Make a Wish: Books about wishes

In my last post, I reviewed three books that dealt with covert operations.  It was fun to review three books at once, so I thought I'd continue with the themed reviews.  Now, I turn my attention to two books that I kept getting confused before I read them.  Blame it on the titles and the blue covers.


If you were given three wishes, what would you wish for? 

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As You Wish by Jackson Pearce
(Hardcover, HarperTeen, September 2009)

When Viola's boyfriend breaks up with her, Viola feels like her whole person is broken.  She no longer fits in at school.  When she makes a wish to belong, a jinn appears in her room, saying that he will grant her three wishes.  But as Viola's wishes dwindle down, she realizes that her main wish is to always be with Jinn.  As You Wish is a thoroughly enjoyable look at what really happens when wishes come true.  Viola's revelations about friendship and about herself come across as genuine and heartfelt and the ending will leave you wishing that a jinn would come grant you three wishes.

Wish by Alexandra Bullen

(Hardcover, Scholastic Point, January 2010)

Life isn't worth living for Olivia when her twin sister, Violet, dies.  Then she comes across a seamstress who makes her magical dresses—dresses that make wishes come true.  Olivia wishes for Violet to come back and the next thing she knows, her ghost of a sister is following her around.  With Violet back in her life, Olivia doesn't need any more wishes.  Touching and heartbreaking, Olivia's story is a glimpse into a family trying to cope after the loss of a child and sister.  Wish is filled with the normal teenage drama but it offers a tear-jerking twist and forces the reader to acknowledge that magic can only do so much to make us whole again.

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Even though these books have similar titles and covers, they each deal with wishes in a different manner.  Whereas the magical seamstress in Wish appears sparingly, the jinn in As You Wish is one of the main characters.  As You Wish is a lighthearted look at fairy tales, as opposed to Wish which takes on the darker subject of death and how our lives change when we lose someone we love.  If you're looking for similarities, interestingly, the main character of As You Wish is named Viola and the dead twin sister in Wish is named Violet.  Neither book seemed as if it was the start of a series; although, Wish does have a beautiful epilogue that leaves open the possibility of a sequel.

Spies, Thieves, and Secret Societies

Don't we all just love a good mystery? I grew up reading Nancy Drew and it's exciting to read new books that bring back that nostalgia for cloak-and-dagger writing. Here are three books coming out in early 2010 that will have you thinking black jumpsuits, Mission Impossible music, and magnifying glasses.

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Heist Society by Ally Carter
(Hardcover, Disney Hyperion, February 2010)

Ally Carter is well-known for her Gallagher Girls series, featuring junior spy Cammie the Chameleon. In Heist Society, Carter turns her attention away from spies toward thieves. Kat's family have been thieves and con men for generations. When Kat tries to leave the family business and lead a normal teenage life, she finds herself pulled back into the con world when she has to assemble an all-teenage crew and steal a painting to save her dad. Filled with excitement, cross-continental mayhem, and Carter's trademark humor, Heist Society is going to give the Gallagher Girls a run for their money.

The Naughty List by Suzanne Young

(Paperback, Razorbill, February 2010)

Tessa is captain of the cheerleading team, a team that also happens to be a group of spies. Tessa and the other girls work undercover to catch the school's cheaters. Responding to text alerts, the squad investigates all boyfriends suspected of cheating. Even though this sounds silly, the book does a great job of examining fidelity and trust in relationships. The spy squad is a bit over the top at times, but readers will find themselves rooting for Tessa when her own boyfriend makes the list of suspected cheaters. Be prepared for somewhat of a cliffhanger ending though as there is a planned sequel, So Many Boys, due out in Summer 2010.

The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy
(Hardcover, Egmont, April 2010)

Jess Parker has always lived on the fringes of high school popularity so when she's invited to join an exclusive club called The Cinderella Society, she doesn't hesitate. She soon learns that this secret society has world-reaching goals, the primary one being to triumph over the Wickeds, an evil group that torments innocent high school girls. The Cinderella Society is an interesting twist on high school cliques and Jess Parker is feisty and likeable. Although I have never been interested in sororities, this book was a fun read.

The Heart is Not a Size by Beth Kephart Book Review

The Heart Is Not a Size by Beth Kephart
(HarperTeen, Hardcover, March 2010)
Rating:

Georgia and Riley have been best friends for years.  So when Georgia sees a flyer for a community building trip to Juarez, she has no trouble enlisting Riley to join her.  Both girls convince their parents that this trip is a good idea, a way to build not just a community, but character.  However, in Juarez, Georgia finds that not everything can be carefully managed and secrets can't always be kept.


Georgia lets us slowly into her life, revealing little details about herself and about Riley and they secrets they keep from each other.  I read The Heart Is Not a Size in one sitting; I couldn't put it down until I knew whether Georgia would overcome her panic attacks or whether Riley would admit she had an eating disorder.  I also loved that Georgia and Riley reminded me so much of me and my best friend in high school.  One smart and serious, the other beautiful and bubbly.  For me, this book is a novel about friendship, about the sacrifices we make for our friends, and about how important it is to have that one person you can count on.

The Heart Is Not a Size is also about a border town called Juarez and Georgia's experiences there.  I've never been to Mexico, but it was easy to close my eyes and picture the town.  Kephart effortlessly transports the reader to a gritty town inundated with sun and sand.  The descriptions of Juarez and it's people are so vivid, and Georgia's desire to help them comes across on every page.  The trip is as much an adventure as it is a learning experience for her and for the other teens in her group.

Like all of Beth Kephart's books, The Heart Is Not a Size is a must-read for teens and for anyone working with teens.  Kephart isn't afraid to tackle the big issues like parental pressure, anorexia, and death, and she does it all with compassion, honesty, and beautiful writing. 

Two Days Left to Nominate for Cybils

Only two days left to nominate books for the Cybils award!  Check out my earlier post on the Cybils and go nominate by using this form.  It's lots of fun, promotes children's books, and I'll be judging the YA Category come January so head on over now and nominate.

Wondering what to nominate?  My friend Alyssa has a great post about what's missing from the nominations.

I haven't reviewed anything in awhile because I've been hanging out with my lil' brother, so to quench your review thirst, here are two reviews of some of my favorite fall books from fellow Cybils YA category peeps:  a review of Lips Touch from Tirzah and a review of Going Bovine from Carrie.  I'll be back to regular reviewing next week.

Nominations for Cybils 2009 are now open!

Nominations for Cybils 2009 are now open and this year there is a new, very handy nominating form. The Cybils are children's and young adult book awards given out every year. Nominations are open to everyone and then each category is judged by book bloggers. Here's the details you need to know before you nominate:

• Nominations are open from October 1-15 (so go nominate now!).
• Any book published between last year's contest and this year's contest is eligible.
• Books may only be nominated once and you can only make one nomination per category.

Last year, I was a panelist in the Fantasy/Science-Fiction category and this year, I am so excited to announce that I'm a judge in the YA Fiction category. As a judge, I read the top books as selected by the YA Fiction panelists (here's a link for the full list of YA Fiction Judges and Panelists). Since my reading duties won't officially start until January, I'm going to try to highlight nominated books from the other categories on my blog between now and December 31st.

So, decorate your blog with some Cybils bling and go nominate great books now! Last year's nominations were superb and I can't wait to see what is nominated this year. Good luck to all of the panelists!!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week Reading Meme

My Friend Amy put together this wonderful thing called Book Blogger Appreciation Week.  Full of love for book bloggers, this week gives us the opportunity to highlight our favorite blogs and participate in some great community activities.  Below is the official BBAW Reading Meme.  Feel free to copy and paste into your own blog and play along!

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?  Not usually.  However, I can often be found chugging some chocolate milk while reading...
Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of
writing in books horrify you?  I only write in books that I'm reading for classes or bookclubs.
How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?  Neither.  My hands have a "photographic" memory and I can flip to within 1-2 pages of where I last stopped.
Laying the book flat open?  Ehhh, only in old copies or ARCs that I don't plan on keeping.
Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?  Mostly fiction
Hard copy or audiobooks?  Hard copy.  Audio books disrupt my enjoyment of books because usually the chosen narrator is not at all similar to my internal reading/character voice.
Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you
able to put a book down at any point?  I don't have to wait til the end of chapters but I do have to wait until a good break in the action.
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?  Sometimes, depends on how interesting the word is.
What are you currently reading?  Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
What is the last book you bought?  Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can
you read more than one at a time?  More than one at a time, but only if the books are just so-so.  If I really like a book, I plow straight through it.
Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read? Anytime, anywhere
Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?  No preference.  Series are fun because it eliminates the question of what to read next but they are also frustrating if you have to wait for the next book to come out.
Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?  Yes!  Undercover by Beth Kephart.  It's a book that really changed how I look at teen literature.  The period of time when I was reading Undercover is about the same time that I became passionate about teen books and working with teens, so this book will always have a special place in my heart.
How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?) There is really no method to my book organizing madness, although, I guess if I had to pin it down, it would be by date bought.  My bookshelves are so full that anything new gets stacked in front. ♥

I know what I'm reading this weekend...

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan arrived for me today.  Yay!!  I absolutely love both of these authors and, seriously, there couldn't be a better pair for a book collaboration.


Fun fact:  Way back when, I hosted a Dream Team contest and asked people to tell me which authors they most wanted to write a book together.  Check out all the comments to see what dynamic duos (or trios) ranked high on readers' wish list.  Interestingly, no one chose John Green and David Levithan...perhaps, we all thought it was too impossible to even dream about.  :)