Esther's Ever After

"Pure" is an engaging and exciting post-apocalyptic saga. The main characters are young enough that this could have been categorized as a young adult novel. First we have Pressia who is a deep thinking risk taking sixteen year old girl who has lived with the outcome of the Detonations that went off when she was a little girl. She has witnessed horrors upon horrors and has somehow still survived. The worst part of the world she lives in is that the Detonations didn't actually kill everyone, they either burned them or fused them to other beings, animals, and/or even structures and the earth. There was a dome built that housed many people and when the bombs went off those in the dome survived with no harm. Because of this, those in the dome are called Pure . Pressia comes in contact with Bradwell, who is a renegade young man trying to start a revolution, but not having much luck on his own. Partridge lives in the dome but he is seeking something else in his life. Hi...

All I can say is that reading "Code Name Verity" takes you back in time to World War II and it is an emotional and intense ride from the start. You get to read the story through written pages and notes. One side of the story is of Queenie the British spy who has been captured by the Nazi's in Nazi occupied France in 1943 after she made the crucial mistake of looking the wrong way while crossing a busy street in the town of Ormaie, France. The Gestapo orders Queenie to unravel the tale of how she met her best friend Maddie and how they went down in the plane Maddie was flying over France. Queenie manages to stay alive in prison as long as she's writing what the Gestapo approves of. Otherwise, she is horribly tortured. The second half is the story of Maddie and how she has to hide and survive in France after crashing the plane. The two stories woven together are totally compelling and the courage that these two young women possessed was amazing. I felt as if these were ...

EXPOSURE By Kim Askew and Amy Helmes 2012 Merit Press Summary taken from Goodreads: Double, double, toil and trouble. Sometimes, the quest for high school royalty can be deadly! In this emotionally-charged twist on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a self-conscious shutterbug named Skye Kingston navigates a treacherous school year in Alaska fraught with unspoken secrets and tragic twists of fate. Along the way she encounters three strangely prophetic BFFs; one social-climbing, sociopathic cheerleader; and a heart-stopping hottie named Craig McKenzie: the man who would be Prom King. Can Skye save the boy she loves — and herself — before they get caught in the crosshairs? My Thoughts: A modern twist on a Shakespeare tale...I'm in! Classic Bard-Secrets/Murder/Betrayal/Love Is there a better setting for a fresh and twisted lit than high school? The story is told from the POV of Skye, the shy, quiet observer, the girl in the background that sees and hears everything. She secretly pines for Craig, ...

Well here we are..... The GIANT Google Reader shut down is just days away! In a desperate move to keep loyal followers and perhaps gain new ones I invite you to follow me with Bloglovin' No one wants to see the ugly cry so please lets not lose touch.....

I have the winner of The Best Book Ever Hop! ALISIER Book choice was Fat Angie by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo Congratulations! A copy of Fat Angie will  be mailed out to her this week. Thanks for hopping and for following!

And I am finished! Although I didn't read as much as I would have like I did make a small dent in my reading pile. Books I read: Bruised by Sarah Skilton In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein 1/2 The Girls of No Return by Erin Saldin Total Pages : 1126 Total Hours of Reading: 9.5 Total of Hours Blogging and Networking: 1 Total Hours spent on 48 Hour Book Challenge: 10.5 Although I didn't read enough to qualify for prizes I did meet lots of new people and I got a jump start on my reading pile for summer. BUT here's the coolest thing that happened this weekend. I involved my 10 year old reluctant reader by making up her own reading challenge complete with snacks and prizes-she ended the weekend by reading 35 books from the library and winning a barbie and stuffed animal. The best part was that we were able to do this together and we both enjoyed it. I'll be posting my reviews of the books I read over this next week. I would also lik...

I'll be reading until 4pm today when book challenge ends for me. I chose these next book called The Girls of No Return because it's set in my backyard-The Frank Church Wilderness. I really hope it's not as intense as the one I read yesterday.

48 Hour Book Challenge-Day 2 It took me all day to get through this heartrenching book- Code Name Verity by Elizebeth Wein. Just when I didn't think my heart could go any further my mind had to know what would happen next. I finally finished it tonite. 343 pages took me 3 1/2 to read because I just had to put it down and walk away at times. Wow! I'm so glad it's done-I need a message! I will be posting my reviews on all the books I have read this weekend through the next week. I'm going to need a few days to wrap my mind around this one.

So here is where we stand 7 hours into the CHALLENGE: I have never been the kid that colors in the lines or stays off the grass so of course I don't stick to the stack-I look at the pre-determined To Be Read Pile that I had carefully chosen, taken a picture of and posted-then I go to the book case and pick two books I had no intention of reading this weekend.... BUT I'm so glad I did! I was able to zip right through both of them in five hours-reading from 4pm-9pm. I'll be posting reviews tomorrow. I took a two hour break to have dinner with friends and update blog. I will be reading again in a few minutes. Two books down and a stack to go..... Stay tuned for reviews tomorrow!

READY! SET! GO!! I'm finally ready to start the 48 hour book challenge! I have BIG stack of books-some from my library and some from my reading pile. I have snacks and ice cold coke. It's 4pm on Friday and here I go! Wish me luck!

Are you ready to start? More detailed instructions are below-   * Sign up on the Mr. Linky on Ms. Yingling Reads when you start. 2    *   Post you starting line blog entry. 3    * Read, blog and social network about reading (1 hour for every 5 hours of actual reading     counts toward reading time) for 48 HOURS! 4    * After 48 hours, fill in Mr. Linky at this blog’s Sunday post, fill out spreadsheet, and post your finishing line entry on your blog. Whew! IF YOU WANT PRIZES, keep good records. This is all self-reporting (on spread sheet), and I want people to get books that they like. Winners will get first pick, but you can only win in ONE category. You can win in the following categories: Most Hours—Top FIVE get first choice of prizes Most Pages Read—Top FIVE (not in first category) get second choice THREE winners drawn at random from the more than 24 hours of reading category, and THREE from the more th...

Welcome to The Best Book Ever Hop ! This hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Best Books Ever . Mug of Moxie is giving away one of the best YA books I have ever read. I narrowed it down to ten books that pretty much made me fall in love with YA. Just tell me which one you've been dying to get your hands on! Rules for the Giveaway: 1. Please enter contact information in comment section, along with your book choice. 2. This giveaway runs from June 4th to June10th. A winner will be selected on June 11th. 3. You must be 13 years or older to participate. 4. If you are selected as the winner, you will be notified by email. If you do not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected. 5. This giveaway is open to EVERYONE-and you must be a follower. Thanks for hopping and GOOD LUCK!

  June 7-9 It's almost here! THE 48-HOUR BOOK CHALLENGE !!!! Next weekend, June 7-9 , will be the Eighth Annual 48-Hour Book Challenge, hosted this year at Ms.Yingling Reads It's pretty simple: Choose any 48-hour time period between 7am (EDT) Friday and 7am (EDT) Monday. Sign in with Ms. Yingling with a starting line post. Read and blog, read and blog, read and blog... Report in at the end of your 48-hours with a finish-line post (and filling out the handy dandy reporting form). You might win awesome prizes! You will DEFINITELY have fun being part of a community of people reading and writing and cheering each other on!!! Ms. Yingling will have more info, including the challenge guidelines up on her site this week, so be sure and follow her blog for the most up-to-date information.   Please join us next weekend if you're able and please help spread the word!

Hilarious!!

I'm a little late on this announcement but.... I have the winner of the Shower of Books Giveaway BOOK ATTICT Book choice was The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters Congratulations!