Review: Beyonders by Brandon Mull

A World Without Heroes (Beyonders)-Brandon Mull
Publisher: Aladdin
Publication Date: March 15, 2011
Source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab
Author Website

Jason Walker has often wished his life could be a bit less predictable--until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank to a place unlike anything he's ever seen. In the past, the people of Lyrian welcmoed visitors from the Beyond, but attitudes have changed since the wizard emperor Maldor rose to power. The brave resistors who opposed the emperor have been bought off or broken, leaving a realm where fear and suspicion prevail.
In his search for a way home, Jason meets Rachel, who was also mysteriously drawn to Lyrian from our world. With the help of a few scattered rebels, Jason and Rachel become entangled in a quest to piece together the word of power that can destroy the emperor, and learn that their best hope to find a way home will be to save this world without heroes.
(Amazon)

Sometimes you've got to read outside the box. When I first saw A World Without Heroes, I wasn't sure if it was for me. It's middle grade fantasy. Generally something that I don't read. It's also quite a large book at over 450 pages. I decided to read the first twenty pages and go from there. Twenty quickly turned into a hundred, and two hundred, and well, you get the drift. I loved this book!

My only real quibble with the book is that it was hard to keep track of all the characters. Jason and Rachel meet a lot of people on their quest and sometimes I'd have to flip back to see who they were referring to. Also, there is a bit of violence in this book, but I feel that if you are or have a young reader in your life that has read the Harry Potter series well, then they would be able to read the Beyonders series with little problems.

I often say that I'm excited to read the next book in a series, but in this case that goes double. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that it leaves the reader begging for more!

On My Wishlist February 26th

On My Wish list is a weekly event held by Book Chick City.

The Name of this Book Is Secret (Secret Series)-Pseudonymous Bosch
Publisher: Little, Brown
Publication Date: 2008

This is the story about a secret. but it also contains a secret story.

When adventurous detectives, Cass, an ever-vigilant survivalist, and Max-Ernest, a boy driven by logic, discover the Symphony of Smells, a box filled with smelly vials of colorful ingredients, they accidentally stumble upon a mystery surrounding a dead magician's diary and the hunt for immortality.

Filled with word games, anagrams, and featuring a mysterious narrator, this is a book that won't stay secret for long.

I first heard of this series a few months ago. I'm a huge sucker for whimsical middle grade series, and this sounds like it fits the bill!

Shadowcry (The Secrets of Wintercraft)-Jenna Burtenshaw
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: June 21, 2011

Kate Winters isn’t who she thinks she is. Burned out of her family bookstore by a suspicious fire, she will be pursued across a country riddled by fear and war before she discovers the extent of her skill and her destiny. Her pursuers include Silas Dane—one of the most compelling villains since Rowling’s Professor Snape and Pullman’s Mrs. Coulter—and Edgar, a young man who worked at the bookshop and who seems to know much more about the secrets of Wintercraft (a mysterious book that has been in Kate’s family for generations; a book responsible for the disappearance of her parents years ago) than he lets on. 
(Goodreads)

I cannot wait for this one. The description sounds fantastic! The cover is beautiful too.

 A Blue So Dark-Holly Schindler
 Publisher: Flux
 Publication Date: May, 2010


Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura's dad left them. Convinced that "creative" equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.
(Goodreads)

I'm on a contemporary YA kick here lately and I've heard really good things about this book. The premise sounds original and thought provoking.

 That's it for my wish list this week, what's on yours?

The Free Library of Philadelphia & Why it's Awesome!

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I'd sent off for a library card from The Free Library of Philadelphia. My local library is great in just about every way, except for their choices of e-books. The selection is pretty dismal. So, I decided that the $15 fee for an out of state library card from The Free Library would be worth it. Before I sent off for my card, I searched through their catalog and found that there were several books from my wish list available. When I got my card, I found that most books have wait lists, but that's okay. Some books I was able to get within a few days, and others are within a few weeks. I'm not in any hurry!

