Merry Wanderer of the Night [Search results for love] 

I'm not exactly quite about the fact that Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta is one of my absolute, all-time favorite books. I love it. I treasure it. I recommend it so often that people who know me don't even need a title to know which book I'm talking about. I love it. Seriously. There are not enough words to truly describe how much I love this book. I wanted to reread it before I review it, so that I can truly do justice to the story, but I also wanted to set up some quotes from people I know (many of whom I pushed the book on) who love Jellicoe Road as well and let you read a paragraph from each of these awesome bloggers expressing their love and affection for the masterpiece that is Jellicoe Road.

Audrey @ Holes in My Brain

I could honestly sing praises for Jellicoe Road all day and never run out of things to say, but since I don't have that type of time, we can just get to the crux of the novel and what makes it magical: the characters that Marchetta found a way to bring to life. Through masterful storytelling and absolutely flawless prose, I fell in love with Taylor and Jonah and Narnie and Jude and every single other unforgettable, beautiful, and painfully real character. And sometimes the characters are all I need to fall in love, but luckily enough, Jellicoe Road also comes with an intricate plot and the best tortured love interest in Young Adult literature. Seriously.

Katelyn @ Katelyn's Blog

I love Jellicoe Road for many reasons. The characters, each and every one of them, are extraordinary to me. The two stories told through this one book, touch a special place in my heart. I love the school, the town, and the friendships that are created. I love that this book brought happy tears to my eyes. I love that I can recommend this book to EVERYONE with the upmost confidence that once they finish it, they will love it. I love that this whole story was work. I was constantly piecing it together in my head and at the end of the book, it all came together seamlessly. Most importantly, I love it because it is the epitome of what every great Contemporary Fiction book should have: a brilliant cast of characters, a vivid setting, and a story that steals your heart.

Asheley @ Into the Hall of Books

I love an excellent story that is driven by incredible characters, and that is exactly what Jellicoe Road is. It is so beautifully well-written that when I finished the book, I felt like I had been inside of the book, living and breathing the story on its pages. There are very few times in my life that I have been so wrecked by the lives of a group of characters, and this is one example that will stay with me probably forever. It is truly one of the best books I've ever read.

Jacinda @ The Reading Housewives

Melina Marchetta has a way of turning a young adult novel about a character into being more than just about that one character, but about many. She brings adult characters into the storyline who still need to grow, change, and learn. They aren’t just someone’s parents or disciplinarians or elders in her books, but people with problems. Jellicoe Road is so in-depth many people, including myself, are totally confused for the first 100 pages, but I assure you, after those pages, you will be amazed!

Misty @ The Book Rat

I think it's pretty clear to anyone who reads Jellicoe Road that it's an amazing story — the understanding of human nature and emotion, the ambiance to the book, and the way it all unfolds, the past and present fitting together like a puzzle. But what really took my breath away is how a story can deal with such tragedy that the weight of it just shatters you, and yet still be written with hope. That was the feeling I was left with, and it was beautiful.

Alexa @ Collections

I didn't even know books could take you to a whole other level, until I read Jellicoe Road. It seriously blew my mind. I actually feel hurt when someone doesn't love it because to me, it's the most amazing book in the world. I absolutely loved everything about it, and I can already see myself reading it again and again for years to come.
Aren't they all BRILLIANT?! Seriously. Thank you all, SO much for writing to tell me, and thereby sharing with everyone your love for this amazing book. And all I can say to you is yes. YES. That. All of the above. LOVE. You are brilliant ladies and I thank you.

If you haven't read Jellicoe Road, we should chat. It's amazing and beautiful and heartwrenching and soul tearing and uplifting and building and brilliant. It is about as close to perfection as any novel I've ever seen and I love it.

Copyright by Platinum Love | Photography Christopher Hench | Styling Skye & Kita | Models Alexa at Factor, Tylor at Chosen
PLATINUM LOVE MAGAZINE

VIA Platinum Love

I love Contemporary fiction. That should be a given. I'm hosting a month long event devoted entirely to Contemporary and I talk about it. All the time. So telling you why it is that I love Contemporary should be easy, right? A no brainer? When something is your favorite, you should be able to talk about why, right?

And yet... I find myself unable to really put my finger on exactly why it is that I love Contemporary so much. I've tried before and everything I've said is true. For me, Contemporary is more emotional, it's more connective and more believable. But really, when it comes right down to it — I don't really have a specific reason I can lay out for you. I just... like it better.

I read books because I love them. And a large part of why I love to read is because they make me feel. And Contemporary makes me feel more than any other genre. But more than that, what it makes me feel is more real. When I read an intense dystopian, I'm horrified, my heart pounds and you get that 'peek through the fingers' feeling. But when I put the book down, I know that this is a world created by an author to taunt and torment and terrify and I take comfort that no matter how screwed up my world is, at least it's not there yet. It's the same with a fantasy novel. Voldemort loses his ability to incite terror once I've put the book down and remember that nasty snake things can't actually be reborn from the blood of their magical enemies.

But with Contemporary, I don't have that. I'm not offered that way out, because a truly well written Contemporary is writing about real life. It might not be your real life, but on some level, it's life for some of us and it could be life for one of us. Kids get abducted, abused, hurt, bullied and tormented every single day. I can't take brush off the sad/mad/righteous rage/wrath/vengeful madness that comes after reading a Contemporary book about a parent hurting their children because it's 'only happening in a book' because it isn't only happening in a book. The horrors of drug addiction, manipulation, death eating disorders, low self worth, suicide don't go away just because I set the book down. They are part of our world, whether we like it or not and that means that the feelings I get while reading those books stick around, long after the book has been put away.

But it's not just the sad, hurtful or angry emotions that linger either. There are some books out there so incredibly full of love and life and light and hope that it simply fills my whole being. Most of those books have suffering or problems in them too. And that's okay. That's life. Everyone has suffered something at some point, at many points. But the struggles and the hurts aren't always the focal point of the story. Some of these books where love is the overwhelming emotion just slay me. And I'm not even talking romantic love (although that has it's place too).

Contemporary is just... more. Often, the fantasy or dystopian novels are more intense, more pulse racing, heart bounding, flip through the pages so fast because you are holding your breath until you know what happens next and you are running out of oxygen and OHMYGOODNESS just let me find out what happens next!!!! And I love that feeling. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE it. But there is something more to a story where your heart just stops because you can't believe a kid so young would have to go through something like that, where you can't breathe because your lungs have forgotten how to pull in oxygen because you hurt for these characters so much.

And let me tell you — When you find that book, when you find that book that pulls you so deeply into the lives and stories of these characters that you wonder why you aren't meeting up with them for lunch every Tuesday, it does something to you. I think that's part of why Harry Potter has been so incredibly successful — By setting the story in a Contemporary world that simply has magic hidden under the surface, Harry, Ron and Hermione really could become your new best friends.

Let me try to illustrate exactly what I mean — When I was a kid, I read Where the Red Fern Grows a hundred million times (alright, so I'm exaggerating, it was probably closer to 45). I'm sure you all know how this story ends, but it broke me. Seriously, broke me into pieces. It's been my favorite book for forever, because it was the first book to ever hit me like that. When Billy realizes that Old Dan is seriously injured, he sinks his axe blade deep into the trunk of a tree, hangs his lantern off the blade and picks up his dog so he can carry him home. At the very end of the story of that summer, Billy and his family move from the mountains into town and Billy, now reminiscing from 50 years down the road has never been back, but he wonders if now he could return and find that old rusty lantern and the blade of that axe, since the wooden handle would have rotted long ago. I honestly and truly used to believe that I could go to the Ozarks for Billy and find his axe, that I could walk the trails, somehow figure out exactly where he had lived and I could stumble across that axe and lantern. I knew it was a story. I knew it wasn't real, that Billy had never actually been a real person and Old Dan and Little Ann never hunted anywhere except an old man's imagination. But that didn't matter. I just knew that if I could get there, I would find that axe.

I have never, in all my years of reading had a paranormal, fantasy, dystopian or science fiction (etc and etc) novel hit me that hard, move me that much. But it happens to me again and again with Contemporary. I no longer believe that I could walk into the setting of the novel and meet the characters, but a small part of me weeps every time I finish a book like this, because I realize that they will only ever exist on paper.

And that is what Contemporary does to me. That is why I love it above all other genres. And that is why I will work my hardest to introduce others to Contemporary. Because going through life, never connecting that deeply to a story? Well it's a crying shame.

