The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It

by Lisa Shanahan

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published August 28th 2007

IN MY FAMILY, when anyone rides the wave of their emotions, we say they're chucking a birkett. When the emotion drives out all common sense, we say they're chucking a big one. The telltale signs are: flaming cheeks, shortness of breath, bulging eyes, and a prolonged illogical outburst.

Gemma Stone is convinced that it's always unseemly to chuck a birkett and that it's actually insane to chuck one in front of a complete stranger. But that was before she fell for a boy who barely knows she exists, before she auditioned for the school play, before she met the family of freaks her sister Debbie is marrying into, before the unpredictable Raven De Head took an interest in her, and before she realized that at the right time and for the right reason, a birkett could be a beautiful thing.

***

This book was really fun- a great escape! The characters were off the wall and the story had a couple great twists. The main character is Gemma Stone, a young Australian girl dealing with a heap of problems. The situations are dramatic and wacky yet easy to relate to. I laughed out loud, cried, and thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'll be looking for more by this author!

3.5/5 stars

Hunted

Hunted (The Shadowing, #1)
by Adam Slater

208 pages
Published September 13, 2011

This is pre-release review. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher, Egmont USA, for letting me read it early in exchange for an honest review.


What would you do if you found out that not only could you see ghosts, but a load of demons were about to cross over into our world, and you were the only person who could stop them? That’s exactly what teenager Callum Scott faces in my new horror series, The Shadowing. His only backup is ghost boy Jacob and his giant spectral dog, Doom. And those demons aren’t going down without a fight. Soon Callum’s being hunted, and by something you wouldn’t want to encounter in your worst nightmares… If you like skin-crawling horror fiction, you’ll love The Shadowing!

***

At the start of this book, I enjoyed it--with reservation. It took me a couple of chapters to become engaged in the story.

Callum is one of those characters you'd love to have as a friend. He's strong, down to Earth, and a just really good guy. And Melissa, the weird girl at school, is fantastic. And don't even get me started on the Grim and his friend, Jacob.

This story reminds me of some of the books I read growing up. It--dare I say it?--reminds me a little bit of The Dark is Rising. Yes, I liked it almost as much. (If you know me at all, you know how hard it is for me to say that!) Now I've totally set myself up to be disappointed by the rest of the series.

{{{Begs: Please, please don't disappoint me!!!}}}

5/5 stars

Fuzzy Nation

Fuzzy Nation
by John Scalzi

301 pages
Published May 10, 2011

Jack Holloway works alone, for reasons he doesn't care to talk about. Hundreds of miles from ZaraCorp's headquarters on planet, 178 light-years from the corporation's headquarters on Earth, Jack is content as an independent contractor, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As for his past, that's not up for discussion.

Then, in the wake of an accidental cliff collapse, Jack discovers a seam of unimaginably valuable jewels, to which he manages to lay legal claim just as ZaraCorp is cancelling their contract with him for his part in causing the collapse. Briefly in the catbird seat, legally speaking, Jack pressures ZaraCorp into recognizing his claim, and cuts them in as partners to help extract the wealth.

But there's another wrinkle to ZaraCorp's relationship with the planet Zarathustra. Their entire legal right to exploit the verdant Earth-like planet, the basis of the wealth they derive from extracting its resources, is based on being able to certify to the authorities on Earth that Zarathustra is home to no sentient species.

Then a small furry biped--trusting, appealing, and ridiculously cute--shows up at Jack's outback home. Followed by its family. As it dawns on Jack that despite their stature, these are people, he begins to suspect that ZaraCorp's claim to a planet's worth of wealth is very flimsy indeed...and that ZaraCorp may stop at nothing to eliminate the "fuzzys" before their existence becomes more widely known.

***

This was a pleasant departure from my regular reading fare. I loved the characters. Hello, a dog who's trained to blow up explosives? Hooray!

I absolutely love the fuzzys. So cute! And, I'll admit it, I was very sad and angry when a certain thing happened--don't want to say more and ruin it for anyone.

5/5 stars

Blog Tour Coming

In case you haven't seen it on the sidebar, the "Seers" blog tour will be making a stop here at The Crooked Word! On September 2 we'll be hosting an interview with the author, Heather Frost. Don't miss it! Check out my review of this fantastic book here.

Friday Feature: Swimming to Antarctica

Friday Feature is where we share books we love that have been out for several years. We don't want these treasures to get lost just because they aren't babies anymore!


Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer
by Lynne Cox



359 pages
First Published 2004


At age sixteen, legendary swimmer Lynne Cox reached her lifetime goal of setting a new world record for an English Channel swim. So she set her goals even higher: She became the first to swim the Strait of Magellan, narrowly escaped a shark attack off the Cape of Good Hope, and was cheered across the twenty-mile Cook Strait of New Zealand by dolphins. Her daring eventually led her to the thirty-eight degree waters of the Bering Strait, which she crossed in her usual outfit-just a swimsuit, cap, and goggles. She even swam a mile in the iceberg-choked seas of the Antarctic. With a poet's eye for detail, Cox shares the beauty of her time in the water in this new classic of sports memoir, now illustrated with photos and maps throughout.

***

My mom recommended I read this book and I was surprised to find that it captured my attention so quickly. I was also surprised to find a story about a swimmer so fascinating and fun to read. Lynne Cox has an amazing way of telling her stories that keep you on your toes and makes you wish you were right there cheering her on. There were so many things that I thought were interesting; how her body temperature would rise before a swim to help her in the colder waters, what she would drink while swimming, etc. She is an amazing women that shows you that you can really do anything if you set your mind to it and work for it.

4/5 stars

Midnight Sun (The Twilight Saga #5)

Midnight Sun (The Twilight Saga #5)

by Stephenie Meyer

ebook, 216 pages

Published by Little Brown (first published August 28th 2008)

Midnight Sun is the much anticipated retelling of Twilight from Edward Cullen's perspective. An unedited partial draft was illegally leaked onto the internet in 2008; consequently, author Stephenie Meyer put the project on indefinite hold.
Shortly afterward, she posted a letter to her fans on her website including a link to the entire partial draft of the book so that those who wanted to read it could do so legally and with her consent; see URL for more information:

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsu...

***

Dear Stephenie,

Please finish writing this book! I can't blame you for choosing to stop writing after being so betrayed, but for my own selfish sake I so wish you would finish it!

It was intriguing and fun to read Edward's perspective on things. I've read Twilight... well, more times than I'm going to admit so I didn't think I would be so disappointed when the story didn't continue- but I was! There's so much detail that fills in how Edward and his family interact behind the scenes and how Bella shakes up the mix. Not only did I enjoy seeing Edward's perspective but also hearing everyone else's thoughts through Edward. The only thing that could make it better would be for there to be MORE!

5/5 stars

Between

Between
by Cyndi Tefft

724 pages
Published April 5, 2011

It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile and Scottish accent.

After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates.

Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries.

***

The characters in this book are alive--well, they should be, even if they're actually dead. (And it never hurts to throw a Scottish accent in there. Just sayin'.)

How do I sum up this book? As fun as it was, the first part of it had me wondering if the entire book was going to be spent jumping from memories to recreations of worlds. Yes, I understand that we were getting background on the characters, and learning about what kind of people they are. And the author showed great research in her portrayal of the different eras and experiences. Still, I wished Lindsey and Aiden would settle into place a bit.

And then, they did. Once the characters settle into the cabin, I felt I could appreciate the story more. Once Lindsey and Aiden were separated, I felt the urgency of the book, trying to figure out how things would work out.

I admit, I've been waffling for a few days on how to rate this book. I've finally settled on

4/5 stars