The Free Library offers PDF and EPUB books, which I download through Adobe Digital Editions, but you can also use Overdrive. I haven't found every book I've looked for, but the same could be said about my local library. Here are some of the books that I've read or currently have on my hold or wish lists:

That's just a small portion of the books I have on my lists! If you have a e-reader, I highly recommend supporting the Free Library of Philadelphia, especially to read older titles. My mom got her Free Library card this week and my aunt has said she was going to send away for one as well. It's really win-win. You're helping to support a library and you get great books for your e-reader!

Recommended Viewing: North & South

I know I'm a few years late on this, but over the weekend I watched North & South and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. I'd heard of this mini-series for months  now, and have seen how people are devoted to it. Animated gifs, fan fiction, even a entire fan site devoted to it.

This series has everything I love. It's set in Victorian England, features a headstrong heroine and a dashing, stubborn male lead. I really think dashing is putting it mildly here, because Richard Armitage has to be the most handsome man in all of Britain. Seriously.

The story is not just the romance between Margaret & Mr. Thornton, although I do admit that's the best part. The subplots are really interesting as well. The workers of the town rise up and demand their rights, and also the drama regarding Margret's brother. It's so damn good I wish there were more episodes!

If you haven't already seen North & South, it's available for insta-watch on Netflix, and you can download the book for free at the Google eBookstore.

Review: Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

Rampant-Diana Peterfreund
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: August, 2010 (Paperback)
Source: Purchased
Author Website


The sparkly, innocent creatures of lore are a myth. Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. And they can only be killed by virgin descendants of Alexander the Great.
Fortunately, unicorns have been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.
Or not.
Astrid Llewelyn has always scoffed ather eccentric mother’s stories about killer unicorns. But when one of the monsters attacks her boyfriend in the woods – thereby ruining any chance of him taking her to prom – Astrid learns that unicorns are real and dangerous, and she has a family legacy to uphold. Her mother packs her off to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient cloisters the hunters have used for centuries.
However, at the cloisters, all is not what is seems. Outside, the unicorns wait to attack. And within, Astrid faces other, unexpected threats: from crumbling, bone-covered walls that vibrate with a terrible power to the hidden agendas of her fellow hunters to – perhaps most dangerously of all – her growing attraction to a handsome art student… and a relationship that could jeopardize everything.
(Amazon)


Rampant is one of those books that had been on my radar, but I'd never really wanted to read, because I thought unicorns? Ick. Then I read Diana Peterfreund's story in the Zombies vs.  Unicorns anthology and decided I'd have to give this series a go, and I have to say, I don't regret it! Rampant is a fairly dark book. Generally I don't like books with animal violence, even in the case of mythical animals. There's a scene about fifty or so pages into the book that's pretty shocking, but it does the job of desensitizing you. It also introduces a new breed of unicorns, and they don't fart rainbows or burp sparkles.

I loved all the strong women in this book. Some of them are kind of annoying (like Astrid's mother, Lilith) while others are more background characters, each has their own butt-kicking abilities. I thought the role of the young women's sexuality in regards to their careers as hunters was well done and the struggle of whether to be a hunter, or to have a life outside of it was thought provoking.

I really enjoyed Rampant and can't wait to read the next book in the series, Ascendant. It doesn't matter if you're a unicorn lover or hater, Rampant is definitely worth a read.

In My Mailbox (24)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event held by Kristi at The Story Siren. Here are the books that I've gotten over the past few weeks.

From Penguin Teen as a thanks for helping 'launch' Across the Universe last month:

A finished autographed copy of Across the Universe and buttons of Penguin's 'Breathless Reads' collection. I was absolutely floored by this package. I was expecting a small swag package or something, not a finished copy of the book. Now my husband can read it! Penguin is awesome!

From Tor books:

Jack: Secret Vengeance by F. Paul Wilson

From Around the World Tours:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

From Simon & Schuster's Galley Grab:

Possession by Elana Johnson

Purchased from the Sci-Fi book club:

Leviathan by Scott Westerfield.

From the library for my Nook:

Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1) by Karen Marie Moning

Purchased for my Nook:

Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge & Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) by Joanne Fluke.

That's it for my mailbox, what's in yours?

Review: Outside In by Maria V. Snyder

Outside In-Maria V. Snyder
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: February 15, 2011
Source: Netgalley
Author Website

Me? A Leader? Okay, I did prove that there's more to Inside than we knew. That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion - between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we're free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again - while still touching base with Riley, of course. He's the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there's outside and then there is Outside. And something from Outside wants In.
(Amazon)



This review has spoilers for Inside Out, and minor spoilers for Outside In. 


Reading this series has been not an always pleasant experience. I guess it's one of those instances where the books are so good that they make you a bit uncomfortable and you're enjoying the experience, but the setting is so claustrophobic that you can't wait to get away from it. I had a similar experience reading Across the Universe, which was also set on a spaceship. Maybe this is why I don't read a lot of sci-fi!

If you'd hoped that Trella and company have found peace now that the Pop Cops have been taken down, you'll be disappointed. A Committee is now governing Inside, and they're not doing a good job of it. Chaos reigns, with scrubs refusing to work because uppers think they're above the more menial work scrubs do. It seems as though a group is trying to cause anarchy in the Inside, but soon they discover that there is a greater evil behind the recent disruptions.

Overall, I really loved Outside In. It was a real page turner and it was not lacking in action at all. My only main fault with the book was the ending. It felt rushed, and I wish there had been a bit more time spent on the ending and what happened after things returned to a new normal.

If you read Inside Out, you have to read Outside In, you won't be disappointed!

When Do You Walk Away From a Project?

It's been about thirteen months since I started my first novel, Positive Tension. I've been around the bend with that book. I've made it a lot better, but I think it needs a lot more work. My husband edited for me, and he thought the book was good overall, but that it needed work in certain areas. When he was close to finishing, I found that he hadn't found the "issue" that I had with the book. I knew there was something there, but for the life of me, I didn't know what it was. Well, it finally came to me. This book shouldn't be a series. The bits I was saving for a possible sequel should go into the book, in order for the story to be as rich as it possibly can.

When I realized this, I was cooking dinner and pondered putting my head in the oven (okay, not seriously). In order to make these changes, I have to take into account all the ideas my husband had, and I'd have to rewrite big chunks. I'm torn as to whether it's worth it. I know there's a certain school of thought about first novels, that they should all be locked away. Part of me thinks this is true, but the other part of me thinks if I did this work, I could have a really unique book on my hands. For the interim, I've decided to stick it in a drawer for a few months while I work on other projects. I'm hoping an extended break will reignite my passion for the story.

Have you walked away from a novel? Did you ever go back to it? Do you have any regrets?

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay-Gayle Forman
Publisher: Speak
Publication Date: April, 2010 (paperback)
Source: Library
Author Website

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen­ year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterward, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.
(B&N)

When I picked up If I Stay at the library, I wasn't expecting to finish it in a day. I started reading it in the car (my husband was driving, I don't read and drive) and was positively jolted by the first few pages. There was no way I could put it down after that! Nor was I expecting to get a spark of inspiration to work on a novel that's been ruminating in the back of my mind for awhile. Not that my novel has any resemblance to If I Stay, but sometimes a great work can inspire you to find the greatness within yourself.

If I Stay is the second book I finished in one day so far this year, and the first since the Harry Potter series to make me cry. It is a beautiful, brave book. It's so rare when I find nearly nothing to fault in a book, but there's nothing here to pick at. Mia is a wonderful character, and I fell in love with everyone that surrounds her, from her parents to her extended family. I enjoyed the premise of the story, that what if it were up to us to stay or go? Mia observes her family as she's caught between life and death, and the story jumps between her observations to her thoughts from earlier periods in her life.

I could recount every passage or page that I loved about this book, but I'll sum it up by saying if you haven't already read it, you simply must. I was lucky enough to win the sequel Where She Went from Librarything's Early Reviewer's program, and I'll be reviewing it in the coming weeks.

Review: Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala

Tell Me a Secret-Holly Cupala
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: June, 2010
Source: Purchased
Author Website

Tell me a secret, and I'll tell you one...

In the five years since her bad-girl sister Xanda’s death, Miranda Mathison has wondered about the secret her sister took to the grave, and what really happened the night she died. Now, just as Miranda is on the cusp of her dreams—a best friend to unlock her sister’s world, a ticket to art school, and a boyfriend to fly her away from it all—Miranda has a secret all her own.

Then two lines on a pregnancy test confirm her worst fears. Stripped of her former life, Miranda must make a choice with tremendous consequences and finally face her sister’s demons and her own.

In this powerful debut novel, stunning new talent Holly Cupala illuminates the dark struggle of a girl who must let go of her past to find a way into her future.
(Amazon)

It's pretty rare that I read a book in one sitting. It's not that I read slow, but I prefer to parcel out books I'm enjoying. I really expected to read Tell Me a Secret at a slower pace because of the subject matter and well, because it's a bit of a downer at times. That's not what happened. I couldn't turn away from Rand's story.

Rand is a unique character, and a bit infuriating at times. On more than one occasion I nearly shouted, "Child, will you stand up for yourself!" She's the very opposite of me in many ways, and as a reader, characters like that can drive me bananas. Rand does, but she's interesting enough that I still wished to follow along with her story. When she gets pregnant she becomes a pariah (mainly due to the rumors spread by a 'friend') and retreats within herself.

Mild spoiler


Rand's journey of self-discovery and her eventual forgiveness of not only herself but of her parents and of those that have wronged her is remarkable, but believable. You wouldn't believe a happy ending if there wasn't some heartache to get to there.

End spoiler.


I loved Tell Me a Secret and it is one of my favorite reads of the year. Regardless of the genre you prefer, I highly recommend reading this book if you haven't already.

On My Wishlist February 12th

On My Wish list is a weekly event held by Book Chick City.

Bad Taste in Boys-Carrie Harris
Publisher: Delacorte
Publication Date: July, 2011

Kate Grable is horrified to find out that the football coach has given the team steroids. Worse yet, the steriods are having an unexpected effect, turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless flesh-eating zombies. No one is safe--not her cute crush Aaron, not her dorky brother, Jonah . . . not even Kate!
(Goodreads)

I've been excited for this one since I first heard about it. It sounds cute and it's got zombies!

The Book of Tomorrow: A Novel-Cecelia Ahern
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: January 25, 2011

The magical new novel from number one bestseller Cecelia Ahern. Tamara Goodwin has always got everything she's ever wanted. Born into a family of wealth, she grew up in a mansion with its own private beach, a wardrobe full of designer clothes and all that a girl could ever wish for. She's always lived in the here and now, never giving a second thought to tomorrow. But then suddenly her dad is gone and life for Tamara and her mother changes forever. Left with a mountain of debt, they have no choice but to sell everything they own and move to the country. Nestled next to Kilsaney Castle, their gatehouse is a world away from Tamara's childhood. With her mother shut away with grief, and her aunt busy tending to her, Tamara is lonely and bored and longs to return to Dublin.When a travelling library passes through Kilsaney Demesne, Tamara is intrigued. Her eyes rest on a mysterious large leather bound tome locked with a gold clasp and padlock. What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its core.

(Goodreads)

I've heard very good things about this book. I like that the protagonist is a teenage girl, but yet this isn't young adult fiction. It sounds like a fascinating read, I hope it can live up to the synopsis!

An Object of Beauty: A Novel-Steve Martin
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: November, 2010 (2nd printing)

Lacey Yeager is young, captivating, and ambitious enough to take the NYC art world by storm. Groomed at Sotheby's and hungry to keep climbing the social and career ladders put before her, Lacey charms men and women, old and young, rich and even richer with her magnetic charisma and liveliness. Her ascension to the highest tiers of the city parallel the soaring heights - and, at times, the dark lows - of the art world and the country from the late 1990s through today.
 (Goodreads)

I first heard Steve Martin discuss this book on television a few months ago. The premise sounded really interesting to me. I've always been fascinated by the art world, and who doesn't love Steve Martin? 




That's it for my wish list this week, what's on yours?