Top Ten All Time Favorite Books in the Middle Grade Genre

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

I know middle grade isn’t really a genre, but I was recently asked to come up with some off-the-beaten-track books that would suit readers of differing abilities in the 10-13 age range, and I thought the resulting mix would make a great Top Ten Tuesday list. I’d recommend a lot of these books to readers of all ages, but think they would be especially suited to young readers moving on from children’s books to the beginnings of YA.

1.         The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

2.         A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

3.         Wonder by RJ Palacio

4.         City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

5.         Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

6.         The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke 

7.         Four Kids, Three Cats, Two Cows,One Witch (Maybe) by Siobhán             Parkinson

8.         OMG! Is This Actually My Life? by Rae Earl

9.         This Journal Belongs to Ratchetby Nancy J. Cauvanagh

10.       Eragon by Christopher Paolini

What do you think? Are there any lesser-known middle grade books you think should be added to the list? Let us know in the comments!

Top 3 of the Week {Beauty Edition}

I guess you can consider this one a variation of the Top 3, I mean to share with you my favorite beauty products. So here it is, the 'Beauty Edition' (so to speak since I'm no expert!):

For the Face

Your Skin but Better CC+ by IT Cosmetics - This is my fabulous foundation, it has PFS 50 and also hydrates.  It last all day and it has full coverage. 

Purity Made Simple by Philosophy - I adore this brand (as you will be able to tell by the end of this post ;).  This is the best cleanser ever!  It works for the whole face, including the eyes and leaves my face feeling refreshed and not tight.  

Hope in a Jar by Philosophy - Well, I just said that I love this brand, didn't I? This is my awesome moisturizer.  

Bye Bye Under Eye by IT Cosmetics - The BEST concealer ever!  It can also be used as a foundation, but I find it too thick for my whole face. 

For the Body 

Amazing Grace by Philosophy - I use this fragrance as my perfume, shower gel and body lotion.  I love its clean, subtle undertones. 

Nails

OPI Nail Lacquer - I really don't do much to my nails, other that keeping them clean and filed. I also use OPI, in Bubble Bath and it last all week!

Hair 

It's a 10 Miracle Styling Serum - This is an amazing leave-in treatment!  I have very curly hair and this works miracles.  Just spray over towel-dry hair and style as usual.  It makes my hair smoother, shinier and easier to style. 

CHI Flat Iron - This is another miracle.  Hubby bought it for my birthday last year and it is absolutely amazing.  It makes my hair smooth and shiny!

That's it!  I hope that you give some of these a try and let me know what you think.  Have you used any of them before?

Review: Starcrossed by Josephine Agelini (Starcrossed #1)

Title: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Release date: May 31st 2011 by HarperTeen 

Source: Purchased

Format: Paperback

Age group: Young adult

Genre: Contemporary/Mythology

Reviewer: Arianne

Grade rate: A

How do you defy destiny? Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history. As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

Starcrossed is a story that I've loved for a long time. Not only is it the most intriguing and well-executed take on the defining romance of Greek mythology (that of Paris and Helen of Troy, and the Trojan War that followed) I've ever read, but it's also a hugely entertaining read that makes you smile long after you've finished reading.

Helen's always known she's different, but when she sees the scorchingly hot Lucas Delos for the first time and immediately tries to kill him in front of the whole school, she suddenly realizes there's more to it than just feeling like the odd one out: she's destined to restart an aeons-old conflict that will not only tear apart the gods, but her family and the meaning of her life as she knows it, too. The war almost destroyed the gods and their mortal heroes the first time around, but the Furies love patterns; they're the ancient Greek version of catty cheerleaders and they've scented blood.

Thrust into a dangerous world of Scions, demigods, curses and treachery, Helen faces a decision she always thought she'd know the answer to - but choosing between the love of her life and the survival of the human race may not be entirely hers after all. Everything she does seems to bring the threat of war closer, and no matter how hard she tries to resist loving Lucas, there's a part of her that just can't let him go.

This book may be slow to start, but it's definitely worth the wait. The writing style takes getting used to - it's intense, tightly packed and overwhelms the content from time to time - but if you can get through the first quarter, you'll be totally hooked. Starcrossed is all about story and its plot pulls no punches. There are twists and turns everywhere you look!

