Fracture by Megan Miranda

Publisher: Walker & Company
Age Group: YA
Rating: 3.5/5
Source: Publisher

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine

—despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

When I first began reading FRACTURE, I wasn' sure what to expect. I thought the synopss sounded intense and the cover was beautiful, so I was excited to read it. The book started out a bit slow for me. I wish there was more action in where Delaney fell through the ice. But as the book progressed, it got better. The romance in this book was a cute-fun one rather than the quick romances. I loved the description Miranda used. She was able to give you all the medical information in very few words which actually made sense.

Now, I want to talk about the cover that is an absolute show stopper! If I were walking through the bookstore and saw that cover, you bet I would pick this book up. The cover also gives you a pretty good description of what the book will be about, though I did think the book would be a paranormal, though it turned out not to be. And I was glad since it was great.

Megan Miranda has written an amazing novel that lingers with you after the last pages and makes you think twice before walking on a frozen lake.

Book Wish Foundation Contest

Win a literary agent or acclaimed author's feedback on your unpublished manuscript for young adult or middle grade readers.  This rare opportunity is being offered to the six winners of an essay contest recently announced by the literacy charity Book Wish Foundation.  See http://bookwish.org/contest for full details.

You could win a manuscript critique from:

Laura Langlie, literary agent for Meg Cabot
Nancy Gallt, literary agent for Jeanne DuPrau
Brenda Bowen, literary agent and editor of Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal winner Out of the Dust
Ann M. Martin, winner of the Newbery Honor for A Corner of the Universe
Francisco X. Stork, winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for The Last Summer of the Death
Warriors

Cynthia Voigt, winner of the Newbery Medal for Dicey's Song and the Newbery Honor for A Solitary Blue

All that separates you from this prize is a 500-word essay about a short story in Book Wish Foundation's new anthology, What You Wish For.  Essays are due Feb. 1, 2012 and winners will be announced around Mar. 1, 2012.  If you win, you will have six months to submit the first 50 pages of your manuscript for critique (which means you can enter the contest even if you haven't finished, or started, your manuscript).  You can even enter multiple times, with essays about more than one of the contest stories, for a chance to win up to six critiques.
If you dream of being a published author, this is an opportunity you should not miss.  To enter, follow the instructions at http://bookwish.org/contest.

Good luck and best wishes,
Logan Kleinwaks
President, Book Wish Foundation

What You Wish For (ISBN 9780399254543, Putnam Juvenile, Sep. 15, 2011) is a collection of short stories and poems about wishes from 18 all-star writers: Meg Cabot, Jeanne DuPrau, Cornelia Funke, Nikki Giovanni, John Green, Karen Hesse, Ann M. Martin, Alexander McCall Smith, Marilyn Nelson, Naomi Shihab Nye, Joyce Carol Oates, Nate Powell, Sofia Quintero, Gary Soto, R.L. Stine, Francisco X. Stork, Cynthia Voigt, Jane Yolen.  With a Foreword by Mia Farrow.  Book Wish Foundation is donating 100% of its proceeds from the book to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to fund the development of libraries in Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad.

Root

The Guardian, a newspaper based in London, England is partnering with Random House Publishers for a new interactive novel called ROOT. Below is a little synopsis about this book:

Meet Molly Root, geek heroine on the most dangerous of missions.

Her best friend has been murdered, revealing his secret life as a notorious hacker, and suspicion falls on a corporation with shady secrets to hide. Teenage computer expert Molly must recruit a highly-skilled team to help her solve the mystery – before it's too late…

Sounds amazing, doesn't it? I'm so excited to read this and by going to The Guardian's website here you can check out the story. Also, the first chapter is up with other chapters and I'm reading them right now and am in love with them. Who doesn't like a good hacker novel. There's not many of those books on the market and I'm so glad The Guardian is doing this, plus, you can read it for free on their website.

So far, I'm blown away from this novel and I hope there's more of it because I'm already hooked. If you're looking for a new novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat, ROOT is for you.

The Daughters Join the Party by Joanna Philbin

Publisher: Poppy
Age Group: YA
Rating: 5/5
Source: Publisher

They didn't ask for fame. They were born with it.

In the third Daughters novel, The Daughters Take the Stage, Hudson found her own place in "the family business," aka: show business. Now, for the first time, readers will meet Emma Conway, daughter of a powerful New York State Senator.

Emma has never fit into the sweater-set-wearing world of her political family, opting for purple hair and Chuck Taylors to keep herself out of countless photo ops, but when she accidentally lets her father's presidential plans slip on national television, Emma finds herself thrown into the spotlight. Facing pressure to be the perfect First Daughter-in-training, Emma must learn to speak up for herself and for what she believes in. Thankfully, she has her new friends and fellow daughters - Lizzie, Carina, and Hudson - to help her along the way.

 

 

The moment I started reading THE DAUGHTERS JOIN THE PARTY, I immediatly feel in love with it. I found the whole idea of being a senator's daughter was simply fun to read. I thought Emma was a strong willed character and that's what I loved about her. She didn't back down to anything. Even though she did get in trouble a few times, she was supposed to because she was only a child.

