Let the Challenges Begin! + Follow Friday

Q:  If you had to spend eternity inside the pages of a book which book would you choose and why?

 Well, being a part of Harry Potter world would be really fun especially without Voldemort to worry about (No matter how old I am, I still want that invitation to Hogwarts!), but going outside of cliche, I'd say Willie Wonka's chocolate factory. Mmmmm, happy thoughts.

• I have no idea what I'm thinking! I'm probably one of the worst people ever at completing challenges. But it's that time of year when I go crazy I'm incredibly unrealistic optimistic about next year's reading! So here's my list (for now) of the challenges that I'm going to fail do during 2012!

Multi-Cultural Book Challenge!
The goal: Read 12 YA books written by muti-cultural/ethnic minorities OR featuring multi-cultural/ethnic minorities as main characters.
Hosts: Truly-bookish & one-page-reviews

Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
The Calling by Kelley Armstrong
Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
Legend by by Marie Lu
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Marcelo In The Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Sea by Heidi R. Kling
The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson
my list on goodreads

Debut Author Challenge

The goal of this challenge is to read & review a minimum of twelve young adult or middle grade debut novels between the dates of January 1, 2012 – January 31, 2013.
Host: storysiren.com

my list on goodreads

British Books Challenge (BBC)
Well now, how could I possibly pass up a challenge with a name like that? Even though I thought I was all done with challenge sign-ups for next year, this is one I've just got to add to the list.
Host: overflowinglibrary.com

my list on goodreads

Obviously, many books will fit in more than one category, but I'm going to try to avoid overlapping.

And there are actually a couple more really tempting challenges out there calling my name, but for the moment I'm trying to exercise some restraint. Wish me luck!! :)

Teaser Tuesdays

*Teaser Tuesdays* is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"She once wanted to rent a hot-air balloon to test out our town’s clouds, though I told her that I was pretty sure, from science class, she wouldn’t be able to poke donut holes through them like she hoped to. She wanted to be able to spy on everyone, she said, from the cloud cover, and shoot them with jets of rain when they misbehaved."

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

I'm Thankful For...

In honor of Thanksgiving and because she’s just generally awesome, Beth Revis is hosting an amazing giveaway at the moment, whereby in appreciation for all the amazing stories out there, book bloggers tell everyone the one book they are really grateful for (and also hope to win an amazing price in the process!)
It’s REALLY tough to pick just one fabulous book to be grateful for. Listing more than one would turn into an epic list of fabulousness that would never end and Beth did ask for one title, so that’s what I’ll do. No pressure right?

Here’s the book I’m most grateful for this year.

Book Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

336 pages
Ages: 14 and up
Release Date: November 15th, 2011

You can read an excerpt here.

Synopsis: Words are the most dangerous weapon of all.

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed. Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

It sounds like a winner, right?

Wrong.


I think it's safe to say that the new 'it' genre is Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic and everyone seeems to jump on the dystopia bandwagon. And unfortunately most authors have the same, repetitive idea of the futuristic world: one all-powerful/perfect/opressive society, one girl wants to escape or rebel, then one mysterious boy suddenly appears on the scene and joins her to do so. It gets a bit boring after a while, right? So does The Pledge stand out next to all the other books out there? Well, since tales are told over and over, most books have the potential to be labeled cliché. I think the way you connect with the story and the characters is what makes the difference.

Unfortunately The Pledge didn't work for me. When I'm reading a book, being able to relate or make a connection with the characters is a vital part of my ability to enjoy the book. I need to be a part of the character’s journey, to experience the same ups and downs. In Pledge, I just couldn't make a connection with the characters. I kept wanting to find a little more depth, a little more complexity, something that would make the characters feel more than two-dimensional, something that would make them real, flesh and blood, three-dimensional people.