IF I FIX YOU by Abigail Johnson

Today I am an aunt. Sort of. A book aunt, if you will. And I couldn’t be more excited.

My critique partner Abigail Johnson’s debut, If I Fix You, releases today, and I remember so vividly how I felt three years ago when my own debut released. But watching the dream of one of your writing besties come true might actually be better. I get all of the excitement and none of the anxiety.

I met Abigail and our other critique partner, Kate Goodwin, through Maggie Steifvater’s Love Connection back in early 2012. If I Fix You was the first thing I ever read of Abigail’s, and I loved it immediately. I have watched it grow and change over the years, and finally, I get to watch the world fall in love with this story as much as I did.

I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see Abigail’s hard work pay off, and I love watching the process from this side of the desk. I’m so grateful she trusted me with her words when I was still a complete stranger on the internet. I believed in this book from the very beginning, and it’s immensely gratifying that I can now step back and watch it soar.

Click here for like ten different buy links. And do yourself a favor: READ IT!

ARE SOME THINGS MEANT TO STAY BROKEN?

Readers of Sarah Dessen, Cammie McGovern and Morgan Matson will adore this thought-provoking, complex and romantic contemporary novel from debut author Abigail Johnson, about finding the strength to put yourself back together when everything you know has fallen apart.

When sixteen-year-old Jill Whitaker’s mom walks out-with a sticky note as a goodbye-only Jill knows the real reason she’s gone. But how can she tell her father? Jill can hardly believe the truth herself.

Suddenly, the girl who likes to fix things-cars, relationships, romances, people-is all broken up. It used to be, her best friend, tall, blond and hot flirt Sean Addison, could make her smile in seconds. But not anymore. They don’t even talk.

With nothing making sense, Jill tries to pick up the pieces of her life. But when a new guy moves in next door, intense, seriously cute, but with scars-on the inside and out-that he thinks don’t show, Jill finds herself trying to make things better for Daniel. But over one long, hot Arizona summer, she realizes she can’t fix anyone’s life until she fixes her own. And she knows just where to start…

“If I Fix You is a heart-rending story about life not being what you hoped for … and being okay anyway.”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author
APRILYNNE PIKE

“Broken boys and broken cars and broken hearts. Heartfelt and romantic! Read it!”
—KASIE WEST,
AUTHOR OF THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND

“Adroit and strong-minded. If I Fix You is a whole-hearted page turner.”
— HUNTLEY FITZPATRICK,
AUTHOR OF THE BOY MOST LIKELY TO

“I know readers are going to LOVE this book as much as I did.  A feisty and strong heroine to root for, and a love interest who is dreamy and complicated in all the right ways.  What a fabulous debut by a great new writer to watch!”
—CAMMIE McGOVERN,
AUTHOR OF A STEP TOWARD FALLING

Books Are My Valentine

The husband gave me beautiful
roses today. He's my Valentine too,
but he'll have to share me with books.

I love books. I love the smell of their pages and their weight in my hands. Fictional characters make me swoon. Adventure and intrigue and magic make my heart pound. Heaven is a bookstore and an eternity to read its content.

Books are my Valentine.

They comfort me when I am sad and cheer me up after a hard day. They take me on extravagant trips. They've never abandoned me.

Books have given me a lifetime of happiness and never asked for anything in return. I'm grateful.

In honor of Valentine's day, here are just a few books I've fallen in love with recently.

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
I read this in one sitting. Be prepared.

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
King creates such great characters. I was totally immersed in this story and read it in just a couple of days.

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
This was a re-read. I read this back when it came out, and then re-read over my snow days. This is such a beautiful story. I'll read it many more times I'm sure.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
I love any book set in a bookstore.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
I also read this one straight through. I loved it so much and can't believe it took me this long to get to it!

Today a student asked me what my favorite love story was. While I truly can't choose a favorite anything when it comes to books, I do love Elizabeth and Darcy of Pride and Prejudice.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Top Ten Books I Want in 2014

I'm finally posting my Top Ten Books I'm excited about for 2014. There are so many amazing books releasing this year, so it was hard to choose just ten. (Because after I typed this up, I went back to my TBR list and realized I'd missed several: Follow me Through Darkness by Danielle Ellison, Sing Sweet Nightingale by Erica Cameron, Hook's Revenge by Heidi Schulz, Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater - seriously, I could be here all day listing them. I'm going to have to quit work if I'm going to have time to read them all!) But this is a top ten list, so I'm not going to cheat by adding a few extra. I play by the rules and all that jazz.

