The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls by Julie Schumacher

Title: The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls

Author: Julie Schumacher
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult

Grade: 84% or B

Buy It: Amazon

I'm Adrienne Haus, survivor of a mother-daughter book club. Most of us didn't want to join. My mother signed me up because I was stuck at home all summer, with my knee in a brace. CeeCee's parents forced her to join after cancelling her Paris trip because she bashed up their car. The members of "The Unbearable Book Club," CeeCee, Jill, Wallis, and I, were all going into eleventh grade A.P. English. But we weren't friends. We were literary prisoners, sweating, reading classics, and hanging out at the pool. If you want to find out how membership in a book club can end up with a person being dead, you can probably look us up under mother-daughter literary catastrophe. Or open this book and read my essay, which I'll turn in when I go back to school.

My Thoughts::
I requested this book on a whim on netgalley. My best guess why, besides that it looked interesting and I love book clubs? I miss summer, which is when this book takes place. I'm already tired of this short, cold, and dry Ohio winter. We don't even get snow yet. So I'm thinking back to the good days of summer.

This book was so cute. It's written like an essay, so each chapter has the main character's definition of a literary device, like similes or plot. This was fun and cute and definitely added to the experience. The description doesn't really tell you this, but there is an underlying sense of mystery, and as the novel progresses you sense more and more that somethings up and is gonna happen soon. It was also really hilarious with all of the different names they came up with for the book club.

The characters were very rough around the edges and inconsistent except for Adrienne. You thought you had their personality figured out, and then they'd do or say something that seemed very out of character. But on a good not, these characters were unlike ones that I've ever saw. They were very curious and weren't afraid to ask questions. CeeCee in particular was very intriguing and was the type of character that you'd hope to see in a sitcom. She was so funny and comfortable doing what she wanted. Nothing rubbed her the wrong way.

The ending was so crazy and it happened so fast that I had to reread some pages to make sure I was right in my assumptions. And whooooa did this book really have a twisty ending! I was holding my breath until the last second when we find out what happened. The book felt incomplete somehow, but it was a nice ending.

Overall I think that The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls was a fun read, especially at the beginning of these winter months. I would recommend this book to those who like to read about book clubs, or just people who can relate to a girl who doesn't quite know who she is yet.

Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop

Welcome to my small part of the Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop! I signed up on I Am A Reader, Not a Writer.

My Giveaway::

Win a copy of Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran! Here is the summary...

The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire . . . but who was this woman who became one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous and amazing story comes to life as only Michelle Moran can tell it. The year is 1788, and a revolution is about to begin.

Smart and ambitious, Marie Tussaud has learned the secrets of wax sculpting by working alongside her uncle in their celebrated wax museum, the Salon de Cire. From her popular model of the American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson, to her tableau of the royal family at dinner, Marie’s museum provides Parisians with the very latest news on fashion, gossip, and even politics.

Spanning five years, from the budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom.

To Enter::

• 1 (one) person will win and receive a copy of Madame Tussaud.
• Giveaway ends December 27th at midnight. Winner will be announced on the 28th. I will email the winner, and if within 48 hours they don't reply with their address, a new winner will be chosen.
• Allow about 3 weeks to receive your prize.
• Must be 13 years or older to enter
• US only

ENTER HERE 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Hope Santa Brings

Top Ten Tuesdays is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's top ten is....

Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings. In no particular order...

1.  The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher
2. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
3. The Line by Teri Hall
4. Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts
5. The Future of Us by Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher
6. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
7. Real Live Boyfriends by E. Lockhart
8. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
9. Twisted (PLL #9) by Sara Shepard
10. Hourglass by Claudia Gray

Destined by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Title: Destined (House of Night Series #9)

Author: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult

Grade: 75% or C

Buy It: Amazon

Zoey is finally home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side, and preparing to face off against Neferet – which would be a whole lot easier if the High Counsel saw the ex-High Priestess for what she really is. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx's gift of a human form, Rephaim and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together – if he can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father's shadow…

But there are new forces at work at the House of Night. An influx of humans, including Lenobia’s handsome horse whisperer, threatens their precarious stability. And then there’s the mysterious Aurox, a jaw-droppingly gorgeous teen boy who is actually more – or possibly less – than human. Only Neferet knows he was created to be her greatest weapon. But Zoey can sense the part of his soul that remains human, the compassion that wars with his Dark calling. And there’s something strangely familiar about him…

My Thoughts::
I have really mixed feelings about this series. One minute I'll be bored out of my mind noticing how all of this could have happened 3 books ago and the next I'll be boggling my mind for clues to whats going to happen next or at the edge of my seat because something huge just went down.

This time I will admit that Destined brought back some of my old appreciation of this series. There was less focus on crap drama (though there was still too freaking much), and more focus on the actual storyline. For once I feel like things are getting RESOLVED for once instead of just growing, changing, or even being ignored. We're figuring things out finally and the story is moving along nicely. I can't imagine having to read more than one or two more books.

The characters for the most part, don't do anything for me. The way they talk is nothing like anyone I know, or read of, talks like. The Casts seem to be living in some kind of alternate universe, because even on iCarly they can talk like normal human beings. This adds nothing to their character and just annoys me. It makes them much harder to relate to. This is probably why my favorite characters are Damien, Kalona (yeah...crazy, right?), Grandma Redbird, and the warriors. Plus most of the adult non evil characters. They talk and I can...wait for it...understand them!

Most of what I predicted about the books cam true so far, but that ending was just crazy awesome! When I squint I can actually see deeper meaning to these books and it makes me happy. The series isn't bad...unless you don't want to read 9 books that only should have been 4. I usually wish for more books in a series, but only when substantial things are consistently occurring. I'm tired of this plot being drawn out for all that it's worth. But after reading this book I have hope again.

Overall Destined proved that this series hasn't become a waste of time and I can't wait to read what happens next.