In My Mailbox (44)

First IMM of the new year! In this meme, hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, we share the books we've received, bought or taken out from the library. This post covers the past few weeks. 

Gifted:

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James — this was a belated Christmas gift from my parents!

Wanderlove and Like Mandarin bookmarks — thanks very much to the author Kirsten Hubbard for these! I'll be using them for giveaway prizes :)

For review:

Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran — thanks to Broadway Books!

The 58th Keeper by R. G. Bullet — thanks to SilverHouse Books!

From the library:

Knightley Academy by Violet Haberdasher
Camo Girl by Kekla Magoon
Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley
Sandman: The Dreamhunters (graphic novel) by Neil Gaiman, illustrations by P. Craig Russell
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
Blankets (graphic novel) by Craig Thompson

Witchlanders by Lena Coakley
Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
Deadly by Julie Chibbaro
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Heads-Up: Essay Contest for Aspiring Writers of YA/MG!

I was contacted recently by Book Wish Foundation, asking if I would spread the word on my blog about a contest they're holding for amateur writers of YA/MG. Since Book Wish Foundation is a charitable organization (all proceeds from their book What You Wish For go to the UN Refugee Agency to support libraries in Darfuri refugee camps, by the way), I thought I'd help out and post about it!

Here's the information, taken from the e-mail I received:

"Win a literary agent or acclaimed author's feedback on your unpublished manuscript for young adult or middle grade readers.  This rare opportunity is being offered to the six winners of an essay contest recently announced by the literacy charity Book Wish Foundation.  See http://bookwish.org/contest for full details.

You could win a manuscript critique from:

Laura Langlie, literary agent for Meg Cabot
Nancy Gallt, literary agent for Jeanne DuPrau
Brenda Bowen, literary agent and editor of Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal winner Out of the Dust
Ann M. Martin, winner of the Newbery Honor for A Corner of the Universe
Francisco X. Stork, winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for The Last Summer of the Death Warriors
Cynthia Voigt, winner of the Newbery Medal for Dicey's Song and the Newbery Honor for A Solitary Blue

All that separates you from this prize is a 500-word essay about a short story in Book Wish Foundation's new anthology, What You Wish For.  Essays are due Feb. 1, 2012 and winners will be announced around Mar. 1, 2012.  If you win, you will have six months to submit the first 50 pages of your manuscript for critique (which means you can enter the contest even if you haven't finished, or started, your manuscript).  You can even enter multiple times, with essays about more than one of the contest stories, for a chance to win up to six critiques.

If you dream of being a published author, this is an opportunity you should not miss.  To enter, follow the instructions at http://bookwish.org/contest."

Good luck!

Busting the Newbie Blues!

I participated in this event hosted by Small Review last time, and I'm joining in again! Basically it's an event to help newbie bloggers spread the word about their blogs, make connections in the blogosphere, and get some of their questions answered. Both new and old bloggers are welcome to participate! You can find all the info HERE. There's also a separate Busting the Big Blogger Blues event, hosted by Ruby's Reads, geared towards oldie bloggers :)

So, how it works is: you pick a questionnaire to answer, post your answers, and then hop around to the other participants' blogs. It's held during all of January, so come join in!

I chose the "established blogger" questionnaire:

1. When did you start your blog? 

May 2010, officially...but I only started actually letting people other than my family know about my blog in July of that year. Wow, can't believe it's been 1 and a half years! O_O


     2. Do you ever still feel like a newbie?

Sure do! Whenever I participate in a new kind of event or something's getting discussed in the blogosphere that I have no idea about, then I get that "what's going on? I don't understand..." feeling again. But generally I do feel a lot more confident about my blogging than I did a year and a half ago!

      3. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far? Did you make any mistakes new bloggers can learn from?

Well, I found organizing and running an entire event last year (Psychtember) to be pretty stressful and daunting. But in the end I think it was quite successful, so I'm pleased about that! My mistake in terms of Psychtember may have been trying too hard to do too much in too little time, LOL. But hey, better too much than too little, I think!

      4. What did you find most discouraging about being a new blogger? How did you deal with this? 

The follower count and getting comments. I would get super excited whenever my follower number increased (okay, who am I kidding, I'm still happy when that happens!) But now I've got some very loyal followers who comment regularly (*waves* hey everyone!) and I'd much rather have that than a bunch of followers I feel I don't really know at all. In terms of comments, basically, you'll get them if you comment on other blogs. Also, you may get them when you least expect them...it's a bit of a "watched pot never boils" thing.

Another thing I found discouraging was seeing all these other bloggers getting tons of ARCs, back when I didn't receive any at all. This is more just a matter of time — getting your blog established — than anything else. But it's also sometimes a matter of making the effort to contact a publisher and request a review copy.

      5. What do you find most encouraging?

I always love it when I hear from authors I admire! I'm thrilled if they tweet at me or e-mail me...the novelty of this hasn't worn off yet and I hope it never does :)

Also, the comments. Comments are what makes the blogosphere go round. Especially thoughtful, substantive ones.

      6.  If you could go back in time and speak with your newbie self, what five bits of wisdom would you tell yourself?

Good question! Hmmmm....

a) Do NOT stress so much about followers and comments. They are not a reflection of the quality of your blog. Instead, concentrate on doing what YOU'D like to do with your blog.

b) Participate in blogging events, but try not to bite off more than you can chew. Consider how much time and energy you have to devote to a particular project.

c) Don't be afraid to try new things with your blog. It'll help get you out of any blogging slumps you find yourself in.

d) HTML code isn't as scary as it looks. You can figure it out! (...at least to some degree...)

e) Be patient. Publisher contacts and ARCs will come eventually.

      7. What do you like best about the blogs you read? Have you tried to replicate this in your blog? 

In terms of appearance, I like blogs with clean, uncluttered layouts (but not sparse or drained of colour), with colours that aren't too hard on the eyes. Often I'm envious of the blogs with the fancy, themed layouts that you can pay for, but since I don't have the money to spend on those right now, I've made do with my own limited design skills.

In terms of content, I appreciate reviews that are thoughtfully written, with minimal grammar and spelling errors. I like reviews that give me a sense of the book and the reader's opinion without giving away major spoilers! Also, spoiler warnings are excellent. I value bloggers who do not shy away from giving honest but negative ratings and critical comments in their reviews, but who accomplish this eloquently, without bashing the author.

Blogs that have a variety of posts — memes, reviews, discussions, event posts — are appreciated. And I enjoy blog posts that make me smile :)

Overall, I hope that I've managed to replicate some of these aspects in my own blog!

        8. What do you dislike about blogs you’ve seen? Do you try to avoid this? 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: light font on a dark background doesn't work well. Really cluttered blogs can be difficult to navigate, and music that starts playing as soon as I get there? PLEASE, NO. Even those countdown widgets with sound drive me crazy.

Bloggers who gush equally about every single book make me skeptical, and reviews riddled with spelling/grammar mistakes make me wince. I do try to avoid most of these things in my blog.

        9. How did you bring your blog to the attention of so many people? 

Originally, the Book Blogger Hop (hosted by Jennifer at Crazy For Books) was probably the number one way I gained followers — it was a wonderful way to increase blog traffic! Since then, participation in various events around the blogosphere (including co-hosting one, and hosting another) and memes like Waiting on Wednesday have been quite helpful. Twitter, too, has been useful in this regard. I'm still trying to work on this aspect, though :)

        10. When and how did you get your first ARC (or first few ARCs)? 

I believe my very first ARC was for the A Cornucopia of Dystopia event I co-hosted with Casey from The Bookish Type. We contacted publishers about our event and the books we were hoping to highlight, and several of them sent us review copies. I remember being SO EXCITED that it said "advance reader's copy" (or words to that effect) on the book :D

Hope my answers have been at least somewhat helpful to newbie bloggers reading this post! Oldie bloggers, how would you respond to these questions?

Fever: A Close-Up Review

"Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever." (from Goodreads)

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

I had very mixed feelings about Wither, so I was a bit hesitant approaching its sequel, Fever. However, I ended up liking this one more than its predecessor (although not without some reservations still.)

Characters:

Rhine: I'd had trouble connecting with her in the first book, but I suppose I must have acclimatized to her voice, because in Fever it didn't cause me the same difficulty. She's still distant in a way, and overly dramatic at times, but by then I was used to it and just recognized it as Rhine's unique tone. Rhine's impulsivity and acting without thinking haven't changed from the first book either, and it lands her in some pretty sticky situations.

Gabriel: he still didn't do much for me in this one. Sure, he's a nice guy and very devoted to Rhine (kind of blindly, actually), but he just doesn't impress me. In the end, I can basically take him or leave him and not really care either way.

Cecily: in contrast to Gabriel, I find her character fascinating. She presents an innocent facade, but she's very crafty and entirely underestimated by everyone. Cecily's trying to help both sides and most of all make sure that she and her baby are safe and taken care of. I think she does care about Rhine, but she wants to help in a way that doesn't jeopardize her own relationship with Linden. Make no doubt about this: Cecily is looking out for number one. I enjoyed seeing Rhine realize that she can't count on Cecily's loyalty.

Linden: where are you in this one??? The brief glimpses we get just aren't enough. Yet the few interactions we do see between Rhine and him are certainly illuminating, exposing truths that need to be aired. Linden is right on the mark when he states that the relationship he has with each wife is completely different in nature, demonstrating an insightful grasp of the situation. All in all, I think Rhine could stand to learn a thing or two from Linden, rather than dismissing him as a puppet controlled by his father. It's true, he has been rather wilfully blind, choosing to believe whatever Vaughn tells him, but I think the next book will provide the opportunity for him to prove himself (should he rise to the challenge). In some ways he's still like a child; I think he has the potential to do a lot of good if he can gather up the courage to stand against his father and society's expectations.

New characters: many of the new characters we're introduced to are distinctly drawn, and I enjoyed meeting some fresh faces. Madame was horrid, very unlikeable but certainly more interesting than Vaughn. She's extremely selfish, mercenary and ruthless, and her brand of "evil" feels a bit more real than Vaughn's does. Madame is just in it for herself, to make money, and that simple motivation gives rise to a character who really makes herself present on the page.

Maddie, in complete contrast to Madame, provided a younger, "child" character which gave Rhine a chance for her motherly instincts to develop, and a chance for her to care for someone. Maddie's smart but wary and timid, her personality and reactions really reflecting the dystopian world DeStefano has created.


Plot/premise:

While I didn't feel like Rhine really made significant advances in this book (in terms of getting closer to reaching her goals), at least she moved around more than in Wither. I enjoyed being exposed to some different settings in this world and meeting new characters. The abandoned carnival was a really interesting backdrop for part of the story — sort of like a microcosm of society. I'm hoping the characters from the carnival appear again in book 3.

I really enjoyed the twist involving Rhine's symptoms of illness (spoiler, highlight to read: I liked that the June beans from book 1 were tied in). However, overall I had difficulty swallowing some of the scientific explanations for what's happening. They come across as lacking a solid knowledge foundation about concepts of illness, with words like "chemical dependency" and "bacterial resistance" getting thrown around haphazardly and without making much sense. (What do bacteria have to do with, anyway? The whole premise of this world is founded on a VIRUS.) I still have a lot of questions about Vaughn's reasoning behind his experiments as well as the specific methods he uses. More spoilers: I still don't fully understand how the June beans were being used by Vaughn. To build up Rhine's immunity to the virus? If so, why would they be addictive? And how can you administer replicated symptoms of a virus to someone anyhow?? Symptoms are external signs of disease. You can inject someone with something that causes symptoms, but not with the signs themselves.

Also, there's one revelation towards the end which, while in line with standard dystopian fiction, is rather unoriginal and convenient. Furthermore, it makes the reader question the events of Fever in retrospect and wonder how they could possibly have happened given this new piece of information. (Spoiler: if Vaughn had implanted Rhine with a tracker, why did it take him SO LONG to capture her again?)

The action is concentrated more in the first part of the book, and then slows down in the second. Unfortunately I think Fever does suffer from "middle book syndrome" a bit, in lacking direction and a internal story arc that hangs together. By the end you may feel like most of what happened was pointless, and that the book is merely serving as a stepping stone to the final one in the trilogy. But the very last page is a good one, providing a hook that sets up perfectly for the third book.

Writing style: If you liked the writing style in Wither, you'll probably like it in Fever as well. Even if you didn't particularly like the writing style of Wither, you might find, as I did, that you become used to it. Rhine maintains the same voice, and the carnival setting in particular comes to life with DeStefano's description.

Final verdict: 3.5 shooting stars. Intriguing characters, but the scientific impracticalities annoyed me. Although I still have too many criticisms to bump it to 4 stars, I did prefer it to Wither.

Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC from the publisher for review.

A Few More 2012 Challenges

In addition to the "New Adult" reading challenge I'm hosting, and the Debut Author Challenge hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, I'm joining a few more challenges for 2012! Last year's end results for my challenges were pretty pitiful, so I'm hoping to make a better showing this year.

Below are some more 2012 challenges I'm signing up for and books I think I may read for them:

Sophomore Reading Challenge:

This challenge, hosted by Shanyn of Chick Loves Lit, is to read 10 second (sophomore) YA or MG books by authors, released in 2012. They can be either in a series or a standalone, and Shanyn has created a Goodreads list with plenty of suggestions for the challenge. I think there are quite a few second YA novels being published in 2012 that I'd be reading anyway, so why not complete a challenge at the same time?!

Books I'm considering:

- Insurgent by Veronica Roth
- Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh
- Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
- In Honor by Jessi Kirby
- Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
- The Torn Wing by Kiki Hamilton
- Never Enough by Denise Jaden
- Outpost by Ann Aguirre
- The Forgetting Curve by Angie Smibert
- Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer Hubbard
- Ferocity Summer by Alissa Grosso
- First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky


All the information and sign-ups are here.

TBR Pile Reading Challenge:

Let's face it, I keep buying, winning or receiving books as gifts and then they sit on my shelf and collect dust...this needs to change! I'm hoping to make inroads on the nice finished copies that have been languishing on my shelves. Hence why I'm signing up for this challenge! It's hosted by several different bloggers, and there are mini-challenges and giveaways involved along the way :) You can read all the details and sign up here.

These are the challenge guidelines, taken directly from Evie's blog Bookish:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2012 - Dec 31, 2012.
2. As we would like to see quality reviews linked up to our monthly wrap-ups, only bloggers can enter. Sorry about that!
3. Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Only books released in 2011 and earlier! NO ARCs and 2012 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!
   
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the 2012 TBR PILE Reading Challenge (You need to include the info + host list + challenge button. You can also grab the button code and add it to your sidebar!)
   
6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2012, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
8. At the end of each month one of the hosts will post a wrap-up. Every wrap-up will have it's unique theme, a mini-challenge, a giveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from this month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository. It's open to INTERNATIONALS. For participating in the mini-challenge you will get +1 entry.
   
9. If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your reviews next month. Do not, however, try to link up one review twice - we will be checking ;)
10. December is a wrap-up for the whole year. All the book reviews you linked up January-November + the ones you'll link up in December will be entered into a HUGE giveaway - 12 books, 12 winners, INTERNATIONAL. 
11. You don't have to follow all the hosts to join the challenge, but you do have to follow all of us to be entered in giveaways!

Here is the host list:

Evie from Bookish - http://www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com @SeoEvie
Nicole from All I Ever Read - http://www.nicoleabouttown.com/ @Nicoleabouttown
Bonnie from Hands and Home - http://www.handsandhome.ca/ @HandsHomeBlog
Donna from Book Passion For Life - http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.com/ @BookPforLife
Caitlin from WatchYA Reading - http://whatchyareading.net @caitlingss
Rie from Mission To Read - http://missiontoread.com/ @missiontoread
Vicky from Books, Biscuits & Tea -http://booksbiscuitsandtea.blogspot.com/ @alouetteuette
Christa from Hooked On Books - http://christashookedonbooks.blogspot.com @ChristasBooks
Jenna from Fans Of Fiction - http://fansoffiction.blogspot.com/ @fansoffiction
Angel from Mermaids Vision - http://mermaidvision.wordpress.com @mermaidvisions

And these are the levels:

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - A Sweet Kiss
31-40 - Love At First Sight
41-50 - Married With Children

I'm signing up for the easiest level (A Firm Handshake, 1-10 books), but we'll see how it goes.

Books I'm considering:

- Tyger, Tyger by Kersten Hamilton
- Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar
- Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe
- What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
- Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
- Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
- Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce
- The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
- Ingo by Helen Dunmore
- Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

Just Contemporary Reading Challenge:

 

Ashley from Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing co-hosted the Just Contemporary event last year, and this year she's hosting a challenge, too! I'm going with the first option (just generally reading more contemporary, versus the "mix it up" option) since contemporary isn't my favourite genre, but I really should read it more often. After all, a couple of my top books read in 2011 (Anna and the French Kiss and Forbidden) are contemporary :)

Books I'm considering:

- The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
- Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
- The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
- Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
- Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
- Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

A bunch from my lists for the Sophomore and TBR Pile challenges would count for this one, too. *points up* Details and sign-ups are here.
 

Have you signed up for any of these challenges?