The Boy Project: Notes and Observations of Kara McAllister

Description:
For anyone who’s ever felt that boys were a different species….Wildly creative seventh grader Kara McAllister just had her best idea yet. She’s going to take notes on all of the boys in her grade (and a few elsewhere) in order to answer a seemingly simple question: How can she get a boyfriend? But Kara’s project turns out to be a lot more complicated than she imagined. Soon there are secrets, lies, and an embarrassing incident in the boy’s bathroom. Plus, Kara has to deal with mean girls, her slightly spacey BFF, and some surprising uses for duct tape. Still, if Kara’s research leads her to the right boy, everything may just be worth it. . . .Full of charts and graphs, heart and humor, this hilarious debut will resonate with tweens everywhere.

This Blonde’s Review:
Kara has turned into the girl who is obsessed with getting a boyfriend. When she realized she was the only girl in her class who hadn’t had a boyfriend she decided she needed to find out how to get one. Being the smart, creative girl that she is Kara decides to use the scientific method to find a boyfriend and use her research as a science fair project. Then she can find a boyfriend and get the A she needs to earn unlimited texting. As with any research you have to study your subjects, so Kara takes notes on the boys around her.

Kara hadn’t been interested in kissing boys or having the 7th grade and younger version of a boyfriend before, so it was easy or her to become a girl who hadn’t had one. Kara has to figure out how to get the boy she likes to like her back when she doesn’t have the confidence to talk to him, not without her friend’s help. Of course this backfires for her when her friend starts dating the boy she likes.

Throughout the story we are constantly reminded of how young they are with all the mentions of 14 year old boys, which made it hard for me to relate. Less because of my age now than because I don’t recall anyone I knew acting like that in middle school. Meeting these 14 year olds through Kara’s eyes we’re able to see which boys are boyfriend material and which she wouldn’t consider. But the way life goes, sometimes what we think we want isn’t what we need.

It was interesting watching Kara attempt to turn her quest for knowledge and a boyfriend into an acceptable science fair project. Kara tries to figure out boys, friendships, and mean girls all while learning what really matters to her. Her obsession was hard to watch since it was less about wanting someone than not wanting to be left behind.

If you’re interested in reading a story about a young girl trying to use her boyfriend search to make an A, then you should give this one a shot.

Order Your Copy:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Digit: She’s Got Your Number

Description:
Farrah “Digit” Higgins may be going to MIT in the fall, but this L.A. high school genius has left her geek self behind in another school district so she can blend in with the popular crowd at Santa Monica High and actually enjoy her senior year. But when Farrah, the daughter of a UCLA math professor, unknowingly cracks a terrorist group’s number sequence, her laid-back senior year gets a lot more interesting. Soon she is personally investigating the case, on the run from terrorists, and faking her own kidnapping– all while trying to convince a young, hot FBI agent to take her seriously. So much for blending in…

This Blonde’s Review:
Farrah is a 17 yr old girl who spends more time trying to blend in than anything else in her life. She is the girl who never has an original opinion of stands up for anything, she goes along with the crowd. Her goal is to keep Digit from coming out. Digit is her nickname from her last school. Farrah has genius skills with numbers and can see patterns in numbers that others can’t without the help of computers. With the help of brain numbing techniques to keep her need for order from driving her crazy she manages to downplay her intelligence even to her best friends. Luckily she has a family who loves her and is willing to let her enjoy a normal life instead of pushing her to take her skills the highest they can go.

When she sees a series of numbers on TV they catch her eye and she soon starts trying to solve the pattern. Her desire not be become Digit leads her to attempt to dismiss it. Until the bombing. She isn’t believed by the local FBI office until she is chased by a member of a terrorist organization right into view of the FBI cameras. She is quickly put into protective custody under the guise of a kidnapping while the FBI work to capture the people out to kill her. Who else should protect her except the hot young FBI agent, John.

As John and Farrah spend time talking and looking through phone records in order to look for patterns they grow closer. She can’t help but notice how hot he is and hope he’ll kiss her. John denies any possibility of anything happening between them and of course acts as though he’s 10 years older than she is instead of only a few years. Watching them interact makes us wonder why Farrah would ever be ashamed of Digit, especially with someone like John who can be impressed with her talents and comfortable around her.

I hated seeing Digit try so hard to be what other people wanted her to be. How can anyone know her if she hides herself, and how can she know anyone else if she spends so much time worrying about how they’ll see her? I loved watching her with John and seeing the way she could be herself and appreciate her abilities in ways she clearly hadn’t before. The adventure and the terrorists felt secondary to Digit learning to accept herself. It was still great to see John doing what had to be done to protect her though.

I loved the Digit’s family and John’s parents were wonderful. I didn’t think I’d like Digit’s friends, but we didn’t get to know them much since Digit couldn’t know them as well with the wall she kept up. As great as Digit was she wasn’t a great person when she was Farrah, since she wasn’t a great friend. As she became more comfortable as Digit she becomes an even more loveable character.

This is a short story and I would have loved to read more. The good news is there is a sequel in the works! I’m looking forward to reading it. I can’t wait to read more about Digit, John, and their families.

If you enjoy reading about a girl who has to find her way to accepting herself then you’ll enjoy reading about Digit’s story.

Preorder Your Copy:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Partials

Description:
The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic in training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws threaten to launch what’s left of humanity into civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will discover that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

This Blonde’s Review:
The Partials aren’t humans, they were engineered to be like super humans to fight in wars. They were faster, stronger, and better in every way. When the wars people fought were over, soon they found themselves in a war with the Partials. During this war a manufactured virus was released that destroyed the human population, so few people were immune to this virus that they are all able to fit on Long Island. No baby has been born immune to the virus and they all die within days, leading to laws requiring all girls to become pregnant once they hit a certain age. An age that is being lowered as more time passes without living children.

Kira is a medic in training, a girl who is torn apart each time she sees a baby die while only being able to take down the baby’s stats for the researchers to look through. When she discovers someone she loves is pregnant she knows she has to do whatever it takes to keep that baby alive. Kira has ideas that people in leadership positions are quick to dismiss. She believes that researching dying babies won’t help, that they need to do research on a Partial.

Her love for her friends and her hope for the future lead Kira and her friends to plan how to capture a Partial on their own. Luckily her friends are intelligent people and have connections in different areas, including military and political. Things don’t go as smoothly as hoped but they do manage to capture a Partial. Surprisingly Kira is put in charge of the research on the Partial instead of more experienced researchers. As she conducts her research Kira encounters more questions than answers; about RM, about Partials, and about the their leaders.

The relationships in this story weren’t as solid and connected as I would have hoped for but Kira and a few other characters managed to keep me interested in their story. Kira is supposed to have a boyfriend, but the author is quick to show Kira’s uncertainty and just as quick for him to fail her. I had little interest in that romantic relationship and would have been happy to have left it out entirely. This is not a book to be read for romance, instead it is a book to be read for the story.

This story has a lot more science in it than I expected, but Dan Wells has managed to write it in such a way that as Kira figures it out or learns it we are able to learn and understand it. I found it fascinating and was continually hoping for more information about what was happening with the virus.

The relationships may have been too shallow for some readers, but I enjoyed this one and can’t wait for the next book. I loved the way the author built this story up with many things not being what they seemed. I was drawn in by the things I was learning, even if it was all fictional. The way the story ended was less than satisfactory for me in some ways, but it wasn’t bad enough to leave me unhappy with the story. Instead it has me impatient to read the next book in the story to find out what happens next.

Partials is a book about a girl, a virus, engineered beings, and political unrest. It’s the story of how a teenage girl who grew up in a world of orphans sets out to save the future of mankind. If the description sounds interesting to you then this is one you should pick up as soon as it comes out. I know I’m ready to read the rest of Kira’s story, but until then I’ll be looking into other books by Dan Wells.

Get your copy:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Have you read Delirium, the first book in this series? If not be aware that the description contains spoilers for book one.

Description:
The old Lena is dead. The old Lena remains with Alex in Portland, Maine, behind a wall of smoke and flame, but the new Lena was born in the Wilds, transformed by hardship, deprivation, and loss.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena fights for a world in which love will no longer be considered a dangerous disease. Her inner life is as turbulent as the world around her. . . . Although consumed with grief for Alex, might she be falling in love with someone else?

This Blonde’s Review:
Pandemonium is told in the Then and Now. In many ways it’s like being told from two points of view since Lena has gone through so many changes that she’s not the same girl. The things that happened in the first book have changed her. In the Then Lena is hurt and scared and has no faith in the world. All she can think of is Alex and the things that happened. She uses tricks that used to mean nothing to help her build her strength back up. We see her working towards the Now. In the Now Lena is strong and solid and cynical. She will do what needs to be done, she will lie, and she will refuse to feel anything at all if she can help it. She only wants to accomplish her mission and possibly find her mother.

I loved Delirium, I loved the way the author built a new world and managed to keep me surprised and wanting to know what was going to happen next. There were things that I expected and things I didn’t, but even when I expected it the way it would happen was always a mystery. In Pandemonium we had similar attempts, but it wasn’t quite the same. There were many things that I could see happening and I could see how it would happen as well. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the switching timelines, but I did like the way some of the chapters were lined up to almost be flashbacks as Lena remembered. Overall, I am not a fan of Then/Now writing, but I can also see how it worked for this one in many ways. It makes the changes in Lena much more obvious and that was important to recognize.

I loved the romance between Lena and Alex and I was not prepared for her to have any feelings for someone else. Attraction possibly, but actual feelings were something that I was not willing to accept as a reader. Despite the trials Lena and Julian go through together, their romance moves fast enough that their relationship seems more fitting to a lustful unfeeling one than a loving one. Lena went through so much with Alex that a relationship built on lust seems to better fit what she would need than love.

Despite what she saw and what she knew to be true, Lena still had hopes that she could be wrong about Alex. She still wanted more for them all throughout the Then. Seeing her grow stronger in herself and slowly give him up was painful to see. I kept expecting Alex to pop back into her life and throw her Now into a spiral, and then I started to accept that perhaps we wouldn’t get him back. It was possible that Lauren Oliver would do something few authors seem willing to do and Leave such a major character dead and allow his memory to be another major player instead of bringing him back. I hated that thought, but then I started to hope that this book would be so different from the rest that we would have that.

I found myself thinking about this one after I finished it, trying to decide if it was one that I liked or not. I read so many reviews of this book, some readers have loved this book and are eager for the third book in this series. Other readers have been annoyed by the predictability, how easy it was for Lena to fall for another guy, or the way the author switched between Then and Now. While I didn’t love the viewpoints or the love angle, I can’t help but love it.

If you enjoyed the first book I know you’re eager to find out what happens to Lena and you’re looking for a fix until you can get your hands on it. Yes, there are mixed reviews but the majority seem to love it, so be sure to get out there and get your copy.

If this series is new to you and you read my review Anyway… you may have had a few things spoiled for you. If you want to read about a world where Love is considered a disease, where people have to fight for the right to have Feelings for another human being and loving leads to death, then you’ll want to step inside Lauren Oliver’s world and read Delirium and Pandemonium. I hate that I have to wait until 2013 to read the third book in this series!

Get your copy:
Delirium – Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Pandemonium – Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Ditched: A Love Story

Description:
High school senior Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her.

Ian, who always passed her the baseball bat handle first.
Ian, who knew exactly when she needed red licorice.
Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom.
And then ditched her.

Now, as the sun rises over her small town, and with only the help of some opinionated ladies at the 7-Eleven, Justina must piece together — stain by stain on her thrift-store dress — exactly how she ended up dateless. A three-legged Chihuahua was involved. Along with a demolition derby-ready Cadillac. And there was that incident at the tattoo parlor. Plus the flying leap from Brian Sontag’s moving car…

But to get the whole story, Justina will have to face the boy who ditched her. And discover if losing out at prom can ultimately lead to true love.

This Blonde’s Review:
Justina is a mess. She is stranded at a 7-11 in a stained thrift-store prom dress and no idea how her night fell apart. It may have started when she took her mother’s advice and dyed her shoes to match her prom dress. She thought they’d be okay, but then he ditched her. Now she has to figure out where it went wrong and what happened. She tells the story of her night to some strong minded women at the 7-11 by telling the story of each stain and tear on her dress.

Justina is not the kind of girl who cares about prom or fashion, which is how she finds herself following her mother’s prom advice. Justina alternates between thinking Ian is a jerk and wondering if she did something wrong. She’s a typical girl this way, since most girls would be going a little crazy as they wavered back and forth after being ditched at prom. Luckily she isn’t going through it all alone since she receives insight from the woman who works at the 7-11 and other customers.

Watching Justina try to figure out her night is crazy since she experiences so many unbelievable things. Who wouldn’t want to find out how she ends up in a tattoo parlor or jumping out of a moving car?

Ditched isn’t a long story, but it’s adorable. I loved Justina and I couldn’t wait to find out if Ian was the good guy he seems at points, or a guy who doesn’t know what he wants and makes bad decisions. Even characters who had short appearances were easy to feel for since they were all written so well.

The story does hop around in a confusing way, since that is the way a girl in that situation would be thinking. It is something that I was annoyed by at first, but once I got into the story I didn’t mind that style at all. That is something that could distract some readers from the story, so keep that in mind if you can become distracted from a good story by a storyline that doesn’t follow from point A to point B.

If you enjoy a lighthearted story about a night gone wrong that could lead to something right, then you should pick up this debut story from Robin Mellom.

Get your copy:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rock On

Description:
Ori Taylor is the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the Band To Be Named Later, a garage band he started with his friends. After years of being known as the mini version of his sports-star brother, Del, Ori is looking forward to stepping out of his older brother’s shadow, learning to perform in public, and rocking the Battle of the Bands contest. Oh, and maybe finally working up the nerve to talk to a girl in person instead of just over e-mail. But when Del suddenly returns from college, he expects Ori to step back into his role of little brother, just when Ori is starting to come into his own.

With his confidence wavering, will Ori be able to overcome his stage fright and lead the band to rock glory? Will the Band To Be Named Later ever get a real name? Will their best performances remain in the garage?

This Blonde’s Review:
Ori and his friends dream of winning the Battle of the Bands. Ori is working towards getting his dream guitar in time for the battle and getting to know a cute girl. Life should be looking up for him. When his brother, Del, returns from college and expects Ori to step back into his shadow things start to unravel. Del no longer encourages Ori or helps him get the girl. Instead Ori finds himself battling with Del at every turn. There are rival bands being intimidating, strange girls kissing him, and the girl he likes is spending time with his brother. All he has to do is hold it all together until the battle.

I love that the author made this story so real. The sibling tensions when one comes home feeling like a failure while the other is starting to shine are shone wonderfully in this one. Brothers know best how to get to each other, so it doesn’t have to be warfare for it to matter, but it won’t stay passive for long either. Lucky for Ori he has a great group of friends supporting him while he struggles to deal with the changes in his brother.

The sibling aspect is what stuck with me the most about this one, but that isn’t all there is to it. We also have the romance angle with Jane and Rock Star Blindness throwing something new into Ori’s life besides the way his brother is acting. He isn’t used to girls acting that way either and has to figure out how to talk to a girl.

This story is told in so many ways that I expected it to bother me when I started it. Denise Vega managed to pull it off and make me want the different viewpoints so I could get another take on what was going on. We have Ori’s current point of view, but we also have several flashbacks. Through this we’re able to see how much his relationship with Del always meant to him and how their relationship has impacted his life. We are also able to read the things people post on the band’s webpage and read a few reviews of the band’s performances. Rather than becoming annoying or disjointed the author makes it work and the story wouldn’t have been the same without it.

I enjoyed how real the relationships in this story felt. Too often the story is more important than the relationships, but this book was made by the ties the characters had to each other. Those ties made it much easier to feel for the characters and want what was best for them. As we all know, caring about our characters is an important part of how we feel at the end of the story. I loved reading about Ori, his amusing friends, and his frustrating brother.

If you enjoy reading stories that could be about real people with real life problems and how they overcome them you should pick this one up in March.

Get Your Copy:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Under The Never Sky

Description:
Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.

As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.

They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love – one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY

This Blonde’s Review:
Aria lives in an enclosed city full of people who spend their time in virtual worlds. If they want to become mermaids they only have to decide they are for it to happen. Life is easy when they never have to experience pain. When Aria, her best friend, and several boys break into a closed section of the city they find themselves in the real world. Aria has ulterior motives in accompanying the boys since she hopes to talk one of them into helping her. Things don’t work as planned and soon the girls find themselves afraid. When the blame for their choices is placed on Aria she soon finds herself stranded in the middle of nowhere alone.

Perry is an Outsider, he lives in a dangerous world where death is always a possibility. He has been twice gifted with the ability to see exceptionally well at night and the ability to smell things others can’t, including human emotions. There are other outsiders with abilities, but no others have two abilities. He met Aria in the damaged part of Reverie and was familiar with her smell, so when he came across her scent in the outside world he couldn’t stop himself from helping her survive her first Aether storm.

Aria and Perry have a mutual lack of respect but agree to work together to get what they want. Perry is concerned for his nephew and Aria is worried about her mother. Their love for their family is more important than their dislike for each other. As they work together to survive and succeed they learn things about themselves and each other they never expected. With the help of new and old friends Perry and Aria work their way towards finding the answers to their questions.

When Perry and Aria start to have feelings for each other, they know it can’t last since they both want to find their way home. Those feelings are tested when Aria discovers a secret they never expected. It changes the way she sees herself and the way she sees the world she left behind. She knows she still has to return to find out what happened to her mother.

When I first heard about this one I was hesitant. I figured it could go either way but decided to go for it and hope for the best. Veronica Rossi certainly delivered, I am so glad I decided to read it!

Switching viewpoints between can go either way for me, depending on how it’s written so I was a little concerned when I saw that we’d see Aria and Perry’s point of view. Luckily the author pulled it off fabulously and I can’t imagine how the story would have suffered if we only had one point of view to go off of. And I love how she came up with the title! “A world of nevers under a never sky” was beautiful to read and the title reminds me of that lovely line each time I see it.

I wasn’t sure about Aria at first, she coaxed her friend into doing something dangerous she didn’t want to do. She was using a guy to get information, even though he did turn out to be a jerk. She had the sense of entitlement that I suppose would be natural given her life so far. She could easily be a character we liked to dislike more than a character we could love. Perry seemed too unfeeling and wild, he killed too easily instead of simply incapacitating and wasn’t too concerned with what would happen to Aria after he left her. He even seemed unwilling to help her when he found her in the middle of an Aether storm.

But looking beyond the surface gave me a better idea of the type of characters they really are. Seeing the world Perry lived in made it easy to understand why he’d kill instead of leaving them alive to potentially hurt him later. And his love and devotion to his nephew went a long way towards making him a character I could care about. Aria did well considering her situation when she was in the outside world and we were able to see that she had her own strengths and wasn’t going to cower in fear. She had a spine on her and she was willing to do anything to make sure her mother was safe. Their love for their families went a long way in my book.

As they started to work together and get to know each other better it became easier to love them. And when you love your characters you want to read their story without interruption. I love that this world Veronica Rossi has written had so many new things but she didn’t treat each one to a huge explanation like it was unusual. She fit it into the story like we should expect it but she still made it easy to understand what was going on. And I especially loved the way the romance in this one played out. Too many stories rush the romance, even enemy turned lover stories tend to change within a short time frame. This one had a slow build that felt more natural and was easier to hope they’d find a way to make it last.

I loved the side characters and their stories in this one. Roar was a fantastic character that I can’t wait to read more about. He was funny and charming and there is obviously more to him than we’ve found out yet. He wasn’t written like we have two stories going on at once, but I know I’ll be disappointed not to find his story interwoven with theirs in the next one. We also have a boy who has aether in him, a friendly man with connections and a fortune at his disposal, the bad guy who wants to use Aria, enemies who become friends, and enemies who want to eat them. Somehow the author makes all of this work together and makes me want the next book immediately.

I loved this book and I can’t wait to read the next one in the series. I won’t give away Aria’s secret, but I can’t wait to see how it plays into the rest of this series and how it affects her relationships with the other characters. I also can’t wait to see what happens with Perry and his tribe or with his nephew. I was left with so many questions at the end of this story, and they’re all the good kind that make me want this series in my hands and on my bookshelves.

If you enjoy strong characters who don’t rush into romance and an exciting new world with special abilities, then you’ll love this one. Basically, anyone who finds the description even mildly appealing like I did should pick this up right away because you’ll be sorry you waited so long to get started.

To help you out with that, here are a few links to buy a copy:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Welcome Caller, This is Chloe

Description:
Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

This Blonde’s Review:
Chloe’s life has always been easy or her, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. She has a great family who loves her and that she adores. She has best friends who have always been there for her and accept her outrageous antics.

When she sees her best friends after vacation she is shocked to discover they’re angry with her. She is even more surprised when she finds out that one of her friends started to spread rumors about her. Chloe isn’t sure what’s going on or why she’s being treated that way, but she tries to make the best of it.

When Chloe finds out her junior independent study program (jisp) is not acceptable to her guidance counselor and must find another, she is stumped. One thing leads to another and she finds herself stuck working for the school radio station that she didn’t know existed. She meets several new people who don’t seem impressed with her friendly personality. Including an interesting boy named Duncan.

As Chloe gets to know the other students at the radio station she has her eyes opened to things about herself she had never seen before. She learns why some people would resent her and why others love her. And she learns that sometimes the best thing is to find yourself alone and learn who the best friends you can have are.

I thought this was an adorable story. Chloe and Duncan have family issues that can be heavy but the author manages to keep the story about Chloe and her friends instead of about their family members. I enjoyed Chloe and love the picture on the cover of this one. I can relate to being the kind of girl who thinks the way she’s treated has to do with her instead of it being about someone else. I can’t relate to not seeing her friends’ problems or being willing to dress up in costumes for promotions. Chloe is easily the kind of girl you’ll love or hate because of how she makes it all seem easy.

It’s great that this one is coming out in time for summer, since this would make a great summer read. It’s one that won’t take you too deep into the problems but will still keep you entertained and caring about how it’s all going to work out. If this one sounds good to you and a light read sounds fun then pick this up when it comes out in May!

Get Your Copy:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

I’m also holding myself to a personal challenge. In addition to the reading challenges I’ve signed up for, I’m also challenging myself to track every book I read. I never have before beyond looking at a library history for a general range.

This year I have signed up for the Goodreads Reading Challenge in an effort to track my books. I’ve always guessed that I read 150 books a year so that’s what I’ve signed up for. I’d love to see if I’ve been over or underestimating myself. If you’d like to friend me on Goodreads or track my progress please feel free to do so. I’d love to see your progress as well, whether you’re going to 20 books or 200.

2012 is going to be full of some great books and I hope to share some with you and hear about your favorites too.

It can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of new books coming out. Debut titles we’re waiting for or the next book in a new series, they’re all books we are eager to devour. But readers usually have a stack of books they’re waiting to read too. I know I have so many I want to read but have a hard time making time for. As great as that book is… I own it and I don’t own the ARC (Advance Reading Copy) that arrived in the mail today. So the potentially great book I own gets set back on the to be read stack.

When I saw that there was a 2012 TBR Challenge I knew I had to sign up. I want to read all of my marvelous TBR (to be read) books, and this is great motivation to read them And keep track of how many I’ve read. I know that this year I caught up on quite a few of my TBR ebooks once I started taking my kindle (his name is Kin) to the gym.

This one is a little different from the Debut Author Challenge or the Sophomore Reading Challenge because it can be a book from any genre but only book bloggers can enter. That means no Goodreads or YouTube reviews for this one.

Instead of aiming for a set number, the TBR Challenge offers different levels we can commit to. We decide how far we want to push ourselves. We look at what we believe we can do (with a little stretch to make it actually challenging) and commit to that. If we find ourselves wanting to move up a level we can. But we can’t move down a level. So if you aim for 30 and don’t reach it by the end of the year we’ve failed our challenge. It’s called a challenge for a reason, it is possible to fail.

The TBR challenge also offers us a chance to win prizes each month.You don’t have to follow all the hosts to do the challenge, but you do in order to win giveaways. Each month one of the hosts will have a wrap up post with a challenge there. So that’s kind of neat, though I’m sure that will be lower on my list since there are over 250 participants so far and I’m not quite that lucky. I want to read some potentially fantastic books and hopefully get to know a few other book bloggers.

Now let me give you some of the info in handy list form…

Guidelines ::

• Runs from 1 January until 31 December 2012
• Only books that have been in your TBR pile with a release date of 2011 or earlier.
• Any genre, length, or format is accepted, as long as it is reviewed on a blog.
• You can move up levels but not down.
• At the end of each month one of the hosts will post a wrap-up. Every wrap-up will have it’s unique theme, a mini-challenge, a giveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from this month.
• For each review you link, you get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository. This is even open Internationally. You also receive one entry for participating in the monthly mini-challenge.
• If you miss a month you may link up on the next month but you may not link a review more than once.
• December is the wrap up for the whole year. There will be 12 winners, including international participants.

Levels ::

1-10 : Firm Handshake
11-20 : Friendly Hug
21-30 : Sweet Kiss
31-40 : Love at First Sight
41-50 : Married with Children

The Hosts ::

Evie from Bookish – http://www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com — @SeoEvie
Nicole from All I Ever Read – http://www.nicoleabouttown.com/  –  @Nicoleabouttown
Bonnie from Hands and Home – http://www.handsandhome.ca/ –  @HandsHomeBlog
Donna from Book Passion For Life - http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.com/ — @BookPforLife
Caitlin from WatchYA Reading - http://whatchyareading.net — @caitlingss
Rie from Mission To Read - http://missiontoread.com/ — @missiontoread
Vicky from Books, Biscuits & Tea -http://booksbiscuitsandtea.blogspot.com/ — @alouetteuette
Christa from Hooked On Books - http://christashookedonbooks.blogspot.com — @ChristasBooks
Jenna from Fans Of Fiction - http://fansoffiction.blogspot.com/ — @fansoffiction
Angel from Mermaids Vision - http://mermaidvision.wordpress.com — @mermaidvisions

Wrap Up Posts ::

January – Donna (Theme: Let It Snow + Book Cover Challenge)
February – Nicole (Theme: Un-requited Love/Love Gone Wrong + Advice Column Challenge)
March – Rie (Theme: Green or Pinched + Green Cover Challenge)
April -  Bonnie (Theme: Easter + Mini Challenge)
May – Christa (Theme: MayDay – Disaster Books! + Cover Disaster Challenge)
June – Jenna ( Theme: Camping + Sentence Challenge)
July – Rie (Theme: International Day + Cover Comparison Challenge)
August – Angel (Theme: Summer Memories + Send Your Fav Character On Vacation Challenge)
September – Nicole (Theme: Life Changing Books + Mini Challenge)
October – Caitlin (Theme: Thanksgiving Theme + Share-A-Book Challenge)
November – Vicky (Theme: Spooky Halloween + Book Puzzle Challenge)
December – Evie (Theme: Xmas Bliss + Book Bachelor Challenge)

I’m going to start conservative with a Friendly Hug. Until I look at what I have and what counts I’ll stick with reviewing 11-20 TBR books. I know I’ll read more than 20 books that I have here at home, especially since I can read romance ebooks too. I expect to have a better idea of whether I’ll be jumping up to a Kiss or Love within a month or two.

Just as I said with the other two challenges I’ll be participating in for 2012, I would love to know if you’re participating too. And be sure to go sign up for the TBR challenge if you have books in your to be read pile that you’d like to get through this year.