Justine's Thoughts: Wake by Lisa McMann

Wake (Wake #1)
By Lisa McMann

Source: Library
Pages: 209
Book Description:

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people’s dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie’s seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can’t tell anybody about what she does -- they’d never believe her, or worse, they’d think she’s a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn’t want and can’t control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else’s twisted psyche. She is a participant. . . .

A quote:

Dreams aren’t memories.

Any thoughts:

Wake certainly captured my interest with its plot about dreams, especially with a character like Janie who has the ability to be in other people’s dreams. Although it does sound pretty cool to know what other people dream of, to Janie, it’s the worst possible thing.

The concept is easy to understand. Lisa McMann writes in third person narration with simplicity and a touch of poetic voice. The sentences are fairly short, almost lyrical. A technique like this carries an eerie atmosphere and makes the plot flow easily. It was fascinatingly quick to read.

And there’s the romance part, which I really loved. But Janie’s love interest has secrets of his own. I cannot reveal more, unfortunately.

Lisa McMann can tell a thrilling, haunting story that is sure to keep you in mystery and out of your seat to go and get the next instalment, Fade. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing!

Waiting on Wednesday (43)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine.

Other Words for Love
by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

Release Date:
January 11, 2011

Description:

Ari Mitchell feels invisible at her Brooklyn high school. Her hair is too flat, her style too preppy, and her personality too quiet. And outside school, Ari feels outshined by her beautiful, confident best friend, Summer. Their friendship is as complex and confusing as Ari’s relationship with her troubled older sister, Evelyn, a former teenage mom whose handsome firefighter husband fills Ari’s head with guilty fantasies.

When an unexpected inheritance enables Ari to transfer to an elite Manhattan prep school, she makes a wealthy new friend, Leigh. Leigh introduces Ari to the glamorous side of New York—and to her gorgeous cousin, Blake. Ari doesn't think she stands a chance, but amazingly, Blake asks her out. As their romance heats up, they find themselves involved in an intense, consuming relationship. Ari’s family worries that she is losing touch with the important things in life, like family, hard work, and planning for the future. Meanwhile, Summer warns her that what she feels for Blake is just an infatuation. Not real love. But Ari’s world is awash with new colors, filled with a freshness and an excitement she hasn’t felt in years.

When misfortune befalls Blake’s family, he pulls away, and Ari's world drains of color. As she struggles to get over the breakup, Ari must finally ask herself: were their feelings true love . . . or something else?

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Ooh, contemporary. This sounds appealing, especially with fabulous cover. Lovely colours!

Daily Dose (39)

This new meme is hosted by Holly from Good Golly Miss Holly.
(Click the photo to see its source!)

In My Mailbox (29)

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

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From the library:

Gone (Dream Catcher book 3) by Lisa McMann

Won:

Shadowland (The Immortals book 3) by Alyson Noel

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Since I live in Canada and it's Thanksgiving weekend, I would just like to say to other Canadians:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Friday's Finest (34)

Friday's Finest is a new meme hosted by Steff & Justine from A Bookful of Thoughts.

Rules:
~Post a quote that really stuck to you after reading it in a book.
~Make sure it isn't a spoiler!
~If you'd like, expand on what you think it means and why you chose it.

A good friend keeps your secrets for you. A best friend helps you keep your own secrets.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Fantastic quote about friendship. And right now, I just can't stop reading this book.

A beautiful weekend ahead! Bright and sunny but cold and windy! That's autumn right there. How lovely it is!

Justine's Thoughts: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1)
By Richelle Mead

Source: Library
Pages: 332
Book Description:

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess; a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth’s magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest and most dangerous vampire -- the ones who never die.

The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa’s best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them.

After two years at illicit freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir’s Avademy, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. Rose will continue her Dhampir education. Lissa will go back to being Queen of the elite Moroi social scene. And both girls will resume breaking Academy hearts.

Fear made Lissa and Rose run away from St. Vladimir’s -- inside the Academy’s iron gates, their world is even more fraught with danger. Here, the cutthroat ranks of the Moroi perform unspeakable rituals, and their secretive nature and love of the night creates an enigmatic world full of social complexities. Rose and Lissa must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever . . . .

A quote:

Then...it was like...I don’t even know how to describe it. Color and light and music and life and joy and love...so many wonderful things, all the lovely things that make up the world and make it worth living in.

Any thoughts:

If there was one word that I kept thinking about throughout Vampire Academy, it would be passion. Why? Because everything is passionate -- Lissa and Rose’s friendship, their love interests (totally to die for), the call to act for revenge, the rumour-spreaders at school...I could go on and on. It’s just full of passion and strong emotions that it made it so difficult to stop reading.

So the girl on the cover (who I swear I thought was Angelina Jolie at first. Yes, people have agreed.) is most likely the person who narrates the story -- Rose. She is fierce and witty and clever. But most of all, she has a sense of duty to protect Lissa, which she feels obligated to do (it’s a very long story that involves many names I cannot pronounce). Rose always has the best comebacks, the funniest retorts to anything that comes her way. It’s her way of defense, a way of showing that she is fearless and unbreakable. Deep inside, she’s a normal teenager that has insecurities of her own.

The plot never failed to bore me. In the beginning is where the introductions pop in, but with a narrator like Rose, it was different. Of course it took time for me to grasp the different sorts of vampires and the rules and what they can and cannot do. Eventually, I became familiar with the details. Then as the novel progressed, I found myself being absorbed into the world of vampires Richelle Mead has created. With a shocking yet satisfying ending, she just proved that anything can happen at anytime.