Review: Breathe

Breathe

By Sarah Crossan

Source: ARC from BEA

Release Date: October 2, 2012

Summary: In a world without air, what would you do to breathe? In a barren land, a shimmering glass pod houses the survivors of the Switch, the period when oxygen levels plunged and the green world withered. A state lottery meant a lucky few won safety, while the rest suffocated in the thin air. And now Alina, Quinn, and Bea—an unlikely trio, each with their own agendas, their own longings and fears—walk straight into the heart of danger. With two days of oxygen in their tanks, they leave the pod—and everything they know—behind. What will happen on the third day?

Review: First, I’d like to point out how amazingly beautiful the cover of this book is. It’s indescribably mesmerizing. Now onto the review! Before reading this book, I was getting sick of dystopian novels. I previously thought dystopian novels were unique with an interesting setting and a cool feisty female main character. Lately, I realized many dystopian novels have the same plot focused on a female character overthrowing an oppressive government and well were sort of all the same. Breathe was different.  Unlike many dystopian novels, you can tell right away Sarah Crossan has a real talent for writing. The words flow off the page and the dialogue seems realistic.

 I absolutely hate it when novels have a flawless boy who is smart, athletic, hot, and basically everything a girl could ever want because in the real world that boy does not exist in the real world (trust me I’ve been looking). Sarah Crossan captured the essence of a true teenage boy perfectly.  When Quinn checked out Alina’s butt I laughed at how that insignificant everyday moment in high school hallways was captured so perfectly in a war-zone fantasy world. Quinn was by far my favorite character because of how real he appeared. The main idea of the book was breathtaking; a world without oxygen is an extremely clever concept I never really imagined before. If you like Across the Universe you will love this book as it captures the same adventurous mood. Breathe comes out on October 2, 2012 and I cannot wait for the sequel!

~Brittany

Lizzie Bennet Diaries

For some reason I thought today was Thursday, so when I woke up I went straight to my computer to watch the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. When I realized it was on Wednesday I got so disappointing. Watching my favorite book and movie in a vlog form has been so fun. Since I've started watching these vlogs, I've been hooked.

Why am I telling you this AGAIN? Well I just found all the characters on TWITTER! (which is another thing I"m addicted to but that's a whole different story). I just think it's amazing what they have been doing with this story. Not only can fan's watch Lizzie's vlogs but they can go to so many other outlets to see what other characters are up too. You can follow Jane's fashion tumblr here, see what Lydia is up to on twitter @TheLydiaBennet, AND the best part, you can follow people that haven't showed up in the show yet like MR.DARCY on twitter. I just found this out yesterday. Now I'm obsessed. I've been stalking these character to see everything they've done on twitter. I've been patiently waiting to see Mr.Darcy on the show since it started, this has held me over for a little while. To bad this profile picture isn't actually of him. 

Here's all the characters that you can find on twitter: 

@thelizziebennet

@thelydiabennet

@looksbyjane

@TheGWickham

@thecharlottelu
@MrRickCollins
@bingliest
@wmdarcy
@that_caroliine

If you haven't started watching the Lizzie Bennet Dairies yet I really suggest that you do. Even if you haven't read the books this is just so much fun to watch. And if I haven't convinced you yet, I bet this gif below will.... 

 

:)

Here's a list of everything social network and video of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries so you can see everything in order, http://www.lizziebennet.com/story/

Here's the first episode, 

Giveaway! Altered by Jennifer Rush!

I just felt it was time for a giveaway so I have an ARC of Altered by Jennifer Rush! This one comes out January 2013 and for some reason I have two copies of this one. That's good for you though :)

Here's a little about the book

(the cover I have is a little different but there's still a hot guy without a shirt, and I actually like the ARC cover more.)

Summary: A story that starts with a girl and a boy. A girl who loves a boy so much , she'll risk anything for him. And a boy who knows only one thing--- kill anyone who stands in his way.

When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them. 

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.
Enter here!


a Rafflecopter giveaway



--Danielle

Review: Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska
By John Green

Summary: Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A stunning debut, it marks John Green's arrival as an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

Review: Since I started reading Young Adult novel's one the most common names I would always hear was John Green. Of course I had to look into all the hype. I've  since started watching the Vlog brothers videos (which are one of my favorite Youtube channels now), I've even met John Green in person (at BEA) and I also own all of his novels (most of them signed). When one of my close friends finished Looking for Alaska she FINALLY convinced me to picked it up to read. Now I know what all the hype is about. This is one of those books that deserves every single raving review it has gotten so far. 

