Wednesday, July 04, 2012

Review: One Moment by Kristina McBride


Title: One Moment
Author: Kristina McBride
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Release date: June 26th 2012
Pages: 272
Genre: Contemporary YA; mystery
Source: NetGalley
Add to Goodreads Purchase from Amazon 
This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it's the one she'd do anything to forget. Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below – dead? As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars


I had high hopes for this book. The cover is gorgeous, and the idea sounds right up my alley. But sadly, I couldn't connect to the story, making this an only okay read for me.


I did like the plot. I always like grief-storylines, especially if there's a little mystery along with them. I enjoyed reading about Maggie and her friends, seeing how each of them dealt with losing Joey. The mystery-aspect is well-done, and I enjoyed putting together the pieces along with Maggie, trying to figure out what really happened.

The writing is good, too. Flows nicely and reads quickly - just the right balance between dialogue and description. It's the kind of writing that can absorb a reader, moving fast when it should but taking its time and giving us details when we need them.


But even though, objectively, I could see that those aspects of One Moment were well-done, I felt somewhat removed from the story. I just can't get myself to be enthusiastic about this book - it didn't make me feel anything. It's very easy to get me to cry, but I didn't get emotional once while reading One Moment. And I think the reason why I couldn't connect with One Moment is because of the characters.


Maggie is a boring MC. I'm sorry, but she is. After reading the book, I still don't feel like I really know her. I don't know a single of her interests, anything she likes to do, anything she's good or bad at. I have no idea who she is - all I know is that she's grieving her boyfriend. Maggie is average in every way; there's no personality that would make me like her or feeel for her.


Another reason I couldn't connect to the story is Joey. I did not like Joey. At all. And not just because of the secrets that come out towards the end, which would make sense with the story. But I disliked him from the start. I didn't like him as a character, and I didn't like Maggie's relationship with Joey, either. I couldn't feel what Maggie felt for Joey. That made it hard for me to relate to Maggie's grief, since I didn't feel any sort of deep connection between Maggie and Joey in the first place.


A lot of aspects of One Moment are well-done, but it wasn't for me. I couldn't connect to the story on any level. I don't discourage you from giving it a try, since connecting to characters is different for every reader, but it was an only okay read, for me.

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

This or That with Joey from One Moment (One Moment Blog Tour)


Today we have Joey from One Moment here for a this or that interview! This post is part of The Teen Book Scene's blog tour for One Moment by Kristina McBride.You can find out all about the tour here. Make sure to visit all the other stops if you'd like to know more about One Moment!

Sunrise or sunset?
Sunset.
Half-empty or half-full?
Half-full
Summer or winter?
Summer
Vanilla or chocolate?
Vanilla
Outdoors or indoors?
Outdoors
Jeans or sweats?
Jeans
Coffee or tea?
Mountain Dew
Cats or dogs?
Dogs

Polka-dots or stripes?
Stripes

Being in a crowd or being alone?
Being the center of the crowd
Being able to change the past or living with your mistakes?
Change the past. If I could go back, things would be very different now.
Superpower: being invisible or flying?
Flying would have served me well that day at the cliff...

Make sure to visit all the other stops of the tour, and keep your eye out for One Moment, which has already been released. Come back tomorrow for my review of One Moment!


One Moment by Kristina McBride
(Amazon | Goodreads)
This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it's the one she'd do anything to forget. Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below – dead? As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?



Monday, July 02, 2012

Book Blogger Confessions #11



Book Blogger Confessions is a new meme hosted by All-Consuming Books and For What It's Worth. You can find out all about it here

Every second week there is one topic that has something to do with book-blogging that you can discuss on your blog.

This week's topic is: Blogging controversies. How do you address them? Do you join the Twitter frenzy? Write a post? Stay on the sidelines and hope they go away? 
How do you think we should address plagiarism scandals? Bad author behavior? Negative comments on our blogs?


I know a lot of people pride themselves on staying out of all blogging drama, but I personally don't think it's wrong to join in. I don't post about it on the blog, and I don't tweet about it loads. But I do tweet about it a few times, and I'm not afraid to say where I stand on those issues.


Especially the first two examples are ones I feel strongly about; a blogger plagiarizing is wrong, and an author attacking a blogger for writing a negative review is wrong. And that's why I think it's important to talk about things like that. Excuse my language, but it pisses me off when someone does something like that and suffers no consequences.


No, I'm not saying I'm condoning bullying someone who made a mistake. But I personally do not want to support a plagiarist, or an author who attacked a blogger. And in order to be able to stop supporting that person, I need to find out what that person did. That means I want people to tweet the links and talk about it. And since I know others want to know about it, too, I'll tweet about it as well.


I get that not everyone wants to get involved in stuff like this. But I don't think staying quiet and hoping the drama will go away soon is the way to go. We need to spread what we know about, we need to share links, and we need to openly discuss these issues, because plagiarism and bad author behavior are not okay.


Negative comments on blogs is another example listed in the question, but I kind of don't think it belongs there - it's nowhere near as bad as plagiarism or attacking a blogger for a negative review, in my opinion. To me, negative comments are a more personal issue that I'd deal with privately, unless it's a recurring issue.


How do you deal with blogging drama?

Sunday, July 01, 2012

July Comment Contest

I will be doing a Comment Contest for the month of July! I know I said I wouldn't do one again for a while because I'm broke, and, well, I am, but I couldn't resist! The difference between the comments I got in May, with the comment contest, and in June, without a comment contest, is HUGE. And because I love comments, I'm doing another comment contest for this month, even though my wallet will not be happy.


It'll work the way my first comment contest worked too: For each comment you leave on my July posts, you will get one entry for the giveaway. Please make the comment meaningful - if it's just one word or something, the entry will not be counted. The giveaway will be open from now until July 31st. It's open wherever the Book Depository ships - check here if you're not sure whether they ship to your country.


From those entries, I will select one winner, and that winner will get one Young Adult July release of their choice. You can check out my July Releases post for some inspiration, but it doesn't have to be included in that post in order to count; it can be any July release, as long as it's classified as YA.


So, to enter, fill out the quick form below, and start commenting! Make sure to fill out the form below, or your entries will not be counted!!!


New Releases July 2012

New releases:


Ameila Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield
(Amazon | Goodreads)

Release date:  July 5th 2012
On the night of Becca’s high school graduation, the discovery of an unidentified dead girl left to bleed out on the side of a dirt road sends the town—and Becca—into a tailspin. Becca has always longed to break free from her small home town, but as the violence of the outside world creeps into her backyard, she withdraws and retreats inward, paralyzed for the first time in her life. Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson’s life are intercut with Becca’s own coming-of-age summer, unfolding into the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and tense romantic relationships as the summer’s tumultuous events twist Becca closer and closer to the truth about Amelia’s murder.



The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Altebrando
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: July 5th 2012
An all-day scavenger hunt in the name of eternal small-town glory With only a week until graduation, there’s one last thing Mary and her friends must do together: participate in the Oyster Point High Official Unofficial Senior Week Scavenger Hunt. And Mary is determined to win.
Mary lost her spot at Georgetown to self-professed “it” bully Pete Lembo, and she’s not about to lose again. But everyone is racing for the finish line with complicated motives, and the team’s all-night adventure becomes all-night drama as shifting alliances, flared tempers, and crushing crushes take over. As the items and points pile up, Mary and her team must reinvent their strategy—and themselves—in order to win.



The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: July 10th 2012
Kelsey’s not going to let one mistake ruin her life. Sure, she got kicked out of prep school and all her old friends are shutting her out. But Kelsey’s focused on her future, and she’s determined to get back on track at Concordia High. Isaac’s been kicked out of more schools than he can count. Since his father’s a state senator, Isaac’s life is under constant scrutiny—but Concordia High’s his last stop before boarding school, so Isaac’s hoping to fly under the radar and try to stay put for a change.
When Kelsey and Isaac meet, it’s anything but love at first sight. She thinks he’s an entitled brat, and he thinks she’s a stuck-up snob. So it surprises them both when they start to fall for each other. Kelsey’s happy for the first time in months, and Isaac’s never felt this way about anyone before….But nothing’s ever completely perfect. Everyone has secrets, and Isaac and Kelsey are no exceptions. These two may have fallen hard, but there’s one thing that can ruin it all: the truth.
The Forsaken by Lisa M. Sasse

Release date: July 10th 2012
As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.


The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.


Never Enough by Denise Jaden
(Amazon | Goodreads)

Release date: July 10th 2012
Loann’s always wanted to be popular and pretty like her sister, Claire. So when Claire’s ex-boyfriend starts flirting with her, Loann is willing to do whatever it takes to feel special…even if that means betraying her sister.
But as Loann slips inside Claire’s world, she discovers that everything is not as it seems. Claire’s quest for perfection is all-consuming, and comes at a dangerous price. As Claire increasingly withdraws from friends and family, Loann struggles to understand her and make amends. Can she heal their relationship—and her sister—before it’s too late?





Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: July 10th 2012
Kendra has always felt overshadowed by her older brother, Grayson, whose OCD forces him to live a life of carefully coordinated routines. The only way Kendra can stand out next to Grayson is to be perfect, and she has perfection down to an art -- until a cheating scandal threatens her flawless reputation. Behind the wheel of her car, with Grayson asleep beside her, Kendra decides to drive away from it all -- with enough distance, maybe she'll be able to figure everything out. But eventually, Kendra must stop running and come to terms with herself, her brother, and her past. With undeniable grace and humor, acclaimed author Jennifer Brown explores OCD, the pressure for perfection, and the emotional highs and lows of a complex sibling relationship.




Flawed by Kate Avelynn
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: Juy 10th 2012

Sarah O’Brien is only alive because of the pact she and her brother made twelve years ago—James will protect her from their violent father if she promises to never leave him. For years, she’s watched James destroy his life to save hers. If all he asks for in return is her affection, she’ll give it freely. Until, with a tiny kiss and a broken mind, he asks for more than she can give.

Sam Donavon has been James’s best friend—and the boy Sarah’s had a crush on—for as long as she can remember. As their forbidden relationship deepens, Sarah knows she’s in trouble. Quiet, serious Sam has decided he’s going to save her. Neither of them realize James is far more unstable than her father ever was, or that he’s not about to let Sarah forget her half of the pact...


Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: July 10th 2012
High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.
But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business--until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers--and the consequences could be deadly.

The Little Woods by McCormich Templeman
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: July 10th 2012

Are the woods behind St. Bede's Academy really haunted, or does bad stuff just happen there? When Calista Wood, a new student, arrives midway through her junior year, St. Bede's feels like a normal school . . . until she discovers that a girl had disappeared a couple of months earlier. Some kids think she ran away, others think she was murdered, but it's only when Cally starts digging around that she finds the startling truth.


Watch as Cally enters a world of privilege, weekend-long parties, high school romances, and . . . well-kept secrets. This page-turner will appeal to teens looking for a fast-paced thriller. Written in a voice at once gripping and crystal clear, debut novelist, McCormick Templeman, will take readers on a twisting and turning journey as only a "new girl" can experience.


Before You Go by James Preller
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: July 17th 2012
The summer before his senior year, Jude (yes, he’s named after the Beatles song) gets his first job, falls in love for the first time, and starts to break away from his parents. Jude’s house is kept dark; no one talks much—it’s been that way since his little sister drowned in a swimming pool when Jude was supposed to be watching her. He was watching her. He looked away for just a moment. He was only nine years old. And he’s never truly grieved for her, or for the emotional deaths of his parents, who refuse to talk about what happened. Seven years later, Jude is finally, finally starting to live. Really live. And then life spins out of control. Again. Acclaimed author James Preller explores life, death, love, faith, and resilience in a story that will grip readers from the book’s dramatic first few pages to its emotional end.



The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: July 17th 2012
Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother.
After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications (again!) and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home and school. She refuses to be daunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom, or that her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists.
With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?



Guitar Notes by Mary Amato
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: July 24th 2012
When Tripp Broody’s mom takes away his guitar, the 9th grader signs out the school guitar to use on odd days in Music Practice Room B during his lunch period. But Lyla Marks, the perfect cello player who uses the same room on even days, begins to leave notes in the guitar case along with bad vibes. At first, the two seem to have nothing in common. But there’s something about the scratched old guitar they share, and the music that they create in the little room, that enables them to reveal the secrets—and discover the scars—that connect them.




Circle of Silence by Carol M. Tanzman
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: July 24th 2012
It’s my turn to run a Campus News crew, and I’ve put together a team that can break stories wide open. And Washington Irving High has a truly great one to cover, if only we can find a lead.
A secret society has formed in our school. It announced its presence with pranks: underwear on the flag pole, a toilet in the hallway, cryptic notes. A circle of silence keeps the society a mystery. No one knows its members, agenda, or initiation secrets—until a student lands in the hospital under strange circumstances.
I will blow this story wide open and stop others from being hurt…or worse. And while my ex, Jagger, might want to help, I don’t trust him yet. (And, no, not because of our past together. That is not important to this story.)
But whether you find me, Valerie Gaines, reporting in front of the camera, or a victim in the top story of the newscast…be sure to watch Campus News at 9:00 a.m. this Friday morning.


Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: July 31st 2012

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.
But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.
Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.


Re-releases/out in paperback:


 The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: July 5th 2012
Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.
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