Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that allows bloggers to share their top ten lists for that week’s topics

Top Ten Favorite Top Ten Books I've Read So Far in 2015

10. Becoming Josephine - Heather Webb

9. Another Day - David Levithan

8. Lord of Slaughter - M.D. Lachlan

7. We'll Never be Apart - Emiko Jean

6. The Wicked Will Rise - Danielle Paige

5. Every Day - David Levithan

4. Soundless - Richelle Mead

3. The Ruby Circle - Richelle Mead

2. Perilous Sea - Sherry Thomas

1. Burning Sky - Sherry Thomas

Short Story Sunday

Inappropriate Behavior
by Pat Murphy

Review

This story had the potential to be great but it really fell short.  I've been listening to my back log of Escape Pod episodes, so I've been picking and choosing which ones to post here, pretty much whichever ones stand out to me.  Usually it's the really good ones that I want to write about.  This one however, bothered me so much, I can't get it out of my head and the more I think about it the more I dislike it.  It's about an autistic girl who remotely operates a cockroach machine on a deserted island when a man is shipwrecked there and she's the only thing that can save his life.  When the story begins the reader has no clue that the cockroach is an autistic girl, that's discovered later in.  And when it is revealed, boy does the author bash it over your head.

I think the thing that bothered me the most about the story was when Annie, the cockroach girl, asked Evan, the shipwrecked man, to tell her a story.  This happens twice, and the stories were Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk.  Now these stories pretty much everyone in Western society knows.  The few that don't know these stories are too young to comprehend them.  That being said, why did Murphy feel the need to retell this within his story?  Here's why - it was an excuse to bash Annie's autism over your head a little bit more.  Let's take a characters actions from a story then examine their every action and decide if it was something Annie would do or if it was a NT action (a term that was constantly used that bothered me just as much as these retellings).  She decided that Cinderella wasn't NT (aka Cinderella was autistic) because being forced to live on a cot in the kitchen was nice, and going to a ball wasn't, and marrying a prince was just about the worst thing ever.  Annie got upset over the ending because it wasn't what Cinderella would've wanted, she wanted to go back to her filthy cot in the soot of the kitchen.

I get that the Murphy was trying to make a point about autism and try to get people to understand it better through a story, but really, this was the absolute worst way to go about doing it.  I know plenty of autistic people, I haven't met one that I didn't like.  Sure they act a little odd, but once you get used to their peculiarities they're great people.  That being said, Annie was 100% unlikable.  I felt awful for Evan, of all the island he could be stuck on he was on one with her.  She cared more about fiddler crabs having rocks then she did about another person's life.  The only character worse than her was her doctor.  A quack through and through.

I think one thing that made me hate this story as much as I did was the narration.  Usually  when i don't like a narrator I put up with it (the beauty of listening to 30 minute short stories on audio) then promptly forget about it, because either the story was so awesome it made up for the bad narration, or because the story was so unmemorable that the bad narration faded into obscurity just as quickly as the story did.  This story was narrated by MJ Cogburn.  Listening to her read felt like listening to a 9 year old trying to read (and I'm being very generous there).  She paused in all the wrong places, she had extreme difficulty pronouncing simple words. She stumbled over easy sentences, it was torturous to listen to.  She made a bad story drag on twice as long as it needed to.  I don't know if she herself has issues reading aloud, or if it was a decision for the character.  If it was a decision it was poorly executed, Evan and Annie had the same bland toneless slow narration, and if it were done because of Annie, it made her sound like autism wasn't her only problem.

This story gets my lowest rating 1/10.  The only enjoyable part of listening to it was Alasdair's intro and outro.  I first listened to this story on Escape Pod.  The full story is posted there as well, I recommend reading it over listening to it, but I really don't recommend you do either.  Instead just go to the next episode, That Other Sea, it's so much better!

Charming

by Elliott James

Summary From GoodReads

John Charming isn't your average Prince...

He comes from a line of Charmings — an illustrious family of dragon slayers, witch-finders and killers dating back to before the fall of Rome. Trained by a modern day version of the Knights Templar, monster hunters who have updated their methods from chainmail and crossbows to kevlar and shotguns, he was one of the best. That is — until he became the abomination the Knights were sworn to hunt.

That was a lifetime ago. Now, he tends bar under an assumed name in rural Virginia and leads a peaceful, quiet life. One that shouldn't change just because a vampire and a blonde walked into his bar... Right? 

Thoughts on the Book

I got this book as an ARC from BEA a few years back and finally got around to reading it.  It wasn't at all what I thought it would be, I was expecting some sort of fairy tale retelling, it wasn't that at all.

My Review

This story is about a half-werewolf knight who meets a Valkyrie and they end up working together with a small group of other humans, psychics, and a Naga to eliminate a dangerous vampire hive.   

This book was a lot of fun. It was told from John's point of view, which was interesting.  He's not your typical protagonist.  I love how he would be relating events, dialog especially, then all of a sudden you're like no way he/she said that! Then John immediately follows it up with something like "well, that's what I wanted to say" or "well, that's what she meant, but she really just glared at me".

There were twists and turns, some unexpected, some completely expected but you couldn't believe the character was actually that dumb to go through with it.  There was a lot of lore mixed into the story, and some interesting other supernatural creatures.  It was just enough of a taste of the world to get you sucked in and wanting to know more about other creatures, not so typical creatures like vampires.

I also loved some of the pop culture references too.  They weren't obvious at all, but if you were in the know they were pretty great.  At one point John referenced Vampire Diaries and their use of vervain against vampires.  He said that they called it that instead of its proper name of verbena, but that's not entirely correct, the French for verbena is vervain, it wasn't a name change for the show.  There were a couple other things here and there that I knew to be incorrect (like how the Vietnamese war tunnels actually look - they did not describe them correctly at all, and the verbena/vervain thing) but it didn't take away from the story.  And to be fair, normal people wouldn't pick up on those.  I mean seriously, how many western tourists have ventured to Vietnam to crawl through one of the Viet Kong's tunnels?  Not many (if you are in any way shape or form claustrophobic I don't recommend it! The tunnels that they enlarged for the Russians barely fit a normal sized westerner, and they're twice the size of the normal untouched tunnels).  And how many Vampire Diary fans actually looked up what vervain was?  I'm guessing I'm one of the few complete nerds who even cared what it was to go through the trouble.

All in all I give this book an 8/10.  Great story, great characters, some non-believable parts, and it took a little bit to really get into it.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating.

This week I am waiting on Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (October 6, 2015)

Summary from GoodReads

Rainbow Rowell continues to break boundaries with Carry On, an epic fantasy following the triumphs and heartaches of Simon and Baz from her beloved bestseller Fangirl.

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.

Why I'm Waiting

I’m a fan of Rowell, and FanGirl is one of my favorite YA books, so to finally be able to read Cath’s fanfic, it’s going to be amazing!  I’m also a huge fan of Harry Potter (seriously, my blog is a badger, I’m obviously a Hufflepuff J), so I really can’t wait to see what Rowell did with Simon Snow, what similarities she has between her Snow-verse and the Potter-verse.  I’m really hoping on some sort of amazingly done commentary on the Harry Potter craze, or at least a kick ass parody that’s not obviously a parody.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that allows bloggers to share their top ten lists for that week’s topics

Top Ten Favorite Top Ten Topics We've Ever Done in the Past 5 Years

10. Book Quotes
This is such a cool topic, there are some quotes that get posted all over the place because they're so great ("I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly then all at once" or "all who wander are not lost").  But there are so many other amazing quotes from books that tend to get overshadowed.

9. Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines

I love me a good heroine (Aerin from The Hero and the Crown is the first kick-ass heroine that comes to mind) and there's so many to choose from now! Yay modern literature!

8. Books I'd Want on a Deserted Island

This category is pretty awesome, not only do you have to think of a great story that you love, but one that will stand up to multiple re-reads without getting old

7. Authors who Deserve Recognition

There are so many amazing authors out there that are totally underrated, this is a great TTT to give them some recognition

6. Books I was "forced" to Read

There's many a book that I was forced to read in school.  Surprisingly most I loved, some I hated (cough-Heminway-and-Hawthorn-cough).  One (Brave New World by Aldous Huxley) I hated when forced to read it in high school, yet a year later when it appeared on the assignment sheet to read fora college class I forced myself to read it again (mostly because it was my crush's favorite book and he was shocked I didn't like it) and I found that I loved it.  It's always interesting to see what books you find that you love after they're thrust upon you.

5. Most Unique  Books I've Read

I love this TTT, so many books follow the same overarching plot: dystopian society where a young girl fights to overcome the system, girl finds herself stuck with one guy when she truly loves another and has to fight to be able to be with the one she wants, etc.  A unique book is more rare to come by but when you find one it's usually awesome

4. Books I Read Before I was a Blogger

This is pretty much your favorite books from your childhood through your college years, at least that's the range for people my age, the younger bloggers it's pretty much childhood.  Either way it's fun to see what amazing books stuck with you all through the years.

3. Romances in Books

Romances in books is one of the reasons why I love reading so much.  Not even the steamy stuff, just the love stuff.  PG romance, love pure and simple.  It's fantastic, the great loves withstand time, just look at Elizabeth and Darcy.  Their love is so great there are countless adaptations of it and it never, ever gets old.

2. Favorite Covers

That old adage "don't judge a book by it's cover" is crock.  I picked out Watership Down based purely on it's cover and it's my favorite book.  I read Cinder based on its cover and I love that series.  Covers are very important.  True, some great series can shine through their awful covers (Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, I'm looking at you), but typically if the cover isn't great the potential reader probably won't pick up the book.  Some cover artists even go all out with reading the book and tying in themes of the book into the cover, making the cover an extension of the book.  And sometimes they try do to that and fail miserably.

1. Fictional Crushes

This is my absolute favorite category.  I was trying to think of my top ten crushes, and really only came up with four (I could convince myself to go to 6, but I really prefer Etienne and Josh with Anna and Isla respectively).  I also realized that I love minor characters, not the main ones everyone should be in love with.  Dimitri? Psht, Christian is sooo much better. (Vampire Academy).  Haakan? Yeah, he's pretty awesome, but Thorliff, yeah, that's who I crush on (shh, I know it started when he was 5, he grew up to be totally hot and awesome). (Red River to the North, etc.)  

Another Day

by David Levithan

Summary from GoodReads

The eagerly anticipated companion to David Levithan’s New York Times bestseller Every Day

In this enthralling companion to his New York Times bestseller Every Day, David Levithan (co-author of Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green) tells Rhiannon’s side of the story as she seeks to discover the truth about love and how it can change you.

Every day is the same for Rhiannon. She has accepted her life, convinced herself that she deserves her distant, temperamental boyfriend, Justin, even established guidelines by which to live: Don’t be too needy. Avoid upsetting him. Never get your hopes up.

Until the morning everything changes. Justin seems to see her, to want to be with her for the first time, and they share a perfect day—a perfect day Justin doesn’t remember the next morning. Confused, depressed, and desperate for another day as great as that one, Rhiannon starts questioning everything. Then, one day, a stranger tells her that the Justin she spent that day with, the one who made her feel like a real person . . . wasn’t Justin at all. 

Thoughts on the Book

After meeting Richelle Mead at BEA my friend Nori really wanted to meet David Levithan and get this book, then we were going to head home after the exhausting two days we had in New York.  I was debating going with her, I pretty much had had it with lines at that point, and I was hemming and hawing over wanting this book since it was a sequel.  Then she started telling me about Every Day and it dawned on me that she had recommended it to me a few years ago after she had read it when it first came out.  At that point I decided, sure, if I get this one I definitely won't forget about Every Day again and I'll actually read it because it did sound really cool (it had slipped way down on my TBR list).  I hadn't gotten it out of my mind since BEA, so when I had to go on a plane to Minneapolis I decided to load it up on my kindle, grab Zeroes since that was the next book I wanted to read and I went to the airport.  I finished Every Day while still in the air, I picked up Zeroes and immediately put it down, cursing myself for leaving Another Day sitting nicely on my BEA pile.  I almost finished Zeroes on the flight home so the next day I finished it them promptly picked up Another Day.

My Review

Another Day isn't really a sequel, it's more of a companion, or a retelling from the other perspective.  It tells the exact same story as Every Day, except from Rhiannon's perspective.  It paints a fuller picture of the events and it's nice to see how Rhiannon reacts to A, and how much he/she affects her.

I didn't like this one as much as Every Day.  Even while reading that one I didn't particularly like Rhiannon, there was just something about her that put me off.  A on the other hand I loved, so it was the fact that it was all Rhiannon and little bits of A  which made me not like Another Day quite as much.

I really enjoyed seeing the other side of Justin, the side that Rhiannon saw and loved, or, saw and put up with.  I also enjoyed meeting her friends for real, Preston is great, as is Rebecca.  I love how much she cares about Rhiannon, I just wish Rhiannon had listened to all her friends.  When everyone you know is telling you that your boyfriend is a dick and you can do so much better than him, you really should stop and take in what they're saying, there's truth to it.  I loved Ben at the football game, when he told Rhiannon she was living in Justin's shadow.  There was no "I told you so" and no coddling, just the fact that she wasn't herself, and she should always be herself, no matter what.

