In my mailbox
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith.
Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler.
I am so happy with this haul. I’ve already finished The Fault in Our Stars (LOVED IT!! Check out my review.) and am just about finished with The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. Can’t wait to get to Bittersweet; I’ve been anticipating it for a while!
Hope you all are just as happy with the book(s) you got!
• Tags: Bittersweet, Books, In My Mailbox, Jennifer E. Smith, John Green, Sarah Ockler, The Fault in Our Stars, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight•
2012 Must Reads: Which books are at the top of your list to be read this year (new or old releases)?
Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer Hubbard
The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
MUST. HAVE. ALL OF THESE! I already own TFiOS, and I plan on going for Bittersweet and Try Not to Breathe next. Huuuuuge Green, Ockler and Hubbard fan.
How about you? What’s on your 2012 reading list?
• Tags: Books, Jennifer Hubbard, John Green, Sarah Ockler, TGIF•
Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
Hudson can’t wait to get out of Watonka, her working-class town outside of Buffalo. Once upon a time, her talent as a skater was going to be her ticket out… but when her parents’ marriage unraveled three years ago, so did her dreams. Now, she buries herself in making cupcakes for her mom’s diner and imagining her parallel life where she went on to skate to glory. But when she gets a letter inviting her to audition for a skating scholarship *and* the hockey team asks for her help with their technique (read: free ice time for Hudson), it’s impossible to ignore the signs. Is she ready to get back on the ice? Could this be her ticket out? Hudson’s determined not to let anything stand in her way. But between baking and waitressing at the diner, the love triangle that’s developing with two outrageously cute hockey boys, and the simmering drama with her best friend, her future is anything but certain…
Ockler dazzled me with Twenty Boy Summer, and I’m sure she can dazzle me again with Bittersweet. Any time I come across a YA book that involves cooking, I’m sold.
• Tags: Bittersweet, Books, Sarah Ockler, Waiting On Wednesday•
Twenty Boy Summer
Sarah Ockler
FROM THE COVER:
According to Anna’s best friend, Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie – she’s already had her romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.
My rating: 4 stars.
?
MY THOUGHTS:
Wow.
Ockler’s descriptions go above and beyond; they’re heartfelt, beautiful, real. Right off the bat they sucked me into the story, transporting me from Anna and Frankie’s town in New York right to Zanzibar Bay with them. You’d think there could only be so many ways to describe a beach and its town, but Ockler takes it that one step further – almost like providing me with a piece of it.
As far as characters go, Anna and Frankie are typical teens. Anna’s more thoughtful and sincere, while Frankie’s a wild-child. But it was Matt that really made the story for me, even though his actual presence is limited – he’s incredibly realistic in both action and personality: boyish but caring, immature but mature, spontaneous but planned. He’s a mixture of so many things all at once, and for so little time, but that’s what makes him perfect. Other characters, like Sam, were nice, but seemed to be trying too hard to mimic what Matt was for Anna. Because of this, I never felt all that attached to them.
The story itself keeps a very steady pace once they reach Zanzibar Bay, chugging along in an almost real-time manner. While this worked in some spots, in others it did not. There were times when unimportant things to the story, such as when the girls applied their makeup, dragged on.
But I’m glad the “twenty boys in twenty days” situation doesn’t go overboard. Ockler could’ve pushed it to the extreme, but doesn’t. And it makes sense the way it ends up. However, the ending was a bit iffy. I’m not all for random blow-ups and surprises without any warning or buildup, but that’s exactly how it goes. Everything, in a rush, explodes and resolves at the end – which wasn’t by any means terrible, it just happened to leave me with a more sad than happy feeling once finished.
Either way, Ockler manages to take the simple premise of Twenty Boy Summer and take it to the next level. Very reminiscent of Sarah Dessen’s works.
• Tags: book review, Books, sarah dessen, Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer•
Or, WHAT’S THAT WORD?
As a reader and writer and blogger, I’m surrounded by words all the time. Some are old, some are new, some are funny, difficult to pronounce, fun to say, interesting, or just pure awesome.
I love words. Words are important. They’re the basis of books. They’re what makes everything come together. One word can change the feel, emotion and effect of a sentence. You can never know too many.
So every week I’m going to be sharing words of interest. They’ll come from my readings. And who knows? Maybe you’ll come across that one word that can change the feel, emotion and effect of the sentence you’re working on in your novel, essay, short story, etc.
This week’s word is…
IRIDESCENT
ir·i·des·cent
{adjective, noun}
displaying a play of lustrous colors like those of the rainbow.
I came across IRIDESCENT in my latest read, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. It’s one of those words that I immediately fall in love with because of its beauty. It’s an uncommon description, but I wish it was used more often.
Want to join in? I think it would be a neat little chain reaction to have fellow bloggers share their favorite, most interesting, craziest words each week. ?I know I’d love to see what you share! Feel free to sign up on the Mr. Linky. There are no specific rules. If you want, grab the above button, link back here, share your word, explain why, where you heard/saw it, and whatever else you’d like to add!
Just leave your name and blog name, and of course, the link to your post!
All definitions from Dictionary.com.
• Tags: Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer, Word Bit•
This meme originates over at The Story Siren.
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler.
I’ve heard nothing but things about this book, and have read countless positive reviews. Already forty pages in and loving it!
• Tags: Books, In My Mailbox, Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer•
