Challenge Update: July

I'm participating in 100+ Books in 2010 and a Historical Reading Challenge:

1. Gone by Michael Grant
2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald *
3. A Princess of Landover by Terry Brooks
4. Pretty Little Liars #2 (Flawless) by Sarah Shephard
5. The Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier
6. North Of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headly
7. Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton
8. Passing Strange by Daniel Waters
9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
* For school and I'm counting as a historical book.

CSN Stores $80 Certificate Giveaway Coming Soon

Hi guys! Remember last month I held a CSN Stores giveaway? Well, they selected me as a preffered Webmaster and now I get to host another one! CSN stores is a great chain of stores where you can find everything from bedroom furniture sets to lamps and other cool stuff. So, stick around because next week I will be posting up the contest for you to join!

Thank you to CSN stores for letting me host this giveway.

North Of Beatiful by Justina Chen Headley

North of Beautiful 

Born with a port-wine stain birthmark covering her entire right cheek, Terra Rose Cooper is ready to leave her stifling, small Washington town where everyone knows her for her face. With her critical, reproachful father and an obese mother who turns to food to deflect her father's verbal attacks, home life for Terra isn't so great either. Fueled by her artistic desires, she plans to escape to an East Coast college, thinking this is her true path. When her father intercepts her acceptance letter, Terra is pushed off-course, and she is forced to confront her deepest insecurities. After an ironically fortuitous car accident, Terra meets Jacob, a handsome but odd goth Chinese boy who was adopted from China as a toddler. Jacob immediately understands Terra's battle with feeling different. When Terra's older brother invites her and her mother to visit him in Shanghai, Jacob and his mother also join them on their journey, where they all not only confront the truth about themselves, but also realize their own true beauty. North of Beautiful is the engaging third YA novel by Justina Chen Headley. This is a gorgeously-written, compelling book featuring universal themes of defining true beauty, family bonds, personal strength, and love.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've kept my reviews shorter lately. This is a mixtue of lazyness and the fact that I read books weeks before I actually review them. Okay, onto the real thing.

North of Beautiful is a...beautiful book. All characters are so distinct and unique that you really get a sense that you know them all. I loved also the uniqueness of the book because of the mapping details. I've never read a book that centered an idea, a hobby, and created a complete story revolving around it.

Jacob and Terra are just great together. Both have their issues and I believe that both, in the end, discover True Beauty in themselves.

The father was an a*hole, that's enough said. But even with that, we are left with enough ambiguousity in the end to really figure out by ourselves what really happens to him and the characters the moment you close the book.

And Terra's mom is amazing, too. I was just as happy that she found her beauty as I was with Terra finding hers. Both of theirs stories are inspiring.

In one sentence:
"Finding beautiful in every word."

Plot: 5
Characters: 5
Writing: 5
Cover: 5
Overall Feeling: 5
Average: 5 stars

MOCKINGJAY TWITTER PARTY!

Hey guys! I've mentioned this before and now I'm making the official post.

What: A Twitter Chat/Party celebrating the release of The Hunger Game's third book, Mockingjay.
Who: Bloggers and readers alike. Everyone is invited!
When: Friday, August 27th, 2010
Details: Come join in the fun! There will be special discussions to participate in or you can just sit back, relax, and follow the conversation and hype!
Hosted by: Patty from Yay! Reads. This party is in no way affiliated with Scholastic, Suzanne Collins, or any other affiliates. It is mainly just a fan party/celebration.

How to tune in: Simply follow #yrmockingjay and use it with all your posts.

We ask you to please sign up using the Mister Liny below. Just use your name and blog (if you have one). This will be to keep track of the attendees.


Spread the Word!
Spread the word by posting this button on your website!


<a href="http://yayreads.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i27.tinypic.com/2a0ma8p.png" alt="Mockingjay Twitter Party!"></a>

Manifest by Artist Arthur

Manifeset

Krystal Bentley is an outsider at her new high school, having just moved to a small Connecticut town. Lately she's been hearing the voice of a teenage boy in her head, and he has become her friend and confidant. The only problem is, he's dead...

Ricky Watson was killed a year ago in the alley behind Krystal's new school. The rumor mill is filled with stories of Ricky and his untimely death. Unfortunately, as a ghost, Ricky is unable to investigate his own murder, so Ricky needs Krystal to find the truth and she needs someone to listen. When Krystal befriends Sasha and Jake, both outcasts at her high school, the threesome soon discover that they have more in common than their outsider status. Each has a unique paranormal ability and an unusual birthmark in the shape of an "M." Jake announces that the M must stand for misfits, and so the three form an unusual clique. They soon realize that solving Ricky's murder can help them understand the mystery behind their powers and may reveal whether there are others like them.

The aspect I most liked about Manifest was that it was multi-racial and not just black or white which I relate to, being Puerto Rican.

Krystal was funny and relatable character.  The only complain about her is that she was sometimes annoying and dramatic.

Ricky as fine, I suppose. He's not my type (I much prefer Jake) and he didn't help much but he was okay.

I was waiting for the book to finally pick up and I was happy when it did near the end.

I don't know if it's me or done on purpse but there seemed to be this big plot hole that confused me. I hope they fix this in the final copy. At one point, it is said Jake's power is super-strong (like Hulk) and then it totally changes to telekinesis.

I also liked the mythology aspect and I hope there is more on the next book.

Overall, I liked the book and I can tell Artist's writing has a way to go because in Manifest it seemed a bit ameteur.

In one sentence:
"An entertaining new novel with great potential."

Plot: 4
Characters: 3
Writing: 3
Cover: 4
Overall Feeling: 4
Average: 3.6 stars

ARC copy provided by publisher.