In My Mailbox- Week of June 28 + Retrospective

Unfortunately, no books this week, which is probably for the best. I did however get some signed bookmarks and guitar picks from Tara Kelly, which I'll be putting in many packages from all the contests I held!

And here's my retrospective-

Monday- I reviewed The Line by Teri Hall.

Tuesday- I reviewed Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern

Wednesday- I posted the 5th edition of Ask Book Chic!

Thursday- I posted Sincerely: Sincerely, Sophie/Sincerely, Katie by Courtney Sheinmel

Friday- I reviewed This Gorgeous Game by Donna Freitas.

Saturday- I finished up my BEA recaps with Thursday and Friday, May 27 + 28.

BEA Recap- Thursday, May 27 & Friday, May 28

Thursday- We went into BEA with a plan- Susan was off to get Clockwork Angel, Meaghan and I off to Little Brown, though we decided to stop by Penguin first, which was a good idea. They had put out copies of their fall titles, so I was able to grab a copy of The Replacement and Meaghan got a copy of Nightshade. Before we left to go over to Little, Brown, we asked if there were any copies of Grace by Elizabeth Scott and there were! So we got a copy each and then we went to LB and got a bag of middle-grade novels, which we thought would be YA but alas.

Meaghan and I stood right outside LB's booth and waited for Susan. While we waited, Sarah (I think) came over to chat with us and during that, PJ Hoover and Jessica Lee Anderson stopped by and talked for a bit. It was great to see PJ again because she's just so sweet and funny. They left and Susan came up, got her LB bag, and then we went back over to Penguin where Susan snapped a picture of the baby carriage being used in The Replacement's display and it still had some books in and around it, which was awesome. We got in line for Simone Elkeles' signing and we weren't far from the beginning of the line but 15 minutes into the signing, we had barely moved, so we left to get in line for some signings.



Between 10 and 11:30, I stopped by several signings- Siren by Tricia Rayburn at 10, Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea Campbell at 11, Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin at 11, and then stopped by PJ Hoover's signing where she was signing copies of her first book. She had a HUGE line, which made me so happy for her! I also stopped by Alyson Noel's signing of Radiance which was awesome because Alyson is so sweet but also because she recognized me! That's a big feat because I haven't emailed her in a long time, but I guess I left a lasting impression or something, lol. I wish I'd gotten a quick picture with her since the line wasn't too long but again, still very shy with the camera, lol.

At 11:30, I was in line for Firelight and Meaghan was in line to get Reckless, and like at 11:32, she texted me to say she was going to have some lunch. I was shocked at how quickly she got done, though I was done pretty soon after. While in line though, I got to meet Melissa Bruno, another Harper contact of mine, and she introduced me to Sophie as one of the big book bloggers, which I of course blushed at and was humble about it. Sophie then said that if I ever wanted to do an interview or anything with her, I should just email her. After that I went to go find Meaghan and had some lunch (slice of pizza + small coke = $7.00) where I chatted with her and Monica about our hauls so far. It was luckily a smaller day for books since most everything happened Wednesday. We finished up, then went to find Susan and then split up once we got back onto the floor.



I went to Rachel Vail's signing and she remembered me, which was awesome. After that, I wandered off and just strolled around for a while. On my way over to the Downtown Stage, I witnessed the most amazing sight I had seen so far at BEA- a hot guy just walking around in his underwear (black undies). He was holding up a book and had some writing on him, though I'm not sure what it said since I didn't want to stare (at least, not while he was facing me). I completely regret not taking a picture (or several) but it will forever be burned into my brain and that is an awesome thing. I'm hoping someone else got a picture of or with him. I don't even know what booth he was affiliated with.

Once I was done ogling, I went over to sit by the Downtown Stage to wait for the 2pm panel. Then I went over to where the Midtown Stage was to hang out with Susan, Meaghan and others, but then we walker back over to Downtown to sit in on that panel, which featured the authors from the Editor's Buzz panel of the previous day. The panel contained Rebecca Maizel, Erin Bow, Ally Condie, Sophie Jordan, and Kody Keplinger, all of whom have books coming out that I really want to read (and I have 4 of 5!). It was a really interesting panel and I'm so glad I took the time out to see them. Cat (Beyond Books) sat next to me for some of the panel and before it started, we were able to chat a bit more, which was awesome cuz Cat is like one of the coolest people ever.



For the rest of the afternoon, I went to several signings and stopped by Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (I believe she recognized me), Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart (saw Nico Medina again- he was handing out sticky notes to put your name on if you wanted it personalized; I saw him a couple times at the Egmont signings), Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White, and Plain Kate by Erin Bow. During all these signings, I kept following Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit around. Most people would call that stalking, but I just call it having the same interests. ...ok, so maybe I was stalking her too. But she's just so cool! Who wouldn't stalk her?!

After BEA, Susan and I dropped books off back at hotel room, then met Drea, Jessica, and Pam for dinner at Stardust Diner where all the wait staff took turns singing. It was a really interesting experience. Also, most of the male waiters were very cute so I enjoyed watching them walk around and sing. Once we finished there, we walked over to Junior's for cheesecake, there was a minion war between Pam and Susan back at hotel room and I curtsied while giving Susan her laptop. We decided to go to the Strand so we took the metro over. I bought two books (Albatross by Josie Bloss and Finally by Wendy Mass), went back to hotel room, did some packing and reading. While getting ready for bed, some bloggers stopped by like Chelsea, Mitali, Sarah and some others, and they left shortly after, then I went to bed.



My Friday was very uneventful, which was good, lol. I got to sit and read Tell Me A Secret by Holly Cupala and Grace by Elizabeth Scott. I got to write a few reviews, chat with some people. At the beginning of the day, I tried to get a glimpse into Maureen Johnson's keynote speech at the Blogger Convention, but unfortunately, I couldn't hear her from outside the room even with the doors open and that made me sad. BUT! I did see her walking out of the room when the whole keynote thing was done. I probably should've stopped her and seen if she could take a picture with me, but it would have been one of those self-taken pictures since none of my friends were around. So instead I just gaped as she walked by and thought "OMG IT'S MAUREEN JOHNSON!!!" over and over again until she was out of my sight. Yes, I'm a Maureen fanboy. And that is my BEA experience! I can't wait for next year!! :)



Pictures:
1) Tricia Rayburn signing her book Siren
2) A picture of the YA Buzz panel (left to right) Ally Condie, Sophie Jordan, Kody Keplinger, cute gay bookseller (or librarian- can't remember which) who I saw again at ALA with his boyfriend (maybe?) and who I stared at a bit and I'm pretty sure he thought I was a stalker. No, just lusting from afar, lol.
3) Very blurry shot of the other side of the panel. Erin Bow is the brown blob toward the left and Rebecca Maizel is the one on the far left bending out of the shot.
4) Tim Gunn from afar. I took this a few lines over while I was in another autographining line. He was there like all afternoon signing books, chatting, and taking pictures.
5) My whole BEA haul. LOOK AT ALL THOSE BOOKS! HOW WILL I READ THEM ALL?!!?!?

This Gorgeous Game by Donna Freitas

This Gorgeous Game by Donna Freitas
"Olivia Peters is over the moon when her literary idol, the celebrated novelist and muchadored local priest Mark D. Brendan, offers to become her personal writing mentor. But when Father Mark’s enthusiasm for Olivia’s prose develops into something more, Olivia’s emotions quickly shift from wonder to confusion to despair. Exactly what game is Father Mark playing, and how on earth can she get out of it?"- summary from Amazon

This was a creepy book. Like I think Khy said in her review of this, I was just immediately creeped out whenever Father Mark entered the picture, even from the beginning. It took me a little bit of the book to really get into it because it took me several weeks to get past page 40. But once you pass that threshold, the book is hard to put down and flies by quickly.

Being right inside Olivia's mind really opened up a whole new level to this story. You're right there when everything happens and, at least for me, that really affected me as a reader. Pages 185-197 were some of the most heartbreaking stuff I have ever read and hopefully it will be the same for you if you read the book. I teared up while reading this section (at work, no less) and actually had to put it down and take a small break before continuing. That is how much the prose affected me.

Overall, a wonderful sophomore novel from Freitas that is far and beyond her debut. There is no sophomore slump for this author.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Sincerely by Courtney Sheinmel

Sincerely by Courtney Sheinmel
"Sincerely, Sophie
Eleven year old Sophie Turner lives in Manhattan and attends an all-girls private school, but some difficult changes have left her feeling very lonely. When Sophie's best friend, Jessie, suddenly rejects her for a faster crowd and the Turner family begins to break down, Sophie's only source of comfort is the distant voice of her school-assigned pen pal, Katie.

Sincerely, Katie
Eleven year old Katie Franklin lives in California, and she thinks life is perfect. When she and her best friend, Jake, spearhead a charity project for earthquake victims in Mexico, Katie couldn't be happier. But when Jake starts paying attention to another girl, Katie get jealous, and does some things she isn't proud of at all. No one at home understands her, but she does have one friend she can open up to--her pen pal, Sophie."- summary from publisher

I think the best way to review this book is to talk about each book separately, but first, my thoughts on how the story was told. Originally, I thought the book would have more back and forth between Sophie and Katie, and I also kinda expected it to be the same story just told from different perspectives. While the letter writing is a big part of the novel, it is really focused on other aspects of Sophie's and Katie's lives and the letters only seem to happen occasionally. And the stories are more linear than retellings. Between Sophie and Katie, there's a tiny bit of overlap, but Katie essentially seems to pick up when Sophie ends. Now that that's out of the way, let's take a look at each story.

I loved both stories but Sophie's was better for my well-being, as Katie's made me angry (you'll see why later- rant coming!). Both stories had a plot line of growing apart from various people in your life, but especially Sophie's. Things just aren't working out for her- her friend is starting to develop different interests from Sophie and is pushing her away, and her parents are getting divorced which causes a rift between Sophie and her dad. It's just a really bad time and, for me at least, it could be hard to continue reading at times because no one, but especially someone that young, should have to go through that much. But it isn't all melancholy, as Sheinmel sprinkles some humor and goodness throughout.

Katie's story made me angry, not because of anything Katie did, but rather her mom. Every so often, I come across a character that just makes me want to punch them in the face. Katie's mom, for most of the novel, has really no right to be a parent and should have had her parenting license revoked. Seriously. I hate it when people essentially bully you into doing what they want you to do rather than what you actually want to do. The key to parenting is LISTENING to your children and being able to change your mind instead of continuing on whatever path you want them to take. They are their own person, no matter how young or old, and the only person who can tell you what to do is yourself, not your parents or anyone else. It pissed me off to see Katie's mom just brushing off her childrens' hopes and dreams for their own future in favor of her own wishes for them. And ok, she redeemed herself at the end, but I still wanted to punch her.

Anyway, aside from that huge problem there, I enjoyed the rest of the story. I loved what Katie was doing and it was so heartwarming to see her working so hard to put this whole fundraiser together. In terms of the growing apart, Katie feels like her best friend Jake is growing apart from her when he wants to start hanging out with and including this other girl in their activities. Sheinmel really did a wonderful job handling Katie's feelings with that whole situation and it felt so true to the age.

Overall, this is yet another fantastic offering from Sheinmel. I loved the idea that weaves the two stories together (the letter writing) and it was cool to see both sides of a pen pal relationship. Definitely a book to pick up if you're looking for a great MG read.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Ask Book Chic (5)

Travis asks "Is there a certain genre that you don't particularly like?

What book has been the biggest surprise for you (i.e. one that didn't sound like something you'd enjoy, but you ended up loving)?"

1) I'm pretty open to everything and will read all different genres. If it's YA and sounds interesting, I'll probably read and enjoy it.

2) There was a book that I wasn't expecting to like as much as I did, but I can't remember it right now. I know that I put off reading Sarah Dessen for a while because all I'd heard of her was that she wrote sad books. At the time, I was all about the comedy and happy books. But finally, I was persuaded to read one of her books, so I picked up Just Listen, breezed through it and absolutely loved it. Now I'm a huge Sarah Dessen fan.


Mariah asks "What is your favorite part about blogging?"

I won't lie, getting the ARCs is a HUGE perk and one that I'm grateful for. But honestly, it's mainly the community that keeps me happy. I love all the friends I've made online, whether they be a fellow blogger, an author, or a reader of my blog. I love sharing my thoughts on various books and getting comments that extend the discussion and also get my readers thinking more about whatever book I'm reviewing. It makes me happy to see comments where someone says "Your review has made me put the book on hold at the library/move it up on my TBR pile/go buy it." It's an amazing feeling and I so hope it never fades.

Another aspect of that includes meeting up with others for book events. Like Susan wrote last week for my blogoversary, being in central VA does not lend itself to too many book bloggers nearby. But through her, I've found a few more (Meaghan and Monica- looking at you!) and it's so much fun to hang out with them at events like BEA and ALA and just regular book signings.


Rebecca asks "What would you like to see more of in YA fiction? What trend are you sick of and you wish it would go away?"

I'd love to see more mainstream GLBT fiction. I go to Lee Wind's blog every so often and notice that a lot of books mentioned there are from smaller presses or even self-pubbed. It's heartening to see GLBT characters more and more in YA books as supporting characters, but I want to see them take the spotlight more. Maybe I'm just not looking as hard or something but it seems like GLBT main characters are fading away. Gay YA authors like Brent Hartinger, Alex Sanchez, and David Levithan haven't published much in the way of GLBT literature in the past few years (aside from Levithan's collaboration with John Green on Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which was amazing and I was happy to see it made the NYTimes Bestsellers list, apparently a first for a gay YA book). I was happy to see in the Little, Brown YA bag a book called I Am J by Cris Beam, which features a transgender protagonist and looks really interesting.

I recently started on my own gay YA story (what I dub my "Funny Gay Paranormal") and am loving writing it. My goal, of course, is to get it published, but I also hope to write gay romances published by a mainstream publisher. I'd love to write Simon Pulse Rom-Coms; recently, they published the first African American rom-com in that series of books, and I'd love to be the author of the first gay rom-com for them. But I'd be happy anywhere. What I just want to do is give hope to GLBT teens that they can find love just like everyone else. It's hard to realize that with little representation.

OK, I think I've rambled enough. I didn't think it would be this huge, lol. As for the second question, I honestly don't mind any trends going on, so I'm not like "WHY WON'T VAMPIRES GO AWAY?!" or whatever. I read such a variety of books that it doesn't seem like that many books following a particular trend.