Top Ten Tuesday: Praise the Author

 

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

AUTHORS WHO DESERVE MORE RECOGNITION

 1. Sara Varon 
Robot Dreams conveys so much emotion regardless that it has zero words. It teaches a lasting message about friendship and how some people are meant to come and go from our lives.









2. Sara Kocek
I was lucky to read an ARC of Promise me Something, meant to debut in September, and loved it. It's nice to see such talent from a new author.

3. Ashley Elston 
Another debut author deserving some praise. Her book The Rules for Disappearing is a thriller/love story that left me wanting more. Can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

4. Alexander Gordon Smith 
His Escape from Furnace series kept me up for several nights. It is downright scary, thrilling and worth every nightmare. I strongly recommend to horror/dystopia fans.

5. Gavin Extence
I'm not done reading The Universe Versus Alex Woods yet. But have been impressed with all the knowledge this book has filled my head with. Yup, I now know the difference between a meteor, meteoroid and meteorite.

 
6. Jill Baguchinsky
A modern Nancy Drew who can communicate with ghosts, except for her late mother. I loved how Spookygirl also tackled the issue of bullying. The more we talk about it the better.








7. Mélanie Watt
Although Mélanie gets a lot of attention with her Scaredy Squirrel series, Chester is always forgotten. A book in which the main character takes control over the author, is just plain funny and deserves a read.

Review: Shine

More authors are tackling the subject of bulling these days, but rarely do we see someone take on several difficult topics at once, as Lauren Myracle did with Shine. She turned the spotlight on rape, homophobia, drug addiction, family issues -- and didn't think twice if readers were ready for it. 

Cat is not perfect. She pushed Patrick and her friends aside after a terrible incident, and standing up for herself doesn't come easy. Still, she tries to amend her errors by investigating the hate crime. Even though it means investigating her friends. 

I was glad we weren't provided with a love story hero. That one guy that would show up and solve Cat's puzzle. Solving this meant coming to terms with her turmoil past. It was a must for her to do this alone. 

The writing was authentically southern and contained some swear words. Also the hate crime is pretty detailed. But the twist at the end makes all the hard scenes worth reading. 

Feature and Follow Friday: Peek-a-Boo

Parajunkee / Alison Can Read

FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY

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

Q: Activity: PHOTOBOMB!!!  Photobomb a picture with your favorite book. Share it of course.

Here I am au naturel with a copy of The Hunger Games. Don't you just hate when your hair frizzes from all the humidity. 

Writing with a Friend -- Road to Heaven or Destruction?

I welcomed a new writing buddy today. His name is Latte and he squeaks of delight when I get a good idea, or maybe when he is playful, I don't know yet.

Our arrangement soon got me thinking about collaborative writing in general. Can two authors pour their souls into one work or is it the best way to ruin a friendship?

David Levithan has written many collaborative fiction. His secret is alternating chapters, and making sure than each author has their own character voice. In an interview with Publishers Weekly Andrea Cremer, co-author of Invisibility, said that, "Levithan advised her to think of him as her intended audience and that they both kept their own personal projects on the side." Maybe collaborative fiction isn't so bad. What do you think?

       

Review: Scarlet

Marisa Meyer turns the spotlight on new characters in Scarlet, the second book of the Lunar Chronicles, which also happens to be the name of the female lead. Without a doubt, Scarlet proved to be loyal and hardworking. The basis of what makes a true heroine. So what went wrong?

Let's start with the recap. After months of reading the first book, I had forgotten all about Cinder. Meyer did give hints, here and there, but it took an extremely long time to puzzled it out due to the attention provided to Scarlet.  

Cinder just didn't do it for me this time. She spent most of her time travelling in a spaceship, reminiscing about Peony more than she did about Kai. Meanwhile Scarlet traveled by train. 

The male lead, Wolf, did have his moments. And I can see how many would find him swoon worthy.

I don't know exactly what Meyer is building up with all the new characters she brought to the story (yes, even after reading the whole book) but I feel like I owe it to the first book to find out.