Happy Halloween guys! I'm just going to share this little bit of Halloween joy with you. The very scary, very intense DEAN WITCH PROJECT. In which Shannon Hale walks through a dark house where her husband Dean is hiding somewhere. And for those of you who know Dean you know that's no small thing.

Many of you may have seen this, since it was "released" last year, but it's still fantastic:

All right, guys, I don't usually like to post twice in one day, but this is WORTH it!

Fangs, Fur, & Fey is celebrating their 3rd blogoversary, and in celebration they are giving prizes to 23 winners!

Yes! 23!

The grand prize winner gets a KINDLE!!! As in retails-at-$250-$300 KINDLE!!!

Twenty-two (22) lucky winners will receive a gift card in the amount of $20.00 from one of these five book retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million, or Powell's - winner's choice which.

Amazing, right? I'm totally entering.

Good luck!
~Enna Isilee

Derby Girl (Now called "Whip It"), Shauna Cross
Secrets of My Suburban Life, Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Both unfinished due to profanity and just not being my style of book.

Now, Jo asked a wonderful question when I said that I wouldn't stand for profanity. Her question: Why?

I rate a book kind of like a movie. I don't see R rated movies, ever, so I won't read "R" rated books. My only real problem is with the "F" word, or very heavy usage of unncessary profanity(things that don't add to the story at all). If the story is good, I will tolerate one "F", but if it's not, I'm done. With Skinned I went through 3 before I finally put it down.

And I think maybe I should state that I didn't not finish all of these books just this week. These are books that I haven't finished over the last 18 months. This will probably be my last "Unfinished Friday" for a while, because these are the last of the books I didn't finish. I usually stick with a book. And if I do set it down for reasons other than profanity, I'll probably pick it back up later.

I don't believe that books should be suffered through, or that they should leaving you feeling "dirty." I'd much rather write a "why I didn't finish" post and have someone else read it and love it, than write I "I really wish I hadn't read this" post and write a negative review that makes someone never touch the book.

Plus, there are so many good books out there! I'm not going to suffer by skipping a few. I'm constantly branching out my horizons. But, in doing so, I've found genre's I don't like, just like everyone else. Some people don't like Sci-fi (crazy fools!), I don't like angsty books.

I now follow 310(318 now!) blogs! Put that on your bread and toast it! ;)

If for some insane reason, I missed your blog please let me know!

Thank you for all of your kind words on my new layout. I'm glad y'all like it! If you notice any bugs, feel free to let me know.

It's time to reload my blogroll! I just went through and added a TON of blogs, but I want more more more!! This time, I don't just want you to give me your URL, I'd love it if you gave me the URLs of other cool book blogs. I wanna stay connected!

Thanks mucho!

~Enna Isilee

I don't know if any of you noticed the seizures my blog was going through yesterday, but I was playing with a new HTML code I discovered. After ripping it apart and basically starting all over again, I have ended up with what is now the new and improved Squeaky Books!

Same color scheme, same graphics, just a brand new rocking layout! Though... I know most of you don't actually look at my blog. You just reader-ize it.

Is there anything off? I know that if you resize your window things get alittle crazy, which worries me. Do things look okay to you?

I'm not setting up a poll to see if you guys like it, because it took me hours to set up, and if you don't like it, I will cry.

Seriously.

~Enna Isilee

In My Mailbox was created by The Story Siren

Here's what I've got in my "mailbox:"

Skinned, by Robin Wasserman
Fire, by Kristin Cashore
The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Schaffer
And Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, by James Patterson

I know some of these books may be considered "Old News" as they've been out for a while, but I just barely heard about them. So I'm really excited to read them. I'm starting with Skinned.

I LOVE how many books have trailers now! So, instead of me summarizing this book, you guys can watch the uber-creepy trailer, and hear the author talk about it, then I'll give my review:







This book was delightfully disturbing. It was The Hunger Games, meets The Maze Runner. I found myself on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it. It's oh-so-very creepy. Which is my only warning.

This book was surprisingly clean when it comes to language. After all, a bunch of teenage boys in a prison that the cover describes as worse than hell probably wouldn't have the best language, but the swearing wasn't extreme at all. Mind you, that doesn't mean there wasn't any swearing, but it didn't bother me too much, and I'm quite sensitive to it.

This book may end up giving me nightmares, but it was worth it. I love books with a good mystery. Those of you who have read The Hunger Games do you remember the shock at near the end of the game, when there were those creatures that weren't just creatures? (I'm trying to be vague to avoid spoilers) Well, there's something similar to that in this book.

