Wish List

The following are some books, which haven't been released yet, that I've added to my ever growing wish list. I know they're a little random, but I do like different genres and I do read both young adult and adult fiction.

Claire de Lune
Amy & Roger's Epic Detour
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella

The Wedding Planner
For the King's Favor
The Red Queen: A Novel

Enna Burning review

Enna Burning
Shannon Hale
2004
Rating: Good

I didn't realise that Enna Burning was part of a series, nor have I read the book before it, The Goose Girl but this didn't really matter. The books have the same group of characters, with some new ones thrown in, but the stories are quite separate.
Enna Burning is about 16 year old Enna, friend of the Princess Isi from the previous The Goose Girl book. She had returned to her home in the Forest to care for her sick mother, who at the start of this book has died. Enna lives with her brother who finds a piece of vellum which teaches him to light a fire without spark or flint. Enna becomes worried about her brother when the warm energy of the fire becomes destructive and Leifer becomes controlled by his desire to burn. When Bayern goes to war, Leifer helps Bayern's army win by burning their enemies, however in the process he is killed by the fire. Enna finds the parchment and decides that she has to use it in order to save her friends and Bayern. She sneaks into enemy camps, burning small things, at first but later in a big battle lets the fire take control of her and nearly gets killed in the process. Her friend, Isi, has similar abilities with wind, which she is losing control of so the two girls set off to a kingdom in the south to find the fire-worshipers who can hopefully help them.
Enna Burning is a unique story and fairy tale aimed for teenagers. There's lots of very graphic and gory moments throughout the book with many people being burnt alive. It was very difficult to like Enna during these parts as it's hard to understand the control that the fire has over her, but she redeems herself in the end. Enna Burning has elements of romance, fantasy, drama and adventure, and is a book that I'd recommend.

Wings review

Wings
Aprilynne Pike
2009
Rating: Very Good

Laurel's family has just moved to a new town so her father can open a bookstore. This means that Laurel, who has been homeschooled all of her life will have to start going to high school. She quickly becomes friends with David, despite feeling closed in at school. But then Laurel finds a bump on her back, which keeps getting bigger and bigger. At first she ignores it and hides it from her family and friends, but eventually she has to tell David when she wakes up to find a wing-like blossom has grown from the bump.
David and Laurel set about trying to figure out what's going on with her body. David, the science wizz, concludes after looking at Laurel's cells through a microscope that she is more plant than human. But it takes a trip back to the woods behind her old house and an encounter with the handsome Timani for Laurel to realise that she's a faerie! She also learns that it's up to her to save her old home from the evil that is trying to take it away from her, her parents and the faeries that live there.
Wings was a really enjoyable story to read. It had a unique twist, was funny at times and overall a very entertaining story. Laurel was a very likeable character, although I felt that David was a little boring at times. But both them, and the other surrounding characters grow through the novel and you really get to know them.
Another blogger mentioned something about the possibility of there being a sequel which would be interesting, especially with the growing love triangle between Laurel, David and Timani.

Exchanging Lives review

Exchanging Lives
Kathy Buchanan
April, 2009 (Australia)
Rating: Good

Exchanging Lives is a very light and fun novel about two young girls from Sydney, Australia. Charlie and Annie used to be friends, but once they hit high school, Annie joined the popular group and pushed Charlie away. Now both girls have been chosen for an exchange student program where they will spend 3 months in America with a host family. Annie is supposed to be going to New York where she's excited about checking out the latest fashions, and Charlie is supposed to go to a small town in Ohio, where she's excited about finding out what living on a real farm will be like. But their parents, who are also friends, decide to pull the ultimate switcheroo and send Charlie to New York and Annie to Ohio with interesting results.
Exchanging Lives was a nice story about what real friendship is about, and making the most of what life throws your way. Both girls learn a lot about themselves and each other in their 3 months away, and also to look beyond their first impressions of places and the people they live with.

Second Star to the Right review

Second Star to the Right
Deborah Hautzig

2008 (first published 1981)

Rating: Very Good

Second Star to the Right is an incredibly moving story about 14 year old Leslie Hiller. Leslie is a perfectionist and constantly worries about disappointing her mother. To take control, and she believes, to make herself happy she decides to go on a diet. But things get out of control, when Leslie can't stop dieting. She starts eating less and less, believing that she'll know when she's thin enough. But she's never thin enough. Soon Leslie is throwing up whatever she eats, throwing food out her bedroom window and is too exhausted to even go to school. Leslie is aware that she's slowly killing herself and that she needs help, but finds it impossible to bring herself to eat.

Leslie is soon admitted to hospital, where the treatments and reactions to anorexia seem very dated. It frustrated me so much whenever someone asked Leslie 'couldn't you just eat a little so you put on weight?', not realising there was more to her problem than that.

There is no proper outcome at the end of the novel, which left me wanting to know what happened to Leslie. But overall Second Star to the Right was a very good, and often sad, read. I found it very interesting to see anorexia through the mind of someone suffering from it.

The Year my Sister got Lucky review

The Year My Sister Got Lucky
Aimee Friedman
June 2009
Rating: Very Good

Katie and her sister Michaela are extremely close, more like best friends. They have lived in New York all their lives, both attend a prestigious ballet school and both love their lives in New York. Or so it seems.
Katie is devestated when she finds out that she has to move with her family to a small town, called Fir Lake, in upstate New York. It's nothing like her beloved New York City. The people are overly friendly, her new ballet school is, to put it bluntly, a joke and they actually live near real cows! Katie immediately sticks out like a sore thumb, with her 'New York' sense of style and attitude. But to her surprise and horror, Michaela fits in straight away.

As Michaela settles into her new country life, making friends, gaining a footballer boyfriend, joining the yearbook team and attending homecoming, she and Katie grow apart. Katie finally does start making friends and trying new things, but she does this reluctantly. And then she finds out that Michaela has been hiding things from her, important things that she would usually tell Katie. Can these sisters also be best friends?

I had added The Year my Sister got Lucky to my wish list on Amazon, only to have it bought by my Library the next day. What a coincidence! And I'm glad I got to read it too, as it was a wonderful and entertaining book, with a great message about how your attitude effects your situation. Both Katie and Michaela were likeable, in their own way. Neither of them were perfect and made plenty of mistakes through the book, but this was part of what made them so likeable and real. The Year my Sister got Lucky is a great story about sisterhood, change and growing up that I'd definitely recommend.

Pink review

Pink

Lili Wilkinson

2009

Rating: Excellent

Blurb: "The pink jumper was practically glowing in my grey bedroom. It was like a tiny bit of Dorothy's Oz in boring old black-and-white Kansas. Pink was for girls. Ava Simpson is trying on a whole new image. Stripping the black dye from her hair, she heads off to the Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence, leaving her uber-cool girlfriend, Chloe, behind. Ava is quickly taken under the wing of perky, popular Alexis who insists that: a) she's a perfect match for handsome Ethan; and b) she absolutely must audition for the school musical. But while she's busy trying to fit in - with Chloe, with Alexis and her Pastel friends, even with the misfits in the stage crew - Ava fails to notice that her shiny reinvented life is far more fragile than she imagined."

I've often seen Lili Wilkinson's books around but have never had the chance to read any. When I saw Pink though I knew I had to read it, especially since one of my favourite colours is pink.

I can honestly say I really enjoyed reading Pink. Ava's story and her struggle with her identity and sexuality were very real, honest and something I think most people can relate with. Pink shows that it's okay to be unsure of who you are and who you want to be, but that in the end it's important to just be yourself and not be ashamed of any aspect of yourself. All of the characters were easy to identify with, many of them hiding parts of their lives as well.

Pink was very well written, with quick snappy and funny dialogue, and conversations and stories seemingly straight out of a schoolyard. I loved the fact that a lot of the places frequented in the book are places I visit a lot too, Melbourne being my local city. I will definitely be hunting down more of Wilkinson's books in the future.

Envy: A Luxe novel

Envy
Anna Godbersen
2009
Rating: Very Good

Blurb: “Two months have passed since the dramatic homecoming of Elizabeth Holland – Manhattan society eagerly awaits her return. But Elizabeth won’t rejoin her sister Diana’s side. The whispers are beginning – is all as it seems behind closed doors? Uptown, Henry and Penelope Schoonmaker are the city’s most celebrated couple. But despite the glittering diamond she wears, the newlyweds share little more than scorn for each other. Manhattan’s most envied residents appear to have everything they desire: wealth, beauty, happiness. However, in a city where appearance is everything, sometimes the most practiced smiles hide the most scandalous secrets.”

I must admit, the first thing that attracted me to the Luxe series was the covers. Who could resist those beautiful dresses?! Not me!
I wasn’t sure how ’Envy’ would span out and if I’d like it considering Henry and Penelope…… But I wasn’t disappointed. Envy was just as good and just as addictive, juicy and scandalous as the first two books in the Luxe series!Although despite all the juiciness it’s nice to see some of the characters growing up a bit and starting to stand up for themselves.
I’m excited that the fourth book ‘Splendour’ is not far off being released, although I’m sad to hear that it’s going to be the last book in the series.