the heavens...I wanted to tell them that he had changed my life and that I would never be the same, not ever.

- Dante from Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

It’s like an NBA player decided to show up and play for our high-school team—that’s how good Boy21 is.

- Boy21 from Boy21 by Matthew Quick

In the bright moonlight, I saw Otieno’s eyes go to my arms — to the pale skin with its livid scars....he whispered. “They are not ugly. Nothing about you ever could be.”

- Suzume from Shadows on the Moon by Zoë Marriott

And the boy — Otieno — smiled. My breath stopped at the glory of it. It was a fearless, reckless grin. Not the expression of a boy who knows his mistakes will be forgiven but of a man who has a healthy interest in winning, and every expectation of doing so.

- Otieno from Shadows on the Moon by Zoë Marriott

I’m interested in Craig because Craig is interesting. He’ll talk forever, and he never worries about saying something stupid.

- Craig from Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz

“No mercy this time,” Dekka said. “None,” Sam agreed. “Do your thing.” Dekka’s “thing” was basically being Dekka. She was respected to the point of awe by younger kids.

- Dekka from the Gone series by Michael Grant

Together, they ran through corridors, taking turn after turn. Minho seemed to know exactly what he was doing, where he was going; he never paused to think about which way they should run.

- Minho from Maze Runner by James Dashner

...Tom was pretty damn good with the sword. He could draw fast as lightning, and Benny had seen him do a trick once when Tom thought no one else was looking. He threw a handful of grapes into the air, then drew his sword and cut five of them in half before they fell to the grass. The blade was a blur.

- Tom Imura Rot&Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

That's something you don't know about me. I can sometimes make stuff happen just by thinking about it. I try not to do it too much because my head mostly gets stuck on bad stuff, but this time something good actually happened: the judge only gave me a year in group home.

- Miguel from We Were Here by Matt de la Pena

African(-American), Asian or Mexican(-American) or something else; these characters are all persons of color. And they are NOT token characters! They are all MAIN or prominent supporting characters. However, I deliberately didn't state the race/color/ethnicity they belong to. Yes, they are persons of color, but, for me at least, that's not their most defining trait, just the most visible. I don't love/hate a character because of their skin color. But for their personality. For that very reason, the quotes I selected are not about what these characters look like, but who they are as a person.

Have your read any of these books? Who are your favorite characters of color?

Cover Likes, Dislikes and Everything in between

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Sat, 25 May 2013 18:49:00 +0000

Cover Likes, Dislikes and Everything in between

LIKES:

Pretty covers - duh. But you know the saying: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So here are a few covers that captured my eyes the minute I saw them:

All shades of green and purple - my favorite colors when it comes to book covers
Bridges and towers - I love the bridges on the covers of The Devotion of Suspect X, The Painting of Porcupine City and Someday, Someday Maybe. And I also like covers with towers on them (The Eiffel Tower being my favorite). There is something about bridges (and towers) that I always find... magical, I guess. I love being on them. I love walking across bridges. And I love to watch the world (sunset!) from atop a tower. And I love seeing them on the covers of my books.
Kanji - I find kanji beautiful. And I think they look very nice on covers. I especially love how they colored the inside of the kanji with different shades of pink on the first two:

Asian (mythology) inspired - covers with sakura (cherry blossom) or dragons on them
Manga style/(hand) drawn covers - I'm a huge fan of illustrators/mangakas like Hidaka Shouko, Hotaru Odagiri, Rihito Takarai, Yuki Midorikawa or Ai Yazawa.
Graffiti - when it's art, like the Angry Girls Bay did in Switched at Birth, not vandalism!
Art(sy) - because I'm a art(sy) kind of girl

Non-gender specific covers - mostly because, in general, I don't like covers with people on them
Covers that give me emotions - like the cover of Between the Lives. Which is also an instance for the kind of "people" cover I like.

Predominately black - like the covers of the Twilight books or the black covers of the Gone books
Unique font use - I don't know much about typography, (yet,) but love the fonts on The Shining Girls, Coda, Beautiful Music For Ugly Children and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

Want more? Check out my Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I've Read

SO-SO:

Cover changes - Unless they change it to something ~~not pretty~~ I don't like, I don't mind it.
People/faces on the cover - As I said it above, "people" covers are not my style. I have my imagination, I don't need photos! But there are some rare expectations (the cover of Where You Are)

Symbols - Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. I love it on Insurgent (it's green!!), but not on Divergent (although I adore the UK cover with the girl on it!) or Allegiant.
Prom dresses - same as with symbols. (One where I really liked the dress was on the cover of Everneath

DISLIKES:

Gold/sunshine - My least favorite "color". It probably explains why I have yet to pick up Ask the Passengers and Golden. I want to, but they are so...gold and so.. sunshiney

Shirtless men - mostly happens on erotic book covers...
Kissing/almost kissing - is that supposed to be romantic/sexy? Well, I'm not a fan of this trend.

Masks - No, just no.
Indie/self-published - There are a few great ones like Angelfall, but otherwise 99% of them are....fugly. There, I said it. *takes shelter from the virtual rocks behind the hardcover she is reading*

Tell me about your cover likes/dislikes!

