In my mailbox (25)

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren

I've had a really good week this week - firstly I am off work for 2 weeks (so Yay!), I also got some new shelves so that I no longer have big piles of books all over the floor and found books I'd forgotten I had! (bigger Yay!), I got 2 fab books for review:) AND I finally got my hands on a copy of Blood Promise!

For Review:

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver : Hodder & Stoughton General Published 4 Mar 2010 (and yes I did get a tad over excited about this one. I've already read it and love it!)
From Goodreads: What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life? Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she re-lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.

Nearly Departed by Rook Hastings : HarperCollins Children's Books Published 4 Feb 2010 (looks ace and I can't wait to read it:))
From Goodreads: "I've seen a ghost," said Emily. "Well, not seen one exactly. Heard one. At least, I think I have!" Everything has a rational explanation. Unless it doesn't. Welcome to Weirdsville...Woodsville is not like other towns. Night falls a little earlier there, the shadows are darker and denser, and everyone knows it's a place where strange things happen. Even if they won't admit it. Bethan would prefer to be anywhere but here. Jay has his theories, but isn't ready to share. Hashim sees more than he'll say, while Kelly's demons are all too flesh and blood. But Emily's freak-out brings them out of denial and face to face with the supernatural. Anywhere else, Friday night would be date night. But not in Weirdsville!

Bought:

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead (Woo Hoo!)
From Goodreads: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR PREVIOUS BOOKS!
How far will Rose go to keep her promise?
The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir’s Academy was the deadliest ever in the school’s history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers, and guardians alike. Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them. . . including Dimitri.
He’d rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her best friend, Lissa—the one she has sworn to protect no matter what—and keep the promise Dimitri begged her to make long ago. But with everything at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves most?


Premonitions by Jude Watson (I found this in a bargain bookshop - it is the first book from The Sight which is being published in March in the US)
From Goodreads: Grace has premonitions. They've haunted her since her parents' death. She doesn't know how to deal with them, and doesn't want to. She never knows whether she's seeing the past, the present, or the future. It just comes to her. Then Grace's best friend disappears. And suddenly the premonitions that have been the bane of her existence become the only way to solve the mystery of where the friend has gone -- and how she can be saved in time.)

and (because of the lovely new shelves) I finally found the books I bought off my friend Kirsty @ The Book Mogul before Christmas having lost/forgotten them in all the piles of books:)

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Love Cheat by Lorna Read
The Boyfriend Game by Stephie Davis
Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky
Love in the Corner Pocket by Marlene Perez
Invisible I (The Amanda Project)by Stella Lennon
Six Steps to a Girl by Sophie McKenzie and
Three's a Crowd by Sophie McKenzie

How did you all do?

Review and Giveaway: Auf Wiebersehen by Christa Holder Ockler

Review copy: Stray Dog Media
Published by Plain View Press, $14.95

From Amazon: . . . dramatic, tender, funny, frightening, earthy, quirky, wise and heart-warming. The tale of young Christa and her family as they leave a comfortable home to become penniless immigrants in their quest to survive the collapse of the Third Reich and flee the horrors that it has unleashed, opens up to universal themes of suffering, loss, love and hope. MICHAEL JOSEPH, Rutgers University Rare Book Librarian, Instructer of Childeren's Literature

This is one of those occasions when I am really pleased I was offered the book for review. Being a US publication I doubt it's a book I would have come across by myself and am really glad I got the chance to read it.

Christa Holder Ockler is a great writer and really brings the past to life. I really loved the way she incorporated German into the dialogue - it really added to the atmosphere. I could really sense the time period and the horrors they witnessed, and I never doubted that I was seeing this through the eyes of a child. Christa came across as very lovable and sweet, and you could really feel her sadness every time she had to say goodbye. Her journey with her family is an interesting one - I loved hearing about all the history and how it affected them.

One minor quibble is that it is a very quick read for a memoir spanning quite a few years - I would have liked it to be longer - it felt a bit choppy in places - but this is mainly because I enjoyed it so much. I also was left wanting to know more. What happened to them all after the final page?

Overall this is a really interesting insight into what it must of been like to be a child during the war. If you can get yourself a copy I would recommend you giving it a try. Due to a couple of scenes of a sexual nature I would be slightly uncomfortable recommending this to younger readers, otherwise I think fans of Anne Frank's Diary would love it.

GIVEAWAY: I thought I'd offer my (carefully read) copy up for grabs. If you think you'd fancy reading this please leave your name and email in the form below and I'll pick a name at random. Unfortunately, I'm feeling a bit poor so I'll need to make this one UK entrants only - sorry!

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

From Goodreads: Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around. Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge. If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day. She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully. Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first. Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be.

I adored her debut Cracked up to be and wondered if it was possible for this to live up the hype I had created in my own mind. I needn’t have worried. This is an amazing book!

What amazes me most about this author's writing is her ability to create such raw and honest characters. Regina is essentially a complete cow at the beginning of the story – people hate her and they hate her for good reason. But what we see unfold over the course of the book is that not everyone is as they seem. I found myself warming to Regina almost immediately but at the same time I knew if I met her that might not be the case. It was just that she was written in such a way it was as if I could see right into her character and all of her complexities. Michael was the same. You could really feel how torn he was in seeing a different side to Regina and his need to carry on hating her. Their connection felt tangible. I really felt invested in their relationship and to what happened to these characters.

This is more of a character driven story – it is essentially what happens to Regina at the beginning of the story and how that escalates. Mostly though it is Regina’s journey of self discovery and I really enjoyed taking that journey with her. At times it is very intense and seriousness of the situations scared me. At others I found myself wanting Regina to make different decisions. It felt a very realistic portrayal of bullying and the emotions behind it.

I can’t think of anything negative to say about this book. Some readers may dislike the amount of swear words and the sexual and drug -use references but I felt they were needed to reflect the adult themes portrayed in the book and to keep the story feeling realistic. It wouldn’t have worked so well for me had they were not been included.

I really loved everything about this book - the writing, characters and story - and I can say with absolute certainty that I cannot wait to see what this author writes next.

I want to read that...

Lost For Words by Alice Kuipers
Ever since Sophie Baxter’s sister was killed in the London terrorist bombings, she has retreated into herself. But there’s only so long she can keep everything bottled up inside before she explodes, and Sophie comes to realize that she must confront the horror of her past before she can face the future.

Up-and-coming talent Alice Kuipers lets her teen sensibility, humor, and fresh perspective shine in this remarkable story of family, hope, and perseverance in the face of tragedy.

I loved 'Life on the Refrigerator Door' - it was beautifully written - so I am really excited about this one. Another book that will probably make me cry! It's being published by Harperteen in Hardback in May. No UK date yet.

Are review copies the mark of a successful blog?

I have been wondering lately on the importance of review copies for a book blog. I have only received a few books for review and haven’t actively sought any. I feel more than happy to buy the books I review. That’s not to say I wouldn’t like review copies - I think they are a great way to discover authors I may have not read otherwise and there are many books I’d love to get my hands on before the release date. On the other hand I worry review copies could take the freedom out of my reading choices. For anyone who hasn’t read The Bookette’s discussion on this ( ‘Do free books take away our blogging freedom? ‘ ) should head over and check it out. What I’m wondering is whether a book blog can be as successful if they don’t receive advance copies to review before the publication date. I have always assumed that publishers like a review in the month surrounding a release date so does this mean it’s just as affective posting a review of a book a few weeks after the publication date than before? Do you prefer to read a review before or shortly after the publication date? For those of you who do receive review copies are there other benefits to receiving them? Do they establish a relationship with publishers that benefit your blog in other ways?

I would really love to hear people’s thoughts on this. I have been blogging for 6 months now and would love for that to continue and for my blog to improve and keep improving. I am really keen to try to include some more features such as author interviews and guest blogs so any advice/ thoughts would be greatly appreciated:)