WWW (32) and Waiting On Wednesday (May 30th, 2012): UnWholly by Neal Shusterman

W. W. W. Wednesday is hosted by Should Be Reading a great blog that I subscribe to. Here's how it works... Each Wednesday I will answer the following questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

I'm excited to be back to my weekly memes and I couldn't have picked a better week since I have six books going at the moment...

What are you currently reading?

Arise by Tara Hudson~  This is the sequel to Tara's 2011 debut, Hereafter, which I loved (read my review HERE).  I'm only about a third of the way in, but I'm really enjoying it so far. Look for my review later this week.

Fated by Alyson Noel~  I've been looking forward to this book.  I love her Riley Bloom series, but not so much her Immortals series. So far, this book is shaping up to be a good one.  Stay tuned.

Immortal City by Scott Speer~  I'm buddy reading this one with my oldest daughter, and so far it is excellent.  It's quite original, and I'm having a difficult time controlling my urge to read ahead of her....

On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder~  My younger daughter and I are still plugging away on the Little House series.  Our goal is to finish by the end of summer.  I love this series, and this is one of my favorites!

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien~  I'm reading this to my son so that we can go to see the movie when it comes out (squee!).  This is one of my favorite books of all time and he is LOVING it!

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James~ I had to see for myself what all the hype is about.  Honestly, I'm having an extremely difficult time getting through it.  The writing is just so bad...




What did you recently finish reading?

The Difference Between You and Me by Madeline George~  This book was a decent LGBT coming of age story.  It wasn't my favorite, and I'm certainly glad I got it from the library, but I liked it well enough.  Full review to come...

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini~  This book is the sequel to her 2011 debut, Starcrossed (read my review HERE).  It was one of my my most anticipated 2012 releases, and I was not disappointed!  It was great!  Read my review HERE.

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood~  An extremely good 2012 debut.  I love stories about witches, and although I'm not a big fan of Historical Fiction, I quite enjoyed this book.  Full review coming soon.

Thumped by Megan McCafferty~ This is the follow-up to last year's phenomenal Bumped (read my review HERE).  It was just as good, and much different than I expected it to be.  It was one of those read-in-a-day books.  Full review coming soon.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth~ Another sequel to a beloved 2011 debut; I loved Divergent (read my review HERE), and I loved Insurgent just as much.  The next year is going to be painful, waiting for the final installment!




What do you think you'll read next?

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo~ This book releases next week and since I have heard such wonderful things, it has been moved to the top of my TBR.  Look for a review sometime this weekend.

Timepiece by Myra McEntire~ I am so excited to read this! Its predecessor, 2011 debut, Hourglass, was one of my favorite books last year (read my review HERE), and I've been waiting a long time to read this!  It releases on June 12th, so look my my review in the days before.

Underworld by Meg Cabot~  I loved the first book in this series, Abandon (read my review HERE), and have been looking forward to this. I just picked up my copy the other day, and am looking forward to digging in!

"Waiting On" Wednesday is another fun blog event. Hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, this event gives us a chance to talk about the books we anxiously await the release of. Since there is ALWAYS a looooooong list of books I'm waiting on (I actually keep a spreadsheet), I figured this is one that I MUST do.


I have been waiting for the cover of this week's book to be revealed for ages so that I could highlight it.  Now that it has been, I can...

UnWholly by Neal Shusterman

Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa — and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp — people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simultaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished.

Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself.

Rife with action and suspense, this riveting companion to the perennially popular Unwind challenges assumptions about where life begins and ends—and what it means to live.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

Unwind is one of my all-time favorite books and Neal Shusterman is probably my favorite YA author- he is brilliant! When I heard that he was writing UnWholly way, way back when, I was so excited I could barely contain myself. As he wrote the book, he sporadically tweeted his progress, and it made me that much more eager to get my hands on a copy! Now its release date is only a few months away, and I am beside myself with anticipation! This is, hands down, my most "Waited On" book of 2012 and August 28th can't come soon enough!

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: August 28th, 2012

My Expected Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★+++++

What are YOU Waiting On this week?

Banned Book Showcase: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Publication Date: November 7th, 2007

Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives. The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

Why I'm Showcasing This Book:

...Mostly because I can't get past the absurdity of this book having been banned. A Montgomery County, KY high school removed this book from classroom discussion and curriculum because, "Some parents have complained about five novels that contain foul language and cover topics - including sex, child abuse, suicide, and drug abuse - deemed unsuited to discussion in coed high school classes. They also contend that the books don't provide the intellectual challenge and rigor that students need in college preparatory classes.". Have any of these parents actually read this book? Lacking intellectual challenge? This is one of the most thought provoking YA books out there!!! As far as the content matters, these are high school kids! Oh my gosh! I don't know if high school kids should discuss *gasp* sex, or suicide, of abuse, or *hushed tones* drug abuse. It might warp their impressionable young minds... Are these parents THAT delusional? It's a good thing for these people that intelligence is not a requirement for having children. I really have no more to say...

Review:

This book is so well done, I barely have words. Not only is it thought provoking on so many levels (medical ethics, abortion, government, religion), it is thrilling and action packed. The characters are great; there is at least one that every type of kid can relate to. The story is plausible; I could very well see war erupting in the future over the abortion and stem-cell debates, and drastic measures being taken to end it. This book is chilling with the ideas presented, and it's hard to choose sides if you really think about each side carefully. I actually think that this is one of the BEST books out there for classroom discussion. If you have followed my blog long, you know that Neal Shusterman is my favorite YA author, and this, by far and away, is his best book. Everyone, teens and adults, need to read it!

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★+++

Grade Level Recommendation: This book deals with some sensitive issues, but I don't believe it is anything that the average middle school aged kid could not grasp. However, I think that the more mature a kid is, the more thought provoking it will be. Grades 7+ (ages 12 and up).

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop HERE**

Review: Everfound by Neal Shusterman

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Publication Date: May 3rd, 2011

While Mary lies in a glass coffin aboard a ghost train heading west, her minions are awaiting her re-awakening by bringing lots of new souls into Everlost to serve her. Meanwhile Jackin’ Jill has met Jix, a fur-jacker—a skin jacker who can take over the bodies of animals, most notably jaguars. Jix serves a Mayan god who collects Everlost coins, and has his own agenda. In the concluding volume of The Skinjacker Trilogy, Neal Shusterman reveals new sides of the characters of Everlost, who are pitted against each other in a battle that may destroy all life on Earth.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

I will start this review off by saying that if you have not read the first two books this series (The Skinjackers Trilogy), then you really MUST.  This is the third and final book, and if you try to read it without reading the first two (Everlost and Everwild), you will not only be doing yourself a disservice, but you will be totally lost.  Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I can move on to my gush-fest...

This was in my my top five most anticipated books of 2011 (and those five are not in any order because I anticipated them equally).   I loved the first two books and I LOVE Neal Shusterman.  He is hands-down, my favorite YA author.  His books are phenomenal, and Everfound is a close second favorite behind the incredibly brilliant, (not enough) award-winning Unwind.  When I read Everlost (book #1) I was blown away; it was smart, action-packed, and almost plausible.  I eagerly moved right on to Everwild, it's sequel, and liked it even better.  Then I had to wait.  Seven long months of agony...

At least I was confident when I picked up Everfound that it wouldn't fall flat.  Shusterman's writing is so reliable, and his storytelling ability so solid, that I had no doubt whatsoever that this book would top the first two.  I was NOT wrong.  This book topped the other two (no easy feat) and then some.  If I could give it more stars, I would.  

There are so many reasons I loved this book...  As always, the world building is amazing.  Shusterman really does take you there.  The character development is great.  I liked how he was able to draw his development out over the three books, but still manage to keep it all straight.  His style of character development kept me on my toes; it was like real life where people change and grow a little with every interaction they have.  Every character had flaws and weaknesses, strengths and positive traits.  Even the characters I was rooting against had their redeeming qualities and understandable motivations.  Shusterman managed to make you empathize with even the villains, showing that there are two sides to every coin (no pun intended if you've read the books).  There were so many characters, side stories, and different settings in this book that it could very well have been a disaster had it been written by anyone else, but in the end Shusterman not only weaves the stories together, but does it in a way that makes you say, "Aha!  I finally get it and this man is a genius! It was totally worth the wait!".

All in all, an amazing ending to an epic series.  If you've not read any of these books, do so.  They progressively improve (from a 5-star rating), and I wasn't disappointed in any way with how things turned out.

My Rating: ★★ ★ ★ ★++ 

Grade Level Recommendation:  I think this entire series is wholly appropriate for grades 4 and up (ages 9+). There are romantic sentiments, but absolutely nothing beyond innocent kissing and hand-holding.  Some with strong religious beliefs might take issue with its setting in a place between living and the afterlife, but I think most people understand that it's fiction.

WWW (2) and Waiting On Wednesday (April 27th, 2011) Double Feature

W. W. W. Wednesday is hosted by Should Be Reading, a great YA blog that I subscribe to.  Here's how it works... Each Wednesday I will answer the following questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you'll read next?


I don't have quite as many going this week, so this post shouldn't take me all day like it did last week.  Without further ado...

What are you currently reading?

Human.4 by Mike A. Lancaster- I picked this book up because the cover is pretty wild.  2/3 of the way through, and I can tell you, the story is pretty wild too!  This would make a great movie.  Look for my review soon!

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer- I just started this one on my Kindle.  I didn't really have any idea what it was about when I picked it up.  I just loved the cover and title (Nightshade is a beautiful, but extremely toxic flower).  Stay tuned!

Falling Under by Gwen Hayes- This is my audio selection of the week.  Again, loving the cover (anyone see a pattern here?).  Romance and intrigue.  I'm hooked!




What did you recently finish reading?

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan- Abso-freakin-lutely AMAZING!  If you are a fan of the series, just know that this is the best one yet!  I LOVED it!  I will be posting my review tomorrow.  I kind of need to let it digest some...  Carrie Ryan totally outdid herself with this one though.  I'm sad that it's the last.  Boo hoo!

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks-  This was very good, but not as good as I expected it to be, based on her Genius Wars series.  I'll have a review up later this week.  Stay tuned.

The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder- The awesome cover does this book justice.  It's exactly what you would expect it to be based on it.  Check out my review of this book by clicking HERE.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare- Two words.  Effing Awesome!  If you are a fan of the series and haven't read this, run right out and buy it!  You won't be disappointed!  If you haven't read any of The Mortal Instruments books yet, you need to.  NOW!  Check out my spoiler-free review HERE.

What do you think you'll read next?

Where She Went by Gayle Forman- I've been waiting on this one for quite awhile and am so happy to finally have it.   I loved If I Stay, it's predecessor, and I'm sure this one will be no different. It is next on my list.  As in, I will be starting it today!  Yay me!

Shine by Lauren Myracle- I'll also be starting this one this week.  My daughter LOVES Lauren Myracle and is itching to get her hands on this one, but it's definitely a "Mom reads first for content" book (my daughter is almost 10), so I need to get moving or I will find it hidden in her room like I did Twilight (when she was 7!!).

"Waiting On" Wednesday is another fun blog event. Hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, this event gives us a chance to talk about the books we anxiously await the release of. Since there is ALWAYS a looooooong list of books I'm waiting on (I actually keep a spreadsheet), I figured this is one that I MUST do. 

So, without further ado, the book I am highlighting this week is....

Everfound by Neal Shusterman

While Mary lies in a glass coffin aboard a ghost train heading west, her minions are awaiting her re-awakening by bringing lots of new souls into Everlost to serve her. Meanwhile Jackin’ Jill has met Jix, a fur-jacker—a skin jacker who can take over the bodies of animals, most notably jaguars. Jix serves a Mayan god who collects Everlost coins, and has his own agenda. In the concluding volume of The Skinjacker Trilogy, Neal Shusterman reveals new sides of the characters of Everlost, who are pitted against each other in a battle that may destroy all life on Earth.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

This is the third and final book in Neal Shusterman's Skinjackers Trilogy.  It drops on Tuesday, May 3rd, and I cannot wait!  I have been waiting for this book for what seems like forever!  It is by far and away, my number one most anticipated book of 2011!  The first two books Everlost and Everwild are two of my favorite books EVER (pun totally intended).  So, just a forewarning... The people that rely on me should expect nothing from me next Tuesday and Wednesday because I will be busy!  If you haven't read these books, you are missing out on literary greatness! (Also, check out Shusterman's Unwind, which is even better!)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Publication Date: May 3rd, 2011

My Expected Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ + + +