Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 59

Bibliomancy for Beginners’ “13 Days of Misfortune”: Day 1

Hey guys! I promised you a special event from the Bibliomancers, and here it is! We are analyzing and discussing each book in Lemony’s Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events – you know, as scientifically as we ever do. Today is Day 1, and we are taking apart The Bad Beginning. I can’t wait to have some fun!

Review: “Pippi Longstocking” by Astrid Lindgren

Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Longstocking #1) by Astrid Lindgren

Goodreads | Amazon

Tommy and his sister Annika have a new neighbor, and her name is Pippi Longstocking. She has crazy red pigtails, no parents to tell her what to do, a horse that lives on her porch, and a flair for the outrageous that seems to lead to one adventure after another!

Two stars

There is nothing more terrifying than reading a book you know your teacher adores but you instantly know from the first page you … won’t. That’s what happened to me with this book.

I had never read Pippi before this class that I took this year. I had watched the animated tv show that was on a while back, and maybe one movie, so I was familiar with the general storyline. I just wasn’t aware how much the creators of those programs had made Pippi likeable. Because let me tell you, she is NOT likeable in the book.

My mother might tell you that this is completely hypocritical, but I cannot stand screaming and belligerent children. Pippi wants to be the Queen of the Pirates, but what she really is would be the Queen of the Spoiled Brats. Even to her two little friends, she isn’t exactly the nicest person.

Another problem that I have with the book is that it’s incredibly episodic. Each chapter is a new “adventure.” Many of the books I’d read up to this point in this class had been like this, but the problem is that Pippi never learns anything. She just keeps getting more and more belligerent as the stories go on.

I will say that I suppose if I were younger this book might seem whimsical and fun. When you’re a kid you don’t have the “ugh spoiled brat” hang up that my apparently older and jaded self does. But Pippi is just so downright mean at times that I can’t see wanting to be her friend.

So tell me: did you read this book as a kid? Did you like it? Do you like it now? Someone help me with a bigger picture!

Waiting on Wednesday: “Relax, I’m a Ninja” by Natalie Whipple

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Relax, I’m a Ninja

Author: Natalie Whipple

ETA: June 3, 2014

Blurb from Goodreads: A Clan of ninjas in San Francisco may sound improbable—but as the son of a ninja master, Tosh Ito knows what lurks in the shadows of his city. Or at least he thought he did.

When a killer with a poisoned blade starts cutting down teens, Tosh enlists Amy Sato—newest ninja recruit and his best friend’s crush—and sets out to uncover the killer’s identity. What they find is ninjutsu more evil than they could have ever imagined.

As Amy and Tosh grow closer, they discover their connection unleashes a legendary power that could stop the murders. Problem is, that power may be exactly what the killer is looking for, and wielding it could cost them both their souls.

Why: GUYS. This is Natalie Whipple, author of Transparent (which I loved very much). And now she’s writing a book WITH THIS TITLE. She is living one of my DREAMS. I’m sold.

Top Ten Books I Read in 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

You know, I went into this list expecting it to be a lot harder to pick. As it turns out, I got REALLY skimpy with my 5 star ratings this year! Wow. That’s just crazy. Here are almost ALL of the books I have 5 stars to this year!

1. Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth

I don’t have this review up yet, but trust me when I do … I will have SO MANY WORDS. Words that I can’t even begin to spell out.

2. Shadows in the Silence (Angelfire #3) by Courtney Allison Moulton

Yet another series ender. I laughed. I cried. I cried a lot, but in all the right ways!

3. Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

HOW. HOW DID YOU DO THAT CASSIE? I don’t– I can’t– I… I… Yeah. That happened. That was a thing that happened and TALK ABOUT TEARS IN EVERY WAY.

4. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas

I don’t think I discovered one new author crush bigger than the one I have on Sarah. Seriously. If you like fantasy and haven’t read these yet you are doing it wrong. I’m even making my 400 level YA fantasy seminar read Throne of Glass next semester.

5. Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

This book doesn’t have a review yet. Actually, it’s also not a book but a graphic novel. Either way, I fell in love with this in so many ways. It was just what I needed right when I needed it.

6. The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell

No book quite captured my thrall quite like this one, right in January too! Once again, I say that all fans of Tamora Pierce and the like should read this book!

7. Mind Games (Mind Games #1) by Kiersten White

I love me some Kiersten White, and of all the books by her that I read this year, this one is by far my favorite. Paranormalcy will always be in my heart, but I think I like this one even better!

8. Asunder (Newsoul #2) by Jodi Meadows

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but that’s not the case with these books! The insides are just as beautiful as the outsides.

9. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I haven’t posted my review of this one yet, either, but I really can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read this. The amount that this book affected me is something that can never be put into words.

10. The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise

Sometimes I like to read something just for some rollicking good fun. That was this book for me!

Review: “Caddie Woodlawn” by Carol Ryrie Brink

Caddie Woodlawn (Caddie Woodlawn #1) by Carol Ryrie Brink

Goodreads | Amazon

CADDIE WOODLAWN is a real adventurer. She’d rather hunt than sew, plow than bake, and beat her brother’s dares every chance she gets. Caddie is friends with Indians, who scare most of the neighbors — neighbors, who, like her mother and sisters, don’t understand her at all.

Caddie is brave, and her story is special — because it’s true, based on the life and memoires of Carol Ryrie Brink’s grandmother, the real Caddie Woodlawn. Her spirit and sense of fun have made this book a classic that readers have taken to their hearts for over fifty years.

2 stars

I have no trouble admitting that this book probably would have been good, if not for my higher expectations of it. I read this in a slew of books for one of my classes at Ithaca College, and the books that we had read previously had a message. A story. The main character changed in the end. With all that, I couldn’t see how Caddie had a point at all.

When the book opens up, Caddie really did remind me of me as a kid. She’s a rebel, refusing to sit at home and instead running all over the prairies with her brothers. She has a great sense of adventure and of humor as well.

But Caddie, of course, is reaching the age where she really needs to grow up, and that’s what this whole book is about. One of her fancy cousins even comes over from the city to show just how much of a “hooligan” that Caddie is compared to other girls her age. The speeches from her father and her mother about how a girl “should be” rankle me like no one’s business. (Okay, the academic in me wants to say something else about this but that really isn’t the point of this so moving on…)

There’s also a lot of Native American racism in this book. That’s a thing. I know it was written in the earlier 1900s but jeesh. No wonder we can’t use it in schools anymore without fear of retribution from someone.

I know this is a really vague book review, but I think that’s kinda the point. There isn’t a lot that happens in this book. Caddie runs around and does some stuff. She saves the lives of a bunch of settlers AND Native Americans but the only thing that people keep coming back to is that she isn’t very ladylike. Her “big change” is to try and act more ladylike so she can be more of the girl that her parents want her to be, even if that person is the complete antithesis of the girl she was before.

In the end, Caddie seems proud of her transformation. I’m just a little bit sad. It may have been the right book from the times, but it’s not something that I’ll be passing on to my children.

Marina’s back too!

Hey, everyone!  My excuses for being gone are similar to Gretchen’s: college is crazy, I’m trying to learn Latin and Greek simultaneously, blah, blah, blah.  In addition, I haven’t read a lot of new material lately; I’ve been mostly confined to rereads by the frantic whirlwind that is school.

But now that our calendar is less terrifying, I feel like I might be able to do this!  And, like Gretchen,  I’ve been spending our break cooking up ideas…

Reading has been a big part of my life for almost as long as I remember.   (Most of my memories from a pre-reading state are either fuzzy or concern Big Important Things like the advent of a little sister–or they involve my mother reading to me.)  When I was five years old my mom, bless her, brought home a copy of The Magician’s Nephew and said “I thought you might like to try reading this,” which was how I came to be slowly devouring a novel while my classmates in kindergarten learned about colors and lowercase letters.   I have adored books ever since.

So I thought, while I’m getting out of my rereading rut, I’d do a series of posts about books that have changed me, or influenced me in some important way.  The books that I’ll never forget, the ones that will always be important to me even years later.   I haven’t decided what I’m going to call it yet (I don’t name things well) but I’ll probably start soon, because if there’s one thing I like…it’s talking about books.

It’s great to be back!  Here’s hoping for a more reliable year…and awesome post-Christmas book shopping for all of us!

So a month and a half later…

Here’s me, Gretchen, coming back up for air. Sorry guys, it’s been a while!

I’ll be honest, this break was actually half my choice. All of the sudden life went crazy and I didn’t know what to do about it. This whole year, really, has been a loop-de-loop of epic proportions, and it’s taken me forever to get it back under control. To be honest, it’s not back under control, but at least right now I’m not at college. That’s a little bit of a break, at least.

One thing that I know for sure, though, is that I miss blogging like nobody’s business. This has been a part of my life for so long, I don’t know how to go on without it–and all of you.

Another thing that’s crossed my mind is how absurdly long my have-but-need-to-read list is on Goodreads. If you don’t know what I mean, that’s a list I have that keeps track of how many books I own that I haven’t yet read. Some are ARCs, some are books I’ve bought. I haven’t even updated the list in a while, and it’s still 100 books long. That’s really scary.

I wasn’t able to keep up with blogging because I overtaxed myself with ARCs and other timed stipulations. Well, no more. Good God, that list is a whole YEAR of reading, if this year’s Goodreads Challenge is anything to go by. A bunch of those are ARCs I requested and received and then never held up my end of the bargain. I hate that. So I’m going to fix it.

I’m going to try to keep up with Top Ten Tuesday and Waiting on Wednesday. I love those memes, and I don’t want to stop doing them. I want to keep vlogging, so Stacking the Shelves may continue to exist in some capacity, even though I plan on need requesting any more ARCs for the time being. Some Bibliomancers and I may be soon bringing you a Series of (Un)fortunate videos. I’m going to talk to Marina and see if she still loves me. To this, I’m going to add in a “Random Reads” post each week.

Random Reads will work like so: Every week, I’m going to plug some numbers into Random.org. These will represent the positions of the 100 or so books on that Goodreads list. Random.org will give me a number. That will be the book that I read that week. Sound good?

I hope so, because this is going to be the only way I defeat this list!

So what’s my first Random Read going to be?

INHUMAN by Kat Falls!

Check back next week for a week full of posts from yours truly! I hope. My fingers are crossed!

Waiting on Wednesday: “Sinner” by Maggie Stiefvater

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Sinner

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

ETA: July 1st, 2014

Summary from Goodreads:  Sinner follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver Trilogy. Everybody thinks they know Cole’s story. Stardom. Addiction. Downfall. Disappearance. But only a few people know Cole’s darkest secret — his ability to shift into a wolf. One of these people is Isabel. At one point, they may have even loved each other. But that feels like a lifetime ago. Now Cole is back. Back in the spotlight. Back in the danger zone. Back in Isabel’s life. Can this sinner be saved?

Why I’m Waiting: Okay, I’m cheating a little, because anybody who pays attention to my reviewing habits knows that OF COURSE I am psyched about this.  But I’m allowed to cheat because I’ve been on medical hiatus.  Also, look at that summary.  How is it that summaries for Maggie’s books always sound uninteresting and then the actual books are always nothing like the summaries?

The truth is, Cole St Clair is one of the most intense, attention-grabbing characters I’ve ever encountered on paper (caveat: I wouldn’t want to be friends with him), and the chance to revisit his crazy, screwed-up brain is a pleasure I never thought I’d have.  I don’t need a summary to know this will be good; I know it will be more than good, because Maggie’s writing has improved since the Shiver trilogy and Cole was fantastic to start with.   And look, it comes out within weeks of my birthday!  Could the universe love me any more?

Book Blitz: “My Date From Hell” by Tellulah Darling – Excerpt + Giveaway

Hey guys! Welcome to the book blitz for My Date From Hell by Tellulah Darling, hosted by Xpresso Book Tours! You may remember my review of the first book, My Ex From Hell - I had so much fun reading that one! That’s why I’m super excited to bring you all these goodies for the second book! Let’s get started…

AUTHOR BIO
Tellulah Darling

noun

1. YA Novelist

2. Alter ego of former screenwriter and instructor

3. Sassy minx

Geeks out over: cool tech.

Squees for: great storytelling.

Delights in: fabulous conversation.

Writes about: where love meets comedy. Awkwardness ensues.

Author Links:


Website: http://welcome.tellulahdarling.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6429243.Tellulah_Darling
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tellulahdarling

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TellulahDarling

My Date From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy #2) by Tellulah Darling
Goodreads | Amazon
Sophie Bloom’s junior year has been a bit of a train wreck. After the world’s greatest kiss re-awakened Sophie’s true identity as Persephone (Goddess of Spring and Savior of Humanity), she fought her dragon-lady guidance counselor to the death, navigated mean girl Bethany’s bitchy troublemaking, and dealt with the betrayal of her backstabbing ex, Kai (sexy Prince of Darkness). You’d think a girl could catch a break.

Yeah, right.

With Zeus stepping things up, it’s vital that Sophie retrieve Persephone’s memories and discover the location of the ritual to stop Zeus and Hades. So when Aphrodite strikes a deal that can unlock Sophie’s pre-mortal past, what choice does the teen goddess have but to accept?

The mission: stop media mogul Hermes from turning Bethany into a global mega-celebrity. The catch? Aphrodite partners Sophie and Kai to work together … and treat this suicide mission as a date. Which could work out for Sophie’s plan to force Kai to admit his feelings for her–if she doesn’t kill him first.

Add to that the fact that BFF Theo’s love life and other BFF Hannah’s actual life are in Sophie’s hands, and suddenly being a teenager—even a godlike one—seems a bit like … well, hell. Whatever happened to dinner and a movie?

The YA romantic comedy/Greek mythology fireworks continue to fly in My Date From Hell. Love meets comedy with a whole lot of sass in book two of this teen fantasy romance series. Breaking up is easy; dating is deadly.

EXCERPT

The tigers herded me along for about fifteen minutes over soft, spongy ground with the occasional tree root to stumble over. Nothing slithered or skittered over my feet, for which I was profoundly grateful.

We stepped into a clearing in front of a large, clear pond with a waterfall. It was beautiful here. I almost forgot about my keepers until one of them pawed at me gently. I jumped at the slight rasp of its claws on my skirt and glared at it.

“You prefer lunch with a view?” I asked the tigers, pleased with my bravado. They sat down, hemming me in along the shore of the pond.
A woman began to sing. Not in Greek. Not a hymn or a chant or a lullaby.

Nope. She sang of how her loneliness was killing her. Which sounds poetic, but was actually Britney Spears.

Another woman joined her. And another.

It was the best unplugged cover of “Hit Me Baby One More Time” that I’d ever heard.

Three young women swam out from behind the waterfall. They looked like triplets, with dusky olive skin, and long black hair all threaded through with silvery flowers that glinted as they caught the sunlight. Their voices soared as they entreated the object of their song to give them a sign.

My toes were tapping. And yeah, I hummed along. Whatever. It didn’t get to be a massive hit without being catchy.

The Diana Ross of the group swam forward and held out her hand.
As if. I wasn’t jumping in.
One of my feline jailers nudged me hard enough to push me in.
Instead of being wet, I found myself floating underwater but in the air. The

women continued to sing, starting their song again as they somehow plucked orchids which did usually not grow underwater to weave in my hair.

By the time they had finished adorning me, I was singing, too.

I rose out of the waves. Light caught the spray of droplets, creating a thousand tiny prisms of color. Crooning my heart out with eternal angst, I was consumed with emotion. I had to sing.

This was the most poignant song ever written and I was the keeper of all the anguish.

Kai stepped out into the clearing and I sang to him. Sang this ageless story

that was our tale. About misunderstanding. About confession. And this burning need to know.

I walked out of the water and took Kai’s hands. Enfolded him in my arms then returned us to the pond. I sank with him beneath the waves into this place of air, my voice raised in lyrical pleading to show me that sign.

That’s when Kai tickled me.

As I started to laugh and could no longer sing, I realized that I was drowning him—not in air but in cold water—while burbling Britney Spears lyrics off- key, tears falling from my eyes like an overwrought teenybopper.

Jack hadn’t attacked me, psychologically or otherwise. No, he’d put me under the spell of the sirens and then made me their lead singer in an attempt to take Kai out. Thankfully, it hadn’t worked.
I stumbled out of the pond and said casually, “Well, that was awkward.”

GIVEAWAY

Just leave a comment about how much you loved the above excerpt, and you’ll be entered to win an ebook copy of this book! This giveaway is open INTL!

Blog Tour: “Daughter of Isis” by Kelsey Ketch – Review + 2 Giveaways!

Hey everyone, and welcome to the blog tour for Daughter of Isis by Kelsey Ketch, hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. You might remember that a little while ago I helped reveal the cover of this book, and after that I just couldn’t NOT be a part of this tour! As always, I’m only one stop, so remember to check out the rest of the tour! Now, onto the real business!

About the Author:

During her high school years, Kelsey Ketch could always be found tucked away in a little corner of the hall or classroom, writing her fantasy worlds and creating illustrations and maps. Today is no different, except now she’s writing in the break room at her office building or at the tables of the Barnes and Noble Café in Cary, North Carolina. She is also an avid reader, a part-time book blogger at Ketch’s Book Nook, and lives with her two orange tabbies and awesome and humorous flat-mate. Daughter of Isis is her debut novel.

***Author Links***

http://kelseyketch.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7104482.Kelsey_Ketch

https://twitter.com/kelseyketch

https://www.facebook.com/KelseyKetch#

Daughter of Isis (Descendants of Isis #1) by Kelsey Ketch

Amazon | Goodreads | B&N | Kobo

“Her mouth parted slightly, waiting for Seth to breathe life into her own body, just like in the story. She wanted him to awaken her senses.”

Their worlds collide in California’s high desert.

The last thing Natara “Natti” Stone wants to do is to start anew at Setemple High School. She wished she had never left London. Yet the brutal murder of her maternal grandmother has made her life very complicated. The only clue related to her murder is an ancient, encrypted necklace Natti discovered after her grandmother’s death. And if trying to adjust to American life is not enough, Natti is being stalked by a mysterious, charming high school senior, Seth O’Keefe, who is annoyingly persistent in his attempts at seduction.

Seth O’Keefe is secretly a member of the Sons of Set, an order that worships the Egyptian god of chaos. Seth’s blessing from Set, his “charm,” never failed, except with one person: Natti Stone. Her ability to elude him infatuates and infuriates him, and he becomes obsessed with the chase. But the closer he gets to her, the more his emotions take a dangerous turn, and he risks breaking one of the most valued covenants of his order. The punishment for which is a fate worse than death.

The adventure this unlikely couple becomes engulfed in could cost them their lives and their souls.

*Note: Content for Upper YA*

3 1/2 stars

One of the first things that I noticed about this book was that it was extremely well researched. That is the first thing I mention, because for me a book like this could easily fall flat if it wasn’t. Firstly because Natti is coming from England to the US, and secondly–and most obviously–because of the Egyptian history invoked. Both Natti’s English and Egyptian heritage were introduced from the beginning with strong, believable facts, and I really, really enjoyed that.

Natti, herself, as a character was someone I wanted to be best friends with. When Seth goes around making people fall to his charm, she resists him with so much sass I just wanted to hug her. You know how I am with insta-love, and Natti fights against Seth’s “charm” (which is a characterization of insta-love) with the ferocity that I wish all insta-love victims did. When Natti finally starts falling for Seth–charm or no–I actually believe it is because she feels something for him, not because it was convenient to have them fall in love at that time of the book.

But what about Seth as a person? Oh dear, poor Seth. I’ll be honest and say that his ability to charm the pants of girls and make them his love slaves really made me cringe in the beginning. The sex those girls are engaging in isn’t really their choice, you know what I mean? But directly after he meets Natti, Seth really starts questioning his ways and trying to change them. If his home life hadn’t been so dark, I might have had trouble believing that Seth didn’t know how bad the things he did were, but the character arc made it believable that Seth could charm all those girls into sex and still be redeemed afterward. That’s a huge feat, and I’m amazed it was pulled off so well.

The plot itself moves along, even if nothing along the way surprised me. Natti’s friends are fun to read, and Seth’s friends are creepy as all get out. The family dynamics surrounding the both of them also add a lot–another plus in a world full of YA books that like to either disregard parents or make them very flat characters (especially Seth’s). You know that I don’t really like high school settings, but the town of Setemple was quirky enough that it made it all okay.

The ending is what caught me up the most– But of course I can’t talk about it. Let’s just say that the end of this book is one fast paced bit of crazy, and the last few pages will have you shouting for more!

After that review, you know you want to read this, right? Well, never fear, I have TWO giveaways for you with chances to win! One is INTL, and one is US!

For my US readers:

2 Natti Prize Packs (US Only): Signed Paperback Copy of Daughter of Isis, Union Jack Journal, Grey Tabby Cat Beanbag, Eye of Horus Pendant, + Swag

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For my INTL readers:

2 E-copies of Daughter of Isis (mobi or epub) + Swag (INT) 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway