On My Wishlist (2)

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.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Siobhan Dowd

Hardcover: 224 pages

Release date: Sept. 27th, 2011

Publisher: Candlewick

Goodreads Summary: 

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting – he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd – whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself – Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Hardcover: 288 pages

Release date: Sept. 5th, 2011

Publisher: Poppy

Goodreads Summary: Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention. 

Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling...

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Hardcover: 435 pages

Release date: Jan. 4th, 2011

Publisher: Harperteen

Goodreads Summary: In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

What's on your wishlist for this week? 

Review: How To Ruin series by Simone Elkeles

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation

 Summary: Moshav? What’s a moshav? Is it “shopping mall” in Hebrew? I mean, from what Jessica was telling me, Israeli stores have the latest fashions from Europe. That black dress Jessica has is really awesome. I know I’d be selling out if I go with the Sperm Donor to a mall, but I keep thinking about all the great stuff I could bring back home. Unfortunately for 16-year-old Amy Nelson, “moshav” is not Hebrew for “shopping mall.” Not even close. Think goats, not Gucci. Going to Israel with her estranged Israeli father is the last thing Amy wants to do this summer. She’s got a serious grudge against her dad, a.k.a. “Sperm Donor,” for showing up so rarely in her life. Now he’s dragging her to a war zone to meet a family she’s never known, where she’ll probably be drafted into the army. At the very least, she’ll be stuck in a house with no AC and only one bathroom for seven people all summer—no best friend, no boyfriend, no shopping, no cell phone…

How to Ruin My Teenage Life

 Summary: In this sequel to How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, EVERYTHING in sixteen-year-old Amy Nelson Barak’s life is going wrong! Her mom got married and moved to the suburbs, and now they are going to have a baby. Amy moves in with her dad in Chicago and signs him up for an online dating service. His first four dates are that night … What else? Her dog Mutt impregnated her grumpy neighbor’s prized poodle, so Amy will actually have to get a part-time job to pay for half the veterinary bill. And there’s this totally annoying boy, Nathan Rubin, who just moved into her apartbuilding. Luckily, Amy has a cute boyfriend named Avi. Only he’s more like a non-boyfriend considering Avi is in the Israeli army for the next three years. What’s a girl to do when everyone is conspiring to ruin her life?

How to Ruin Your Boyfriend’s Reputation

 Summary: Guess who’s jetting to the Holy Land this summer! Remember me, Amy Barak-Nelson—a.k.a the queen of disaster? In case you forgot, my boyfriend Avi is in the Israeli army. A visit is definitely in order. Somehow my grandmother convinced me to sign up for two weeks of pure hell in a military training base. Getting up before dawn, peeing in a hole, and playing war games in the desert isn’t my idea of fun. But what’s worse? Our team leader turns out to be Avi!

Thoughts:

Simone Elkeles never fails to impress me. This was the last series that I’ve read of her work after enjoying both Perfect Chemistry and Leaving Paradise series. I expected to see similarities from her other works and I’m happy to see none. How To Ruin trilogy was an eye-opener for me. Just like Amy, I saw Israel without so much affirmative judgments because of the war that’s still happening there. The author proved both Amy and I wrong. I had an 8-hour trip to the country and Ms. Elkeles successfully pulled off to take the reader’s imagination to where Amy is. It is a fun read that I finished the whole series in one sitting within less than twelve hours (I didn’t mind that my brother’s mumbling ‘no life’ loud enough for me to hear). It was highly entertaining to know Amy’s POV though she’s really annoying and is ruining a lot of things on every first part of the books. Her relationship with Avi was enviable and realistic. There were many times that they argue about a lot of things, but the moment they made up, nobody can separate them from each other –except Amy’s father, Ron, when they get too close--. It’s a wholesome series despite several sexual tensions between Amy and Avi. Religion was also a big part of the series. I’m a catholic and I respect every other religion equally. I know a little about Judaism from our Social Studies last year and it’s interesting to learn more of Jews’ cultures and traditions. 

Overall, I really, really liked it. Ms. Simone Elkeles taught and showed me a good deal of things and I’m counting the days to finally read CHAIN OF REACTION.

Follow Friday & Book Blogger Hop

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

This week's question: 
How many books do you read in a week? And in what format do you read them, or listen to them?

At the beginning of vacation last April, I read 4-5 books a week on e-book and paperpack/harback formats. Lately, I get to finish 2-3 since I have tons of advance reading materials for school on June. I'll be starting off college next next week so I'll be reading a lot less. Maybe a book a week. As for reading formats, I'd probably love e-books more if I have a Kindle so I'm saving up for one right now. :D

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 from Britta who blogs at I Like These Books:
What book-to-movie adaption have you most liked?  Which have you disliked?

I loved all the movie adaptations of Harry Potter books! I don't think anyone would disagree to that.There are so much book-to-movie adaptations that I didn't like... but I'd pick Eclipse of the Twilight Saga.That book was my favorite among the four but they ruined the movie. We anticipated for months and even wore our Team Jacob shirts. Too bad it was so boring and I almost fell asleep in the theater.