2011 Young Adult Contemporary Challenge!

Most books that I read and review fall under the paranormal, fantasy and dystopian genre pool. I’m fond of reading extraordinary stories and mythology-related tales. But in my almost one year of blogging, I’ve learned to love some contemporary novels of 2010 like The Julian Game by Adele Griffin, Winter Longing by Tricia Mills, Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison and Songs for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson! For this reason, I’ve decided to give this a shot and join her challenge. Maybe it’s time for me to appreciate another face of YA.

My good blogger friend, Reggie from the Undercover Booklover is hosting 2011 Young Adult Contemporary Challenge! She listed some of the upcoming contemporary releases of 2011, you can use that as a guide.

The Details:

What is contemporary? It's the genre wherein the events can happen in real life at the present time. The characters in the novel can be present in real life.

Goal: To read a minimum of thirteen young adult contemporary novels published in 2011.

Rules:
- All contemporary books must be in the Young Adult genre.
- Books have to be published in 2011.
- Open to everybody. Please fill in the form to enter.
- You can join whenever you want.
- If you want to enter with your blog link, you have to post about the challenge.
- Link your reviews of 2011 Contemporary books in the MisterLinky at Reggie’s Challenge Post.

I’ll try my best to read 13 contemporary novels. I hope to read any of the following (the ones in bold are the novels that I have a copy of; the other titles that are not in bold are the ones that I hope I'll have a copy of in the future):

Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard
Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg
Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors
Pink by Lili Wilkinson
Playing Hurt by Holly Schlindler
So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti
The Summer of Firsts and Lasts by Terra Elan Mcvoy
Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

The Locket by Stacey Jay
The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
Will Work for Prom Dress by Aimee Ferris
Boyfriends with Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez
Stay by Deb Caletti
Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker
Starstruck by Cyn Balog
Pearl by Jo Knowles
Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin

 

Book Blogger Hop (14)

Welcome to Fragments of Life! If you happen to stumble upon this post via book blogger hop, please leave a comment so I could read your answers and visit your blogs too!

About the Hop:

Book Blogger Hop is a wonderful opportunity for readers and bloggers to make new friends and to discover blogs of their interest and passion. Through this meme, I've met friendly bloggers who share interesting insights and ideas with me.

Join the Hop! 

 

Question for this week:

What book influenced or changed your life? How did it influence/change you?

Answer: 

The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter. Unlike most books that I read, this wasn’t paranormal. This was contemporary. Several things made me decide that this book was significant to me:

1.      I had similarities with the main character. 

2.      The lessons passed on to me through the dialogue was very believable and in line with how I think. The idea that if you believe everything happens for a reason (which I do believe), then you believe that you can’t make a mistake, you can’t make a wrong decision…because everything you do was set, predestined and eventually leads to your fate. I really liked that part.

Since reading The Snowball Effect, I learned lots of things. Life is too short to have regrets or to even miss anything. But trying new things, in the case of the novel, trying to date someone else aside from the guy she’s been with for years was both advantageous and disadvantageous. Advantageous because she learned from him. Disadvantageous because they had to part. For me, there is no point of staying with someone if you would part with him. I’m not fond of risking emotions quite so often. Studying the consequences of every decision is important because these decisions will lead me to my future. Since then, I realized that ‘trying new flavors’ was something not suited for me. ‘Cause after 4 years, I’m still inlove with the same guy. There’s nothing boring about 4 years. There’s something new every once in a while. Time is too precious to waste with anyone else.

Giveaway Reminder:

Me and Kai have decided to push the deadline of Huge Prize Pack Giveaway to January 31, 2011! There will be two winners, 10 books (5 books each) including the following:

Signed copy of Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers + signed swag and tattoo

Signed copy of Deadly by Julie Chibbaro (ARC)

Revelations by Melissa dela Cruz

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

2 Packs of Every Girl’s Guide Trilogy by Marla Miniano (Chick Lit)

There are two chances of winning! You can join both our contests because we will be combining all the entries before we pick the winners! Here are the giveaway posts:

Fragments of Life: Huge Prize Pack Giveaway

Amaterasu Reads: Huge Prize Pack Giveaway

Remember you can join both! :)

Thank you for dropping by!

Review: Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Book Description via Goodreads:

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two.

But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped?

Source: Won from Sya Bruce and Quercus (Thanks!)

My Thoughts:

There were lots of mixed reviews on this one. It was the reason why I was a little hesitant to read it. But I am glad that I picked this up for Out with a Bang Readathon. Because it was one of the likable werewolf stories I have ever read.

Threatened and traumatized as a child, Bryn has been taken in by Callum, the alpha of the pack. I liked how little things reminded her of that horrible night. It was just right for someone who witnessed a violent murder as a child. Images and details really do stay in the mind, long after she has recovered. For someone like Bryn, being the odd-girl-out of the pack and being the most vulnerable perhaps, has made her stand for what little she has: mental freedom and exception from orders. I really understood her. If doing that gave her power, in some ways it was also an assurance that she was no longer as weak as she was when she was a little girl – an assurance that she was safe.

The writing of Barnes was fitting, at times direct to the point, instinctual – echoing the words a wolf would speak out loud – and at other times humorous and a little sarcastic, which was very human and also very entertaining.

Callum, for some reason, reminded me of the alpha in the movie Blood & Chocolate. He was a very dedicated alpha, protective, wise and strong. I hated and admired him for his firm actions. But in the end, his decisions were all worth it because it was a part of grand scheme. Chase, Bryn’s werewolf guy was quite sweet and protective as is the usual behavior of a male were. I wished readers were given more chance to get to know him. I know that is one of the factors why I have decided to eagerly wait for Trial by Fire – the sequel. The romance thing going on between him and Bryn was abrupt, as if it had always been there. I have no idea what happens when a were finds his mate but maybe this was it – sudden attraction, sudden decision, sudden protectiveness. I liked how strong their connection was and the things they shared.

Decided and a little impulsive, Bryn along with Chase and her two friends go after the Rabid – the wolf who murdered her parents. They suspect he has been killing for decades, attacking kids from place to place. The Senate comprised of alphas, decided not to get rid of him but to make him useful. Rest won’t come until the Rabid is dead. But things were more complicated that planning a slaughter of a serial killer werewolf.

Raised by Wolves is gripping, dreamy, surprising, funny and unique. Some people did not like the ‘surprising’ quality of this novel because it probably defied logic. But for me, isn’t that the point of fiction, in a way? To defy logic, bend reality and customs and fabricate fictional truths? I recommend this to fans of werewolf novels and paranormal romance. Readers of Blood & Chocolate and Shiver might like this.

Rating:

Elevensies Spotted: Julia Karr + XVI

It’s January 6 today (in this part of the world)! That means two things: it’s my Mom’s birthday (Happy birthday Mom!) and XVI is out now! Before heading out to the store…why not read this interview and find out the ‘behind-the-scenes’ info of XVI and Julia Karr?

What or who inspired you to write XVI? Why?

I was working with my critique partners on a Middle Grade ghost story and I decided I wanted to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month - November.) NaNo only requires a main character and a location in order to start writing. I had both of those from an image that I’d had a week or so before NaNo started.

That image, of a punk rock girl on the noisy streets of a big city -- determining to help a homeless man, rather than ignore him, as usual -- was one that wouldn’t let go of my imagination. I had to follow it!

What was the first thing that you conceived about XVI?

That it had to be set in the future. And, the future would be a dystopia.

What lessons will readers pick up from XVI?

I didn’t write XVI in order to teach anything. But, I do think the story that evolved ended up being a cautionary tale about the path that might come out of present day if people don’t search for the truth about things. It is much easier to take the media’s version of events and what they mean, rather than thinking for one’s self -- but one has to question who is controlling the media and what do they gain by presenting news / advertising / governments / people in the light in which they do. I guess I want readers to remember to always look for Truth.

Why write for teens?

Good question. I can’t say I’m absolutely sure of the answer to that. The stories that currently are coming out of me are definitely Young Adult in nature -- perhaps that’s because teen years are so ripe with exploration, idealism and curiosity. I like that!

Why did you choose sixteen as sex-teenth(the year something big happens)?

When I was growing up turning sixteen was a big deal. You could get your driver’s license at sixteen (although I didn’t get mine until I was nineteen. We didn’t have a car -- you didn’t really need one in the city.) In our family, sixteen was when you start dating. It was an age when you were considered more independent and much closer to being an adult. A lot of girls in the 1960’s got married right out of high school, so sixteen was like a time to start seriously dating, perhaps finding a likely husband. I know, I know... CRAZY, right?

What was the focus of your novel?

The focus is on Nina’s discovering answers to all the secrets, lies and mysteries in her life. And, finding out who she is on a much more personal level.

What does dystopia allow you to write that you can’t write in other genres?

Dystopia allows me to take current trends and spin them out to perhaps not-so-obvious conclusions and look at what the world might be like if that certain trajectory is not altered. It’s definitely a way to comment on what is going on now, in the extreme, and give a glimpse into a future where the extreme would have become normal.

What was it like writing XVI?

The actual writing was whirlwind. As you might know, NaNoWriMo is writing a novel (50,000 words) in thirty days. So, there’s not a lot of time to “think” about what you’re writing. It’s more of an organic “feel” of the words coming out and the story unfolding. Of course, after NaNo was done, I put XVI through at least three major revisions. So, it was fun, it was work, and I loved it all.

  

Which was more fun to work on: beginning, middle or end? Why?

It’s really all fun for me. I like coming up with the initial idea - it’s sort of like falling in love. Meeting new characters is so interesting. That all of the characters who are in the book really are all products of my imagination -- hmmm... kind of scary! lol! Middles are a bit tough, which was what I liked about writing XVI during NaNo, I didn’t have time to angst over the middle! And the ending... well, I knew where I was headed. I could see the last page. And, really, for all the work, it was  amazing fun just getting there.

Any last words?

Thanks for having me, Precious. And, I hope readers like XVI! 

____________________________________________________

Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world—even the most predatory of men—that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past—one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer.

*photo borrowed from Julia's site & photo credit to Jeffrey Hammond.