{Trailer Sunday} Bad Unicorn by Platte F. Clark

It wasn't Max Spencer's idea to fight robots, lead an army, or save the world—it just so happens that he's the only living person who can read the most fantastical book ever written: The Codex of Infinite Knowability. The Codex is no ordinary book, and among other things, it describes a unicorn named Princess the Destroyer.

Princess the Destroyer is no ordinary unicorn. She loves nothing more than hunting down, killing, and eating other creatures. After all, what's the point of having a sharp horn on your forehead if you don't use it for destructive purposes? And right now Princess has a very definite purpose: Find Max and retrieve the lost Codex for an evil sorcerer and his mysterious master. If she can do that, she's been promised an all-the-humans-you-can-eat buffet in Texas.

Stuck in another world and with a carnivorous unicorn on his trail, Max must find the courage to save himself, his friends, and, oh yeah...the entire human race.

{Review} Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Publication date: October 26, 2010

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 9780375866593

Synopsis

What do you do when you find a strange book on in the shelf where your favorite books reside, what do you do?

Obviously you pick it up and do whatever the book tells.

And that is basically how Dash’s winter adventure started and he got into the road to meet Lily.

Review

Dash & Lily’s book of dares is between my summer picks, I picked this book on a hot day and thank goodness it made me forget all about the heat (in case you didn’t notice I am not a hot weather person, I feel like the wizard of Oz witch when she is screaming I’m MELTING!!!!). Now don’t get me wrong this isn’t a book that I would just recommend for summer this book is a good read at any season and any day of the year is a good one to start Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares.

Dash and Lily don’t voice out the way that normal teenagers do, instead of feeling like you are reading a regular teen it’s more like you are reading representative from the quirky awesome minority group. And by the way this is done I can assure you I’m saying this as a good thing.

This is not a book I would aloud myself to read in public, this books sense of humor is just great there was a lot of grinning, smiling and laughing, so… that might be a thing you might want to consider if you haven’t graduated from the book reading poker face academy.

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan make a great work at mixing a boy and girl’s point of view in this interesting quest of two people trying to know each other via the Book of Dares, no cellphones, no facebook, no technology to get in the way of the two of them knowing each other, not even their faces get in the way or really discovering who the other is in the middle of the busiest time of the year in New York city and this digital age.

 I would call this book a must read, but honestly you will be the ones making the call and I hope that if you do pick up you enjoy it more or at least as much as I did.

Rating:

 

{Cover Wars} Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

Welcome back to our regular programing in Cover Wars!!!!!!!!!!!

As you already know in Covers Wars two (sometimes more)covers come here in a quest to see which one of them is worthy of your bookish loving, so please remember to vote and comment, you can find the poll at the end of the post and remember that this blogs comment section is powered by disqus so if your information is there I will be sure to repay the commenting favor.

Now let me present to you the two covers that will be fighting for your attention, for this week we have… (drum roll please) Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer. For those of you that have never heard of it or your memory is a little fuzzy here is a look at the book blurb:

Gigi, Bea, and Neerja are best friends and total overachievers. Even if they aren't the most popular girls in school, they aren't too worried. They know their real lives will begin once they get to their Ivy League colleges. There will be ivy, and there will be cute guys in the libraries (hopefully with English accents)! But when an unexpected event shows them they're missing out on the full high school experience, it's time to come out of the honors lounge and into the spotlight. They make a pact: They will each take on their greatest challenge—and they will totally rock it.

Gigi decides to run for student rep, but she'll have to get over her fear of public speaking—and go head-to-head with gorgeous California Will. Bea used to be one of the best skiers around, until she was derailed. It could be time for her to take the plunge again. And Neerja loves the drama club but has always stayed behind the scenes—until now.

These friends are determined to show the world that smart girls really can get what they want—but that could mean getting way more attention than they ever bargained for. . .

Now that we are all have at least some idea about Smart Girls Get What They Want let’s take a look at the covers!

First we have the original cover, they one that even if some might think of it as simple it doesn’t lose when it comes to eye catchiness.

The cover make-over shakes things up and decides to follow the norm of romantic book covers.

Tell us guy which cover is your favorite?? Which one would you end up picking from the bookshelves? Which one of these covers do you think is the best representative for this book?

Remember to join us next week to see which cover won all of your cover loving.

Remember to join us next week to see which cover won all of your cover loving.

{Trailer Sunday} It's a Book by Lane Smith

Publication date: August 10. 2010

Publisher: MacmillanChildren

ISBN-13: 9781596436060

Playful and lighthearted with a subversive twist that is signature Lane Smith, IT’S A BOOK is a delightful manifesto on behalf of print in the digital age. 
This satisfying, perfectly executed picture book has something to say to readers of all stripes and all ages.

{Review} The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

Publication date: May 7, 2013

Publisher: Entangled Teen

ISBN-13: 9781620612392

Synopsis

When we are little they tell us to be ourselves, but sometimes being who we truly are can put us in the spotlight in the wrong way, in the middle of everyone’s jokes.

That was the day I learned that being myself, my true self, was better kept hidden.  The little girl that got laughed at has learned to camouflage herself, if you look at me now you’ll see a blond cheerleader, a cheery girl with good grades and the star quarterback as her boyfriend.

Sounds kind of silly doesn’t it? It all sounded logical at first, the plan seemed simple and flawless; keeping my inner nerd as it should be indoors. Yet when Logan Scott comes into the picture, or more like in a desperate act to get to know the finally of my favorite comic I jump incognito into the towns comic book shop only to find out that Logan is the owner of the last copy.

And that was the beginning of the summer I became a nerd.

Review

Leah Rea Miller tells a wonderful story, Maddie will learn that life outside the geek closet can be wonderful and freeing.  While getting how this new world she is discovering can really mix with the one she left at school?

I liked both the main story and the sub-story that takes place on this book. I feel it gives a deeper layer, and expansion to the world Maddie and Scott live in and talks about a problem that is so involved in the daily life that we sometimes forget about it.

The finally of this book may not be a big surprise, it’s in the title, but the way the author takes us through the story and lets us meet the characters that impact Maddie’s life is what makes this an interesting trip. This story has a flavor of its own.

An element that Rea Miller added to this book and that we don’t always get to see in YA is involved parents, unlike other YA book where parents get to be minor characters if they are present at all. In “The summer I became a Nerd” you may not always read them but you know the parents are there.

Theme wise, Leah Rea Miller’s The Summer I became a nerd may sound a little unreal, she makes the parents a present figure, and her teens aren’t involved in drugs, sex or alcohol, but the author teaches us that even if the after mentioned themes are present in the life of a teen they are not always necessary to tell a story, nor do they need to be in the spotlight.

So guys, I was thinking, in honor of “The summer I became a Nerd” how about exchanging adorkable crushes or love stories? Here is my famous adorkable crush:

Duckie from Pretty in Pink

Cute, Geeky and 100% proud of who he is even if he does mess things up every now and then. And that for me makes him worthy of the title of adorkable!!! 

How about you? What is your story? Or who is your adorkable crush?

Rating:

{Fangirling On} Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Future and Present collide

Have you ever loved a moment where reality seems to have a link with books, how a thing that is happening right now can one day develop to one of the things that happened in one of the books you just read?

From the beginning Aria talks about this device she has on her left eye, it helps the inhabitants of the dome cope with the limited space they live in, as soon as I read about this I thought (drum roll please) GOOGLE GLASS!!!!!! I know that in the book it looks like a jelly like substance that Aria and the other “moles” use to escape into the realms by letting them have a full experience of the place they are now virtually in.

That is how I felt when I read about the eye pieces in Under the Never Sky, I have no idea if Veronica Rossi knew about Google’s project for the Google glass, or if Google’s project will ever get to the point described on Veronica’s books.

Of berries and Perr

As this scene was ending a couple of sentences before Perry noticed the effect of what he had done I could only think

But I don’t think he would have listen how can you explain it to a character that is setting himself up? And honestly Aria’s reaction was the cherry on top of poor Perry…

“He picked up a stone and tossed it into the creek, trying to get the image of her tasting the berry out of his mind.”

The Period

I really enjoyed this part, ok it was extremely weird that Perry knew and awkward that he had to explain the situation to Aria, but it was a mix of comedy and the freaking out I got when it happened to me.

“Her mind ran in circles. She was bleeding. Like an animal”

It was as if Veronica Rossi put my feelings into words.

“Maybe she was breaking down. Malfunctioning. How would she explain this to her mother? What if she couldn’t be fixed and this happened to her again, what, every month?”

“No matter how she looked at it, menstruating was utterly barbaric”

Favorite Quote

My all-time favorite quote of this book is small and easy to remember and I love the meaning behind it “Fall off your own roof” written by Veronica Rossi embodied by the one and only Roar.

Now I can’t wait to read the short story Roar and Liv. I know, I am behind the whole Under the Never Sky phenomena but be patient with me guys I will catch up, I promise.

If you didn't like Twilight, then read Chicagoland Vampires or The Iron Druid Chronicles

I want something more adult

Maybe Twilight was too juvenile for you? If so then I have two books that might be of interest for you guys.

How about Chicagoland Vampires, in this series we accompany Merit a graduate student finds herself one unlucky night at the wrong side of campus where her existence if forever change.

Series: Chicagoland Vampires #1

Publication Date: April 7th, 2009

Publisher: NAL Trade

ISBN-13: 9780345522481

Now reborn as a vampire she has to put books aside when someone is still out to get her. In this series we find not only Chloe Neill’s version of what if vampires came out of the closet in Chicago but we also get to explore other the what would be of other paranormal creatures.

This series is a mix of action, politics, attraction and relationships.
Links to the reviews of Chicagoland Vampires Series:
Some Girls Bite
Friday Night Bites
Twice Bitten
Hard Bitten
Drink Deep
Bitting Cold
House Rules

If you still wish to start slow with vampires and want an adult paranormal book then I suggest The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne, this guy knows how to mix paranormal, mythology and fantasy into one great series while giving it all a modern twist.

Series: Iron Druid Chronicles

Publication date: May 3, 2011

Publisher: Del Rey 

ISBN-13: 9780345522474
This was the book that made me fall in love with Urban Fantasy (other than Harry Potter of course), this is a book that makes you have fun with all the creatures, myths and stories you thought you knew, it give a fresh hair to vampires, werewolves, witches, gods and other creatures that we might stumble upon on this fund ride that Kevin Hearne has prepared for us.

If you are going to read this book then prepare yourself for some good laughs.
Links to The Iron Druid Chronicles:
Hounded
Hexed
Hammered

{Review} Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown

Publication Date: April 18, 2012

Publisher: Chronicle Books

ISBN-13: 9781452106557

Synopsis

What if Darth Vader took an active role in raising his son? What if Luke, I am your father was just a stern admonishment from an annoyed dad? In this hilarious and sweet comic reimagining, Darth Vader is a dad like any other except with all the baggage of being the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Celebrated artist Jeffrey Brown's delightful illustrations give classic Star Wars moments a fresh twist, presenting the trials and joys of parenting through the lens of a galaxy far, far away. Life lessons include lightsaber batting practice, using the Force to raid the cookie jar, Take Your Child to Work Day on the Death Star (Er, he looks just like you, Lord Vader!), and the special bond shared between any father and son.

Review

Darth Vader and Son is a wonderful and adorable picture book.

