Monday, February 28, 2011

Impossible by Nancy Werlin Audiobook

Reading level: Young Adult
Audio CD
Publisher: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD; MP3 Una edition (November 20, 2008)
Author's Website:
Buy the Audio: Amazon
Buy the Book:  Amazon

Lucy Scarborough is seventeen when she discovers that the women of her family have been cursed through the generations, forced to attempt three seemingly impossible tasks or to fall into madness upon their child’s birth. How can Lucy succeed when all of her ancestors have tried and failed? But Lucy is the first girl who won’t be alone as she tackles the list. She has her fiercely protective foster parents beside her. And she has Zach, whose strength amazes her more each day. Do they have enough love and resolve to overcome an age-old evil? Inspired by the ballad “Scarborough Fair,” this spellbinding novel combines suspense, fantasy, and romance for an intense and masterfully original tale.

I listened to this book on audio cd.  I can't say it was really great on audio.  The reader was kind of....stiff, I guess.  She uh-nun-see-ay-ted every word, which drove me a little crazy, and she kind of sounded like an elementary teacher reading to her 1st grade class, especially when she sang the Scarborough song, which she did 10 times....awful.  After awhile, though, it didn't bother me too bad, and luckily the story was interesting enough to me to cancel it out.

Abigaile actually started reading this book at the same time that I started listening to it, and she didn't finish it.  She said the writing was just weird.  I actually liked it though.  I don't know if it would have gotten boring if I was actually reading it, but I enjoyed getting into the car and losing myself in Lucy's world!

It was not a thrilling book.  It was more of a relaxing slow read (or listen).  Lucy is haunted by a curse that has plagued the women in her family for generations.  It was a bizarre curse in which Lucy gets pregnant and has to complete three crazy tasks before giving birth to her child, or she will go insane, and the curse will pass on to her daughter.  She's in a race against time to complete these tasks, and has to fight against "The Elfen Knight" who is trying to stop her from reaching her goal.  Although it is a race against time, the book really never seems to be rushed, or actually very exciting.  There's a lot of internal dialog, and the writing seems kind of poetic.

One thing I really loved about this book was the role of Lucy's parents.  They are such a huge part of Lucy's life, and of the story itself.  It was so refreshing to read about a teenager who actually had a good relationship with her parents, and parents who weren't either idiots, oblivious, or gone altogether.  I also really love Zack, although some may say he's a little too perfect.  He was such a great guy and so good for Lucy.  I was a little disappointed in their romance.  While it was cute, I thought it could have been a lot more exciting.

I would say that if you like slower moving novels, that have a bit more of thought than action you will enjoy this book.

ExtraordinaryI will say that I picked this one up because I saw Extraordinary and wanted to read it, and thought it was a sequel to this book, which I realize now it is not.  Actually I haven't read very good reviews of Extraordinary, so I don't think I'll be picking it up.  Have you read it?  What did you think?

I liked it


  • Sexual Content:  Rape (not detailed), and sex between married people
  • Profanity:  Mild
  • Violence:  Rape
For more details, check out Impossible on Parental Book Reviews.


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Harry Potter at the Oscars

I'm really sad that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows wasn't up for more awards, and that it really didn't have a chance against the amazingness that was Inception, but I thought this video was so hilarious!  I love it!  So, if you missed the awards, or just don't even care about them, I thought I'd share this not-having-anything-to-do-with-awards awesomeness!

Enjoy!



WE LOVE YOU HARRY!!
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Sunday, February 27, 2011

Graphic Novel Review: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic by John Jackson Miller


Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 152 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse (November 11, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1593076401
ISBN-13: 978-1593076405


Thousands of years before Luke Skywalker would destroy the Death Star in that fateful battle above Yavin 4, one lone Padawan would become a fugitive hunted by his own Masters, charged with murdering every one of his fellow Jedi-in-training! From criminals hiding out in the treacherous under-city of the planet Taris, to a burly, mysterious droid recovered from the desolate landscape of a cratered moon, Padawan Zayne Carrick will find unexpected allies in his desperate race to clear his name before the unmerciful authorities enact swift retribution upon him!




Profanity : None 
Sexual: Mild
Violence: Moderate
For full content of this book go to Parental Book Reviews.




