The List

The List
Siobhan Vivian
332 pages
Publisher: Push
Source: Library
★★★★★

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Every year a list is posted at Mount Washington High declaring the ugliest and prettiest girl in every grade.  No one knows who does it or how the honor is passed on from year to year.  The List follows the lives of the eight girls on the list during the week after it's posted, homecoming week.

I loved this book!  Let me start out by saying that it's not just a fluffy contemporary novel, The List really has some depth and the character development is amazing.  We really get to know each of the eight girls in the 332 pages of the book; they were all unique and reacted to their placement on the list differently.  I think it's great that Siobhan Vivian was able to come up with eight unique personalities and let the reader get to know them all equally - it's a feat I couldn't accomplish!   Anyway, you would think the "ugly" girls would get all depressed and the "pretty" girls would be ecstatic, but that really wasn't the way it worked out and that took this book to the next level; from stereotypical fluff to realistic contemporary.

The character that stuck out to me the most was Sarah.  For some reason I kept picturing her like Janice Ian from Mean Girls but more hardcore.  (And no, I'm not going to compare the novel to Mean Girls because it's nothing like Mean Girls.)  I understand why she acted the way she did, strangely enough I really do, but I do think that hints at the need for therapy.  Perhaps all eight girls could benefit from a dose of therapy.  The fact that the list existed at all is unfortunate.

Five stars!  This is a really unique YA contemporary standalone that is not at all too fluffy.  I think The List would make for a great book club book, I could see a lot of discussion occurring based on the different girls' reactions.  This book is a must read!

"Clear Your Shelf" Giveaway Hop!

Yay another giveaway!  I'm clearing off my shelves and putting together a medium sized USPS flat rate box filled with YA goodness.  If you win you'll definitely get an ARC of The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater and a bottle of China Glaze's Stone Cold from their Hunger Games collection.  I'll fill out the box with other random YA books from my shelf, including but not limited to some Sarah Dessen for sure and maybe some Meg Cabot, too.  Who knows, I'll just keep throwing stuff in there until the box is full.  Enter below and be sure to check out the other blogs on the hop!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Once (Once Trilogy, #1)

Once
Morris Gleitzman
163 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Source: library
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

It's been awhile since I've read a WWII/Holocaust novel and when I stumbled across this one at the library, the cover caught my eye.  I read the first few pages right there and decided that I needed to read the whole thing, so I brought it home with me.

Once is a very short novel about a young Jewish boy named Felix.  His parents had sent him to an orphanage for his safety but convinced that his parents are out there looking for him, he runs away.

There were several likable things about this novel.  In particular, I found it charming and friendly despite its heavy subject matter.  Felix is young and doesn't realize what's going with the Nazis the Jewish people.  He thinks his parents sent him away so they could salvage their book selling business, not so they could keep him safe from blood hungry Nazis.  Felix is a very good story-teller, often using stories as a way to get what he wants or to get something for a friend.  The stories Felix tells are charming and dispersed throughout the novel, they're a reminder of how innocent Felix is.

Felix goes on two journeys in Once - an actual journey while he tries to find his parents, and a second more intellectual journey as he slowly learns the truth about the world around him.  I found the whole thing very eye-opening.

Four stars!  Once was a quick read that left me wanting more.  I'll definitely be looking into the other two books in the trilogy.

What's Next? (3)

What's Next? is a weekly meme hosted by IceyBooks.  It's a chance for you to choose what I read/review next!  Here are this week's options:

Leave me a comment and tell me which you'd like me to read next!

Under The Never Sky

Under The Never Sky
Veronica Rossi
374 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: library
★★★☆☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Under The Never Sky came out in January so I know I'm a little behind the game here, but my library just got it in and let me tell you the wait was worth it.  Under The Never Sky is being billed as a post-apocalitypic science fiction novel, but it's actually got a little something in it for everyone.

The post-apocalyptic world Aria grew up in is pretty segregated.  You've got those who live where she lives, in pods with fancy technology and no wants for anything, really.  Then you've got those living in The Death Shop, the "Savages" as they're called, those who still live in the outside world, filled with Aether that is rumored to those in the pods to kill you in the most horrible ways.  When the two meet it definitely causes clashes that will keep you turning the pages.

The science-fiction aspect of the novel really intrigued me the most, I think.  Those in the pods wear little devices on their eyes, kind of like a built in smart phone but with much greater technology.  Since life in the pods in and of itself is pretty boring, you can use your Smarteye to virtually travel to other realms and there are plenty to visit.  Aria and her mother used to visit a realm with a giant stage where Aria would serenade her mother, but there are also forest realms and others you can visit.  This didn't seem entirely unrealistic to me; surely we don't have the technology now for this kind of thing, but at the rate technology advances, I don't think it's out of the question for something to be attached to our bodies at some point in the future... and I'm certainly not saying that's a good idea.  Under The Never Sky taught me that.

Finally, there was also a romance in the novel.  It's not a hot and heavy romance, but Aria and her suitor do have a sort of je ne sais quois chemistry.  The way their romance progresses, it actually reminded me of the romance in the Outlander series between Jamie and Claire.  Maybe it was the way they were thrown together followed by all the epic fighting in the woods.  Either way, it was a great plot thread in the novel.

I really liked Under The Never Sky and if you're a fan of epic adventures, I think you'll like it, too.  It's got a little something for everyone.

In My Mailbox (38)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

FOR REVIEW:
Butter by Erin Jade Lange

PURCHASED:
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

That Summer by Sarah Dessen (I bought this for an upcoming box of books giveaway! Stay tuned!)

A Time to Love by Barbara Cameron (Free Nook Book Friday!)

FROM THE LIBRARY:
Once by Morris Gleitzman

Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo by Betty White

Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind: A Bestseller's Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood by Ellen F. Brown and John Wiley, Jr.

SWAPPED FOR:

Ghost Trackers: A Novel by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson with Tim Waggoner

Everlasting by Alyson Noel

Total TBR: 184

Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles, #1)

Born Wicked
Jessica Spotswood
330 pages
Publisher: Putnam
Source: purchased
★★★★★

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Cate Cahill and her sisters have been a bit recluse from society since their mother passed away and it's starting to arouse suspicion.  Now their father, with the help of their nosy neighbor, has determined that they need a governess to help them through this trying time, to help them become proper young ladies and to help them find appropriate husbands.  For Cate time is running out, she must choose a suitor by December or the Brotherhood will choose for her.  Speaking of the Brotherhood, Cate and her sisters have to be careful around them because they're notorious witch hunters and the sisters Cahill happen to be witches who are on the verge of destruction, if their deceased mother's diary is correct...

How can you not want to read a novel with that description?  I was happy to read about these charming young witches at the turn of the twentieth century and everything about this novel was charming to me.  I loved the New England setting and the author did a great job of describing the weather and change of the seasons - it really made me pine for autumn up north, something we don't see much of down here in the south.  In addition, the characters are captivating, particularly that of Cate.  She's an independent spirit and if given the proper venue, I think she would be a great fighter for women's rights.  I think she's definitely a heroine young girls can look up to - independent to the core and thus not dependent on a love interest to help her.

But that doesn't mean there can't be a love interest!  Despite being a bit of a recluse, Cate had two prospects in the novel.  The bit of a love triangle kept me on my toes at first, but by the end of the novel there was a clear winner in my head and I'm still pulling for the two-love birds.  I hope to see more of him in the next book.

Finally, I'll add this: Born Wicked isn't just about witchery.  There are hints of mythology throughout the novel, a theme that I suspect will be elaborated on in future novels.  Witchery and mythology - two things that I wouldn't necessarily think go together, but ended up meshing very well, in fact.

Five stars!  I adored this charming novel from debut author Jessica Spotswood.  I can't wait to continue on with the series and see what happens to Cate and her sisters.

10/12 complete!