Waiting on Wednesday (42)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

From Goodreads:

Darcy Patel has put college and everything else on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. Arriving in New York with no apartment or friends she wonders whether she's made the right decision until she falls in with a crowd of other seasoned and fledgling writers who take her under their wings… Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel, a suspenseful thriller about Lizzie, a teen who slips into the 'Afterworld' to survive a terrorist attack. But the Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead and as Lizzie drifts between our world and that of the Afterworld, she discovers that many unsolved - and terrifying - stories need to be reconciled. And when a new threat resurfaces, Lizzie learns her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she loves and cares about most.

Afterworlds sounds absolutely, one hundred percent perfect for me. First of all, Scott Westerfeld is an awesome guy and a fantastic writer. Second of all, this book is actually two books! There's the book about Darcy, and the book that Darcy actually writes. How cool is that?! Thirdly, Afterworlds is about a teenage author, which totally appeals to me because I'm a teenager who loves to write. And finally, this book is about NaNoWriMo and book publishing. I've participated in NaNoWriMo for the past three years, and I hope to have a career in the book publishing industry in some capacity when I'm older.

So, clearly this book was written for me specifically. :) I'm so ridiculously excited to read it, and I'm not sure I can handle its super far away release! (Although, rumor has it there will be ARCs at BEA...Fingers crossed I'll be able to snag a copy!)

What are you waiting on this week? Leave links to your WoW posts below so I can check them out!

Random Ramble: Bonding With Your Children Through Books (GUEST POST!)

Today on the blog we have a very special guest post from none other than my mom. You may remember her as the totally awesome person who transports us to and from signings in New York City because she is the best mom ever. Without her, we would probably attempt to walk all the way to New York, so thanks for making sure we don't die trying to get ourselves to the city Mom! Without further ado, here's her post about how she has bonded with her kids through books.

Bonding through Books

Hi all, I am Megan's mom. The girls were nice enough to let me join their blog to answer some of the many questions that I get asked being a parent of a book-aholic and maybe help some other parents bond with their kids over books.

The first assumption many people make is that I too am a prolific reader and that must be where Megan's love of reading originated. The fact is, I am partially dyslexic and reading had always been a struggle for me so no, I don't read often. If anything, Megan has gotten me to read more. Whether it is meeting an author at a book signing, or simply listening to Megan, Rachel and Katherine talk non-stop about books I have become a YA fan myself. The category didn't exist when I was a YA (we won't mention how old I am now). Back then there were just "books" and most of what we read for school were "the classics", which I often had trouble relating to. I am glad there are authors today writing about topics everyone can relate to.

I am also so thankful for the authors, publishers, bookstore owners and other people in the literature world that have encouraged and supported the girls in their efforts working on this blog. It is one thing to hear stories and receive pats on the back from your Mom, but a totally different thing when an author or publisher takes the time to speak with them. Everyone has always been so nice, enthusiastic and reassuring.  I have come to look forward to our trips to signings and talks almost as much as the girls.

One of my favorite memories is sitting in bumper to bumper traffic for three hours trying to get through the Lincoln Tunnel on our way to Books of Wonder, our favorite bookstore. Normally, the trip door-to-door isn't more than 1.5 hours, but this day we were within eye site of the tunnel, but just sat there. As the start of the book signing neared the tension in the car grew. We had brought my son with us this trip (his first and only book signing adventure) and every few minutes he would look at the GPS and read the estimated time of arrival out loud to the group. "We only have five more miles guys, we will be there in 10 minutes." The problem was the car wasn't moving so this little tidbit was as accurate as it was helpful. I wasn't sure if the girls were going to strangle him or jump out of the car and try to swim the Hudson instead. In the end, we did make it in time, the girls were on cloud nine, and all ended well. This is now a continual joke with each trip into NYC and is a memory I will cherish forever. Some people say the girls are lucky I offer to bring them into the city etc., but in reality I am the lucky one - they have let me share a piece of their world and I treasure it.

What do you think about bonding with children through books? Have you bonded with your parents/kids through a love of reading and books? Let us know in the comments below! 

Rachel Rambles About Maybe One Day

Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor
From Goodreads:
Zoe and her best friend, Olivia, have always had big plans for the future, none of which included Olivia getting sick. Still, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her friend.

Even when she isn't sure what to say.

Even when Olivia misses months of school.

Even when Zoe starts falling for Calvin, Olivia's crush.

The one thing that keeps Zoe moving forward is knowing that Olivia will beat this, and everything will go back to the way it was before. It has to. Because the alternative is too terrifying for her to even imagine.

In this incandescent page-turner, which follows in the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars, Melissa Kantor artfully explores the idea that the worst thing to happen to you might not be something that is actually happening to you. Raw, irreverent, and honest, Zoe's unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.

Warning: this book will make you sob uncontrollably. (In a good way.)

Maybe One Day is about a friendship between two teenage girls, and what happens to that friendship when one of the girls gets diagnosed with cancer. But don't worry, it's not a super sappy cancer book. The most important thing about Maybe One Day is the friendship. I love a good friendship story, and I think it's important to seek them out amid all the romance stories in Young Adult books (and even media in general) these days.

Zoe and Olivia have been best friends for most of their lives, and as a result, their friendship is natural and raw and realistic. Everyone who has ever had a best friend can relate to some part of this book. Zoe and Olivia's relationship undergoes a lot of change throughout this story, and the book portrays the ups and downs and twists and turns of their friendship. The way the two girls interact with each other feels so normal. There is no awkward dialogue or unrealistic wisdom; it's just two teenage girls joking around and getting annoyed with each other and comforting each other. It seems like most books about cancer focus on romantic love, so it was refreshing to read a book about cancer that focuses on love between friends.

While the summary implies that Zoe's relationship with love interest Calvin is a major part of the book, that is not totally accurate. This book is not about a romance, so Calvin's role as love interest is quite small. In a book so focused on friendship, there simply isn't room for a romance, for which I was grateful. I was worried that Calvin would steal the spotlight away from Olivia and Zoe, but he didn't. His role in the story is certainly important, but there was no unnecessary romance in Maybe One Day.

In addition to the focus on friendship, Maybe One Day tells an important story about family. Olivia's family has to cope with her cancer, and this book shows the power of familial love. I love stories that have strong familial themes, so I was delighted to find that this book includes a lot of moments with Olivia's parents and siblings, as well as Zoe's parents.

While this book isn't super sappy, it does have its sad moments. The last fifty pages or so of Maybe One Day made me sob hysterically. Not my most dignified moment, but hey, how awesome is it that a stack of paper made me feel that way? Bravo, Melissa Kantor, for bringing the feels.

Maybe One Day is an emotional and powerful story. I haven't cried this much reading a book since The Fault in Our Stars, so if you're ready for that kind of emotional pain, then by all means, get thee to a bookstore and pick up a copy of Maybe One Day.

Empower: Fight Like a Girl Cover Reveal

Today I'm revealing the cover of a book I just found out about a few days ago, but am now super excited to read. It sounds awesome, and the cover is awesome too.

Praise for Empower: Fight Like A Girl

"Even non-girls will feel empowered by these stories about ordinary, flawed characters finding their own strengths. Highly entertaining and original." - Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author of The Chase and King City, whose mother lost her hearing to lupus.

Women of TV have united against lupus! Presenting Empower: Fight Like A Girl, a special collection of short stories by top women writers from some of your favorite shows, including: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Family Guy, Person of Interest, Grimm, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Law & Order: SVU, Star Trek: Voyager, Eureka, Twisted, The 100, Malcolm in the Middle, Millennium, Being Human, The Shield, Castle, Chuck, Gilmore Girls, and Game of Thrones. In this anthology, you'll discover supernatural thrillers, crime mysteries, horror, comedies, and more.

Authors contributing stories to this volume include:

Amy Berg

Cherry Chevapravatdumrong

Akela Cooper

Liz Edwards

Jane Espenson

Shalisha Francis & Nadine Knight

Lisa Klink

Pang-Ni Landrum

Lauren LeFranc

Kam Miller

Jess Pineda

Jennifer Quintenz

Lisa Randolph

Kay Reindl

Kira Snyder

Jeane Wong

All proceeds will be donated to the non-profit Lupus Foundation of America to help solve the cruel mystery of lupus.

I'm glad I found out about this book, because it sounds like something I'll really enjoy! What do you guys think of the cover? Do you plan on reading this book? Let me know down in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday (41)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

From Goodreads: ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID. 

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last installment of the Mortal Instruments series!

I think I speak for both myself and Rachel when I say we have never been more eagerly anticipating a book in our lives. I just know that CoHF is going to be amazing and rip my heart to shreds. I've never been more excited or afraid to read a book before. It's the end of an era.

What are you waiting on this week? Leave links to WoW posts below and I'll check them out!

Megan Rambles About Perfect Lies

Perfect Lies by Kiersten White
From Goodreads: Annie and Fia are ready to fight back.

The sisters have been manipulated and controlled by the Keane Foundation for years, trapped in a never ending battle for survival. Now they have found allies who can help them truly escape. After faking her own death, Annie has joined a group that is plotting to destroy the Foundation. And Fia is working with James Keane to bring his father down from the inside.

But Annie's visions of the future can't show her who to trust in the present. And though James is Fia's first love, Fia knows he's hiding something. The sisters can rely only on each other - but that may not be enough to save them.

It's no secret that I'm a huge Kiersten White fan. She has such a unique fun way of writing and her characters are always so strong and sassy that I can't help but love every book she writes. Obviously after loving Mind Games I had high expectations for Perfect Lies and it did not disappoint!

Perfect Lies kept up with the fast pace of the first book and jumped right in almost immediately after Mind Games ended with two separate timelines. In one timeline, the before, Fia and Annie are separated and each dealing with the aftermath of their wild escape from the Keane Foundation at the end of Mind Games. The other timeline takes place several weeks after their escape. Jumping between these two timelines allows for the reader to know what Fia is up to while in the next chapter Annie is a week in the past wondering what the heck is going on. If this sounds confusing, it was at times, but I thought it added an extra benefit to the story with the timelines getting closer and closer together I couldn't help but feel like I was rushing towards a huge event without any way of stopping or slowing down. 

In addition to the alternating timelines, the book also continues alternating between the two sister's point of views. This offers a unique insight into each girl's perspective on the events as they unfold. Annie and Fia both have a very different way of telling the story and having the book alternate points of view helps readers to get a more complete idea of what is going on. This also helped to counteract any confusion from the separate timelines.

Above everything else, this duo is about Annie and Fia and their relationship as sisters. They aren't perfect and they have both hurt each other. In Perfect Lies, Fia is desperately trying to save her sister and put an end to their problems once and for all while Annie is trying to keep Fia from getting in too deep with the Keane Foundation and getting herself killed. Seeing their relationship throughout this novel while they were separated was even more beautiful because how deeply they care for each other was on display. Annie and Fia would, and do, sacrifice anything and everything for each other  and their relationship is the best part of the book. It's such a nice change to have a book focused on two sisters instead of a romance. 

Kiersten White also handled her characters' emotional states beautifully. After everything she has had to do Fia is mentally broken up and it shows in the writing when the book is in her point of view. Her thoughts are choppy and don't always string together perfectly and I loved the way Kiersten White wrote her side of the story. Annie also developed well as a character. She was frustrated with her inability to do things herself as a result of her blindness and started demanding that people help her learn how to fend for herself. By the end of the novel she was a lot stronger and had grown up to meet the challenges that were thrown at her and her sister. 

While readers will learn more about some minor characters in Mind Games, Perfect Lies was mainly centered on the relationship between two sisters and the unbreakable bond that they share. I loved reading about the two of them and highly recommend picking up a copy of Mind Games and Perfect Lies if you haven't already! 

Rachel Rambles About The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
From Goodreads:
"If you ain't scared, you ain't human." 

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's surrounded by strangers--boys whose memories are also gone.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It's the only way out--and no one's ever made it through alive.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

I've had The Maze Runner sitting on my shelf for years, but it wasn't until everyone started buzzing about the movie and I was invited to participate in a readalong* that I finally got around to picking it up. I was wary of this book because I didn't think it was "my kind of book," but I needn't have worried because I ended up really enjoying this book.

The Maze Runner is exciting and action-packed, with mystery and suspense on every page. It's fast and fun while also being disturbing and terrifying. Most importantly, it sucks you in and doesn't let go.

The Maze Runner was a bit of a slow start for me. I had a hard time getting into the story because it was super confusing. I thought the setting was strange, the language the characters used made no sense, and the main character was annoyingly clueless. However, looking back, I can appreciate this rough start. In the beginning of the book, the main character was confused and scared and uncomfortable, so it makes sense that the book was written in such a way that the readers felt the same. It makes it easy to relate to Thomas, and as he starts to understand more of the world he's thrown into, so do the readers.

Once I got over that rocky patch in the beginning, I was completely hooked by the story. Something exciting seems to happen on every page, and there's no time for the readers or the characters to relax or take a break from the action. This book is difficult to tear yourself away from because you can't help but feel desperate for answers and explanations as to what happens next. The pacing of this book is fantastic. It's fast, but not too fast that things start to get rushed or confusing. 

The Maze Runner is full of mystery and suspense. Without spoiling anything, the characters spend the book trying to solve the mystery of the maze, a feat that seems impossible. While I was reading, I was unable to form theories or predictions because the mystery was too outlandish to solve. I just had to keep reading and wait for everything to come together, which was frustrating, but in a good way. The story is so complex that everything came as a surprise to both me and the characters, and there were so many crazy plot twists that made me gasp out loud as I was reading.

The best thing about this book is the setting. The world-building in The Maze Runner is some of the best world-building I've ever experienced. I don't want to talk about it too much because it's something I think you should read about for yourself, but I was incredibly impressed by the details of the Glade and the maze and everything about the world Thomas lives in. James Dashner managed to provide full and vivid descriptions of the world without having super long, boring paragraphs in which he described everything. He'd regularly drop in little details throughout the whole novel, so the reader gleaned bits and pieces of descriptions at a time until it eventually all came together in one large, clear image.

The Maze Runner has action, mystery, and suspense. It's weird and disturbing and confusing and exciting. The setting is unique and wonderfully written, and the story is fascinating and unlike anything else I've ever read. I had my doubts about The Maze Runner, but I'm happy to report that I loved it. I'm definitely looking forward to continuing on with the rest of the series.

*Thanks to Cassie at My Thoughts... Literally! for hosting!