Happy Birthday Alexa Young!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Yes, it's Alexa Young's birthday! If you didn't know, she is the author of Frenemies and the recently released Faketastic.

Her blog is here: http://alexayoung.blogspot.com/

You must go out and read them:

Frenemies (http://www.amazon.com/Frenemies-Alexa-Young/dp/0061175617/):

Description from Amazon:

What happens when two besties become full-blown worsties?

Avalon Greene rules the fashion scene at her sunny SoCal middle school with a diamond-clad fist, calling out classmates for their fashion-do's and most unfortunate clothes-pas. She's determined to host the social event of the season—a soiree in honor of her forever-friendship with Halley! Unfortunately, Halley's new look is one thing Avalon just can't celebrate. . . .

Halley Brandon is just back from art camp and can't wait to share her funky new style with her best friend, Avalon. But when Avalon cries fashion foul, Halley realizes her best friend's true colors may clash with her own. Has their ultra-fabulous friendship finally gone out of style?

From sharing custody of their puppy, Pucci, to drawing up a list of who gets which friends, Avalon and Halley discover what happens when you battle the person who knows everything about you—and isn't afraid to use your secrets to get what she wants.

Best friends. Worst enemies. Frenemies.

Faketastic (http://www.amazon.com/Frenemies-2-Faketastic-Alexa-Young/dp/0061175706/):

Description from Amazon:

From besties to worsties and back again . . .

Team Avalon:

For Avalon, staying on top of trends has never been a problem—until her fellow cheerleaders decide that her BFF Halley is definitely out this season. Now Avalon must choose between the frenemy who embarrassed her in front of everyone or the new friends who stood by her.

vs.

Team Halley:

Halley thinks she's got it all: her forever-friend Avalon, her new bestie Sofee, and the hottest fall wardrobe at Seaview Middle School. Her life is a total YES. But when Sofee spies Avalon flirting with Halley's crush, will it be World War Halvalon all over again?

*Paradox*

What is to Come

I have been neglecting my blog... with the exception of the contest list. Well, I've been very busy with non-blog stuff, and getting ready to start a lot of new things here. I've been reading a lot, and I still have a lot of reviews to write. And before I even post a review there are a few things that have to be done first:

- I have to have a post explaining my rating system.
- I have to have a post explaining the mystery add-on I will have on some of my reviews (I'll explain later).
- I'll post those fan-made book covers and my cover idea for the book I'm writing, which I have been putting off doing.
- I will join some reading challenges.
- I will make changes to my blog, like adding links on the sidebar.
- I have to update my countdown widgets.
- I would like 3 columns, but I have no idea how to do this...
- I am going to start doing In My Mailbox and possibly Waiting on Wednesday!
- I'm starting my own feature where I compare book covers from the USA and foreign countries. Anyone have an idea what I should name this, besides my lame "Cover vs. Cover"?
- I have to have a post about awards I've been given, which I've been putting off.

Reviews Coming Soon:

- Skinned by Robin Wasserman
- The Devouring by Simon Holt
- The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- Welcome to the Ark by Stephanie S. Tolan
- Invisible Touch by Kelly Parra
- Sucks to Be Me by Kimberly Pauley
- Graceling by Kristin Cashore
- Gone by Michael Grant (read this a long time ago, but it was so awesome I must review it)
- Unwind by Neal Schusterman (ditto)
- Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (ditto)
- The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (ditto)

Oh, and I hit a milestone yesterday, 1-11-09! For the first time, an author (Jonathan Bernstein) contacted me with an offer of a book to review (Hottie)! It just so happens that I have been wanting to read that book!

*Paradox*

Favorite Books of 2008

Everyone else is doing it, so here is my list of my favorite books of 2008. They aren't in any particular order, but #1-3 are the best of the best.

- Gone by Michael Grant - This is pure awesomeness! It has earned a place in my list of favorite books, which is very small compared to the hundreds (even thousands) of books I've read.

- Unwind by Neal Schusterman - This was sci-fi that was chilling, well written, and made me think at the same time.

- Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - This also goes on my favorites list! Geeky, but in a cool way!

- The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson - Ditto what I said for Unwind, but it wasn't quite as horrific (as in good horror).

- Kaimira: The Sky Village by Monk Ashland and Nigel Ashland - This is Middle Grade, but I still loved it!

- Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs - I loved this book! It reminded me of the Percy Jackson series (<3)>

- Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman - Another Middle Grade book. This one had a really unique premise.

- Ever by Gail Carson Levine - This one is usually categorized as Middle Grade, and got some not-so-great reviews, but I loved it.

- Wake by Lisa McMann - It was hard to get used to the way the book was written, but once I was used to it I was hooked.

- The Devouring by Simon Holt - I read this on Sorry Night... and it freaked me out so much that I nearly fell over when a small noise startled me.

- The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart - One of the few realistic fiction books on my list. That means it's very, very good!


And some that weren't published in 2008, but I read in 2008:

- The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray - This took me forever to finish (800 pages), but it was a great conclusion to the Gemma Doyle Trilogy! ... *cry*

- Specials and Extras by Scott Westerfeld - Yes! I finished the incredible Uglies series!

- Hero by Perry Moore - It's about superheroes!

- Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reeves - It has parallel worlds (!!!) and multiple versions of the main character... who have the power to travel between worlds! And it's a mixture of sf and fantasy. This one would only be better if the book was longer, and a series.

- Mortal Engines and Predator's Gold (The Hungry City Chronicles) by Philip Reeve - Incredible! Especially Mortal Engines.

- Larklight by Philip Reeve - This was set in an alternate 1800's where the British Empire extends into outer space. I loved it!

- Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier - This one was near perfect. Need I say more?

- The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci - One of my favorite graphic novels. Ever.

- The entire Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan - Middle Grade, but some of the best MG books out there!

- The Hollow People (Promises of Doctor Sigmundus) by Brian Keaney - It was short and ended on a cliffhanger, but it was good!


I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but this is all I can think of now.

There are some books I'm sure would be on here (The Hunger Games, Sleepless, Undone, The Otherworldlies, Skinned, Graceling, The Summoning, and others), but I haven't had a chance to read them yet.

*Paradox*

Books for Christmas!

I know I'm posting this a bit late, but I've just been too busy (...err... with Christmas gifts) to post this until now. I'm also planning on starting my own "In My Mailbox" feature next week. Soo... here are the books I either got on Christmas, or bought with Christmas money and gift cards:

EDIT: Grr... I've been trying to get this post straightened out for almost an hour! Is there an easy way to get all the pictures and titles in without the post getting all messed up?

Received On Christmas:

• Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
  
• Paraworld Zero by Matthew Peterson


• First Light by Rebecca Stead
  

From Gift Cards and Christmas Money:

• Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
  
• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare


• Revealers by Amanda Marrone
  

• Betwixt by Tara Bray Smith


• The Alchemyst by Michael Scott


• Ruler of the Realm (Book 3 in Faerie Wars Quartet) by Herbie Brennan

• Blue Noon (Midnighters #3) by Scott Westerfeld
• The Hound of Rowan (The Tapestry #1) by Henry H. Neff

I can't wait to start reading all of these!

Happy Holidays/New Year/Etc. !!!


*Paradox*

The Official Contest List

...I was so tempted to continue the title with "Of Doom."

Soo... I'm thinking that too much of my blog space is being taken up by contest links, so from now on I'll post them all here and put a link to the list on the sidebar. But I probably won't put up all the contests I find, because that would take forever, but usually the best ones and the ones that will give me extra entries if I post about them. This list will be updated frequently. The contests won't be in any particuar order, but the ones that are giving away large amounts of books or are complicated to understand will be put first on the list.

THE LIST - Latest update at about 12:45 AM April 9th:

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Lenore of Presenting Lenore is hosting a contest for a prize pack of 11 or more books! They are:

- If I Stay by Gayle Forman

- The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson

- Peace Love & Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle

- Chasing the Bear by Robert Parker

- Prada & Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard

- Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes

- Plus by Veronica Chambers

- Three Cups of Tea Young Readers Edition by Greg Mortenson

- Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

The contest ends at 11:59 PM CST on the 5th. - http://presentinglenore.blogspot.com/2009/03/book-giveaway-penguin-prize-pack-11-ya.html

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The Story Siren is giving away a prize pack of 10 ARCs!!! They are:

- The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

- Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

- Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart

- Warrior Princess by Frewin Jones

- Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

- Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors

- Sloane Sisters by Anna Carey

- Breathing by Cheryl Renee Herbsman

- A Map of the Known World by Lisa Anne Sandell

- Something Maybe by Elizabeth Scott

The contest ends at midnight EST on the 7th. - http://www.thestorysiren.com/2009/03/contest-ten-pack-arc.html

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For the Love of Books is giving away three books (either to one or three people). They are:

- Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne

- Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison

- Speak (10th Anniversary Edition) by Laurie Halse Anderson

The contest ends at midnight on the 21st. - http://fortheloveofbooksblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-giveaway.html

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Book-luver Carol is giving away a bunch of books! There will be three winners. The first prize winner gets three books off of the list, the second prize winner gets two, and the third prize winner gets one. Here's the list (taken from contest post):

Privilege by Kate Brian

Rumors by Anna Godbersen (Paperback)

The ABC's of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro (ARC)

You Are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay (ARC)

Ever by Gail Carson Levine (Hardback)

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Catherine Hapka

Skin Hunger: A Resurrection of Magic by Kathleen Duey (Paperback)

Rehab by Randi Reisfeld

Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley (ARC)

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (ARC)

Just One Wish by Janette Rallison (ARC)

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Raven by Allison Van Driepen (ARC)

The Diamonds by Ted Michael (ARC)

The winners will be picked on the 1st of April. - http://bookluver-carol.blogspot.com/2009/03/im-so-happy-that-im-going-to-florida.html

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Carrie of Carrie's YA Bookshelf is giving away a prize pack of three YA supernatural books! The books are:

- You Are So Undead to Me by Stacy Jay

- Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne

- An ARC of Haunted by Meg Cabot

The contest ends on the 31st. - http://carriesyabookshelf.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-contest.html

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• Cupcake Witch is giving away an ARC of The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. The contest ends on the 10th. - http://cupcakewitch.blogspot.com/2009/04/contest-to-win-summer-i-turned-pretty.html

• LitMuse is giving away an ARC of If I Stay by Gayle Forman! The contest ends on the 31st. - http://litmuse.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/if-i-stay-arc-contest/

• Reverie Media is giving away a copy of Hunted by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast. The contest ends on the first of April. - http://reveriemedia.blogspot.com/2009/03/monthaversay-giveaway.html

• Genevieve of Genevieve's Blog is giving away a copy of What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook. The contest ends at midnight PST on the 31st. - http://caprubia.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-would-emma-do-contest.html

• One Reader's Trash is Another Reader's Treasure is giving away a copy of Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher! The contest ends at midnight on the 27th. - http://ya-bookaholic.blogspot.com/2009/02/100-posts-contest.html

• Kelsey of Reading Keeps You Sane is giving away two signed (personalized!!!) copies of Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey! The contest ends at midnight CST on the 27th. - http://readingkeepsyousane.blogspot.com/2009/03/contest.html

• The Epic Rat is giving away 6 copies (3 to commenters, 2 to followers, 1 international) of My Little Red Book (anthology.) The contest ends on the 27th. - http://epicrat.blogspot.com/2009/03/would-you-tell-me-please.html

• The Page Flipper is giving away an ARC of 20 Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. The winner will be chosen on Monday the 16th. - http://thepageflipper.blogspot.com/2009/03/weekly-contest.html

• Harmony Book Reviews is giving away three copies of Wish You Were Here by Catherine Clark! No deadline is given... - http://harmonybookreviews.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/its-contest-time-again/

• WORD for Teens is having a March Giveaway for multiple books. They are: Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols, The Marine by Rudy Josephs, Hollywood Nobody and Finding Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson, and Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. The contest ends at the end of the month. - http://wordforteens.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-09-giveaway-out-like-lamb.html

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*Paradox*

Free Bookmarks... and Contest Links

I found more contest links to post, but I felt that I couldn't just post another list of links with nothing else... So I took some bookmarks I made and uploaded them to Blogger. Now you can print them out and use them (click on them to see them full size)! Just don't post them anywhere else, modify them, or say you made them. (If you tweak them just to print for yourself, I don't mind.) Grr... I can't get the second bookmark to upload... let me see if I can get it...

So...

A Book Review? Um... No. It's Another List of Contests:

• Melissa Walker is giving away Losers by Matthue Roth. The winner is announced tomorrow, so hurry if you want to enter. - http://www.melissacwalker.com/blog/2008/12/winit_wednesday_losers_by_matt.html

• Bookish Ruth is giving away a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling! The contest ends at midnight on the 18th. - http://www.bookishruth.com/2008/12/book-giveaway-tales-of-beedle-bard-by.html

• Reviewer X and The Story Siren's YA Connection is giving away She's So Money by Cherry Cheva this week! The winner will be chosen on Saturday. - http://reviewerx.blogspot.com/2008/12/ya-connection.html

• And Another Book Read is giving away a copy of The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman! The contest ends at 12 PM EST on Saturday. - http://andanotherbookread.blogspot.com/2008/12/and-simple-question.html

• Mrs. Magoo Reads is giving away four books! They are: Indie Girl, Fashion 101: A Crash Course in Clothing, "Been There, Survived That", and The Dictionary of High School B.S. The winner will be chosen on January 1st. - http://www.mrsmagooreads.com/2008/12/my-300th-post.html

• The Symposium is giving away The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling! The contest ends at midnight MST on the 13th. - http://review.nanashi-inc.net/2008/12/giveaway-the-tales-of-beedle-the-bard/

• Sharon Loves Books and Cats is giving away The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan! The contest ends on the 18th. - http://sharonlovesbooksandcats.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-holiday-giveaway.html

• Oh. My. God. I just found a huge contest where 28 books, including Farworld: Water Keep and Creepers are being given away!!! The contest ends on the 12th. - http://thebluestockings.com/2008/12/holiday-giveaway-extravaganza/

*Paradox*

Yes... MORE Contest Links

I know, it's December and I should be putting more on the blog than just a bunch of contest links, but I have a lot of stuff I have to catch up on that I put off because of NaNoWriMo. And the holidays are coming! I'll try to get up the book covers I made soon. And I'm also going to (finally) see the Twilight movie. So look for more stuff soon. The first real review I'll post will most likely be for Unwind by Neal Schusterman, which is one of the best books I've read in months.

Okay, here's the list of contest links:

• Just Listen is giving away two packs of books by Melina Marchetta. One pack has an ARC of Finnikin of the Rock and Looking for Alibrandi. The other has On the Jellicoe Road and Saving Francesca. The contest ends at about midnight on the 9th. - http://justlistenbookreviews.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-first-competition.html

• Author Keri Mikulski is having a holiday giveaway for Let it Snow: Three Holiday Stories by Lauren Myracle, Maureen Johnson, and John Green, I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert and a Twilight movie poster! The contest ends at midnight on the 14th. - http://kerimikulski.blogspot.com/2008/11/yay-for-ya-holiday-giveaway.html

• The Page Flipper is giving away a prize pack of five books! They are: Read my Lips by Teri Brown, Likely Story by David Van Etten, Why I Let My Hair Grow Out by Maryrose Wood, The Fortunes of Indigo Skye by Deb Caletti, and The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. The contest ends at midnight on the 31st. - http://thepageflipper.blogspot.com/2008/12/december-prize-pack.html

• Mrs. Magoo Reads is giving away Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman. The contest ends on the 31st and a winner is picked on January 1st. - http://www.mrsmagooreads.com/2008/12/contest-win-confessions-of-triple-shot.html

• Harmony Book Reviews is giving away a surprise pack of at least two books, bookmarks, and other mystery items. Entries must be in by the 29th. - http://harmonybookreviews.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/december-monthly-surprise-pack-contest/

• And Another Book Read... is giving away an ARC of Paper Towns by John Green! The contest ends at noon on the 6th. - http://andanotherbookread.blogspot.com/2008/12/return-of-long-lost-blogger.html

• La Petite Chic is giving away a Wii and Wii Fit!!! The contest is only open until midnight on Friday, so if you want to win this, you have to enter the contest now. - http://www.lapetitechic.com/lapetitechic/2008/11/wii-and-wii-fit-giveaway.html

• Author A. S. King is giving away her last ARC of The Dust of 100 Dogs and some surprise gift! And it's a writing contest! Well, 10 words. Exactly. And it has to be about the life of a pirate or a dog. The contest ends at midnight on the 18th. - http://dogfact9.blogspot.com/2008/11/merry-life-and-short-one-contest.html

• Presenting Lenore is giving away a prize pack of at least 6 books from Penguin, and one will probably be the winner's choice. The others are a surprise! Entries must be in by the 5th. - http://presentinglenore.blogspot.com/2008/11/book-giveaway-penguin-publicists-choice.html

• The bloggers at Maelstrom are giving away a huge prize! The winner will get their choice of one book from each blogger's list of favorites, a UK edition of Artemis Fowl, a mix of music, and an Irish bookmark. The contest will be open until the 20th. - http://maelstrombooks.blogspot.com/2008/11/fiercely-fawesome-first-contest.html

• Amberkatze's Book Blog is giving away your choice of any book by Kelley Armstrong. And it will be signed! It ends at 4 pm CET on the 7th. - http://amberkatze-amberkatze.blogspot.com/2008/11/author-interview-contest-with-kelley.html

*Paradox*