Top 5 - My Most Abused Books

You could say that I have a bad reputation for being a bit less pristine with my books. In my defense, I would like to point out that a broken spine and the occasional dog-eared page does NOT make me what some would call "a book abuser."

Of the bajillions of books on my shelf, there's only a few I would say are in "bad shape." So I thought I'd make a list of my...

Top 5 (but really only 4) - Most Abused Books

Possibly my most favorite abused book is Deb Caletti's THE STORY OF US because I took it to the beach in Key West and gave it a little suntan. Sand between its pages, a cover that crinkles up no matter how much I try to flatten it--this is not the worst damage. Oh no, I took a pen to this one. Deb has such incredible prose, I needed to underline and bracket whole passages. It was like a reading "OH YEAH!"

Next is my copy of Jeffrey Eugenides' MIDDLESEX, which I inherited from my mom. She dropped it in the bathtub, which made the book balloon out. You can see the wrinkles across the pages, and where the glue is giving away. Lots of loose pages! Which didn't help when I read it with the cover folded back.

I found Nicholas Sparks' AT FIRST SIGHT while BFF Kelly and I were walking around Manhattan one fine spring day. It was leaning up against a stoop, Rock the Drop style and I freaked! I have never found a book out and about. Someone loved it and wanted to share it with me! So what if it leans like the Leaning Tower of Pisa (I totally spelled that as Pizza before spellcheck--don't judge me!).

I saved the worst for last: My copy of Joan Lowery Nixon's THE OTHER SIDE OF DARK. I have owned this book since I was twelve. You can see how much it was loved: dumped into book bags, slid between car seats and shoved under beds by the cover wear (and missing corner on the lower right side). It's well-loved pages are not only dog-eared, but water damaged from being stored in a cardboard box in a damp basement. This gives it that mealy feel when you turn those pages. Plus, look at those ripples! 

For Your TBR - The Body In The Woods

The Body In The Woods
By April Henry

Published: June 17th, Henry Holt

From GoodReads: Alexis, Nick, and Ruby have very different backgrounds: Alexis has spent her life covering for her mom’s mental illness, Nick’s bravado hides his fear of not being good enough, and Ruby just wants to pursue her eccentric interests in a world that doesn’t understand her. When the three teens join Portland County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, they are teamed up to search for a autistic man lost in the woods. What they find instead is a dead body. In a friendship that will be forged in danger, fear, and courage, the three team up to find the girl’s killer—before he can strike one of their own.

My Thoughts:

The Body in the Woods is the first book in a new series by April Henry. The story pulls you in right away and I was fascinated reading about the Search And Rescue (SAC) training the characters went through. When they're called to help find a missing person lost in the woods, the teens stumble on a body and are pulled into a mystery worthy of a Law & Order SVU episode.

I really liked this one. It was a fast paced, intense read that left me guessing, but it was the characters that kept me hooked. I especially loved and connected with Alexis who spent most of the book in search for her mentally ill mother who went missing. Ruby was fascinating as well, and an interesting pick to narrate a mystery murder book. Obsessed with strange interests and reliant on logic and fact, Ruby spends most of the book tangling herself between the police and the investigation. She mentions that she has a hard time relating to other people, doesn't understand social norms, and doesn't process emotion easily--which led me to believe that maybe Ruby was a high functioning autistic.

The one character who wasn't explored as deeply was Nick, but since this book is the first in the series, I'd be interested to see if he's represented more in future books.

A lot of people recommended this book to me after I was looking to read more thrillers (especially psycho thrillers). I would definitely recommend this book to those who liked Barry Lyga's I Hunt Killers or a more intense version of Jennifer Lynn Barnes' The Naturals. Another serial killer book on my TBR list is S.E. Green's Killer Instinct, due out this summer by Simon Pulse.

For Your TBR Pile - SECOND STAR

SECOND STAR 
By Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Published: May 13th, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

From GoodReads: A twisty story about love, loss, and lies, this contemporary oceanside adventure is tinged with a touch of dark magic as it follows seventeen-year-old Wendy Darling on a search for her missing surfer brothers. Wendy’s journey leads her to a mysterious hidden cove inhabited by a tribe of young renegade surfers, most of them runaways like her brothers. Wendy is instantly drawn to the cove’s charismatic leader, Pete, but her search also points her toward Pete's nemesis, the drug-dealing Jas. Enigmatic, dangerous, and handsome, Jas pulls Wendy in even as she's falling hard for Pete. A radical reinvention of a classic, Second Star is an irresistible summer romance about two young men who have yet to grow up--and the troubled beauty trapped between them.

My Thoughts:

First, you can never go wrong with a Peter Pan retelling in my book. I adored Jodi Lynn Anderson's TIGER LILY, so when I saw that SECOND STAR was Peter Pan set on the coast of California with surfer kids, I all but knocked down Fierce Reads door (Okay, no. I just requested on NetGalley, but whatever).

Alyssa B. Sheinmel did a fantastic job capturing the magic and adventure of surf culture, and drew some pretty awesome comparisons between those who don't follow a traditional academic path to college, opting for adventure. In SECOND STAR's case, boys who want to follow the waves so they can catch the biggest ones.

In the search for her missing surfer brothers, Wendy Darling is caught up between the somewhat-childish, straight-laced Pete and drug dealer Jas and their turf war for the beach. There's something really beautiful about the different ways grief can be written about, and I loved Sheinmel's approach on the fear of letting go and growing up.

SECOND STAR spins the story of Peter Pan on its ear, with appearances by Belle, Nanna, but leaves the crocodiles at home. Overall, a strong contemporary retelling full of romance, adventure and mystique.

For Your TBR Pile: FAR FROM YOU

FAR FROM YOU

By Tess Sharpe

Published: April 8th, Disney Hyperion

From GoodReads: Sophie Winters nearly died. Twice.

The first time, she's fourteen, and escapes a near-fatal car accident with scars, a bum leg, and an addiction to Oxy that'll take years to kick.

The second time, she's seventeen, and it's no accident. Sophie and her best friend Mina are confronted by a masked man in the woods. Sophie survives, but Mina is not so lucky. When the cops deem Mina's murder a drug deal gone wrong, casting partial blame on Sophie, no one will believe the truth: Sophie has been clean for months, and it was Mina who led her into the woods that night for a meeting shrouded in mystery.

After a forced stint in rehab, Sophie returns home to a chilly new reality. Mina's brother won't speak to her, her parents fear she'll relapse, old friends have become enemies, and Sophie has to learn how to live without her other half. To make matters worse, no one is looking in the right places and Sophie must search for Mina's murderer on her own. But with every step, Sophie comes closer to revealing all: about herself, about Mina and about the secret they shared.

My Thoughts:

When I went to ALAMW in January, FAR FROM YOU was the book I had to come home with. I'd been intrigued ever since I'd followed Tess Sharpe on Twitter and read her thoughts about writing. "This is a girl who knows what she's doing when it comes to craft," I thought. FAR FROM YOU is proof.

Tess weaves a secret romance into mystery and thrill, and skillfully packs emotion into each and every scene (even the ones that involve threatening someone with bear mace!). Sophie is a fierce character and so three dimensional. I commend Tess for presenting a bi-sexual character so well onto the YA scene, but Sophie is so many other things as a heroine: a loyal friend, a strong-headed daughter, a struggling addict, a reluctant cripple.

Lately, a big trend in publishing is non-linear stories, told in a back and forth motion from past and present. With these stories, I get really confused easily and forget where I am in the story (stopping to think "is this past or present?"). Tess navigates around this well, by keeping her chapters short (most are only two or three pages) and grounding the reader at the beginning of each chapter by marking not only how many months ago something happened, but how old the character was at the time.

Don't miss out on this April debut. I'm excited to see more writing from Tess. I think she has the potential to be a strong force in YA.

Writers Like Us - Sashi Kaufman

I had to come out of blogging hiatus when Sashi Kaufman agreed to do Writers Like Us. Her book THE OTHER WAY AROUND comes out next week with Carolrhoda Lab.

Reasons why Sashi Kaufman is awesome:
1) I got to read THE OTHER WAY AROUND a little early (agency sister and ARC beggar perks!) and THE OTHER WAY AROUND is my favorite 2014 contemporary. It's about a boy who runs away from home to hit the road with a group of vegan, trash-picking street performers. I loved not only the road trip story, but the organic and rich alternative life Andrew tumbles into. It was a lovely, and unique, way to rebel against his uptight, by-the-books mother. I'm most likely going to start threatening people to read this one!
2) Sashi is an all-around awesome person and gives some pretty awesome answers below.
3) She also brought along a copy to giveaway in the Rafflecopter below!

So, without further adieu...

Sashi on Writing

• I've written 4 books, and 1 has seen the light of day….so far.

• My favorite type of scene to write is a scene where a lot is happening both action-wise and also emotionally. I like when character is revealed through action.

• No matter how long I've been writing, I still have issues with pacing in the last third of a book.

• The book I wished I wrote is On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta.

Sashi on Getting Published

• If my agent really knew how crazy I was, she would find out not much that isn’t already apparent. I don’t really have a “social face” I save for my agent. I’m glad she’s the kind of person who’s accepting of who I really am.

• When I was querying, I felt excited and unnaturally anxious about my inbox.

• The biggest mistake I ever made while on submission was rewriting a book in the first person. I never believed in it that way and ultimately the editor who made the request passed. 

• The craziest thought I've ever had while being published is that everyone else knows what they’re doing. I’m often plagued by the idea that I’ve missed some really important publishing meeting or class and as a result I’m destined to fail –whatever that means.

• When I got "The Call," my first thought was not really a word –more like a primal muppet cry. I’ll try and put it into letters AWOOOGAHOWAAGA!!!

• When I saw my book sale in Publishers Marketplace, I brought back some dance moves from my junior high era. They weren’t even cool then.

Sashi on Life Outside Writing

• If I weren't a writer, I'd probably be ...well I am a middle school science and English teacher and that’s a pretty cool job. But for something totally different, I’d probably pick neuroscientist.

• Secretly, I'm terrified of that thing in Star Wars that tried to suck Luke and Han Solo into the pit and slowly digest them over the course of thousands of years. So I guess being slowly digested for thousands of years. 

• My secret boyfriend is Clive Owen.

• Sometimes, when no one is around, I talk to myself in accents. Sometimes I do it in front of people too –my students can attest to that.

Sashi is a middle school English and science teacher who lives in Portland, Maine with her husband and daughter. Her debut YA novel The Other Way Around is launching on March 1st. She is also an amateur trash picker.

Win a copy of THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

Andrew West goes to an all-girls school and he still can’t get a date. If that’s not bad enough, his Mom is the headmaster. Everyone seems to have the wrong idea about Andrew. His teachers think he’s a good student who doesn’t apply himself -he really is trying. The kids at his old school thought he was a goth. His cousin Barry thinks he’s gay.

When his Thanksgiving break goes tragically awry he decides to run away. He catches a ride with a strange group of older teenagers. The Freegans are street performers and dumpster divers. As Andrew travels the country with his new friends he leaves behind the expectations of others and discovers what he expects of himself.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want more Writers Like Us? Check out the entire series, including interviews with A.S. King, Sara Zarr, Jennifer E. Smith, Kristin Halbrook, Tara Lynn Childs, Robin Benway, Katie McGarry, Trish Doller, and many, many more.

Channing Tatum Says You Should Be Writing

I'm taking a little hiatus from blogging. Of course, I'll pop in to do the occasional What's Up Wednesday and I'm committed to my monthly Currently Reading posts.

Never fear! The agent and writer interviews are still available, and I'm sure I'll pick these series back up.

So I'm still here, just slowing down.

Why?

Because Channing says it best.

Currently Reading - February 2014

Happy February!! <3

Where in the heck did January go? Does anyone else feel like they blinked and missed it?! The funny thing is that I feel like I've been crazy busy, and still managed to blow through all of my January reading, plus a whole lot more. Here were a few of my favorites.

I went to ALAMW, which was amazing. While the conferences and meetings were for librarians and educators only, the exhibit hall was open to the public. I tagged along with my best blogging friends and they showed me the ropes on how to navigate the showroom floor and network with other bloggers. Plus, there were books. Lots and lots of books.

I was super excited to find agency brother Robert Lettrick's FRENZY at the Disney Hyperion booth (I even scored an ARC) and agency sister Sashi Kaufman's THE OTHER WAY AROUND at the Lerner booth (unfortunately, no ARC but I did score a rad bookmark!).

Clan MacLeod also celebrated agency sister Jodi Meadows' INFINITE, the thrilling conclusions to the INCARNATE trilogy! (I always wanted to type something super promo-y like that!). To show my support and through the powers of Photoshop, Robert gave me a feather face! You can see all our pictures on Sashi's blog here.

So for this month, the plan is to start tackling my pile of ALAMW ARCs, which include...

• Lucy Christopher's THE KILLING WOODS
• Kimberly McCreight's RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA
• Robert "Best Agency Brother Ever" Lettrick's FRENZY
• and Donna Jo Napoli's STORM

Hope you have a fantastic February! What are you reading?

2014 Reading Challenge

Valerie has read 1 book toward her goal of 55 books.

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