This month, the YA Book Club (brainchild of the wonderful Tracey) is discussing WANDERLOVE by Kirsten Hubbard. I´ll try not be too spoilery (yes, I´m making up words – I´m all for creativity!) for those of you who may not have read it.
WANDERLOVE: It all begins with a stupid question: Are you a Global Vagabond? No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.
I immersed myself in the story quite fast, after a few pages I was already “in” and I really enjoyed reading Bria´s adventure. The swoony elements were…well…SWOONY 😀 and I could feel her emotions. Always a wonderful plus in my book!
I re-read the ending several times and there are certain passages which made me react this way:
I did try to look a tad more inspired when I nodded though (promise), especially at this excerpt (and what better way to have the author actually read it for us – thanks for the magic of the internet and youtube):
This excerpt resonated in me. I left France when I just turned 19. Left my country, my family for an entire year to live with an American family and to take care of children. I thought I could maybe “reinvent” myself. Nobody knew me there, I could be whoever I wanted to be. I ended up pretty much staying who I already was but I did grow up a lot during that year…
The main reason why I truly enjoyed this story (apart from the swoony bits) is the self-discovery part and for me it could have happened anywhere in the world. She could have been in a resort instead of backpacking and still go through the same emotions.
Having said that, I did really like how Kirsten enabled us to “see” the places Bria went to…I could visualize them and “feel” the water. I virtually traveled with all of them and for that I´m very grateful!
So tell me: what did you think of WANDERLOVE?
How important is the setting of a story for you in general?
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Today is Road Trip Wednesday 🙂 RTW is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.
This week’s topic: What was the best book you read in March?
This month, I’ve read less books than in the previous ones. I’ve been immersing myself in revising, beta-reading and Stephen King’s ON WRITING…but luckily, all the ones I’ve read brought me a little something something…
AMY AND ROGER’S EPIC DETOUR by Morgan Matson: I really really enjoyed this novel. The setting was great and made me think of my upcoming honeymoon so definitely a winner for this month! I thought both characters were well developed and I got lost in their story. And there are definitely a lot of swoon-worthy moments…and those which squeezed my heart. Always a plus! I am definitely adding SECOND CHANCE SUMMER to my TBR list. Thanks again Jaime for pointing this book out to me!
GETTING OVER GARRETT DELANEY by Abby McDonald: A cute one and I liked the premises of the story. I also think the author did very well at portraying the different relationships. I enjoyed the developing and rekindling of friendships.
RIPPLE by Mandy Hubbart: I’ve been meaning to read more mermaid books and this one had a different twist to it. While I wish I could have been immersed more in the curse itself, I still wanted to know what would happen to Lexi 😀
INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows: Honestly, I was unsure about this book before started it. I was afraid I’d be disappointed. I’m glad I wasn’t. It took me a few pages to really get into it and once I was, there was no turning back for me. Plus, the swoony moments involved a piano and gosh how I missed mine while reading those lines!
TRAFFICKED by Kim Purcell: Difficult. Heart-wrenching. Some reviewers mentioned that they thought Hannah was too naive and I don’t think she was. Of course, she knew the dangers but she was going for what she thought to be a better life, for her grandmother. I felt for her. I cringe and I wanted to scream at some of the things happening during the book.
So, tell me what was your favorite book(s) of the month?
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This Top Ten Tuesday feature is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and I first came across it on Jaime´s blog. It´s a lot of fun and they post the topics way in advance! And here comes my second Top Ten Tuesday:
Spring Fever: Top Ten Books I’d Play Hooky With
While it´s been awhile since I skipped anything and I can´t remember skipping any classes unless it was at the end of the school year or during demonstrations. Yes, a lot of French students demonstrate at least once during high school. What I can remember is those books I got lost in at different periods of my life, the one I probably kept on thinking about at all times of the day. The selection has been hard and there are many more I’d like to put there but I’ll refrain to tranform this Top Ten into a Top Thousand…
FAIRYTALES: all types of fairytales. I remember a Grimm book (the kids´ version), a beautiful Charles Perrault book, one which had a fairytale per day and one with I think were Russian fairytales and of course Andersen stories.
COMTESSE DE SÉGUR books: I loved her books as a child. I especially remember one called LES CAPRICES DE GISELE & QUEL AMOUR D’ENFANT which told the story of a misbehaved and spoiled little girl with a big heart. I kept on telling myself I would behave better than her and always got disappointed in some of my actions which made me think “Hmm I’m doing like her”.