The importance of family is a theme that plays a huge role in Starcrossed. From the tight-knit but sometimes lonely existence lived by Helen and her father to the chaotic, clamouring warmth of the extended Delos family, there's a sense that although this book focuses on mythology, if you took that element away, there would still be great characters and dynamic relationships to build the story around. Lucas was my favourite character, but Ariadne comes in at a close second - and not just because we share a similar name! She's the feistiest character and stands out from the crowd. There was no shortage of action and danger in Starcrossed, but sometimes I found myself wishing for even more big family scenes. Josephine Angelini really understands what it means to belong, illustrating beautifully the strength and bonds within the Delos tribe. 

If I had to find one fault with the book, it would be that the minor characters are somewhat underdeveloped. Helen's hgih school companions just don't have the depth they need, and they don't hold the readers attention. I really liked Claire, Helen's best friend, but it is true that she probably doesn't have the complexity or realism she deserves.

In short: Starcrossed is a well-written, well-researched story that brilliantly reinvents Greek mythology for a modern young adult audience. It sets a high standard for the contemporary-mythological genre of YA. A book that's been close to my heart since the day I first read it.

One Window, Two Views {Love Triangles in YA}

Arianne and I are so excited to bring you this new feature! One Window, Two Views will be a weekly meme where we will discuss a topic from each of our points of view.  Please join the discussion! 

Arianne: People say that love triangles in YA are a love/hate issue, but I don’t think it’s as clear cut as that. It’s not a case of love or hate – it’s a case of good writing versus bad writing. While I usually prefer singular or monogamous YA romances, love triangles are like any other plot device and they can be fantastically well-written. They can be engaging and genuinely heart-wrenching. But, like any other plot device, they can also be written badly – in books where one love interest is highly favoured over the other, where the end choice is obvious from the start, or where the love triangle defines the main character entirely, as if they don’t have lives outside the romantic choice they’re faced with. If a book has any of these features, it almost always detracts from my enjoyment of the novel.

Liza: I don’t really mind love triangles as long as they are well done.  What I mean by that is that I really don’t like to read about infidelity – if you really don’t know your own feelings, the wait until you do before you act – and I don’t like when a female character leads two men/boys on for no apparent reason.  I do hope that people in general (and specially teens) know better than that.  Also, in real life, this doesn’t happen as often as it seems to happen in books. As you said, some books revolve solely on the love triangle, there’s no plot, no story, just the angst of making ‘the choice’.

Arianne: Of course, it’s unfair to dismiss all books which have a triangle-based romance, especially as some of my favourite books of all time feature them.  When I think of these books – from Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi to The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han – I don’t automatically think about the love triangle. I think about the story, the writing and the characters as people, not just placeholders. That’s the key difference between a great young adult love story and a lesser imitation – they can’t be easily defined. There’s not just once choice to make, but many; it’s not just a question of choosing the hot bad boy over the shy nice guy. There’s more to it than that. They don’t feel as if the writer as set out thinking “Well, people who read young adult books like love triangles, so I’ll just put one in here without developing it and see how it goes”. They’re complex and funny and tragic and well-realized, not thrown in because it fits a stereotypical description of what YA fans like to read about. That’s why I’d never issue a ban on love triangles in YA, because when they’re done right, they’re not just love triangles anymore. They’re part of something bigger.

Liza:  I think we all have favorites that involve love triangles. I’ve read the first two books of Cassadra Clare’s Infernal Devices and there is clearly a love triangle here, but it is not what defines the story.  The plot is go intricate and the writing and characterization so good, that the reader also cannot help but fall in love with Will and Jem.  That, dear readers, is the way a good love triangle is done.  Another prime example of this is the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa.  Even though both boys were in love with Meghan, she clearly only had eyes for one of them.  I think the triangle was in the mind of Puck and Ash, but not hers.  Her choice was always clear, even to the other two corners of the triangle.  There is also the case when there is the suggestion of a love triangle that it really isn’t one.  For instance, in The Hunger Games (team Peeta or Team Dale, anyone?) I never felt like Dale had any change with Katniss, in fact, he didn’t even act like he was in love with her (not like Peeta), but I think the readers wanted to create a triangle, so they did.  I am, in fact, ignoring the big elephant in the room, a.k.a. Twilight – we might require a post just to get through with that one!

