Freefall - Mindi Scott

How do you come back from the point of no return?

Seth McCoy was the last person to see his best friend, Isaac, alive, and the first to find him dead. It was just another night, just another party, just another time when Isaac drank too much and passed out on the lawn. Only this time, Isaac 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 soon realizes he isn't the only one who needs saving.

I loved Mindi Scott's debut novel Freefall. I read this back in November so my memory is a little fuzzy so you'll have to excuse me. I thought this was going to be a bit of a depressing book based on the synopsis so I was a bit surprised to find that it really wasn't. Sure, a lot of Seth's issues come from Issac's death, but he's thrown in a Communications class at school and it seems to really help him.

I LOVED the teacher because she was so quirky and weird and I couldn't wait for Seth to get to class to see what she was going to do next. I thought it showed growth when Seth took what he learned in class and applied them in the outside world.

I was also pretty amused with Seth and Rosetta's initial meeting and knew she'd be "the girl" and couldn't help but think "that's just Seth's luck." I didn't really understand why Seth continued to be friends with his friends because they were more into the whole musician (sex, drugs, and rock & roll)  thing. I guess they would be the typical teen boys though.

This book was probably one of my favorite contemporary YA books of the year. Mindi did a great job with Seth's voice and I think she accurately portrayed how a boy in Seth's situation might act. A great debut my Mindi Scott and I can't wait to read more from her!

Have you read Freefall?

Losing Faith - Denise Jaden

A terrible secret. A terrible fate.

When Brie's sister, Faith, dies suddenly, Brie's world falls apart. As she goes through the bizarre and devastating process of mourning the sister she never understood and barely even liked, everything in her life seems to spiral farther and farther off course. Her parents are a mess, her friends don’t know how to treat her, and her perfect boyfriend suddenly seems anything but.


As Brie settles into her new normal, she encounters more questions than closure: Certain facts about the way Faith died just don't line up. Brie soon uncovers a dark and twisted secret about Faith’s final night...a secret that puts her own life in danger.

I wanted to read Losing Faith by Denise Jaden for a few different reasons and they are as follows: 

Reason 1: Losing Faith is part of the Contemps Challenge and this is something I'm really happy about participating in. This was my fifth book read for the challenge and so far I have loved all five of them. 

Reason 2: The cover and title. You HAD to know this was coming. There are so many aspects of this cover that I love. The girl holding the flowers is just so subtle and I didn't even notice what was going on with it before I actually LOOKED at it. I love the flowers because they are representing death and mourning but the butterflies make me think of Brie's quest to find out what what happened and free her sister's name. I also really loved how the title had double meaning. I can be such a dork when it comes to stuff like that, I just think it's neat. 

Reason 3: My friend Shana is friends with Denise and I'm just all about support. I love supporting authors and all the ones I have come in contact with (in real life or through Twitter) are just people I genuinely want to see do well. They make it so easy though because their work, Denise's include, is just fantastic. 

Going into this book, I wasn't really sure what it was about. All I knew about it was what was printed on the back and that Shana's friend was the author. I started reading one night before bed (which is when I get most of my reading done nowadays) and didn't want to put it down. I didn't get much read for a few days but once I did, I stayed up til after 3am reading. The only reason I stopped? My eyes were burning so bad and it actually hurt to keep them open. 

I was worried that the religion aspect might get too preachy* but was happy it didn't. I had my ideas of what was going to happen but that just made me want to read faster to see if my theories were valid; they weren't. I found myself invested in these characters, especially Brie and her parents. Denise really showed the grief well and it was heartbreaking. 

The writing was beautiful and I really liked Brie. She was relentless in trying to find out the truth and she made a few great friends in the process. I liked that Brie, Tessa, and Alis all had the same common bond and that they were able to open up to each other when they felt they couldn't talk about it with anyone. 

Tessa was my favorite character because she was supposed to be this hard gothy person but she wasn't any of that. Well, ok. Maybe she was a little but she is the perfect example of why you shouldn't be quick to judge people. She was a great friend and was there when Brie needed her the most. Also, I loved Brie's poem about her at the end. Alis was cool but I had a hard time pushing Alistair from Supernatural out of my head. Somehow, I don't think this was who I was supposed to be imagining.

Great debut by Denise and I look forward to reading quite a bit more from her.

Have you read Losing Faith? Will you? 

*I have nothing against religion. I grew up in a Christian household and have the utmost respect for it. The last book I read that contained religion was way preachy and I felt like things were being shoved down my throat. Not cool.

Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins

I'm sure you all have fallen prey to book hype. You know, where there is so much talk about how great a book is, but when you finally get around to reading it you feel let down because it was built up so much? I have had this happen to me numerous times over the past year, and it makes me sad. I really wanted to like Stephanie Perkins' debut novel Anna and the French Kiss. I will admit that I was a bit worried that the hype would get in the way of an otherwise awesome book. You guys, that was not the case.

AT ALL.

I not only fell in love with this book, but I literally hugged it when I was finished reading it and went straight to my computer to pre-order it. I even made space for her on my bookshelf (her new neighbors are Evie and Sophie..I think they'll get along great). You want to know a little more about it, don't you? Well you're in luck...

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible.

The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

Anna and the French Kiss is a great story full of fantastic and witty writing, well developed characters, romance, tension, and kissing. There was only one thing bad about this book and that was that it should have been longer because I wanted more. The fact that I wanted more has nothing to do with the story itself, it's just because I'm greedy and didn't want it to end. If that's not enough for you to want to read this book I'll give you the main reason.

Etienne St. Clair.

Etienne is beyond swoon-worthy and quickly became one of my book crushes. I totally got the book crush butterflies when reading and he was also the only one this year to do that. Oh, Etienne how I love thee. OH! Plus, he has an accent. If that doesn't do it for you, I don't know what will. 

To my other book crushes: Marcus Flutie, Jamie Fraser, and Ron Weasley you boys have SERIOUS competition. Also, did anyone else notice that those three are all gingers? I just realized that today.

This is my favorite book of the year, so far, and I can't wait til later this afternoon for my brand new, shiny copy to appear on my doorstep. I will definitely be reading it again before the year is up.  

Thank you Stephanie for writing such a wonderful book and thank you Jessica for sharing your ARC with me. 

If you want to experience the awesome for yourself, you can purchase Anna and the French Kiss here.

This was also book #11 in the 2010 Debut Author's Challenge

Leaving Gee's Bend - Irene Latham

First of all, I want to say that I have NO idea how I haven't put Leaving Gee's Bend on here yet! *scolds self*

Leaving Gee's Bend is a Middle Grade debut from the fabulous Irene Latham. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of meeting Irene at the Alabama Book Festival and to be honest, it was one of the most memorable events of 2010. I originally purchased the book in anticipation of the festival and getting it signed, but after hearing Irene speak about what inspired her to write this book, I knew it was going to be a gem in my collection.

Leaving Gee's Bend is a story about fear, heart, love, family, and courage. Ludelphia Bennett is a young girl who lives in the small Alabama town of Gee's Bend in the 1930s. Times are rough and when her mama falls ill, Ludelphia resolves to find the doctor in the neighboring town and bring her the medicine that will help her mom live. In order to do this, Ludelphia must find the strength to do things she's never done, including leaving her town for the first time. Through all this, Ludelphia collects pieces of fabric from her journey to create a quilt that will tell her story.

It's a relatively quiet book but it's powerful. The writing is beautiful and brilliant and it tells a beautiful story based on a real town and its quilters. When the time comes and I have children, this will be one of the books that I look forward to sharing with them. Irene is truly inspiring, not just through the pages of this book, but in real life.

Thank you Irene for such a beautiful book.

The DUFF - Kody Keplinger

One of the books I have most been anticipating this year was The DUFF by debut author Kody Keplinger. I never read any reviews of it and kept my knowledge of what it was about to what the synopsis on Goodreads said. I didn't want this to turn into another one of those books where the hype was so great that I felt let down when I read it. I'm so glad I went that route because I really liked this book and I can't wait to read more from Kody.


