Waiting on Wednesday: Saint Anything

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The book I am looking forward to currently is Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Synopsis: Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?

Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

The uber-popular Sarah Dessen explores her signature themes of family, self-discovery, and change in her twelfth novel, sure to delight her legions of fans.

I freaking LOVE Sarah Dessen!! She is, by far, my favorite author. She is the only auto-buy author that I have so far, and I cannot wait to get ahold of this book! 

Stacking the Shelves [47]

I am joining in on Stacking The Shelves, a weekly meme hosted over at Tynga's Reviews. It is an easy way to share what books you picked up that week, and to see what other people have picked up to read themselves.

How to Participate?

• Create your own Stacking The Shelves post. You can use my official graphic or your own, but please link back to Tynga’s Reviews so more people can join the fun!
• You can set your post any way you want, simple book list, covers, pictures, vlog, sky is the limit!
• I am posting Stacking The Shelves on Saturdays, but feel free to post yours any day that fits you.
• Visit Tynga’s Reviews on Saturday and add your link so others can visit you! 
  

THIS WEEK:

Hey everyone! It's been a couple of weeks since I've done a Stacking the Shelves post because I really have not bought any books at all! (I know, pretty shocking!). In fact, I still did not buy any books this week, either. I did happen to get a couple in the mail, though, so I thought that I would go ahead and share those with you!

For Review:

Celtic Portal Receptor by Linda G. Davis

A young adult fantasy fiction novel. The ancient gods and goddesses have moved on to a more modern world - the world of virtual reality and DNA manipulation. When they entered the time portal, they took with them the treasured box that holds the world in balance and their unresolved battle for dominance. Now mortal, two opposing factions are plotting a return to their former glory. Chosen to tip the scales in the balance of power, Fianna, a sixteen-year-old receptor, comes to realize that her presence has unleashed forces she never believed existed. In a world of secret and fluid alliances, it is hard to know who the enemy is. For every good there is an evil, but the odds are heavily weighted against success. Fianna soon discovers that the price of victory may be her life.

Won:  

City Love by Susane Colasanti (arc)
Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna are living together in New York City the summer before their freshman year of college begins. With no parents, no rules, and an entire city to explore, these three girls are on the verge of the best summer of their lives.

Sadie is a native New Yorker. She is hopeful, romantic, and an eternal optimist who is ready to find her soul mate. Then she meets her dream boy: cute, funny, and quirky in all the right ways. The chemistry between them is unreal. Could he be the one?

Darcy is a free spirit from SoCal with rebellious tendencies and unlimited financial resources. Moving to New York City is just another adventure for her. Darcy wants this summer to be all about boy adventures—nothing serious. But how much fun is too much?

Rosanna leaves Chicago for NYC so she can put her past behind her and reinvent herself. The only thing standing in her way is the grand total of seventy-three cents she has saved. Then she meets a guy who wants to show her the glamorous side of New York—a side that she would never get to experience on her own. If Rosanna doesn't resist, she may find herself in city love.

Told from alternating points of view, City Love captures the moments in each girl's life when everything is thrilling, amazing, and terrifying all at once . . . in a way it will never be again.

Blog Tour | The Truth About Jack by Jody Gehrman

The Truth About Jack

by Jody Gehrman

Release Date: 04/14/15

Entangled Crush

Summary from Goodreads:

Dakota McCloud has just been accepted into a prestigious art school. Soon she'll leave behind the artists' colony where she grew up―hippie dad, tofu since birth, yurt―and join her boyfriend and best friend on the East Coast. It was the plan…until Dakota finds out her boyfriend and best friend hooked up behind her back.

Hurt and viciously betrayed, Dakota pours out her heart on a piece of paper, places it in a bottle, and hurls it into the ocean. But it doesn't quite go where she expects…

Jack Sauvage finds the bottle washed up on the shore and responds to Dakota's letter. Except what if his straight-laced life doesn’t jive with the free-spirited girl he’s only seen from afar? As Jack creates a persona he believes she’ll love, they slowly fall for each other with each new letter. Now Jack is trying to find a way to make this delicate, on-paper romance happen in real life…without revealing his deception.

Add to Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo Books

Review: I have been excited about reading this book since I saw the cover reveal. Sure, I am supposed to be trying not to choose books by their covers, but old habits die hard, right? It looked like the kind of cute contemporary that I love to read, and I hoped it would be something that would help pull me out of the current, horrible slump that I have been in. I have to say, it certainly did not disappoint. This book goes far beyond just being a contemporary with a pretty cover. 

This is the first book I have read by Jody Gehrman, but it certainly will not by my last. The writing was absolutely beautiful, and had me hanging on to every word. The parts where music were involved were so well done, and even the few dark spots were written with such amazing intensity. The imagery and figurative language used was completely beautiful, and it really just added so much more to the story. It is some of the best writing that I have read so far this year, honestly. 

I do love how the book offered something a little different, too. Sure, we start with the main character, Dakota, being betrayed by her best friend and boyfriend. They have hooked up together, and her best friend has just sent her a message about it. Heart break is definitely something that most people can relate to. However, unlike most YA books where the character feels sorry for themselves and mopes constantly, that was not something that we saw from Dakota. She remains sure of herself, and still seems to be able to look at things in a positive light. 

The real light of this story was Jack, though. I guess that makes sense, based on the title of the book. Jack comes from a very different life than Dakota; his parents are wealthy and his mother has forced him to live in a sort of bubble, while Dakota lived in a carefree artist colony (or hippie colony, really). When he finds Dakota's letter, he decides to write back instead of confronting her in person because he does not think that she would be interested in him, and he is afraid that it will seem creepy (good call, Jack). Instead, he keeps his true identity a secret as he communicates with Dakota via letter. Jack is incredibly charming and certainly musically talented. He was an interesting character, and I really enjoyed reading his parts of the story. 

Overall, this book certainly exceeded my expectations. It goes far behind simply being a cute contemporary, and offers aspects that I have not found in many other YA contemporaries at this point. The writing was beautiful, as well. I would certainly highly recommend this book.

Rating: 5.0 / 5.0

About the Author

Jody Gehrman is a native of Northern California, where she can be found writing, teaching, reading, or obsessing over her three cats most days. She is also the author of ten novels and numerous award-winning plays. Her Young Adult novels include The Truth About Jack, Audrey's Guide to Black Magic, Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft, Babe in Boyland, Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, and Triple Shot Bettys in Love. Babe in Boyland was optioned by the Disney Channel and won the International Reading Association's Teen Choice Award. Her adult novels are Bombshell, Notes from the Backseat, Tart, and Summer in the Land of Skin. Her plays have been produced in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. She and her partner David Wolf won the New Generation Playwrights Award for their one-act, Jake Savage, Jungle P.I. She is a professor of English and Communication Studies at Mendocino College.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

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