My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman
Main Characters: Roz, Eva, Bryan, Andie, Nico, Johnathon
Summary:
Roz and Eva are sisters, close friends, and fierce rivals. Roz fantasizes about snagging the lead in the school play and landing sexy skate god Bryan as her boyfriend. Sadly, a few obstacles stand between her and her dreams. For one, Eva is the more talented actress. And Bryan happens to be Eva’s boyfriend. But is Eva having a secret love affair with a girl? Inquiring minds need to know.
Anna’s Thoughts
I have a sister (
nah, you don’t say). I also have a best friend. The subject in those two statements are one in the same. In that way I can relate to much of what Roz is feeling with her sister. At some point, although it’s easy to remain close, you also grow apart, it’s simply a part of life. You go from stuffed animals and movies to boyfriends and… movies. Now, we’re not the huggy-huggy tell-you-anything type family, but I know without a doubt if there was something I had to tell someone, or needed to trust someone with, I could go to her. Which is what completely breaks my heart about
My Invented Life: The fact that Eva doesn’t think she can trust Roz.
The beginning of
My Invented Life is cute, sarcastic, and filling to the brim with sibling rivalry. The middle is full of mystery and Shakespeare. And the end is a tear jerking conclusion full of sibling revelations and self-discovery (and more Shakespeare). The plot was a tiny bit confusing at some points, and when Roz and Eva are talking to each other I got lost in who was saying what. Speaking of Roz and Eva, I love them so much. They are such believable teenagers, as well as believable sisters. I loved most of the side characters as well, and one thing I can say that everyone will get once they read it: I did not expect Bryan to be that way. I also absolutely LOVED the Shakespearean insults. They’re so ridiculous sounding, it makes it even better and even funnier, and makes it easy to turn a heavier scene into a lighter one. It’s weird to hear (read?) someone insult someone else and want to laugh.
The only problem with
My Invented Life is that there doesn’t seem to be one clear shot of conscious plot. There is the main story line, which is Roz trying to figure out if her sister is in fact a lesbian. Other then that though the story is all over the place. It’s hard sometimes to realize when something is taking place, as it switches between being at home one day to being at school the next a lot through the paragraphs. Without a divider or a bigger break between those paragraphs the days get jumbled together.
I also was surprised to see a mentioning of Matthew Shepard in
My Invented Life. I am glad that people are not forgetting what happened to him, and that they’re still (somewhat, even inadvertently) raising awareness for the absolute horrid things that happened, and that things like that can be prevented. I grew up with a ton of gay/lesbian/bi friends -guys and girls- and I am SO glad I was raised in a family, and in a town where I am free to be who I am no matter what that might be.
Over all though it was a fun story with plenty of twist and turns, I loved the characters, the plot -although sometimes confusing- was interesting and the writing was great. Lauren Bjorkman definitely has a new fan, and I absolutely can’t wait until her next book,
Miss Fortune Cookie, in 2011.
About the Author:
Lauren Bjorkman grew up on a sailboat, sharing the tiny forecastle with her sister and the sail bags. She now lives in Taos, New Mexico, with her husband and two young sons. This is her first book.
Visit Lauren’s site to find out more about her and My Invented Life
You can also find out more about Matthew Shepard at
Wikipedia or via the
Matthew Shepard Foundation.
Waiting On Wednesday (4)
I am pretty sure that every single person who reads YA is looking forward to this book. First of all, I love the whole Angel thing trend going on right now, and secondly it just sounds so incredibly intriguing, and slightly heartbreaking!
Fallen by Lauren Kate
Seventeen-Year-Old Luce is a new student at Sword & Cross, an unwelcoming boarding/reform school in Savannah, Georgia. Luce’s boyfriend died under suspicious circumstances, and now she carries the guilt over his death with her as she navigates the unfriendly halls at Sword & Cross, where every student seems to have an unpleasant—even evil—history.
It’s only when she sees Daniel, a gorgeous fellow student, that Luce feels there’s a reason to be here—though she doesn’t know what it is. And Daniel’s frosty cold demeanor toward her? It’s really a protective device that he’s used again . . . and again. For Daniel is a fallen angel, doomed to fall in love with the same girl every 17 years . . . and watch her die. And Luce is a fellow immortal, cursed to be reincarnated again and again as a mortal girl who has no idea of who she really is.
Wicked Lovely Movie!
