Blogger Interview

Today Steph from http://heyteenager.blogspot.com/ is here. Remember if you would like to be interviewed please leave your email in a comment!

1. If you could play the part of any character in a book who would it be?
I don't think I could choose! I'd love to be myself, most of all, and be able to befriend my favourite characters. If I could live in a John Green book, I'd be pretty happy.

2. The great debate: Twilight or Harry potter?
I don't really read fantasy or paranormal romance, so I'm going to have to say neither. But I do find sparkly vampires fundamentally wrong, so if forced to choose one, I'd go with Harry Potter. Luna Lovegood is so awesome!

3. What's unique about your blog?
I aim to be both informative and humorous. As well as book reviews and author interviews, I talk about issues that affect teenagers, writing (my other great passion), and lots of funny anecdotes from my life.

4. Who inspires you with blogging?
I can't pinpoint just one blogger - every single YA book blogger (including you, Ashley!) does a brilliant job of being committed to writing their blog, reading and commenting on other blogs, reviewing books, championing teen fiction and creating an awesome online community for little reward (okay, we get free books...).

5. Is there a blog you have to read daily?
I don't have a specific blog I have to read daily, but I do have to go through my Google Reader every day, otherwise I wind up with hundreds and hundreds of unread posts... and I have to stay up to date with the teen book blogosphere!

6. Ever been to book signings? Who'd you meet?
I haven't been to a book signing, but I was invited to the NSW Writer's Centre Kids & YA Lit festival and had the opportunity to meet a few Australian authors, including Melina Marchetta, author of books like Looking For Alibrandi and Jellicoe Road. Everyone was lovely. I plan on going to lots of book signings in the future! (Maybe one day I'll be the one signing books!) (I mean, they'll be books I wrote. I won't just randomly start signing books that aren't mine!)

7. Do books kick movies butt? :)
Totally!

8. What would you like people to know about you?
I love being a part of the whole YA book blogging community! In real life, I'm an Australian high schooler and reading and writing are basically my life. Pretty please check out my blog :-)

Author Signing

What did you do last Friday night? I met up with three lovely authors!

Suzanne Selfors and I

Lisa Schroeder and I

Suzanne Young and I (up and down)

The whole group.

They were all super sweet. I have been blogging for almost 3 years (since I started at a different blog before) and this was my first time meeting authors. My heart was POUNDING! It's like meeting a celeb guys!

Blogger Interview

If you would like to be interviewed please comment below. Include your name, email and blog link.

Today I have Leslie from http://thatchickthatreads.blogspot.com/ here to visit.

1. How long have you been blogging? What made you start?
I have been blogging for about 3 months =) I decided to start blogging because my friends nor my boyfriend read, so a lot of the time they got tired of constantly hearing me talk about books and reviews or current book signings and new releases. I also thought it would be really awesome to express my love for books =) I think they are abs amazing!

2. How much time do you spend blogging each day?
Well I tend to prepare my blog post in a journal before I post them =P I usually tend to spend about 1-2 hrs a day, coming up with my post and reading everyone elses post via my goggle blogger. I love to know what people think of books i've read or even one's I haven't read yet.

3. How many hours do you read each week? What are you currently reading?
I am always reading! People who know me personally know that I always carry around a book or two in my purse =) Right now i'm reading My Name is Will by Jess Winfield and after that I have Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins which is extremely exciting! :D

4. Have you attended any book signings? Who did you meet?
I have attended 3 different book signings. Melissa Marr [Fragile Eternity] was my first, then Lauren Conrad [L.A. Candy] (she is so nice and really pretty in person!) and Rachel Caine [Morganville Vampires] They were all really fun and exciting! :D

LUCKY on the L.C. front!!!!

5. Do any of your real life friends know you review? Do they review as well?
Yes a lot of my close friends know I blog. I'm always talking about it =) and no they don't, but i've gotten a few of them into reading again which makes me feel really good =)

6. Do you feel like you should be able to get school credit for reviewing?
Well if I was in High School then I guess but since I attend college, meh this blog is really just for me and any book lover and it's just something fun and awesome!

7. How do you feel about banned books?
I think that we should read them. I'm always intrigued by why they were banned and most of them have that language feel that is just insightful!

8. Anything unique about you or your blog?
Well I have this meme on Sat's called Quote it Sat, where you can pull some of your favorite quotes from passed books because know a few of us have journals with quotes and I'm a quote collector so it's always interesting to see what quotes other people find interesting or fun!

The Naughty List

(No cover because Barnes and Noble wasnt working) :(

Title: The Naughty List
Author: Suzanne Young
Publisher: Razor bill
Price: $9.99 USD PB
Release: February 4th 2010

Grade: A+
Rating: 15+

Summary: (Amazon)
As if being a purrfect cheerleader isn’t enough responsibility! Tessa Crimson’s the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad–turned–spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. Boyfriend-busting wouldn’t be so bad . . . except that so far, every suspect on the Naughty List has been proven 100% guilty!

When Tessa’s own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa’s sneaky ways end in catastrophe?

The Naughty List. Is your boyfriend on it?

My Thoughts:
On Friday (the 25th) I headed to Portland for an author signing. This was for Suzanne Selfors but I invited Suzanne Young as well. I was super excited about reading her book before I met her but afterwards there was no way I could hold off any longer. Suzanne was such a sweetie and was fun to be around. By the time I got home that night it was too late to read. As soon as I woke up on Saturday I started The Naughty List. I was unable to put it down.

Tessa was an incredible character. It was impossible to not like her. I felt as if I was Tessa. My heart broke when hers did. I wanted to jump up and cheer when she did. Tessa was just flat out amazing. I loved how she was intelligent. I’m not going to lie and say cheerleaders really are that way. I’m sure there are smart cheerleaders but at my school it’s always the stupid easy girls that make it. I loved that Suzanne portrayed a different kind of girl then the typical. She showed us that its possible.

Aiden is Tessa’s ah-dorable sweetie. I found myself falling for him from the first mention of his name. Move over Edward, there’s a new boy in town J. He was the kind of boy all of us girls want. Cute, intelligent and athletic, what more could you ask for? I appreciated that even though he wasn’t the main character he was still portrayed so great that you just had to love him.

The plot of this novel wowed me. It was super unique and very well developed. How often do we hear of cheerleading spies? The correct answer is NEVER! Not even Charlie’s Angels had that! I also loved the names of the sports teams in this book. For most people it wouldn’t even be noticeable but since I live in Oregon I was cracking up. Our two biggest rival schools are the ducks and the beavers. Both of these were used in this novel. You can tell Suzanne is around here too!

My overall opinion of this book is that you should mark your calendar and on February 4th go buy a copy. Don’t wait!

Read-a-thon

I'm in a read-a-thon today guys :) I hope to finish Eclipse today and start The Naughty List. I have 4 reviews I will set to post afterwards

Blogger Interview

If you would like to be interviewed please comment here. Include your email and blog link!

Today I have Katie from http://www.sophistikatied.blogspot.com/ here to chat.

1. When did you decide that you wanted to review books?
I've been a big fan of the book blogging scene since the beginning of the year, so I guess you could say around January- when I was introduced to them. I knew that professionals reviewed books, but when I realized that normal people were doing it as well, I was completely hooked. I became somewhat depedent on some reviews before I bought a book, which never let me down. It wasn't until August though that I finally sucked it up my nervousness and made a blog. I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner, it's awesome!

2. Who has helped you the most when it came to starting your own blog?
I'd have to say Kristi from The Story Siren and Lenore from Presenting Lenore. Though they didn't help me indirectly, they both have amazing tips/advice that I studied religiously before I actually made the blog. It'd probably be a complete mess right now if not for their guidance!

3. What blogger inspires you?
Some of the first blogs I discovered quickly became my favorite. I was really inspired by the bloggers of Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf, Katie's Book Blog, Carrie's YA Bookshelf, The Book Cellar and many others. Also, I have to add The Story Siren again. I think of Kristi as like the momma of all book bloggers.

4. Who is your favorite author and which of their books is your favorite?
This is a tricky question since I don't really read every single book from the same author. My favorite author list changes up a lot, but right now the top two are Maggie Stiefvater and Carrie Ryan. Shiver, by Maggie, was probably one of the best books I've ever read, and I can easily say she'll be on my permanent favorite list for a long time. I think The Forest Of Hands And Teeth was the only story Carrie Ryan has released right now, but it's amazing as well.

5. What is one unique thing you do on your blog?
I'd say Fan Art Friday. I haven't seen any other YA book bloggers do it yet, so it can be categorized in the unique zone. Every friday I post fan art inspired by novels, and offer the chance for people to send me their own to be featured. So far, I've just been making my own mock movie posters, but I hope that in the future I'll start getting some pieces from others to post!

6. Have you ever met any authors face to face? If so, who?
Sadly, no. I always complain about this, but authors rarely come to Michigan, where I live. Maybe they are, and I'm just missing the memos. I'm always alert for in-store signings/book launches though, but no such luck yet.

7. On an average how many books do you get each month?
Hm .. I'd say about fifteen? Probably less. I'm dependent upon the library and hardcore sales at bookstores, so I don't get to read new novels as much as I'd like to- especially with the incredibly lame YA selection at my library. It takes about three years for them to actually get new books in!

8. Anything you want us to know about you?
I'm currently in the process of writing my own YA novel. It's always been a huge dream of mine to be a published author. I'm in a huge self-doubt rut right now, but I'm working my butt off on it. Hopefully in the future, my fellow book bloggers will be reviewing my story! Fingers crossed!

Theatrical Thursday

Title: Odd Girl Out
Claim to Fame: Alexa Vega
Grade: B
Rating: PG-13

Summary: (amazon.com)
"Girls are brutal," a father warns his young son in the course of Odd Girl Out. "They… tear each other to bits over the smallest things." Director Tom McLoughlin's 2005 film proves it, too, offering up a harrowing tale of one teenager's horrendous treatment at the hands of her high school classmates. When we meet Vanessa (Alexa Vega, also seen in Spy Kids), she's a reluctant member of a group of spoiled, snooty girls who rule the school hallways like designer-dressed harpies. But when she betrays "best friend" and clique leader Stacey (Malcolm in the Middle's Leah Pipes), it all starts to go south; little matter that said betrayal is actually concocted by the genuinely vicious Nikki (Elizabeth Rice). What begins as a relatively petty campaign of text messages, rumor-mongering, and daily ostracism soon escalates into full-scale torment and cruelty, including a particularly nasty website, an invitation to a party that doesn't exist (the better to humiliate the eager and insecure Vanessa), and her near-tragic reaction to these events. McLoughlin's resume includes TV shows based on A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, so it's no surprise that this film has a stylized, horror film vibe; there is nothing remotely light-hearted about this story (loosely based on Rachel Simmons' non-fiction book Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture Of Aggression In Girls), which focuses not only on Vanessa's nightmare but on the well-meaning but futile efforts of her mother (Lisa Vidal) to help.

Title: 4/5
The title was fairly good but there was opportunity for improvement. I didn’t see Alexa’s character as the “odd” girl she was supposed to portray.

Cover: 5/5
The Cover drew me into the movie in so many ways. The Positions and facial features of the girls were very intriguing. The background was also gorgeous.

Acting: 4/5
The acting was not great but it was good. There was room to improve when it came to certain characters.

Plot: 3/5
The plot was overly common and could have used a few twists to it.

Wednesday Wishlist

Here is what is on my wishlist this week and why.

Front and Center by Catherine Murdock

After five months of sheer absolute craziness I was going back to being plain old background D.J. In photographs of course I’m always in the background . . .

But it turns out other folks have big plans for D.J. Like her coach. College scouts. All the town hoops fans. A certain Red Bend High School junior who’s keen for romance and karaoke. Not to mention Brian Nelson, who she should not be thinking about! Who she is done with, thank you very much. But who keeps showing up anyway . . .

Why I Want this:

I will not lie, covers attract me. I love this cover and the synopsis sounds good too! I really would like a copy of this :)