The blog is moving!

So, I’ve finally gotten all my ducks in a row and moved over to my very own domain! You can now find me at BreakingtheBinding.com!

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to move my WordPress followers over to the new blog, but I hope you’ll take a moment and follow the new site via Linky, RSS or Email!

And to give you some extra incentive for following, I’m giving away an ARC of The Crown of Embers! So, what are you waiting for? Hop on over and enter to win and tell me what you think of the new site!

Thanks for being such awesome followers! I heart you all *MUAH*!

 

[Review] My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzparick

Book: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzparick

Publication: June 14, 2012 by Dial Books (Penguin Teen)

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary: “One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them…until one summer evening Jase Garrett climbs her trellis and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love and stumble through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first romance, Jase’s family makes Samantha one of their own—even as she keeps him a secret from her disapproving mother and critical best friend. Then the unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha’s world. She’s suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

 

TGIF: Deliciously Swoon-Worthy Quotes!

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReads. Every Friday she posts a new question and it’s a really fun way to discover new blogs.

This weeks question is: Quotes That Make You Swoon: What are some of the most swoon-worthy quotes you’ve experienced in a book?

Wow, this one was super difficult! Because I know the moments I found to be super swoon-worthy, but I don’t always remember the quotes that happened at those moments.  BUT that’s what Goodreads is for, yes? To help me find/remember the exact quote from a specific book!

So, here are some my favorite swoon-worthy quotes from books I’ve read recently (be warned, there may be slight spoilers):

 

Throwback Thursday: A Lesson Before Dying By Ernest Gaines

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books! It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. Through Throwback Thursdays THCW and NTFB hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

This week’s Throwback Thursday book is A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines.

Summary from Amazon:  A Lesson Before Dying, is set in a small Cajun community in the late 1940s.  Jefferson, a young black man, is an unwitting party to a liquor store shoot out in which three men are killed; the only survivor, he is convicted of murder and sentenced to death.  Grant Wiggins, who left his hometown for the university, has returned to the plantation school to teach.  As he struggles with his decision whether to stay or escape to another state, his aunt and Jefferson’s godmother persuade him to visit Jefferson in his cell and impart his learning and his pride to Jefferson before his death.  In the end, the two men forge a bond as they both come to understand the simple heroism of resisting—and defying—the expected.

Why You Should Read This Book:  This book is certainly not my usual pick for a Throwback Thursday, but it’s one I was discussing with a friend recently and just wanted to share it with as many people as possible.

This was on the syllabus in my sophomore English class and it is one of the only assigned books that I now list among my favorites. This book is not an easy or light-hearted read; It’s dark, difficult, gritty and deeply sad. It contains a powerful and engaging lesson through a very vivid portrayal of 1940’s Southern racial injustice in a small Louisiana town.

The story is so incredibly moving that it keeps you turning pages long after you should have gone to sleep. It allows you to connect with Grant and Jefferson in a way that you probably didn’t think was possible when you first cracked open it’s spine. A Lesson Before Dying is, in my opinion, Ernest Gaines’ best work and one that you would be doing yourself a disservice if you never read.

Just, maybe make sure you have some tissues and chocolate handy.

 

Language: cursing in YA books.

So, apparently earlier this week there was quite the debate on BBC Breakfast between authors GP Taylor and Patrick Ness over whether books should require ratings, much like movies. On one side of the debate was GP Taylor who is very much in favor of this and on the other side is Patrick Ness who adamantly opposes the idea.

I’m in full agreement with Patrick Ness, I don’t believe publishers should be required to label books with ratings (apparently over 800 authors agree as well, according to a petition signed on this website). I don’t think the ratings system works all that well for movies and I could see it being even worse for books. However, reading the debate triggered a thought I had while reading Miranda Kenneally’s debut novel, what about using cursing in YA books?

Her book, Catching Jordan, focuses on a female quarterback (you can read my review) and one thing that stood out for me while reading was an excessive use of foul language. It was jarring to me because it’s not often you find a teen book with multiple instances of the f-word and it took me out of the story for a moment when I came across it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m pro-cursing in general. In fact, if you’ve ever met me in real life (or happened to play against me in an online video game) you’d know that I curse like a sailor, pretty much all the time. I like it, it’s fun and it usually gets my point across (I do keep my fouled language to myself around preachers, small children and grandmas). Yet, when I’m reading a YA book (or even an adult book for that matter) it’s not necessarily something that I want to see a lot of, even though I’m well aware that teenagers do curse. And some of them do it quite a lot.

After a lot of thinking about whether I was being overly sensitive or overreacting, I came to a conclusion. If the cursing has a direct impact on the story, I’m on board with it being included. A good example of this that I was able to come up with was Holden Caulfield in Catcher and the Rye, he cursed a lot, but it was a part of who he was as a character. If you took it out, his character would feel different and he would come across differently to the reader. Removing the foul language would have an impact on the overall story.

If the cursing doesn’t have a direct impact on the story or character, then I don’t really need to see it. For example, in Catching Jordan, if you’d taken out the curse words from the dialogue you still would’ve had Jordan. She would have acted the same, talked the same and responded to situations in the same manner. Removing them wouldn’t have had any impact on her character, or how the reader sees her character. And so the words simply felt superfluous to me.

Pretty much, my thoughts are if anything doesn’t move your plot along, or help develop your characters, you should cut it out. If that same something helps deepen the plot or display/develop certain trait your character has, then by all means leave it in. Regardless of what that something is.

And then let individuals decide what books they want to read without subjecting them to a reviews boards stuffy ratings. 🙂

 

Waiting on Wednesday July 11th: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly me hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine (gotta love the name!). The idea is that it spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. So, here is my pick for the week:

The Mark of Athena
by Rick Riordan
Publication Date: October 2, 2012

From Amazon: Annabeth is terrified. Just when she’s about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo’s fantastical creation doesn’t appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that’s only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close— the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth’s biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he’s now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

Why I’m Waiting: It’s no secret that I love Rick Riordan’s books with the passion of a young fangirl. They are high on my list of MG fantasy, surpassed by only the first few Harry Potter books. And with The Heroes of OlympusI’m able to reconnect with my favorite people from Percy Jackson and be introduced to new, cool characters! Plus, Rome! There are togas people, the kids actually wear togas. And there’s an elephant. WHat’s not to love about that?

I can’t wait to continue on the adventure of Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo and the others. And  they’ll be in for quite a wild ride, if there previous adventures are anything to go by! If you’re still not onboard with the adventure you can read the first chapter here.

What is everyone else eating on this week? I look forward to WoW posts to help discover new books to watch out for! It’s one of my favorite days of the week!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: My Top Ten Favorite Television Characters

It’s Tuesday again and over at The Broke and the Bookish that means it’s time for another Tuesday Top Ten!

This week’s topic is a Top Ten Tuesday Freebie! Which, may have been more fun had I not cheated on the topic a few weeks ago ;-). BUT never fear! I love the idea of a challenge and coming up with my own unique top ten list. That and the freebie gives me a chance to jump away from books for a bit and channel my love for tv characters. ( You can blame Lauren @ The Housework Can Wait for the inspiration for this week’s list)

So, this week’s list is my Top Ten Favorite Television Characters (in no particular order):

1. Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love Buffy, a lot, and I think she’s a fantastic character, but Willow has always been the one who intrigued me most on the show. I also think she’s the one who grew the most and had the greatest character development over the course of the seven seasons. She goes from being an extremely nerdy, painfully shy girl who tries to remain invisible, to this powerful, confident and incredibly talented wiccan. Love her.

2. Hoban “Wash” Washburne from Firefly. Oh Wash. From the very first moment you appeared on the screen with your toy dinosaurs I was smitten with your character. And then, you captured my heart with your witty banter and clever comebacks. I wasn’t even disgusted by that thing you called a mustache when it appeared on your face in a flashback. Wash, you are delightful in every way possible.

