Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten Books I read in 2013

Divergent - Veronica Roth !!

Insurgent - Veronica Roth !!!

Allegiant - Veronica Roth !!!!! Seriously. I'm so glad I got to binge read these all at once. This was just such a fantastic series. I hope the movies do the books justice!

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell  I fangirled hard over this one. I did a matching manicure and I wrote my first piece of fanfiction for this book. It's soooo amazing!

If He Had Been With Me - Laura Nowlin So much love for this novel. I had not heard anything about it and wasn't expecting much. This book will give you so many feelings. I love it so.

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green Yeah, I waited awhile before reading this. Someone spoiled it for me almost immediately, so I had to wait until I forgot the spoiler. Then, I waited because I knew I would be devastated afterwards. It was soooo good though. 

Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta This is another one where I'm a bit late to the game with. Another heartbreaking but beautiful read. 

Maggot Moon - Sally Gardner A strange little book that was just so powerful. I want more people to read this because I feel like no one has. It deserves to be read!

Winger - Andrew Smith Such a punch in the gut. When I started this, I never would have believed it would have been a top ten pick, but it is! So amazing!

Unravel Me - Tahereh Mafi Warner <3

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Review: Two or three Things I Forgot to Tell You - Joyce Carol Oates

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 2 stars  
Cover Rating: 3 stars (Plain, but not bad.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: August 21, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Page Count: 288 p.
Add it: Goodreads

It's senior year and Tink is gone. Tink was the glue that held her friends together. Now they have secrets trapped inside of themselves. The secrets are poisoning them, but who do they have to tell now?

What?! Seriously. I am not really sure what I even just read. It was a jumbled mess of conceited teenage narration. Merissa makes me want to ring her neck...she totally knows what it's like to be hungry because "Merissa could go without eating for hours...". Well congratulations! You don't have to constantly shove food into your mouth every minute of every day! Let me give a a gold star. The girls all just really annoyed me.

I didn't like the structure of this book either. The narration was weird and then it switched to a different character. We were given fragments of a story instead of a whole thing that made any sense. These girls are sheep and completely full of themselves and I had a hard time getting through this novel.

The strange stuff about Tink was interesting, but could not save the rest of the mess. This book was simply not for me at all. There were lots of connotations throughout this novel, but I could never get a good handle on them. A good pick for a book discussion, but not enjoyable to read alone.

First Line:
"'Merissa! Congratulations!'"

Favorite Line:
"Overhead the sky was losing its light."

Stuff I Got This Week

Won: thanks EpicReads

*book shimmy* tote !

After Daybreak - J.A. London

Just for Fins - Tera Lynn Childs

Pretty Crooked - Elisa Ludwig

Ashes to Ashes - Melissa Walker

When Callie's life is cut short by a tragic accident, she expects to find nothingness, or maybe some version of heaven. Instead, her spirit travels to the Prism, an ethereal plane populated by the ghosts she thought were fictional. Here she meets a striking and mysterious ghost named Thatcher, who is meant to guide her as she learns to haunt and bring peace to the loved ones she left behind. 

 However, Callie uncovers a dark secret about the spirit world: The angry souls who always populate ghost stories are real, dangerous, and willing to do whatever it takes to stay on Earth, threatening the existence of everyone she ever cared about. As she fights to save them, Callie will learn that while it may no longer beat, her heart can still love-and break.

Thanks so much EpicReads <3<3<3

That's what I got this week, what did you all get? 

Review: Not a Drop to Drink - Mindy McGinnis

Where I got it: Kindle
Rating: 4.5 stars  
Cover Rating: 5 stars (This.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: September 24, 2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Page Count: 320 p.
Add it: Goodreads

Lynn and her mom are surviving. They have a source of drinking water in a land that is dying of thirst. They have each other and their weapons. Up on the roof looking through the eye of her scope, everyone is Lynn's enemy. It's kill or be killed now and Lynn has no intention of dying. When a lot of strangers appear though, things start to shift. Lynn is going to have to make a lot of decisions, some which go against everything she's been taught.

This was an excellent dystopian read. It was a lot more gritty then I have found a lot of YA dystopian to be. This could be due in large part to the descriptive, disgusting bits that Mindy McGinnis wound into the story. Nothing like the smell of gangrene in the morning...

