Waiting on Wedneday (#75) - Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

 Waiting on Wednesday is Hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine

 

Goodreads Summary: Rainbow Rowell continues to break boundaries with Carry On, an epic fantasy following the triumphs and heartaches of Simon and Baz from her beloved bestseller Fangirl.

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.

Why I'm Waiting For It: I absolutely love Rainbow Rowell and all her books are just pure jewels in YA fiction. Honestly I very excited for Carry On because it's a companion book to Fangirl, which I loooveed, and I'm crossing my fingers this one turns out amazing.

Love the whole plot with Simon Snow plot and how it branched off from Fangirl. I was instantly hooked onto the book when it said "a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama" very pumped up for this :)

Be sure to pick up Fangirl or Eleanor and Park if you still have not read them!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads

Fresh Off The Press (#43): April 27 to May 3

Welcome to Fresh Off The Press! It’s where I'll showcase all the great books hitting shelves in a week. These are all YA titles and hope you get to pick them up soon! These books are releasing from (April 27 - May 3)

 Hardcover: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Paperback:

 

 

 

 

 

 Those are all the amazing books releasing this week, be sure to pick any of them up at your local bookstore! Which books are you currently looking forward to reading or checking out for May?!

 

Blog Tour (Review): All The Rage - Courtney Summers

All the Rage by Courtney Summers
Date Released: April 14, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Pages: 321 pages
Format: E-ARC
Source: For Review (Thanks!)
Rating: 5 Stars
Series: Standalone!

Goodreads Synopsis:  The sheriff’s son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything—friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy’s only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Nobody believed her the first time—and they certainly won’t now — but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.　
With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women after an act of sexual violence, forcing us to ask ourselves: In a culture that refuses to protect its young girls, how can they survive? 

From Goodreads

 

All The Rage by Courtney Summers was such a poignant and mind-opening book that everyone should pick up right now. It's that type of novel that hits home for any reader and Summer delivers her message in such a clever and well-written way. Additionally, Summers hits home with a perfect feminist YA novel that explores rape, lying, and teen pop culture in a new and refreshing way. Easily one of my favs this year!

All The Rage begins with Romy Grey, a fragile and vulnerable protagonist, who knows that the sheriff's boy Kellan Turner isn't the boy he really is. Romy also faces a band of bullies and is branded a liar that only causes more stress to her life. Her only safe haven is a diner where she works late shifts that helps her to stay low. Summers kicks up the suspense when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Hands down, this was one of Summers's best YA books to this date, she has a perfect yet flawed protagonist, a message and suspense she perfectly weaves into the novel. Romy was such a great character and I loved seeing her growth in the novel and how she slowly started to uncover what happened the night of the party to who drugged her. All The Rage was very much a character driven novel and I think Romy was great for it. 

Summers's writing was amazing in All The Rage. She wrote Romy's thoughts and emotions in such a simple, clean way, any reader could easily relate to what Romy was experiencing. In addition, the book had great suspenseful elements - when Romy was piecing together what happened to finding out who drugged her and to realizing if she could open up to those close to her. Ultimately, Summers's did a perfect job in writing such a powerful piece of fiction.

 “He was planning to rape me -"
"Why would he ever -"
"Because he knew he'd get away with it”

The message behind All The Rage was so accurate in today's culture, especially on issues of rape, women, and men. Usually these things are rarely talked about in schools or in real life, and I think they should. The young generation needs to know the problems women face out there. It is real, it does happen, and Courtney Summers's depiction of a girl finding the way to break the silence of what happened to her is perfect. Everyone definitely needs to pick up All The Rage right now, it was such a memorable read I'll be sure to read this one for ages to come. 

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads

LA Festival of Books!

 

Each year, at USC here in Cali, from April 18 - 19, is the LA Festival of Books. It brings everyone all together for fun time for books, entertainment, food, and tons of fun. This year happens to me my 4th year coming and by far the best! 

(The Library Store "Book" Truck")

(Me and The Cat in the Hat!)

This year, I went on a Sunday, which I usually don't go to, but this year I thought it would be interesting to shake it up. I went with my sister and younger brother and it ended up being fun and entertaining! I arrived at the festival around 10:30 and going there was sooo crazy, especially the freeway! But after leaving the freeway, parking, and finally walking the excitement began. Right away, there was music, food, and all sorts of book tents featuring book, authors, and other things. During the first couple hours we went through all the tents and took tons of pics. It was honestly so fun and enjoyable. It wasn't until 1:30 where the YA panel opened up to 3 amazing authors: Melissa de La Cruz, Adam Rex, and Pseudonymous Bosch!

The YA Panel this year was amazing! 2 of my favorite authors were here this year: Melissa and Pseudonymous Bosch, and it was great hearing them talk about their books, writing, and the creative process.

Meeting both Mel and Pseudonymous during the signing line was tons of fun and it was great chatting with them, signing my books, and taking pics!

Melissa said that out of all the Blue Bloods book her favorite one was Masquerade. For Pseudonymous, it was This Book is Not Good For You. It happens to be that they are also my favorites!

Overall, my experience at the LA Festival of Books was fun, exciting, and worthwhile! If you a local and never went you need to! And if your and out of state reader, it's definitely worth the ticket to fly out to Southern Cali! The festival was amazing, fun and memorable! I CANNOT WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR! 

Waiting on Wednesday (#74) - The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

 Waiting on Wednesday is Hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine

 

Goodreads Summary:
A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

Why I'm Waiting For It: This cover is amazing! I love the cutout and the color is really eye-catching! Besides that, the plot of the whole books sounds great. 

The killer/murder/marry aspect of the book is definitely interesting and unique and I'm totally digging these character names! Crossing my fingers this one turns out good :)

The Wrath and Dawn will hit shelves on May 12, 2015 from Putnam Juvenile

Find The Wrath and Dawn On:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads

Fresh Off The Press (#42): April 6 - April 12

Welcome to Fresh Off The Press! It’s where I'll showcase all the great books hitting shelves in a week. These are all YA titles and hope you get to pick them up soon! These books are releasing from (April 6 - April 12)

 

 Hardcover: 

  

 

Paperback:

Amazing books releasing this week! Be sure to pick any of them up and start reading!

Waiting on Wednesday (#73) - All the Rage by Courtney Summers

 Waiting on Wednesday is Hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine

 

Goodreads Summary: The sheriff’s son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything—friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy’s only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Nobody believed her the first time—and they certainly won’t now — but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.　

With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women after an act of sexual violence, forcing us to ask ourselves: In a culture that refuses to protect its young girls, how can they survive?

 Why I'm Waiting For It: I absolutely love Courtney Summer and all her book because she has such a unique way of approaching certain issues pertaining to society today. All The Rage sounds amazing and I love the whole concept of it. Young woman in culture is something that is relatble to readers of today and Summer sheds a new light on it. CANNOT WAIT FOR IT!

I am also part of the Blog Tour for the book so expect to see a review and interview this month!

 All The Rage by Courtney Summers is hitting shelves April 14, 2015 from St. Martin's Press

Find All The Rage On:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads