Waiting on Wednesday #7

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme first initiated by Jill from Breaking the Spine. However, we've added our own twist to it! Not only will we feature books that will be published in the following months, but we will also feature books that are not available yet locally, and are still unavailable to us.

Title: Through the Zombie Glass

Author: Gena Showalter

Publication Date: September 24 2013

Publishing House: Harlequin Teen

ISBN: 9780373210770

Summary:

Inspired by the childhood classic Alice in Wonderland, this harrowing and romantic story features teen zombie slayer Alice bell who has lost so much - family, friends, her home. After a strange new zombie attack, Alice fears she may be losing her mind as well. A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do wicked things. The whispers of the dead assault her ears and mirrors seem to come frighteningly to life. She's never needed her team of zombie slayers more - including her boyfriend, Cole - than she does now. But as Cole strangely withdraws and the zombies gain new strength, Ali knows one false step may doom them all.

                                        (Image, summary, and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Nicole: Having read the first book and finding it entertaining, of course I'd be on the lookout for the second. The summary does sound like there's gonna be more zombie-butt-kicking action but the whole prospect of Cole and Ali drifting apart and all makes me all worried inside. Hopefully nothing really bad happens to them because I would hate for the two to separate and all that. 

Title: The Distance Between Us
Author: Kasie West

Publication Date: July 2, 2013

Publishing House: Harper Teen

ISBN: 9780062235657

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she's pretty sure they're only good for thing - spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother's shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he's oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he's one of the first people who actually gets her, she's smart enough to know his interest won't last. Because if there's one thing she's learned from her mother's warnings, it's that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can't find out - she wouldn't approve. She'd much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn't been raised by money. But when Xander's attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn't a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she'd ever realized. And that Xander's not the only one she should've been worried about.

                              (Image, summary, and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Michelle: It's not exactly a secret that I like to check out the Rich Kids of Instagram Tumblr. We're talking about teens who take pictures of receipts that amount to thousands of dollars, and actually have a hard time deciding whether to take the Porsche or the Ferrari to school. It's a bit disturbing, sure, but I can't exactly deny that the behavior is fascinating. Toss in the fact that Caymen sounds like she knows what I'm talking about, and you've pretty much got me sold.

What books are you guys waiting for this week?

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger

Title: My Most Excellent Year
Author: Steve Kluger
Format Acquired: Paperback

Publication Date: March 13, 2008

Publishing House: Dial

ISBN: 9780803732278
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked

Summary:

"That was my life until ninth grade, my most excellent year. And then I got drop-kicked by a six-year-old kid and the girl of my dreams."

There are only three great loves in T.C. Keller's life: the Red Sox, his father, and his best friend and unofficial "brother" Augie. But ninth grade is the year when he falls head-over-cleats in love with Ale Perez. She's pretty, sassy, smart, and a great dancer. Ale is so busying playing hard to get that she doesn't realize that she just might be falling head-over-tap shoes for T.C.'s Boston accent, too. Meanwhile, T.C.'s best friend, Augie, is falling in love as well, but with a boy? It may not be so clear to him; but to the rest of his family and friend, it's totally obvious that Augie, who loves musicals and old school screen sirens such as Judy Garland, is head-over-heels in love with Andy Wexler.

Told in alternating perspectives, this is the story of their most excellent year, where these three friends discover themselves, love, and that a little magic and Mary Poppins can go a long way.
         
          (Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

T.C. Keller is a goner for Ale Perez, the only girl who doesn't seem to be interested in him. Being the daughter of the Mexican ambassador, Ale has mastered the art of keeping her real emotions and feelings inside, but not without a bit of the snark she's so good at. When Augie enlists the help of Ale for a production, it doesn't take long before Ale is thrust into a world where she slowly lets love, life, theatre (and baseball?!) into her life.