Jeffrey Brown did a great job doing a show and tell of the “what if’s” between Darth Vader and Luke, there is a real sense of parent-child love in realistic scenarios with the perfect Star Wars twist.

Even if the dialog is done to a minimum the messages or little adventures that our character go through are not lost. I feel that it enhances the experience letting the reader add a little of his/her self into the mix.

If you are a fan of the Star Wars movies Darth Vader and Son is the perfect choice for you! It doesn’t matter if you have or don’t have kids, and it is specially recommended for those that would like a tad of cuteness from Star Wars.

Rating: 

{Cover Wars} Austenland by Shannon Hale

Hello guys and welcome to Cover Wars!! Where two covers battle it out asking the age old question “Who do you love?” This week we have the covers of Shannon Hale’s very own Austenland, for those of you that have never heard of the book here is the book blurb:

Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined. 

Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen; or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

Now we have the more fresh and young looking version where we can see our modern Elisabeth interacting it a Mr. Darcy maybe?

First we have the original covers, the one that captured the hearts of thousand and got the Austenland train going:

Now we have the more fresh and young looking version where we can see our modern Elisabeth interacting it a Mr. Darcy maybe?

I like both covers in the first one you can see the girl that is about to step into a great adventure the imposing house that could change it all for this Austen fan on the second cover we can see that they are trying to give this book a fresher look they are trying to reach another audience that maybe wouldn’t give it a second thought if it wasn’t more obvious and in your face the interaction between 1 Mr Darcy and what I hope will be a modern Elisabeth Benneth like character.

What do you think? Which cover has your heart?

By the way guys I don’t know if you have heard this but Austenland was made into a movie that was in the Sundance Festival, here is the movie poster.

{Trailer Sunday} My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.

Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure. 

 But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated! 

 Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever. 

 But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.

{Review} Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Publication Date: March 1st, 2012

Publisher: Amulet Books

ISBN-13: 9781419701764

Synopsis
Greg had become the master of the Pitsburg high school social system, he didn't get punched by the jocks nor was he pestered by the church kids and for that he was glad. On his free time he and his friend Earl became actors, directors and writers for their movies, and adaptation or not they put their heart and soul to them.
Greg's quiet school life changes when he befriends Rachel, a girl he used to know from Hebrew school who is now battling against leukemia.

{Review} Delirium's Party by Jill Thompson

Series: Little Endless Storybook #2

Publication Date: May 10, 2011

Publisher: Vertigo

ISBN-13: 9781410224776

Synopsis

Princess Delirium noticed one day that she had never seen her sister Despair smile, and so she makes it her job to see her sister happy, with the help of her dog Barnabas and all her brothers and sisters she hopes to finally see her sister smile.

 

Review

Delirium's Party is a cute little book, but I'm not so sure it's the right book to read to the little ones, the art is really cute but in a page or two maybe a little bit to out there for the little ones.

But this is a good book with great art work and cute story for any grownup or young adult that likes the work of Jill Thompson. 

Warning: Parental guidance is advised.

Rating: 9 out 10 

{Arc Review} Geek Girls Unite by Leslie Simon

Original title: Geek Girls Unite: how fangirls, bookworms, indie chicks, and other misfits are taking over the world

Publication date: October 18, 2011

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780062002730 

Synopsis

Ever feel like you are all alone in this world and nobody gets you? grow up as a fan of video games, a bookworm or just a little "strange" for society? Well Leslie Simon is here to celebrate our unique geekiness with Geek Girls Unite, this book is a celebration for all the female geeks out there.

Leslie takes us on a journey where we explore the geek queendom (because we are not interested in the type of male nerd out there, at least not in this book), the types of geekets that are out there changing and rocking this heart. Leslie has this fun way of cataloging the different types of she-geeks which include the general description, a little bit of history of those great females that made way for us, some representatives, who you might be reading/listening/or trying to imitate and she also has this adorable little section where she plays with the idea of the perfect match for every type of geeket.