Waiting on Wednesday (118)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

My picks this week are:

Belles by Jen Calonita

Fifteen-year-old Isabelle Scott loves her less-than-charmed life by the boardwalk on the wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina, but when a social worker must place her to live with a long-lost uncle and his preppy privileged family, she's taken away from everything she's ever known.

Unfortunately, inserting Isabelle into the glamorous lifestyle of Emerald Cove doesn't go so well. Cousin Mirabelle Monroe isn't thrilled to share her life with an outsider, and, she is ready to pull her hair out of her head over all the rumors and backstabbing that lurk beneath their classmates' Southern charm about her new family member. Like each other or not, Izzie and Mira are going to learn to get along, especially when they learn a life-changing secret that will turn both their worlds upside down.

Jen Calonita is one of my favorite YA authors so when I first heard about this one I knew I had to read it. Not only because the premise sounds wickedly awesome but also because the cover is stunning!

Belles will be released April 10, 2012! 

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life...

This one sounds like just my kind of read. Magic, princes, dangers...what's not to like?! Plus, after reading Maria V. Snyder's amazing Outside In and Inside Out, I've been looking forward to reading more by her!

Touch of Power will be released December 20, 2011!  

Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

When Sam's best friend gets her first boyfriend, she's not ready to spend the summer listening to the two of them call each other "pookie." Sick of being a third wheel, Sam applies to be a counselor-in-training at Whispering Pines camp in the New York Catskills. But what she doesn't realize is that it's not going to be all Kumbaya sing-alongs and gooey s'mores. If Ashley, the alpha queen of Whispering Pines, doesn't ruin Sam's summer, then her raging crush on the surfer-blond and flirtatious Hunter just might.

Review:

After all these dark, deary, and snowy days in the Northeast, I've been looking for a read that would take me to the season I love the most: summer. And thankfully enough, Jen Calonita's Sleepaway Girls was just the read, because not only did it take place during the glorious and beautiful summer, but it was a funny and adorable read that I just could not get enough of!

Though, before we get too far into this review, let me tell you a little about it... Sleepaway Girls tells the story of Sam, a girl who has officially became the "third wheel" ever since her best friend got a boyfriend. And if Sam knows one thing it's that she want be spending her summer this way as well so off she goes to Whispering Pines, a sleepaway camp up in the New York Catskills. At Whispering Pines Sam is quick to find her own clique of great friends and even some prospective boyfriends, but with her arrival comes drama, namely a rivalry between here and fellow counselor-in-training Ashley, the unofficial alpha queen of Whispering Pines. Will Ashley and Sam be able to overcome their feud? Better yet, after falling into a love triangle will Same be able to make a decision and the right choice in the end? Only time and more pages will tell in this story of one summer like no other!

Just like in the previous books I've read by Jen the characters in Sleepaway Girls were well developed, relatable, lovable, and just ordinary teens overall. And while I nearly liked each and everyone, I have to admit my favorite would have to be main character Sam. Sam is someone I related to easily, a character I had no trouble rooting for over the course of the novel, and best of all, I loved how she wasn't anywhere near perfect. Adding to this, I also enjoyed reading about the different friendships Sam developed in over the course of the novel between her and the fellow sleepaway girls because they seemed real so to say. Better yet I really enjoyed seeing the moments she shared with Cole and Hunter as well as the love triangle that began to develop between them, because at some points it was a bit unclear who exactly she would pick, leaving Sleepaway Girls to take on a mysterious feeling sometimes.

Another aspect of Sleepaway Girls I adored was the setting. Surprisingly enough, I've never been to a sleepaway camp so I always love to live vicariously though others experiences with it, especially when they are as picture clear as Whispering Pines was because of the detailed descriptions.

I also thought Jen Caolnita did a great job of developing the plot in this with her characters and writing, because while the story was predictable, it was easy to loose yourself in it for a few hours and that's just what I want sometimes.

In all, Sleepaway Girls is yet another solid effort by Calonita, which makes me even more pumped to see what she has planed next for all of her readers!

Grade: A-

Sleepaway Girls is now out!

Source: Author/Publicist at Little, Brown. Thanks!

Reality Check by Jen Calonita

Summary from Amazon:

Sixteen-year-olds Charlie, Keiran, Brooke, and Hallie have just been signed up for their own reality television show. They can't even believe it. "You'll be The Hills meets The Secret Life of the American Teenager," the Armani-suited executive tells them, "and the hottest thing on our network." How could they say no?

But soon enough, cameras following them everywhere and interfering producers surreptitiously scripting their lives start to affect the four best friends' relationship. Brooke seems to want all the screen time. Keiran is abruptly written out of the show-and consequently the group's friendship-when she doesn't rate well. As soon as Charlie realizes what's going on, she figures out the perfect way to give the studio and her home audience a much-needed reality check.

Because friends don't let friends do reality shows.  
 
Review:
 
After reading Jen's previous novel Secrets of my Hollywood Life a couple of months ago, I was ecstatic to read more by her. So when Reality Check ended up in my hands, I jumped right in, eager to see if this novel would live up to her previous one. Sadly enough, while I did overall enjoy it and liked the characters it introduced, I felt that sometimes it lagged a bit when it came to the actual plot.

Charlie is the classic door-next-door type of character since while she does have a great group of friends and a possible chance on having an amazing boyfriend, she isn't exactly what you would call High School royalty. Though, this soon changes when her and her friends  Keiran, Brooke, and Hallie are offered an amazing deal filled money, money, and, well, more money. That deal? Well, a reality show, of course!

I really liked Charlie and her friends because each brought a different a side to the story that made in the fun read it was! My favorite character probably would've been Charlie, the narrator of the whole ordeal, because from the start she was sweet, smart, and a good friend, making her a character that was not only very likable, but one that I constantly rooted for. Plus I loved her cutesy type relationsip with Zac!

Adding to this, I also liked how Jen showed the different ups and downs of friendship throughout with Charlie, Keiran, Brooke, and Hallie. Since it not only rang a high point of reality, but it shows to girls out there that have gone through something like the Charlie went through in Reality Check that sometimes no matter what you do to stop it, your best friend can drift away and turn into someone you never thought she would be. And while this can be a hard thing, it does make you stronger and give you a better look on all of your friendships in the end.

I also loved how Reality Check gave you a reality check when it comes to all those reality shows you see on the TV constantly, and showed you that even though it can be a sweet deal, there is a lot of bad aspects that come along too.

Though, as mentioned above, the plot wasn't always filled with action, and because of that it became predictable. Leaving me to be able to tell from about halfway through what was going to happened, but because of the characters this wasn't always the biggest of problems. Plus, it did manage to pick up the speed it had lost in the beginning at the end and became a mostly decent read plot wise in the end.  But I did like Jen's writing, I just would've liked to see some more action.

Overall, Reality Check is the perfect read for a lazy summer day that in addition to being a fun and charming read has some great messages thrown in also!

Grade: B-

Reality Check will be out June 14, 2010!

Source: Author/Publisher. Thanks Jen/Little Brown!

Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita

Summary:

What if? Your picture was taped inside teenage boys' lockers across America, your closets were bursting with never-worn designer clothing, and the tabloids constantly asked whether you were losing your "good girl" status?

It's a glamorous life, but 16-year-old Kaitlin Burke, co-star of one of the hottest shows on TV, is exhausted from the pressures of her fame. So she decides to spend two months undercover as an ordinary high school student. But could it be that real life high school is just as harsh as cutthroat Hollywood??

Juicy Hollywood secrets appear throughout. Combining the vicarious star-studded glamour of the New York Times bestselling A-List with the innocence of The Princess Diaries, this is an engrossing look behind the velvet ropes of stardom. (from goodreads)

Review:

I have to admit that going into this I as expecting a whole lot. Maybe an okay read, but nothing close to what I got. Since, surprisingly enough, Secrets of My Hollywood Life was a fabulous read and is officially one of my newest guilty pleasures.

Kaitlin, the main character, is a Hollywood starlet who shows you that while Tinsel Town can be amazing, it comes with it's prices including the fact that a normal life is something that you almost never get. I found Kaitilin to be likeable from start because even though she's a huge star, she's just a normal girl on the inside who loves Star Trek and would do anything for her friends and family. Further more, I found her 'entourage' to be fantastically funny and likeable even with some of the faults they had.

While the premise of this is something you see a lot of these days, I thought Jen did a great job at making Kaitilin's story a fun and fast paced journey. I loved all the "Celeb Secrets" to the fact that Jen did a great job of caputurating what it must feel like to be a teen star. Plus, I adored the ending! It was so cute and perfect, leaving it to definitely make me want to read the rest of the series.

In all, Secrets of My Hollywood Life is a book you should definitely add to your to-read list! I promise it won’t be as superficial as it appears.

Grade: B+

Source/ Disclosure: Borrowed from my favorite librarian. Thanks Anne! :)

Secrets of My Hollywood Life is now out!