Tuesday 31 August 2010
Winner of Scarlett Dead by Cathy Brett!
Monday 30 August 2010
The Violet Keystone by Garth Nix
What are you reading? #33
Books I've read this week:
Sunday 29 August 2010
Heist Society by Ally Carter
304, Hardcover
Personal copy
YA
Occasional mild violence, hints of romance in places
Summary from Disney Hyperion:
When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind.
Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected. Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster’s art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list.
Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help. For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s (very crooked) history—and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.
Amy's Thoughts:
Why is it so many of my favourite YA books begin in school? *shakes head* Clearly, I was destined to become a teacher and go back to school forever. But anyway, the review.
When Kat finds herself being blamed for putting the teacher's car in the school fountain, she's knows something's up. She doesn't expect it to be Hale, though - the really cute guy who has worked with her family for years, and whose first name still remains a mystery. Despite the cute factor, she's not exactly thrilled: after all, she had to pull one of the most elaborate cons in her life to get into this school, and she intends to go through with it. She's put her old life firmly behind her.
Only, no matter how far you run, you can't escape the fact that family is family, and when family needs you - well, you have to be there.
One of my absolutely favourite things about all of Ally Carter's work is how clean it is. I know that's kind of an odd comment to make; most people love a story for the plot, or the characters, or the worldbuilding, not for its cleanliness, after all :D But still. I have a baby sister who's 13, and I recommend books I love to her. So it's really nice to know that there are books I can recommend to her that really are clean.
That said, Heist Society is full of Ally's usual deft plot twists and well-developed characters, all with just a touch of romance. I especially loved the fact that the main job in the story involves breaking into the Louvre, and I've actually been there! My husband and I traveled to Europe for the first time last year, and it's so exciting to read a story and be able to visualise the places it describes :o)
A squeetastic book! I still think Carter's Gallagher Girls series tops it, but Heist is a lot of fun. I hope the movie option becomes a reality :)
Find out more about Heist Society on the Australian Heist Society website, or find out more about the author at AllyCarter.com.
Saturday 28 August 2010
Win a copy of The Double Life of Cassiel Roadnight by Jenny Valentine! INTERNATIONAL ends 12 pm 11th September
To Enter:
The Deadline:
Friday 27 August 2010
Chapter One of Out for Blood by Alyxandra Harvey
Click here to be taken to the first chapter.
Enjoy it! I'm off to relax and think happy, anti-sore throat thoughts. Which will involve books :)
Thank you to the lovely people at Bloomsbury for the snippet!
Thursday 26 August 2010
The Golden Acorn by Catherine Cooper
Wednesday 25 August 2010
The Company of Shadows by Ruth Newman
Tuesday 24 August 2010
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
Monday 23 August 2010
The Children of the Lost by David Whitely
What are you reading? #32
Books I've read this week:
Well....I've barely read any books recently! Life's been life, I've had minor cold Germlets chasing me round. So this week I have read....
Sunday 22 August 2010
White Cat by Holly Black
310, Hardcover
Personal copy
YA Paranormal
Some moderate violence and gore, hints of romance including a kiss, lots of suspense
Summary from Simon & Schuster:
Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.
Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love -- or death -- and your dreams might be more real than your memories.
Amy's thoughts:
In White Cat, the first novel in the Curse Worker series, Holly Black deftly plunges the reader into a world that is so much like our own - and yet different in chilling, subtle ways. Cassel, the main character, is well rounded and likeable, and it's easy to feel both sympathy and nerves for him as the story progresses and the plot thickens. As well as magic users who, in a world where magic is illegal, are labelled 'curse workers' - workers, for short - White Cat boasts a host of fantastic supporting characters: the quirky girl from school who ties her hair with twine and carries a hemp handbag; the science nerd who's also a drama props expert and is totally obsessed with fake blood; relatives to make your skin crawl; and of course, one white cat with an Attitude.
You can probably guess that I'm totally in love with the characters in this novel :o) But the plot is also awesome. I was so excited when I figured out a major twist halfway through the novel - only then the twist was revealed a few pages later and didn't turn out to be the major reveal of the novel after all! This book just keeps you guessing and guessing as Cassel digs through his family to sift out the secrets and lies from the truth - and learns that memories never count for as much as you think they do.
Final conclusion:
Oh. my. SQUEE!! Seriously. I can has next book in series (released March '11) yet, please? O:)
Find out more about author Holly Black at her website.
Saturday 21 August 2010
Friday 20 August 2010
Winners of The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
Tuesday 17 August 2010
Winners of Hunger Games Competition!
The winner who will receive the lovely t-shirt, and a badge is....
- Water (essential)
- A delicious vegetarian feast (tasty, good nutrients here)
- Food (generic) (always useful)
- Watermelon (A source of water! And a sweet food )
- An item that can be a weapon as well as find food (inventive)
- Antibiotic ointment (very useful for preventing death from infection)
- A weapon (generic) (useful for protection)
- A knife (good for protection)
- Rifle with ammunition/machine gun with unlimited bullets (Well that would get rid of other competitors very quickly)
- Bow and arrow (I love this type of weapon)
- A bag filled with food, water and survival items (the sponsor would be rich to provide this!)
- A copy of Mockingjay (This made me smile. The entrant did then say water, because you need that more than anything).
- MP3 player (keep you occupied at night)
Witch Baby and Me On Stage by Debi Gliori
Monday 16 August 2010
What are you reading? #31
Books I've read this week:
Sunday 15 August 2010
Zelah Green: One More Little Problem by Vanessa Curtis
Zelah Green: Who Says I'm a Freak? by Vanessa Curtis
EVENT CLOSED Win a copy of Scarlett Dedd by Cathy Brett! INTERNATIONAL ends 12pm 29th August
If you like the paranormal, how about the story of a girl who is a ghost? Here's the summary from Headline
You're dead Scarlett...
Previously a poor taste jibe from school frenemies, now a statement of fact.
Scarlett is absolutely mortified (in more ways than one) to discover that she's accidentally killed herself while trying to get out of a school trip. Even worse, she's taken her entire family with her.
Life as a ghost is pretty dull - if only some of her friends were dead too.
The Prize: One person will win a copy of the book, which doesn't come out until 2nd September
To Enter: Fill in this form here. That's it! You don't have to be a follower to enter.
The Deadline: 12pm GMT 29th August. I will notify the winner by email (picked by a random number generator).