Some Laughs For Your Monday

What if Christopher Nolan directed one of my all time favourite kids show Blue's Clues?



And as always, Dora the Explorer begins to expand her horizons.

Book News

Swati Avasthi tweeted that her second book has been approved, and due for publication in Summer 2012.

What is the as of yet untitled book about?
Holly, Corey & Savitri are an unbreakable trio til a shooting divides them. How far do we stretch to save our friends?

It's not a sequel, but is it part of the Split series?
Nope, no Split series, no sequel. Both books are stand alones. A common theme -- picking up the pieces after violence effs us up.

There you go folks! I'm really excited, because SPLIT was one of the best debuts I've read this year. Raw yet hopeful, it's an honest look into child abuse and what happens after. I expect nothing less than the same caliber from the second book. Are you excited for book 2?

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A group of literary people: authors, agents, you name it, have gathered together and donated items for the Season of Love and Hope auction.

All proceeds from this auction will go to Bridget Zinn and Barrett Dowell. Bridget was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in February 2009. After receiving treatment in Portland for 18 months, Bridget and her husband Barrett are now traveling to Phoenix for one week every month for innovative treatment at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Not all of their costs for this promising treatment are covered by insurance. Bridget & Barrett's friends and family are rallying to help them pay the bills so that they can focus on Bridget's health and kick cancer. Artists, authors, and other friends and acquaintances have donated items in the spirit of love and hope.

There are some great books and other items up for grabs, but more importantly, we'll be helping Bridget. What are you waiting for? Get your wallets out and let's donate to a great cause!

Harry Potter Mania: An Interview with Daniel Radcliffe

Misleading title, I know.

I was reading an article on the LiveJournal community, Oh No They Didn't! when I came by this quote:

People having been so inspired by the 'Harry Potter' books have then gone off and expanded their reading into other areas. I think that's what's the most remarkable thing about it. I don't think there are any other kinds of fans like 'Harry Potter' who are so interested in everything and not just the thing that is the focus of their fandom.

-Daniel Radcliffe

Also:

TeenHollywood: So when you did read them did you think. ‘Oh, I’d love to be Harry Potter’?

Daniel: No, not particularly. His life sounded like a nightmare! I thought, 'God. This poor kid.' But I think after I got the part I then went back and I read all four. I read them all back to back and just became obsessed and, despite having been filmed as Harry during the day, I would charge around my hotel room in Newcastle where we were filming the scenes with a broom, the shot where it leaps up into my hand. I would be going back to my hotel room at night and having wand fights with nobody. It's a pity I didn't have a brother, yeah.

We know how you feel, Daniel! Read the full article here. I'm going to catch the movie tomorrow. Heard they're giving away wands?

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Title: The DUFF	Loved it	Graded
Author: Kody Keplinger
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Poppy
Elements: Romance
Series: Stand alone

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

I've read many good reviews about this, and being me, the first thing I did was to doubt it. It's like being friends with book bloggers who have similar tastes hasn't taught me anything. *rolls eyes*

THE DUFF is a fast read. I was on the third chapter before I knew it. That really surprised me because I usually know whether to chuck the book by the first chapter. But there I was! Third chapter, with no idea how I got there. Sort of like Bianca having no idea how Wesley got to third base with her.

Bianca as a narrator was snarky and cynical, but with a soft heart and a spunkiness that I absolutely adored. She quickly grew on me, and the main reason was that she spent so little time lamenting about her imperfections. There was no "Oh, boo hoo hoo, I'm a DUFF and I'm going to moan about that fact for chapters and chapters on end until my readers get the point that yes, I'm a DUFF, even though the rest of the characters clearly show/say that I'm not". Noooo. With her it's all, "Well, shut it dude. Even if I am, and I'm not saying I am, you have no right to say that. Coke, meet crotch."

I like. Bahaha.

I also like Wesley VERY VERY MUCH. And it's not even because of his troubles and all that stuff that makes us readers go awww. My reasons are much for superficial than that: Wesley's hot, has good quips and great moves. *swoon* The rest is just the upsize on my DUFFY meal.

That's pretty much how I enjoyed The DUFF. All the angst, the troubles, the peeling of each character's layers were the potatoes were all good, and I could write paragraphs praising that, but I won't because I just stated my purpose earlier in the sentence. And you can find it pretty much in any well-written YA book. Now, the sexytimes? That's a different case altogether.

Final words: smashing good time to be had by all.

Hey Hunger Games fans

Nicole of Word For Teens linked this on Twitter. Isn't it just perfect?

A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker

Title: A Match Made in High School	Loved it	Graded
Author: Kristin Walker
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Razorbill
Elements: Comedy
Series: Stand alone

When the principal announces that every senior must participate in a mandatory year-long Marriage Education program, Fiona Sheehan believes that her life can’t get any worse.

Then she marries her “husband”: Jerky jock Todd, whose cheerleader girlfriend, Amanda, has had it in for Fiona since day one of second grade. Even worse? Amanda is paired with Fiona’s long-term crush, Gabe.

At least Fiona is doing better than her best friend, Marcie, who is paired up with the very quiet, very mysterious Johnny Mercer.

Pranks, fights, misunderstandings, and reconciliations ensue in an almost Shakespearean comedy of errors about mistaken first impressions, convoluted coupling, and hidden crushes.

Just looked through the drafts folder in Blogger to find an unwritten review for AMMIHS. Which is surprising, because this is one of the best contemporary YA books I've read this year.

The concept sounds pretty ludicrous, to be honest. A Marriage Education program in high school, due to the whims of a principal whose marriage was broken? A principal who was undoubtedly clear headed enough to find a teaching opportunity and present it to the school board, and somehow got it accepted. But who knows, there might be such a program soon enough.

Luckily for people like me who like to nitpick such issues, our advocate comes in the form of Fiona's mother, who rightfully fights that in their part of the world, people don't just get introduced to their spouse to be a few days before the wedding. And using actual money to 'fund' 'real life activities and bills' was just... bleh.

Walker does a great job of pointing out both the rational and irrational sides of the whole premise, and making fun of it, so kudos to her, because I wouldn't have enjoyed the book as much if she hadn't done that.

The narrator, Fiona, got on my nerves somewhat with her cynical attitude in general yet hopeless devotion to her crush at the start. It was amusing, and wonderful, really, to see her escapades carried out against her arch-enemy, which in this case happens to be a boy whom was not in any way a love interest! I loved that she had a learning curve with Todd.

Ahh Todd. Fiona and Todd are just fantastic together. The quips, the banter. Much better than Fiona with her love interest. Walker truly shines at the banter and comedy. So many scenes that I want to show you, but I'd rather you try out the whole book for yourself. ;)

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Crescendo	Loved it	Graded
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Genre: Here
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Elements: Angels
Series: Book 2 of the Hush, Hush series

Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.

The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?

I was really excited for CRESCENDO. Despite giving a good review to HUSH, HUSH, I did read the other reviews and take their points into consideration. And look at the description! It sounds fantastic.

CRESCENDO sadly fell into the sequel slump that usually occurs for movies. It also occasionally suffered from what I term too much Twi-wareness. Now those of you who've read HUSH, HUSH might have noticed the comparisons to TWILIGHT.

Which, to be fair, every YA book is compared to TWILIGHT.

But still.

I found myself reading scenes which reminded me of TWILIGHT where Nora was in the moment, and she suddenly has an epiphany which sounded a bit too much like a handy dandy explanation of why she was doing it. Example: she's hanging out with this socially unacceptable guy, and oh! It's because of some events that happened before.

Dude. I wanted a heroine who was aware of why she did what she did, but really, that was a wee bit too convenient. It broke my concentration, and instead of being impressed with how well she knew herself, I found myself feeling more of a disappointment.

Especially since there was no Patch to look forward to. Ahhh Patch. You're a jerkface, but you're pretty much carrying the whole story. And with no Patch? I wasn't interested.

The story-telling was uneven, with a premise and a plot that was very promising but weren't even carried out one quarter throughout the book. (Summer school what? Working for a car what?) Say what you will about HUSH, HUSH, but it was consistent, and had characters that, while two dimensional at times, managed to surprise me.

So. Only a couple of issues I had with it. Great start, sucky middle, good couple of last pages. Let's hope book three will be awesome, and have loads of Patch.

The Crossroads Tour Winner!

Without further ado, congratulations to

Heather of Buried in Books

who gets a signed copy of Judith Graves' Under My Skin. Please email me at liyanaland@gmail.com with your mailing address once you see this. :)