Bout of Books 2.0 Starting Lineup and Updates

Button by TaraSG

Bout of Books 2.0 nearly here and I'm so excited that I'm going to tell you all about what I'm planning on accomplishing this time around!  But first... Go check out Amanda @ On a Book Bender, our outstanding host for this read-a-thon...

Quick Reminders from Amanda:

• Sign up! I will leave sign-up open through Friday 10/28.
• You must be signed up and on the Master List to qualify for challenge prizes.  Co-hosts will check the list to verify.
• Check out the Bout of Books schedule
• Say hi to other Bout of Books readers.
• Find Bout of Books participants on Twitter.
• See what everyone is tweeting.  Use #boutofbooks in your tweets.
• Look for a wrap up post (and survey; we want to know what worked or didn’t) atOn a Book Bender on Monday, 10/31
• If you choose to have a starting line post with goals, please PLEASE include how much you intend to read.  Not everyone can read the entire week, so it is helpful to know when (or how much) you can read.
• Submit a link to your starting line post at the end of this post.
• And most importantly: HAVE  FUN.

Okay, so I'm not a super fast reader, and have a lot going on this week, but my goal is to read 3 books! I wish I could be a speed demon reader like most of the girls in this challenge, but 3 books in a week would be pretty awesome for me,

Time Devoted to Reading:

I will devote at least two hours a day to reading!

To Read:

The Summoning (currently half way through, want to finish it)

Succubus Dreams

The Awakening

Updates:

I will be updating here on the blog and since this is my first bout, I'll be using Amanda's daily update template:

10/24
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Book Title: The Summoning
Total number of books I’ve read:1
Pages read since last update: 227
Today #insixwords: Necromancy, Sorcery, Werewolves, Witches OH MY!


10/25
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Book Title: The Awakening
Total number of books I’ve read: 2
Pages read since last update: 251
Today #insixwords: Just one more chapter? Yeah right!

10/26

Number of books I’ve read today: 0
Book Title: Working on Divergent
Total number of books I’ve read: 2
Pages read since last update: 227
Today #insixwords: blah blah blah blah blah blah :)

10/27
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Book Title: Divergent
Total number of books I’ve read: 3
Pages read since last update: 264
Today #insixwords: I got no words for today...

10/28
Number of books I’ve read today: 0
Book Title: Started Pretty When She Dies
Total number of books I’ve read: 3
Pages read since last update: 45
Today #insixwords: Sucky attempt at reading today, dang!

10/29
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Book Title: Pretty When She Dies
Total number of books I’ve read: 4
Pages read since last update: 340ish
Today #insixwords: Read four books seven days, yay!!!

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent Series #1)

Divergent

By Veronica Roth

Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian

Sexual Intensity: None

My Rating: A+

Synopsis from B&N.com

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

My Thoughts

I think, after reading this book, I need to add a few more "+'s" to my rating system. I don't think I've read a better book all year long! I mean, I've read quite a few so it's hard to say that, but DANG I loved this book! At almost 500 pages long, it was a BREEZE to read. I was snagged from the very first page.

This book takes place in Dystopian Chicago, where the city is divided into 5 factions. Each faction lives by a certain virture. There is Abnegation (the selfless), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).  When children turn 16 years old, they are allowed to choose which faction they want to live in for the rest of their lives. Beatrice Prior shocks herself and her family when she chooses to move to Dauntless. Being raised in Abnegation, she's still unsure whether or not she even belongs there. She doesn't feel selfless and in fact, feels like she's being held back. So she chooses to live among the brave.

It's not quite as easy as just moving to a new faction. Initiates must compete for top honors among other initiates to become full-fledged members of their new factions. If they don't make the grade, they are turned away and live factionless. This is equivelant to being a bum on the streets and having no family to turn to. This raises the stakes a bit!

Throughout the book, we follow Tris (Beatrice's new chosen name for her new life) on her journey through the initiation phase. She makes friends, finds love in an unlikely boy, and finds herself. All is not sunshine and roses though as you'll see Tris fight for her life. What comes after the final initiation celebration took me by surprise and now I can't wait for the 2nd in this series, Insurgent, to come out in May 2012!

Review: The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (Darkest Powers #2)

The Awakening

Darkest Powers #2

By Kelley Armstrong

Genre: Young Adult

Sexual Intensity: None

My Rating: C

Find it here: Barnes and Noble or Amazon

Synopsis from B&N.com

If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

Now I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.

My Thoughts

This starts back up where The Summoning left off. Chloe and her friends have been captured by the Edison Group, the group of scientists who have been conducting experiments with the supernatural teens. 

I liked this book significantly less than the first book because nothing really happened. The whole book, all 350 something pages is of the teens trying to find Simon and Derek's father. The whole book is the journey, I really don't feel like it moved the story along at all. Almost none of my previous questions were answered and left me with even more. There is only one book left so hopefully this series gets wrapped up nicely in the next book. I'm taking a tiny break from this series though. 

Review: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (The Darkest Powers #1)

The Summoning

Darkest Powers #1

By Kelley Armstrong

Genre: Young Adult

Sexual Intensity: None

My Rating: A

I just finished this book about 10 minutes ago, and before I dive into The Awakening, I wanted to get my review done so I don't confuse books in my reviews!

I read this book in a day, a very quick, easy, fun, and entertaining read. The lead character is Chloe Saunders. She's 15, a seemingly normal teenager going to an Art school. She has dreams of becoming a screenwriter and director and sizes up all situations as if they were parts of a movie. The normality of her life ends the day she starts seeing ghosts. 

The day she sees her first ghost occurs at her school. A few teachers try to calm a very frightened Chloe and it seems Chloe is fighting the teachers, when in reality, she's trying to fight off the ghost. The school has her carted off to a hospital, and then she's sent to a group home, The Lyle House.  

Here at the Lyle House, Chloe meets other troubled teens. Liz--her roomate, Derek and Simon--unseparable brothers, Tori--the mean girl, and Rachelle (Rae). The day in-day out life at the Lyle House is pretty mundane. School during the day, chores and homework at night. A visit with the resident shrink falls somewhere in there each day. The kids are rarely allowed time to be alone, forced instead to be among each other. 

As the days go by, Chloe sees more ghosts and tries to hide her abilities. Her doctor has diagnosed Chloe with Schizophrenia. Chloe believes that if she goes along with the diagnosis, takes her medication, and agrees that she has this disease and tries to get better, the doctors will release her back to her own home with her Aunt. 

Chloe learns that her fellow residents may also have some supernatural powers and through the book, the   teens are trying to figure out why strange things have happened in the house, and why the five of them are all coincidentally in the house at the same time.

I really enjoyed this book. It grabbed me from the very beginning and wouldn't let go until I finished it. I plan on starting the next book in the trilogy, The Awakening, as soon as I publish this post!