Posts By: Giselle

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

WoW (2)

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Waiting on Wednesday
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. 

My pick this week:
                                   Dark Companion
                                   Marta Acosta
                                   Release date: June, 2012 

When foster teen Jane Williams is invited to attend elite Birch Grove Academy for Girls and escape her violent urban neighborhood, she thinks the offer is too good to be true. She’s even offered her own living quarters, the groundskeeper’s cottage in the center of the birch grove. 

Something’s not quite right about the school — or is it Jane? She thinks she sees things in the birch grove at night. She’s also beginning to suspect that the elegant headmistress and her sons are hiding secrets. Lucky is the gorgeous, golden son who is especially attentive to Jane, and Jack is the sardonic puzzling brother.

The school with its talented teachers and bright students is a dream for a science and math geek like Jane. She also loves her new friends, including hilarious poetry-spouting rich girl, Mary Violet. But the longer Jane stays at Birch Grove, the more questions she has about the disappearance of another scholarship girl and a missing faculty member.

Jane discovers one secret about Birch Grove, which only leads to more mysteries. What is she willing to sacrifice in order to stay at this school…and be bound to Birch Grove forever?


I saw this a while back on Goodreads and have been awaiting it since. The cover is gorgeous for one, and the premise sounds original as well as intriguing. I love suspense and creepy stories, and this sounds like exactly my type of novel. Sadly, I have a long time to wait! 🙁  

What about you? What book are you awaiting?

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Posted by on 09/20/2011 • 11 Comments

Thirteen Reasons WhyJay AsheyFirst published October 18th, 2007

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list.

I absolutely loved this book. What an eye opener. In Thirteen Reasons Why we listen to audio tapes that was sent to 13 people by Hannah who committed suicide, to explain her reasons why.

First I want to mention that to all the reviewers who say that her reasons weren’t “good…

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Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Posted by on 09/20/2011 • 15 Comments

Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1)Tahereh MafiRelease date: November 15th, 2011

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old-girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette…

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Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Posted by on 09/19/2011 • 4 Comments

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar ChildrenRansom RiggsFirst published June 7th, 2011

A mysterious island.An abandoned orphanage.A strange collection of very curious photographs.It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy…

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Review: White Cat by Holly Black

Posted by on 09/19/2011 • 5 Comments

White Cat (Curse Workers, #1)Holly BlackFirst published January 1st, 2010

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they’re all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn’t got the magic touch, so he’s an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something….

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In My Mailbox (1)

Posted by on 09/19/2011 • 8 Comments

“In My Mailbox” is a meme, created by Kristi at The Story Siren, that features books I’ve received/purchased/borrowed during the current week. This is my very first IMM post. Hurrah! This week, I have received for review:      I have gotten from giveaways:        This is it for this week. I have not purchased any this week. I’ve been too busy to shop *gasp*. Yes, it is true. 🙁 What’s in your mailbox this week?

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Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Posted by on 09/18/2011 • 2 Comments

Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms, #1)Kristin Cashore First published October 1st, 2008

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven…

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I’m baaaack! :)

Posted by on 09/18/2011 • 1 Comment

Hello coffee beanos!!

So my surgery went great. I smelled my eyeballs burning, and now I have 20/20 vision. Worth every penny! I have to moderate my internet usage today but will be back on full time tomorrow. I wanted to do an In My Mailbox post but I’ll have to skip this week. Trying to catch up on my emails etc. Being internet-less for 3 days was awful!

Glad to be back, and looking forward to catching up with y’all!

Meanwhile I’ve been listening to these audiobooks. Reviews to come.

Glad to be back,Giselle

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