Blogger Detour {3} Meet Vy!

Blogger Detour is a brand new interview feature at Mint Tea & A Good Book. Basically it's a great way to get your blog promoted and it has a fun little road trip twist added as well. Enjoy!






This Week's Contestant Is...

Vy from Vy's Blog

Vy with her Amity (Divergent) tattoo.

     First of all I think it's pretty perfect that Vy is on Blogger Detour #3, because Vy rhymes with 3! Just a little fun fact. Lets get on with the Interview!

1. When did you start to really enjoy reading? Or have you always loved it?

     Now that I've looked back, I've always enjoyed reading. I got really into it in September 2010, at the beginning of my 8th grade year. At my middle school, we would always start off by going to library orientation to hear about this year's books and stuff. That year I actually decided to pay attention to those books. :)

2. Is there a specific book that has opened you up to YA?

The Hunger Games! I read it without knowing a single thing about it or the hype that surrounded this amazing book. I didn't even know what dystopian really meant.

3. Why did you start blogging?

I hang out with a group of friends who aren't exactly the biggest readers. I have a few here and there, but not someone I could gush about everything to. So finding the book community full of passionate readers was just awesome! I knew I had to be part of this.

4. What have you learned from book blogging?

I've learned so many amazing things from book blogging and other bloggers. Learning how to blog wasn't the only thing I learned though. There are so many life lessons everyone offers too.

5. Favorite thing about book blogging?

     I know that everyone says meeting new people, but seriously, it's my favorite thing. There are so many awesome people out there that share the same love of reading. It's really nice to have some blogging friends. 

Vy and Kimberly Derting!

 I also love meeting authors at events! If you'd asked me who the author of a book a couple years ago, I wouldn't even know how to answer. Now I get to know these amazing people who write the books that I love.

6. What do you hope to achieve through book blogging?

     My one goal in book blogging is to be honest. I want to be able to write some honest reviews and not feel like I've covering up negatives to make it light and fluffy.

7. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Do you want to work with books?

In 10 years, I'd want to see myself working somewhere in the East Coast. (note: Vy currently lives in Oregon) I don't have a specific job in mind, but I guess I don't see myself working with books. But I would want to see myself in a house full of books. ;)

Vy's future library on the East Coast!

8. Does the rest of your family/friends enjoy reading as much as you do?

If only! I have a few friends who read, but no where near the fangirl that I am. But that's as far as it goes.

9. If you could take a road trip right now, where would you go and who would you go with?

I'd take a trip down to California with my younger brother. I've always been to California every year to visit family.This time I'd want to go as a tourist and visit all the touristy places.

10. Favorite type of tea?
I'm not a big tea drinker, but I love Jasmine Tea!


Thanks so much to Vy for letting me have her on the blog today! Vy is absolutely delightful and if you have yet to check out her blog, here is the link!

Top Ten Tuesday- Holiday To Reads!

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by the cool kids over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week The Broke and The Bookish posts a topic and lists their Top Ten things that fall under that category. Top Ten Tuesday is a great way to learn more about your favorite bloggers and discover new blogs and books as well! To learn more about Top Ten Tuesday and see previous and future topics, click here.



This Tuesday's Topic Is...

Top Ten Books On My TBR List For Winter

 1. Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle- EVERY TIME I go to the library, this book is sitting on the shelf. And it always says "Pick me up Meredith!" and I turn my back to it and say "Not until December!" But now December is nearly upon us and I think I'll have to go pick it up. :)

2. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan- Looks like I'll be reading lots of John Green this holiday season! And my friend, Gus, has recently finished this one and LOVED LOVED LOVED it, so I'm excited!

3. A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young- I need to read and review this one so it looks like I'll be reading it over the break. And I'm excited because I've heard some good things about this one!

4. The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle- I have been meaning to get to this one, so hopefully over the break I will get to this one! It looks sad, but I've heard good things about it.

 5. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler- This looks like an absolutely perfect winter read! Just look at the frosty cover with a sugar cookie in the center! Plus, I really love Sarah Ockler  and this one looks like it will be no exception to Ockler's usual good writing. Super excited for this one!

6. Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey- This one has the word "cold" in it, which may match the winter season I'll be reading it in. Of course the book probably has nothing to do with winter.

7. Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs- Despite the vampire title, this is a book about three medusa descendants and it looks like it will be pretty funny. It has nothing to do with winter, but oh well.

 8. Everneath by Brodi Ashton- I am so excited to read this one! And look how gorgeous that cover is! I actually think the cover looks really holiday-ish because of all the swirly reds.

9. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally- This book looks so so so good! A girl football player- yes! This looks like a different kind of contemporary but certainly a fun one! Can't wait!

10. The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder- This one looks really good and maybe sad/emotional. It has nothing to do with winter (that I know of) but I'm hoping I will enjoy it over winter break.

     That's all for this week's Top Ten Tuesday! What will YOU be reading this winter?

Looking for Alaska

Title: Looking for Alaska

Author: John Green

Release Date: March 3, 2005

Publisher: Puffin

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps. 

Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A stunning debut, it marks John Green's arrival as an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

Review:

I can now say with confidence that John Green is one of my favorite authors. All of his books have perfect balance. They are incredibly funny, clever, witty, yet they are also really touching and moving. Looking for Alaska definitely had all of these qualities. I am amazed that this was John Green's debut novel because it is incredibly well written. The only reason I can tell this is his debut novel is that I can see lots of characters from his other books shining through some of the other characters in this one. 

The last book I read before Looking for Alaska was Thirteen Reasons Why. A major theme in Thirteen Reasons Why was that little things you do can have a huge impact on somebody else. In Looking for Alaska I saw this theme come through in a subtle way. Although Thirteen Reasons Why and Looking for Alaska are totally different it was interesting to see this theme shown in both books. 

If I were you I would read Looking for Alaska. Put it on your Christmas, Hanukkah, birthday, Easter, Labor Day, Memorial day, and Presidents day list. I would recommend Looking for Alaska to anyone who wants a good, attention grabbing read! 

If you enjoyed this Mint Tea and A Good Book review and would like to access more reviews take a peek at our review archive or click here.

In My Mailbox (31)

     "In My Mailbox" is a weekly feature hosted by the super fabulous, 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 week's In My Mailbox is pretty small, but I'm super duper excited for both of the book's I received this week!

 1. Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey- Thank you Willa for this one! I don't know too much about it but I've heard some good things! And from what little I have heard, it sounds pretty interesting and maybe a little bit creepy.

 2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever- YAY! You may or may not have read the post about "My Secret Literary Obsession," but if you did read it, then you know that I LOVE these books! They are so silly and are told from such a realistic perspective! This one just came out on November 15th, and I have already finished it. Such a funny book!






     That's all for this week's In My Mailbox! And it appears that I suddenly have a thing for books with blue covers. Hee hee! Feel free to leave a link to YOUR IMM in the lovely comments section.

Settling by Shelley Workinger: Review

Title: Settling
Author: Shelley Workinger
Release Date: July 4th, 2011
Publisher: Self Pubbed









Synopsis (from Goodreads)-


At the beginning of the summer, Clio Kaid was one of a hundred teens brought to a secret Army installation. But it was no ordinary camp and they weren’t ordinary kids… 

Picking up where “Solid” left off, Clio and her friends realize that they aren’t ready to go home; they’re determined to stay on campus and continue their journey of self- discovery. But someone doesn’t feel the same way and will do anything to drive them away – even kill. 

Friendships will be tested, abilities will evolve, and more secrets will come out as the teens race to stop the killer before he sets his sights on one of them…


My Thoughts-


    A lot of times people are very reluctant to read a self-published books and I am among those people, often times there is a reason the book is self published. But after reading a self published book by Shelley Workinger, we can all be proved wrong. Solid (the first in the series) and Settling are so well-written, that they no doubt surpass many books published by big name publishers. Many of us turn down review requests from self published authors without hesitation but I think we all need to take a second glance at these kinds of books. Alright, onto my real review.


     I read the first book in this series, Solid, earlier this year, and absolutely loved it! And I was so happy to see the characters and fabulous writing come back in Settling! Clio is such a great character and she's so well-written! She makes mistakes and she learns new things which makes her more likable and a character we can relate to. She isn't one of those perfect Barbie Doll characters that we occasionally see in books and often in movies as well.


     I liked the second half of this book better than the first one which is so rare for me! I nearly always like the first half better. But in this book, the murder took place a little while into the book, and to me, thats where the book really got going. Before the attack, the book wasn't boring, it just wasn't quite as interesting.


    These are very well-written books and unlike some series, Settling is perfectly matched to Solid. It also appeals to both girls and boys which is difficult to do but always a good thing. I really enjoyed this book and if you have yet to pick up Solid or Settling, I really suggest you do so soon! :)

TGIF (21)- Not Reading!? Impossible!

     TGIF is a feature hosted by the ever fab Ginger over at GReads! Ginger asks a fun question every week and bloggers post their answers. And honestly, this is one of my favorite features because it's just so fun! And I love reading everyone's answers! Plus, the picture is pretty cute too. This week's question is...

When You're Not Reading: What occupies your time when your nose isn't stuck in a book?

     Gasp! She's not ALWAYS reading! Unfortunately, this is a fact. In an ideal life I would be reading nearly all the time, but there are a few major problems with this. 

this isn't really me, but I thought it was cute

 School- Sigh. It's not school that annoying. I like school; (some of you are shaking your heads right now thinking that I am insane) I like seeing my friends, I like my teachers, I like my classes, (I've even learned to love Algebra!) but what I don't like is the homework. It just occupies waaaaaay to much of my time. If I leave for school at 8AM and then get back at 5:30PM, and still have homework to do, then I don't finish homework until around 10PM, and thats before I even get started reading. :( I wish school didn't take up as much time as it does. (luckily I sometimes get to read at school)






 Sleep- During the week, when I'm not at school, I am sleeping. As I said before, I love sleep, but I don't like how it takes away precious reading time. I feel like I'm on this repeat button during the week. School, Homework, Sleep, School, Homework, Sleep.

 Swim Team- Yep! I swim three times a week on a swim team and it takes up some sweet time, but I love it anyway. It kind of unstresses (I know thats not a word) me in a way which I really enjoy. And it's my source of exercise (besides PE) so I have to do it. :)

Pancakes!!

Food- yeah... I have to eat. Sometimes I'm like "YAY! Food!" and other times I'm like "Noooooo! I still have so much more homework! This will waste my time!" But generally, I think I like food (well, the good kind)

Ok, I don't spend my time kissing though.

On the weekends though, all of this is (see picture to the left) my favorite thing to do! Besides reading that is. And minus the kisses...I don't really spend my weekends kissing people. ;)

     I hope you enjoyed getting to see a little more about me, and what I do when I'm not reading or blogging! And thanks Ginger for the awesome TGIF question! See you tomorrow! :)

Informal Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau- Banks

Here is Frankie Landau- Banks.

Of course, that's not completely how I imagined her looking, and also I read this cover.

     Anyway, back to Frankie. Frankie Landau- Banks is extremely cool. She's a kick butt female character and won't let a stupid (ok, not really stupid) boys society stand in her way. (plot hint) You should like her. Maybe not as much as Katniss, but you should still like her... and maybe want to be her.

This is you deciding whether or not you like these things.
You are also blonde and  have a cute dog and lots of
sunshine.

 If you like these things, then you will like this book:

1. Boarding School
2. A Strong Female Character
3. An All Boys Secret Society
4. Basset Hounds
5. Vegetable Platters
6. Pranks
7. Underground Tunnels
8. Superman T- Shirts
I think that you like these things.

Look! I'm reading!

and still reading

and reading again!

now there is tea too!

reading before bed

I can read on a fence!

     Do you want to know how many random strangers told me that this was a good book when they saw me reading this book? Two! This is a world record for me! And when I finished the book...

Wow, that was a good book.

Top Ten Tuesday- Author Feast

 Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by the cool kids over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week theBroke and The Bookishposts a topic and lists their Top Ten things that fall under the category. Top Ten Tuesday is a great way to learn more about your favorite bloggers and discover new blogs and books as well! To learn more about Top Ten Tuesday and see previous and future topics, click here.


This Tuesday's topic is...

Top Ten Authors I Want At My Thanksgiving Dinner

 1. JK Rowling- I think this is kind of a given. JK Rowling has changed so many lives and she's unbelievably creative, so I think it would be pretty fun to meet her, or even better, eat dinner with her! And obviously I would tell her to bring her actors along too!

2. John Green- I love John Green books and his vlogs! He seems like a pretty cool person so I think I would want to eat dinner with him. That sounds kind of weird doesn't it?

3. Maureen Johnson- You can't invite John Green without Maureen Johnson! I have met Maureen Johnson very briefly and she was incredibly awesome and hilarious! Plus, her books are pretty cool too.

 4. Libba Bray- I say Libba Bray because she is just so cool! When she signed my copy of Beauty Queens she wrote, "Please do not put this on top of your car." Yes, she really did sign it like that. And once again, her books are awesome too.

5. Sarah Dessen- Alright, I've met Sarah Dessen very briefly before, but I would love to meet her again! Sarah Dessen's books are some of my favorites and when I met her before she was super duper sweet.

6. E. Lockhart- I need to discuss a few things with this lady about Frankie Landau-Banks and Ruby Oliver. Her books are just so fun!! And I would be absolutely thrilled to meet her and... eat dinner with her.

 7. Lindsey Leavitt- I really, really, really want to meet Lindsey Leavitt! I love her books, and where there are good books, there are good authors behind them. And from what I've heard from her, she seems pretty cool.

