The King's Rose by Alisa M. Libby

My friend's sleeping over tonight, but I decided that I absolutely had to do this review today because it was gnawing at my conscience all day today. Oh, what I do for this blog. o__O

Anyways, let me begin by informing you that there WILL be spoilers! BEWARE!

Summary:
Catherine Howard is your average 15 year old .. living in Tudor England. Her family is one of the highest ranking families in England at the time and will do anything to assume their spot on the throne. Over a course of a year, she marries King Henry VIII, tries to get pregnant with an heir, has an affair with her cousin, Thomas Culpeper, gets accused of treason, and eventually gets her head chopped off after being stripped of her royal status.

Review:
The novel was sort of a creepy read .. I had to go grab Infamous in order to get the chills out of my spine. I found it sort of scary because she starts seeing the ghost of her cousin and second wife of King Henry, Anne Boleyn. Everyone betrays her in the end to "protect their own necks" and she's left with only a crazy lunatic, Jane Boleyn, the former sister-in-law of Anne.

And I sort of had a question at the end of the book. HOW ON EARTH DOES SHE NARRATE AFTER HER DEATH? Like it says something along the lines of: "After some time of pain, I feel myself fall ... I am finally home." What does this say about her? She was Catholic! And I guess someone can't be kept from going to Heaven, but she lied and committed adultery, for Pete's sake! Like ... I don't know how to explain it, so I guess I'll just stop here. I'm just confusing myself.

Rating: 3/5

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2009 Young Adult Book Challenge

I just found this challenge over at J. Kaye's Book Blog! So here are the rules:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.

2. Read 12 Young Adult novels. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

3. Challenge begins January thru December, 2009.

4. You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.

So, here is my list of books! I'll cross them out/link them to my reviews when I'm done with them.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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8.
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11.
12.

Yeah I'm too lazy right now. I'll just put them up later. lol.

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Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Hello, hello, hello! I'm back from hiding in my room doing nothing! Okay, well I did have work twice this week and I only got through a couple books: Wondrous Strange, The Burn Journals, The King's Rose, Wintergirls, and It Had to Be You. These can all be found on my previous Library Loot post. (:

So, here is my review of Wondrous Strange, my favorite out of all the books.

Summary:
Kelley Winslow is an aspiring actress who's finally found a job as an understudy for A Midsummer Night's Dream at the local theatre, Avalon Grande. One night, she meets Sonny Flannery, a handsome (my word for this would be SMOKIN HOT, but I won't use that lol.) guy she meets in Central Park. Little does she know that he is one who guards the Samhain Gate, the gate between the mortal and faerie realm, a Janus guard to be exact. Through twists and turns, they fall in love and learn about the faerie realm and Kelley's heritage.

My Side of the Story:
In the beginning, Kelley started getting on my nerves cause she was just so arrogant and stubborn. I've noticed that most heroines and novels and anime are exactly that. I feel bad for the main guy character and then eventually grow an obsession.

I liked how there was foreshadowing/hinting at the fact that Kelley wasn't a mortal. There were tons of clues and flashbacks that made me go "OHHH" when everything was finally revealed.

The hate relationship between Sonny and Kelley was okay. The love relationship? I'm sorry to say, but it was WAY too rushed. I didn't get how one minute Kelley thought Sonny was a stalker, and then the next minute she was saying, "I love you". VERY rushed.

Eh, I would probably have to give Wondrous Strange a 3.5/5. One point off for the rushing part, and .5 off because of the arrogance. Just not my cup of tea when the main character is so ... full of herself (is that the right term?).

Anyways, I should stop here because I have nothing left to say. lol.

