Review: Sean Griswold's Head

Title: Sean Griswold's Head
Author: Lindsey Leavitt
Release Date: March 2011

     Payton Gritas life was perfectly in order. Yellow for literary devices, pink for plot points, and orange for conflict. But Payton's life takes a sharp turn and is soon highlighted in orange. Payton is devastated when she (accidentally) found out her dad had been diagnosed with a life threatening disease. And when she finds out that the rest of her family has known about her father's disease for months and they hadn't told her, she is even more upset. After completely ditching the organization in her life, Payton's mom signs Payton up to see the school guidance counselor. The school guidance counselor tells Payton the choose a focus object. Something to take her mind off her father's disease. Payton chooses the thing that always seems to be right in front of her face, Sean Griswold's head. She studies his head very closely and then begins to move onto the rest of his body. And before she knows it, she is seeing Sean in a whole different way. 
     I absolutely love, love, love, love this book! I think that every girl should read this book. The characters are unbelievably real. They literally are popping out of the pages. Plus, the humor in the book is hilarious! 
I cried so hard in this book and I laughed so hard in this book. I got so mad at Payton (multiple times) for her decisions. I loved the characters in the book too. Payton reminded me so much of myself. Jac was just so fun and gives a twist to Paytons life. Sean... well you have to love Sean. Payton's brother, Trent, has such a great relationship with her and I loved that. I loved Payton's relationship with her parents also. It was a brilliant, wonderful plot and I loved Payton's complaints about her butt hurting from riding her bike with Sean. I love, love, love, love, love this book! Lindsey Leavitt did an outstanding job. Every girl needs to read Sean Griswold's Head.

In My Mailbox (7)

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly event hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. "IMM" is a way to share thoughts on the books you've received throughout the week with readers. To read more about "In My Malbox," click here.

Circle 9 by Anne Heltzel- This book looks mysterious, but very good. I love the cover.


Die For Me by Amy Plum- Looks a bit sad but definitely an interesting read.


Countdown by Deborah Wiles- Looks like a fun read! Can't wait!


If you've noticed things have been sort of slow these past couple weeks, I'm really sorry about that. I have been super duper busy. Things should be getting back to normal though. 

YALSA Top Ten Teen Nominations

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) has posted their 25 nominees for their 2011 Teens Top Ten! Here are the nominees.

• Bachorz, Pam. Drought. Egmont USA. 2011. (978606840160).
• Beam, Cris. I Am J. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 2011. (9780316053617).
• Beaudoin, Sean. You Killed Wesley Payne. 2011. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. (9780316077422).
• Black, Holly and Justine Larbalestier. Zombies vs. Unicorns. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2010. (9781416989530).
• Card, Orson Scott. The Lost Gate. Tor Books. 2011. (9780765326577).
• Clare, Cassandra. The Clockwork Angel. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry. 2010. (9781416975861).
• Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. Scholastic. 2010. (9780439023511).
• Collins, Yvonne. Love, Inc. Disney/Hyperion. 2011. (9781423131151).
• Condie, Ally. Matched. 2010. Penguin/Dutton. (9780525423645).
• Cremer, Andrea. Nightshade. Penguin/Philomel. 2010. (9780399254826).
• Fitzpatrick, Becca. Crescendo. Simon & Schuster Children’s. 2010. (9781416989431).
• Grant, Michael. Lies. 2010. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books. (9780061449093).
• Hawkins, Rachel. Demonglass. Disney/Hyperion. 2011. (9781423121312).
• Hakwins, Rachel. Hex Hall. Disney/Hyperion. 2010. (9781423121305).
• Kagawa, Julie. The Iron King. 2010. Harlequin. (9780373210084).
• Lore, Pittacus. I Am Number Four. HarperCollins. 2010. (9780061969553).
• Moore, Peter. Red Moon Rising. Disney/Hyperion. 2011. (9781423116653).
• Nelson, Jandy. The Sky is Everywhere. 2010. Penguin/Dial Books for Young Readers. (9780142417805).
• Oliver, Lauren. Before I Fall. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2010. (9780061726804).
• O’Neal, Ellis. The False Princess. Egmont USA. 2011. (9781606840795).
• Patterson, James. Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel. Little, Brown & Company. 2011. (9780316036207).
• Pearce, Jackson. Sisters Red. Little, Brown and Company. 2010. (9780316068680).
• Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Blessed. Candlewick Press. 2011. (9780763643263).
• Westerfeld, Scott. Behemoth. Simon Pulse. 2010. (9781416971757).
• White, Kiersten. Paranormalcy. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2010. (9780061985843).

     Is it just me or are there a lot of authors with last names that start with C? Ha ha! Well it looks like there are a lot of great nominations this year. The voting for the top ten will take place between August 22nd, and continue through to September 16th. So read over the summer! To find out more about the nominees, etc. click here.

In My Mailbox- TLA Conference Version

     "In My Mailbox" is a weekly event hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. "IMM" is a way to share thoughts on the books you've received throughout the week with readers. To read more about "In My Malbox," click here. This past week was the TLA conference version, so this week's IMM will also be displaying books I got while I was there. (For sake of space the covers of each book will not be posted)

Not From TLA Conference


An Abundance of Katherines by John Green- I just finished this one and it was very funny. Definitely a good read.


Shine by Lauren Myracle - This one seems very different (so far) from Lauren Myracle's other novels, but it seems like it will be a good read.


From TLA Conference 


Back When You Were Easier To Love by Emily Wing Smith

Popularity Papers: Book Two by Amy Ignatow

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

Flutter: The Story of Four Sisters and an Incredible Journey by Erin Moulton

I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan (my copy doesn't have the awesome cover though)

War and Watermelon by Rich Wallace

Populazzi by Elise Allen

I Wore the Ocean in The Shape of A Girl by Kelle Groom

Pick Up Game by Multiple Authors

Starstruck by Cyn Balog

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

Shift by Jeri Smith- Ready

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Authors I met at TLA Conference (pictures to come)

Raina Telgemeier
Ally Condie
Rebecca Stead
Liz Garton Scanlon
Lauren Myracle
Gayle Forman
and a few others...

Follow Me Friday (2)

  Follow Me Friday is a weekly event hosted by Parajunkee's View. Each week a question is asked and it's up to bloggers to answer. Follow Me Friday is also a great way to get your blog noticed because the point is to make more blogger friends and find new blogs to follow. So check it out! Last week Follow Me Friday seemed really popular, so I decided to do it again this week. I think it's going to become a regular thing just like "In My Mailbox."

This week's question: Do you have anyone that you can discuss books with? Tell us about him/her.

     I cannot imagine reading without being able to talk to people about the book. I just love to ask questions and see what other people think of a certain character. A lot of my friends and I hear about each other reading different books and really, we just all end up reading the same books. We love to exchange/trade books and just talk about books in general. I feel very lucky to have friends that read like I do. Do you have friends that share your love of reading? 

Don't forget to follow Mint Tea and A Good Book. Thanks!

TLA 2011 (TT4L) Update

     Hello Everyone! The 2011 TLA Conference is happening this week! This week! Can you believe it!? I am super duper excited for the conference! The conference starts tomorrow (Tuesday, April 12th) and will run all the way through Friday (April 15th). Thursday will be the Teen Day or TT4L (Texas Teens 4 Libraries) and that will be the day I will be there! Again, I am super excited!
     There will also be a ton of authors there such as, Ally Condie, author of Matched, Lauren Myracle, author of The TTYL Series (I'm actually meeting Lauren Myracle tomorrow as well), Gayle Forman, author of If I Stay, Tera Lynn Childs (author of Oh. My. Gods, and Forgive My Fins, and so many other fantastic authors! I also will hopefully be able to get some ARCs while I'm there too.
     We also might have some guest bloggers throughout these next few weeks so be on the lookout for that!

    


    

In My Mailbox (5)

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly event hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. "IMM" is a way to share thoughts on the books you've received throughout the week with readers. To read more about "In My Malbox," click here.

For Review:

Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt- I'm about halfway done with this book and so far it is amazing!

Other Books:

Paper Towns by John Green- My friend recommended this one to me, and it looks pretty good, plus it has received great reviews.

The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook- I can't wait to read this book! It sounds really good.

 What's in YOUR Mailbox?

Follow Me Friday (1)

     Follow Me Friday is a weekly event hosted by Parjunkee's View. Each week a question is asked and it's up to bloggers to answer. Follow Me Friday is also a great way to get your blog noticed because the point is to make more blogger friends and find new blogs to follow. So check it out!

This week's question: Do you judge a book by it's cover?

My Answer: Sadly, yes. I do often judge a book by it's cover. I like fun simple covers, and if I see a cover I really like, I am bound to pick the book up. However, if the book is recommended to me, I definitely will read the book no matter what the cover is. So what do you think? Do you judge a book by it's cover? 

Don't forget to follow Mint Tea and A Good Book! Thanks!

Book Review: Audrey, Wait!

Audrey, Wait! By Robin Benway
Published April 10th, 2008




Audrey didn't really like Evan. He cared more about his music than her, and quite frankly, he was kind of annoying. So Audrey breaks up with him. It's the breakup that ends up changing her life. After promising Evan she'll still be his "friend," she goes to his concert. She expects the normal, blah, blah, blah, when the last song comes on. It's title: Audrey, Wait! Audrey is so humiliated but after the concert she knows she probably won't hear the song again, so she isn't too worried. Until it hits the charts, the top charts. Now Audrey is the in the center of everything, and all she wants is too go back to normal. But will it happen? Yeah well, I'm not going to tell you, so you've got to read the book to find out. (it's a goon one- don't worry) 


I liked Audrey, Wait! Audrey seemed very real and so did all the other characters in the book. I also (I know this is kind of irrelevant) loved the cover. I normally don't like it when the main characters face is clearly shown on covers, but this one was well done. The expression on the model's face is just so... Audrey. 


Concerns with the book. A) some of the writing was not great. It was average, while not terrible, it was only average. From looking at the plot, I thought the story would be brilliant, and while it had a great plot, I think Robin Benway could have written it a little better. But don't get me wrong, I still love Robin Benway and Audrey, Wait! 

My next concern with the book (this one I had a lot of problems with) was the number of cuss-words in the book. I know they happen, I know teenagers say them, I know they're realistic, but after hearing the "f word" 10 times, I began to wonder if it was really necessary. I know it makes the book more realistic, but I already don't really like it when I hear the cussing in real life, so in a book, I just don't like it. A few times is okay, more than 10, no. I know the cussing in a book thing shouldn't bother me, but it does. Sorry Audrey. 

Overall, I do recommend Audrey, Wait! It was a very fun and easy read, and Audrey is very likable. 


My Rating: 3.5 stars!

In My Mailbox

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly event hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. "IMM" is a way to share thoughts on the books you've received throughout the week with readers. To read more about "In My Malbox," click here.

1. Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
How could I not pick up this book?! The plot sounds incredible, plus Willa from Willa's Ramblings told me it was fabulous. So, I picked it up. Thanks Willa!

2. Fahrenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury
I can't believe I haven't read this book already!

3. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
I'm meeting Gayle Forman in a few weeks, and I figured I should read her books before I do.

4. Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle
I'm also meeting Lauren Myracle in a few weeks (TLA 2011) and this book of hers looked pretty good. I am also looking forward to reading her new book, Shine.

What's in YOUR mailbox this week?