Top Ten Books Featuring Travel

1. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. The best roadtrip book I've read. It will make you laugh, cry and swoooon.

2. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta. I could put the whole of The Lumatere Chronicles, but Finnikin is the one with the most travel. They're all wonderful.

3. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. The magical, gorgeous tale of one unicorn's quest to find others like her.

4. The Reluctant Hallelujah by Gabrielle Williams. A roadtrip book with a very unique twist. Not for everyone, but I loved it.

5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Trip to the Peak District, anyone? Namely Derbyshire.

6. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. What better way to travel than through time? Though it doesn't exactly work out well for Henry. This book gives me All The Feels.

7. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. Four friends use a magical pair of jeans to stay in touch when they're separated over the summer. It's nowhere near as lame as I thought it would be before I read it.

8. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. Second star to the right and straight on till morning!

9. The Princess Bride by William Goldman. One of my favourite books of all time, I wouldn't mind a trip with Fezzik and Inigo - and Westley, of course. Buttercup can stay at home.

10. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. While it's mostly set in Paris, the kids do travel there to start with (and to America and back again over the holidays). Anna may whinge about it at first, but I wouldn't have minded going to school in such a gorgeous city!

Top Ten Authors On My Auto-Buy List

 
1. Melina Marchetta. I was going to make a joke about being so willing to buy anything she writes, I'd purchase her shopping list, but then I realised that sounded totally stalkery and so I won't mention it at all. Ahem.

2. Markus Zusak. I loved The Book Thief and am eagerly anticipating Zusak's next novel, Bridge of Clay. In the meantime I should really get around to reading his earlier stuff.

3. Caroline Overington. Overington's stories cover so many important issues, but at the centre of them all are very authentic characters and realistic emotions. I've loved everything of hers that I've read.

4. Shirley Marr. I love Marr's writing style and the unique stories she writes. Cookie cutter they ain't.

5. Gayle Foreman. Foreman's If I Stay and Where She Went shattered my heart into a million teeny tiny pieces. I admire a writer who can do that.

6. Stephanie Perkins. On the other end of the spectrum, Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss made my heart all light and happy. It's literary fairy floss at its finest.

7. Craig Silvey. I have a bit of a literary crush on Mr Silvey. I devoured Jasper Jones and adored The Amber Amulet, and have Rhubarb on my husband's Kindle waiting for me to steal it away. I can't wait to see what Silvey does next.

8. J. K. Rowling. C'mon. It's the Queen.

9. Charles Dickens. I know, he's dead, but he managed to release a helluva lot of books in his lifetime that I'm slowly making my way through. I've loved what I've read so much I don't hesitate to buy his work, especially when I come across a really cool edition. I totally judge books by their covers.

10. Charlotte Bronte. Same deal as Dickens, except I've actually only read one of her books, that I happened to absolutely love. So I really want to get the rest of Bronte's work.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2013

I'm not big on the book news; I tend to be pretty clueless about what's coming out and when, but there are some books I can't wait to get my hands on in 2013...

1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 2 (currently untitled) by Ransom Riggs. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children almost became one of my favourite books... until it ended on a massive cliffhanger that drove me nuts. So needless to say I've been waiting for the sequel for awhile.

2. Just One Day by Gayle Forman. I looooved If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman, so I've been eagerly anticipating her next book.

3. Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. OK, I haven't been excited about the Sookie Stackhouse books for awhile. But I'm excited for this one because it will finally bring the series to an end, and answer the question once and for all - will Sookie end up with Eric? She better.

4. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. I love, love, loved Anna and the French Kiss and really enjoyed Lola and the Boy Next Door, so I predict good things for the final book in Perkins' trilogy.

5. The Hybrid Chronicles 2 (currently untitled) by Kat Zhang. I really enjoyed Zhang's debut novel, What's Left of Me, when I read it recently, and I can't wait for the sequel.

6. The Boss by Abigail Barnette. Not content with pointing out how terrible 50 Shades of Grey is in her hilarious, brilliant recaps, Jennifer Armintrout (under the name Abigail Barnette) has decided to publish a feminist romance as the antithesis to the abusive dynamics found in the popular tome. Best of all? She's publishing it for free on her website, in serial form. It sounds awesome.

7. Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff. The plot sounds really intriguing - a young girl is haunted by her best friend, who pushes her to investigate her death and the other mysterious murders in their town. Plus the cover is super pretty, and I'm superficial like that.

8. Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak. The Book Thief is one of my favourite books, and this will be Zusak's follow up. It's been a long time coming, and I anticipate amazingness.

9. Prodigy by Marie Lu. The first book in this series, Legend, was pretty decent, and I've heard the sequel is even better.

10. When We Wake by Karen Healey. About a girl who gets cryogenically frozen and reanimated 100 years later, this is one dystopian/sci-fi that sounds unique and has a lot of potential.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Contemporary YA Authors

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a toughie for me because I'm not a big genre reader, but I have been gravitating towards contemporary YA a lot lately so I thought I'd list some of the awesome authors I've come across...

Sure, it may look completely random and irrelevant, but contemporary YA makes me happy and so does this gif. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

1. Stephanie Perkins. Anna and the French Kiss completely blew me away, and although I didn't enjoy Lola and the Boy Next Door quite as much, it was still great. I can't wait for Perkins' next novel, Isla and the Happily Ever After, to come out.

2. Melina Marchetta. One of my favourite authors of all time. I love the way Marchetta captures authentic emotions and experiences and creates such wonderful, well-rounded and realistic characters. All of her contemporary fiction is fantastic, but On the Jellicoe Road is probably my favourite.

3. Ann Brashares. I've mentioned before that it was The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series that introduced me to YA and made me rethink my previous (judgmental) stance on it. It was such a fun and touching read. I've been meaning to reread the series for awhile, especially with the last installment that's come out, but I've heard some spoilers so I'm kinda scared.

4. Gayle Forman. If I Stay is kinda supernatural, but its sequel, Where She Went is more contemporary. I adored both books and their characters, but I especially appreciated Adam's point of view in Where She Went.

5. Libba Bray. I have a ridiculous amount of love for Beauty Queens. I thought it was clever, hilarious and so much fun. I've wanted to read more of Bray's books every since I read it, but sadly for me I haven't gotten around to it yet.

6. Morgan Matson. I loved Amy and Roger's Epic Detour; the characters were likable and the story was so much fun, while still maintaining some serious aspects. It made me totally want to take a road trip around the US and eat lots of hamburgers. Second Chance Summer was also a great read, and utterly heartbreaking.

7. Simone Elkeles. I wasn't sure whether I should put Simone on the list given the recent hullabaloo around the way she responded to one of her reviews, but the truth is I absolutely loved her Perfect Chemistry series so she deserves a spot here. Sure, it's totally cheesy and predictable, but it's also completely addictive and fun.

8. Judy Blume. 'Nuff said.

OK, I'm out. Unfortunately I haven't read enough contemporary YA to have a complete top ten (though it's probably the genre I've read the most!). Because I'm kinda OCD and can't have an incomplete list, here are two contemporary YA authors I want to read.

1. John Green. I know. I haven't read any John Green. Yes, I'm hanging my head in shame.

2. Sarah Dessen. Now my whole body is hanging in shame.

Who are your favourite contemporary YA authors?

My Book Boyfriend: Cricket Bell

 

My Book Boyfriend is hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader. While I mentioned in my review of Stephanie Perkins' Lola and the Boy Next Door that Cricket Bell was more friend than boyfriend material for me, he's still adorable enough that I had to feature him in MBB anyway. He's tall, with piercing blue eyes and crazy hair, and cares a lot about the way he looks; not in a conceited way, though - he just puts a lot of effort into the way he dresses and has a definite style. He's been in love with Lola forever and spends every chance he can get with her. He's open about his emotions and expresses them in the sweetest ways. He's also super smart, with dreams of being an inventor. I pictured him as Darren Criss.

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

“I know. And I couldn't wait any longer, I have to tell you - "
The panic rises, and I grip the French band tighter. "Cricket, please -"
But his words pour forth in a torrent. "I can't stop thinking about you, and I'm not the guy I used to be, I've changed -"
"Cricket -" I look back up, feeling faint.
His blue eyes are bright. Sincere. Desperate. "Go out with me tonight. Tomorrow night, every ni -" The words cut off in his throat as he sees something behind me.
Cigarettes and spearmint. I want to die.
"This is Max. My boyfriend. Max, this is Cricket Bell.”

Cricket’s limbs are still, but his chest is pounding hard against my own. “But you’ll want me someday? That feeling you once had for me … that hasn’t left either?”
Our hearts beat the same wild rhythm. They’re playing the same song.  “It never left,” I say.

“Lola?" Cricket is on his knees at the side of my bed. I feel it. "I'm here," he whispers. "You can talk to me or not talk to me, but I'm here.”

