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My faves!

2014  has already come and gone and I have yet to share with you my favorite reads of the year. For those who don’t follow me on social media, the answer as to why is simple: I was dying of the plague. Okay, not really. I REALLY had the flu. And not just one. I had TWO different strands. So for my Christmas vacation, I spent 16 days in bed. Sleeping. Barely moving. Barely reading—which is the real tragedy. But now that we have enjoyed a full two weeks of 2015, let me share with you my favorite reads of 2014. First, I met my Goodreads goal of 115 books. As a matter of fact, I didn’t meet it—I spanked it. By year’s end I read 144 books (mostly YA and mysteries). I really like rounded up numbers, so I am bummed I didn’t reach 145, but hey, since I spanked my original goal, I will take it. Of those 144 boys, below I am sharing with you 15 of my favorite tween/YA reads in no particular order. Enjoy! ‘The Impossible Knife of Memory’ – Laurie Halse Anderson      I did...
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The Secret

The Secret

Review: 'After'



Title and author: After by Ellen Datlow
Pages: 384
Date:October 9, 2012
Publisher:Hyperion
ISBN: 9781423146193
Source: NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

If the melt-down, flood, plague, the third World War, new Ice Age, Rapture, alien invasion, clamp-down, meteor, or something else entirely hit today, what would tomorrow look like? Some of the biggest names in YA and adult literature answer that very question in this short story anthology, each story exploring the lives of teen protagonists raised in catastrophe’s wake—whether set in the days after the change, or decades far in the future.

New York Times bestselling authors Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Susan Beth Pfeffer, Carrie Ryan, Beth Revis, and Jane Yolen are among the many popular and award-winning storytellers lending their talents to this original and spellbinding anthology.

Table of Contents – I thought this would be helpful to you

The Segment by Genevieve Valentine
After the Cure by Carrie Ryan
Valedictorian by N.K. Jemisin
Visiting Nelson by Katherine Langrish
All I Know of Freedom by Carol Emshwiller
The Other Elder by Beth Revis
The Great Game at the End of the World by Matthew Kressel
Reunion by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Faint Heart by Sarah Rees Brennan
Blood Drive by Jeffrey Ford
Reality Girl by Richard Bowes
Hw th’Irth Wint Wrong by Hapless Joey @ homeskool.guv by Gregory Maguire
Rust With Wings by Steven Gould
The Easthound by Nalo Hopkinson
Gray by Jane Yolen
Before by Carolyn Dunn
Fake Plastic Trees by Caitlin R. Kiernan
You Won’t Feel a Thing by Garth Nix
The Marker by Cecil Castellucci

My Thoughts:

The end of the world in a nice anthology of short stories, and a poem. This book has it all for even the most avid dystopian junkie.

This is almost a survival guide for readers because there is a plethora of topics covered. It's like a buffet for the most avid doomer. Vampires take over the world? Check. Bugs coming for us? Check. Aliens? Oh my! And let me not forget the Cult. This is not even a small test of what the authors have given us.

The one thing I love about this anthology is that I did not have to read it cover to cover, and that is something that many of our teens will find appealing, especially our reluctant readers. These would also be ideal for those of you who read aloud to your students as many of these are short, fast reads.

I enjoyed the variety of scenarios, and I loved to see some of my favorite YA authors take on this task. I cannot pick a favorite from the stories because I really enjoyed all of them. I will warn you: some of them are intense. I found myself not too sure where the author was going to take me and then…cliffhanger ending. 

Yes, that is correct. Most of these ended with a cliffhanger. While that originally drove me a little crazy, I enjoyed it because I like the possibility of deciding the ending for myself. It was quite clever, and in many cases, the level of ananxiety I felt helped bring me into the next story.

After is a must-have for the dystopian reader, but it is also a great introduction into the genre. I feel that this would make a great hook into novels like The Hunger Games fans.

Have you read this novel? What were your thoughts? What kind of reader(s) would you recommend it to?

Have you reviewed it? Share your link below.

Happy reading all!

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Waiting on Wednesday (3)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine .  It’s designed for bloggers to spotlight the upcoming releases that they simply can’t wait to read. This week my choice is one that I am sure many of you have. I’ve seen it all over Twitter, and my interest is piqued. Title: 'The 5 th Wave' Author: Rick Yancey Publisher: Putnam Juvenile Release Date: 7 May 2013 Summary (from Goodreads ) : After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or ...
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Review: A Snicker of Magic

First, let me say that if a cover has a large ice cream cone on it, dibs are I am going to pick it up. Period. I am a cover shopper, and nothing says, “Pick me up Hodgenator” like a giant ice cream cone. Also, the title has the word “magic” in it. I am going to touch it. In this case, I saw it on Netgalley and realized I needed this book in my life. Little did I know that while reading it, I did need this book in my life . Title: ‘A Snicker of Magic’ Author: Natalie Lloyd Pages: 320 Publisher: Scholastic Press Available: NOW at your local library/book store Source: Netgalley Summary (from Goodreads ) : Introducing an extraordinary new voice---a magical debut that will make your skin tingle, your eyes glisten…and your heart sing. Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is ...
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Review: Origin

I bought this at B&N after viewing the cover an d title and thinking it looked interesting. It was - I did not want to put this book down. I had to because of my teaching responsibilities, but it was a captivating read. If you're looking for a gift for the YA reader in your life, you should consider adding this title to your gift-giving list.     Title: Origin   Author: Jessica Khoury   ISBN: 9781595145956   Available: NOW at your local bookstore and library   Summary (from the book jacket):   Pia has always known her destiny. She is meant to start a new race, a line of descendants who will bring an end to death. She has been bred for no other purpose, genetically engineered to be immortal and raised by a team of scientists in a secret compound hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest. Now those scientists have begun to challenge her, with the goal of training her to carry on their dangerous work .   For as long as she can remember, Pia’s...
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Free $100

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