In My Mailbox (And the Truth About the Post-Holiday Review Slump)

Has anyone noticed how reviews have become a bit...sparse...at the NSCG sites? I've noticed a couple of other sites are stretched thin where reviews are concerned over the holidays, as well.

I can't speak for all book review sites, but for the NSCGs, the answer to the slump is simple. We are lacking the time to review...because we're all too busy reading. The holidays are a hard time for us, not only because we're all busy celebrating various things (including my birthday!), but also because we are suddenly bombarded with books we've been salivating over all year. I don't know about you guys, but this is just too tempting for me. Are there really people out there heartless enough to want someone to put down books as fabulous as The City of Bones in favor of a pen and paper?

Don't get me wrong- I love to write. I continually find poetry scattered throughout my math notes, and I've been toying with a story line for a few months now. But with all the essays I've been writing for English and History this year, I just find books a great way to take a break. A way to stop thinking, and to let someone else paint vivid stories for me.

So now, without further ado, here are the books I've escaped into this past week. Most were wonderful. Since I've kind of read all but one, this is closer to a guilt list. Who knew that reading so much could make one feel so guilty?

Enthusiasm by Paula Shulman

"There is little more likely to exasperate a person of sense than finding herself tied by affection and habit to an Enthusiast." Julie knows from bitter experience: her best friend, Ashleigh, is an Enthusiast. Ashleigh's current fancy is also Julie's own passion, Pride and Prejudice, and the heroine's quest for True Love. And so Julie finds herself swept along with Ashleigh, dressed in vintage frocks and sneaking into a dance at the local all-boys' prep school. There they discover several likely candidates for True Love, including the handsome and sensitive Parr. And Julie begins to wonder if maybe this obsession of Ashleigh's isn't so bad after all. . . .

I'm a Jane Austen fan, plus this has a starred review from Booklist. And as if that weren't enough...

"When someone asks for a reading suggestion, Enthusiasm is the first word off my tongue."
-Stephenie Meyer

If that doesn't sell a book, I don't know what does.

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

High in the Transylvanian woods, at the castle Piscul Draculi, live five daughters and their doting father. It's an idyllic life for Jena, the second eldest, who spends her time exploring the mysterious forest with her constant companion, a most unusual frog. But best by far is the castle's hidden portal, known only to the sisters. Every Full Moon, they alone can pass through it into the enchanted world of the Other Kingdom. There they dance through the night with the fey creatures of this magical realm.

But their peace is shattered when Father falls ill and must go to the southern parts to recover, for that is when cousin Cezar arrives. Though he's there to help the girls survive the brutal winter, Jena suspects he has darker motives in store. Meanwhile, Jena's sister has fallen in love with a dangerous creature of the Other Kingdom--an impossible union it's up to Jena to stop.

When Cezar's grip of power begins to tighten, at stake is everything Jena loves: her home, her family, and the Other Kingdom she has come to cherish. To save her world, Jena will be tested in ways she can't imagine--tests of trust, strength, and true love.

I was worried this might be more of a younger YA book, but somewhere I read that it was perfect for older fairytale-loving teens. So, um, that would be me. I read this and am so grateful I did. It's perfect for Shannon Hale and Gail Carson Levine fans who may be searching for a fairytale retell targeted more to high schoolers rather than middle schoolers. Ah! Here's the quote: "With much to say about human nature and choice, not unlike the moral in fairy tales of old, this will be a hit with older teen readers, especially girls."-Booklist

Dramarama by E. Lockhart

Two theater-mad, self-invented, fabulositon Ohio teenagers.

One boy, one girl.

One gay, one straight.

One black, one white.

And SUMMER DRAMA CAMP.

It's a season of hormones, gold lame, hissy fits, jazz hands, song and dance, true love, and unitards that will determine their future and test their friendship.

What can I say? It's E. Lockhart!

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

St. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school—it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's—the very place where they're most in danger. . . .

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy's ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world's fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

I'm not a huge fan of this cover, but I read the first chapter online somewhere, and it definitely convinced me to go out and buy it.

Wake by Lisa McMann

Not all dreams are sweet.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....

An amazing, intriguing book. I loved the guy in this one. LOVED him. It's got a sequel coming out next month (Fade), and I can't wait to have some of my questions answered.

The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing — not even a smear of blood — to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

I read the first chapter on Cassandra Clare's site, I think. And I loved it. Completely marvelous (stop looking at me funny- I've already used up wonderful and fabulous and intriguing). I suppose the fact the fantasy romance was my first love in reading makes this book an obvious favorite for me. I'll be buying the rest of the series ASAP.

So those are the latest books. These didn’t actually come in the mail since I borrowed one and bought all the rest. What do you think? Did I make some good shopping choices?

Extra Credit problem (sorry, no prizes, I'm just curious to see how you guys respond): Which big-deal (in the YA world) book(s) came out today?

~bella aire~

IMM began here: www.thestorysiren.com