On My Wishlist (7)

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It’s where we list all the books we desperately want but haven’t actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. It’s also an event that you can join in with too – If you want to know more, click here.

Five Flavors of Dumb by Anthony John

Hardcover: 352 pages

Release date: November 11th, 2010

Publisher: Dial

Goodreads Summary: The Challenge: Piper has one month to get the rock band Dumb a paying gig.

The Deal: If she does it, Piper will become the band's manager and get her share of the profits.

The Catch: How can Piper possibly manage one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl? And how can she do it when she's deaf?

Piper can't hear Dumb's music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb.

Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2) by Kiersten White

 Hardcover: 336 pages

Release date: July 26th, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

Goodreads Summary: Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

So much for normal. 

What's on your wishlist for this week? 

Review : Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Hardcover: 384 pages

Release date: April 6th 2006

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Source: e-book

Goodreads Summary: Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything"—at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store.This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. 

Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help,maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

 

My Thoughts

This is the last book that I've read in my folder of Sarah Dessen books, and I. Love. It! Not just because of the cameo role of Dexter and Remy (This Lullaby)*oops, spoiler*, but because of the story. The story was really ingenious, remarkable and other praises that I might spell out. Just Listen talks about friendship, acceptance, dilemmas that may come to our lives and love.  Annabel’s life is not perfect as it seems because she is a model and has a huge-exquisite-glass house. Her true life lies behind her glass house, her older sister became anorexic, her mother changed when their grandmother died and of course her own secrets that keeps haunting her everyday--the truth on the night, where she and her ex-best friend Sophie stopped being friends. I love her trait which she doesn’t give up on the obstacles that came on to her life and still manages to survive fine everyday. Of course Owen--the bad/music-lover/gorgeous boy who is the love interest of Annabel--made a huge part on the story to make it more spine-tingling and arousing. I love how their affection grows in the story and the roll music played. Owen helps Annabel to face her own secret and to put her downhill life back into pieces. The end of the story was really impressive and innovative.

Altogether I love the story and highly recommend this to those who doesn't know this book and who doesn't know the inventive author Sarah Dessen! :)

 

Friday Hops

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee.

This week's question: 
Talk about the book that most changed or influenced your life (was it a book that turned you into an average to avid readers, did it help you deal with a very difficult situation, does it bring you comfort every time you read it?)

First, I want to give the Twilight saga the credit for introducing me to the YA world. If I wasn't momentarily addicted to that series, I wouldn't have known that there are books that would influence who I am and my life. It was truly just after that series that I began reading and searching for good YA books. Another book that affected me greatly was The Book Thief by Mark Zusak. For some reason I thought about it for weeks and it even made me read several articles on the internet about the Holocaust. It was also because of The Book Thief that I started to appreciate Historical fiction books. I can't really choose a book or two and there's just so many books that influenced me, so I'll throw in The Hunger Games Trilogy and The Mortal Instruments series too. Those are all-time faves that have affected my obsession with YA books. :) 

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Crazy for Books for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word and to connect with other bookworms, make new friends, support each other, share our love of books! 

This week's question:
What is the one ARC you would love to get your hands on right now?

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I'm dying to read it the moment I found out about this book! 

TGIF is a weekly feature for Fridays hosted by Ginger at GReads! to re-cap the week’s posts and that has a different question each week.

This week's question:
Which books have affected you on a personal level and lingered on your mind long after you closed the pages?

Besides The Hunger Games trilogy, The Mortal Instruments, and The Book Thief I mentioned above, here's my list:

• On The Jellicoe Road and The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta. Enough said before I turn into a full-mode Marchetta fangirl again  which is everytime when I or someone talks about her. SHE'S AMAZING  .
• The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
• The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness
• The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
• If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
• The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

Don't forget to enter our giveaway here if you haven't! And check out my review of Vanish by Sophie Jordan. Have a great weekend everyone!

Waiting on Wednesday: Shatter Me and Gone, Gone, Gone

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Hardbound: 352 pages

Release date: November 11th, 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen
Goodreads Summary: Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old-girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. 

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now. Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. 

Gorgeous cover! It's also Dystopian which makes me pine for it more.

Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz 

Paperback: 272 pages

Release date: April 17th, 2012

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Goodreads summary: It's a year after 9/11. Sniper shootings throughout the D.C. area have everyone on edge, trying to make sense of the random acts of violence. Meanwhile, Craig and Lio are just trying to make sense of their lives. 

Craig's crushing on quiet, distant Lio, and preoccupied with what it meant when Lio kissed him...and if he'll do it again...and if kissing Lio will help him finally get over his ex-boyfriend, Cody.

Lio feels most alive when he's with Craig. He forgets about his broken family, his dead brother, and the messed up world. But being with Craig means being vulnerable, and Lio will have to decide whether love is worth the risk. 

I also love the cover of this one. The premise sounds unique and I can't wait for its release next year!

What are you anxiously waiting on this week? Just leave a comment of the link to your WoW post!

Review: Vanish (Firelight #2) by Sophie Jordan

Vanish by Sophie Jordan

Hardcover: 304 pages

Release date: September 6th 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

Source: NetGalleyAmazon ││The Book Depository ││ Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Summary: To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone. 

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love? 

Firelight was the first book I’ve read about dragons and it had become a breath of fresh air when I read it earlier this year. I’ve been eagerly pining for the sequel after finishing it since the ending was left off. The cover triggered lots of questions and I couldn’t wait to confirm if my guess was right. Imagine my face when I saw Vanish on NetGalley. I boycotted all my notes and stopped reading whatever book it was to start Vanish. Months and months of waiting were definitely worth it. I enjoyed it much more than I did Firelight and fell harder with the story.

I’d never get enough of Drakis. I became even more fascinated with them and their abilities. Here, the events happened within the Pride so I got to know some of the Drakis better. There was not even one dull moment and I loved guessing what happens next. The plot wasn’t predictable so my anticipation level was always on high. I love Sophie for writing intense and emotionally absorbing scenes that always kept me on the edge of my seat. Never have I ever thought of getting up to eat. So, much thanks to my roommate for forcing me to.

I find Will more enticing than ever in Vanish. He’s still the angsty, striking guy I knew in the first book that has grown into an affectionate man. Though there wasn’t much of him in Vanish, my admiration for him did not get any less. No one could possibly resist the velvet-voiced stud like Will. I totally understand why Jacinda couldn’t let go of him and how he transformed her to be a better person. Personally, I have a thing for the Wills in YA Lit. Why are they so awesome?

On the other hand, kudos again to Sophie for developing Jacinda’s character! I got over my annoyance with her in Firelight, and now I can say I like her. She has transformed into a responsible and considerate person. I also learned to sympathize with Cassian. All of my doubts about his feelings for Jacinda are gone. I can’t remember the time I hated him. At some point, I even hoped Jacinda would fall for him. He’s turned out to be different from his father and he deserves an extra credit for every time he saves Jacinda. All of these interesting characters were rightfully crafted with the right amount of complexity.

Like Firelight, Vanish ends with a cliffhanger that left me wanting for more. I enjoyed every bit of moment I spent with this book and I must say it’s the perfect sequel for this trilogy. If you’re looking for a story away from the plethora of vampires and angels, this might be the perfect series for you!