Lynn was a very strange character. I'm surprised she was able to go against her upbringing even in the little ways that she did. I also really liked Stebbs. He knew what it was like before, so he had a bit more personality than Lynn who was always thinking about survival.

I was surprised by this book many times. Even by the ending it still had some surprises in store for me. I honestly thought the ending was going to be a lot worse than it turned out to be. While the ending was nice, I wished it had been a bit more brutal.

I would definitely recommend you add this to your "to be read immediately pile" because it was quite excellent. I know I'll be pushing this book on to a lot of people.

First Line:
"Lynn was nine the first time she killed to defend the pond, the sweet smell of water luring the man to be picked off like the barn swallows that dared to swoop in for a drink."

Favorite Lines:
"'Why do you always quote poetry at me when all I want is a straight answer?'
'Because I need to use my English degree,'"

"But all she heard was the death rattle."

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten new to me authors...

Veronica Roth - I never thought these books would be as great as they were. It was really nice to be able to sit down and tear through them all at once.

Andrew Smith - Oh, Winger, how much you tricked me and I totally and completely fell for you.

Rainbow Rowell - If you've read Fangirl, you know what I mean. ^_^

Laura Nowlin - Broke my heart into pieces. Finny <3

Page Morgan - Who knew a book with such a pretty cover good be so fantastic ;)

Josin McQuein - Josin knew about the pretty cover = great book thing. 

Kate Karyus Quinn - I can't wait to read her next book because Another Little Piece was all sorts of crazy and spooky.  

Emil Ostrovski - A road trip unlike any other. 

Andrew Fukuda - Vampires, but better.

J.H. Trumble - Ruined my life, beautifully. 

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Stuff I Got This Week

Bought: for Kindle

Game of Thrones books 1-5

Had to get for Kindle so my arms don't fall off.

Beautiful Disaster - Jamie McGuire

Not a Drop to Drink - Mindy McGinnis

The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey

Days of Blood & Starlight - Laini Taylor

Taken - Erin Bowman

That's what I got this week, what did you all get? 

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten Books in my Winter TBR...

In the After - Demitria Lunetta

Meet Me at the River - Nina de Gramont

Not a Drop to Drink - Mindy McGinnis

No One Else Can Have You - Kathleen Hale

Poor Little Dead Girls - Lizzie Friend

The Clockwork Scarab - Colleen Gleason

The Beginning of Everything - Robyn Schneider

How to Love - Katie Cotugno

Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones

In the Shadow of Blackbirds - Cat Winters

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Miss Peregrine's Hollow City book trailer

If you all haven't seen the new trailer for book 2, here it is. Thank me later!

Review: The Time-Traveling Fashionista and Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile

Where I got it: Netgalley
Rating: 3.5 stars  
Cover Rating: 5 stars (So pretty.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: December 3, 2013
Publisher: Poppy
Page Count: 256 p.
Add it: Goodreads
Sequel to: The Time-Traveling Fashionista and The Time-Traveling Fashionista at the Palace of Marie Antoinette

Louise is once again super excited about the upcoming vintage sale even if the rest of her life isn't going so great. Her best friend has a boyfriend now and isn't spending as much time with her. Louise also still isn't loud and proud about her love of vintage and gets picked on at school a bit for her attire. She has stumbled upon some interesting information about her mother though that makes her suspect that there's more to her time-traveling than her mother lets on about. She's very excited to see where she'll end up this time, and she sees just the dress to take her there. 

THERE WERE NO ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE E-GALLEY!!! That was very disappointing, but luckily the book is out now, so I can go buy a copy and look at the gorgeous color illustrations. 

I was a bit disappointed when Louise first arrived at her location, because I was expecting full-on Egypt times and was met instead with Hollywood. Not that old Hollywood isn't fabulous in its own way, but EGYPT! So I was quite relieved to see that everything was not how it appeared to be, yet again. This was a really great addition to Louise's time-traveling. I also am really enjoying watching her current day relationships expand. There should be lots of fun to come with the next books in this series. 

This is seriously a perfect gift for a teen/tween who's a bit quirky. I think Louise is a realistic character that girls who are starting to shape their personalities can really relate too. Louise is a fun character and her adventures make me jealous of her vintage clothing sales. The illustrations alone make this book a must read, so make sure you check these out soon.

First Line:
"'Louise, what are you doing awake at this hour?'"

Favorite Line:
"She opened the creaky old trunk, tossed her secret stash of Barbie and Ken dolls onto the hardwood floor, and pulled out the poodle necklace."

Book Tour: The Time-Traveling Fashionista and Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile

I have a super fun treat for you guys today. As some of you may know I really enjoy the Time-Traveling Fashionista series. I may not be anyway close to a fashionista, but I do love traveling back in time. The newest book in this series by Bianca Turetsky came out yesterday, this ones sounds particularly interesting because it takes place in Egypt, The Time-Traveling Fashionista and Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile. I always wished we could study more about Egypt in school, it's such a different place and period. Her first book was set on The Unsinkable Titanic and the second was in the Palace with Marie Antoinette. These books have the most gorgeous illustrations to go along with the story so you can see exactly what everyone is wearing. This are fun novels and I highly recommend that you check them out. So now, without further ado, I bring you an excerpt from book #3...

When Louise left the bedchamber and entered the covered arcade to deliver the mammoth scroll to Cleopatra, the first thing that hit her was the intense heat. It felt as if she were baking in an oven. It had to be over a hundred degrees! Way over, she thought, wiping a torrent of sweat already running down her face. She glanced down and discovered the back of her hand was covered with smudged red rouge and greasy black eyeliner. She didn’t even want to know what Charmian’s makeup was looking like right now. The air wasn’t like Connecticut in August, though. It was a dry heat, with no humidity, like being in a sauna…or a desert. No humidity means no frizzies!Louise thought, instinctively reaching up to her head and accidentally pulling off a bob-length wig. Wait, where was her hair? She dropped the scroll on the floor and frantically felt the top of her prickly head, which was shaved close to the scalp. Charmian was bald! Startled, Louise quickly put the dark braided wig back in place and nervously looked around to see if anyone had seen her gaffe. Luckily, no one had. She tried to check out her reflection in the polished marble wall and could barely make out a blurry version of her familiar face under a wig that was completely askew. She hastily adjusted her way-off-center part, picked up the scroll, and kept walking. If she was with Cleopatra, then she was probably in Egypt, Louise deduced, halfway around the world and a few thousand years from her real life. Whoa. It was an exhilarating and terrifying realization. She had definitely never been this far from home before. (p. 69-70)

Bianca Turetsky is the author of the stylish Time-Traveling Fashionista series, which has been translated into nine languages. After graduating from Tufts University, Bianca began working for artist/filmmaker Julian Schnabel. She managed his studio for the past 11 years and was his assistant on the Academy Award-nominated film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. She lives in a cozy studio apartment in Brooklyn, New York, that houses her very extensive and much-loved vintage collection.

Visit her website: http://timetravelingfashionista.com/

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten 2014 Release I NEED RIGHT NOW!

Ignite Me - Tahereh Mafi
Lair of Dreams - Libba Bray

Idols - Margaret Stohl

The Retribution of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin

Hollow City - Ransom Riggs

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me - Julie Anne Peters
The Inventor's Secret - Andrea Cremer

The Geography of You and Me - Jennifer E. Smith

Tsarina - J. Nelle Patrick

Don't You Forget About Me - Kate Karyus Quinn

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Stuff I Got This Week

For Review: IT! books, Thanks.

The Dirty Side of Glamour - Tyler Shields

I've already looked at this book and it is amazing. You can check out Tyler's website for a glimpse at the photos that are in this book. I will be doing a bit more of a review later on. I'm so glad I received this book for review and got to learn about this incredible photographer. 

That's what I got this week, what did you all get? 

Review: The Paradox of Vertical Flight - Emil Ostrovski

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 4 stars  
Cover Rating: 4 stars (Pretty nifty.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: September 24, 2013
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Page Count: 256 p.
Add it: Goodreads

Jack has made some mistakes in life, but in his defense he's young and a romantic, so his ideas are little bit off. The morning of his eighteenth birthday he is contemplating suicide, but then his cell phone rings. This call will bring him to the complete opposite side of suicide. His ex-girlfriend's has just given birth to a child, that he helped create and she wants him to come. At the hospital Jack finds out that she's giving the baby up for adoption, but Jack isn't ready for that and ends up kidnapping him. Jack just wants to instill some wisdom to his son before he is no longer "his son". Although Jack might be the one gaining wisdom on this wacky road trip that ends up dragging a few more people along in it's winds. Jack's friend, Tommy and Jack's ex both end up on this strange trip to show Socrates the world and find out what all this means for them.

I wish there were books like this when I was in high school. If there were, I certainly couldn't find them. I loved the philosophical aspect of this novel. The great debates about existence and the meaning of everything. These are the kind of conversation my friends and I would have (not always under the influence of alcohol). Jack's head was a strange place and he just wasn't sure where he was going in life. It's hard to understand that not many people know what they are doing, they just go along for the ride.

This was a short read but chock full of philosophical quandaries like: why? and why? and WHY? This was a story about growing up and what that means. About choosing a path and being okay with the changes you have to make on the way. A story about responsibilities and how they change as your life goes on and how you aren't responsible for the world. It's okay to ask for help and it's okay to not know the answer to everything, as long as you're willing to try. In the end, the main goal for everyone should always be to be happy.

First Line:
"The rain blurs the world outside the diner, turns it into a mirage that shifts in the wind and the water and the lights."

Favorite Lines:
"'Could be a trap,' he says, and even in the dark, I know we're both thinking of the same thing, Admiral Fish-Face in Revenge of the Jedi going, 'IT'S A TRAP.'"

"Our border crossing is pretty anticlimactic, as Vermont looks exactly like New Hampshire."

Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children : the graphic novel - Ransom Riggs & Cassandra Jean

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 4 stars  
Cover Rating: 4 stars (A bit strange the mix of photos and illustrations, but distinguishing.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: October 29, 2013
Publisher: Yen Press
Page Count: 272 p.
Add it: Goodreads
For my review of the novel, click here.

Jacob's grandfather told strange fantastical tales. When he died under mysterious circumstances, Jacob went to his home island to try to solve the mystery of his grandfather's tall stories. There he meets a different group of people who have plenty to tell him about his grandfather's life and his grandfather's stories.

It's sort of hard to review this because it's the same story just with illustrations and less elaborateness. For its briefness, I like it a bit less than the actual novel. This would be a great read right before you read Hollow City, that way you can refresh your memory of the story without having to reread the whole novel.

The illustrations were pretty fab and they gave a different feel to the story. I wouldn't have minded if they were a bit creepier or stranger, but they were pretty good.

We learned less about the characters in this which is a bit disappointing, because I really enjoyed knowing more about each of them. It was a good, quick read though and it was nice to see this great novel take on a different format. Now I will just eagerly await Hollow City.

First Line:
"Growing up, Grandpa Portman was the most fascinating person I knew, and I begged him to regale me with stories whenever I saw him."

Favorite Line:

Review: Ketchup Clouds - Annabel Pitcher

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 4 stars  
Cover Rating: 5 stars (It's so pretty. I'm not sure why they didn't just have her hold a fake bird though. It's not photoshopped correctly, so don't look to closely at that bit.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: November 12, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 261 p.
Add it: Goodreads

Zoe has a secret she wants to confess, but there is no one she can trust enough to say it to. That's how she ends up writing to Texas inmate, Stuart Harris. Of course, he can't write back since she uses a fake name and address. Regardless, at night in her shed she writes to Mr. Stuart Harris and tells him her story. It seems like a simple story about how a girl fell in love with two boys—the twist is that she is responsible for the death of one of them.

This was such an interesting story. I almost wish we somehow could get a reaction to Stuart Harris reading these letters. I wonder if they ever even got to him. The one thing I wasn't too found of was the sexy-time details Zoe put into the story. I don't know that it fit with her writing to this stranger. If she was just writing letters with no intent to send them, or writing a journal there could be lots of sexy scenes, but it seemed really awkward her writing about these things and then sending them to a strange man. I guess she probably just thought of him as a sounding board, or confession. She never would get anything back from him, so it's almost like he didn't really exist for her.

I knew right off how she did it, I just couldn't figure out who she did it to. Even when I thought that I had maybe figured it out, there was no really way to be sure. I can understand her predicament with the two boys though. This doesn't seem like a tough situation to fall into. A little more communication could have made lots of things turn out differently.

The ending was bittersweet, but totally perfect. It was honest. A very honest ending that fit. As much as I wanted things to go differently, they happened for the best.

If you're looking for an interesting and honest read, check out this story. Zoe is a very really character and she just wants to confess her story and try to find some closure.

First Lines:
"Dear Mr. S. Harris,
Ignore the blob of red in the top left corner. It's jam, not blood, though I don't think I need to tell you the difference. It wasn't your wife's jam the police found on your shoe."

Favorite Lines:
"I got your contact detail off a Death Row website, and I found your website because of a nun, and that's not a sentence I ever thought I'd write, but then my life isn't exactly turning out the way I'd imagined."

"Sunshine punched me between the eyes with a bright yellow fist."

Waiting on Wednesday

This week I'm waiting on The Winner's Curse. That cover is all sorts of awesome. It's gorgeous, and she's holding a knife! The summary only sweetens the deal. I'm a sucker for a secret.  


Winning what you want may cost you everything you love...

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

 

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Review: Etiquette and Espionage - Gail Carriger

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 3 stars  
Cover Rating: 5 stars (Oooooo ahhhhhh)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 307 p.
Add it: Goodreads

Sophronia isn't a typical girl, at least not the typical girl her mother would like her to be. She's always climbing things and getting into mischief. When her mother receives word that Sophronia is accepted to a finishing school, she ships her off with barely a second look. Sophronia has very little interest in becoming a proper lady, but on the way to the school she starts to realize that something is amiss. This isn't your typical finishing school at all. Dancing is taught and death, Etiquette and Espionage. Sophronia may not mind becoming this kind of proper lady, it might suit her just fine.

I nearly put this book down in the first few chapters. It seemed a bit too silly for my tastes. The characters names were a bit out there (I mean, Barnclegoose, really?). I'm glad I kept with it though because there was plenty of excitement and enjoyment to be had. I think this may be my first Steampunk novel too, which is odd because it has always fascinated me... I could be wrong about this assumption, but as I am writing this I can not think of a Steampunk novel that I have read prior to this one.

Sophronia was at least the kind of girl I could get on with. Plenty of spunk and that one. She was a very courageous character and I liked that. Sneaky around and avoiding getting caught are things I would do if sent to a finishing school. There was certainly never a dull moment throughout this novel. Plenty of action and excitement and quite a few mysteries sprinkled about too.

This is a delightful read if you're looking for something fast paced and a bit odd. I'm hoping the next book really sucks me into this series so that I can fall in love with it like so many others have.

First Line:
"Sophronia intended to pull the dumbwaiter up from the kitchen to outside the front parlor on the ground floor, where Mrs. Barnaclegoose was taking tea."

Favorite Line:
"Her eyes glazed over slightly as she contemplated sparkles."

Review: Season of the Witch - Mariah Fredricks

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 3 stars  
Cover Rating: 4.5 stars (creepy)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: October 8, 2013
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
Page Count: 251 p.
Add it: Goodreads

What happens during summer should stay in summer.
Toni had a bit of a wild summer and now that school is starting she's going to have to face her actions head on. She didn't realize what she was getting herself into at the time. She's not the only one to blame, but she's the only one getting the blame. Oliver has gotten back together with his girlfriend Chloe, but Chloe is out for blood. Who knew a kiss could be so dangerous? Toni doesn't know what to do to get Chloe and her friends to stop harassing her, but Cassandra does. Cassandra says there's a better way to get even, a bit of hocus pocus. Toni's not sure she really believes in this stuff, but when it works she starts to change gears. Cassandra doesn't know how far is too far though and things get out of hand fast. Toni is going to have to help Cassandra with her own dark secrets before more people get hurt.

I was pretty excited to read this book. The description had this nice Carrie vibe about it and I saw Toni standing in the middle of a burning down school with a small grin. This book wasn't Carrie, but it wasn't bad either.

One of the things I had an issue with was Toni. She complains about how terrible Chloe is and the bullying and everything, but Toni isn't a nice person. Take this abbreviated excerpt:
"....'I would like us all to rise and join hands, please. We will now recite the school civility pledge.'....I take Ella's hand and offer my other to Bill 'Pigman' Pullman on my right. He grins maniacally, like I've offered him some other body part to touch. I say, 'Drooling's not pretty, Bill.'....'I pledge to be civil and caring to my fellow students. To create a welcoming environment free of hostility and prejudice.' I pray that Chloe is listening."
While she's hoping that Chloe is listening to the Civility Pledge, Toni insults another student. For no reason. There are plenty of snide remarks from Toni and while some of them could be in jest, others just seem glossed over. We're supposed to feel bad for Toni, but it's hard. I realize that the bullying that Chloe is orchestrating is much worse than the comments from Toni, but I can't feel that bad for someone being bullied when they aren't that nice themselves.

It's hard to really enjoy a story when there is no one to root for. I didn't end up really liking any of the characters. Cassandra was all kinds of crazy and Toni and Ella are not great people either. Ella is supposed to be this super nice person, which she is to a point. Gossiping does not make you a nice person. This book seemed to be more than the story though.

The author wanted us to look at this scenario and see all the ugly that can crop up from things left unsaid, or sexist issues. Toni did some sexual things over summer, a guy would have been proud and praised. Toni gets harassed. I didn't feel like that was the central point in the book though and it seemed as if the author was trying to shove too many things in at once.

It was a quick and intense read though. Something worth giving a shot. There are some shocking things which raise the interest level a great deal.

First Line:
"You know how it is with little girls."

Favorite Lines:
"Ella thinks she's sincere, but really, she's just stirring up trouble. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble."

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten Seven book covers I'd like to redesign

Death Cloud - Andrew Lane (To be fair, they did redesign these without the Justin Bieber kid, but they still aren't that fantastic.)

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart (This is such a great book and such a poorly photoshopped cover. There are good aspects to it, but execution is lacking.)

Forgotten - Cat Patrick (This was another good book with not a great cover. I just want something more fitting the story.)

As You Wish - Jackson Pearce (This cover is just kind of plain. I want more for it so that it can stand out.)

Pretty Girl-13 - Liz Coley (Bleeding Cowboy. Not that I need more than that to hate the cover, but it's a little hard to interpret. The photo isn't awful though.)

Graceling - Kristin Cashore (Meh. I don't mind the cover, but I wouldn't mind it spruced up a bit.)

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (Will there ever be a good cover for this book? Honestly I think the best one so far is the movie cover, and I hate movie covers. This book is so awesome though and all the covers make it look so blergh.)

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Stuff I Got This Week

For Review: thanks Harpercollins and St. Martin's

The Trap by Andrew Fukuda

My review of book 1

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories vol. 3 - HitRECord

my review of book 1 and book 2

That's what I got this week, what did you all get? 

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten Sequels I can't wait to get my hands on... 
So I couldn't think of that many sequels that I want to read that aren't out yet, so some of these are books I want authors to write but they aren't necessarily sequels. Of course, directly after finishing this post I realized that I didn't include The Retribution of Mara Dyer. So consider that included now.

Ignite Me - Tahereh Mafi (I need more Warner!) 

Lair of Dreams - Libba Bray ( I need another nice creepy tale.)

Idols - Margaret Stohl

Hollow City - Ransom Riggs

Meridian - Josin L. McQuein

The Interrupted Tale - Maryrose Wood

I want a new YA novel from Rainbow Rowell!!!! I loved Fangirl and Eleanor & Park. She has a new book coming out soon, but it's an adult book. MORE YA PLEASE!

Inland - Kat Rosenfield (There's no cover for this and only the briefest of summaries, but I want it. Amelia Anne was so fantastic!)

I also want a new book from Arlaina Tibensky. And Then Things Fall Apart was just such a great novel and I want Arlaina to dazzle me again.

I want the tears that John Green provides. I want characters from him that I care so much about that it hurts to lose them. I want a book emotionally like The Fault in Our Stars.

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.