I'm borrowing a meme I've seen around (
In My Mailbox The Story Siren and
On My Bookshelf Books Obsession) and changing it up for me. I don't get a lot of books in the mail or buy them really. My husband would kill me and we would never eat again since all our money would be spent on books. Also I am a librarian so I support my local library as much as I can.
So anyway, I'm going to try and do a weekly meme that I'm calling
From the Library (original right?) and listing the books I've gotten from the library or put on hold.
Books put on hold:
Beastly - A
lex Flinn
I am a beast.
A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.
You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.
The Luxe - Anna Godbersen (this is the 3rd time for this book, I'm trying to get around to it.)
A big, sumptuous tale of catty girls, dark secrets and windswept romance unfurls in this compulsively readable novel of late-19th-century New York City socialites. Godbersen weaves a tenuous web of deceit, backstabbing and pretense that follows four teens: Elizabeth Holland, a prim and proper lady of old-money society, is betrothed to one man, though furtively loves another; Henry Schoonmaker, a debauched playboy who must marry Elizabeth or be disinherited; Diana Holland, Elizabeth’s younger sister who is in love with her fiancé; and Penelope Hayes, a member of the nouveau riche who will stop at nothing to win Henry’s affections. As Elizabeth and Henry’s wedding approaches, the spectacle unfolds in a wondrously grandiose scene, making for a fun, though not entirely unexpected dénouement. A delicious new twist along the Gossip Girl vein, readers will clamor for this sharp, smart drama of friends, lovers, lies and betrayal.
My Sister'
s Keeper - Jodi Picoult
Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister -- and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? Once again, in My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult tackles a controversial real-life subject with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity.
Checked out this week:
3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows (audio) - Ann Brashares
summer is a time to grow seeds Polly has an idea that she can't stop thinking about, one that involves changing a few things about herself. She's setting her sights on a more glamorous life, but it's going to take all of her focus. At least that way she won't have to watch her friends moving so far ahead. roots Jo is spending the summer at her family's beach house, working as a busgirl and bonding with the older, cooler girls she'll see at high school come September. She didn't count on a brief fling with a cute boy changing her entire summer. Or feeling embarrassed by her middle school friends. And she didn't count on her family at all. . . leavesAma is not an outdoorsy girl. She wanted to be at an academic camp, doing research in an air-conditioned library, earning A's. Instead her summer scholarship lands her on a wilderness trip full of flirting teenagers, blisters, impossible hiking trails, and a sad lack of hair products. It is a new summer. And a new sisterhood. Come grow with them.
Boy Meets Boy - David Levithan
In this delightful young adult novel for readers 12 and up, high school sophomore Paul says, "There isn't really a gay scene or a straight scene in our town. They got all mixed up a while back, which I think is for the best." And, as he observes at the end of the story, "It's a wonderful world." Paul has both gay and straight friends, and they all hang out together at terrific bookstores and concerts, and advise one another on the sometimes troubled progress of their various romances. Paul is smitten with Noah, and they are beginning a serious relationship when Kyle, Paul's ex, complicates things by deciding that all is forgiven. Joni is going out with Chuck, who dominates her, much to her friends' disapproval. Tony's conservative parents refuse to acknowledge that he is gay, so the others must bone up on Bible verses all week so they can pretend Saturday night is a study group. And then there's Infinite Darlene, football quarterback and Homecoming Queen, who deserves a whole romance novel of her own. Life in their town is gloriously accepting of differences and only occasionally verges on magic realism, in this first novel in which same sex preference is not the problem.
--Patty Campbell
Death's Daughter - Amber Benson
Calliope Reaper-Jones so just wanted a normal life: buying designer shoes on sale, dating guys from Craig's List, web-surfing for organic dim-sum for her boss... But when her father — who happens to be Death himself — is kidnapped, and the Devil's Protege embarks on a hostile takeover of the family business, Death, Inc., Callie returns home to assume the CEO mantle — only to discover she must complete three nearly impossible tasks in the realm of the afterlife first.
Prom Ni
ghts from Hell
In this exciting collection, bestselling authors Meg Cabot (How to Be Popular), Kim Harrison (A Fistful of Charms), Michele Jaffe (Bad Kitty), Stephenie Meyer (Twilight), and Lauren Myracle (ttyl) take bad prom nights to a whole new level-a paranormally bad level. Wardrobe malfunctions and two left feet don't hold a candle to discovering your date is the Grim Reaper-and he isn't here to tell you how hot you look.
From angels fighting demons to a creepy take on getting what you wish for, these five stories will entertain better than any DJ in a bad tux. No corsage or limo rental necessary. Just good, scary fun.
Skin Hunger (Playaway audio) - Kathleen Duey
Sadima lives in a world where magic has been banned, leaving poor villagers prey to fakes and charlatans. A "magician" stole her family's few valuables and left Sadima's mother to die on the day Sadima was born. But vestiges of magic are hidden in old rhymes and hearth tales and in people like Sadima, who conceals her silent communication with animals for fear of rejection and ridicule. When rumors of her gift reach Somiss, a young nobleman obsessed with restoring magic, he sends Franklin, his lifelong servant, to find her. Sadima's joy at sharing her secret becomes love for the man she shares it with. But Franklin's irrevocable bond to the brilliant and dangerous Somiss traps her, too, and she faces a heartbreaking decision.
Centuries later magic has been restored, but it is available only to the wealthy and is strictly controlled by wizards within a sequestered academy of magic. Hahp, the expendable second son of a rich merchant, is forced into the academy and finds himself paired with Gerrard, a peasant boy inexplicably admitted with nine sons of privilege and wealth. Only one of the ten students will graduate -- and the first academic requirement is survival.
Sadima's and Hahp's worlds are separated by generations, but their lives are connected in surprising and powerful ways in this brilliant first book of Kathleen Duey's dark, complex, and completely compelling trilogy.
The Spellman Files - Lisa Lutz
Meet Isabel "Izzy" Spellman, private investigator. This twenty-eight-year-old may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism; she may be addicted to Get Smart reruns and prefer entering homes through windows rather than doors -- but the upshot is she's good at her job as a licensed private investigator with her family's firm, Spellman Investigations. Invading people's privacy comes naturally to Izzy. In fact, it comes naturally to all the Spellmans. If only they could leave their work at the office. To be a Spellman is to snoop on a Spellman; tail a Spellman; dig up dirt on, blackmail, and wiretap a Spellman. Part Nancy Drew, part Dirty Harry, Izzy walks an indistinguishable line between Spellman family member and Spellman employee. Duties include: completing assignments from the bosses, aka Mom and Dad (preferably without scrutiny); appeasing her chronically perfect lawyer brother (often under duress); setting an example for her fourteen-year-old sister, Rae (who's become addicted to "recreational surveillance"); and tracking down her uncle (who randomly disappears on benders dubbed "Lost Weekends"). But when Izzy's parents hire Rae to follow her (for the purpose of ascertaining the identity of Izzy's new boyfriend), Izzy snaps and decides that the only way she will ever be normal is if she gets out of the family business. But there's a hitch: she must take one last job before they'll let her go -- a fifteen-year-old, ice-cold missing person case. She accepts, only to experience a disappearance far closer to home, which becomes the most important case of her life. The Spellman Files is the first novel in a winning and hilarious new series featuring the Spellman family in all its lovable chaos.
The Third Angel (audio) - Alice Hoffman
Now, in The Third Angel, Hoffman weaves a magical and stunningly original story that charts the lives of three women in love with the wrong men: Headstrong Madeleine Heller finds herself hopelessly attracted to her sister’s fiancé. Frieda Lewis, a doctor’s daughter and a runaway, becomes the muse of an ill-fated rock star. And beautiful Bryn Evans is set to marry an Englishman while secretly obsessed with her ex-husband. At the heart of the novel is Lucy Green, who blames herself for a tragic accident she witnessed at the age of twelve, and who spends four decades searching for the Third Angel–the angel on earth who will renew her faith. Brilliantly evoking London’s King’s Road, Knightsbridge, and Kensington while moving effortlessly back in time, The Third Angel is a work of startling beauty about the unique, alchemical nature of love.
Descriptions and Titles from GoodReads
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!
Claire has an opportunity to do a reality TV show about her big break into Broadway, but she learns that life on the stage and life on the screen are hard work and can create a lot of problems. Adding to this is her new relationship with her long-lost sister and her attraction to her co-star.
This past week I finished The Luxe, The Giver (audio), and The Forest of Hands and Teeth plus I just finished The Real Deal: Unscripted last night (for the Take a Chance Challenge), So it was a productive week this week.
Mary lives in a village in the midst of The Forest of Hands and Teeth where the Unconsecrated live hungering for the flesh of the living. When her mother chooses to become a zombie after losing her husband to the forest, Mary is sent to live with the Sisters who hold the knowledge of the Return and the Unconsecrated. But Mary longs for ocean which she learned of from her mother's stories and wants to find a way out of the Forest and to a different life.
Jonas lives in his own Community, where people are assigned everything in their lives from wives to house to jobs, where emotions are dampened by a pill and food is always available, where everything is orderly and rules are to be obeyed without question. At the onset of the book, it seems like an ideal world and Jonas does not question it. Until at his 12th ceremony, he is named the new Receiver of Memories. Once he meets the old man, the Giver, he starts to learn of how things were before the Communities and how even a perfect world contains its own horrors.
Elizabeth Holland is society's sweetheart in this Gossip Girl-like novel set during the turn of the 19th century. She is thought to be the perfect debutante, sweet, proper, yielding. But Elizabeth has secrets and passion of her own. She is compelled to do the right things, however, and marry Henry Schoonmaker, a rich playboy, who has his sights set on someone else. Elizabeth's sister, Diana, as well as her friend, Penelope, have stakes set into who marries Henry Schoonmaker and Penelope is not going to let him marry Elizabeth without a fight.
udio) (So far I've liked everything by E. Lockhart)
y Lisa McMann (2nd in the Dreamcatcher series which I will probably read back to back)
Since last week, I finished The Dust of 100 Dogs and it was excellent. I started reading The Luxe (Godbersen) right after. Once I'm done with that, I'm going to read The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Ryan), then Hunger (Grant).
Sabriel lives in a world divided in two, one is Ancelstierre where there is no magic and the other is the Old Kingdom which is full of magic and the dead. Her father is Abhorsen whose life purpose is to send the dead back to death and make sure they stay there. Sabriel is at boarding school in Ancelstierre when she receives her father's bells and his sword. She knows this means something has happened to him so she ventures into the Old Kingdom to find his body and try and save him. Along the way she is joined by the servent of Abhorsen, Mogget, a mysterious cat whose identity and power is unknown, and Touchstone, a free magic mage whose past is also myterious. Together, they travel deeper into the Old Kingdom to rescue Sabriel's father and defend an old evil.
In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?
, so good so far)
Once Emer was a precocious six year old in Ireland, but after Cromwell took over Ireland, a series of unfortunate events leads her to becoming a bloodthirsty pirate out for treasure. Then she is cursed to live 100 lives as a dog. Now that she's back to being a human again, Emer is ready to find the treasure she buried long ago.
Born into a world where some people are born with special "Graces," Katsa discovers at an early age that she has a Killing Grace. Made into her uncle the King's special enforcer, she decides to do some secret good to counteract the orders she carries out for the king. In the midst of rescuing a noble, she encounters Po, a prince for another kingdom and also Graced although harboring a secret. This sets off a chain of events that lead to an epic adventure and to Katsa discovering the truth of her own Grace.
lex Flinn
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
d - Amy Kaye (This is for the Take a Chance Challenge.)
So I have been contemplating this challenge for a little while now and since I finished the YA Challenge, I've decided to join. So here is the Take a Chance Challenge from Jenners' Find Your Next Book Here. The challenge will run from June 1, 2009 through November 30, 2009
Seth is a mortal who is in love with the Queen of the faery Summer Court, Aislinn. He is vulnerable and weak compared to her and he will die one day while she will live eternal. Added to this strain is the Summer King to whom Aislinn feels an irrevocable pull and an upheaval among the faery courts that is slowly leaning toward war. How will Seth and Aislinn stay together when there is so much pulling them apart?
s Keeper - Jodi Picoult
ghts from Hell
