Release Date: February 15th, 2011
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery, Romance
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 368
Rating:
Series: The Body Finder #2 (Review of #1 here)
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary: 

The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found.

When Violet Ambrose's morbid ability to sense the echoes of those who've been murdered leads her to the body of a young boy, she draws the attention of the FBI. She is reluctantly pulled into an investigation that will endanger more than just her secret...but her relationship and possibly her life as well.

Review: I was SO excited to get this book. The first book in the series, The Body Finder, had me on the edge of my seat!

This book does have the same issues for me as The Body Finder (but it's written by the same person, so it's not like that's a surprise. Heh.). The really "passionate" part of Violet and Jay's romance BUGS me. It doesn't seem real. However, when they are just being friends I LOVE THEM. And there was some heavy profanity.

And it did have just a little bit of sequel-phase, but not a lot. So that didn't bother me too badly.

In comparison to TBF, I don't think this one had as strong a plot. TBF had just one bad-guy (well, you know what I mean), and there really was only one mystery to be solved. In this one, there were A LOT of questions asked, and A LOT of things were solved. I felt this took away from the plot. I wish Derting had focused on one of these, like she did in the first book.

But with that said, Desires of the Dead was still FABULOUS! Ah! Even though I didn't love it quite as much as The Body Finder I still gave it the same rating. I just love these. I'm really excited to know what else Kimberly has up her sleeve.

And the winner of a signed copy of Paranormalcy is...

A Wizard! (or witch I guess since I am female.  I am still waiting for my Hogwarts letter!!)

Congrats! I've seen that this isn't the only gratitude giveaway you've won. You lucky duck. I'll be e-mailing you shortly.

Thank you to everyone who entered! And hello new followers, remember that you can still enter to win a hardcover copy of Anna and the French Kiss, or a YA prize pack/$5 to Amazon.

Hope you all had a great holiday!

Release Date: December 2nd, 2010
Genre:  Romance, Teenagers, Foreign
Publisher: Dutton
Pages: 374
Rating:
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary: 

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

Review: I can totally see why this book is so popular, and I have absolutely no doubt that its popularity will continue to skyrocket after its release. Stephanie has created a story that has just the right amount of romance, friendship, conflict, tension, and above all it is witty. Stephanie is DEFINITELY someone I would want to be my friend. I like the way her brain workd

However, I would not want to be friends with her characters.

If you like contemporary fiction or romance, then you will LOVE this book. I don't like either of those genres. I thought maybe this book would be witty enough to overcome my anti-teen-angst feelings, but it wasn't. The characters drink (even though it's legal drinking), swear (some BIG profanities), and there is much talk of sex.

So all in all I gave this an average rating of 2.5 because I recognize that it is a brilliant story, but it just wasn't for me.

Although I did LOVE all the French things. J'adore francais!


I am an amazon affiliate. If you purchase this book using my link, I will get a tiny fraction of the purchase

Release Date: January 6th, 2011
Genre:  Mystery, Teen Drama, Suicide
Publisher: Quercus
Pages: 374
Rating: Not finished, no rating assigned
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary: 

The same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?

17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with a table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got here.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?

Review: You may have noticed that I did not give this book a rating because I did not finish it. I usually don't review books I don't finish, but I have a few things I'd still like to say, especially since so many people want to read this book. However, I think these three things (since they don't have anything to do with story line, per say) are still warranted.

1. This book is VERY British. I had a really hard time understanding what Grace was saying because she used so much British slang. The ARC I read seemed like it had come from the UK, so I don't know if any of that will change when it is published in the US.


2. Grace is not likeable. Sure, maybe I could be sympathetic towards her and her unfortunate situation. But I could. not. like her. She's an underage-alcoholic, she sleeps with anything that will hold still long enough, she's suicidal, she's bitter and nasty, and she swears like a sailor, which brings me to my next point.


3. It is EXTREMELY profane. This is what stopped me from reading it. At the beginning you only see the f-word about once every twenty pages, but after you hit page 100 you start seeing it ALL THE TIME. I can't read a book like that. I was just flinching all the time, and it distracted me.

If neither of those bother you(and the British thing didn't really bother me, it just made the book hard to understand), then you'll probably like Entangled. It has a FASCINATING story with a great ending. I had someone give me a plot summary, because even though I skimmed the last 200+ pages, I had NO idea what was happening. This is not a book you can skim. Very convoluted. I can see this being a movie, and a really good one.

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for our family tradition of going to see a movie. It's sometimes the only movie I see in a theatre all year! We're going to see Tangled today. I'm excited.

I'm also thankful that no one in my family really likes turkey dinners. Instead we're having chicken cacciatore! YUM!

What about you? What are you thankful for? Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions?

Hey guys, I still have some books to sell! I've reduced the prices as such:

All Hardcovers $3
All Paperbacks $2
All ARCs available for exchange at reduced rates

Shipping starts at $3, +$1 for each additional book,  and I WILL get delivery confirmation. I have also set up paypal, so I can send an invoice directly to your e-mail and you can just pay with a credit card. Super easy! As of right now I am not looking for book trades. If you think you have some books I'd like, please e-mail me directly and we'll see: Admin@Squeakybooks.com

This'll be the last time I post this. All money earned will go towards books for contests (I'm going to have a HUGE contest in December based on your nominations, but only if I can afford it). No pressure.


Also, if any of you need some graphic design done, PLEASE contact me. Maybe I'll even give you a special deal. :) My prices are already A LOT lower than other custom designers, but they won't stay that way for long! Design@Squeakybooks.com

The random generator has spoken! The five people to win custom headers for their blog/website are:
Congrats, guys! And thanks SO much for entering. Be thinking about what you might like on your header. I'll be in touch with you soon.

Release Date: February 22nd, 2011
GoodReads Page
Summary:

Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.

Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

Why I want it: I’ve heard a LOT of great things about this one. I’ve gotta try it for myself.

Do you want to read Darkness Becomes Her?
Take a second to answer in the poll!
(Those of you viewing in feed readers may not be able to see it)

Hey guys, I feel like I've been really neglecting Squeaky Books all last week. Things have been CRAZY! But I got a 95% on my proofs test, so I feel like it was worth it. Heh. Things should be better after today (yay! holiday!)

Many of you already know this, but for those who don't here you go:

I am in a stage adaptation of Austenland! And we perform next week! Eepers! If you either know me or have met me in real life, feel free to contact me @ Admin@SqueakyBooks.com for the details. I'd love to have a HUGE audience!

Look for many book reviews this week, as well as the winners of the custom header!

Hope you have a great Monday!

Yay! It's time for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge!

I had NO idea what this was last year, so I didn't participate in the 2010DAC, but I certainly am this year!

The goal of this challenge is to get you to read at least 12 books by 2011 debut YA/MG authors. Want to know more? Click here.

Here's the list of books I KNOW I want to read as of right now. Some of them I will probably read before January 1st, but that's why I'm listing more than twelve. Also, I'll certainly add to this list as I learn of books.

Warped, Maurissa Guibord
Unearthly, Cynthia Hand
Across the Universe, Beth Revis
Vesper, Jeff Sampsen
The Water Wars, Cameron Stracher
The Trouble with Half a Moon, Danette Vigilante
Haven, Kristi Cook
Darkness Becomes Her, Kelly Keaton
The Iron Witch, Karen Mahoney
Clarity, Kim Harrington
Enclave, Ann Aguirre
Die for Me, Amy Plum
Divergent, Veronica Roth
Human .4, Mike Lancaster
Are YOU participating? Are any of these on your list?

Release Date: February 15th, 2011
GoodReads Page
Summary:

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

Why I want it: I recently read this one, and it was pretty good. I won't buy it for myself, but maybe y'all will like it. :)


Do you want to read Angelfire?
Take a second to answer in the poll!
(Those of you viewing in feed readers may not be able to see it)

Seriously though, even though my faeries are amoral-bordering-on-evil, I wouldn't mind the ability to go anywhere in the entire world by opening a door and using the Faerie Paths. I'd promise to be very very good and not kidnap any mortals. Except you, because you seem like you'd be fun to go to Guam with.

If you could get any gift for your birthday (and I mean ANY gift) what would it be?

How sad is it that nothing comes to mind? This is what drives my husband crazy about me. "What do you want for your birthday?" "I don't know. Nothing. I'm fine."

That being said, I do like Mini Coopers quite a bit. I also wouldn't say no to a house with a washer and a dryer, and a yard, and a garage. A girl can dream...

Have you ever wanted to do something crazy-adventurous?

Yes! However, I have an overdeveloped sense of self-preservation that prevents me from ever acting on these desires. I have always thought that sky-diving looked amazing, though. I'd never do it, but I envy those who can and do.

Evie’s favorite color is pink, what’s your favorite color?

Green! (Enna Isilee: mine too!)

If you could dye your hair that color for a week, would you do it?

Mmm, no. I don't think green works as a hair color very well unless your hair is naturally black and the green is just accents. I have always secretly wanted brilliant electric blue hair though. Maybe someday I'll get a wig. For a while I had a purple streak in my hair and it made my happy every time I saw it.

Paper or plastic?

Plastic, although if I were a good person I'd say reusable bags from home, of course. Sadly I never remember to bring them. Bad, bad Kiersten. I promise I recycle.

Cheddar or mozzarella?

Both! As long as it's not goat cheese or feta.

Finally, some fun from random plot generator!

You have to write a story about super-powered penguins. What is your main character's name and superpower?

Aww, did you ever read Mr. Popper's Penguins? It was my favorite book when I was little, although I can't remember hardly anything about it now. Except that apparently Jim Carrey is slated to star in a movie adaptation. I cannot tell you how sad that makes me on many, many levels.

Wait, that wasn't an answer, was it? So I suppose my main character's name is Mr. Popper and his superpower is preserving Kiersten's fond childhood memories by making sure Jim Carrey doesn't get to act in that film.

Thanks Kiersten!

• Open to US only (sorry international peeps!)
• You must be a follower to enter (follow in the sidebar, new and old followers get the same number of entries)
• Fill out the form to enter
• Various bonus entries available
• Contest Ends 11/28/10
• Winner Announced 11/29/10

What do you think?


And after all this, I thought to myself, "Self, if one person will pay to do to this? Will others?"




In summary:

• I'm giving away 5 custom blog headers to 5 people, a $50 value!
• Winners will be chosen and announced 11-22-10

Release Date: February 8th, 2011
GoodReads Page
Summary:

When Trei loses his family in a tragic disaster, he must search out distant relatives in a new land. The Floating Islands are unlike anything Trei has ever seen: stunning, majestic, and graced with kajurai, men who soar the skies with wings. Trei is instantly sky-mad, and desperate to be a kajurai himself. The only one who fully understands his passion is Araene, his newfound cousin. Prickly, sarcastic, and gifted, Araene has a secret of her own . . . a dream a girl cannot attain.Trei and Araene quickly become conspirators as they pursue their individual paths. But neither suspects that their lives will be deeply entwined, and that the fate of the Floating Islands will lie in their hands.

Why I want it: People with wings? I want to be a people with wings!

Do you want to read The Floating Islands?
Take a second to answer in the poll!
(Those of you viewing in feed readers may not be able to see it)

Okay, so I know this is my third post today, but I HAVE to share this.

There is no doubt in my mind that this video will go viral FAST because it is honestly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. I sobbed like a baby the whole time I was watching it. Be warned, there is quite a lot of blood, it is the Hunger Games after all.

Now I usually stay out of controversial issues. I didn't participate in Banned Books Month/Week, I didn't talk about the "Speak Loudly" issue, but I can't stay quiet about this, because it is just WRONG!


He lied.

Most of the book was made up.

But it gets worse.

Now, Frey has developed something called a Fiction Factory. In which he hires authors to WRITE BOOKS FOR HIM. And his genre of choice? Young Adult.

I am going to kill this man.

Nicole led me to this all-tell article. I'm so upset I don't yet have the self-control to properly articulate my feelings on this issue, so this next portion of this post will be my annotations and emotions I went through while reading this article. Hopefully, rather than forcing my own opinion on you, this form of rant will help you develop your own opinion. Enjoy, if you can.

Frey said he was interested in conceiving commercial ideas that would sell extremely well. He was in the process of hiring writers

HIRING?! Hiring writers?! EDIT: As was rightly pointed out to me in the comments. Hiring writers in itself is not wrong. But if you read on, you will see it is very wrong in this case.

We were desperate to be published, any way we could. We were spending $45,000 on tuition, some of us without financial aid, and many taking out loans that were lining us up to graduate six figures in debt. A deal like the one Frey was offering could potentially pay off our loans and provide an income for the next decade. Do a little commercial work under a pseudonym, sell the movie rights, and never have to suffer as a writer in New York. We wouldn’t even need day jobs.

These are students talking. People, if you are being forced to write under a pseudonym, that means you don't get any credit!

Frey handed him a one-page write-up of the concept, and Hughes developed the rest of the outlined narrative.

He just handed him a one-page write up?! And suddenly he's writing books? Dang. I wish that worked. I have about fifty-million one-page books. The whole point of writing is writing! Not just thinking up a story.

But here comes the part that's especially sad to me:

Frey’s idea was a series called “The Lorien Legacies,” about nine Loric aliens who were chased from their home planet by evil Mogadorians and are living on Earth in the guise of teenagers.

WHAT?! I Am Number Four is a result of this fiction factory? I really liked that book. But I wish I could like it for the right reasons.

One Columbia student, Jesse Thiessen, submitted an idea about high-school theater students who coalesce around a father figure who develops skin cancer; Frey’s assistant replied, “I’m sorry, but we’re looking for high-concept ideas that we can pitch in one sentence. We know it sounds cynical, but it’s what we know we can sell.”

Oh. The pain. Commercialism.

In exchange for delivering a finished book within a set number of months, the writer would receive $250 (some contracts allowed for another $250 upon completion), along with a percentage of all revenue generated by the project, including television, film, and merchandise rights—30 percent if the idea was originally Frey’s, 40 percent if it was originally the writer’s. The writer would be financially responsible for any legal action brought against the book but would not own its copyright.

So basically, you get all the crappy stuff, and they get all the good stuff.

Frey and Almon told me they would send me a contract but warned me that I shouldn’t bother trying to negotiate. They weren’t acceding to other writers’ requests and wouldn’t accede to mine.

AKA We are the boss of you, mindless slaves!

He encouraged me to start imagining product placement—“think Happy Meals”—because merchandise is where you make money in these deals. He mentioned the Mogadorian swords in I Am Number Four, which were described with unusual specificity. “We added that after Spielberg told us he needed stuff to sell.”

I'm going to cry.


No matter which way you look at this, it is WRONG. He is taking YA literature and turning it into mass-produced and commercialized sweatshop material.

Writers! There are other ways to help your book get published, you don't need to sell your writing soul. If it's your book, you deserve the credit both good and bad.

Stephanie wrote a great post on this issue where she quoted John Green:

YA author John Green has spoken about this—the more Twilights there are and the more books purchased at Wal Mart, the fewer unique titles actually get produced.

While I am not actively writing now, I do hope to someday write a YA novel and attempt publication. How can this be possible if we're being swarmed by these massed produced commercialized books?! The worst part for me is that these books are good. I really enjoyed I Am Number Four but why can't we just give the actual author credit? And changing a book just so you can produce toys? I just... I'm speechless.

Once again, I don't usually comment on these sorts of issues. I apologize if I've offended anyone, but I just can't abide this. If you don't think this is wrong, PLEASE contact me. I'd love to see how this could be justified, because I just can't fathom it.

If you'd like to read the full article, you can click here. However, be forewarned, Frey has a bit of a potty-mouth.

I hate being angry. I just want to curl up under a rock.

Yours in abject horror,

Release Date: February 15th, 2011
Genre:  Paranormal, Romance
Publisher: Katherine Tegen
Pages: 464
Rating:

Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary: 

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

Review: This book already has quite the internet following. And it deserves it. It definitely has what it takes to join the ranks of the elite YA Paranormal books. It has an interesting storyline, likeable characters, believable dialogue, and is written absolutely fantastically!

Is it perfect? No. There were some aspects that bothered me: slight casual swearing, underage drinking, etc. But those weren’t so bad. What bugged me the most were the plot points that weren’t really flushed out all the way. I assume these points will be covered in later books, but it felt… strange that they weren’t addressed in this one. If you’ve read it, and you’d like to know specifically what I mean, feel free to e-mail me (admin@SqueakyBooks.com).

My recommendation? I’d get this one from the library when it comes out. I know that some of you will LOVE it beyond belief. But others, like me, won’t like it well enough to own it. And if you’re one of those people, you won’t want to buy it. I don’t think I’ll buy it. It’s not a book I’ll ever need to reread, but I will certainly read the next books in the series and any others from Courtney Allison Moulton.

A very enjoyable book.

Hey there Squeaky Readers! I'm Gabrielle Carolina! Ennalee invited me to guest post, and so I just wanted to stop by and share an observation that my blog, The Mod Podge Bookshelf, takes into great consideration:


Character’s names.

Have you ever noticed that the most popular books bear the coolest monikers? I know that I’ve picked up many of my personal favorite books over the years all because of a great name. Why do you think that is?

I have a theory, and even though it’s not scientifically proven I think it holds it’s own. My theory is that authors who take the time to write amazing books name their characters with the same devotion as one would (hopefully) give a child.

At the end of every review I will write a small blurb called Notes on the Names in which I will discuss the highs and the lows of the authors choices. The factors I usually consider (when applicable) are historical accuracy, name meaning, trend consistency and the X-factor. I find that my theory is proven more true than false with every positive, or negative review.

So, I want to know, what are your favorite books and what names really make the book sparkle? Please comment here on Enna’s blog and then head over to The Mod Podge Bookshelf so we can keep talking!

Blessings,

Gabrielle Carolina <3

I want to thank Enna Isilee very much for letting me do this guest post and I can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts.