8. Ally Carter- So, I've sort of met this lady before, but I would love to meet Ally Carter again! I need to discuss Cammie Morgan with her, and Katarina Bishop as well. Plus, Ally Carter books were really the books that got me into reading.

9. Suzanne Collins- Of course! I really don't know of ANYONE who has met Suzanne Collins, but I sure would love to meet her! And I would probably overwhelm her (as I tend to do when it comes to authors) and also probably ask her a million questions.

 10. Harper Lee- Yes, I had to include her. Apparently she kind of keeps to herself so it would be extremely rare to meet her, but I've seen a few interviews with her and she seems very charming!

That's all for this weeks Top Ten Tuesday! And have a great Thanksgiving!

The Future of Us: Review

Title: The Future Of Us
Author(s): Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: Tomorrow!






Synopsis (from Goodreads)-


It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet.

Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM.

Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future.

Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.






My Thoughts-


     The concept of finding yourself on the internet in 15 years is mind boggling, but yet some how also realistic. When Emma finds herself online in 15 years, she's unhappy with her life. She tries to change things over and over again until she's convinced that she has a great life. Josh, on the other hand, is happy with his life in 15 years and doesn't want to change a thing. As Emma and Josh change little things about their life now, they discover big changes in their lifes in the future.

     I really enjoyed this book. This book is not only about the little things you do now affecting you later, but it also is really a book about friendship and forgiveness. I loved the whole friendship vibe of this book. Emma and her best friend, Kellan's relationship with each other. Josh and his best friend, Tyson, and their relationship. Kellan and Tyson. Emma and Josh. The relationships between all of them was some of the most realistic I've read. I really just wanted to hop in there and become their new best friend.


     While this book is written as a YA book, a lot of adults and people about 10 years older than me are able to recognize the 90's pop culture references. Even better, if you were in high school in 1996, it will bring back some real memories. (from what I've heard) ;)

     Emma and Josh both go through problems and seem so real. And even though this book is about finding yourself in the future, it really seemed more like realistic fiction to me. The characters, the struggles, it definitely seemed all too real. And I loved it! 


     I've never read any Carolyn Mackler before but I loved her writing! And of course Jay Asher is fabulous too! And here is a video of Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher talking about the book! Very interesting!

     Alright, well that's all I have for today. And Happy (early) Release Day to The Future of Us! If you're really cool you can go pick up a copy of it TOMORROW! :)

TGIF (20) Today We're Thinking Thanks!

   TGIF is a feature hosted by the ever fab Ginger over at GReads! Ginger asks a fun question every week and bloggers post their answers. And honestly, this is one of my favorite features because it's just so fun! And I love reading everyone's answers! Plus, the picture is pretty cute too. This week's question is...

Giving Thanks: Which books are you most thankful for receiving from other bloggers, friends, family members, or publishers?

     I'm thankful for everyone who has ever given me a book. Even though a lot of people will say "it's just a book," any book means a lot to me. Here are a few books that I am over the top thankful for because they have affected me on multiple levels.

 1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Lent to me by co- reviewer Erin! I am so very thankful that Erin made me read this book! I resisted at first and I considered putting it down a few times at the beginning. But Erin kept shoving it back at me (politely! Erin is always polite!) and telling me to read it. And I know I must have annoyed her for a while because I kept whining about how annoying Peeta was. (yes! gasp! I actually thought Peeta was annoying at the beginning!! I can assure you that this opinion of Peeta changed drastically!) But soon I fell in love with the book and hurriedly devoured the rest of the series. Thank You Erin! (even though I annoyed you!)

 2. The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling: Given to me by my grandmother. Yes, I am so very very very thankful that my grandmother started reading this series to me when I couldn't have been older than five or six. These books changed my life and at such a young age! Thank You!

 3. Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt: Lent to me by an unnamed librarian. I thank the unnamed librarian who saw me pondering the YA section and pointed me towards Sean Griswold's Head. I love this book! And I love the unnamed librarian who told me to read it! (Quick Story: This is not as strange as the time some random girl shoved The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks into my friend, Gus', face)

Page from the book

 4. Smile by Raina Telgemeier: Given to me by my mom. Never before had I laughed so hard from a book when my mother gave me this book in 6th grade. This is the memoir of the talented Raina Telgemeier who I actually got to meet last spring! (FYI- when she signs books she draws a picture of herself too!!) Such a fabulous book! And actually we recommended it to my orthodontist who now keeps copies of it in the waiting room. :)






     There are so many more books that I'm thankful for receiving! These are just a few of the many!!