“So do you believe in second chances?" I bite my lip.
"Second, third, fourth. Whatever it takes. However long it takes. If the person is right," he adds.
"If the person is... Lola?"
This time, he holds my gaze. "Only if the other person is Cricket.”

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

I’ve been putting off writing this review for so long.

I think it’s because I was expecting to be all ZOMG THIS WAS THE GREATEST BOOK EVERRRRR, like I was with Perkins' first book, Anna and the French Kiss. I had, really, really high expectations of Lola and the Boy Next Door. So that’s why it's so hard to say… I was kinda disappointed.

Eep! Did I really just write that? See, this is why I didn’t want to write this review. Everybody seems to love this book so much – some even said it was BETTER THAN Anna, which is a massive call. I’m almost embarrassed that I don’t feel the same. Don’t get me wrong, I did really like it. I just didn’t love it - no matter how much I wanted to.

It was a really cute story, about a dramatic teen named Lola, who lives in San Francisco with her two gay dads, adores her older boyfriend Max and has big plans for her formal costume (yes, costume). Then her next door neighbours, the Bell twins, come back to town after a few years away, and her complicated history with them messes up her life big-time.

I think the let down for me with this book were the characters. One of the things I adored about Anna was that the two main characters and the supporting cast were all really well drawn, realistic and likable. With Lola, I appreciated that she was unique and liked her well enough, but I couldn’t quite relate to her or the way she acted in certain situations. I felt that Max was almost too likable for the first half, and then did too much of a turnaround. Calliope Bell fell a bit flat – she was a bit of a cardboard cutout mean girl – and Cricket… well, he was pretty adorable, but he just didn’t do it for me. I know a lot of people love him (please don’t hurt me!), but from the way he dresses to what he says and how he acts around Lola, I just found him a bit, erm, campy. Not that campy is a bad thing - I just saw him as being more awesome as a friend than a boyfriend. I didn’t feel any chemistry or sexual tension between him and Lola, which I think was the most disappointing part of all.

One thing I did really love was Lola’s parents. I liked how Perkins portrayed their sexuality as incidental, not some Big Thing, and showed them as a normal, loving family. I also enjoyed her best friend Lindsay, who kinda reminded me of Lane in Gilmore Girls, and anything that reminds me of Gilmore Girls gets automatic bonus points.

Overall, and all gripes aside, I had a lot of fun reading Lola. Once I started, I found it hard to put down. Perkins is a fantastic writer and with just two books she’s cemented herself as one of my favourite authors.  I’d definitely recommend it for fans of contemporary fiction, YA romance and, of course, Anna.

Rating: 4/5

Eye Candy

There wasn't a lot of description about Lola herself (the focus was more on her OTT outfits), but I pictured Lucy Hale when I started reading and she seemed to fit. Cricket was kinda hard to "cast" - he's meant to be tall, with crazy hair that sticks up all over the place and "startling" bright blue eyes. I couldn't think of any actor who looks remotely close to that (can you?), but the description of Cricket's style brought to mind the way Darren Criss dresses - at least in Glee and in photo shoots. And we all know how much I love DCriss, so he became my Cricket.

Fine Print

Genre: Young Adult

Published: 2011 by Dutton

Get It: Fishpond

Follow Friday: Five Living Authors I'd Love To Meet

Follow Friday is a weekly blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. This week's topic is about authors we want to meet: "Name three authors you would love to sit down and have a meal with, just talking about either their books or writing advice."

Because I'm a) Mildly OCD and like everything to be in multiples of five, and b) Chronically indecisive, I'm going to cheat and name five authors I'd love to sit down with. To make it more realistic (like it would ever actually happen), I'm going to stick to living writers. Coz otherwise my fantasty dinner party would be pretty dead (badum bum).

1. J.K. Rowling. I'd say: "What would it take for you to write the prequel of Harry Potter, and tell the story of Snape, Lily, James and co's time at Hogwarts in more detail?!" Then I'd do whatever it took - hand-feed her chocolates, make endless cups of tea, fan her with palm leaves... Just call me Dobby.

2. Markus Zusak. I'd say: "How did you get so awesome?! Can you rub some awesomeness off onto me?" Because The Book Thief is just 100 per cent pure awesomeness and amazes me every time I read it.

3. Charlaine Harris. I'd say: "Will Sookie end up with Eric at the close of the series?" If the answer is no, I might have to hold her hostage, Misery-style, until she gets it right. What? I'm not crazy. Just crazy for Eric.

4. William Goldman. I'd say: "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me Fezzik doesn't die in Buttercup's Baby." If you've read the anniversary edition of The Princess Bride, you'll know how much that "bonus" chapter/fake sequel leaves you hanging - literally, in Fezzik's case.