Title Likes, Dislikes and Everything in between

[Book Review] Personal Effects by E.M. Kokie

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:10:00 +0000

Before Cracking Open the Book

It was never a question of whether or not I would read Personal Effects, just a question of when. Everything from the blurb to the cover was calling my name. Not to mention the fact that Goodreads has it shelved under ya as well as glbt. I just had to be in the right mood to be able to read a story that deals with grief. It was never a question of whether or not I would like Personal Effects, but rather how much it would break my heart. I desperately wanted to read it, but at the same time was terrified that it was going to break my heart into a million little pieces. Then one day, I felt it calling to me and had no choice but to pick it up. And once I picked it up,

...Onto the Book

I couldn't put it down. It broke my heart again and again and I was a sobbing mess almost the whole time, and yet, I couldn't put it down - I was enthralled.

left behind

Told primarily in a first person present tense narrative style, the story centers around Matt, a boy who struggles with the loss of his brother and the tension between him and their father. Personal Effects begins with a school fight between Matt and his "taunter", war-is-not-the-answer-Pinscher. Matt's brother, T.J. has been killed in Iraq only a few months before, and after being tortured by Pinscher's anti-war pins and t-shirts day after day he finally snaps. More precisely, Matt completely loses it and beats the crap out of Pinscher before stopped by the teachers.

"Sticks and stones will break my bones. But words will never harm me." - so not true. What that Pinscher kid did was sheer emotional bullying. I'm not advocating fighting, but I'm totally with Matt, that kid only got what he deserved. Emotional bullying is just as, if not more, hurtful as physical bullying.

Like I mentioned before, present tense is not the narrative form I would usually prefer, but for Personal Effects it was absolutely perfect. From the first line, I was able to put myself into Matt's emotions and viewpoint. Additionally, I have to admit that I'm starting to find the use of present tense narrative voice in contemporary stories very natural and "right". I felt what Matt felt and hurt when he hurt. I felt his anger and grief. And I understood him, and had a real and powerful emotional connection to him.

secret life

T.J. has been killed prior to the start of the story, but Matt's present tense narrative slides into a past tense while he relates his memories about T.J.

"Find something else, something that makes you happy."
My throat ached, my eyes blurred, but right then, driving down the road with T.J. behind the wheel, I wanted to just head west and keep going, away from Dad, away from T.J. having to report back, away from everything.
I wish we had.

Matt's reminiscences of his brother were the most painful to read for me. T.J. felt so alive in his brother's memories. The more I learnt about him the more I liked and mourned him. It was so unfair that he had to die. Actually, the more I learnt about him the more unfair it seemed.

The memories of his brother are haunting Matt. He feels that he doesn't deserve happiness and pushes away the people that care for him. He doesn't know how to cope and move on. He can't let T.J. go. He wants to know more about his brother. No, he needs to know more. So when T.J.'s personal effects gets delivered, he goes against his father's wishes, and looks through the boxes in hopes of finding something, anything. What he finds is letters...

"SNAFU" - "Situation normal: all fucked up"

Matt and T.J.'s physically abusive father was easy to hate. But I also felt sorry for the deeply broken man. While alive T.J. had been a sort of a buffer between them, now it's just the two of them. He wants Matt to enlist, like T.J.(because how well that turned out, right?), and Matt finds it hard to stand up against his dad.

Then the letters lead him to a journey. A journey of discovery about not only his brother but himself as well. A journey of grief and healing through personal effects, letters, and, lastly, miles. A journey that leads to the most unexpected.

After Words

Personal Effects ripped a hole into my soul and left me raw and bleeding from a hundred wounds - and yet I don't regret having read it. I'm glad that I could "meet" T.J. and hope that Matt will find his way in life.

The only thing that was more hard than reading Personal Effects was collecting my thoughts about the book into something coherent. I needed to let my love out for this book, but I read Personal Effects with my heart, and didn't really know how to word my feelings... Like Matt, I found it hard to let T.J. go, and I think a little piece of him will always remain in my bookish memories.

Personal Effects is an ultimately moving story about family, war, love, grief and healing. E.M. Kokie approaches these weighty topics realistically and without any overwrought drama. Personal Effects is a beautifully written novel with a powerful message that everyone should read. And I just noticed that it was released on September 11th, 2012. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Blurb

After his older brother dies in Iraq, Matt makes a discovery that rocks his beliefs about strength, bravery, and honor in this page-turning debut.

Ever since his brother, T.J., was killed in Iraq, Matt feels like he’s been sleepwalking through life — failing classes, getting into fights, and avoiding his dad’s lectures about following in his brother’s footsteps. T.J.’s gone, but Matt can’t shake the feeling that if only he could get his hands on his brother’s stuff from Iraq, he’d be able to make sense of his death. But as Matt searches for answers about T.J.’s death, he faces a shocking revelation about T.J.’s life that suggests he may not have known T.J. as well as he thought. What he learns challenges him to stand up to his father, honor his brother’s memory, and take charge of his own life. With compassion, humor, and a compelling narrative voice, E. M. Kokie explores grief, social mores, and self-discovery in a provocative first novel.

