I'm really excited to participate in my second read-a-thon. The first one I joined was fun, but my vacation interrupted my reading, so I didn't get though all my goals. This time, however, I don't have many things on schedule, so hopefully I will accomplish all my reads. So the factors that went into consideration when choosing out my books included number of pages, on to-read list since, and availability. Maybe these weren't books I would've first picked, but they all fit in with my 'requirements.'
So here we go:
1st Pick: 08/04- 08/05
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?
I kept hearing great things about Stephanie Perkins' books, so I had to try one out.
2nd Pick: 08/06- 08/07
Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.
But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.
Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.
In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.
I recently won this in a giveaway and I let my brother read it and he devoured it. I'm hoping I love it as much as he did.
3rd Pick: 08/08- 08/09
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.
Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future-and each other.
Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.
I read If I Stay awhile back and I thought it was okay, but I wasn't a huge fan. I've heard many people say this one is much better, so I'm looking forward to it.
4th Pick: 08/10- 08/11
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
In an America devastated by war and plague, the only way to survive is to keep moving.
In the aftermath of a war, America’s landscape has been ravaged and two-thirds of the population left dead from a vicious strain of influenza. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family were among the few that survived and became salvagers, roaming the country in search of material to trade. But when Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler’s Landing, a community that seems too good to be true. Then Stephen meets strong, defiant, mischievous Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. And when they play a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the midst of a battle that will change Settler’s Landing--and their lives--forever.
I thought this looked like an interesting dystopian, and it's a single book, something rarely seen with dystopians. Also, my brother wanted to read it and I've had it on my to-read list forever, so I'm finally getting to it.
5th Pick: 08/12
Life Is But a Dream by Brian James
Sabrina, an artist, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, and her parents check her into the Wellness Center. There she meets Alec, who is convinced it's the world that's crazy, not the two of them. They are meant to be together; they are special. But when Alec starts to convince Sabrina that her treatment will wipe out everything that makes her creative, she worries that she'll lose hold of her dreams and herself. Should she listen to her doctor? her decision may have fatal consequences.
Brian James calls Life is But a Dream "the most intense book I've written. Bringing this unique character to life and seeing the world through her eyes, with all its beauty and confusion, was an immense challenge that I hope is just as rewarding to read as it was to write." Intense--yes. Unforgettable--definitely.
Originally, I had picked Looking for Alaska from John Green, but my public library didn't have it-__- This was a last minute pick, I saw it at the library and got it, knowing it had been on my to-read shelf for awhile now, but I'm excited for it also.
So those are my picks, and I'm excited!! Are you participating in the read-a-thon? If so, which books are you reading?
