kick ass giveaway!

 

DON'T FORGET - this giveaway ends tomorrow at midnight! And I have THREE copies.

 

...all you have to do is email your name, address, and this book title to: jenileerose@yahoo.com to enter!

Giveaway ends on 8/1 at midnight!

Good luck :)

middle school survival.

I love James Patterson's Middle School series, following the down and out, Rafe Khatchadorian and his life navigating the crazy of middle school, bullies and all. In the latest, Middle School: Just My Rotten Luck, Rafe joins the football, putting him side-by-side his number one enemy. But Rafe has a plan. Sticking to his true (artistic) colors, he has big plans for a secret art project that is sure to get him some needed attention, if his skills on the football field don't do that first. You heard me. Number seven is a great addition to the series that I promise will get your middle schooler reading.

you can't sit with us.

I love the concept of Adi Alsaid's latest teen read, Never Always Sometimes which is about two best friends who are NOT trying to be like those cliché high school kids, but then realize that maybe by trying so hard to be different they are limiting themselves from having the full high school experience.

When they were freshman, Dave and Julia created a list of rules that one should never do to be different in high school, including #10 - never date your best friend which is a huge bummer because Dave has been in love with Julie since day one. Honestly, some of their rules make sense, especially the one about never hooking up with a teacher, but not joining in on the high school hooray - or skinny dipping (which is rule #6) is just silly. During the last few months of their senior year, the two of them start to question the rules they made so long ago, and try to save their high school experience before they literally miss out on everything, including love.

a true life sequel.

A solid two years ago I reviewed the popular true-life adventure, The Boy Who Said No (you can find it, here) and today I am pleased to review it's sequel, Stalked: The Boy Who Said No by Patti Sheehy who in more of a novel form, picks up where she left off after Frank Mederos officially escapes Fidel Castro's Cuba and lands in Florida  where the struggles continue. It was definitely interesting to me, as an American, to read about Frank learning our customs for the first time, but not the most interesting with the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs also going on during that time. And like the first book, there was a lot of suspense and a lot of intrigue, AND my favorites, romance and espionage. All the makings of an amazing read.

the goldfinch.

I finally finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt which has been on my bucket list for a while. At just under 800 pages, it was a little overwhelming, but what a ride! Set in present day New York City, thirteen-year-old Theo Decker has just been suspended from school. Forcing his hardworking single mom to take the morning off to meet with his principal. On their way, they decide to hit the museum, after separating for only a moment, a giant explosion kills almost every person in the place. On a whim, Theo took his mother's favorite painting, The Goldfinch, hoping to see her again back at the apartment, since there was so much commotion. Only to find out that she wasn't a survivor. This event will now dictate the rest of Theo's extremely dysfunctional life. I wish I could go through every character that crosses Theo's path from then on because they are all incredible. But that would take forever. Through the hundreds of pages, I was shocked often, laughed a lot, and truly felt for our main character and all the loss that followed him. If you have some time, I definitely think that Tartt's novel is worth the read.

kick ass giveaway!

In honor of summer school only having two weeks left...how about a giveaway? For your chance to win a FREE copy of Insight Out...

...all you have to do is email your name, address, and this book title to: jenileerose@yahoo.com to enter!

Giveaway ends on 8/1 at midnight!

Good luck :)

rosie spoiler.

Once I finished The Rosie Project, I immediately ran to the library to put a hold on the next installment, The Rosie Effect which follows Don and Rosie to New York where Don works as an associate professor at Columbia and Rosie is a doctorate student in psychology. If you are new to these books by Graeme Simsion, please stop right here and go grab the first book. You will not have nearly as much fun reading the second one first.

In New York, Don and Rosie have fallen into a comfortable life. They both travel to Columbia daily and work together as bartenders a few nights a week for extra cash as Don's salary is their only income. Don is still weird, and Rosie still loves him, which is surprising to Don who always has in the back of his mind that Rosie will change her mind at any moment. And when Rosie tells Don that she's pregnant, and he runs off without a word, I'm sure she thought twice about her love for him. But Don's a planner, we know this from the previous book. He can't really handle surprises, and in this book we learn how he has been coping with meltdowns commonly found in people who are autistic. Anyways, the hits just keep on coming when Gene moves to the big apple and in with Don and Rosie after his split with Claudia, which puts a strain on Don and Rosie's relationship. And then there is the time that Don gets arrested... But I don't want to spoil everything so I'll leave it at that. This was the perfect sequel, just good as the first installment, which is quite the accomplishment.