I seriously doubt that anyone hasn’t heard the news but just in case I thought I would post it! The news was released over on
Variety, and here is what the small article said:
Universal Pictures has acquired screen rights to “Wicked Lovely,” the bestselling first book in a fantasy series written by Melissa Marr that will see its fourth installment published next year by Harper Collins.
The studio bought the book to be produced by Wild West Picture Show Prods., and has hired “Edward Scissorhands” scribe Caroline Thompson to adapt it.
Wild West is Vince Vaughn’s U-based shingle.
The protagonist is a 17-year-old girl who can see fairies, and must fend off the advances of a fairy king determined to marry her to save the planet from his vengeful mother.
CAA brokered the book deal with Writers House and ICM reps Thompson.
I am SO excited! Congrats to Melissa, and I’m sure it will be absolutely… Lovely!
The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki
Main Characters: Eddie, Harris, Maggie
Summary:
What if the monsters from your favorite horror books were real?
Eddie Fennicks has always been a loner, content to lose himself in a mystery novel by his favorite author, Nathaniel Olmstead. That’s why moving to the small town of Gatesweed becomes a dream come true when Eddie discovers that Olmstead lived there before mysteriously disappearing thirteen years ago. Even better, Eddie finds a handwritten, never-before-seen Nathaniel Olmstead book printed in code and befriends Harris, who’s as much an Olmsteady as he is. But then the frightening creatures of Olmstead’s books begin to show up in real life, and Eddie’s dream turns into a nightmare. Eddie, Harris, and their new friend, Maggie, must break Olmstead’s code, banish all gremlins and monster lake-dogs from the town of Gatesweed, and solve the mystery of the missing author, all before Eddie’s mom finishes writing her own tale of terror and brings to life the scariest creature of all.
Anna’s Thoughts
I know absolutely nothing about Dan Poblocki, but I am pretty certain that if I told you he is a big fan of either R.L. Stine or Christopher Pike, I would not be wrong. And in the same fashion that R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike became known for being able to scare the pants off of people, I think Dan Poblocki will also succeed.
The Stone Child is a creepy mystery ride that had me up into the wee hours of the night, wondering WHY I was up in the wee hours of the night reading such a creepy book, and being incredibly thankful it’s impossible to read in the dark.
Eddie, Harris, and Maggie are believable kids with wild imaginations, that are way more daring and chance taking then I have ever been, that’s for sure (Not to mention probably smarter too). The plot is… interesting. The general outline of the plot is exciting and suspenseful, but once you get into it and actually get to the core of the story
The Stone Child covers a few things that I honestly didn’t suspect I would see inside of a YA book. BUT! That does not make it inappropriate for kids or teens, it’s very appropriate, and in fact if I had kids, or knew any that could read and enjoyed suspense and mystery, this would be the first thing I would recommend them. It gives a good history on it’s subject and even informed me of somethings I didn’t know, which is awesome seeing as it’s main ‘bad guy’ is one of my favourite history subjects. I could technically tell you what it is without spoiling anything, but I was caught off guard, and I think the best way to read it is to not know, BUT if you do want to know here’s a hint for you on what the subject is:
Lilith Hmm… Whatever could that mean?
All in all, I really loved this story, and I think given enough promotion could become a classic mystery suspense for teens. I was excited to read it, and even after reading it I’m still excited about it.
The Stone Child did not disappoint. However, I may in fact have to learn to sleep with my lights on, because I do not want to think about the main question the story is based around:
What if the monsters from your favorite horror books were real? Because honestly? Watching Child’s Play on T.V. is horrifying enough, I don’t need to go face to face with the little demon doll.
How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier
Main Characters: Charlie, Rochelle, Fiorenze, Stefan.
Summary:
Welcome to New Avalon, where everyone has a personal fairy. Though invisible to the naked eye, a personal fairy, like a specialized good luck charm, is vital to success. And in the case of the students at New Avalon Sports High, it might just determine whether you make the team, pass a class, or find that perfect outfit. But for 14-year-old Charlie, having a Parking Fairy is worse than having nothing at all—especially when the school bully carts her around like his own personal parking pass. Enter: The Plan. At first, teaming up with arch-enemy Fiorenza (who has an All-The-Boys-Like-You Fairy) seems like a great idea. But when Charlie unexpectedly gets her heart’s desire, it isn’t at all what she thought it would be like, and she’ll have resort to extraordinary measures to ditch her fairy. The question is: will Charlie herself survive the fairy ditching experiment?
