March Madness

Well, not that March Madness.

But there are several bookish competitions going down in the month of March in honor of that time honored championship.

The School Library Journal's Battle of the Kids' Book - first round starts March 15th with what looks to be a hilarious match-up of various kids books battling it out for top honors. I don't know where I first heard about this one, but anytime I get to do a bracket I'm happy as a clam.

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Nerds Heart YA - A tourney for underrepresented YA novels and which....is....NOW accepting nominations through March 31. The guidelines? 

1.    Title can have no more than 15 reviews published throughout the book blogosphere
2.    Title must be either authored by or include a character within the following category:

• Person(s) of Color (POC)
• GLBT
• Disability/Mental Illness
• Religious Lifestyle
• Lower Socioeconomic Status

3.   All titles must have been published between January 1 – December 31, 2009

Wow. I am seriously looking forward to this short-list.

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DA BWAHA 2010 - How do you say man titty in French? You can bet SB Sarah and SB Wendy know. And that is why these two hilarious maidens have once again (for the third year running!) set the awsomeness that is DA BWAHA in motion. Go, fill out a bracket, spread the word and maybe even win a little something. It's all fun and games folks.

March Cookie a la Sarah Rees Brennan

Have you been keeping up with Sarah Rees Brennan's blog lately?

No?

Well you should.

Why, you ask?

Well, for little cookies like this one of course...

Out and About

For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of red-hot bookish links I've come across lately. Enjoy!

~ The Book Smugglers have kicked off their Steampunk Week with some very fun things. And like everything else those two marvy girls do, it's in-depth and just frickin' hilarious. New to the whole Steampunk craze? Then this is the event for you my friend. Strap on some goggles and see what all the fuss is about.

~ As long as we're on the on the subject, take a look at this new cover for Gail Carriger's third Alexia Tarabotti novel titled Blameless. Soulless was just pure Victorian-Vampire fun and I am still anticipating reading Changeless, but for now, I'm in serious love with this wine-colored, shadowy London.

~ Leave it to Katiebabs at Babbling About Books, and More! to write one of the best posts on The Respect Entitled Between a Reader and an Author in the wake of some less than professional conduct on a particular author's part. It's a thinker.

~ And just because I have many similar feelings on the matter, be sure not to miss out on Adele's - that would be the Persnickety Snark to you - very succinctly put thoughts on Virtual Book Tours. Yes and yes.

Tap & Gown by Diana Peterfreund

I hereby confess: It has taken me waaaay too long to finally read this book.

Amy and the Diggers have been through some truly rough spots in the past year. When her previous class decided to include girls in their age-old Boys Only club, they knew it was gonna be a bumpy road, but I don't think they ever imagined the sheer chaos in store. So you can imagine my glee when I (finally) picked up Tap & Gown - I never know what's going to happen next with Amy but heavens above, I completely trust Diana Peterfreund to get me there.

Graduation is looming hard and fast for Ivy Leaguer Amy Haskell and unfortunately for her, whereas most of her fellow Rose & Grave brothers have already nailed down their education/career plans, Amy's future couldn't be more hazy. As in trying to find a ray of sunshine in a hurricane hazy. Though of course our heroine doesn't necessarily have time to sit around and worry about what's in store seeing as she still has to submit one senior thesis and help choose the next class of Diggers. Both of which seem a lot easier to accomplish on paper. On top of her academic and society worries, Amy is trying to figure out just where her newly-established (yet truly goofy-grin inspiring) relationship with a certain fella will go. Not to mention that's she's stressed and still a little traumatized from the events of Spring Break (having someone try to kidnap you will do that to a girl), but Amy is determined to continue full steam ahead in true Bugaboo fashion. Though of course no Digger event or ceremony can ever be complete without a healthy dose of secrets, drama, and sometimes even a hint of danger...so why should Tap night be any different?

Finishing off this last book in Diana Peterfreund's Secret Society Girl series was a touch bittersweet. Fully awesome and everything and nothing I expected, but bittersweet none the less. I've been meaning to finish this series for months now and then Angie posted such a slpendiferous account of the books during Literary Love that I finally broke down, bought the thing, read it and then proceeded to pass it on to everyone I know. Knowing of course, that it was my last glimpse at Amy and her time at Eli.

Even though I did miss the less-society-centric drama of Rites of Spring (Break), I could not help but sink right back into Amy and the Drama Diggers. It must go without saying that the most anticipated part of this novel was Amy's time with the men-folk. Because, frankly, Diana Peterfreund has done such a bang up job of making me love, nay adore, each and every one of Amy's love interests in their time. First there was Brandon - the uber-smart, yet totally chill boy-next-door that I couldn't stop sighing over. Then came George Harrison Prescott with his sexy smile and bad boy persona: let's just go ahead and say that George is too delicious. And finally we moved onto Poe... *sigh* Poe of the lifesavers, Poe who signs his notes 'Pajamie,' and Poe who has more loyalty in his little finger than anyone in the entire Rose & Grave society combined. sigh And he has nice shoulders. I love the man. I do.

Another little reason I wholeheartedly recommend this series is because Diana Peterfreund is forever dropping little references to things that happened in the previous books. Things that usually meant a great deal when they initally happened, but then will only get a slight mention later on (none of this going back and explaining in full detail why X is so dang important stuff). So unless you are privileged enough to know the whole story,  you would miss out on all that added depth and meaning to many a scene. I'm a big fan of when authors do that. It makes me feel like I'm part of a secret club and I want to run around and ask everyone "did you notice this teeny-tiny part? did ya?" to see if they too caught on. Genius.

I hereby confess: I didn't want it to end.

series reading order:
~ Secret Society Girl - my review
~ Under the Rose - my review
~ Rites of Spring (Break) - my review
~ Tap & Gown

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Angieville review 
Me & My Books review 
Not Enough Bookshelves review
Reading and Ruminations review

book source: purchased

Cover Alert: Bright Young Things

Anna Godbersen must have some sort of devious pact with the devil in order to snag the most dazzling covers for her books. Srsly. Those ginormously beautiful dresses from The Luxe series? Sumptuously superb. And now this shiny piece of 1920s perfection will ensure that I pick up her latest, Bright Young Things, as soon as I possibly can - even if that means I have to wait until October for its release...

The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay

After divorcing her childhood sweetheart and trying to raise a somewhat precocious daughter about to enter that feared stage known as “teenager” Charlie Madigan has had a rough year. At work, she’s the tough Atlanta cop, ready to service Justice no matter who (or what) stands in her way. Especially after she technically died a year ago. After she was brought back, Charlie has been experiencing strange symptoms – headaches, nightmares, and a smattering magical powers that keep popping up that Charlie can’t even begin to figure out. Charlie’s about to be hit with her toughest case yet after a string of individuals surface who have been dosed with an off-world potent drug, leaving users in a coma-like state and on the verge of death without continued use. As Charlie digs deeper, she finds not only herself but her family caught up in the strange politics and danger of the mysterious off-world societies of Elysia and Charybdon, with corruption extending all the way to the top.

The Better Part of Darkness is another one of those new Urban Fantasy novels that has been generating a lot of buzz. I’m a sucker for a tough heroine and Charlie Madigan seemed to fit the bill nicely. Charlie is tough, believable as a single-mom stretched too thin with the added stress of magic wrecking havoc with her life. I quickly became intrigued with Charlie's story despite the fact that her narrative could have used a little bit more editing to cut out about 100 pages of unnecessary descriptions and rambling IMO. Overall The Better Part of Darkness has a lot of good things going for it. Kelly Gay's Atlanta is rock solid in terms of world building - a city full of excitement with a whiff of danger and magic around every corner. The inclusion of the parallel worlds of Elysia and Charybdon has also given Ms. Gay countless options since both worlds were left mainly a mystery. Not to mention the great set-up of relationships between Charlie, her sister, her partner and countless other folks she meets in her unique line of work.

Although I am not one to complain about my home-town getting some deserved attention, what is up with the recent trend of setting every new UF series in a magic-saturated Atlanta? I've read no less than three new books recently that call Hotlanta home, which is not really a problem but something of a strange coincidence. Thankfully Atlanta is so diverse that the stories don't cross over much, but it's still a bit of a coincidence - maybe Atlanta is kind of like the new New York for dark urban fantasies.

