Tuesday 26 March 2013

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?

Wednesday 20 March 2013

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.

Tuesday 19 March 2013

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!

Wednesday 13 March 2013

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!

Tuesday 12 March 2013

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?