Waiting on Wednesday: How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s can’t wait to read selection is
How My Summer Went Up in Flames
by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Publication Date: May 7th 2013

How My Summer Went Up In Flames
- Simon Pulse

Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…

Synopsis from goodreads.com.

I laughed out loud at this synopsis. Setting the ex-boyfriend’s car on fire is definitely an original idea. Especially, when he’s been cheating. But getting caught, not so much. The road trip seems to be a good thing to deal with heartache though, even if impulsive Rosie doesn’t see it that way at the beginning.
Somehow I’ve read only a few road trip books until now, but they’ve all made me want to leave for a trip myself. Let’s see what How My Summer Went Up in Flames brings. The travel bug and a few laughs would be a good start. ;)

Would you rather go on a road trip yourself than read about it? Tell us in the comments along with your book choice this week!

Teaser Tuesday: The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

 Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
To play along just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen.

The Truth About Forever -
Penguin

“Well, at least it’s over. Next time, everything will go smoothly. Like a well-oiled machine.” Even I, as the newbie, knew this was unlikely.
-- Chapter 4

There’s an entirely different feel to quiet when you’re with someone else, and at any moment it could be broken. Like the difference between a pause and an ending.
-- Chapter 5

I’m having a bad case of book-hangover and needed a relatively short, well-written story with a little drama, but also with an assured happiness factor. Combine that with the fact that I have wanted to read this slightly older title by Sarah Dessen for a while now and you know what I did over the weekend. This is a sweet story, even if the plot and outcome are predicable enough, it’s still very readable and the characters are quite a nice bunch (no matter how many times I wanted to shout at Macy that she should “Please God I’n begging you” get herself together - or rather not-together - and confront her mother).

Do you suffer book-hangover after a good book? If that is the case, do you have an author that you are certain will pick you up?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s can’t wait to read selection is
The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau.
Publication Date: June 4th 2013.

The Testing - Houghton Mifflin

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same?

The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career. Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies—trust no one. But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.

Synopsis from goodreads.com

I’m a bit hesitant concerning dystopias at the moment, but this one sounds quite promising in its approach, like a mix between Legend and Hunger Games ... I hope that it adds enough individual aspects to its plot, but I’ve decided to be optimistic. And now I have to get back to Clockwork Princess, which you might remember as one of our most anticipated books for this year.

Let us know about the books you are waiting for so that we can share your anticipation.

Teaser Tuesday: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
To play along just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

 

 Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys.

Out of the Easy -
Philomel Books

The door burst open with a yell. I drew my gun, and Cokie whipped around, raising the tire iron.
Partick jumped back, looking from the tire iron to my gun.
"What's wrong? It's just Proust!" he said, holding a large box of books.
-- Page 58
"Okay, tired girl, let me tell you a secret."
I didn't need any more secrets. I had enough of my own. I looked up at Jesse.
"Uh-huh. There you are, all tired, standin' in your boyfriend's clothes, but here's the secret." Jesse moved in close. "You like me."
-- Page 187

I've been waiting for Out of the Easy since November last year and now that I got my hands on it, I finished it in two days. I liked the American 50s setting, the different characters with all their peculiarities and especially Josie's voice.
Josie wants to get away from the stigma of her mother being a prostitute, which also means leaving New Orleans behind. She reads most of the books in the bookstore she works at and tries for a college in the east. But how do you conceal your heritage when it comes knocking on your door every now and then, reminding you of your supposed place in life?

Is historical fiction on your menu this week? Tell us in the comments along with your teaser!

Waiting on Wednesday: Tandem by Anna Jarzab

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s can’t wait to read selection is
Tandem by Anna Jarzab.
Publication Date: October 8th 2013

Tandem -
Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Everything repeats.
You. Your best friend. Every person you know.
Many worlds. Many lives – infinite possibilities.
Welcome to the multiverse.

Sixteen-year-old Sasha Lawson has only ever known one small, ordinary life. When she was young, she loved her grandfather's stories of parallel worlds inhabited by girls who looked like her but led totally different lives. Sasha never believed such worlds were real – until now, when she finds herself thrust into one against her will.

To prevent imminent war, Sasha must slip into the life of an alternate version of herself, a princess who has vanished on the eve of her arranged marriage. If Sasha succeeds in fooling everyone, she will be returned home; if she fails, she'll be trapped in another girl's life forever. As time runs out, Sasha finds herself torn between two worlds, two lives, and two young men vying for her love – one who knows her secret, and one who thinks she's someone she's not.

Synopsis from goodreads.com.

I guess everyone imagined him- or herself in someone else's shoes before. What would it be like to be this painter or that writer or even the person sitting across the table? It's a fun game to pretend, but for Sasha, living the life of another person becomes dangerous reality. Little details might betray her and start the mentioned war nevertheless.
The synopsis sounds suspenseful and the idea of multiple realities fascinates and scares me at the same time. Appropriately enough, the cover reminds me of a Magritte painting, where the meaning of the things depicted is always inverted. I wonder, what the bird stands for.

Which books are you waiting on this week? Tell us in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
To play along just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  

Just One Day by Gayle Forman.

Just One Day - Dutton Children’s

When the sun shines, you let it shine on you. Snow is always waiting.
-- Chapter 5

And the people we pretend at, they’re already in us. That’s why we pretend them in the first place.
-- Chapter 24

I was recently wondering how people in general, myself included, meet new stories. Not in the sense of how you discover them and decide that you want to read them, but more considering how much you know about a book already before you even start it. This one for example, I had close to no information about beforehand. Apart from (and here it starts) that many of my friends like the author and that the book itself had received quite a bit of praise. Does that influence how I read (and like) it? And how does that compare to a book by an author I know quite well or a story that I have theorised about for ages before the publication date? I don’t think I’ll spoil you if I say that Gayle Foreman has a beautiful style of writing and that I would have literally read this in just one day if it weren’t for that pesky thing called outside world.

How much information do you collect about a book before you read it?

Waiting on Wednesday: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s can’t wait to read selection is
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke.
Publication Date: August 15th 2013

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
- Penguin / Dial

You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town…until River West comes along. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery...who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.

Synopsis from goodreads.com.

This last sentence sounds eerie. I imagine River with a wicked grin and a mischievous glint in his pretty eyes. But what do I expect from the Devil himself? An ulterior motive - definitely! Moreover, I expect some chills and an exceptional love story. What is so special about Violet that the Devil himself singled her out for his attention? And can you go back from loving the Devil?

I have a thing for bad boys in general and since reading books about blood-dripping ghosts and Poe-inspired parallel worlds, the more sinister storylines fascinate me even more. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea fits right in with my current reading mood, but maybe it is safer to read this book with sunshine pouring in the window. ;)

Which books are you (im)patiently waiting on this Wednesday? Tell us in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
To play along just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.

Code Name Verity – Egmont

I am no longer afraid of getting old. Indeed I can’t believe I ever said anything so stupid. So childish. So offensive and arrogant. But mainly, so very, very stupid. I desperately want to grow old.
– Part 1 Chapter 7

... if anyone should drop a match or cigarette the whole place would go up like Vesuvius. There’s no way I’d ever be able to get out. I try not to think about it.
– Part 2 Chapter 2

If you had told me a week ago that I was going to be raving about a story set in WW II, I’d probably said that you don’t know me very well. Right, I take everything back and claim the opposite. At least in this case. I know that this book has already received great reviews singing its praises and I won’t tell you anything new I suppose. If I was asked to describe this book in just one word, I’d fold. There is just no way. I caught myself smiling and had to ask myself if one should be able to find humour in this, but there is ... a silent, desperate, and incredibly brave humour amidst all the sadness and horror. There are also great acts of courage, selflessness, and devotion. I’m usually not much of a crier when I read and even though certain things can be suspected from the beginning, I had to put the book down several times because I couldn’t see the pages anymore. I really hope that everyone gets to experience a friendship such as the one evident throughout the book – if hopefully under happier circumstances.

Which book has you glued to the pages this week? Tell us in the comments.