Anna’s Thoughts
When I first heard about
How to Ditch Your Fairy the first thing that popped in my head was ‘How
rude why in the world -if I had a fairy- would I want to ditch it?’ Parking fairy at Fourteen or not, eventually I WOULD learn to drive. After my initial shock (I’m serious here people… I like fairies), the book ended up sounding cute, but I still wasn’t convinced it was something I would want to read. Then
Lenore was having a contest, and that contest had this book, and a few others I wanted to read. So I entered, and I won, and out of those books this is the second one I’ve finished, and I absolutely adore it!
There is no big arc in the story, at no point did I go
Oh. My. God. That did NOT just happen, but at the same time other then a slightly slow pick up I wasn’t bored with it either. Although I think the beginning was a little extra slow because of the new words thrown in, like: spoffs, pulchy, and doos. Sure, you can read the context and sort of guess what they are, but when reading a book that uses them frequently it’s nice to KNOW what the words mean. Which is why I must say for those of you who might read it:
There is a glossary in the back of the book! I hadn’t even considered the possibility of one until I thought about how the ‘new’ words were sort of like the British slang used in the Georgia Nicholson books, and the fact that there is a glossary in the back of those books.
How to Ditch Your Fairy was cute, and presented a new question: What if there was no such thing as ‘luck,’ but instead a tiny fairy following you around that was responsible for all of your good hair days, or insanely cute clothes? The characters are, again, cute, smart, and even somewhat charming, I liked them all, and especially Charlie’s little sister Nettles. I’m pretty sure she was my favourite. Although, no matter how smart the characters were through out most of the book I’m not sure I would have went to the extreme that Charlie and Fiorenze went to get rid of their fairies, I’m quite sure at that point I would have learned to live with it a little bit. Also the use of the cliche, ‘bad girl is just misunderstood,’ was uniquely played. I wasn’t rolling my eyes thinking how typical it was, I was actually rooting for Charlie and Fiorenze’s friendship. Even though I’m still not quite sure how to pronounce Fiorenze’s name.
Other than Nettles, I think by far my favourite thing was the world that Justine managed to create, from the everyone-has-a-fairy, to the town, special types of schools, although the excessive amount of demerits would suck. Then again I would have probably been in the Arts school and not the Sports one.
The only thing I think that’s missing from the book itself is a disclaimer that states somewhere, “No fairies were hurt in the process of making this cover.” Cause guys, smashing a fairy with a hammer? That’s just mean.
The entire book presented a really interesting question though…
If you could have any fairy, which fairy would you want? Maybe a never-getting-caught fairy? A clothes-shopping fairy? A loose-change-fairy? I think personally, I would like a book-reading-fairy. You know… so I can read 10x faster and still remember everything I read perfectly.
In My Mailbox #3
In My Mailbox is hosted by
Kristi of The Story Siren – who in turn was inspired by
Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.
Okay, this week… brought a lot of books, and I WAS going to do a vlog, but my camera apparently doesn’t think I deserve for it to work, so it’s making me do this the hard way. Which isn’t so bad seeing as I love you all. So, here we go!
Contests!
This is my first ever won book contest, which is awesome. It was the contest that
Lenore held for a Bloomsbury prize pack! (Which I am so glad I got because
Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall was AWESOME). So here is what I got from
Lenore and Bloomsbury:
The Waking: Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall
Kara Foster thinks the hardest thing about moving to Japan will be fitting in as an outsider. But dark secrets are stirring at her new school. When Kara befriends Sakura, a fellow outsider whose rebellious nature sets her apart from the crowd, she learns that Sakura’s sister was the victim of an unsolved murder on school grounds. And before long, terrible things begin to happen.
It starts with nightmares – strange, otherworldly dreams that waks Kara in terror every night. Then more students turn up dead, with strange marks on their bodies. Is Sakura getting revenge on those she suspects are responsible for her sister’s death? Or has her dead sister come back to take revenge for herself?
Read Excerpt
Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors
When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother’s coffee shop, she decides to leave him a cup of coffee, a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some pastries to tide him over. Little does she know that this random act of kindness is about to turn her life upside down. Because this adorable vagrant, Malcolm, is really a guardian angel on a break between missions. And he won’t leave until he can reward Katrina’s selflessness by fulfilling her deepest desire. Now if only she could decide what that might be.
Forest Born by Shannon Hale
Rin is sure that something is wrong with her…something really bad. Something that is keeping her from feeling at home in the Forest homestead where she’s lived all her life. Something that is keeping her from trusting herself with anyone at all. When her brother Razo returns from the city for a visit, she accompanies him to the palace, hoping that she can find peace away from home. But war has come to Bayern again, and Rin is compelled to join the queen and her closest allies—magical girls Rin thinks of as the Fire Sisters—as they venture into the Forest toward Kel, the land where someone seems to want them all dead. Many beloved Bayern characters reappear in this story, but it is Rin’s own journey of discovering how to balance the good and the bad in herself that drives this compelling adventure.
Sprout by Dale Peck
How many secrets can you hide in plain sight? Sprout Bradford has a secret. It’s not what you think—he’ll tell you he’s gay. He’ll tell you about his dad’s drinking and his mother’s death. The green fingerprints everywhere tell you when he last dyed his hair. But neither the reader nor Sprout are prepared for what happens when Sprout suddenly finds he’s had a more profound effect on the lives around him than he ever thought possible. Sprout is both hilarious and gripping; a story of one boy at odds with the expected.
My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison
Finding your one true love can be a Grimm experience! After her boyfriend dumps her for her older sister, sophomore Savannah Delano wishes she could find a true prince to take her to the prom. Enter Chrissy (Chrysanthemum) Everstar: Savannah’s gum-chewing, cell phone carrying, high heel-wearing Fair Godmother. Showing why she’s only Fair because she’s not a very good fairy student, Chrissy mistakenly sends Savannah back in time to the Middle Ages, first as Cinderella, then as Snow White. Finally she sends Tristan, a boy in Savannah’s class, back instead to turn him into her prom-worthy prince. When Savannah returns to the Middle Ages to save Tristan, they must team up to defeat a troll, a dragon, and the mysterious and undeniably sexy Black Knight. Laughs abound in this clever fairy tale twist from a master of romantic comedy.
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment. As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.
How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier
Everyone in New Avalon has a fairy. Though invisible, a personal fairy is vital to success. It might determine whether you pass a math class or find the perfect outfit. But all fourteen-year-old Charlie can do is find parking spaces—and she doesn’t even drive. At first, teaming up with Fiorenza (who has an all-the-boys-like-you fairy) seems like a great idea. But when Charlie unexpectedly gets her heart’s desire, she’ll have to resort to extraordinary measures to ditch her fairy.
Traded/Bought
I got the first three from the lovely
Kristi, last one I bought!
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie’s grandmother’s abandoned home near Salem, she can’t refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest–to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge.
As the pieces of Deliverance’s harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and she begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem’s dark past then she could have ever imagined.
(
P.S. According to a note on the back of the page, Katherine Howe is actually related to two of the accused during the Salem Witch Trials, Elizabeth Howe and Elizabeth Proctor.)
I’m a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President by Josh Lieb
Twelve-year-old Oliver Watson’s got the IQ of a grilled cheese sandwich. Or so everyone in Omaha thinks. In reality, Oliver’s a mad evil genius on his way to world domination, and he’s used his great brain to make himself the third-richest person on earth! Then Oliver’s father—and archnemesis—makes a crack about the upcoming middle school election, and Oliver takes it as a personal challenge. He’ll run, and he’ll win! Turns out, though, that overthrowing foreign dictators is actually way easier than getting kids to like you. . . Can this evil genius win the class presidency and keep his true identity a secret, all in time to impress his dad?
The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki
Eddie Fennicks has always been a loner, content to lose himself in a mystery novel by his favorite author, Nathaniel Olmstead. That’s why moving to the small town of Gatesweed becomes a dream come true when Eddie discovers that Olmstead lived there before mysteriously disappearing thirteen years ago. Even better, Eddie finds a handwritten, never-before-seen Nathaniel Olmstead book printed in code and befriends Harris, who’s as much an Olmsteady as he is. But then the frightening creatures of Olmstead’s books begin to show up in real life, and Eddie’s dream turns into a nightmare. Eddie, Harris, and their new friend, Maggie, must break Olmstead’s code, banish all gremlins and monster lake-dogs from the town of Gatesweed, and solve the mystery of the missing author, all before Eddie’s mom finishes writing her own tale of terror and brings to life the scariest creature of all.
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox
Artemis’s mother has contracted a deadly disease–and the only cure lies in the brain fluid of African lemurs. Unfortunately, Artemis himself was responsible for making the lemurs extinct five years ago. Now he must enlist the aid of his fairy friends to travel back in time and save the lemur. Not only that, but he must face his deadliest foe yet: his younger self.
