Best Book Covers of 2013

Top 10 of 2013 is hosted by a group of fabulous bloggers and you can find more information here

I don’t know about you, but I think 2013 may just have been the greatest ever year for book covers in YA. Trends have changed and there’s a whole lot of room for being different, striking and innovative – so without further ado, I’m going to let the covers speak for themselves!

Arianne’s List

1.  The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson - I don’t know what it is about this cover, but every time I look at it, I love it even more! It’s got such a luminous, mysterious feel – incredible.

2.  Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys is beautiful inside and out. The cover draws you into the story and the prose keeps you there. 

3.  The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth Laban never fails to stun me. It’s wintry and stark and absolutely wonderful.

4.  The Archived by Victoria Schwab has such a visionary cover. It marries illusion – smoke and mirrors, keys and doors – with the absolute humanity of its narrator. Perfect.

Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR

By 'Winter' I think it means the books that I'm planing on reading in the next few months.  So here it goes:

1.  This Song will Save Your Life by Leila Sales - I already started this one, just need to finish.

2.  Where She Went by Gayle Forman - I read If I Stay quite a while ago and I have to read Adam's story soon.

3.  Pawn by Aimée Carter - I loved her Goddess Test series and I've heard this one is wonderful. 

Review: Past Perfect by Leila Sales

Title: Past Perfect by Leila Sales

Published: October 4^th, 2011 by Simon Pulse

Source: Library

Challenge(s): Support your Local Library and ABC Reading Challenge

Grade rate: B

All Chelsea wants to do this summer is hang out with her best friend, hone her talents as an ice cream connoisseur, and finally get over Ezra, the boy who broke her heart. But when Chelsea shows up for her summer job at Essex Historical Colonial Village (yes, really), it turns out Ezra’s working there too. Which makes moving on and forgetting Ezra a lot more complicated…even when Chelsea starts falling for someone new.
Maybe Chelsea should have known better than to think that a historical reenactment village could help her escape her past. But with Ezra all too present, and her new crush seeming all too off limits, all Chelsea knows is that she’s got a lot to figure out about love. Because those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it….

My Review

Past Perfect is a book by the author of Mostly Good Girls (see my review here), which I enjoyed, therefore I was eager to read this book because it sounded like fun and I loved the cover.

Chelsea was a fun character to read.  She is very opinionated, pretty, a great friend, but full of insecurities.  She was easily persuaded by others into doing something she didn’t want to do, and sadly that is true for a lot of people.  I liked her frankness and several parts of the book were laugh-out-loud funny.  I loved Dan, he was fun, considerate, and handsome and it pained me to see what happened between him and Chelsea.  I also liked Fiona, Chelsea’s best friend, she was a drama queen and so loyal that she deserved an award for sticking to Chelsea and for opening her eyes.  There is a good word to describe Ezra, but I won’t use it since I don’t like to write curse words (you get the drift, right?).  Other members of the Essex Colonial Village were so “high school”, there were popular girls and guys, and just the opposite, but they were all united by the “War”.

The plot was very original and I love the concept of the "War", even when it got a little out of hand.  the only thing that bummed me out is how Chelsea caved in so easily to betray Dan.  It just seemed our of character for her.  Just as her previous novel, Ms. Sales left a lot unsaid and I feel like the end was inconclusive.  I hope that Dan gave Chelsea a chance (it seems like he did.)  The writing was insightful, funny and easy to read. 

It's funny how sometimes we look at something from our past, maybe a childhood memory or that of your first crush through "pink" glasses instead of the way things really happened.  Past Perfect was an entertaining and short contemporary read that I hope you enjoy as I did.

About the cover: I like that the cover is unusual and pretty, although it has nothing to do with the story!

Have you read Past Perfect?  What did you think? 

In My Mailbox #28

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

 

 

 

Library

 

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey - I have been wanting to read this book for forever (it looks creepy though.)

 

Past Perfect by Leila Sales - I enjoyed Mostly Good Girls, and Ms. Sales second book sounds even better.

 

Darker Still by Leanna Renne Hieber - This cover is gorgeous and the premise of the book is interesting as well.

 

Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton - I got this audiobook to keep me company while I drive, and I love fairies too,

 

 

 

 

 

Purchased (or Free) for Kindle

 

 

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins - I really liked Hex Hall, I hope the second book in the series is just as good or better.

 

Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey - I've heard wonderful things about the Drake Chronicles series and I can't wait to get started.

 

11:15: The Making of a Halfling by Heather Burch - I finished Halflings (review next week) a few days ago and I say this free illustrated book in Amazon and promptly got it.

 

Destined by Jessie Harrell - I love Greek mythology and Destined sounds fascinating.

 

 

What is in your mailbox this week?

 

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

 

 

 

Review: Mostly Good Girls

Title: Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales
Published: October 5, 2010 by Simon Pulse
Source: Bought for Kindle

The higher you aim, the farther you fall….

It’s Violet’s junior year at the Westfield School. She thought she’d be focusing on getting straight As, editing the lit mag, and figuring out how to talk to boys without choking on her own saliva. Instead, she’s just trying to hold it together in the face of cutthroat academics, her crush’s new girlfriend, and the sense that things are going irreversibly wrong with her best friend, Katie.
When Katie starts making choices that Violet can’t even begin to fathom, Violet has no idea how to set things right between them. Westfield girls are trained for success—but how can Violet keep her junior year from being one huge, epic failure?

Review

I have heard great things about this novel and I was a little disappointed by it.  Maybe I am used to big drama in books about high school and 'Mostly Good Girls' was not about big drama.  This novel is a come-of-age tale of Violet and how she deals with change. 

Violet goes to a very small and exclusive all-girls school where everyone knows everyone and everything about each other.  Where money and prestige talk more than grades or good behaviour.   Violet is a good student, a good friend and a good daughter and she goes through the typical teenage angst.  Her point of view had me laughing out loud more than once (*weird looks from my hubby* as I was reading in the car :) but I still found the plot a little weak.

Violet and Katie are best friends that share everything, even a crush on the same boy, without incident.  The only conflict comes when Katie starts acting up, just because she needs a way to revel against her too-perfect-life.  Violet doesn't take Katie's, or any other change for that matter, well.  The novel focuses on how she grows by accepting that nothing is stagnant.

An enjoyable and short read.  I will definitely read Ms. Sales next book.

About the cover:  I liked the cover, but I don't think this is something that neither Violet or Katie might wear :) It does look very 'teenager'