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GIVEAWAY FOR LOCK AND KEY FROM JUST YOUR TYPICAL BLOG

Hey! Long time, no .. post? Anyway, I just wanted to talk about the Lock and Key giveaway going on at Just Your Typical Blog! It's for the YA Book Carnival, and I absolutely LOVE giveaways! Here's the link ~~> http://justyourtypicalbookblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/ya-book-carnival-giveaway-for-lock-key.html

eums (sorry I can't put the heart cause I'm on my laptop) (:

3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares

3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows
by Ann Brashares


There are just TOO many words to describe this book. I had high expectations, and they were, uhm, whaddya call it. FULFILLED! I wouldn't do the book justice if I just chopped it up into paragraphs. And of course, this is my very first review, so I need to put in 110%!

So, let me start out with a summary. Ama, Jo, and Polly have been best friends since the third grade, when they met because their rides were late. They all received small willow plants that day in class, which they all later plant three in a row on Pony Hill on the last day of school. It's a tradition to them now that after school they stop by the 7-Eleven and get blue Slurpees, Cheetos, and Butterfingers.

But now it's the end of eighth grade and it seems they're not nearly as close anymore. Jo seems as if she would rather be with the popular kids she started hanging out with since the beginning of seventh grade. Polly seems withdrawn and lonely. She gives me a vibe that she's just following Jo. Lastly, it seems as if Ama would also rather be somewhere else. Maybe with Grace, her science partner?

*SPOILER ALERT!*

Anywho, it's summer and it looks like these girls have plans! Jo has a job busing tables near her family's beach house. She also finds out her parents are getting a separation. Ama was planning on going to camp (coughcough ACADEMIC!), when she gets a letter saying she was picked to go into the wilderness. Polly discovers her grandmother was a model, and decides that maybe she has model potential. She slowly goes into a bout of slight anorexia while her mom is also slowly becoming an alcoholic.

I want to reveal absolutely everything, but that would be like making this whole review a whole rewrite of the book. So let me start with the review.

It was so relatable. I could connect with Polly with her insecurity about her body. I could connect with Ama with the pressure to get perfect grades every semester. I could connect with Jo with her thoughts about her little romance with Zach and the complications that came with it.

AND THE TITLE! I actually came up with three different ways it could be interpreted.

A. The three willows Ama, Polly, and Jo planted on the last day of third grade on Pony Hill.

B. The girls - Three strong willows who weathered the storm.

C. The friendship of the girls. Although it was challenged, it found its roots again and now they're a happy family again. [:

Wow. I think this is one of the most horrible reviews I have ever read. But hopefully I'll get better with time ;) This book was so amazingly good (to me) that I finished it in one sitting. Well, I read Infamous, part of the It Girl series, right after I finished this, so in total, it took me about 6 hours ish? I started around 11, and ended at about 5. In the morning. And then I fell asleep and woke up at 11:30. Oh what I do for this blog.

Library Loot - June 17

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that...

encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

I went on the 17th, the day after I went last time lol. I got 4 books again, 2 of them rereads.









From top left to bottom right:

• The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Finally wanted to read the first one in the series! And for the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge (:

• Rumors by Anna Godbersen

Reread for the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge.

• Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

I was actually looking for this one, but couldn't find it, so I was going to get Catalyst. But yay! I found it by the junior high fiction lol.

• The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon

I was wandering in the teen section when I happened upon this book by chance. There actually IS a story behind this. My friend, Ciara, recommended it to everyone in our group, and my other friend, Bobby, actually got it from our school library. So all of us, being immature, stole his book practically every period and read little sections from it. Hahah good times.

Well, I was going to read Envy, the next book in the Luxe series for the Support Your Local Library Challenge, but then I realized I owned it. I guess I'll just read it from the library or something ;)

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No More Holds at the Library :(

Yup. Just like that. I had 10 holds at the library, and you know how they call you when the book is ready? Well, it called my dad like 8 times already, and he got pretty annoyed lol. So I had to cancel all of them. Like Nothing but Ghosts, Forest Born, Along for the Ride, Fade, and Being Nikki. Looks like I'll have to wait all summer for them :'(

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The 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge

I found another challenge today! The 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge. I'm definitely challenging myself and picking option 3. Hahah corny joke. Read 50 books! I have a lot of time this summer, so why not? I have a lot of books in mind, and might as well "help my local library. Hee. Here's my list so far:

1. Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
2. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
3. The King's Rose by Alisa M. Libby
4. It Had to Be You by Cecily Von Ziegesar
5. 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares
6. Forest Born by Shannon Hale
7. Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
8. The Luxe by Anna Godberson
9. Rumors by Anna Godberson
10. Envy by Anna Godberson
11. The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon
12. Fade by Lisa McMann
13. Nothing but Ghosts by Beth Kephart
14. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
15. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
16. Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
17. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
18. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
19. Being Nikki: An Airhead Novel by Meg Cabot
20. The Stolen One by Suzanne Crowley
21. A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
22. The Debs by Susan McBride
23. The Revenge of the Homecoming Queen by Stephanie Hale
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
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40.
41.
42.
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44.
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46.
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48.
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50.

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Library Loot - June 15

Library Loot is a weekly event hosted by Eva from A Striped Armchair and Alessandra from Out of the Blue that ...

encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

So, I went today, the 15th, and got a couple books. Here they are!

From the top left to the bottom right:

• 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares

I got this one because I loved the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, and I have high expectations for this book to be somewhat close to as good as the series.

• The Glass Maker's Daughter by V. Briceland

I had to get this, especially after reading the summary and looking at the cover. Hahah, yes, I judge books by their covers. And sometimes, I don't get books if the font is too typewriter-like or if the pages are too yellow. Yes, I'm VERY judgmental.

• Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

I read an awesome review (ugh I forgot where it was from -_-) of this book and so I automatically put the title on the list of books I was going to get from the library. Looks really good and the cover art is really interesting.

• The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle

I saw it on a lot of people's lists, and I remember my friend, who used to have a blog (if anyone remembers her, her name was Jess and she had blogs called The Word Shaker, and some that I forgot. Yeah, I'm such a bad friend lol) and she reviewed the Hollow Kingdom series. Btw, is she still on Blogger?

• The King's Rose by Alisa M. Libby

I was browsing throught the new YA fiction (where I also found The Glass Maker's Daughter) and it looked interesting. I love the era of the Tudors(hahah I don't know what to call it) and the cover reminded me of Twilight.

I would've gotten more, but I forgot my library card and had to use my dad's ): And I was looking for Princess of the Midnight Ball and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow but it wasn't there. Online, it said it was in "Youth Area" but when I looked, there were only books from Jean Craighead George. I guess I'll have to wait until next Monday.

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Sarah Dessen Books

So, here's the list of books by Sarah Dessen. I'll eventually put a slash through the title when I finish the book.

~Someone Like You(reread)
~Dreamland(reread)
~Lock and Key(reread)
~Along for the Ride(NEWEST!!!)
~This Lullaby(reread)
~The Truth About Forever(reread)
~Just Listen(reread)
~Keeping the Moon(reread)
~That Summer(can't wait to read it for the FIRST time :D)

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Sarah Dessen Challenge

Yes, I'm new to the bookblog scene! And I just found the Sarah Dessen Challenge from Em's Bookshelf. It's my first challenge ever, and I'm super excited! Heheh just wanted to post about this even though no one's reading it ;)

Sarah Dessen Challenge: click here.

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EDIT: Okay, I forgot a couple details (:

Rules:
1) Read all 9 books by Sarah Dessen.
2) Set your own time frame. My goal is to read all 9 books by June 30th but yours could be by the end of 2009 or by the end of the summer. Whatever works best for your schedule. Don't stress...this is supposed to be fun! :)
3) Comment on this post or link to this post on your blog. The more people that hear about this, the more people we'll have cheering us on!

So I guess you're asking, "Hey, when are you setting your deadline?", or something along the lines of that. Well I guess I'll have to set my deadline to ...

AUGUST 3, 2009 !

Wish me luck guys!