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In My Mailbox #29
Review: The Gift by James Patterson
Title: The Gift (Witch & Wizard #2)
Author: James Patterson and Ned Rust
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre(s): Young Adult (Fantasy, adventure, dystopia)
Source: Bought – paperback
Rating: 
Summary (Goodreads):
When Whit & Wisty were imprisoned by the wicked forces of the totalitarian regime known as the New Order, they were barely able to escape with their lives. Now part of a hidden community of teens like themselves, Whit and Wisty have established themselves as leaders of the Resistance, willing to sacrifice anything to save kids kidnapped and brutally imprisoned by the New Order.
But the One has other plans in store for them: He needs Wisty, for she is “The One Who Has the Gift.” While trying to figure out what that means, Whit and Wisty’s suspenseful adventures through Overworld and Shadowland lead to a jaw-dropping climax and conclusion: the highly-anticipated fulfillment of the heart-pounding opening prologue of book one… The Execution of the Allgoods.
My Review:
As you start the book, you are swept into the world of a fast paced story that in the end, you have trouble putting the book down. The story is interesting and well formed that you love it no matter what others might feel about it.
It’s interesting how James Patterson is always able to keep that ‘interesting’ factor alive that you never have to be told twice to buy the second book in the series. I really enjoyed reading this one as much as the first and i can’t wait to get my hands on the third and final book.
Patterson wrote this series for his son who was not interested in reading at all. I feel that this book should be given to all those who run from books. At the moment i am trying to get my brother to read this series because he runs from books of any kind. Here i am, loving books and he hates them.
In the first book i pictured Byron to be this fat kid, who bullied. You know that stereotypical image of a bully. But in this book when we see this confused, sensitive side to him i try to picture him in a more favourable way. By completely changing his appearance in my head.
Whit was rather annoying in this book with his whole crying for his dead girlfriend Celia. I wanted to smack him!
The book was short-ish and goes by super fast and you are left wanting to read more!
Related articles
- Review: Witch & Wizard by James Patterson (diaryofacambridgestudent.wordpress.com)
- Witch & Wizard: The Fire by James Patterson. (encinolibrary.wordpress.com)
In My Mailbox #21
In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. In this post you just show all the books you have either bought, borrowed, won, or was gifted for this week.
Here is what I got this week!
This bibliophile went crazy today! We had an International Book Fair here, kind of like the Book Expo America, and went a bit crazy. It’s not my fault, you surround me with books and this what you’ll get. The fumes of all the books made me loopy!
My dad found it hilarious and a bit shocking how i was picking up books and adding them to my ever growing stack without even reading the blurb to know what the book is actually about. Yeah, umm dad, that’s what we Goodreads for!
I wanted more than anything to make this a vlog but the lack of things to make that happen, sort off left me hanging. I’ll try my best in 2012. This will be my last IMM for this year.
Bought:
What did you get in your Mailbox?
Personally, i feel this is the best way to say goodbye to 2o11.
“Waiting On” Wednesday and June Celebration Begins!
June celebration begins today! *the crowd goes wild* I thought i would keep these posts together because they are definitely connected. This is the second week that i’m going to include Incarnate for my WoW and also include the author interview that i promised everyone. Enjoy!
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.
This week’s pre-publication “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is:
Incarnate (Newsoul #1)
by Jodi Meadows
About the only girl who is new in a world where everyone is perpetually reincarnated, and her quest to discover why she was born, and what happened to the person she replaced. (old description – has been updated recently)
Expected publication: 2012 byKatherine Tegen Books
1) Let’s talk about your main character. How did you think her up and is there any of you in her?
My characters tend to appear in my head fully formed. Like ideas, I don’t always know where they come from. Of course, just because they’re fully formed when they appear doesn’t mean I know them well enough to write them. It can take time to learn their darkest secrets, get their voice right, and figure out what they’d do in any given situation. Ana is no exception.
She’s both a product of her unusual situation (being new in a world where everyone is perpetually reincarnated), and the type of character who’d be most useful and fun to read about in this story. I like to think she has sass and a strong proactive-ness bone.
We do share a few traits: both of us love music, like to do things right, and have a tendency to put our feet in our mouths. (I’m trying to overcome that one. I hope Ana never does.)
2) Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?
Every step along the way has been thrilling! I’ve loved every part of this, from getting my first peek at the cover comp, to seeing the font they chose for my book, to copyediting. Yes, I even loved copyediting!
3) Have you read the WSJ article on YA books? If so what is your opinion of it?
I did read it, but my opinion is pretty complicated. I don’t think, as a whole, YA is dark. There are dark books. There are fluffy fun books, too. And there’s everything in between. The great thing about the YA category is that there are so many options. Like paranormal romance but not all the angst and brooding? There’s a book for that! Like contemporary novels but want something grittier? There’s a book for that! Want books without kissing? Got it! With lots of kissing? We have that, too!
YA is a diverse category. Sweeping generalizations can’t cover it.
I do, however, think it’s good for parents to be aware of what their children are reading, even if they don’t have time to read it themselves. There are review sites aimed toward helping parents get a better idea if a book has a lot of swearing, sex, or violence.
One of the best book-related things my mom did for me was to be interested in my reading habits. She only occasionally asked me to wait a year or so on reading a book, and if a book had content she wasn’t certain of but I’d already read it, we discussed it. She made a point to read several of my books, even if they weren’t her preferred genre. It was important for her to know what kind of stories I was into, and we had lots of great talks about characters, parts of the story we thought were good or bad, and what we hoped to see happen next.
4) Which came first, the title or the novel?
Definitely the novel. The title came about halfway through the first draft. And then got cut to just INCARNATE after HarperCollins picked it up.
5) The concept of incarnations often lead to many controversial debates. Were you hesitant at first of your book becoming victim to such debates?
Nope! Perhaps this is shortsighted of me, but I like to think people will remember that my book is fiction. I set out to write a fun story based on a premise that intrigued me. It happened to be about reincarnation. I try to deal with potentially sensitive topics in the most respectful and thoughtful ways possible. That, and write the book to the best of my ability, is all I can do.
6) What authors or writings have influenced you?
Everything is an influence, which is why it’s so important to read widely and experience as many things as possible.
There are lots of books I love, but we’d be here all day if I tried to list them all. Some of my earliest influences were Robin McKinley’s Damar books, Tamora Pierce’s Tortall books, and Mary Downing Hahn’s ghost stories. I also devoured K.A. Applegate’s Animorphes series in my early teens. Oh, the thrill of discovering universes where magic and aliens were real!
7) What kind of research did you do for the book?
Some you’d expect from the story, like music. While I did a lot of music research on my own, and I played the flute for years and years, that certainly wasn’t enough to cover what I needed for the book; two serious musicians read the manuscript and did everything they could to keep me from making a fool of myself.
I also spent a lot of time researching Yellowstone National Park, which is the area Range is based on. I talked to people who’d vacationed there, read blog entries, looked at hundreds of photos, squinted at maps, and took lots of notes on what animals and plants hung out there.
Other areas of research are not so apparent, but just as important: I studied wedding ceremonies from dozens of cultures, the best way to keep from dying when jumping from a height, how to treat second-degree burns. One of the biggest favors an author can do for herself is to question everything. Just because you think you know something about the root systems of trees doesn’t mean you know enough. Or the right things. Always double check.
8) The cover for Incarnate is absolutely gorgeous! Tell us a little about it.
Thank you! I’m very pleased with it. (And don’t feel weird about saying that since I had absolutely nothing to do with it.)
I actually did an interview about the cover with Jen Bigheart here , and answered a few more questions about it on my blog here. The cover is absolutely amazing, and I couldn’t imagine anything more perfect for my book. I’m incredibly happy about the positive response it’s gotten so far!
9) If your real life adolescence was a YA book…What would you, the main character, be like?
I don’t think I’d be a very good main character. Adventure? Saving the world? Are you kidding? I could be reading instead.
10) What is your number #1 source of angst?
Oh, there are lots of things. But a big one is disappointing people. I think most authors feel like they have a lot of expectations to live up to — their agent’s, editor’s, potential readers’ — and one thing I really don’t want to do is disappoint people who’ve put time and effort into getting my book out there. I want to make them proud.
11) Finally, tell us a little something about the book. The Goodreads description does no good!
I’ve updated the Goodreads description with the official flap copy! I don’t want to say anything else this early, so this is all anyone is getting for the time being:
NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.
NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?
HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?
Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.
Books For Kids
Join Britney and Farrah from I Eat Words and their campaign to provide books for kids! You can lean more about it from the video below:
In My Mailbox (#2)
In my mail box is hosted by the Story Siren. She started this meme as a way to put on the radar of her readers the books that she had received. She knew that she could not possible get to all of the books, and wanted to get them out there for her readers to see and promote the books. Click on her name for a link to take you to her page and find all of the other great books that other bloggers are receiving. She puts up a link on Sundays.
Library:
Giveaway Wins:
Bought:
So expect reviews to come soon! Also i will be taking part in the Jane Eyre reading challenge on Goodreads which is being done in celebration to the upcoming release of the movie.
I Yearn, You Yearn, We All Yearn! (#1)
I Yearn, You Yearn, We All Yearn is going to be about books that are going to be about books that are going to be released soon. They will all be the books that i yearn to read and have on my own shelf.
These will not be done in any particular order, i’m still deciding if i want to do them every month, every six months or every year. Actually now i’ve decided (sorry if i’m so indecisive) that they will be randomly, either according to demand or my own wishes.
Having babbled enough, its time to show you all the yearnings:
What do you think? Comment and tell me.
*These are all linked to their GoodReads pages.
The Missing by Shiloh Walker (review)
The Missing by Shiloh Walker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the very first interracial novel i have read and honestly i enjoyed it a lot. I mean i didn’t know about it well till 1/2 the book was finished but even then i was not tempted to stop reading.
The story is about a psychic girl who falls in love with the ‘rich white boy’. This only leads to her falling to fast and too hard and then being left with a broken heart. Basically not to give away the whole gist of the story but they meet again after 12 years because he needs her help with a family tragedy.
The passion between the two main characters is forever burning and even during the time they spent apart their love is still aflame. Shiloh Walker, in her book gives us the point-of-view of both characters and portrays them in such a way that one can only wonder if they’re real. The emotions are so real that the reader knows what the character is going through and it was real fun reading this novel.
Content: may too much…uhm
Profanity: mild
Storyline: Awesome!
And the Winner Is…
Note of gratitude: None of this would have been possible without Inspired Kathy for hosting this giveaway, approving my blog and giveaway. This wonderful giveaway was contributed by Erin Nicholas who i shall be forever grateful to. And last but not least none of this would have been possible without my followers. “BIG HUG”
In the future i look forward to holding even more giveaways.
And the winner is…. “drum roll”
Laurie Harrison
Congratulations!!
And the five runner-ups are….
Kate Hansel
Tien
Rad Hall
Lucys
LOra1967
Congratulations!!
All of you have upto 3 days to respond to me via email…check the ‘About Me’ section. If you fail to respond within these days then one of the five runner-ups will win (this will be done through another drawing). This will also enable me to replace that runner-up with another. Same rules apply to both parties.
P.S. If i haven’t mentioned this before the five runner-ups will receive the bookmarks only while the winner will receive both e-copy and bookmark.
Congratulations once again!!
2011 Brings Even More Jam-Packed Shelves!
Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman
Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
You know you’re in trouble when you and your best friend. Only problem is you keep this fact away from your friend.
Julie is in quite a dilemma when she finds out that her best friend since forever considers Grandison Parr, the super-cute boy, to be her Mr. Darcy. Doesn’t everyone want to find their Mr.Darcy at some point in their lives? The problem is that Julie had always had her eyes set on him but due to loyalty she suppresses the ever obvious feelings and let her friend take the lead. But the chemistry between both Julie and Grandison is ever evident. Not to mention its extremely hard to not feel anything for a person if you’re with them 24/7.
Overall this book was a super light and easy read. Definitely recommended for those who just want to relax and not rack their brains too much. I actually enjoyed reading this book and there came a point where i was super eager to find out what happens so i finished the book overnight.
The first thing that attracted me to this book was the cover. I have always been attracted to books that depict a certain old story or is based on one, like this one. Did you know that Jane Austen’s niece Anna wrote a novel named Enthusiasm which she sent to her aunt. Miss Austen then changed the name and said that it should be Who is the Heroine? Such was the case in this novel. One definitely wonders who actually the heroine is. (not really)
Breathing Books 