I Couldn't Wait....

So.  I preordered The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, but that copy wouldn't have come until Friday so....I went to the store today.  Make that three stores today.  I was on a mission.  A fish mission.  And I didn't come away empty handed.  DFTBA.

Teaser Tuesday 1/10/2012

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
• Share the title & author so others can add the book to their TBR list

Why We Broke Up 

Novel by Daniel Handler 

Art by Maira Kalman

"And I told you never to buy me flowers," and I can see it, you rolling your eyes and smiling on the stage.  I smiled back, an Idiot who didn't want flowers, the fucking flower shop where everything collapsed, why the bottom of this box is carpeted with dead rose petals like a shrine on the highway where there's been a wreck.  

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

#1 in Shades of London Series
Published September 29, 2011 by Putnam Juvenile
5 Stars

Goodreads Review
The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Review:  The Name of the Star is an excellent murder mystery that combines historical, comedic, and paranormal aspects to create a unique spin on one of history's most famous crimes.  This book is excellently researched and fully utilizes the urban legends that have grown from the historical facts to create a believable modern day mystery.  


I really loved the main character, Rory.  She is smart and funny and really well developed.  She rolls with the punches and is able to step up to the different challenges she faces and is just totally awesome.  But I have to admit my favorite moments weren't the fast paced action but the small moments when Rory was hanging out with her room mates and friends.  Maureen Johnson is excellent at writing girlfriends.  (I also have to admit that the first 100 pages or so felt like Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins but in London.  Sort of a Aurora and the English Murder, if you will...)


One thing that I have to mention is the humor in this book.  It is very smartly done.  There are pop culture references without being specific.  I really hate specific pop culture references because it dates a book.  Maureen Johnson did a wonderful job creating jokes that are funny because they are funny, not because they're relying on current events that will be forgotten about in a year.  


I'm super excited that this is the first of a trilogy.  The ending of this book was CRAZY AWESOME.  I really have no idea where the next book is going to go, which is both exciting and kind of scary.  The next book is called The Madness Underneath (awesome title, btw!) and it's due out October of 2012 and I cannot wait.  Will it still follow Jack the Ripper, or will it go into a different British myth?  (maybe some creepy Alice in Wonderland?  I'd freaking love that).  The point I'm trying to make is that I'm really hooked on this series and will definitely be pre-ordering book 2.  


Overall The Name of the Star is an excellent murder mystery with a great sense of humor AND a freaking scary ghost/killer that will keep you laughing and guessing on every page.  I highly recommend this book for all fans of paranormal YA or books about European boarding schools.  

Pink piggy mugs....for times of extreme stress

100 Movie Challenge

So I recently watched a video by BooksandQuills where she challenges herself to watch 100 movies in 2012.  I think this is an excellent idea because I am a huge movie lover, so I decided to add this to my challenges for 2012.  I'm making a separate page so that I can track books and movies more easily. Do you guys want me to review the movies I've watched?  This could be a good way to add to my netflix account.  Post in the comments below and let me know what you think!

Soul Screamers Reading Challenge

Rachel over at Fiktshun is hosting a great reading challenge.  The challenge is focused around the popular Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent.  The challenge is to read and review all five of the currently published books in the series by June 15th.  Not only is this an excellent way to read this series (I own 4 of the books) but you can also win some totally awesome prizes, including a $50 gift card to Amazon, Barns & Noble, or The Book Depository or a pre-order of Before I Wake, the 6th book in the series set to come out June 2012!  I encourage you all to head over to Fiktshun's blog and sign up for this awesome challenge!

Friday Face Off Cover Reveal: City of Lost Souls

Friday Face Off is a meme hosted by one of my favorite book bloggers Misty over at The Book Rat.  Usually this meme focuses on different cover designs for the same book and decides which is better for the story.  I wanted to take this meme and add a little twist to it today by discussing a cover reveal!

This week we had a big cover reveal with Cassandra Clare's City of Lost Souls, the fifth book in the Mortal Instruments series.  I have to say that is is my favorite cover so far for the series.  You all know how I feel about  no face covers, so I'm very glad to see them stepping away from that trend.  I really love the colors on the cover, all of the muted grays really make Clary's hair and dress pop.   I've only read City of Bones, so I didn't have any expectations of who I wanted to see on the cover.  Plus I gotta give it up to my fellow ginger, I love seeing red haired people on covers!

The rest of the series

The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls by Emilie Autumn

Published in 2009 by Emilie Autumn Ent. LLC
5 Stars

Goodreads Review
Presenting Emilie Autumn's long awaited autobiographical, reality-bending thriller, "The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls." This beautifully bound hardcover volume measures 8" x 11.5" and clocks in at a massive 274 fully illustrated pages. Positively packed with hand-written memoirs, photos, and paintings, this profoundly empowering epic not only deserves a place on your tea table, it is also one of the most complete accounts of bipolar disorder ever penned, and will take readers behind the doors of both modern day psych ward and Victorian insane asylum in this true life horror tale of madness, murder, and medical experimentation.
But reader beware: It's much easier to get into the Asylum than it is to get out.

Review: I don't think I've ever read anything like The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls. It is amazing, horrifying, and both a work of magical fiction and brutal honesty. I felt like for the first time I had found someone who could understand how I feel. I identified on so many levels with this book, both physically, mentally, and emotionally. I appreciate Emilie as an artist so much more now because I realize just how much of herself she puts into everything she does. This is one of a kind, and is well worth every cent I paid and more.  


The Asylum is a book, I think above all else, about women's rights.  Women's rights to do whatever they want and have freedom over their bodies, minds, and lives.  This includes the right to harm their bodies and to even end their life.  Emilie is all about fighting like a girl and being a total bad ass, and I love watching Emily-with-a-y grow into a Victorian warrior queen.  It's just totally awesome.  


I also totally loved Emilie's story as well.  I think it was such a perfect blend of fact and fiction that I really couldn't tell what was true and what was bleeding over into Emilie's story.  The decent into madness was so slow and subtle that I found myself thinking very odd things were perfectly normal and destructive behaviors were really the only option available.  And the ending?  Amazing beyond belief.  


On a more practical note I loved the overall presentation of this book.  It is absolutely beautiful.  Every page is glossy and full colored with photos, drawings, and cut outs from journals.   It really adds to the story and makes it more than just a book.  


I cannot recommend the Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls enough.  It has so many fascinating topics.  Abuse, mental illness, historical fiction, self mutilation, suicide, friendship, women's empowerment, music, photography, art, and of course muffins, tea time, rats, and leeches.  So spread the plague little rats because, as we all know, dead is the new alive!