Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Hedgie's Must Reads: April 2014


We are almost done with spring and into summer, people! Give us a shout of triumph! I love spring, but I love summer more. I think. Maybe not. With summer, Hedgie and I have to move down into my library because it gets too hot up in my room for us. But there's worse things than camping out in a room full of books for the summer! April was a pretty even reading month. I had a bunch of good reads, some all right reads, and some bad reads. It seems like the bad reads all hit me at once, one after another, but I had a string of good ones to fortify me, and then another string of good ones for recovery. Hedgie and I had a hard time picking a best book of the month, and also a bit of trouble picking a worst book of the month, too. But we did it!

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

April 2014 Book Haul




Yes, people, that's right - Book Hauls are now going to be videos! How exciting is this?! I apologize for glare and bad lighting - I still haven't figured that out. This book haul has been split into two videos because my camera ran out of time. But, anyway, I hope you enjoy! (For the record I got 60 books this month.)

Monday, April 28, 2014

Review: Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes - Jonathan Auxier

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
Series: Peter Nimble #1
Genre: Middle Grade, fantasy
Published on August 1, 2011
Published by Amulet Books
Pages: 381
Read From: 4.16.14 - 4.18.14










SYNOPSIS
"Now, for those of you who know anything about blind children, you are aware that they make the very best thieves. As you can well imagine, blind children have incredible senses of smell, and they can tell what lies behind a locked door - be it fine cloth, gold, or peanut brittle - at fifty paces.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Guest Post: Book Opposites!

This month's guest post is just kind of a fun little subject - to take a break from the more "serious" book subjects we've been covering. Katherine and Hazel have joined me once more to answer some fun questions about book opposites! How this works is pretty self-explanatory: there is a series of questions we all answer. The books chosen for the categories are ones that we physically own. We have not borrowed them or own them on an eReader. This was inspired by a tag video Little Book Owl did on Youtube. So let's get started!

Friday, April 25, 2014

ARC Review: West of the Moon - Margi Preus


West of the Moon by Margi Preus
Genre: YA, fairy tale retelling, historical fiction
Published on April 1, 2014
Published by Amulet Books
Pages: 224
Read From: 4.13.14 - 4.16.14












SYNOPSIS
After being separated from her sister and sold to a cruel goat farmer, Astri makes a daring escape. She quickly retrieves her little sister, and, armed with a troll treasure, a book of spells and curses, and a possibly magic

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Review: Sunrise - Mike Mullin

Sunrise by Mike Mullin
Series: Ashfall Trilogy #3
Genre: YA, post-apocalyptic
Published on April 15, 2014
Published by Tanglewood Press
Pages: 466
Read From: 4.11.14 - 4.13.14










SYNOPSIS
The Yellowstone supervolcano nearly wiped out the human race. Now, almost a year after the eruption, the survivors seem determined to finish the job. Communities wage war on each other and gangs of cannibals roam the countryside. Sickness, cold, and starvation are the survivors' constant companions.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday #42 + Teaser Tuesday #3

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish 
This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic: Top 10 Characters Who Are Excellent Villains! Hm, hm, hm - this may be more difficult than I initially thought . . . . We'll see! These aren't in any particular order, by the way.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Review: The Book of Lost Things - Cynthia Voigt

The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt
Series: Mister Max #1
Genre: Middle Grade, mystery
Published on September 10, 2013
Published by Knopf Books
Pages: 400
Read From: 4.7.14 - 4.11.14










SYNOPSIS
Max Starling's theatrical father likes to say that at twelve a boy is independent. He also likes to boast (about his acting skills, his wife's acting skills, a fortune only his family knows is metaphorical), but more than anything he likes to have adventures. Max Starling's equally theatrical

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Weekend Recommendations #34

This is a (sometimes) weekly feature, where I get to go all fannish about two randomly-picked favvies (which may not actually be favorites, but got a rating of 3 or more strawberries) that I would recommend to friends!

Friday, April 18, 2014

Review: The Lost Stone + The Scarlet Dragon - Jordan Quinn

A copy was provided by the illustrator
in exchange for
an honest review.
The Lost Stone by Jordan Quinn
Series: The Kingdom of Wrenly #1
Genre:  fantasy
Published on April 1, 2014
Published by Little Simon
Pages: 128
Read From: 4.8.14 - 4.8.14













SYNOPSIS
In The Lost Stone, Lucas and Clara search for Queen Tasha's missing emerald. On their exciting adventure, they travel to all the main attractions of Wrenly: Primlox (the island of fairies), Burth (the island of trolls),

Thursday, April 17, 2014

ARC Review: Northwood - Brian Falkner

Northwood by Brian Falkner
Genre: Middle Grade, fantasy
Published on April 1, 2014
Published by Capstone Young Readers
Pages: 272
Read From: 4.5.14 - 4.6.14












SYNOPSIS
The dark forest of Northwood has never seen the likes of Cecilia Undergarment before. . . . 

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday #41 + Teaser Tuesday #2

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish 
This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic? Top 10 Bookish Things I'd Like to Own. Well, this is going to be bloody hard to do without pictures! Okay, I lied - there's pictures!! Courtesy of Pinterest! So let's get started!

Monday, April 14, 2014

Review: Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Genre: YA, contemporary, romance
Published on September 10, 2013
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 438
Read From: 4. 3.14 - 4.5.14












SYNOPSIS
Cath is a Simon Snow fan. 
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan. . . . 

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Hedgehog Life: April 2014


Hello, hello, all!

I hope this update finds everyone enjoying spring! Now that the weather has finally decided to more or less clear up, Hedgie and I are enjoying April very much. The winter clothes can go back in the closer and out comes the spring and summer stuff! Dresses and sandals and short sleeves - oh yes, I am very happy. Sweaters are nice and all, but I was getting tired of them.

Friday, April 11, 2014

ARC Review: Going Over - Beth Kephart

Going Over by Beth Kephart
Genre: YA, historical fiction, romance
Published on April 1, 2014
Published by Chronicles Books
Pages: 264
Read From: 3.30.14 - 4.3.14











SYNOPSIS
In the early 1980s Ada and Stefan are young, would-be lovers living on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall - Ada lives with her mother and

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry - Gabrielle Zevin

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Adult, contemporary
Published on April 1, 2014
Published by Algonquin Books
Pages: 260
Read From: 3.31.14 - 4.3.14











SYNOPSIS
A.J. Fikry's life is not at all what he expected it to me. His wife has died; his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history; and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island - from Chief Lambiase, the well-intentioned police officer who's always felt kindly toward him; from Ismay, his sister-in-law, who is hell-bent on saving A.J. from his dreary self; from Amelia, the lovely and idealistic (if eccentric) Knightley Press sales rep who persists in taking the ferry to Alice Island, refusing to be deterred by A.J.'s bad attitude. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, he can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly. 

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday #40 + Teaser Tuesday #1

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish 
This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic: Top 10 Most Unique Books I've Read. This was a hard topic in the fact that I have too many to pick from!! But I'll do my best.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Review: The Book of Ti'ana - Rand Miller

The Book of Ti'ana by Rand Miller
Series: Myst Trilogy #1
Genre: Adult, Neo-Victorian, science fiction
Published on November 7, 1996
Published by Hyperion
Pages: 336
Read From: 3.23.14 - 3.29.14










SYNOPSIS
These pages are your link to the story of Ti'ana - known among humans as Anna - the first woman from the outside world to enter the domain of the D'Ni. She wandered into a place she never should have seen, and her

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Divergent



Books to Movies is a feature where I review movies based off books! These reviews are for people who have read the book, so spoilers are definitely within.

Rated: PG-13





















Friday, April 4, 2014

ARC Review: The One Safe Place - Tania Unsworth

The One Safe Place by Tania Unsworth
Genre: YA, dystopian
Published on April 29, 2014
Published by Algonquin Books
Pages: 304
Read From: 3.22.14 - 3.23.14











SYNOPSIS
Devin doesn't remember life before the world got hot; he has grown up farming the scorched earth with his grandfather in their remote valley. When his grandfather dies, Devin heads for the city. Once there, among the stark glass buildings, he finds scores of children, just like him, living alone on the streets. They tell him rumors of a place for abandoned children, with unlimited food and toys and the hope of finding a new family. But only the luckiest get there. 

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Review: Hero - Alethea Kontis

Hero by Alethea Kontis
Series: The Woodcutter Sisters #2)
Genre: YA, fairytale retelling
Published on October 1, 2013
Published by Harcourt Books
Pages: 304
Read From: 3.21.14 - 3.22.14










SYNOPSIS
For rough-and-tumble Saturday, it's no fun being the only one in the family without any magical talent. Too tall, too strong, too normal, that's her lot in life - until the day she accidentally creates an ocean in the backyard. 

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday #39

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic: Top 10 "Gateway" Books/Authors in My Reading Journey. I do believe for this one, I'll stick with books. Either way, it's going to be a bit of a hard topic.