Published:

September 11th 2012 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads - Amazon - The Book Depository

[Top Ten Tuesday] Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I've Read

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:11:00 +0000

- hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I've Read

『美しいこと (下)』木原音瀬, 日高ショーコ　- Utsukushii Koto by Narise Konohara, Hidaka Shouko (illustrator) - part 2

『美しいこと (上)』木原音瀬 ,日高ショーコ - Utsukushii Koto by Narise Konohara, Hidaka Shouko (illustrator) - part 1

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Boy21 by Matthew Quick

Angelfall by Susan Ee

Shadows by Paula Weston

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto

How to Repair a Mechanical Heart by J.C. Lillis

Title Likes, Dislikes and Everything in between

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:56:00 +0000

Title Likes, Dislikes and Everything in between

LIKES:

Name(s) in the title - Naming a book after its main character is not very original, yet I rather like this practice. I don't have a logical reason for it, other than it feels somehow... classic. Not to mention that it makes it easier to remember the title. Names have been serving as titles since the beginning. Just think about books like Oliver Twist, Jane Eyre or Romeo and Juliet. So authors like Shakespeare and Charles Dickens certainly knew something. Also, I personally like even more those titles where the protagonist's name is just part of the title, not the entire title: Anna and the French Kiss, Goodbye Tsugumi, The Miseducation of Cameron Post,

Locations - put one of my dream cities/countries name in the title and I'm sold: Anna and the French Kiss - since I ♡ anything French

Title is a whole sentence - It's like a sneak peek into the author's mind/writing style. And I love how one sentence can tell the whole story of the book. How brilliant is that? Of course only after you have read the book that you will be able to fully understand the meaning - A Monster Calls, Last Night I Sang to the Monster, How to Repair a Mechanical Heart, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Words like monster, butterfly, kill(er), serial killer, traveller, secret(s) or music in the title - and that was a sneak peek into my mind. Well, my "bookish mind".

Memorable titles - This is a given I think. The more memorable the title, the better.

CAN GO EITHER WAY:

When the title is "different" - Different, even provocative, is good: Boy21, Suicide Watch, Teeth, The Sea of Tranquility, Slammed, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
But there are titles that are just too weird, too... outlandish - The Cat Who Sniffed Glue, Hellucination, Drink, Slay, Love. And I doubt that I can manage to say out loud I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats, Sexing the Cherry or I Was An Alien Cat Toy and keep a straight face. These titles are so bad, they are almost good. No, not really.

Words like love, kiss, angel or vampire in the title - These words feel so...overused to me. But it depends on the story inside; a good story could make me like the cliched title.

Single word titles - Usually I prefer long(ish) titles, but as long as it's eye-catching and unique, I'll probably like it - Teeth, Slammed, Slated, It

Too short/long titles - Too short could equal unremarkable, which is never good when it comes to book titles. At the same time, titles with 10+ words can look overachieving, and not in a good way - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. But I'd pick a book with a long title over one with a short, but dull sounding title any day.

DISLIKES:

Hate the book, hate the title - I tend to feel differently about the title before and after I read the book. Doesn't everyone? That's why when the story leaves a sour taste in my mouth that can easily make me to hate the previously loved title as well - Beautiful Disaster, The Fine Art of Truth or Dare or The Perks of Being a Wallflower (yes, I didn't love, or even like that book)

Title doesn't (seem to) match the story - it's one of my pet peeves - Beautiful Creatures (someone please explain me this title!) Forever (totally misleading, imo)

What kind of titles do you like/dislike? Are you like me? Do your feelings change towards the title once you read the book? Is there a title that you adored, up until you read the book? Or vice versa?

Bookish Likes, Dislikes and Everything in between

[Top Ten Tuesday] Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:01:00 +0000

- hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects (abuse, suicide, grief etc or something personally hard for you)

Now we are talking. Last week it took me FOREVER to come up with something, this time? Minutes.

Suicide Watch by Kelley York - it's about suicide, duh (and cancer)

Where You Are by J.H. Trumble - depicts the painful reality of losing a parent

Personal Effects by E.M. Kokie - a heart-rending portrayal of grief - "Ever since his brother, T.J., was killed in Iraq, Matt feels like he’s been sleepwalking through life — failing classes, getting into fights, and avoiding his dad’s lectures about following in his brother’s footsteps." -from the blurb

Slammed by Colleen Hoover - themes of grief and loss

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay - a brutal "attack"'s aftermath

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover - I don't want to spoil it to those who haven't read it (yet), but it's Colleen Hoover, so prepare tissues.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - a unique take on the universal themes of loss and grief

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon - "a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome." - from the blurb - Brilliant novel!

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer - a moving story of a nine years old boy trying to come grips with a tremendous loss

The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama - explores the topics of illness and mourning - one of the saddest and most beautiful stories I ever read.

Bout of Books 7.0 Goals&Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:18:00 +0000

READ-A-THON

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm not sure how much time I'll have to read, but it's THE Bout of Books, THE Readathon, so I have to participate. Wish me luck and good luck to all my fellow readathoners too!