 

Bright Before Sunrise Tiffany Schmidt (February 18)

I loved Send me a Sign, so I’ve been eagerly awaiting this ever since I heard about it. I love the last two lines of the description: “One night can change how you see the world. One night can change how you see yourself.” Doesn’t that sound awesome?

 

 

Sekret Lindsay Smith (April 1)

This one has been on my radar a while. Russian spies? An “espionage thriller with a dash of both history and dystopia?” Yes please!

 

 

We Were Liars E. Lockhart (May 13)

I loved The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks. Loved. So when I heard about this one, I didn’t care what it was about. Now that I know, I’m even more excited. May is an awfully long time to wait.

 

 

Behind the Scenes Dahlia Adler (June 24)

I met the lovely Dahlia at BEA, she of the macaroons and shiny tiara. She also saved me from having to ride the subway by myself. Dahlia has impeccable taste in books (she’s never recommended a book that I didn’t love), so I can’t wait to read hers.

 

Between  Megan Whitmer (July 29)

I also met the lovely Megan at BEA this past May, so I called in a favor. I begged to sneak a peek at Between, and either my wiley Southern charm worked, or Megan thought I would leave her alone if she just sent it already. Whatever the reason, she sent me the first five chapters, which was actually torturous, now that I think about it, because as soon as I’d read those chapters, I wanted more. The writing is clean and the characters interested me from the beginning. I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of this book.

Ruin and Rising Leigh Bardugo (June 3)

I need more Sturmhond. There. I said it. I still love Mal of course, but Sturmhond stole the show in Seige and Storm, and I can’t wait to see what he gets up to in the final book. I read the first book, Shadow and Bone, because of the gorgeous cover. But what’s inside is even better. If you haven’t read these yet, there’s still time to do so before the final one is out. Get on that.

The Book of Life Deborah Harkness (July 15)

If you haven’t read A Discovery of Witches, then you need to reexamine your life. A friend recommended this book to me, and though I was a bit skeptical, I took her advice. I finished the book in two days and immediately re-read it. It’s sexy and smart with a healthy dose of history. I liked the first one better than the second (which got a little slow for me), but I’ve been looking forward to this book for two years now.

 

Damsel Distressed  Kelsey Macke (October)

So I’m cheating a little with this one, since I read a very early version of it about a year ago. Getting my hands on it also involved begging. (I’m shameless, I know.) I read this book in one afternoon. I was only going to read a few chapters, but the voice was so incredible, the characters so real, that I didn’t move until I’d finished it. And I was reading it on my computer, which, if you’ve done this before, you know is not the best reading experience. But it didn’t matter – the story was that good. So I can’t wait to see what Kelsey has done with it in the year since.

Book 3 of the Raven Boys Maggie Steifvater (Fall)

I’m super excited for the third Raven Boys books. I loved the first one, but the second, Dream Thieves, was even better. Stiefvater writes very lovely sentences, but her writing isn’t the only thing I admire about her work. She creates complex characters and then puts them into a contemporary setting with an otherworldly feel. Both prose and story are haunting and magical. I’m not sure I can wait until fall for this one. I might do unhealthy things for an advanced copy.

 

No Place to Fall Jaye Robin Brown(December 9)

I absolutely love the sound of this, particularly the last line of the description: “But between ‘right’ and ‘wrong,’ there’s a whole world of possibilities.” I was also lucky enough to interview both Jaye Robin and Dahlia Adler about waiting on their debuts.

2013 - A Year of Firsts

2013 was an amazing year – my debut year, one full of firsts, fears, and felicity.

In January, I revealed the cover for my debut novel, Reclaimed. I was so pleased with how it turned out, and the entire experience was surreal. That is another thing 2013 was – completely surreal.

The book went up for pre-order in March. Seeing my name on Barnes and Noble and Amazon was strange, like that person was completely separate from the one I am.

In May I had another first when I flew to NYC to attend BEA. Signings posters was incredible, as was getting to meet authors I admire, but the best part about BEA was getting to hang with all of the friends I’d met online. I can’t wait until we’re all in the same city again. Shenanigans!

In June I learned that Reclaimed had received two blurbs from authors I admire (Tiffany Schmidt and Mindi Scott). There was much jumping and squealing. Again, the idea that people whose writing I love also love mine was (and still is) so hard to grasp.

Kirkus gave Reclaimed a lovely review in July. I’m still not sure I believe that one.

August and September were ridiculously busy getting ready for Reclaimed’s release. I’m so grateful for my editor, my publicity team, and the Reading with Me girls.

October. My favorite month. The month Reclaimed begins. My birthday. Falling leaves and cooler temps and magic. And the release of my debut. It was a magical month indeed, full of author events and Twitter support and live chats. I saw my book on bookstore shelves. Finally, after three years, the characters I loved now no longer belonged only to me. It was so gratifying and humbling to hear that readers loved them too.

December has been a pretty exciting month as well, for reasons. J

 

The one regret I have this year is that I didn’t read as many books. I normally average around 100 books a year. Last year was my lowest at 62. This year was so busy that I read fewer than 50. But I read some great ones. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Eleanor and Park and Fangirl, both by Rainbow Rowell (This was the year I fell in love with Rainbow Rowell.)

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (I read this in March. I’ll re-read when/if I ever recover from it.)

 

Vicious by V.E. Schwab (And did you hear the movie news?)

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (I loved The Raven Boys, but I think I liked this one even better.)

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr (I love everything she writes.)

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart (I know, I’m kicking myself for taking so long to find this one.)

 

2013 was a truly phenomenal year, and though I may be a bit sad to see it go, I am super excited about what 2014 will bring. There are so many great books just waiting to be discovered, and so many others that I’ve been waiting what seems like forever to read. My own writing is going well, and I have plenty to keep me busy in 2014. I’ll run my seventh marathon in February. I have exciting things planned for March. And I may just finally get to take that trip to England I’ve been dreaming about since I was in high school.

Thanks for coming along for the ride. Can’t wait to see where this road takes us.

Read This Book!

I’m an advocate for books. It’s what I do. It’s what I’m known for. I became a teacher because I wanted to share my passion for books with others, hoping they would fall in love with reading too. I am so enthusiastic about books I love that I do little happy dances and tell people if they don’t read that book right now they are missing out on life and happiness.

When friends or family want a good book, they ask me. I’ve never left a doctor’s office without recommending at least two books to pretty much every single person I talk to. I read while waiting in the doctor’s office, which means the nurse always wants to talk to me about books. If it is a doctor I visit often, they start asking for recommendations the moment they see me. Once the doctor comes in, we usually spend more time talking books than about what I’ve come into the office for. And I love every single minute of it.

When I talk books, I talk about the ones I love. The ones that kept me up at night, that were the reason my husband had to dig out his oldest pair of jeans because nothing else was clean, the reason I considered playing hooky from work just to stay home and read all day. I talk about the ones that made me cry. Made me laugh. Made me read them several times.

Because this is what we do when we love books. We want others to love them too. I don’t recommend books I don’t like, the ones I can’t finish, the ones I toss aside in disgust. Yes, I’ve read plenty like that. But no one wants to hear about those. They want to hear about the ones I loved so that maybe they will fall in love too.

So that is why I only review books I like, and that is why if you check out my Goodreads, you’ll only see 4s and 5s. No, not every book I read gets 4s and 5s. Sometimes I’ll go a couple of months without updating because I don’t love the books I’m reading. I decided a while back that I would only talk about those books I would recommend to others. That’s what I do.

I do believe there is a need for critical reviews. I have plenty of opinions about why books didn’t work for me. I discuss those with my book club or friends who have read the same book. I adore critical book discussions, picking apart the character development, voice, plot. But my blog reviews and Goodreads were created to get others to read. I sort of feel like that’s my calling.

So here are a few of the books that I love. And keep checking out my blog or Goodreads if you want to hear about more.

 

A few of my favorites:

IT by Stephen King

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness

REBECCA by Dauphne du Maurier
FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury
THE SWAN THIEVES and THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova
Anything Jane Austen, but particulary PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafron
 

HARRY POTTER by JK Rowling (obviously)

JELLICOE ROAD by Marlina Marchetta
CRACKED UP TO BE by Courtney Summers
SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS  and AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green
JUST ONE DAY by Gayle Foreman
THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher

(And I’m going to stop there because once I started making this list it started getting out of hand. How do you pick your favorite books?!)

Happy Reading!

To Read and Read Again

Books were my first love. My grandmother (a teacher) taught me to read before I started school, so I spent most of my childhood lost in pages. I would hurry though my schoolwork so I could sit and read. I remember getting so lost in a book that I wouldn’t hear my mother calling me for dinner. I grew up in a small town, and books were a way for me to see the world. I felt I had traveled the globe by the time I got into high school and fell in love with Russian literature.

I am a re-reader. Sometimes I admit that with shame. There are so many amazing books out there that I want to read, and I know that I will never get to all of them. That thought makes me sad. When I read the Twilight series, I envied the Cullen’s insomnia. I couldn’t imagine all the books I would be able to read if I didn’t have to sleep.

I feel guilty sometimes when I’m re-reading a book. But I love that world and those characters so much that I want to get lost in it over and over again. Sometimes I re-read even if I didn’t love the book. I might have read the book before I was ready for it, and either it was too difficult for me to understand, or I hadn’t yet reached the point in my life where I could appreciate the struggles of the characters. I have both fallen in love with books that I didn’t really appreciate the first time I read them and have re-read books that, by the time I got to the re-read, had somehow lost their magic for me.

But more often than not, when I re-read I am transported to a familiar world, almost like home, and sometimes I’m even transported back to my childhood.

I’m going to do a series of reviews of childhood favorites. I have several guest bloggers lined up to write reviews of their favorite childhood stories. Maybe you’ll be inspired to read a book you’ve heard about but never had a chance to read. Maybe you’ll be reminded of one you loved. But I hope you’ll be motivated to do the same – re-read a book and maybe recapture a tiny piece of the magic of childhood.

Books, BEA, and RECLAIMED, oh my: Why 2013 is Going to be Amazing

1. Books: The great thing about a new year is all the new books I’ll get a chance to read. While I love re-reading my favorites (I’m planning on re-reading The Hounds of the Morrigan, my absolute favorite book from elementary school, which I haven’t read in years), diving into a new book is like stepping into a whole other universe. It’s exhilarating and a little terrifying because you have no idea who you’ll be by the time you finish reading it. The great books change us in both large and small ways, and I just want to say thanks in advance to all the authors out there who are going to alter my world just a little this year. I’ve already blogged about some books I’m looking forward to in 2013 here, but here are just a few that have attracted my interest since then.

Altered, by Jenn Rush

Archived, by Victoria Schwab

Camp Boyfriend, by JK Rock

The Dollhouse Asylum, Mary Gray

 

2. BEA: I’ve never been to NYC before. I’m a little intimidated and a whole lot excited. I get to be there promoting Reclaimed, which is even better. I’m going to get to hang out with my editor Danielle Ellison and fellow SHP writer Erica Cameron, as well as various members of the SHP family. We are going to have shenanigans. I may even get to meet Dahl and other Twitter friends who decide if I’m that far north they must come play. So I’ll be in New York City, at BEA, as an author, meeting lots of amazing people. I may need to bring my smelling salts.

 

3. Reclaimed: Guys, I love this book so much. I guess I should, since I wrote it, but my fellow writers know that isn’t always the case. I adore these characters, flaws and all, and I can’t wait to share Jenna, Ian, and Luke with all of you. I’m also terrified. Because this is the year that I let my words out into the world. I’ve nurtured them and swore at them, and now they are ready to be out on their own. I’m so scared. And elated. But most of all, ready.

 

My focus word for the year is BALANCE. I have to do a better job balancing all areas of my life – friends, family, teaching, writing. But I also need to make sure that I take care of myself too. I’m not going to feel guilty when I need to take a day or two off to recharge. This is not a race, and I don’t have to speed through my days by trying to cram too much into each hour. I’m going to read, write, run, dance, laugh, cry, and learn to let myself off the hook. I’m going to succeed and fail this year, in one way or another.  And I’m going to enjoy every damn minute of the ride.

Celebrating our Right to Read

 

 

I don’t know how different my life would be if I didn’t have books.  It is actually a terrifying idea.  My grandmother, who was a teacher like most of the women in my family, taught me to read before I started kindergarten, and since then, reading has been my passion.  When I think about elementary school, I pretty much remember racing through my work so I could read.  I remember getting lost for days in other worlds – and I feel so lucky that books still have that power over me.  I am also very lucky that I was allowed to read widely.  I read Stephen King’s It when I was thirteen years old.  It was probably not appropriate for me at that age, but I loved it, and I turned out okay.  My mother probably didn’t even know I was reading it, but I’m not so sure she would have stopped me anyway.  I often read off of her shelf, which is also why I’ve read numerous V.C. Andrews books, none of them probably appropriate for my age.  And it’s okay for parents to say that their child is probably not ready for a certain book yet.  Because we have the right to read, it also means we have the right to choose books which we might enjoy – and which ones we might not.  The books I love are not necessarily going to be loved by everyone else.  And that’s great.  Our differences are what make this world such an amazing place.  But it is not okay for you to choose books for me.  It’s not okay for you to make sure that those books aren’t available to me if I want to read them – that I can’t read that book because it offends you.

But I want to talk to my students, particularly those who refuse to read.  I joke all the time about our summer reading books.  I have suggested before that we send home a letter to students giving them a list of books that they aren’t allowed to read over the summer.  If we told students they could not read something, then I guarantee they would want to.  And I’m only half joking.  But students, I want to suggest this.  Choosing not to read at all is also, in a way, censorship.  Now I know not everyone likes to read.  Because books mean so much to me, that hurts my heart to hear.  But that is your right.  But please think about it like this.  Not all great books are made into movies.  And every movie you watch has been interpreted by someone else.  That is someone else’s vision of the story.  The director’s vision may be a great one, but your vision may be very different.  You won’t know that if you never read.  If you never read, you are censoring yourself from a lifetime of ideas.  You are committing yourself to only seeing things the way others see them.  Instead, discover your own way of seeing things. 

So I challenge you to read whatever you want because you can.  You have been blessed with the ability to read.  You are blessed to live in a country which values your education.  (I am a public school teacher, and no matter what you believe about the state of our schools, I am still an idealist and still believe that this country values education - despite some of the policies to the contrary.)  So you have been given this great gift – literacy.  Use it!  You have the right to get lost in a book – any book – even if someone else doesn’t like that book.  Even if someone else is offended by that book.  Get offended by that book.  That is also your right.  It is your right to read something and not like what it says.  Let’s have a conversation about it.  Let’s discuss those ideas.  But let’s not squash those ideas completely.  Let’s not tell someone they aren’t allowed to think that way.  Let’s read books that offend us and talk about why.  Let’s read books that address tough issues and learn from them.  Let’s just read books so that we can be swept away into a whole new world, one that is just for us, and let’s not let anyone take that away from us.  Because when you read, you create your own version of that book based on who you are, and no one else has that exact same vision.  Isn’t that awesome?  And even though the writer is manipulating you in a way because they are using words to create ideas, you are also manipulating those words and ideas and it is so much better than a movie, where you are just the spectator.  When you read a book, you are participating in that action.  So let’s not take that away from anyone. 

Let’s not take away the right of every human being to be moved and changed by a great book.  To be a better person for the words that are written.  Let’s celebrate the fact that we have the right to read.  And then let’s talk about it.  Because maybe having meaningful conversations about important things will change us all.  And call me naïve, but I do believe that books have the power to make this world a better place.  It’s why I write.  It’s why I read.  It’s why I try to pass that hunger for words on to my students.  And it’s why I read banned books.  I hope you will too. 

 

A list of some of my favorite banned books:

Fahrenheit 451

Harry Potter

Twilight

Huck Finn

The Great Gatsby

A Farewell to Arms

The Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Rings

(Really, if you look at the list, I’ve loved almost every book on there in one way or another.  Just goes to show you that the best books makes us feel.  Even if that feeling is anger.)

To learn more about Banned Books Week, visit http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek

Books I'm Excited About: 2013

Really, these are books that everyone is excited about.  And I realized that most of these are the final installments of trilogies.  I love stand alones, but somehow I keep getting sucked into these trilogies! 

 

 Clockwork Princess   March 19   Cassandra Clare

I loved the Mortal Instruments Series, but I will admit, I think I am falling more in love with the Infernal Devices.  For those of you who don’t know about these books (and where have you been?!), they are about Shadowhunters, which are humans descended from angels who battle demons.  This series is set in Victorian London and has steampunk elements like automatons.  That right there should entice you to read.  London!  Steampunk!  Romance and swords and angst!  That’s the way to this girl’s heart.

 

While I love all the characters (Henry is so great), I absolutely adore Will.  He has some of the best lines.  I’m really looking forward to how Clare wraps this series up, though I know that no matter what happens with the love triangle, there will be heartbreak.  Both Will and Jem are such wonderful characters, and while I care a lot about Jem, I want Tessa to end up with Will.  I just don’t see how that can happen without destroying Jem, one way or another.  I’m not so sure I can wait until March, but I’m not so sure I want it to end either.

 

Shades of Earth   January 15   Beth Revis

Across the Universe was a book recommended by a student for our school book club.  I’m the sponsor, and my more dedicated members of the club often research books looking for interesting new releases.  We voted on and chose AtU, and I loved it.  The series is about Amy, who was cryogenically frozen and loaded onto a spaceship, and Elder, who is training to be the next leader.  They are on their way to colonize a new planet.  But Amy is woken up before they get there, and someone is killing the frozen human cargo, and the whole thing just goes downhill for them (but totally awesome for the reader) from there.

 I loved Amy and Elder and was immediately sucked into their story.  Then A Million Suns came out, and I think I enjoyed that one even more.  Now I am eagerly awaiting the release of Shades of Earth.  There are a lot of ends to tie up, and I’m very interested in seeing how Revis brings this series to a close.  I’m pretty sure it’s going to be explosive. 

 

The Moon and More   June 4    Sarah Dessen

I love Sarah Dessen.  I will admit, up until two years ago, I’d never read any of her books.  But one of my students was a huge fan, and she went on and on about how I needed to read Dessen’s books.  I was going to get around to it eventually, but I just hadn’t yet.  Then I went to ALA in New Orleans, and Dessen was there signing.  I bought three, got them signed, and then devoured each one in one sitting.  There’s just something about Dessen’s writing that draws me in.  The characters are real and the writing is solid and the stories are so addictive that once I start one of her books, I don’t stop until I’ve read it in its entirety.  So I’m really looking forward to this new story.  Summer romance and the beach?  I’m in!

 

Seige and Storm  2013  Leigh Bardugo

I pre-ordered Shadow and Bone because of the buzz on Twitter.  And the cover.  Isn’t it gorgeous?  I ordered it from Books of Wonder, so I have a shiny signed copy as well as a poster and buttons and I was happy dancing when they all arrived.  And then I read that book in one sitting.  Notice a pattern?  Shadow and Bone is about Alina, who discovers she has the power of the sun and must figure out how to use that power to help her world.  And there’s kissing, so that’s a bonus.  I have always loved Russian literature, so I loved that this had a very Russian feel to the fantasy world.  Alina is such a strong character, and I have to admit, I have a crush on both Mal and the Darkling.  Oh the angst!

 

 

Divergent finale  (Not titled yet)  Fall 2013      Veronica Roth

There was so much buzz around Divergent before it even came out that it was one of the books I was most excited about picking up at ALA in New Orleans. I fell in love with dystopian literature in high school, devouring books such as Fahrenheit 451 and 1984.  And Divergent didn’t disappoint.  Set in a future Chicago, five factions work to solve the world’s problems according to their beliefs in what those problems are and how they should be solved.  Tris chooses the Dauntless faction over her family (Abnegation), then (spoiler alert) uncovers a plot by her new faction to destroy her old one.  She has to decide what family and faction mean while not getting killed and saving those she loves.  And I didn’t even mention Four, who is such a great character – smart and sexy and broken.  And Divergent is so much better than that summary! 

 So of course I ran out and got Insurgent the day it came out, and of course the ending of that book made me scream in frustration that Roth wasn’t an autobot and had to sleep and stuff because I needed the next book as soon as I had finished Insurgent!  Ahem.  But now I have waited patiently and will have to wait a little longer than I thought since the book won’t be released until the fall.  But I’m willing to wait, albeit impatiently, because we all know that great books can take a while.  And I’m anticipating this one will be phenomenal.

 

Requiem  Spring 2013   Lauren Oliver

Lauren Oliver is a fantastic writer.  I’ve read Before I Fall several times and loved Delirium, which is set in a world where love is a disease and they have found a cure.  Ingenious, right?  But then Lena meets Alex, and she decides she might not want to be cured after all. 

 

(Spoiler alert)  I knew Alex had to be alive, so I was a nervous wreck the entire time reading Pandemonium because I knew her budding relationship with Julian was not going to end well.  And it didn’t.  So now I know there will be major conflict in this final installment of the series, and hopefully answers about her mom.  I am very interested in how Oliver will wrap up the series, and I can’t see how it can be done in a neat and tidy way.  And as a writer I like open endings.  As a reader, I need to know all the things and see all the happiness.  I’m sure Oliver will be able to strike a nice balance between the two.  Whatever happens, I’m looking forward to the ride.