Brother/Sister by Sean Olin

Happy Halloween, Readers!  I thought I would post a creep-tastic book I read over the summer.  Enjoy and save some fun-size Snickers for me!

From the flap:

Will and Asheley - Brother and Sister - reveal the story of how and why their lives spun violently out of control.  In the restless summer nights of an affluent California suburb, lines are blurred between love and fear, right and wrong, truth and lies, defense...and murder.

From me:
This book is super creepy, like Christopher Walken creepy.  That, however, did not stop me from devouring it.  It was seriously one of the weirdest books I've ever read (and I majored in English!) and it gave me the chills many, many times.  Again - I could not put it down.

The story is told by Will and Asheley through what seem to be interviews with the police.  You are presented with each sibling's perspective of the events that took place, namely the murders (yes, plural) and how they worked to cover them up.  Throughout the story, Will is shown to be unstable, maybe bi-polar, and definitely the "bad guy," while Asheley is shown to be the innocent bystander in Will's rage.  There are no parents - Mom's in rehab and step-dad/boyfriend comes to check on them once in a while (he can be creepy, too).  I feel like I can't say too much more about the plot because I really don't want to ruin it.  If you start the story (which all of you should), hang on until the end...especially the very last page.  I may have to re-read just because of the last line in the novel.

Sean Olin has done a wonderful job at weaving a story of lies and deceit.  The characters feel real - as though they are explaining their stories to you, personally.  That realistic feeling is probably what makes my skin crawl, but also what keeps me reading.  Fantastic book, can't wait to read everything Olin has written.

The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook

From the flap:

Hailey Kendrick always does exactly what’s expected of her.  She has the right friends, dates the perfect boy, gets good grades, and follows all the rules.  But one night Hailey risks everything by breaking a very big rule in a very public way… and with a very unexpected partner in crime.  Hailey gets caught, but her accomplice does not, and Hailey takes the fall for both of them.

Suddenly Hailey’s perfect life, and her reputation, are blowing up in her face. Her friends are all avoiding her.  Her teachers don’t trust her.  Her boyfriend won’t even speak to her for long enough to tell her that she’s been dumped.

They say that honesty is the best policy – but some secrets are worth keeping, no matter the cost.  Or are they?

From me:

I really enjoyed this book.  I probably wouldn’t have picked it up off of the shelf, had I not had a small selection of books to preview for our Media Center.  From the cover ( I know, I know…shouldn’t judge), it seemed like it was just going to be a sweet “girly” book.  And it was that, but it was definitely more.  I thought that it gave the reader a glimpse into Hailey’s very affluent world – a world in which she is still unhappy.  Hailey has to make tough choices about friends, family, and her own rebellion against the rules.  She also has to deal with the consequences, something that definitely is not easy for her.  These consequences, however, are what introduce her to Drew and to a whole new perspective on what is important in life. 

I thought that the relationship between Hailey and Drew was interesting and sweetly awkward.  I loved that he taught her all about how the rest of us live (gasp! Wal-Mart!).  And I loved that his “status” was fairly unexpected.  If you are looking for a fun book, I highly recommend The Education of Hailey Kendrick.

Seriously?!

Hi All,
I'm back.  This time my month-long vacation from the blog was TOTALLY NOT MY FAULT!  Thanks to my old ISP, I had zero Internet service for the entire month of August.  Nice, huh?

Totally lost my chance to win any goodies from The Contemps.  Totally had my blogging schedule interrupted.  Totally not excited about said ISP's "customer service" (notice the quotation marks).

Anyway, I'm connected once again, thanks to a new ISP and will be back to blogging sometime this week.

The Contemps Challenge #2 - The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

From the flap:

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 "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face.

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

Until it all goes horribly awry.  It turns out 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.

From me:
I love this book.  I have loved it since I read the title - how could you not?  First, I have to give major cool points to Kody Keplinger for being in COLLEGE and having two books published (Shut Out comes out in September). I was just happy to have my laundry done when I was in college.  The writing is great - Bianca and friends sound like real high schoolers, which is always a huge selling point for me.

Not only did the characters sound real, they sounded hysterical.  This was really, really funny most of the time.  I wish that I could come up with lines that made readers break into laughter.  While it is super funny, Bianca is dealing with some really big (un-funny) issues, but feels that she shouldn't burden her friends with her problems.  So, she decides to use Wesley Rush to ease her pain, which is maybe not the best way to solve one's problems, but she seems to have a lot of fun, so...  Anyway, I'm happy that Wesley is a broken kid, as well - again, it shows readers that "cool" kids have problems, too. 

I think that this book, while being hysterical, teaches us a very important lesson - everyone is the duff.  It drives me nuts at school when I hear kids, girls especially, comparing themselves to other kids (girls).  But it's not just middle/high school girls!  Adults do it too!  I'm super guilty of this crime!  This book has helped me to realize that everyone sees flaws in themselves and that we should embrace those flaws because they are what make us, us.  And, if our friends or boyfriends/girlfriends can't get past our flaws, then we need to find better people to be around.  A very "teacher" thing to say, but I can't help it- blame Kody Keplinger.  And read The DUFF. 

One more thing...

Have you seen this???

It's totally the movie poster for The Hunger Games!!!  I saw it hanging in my local theater last night!!  IMDB says it supposed to be released March 23, 2012.  I'll see you all at the movies!

Movie poster: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/

Contemps Challenge #1 - Freefall by Mindi Scott

From the back cover:
Seth McCoy was the last person to see his best friend, Issac, alive, and the first to find him dead.  It was just another night, just another party, just another time when Issac drank too much and passed out on the lawn.  Only this time, Issac didn't wake up.

Convinced that his own actions led to his friend's death, Seth is torn between turning his life around...or losing himself completely.

Then he meets Rosetta: so beautiful and so different from everything and everyone he's ever known.  But Rosetta has secrets of her own, and Seth will soon realize he isn't the only one who needs saving...

From Me:
Although this book could be pretty dark, I enjoyed it a lot.  Watching Seth go through his emotional recovery after losing his best friend was very interesting - agreeing and disagreeing with the choices he made, rooting for his relationship with Rosetta, and genuinely liking Seth as a person/character made reading this book very easy.  This is not to say that the subject matter was always easy to digest. 

At the time this story opens, Seth's best friend, Issac, has died from suffocation - he drank too much and choked on his own vomit.  Seth blames himself for Issac's death, which is what he struggles with throughout the whole story.  I think that this book should be offered to all high schoolers, but especially those with a love of partying.  It shows us how uncontrolled drinking and underage drinking can devastate many lives - Issac died and everyone who didn't was left picking up the pieces and coming to terms with his death.  At the same time, Seth and Rosetta are trying to begin a relationship, which seems to be very sweet.  Throughout reading, I felt like Seth - on an emotional rollercoaster.  One chapter I would be up and excited for Seth and Rosetta, and the next I would be cursing Issac for bringing Seth down.  But that's what makes this novel so great - I felt like I could understand Seth and the emotions he was going through. 

I would highly recommend this book, but just know that it can be a heavy story to read.

In My Mailbox 2

Hi All,

Summer book list update: 10/71 books read.... I'm thinking I might be a little behind in my quest for reading greatness...

I've decided that I'm going to participate in The Story Siren's meme "In My Mailbox" for at least this week.  Instead of these books being delivered to my door because I'm a really popular YA book blogger, I picked these books up at the library.  These are all part of the Contemps Challenge, which I am about halfway through (yay!).

So, the books that are "in my mailbox" are:

Losing Faith by Denise Jaden
Girl, Stolen by April Henry
Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt
Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker
Trapped by Michael Northrop
Pearl by Jo Knowles
Back When You Were Easier to Love by Emily Wing Smith
Family by Micol Ostow
Rival  by Sara Bennett Wealer
The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

Have you read any of these books?  Which one should I choose first?