 

But when her father announced he was going to run for president, her life turned upside down. She was now in the spotlight and every move she made was being watched and she had to be perfect like her brother, Remington, only she soon finds out that Remington himself wasn't as perfect as she thought he was.

 

I never wanted to stop reading this book and who knew Emma, the daughter of a senator, was as normal as us. Joanna Philbin's writing is spectacular and there was never a dull moment in the book. After reading THE DAUGHTERS, I'm excited to see what Joanna comes up with next.

 

Overall, if you're looking for a break in the paranormal or dystopian, this book is a great read. Read when you're traveling or just want to have a nice relaxing evening. It'll keep you up all night wanting to finish this book and find out more about Emma.

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Possession by Elana Johnson

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Age Group: YA
Source: Publisher

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Lately, I've been craving dystopians like crazy and this book hit the spot. I first want to point out the eye capturing cover POSSESSION has. Yes that cover screams out dystopia, but it also screams out "great book inside." I love how the cover is so simple yet it feels as though so much is going on.

I loved the world Johnson created with this book. With so many dystopian novels coming out, I worry that ideas will be recycled, but Elana Johnson made a world where girls are no longer allowed to walk with boys. The Thinkers have taken over everyone and society seemed like zombies to me. Now, The Thinkers are on Violet and they want to make her one of them.

In most books I've read, there are the bad guys/girls and the good guys/girls, but in this book, I didn't see that. The only thing that Violet wanted was freedom and that was the prize she was aiming for. I guess maybe The Thinkers were the bad guys since Violet didn't want to be apart of them.

There were, however, a lot of my questions not answered in the end of the book and I'm so excited for the next book to see what will happen next. If you're into dystopia, this is a great book to try out because it'll leave you hanging to read more.

Joanna Philbin Interview

       

           1.    Did publishing a book come easily to you since you are a daughter of a celebrity?

Well, before you can get a book published, you have to know how to write.  And that took me some time!  After I got my MFA, I lived like a hermit, writing stories that I never showed anybody, and the better part of a novel that is still in a drawer.  I went through a long period of being my own harshest critic.  And then when I got the idea for The Daughters, I didn’t tell anyone about it because I was so incredibly embarrassed.  I would think to myself, Oh my god, you can’t write this!  It felt way too personal.  And I was determined to write about anything BUT my personal experience.  But the idea never went away.  It wasn’t until I’d moved out to California and written professionally for television that I got up the courage to tell my friend the idea.  He almost hit the roof.  He said “You have to write this!  Go home and start tonight!”  About a month later I finally pitched an agent the idea.  But even then I had to convince her that I could actually write the book.  I wrote the first eighty pages and that’s when we took it out to publishers.  But we took my name off the submission.  I didn’t want anyone to want it because of my last name.  Fortunately people wanted it anyway, but it was satisfying to know that my last name had nothing to do with it!

2.    Did you always know you wanted to be a writer or did you want to be an actress or something else growing up?

I loved doing theater and taking drama classes when I was a child and a teenager, but I always had a stronger passion for writing.  So often I’d read a script and think to myself, “That line shouldn’t read like that.  It should read like this.”  I think that’s how I knew.

3. How did the idea of THE DAUGHTERS come to you?

          One day in my twenties I was coming out of the Times Square subway and right above me, on the Jumbotron, were my mom and dad, hosting my dad’s show.  It was such a surreal moment.  There I was, standing on the sidewalk rushing off to my job as someone’s assistant or intern, and there were my parents on this enormous screen.   And I thought to myself, Okay, this is weird.  That’s when I really got the idea for The Daughters: three girls all living “under the Jumbotron,” so to speak.  At first they were in their early twenties, just out of college, and starting their lives.  Years later, I decided to make them teenagers, and that’s when the book really clicked for me.   

4. Can you relate to any of the characters?

          I relate to all of them.  Sure, I’ve never been the daughter of a supermodel or a pop star, but the issues these girls are dealing with are ones I had consider as well: Do people expect me to be like my mom or dad?  Do I have to be what people think I’m supposed to be or is it okay to just be myself?  And I think no matter who our parents are, we all grapple with these issues of learning to accept and be ourselves.

5. Have you received special recognition in school or with friends when you were young?

          My teachers and close friends in highschool always knew me as me, not as the daughter of Regis Philbin.  Of course, there were some perks, such as getting to travel or meet people I admired (meeting Michael J. Fox in seventh grade just about blew my mind) but for the most part, I wanted to be as “normal” as everyone else.  Like most teenagers do!

6. Is it easy or hard for you to walk down the street or somewhere and have people recognize you?

          That only happens if I’m with my parents.  But most of the time, nobody recognizes me.  I think I’d be kind of shocked if that ever happened! 

Why I haven't been blogging....

I'm sure many of you have noticed my absence her on the blog and Twitter. I've been caught up in everything lately. School has taken over my life and I just sent out my college apps and even though I should feel relieved, I don't because I'm just so nervous!

Also, I haven't been able to read much because I've had the reading slumps. I just can't get into a book! But don't worry my lovelies, I will get back just as soon as I get my life back on track. I will however be writing posts this week and hopefully getting some reading done.

Thanks for staying here with me! ♥