Review of The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

~After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…~

I am a long-time fan of Ms. Kelley Armstrong. I first discovered her while doing some research on Canadian female writers. I quickly rushed out to purchase her first book, Bitten, and devoured it in a night. It had one of the most realistic descriptions of wolf shifting I had ever read. It made me squirm, but in a good way. It didn't take me long to catch up and read the whole series.

I have to admit, I was a tiny bit worried when I heard Kelley had written a YA series. I avoided it for a long time, not wanting it to ruin my thoughts about her writing. The only reason I finally picked up The Summoning was because it was one of the choices for my 2011 YA Summer Challenge.

Of course I should never have worried...

The typical Kelley Armstrong writing style I have come to know and love was just as strong in her YA novel as it has been in her adult novels. I was a little worried she might tone it down for the youngins, but she didn't. She didn't hold anything back at all.

The storyline was very intriguing, and kept me reading even through the slower sections. I could easily see and understand the need for the build-up, and therefore it didn't bother me as much as it does in other books where the build-up leads to a whole lot of nothing.

I felt parts of the story were very predictable, but that was equally balanced by events that surprised the heck out of me, even though they shouldn't have. I mean as I have already mentioned, I read a lot of Kelley Armstrong, and I know how she writes her characters, and when certain "symptoms" are there, I should know what's going to happen. I don't know how I missed it, but I'm glad I did. It was a wonderful little surprise.

I loved all the characters, even the evil ones. They had so much depth to them. I immediately fell in love with Derek, even though I feel like Kelley tried so hard (too hard) to make the reader not like him...I just knew that meant he was a character that would win our respect and adoration in the end. Chloe reminded me of a young Jamie Vegas (necromancer and celebrity medium from Kelley's Women of the Otherworld series).

Everything was going so well...the end was coming...things seemed to be pretty tied up...I knew there were two more books in the series, but it felt like book one was at a nice, and mostly neat end...

...and then...whammo....

...evil cliffhanger of DOOM!

I hate that...but of course I will read the other two...eventually...after my rage has subsided...

My rating?

4 super scribble spiders out of 5!

Review of Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

~The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stiefvater

In Maggie Stiefvater's SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.~

I have loved this series from the beginning. Shiver, book one in The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy was one of the first YA (Young Adult) books I ever picked up and read. I had no use for Twilight Saga at the time (but after Maggie I did try more YA novels, including Twilight) and I really had no interest in books aimed at teenage girls. I had been there, done that already, and I wasn't a fan of those kinds of books. I soon came to realize that books aimed at teens nowadays are a lot different than the books that were aimed at teens when I was a teenager...which was about two decades ago now. Man I'm old...

As much as people say don't judge a book by it's cover, I have to admit I was drawn to Shiver by it's cover.

You see, I adore wolves. Actually adore might be too light a term, slightly obsessed might be more accurate. That lonely little silhouetted wolf on the cover, in blue tones, with the title Shiver...well that's what I did...I shivered. I tuned the book over and the blurb immediately captured my attention.

~the cold. 

Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why. 

the heat. 
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now. 

the shiver. 
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.~

I have great memories of a time spent at a friend's house who had wolves wander their property. I often imagined what it would be like just to sit there and watch them. I knew after reading that blurb I just had to read the rest of the book. The final prize was opening to the first page and seeing the beautiful blue font the book was printed in. The whole book was just a complete piece of artwork. I was sold.

Linger, the second book, pulled me deeper into the woods. With it's green cover and green print it was another piece of artwork beautifully done. I have a review of Linger on my blog if you are interested in reading my thoughts on it.

And that brings us to Forever. What a great title for the end of such a wonderful series.

I actually had to take some time after finishing the book to reflect on my feelings of the book, and the series overall. At first I wasn't entirely sure if I was happy with everything, but in the end I admitted I mostly like how the author tied things up. There could have been more, but it could have been much worse as well (knowing how Maggie likes to torment and torture her readers - as she has admitted personally). It was a bit too  open to interpretation, but at least it wasn't a horrid cliffhanger.

As is always typical in Maggie's books, the language and writing style is stunningly beautiful, like lyrics, like poetry, just flowing on the pages. Her wolf imagery is so realistic, and after hearing her speak and reading some of her recommended wolf titles I see she put in many hours of research on the topic. As I have mentioned before I am quite obsessed with wolves and love when authors can pull them off well. I hate when they fail miserably. Maggie Stiefvater and Kelley Armstrong are the two writers who I feel write wolves very well (realistic).

