Susane Colasanti is coming to town!!!

Or at least, she's coming to my town. I don't know about yours. Here's the official blurb that I received in my email from Wonderland Books & Toys (and yes I have permission to post this): 

Please join us in welcoming 

 SUSANE COLASANTI,

author of When It Happens and Take Me There,

 as we celebrate the release of her newest book Something Like Fate.

 

 Tuesday, May 11th

5:30 p.m.

for dinner, dessert and discussion at Wonderland Books

There is no charge for this event and dinner will be provided.

Please RSVP to Wonderland at 815-394-1633 or by email at wonderlandbooks@sbcglobal.net

Susane has been praised for making her books "read, charmingly, like a conversation."  Her books will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen.  You can learn more about Susane at her website www.susanecolasanti.com.  She is visiting Wonderland on her "Boyfriends and Best Friends" book tour.  Susane lives in New York City.

I've already sent in my RSVP. Make sure you get yours in today. Even if you can't make it in to meet Susane Colasanti I recommend stopping by Wonderland sometime. The ladies there are awesome and so super friendly. I hope to see you Tuesday night! 

You Recommend Wednesday

Hello my lovely readers. Once again I find myself trying to get back into the swing of things. I'd forgotten how difficult it was to blog, work, and go to school. Thankfully the semester is nearly over and I can get back into my normal routine (such as it is). 

Naturally I have many, many books awaiting review. However, I'm always up for more recommendations, especially since I'm in the process of setting up at YA book club at the bookstore I work for (more on that later). 

So tell me everyone, what are you reading? What should I be reading? What should my future book club members be reading?

Eyecatcher: Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis

Whisper

by Phoebe Kitanidis

Balzer and Bray (HarperCollins)

ISBN: 9780061799259

Release Date: April 27, 2010

from the publisher's site: 

Joy is used to Hearing Whispers. She's used to walking down the street and instantly knowing people's deepest, darkest desires. She uses this talent for good—to make people happy and give them what they want. But for her older sister, Jessica, the family gift is a curse, and she uses it to make people's lives—especially Joy's—miserable. Still, when Joy Hears Jessica Whisper I want to kill my Hearing dead, and kill me too if that's what it takes, she knows she has to save her sister, even if it means deserting her friends, stealing a car, and running away with a boy she barely knows—a boy who may have a dark secret of his own. 

why it caught my eye: 

This is another one I spotted while reshelving books at work. Then I picked it up and read the blurb and my attention was fully snagged. I'm really curious about this one and it's definitely going on my wishlist. 

How about you readers out there, have any of you read it? What did you think? 

Crossover Review: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker

The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker

by Leanna Renee Hieber

Dorchester

http://www.leannareneehieber.com

ISBN: 9780843962963

Release Date: August 25, 2009

from the author's site:

What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Considering how few of Queen Victoria’s Londoners knew of it, the great Romanesque fortress was dreadfully imposing, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met the powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadow, the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She knew simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow-white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gifts. But this arched stone doorway offered a portal to a new life, an education far from the convent—and an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death… 

my thoughts:



I'm calling this a crossover review because The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is not actually marketed as a Young Adult novel. In most stores you'll probably find this in the Romance department, but I can also see this being shelved with the Fantasy books. Despite that this book is a great story for fans of Young Adult fiction. As the story opens, Percy is only eighteen and is attending a new school - an experience many of us can relate to. 
 
I was hooked on Strangely Beautiful from the first page. Leanna Renee Hieber has a writing style that keeps you hooked to the story. I hated to put the book down. Percy is a gentle character and one who is easy to like. Alexi is a dark and brooding hero, but I don't know that I'd quite call him your typical tortured hero. The secondary characters are overall good people, though there are some scenes where I wanted to smack some sense into them. However that's pretty much due to a case of the reader having more information than the characters. 

I actually feel the need to comment on the title here too. I really feel The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is very much the perfect title for this book. Having a longer title evokes a more classical feel which Strangely Beautiful definitely has.  

I highly recommend Leanna Renee Hieber's Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and I'm anxiously awaiting book 2, The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker. Book 2 is due out in just over a week on April 27. I know I'll be ready to grab a copy on release day, I suggest you do too. 

Eyecatcher: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall

by Rachel Hawkins

Hyperion

http://readingwritingrachel.blogspot.com

ISBN: 9781423121305

Release Date: March 2, 2010

from Amazon: 

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. 

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her. 

why it caught my eye: 

I love books dealing with magic, especially witch stories. :) I heard chatter about this one on Twitter so I knew I had to check it out for myself. Hex Hall has definitely made its way onto my wishlist.  

You Recommend Wednesday

It's that time of the week again.....

What's everyone reading? What should I be reading? I'm getting behind on my YA reading again, so I need all of the recommendations you can throw at me. :) 

So come on, whatcha' got for me?

Eyecatcher: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

The Dark Divine

by Bree Despain 

EdgmontUSA

http://www.breedespain.com

ISBN: 9781606840573

Release Date: December 22, 2009

from the author's site: 

 

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

why it caught my eye: 

If you haven't figured it out just from reading my blog, purple is my favorite color. So naturally The Dark Divine caught my attention immediately. The story sounds rather intriguing as well; I can't wait to read it. Thankfully I received a copy of Dark Divine for my birthday. Yay! 

Anyone else read this one yet?