Waiting On Wednesday (2)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine where we spotlight the upcoming releases that we are super excited for!

This week I am waiting on...

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

UK Release Date:11th October 2012

Pre-order it now on Amazon

"Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe . . .

The world is dead.
The survivors live under the protection of Breathe, the corporation that found a way to manufacture oxygen-rich air.

ALINA
has been stealing for a long time. She’s a little jittery, but not terrified. All she knows is that she’s never been caught before. If she’s careful, it’ll be easy. If she’s careful.

QUINN
should be worried about Alina and a bit afraid for himself, too, but even though this is dangerous, it’s also the most interesting thing to happen to him in ages. It isn’t every day that the girl of your dreams asks you to rescue her.

BEA
wants to tell him that none of this is fair; they’d planned a trip together, the two of them, and she’d hoped he’d discover her out here, not another girl.

And as they walk into the Outlands with two days’ worth of oxygen in their tanks, everything they believe will be shattered. Will they be able to make it back? Will they want to?" (Summary from Goodreads)

 

I am loving that cover, aren't you? I love those purply hues and the kind of vaguely sci-fi feel the cover has to it. And how awesome does the book itself sound? That's right. AWESOME! A world where the government controls even the air people breathe??! I can't wait to read it!

What do you think? What are you waiting on this week? Leave me your opinions/thoughts/links/whatever you feel like... below! :)

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century BLOG TOUR: Review + Giveaway

MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY BLOG TOUR

Blurb

On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze. 

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore. 

Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

Release: Sept. 11, 2012 | Publisher: Entangled Publishing | Purchase: Amazon | BookDepository

My Review

 My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century  was a 'super sweet', light, summery read that I enjoyed very much.

Cat Crawford is just a normal teenage girl...apart from the fact that her dad is a well-known film director and her mum is infamously known for the long trail of broken-hearted men that she has left behind in her lifetime, Cat's dad being one of them. I liked Cat very much as a main character - she was fun, witty and down-to-earth, despite her famous parents, and the kind of girl that I would have liked to be friends with if I knew her in real life.

Cat's magical trip to sixteenth century Italy was very interesting, and quite amusing at times - 21st century girl Cat attempting to behave according to the very different customs and etiquette of 16th century Italians made for some funny moments indeed! It was fun to see her try to adapt to the situations she found herself thrust into, and fun to see the reactions that the people around her had to her 'odd' behaviour. Luckily, she had a cover that saved her a little bit - in this world that she has found herself in, she is 'Patience D'Angeli,' a girl who has recently moved all the way from London to live with her Italian cousins.

Said cousins were very nice characters - Cipriano, or 'Cip' was very big-brotherly and protective of his cousin, and Alessandra, or 'Less', was very kind and sweet.

One of the best things about this book was the feeling that I had been whisked away to Italy right along with Cat. Rachel Harris' writing was so vivid and colourful, painting me a bright, warm, sunny picture that made me wish I was actually there in Italy with Cat.

However, Cat's trip to the 16th century was not purely for leisure - she was also meant to get something valuable out of it. 'Keep your mind open to the lessons ahead,' were the words of Reyna, the gyspy girl who made this trip happen for Cat. And I do think it worked - Cat comes back from her trip a happier, more carefree person, more willing to open up, let go, and take a chance once in a while.

 I really loved the ending of My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century - there are a few nice surprises in store for Cat that I thought were really sweet. And if you want to find out what they are...? Well, I guess you'll have to go and read the book! 

Author Bio (Spotlight)

As a teen, Rachel Harris threw raging parties that shook her parents’ walls and created embarrassing fodder for future YA novels.

As an adult, she reads and writes obsessively, rehashes said embarrassing fodder, and dreams up characters who become her own grown up version of imaginary friends.

When she's not typing furiously or flipping pages in an enthralling romance, you can find her homeschooling her two beautiful princesses, hanging out with her amazing husband, or taking a hot bubble bath…next to a pile of chocolate.

MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY is her debut novel.  She did have her own fantabulous Sweet Sixteen in high school. Sadly, it wasn't televised.

http://www.rachelharriswrites.com | @RachelHarrisYA | facebook.com/RachelHarrisYA

Giveaway

Enter below to be in with a chance of winning your very own copy of My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century (US only) or some My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century goodies! (INTL) Good Luck :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Recommend A... Book With A Blue Cover

'Recommend A... ' is the awesome new feature thought up by the amazing Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit. Each week there will be a different, creative prompt for us to recommend books that we sometimes maybe forget how much we love, giving us the chance to share book recommendations of books that might not get recommended as much as they deserve.

Now, this week's prompt was easy. A book with a blue cover? Only one sprang to my mind instantly...

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

"Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love." (Goodreads)

Lauren Oliver's writing really was breathtakingly beautiful and she really managed to capture the essence of love, if that's even possible. Read more about why I fell in love with this book about a world where love is forbidden in my review here :)

I've Been Tagged!! Would You Rather...??

 Yay! This is my first ever time being tagged! Catherine is EXCITED!!! These things always look like so much fun :D A big thank you to the lovely Caitlin from The Y.A. Bookworm Blogger  (her blog is awesome, by the way, go check it out!) for tagging me! *big smiley face* :)

 

So, the 'rules' for this cool 'Would You Rather...?' tag, which was created by Delaney over at The Random Ranterer (I am totally loving that blog name, aren't you?!)...

• Intros!-Tell us about yourself and your blog
• Answer the 6 questions in any way you want
• Tag 6 bloggers (or however many people you want to tag)
• Tell them they have been tagged and link back to your post
• Put the Would You Rather...? picture to your post

 So, I guess, first up is my intro! ...


A Little Bit About Catherine, the AWESOME (...??) blogger behind The Book Parade!!


Helllooooo!!! My name is Catherine and I'm a teen who LOVES reading! (Although you could probably tell that already...) I am a MASSIVE fan of The Hunger Games (:D), Taylor Swift (:D) and Harry Potter (:D) I have wanted to be an author ever since I was five and...did I mention that I LOVE READING?!!! You may have also noticed that I am just slightly crazy. I normally manage to refrain from letting the full extent of my craziness (which involves a disturbing tendency to speak about myself in the third person, a tendency to jump up and down and clap excitedly whenever I get excited, which is A LOT, and - WHY I am I publicly admitting this?!! I must be crazier than I thought!) * leak through my computer and onto the screen, which iis a good thing, otherwise you might all run away screaming! Although, I hope you wouldn't... :) Well, that was rather a lengthy intro! And that's all about me - I haven't even got started about my blog yet! Okay, I'll keep this bit short... The Book Parade is my blog, which I started about five and a half months ago in order to share my MASSIVE love of books with THE WORLD!!! YAY!!! :D




* I also have a tendency, when let loose to write freely, to go into a set of brackets in the middle of a sentence only to get sidetracked and then spend so long in the bracket that by the time I've finished rambling no-one remembers (or cares) what I was going on about before!


And... On To The Questions! (FINALLY!!)

Would You Rather...

Read A Classic Book or a Dictionary?
 A classic book, definitely! Although classics may sometimes be a little tedious due to the old-fashioned language (seriously, I've read classics where there are words that are SO OLD THEY'RE NOT EVEN IN THE DICTIONARY!! I was very disappointed the first time my dictionary ever failed me. Not that I consult my dictionary often; I'm normally too absorbed in whatever book I'm reading to bother looking up the odd word I don't know.) ** but the reason 'classics' are classic is because they are brilliant pieces of culture and literature, and a lot of them still tell brilliant stories. I do find the language a little hard to get past sometimes, but other times I think it's beautiful. I've recently read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and Macbeth (for school, but I really enjoyed it) and I have a whole LONG list of classics that I intend to get round to reading some day, including Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and 1984 by George Orwell, among many others. I would honestly be quite surprised if anyone would rather read a dictionary than a classic book...

**see, I did the long brackets thing AGAIN!

Receive a $50 giftcard for a bookshop or a library card?
Well, I already have a library card (two, actually, I belong to two different councils' libraries) but assuming I had neither a giftcard nor a library card and could only pick one of the two, I'd have to go with the library card, definitely. As much as I love buying books (A LOT) I LOVE THE LIBRARY!!! Libraries are one of my favourite places to be and they are just AWESOME. You have access to an endless amount of books (for free! - added bonus!) Besides, I can still buy books without a giftcard... (This is where parents and their money come in useful...just kidding!)

Look at books in a bookshop or a library?
 Now that is a hard one. It's a close call, but I think I am going to g owith bookshops. I love the new-book smell you find in bookshops and I always get tingles of pleasure from simply admiring all the new, and pretty books they have for sale :)

Stay up and see what happens in a book (at a part where it's a MUST) or go to sleep?
This really depends on the situation... It depends on how tired I am, and how desperate I am to see what happens. In most cases, I'll probably pick sleep, comforted by the knowledge that I can enjoy the book more in the morning when I'm not tired.  Sometimes, if I'm really into the book, and I'm nearly finished, I'll stay up a little later to get to the end, but I do have a limit - I generally don't stay up past 11pm or 11:30pm. I really don't function well without sleep!  

Write on a laptop/computer or in a notebook/paper?
I'm definitely a pen and paper girl. Of course I love how fast typing is, and how easily you can change stuff, but whenever we get given the choice of typing or writing for homework, I nearly always pick writing. I'm not quite sure why, I just love the feel of writing, of my pen/pencil etching words onto the page. I think a page of writing feels more real to me, rather than a digital copy of something. I love writing with my fountain pen, but I often pick up a pencil to write with when I'm writing a creative story or something.

Eat while you're reading or keep glancing at the bag of food while you read?
I prefer NOT to eat while I read, in fact I don't think I ever have before. I generally don't get hungry while I read, but if I was so hungry that I had to keep glancing at the food (which I think is unlikely) then of course I'd go eat. And then I'd return to my book immediately after and enjoy it more now I wasn't thinking of my stomach. I remember once when I was little, we were in a restaurant (actually it was McDonald's) and we saw a girl reading while eating. My parents asked me if I'd ever read and eat at the same time (random question, I know) - I was already a massive bookworm then - and I said "....No... Because I wouldn't want to risk ruining the book." I think I was half-joking, though. I just wouldn't want to read and eat at the same time. I'd rather concentrate solely on enjoying the book without anything distracting me. (But I also wouldn't want to run the risk of dropping/spilling something on the book either.)

 Whew!! All finished! I hope you enjoyed reading my answers!!! So, here are the blogs I'm going to tag... (I know some people don't like to/don't have time to participate with tags - if this is the case, don't worry, you don't have to do it. But if you want to...please feel free to join in! :)

Blogs I'm Tagging :)
Ebony Black Lines  
Blog Of A Bookaholic 
Booked Up! 
Lost In Thought 
A Daydreamer's World 

Hope you guys have as much fun with this as I did! :)

Recommend A... Book Someone Else Recommended To You

'Recommend A... ' is the awesome new feature thought up by the amazing Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit. Each week there will be a different, creative prompt for us to recommend books that we sometimes maybe forget how much we love, giving us the chance to share book recommendations of books that might not get recommended as much as they deserve.

One of my best friends and I have recently been exchanging a lot of book recommendations, usually accompanied by a lot of excited squealing and fangirling - "Omg, this book is AMAZING!!! You have to read it, like, NOW!!!" - and we always love what the other has recommended us. One of the first books my friend recommended to me (which really was 'AMAZING!!!' ) and which I am now going to recommend to you was...

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

  
"The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive." (Goodreads)







You're probably thinking one of two things. Either, 'Oooh! That sounds COOL!' or 'Urgh, that sounds gross!' I was with the first group when I first read the blurb - true, the whole concept of unwinding is a little creepy (and there is even a scene in the book where you get to see a child actually go through the unwinding process...but it's not gory at all; in fact it's extremely well written and handled) but Unwind really is an amazing book which I loved, and I hope you will too! A must-read for any dystopian fans!

Why I Love Writing

I have always loved reading, ever since I was first able to read. It wasn't long before, from my love of reading, stemmed a love of writing - of being able to create stories as wonderful and as magical as the ones I loved to read. 

I still love reading, and I still love writing, and I dream of being a writer so that maybe I can write books that people will cherish and treasure as much as I do all the books I read now.

A little while ago, I entered a competition over at Dear Writer, a blog run by Siobhan Curham, author of YA contemporary novel Dear Dylan. I was thrilled when I found out that I had come joint second(!!) and I decided to share my entry here with you today. Enjoy :)

Why I Love Writing

Words are the most beautiful, magical thing. Soft and sweet, singing stories that sweep you in like spells.

A pen is the most powerful, precious thing. Allows you to express yourself, pour your soul onto a page, capture emotions and memories, evoke emotions and memories.

Pen and words walk hand in hand like bow and arrow – a fearless weapon, capable of piercing the heart and setting it ablaze with hatred, anger, fear, passion.

Pen and words walk hand in hand like bow and cello – a magnificent musical instrument, capable of playing a melody with the heartstrings, humming tunes that sing of sadness, laughter, joy, love.

When you pick up a pen and write, you are powerful. You have the power to travel to exotic worlds, to discover new things, to laugh, to cry, to fall in love. And even more wonderful, you have the power to share this incredible experience with others too.

Infuse your words with your heart and soul, let a little of yourself flow into the words, bringing them to life, making them buzz with realness.

Writing doesn’t disappear. Your words will remain in the world for generations, to enchant others, to inspire others.

This is why I love writing. I can lose myself in words, lose myself in imagination. 

I can share a little of myself with the world.

I can be anyone. I can do anything.

I am powerful. I am free.