The Best and Worst of Covers (11)

Every Saturday, I post book covers I love and dislike from books I've read or currently reading. I include the information for each book: the edition, summary, publisher, number of pages, reading level, and my thoughts of the cover. This week I only have a cover I love...again. The cover I love is Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I just reviewed this amazingly fantastic book, and you can find the review here.

The Cover I Love: 
Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: December 1, 2009
Pages: 576 
Edition: Hardback 
Reading Level: Young Adult

Summary (from Amazon):
There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Thoughts of the Covers:

The cover of Beautiful Creatures is gorgeous and very mysterious! When holding the actual book in your hands, the purple font is raised up and is nice and shiny. The background is really cool also with the trees and black background that has a hint of glimmer. This great cover is so perfect for such an amazing book. The font of the title is very pretty and goes perfectly with the background of trees. I really love this cover and want to read the sequel so badly! I highly recommend buying this book, so you can see for yourself the fantastic cover and read a great story.

What are your thoughts on this cover?

Friday Firsts (9)

The first line can make or break a reader’s interest. Just how well did the author pull you in to the story with their first sentence? To participate in this weekly book meme is extremely easy.

• Grab the book you are currently reading and open to the first page.
• Write down the first sentence in the first paragraph.
• Create a blog post with this information. (Make sure to include the title and the author of the book you are using. Even an ISBN helps!)
• Did this first sentence help draw you into the story? Why or why not?

One book I'm currently reading is Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott. I just started, so the first page is pretty much all I've read so far. I love the two books I've read previously by Elizabeth Scott and finally got this one at the library. Here is the first sentence:

"Everyone's seen my mother naked."

 

Wow, this is a hilarious first sentence! It totally got me attention and made me keep wanting to read on. This first sentence has to be my favorite out of all the other Friday Firsts sentences I've done. Something, Maybe sounds really good, and I can't wait to read more of the book.

What's your current book's first sentence?

Beautiful Creatures Review

Title: Beautiful Creatures 
Authors: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date: December 1, 2009 
Pages: 626 
My Edition: ARC Paperback 
Reading Level: Young Adult 
Where I got it: Hip Scouts 

Summary from Beautiful Creature's website:
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. 

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.  

Review:

Wow, I love this book so much! It is so unlike any other Fantasy book I've read, and it's probably my new favorite. Beautiful Creatures is definitely one of the best books of 2009. The characters are so well described and likeable which will make you fall in love with the story. By the end, you will be rooting for Lena and Ethan to be together...forever. The plot and story line is very unique and puts a twist on the whole idea of witchcraft. I couldn't put down Beautiful Creatures for one second, even though it's really long. All throughout, I never knew what was going to happen. By the end, you still be sitting on the edge of your seat ready to finally find out what will happen at the end of Lena's birthday. The ending is perfect and leaves it open for a sequel. I really hope there will be a sequel, and recent news says that is going to be made into a movie. As debut authors, Kami and Margret did an amazing job! I'm really looking forward to reading more from these amazing new authors.

Rating:

Waiting on Wednesday (15)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that I'm eagerly awaiting. This week I can't wait for Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland. Her new book sounds so good, and the cover is really cute too...I love purple : ) It comes out this month on the 22nd!

Scones and Sensibility (summary from Amazon)
By: Lindsay Eland
Seek tirelessly and you shall not find a contemporary heroine of middle-grade literature as refined and romantic as Miss Polly Madassa. Still swooning over the romantic conclusions of Pride & Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables, twelve-year-old Polly decides her purpose in life: helping along lonely hearts in search of love. Polly's only task this summer is to make deliveries for her parents' bakery, leaving ample time for this young cupid to find hearts to mend--beginning with the kite-store owner, Mr. Nightquist, who will pair perfectly with Miss Wiskerton (the unfairly labeled town curmudgeon). Polly's best friend Fran Fisk is in desperate need of a mother ever since hers ran off with a man she met on the Internet; Polly must find a match for Mr. Fisk. And while she's at it, it wouldn't hurt to find Clementine, Polly's teenaged sister, a beau worthy of her (so she can shed that brute, Clint). Polly's plans are in full swing, so she definitely cannot be bothered by the advances of classmate Brad Barker.

But maybe Polly should have turned her attention to Miss Austen's Emma next, because she quickly learns the pitfalls of playing matchmaker. How will Polly patch up her own relationships, while ensuring that destined love can take its course?

Poll Results! and Other Info

My poll...What is your favorite genre?...ended, so I've posted the results below : D The results aren't a very big surprise to me, like Young Adult having the most and Non-Fiction & Western not having one single vote. I'm still reading Beautiful Creatures, even though it's amazing, I just don't have much time between school and swim team. I want to finish it tonight, but I have morning practice tomorrow at 6 AM and practice everyday after school til 6 PM : ( Anyways enough complaining from me... here are the poll results which had 29 votes and could choose multiple answers:

Young Adult ~ 25 votes
Fantasy ~ 18 votes
Fiction ~ 15 votes
Romance ~ 14 votes
Historical Romance ~ 9 votes
Mystery ~ 9 votes
Suspense ~ 9 votes
Historical Fiction ~ 8 votes
Horror ~ 7 votes
Classics ~ 7 votes
Adult Fiction ~ 6 votes
Action ~ 5 votes
Science Fiction ~ 5 votes
Graphic Novels ~ 4 votes
Non-Fiction ~ 0 votes
Western ~ 0 votes
I don't think I missed any main genres, but if I did...oops : )

2010 Debut Author Challenge Info & List

The Story Siren is hosting the 2010 Debut Author Challenge, and you can find out more about it at her blog HERE. The challenge runs from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. I'm going to try to read as many as possible because they are so many great new books coming out in 2010. You can sign up for the challenge HERE. Here is my list which will probably change many times as time goes by. I'm aiming at reading least 20 debut author books.

2010 Debut Author Challenge List:

1. Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White

2. Plain Kate by Erin Bow
3. The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy
4. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
5. The Line by Teri Hall
6. Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus
7. The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard

8. Sea by Heidi R. Kling
9. The Mark by Jen Nadol
10. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
11. Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
12. A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker
13. The Naughty List by Suzanne Young

14. Dirty Little Secrets by CJ Omololu

15. The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

16. Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt

17. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

18. The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

19. Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

20. Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards
21. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

BOLD=Own/Won and will receive it soon : )