TGIF (8) and Feature/Follow Friday (14)

TGIF... is a weekly meme hosted by GReads to re-cap the week's posts and to propose a question for followers.

Writing Reviews 101: What's your process for writing book reviews? Any tips or suggestions you would recommend to other bloggers?

Great question! Hmm, MY book review writing process? Well, one thing I've learned is that the sooner I write a review after finishing a book, the better. The longer I wait, the harder it is for me to truly articulate all I want and need to say about a book. But, my review writing process really starts before I even finish a book. I'm a big note taker. Like a seriously nerdy note taker. When I was in school, I'd take 3-5 pages worth of notes in one class while everyone else took 1, but I've found my note taking habits to come in handy when writing reviews. While reading, I'm constantly jotting down my thoughts, reactions, and ideas, taking note of things characters do or say, etc. These are incredibly useful when writing reviews.

I found that it really took some time for me to formulate a review style and format that works for me, and I suggest new bloggers should do the same. Everybody has their own review style and some people focus on certain book aspects more than others. And that's ok. I'm a little more analytical than some in my reviews. I guess that's just the former English major in me. The three main aspects of a book that I try to focus on are the story as a whole (including the actual writing style, pacing, storyline, etc), the characters, and the relationships (romantic, friendship, familial). 

As for my review format, I usually start my review with three words that, in my opinion, describe the book best. Then I include a short prequel of sorts of my thoughts, then my own brief summary/review of the book, then my review, then my final thoughts. This format seems to really work well for me. 

One of the most important things to me when it comes to writing reviews, is that my own personality comes through. I take  writing reviews seriously, but that doesn't mean I don't allow myself to have fun with it and be silly. I think doing this makes my or your reviews memorable and will have readers coming back.

Feature and Follow Friday... is a blog hop, hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, that allows book bloggers to discover and connect with other book bloggers.

Today's featured blogs are:Fic Book Reviews and Lauren Gets Literal

Question: What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books? Maybe you don't like love triangles or thin plots? Tell us about it!

Ah yes, the book pet peeves. I have many, but I won't discuss them all, just my biggest peevest ones...

1. Insta-love

Grrr! I no likey the insta-love, especially in YA. If you don't know what insta-love is, well it's pretty much what it sounds like. It's when two characters meet and BOOM they're in love. And I'm talking like after three days or one kiss or one look. Again I say, Grr! There are several reasons why this bothers me. First, it's not realistic. Yes, teenagers fall quickly and intensely, but that's usually more lust than love. I'm not saying you can't care deeply for someone in a short time, but love?! I think not. True love isn't meeting someone and instantly falling completely in love with them. Love takes time. Love takes getting to truly know someone. And you do NOT truly know someone after mere days. 

Second, it's a cop out. It's a way for writers to get out of actually having to show their characters fall in love. I mean how many YA books or series (I won't name names, but we all know which ones) supposedly feature great love stories and couples, yet there's no actual falling in love or relationship development at all in them?!

Third, this insta-love type of relationship often makes characters incomplete as individuals. Meaning they aren't well developed or interesting enough without their romantic counterpart. With YA characters, usually female protagonists, who are in these insta-love relationships they tend be defined by their relationship. I personally hate how so many female characters are depicted as less than enough or less complete without their boyfriend. And don't even get me started on the female characters who need a guy to feel complete or who spend half the book talking about how perfect/gorgeous/glorious their guy is and how unworthy she is of him...not to mention the authors who think this is a good message to be sending young people. 

Ok I'm going to stop talking about this before I bore you all to death ;)

2. Absent Parents

Where the hecky are all the parents or guardians? And I don't mean dead, divorced, just not in the picture parents. I mean parents/guardians who live with their children, see them daily, yet never seem to be around. Never seem to be concerned. Never seem to call or check up on them.  And seriously, parents are not as clueless as some books make them out to be. 

3. Cliched Teenage Characters

Nothing is more boring than cliched, stereotypical characters, especially teenage characters. Give me refreshing, unique characters-

Cheerleaders aren't always mean. The girl with blue hair that hangs out in the art room just might love pop music and have a bubbly personality. The quarterback of the football team may be a computer whiz. The smart, nerdy guy just might be the frontman for a death metal band. 

And I really hate when YA characters are described as "emo"! I mean how many teens do you know that actually refer to themselves as emo?! 

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST BOOK PET PEEVES? LEAVE LINKS IN THE COMMENTS. IF YOU'RE A NEW FOLLOWER LET ME KNOW SO I CAN FOLLOW YOU BACK :)


WEEKLY BLOG RECAP
eARC Review
Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield
~I gave it 5 Cupcakes~
Review and Author Interview
The Crystal Bridge by Charles M. Pulsipher
~I gave it 4 Cupcakes~
Review and Paperback Giveaway
Zombies at the Door, Planning for the Inevitable by Charles M. Pulsipher
Win a paperback copy!
~I gave it 5 Cupcakes~
Review, Author Interview, and Hardcover Giveaway
Scary School by Derek the Ghost
Win a Hardcover Copy
~I gave it 5 Cupcakes~
Review
Hushed by Kelley York
~I gave it 4 Cupcakes~

eARC Review: HUSHED by Kelley York ~4 Cupcakes~

TITLE: Hushed                                      AUTHOR: Kelley York    PUB: Entangled Pub                              PUB DATE: 12/6/11    FORMAT: eARC                                    SOURCE: netgalley.com

He’s saved her. He’s loved her. He’s killed for her. Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn’t protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he’s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn’t matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another—Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed. Then along comes Evan, the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is. But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer’s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn’t get what she wants… And what she wants is Evan’s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

THREE WORDS: Intense. Dark. Thought-Provoking

MY REVIEW: This is a tough review for me to write, simply because I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about this book. I walked away from HUSHED conflicted, and not for the reasons you may think. With such a dark premise and an emotionally charged story dealing with murder, rape, and abuse you’d think my confliction came from the subject matter itself. But it doesn’t. Yes, the premise is intensely dark and the subject matter provocative, but author Kelley York has done a stunning job of taking this premise and its subject matter and writing a story that is heart-achingly beautiful, thought-provoking, and deeply meaningful.  No, I think my confliction comes from the characters, but more on that in bit…

            THE STORY

As I stated above, HUSHED is incredibly thought-provoking. This is a book that will leave you reeling and desperately needing to talk about it. Archer’s story is shocking, heartbreaking, romantic, hopeful, scary…I think every emotion I could possibly produce was evoked at some point while reading this book. This book will have you asking yourself Would I? Could I? How far would I be willing to go? Just…what if?

I always like and appreciate when an author isn’t afraid to Go There, and York definitely Goes There and then goes a bit farther. Nothing is held back and the gritty realism may not always be easy to stomach, but it is always necessary. One thing in particular that I found impressive, was that every character; every storyline; every event had a purpose, a necessary purpose. York never put in a shocking/intimate/intense/unexpected scene simply for the shock value. Although, with that being said, I do think some parts of the book dragged a bit and could have been condensed and still conveyed what they needed to.

This is an emotionally charged story, so the handling of these emotions had to be done delicately and in a way that wasn’t too much or too little, and York accomplishes this really well. It’s no easy task to make readers sympathetic toward a murderous character, but York does this with Archer. York really places readers into the mindset of each character, stripping away their defenses and baring their emotions, thought processes, and secrets. Yet, York never writes in a way that makes you feel like you’re supposed to feel a certain way about a character or his/her actions. The characters’ emotions, thoughts, and truths are laid out for readers to accept, reject, understand, and comprehend in their own ways.

There are definitely enough twists and turns to keep you captivated, but the climax was easy to see coming. But, that doesn’t mean the ending wasn’t satisfying, because it is.

           

RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships play an important role in this book, especially Archer and Vivian’s relationship and Archer and Evan’s relationship.

Archer and Vivian’s friendship is a twisted, unhealthy one. Archer has always been in love with Vivian and she has always used and manipulated him, a truth that Archer is well aware of. Yet, he can’t walk away from her. Archer’s longing for and pain caused by Vivian is palpable. With this friendship, York gives readers a very honest look at the lasting effects of abuse, the often depilating nature of co-dependency, and the power of guilt.

Archer and Evan’s relationship is the opposite of Archer and Vivian’s. Evan is the first person who has ever truly cared for Archer without expecting or wanting anything in return. There’s a real sweetness to their friendship and eventual romantic relationship, but there’s also a breathtaking intensity to it as well.  This is a very well written and executed romantic relationship.

One of things I really liked is the fact that Archer’s hesitation toward his feelings for Evan never really comes from the fact that they are both guys, even though Archer has never been in a relationship with another guy before. York has explored the scary, exciting, awkward, intense nature of falling in love without focusing on the topic of sexual orientation, which I found really refreshing and kind of beautiful.

CHARACTERS

And this is where my confliction comes from. York has created very compelling, realistic, intriguing characters, yet I failed to connect with any of them. That isn’t to say that I didn’t like any of them or didn’t find them interesting, because I did. I simply did not feel attached to any of them by the end of the book.

Archer is the main character and the main source of my confliction. I get his character and throughout the book I liked him more than I didn’t like him. I found myself sympathetic toward him and understanding of his actions, even his murderous ones, but I never felt myself become truly invested in his story or his fate. Sure, I was eager to see how his story played out and what, exactly, his fate would come to, but by the end of the book, I didn’t actually care one way or another whether he lived or died, was caught or remained free.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: I think my confliction about this book comes from the fact that I walked away from it really liking the story, but not finding the characters terribly memorable or overly enjoyable. Which for me, is kind of conflicting in itself because I’ve always believed that the characters are what make or break a book. Yet, with HUSHED, the overall story, emotional elements, and writing make up for my lack of connection with its characters. And it’s the story itself that makes this a book that should be read.

MY RATING

4/5 CUPCAKES

You can learn more about and connect with Kelley York here:

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

You can pre-order/purchase this book here:

Amazon / Barnes and Noble 

Review, Giveaway, Interview: Scary School ~5 Cupcakes~

Be sure to check out my interview with Derek the Ghost (Derek Kent) and enter to win a hardcover copy of Scary School below my review

TITLE: Scary School                              SERIES: Scary School #1 AUTHOR: Derek the Ghost                   PUB DATE: 6/21/11 PUBLISHER: HarperCollins                  FORMAT: hardcover SOURCE: from author in exchange for honest review

You think your school's scary? 
Get a load of these teachers: Ms. Fang, an 850-year-old vampire. Dr. Dragonbreath, who just might eat you before recess. Mr. Snakeskin—science class is so much more fun when it's taught by someone who's half zombie. Mrs. T—break the rules and spend your detention with a hungry Tyrannosaurus rex!Plus Gargoyles, goblins, and Frankenstein's monster on the loose The world's most frighteningly delicious school lunchAnd The narrator's an eleven-year-old ghost!Join Charles "New Kid" Nukid as he makes some very Scary friends—including Petunia, Johnny, and Peter the Wolf—and figures out that Scary School can be just as funny as it is spooky!

 You MUST watch this trailer!

THREE WORDS: Awesome. Clever. Laugh-out-loud-funny (it’s totally one word!)

MY REVIEW: I dove right into Scary School as soon as it arrived in the mail! I mean, I couldn’t resist that fun cover and that wicked cool trailer and song! Have you watched the trailer above yet? No? Go watch it…now…I’ll wait *waits patiently*…See? I told you! And yes, that song WILL be in your head all day *smirks*

As you can tell, I LOVED this book! It’s pretty much made of awesome. Written and narrated by Derek the Ghost, an 11 year old former attendee at Scary School who died a year ago in a science lab accident…but don’t worry, he’s kinda cool with it. Derek the Ghost recounts the many adventures and happenings of Scary School. And just what is Scary School? Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like, duh! Scary School is an elementary school, open to both humans and scary children, run by scary teachers. With a principle named Principle Headcrusher, teachers like Ms. Fang and Dr. Dragonbreath, and a T.Rex as a librarian and detention monitor, well you never know what’s going to happen. In this first installment of a new series, we follow Charles “New Kid” Nukid, as he makes his way through his first terrifying year at Scary School. A year that is made even more exciting with the Ghoul Games.

Author Derek Kent, aka Derek the Ghost, offers up a delightfully funny, entertaining and positively spellbinding new series. This is the type of book that I would have gone crazy for as a kid! It’s whimsical, laugh out loud funny, smart, and full of fun surprises. The narration is a perfect blend of childlike silliness and deadpan sarcasm. This book is reminiscent of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events  and The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series, both of which I adore.

There is a wonderful cast of characters, human and scary alike. In this book, Derek introduces us to many of Scary School’s more interesting students, such as Peter the Wolf, Jason the hockey mask, chainsaw wielding hockey player, Petunia the purple skinned flower girl, Ramon the zombie, Penny Possum who’s boss at playing dead, and Frank which is pronounced “Rachel”. Each character is engaging, likable, and perfectly childlike. I truly loved every single character, but I think my favorite so far is Penny Possum.

This is a book that kids will just get. The silly, sometimes gross, out there humor is pitch perfect for the MG and younger crowd. But, this book will surely entertain adults as well. It definitely captivated this grown up! This would make an excellent read aloud book for kids and adults to share.

But, just because this book is a hoot a page doesn’t mean it has nothing meaningful and important to offer. There are many valuable lessons to be learned in this book as well, such as:   Never judge a person by their appearance

·         Friends can come in all sorts of packages

·         Always be yourself

·         Don’t anger a vampire

·         Always follow a dragon’s rules

·         Lunchtime is NOT a good time to visit a T.Rex

·         When in doubt, use Monster Math: the bigger the number, the better.

For example: 2+2=…if you said 4 then you’d be wrong. If you said 18,478 or 2,674,198 or Infinity, then you’d probably be right…who knew, according to Monster Math, that I was a mathematical genius all along?!

I have to mention the illustrations done by Scott M. Fischer because they are awesome! His simple, yet wonderfully vivid pictures really capture the scenes and bring the book to life.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Ten year old me is sad that this book wasn’t around when she was in elementary school, but grown up me is so glad to have found this book in the present. Scary School is a superb first installment in what is sure to be a beloved and adored new series. Readers of all ages will be delighted and captivated by its humor, magic, and awesomeness. You absolutely MUST read this book!

MY RATING

5/5 CUPCAKES

You can learn more about this series and the author here:

Series Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

You can purchase this book here:

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository

Derek is an eleven-year-old ghost who haunts the classrooms and hallways of Scary School, writing down all the spine-tingling often hilarious things that go on there. Despite his ghostly state, Derek still enjoys reading comic books and hopes to one day become a master ninja. If that doesn’t work out, he will continue to share the fun of this very special, very secret school, so all kids can experience the scariest school on earth. Derek the Ghost communicates through the first-time ghost whisperer Derek Taylor Kent, who is a writer and performer in Los Angeles, California.

Q. What inspired you to write Scary School? Where did the idea come from?

Interestingly, the idea for the book actually came from my editor at HarperCollins. Previous to Scary School, I had written a book called RUDY AND THE BEAST: Book 1 - MY HOMEWORK ATE MY DOG! (but originally it was called Scary School: Book 1 - My Homework Ate My Dog!) The editor really liked the book, but suggested I use the title Scary School to write something lighter and funnier and more school-centric. So since I had a fan and a bite, I plunged into writing the new book, which they loved right away and gave me a three-book deal for. I drew on a lot of my favorite things for inspiration for the book. The great thing about it is that it's format allows me to create new wild things from chapter to chapter, so I drew on a lot of the classic horror motifs (gothic castles, giant squids, dragons, dinosaurs) and current horror trends (vampires and werewolves and zombies), and then put a comedic spin on it so that I'm poking fun at all of it. I'm a comedy writer by nature, but also have a deep love of scary books and movies, so I wanted to create something that would be laugh-out-loud funny, but not disappoint those seeking thrills and chills. Oh, and if any of your readers want to check out Rudy and the Beast, it's a super-fun adventure story and is available through the website ScarySchool.com and is only $2.99 on Kindle!

Q. Are any of the characters, especially the scary teachers, modeled after real people? Did you have a Dr. Dragonbreath growing up?

Yes, there are some characters that are taken straight from my life. Most obviously is the character of Jacqueline, who's my 8-year-old sister in the book, and is also my sister in real life. In the book, she builds a haunted house for me to live in, and in real life, she built an incredible, massive structure that was similar to a haunted house while she was an art student at UCLA. Many of the other characters are taken from classic horror stories - for instance there's a young Freddy Kruger and a young Jason. For the teachers, I did have a super-scary, strict teacher once in my life who reminds of Dr. Dragonbreath, and I think most kids do too, so that class is one they can relate to. But then I also took elements from some of my favorite teachers and gave Dr. Dragonbreath those qualities so that he's also likable - wearing bow-ties, and teaching in a very entertaining way.

 Q. Do you have a favorite Scary School character? Mine’s Penny Possum ;)

Oh, then you're definitely going to love Book 2 of Scary School (which comes out June 26) because Penny becomes one of the central characters and is even on the cover! I think my favorite character is probably Petunia. I like how she's strange even for School School (being completely purple and part-flower). She has a really tough time of making friends due to the bees buzzing around her all the time, and of course, she loves reading more than anything. She's very sensitive, so it's great having a character who can always be in a heightened emotional state.

Q. Can you give us any tidbits about future Scary School books? Any new characters or exciting adventures coming up?

Yes, there will be many new characters and some incredible adventures coming up! In Book 2, the students receive their prize for winning the Ghoul Games - a trip to Monster Kindgom to meet the Monster King. Well, as usual, things don't go as planned, and many of your favorite characters will have to get very lucky to make it out of there alive! You'll really be able to get a sense of what the world is like beyond on the Scary School walls, and in Book 3 you'll get to travel even farther so some of the other "scary" schools and see how those places work. One of my favorite new characters in Book 2 is an 11-year-old Stephen King, who becomes a student at Scary School and we get to find out where got all the ideas for his stories!

Q. If you were to participate in the Ghoul Games, what event would you compete in?

I'm kind of obsessed with word games, so I'd probably pick Boggle or Scrabble. I also once won a free-throw shooting contest, so maybe that too.

Q. What books did you love as a child? What books impacted you the most as a reader and writer?

One of my favorite books from childhood is Sideways Stories from Wayside School. In terms of humor, that was the go-to book for everyone at my school. There was nothing else even comparable. So when writing a book like Scary School, where the school is actually the main character, it made sense to use Louise Sachar's short-story format in telling about different events, and characters that shape the world of the school. I just made mine a horror-themed school and added in a storyline that you get to follow throughout the books. As an adult, the Harry Potter series is what made me want to write novels after ten years of working on dozens of illustrated picture books. I became enthralled with the idea of creating my own unique world like she did, filled with characters that become like family who the readers can get emotionally attached to.

Q. What made up or imaginary world from a book, tv show, or movie would you love to visit?  

How about one from each. From a book - obviously I'd love to be a student at Hogwarts. Who wouldn't?  From a TV show - it would be awesome to be living in the future on board the Starship Enterprise. From a movie - hmm.. trying to think of one not based on a book or TV show. There aren't many. Got it. How about the pre-heaven from Albert Brooks's Defending Your Life. That place is awesome.

Q. If you could magically bring one character from any book into the real world, who would it be? Why?

Johnny. I would track him down and announce that I found Bigfoot.

Q. If Scary School were to be made into a movie, would you rather it be a live action or animated movie?

Animated. It would be super-cool as a stop-motion or puppet too. We might see it as a TV series before a movie though.

Q. Ok, this is a toughie…Using Monster Math and no calculator or computer, although counting on your fingers, toes, eyes, ears, nose, tail, horns, etc is acceptable, please solve this equation:

 125 x 476 + 1234-222/11=  

Whatever the monster nearest you says it equals.

I want thank Derek for taking the time to answer my questions and giving us the chance to get to know him and his book a little better!

Derek has kindly offered one (1) Hardcover Copy of SCARY SCHOOL to give away!

Giveaway will run from 12/1 - 12/9 at 11:59 pm

• Must be 13 or older to enter
• Must be a GFC Follower
• Open internationally
• Only one main entry per person
• Winner will be chosen randomly
• Winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours or new winner will be chosen
• I am not rsponsible for lost or damaged prizes as they are not coming from me

Extra Entries:

+2 Like Scary School on Facebook

+2 Follow Derek the Ghost on Twitter

+2 Fan Derek the Ghost on Goodreads

+2 Add Scary School to your TBR list on Goodreads

+1 Follow me on Twitter

+3 Tweet/Facebook/Blog about giveaway daily and leave a link in the comments
I suggest opening the entry form in a new window incase you need the links above :)

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

THANKS :)