In My Mailbox (40)

We have had major things going on in our house these past few weeks, so I have to greatly apologize for my lack of posting. I am currently holed up in the house recouping from gallbladder removal surgery... I just took some meds so I better get this done fast! :)




So what did you get this week? Link below so that I can check it out! Thanks, as always, to Kristi at The Story Siren for hosting this MME! Have a great week everyone!

Review: Marty McGuire by Kate Messner

Genre: Children’s Chapter Book

Pages: Hardcover, 160

Publisher: Scholastic Press (May 1, 2011)

Marty McGuire would rather spend recess catching frogs in the pond than playing dress-up with the other girls in third grade. So when her teacher casts Marty as the princess in the class play, Marty's absolutely, positively sure that there's been a huge mistake. But after a special lesson in the art of improvisation, Marty comes up with her OWN plan to IMPROVE the play: Why use stuffed-animal frog onstage when a live one would be so much better? In the end, Marty's one-of-a-kind performance makes for an unforgettable show. Maybe Marty CAN live happily ever after, after all!

I was lucky enough to spend time with Kate this year at NCTE and was in awe of her the entire time. She is a beautiful lady inside and out and her personality shines in her books. I am convinced that she is also an amazing teacher. In November, when I got back from NCTE, I told Kylie about Kate and this book that she had written about a little girl who had to be in a play but really didn’t want to. My child being, well… my child, was ready to read it that second.

So we did.

And loved it!

Marty is so much like my Kylie (playing with the boys, in the dirt, catching frogs, you name it) and the thought of having to put on a dress and perform with the dress on is so far past her it’s not even funny. Marty is completely adorable and finds a way to get her way right when no one expects it (even though no one was surprised). Kylie loved the pictures too. At five, she would. We laughed at Marty’s antics and gasped at the things she did and loved every second of it.

Super cute read and I can’t wait to hear more from Marty… neither can Kylie!

In My Mailbox (39)

What?

An IMM post?

Do your eyes deceive you?!

No... I have just been a slacker! I got some great stuff to review and have a backlog so it is time to play catch up with IMM. Thanks, as always, goes to The Story Siren for hosting this MME!

Books for this week:

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott (review here)
Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Death Cloud (Young Sherlock Holmes) by Andrew Lane
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
Falling for Hamlet by Michelle Ray
Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
Red Glove (Curse Workers, Book 2) by Holly Black
Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairlyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
The Haunted by Jessica Verday
The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Karma by Cathy Ostlere
Because of You: A Book of Kindness by B.G. Hennessy
If I Never Forever Endeavor by Holly Meade
Ladder to the Moon by Maya Soetoro-Ng
No One But You by Douglas Wood

Happy Book Birthday to Red Glove and City of Fallen Angels!!

I am so excited about both of these books and hope to catch them on tour this year...
though it may be pretty hard
(come to Atlanta ladies... you know you want to!!)

Check HERE for dates and locations!!

Review: Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

Between Here and Forever
Elizabeth Scott

Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Pages: Hardcover, 256 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse (May 24, 2011)

Abby accepted that she can’t measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible.

Until the accident.

Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby’s life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it's nothing compared to living without her.

She's got a plan to bring Tess back though, involving the gorgeous and mysterious Eli, but then Abby learns something about Tess, something that was always there, but that she’d never seen.

Abby is about to find out that truth isn't always what you think it is, and that life holds more than she ever thought it could...

Abby is a character who many can relate to. She doesn’t have a lot of self confidence because her sister is the one who has caught the whole town’s attention. She has a hard time seeing past that and realizing that she is a person in her own right and it takes Tess’ accident for Abby to confront these issues. She knows that her sister will come back to them and when she does life will seemingly get back to “normal” (whatever that is). Though she takes drastic measures to ensure that Tess will wake up, it seems that her efforts are in vain; until she meets Eli. Eli is her ray of hope, but for reasons she has yet to discover.

Elizabeth Scott has, yet again, written an amazing novel. Her writing has yet to disappoint me and I was so excited to see this one in my mailbox that it immediately moved to the top of my pile. I loved Bloom and Perfect You and knew that this one would be in the same category for my reading. Her writing style, ability to write the characters so well and relatable, and presentation of plot is on that continues to astound and inspire me as a reader and writer. I loved this book just as I have all of Scott’s others and will definitely be adding it to my bookshelf (classroom and home)!

Happy reading!