TREACHEROUS LOVE: The Diary of an Anonymous Teenager
Edited by: Beatrice Sparks, Ph.D.
*I received this book from PaperBack Swap

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Mass Market Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: HarperTeen; Avon Books ed edition (May 31, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0380808625
  • ISBN-13: 978-0380808625

SYNOPSIS:

Fourteen-year-old Jennie’s life is turning upside down. Her father has walked out, and her anguished mother seeks solace in pills. Her best friend practically abandons her to be with a boyfriend. It seems like Jennie’s real best friend is her diary. Then she meets Mr. Johnstone, the substitute math teacher. Jennie has never met such a charismatic teacher. She feels honored when Mr. J. seems to single her out for special attention, and begins to fantasize about him as her boyfriend. When Mr. J. first reveals his feelings for her, she is thrilled by the relationship that grows outside the classroom walls. Then, slowly, Jennie’s diary becomes a record of her loneliness, pain, and confusion. Will it also offer her a way to escape from this treacherous love?

MY TAKE:

This was a book that I wouldn’t normally read. Since I have teenage daughters though, I thought I would give it a go. I found this book to be a little nerve wracking since I am a mom reading this.

I would say 80-90 percent of the book is Jennie writing in her diary. She spills her emotions of her parents fighting and eventually separating. She goes through the hurt, sadness and anger that any teenager would feel when their parents divorce. She sees her mom get addicted to pills, her friends go on with their lives and find boyfriends which leaves Jennie feeling alone. She tries pot and alcohol to try and numb the pain. Then her substitute teacher slowly makes his way into Jennie’s life. She is desperate for someone to love her and the teacher takes advantage of that. It is so sad to think that there are teachers out there that could do this. Being a mother of 3 girls, this scared me. It made me realize that it can happen to anyone’s child.

The part that is keeping me from making this a 5 flame read is how most of the book is just her diary. I wish we could have read more about what she goes through instead of just a couple short paragraphs in her diary.

At the end of the book it lists a question and answer list. It includes hotline numbers and ways to deal with this sort of thing if it happens to you. I really liked how they added that. If one person who is in this situation calls those numbers, then that section is not a waste of paper. It is an answered prayer.

MY RATING:


Very Good! Worth Spending Your Money on!

REVIEW, Q&A and CONTEST

Sucks To Be Me
Author: Kimberly Pauley

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Mirrorstone; Reprint edition (August 11, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0786952563
  • ISBN-13: 978-0786952564

SYNOPSIS:

Mina Hamilton’s parents want her dead. (Or undead to be precise.) They’re vampires, and like it or not, Mina must decide whether to become a vampire herself. But Mina’s more interested in hanging out with best friend Serena and trying to catch the eye of the too-hot-for-high-school Nathan Able than in the vampire training classes she’s being forced to take. How’s a girl supposed to find the perfect prom date and pass third-year French when her mom and dad are breathing down her neck–literally?

MY TAKE:

I have not laughed so much reading a book in a long time. This book had me laughing out loud so many times that I lost count. Warning: You will get sucked into this book from page one! Near the end of Mina’s last year, her parents inform her that she has to make an important decision of whether or not she has to become a vampire. She has to attend vampire classes on top of regular schooling, decide which guy she wants to take to prom, and keep this big secret from her best friends. What is a girl to do? With Mina, she rolls with the punches with her witty attitude typical of a teenager. At the end of the book, we get to see what Mina decides. This book flowed wonderfully and kept up a fast pace. I was so sad to get to the end. I wanted it to keep going. Thank goodness the author is writing a follow up book to this one! Anyone looking for a witty and LOL read should read this!

MY RATING:


Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading!

Kimberly was nice enough to do a quick Q&A session with me to share with everyone. Here is the Q&A:

Welcome to My Overstuffed Bookshelf! To start off can you tell the readers a little about yourself?

Hi! Thanks for having me! My shelves are pretty overstuffed themselves. πŸ™‚ Let’s see…a little about myself. Well, I’m little. Like 4′ 11″ (literally little). So when I do school visits, I usually wind up being the shortest person in the room. But my husband? He’s pretty tall. He’s 6′, which means that hopefully our son (little Max) has a fighting chance. He’s only one and a half right now, so it’s hard to tell. He’s also really, really cute. We also have a cat who is slowly driving us insane (she likes to meow. A lot.) and a dog (we just got her this year from a local rescue shelter). We live in a really cool neighborhood north of Chicago. It’s a conservation neighborhood with a farm and lots of trails and a lake and almost no fences and lots of playgrounds. Very nice people, too.

Can you tell us a little about your new or current releases?

The next book I have coming out is STILL SUCKS TO BE ME, the sequel to Sucks to Be Me. And I’m working on two books right now, one of them with a writer friend of mine. I’m excited about both of those, though neither one have a publisher at the moment (though, hey, you guys, buy my books and that’ll help get these new ones sold! πŸ™‚ ). Neither of the new ones have vampires, but both have fantasy-ish elements and will be funny. In the one I’m working on with my friend, I’m actually the GUY. Which is weird, but kind of fun. So I’m trying to channel 17 year old boy but without the stinky gym shoes.

When you’re not writing, what kind of books do you like to read? Do you have any favorite authors that are must reads?

I read mostly YA, but that’s also because I started YA & Kid’s Book Central (www.yabookscentral.com) back in 1998. I actually have a staff of reviewers now, but I still review some books. I read a bit of everything, but my favorites are probably fantasy and science fiction. I have waaaaaay too many authors that are must reads! It’s even harder now that I know a lot of them personally.

What are 3 things that are “must haves” for you when you sit down to write a new book?

My laptop (though I’m dying to get a new one), some quiet time, and paper & pen. I still scribble a lot of notes down, especially in the middle of the night — which is always when ideas seem to strike. Well, there and in the shower! But paper and pen don’t work out so well there. One weird thing — I hate wide-ruled paper. Always have. So it has to be college rule.

What are your favorite things to do in your downtime?

I wish I had some! LOL Well, really, we love to travel. Little Max has already been to 11 states and flown quite a few times. I also love to make stuff. I paint, knit, draw…the list of hobbies goes on and on.

Do you have a blog or website that your readers can keep up with you and your books?

Yep. Actually, more than one, really. My main website/blog is http://www.kimberlypauley.com but I also have the YA Books Central site at http://www.yabookscentral.com and the associated blog: http://yabookscentral.blogspot.com. Then I’m on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/kimberly.pauley and also have a fan page there at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-Pauley/81688255502 Hmmmm, then I’m also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KimberlyRPauley …not to mention, I also Twitter for YA Books Central at http://twitter.com/yabookscentral And then I have a family blog (that I don’t update nearly enough) at http://go2chicago.wordpress.com and a personal blog that I mostly just post silly poems on (I don’t advertise that one, but people could probably find it easily enough if they wanted to for some reason). Whew. Too many sites! Oh, ha, I forgot, there’s also a MySpace page. But I hardly ever go there (the status updates just get fed from Twitter). But, it’s at http://www.myspace.com/yabooksgoddess if you wanted to find it. Okay, seriously, that really is too many! But it’s something you gotta do these days.

Favorite 5:

FoodAnything wrapped in puff pastry.
ColorProbably Red. Though it used to be green.
Alcoholic Drink Red wine. Or eggnog (during the holidays)
Ice CreamOh, wow. Um, I really like ones that have toffee bits and caramel in them, but really, any ice cream is good. I mean, it’s ice cream.
TV Show and movieI don’t watch too many shows anymore, but I’d have to say my favorites (can’t pick just one) are Eureka, Burn Notice, Bones, and House. Movie? I’ll say The Princess Bride. There are other movies that I love, but I’ve been indecisive enough already!

If you weren’t an author, what do you think you would be doing?

Well, I used to be a web development manager. But I hated it, so I definitely wouldn’t be doing that if I could help it (the corporate thing is very soul-sucking). So I think I’d be doing something creative. Honestly, I’m not sure what. Thanks again for having me on your blog!

And now for the contest!

Kimberly was also nice enough to send me some goodies for 4 lucky followers!
( She is such the sweetest author people!)

4 people will each receive the following:

4 bookmarks ( 2 styles )
1 Sucks To Be Me Sticker

1 Sucks To Be Me Reading Guide

All you have to do is this:
1. Follow my blog!

2. Leave a comment with your email address!

and
3. Spread the word on your blog!
That’s it!

This contest will run until Friday, November 13th, 2009
(OMG! Friday the 13th! Perfect for a paranormal read!)
Winner will be announced on Saturday the 14th!

Thank you for joining me today and thank you Kimberly for everything!


EIGHTH GRADE BITES: THE CHRONICLES OF VLADIMIR TOD
Author: Heather Brewer

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Speak (March 13, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0142411876
  • ISBN-13: 978-0142411872

SYNOPSIS:

Vlad has to keep his vampire urges under control while dealing with the pressures of middle school.

Thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod really hates junior high. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: HeÂ’s being hunted by a vampire killer.

MY TAKE:

When I first picked up this book at our local drug store, I thought maybe I would try a tween novel. Yes it says young adult, but the reaction I got from the back of the book made me think of the tween crowd. Boy, was I wrong. Another example of don’t judge a book by its BACK cover. This was a great young adult vampire read! Vlad was born half vampire and half human. The first of his kind. At first we see Vlad deal with normal 8th grade things such as homework, bullies, and first crushes. Then it gets exciting when the new teacher on campus gets suspicious of him. The ending left you with a twist that you don’t see coming, which was great! It leaves you wanting to rush out and get the rest in this series to see what happens when Vlad starts high school. Another new author for me to add to my fave list!

MY RATING:


Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading!

My contest for the book
To Desire A Devil
by Elizabeth Hoyt
has ended.

Here is the list of entries entered into Random.Org:

1. Gillian Layne
2. Bella
3. Michelle
4. Patti
5. dag888888
6. elaing8
7. Virginia C
8. RKCharron
9. Crystal Adkins
10.dor
11.chey
12.throuthehaze
13.RAnn
14.kimmyl
15.lag123
16.Anita Yancey
17.Emma
18.cheryl c
19.Jill

And the five winners are:

lag123
Emma
throuthehaze
RKCharron
kimmyl

Congrats to all of you! I will email each one of you shortly to get your mailing address!

Thank you to everyone who entered!

YEAH!!!!!!!

We made it to 150 followers! As promised, I would add 2 more books to the box when I reached 150 followers. So here are the books that are excited to join in:

The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa De La Cruz
HARDCOVER (NEW)

Playing House by Fredrica Wagman
(NEW)

thanks for spreading the word. At 200 followers I will add another 2 books!