The Reading Hideaway

Title: That Boy Author: Jillian Dodd Rating: 5 Synopsis (via Goodreads): You know, being friends with two cute boys does have its benefits. There's Danny. Danny is a golden boy in every way. He has dreamy blue eyes and blonde hair that always looks perfect, even when it’s windblown or been stuck under a football helmet. He’s the boy every girl crushes on. The boy I get into trouble with, the boy I fight with, the hot quarterback no girl can resist, not even me. Being with Danny is like being on an adventure. He has a bright, contagious smile and abs to die for. He’s pretty much irresistible. Equally crush worthy is Phillip. Adorable, sweet Phillip, who I have known since birth. Phillip has dark hair, a perfect smile, brown eyes, and the sexiest voice I have ever heard. He’s the boy I talk to every night before I go to sleep. The boy who rescues me, the boy who can read my mind, the boy who is always there for me, the boy who tries to keep me out of trouble, the boy who irr...

This week's writing is A Horse Named Solitare written by Becca. It was a beautiful, spring morning in Calgary, Alberta and Brittney and her mother were just getting ready to leave their house. "Come on, Mom," Brittney called impatiently to her mother as she walked briskly out their large, wooden front door. She stopped and turned around to face her mother as soon as she reached the end of the porch, tapping her foot anxiously. "Hold your horses," her mother said calmly, grabbing her old, weathered paddock boots from the mat that was just inside the front door. "I would, but I don’t have any to hold," Brittney replied smartly. She smiled mischievously as her mother glared at her. They both laughed after a moment as Brittney’s mother knelt down to tie her boots. Brittney Morrison, a 15-year-old teen, had always wanted her own horse. She and her mom lived on a 10 acre farm, and they had owned horses since Brittney was little, but she had never had one...

Title: All These Things I've Done Author: Gabrielle Zevin Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Rating: 5 Synopsis (via Goodreads): In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family. Engrossing and suspenseful, All These Things I've Done is an utterly unique, unputdownable read that ble...

Title: The List Author: Siobhan Vivian Publisher: Push Rating: 5 Synopsis (via Goodreads): An intense look at the rules of high school attraction -- and the price that's paid for them. It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up. This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two. Review: Everyone has an opinion about other people. We judge our peers before getting to know them. It sounds wrong, but it's true. That's just the way society is. While I read The List, it made me realize how cruel and unfair stereotypes are. Girls can be very mean. This is a fact. When I first read about the list being posted a...

In My Mailbox is a daily meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It features the books we have gotten this week to read and review. This is what I got this week: From the Library:   Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep From Netgalley: Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applebee The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski The You Know Who Girls: Freshman Year by Annameekee Hesik What did you guys get this week?  

After failing my first Read-a-Thon, I was kinda nervous about this one. I am proud to say I feel VERY accomplished the second time around. My goal was to read five books in five days; my final result ended with four books in five days. Books Read: The List by Siobhan Vivian All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin First Frost by Jennifer Estep That Boy by Jillian Dodd I enjoyed the books that I was determined to finish and will post reviews within a couple days. This week has been crazy for me with dance pictures, dance rehearsal, dance recitals (TOMORROW!) and two swim meets. Crazy, crazy. I promise they will get done though... Eventually. =) If you participated in Katie's Back to School Read-a-Thon, how did you do? 

So just tonight I decided to change my blog design. Crazy, right? Well, thanks to  The Cutest Blog on the Block  it was easy. What do you guys think? I think the new design really brings out the whole "hideaway" theme. Plus, giraffes are amazing. =) Sorry about the pictures from the old blog, (the ones for IMM and WOW) I'm too lazy to take them down and they will eventually automatically archive themselves...

This is what I got this week: From Scholastic: Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford From Netgalley: Andy Squared by Jennifer Lavoie Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor What did you guys get this week? 

This week's writing is Willing to Forgive a Broken Heart written by Emily . She looked around at a regretful ground, Littered with hearts that were waiting to be found. They all looked so desperately broken By words that should have been left unspoken. She asked, “Why are people left with hearts so hollow?” She said, “Take a bite of your pride, and then swallow. Now, stand up straight And shove aside your fear and your hate.” She glanced around at a painful ground, And heard nothing, not even a sound. No one had even heard her soulful words, Then she gasped at a heart, shattered in thirds, And she thought that it had belonged to her But she decided against it, and her eyes started to blur. She sighed, “We all have a life to live And we’re always willing to forgive.”

