One True Pairing

One True Pairing

at 

To enter this challenge:

• You should create a blog post with your OTP (One True Pairing), meaning your favorite couple from young adult books. Explain why they’re your favorite YA couple. If you don't have a blog, you can share your answer in the comments section.
• To make it fun, add pictures of who you think can portray the characters. 
• Add the link to your blog or comment to the linky tool at the bottom of this post to participate.

It is so hard to pick because I've had a hard time picking 10 guys/great couples, but I'll have to go back to what got me started in the blogging world and reading after a really long slump...
Edward and Bella

Lucky 7

Lucky Number 7 at 

TO ENTER:

• Open a book you are currently reading.
• Turn to page 7.
• Count to the 7th word.
• If the word is an article (a, an, the, etc), go to the next real word.
• Type the word into a Google Images search, and select a picture that you can stand.
• Create a blog post with the following information:
• Picture of book
• Book title and author
• 7th word on 7th page
• Randomly selected picture
• Link to this post and Princess Bookie's Contest Craze.

Old

  Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Top 5 in 2012

Challenge: Write up a blog post telling me your top 5 books that you are looking forward to releasing in 2012.  Be creative, you can use summaries, pictures, etc. 
For Princess Bookie's Contest Craze


Here we go:
1. Fever by Destefano 
2. Dreaming Awake by Haves 
3. Awake at Dawn By Hunter 
4. Hallowed by Hand 
5.  Golden Lily by Mead 

Review: Head Above Water by Rottman

Head Above Water by Rottman

Skye, a high school junior, tries to find the time for both family obligations and personal interests, which include caring for her brother who has Down's Syndrome, dating her first boyfriend, and swimming competitively.

Published in US: 1999
Source: Publisher for review


My review: 

   This is a story about a swimmer, a daughter, a sister and a friend--but most of all it is a journey of Skye accepting and learning who she is. 
   I connected with aSkye, and even if I haven't been in some of her unique roles as a caretaker to her brother with Down's, and I've never had any experience with competitive swimming, her struggle to find her place, and really appreciate what life has to offer even in the midst of hard times makes for a wonderful story. 
   The way she handles things that life throws at her is understandable. She has real emotions and we get to experience them with her. What I really appreciate though is how she ultimately learns from it, and though she's not perfect, the next time she's faced with similar, she is better able to respond. I know that in my own life I've refused to learn and grow, but Skye wasn't like that and we got to see her progress and hopefully learn from it. 
   This is an older book, but I think that it definitely deserves a chance to shine again with new readers. 


I'd love to hear what you think of the book or my review. 

Review: Ladybird, Ladybird by Abra Ebner

Ladybird, Ladybird by Abra Ebner

Samantha was born on a full moon to a mother already dead. Revived by doctors and given to her unloving father, Samantha was raised a cursed child, her only friend the ghost of her mother who speaks to her through keys. From the inside out, Sam burned with life, a fire so vivid it kept her peers at a distance, all except one. Leith, a quiet farmboy with a broken heart and demons of his own, enjoys the seclusion his classmates grant him, but the seclusion is all too familiar to Sam.
When their worlds collide... fires burn.

Publishes: Sept 2011
Source: Publisher for review

My Review: 

   Ms. Ebner has created a brilliant story with strong characters that tug at your heart. 

   While this has fantasy elements, the real story is Sam's journey to happiness, acceptance and ultimately, peace. She has a fire within her, and it burns, good or bad, with her emotions, and even though she is shunned by even her own father, she finds acceptance with two others, a teacher and a mysterious boy, that the town as a whole has labeled as odd and one not to closely associate with. 

   The ending managed to completely take me by surprise, which doesn't happen a whole lot... it was a twist that I never thought of! But it fits the story so well. 

   I also like the symbol and presence of the ladybug (ladybird) in this story. It is really original, and I loved how it played into the plot and guided Sam's journey. 

I'd love to hear what you think of my review and/or the book.