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Blog Tour: Book Review: Glimpse by Stacey Wallace Benefiel


Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 262 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (May 9, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1452858748
ISBN-13: 978-1452858746
Buy the book: Amazon
Zellie Wells has a devastating crush on Avery Adams, the son of her mom's high school sweetheart. At her sixteenth birthday party, held in the basement of her dad's church, she finally finds the courage to talk to him. Turns out, the devastating crush is mutual. As Avery takes her hand and leads her out onto the makeshift dance floor, Zellie is overwhelmed by her first vision of his death; shocking because not only are they both covered in his blood, but they're old, like 35, and she is pregnant. Afraid to tell anyone about the vision, (she'd just be labeled a freaky black magic witch, right?) Zellie keeps the knowledge of Avery's future to herself and tries to act like any other teenager in love. When they get caught on their way to a secret rendezvous by her mom and his dad, they are forbidden to see each other. Convinced that their parents are freaking out unnecessarily, Avery and Zellie vow to be together no matter what. They continue their relationship in secret until Zellie learns that their parents are just trying to prevent her and Avery from suffering like they did. The visions are hereditary, they're dangerous, and if they stay together the visions will come true. Now Zellie must choose between severing all ties with Avery, like her mom did to prevent his father's death, and finding a way to change Avery's future.

My Review:

This book was very good and had a great plot/storyline. Zellie was a good character and I liked Avery a lot. The characters were developed at a good pace and I liked Zellie and Avery's chemistry. Avery was a good boyfriend to Zellie and I like the way he was written. He was in love with Zellie from the very beginning. Avery had an innocence, yet manly approach to life, and I liked that. I was surprised to find that my favorite character was Claire, Zellie's best friend. I normally go most for the main character, but Claire was quirky and funny. She made me laugh. Melody, Zellie's sister was also a good character. She rounded out the group nicely. 

I loved the vision's Zellie would have about the people she was around, they were very interesting. Sometimes a little gory, but still very interesting to read. This book sorta reminded me of the movie Premonition with Sandra Bullock. I like the idea of getting a negative Glimpse of the future and being able to help change it in someway. Stacey Benefiel had a very good take on the plot and she threw in some twists and turns that were unexpected. 

The only problem I had with this book, was a lack of morality throughout. The characters seemed to do what they wanted, when they wanted, without regard for anyone around them. Family members were hurt and being torn apart. A lack of concern for right and wrong was overwhelming. Let me just say, if this were a true story, families would have broken up over choices even the adults had made. And I find that disheartening, especially since the adults should be making the wise decisions. It was almost opposite in this book. It seemed the teens were cleaning up the mess the parents were making. These events didn't take away from the book though, I feel it was just a little distracting. 

I would defintely recommend this book to anyone who loves a romantic paranormal, like I do! 




Profanity: Moderate to Heavy
Sexual: Heavy
Violence: Heavy

For full Glimpse content go to Parental Book Reviews.
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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Katniss/Peeta Screen Test

I had to share this with all my fellow Hunger Games fans.  This is only a screen test to see how the actors' chemistry is for another possible film.  The video explains the details.

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Second Hand Saturday! A Book-A-Week Giveaway! #39

(If you've been here before, scroll down for this week's challenge in red)
Welcome to Second Hand Saturday!! In an attempt to clear our bookshelves, and pass on great used books to our stalkers followers, Amy, Kit, Abigaile, Austin and I have decided to hold weekly giveaways of some of the books on our bookshelves! Every Saturday, we will post the books available, and the following Saturday, we will announce the winner and our next challenge. The winner will get to choose a book from the list and we will ship it to that lucky person! Each week we will have a different challenge to complete (see below). YOU MUST BE A FOLLOWER TO ENTER!  Open Internationally.  Ends at 10:00 pm EST the following Friday!



Middle Grade

YA books + (ARC=Advanced Reading Copy)


ADULT *18 and over



To enter this week's giveaway, you must be a follower of this blog, and


ANSWER THIS QUESTION:

We had a popular post this week, Ode to Soapbox Girl. Go to the post HERE to leave a comment and be entered to win into this weeks book giveaway!

Extra entries: LEAVE ALL EXTRA ENTRIES IN THIS FORM, NOT IN THE COMMENTS! ONLY TELL US YOUR ANSWER TO THE ABOVE QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS!

Easy Links:

Thank You so much for following. We could not do this without our followers. Come back next Saturday to see the winner and enter in for another book giveaway!

THIS WEEK'S WINNER IS: 

Elisquared


Email me at ReadingTeen1 at gmail.com with your book choice!!  Please put "winner" in the subject line.  You have a week to claim your prize!


ATTENTION!! If you win and you'd like multiple books in the same series (if we have them) and are willing to pay the shipping, we will ship them all to you! (It's too expensive for us to do it ourselves!)

Congratulations!





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