The Bursting Bookshelf

Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan"Tobin pointed to a cabinet in the corver of the room, and Kieran opened the door. The suits were smelly with body odor and filthy, almost unwearable." -Page 70"'How did we not see that?' Kieran asked angrily." -Page 70

What happens when happily ever after…isn’t?     Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.     And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.     Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.


Review:
I've only read one Jodi Picoult book before (My Sister's Keeper) and I absolutely loved it. When I got the opportunity to read her brand new young adult book, I jumped for the opportunity. I loved her other book so much, that I had very high expectations for this one. My love for Jodi Picoult was continued in this greatly imaginative book.

The cover matches the theme of Jodi Picoult's other books while still retaining a young adult vibe. Readers of her adult books will be able to relate this one to them because of the similarity in fonts and layout. The relation goes the other way too, the new readers she gathers from this book will be able to easily find her adult books in a store. I loved the cover for it's simplicity and lightness: they didn't go overboard on the effects, but they still tied the book that the main character loves in. Also, I really like the shadow of a castle in the back; it was a nice touch to bring it all together.

Delilah, the main character, was mostly enjoyable. Every now and again she would make decisions that were not sound in any way shape or form and she fell in love with a character (not in the average reader sense) creating a severe case of instant love. It was that relationship that threw off the dynamics of the characters a bit, in my opinion. Oliver was fairly enjoyable, despite the instant relationship with Delilah, he had a crazy amount of curiosity towards what existed outside his small world. This curiosity was what I really enjoyed about him: he didn't settle for what he was born with, he kept trying to free himself from the restricting world he was born into.

The story was well paced and timed with a clean ending, just as it is the theme with Jodi Picoult's books. My favorite part of this book was the writing. It was detailed and well thought out without leaving any holes in the story, making the flow of the book seem effortless and thorough. No details were ever skipped over, they were worked into the plot in a way that didn't slow the writing down in the slightest.  Though the book ended at a slight cliffhanger, it is still nice to see a book end at the right time without dragging on and on and simply knowing where to stop.

The book ended quite cleanly- there was a defined ending making the book a stand alone. I'd recommend it to fans of the author's previous works as well as people who want to give her novels a shot. I give Between the Lines a 4/5.

It's that time again, time to kick butt and take names in the YA Crush Tourney for #TeamAdrian. CLICK HERE to vote for him (the poll is at the bottom of the post!). Tell your friends, tweet, vote, make Goodreads posts about it, change your profile pictures to the button below, DO ANYTHING! This is some stiff competition we're facing, so please VOTE VOTE VOTE!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event held by Jill over at Breaking The Spine! It's all about those books you just can't wait for and are counting down the days till they come out.  


This week I chose:


Eva’s life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination—an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her “other”, if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it’s like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.

But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this.

Now she must abandon everything she’s ever known—the guardians who raised her, the boy she’s forbidden to love—to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.

What Eva finds is a grief-stricken family; parents unsure how to handle this echo they thought they wanted; and Ray, who knew every detail, every contour of Amarra. And when Eva is unexpectedly dealt a fatal blow that will change her existence forever, she is forced to choose: Stay and live out her years as a copy or leave and risk it all for the freedom to be an original. To be Eva.

From debut novelist Sangu Mandanna comes the dazzling story of a girl who was always told what she had to be—until she found the strength to decide for herself.

Evie's paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate.

The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie's hands.

So much for normal.

Review:
I first heard about Kiersten White back in the early days of my blog. There was a lot of hype surrounding her debut book, Paranormalcy, and I bought it shortly after it was released. That was 2010, but now, in 2012, comes the end of the fantastic Paranormalcy series. With that said, I had quite high expectations for Endlessly and they were met and exceeded by this excellent book.

Purple: possibly the best color in the world. I love how the entire series looks altogether, side by side, with all the gorgeous dresses and backgrounds matching in theme. Though all the covers in the series are beautiful, this one might actually be my favorite of the series. The dress Evie is wearing is my favorite of the three dresses. The foreground also featured a few flowers in tones to match the shade of the dress. The clouds in the background and the way that Evie's hair is blowing to the side indicates a storm occurring which could be symbolic of the climax of the story of the trilogy.

Evie was as fantastic as always, she has this wit about her that made her one of the most entertaining protagonists in YA today. Her ability to bring humor to any situation, as well as being a fairly strong female protagonist is not something you come by everyday in YA books. She's also quite remarkable in the fact that I enjoyed reading in her point of view the entire time without ever getting frustrated with her decisions or attitude. Her relationships with the other characters, especially Lend and Reth, they all had a lot of dynamics with each other. Lend was the perfect guy for Evie, he valued their relationship and her opinions without being too judgmental. Reth was even more intriguing than he was in past books; a lot of the mystery that surrounded him was uncovered and he was a fairly complex character, amazingly so.

The story was chock full of happenings, the story never stopped moving and there was always things occurring. It was such a full plot, that one might even be able to complain that the book should have be longer to help accommodate all of the amazing events. The story was great and it ended in a perfectly crafted ending that gives the reader an opportunity to imagine what might happen next in Lend and Evie's future. The writing was just as phenomenal as it was in the previous two books: witty and action packed. Kiersten White  has a way with words that sets her apart from the crowd with amazing detail and precision. No matter what she writes next, I know I'll be reading it.

Altogether, this book was an amazing conclusion to the fantastic Paranormalcy trilogy. I'd recommend this series to anyone in need of a great paranormal read or wants to try out a great YA read. I give Endlessly a 5/5 for being a great conclusion to this series.

Happily ever after is a thing of the past. 

A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless. 

When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year old Princess Eliza manages to escape. Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope-and love-once more. 

Now she must risk everything to ensure that she does not become . . . 

The Last Princess.

Review:
The premise of this book really drew me in upon reading the summary, and the cover added to my need to read the book. Both parts were huge factors in why I read this book, even though I had heard nothing about it, good or bad. That said, I had fairly high expectations of this book that, unfortunately, were not delivered upon.

Cover-wise, this book hit the right notes. I absolutely adore the colors used in the sky behind the model, they ranged from blue to pink with some great purple tones in there too. When you look away from the gorgeous sky, you can see the city below in ruins, showing that there had been some apocalyptic event recently because the city looks as though it had seen better days. Moving past the sky and the landscape, there's the cover model, who, too, looks like she's seen better days. Though you cannot see her face, her body language says that she has been through a lot, but is still willing to fight on. The cover came together with the cool, futuristic font used on the author and title, giving the entire thing a dystopian feel.

The characters didn't have exact faults, but they were all around bland. The main character, Eliza, didn't come off as the strong female protagonist that would have suited this story better. Instead she was a diluted pampered princess, fitting to her title, but not the rest of the story. There was nothing directly annoying about her, but the fact she was simply boring. The secondary characters were just as bland; not as developed as I had hoped they would be. The relationships were just as uninteresting for the most part, except that between the antagonist, Hollister, and Eliza. Their dynamic was interesting because he wasn't the stereotypical villain. He didn't hate Eliza in particular, he simply hated the idea of royalty being in power, and eliminating her was the easiest way to get to be where he wanted to be.

The writing was where the true problem with this book was. It was written much too simply for my tastes. There was no style to the writing, it was all very dry and without much personality, without much to build relationships with the characters. It was the staleness of the writing that was truly what brought the book down for me. It didn't allow the characters to grow, it prevented the plot from picking up to a faster speed and it just made the read slow. As I mentioned before, the plot was slightly sluggish, never quite getting to a desirable speed before the ending. The ending was fairly conclusive, though I'm not sure how the sequel (mentioned in the author description in the flap of the hardcover) will fit into the story; it seemed to wind up fairly nicely.

I really wish I had enjoyed this book more than I did, but I just didn't feel that it delivered on the amazing premise. I'd recommend this book to someone looking for a light, dystopian, beach read. I give The Last Princess a 2.5/5.

As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life. 

A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined.

Review:
A cure for death; that was the main premise behind this book. Having never read a book on this topic, I was eager to read it from the start. To add to my eagerness, I had also heard a ton of great things about Cat Patrick's books, so my expectations were fairly high. Luckily, I enjoyed this book quite a bit!

