AW: Allyson Condie

Former English teacher, Allyson Condie pursues her love of writing as she eloquently tells her tales.  She lives with her husband and kids (three boys) in Salt Lake City, Utah were she’s accomplishing making all her dreams come true.  Other than her love of teaching young minds literature appreciation and writing brilliant novels, Ally enjoys reading (especially poetry), running, and listening to her husband play guitar.

PW: Meeting at Night by Robert Browning

Meeting at Night

Robert Browning

The grey sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon large and low;
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed i' the slushy sand. 

Author of the Week: Jenny Han

Writer and chocolate cake lover, Jenny Han, was born and raised in Richmond Virginia.  On her path to becoming the talented YA author she is known as today, she studied at University of North Carolina and graduate school in New York.  At said graduate school, Han received a MFA in Writing for Children.  She now resides in Brooklyn where she has a part-time job working at a school library.

Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Paranormalcy

Author: Kiersten White

Publisher: HarpterTeen

Young Adult

335 pages

Summary:

Once again, there Evie is: a dreary cemetery, her fully-charged pink Taser (conveniently named “Tasey”), and another paranormal to take care of.  Work is never done for this sixteen year old IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency) operative.  Since the program found her wandering around through foster care, she’s been living in their underground Center talking with her mermaid best friend, being stalked by her determined faerie ex-boyfriend, and saving the world from destructive paranormals… all the while wondering what it would be like to be normal.

Author of the Week: Sarah Dessen (last week)

Out of all the summer romances giddy girls flip through on those hot days by the pool, you’ll most likely find that it is a literary contribution of author Sarah Dessen.  In my years of obsessively reading young adult fiction, I have read many of Sarah Dessen’s romance novels; which always cause me to squeal and wish I could meet a boy as awesome as the ones contained in the pages.

“Illusions” Book Tour-Last Stop-NYC

Last stop for Aprilynne Pike on her Illusions book tour is non-other than the big apple!  She will be appearing at Book of Wonders on Thursday, July 28^th, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.  Don’t miss out on meeting this astounding YA author.  She’s not the only one signing—you can also find Sarah Porter and Melissa Walker there as well!

For more information and address to Book of Wonders visit: http://www.aprilynnepike.com/illusions-encore-tour-new-york-ny

Review: Rosebush by Michele Jaffe

Rosebush

Author: Michele Jaffe

Publisher: Razorbill

Young Adult

326 pages



See Jane Run.

Jane wakes up tangled in a Rosebush, paralyzed and without a clue to how she got there.

See Jane Hide.

Her friends convince her she was the victim to hit and run accident-but Jane begins to suspect that someone is out to kill her.  Now, she must use the clues left behind by each person who visits her in the hospital-friend, stranger, enemy-to piece together what really happened, before it’s too late.

See Jane Die.

The truth will change her life forever.   That is, if it doesn’t kill her.

Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Author: Jenny Han

Publisher:Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Young Adult

288 pages (Hardcover)

Summary:

Belly was never regarded as an equal, running around the summer house chasing after her brother Steven and Beck’s boys, Jeremiah and Conrad.  For as long as the span of Belly’s memory she always looked up to Conrad, admired him for his calm nature and athletic skills.  Her admiration quickly fueled a secret love.  Never did Conrad give her a second glance until that summer; the summer she turned pretty.  The summer that would change her life and also her opinion of the suntanned, water-soaked boys she knew in the summer time.   

Poem of the Week: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

The free bird leaps
on the back of the win
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

Poem of the Week: "Why do I love" You, Sir? by Emily Dickinson

this is last weeks poem:

"Why do I love" You, Sir?

 Emily Dickinson

"Why do I love" You, Sir?
Because—
The Wind does not require the Grass
To answer—Wherefore when He pass
She cannot keep Her place.

Because He knows—and
Do not You—
And We know not—
Enough for Us
The Wisdom it be so—

Review: Warrior by Bryan Davis

Warrior 

Author: Bryan Davis

Publisher: Zondervan

Young Adult

432 pages (paperback)

My Rating: 3 ½ stars

I recently finished Warrior by Bryan Davis, the sequel to Starlighter in the series Dragons of Starlight.  As I’ve said before, I’ve never been one for a “dragon tale” so this was quite new to me.  It’s been a nice change from my normal favorites: fairies and ghosts.  Though I may never pick up another dragon-themed book again, I hold nothing against this series or this author.  I quite frankly love this series and can’t wait to finish it off with Divinier (Once the library gets it in).

Review: Shadowspell by Jenna Black

Shadowspell

Author: Jenna Black

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Young Adult

304 pages

 

I’ve decided that I’ll warn you all at the beginning of this review:  Shadowspell by Jenna Black has some minor sexual content that may not be appropriate for people under the age of13.  At least that’s my opinion.  So if you are mature enough to handle material at a “Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer” level than proceed. 

Back Cover Synopsis:

“On top of spending most of her time in a bunkerlike safe house and having her dates hijacked by a formidable Fae bodyguard, Faeriewalker Dana Hathaway is in for some more bad news: the Erlking and his pack of murderous minions known as the Wild Hunt have descended upon Avalon. With his homicidal appetite and immortal powers, the Erlking has long been the nightmare of the Fae realm.  A fragile treaty with the Faerie Queen, sealed with a mysterious spell, is the one thing that keeps him from hunting unchecked in Avalon, the only place on Earth where humans and Fae live together. Which means Dana’s in trouble, since it’s common knowledge that the Faerie Queen wants her – and her rare Faeriewalker powers – dead. The smoldering, sexy Erlking’s got his sights set on Dana, but does he only seek to kill her, or does he have something much darker in mind?”

Poem of the Week: If You Forget Me

If You Forget Me

Pablo Neruda

I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Author of the Week: Frewin Jones

I would like to start off by introducing Frewin Jones as one of my favorite authors.  His Faeire Path series had me begging on my knees for more.  I think I cried when it was over.  I had grown to like all the characters and felt like I knew them over the span of this five book series.  Five books to get to know the fabulous world Jones created.  I truly wasn’t disappointed at all by any of these books.  Though, I did have to wait patiently for the last book to be written and placed on the shelves of the library.