BookCon 2014

I will do a full recap later but here's a few sights from today!

The chaos before the storm!

On the exhibit floor...

Graphic Novel Panel

Veronica Roth discussion 

Cassandra Clare, Holly Black and Maggie Stiefvater panel...

Jason Segel panel

Danielle Paige, Marie Lu, Alaya Dawn Johnson panel moderated by Veronica Roth

Random Nickelodeon characters...

BEA update and revised blog schedule

Hey everyone!

Yes, I've been at BEA this week which has naively had me thinking I would be able to post regularly... Wrong!

I promise I'll get back on track and here's what you can look forward to...

Tomorrow, Saturday: Pictures of BEA and BookCon

Sunday: Stacking the Shelves and Comic Sunday in the afternoon

Monday: Don't Fall- Blog Tour

What have you all been up to? Good reads? Has a book ticked you off or are you shipping something mega hard? 

Talk to me :)

Cheers,

Meghann

Michael Grant!!! His tan is better than mine and I'm totally jelly :p

Larger than life-sized Chewbacca made from Legos = nerd awesomness

[Life of a Blogger] Siblings!

Please excuse my lack of formatting I'm posting from the blogger app. O.o 

Life of a Blogger is a weekly meme hosted by Novel Heartbeat.

My sister!!

I only have one sibling and that's my younger sister who makes up my world. When we were younger we were not that close but now that we're older we're working on it. She came to live with me for a bit while we were in college and we've started traveling together. Which is how we've both come to love Greece. We plan to return in 2016.

What is a fond memory you have with siblings? Tell me about your siblings!

Cheers, 

Meghann

[Waiting on Wednesday] Forget Me by K.A. Harrington

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine,

that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This Week's Pick: 

Pre-Order on Amazon or The Book Depository

Title: Forget Me
Author: K.A. Harrington [Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram]
Release Date: August 7, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult- Science Fiction

Summary via Goodreads:

On the three-month anniversary of her boyfriend Flynn’s death, Morgan uploads her only photo of him to FriendShare to get some closure—but she’s shocked when the facial recognition software suggests she tag him as "Evan Murphy." She’s never heard of Evan, but a quick search tells her that he lives in a nearby town and looks exactly like Flynn. Only this boy is very much alive.

Digging through layers of secrets and lies, Morgan is left questioning everything she thought she knew about her boyfriend, her town, and even her parents' involvement in this massive web of lies.

Why I'm Waiting...

I LOVE a good mystery/thriller... it's all about the chase for me!! Who done it? There's not enough of this in YA so when it pops up, I'm stoked! There's also the tech component which gives it a realistically scary angle. 

Read an exclusive two chapter excerpt online via Entertainment Weekly.

[Top Ten Tuesday] Most Coveted Books at BEA 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Choose Your Own Topic!

Most Coveted Books at BEA 2014

This week is BEA as I'm sure most of you know. I leave tonight and head to BEA Blogger Con on Wednesday. In between now and Sunday I hope to get the following ARCs. I've got my fingers and all body parts crossed.

Talon by Julie Kagawa

I've already read the first chapter and I want more! I NEED more. 

You can read the first chapter here.

Zodiac by Stan Lee & Stuart Moore

I'm a geek and every geek needs some Stan Lee in their lives. I'm no exception. 

Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant

I featured this book in a recent WoW. Love the premise and look forward to meeting this purveyor of justice and the protagonist who is his apprentice.

Blackbird by Anna Carey

I also featured Blackbird in a past WoW. I love mystery/thrillers plus it's told in the second person. I'm intrigued.

Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

Cole, shapeshifters, bad boys... count me in. Plus Maggie just seems like the coolest person ever and an amazing artist. 

Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris

It's Neil Patrick Harris!!!!! 

Party Games by R.L. Stine

It's R.L. Stine and horror! The master of youth horror keeps cranking out novels dozen after dozen. My childhood would've been incomplete without my Scholastic Book subscriptions to Stine's series.

That's only 7 that I really, really want. 

 So whether you're participating in Armchair BEA, #YAParty or attending the big dance, What's your most coveted book being featured at BEA?

[Review] One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva

Buy on Amazon or the Book Depository

Title: One Man Guy

Author: Michael Barakiva [ Website ]

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux an imprint of Macmillan 

Genre: YA Fiction - Contemporary, LGBT, Romance

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Source: ARC provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Alek Khederian should have guessed something was wrong when his parents took him to a restaurant. Everyone knows that Armenians never eat out. Between bouts of interrogating the waitress and criticizing the menu, Alek’s parents announce that he’ll be attending summer school in order to bring up his grades. Alek is sure this experience will be the perfect hellish end to his hellish freshman year of high school. He never could’ve predicted that he’d meet someone like Ethan.

