Review ~ Matched by Ally Condie

Title:  Matched
Author:  Ally Condie
Publisher:  Dutton Juvenile
Publication Date: November 30, 2010
Pages:  366



Goodreads Summary:
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

My thoughts:
I LOVED this book.  It is one of my favorites of 2011.  I have recently read quite a number of dystopian books and before I get them confused or the stories all mixed together, I thought I should have a reminder of each of them.  Cassia and Xander seem so perfect together when they get matched at the Matching ceremony.  They have been friends forever and it just seems right when they see each others faces on the screen.  Cassia decides to take a look at the microchip with the information about Xander even though she knows all there is to know.  For just a second she sees another face and its someone she knows also.  She finds out the Ky is an Aberration and because something his father has done.  He is not to be matched with anyone.  Cassia can't get Ky out of her head or her heart once she starts to fall in love with him. 

I really enjoyed the characters and the storyline.  I can't wait to pick up and read Crossed which is already out!

2012 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge

2012 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge

 hosted by Reading with Tequila

I love reading other bloggers and their reviews. It is where I get 50% of the books that I have added to my to be read pile. The others come from goodreads, librarything, Barnes and Noble, and anywhere or anyone else that will speak books to me. I haven't participated in any reading challenges except the one on goodreads. Soooo....I am going to attempt a few and this is one of them. I am working towards

LEVEL V.

The Levels:

Level I - Read 5 books from the 2011 Book Blogger Recommendation List

Level II - Read 10 books

Level III - Read 15 books

Level IV - Read 20 books

Level V - Read 20+ books

The Rules:

• Challenge will run January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Participants can join anytime throughout the challenge.
• Create an intro post, linking back to this post.
• Sign up with the MckLinky below. Please link to your challenge intro post, not your blog home page.
• Chose your own books from the list. You can decide to read books only on the Top 25 list or from the entire recommendation list. You do not have to make a list of books before the challenge begins.
• All forms of books acceptable (audiobooks, eBooks, etc.)
• Rereads do not count towards the completion of the challenge. The challenge is about discovering books that are new to you.
• You don't need a blog to participate.
• Reviews, while always appreciated, are not mandatory.

The full list is HERE for the 2011 Book Blogger Recommendations.

My list for the challenge:

1. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
2. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
4. Enclave by Ann Aguirre
5. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater
6. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
7. Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck
8. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
9. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
10. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
11. Legend by Marie Lu
12. Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs
13. Blood Red Road by Moira Young
14. Fateful by Claudia Gray
15. Looking for Alaska by John Green
16. Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
17. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
18. You Against Me by Jenny Downham
19. Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
20. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
21. The Name fo the Star by Maureen Johnson
22. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins
23. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
24. Fire by Kristin Cashore
25. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
26. The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
27. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
28. Witchfire by Lauren Maddison
29. Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
30. XVI by Julia Karr
31. Tyger, Tyger by Kersten Hamilton
32. The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
33. Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce

There are sooo many on the list (over 200) that maybe I can add more later!

 I have other challenges that I am also going to try to participate in and they can be found here at the 2012 Challenge Page.

TBR Challenge for Winter Break

I am so excited that school will be over in two weeks and classes don't start back up until the second week in January.  The last couple weeks have been so busy and hectic with studying and holidays that it has been hard to get to my to be read pile!  Looking forward to hopefully getting Skyrim for Christmas and lots and lots and LOTS of reading accomplished before another busy semester!

My tentative list of books that I will hopefully get read before going back to school in January:

1. Rot and Ruin
2. Dust and Decay
3. Chrystallia
4. Tyger, Tyger
5. In the Forests of the Night
6. Wither
7. Shatter Me
8. The Girl of Fire and Thorns
9. Ashes, Ashes
10. The Clockwork Prince
11. Dark and Hollow Places
12. Need
13. Captivate
14. AND LOTS ON MY NOOK!!!

My list will probably grow as I search the books behind the books on my bookshelfs!!!
Also hopefully in this time I will be able to get together my reading challenges for 2012 since it will be my first time (:

Review: Illuminated

Title:  Illuminated
Author:  Erica Orloff
Publisher:  Speak
Publication Date:  December 8, 2011








Goodreads Description:
Some loves are not made to last . . . Like Romeo and Juliet, Heloise and Abelard were doomed from the start, and their romance was destined to pass into history. Yet when sixteen-year-old Callie Martin discovers a diary hidden within an antique book, their story—and hers—takes on another life. For the diary leads Callie to the brilliant and handsome August, who is just as mysterious as the secret the diary hides. Their attraction is undeniable. As the two hunt down the truth behind the diary—and that of Heloise and Abelard’s ancient romance—their romance becomes all-consuming. But Callie knows it can’t last . . . love never does. Will their love that burns as bright as a shooting star flame out, or will these star-crossed lovers be able to defy history?

My thoughts:
Callie is a girl that gets straight As, gets along with everyone, does what she is supposed to do.  Her father expects her to go to law school and join the family firm.  August is the son of a book collector and is attending NYU.  His father wants him to join the antiquities business with him.  The two meet during the summer while Callie is visiting her Uncle Harry and his partner, Gabe, like she does every summer.  Uncle Harry works for an auction house and deals with books and manuscripts.  He has been hired to find to sell a collection of rare books and comes across a rare pampilsest, or an Illuminated manuscript called the Book of Hours (I remember studying these in Art History a couple of semesters ago...very pretty!).  Callie and August are pulled into the mystery of the writer and the lives surrounding the book.  Illuminated is the story of the tragic love of Heloise and Abelard and the beginnings of love of Callie and August. 

This story pulled me in from the beginning.  I wanted to find out the story of Heloise and Abelard as much as Callie and August.  I read the story in one day...pretty much one sitting.  It is recommended for ages 12 and up and I could agree with this recommendation.  There isn't anything in it that I wouldn't want my tween daughter to read.

Books that I am thankful for!

Giveaway on Beth Revis blog!



I have always been a reader, ever since I was little.  The first book that I can remember reading over and over again and still read at least once a year is Alanna: The First Adventure and all of the books in the series. 



Alanna proves that girls can be knights and can do whatever they set their mind on.  She is a great character and I wanted everything to go right for her.  It has romance, fighting, intrigue and it's all something that I would let my 12 year old daughter read. 

Another book that I am thankful for is Heaven by V.C. Andrews.  I remember reading this in middle school and I have read it quite a few times since.  Not sure if I would let my middle school read it or not though!  These books may have been for pure entertainment, but they kept me reading and wanting to read more.



Quick Review: Jenny Pox

Title:  Jenny Pox
Author:  J.L. Bryan
Publisher:  CreateSpace
Publication Date:  July 24, 2009








Goodreads Description:
Jenny has a secret. Her touch spreads a supernatural plague.  She devotes her life to avoiding contact with people, until her senior year of high school, when she meets the one boy she can touch, and she falls in love.  But there's a problem--he's under the spell of his devious girlfriend Ashleigh, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all.Now Jenny must learn to use the deadly "Jenny pox" she's fought her entire life to hide, or be destroyed by Ashleigh's ruthless plans.


Not recommended for readers under sixteen due to mature content.


Quick Thoughts:
I felt so sorry for Jenny not being able to touch anyone or have any real physical contact even with her father.  She must work very hard to keep her poisonous skin from contacting anyone else, but she manages and even attends school.  I couldn't imagine not being able to hug my daughter like Jenny's father.  He must cover himself from head to toe so that he doesn't come in contact with her skin.  When Seth came along and Jenny realizes she can touch him and not hurt him, her life changes.  She can feel a real touch and have real kisses.  Of course there has to be some evil mean person and that is Seth's girlfriend, Ashley.  She has always had it in for Jenny and things get worse when Jenny and Seth want to be together.

I really liked this book.  I was glad to see the last line of the synopsis from goodreads said "Not recommended for readers under sixteen due to mature content."  There were some VERY descriptive scenes in Jenny Pox.  I will read Tommy Nightmare and Alexander Death.

Quick Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Title:  The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Author:  Carrie Ryan
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: March 10, 2009





From Goodreads:
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?

*May contain spoilers!!!*
I received this book from Goodreads bookswap on Tuesday.  Today after my Biology practical I needed something other than school to think about.  I started reading The Forest of Hands and Teeth and couldn't put it down.  I have been looking forward to reading it, but never wanted to buy it.  Now I wish I had gotten it sooner.  It was a great story about Unconsecrated (Zombies!!!).  Mary is a young woman dealing with the loss of her mother and her father.  Her brother has turned her away and the one she loves is promised to another.  The fence is supposed to keep the Unconsecrated out, but something happens.  Now Mary and a group are looking for another safe place and she dreams of the ocean.  This is a fast paced story and I can't wait to start on The Dead-Tossed Waves.