Becky's View: The Last Academy by Anne Applegate

The Last Academy by Anne Applegate
♦publisher: Scholastic Point
♦release date: April 30th, 2013
♦hardcover, 320 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone
♦source: from publisher for honest review

What is this prep school preparing them for?

Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam—and readers—stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.

Review:  The Last Academy was a very fast, fairly entertaining, but slightly frustrating read.  There is a lot I can't tell you without giving a major plot twist away, but actually someone with a good knowledge of mythology can guess right away what is really going on at this school, just from the name of the school and the name of the main villain.  I am not that someone, but I would guess that I figured out what was going on right about the time the first friend mysteriously disappears.

But the predictability was not a problem.  I actually liked how the story flowed and unfolded.  It was fun, a bit humorous at times, some good conflicts and had some good twists.  It had a good mystery running through it, too, as Camden desperately tries to figure out what happened to her missing friend and if the creepy, sinister Barnaby Charon is responsible---all while dodging the other students' bullying because they hold her to blame for the girl's disappearance.

The big problem I had with this story was the characters.   There wasn't any one character that I would say I could connect with.  Camden had her moments of funny wit, but she lost me within the first 20 or so pages when (and I don't consider that a spoiler) a complete stranger violates her on a plane and she does nothing about it.  Their actions, while some made a little more sense by the end, were just so disconnected and confusing.  The behavior and reactions of everyone (and I mean even the teachers at the school) were a bit dumbfounding and sometimes completely immature.  It made for an interesting story but one that you can't really immerse into because the character were all pretty irksome.

The ending though..well, the ending was what brought this book back from a two-cupcaker to a three.  Despite my lack of connection to the characters throughout almost the whole book, as each one's story is revealed, I felt a little more for them.  What happens at the end for Camden touched my heart so completely that I actually found myself in tears.  It made the whole book worth a read.    

If you decide to give this one a try, go in with a little trepidation, but know there is a bit of lovely payoff at the end! 

Find Anne Applegate online: Website  •   Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase The Last Academy: Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

Unbreakable
by Kami Garcia

hitting shelves October 1st, 2013 from Little Brown

description: I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Suspense, romance, and the paranormal meet in this chilling urban fantasy, the first book in a new series from Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels.

My thoughts:  I WANT THIS.  That cover just haunts me. Plus the fact that it's about ghosts..YAY! And the fact that it's by Kami Garcia---one half of one of my favorite writing duos!  This one can't come soon enough!

Amy's View: The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite by Kiera Cass
♦publisher: HarperTeen
♦release date: April 23rd, 2013
♦hardcover, 323 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦ series: The Selection, book 2
   Becky's review of book 1
♦source: from publisher for honest review

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

Review: In this second book to The Selection series, America is still torn between first her love, Aspen and Prince Maxon, yet she is the only one in the competition who finds her heart divided. The remaining girls know exactly what they want and will go to any lengths to safeguard their chance to win the Prince's heart and the crown.

The Selection series is becoming the makings for the perfect television show or movie. With the right amounts of action, love, backstabbing and competition of multiple intentions (love vs. crown).
Love and friendship is tested to the greatest lengths, as remaining girl’s lives are shattered and the real meaning behind holding the crown is presented before them. While strength of character is discovered allegiances are drawn, opening the book up to a whole new depth. 

Within the first few chapters I had my mind made up that a decision had already been forged in America's mind, yet nothing could have prepared me for the change in the books direction. I was shocked by the moments that forever changed the competition and opened America's heart, leaving it raw and vulnerable, forcing me to then question the direction of the series in its entirety.

Without giving away any spoilers to this series I will say there are moments this book took my breath away.  It caused me to laugh out loud or left a tear to roll down my cheek. While I appreciated and felt the rawness and realness behind America's heart and the choices that she was left with.

In The Elite, America’s stand is even fierier, keeping in tune with her extreme strength of character that I first feel in love with.  Where her Decisions were finally made but not until the point of no return. Causing my heart to be tugged and pulled throughout the book, not knowing if I could handle the decision that she would finally make, still I was unable to set the book down.

The highlight of this book would be the last 100 pages where my heart pounded through my chest as I raced through hoping for an answer.  Kiera Cass knows how to grab your heart and continue its hold on you by writing a book that engrosses you to the point of no return. I am breathless waiting on edge for the conclusion and an answer to this series.

Find Kiera Cass online: Website  •  Twitter 

Purchase The Elite at:  Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

New Shelf Goodies & The Weekly Nutshell {46}

For New Shelf Goodies, I'll be showing you what lovely books I acquired this week, whether from publishers, or the library, or from whatever half-crazed book-buying binge I happened to go on. :D (Inspired by Tynga's Stacking the Shelves) The Weekly Nutshell will be just that...my week here at Stories & Sweeties, in a nutshell. (inspired by Ginger @ GReads and her recaps at the end of the TGIF posts)

Here's my goodies for this week:

 For review:

Kindness for Weakness by Shawn Goodman

This looks intense.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

Love this book! So glad to get a finished copy. My review here.

Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green

This one is being compared to Pretty Little Liars, not my usual read so I'll just have to see!

The Language Inside by Holly Thompson

Loved this author's first book so much. Check out my review of Orchards here. 

Thanks to Random House, Little Brown, and Abrams for these!    

The Weekly Nutshell: 

{Tuesday} Waiting on Wednesday: Blythewood by Carol Goodman

{Wednesday}"What's New" May YA Releases & Giveaway

{Thursday} Q & A with T. Michael Martin, author of The End Games

{Friday} Review: The End Games by T. Michael Martin

 

Have a great week everyone!! 

 

Becky's View: The End Games by T. Michael Martin

The End Games by T. Michael Martin
♦publisher: Balzer & Bray
♦release date: May 7th, 2013
♦hardcover, 384 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone
♦ALA midwinter

It happened on Halloween.

The world ended.

And a dangerous Game brought it back to life.

Seventeen-year-old Michael and his five-year-old brother, Patrick, have been battling monsters in The Game for weeks.

In the rural mountains of West Virginia, armed with only their rifle and their love for each other, the brothers follow Instructions from the mysterious Game Master. They spend their days searching for survivors, their nights fighting endless hordes of “Bellows”—creatures that roam the dark, roaring for flesh. And at this Game, Michael and Patrick are very good.

But The Game is changing.

The Bellows are evolving.

The Game Master is leading Michael and Patrick to other survivors—survivors who don’t play by the rules.

And the brothers will never be the same.

T. Michael Martin’s debut novel is a transcendent thriller filled with electrifying action, searing emotional insight, and unexpected romance.

Review: The End Games was a really great surprise.  I know I've said this before, but I tend to have a hard time with zombie books.  Sometimes I just can't take the brain-eating, skin-rotting, guts and eyeballs gore.  Honestly, I only made it through an episode and half of Walking Dead before I couldn't take it anymore.  But The End Games?  Well, this story was something so much more than just another zombie novel.  At the heart of it's story, it's about two brothers, Michael and his little bro Patrick.   It's about their bond and what incredible lengths Michael will go through to make Patrick feel like he's safe in a really messed up world.  

Michael and Patrick were both incredibly well-written characters with distinct voices and a language all their own. For me, it took a bit to really adapt to it, there were terms that didn't seem to make sense at first, but much like learning a new language, once it clicks in your own head, it immerses you even deeper into their world and their bond.  Martin's whole writing style was unique and stylistic in a way that immediately gave Michael a voice that was intense, sometimes comedic, and almost always on the verge of panic at loosing control of the situation---as well as a spot-on voice to Patrick, a troubled 5-year-old whose emotions are on a constant precarious cliff.  Their connection to each other just seemed perfectly real, how brothers would be even in the most extraordinary of circumstances, both humorous and intimate. 

The world is stark and deserted, and the eeriness is only added to by the fact that the apocalypse just happened to hit on Halloween, the forgotten decorations and jack-o-lanterns everywhere adding an extra creepy flavor to the abandoned world.  This was a really different take on zombies.  It was chilling the way they would moan back any word that they heard, which is why the boys called them "bellows".  But the most terrifying part was how they evolved.  Their change from Bellows to Shrieks was heart-stopping, as they somehow learned to adapt themselves and make themselves even more dangerous.  But even with the dead walking the earth, the greatest threat the brothers faced were other human men that were quickly losing their grasp on sanity.  

Most of the story was fast-paced and intense, I do admit to feeling a little drop in attention somewhere in the middle, but it quickly picked up again and gripped me until the wildly exciting ending. I really enjoyed this debut, highly recommend to fans of zombies and especially those looking for YA reads that are perfect for boys!

Find T. Michael Martin online: Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase The End Games:  Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

In case you missed it, check out my interview with T. Michael Martin and the incredible book trailer for The End Games here!

Q & A with T. Michael Martin, author of The End Games

Visiting Stories & Sweeties today is T. Michael Martin, debut author behind the upcoming title, The End Games.  Are you all excited about this one? You should be.  It's a fantastic read.  My full review will be up tomorrow, but I will tell you now, as someone who normally steers pretty clear of zombie books, this one really drew me in and kept me turning page after page.

Welcome, Michael!

•Give us five words that sum up End Games:
Two brothers versus the apocalypse.

•Michael and Patrick both have very distinct voices.  Was there anything you did when you sat down to write to get into these characters’ heads?
Thank you!  Michael and Patrick were originally inspired by me and my own real-life little brother (also named Patrick), and although they wound up becoming VERY different people from us, I did use some of our own “secrets phrases” throughout the book.  (The most prominent one is “ya-ya.”)
Michael's voice—and by extension, the book's narrative voice—was heavily influenced by William Goldman's early novels, especially Marathon Man and Magic.  (Goldman is most famous as an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, but he also wrote some novels that read like lightning storms, including The Princess Bride.)  As for Patrick, I really wanted to create a character that felt like an authentic five-year-old, and one of the most helpful things was actually going back and watching old home movies of myself and my own siblings at that age.

•I loved the bond between the two brothers.  Do you have siblings of your own?
I'm so glad you liked it!  I have three younger siblings, the youngest of whom is Patrick, who is ten years younger than me.

•Which of the characters in End Games was your favorite to write?
Wow, what a wonderful question.  I'd have to say Jopek, I think.  His voice was a fun challenge:  I've always been fascinated by the ability some men have to be both dizzyingly charismatic and silently intimidating, so he was a blast to write. 

•Can you tell a little about how you got interested in writing?
I've been a book lover since before I could read:  Some of my favorite childhood memories are of my mom reading Berenstein Bears to me.  But the writer who made me want to become a writer was R.L. Stine.  For my generation, Goosebumps was the introduction to the grand archetypes of the supernatural, and Mr. Stine sent me head-over-heels in love with horror.  (That's partly why it was so thrilling to receive a blurb from him for The End Games!)

•Where do you hide away from the world to write?  Where’s your ideal writing space?
I love writing in libraries, particularly university libraries when the students are on break.  (The silence and emptiness are both peaceful and I-Am-Legend spooky!)  But probably my favorite place is in my home office, with the smartphone, router, and laptop turned off and my old electric Brother typewriter waiting by the window.  (Most of The End Games was written by hand or on a typewriter, and “revised” for the first time when I typed it into Scrivener.)

•What kind of books did you love to read as a teenager?
Stephen King was my hero, and still is.  Even now, I reread his The Stand once a year:  It was the central influence for The End Games, and I think it's one of the great pop masterpieces of the 20th century.
As corny as it might sound, I also found Letters to a Young Poet an enormous comfort to my (in-retrospect-kinda-sweet) teenage anxieties.  And I remember reading Nick Hornby's books and wondering how that 30-something Brit found a door into my brain.


A few fun questions:
•Favorite snack while writing?
This will make me sound geeky, but:  Low-Sugar Chocolate Caramel Detour Protein Bars.  (I'm a P90X nerd... :] )

•Favorite movie?
E.T.

•Favorite band and song right now?
I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know much about modern music!  I do like Katy Perry a lot, though, and also Lady Gaga, particularly her first album.
But my all-time favorite musician is Billy Joel:  He recorded everything from strange experimental records (The Nylon Curtain) to soaring pop masterpieces (An Innocent Man).  I've never quite understood why some critics don't like his work, but I've been listening to it for fifteen years and admire it more all the time.
•Favorite teacher from your school years?
My 12th grade AP English teacher, Amy Lohmann.

And everyone who visits Stories & Sweeties answers this one: 
•Do you like cupcakes? :)  Frosting or cake better?
Hahaha, oh dear, I am actually a man tragically scarred by an unfortunate cupcake incident!  When my wife and I were trying to decide on a wedding cake, the baker sent us home with a box of “cupcake”-sized samples.  We were on a time crunch, so we had to eat about a dozen cupcakes apiece in one night.  I was never a huge sweets person before that, and I haven't been able to look a cupcake “in the eye” since.  Don't hold it against me, Interwebs!

OH No! Cupcake trauma! How horrid! - Becky ;)

Check out the trailer for The End Games!  You all know how I love trailers that looks like mini-movies! Plus, the boy who plays the older brother is Michael's real-life little brother, Patrick!

Remember to check back tomorrow for my thoughts on The End Games! 

"What's New" May YA Releases & Giveaway

May is here, school is almost out, and the wind...UGH THE WIND.  I don't know about where you are, but here I am barely able to stop myself from being blown away.  May is always hideously windy here. So yet again...another good time of year to stay inside and read :)


So if you're new to Stories & Sweeties, here's a little run-down of this feature: at the start of each month, I do a little thing called the "What's New List & Giveaway" where you'll find a full list of the new releases in YA for the month, and entry to the giveaway. At the end of each month, one lucky winner will get to choose any new release as their prize!

First things first! The winner of March's giveaway was: Saara! Congratulations! :D

  May 2013 Releases:
Just like previous months, I've put a little l♥ve by those books that I am really anticipating---whether I can't wait to read them or I just can't wait to have my own finished copy!

{2} 
Our Song by Jordanna Fraiberg

{7}
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey ♥
Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield ♥
Coda by Emma Trevayne
Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy
Doll Bones by Holly Black ♥
The End Games by T. Michael Martin ♥
Fall of Night by Rachel Caine
Fifteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton
The Heiresses by Allison Rushby
How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski  ♥
I’m With Stupid by Geoff Herbach
Icons by Margaret Stohl  ♥
If I Should Die by Amy plum
Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan ♥
The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr
Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan ♥
Mystic by Alyson Noel
Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland
Never by K.D. McEntire
Nothing but Blue by Lisa Jahn-Clough
Originals by Cat Patrick  ♥
 Reboot by Amy Tintera
The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer
The Savage Blue by Zoraida Cordova
The Summer I became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller
Thorn Abbey By Nancy Ohlin ♥
Zenn Scarlett by Christina Schoon
 
{8} 
15 Days without a Head by Dave Cousins
Riptide by Lindsey Scheibe

{14}  
Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan ♥
The Caged Graves by Dianne K. Salerni ♥
The Color of Rain by Cori McCarthy
The Cydonian Pyramid by Pete Hautman
Golden by Jessi Kirby
Kindness for Weakness by Shawn Goodman
Ladies in Waiting by Laura L. Sullivan
Language Inside by Holly Thompson ♥
Mermaid in Chelsea Creek by Michele Tea and Jason Polan
Out of this Place by Emma Cameron
Parallel by Lauren Miller ♥
 The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
The Rose Throne by Mette Ivie Harrison
The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston ♥
School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins ♥
Spirit and Dust by Rosemary Clement-Moore ♥
The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble ♥
Towering by Alex Flinn ♥
Truth of Dare by Jacqueline Green ♥
Under the Light by Laura Whitcomb ♥
The Waiting Tree by Lindsey Moynihan
Winger by Andrew Smith
The Year of Luminous Love by Lurlene McDaniels
Yellowcake by Margo Lanagan
  
{16} 
Firecracker by David Iserson
Five Summers by Una Lamarche
 
{21}   

Absent by Katie Williams ♥
All I Need by Susane Colasanti
The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
The Dark Shore by Kevin Emerson
The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke
Night School by C.J. Daugherty
Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown
Transparent by Natalie Whipple
  
{28}

Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia by Jenny Torres Sanchez
Faerie After: Book 3 of the Bones of Faerie Trilogy by Janni Lee Simner
A Gathering of Wings by Kate Klimo

The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross
Goddess by Josephine Angelini ♥
Impostor by Susanne Winnacker
Of Triton by Anna Banks ♥
Openly straight by Bill Konigsberg
Rebel Spirits by Lois Ruby
Silent Harmony by Michelle Scott
Spirit by Brigid Kremmerer
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

(All links go to Goodreads)
Please feel free to email me if you notice any YA titles missing! :)

Giveaway Details:
One winner will win a YA May release of their choice! *see note below
• Contest ends May 30th, 2013 at 11:59 PM
• Must be 13 or older.
• Open internationally. *International winners will be required to choose a book that is available through BookDepository.com. 

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