"Back to the Books" Giveaway Hop!

This giveaway hop is hosted by the awesome people from I'm A Reader, Not A Writer and Buried In Books. It will run September 1st - 7th, 2011. A winner will be chosen on September 8th, 2011.

The PRIZE:

An ARC copy of Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson

Description from goodreads:

'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me ...' Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life.

Link to my review here. *Warning! Contains very slight spoilers!*

The Rules:

1. Must be a public GFC follower and comment on this post. (I will be checking!) This is my first giveaway and I'm keeping it simple for my own sake. :D

2. Must have a valid address. I will ship international.

3. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing their win. After that I will pick another winner.

Bonus Entries:

+3 for replying to any of my reviews

+2 tweet about this contest (must provide link and include my handle: @fallinangelz21)

Waiting On Wednesday

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

This week I'm waiting on...

The Rivals by Daisy Whitney

Amazon description:

When Alex Patrick was assaulted by another student last year, her elite boarding school wouldn't do anything about it. This year Alex is head of the Mockingbirds, a secret society of students who police and protect the student body. While she desperately wants to live up to the legacy that's been given to her, she's now dealing with a case unlike any the Mockingbirds have seen before.

It isn't rape. It isn't bullying. It isn't hate speech. A far-reaching prescription drug ring has sprung up, and students are using the drugs to cheat. But how do you try a case with no obvious victim? Especially when the facts don't add up, and each new clue drives a wedge between Alex and the people she loves most: her friends, her boyfriend, and her fellow Mockingbirds.

As Alex unravels the layers of deceit within the school, the administration, and even the student body the Mockingbirds protect, her struggle to navigate the murky waters of vigilante justice may reveal more about herself than she ever expected.

Review: The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Title: The Mockingbirds
Author: Daisy Whitney
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 332
Rating: 4/5 Stars

The best thing Daisy Whitney does with The Mockingbirds is dive right in to the action. The story starts the morning after a night Alex Patrick can't remember and plows ahead relentlessly to the resolution. It stays tight and focused with every chapter tying back to that night. As I reader, I appreciated that because the subject of date-rape is heavy enough without being mired down by the other drama of high school. I think the narrow focus also highlighted the fact that for half a semester, Alex's world revolved around one thing - that night and all the doubts, fears and anxiety that went with it.

World building is always a big thing for me and Whitney's Themis Academy is a fascinating, isolated organism. While it's deplorable that the students attend a school that they know with certainty only cares about maintaining its reputation, I'm glad of it because it brought about the necessity for The Mockingbirds. Secret organizations are a dime a dozen, but it's rare to find one that is not only supposed to do good, but actually does. My favorite moments in the book were the ones where I found out more about the studen-run justice system.

Alex is a very relatable protagonist. A good girl, but nobody's saint, I felt for her as she struggled to come to terms with not only what happened, but her own memories of what happened. Her courage is believable, enough to impress me in a 17-year-old, but not stretch the boundaries of credibility. Carter, her accused date-rapist, was painted with a careful brush in that while he's - as one character so aptly puts it - a douche, he's not an evil sexual predator. He's a guy who has probably had everything handed to him and didn't think for a moment Alex wouldn't appreciate his advances.

If I had to critique anything it would be the depiction of Alex's friends and the Mockingbirds themselves. They seemed a little...too perfect. They all handled themselves in the situation with such ease - a finesse I don't think I'd be capable of now at thirty, let alone when I was in high school. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop - for one of her friends (Maia in particular) to flip and show her true evil colors, but maybe I've read/watched too many teen dramas. ;p

The ending of this novel was very satisfying, but not tied up in a little bow so neat it felt unrealistic. Ms. Whitney has a sequel coming out in 2012, The Rivals, that I will definitely check out.

Teaser Tuesday (2)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

This week I'm reading:

"Martin and I were flirting that night. Martin and I were talking and flirting and touching each other just barely, just the tiniest bit like you do when you first start to like someone."

pg. 139 The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Review: The Caretakers by Shauna Nosler

Title: The Caretakers
Author: Shauna Nosler
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 274
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Until two seconds ago, I planned on giving this book three stars. I definitely liked The Caretakers, but it's what I think of as a domestic, family drama - definitely not my usual fair. But the whole point of taking recommendations from other bloggers, friends, etc is trying new things.

What changed my mind and bumped the book up to four stars is the fact that Shauna Nosler nearly made me cry. That, my friends, is a huge accomplishment and deserves kudos. Well done, Ms. Nosler.

The Caretakers uses the hotbutton topic of abortion and the landmark Roe vs. Wade case that made the practice legal in the US as its framework, but it's not about abortion. Over the course of fifteen years it tells a story about loss, grief and acceptance and finding a way to not only survive ones choices, but truly live with them and find happiness.

The back cover assures the reader that the book is not about right and wrong, and although I did get a pro-life vibe, it was mostly restricted to specific characters and I didn't feel preached at.

The characters - Caroline, Mitch, Jasper and Mabel - are vibrant and distinct. Nosler allows us a glimpse inside each of their heads and succeeds in giving them a distinct voice. While Jasper's journey was extensively fleshed out, I would have liked more from Mabel. I'm glad that she was able to find peace with her decisions, I would have liked to know more, specifically how she feels about the choice she made. I did get the impression that she regretted her choice to get an abortion, but I never really learned why. I also never really learned why she chose to have one in the first place. I think Nosler's story would be richer if she delved into those details of Mabel's experience.

Quite a few truths are left unsaid by the time I arrived at the last page of The Caretakers and for the most part I'm kind of glad they stayed that way. There are some things, especially about long buried secrets, that are better left unsaid. One truth, however, I feel needed to be told. Jasper needed to know that Nathan Comber was not the father of Mabel's child. Jasper didn't need to know who was, but given that Nathan was his father's best friend, I think his reputation deserved to be cleared, even if only one person was maligning it.

The Caretakers is worth a read. It moves quickly and the world Nosler creates - specifically The Country House - is a place I enjoyed spending time.

Irish Banana Review Giveaway - The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

My very good friend at The Irish Banana Review is doing an awesome YA book giveaway of Sara Shepard's (author of Pretty Little Liars) The Lying Game. Click here to enter!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

This week I'm reading:

"Mable sat at a table inside one of the cafes next to her school and watched as drop after drop of water smacked the window and collected into a circular puddle on the sidewalk. She sipped her steamed almond milk and fiddled with the flakes of pastry that her breakfast had left ilde on her saucer."

Pg. 138 - The Caretakers by Shauna Nosler