The cover is very different from many covers out there. It had a shade of blue-green that was lighter than the overused black that many YA covers use. It's color sets it apart, and the cover model makes it even more unique, bringing another dimension to it by using the thin, tissue paper-like substance to rip through. This could symbolize so much from the book, whether it was Daisy realizing the unfairness of her being able to come back from death while others died everyday, or how she could lead a normal life even though everyone around her said that she couldn't. The font was very modern looking, bringing a high tech feel to the cover, embodying the feel of the book nicely.

Daisy was my favorite character of this book; she was closed in her own little world at the beginning, but as the book progressed she became more aware of her situation. She realized that death wasn't a normal thing to most people; she could beat it, but others were affected by it dramatically. This growth of character was amazing, she changed her entire personality, bettering herself within the span of the book. Then there were the secondary characters. I really loved Audrey for how honest and nice she was. She became a fast friend for Daisy, not judging her on her secrecy or her crush on her brother, Matt. Matt was fairly interesting, he also helped Daisy grow into the person she was at the end of the book and he was a pretty good love interest.

The one thing that I didn't enjoy about this book was how it was paced. At times it moved very fast, maybe too fast, then it would slow down to a crawl, not holding my attention very well. It was this inconsistency that was the one flaw that held the book back from it's full potential. Apart from the pacing, the story was fairly interesting. The premise was that there was a drug that was being tested on a group of individuals to bring them back to life time after time. I found it to be fairly well delivered upon with a very easy to visualize style of writing to back it up. The writing was some of the best I've seen in a while, it had a style to it that was what kept me reading when the pacing lulled.

I cannot wait to read another one of Cat Patrick's books in the future after really enjoying this one. I loved the fact it was a stand alone book, it ended nicely while still leaving some up to the reader. I'd recommend this book to a person looking for a book set in modern time with a death defying twist. I give Revived a 4/5.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event held by Jill over at Breaking The Spine! It's all about those books you just can't wait for and are counting down the days till they come out.  


This week I chose:
There's no description.

Hey everyone! I've seen a lot of bloggers making this kind of list lately and I decided to showcase my top ten. I have no clue who had the brilliant idea of doing it first, but I give credit where it is due.


1) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
2) Cinder by Marissa Meyer
3) A Million Suns by Beth Revis
4) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
5) Embrace by Jessica Shirvington
6) The Help by Kathryn Stockett 
7) Beauty Queens by Libba Bray 
8) Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
9) Onyx Talisman by Brenda Pandos
10) Endlessly by Kiersten White


What's your top ten?

Have you voted for Adrian in his round in the YA Crush Tourney yet? Voting is today, and it ends at 12am EST, so vote, vote, vote! Together we can get him to the top! Here is my defense for him for your reading pleasure:




If you don't already know, the amazingly crushable Adrian Ivashkov is being represented by me, Anna Tee from The Bursting Bookshelf. Adrian is from The Vampire Academy series and the Bloodlines series by the hugely talented Richelle Mead. If you want to stay up to date on how Adrian is doing in the Tourney or to just support him, please check out my Twitter and use the hashtag #TEAMADRIAN. Before we begin, I'd just like to thank the YA Sisterhood for hosting this event! WARNING, MINOR SPOILERS BELOW. 

A novel about love, loss, and sex -- but not necessarily in that order.

Before her mother died, Shelby promised three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Those Promises become harder to keep when Shelby's father joins the planning committee for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live pure lives -- in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex.

Torn between Promises One and Three, Shelby makes a decision -- to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby starts to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity.

Review:
I hadn't read anything else by Jackson Pearce when I received this book, but I have been wanting to for a while, and I thought this would be a good place to start. I had high expectations going into this book due to what I had heard about about Jackson Pearce's writing. I'm glad to say I did quite enjoy this book, despite how short it was.

The cover was very symbolic of the situation Shelby was in. It had a lock on a chain, undone, but still on the chain. The lock symbolized the promises Shelby had made to her mother right before she died, Shelby wanted to find a way out of it without disappointing her family. Shelby was symbolized by the chain, the lock was still hanging on the chain, even if it wasn't locked. Apart from the symbolism, there was also the gorgeous blue that was the background behind the chain. I loved how the title font was worked into the lock; it brought the simple cover together nicely.

Shelby was mostly enjoyable, but I had trouble understanding why she was so hell-bent on keeping the promises. I understand that she felt like she had to because it was one of the last things she said to her mother, but she didn't ever really consider talking to her dad or any not extreme alternatives. I didn't agree with the extremes she went to to release herself from the promises she would have to break otherwise. The other characters were fun and light; they filled out the story nicely without stealing too much of the spotlight in this short novel.

The plot was quick and to the point. The book was short, but that wasn't degrading to the plot in any way, if anything, it kept it on track. There was very little downtime in the plot, which was good because the story got straight to the point. The writing was great- just as good as the hype surrounding it said. It had a style that was very accurate to how a teenager might view the world and how life can go on even when you've lost a big part of it. The whole story wrapped up nicely, tying up the story with a good ending that didn't give the reader too much, but didn't leave them with too little.

All and all, I really did enjoy this book; it had it's highs and it's lows whilst still being enjoyable for the reader. I'd recommend this book to fans of Jackson Pearce who also want a bit of contemporary thrown into the mix of her usual paranormal books. I give Purity a 4/5.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event held by Jill over at Breaking The Spine! It's all about those books you just can't wait for and are counting down the days till they come out.  


This week I chose:
There's no description yet!

No parents. No rules. No way home. 
Fourteen-year-old Bonnie MacDonald couldn't be more excited for a camping trip on an island off the coast of Thailand with her fellow Amelia Earhart Cadets-the daughters of the men and women stationed there during the Vietnam War. But when a strong current deposits the girls on what their boatman calls the "forbidden island," things take a turn for the worse: A powerful storm comes to destroy their campsite, the smallest of the junior cadets is found dead, and their boatman never returns. What once seemed like a vacation in paradise has become a battle against the elements. 
Peppered with short, frantic entries from Bonnie's journal, Lost Girls is a page-turning, heart-pounding adventure story about a group of teen girls fighting for their lives.

Review:
I saw this book's cover and read the synopsis in the publisher's catalog and immediately wanted to read it. The premise was similar to many books before it, but it was very well delivered on this time around. What caught my attention was the foreign setting and as well as the element of history within. Altogether, it was a winning formula.

Purple: my favorite color. I love how gritty the cover looks, it shows the massive amounts of rain the was received on the island the characters were stranded on. You couldn't quite see the cover model's face, not giving the reader any idea of what she might look like, leaving the reader to imagine what she looks like. You can also see that it was a tropical location by the palm trees in the back, they also showed the immensity of the storm's winds. The font brought the entire thing together by looking very military and old.

There was only one character I didn't like: Bonnie. You're probably thinking 'But she's the main character!'. I didn't overall hate her, but I just didn't like how indecisive she could be over very simple matters. Whether it was her feelings about another character or something even more trivial, she just couldn't seem to make her mind up on anything. I really enjoyed Mrs. Campbell because of how she was able to make me feel angry towards her due to how well written she was. Not many characters can illicit such strong feelings from me, but she was written just so, making her a character who was drowning in her own troubles and was suddenly expected to ensure the survival of a bunch of young girls.

Grittiness was a big feature in the writing of Lost Girls. Having that gritty feel in the writing was essential for the story because of it's setting on the island without any of the amenities of home (running water, bathrooms, electricity, etc.). The short journal entries were a good add in for the writing; not too long that they got boring, but not short to be pointless. I found the setting of the island to be fairly realistic (to the extent of my knowledge, at least) with the frequent tropical storms and lush jungles. It made for an entertaining setting, providing unforeseeable challenges for the girls stranded. The plot was well rounded and it didn't leave with a huge cliffhanger or leave many strings loose. It got to the point fairly quickly and demanded my attention the entire way.

The end was a good one, it rounded things off where there will not be a sequel. This was a novel with few flaws, I'd recommend it to people looking for something original or to fans of survival books. I give Lost Girls a 4/5.

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Review:
I promise, I'm going to keep this review short. I honestly don't believe that I could ever do it justice in a review, so I'll try to be quick. Upon hearing some of the biggest and best hype for a book that I've ever heard, I decided to pick it up and give it a fair shot. I hadn't even read a John Green book before (I know, crazy, right?) but I had to see what all the fuss was about. Half a box of tissues later and I had discovered one of my new favorite books (only tied with the Hunger Games) and a brand new author to enjoy. I loved the book to pieces, it just had everything going for it; amazingly well thought out characters, a plot that didn't tip toe around real life trials with cancer and stellar writing to back the entire thing up. The main characters were Hazel and Augustus. Neither were anywhere near perfect, but it was their imperfections that made them so perfect to read about. The secondary characters were amazing too, they were written as well as the main characters and weren't ever lacking in characteristics or background stories. The characters also had their own habits and mannerisms that made them more realistic and enjoyable.

As I said before, the writing was gorgeous. It was well thought out and amazing. The plot never truly stopped, it continued moving, but it wasn't action in the physical sense, it was in the emotional sense. The character fights were against death and cancer, some won, others didn't. It was the author's fearlessness with his characters was great as well, he used them in ways that will pull any readers heartstrings with ease. Words cannot properly convey how much I love this book. I would recommend this book to anyone. Just anyone, especially those who are looking for a powerful read. I give it an infinite score- I honestly cannot give it a regular score due to how much I love it.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event held by Jill over at Breaking The Spine! It's all about those books you just can't wait for and are counting down the days till they come out.  


This week I chose:
There's no description right now, but I love the cover!

A huge thanks to Avery for making Adrian's button this year! Please use it anywhere; profile pictures, sidebars, etc. Show your #TEAMADRIAN pride and tweet me @thebbookshelf.

Review:
Everyone has seen the hoarding shows on television at some point or another or they've at least heard of them. This book is a take on the effects that hoarders have on their loved ones, specifically their children. Unlike the TV shows, this book offered a very personal feeling take on the issue without seeming too cliche or falsified.

The cover is a good representation of the book; it features a pile of clothing, which was one of the many things hoarded by the mother of the main character. Also, the pink cowboy boots do have a part in the book part way through, it's nice to see some tie ins on the cover. The bright pinks and oranges are very eye catching and enjoyable to look at; not too harsh on the eyes. The tag line, "How do you come clean when your life is a mess?" is a perfectly suited line to describe the book, tying the entire cover together.

During the course of the book some of the characters grew on me while others didn't. The main character, Junie, had her enjoyable moments, but for the most part I did not agree with her decisions and how she treated others. She didn't treat her mother very well at all, even considering the situation she had put them in and she didn't think of the consequences her lie had on those around her, specifically Tabitha and her mother. I really enjoyed Tabitha, the best friend character, and her mother for being understanding of what Junie was going through, but at the same time trying to get her to do the right thing no matter how Junie treated them.

The writing was one of the parts of the book I didn't enjoy. Something about it was just not appealing to me, whether it was the  unnecessary use of swearing or the way it reflected upon the characters. The way that characters were portrayed just didn't put them in the best of lights, even though they clearly had a lot of potential, and it really showed in some cases, such as the case of Junie. I didn't find Junie to be too like-able, which really didn't aid the plot. In the plot's defense, I did think it was well paced and fairly realistic feeling without ever having too many absolutely unbelievable moments and it had a good ending.

Overall, I truly liked the premise of this book better than the delivered product. If you're looking for a book specifically about hoarding, give this book a try. I give The Opposite of Tidy a 3/5.

You may or may not know that the YA Crush Tourney is starting soon. Lucky for me, I am advocating for this awesome (and hot) character. If you didn't know, Adrian is a popular character from the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines Series. His first match is July 16th, so keep your eyes peeled on the YA Sisterhood for it! Together, we can make Adrian win! Also, I'm in the process of getting the Team Adrian buttons made, so keep your eyes opened for those as well. I'll be tweeting on my twitter, @thebbookshelf, and using the hash tag #teamadrian, so be sure to join the conversation! Let's get Adrian the title!