Seventeen year old Bianca is having a rough time at home so when hot man-whore Wesley tells her she's a DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend), she throws her Cherry Coke on him. Later, when she can no longer handle everything, Bianca kisses Wesley and finds that it brings her a weird sense of relief. Then Bianca starts having sex with Wesley to feel free of her problems but then another one arises. She starts falling for him when she realizes that not only is he a good listener but he has his own issues that need to be worked out. Could she really love the one guy she hates the most?

Although I never really partook in the whole hooking up thing, I really related to Bianca. From bottling things up until you can't seem to take anymore to feeling like the duff, to a love of Cherry Coke, I've been there and felt that. I wish I would've had a book like this when I was seventeen.

I do feel like some of the other characters could have been a little more developed than they were, especially Bianca's best friends. I also felt like the whole Bianca/Wesley thing happened way too quickly. I saw Bianca as this strong, cynical girl with way too much dignity and then before you know it, she's jumping into bed with this guy she despises.

I did love how cynical and sarcastic Bianca was though. That was totally me in high school (ok, and still am) and I think that's part of what made this book so believable to me. Some people may think it was depressing or too overdone but not I. I think the reason Kody captured this so well was because she WAS that age when she wrote this book and according to her, she was feeling these things when writing it and that's part of why I loved it as much as I did.

Can we talk about the fact that she was in high school when she wrote this? She's only EIGHTEEN you guys! To be eighteen and have your first book published is a feat not many people are able to accomplish. I don't know about you, but this in itself makes me feel so unaccomplished and like that kid who sits in class eating paste and I'm only twenty-five!

I can't wait to read more from Kody and I know I will.

This was book #8 in the 2010 Debut Authors Challenge.

A Love Story: Starring My Dead Best Friendm - Emily Horner

Thanks to Around the World Tours, I was able to get on an ARC tour for Emily Horner's A Love Story: Starring my Dead Best Friend.

Cass's best friend Julia was killed in a car accident. In her honor, Cass and some of Julia's drama friends are putting on the musical she had been working on for months titled Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad. However, Cass feels that since the only link to the drama kids, Julia, is gone, that she no longer fits in with them. When Cass finds out that Heather, the girl who picked on Cass throughout middle school, has been cast as the Ninja Princess, she can't take it anymore and embarks on the trip from Illinois to California she and Julia had planned.

Cass takes off on her bicycle and with Julia's ashes, she starts her journey. Along the way she encounters new friends and tough situations. In a last ditch attempt, she calls Julia's boyfriend, Ollie, to come pick her up. When Ollie arrives, she finds a few other friends came along and Cass later realizes that they are still heading towards California. Once the mission to take Julia to California is complete, they all return home and continue with making Julia's musical a reality.

This book was told in alternating parts, Then and Now. Sometimes this format is hit or miss with me and this was one of those instances where I wish it had just started with the Then's and continued into the Now's. I liked this book well enough and I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into when I signed up for the tour, but I'm glad I read it.

I liked being able to figure out with Cass that she was a lesbian. It was something she struggled with without even knowing it herself. I hate that she was made fun of for it but Heather's picking on her made so much sense later because she acted just like a little kid would in elementary school. I also liked how the relationship between Cass and Heather blossomed. It wasn't easy for Cass to forgive and forget about the past but she made an honest attempt and in the end it all worked out.

I did have a problem with Cass's parents though. What parents don't let their teenager drive or wear makeup but they'll let them ride a bicycle from Illinois to California by themselves? This was just a part I couldn't get over.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

This was book #7 in the 2010 Debut Authors Challenge

The Dark Divine - Bree Despain

So I read Bree Despain's The Dark Divine back in May and for some reason it totally escaped being blogged about. Shame on me because I LOVED this book.

Grace Divine is a pastor's daughter and lives her life following the rules and making sure she does things portray her and her family in a good light. When an old friend, Daniel, returns to town Grace is warned by her brother, Jude, to stay away from him. Grace struggles with the request because not only does Daniel seem to need help, but she wants to find out what happened that night Daniel left and Jude came home all bloody. Will Grace find the answers she's looking for? Will her brother forgive her for doing the right thing when she helps someone that is in desperate need of it?

I have had this book sitting on my bookshelf almost since it was released. I have no idea why it took my so long to read it, but I wish it hadn't because I loved this book. Grace was a very determined character and I liked being in her head. She wasn't whiney and she was always trying to do the right thing, but a lot of the time it did seem as if the right thing for her went against what everyone else was telling her.

Daniel was kind of a jerk at first but the more you got to know him, the more you realized it was more of a defense mechanism. As for Jude, I kind of disliked him from the get-go. I don't know what it was, but the whole prodigal son thing didn't work for me and I felt justified in my dislike of him by the end. I think it was just because he seemed too good at the beginning.

I also loved this cover. I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but that is the initial reason I bought this book. It jumped out to me in the bookstore and the shade of purple is just pretty. Kudos to the person who picked this as the cover.

If you haven't read The Dark Divine yet, I urge you to add this book to your TBR pile.

This was book #6 in the 2010 Debut Author's Challenge.

The Tension of Opposites - Kristina McBride

Confession time. I read The Tension of Opposites over 2 weeks ago and I had written out my review on paper while I was killing time at work (shh) and I completely forgot that putting something on paper doesn't mean that it will magically appear on my blog. My bad. So although later than I planned, here we go..

Tessa has distanced herself from everybody after her best friend Noelle was kidnapped two years earlier. Then the unimaginable happens and Cooper, Noelle's brother, tells Tessa that Noelle is safe and she's coming home. Tessa can't wait to have her best friend back but Noelle's family forbids Tessa to see her. Cooper then tells Tessa that Noelle, now Elle, is different and their family doesn't want to upset her. In the meantime, Tessa meets the new photography student, Max, and he has taken an interest in her. At first, she tries to fight it because Elle needs her but she finds her thoughts drifting to Max. Will Tessa and Elle be best friends again like they used to be? Can Tessa stop focusing so much on Elle or will she risk losing Max?

A few weeks ago I mentioned all the issues I had finding this book. Was it worth it? Yes and no.

I liked that this book was about the aftermath of something so horrible such as a kidnapping. Most of time, something like this gets pushed aside and forgotten with the details glossed over and you never really know what goes on once the person comes home. The Tension of Opposites gives you a little insight to why the victim might do or feel the things they do. I liked that it had a happy ending with Noelle coming home alive but I also liked getting to see a bit of her inner conflict. How could someone not change after having something so terrible happen to them?

This leads me to what I didn't like. Tessa just seemed so bent on getting her best friend back and getting back what ;life was like before the kidnapping that it felt like she wasn't very concerned with what Elle was dealing with mentally and emotionally.

I do wish that this book would have been from Elle's perspective because I think that would have made it so much better. Elle just seemed to have more of a presence of character than Tessa did and I found myself getting annoyed with Tessa.

I do recommend reading it at least once though, if not for any other reason than this: Kristina seems like such a sweetheart that I really struggled with wanting to like this book more than not. I will be reading more stuff from her in the future for the simple fact that, even though I've just shared a few tweets with her, I like her as a person.

Also, if you read this book you can join in on Jessica's first ever blog book discussion on Monday, June 28th and Tuesday, June 29th where participants can talk about The Tension of Opposites with the possibility of Kristina herself showing up for the discussion.

This was book #5 in the 2010 Debut Author's Challenge

Princess for Hire - Lindsey Leavitt

After last week's book signing, I wanted to read Lindsey Leavitt's Princess for Hire as soon as possible. This was definitely a quick read but took me a while to finish because I didn't get much reading time in with all the chaos of last week.

Desi is a girl who feels like vapor. Her ex-best friend, Celeste, is bent on making her life miserable and what's worse, Desi's crush Hayden is dating Celeste.

After a bad day at work, Desi goes home and wishes for help and out of a bubble comes Meredith. Meredith is an agent for Facade, a princess substitute agency that allows princesses to take a break from their lives while their stand-in goes about their everyday routine.

Desi has longed for something like this and immediately signs up. She soon learns that royalty is not all it's cracked up to be and her heart leads her to make decisions while subbing that the agency is not too fond of. Will Desi be able to continue being a sub or will her desire for impact cause her to go back to her regular life feeling like vapor?

I thought this book was absolutely adorable! Yes, it was more for the younger side of YA readers but that didn't matter to me. This book was just fun and I think any girl who ever had a wish to be a princess when she was younger (or even now) will really enjoy it.

I really understood Desi's desire to make an impact. She wanted to make things better for the princesses she was subbing for and ended up doing for them, what they could never do for themselves. She also gained something for herself that she lacked in her normal life: confidence.

I can totally see this book becoming a Disney movie in the future and since they're the publishing company, I have faith that they would do it justice and I would watch it in a heartbeat.

This was a great debut novel from Lindsey and I cannot wait to read more from her. I see tons of success in her future, not only because she is talented but because she is such a sweet person and deserves it.

This was book #4 in the 2010 Debut Author's Challenge

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

When I first heard about this book I knew I was going to add it to my TBR list, but as time went by I kept hearing more and more good things about Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall and I knew I had to read it as soon as I could. It took me about a span of four days to read it since I was only reading before bed, but last night I just had to finish and ended up doing so around 2:30am.

Samantha Kingston is popular, has great friends, good looks, and a boyfriend all the girls in school envy. She wakes up on Friday, February 12th and is expecting just another normal day. On the way home from a party, there's an accident and Samantha is killed..or is she? She wakes up the next morning to find out that it must have all been a dream and then finds out she's reliving Friday again. This goes on for seven days and Samantha finds out that even if there is a small difference from her original Friday, everything changes and she'll still wake up on the 12th. Samantha must find out how to break the cycle and along the way she finds herself.

At first I had a hard time getting into this book. The beginning was just very repetitive, but understandably so because of the storyline, however, it was needed for Samantha to know that something more than a dream or deja vu was going on. It was nice to see her character progress from a mean girl who just followed the leader to a girl who cared about others and learned to stand up for herself.

Before I Fall was well written and the characters had such depth that I really felt like they were real people. Even as much as I hated Lindsay I couldn't help but feel pity for her towards the end and there's always a popular boy in school like Rob who thinks he's all that but in reality is just a huge jerk. I did adore Kent and totally developed a slight book crush on him.

This book definitely reached my expectations and I can't wait to read more from Lauren Oliver.

This was book #3 in the 2010 Debut Author Challenge.

The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard

I finished reading The Secret Year last week so I'm a little late on posting my review but I guess better late than never, right?

Colt Morrissey has been seeing popular girl Julia Vernon for a year, however, their relationship has been kept a secret because they come from different parts of town and she has a boyfriend.

Colt's world is rocked when he finds out that Julia was in a car accident that took her life. Now Colt must deal with her death alone because nobody thought they even knew each other. Later, Colt is given letters Julia wrote to him in diary format during the time of their relationship.

Colt learns a few things about Julia over the next few weeks and also starts to understand her hesitation when it came to breaking up with her boyfriend so she could be with Colt. He also befriends Kirby, but is really over Julia enough to move on?

I've seen other reviews that say The Secret Year is a cross between Romeo and Juliet and The Outsiders and I would have to agree with it..to a point. Colt and Julia's relationship is secret, but only because they choose for it to be since they find it easier. As for The Outsiders, the whole "socs" and "greasers" thing is just substituted with Black Mountain kids and those from the Flats. The social standing takes on a more visual aspect because where they live determines their rank on the social ladder.

I liked the fact that Colt was a more mature male voice and the writing was very well done. The grief and the guilt he felt over losing Julia was real and if you've ever lost someone you know those two things tend to go hand-in-hand and no matter what the circumstance is, there's always a "what if.." hovering in your mind. They were passionate about each other and it came across well from Colt's memories and Julia's letters. I also liked how a few things came full circle and some of the characters were better able to understand others' actions.

This was also book #2 of the 2010 Debut Author Challenge

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

The time has finally come for my opinion of Hex Hall and I honestly cannot say enough great things about it. It's only officially been out since Tuesday but if you haven't already acquired a copy, do so now. Seriously, what are you waiting for?! GO!

Sixteen year old Sophie Mercer is a witch and after a love spell gone wrong, she lands herself in Hecate Hall for two years, a reform school in Georgia for prodigium that have put humans at risk.

Things don't go too well for Sophie at Hecate, not only is her roommate and new best friend, Jenna, the sole vampire student and pariah, but she manages to piss off the three resident dark witches. What makes life even more complicated is that Sophie falls for Archer, boyfriend to head mean girl, Elodie.

Before long, things start happening at Hecate and Jenna is the one accused of everything. In order to help clear her friend's name, Sophie begins digging for information and ends up getting answers to her own personal questions like: Why has she never met her father? Why is she an outcast among outcasts? Why do people want her dead?

I think part of the reason I enjoyed this book so much was that it wasn't difficult to emerge myself in Sophie's world. Partly because this book was so well written but also because I share some of the same background as Sophie.

I was always the new girl in school and I totally identified with the part where she says that people aren't really mean to her, they just ignore her. That sums up what high school was for me. Also, Sophie moved around a lot and I literally chuckled out loud when the two states that were mentioned in the same breath were Arizona and Texas, because you guessed it, I lived in both places. By the time I was fourteen I had moved fifteen times so I really knew what she felt like, especially the part about living somewhere for four years being the longest she had lived anywhere. Again, that was me. I lived in a small Arizona town for four years starting when I was nine and it was a shock to me going to the same school for more than a year. When I moved to Alabama from Arizona I felt exactly like she did when she said the heat is different and the humidity is so bad it feels like mildew is growing on your skin.

Enough of my history, back to the book. One of my favorite things about Hex Hall was the humor and wit. Anyone who can reference pop culture this way gets a mega gold star in my book. I thought I saw where the story was going to go and I was right on one account but was shocked by the curve ball Rachel threw in there and I had to put my book down for a few seconds to process. I love when that happens.

I loved this book and am whoring it out to everyone who will listen because it's just plain awesome as is the author (my mom even bought a copy today) and I hated when I got to the last page because I want to know now what's going to happen next. I can't wait until book 2 comes out!

I may even go buy another copy sometime so I can have a giveaway :-)

2010 Debut Author Challenge

After seeing various blogs talking about the 2010 Debut Author Challenge I decided to check it out. Once I looked into it I figured I might as well join in on the fun because there are already a few books that I'm looking forward to reading that qualify for this challenge.

So here goes. The 2010 Debut Author Challenge is hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren and I copy/pasted this from her blog.



The objective is to read a set number of YA (Young Adult) or MG (Middle Grade) novels from debut authors published this year. I'm going to challenge everyone to read at least 12 debut novels! I’m hoping to read at least 30! You don’t have to list your choices right away, but if you do feel free to change them throughout the year. I will also be focusing on mostly Young Adult novels. *Please keep all choices to those authors whose debut work comes out in 2010.

Anyone can join, you don’t need a blog to participate. If you don’t have a blog you can always share your views by posting a review on Amazon.com/BarnesandNoble.com/GoodReads/Shelfari, or any other bookish site.

The challenge will run from January 1, 2010- December 31, 2010. You can join at anytime!

You can go here to sign up for the challenge.

As of right now the following books are on my Debut Author Challenge list. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to let me know!

Hex Hall - Rachel Hawkins
The Dark Divine - Bree Despain
The Lonely Hearts Club - Elizabeth Eulberg
The Secret Year - Jennifer Hubbard
Before I fall - Lauren Oliver
The Naughty List - Suzanne Young
Leaving Gee's Bend - Irene Latham
Dirty Little Secrets - Cynthia Jaynes Omololu
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin - Josh Berk
The Line by Teri Hall
Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt
The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride

Links will also be available to my reviews and this post on the left sidebar.