3. Veronica Mars from Veronica Mars. Veronica is one of my top female characters of all time. She’s spunky and dedicated and puts up a tough exterior to make sure that no one can ever hurt her. But once someone is allowed past that façade they see how caring and sensitive she really can be. I love that she’s a flawed character and that she makes tons of mistakes, accuses the wrong people and just generally screws up sometimes. She’s human and she’s relatable and I think that’s why I love her so much. Also, her relationship with her father is one of my favorite father-daughter relationships ever.

4. CJ Cregg from The West Wing. I am still convinced that when I grow up I will get to be CJ Cregg. She is my ultimate female role model and I aspire to be like her in every way possible. She is incredibly intelligent and holds her own in a very male dominated world. She gives as good as she gets and she won’t let anyone, including the president, tell her that she can’t do something. Also, her secret service name is “Flamingo”. How can she not be awesome?

5. Admiral Bill Adama from Battlestar Galactica. I would follow Adama into the deepest, darkest depths of space. He commands loyalty and respect from his crew and it’s obvious that they don’t hesitate to give it. He makes difficult decisions and sometimes he made the wrong choice, but he is always honest it what he does. He inspires his crew even in the most bleak of situations and he loves them all as if they were his own children. He’s a fantastic character and one of the reasons I stuck with BSG til the very end.

6. Spike (or William the Bloody) from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Spike has always been my favorite vampire,from his first appearance in Sunnydale when he crashed through the sign to the last moments he battled side by side with Angel & Co. While I don’t deny the appeal of Angel, it was Spike’s snark and unapologetic attitude that drew me in. He consistently has some of the best lines in the show, walks the line between Evil and No-So-Very Evil with a swagger and keeps Buffy on her toes. One of my favorites scenes from all seven seasons is in the final episode of season seven,, between Buffy and Spike.

7. Joshua Lyman from The West Wing. He may well be my favorite tv character of all time. He’s witty and snarky, clever and quick, sweet and caring, attractive and he knows it. Josh is loyal and fights for his friends without really a second through for himself. He has some of the best lines from the entire seven seasons of the show and I often find myself quoting them in regular conversation. Joshua Lyman, why aren’t you the real deputy/chief of staff?

8. Captain Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly. Do I even need to explain why Captain Tightpants is one of my favorite characters? I mean, this is Malcolm Reynolds we are talking about, he’s a Big Damn Hero. He saves the Universe and things. He’s also super protective of his crew and loves them like family. His tough, trash talkin’ exterior is just there to hide his gooey, adorable marshmallow center. How can you NOT love Mal?

9. Seeley Booth and Temperance Brennan from Bones. These two are a package deal and I simply can’t pick one over the other (or choose one without the other). I love how these two characters balance each other out while at the same time they drive each other absolutely crazy. They just work together in a way that’s difficult for others to understand, but I think that’s why they make up one of the best crime solving duos on television.

10. Jason Walsh from The Unusuals. So, he was a in cop dramedy that was cancelled after a ten episode first season and I’ve only recently watched it in it’s entirely. So, it’s a bit odd that he made this list, however anyone that knows my deep-rooted love for Jeremy Renner will understand! Walsh is a standout cop who genuinely cares about the people on the force and the people he is trying to help, and he doesn’t care about the glory or the spotlight that some cops seem to crave. Also, he wears an apron and cooks in his “diner”. It’s adorable.

Honorable Mentions:
Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Really, how can you NOT like Giles? I mean, he wears tweed and he’s a librarian!
Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls.
Sydney Bristow from Alias – She’s a super spy! Isn’t this obvious?
Sam Seaborne from The West Wing – He’s so idealistic and hopeful. It’s almost contagious.
Jane Rizzoli from Rizzoli and Isles – I’d like to also be her. She’s so badass.

 

[Review] Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Book: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Publication: December 1, 2001 by Sourcebooks Fire

Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary (Amazon): What girl doesn’t want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn’t just surrounded by hot guys, though–she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that’s just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.

But everything she’s ever worked for is threatened when Ty Greeen moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he’s also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan’s feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart’s on the line?

This book sounded so promising and I was so sure that I would absolutely love it. I mean, it’s a football book where the female main character is the school’s quarterback. And look at that cover! What’s not to love?

Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the story overall, I didn’t love the it as much as I had wanted/expected to. Here are my thoughts in list form (sorry I’m running low on creative juices so, you get what you get today!):

What I Liked

• Jordan. I really did like the main character a lot. She was smart, funny, and one tough cookie. I have mad respect for any girl who can hold her own on a team full of guys.
• The friendship between the teammates. I liked seeing Jordan interact with both JJ and Carter, they had such a great bond and it proves guys and girls can be friends. They were protective of her, but also let her fight her own battles. It seemed like a perfect
• Marie and Carrie. I loved how they threw Jordan’s mental image of cheerleaders completely upside down. They both seemed like the sort of girls I’d have been friends with.
• The relationship between Jordan and her mom. Her mom was so supportive and at every single game and every single practice. I always enjoy seeing active parenting in a YA book.
• Also, the relationship between Jordan and her brother Mike. I loved that he supported her both in football and when she was having personal issues. It’s good to see siblings get along so well!
• Football. Have I mentioned how much I love Football? I’m counting down the days until college ball starts back up!

What I Didn’t Like

• Ty. I didn’t see him as being a believable crush. I guess this is where I need to suspend my jaded adult view of things, but it seemed too sudden and it was all based on the fact that he was hot. I just had a hard time buying it. And I didn’t like the drastic personality changes he seemed to undergo, it was a bit confusing. And worrisome.
• How the Henry/Jordan thing went down. I just didn’t find it all that realistic for teenagers, aside from the “i’m not speaking to you for weeks” thing.
• The constant cursing. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I curse enough to make a sailor blush, so it’s not that I’m anti cursing. I just felt it was a bit overused in the book, regardless of how often teenagers actually curse, and it definitely could have been toned down.

All in all the positive outweighed the negative and I enjoyed the read. It’s definitely worth picking up if you love YA contemp with strong female characters. Also, the companion book, Stealing Parker, will be out in October.

 

TGIF: Comfort Reads

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReads. Every Friday she posts a new question and it’s a really fun way to discover new blogs.

This weeks question is: Comfort Reads. Which books do you go to for comfort & familiarity? Is there a type of book you seek out when you’re needing that extra bit of comfort in your life?

There are a few books that I find myself revisiting time and time again when I am in need of book-shaped comfort. These are the books that get me excited about reading and manage to pull me out of whatever slump or pit of despair I have found myself in.

The best part is that the books that I turn to for comfort range across all genres. Sometimes the comfort I need comes from being able to have a good cry and sometimes I take comfort in reading about others experiencing epic love and happiness.

These are the top three books I find myself returning to time and time again when I am in need of comfort.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Harry Potter by JK Rowling

There’s nothing quite like turning to a book when you are in need of comfort. What are some of your comfort reads? And why?

 

Throwback Thursday July 5th: Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia Wrede

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books! It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. Through Throwback Thursdays THCW and NTFB hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

This week’s Throwback Thursday book is Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia Wrede.

Summary from Amazon: Snow White and Rose Red live on the edge of the forest that conceals the elusive border of Faerie. They know enough about Faerie lands and mortal magic to be concerned when they find two human sorcerers setting spells near the border. And when the kindly, intelligent black bear wanders into their cottage some months later, they realize the connection between his plight and the sorcery they saw in the forest. 

Why You Should Read This Book:  Have I mentioned before how much I love fairy tale retellings? Oh, I have? Well then it should come as no surprise that I adored Patricia Wrede’s retelling of the Grimm Brothers fairy tale by the same name!

Wrede weaves the original tale into her retelling, sharing an excerpt at the beginning of each chapter. But, her story is far richer and more involved than the original tale was. The juxtaposition of Elizabethan England and the world of the fairy was fascinating and had me turning page after page.

However, fair warning, this book is set in Elizabethan England and so the language is a bit old-fashioned at times. It did take me a bit of time to get into the flow of the language but after that it was easy enough!

If you’re a fan of fairy tales and their (many) retellings, this book is worth a look!