Purposeful Pandemonium

5 out of 5 gnomes

Wow, what a sequel.  If you thought things were crazy in the first book, wait until you read this one.  Everything just plays out so intricately with all of the pieces coming together. 

This book shows more of what happens in the Wilds.  Lena essentially has the role of Alex in this book because she leaves the old Lena behind and has to survive in this foreign environment.  After the heart-breaking conclusion of the first book Lena has a lot to recover from.  This is no easy recovery either; she did a lot of damage to herself in the escape attempt and has much to grieve for. 

I think the format of the story is done very well because through most of the book the chapters alternate between Then and Now.  This allows you to see how exactly Lena became the person that she now is.  She slowly but surely becomes a real member of the group and the Resistance.  It's great to get a better glimpse of how exactly the Resistance operates. 

The leader of the group that finds her and takes her in is Raven.  Raven is a real hard-boiled woman who tries her hardest to keep everyone safe, together, and help them forget about the past.  Their commune type living arrangement shows Lena how hard it is out in the Wilds but also leads her to learn more of what exactly they are striving and fighting for.  I liked the characters of this group because they added some nice touches to the story and will undoubtedly play a larger role in the next book.

I love that Lena's character learns so much and is much more competent about the world.  The new assignment she has is not as easy as she first thinks and leads to a slew of complications.  These complications though help the reader see how much she has changed and leaned from her experiences. 

I like the mystery of it all because just when I thought I had a twist figured out, it turns out that I was wrong and there's actually much more to it than I imagined.  My only issue with Lena's character is that she seems to get knocked unconscious an awful lot.  Though head injuries aside I guess this actually adds to the air of confusion that Lena feels as the story unfolds.

Nothing in this world is as cut and dry as it first appears and once again Lena finds this out the hard way.  She is right in the middle of plans that are bigger then she even realizes.  In the midst of this plan though it seems that Lena may just have found love again and if I may paraphrase the great singer Meatloaf, Lena would do anything for love. 

Love, betrayal, and an ending that may just leave you cursing means that this book is a definite must read/buy/build a shrine for kind of experience.  I for one so cannot wait to see how this series ends because if the ending is any indication there is going to be some serious turmoil ahead for Lena and everyone that she loves.

Sentence Sneak Peek - Pandemonium

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

The first sentence from each chapter of Pandemonium, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)
* Book will be released March 6, 2012
* ARC read via Around The World ARC Tours

"Alex and I are lying together on a blanket in the back-yard of 37 Brooks."

"In the beginning, there is fire."

"That is the girl I was then: stumbling, sinking, lost in brightness and space."

"Someone is always sick in the Wilds."

"After the DFA meeting, I follow the crowd stream-ing out into the early spring light."

"It gets colder by the day."

"The morning of the rally is unseasonably warm."

"Miyako, who should have been one of the scouts, is instead the last one to enter the sickroom."

"I open my eyes into pain."

"There is no time to leave the way we planned."

"Tell me a story."

"For three days, the weather holds."

"I am awakened by a voice barking, "Tray!"

"We stay four days at the first encampment."

"Lena."

"The temperature drops sharply on the way to the sec-ond encampment."

"Julian and I move through stifling darkness."

"We bury Blue by the river."

"It's still raining in the morning."

"No one knows what to expect at the third encamp-ment, or whether there will even be a third encampment."

"The tunnel we are following slopes downward."

"We scatter like chased animals, panicked and blind."

"When I come to, I'm lying on my back on a dingy sheet."

"Tack and Hunter weren't able to salvage many sup-plies from the Rochester homestead."

"Heaven is hot water."

Team Calla Buttons for The YA Sisterhood's Heroine Tourney

Check out these awesome buttons made by Avery at Avery's Book Nook.

Feel free to grab a button and post it on your blog or anywhere else to help support Team Calla in our ferocious first fight on December 16th.

Don't forget to vote on December 16th -

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<center><a href=" http://ya-sisterhood.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="YA Sisterhood" src=" http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb396/AverysBookNook/calla2.jpg"/></a></center>

Story Time - Week 4 of the Story so Far

The story will begin on the first of each month and end on the last day of the month.

Rules
1.) Only write 1 to 2 sentences
2.) Keep it clean
3.) Have fun and spread the word so the story grows

This story will end on November 30th so lets make this last week great and end it well.

Week 4 of the Story:

Once upon a time in a time not that long ago there was a disturbance.  The cause of the disturbance was something that was well...truly disturbing. 

In fact it was so disturbing that at first it was quite unclear what this disturbance was, because anyone who saw it was too disturbed to talk about it.

There came a noisy unruly girl who demanded that all must obey her. She was the girl of the mayor and weird things did happen around her.

Pigeons tap danced when she blinked her eyes and cockroaches would mimic her words when she spoke.

Lights would go off and babies would cry when she passed.

This girl stood in the center of town, pigeons dancing, roaches waiting, lights flickering and babies crying all around. She struck her umbrella on the cobblestones.

A hush fell over the town as purple sparks shot out of the tip of the umbrella and even the pigeons stopped their dancing and seemed to hold their breath.

YA Sisterhood Tournament of Heroines

The YA Sisterhood blog has put together a Tournament of Heroines.  I can't wait for it to start because there are a lot of great characters represented.

I'm the advocate for Calla from the Nightshade series by Andrea Cremer.  I couldn't be more excited about this because Calla is one of the strongest and most interesting characters that I've read since I began blogging.

I love Nightshade because it's about choosing your destiny and figuring out which path is best and as the front cover of the book says, "She can control her pack but not her heart."

I'll be writing up my defense of Calla soon, I'm just looking for the perfect words now.  The first round for Calla is December 16th against Izzy from The Mortal Instruments series, so make sure to vote like Calla would and go with your heart.  :)

You can see my love for Nightshade by seeing my review of Nightshade here and my review of Wolfsbane here.

Check out The YA Sisterhood blog to find out more details.  Then see the schedule of rounds here.

Help me fight the ferocious fight and support Team Calla in the tournament.

Things you can do:
Tweet, Facebook, yell from the roof tops (pretty much anything you can do to promote the tournament and Calla would be appreciated.)
If you tweet use the #HEROINETOURNEY or #TeamCalla hashtags

Who to follow on Twitter so you know what's going on and when:

Me - @GeckyBoz The YA Sisterhood - @YASisterhood 

Andrea Cremer - @andreacremer


Feel free to post this picture on your blog, Facebook, etc...  If you have any other ideas for buttons/banners to support Calla and Nightshade just let me know.  Just make sure to link to The YA Sisterhood blog

* If you'd be interested in having a giveaway to support Calla just let me know either viaTwitter (@GeckyBoz) or email - geckyboz[at]gmail[dot]com and I'll organize some kind of blog hop or something to encourage people to vote.  I know I'll be putting together an awesome prize package if we win the first round.

Marvelous Mail

Very glad that I signed up for the Shelf Awareness newsletters because I requested Everneath and actually received it.  It always feels good to receive a requested book. :)

Black Friday Bargains

A good day, did the whole Black Friday fun on Thursday at Walmart. Did only the 10 o'clock ad items.  Since they put everything out early got through and checked out, the discounts also went through early, and was done with everything and leaving the parking lot by 9:30 :)

Then checked out Big Lots and Target and was glad nothing was very crowded.
                                                     

Got this cute video recorder from Big Lots

Found a good selection of DVDs at Walmart

Found some SpongeBob DVDs at Big Lots.  SpongeBob = Always good.  :)

Got this adorable bear for $5 and the Snuggie for $2 at Big Lots.

Some good DVDs and a cd from Target

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody :)

I'm thankful to everybody that stops by and supports Bibliognome.

Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not I hope that everybody has a great day.


Here's some corny Thanksgiving poetry for you all:

Turkey Day Haiku
Thanksgiving dinner
Everybody together
Let the gravy flow

Name Poem for turkey:
Tasty
Unique bird
Rave reviews if cooked right
Kiss your hunger goodbye
Even better as leftovers
Yummy with gravy

Awesome Audio - Head Rush

Head Rush by Carolyn Crane

• Narrated by Rebecca Wisocky

5 out of 5 gnomes

I don't usually listen to audio books but I knew I had to when I heard that the last book in Carolyn Crane's Disillusionists series was being released in audio book format first before all the other formats.

I'm always wary of audio books but the narrator for Head Rush, Rebecca Wisocky, was a superb reader.  She performed all of the voices well so you could actually differentiate between the characters, this is important because not being able to tell characters apart is a reason that I've stayed away from audio books before.  Her voices really drew me into the story and help to visualize the characters even more.  The voice for Justine is spot-on and Simon is also hilarious in audio book form. Another fun voice is Justine's father.  Meeting her father in this book is great and lets the reader see exactly where some of her neuroses came from.  The only voice I was iffy with was the one used for Otto, but that voice slowly grew on me and just ended up working so well.

The story feels epic while reading.  I know I probably looked insane while listening to this in the car because I kept yelling at it.  There is just so much that happens and the pieces all line up for quite the intense/crazy/awesome conclusion.  Crane even accomplished the awesome feat of having me not entirely hate Otto by the end of the book, he has quite the character evolution over these three books.  I was also thrilled how much Justine has grown and changed over this series, especially in how she reacts in the finale.   If you love the Disillusionists series then I highly recommend that you give this audio book a try.


Here are some of my thoughts that I had while reading/discussing the book on Twitter:
It's great but probably makes me look crazy while driving as I yell at it. :)

I know I usually hate audio books too but the narrator for this one is great. :)

I'm only on chapter 6 and it's already crazy I just couldn't wait to see what happens :)

Finished listening to HEAD RUSH :) It was awesome, really glad that it ended the way it did. (a definite 5 out of 5 gnomes)

the audio book of HEAD RUSH is awesome so far, I think I'm on chapter 16.

Can't wait to reread it in ebook form. It was a very fitting ending for the series. Also love what you did with Otto.

Lovely Laddertop

Laddertop Volume 1

Written by Orson Scott Card and Emily Janice Card with Zina Card

Illustrated by Honoel A. Ibardolaza

* Finished copy received for review from Tor|Forge Books

4 out of 5 gnomes

This is an exciting start to what looks to be a very interesting series.  It's also a quick read, which is great if you don't have a lot of time or are just looking for something short and sweet.  Of course the author Orson Scott Card is very well known and it's awesome that this story is a family endeavor.  I don't read a lot of manga but I found this really easy to follow and read.  The art is well done and adds a lot to the story.  This feels like the kind of story that would make a great cartoon or movie. 

The main characters Robbi and Azure have been friends for a long time and seem to be striving for the same goals.  Azure is extremely motivated and her one goal is to be chosen for The Laddertop Academy.  In this world being chosen for the academy would be a great honor because not many are chosen. 

This world seems normal at first then you find out that aliens have visited this world and left behind these Ladders that provide energy for the entire world.  No one knows exactly how this technology works but it is known that children are needed to maintain it.  The training reminds me of astronauts training but of course with some twists.  This training is where much of the mystery and intrigue comes into play because there are a lot of unknowns.  It's not even known exactly why only certain children pass all the stages of training.

There's some drama and also some great humor among the characters.  The adult characters aren't yet fleshed out as well as the child characters but it looks like they may be more to their story later on. 

Overall a great start to a series that introduces quite the world.  I love the mystery of what exactly is going on and can't wait to see where it's all headed.

Sentence Sneak Peek - Laddertop

Laddertop Volume 1
Written by Orson Scott Card and Emily Janice Card with Zina Card

Illustrated by Honoel A. Ibardolaza

The first sentence from each chapter of Laddertop, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* Finished copy received from Tor|Forge Books

"AFTER HIM!"

"CAYAMBE, ECUADOR
THREE WEEKS LATER."

"ONCE THE WHOLE CLASS IS ACCOUNTED FOR, WE'LL GO OVER TO THE OTHER BUILDING."

"RO: boarding 4 laddertop now."

"RO: bad dream."

Top 5 Sundays - Best Heroes & Heroines of 2011!

This feature was thought up by the awesome Larissa's Bookish Life
Rules:
1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.

3 - Fell free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)

4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 - If you don't have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)
Top 5 Sundays - Best Heroes & Heroines of 2011!

Atticus is an awesomely refreshing hero.  Love the humor and mythology all mixed together in that world.

 June is one determined character.  She's strong, capable, and you never know what she's going to do next.

Braden is trying to control the great power that he has and of course survive one heck of a family feud.  He's one of my favorite characters of 2011, can't wait to read what happens next.

 Kitty and Martini are like the ultimate action heroes.  They are a great team and as you can tell from the cover of this book, they have a lot of changes in their future.

The final book in this trilogy shows how great a character Justine is.  The hypochondriac that she was from the first book really grows as a character and learns so much about herself.  Her journey is completed very well by the conclusion of this book.

Story Time - Week 3 of the Story so Far

I've decided to extend this feature and instead of a weekly story I'll have the story begin on the first of each month and end on the last day of the month.
Rules
1.) Only write 1 to 2 sentences
2.) Keep it clean
3.) Have fun and spread the word so the story grows


Thanks to Sullivan McPig and Julie@My5monkeys for participating in the story so far.

Week 3 of the Story:

Once upon a time in a time not that long ago there was a disturbance.  The cause of the disturbance was something that was well...truly disturbing. 

In fact it was so disturbing that at first it was quite unclear what this disturbance was, because anyone who saw it was too disturbed to talk about it. 

There came a noisy unruly girl who demanded that all must obey her. She was the girl of the mayor and weird things did happen around her.  

Pigeons tap danced when she blinked her eyes and cockroaches would mimic her words when she spoke. 

Ragged Rising

When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen

* Book will be released February 28, 2012
* ARC read via Around The World ARC Tours

2 out of 5 gnomes

First of all from the description of the book as seen on Goodreads, I thought that I was really going to like it. This is one time where the description at least in my opinion was rather misleading. This pretty much means that I was reading looking for some redeeming qualities in the characters but was left with almost none. It's not usually the best sign when you can't stand the main character and like the periphery characters about 100% more.

I thought the main character Felicita was going to be a stand-up kind of character with a lot to prove.  Turns out that she's a haughty pain in the brain type character that will make you just want to slap her multiple times throughout the book.

Everything felt too rushed and the motives for a lot of what the characters do are never satisfactorily explained. I get the whole running away after your best friend commits suicide part but her prejudices against those who take her in just seem really out of place. Just when I think I'm about to start liking her as a character she says something or does something where she acts like every other person besides her is no better then dirt.

There's kind of a love triangle but it doesn't feel fleshed out at all. She seems to hate the first guy that's a potential love interest and then becomes close to him extremely fast. The second kind of love interest is a vampire. She and many others in this world have a severe hatred for vampires. Felicita is drawn to the vampire Jannik but is also repulsed by him at the same time.  They seem to work better as friends and it seems like she is going to manipulate him for her personal gain.  Overall there seems to be a lot of manipulation going on between all who are involved with Felicita.

She also gets involved in a revolution that she in no way believes in. Even though she has been hurt by the system that's in place too, she believes in the people that are running the flawed system. This caste type system is ingrained in everything that she does and the ending of the book just has her falling back into her own ways. I was hoping for a more hopeful ending.

There are some good ideas that I wished had been followed more like the girl she meets being half-selkie. I probably would have liked the story a lot better from her point of view versus Felicita's. Also the idea of only being able to use magic if you have a certain rare mineral in your system is intriguing. I think the fact that people get addicted to the mineral could have been explored more and gave more of an impact to the story.

The ending was unexpected, it was the strongest part of the book when all the chaos is happening. The main feeling I had throughout was that I need more information and explanations for why everything is happening. The concept for the story was good, it just didn't live up to my expectations.

Sentence Sneak Peek - When the Sea is Rising Red

When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen

The first sentence from each chapter of When the Sea is Rising Red, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* All first sentences are from an ARC I read via Around The World ARC Tours
* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

"SHE'S NOT HERE."

"OH GRIS!"

"THIS TIME, I think as I fill my bag, this time, I won't come back."

"BY THE TIME I see the Levelling Bridge, the sun is streaking the horizon pink."

"METAL CLANGS AGAINST METAL, and when that sound fades, the shrieks of the seabirds rise."

"NALA, STILL BAREFOOT, walks ahead of me, her feet slap-ping against the paving stones."

"THREE DAYS LATER and I'm sick to the teeth of the smell of tea and cakes, the feel of soapy water, and the lamentations of crakes."

"THE NEXT AFTERNOON when I hang up my apron at the end of my shift, I get my first pay packet."

"THERE'S NO SIGN of Lils the following morning."

"AFTER MY UNFORTUNATE ENCOUNTER with Dash and the wrong side of the law, I've been wandering through the mar-ket on what's left of my day off, keeping and eye open for a vendor who will neither look twice nor ask questions about my old hair clips and jewelry."

"WORK IS EQUAL PARTS dull and busy."

"GIDDY WITH VAI AND MAGIC AND MUSIC we spill out into the streets."

"THE SANDWALKER HOUSE CROUCHES high on the slopes of a hillside, looking down over New Town."

"THE HARSH CAWS of a passing flock of ibis break the morn-ing stillness."

"WE RETURN FROM LAMBS' ISLAND, sacks heavy, sand in our hair, vai on our breath."

"AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK you still work here, eh?"

"MY ARM IS CURLED loosely around a warm body, my face against his neck."

"IT TAKES ONLY A SPLIT SECOND for Dash to realize exactly what I've done."

"JANNIK'S CARRIAGE RATTLES along the broken seashells that cover the last stretch of the road up to House Pelim."

"Waiting On" Wednesday - Touch of Power

"Waiting On"  Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

This week I'm waiting on...


Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

* Book will be released December 20, 2011
Check out the description from Goodreads:

"Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life...."

I can't wait to read this book because if it's anything like Snyder's past books, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to love reading it.  It looks like this will be quite the interesting setting and have some intriguing characters.

Shining Stories

3 out of 5 tiara wearing bats
First of all great narrator, it's good to see an author do their own narrating.  I love to see this because then you know you are hearing what the author intends you to hear and not someone elses interpretation. 

I like this style where fantasy and reality both exist and the only difference is what side of a wall you're on.  The comparisons to what a thing can be in fae versus what it would be in the real world is interesting.  Twists and turns are throughout this book I love the subplot of the three living sons being followed around by the four dead ones.  This book is one example where love and hate can start the same way but end up completely different.  

Great visualation and details and a fun story to hear read.  I would definitely reccomend listening to this book, for me it was a good work day's listen. 

A Tiny Reverse Vampire Audio Bite Review