I really do like The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday feature. I don't participate terribly often, but I am a devoted rereader and just couldn't pass this one up. I'm also terribly guilty of rereading just my favorite parts of books again, but this list is going to be specifically for those books that demand to be read as a whole unit. Hopefully, I'll be able to stop at ten... : P

#1- Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls: Normally, the order in these types of posts is more a matter of which order I thought of the books than an actual number one thing. But this book — DEFINITELY belongs on my number one spot. My teacher read this book to my class in 4th grade & I had to leave the class because my 'allergies' were acting up. I have read it (no lie) over 50 times since then and every time I read it, it's a new and wonderful experience. Oh ya. And, I sob every single time I read this book. When I was a kid — I legitimately thought that I was going to go to the Ozark Mountains and retrieve the ax and lantern that Billy left there. It was that real to me. (And honestly — a small part of me is still pretty sure that if I looked hard enough, I'd find it...)

#2 — Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: If any of you are surprised to see this book on my list — I don't think we can be friends any more... No seriously. If you don't know how much I obsessively love this book, then I have failed you as a friend. It's one of the most complex, captivating and compelling books I've ever read. This is a book that slips inside your soul and makes your heart weep. I don't think it is possible for another book to surpass this one in my mind.

#3 — The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart: One of the smartest, wittiest books I've ever read. Seriously guys — I want to be Frankie, but I definitely get that I will never be that cool...

#4 — The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling: I'm pretty sure these books will be on a lot of lists. I've read the first books SO many times. I always read all the previously published books to prep for a new release, and sometimes, during the long waits between books, I'd read them all again anyway. But, I haven't read any of them since the release of the 7th and I've only read it once. No doubt there is much I missed in my desperate race to know how it all would end. These books were a huge part of growing up for me. I literally grew up with Harry (read the first book at 11, the last at 18) and it's a series I will love forever.

#5 — Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson: Everyone talks about Speak and while I absolutely and wholeheartedly love and recommend that one as well (and really need to reread it too) I feel that Twisted is often overlooked, and let me tell you — that's a shame. It's one of the most honest and authentic teenage boy POVs I've ever read, especially coming from a female author. I connected to Tyler, felt his pain and hurt right along with him. But when he starts to learn who he really is, and step up to it — Whoa man. Seriously — Love this one.

#6 — The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak: I really enjoyed this book and there was so much to it that really struck me. The narration by Death is one of the most unique and heartrending I've ever come across. But I didn't connect to it quite the way I had expected (oddly enough, the part that I felt the most disconnected to was actually the theft of the books) but I want to revisit it, because there is so much to this story to love. Amazing book, and I'd love to go back to it, and see if it's even better on the reread.

#7 — Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl: I wasn't very interested in science fiction when I was younger, pretty well convinced that it was lame and boring and so not for me. Who needs aliens. Seriously. I read this book because it was on the Newbery Honor list and it totally changed my perspective on Science Fiction. I loved this book, connected with it, really felt it, and I so want to go back and read it again to try and recapture that.

#8 — The Novels of a Kingdom by Cynthia Voigt: These four books (Jackaroo, On Fortunes Wheel, The Wings of a Falcon & Elske) are each amazing on their own (and can be read as standalone) but reading them together, realizing the connections and living these stories is something that I miss. These are a strange genre to pin down too. I think of them as fantasy, but there is nothing magical about them. They feel magical and have a Feudal/Medieval setting. I don't know what else to call them, but I can't really get over how much I truly do love and miss these books! (Honorable mention — The Tillerman Saga. Changed my life, these books did. I LOVE them)

#9 — Daughter of the Flames by Zoe Marriott: Dude. This book is awesome. It was the first time that I can remember reading a villain that truly confused me. Seriously awesome stuff. And, the action, the writing, the setting, the characters — all of it. LOVE! Zoe is pretty brave with a lot that she does in this novel, but it's truly a gripping, compelling and strong story. I loved it so much, that I totally talked to a stranger on a bus in Washington DC about this one. (A stranger who was knitting plastic grocery sacks, no less...) LOVE this book.

#10 — A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb: I don't read many ghost stories, and paranormal isn't really my favorite genre, but this is one that kept me up all night reading. I intended to read the first 1-3 pages of this and about three other books before bed, because I couldn't decide what to take to work with me, since I had a minimum of an hour commute, both ways. It was late & I needed to get my bag for tomorrow reading, so I read the first few pages, and then needed to finish the chapter, but then, just one more. Well, one more is okay. I might as well read to page 50. Oh, have to finish this chapter. One more and so on and so forth until I was finished. LOVE.

Note- This intentionally doesn't include any of the books I've read since I began blogging. There's just too many, so these are all books it's been close to 2 years (or longer) since I read. I'm serious when I say I'm a devoted rereader. It's been so long since I've really been able to just sit and reread like I really want to and I miss that. I think, that once I get through some of the books clamoring for immediate attention, I'm going to start rereading again and spend a lot more time with these books I just love and want to see again.:)

I remember in elementary school my art teacher told my class about an artist named Vincent Van Gogh. She said he cut his ear off and everyone in my class squealed and squirmed and some of us (including me) asked why. I still remember very clearly that my teacher said he did it because he was in love. Later in high school one of my art teachers told me that he was in love with a prostitute. And now in college I took an art history class where my professor told us he cut his ear off, that he was in love with a prostitute, and that he was extremely depressed. I've always been attracted to Van Gogh's painting and curious about his story, so when I saw Sunflowers

by Sheramy Bundrick I knew I had to give it a try. This is the story of Van Gogh, or at least what Bundrick thinks might be the story of Van Gogh. Here's the rub: there is really no information about this prostitute he was in love with, and we don't really know how in love with her he was. So most of this book is just Bundrick's musings.

But I was still glad I read it. There are some beautiful moments where Bundrick tries to recreate what she thinks (from research) is Van Gogh's spirit; "You have years ahead, but one day you'll wake-up and wonder where they went. Don't let the things you want escape you" (39). I just thought that was a fantastic line, and whether Van Gogh said half the things she writes him saying or not, it's still great writing. She does an amazing job of recreating his total obsession with art as well; "But I can't stop. I can do without everything else- money, people, even God- but I can't do without my painting. Even if someday it kills me" (113). But there is something else to that quotation too and it has a lot more to do with Rachel, the prostitute, the main character really, than anything with Van Gogh. We're seeing Van Gogh through Rachel's eyes and in this quotation we can see how in love with painting Van Gogh is, but we can also see that Rachel clearly does not come first in his life. And how must that feel? To love an artistic genius so much you would do anything and everything for him, but to know you will never come first in his life. I think this is something Bundrick really considered when writing this novel and it really shows in the conversations between Rachel and Van Gogh and even the characterization of Rachel herself. What kind of woman is that selfless?

Historically, I also found this novel interesting just because of the way Rachel talks about her job. She talks about how she is regarded as a piece of meat and how she has to pay to have her name removed from a list before she can get another job. But money is too precious and everyone knows she is a prostitute anyway. So she feels very stuck. I also thought it was interesting how she viewed sex in two different ways. Vincent is her lover and she wants to love him just because of that, but the man that come and visit her are just "jobs" she has to do for money. I just think that would be such a strange way to experience sex and love and really even just to live your life.

This is great writing, and lovely characterization, but I still wasn't completely satisfied. The ending wasn't as good as I had hoped for, although I won't go into great detail about that. When I look at this book from a fiction perspective I think it was awesome even though the ending wasn't quite right for me, but from a historical standpoint... the fact that the majority of the book is almost entirely a fabrication makes me a little uncomfortable. But then at the same time that is where Bundrick can really bring her creativity in, and she follows the outline of Van Gogh's life fairly well. Honestly, this is an argument you can make over any historical fiction novel, so I won't dwell on it anymore.

This novel earned a B, if you are interested in art or just like historical fiction I think you will enjoy it.

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Today's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish is a freebie — Choose your own adventure style. I was trying to decide if I wanted to participate this week (2 in a row, what?!) but wasn't sure what to go with. And then it hit me — Top Ten Authors I will read everything they will ever publish, even if everything I read from this point on sucks. But then I thought, this is really a list of authors who should be glad I only think about becoming a stalker... Ahem. So, my list of authors who will never escape their Ashley readership:

1. Mary Higgins Clark — MHC gets the top spot on this list because jr. high Ashley was obsessed with the Queen of Suspense. Like, seriously, obsessed. My mom handed me Pretend You Don't See Her at age 11/12 to shut me up about not having anything to read & I was hooked. I read everything she had ever published. I now own almost all of her (suspense) books and I've read all but her 3 newest (I think). I haven't been as impressed with the more recent releases I have read, which is part of why I've been slow getting to these others, but I will read every suspense novel she releases. Childhood obsessions tend to be like that.

2. Melina Marchetta — Alright, come on. Are you really going to make me explain this one again? Like, seriously?! Not like I don't talk about her enough. Jellicoe Road blew my freaking mind. Seriously guys. And everything I've read by her since then just hits me in that absolutely perfect way. Sigh.

3. Lisa Schroeder — I've read 4 out of 5 of Lisa's published works and I have yet to be disappointed. As far as I am concerned, this woman can do no wrong. As far as verse novels go — Genius, thy name is Lisa.

4. Laurie Halse Anderson/ Gayle Forman — I know! Cheater face, right?! But I'm listing them together because I feel very similarly about them — the books I've read of theirs have been life-changing good. So good, I want to put copies of every book into every single person's hand & make them read it. But they do have books in their back list that are either genres or story lines I'm not at all interested in (travel-logish, something & save the animals... Umm... Sorry. But, I... no.) But I will absolutely read anything these two women right in Contemporary YA (and Historical Fiction for LHA) Both of these women truly understand what it means to write.

5. Marcus Zusak — The Book Thief is one of those books that hits you. Hard. I don't remember loving it as much as I'd expected to once I finished the book, but as time passes, I find myself loving it more and more. I was also amazed by I Am the Messenger and I can't wait to read more of his back list. LOVE.

6. Kirsten Hubbard — Her debut, Like Mandarin was one of the best books I've read in a long time. (Umm... Hooray for Contemp YA that isn't centered around a love story!!) It isn't as well known as it should be and I so wish more people would learn of this amazing book & love her. Her next book, Wanderlove releases in 2012, & seriously guys — I joined Netgalley to read this book, something I've been putting off since I very first started blogging. So... Ya.

7. Zoe Marriott — I've read her two US releases and have a UK edition of Shadows on the Moon just calling to me and man, is this woman amazing! I freaking love her writing. She is very deserving of her place on this list. She writes fairy tale retellings and fantasy, and something about her writing just speaks to me and demands to be loved. Also, she is the only author on this list who writes Fantasy w/ no Contemp at all. (says a lot there, don't ya think?)

8. Stephanie Kuehnert — I've only read Ballads of Suburbia, but that doesn't matter. I know it's only one book, but I will read anything this woman writes because this book hit me that hard. So, you know... You should probably go read it. I own I Wanna be Your Joey Ramone and every time I see it on my shelf, my fingers twitch a little, just dying to pick it up.

9. Sharon Creech — Another childhood favorite. Sharon Creech has quite a few books on my childhood favorites list, as well as several others that are also on my all-time favorites list. I just love her writing and her characters and her stories and... well, just everything. She has a few books that I didn't love quite as much, but overall, I genuinely love her.

10. Khaled Hossieni — This man's books hurt. But oh my goodness. It is so worth it. The experience of these books is something that I can't imagine missing. He is a powerful writer and while his books are adult and are books that I can't recommend to everyone (because they are intense and can be graphic, although never gratuitous) they are also amazing and phenomenal and insanely emotional. I will read anything he ever writes and be grateful that I can.

Honorable Mention — Ellen Hopkins — I love Ellen's writing. She is a phenomenal poet and her stories are so strong and so amazing. Even when I read them and feel like her agenda is oozing from the pages (something that is normally very off-putting to me) I still find myself so wrapped up in the story that I overlook it and love it anyway. The reason that she isn't on my list is because, while she should probably be grateful I'm not a stalker, I already know that I won't be reading everything she writes. I'm a little iffy on her adult book coming out, Triangles, but she has one book that I didn't like for various reasons and a companion novel will be released soon, that I won't be reading and I will avoid any future novels with those characters. So, she's very close.:) LOVE her.

There are so many authors who easily could have made this list. I'm sitting here thinking Oh Ya! Oh YA!! OH! YA!... And, things of that nature. And kinda wishing this had been more than 10 people long. Because there are so many authors whom I just adore! You have any authors you will read until the day you die and/or dream about stalking for their used coffee cups at night?

(Also, let it be known that I am very aware this is not my best written post ever. I repeat my self a lot and there are probably sentences that make very little sense. But, in my defense, I was exhausted as I wrote this, and come on — be serious... It's a post whose sole purpose is for me to ramble and gush and squee about my favorite authors. Umm, duh...)

I am so excited to have a guest post today with Sarah Ockler! She has a really fun post today, in the spirit of love for all genres, which I totally adored and even though Contemporary is my favorite, I do read and love many other genres and I love this post talking about the common threads between all genres.

Contemporary Realism vs. Paranormal & Fantasy: Smackdown or Lovefest?

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As an author of contemporary realistic teen fiction, I'm often asked about the imbalance in the bookstores between contemporary titles and paranormals — yes, those sparkly black covers of awesome. Some have asked me why I write contemporary instead of chasing the fantasy "trend." Others want me to convince them to read one over the other, or defend my own favorites, or talk about why contemporary is so much better.

Some of this is in jest, of course. All in good fun. But sometimes it does feel like there's a bit of rivalry going on, doesn't it?

I'm not sure why. To me, fantasy isn't a "trend" anymore than realism *isn't*, and the only thing that's "so much better" is that teens and adults are reading tons of YA — way more than we used to. A big part of that is availability and choice. Even as recently as ten years ago, bookstores might've only had one YA shelf, or the teen fiction might've been mixed in with the younger children's stuff. Now, it's so popular that it usually has it's own section, and that section includes rows of ever-expanding shelves — plenty of room for magic *and* reality.

My favorite local indie, the Tattered Cover, just expanded its YA section, and they host young adult and middle grade authors almost every month — contemporary, fantasy, scifi, dystopian, romance, mystery — we're all represented, and we're all awesome.: -) Walking down those long shelves stuffed with sparkly black covers, pink ones, white ones, scenic ones, close up kissing ones, monster ones… it just makes me insanely happy to have so many choices for my ever-growing TBR list.

So what about the original question? Smackdown or lovefest?

I say lovefest. I love contemporary realism. I love fantasy, paranormal, and scifi. I love it all. Because in young adult fiction, contemporary realism and paranormal / fantasy are just two sides of the same coin. The difference is in the execution. Maybe your boyfriend broke up with you because the scent of your blood makes him want to tear you apart with his pointy little fangs. Or maybe he just likes another girl. Maybe your parents are getting divorced because Mom discovered that dad is a dark elf plotting to take over the world. Or maybe he just leaves the toilet seat up. These are silly examples, but the point is, the underlying emotional strife is the same. Both types of story explore complex emotions and issues like changing friendships, death, sexuality, sex, heartbreak, addiction, family problems, physical challenges, violence, and economic hardship, to name a few. Both feature multi-layered characters forced by difficult — sometimes life-threatening — external situations to dig deep to uncover their own hidden strengths. Both have the twists and turns and surprises that often come when teens experience new situations for the first time. And let's not overlook the best part — all the kissing. Sexy vampires, beautiful witches, six-pack-ab-rockin' shapeshifters, and plain old regular humans… there's plenty of romance to swoon over in most young adult fiction. Team Kissing, are you with me? Yes!

So whether you're typically into contemporary realism or paranormal, whether you like your boys human or bloodsucking, whether you go gaga for girls with wings or wands or just plain old pom poms, whether you're reading about transgender issues or trans-species ones, whether you like escaping to the beaches of California or the halls of Hogwarts, I encourage you to read a bit more of… well… everything. This is a lovefest, after all. Let's show some love!

Need a few recommendations? Check out the newly posted Best Teen Books of 2011 over at Kirkus. Editor Vicky Smith says, "With shelves fairly groaning under the weight of paranormal love triangles, it may be easy to think that books for teens are all the same these days. Not so, we are delighted to report. In sifting through the piles of great books published for teens this year, I was happy to discover soulful romance of the utterly normal kind, deliciously frothy historical novels, piercingly intelligent nonfiction, thrillingly inventive fantasy and science fiction and some great kickass horror, as well as some books that may leave you weeping with laughter."

Some of my faves from the list are Misfit, Winter Town, Virtuosity, Anna Dressed in Blood, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and many more are on my TBR list. There's something for everyone over there. Happy reading!
~ Sarah Ockler

Author of Twenty Boy Summer, Fixing Delilah, and the upcoming Bittersweet (which features the special magic of cupcakes and hockey boys… mmmmm...)

Thank you again Sarah, so very much! I love it!:)

And for all my awesome readers, Sarah has been generous enough to donate a signed paperback of Fixing Delilah to one luck winner! This is a phenomenal book, absolutely amazing, and I'm already excited for whoever wins this one!

Enter Below. Like all Just Contemporary Giveaways, it will end Dec 10th. This is also only open to US/CN.

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt is one of the most unique and beautiful stories I have ever read. While not a direct fairy tale retelling, falling more into the category of fairy tale-esque, the book reads like a fairy tale, and elements from different tales and lore find their way into Keturah's story.

Keturah is the storyteller in her small village. She tells tales around the common fire each night, enthralling the townsfolk. There is a hart that haunts the forests around the town, a hart which the Lord of the realm, a renowned hunter himself, has long hunted, but never captured. This hart often finds its way into Keturah's tales, and it is ultimately what leads Keturah into trouble. She sees the hart watching her from the woods one evening and decides to follow it, just a little ways into the wood. As is often in the case with seemingly enchanted harts, Keturah finds herself following the hart deeper and deeper into the wood, unable to stop. When she finally regains her senses, she realizes that she is hopelessly lost in the forest.

After three days of being lost in the woods, Keturah is out of strength, and knows she is going to die. Sure enough, Death comes for her. She is surprised by him, because he appears as a handsome and aloof Lord, and he tells her it is time to go. She begs and pleads for her life, and those of us near death are wont to do, and Death takes pity on the beautiful young girl. He tells Keturah that she may live if she chooses one other from her village to die in her place. But Keturah loves all the people in her village and cannot allow them to die, not even if it means that she might live.

Instead, she asks Death if she might tell him a story. He agrees and she tells him a beautiful and magical story, about life and love, one that sounds familiar, but incomplete. When he demands the ending from Keturah, she refuses to tell it, unless he allows her to live. And so, she makes a deal with Death, returning to her village for three days on a mission to find her true love. If she can find her love in three days, Death will allow her to live. And if not, she must go with him to die.

This is one of my very favorite stories. I love the air of magic within the story, even though there is no magic beyond the meetings with Lord Death. I first read this book a few years ago, and fell completely in love with the characters. Keturah is reckless, fierce, and loyal. Her two best friends are filled with goodness and love. John, the Lord's son is another fascinating character, and you watch him as he desires to fit in among the people and learn to rule them well now that he might be a wise and just ruler when his father rules no more. Even Lord Death is a fascinating character. He is the most powerful force and he knows it. Nothing can stop death, everything must eventually fall to him and yet Keturah tries to defy him. She begs and pleads and offers her stories in exchange for mercy, for life and for time.

I knew that I wanted Keturah and her story to be a part of fairy tale fortnight, because it is simply beautiful and everyone should have a chance to read it. So I decided to reread it before the event, to make sure I did the story justice in my review, and the first thought that came to mine was to Sigh and think, Oh, how I've missed you. This is a story that feels like coming home. It is a tale that perfectly fills those wanting places inside when searching for those magical tales, and it is a story that will never leave you. I think about this book all the time, and I recommend it regularly.

The writing is effortless and vivid. It begins with a prologue that sets the story up with a fairy tale feel, right from the beginning, giving you everything but that actual 'once upon a time' and when the story itself starts, you are already enchanted by her words. You are in Keturah's world, you are living in that village, watching, waiting with bated breath to discover what the future holds for Keturah. Everything feels so very real and you can feel Keturah's pain and panic as her agreement with deal draws to an end and she knows she must soon complete her task or go to her death. She is fighting death for everything she loves or may come to love and it's not always an easy struggle to watch.

This is a story of love, of hope and of almost magic, the kind of magic that we can almost find if we search for it long enough. It is a story of understanding, of personal redemption and finding happiness with what you have. The risks Keturah takes for those she loves are huge and you love her all the more for what she is willing to risk to protect others.

Today's interview is with a writing duo. Yvonne and Sandy have written quite a few books together and while I've only read two of them so far, they have both been lots of fun to read, and exactly what I was looking for at the time. Lots of fun, a little bit of fluff and just overall enjoyable.

What is it like writing as a team? How do you get past disagreements on pieces of the story?

We've been writing as a team for over a decade, and it’s still fun. The toughest part is picking one of many ideas floating like balloons over our heads, and focusing on just one.

Over the span of 10 books, we’ve had to develop a three-stage technique to shoot down each other’s ideas in a way that isn’t hurtful:
1. Listen to the entire idea, nodding and smiling;
2. Offer lukewarm praise; and
3. Present new idea so obviously superior that the first one is instantly forgotten.

Seriously, though, you can’t get too attached to your ideas when you’re a team. You have to trust than another, better one will come along, because it always does.

How did the two of you meet? How did you decide to become writing partners?

We met as teens working in a public library. We were friends for years—and even roommates after college—and the idea of writing together never occurred to us. But one day, Yvonne went looking for a non-fiction book for her nieces to answer their questions about relationships with boys, friends and family. She couldn't find a book with the right, light-hearted tone, so she suggested we write one. That led to Totally Me: The Teenage Girl’s Survival Guide. It was a natural fit, since we've spent our entire friendship talking about relationships with boys, friends and family.

Have either of you written alone? Or written with a different partner?

We've only collaborated with each other. In some cases one of us has written “more” of a particular book than the other person, depending on our schedules. But we developed our voice together, so I doubt anyone could tell who wrote what. In fact, sometimes we compliment each other on our own lines, forgetting we wrote them!

What are the differences to writing alone vs as a team and what are some advantages/disadvantages to both styles.

A huge advantage to collaborating is simply the “we're in it together” feeling. It’s nice to share the highs and lows of publishing, and the weight of deadlines. The only disadvantage—other than the loss of full creative control!—is that you have two schedules to coordinate. We have other jobs and commitments and they don’t always sync up as we’d like.

Why Contemporary?

We started out that way and just kept going. Spending time with our teen friends keeps us grounded in the present and we’re intrigued by the challenges they face.

But to be honest, we have always wanted to give paranormal a try and soon... we will! Expect something a little different from Collins-Rideout in a few months.

I've heard talk that *Love, Inc.* is actually a series. Is there any truth to that rumor? If so, is there any information you can share with us?

Yes! We just released the sequel to Love, Inc. It’s called Trade Secrets, and it will soon be available across all electronic platforms. You can already find it on Amazon

Here’s a short overview:

Kali Esposito and her best friends Syd and Zahra revive Love, Inc. to help the lovelorn break-up, make-up or take-up with someone new. A die-hard romantic, Kali can turn the most socially-challenged clients into confident charmers and the “Kali Method” takes Love, Inc. to new heights. But when a competitor corrupts her method to turn regular guys into players, Kali must reclaim Love, Inc.’s trade secrets before every girl in Austin gets her heart broken.

Speaking of sequels/series, are they harder to write than the first book? Do you *like* them or do you prefer writing a standalone story?

The challenge with sequels is trying to recap the first book for new readers without boring returning readers, who already know the back story. But on the whole, sequels are easier to write in that you’ve already developed the key characters, and their world. Our favorite book of all is the third book in the Vivien Leigh Reid series: Diva in Control. By that point, we’d hit our stride and could just enjoy getting poor Leigh into trouble. We’d still love to do a sequel to The Black Sheep. Judy is our most obnoxious villain ever—she deserves another outing.

What made you decide to self-publish Trade Secrets? Will you continue to self-publish all your future books? Will Trade Secrets also be released in a hard copy edition (I'd love to have a hardcover to match Love, Inc!)

It all started when Sandy bought a Kobo for her mom for Christmas... and kept it for herself. If a hard-core book lover like Sandy can fall for an e-reader, it can happen to anyone.

So we started researching e-publishing, and it just seemed to suit our needs. First, you can get books out faster. We have always wanted to write more than one book a year, and also, different types of books. Now, with e-publishing, it’s a lot easier to follow your heart—as long as you hire experts to rein you in! We’re pretty excited by this new opportunity and expect to e-pub our next few books. But we've been around the book biz long enough to know that you have to stay flexible.

If there’s enough interest in paper copies of Trade Secrets, we’ll look into making that option available.

Is there anything you can share with us about your current work in progress or upcoming stories?

We’re working on a bunch of projects right now, including a paranormal novel, and possibly, if people enjoy Trade Secrets, more from our Love, Inc. trio. It seems like their story wouldn't complete without another cycle of revenge hits, led by Sydney Stark.

