Waiting on Wednesday: The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine in which we have the opportunity to let others know about books that we are eagerly waiting for.

Title: The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder
Published by: Razorbill
Release date: April 10th, 2014

Loyalty. Envy. Obligation. Dreams. Disappointment. Fear. Negligence. Coping. Elation. Lust. Nature. Freedom. Heartbreak. Insouciance. Audacity. Gluttony. Belief. God. Karma. Knowing what you want (there is probably a French word for it). Saying Yes. Destiny. Truth. Devotion. Forgiveness. Life. Happiness (ever after).Hannah and Zoe haven’t had much in their lives, but they’ve always had each other. So when Zoe tells Hannah she needs to get out of their down-and-out New Jersey town, they pile into Hannah’s beat-up old Le Mans and head west, putting everything—their deadbeat parents, their disappointing love lives, their inevitable enrollment at community college—behind them.As they chase storms and make new friends, Zoe tells Hannah she wants more for her. She wants her to live bigger, dream grander, aim higher. And so Zoe begins teaching Hannah all about life’s intangible things, concepts sadly missing from her existence—things like audacity, insouciance, karma, and even happiness.

Why I want to read it:  What a beautiful cover!  It is absolutely gorgeous! Besides that, I loved Wunder's previous book, The Probability of Miracles (see my review here).  If you haven't read it, you are missing out on an outstanding contemporary.  The Museum of Intangible Things sounds like a an amazing coming-of-age story and a road trip book, all roll into one.  Can't wait!

What are you waiting for this week?

Please note that I'm looking for a reviewer (information here).  Please help me spread the word!

Top Ten Books Dealing with Tough Subjects

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish

I have to confess that I try to avoid books with tough subjects. Nonetheless, I have managed to read a few throughout the years.  Here are my top ten:

1.  Willow by Julia Hoban - This story is heartbreaking, it not only deals with grief, but on using cutting as an outlet for the pain.  

2.  Just Listen by Sarah Dessen - I adore Sarah Dessen books, she deals with tough subjects with depth, but still very tastefully.  Just Listen is about rape, understanding, love, fear, and a lot more.

3.  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - If you read this book, I don't need to explain further. If you haven't, what are you waiting for?

Top Ten Favorite Books I've Read During The Life Span of My Blog

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish

I started Reading with ABC in May of last year and here are my Favorite Top Ten books I've read since then:

1.  Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry - This is an amazing book that read recently.  Please give it a try!

2.  Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas - This book was an incredible trip to an exceptional fantasy world and a great cast of characters.  I can't wait for the next book!

3.  Breathe by Abbi Glines - This is one of the most romantic books I've ever read and I love Jax's character.

4.  Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - Without a doubt one the best books I've ever read (period).

5.  Divergent by Veronica Roth - Do I really need to explain?

6.  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - What an awesome tale of love, understanding, sacrifice and much more!

7.  The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa - Well, you do know I adore Ash, right? This is my favorite book in the series and a perfect ending too!

8.  Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins - It's Stephanie Perkins!  This is one talented author and she can really write amazing characters and incredible romance :)

9.  The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder - A heart breaking, bittersweet story of love, miracles, understanding and change. 

10. Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins - The beginning of what I hope is an awesome series.  I really love these characters!

Of course, I have many more books I love, but I'm trying to stick with the rules for once ;)

What is in your Top Ten this week?

Feature and Follow Friday

Feature and Follow Friday is an awesome blog-hop hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read

This week's features are @ The Fake Steph.com and @ Books Galore this week's question is:

This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother's Day. In celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships?

This is a hard question because a lot of times we see mother/child relationships that are terrible.  A good relationship that I can think about is the one between Anne and her adoptive mother Patti in Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins (review is schedule for tomorrow).  They have complete love, trust and respect for each other, even if Patti is a little overprotective :)

Another one that comes to mind is the one between Kate and her mother in the Goddess Test series by Aimée Carter.  Kate's mother was sick and it is amazing the dedication and selflessness that this created in Kate's life; it made her a stronger person.

The last two that I will mention are the relationship between Hazel and her mom (and her dad for that matter) in The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and the one between Cam and her mom (and grandmother!) in The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder.  What can I say?  These are mothers that will do anything for their sick children.

I guess the question wasn't that hard after all!  I can even think of some more now...

What is in your FF this week?

Please come celebrate Reading with ABC's first Blogiversary with me!  Click here for the giveaways and remember to check often as I will post more giveaways throughout the month. 

Discussion: Do You Read Sad Books?

This past week my WOW was Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams and I received some comments along the lines that they might read the book despite of it sounding so sad or that they wouldn’t read it because it was sad.  This made me think that some people may deny themselves a marvelous book because there is a chance that the story might made them cry.

Some of the books that made me cry turned out to be amazing and I would read them again because the author was so good that her or his writing moved me in an almost magical way.  To me, it is a testament to great writing, and outstanding characterization that it made care enough about the story to spill tears over it.

Here are some books that moved me to tears:

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa – I cannot express how much I love the Iron Fey series.  The third book made me cry so bad, thank goodness for The Iron Knight!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – Oh my!  This book is about kids with cancer, thus I knew going in that it was not going to be a ‘happy’ book, but it is one of the best books I’ve ever read (I’ve read many ;-).  Please give it a try, just be prepared and have tissues handy.

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder – This book also relates to cancer, but it turned out to be so much more.  It is a book about faith, love, understanding and growth; and it is SO good.

Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry –  Dust and Decay is book two on the Benny Imura series (an amazing YA zombie series) and there was an unexpected turn of events in this book that made me cry like a baby (while driving I might add…)

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks – I don’t think I have ever read a book by Sparks that hasn’t made me cry.  A Walk to Remember was my first experience with his writing and I still remember how good it was.

The Friday Night Knighting Club by Kate Jacobs – This is an adult book recommended to me by some co-workers.  I don’t know why it didn’t come with a warning though.

I love every single one of these books and would not ‘un-read’ them for anything!

How about you?  Do you rule out ‘sad’ books and don’t even try?  What sad books have you read that are a must read?

Top Ten Books that Broke my Heart

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish 

The topic of this week's top ten is books that broke my heart a little.  The following is a list of books in which I cried, some a little and some quite a bit.

1. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa – I love the Iron Fey series with a passion, however the end of the third book make me cry so bad.  Thank goodness for The Iron Knight!

2. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks – I don’t think I have ever read a Nicholas Sparks book without crying, I think he sits there finding a story that guarantees tears galore.  Anyway, this is the first book by Sparks that I read and I cried really badly.  The ending just broke my heart. 

3. At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks - Honestly, I must like crying because I keep reading his books!  

4. The Friday Night Knighting Club by Kate Jacobs – Good Lord!  I read this book after two friends recommended and it was great, but I cried so much that my husband came running thinking I was hurt!

5. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer – Needless to say I felt just like Bella!  I was so sad when Edward left, still this is my favorite book in the saga.

6. The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder – I absolutely loved this book, but the ending, even if expected, was still heartbreaking.

7. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor – This was my pick for best book of 2011.  Such a beautifully written book with a unique story, I hope Karou and Akiva get their happy ending (eventually of course).

8. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater – This book made me so sad!  When Grace started getting sick I was just so… well, sad.

9. Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry - Not only did I cried with this book, but I cried while driving since I was listening to it!

10. Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollows by J. K. Rowling – To be honest I cried the book before when Dumbledore died, but in this book there are so many good witches and wizards that died that I was probably crying on and off for a good while.

Well, that’s my list.  I can’t wait to read yours, please leave me a comment and a link to your post.

Top Ten Books I Think Would Make Great Book Club Pics

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish 

Since I have never been member of a book club, I have no idea what goes on. BUT I do love to read and I love to talk books (duh!)  Here is a list of books I would love to talk people about:

1. Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins – How fun would it be to talk about these awesome books and compare stories, Anna vs. Lola and Cricket vs. St. Clair.

2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – This book is so good (so is the series), we can review it and review the movie too.

3. Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer – I love Twilight, I can probably talk books and movies for hours at a time…

4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – Who wants to talk about Mr. Darcy with me? Anyone?

5. Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Mayberry - An amazing book that might not be for everyone.  If you like zombies, look no further than this series.

6. The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen (or any of her books!) – I love her writing and would love nothing more than to seat and talk about my favorite one.

 

7. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson – I love this book, it is one of my favorites ever!  

8. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs – This is not a YA book, but it is so touching and sad at the same time.  A really great book!

9. The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder – I just posted by review for this book yesterday and I have to say that I really loved it.  It is quite lovely.

10. Divergent by Veronica Roth – I think this book will be excellent material for a club, don’t you think?  There is so much to talk about!

I am hoping that some of you have more experience than me!  What are your pics?

 

Review: The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

Title: The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

Published: December 8th 2011 by Razorbill

Source: Library

Challenge(s): Support your Local Library

Grade rate: A+

Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.

My Review

The Probability of Miracles is an AMAZING novel.  I was a little hesitant to read it since it has to do with cancer and therefore I prepared myself for a heartbreaking story. Instead I got so much more.

Cam is a unique character. She is snarky, brutally honest, realistic, funny and lacking in faith.  She is very loving (deep, deep inside!) but hides her feelings with sarcasm, irony and by acting up. Cam is in no way perfect, in fact she is quite the opposite, and makes it hard for others to love her or even like her, but in spite it all, we can't help but fall in love with her.

On the other hand, Asher tries very hard to be perfect, but he doesn't need to be. He is so loving and at the same time starving for affection. He has a twisted view of reality and fate and I am so glad that Cam and Asher found each other and were able to grow, at least for the time they had, together. There are many unforgettable characters: Cam's mother Alicia and her utter faith that Cam would beat her disease, her sister Perry and her understanding of it all, her grandma (she is hilarious!), even Sunny and Lily. 

The plot is incredibly well played. The story is well paced, even if it seemed slow at the beginning and the writing is amazing. Ms. Wunder is a character builder and she creates situations that gives us insight as to the nature of her characters and at the same time allows them to grow. The story is laugh-out-loud hilarious at points, but needless to say I cry at the very end. A note of caution: I would recommend the book to older readers since it has a bit of bad language, shoplifting and some sexual content.

I am eager to see what Ms. Wunder has in store for us next, as I think she has gained a new fan.

About the cover: There is so much in this cover. The background of the blue sky, the girl seems to be reflecting. The feathers and the pink color have to do with flamingos (you have to read it to know why) and the different meanings this has throughout the book. 

In My Mailbox #31

IMM is a weekly meme inspired by Alea at the Pop Culture Junkie and hosted by the wonderful Kristi at The Story Siren.  All links are to Goodreads.

This week I didn't go shopping for books, but I did buy a couple for my Kindle and I went to the library.  Here is my loot for this week:

Library

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder -  I have yet to see a bad review for this book, thus I was ever so happy to find it in the library this week.


The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson -This book sounds incredible, can't wait to start!

Purchased for Kindle

Look at these beautiful covers! 


Shattered by Sophia Sharp - Sounds like a great series and it had good reviews in Amazon.

Airel by Aaron Patterson and Chris White - To be honest I couldn't resist this cover, sounds great too :)

What is in your Mailbox this week? 

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