GOALS:

- finish at least 3 books

- take part in a couple of challenges

- make it to at least one twitter party

BOOKS:

In the Woods by Tana French

Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

The 5th Wave by Rick Jancey

Reclamation by Vee Hoffman

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Updates:
In the Woods by Tana French - 5/14

Challenge: Create a Cover hosted by I Talk Books!
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins:

It's my own photo of the Eiffel Tower, which I manipulated a "little".

Challenge: Acrostic Poem hosted by Harley Bear Book Blog

Tempest by Julie Cross:

~~The 5th Wave~~ ~~by Rick Jancey~~ - 5/17

~~Twitter chat~~ - 5/18

Bookish Likes, Dislikes and Everything in between

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Sat, 11 May 2013 18:03:00 +0000

Bookish Likes, Dislikes and Everything in between

LIKES:

Heroine chooses another guy over her first love - when it comes to book romances I can be a hopeless romantic, giggling over the romantic scenes and awwing over the happily ever afters and all that mush, but at the same time I find that I have a hard time buying those 'first love=last love' story lines. It happens so rarely in real life and even when it does, don't judge, I find it more boring that romantic. I mean I guess it can be great in real life, but in book I want more tension, more thrill and just more.
Heroine chooses bad boy over good boy - literary bad boys are one of my weaknesses. I simply can't resist them. My knees buckle and my wallet gives in, just at the promise of meeting a new bad boy. And I almost always "Team Bad Boy".

Good girl goes bad and loves it - I'm such a good girl in real life, so I live vicariously through those bad girls ;) I especially love when good girls find their hidden bad side.
Committed long-term relationships - I don't really like those stories where the couple only gets together on the last pages. I mean it's nice to have a happy ending and all, but I also want to see them together as a couple. I want to see them doing coupley things. I want to go dates with them, I want to hear them fight and make up. I want glimpses into their relationship. If not in the main part of the book, then at least in the form of an epilogue.
Stand alones - I'm definitely one of those readers who prefer stand alones over series. Part of that is because I grew up on stand alones. So for me, one story=one book. Also, I don't appreciate the long waiting periods between installments. Not to mention the dreaded cliffhangers that seem to come hand in hand with most series.

COULD TURN OUT EITHER WAY:

Insta-love - First off, we have to distinguish between insta-love and insta-lust. I don't believe in insta-love. Insta-lust or instant attraction? Hell, yes! Insta-love? No, no, no just no. And while I can't stand the insta-love trope, I can read and enjoy insta-lust. In fact, those are my so called guilty pleasure books.
Love triangles - another thing that I'm not exactly a fan of. Or maybe it's just that I have read so much of it that I developed this Pavlovian reaction where whenever I see the word 'love triangle' I automatically cringe. But most romance and ya have them so I can bear it, if the story and the characters are otherwise interesting.

Kick-ass heroines - I love me some kick-ass, bad-ass heroines. However, I've discovered that oftentimes these seemingly strong, capable and independent protagonists are not that kick-ass at all. They disguise themselves as one by wearing the attitude in the beginning, but when push comes to shove they run to the first guy for help. I'm not a feminist or anything, but if you say that you are kick-ass, then please follow up.
Bad boys - I like, no love bad boys, but I like my bad boys to stay bad boys. "Reformed bad boys" are not for me.
Series/Trilogy - I love long books and want to stay with the characters I love as long as possible, so when it's done right I do like series. That means no killer cliffhangers and no mid series slumps. (The Gone series by Michael Grant is a perfect example for what I would like to see more.)

DISLIKES:

Look-alikes - I want new and fresh stories not the same old, same old. I have already read Twilight once, and no matter how much I loved it, I do not want to read it again in a book that is not titled Twilight.
Companion novels - I feel the same. I don't want to read the same story from another character's POV.
Cliffhangers - are killing me. Slowly, one book at a time. Sigh. I love twists and turns and pivots, the more unpredictable the better, but only in the story, not at the very end.
Novellas - I have nothing against them, I just don't do short stories.

What about you? Tell me about your bookish likes/pet peeves?

[Rant Alert] Dystopian dreams and disappointments

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:45:00 +0000

Rant Alert - a new weekly feature, wherein I ~~talk~~ rant on (and on) about books I read and various bookish topics.

7. Dystopian dreams and disappointments

Dystopian is one of my favorite genres to read (and watch). And I especially like dystopian young adult novels. It brings together my love of coming of age stories and my fascination with dystopian societies. Combine it with good writing and I won't be able to put it down.

Furthermore, the genre is packed with strong leads that I can not only root for, but admire as well. I wouldn't say that I can fully relate to these kick-ass heroes and heroines, I never had to kill anyone/anything in order to survive and I never had enemies who wanted my head, but I can still feel for them and sympathise with their struggles. Ultimately, seeing them overcome their fears and defeat their enemies is what delights me the most.

However, while I still enjoy the offerings of the genre I end up being disappointed more than not. And that's because I rarely like how they end. Or more specifically, how they don't end - because yes, the book has ended, no more pages to read, no next book, but also no closure. And books with loose or cop-out endings leave me unsatisfied and more than a little unhappy.

source

"it's the journey that matters" - nice line, but not when it comes to books. After reading hundreds of pages I want, no deserve ~~a medal~~ a decent ending. I want to end the book with a satisfied sigh not ready to throw it at the walls. But lately it's mostly the latter. Sigh.

I can see what's the problem though. It's easy to create a dystopia. You just need to make up a society where everything that could go wrong did. You will need lots of poor/suffering people who live in factions/districts, a totalitarian regime complete with its evil dictator, some inhuman regulations/deadly games, a number of ~~weird~~ uncommon symbols and you're set. Abracadabra you have your dystopia.

I might sounded sarcastic here, but I actually don't mind the lack of world-building in dystopians. I can forget and forgive almost everything as long as the book entertained me enough and had a well tied up ending.

I want to feel that I've read something worth reading. I want both(!) the protagonist(s) and the world to get their happy end. I want to see that things has changed and got better. Is that too much to ask? Probably.

Making a utopia or at least an operable society out of dystopia is no easy feat to achieve. One of the reasons for that lies in the protagonist. How could a teen main character change a whole society successfully and without boring the reader to death? I just can't see it happen. Therefore, while I hate the no-ending endings, I have to admit that I wouldn't be able to figure out how to do it better either. But hey, I'm the reader, not the writer.

It doesn't mean that I have to like or accept it as a 'no can do'. As long there is another dystopian book out there to discover, there is hope. I won't be giving up on the genre because I believe that one day I'll come across the one - the perfect dystopia. Sounds like a paradox, but here's to hoping....

What do you think about dystopians? Is there hope for this doomed genre?

Do you have a favorite that you would recommend?

How do you cope with those no-ending endings?

Previous rants:

6. Addicted to guilty pleasure books

5. Books I Thought I'd LOVE, but didn't

... More

[Top Ten Tuesday] Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:06:00 +0000

- hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun

Light&fun, light&fun...what? *she gasps as the horrible realization dawns on her: she doesn't read light books anymore* I mean there are those guilty pleasure books I just recently rambled about, sure. But the more I think about it, the less they seem light and fun.... Urgh, maybe I'm over thinking this.

*after some more pondering* - here are 10 books that I consider light&fun:

How Not to Be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler - I think you can tell just from the title and cover that this book is going to be super fun. And oh boy was it funny. It's probably my favorite light ya. After finishing it, I frantically searched for more books like HNtbP, but to more utter frustration I came up empty.

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger - might be not that light&fun, even heard it called an issue book, but I remember having great fun with it.

I do read chick-lit (like once in a blue moon) and chick-lit equals light&fun, doesn't it?

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
- these books are bestsellers for a reason - I laughed myself silly reading them

GLBT-YA & M/M

Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson - arts and crafts and a hilarious boy-on-boy romance
Shattered Glass by Dani Alexander - it's not really that light, but Shattered Glass is my go-to "funny" M/M romance - bunny slippers!! *excuse the inside joke* - strictly 18+, don't say that I didn't warn you

Manga

Hana-Kimi by Hisaya Nakajo - it's not easy to have a relationship with your dream guy while being disguised as boy, but it creates some very funny situations

Lovely*Complex by Aya Nakahara - cute high school romance between a short guy and a tall girl

Kimi wa Petto/Tramps Like Us by Yayoi Ogawa - older woman/younger guy love story, sort of a chick-lit manga

[Book Review] When Love Comes to Town by Tom Lennon

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Sun, 05 May 2013 18:24:00 +0000

Before Cracking Open the Book

It was the cover of When Love Comes to Town that first caught my attention. When I saw the 'two guys holding hands' version of the cover on Netgalley, my first thought was "Yay, a new young adult LBGT book! I have to read it!". However, after reading the blurb and finding out about When Love Comes to Town being a reprint of the same title published in 1993, I became hesitant. Because, you see, I went and did some research. What I found was the gawd-awful old cover and a handful of lukewarm reviews. Therefore, I figured this wouldn't be for me, and I would have probably never picked it up on my own, if I hadn't been sent a review invite. After some consideration, I thought why not give it a go. After all, I like the LBGT genre, so it couldn't be that bad, I figured.

...Onto the Book

alone in a crowd

And it wasn't. But rather, it was quite the contrary - I really enjoyed When Love Comes to Town. Honestly, I can't believe that I almost talked myself out of reading this book. I'm so glad I decided to give it a chance, I would have been missing out on a great book if I didn't.

First off, Tom Lennon must be given credit for creating such a genuine teen voice. Neil is a popular guy with a clever wit. However underneath his Mr. Happy mask, Neil is scared and lonely. Despite having a large family and many friends, being gay makes him feel like an outsider and causes him to be secretive about himself.

Neil feels isolated both at home and with his coupled friends. He lies about girls and pretends to laugh while in fact he is outraged by the homophobic jokes. The more intuitive members of his family, like his mom and sister, can sense that something is "off" with him, but he is afraid to come out for fear of the reaction he would likely to get. His Dad's especially.

His house had come into view. It looked like something out of a postcard with the moonlight shrouding the rooftop. But underneath that roof, the secrets would linger. He knew he'd never say it. Nothing would ever change. Seven for secrets never to be told.

The Catholic Ireland in the early 1990s is not a very a good place to be gay. The Pope just made a strong stand against homosexuality. The majority of people believes that homosexual behavior is wrong and a sin. At the same time, it's apparent that the younger generation shows more tolerance and acceptance. Things are definitely changing for the better, if slowly.

"we are family, I got all my sisters with me"

Neil wants to tell and finally be himself, and he is also desperate for some company of his own. Luckily, he finds confidants inside as well as outside of his family. Neil even makes it to a gay bar, where we get an interesting glimpse into the gay life of Ireland in the nineties. We meet Uncle Sugar, a relic of old times. A groundbreaking radio show breaks our hear. We see what AIDS does to a person. We encounter those who chose to hide their orientation, but also meet the ones who don't. When Love Comes to Town takes us back to the time of no internet and no mobile phones, the era of arranging dates on public phones and cruising public toilets for sex, and makes us thankful for what we have now. Just as, Becky and his brother and couples like Redster and Dave or Jackie and Liam reminds us that things will get better.

some battles are won, some are lost

As the title says, love is coming to town, or rather Neil goes to town, Dublin, in search of love. I don't want to spoiler the story, so I'm not giving any details, but it's suffice to say that I liked how this aspect of the story ended. I thought it was sweet. Overall, When Love Comes to Town has a somehow bittersweet ending. Again, times were different then.

After Words

Truth be told, When Love Comes to Town hasn't become my new favorite book, but it is a beautifully written coming of age, coming out story that I'm glad to have read. Definitely worth the reprint and the new cover.

Blurb

With a new introduction by James Klise

The year is 1990, and in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland, Neil Byrne plays rugby, keeps up with the in-crowd at his school, and is just a regular guy. A guy who's gay. It's a secret he keeps from the wider world as he explores the city at night and struggles to figure out how to reveal his real self--and to whom.

First published in Ireland in 1993 and compared to The Catcher in the Rye by critics, Tom Lennon's When Loves Comes to Town is told with honesty, humor, and originality.

Published:

March 1st 2013 by Albert Whitman Teen (first published November 1st 1993)

Goodreads - Amazon - Book Depository

LGBT Read-a-Thon - Goals & Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Fri, 03 May 2013 22:06:00 +0000

I love read-a-thons and LGBT books, so when I saw that Faye at A Daydreamer's Thoughts is hosting an LGBT Read-a-thon, I knew I had to sign up. Do you want to read some LGBT books this weekend? You still have time to sign up, if you want to join in! - Go HERE

My goals for the read-a-thon:

- to read (and review) at least two books

- participate in the twitter chat

- post 2 reviews

BOOKS:

When Love Comes to Town by Tom Lennon (review copy) - it looks like we are all reading this

Personal Effects by E.M. Kokie (bought) - I've already read this once, so now I'm just going to reread the bookmarked parts and then review it. It might kill me (just thinking about this book brings tears to my eyes), but I'm doing it.

Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz (won) - this is going to be amazing. Or I hope so. *fingers crossed*

Maurice by E.M. Forster (bought) - Maurice has been on my tbr for quite a while now, and I'd love to finally read it this weekend, but I'm not sure that I'll have enough time to fit it in.

Updates:

When Love Comes to Town - read&reviewed

Personal Effects - Review is DONE - Going to post it next week.

Writing it was like watching Byung-hee die over and over and over again:

you're welcome.

So,

Now, off to read Teeth - why do I have a feeling that this book is gonna make me cry as well??

Wrap-up

read and reviewed: When Love Comes to Town

~~Personal Effects~~ - wrote and scheduled the review

Teeth - read about half of it

participated in the twitter chat - and it was EPIC

This was hands down one of my favorite readathons.

Many thanks to Faye for hosting it!!

bye, bye, abayo~

[Book Review] Ink by Amanda Sun

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

Before Cracking Open the Book

Just look at these covers! Both the original (on the left) and the new are beautiful. In fact, the artwork goes way beyond beautiful. It's like they are actual paintings - absolutely stunning ink paintings.

I've always been fascinated with Asian culture and have enjoyed reading books set there and/or about Asian characters. However, I usually shy away from reading the ones that are written by non-Asian authors. I know many won't agree, but I'm a strong believer of write about what you know. Really know. And whereas I did enjoy some Asian themed books that were written by Western authors, my favorites are without doubt the books penned by Asian authors like Keigo Higashino, Natsuo Kirino or Banana Yoshimoto.

Also, the ARC reviews I've seen are not so positive so far... Yet I couldn't help being intrigued by the idea of Paper Gods. So I was on the fence whether to read this book for a while, but in the end my curiosity won. I went in with low expectations,

...Onto the Book

but I ended up enjoying myself, for the most part. Maybe because I was prepared to hate it, so each time I find a line or a character I liked, it felt like a surprise. Also, the book has some illustrations and I'm always weak against pretty drawings, especially of horses and dragons.

the stalker and her "God"

keeping each other at arm's distance was the only way to trust each other. That way, no one would lunge, and either of us could retreat.
We lived in parallel worlds, somehow held together by the axis of each.

What prevented me from really loving Ink were the characters. I didn't feel for neither of the main characters. Also, both Katie and Tomohiro have behaved in a rather weird and perplexing way. What Katie did in the early chapters of the book was straight out stalking. And who, I ask, in their right mind would fall in love with a stalker almost instantly? Someone not in their right mind, that's who. Tomohiro fits the profile to the 't'. He has an obsessive, all-consuming need to draw. He is this powerful Kami (paper God) and can make his drawings literally leap off the pages, but have little control over them once they left the paper. Watching Katie in stalker mode was already awkward, but Tomohiro in his ink possessed moments was even more unsettling. I actually don't mind weird characters. In fact, I usually fall the hardest for those unusual -or even "crazy"- characters, but in this case it somehow backfired. Katie and Tomo were odd alright, but they didn't feel real. Also, the chemistry between them didn't feel particularly scorching to me. And to my disappointment, the characters didn't leap off the pages like Tomo's beautiful drawings, no matter how much I wished they would. Because Ink had such a potential. I hate seeing it (and those pretty covers and illustrations) go to waste.

the everyday life of a Japanese high school student

The one big redeeming quality of Ink is the setting. Amanda Sun absolutely nailed that. It really shows that the author has lived in Japan and studied Asian history. My favorite parts of the book were those little snippets of Katie's daily life in Shizuoka, Japan. Because of her mother's dead, Katie has been uprooted from her home and transplanted into a world she knew almost nothing about. She had to build a completely new life in a foreign country where she didn't even speak the language. It wasn't easy, but she gradually managed to find her place in Shizuoka. So while most of the time Katie's behavior baffled me, especially toward boys, I did enjoy this side of her - the side that was interested in Japan; its culture, the language, the food, etc.

tangled mess, with the yakuza

Now, back to the things I didn't like. The "supporting" characters were all bland, cardboard stereotypes. Katie's "friends" were mostly just there to fill the space and the way they talked seriously made me cringe. The only slightly interesting looking ones were the mysterious, villainy Jun and Tomo's friend, Ishikawa. But sadly, they ended up rather bland as well.
Not just the characters were odd/bland, but the plot was a tangled mess. The idea - of ancient paper Gods with the power over ink - was great, but unfortunately, it wasn't followed through very well. The main character, Katie's connection to the ink felt extremely forced and was never really explained. The ink seems to react to her for some yet unknown reason, but she didn't have any useful powers or brain cells, and was more like a bystander to everything that was going on.

After Words

Ink was a confusing book. I sort of liked the beginning, but then things went down a weird path. For a while it looked like the story would find its legs, only to get even more messed up and constrained. Finally, it somehow got itself together - even ended on a rather cool note. Sigh.

Additionally, the writing style also left a lot to be desired. There were some outstanding sentences, but overall it just didn't flow well enough.

Ink made me shake my head in disbelief more than once and I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, but overall it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. ... and that's my two cent. Over and out. (Meaning: I'm discontinuing this series. It wasn't unenjoyable, but it failed to move me enough to want to pick up the next book.)

Blurb

I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.

Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.

A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.

And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

Expected publication:

June 25th 2013 by Harlequin Teen

Goodreads - Amazon - The Book Depository

[Top Ten Tuesday] Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:04:00 +0000

- hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book

I love this week's theme! Most of my favorite books revolve around recurring topics, such as music, travelling, forbidden love and so on. Narrowing down the list to 10 (I have at least 15, if not more favorite topics) was a bit of a challenge, but I did it. So, without further ado, here're the top ten topics/words that most likely to make me want to read a book:

LGBTQ - I just LOVE to read LBGT related books. Especially coming of age romances.

Forbidden - After LGBT books, forbidden love stories - teacher-student relationships and Romeo and Juliet-like romances - are my other vice. To me, there is something compelling about forbidden romance and secret lovers. (I think that forbiddenness was what made Twilight so appealing to me.)

Age Difference - I also enjoy love stories where there is some age difference (5-10 years) between the couple. I think my love for these kind of stories originates back to my Jdrama fan days. Dramas like Sore wa, Totsuzen, Arashi no you ni and Kimi wa Petto made me a fan of older woman/younger man relationships.

Lonely - My favorite type of characters are the lonely, sad ones. The damaged, broken characters. The characters that make me want to hug them. BUT, I don't want to read tragedies. I want them to find hope and happiness, friends and love.

Revenge - I blame the Count of Monte Cristo for this.

Running Away/Kidnapping - Again, there's something fascinating about these dark topics. I can't resist them.

Antihero - Yep, back to "darkness". Flawed, twisted heroes are the best type of "heroes", imho. Especially serial killers and con artists. ;)

Road trip - I love to travel. But can't do it all the time, no matter how fun that sounds. So the next best thing is reading about it. And there is something old fashioned and romantic about road trips that I love.

Music - I'm also into music (and musicians :P ), and enjoy when books include music references or characters that are singers/musicians.

Asia (Japanese/Korean) - I'm ~~obsessed~~ fascinated with the Asian culture and love to read books set in there.

Dewey's Read-A-Thon 2013 - Goals&Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 11:58:00 +0000

Hey, everyone!

I can't believe that it's time again for Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon. This is going to be my second time participating, and I'm so excited!!! Aaaaand this time I'm going to do some cheering as well *shakes virtual pom poms*

So let's get this party started!

Starting line:

My reading goals are to finish The Elite and to read as much as I can of Ink and Being Henry David. I also am hoping to participate in a couple of challenges. And I plan to cheer on fellow read-a-thon-ers in between reading as much as possible. Are you participating? What are you most looking forward to?

Updates:

Introductory Questionnaire:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? - Hungary

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? - Being Henry David

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? - Peanut Butter Muffins and Pastel de Nata

(photos coming later)

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! - I have two dogs and right now I should be out there playing with them as I always do on Saturdays... But right now I HAVE to read and cheer. Sorry my lovelies, I'll try to sneak in a little "dog snuggling" break later.

For more check out my About me Page :)

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? - This is my second Dewey Readathon. Last year I was a little underprepared, especially in the snacks department, so I vowed that I'd do better this time. I'll also try to last more (last year I fell asleep...). Oh, and this is my first time being a cheerleader, and I'm really looking forward to that.

Book Appetit Challenge - hosted by Book Journey
I'm currently reading The Elite by Kiera Cass and the main character America loooves to eat. Here's a menu I think she would approve:

Onion Soup - maybe it's just me, but onion soup always looked dystopian to me...

- with wine

Dessert:
Pastel de Nata - one of my favorite desserts

(recipe)

and:
Melon soda with ice cream - because I love it and because Katie (the main character of Ink, the other book I'm reading) does too.

Re-title Challenge - hosted by Geeky Blogger
It's not that original, but very fitting: The Elite > The Bachelor tries to meet The Hunger Games, but instead ends up with America's Next Top Model and Miss America 2163
but yes, I'm enjoying it...

Clear the Cobwebs and Recharge Yoga Challenge - hosted by Elizabeth Michelle
- done all the poses (loved the Child's Pose), it was very refreshing

Hour 12 - Halfway Update:
Did: two round of cheering
Completed: 3 challenges. Also, my reading is going surprisingly well:

Mid-Event Survey:
1) How are you doing? Sleepy? - I'm doing GREAT! Not sleepy at all.
2) What have you finished reading? - The Elite
3) What is your favorite read so far? - The Elite ;)
4) What about your favorite snacks? - this time I'm letting the pictures talk:

5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love! - Yes! And I'm a cheerleader, so it's my "job" to comment and I did, a lot.

Picture Challenge - hosted by Kristen

My reading corner where I'm currently reading the Egalley of Ink (by Amanda Sun) - it has some really pretty illustrations in it :)

Mad Libs Challenge - hosted by Jessica and Mia

"Hey, kid," he waves at me. Warnings fly all over. Drew looks like he wants to kiss me. I help him pick up the toys, gazing constantly, pushing them into his hands while Drew murmurs, "yeah, thanks, just stay away from her"

the original paragraph was from Being Henry David by Cal Armistead:

"Dammit, kid," he shouts at me. Papers fly all over. He looks like he wants to punch me. I help him pick up the papers, apologizing constantly, pushing them into his hands while he murmurs, "yeah, whatever, just get away from me"

Goal Line:

End of event meme:

Which hour was most daunting for you? - Hour 15 (5am here. I HAD to get some sleep at that point. Have slept for about 5 hours...then got up around Hour 20 to finish Ink)

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? - To be honest, while I enjoyed my books, I wouldn't say that they were that... special. But maybe Being Henry David. I just dipped my toes into it, but it looks really interesting and unique.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? - not really. Sorry, I'm still sleepy here. But no, I think it's already great as it is :)

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? - Everything! The challenges were especially fun. Also, huge thanks to the Team Lion cheerleaders (Chris, Ali and Lisa) for cheering me on.

How many books did you read? - I've finished 2.

What were the names of the books you read? - The Elite, Ink and the first couple pages of Being Henry David .

Which book did you enjoy most? -The Elite, I guess....

Which did you enjoy least? - ..... Ink

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? - Um, not really? I'm rubbish when it comes to giving advice. It was my first time cheering, so it's not like I'm suddenly a pro or anything. But well, comment as much as you can and make your comments personal, I guess.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? - Very!

What role would you be likely to take next time? - Reader. And I might do some cheering again as well.

10 Signs of a True Book Addict

noreply@blogger.com (Cayce) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:01:00 +0000

10 Signs of a True Book Addict

1. You are powerless over the lure of books. Every time you happen upon a place that sells books you have to pop in and caress a few books. You're not likely to leave empty-handed.

(source)

2.You're surrounded by books, there is at least one book within your arm's reach right now.

- a not unfamiliar sight

3. There is not a time when you're not "currently reading" something

4. You don't go anywhere without a book. Also, you can and will read anywhere.

(source)

5. When you read, the world around you disappears, ceases to exist. It's just the book and you.

6. You think/talk about book characters like they're real people.

7. Books often make you feel overwhelmed, blow you away with their sheer incredibleness

- and render you speechless

8. You have a list of "MUST have" books. Sooner or later they're coming home with you. Probably sooner.

9. You do a little happy dance every time you get your hands on a long waited book

10. When you plan a vacation you check for famous bookstores (like Shakespeare and Co.) you will have to visit.

(source)

So, are you a true book addict? How many of these "signs" do you recognise in yourself?
What things make YOU a book addict?