The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Pages: 454
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: 5th January 2009

Other Titles in the Series: Catching Fire

WINNING WILL MAKE YOU FAMOUS.
LOSING MEANS CERTAIN DEATH.

In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Wow. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. I really can't put into words how brilliant this book is. It had characters you are willing on, a flawless plot and bucket loads of suspense. I recommend this to EVERYONE. I cannot wait to read Catching Fire but we don't even have a release date for the UK yet. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to wait very long. But seriously, you HAVE to read this.

Sophie

Em's Winter Book Give Away Contest!

Em at Em's Bookshelf is giving away 11 books!The winner receives seven from her list and the runner up gets the remaining four. Here's the list:

1. Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender (*ARC)
2. If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney (*ARC)
3. Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman (*ARC)
4. Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters (*ARC)
5. Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover by Ally Carter (*ARC)
6. Wake by Lisa McMann
7. Skinned by Robin Wasserman
8. War of the Witches by Maite Carranza
9. Undercover by Beth Kephart
10. Cathy's Key by Sean Stewart, Jordan Weisman, Cathy Brigg
11. Cathy's Book by Sean Stewart, Jordan Weisman, Cathy Brigg

All you have to do to win is leave a comment on Em's blog telling her your favourite 2008 teen book and what you are looking forward to most this year.

Sophie

Soul Love - Lynda Waterhouse

Soul Love - Lynda Waterhouse

Pages: 160
Publisher: Piccadilly Press Ltd
Release Date: 26th November 2004

Other Titles By This Author: Cut Off, Fall Out, Bonnie Fitch, The Sand Dancers: Let the Dance Begin

Living with the past can be difficult, even at fifteen...

Jenna doesn't want to betray her friends and won't reveal the truth behind her exclusion from school. So she is sent away to live with her aunt in a sleepy countryside village.

It's here that she meets Gabriel, who seems so genuine and different from other people she knows. But she is wary of him at first - lately boys have been nothing but trouble for Jenna, and Gabe can be moody and withdrawn.

Despite her caution, Jenna can't help falling in love with Gabriel, and the longer she spends with him, the more deeply in love she falls. Could he be her soul mate? He seems to be the only one who understands Jenna and doesn't leap to coclusions. But then she discovers that Gabriel is living with a deep secret of his own...

I got this out of the libray at school it was amazing i got it out yesterday and finished it. It was the first book to make me cry. I thought Gabe was realy sweet.

Amy x

Knife - R.J. Anderson

Knife - R.J. Anderson

Pages: 320
Publisher: Orchard Books
Release Date: 8th January 2009

Knife woke in a cold sweat, the torn edge of her wing sizzling with pain. how long had she lain unconscious? Her worst fears had come to pass: she was trapped, flightless, a prisoner. The humans had put her in a box, and now they had come to torment her...

I thought Knife was a really good book, although it did take me a while to get into it. Knife could be a madam at times which made her more real because not all faeries are perfect. This book was very well explained which made it very accessible and it was a great introduction into faerie novels. I will definitely be picking up any future books by R.J. Anderson.

Amy

Who's That Girl? - Alexandra Potter

Who's That Girl? - Alexandra Potter

Pages: 370
Publisher: Hodder
Release Date: 8th January 2009

Other Titles By This Author: Me & Mr Darcy, Be Careful What You Wish For, Calling Romeo, Going La-La, What's New Pussycat?

If only you knew then what you know now...

Imagine if you could go back ten years and meet your younger self - would you recognise her? What advice would you give?

- Wear sunscreen
- Back away from those PVC trousers
- DON'T give that idiot your phone number
- Lemon juice won't bleach your hair - it just attracts wasps
- He's The One - don't let him get away

For Charlotte Merryweather, there's no need to imagine. She's about to find out for real. With some surprising consequences...

I loved this book. Charlotte was a brilliant character who was funny, clever and very prone to making mistakes which is one of the reasons why this book was so good. The characters were real and the writing was sharp and funny. I especially loved Charlotte's assistant Beatrice - I'd love to be her friend, she's hilarious! I really recommend Who's That Girl? for anyone who wants a funny, quick, light read.

Sophie

My 2009 Wishlist

I saw this on Em's Bookshelf and I thought I might do one to share the books I am most looking forward to reading this year. For those of you in the US most of these books came out ages ago but none of them are out in the UK yet.














Wake - Lisa McMann (02.11.09)
Kiss of Life - Daniel Waters (06.07.09)
Unsticky - Sarra Manning (02.04.09)














Falling - Sharon Dogar (06.04.09)
Lock and Key - Sarah Dessen (06.04.09)
Being Nikki - Meg Cabot


















Envy - Anna Godbersen (07.05.09)
The Bride's Farewell - Meg Rosoff (06.08.09)

What about you guys?

