My Ramblings on Griffin's Storm by Darby Karchut

Griffin's Storm 

By: Darby Karchut

Release Date: Nov 10, 2012

Author Website

Summary:

An old enemy returns. A new alliance is formed. And Griffin finds himself in the eye of the storm when an ancient racial hatred is set loose, jeopardizing the very existence of the Terrae Angeli. 

Once again, the teen guardian angel is forced to battle his worst nightmare. But this time, Griffin comes back swinging. With a vengeance.

After all, an eye for an eye...

My Ramblings:

It's no secret that this series is one of my favorites. There are so many things about the entire thing that I love. The fact that amid all the otherworld aspects swirling around Karchut manages to keep it all completely believable is fantastic. The issues that our young hero, Griffin, faces are so relatable to teens (and the inner teen inside all of us) that you get drawn in very quickly to the story. You want to see Griffin succeed in what he's doing, whether it be his relationships with girlfriend Katie or sometimes nemesis Sergei or with trying to face down an old enemy. 

In this installment we see Griffin gathering his allies around him to face down his old mentor who has officially gone rogue and who is trying to eliminate the "lesser angels" from the earth. His first target is, of course, Griffin and Basil. Together, along with some old friends (like Sergei and Sukalli) and some new ones, Basil and Griffin make a stand. It's great to see Griffin's circle expanding as he learns to trust and lean on more people and to get a payoff from that. 

While I've always praised Karchut for having a great family system (even if it is a makeshift and sometimes messy one) I was struck by something different while reading this book. When I read the first two books I was a student on my way to getting my library degree. Now I'm a full fledged Librarian in a city middle school. For me I saw so many of my students in Griffin. Griffin's first mentor Nicopolis abused him in the first book. Both mentally and physically. Griffin arrived on Basil's doorstep a broken teen. He was afraid, he was unused to love and he desperately needed to learn how to trust again. By the end of this book we see Griffin truly coming into his own. He's not only able to acknowledge that he has people around him that he can turn to and lean on, but he's beginning to trust that they will not hurt him. He's gaining confidence and strength and is finally able to look his abuser in eye without fear and know that he is worth it, that he is worth people risking their own lives to help and protect. There are kids everywhere that come in through the school doors broken, who don't know how to trust, who have suffered things worse then we can imagine, but who still walk in the door every day willing to give it another go round. I think that my kids need these books. I think they'll see themselves in Griffin much more acutely then I do, and I think they will be able to look at his journey and be able to see the hope that it offers for better days and better relationships to come. 

My vendors don't offer these books for sale, so I'm buying my own set and donating them to my library. I think they are that worthwhile. So again... bravo Darby. Another fabulous book in a series that continues to impress me. 

Best I've Read 2012- Wrap Up and Winners

Best I've Read 2012 has drawn to a close. This has been a rough few days. While the tragedy in CT does not touch me personally, I think the shock and sadness reach far and wide and yesterday I was struck again by how fragile life can be. This blog is not the place to debate politics or the why's and hows, but I do want to say that my heart aches for the families of Newtown and they are in my thoughts. I didn't feel like drawing names or posting a celebratory wrap up today initially. I wanted to just watch TV and hug my kid, but ultimately I realized that there was no reason not to post, no reason not to share the good news about a great yearly event and the winners who are going to get some awesome books in their mailbox in a few weeks. So here we are. Let's wrap this sucker up!

Last year I skipped out on BIR. I was in full on Grad School mode, studying for certification exams and trying to prep for student teaching. There was no way I could have gotten myself organized enough to pull off my posts, I was lucky I was remembering to eat and bathe. This year when Stacey sent out the call for bloggers I was all over it, life had finally settled down and I was in enough of a routine at work to be able to get things together. It was hard to narrow down to my top 5. I left out some books that I truly, truly loved and one, which I'm just reading now would have absolutely made the list if I had read it a few months ago. It's been so much fun to not only share the Best I've Read this year with all of you, but also check out some of my fellow blogger's favorites. I know that I came away with a 'to be read" list that I'll be looking to complete over Christmas break!

Really quickly I want to say thank you to the publishers who so generously are sending books out to the winners. I appreciate all the publishers do for us bloggers on a regular basis and I'm so glad that I have the opportunity to pay it forward by sharing my favorite books with all of you. Thank you also to all my fellow BIR bloggers for catching me up on all I missed last year and keeping me moving in the right direction on this years event. I especially want to thank Stacey for getting all of on task and organizing this entire crazy, amazing event!

And now the winners....

A Midsummer’s Nightmare- Kirsten W. 

The Way We Fall- Kayeleen H. 

The Drowned Cities- Kathryn R.

The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life- Abbi T. (side note- if I was going to do a massive scavenger hunt in High School, Abbi would absolutely have been my go-to partner. Imagine the shenanigans that would have ensued....)

CONGRATS to all the winners! I've sent you each an email with more information. 

THANK YOU to everyone for participating in Best I've Read 2012! Happy holidays and happy reading!

BIR 2012- The Way We Survive by Megan Crewe

Today I'm lucky enough to share a great guest post from Megan Crewe author of today's featured book, the Way We Fall.  Part of what I loved about Megan's book was that it really made me think about what I would do in a similar situation. How would I react, what moves would I make, how far would I go? So when Megan agreed to write up a guest post I knew exactly what I wanted to ask her and I was super excited when she jumped on it! So without further ramblings from me....

BIR 2012- The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

Day Five: It's our final feature of the week! I chose to end off the week with one of the most disturbing and entertaining books I read this year, The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe. This book really made me think and when it ended I was so upset because I wasn't ready to leave these characters or this story. 

The Way We Fall
By: Megan Crewe
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Summary:

It starts with an itch you just can't shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you'll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in.

And then you're dead.

BIR- Hallowed Book Trailer and other awesomeness

Earlier I talked all about my love for both the Unearthly Series and Jackson Hole, WY, which is where the series is set. Now I'm going to share 2 very cool things. The first is the awesome trailer for Hallowed.


The second is something that just popped up in my twitter feed on Tuesday (Thank you Epic Reads for tweeting awesome things!) If you loved Unearthly and Hallowed then you will love this new Novella called Radiant.

Summary: 

Clara is desperate to get away—from the memories that haunt her in Wyoming and the visions of a future she isn't ready to face—and spending the summer in Italy with her best friend, Angela, should be the perfect escape. . . .

For as long as she can remember, Angela has been told that love is dangerous, that she must always guard her heart. But when she met a mysterious guy in Italy two years ago she was determined to be with him, no matter the costs. Now she must decide whether she can trust Clara with her secret, or if telling her the truth will risk everything she cares about.

Alternating between Angela and Clara's perspectives, Radiant chronicles the unforgettable summer that will test the bounds of their friendship and change their lives forever. 
  
Check out Cynthia's Website, Blog and her Facebook and Twitter pages!

BIR 2012- Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Day Four: Hallowed. This book is the sequel to Unearthly and I absolutely love this series. I actually got the book back in January when it came out and then held onto it. I didn't read it right away, I waited, and there's one big reason why:

Summer vacation. Tetons. I read the first book while on vacation in Wyoming and there is no better place to read a book set in Jackson Hole, WY then actually in Jackson Hole, WY. So I waited until I was there. I can't even express how well Hand captured a town that I love. I might live on the east coast, but Wyoming is my home. I love it there and to see so many familiar sites show up in these books makes them so much more special to me. I especially love all the little touches that only people who live or travel to Jackson would know. Especially mentions of my favorite pizza joint, Mountain High Pizza Pie. Just thinking about Jackson and WY makes me miss it. This past summer's vacation was not all it should have been and I'm in withdrawal! I digress... the moral of the story is that this book is amazing and I'm so glad that I got to read it in and around Jackson so I could really immerse myself into the story and setting and fall in love with the characters all over again!

Hallowed
By: Cynthia Hand
Release Date: January 17, 2012
Publisher: Harper Teen

Summary:

For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

In this compelling sequel to "Unearthly," Cynthia Hand captures the joy of first love, the anguish of loss, and the confusion of becoming who you are. (from goodreads.com)


Don't forget to check out all the other participating blogs:
Best I've Read 2012
Page Turners
Portrait of a Book
Mundie Moms
Books Complete Me
Reading Lark
Once Upon a Twilight
Cindy Thomas, YA Author
I Am a Reader, Not a Writer
Amethyst Daydreams

BIR 2012 A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

Day Three: Today I'm featuring a great book from one of my favorite authors, Kody Keplinger! I've been a fan since I picked up DUFF a few years ago and this book, A Midsummer's Nightmare, didn't disappoint. I first heard about A Midsummer's Nightmare way back at NCTE last fall in Chicago when I got to go to an awesome session hosted by Keplinger and Jackson Pearce. Lot's of shenanigans ensued. 

Kody is one of the most talented authors I know and she happens to be awesomely funny as well. Her books cover some serious and heart breaking issues, but she always handles it with humor and heart. So, without further ado...

A Midsummer's Nightmare
By: Kody Keplinger
Release Date:June 5, 2012
Publisher: Poppy

Summary:

Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorcé dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancée and her kids. The fiancée's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great.

Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

Filled with authenticity and raw emotion, Whitley is Kody Keplinger's most compelling character to date: a cynical Holden Caulfield-esque girl you will wholly care about. (from goodreads.com)

My Ramblings:
Like I said in the opener, Keplinger's books deal with those teenage issues that can break your heart, and she does so in a realistic manner. When you are in high school you can feel like you know everything and that the whole world revolves around you, and when suddenly that world starts to fall apart it can send you into a tailspin that it's hard to get out of. Tghat's where we find Whitley, a party girl who is trying to cope with her parents divorce and her mother's new relationship. 

I don't want to give a ton away on this one, simply because the storytelling is too good. I want you to go discover it for yourself. What I loved about this book, and all Keplinger's books really, is that you can see yourself in her characters. I was never the partier like Whitley, but I could relate to her feelings of being out of control, of wanting to change and not quite knowing how, and her need to just feel like she was part of something, even if that something wasn't good for her. What we see in this book is a girl trying to climb out of a hole that she dug and create a new life for herself, all while finding her way back into her family. Whitely makes a ton of mistakes, and you cringe with each one, wishing you could climb into the book and give her a bit of advice and point her in the right direction. Instead you have to let her find her own way and enjoy the successes with her along the way. 

The Contest:
That's right everyone- one fabulous part of Best I've Read is that there are a ton of giveaways. On my site, on the main BIR site and on all the other participating blogs sites. What could be better then free books right before the holidays!

Rules of the game: All contests will end at midnight on Friday the 21st. Books will be shipped directly from the publisher, so your information will be shared with them in order to get you your prize! Prizes will most likely not be mailed until after the 1st of the year, so hang in there, they will come! Winners will receive an email from me Saturday the 22nd and you will have 48 hours to claim your prize, so check your mailboxes. All contests are US only unless otherwise noted.

Good Luck and happy reading!

 Don't forget to check out all the other participating blogs:
Best I've Read 2012
Page Turners
Portrait of a Book
Mundie Moms
Books Complete Me
Reading Lark
Once Upon a Twilight
Cindy Thomas, YA Author
I Am a Reader, Not a Writer
Amethyst Daydreams

BIR 2012- The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life- Part Duex

So I couldn't fit all my love for this book in one post, so I decided to break it up in two. Part one covered the review and why I love this book so much. This post will just share some more fun stuff about the book and the author! Like the book trailer, which frankly is just fun!




If you haven't checked out Altebrando's website, you should. There are some awesome posts there, including interviews with some of my favorite authors like David Levithan and Siobhan Vivian.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway! It's an easy one- just give me your name and email address and you'll be in it to win it!

BIR 2012- The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life!

Day Two: Here's another book that I picked up in WI. A little aside about WI and Books. I do not live in WI but my in-laws do. Every summer we travel over and I get to shop at my all time favorite book store. It's a great little place called Books & Company. We don't have any small independent shops near me and there is something so awesome about walking in and having the workers know every book in the shop and be able to point you to just the right book. I always walk out with more books then I intended to buy, titles I've never heard of and I end up loving every single one. This summer I got 4 of my 5 top books at Books & Company! Today's book is The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Night by Tara Altebrando. 

The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Night
By: Tara Altebrando
Release Date: July 5, 2012
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Summary:

An all-day scavenger hunt in the name of eternal small-town glory

With only a week until graduation, there's one last thing Mary and her friends must do together: participate in the Oyster Point High Official Unofficial Senior Week Scavenger Hunt. And Mary is determined to win.Mary lost her spot at Georgetown to self-professed "it" bully Jake Barbone, and she's not about to lose again. But everyone is racing for the finish line with complicated motives, and the team's all-night adventure becomes all-night drama as shifting alliances, flared tempers, and crushing crushes take over. As the items and points pile up, Mary and her team must reinvent their strategy--and themselves--in order to win. (from goodreads.com)

My Ramblings:
The title of this book really hits the nail on the head. Who doesn't want to have an all night adventure with their best friends and get to show up their high school rivals? When you are in High School events like an all day scavenger hunt seem like the most important thing in the world. They can make for the best memories and it seems like this really will be the most important day in your life. Win or lose, everything can change. Still, in the grand scheme of things, is winning a scavenger hunt really all that important. In 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, will winning still be as sweet? Is it worth losing friends over or seeing people you love hurt? I love that this story revolves around those issues, because they are oh so real. 

Mary starts this book off just wanting to make her mark, leave a little legacy behind, but the entire night evolves into everyone one trying to one-up each other and come out victorious. We get to see the best of people and the worst and I think that this fast paced book really gives you a good snapshot view of how High School can be. By having deadlines that the tasks in the scavenger hunt must be completed by it allows the story to move quickly and make leaps towards the eventual, and unexpected conclusion. 

Not only was this a great read, it was especially fun to read on vacation, when I had the time to enjoy the ride and reminisce about great times and missed opportunities. 

The Contest:
That's right everyone- one fabulous part of Best I've Read is that there are a ton of giveaways. On my site, on the main BIR site and on all the other participating blogs sites. What could be better then free books right before the holidays!

Rules of the game: All contests will end at midnight on Friday the 21st. Books will be shipped directly from the publisher, so your information will be shared with them in order to get you your prize! Prizes will most likely not be mailed until after the 1st of the year, so hang in there, they will come! Winners will receive an email from me Saturday the 22nd and you will have 48 hours to claim your prize, so check your mailboxes. All contests are US only unless otherwise noted.

Good Luck and happy reading!

 Don't forget to check out all the other participating blogs:
Best I've Read 2012
Page Turners
Portrait of a Book
Mundie Moms
Books Complete Me
Reading Lark
Once Upon a Twilight
Cindy Thomas, YA Author
I Am a Reader, Not a Writer
Amethyst Daydreams

My Ramblings on Falling off the Wind by Richard Meibers

Falling off the Wind
By: Richard Meibers

Summary: 

Clement Scheutz, his schooner smashed on the rocks of Puerto Rico by a hurricane, is accused of killing a local islander. The woman he loves has deserted him and he is without money. While putting the boat back together, he helps rebuild a local restaurant and finds new love with the owner.

****WARNING: Spoilers ahead!*****

My Ramblings:

This is a hard book for me to review. There is so much that I truly loved about it and then one little thing that bothered me and kept needling me the entire time I read the book.  

Let's start with the negative. I'm happy to say that the thing that bugged me had absolutely nothing to do with the plot or writing at all. Those things were fabulous. What bothered me was something that I've notice in several other books and that's the back blurb/synopsis. That's a great little synopsis up there.  Truly, it tells you pretty much all you need to know about the story. So why do I need to read the story? The writing was so beautiful and full of details that I wish I had been able to experience the first part of the story without knowing that Scheutz was going to get left behind, accused of murder and fall in love. It made certain points of the book that should have been surprising come across as anti-climactic. It made me wish I could have felt the slow building of the new relationship fully instead of thinking "Oh, so he's going to fall in love with her eventually." It took some of the suspense away. 

So that's the negative. Like I noted, aside from that, the writing and the storytelling was phenomenal. When Rebecca first contacted me I jumped at the chance to read this book because it was so different from what I generally read. What I really loved and appreciated was that Meibers took the time to really bring to life the setting and characters. The book is set in a very real time and place (80's/Caribbean), but it's also a place that is totally foreign to me. Add in the element of sailing and Island life and you've created a book that not only is entertaining, but is kind of educational as well. At only a few chapters in I felt like I could go hop on a boat and sail away without a problem! Meiber's description were so rich and detailed that there was no doubt in my mind that he knew what he was talking about and that carried through the entire story. 

The characters were complex and relatable as well. You felt the dissolution of the relationship with Samantha coming and you sense that both Clem and Samantha know it's coming too. Yet, they seem almost incapable of changing the course they've found themselves on and it's hard to tell if they even want to. They're operating with an odd sort of acceptance that their time is almost up and soon they will be moving on, but they aren't quite ready to say goodbye yet. 

While one relationship falls apart you begin to see the start of another with Clem and Migdala, the restaurant owner. Long before Clem's accused of murder you see the starting of a friendship that might become something more. In fact this whole story is built around the relationship we have throughout our lives. The ones that you see coming and the ones that sneak up on you and change your life. That's really what makes this story work. Even if the setting and story are foreign, you can find common ground with the characters and the relationships they build along the way. 

So all in all this was a wonderful read and I've already reserved two other books by Meibers from the library. I look forward to reading Steal Away Home and the Tree Rings as soon as they are in!

BIR 2012- The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi

It's day one of Best I've Read 2012 here at A Reader's Ramblings and I've decided to start the week off with a book that totally snuck up on me in the best way possible. I picked this book up at my favorite book store in WI and read it while on vacation. As soon as I finished (about...oh...3 hours after I started it), I immediately wanted to read everything the author, Paolo Bacigalupi, had ever written. It's that good. 

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary:

Soldier boys emerged from the darkness. Guns gleamed dully. Bullet bandoliers and scars draped their bare chests. Ugly brands scored their faces. She knew why these soldier boys had come. She knew what they sought, and she knew, too, that if they found it, her best friend would surely die. 

In a dark future America where violence, terror, and grief touch everyone, young refugees Mahlia and Mouse have managed to leave behind the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities by escaping into the jungle outskirts. But when they discover a wounded half-man--a bioengineered war beast named Tool--who is being hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers, their fragile existence quickly collapses. One is taken prisoner by merciless soldier boys, and the other is faced with an impossible decision: Risk everything to save a friend, or flee to a place where freedom might finally be possible. (from goodreads.com)

My Ramblings:
So why is this book "that good" as I stated in the opening? Well for starters it all takes place in a place that it at once instantly identifiable and yet so horrifyingly foreign. That's what I love about many dystopian stories. Really good ones make it easy to believe that this is our future, that we could end up living in a world like Mahlia and Mouse do, that we are just a few decisions away from a world like you see in The Drowned Cities. That's what makes it fun to read. 

This books is so beautifully written as well, you can see what they see and each character, even the ones you aren't supposed to care about work their way into your mind and you begin to really care about whether they win or lose, whether they survive or die. Plus, this isn't a love story. In so many stories there is that moment when you think to yourself "Oh...so these two are going to meet and fall in love and blah, blah, blah". Not here. There are relationships here, friendships, love, but the story is more firmly rooted in looking at the humanity of people and how far you will go to save a friend, even if you risk losing yourself. 

This isn't Bacigalupi's only book about this particular American future. His first book, Ship Breaker first introduces some character's that turn up in The Drowned Cities. I wish that I had read Ship Breaker first, but I am so glad that I stumbled upon this series regardless of the order! 

The Contest:
That's right everyone- one fabulous part of Best I've Read is that there are a ton of giveaways. On my site, on the main BIR site and on all the other participating blogs sites. What could be better then free books right before the holidays!

Rules of the game: All contests will end at midnight on Friday the 21st. Books will be shipped directly from the publisher, so your information will be shared with them in order to get you your prize! Prizes will most likely not be mailed until after the 1st of the year, so hang in there, they will come! Winners will receive an email from me Saturday the 22nd and you will have 48 hours to claim your prize, so check your mailboxes. All contests are US only unless otherwise noted. 

Good Luck and happy reading!


 Don't forget to check out all the other participating blogs:
Best I've Read 2012
Page Turners
Portrait of a Book
Mundie Moms
Books Complete Me
Reading Lark
Once Upon a Twilight
Cindy Thomas, YA Author
I Am a Reader, Not a Writer
Amethyst Daydreams

Best I've Read 2012

Well... it's been a busy, busy few months. I've been running myself ragged at school (being a first year teacher is no joke guys!), training for a half marathon and trying to get in as much reading as possible. The blog has suffered a little this fall, but that's okay, because I've got some great stuff coming up, including the return of The Best I've Read! I participated in this great event 2 years ago and I'm back for more this year. Starting December 9th I'll be featuring some of the best books I've read this year and sending you off on adventures to my fellow bloggers sites to see what they loved this year as well. There will be lot's of reviews, some great author contributions and ways for you to win! So stay tuned for more!