In order to inspire more people to nominate their favorite 2010 releases, I'll be giving away a $5 gift certificate to Amazon for every 50 people who nominate (up to 250 people). So if I have 250 people nominate, I'll give away 5 $5 gift certificates, 150 people 3 $5 gift certificates, etc. PLUS someone will still win the YA prize pack(Prize pack is US only). If you don't want the $5 (crazy people) PLEASE still nominate!!

Nominate people! Nominate!

Happy Veterans Day!



Release Date: February 8th, 2011
GoodReads Page
Summary:

Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Why I want it: Vicious wood elves? I’m hooked!

Do you want to read The Iron Witch?
Take a second to answer in the poll!
(Those of you viewing in feed readers may not be able to see it)

Now at the end of this year I'll post my favorite books that I reviewed in 2010. But this year I want to do something different, I want to hear from YOU!

That's right. PLEASE let me know your top 5 books that were released in 2010! If they haven't been released yet, you're welcome to list them as well. If you can't think of 5, you can list as few as 1, but you can't list more than five. Sorry!

I'm hoping to compile a list, and then use the most nominated titles for some Christmas-giveaway fun times!

Also, to one lucky nominator I'll give away a random prize pack of books! You must be in the US to win the prize pack, but international peeps are more than welcome to list they're favorite 2010 releases (just be sure they have been released in 2010 in the US). Prize pack will have 2-3 books/ARCs and some swag.

I'll also give away $5 to Amazon for every 50 people who nominate! (up to 250 people) That means if 100 people nominate, two people get $5 gift certificates. If 250 people nominate, FIVE people get $5 gift certificates!

Sound good? These nominations will be open until December 17th and I'll let y'all know what all of this is about on December 20th. That'll be after finals, and I should have my brain together.

Fill out the form below, or click here! Be sure your nominations have been/will be released in 2010! So The Water Wars by Cameron Stratcher (which comes out 1-1-11) doesn't count. And don't just list books you want to own, list your FAVORITES. Remember that 2010 started 11 months ago. People have  a tendency to list only books released in the last 2-3 months.

Release Date: February 1st, 2011
GoodReads Page
Summary:

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Why I want it: Y'all saw my review of this book yesterday. I LOVED it (despite some slight issues with the plot) and I'll DEFINITELY be purchasing a copy.


Do you want to read Delirium?
Take a second to answer in the poll!
(Those of you viewing in feed readers may not be able to see it)

Release Date: February 1st, 2011
Genre: Romance, Dystopia, Sci-fi
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 440
Rating:

Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary: 

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Review: Everything you have heard about this book is true.  There is gripping romance, interesting characters, a fabulously dystopian society, and an UNBELIEVEABLE ending. Ah!

Why only 4.5 stars, then? Well... it just didn't Match up to a certain book I read that was very similar. *cough* But I try not to compare book-to-book. It's usually not fair, and I know that most people won't agree with me.

But all comparisons aside, I LOVED all the little things in this book. The little snippets of information at the begining of each chapter were so cool! And I loved the idea of eliminating love. What a unique concept. I did find Lena a little annoying, and there were a couple instances of pretty extreme swearing (but it wasn't casual) but my biggest issue was this:

WHY would people eliminate love?

Now, you're listening to worlds biggest love-skeptic. I haven't found it yet, and I am not actively pursuing it at this moment. So when characters in novels fall so head-over-heels that they can't think straight or do anything else I usually roll my eyes and groan.Especially teen love. Seriously, people? Seriously?

HOWEVER, even I can't understand why a society would want to eliminate love entirely. I mean, sure, it causes you to think irrationally, and it can cause heartache, but it does so many good things! This book talked about some mothers who were so unattatched to their children that they KILLED them. Because they just didn't care.

So this just made me read the book with one eyebrow raised. Like, really? Everyone in this book seemed so... sad. Perhaps you are SUPPOSED to think this. Most dystopians challenge you to find the errors in their society, and usually they're easy to spot, but it's also easy to spot WHY someone might have thought it was a good idea. I just couldn't figure that out for Delirium.

Hm... I guess The Giver sort of did this "getting rid of love" thing. But not qutie to this extreme.

I know that I'm one of the very few reviewers who didn't give this a glowing, 5+ stars review. And I didn't take this stance because I wanted to stand out, because Delirium is EXTREMELY good. SO good. Once I sat down to read it I couldn't move! So despite the fact that I had some issues with the story and characters, they weren't major.

I highly recommend y'all read this book when it comes out.

Look at all that GREEN! That's my favorite cover! And those EYES! And that FONT! And that BACKGROUND! Philomel has really outdone themselves with this one.

I think I'm in love.