Summer Wrap-Up Readathon (#SWUR): Goals

The Summer Wrap-Up Readathon has begun!! It's being hosted by Jude @ In Between & Jennifer @ Some Like It Paranormal. It will last for nine whole, reading-filled days--August 4th-12th. You can follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #SWUR. As always, I'm aiming for book related goals, no pages or any of that extra stuff. Just finish some books.

Books I want to finish:

If I can finish all four of these, I'll be really happy. Especially since school started yesterday!

What are you aiming for? Leave a link so I can stop by!

On the Shelves: Hide and Seek by Sara Shepard & The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin

Hey everyone!!! Sorry I didn't post one of these last week. The books I'd chosen were so anticipated that there really wasn't a need.

Hide and Seek (The Lying Game, #4) by Sara Shepard
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
352 pages, hardcover
Add It: Goodreads, Shelfari
Buy It: Amazon, The Book Depository, Barnes & Noble

My friends and I used to play lying games.

Now my twin sister is living one.

When I was alive, my family seemed picture-perfect. My adoptive parents adored me, and my little sister, Laurel, copied my every move. But now that my long-lost twin, Emma, has taken my place to solve my murder, we're both learning just how flawed my family really is.

Laurel is shooting Emma nasty looks and sneaking around with my ex-boyfriend. And it turns out my parents are keeping a huge secret--could it be the reason I'm dead?

How far would they go to keep the truth buried? No one can harm me now, but Emma is still fair game. And if she's not careful, she'll end up buried, too. . . .

From Sara Shepard, the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars books, comes a riveting series about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.

Book Trailer:



I'm soo behind on Shepard's writing. I still haven't caught up with Pretty Little Liars. I'll get to this series sooner or later.

Stalk the Author: Goodreads, Twitter, Website, Facebook

_________________________________

The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin
Release Date: August 2, 2012
Publisher: Putnma Juvenile
224 pages, hardcover
Add It: Goodreads, Shelfari
Buy It: Amazon, The Book Depository, Barnes & Noble

One summer chasing tornadoes could finally change Jane's life for the better.

Seventeen-year-old Jane McAllister can't quite admit her mother's alcoholism is spiraling dangerously out of control until she drives drunk, nearly killing them and Jane's best friend.

Jane has only one place to turn: her older brother Ethan, who left the problems at home years ago for college. A summer with him and his tornado-chasing buddies may just provide the time and space Jane needs to figure out her life and whether it still includes her mother. But she struggles with her anger at Ethan for leaving home and feels guilty--is she also abandoning her mom just when she needs Jane most? The carefree trip turned journey of self-discovery quickly becomes more than Jane bargained for, especially when the devilishly handsome Max steps into the picture.

(I couldn't find a book trailer for this one, so if anyone does, let me know!)

I've honestly never heard of Lara Zielin before I saw this book, but I'd be willing to try this one out! It looks and sounds like it's going to be really great.

Stalk the Author: Goodreads, Website, Twitter, Facebook

This Month's Reads: August 2012

I read a good amount of books in July, just not off the list I posted. :) Hopefully I can stick to the following list, because these are all the books that I want to read for challenges. One is August only, and the other ends in August, so wish me luck!

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (reread)

Dog Days by Jeff Kinney

The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney

Passion by Lauren Kate

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

Nevermore by James Patterson

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Space by Emily Sue Harvey (reread) (maybe)

What's Your Status? #73 & In My Mailbox #53

What's Your Status?

Don't Miss:

~~High Summer Readathon Wrap-Up

Reviews:

~~Whisper by Alyson Noel

Memes:

~~Recommend A...

~~Manga Corner

Finished This Week:

~~Whisper by Alyson Noel, 22/7/2012
~~Firelight by Sophie Jordan, 23/7/2012
~~A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, 26/7/2012

Currently Reading:

~~Torment by Lauren Kate, page 1
~~Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, page 1

Top of the TBR Pile:

~~The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Upcoming Events:

In My Mailbox

Hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren

From friend (Audible.com)

~~Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
~~The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Ordered Online
~~The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
~~Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
~~Boys R Us by Lisi Harrison
~~A Separate Peace by John Knowles
~~Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer
~~Tenth Grade Bleeds by Heather Brewer
~~Torment by Lauren Kate
~~Passion by Lauren Kate
~~This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
~~The Fault in our Stars by John Green

Received from author
~~Untraceable by SR Johannes

Review: Whisper by Alyson Noel

Whisper (Riley Bloom, #4) by Alyson Noel
215 pages, paperback
Finished on 22/7/2012
Genres: Young Adult, Coming of Age, Some Adventure, Romance, Paranormal
Synopsis via Goodreads:

This time, Riley might really have bitten off more than she’s ready for. After practically begging the Council for a more challenging Soul Catch, she is assigned an actual Roman gladiator—Theocoles, the Pillar of Doom. How is Riley, a skinny twelve-year-old, supposed to get through to him? Then she meets the beautiful Messalina, who convinces her that her only chance is to become part of this world. To accomplish this, Messalina helps Riley through a dramatic, mystical makeover, transforming her into the beautiful and mature teen she’s always wanted to be. Finally, Riley can experience her first boyfriend and her first kiss. With a dream this enchanting, will she ever want to leave?

Motivation to Read It: I really liked the first books in the series, so I jumped at the chance to buy this one! (I'd honestly forgotten all about it; *shakes head* I'm telling you: there are too many books coming out every week.)

Review: Alyson Noel is amazing. What a marvelous end to the Riley Bloom series! Not only was Whisper a quick, fun read, but I felt like it really was a coming of age noel because Riley matured so much in this one.

I realize that I didn't do a review for books 2 and 3 in this series, and for that I'm truly sorry. Believe me when I tell you, however, that they were really good and worth the time!

At the end of Dreamland, Riley has had a talking-to with the Council -- or rather, the Council had a talking-to with her -- and they've given her something to appeal to her wishes: a harder Soul Catch. Off to Rome she flies, discovering when she reaches the Colosseum that she must handle this one on her own. No help from Bodhi (although in the end he does sort of provide her with some).

The characters: wonderful. Riley was still a little short-tempered, but she controlled it for the most part and tried to get her job done. Messalina was a great character to me. Whether she was playing the best friend or the evil person that wanted you to never leave, she made it very believable. Dacian was very sweet; I think he makes a great match for Riley. All the characters have good personalities that make them enjoyable.

The plot carried along nicely. We got to see Riley live in Messalina's world for about what counted as 4 - 6 days. There's a point where it seems like several days might've been skipped, but when you read it, it's pretty obvious what happened during that time period if there were any skipped. It wasn't fast-paced, but it wasn't exactly slow either. I would say that it was at that comfortable in-between place.

I'm so sad to see this series come to an end, but it's given me an incentive to finaly finish the Immortals series. It's about time I did!

Satisfying eBook

(Rating System)

Manga Corner #1

So this is something that I thought I could do to make up for not reviewing manga books. I don't feel like my reviewing is good enough right now to really review manga books as I would like to. So I'll post Manga Corners to feature the books I've finished until I do :).

This past week I finished some books that are parts of series I started earlier this year.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi

I absolutely adore these novels! They don't have as much going on as the next series, but they still make for fun reads. Now if I could just find the TV show online somewhere so I could watch it...!

D.Gray-man by Katsura Hoshino

I really like this series! Like I mentioned before, D.Gray-man has a little more going on it in than Sailor Moon. There's more of a plot, more battle scenes, more character development.

I seriously need to get some more money so I can continue both of these amazing manga series! :)

High Summer Readathon (#HSreadathon) Wrap-Up

I'm really proud of myself! After my Once Upon a Readathon catastrophe, I read a lot more this week than I thought I would. I finished:

I started the following, but didn't get to finish it:

Total Books Finished: 4
Total Pages Read: 762

So how did your reading week go?

Recommend A... #3

Hosted by Shanyn @ Chick Loves Lit

This week's prompt:

Recommend a book that you read this year.

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
Dutton Juvenile, 2008


A modern girl's comedic odyssey in a school filled with the descendants of Greek gods.

When Phoebe's mom returns from Greece with a new husband and moves them to an island in the Aegean, Phoebe's plans for her senior year and track season are ancient history. Now she must attend the uberexclusive academy, where admission depends on pedigree, namely, ancestry from Zeus, Hera, and other Greek gods. That's right, they're real, not myth, and their teen descendants are like the classical heroes: supersmart and superbeautiful with a few superpowers. And now they're on her track team! Armed only with her Nikes and the will to win, Phoebe races to find her place among the gods.

I really enjoyed this book! It was funny and a quick read (well, listen since it was an audiobook). It's a light read that took my mind off back-to-school stress for sure. I also suggest you read the other book in the series as well, as it was a fun read, too:

Goddess Boot Camp by Tera Lynn Childs
Dutton Juvenile, 2009


Phoebe, who recently discovered she’s a descendant of Nike (the goddess, not the shoe), is finding that supernatural powers come with a crazy learning curve. Her stepfather, headmaster of the Academy for descendants of the Greek gods, has enrolled her at Dynamotheos Development Camp—aka Goddess Boot Camp—with a bunch of ten-year-olds for the summer. Embarrassing as that is, hopefully it’ll help her gain control over her powers in time to pass the test of the gods, continue training hard enough to qualify for the Pythian Games, and enjoy her godly boyfriend, Griffin, all while avoiding the ultimate mistake of accidentally misusing powers.

It’s another fast-paced myth-inspired heroine’s quest that’s sure to bring out the goddess in anyone.

If you get the chance to read them, let me know! I would love to know what you thought of them :).

What's Your Status? #72

What's Your Status?

Don't Miss:

~~High Summer Readathon Goals
~~High Summer Readathon Update

Reviews:

~~Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

~~Fallen by Lauren Kate

Memes:

~~In My Mailbox

~~Recommend A...

~~On the Shelves

Finished This Week:

~~Pretty Guardian: Sailor Moon Volume 2 by Naoko Takuchi, 16/7/2012

~~D.Gray-man Volume 3: The Rewinding City by Katsura Hoshino, 16/7/2012

~~D.Gray-man Volume 4: Carnival by Katsura Hoshino, 19/7/2012

Currently Reading:

~~Whsiper by Alyson Noel, page 39
~~Firelight by Sophie Jordan, page 123

Top of the TBR Pile:

~~Lost Voices by Lauren Myracle

Upcoming Events:

#HSreadathon Update

So far this High Summer RAT is going really well!!! This week went better than I thought, and I'm hoping the weekend will be really good, too.

I have finished:

I'm currently reading:

How have you been doing with your reading??