The realistic nature of the wolves, and the people who fear them, becomes even more frightfully alive near the end of the book. I literally held my breath through the last 20 pages or so. When it was all over and I had closed the book I noticed I wasn't breathing, my chest hurt, and my heart was racing. Yes, it was that emotional for me.

I was very happy to see more depth added to Isabella and Cole's characters, and their connection to each other. I felt they were sidelined way too much in the previous novel. It was also interesting to see Sam and Grace's relationship flipped around as Sam was sat waiting around and worrying in his human form as Grace frolicked in the wintry woods.

My rating?

4 super scribble spiders out of 5!

Review of The Summer of Skinny Dipping and Giveaway

~Sometimes I still wake up shivering in the early hours of the morning, drowning in dreams of being out there in the ocean that summer, of looking up at the moon and feeling as invisible and free as a fish. But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the very beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start of something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before seem like it belonged to another life.

My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything.~

I'm going to be very up front with you all before I start this review so you know where I am coming from. This type of book is not my typical type of read. The ONLY reason I read this book was because I required a beach cover YA novel for my summer challenge. I generally don't read light and fluffy romantic based non-supernatural fiction. There, now with that in mind please take my review with a grain of salt sand.

I guess I was hoping that the sentence "To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves." had some supernatural undertone that would pleasantly surprise me in the novel...but it never did. So if that's what you are hoping for as well...sorry to crush your hopes and dreams.

Even though The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells was a fluffy beach read, and not supernatural in the least, it was still a pretty decent read.

The author created some really solid characters. The main character, Mia, is not a typical skinny model type teen that you often see frequent YA novels. She is "bigger-boned" and subconscious about how she looks in her bathing suit. The main male character, Simon, is also not the typical tall dark and handsome teenage boy heartthrob. He has flaming red curly hair, he is a bit of a nerd, and he has medical issues. Their romance it also not the typical "love at first sight" romance that is also very common in most YA books on the shelves these days. It's a very interesting progression from their first meeting all the way through to the end. The supporting characters of friends and families are not perfect either, they are flawed and act they was you expect typical people to act.

The book was highly predictable, and as such didn't move me as emotionally as I assume the author expected...but it was OK.

My rating?

3 satisfactory scribble spiders out of 5.

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for! Since, as mentioned previously, this book is not really my cup of tea, I can say with a strong sense of certainty that I will not be wanting to read this a second time. As such, in celebration of reaching 25 followers (actually 32 now!) I have up for grabs one previously read, but almost pristine condition copy of The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells.

Entry is fairly simple (or so I think). All I require you to do is share a fond summer beach memory with my readers in the comments. There is no length description.

Extra entries will be given to all followers of mine. Just make sure you make a post so I know you are interested.

Please post your "following" entries and your beach memory entries in separate posts.

The giveaway is open until Sunday the 17th. I will post the winner on Monday the 18th. The giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere.

Good luck!

Review of The Giver by Lois Lowry

~Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.~

I love dystopian stories. There is just something intriguing, and often scary, about seeing how society "could be" if some event happened or if they took it into their own hands to change the way life "should be".

The Giver by Lois Lowry is one of the better dystopian stories I have read in terms of fleshing out the society and their rules, regulations and behaviors.

This story really makes you think. Would the world be a better place if things such as violence and lust were completely removed from life by a society who changes and controls things for the betterment of their people? Where people must apply for spouses that are not chosen by them, and only then are able to apply for children that are not created by them. Where members are placed together to form a loving family unit with the maximum of one mother, one father, one male child and one female child. Where children only live at home until they have progressed through their growth years and are chosen foe their life's work by the society's council.

I have to admit...the idea has some merits to it. I often stopped to weigh the pros versus the cons while reading this book. Would I miss the things they took away from their society to trade in for all the good they have achieved. It was a very difficult assessment for me to make at times.

I was constantly shocked and sometimes even appalled at how far they insisted on going. Many of the rules were not stated outright, but if you read between the lines enough you can understand what they are implying. I don't want to give any of it away because some of the revelations came closer to the end, but it was all so wonderfully done. The author didn't slap you in the face with a list of rules, they just let them sneak up on you and tackle you from behind. The writing style was perfect. The story flowed by so fast I was disappointed when it was over.

Of course part of that was due to the way it ended. If you have been following my blog long enough you know of my hatred for cliffhanger endings. It makes me want to tear my hair out and beat small children (not really...but you get the picture). Almost everything had been running so smoothly up until the last few pages. Considering there really isn't a sequel it would have been nice if the author could have tied up the loose ends a little tighter...but they didn't. That's always disappointing...at least to me.

Some other minor points of contention were over some of the things we learn later that the society has changed. Up to about the middle of the book most changes and rules make some sense, and they seem completely realistic and I could see a scared society (or a controlling one) putting these new rules into motion. But some of the things we find out they have changed, or controlled, later in the story are so hard to believe it took me completely out of the story. It was such a shame.

Every summer I make my son read at least 2 novels of my choosing and then he has to write a report on them for my review. This year I have chosen this as the second of the 2 books. Mockingbird was his first one. He is reading that one currently.

I was tempted to give this book a 4.5 rating. But I don't do partial ratings. You know why? Have you ever seen half a spider? Ok...I'm sure you have...but I bet it wasn't pretty...and I don't want no ugly half spiders lurking on my blog ok?

My rating?

4 super scribble spiders out of 5!

Review of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

~Berlin 1942

When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.

But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.~

Let me start off this review by stating a simple fact about me. Whenever possible, I generally watch the movie before I read the book. This is because I feel that it's the best way to get the best of both worlds. In the past, when reading the book first, the movie has almost always been a huge disappointment because so much was left out, or the ending was changed, etc. When watching the movie first you get the great visuals and enjoy the story, and usually the book adds more depth later, and even if it ends differently it can usually be forgiven.

For The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, the movie far surpassed the book...and that's not saying much...

Let's start with the main character Bruno. He is a 9 year old boy who is so naive he come across of being closer to the age of 6. He is also incredibly selfish and I found him to be quite unlikable. What kind of writer creates a main character that people can't like? In fact I don't think I liked a single character! Oh wait...there was a Jewish slave named Pavel that was the only realistic character of the bunch. And at one point after an altercation he never is mentioned again. And even though we can ASSUME what MAY have happened to him...the reader is given no closure on the issue. The movie does a much better job of showing this.

The circumstances surrounding this story are completely unrealistic as well. I'm sorry but I have a hard time wrapping my head around how a nine year boy who is the son of a major member of the German military has no idea what a Jew is, what "Heil Hitler" means or what is going in the camp behind his new house. It's ridiculous. I mean I don't profess to know a whole lot about what occurred during those years, but I do remember that German children had to be part of a youth group.

Also the fact that there happened to be an unpatrolled stretch of the camp's fence, that was also not attached firmly to the ground allowing it to be lifted up enough for items as large as a small child to be passed under is completely unbelievable.

It's too bad though...because the writing itself was quite good and I did like the point the author was trying to make about Bruno and Shmuel being the same even though one was German and the other Jewish. I just think he weighed to heavily on the hopes of his readers being stupid and naive to drive the point home with a very dramatic, but very improbable ending.

At first I thought I was being extremely harsh on the book, but glancing around through reviews of fellow readers I was relieved to find I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

I won't give it a one because the writing was there...it just couldn't save this story.

My rating?

2 sulky scribble spiders out of 5.

Review of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

~It's just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist-books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.~

I chose The Book Thief by Markus Zusak as my non-American author pick for my YA Summer Challenge because my son had read it for school and it had really affected him. He asked me to read it so we could discuss it together. How could I say no?

This book started out very slow. I was tempted to stop reading it a few chapters in because it dragged quite a bit. The opening is confusing and the story is rushed as the narrator, who happens to be death (and how cool is that?), tells the reader the three times he met the book thief. I found it very jumbled and unsure what the author was trying to get from this. Luckily things smoothed out more as death backtracked and went through each event with more detail that he has learned from reading the book thief's journal which he picked up during one event.

Ignoring the opening sequences of the book, I can safely say Markus Zusak is an extraordinary writer. His language and writing style far surpass many authors I have read. His grasp on characters is amazing. Zusak just doesn't write out the standard characters and fill their story, and back story, etc...he breathes life into them and let's them jump off the pages in leaps and bounds. I don't know if I have ever read such realistic characters. Every single character is easily distinguishable from each other...Rosa with her cardboard face, Papa with his silver eyes, Rudy with his yellow hair...no one character is muddled in with another.

The personalization of the characters is also very well done. We have a story set Germany in the the early years of WWII, thus the characters predominantly are German. Some readers might expect to be reading about the cruelness of the military presence that is known to have occurred during those years, and although we do see some of it (the story wouldn't be realistic without it) the majority of the story is based on a poor German family and how even though they are German and expected to hate the Jews and support everything their country tells them to support, they see how everything they are told is wrong. They go so far as to hide a Jew in their basement, even at great personal risk to themselves. 

Parts of the story are so heartbreaking I thought I would be unable to continue reading past the tears that flowed from my eyes. The tragedies were often expected, people die during wars, but it didn't stop it from affecting me deeply when I read those sections. I can see now why my son cried while reading this book.

I think my favorite parts of the book are the chapter openings. Each one gives you a little brief peek into what the chapter will cover. It was a very unique way of introducing each chapter.

I really wanted to give this book a perfect 5 rating, but due to the slow and confusing start I just couldn't.

My rating?

4 super scribble spiders out of 5!

Review of Bumped by Megan McCafferty

~When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.~

Does anyone remember Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield from the Sweet Valley High series? I certainly do (of course I am probably aging myself by saying that). I think Megan McCafferty remembers them as well because her set of twins in Bumped, Melody and Harmony, sure seem an awful lot like those two.

First off we have the annoying and snobby Jessica Melody.

Then we have the more down to Earth Elizabeth Harmony.

To make matters worse, a good chunk of the story reminds me of the Sweet Valley High novel where Elizabeth meets and kind of falls for some young celebrity guy.

I hate to say it, but it was horribad. The only reason I finished it was because it was one of the choices for my YA Summer Challenge. Most people on my friends list couldn't believe I forced myself all the way to the end. I could hardly believe it myself.

And of course this author is going to try to milk it. She gives it one of those horrible endings I hate and leaves so much more open that she hopes people will still come back to read the next 1-2 books, bad writing be damned.

It's hard enough to wrap my head around a story where girls (between the ages of 11-18 tops) are glamorized for having babies for adult couples who apparently no long can have their own due to some disease that hits you when you become an adult. But when the writing is THIS BAD and the characters are THIS DULL, well then it's just torture.

The one redeeming part of the whole book is the character Zen, who is Melody's best friend. He obviously wants to be more than friends with Melody, but she is saving herself so she can sell her "birthing years" off to the highest bidder. 

It's really sickening...

I'm glad I only bought it as an Ebook. I'd beat myself for paying that much for a hardcover of this trash.

I thought about ranking it a 1, but I didn't completely hate it, it did have a few good parts here and there, just not many of them. It really just rubbed me the wrong way a lot of times. But I'll most likely read the next one just to find out what happens after that dreaded cliffhanger...

My rating?

2 sulky scribble spiders out of 5.

Review of Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

~Caitlin has Asperger's. The world according to her is black and white; anything in between is confusing. Before, when things got confusing, Caitlin went to her older brother, Devon, for help. But Devon has died, and Caitlin's dad is so distraught that he is just not helpful. Caitlin wants everything to go back to the way things were, but she doesn't know how to do that. Then she comes across the word closure and she realizes this is what she needs. And in her search for it, Caitlin discovers that the world may not be black and white after all.~

Most "normal" people have issues when it comes to finding closure.

Now imagine you are a young girl with Asperger's who is trying to find some closure when it comes to the senseless shooting of her older brother. Imagine how hard "closure" must be to find for her.

Mockingbird is a short but informative and enlightening story about Caitlin's search for closure after her older brother is killed in a school shooting. Most people treat her like she is a freak, and most assume she has no idea what has actually happened. But she does. She just doesn't know how to show it well to others. She knows her brother is never coming home again. And it's slowly breaking her apart inside. Then one night on the news she hears the word "closure", and just knows she has to find some...but not just for her...for her father as well.

Erskine has wonderful flow to her writing and she seems to have a deep insight into the ways an Asperger's child sees the world. It doesn't seem fake or forced at any time. I would even go so far as to say this is a flawless read.

This book really opened my eyes up to the way children with Asperger's perceive the world around them. Caitlin is a very literal child, she sees the world in black and white, and she doesn't see the shades or colours in between. If you told her to jump off a cliff she would tilt her head to the side so she could get a better look at you and reply with why would you want me to do that. And she would be completely serious. She has trouble understanding emotion and meets with a helper to try to match images of emotions to what they mean. She has to be taught how to make friends.

My son has similar issues which is why I chose this book, and as I mentioned about this book really opened my eyes to how he might see and react to the world around him. I have asked him to read this book as one of his summer read projects so we can talk about it together. I hope we both get something really positive from this experience.

This book was one of the ten books I chose for my YA Summer Reading Challenge. I am thankful the list gave me the opportunity to read this as I don't believe I would have picked this up on my own volition. 

