A chance for me to highlight some of my favorite book quotes! This week's quote is from The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky. Well quotes actually. I really enjoyed this book and it is so full of beautiful quotes that I couldn't pick just one. So here are just some of my favorites.
"We accept the love we think we deserve."
“So, I guess we are who we are for alot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.”
"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is such a brilliant book. It really captures the feelings of being a teenager. All the qualms and the moments of happiness too. Definitely worth reading!
Variant
by Robison Wells
373 pages
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: October 4, 2011
Source: Library
Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life.
He was wrong.
Now he's trapped in a school that's surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive.
Where breaking the rules equals death.
But when Benson stumbles upon the school's real secret, he realizes taht playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape - his only real hope for survival - may be impossible.
Looking for a spell-binding thriller? How about something that will keep you on the edge of your seat till the last page is turned? Or maybe a book with an ending so crazy you'll be dying for the sequel? Well Variant is all that and more!
After reading a lot of positive reviews for Variant (especially this one by from Melissa at i swim for oceans) I was expecting it to be good but gosh darn it Variant wasn't just good it was downright phenomenal! This book is hands down one of my favorites of 2011, if not the favorite.
Variant is one of the most unputdownable books I've read all year. From the non-stop action of paintball wars (yes, you read that right paintball wars!), to gang fights, to the more intriguing elements of escape planning this book is sure to keep you up late at night. To top it off there are some insane plot twists. Robison Wells really threw me for a loop about halfway through the book. I literally got goosebumps while reading. No joke.
Even though Variant relies heavily on a fast-paced plot, it doesn't mean that the characters are any less awesome. A few were a bit one-dimensional (the classic bad boys, and rule followers) but overall I was impressed at the depth of the characters. My personal favorite characters were Lily and Becky and of course Benson was awesome too.
Like The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer Variant has an insane WTF ending. All I can say is I am LOVING these crazy endings to YA books lately!
If you're a fan of dystopians, thrillers, or just love an exciting read then Variant is for you! Variant earns 5 out of 5 ice cream cones.
I don't know when the sequel for Variant comes out or what it will be called but I do know this: I WILL BE READING IT!
This week's Kawaii Monday features Lord of the Rings Pez Dispensers! Okay so maybe these aren't exactly "kawaii" but they are definitely FREAKING AWESOME! I'm such a sucker for all things Lord of the Rings.
Just look at how awesome they are! I wish it was the whole fellowship (why do Merry and Pippin always get the short end of the stick? Not to mention Boromir....) and not just some of them with Bilbo and Gollum but oh well. The set is still way cool. Christmas present anyone?
I ran into these guys at my local Bed Bath and Beyond but you can also buy them online here.
Any other fellow LOTR geeks feeling the awesomeness?
Not many people know about the awesome dystopian novel Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien. It came out sometime last spring and its sequel Prized was just released earlier this month. I really think that this dystopian series deserves more recognition than its been getting so I decided to do a cover comparison for Birthmarked!
Original Cover Paperback Cover UK Cover
Original Cover: I'll be the first to say that I'm not a fan of this cover. It was actually the main reason I was hesitant to read this book in the first place. I know, I know, don't judge a book by its cover. You'd think I would have learned by now. :P But anyway I don't really like the color scheme and I definitely don't like the way the hair of the girl is awkwardly "blowing in the wind." It looks really unnatural. I feel like if that girl wasn't there the cover would be 100% better. Less would be going on and it wouldn't look as messy. There is one element that I do like and that's the font.
Paperback Cover: Wow talk about an improvement! I LOVE this cover. Everything about it. The earthy color scheme, the ribbon element, the gorgeous font! If this had been the original cover I would have picked up this book no questions asked.
UK Cover: While I like this cover I think that there's just too much going on. Why does a cover need to have flowers, a character profile, AND words all overlapping? Talk about a VISUAL OVERLOAD!!! And to top it off why does the girl look bald? I will give props to the good color choices though.
So who wins? In my opinion the clear winner is the paperback cover. Its gorgeous and intriguing without being over the top. The other covers just have too much going on for me to really love them. Not to mention the hair problem in the original cover, and the lack of hair problem in the UK cover. Hehe.
Which cover of Birthmarked do YOU like best? Be sure to vote in the poll below and sound off in the comments about why you made your decision!
Just a heads up for those suggesting covers: I normally like to do cover comparisons of books that have already been released that way I can gauge whether or not a cover accurately depicts what the book is about. So if you've suggested a book that isn't released yet I probably won't be doing it till I get a chance to read the book/the book is released.
HERE IT IS GUYS!!!! The bookshelf tour that I've been promising for months now. Sorry it took so long for me to get around to doing it. Clearly I am an expert at procrastination. :P
Are there any other specific videos/posts that you guys are wanting me to do? Let me know! And this time I promise to do it right away and not procrastinate on it so much. >.<
