Tag Archive | behavior

Guy in Real Life, by Steve Brezenoff (book review) – guy, girl, gaming

May31

book cover of Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff published by Balzer + BrayOnline MMOs,
tabletop RPGs,
never the twain shall meet?

His best friend says that every online game female character is a GIRL – guy in real life – but is it wrong for Lesh to spend time online as Svvetlana if he truly wants to be with the real Svetlana?

And why shouldn’t Svetlana prefer creating fantasy game scenarios to attending boring pro soccer games with her clueless parents?

After school, Lesh hangs out with the wrong crowd by habit, Svetlana only hangs out with her dungeon friends, yet somehow their worlds overlap in this fun read.

**kmm

Book info: Guy in Real Life / Steve Brezenoff. Balzer + Bray, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: A late-night sidewalk collision brings together 2 teens from very different circles as their roleplaying and online game lives somehow intersect.

Getting grounded finally gave Lesh time to play the MMO that Greg is hooked on. But he hates being a blundering orc and instead chooses to be an elf, whom he molds into the image of quirky Svetlana at school, the girl he met when her bike ran into him that rainy night.

Svetlana’s detailed roleplaying scenarios intrigue the Central High Gaming Club, but when one guy quits, the club could lose its official status. Maybe Lesh of the black trenchcoat would join? Decidedly better than being with her crazy Minneapolis soccer fan parents.

Game life connects this guy named after the Grateful Dead’s drummer and that dungeonmaster girl in skull-embroidered skirt, but real life is more than energy levels and 20-sided dice in this quirky maybe-romance told from their alternating points of view.   (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Murderously good SYNC audiobooks free this week!

May29

This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC are murder, just plain murder!

CD cover of Confessions of a Murder Suspect By James Patterson & Maxine Paetro Read by Emma Galvin Published by Hachette AudioConfessions of a Murder Suspect
By James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
Read by Emma Galvin
Published by Hachette Audio

Investigating her parents’ murder, Tandy has disturbing memory flashbacks and wonders if she can trust her 3 siblings – all four Angel children are prime suspects.

The Murder at the VicarageCD cover of Murder at the Vicarage By Agatha Christie Read by Richard E. Grant Published by Harper Audio
By Agatha Christie
Read by Richard E. Grant
Published by Harper Audio
(not available for download in UK or Great Britain)

Everyone in the village had a reason to kill Col. Protheroe discovers Miss Marple in the first of her many mysteries.

Click on either title to download these complete audiobooks for free by Wednesday, June 4th. They’re yours as long as you store them on your current computer or electronic device.

Who’s in the clear? Who did the dirty deed? Read with your ears as a teen sleuth and a venerable British lady try to find out!
**kmm

Art of Lainey, by Paula Stokes (book review) – using war strategy to woo him back

May24

book cover of The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes published by HarperTeenHow dare Jason break up with her in public?
Everyone knows he and Lainey belong together!
This means war… to get him back.

BFF Bianca suggests using expert advice from their assigned summer reading to make Jason so jealous that he’ll be back with Lainey to start their senior year – if Sun Tzu’s Art of War  won’t work, what will?

Read the first chapters here for free, then ask for this May 2014 original paperback at your local library or independent bookstore to find out whether Lainey’s war for Jason’s heart is worth the battles.

**kmm

Book info: The Art of Lainey / Paula Stokes. HarperTeen, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Publicly dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Lainey uses strategies from The Art of War to get him back – with surprising results.

When Mom saw “big changes, separation” in the tea leaves, Lainey thought it meant best friend Kendall’s trip to New York, not losing Jason to his gorgeous ambulance partner! Bianca says Sun Tzu’s strategies work today, so Lainey begins her full-time war to get him back.

“Be deceptive.” Co-workers from her parents’ coffee shop help with Lainey’s campaign – preppy Leo trying to get his girlfriend back and pierced punk Micah with his mohawk, tattoos, and mysterious past.

“Be flexible.” A college play, a goth music club – Lainey and her fake dates stay busy and visible in their St. Louis suburb between shifts at Denali.

“If you know the enemy and yourself, your victory will not be in doubt.” Fretting over Jason isn’t helping her soccer scholarship chances, so she and Bianca talk while they run – five fake dates with Micah are eye-opening, especially when bumping into Jason and that Alex girl “accidentally.”

“If equally matched, we can offer battle.” Jason finally asks Lainey to sub on his summer co-ed soccer team? Bring it on!
“When you move, fall like a thunderbolt.” Fourth of July fair with more-fun-than-fake-date Micah or party at Jason’s house? Hmm…

Following an ancient Chinese warlord’s tactics will get Lainey what she really wants before summer ends, right? (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Tin Star, by Cecil Castelluci (book review) – stranded in space, searching for home

May20

book cover of Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci published by Roaring Brook Press Left for dead on a space station,
no money to get home…
but where IS home now?

Tula had never imagined aliens as friends or humans as overwhelmingly untrustworthy, but after what her colony leader did and what she has to do to survive…

Read the first chapter free on the publisher’s site to start on Tula’s dangerous attempt to make it in a tin-walled future she never planned.

And if you can grab some 20-sided dice and a few friends, you can play the free role-playing game based on Tin Star here, before you even read the book!

**kmm

Book info: Tin Star / Cecil Castellucci. Roaring Brook Press, 2014.  [author blog]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Abandoned on a remote space hub, Tula is surviving among its many non-human residents when Brother Blue returns with ominous news.

Questioning their leader when the Earth colony ship stopped at Yertina Feray space station was a deadly mistake for the 14 year old. With no identity pass or resources, Tula must join the Underbelly economy to survive.

Helping a Hort named Heckleck with his off-the-books trades and trying to avoid official notice by Constable Tournour the Loor, Tula is forging her place in the Underbelly.

But the arrival of other humans during an intergalactic political upheaval worries her – with good reason, as the colony leader reappears… in a uniform.

Can Tula stay clear of Brother Blue (or whoever he is)?
Will she ever find a way to get to Earth or their colony?

(One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy, by Kate Hattemer (book review) – reality TV + high school = yikes!

May17

book cover of Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer published by Knopf Books for Young ReadersA reality show in the arts high school?
Who really thought this was a good idea?
Who’s profiting from the TV crew’s invasion…hmm?

Inspired by their study of  The Cantos by Ezra Pound, Ethan and friends risk expulsion to get their protest Contracantos into classmates’ hands:

“The Serpent Vice betrays our cause.
He trades appraisal for applause.
True art is beauty; beauty, truth.
But For Art’s Sake is low, uncouth.
It sells our talent, vends our youth.”

Find this April 2014 release now at your local library or independent bookstore so you can decide whether “For Art’s Sake” reality show is awe-inspiring or awful, and meet fearless gerbil Baconnaise, as well.

**kmm

Book info: The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy / Kate Hattemer. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: As a reality show invades their arts high school, four friends strike back with poetic declarations against its disruptions and unethical editing.

Being somewhat talented among Selwyn’s prodigies stresses Ethan plenty, but when the reality show based at their school makes his longed-for Maura look bad for a national audience, the teen gets angry.

When Luke’s investigative article questioning Selwyn Academy’s financial arrangements with “For Art’s Sake” is banned from the Cantos school paper, he’s fighting mad.

As Luke, Ethan, Elizabeth and Jackson quietly post their Contracantos protest poems around school, the administration wants to stamp them out.

It may be up to Ethan and talented gerbil Baconnaise to make sure that the final Contracantos are published as classmates are voted off the show (“there’s just one full scholarship”) and creative editing alters every scene.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Read with your ears! Free SYNC audiobooks this summer, starting now!

May15

Summer approaches…
Relax and read with your ears with free audiobooks from SYNC! (yes, really – free!)

Each complete audiobook pair is only available for download from Thursday through Wednesday, then you have free use of them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device.

Click on each title’s hyperlink to open its download page in a new window.  And bookmark the SYNC site now so you can download great audiobooks all summer long: http://www.audiobooksync.com/ – I’ll remind you each Thursday, too.

CD cover of Warp Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer read by Maxwell Caulfield published by Listening LibraryWarp: The Reluctant Assassin
Written by Eoin Colfer
Narrated by Maxwell Caulfield
(Listening Library)

 

 

CD cover of The Time Machine by HG Wells read by Derek Jacobipublished by Listening LibraryThe Time Machine
Written by H.G. Wells
Narrated by Derek Jacobi
(Listening Library)

 

Have you read either of these time travel titles before?
**kmm

House of Ivy & Sorrow, by Natalie Whipple (book review) – curse on witch family, unbreakable?

May13

book cover of House of Ivy and Sorrow by Natalie Whipple published by Harper TeenA long-lost father,
a friend to the bitter end,
a malevolent chase… to the death.

Even though Nana stops inflicting icky spells on her possible boyfriend, Josephine has much to worry about as a centuries-old curse stabs at the shields protecting her witch family’s magic roots, and her best friend must make a terrifying choice.

Find this compelling tale now at your local library or independent bookstore to see if love and hope can break the curse’s grip on the Hemlocks.

Iowa farm country as a place of deep magic – who knew?

**kmm

Book info: House of Ivy & Sorrow / Natalie Whipple. HarperTeen, 2014.   [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: As the curse hounding Jo’s witch family nears, she must sacrifice her normal teen life to control the magic which could save them.

The dark curse killed Josephine’s mother, so it’s just Nana and Jo in the hidden ivy-covered house over a magic well, where Jo’s high school friends cannot visit – until the father she never knew arrives in their small Iowa town, bespelled by the curse-holder to reveal them.

Being in control or being consumed are the only choices where magic is involved. The curse-holder seeking the Hemlocks’ land-hold has relinquished control and will obliterate Jo’s friends, father, town, and new boyfriend in a heartbeat to get their magic source.

Something in the family archives may beat back the curse, if only Jo can find it in time, if only it exists… (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

The Thickety: A Path Begins, by J.A. White (book review) – magic & danger, chance of control?

May8

book cover of The Thickety: A Path Begins by JA White published by Katherine Tegen Books“Work hard,
want for nothing,
stay vigilant”

Dreaming and wishing are forbidden to the Children of the Fold, as are doing magic or entering the dark mystical woods of The Thickety which tries to overrun their island home.

Yet Kara does all these things. After years of being spat upon and punished as “witch’s child,” what does she have to lose?

Except her little brother, distraught father, and her very soul…

Read the first pages of The Thickety  here, then follow Kara’s dangerous, desperate search for answers, if you dare. This will be a trilogy; can we wait until 2015 to read book 2?

**kmm

Book info: The Thickety: A Path Begins / J.A. White; illustrated by Andrea Offermann. [author site]  [illustrator site]   [publisher site]   [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: When a strange bird leads Kara to her mother’s hidden grimoire within the forbidden forest, the teen learns her family’s magic secrets, risking a death sentence… or worse.

As a child, Kara was forced to witness her mother’s execution for witchcraft. She’s spent years enduring the community’s scorn, avoiding The Thickety’s eerie woodlands, trying to hold together her family and their decaying farm.

Compelled by strange dreams, Kara follows a raven with 3 eyes into The Thickety and unearths her mother’s grimoire, a conduit of great magical power – a chance for her to heal her brother and save their land, or a way that will lead the Children of the Fold’s strict leader to kill them all?

How can the leader’s daughter Grace feel the grimoire’s pull?
For using Thickety magic, will evil Sordyr demand a price that Kara cannot pay?

First book of a trilogy set on an island where The Thickety grows daily closer to the village whose religious settlers separated themselves from the world centuries before, banning all dreams, wishes, storybooks, and magic forever. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Last Best Kiss, by Claire LaZebnik (book review) – can love overcome memories?

May2

bool cover of The Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik published by Harper TeenBeing true to yourself or
Staying stylish and popular.
How far should you go to keep up an image?

Anna figures out that kissing short and nerdy Finn privately, yet telling people publicly that they’re “just friends” was the wrong thing to do – too late.

When Finn’s parents’ travels bring him back to California in a taller, cooler version, she realizes what she lost in 9th grade. But is it too late to try again?

Find this new paperback retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion today at your favorite local library or independent bookstore for a great sunny days read.

**kmm

Book info: Last Best Kiss / Claire LaZebnik. Harper Teen, 2014. [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Anna’s secret relationship with a nerdy freshman ended badly. When he moves back as a hunky senior, can she stand being ‘just friends’ with Finn, realizing what she’s lost?

As a popular 9th grader, it was just easier for Anna to keep quiet about her dates with Finn, then he moved before she could apologize.  Senior year sees him back at their California high school, a tech-apps genius whose slimmed-down, hipster good looks attract lots of girls, including Anna’s best friend Lily.

Considering her ever-absent mom, self-absorbed dad in a weird new relationship, two sisters in college (one happy, one crushed after her girlfriend’s family reviles her), it’s no wonder that Anna really wants someone to care about her and wants that someone to be Finn.

The art teacher pressures her to include something outside her signature style in her college application portfolio, Wade from another school is on the scene now, and a road trip to the new music festival promoted by Lily and Hilary’s dad goes completely crazy.

(One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Z is Zelia in Control, by Lydia Kang (book review) – future genetics, love & power

Apr30

book cover of Control by Lydia Kang published by Dial Books for Young ReadersGenetic differences are illegal,
the United States aren’t united,
welcome to 2150.

Two sisters with non-standard DNA somehow survive in a society where implanted fingertip IDs control access to public transportation and food delivery. The cartel which develops big money products using illegal genes from these non-persons can’t wait to get them following their doctor-dad’s untimely death…

Chilling sci-fi for our last AtoZ April Blog Challenge entry – first in a new series, filled with danger, science that’s almost here now, and romance blossoming amid the chaos.
**kmm

Book info: Control (Control, book 1) / Lydia Kang. Dial Books for Young Readers, hardcover 2013; paperback 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: After her father’s death and sister’s kidnapping in 2150, Zelia finds allies – and love – among genetically illegal teens being sought by a sinister syndicate.

Beautiful Dylia and medically fragile Zelia are accustomed to moving often with their doctor dad. But they’re not prepared to be orphaned, separated, and fought over by rival groups who claim they have special genetic traits.

Rescued by her Dad’s friend, Marka takes Zelia home to her other 4 teen adoptees – a girl with photosynthetic skin, a guy with 4 arms, and another with 2 active brains. What Cy’s trait is – besides surly sarcasm – remains to be seen. Why is Zelia, who looks like a child at 17 and needs help to breathe, in the safety of Carus when it’s Dylia who has special traits?

Dylia was kidnapped by Aureus group, which creates products using youth with illegal genetic differences – maybe Zel can sequence Dyl’s DNA in Cy’s lab to discover why and find a way to rescue her.

While trying to understand her dad’s connection to Carus, she’s secretly contacted by Q who promises information about Dylia’s whereabouts…for a price.

Can her new housemates help Zel find Dylia? Will they risk leaving Carus?
Is she willing to trade Cy’s growing fondness for this dangerous opportunity?

This medical sci-fi thriller is first in a series, asking tough questions about identity, differences, and society since our ‘now’ leads to our future. (One of 7,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)