Ethan is everything Alek wishes he were: confident, free-spirited, and irreverent. He can’t believe a guy this cool wants to be his friend. And before long, it seems like Ethan wants to be more than friends. Alek has never thought about having a boyfriend—he’s barely ever had a girlfriend—but maybe it’s time to think again.

I really, really enjoyed this read! What could've been a typical "coming out" book is a dynamic story about being honest with oneself, discovering ethnic identity and building relationships. This goes for character's beyond the protagonist which makes this a rich "must read" for the summer.  

"... At a certain point in your life, you're gonna learn there's a difference between what you have to do and what you want to do. And the sooner you start choosing want over have, the happier you'll be." 

What I liked: 

• Alek – He is snarky, intelligent, and loyal. His character depth goes beyond his sexuality and focuses more on his identity as a whole. 
• Ethan –  While I was weary of Ethan at first, his appreciation for Alek's character and ability to be mature through certain scenes made me heart him. Bonus, he's swoony! 
• Alek's Family – While they are not always my favorite people, I get them. This family's love is where it counts, coupled with their desire to hold steadfast onto Armenian culture. 
• Authenticity – I related to this story from an ethnic perspective and not because I'm Armenian but because I'm a minority. So when Alek's parents use phrasing like these Americans I cannot help but giggle because there's someone in my family that says something similar. It's a struggle I feel every immigrant family deals with, the balance between honoring your heritage and assimilating into American culture. 
• The food! I could eat all the foods. I love ethnic food and this story made me want to eat everything! There's also a bonus recipe for stuffed grape leaves, sarma, in the back of the book. 
• Rufus Wainwright references – I love music and these references kept me up all night on YouTube re-watching Rufus videos. 
• Identity Development/ Character Growth – Everyone grows so much! Life isn't peachy and Barakiva makes that clear as his character's face facts, and figure out who they are and what they want. 
• More than a "coming out" tale –  I don't want to be spoilery but it's just more. Yes, the coming out is there but it's not as big of a focal point as one might think.

What made me go "meh..."

There are a few transition/continuity issues while reading that may be ironed out in the finished copy. I lost track of present day and past events being unveiled in the same chapter that I had to re-read to make sure I wasn't lost. 

Some of the language used... It was necessary for authenticity but I still didn't care for it.

4.5 Stars – Read this in one sitting. Get it! I'll be donating a copy to my work's LGBTA center. Recommended for those who are looking for an LGBT read that isn't an "issue" story, those who enjoy laughing, and those who enjoy diverse reads.

Comic Sunday #2: Saga vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughn

Comic Sundays are an American newspaper tradition where new comic strips are published weekly. At Becoming Books this tradition will continue focusing on comic strips, comics and graphic novels appealing to young adult and adult audiences.

*Today's pick may not be suitable for those under 18 years of age. Saga contains sexual content, profanity, and violence.*

Buy on Amazon or Book Depository

Saga, Volume #1 

Series: Chapters 1 – 6

Story by Brian K. Vaughn; Illustrations by Fiona Staples

160 pages, Image Comics: October 23, 2012

Personal Copy – Opinions are my own, review policy here.

Storytelling:

Brian K. Vaughn is kind of a big deal. I'm a total newbie to the graphic/comic reading arena. It's been a couple decades since I collected books and what not. Anyways, I love this fantasy book! A balance of action, romance ,and adventure, Saga gives us a whole new galaxy where our protagonists, Marco and Alana are struggling to survive. Star-crossed lovers who've recently given birth are being hunted by their respective militaries and independent contractors. This arc includes the first six chapters of their journey to escape the planet they are currently on in search of refuge. Meanwhile, there are about half a dozen people searching for them with an emphasis on the newly born child. 

Vaughn's writing had me pulled into a lovely fantasy world involving mythical like creatures with horns, wings, tales, ghosts, and even TV robot heads! The book kicks off in a high pressure situation and doesn't really slow down. There are parts in the story telling where it becomes journey-ish but it's not long before another enemy pops up or additional sub-plot is introduced. I definitely have a lot of questions so I'm really looking forward to picking up volume 2!

Artwork:

I'm a big fan of the artwork in this book. Great care was taken with the inking, shading, facial expressions... basically all of the deets are there. All of the frames involving "adult content" are artfully done and intentional, which is much appreciated. I feel like oftentimes some frames are thrown in as a shock factor but Staples' illustrations add so much to the world building. These illustrations make me wish I could draw. This is especially true in the scenes involving The Horrors, these were equal parts irk and awe.
.

Yay or Nay? 

Yay, what an amazing world Vaughn has built. Combined with the amazing illustrations you are launched into a new world and invested in Marco and Alana's plight. Bonus points for featuring an inter-racial couple, and not just in the alien sense. 

[Review] The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst

Buy on Amazon or the Book Depository

Title: The Lost

Series: The Lost #1

Author: Sarah Beth Durst [ Twitter | Facebook | Website ]

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA

Genre: Adult Fiction - Fantasy, Mystery

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Source: ARC provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

It was only meant to be a brief detour. But then Lauren finds herself trapped in a town called Lost on the edge of a desert, filled with things abandoned, broken and thrown away. And when she tries to escape, impassible dust storms and something unexplainable lead her back to Lost again and again. The residents she meets there tell her she's going to have to figure out just what she's missing, and what she's running from, before she can leave. So now Lauren's on a new search for a purpose and a destiny. And maybe, just maybe, she'll be found.

I will admit, when I fInally got approved for this title on NetGalley I had forgotten the synopsis but dove right in on the reading... 

As a result I was super scared and reading blind on some parts. The concept of getting lost in a place where all the lost things go is CREEPY! Uber creepy! Every sock the dryer has eaten, it's there. Every piece of luggage that has gone missing, lost wallet, penny, hair clip... it's all there. Thing of everything you've once lost and now it's in this place... the town of Lost. 

Luckily, there's a Finder who find's people and things from within "the void" and brings them to Lost. There's also the ying to his yang, the Missing Man, whose job is to find what you've lost and help you return to the world you know. So our protagonist Lauren is stuck in Lost, eager to survive and return home to her ailing mother. However, she's run off the Missing Man and now everyone in Lost is trying to kill her, seriously. 

There's a running joke in the book as to whether Lauren is interesting or not. Is she just a regular Jane or is she something more? Which of course I cannot tell you but I can tell you about her posse...

Lauren's supporting cast of The Finder and a knife wielding, six-year-old girl is intentional and necessary. Pushing Lauren out of her comfort zone and desire to survive the trio create a Peter Pan-ish inspired family to turn a house into a home. If you're looking for a swoony man then The Finder, Peter, is mysterious, dark and inked up just for you. Even if we're not sure how this is going to end, I found myself rooting for them the whole time... 

Told in staccato like thoughts and sentence structure, through Lauren's point-of-view, the reader is left with the inner workings of a panicking 27-year-olds brain. The writing style is definitely that of someone's inner dialogue, cutting out long descriptive passages and creating a reading-crossover bridge between Young Adult and Adult literature. If you're not feeling Lauren's narration you should hang around for Peter's dialogue which runs deeper, more cryptic and brings some literary prose to the forefront.

For me, it is the writing style that really bought authenticity to Lauren's voice and her experience. She's filled with worry, regret, panic, nurture, love and sometimes hope, but it's these emotions that keep her character raw and human. As she grows, it's her ability to believe in herself and remain loyal to those she care about that sells me on The Lost.

Random thoughts:

• Peter – I want to know your thoughts, what is in that head of yours? Why are you in Lost? WHAT DID YOU LOSE?!?!
• This is a trilogy – What? The end of this book is packaged tight. The story can go further but I'm really at a loss as to why it needs to. 
• Expedited release schedule for books #2 and #3. Book two, The Missing, will release in November 2014 and book three, The Found, will release in March 2015.
• Lauren. No spoilers but I need to know what's up with you. Who are you? And are you, in fact, interesting?

3.5 Stars – Solid read filled with mystery and a touch of fantasy! 

I'm content with the ending, but knowing there's two more books, I'm curious and I'll be reading book two. 

Stacking the Shelves #10: May 19 – 24

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews

I've been intentionally avoiding book purchases and the library because the TBR is getting out of control + BEA is next week! 

Click on the covers for Goodreads page.

For Review

  

Won!

This is a super cute picture book with some 3D/interactive items! I won this during the Children's Blog Hop stop hosted by Shauna at My Ereader and Me. Thanks Shauna!

I won this from the author Shandy Lawson via a Twitter giveaway. Thanks Shandy!

What's new on your shelf?