JUDY BLUME books: Because let’s face it, she rocks.
LA BICYCLETTE BLEUE by Regine Deforges: I was about 14 when I read this book and some of the sequels. I was mesmerized by the story and I remember laying in my bed for an entire Saturday afternoon just turning the pages.
CATHERINE HERMARY-VIEILLE Books: I’ve read some of her books in high school and some others more recently. I really enjoy both her writing and the story she magically tells (including those taking place in 17/18the century France).
THE BRONZE HORSEMAN trilogy: I started it and never let it go.
TWILIGHT: Yes, I went there 🙂 I read the books when the entire serie was already available and I did miss my bedtime several times because I wanted to know what happened next.
STEPHANIE PERKINS books: I would play hooky with anything this woman writes.
THE HUNGER GAMES Trilogy: I only read the books in January but that enabled me to read all of them at once and I couldn’t wait for my commute to get back to the story.
INSURGENT by Veronica Roth: I cannot wait to get my hands on this book!
What are some books YOU would play hooky with?
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I´ve mentioned this before: I love mythology. I focused part of my Master´s thesis on the re-telling of MEDEA by Christa Wolf using feminism and new historicism theories. I immersed myself in the evolution of women´s image through the different adaptations of the myth. I also looked at MEDEA through Christa Wolf´s lens in regards to the divided Germany and her own personal history.
I breathed MEDEA for months. Christa Wolf did a big u-turn: in her story, Medea is not a child-murderer. I could spend hours discussing her version but this post is about GODDESS INTERRUPTED (sequel of The Goddess Test). Thanks to Netgalley, I read an ARC of this book on my kindle 🙂
Summary from Goodreads: Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she’ll have to fight for it.Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.Henry’s first wife, Persephone.
Some reviews focus on how Aimee Carter changed the myth or how this book doesn´t live up to the expectations one has from Greek mythology or the story of Persephone in general…For me, it did not matter. I wanted a story to entertain me and it did. I wanted a story which takes a new take on a myth and it did. I wanted a story in which I can feel for the characters and it somewhat did. There are certain part of the stories during which I wished I could speak to Kate to get some sense into her but in a way, I enjoyed this because this meant I let myself dive into the story enough to have an opinion on the actions of the main characters. I´ll pick up the last installment of the trilogy when it comes out 😀
Tell me, are there any adaptation of famous stories that you really enjoyed reading?
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Today is Road Trip Wednesday 🙂 RTW is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.
This week’s topic: A long-awaited kiss, a surprise ending, a character’s sudden decision… these are the moments that make us smile, gasp, and LOVE a book for the rest of our lives. What is your favorite literary moment?
So many moments come back to my mind from my decades of reading. Some excerpts from Albert Camus and Victor Hugo which made me think so hard. Some theater plays which got a strong reaction out of me. Some thrillers who got me jumping out of my seat when I heard a noise. Some historical fiction which made me dream I was in another time. Some novels which got me turning the pages so fast because I just wanted to know what would happen next…
However, if I had to pick one and only one favorite literary moment (arrrghhhhh I don’t like playing favorites :D), it would be the anticipation to the long-awaited kisses and the magical moment when the kisses actually happen.
The butterflies before lips meet either tentatively or with force. Those moments where I turn the page and my own body reacts: my stomach flips, my muscles tense because I wonder what may happen. Yep, done well, those get me every single time…
So tell me, what is your favorite literary moment?
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I´ve seen this Top Ten Tuesday feature on Jaime´s blog and thought it looked like fun so I decided to check it out and…here I am 😀 Today is my first Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish)
The Top Ten Books on My Spring To-Be-Read list…
For this list, I´ll focus on YA titles….Ready? There we go!
I’ll start with the sequels coming out in the Spring which get me all jittery every time I think of them…
INSURGENT by Veronica Roth: I cannot wait to know what happens, how will they deal with the guilt, how will they survive? Can love make it in such a place?
UNTIL I DIE by Amy Plum: Of course, Kate and Vincent are characters I look forward to hang out with again. Plus it´s in Paris 😀 But I´m also all happy to see some of the secondary characters (waves at Jules)
….now onto books which have been published somewhat long(er) ago but that I still did not come around to read:
THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson: The summary of this book already makes my heart beat faster. I´ve read great reviews about it and I´m ready for it 😀
SHUTOUT by Kody Keplinger: I enjoyed the DUFF and many say this one is even better so…I need to get around to read it!
THIS LULLABY by Sarah Dessen: I never read any books by Sarah Dessen – I love contemporary romance and I even started writing one so I think it´s about time!
My TBR list on Goodreads holds more than 100 books and there are A LOT of new releases I’m also looking forward to read but those are 10 books I know I will definitely manage to get my fingertips on during the Spring season 😀
What books are on YOUR list for Spring?
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First of all, thank you everybody for the encouraging words on this blog and out, for the smiles, the laughs, the insight…You, ladies and gentlemen, are wonderful…
My first “I LOVE READING” giveaway was fun and I´ll do another one soon again, to continue spreading the love of books and stories 😀
Without further ado, the winner of two books of her choice (one for her and one for somebody younger) as decided by the drawing I´ve done at Random.org is….
Congrats! 😀 All I need now is the title of the two books you wish to have…I even think I remember one of those books may go to your classroom library…AWESOME 😀
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I had the chance of connecting with the very talented S.M. Boyce on Twitter and as she announced her Hidden World Blog Tour, I immediately raised my hand (or sent her a message :D).
First let me introduce you to her book:
Lichgates (Summary from Goodreads): The Grimoire turns its own pages and can answer any question asked of it, and Kara Magari is its next target. She has no idea what she’s getting herself into when she stumbles across the old book while hiking a hidden trail. Once she opens it, she’s thrown into Ourea: a beautiful world full of terrifying things that all want the Grimoire’s secrets. Everyone in this new world is trying to find her, and most want to control her. Braeden Drakonin grew up in Ourea, and all he’s ever known of life is lying. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. He has one question to ask the book – one question that can fix everything in his broken life – and he’s not letting Kara out of his sight until he gets an answer. There’s no escaping Ourea. There’s no going back now.
Then we have a special message coming directly from S.M. Boyce:
And S.M. has been kind enough to answer the questions I sent her. It is the FIRST interview I publish on this blog (and I really enjoyed it so probably not the last :D)
When and where did you have the first idea for LICHGATES?
The first idea for Lichgates came almost a decade ago in my aunt’s basement, when my brothers and I were making little wands and spell casters and other fun things out of clay. I actually still have them, somewhere! These toys sparked a constant daydream about what creatures would use them, and that daydream snowballed into 7 years of development and world building — and, ultimately, the complete removal of the original spell casters from the series. Haha. But, as the old writing adage goes, you need to be able to “kill your darling passages” to write successfully.
The Grimoire Trilogy has been a long while in the making, and I’ve put every ounce of creativity I could spare into making it the best it can be. I really hope you enjoy it.
One sentence of your book which you’d like to share with us:
This one is really hard for me to answer. I hope you know that! One of the hardest from this entire blog tour! Ultimately, though, I have to say I’d go with this one:
“Kara thought of Twin and Adele and Garrett and Braeden and wondered how many of the few people she still had left in the world would survive, since she didn’t quite have the best track record with that sort of thing.”
What are you the most proud of when it comes to your writing?
I think we writers are inherently self-depreciating. It keeps us modest and constantly striving to improve, so it’s hard for me to be proud of anything more than having a published book. That is an incredible, surreal, tear-jerking feeling.
I guess if I had to pick any one thing, I’d say I’m fairly good at describing the world around the characters. I’ve had many readers compliment my world-building description, and I love immersing myself in the ‘where’. You can check out a few of these reviews here and here .
Your most embarrassing writing moment was…
Contradicting myself in one of my first drafts of Lichgates. You know how you can get so into a story that you can’t see beyond the words on the page? I don’t remember the details, but the first reader draft had someone saying they would never do something one sentence…and then they did that without a second thought later on in the book. Oops! I turned red when my beta readers pointed it out, but that’s why we have writing circles!
Where do you usually write?
I live on the edge of a nature preserve, so I tucked my desk in a corner where I can look out the window. It’s beautiful! And when the wind gets going, there are all sorts of crazy noises. It’s both tense and beautiful. I love my writing spot.
One piece of advice for writers:
Write for yourself.
You are putting your name on this story, and it ultimately reflects what you think is artistic and beautiful. If you write for others and always bend yourself around others’ input, you will lose the story you originally wrote. It will lose its meaning. So write what makes you happy. You will never be able to please everyone else, so it’s crucial that you are happy with what you put out there.
Imagine you can go back in time and have a face-to-face with teenie S.M. Boyce: what advice would you give her? (yes I’m all about giving advice today :-))
I would probably tell myself to invest in Google. Short of that, I’d sit back and sigh deeply as I watched myself do stupid things. The mistakes I made make me who I am today, and I’m better off for them. It would be hard to watch, but I know it’s for the better that nothing in my past change. Except maybe a nice investment in Google. Money, I’d like. Haha!
For those who would like to snag their own copy of Lichgates, you can go to any of these sites:
And as S.M. Boyce explained, she prepared a treat for you 😀 By clicking on the Rafflecopter image, you will access the giveaway for an e-book copy of Lichgates or a set of Grimoire Book Swag…
And of course you can win a Grand Prize – including Amazon gift cards, signed books… – on her blog (just click the banner below).
Thanks again for stopping by, S.M. Boyce :D!
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My fingers have been itching to type this post but I had to stay longer at work so it´s a bit later than usual…Ready? Here are some of the reasons why I smiled this week…
My “I love reading giveaway”: This giveaway is to celebrate my love of reading with all of you. There will be one winner (but I probably will repeat this in a few months) You can win 2 books (up to a total of $30): one for you and one for a teenager or a child or a baby you want to share your love of books with. If you’re a teenager, that’s one for you and one for a friend or somebody younger than you. The giveaway is international (open to all countries that The Book Depository ships to). Just fill out the entry form by Friday March 16th.
Revising: Two weeks ago, I sent my first chapter to Tarah…I was anxious to receive her feedback. How would I react to the possible criticism towards the words I put on paper? What did she think about it? Was it awful? Was it good? and wow, I never thought I would be so happy to see her many comments on this chapter. Tarah: again THANK YOU! She not only took the time to read it but she gave a lot of thoughts to it. She edited some and pointed out where it could actually get “tighter”. I am very grateful because I just have the feeling, that thanks to her, my story is moving forward. It´s getting better. I´m excited to dive into the story again!
Reading: I started reading Incarnate at the beginning of the week. I was not sure what to expect…but I was in for a treat. I had plenty of time while waiting at the French consulate to finally change my papers (got married in August and only getting around to it but that´s another story). I will probably do a full review soon but let me just say that Jodi managed to make me miss my piano even more. I also really enjoyed the world-building, the development and the romance. Right now, I am thoroughly enjoying Amy and Roger´s Epic Detour (thanks Jaime for pointing this book out to me some time ago :D)
So tell me what made YOU smile this week?
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Nope I don’t have 100 followers (yet). It may seem like I do but really the number on the right includes my Twitter followers on top of my blog friends…
Since I did not want to wait any longer, I decided to do an “I love reading GIVEAWAY”.
I love reading. I love books. I really do. It’s a love affair which has been going on for the longest time.
It started when my parents read to me each evening before I fell asleep (Merci Papa et Maman!). It continued when I picked up books on my own. Reading Victor Hugo at the age of 8 because really who wouldn’t want to read The Hunchback of Notre Dame at that age…I did not understand everything though. I should read it again 🙂 In my teens, I fell deeper in love with all types of stories and well now, my husband put a limit to the amount of hardcovers I can buy a month…(I’m still not happy with this, Mr Chemical Engineer).
So this giveaway is to celebrate my love of reading with all of you. There will be one winner (but I probably will repeat this in a few months)
You can win 2 books (up to a total of $30): one for you and one for a teenager or a child or a baby you want to share your love of books with. If you’re a teenager, that’s one for you and one for a friend or somebody younger than you. The giveaway is international (open to all countries that The Book Depository ships to). Just fill out the entry form below by Friday March 16th.
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This month, the YA Book Club (brainchild of the wonderful Tracey) is discussing WANDERLOVE by Kirsten Hubbard. I´ll try not be too spoilery (yes, I´m making up words – I´m all for creativity!) for those of you who may not have read it.
I did try to look a tad more inspired when I nodded though (promise), especially at this excerpt (and what better way to have the author actually read it for us – thanks for the magic of the internet and youtube):
My first “I LOVE READING” giveaway was fun and I´ll do another one soon again, to continue spreading the love of books and stories 😀
Elodie Nowodazkij 