Giveaways
Erin L. Schneider
Goodreads Giveaway: SUMMER OF SLOANE
Goodreads Giveaway: SUMMER OF SLOANE

USA Today's Top 150 Bestselling Books as of 01.30.2011


Thursday, February 3, 2011: According to USA TODAY, the following list contains the top 25 best selling books (out of 150) - based on sales through Sunday, 01/30/2011.  For the complete list of 150 books for the week or just to check out more information - plus reviews, book news and a searchable archive of USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list - visit their website.

Note of the week: No real notable movement among the YA reads in the top 25, with the exception they all slid down a few spots. BATTLE HYMN OF THE TIGER MOTHER is on the prowl however, making it's move into the top 25 - thanks to it's recent tangle in the spotlight. Guess the saying "there's no such thing as bad press" really does ring true, since Ms. Chua can partially thank the publicity stirred by those that disagree with her parenting skills, for moving her up the list. 

My Review: THE REPLACEMENT by Brenna Yovanoff

The ReplacementThe Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Summary:

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

YALSA's 2011 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults

 

According to the YALSA website, here are 2011's top 10 best fiction books, for young adults. I have yet to seriously look into any of these titles - but so far, I'm intrigued by both Bamboo People and Last Night I Sang to the Monster, from what I've read on YALSA.

 

If any of you read any of the books on the list - please let me know...I'm always looking for a great YA read. 

For the complete list of 99 books selected, please see their website.

USA Today's Top 150 Bestselling Books as of 01.23.2011

Thursday, January 27, 2011: According to USA TODAY, the following list contains the top 25 best selling books (out of 150) - based on sales through Sunday, 01/23/2011.  For the complete list of 150 books for the week or just to check out more information - plus reviews, book news and a searchable archive of USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list - visit their website.


Note of the week: Again, 20% of the top 25 books for the week, fall into the YA / Children's books category (highlighted in orange). The Cast Woman have dropped to #4 (from last week's reigning position of #1) with AWAKENED - while Suzanne Collins continues to reign over the top 25 list, with all 3 of her books in THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy.  

My Review: I AM NUMBER FOUR by Pitticus Lore

I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies, #1)I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary:
Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.

My Review: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles, #1)Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was incredibly anxious to read this one, 1.) because I'd heard lots of great reviews and 2.) because I was eager to read a book that was from a boy's POV.

However...

This book dragged on...and on...and on. And not until the last 150 pages, did it really start to pick up steam. And it was those last pages that made me change my rating from "it was ok" to "liked it".

I will admit, I enjoyed Ethan's character - however, considering this was a boy's POV, I was very surprised by some of his mannerisms. For instance, describing what Lena (the love interest) was wearing - down to the color of her shoes - and how in love he was with her (just doesn't seem realistic for a 16 year old boy).

I really found myself not caring about either character, until 2/3 of the way through - however, side characters such as Macon and Ridley, made up some of what was missing, in the beginning and middle.

Overall, this was an incredibly LONG read for me. I do have the second book, Beautiful Darkness - but am putting that on hold, in order to read something else (Pitticus Lore's I Am Number Four, before it comes out in the theaters next month).

I hope the next one takes over where the last 150 pages of Beautiful Creatures ended, and keeps up the great pace. Otherwise, I may be in jeopardy of not finishing this series...

View all my reviews