"To find out what a story's really about,' the Librarian said,

'you don't ask the writer. You ask the reader."


- SNOW & ROSE by Emily Winfield Martin


Saturday, March 30, 2013

Beehive Book Haul and News #44: The HUGE Middle Grade Edition


I hope you have all had a wonderful week in books :) 

Update: Still feeling sicky :(
So far, I have a Vitamin D deficiency, not to be confused with Vitamin B which is what I've been told for many many years. Lack of Vitamin D will cause extreme fatigue, joint aches and pains, dizziness and headaches. All of which I have been experiencing for a long time, but even more so recently. I have something else that is going on too, nothing to worry about though :)
I have my Vitamin D pills, medicine and a good diet to follow now! I hope to start gaining my energy back within the next few weeks. I haven't been able to read because of the dizziness/tiredness :( But I hope that changes soon, makes me so sad to not be able too. Can't wait to see my blog back up and running to the way it was! (This post took me 3 days to put together, lol!)
Miley update: She's up to 95%! And a pain in my butt, lol! She's been spoiled and is in high demand of attention... any walkers out there?! ;) 

Thank you all so much for your kindness and patience! 
I do have a few posts for this week, so I hope you all visit back soon! 



What I received for review from Macmillan/MacKids...
- The Barftastic Life of Louie Burger by Jenny Meyerhoff (MG)
- The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut: Bowling Alley Bandit by Laurie Keller (MG)
- Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays Edited by Rebecca Stern and Brad Wolfe (MG)
- Kelsey Green, Reading Queen by Claudia Mills (MG)
- Zero Tolerance by Claudia Mills (MG)
- Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill (MG)
- The Heartbreak Messenger by Alexander Vance (MG)
- Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War by Helen Frost (MG)
- Mountain Dog by Margarita Engle (MG)
- The Treasure of Way Down Deep by Ruth White (MG)

What we bought...
Reality Check by Jen Calonita (MG)
Liesel & Po by Lauren Oliver (MG)

What's coming up on the blog next week...
- Blog Tour: IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME by Laura Rosener (Guest Post)
- Book Blitz: HELL'S HOLLOW by Summer Stone
- Waiting On Wednesday #54
- Review: EMBLAZE (The Violet Eden Chapters/Embrace Series #3) by Jessica Shirvington
- Review: PIVOT POINT by Kasie West

Thanks for stopping by!!! 
Happy reading :) xo

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Waiting On Wednesday #53: THE DARK by Lemony Snicket


"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by  Breaking the Spine. 
This is were we get to 'spotlight' books that we are anxiously waiting to be released! The ones that we are dying to get our hands on and read into the wee hours of the night and, quite possibly, to make our shelves look all pretty too :)


What I'm waiting on... 

by Lemony Snicket
Illustrations by: Jon Klassen
Expected release date: April 2nd, 2013
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: Children/Middle Grade



SUMMARY

Laszlo is afraid of the dark. 

The dark lives in the same house as Laszlo. Mostly, though, the dark stays in the basement and doesn't come into Lazslo's room. But one night, it does.

This is the story of how Laszlo stops being afraid of the dark. 

With emotional insight and poetic economy, two award-winning talents team up to conquer a universal childhood fear.









BOOK TRAILER - The Dark by Lemony Snicket



Why I'm waiting on THE DARK...

What child isn't afraid of The Dark???
Some adult still are ;)

I am really curious to seeing how Lemony Snicket handles The Dark...


What are you waiting on this week???

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Beehive Book Haul and News #43


Happy weekend :) 

A few updates...
- I have been feeling sicky all week and really tired. I tried to keep up with correspondence but have failed, so sorry! I will be taking next week off from blogging and most things related to blogging to relax, get my energy back and catch up :) 
- Miley Rose is doing SO much better! She's almost to her old self again! Her surtures were removed this past Wednesday and her scar is looks wonderful, better than what I've seen on people, lol! She still needs to be monitored with activities such as no running and no rough play. But she's back to her old diet and moving around freely, a much happier pup :)
Thank you all who have asked about her! 

What happened on the blog last week...
- Review: Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver
- Review: Delirium Short Stories (Hana, Annabel, Raven, Alex) by Lauren Oliver
- Cover Reveal/Teaser Tuesday #4: The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram (Giveaway)
- Blog Tour: Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein (Review/Giveaway)
- Waiting On Wednesday: Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington
- Blog Tour: My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi (Guest Post and Review)




What I received for review...
- One (ARC) by Leigh Ann Kopans (YA)
- The Symptoms of My Insanity (ARC) by Mindy Raf (YA)
- The After Girls by Leah Konen (YA)
- The Magician's Towers (Oona Crate Mystery #2) (ARC) by Shawn Thomas Odyssey (MG)
- Cloneward Bound: The Clone Chronicles #2 (ARC) by M.E. Castle (MG)
Requiem (Delirium #3) (signed!) by Lauren Oliver (YA)
- Pivot Point (ARC) by Kasie West (YA)
- Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare (YA)

What we bought, traded, won, etc...
- The Miseducation of Cameron Post (eBook) by Emily M. Danforth (YA - for $1.99 on Amazon)
- Strong Enough to Love (eBook Novella) by Victoria Dahl (Adult - Amazon Freebie)

Mentions and THANK YOU's...
- Leigh Ann Kopans, author of One
- Penguin, Merit Press/F+W Media, Egmont, and Harper Teen/Epic Reads
- DAC ARC Tours

What's coming up on the blog next week...
I will be taking the week off from blogging and stuffs to recuperate, relax and catch up :) I hope to be back in full swing next week! You can still reach me by twitter or email!

Thanks for everything guys!!!
See you soon, and happy reading :) 
xoxo

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Blog Tour: MY LIFE AFTER NOW by Jessica Verdi (Guest Post and Review)


Good morning! I have been looking forward to sharing my blog post today for the
MY LIFE AFTER NOW blog tour hosted by Sourcebooks Fire.
The author, Jessica Verdi, is stopping by today to discuss how she believes the musical themes of her books chapter titles ties the whole story and her love of musical theater together...
______________________________________________________________


by Jessica Verdi
Expected release date: April 2nd, 2013
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary
Format read: eARC


SUMMARY

Lucy just had the worst week ever. Seriously, mega bad. And suddenly, it's all too much—she wants out. Out of her house, out of her head, out of her life. She wants to be a whole new Lucy. So she does something the old Lucy would never dream of.

And now her life will never be the same. Now, how will she be able to have a boyfriend? What will she tell her friends? How will she face her family?

Now her life is completely different...every moment is a gift. Because now she might not have many moments left.








______________________________________________________________


GUEST POST by Jessica Verdi

Thank you so much for the opportunity to write a guest post for your blog! I’m super psyched to get to talk a little bit about my new book My Life After Now.

To say I love musical theater is an understatement. I blast show tunes at all hours of the day and night, singing along at the top of my lungs — my neighbors must hate me. The bulk of my pre-writing years were spent on stage (and in NYC audition rooms). I’d always been into music (I sang and danced and played the violin from a pretty young age), but the moment I joined my high school drama club, I don’t know, something just clicked for me. Musical theater isn’t just about singing and dancing. It’s about emotion. It’s about telling a story that’s so big, so real, that words alone can’t contain it. No matter if it’s a drama or a comedy, the songs, belted out by a thirty-person chorus or a single actor under a spotlight, bring it all to another level.

When I set out to write My Life After Now, I knew I didn’t want my main character, Lucy, to be just a walking statistic. Like, she has HIV so that’s all we need to know about her. No, she needed to be a real person, with a very full life. And I also wanted to make sure I balanced out the darker moments of the story with lightness and joy. What better way to do that than to submerge Lucy in the world of theater? Throughout the book, Lucy is on stage, at auditions, studying her script, listening to show tunes, quoting plays, and so much more. The chapter titles are all titles of songs from musicals (“What I Did for Love, “It’s a Hard-Knock Life,” and so on) because I felt like if Lucy were describing the chapters in her life, well, that’s how she would do it.

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy Lucy’s story!
______________________________________________________________

A very big thank you to Jessica for stopping by today and sharing her love of the theater!
Also, a thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to be a part of the tour.
______________________________________________________________


MY REVIEW

 It was very clear to me from the start that Jessica Verdi did her research for MY LIFE AFTER NOW. This page-turner was eye-opening, full of compassion and knowledge...

Lucy seems to have the perfect life until she finds out that her boyfriend is cheated and wants to break up, and her estranged mother comes back into town with some shocking news. Before she lets herself spiral into emotions she doesn't want to deal with yet, she decides to grab her two best friends and head into NYC for a night of partying. What she didn't expect to do was to wake up the next morning in a strangers apartment not remembering how she got there or what exactly happened. So she decides to just put the one-night stand behind her and move on with her life.

Little does Lucy know that that one reckless night of 'fun' is going to have some serious consequences.

Jessica Verdi tackles some very hard topics, like teen sex, drinking and drug abuse. But an even harder topic that is rarely ever discussed, HIV and AIDS. And she definitely delivers with her knowledge and delivers a very believable main character. Lucy's reaction to the news and her determination to keep it all a secret from everyone, even her family, was heart-wrenching. It pained me to see her in so much fear, pain and denial. And Lucy's fear of rejection, of not being lovable anymore, her anger toward herself - all of these emotions bled through the pages. I wanted to reach into the book, grab her, and give her a hug and tell her that everything will be okay. No child should have to endure something so big alone.
I am happy with the way Lucy's story ended... it was a bit predictable, but it was what I wanted for her, and for everyone around her that loved her.  

And I have to point out that at first I did not understand the cover to this book. But after having time to reflect on Lucy's story... I like the symbolism behind the use of the red dress and the scenery completes it. I really like what they did with it and I love it.

This is a book that should be on every school library's shelf and used in Health Ed. It would definitely be an eye-opener for many teens, and their teachers and parents too. It is definitely a subject that should be addressed a lot more.

______________________________________________________________


ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Jessica Verdi

 Jessica Verdi lives in Brooklyn, NY and received her MFA in Writing for Children from The New School. 

Her favorite pastimes include singing showtunes at the top of her lungs (much to her husband’s chagrin), watching cheesy TV, and scoring awesome non-leather shoes in a size 5. 

She’s still trying to figure out a way to put her uncanny ability to remember both song lyrics and the intricacies of vampire lore to good use.



Waiting On Wednesday #52: BETWEEN THE LIVES by Jessica Shirvington


"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by  Breaking the Spine. 
This is were we get to 'spotlight' books that we are anxiously waiting to be released! The ones that we are dying to get our hands on and read into the wee hours of the night and, quite possibly, to make our shelves look all pretty too :)


What I'm waiting on... 

Between the Lives
by Jessica Shirvington
Expected release date: May 2013
Published by: HarperCollins
Genre: Young Adult 

SUMMARY

Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. 
There is no loophole.

Until now, that is... 


For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her 'other' life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she's a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she's considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: 

the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other. 
With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she's always wanted...
But just what - and who - is she really risking?


Why I'm waiting on BETWEEN THE LIVES...

It's Jessica Shirvington! I LOVE her Embrace Series (aka The Violet Eden Chapters) -
I would pick this up just because it's one of my favorite authors!

Can you imagine living a double-life every other day?
It sounds exhausting!

Can't wait to read this one!!!


What are you waiting for this week???

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Slowly making the switch to Bloglovin'!


We all know what's happening to GFC and it's reader... *insert sad face*

SO, I've decided to switch over to Bloglovin'!

It has only been a few days, but so far, I am really liking it and have found no glitches... yet!

Hope you decide to follow Bumbles and Fairy-Tales on Bloglovin' too :) 

Thank you!!!

Follow on Bloglovin
Follow my blog with Bloglovin


PS - feel free to leave your opinions and/or what you're switching to too!
I don't want to miss out on anyone's posts!

Blog Tour: DEAR CASSIE by Lisa Burstein (Review and Giveaway)


I am so happy to be one of the blogs to be kicking off 
DEAR CASSIE's blog tour through Rockstar Book Tours! 
See below for more details and the blog tour schedule...


by Lisa Burstein
Release date: March 5th, 2013
Published by: Entangled Teen
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary
Format read: eARC

SUMMARY

What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?

You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’d be wrong.

There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.

What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?

But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.

And yet I can’t help but wonder…what if?


MY REVIEW

Lisa Burstein has done it again - DEAR CASSIE is full of raw emotion and unique characters. Cassie's story picks up after the 'prom arrest' in PRETTY AMY...

Cassie is tough, snarky and seems completely sure of herself. It seemed like nothing could shake this girl. Nothing. And then her and her friends, Amy and Lila, where arrested on prom night. And now she is working at a pizzeria, trying to keep out of trouble until she is shipped off to do her 30 days in rehab at a wilderness camp instead of jail. She's ready for it. Nervous, but anxious to get it done and over with... but before she goes, she meets Adam... secretly starts seeing him... and falls in love.

There are some serious consequences to falling in love; especially with the wrong person.

Cassie arrives at rehab broken but ready to keep the attitude going and to tough things out. She's got her armor on and no one will be able to penetrate it. No one will ever know her dark secret or what she feels and goes through on a daily basis.  But under all that toughness, there is a very scared and lonely girl; her bad-girl-I-don't-give-a-shit attitude isn't fooling anyone. And Cassie soon realizes that she is starting to unravel and doesn't know how much she can hold it together until everyone finds out the truth that she's been so desperate to hide.

When Cassie first arrives at camp, she meets Ben, who instantly takes a liking to her and reaches out to her. Ben's story is rare, and he is a good guy. He doesn't care what Cassie's past is about. Ben is willing to accept her, all of her, including her flaws and past. But Cassie has sworn off boys. They're not trustworthy, no one is. She can barely look herself in the eye; and if Ben ever found out the truth about her, he would never want to have anything to do with her. So why waste her time with the emotional roller-coaster of trying to have any type of relationship with him.

And then there are Cassie's roommates: Nez, the pathological liar. Troyer, the mute.
Nez was who Cassie used to be - the person who would take charge of the situation, who would answer back with smart-ass witty remarks. They obviously didn't get along, they were too much alike.
It was hard to understand Troyer at first. She didn't speak and although she did sometimes write things down, it wasn't enough to get a good reading on her, at first. Little by little, Cassie grew patient with her and they did develop a sort of friendship. One that helps Cassie immensely. One that she will never forget.

Lisa Burstein's writing is captivating - you can taste Cassie's angst and worries. You can also feel the grimness and smell the dirt of the camp. It is definitely one that I would never want to vacation at, let alone, send anyone in for rehab. Lisa tackles some tough issues that unfortunately some teens are faced with nowadays, self-harming and pregnancy. And Cassie's casual use of the f-word was to be expected and laughed at. It fit her personality so well, I couldn't imagine her any other way.

Overall, DEAR CASSIE is about forgiveness to oneself. You don't have to forget what has happened, but to learn and grow from it. It's also about letting your walls down, taking chances and finding a way to do better, to liking yourself. Because if you don't don't, no one else will be able to either.


You can see my review of PRETTY AMY here!!!



ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Lisa Burstein

 Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Fiction from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University and is glad to finally have it be worth more than the paper it was printed on. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats. Pretty Amy is her first novel. She never went to her senior prom.






GIVEAWAY

Enter to win:
(1) Paperback copy of DEAR CASSIE (U.S. Only)
(1) eBook of DEAR CASSIE (International)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A blog tour for:
http://www.rockstarbooktours.com/


Rockstar Book Tours: DEAR CASSIE's Tour Schedule:
3/19/2013            Bumbles and Fairy-Tales
3/19/2013            Writing My Own Fairy Tale
3/20/2013            City of Books
3/20/2013            My Not So Real Life
3/21/2013            YaReads
3/21/2013            The Girl in a Cafe
3/22/2013            Burning Impossibly Bright
3/22/2013            Pinkindle Reads & Reviews
3/25/2013            A Bookish Escape
3/25/2013            TSK TSK What to Read
3/26/2013            Reader Girls
3/26/2013            A Dream Within A Dream
3/27/2013            Book Labyrinth
3/27/2013            A Soul Unsung
3/28/2013            Seeing Night Reviews
3/28/2013            BookCrush
3/29/2013            Imaginary Reads
3/29/2013            Making the Grade
4/1/2013              Nick's Book Blog
4/1/2013              Escaping... One Book @ a Time
4/2/2013              Winged Reviews
4/2/2013              A Book and a Latte

Cover Reveal/Teaser Tuesday #4: THE AVERY SHAW EXPERIMENT by Kelly Oram


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Should be Reading... 
It's such a fun meme, it has been so long since I have done one, I couldn't help but join in again :) 
All you have to do is: 
Grab your current book, open it to a random page, and share 2 'teaser' sentences from that page; but be careful not to share any spoilers!!! 



The Avery Shaw Experiment
by Kelly Oram
Expected release date: May 2013
Published by: Bluefields
Format: eBook
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary, Romance 


SUMMARY

When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically.

The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest.



Teaser One - Avery

Grayson finally noticed Aiden and I on the couch. “What are you two dorks doing?”

“Learning about steroids,” I said cheerfully. “You should probably know that using them can cause acne, testicular atrophy, decreased sperm count, prostate enlargement and gynecomastia.”

Grayson looked rightfully appalled. “Gyneco-what-ia?”

“Enlarged breasts in men,” Aiden translated. “So you should lay off the juice before you have to start borrowing Avery’s bras.”

I gasped at the mention of my underwear and whacked Aiden’s shoulder hard.

Behind me, Grayson laughed. I knew he was about to deliver a comeback, but I refused to look at him. Seconds later his breath was warm on my neck. He whispered just low enough that his mother couldn’t hear what he said. “I like my bras colorful and lacey, Aves. Not sure your collection would do it for me.”

Total mortification. Grayson may be as close as family to me, but he was still one of the hottest, most popular guys in our whole school. Him discussing my bras in that low sexy voice that could stop a girl’s heart on the spot made my lungs constrict. Plus, he was right of course. My bras were all of the plain white cotton variety.

Teaser Two - Grayson

I started to leave the room but she stopped me at the door. “Grayson?” Her tone tugged at something inside me. “You really want to take me with you tonight?”

She sounded so small and unsure of herself. It was how she always sounded at school and around strangers, but never when she was at home with us. I think my brother had really broken her. I was seriously going to have to beat him sometime.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know I really freaked out on you earlier, but I promise I’ll be fine. Aiden’s right.” She swallowed back a lump in her throat. “I’ll manage without him somehow.”

“Aiden’s a tool. You can learn how to manage tomorrow. Tonight’s New Years Eve and for once in your life you’re going to spend it without Aiden or The Discovery Channel.

I knew I was making progress when she cracked a smile and asked, “What about Whootylicious in 7 B?”

I thought of the luscious booty I’d originally planned on seeing tonight and sighed. “That will be an unfortunate loss, but, like you, I will just have to deal.”

I winked and then decided I’d give her ten minutes before I came back and physically dragged her out of bed.

Other books by Kelly Oram




ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Kelly Oram

Kelly Oram wrote her first novel at age fifteen–a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and loves to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and four children.






Win all four books by Kelly Oram in ebook format. 
This giveaway is open international, as long as you have a way to open the file.
- Must be 13 or older to enter.
- Enter via Rafflecopter below.

Good luck!



Cover Reveal and Teaser for:

Monday, March 18, 2013

Short Story Reviews: ANNABEL, HANA, RAVEN and Alex (Delirium Short Stories) by Lauren Oliver

In which I attempt to review all of the Delirium short stories in one post :) 


ANNABEL
(Delirium #0.5)
by Lauren Oliver
Release date: December 26th, 2012
Published by: Harper Teen
Genre: Young Adult - Dystopian
Format read: eBook

SUMMARY

Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.

Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.

Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.

But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.


MY REVIEW

Annabel's story is very similar to the way Pandemonium was told in that it takes place in the present - Annabel's time in the crypts and her escape - and then flashes back to the past - when Annabel fell in love and then was cured, and then how she continued to love - to help us understand why Annabel was the way she was, what she went through for love, and freedom.
Annabel's story is filled with such sadness. And after all the things that she has gone through, Annabel still believes and will fight for the right to choose, for the right to be able to love freely.
The similarities between Annabel and Lena's story to survive and thrive really surprised me. It was amazing to see how much Lena's personality coincided with her mothers; although Annabel did seem a but more innocent and naive, even though she had more street experience than Lena.

It was great to get to know Lena's mother more. It helped me understand why she did the things she did throughout the series. I suggest that Annabel be read after Delirium. I'm glad that I did because everything just made more sense.

________________________________________________________________

HANA
(Delirium #1.5)
by Lauren Oliver
Release date: February 28th, 2012
Published by: Harper Teen
Genre: Young Adult - Dystopian
Format read: eBook

SUMMARY

Lauren Oliver's riveting, original digital story set in the world of her New York Times bestseller Delirium.

The summer before they're supposed to be cured of the ability to love, best friends Lena and Hana begin to drift apart. While Lena shies away from underground music and parties with boys, Hana jumps at her last chance to experience the forbidden. For her, the summer is full of wild music, dancing—and even her first kiss.

But on the surface, Hana must be a model of perfect behavior. She meets her approved match, Fred Hargrove, and glimpses the safe, comfortable life she’ll have with him once they marry. As the date for her cure draws ever closer, Hana desperately misses Lena, wonders how it feels to truly be in love, and is simultaneously terrified of rebelling and of falling into line.

In this digital story that will appeal to fans of Delirium and welcome new admirers to its world, readers will come to understand scenes from Delirium through Hana's perspective. Hana is a touching and revealing look at a life-changing and tumultuous summer.


MY REVIEW

After Lena and Hana have their evaluations and get matched, they start to grow apart and their relationship starts to deteriorate. In Hana's story, we get to see what Hana went through in Delirium.
Hana is a lot more outgoing, vibrant and free-spirited than Lena. She has been having her doubts about the cure and what is expected from her. Hana's life isn't as perfect as Lena made it out to be. Just because someone is more privileged, it doesn't mean that they don't have the same worries or dreams.
Hana and another school friend decide to check out these underground parties. She loves music. And, she meets a boy.
Does he love her? Has she been infected? Does she love him?
Will it be worth to lose herself in the disease?

I really liked being able to see what Hana went through while Lena was spending time with Alex and trying to figure things out for herself. It was great to see that Hana wasn't as perfect as everyone thought she was.

Hana should be read after Delirium. There is a lot that I wouldn't have understood if I read it prior to it.


________________________________________________________________

(Delirium #2.5)
by Lauren Oliver
Release date: March 5th, 2013
Published by: Harper Teen
Genre: Young Adult - Dystopian
Format read: eBook

SUMMARY

This captivating 50-page digital-original story set in the world of Lauren Oliver’s New York Times bestselling Delirium series focuses on Raven, the fiery leader of a rebel group in the Wilds.

As a teenager, Raven made the split-second decision to flee across the border to the Wilds, compelled to save an abandoned newborn—a baby girl left for dead and already blue from the cold. When she and the baby are taken in by a band of rebels, Raven finds herself an outsider within a tight-knit group. The only other newcomer is an untrustworthy boy known as the Thief until he finally earns himself a new name: Tack.

Now she and Tack are inseparable, committed to each other, the fledgling rebellion, and a future together. But as they both take center stage in the fight, Raven must decide whether the dangers of the revolution are worth risking her dreams of a peaceful life with Tack.

As her story hurtles back and forth between past and present, Raven transforms from a scared girl newly arrived in the Wilds to the tough leader who helps Lena save former Deliria-Free poster boy Julian Fineman from a death sentence. Whatever the original mission may have been, Raven abides by a conviction that she believes to her core: You always return for the people you love.

By turns surprising, revelatory, and poignant, Raven’s story enriches the Delirium world and resonates with a voice that is as vulnerable as it is strong.


FAVORITE QUOTES

"Lies are just stories, and stories are all that matter.
We all tell stories. Some are more truthful than others. 
Maybe, in the end the only thing that counts is what you make people believe."
~ Raven


MY REVIEW

Raven can be read after Pandemonium; but I chose to read it after Requiem, and, I couldn't stop crying for quite a while. Raven's story is heart-breaking. But, I wouldn't change it for anything - everything that she went through is what made her into the Raven that we got to know and love... we see a totally different side to Raven. We actually get to find out what she was thinking and going through in the last half of Pandemonium. Everything that she did makes so much more sense now. 
Also, I really liked that we got a peek into Raven and Tack's relationship - got to see how they met and how they ended up together. We also get to see how she found Blue and the special relationship and bond that they shared... my heart aches for all three characters, so very much.

In my honest opinion, in order to get the full effect of Raven's story - really feel for her - I would definitely wait to read it after you have finished reading the series. 


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And don't forget! You can get all three short stories in one paperback now!!!

by Lauren Oliver
Release date: March 5th, 2013
Published by: Harper Teen
Genre: Young Adult - Dystopian

SUMMARY

For the first time, Lauren Oliver's short stories about characters in the Delirium world appear in print. Originally published as digital novellas, Hana, Annabel, and Raven each center around a fascinating and complex character who adds important information to the series and gives it greater depth. This collection also includes an excerpt from Requiem, the final novel in Oliver's New York Times bestselling series.

Hana is told through the perspective of Lena's best friend, Hana Tate. Set during the tumultuous summer before Lena and Hana are supposed to be cured, this story is a poignant and revealing look at a moment when the girls' paths diverge and their futures are altered forever.

Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery - a ghost from Lena's past--until now. Her journey from teenage runaway to prisoner of the state is a taut, gripping narrative that expands the Delirium world and illuminates events - and Lena - through a new point of view.

And as the passionate, fierce leader of a rebel group in the Wilds, Raven plays an integral role in the resistance effort and comes into Lena's life at a crucial time. Crackling with intensity, Raven is a brilliant story told in the voice of one of the strongest and most tenacious characters in the Delirium world.

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Bonus: Alex
(found in the first hardcover prints of Requiem)
by Lauren Oliver
Release date: March 5th, 2013
Published by: Harper Teen
Genre: Young Adult - Dystopian

FAVORITE QUOTE

"Maybe, the hope said. Maybe."
~ Alex


MY REVIEW

Alex. If anyone truly knows how to love, it is definitely Alex.
I don't know how Lauren Oliver was able to channel Alex, so deeply, moving, without falling into depression and hiding in a cave for a month. This boy brought me to my knees and I cried through his whole story.
Alex tells us about what happened to him at the end of Delirium. And then proceeds to explain what he went through in Pandemonium. How he miraculously survives and what kept him going. His need to find out if his love survived the wilds, or not.
There was never a doubt in my mind that he didn't love Lena. And this proved it.

Your going to need a box of tissues when you read about Alex. Don't say I didn't warn you. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Lauren Oliver

Lauren Oliver comes from a family of writers and so has always (mistakenly) believed that spending hours in front of the computer every day, mulling over the difference between “chortling” and “chuckling,” is normal. She has always been an avid reader. 

She attended the University of Chicago, where she continued to be as impractical as possible by majoring in philosophy and literature. After college, she attended the MFA program at NYU and worked briefly as the world’s worst editorial assistant, and only marginally better assistant editor, at a major publishing house in New York. Her major career contributions during this time were flouting the corporate dress code at every possible turn and repeatedly breaking the printer. Before I Fall is her first published novel. 

She is deeply grateful for the chance to continue writing, as she has never been particularly good at anything else.


 
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