My rating?

5 stupendous scribble spiders out of 5!

Summer Reading Challenge: June 1st – August 31st, 2011

I love Goodreads.
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I love the ability to track all my books whether I have read, am reading, or want to read them. I love the linking and easy connect-ability with Twitter and Facebook. I love how I can update my status on the book I am reading and it will pump out that information to my Twitter and Facebook accounts for me. I also really love their lists and groups.
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This post is about the YA Book Club. I joined the group because I realized I was reading more and more YA (young adult) novels, and that I actually was enjoying them. I wanted to join a club where like-minded members could discuss these books.
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Often the members of this group (and other groups as well) host reading challenges, whether they be a month challenge or a quarterly challenge, etc. Due to time constraints I don't often participate. But with the slowness of the summer I decided to sign up for the newest one, Quarterly Challenge (Summer 2011).
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We have 3 months to read 10 YA books that satisfy following requirements: 
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1) Read a book which is a National Book Award for Young People's Literature winner or nominee. You can find information about all winners and nominees here. 
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I chose Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine. My choice was based on the main character having Asperger's and the story being told from their point of view. My son has been diagnosed with borderline Asperger's and I felt it would be interesting to read something told from a child's point of view who struggles with the same issues. My review can be read here.


2) Read a book that is a new release published in June, July or August of this year. Goodreads offers lists of the most popular new releases by month, they might help you to make your choices - June,July and August. (If you have difficulties obtaining these new books, you can read a release from the same months in 2010).
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I chose Forever by Maggie Stiefvater because I have been waiting for a very long time to see how this Mercy Falls trilogy ends.


3) Read a book set in summer or has a summery cover (beach and such). 
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I chose The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells. This was probably the hardest book of the ten to choose. I went through almost every YA book in Chapters to find one that didn't reek of sickening summer beach love stories. This will most likely have some, but it won't drown me in it...I hope.


4) Read a book which is a 5-star favorite of one of your Goodreads friends.
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I chose The Giver by Lois Lowry. More than a few of my Goodreads friends had this listed as a 5 star read. That coupled with the fact it sounded a little like a combination of Matched and Divergent made me very eager to read it. Plus it looks short!


5) Read a book that from ALA'a 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominations list. The list can be found here.
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I chose Bumped by Megan McCafferty. This book is set in the future and has a dystopian feel to it so I figured it would be pretty good. It centers around twins (which I have a fascination with) being separated at birth and their different paths in this world where people over the age of 18 can no longer give birth. My review can be read here.

 6) Read a book written by a non-American author. Some ideas from Goodreads listopia - UK,Australian, New Zealand. 
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I chose The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. My son read this book for school and was embarrassed when I walked in on him crying just after he had finished a section. He told me he knew I didn't like to have books ruined for me so he asked me to read it so he could talk to me about it. I just had to add it to my list here. Plus, from what I have read, it's narrated by Death! How cool is that?


7) Read a book which is a historical fiction novel or a fantasy that has a historical setting (no present day urban fantasy). 
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I chose The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. The preview for the movie caught my interest quite a while ago and I still want to see it. Typically I watch the movie before I read the book, so by picking this book it will encourage me to finally watch the movie. I have a feeling it will make me cry though...


8) Read a book which has a racial/ethnic minority teen as a secondary or main character. Some options here. 
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I chose The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong. This was one of the easiest books to pick because it is Kelley Armstrong (whom I adore) and I have not tried reading her YA series yet. So this works perfect! Her more mature series of werewolves, witches, vampires, necromancers, etc, is very entertaining. I can only imagine how fun this series will be to read.


9) Read one of the 10 books that have been on your to-read list the longest. 
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I chose The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. This book has been on my list for a very long time. I have already seen the movie, so that's no excuse. I tried reading it to my son when he was younger, but it was very challenging to read aloud and my son often stopped me to ask me questions about what meant what and what was happening. I figured reading it on my own was my best bet, but I have been putting it off a long time. Now is the time to read it.


10) Read a collection of short stories written either by the same author or a group of authors. 
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I chose Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black. This was another easy pick. Most of my Goodreads friends has this on at least one of their reading lists, and most highly enjoyed it. I've never been much of a zombie fan (blasphemy I know) but I do love unicorns. This should be an intriguing compilation to say the least.


I am really looking forward to completing this challenge. It will hopefully help me progress faster through my other challenge, to read 50 books this year.


I have already completed my first read in this challenge, Mockingbird, and it was amazing. Look for my review on it soon!