We love hearing from readers, so please join us on twitter @collins_rideout or visit our websites: collinsrideout.com and loveincbook.com

Thank you both, so very much! I loved hearing from you and I'm definitely excited to read Trade Secrets! Hopefully, I will have a review up soon! I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, but I do have some copies to giveaway!! Yvonne and Sandy have generously offered copies of three of their novels as giveaway prizes! Enter below! The hard copies are US/CND only but the ecopies are International!
*edit — I can't believe I forgot the Rafflecopter widget! SO sorry! I will still allow those who entered through the comments to maintain that as their entry, because this is my error, but anyone entering now needs to use the widget!*

My guest poster today is Jacinda, one of the sisters that runs the blog The Reading Housewives of Indiana. Jacinda is such a fun blogger to chat with and she's amazing. Seriously. She's pretty much amazing! I'm thrilled that she wanted to share a guest post, so here she is — talking about her favorite Contemporary novels EVER!

Picking my favorite contemporary novels of all time…that’s a difficult task. I decided to go with my
favorite contemporary novels I think aren’t as popular, at least at the moment…which pretty much
means I had to leave off Lola and Anna…I almost cried! Many of these might have been popular when
they were published, but they are somewhat new to me and aren’t talked about so much right now. Or
maybe I’m the only one who has one of these on my favorites list..I’m okay with that!
My Favorite Young Adult Contemporary Novels Which Need More Loving in 2011 and
Beyond!

Sea by Heidi R. Kling

I’d been wanting to
read this book for the longest time. My library didn’t have it and for some reason I’d never bought it.
As soon as someone offered this book up to me for trade I jumped at it! I’m so glad I did! As you can
tell it has become one of my favorites! I felt so many different emotions about this one! I love being
able to travel to foreign lands in books and Sea has that. I’m looking forward to reading anything Heidi
writes! I’m reviewing Sea sometime during Just Contemporary! I’ve been sitting on this review for a few months!

I Now
Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan
This is a contemporary book I don’t think has gotten enough buzz. I read this before I started reviewing
and before I started my blog. I wish I would have read it afterwards to push it at people! It’s been a very
long time since I’ve read it, but I remember wanting to hug this book after I read it! Just thinking about it
has me wanting to re-read it!

Summer Sisters by Judy
Blume
Summer Sisters was one of the first contemporary books I’ve ever read. It was a book club pick and I was
pleasantly surprised by it! I HATED a few different characters in this one. I was screaming at them on the
inside that they were acting stupid and being totally selfish. I loved following these characters through
numerous years because you get to see so much growth and change.
You should also check out Forever by Judy Blume

Sign Language by Amy Ackley

This book set a record for me. I cried the most during Sign Language than any other book I’ve ever
read. Prior to this one, The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa held that title because of the brutal ending to
the story that had me crying for about the last ten percent. Sign Language had me using tissues during
the entire first half. It was a horrible feeling having to cry that often while reading it, but it shows how
well the author told the story. I normally shy away from stories having main characters in the 12-15
year-old range, but I’m so happy I didn’t pass this one up! Sign Language has a certain quote/life lesson
that will always stick with me and it is one of only a few books I can remember quotes from.

Rich and Mad by William
Nicholson
I think many people didn’t like this one. I completely fell in love with it! I want to re-read it one of these
days to see if my love for it is still there and I really hope it is! I will probably cry if I feel different about it
the second time. It’s a story about a guy and girl chasing and looking for the wrong person to fall in love
with. I don’t remember exactly what had me falling all over this one, I just know I felt wonderful while
reading it. There is a point/part in this book people hated, I seemed to not care or I overlooked it, either
way, I loved this one! For some reason, I see myself constantly defending my love for this one…maybe
that’s because I’ve seen a couple of people tear it apart. Oh well, I loved it!

Sixteenth Summer by
Michelle Dalton

Sixteenth Summer is the cutest and most adorable book I’ve ever read! I catch myself thinking about
it on occasion! This book had me craving ice cream and sweet tea! If you need a book to put you in a
good mood or to read in the summertime, Sixteenth Summer is the book for you! It will give you warm
fuzzies!

My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsesessions by Becca Wilhite
Ever have a perfect book come to you at the perfect time?! My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions
was that book for me. I remember feeling down about everything, but after reading this, I felt 100%
better…even though I cried a bit. The protagonist is college-aged which I love in young adult! She’s
obsessed with romance novels and refers to them in every aspect of her life. Such a great fast read
which will always be a favorite of mine!

The North of Beautiful
by Justina Chen Headley
The theme for many favorites of mine is my lack for reasons as to why I love them…my memory is
horrible! North of Beautiful is one of those books! It’s a book teaching us to look inside of ourselves for
beauty because beauty isn’t on the outside. I just remember enjoying the struggle the main character
has with herself and the general theme of the book is unique and it stands out.

The Disreputable History of Frankie
Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
I’m thankful for the Award Winning Reads Challenge Ashley hosted with me because I might not
have picked this one up! Frankie was so strong! I loved her! It was a book based not on romance, but
Frankie’s struggle with wanting to be accepted in something she feels like she has a right to be a part
of and challenging it. I love romance in my books and this one has a bit, but I found myself not
caring if the romance was there or not…that means this book is fantastic coming from me!

The Chosen One by Carol
Lynch Williams
This is one of those “tough issues” books. Kyra is one of 21 children of her father’s from his three wives.
Kyra lives in a very religious community. She decides after she is to be wed to her uncle that she needs
to get away. I loved getting a glimpse, even if fictional, into a community like this especially from a 13
year-olds point of view. The ending of this one is very fitting for the story.

I’m a 26 year-old Hoosier. Currently I’m a SAHM to a 4 year-old boy
and a 3 year-old girl. I’ve been married to my hubby, Seth, for 6 years and I’ve known him since I was
senior in high school. I have two dogs and a cat which I love dearly even though they can make my
life more hectic than it needs to be. Besides my love of reading which is obvious, I love my Keurig,
crafting, and football. I’m afraid of heights to the point where I will not stay in a hotel

room above the 7^{th floor or drive in mountains unless it’s at night. I dislike milk and anything banana or coconut
flavored, so I’m limited on my cocktail choices. I’m a big young adult reader, but I do read an occasional
adult book. My favorite types of books would have to be contemporary and historical fiction, but it used
to be paranormal before I became more of an avid reader.}

This is my first edition of a post I hope will go on for quite awhile, and one that all of you might be able to get something out of. When I first started this blog I was kind of pulling away from something that I really, really love. The essay. This summer I have taken a strong return back to my old favorite and now I'm hoping to talk about one essay I love every week. To start us off I decided to go with First by Ryan Van Meter which originally appeared in the Gettysburg Review, but I read it in The Best American Essays 2009. If the anthology is any actual gage of the best American essays published in 2009 then I would argue that this is actually the best essay, because I've returned to it about six times in two weeks and every time I grow to love it more. It's the only essay from the anthology that has left such a huge mark on me. And I didn't even know this until exactly this moment, but apparently he teaches at the University of Iowa (my school!). I honestly didn't know this, I don't want you all to think I'm biased or something.

This essay is the story of a five-year-old boy's thoughts on love, which he gains from watching soap operas with his mother during the summer. "What I enjoyed most about soap operas was how exciting and beautiful life was. Every lady was pretty and had wonderful hair, and all the men had dark eyes and big teeth and faces as strong as bricks..." (178). He believes that love is possible and beautiful and wonderful, and he believes that he is in love with his best friend who is possibly named Ben (being that he was five at the time, it's a little difficult to recall). "What I know for certain right now is that I love him, and I need to tell him this fact before we return to our separate houses, next door to each other" (177). They are riding backwards in the back of a car, with their dads sitting in the front seat together and the moms in the back. One of my favorite observations in the essay is "that when mothers and fathers are in the car together, the dad always drives" (178).

By the end of the essay young Ryan has proposed to Ben, only to be told by his mother that this is not okay. This shatters everything he knows or thought he knew about love, and with it some of his hope is also lost. This, of course, deals with homosexuality and the acceptance of it, even within your own family. I think this essay really transcends that though. To me it's more about growing up and learning that what you think as a child may not actually be how the world works. I was just thinking about how as a child death would happen in stories, but I never gave much thought to it. Now I'm obsessed with death in children's stories and how children react to it. Beyond the message of this story, it is beautifully written. I can see everything happening with such precision, it reads like a dream. One great example is right after Ben and Ryan let go of hands and he says, "I close my fingers into a loose fist and rub my palm to feel, and keep feeling, how strange his skin has made mine" (179).

This is by far my favorite essay I've read this year and if you'd like to read it you don't even need to get The Best American Essays 2009 (in fact, I'd probably skip it since I wasn't overly impressed by the collection as a whole, more on that later). You can check out this essay at The Gettysburg Review. It's very short, just three pages printed and I obviously think it's worth a read and reread. Ryan Van Meter also has an essay collection coming out April 2011 entitled If You Knew Then What I Know Now. I wait with baited breath.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

Eleven-year-old Bess de Montacute is infuriated when she discovers that she is being forced to marry thirty-two-year-old Hugh le Despenser. Hugh comes from a family of traitors, and isn't very happy about the arrangement either. For the past several years, he has been having a love affair with a woman he would never be permitted to wed.

After being imprisoned after his father's execution, Hugh realizes he must accept this gift he has been presented. The two are forced to come together and perservere despite the challenges placed before them. Young Bess is allowed a reprieve of one year after she weds before she must share a bed with her husband. An appalling thought in the current time, but a very common practice in the 14th century.

Even though they eventually grow to love one another, their love is continually tested. A war separates them and threatens to systematically destroy those they love. And just when it appears as though it can't get any worse, they are faced to deal with an unforgiving and indiscriminate plague-pestilence. Just how much can their love withstand?

Hugh and Bess

is truly a coming of age novel. We watch each of the main characters grow and mature as their love blossoms and they become remarkable people. Higginbotham does an outstanding job of growing her characters. She makes this historical fiction/romance an interesting one. At no point was I overwhelmed or bored with the historical facts that were relayed. Higginbotham overcomes this by the incredible dialogue she creates between the characters. Most of the history is relayed by the characters themselves, and not some dull and dry narrator. I'm a huge fan of historical fiction, but not typically historical romance. But I can't say enough about this powerful love story between two people forced together by marriage. I was so enamored by this love story that I read it twice! Those that know me understand that I can count on one hand the books I have had a desire to read more than once! Higginbotham is an author I will continue to follow.

Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing a copy of Hugh and Bess for review!

On Monday it's Valentines Day here in the US, which means love is in the air! Many of us have been talking about love all month, but I thought it would make a perfect Weekly Geek-ish type assignment to suggest a post that included anything about love that moves you.

Some ideas:

- favorite love stories.
- favorite romantic movie.
- favorite love songs.
- favorite romantic get away.
- a personal loves story you'd like to share.
- favorite couple in books, movies, TV or real life.
- things you like or don't like about romance.
- anything love related you can think of!

Hopefully you get the idea here. Have fun! I look forward to seeing what LOVE stuff you come up with!

Everyone, help me welcome Sierra to the blog today! She has an absolutely wonderful memory to share with everyone today! Help me make her feel welcome!

My name is Sierra, and I blog on Yearning_To_Read. I've been blogging for almost a year now; I started Yearning To Read back in June 2010. It has been an amazing experience, and I feel so priveleged to be a part of a project like this. My blog first started out as a way to review good books (okay, and some bad, too) and have fun with it. Now it has turned into much more: I write about vintage books that I buy, poems, and quotes that I love; and in January I added something new: giveaways, so far my favorite aspect of blogging. I love giving books: What a great way to do it!

About me: I'm a 17-year-old senior in highschool and I've been homeschooled since preschool. I LOVE it. LOVE LOVE LOVE. It has allowed me to study everything that I would study in a public school, but it also gives me a greater freedom to focus on what I love: literature, writing, foreign language, and Photography. It has been a journey, full of adventures. AND... my mom is the best teacher.:) I live in San Diego, CA, which is one of the best places to live. Someday I hope to travel to new ends of the world, but I want to always have a home to come back to in San Diego. I've beed a reading maniac since I was 7, and I've been writing novels (yes, novels) since I was 8. Not that they were any good, of course, but it's the thought that counts, right? I still write all the time... the stories come and come and come relentlessly. I hope to someday be a published author. It's been my goal for 9 years and counting — I'd say that's pretty promising!

And now, for my memory.

It was Easter Sunday, 2008, after church. It's funny, how some days start as one thing, with you having a goal for the day, an idea of what it's going to look like. And then, it all changes. Drastically. Funny what books can do to you in a day.

The day before, I had picked up Inkheart. I'd bought it a while before, with its published companion Inkspell. I'd heard it was good from a friend; the movie was coming out; I had a giftcard. How could I lose?
But anyway, back to the story:

I remember lunch at our house, with our friends. I brought Inkheart to the table with me and had it under my leg. (This is the first time I remember doing this.) Between bites, I'd reach down and feel the cover, the grooves and bumps on it which were (and still are) Meggie's fingers, the gold coins from Treasure Island, the lizzard from the desert, the castle from the fairytales. I wanted to read it; I wanted to be captured in the story and transported.
After lunch, I helped clean up a bit, but I was itching. Itching for the story beyond the covers. The second I was free, I ran upstairs and into my room, where I stayed. I opened the book. And read.

For 6 hours.

Now, let's get something straight here: I'm not a fast reader. I got a total of about 250 pages done in those six hours. I took two breaks. But the rest of the time, I was hooked. I remember it vividly, the first time I read that journey and was immersed. I remember starting by sitting on my bed; that soon got stuffy and uncomfortable, after so much food. Then I sat between my desk and my footboard, legs up, book on my knees. That, too, eventually became uncomfortable. My legs cramped and it was getting hot in the room. (Or was that Dustfinger's fire, leaping out of the pages to catch me?) Then I went outside to the patio, where I read some more. I sat on a reclining chair and my body soaked up the spring sunshine and fresh air — and all the while my mind was soaking up the intense story that isInkheart. My mind was lost in a fantastic world that becomes a part of the reader.

I finished Inkheart two days later. Then, I started Inkspell.

In no way was I prepared for what lay on those pages, in that ink. I'd experienced a ride with Inkheart — but with Inkspell... I don't know. Something was different. Mentally, emotionally. It played with my emotions like Dustfinger plays with his fire, like Mo plays with his words.
In the end... let's just say that not very many other books make me sob. (I am a usual crier, yes, but not a usual sobber.) If a book gets me so emotionally that I cry really hard, it usually ends up on my favorites shelf. It means more to me than most books because it moved me more. It was just so when I finished Inkspell. I was sitting on the couch (I think it was the Thursday after Easter Sunday) and my sister was sitting across from me, reading one of the Madeleine L'Engle books. And as I lay there, reading the last few chapters, sniffling and wiping tears away and burying my head in my arms, she kept staring at me strangely, wondering what the heck could have changed my emotions so drastically.

(Are you wanting to know as well? I advise you read the book. 'Twill be worth it, I promise.)

And that is my memory. My vivid, lovely memory. I remember all the emotions, the sights and smells. In fact, the smell of the Inkbooks are still some of my favorites to date. Oh, and did I read Inkdeath ? Yes, yes I did. I remember longing for it, and when it came in the mail I was proud to know that I was one of the first people to ever hold it in my hands. And I LOVED the book.

This memory is particularly special to me, for a few reasons. Not only were these some of the very first books that I became emotionally attached to, but they were also some of the first fantasy books I'd ever read. They got me hooked on the genre, and they are still an example of what great fantasy is. Since that week I've read Inkheart 3 times total, Inkspell twice total (and the end several times — it makes me cry every single time), and Inkdeath once. Each time I read the first two, those memories come back, swiftly and vividly. It's strange — the books that talk about books catching memories between their pages are the books that have caught the most memories for me.

And they are memories I will always cherish and will never forget.

Thank you so much Sierra, for sharing your memories with us! This sounds like an incredibly important read for you. I remember these life changing reading experiences in my own life, and am so happy that you shared yours with us!

Readers, remember that if you would like to be a Memory Monday guest, in my blog for more information!

Hello everyone and WELCOME! Today is the first day of November, which also means it is the first day of Just Contemporary, a full month dedicated to nothing but the awesome that is Contemporary YA. I mean seriously, how awesome is that?! Best idea ever, right?! Thank you, thank you. You may now bask in my glow...

Or, better yet — Bask in the awesome that will be coming to you ALL THIS MONTH!!!

Shanyn and I have so killer awesome stuff coming at you. There will be authors, guest bloggers, interviews, guest posts, giveaways, videos and lots of reviews and bookish talking posts. It's gonna be intense. Like, whoa.

I am devoting my entire blog, the entire month of November to ONLY Contemporary talk. The reviews will all be Contemporary, the authors all write Contemporary, even the Memory Mondays will be about Contemporary reads! Shanyn's blog will be the same. Contemporary FTW yo!

