In My Mailbox - 1

Yay! My first In My Mailbox post!
Below is a list of books acquired this past week. Can't wait to dip into them.

This post was inspired by The Story Siren and Pop Culture Junkie. You can find out more information on how to setup your own In My Mailbox here. Make sure and add yourself to The Story Siren's Mr. Linky to share the books you've recently received.

Bought:

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

-because it is part of my Debut challenge picks
-My book review

You Are So Undead To Me by Stacey Jay

-because it is part of my Debut challenge picks

-my review

The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King
-because it is part of my Debut challenge picks
-My book review

FADE by Lisa McMann
-because I fell in love with Janie and Caleb and want to know what happens next

Borrowed:

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
-because she's hot right now with her latest release of City of Glass
-My book review

Celeste by V.C. Andrews
-because it is part of my VCA challenge picks
-My book review

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life v.1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley
-because I heard that this graphic novel series was a hit at this year's NY Comic Con at the USA Today's PopCandy blog
-My book review

WAKE by Lisa McMann

WAKE by Lisa McMann
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Published: 2008
Hardback: 210 pages
Rating: 5

Inspiration: After reading all the buzz about the upcoming sequel Fade on the YA blogs

Description from author's site:
For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

My thoughts:
In-a-word: Dreamcatcher
The book is a real page turner. I zipped through this book pretty fast. I want to go back and re-read it. I liked how the author treats the dream world. Pretty believable. In some dream sequences I got some flashes of Freddie from the Nightmare on Elm Street films or maybe it's Wolverine from the X-men films. Scary. Interesting twists occur with Janie and her abilities and with Caleb (Janie's love interest) and his true identity. Loved how Janie starts to come into her own in the end. Dream manipulation has got me thinking.

Series reviews:
WAKE
FADE
GONE (release: February 2010)

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Genre: Emotional Problems
Published: 1999
Paperback: 240 pages
Rating: 5

Inspiration: The 10th Anniversary hype and the reviews on Reviewer X and Presenting Lenore led me to read this gem.

Description from amazon.com:

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth.

My thoughts:

In-a-word: Him!

Whoa! I can see how this book is becoming a classic. I love how this story unfolds until the very end where the main character, Melinda, finally breaks out of her self-induced prison to save her friend.

If you haven't already, go check out Laurie Halse Anderson reading of her poem, Listen, which is based on all the fan mail she received about Speak. The poem is just as touching as the book.

Read my movie review.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Published: 2008
Hardback: 756 pages
Rating: 5

Inspiration: To celebrate the DVD release of Twilight, I'm going to post my thoughts on the Twilight series which I read last year.

Description from amazon.com:

To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life--first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse--seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed... forever?

My thoughts:

In-a-word: Transformation

Wonderful way to end the series! Bella grows up in a non-typical way. Many things are revealed with plenty of twists and turns. Oh yeah, lots of vampire and werewolves involved.

Check out vlog brothers with Hank's song rendition of I'm Not Edward Cullen.

Twilight Series reviews:
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn
Midnight Sun (per author, this is on hold)

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Published: 2007
Hardback: 629 pages
Rating: 5

Inspiration: To celebrate the DVD release of Twilight, I'm going to post my thoughts on the Twilight series which I read last year.

Description from amazon.com:
As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

My thoughts:
In-a-couple-words: Puppy Love
More action and descriptions of the worlds of vampires and werewolves. I liked the focus on Jacob and his storyline regarding the Native Americans and Werewolf lore. This was the book that asked everyone, Team Edward? Team Jacob? or Team Switzerland?

Go Team Edward!

Twilight Series reviews:
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn
Midnight Sun (per author, this is on hold)