My Most Excellent Year is definitely a refreshing book filled with animated characters. Is it a bad thing when the only complaint you could come up with these people is that they're too annoyingly perfect? Heck, even I can't help but be charmed by the adults in the book! If I could name a book that made me want to pinch everyone's cheeks, this would undoubtedly be it. Aside from the expert handling with small-scale issues, My Most Excellent Year also encourages its readers to take charge of what they want instead of what society dictates.

However, I couldn't let some parts of it go. T.C. and his friends live in such a perfect and accepting world that I couldn't help but be a little concerned. Everybody gets along and everyone is accepted for who he/she is. Of course, this is not a bad thing. Kluger creates a world so free from racist and anti-gay slurs it would make any reader envious. t's just that I found the whole thing a bit hard to swallow. The fact that most of the parents depicted in this book can actually - GASP! - understand their kids pretty well was a bit unnerving as well. When Ale was being dragged to belong into their group, the novel pretty much made me feel like it was a huge song and dance number where everyone is guaranteed a happy ending. Another thing that I had a hard time believing was the fact that everyone didn't really seem to act their age. Since the whole novel basically uses letters and journals to tell its story, I had a hard time taking into account the actual age of the people who "wrote" them. I didn't exactly feel like T.C. and his crew were teenagers. I honestly thought that they were middle schoolers all throughout the novel, despite the journals labeling the age transitions.

Since I know zilch about baseball - and almost any other sport, save for tennis - I wasn't particularly enthused about the fact that it plays a big part in the actual story. But if you find yourself looking for a cute, fluffy contemporary read with funny and annoyingly cute characters, you might want to give My Most Excellent Year a go.

Rating:

           

NICOLE'S REVIEW: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Format Acquired: Hardcover

Publication Date: February 5 2013

Publishing House: Feiwel & Friends

ISBN: 9780312642969
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked

Summary:

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison - even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information about her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

 (Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

Because of the way Cinder ended, I've been anxiously awaiting the second book's arrival at our local bookstores. I didn't expect Meyer to throw another character into the mix. I wanted the book to focus on Cinder and her alone. It made me unsure if I wanted to continue this series because I just wasn't sold on Scarlet. As it turns out I couldn't resist getting the second book and I'm just so glad that I did.

Scarlet is a totally different heroine from Cinder, whereas Cinder is a little bit lost and unsure of herself, Scarlet is tough and knows exactly what she wants. She's on a mission to find her grandmother and she's going to do whatever it takes to get her back which means crossing paths with the Wolves - a gang of criminals who are actually soldiers under the Lunars' command. Along the way she meets Wolf, a member or ex-member of the gang, and he decides to help her on her suicide mission which takes them to the Wolves' den in Paris. 

I loved Wolf, he's just so adorable, if you could call him that. He may be a big, tough-looking guy who's an excellent and ferocious fighter but really, he's just a big softie inside. His looks are incongruent to his attitude and that somehow endeared him more to me. I just loved his interaction with Scarlet and his determination to help her find her grandmother despite the cost to himself. 

Cinder makes an appearance as well; she's breaking out of jail along with Thorne - another prisoner she met charged with robbery who just so happens to have stolen a ship - who admittedly is an interesting addition to Cinder's gang. She's just found out that she's the long lost Lunar Princess and that the Lunar queen is out to get her and she totally has no idea what to do with that information. She's on her way to look for Michelle Benoit - Scarlet's grandmother - to see if Michelle can answer qustions on her past and maybe clear up a few mysteries. She does this all while trying to dodge the authorities. She is an escapee after all. 

One thing I love about Scarlet and Cinder is the world-building. Meyer does a fabulous job of it, making it so easy to imagine the world they live in; technology, aliens, mind control powers. Another is how you can see the original storyline - Cinderella for Cinder and Red Riding Hood for Scarlet - incorporated into the books with other elements added into the fray. I just loved how everything was well thought of and blended together smoothly and how the characters are all somehow intertwined in this whole messy situation.

One thing I was hoping for was more Kai and Cinder but oh well, maybe in the next books. If you're looking for a retelling of our childhood fairytales with dystopian elements look no further than Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles where bad guys really are bad and you can't help but root for the underdog.

Rating: