Today, tomorrow and Sunday is Bloggiesta! What is Bloggiesta?

In short, it’s a blogging marathon.  A opportunity to cross those nagging items off of your to-do list and improve your blog while in the good company of other awesome bloggers doing the same thing.

Here are my bloggiesta goals:

• Write reviews for next week
• Get the "upcoming release" posts scheduled for February
• Write a post on my personal standards in reviewing
• Contact at least 10 authors for interviews/guest posts
• Respond to all guest post requests
• Clean up tags
• Plan some future contests
• Make my bookmarks
• Talk with other bloggers about co-hosting something (anyone interested?)
• Plan read-a-thon
• Go through my Reader and delete blogs I never read.

Are you participating in bloggiesta? What are you doing?

Release Date: January 1st, 2011
Genre:  Dystopia, Action
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 240
Rating:
Amazon Link*: Click here
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary:

Welcome to a future where water is more precious than gold or oil-and worth killing for

Vera and her brother, Will, live in the shadow of the Great Panic, in a country that has collapsed from environmental catastrophe. Water is hoarded by governments, rivers are dammed, and clouds are sucked from the sky. But then Vera befriends Kai, who seems to have limitless access to fresh water. When Kai suddenly disappears, Vera and Will set off on a dangerous journey in search of him-pursued by pirates, a paramilitary group, and greedy corporations.

Review: I was so excited about this book. Y'all know I'm a sucker for dystopia. However, this one really let me down.

For one, it was WAY too short. I usually don't like books under 300 pages (Clarity was a nice exception). But that was the least of its problems.

The biggest problem was that this book was very episodic. (meaning that it read like a bunch of TV episodes) Each chapter/episode had its own story and it made the book very jerky, and it also detracted from the overall plot. A book that is only 240 pages long really can't contain so many little episodes.

I also felt like the author was trying to fool me. I felt like he was going out of his way to trick me into liking the characters. He tried to make the romance very compelling by making it kind of cutesy and cheesy. But the truth was, I didn't know Kai long enough to care that he was missing (which is supposedly what drove the plot).

Also, nearly EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER ended with some kind of dramatic cliffhanger-- i.e. "He raised the gun to my head and the world went black." end chapter. "There was a flash of white and the world disappeared" end chapter. "I didn't have time to scream before they were upon me" end chapter. It just got SO OLD! I kept thinking "really? You doubt your story's ability to keep me engaged SO MUCH that you're going to try to FORCE me to read the next chapter? Do you really think I'm going to get bored that quickly?" Have some confidence in your story!

And there was quite a lot of the "humans are bad for killing the earth." Which I respect, but gets on my nerve.

Wasn't a whole lot of redeeming stuff for me. I think I only finished it because it was so short. I'd skip this one.

UNLESS, this might be good for a middle-grade reader. The action would definitely keep them interested, if the convoluted story didn't get them lost. And I think this would make a good kids cartoon.



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

Release Date: March 22nd, 2011
GoodReads Page | Amazon
Summary:

There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister’s face when she and Elias left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the horde as they found their way to the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.

Annah’s world stopped that day and she’s been waiting for him to come home ever since. Without him, her life doesn’t feel much different from that of the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Then she meets Catcher and everything feels alive again.

Except, Catcher has his own secrets -- dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah’s longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it’s up to Annah -- can she continue to live in a world drenched in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return’s destruction?

Why I want it: I ADORE THIS SERIES!!! This is what started my love of zombies. Carrie Ryan is a freaking GENIUS!

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Hey y'all! Just wanted to spread some FAB news! You can get a $20 gift card on Amazon for only $10! That's 50% off! There's only 15 hours left, so hurry! I just did it, and you don't have to sign up or anything. Just pay for it.

Release Date: March 1st, 2011
Genre:  Mystery, Paranormal, Romance
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Pages: 256
Rating:  
Amazon Link*: Click here
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary:

When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?

This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

Review: This was a really enjoyable read. I wasn't expecting how mysterious would be. It reads very much like a good Nancy Drew or a "grown up" Scooby Doo (I just watched this with my little bros. It's on my brain) except with a very interesting paranormal twist.

You're told the ending at the beginning, but no names are used so you don't know who is who. This was really cool because I spent the whole book wondering: "is it him? Oooh! Or maybe her. Yeah. It's totally her. No wait! It could be him!" It made the ready experience very interactive and fun.

I also really liked Clare herself. I thought her ideas were interesting, and her family dynamic was really cool. They whole "psychic" thing wasn't overplayed, it was just part of her life.

My only complaint was the mild swearing and the sexuality. Clare's brother is very sexually active. And though the details are extremely vague, it was still mentioned a few times.

All in all, I really liked this book. I read it all in one day. A good, short read.


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