Calling All Ottawa Area Book Lovers

Well this is a message to all Ottawa-area book lovers.  I was contacted by Simon and Schuster Canada and told about a fun event happening in this area.  As you know, I often complain that there are never enough book signings in Ottawa. It is a major Canadian city and I often feel like it gets overlooked when the book gods set up signings.  
 Well I can complain no more because Jeannette Walls is coming to Ottawa!  For those of you who don't know Walls' work, she is responsible for the novel The Glass Castle.  It is an amazing novel about a girl growing up in poverty.  It is quite powerful and I really enjoyed it.  She has a new novel coming out and she is here in Ottawa this weekend to sign it.  

A little overview: 

Date: Saturday June 15th
 Where: Southminster United Church, 15 Alymer Ave. 
 Time: 7pm 

For more details please check out this link.

 I'm hoping to get out to this event and I'm hoping to see some of you there.  
 

ARC Review: Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

Publisher: Harper Teen
Publishing Date: June 11, 2013
Genre: YA, Thriller
Pages:  432 pgs
ISBN: 9780062135957
Source: from publisher for review through Edelweiss



Summary from Goodreads:

The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

My Review: 

 Well, I wasn't sure what to expect when I first started this novel and I was kept guessing up until the end.  The premise of this novel is that there is a girl, Annaliese, who goes missing after being heard screaming and seen bleeding everywhere.  After quite some time she returns with no memory of anything.  The novel continues as she tries to navigate through a home she doesn't remember, at a school she doesn't remember and with parents she doesn't remember.  

It is very difficult to talk about this novel without giving too much away.  Let's just say that everything is not quite normal. 

What I really like about this novel is that it is presented at first like a normal thriller/mystery but as you read further on you discover that there is some paranormal element to it.  I also like that this paranormal element doesn't fall under a particular area.  It's  not a vampire, a werewolf, a fairy but something entirely different and new.  

I have to say that this book kept me guessing and wanting to figure out what was going on.  I was never quite sure what was going on.  It is also so incredibly creepy which, as strange as this may seem, is something I love reading.  I like things that a little macabre and gory and this book has just that.  

I couldn't get a read on Annaliese as a character so that was a bit of a drawback.  I just felt like I couldn't connect to the main character (and for good reason considering she is not quite what she seems) and this makes it difficult to connect fully with the book.  

I did like the writing of this novel and I found it entertaining so overall I would say that it's worth a read.  I wouldn't say that it is a must-read but it is a decent story with good writing.  

 

WoW: Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it is a weekly feature where bloggers share what they are excited to read next.

Summary from Goodreads:

Things you earnestly believe will happen while your parents are away:

1. You will remember to water the azaleas.
2. You will take detailed, accurate messages.
3. You will call your older brother, Denny, if even the slightest thing goes wrong.
4. You and your best friend/bandmate Lukas will win Battle of the Bands.
5. Amid the thrill of victory, Lukas will finally realize you are the girl of his dreams.

Things that actually happen:

1. A stranger calls who says he knew your sister.
2. He says he has her stuff.
3. What stuff? Her stuff.
4. You tell him your parents won’t be able to—
5. Sukey died five years ago; can’t he—
6. You pick up a pen.
7. You scribble down the address.
8. You get on your bike and go.
9. Things . . . get a little crazy after that.*
*also, you fall in love, but not with Lukas.

Both exhilarating and wrenching, Hilary T. Smith’s debut novel captures the messy glory of being alive, as seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd discovers love, loss, chaos, and murder woven into a summer of music, madness, piercing heartbreak, and intoxicating joy.

Another contemporary.  I hope you get to enjoy it May 28th, 2013 (yesterday!).

Happy Reading! 

ARC Review: Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin

Publisher: Atria Books
Publishing Date: May 21st, 2013
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 352 pgs
ISBN: 9781476705804
Source: Received from NetGalley for an honest review



Summary from Goodreads:

The Walker family is good at keeping secrets from the world. They are even better at keeping them from each other.

Max Walker is a golden boy. Attractive, intelligent, and athletic, he’s the perfect son, the perfect friend, and the perfect crush for the girls in his school. He’s even really nice to his little brother. Karen, Max’s mother, is a highly successful criminal lawyer, determined to maintain the façade of effortless excellence she has constructed through the years. Now that the boys are getting older, now that she won’t have as much control, she worries that the façade might soon begin to crumble. Adding to the tension, her husband, Steve, has chosen this moment to stand for election to Parliament. The spotlight of the media is about to encircle their lives.


The Walkers are hiding something, you see. Max is special. Max is different. Max is intersex. When an enigmatic childhood friend named Hunter steps out of his past and abuses his trust in the worst possible way, Max is forced to consider the nature of his well-kept secret. Why won’t his parents talk about it? What else are they hiding from Max about his condition and from each other? The deeper Max goes, the more questions emerge about where it all leaves him and what his future holds, especially now that he’s starting to fall head over heels for someone for the first time in his life. Will his friends accept him if he is no longer the Golden Boy? Will anyone ever want him—desire him— once they know? And the biggest one of all, the question he has to look inside himself to answer: Who is Max Walker, really?


Written by twenty-five-year-old rising star Abigail Tarttelin, Golden Boy is a novel you’ll read in one sitting but will never forget; at once a riveting tale of a family in crisis, a fascinating exploration of identity and a coming-of-age story like no other.

 

My Review: 

This book is unlike anything I have ever read before.  It follows the story of Max, a boy who is actually intersex.  The book starts with a very disturbing scene and it is not for the faint of heart.  It pulls on your heartstrings and you can't help but feel for Max.  He is stuck in this world and while to everyone else he is male but he knows that he has parts for both male and female.  This is something that has not been all that difficult in the past but as Max is coming of age and beginning to explore his sexuality it has become more difficult.  

I loved the author's writing and it is amazing to think that she is only 25 years old.  The writing is mature and well researched.  She writes in a way that you can't help but be empathetic to all the characters (well perhaps not Hunter).  

This book not only focuses on the intersex aspect but also shows how difficult being a teen can be when it comes to dating and relationships with parents and siblings.  It can be a tumultuous time and I can only imagine what growing up with this family "secret" would have been like.  It is something that would be incredibly difficult to deal with.  It would make you question core elements of your identity. 

This novel makes you think about gender and identity.  How much does your gender shape who you are?  Many people say that gender can be fluid while others argue that gender makes up a large part of who we are and it is a core element to our identity.  I'm not sure which camp I belong to but I can see both sides of the argument.  I can't imagine who I would be if I wasn't female but I don't think that I necessarily fall into every gender role that society tries to prescribe to me.  

I have to say that this is one of my favourite books of the year thus far and I will definitely be pimping this book out to my friends and family.  If you get a chance to read this novel it is definitely worth the read.  You will be hooked from the start to the finish and you will be wishing that there was more to read.  I would rush out and buy this one as soon as you can because I have a feeling this will be a big hit.      

 

WoW: And the Mountains Echoed

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it is a weekly feature where bloggers share what they are excited to read next.

Summary from Goodreads:

Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations.

 Who didn't love The Kite Runner?  This book is by the same author and it's been awhile since he's published a new book.  Can't wait for May 21st, 2013! 

Happy Reading! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Cover Lust

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's edition is top ten book covers of books I've read.  This one will be difficult because there are so many good covers out there. I've made up my own rules this week and I've come up with 12 covers.   Here are my favourites:

 Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler & Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

 Insurgent by Veronica Roth & The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

 The Art of Forgetting by Camille Noe Pagan & The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

 Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys & Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

 Scarlet by Marissa Meyer & The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

 Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter & Forgotten by Cathering McKenzie

ARC Review: NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

Publisher: William Morrow
Publishing Date: April 30th, 2013
Genre: Adult, Horror
Pages: 689 pgs
ISBN: 9780062200570
Source: Received from Harper Collins Canada for an honest review



Summary from Goodreads:

Charlie Manx burned a man to death in his black 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith, but that’s not the worst of it. Rumor has it that he kidnapped dozens of children, taking them to a place he calls “Christmasland.” The only child ever to escape was a very lucky girl named Victoria McQueen.

Vic has a gift – she can ride her bike through the Shorter Way bridge and she’ll come out the other side wherever she needs to be, even if it’s hundreds of miles away. Vic doesn’t tell anyone about her ability; no one would understand.

When Charlie Manx finally dies after years in prison, his body disappears...after the autopsy. The police and media think someone stole it, but Vic knows the truth: Charlie Manx is on the road again...and he has her kid. And this time, Vic McQueen’s going after him...

My Review: 

I was very excited when I heard that Joe Hill had another book coming out and I immediately requested it for review.  I was happy when this shiny book showed up at my doorstep a few weeks later.  I have to first off apologize that this review is going up a little later than I would have liked but my personal life has been a bit of a rollercoaster lately.  Things are on the upswing so I'm glad to be getting a bit of reviewing done again. 

I have read Hill's other two novels (Horns and Heart Shaped Box) and I  quite enjoyed both of them.  They are creepy and imaginative and you can't seem to peel yourself away from them once you start reading.   

I have to say that this novel is just as creepy and just as imaginative as the other two novels I have read.   NOS4A2 follows two different stories that eventually come together in a macabre underworld.  At the beginning of the novel Vic McQueen is a young girl who can find anything that is lost.  All she has to do is travel across a magic bridge with her bike.  Charlie Manx kidnaps children and brings them to a magically scary place he calls Christmasland.  There bad things happen and the children somehow change.  One day Vic McQueen crosses paths with Charlie Manx and somehow survives and gets away.  Charlie Manx never forgets this and without giving too much away he ensures that he crosses paths with McQueen another time.  

I have to admit that the size of this novel is a little daunting.  It is almost 700 pages and at times the story can drag a little.  I did find my mind wandering at times and for this reason I think that some of the story could have been cut down a little.  

That being said, I really did enjoy the world in this novel.  There is a such a disturbing magic in this novel and I wouldn't expect anything less from Hill.  When you read this book you can't help but become immersed in the story because the writing is so descriptive.  You really feel like you are right there in the book.  

As for the characters, I was on the fence about Vic McQueen.  She is endearing when she is younger but as she gets older I begin to feel like she becomes slightly selfish at times.  She is difficult to like at times but in the end I came around to liking her.  

There is no way that anyone could really like Charlie Manx but I did find his character to be fascinating.  He was just so weird and creepy and for some reason I am drawn to that.  

Overall I have to say that I enjoyed the book but I can see how some people may find it to be slightly too long.