Sharks & Boys by Kristen Tracy

From Goodreads: When 15-year-old Enid Calhoun follows her boyfriend Wick to Maryland for a party, fearful that he might be intending to cheat on her, she finds herself sneaking on board a houseboat where Wick and his friends plan to have a wild night. But before the boys discover their stowaway, a hurricane strikes, and the teenagers are carried miles from the shore and shipwrecked. What follows is a harrowing, yet heartwarming, story of survival, as the teens battle hypothermia, dehydration, man-eating sharks--and along the way, confront their own deepest secrets, including their catalytic roles in the disaster.

This was different from what I was expecting but I did really enjoy it. I really liked Kristen Tracy's writing and I'll be sure to check out more of her work.

The story begins with Enid and her boyfriend Wick 'taking a break'. Convince he will cheat on her she follows him to a party and sneaks on board the boat. When the boat sinks they all find themselves in a world of trouble...

The main character of Enid is where this book was different than I was expecting. She came across as quite lost - she needed constant reassurance from Wick and other people around her. Although you can understand why this might be the case it doesn't stop her action feeling slightly stalkerish when she follows the boys to the party. Many of us may want to follow our boyfriends (or boyfriends we are on a 'break' with) to make sure they are not with anyone else but many of us have too much self esteem to actually go through with it. Or at least I hope we do!

Once the boat sinks though, the story really kicks into action and I have to say I was completely gripped. It actually became quite terrifying and I had no idea if I would get the outcome I hoped. It becomes a story of survival and introspection. Enid starts to realise that she can't hold all boys to the example her father has set - and we get to see she is a lot stronger than I first thought. The girl I met at the beginning of the story was a very different one at the end - and I enjoyed her subtle journey working out what is important and what is not.

Also, I didn't realise the story was going to be focused around 4 sets of twins! I loved that the characters were twins - I have always has a fascination with what that would be like so I found that aspect of the story really interesting.

As I said -  I really liked Kristen Tracy's writing style and I will definitely be checking out more of her books. I have already been recommended Lost It by a friend so I will have to start there.

I want to read that...

Fracture by Megan Miranda

From Goodreads: Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine - despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death.

Comparisons to Before I Fall and If I Stay makes this a definite must read for me - I loved them both! And I am loving the cover!

It's published January 2012

In My Mailbox (102)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren



Review

Blood Ninja by Nick Lake
Blood Ninja II Revenge of Lord Oda by Nick Lake
I really fancy trying these.  Different from what I would normally pick up.

The Legacy by Gemma Malley
I have a hardback of this so look out for a giveaway for this one later in the week!

Shimmer by Alyson Noel
I really enjoyed Radiance so I'm looking forward to this one!

Lottie Biggs is NOT Tragic by Hayley Long
I still haven't started this series but it looks great!  I have book 2 as well so I will start there.

Hades by Alexandra Adornetto
Another series I haven't started yet!  I so need to - it looks awesome!

Circle of Fire by Michelle Zink
Eek!  Another series I really need to read.  I have all the books so I must get reading!  Love the covers for this series!

Massive thanks to all the publishers who sent books for review:)



Bought

Ten Things We Shouldn't Have Done by Sarah Mlynowski
I so want to read this!  Looks major awesome!

The Truth about Celia Frost by Paula Rawsthorne
I've heard so many great things about this one already!

Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
This was recommended to be by a friend.  Love the cover!

Pearl by Jo Knowles
Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman
Both of these are for the Contemps Challenge - which I am failing to complete:(

Love Story by Jennifer Echols
Thanks to Galley Grab I have already read this - another awesome book by Echols!  Review to come soon:)

Hope you have all had a great week:)

Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers

From Goodreads: From the author of Cracked Up to Be and Some Girls Are comes a gripping story about one girl’s search for clues into the mysterious death of her father.

When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?

Honestly, I have no idea how Courtney Summer's does it but she blows me away every time. This is such a sad story but at the same time I couldn't stop myself from reading, or thinking about Eddie.  There is something so raw and powerful about it - it was as if I was witnessing something I shouldn't.

The story is centered around Eddie and her friend Milo.  Eddie's father has recently committed suicide, her mother is not dealing with it at all and Eddie herself desperately needs to know why he did it.  When she meets Culler, her father's student, she believes he can help provide the answers she seeks...

As I said earlier reading this felt as if I was witnessing something I shouldn't - but it was as if the book had me in a strangle hold.  As uncomfortable I felt at times - the grief and vulnerability Eddie feels is palpable to the reader  -  I couldn't tear myself away.  I'm not sure I've read such a realistic portrayal of grief  - with someone trying to come to terms with not only the death of her father but also being the one who found him.

Having said all this I appreciate this might not be to everybody's taste.  It's painful honesty doesn't make this a bundle of laughs to read.  Instead it's like an emotional slap to the face - intense and full of exposed emotion -  but I love the characters Courtney Summer's creates - how they feel like real people, flaws and all - and I am a massive fan of her writing.  Since reading her first novel Cracked Up To Be I have looked forward to every new book she releases and I have yet to be disappointed!

We Can Be Heroes Blog Tour: Guest Post

To kick of the We Can Be Heroes Uk Blog Tour I have a guest post from the lovely Catherine Bruton.  So without further ado I shall hand you over...

My first blog tour

There are many important firsts in a girl’s life: first visit from the tooth-fairy (who bought 10p in my day); first kiss (Tim 1, 1989, Warrington Roller Disco – loveliest kiss ever! Tim 2 and his tumble dryer tongue action were a definite let down after that); first car (white Nissan Micra called Noggin); first car crash (Noggin the Nissan – the day after I got her); first heartbreak (Cape Town 1996 – I actually vomited with sadness, giving whole new meaning to the phrase love sick); first Krispy Creme doughnut (yesterday, and seriously do they put that crack drug stuff in them to get you addicted cos I just can’t stop thinking about it?) ... Oh, I’ve lost my train of thought. . . Krispy Cremes, vomiting in the Cape, snogging at the roller rink... Yes, that was it – important firsts.

Anyway, this is my first blog tour. In fact, it’s my first ever blog. Which is exciting - and terrifying at the same time. I’m hoping it’s going to be more like the snog and the Krispy Crème and less like sick-bag, car crash experience. But basically, I’m a blog virgin so you may have to bear with me if I commit terrible blog faux pas or get myself tied up in blog-knots, or whatever. But here goes. . .

So I have this book coming out called ‘We Can be Heroes’ - in three days time, in fact - which is incredibly exciting. In fact, I reckon I need one of those Glee t-shirts. You know that ones that say stuff like ‘Can’t sing’ and ‘Likes boys’ and ‘I’m with stoopid’? Well, I want to get one that says, ‘I wrote a book’, just so everyone knows. Like everyone – the postman, the grumpy blinky lady from the post-office, the mean girls I used to go to school with, George Clooney, Taylor Lautner, Wills and Kate, Harry Potter, Michael Jackson (yes, I know he’s supposed to be dead but I reckon he’s in hiding somewhere with Elvis and the Queen Mum doing karaoke versions of ‘The Man in the Mirror’ and ‘Dirty Diana’ – the QM’s fave!) Basically, everyone!

Anyway, I’m getting off the topic and I think at this point I’m supposed to tell you a bit about my book and a bit about the blog tour and stuff. Right? So here goes. My novel is called ‘We Can be Heroes’. It was inspired by an article I wrote for The Times in 2008 about children who had lost a parent in 9/11 attacks and it tells the story of 12 year old Ben, whose father died on September 11th. He meets 10 year old Priti, a Muslim girl who is convinced her brother is a suicide bomber. The pair, along with Ben's troubled cousin Jed, decide to turn detective to try and foil the bomb plot with hilarious - and explosive - consequences.

We Can be Heroes has been described as 'an outstanding debut', ‘ an important book’, ‘ a remarkable book’, ‘an exceptional debut’, 'one to watch' and compared to ‘The Curious Incident’ by some lovely reviewers (thank you, reviewers, I love you!). In fact, I think I might get all of that on a T-shirt too. Or perhaps just the nice review that said, ‘Bruton is Brilliant’ – which is my new life mantra - and anti-dote to Krispy Creme cravings.

So, I’m totally chuffed to have been asked to do this blog tour, talking about how I came to write the book, the challenges of writing about events like 9/11, my favourite books, my childhood escapades (zombie grannies, piercing ears with fish fingers, locking teachers in cupboards, roller rink adventures etc) and loads of other stuff too. I’ll be blogging on the day my book actually hits the shelves – which might just be a series of squiggles and eeeks! – oh, and if you want to find out a bit more about me I’ll be doing the usual interview stuff too.

So if you want to join me on my magical mystery blog tour over the next few days, remember, you have been warned: I’m a learner blogger with a record of writing off perfectly innocent Nissan Micras and a Krispy Creme habit to feed . So it could be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster but I promise to give 110% and put my heart and soul into it (and any more Talent TV clichés I can trot out). Right, that’s the safety announcement over. Now here we go - Tooth fairy, Tim 1 , achey breaky heart - eat your heart out, cos I just done written my first ever blog. How cool is that? Over and out!
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Thanks Catherine!  How much do I now fancy a Krispy Creme lol!

You can find Catherine at her Website and on Twitter

The next stop on the tour is tomorrow at Wondrous Reads and you can check out the whole schedule to the right on my sidebar.