{ WWW Wednesdays } : August 21, 2019

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Taking on a World of Words. It’s a weekly blog meme to talk books by answering 3 questions:

• What are you currently reading? 
• What did you recently finish reading? 
• What do you think you’ll read next?

I've participated in WWW Wednesdays in the past, but it's been a while since I've joined in... I'm excited to get back into it! :)


{ Currently reading } :
The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror by Mallory Ortberg
Man, I love me a good collection of fairy tale retellings. So far this one is pretty good - some of them have confused me, or have ended kind of anticlamactically, but for the most part I'm enjoying them. Technically an adult book but I think YA readers who are into fairy tale retellings (especially those who are into unique retellings with an edge of horror) would probably enjoy giving this one a read.



{ Finished reading } :
Berserker by Emmy Laybourne
This was so good!! I've had this one for a while and it got buried in my TBR pile, but I'm so glad I finally pulled it back out! It's a historical fantasy/western, with Norse mythology. And yes, it's as awesome as it sounds.







{ Reading next } :
Everything Must Go by Jenny Fran Davis
This is another one that's been stuck on my TBR for a while. It sounds like an interesting story - YA about a Quaker boarding school, told in epistolary style with letters, emails, journal entries, etc. I'm excited to start it! 







That's it for me this week! What did you read this week? Link to your WWW Wednesdays post in the comments - I'd love to come visit! :)

Pea-Sized Reviews: Spencer and Vincent, the Jellyfish Brothers -&- How Do I Love Thee?

Long time no see, fellow readers! I've had some exciting things going on and have unfortunately let my blog gather some dust... but I'm dedicating myself to posting regularly again! Starting with some new picture books I had the joy of reading recently...


Spencer and Vincent, the Jellyfish Brothers
by Tony Johnston; illustrated by Emily Dove

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 40
Publisher: Simon Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date: February 5, 2019
Suggested tags: picture book, sea creatures, siblings

From Goodreads:

"When two jellyfish brothers are separated at sea it takes all of the ocean’s creatures to help them reunite in this heartwarming tale of brotherly love.

Spencer and Vincent are jellyfish brothers who live together in the sea, their wet and shining home. They invented a little song which went like this:

My brother, my brother,
he’s sweet, not smelly.
I love him from down in my jelly belly.

One day a wave of superior magnitude separates them! The brothers know they have to do whatever it takes to find each other again. And they’ll need some help along the way…

Sometimes friends can really make a the difference. Spencer and Vincent is a story of adventures and the bond of family."

Really adorable tale of two jellyfish brothers who feel their love for each other down in their little jelly bellies and use the strength of their sibling connection (and the help of some ocean friends) to reunite after they are separated by "a wave of superior magnitude." Lots of great vocab in here that is repeated, and the illustrations are just too cute. I want to go swimming with these little floating blobs of love. And I can't say that any other book has ever made me want to go swimming with a jellyfish...

Final verdict: I loved it! I thought this book was great! I might buy it for myself and I would definitely recommend it to others.



How Do I Love Thee?
by Jennifer Adams; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

Available as: hardcover
Pages: 32
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication date: December 18, 2018
Suggested tags: picture book, poetry, retellings, love



From Goodreads:

"A gorgeous reinvention of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's famous "Sonnet 43" from the bestselling author of the BabyLit board books and the acclaimed illustrator of Over and Under the Snow.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Whether in soft sunlight or rain-drizzled night or winter's frost-etched breath, three children share the love and joy of friendship while exploring the wonders of nature.

Bestselling author Jennifer Adams has reimagined Elizabeth Barrett Browning's beloved "Sonnet 43," best known by its opening lines, creating a lyrical, evocative ode to the love of family and friends. Christopher Silas Neal brings the poetry to life with his beautiful, imaginative, and whimsical illustrations."

A sweet and beautifully illustrated modern retelling of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's classic poem. The simple, lyrical words show the beauty in everyday moments, and the whimsical illustrations depict kids playing in nature through the seasons and finally being welcomed home lovingly by their parents. The original poem is included at the back of the book too, to introduce to young readers who are ready for their next literary adventure. I think this is a lovely way to share a classic work of poetry with young readers, making it understandable and relatable for even the youngest listeners through the beauty of both the words and pictures.

Final verdict: I loved it! I thought this book was great! I might buy it for myself and I would definitely recommend it to others.

{ My reviews are honest and my opinions are my own; 

your reading experience may vary, so give it a read and see what you think. :) }

{ Something Old, Something New } October 2018

Oh man, has it really been since APRIL that I did this last?? Gotta get this one going again!

{ Something Old, Something New } is a meant to help us focus on the new releases in our TBR piles and also hand-pick some older books that we've been meaning to read.

On my reading list for April 2018 was...

{ Something Old }

Caraval
by Stephanie Garber

Publication date: January 1, 2017
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 407
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), fantasy



You can read my review here! (3 stars)


{ Something New }

Legendary
by Stephanie Garber

Publication date: May 29, 2018
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), fantasy



You can read my review here! (2 stars)

On my reading list for October 2018 is...

{ Something Old }
Of Monsters and Madness
by Jessica Verday

Publication date: September 9, 2014
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 277
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), horror, gothic, retelling



First in the Of Monsters and Madness series. From Goodreads:

"A romantic, historical retelling of classic Gothic horror featuring Edgar Allan Poe and his character Annabel Lee, from a New York Times best-selling author.

Summoned to her father's home in 1820's Philadelphia, a girl finds herself in the midst of a rash of gruesome murders in which he might be implicated. She is torn romantically between her father's assistants-one kind and proper, one mysterious and brooding-who share a dark secret and may have more to do with the violent events than they're letting on."

I love Edgar Allan Poe's writing - all of it, but perhaps especially Annabel Lee. I wanted to read this one a while ago, but I never got it done. It's really hard to find near me (had to do an interlibrary loan!) but hopefully I can get my hands on it in time for Halloween.


{ Something New }
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft
edited by Jessica Spotswood & Tess Sharpe

Publication date: August 28, 2018
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 405
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), short stories, witches, LGBTQ*



From Goodreads:

"A young adult fiction anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic stories featuring witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era.

Are you a good witch or a bad witch?

Glinda the Good Witch. Elphaba the Wicked Witch. Willow. Sabrina. Gemma Doyle. The Mayfair Witches. Ursula the Sea Witch. Morgan le Fey. The three weird sisters from Macbeth.

History tells us women accused of witchcraft were often outsiders: educated, independent, unmarried, unwilling to fall in line with traditional societal expectations.

Bold. Powerful. Rebellious.

A bruja’s traditional love spell has unexpected results. A witch’s healing hands begin to take life instead of giving it when she ignores her attraction to a fellow witch. In a terrifying future, women are captured by a cabal of men crying witchcraft and the one true witch among them must fight to free them all. In a desolate past, three orphaned sisters prophesize for a murderous king. Somewhere in the present, a teen girl just wants to kiss a boy without causing a hurricane.

From good witches to bad witches, to witches who are a bit of both, this is an anthology of diverse witchy tales from a collection of diverse, feminist authors. The collective strength of women working together—magically or mundanely--has long frightened society, to the point that women’s rights are challenged, legislated against, and denied all over the world. Toil & Trouble delves deep into the truly diverse mythology of witchcraft from many cultures and feminist points of view, to create modern and unique tales of witchery that have yet to be explored."

I've had this one on my TBR for a while, and now that Halloween is approaching, it feels like the perfect time to read it!



What's on your { Something Old, Something New} reading list for this month? Pick a book that you've been meaning to read but haven't yet (your Something Old) and a new release or soon-to-be-released book (your Something New), read and/or review them, and share a link to your posts here or tweet it at me @PidginPea! I'd love to share your books and reviews when I do my { Something Old, Something New } post at the start of each month. If you'd like to read/review more than 2 books, be my guest! I'm hoping I can do { Something Old, Something New } AND a "something borrowed" and a "something blue" in the future too!

Want to put a { Something Old, Something New } button on your blog? I'd love that! Just copy and paste the code in the box below. I made the button using DeviantArt stock resources from flameshaft, gimei, and spiritsighs-stock and fonts from dafont.com and kevinandamanda.com.

<center><a href="http://pidginpeasbooknook.blogspot.com/p/something-old-something-new.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="747" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZ1NTXh9BQne-X6VkNWTp3hXPYd1vvDMegno1E-g5V1t_kcusYOouvJgjf6OuHsjNiunpvU4QHMCQzw0Tz7pxGaf67oI7-A4N1kRYNOwFmmW19kWC-fuE7zrGgoxXHqaWPKo1Cowq8NE/s200/something+old+something+new.jpg" width="200" /></a></center>

{ Something Old, Something New } February 2015

{ Something Old, Something New } is a meant to help us focus on the new releases in our TBR piles and also hand-pick some older books that we've been meaning to read. (I'm hoping down the road when I have more time to read I can add in the "something borrowed" and "something blue"... but for now, when I'm lucky to read 2 books a month, it's just "old" and "new".)

On my reading list for January 2015 was...

{ Something Old }

Unnatural Creatures
by various authors; stories selected by Neil Gaiman

Release date: April 23, 2013

4 stars - Read my review here!




{ Something New }


Tear You Apart
by Sarah Cross

Release date: January 27, 2015

I haven't yet posted my review... but it will be up soon!

What was on your reading lists for January 2015?...

Amber Stokes (Seasons of Humility)

{ Something Old }   { Something New }
          

--------------------Pearl in the Sand---------Seeing Through Stones
---------------------by Tessa Afshar------------by Rajdeep Paulus
----------------Read Amber's review here!---Read Amber's review here!

On my reading list for February 2015 is...

{ Something Old }

Teacher's Pest
by Charles Gilman

Release date: May 7, 2013
Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 170
Publisher: Quirk Books
Suggested tags: middle grade, paranormal, horror



Third in the Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series. From Goodreads:

"Don't be fooled by his friendly smile, his perfect manners, or his shiny red apple. Student council president Howard Mergler is actually a sinister bug-monster in disguise—and he's summoning swarms of roaches, wasps, fleas, and head lice into the corridors of Lovecraft Middle School! Twelve-year-old Robert Arthur is the only student who can stop him--but he'll need help from his best friends: the school bully, the school ghost, and an extremely courageous two-headed rat.

This third novel in the Lovecraft Middle School series begins right where Professor Gargoyle and The Slither Sisters ended—with more action, more adventure, and more outrageous monsters!"

{ Something New }

Beastkeeper
by Cat Hellisen

Release date: February 3, 2015
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 208
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Suggested tags: middle grade, fairy tales, retellings



From Goodreads:

"Sarah has always been on the move. Her mother hates the cold, so every few months her parents pack their bags and drag her off after the sun. She’s grown up lonely and longing for magic. She doesn’t know that it’s magic her parents are running from.

When Sarah’s mother walks out on their family, all the strange old magic they have tried to hide from comes rising into their mundane world. Her father begins to change into something wild and beastly, but before his transformation is complete, he takes Sarah to her grandparents—people she has never met, didn’t even know were still alive.

Deep in the forest, in a crumbling ruin of a castle, Sarah begins to untangle the layers of curses affecting her family bloodlines, until she discovers that the curse has carried over to her, too. The day she falls in love for the first time, Sarah will transform into a beast . . . unless she can figure out a way to break the curse forever."

Look for my reviews for these books coming soon to the Book Nook!


What's on your { Something Old, Something New} reading list for this month? Pick a book that you've been meaning to read but haven't yet (your Something Old) and a new release or soon-to-be-released book (your Something New), read and/or review them, and share a link to your posts here! I'd love to share your books and reviews when I do my { Something Old, Something New } post at the end of each month. If you'd like to read/review more than 2 books, be my guest! I'm hoping I can do { Something Old, Something New } more often in the future too!

Want to put a { Something Old, Something New } button on your blog? I'd love that! Just copy and paste the code in the box below. I made the button using DeviantArt stock resources from flameshaft, gimei, and spiritsighs-stock and fonts from dafont.com and kevinandamanda.com.

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Review: Splintered by A. G. Howard

Splintered
by A. G. Howard

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 371
Publisher: Amulet Books
Publication date: January 1, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, dark fantasy, retellings



First in Splintered series. From Goodreads:

"This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own."

Splintered is dark, disturbing, and freaking amazing. It takes the innocent Wonderland we're familiar with and turns it on its head, making the delightfully odd into the dangerously bizarre. It's brilliant. It's twisted. It's weird and macabre and wrong, and yet oh so right.

I am a hardcore Wonderland fan. I read all the retellings I can get my hands on. Splintered is currently at the top of my list of favorite retellings. I love the fact that Alyssa has to go back and fix Alice's mistakes  - Howard's interpretations of Alice's actions and the ways Alyssa should correct them were clever and, at times, quite action-packed. The scene at the Pool of Tears had me riveted, flipping pages like mad.

I really can't stress how disturbing this retelling is. It's a dark, twisted, terrifying version of Wonderland that Alyssa finds herself in. (SPOILER - highlight to read: The scene at the banquet? WHAT.) But I happen to love dark fantasies, so I loved this Wonderland. I loved the set up to get to Wonderland too, with Alyssa thinking she's inherited her mother's madness and hearing the whispers of insects and finding clues to Wonderland hidden around the house... And of course there's Jeb and Morpheus. I'm usually not into love triangles, but this one I was ok with, because Morpheus always seems to have a hidden agenda and it left me constantly questioning whether he was actually in love with Alyssa or just using her. The push and pull between them was fantastic. And Jeb's heroic selfless love was wonderfully sweet.

Days after finishing Splintered, I was still lost in it, finding my mind drifting back to its version of Wonderland and getting twisted up in its insanity again and again. This was a deliciously warped retelling that I'm now completely obsessed with, and I'll definitely be going back to Wonderland in the next book, Unhinged.


Final verdict: I'm obsessed with it! I thought this book was amazing! It's now officially one of my favorite books! I immediately bought a copy for myself because I will be rereading it again and again! I shall be shouting about it from the rooftops for days and I am currently recommending it to everyone I come in contact with!

{ More about A. G. Howard }

A. G. Howard's website
A. G. Howard's Goodreads profile
Follow A. G. Howard on Twitter
Follow A. G. Howard on Facebook

"Waiting On" Wednesdays: February 19, 2014

"Waiting On" Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Each Wednesday, you share upcoming releases that you're eagerly anticipating.





Dorothy Must Die
by Danielle Paige

Expected release date: April 1, 2014
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 432
Publisher: HarperTeen
Suggested tags: young adult, fantasy, retellings



First in the Dorothy Must Die series. From Goodreads:

"I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.
But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still the yellow brick road, though—but even that's crumbling.

What happened?

Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
I've been trained to fight.
And I have a mission:
Remove the Tin Woodman's heart.
Steal the Scarecrow's brain.
Take the Lion's courage.
Then and only then—Dorothy must die!"

New Release Round-Up: January 27-February 2, 2014

Young Adult


Cruel Beauty
by Rosamund Hodge

Release date: January 28, 2014
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 352
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Suggested tags: young adult, fairy tales, retellings



First in the Cruel Beauty Universe series. From Goodreads:

"Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love."

Uninvited
by Sophie Jordan

Release date: January 28, 2014
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Suggested tags: young adult, science fiction, romance



First in the Uninvited series. From Goodreads:

"The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report in bestselling author Sophie Jordan's chilling new novel about a teenage girl who is ostracized when her genetic test proves she's destined to become a murderer.

When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone.

Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

The first in a two-book series, Uninvited tackles intriguing questions about free will, identity, and human nature. Steeped in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's trademark mix of gripping action and breathless romance, this suspenseful tale is perfect for fans of James Patterson, Michelle Hodkin, and Lisa McMann."

Other YA new releases for this week:

Middle Grade


Bird
by Crystal Chan

Release date: January 28, 2014
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 304
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Suggested tags: middle grade, realistic fiction



From Goodreads:

"Nothing matters. Only Bird matters. And he flew away.

Jewel never knew her brother Bird, but all her life she has lived in his shadow. Her parents blame Grandpa for the tragedy of their family’s past; they say that Grandpa attracted a malevolent spirit—a duppy—into their home. Grandpa hasn’t spoken a word since. Now Jewel is twelve, and she lives in a house full of secrets.

Jewel is sure that no one will ever love her like they loved Bird, until the night that she meets a mysterious boy in a tree.

Grandpa is convinced that the boy is a duppy, but Jewel knows that he is something more. And that maybe the time has come to break through the stagnant silence of the past.

Entrenched secrets, mysterious spirits, and an astonishing friendship weave together in this extraordinary and haunting debut."

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy
by Karen Foxlee

Release date: January 28, 2014
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 240
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Suggested tags: middle grade, fairy tales, retellings



From Goodreads:

"A modern-day fairy tale set in a mysterious museum that is perfect for readers of Roald Dahl and Blue Balliett.

Unlikely heroine Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard doesn't believe in anything that can't be proven by science. She and her sister Alice are still grieving for their dead mother when their father takes a job in a strange museum in a city where it always snows. On her very first day in the museum Ophelia discovers a boy locked away in a long forgotten room. He is a prisoner of Her Majesty the Snow Queen. And he has been waiting for Ophelia's help.

As Ophelia embarks on an incredible journey to rescue the boy everything that she believes will be tested. Along the way she learns more and more about the boy's own remarkable journey to reach her and save the world.

A story within a story, this a modern day fairytale is about the power of friendship, courage and love, and never ever giving up."

Other Middle Grade new releases for this week:

Friday Finds #42

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading. Each Friday, you share the great books you heard about or discovered over the past week: "books you were told about, books you discovered while browsing blogs/bookstores online, or books that you actually purchased."




Endless
by Amanda Gray

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 384
Publisher: Month9Books
Publication date: September 10, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, time travel



From Goodreads:

"Jenny Kramer knows she isn't normal. After all, not everybody can see the past lives of people around them.

When she befriends Ben Daulton, resident new boy, the pair stumble on an old music box with instructions for “mesmerization” and discover they may have more in common than they thought. Like a past life.

Using the instructions in the music box, Ben and Jenny share a dream that transports them to Romanov Russia and leads them to believe they have been there together before. But they weren't alone. Nikolai, the mysterious young man Jenny has been seeing in her own dreams was there, too. When Nikolai appears next door, Jenny is forced to acknowledge that he has travelled through time and space to find her. Doing so means he has defied the laws of time, and the Order, an ominous organization tasked with keeping people in the correct time, is determined to send him back.

While Ben, Jenny and Nikolai race against the clock - and the Order - Jenny and Nikolai discover a link that joins them in life - and beyond death."

Fablehaven
by Brandon Mull

Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 351
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Publication date: August 15, 2006
Suggested tags: middle grade, fantasy



First in the Fablehaven series. From Goodreads:

"For centuries, mystical creatures of all description were gathered to a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic in a cynical world. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite ... Kendra and her brother Seth have no idea their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws give relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken, an arcane evil is unleashed, forcing Kendra and Seth to face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save her family, Fablehaven, and perhaps the world, Kendra must find the courage to do what she fears most."

Half Lives
by Sara Grant

Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date: July 9, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, dystopia



From Goodreads:

"I learned that surviving isn't all it's cracked up to be. If you survive, you've got to live with the guilt, and that's more difficult than looking someone in the eye and pulling the trigger. Trust me. I've done both. Killing takes a twitch of the finger. Absolution takes several lifetimes.

Seventeen-year-old Icie's parents have given her $10,000 in cash, a map of a top-secret bunker, and instructions to get there by any means necessary. They have news of an imminent viral attack and know that the bunker is Icie's only hope for survival. Along with three other teens, she lives locked away for months, not knowing what's happening in the outside world or who has survived. And are they safe in the bunker after all?

Generations in the future, a mysterious cult worships the very mountain where Icie's secret bunker was built. They never leave the mountain, they're ruled by a teenager...and they have surprising ties to Icie.

This high-stakes, original, and thought-provoking adventure from Sara Grant follows two unlikely heroes, hundreds of years apart, as they fight to survive."

A Question of Magic
by E.D. Baker

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 272
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Publication date: October 1, 2013
Suggested tags: middle grade, fairy tales, retellings



From Goodreads:

"Serafina was living the normal life of a village girl, when she gets a mysterious letter--her first letter ever, in fact--from a great aunt she's never heard of in another village. Little does 'Fina know, her great aunt is actually a Baba Yaga, a magical witch who lives in an even more magical cottage.

Summoned to the cottage, Serafina's life takes an amazing turn as she finds herself becoming the new Baba Yaga. But leaving behind home and the boy she loves isn't easy, and as Serafina grows into her new and magical role answering the first question any stranger might ask her with the truth, she also learns about the person she's meant to be, and that telling the future doesn't always mean knowing the right answers.

In her inimitable and bestselling way, ED Baker has crafted a funny and romantic story that combines some fabulous details from the original Slavic tale, with an all new spin!"

Teaser Tuesdays: October 15, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Each Tuesday, you grab the book you're reading, open to a random page, and share 2 teaser sentences from anywhere on the page.
NO SPOILERS - make sure the sentences you pick don't give too much away!

Splintered by A.G. Howard "I was delusional to think I could sway this game to my favor. The checkmate's already been played." {hardcover, page 315}

Splintered
by A.G. Howard

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 371
Publisher: Amulet Books
Publication date: January 1, 2013
Suggested tags: young adult, fantasy, retellings


First in the Splintered series. From Goodreads:

"This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own."