Sunday, October 28, 2012

13 Little Blue Envelopes

I have absolutely no idea why I waited so long to read this book.  Foolishness.  Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes (watch the trailer here) is a really fun read that I would recommend to lots of ladies out there. 

This story is a quest for self discovery as much as it is for finding out the clues of Ginny's aunt's death.  Ginny's free spirited Aunt Peg left Ginny a collection of 13 little blue envelopes to be opened in sequence after her death.  Ginny was to follow the directions enclosed in each envelope before opening the next.  The first included directions for going to London to start the adventure.

As Ginny traveled all over Europe following directions and opening envelopes, she learned about her aunt.  She discovered people who had made an impact on Peg's life, places Peg had lived, and the things that comforted Peg as she became increasingly sick.

There were times in this book that I was so jealous of Ginny.  The adventure she was on was simply amazing.  But, there were other times that I thought I would never be able to be happy following the rules Peg laid out for Ginny.  However, those rules helped the trip guide Ginny to a new understanding of herself.

One giant problem does interrupt the completion of the journey.  The last blue envelope is stolen while Ginny is in Greece.  Unexpected.  Resolution?  Thankfully, this twist allows for the second book, The Last Little Blue Envelope, which I am certainly putting on my to read list.  I've also read a couple other books by Maureen Johnson and really liked them.  You can check out those reviews here: Name of the Star and Devilish.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

YALLFest

YALLFEST 2012Last year during the weekend of November 9, I was lucky enough to travel to Louisville, Kentucky with some great friends and present at the National Middle School Conference.  But, this year I will be even luckier on that weekend.  I will be attending YALLFest in Charleston, South Carolina.  Be jealous! 

YALLFest, Charleston Young Adult Book Festival, is held on the historic King Street downtown Charleston.  Ahhhhh, it's so beautiful there.  Even though I visit Charleston every year, I am always ready to return!

The 2012 festival will include 44 (or even more) young adult authors (check out the author list).  Some of those include Kimberly Derting, Melissa De La Cruz, Elizabeth Eulberg, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl just to name a few.  Ok, just to name a few of my favorites.  Obviously, there are lots of other great authors attending also.  I have made a goal to read as many of the YALLFest authors as possible before I go.  An awesome part of that goal is that several of those authors were already on my to read list.  I think that speaks to the amazingness of the festival.

If you too would like to begin your journey through the YALLFest list, please check out some of the reviews I've done to help find yourself a starting point.
Body Finder and Desires of the Dead
Blue Bloods Series
Prom and Prejudice
Beautiful Creatures & Beautiful Darkness
Dream Dark
Beautiful Chaos
The Selection
Take a Bow
If I Stay
The Last Echo

Visit the YallFest website to learn more and plan your trip.

http://yallfest.org/

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Goddess Hunt

As I continue my foray into the Underworld, I once again visited the Goddess Test series and read The Goddess Hunt by Aimee Carter.  The Goddess Hunt is a between one and two novella available in ebook.  I am a sucker for those.  Seriously, I haven't met one I don't like.  The Goddess Hunt certainly helped me continue my love affair with the novella (and the Underworld!).

In The Goddess Hunt, Kate Winters is on her six month vacation from the Underworld.  Not surprisingly, she has chosen to go to Greece.  Also, she has chosen to take her friend James with her.  This is a bit tricky.  While James is a great friend, he as Hermes, stood to inherit the throne from Henry, or Hades, if Kate had not passed the test.  I'm not completely convinced he's as true blue as Kate seems to be, but Kate hasn't asked me yet.

While in Greece, Kate and James come upon the runaway twins Castor and Pollux.  While this seems like a huge coincidence, as you may have guessed, it that isn't.  While getting to know Castor and Pollux, Kate begins to sympathize with their cause.  She becomes determine to help them.

Kate's determination leads her to be very frank with Zeus and other members of the Council. That may not have been Kate's wisest move.  Despite Kate being the new Queen of the Underworld, she seems to have lots to learn about her place in this new world. 

And, well, she misses Henry.  That's sweet.  You never see Hades portrayed as a lovable type of guy.  I like it.  That's just one thing that keeps me coming back to these books.  I eagerly await my opportunity to read book two, Goddess Interrupted.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Everneath

I've found myself in a mythology mood as of late.  I've read and loved Underworld (read my review), The Goddess Test (read my review), and Everneath (watch the trailer here) in the last six months.  All three are variations on the Greeks' take on the Underworld.  They're all very different, and they are all awesome.  My most recent float down the River Styx was via Everneath
(Read the first six chapters here) by Brodi Ashton.   And, I've got to say it left me with this question, "When can I read the next book?"  Allow me to explain!

In Everneath, Nikki Beckett finds herself in a situation like basically no one else.  She actually vanished from her life for six months and took part in The Feed (mortals fueling the immortals) in a version of the underworld known as the Everneath.  Nikki was drawn into the Everneath by a smoking hot immortal named Cole.  Now, Nikki has returned back to her old life before she must stay in the Everneath forever.

It's hard for Nikki to fit into the life she left.  The mystery of her disappearance is hard for people to understand and even harder for her to explain.  But, Nikki is determined to make things right with her boyfriend Jack.  Even though Nikki was not supposed to be able to remember her own life while she was in the everneath, Jack never left her thoughts.

Now, Nikki finds herself in a race against time to reconcile with Jack and resign herself to being a part of the Everneath forever.  She desperately wants to stay with Jack, but is that possible?  Also, Nikki shouldn't have survived the Feed, but she did.  How?  And who is this mysterious group, the Daughters of Persephone?

Oh man, the questions left at the end of this one are pretty intense.  Luckily, lovers of Everneath don't have long to wait.  Everbound will be available January of 2013.  So, give it a try.  You won't be sorry.