The one thing I loved about Rhiannon was how real she was.  A was the person we all should strive to be, the enlightened one.  Love everyone for who they truly are, not what they look like.  Whereas Rhiannon is the person we all are.  She tried to be open and accepting of everyone; she never really disliked anyone based on their appearance or gender, but she couldn't force herself to be attracted to them.  When A was a girl, Rhiannon couldn't be with her, or when A was a hairy metal head guy or an extremely fat guy, Rhiannon couldn't be with him, it wasn't what she was attracted to even though she loved the person.  She berated herself for it, but also accepted it, she couldn't change herself and it wasn't fair to A.

The ending I both love and hate.  It made me love Every Day's ending much more, I think I understood A's motives more after seeing Rhiannon's side of things.  I love that Alexander is awesome, he's so cute the next morning!  But I hate Rhiannon.  She's horrible.  A is inserted into some one's life every day and tries to leave it as unscathed as possible.  Rhiannon doesn't care about that, she's selfish, she only cares about what she wants, even though she's undecided on exactly what she wants.

I give this book a 9/10.  It was awesome, but I really just don't like Rhiannon, of all people why did A fall for her?  I don't get it.  It was going to be a solid 10/10 for me right up until those last eight sentences.  Ugh.

Short Story Sunday

Thirty Seconds from Now
by John Chu

Review

This was such a great story.  It's about a boy who can see the future, or rather, every possibility the future holds.  It's a story about him falling in love, getting his heart broken, surviving college, and the story in its entirety is told before it even happens.  The story begins and ends at the same time.  Scott sitting on the floor, juggling with his dorm room door ajar.

I love the possibilities that Scott sees, I love how Tony is so persistent with what he wants.  I love how Scott sees how everything will turn out and yet he decides to let it happen.  I love how you only know part of the story, and will never know how it ends, or how key things happen, because for the entirety of the story Scott is sitting on his dorm room floor.

This story was a lot of fun.  I give it a 10/10.  

I listened to this one on Escape Pod it was narrated by Joel Kenyon, who did an excellent job with it.  I highly recommend listening to it, but if you're not into that the full text is posted in the same place.

Zeroes

by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti

Summary From GoodReads

Ethan, aka "Scam," has a way with words. When he opens his mouth, whatever he wants you to hear comes out. But Ethan isn't just a smooth talker. He has a unique ability to say things he doesn't consciously even know. Sometimes the voice helps, but sometimes it hurts - like now, when the voice has lied and has landed Ethan in a massive mess. So now Ethan needs help. And he needs to go to the last people who would ever want to help him - his former group of friends, the self-named "zeros" who also all possess similarly double-edged abilities, and who are all angry at Ethan for their own respective reasons. Brought back together by Scam's latest mischief, they find themselves entangled in an epic, whirlwind adventure packed with as much interpersonal drama as mind-bending action.

Thoughts on the Book

This was one of the books I wanted the most at BEA.  I loved Westerfeld's series, Midnighters, Uglies, and Leviathan.  I also really enjoyed Evolution's Darling, one of Westerfeld's adult novels, despite it's weirdness (it was very weird), and everyone of his short stories that I've read.  I was so excited to start reading this book.

My Review

Zeroes starts with Scam trying to get a ride home.  He ends up getting out of a bad situation into a worse situation, then because of that into an even worse situation.  The entire book revolved around saving Scam, his voice kept getting him into deeper and deeper trouble while his former friends, a haphazard group of self-proclaimed "zeroes" (since they weren't heroes) saved him.

The main problem with this book is that Scam was completely and utterly unlikable.  I honestly did not care about him at all, I get that he had to deal with the voice and try to not get in trouble.  But he's had it since he was 2, he was 16 in the book, you would think he would've figured something out by that point, 14 years of dealing with the voice trying to get him what he wanted.  He should've been more careful with wanting things.  The book starts with Scam out on a date that he apparently didn't want, but the voice got him into it and in order to get out of it he lied to her then felt like in order to get home he had to lie to someone to get a ride.  This was his logic, instead of ending the date and getting a ride home from the girl he ditched her to scam people.  For no reason what-so-ever.

The second main character, Mob, was slightly more likable than Scam, but again instead of doing anything with her life at all, even in the smallest tiniest bit - get an after school job to earn a little cash to help out her dad she loved so much, she went to clubs to dance instead.

As for the rest of the Zeroes, Nate was just as bad and unlikable as Scam and Mob, he was a selfish jerk, a born politician.  He manipulated absolutely everyone around him for the stupidest things, like finding a folder.  There were no redeeming qualities about him.  But there was also Crash, who stood up for herself and really cared about what she could do and tried her best to not harm others, and when she did she did her best to never do it again and to make it right.  Flicker was also a great character, right from when you first met her, she really cared about people and had her own serious issues to deal with, which she did, unlike Scam and Mob "dealing" with their issues.  There was one more character...I think...I thought I had a favorite...hmm.  I guess it was just Flicker's imaginary boyfriend Nothing that I'm thinking of.  Anon was by far my favorite character, I found myself hoping each chapter was would be one of his, only to be disappointed when it was anyone else, aside from Flicker.

The main driving force of the story was Scam's stupid mistakes that got more and more ridiculous.  And the ending screamed Veronica Mars to me, Thumper?  Old Shark Field?  Complete ripoff.  Every time the story got back to the main plot points I was just wishing for more of Anon's story or more of Flicker's.  Even if the main story was told more through their perspectives I think I would have enjoyed this book more.  The only enjoyable perspective of the main story was Crash's perspective (since Flicker and Anon really didn't focus on Scam's bs).

The story ended the exact same way as it started. The only character that actually grew at all was Crash, but even she, with all of her determination to leave Nate and his manipulative ways, she came right back and is a happy member of the group again.  But despite all of this I did actually enjoy the book.  It was engaging, and while I didn't care about half of the characters, I kept reading for Anon, and to a lesser extent, Flicker.  I really hope the sequel focuses on him.

I give this book a 7/10.  While not spectacular, having bland awful characters, and a less than interesting plot, the subplots and more minor characters really drove this book.

Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat to the Stars

by Constance Lombardo

Summary From GoodReads

In this hilarious illustrated adventure meet Mr. Puffball, a medium-size feline with a big dream! With amazing humor that appeals to both kids and adults as well as funny illustrations throughout the story, Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat to the Stars is perfect for dreamers, movie buffs, and fans of Timmy Failure and Stick Dog.

He's a hero for today. Or possibly tomorrow. He's a cat. He's awesome. And . . . wait for it . . . he's going to Hollywood to become a famous movie star! Follow Mr. Puffball on his trip cross-country. (Look at all the postcards to Mom!) See him stumble upon Hobowood! (Not as glamorous as Hollywood, but full of beans.) Watch him land at last in Hollywood, where he meets a cast of thousands (or at least half a dozen) and catapults himself into the next best thing to being a famous movie star: working as a stunt cat to his movie star hero, El Gato!

Thoughts on the Book

This is another ARC I had grabbed at BEA.  I had walked by the table and my friend showed me a different book she had grabbed from the table so I ran back to get that one and saw Mr. Puffball next to it and just couldn't resist grabbing a copy, so glad I did!

My Review

This story is about a kitten, Mr. Puffball, who dreams of being an actor.  At the age of 14 months (he's no longer a kitten and old enough to make his own decisions!) he leaves his New Jersey home travel to Hollywood.  The trip is detailed in postcards that he sends back to his mother.  Then once he arrives in Hollywood it's all about him trying to make it in the business and meeting his heroes.

This book was really cute, and I absolutely loved the illustrations.  The story itself was funny, but adding in the silly illustrations just made it that much better.  I loved the postcards that were sent to his mother, the address cracked me up, Little Yellow House, NJ, USA, it's amazing that his mother received the postcards.  How Mr. Puffball wrote her name changed with each postcard too, some were just My Mom, others were more along the lines of Mom of Mr. Puffball.

I also loved all the pop culture references turned cat, like Hairy Purrer, Catsablanca, The Sound of Meowsic, and Tabby Gaga to name a few. 

Despite all of the silliness of the book the story was told beautifully, the boring parts were cut from being in prose and a picture or two (or several) outlined what had happened.  Lessons in form of a game board, cross country travel in form of a few postcards, the course of filming detailed in brief  descriptions and illustrations of stunts.

The only thing I wasn't completely enamored with was how Mr. Puffball never realized how truly horrible El Gato was to him, his friends saw it, but Mr. Puffball never did, even after he realized that El Gato wasn't as nice and wonderful as he first thought.

The morals of the book were also really good, especially for the age group it's aimed for.  Mean people have a reason why they're mean, give them a chance before completely ruling them off.  Heroes don't always live up to the pedestal we put them on, but that doesn't mean that they're not worthy of being our hero.  Just because something is difficult, or seems impossible, or you fail after a brief success don't give up, keep trying and you just may make it.   

All in all I give this book a 9/10.  This book was great, everything you could want out of a kids book, humor, good lessons, and a lovable cast.  

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating.

This week I am waiting on Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas (July 2, 2015)

Summary From Good Reads

In a stunning literary debut, two boys on opposite ends of the world begin an unlikely friendship that will change their lives forever.

Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker. Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.

A story of impossible friendship and hope under strange circumstances, this debut is powerful, dark and humorous in equal measure. These extraordinary voices bring readers into the hearts and minds of two special boys who, like many teens, are just waiting for their moment to shine.

Why I'm Waiting

This book sounds really interesting,  I love how a modern relationship is being forged through letters.  Remember having pen-pals?  The excitement of getting a letter from your friend in the mail.  I'm really looking forward to reading this book, to see modern kids bond through the written word.  More specifically the written word not on a computer or phone screen.  There's something magical about receiving a long letter, maybe it's because more thought went into it than typing up an email, or you let more of yourself show then having a texting conversation.  I can't wait to see what Leah Thomas does with this.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that allows bloggers to share their top ten lists for that week’s topics

Top Ten Books on My TBR For Summer 2015

10. Rodin's Lover - Heather Webb

I went to Asia with one of Heather Webb's best friends last year, and one of her former students (one of my best friends) recommended her books to me since I'm such a history/French geek.  I read Becoming Josephine earlier this year and it was awesome, so I'm really excited to read this one.  Especially since I love Rodin so much more than I liked Napoleon.

9. The Wishing Boy - Emma Maxwell McCone

I got this book at BEA and I keep wanting to pick it up, but I keep grabbing other books first (Soundless, Zeroes, Mr. Puffball).  This one looks so cool, lots of Irish history 

8. Illuminae - Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Yet another book I stumbled upon at BEA.  I had heard nothing about this book and when I showed it to my friend she immediately was like WHERE?!?!?!?! And Nori's recommendations have almost never steered me wrong (only about 3 of the hundreds of books I've read because of her I've been less than thrilled with).  So, I'm really excited to read this one, and I'm seriously hoping it's not more of the horridly bad science that tends to be put in YA Sci-Fi (I'm looking at you Divergent)

7. City Love - Susane Colasanti

I honestly don't know much about this book, I've yet to read the back flap and I keep reaching for it from my BEA piles.  The cover is just so pretty.

6. Dumplin' - Julie Murphy

I've been wanting to read this book since Nori posted it as a Waiting on Wednesday a few months back.  It sounds like a lot of fun and an empowering book.  I can't wait to read it!

5. Tonight the Streets are Ours - Leila Sales

Another BEA pick.  I've never read Leila Sales before, but I've been hearing nothing but good things about This Song Will Save Your Life so I'm really excited to read this one.

4. Valkyrie's Song - M.D. Lachlan

I was able to pre-order this one, so I'm planning to not be in the middle of a book come July 3rd...I really hope The Dinosaur Lords isn't too terribly long...I can't wait to read more of this series, so far it's been so awesome, and really done an excellent job with staying mostly true to Viking history and Norse Mythology.

3. The Dinosaur Lords - Victor Milán

 If you haven't been able to tell by now, I'm really excited for this book.  I can't wait for it to come out!

2. Lord of Slaughter - M.D. Lachlan

I had been waiting for this book to be released in the States, but it never happened, so I ended up buying it from a seller in the UK, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.  The first two (Wolfsangel and Fenrir) were awesome, and I'm really excited to read this one, especially since Valkyrie's Song is coming out this summer!

1. Another Day - David Levithan

 I got this book at BEA.  I wanted to meet David Levithan because I loved Will Grayson, Will Grayson.  I almost didn't bother getting it since it was a sequel, but I'm so glad I did.  I got Every Day last week for my kindle and went to read it on the plane ride to Minnesota.  I also grabbed Zeroes since that was the book I really wanted to read.  I started Every Day first since it was smaller, and I've been kicking myself for not bring Another Day.  But now I'm home and almost done with Zeroes, and will probably have started this one by the time this post goes live.