Ooh. I still have the chills. I think the cover they show in the trailer is for the UK version, because my ARC has a different cover, and it doesn't come out until Tuesday the 27th.

If you don't mind horror-books (and I hadn't even thought of this as a horror book until the trailer told me it was, I thought it was just more mystery/sci-fi/paranormal, but now I can see that it is a horror book), and you liked The Maze Runner, and you're okay with characters that are FAR too young to be dealing with that kind of stuff, then check out Lockdown: Escape From Furnace

Sounds like a confusing review? I'll summarize:

This book is creepy, but oh-so-very good.

I'm very interested to see if others found it as good as I did. If you decide to read it, let me know if you liked it, or if it was too disturbing for you. Because I think of myself as a very picky/sensitive reader, and yet I could handle it.

~Enna Isilee

Oh. To give you an idea of how picky/sensitive I am: HP & The Prisoner of Azkaban gave me nightmares.

A QUESTION ON BOOK-BUYING ETHICS:
I just found out that the next two books in this series are already available in the UK. Does anyone know if there is any taboo about buying a book from another country before it comes out in the USA? I can't see why that would be an issue, can you?

All right, now I read a ton of books that I don't ever finish for various reasons, and I never review them on this blog. But that's not fair! Maybe you guys want to read them, or want a warning not to read them. Either way, I'm going to start posting about books I didn't finish. I won't go into a ton of detail, but here are some:

There are dozens, probably hundreds of books written as if the main character were writing it all themselves in a journal. This opens up a lot of doors.

1) we can see more deeply into the characters mind.
This is great if you have a strong character. But if your character has annoying flaws that the author didn't mean to put in, then getting to know the inner workings of their mind can be downright painful.

2) it opens up a chance for bias.
I love this, actually. When you have a hero or heroine writing about all these things that are happening to them, I like taking a step back and thinking, "Now, how might someone else see it? Is this person skewing things to fit their own agenda?" Many authors don't even mean to open this door, but I love to peek through it.

3) Full emmersion into the world
When you're reading someone's journal, you aren't just being told "The sky is blue." You're being told, "The sky is blue and it makes me think of rainbows and ponies." Similar to #1, this can be great if you've created a believable world. If an omnipotent narrator were to tell me "John had to be careful of breathing too much, as too much carbon dioxide in the air would cause the room to spontaneously combust." Then I might go, seriously? But if I'm hearing it from John's perspection, something like, "My lungs screamed for more air, but I knew that just the tinyest unbalance in the atmosphere of the room would send me to a fiery oblivion," then I'd be thinking, "How cool is that?!"

Looking through the eyes of a character makes me feel more at home and involved in a fictional world. But I guess that all goes back to the famous(or infamous) show, don't tell.



With all that said, I wouldn't say that I prefer journal-style books. Because sometimes I don't. Especially the ones where they're running around doing all this crazy stuff, and I'm left thinking "How in the world are you having time to write this all down?!" But they do have their perks.

What about you? What doors do 1st person journal novels open for you? Do you have some favorites? Some that you detest(please be nice!)? Here are some I know:

Book of a Thousand Days, Shannon Hale (favorite book of all time, tied with Enna Burning)
The Pendragon series, DJ MacHale (Childhood favorite series)

And, discuss.

Here we have a treat! Instead of me telling you about the book, here's a cool 1 minute trailer all about it!






Sounds pretty cool eh? And it was!

We don't focus too much on WWI in our history books, rather we talk about WWII, so this was very refreshing. I found the idea of giant war machines and fabricated monsters COMPLETELY ludicrous for 1914, but absolutely fascinating.

There is absolutely no swearing in this book! Hurrah! It is one of the squeaky-cleanest books I've ever read! I was really nervous that it would be more like Westerfeld's Midnighters series, which is not squeaky clean, but it wasn't!

This book was very gripping, I wanted to know what was going to happen, and I wanted a ton of detail on how in the world they made all these creations.



But,



horror of horrors,



IT'S A SERIES!!!! WITH A TOTAL CLIFFHANGER ENDING!!!

Unfortunately, it isn't a cliffhanger that makes you go "Oh my gosh I can't wait for the next book!" It's a cliffhanger that makes you go, "Seriously? You couldn't have told us that in this book?!" So... I am a little frustrated by that.

And it actually took a really long time for the two main characters to meet. I wanted them to meet and start getting really involved in the war. It didn't happen that way, they didn't meet until the last 100 pages or so. But it's all set up so that the next book will really be them fighting side by side. So I'm really excited.

All in all I really enjoyed it, it's a definite Squeaky Book.

The sequel Behemoth comes out in October 2010. Hopefully I can grab an ARC, because I have very high hopes for it.

~Enna Isilee

Should we have a dumroll? Suspensful music? Oh! I know! Why don't we have Bear present the award?

All right! He's all set. I had 244 entries, so I asked each of my roomates to pick a number between 1-244, and then averaged all of their numbers. They chose 200, 37, 123, and 72, which equals 432. 432/4 = 108

Hooray for #108!
Cate from Sparrow reviews!!!

So, just e-mail me your address and I'll ship off your copy of Ice. If I haven't heard from you by Wednesday the 21st, then I have to pick a new winner.

Thanks for everyone who participated. Keep an eye out for even more contests. *wink wink*

~Enna Isilee

All right. No more contest entries. I don't mean to say you can't still become a follower (please do!), but you won't be entered into the Ice giveaway.

I've got work, rehearsal, and a test today, so I dunno if I'll get around to picking a winner. But I definitely will have picked one by Saturday!

Good luck!

~Enna Isilee

Hey! I know y'all are sick of contest reminders, but here's one last one before the contest ends! You only have exactly 24 hours from RIGHT NOW.

GREAT list of books, guys, I'm definitely going to look some of those up.

Also, did anyone get my newsletter? No one said anything, but so far I've had four people unsubscribe from my newsletter, so I'm pretty sure people got it. ;) However, I've had four people subscribe. :) So we broke even! Wahoo!

Have a fantastic Wednesday!

Arranged
Marriage

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed that an arranged marriage is not an uncommon plot point. But... has anyone else noticed that they always seem to work out?

I'm trying to think of a book where an arranged marriage made the characters unhappy (after they met each other). I can think of some where the main characters parents were... apathetic, but not unhappy.

In real life, an arranged marriage isn't quite so lucky. Here's an interesting article I found on the subject:

"Arranged marriages have been a topic of interest for centuries. Authors across the ages have explored this theme at length, and it still surfaces in literary works today. What's the appeal? Is it the fascination with the lack of lust and desire we cultivate in North American society? We strive on the element of danger, of the forbidden, while an arranged marriage is usually a safe way to ensure a family's approval of a union.

"But how are suitable spouses chosen? In Japan, for instance, "when a woman reaches the marriageable age of 25, she and her parents compile a packet of information about her, including a photograph of her in a kimono and descriptions of her family background, education, hobbies, accomplishments and interests. Her parents then inquire among their friends and acquaintances to see if anyone knows a man who would be a suitable husband for her" (the Asia Society's Video Letter from Japan: My Family, 1988). Usually, the most important aspect of choosing a suitable spouse is the bond between the two families, rather than the relationship between the couple being married. Property or land with the aim of securing social status sometimes seals marriage agreements."

Which is why we see it so many times with royalty. Yeah? That's perfectly understandable. But, do arranged marriages work?

"Opinions tend to differ. Statistics place the divorce rate for arranged marriages much lower than those in the United States, where marriages out of love are the rule. However, research also shows that the pressure a married couple encounters from both society as a whole, and from the respective families, suggests that divorce is often not an option."

So, divorce rates are lower, but is it because they're happy? Or because divorce is not an option?

What do you think? Do you think arranged marriages are really sucessful and that books are just reflecting this? Or do you think they over inflate the likelyhood of happiness?

On another level, do you think too many books use this? Do you like this plot point?

And, discuss.

:)

~Enna Isilee

This article quoted throughout post

**Contest is for US Residents ONLY

I hope some of you became followers of my blog, because here comes the giveaway! It's going to be a little more complicated them my last "just comment" question.

I am giving away a hardcover copy of this book. It comes out tomorrow, so I'll have an official copy for you, hot off the press. Just waiting to be your's.

This will be an entry-based giveaway. More entries, bigger chances to win! So, how do you entry? Well, many of you already have and don't even know it!

Entry System:

4 entries for being a follower before my review of Ice (before October 3rd)
3 entries for being a follower between my review of Ice and now (October 3rd 4pm-October 5th 4pm)
2 entries for becoming a follower now (after October 5th 4pm)
1 entry if you are a subscriber on Reader

As a bonus, anyone who follows my blog, I'll return the favor and follow yours!

Don't want to become a follower? You can still enter the contest

Blog about this giveaway(no sidebar links), including a link to this post, and you'll get three entries. And to make it even easier, I've written a post for you! Just copy and paste this into your blog!


<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PM%2B0QDlDL.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 141px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 193px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PM%2B0QDlDL.jpg" /></a><br />The next hit book by Sarah Beth Durst, author of <i>Into the Wild</i><br /><br /> This book is based in modern times, up in Alaska and the arctic. Cassie lives with her father and their team at a research station in the middle of the ice-desert. Cassie's grandmother often told Cassie the story of how her mother was promised to the Polar bear king by her father the North Wind, but then she fell in love with a human man and the Polar Bear King(love him!) agreed to protect her from the North Wind's wrath, on the condition that their first-born daughter be his wife. But North Wind found her anyway blew her to the edge of the earth to be with the trolls.<br /><br /><br /><br />Now it's Cassie's 18th birthday, and the Polar Bear King has come for her.<br /><br /><br /><br />Enna Isilee ranted and raved about the awesomeness of this book over at <a href="http://squeakybooks.blogspot.com/2009/10/ice-sarah-beth-durst-contest.html">her blog</a>, and now she's offering anyone an opportunity to own it.<br /><br /><br /><br />This giveaway is awesome and easy, <a href="http://squeakybooks.blogspot.com/2009/10/giveaway-hardcover-ice-by-sarah-beth.html">head here to enter the drawing and to get more information</a> (open to US residents only).<br /><br />


So you could have as many as 7 entries! Entries will end at 11:59pm (MST) on Wednesday, October 14th Winner will be announced Thursday, October 15th.

A WARNING: YOU MUST COMMENT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS GIVEAWAY IF YOU WERE ONE OF THE ORIGINAL FOLLOWERS. (after all, how do I know you're still around?)

In your comment all you have to do is post your name. I don't mean your name I mean your username. So, for example, I would just comment "Enna Isilee" and that's it. Unless you want the 3 entries for posting it on your blog. Then you post your name and a link to your post. So an example comment:

Enna Isilee
http://www.squeakybooks.com/contestpost
I was a follower on Reader!

That would get you 4 entries. :)

Thats it!

I should have done something more creative, something cold-themed. But I've found that more people enter when there's less work involved. But I'm telling you, this book is worth it.

Any questions? Feel free to ask.

Want another chance to win ice? Head over to this fabulous butterfly-themed blog where a similar contest is going on.

If you're interested in winning a brand new, hardcover copy of Ice by Sarah Beth Durst, I will once again stronly recommend you become a follower of my blog (just click the button in the sidebar). You don't have to. There will be other ways to enter the drawing, but I'm just suggesting you do this quickly. Very quickly.

;)

WAHOO!!! Watch out, World. Enna Isilee is BACK with a vengence! And what's to blame? Ice by Sarah Beth Durst.

This book is based in modern times, up in Alaska and the arctic. Cassie lives with her father and their team at a research station in the middle of the ice-desert. Cassie's grandmother often told Cassie the story of how her mother was promised to the Polar bear king by her father the North Wind, but then she fell in love with a human man and the Polar Bear King(love him!) agreed to protect her from the North Wind's wrath, on the condition that their first-born daughter be his wife. But North Wind found her anyway blew her to the edge of the earth to be with the trolls.

Now it's Cassie's 18th birthday, and the Polar Bear King has come for her.

We're talking hardcore Squeaky Book here guys, as in I haven't moved from this chair all day! What was it that gripped me about this book? EVERYTHING!

As some of you may know, this is the latest book by the author of Into The Wild (Heh. I just re-read my review of that book. I gushed there too), and this one is also based on a fairy tale.

It's based on East of the Sun, West of the Moon , and when my mother saw me reading this she said(justifiably), "Is that another book based on east of west moon sun?" And I am here to tell you: no it is not.

I haven't read East but I have read Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. And I'm telling you, even if you have read those, this book will keep you on your toes! Durst brings in such an interesting mix of fairy tale, folklore, culture, and... I don't want to say religion, because that's not quite what it is, but if you read it you'll understand.

Just a quick squeaky: it's for a slightly older audience than Into the Wild (I'm gonna say... 14+, due to mild swearing, and married people doing what married people do).


Well? Are you hooked? Have I won you over? Are you dying to get your hands on this book as soon as it comes out?!

How about I help you out with that?

I'm not going to officially announce a contest until Monday. But let's just say it's in your best interest (and mine) to become a follower of my blog before then (you'll notice that the author of this book is! HI SARAH!!).

Tee hee. I'm so excited!
~Enna Isilee