In My Mailbox I

I've borrowed the idea of this from the amazing The Story Siren. If you want more information check out her blog.


Who's That Girl? - Alexandra Potter


If only you knew then what you know now...

Imagine if you could go back ten years and meet your younger self - would you recognise her? What advice would you give?

- Wear sunscreen

- Back away from those PVC trousers

- DON'T give that idiot your phone number

- Lemon juice won't bleach your hair - it just attracts wasps

- He's The One - don't let him get away

For Charlotte Merryweather, there's no need to imagine. She's about to find out for real. With some surprising consequences...

I've just started this and it's already living up to the expectations left by Be Careful What You Wish For and Me & Mr Darcy. Fantastic.

The Hunger Games -Suzanne Collins


WINNING WILL MAKE YOU FAMOUS.
LOSING MEANS CERTAIN DEATH.

In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

I've been seeing amazing reviews of this everywhere and finally decided to give it a go. I actually can't wait to begin it, especially as it was recommended by Stephenie Meyer. It must be brilliant.

A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray


It's 1895, and after the death of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one.She's not completely alone, though...she's being followed by a mysterious young man, sent to warn her to close her mind against the visions.

It's at Spence that Gemma's power to attract the supernatural unfolds, as she becomes entangled with the school's most powerful girls and discovers her mother's connection to a shadowy, timeless group called The Order. Her destiny awaits...if only Gemma can believe in it.

This is another book that I've heard great things about but have put off reading for some reason but again I'm really looking forward to it and expecting to really love it.

Knife - R.J. Anderson

Knife woke in a cold sweat, the torn edge of her wing sizzling with pain. how long had she lain unconscious? Her worst fears had come to pass: she was trapped, flightless, a prisoner. The humans had put her in a box, and now they had come to torment her...

This is a book that Amy bought this week. She's started it and told me that "it's okay" but I can't wait to read it and will definately be borrowing it in the future. This Amy's first faerie novel so I forgive her hesitancy; it's nothing like she's ever read before.

Marked - P.C. and Kristen Cast

Marked - P.C. and Kristen Cast

Pages: 348
Publisher: Atom
Release Date: 8th March 2007

Other Titles in the Series: Betrayed, Chosen, Hunted, Untamed

So the bad news was that I would have to move in to the house of night, a private boarding school, known by all my friends as the vampyre finishing school, where I would spend the next four years going through bizarre and unnameable physical changes, as well as a totally and permanent life shake up. And that’s only if the whole process didn’t kill me.

But the good news was that I wouldn’t have to take the geometry test tomorrow.
When sixteen-year-old Zoey is marked by the Tracker, she knows her old life is over. Now she has to leave her friends and family to join the house of night school, where there’s only one subject: Vampyre 101.

Of course, there’s always a catch, and this one is nice and simple: if you fail, you die…

I really liked this book it was cool. I liked the way the author spelled vamprye. Anybody who likes vampire books should read this book because one minute she is human next minute she is a vampyre. As this was my second vampire book after The Twilight Saga because the vampires are completely different by the way they eat and other things.
Amy x

The Burying Beetle - Ann Kelley

The Burying Beetle – Ann Kelley

Pages: 192
Publisher: Luarth Press
Release Date: 7th July 2005

Other Titles in the Series: The Bower Bird, Inchworm

Meet Gussie. Twelve years old and has just moved from London into her new ramshackle home on a cliff top above St Ives. She has an irrepressible zest for life. She also has a life-threatening heart condition.

For a book containing a child that could die any moment and divorce, The Burying Beetle is surprisingly uplifting. Gussie is full of life and spirit and even a life-threatening heart condition can’t bring her down. She lives every moment as if it were her last; cramming her mind full of knowledge about everything from local history to science and nature. Her biggest fear is not learning about everything that the world has to offer before she dies. This is one of the many things that makes Gussie very different to most 12-year-olds, it’s quite refreshing actually. Although it does make me feel guilty about moaning about college when college is one of the things that Gussie would love to do but may not be able to.

Ann Kelley writes beautifully. The images she creates of St Ives make you want to be in Peregrine Cottage looking down on Gussie’s beach and over the rooftops of the town. Her writing is soft in a way that mutes the harsh reality of life while not smothering it completely. I can’t describe how much I loved this novel. All I can really say is go out and find a copy and be blown away by a fantastic story.

Sophie x

Number 1!

Hey, this is my first ever book blog so I've got a lot to live up to, but I'm going to try. My first review will be The Burying Beetle - Ann Kelley that will be up in a few days.