Friday Face Off Cover Reveal: This is What Happy Looks Like

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!

Jennifer E. Smith is the queen of long titles!  Her book, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, has an adorable title and cover.  Her upcoming book, This is What Happy Looks Like, follows in suit.

These books aren't a series, but the covers look SO cute together!  I love the premise for both books and I really want to read them.  This is What Happy Looks Like comes out April 2013, and I'm really excited!

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Published September 2009 by Simon Pulse
4 Stars

Goodreads Review
This is Alice.
She was taken by Ray five years ago.
She thought she knew how her story would end.
She was wrong.

Review:  I can't really say I liked this book, because who really does like a book about such a horrible topic? However Scott treated this subject well, and while she didn't shy away from the graphic and horrific aspects of the story, she did it in a way that doesn't exploit or glamorize the situation. It's raw, dirty, and painful.

The best part of Living Dead Girl is the writing style.  I normally don't care too much about writing style, but in this case it's what makes the novel.  It's almost like reading poetry and I feel like it really lends to the narrative.  I can completely understand Alice and why she thinks the way she does and why she can't "just escape".  The mental and physical abuse has completely drained her will to live.  Alice has comes to believe that she deserves to live with her captor.  I think fans of Ellen Hopkins books will really like Living Dead Girl.

Overall Living Dead Girl is a very dark story about a young girl's horrifying kidnapping that could have easily felt exploitative but was handled very well.  It is a heart breaking story that will haunt you for a long time.  Sidenote:  I would say that this book is for mature teen and adult readers only. 

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Published in 2006 by Ember
5 Stars

Goodreads Review
It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who’s just walked in to his band’s show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City—and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.

This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be—and where the next great band is playing.

Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you’ll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.

Review:  Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is the first book written by the duo Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, and it has a witty, punk rock feel that makes it a quick yet poignant read.  It has that same kind of teenage expectation and excitement you get from The Breakfast Club and My So Called Life. (For serious though, there's enough angst to fill the grand canyon and ride a boat across it). There's plenty of teenage antics and some sexy times, but there's also a deeper context too.  It's a story where two strangers can come together and have an immediate connection and share parts of themselves that they usually keep bottled inside.  It's about letting go of the past and realizing that this time, with this person, it doesn't have to be that way again.

Summer Wrap Up Read-a-Thon Update #3 and WINNER!

Well the read-a-thon is officially over and I don't know about you, but I had a blast!  First let's get to the most important thing, the winner of the giveaway.  I want to extend a hearty congratulations to:

Christina Marie Madison @BiblioThoughts

YAY!  So if you could email me your mailing address asap I'll get your ARC in the mail! 

Now, on to what I read during this challenge.  I rocked it out during the beginning of the week, but then kind of slack on the last few days so I only read three full books, finished two that I had been working on, and one manga.

This read-a-thon was a blast and I'm really glad I was able to host a challenge.  It's the first time I've ever hosted anything on my blog and I really want to do more now.  I hope everyone had a great summer and now on to the fall read-a-thons (amiright!?).

Summer Wrap Up Read-a-Thon Update #2

Since my last update I have finished Bumped by Megan McCafferty and I'm 50% through Thumped, also by Megan McCafferty.  Hey, I figured I should read the ARC before I give it away.  Speaking of the giveaway, I've had some fantastic entries so far!  All of the puzzles have been great fun but boy are some of them really hard!  If you're still interested in the giveaway it's not too late to sign up for the read-a-thon and enter! 

Summer Wrap Up Read-a-Thon Challenge: Book Puzzle

Good morning everyone and welcome to the start of day four of the Summer Wrap Up Read-a-Thon hosted by Jude @In Between Writing and Reading and Jennifer@Some Like It Paranormal.  If you haven't signed up yet there is still time to head over here and join in. 

For this challenge I'm excited to be doing one of my favorite posts, a book puzzle.  All you have to do is create a series of photos and images that visually represent a book title, kind of like a Rebus puzzle.  For example:

The

This puzzle is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.  I did another puzzle post a while ago for a different challenge if you'd like to see another example.

Now it's your turn!  Get creative and post your own challenge on your blog.  Once you've created your own post come back here and add it to the linky below.  Don't forget to check out other people's puzzles, they are so much fun!

There is a prize for participating in this challenge too!  For everyone who creates their own puzzle post you can fill out the rafflecopter form below to be entered in a drawing to win an ARC of Thumped by Megan McCafferty! (This giveaway is open to the US (sorry international friends!) and will run until 11:59pm August 12th).

From Goodreads

THE CONCLUSION TO ONE OF THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT NOVELS OF LAST YEAR

It’s been thirty-five weeks since twin sisters Harmony and Melody went their separate ways. And now their story has become irresistible: twins separated at birth, each due to deliver twins…on the same day!

Married to Ram and living in Goodside, Harmony spends her time trying to fit back into the community she once believed in. But she can’t forget about Jondoe, the guy she fell for under the strangest of circumstances.

To her adoring fans, Melody has achieved everything: a major contract and a coupling with the hottest bump prospect around. But this image is costing her the one guy she really wants.

The girls’ every move is analyzed by millions of fans eagerly counting down to “Double Double Due Date.” They’re two of the most powerful teen girls on the planet, and they could do only one thing to make them even more famous:

Tell the truth.

a Rafflecopter giveaway!

Summer Wrap Up Read-a-Thon Update #1

So far for the challenge I've finished Harbinger by Sarah Wilson Etienne and I'm about 30% finished with Bumped by Megan McCafferty.  My goal for this challenge is to finished Bumped and Thumped by Megan McCafferty and start If I Stay by Gale Forman (the F book in my A-Z challenge).

I wanted to do a couple of the challenges with this post too.

Wicked Summer Cover Challenge @ Wickedly Bookish

So I'm using this read-a-thon to try and read as many of my netgalley ARCs as possible for my Review Copy Clean Up challenge.  Unfortunately, none of my books have a summer theme, so the closest I could get are these goggles on the cover of Innocent Darkness.  They kind of look like steampunk sunglasses, right?

Rewrite the Synopsis @ Skyway Avenue

If I Stay by Gale Forman

Talented musician Mia doesn't remember the accident that killed her family and left her hovering somewhere between life and death.  Now she must make a choice, and time is running out.  Should she follow her family into the unknown, or risk even more if she stays?

Hotter than Summer @ Book Lovers Review

Prince Kai from Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I just love Asian princes!  Kai is adorable and smart and awesome and I love him. 

Prince Po from Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Ah, what is it about princes?  Po is totally awesome.  He's totally charming and has faults and insecurities that just add to that charm.  I'm almost afraid to read Fire because I can't imagine how any love interest could be better.

Cover Love Challenge @ Falling for YA

My top 5 favorite covers from the summer releases are:

Glitch by Heather Anastasiu

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund