U-Pick: Most Alluring "Bad Boy"?

Here's how this feature works: each week I'll post a categorical superlative (e.g. "most sadistic villain" "crankiest father figure" "protagonist you would most like to slap some sense into" etc.) and list a few choices of characters from YA books in a poll. You get to pick! The poll will run for a week, and then in the following post I'll update with the name of the winning character.

Thanks to everyone who voted in my first U-Pick poll! The category last week was "Most Sadistic Villain" and the result was overwhelmingly in favour of...

Professor Umbridge!

Voldemort and President Snow battled for a distant second and third, with Voldemort just edging out President Snow by a single vote. Boys, you might want to take a few leaves out of Professor Umbridge's books and really get to work on upping your delight in someone else's pain if you want to significantly figure in the running. Congratulations to Professor Umbridge!

And now, this week's poll: who in YA is the Most Alluring "Bad Boy"? You choose!

There are lots of choices here, so vote below! (If the book is part of a series, I've just listed the series name. You can decide which book you want to base your vote on.) There's also an option for a write-in vote if your pick isn't listed. If that's the case, please choose "other" and then leave the character's name and book title in the comments :)


I'd also be interested in knowing how YOU define "bad boy". When I did a Google search looking for characters to include in the poll, it seemed like there were a few different ideas of what constitutes a fictional "bad boy". What do you think?

Another Fairy Tale Fortnight Guest Post!

That's right, my second guest post for Fairy Tale Fortnight is up on Ashley's blog here! Today I'm discussing why the tale of Rumpelstiltskin freaks me out. (I'm not the only one, am I?) Come drop by and share your thoughts!

And if you missed my first one — all about the pearls of wisdom we can glean from fairy tales — you can check that out at Misty's blog here!

Waiting on Wednesday: Burning Blue and Forgotten

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and features books that we just can't wait to get our hands on!

This week's picks:

Burning Blue by Paul Griffin

"When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the whole world takes notice. But quiet loner Jay Nazarro does more than that—he decides to find out who did it. Jay understands how it feels to be treated like a freak, and he also has a secret: He's a brilliant hacker. But the deeper he digs, the more danger he's in—and the more he falls for Nicole. Too bad everyone is turning into a suspect, including Nicole herself."

This one sounds like a great combination of twisted mystery and the psychology surrounding self-image and identity. Love the way they've done the cover so that the title is obscuring the left side of her face, with the impression of droplets. 


Forgotten by Catherine McKenzie

"When everyone thinks you’re dead, how do you start your life over again?

Emma Tupper, a young lawyer with a bright future, sets out on a journey after her mother’s death: to Africa, a place her mother always wanted to visit. But her mother’s dying gift has unexpected consequences. Emma falls ill during the trip and is just recovering when a massive earthquake hits, turning her one-month vacation into a six-month ordeal.

When Emma returns home, she’s shocked to find that her friends and colleagues believed she was dead, that her apartment has been rented to a stranger and that her life has gone on without her. Can Emma pick up where she left off? Should she? As Emma struggles to recreate her old life, everyone around her thinks she should change – her job, her relationships, and even herself. But does she really want to sacrifice everything she’s working so hard to gain?"

I don't tend to read a lot of adult books, but I really like the premise of this one. I can only imagine what it would be like to get back from a trip unintentionally extended in such a dramatic way, and discover that everyone thought you were dead and nothing is how it used to be. That is a rough situation and I'm interested to see how Emma tackles it! And it doesn't hurt that it has a pretty cover giving off a serene, almost old-fashioned kind of vibe.


What books are you waiting for?

Guest Posting for Fairy Tale Fortnight!

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm talking about fairy tales today over at Misty's blog The Book Rat! Fairy Tale Fortnight (a fabulous blog event co-hosted by Misty from The Book Rat and Ashley from Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing) has begun and it would behoove you to check out my post, since I'm telling you some very important life lessons you can learn from fairy tales... ;)

The event runs until April 30th and will be chock-full of fairy tale goodness, so be sure to stop by!

"New Adult" Niche: Guest Post by Chachic

I'm very happy to welcome Chachic from Chachic's Book Nook to the blog today for a guest post! This is part of the "New Adult" Niche feature I'm doing for my "New Adult" Reading Challenge. Chachic is the blogger who created this awesome Goodreads list last year, which I have now been using as a reference list for the challenge! 

As much as I love reading contemporary YA novels, it saddens me that there aren't as many New Adult titles out there. I keep looking for well-written novels with characters in their late teens or early twenties because I enjoy reading about their experiences: adjusting to college life, trying to figure out what to do after graduating and looking for a job that's a good fit for them. Those things remind me of what I went through at that period in my life and I keep hoping that more authors will realize that readers are just as interested in New Adult as YA. So when Danya invited me to write a guest post for her lovely blog, I thought it would be a good idea to highlight some of the New Adult titles that I've thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller Travis is only nineteen but he signed up to become a Marine right after high school and he's been assigned to Afghanistan so Something Like Normal has an older vibe than other contemporary YA novels. Travis is dealing with some serious issues because of his experiences in the war.

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta I love Melina Marchetta's writing, her characters just feel so alive. The Piper's Son occurs several years after its companion novel, Saving Francesca, with characters that are older but not necessarily wiser. The book has two main characters: twenty-one-year old Tom Mackee and his aunt Georgie.

Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar Instead of studying in university, Carly dropped out and works the night shift in a cafe so she can surf as much as she wants during the day. So she definitely doesn't have typical high school worries. And her love interest? Twenty-six-year old Ryan, who's also a surfer.

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols This is a classic story of bad girl meets good boy but with much more complicated characters. Going Too Far has such a great slow burn romance between wild girl Meg and young cop, John After.

Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park Yay for novels set in college! I could relate to Julie's excitement at starting college and it was a lot of fun seeing her get to know the quirky members of the Watkins family. I also loved that social media sites (like Facebook) were an important aspect in this novel.

Jane by April Lindner In this modern-day retelling of Jane Eyre, Jane is a young college student who works as a nanny for the daughter of reclusive rock star, Nico Rathburn. If you're a big fan of Jane Eyre, then you should check out this retelling. But I have a feeling readers will enjoy this even if they're not familiar with the original classic novel.

These New Adult titles are installments in series so I won't say anything about them to avoid spoilers but I do recommend that you go through the earlier books so you can check these out:

Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty
Long May She Reign by Ellen Emerson White

Thank you, Danya, for inviting me to write a guest post for your blog. Feel free to recommend New Adult titles that you think I'd enjoy!

Thanks, Chachic, for sharing your favourite New Adult reads with us! The Piper's Son is definitely on my TBR list (in fact, it's sitting on my shelf right now, waiting to be read!)

Readers, have you read any of the books Chachic has recommended? Do you have any New Adult suggestions for her?