Waiting on Wednesday (33)

Waiting on Wednesday

She Said/She Saw by: Norah McClintock

Coming on: March 1st 2011

Summary: Tegan was in the backseat when her two best friends were gunned down in front of her. Was it an argument over drugs? An ongoing feud? Or something more random? Tegan says she didn't see who did it. Or know why. Nobody will believe her. Not the police; not her friends; not the families of the victims; and not even Kelly, her own sister. Is she afraid that the killer will come back? Or does she know more than she is saying?

Shunned at school and feeling alone, Tegan must sort through her memories and try to decide what is real and what is imagined. And in the end she must decide whether she has the strength to stand up and do the right thing.

This looks really exciting. I wonder what happened to Tegan's friends. Was there even a killer or was it her friends like the summary? I also wonder what the outcome will be to this crime or if the killer comes back. I'm going to have to get this for my birthday! :)

Quad by: C.G. Watson

Quad by: C.G. Watson

Published: May 10, 2007 by Razorbill

Summary:

Everything led up to this moment—the point when the teasing, the cruelty, the pressure all became too much. And someone finally snapped.

Now six students, from six different cliques, are trapped in the student store while a shooter terrorizes their school. The shooter's identity is teased out through the students' flashbacks until the reader breathlessly reaches the final page. It's only there that he discovers the shocking answer to the question: Who is shooting out in the quad?

This gripping thriller by educator C. G. Watson is inspired by observations made in her own high school. Quad examines in heartrending detail how even the most casual cruelties can tear people apart.

Review: Quad was a very surprising read that was filled with such anger, that by the end I wanted to punch a couple of characters in the face.

Forced to seek shelter after shots are fired at their high school, Ranger, Ken, Maggie, Sage, Calvert, and Christopher are forced to take shelter in the school store. All six kids are from six different cliques. They know that it has to be one of their friends. Could it be Stone on a steroid rage? Or Perry the choirboy with a vengeance? Or Rufus, the freak with a score to settle?

I didn't expect much from this with Quad since I didn't hear much about it,but it really blew me away. I would find myself scrambling through pages to find out what would happen next. With this book, you are brought back and forth from the past and the present. I really loved this because it gave you more insight on what happened to the character before and what was happening in the quad. I could really see this becoming a movie.

There were a ton of POVs for this, but I felt that most of the characters were highly developed. My favorite would probably be Ranger, I found him to be funny and the kind of person I would hang out with. I also liked Paisley, Sage, Hayley, Ken and Theo. These people were all normal, nice people and when I needed to, I sympathized them. I hated Maggie the most I think. She was a loser who thought she was different but was just like the mean guys. Speaking of the mean kids, boy oh boy, what I would give to slap Brittany and Nicole! Gosh, these girls took mean to a whole new level! And Stone...let's just say by the end I wanted to kick him where the sun don't shine.

The only problem I had with this was the ending. Yes, I never saw it coming, but it left me with so many questions. I felt that there should have been an epilogue or at least one more chapter.

Overall: 4.5 stars

You can find out more about the author and book here.

Waiting on Wednesday (32)

Waiting on Wednesday

My pick this week:

I'm Not Her by: Janet Gurtler

Coming out: May 1, 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire

Summary: “For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel envy…”

Tess is the exact opposite of her beautiful, athletic sister. And that’s okay. Kristina is the sporty one, Tess is the smart one, and they each have their place. Until Kristina is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly Tess is the center of the popular crowd, everyone eager for updates. There are senior boys flirting with her. Yet the smiles of her picture-perfect family are cracking and her sister could be dying. Now Tess has to fill a new role: the strong one. Because if she doesn’t hold it together, who will?

Janet Gurtler tests the bonds of sisterhood in this moving debut that readers of Jodi Picoult and Sarah Dessen will savor

This looks heartbreaking. From looking at the title on Goodreads, I knew that this would have to be one to check out. I can't help to feel bad for Tess. She's always felt second best to her sister and when she finally come first it's when her sister is dying. I wonder what will happen to Tess's sister and how Tess faces her new found popularity. This is a must-read for me.

Waiting on Wednesday (31)

Waiting on Wednesday

My Pick This Week is:

Pink by: Lili Wilkinson

Coming out: February 8, 2011 by HarperCollins

Summary:

Ava has a secret. She is tired of her ultracool attitude, ultra-radical politics, and ultrablack clothing. She's ready to try something new—she's even ready to be someone new. Someone who fits in, someone with a gorgeous boyfriend, someone who wears pink.

Transferring to Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence is the perfect chance to try on a new identity. But just in case things don't work out, Ava is hiding her new interests from her parents, and especially from her old girlfriend.

Secrets have a way of being hard to keep, though, and Ava finds that changing herself is more complicated than changing her wardrobe. Even getting involved in the school musical raises issues she never imagined. As she faces surprising choices and unforeseen consequences, Ava wonders if she will ever figure out who she really wants to be.

Humor, heart, and the joys of drama—on- and offstage—combine in Ava's delight-fully colorful journey of self-discovery.

I've been waiting for this one since I've read a review of this months ago. I love books with the idea of a "do-over" I guess you can say and seeing a goth girl try to become one of the things she's suppose to hate the most, popular. This looks like a fun read, I have to pick this up next month.

Books Read In 2011

1. The Aristobrats by: Jennifer Solow

2. Quad by: C.G. Watson

3. Coffeehouse Angel by:Suzanne Selfors

4. Forget You by: Jennifer Echols

The Aristobrats by: Jennifer Solow

The Aristobrats by: Lauren Solow

Published: September 1, 2010 by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Other books in this series: Stay Pretty Wallingford (coming out June 1, 2011)

Summary:

Parker Bell has been waiting her whole life for Eighth Grade – she’s finally at the very top of the populadder at Wallingford Academy and her Facebook Friend count has never been higher. A second generation Wally (what most people call an “Aristobrat”), Parker is determined to use her status to champion the underpopular. But when Parker and her three best friends are mysteriously assigned to produce the highly academic (and seriously bleh) webcast, she watches in horror as their spot on the populadder plummets.

The girls will do whatever it takes to save their reputations, even if it means masterminding a plan to get kicked off the project. But when their predicament gets even worse, they just might realize that true friendship means more than status.

Review: I was scared to get into The Aristobrats. I thought it would be a The Clique rip-off, but while it was different, it still had a Cliquey feel. Overall, though, I was very surprised with this.

This is they year for Parker and her friends to shine. Finally, in eight grade, Parker, Ikea, Kiki, and Plum are ready to make it their best year yet. But their plans are soon canceled when their principal,Ms. Hotchkiss, names them the producers of their school's broadcast. Almost immediately, their population drags down dramatically. All of the people who they used to call friends ditch them and start making fun of them. So much for the best year ever.

The Aristobrats was a great book. I have to say, I fell in love with all of the characters. I also loved how the main characters were very different. Parker, the girl with money problems struggling to stay in Wallingford, Ikea, the smart one, Kiki, the fashion-forward one,and Plum, the tom-boy. I loved how through their differences they were still best friends. Now, I'm going to say it, I think one of my favorite characters in this was Kenneth. He made me laugh so hard whenever he came into the book. I wish he was in it more though.

The only problem I really had with this was the slow beginning. It took me a couple of chapters to really get into this and I just really didn't think too much of the girls in the beginning. I thought that they were annoying and just like The Clique! But when you get deeper into this, you find out that they are actually N I C E. They aren't bitches and actually behave like girls my age. Which is a huge up in my book.

Overall: 4 stars

You can learn more about Jennifer Solow and The Aristobrats here.

The DUFF by: Kody Keplinger

The DUFF by: Kody Keplinger

Published: September 7,2010 by Poppy

Other books by this author: Luststruck (coming out somwhere this year) and A Midsummer's Nightmare ( 2012)

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.

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

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Review: The DUFF was an amazing read. It felt raw and emotional and left me begging for more.

Bianca has never felt like the prettiest girl,especially when she's with her two gorgeous best friends, Casey and Jessica. She's just fine with this fact until her school's play-boy Wesley,calls her the DUFF. DUFF, which stands for "Designated Ugly Fat Friend." Bianca just pours her drink over him and tries to forget about it,but she can't. Soon the nickname and family troubles get to Bianca's head and she leans on Wesley for support. Soon, Bianca finds herself actually falling for Wesley.

This book was amazing, Bianca has to be one of my favorite female protagonists that I read about this year. Her I don't care attitude never got annoying and I found her sarcasm to be really funny. I really loved all of the characters in this. Wesley may have been slimy but I still couldn't help myself to sympathize him. Casey and Jessica were great friends who I totally would love to meet. Not only did I love Bianca, but I really felt bad for her. As much as I hated her mom, I still felt bad for her and Bianca's dad melted my heart.

I really loved the narration in this, too. Bianca felt very realistic. All I was expecting from The DUFF was a mis-matched romance but it was a lot more than that, which made me really happy.

Overall: 5 stars

*And yes, this does have a lot of sex and cursing. I was a bit nervous to read it because I usually shy away from books that have sex in them, but I was fine with this.