Arianne: When it comes to YA love triangles, I just want to see things that are different. I want to see a guy trying to choose between two girls instead of a girl trying to choose between two boys. I want to see a guy trying to choose between two other guys, or a girl trying to choose between two other girls. I want to see unusual takes on the classic triangle, and less of the ‘guy with paranormal power swoops in to take ordinary girl away from the ordinary guy she would have ended up with otherwise’. I want authors who understand the difference between teenage love and teenage attraction, and give us credit for being able to choose between the two rationally and carefully. Maybe I’d like to see a book where the main character chooses neither of the love interest in the triangle at all! The point is, if there absolutely has to be a love triangle in your story, the more intricate and the more disguised you can make it, the more chance you’ll have of me enjoying it.

What are your thoughts about love triangles? Do your love them? Hate them? Do you think they can be done better? What are your favorites? What are some of your not so favorites?  

© Mauro77photo | <a href="http://www.dreamstime.com/">Dreamstime Stock Photos</a> & <a href="http://www.stockfreeimages.com/">Stock Free Images</a>

Review: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski (The Winner’s Trilogy)

Title: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Published: March 4^th, 2014 by Farrar Straus Giroux

Source: ARC (thanks Macmillan

Format: Paperback

Genre: Fantasy | Romance

Age group: Young adult

Grade rate: A

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.
One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.
But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

Review

The Winner’s Curse is the first book I read by Marie Rutkiski and it will certainly not be the last.  In this book I found a real gem, reminiscent, at least to me, of Maas’ Throne of Glass and Carson’s Girl of Fire and Thorns.   

World building is really important when writing fantasy and it was expertly done in Winner’s Curse. The differences between the Herrani and the Valorian’s culture are marked, even if at their core they are more similar that they believe possible.  The plot is intricate and scattered with the political unrest that only conquest can bring and also with military strategy.  Rutkoski’s writing is exquisite, it’s full of imaginary, and it’s lyrical and poetic. 

The characterization is remarkable.  The story is told from the third point of view, from Kestrel and Arin’s perspectives. Kestrel is from the Valorian nobility and she lives in the conquered land or Herrani.  All that society expects of her is to make a choice between marriage and the military career.  Either option relinquishes her independence and her music, two of the things that she holds dear, and she wants to rebel against it.  Kestrel tries to be fair to the person behind the titles, to grant love to who deserves it, regardless of where they came from.  She is a brilliant strategist and loyal to her father (her only family) and her country, even when her heart dictates otherwise.

Arin is harder to know, at least on the first part of the book. However, he shines on the second part of the book and tries his hardest to make Kastrel happy and secure, regardless of her new circumstances.  He is also brilliant and has a big responsibility over his shoulders at a very young age.  I’m eager to know (given the ending) how this couple will survive what’s to come.  From my end, it looks like a hopeless relationship, but I hope it turns out to be an epic love story.

The ending of The Winner’s Curse was torturous.  It is a subtle cliffhanger, just enough to make me sit at the edge of my seat for the many months that will take to its sequel to be published. An outstanding book, with awesome characters and an even more amazing writing, The Winner’s Curse is a clear winner (pun intended.)

Quotes (from the ARC):

“The pointy-chinned woman snickered. “Looks like someone’s suffering the Winner’s Curse. The Winner’s Curse is when you come out on top of the bid, but only by paying a steep price.”

”His eyes met hers. They were the color of the winter sea-the water far below Kestrel’s feet when she had looked down and imagined what it would be like to drown.”

“Arin smiled. It was a true smile, which let her know that all the others he had given her were not. ”Thank you,” he said. 

Kestrel felt herself blush. She focused on the keys and played something, anything. A simple pattern to distract herself from the fact that she wasn’t someone who easily blushed, particularly for no clear reason.”

About the cover: This is one of the most stunning covers I have ever seen.  The grace of the captured movement, the delicacy of her hand holding the ‘R’, the beautiful font and colors.  Gorgeous. 

Blog Tour, Guest Post and Giveaway: Searching for Beautiful by Nyrae Dawn

Hi there gorgeous people!  Welcome to Reading with ABC's stop Nyrae Dawn's Searching for Beautiful. This tour is presented by Rockstar Book Tours, please visit the other stops in the tour, scroll down to find the links. 

About the Book

Title: SEARCHING FOR BEAUTIFUL 

Author: Nyrae Dawn

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pub. Date: March 4, 2014

Pages: 304

Before it happened…Brynn had a group of best friends, a boyfriend who loved her, a growing talent for pottery. She had a life. And then…she had none.After it happened…Everything was lost. The boy she now knew never loved her. The friends who felt she betrayed their trust. The new life just beginning to grow inside her.Brynn believes her future is as empty as her body until Christian, the boy next door, starts coming around. Playing his guitar and pushing her to create art once more. She meets some new friends at the local community center, plus even gets her dad to look her in the eye again…sort of. But letting someone in isn’t as easy as it seems.Now…Can Brynn open up her heart to truly find her life’s own beauty, when living for the after means letting go of the before?

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes& Noble

Guest Post 

About Writing YA Romance

I’ve always been a romantic at heart. I like that “butterflies in the stomach” feeling of a new crush. I love the secretive glances, the brush of fingers, first kisses, and the possibilities of where it all may go. It’s like an adventure, where you never really know what’s going to happen. Will it go somewhere? Will it end?

I always knew that’s what I wanted to write about but that’s not the only reason I wanted to write romance. You know what I believe? That love can change the world. I know that seems like “head in the clouds” thinking but it’s true. Love can change us and we as people have the power to change the world. It can make us feel like we can do anything, it makes is willing to make changes. We learn from getting our hearts broken, breaking hearts, and falling in love. Those experiences mold who we are and what we do.

It’s pretty incredible when you think about it. When I’m writing romance, anything is possible. It’s writing about dreams but yeah, it’s about real life too. It’s about people and growth and the lessons we learn that we’ll take with us for the rest of our lives.

That’s why I wanted to write about romance. It’s universal.

What’s your favorite thing about reading young adult romance?

About the Author

Writing has always been Nyrae Dawn’s passion. There have been times in her life where she wasn’t able to chase that dream the way she desired, but she always found her way back to telling stories.

One of her loves has always been writing about teens. There’s something so fresh and fun about the age that she loves exploring. Her husband says it’s because she doesn’t want to grow up. She doesn’t think that’s such a bad thing and luckily for her, he doesn’t either.

Nyrae gravitates toward character-driven stories. She loves going on emotional journeys with characters whether it be reading or writing. And yes, she’s a total romantic at heart and proud.

Nyrae resides in sunny Southern California with her husband (who still makes her swoon) and her two awesome kids.

When she’s not with her family, you can be pretty sure you’ll find her with a book in her hand or her laptop and an open document in front of her.

She writes for Entangled Publishing, Grand Central Publishing and is self-published.

Nyrae is represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel and Goderich Literary Management.

Nyrae Dawn also writes adult romance under the name Kelley Vitollo.

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Giveaway

1 $25 Amazon Gift Card US Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

3/3/2014- Watcha Reading- Review

3/3/2014- Jenna Does Books- Guest Post

3/4/2014- The Storybook Kingdom- Review

3/4/2014- Dazzled by Books- Interview

3/5/2014- Reviews By Molly- Review

3/5/2014- Reading with ABC- Guest Post

3/6/2014- Nanna Three and Counting- Review

3/6/2014- A Book and a Latte- Guest Post

3/7/2014- Shayna Varadeaux Books & Reviews- Review

3/7/2014- FicWishes- Guest Post

Week Two:

3/10/2014- Book Chick- Review

3/10/2014- Books Forget Me Knot- Guest Post

3/11/2014- Book Bitches Blog- Review

3/11/2014- Consuming Worlds- Interview

3/12/2014- No BS Book Reviews                - Review

3/12/2014- Reese's Reviews: My Addiction to Fiction- Interview

3/13/2014- LeAnn's Book Reviews- Review

3/13/2014- Fictitious Delicious- Interview

3/14/2014- Nette's Bookshelf Reviews- Review

3/14/2014- girls in the stacks- Review

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Rockstar Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Rockstar Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

Waiting on Wednesday: The Fall by Bethany Griffin

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 Fall by Bethany Griffin

Published by: Greenwillow Books

Release date: October 7th, 2014

Madeline Usher is doomed. She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin. Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house. In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down? The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

Why I want to read it: I haven't read Griffin's Death of the Red Mask series, but I've heard great things about it.  The Fall sounds mysterious,and creepily awesome. Oh, and that cover is scary too, right? 

What are you waiting for this week?