It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #10

This book meme is hosted by Book Journey

I'm reading so little all of a sudden! It's so sad. I am reading two Buddy reads at the same time but still! Hopefully big news this week. I might be having another cousin *crosses fingers* I hope everything turns out alright. My cousin and his wife are such great people and deserve everything good coming their way.

Past Week Reads

 

I did read what I was currently reading last time so that gives me hope. Both of these books were really great and I got to review them both this week. Tide Ever Rising looks like a contender for my Best Covers of 2013 list.

Past Week Reviews

   

I got to review some gorgeous books and covers. I reviewed Dead Man's Hand, Taken, and Tide Ever Rising.

Currently Reading

Everyone should have something to rebel against.

Crank Wilson left his South Boston home at sixteen to start a punk band and burn out his rage at the world. Six years later, he’s still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn’t ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job. The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.

Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father's career and dominating her family's life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she's haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy. 

When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart. -Goodreads Summary

So far in A Song for Julia the beginning has been a little shaky but I'm starting to get into it. As long as they don't act foolish again I'm good.

Giveaway!

Currently there is a giveaway for an ebook version of The Boys of Summer. You can come back everyday to get more points!

Look What I Got!

Life sucks for orphans Callum Tate and Harper Bailey. 

Kicked out of their foster homes because they suffer the 'eighteen disease' with nothing but a hundred dollar check from the government and a pat on the back, they're forced to rely on a system that failed them miserably. 

So they sit. They sit inside Social Services, waiting for their social workers to call their names and offer them the miracle they know will never come but they sit anyway because they have nowhere else to go, no other options on their very literal and figurative empty plates.

But as they sit, they notice the other. Although captivated, they each come to the conclusion that life is complicated enough without throwing in a boiling tension that can't ever be acted upon because they're both too busy thinking about where their next meal will come from but when their names are called and both are placed on a year long waiting list for permanent housing, suddenly relying on each other seems like a very viable plan B. 

And, oh, how lovely Plan B's can be. 

Well, except for the psycho from Harper's past that haunts her and, oh, yeah, there's the little issue that neither of them knows they're in love with the other. 

Needless to say, Callum & Harper's life just got a bit more complicated. -Goodreads Summary

Thomas Eriksson thinks he has it all figured out.

"People crossed the street when they saw me. I’m not really sure why that was. I mean, okay, I might have looked a bit intimidating if I was being truthful with you. I’d changed since New York. New York represented a life that wasn’t real, not truthfully, anyway. No, New York was the “young, immature, in love, idiot" side of Tom. The “Tie-Dye Tom of New York City” didn’t exist anymore. Tie-Dye Tom was dead."

January Mac Lochlainn thinks she’s her own worst enemy.

"I quit Berkeley. Threw away a full scholarship. Plans, you ask? What plans?"

But they’re both wrong. -Goodreads Summary

A blogger (I forget who sorry!) wrote a post about Thomas & January being free that day so I got the kindle version and I decided to get the first book because it was only $2.99 which isn't that bad. This is a rare spending spree I go on which is not even a spree really.

Book Discoveries

Wacko Academy by Faith Wilkins

The authentic voice of a 14-year-old author dazzles readers with her debut novel that perfectly captures the travails of middle school life and girl's adventure of a lifetime.

Winner of the Bronze Medal, Moonbeam award for authors under 18.  You think your school is bad?  Eighth grader Lily Mason has enough hassles dealing with siblings, cranky teachers and the cute new guy in school.  But when she's kidnapped and brought to the elite Wackerson (Wacko) Academy, it will take all of her smarts and courage to outwit the school's treacherous owner - even if it means teaming up with his infuriating and unnecessarily handsome son.  At once funny, harrowing and romantic, Wacko Academy is a book that will enthrall and entertain adult and young adult readers alike!

Pi in the Sky by Wendy Mass

Joss is the seventh son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe, and all he gets to do is deliver pies. That's right: pies. Of course these pies actually hold the secrets of the universe between their buttery crusts, but they're still pies.

Joss comes from a family of overachievers, and is happy to let his older brothers shine. But when Earth suddenly disappears, Joss is tasked with the not-so-simple job of bringing it back. With the help of an outspoken girl from Earth named Annika, Joss embarks on the adventure of a lifetime and learns that the universe is an even stranger place than he'd imagined.

The Orphanage of Miracles by Amy Neftzger

Perhaps everyone could use a miracle, but very few will find the one they truly need.

Amid a war torn land and hidden deep within an enchanted forest lays an orphanage where miracles abound. It’s a magical place created years ago by a resolute king who must defeat an evil sorcerer waging bitter war against his land and his people. He knew that in order to save his people, victory would require a miracle.

A young girl named Kelsey also desperately needs a miracle. She sets out on a quest to find the whispered-of orphanage. Along the way she’s joined by several traveling companions, including an over-sized snow leopard and a boy who cannot speak. In a land under a spell cast by the evil sorcerer, it's difficult to know the difference between what's real and what isn't … and what a true friend looks like. Join Kelsey and her companions as they embark on an extraordinary adventure and a quest unlike any other and take a peek inside The Orphanage of Miracles.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

A vibrant, food-themed memoir from beloved indie cartoonist Lucy Knisley.

Lucy Knisley loves food. The daughter of a chef and a gourmet, this talented young cartoonist comes by her

obsession honestly. In her forthright, thoughtful, and

funny memoir, Lucy traces key episodes in her life thus

far, framed by what she was eating at the time and lessons learned about food, cooking, and life. Each chapter is bookended with an illustrated recipe—many of them treasured family dishes, and a few of them Lucy's original inventions.

A welcome read for anyone who ever felt more passion for a sandwich than is strictly speaking proper, Relish is a

book for our time: it invites the reader to celebrate food

as a connection to our bodies and a connection to the

earth, rather than an enemy, a compulsion, or a consumer product.

What are you reading this week?