Top Ten Tuesday: The Big List

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Recommendations

Here is the list of books I'd recommend to all my fellow bloggers.

Anya's Ghost: If anyone is looking to spice up their reading with a graphic novel, this book is a nice start. The drawings are really well done and the character is tough, rebellious and absolutely adorable.

The Fault in Our Stars: If anyone wants to cry. Make sure you are in the mood for a sad/romantic story that will leave you weeping.

 White Oleander: Honestly, I would qualify this book as NA. The subject is violent and mature but the main character is a teenager and the theme is based around a coming of age story where one must struggle without any guidance.

 The Lovely Bones: This book is very intense emotionally. Although there is a movie, the film only brushed on the character of the mother, while the book really delves into it. Also, the ending might shock you.

 The Hunger Games: I believe this was the very first Dystopia I read (it took me a while to read The Giver).  The story is just incredible and I love to see a badass female lead.

Cinder: This book is a little jem. The first re-telling of Cinderella I really enjoyed. 

Review: Anya's Ghost

Poor Anya. Her life is going nowhere. Sean, her crush, is already taken by a pretty blonde, her mother keeps pressuring her to follow Russian traditions and her best friend, Siobhan, is not giving her the support she believes she deserves. 

And then to top this off, she falls down a well and meets Emily, a ghost of a murdered teen. Can things get any worse? Oh, yes!

This book was impossible to put down. For one thing, it was beautifully drawn, feeling more like a movie than a book. Anya was no Mary-Sue. She was tenacious, and stood up for herself. All she wanted was to fit in, something we are all familiar with. She reminded me a lot of Neil Gaiman's Coraline. 

I recommend this to anyone who is searching for a dark yet witty story.

Caught my Arrow # 10

Caught my Arrow is a meme similar to In my mailbox and  Stalking the Shelves featuring books that were purchased, borrowed or received that week.

Sick as a dog, I still managed to go pick up some books. It turned out to be a great idea, since I was stuck in bed and a good book came in handy.

I borrowed Shades of Earth from the library and came home to a copy of Cinder in the mail which I proudly added to my collection.

I also bought the set of Whatever After by Sarah Mlynowski fairy-tale retellings

And received Fate's Fable for review from T.Rae Mitchell. What a pretty cover!! I'm excited to start reading this.



What are you reading this week?

Author Spotlight: How Fleur Gaskin survived the Modeling World

I'm so happy to be receiving author Fleur Gaskin today to promote her new YA novel, Arabelle's Shadows.

Everything in Arabelle's life is coming together. She has confidence, great friends, she's even dating Naak, a wealthy Thai socialite. But there are too many models in Bangkok. Arabelle’s broke, she can’t find an agent in New York, and Naak isn’t as wonderful as he first appears.

Slowly the Shadows creep back into Arabelle's mind, bringing with them thoughts of hopelessness and despair. The vile Shadows know something Arabelle's refusing to remember and, if she's not careful, they'll use it to destroy her.

Based on a true story, Arabelle's Shadows takes us on a journey through the struggles of growing up, not quite making it as an international model, and attempting to overcome a crushing depression.



                   Find it on Amazon                                               Find it on Goodreads 

Hi Fleur, thank you for being with us. Please do tell, what inspired you to write this book?

When I first started writing Arabelle's Shadows I simply wanted to show the world what being a model was really like. Sure, if you want to make it to supermodel status then your life becomes pretty glamorous but everyone who reaches the top 5% of their profession will end up with a pretty exciting life. Imagine being a chef in the Food Network vs being a chef in a diner. I wanted to tell of the difficulties and injustices most models face on a daily basis. 

Then I started writing and I found that the story was more about the difficulties of growing up and learning how to love yourself. The  world of modelling and travel became the setting for a tale of depression, friendship  inner chaos, and suicide. In the end, my inspiration for Arabelle's Shadows was to hope that, by reading the book, others would not have to go down the messy path I went down to find their peace.

Can you name some of your favorite authors?

My favorite author is Autralian John Marsden. His books discuss real issues in creative, fascinating, relatable ways. I've read the Tomorrow When the World Began series several times and continue to get more and more out of it. I think J.K. Rowling is a genius and I read Harry Potter whenever I feel lost or upset, it brings me a sense of understanding of this world. I can continue writing about authors I love all day. I simply love reading and have great respect for these storytellers. 

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Keep going! Writing a book takes a really long time. Don't be disheartened when your first attempts turn out to be less than perfect, no one gets it right on the first go, it's all about rearranging, reworking and polishing. Ask anyone who is willing for thoughts on your writing.  It hurts when you get criticism but ultimately other people's thoughts help you create better work.

What are you working on now -- or would you rather surprise us?

It's going to be a surprise. I can tell you it's going to be more light hearted and comical. Arabelle's Shadows was based on some dark points in my life --  often very difficult to write. This time I want to have fun, perhaps a little romance.

You can find Fleur Gaskin on:


Twitter

Blog

Facebook


Thank you for being with us Fleur, and good luck on all your future projects.

Feature and Follow Friday: I'm blushing

Parajunkee / Alison Can Read

FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY

Once you answer be sure to leave me your link so I can follow you back

Q: What is your guilty pleasure as far as reading? Is it a genre, or is it a certain type of book?


I love reading those awkward love scenes where: the boy likes the girl and she likes him back but they can't say anything because the end of the world is coming, or there is someone in the middle who will get their feelings hurt. Or they are simply scared to reveal their emotions...

Ah! I read those scenes a loud O_O