Book Watch: The Fame Game by Lauren Conrad.

In Hollywood, fame can be found on every corner and behind any door. You just have to know where to look for it. Nineteen-year-old Madison Parker made a name for herself as best frenemy of nice-girl-next-door Jane Roberts on the hot reality show L.A. Candy. Now Madison's ready for her turn in the spotlight and she'll stop at nothing to get it. Sure, she's the star of a new show, but with backstabbing friends and suspicious family members trying to bring her down, Madison has her work cut out for her. Plus, there's a new nice girl in "reality" town—aspiring actress Carmen Price, the daughter of Hollywood royalty—and she's a lot more experienced at playing the fame game... When the camera's start rolling, whose star will shine brighter?

Filled with characters both familiar and new, Lauren Conrad's series about the highs and lows of being famous delivers Hollywood gossip and drama at every turn.

I've only read the first book in this series but I have the other two in my TBR pile and I'm still hopeful that I'll get them read soon. I really like Lauren Conrad and don't even care if she didn't write these books. She was a sweet girl on Laguna Beach and I was a fan of her straight forward attitude on The Hills and I support her whenever I can. This book comes out on April 3, 2012 so it's definitely on my radar, especially since this is Madison's book. I'm all kinds of anxious to read this one.

Have you read any of the other books by LC? Will you be reading this book?

..and that's your scoop!

This book is available from Harper Teen.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

My Book Boyfriend of the Month: Peeta Mellark

This post is being posted hecka late and I apologize but March wasn't a very productive month for me for blogging. I'm working on changing that in April.

This month is a very important month for Hunger Game fans. It's important because the movie came out on March 23rd. What perfect time to highlight one of my favorite book boyfriends that I've had in a long while.

I read The Hunger Games trilogy last year and adored them. I was Team Peeta throughout most of the trilogy though Gale did have me torn for a quick minute in Catching Fire. There was a tenderness about him that just totally melted my insides.

As great as Gale was, Peeta and Katniss were meant to be together because they went through so much together and through it all, Peeta had Katniss' best interests at heart. At every turn, he had her back and was even willing to die because he knew that Katniss was meant for things far bigger than either of them could ever imagine. The sacrifices that he would have made for Katniss made me realize just how good he was. Inside and out.

Gale made me swoon a bit in Catching Fire but through it all, my heart was firmly in Peeta's camp.

When a guy says things like this to you:

“So I only say, "So what should we do with our last few days?"

"I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you," Peeta replies.”

There's no doubt that he's got some big time feelings for you and if that's not enough to convince you of Peeta's devotion to Katniss, check out this scene:

“Peeta, how come I never know when you're having a nightmare?” I say.

“I don't know. I don't think I cry out or thrash around or anything. I just come to, paralyzed with terror,” he says.

“You should wake me,” I say, thinking about how I can interrupt his sleep two or three times on a bad night. About how long it can take to calm me down.

“It's not necessary. My nightmares are usually about losing you,” he says. “I'm okay once I realize you're here.”

When you read these books, you're not going to be thinking that Katniss and Peeta are meant for each other, at least not at first. When they first get to the games, Katniss doesn't have any feelings for Peeta but over the course of the series, you see those feelings develop. You see their friendship develop and you see it grow and you can't help but want these two to be together because nobody else in the entire district understands what they've been through. Nobody else knows them the way that they know each other. Not even Gale and through out the entire first book, you see the wealth of love that Peeta develops for Katniss and you see him yearning for her so you yearn for them. You get anxious for Katniss to return Peeta's feelings. You begin to hope that they'll find their way to each other...for real.

And when Haymitch tells Katniss:

"You know, you could live a thousand lifetimes and not deserve him.”

I totally believed it to be true because Peeta was all that is good and right in the world. He was unselfish and he was caring. Nothing mattered more to him than Katniss and doing what's right. How can you not love that? Even when things weren't going the way we hoped it would where Peeta was concerned, you couldn't help but root for him. To have hope for him because he was just that great and if you haven't met this wonderful character than I highly recommend that you give the books a try because you won't regret it. The books are fabulous reads and getting to know Peeta is a must.

You can read my reviews for all three of the books here: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

..and that's your scoop!

Bloggiesta 2012.

It's that time again and I'm in desperate need of updating around both this blog and my adult book blog, Book Binge. The past couple of weeks have been pretty dreadful for me. I've fallen behind in reviews and in just the everyday upkeep that I try to usually stay on top but I've got me a list of things that I need to get situated so that I can be a happy blogger again.

Here are my to do lists for both of my book blogs:

For The Book Scoop:

• Respond to all emails needing follow up in the blog's inbox.
• Write reviews for all of the books that I've read in the past couple of months.
• Write reviews for books that I've read in the past that could be saved for reading slumps.
• Catch up on my IMM posts.
• Update Reviews in Alphabetical Order post, Series post, Authors post.
• Add reviews to Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
• Write up Book Watch posts that'll last through the summer.
  

For Book Binge:

• Update Authors and Series posts.
• Start Alphabetical Order post.
• Catch up on reviews, write 10 reviews.
• Update sidebars.
• Add reviews to Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
• Write up monthly posts (New Release Tuesday, Book Watch, Book Confessions, etc...)
  

I have a lot of work to do so I'll be one busy beaver this weekend. My inner geek is super excited.

..and that's your scoop!

Review: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter.

Rowena's review of Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter.

Main Character: Kate
Love Interest: Henry
Series: Goddess Test, Book 2
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it. Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive.

Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future. Henry's first wife, Persephone.

This is the second book in the Goddess Test series by Aimee Carter and it was another enjoyable story. In this story, Kate has won immortality but things aren't as simple as one would think after the first book. Carter does a great job of throwing the reader into the thick of things in the story. With every page that I read in this book, I was thrown deeper and deeper into the thick of things and I couldn't read fast enough.

In the first book, I really liked Kate because I understood what she was going through and I felt her pain with things with her Mom, things with Henry and the anxiety of the Goddess test, it was understandable but in this book, she's got different worries but she was a lot more annoying than I remember her being in the other book and while it didn't taint my enjoyment of the book too much but there were plenty of times when I wanted to strangle her because she came off extremely needy and I wanted to bean Henry in the head for being, well the way he was in this book. But as needy as Kate came off in parts of this book, I really liked her character anyway. I liked that she was fair and she cared. She's a complex character and it was a definite treat reacquainting myself with her again.

Things really heated up in this book, I mean when Henry gets abducted and Kate has to turn to the last person she wants to turn to for help in saving the people that have come to mean a great deal to me, I was happy. I mean, the story really took off and I was totally entertained. So many things pop off and I couldn't read the book fast enough. I thought Carter did a great job of telling this story and she did a great job in making me care enough about the characters in the book to want to finish the book.

My one gripe with the book is the ending. I spent a great deal of time trying to read like I was a speed reader (I'm not) and then I got to the end and I had to read it three times before I put it away because I was completely thrown. It's one of those cliffhangers that made it hard for me to sleep but aside from that, this was an entertaining read and I'm so glad that I read it.

..and that's your scoop!

This book was received through NetGalley and is available from Harlequin Teen.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

Review: Slide by Jill Hathaway.

Rowena's review of Slide by Jill Hathaway.

Main Character: Vee
Love Interest: ??
Series: None, that I know of
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister's friend Sophie didn't kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn't actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else's mind and experiences the world through that person's eyes. She's slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed "friend" when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie's slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can't bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting distant lately, especially now that she's been spending more time with Zane.

The minute I read the blurb for this book, I wanted to read it. The minute that it went onto my TBR pile, I was geared up to read it. I'm so glad that I finally got this book read because it had such an interest premise and I was so excited to read it. I'm super stoked that all of the hype that I put onto this book were totally deserved because this book turned out to be such a fantastic treat.

This book follows Vee, a young girl who has the ability to slide into people's minds. I think that Hathaway did a fabulous job of making Vee's ability relatable and real. I never once thought that the whole concept behind Vee's ability to slide in and out of people's minds was corny. I was really interested to get to know Vee and I was really glad that Vee wasn't the annoying protagnist that would get on my nerves through most of the book. I really liked Vee's character and was glad to get to know her.

I really enjoyed the mystery behind Sophie's killing. I was all caught up in the journey of finding who did it and why she was killed. I thought the mystery was well written and kept me invested in the entire story. I'm horrible at trying to put the clues together and come up with theories and that wasn't any different with this story. Just when I thought I had a hold on things, I found out that I was wrong on all fronts and because of that, I was kept on my toes and I couldn't read fast enough to find out what would happen.

As much as I enjoyed getting to know Vee, I also really enjoyed the other characters in the book. Zane and Rollins both brought the whole romance thing to the book but I was a bit bummed that there wasn't more romance in this one. The book is mainly focused on the mystery behind Vee's sisters best friend's killing and Vee trying to figure who killed and why it happened. Most everyone thought that Sophie committed suicide but Vee doesn't and she went about her business trying to find some answers.

Overall, this book was a great read. One that I thoroughly enjoyed and I'm totally eager for more. This book was refreshing, compared to what I've been reading lately and I'm so glad that I read it. I definitely recommend this book to anyone, really. It's a good one and I thought Jill Hathaway did a pretty bang up job of weaving this story together and taking the reader on a ride that was enjoyable and interesting at the same time.

..and that's your scoop!

This book was received through NetGalley and is available from Balzer + Bray.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

Review: Girl Meets Boy by Various Authors.

Rowena's review of Girl Meets Boy by Various Authors and edited by Kelly Milner Halls.

What do guys and girls really think? Twelve of the most dynamic and engaging YA authors writing today team up for this one-of-a-kind collection of he said/she said stories he tells it from the guy s point of view, she tells it from the girl s. These are stories of love and heartbreak. There s the good-looking jock who falls for a dangerous girl, and the flipside, the toxic girl who never learned to be loved; the basketball star and the artistic (and shorter) boy she never knew she wanted; the gay boy looking for love online and the girl who could help make it happen. Each story in this unforgettable collection teaches us that relationships are complicated because there are two sides to every story.

The thing that really drew this book to my attention was the cover. I'm a sucker for contemporary YA and the cover was clearly a contemporary YA cover so I got totally sucked in from the first with just the cover (yes, I'm a cover snob) but after reading the blurb, I was definitely interested. This book is a bunch of stories, written in the female and male lead by two authors. Same story, two sides written by one male and female author. It sounded like a pretty good deal so I was totally game for this book.

There were a total six stories and some of the stories I enjoyed while others I didn't. There were stories that I wanted more from and stories that didn't quite hit my happy buttons but overall, I enjoyed the reading experience. I'm not sure which story is my favorite, probably the very first one and that was mainly because the guy had me laughing. I mean, he was just so good looking and he was having such a hard time trying to be a good guy that he wanted to go to therapy for it. I rolled my eyes every other page but at the same time, I was having a good time reading it so that was a good thing. John was too funny and extra cute while Wanda was, well she left a lot to be desired. In her part of the story, I couldn't really connect with Wanda's character. Her character was too off putting for me to sympathize with or even want to be friends with. I think had there been more page time and we got to really dig deep into her story, I would have liked her more. As it was, I didn't like her part of the story at all and it had nothing to do with the way it was written and more with her. I just didn't like her.

I'm not going to get into a detailed run down of what I liked and disliked about each story but I will say this, this collection of short stories is a fun treat when you're in between books. There's a little bit of everything and the way that it's told from two different points of view made it all the more interesting. This book covers all sorts of different situations and I really enjoyed the way that the multi-cultural dating stories were told. There are some authors in this book that I've never heard of but have definitely made it onto my radar and there are authors that I've been itching to try but never got around to and reading their entries in this book made me sit up and take notice of them. I definitely recommend this book to fans of the authors involved and also for fans of contemporary YA, there's a little bit of everything for everyone in this book and it's an overall enjoyable ride so you should definitely give it a go.

..and that's your scoop!

This book is available from Chronicle Books.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

Review: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard.

Rowena's review of Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard.

Main Character: Bria
Love Interest: Rowan
Series: None
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

It all begins with a stupid question:

Are you a Global Vagabond?

No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward.

But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.

Kirsten Hubbard lends her artistry to this ultimate backpacker novel, weaving her drawings into the text. Her career as a travel writer and her experiences as a real-life vagabond backpacking Central America are deeply seeded in this inspiring story.

What a fabulous read this book turned out to be for me. I mean, I had a feeling that I would enjoy this book a lot more than I expected and I'm glad that I wasn't wrong because this book was such a delightful treat. I mean from the way that it was written to the illustrations that were included in the book, this was just so full of awesome.

It was an entertaining read from beginning to end. Bria was an interesting character that I wanted to be friends with and she was definitely the person that I wanted by my side whenever I traveled to far away places. Her thoughts and her voice was so engaging that I ate this book up in no time. She wasn't the most perfect of protagonists but I was okay with that. She jumped to conclusions, she didn't trust Rowan enough but I didn't blame her for any of that stuff because she didn't know Rowan very well and what I liked most about Bria was that she was just so...real. She thought real thoughts, she suffered from real problems and she reacted the way a real person would. I enjoyed getting to know her and I enjoyed reading about her journey through life in this book.

Aside from Bria, I enjoyed the other characters in the book as well. From Rowan to Starling and even Glenna. They were all enjoyable additions to the book and I was glad. They added a bit of color to an already colorful story and it was a fun way to spend a few hours before bed. I enjoyed this book almost as much as if it was a road trip book (and you guys all know how I feel about road trip books).

I hated Toby throughout the book and even though I wished that Bria would have gotten over him a bit sooner than she actually did, I understood why she couldn't shake her feelings and I really liked that she was frustrated with herself for still thinking about him. I liked that she wanted to get over him and I really enjoyed seeing her get over Toby and go after the things she loved before he ruined them for her. When she finally calls her parents to tell them where she was, I loved their reaction. I liked that they knew and were pissed to high heaven at her for not calling sooner. I really liked that they were worried and I was glad that by the time she did call them, she had finally gotten all of her crap under control.

Overall, this book was a treat. I'm oh so glad that I read it and while it wasn't the most perfect of reads, it was an enjoyable story with characters that leaped right off the pages and into my heart. This book gets a high B so kudos to Kirsten Hubbard on a job well done writing this story.

..and that's your scoop!

This book is available from Delacorte.
Buy the book: Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

Review: Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

Rowena's review of Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig.

Main Character: Willa
Love Interest: Aidan
Series: None
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones.

Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”-known to everyone as the Glitterati-without them suspecting a thing, is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected.

The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her-evening the social playing field between the have and have-nots. There’s no time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan.

But when the cops start investigating the string of burglaries at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could he wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

I'll be honest and say that I've never really been into the whole Robin Hood thing but there have been spins on this storyline that I've read in the past and have enjoyed immensely and thought that I would probably enjoy this story as well and while for the most part, I did enjoy it- there were times a plenty that I wanted to smack some dang sense into the books protagonist, Willa.

You see, Willa has never really been filthy rich but when her Mom strikes it big, Willa moves to a preppy new private school and gets in with the Glitterati. The Mean Girls are usually named something unique in every book, sometimes they're the Plastics and sometimes they're the Lipstick Squad or the Populazzi but in this book, they're the Glitterati. When Willa first starts at this new school, I understood why she let herself be dragged into their Mean Girls antics but when they start bullying others and Willa didn't stand up for those people then my interest in her began to waver. I'm glad to say that when Willa wakes up and smells the coffee, she started getting more interesting to me. I mean, the whole "steal from the rich and give to the poor" thing is cute and in this book, is a bit corny but I still enjoyed it anyway.

Willa's character is smart and she had a way about her that I thought was great (when she wasn't getting on my nerves with the Glitterati) and I'm glad that I stuck with this book because it turned out to be a cute and funny read, one that I was glad to have read. This book is was a great weekend read. It had a cute love interest that I didn't get nearly enough of but still enjoyed anyway. The way that Willa came into her own by the end of the book was a great way to spend a few hours of the weekend, out in the bright sunshiny outdoors.

Overall, this book was good and I'm glad that I went ahead and read this book because it was interesting and it was fun and it was just what I was in the mood for over the weekend. I thought Ludwig did a pretty bang up job of keeping me interested in continuing the story even when I wanted to wring Willa's neck so kudos to her on a job well done with this book. I recommend this book to lovers of contemporary YA and to fans of the Robin Hood children's tale. It's a good read.

..and that's your scoop!

This book is available from Harper Teen.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

My Monthly Wish List: March 2012

There are a lot of books coming out this month that I'm greedy for. Here's what I'm looking forward to adding to my TBR pile coming out this month:

Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin

Laugh-out-loud funny high school drama - perfect for fans of Lauren Myracle and Meg Cabot

Let's say you're fourteen and live in New York City. You'd think your life would be like a glamorous TV show, right? And yet . . . You don't have a checking account, much less a personal Black American Express card. You've never been to a club, and the only couture in your closet is a Halloween costume your mom made from an old laundry bag.

In other words? You're Kelsey Finkelstein - fourteen and frustrated. Every time she tries to live up to her awesome potential, her plans are foiled. Kelsey wants to rebrand herself for high school to make the kind of mark she knows is her destiny. But just because Kelsey has a plan for greatness . . . it doesn't mean the rest of the world is in on it.

Kelsey's hilarious commentary and sardonic narration of her freshman year will have readers laughing out loud - while being thankful that they're not in her shoes, of course.

I stopped reading when I saw Meg Cabot. If this book will give me the kind of laughs that Meg Cabot gives me on a book to book basis, I'm in. Lucky for me, I went back and read the rest of the blurb and I'm totally in. So totally, in.

Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler

A teen’s world comes crashing down in this compulsively readable YA debut that’s as literary as it is commercial.

Gabby Gardiner wakes up in a hospital bed looking like a cautionary ad for drunk driving—and without a single memory of the accident that landed her there. But what she can recall, in frank and sardonic detail, is the year leading up to the crash.

As Gabby describes her transformation from Invisible Girl to Trendy Girl Who Dates Billy Nash (aka Most Desirable Boy Ever), she is left wondering: Why is Billy suddenly distancing himself from her? What do her classmates know that Gabby does not? Who exactly was in the car that night? And why has Gabby been left to take the fall?

As she peels back the layers of her life, Gabby begins to realize that her climb up the status ladder has been as intoxicating as it has been morally complex...and that nothing about her life is what she has imagined it to be.

I've been seeing some reviews go up for this book around blog land and they've been interesting enough that I want to add this to my TBR pile now. There's just something about the mysteriousness of having to piece together the night that you'd probably want to forget to move forward with your life that sounds appealing to me. I'm so going to add this to my TBR, eventually. I'm broke right now, haha.

Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser

Two families. Four teens.
A summer full of secrets.

Every summer, hidden away in a lakeside community in upstate New York, four teens leave behind their old identities…and escape from their everyday lives.

Yet back in Philadelphia during the school year, Alex cannot suppress his anger at his father (who killed himself), his mother (whom he blames for it), and the girls who give it up too easily. His younger brother, Kyle, is angry too—at his abusive brother, and at their mother who doesn’t seem to care. Meanwhile, in suburban New Jersey, Katie plays the role of Miss Perfect while trying to forget the nightmare that changed her life. But Julie, her younger sister, sees Katie only as everything she’s not. And their mother will never let Julie forget it.

Up at the lake, they can be anything, anyone. Free. But then Katie’s secret gets out, forcing each of them to face reality—before it tears them to pieces.

I read this book for review and it was a really hard book to get through but I'm glad that I read it. I think it was an interesting book with characters that weren't likeable but you won't be able to help yourself, you'll read the entire book and either love it or hate it. This book will find many lovers and I definitely think it's a book worth giving a shot.

Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

Willa's secret plan seems all too simple.

Take from the rich kids at valley prep and give to the poor ones.

Yet Willa's turn as Robin Hood at her new high school is anything but. Bilking her "friends"—known to everyone as the Glitterati—without them suspecting a thing is far from easy. Learning how to break into lockers and Beemers is as hard as she'd thought it would be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are bullied just for being different, is more fun than she'd expected.

The complication Willa didn't expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, VP's most notorious ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her—evening the social playing field between the haves and have-nots. There's no time for flirting, especially with conceited trust-funders like Aidan. But when the cops start investigating the string of thefts at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could Aidan wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

Elisa Ludwig's Pretty Crooked is the first book in an adventurous teen caper series filled with mystery, humor, and heart.

I read this book and enjoyed it so this book was definitely for you guys. Put it on your wish list, it was cute.

The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George

"Sweet, tender, and true!" - Laurie Halse Anderson

Jesse cuts her own hair with a Swiss Army knife. She wears big green fisherman's boots. She's the founding (and only) member of NOLAW, the National Organization to Liberate All Weirdos. Emily wears sweaters with faux pearl buttons. She's vice president of the student council. She has a boyfriend.

These two girls have nothing in common, except the passionate "private time" they share every Tuesday afternoon. Jesse wishes their relationship could be out in the open, but Emily feels she has too much to lose. When they find themselves on opposite sides of a heated school conflict, they each have to decide what's more important: what you believe in, or the one you love?

This book sounds like all kinds of interesting so I need to read this book like I need to breathe. Really.

Slide by Jill Hathaway

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister's friend Sophie didn't kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn't actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else's mind and experiences the world through that person's eyes. She's slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed "friend" when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie's slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can't bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting distant lately, especially now that she's been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

Can you imagine having this kind of ability and then sliding into the mind of a killer? How disturbing would that be? I've got to read this book, it's a good thing that I got this book for review but I better hurry up and read it before I lose it.

The Stalker Chronicles by Carley Moore

Sophomore Cammie Bliss has long been labeled a stalker by her peers, but when a cute new boy named Toby arrives at her small town high school, Cammie has a chance to be "normal." Trouble is, she can't really help herself and she's up to her old tricks of "intense observation and following" pretty quick. Making things worse, her younger brother is dating one of the most popular girls in the school, her parents have separated, and her dad has begun to watch their house most nights. Cammie has simply got to figure out why she behaves the way she does, and end it once and for all.

This book sounds like it'd be a good read. I mean, a teenage stalker? Sounds like she'd get into a lot of trouble and her adventures would be totally funny so I need to get this book asap.

What books are you looking forward to this month?

..and that's your scoop!

Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

Awesome Goodness at Jennifer Gooch Hummer's blog!

Came across this nifty little tid bit about giveaways with awesome prizes in my email and thought it would be awesome to share with you guys, check it out:

Now through April 6th, when you comment about Girl Unmoored on Jennifer’s blog at www.jennifergoochhummer.com, you’ll be automatically entered into a drawing to win a tote bag stuffed with gifts that blend the hottest 2012 e-reader with totally rad ’80s memorabilia and more! And if you purchase the book (print or e-book) and forward your receipt confirmation to contests@sparkpointstudio.com, your name will be entered to win 10 TIMES! That’s 11 chances to win the following awesome prizes:

- A Kindle Fire, just in time for spring break lounging!
- DVDs of Best Of 80s movies to celebrate the year of Girl Unmoored, 1985
- Copies of Jennifer’s Top 5 YA books: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb; Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson; The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty; and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
- A gift card to 1-800 Flowers in honor of Apron’s summer job at Mike and Chad’s flower shop, Scent Appeal

The winner will be notified and announced the week of April 23rd.

Thought this would be a worthy giveaway to announce on the blog. Keep in mind, this isn't a Book Scoop sponsored giveaway, I'm just spreading the news. Good luck!

..and that's your scoop!

Book Watch: Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot

It’s summer break at New York College, but that doesn’t mean assistant residence hall director Heather Wells can kick back and relax. The students may have gone home, but Fischer Hall is as busy as ever.

Only instead of college freshmen, Heather’s got a dorm full of squealing thirteen- and fourteen-year-old girls—the first ever “Tania Trace Teen Rock Camp,” hosted by pop sensation (newly married to heartthrob Jordan Cartwright, Heather’s ex) Tania Trace.

But when the producer of the reality television show that’s filming Tania’s every move at the camp ends up dead, and it becomes clear Tania was the intended victim, Grant Cartwright, head of Cartwright Records, turns to his son, family black sheep and private investigator Cooper Cartwright, for help, desperate to keep his new daughter-in-law—and company’s highest earning star—alive.

Heather knows perfectly well she’s supposed to leave the detecting to Cooper, her ex’s big brother and her own brand new fiancé. But with hysterical mini divas-in-training freaking out all around her—not to mention their mothers —how can she help but get involved? Especially when Tania Trace herself begins to confide in Heather, revealing a secret that may be a little more "real" than Cartwright Records ever bargained for.

And if an added bonus to solving the crime herself happens to be that Heather can convince Cooper to bury the hatchet with his family and agree to a large wedding, and not the elopement he's been insisting on, so all of Heather's friends can come, then maybe putting her own life on the line to save Tania’s just might turn out to be worth it....

I'm a huge Meg Cabot fan and I absolutely adore her Heather Wells series. I inhaled it years ago and have been ever so hopeful for another book so that I can drool all over Cooper Cartwright all over again. I adored him in the series leading up to the third book and loved him even more (yes, it's possible) in Big Boned. When I heard that she was coming out with another Heather Wells book (thanks to Book Chic for the heads up), I was happy as can be.

When I went to the Passion and Prose event, I got to chat with Meg Cabot herself very briefly about the next book. She's still writing it but she said that it's going well and she hopes to have it finished soon. There's an excerpt for Size 12 and Ready to Rock in the back of the paperback version of Overbite so make sure you get your hands on a copy and get reading because it'll make you squeal with glee (well, I squealed and my daughter looked at me like I was a crazy woman). There's so much to look forward to with this book and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. I've got ants in my pants and I'm gonna do a boogie dance pretty soon.

This book comes out July 10, 2012 so we have just a few months to wait so come do the ants in your pants dance with me. =)

Who's as excited for this book as I am, and Book Chic too?

..and that's your scoop!

This book is available from William Morrow Paperbacks.
Pre-order the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://goodreads.com

Review: Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser

Rowena's review of Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser.

Main Character: Alex, Kyle, Katie and Julie
Love Interest: Julie, Katie, Alex and Kyle (haha, not really but just read the book to find out who the love interests are)
Series: None
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

Two families. Four teens.
A summer full of secrets.

Every summer, hidden away in a lakeside community in upstate New York, four teens leave behind their old identities…and escape from their everyday lives.

Yet back in Philadelphia during the school year, Alex cannot suppress his anger at his father (who killed himself), his mother (whom he blames for it), and the girls who give it up too easily. His younger brother, Kyle, is angry too—at his abusive brother, and at their mother who doesn’t seem to care. Meanwhile, in suburban New Jersey, Katie plays the role of Miss Perfect while trying to forget the nightmare that changed her life. But Julie, her younger sister, sees Katie only as everything she’s not. And their mother will never let Julie forget it.

Up at the lake, they can be anything, anyone. Free. But then Katie’s secret gets out, forcing each of them to face reality—before it tears them to pieces.

This book follows two sets of siblings as they all harp on about how shitty their lives are. Alex and Kyle are brothers who has a Dad who killed himself right after he found out that their Mom was cheating on him. Alex is pissed at the Dad for killing himself and pissed at the Mom for giving him reason to kill himself. Kyle is pissed off at Alex because Alex is such a douche and doesn't understand that Kyle isn't like him, doesn't want to be like him. Katie and Julie are sisters who have a really shitty Mom. Julie is the younger sister who hates living in Katie's shadow and Katie, well Katie is the one with the real problems.

Throughout the entire freaking book, I hated Julie. I wanted her to walk in front of a moving car and not wake up, that's how much I hated her. She was such a jealous little shit and she thought the worst of Katie throughout the entire freaking book. Even when she was being nice to Katie, she wasn't really being nice. She was such a little shithead and I wanted to pull her damn hair and smack her again and again and then she sees Derek in the hall and after she says what she says to him, I wanted to punch her in her face and then run her over in my car, my damn self.

There is so much bad in this book that it was hard to get through. When I say bad, I'm not saying bad writing or bad dialogue or anything like that. I'm talking about bad things that happen. There are secrets that each character keeps from the others, there are bad situations that keep popping up no matter how much the character doesn't want it to, bad words that are spewed back and forth between characters and through it all, my heart hurt for only two of the characters.

Alex is a selfish prick and Julie is a selfish little whore. If there was anyone in this story that needed someone to selflessly be there for them, it was Kyle and it was Katie. There was nothing that Alex could have done to save him in my eyes. There was no redeeming him after the shit he did in this book and the more that I read about him, the more I hated him. I hated the way he thought, the way that he hurt everyone around him, including Katie and Kyle. I just flat out, hated his guts.

This isn't a fluffy, contemporary read with loads of laughs. This is a book that really guts you. It hurts your heart and you get all frustrated but you can't stop reading. It's also one of those books that stays with you after you've read it. It stays and your hurt continues to hurt long after you've finished the book. It's one of those books that makes you think and it makes you want to help something and that's why I'm giving this book a C. I grade books that I review for this blog on my enjoyment of this book. I can't say that I enjoyed this book but I can say that this book made me sit up and think. It made me take a step back and wonder about snap judgements that I've made in the past and it made me realize that I've been guilty of this from time to time but it's also made me want to change that. This book isn't an enjoyable book but it's still good and I'm glad that I read it.

My favorite part of this book is the end. There's a wealth of hope in those last couple of chapters and I was glad for it. There's so much ugly in this book (both in thought and deeds) but the wealth of hope at the end makes the reading experience a little better and I'm glad.

..and that's your scoop!

This book is available from Flux.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

Review: The Lifeguard by Deborah Blumenthal

Rowena's review of The Lifeguard by Deborah Blumenthal.

Main Character: Sirena
Love Interest: Pilot
Series: None
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

It's an unsettled summer for Sirena. Back in Texas, her family's splitting apart, but here in Rhode Island, at the cottage of her aunt, it's a different world. There are long days at the beach and intriguing encounters with Pilot, the lifeguard with shamanic skills. Sirena explores her obsession with Pilot and discovers his mysterious--almost magical--gifts.

This book wasn't the light and fluffy read that I was expecting (and hoping for, truth be told) but that didn't stop me from reading this book. This book follows Sirena as she heads to Rhode Island to stay with her Aunt for the summer while her parents (who are divorcing) move out of their house. The way that this story is told, is really slow. The story unfolds so slowly and yet, I couldn't put this book down. I had to know what was going to happen next. I had to know what Sirena was going to do next in her obsession with Pilot. I had to know Pilot more and I just kept right on turning the pages even though I wanted the storyline to hurry up and move along.

Sirena is an interesting character, she's nudged by her Aunt to volunteer at the hospital even though it's the last thing she wants to do. She draws and paints on the beach, she swims and over the course of the summer, she changes into a person that she doesn't quite recognize but appreciates anyway. At first, it was hard to sympathize with Sirena because you don't know what she knows, you don't understand why she feels and thinks the way that she does and she drove me crazy with well, everything but never once did I hate her. I probably should have because she did some things that drove me up the wall but I got over it.

I will say this, Deborah Blumenthal wrote a book that I couldn't put down. She wrote a story that was interesting enough with characters that were interesting enough that I wanted to continue the story but once the story was finished, it was easy for me to move on. I was glad that I read it and I was glad that I finished it but I didn't want to stay in the world that she created for Pilot and Sirena. I was happy to leave them be and move on. When I really enjoy a story, it's hard for me to move on from the world but I didn't have any trouble with this book.

It was good while it lasted and even though I didn't really get Pilot and his special powers it was interesting to see him in his element though there was a lot about him that I didn't like. The whole thing with Adriana and then with Sirena, that whole situation left a bad taste in my mouth and not because I thought Pilot was two timing Sirena but because Sirena assumed so much and just reacted on her emotions (her jealous ones) and it drove me crazy, it drove her to do some stupid things. I did enjoy getting to know Aunt Ellie and even Antonio but I was also happy when I finished. It's hard to explain but that's how I feel. I'd be hard pressed to recommend this book to readers but I will say this, it may not be the most perfect of stories but it was definitely not the worst.

..and that's your scoop!

This book was received through NetGalley and is available from Albert Whitman & Company.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://goodreads.com

Review: Tessa Masterson WILL Go to Prom by Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin

Rowena's review of Tessa Masterson WILL Go to Prom by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin.

Main Character: Tessa, Luke
Love Interest: ??
Series: None

Lucas and Tessa’s friendship is the stuff of legend in their small Midwestern town. So it’s no surprise when Lucas finally realizes his feelings for Tessa are more than friendship and he asks her to prom. What no one expected, especially Lucas, was for Tessa to come out as a lesbian instead of accepting his heartfelt invitation. Humiliated and confused, Lucas also feels betrayed that his best friend kept such an important secret from him.

What’s worse is Tessa’s decision to wear a tastefully tailored tuxedo to escort her female crush, sparking a firestorm of controversy. Lucas must decide if he should stand on the sidelines or if he should stand by his friend to make sure that Tessa Masterson will go to prom.

This book was a surprising read for me. I went into it thinking that it was going to be a fluffy read but it wasn't, not really. It was a book that made me stop and think. It made me evaluate the way that I treat others and the way that I want to be treated. While both Tessa and Luke drove me nuts in the book, I ended up liking their characters. I really felt that they learned a lot throughout this book and I enjoyed getting to know them. There were a few things that drove me crazy but I'm glad that I pressed through and kept reading.

Why wasn't it okay for Luke to be mad at Tessa for not telling him that she was gay? I mean, was he supposed to read her mind? If they were best friends, why couldn't she be up front with him? Why couldn't she share this about herself with him? She didn't have a lot of faith in him and in their friendship if she couldn't trust him with this information. I get that it's not something that you can just drop on something but they have been friends for YEARS, not once did she think he deserved the truth?

I would have sympathized with Tessa more if she would have come out and said something to Luke, instead of hurting him the way that she did. I guess when she instantly jumped to conclusions about what Luke was out telling everyone, it pissed me off. I mean, this is your best friend. You expected him to just know about you and give you the benefit of the doubt but you didn't do the same for him? That was my big issue with Tessa's thought processes. I wasn't mad that she was gay, I wasn't even mad that she turned Luke down. I was mad at how she just expected him to know everything about her when she didn't tell him anything and then got mad at him for what she "thought" he was out saying or doing.

I mean, he's heart broken because he had feelings for his best friend and when he comes clean about those feelings, she tells him she's gay and just shrugs his feelings off. When we're in her head, she doesn't come across like she's sorry that he's hurt. She comes across as pre-occupied with the real Tessa coming out. She's hid herself from everyone in her life and now she's ready to come out and that's all fine and dandy but you coming out of the closet came at the cost of your best friend's heart. He misread everything about your friendship, he thought you felt the same way about him (and can you really blame him?) but he was wrong on all fronts and instead of being there for him, or bulldozing her way back into his life to be there for him, she was out shopping for a tux for prom. I didn't get the feeling that she was worried about Luke and his broken heart...and it made me mad at her.

Then when she's trying to come out to her parents, her brother comes in and spills the beans about everyone knowing about her buying the tux and going to prom with a girl and how Luke doesn't look good and the first thing that comes to Tessa's mind is, "OMG, I can just imagine what Luke is telling everyone."

WTF? Seriously?

But then Luke goes and pisses me off too. He's angry at Tessa for all the years of not coming clean about her sexuality and he's angry because he's heart broken but the way that he handled Tessa's coming out at first, pissed me right off too. After all, Tessa was still his best friend. He cares for her and he's likes her (like that too) but the way that he handled the situation of her buying two prom tickets made me want to kick him in the teeth. In the hallway, in the locker room. I wanted to kick him in the nads and make him cry like the baby he was.

His comments to the school newspaper writer made me want to punch him in the teeth because he came off as pathetic and stupid instead of, well, whatever he wanted to come off as.

The one person that I did adore was Danny. He was such a good brother to Tessa. He was generally a good person overall. He was the perfect brother and I applaud the way that he went after Luke the way that he did. The things he did were driven by love and I could never be mad at that. At first, Tessa was driven through the need to stop hiding and whoever got hurt because of that wasn't really on her radar. Luke was driven by hurt and anger at Tessa which I didn't agree with at all but Danny, Danny loved Tessa first and foremost and that was all that mattered to him. I adored that.

It was really surprising to see the way some of the people in the town reacted to Tessa's coming out. The things that were said and the way that she was treated surprised and horrified me. While I didn't agree with how selfish she was with Luke's feelings, she didn't deserve any of the treatment that she received from the people in town. I really grew to hate that stupid Jennifer hag with her pink lipstick. I wanted to beat the crap out of her.

There were a lot of things that happened in this book that drove me crazy. The way that both Tessa and Luke were so wrapped up in their own selves didn't leave much to be desired but as the story progressed, I really fell into their stories. Tessa was a courageous young woman who needed her best friend to understand where she was coming and Luke reacted too fast to the hurt that came from having feelings for your best friend and then finding out that the person you trusted with every part of you didn't trust you the same way. Seeing the two of them find their way was an interesting way to spend a few hours.

This book opened my eyes to loads of things and I really enjoyed the ride. This book had me all over the place, there were highs and there were lows but I enjoyed the overall story here. I thought both Franklin and Halpin did a great job of telling this story. It's the first book that I've read that covers the whole coming out of the closet read and I'm glad that I read it. It opened my eyes to a lot of what's going on in the news these days. All of the bullying, all of the it gets better stuff, I got a better understanding of it all and I'm glad for it.

..and that's your scoop!

This book was received through NetGalley and is available from Walker and Company.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

Review: Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby

Rowena's review of Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby.

Main Character: Jo
Love Interest: ??
Series: None
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

Meet Josephine Foster, or Zo Jo as she’s called in the biz. The best pint-sized photographer of them all, Jo doesn’t mind doing what it takes to get that perfect shot, until she’s sent on an undercover assignment to shoot Ned Hartnett—teen superstar and the only celebrity who’s ever been kind to her—at an exclusive rehabilitation retreat in Boston. The money will be enough to pay for Jo’s dream: real photography classes, and maybe even quitting her paparazzi gig for good. Everyone wants to know what Ned’s in for. But Jo certainly doesn’t know what she’s in for: falling in love with Ned was never supposed to be part of her assignment.

I'm not a big fan on the whole big secret storyline and I really wasn't a big fan of it in this story but Rushby did a great job of making me more interested in how everything would pan out than in getting all fueled up on Jo's big secret.

Jo is a paparazzo, trying to earn a living and save up for school. She has big plans for her future and she's doing what she needs to do to make sure that the future she wants becomes a reality. Her father is a paparazzo and has big plans for Jo following in his footsteps but Jo's plans don't mesh with the plans her father wants for her and that doesn't stop her from going after her dreams. When she is presented with a job that pays big money, she takes it even though the celebrity she has to go undercover to photograph is one of the only celebrities that has been good to her.

She's not exactly thrilled with this job but if she takes the job, she'd get the money she needs to ensure that she can pay for college and take the classes she wants to take. So she takes the job, goes undercover at a rehab to take undercover pictures of Ned Hartnett. She wasn't planning on getting close enough to Ned to actually get to know him but that's exactly what happens.

This book was a cute book that I ended up enjoying more than I thought I would. Jo was a good character that did boneheaded things and made things right in the end. I really enjoyed getting to know her character and I loved the relationship that blossomed between her and Ned. Rushby did a fabulous job of surprising you at every turn because I went into the book thinking one thing and was pleasantly surprised when I was wrong.

I enjoyed getting to know everyone at the rehab and I enjoyed seeing Jo get close to her roommate Katrina. Overall, the story was enjoyable and ended the way that it was supposed to end. I loved Jake, Ned, Jo and I liked that things with Ned/Jake turned out the way that it was supposed to and I really enjoyed the way that everything panned out.

I wish that I could have traveled at the drop of a dime the way that Jo did, I wish we could have gotten more page time with her Dad but she had a good support system with Wendy and Manny so it was nice to see that there were people in her life that really cared about her (including her Dad). I wasn't a fan of Melissa and ML Entertainment but I was glad that they got what was coming to them (well, you know what I mean).

It wasn't the most perfect of stories but it was still enjoyable and I'm glad that I read it. I look forward to reading more books by Allison Rushby.

..and that's your scoop!

This book was received through NetGalley and is available from Bloomsbury.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

Happy Birthday Izzy!

Today is a very special for one of my best friends. Goodness, we've been friends for about ten years now, huh Izzy? We met on an author's board back in 2002-2003 and have been the best of friends since. She's one of the most caring people that I know and she just had a baby and I'm super thrilled for her since she's been trying for so long to start a family with her husband.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IZ!

I hope you have a fantastic day and enjoy your dinner tonight with Joey. Tell him I said to take extra special care of you tonight because you deserve a night out on the town (even though you're a cheap date) love you mucho and this one is most definitely for you!!

Seeing this guy never gets old, does it? Haha.

..and that's your scoop!