Waiting on Wednesday

Clarity by Kim Harrington

When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.
And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

Evercrossed (Kissed by an Angel Series #4) by Elizabeth Chandler

It’s been a year since Ivy’s boyfriend, Tristan, died. They’ve both moved on—Tristan to the other side of the afterlife, and Ivy to sweet, dependable Will. Now Ivy’s heading to Cape Cod, hoping to leave the horror of last summer behind. She wants nothing more than to lie on the beach, sip lemonade, and hang out with her friends.

But then a car crash ends Ivy’s life.

As she floats to the beyond, looking down on the life she’s left behind, Tristan breathes life back into her with a passionate kiss. She wakes up in the hospital, surrounded by Will and her family, but all she can think about is the love that she lost.

But memories aren’t all that’s come back from the past. And this time, Ivy’s not sure love will be enough to save her.

-Amanda

Contest Saturday

Here are some contests that are currently going on right now. Click the links to enter them. I will hold my own contest on the last Contest Saturday of each month. That means my next contest will be on February 26th.

I have am giving away a copy of Going Nowhere Faster HERE Ends 2/25

Win a copy of The Secret Year HERE Ends 2/7

Win a $65 gift card to spend at any CSN Store HERE Ends 2/7

Win an ARC of Trapped HERE Ends 2/8

Win 2 books to remind you of summer HERE Ends 2/16

Win the first 3 books in the Iron Fey Series HERE Ends 2/11

Win any book under $15 HERE Ends 3/2

Waiting on Wednesday

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys--March 22nd

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously and at great risk documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.

Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer--February 15th

Brooke: I don't like Kathryn Pease. I could pretend everything's fine between us. I could be nice to her face, then trash her behind her back. But I think it's better to be honest. I don't like Kathryn, and I'm not afraid to admit it.

Kathryn: I saw a commercial where singers used their voices to shatter glass, but the whole thing is pretty much a myth. The human voice isn't that strong.

Human hatred is. Anybody who doubts that should feel the hate waves coming off of Brooke Dempsey. But I don't shatter; I'm not made of glass. Anyway, the parts that break aren't on the outside.

Brooke and Kathryn used to be best friends . . . until the night when Brooke ruthlessly turned on Kathryn in front of everyone. Suddenly Kathryn was an outcast and Brooke was Queen B. Now, as they prepare to face off one last time, each girl must come to terms with the fact that the person she hates most might just be the best friend she ever had.

-Amanda

The Keening by A. LaFaye

Title: The Keening

Author: A. LaFaye

Publisher: Milkweed Editions

Age Group: Young Adult

Grade: B-

Born into a family with artistry in their fingers, Lyza laments that her only talent is carving letters into wood. That is until her life is turned upside down when her mother succumbs to the influenza pandemic of 1918, which is devastating their small coastal town in Maine. With her mother gone, Lyza must protect her eccentric father, who runs the risk of being committed, especially now that he claims he’s waiting for the return of his dead wife. Can Lyza save her father and find her own path in the process?
---------------------------------------------------

If there is any one book that I had to say had more than it first appears to, it's this one. I was expecting a simple story and mostly wanted to read it for the tragedy that it entailed. I know it's horrible, but I like to read books with human emotions at its highest points.

The book started out a little slow but after reading for a while I really started to get into. I believe this was mostly because of the characters. They just seemed so..true. I usually don't like to read books that talk about god a lot, but this one was different. It wasn't done in a shove it in your face way, it was just straight up belief. The setting was also really nice. The landscape was described beautifully. It almost felt like I was there.

One of the best parts of the book was the part that surprised me. Lyza and her father both have the ideas to talk to ghosts, or spirits, and help send them beyond. This part was really cool. I was just as surprised and freaked out as Lyza when she figured it out. This was fun because it added a new dimension to the book. It wasn't just Lyza trying to help her father, now she can fully understand his distanceness. She can believe, not only for herself, but for him, that her father is not insane.

Overall I would say that The Keening was better than I thought it would be. It was more than just a simple book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to see some passion within a teen.

-Amanda