Daily Dose (3)

This meme is new and is hosted by Holly from Good Golly Miss Holly. I personally think it's a great idea. For one, it spreads the idea of photography, which inspires others to do the same. And the goal of this meme is to get you through the week by posting inspirational images. I've collected tons of these so it's only right if I share the ones I saved with you. :)

(Holiday) Contests in the Blogosphere

Don't forget! There are numerous contests with fantastic prizes out there that you can enter. Here are some of them:

• Enter The 12 Books of Christmas Contest at Katie's Book Blog by clicking here. A few of the books are: Captivate by Carrie Jones, The Maze Runner by James Dashner and Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White. One winner will take home everything. Open only to US and Canada. Ends December 26th.
• Enter The 100 Followers Giveaway at Reading with Tequila by clicking here. A few of the books are: Blue Moon by Alyson Noel, Betrayals by Lili St. Crow, and Wake by Lisa McMann. 3 winners, 20 books to choose from! Open internationally! Ends December 27th.
• Enter YA Vampire Books's first ever giveaway by clicking here. 2 winners will receive a book of their choice at The Book Depository (the first winner will get $16 dollars to spend there). Open internationally to all countries The Book Depository ships to. Ends December 31st.
• Enter The 300 Followers Giveaway at Tynga's Urbany Fantasy Reviews by clicking here. A few of the books are: Marked by P.C. Cast, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, and Soulless by Gail Carriger. 3 winners and 14 books to choose from + 1 winner, who will win a custom-made blog button created by Tynga. Open internationally! Ends December 23rd.
• Enter The 200 Follower Giveaway at A Passion For Books by clicking here. 2 winners will receive a book from their wishlist (based on the books from The Book Depository). Open internationally! Ends December 31st.
• Enter to win The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong at Monster Of Books by clicking here. 1 winner. Open internationally! Ends December 10th.
  

In My Mailbox (4)

In My Mailbox is held weekly by Kristi at The Story Siren. Click here for details on how to participate.

This week I only have one and I received it as an early Christmas present. :)

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The Secret to Teen Power
by Paul Harrington

Since its original publication, The Secret has inspired millions to live extraordinary lives. The Secret to Teen Power makes the knowledge of the law of attraction accessible and relevant to today’s teens. It explains the law of attraction in relation to teen issues such as friends and relationships, schoolwork, and self-image. It explains how teens can transform their own lives and live their dreams, by understanding and using the power they have in their hands. The Secret to Teen Power promises to follow the path of The Secret, inspiring teens and young people to bring joy and harmony to all aspects of their lives.

Justine's Thoughts: The Jessica Darling Series by Megan McCafferty

The Jessica Darling Series
By Megan McCafferty

Warning: Squeals about this series up ahead.

Any thoughts:

A lot actually, therefore I will express all of them through bullets!

• Jessica Darling’s life in ten years. From 16 to 26. Only in five books. Definitely loved it.
• My favourite one out of the five: Perfect Fifths. My second favourite: Sloppy Firsts.
• My favourite characters (major & minor and in no specific order): Jessica Darling, Marcus Flutie, Sunny Dae, Marin, Hope Weaver, Shea (because of her hilariousness), and (to be honest) Bridget Milhokovich.
• I’ve created a list of words I did not understand while reading the series and in the end, there were more than 25. For most, I went to the dictionary and looked them up. For a few, they’re explained after being mentioned. So to sum it up, my vocabulary has quite expanded (I hope)!
• It’s written in the format of a journal by the heroine - Jessica Darling. Though in the fifth book, that changes and I think it was an excellent idea, which is probably why I loved that one the best.
• In the first four books, Jessica darling contemplates a lot (emphasis on a lot) in her journal that I found myself (most of the time) skipping some paragraphs but only skimming through carefully to make sure I haven’t missed anything important. This is because later on, she’ll most likely mention it.
• Barry Manilow is very important in the whole entire series! So don’t skip it! In fact, I’ve become a Barry Manilow fan myself after reading Perfect Fifths.
• There are a ton of quotes I’d be willing to share though I’m sure I would give away something, so...I won’t.
• I would also type out the descriptions of each book but I’m now positive that it would spoil everything so, once again, I won’t.
• BUT! Maybe I can give the description of the first book, Sloppy Firsts, which will give you an idea of what the plot is like. (It’s located down below.)
• Jessica’s maturity as she ages and as the story progresses really shows throughout the whole series.
• Perfect Fifths had me: glancing at the next page even though I’m not supposed to, hold it tight to my chest, sobbing (without tears) because I didn't want the series to never ever end, read every single word and not skip anything, and wanting to rip it into shreds out of...anger? excitement? sadness? happiness? annoyance? I don’t know, you guess. I will not spoil anything, so I’ll leave that up to you.
• You might have wondered (or not) what made me move onto the next novel and the next. It’s the plot, I tell you. And Jessica’s humorous mind. Oh, and my curiosity.
• An extremely witty series overall. I enjoyed it so, so much.

Description of Sloppy Firsts:

“My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? . . . I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?

Justine's Thoughts: Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers

Cracked Up To Be
By Courtney Summers

Pages:

214

Book Description:

When “Perfect” Parker Fadley starts drinking at school and failing her classes, all of St. Peter’s High goes on alert. How has the cheerleading captain, girlfriend of the most popular guy in school, consummate teacher’s pet, and future valedictorian fallen so far from grace?

Parker doesn’t want to talk about it. She’d just like to be left alone, to disappear, to be ignored. But her parents have placed her on suicide watch and her counsellors are demanding the truth. Worse, there’s a nice guy falling in love with her and he’s making her feel things again when she’d really rather not to be feeling anything at all.

Nobody would have guessed she’d turn out like this. But nobody knows the truth.

Something horrible has happened, and it just might be her fault.

A quote:

...there’s no such thing as a decent human being. It’s just an illusion.
And when it’s gone, it’s really gone.

Any thoughts:

This novel was fast-paced, written in a style that would make you want to continue reading and never stop. And I really, really loved it.

At first, I thought there was going to be a “before” and an “after”, explaining how Parker’s life fell apart. I was wrong. It takes place after the whole event happened, but at certain times in the novel, a retelling of what occurred will pop out...because Parker will never forget it, and the battle between her and her memories clearly show. No one knows why she’s like this, including the reader. It’s not till the very end when you get the upsetting truth. Sure, throughout the novel I was guessing why she had become like this and I’ve had some interesting guesses, however none of them were right. That’s one of the reasons why this novel is so good -- it’ll keep you intrigued.

I also wasn’t aware of the foul language that was used. But that’s what makes it realistic. Courtney Summers writes this novel with a teenage voice, exactly how a teenager would respond to certain things, which goes to say that you can relate with Parker. Parker has always wanted everything to be perfect, the way she wants everything to be. And she does, she has. But that leads to a problem as she creates her own downfall and everything falls apart from there. The message being sent out is that not everything perfect is cracked up to be which is so powerful that I will keep this book in my head for the next few days.

Teaser Tuesday (5)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

The rules are:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• DO NOT INCLUDE SPOILERS.

My teaser:

"But soft!" he said. "What light through yonder window breaks? It is Juliet, and she sounds pissed."

~pg. 226 "The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney"
by Suzanne Harper