Honestly, I am kinda excited to start my freshman year of high school. Doesn't mean I wish summer would slow down, but I'm not complaining about getting prepared for the new school year. As a mini celebration, I decided I would participate in Katie's (from Katie's Book Blog ) Back to School Read-a-Thon just to get a few more books off my to-read pile. My list has changed a little from my planning post so this is what I have to read this week: Title: The List Author: Siobhan Vivian Progress: COMPLETE Title: All These Things I've Done Author: Gabrielle Zevin Progress: COMPLETE Title: First Frost Author: Jennifer Estep Progress: COMPLETE Title: That Boy Author: Jillian Dodd Progress: COMPLETE Title: The Goddess Test Author: Aimee Carter Progress: Page 1 There's the five books I hope to read and review in five days. Wish me luck! 

Title: What I Didn't Say Author: Keary Taylor Synopsis (via Goodreads): Getting drunk homecoming night your senior year is never a good idea, but Jake Hayes never expected it all to end with a car crash and a t-post embedded in his throat. His biggest regret about it all? What he never said to Samantha Shay. He's been in love with her for years and never had the guts to tell her. Now it's too late. Because after that night, Jake will never be able to talk again. When Jake returns to his small island home, population 5,000, he'll have to learn how to deal with being mute. He also finds that his family isn't limited to his six brothers and sisters, that sometimes an entire island is watching out for you. And when he gets the chance to spend more time with Samantha, she'll help him learn that not being able to talk isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Maybe, if she'll let him, Jake will finally tell her what he didn't say before, even if...

Title: Absolutely Maybe Author: Lisa Yee Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books Rating: 4 Synopsis (via Goodreads): Meet Maybelline Mary Katherine Mary Ann Chestnut, named for two Miss Americas and her mother Chessy's favorite brand of mascara. Chessy teaches the students in her charm school her Seven Select Rules for Young Ladies, but she won't tell Maybe who her real father is -- or protect her from her latest scuzzball boyfriend. So Maybe hitches a ride to California with her friends Hollywood and Thammasat Tantipinichwong Schneider (aka Ted) -- and what she finds there is funny, sad, true, and inspiring . . . Review: Having both a mom and dad, I never really understood kids my age who had divorced parents or only lived with one parent and didn't get to see the other one. Reading Absolutely Maybe made me realize that I'm lucky to have supportive parents who love me no matter what I do and help me become a better person each day. Maybe isn't as lucky. He...

This is what I got this week: Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John The List by Siobhan Vivian Wither (The Chemical Garden #1) by Lauren DeStefano What did you guys get this week?

Each month, four people in the group, All Things Teen, on Goodreads can post entries of their stories and/or poetry in Writing of the Month. Their entries will then be highlighted on my blog. This week, I am proud to share Innocent Lamb's writing entitled: I'm A Dreamer . Our world is full, Of pain and sorrow. My tears are like the rain, Forever falling, Never ending. I am only one, One of many. I’m a dreamer. No matter how cloudy The world is, No matter how much Blood is spilt, I’ll always have my dreams. Where I can return to, Whenever I wish. Although they never last, But they are all I need. Just one glimpse, At what might be, Is all I need. I am a dreamer, A leader, A free thinker. One day, No matter how far, My dreams shall be reality. We should all be allowed to stand up for what we believe in. No one should have to conform. We are all individuals! We are all different people with different values, different morals and different lives. H...

Title: Just Listen Author: Sarah Dessen Publisher: Viking Rating: 5 Just Listen Cover Image Synopsis (via Goodreads): Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything"— at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store. This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends. Review: I love anything and everything Sarah Dessen. Honestly, I think there was only one book of hers that I'm not a big fan of, ( Dreamland ). Anything else, I love and get completely absorbed into. Her writing just amazes me and gets me intrigued from the first...

Title: Shatter Me Author: Tahereh Mafi Publisher: Harper Rating: 5 Shatter Me Cover Image Synopsis (via Goodreads): Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war– and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now. Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. Review: I love dy...