I was able to read a copy of The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren, by Wendy Toliver. It was absolutely fabulous!!
Roxy's life isn't so glamorous in the beginning, seeing as she has frizzy hair, glasses, and is a band geek. But everything changes when, the moment she turns sixteen, she becomes a Siren: a drop-dead gorgeous girl with "Siren powers" to control all the men around her by simply playing her flute. There are two conditions, however. First, she can never tell anyone about being a Siren, and second, she can never fall in love.
The main character Roxy is completely wonderful. She is a character that has a good moral compass, yet she is not annoyingly innocent. It's great to see how Roxy deals with her moral compass getting tested throughout the book. The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren was a quick, easy read, and it was very enjoyable. I finished the book in one night, excited to read what happens in the end.
I was very satisfied with the ending, but I won't tell you what happens! Just know it's a good ending!
An additional plus: the cover of this book is very cute!
Buy The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren now: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Teenage-Siren-Romantic-Comedies/dp/1416950656/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201755347&sr=8-1
AND
visit Wendy Toliver's website to learn more about her books at http://www.wendytoliver.com/
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List
Beautiful Naomi and and gorgeous gay Ely have been best friends forever. Together, they create a No Kiss List, a list of all the boys that are off-limits for kissing. But when Ely kisses Naomi's boyfriend, a major rift is caused in their friendship. Naomi realizes that the rift isn't because Ely stole her boyfriend, but because she realizes that Ely will never love her the way she wants him to.
Because of strong langauge and sexual exploration, this book is for older teens. They will appreciate the different conflicts and the older characters (Naomi and Ely are college freshmen).
The book changes point of view every chapter, so it is important to pay attention to who is speaking. No Kiss List has its own style of writing that is very unique from other books. A character's thought will lead to another thought, will lead to another, and then another. The book is written like that, as if you were in Naomi's head as opposed to a 3rd person narrative.
The only problem I had with the style of writing was Naomi's chapters had little symbols to represent the word. For example, "We're more about a [picture of book] in bed, then turn out the light, and [smiley with zzz's]--just sleep--'til he leaves in the morning for his [picture with clock set to 9:30] accounting class."
For me, the pictures tend to stop the flow of the sentence because I have to stop what I'm reading and squint to understand the picture, as they are shrunken down to the size of the text.
Other than that, Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List was a good, quick read. What kept me going was the question of what the ending was going to be like. I really wanted to see how the characters relationships would be resolved, and the ending was pretty satisfying.
The cover of the book is so cute! Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0375844406/ref=dp_image_0/102-0330936-2081706?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List was written together by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.
Visit Rachel Cohn's website at http://www.rachelcohn.com/, and visit David Levithan's website at http://www.davidlevithan.com/
AND visit the No Kiss List website http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/nokisslist/index.php
Buy the book now on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Naomi-Elys-No-Kiss-List/dp/0375844406/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201648908&sr=8-1
Cover of Simon Bloom
This is a picture of my advance copy. The published book will be hardcover, and it will have a foil treatment that makes it metallic and shiny! To see a picture of the hardcover, click: http://michaelreisman.com/index.php?page=books
Monday, January 28, 2008
Mobile Blogging
So...I'm trying to figure out this mobile blogging thing.
This is only a test:
POST-ITS!!
Love,
Gela
Sent from my iPhone
Cassie Was Here
Cassie Was Here is an adorable new book by Caroline Hickey aimed toward the preteen set. Bree, an 11 year-old girl, used to have an imaginary friend, Joey, when she was younger. Joey went away, but when Bree moves to a new town and is alone, Joey comes back to be her friend. Then a new girl moves across the street, Cassie. She's older, cool and confident, and she immediately impresses Bree. And maybe, Bree will be able to leave Joey for a new friend.
The book is absolutely adorable. Caroline Hickey's first novel accurately portrays the awkward transition from pre-teen to teen.
My favorite character is Anna, who we don't meet until about the middle of the book. She's shut up in her house recovering from mono, and her mom won't let her out. She's sort of a secondary character; even though Cassie adds so much color, Anna adds more detail to the story. Her defying her mother makes me grin.
You won't really get the title until the very end, but I like it like that, when everything comes together at the end.
Buy this book now at http://www.amazon.com/Cassie-Was-Here-Caroline-Hickey/dp/1596432055/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201580812&sr=8-1
and visit Caroline Hickey's website at http://carolinehickey.com/
Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper
My friend Mike Reisman wrote a new book called Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper. It's a really interesting book about Simon Bloom, a kid who finds a book that helps him control the laws of physics. The Book contains formulas that let Simon turn off gravity, so he can float, and reduce friction so he slide down the sidewalk! The plot thickens when two evil characters appear, willing to do almost anything to get their hands on the Book, and Simon and his friends have to use their new-found power to defend themselves...and maybe even the future of the world!
Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper will appeal to fans of fantasy and action adventure.
Be on the lookout for this book; it is scheduled to be released on Valentine's Day, 2008!
Pre-order the book now: http://www.amazon.com/Simon-Gravity-Keeper-Michael-Reisman/dp/0525479228/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201546716&sr=8-1
And visit Mike Reisman's website at http://michaelreisman.com/index.php?page=home
Sunday, January 27, 2008
ALFA - A Little Friendly Advice
I recently got my hands on an advance copy of A Little Friendly Advice, a novel by Siobhan Vivian (pronounced shove-on).
The Promo Page reads:
Siobhan Vivian has just written a powerful debut novel that asks the question--if you can't trust your friends, just who can you trust?
When Ruby's long-lost father appears on her doorstep on her sixteenth birthday, looking to reconnect, Ruby wants nothing to do with him. She and her mother have gotten along just fine without him all these years. Instead, Ruby just wants to hang out with her friends--loyal Beth, gossipy Maria and dangerous Katherine. They have plenty advice for her about boys, about her dad, about how she should look and what she should be feeling. But Ruby doesn't know what to think or feel. Especially when a new boy comes into the picture and Ruby discovers some of her friends aren't as truthful as they say they are.
ALFA is an amazing book. All the characters are have real emotions and Ruby is a character that I find easy to relate to. Charlie is absolutely adorable, and Ruby's friends have a lot of depth to them. In addition, the book is very well written and easy to follow. Also present is some subtle symbolism that doesn't grab you by the ear and say, "Look at me! I represent something!" The symbolism is present, and reading it makes me smile for some reason. The cover is wonderful. All the characters are easily recognizable.
I will be getting some buttons in the mail from Siobhan Vivian, and I'll post some pictures when I get them.
ALFA is set to be on the shelves March 2008.
Pre-order ALFA now: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Friendly-Advice-Siobhan-Vivian/dp/0545004047/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201497688&sr=8-1
Visit the author's website at http://siobhanvivian.com/
