Tag: #BooksRead

Review: Follow Me Back by A.V Geiger

Review: Follow Me Back by A.V Geiger

Posted on by Cindy
Review: Follow Me Back by A.V GeigerFollow Me Back (Follow Me Back, #1) by A.V. Geiger
Format: Paperback
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on June 6th 2017
Pages: 368
Goodreads

Tessa Hart’s world feels very small. Confined to her bedroom with agoraphobia, her one escape is the online fandom for pop sensation Eric Thorn. When he tweets to his fans, it’s like his speaking directly to her…
Eric Thorn is frightened by his obsessive fans. They take their devotion way too far. It doesn’t help that his PR team keeps posting to encourage their fantasies.
When a fellow pop star is murdered at the hands of a fan, Eric knows he has to do something to shatter his online image fast—like take down one of his top Twitter followers. But Eric’s plan to troll @TessaHeartsEric unexpectedly evolves into an online relationship deeper than either could have imagined. And when the two arrange to meet IRL, what should have made for the world’s best episode of Catfish takes a deadly turn…

Told through tweets, direct messages, and police transcripts.

Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger is a debut novel that just released last week with the sequel to come out next year. No title or release date has been set yet and this will be a duology.

When I first heard about this book about two weeks ago I knew this would be a book I would want to read when it came out. I have to admit that I was pretty surprised that Chapters actually this book sitting on their shelf when I went looking for it. This was a fairly quick read for me because once I started it I couldn’t but it down. There was so many twist and turns. It literally felt like you were riding a roller coaster because you had no idea what was coming next.

Follow me back is told in a duo point of view and through twitter form, direct messages and police reports. This is a format that I really enjoy reading.

One of our main characters Tessa has severe agoraphia. This all developed when she suddenly left her a summer program in New Orleans and has not spoken to anyone about it. She refuses to speak about the incident even to her therapist. So you really have no idea what happened to her but you will discover this slowly as the story progresses. She is living at home with her mother and since being back has basically stayed in her room 24/7. Her mother and her boyfriend to the best they can but you can tell at times its very trying on them.

To deal with it she starts obsessing over Eric Thorn who is a teen sensation and big in the music world. Through that community she meets fans and forms friendships with something that her therapist thinks is good for her. Being online is her only real escape and something she has complete control over.

Eric on the other hand is not very happy with his lack of freedom, privacy and his fame and I think this has a lot to do with crazy fans killing their idols like we have seen so  many stories in the past few years. Tessa picks up on his unhappiness and voices her concerns on social media but no one really listens to her.

Eric is frustrated how crazy the fans are becoming and it doesn’t help that his management is encouraging him to give them what they want. For Eric it just takes one fan rushing the stage to him and he is set on destroying his image and that means going after his number one fan with the most twitter followers @TessaHeartsEric which by the way is a real twitter account. He is set on trolling her but in the process he begins to form a relationship with her but she doesn’t realize who he really is because he is using another twitter account @Taylor . This is like an episode of Catfish..

Eric needs to come clean to Tessa because he is starting to have real feelings for her. So he sets up this elaborate contest of a private concert on New Year’s Eve in her home town. He convinces her to enter and when she does he picks her.

With his plan in motion things suddenly go wrong and he has to save her before its too late for both of them. How will Tessa react when she discovers who Taylor really is? Will this set her back further?

I really enjoyed the book and that cliff hanger agh its killing me. Hopefully we won’t have to wait long for the second book.

 

 

 

Blog Tour & Review/ The Littlest Bigfoot

Posted on by Cindy

littlest-bigfoot-blogtour

Title: The Littlest Bigfoot
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Series: Book #1
Pub Date: September 13, 2016
Publisher: Aladdin
Pages: 304

Source: I was provided with an advanced readers copy from Simon & Schuster Canada for my review and participation in the tour. Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada.

About the Book:

From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes a laugh-out-loud funny and painstakingly real tale of friendship, furry creatures, and finding the place where you belong.

Alice Mayfair, twelve years old, slips through the world unseen and unnoticed. Ignored by her family and shipped off to her eighth boarding school, Alice would like a friend. And when she rescues Millie Maximus from drowning in a lake one day, she finds one.

But Millie is a Bigfoot, part of a clan who dwells deep in the woods. Most Bigfoots believe that people—NoFurs, as they call them—are dangerous, yet Millie is fascinated with the No-Fur world. She is convinced that humans will appreciate all the things about her that her Bigfoot tribe does not: her fearless nature, her lovely singing voice, and her desire to be a star.

Alice swears to protect Millie’s secret. But a league of Bigfoot hunters is on their trail, led by a lonely kid named Jeremy. And in order to survive, Alice and Millie have to put their trust in each other—and have faith in themselves—above all else.

divider4.png

I am honored to be a part of the book tour for The Littlest Bigfoot by Jennifer Weiner. I am a huge fan of Jennifer’s books and I have read them all so it was nice to see something new and completely different from her. I can’t wait for the second book to come out in this series.

Be sure to check out the other blog stops this week to read everyone’s thoughts on the book.

This was a fun and quick read. I think this is the perfect read for everyone to read. There is so much you can take away from the book.

Alice is a 12 year old girl. Alice is taller then most girls her age, awkward like I think most girls are at this age and has a hard time making friends. When you have one thing that is different about you its always hard to find someone who can share something with you.

Alice’s parents have in all reality checked out of their daughters life and in my opinion think of themselves as the couple who do what they want when they want because its clear when for them instead of being a parent they are shipping their daughter off from one school to another when things don’t go right instead of trying to find the perfect solution for her.

The other main character of the book is Milie. Millie is just like Alice she doesn’t fit in but for Millie her case is completely different from Alice because Millie is a Yare, and in english terms it means a bigfoot. Millie also doesn’t fit in with her tribe because she is smaller then the normal Yares, her fur is a different color and texture then the other yares and Millie is curious about everything and everyone around her especially people in the outside world.

Alice’s new school is in upper New York State right beside a beautiful lake in a quiet little town. This school is a little better then what Alice has been to but Alice is still encountering the same problem and issues of making friends. She is thrilled when it suddenly happens but realizes fairly quickly that its not all it seems and before long she is being picked on by a bully. She soon realizes that not everyone has good intentions. Being embarrassed she seeks refudge by the lake when she suddenly hears someone drowning so Alice rushes out to help the person. This person is Millie and they quickly become friends just what both girls wanted. Although at first Alice has no idea who or what Millie is and I honestly don’t think this would be a problem for Alice because all she wants is a honest and a good friend.

When a 12 year old boy threatens to expose who Millie is and where she is from the girls bang together to put a stop him. Will Alice and Millie be able to stop him before all the secrets are exposed on Millie?

I love this story and I think all young girls need to read this because we need to learn to accept ourselves for who and what we are and that we are unique for a reason. We need to be open and accepting and become friends with others who are different because that  is what makes us all unique.

When I got to the end I was like what the heck just happened. Jennifer threw that little twist in there that came out of no where and left me hanging…I am left hanging with so many questions..I need book two asap…

Review/ The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

Review/ The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

Posted on by Cindy
Review/ The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina BivaldThe Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
Format: ARC
Published by Sourcebooks, Inc. on January 19th 2016
Pages: 400
Goodreads
Genres: Contemporary Women, Fiction, Humorous, Literary

The International Bestseller #1 Indie Next Great Reads January 2016 #2 LibraryReads January 2016 Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen...Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her book-loving pen pal. When she arrives, however, she finds Amy's funeral guests just leaving. The residents of Broken Wheel are happy to look after their bewildered visitor -- not much else to do in a small town that's almost beyond repair. They just never imagined that she'd start a bookstore. Or that books could bring them together and change everything.There's a book for every person ... and a person for every book.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald was a book that I picked up at BEA 2015 and its been sitting on my shelves since then so I was really happy that I could finally dig into this book. I believe it was Lucy from Moonlight Gleams that told me about this book and I am happy that she did tell me about it because I really enjoyed reading this.

The main character Sara. lives in Sweden and use to work in a bookstore until it closed. During that time she was corresponding with Amy from a little town in Iowa called Broken Wheel. Sara has traveled to Broken Wheel by the request of Amy to spent two months together. How much fun would it be to meet a pen pal you have had that shares the common interest of books? I would have loved that.

Upon arriving in Broken Wheel Sara discovers that Amy has passed away. At first Sara doesn’t know what to do and the people of Broken Wheel kind of take her in because that is what Amy would have wanted them to. Sara is uncomfortable at first because honestly who wouldn’t be staying in a person’s house who is no longer there and you haven’t even met?

As the book progresses Sara is starting to meet the people of Broken Wheel. She realizes that they are a unique kind of people where it seems like everyone is there to help each other and have their backs and you can see Sara starting to fit into the town. I loved how every character in the book played a role in it and it all blended so well within the story.

For Sara she has a passion for books and loves to read. Not a lot of people share that kind of passion in the town and the only other person who loved books just as much as Sara was Amy. Gradually Sara begins to think that she needs to find a way to give back to the town for their kindness and perhaps this little town needs a bookstore. Sara brings it up because Amy actually had a empty building just sitting there waiting to be used and Amy has a ton of books that could fill the little store. (This is what I should be because I have a ton of books)

With the towns permission Sara goes a head to prepare the store but due to her visa she is unable to work to sell the books but she can give them away or lends them to the people of the Broken Wheel. At first its not a hit because no one likes to read and they are puzzled at how much and long Sara can seat and read for.

Gradually word starts to spread in the next city called Hope that Broken Wheel has a book store. I think out of curiousity they come to check it out but are quick to point out that no one from the town is ever there so with a little help of the town they set out to prove the people of Hope wrong. Can they pull it off?

As the weeks slip by the people of Broken Wheel begin to realize Sara’s visa is about to expire and they don’t want to loose her so they have to come up with a plan to make her stay but will Sara stay or will she want to go back to Sweden to be with her family?

This was a fun and pretty easy read and I did enjoy it. I think Sara is some one I would be friends with. I would be curious to see what kind of books she would recommend to me because she had that knack about her of giving the right person the right book.

Review/ Unslut A Diary & A Memoir

Posted on by Cindy
UnSlut by Emily Lindin
Format: ARC
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on December 29th 2015
Pages: 304
Goodreads
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Bullying, Dating & Sex, Girls & Women, Juvenile Nonfiction, Social Issues, Women

When Emily Lindin was eleven years old, she was branded a “slut” by the rest of her classmates. For the next few years of her life, she was bullied incessantly at school, after school, and online. At the time, Emily didn't feel comfortable confiding in her parents or in the other adults her my life. But she did keep a diary. Slut/UnSlut is adapted from Emily’s much-acclaimed blog “The UnSlut Project” presenting unaltered excerpts from that diary alongside split-page commentary to provide context and perspective.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I picked up this book at #BEA15 purely by luck and I thought at first this wasn’t the book for me because I normally don’t read this kind of stuff but I decided to give it a chance and I managed to breeze through this in two sittings. This is a debut novel.

The book is basically told in a diary format that Emily wrote when she was in grade 6.  The story begins with Emily in grade 6 and it follows her through grade 7 and 8.

Emily is your typical girl trying to fit in with her peers and how one little mistake has labelled her a “slut” in her school. I am trying to remember when I was in grade 6 if we were like that and I honestly don’t remember maybe I just wasn’t hanging out with those kinds of kids or not. Then again I can’t really compare my experiences with kids now a days because its completely different and I have to say that I honestly don’t think I could handle being a grade 6 now. What I went through some thrity years ago is different from what kids are going through now.

Kids can be so nice but yet so cruel. Why are they so quick to label kinds with names and titles that just aren’t right and appropriate? Things like this carry over with these kids and they hold on to that stigma for ever and we need to teach our kids that this isn’t right.

We as parents need to make communication between child and parent very important and stress that no matter what good and bad we are there to listen and help them out.

 

Review/ This Is Where It Ends

Posted on by Cindy
by Marieke Nijkamp
Published by Sourcebooks Fire Goodreads
Genres: Action & Adventure, Bullying, Social Issues, Survival Stories, Violence, Young Adult

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

10:00 a.m. The principal of Opportunity, Alabama’s high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve. 10:02 a.m. The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class. 10:03 The auditorium doors won’t open. 10:05 Someone starts shooting. Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

I think this has to be one of my favorite books that I picked up at #BEA15 last year. Once I started reading it I couldn’t put it down. It grabbed a hold of me from the first page and it still sits with me today. Just be prepared if you pick up this book to read you will need a tissue. This is a fantastic debut novel.

This Is Where It Ends is told in the point of view of Claire, Tomas, Autumn and Sylv. A new semester has started at Opportunity and the Principal Trenton is giving her regular speech that the kids all know pretty much by heart.

Claire is not in the school for the assembly because she is part of the track team and she is out running the track with her team mates when the sound of gunshots forces them to stop. They try to get into the school but its locked so she comes up with a plan to find out what is going on so she puts everyone in groups.

Inside the school Tomas and his friend Fareed are also not in the assembly because they are breaking into the principal’s office trying to find out some information on a kid named Tyler who has left the school and is due to come back. They are in the office and when they realize something is up the go and look out in the hall way and that is when they hear gun fire. Quick thinking they decide to call the police. They are told to get out of the school but Tomas can’t leave because his sister Sylv is in the assembly. He will do anything to protect her.

I don’t want to give to much away about the book because you know what its about. Everyone is surprised at how the shooter is and I think had there been a little more to the story before hand you might have had the chance to figure it out.

I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more from this author.

 

 

Review/ George

Review/ George

Posted on by Cindy
Review/ GeorgeGeorge by Alex Gino
Published by Scholastic Inc. on August 25th 2015
Pages: 208
Goodreads
Genres: Bullying, Friendship, Social Issues, Young Adult

BE WHO YOU ARE. When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl. George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part . . . because she's a boy.   With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte -- but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

George by Alex Gino has been a book that has been on my radar for quite some time now and its been on my wishlist since then so this past weekend I decided to pick it up when I visited a little indie bookstore in my area.

BE WHO YOU ARE is literally something I live by and I wish more people would actually do this. I loved the message behind the book and I can’t even image the struggles some children and people must go through in life.

If you look at George you will see a boy because he looks, dresses and acts like a boy but on the inside there is a girl screaming to get out and be recognized for who she is. George is only ten years old and she is struggling to keep this deep dark secret inside her. Being a kid is always a hard  but when you have a secret that could possibly make things worse for you its even harder for you and throw in a bully who likes to make fun of you and wants to fight you.

George is in the fourth grade and this year her class is putting on the play, Charlotte’s Web. Which is a favorite of mine. Who doesn’t like Charlotte’s Web?

George decides she wants to play Charlotte which we all know is a girl’s part but for George its a way that she can actually feel like a real girl for once and be who she feels inside around her friends and family who have no clue about what is going on.

George’s best friend is Kelly and they both decide to rehearse together for the part. Eventually George decides to let Kelly in on her secret and knowing its a huge risk she is taken but I have to say I thought Kelly handled the situation extremely well and I would only wish more kids had a friend like Kelly in their lives.

When the day for the auditions happen Ms. Udell is not happy that George wants to audition for the part of Charlotte and tells George that it won’t happen that he can have another part but George says no that if she can’t be Charlotte she wants no other part in the play.

Fast forward to the day of the play and Kelly and George come up with a plan that in the second performance they would switch. Ms Udell is not happy but thankfully Principal Maldonado came to the  rescue and told George that if she ever needed to talk her door was always open and I think that is what kids need to hear that someone will be there to hear them speak.

As a parent I have always let Michael know that we are not all the same but we all deserve love and respect from one another and that it doesn’t matter who we are, what color our skin is its whats inside that counts. When I look back over the last 12 years of Michael’s life I see that I have instilled those values and he treats everyone with kindness, love and respect and that everyone is a person no matter what.

 

 

Review/ Stay

Posted on by Cindy
Review/ StayStay! a Top Dog Story by Alex Latimer
Format: eARC
Published by Peachtree Pub Limited on September 1st 2015
Pages: 32
Goodreads
Genres: Animals, Boys & Men, Dogs, Pets, Young Adult

Looking after Ben's dog, Buster, is no walk in the park. Buster is messy, he is naughty, he is EXHAUSTING! But Ben loves him more than anything. When Ben goes away, he tells Grampa exactly how to look after Buster. But has Ben remembered the most IMPORTANT thing?

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Its been a little while since I have reviewed a picture book and I have to admit that I miss doing them.

Stay by Alex Latimer is such a cute little book that I am sure all the kids will love to read. I know I enjoyed it.

The illustrations are really nice and colorful so when you are reading the book you can’t help but look around at everything on the page.

Ben has a dog named Buster and lets just say that Buster can be a handful all the time and loves to get into trouble. When Ben’s parents announce they are going on vacation but Buster will not because of his actions. Buster will be going to stay at Ben’s grand dads house.

Ben takes to writing notes for his grand dad and they include what Buster likes and doesn’t like, favorite scratching spots, and so much more and these notes continue to arrive even while Ben is on vacation because he loves Buster so much.

While Buster is with grand dad, grand dad takes it upon himself to start trying Buster into a better dog and when Ben comes home he loves the changes in Buster and he loves that grand dad even wrote Ben notes on how to keep things up.

Has Buster changed for the good? Or is there still a little of the old Buster inside?

If your looking for a fun picture book then I highly recommend this.