And please isn't this cover for the next Charlie Madigan novel The Darkest Edge of Dawn simply abso-frickin-perfect? Edgy, dynamic: I love it. Just check out those expressive eyebrows! And the smoking gun! And the shattered glass! I need this one for the cover alone.

series reading order:
~ The Better Part of Darkness
~ The Darkest Edge of Dawn (August 2010)

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
The Discriminating Fangirl review
Literary Escapism review
Magical Musings review
Night Owl Reviews
Tempting Persephone review 

book source: my local library

The Sweetness of Books

Wouldn't you just love to pick this up from a bakery? 

Kudos to the devilishly clever decorator who crafted these scrumptious looking bookish cupcakes for a book club order. Each tasty treat came with it's own classic title crafted in fondant and are frankly just too darn cute to eat! The selling point in this order however has to be the fantastic vintage book-box the cupcakes were delivered in.  

I wonder if their book club is accepting new members?

Thanks again to Chachic over at Random Ramblings for the delicious link!

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

Let me go ahead and say something first: I’ve never before read a book by Sarah Dessen. Although I know she has what can only be described as a ‘cult following’ I somehow have completely by-passed any of her novels. It wasn’t even really a conscious decision on my part – I simply never picked one up; partly because I have somewhat high standards for contemporary YA novels (which usually never measure up), and partly because I am a slacker. That said, she’s been on my radar for quite a bit now and since I knew her books mainly dealt with relationships, I thought it might be fun to try one out during February for Literary Love. Alas, that plan did not work out, but when a copy of The Truth About Forever literally fell into my lap (thank you library gods!), I dived right in but honestly, not really expecting too much.

In the year and a half since Macy’s father has passed away, she’s figured out precisely when someone is about to give her The Look.  The Look happens after someone realizes she is that girl who lost her dad horribly, who will then go on to pat her on the arm sympathetically and say “I’m sorry” in a pitying tone. Macy has come to detest the Look. Like her mother Macy has gone out of her way to avoid it by not only always appearing perfectly fine, just fine but in complete control of every detail in her life. She’s attached herself to the perfect boyfriend, Mr. Model teen Jason, and plans to spend her summer working at the Library Information Desk (which will look exceedingly good on college applications) while said boyfriend heads off to a summer camp for the super-smart.

A few days at the information desk leave Macy feeling inadequate and scared of the other plastic-perfect girls who work there, she agrees to work for a small catering company called Wish on the side where she meets the excessively pregnant and eternally-stressed Delia, Kristy who takes partying and fashion as seriously as a brain tumor, the apocalypse-obsessed Bert, Monotone Monica, and the sa-woon worthy Wes who knows exactly how it feels to lose a loved one. In the midst of constant catering chaos, Macy finds herself loosening, exploring truth and learning that some things just happen without any planning at all. 

After finishing The Truth About Forever I can see why Sarah Dessen is such a beloved author. Although quite long, Macy’s story was intensely readable with each unique character voice effortlessly shining through. It becomes very obvious from the beginning that Dessen aced Relationships 101 in writers boot-camp (they don’t have that? Well, they should). Not one character, particularly Macy, was rushed into developing too quickly or too soon – everyone peaked at just the right time. This coupled with a knack for building emotional tension, went a long ways in producing some highly believable and often downright poignant scenes. Macy in her frazzled quest for perfection was adorable and even periodically heart-wrenching and her late-night confessions with Wes were truly something special. Unlike many other novels, The Truth About Forever had this whole quiet-yet-stable-yet-everything-is-about-to-EXPLODE vibe that I could easily sink into. To be perfectly honest, I think I enjoyed this book because I've been in a bit of a slump of late and really needed something light with an obvious happily ever after. And I must admit that after reading The Truth About Forever, I’m more than ready to go pick up Dessen's entire backlist. Like right now.

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Angieville review
Book Addiction review
Chicklish review
Dear Author review
Out of the Blue Book Reviews

book source: my local library