Review- Want to Go Private?

Title: Want to Go Private?

Author: Sarah Darer Littman

Publisher: Scholastic

Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads

Source: ARC compliments of Scholastic

Abby and Luke chat online.  They've never met.  But they are going to. Soon.

Abby is starting high school--it should be exciting, so why doesn't she care?  Everyone tells her to "make an effort," but why can't she just be herself.  Abby quickly feels like she's losing grip on her once-happy life.  The only thing she cares about anymore is talking to Luke, a guy she met online, who understands.  It feels dangerous and yet good to chat with Luke--he is her secret, and she's his.  Then Luke asks her to meet him, and she does.  But Luke isn't who he says he is.  When Abby goes missing, everyone is left to put together the pieces.  If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.

My thoughts:

Want to Go Private? was absolutely realistic and horrific.  It literally scared the pants off me and made me so happy that I survived my teenage years even though I chatted a lot on the internet with people I didn't know.  This book make me realize all the horrendous things that could have happened and I'm so lucky that they didn't.  

Once Abby hits high school, her and her best friend don't have any classes together, her best friend makes other friends easily but Abby has a hard time.  She's feeling left out, lonely, overwhelmed and as a result she's vulnerable to the online predator who sees these weaknesses and targets her immediately.  He tells her all the things that she wants to hear like they both listen to the same music, like the same movies, he understands how much high school sucks and that her parents are putting too much pressure on her.  That's pretty much all she needs to hear and she completely attaches herself to him.  

Although this book is graphic, it speaks the truth of what happens to teenage girls when they're targeted by online predators and they fall into their trap.  The only reason I wold recommend this book to a teenager, and I mean an older teenager, is so they can know and understand what can happen if they're not careful.  This book was amazing and every parent of teenagers should read it and then put some regulations on their kid's internet use.  

Review- Desires of the Dead

Title: Desires of the Dead
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Body Finder #2
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered-and the matching imprint that clings to their killers.  Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also drawn the attentions of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life.

As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession.  Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed.  And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong.  But when she fills the void by digging into Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger.  

My thoughts:

I love this series! It's one of my favorite YA mystery/semi-paranormal series right now! It's full of romance, murder, dark murky places and a strange girl who uncovers dead bodies in the most random places.

Violet and Jay are still together in the second installment of the Body Finder series which makes me so happy because they are one of my favorite fictional couples.  Their relationship started out as best friends in elementary and junior high school and slowly evolved into a deep loving romantic relationship.  They know each other's deepest, darkest secrets and they love each other just the same for it.

I love that the story just mainly revolves around them and all the other characters are just supporting roles.  It's all from the perspective of Violet so we never have to worry about getting a random inside look on what her friends are doing because they don't ever really matter all that much.  The other perspective the story is told from is either a killer or someone who is eventually going to play a part in the story and sometimes those little sections really freak me out.

My one tiny complaint about Violet her is lack of common sense when she should be using it the most.  When she hears an echo, she drops everything she is doing and starts to follow it no matter where it leads her.  Even if it takes to her to the middle of the wood until she gets absolutely lost and of course there's no cell reception.  This is what she should do instead: When she hears an echo, she should immediately go find Jay so he can go with her to find it and then she would be so much safer.  But she almost never does that so it's no wonder Jay like never wants her to leave the house.

The Body Finder series is finally coming to a close when the Last Echo is released next year.  It makes me kind of sad but all, even good, things must come to an end eventually.  If you haven't read the Body Finder or Desires of the Dead yet, I high recommend that you do so! I'm glad I did and I wasn't disappointed!

In My Mailbox (22)

In My Mailbox is an awesome way to connect with our blogger and reader friends and share which amazing books we received, bought or borrowed during the week! This weekly meme is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.




Bought: 

The Evil Within (Possessions #2) by Nancy Holder
Vampire Kisses: The Beginning by Ellen Schrieber
Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
Supernaturally by Kiersten White
Jane by April Linder
The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
Firelight by Sophie Jordan
Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

Paperbackswap:

Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer

Review:

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

True Blood: Book to Show Comparison

Hello everyone, it's Alyson and like I said before, from now on the comparison posts are going to go from episode to episode.

So last weeks episode was good. It didn't hold that much drama as other episodes, which sometimes is a good thing. I am going to tell you about what I like and didn't like about this episode.

Starting with all the witching stuff that is going on: I like it. They doing a good job of not making it too weird. Lafayette and his boyfrind also always give me a good crack up sometimes. I really enjoy seeing what happens next between the two of them. Also speaking of, Tara and her girlfriend, they seem to be making a cute couple. Two tough girls who can help each other out; it's nice. But how funny was the bantering when Pam shows up at the end to attack them. I thought it was funny that first off they thought they could run fast enough to get away, then they thought they had enough time to banter with each other before they started to run. And Pam just cracks me up. I feel sorry for her right now because she is rotting away.

Again I don't like Bill, he is being an ass hole. For him to say that Eric is dangerous and needed to be killed was so annoying. Eric is just lonely and scared and for Bill to take advantage of that and go against Sookie is really making me mad. At least he came to his senses at the end. I was also very angry that Jason didn't change at the full moon. I still think something is going to happen with that though. Because the werepanthers wouldn't go through all that trouble if it doesn't work. But how cute was it that Jessica was there to help Jason through that. I thought that was so sweet but I do still like her and Hoyt together. I hope things work out between them. But I really don't hope that Alcide and Debbie stay together. I can't believe that she convinced him to run with another pack. I don't think that's right, it's so different from the book, and I really can not stand Debbie, she annoys me. And who is stupid enought to say that solidarity is not good for my sobriety. YES it is! Anyone knows that the when you start hanging out with the same crowd and similar people that you used to, your going to lapse and do it again, and in this case I am hoping it does happen to her, because that is how much I don't like her.

Moving on to my last main character Sam. Well I am not completely happy that Sam's brother can change into another human, I feel like he is constantly doing stupid things and stabbing people in the back so much that he is never giong to change. I really don't like having him on the show, I feel it is just putting so much stress on Sam that he doesn't need. I like Sam and I like his charachter and I like that girl that he had but Sam's brother screwed that up for him, too.

Well I think I covered all the main characters. Let me know what you thought of last weeks episode. I am looking forward to Sunday night to watch the new one.  Until next week!

Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop (17)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View.
Q: Talk about a book that most changed or influenced your life (was it a book that turned you from an average reader to an avid reader, did it help you deal with a particular difficult situation, does it bring you comfort every time you read it)?
A: The book that really got me hooked on reading was Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.  It's such a beautiful love story that has transcended time, culture and race and still goes strong to this day.  Although it was written in 1847, it is still one of the best stories that literature has to offer.  I even love the newer covers that Penguin has been giving the classic lately but this cover is my favorite.

The book blogger hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. The book blogger hop is brought to us by Jennifer at Crazy For Books!

Q: What is the one ARC you are dying to get your hands on right now?

A: OMG this question is so hard because there are so many good books coming out this fall because it's so hard just to choose one!  For the longest time, the book that I wanted so bad was Bloodlines by Richelle Mead.  But then, low and behold, it came in the mail a little over a week-and-a-half ago and I was jumping up and down I was so excited! But since I've received it and read it, I would have to say that right now I'm dying to get my hands on an ARC of The Pledge by Kimberly Derting.  Even though I love the Body Finder series, I'm so excited to read something new and different from her, especially a dystopian.

Waiting on Wednesday (28)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. This is one of my favorite memes because not only is my TBR pile so much bigger at the end of the night but also the covers are always amazing!

This book intrigues me! The cover is very interesting and it makes me wonder what significance the moon and the blindfold have.  Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne will be released February 2, 2012!

When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn't expect to find herself exacty where she needs to be.  After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she's going crazy.  Fast.

But her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school and the island it sits on, like she's come home.  She's even made her first read friends, but odd things keep happening to them.  Every morning they wake on the floors of their dorms with their hands stained red.

Faye knows she'e the reason, but what does it all mean?  The handsome Kel tries to help her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain she can't trust him; in fact, he may be trying to kill her-and the rest of the world too.

Day 3: A Week's Worth of Giveaways!

Rules:

• One entry per person

• US only

• Must be 13 years old

• Ends midnight August 13