Life... and a Review: Sounds of Murder by Patricia Rockwell

Well, ya'll (no, I'm not Southern) (yes, I wish I was), it's been a hot minute since I posted a review up on here. I'll tell you why: school is kicking my butt, and I haven't had nearly as much time to do my personal reading as I'd like to, and it's quite depressing. So, while school is completely stressing me out at the moment, life is, for the most part, good... because I am livin' the dream, baby! Well, not really, but I am in LOVE with my job at the library, and I just can hardly even wait for library school. I can't wait for my life as a librarian to begin, but in the meantime, life at the circulation desk is just wonderful and lovely and la-la-la, I love it. So anyways, onto the review.

Title: Sounds of Murder
Author: Patricia Rockwell
Genre: Mystery (cozy)
Age Level: Adult
Publication: June 2010
Source: Crazy Book Tours

Summary: When psychology professor, Pamela Barnes, and her graduate assistant discover the body of the psychology's department most renowned (and disagreeable) professor, Pamela is determined to solve the crime. She uses her specialization in acoustics to unravel the murder when she finds an accidental sound recording from the night of the murder. With the department up in arms over a potential killer amidst their ranks, danger lurking in the corners, and her protective husband watching her every move, Pamela solves the crime with her unique skills.

My Thoughts: This was a fun and unique little cozy. The college setting was cool, and I enjoyed the interactions between Pamela and her fellow psychology professors, including two good girlfriends, and I was also intrigued by a possible scandal between the head of the department and the murder victim. While reading, nearly every professor in the small department seems suspect at one point or another in the novel, and I was quite sure I had it pegged... but I was surprised at the end when I was wrong about who the murderer was. Needless to say, this book did keep me guessing. Though the story could have been a bit more polished and exciting, all in all I think it's an interesting mystery from debut author, Patricia Rockwell. The unique cast of characters have certainly made me interested in reading more books in this potential series (no other books have been released yet, but I believe there are plans for a series).

My Rating: 3.5/5

And the Winner is....

The winner of my 1st blogiversary giveaway is...

Julie from My 5 Monkeys!

The book she chose is Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles so we are both getting brand new copies of it from The Book Depository! Great choice, Julie! We are both excited to read it! :-D

Thank you so much to all who entered and those who've helped me have a wonderful first year blogging! My blog friends mean the world to me! <3 I'll be hosting another contest soon where the winner will get to choose a book from my favorite reads during my first year. I'm excited about it, and I hope you will all enter.

Giveaway Reminder

Hey everyone! Just a reminder that my international giveaway for my first blogiversary ends tomorrow night! I can hardly wait to draw the winner, because both the winner and I are getting a new copy of the book that they choose from off of my wishlist. I can't wait to find out what book I'll be getting, and the winner too of course. ;) I figured, hey, it's my blog's birthday, so why shouldn't I get a present too?! I'm so excited!

Anyways, I hope you'll all enter. It's a fairly eclectic wishlist, so I'm sure there's something for everyone on it. I hope you'll check it out here, and enter if you haven't already!

Anxiously yours,

Steph

I Love Library.

As some of you know, I recently got a job at my local library! Well, I started training last week, and let me just say... I LOVE LIBRARY! (Yes, this is a total "Anchorman" reference... but it's true... I do love library... and Will Ferrell). It's everything I hoped it would be. I'm working at the circulation desk and get to see so many awesome books and DVDs and things like that, and it's been SO FREAKIN' FUN! :-D I'm training this week too, and Saturday will be my first day as a non-trainee. WooHoo!

My mom and I are such library nerds so I already knew a lot of the little intricacies about the library and how it works and all of that, so I felt right at home immediately. From spending so much time at libraries all of my life, this job feels somewhat like second nature to me. I just get to imitate what I've seen the other employees at the library do ever since I was a child. It's awesome. I still have my other job as a pharmacy techinician at Wegmans, and I love those coworkers SO much, but now I have a new set of coworkers to get to know too, and hopefully become good friends with, just like my awesome Wegmans family. :) Two jobs plus being a full time college student is incredibly tiring and stressful, but it's worth it because the library is where I belong, and I hope to continue to grow in my knowledge and passion for libraries. In just a couple of years, hopefully I'll have my MLIS and I'll BE a librarian. I can't wait for my future to begin!

So yes, I love library, I love being surrounded by books all day, I love talking to other booklovers and feeling completely in my element. This is my future and I am so content.

What would we do without our libraries? :)

Dear school....

... you are a giant fun-suck. Since you started three weeks ago, I've had hardly any time to read for fun. Instead, I've been reading Russian and Portuguese literature which make no sense, and the old classics, like Edith Wharton, which bore me to tears. I'm lucky if I can even get in 50 pages a day of fun reading, if, of course, I'm not too tired to do so after my mounds of homework.

I'm reading....
THIS and.... THIS (BLECH!)

when I'd much rather be reading...
THIS and... THIS


So, school, while people try to comfort me by saying, "you've only got one more year left," I really don't feel excited because then... it's on to grad school. *le sigh*

Unhappily yours,

Steph

Review: The Ivy by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur

Title: The Ivy
Authors: Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur
Genre: Young Adult
Publication: August 2010
Source: Around the World Tours

This one's going to be short and sweet...

My Summary: It's Callie's freshman year at the elite Harvard University. Follow her and her three distinctly different roommates as they party, gossip, date, hook-up and get enmeshed in drama and scandal. There's secret societies, fights over boys, and so much more. "Welcome to the Ivy League..."

My Thoughts: Okay, I hate to say this, but this book was a really big let down for me. It sounds like it has all the right ingredients for a deliciously fun read, and I usually love books about college and drama, but this book really had no coherent story line. Rather, it was a bunch of little events and happenings all clumped together to make one book. I will say that most of the main characters were interesting and fleshed out quite well, but I just couldn't get into this book. There were a few story lines that ran throughout the whole book, but all in all, I just thought this book was very jumbled. I do think a lot of people will enjoy this series, but I really needed to see a stronger plot with much more depth in order for it to really capture me. I'd only recommend this to those looking for a quick and easy read, that aren't too concerned with strong plot development. It may be a good beach read... but I don't do the beach... too hot!

My Rating: 2/5

My First Blogiversary! (and an Int'l Giveaway)

Today is my one year blogiversary! Yayyy. On September 8, 2009, I made my first post! In this past year, I've reviewed 76 books. My very first review is here... my review style has changed quite a bit, obviously... and here's my very first author interview, with Rachel Stolzman. My favorite and most meaningful post talked about my journey as a reader.

Now, I won't get too mushy, because I wrote a mushy post to all my bloggy friends a few months ago, but I will say THANK YOU. Thank you all for being my friends, for commenting, for caring about what I have to say, and for all the book love we've shared! From the bottom of my heart, thank you, because this book blogging community has changed my life, in only the best ways possible. I hope to be doing this for many years to come.

During my first year of blogging, I...

• Turned 21
• Got a job at the library
• Won 28 autographed books through a contest that author, Allison Winn Scotch, held. This included one from my beloved Jen Lancaster. Best news EVER (though I'm still waiting for 6 of the books). See my JENOGRAPH (haha Jen autograph, get it...? AHEM that was lame) to the right!
• Fell in love... with GLEE!
  
• Saw Kathy Griffin... hilarious, of course
• Saw Rob Schneider... freaking hysterical
• Became an "aunt" to my brother's two puppies, Sherman and Sadie, who will be one soon!
• Went on a trip to Gettysburg where I was bored and read
  
• Met some awesome authors at school... including Peter Cameron!
• Interviewed and heard from some really cool authors
• Got inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, an international honor society for English majors.
  
• Became a college senior!

*Giveaway Time*

In celebration, I will be holding an international giveaway (as long as the Book Depository ships to you). Here's how it'll work: Below, I'll be listing a bunch of books that are on my wishlist. The winner picks their book from that list, and I'll order them a brand new copy (to say thanks for being a follower), and I'll also be ordering myself a copy of the book they pick too (because it's my blogiversary, and I want to celebrate, dammit!). So, winner... I hope you pick a good one, because we'll both be getting a brand new copy of it! ;)

TO ENTER: please be a follower, or become one. Leave ONE comment that includes whether you're an old or new follower, which book you think you'd like (you can change your mind if you win), and your email address.

If I reach 300 followers, I'll add a second winner! The giveaway will run until September 22nd.

Now... onto the book choices... all from my wishlist. I'll try not to drool as I list them all.

Hate List by Jennifer Brown
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
Stranger Than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk
The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken
House Rules by Jodi Picoult
Fallen by Lauren Kate
Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross
Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles
The Traveling Vampire Show by Richard Laymon
Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland
The Passage by Justin Cronin
One Day by David Nicholls
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Elna Baker
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler
Such a Pretty Face by Cathy Lamb

Review: After by Amy Efaw

Title: After

Author: Amy Efaw
Age Level: Young Adult
Publication: August 2009
Source: Library

My Summary: A newborn baby, nearly dead but miraculously still alive, is found in the trash outside of an apartment complex. During the police investigation door to door search at the complex, 15 year old Devon, straight-A student and high school soccer star, is found unresponsive under a blanket, covered in blood. She is promptly taken away, first to the hospital, then to a juvenile detention facility where she is now being charged for attempted murder. Here, she lives with other juvenile inmates, in a sort of daze, and wonders how in the world she ended up in such a place... especially since her denial led her to believe she never knew she was pregnant in the first place.

My Thoughts: Wow, wow, WOW! This book had me hooked from the very first page and as I delved deeper and deeper into the story, you would have had to pry this book from my fingers to get me to do anything else but keep reading. This story is intense, gripping, and emotional through and through.

At first I was a bit put-off by the third person narration this book had... it just felt a bit awkward... but later, I learned that it really worked well with Devon's story because she was in such denial of her pregnancy, that she convinced herself she wasn't pregnant at all, until the moment she was giving birth in her bathroom... a bloody and painful scenario. In the third person, we are able to question whether we believe Devon or not, because we don't know for certain whether she's being truthful, as we are not given full access to her thoughts, as we would have in first person.

Anyways, I heard about this book awhile back and knew immediately that I needed to read it. The topic of "dumpster babies" is a fascinating, yet all too real one. It was incredible, heartbreaking, and wrenching to read about, especially from the point of view of the mother, or potential murderer. We follow Devon's story, through the arrest, her time at juvenile hall, and discussions with her lawyer leading up to the trial. We also learn, through flashbacks, about the boy that got her pregnant and the heartbreak that accompanied their relationship, and Devon's growing denial, despite her new larger body, sickness, and fatigue. It was just incredible!

Devon was quiet, closed-off, and resistant, which could be frustrating, but was so realistic. Through time and much prodding from her lawyer the whole story is finally revealed.

I loved this book. It's incredible and haunting, a book that's nearly impossible to put down. Its unique storyline and controversial and touchy subject easily makes this one of the best books I've read all year. I very highly recommend it.

My Rating: 5/5

Review: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Title: The Sky is Everywhere

Author: Jandy Nelson
Age Level: Young Adult
Publication: March 2010
Source: Library

My Summary: Seventeen year old Lennie, a quiet bookworm, is coping with the recent death of her older sister, Bailey. As children, their mom abandoned them, so they always relied on each other, and their grandmother. Now, with Bailey gone, Lennie feels so lost and alone. Suddenly she finds herself involved with two guys - Toby, Bailey's boyfriend who shares her grief, and Joe, the new guy from Paris who has charmed his way into Bailey's heart. Lennie and Joe are falling in love, but she and Toby have fallen into a strange pattern of intimacy while coping with their shared grief. Joe is who she wants and loves, but Toby and her are strangely and guiltily drawn together, and when Joe sees them kissing, everything seems to blow up in Lennie's face.

My Thoughts: This was an emotional and intense read. The pain in Lennie and Toby was palpable and real. Lennie closes herself off to everyone around her, but her feelings are shown through the poems scattered throughout the book that she has written and placed around town. She lives with her grandmother and uncle, and nearly all of her relationships, including with them and her best friend, are becoming dysfunctional, as she continues to pull away from everyone in her life. She feels as though she was just a shadow of her sister and now she is lost. Finally, when Joe comes along, she begins to feel alive again. Their love was emotional, touching and real. When he discovers her and Toby's strange and dysfunctional relationship, he is heartbroken, as is Lennie, who has been confused and uninterested in Toby all along. The thing with Toby was strange but people react in strange ways during grieving periods, so I really did feel for Lennie. All in all, I liked this book and the emotions running rampant throughout. I'm giving it a 3.5 because while I enjoyed it, I didn't find it to be really memorable.

My Rating: 3.5/5