Now, I don't actually expect anyone else to do this. Devoting an entire month to only one genre is hard. I get that. If you want to become an entirely, or even mostly Contemporary place for November, YOU WILL ROCK MY FACE OFF. If you can't become entirely Contemporary, don't worry, I'll still love you!:)

But here is a list of seriously great things you can do to still show your love and support for Contemporary YA (some of these are Shanyn's and some are mine)

*Read a Contemporary book, especially if it isn't your normal go-to genre
*Review a Contemporary book you loved
*Add the button/banner to your sidebar and/or any Contemporary themed posts in November
*Write a post about the Just Contemporary event on your blog. Talk about it on Twitter. Tell all your friends.
*Read the awesome Contemp happenings on the host blogs for the month
*Write a post talking about Contemporary YA (write about your own topic, or check out our guest post topic list)
*Enter the giveaways!! (easy peasy, yes?!)
*Keep an eye out for participating authors & post about those authors or their books around the same time we do
*COMMENT! There is a lot of time and effort that's been put into showcasing all this awesome Contemp & all of the participants, bloggers, authors, readers and writers would love feedback!
*Talk to friends, IRL & online about Contemporary YA that you love. Buy a book. Buy a book for a friend or your library. Buy a book and give it to a random stranger on the bus... And then tell us!:)
*Tell a Contemporary YA author that you love them.:)

I could keep going here... Really, I could. There is so much you can do to help! Both this event and Contemporary YA in general!

Also — I plan to have a weekly post going up where I talk about all the awesome Contemporary love happening around the blogosphere. But, for this to really be a good round up, I'm going to need your help! There is no way I can possibly find everything going on. I'm going to try, but it's not gonna happen.: P SO. PLEASE — If you are participating in the event, if you grab the button to add to your Contemp reviews, if you interview a Contemporary author, review a Contemp novel, Let me know!! I am going to be on top of my commenting game, reading (hopefully) hundreds of awesome Contemporary posts every day!

So what are we waiting for?! Let's get this show on the road and SPREAD THE LOVE!!!

I love books with really strong female characters, so I'm excited that Top Ten Tuesday is all about that this week. Check out other answers at The Broke and Bookish.

1. Jane Eyre of Jane Eyre One of my favorite books of all time. Jane isn't particularly outstanding, but she does stick up for herself and does what she believes is right, so I must respect her for that.
2. Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games series Another girl who does what she thinks is right, even in the face of danger.
3. Diana of The Luxe Series This is another girl (am I seeing a pattern?) who isn't afraid to say what she thinks or live her life the way she pleases, even if it's unpopular.
4. Marian Halcombe of The Woman in White Oh Marian. She is ugly, but incredibly smart and you just have to love her. The best character in the whole book.
5. Bridget of Bridget Jones's Diary She is hilarious, honest, and messed up just like the rest of us. A girl to love.
6. Margaret of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret A young heroine, but like Bridget she is totally honest with what she thinks, even if its bizarre or rude.
7. Joan Didion of The Year of Magical Thinking This is a nonfiction book, but I think I love her character in the book for a lot of the same reasons as I love Bridget and Margaret, although she is less funny. She doesn't lie though, and it would be easy to lie in the situation she is in.
8. Hermoine Granger of The Harry Potter series Smart, outspoken, and not afraid to run with the boys. Gotta love Hermoine!
9. Edna Pontellier of The Awakening This is just a beautiful, sad book and I really admired her character when I first read it.
10. Scout of To Kill a Mockingbird Another young heroine but one of my favorites. Not afraid to ask questions or say things how they are.

So apparently I love women who aren't afraid to tell it like it is! Wonder what that says about me in real life?

So, it's no secret that I love Contemporary Fiction. Or, if it is — I'm going to feel like a failure as a book lover and blogger. Because Contemporary Fiction has been my absolute favorite genre for my whole entire life. I was thinking about this the other day, about how I wanted to do something majorly huge to demonstrate to the whole world just how much I obsess over love Contemporary Fiction.

So, I was thinking out loud on Twitter, asking what people would think of a Contemporary Only Month on the blog. And the response was awesome! It warms my heart to see just how many people really love Contemporary. Shanyn over at Chick Loves Lit was especially helpful, offering ideas and just being her generally awesome self & I thought.. Hmm. I love her blog. I know she loves Contemporary Fiction. I wonder if she'd want to co-host with me. So I asked, she said yes and Viola!:)

So, now that I've talked way to much about why I wanted to have this Contemporary month, I'm going to give you some details.

It is important to know that this is all still a little tentative. Depending on the amount of interest we get from both bloggers and authors, many of the specifics are still liable to change.

This is going to happen in the month of NOVEMBER. The full month of November will be nothing but Contemporary YA on both mine and Shanyn's blogs. Our author spotlights, interviews, book reviews, guest posts, discussion topics, Waiting on Wednesday's etc will all be completely devoted to Contemporary YA.

We would love to have as much participation from other bloggers as possible! We don't really expect anyone else to devote the entire month of November to Contemporary, because that is a really long time (although, if you really wanted to, that's totally awesome too!) But we do want to get more Contemporary love going round! So, pull those Contemporary books off the shelf that you keep pushing down the tbr, grab that review notebook to finally write up those Contemporary reviews you've been meaning to write for months now and brush off your persuasion skills to convince the world that Contemporary is the best.

We hope to get a huge turn out for this, a chance to prove that Contemporary YA really IS well loved by SO many people. We want to get as many people as possible involved, excited and talking, not only about this event, but more importantly, about Contemporary YA in general.

We also have a button and a banner that you can add to your blogs — Katie of KD Designs is the genius behind these fabulous images! Isn't she AMAZING?! So, grab the button for your blog, and use the banner in a post to tell all your friends!

We want to give everyone the opportunity to participate as much as possible, and to post, not only on their own blogs, but to also write guest posts. Because we hope to have a huge amount of interest, we decided to make a Blogger Guest Post Swap for the month. There will be five opportunities to guest post. You are welcome to participate in as many as interest you.

Each of the five guest posts will be assigned a topic and a corresponding week in which they will all post. Below is a list of the post topics and the tentative weeks they will post. There is also a form at the bottom of this post that you can fill out if you are interested. Note — Fill this out even if you aren't 100% sure you will be able to do it. This is to get a general idea of who is interested in what topics. We will be asking in September for a more specific list of who wants to participate and we will be assigning blogging buddies on October 1st. Your blogging buddy is who will post your guest post on their blog, and you will post their guest post on your blog. (Any questions?)

Here is our tentative list of Guest Post Topics-

Week 1: Why I love Contemporary YA

Week 2: The Tough Stuff

Week 3: Romance!!

Week 4: Top Ten Lists!

Week 5: What I'd like to see more of in Contemporary YA

FILL OUT THIS FORM RIGHT HERE IF YOU HAVE ANY INTEREST IN THE BLOGGER GUEST POST SWAP FOR THE EPIC AWESOMENESS THAT WILL BE JUST CONTEMPORARY NOVEMBER!!!

Can't wait to see what this turns into!!

Hey guys!! Lindsi from Books, Sweets and Other Treats is here with me today! I'm so excited that Lindsi wanted to participate in my Memory Monday feature. She was one of the very first people I started talking to regularly on Twitter and I still laugh myself silly whenever I think of our first big conversation. 'Like the surprise inside.':)

Make sure you check out Lindsi's blog! I love it, hardcore. She reads awesome books, writes great reviews and also includes absolutely delicious recipes of all sorts of yumminess.:) Also, today I'm featured on her blog. Trading spotlights here.:) So make sure you stop by! Meet Lindsi here, get to know her style there! Here she is!!

Bio:

My name is Lindsi and my blog is called Books, Sweets and other Treats. I wanted to include two things I love in the title (books and sweets) and then treats is for anything else that doesn't fall under those two categories. I love baking and messing with the ingredients for a recipe. My problem? I end up making WAY more than I can eat and have to throw them out or give them away. I am currently attending two colleges and stretching myself thin. I'll graduate next summer and I CANNOT wait! I love animals and can't resist picking up strays. They need a good home too, right? I volunteer a lot at my local library. I am unofficially in charge of the YA section. They will ask me for recommendations and give my input on what books they should order. I enjoy baseball and going to Rangers games with friends. We recently went and sat in the "All You Can Eat" section. I thought my stomach would burst! Anyways, that's a little but about me!

Post:
When I was growing up, I wasn't surrounded by books. My parents thought they were a waste of time and an excuse to sit around and be lazy. This broke my heart because I loved reading and getting lost in a story. It was fun and exciting to read about something that wasn't real, but could capture my attention for hours. The books I had as a child were ones that I bought for myself. I saved my Tooth Fairy and birthday money to buy books whenever I had a chance. I remember saving up for a series one time, but for the life of me I cannot remember what it was called. I can tell you what all of the books were about, the different characters (not their names) and adventures, but I can't remember the author or the titles. It has been driving me crazy for years. I would read those books over and over again, and one day I came home and found them gone. My mom had thrown them out because they were tattered and worn. I'm not going to lie... I cried. It destroyed me when she did that. I hate it even more because I can't remember what they were so I can buy them now.

I guess I have my parents to thank for my unwavering love of books. They tried to tell me made up stories were pointless, but I was determined to prove them wrong. I read because it's something that I love to do. I'm glad that as a small child I was able to see how amazing reading could be. I'm also thankful that I can be stubborn;)

What do you say guys? Think we can help her track down this book series? I haven't had much luck, but she did give me a little more information about the series — Maybe one of you will recognize it!!
I remember her being in an all girls school. Occasionally, the boys were allowed over for a dinner or something. She would sit in her window and talk to the moon. I remember a cat (white I think). I remember her going something with her grandmother in one book. I remember her getting stuck in a cave in another book (I think there were indians in this one).
The covers usually depicted her and a scene from the book. I think I had six or seven of them.
If any of this sounds familiar, let us know!! I'd love to be able to help reunite Lindsi with a favorite childhood series!! And thank you again Lindsi for sharing your memories with us!!

I do like a nice book cover, but I don't give them nearly as much thought as Jana at the Broke and Bookish so my list won't be as in-depth or interesting as hers. Mine aren't in any order either because I'm just putting them in as I think of them basically.

There were times when I was reading The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova where I just couldn't help but stop reading and look at the cover. This is truly one of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen. I love the darkness of the background and how the image changes for you as you read the book and find out more about the story. The text is great as well, kind of a mix between old and new, which is something the book plays with a lot. Also, I know this isn't part of the cover and I don't know what the books that have been released look like, but on my ARC the binding is gold and looks quite nice on my shelf.

One of the most effective ways to sell books is probably to have them cover out instead of binding out. If it wasn't for that, I never would have seen The Impostor's Daughter by Laurie Sandell this weekend. I was attracted to this cover because of the bright colors, fun font style, and the mystery about why she's covering her face with a picture of her dad. I picked up the book and read the back cover, thought it looked interesting so I opened it up to find it was a graphic novel! I was really excited to find a graphic novel in memoir form because I loved Persepolis so I bought it right away.

This cover is really simple and white, with a great brightly covered image that totally sums up the message of this book. It looks comicy, but still empowering. This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson is probably one of my favorite covers from books I've read this summer. Every time I see the librarian with her cape I smile and I realized something a little different about the picture every time I look at it. For instance, it took me awhile to realize that those were books she was flying out of.

I think part of the reason I read Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick was that every time I looked at it I said "Pretty!" I love Sunflowers and Vincent Van Gogh's art and I think it was really effective to do a close up of one painting rather than try to fill the cover with an entire painting. The white text allows the image to speak for itself, and those who know Van Gogh will be immediately attracted just by recognition. Plus I just love green and yellow.

I buy children's books all the time even though I have no children and I'm not a teacher nor do I want to be one. Part of it started when I was a reading tutor and it's just kind of carried on since then. One day I'll have kids to share some of these beautiful children's books with and one I can't wait to share is The Curious Garden by Peter Brown. This was a staff pick at a store once and the artwork is just beautiful. I was attracted by the little red haired boy who sticks out amongst the green and blue of the natural scene behind him.

I still haven't read Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman but every time I walk by the cover I get the urge to start it. It is so simple, most of his covers are, but it just looks interesting. The image reminds of a children's reference book about dinosaurs with all of the labels on it. I love dinosaurs so I'm attracted to that. And I like how the author's name and the title are the same size and sandwich the image.

I just had to add one more children's book to this list. Boris and Bella, authored by Carolyn Crimi and illustrated but Gris Grimly is just a great cover. It's Tim Burton-esque and creepy. Normally when you see a male and female name on a book you assume they are in love, but this is not the case with Boris and Bella. We can tell from the image that these ghouls obviously do not like each other. I also like the purple and black for a creepier story like this one, plus the text fits perfectly.

I haven't read Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart yet, but I intend to soon because the book sounds great to me. I love this cover because it combines and simple colorless photograph with a tiffany blue colored box for text, and then the box is topped with a bow like one from Tiffany would be. I just think that was a really cute idea and I love the simple color scheme of this book.

I read this book a week ago and I think it has a pretty neat cover. This cover of Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman really embodies Rita's personality. The orange and green are bright and fun, which is just like her attitude. I also like the map at the top of the cover that shows all the different places she goes to and how she's constantly traveling back and forth. Plus I like that they used a photograph for a travel narrative because it let's you feel like you're in on their trip a little bit.

My last cover is the 50th Anniversary edition of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It's beautiful. The color scheme is really unique, you don't see that deep, wine red on books very often, and it let's the green of the tree really pop. I have the older lavender version right now and I have been lusting after this book ever since I saw it. I also love the text they use on this cover, a slanted print that looks almost like a child's handwriting.

I actually learned a lot about myself by doing this, I appears that I'm really attracted to colors or white covers with a single image on them. Who knew! What are you attracted to in covers?

This week's top ten list at The Broke and Bookish is favorite book characters. I think this is incredibly challenging to think about. It's easy to think of books I love but to remember specific characters is a little harder for me.

1. Mr. Slinger from Lily's Purple Plastic Purse. This is probably my favorite children's book and I just love Lily, the little mouse the book is about. Even though Lily is adorable and cute no one is better than her teacher Mr. Slinger. Mr. Slinger is kind of a hippie, he makes yummy cheesy snacks, and he loves to teach. When Lily has some problems in class Mr. Slinger tucks a note in her purse that says, "Today was hard. Tomorrow will be better" (I'm paraphrasing because my books are all packed right now). Every time I read that page I get a little choked up, at 20 it's still one of my favorite books to read on a bad day.
2. Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I really identified with Charlie when I read this book. He was a freshman in high school, kind of weird, loved to read, and was just trying to figure life out. I was a about a year younger than him when I read this book but I felt like I was having all the same experiences, which made the book extra special for me. Charlie was also so honest about his thoughts and since he was a "wallflower" he noticed really specific things about the world. When I finished this book I felt like I took a little bit of Charlie with me.
3. Hagrid from Harry Potter. I immediately took to Hagrid when I read Harry Potter. I loved how he was so big and frightening, but was such a nice guy. He's so idealistic and I'm always amazed by the things he does know and the the things he doesn't know. And Hagrid always had Harry, Ron, and Hermoine's best interests at heart.
4. Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird. She is tough and super smart. When Scout stands up to the members of the Klu Klux Klan my heart swoons because she has no idea what she really did. And she loves her dad unconditionally and worries about him like a parent does about a child. Scout is a great role model for young girls.
5. Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre. These two go together for me, you can't have one without the other. I feel like they both change every time I read the book and their relationship becomes increasingly more complicated. From an initial viewing I love how simple their love appears and how sweet it is, but Mr. Rochester is abrasive and Jane is needy, which makes the relationship more difficult than I thought when I first read the book.
6. Marcus from About a Boy. I love Marcus! He is definitely one of my favorite book characters and movie characters. He is so young but has such a realistic view of the world, probably because he's mom is a little messed up. I feel for him because I was a little weirdo too, but I admire him because he works so hard to make his mom feel better even though he really has no control over her.
7. Katniss from The Hunger Games. Katniss is kind of like Scout for me. She is so tough and badass. She never complains about the horrible situation she is put in, she just goes with it and thinks about ways to make everything work for her and those she cares about.
8. Dumbledore from Harry Potter. When Dumbledore died I cried for hours. I wore a RIP Dumbledore bracelet for months. It was a horrible experience, but that just shows what a huge effect he had on me. I grieved over him like I would any person I know in real life.
9. Henry De Tamble for The Time Traveler's Wife. When I read The Time Traveler's Wife I was at a place in my life where I felt like nothing was in my control so I really identified with Henry. He works in a library, listens to punk rock, and wears sweaters, which makes him more like me. Similar to Katniss, Henry makes the situation work for him even though it's horrible and he loves Clare so much he does everything he can to protect her. I find him to be very admirable.
10. Diana from The Luxe Series. Oh, Diana. I just love her more as the series goes on. She is so unafraid of being outside of the norm, outside of society. She lives her life for herself and no one else. Sure, she's a bit annoying sometimes over her boy problems but I don't think she reacts any differently than I would. I just love her.

What are some of your favorite book characters?