5. Stephanie Perkins. I'd say: "Be my best friend?" I'm guessing she's as fantastic in real life as she is in her writing.

My Book Boyfriend: Etienne St. Clair

My Book Boyfriend is an awesome meme highlighting the many fictional boys who make us swoon. It's hosted by the lovely Missie over at The Unread Reader. It'll come as no surprise to those who know I read Anna and the French Kiss this week that I'm currently in the middle of a full-on, daydream-inducing, life-crippling obsession with Étienne St. Clair.

How do I love him? Let me count the ways...

• He's sexy, with messy-but-beautiful brown hair and expressive, dark eyes. He also dresses well.
• He has a hot English accent and can also speak French fluently.
• He's genuinely nice, has a good sense of humour and is fun to be around.
• He loves his mum (and not in a creepy way).
• He is ridiculously sweet and adorable, and gives amazing, thoughtful gifts - like LOVE POETRY, complete with STARRED verses that he later QUOTES. Sigh. This is nowhere near as wanky as it sounds.
• He's intelligent and loves history. History! I love history. I love him.

Swoon-worthy Quotes (Spoiler Alert!)

"St Clair coughs and shifts again. His leg brushes against mine. It stays there. I’m paralyzed. I should move it; it feels too unnatural. How can he not notice his leg touching my leg? From the corner of my eye, I see the profile of his chin and nose—oh, dear God—the curve oh his lips. There. He glanced at me. I know he did... I risk a glance, and St Clair stares back. Deeply. He has not looked at me like this before. I turn away first, then feel him turn a few beats later. I know he is smiling, and my heart races.”

"Étienne follows my body with his eyes. He finds the rhythm, and we move together. The room spins around us. His hair is sweaty. My hair is sweaty. I grab him closer, and he doesn’t protest. I writhe down his body to the beat. When I come up, his eyes are closed, his mouth slightly parted. We match each other thrust to thrust." [Taken out of context, would you guess these two were dancing?!]

“I’ll only be a twenty-minute train ride from your school, and I’ll make the commute to see you every night. I’d take a commute ten times that just to be with you every night."

"Our lips brush lightly. 'If you ask me to kiss you, I will,' he says. His fingers stroke the inside of my wrists, and I burst into flames. 'Kiss me,' I say. He does."

"'Did you just have a foodgasm?' he asks, wiping ricotta from his lips."

Updated: The below clip is especially for Nic and Andra. With love.

Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I am in love with this book.
 

Majorly, totally, butt-crazy in love. I love the story, I love the writing, and I love the setting. I love the secondary characters, I love Anna and I love, love, love, love, LOVE Étienne St. Clair.

There are two things I don't love about it, though: the name and the cover. Unfortunately, those two things made me dismiss it for months. Sure, I had it in my TBR pile, because I was vaguely attracted to the description on the back - about a girl sent to boarding school in France, where she meets a totally swoon-worthy (and totally unavailable) boy. But, I'm ashamed to say, I judged it by the cover. That cover is cheesy. And the name? Also kinda cheesy. So I assumed the book would be cheesy, too. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. I enjoy a bit of cheesiness. Like I said, I still picked the book up. But I dismissed it as a back-up read, something to have on hand in case I was bored or in need of a quick fix of fluff.

Then I came across countless reviews that said it was oh-so-amazing. I began to think maybe I'd judged it too harshly. So, curious to see what all the fuss was about, I picked it up on Sunday, at around 5pm. By 1am I was more than half way through and deliriously tired, but still had to force myself to put it down. Because I was already in love. The story was charming, the characters real, the chemistry sizzling, and woven together it was all so refreshingly normal. But that doesn't mean it was ordinary. Far from it. Yep, I admit it: I was really wrong about this book. Which is my hard luck, because it means I spent months with this awesomeness right under my nose and didn't know it. Sure Anna and the French Kiss is fun and it's fluffy, but it's so not cheesy - and it's most definitely not a back-up read. It's a must-read. Like, now!

Rating: 5/5

Eye Candy
I pictured Georgia Jagger and Tom Sturridge (pre his bearded hobo phase) as Anna and Étienne, respectively. I know she's supposed to have dark hair and he's supposed to have dark eyes, but I couldn't get Georgia and Tom out of my head. Hey, it worked for me - I think they're both gorgeous.

Fine Print
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2011
Get It: Fishpond


Images via Fuck Yeah Georgia Jagger and Tom Sturridge Online