My favorite part of Looking for Alaska was the characters. Each one is so distinct and different. The main character Miles was so relatable. He felt so lonely and dislocated from his first school in the beginning of the novel. As he transfers to the boarding school and meets Alaska and her friends, you can feel the changes in Miles as he fits in. The reader also starts to care about Alaska and the Colonel as Miles does. Everything in this book makes you emotional. 

Looking for Alaska is one of those books that is so truthful and real. The characters acted like real teenagers, they weren't fluffed over to make them sound better and more careful. This is a novel that everyone can relate to and feel. John Green just has a way of words that gets to you. This is a novel that you can't put down. 

Also John Green has to be the coolest author ever. Not only does he sign so many books. (he really seems to like signing his name everywhere), he also has one of the best youtube channels, and he had one of the best notes at the end of a book. I have a really bad habit of reading the back of the book before I start the novel. I don't know why, I know it's bad. Yet I can't stop. When I flipped to the back of Looking For Alaska I found an interview with John Green. Before the interview he basically said, I know you're here without reading the book first and not to do it. I laughed but kept reading, but then he purposely kept out all spoilers, commenting on how he knew readers were going to keep reading. I loved how he did that and because of it, I went back to the front with no idea what the 'big change' was going to be.

Everyone has to read this book. That's all I have to say. 

p.s. This is a tissue book. You will need tissues, and probably a whole box of them. 

--Danielle

Review by Brittany

Jessica's Guide to Dating On The Dark Side

by Beth Fantaskey

Summary: The undead can really screw up your senior year . . .Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction 

Review: I was a little skeptical to begin reading this book. Then I decided what the heck and tried it. I easily became addicted and stayed up till three o'clock in the morning to finish it. Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side  captivated me with witty characters. I particularly enjoyed Jessica's personality and demeanor. The flow and progression of the main characters falling in love seemed very realistic and not rushed at all. The ending left me squealing! This book practically oozes out charm and is highly enjoyable. If you like vampires, romance, and the tall dark handsome type you must read this book. I look forward to finally purchasing and reading the sequel Jessica Rules the Dark Side.

 

--Brittany

News: New Blogger and New Jersey Book Signing Tonight!

Senior year is a crazy, crazy time. I don't want to stop blogging or reading but I just felt so bad when I leave the blog blank or don't get a review out in time. So I went out in search for another blogger for With A Book. My cousin Kelli, writes reviews here everyone in awhile too, but I wanted one more person. I didn't have to look to hard since one of my best friends, and the first person I asked said yes. 

Me and Brittany!

I want you guys to meet Brittany! I've known her since 7th grade, where we bonded over books. I remember sharing everything that we read, even library books. (Since Brittany didn't have a card, I let her read them after I did). I'm really excited to have her on With A Book. Hopefully now with the two of us, With A Book will always be active. 

Now here's a small intro about herself that Brittany wrote for you guys!

How far away could I go if I traveled by foot, car, train, or plane? How much will it cost for me to visit the tombs in Egypt, to walk the hills of San Francisco, to breathe in the ocean air in the Philippines? May I please eat a croissant on the streets of Paris or smell the meadows of a faraway fairytale? In real life, I cannot slay a Medieval dragon or kiss a cute Italian boy by the Trevi Fountain but through books I can. A book transports you to any destination or time period through the power of words. Words provide you with the opportunity to forget about real life and to live as a character, someone completely different. I love books that make me forget about the present and books that I can never forget. A good book lets you travel the world without ever leaving the couch. This is why I read. My name is Brittany and I have an incurable case of wanderlust. Danielle, my best friend who turned me into a reading addict years ago, has asked me to write some reviews for this wonderful blog. I look forward to reviewing hopefully once a week for you all!

- Both of us are super excited! We are already planning so much stuff! Brittany's first review will be up on tomorrow! :) 

--Also Brittany at the moment is slightly anti-social media sites. I'm going to try and change that. Twitter is very essential for a blogger, don't you guys agree?

 In other news, this is kind of last minute, but I'm off to a book signing at Barnes and Nobles tonight in Freehold NJ! I just thought I would put the word out there to see if any other bloggers are going. 

The book signing is for a local authors. I'm going to see Danielle Sibarium, the author of Heart Waves and For Always!  

Review: Beta

Review by Kelli!

Beta
By: Rachel Cohn

Release Date: October 16th 2012

Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Source: ARC from BEA

Summary - In a world constructed to absolute perfection, imperfection is difficult to understand—and impossible to hide. Elysia is a clone, created in a laboratory, born as a sixteen year old girl, an empty vessel with no life experience to draw from. She is a Beta, an experimental model of teenaged clone. She was replicated from another teenage girl, who had to die in order for Elysia to be created. Elysia's purpose is to serve the inhabitants of Demesne, an island paradise for the wealthiest people on earth. Everything about Demesne is bioengineered for perfection. Even the air there induces a strange, euphoric high that only the island's workers—soulless clones like Elysia—are immune to.At first, Elysia's new life on this island paradise is idyllic and pampered. But she soon sees that Demesne's human residents, the most privileged people in the world who should want for nothing, yearn. And, she comes to realize that beneath its flawless exterior, there is an undercurrent of discontent amongst Demesne's worker clones. She knows she is soulless and cannot feel and should not care—so why are overpowering sensations clouding Elysia's mind?If anyone discovers that Elysia isn't the unfeeling clone she must pretend to be, she will suffer a fate too terrible to imagine. When Elysia's one chance at happiness is ripped away from her with breathtaking cruelty, emotions she's always had but never understood are unleashed. As rage, terror, and desire threaten to overwhelm her, Elysia must find the will to survive.

Review – Yeah, it’s a long summary. I really enjoyed this novel, and I love the cover. In the first couple pages, I was distracted by all the big words and complicated vocabulary… but I got the hang of it. I stayed on the couch all day reading because I couldn’t put it down. There was constant action and suspense, front to back. The characters were all so believable and real and modern. And, of course, there was the complicated love triangle. This one was… different, though. Confusing.

Elysia isn’t the same as the other clones, and she tries to hide that, until she realizes she isn’t the only one who is different, which leads to one of her loves. Rachel Cohn did an exceptionally good job surprising me, several times. I believed one thing throughout half the story, and then realized that it was a complete lie. And on the last page, I was stunned! The final sentence left me rethinking the entire book. I wanted the sequel immediately, which sadly wasn’t an option… Anyway, Beta comes out in October, and I definitely recommend reading it!It’s a book that stays with you.

~~Kelli~~

Book Spotlight: Dark Promise!

Dark Promise by Julia Crane & Talia Jager

Published by: Valknut Press, LLC

Page Count: 176

Rylie has it all - great friends, dream boy, loving family. But on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, her perfect little world shatters. A stranger claiming to be her real mother appears with a secret: Rylie is a faery whose powers will be unleashed on her birthday. Captured and forced into a new life, Rylie struggles to keep everything she loves and discovers a terrifying truth: some promises cannot be broken.

Hey guys! I just wanted to let you know about a book tour going on right now that I'm a part of! Dark Promise by Julie Crane and Talia Jagar. What really drew me to the book was the summary. It sounds to dark and interesting. Faery books have always been on of my favorites so I'm really excited about this one. My review will be up on the 11th :)

Also so far it has 4 and 5 star reviews on goodreads. That's really good for an indie book!

Till then you can check out the rest of the tour. Here's the dates -->

4-Sep	Sophia	yabetweenthelines.blogspot.com	Review
5-Sep	Kirthi	the1bookblog.blogspot.com	Excerpt Reveal + Giveaway
6-Sep	Danielle	withabook.blogspot.com	Review
7-Sep	Ana	whatyareading.blogspot.com	Character Interview
7-Sep	Alexis	theliteraturelion.blogspot.com	Author Top Five
8-Sep	Linda	fictionfervor.wordpress.com	Excerpt Reveal + Giveaway
9-Sep	Naiche	thebookgirlreads.blogspot.com	Review
10-Sep	Stephanie	reviewingwhatimreading.blogspot.com	Review

Coolest T-Shirts EVER

As I w was going research for my homework I found these T-Shirts. I thought you guys would enjoy this. :)







Here's a little about them from the website

"Novel-T offers an opportunity to express your support for the all-stars of literature. For those who feel a connection to certain writers or characters–be it Walt Whitman's expansive exultations, Huck Finn's mischievous morality, Kurt Vonnegut's humorous humanism, or Bartleby's seemingly inscrutable insubordination–these super-soft, slim-fit jersey-style tees are a winning way to "wear your read.""

"To help ensure that there will always be new names to add to the Novel-T line-up, Novel-T donates $1 of every shirt sold to either 

• 826nyc, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, or
• Doctors Without Borders, the international medical humanitarian organization assisting people threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe."

The website to buy the shirts can be found here --- > http://www.novel-t.com/

I personally really want a Darcy shirt :)